Selection from Arcana Coelestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg
And Moses went up unto God, and Jehovah called unto him from the mountain, saying, Thus shalt thou say unto the house of Jacob, and declare to the sons of Israel: Ye have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and I bare you on eagles' wings, and brought you unto Me. And now if hearing ye shall hear My voice, and keep My covenant, then ye shall be Mine own possession above all peoples; because all the earth is Mine; and ye shall be to Me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation; these are the words which thou shalt speak unto the sons of Israel.And Moses reported the words of the people unto Jehovah. That this signifies correspondence and conjunction, is evident from the signification of "reporting the words unto Jehovah," as being correspondence and the consequent conjunction; for the subject treated of is the covenant which was to be made with the people, and because covenants are made by consent on both sides, therefore something resembling this is done here, namely, Jehovah proposes, and the people answer, here through Moses, by whom is represented truth from the Divine conjoined with truth Divine in heaven, which is mediating.
And Moses came and called the elders of the people, and set before them all these words which Jehovah commanded him.
And all the people answered together, and said, All that Jehovah hath spoken we will do; and Moses reported the words of the people unto Jehovah. Exodus 19:3-8
Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator. Now a mediator is not a mediator of one, but God is one. Galatians 3:19, 20And Moses went up unto God. That this signifies the truth from the Divine which is beneath heaven conjoining itself with the Divine truth which is in heaven, is evident from the representation of Moses, as being truth from the Divine, here truth from the Divine which is beneath heaven, for the reason that now he represents the sons of Israel as their head, thus those who are of the spiritual church, who as yet are not in heaven because not yet in good formed by truths ...
The Good in which Truths are to be Implanted — Christian Good
The man who is being regenerated is first led by the Lord by means of truth, and afterward by means of good. He who is being regenerated is led by means of truth to the intent that he may come to good, that is, may know it, and then will it, and finally do it.... and from the signification of "going up," as being to conjoin oneself, for he who goes up to the Divine conjoins himself with Him; as for instance when "going up into heaven" is mentioned, there is meant being conjoined with the Lord; and the reverse is meant by "coming down from heaven."
But when he is being led to good by means of truth, he first comes to the good in which the truths of faith have not yet been implanted; for truths cannot be implanted until he is in good. Before this they are indeed known, because they are in the memory, but at this time they are not in good, but are outside of good.
Afterward when the man receives new life, which he first receives when he is in good, the truths of faith are implanted, and as it were enter upon a marriage with good in the internal man. This good, in which the truths of faith have not yet been implanted, but which is still so disposed that they can be received. (from Arcana Coelestia 8754)
The Divine truth in heaven, with which there is conjunction, is meant by "God," for in the Word the Lord is called "God" from Divine truth, and "Jehovah" from Divine good; and because the conjunction of Divine truth with Divine good is here treated of, therefore in this verse "God" is first mentioned, and then "Jehovah," in these words, "Moses went up unto God, and Jehovah called unto him from the mountain."
It is said, the Divine truth in heaven, and afterward, the Divine good in heaven, for the reason that the Divine Itself is far above the heavens, not only the Divine good itself, but also the Divine truth itself which proceeds immediately from the Divine good. That these are far above heaven, is because in itself the Divine is infinite, and the infinite cannot be conjoined with finite things, thus not with the angels in the heavens, except by the putting on of something finite, and thus by accommodation to reception. The Divine good itself is also in itself an infinite flame of ardor, that is, of love, and this flame no angel in heaven can bear, for he would be consumed like a man if the flame of the sun were to touch him without intermediate tempering. Moreover if the light from the flame of the Divine love, which light is Divine truth, were to flow in without abatement from its own fiery splendor, it would blind all who are in heaven. From all this it can be seen what the difference is between the Divine good and Divine truth above the heavens, and the Divine good and Divine truth in the heavens, here treated of.
But the covenant is not made with man otherwise than through the reception of the influx of truth from the Divine, and then through correspondence; for when higher things flow in into lower, they are not received in any other way.What correspondence is and reception thereby, can be seen from what has been shown at the end of many chapters concerning the correspondence of all things in man with those things which are in heaven, and also that all conjunction of natural things with spiritual, and in general of lower things with higher, is effected through this correspondence; for there is no correspondence unless lower things are made subject to higher ones through subordination; and when they have been made subject, the higher things act in the lower exactly as a cause acts in its effect. From all this it can be seen how the case is with the reciprocity of man when the Divine flows in; and in regard to the conjunction which is here described in the sense of the letter by the manner in which covenants are made; namely, that Jehovah speaks by a go-between to the people, and the go-between reports the answer unto Jehovah; for in this way conjunction with the Divine can be apprehended by man. (from Arcana Coelestia 8778)
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Correspondence and Conjunction
And may also believe in thee to eternity. That this signifies that there may be the faith of truth which shall endure, is evident from the representation of Moses, as being truth from the Divine; from the signification of "believing," as being faith; and from the signification of "to eternity," as being what shall endure. The case herein is this. —Truth Divine is not received by anyone unless it has been accommodated to his apprehension, consequently unless it appears in a natural form and shape; for at first human minds apprehend none but earthly and worldly things, and not at all spiritual and heavenly things. Wherefore if spiritual and heavenly things were set forth nakedly, they would be rejected as if they were nothing, according to the Lord's words in John:Still less could those apprehend spiritual things who lived before the coming of the Lord, and who were at last in such blindness that they knew nothing, because they were unwilling to know anything, about the life after death, about the internal man, about charity and faith, and about any heavenly thing; which things they rejected because they held them in aversion. For they who regard earthly and worldly things as the end, that is, who love them above all things, hold spiritual things in aversion, and almost abhor the very name of them. It is nearly the same at the present day. The learned of the world do indeed believe that they would receive the Word more readily if heavenly things were set forth nakedly, and if it were not written so simply. But they are very much mistaken; they would then have rejected it more than the simple, and would have seen in it no light, but mere thick darkness. For this darkness is induced by human learning with those who trust in their own intelligence, and on this account exalt themselves above others. That such things are hid from the wise and revealed unto babes, that is, to the simple, the Lord teaches in Matthew 11:25, 26 and in Luke 10:21:
If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I told you heavenly things? (John 3:12).
At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes. Even so, Father: for so it seemed good in thy sight.The same is also very evident from the fact that they who are atheists and naturalists, as they are called, are those who are learned. This the world knows, and they themselves know.
(from Arcana Coelestia 8783)