All Things of the Word are Translucent From the Lord

Selection from Arcana Coelestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

What is translucid there from internal truths, and all things from the Lord

And they saw the God of Israel: and there was under his feet as it were a paved work of a sapphire stone, and as it were the body of heaven in his clearness. Exodus 24:10

That this signifies what is translucid there from internal truths, and all things from the Lord, is evident from the signification of "a work of sapphire," as being the quality of the literal sense of the Word when the internal sense is perceived within it, thus when the Divine truth that proceeds from the Lord, such as it is in heaven, shines through.

For the Word is the Divine truth that proceeds from the Lord, which in its origin is Divine, and in its progress through the heavens is -

• celestial in the inmost heaven
• in the second or middle heaven is spiritual
• in the first or ultimate heaven is spiritual natural
• in the world is natural and worldly, such as it is in the sense of the letter, which is for man.

From this it is evident that this latter sense, which is the last in order, contains within it the spiritual and the celestial senses, and inmostly the Divine Itself, and as these senses are contained in the ultimate or literal sense, and become apparent to those who apprehend the Word spiritually, it is therefore represented by a work of sapphire, in that it transmits the rays of heavenly light, or is translucid.

That some idea of this shining through may be presented, take as an example human speech. In its first origin this is the end [or purpose] which the man desires to set forth by the speech. This end is his love - for what a man loves, he has as his end. From this flows the man's thought, and finally his speech. That this is so, everyone who reflects well, can know and perceive. That the end is the first of speech, is evident from the general law that in all intelligence there is an end; and that without an end there is no intelligence. And that thought is the second thing of speech flowing from the first, is also manifest; for no one can speak without thought, nor think without an end. That from this follows the speech of words, and that this is the ultimate which properly is called speech, is known. This being so, the man who attends to the speech of another does not attend to the expressions or words of the speech, but to their sense, which comes from the thought of the speaker, and he who is wise attends to the end for the sake of which he spoke from his thought; that is, to what he intends and what he loves. These three things are presented in the speech of man, and to these the speech of words serves as an ultimate plane.

From this comparison an idea can be formed about the Word in the letter - for this is attended to and perceived in heaven in exactly the same way as is usually the thought of a man which is presented by the speech of words - in the inmost heaven as the intention or end is usually attended to and perceived. But the difference is that the sense of the letter of the Word, when read by man, is not heard or perceived in heaven, but only the internal sense, because only the spiritual and celestial senses of the Word are perceived in heaven, and not its natural sense. Thus one sense passes into another, because they correspond; and the Word has been written wholly by correspondences. From this it is plain what is meant by the shining through signified by "a work of sapphire" when said of the Word.

But he who cannot think intellectually, that is, abstractedly from material things, cannot apprehend these things, nor indeed that there can be any other sense in the Word than that which stands forth in the letter, and if he is told that there is a spiritual sense in it, which is of truth, and within this a celestial sense, which is of good, and that these senses shine through from the literal sense, he will first be amazed, afterward he will reject it as of no account, and finally he will ridicule it.

That at the present day there are such persons in the Christian world, especially among the learned of the world, has been shown me by living experience. Also. that those who reason against this truth, claim to be wiser than those who affirm it, when yet in those primeval times called the golden and the silver ages, learning consisted in speaking and writing in such manner that the sense of the letter was not attended to, except insofar as the hidden wisdom shone through from it, as can be plainly seen from the oldest books, even among the Gentiles, and likewise from remains in their languages,

for their chief science was the science of correspondences and the science of representations, which sciences are now among the things that have been lost.

That under the Lord's feet there appeared as it were a work of sapphire, and that this signifies the shining through of the Word in the sense of the letter, is because a "stone" in general signifies truth, and a "precious stone" truth shining through from the Divine of the Lord. This was signified by the "twelve precious stones" in the breast plate of Aaron, which was called "the Urim and Thummim."

In like manner in Ezekiel:

Full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty, thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the ruby, the topaz, the diamond, the tarshish [beryl], the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the chrysoprase, the emerald, and gold. The work of thy timbrels and of thy pipes was in thee, in the day that thou wast created they were prepared. Thou wast perfect in thy ways in the day that thou wast created (Ezek. 28:12, 13, 15);

speaking of Tyre, by which is signified the church in respect to the knowledges of truth and of good; her intelligence and wisdom, such as it had been in her infancy, that is, in the first age, is described by these precious stones; "the day that she was created" signifies the first state when they were regenerated, for "creation" in the Word denotes regeneration, or the new creation of man.

Like things are signified by the precious stones in John:

The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with every precious stone. The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, chalcedony; the fourth, emerald; the fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, topaz; the tenth, chrysoprase; the eleventh, jacinth; the twelfth, amethyst (Rev. 21:19, 20).

The subject here treated of is the holy Jerusalem coming down out of heaven, by which is meant a new church among the nations, after the present church in our European world has been vastated; the precious stones which are the foundations denote truths Divine shining through in the ultimate of order.

Truth Divine shining through in the ultimate of order, which is the Word in the letter, is especially signified by the "sapphire," as in Isaiah:

O thou afflicted, and tossed with tempests, and not comforted, behold I will set thy stones with antimony, and lay thy foundations in sapphires (Isa. 54:11).

Here also the subject treated of is the church that will succeed the former, which is meant by "the desolate having more sons than the married one" (verse 1); "setting stones" denotes arranging the truths of the church; "foundations in sapphires" denotes truths shining through in ultimates.

The same is signified by "sapphire" in Jeremiah:

Her Nazirites were whiter than snow, they were whiter than milk, their bones were redder than pearls, their polish was sapphire (Lam. 4:7).

In the representative sense "the Nazirites" signified the Lord as to the Divine natural, consequently also the Divine truth that proceeds from Him in ultimates, which is the Word in the sense of the letter; for the hair, which is here meant by the "Nazirites," and which is said to be "whiter than snow and whiter than milk," signifies truth in ultimates, "whiteness" being predicated of truth; the "bones that are red" denote memory-truths, which are the ultimate ones, and serve the others as servants; "redness" is predicated of the good of love which is in the truths. From this it is evident that a "sapphire" denotes truth in ultimates translucent from internal truths.

In Ezekiel:

Above the expanse that was over the head of the cherubs was the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone; and upon the likeness of the throne as it were the appearance of a man sitting upon it (Ezek. 1:26; 10:1).

"Cherubs" denote the guard and providence of the Lord lest there should be any approach to Him except through good; "the throne upon which was the appearance of a man" denotes Divine truth from the Divine good of the Lord. From this it is plain that "a sapphire stone" denotes truth translucent from internal truths-namely, a "stone" denotes truth, and a "sapphire" translucence.

That all things of the Word are translucent from the Lord, is because the Divine truth which is from the Lord is the one only thing from which are all things; for that which is first is the one only thing in the sequents and derivatives, because they are and come forth from it; and Divine truth is the Lord. Wherefore also in the supreme sense of the Word nothing is treated of but the Lord alone, His love, His providence, His kingdom in the heavens and on earth, and especially the glorification of His Human.

That Divine truth is the Lord Himself, is evident from the fact that whatever proceeds from anyone is himself, just as that which proceeds from a man while speaking or acting is from his will and understanding. The will and understanding make the man's life, thus the man himself. For man is not man from the form of the face and the body, but from the understanding of truth, and the will of good. From this it can be seen that that which proceeds from the Lord is the Lord; that this is Divine truth.

But he who does not know the arcana of heaven may suppose that the case with the Divine truth that proceeds from the Lord is no different from that of the speech which proceeds from a man. But Divine truth is not speech; but is the Divine filling the heavens, just as light and heat from the sun fill the world.

This may be illustrated by the spheres that proceed from the angels in heaven, and which are spheres of the truth of faith and good of love from the Lord. But the Divine sphere which proceeds from the Lord and is called "Divine Truth," is universal, and as just said fills the whole heaven and makes everything of life there. It appears there before the eyes as light which illumines not only the sight, but also the minds. It is also the same that makes the understanding in man. This is meant in John:

In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. That was the true Light which lighteth every man that cometh into the world; and the world was made through Him (John 1:4, 9-10).

The subject here treated of is the Divine truth, which is called "the Word."  It is said that the Divine truth, or the Word, is the Lord Himself.

This light, which is the Divine truth that proceeds from the Lord, was pictured by the ancients with radiant circles of a golden color around the head and body of God, represented as a man, for the ancients perceived God no otherwise than under the human form.

When a man is in good, and from good in truths, he is then raised into this Divine light, and into its interior light according to the amount and quality of his good. From this he has a general enlightenment, in which from the Lord he sees innumerable truths, which he perceives from good, and then he is led by the Lord to perceive and be imbued with those truths which are suited to him, and this in respect to the veriest singulars in order, just as is conducive to his eternal life. It is said "in respect to the veriest singulars," because the universal providence of the Lord is universal because it is in the veriest singulars, for singulars taken together are called "universal".

(Arcana Coelestia 9407)

The Divine and The Human in the Lord

Selection from Apocalypse Explained ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

And I saw, and behold a Lamb standing on the Mount Zion, and with Him a hundred forty-four thousand having the name of His Father written upon their foreheads. (Revelation 14:1)

One who does not know what the Word is in the sense of the letter might think that when "God and the Lamb" are mentioned, and here "the Lamb and the Father," two are meant, and yet the Lord alone is meant by the two.

It is the same in the Word of the Old Testament, where mention is made of "Jehovah," "the Lord Jehovih," "Jehovah of Hosts," "Lord," "Jehovah God," "God" in the plural and in the singular, "the God of Israel," "the Holy one of Israel," "the King of Israel," "Creator," "Savior," "Redeemer," "Shaddai," "Rock," and so on, and yet by all these names only one is meant, and not many; for the Lord is named variously according to His Divine attributes.

So again, in the Word of the New Testament, where "Father," "Son," and "Holy Spirit," are mentioned as three; and yet by these three names one only is meant:
• "Father" means the Lord as to the Divine Itself which He had as the soul from the Father
• "the Son" means the Divine Human
• "the Holy Spirit" the Divine proceeding
thus the three are one, the same as "the Lamb" and "the Father" are here.

That when the Lord mentioned the Father, He meant the Divine in Himself, and thus Himself, can be seen from many passages in the Word of both Testaments, but I will here quote a few from the Word of the Gospels, from which it can be seen that by "the Father" the Lord meant the Divine in Himself, which was in Him as the soul is in the body; and that when He mentioned the Father and Himself as two, He meant Himself by both, for the soul and the body are one, the soul belonging to its body, and the body to its soul. That the Divine which is called "the Father" was the Divine Itself of the Lord from which His Human existed and from which it was made Divine is clearly evident from His conception from the Divine Itself. In Matthew:

The angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, Fear not to take unto thee Mary thy bride, for that which is begotten in her is of the Holy Spirit. And Joseph knew her not until she had brought forth her firstborn Son (1:20, 25).

And in Luke:

The angel said to Mary, Behold, thou shalt conceive in the womb and bring forth a Son, and shalt call His name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Most High. But Mary said unto the angel, How shall this be, since I know not a man? And the angel answered and said, The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee, and the power of the Most High shall overshadow thee; therefore that Holy Thing that shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God (1:31, 32, 34, 35).

From this it is evident that the Lord, from conception, is Jehovah God; and to be Jehovah God from conception is to be so as to the life itself, which is called the soul from the Father, from which the body has life. From this it is clearly evident that it is the Lord's Human that is called the Son of God, for it is said "the Holy Thing that shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God."

That it is the Lord's Human that is called "the Son of God" can be seen further from the Word of both the Old and New Testaments in many passages. ... here only such passages will be quoted as testify that by "the Father" the Lord meant the Divine in Himself, thus Himself, as follows. In John:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and God was the Word. All things were made by Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, the glory as of the only-begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth (1:1, 2, 14).

Evidently "the Word" means the Lord as to the Divine Human, for it is said that "the Word became flesh, and we saw His glory, the glory as of the only-begotten of the Father." It is also evident that the Lord is God, even as to the Human, that is, that the Lord's Human is also Divine, for it is said, "the Word was with God, and God was the Word;" and this Word became flesh. "The Word" means the Lord as to Divine truth.

In the same:

My Father worketh even until now, therefore also I work. But the Jews sought to kill Him, because He said that God was His own Father, making Himself equal with God. But Jesus answered and said, The Son can do nothing of Himself except what He seeth the Father doing; for whatever things He doeth these also the Son doeth in like manner. As the Father raiseth up the dead and quickeneth them, even so the Son quickeneth whom He will. He that honoreth not the Son honoreth not the Father which sent Him. Verily, verily, I say unto you that the hour is coming when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God; and they that hear shall live. As the Father hath life in Himself so also gave He to the Son to have life in Himself (John 5:17-27).

That "the Father" means here the Divine in the Lord, which was His life, as the soul of the father is in every man, and that "the Son" means the Human, which lived from the Divine Itself which was in Him, and thus became Divine, consequently that Father and Son are one, is evident from these words of the Lord, namely, that "the Son doeth like things as the Father," that the Son like the Father "raiseth up the dead and quickeneth them," that the Son like the Father "hath life in Himself," and that "they that hear the voice of the Son shall live;" from all which it is clearly evident that the Father and the Son are one as soul and body are; as well as from the fact that "the Jews sought to kill Him because He said that God was His own Father, making Himself equal with God."

In the same:

All that which the Father giveth to Me shall come unto Me. Everyone that hath heard from the Father and hath learned, cometh unto Me. Not that anyone hath seen the Father save He who is with the Father, He seeth the Father. I am the living bread which came down out of heaven. As the living Father hath sent Me I also live by the Father (John 6:37, seq.).

Here the Lord says of His Human that it came down out of heaven, and that everyone has life through Him, because the Father and He are one; and that the life of the Father is in Him, as the soul from a father is in the son.

In the same:

To my sheep I give eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall anyone pluck them out of My Father's hand. I and the Father are one. And the Jews were indignant that He made Himself God. He said, Say ye of Him whom the Father hath sanctified and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest, because I said I am the Son of God? If I do not the works of My Father believe Me not; but if I do, believe the works, that ye may know and believe that the Father is in Me and I in the Father (John 10:28-38)

Here the Lord speaks of the Father as of another, saying, "No one shall pluck the sheep out of my Father's hand," also, "If I do not the works of My Father believe Me not, but if I do, believe the works;" and yet that they might not believe that the Father and He were two He saith, "The Father and I are one;" and that they might not believe that they were one merely by love, He adds, "that ye may know and believe that the Father is in Me and I in the Father." From this it is clear that by "the Father" the Lord meant Himself, or the Divine in Himself from conception; and that by "the Son whom the Father sent" He meant His Human, for this was sent into the world by being conceived of God the Father and born of a virgin.

In the same:

Jesus cried out and said, He that believeth in Me believeth not in Me but in Him that sent Me, and He that seeth Me seeth Him that sent Me. I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth in Me may not abide in darkness (John 12:44-46).

From this also it is clear that by "the Father" the Lord meant Himself, and by "the Son whom the Father sent" His Divine Human, for He says, "He that seeth Me seeth Him that sent Me," also "he that believeth in Me believeth not in Me but in Him that sent Me;" and yet He says that they are to believe in Him (verse 36, and elsewhere).

In the same:

Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He came forth from God and returned to God, said, He that receiveth Me receiveth Him that sent Me (John 13:3, 20).

As the Father and He were one, and the Lord's Human was Divine from the Divine in Himself, therefore all things of the Father were His, which is meant by "the Father had given all things into His hands;" and because they were one He says, "He that receiveth Me receiveth Him that sent Me;" "Coming forth from the Father and returning to the Father" means to be conceived and thus to exist from Him, and to be united to Him like the soul to the body.

In the same:

I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one cometh to the Father but through Me. If ye have known Me ye have known My Father also; and henceforth ye have known Him and have seen Him. Philip saith unto Him, Lord, show us the Father. Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you and thou dost not know Me, Philip? He that seeth Me seeth the Father; how sayest thou then, Show us the Father? Believest thou not that I am in the Father and the Father in Me? The Father that abideth in Me, He doeth the works. Believe Me, that I am in the Father and the Father in Me (John 14:6-11).

Here it is plainly declared that the Father and He are one, and that the union is like the union of soul and body; thus that it is such a union that he who seeth Him seeth the Father. This union is further confirmed in this chapter. And as the union was such, and as no one can approach the soul of man but only the man himself, the Lord says:

That they should go to Him and should ask the Father in His name, and that He would give to them (John 16:23, 24).

This union is also meant by:

He went forth from the Father and came into the world, and again He leaves the world and goeth to the Father (John 16:5, 10, 16, 17, 28.)

As the Father and He were one He also says:

All things whatsoever the Father hath are Mine, and therefore the Paraclete, which is the Holy Spirit, was to receive from the Lord what He should speak (John 16:13-15).

And elsewhere:

Father, Thou hast given Me authority over all flesh, that to everyone whom Thou hast given Me I may give eternal life. This is life eternal, that they may know Thee the only God, and Jesus Christ whom Thou hast sent. All Mine are Thine, and Thine are Mine (John 17:2, 3, 10).

Here, too, it is plainly declared that all things of the Father are the Lord's, as all things of the soul are man's; for man and the soul are one, as life and the subject of life are one. That even as to the Human the Lord is God is evident from these words of the Lord, "that they may know Thee the only God, and Jesus Christ whom Thou hast sent."

As "the Father" and "the Son of God" are one, the Lord says that: When He cometh to judgment He will come in the glory of His Father (Mark 8:38; Luke 9:26); And in His own glory (Matt. 25:31); And that He hath all authority in the heavens and on the earth (Matt. 28:18).

That "the Son of God" means the Lord's Divine Human is also made manifest in other passages in the Word; also in passages in the Old Testament. As in Isaiah:

Unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given, upon whose shoulder is the government; and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, God, Mighty, the Father of Eternity, Prince of Peace (9:6).

And in the same:

A virgin shall conceive and shall bear a Son, and His name shall be called God-with-us (Isa. 7:14).

Evidently "a Child born" and "a Son given" here mean the Lord as to the Divine Human. And that the Lord is God also as to it, thus that His Human is Divine, is clearly said, for it is said that "His name shall be called God," "God-with-us," "the Father of Eternity."

Many other passages besides these might be quoted to prove, that by "the Father" in the Word the Lord meant His Divine which was the life or soul of His Human, and not another separate from Himself. Nor indeed could He have meant any other. Thus the Divine and the Human in the Lord, according to the doctrine of the Christian world, are not two but one person, altogether like soul and body; as is declared in clear terms in the Athanasian Creed. And as God and Man in the Lord are not two but one Person, and thus are united like soul and body, it follows that the Divine which the Lord had from conception was what He called "the Father," and the Divine Human was what He called "the Son;" consequently that they were both Himself. From these things it can now be seen that "the name of the Father written on their foreheads" means the Lord as to His Divine.

(from Apocalypse Explained 852)

Doing Good From The Word

Selection from Apocalypse Explained ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

All things of the church are perverted when the good of charity, which is the good of life, is separated and removed from faith as not contributing and effecting anything to salvation. Thereby all things of the Word and thence all things of the church are falsified, for the Lord says that the law and the prophets hang on these two commandments,

To love God above all things, and the neighbor as thyself.

These two commandments signify to live and act according to the commandments of the Word; for to love is to will and to do, since what a man interiorly loves, that he wills, and what he wills that he does. "The law and the prophets" signify all things of the Word.

There are two principles of evil and falsity into which the church successively falls.

• One is dominion over all things of the church and of heaven, which dominion is meant in the Word by "Babel" or "Babylonia;" into this the church falls by reason of evil
• The other is the separation of faith from charity, in consequence of which separation all the good of life perishes; (this is meant in the Word by "Philistia," and is signified by "the he-goat" in Daniel, and by "the dragon" in Revelation; into this the church falls by reason of falsity.)

"The dragon" especially signifies the religion of faith separate from charity — some things whereby the defenders of faith separate seduce the world: —

They especially seduce by teaching that as from oneself no one can do good that is in itself good, or can do good without placing merit in it, so good works can contribute nothing to salvation; nevertheless, goods should be done on account of use for the public good, and these are the goods that are meant in the Word and thence in preachings, and in some of the prayers of the church.

How great an error this is shall now be told.

When a man does good from the Word, that is, because it is commanded by the Lord in the Word, he does it not from himself but from the Lord, for the Lord is the Word (John 1:1, 14), and the Lord is in those things that man has from the Word, as He teaches in these words in John:

He that keepeth My Word, I will come unto him and will make My abode with him (John 14:23).

This is why the Lord so often commands that His words and commandments must be done; and that those who do them shall have eternal life; so also that everyone will be judged according to his works. From this it then follows that those who do good from the Word do good from the Lord, and good from the Lord is truly good, and so far as it is from the Lord there is no merit in it.

That good from the Word, thus from the Lord, is truly good, is evident also from these words in Revelation:

I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hear My voice and open the door, I will come in to him and will sup with him and he with Me (Rev. 3:20).

This shows that the Lord is always and continually present and bestows the effort to do good, but that man must open the door, that is, must receive the Lord; and he receives Him when he does good from His Word. Although this appears to man to be done as of himself, yet it is not of man but of the Lord in him. It so appears to man because he has no other feeling than that he thinks from himself and acts from himself; and yet when he thinks and acts from the Word he does it as if of himself, therefore he then also believes that he does it of the Lord.

From this it can be seen that the good that a man does from the Word is spiritual good, and that this conjoins man to the Lord and to heaven.

But the good that a man does for the world's sake and for the sake of the communities in the world, which is called civil and moral good, conjoins him to the world and not to heaven.

Moreover, the conjunction of the truth of faith is with spiritual good, which is the good of charity towards the neighbor, because faith in itself is spiritual, and what is spiritual cannot be conjoined with any other good than what is equally spiritual. But civil and moral good, separate from spiritual good, is not good in itself, because it is from man; yea, so far as self and the world lie concealed in it, it is evil; this good, therefore, cannot be conjoined with faith, yea, if it were to be conjoined faith would be dissipated.

(from Apocalypse Explained 741:1-4)