Shunning Evils as Sins Consciously

Selection from Apocalypse Explained ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

So far as man refrains from evils and shuns and turns away from them as sins, good flows in from the Lord. The good that flows in is the affection of knowing and understanding truths, and the affection of willing and doing goods. But man cannot refrain from evils by shunning and turning away from them of himself, for he himself is in evils from his birth, and thus from nature; and evils cannot of themselves shun evils, for this would be a like a man's shunning his own nature, which is impossible; consequently it must be the Lord, who is the Divine good and the Divine truth, who causes man to shun them. Nevertheless, man ought to shun evils as if of himself, for what a man does as if of himself becomes his and is appropriated to him as his own; while what he does not do as if of himself in no wise becomes his or is appropriated to him. What comes from the Lord to man must be received by man; and it cannot be received unless he is conscious of it, that is, as if of himself. This reciprocation is a necessity to reformation. This is why the ten commandments were given, and why it is commanded in them that man shall not worship other gods, shall not profane the name of God, shall not steal, shall not commit adultery, shall not kill, shall not covet the house, wife, or servants of others, thus that man shall refrain from doing these things by thinking, when the love of evil allures and incites, that they must not be done because they are sins against God, and in themselves are infernal. So far, therefore, as a man shuns these evils so far the love of truth and good enters from the Lord; and this love causes man to shun these evils, and at length to turn away from them as sins. And as the love of truth and good puts these evils to flight, it follows that man shuns them not from himself but from the Lord, since the love of truth and good is from the Lord. If a man shuns evils merely from a fear of hell they are withdrawn; but goods do not take their place; for as soon as the fear departs the evils return.

To man alone is it granted to think as if of himself about good and evil, that is, that good must be loved and done because it is Divine and remains to eternity, and that evil must be hated and not done because it is devilish and remains to eternity. To think thus is not granted to any beast. A beast can do good and shun evil, yet not of itself, but either from instinct or habit or fear, and never from the thought that such a thing is a good or an evil, thus not of itself. Consequently one who would have it believed that man shuns evils or does goods not as if of himself but from an imperceptible influx, or from the imputation of the Lord's merit, would also have it believed that man lives like a beast without thought of, or perception of, or the affection of truth and good. That this is so has been made clear to me from manifold experience in the spiritual world.

Every man after death is there prepared either for heaven or for hell.

From the man who is prepared for heaven evils are removed, and from the man who is prepared for hell goods are removed; and all such removals are effected as if by them. Likewise those who do evils are driven by punishments to reject them as if of themselves; but if they do not reject them as if of themselves the punishments are of no avail. By this it was made clear that those who hang down their hands, waiting for influx, or for the imputation of the Lord's merit, continue in the state of their evil, and hang down their hands forever.

Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees; 13and make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed.​ Hebrews 12:12, 13

To shun evils as sins is to shun the infernal societies that are in them, and man cannot shun these unless he repels them and turns away from them; and a man cannot turn away from them with repulsion unless he loves good and from that love does not will evil. For a man must either will evil or will good; and so far as he wills good he does not will evil; and it is granted him to will good when he makes the commandments of the Decalogue to be of his religion, and lives according to them.

Since man must refrain from evils as sins as if of himself, these Ten Commandments were inscribed by the Lord on two tables, and these were called a covenant; and this covenant was entered into in the same way as it is usual to enter into covenants between two, that is, one proposes and the other accepts, and the one who accepts consents. If he does not consent the covenant is not established. To consent to this covenant is to think, will, and do as if of oneself. Man's thinking to shun evil and to do good as if of himself is done not by man, but by the Lord. This is done by the Lord for the sake of reciprocation and consequent conjunction; for the Lord's Divine love is such that it wills that what is its own shall be man's, and as these things cannot be man's, because they are Divine, it makes them to be as if they were man's. In this way reciprocal conjunction is effected, that is, that man is in the Lord and the Lord in man, according to the words of the Lord Himself in John:

Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. (14:20)

for this would not be possible if there were not in the conjunction something belonging as it were to man. What man does as if of himself he does as if of his will, of his affection, of his freedom, consequently of his life. Unless these were present on man's part, as if they were his there could be no receptivity, because nothing reactive, thus no covenant and no conjunction; in fact, no ground whatever for the imputation that man had done evil or good or had believed truth or falsity, thus that there is from merit a hell for anyone because of evil works, or from grace a heaven for anyone because of good works.

He who refrains from thefts, understood in a broad sense, and even shuns them from any other cause than religion and for the sake of eternal life, is not cleansed of them; for in no other way can he open heaven. For it is through heaven that the Lord removes evils with man, as through heaven He removes the hells. For example, there are higher and lower managers of property, merchants, judges, officers of every kind, and workmen, who refrain from thefts, that is, from unlawful modes of gain and usury, and who shun these, but only to secure reputation and thus honor or gain, because of civil and moral laws, in a word, from some natural love or natural fear, thus from merely external constraints, and not from religion; but the interiors of such are full of thefts and robberies, and these burst forth when external constraints are removed from them, as takes place with everyone after death. Their sincerity and rectitude is nothing but a mask, a disguise, and a deceit.

So far then as the various kinds and species of thefts are removed, and the more they are removed, so far the kinds and species of good to which they by opposition correspond enter and occupy their place; and these have reference in general to what is sincere, right and just.

For when a man shuns and turns away from unlawful gains through fraud and craft he so far wills what is sincere, right, and just, and at length begins to love what is sincere because it is sincere, what is right because it is right, and what is just because it is just. He begins to love these things because they are from the Lord, and the love of the Lord is in them. For to love the Lord is not to love the Person, but to love the things that proceed from the Lord, for these are the Lord with man; thus it is to love sincerity itself, right itself, and justice itself. And as these are the Lord, so far as a man loves these, and thus acts from them, so far he acts from the Lord and so far the Lord removes insincerity and injustice as to the very intentions and volitions in which they have their roots, and always with less resistance and struggle, and therefore with less effort than in the first attempts.

Thus it is that man thinks from conscience and acts from integrity, not indeed the man of himself but as if of himself; for he then acknowledges from faith and also from perception. It indeed appears as if he thought and did these things from himself, and yet he does them not from himself but from the Lord.

(from Apocalypse Explained 971:2-5; 972:2; 973:2)

The Lord Alone is to be Worshiped

Selection from Arcana Coelestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

Take heed to thyself, lest perchance thou make a covenant with the inhabitant of the land upon which thou comest, lest perchance it become a snare in the midst of thee. Wherefore ye shall overturn their altars, and shall break their pillars, and shall cut down their groves. Wherefore thou shalt not bow thyself to another god; for Jehovah, whose name is Jealous, a jealous God is He. (Exodus 34:12-14)

• "Take heed to thyself, lest perchance thou make a covenant with the inhabitant of the land upon which thou comest," signifies that there must be no adherence to any religious persuasion whatever that has evil in it

• "lest perchance it become a snare in the midst of thee," signifies a consequent misleading in the Word itself

• "wherefore ye shall overturn their altars," signifies that the evil of such a religious persuasion and of the consequent worship must be rejected

• "and shall break their pillars," signifies that the falsities of evil must be dispersed

• "and shall cut down their groves," signifies that their teachings must be utterly rejected

• "wherefore thou shalt not bow thyself to another god," signifies that the Lord alone is to be worshiped from faith and love

• "for Jehovah, whose name is Jealous, a jealous God is He," signifies that if another is worshiped, Divine good and Divine truth will depart

Wherefore thou shalt not bow thyself to another god; for Jehovah, whose name is Jealous, a jealous God is He.  (Exodus 34:14)

Wherefore thou shalt not bow thyself to another god.

That this signifies that the Lord alone is to be worshiped from faith and love, is evident from the signification of "bowing one's self," as being to adore and to worship. That it is the Lord alone who is to be worshiped and no other is because by "Jehovah" and by "God" in the Word is meant the Lord (see at the places cited in n. 9315, 9373); and also because the Lord is the God of heaven and earth, and also the one only God (n. 9194). It is said that the Lord is to be worshiped "from faith and love," because the worship of the Lord is either from faith, or from love. Worship from faith is called worship according to truths, for truths belong to faith; and worship from love is called worship from good, for good is of love. Those who are in the Lord's spiritual kingdom worship Him from faith; and those who are in His celestial kingdom worship Him from love.

But something must here be said in regard to the worship of the Lord from faith and from love. Many suppose that they worship the Lord by faith when they believe the things of the doctrine of the church, and that they worship the Lord by love when they love Him. Yet the Lord is not worshiped by merely believing, and by merely loving, but by living according to His commandments, because these persons alone believe in the Lord and love Him. The others say that they believe in Him, and yet they do not believe; and they say that they love Him, and yet they do not love Him. The reason why those alone believe in the Lord and love Him who live according to His commandments is that the Lord is not in the understanding of truth without the willing of it; but is in the understanding of truth together with the willing of it. For truth does not enter into a man and become his, until the man wills it and from willing does it, because the will is the man himself, whereas the understanding is only so far the man as it partakes of the will.

Moreover, the Lord is present with a man in his truths which are from good, and the truths which are from good are those which the man wills, and from this does; but not those which he understands, and does without willing them; for to do without willing is hypocrisy, because it is done before men, and not before the Lord. Moreover, the Lord does not dwell with an empty man, that is, with a man who does not know his truths and do them. The Lord is present with a man in the truths which are from good, that is, which the man wills and does, for the truths which are from good make the church with a man, and make heaven with him; in a word, make the Lord Himself to be with him.

If a man reflects, he is able from reason alone to perceive that this is so; for he is able to know that a man's understanding is formed by means of truths, and all his will by means of goods, because all things in the universe bear relation to truth and to good, and man's understanding has been formed to receive truths, and his will to receive goods.

Truths which are believed are called "truths of faith;" and goods which affect with delight are called "goods of love."

From this it can be seen that such as are the truths of faith by means of which the understanding is formed, and such as are the goods of love by means of which the will is formed, such is the man; for man is man from the understanding and the will. If therefore his understanding has been formed by means of truths Divine, and these truths become of his faith; and if his will has been formed by means of goods which become of his love, it follows that then heaven is in the man, and that the Lord can dwell with him as in His heaven. For the Divine truths which make the understanding and the Divine goods which make the will are from the Lord, or are the Lord's, and the things that are the Lord's are Himself. From this it is evident that to believe in the Lord is to imbue one's understanding with the truths of faith; and that to love the Lord is to imbue one's will with the goods of love; and that this cannot be done except by learning truths from the Lord, by willing them, and by doing them. Whether you say willing and doing, or loving, it is the same, for that which a man loves, he wills; and that which he actually wills, he loves.

From all this it can now be seen what it is to worship the Lord from faith and love. That such is the case is also evident from the fact that the Lord wills the salvation of all. To will the salvation of man is to will to bring him unto Himself in heaven. This cannot be done unless the Lord is in him, and the Lord cannot possibly be in him except in such things in him as are from Himself, which things are truths from good, thus His commandments which the man does from faith and from love, because there are no other recipients in man of the Lord and of heaven, nor can be. Heaven itself consists of no other things.

That to believe in the Lord and to love Him is to do His commandments, the Lord also teaches in John:

If ye love Me, keep My commandments. He that hath My commandments, and doeth them, he it is that loveth Me. If a man love Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come unto him, and make Our abode with him. He that loveth Me not keepeth not My words (John 14:15, 21, 23-24).

Abide ye in My love. If ye keep My commandments, ye shall abide in My love. Ye are My friends if ye do whatsoever I command you (John 15:9, 10, 14).

For Jehovah, whose name is Jealous, a jealous God is He.

That this signifies that if another is worshiped, the Divine good and Divine truth will depart, is evident from the signification of "Jealous," as being one who does not suffer anyone but Himself to be loved and worshiped; and from the signification of the "name of Jehovah," as being everything by means of which the Lord is worshiped. And as this is the Divine truth that proceeds from His Divine Human, it is the Divine Human of the Lord which in the supreme sense is meant by the "name of Jehovah"; for the Divine truth is the Lord Himself in heaven, because that which proceeds from Him is Himself. From the Divine, nothing else can proceed than what is Divine, and the Divine is one. From this it is evident that by, "whose name is Jealous," is signified that the Lord does not suffer anyone but Himself to be worshiped, because from Him alone come all the truth and all the good whereby is salvation. The Lord is called "Jealous" because as soon as another is worshiped, all truth and good depart; for a man is conjoined with the Lord by means of the good and truth which are from Him; and therefore as soon as another is worshiped, disjunction takes place, and then falsity succeeds in the place of truth, and evil in the place of good.

That He is twice called "jealous" is because by "Jehovah" is meant the Divine good, and by "God" the Divine truth. (In the Word the Lord is called "Jehovah" where the Divine good is treated of, but "God" where the Divine truth is treated of.) And as both the Divine good and the Divine truth depart from a man when another than the Lord is worshiped, He is twice called "jealous."

It is said that the Lord alone is to be worshiped. He who does not know how the case is with the worship of the Lord, may believe that the Lord loves to be worshiped, and desires glory from man, just like a man, who in order to be honored himself, gives others what they ask for. He who so believes has no knowledge of what love is, and still less of what love Divine is.

Love Divine consists in desiring worship and glory, not for the sake of itself, but for the sake of man and his salvation; for he who worships the Lord and gives glory to the Lord is in humiliation; and what is his own departs from the man who is in humiliation; and insofar as this departs, so far the Divine is received; for what is man's own, because it is evil and false, is that which alone obstructs the Divine.

This is the glory of the Lord; and the worship of Him is for the sake of this end. Glory for the sake of self is from the love of self, and heavenly love differs from the love of self as heaven differs from hell, and infinitely more does the Divine love differ from it.

(from Arcana Coelestia 10645 - 10646)

What Universally Reigns

Selection from Arcana Coelestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

I am Jehovah thy God, who brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of servants.

Thou shalt have no other gods before My faces.

Thou shalt not make unto thee a graven image, nor any likeness of that which is in the heavens above, or that which is in the earth beneath, or that which is in the waters under the earth;

Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them; for I Jehovah thy God am a zealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the sons, upon the thirds and upon the fourths of them that hate Me; and doing mercy to thousands of them that love Me and keep My commandments.

Thou shalt not take the name of Jehovah thy God in vain; for Jehovah will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.  Exodus 20:2-7

Thou shalt have no other gods before My faces.

That this signifies that truths must not be thought of from any other source than the Lord, is evident from the signification of "gods," as being truths, and in the opposite sense as being falsities; and from the signification of "faces," when predicated of God, as being love, mercy, peace, good, thus the Lord Himself, for it is the Lord from whom these are. That "no other gods before My faces" signifies that truths must not be thought of from any other source than the Lord, is also because the Divine Human of the Lord, which is signified by "I am Jehovah thy God," is first spoken of, and consequently holds the first place in order, and must universally reign in each of the truths that follow; and therefore there are now perceived such things as must be avoided, because they would destroy and prevent the universal reign of the Lord in all and each of the truths contained in the commandments and statutes that were dictated and commanded from Mount Sinai.

The first thing which would destroy is the thinking of truths from some other source than the Lord, which is signified by the command to have no other gods before the Lord's faces. The rest of the things that would destroy this universal regnant are contained in the things which follow in order, namely, that they should not make to themselves a graven image, nor the likeness of anything that is in the heavens, in the earth, or in the waters, and that they should not bow down themselves to them nor serve them. After this therefore it again follows "for I am Jehovah thy God," by which is signified that the Lord must be in each and all things.

It must also be briefly told what is meant by truths which are from some other source than the Lord. They are in general those truths in which the Lord is not. The Lord is not in the truths with a man when the man denies Him and His Divine, and also when he acknowledges Him and still believes that good and truth are not from Him, but from himself, and who consequently claims righteousness for himself. Truths also in which the Lord is not are those which are taken from the Word, especially from the sense of its letter, and are explained in favor of self-rule and self-gain. In themselves these are truths, because they are from the Word; but in this case they are not truths, because they are wrongly explained and thus perverted. They are such as are meant by the Lord by these words in Matthew:

If anyone shall say, Lo, here is the Christ, or there; believe it not. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall give great signs and wonders; so as to lead into error, if possible, even the elect (Matt. 24:23-26).

And in Luke:

See that ye be not led astray; for many shall come in My name, saying, I am; and, The time is at hand; go ye not therefore after them (Luke 21:8).

The truths which are from the Lord are always truths from the Lord in the internal form; and the truths which are not from the Lord appear as truths in the external form only, but not in the internal form; for within they are either empty, or false, or evil. In order for truth to be truth there must be life in it; for truth without life is not the truth of faith with man; and life is from no other source than good, that is, through good from the Lord. If therefore the Lord is not in truth, it is truth without life, thus is not truth; but if falsity is in it, or evil, the truth itself in man is falsity or evil; for that which is within makes the essence, and also in the other life shines through the outside. From all this it can now be seen how it is to be understood that truths must not be thought of from any other source than the Lord.

As few know how the case is with truths which in the internal form are truths, thus which live from the Lord, something shall be said about these from experience. In the other life it is openly perceived from everyone who speaks there what lies hidden within the words of his speech, as whether it is closed within, or whether it is open, also what kind of affection there is therein. If the affection of good is within, it is inwardly soft; if the affection of evil, it is inwardly hard; and so on. With the angels of heaven all things of their speech are open even to the Lord, and this is both clearly perceived and also heard from the softness and the quality of this. From this also it is known what lies hidden within truths, whether the Lord or not.

Truths in which the Lord is are truths which are alive, but truths in which the Lord is not are truths which are not alive. Those which are alive are truths of faith from love to the Lord and from charity toward the neighbor. Those which are not alive are not truths, because within them there are the love of self and the love of the world.

In the other life spirits and angels can be discriminated by this, for everyone has truths according to his life, that is, according to that which universally reigns with him.

Thou shalt not make unto thee a graven image.

That this signifies not from self-intelligence, is evident from the signification of "a graven image," as being that which is not from the Lord, but from what is man's own. That which is man's own of his intellect is signified by "a graven image," and that which is man's own of his will is signified by "a molten image." To have either the one or the other for a god, or to adore it, is to love above all things all that which proceeds from self. They who do this entirely disbelieve that anything of intelligence and wisdom flows in from the Divine, for they attribute all things to themselves; everything else that happens to them they ascribe either to fortune or to chance. They totally deny the Divine Providence in such things. They suppose that if there is anything of Deity present, it is in the order of nature, to which they ascribe all things. They do indeed say with their lips that some Creator God has impressed such things upon nature; but still in their heart they deny any God above nature. Much are they who from the heart attribute everything to themselves and to their own sagacity and intelligence, and nothing to the Divine; and those of them who love themselves, adore what belongs to themselves and also desire to be worshiped by others, even as gods, and would do so openly if the church did not forbid. These are the formers of graven images, and the graven images themselves are what they hatch from their own, and wish to be adored as things divine.

That these things are signified in the Word by "graven images," is evident from the passages where they are mentioned, as in Jeremiah:

Every man is become a fool from knowledge; every founder is put to shame by his graven image; for his molten image is a lie, and there is no breath in them (Jer. 10:14; 51:17)

as by "a graven image" is signified that which does not proceed from the Lord, but from self-intelligence, therefore it is said, "Every man is become a fool from knowledge, and every founder is put to shame by his graven image;" and as in those things which are hatched from self-intelligence there is nothing of spiritual life, which is solely from the Lord, therefore it is also said, "and there is no breath in them."

In Habakkuk:

What profiteth the graven image that the maker thereof hath graven it, the molten image, and the teacher of a lie, because the maker of his invention trusteth upon this, when he maketh dumb gods? there is no breath in the midst of it (Hab. 2:18, 19)

here the "graven image" denotes those things which are hatched from self-intelligence, wherein there is nothing of life from the Lord.

In Jeremiah:

A drought is upon her waters, and they shall be dried up; for it is a land of graven images, and they glory in horrors; therefore the ziim dwell with the iim, and the daughters of the owl dwell therein (Jer. 1:38. 39)

speaking of Chaldea and Babel; "a drought upon the waters, and they shall be dried up," denotes truths wherein there is nothing of life; "the ziim, and the iim, and the daughters of the owl, dwell therein," denotes evils and falsities, thus those things which are of death within; from this it is that they are called "a land of graven images."

In Isaiah:

They that fashion a graven image are all of them vanity; and their most desirable things shall not profit; and they are witnesses to themselves, they see not nor know (Isa. 44:9-11)

"they that fashion a graven image," denotes those who hatch out doctrines which are not grounded in truths from the Word, but in self-intelligence, of which doctrines it is said that "their most desirable things do not profit," and that "they see not nor know." In what follows (verses 12-16 of that chapter) there is treated of the art of inventing and of hatching by reasonings from self-intelligence, things which they desire should be acknowledged as Divine, of which things it is thus finally said:

The residue thereof he maketh into a god, his graven image, he adoreth it, he boweth himself down, and yet they know not, neither do they understand; and their eyes do not see, that their hearts may not understand (Isa.44:17, 18)

that "they know not, and understand not, and see not" denotes that truths and goods are not within, for all things which go forth from self-intelligence are not inwardly truths and goods, but falsities and evils, because they proceed from one's own, and that this at its root is evil.

In the same:

To whom will ye liken God? and what image will ye compare with Him. The craftsman casteth the graven image, and the founder overlayeth it with gold, and casteth silver chains. He that is destitute of an oblation chooseth wood that will not rot; he seeketh him a wise craft man to prepare a graven image that shall not be shaken (Isa. 40:18-20)

"the graven cage which the craftsman casteth" denotes false doctrine which is from man's own; "the founder overlayeth it with gold, and casteth silver chains," denotes that through reasonings he makes the falsities of doctrine appear as truths.

In the same:

I Jehovah have called thee in righteousness, to open the blind eyes, to bring out the bound one from the prison, them that sit in darkness out of the prison-house. I am Jehovah, this is My name, and My glory will I not give to another, nor My praise to graven images (Isa. 42:6-8)

speaking of the Lord, that He is Jehovah, and that from Him is all wisdom, and nothing of it from man. That the Lord is here treated of is evident. That He is "Jehovah" here is also evident, for it is said that "Jehovah hath called Him in righteousness," and then, "I am Jehovah, this is My name, and My glory will I not give to another." That from Him is the wisdom that belongs to life, is signified by His "opening the blind eyes," and "bringing out the bound one from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison-house;" that nothing of wisdom is from man, is signified by "I will not give My praise to graven images."

By "graven images" are also signified the things of self-intelligence in the following passages:

And there cometh a chariot of a man, a pair of horsemen. And he answered and said, Babel is fallen; and all the graven images he hath broken into the earth (Isa. 21:9).

Then will ye judge unclean the covering of the graven images of their silver, and the clothing of the molten image of their gold; thou shalt scatter them as a menstruous cloth; it shall be called dung (Isa. 30:22).

Why have they provoked Me to anger by their graven images, by vanities of strangers? (Jer. 8:19).

They have called themselves, so they went for the sake of themselves; they sacrifice to the Baals, and burn incense to graven images (Hos. 11:2).

Cursed be the man that maketh a graven or molten image, an abomination to Jehovah, the work of the hands of the craftsman (Deut. 27:15).

Nor any likeness.

That this signifies a semblance of those things which are from the Divine, is evident from the signification of a "likeness," as being a semblance. That it denotes a semblance of those things which are from the Divine, is plain from what precedes and from what follows-from what precedes, that they shall have "no other gods before the faces of Jehovah God," and that they shall not "make to themselves a graven image," by which words are signified truths from another source than the Divine, and yet which are set forth like them; and from what follows, as "of that which is in the heavens, or which is in the earth, or which is in the waters," whereby are meant such things as are from the Divine everywhere.

It must here be told what is meant by a semblance of those things which are from the Divine, because these things are treated of in what follows of this verse and in the beginning of the following verse.

Semblances of those things which are from the Divine are made by men when they speak Divine things with the mouth, and also in act do such things as have been commanded by the Divine, and thus induce a belief that they are in good and truth, when yet at heart they think altogether otherwise, and will nothing but evil: such are dissemblers, hypocrites, and the deceitful, and these are they who make semblances of those things which are from the Divine. In the other life evil spirits make semblances of those things which are from the Divine, who set forth a likeness and appearance in outward things, within which there is nothing of the Divine. Dissemblers, hypocrites, and the deceitful learn to do this in the other life, and in general all who from frequent use have contracted the habit of speaking otherwise than they think, and of doing otherwise than they will. Some by such practices wish to get reputation, that they may seem to be good, and thus deceive; some that they may exercise command.

Moreover there, such things are abuses of correspondences. But the outward things whereby they have made a pretense of such things as are of charity and faith, are successively taken away from them; for in this way they act from their very nature that has been acquired in the world, and no more from any pretense or hypocrisy. They who are of this character, and who perceive that these external things are to be taken away from them, say that if these external things were left them, they would be able to live with their associates in the other life, and do what is good in appearance, just as formerly in the world. But this cannot be done, because by the externals which are apparently good they would communicate in some measure with heaven, that is, with those who are in the encompassing parts there and are simple, who correspond to the cuticles in the Grand Man; while by their internals they would communicate with the hells. And as the evils which are within rule, because they are of the will, and the goods that are made a pretense of in externals serve the evil as a means for acquiring dominion, therefore it is contrary to Divine order itself to leave them free to act with pretense and hypocrisy as in the world. Wherefore such things are taken away from them, and they are remitted into the very evil of their will.

Of that which is in the heavens above, or that which is in the earth beneath.

That this signifies of those things which are in spiritual light, or of those which are in natural light, is evident from the signification of "a likeness of those things which are in the heavens above," as being those things which appear and are seen in spiritual light, all of which bear relation to the good and truth which are of faith, of charity toward the neighbor, and of love to the Lord - to counterfeit and make a pretense of these things is to "make a likeness of the things which are in the heavens above;" and from the signification of "a likeness of those things which are in the earth beneath," as being those things which appear and are seen in natural light, which are such as bear relation to civil and moral good and truth-to counterfeit and make a pretense of these things is to make a likeness of those things which are in the earth beneath. In the sense of the letter are meant such things as appear in heaven, as the sun, the moon, the stars; and such things as appear on the earth, as animals of various kinds, both flying, walking, and creeping; but in the internal sense are meant such things as are signified by these, all of which bear relation to good and truth, as was said above.

These things are further described in Moses, in these words:

Lest ye make you a graven image in the shape of any likeness, the figure of male or of female, the figure of any beast that is on the earth, the figure of any winged bird that flieth under heaven, the figure of anything that creepeth on the earth, of a fish that is in the waters under the earth. And lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven, and look at the sun, and the moon, and the stars, all the army of the heavens, and thou be impelled, and bow thyself to them, and serve them. Take heed to yourselves, lest ye forget the covenant of Jehovah your God, which He made with you, and make you a graven image of any figure. For Jehovah thy God is a devouring fire, a zealous God. When ye shall beget sons, and sons' sons, and ye shall have grown old in the land, and shall corrupt yourselves, and make a graven image of any figure, I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that perishing ye shall quickly perish from off the land. Jehovah shall scatter you among the peoples, where ye shall serve gods, the work of a man's hands, wood and stone (Deut. 4:16-19; 23-28).

The reason why it was so severely forbidden to make a likeness of anything in the heavens and on the earth, was chiefly for the reason that that people, which was from Jacob, was very prone to worship external things. The cause was that they were not willing to know anything about the internal things of the church, which belong to faith and love to the Lord, and to charity toward the neighbor. Therefore if they had been allowed to make likenesses of things, they would then have bowed themselves to them and worshiped them as gods; as is very evident from the golden calf which they made for themselves in the midst of so many miracles, and also from their frequent apostasy from Divine worship to idolatrous worship. Nevertheless in the internal sense such things as these are not meant, but the things which have been set forth above.

Or of that which is in the waters under the earth.

That this signifies such things as are in the sensuous corporeal, is evident from the signification of "a likeness of those things which are in the waters under the earth," as being the things below those which are in natural light; and that these things are such as are in the sensuous corporeal is manifest from the successive degrees of the light that belongs to the intellectual in man.

• In the first degree in man are those things which are in spiritual light, which are signified by "those which are in the heavens above."

• In the second degree are those which are in natural light, which are signified by "those which are in the earth beneath."

• In the third degree are those which are in the sensuous corporeal, which are signified by "those which are in the waters under the earth."

To the sensuous corporeal bear relation those memory-knowledges which arise most immediately from the experience of the external senses and also of their delights. With the good these knowledges and their delights are good because they are applied to goods; but with the evil they are evil because they are applied to evils. To deceive by means of these, as dissemblers, hypocrites, and the deceitful are wont to do, is to "make a likeness of such things as are in the waters under the earth."

Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them.

That this signifies that no Divine worship is to be paid them, is evident from the signification of "bowing down oneself," as being humiliation; and from the signification of "serving," as being submission. That it denotes Divine worship, is because humiliation and submission are essentials of worship, for worship without them is not worship, but gesture in imitation of those who are in the truth of worship; in which gesture there is nothing of life, for life from the Lord flows in solely into a humble and submissive heart, because such a heart has been fitted to receive. That such is the case is because when the heart is truly humble, nothing of the love of self and of the love of the world stands in the way. That both expressions are used, is because "bowing down" signifies worship from the good of love, and "serving" signifies worship from the truth of faith.

For I Jehovah thy God.

That this signifies the Divine from the Lord in each and all things, is evident from what was unfolded above.

(from Arcana Coelestia 8867-8874)