The Internal Sense of the Word

Selection from Arcana Coelestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

The internal sense of the Word - its veriest life - does not at all appear from the sense of the letter. But so many are its arcana that volumes would not suffice for the unfolding of them. A very few only are here [in the work Arcana Coelestia} set forth, and those such as may confirm the fact that regeneration is here treated of, and that this proceeds from the external man to the internal. It is thus that the angels perceive the Word. They know nothing at all of what is in the letter, not even the proximate meaning of a single word; still less do they know the names of the countries, cities, rivers, and persons, that occur so frequently in the historical and prophetical parts of the Word. They have an idea only of the things signified by the words and the names. Thus by Adam in paradise they perceive the Most Ancient Church, yet not that church, but the faith in the Lord of that church. By Noah they perceive the church that remained with the descendants of the Most Ancient Church, and that continued to the time of Abram. By Abraham they by no means perceive that individual, but a saving faith, which he represented; and so on. Thus they perceive spiritual and celestial things entirely apart from the words and names.

Certain ones were taken up to the first entrance court of heaven, when I was reading the Word, and from there conversed with me. They said they could not there understand one whit of any word or letter therein, but only what was signified in the nearest interior sense, which they declared to be so beautiful, in such order of sequence, and so affecting them, that they called it Glory.

There are in the Word, in general, four different styles.

The first is that of the Most Ancient Church. Their mode of expression was such that when they mentioned terrestrial and worldly things, they thought of the spiritual and celestial things which these represented. They therefore not only expressed themselves by representatives, but also formed these into a kind of historical series, in order to give them more life; and this was to them delightful in the very highest degree. This is the style of which Hannah prophesied, saying:

Speak what is high! high! Let what is ancient come out of your mouth (1 Sam. 2:3).

Such representatives are called in David, "Dark sayings of old" (Ps. 78:2-4) . These particulars concerning the creation, the garden of Eden, etc., down to the time of Abram, Moses had from the descendants of the Most Ancient Church.

The second style is historical, which is found in the books of Moses from the time of Abram onward, and in those of Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and the Kings. In these books the historical facts are just as they appear in the sense of the letter; and yet they all contain, in both general and particular, quite other things in the internal sense. ...

The third style is the prophetical one, which was born of that which was so highly venerated in the Most Ancient Church. This style however is not in connected and historical form like the most ancient style, but is broken, and is scarcely ever intelligible except in the internal sense, wherein are deepest arcana, which follow in beautiful connected order, and relate to the external and the internal man; to the many states of the church; to heaven itself; and in the inmost sense to the Lord.

The fourth style is that of the Psalms of David, which is intermediate between the prophetical style and that of common speech. The Lord is there treated of in the internal sense, under the person of David as a king.

(from Arcana Coelestia 64 - 66)

The Written Word

Selection from Arcana Coelestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

The Reasons Why the Lord Willed to be Born on Our Earth, and Not on Another

There are many reasons why it pleased the Lord to be born and to assume the Human on our earth, and not on any other, concerning which I have been informed from heaven.

The principal reason was for the sake of the Word, in that it could be written on our earth, and when written could then be published throughout the whole earth; and once published could be preserved for all posterity; and that thus it might be made manifest even to all in the other life that God had become a Man.

That the principal reason was for the sake of the Word, is because the Word is truth Divine itself, which teaches man that there is a God, that there is a heaven and a hell, and that there is a life after death; and which teaches besides how a man must live and believe in order that he may come into heaven, and thus be eternally happy. Without revelation, thus on this earth without the Word, all these things would have been utterly unknown; and yet man has been so created that in respect to his internal man he cannot die.

That the Word could be written on our earth, is because the art of writing has existed here from the most ancient time, first on wooden tablets, later on parchment, afterward on paper, and finally it could be published in print. This has been provided by the Lord for the sake of the Word.

That the Word could afterward be published throughout this whole earth, is because there is here an interaction of all nations, both by overland travel and by navigation, to all places on the globe. Therefore the Word once written could be carried from one nation to another, and could be everywhere taught. That there should be such an interaction has also been provided by the Lord for the sake of the Word.

That the Word once written could be preserved for all posterity, consequently for thousands and thousands of years, and that it has been so preserved, is known.

That thus it could be made manifest that God has become a Man, is because this is the first and most essential thing for the sake of which the Word was given; for no one can believe in and love a God whom he cannot comprehend under some form; and therefore those who acknowledge the incomprehensible, in their thought fall into nature, and thus believe in no God. Wherefore it pleased the Lord to be born here, and to make this manifest by the Word, not only in order that it might become known on this globe, but that by this means it might also be made manifest to all in the universe who come into heaven from any earth whatever; for in heaven there is a communication of all.

Be it known that the Word on our earth, given through heaven by the Lord, is the union of heaven and the world; to which end there is a correspondence of all things in the letter of the Word with Divine things in heaven; and that in its supreme and inmost sense the Word treats of the Lord, of His kingdom in the heavens and on earth, and of love and faith from Him and to Him, consequently of life from Him and in Him. Such things are presented to the angels in heaven, from whatever earth they come, when the Word of our earth is read and preached.

On every other earth truth Divine is made manifest orally through spirits and angels, as has been shown in the preceding chapters, where the inhabitants of the earths in this solar system have been treated of; but this takes place within families; for on most of the earths mankind live separate according to their families. Wherefore Divine truth thus revealed through spirits and angels is not conveyed far beyond the families; and unless a new revelation is constantly following, what has been revealed is either perverted or perishes. It is otherwise on our earth, where truth Divine, which is the Word, remains in its integrity forever.

Be it known that the Lord acknowledges and receives all, from whatever earth they may be, who acknowledge and worship God under a human form, for God under a human form is the Lord. And because the Lord appears to the inhabitants of the earths in an angelic form, which is the human form, therefore when spirits and angels from these earths hear from the spirits and angels of our earth that God is a Man in actuality, they receive this Word, acknowledge it, and rejoice that it is so (see n. 7173)

To the reasons already adduced may be added that the inhabitants, spirits, and angels of our earth bear relation in the Grand Man to the external and bodily sense, and the external and bodily sense is the ultimate, into which the interior things of life come to a close, and in which they rest as in their common receptacle. The case is similar with truth Divine in the letter, which is called "the Word," and which for this reason also has been given on this earth and not on another. And because the Lord is the Word, and is its first and its last, therefore in order that all things might come forth according to order, He also willed to be born on this earth, and to become the Word; according to these words in John:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and God was the Word. The same was in the beginning with God. All thing were made by Him; and without Him was not anything made that was made. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, the glory as of the Only-begotten of the Father. No man hath seen God at any time; the Only-begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He hath set Him forth (John 1:1-3, 14, 18)

"the Word" denotes the Divine truth. But this is a secret which will fall into the understanding of only a few.

That the inhabitants of other earths rejoice when they hear that God took on Himself the Human, and made it Divine, and that thus God is Man in actuality,

(from Arcana Coelestia 9350 - 9361)

When a Man is in The Loves of Self and of The World

Selection from Arcana Coelestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

All evils spring from the loves of self and of the world, and because all evils spring from them, so do all falsities; and on the other hand, from love to the Lord and love toward the neighbor spring all goods, and because all goods spring from them, so do all truths.

This being the case, it is evident that insofar as a man is in the loves of self and of the world, so far he is not in love toward the neighbor, still less in love to the Lord; for these are opposites.

It is also evident that insofar as a man is in the loves of self and of the world, so far he does not know what charity is, until at last he does not know that it exists; also that so far the man does not know what faith is, until at last he does not know that it is anything; and that so far the man does not know what conscience is, until at last he does not know that it exists; nay, that so far the man does not know what the spiritual is, nor what the life of heaven; and finally that he does not believe there is a heaven and a hell; consequently he does not believe that there is a life after death. These are the effects of the loves of self and of the world when they reign.

The good of heavenly love and the truth of its faith continually flow in from the Lord, but are not received where the loves of self and of the world reign; but on the contrary where these loves (the loves of self and of the world) reign, that is, are continually in the thought, are the end, are in the will, and make the life, the good and truth which flow in from the Lord are either rejected, or extinguished, or perverted.

With those with whom they are rejected, the good which is of love and the truth which is of faith are held in contempt, and also in aversion. With those with whom they are extinguished, the good of love and the truth of faith are denied, and the contrary evils and falsities are affirmed. But with those with whom they are perverted, the good of love and the truth of faith are misinterpreted and are applied to favor evil and its falsity.

The loves of self and of the world with man begin to reign when he comes to years of discretion and self-government; for then the man begins to think from himself or from his own, and to appropriate these loves to himself, and this the more as he confirms himself in a life of evil. Insofar as a man appropriates evils to himself, so far the Lord separates the good of innocence and charity which the man has received in infancy and childhood and at times afterward, and stores them up in his interiors; for the good of innocence and the good of charity can in no wise abide with the evils of these loves; and the Lord is not willing that they should perish.

They therefore who either pervert or extinguish or reject in themselves the good of love and the truth of faith, have no life in them; for the life which is from the Divine is to will good and believe truth. But they who do not will good but evil, nor believe truth but falsity, have what is contrary to life. This contrary to life is hell, and is called "death," and they are called "dead." That the life of love and faith is called "life," also "eternal life," and that they who have it in themselves are called "living men;" and that the contrary of life is called "death," also "eternal death," and such men "dead," is evident from many passages in the Word as in —

The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up. Matt. 4:16

And another of his disciples said unto him, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. But Jesus said unto him, Follow me; and let the dead bury their dead. Matt. 8:21, 22

Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire. And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire. Matt. 18:8, 9

And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments. ... And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life. Matt. 19:16, 17, 29

That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. ... He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him. John 3:15, 16, 36

Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live. John 5:24, 25

For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world. ... And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. ... Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life. I am that bread of life. ... This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. ... As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me. This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever. ... It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life. John 6:33, 35, 47, 48, 50, 51, 53, 57, 58, 63

Then said Jesus again unto them, I go my way, and ye shall seek me, and shall die in your sins: whither I go, ye cannot come. ... I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins. ... Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death. John 8:21, 24, 51

The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. John 10:10

Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this? John 11:25, 26

Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. ... Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also. John 14:6, 19

As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him. And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. John 17:2, 3

But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name. John 20:31

and elsewhere.

(from Arcana Coelestia 7488-7494)

The Forgiveness of Sins from Mercy

Selection from Arcana Coelestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

The Forgiveness of Sins

The sins done by a man are rooted in his very life, and make it; and therefore no one is liberated from them unless he receives new life from the Lord, which is effected by means of regeneration.

That from himself a man cannot do what is good or think what is true; but only from the Lord, is evident in John:

A man can do nothing except it be given him from heaven (John 3:27).

He that abideth in Me, and I in him, the same beareth much fruit; for without Me ye can do nothing (John 15:5).

From this it is evident that no one can withdraw anyone from sins, thus forgive them, save the Lord alone.

The Lord continually flows into man with the good of love and the truths of faith; but these are variously received; being received in one way by one person, and in a different way by another; by those who have been regenerated they are received well; but by those who do not suffer themselves to be regenerated they are received ill.

Those who have been regenerated are continually kept by the Lord in the good of faith and of love, and are then withheld from evils and falsities. And those who do not suffer themselves to be regenerated by the Lord are also withheld from evil and kept in good, for good and truth continually flow in from the Lord with every man; but the infernal loves in which they are, namely, the loves of self and of the world, stand in the way, and turn the influx of good into evil, and that of truth into falsity.

From all this it is evident what the Forgiveness of Sins is: —

To be able to be kept by the Lord in the good of love, and the truths of faith, and to be withheld from evils and falsities, is the Forgiveness of Sins. And to shun evil and falsity, and to feel aversion for them, is then Repentance. But these are possible only with those who, through regeneration, have received new life from the Lord; because these things belong to the new life.

The signs that sins have been forgiven are the following: —

Delight is felt in worshiping God for the sake of God; in being of service to the neighbor for the sake of the neighbor; thus in doing good for the sake of good, and in believing truth for the sake of truth. There is an unwillingness to merit by anything that belongs to charity and faith. Evils, such as enmities, hatreds, revenges, unmercifulness, adulteries, in a word, all things that are against God and against the neighbor, are shunned and are held in aversion.

But the signs that sins have not been forgiven are the following: —

God is not worshiped for the sake of God; and the neighbor is not served for the sake of the neighbor; thus good is not done and truth is not spoken for the sake of good and truth, but for the sake of self and the world. There is a desire to merit by our deeds; others are despised in comparison with ourselves; delight is felt in evils, such as enmities, hatred, revenge, cruelty, adulteries; and the holy things of the church are held in contempt, and are at heart denied.

When sins have been forgiven, they are believed to be wiped off, and washed away as dirt is with water. Nevertheless they remain in the man; and their being said to be "wiped off" is from the appearance when the man is withheld from them.

The Lord regenerates a man from Divine Mercy.

This is done from his infancy down to the last of his life in the world, and afterward to eternity. Thus it is from Divine Mercy that the Lord withdraws a man from evils and falsities, and leads him to the truths of faith and goods of love, and afterward keeps him in these. And after this, in Divine Mercy He raises him to Himself in heaven, and makes him happy. All this is what is meant by the Forgiveness of Sins from Mercy. They who believe that sins are forgiven in any other way, are quite mistaken; for it would be the absence of mercy to see a multitude of men in the hells, and not save them, if it could be done in any other way. And yet the Lord is mercy itself, and wills not the death of anyone, but that he may live.

Consequently those who do not suffer themselves to be regenerated, thus who do not suffer themselves to be withheld from evils and falsities, remove and cast away from themselves these mercies of the Lord. Therefore it is the man who is in fault if he cannot be saved.

This is what is meant in John:

As many as received Him, to them gave He power to be sons of God, to them that believe in His name; who were born, not of bloods, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God (John 1:12, 13)

"of bloods" denotes those who are opposed to the goods of faith and of charity; "of the will of the flesh" denotes those who are in evils from the loves of self and of the world; "of the will of man" denotes those who are in falsities thence derived; to be "born of God" denotes to be regenerated. That no one can come into heaven unless he is regenerated, is taught in the same:

Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born anew, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God (John 3:3, 5)

"to be born of water" denotes through the truth of faith; and "to be born of the spirit" denotes through the good of love. From all this it can now be seen who they are whose sins have been forgiven; and who they are whose sins have not been forgiven.

(from Arcana Coelestia 9443-9454)

A State Common to All Who are Being Regenerated

Selection from Arcana Coelestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

They suppose they do what is good and think what is true from themselves; and because they are as yet in great obscurity, the Lord also leaves them so to imagine. But still all the good they do and all the truth they think while in such imagination, is not the good and truth of faith. For whatever man produces of himself cannot be good, because it is from himself, that is, from a fountain which is impure and most unclean. From this impure and unclean fountain no good can ever go forth, for the man is always thinking of his own merit and righteousness; and some go so far as to despise others in comparison with themselves -

And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted. (Luke 18:9-14)

and others err in other ways.

Man's own cupidities intermingle themselves, so that while it appears outwardly to be good, it is inwardly filthy. For this reason the good which man does in this state is not the good of faith, and the case is the same with the truth that he thinks, for although that which he thinks may be very true, yet so long as it is from what is his own it is indeed in itself the truth of faith, but the good of faith is not in it; and all truth, in order to be the truth of faith, must have in it from the Lord the good of faith. Then for the first time there are good and truth.

(from Arcana Coelestia 874)

Truths From Some Other Source Than The Lord

Selection from Arcana Coelestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

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)

----

Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo here is the Christ, or there; believe it not, signifies an exhortation to beware of their doctrine. "The Christ" is the Lord as to Divine truth, and hence as to the Word and as to doctrine from the Word. That here the contrary is meant, namely, Divine truth falsified, or the doctrine of falsity is evident. ("Jesus" is Divine good, and "Christ" Divine truth)

For there shall arise false Christs and false prophets, signifies the falsities of that doctrine. That "false Christs" are doctrinal things from the Word falsified, or truths not Divine; and that "false prophets" are those who teach such falsities. In the Christian world they who teach falsities are especially those who have as their end their own pre-eminence, and the riches of the world; for they pervert the truths of the Word in their own favor; for when the love of self and of the world is the end, nothing else is thought of. These are "false Christs and false prophets."

And they shall give great signs and wonders, signifies things that confirm and persuade from external appearances and fallacies, by which the simple suffer themselves to be led astray.

To lead astray if possible even the elect, signifies those who are in the life of good and truth, and are consequently with the Lord. These are they who in the Word are called the "elect." In the company of those who veil over profane worship with what is holy, such are rarely seen; or if seen, they are not known; for the Lord hides them, and thus protects them. For before they have been confirmed they suffer themselves to be easily led away by external sanctities; but after they have been confirmed they remain steadfast, being kept by the Lord in the company of angels, without knowing it; and it is then impossible for them to be led astray by that wicked crew.

Behold, I have told you before signifies an exhortation to prudence, that is, to beware; for they are among false prophets, who appear in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravening wolves (Matt. 7:15). The "false prophets" are the sons of the age, who are more prudent in their generation (that is, more crafty) than the sons of light (as described in Luke 16:8). For which reason the Lord exhorts them in the words, "Behold I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves; be ye therefore prudent as serpents and simple as doves" (Matt. 10:16).

If therefore they shall say unto you, Behold He is in the desert, go not forth; Behold He is in the inner chambers, believe it not signifies that what they say about truth, and what they say about good, as well as many other things, are not to be believed. That this is what is signified, no one can see except the man who is acquainted with the internal sense. That a mystery is contained in these words may be known from the fact that the Lord spoke them, and that without any other sense more interiorly hidden the words amount to nothing - namely, that if they should say that the Christ was in the desert they were not to go forth; and if they should say that He was in the inner chambers, they were not to believe it. But it is vastated truth that is signified by the "desert;" and vastated good by the "inner chambers," or secret recesses. The reason why vastated truth is signified by the "desert," is that when the church is vastated (that is, when there is no longer any Divine truth in it, because there is no longer any good, or love to the Lord and charity toward the neighbor), it is then said to be a "desert," or to be in a "desert;" for by a "desert" or "wilderness" is meant whatever is not cultivated or inhabited; also whatever has little life, as is then the case with truth in the church. This shows that the "desert" here is a church in which there is no truth.

But the "inner chambers," or secret recesses, in the internal sense signify the church as to good, and also simply good. The church that is in good is called the "house of God." The "inner chambers," and the things within the house, are goods.

The reason why that which men say about truth, and what they say about good, is not to be believed, is that they call falsity truth, and evil good — for they who regard themselves and the world as their end, understand nothing else by truth and good than that they themselves are to be adored, and are to receive benefits; and if they breathe forth piety, it is that they may appear in sheep's clothing.

Moreover, as the Word spoken by the Lord contains innumerable things within it, and as "desert" or "wilderness" is a word of wide signification, for all that is called a "wilderness" which is not cultivated and inhabited, and all interior things are called "inner chambers," therefore by a "desert" is also signified the Word of the Old Testament, because this is regarded as abrogated; and by "inner chambers" the Word of the New Testament, because this teaches interior things, or those which concern the internal man.

So also the whole Word is called a "desert," because it no longer serves for doctrinal things; and human institutions are called "inner chambers," which, because they depart from the precepts and institutes of the Word, make the Word to be a "desert."

This is also known in the Christian world - for they who are in holy external and in profane internal worship, for the sake of innovations which look to their pre-eminence over all and their opulence above all as the ends in view, abrogate the Word, and this so far as not even to permit it to be read by others.

And although they who are not in such profane worship hold the Word to be holy, and permit it to be among the people, they nevertheless bend and explain all things therein in favor of their doctrinal matters, which causes the rest of what is in the Word, and which is not in accordance with their doctrinal matters, to be a "desert."

This may be sufficiently evident from the case of those who make salvation to consist in faith alone, and hold in contempt the works of charity.

All that the Lord Himself has spoken in the New Testament, and so many times in the Old, concerning love and charity, they make as a "desert;" and all the things that belong to faith without works, they make as "inner chambers." It is manifest from this what is signified by the words, "If they say unto you, Behold He is in the desert, go not forth; Behold He is in the inner chambers, believe it not."

For as the lightning cometh forth from the east, and appeareth even unto the west, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be signifies that it was with the internal worship of the Lord as with lightning, which is instantly dissipated. For by the "lightning" is signified that which is of heavenly light, and thus that which is preached about love and faith, because these are of heavenly light. In the supreme sense the "east" is the Lord; and in the internal sense, the good of love, of charity, and of faith from the Lord. But the "west" in the internal sense is that which has gone down or has ceased to be; thus it signifies no acknowledgment of the Lord, nor of the good of love, charity, and faith; and so the lightning that cometh out of the east and appeareth even unto the west denotes dissipation. The coming of the Lord is not according to the letter, that He is to appear again in the world; but it is His presence in everyone; and this exists whenever the gospel is preached and what is holy is thought of.

For wheresoever the carcass is, there will the eagles be gathered together signifies that confirmations of falsity by means of reasonings will be multiplied in the vastated church. When the church is without the good and consequently without the truth of faith (that is, when it has been vastated), it is said to be "dead," for its life is from good and truth; and hence when dead it is compared to a "carcass."

Reasonings concerning goods and truths that make these out to be nothing except insofar as they are apprehended, and confirmations of evil and falsity thereby, are the "eagles," as is evident from that which now follows. That the "carcass" here is the church devoid of the life of charity and faith, is manifest from the words of the Lord in Luke, where He speaks of the consummation of the age:

The disciples said, Where Lord? (that is, the consummation of the age, or the Last Judgment). And He said unto them, Where the body is, thither will the eagles also be gathered together (Luke 17:37).

"Body" here stands in place of "carcass," for it is a dead body that is meant, and it signifies the church - for that the Judgment was to commence from the house of God or from the church, is evident from various passages in the Word.

This is what is signified in the internal sense by the Lord's words now adduced and unfolded. That they are in a most beautiful series, although this does not appear in the sense of the letter, must be evident to anyone who contemplates them in their connection according to the explication.

(from Arcana Coelestia 3900)

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.

(from Arcana Coelestia 8868)

Man — His Own Truth and His Own Good

Selection from Arcana Coelestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh. Luke 6:45

Man is not man from his face, nor even from his speech, but from understanding and will; such as are his understanding and his will, such is the man.

It is known that when he is born he has nothing of understanding and nothing of will, and also that his understanding and his will are formed by degrees from infancy - from this a man becomes a man, and such a man as are the understanding and the will that have been formed in him. The understanding is formed by means of truths, and the will by means of goods, insomuch that his understanding is nothing else than a composition of such things as bear relation to truths, and his will is nothing else than the affection of such things as are called goods. From this it follows that a man is nothing but the truth and good from which his two faculties have been formed.

Each and all things of his body correspond to these, as can be seen from the fact that the body instantly does that which the understanding thinks and the will wills - for the mouth speaks in accordance with the thoughts, the face changes in accordance with the affections, and the body makes movements in accordance with the commands of both. From this it is evident that a man is wholly such as are his understanding and his will, thus such as he is in respect to truths and in respect to goods; for as before said, truths constitute his understanding, and goods his will; or what is the same, a man is his own truth and his own good.

That this is so appears openly with spirits - these are nothing else than their own truths and their own goods which they had put on when they lived in the world as men; and yet they are human forms. Consequently from their face shines forth the quality of the truths and goods which they have; and this is also perceived from the sound and disposition of their speech, and from their gestures, especially from their spoken words; for their spoken words are not such as are with men in the world, but are in perfect harmony with their truths and goods, so as to proceed from these quite naturally. In this speech are spirits and angels when they are conversing together, and in respect to his spirit, man is in a like speech during his life in this world, although he is then unaware of it; for he thinks from similar ideas, as has also been observed by some learned men who have called these ideas immaterial and intellectual. After death, when the man becomes a spirit, these ideas become words. From all this it is again evident that a man is not anything else than his own truth and his own good. Hence it is that after death a man remains such truth and good as he has become

It is said "such truth and good as he has become," and thereby is also meant such falsity and evil as he has become; for evil men call falsity truth and evil good. This is a secret which must by all means be known, in order that it may be known how the case is with Divine worship; but besides this there is one secret more, namely, that in every idea of thought proceeding from a man's will there is the whole man. This moreover follows from the former, for a man thinks from his truth and wills from his good, which are himself. That this is so can be seen from the following experience. When the angels perceive a single idea of a man, or a single idea of a spirit, they at once know the quality of the man or of the spirit.

These things have been said in order that it may be known how the case is with Divine worship ... namely, that the whole man is in each and all things of his worship, because his truth and good are there, which are himself. ...

From all this it also follows that it is the same whether you say that Divine worship consists of these truths and goods, or that man consists of them, because as before said the whole man is in every one of the ideas of his thought, which are of his worship.

(from Arcana Coelestia 10298)