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Arcana Coelestia #2572

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2572. 'Dwell in that which is good in your eyes' means His Being, present in everything where good exists, and in the proximate sense His Being, present in the good of doctrine. This becomes clear from the meaning of 'the eyes' as the understanding part of the mind, which is the recipient of doctrine, and from the meaning of 'dwelling' as living, 1293, here as Being (Esse) because what is said has reference to the Lord. This Being (Esse), present in everything where good exists, is the essential being within a complete knowledge of all Divine, celestial, spiritual, rational, and natural things. And the reason for this lies with Divine Love, for Divine Love holds within itself a complete knowledge of all those things, 2500.

[2] What is more, there is the good of doctrine and there is the truth of doctrine. The good of doctrine is love and charity, the truth of doctrine is faith. People with whom the good of doctrine resides, that is, love and charity, have with them the truth of doctrine, that is, faith. But it is one thing for good, that is, love and charity, to exist with a person, quite another for the good of doctrine to do so. Young children with whom love towards parents and charity towards other young children exist are moved by good but not by the good of doctrine, nor consequently by the truth of doctrine, or faith. The people with whom the good of doctrine exists are those who have been regenerated by means of the truths of faith. To the extent that good resides with them truths reside with them; that is, to the extent that love and charity reside with them so does faith, and therefore wisdom and intelligence.

[3] Because love to the Lord and mutual love resides with angels, so also does all truth and thus all wisdom and intelligence, not only in celestial and spiritual things but also in rational and natural. For by virtue of love, it being from the Lord, they are in touch with the very beginnings or sources of things, that is, with ends in view and causes. Seeing from beginnings, that is, from ends and causes, is seeing from heaven all things that are below, even those on earth. This is like - to use a comparison - someone in a watch-tower set on a high mountain. He is able to look around for many miles on the objects that are below, while those who are below, especially those down in a valley or in a forest, can hardly see the same number of paces away. So it is with those governed by the good of doctrine in comparison with those governed by the truth of doctrine separated from good. Although the latter imagine that they can see further than the former, they do not in fact see any good at all, nor any truth except very slightly and superficially, and even that is defiled by falsities.

[4] Even so, the wisdom and intelligence of angels is finite, and in comparison with the Lord's Divine Wisdom most finite, amounting to hardly anything. This may be recognized from the fact that the infinite and the finite cannot be measured one against the other, and yet communication from the Divine omnipotence is possible; also from the fact that the Lord is Good itself and Love itself, and is therefore the Essential Being (Esse) of good and the Essential Being (Esse) of love which resides with angels, and so the Essential Being (Esse) of their wisdom and intelligence. From this it may also be evident that the Lord is present in heaven and on earth in everything where good exists. People who imagine that the Lord is present in truth separated from good are very much mistaken, for He is present solely in good and from this in truth, that is, in love and charity, and from these in faith.

  
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Thanks to the Swedenborg Society for the permission to use this translation.

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Arcana Coelestia #9503

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9503. 'And you shall put into the ark the Testimony' means Divine Truth, which is the Lord in heaven. This is clear from the meaning of 'the ark' as heaven, dealt with above; and from the meaning of 'the Testimony' as Divine Truth, thus the Lord in heaven, dealt with below. The reason why Divine Truth is the Lord in heaven is that the Lord is Goodness itself and Truth itself, for both emanate from Him and He Himself composes what emanates from Him. So it is that the Lord is heaven, for Divine Truth which emanates from Him and is received by the angels makes heaven. Consequently the more perfect the manner in which angels receive Divine Truth that comes from the Lord and accordingly receive the Lord, the more perfect the human forms they possess. Eventually they become so perfect that their beauty surpasses belief; anyone who sees them, as I have done, will be dumbfounded. For in their outward form angels are manifestations of heavenly love and charity, and that is the truly human form. The reason why angels possess human forms is that the Divine in heaven is the Lord, and those who receive Divine Truth within good from Him are images of Him.

[2] As regards the meaning of 'the Testimony', a distinction is drawn in the Word between laws, statutes, judgements, commandments, testimonies, words, commands, truths, and covenants, as may be recognized from a number of places, especially in David's Psalms 119, where all these terms occur, testimonies doing so in verses 2, 14, 31, 46, 59, 88, 99, 111, 119, 125, 138, 144, 168. A like distinction occurs elsewhere in the same author,

The law of Jehovah is perfect, restoring the soul; the testimony of Jehovah is sure, making wise the simple; the commands of Jehovah are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of Jehovah is pure, enlightening the eyes; the judgements of Jehovah are truth, they are righteous altogether. Psalms 19:7-9.

The like occurs in Moses, at Deuteronomy 4:45; 6:17, 20; also in Jeremiah 44:23; and many times elsewhere. From all this it may be recognized that 'the Testimony' means Divine Truth, which testifies of the Lord, and so means the Word. For in the highest sense of the Word the only subject is the Lord, and this is why the internal sense testifies of Him, that is, contains teachings about Him and about the truths of faith and forms of the good of love which He is the source of. 'Testimony' is again used with this meaning in the Book of Revelation,

... those who had been killed on account of the Word of God and on account of the testimony which they had. Revelation 6:9.

And elsewhere,

They conquered the dragon by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony. Revelation 12:11.

'The blood of the Lamb' is Divine Truth emanating from the Lord, 7846, 7877, 9127, 9393, while 'the word of their testimony' is Divine Truth received by man. 'Testimony' is used with the same meaning at Revelation 12:17; 19:10.

[3] The fact that Divine Truth emanating from the Lord is called 'the Testimony' because it testifies of the Lord is clear from the Lord's own words in John,

He who comes from heaven is above all. What He has seen and heard, that He testifies. He who receives His testimony has set his seal [to this], that God is truthful. John 3:31-33.

In the same gospel,

I am One who testifies of Myself; and He, the Father, who sent Me testifies of Me. John 8:18.

In the same gospel,

Search the Scriptures; and it is they that testify of Me. John 5:39.

And in the same gospel,

The Paraclete, the Spirit of truth, He will testify of Me. John 15:26-27.

From all this it is clear that Divine Truth is called the Testimony because it testifies of the Lord. This Divine Truth is the Word, for as stated above, the only subject in the highest sense of the Word is the Lord; this is what makes the Word Divine and therefore what makes it holy. Furthermore the Ten Words or the Law which were declared from Mount Sinai, inscribed on two tablets [of stone], and stored in the ark, is what is here called the Testimony. For that Law means the Word or Divine Truth emanating from the Lord, in its entirety, see 9416. It is evident from the Lord's own words to Pilate that He is the One from whom Divine Truth comes,

Pilate said, Are you a king? Jesus answered, You say [it, because] I am a King. For this I was born, and for this I have come into the world, that I may bear testimony to the truth. John 18:37.

'A king' in the internal sense means Divine Truth, see 1672, 2015, 2069, 3009, 3670, 4581, 4966, 5044, 5068, 6148. This was why the Lord said, 'I am a King' and, 'For this I was born, that I may bear testimony to the truth', that is, that He Himself is Divine Truth. From all this it is now evident that 'the Testimony' in the ark means Divine Truth and so the Lord in heaven.

  
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Thanks to the Swedenborg Society for the permission to use this translation.