240. But that "naked" signifies those who are without the understanding of truth because without the will of good, is evident from the passages in the Word where "naked" and "nakedness" occur, which will be cited below. This is what "naked" and "nakedness" signify, because "garments" signify truths that are of the understanding, and he that is without truths is also without good, for all spiritual good is procured by means of truths; without truths, or except by means of truths, there is no spiritual good; spiritual good is charity. "Naked" and "nakedness" signify lacking in, or the lack of, intelligence and love, thus of the understanding and will of good; also for the reason that garments cover the body and flesh, and "body" and "flesh" signify good, therefore "garments" signify the things that cover good.

[2] There is the understanding of truth, and the understanding of good; the understanding of truth is the understanding of such things as are of faith, and the understanding of good is the understanding of such things as are of love and charity. There is also the will of truth and the will of good; the will of truth is with those who are of the Lord's spiritual kingdom; but the will of good with those who are of His celestial kingdom. The latter, because they are in love to the Lord, and from this in mutual love, which is to them charity towards the neighbor, have truths inscribed on their hearts, and thence do them; and what proceeds out of the heart is out of the will of good, "heart" meaning the will of good. But those who are in love towards the neighbor, which love is charity, have truths inscribed not on their hearts but on the memory, and therefore on the intellectual mind, and what proceeds therefrom out of the affection is the will of truth. Thus it is that spiritual angels are distinguished from celestial angels. The latter appear naked in heaven, but the former clothed. Celestial angels appear naked because they have no need of the memory to retain truths, nor of understanding therefrom to comprehend them, because they have them inscribed on the heart, that is, on the love and will, and thence see them. But spiritual angels appear clothed because they have truths inscribed on the memory and thence on the understanding, and truths of the memory and of the understanding therefrom correspond to garments; they therefore all appear clothed according to their intelligence. (That angels are thus clothed, see in the work on Heaven and Hell 177-182.) From this it can be seen what "naked" signifies in both senses, namely, in the one sense it signifies those who are in celestial good, but in the other those who are not in good because not in truths.

[3] But these things can be better seen from the passages in the word where "naked" and "nakedness" occur, which now follow. In Isaiah:

Jehovah said to the prophet, Put off the sackcloth from upon thy loins, and put off thy shoe from upon thy foot. And he did so. Then Jehovah said, Like as My servant Isaiah hath gone naked and barefoot, so shall the king of Assyria lead the captivity of Egypt, and the crowd of Cush that is to be carried away, lads and old men, naked and barefoot, and with buttocks bare, the nakedness of Egypt (Isaiah 20:2-4).

What of the church and of heaven lies hidden in these words no one can see unless he knows their spiritual sense; for in every particular of the Word there is something of the church and of heaven, because the Word is spiritual; this shall therefore be explained. By "prophet" the doctrine of the church is here meant; "putting off the sackcloth from his loins," or presenting the loins naked, means to disclose filthy loves; the customary "sackcloth" of the prophet here means the breeches that cover, and "the loin" signify such loves; "putting off the shoe from upon his foot," or unshoeing the soles of the foot, signifies to disclose the filthy things of nature; that "the king of Assyria shall lead the captivity of Egypt, and the crowd of Cush that is to be carried away," means that the perverted rational will confirm evils and falsities by means of knowledges [scientifica] and by means of fallacies; "lads and old men" means by means of all things both general and particular; "naked and barefoot" means that they are deprived of all truth and all good; "buttocks bare" means the evils of self-love; "the nakedness of Egypt" means falsities therefrom. From this it is clear what things of the church and of heaven are here treated of, namely, that the perverted rational, which is the rational that denies God and attributes all things to nature, confirms itself by means of knowledges [scientifica] and fallacies, until it is destitute of all the understanding of truth and the will of good.

(That "prophet" in the Word means doctrine, see Arcana Coelestia, n. 2534, 7269;

That the "loins" signify loves in both senses, n. 3021, 4280, 5059;

That "feet" signify the natural things with man, and "the soles of the feet" the things that are in ultimates, n. 2162, 3147, 3761, 3986, 4280, 4938-4952;

That "shoes" signify these same things in respect to their covering, n. 1748, 2162, 4835, 6844;

That "the king of Assyria" signifies the rational in both senses, n. 119, 1186;

That "Egypt" signifies the faculty of knowing [scientificum] of the natural man, in both senses, good and bad, n. 1164, 1165, 1186, 1462, 5700, 5702, 6015, 6651, 6679, 6683, 6692, 7296, 9340, 9391.

That "Cush" signifies the fallacies of the senses, n. 1163, 1164, 1166)

[4] In Ezekiel:

When I passed by thee, and saw thee, I covered thy nakedness, and I washed thee, and I clothed thee. But thou didst trust in thy beauty and play the harlot, and thou hast not remembered the things ¹ of thy youth, when thou wast naked and bare; thou hast committed whoredom with the sons of Egypt, and with the sons of Asshur. And thou hast multiplied thy whoredom even unto Chaldea. Moreover, thy nakedness was revealed through thy whoredoms. Therefore they shall stone thee with stones, and shall cut thee in pieces with swords; and shall burn up thine houses with fire (Ezekiel 16:6).

Jerusalem is here treated of, by which the church in respect to doctrine is meant, and these and many other expressions in the same chapter describe what the church was in its beginning, and what it became when it turned away from good and from truth. What the church was when it was established by the Lord, thus what it was in the beginning, is described by these words, "When I passed by thee, and saw thee, I covered thy nakedness, I washed thee and clothed thee." "To cover the nakedness" signifies to remove the evils of the will and the falsities of the understanding; "to wash" signifies to purify from evils, and "to clothe" signifies to instruct in truths. But what the church became when it turned away from good and truth is described by what follows; "thou didst trust in thy beauty" signifies intelligence from one's own [ex proprio], and that this gave delight; "committing whoredom" signifies that thus it was imbued with falsities; "committing whoredom with the sons of Egypt, and with the sons of Asshur," signifies falsifications confirmed by knowledges [scientifica] and by things rational therefrom; "multiplying whoredom even unto Chaldea" signifies even to the profanation of truth. This shows what is signified by "Moreover thy nakedness was revealed through thy whoredoms," namely, that the church through falsities and falsifications was deprived of all the understanding of truth. "They shall stone thee with stones" signifies that the church will die through falsities; "they shall cut thee in pieces with swords" signifies that the church will utterly die through the falsifications of truth; and "they shall burn up thy houses with fire" signifies that it will wholly perish through infernal loves, "houses" meaning all things with man, and "fire" meaning infernal love. From this it is clear what is contained in these words relating to heaven and the church, and that this can be seen only from the spiritual sense. (That "to wash" signifies to purify from evils and falsities, see Arcana Coelestia 3147[1-10], 10237, 10240, 10243; that "to clothe" signifies to instruct in truths, n. 1073, 2576, 5248, 5319, 5954, 9212, 9216, 9952, 10536; that "beauty" signifies intelligence, n. 3080, 4985, 5199, here intelligence from one's own [ex proprio]. That "to commit whoredom" means to become imbued with falsities, see above, n. 141; that "Egypt" means the faculty of knowing [scientificum]; and "Asshur" the rational, see just above. That "Chaldea" is the profanation of truth, Arcana Coelestia 1182, 1283, 1295, 1304, 1306-1308, 1321, 1322, 1326; that "to stone with stones" signifies to die through falsities, n. 5156, 7456, 8575, 8799; that "sword" signifies falsity combating against truth and destroying it, n. 2799, 4499, 7102; therefore "to cut in pieces with swords" means to die utterly through falsifications of truth. That "fire" signifies infernal love, n. 1861, 5071, 6314, 6832, 7575, 10747; and that "house" signifies the whole man, and the things which are with him, thus that are of his understanding and will, n. 710, 2231, 2233, 2559, 3128, 3538, 4973, 5023, 6690, 7353, 7848, 7910, 7929, 9150. From this it is clear what is signified by "they shall burn up thy houses with fire.")

[5] In Hosea:

Strive with your mother, that she may put away her whoredoms and her adulteries; lest I strip her naked, and make her as the wilderness, as a land of dryness, and let her die with thirst; and on her sons I will not have compassion, because they are the sons of whoredoms (Hosea 2:2-4).

Here also the church fallen into falsities and evils is treated of; "the mother with whom they should strive" signifies the church; "whoredoms" and "adulteries" signify falsities and evils therefrom; "to make her as the wilderness, and as a land of dryness," signifies to be without good and truth; "to let her die with thirst" signifies a total lack of truth; "her sons whom I will not have compassion on" signify all the falsities thereof in general, and they are therefore called "sons of whoredoms." (That "mother" signifies the church, see Arcana Coelestia 289, 2691, 2717, 3703, 4257, 5581, 8897; that "wilderness" signifies where there is no good, because no truth, n. 2708, 4736, 7055; "a land of dryness" signifies where there is no truth, because "water" signifies the truth of faith, n. 2702, 3058, 5668, 8568, 10238; that "to cause to die with thirst" signifies to perish from the lack of truth, n. Arcana Coelestia 8568[1-10] end. That "sons" signify the affections of truth and truths in general, n. 2362, 3963, 6729, 6775, 6779, 9055; thus, in the opposite sense, the affections of falsity and falsities in general. From this it can be seen what is signified by "stripping her naked," namely, that the church will be without good and truth.)

[6] In Lamentations:

Jerusalem hath sinned a sin; therefore all that honored her hold her vile, because they have seen her nakedness (Lamentations 1:8).

In Ezekiel:

Oholah, which is Samaria, committed whoredom with the Egyptians and with the sons of Asshur; these uncovered her nakedness, they took her sons and daughters, and her they finally slew with the sword; therefore will I give thee into the hand of those whom thou hatest, that they may deal with thee in hatred, and take away all thy labor, and leave thee naked and bare, that the nakedness of thy whoredoms may be uncovered (Ezekiel 23:4, 8-10, 18, 28-29).

In this chapter Samaria, which is called "Oholah," and Jerusalem, which is called "Oholibah," are treated of, and by both the church is signified. "Samaria," where the sons of Israel were, signifies the church in which there are not truths but falsities, and "Jerusalem" the church where there are not goods but evils. What is signified by "committing whoredom with the Egyptians, and with the sons of Asshur," and by "slaying her daughters and sons with the sword," was explained above. From this it is clear that "leaving her naked and bare" signifies without truth and good.

[7] In Isaiah:

The Lord will make bald the crown of the head of the daughters of Zion, and Jehovah will make naked their buttocks (Isaiah 3:17).

"The daughters of Zion" signify the celestial church and the things of that church, but here that church perverted. "The crown of their head which shall be made bald" signifies intelligence of which the church shall be deprived; and "the buttocks which shall be made naked" signify the love of evil and falsity.

[8] In Nahum:

Woe to the city of bloods; it is all full of lies and rapine, because of the multitude of her whoredoms. I will uncover thy skirts upon thy faces; and will show the nations thy nakedness, and the kingdoms thy disgrace (Nahum 3:1, 4-5).

"The city of bloods" signifies the doctrine of falsity which offers violence to the good of charity.

[9] In Habakkuk:

Woe unto him that maketh his companion drink, also making him drunken; that thou mayest look on their nakednesses; drink thou also, that thy foreskin may be uncovered (Habakkuk 2:15-16).

"To make a companion drink, and drunken," signifies to so imbue one with falsities that he does not see the truth; "to look on nakednesses" means so that falsities which are of the understanding and evils which are of the will are seen; "that the foreskin may be uncovered" means so that filthy loves are seen. (That "to drink" is to be instructed in truths, see Arcana Coelestia 3069, 3772, 4017, 4018, 8562, 9412; in the contrary sense, therefore, it means to be imbued with falsities. That "to be made drunken" means to become insane from falsities, thus not to see truths, n. 1072; that "the foreskin" signifies corporeal and earthly loves, n. 4462, 7045) From this it can be seen what is signified by:

Noah's drinking wine and becoming drunken, so that he lay naked in the midst of his tent, and that Ham laughed at the nakedness of his father; but Shem and Japheth covered his nakedness, and turned away their faces that they might not see the nakedness of their father (Genesis 9:21-23).

(But these things may be seen explained in the Arcana Coelestia, where they are treated of.)

[10] In Lamentations:

O daughter of Edom, the cup shall pass over unto thee also; thou shalt be drunken, and shall be made naked (Lamentations 4:21).

Here, "being drunken and made naked" signify the like as above. (But who those are who are meant by "Edom," see Arcana Coelestia, n. 3322, 8314.) In Isaiah:

Daughter of Babylon and of Chaldea, sit upon the earth. Take the millstone, and grind meal; uncover thy locks, uncover the thigh, pass through the rivers. Thy nakedness shall be uncovered, yea, thy reproach shall be seen (Isaiah 47:1-3).

By "the daughter of Babylon and of Chaldea" those are meant who profane the goods and truths of the church. "To grind meal" means to falsify truths; "to uncover the locks and the thigh" means to be deprived of the intelligence of truth and of the will of good; the like is meant by "passing through the rivers," and "uncovering nakedness."

[11] Because "nakedness" signified the deprivation of the understanding of truth and of the will of good, it was commanded:

That Aaron and his sons should not ascend by steps upon the altar, that their nakedness be not discovered thereon (Exodus 20:26);

Also that they should make them linen breeches to cover the flesh of their nakedness, and that these should be upon them when they went in unto the tent of meeting, and when they came near to the altar, and that otherwise they should bear iniquity and die (Exodus 28:42-43).

From this it is clear what is signified by the words in the following verse of this chapter: "I counsel thee to buy of Me white garments, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness be not manifest." Also in the following passages of this book, of Revelation:

Blessed is he that is wakeful and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and his shame be seen (Revelation 16:15).

[12] Moreover, "the naked" in the Word mean those also who are not in truths and thence not in good, being ignorant of truths and yet longing for them. This is the case with those within the church when those who teach are in falsities, and with those outside of the church who do not have the Word and consequently do not know truths and thence know nothing about the Lord. Such are meant in the following passages.

In Isaiah:

Is not this the fast that I choose, To break bread to the hungry, and when thou seest the naked that thou cover him? (Isaiah 58:6-7).

In Ezekiel:

He giveth his bread to the hungry, and covereth the naked with a garment (Ezekiel 18:7);

and in Matthew:

I was naked, and ye clothed Me not (Matthew 25:43).

"To cover with a garment," and "to clothe," signify to instruct in truths. (That "garments" are truths, see above, n. 195. That "naked" signifies also the good of innocence, see Arcana Coelestia 165, 8375, 9960; and in the work on Heaven and Hell 179, 180, 280.)

Footnotes:

10237. 'For washing' means purification from evils and falsities. This is clear from the meaning of 'washing' as purification from evils and falsities, dealt with in 3147, 5954. Since purification from evils and falsities by means of the truths of faith is the subject in the internal sense of the verses that now follow, what the situation is with purification must be stated briefly. By 'washing' purification is meant, by 'water' the truths of faith are meant, and by 'the laver' containing the water the natural is meant; for all spiritual purification is accomplished within the natural. A person possesses an external and an internal; the external is called the natural and also the natural man, while the internal is called the spiritual and also the spiritual man. They are so called because the person's internal exists in the spiritual world, where spirits and angels are, while his external exists in the natural world, where people are. Both of them, the internal and the external, undergo purification; the internal does so in heaven, and the external in the world while the person is living there, thus within the natural which exists in the world.

[2] The reason why purification takes place within the natural at this time is that the truths of faith within the natural are clearly perceptible; for they exist there among known facts or things in the memory which are perceived clearly when they are brought to mind. It is different however with things that are thought about in the internal man. These do not come to be seen plainly while a person is in the world, because the ideas there are spiritual. This explains why purification is accomplished within the natural. The fact that it is accomplished by means of the truths of faith becomes clear from the consideration that those undergoing purification should not merely know what evil and falsity are but also acknowledge them to be such, and then turn away and flee from them. When this is done the person starts to be purified from them. Evils and falsities cannot be so known or acknowledged except within the natural through the truths of faith, for these teach what they are and so make them plain. The person who believes that he is purified from evils and falsities before seeing and acknowledging those present in himself is very much mistaken, see 8388, 8390ff.

[3] The reason for saying that a person may know his own evils and falsities through the truths of faith within the natural, that is, in the external man, but not in the internal, is that the ideas belonging to thought in the internal man are spiritual, and spiritual ideas cannot be grasped within the natural. This is because they are ideas in the understanding which are unconnected with objects such as exist in the material world. Nevertheless these ideas, that is to say, spiritual ones, which belong properly to the internal man, flow into natural ideas, which belong to the external man; they produce and fashion those natural ideas, doing so by means of correspondences. But more about spiritual ideas belonging to the internal man will in the Lord's Divine mercy be told in a description of heaven and of spirits and angels; ¹ for they use spiritual ideas for thinking and also for talking to one another.

10237a. 'And you shall put it between the tent of meeting and the altar' means in order that truth and good may be joined together. This is clear from the meaning of 'between the tent of meeting and the altar' as the joining together of truth and good, dealt with in 10001, 10025. The reason why the laver was to be placed between the tent of meeting and the altar, and why Aaron and his sons were to wash their hands and feet there, was in order that purification of the heart and regeneration, which essentially is the joining together of truth and good, might be represented. For truth and good joined together constitute heaven itself with a person. This also is why heaven is compared in the Word to a marriage. That joining together is accomplished by means of the truths of faith, because these teach people the way to lead their life; and therefore when they lead a life in accord with the truths of faith a joining together of truth and good is accomplished. For then truth is transformed into good through the life they lead. The life of truth is goodness. The same thing is meant by the reference to a person's being regenerated by 'water and the spirit', 'water' being the truth of faith, and 'the spirit' its life.

Regeneration is the joining together of truth and good, see 2063, 3155, 3158, 3607, 4353, 5365, 5376, 8516, 8517, 8772, 10067.

Footnotes:

10067. 'And sprinkle it over Aaron and over his garments' means a reciprocal uniting of Divine Good and Divine Truth within the Lord's Divine Human in the higher heavens. This is clear from the representation of 'Aaron' as the Lord in respect of Divine Good, dealt with in 9806, which is the Lord's Divine Good in the celestial kingdom, dealt with in 9946, or what amounts to the same thing, in the higher heavens; from the meaning of Aaron's 'garments' as a representative sign of the Lord's spiritual kingdom lying adjacent to His celestial kingdom, dealt with in 9814; and from the meaning of 'sprinkling over them' as uniting. For what was sprinkled or poured out over someone represented a uniting, as also previously with the blood sprinkled over the altar round about, 10064.

[2] The reason why the Lord's Divine Human in the heavens is what is meant is that the subject here and in what comes immediately after is the Lord's Divine [Being] in the heavens and His union with the angels there, so that the subject is the second state of the glorification of the Lord's Human, see 10057. So it is that here 'Aaron' represents the Lord in respect of Divine Good in the celestial kingdom and 'his garments' Divine Truth in the spiritual kingdom lying adjacent to the celestial kingdom; thus the Lord in respect of both in the higher heavens is represented. The reason why the Divine Human is what this Divine Good and Divine Truth come from is that nothing Divine is acknowledged and worshipped in the heavens other than the Lord's Divine Human; for the Divine [Being] which the Lord called His Father was the Divinity within Himself. The truth that in the heavens nothing Divine is acknowledged and worshipped other than the Lord's Divine Human becomes clear from the Lord's words recorded many times in the Gospels, such as the following,

All things have been delivered to Me by the Father. Matthew 11:27; Luke 10:22.

The Father has given all things into the hand of the Son. John 3:34-35.

The Father has given the Son power over all flesh. John 17:2.

Without Me you can do nothing. John 15:5.

Father, all Mine are Yours, and all Yours are Mine. John 17:10.

All power in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Matthew 28:18.

Jesus said to Peter, I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Matthew 16:19.

[3] The truth of all this is also evident from the consideration that no one can be joined through faith and love to the Divine [Being] Himself without the Divine Human; for it is impossible to form in the mind any idea of the Divine [Being] Himself, called the Father, because He is incomprehensible, and that of which it is impossible to have any mental picture forms no part of a person's belief nor thus of what he loves. Yet the most important of all the elements of worship is believing in God and loving Him above all else. That the Divine [Being] Himself, or the Father, is incomprehensible is also the Lord's teaching, in John,

Nobody has ever seen God; the only begotten Son who is in the bosom of the Father, He has made Him known. John 1:18.

In the same gospel,

You have never heard the Father's voice nor seen His shape. John 5:37.

[4] And that the Divine [Being] Himself, or the Father, is comprehensible within the Lord through His Divine Human is likewise His teaching, in John,

He who sees Me sees Him who sent Me. John 12:45.

In the same gospel,

If you know Me you know My Father also, and from now on you know Him and have seen Him. He who sees Me sees the Father. John 14:6-11.

And in Matthew,

All things have been delivered to Me by My Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and he to whom the Son wishes to reveal Him. Matthew 11:27; Luke 10:22.

The reason why it is also said that no one knows the Son except the Father is that 'the Son' is used to mean Divine Truth and 'the Father' Divine Good, each being within the Lord; and one cannot be known except from the other. That is why the Lord first says that all things have been delivered to Him by the Father, and afterwards that the Father is known to him to whom the Son wishes to reveal Him. For the meaning of 'the Son' as Divine Truth and of 'the Father' as Divine Good, each of which are the Lord's, see 2803, 2813, 3704, 7499, 8328, 8897, 9807.

From all this it is now evident that the Divine [Being] in the heavens is the Lord's Divine Human.

[5] Next it must be stated what was represented by the blood of the second lamb being sprinkled over the altar round about, and by some of the blood and some of the anointing oil being sprinkled over Aaron and over his garments. From what has been stated and shown above in 10064-10067 it is evident that the uniting of Divine Truth to Divine Good and of Divine Good to Divine Truth within the Lord's Divine Human were meant. But the arcanum that lies hidden within this has not yet been disclosed. The arcanum is that the uniting of Divine Good and Divine Truth, thus of the Divine [Being] Himself, called the Father, and Divine Truth or the Son, was reciprocal. The uniting of Divine Truth to Divine Good is meant by the sprinkling of the blood over the altar, 10064. These when they have been united are meant by the blood on the altar, some of which was to be taken, 10065, and by the anointing oil, which means Divine Good, 10066. Consequently the reciprocal uniting of Divine Truth and Divine Good within the Lord's Divine Human is meant by the sprinkling of that blood together with the anointing oil over Aaron and over his garments, as shown earlier on in this paragraph 10067.

[6] That the uniting was reciprocal is absolutely clear from the Lord's words in the following places: In John,

I and the Father ¹ are one. Even though ² you do not believe Me, believe the works, that you may know and believe that the Father is in Me, and I am in the Father. John 10:30, 38.

In the same gospel,

Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me? Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me. John 14:6-11.

In the same gospel,

Jesus said, Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You. All Mine are Yours, and all Yours are Mine. John 17:1, 10.

In the same gospel,

Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in Him. And God will glorify Him in Himself. John 13:31-32.

From these places it becomes clear that the Divine Good of Divine Love, which is the Father, has been united to Divine Truth, which is the Son, in a reciprocal manner within the Lord, and that consequently His Human is Divine Good. The like is also meant when the Lord says that He came from the Father, and has come into the world, and is going to the Father, John 16:27-29; that all things which are the Father's are His, John 16:15; and that the Father and He are one, John 10:30.

[7] But a better way to understand these matters may lie in considering the reciprocal joining together of goodness and truth with a person who is being regenerated by the Lord, for, as has been stated previously, the Lord regenerates people just as He glorified His Human, 10057. When the Lord regenerates a person He instills truth that will become the truth of faith in the understanding part of the person's mind and good that will become the good of love in the will part of it. There He joins the two together, and when they have been joined together the truth of faith derives its life from the good of love, and the good of love receives the specific quality of its life from the truth of faith. This joining together is accomplished in a reciprocal or mutual manner by good; it is called the heavenly marriage and constitutes heaven with the person. The Lord dwells in this heaven as that which is His, for all the good of love springs from Him, as does all the joining of truth to good. The Lord cannot dwell in anything that is the person's own, because that is evil.

[8] This mutual joining together is what is meant by the Lord's words in John,

On that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. John 14:20.

And in the same gospel,

All Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine, and I am glorified in them ... that they may all be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I am in You, and they may be one in Us. John 17:10, 21-22.

A mutual joining together is described in these words, yet they should not be taken to mean that a person joins himself to the Lord. Rather the Lord joins to Himself the person who abandons evils; for the abandonment of evils is left to the person's own responsibility, and when he abandons them the reciprocal joining together of the truth belonging to faith and the good belonging to love is effected by the Lord, and not at all by that person. For as is well known in the Church, a person left to himself cannot do anything good, and so left to himself cannot receive any truth in his good. This too the Lord affirms in John,

Abide in Me, and I in you. He who abides in Me, and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from Me you cannot do anything. John 15:4-5.

[9] Light may be cast on this mutual joining together by a person's understanding and will when joined together. His understanding is composed of truths and his will is composed of forms of good; the truths belong to the faith present in him and the forms of good to the love there. The person takes in the truths by hearing about them with his ears or reading about them with his eyes and stores them away in his memory. Those truths have to do either with circumstances involving public duties or with those involving private conduct; and they are called known facts. The person's love, which belongs to his will, employs the understanding to look at the facts stored away there and to choose from them those that are in accord with that love. It then draws and joins to itself those that are chosen, and uses them day by day to strengthen itself. The truths made living in this manner by love constitute the understanding part of the person's mind, while the actual forms of good belonging to his love constitute the will part of it. Those forms of the good of love are also like a fire burning there, while the truths which have been made living by the love and reside in the parts round about are like the light radiated from that fire. Gradually as the truths are kindled by that fire the desire is kindled in them for a mutual or reciprocal joining together. This leads to a mutual joining together that is everlasting.

[10] From all this it is clear that the good belonging to love is what effects the joining together and not the truth belonging to faith, except insofar as it has any of the good of love within it. Whether you say love or good it amounts to the same thing, for all good comes from love, and whatever comes from love is called good. Also whether you say love or the will, this too amounts to the same thing, for what a person loves, that he wills.

[11] It should be recognized that the things which have to do with circumstances involving public duties and private conduct, spoken of just above, join themselves together in the external man, whereas those which have to do with spiritual circumstances, spoken of previously, join themselves together in the internal man, and after that in the external man by way of the internal. For those that have to do with spiritual circumstances, namely those which are truths of faith and forms of the good of love to the Lord, and have regard to eternal life, link up with the heavens and open up the internal man. The extent to which this is opened, and the essential nature of that opening, is determined by the truths of faith - how many are received, and in what way they are received, within the good of love to the Lord and towards the neighbour, these loves being derived from the Lord. From this it is evident that thought remains on a merely external level in the case of those who fail to absorb the things which have to do with spiritual circumstances, and that it rises no higher than the level of the senses in the case of those who refuse to believe in their existence, however intelligent these people seem to be in what they say.

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