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Apocalypse Explained #241

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241. Verse 18. I counsel thee, signifies the means of reformation of those who are in the doctrine of faith alone. This is evident from what now follows, for the reformation of those who are in that doctrine is now treated of; therefore "I counsel thee" implies precepts as to how such must live that they may be reformed and thus saved.

  
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Thanks to the Swedenborg Foundation for their permission to use this translation.

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #6314

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6314. As it is with light, so it is with the heat that is vital to a person's existence. In no way at all does that vital heat originate in the heat radiated by the sun in the world; rather, it originates in spiritual heat, which is love and radiates from the Lord. This heat is what angels have. Consequently the amount of vital heat a person has is determined by the amount of love he has. His body however is warmed by worldly heat, as is his sensory awareness within it; yet vital heat flows into that worldly heat and imparts life to it. Differences in the purity and intensity of this heat are akin to variations in the clarity of the light. This vital heat is what one should understand by the holy fires mentioned in the Word, and therefore heavenly loves are meant by those fires. But in a contrary sense that worldly heat is what one should understand by the fires of hell, and therefore hellish loves and the desires that go with them are meant when these fires are mentioned in the Word.

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

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #4985

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4985. 'And Joseph was beautiful in form' means the good of life springing from this, 'and beautiful in appearance' means the truth of faith springing from it. This is clear from the meaning of 'beautiful in form and beautiful in appearance', for 'the form' is the essence of a thing, whereas 'the appearance' is the outward manifestation derived from it. And since good is the actual essence and truth is the outward manifestation springing from it, 'beautiful in form' means the good of life and 'beautiful in appearance' the truth of faith. For the good of life is a person's essential being (esse) since it resides in his will, while the truth of faith is the manifestation of it since it inhabits his understanding. Indeed whatever inhabits the understanding is a manifestation of something that originates in the will. The essential being (esse) constituting a person's life resides in the intentions of his will, and the manifestation (existere) of his life resides in the thoughts of his understanding. A person's understanding is nothing else than an unfolding of his will, also the imparting of a form to it that enables its true nature to be seen in an outward appearance.

[2] From this one may see where the beauty - the beauty of the interior man - comes from. That is, it comes from the good present in the will by way of the truth of faith. The truth of faith presents that beauty in an outward form, but the good in the will is the supplier of that beauty and the producer of the outward form. Here is the reason for the indescribable beauty of the angels of heaven, for each is so to speak love and charity embodied in a form. When therefore anyone sees them in their beauty his deepest feelings are stirred. For the good of love received from the Lord shines forth from them through the truth of faith, enters into him, and stirs those feelings within him. From this, as also in 3821, one may see what is meant in the internal sense by 'beautiful in form and beautiful in appearance.

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