8521. And it was like coriander seed, white. That this signifies the truth therein, that it was pure, is evident from the signification of “seed,” as being the truth of faith (see n. 255, 1940, 2048, 3038, 3310, 3373). It is said “like coriander seed,” because this is white; for “white” is predicated of truth, and truth is also represented as white (n. 3301, 3993, 4007, 5319). The good of truth, which is signified by “the manna,” is now described, both what the quality of the truth therein is, and what the quality of the good therein is. The quality of the truth is described by its being “like coriander seed, white,” and the quality of the good by “the taste of it being like that of a cake in honey.”

[2] The good of truth, which is the good with those who are of the Lord’s spiritual kingdom, is quite different from the good which is with those who are of the Lord’s celestial kingdom. The good of truth which is with those who are of the spiritual kingdom is implanted in the intellectual part, for there is formed by the Lord in this part a new will, which is that the man wills to do according to the truth that he has drawn from the teaching of his church; and when he wills and does this truth, it becomes with him good, and is called “spiritual good,” and also “the good of truth.” That this is really truth, he indeed believes, because he has faith from the teaching; but he has no perception whether it is true, unless he may seem to himself to have it from the fact that he has confirmed it with himself, partly from the sense of the letter of the Word, and partly from the fallacies of ideas that favor his received opinion; not considering that there is nothing which cannot be confirmed, even falsity itself, so as to appear like truth (n. 4741, 5033, 6865, 7012, 7680, 7950). Hence it is, that all of every faith believe their own dogmas to be true, even the Socinians, and also the Jews themselves.

[3] From all this it is evident what is the quality of the truth which is turned into good in the case of many who are of the church. None of these can see whether the teaching of their church is true, except those who are in the affection of truth for the sake of the uses of life. They who have this end in view are continually enlightened by the Lord, not only during their life in the world, but also afterward. These alone are they who can receive; for the Lord leads them by means of good, and by means of it gives them to see truth, and thus to believe. From all this it is evident what is the source and what the quality of the good with those who are of the Lord’s spiritual kingdom. But the good with those who are of the Lord’s celestial kingdom is not implanted in the intellectual part, but in the will part. They who are in this good know from internal perception, which is from the Lord, whether a thing is true. (On these two kinds of good, and the difference between them, see n. 2046, 2088, 2227, 2669, 2715, 2718, 3235, 3240, 3241, 3246, 4138, 4493, 5113, 6500, 6865, 7233, 7977, 7992)

2227. Abraham shall surely be for a nation great and numerous. That this signifies that all good and all the derivative truth will be from the Lord, is evident from the representation of Abraham, as being the Lord (often shown above), and also from the signification of a “nation,” as being good (explained n. 1159, 1258-1260, 1416, 1849); here a “nation great and numerous,” by which is signified good and the derivative truth. That “great” is predicated of good, and “numerous” of truth, appears from other places in the Word, but I must refrain from citing them here. The derivative truth, that is, truth from good, in the genuine sense is spiritual good. There are two kinds of good that are distinct from each other, namely, celestial good and spiritual good. Celestial good is that of love to the Lord, spiritual good is that of love toward the neighbor. From the former, or celestial good, comes the latter, or spiritual good; for no one can love the Lord unless he also loves his neighbor. In love to the Lord is love toward the neighbor; for love to the Lord is from the Lord, and thus is from love itself toward the universal human race. To be in love to the Lord is the same as to be in the Lord; and he who is in the Lord cannot be otherwise than in His love; which is toward the human race and thus toward the neighbor; thus is he in both kinds of good, celestial and spiritual. The former is the veriest good itself; but the latter is its truth, or the truth therefrom; which truth is spiritual good, as said. The former is what is signified by “great,” but the latter by “numerous.”