182. (Verse 1) And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write. That this signifies those whose life is moral, but not spiritual, because they make light of the knowledges (cognitiones) of spiritual things, and thence of wisdom and intelligence, is evident from what is written to the angel of this church, viewed in the internal or spiritual sense; from which it is evident that the subject here treated of is those whose life is such because they make light of the knowledges (cognitiones) of spiritual things, and thence of intelligence and wisdom. But before unfolding the spiritual sense of the things that follow, it must be explained and shown what moral life and spiritual life are, also what moral from spiritual life is, and what moral life without spiritual.

[2] Moral life is to act well, sincerely, and justly, in the discharge of the various duties and occupations of life; in a word, it is the life which is seen by men, because lived amongst them. But this life has a two-fold origin, either the love of self and of the world, or love to God and love towards the neighbour. Moral life from the love of self and the world is not in itself moral life, although it appears to be such; for such a man acts well, sincerely and justly for the sake of himself and the world only, and to him, what is good, sincere and just, serve but as means to an end, that is, either that he may be raised above others and rule over them, or that he may gain wealth. He thinks in this way in his spirit, or when he is by himself in private; but he dare not openly avow what he thus thinks, because it would destroy the esteem which others have of him, and thus annul the means by which he desires to attain his ends.

From these considerations it is evident, that in the moral life of such a man there lurks nothing else but the desire of obtaining all things in preference to others, thus a desire that all others may serve him, or that he may possess their goods: it is evident from this that his moral life is not moral in itself; for if he obtained what he aimed at, he would enslave others and deprive them of their goods. And because all means savour of the end, and are, in their essence, such as are their ends, on which account they are also called intermediate ends, therefore such a life, regarded in itself, is nothing but craftiness and fraud. And this is clearly evident when those external bonds that unite society are loosened, as is the case with persons of this description when they are engaged in law-suits against their fellow citizens; they then desire nothing more than to pervert right, and to gain the favour of the judge or the grace of the king, and this secretly, in order that they may deprive others of their possessions; and when they succeed they are filled with inward delight. The same is still more evident in the conduct of kings who regard honour in wars and victories, the chief delight of their hearts being to subjugate provinces and kingdoms, and, where resistance is made, to despoil the subjugated of all their goods, and also of their life; this, in most instances, is the delight of those who go out to war.

The nature of the moral life treated of above is still more manifest in all such persons when they become spirits, which takes place immediately after the death of the body, when, because they think and act from their spirit, they rush into every kind of wickedness according to their love, however morally they may, in appearance, have lived in the world.

[3] But spiritual life is altogether of another quality, because it has a different origin, for it springs from love to God and love towards the neighbour; and therefore the moral life of those who are spiritual is also different, and is truly moral; for these, when they think in their spirit, which is the case when they are in private, do not think from self and the world but from the Lord and heaven; for the interiors of their mind, that is, of their thought and will, are actually raised up by the Lord into heaven, and are there conjoined to Him; thus the Lord flows-in into their thoughts, intentions and ends, and rules them, and withdraws them from their proprium, which is entirely derived from the love of self and of the world. The moral life of such persons is, in appearance, similar to that of those mentioned above, but still it is spiritual, for it has a spiritual origin, being only the effect of spiritual life, which is the efficient cause, and thus the origin of it; for they act well, sincerely and justly towards their fellow citizens from the fear of God and the love of the neighbour, in which the Lord keeps their minds and spirits; when, therefore, they become spirits, as is the case when their bodies die, they think and act intelligently and wisely, and are raised up into heaven. Of these it may be said, that all the good of love and all the truth of faith flow into them out of heaven, that is, through heaven from the Lord; but this cannot be said of those of whom we have spoken above, for their good is not the good of heaven, nor is their truth the truth of heaven, but it is the delight of the lusts of the flesh which they call good, and the falsity therefrom which they call truth, which flow into them from self and from the world. From these considerations the nature of moral life from spiritual life, and of moral life without spiritual can be known, that is, that moral life from spiritual life is truly moral life, which may be said to be spiritual, because its cause and origin is therefrom; but that moral life without spiritual life is not moral life, and may be said to be infernal, for so far as the love of self and of the world reigns in it, so far it is fraudulent and hypocritical.

[4] From what has been now said, a conclusion may be formed as to what the quality of a holy external is, by which is meant worship in churches, prayers and the gestures at the time, among those who are in the love of self and of the world, and yet apparently lead a moral life, namely, that nothing of those things is raised up to heaven and heard there, but that they flow forth from some thought of the external or natural man, and thus from their mouth into the world; for the interior thoughts of their spirit are full of craftiness and fraud against their neighbour, and yet elevation into heaven is always effected by means of the interiors. And moreover their worship in churches, and their prayers and gestures at such time, are either from habit and familiarity from infancy, or from a belief that such external things are all that is necessary to salvation, or from there being nothing for them to do on the feast days at home or out of doors, or from the fear of being thought by their fellows to be wanting in piety.

But the worship of those who live a moral life from a spiritual origin is altogether different, for it is truly the worship of God, because their prayers are raised up to heaven, and are there heard, for the Lord receives their prayers through heaven. (More may be seen upon these subjects in the work, Heaven and Hell 468, 484, 529, 530-534; and in the explanation above, n. 107.) These things are here premised, because the subject treated of in what is written to the angel of this church is those whose life is moral but not spiritual, because they lightly esteem the knowledges (cognitiones) of spiritual things.

167. And all [the churches] shall know that I am he who searcheth the reins and hearts. That this signifies the acknowledgment, on the part of all those who belong to the church, that the Lord alone knows and explores the exteriors and interiors and the things pertaining to faith and love is evident from the signification of searching, when said of the Lord, as being that He alone knows and explores; and from the signification of the reins, as being the truths of faith, and their purification from falsities, concerning which we shall speak in what follows; and from the signification of hearts, as being the goods of love. The reason why the heart signifies the good of love is, that there are two things that reign in man, from which all the life of his body is derived - the heart and the lungs. And because all things in a man's body correspond to all the things in his mind, and there are also two things that reign there, the will and the understanding, therefore these two kingdoms of the mind correspond to the two kingdoms of the body - the will to the heart and its pulse, and the understanding to the lungs and their respiration; without this correspondence the body could not live, nor even a particle of it. Because the heart corresponds to the will, it also corresponds to the good of love; and as the lungs correspond to the understanding, they also correspond to the truths of faith. It is from this correspondence that the heart signifies love, and the soul (anima) signifies faith; hence the expression "from the heart and soul" is so often used in the Word, by which is meant from the love and faith. (This correspondence is much treated of in Arcana Coelestia, where the following particulars may be seen more fully explained, namely, that the heart in the Word signifies love, and because it signifies love, that it also signifies the will, n. 2930, 3313, 7542, 8910, 9050, 9113, 10336. That the heart corresponds to the things that pertain to man's love, and the lungs to the things that pertain to his faith, n. 3883-3896. That in heaven there is a pulse like that of the heart, and a respiration like that of the lungs, n. 3884, 3885, 3887. That the pulse of the heart there is according to the state of love, and the respiration of the lungs according to the state of faith, n. 3886-3889; that the influx of the heart into the lungs is circumstanced like the influx of good into truth, or of the will into the understanding and of love into faith, and that the communications and conjunctions are similar, n. 3884, 3887-3889, 9300, 9495. Concerning the influx of heaven into the heart and into the lungs, from experience, n. 3884. That from this correspondence in the Word, when it is said from the heart and from the soul, it signifies from the love and faith, n. 2930, 9050; that the conjunction of man's spirit with his body is by means of the respiration of the lungs and of the pulse of the heart, and that therefore when these cease, man's body dies, but his spirit lives, see the work, Heaven and Hell; and that when the pulse of the heart ceases, the spirit is separated, because the heart corresponds to love which is the vital heat, n.447, in that work. Many other things concerning that correspondence may be seen there, n. 95.) That the kidneys signify the truths of faith and the purification of them from falsities, is because the purification of the blood is performed in the kidneys; and by blood in the Word is signified truth, as may be seen, Arcana Coelestia. n. 4735, 9127. The same also is signified by the organ which purifies: also all purification from falsities is effected by means of truths.

It is therefore evident that by Jehovah, or the Lord, in the Word, searching the heart and reins is signified that He explores the goods of love and the truths of faith, and separates them from evils and falsities.

[2] This is signified by reins in the following places: in Jeremiah,

"Jehovah Zebaoth, judge of justice, proving the reins and the heart" (11:20).

Again:

"Thou hast planted them, yea, they have taken root: they grow, yea, they bring forth fruit; thou art near in their mouth and far from their reins. Jehovah, thou shalt see me, and shalt prove my heart" (12:2, 3).

By being near in the mouth, and far from the reins is meant truth only in the memory, and thence in some of his thoughts when a man speaks, but not in the will and thence in act. Truth in the will and thence in act is that which separates and dissipates falsities; truth in the will and thence in act is to will and do what a man knows and thinks to be truth; this truth is what is specifically meant by reins.

[3] Again in the same prophet:

"I Jehovah search the heart, and prove the reins, even to give every one according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his works" (17:10).

To search the heart is to purify good by separating evil from it; to prove the reins, is to purify truth by separating falsity from it. It is therefore said, "To give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his works"; ways denote the truths of faith, and the fruit of works denotes the goods of love. (That ways denote truths of faith, may be seen above, n. 97, and that the fruit of works denotes the goods of love, n. 98, 109, 116.)

[4] In the same:

"Jehovah Zebaoth, proving the just, seeing the reins and the heart" (20:12).

And in David:

"Establish the just for thou who triest the hearts and reins art a just God" (Psalms 7:9).

The just denote those who love to do what is good and true, whose truths and goods are purified by the Lord, which is signified by His seeing and trying the reins and the hearts.

In the same:

"Prove me, O Jehovah, and try me, explore my reins and my heart" (Psalms 26:2).

Because truths are separated from falsities and goods from evils by temptations, it is therefore said, try me. In the same:

"For my heart was embittered and I am pricked in my reins. But I am foolish, and I do not know" (Psalms 73:21, 22).

The infestation of good by evil and of truth by falsity, is described by these words.

In the same:

"Behold, thou desirest truth in the reins, and in the hidden part thou makest wisdom known to me" (Psalms 51:6).

Here reins are expressed by another word in the original tongue, which involves the separation both of falsities from truths and of evils from goods. It is therefore evident that the reins signify purification and separation.

[5] In the same:

"I will bless Jehovah, who hath given me counsel; nightly, also, do my reins chastise me" (Psalms 16:7).

Nights signify the state of man when falsities rise up; the combat in such cases of truths with them is signified by "my reins chastise me." In the same:

"Even the darkness doth not make darkness before thee, but the night is light as the day; as the darkness so is the light; for thou possessest my reins, my bone was not hid from thee when I was made in secret" (Psalms 139:12, 13, 15).

Falsities are signified by darkness and truths by light; to possess the reins, is to know the falsities and truths pertaining to man; hence it is said, "my bone was not hid from thee when I was made in secret," which signifies that no falsity that was made could be bid. (That darkness denotes falsities and light truths may be seen in the work, Heaven and Hell 126-140 and that bone signifies truth in the ultimate of order, and, in the opposite sense, falsity, in Arcana Coelestia 3812, 5560, 5565, 6592, 8005.)

[6] Because the reins signified truths purified from falsities, therefore in the sacrifices the fats and reins were alone offered up, as may be seen in Exodus 29:13; Leviticus 3:4, 10, 15; 4:9; and other places.

The reason why the fats and reins alone were offered upon the altar was, because the fats signified the goods of love, and the reins the truths of faith. (That fats or fatnesses signify the goods of love, may be seen, Arcana Coelestia 353, 5943, 6409, 10033. That the reins signify the truths of faith examining, purifying, and rejecting from themselves falsities is from correspondence; for all parts of the body, even the most minute, have a correspondence, as may be seen in the work, Heaven and Hell, where it is shown, under its proper article, that "there is a correspondence of all things of heaven with all things of man," n. 87-102; and concerning the kidneys, n.96, 97.) Unless it be known that there is such a correspondence, who could know why it is so often stated of Jehovah, or the Lord, in the Word, that He searches and tries the reins and the heart? (Concerning the correspondence of the kidneys, the ureters, and vesicles, see Arcana Coelestia 5380-5386.) The reason why to search the reins and the heart also signifies to explore the exteriors and interiors of man is, that truth is without, and good is within; and spiritual good, which in its essence is truth, and which is specifically signified by the reins, is exterior good: but celestial good, which is specifically signified by the heart, is interior good. (This is more evident from what is said and shown concerning, the spiritual kingdom and the celestial kingdom in the work, Heaven and Hell 20-26.)