85. That the celestial man is the “seventh day” and that the seventh day was therefore hallowed, and called the Sabbath, are arcana which have not hitherto been discovered. For none have been acquainted with the nature of the celestial man, and few with that of the spiritual man, whom in consequence of this ignorance they have made to be the same as the celestial man, notwithstanding the great difference that exists between them, as may be seen in n. 81. As regards the seventh day, and as regards the celestial man being the “seventh day” or “Sabbath” this is evident from the fact that the Lord Himself is the Sabbath; and therefore He says:

The Son of man is Lord also of the Sabbath (Mark 2:27),

which words imply that the Lord is Man himself, and the Sabbath itself. His kingdom in the heavens and on the earth is called, from Him, a Sabbath, or eternal peace and rest.

[2] The Most Ancient Church, which is here treated of, was the Sabbath of the Lord above all that succeeded it. Every subsequent inmost church of the Lord is also a Sabbath; and so is every regenerate person when he becomes celestial, because he is a likeness of the Lord. The six days of combat or labor precede. These things were represented in the Jewish church by the days of labor, and by the seventh day, which was the Sabbath; for in that church there was nothing instituted which was not representative of the Lord and of His kingdom. The like was also represented by the ark when it went forward, and when it rested, for by its journeyings in the wilderness were represented combats and temptations, and by its rest a state of peace; and therefore, when it set forward, Moses said:

Rise up, Jehovah, and let Thine enemies be scattered, and let them that hate Thee flee before Thy faces. And when it rested, he said, Return, Jehovah, unto the ten thousands of the thousands of Israel (Numbers 10:35-36).

It is there said of the ark that it went from the Mount of Jehovah “to search out a rest for them” (Numbers 10:33).

[3] The rest of the celestial man is described by the Sabbath in Isaiah:

If thou bring back thy foot from the Sabbath, so that thou doest not thy desire in the day of My holiness, and callest the things of the Sabbath delights to the holy of Jehovah, honorable; and shalt honor it, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own desire, nor speaking a word; then shalt thou be delightful to Jehovah, and I will cause thee to be borne over the lofty things of the earth, and will feed thee with the heritage of Jacob (Isaiah 58:13-14).

Such is the quality of the celestial man that he acts not according to his own desire, but according to the good pleasure of the Lord, which is his “desire.” Thus he enjoys internal peace and happiness—here expressed by “being uplifted over the lofty things of the earth”—and at the same time external tranquility and delight, which is signified by “being fed with the heritage of Jacob.”

81. THE INTERNAL SENSE.

This chapter treats of the celestial man, as the preceding one did of the spiritual, who was formed out of a dead man. But as it is unknown at this day what the celestial man is, and scarcely what the spiritual man is, or a dead man, it is permitted me briefly to state the nature of each, that the difference may be known. First, then, a dead man acknowledges nothing to be true and good but what belongs to the body and the world, and this he adores. A spiritual man acknowledges spiritual and celestial truth and good; but he does so from a principle of faith, which is likewise the ground of his actions, and not so much from love. A celestial man believes and perceives spiritual and celestial truth and good, acknowledging no other faith than that which is from love, from which also he acts.

[2] Secondly: The ends which influence a dead man regard only corporeal and worldly life, nor does he know what eternal life is, or what the Lord is; or should he know, he does not believe. The ends which influence a spiritual man regard eternal life, and thereby the Lord. The ends which influence a celestial man regard the Lord, and thereby His kingdom and eternal life.

[3] Thirdly: A dead man, when in combat almost always yields, and when not in combat, evils and falsities have dominion over him, and he is a slave. His bonds are external, such as the fear of the law, of the loss of life, of wealth, of gain, and of the reputation which he values for their sake. The spiritual man is in combat, but is always victorious; the bonds by which he is restrained are internal, and are called the bonds of conscience. The celestial man is not in combat, and when assaulted by evils and falsities, he despises them, and is therefore called a conqueror. He is apparently restrained by no bonds, but is free. His bonds, which are not apparent, are perceptions of good and truth.