Billy Graham once said that the whole of Jesus' ministry could be summed up in two words; Come and Go.

COME to me, all who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. (Matthew 11:28)

GO and make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19)

In the beginning of the Book of Jonah, chapter 1, we have a story about what happens when you do the first step, but not the second. Jonah was supposed to go preach the gospel -- the monotheistic worship of Jehovah -- to the people of Ninevah. Swedenborg tells us that the verses in Jonah 1:1-2 are about the people of Israel, who had received the Word - but wouldn't go out and share it amongst the nations.

In Jonah 1:4-6, peoples' spiritual knowledge declines, and begins to perish. It happens both in the land of Israel, and in the wider world.

Here are some key symbolic elements in this account:

- A ship represents the knowledge of good and truth useful for life (a church). (Apocalypse Revealed 406)

- A sea, storm and wind represents Hell and its influence. (Apocalypse Revealed 343[4])

- To be asleep means to be deluded by our own glory. (Arcana Coelestia 147)

In Jonah 1:7-9, the people who lived outside the land of Israel had some perception that their own spiritual knowledge was lacking, and they it had led to a collapse of their spiritual state. As Swedenborg puts it, "the state of the church was perverted among themselves".

When they perceived this, they also came to understand that they needed to reject falsified truths that they were getting from the Jewish church at that time, and pray to the Lord for salvation, to try to restore real worship, real spiritual love and wisdom.

Drawing lots, or playing a game of chance, represents pulling truths apart. (Arcana Coelestia 9942.13)

In Jonah 1:10-13, throwing Jonah into the sea represents the rejection of that hollowed-out church, to make way for a new church. Then, in Jonah 1:14-16, when the people in the boat pray unto the Lord for salvation -- it works! They are saved from foundering and drowning.

What's the takeaway for us? If we're getting false ideas from our neighbors, we need to perceive it, and stop. We need to identify our false beliefs, and reject them -- throw them into the sea. Then, we need to pray for salvation -- and then a new "church" can start in us, too, personally, with renewed spiritual life. And, when we come to the Lord, and experience spiritual "rest", then we can also go share our new true ideas and good loves with our neighbors -- coming, and going.

Here's a link to an interesting (audio) sermon on this chapter, by Rev. Todd Beiswenger.

Finally, here's a link to Rev. McCurdy's Study Guide for the Book of Jonah, which is available for free as a .pdf, for your use.

9835. 'With the work of a designer' means a product of the understanding. This is clear from the meaning of 'a designer' as the power of understanding, dealt with in 9598, 9688, so that 'the work of a designer' means that which is a product of that power. 'A designer' (excogitator) means the power of understanding because thought (cogitatio) belongs to the understanding, even as love and affection belong to the will. In the internal sense 'a designer' and 'thought' have the same meaning; for in that sense no attention is paid to the person, only to the actual reality that is meant, and 'designer' carries the idea of a person. For the truth of this, see 5225, 5287, 5434, 8343, 8985, 9007. What 'a product of the understanding' means must be stated briefly. The subject at present is the Lord's spiritual kingdom, and this kingdom - so far as all truths and forms of good there are concerned - belongs to the understanding part of the mind, whereas things in the Lord's celestial kingdom belong to the will part. For there are two entities with which everything in all creation has connection, good and truth; and this is why in the human being there are two mental powers, will and understanding. The will exists for the sake of good, and the understanding for the sake of truth; for the will is the recipient of good, and the understanding that of truth.

[2] The situation in the heavens is similar. There two kingdoms exist, the celestial and the spiritual. The celestial kingdom exists to be a recipient of good and the spiritual kingdom to be a recipient of truth. And since the whole heaven corresponds to everything that exists with the human being, and heaven in the Lord's sight is consequently like one complete human being, this as well has the two powers of will and understanding, the will residing in the celestial kingdom and the understanding in the spiritual kingdom. Now because the spiritual kingdom was represented by Aaron's garments and heaven's power of understanding resides in this kingdom, 'the work of a designer' accordingly means the power of understanding.

The whole heaven, by virtue of the correspondence with every single thing that exists with the human being, is like one complete human being and is called the Grand Man, see the places referred to at the end of 9276. The forms of good and the truths present with those in the Lord's spiritual kingdom have been inscribed on the understanding part of their mind, but with those in His celestial kingdom on the will part, see the places referred to in 9277, 9596.