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Jeremia 51:63

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63 Kaj kiam vi finos la legadon de cxi tiu libro, alligu al gxi sxtonon, kaj jxetu gxin en la mezon de Euxfrato;

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Arcana Coelestia # 9807

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9807. 'And his sons' means Divine Truth emanating from Divine Good. This is clear from the meaning of 'sons' as truths, dealt with in 489, 491, 533, 1147, 2623, 2803, 2813, 3373, 3704, at this point Divine Truth emanating from the Lord's Divine Good, since they were Aaron's sons and Aaron as the high priest represented the Lord in respect of Divine Good, as shown immediately above. Truths are meant by 'sons' because everything in the internal sense of the Word is spiritual, and 'sons' in the spiritual sense are those who are born anew from the Lord, thus are in possession of truths springing from good, so that in the abstract sense - when the persons are not envisaged - 'sons' are the actual truths which spring from good. These truths therefore are what should be understood in the Word by 'the sons of God', 'the king's sons', and 'the sons of the kingdom'. They are also the sons of new birth or regeneration. Furthermore the truths and forms of good present with the person who has been regenerated or born anew from the Lord are exactly like families in wide and long lines of descent from the one same father. There are those which resemble sons and daughters, those which resemble grandsons and granddaughters, those which resemble sons-in-law and daughters-in-law, and so relationships belonging to many degrees, thus to many kinds. Truths and forms of good arranged like this are what sons, daughters, grandsons, granddaughters, sons-in-law, daughters-in-law, in short, relatives belonging to different degrees and therefore different kinds, denote in the spiritual sense. I have been shown by actual experience that spiritual generations follow one another in that kind of order. And at the same time I have been told that this being so the truths and forms of good with a person who has been regenerated follow in that kind of order, since the angelic communities in heaven are arranged in that way and the truths and forms of good present with a person correspond to those communities. Therefore also the person whose truths and forms of good possess that kind of correspondence is heaven in the smallest form it takes, 9279.

[2] Anyone who knows that truths are meant by 'sons' and forms of good by 'daughters' can see many arcana in the Word, especially the prophetical part, which would otherwise lie hidden from view. For example he can see what is meant specifically by the Son of Man, which the Lord often calls Himself in the Word, namely Divine Truth emanating from His Divine Human, as is clear from the places where that title appears. Let these be quoted, in order that at the same time it may be established that 'the Son' means truth, as in John,

The crowd said to Jesus, Why do you say, The Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man? Jesus answered them, The light is with you for a brief while longer. Walk, as long as you have the light, lest the darkness overtakes you. As long as you have the light believe in the light, that you may be sons of the light. John 12:34-36.

From these words it is evident that 'the Son of Man' has the same meaning as 'the light'; for when the crowd asked, 'Who is this Son of Man?' the Lord answered that He was 'the light' in which they should believe. 'The light' means Divine Truth, see the places referred to in 9548, 9684, and so therefore does 'the Son of Man'.

[3] In Luke,

Blessed are you when people will hate you on account of the Son of Man. Luke 6:22.

'On account of the Son of Man' is on account of Divine Truth, which emanates from the Lord. Divine Truth constitutes the all of faith in and love to the Lord; and 'being hated' on account of these is blessedness. In the same gospel,

The days will come when you will desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man, but you will not see. Then they will say to you, Behold here! or Behold there! Do not go away or go in search. Luke 17:22-23.

'Desiring to see one of the days of the Son of Man' means desiring to see one of the states of truth that is authentically God's. The subject here is the end of the Church, when no faith exists any longer because there is no charity, at which time every truth that is genuinely God's is going to perish. And since God's truth is meant by 'the Son of Man' it says, 'Then they will say, Behold here! or Behold there! Do not go in search', which may be said of God's truth emanating from the Lord, but not of the Lord Himself.

[4] In the same gospel,

When the Son of Man comes will He find faith on the earth? Luke 18:8.

That is, when God's truth is revealed from heaven there will be no belief in it. Here also 'the Son of Man' is the Lord in respect of God's truth, or God's truth emanating from the Lord, the Lord's coming being the revelation of God's truth at the end of the Church.

[5] In Matthew,

As the lightning comes from the east and is seen as far as the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be. Then the sign will appear, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn; and they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and glory. Matthew 24:27, 30.

'The coming of the Son of Man' stands for the revelation of God's truth at the close of the age, that is, at the end of the Church. 'All the tribes of the earth' who will mourn then are all the truths and forms of the good of faith and love in their entirety that are derived from the Lord and so are offered to the Lord. 'The clouds of heaven' in which He is going to come are the literal sense of the Word, 'power and glory' being the internal sense, the subject of which at its inmost level is the Lord alone. For further explanation of these matters, see 4060.

[6] Something similar occurs elsewhere in the same gospel,

I say to you, Hereafter you will see the Son of Man seated on the right hand of power, and coming on the clouds of heaven. Matthew 26:64.

And in Luke,

Hereafter the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the power of God. Luke 22:69.

'The Son of Man' stands for Divine Truth emanating from the Lord. 'Sitting at the right hand of power' stands for the reality that in Him there is almighty power; for Divine Good exercises its almighty power through Divine Truth. The declaration that 'hereafter they would see this' means that Divine Truth would be in its almighty power, when the Lord in the world had overcome the hells and restored to order everything there and in the heavens, as a result of which those who received Him in faith and love could be saved, see 9715.

'Sitting at the right hand' means almighty power, see 3387, 4592, 4933 (end), 7518, 8281, 9133.

All the power good possesses is exercised through truth, 6344, 6423, 8304, 9327, 9410, 9639, 9643.

Actual Divine power consists in Divine Truth, 6948.

'The clouds' in which the Son of Man, that is, Divine Truth, will come are the Word in the letter, Preface to Genesis 18, and 4060, 4391, 5922, 6343, 6752, 8443, 8781; and 'the glory' is Divine Truth itself as it exists in the internal sense of the Word, Preface to Genesis 18, and 4809, 5922, 8267, 9429.

[7] All this now makes clear what the following words in the Book of Revelation mean,

I saw, and behold, a white cloud, and on the cloud one was sitting, like the Son of Man, having on His head a crown of gold. Revelation 14:14.

And in Daniel,

I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of the heavens One like the Son of Man came. Daniel 7:13.

In John,

The Father has given Him [authority] to execute judgement also, because He is the Son of Man. John 5:27.

The basis on which all judgement is executed is truth, and this explains why it says that [authority] to execute judgement has been given to the Lord because He is the Son of Man. 'The Son of Man', as has been stated, is Divine Truth; 'the Father' from whom that Truth springs is Divine Good, 2803, 3704, 7499, 8328, 8897. The fact that 'executing judgement' rests with Divine Truth explains why it says that when the Son of Man comes He will sit on the throne of His glory, Matthew 19:28; 25:31, and that the Son of Man will repay everyone according to his deeds, Matthew 16:27.

[8] In Matthew,

He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man, the field is the world, the seed are the sons of the kingdom, the tares are the sons of the evil one. Matthew 13:37-38.

'The good seed' is God's truth, therefore it says that 'the Son of Man' sows it. 'The sons of the kingdom' are God's truths in heaven and in the Church. For 'son' means truth, 489, 491, 533, 1147, 2623, and in the contrary sense falsity, which is also meant by 'son of the evil one'; and 'the kingdom' means heaven, and also the Church.

[9] In John,

No one has gone up into heaven except Him who came down from heaven, the Son of Man who is in the heavens. John 3:13.

From these words it is evident that 'the Son of Man' means Divine Truth present in the heavens. This Truth comes down from there and then goes up, for no one can go up into heaven unless Divine Truth has come down into Him from heaven; the flow starts from God, not from the opposite direction. And since the Lord is that Truth He calls Himself 'the Son of Man who is in the heavens'. In Matthew,

The Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head. Matthew 8:20.

'The Son of Man' stands for Divine Truth; 'having nowhere to lay His head' stands for the fact that at that time there was no place for Him anywhere, that is, with any person.

[10] The declarations that the Son of Man is about to suffer and will be killed, in Matthew 17:12, 22; 20:18; 26:2, 24, 45; Mark 8:31; 9:12, 31; and elsewhere, imply that this was how Divine Truth was treated, and therefore how the Lord was treated since He was Divine Truth itself, as He also says in John, I am the way, and the truth, and the life. John 14:6.

In Jeremiah,

No man (vir) will dwell there, nor will any son of man stay in it. Jeremiah 49:18, 33.

And in the same prophet,

Not a man (vir) will dwell in the cities, nor will any son of man pass through them. Jeremiah 51:43.

Anyone who has no knowledge of the spiritual sense of the Word will suppose that 'the cities' here is used to mean cities, and 'a man' and 'son of man' to mean a man and a son, and that the cities would be made so desolate that no one would be there. But it is the state of the Church so far as the teaching of truth is concerned that is being described. For 'cities' are the doctrinal teachings of the Church, see 402, 2449, 3216, 4492, 4493; 'a man' is the Church's truth itself joined to good, 3134, 7716, 9007, 'son of man' accordingly meaning truth.

[11] Since 'son of man' meant Divine Truth emanating from the Lord, the prophets too through whom it was revealed were called sons of man, as Daniel and Ezekiel were - Daniel 8:17; Ezekiel 2:1, 3, 6, 8; 3:1, 3-4, 10, 17, 25; 4:1, 16; 8:5-6, 8, 12, 15; 12:2-3, 9, 18, 22, 27; and in many other places.

[12] The majority of expressions in the Word have also a contrary sense, and this applies equally to the meaning of the expression son of man, which in that contrary sense is falsity opposed to truth, as in Isaiah,

What are you that you are afraid of man (homo), [who] dies, and of the son of man, [who] is given grass? Isaiah 51:12.

'Grass given to the son of man' is factual knowledge that gives rise to falsity. In David,

Do not put your trust in princes, in the son of man who has no salvation. Psalms 146:3.

'Princes' are primary truths, 2089, 5044, and so in the contrary sense primary falsities, while 'the son of man' is falsity itself.

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

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Arcana Coelestia # 4925

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4925. 'That behold, his brother came out' means the truth of good. This is clear from the meaning of 'brother' as that which is kindred, by virtue of good, dealt with in 3815, 4267, and so the truth of good. The truth of good is that truth which is rooted in good, or that faith which is rooted in charity. Dealt with here in the internal sense is the birthright in the case of those who are being born again or regenerated by the Lord, and therefore the birthright within the Church. It has been a matter of argument since most ancient times as to which is the firstborn, whether this is the good of charity or whether it is the truth of faith. Unseen while a person is being born again and becoming a Church, good conceals itself within the interior man and reveals itself solely within some affection which does not pass into the conscious feelings of the external or natural man until he has been born again. But truth reveals itself, for this does enter his conscious feelings and lodges in the memory belonging to the external or natural man. This explains why many have fallen into the error that truth is the firstborn, and at length even thinking that truth is the vital element of the Church, so vital that truth which is called faith can save a person without the good of charity.

[2] From this one error very many others have been derived which have infected not only what is taught but also life, such as the error that no matter what kind of life a person leads he can be saved provided he has faith. A further derivative error is that very wicked people are accepted into heaven provided that in the final hour before they die they declare their belief in those things which are matters of faith; and another such error is that, irrespective of the kind of life one has led, one is accepted into heaven solely by grace. Because people hold to this teaching they fail at length to know what charity is or to have any concern about what it is, till in the end they do not believe in the existence of it, or consequently in the existence of heaven and hell. The reason for this is that faith without charity, or truth without good, teaches a person nothing; and the more it departs from good, the more foolish it makes him. For good is what the Lord flows into and through which He flows, imparting intelligence and wisdom and consequently a superior ability to see, and also perception whether something is really true or not.

[3] From these considerations one may now see the position with regard to the birthright, namely that in actual fact it belongs to good but appears to belong to truth. This is what the birth of Tamar's two sons is used to describe in the internal sense. 'The twice-dyed thread' which the midwife bound on the hand that came out means good, as shown in 4922; 'coming out first' means priority of place, 4923; 'withdrawing the hand' means that good concealed its own power, as stated immediately above [in 4924]; 'his brother came out' means truth; 'you have made a breach upon yourself means this truth's apparent separation from good; 'afterwards his brother came out' means that good is in actual fact first; and 'on whose hand was the twice-dyed thread' means the acknowledgement that good is first. For it is not until after a person has been born again that good is acknowledged to be first, at which point that person's actions spring from good, and his view of truth and what this is like springs from the same.

[4] These are the matters contained within the internal sense, in which teaching is given regarding the good and truth with a person who is being born anew, namely that good in actual fact occupies first place but truth appears to do so, and that good is not seen to occupy the first place while a person is being regenerated but is plainly seen to do so once he has been regenerated. But there is no need to explain these matters any further since they have been explained already - see 3324, 3325, 3494, 3539, 3548, 3556, 3563, 3570, 3576, 3603, 3701, 4243, 4244, 4247, 4337; and the fact that controversy has taken place since ancient times over whether the birthright belonged to good or to truth, that is, to charity or to faith, 2435.

[5] Because in the highest sense the Lord is the firstborn, and therefore love to Him and charity towards the neighbour are the firstborn, the law was for that reason laid down in the representative Church that firstborn things were Jehovah's: in Moses,

Sanctify to Me all the firstborn, that which opens the womb among the children of Israel; with man and with beast let them be Mine. Exodus 13:2.

You shall make over to Jehovah all that opens the worm', and every firstling of a beast; however many males you have they shall be Jehovah's. Exodus 13:12.

All that opens the womb is Mine; therefore among all your cattle, you shall give the male. that among oxen and small cattle which opens [the womb]. Exodus 34:19.

All that opens the womb among all flesh which they bring to Jehovah, from men and from beasts, shall be yours. Nevertheless you shall surely redeem all the firstborn of men. Numbers 18:15.

Behold, I Myself have taken the Levites from the midst of the children of Israel, instead of every firstborn, that which opens the womb, from the children of Israel, so that the Levites may be Mine. Numbers 3:12.

[6] Because the firstborn is the one that opens the womb, the expression 'that which opens the womb' is therefore added, when the firstborn is mentioned in these places, so as to mean good. It is evident that this expression means good from the specific details contained in the internal sense, especially from those which are recorded regarding the sons of Tamar: Zerah is said to have opened the womb with his hand, and 'Zerah' represents good, as is also clear from the twice-dyed thread placed on his hand, dealt with in 4922. In addition to this 'the womb', to which the expression 'opened' is applied, means the place where good and truth, consequently the Church, lie, see 4918, while 'opening the womb' means supplying the power which enables truth to be born.

[7] Because the Lord is the only firstborn - He being Good itself, and His Good being the source of all truth - Jacob, who was not the firstborn, was therefore allowed to purchase the birthright from Esau his brother so that he might represent Him. Also, because this was not sufficient, he was called Israel, so that by this name he might represent the good of truth; for 'Israel' in the representative sense means good which comes through truth, 3654, 4286, 4598.

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