10551. 'And so it was, when Moses entered the tent, that the pillar of cloud came down, and stood at the door of the tent, and talked to Moses' means that when the Word had gone beyond what they were capable of understanding, extremely poor visibility descended on them as they stood outside, and yet there was clear perception from within. This is clear from the meaning of 'when Moses entered the tent' as when the Word had gone beyond what they were capable of understanding, dealt with immediately above in 10550; from the meaning of 'the pillar of cloud' as extremely poor visibility so far as that nation was concerned, for by 'cloud' the outward sense of the Word is meant, see Preface to Genesis 18, and 4060, 4391, 5922, 6343(end), 6752, 8443, 8781, and also the poor visibility of the Word so far as those who have no enlightenment are concerned, and its extremely poor visibility so far as those with whom the outward sense of the Word is separated from the inward are concerned, 6832, 8106, 8814, 8819, 9430; from the meaning of 'standing at the door' as being outside, dealt with above in 10549; and from the meaning of 'talking to Moses' as clear perception from within. For the Word - as it is essentially - is meant by 'Moses', see 9372, while perceiving is meant by 'talking', see in the places referred to in 10290. The reason why 'from within' is meant is that Moses, to whom 'the pillar of cloud' talked, was within the tent.

[2] What it is to see from without and to perceive from within must be stated. Those who have enlightenment when they read the Word see it from within; for their internal has been opened, and when the internal has been opened it dwells in the light of heaven. This light flows in and brings enlightenment, though the person is not conscious of its doing so. He is not conscious of this because that light flows into the cognitions or knowledge present in the human memory, which however dwell in natural light. And since the person feels, when he uses them to think with, that he does so all by himself he cannot be aware of the influx; yet there are various indications enabling him to know that he has been given enlightenment. But anyone at all who supposes that he has enlightenment is mistaken if he does not love to know truth for its own sake and for the sake of leading a good life, thus if he does not love Divine Truth for life's sake. For leading a life in keeping with Divine Truths derived from the Word constitutes loving the Lord; and from the Lord, when He is loved, springs all enlightenment.

[3] Those however who do not see a life in keeping with Divine Truths derived from the Word as the end in view, but position, gain, and reputation as the end in view and the Divine Truths of the Word therefore as the means, cannot possibly possess any enlightenment. This end is worldly and bodily, and not spiritual and heavenly. Consequently it closes off their internal man, and once this is closed no light from heaven can flow in and bring enlightenment. If these people suppose that they are enlightened when they read the Word they are completely mistaken; for their thought is inspired not by heaven but by the world, and so springs not from the Lord but from self. And to the extent that it springs from self and the world it is the product of natural light separated from heavenly light; and natural light separated from heavenly light constitutes thickest darkness in spiritual matters. If these people are convinced that they have seen something as a result of having been enlightened they are mistaken. For the only way that they perceive whether anything is true is with the aid of proofs supplied by others, which is to see truth from without and not from within, or else with the aid of faith that is no more than persuasion, the nature of which may be seen in 9363-9369. Such people are able to see falsity as truth and truth as falsity, and also to see evil as good and good as evil.

[4] From all this it is clear what seeing the Word from without is and perceiving it from within is. Seeing it from without is what is meant when it says that the people stood, [each] at the door of [his] tent, and looked after Moses, and also that they saw the pillar of cloud standing at the door of the tent, and they bowed down, [each] at the door of [his] tent. But perceiving the Word from within is what is meant when it says that Moses entered the tent, and that the pillar of cloud at the door of the tent talked to Moses.

[5] A brief statement must also be made about the way in which the influx bringing enlightenment operates. Angels equally with men perceive the Word when it is read; but angels do so on a spiritual level, men on a natural level. A person whose internal has been opened also perceives it on a spiritual level, though he is not conscious of doing so while he lives in the world because his spiritual thought flows into his natural thought in the external man and manifests itself within this. Nevertheless that interior thought is what enlightens and is the channel through which influx from the Lord operates. Some learned people by looking into their own thoughts and reflecting on what they see have also noticed that the human being possesses interior thought which is not overt. They have therefore called the ideas composing it immaterial and intellectual ¹ , distinguishing them from the overt ideas composing exterior thought, which they have called natural and material. But they have not known that the ideas composing interior thought are spiritual, nor that when these flow down from their own level they are converted into natural ones and then take on a different shape and appearance. These considerations show to some extent the way in which the influx bringing enlightenment operates.

Poznámky pod čarou:

3986. 'And Jehovah has blessed you since I set foot here' means resulting from the Divine endowment which the natural possessed. This is clear from the meaning of 'Jehovah blessing' as being endowed with good, dealt with in 3406, and as a joining together, 3504, 3514, 3530, 3565, 3584. 'Jehovah blessing' accordingly means being endowed with Divine good by means of a joining together, at this point a joining to the good of the natural represented by 'Jacob', the natural being meant by 'the foot'. As regards 'the foot' meaning the natural, see 2162, 3147, 3761; and this will be clear in addition from the correspondence of the Grand Man with every part of the human being, the subject in the sections at the ends of chapters. From this it is evident that 'Jehovah has blessed you since I set foot here' means originating in the Divine which the natural possessed.

[2] The arcanum which lies concealed in these words and in those immediately before them is known to few, if any, and is therefore to be revealed. The goods present with people both inside the Church and outside it vary in every case. They vary so much that no one person's good is ever exactly like another's. These variations arise out of the truths to which those goods are joined, for the nature of every type of good is received from truths, and truths derive their essential nature from goods. Such variations also arise out of the affections that belong to each person's love, and which become rooted in a person and are made his own through the life he leads. Few genuine truths exist even with someone inside the Church, and fewer still with one outside. Consequently affections for genuine truth seldom exist with anyone.

[3] All the same, people who lead good lives, that is, who live in love to God and in charity towards the neighbour, are saved. The reason they are able to be saved is that the Lord's Divine is present within good that stems from love to God and within good that stems from charity towards the neighbour. And when the Divine is inwardly present everything is being arranged into order so that it can be joined to genuine goods and genuine truths which exist in the heavens. The truth of this may be proven from the communities constituting heaven, which are countless. Every single community varies as regards good and truth, and yet all of them taken together form one complete heaven. They are like the members and organs of the human body which, though varying in every case, still constitute one complete human being. For no complete whole is ever made up of any identical or entirely similar individual parts, but of varying parts harmoniously joined together. Varying parts joined together harmoniously present a single whole. The same applies to goods and truths in the spiritual world. Although these vary so much as never to be exactly similar with one person as with another, nevertheless from the Divine through love and charity they make one since love and charity are spiritual conjunction. Their variation is a heavenly harmony which produces such accord that they are one in the Divine, that is, in the Lord.

[4] Furthermore, however much truths may vary, and however much affections for truth may do so, good that stems from love to God and good that stems from charity towards the neighbour are nevertheless capable of receiving genuine truth and good, as they are not so to speak hard and resistant but soft and yielding. They allow themselves to be led by the Lord and in so doing to be turned towards good, and through good to be turned towards Him. It is different with those in whom self-love and love of the world reign. They do not allow themselves to be led and turned by the Lord towards the Lord but strongly resist, since each wishes to be his own leader, even more so when they have become subject to false and firmly established assumptions. As long as they are such they do not allow the Divine to come in.

[5] These considerations now make clear what is meant in the internal sense by these words which Jacob addressed to Laban, for 'Laban' means the kind of good which is not genuine because it does not have genuine truths planted within it but is nevertheless capable of having these joined to it and of having the Divine present within it. This kind of good is what normally exists with young children before they have received genuine truths. It is also the kind of good present with simple people within the Church who know few truths of faith but who nevertheless lead a charitable life. It is in addition the kind of good present with upright gentiles who offer holy worship to their gods. By means of such good, genuine truths and goods are able to be introduced, as may be seen from what has been stated about young children and simple people inside the Church in 3690, and about upright gentiles outside the Church in 2598-2603.