9213. 'You shall restore it to him even at the going in of the sun' means that it is to be restored before the arrival of a state of shade induced by delights belonging to external kinds of love. This is clear from the meaning of 'the going in (or setting) of the sun' as a state of shade induced by delights belonging to external kinds of love. The situation here is that in heaven there are successive changes of heat with things that compose the good of love, and changes of light with those that constitute the truth of faith, thus successive changes in love and faith. In hell too there are successive changes; but they are their opposites, because there they are changes in the love of evil and belief in falsity. Those successive changes correspond to the successive changes of seasons of the year on earth, which are spring, summer, autumn, winter, and spring again, and so on. But in the spiritual world there are states instead of seasons; for the changes are not those of heat and light, but of love and faith. It should be realized however that those successive changes are not the same for one person as they are for another; rather they are different with each individual person, depending on the person's state of life acquired in the world. Sunset in heaven corresponds to a state of shade that comes over the truths of faith, and to a state of coldness that overtakes the good of love to the Lord and towards the neighbour. In such states those there enter into the delights that belong to external kinds of love, delights which put faith in the shade; for when an angel or a spirit is amid things of an external nature he is also in shade; but when amid those of an internal nature he experiences the delights and bliss that belong to heavenly kinds of love, and at the same time experiences the loveliness of faith, or is in the light of truth. These states are what spring seasons and summer seasons on earth correspond to. From all this it may now be seen why it is that 'the going in (or setting) of the sun' means a state of shade induced by delights belonging to external kinds of love. Regarding these successive changes, see what has been shown already in 5097, 5672, 5962, 6110, 7083, 8426, 8615, 8644, 8812.

[2] The things stated above show what people should understand by the explanation that factual knowledge of truths which has been dispersed by illusions that are a product of sensory impressions is to be restored before the arrival of a state of shade induced by delights belonging to external kinds of love, meant by 'If you take your companion's clothing as a pledge you shall restore it to him even at the going in of the sun'. They should understand that truths removed by illusions are to be restored while the person is still in the light of truth; for while in that light he can regain them and also dispel the falsities that illusions have introduced. But he cannot do so when in a state of shade induced by delights belonging to external kinds of love, because those delights turn truths away, and the shade does not receive them. So the illusions cling to the person and are adopted as his own. The reason why external delights or those of the external man are like this is that they attach themselves to the world, and are also aroused and so to speak brought alive by its heat. It is different with internal delights or bliss, or those of the internal man. These attach themselves to heaven, and are also aroused and brought alive by its heat, which is love coming from the Lord.

[3] This judgement or law is delivered elsewhere in Moses in the following words, No one shall take ¹ as a pledge the mill or the milling stone, for he takes the [person's] livelihood ² as a pledge. Deuteronomy 24:6.

'The mill' means the kinds of things that are of service in acquiring faith, and charity after that, 7780, and 'the soul' means the life of faith springing from charity, 9050, from which it is evident what 'not taking the mill as a pledge, for one takes the soul as a pledge' means. In the same author,

You shall not turn aside the right of the sojourner or of the orphan, nor shall you take a widow's clothing as a pledge. Deuteronomy 24:17.

'Taking a widow's clothing as a pledge' means taking away by any means at all the truths which good has a desire for. 'Clothing' means truth, as above in 9212, and 'a widow' someone in possession of good who has a desire for truths, or in the abstract sense good that has a desire for truths, 9198. For if truth is taken away, good together with its desire perishes.

[4] Still in the same author,

If you lend your companion something you shall not go into his house to get the pledge. You shall stand outside; but the man to whom you lend shall bring the pledge outdoors. If the man is needy you shall not lie down upon his pledge; you shall surely restore the pledge to him at the going down of the sun, in order that he may lie down in his own clothing and bless you; and it shall be righteousness before your God. Deuteronomy 24:10-13.

The law that the lender should stand outside and the pledge be brought out to him means the proper manner of response to truths that have been communicated; for 'lending' means communicating, 9174, and 'taking a pledge' means response. Nobody can know that these things are meant except from the kinds of things that take place in the next life, thus unless he knows what 'going into a house' means, what 'standing outside' means, and so what 'bringing outdoors' means.

[5] In the next life those who go into another's house and talk together in the same room communicate their thoughts to everyone there in such a way that they are fully convinced that they themselves are the authors of those thoughts. But if they stand outside, the thoughts are indeed perceived by them, but as if another, not they, were the author of them. This is an everyday occurrence in the next life. Those therefore who share the same opinion or feel the same way about something are seen together in the same house; and this is all the more true if they are seen together in the same room of the house. But when a difference of opinion arises among the same people, all disappear from before the eyes of those with whom they differ. Appearances such as these occur everywhere and unceasingly in the next life. The reason why they do so is that likeness of thought links people together and leads to their presence with one another; for thought is inward sight, and distances between places in that life do not exist in the way they do in the world.

[6] All this shows what 'not going into the house but standing outside to receive the pledge' means, namely not putting pressure on another or playing on his emotions to get him to corroborate truths known to oneself, but to listen to and accept his responses as they are in his own mind. For those who put pressure on another or play on his emotions to get him to corroborate truths known to themselves make this other person think or speak not from himself but from them. And when anyone thinks and speaks from another the truths present with him are thrown into disorder; nor is he improved by this, unless he is the kind of person who is still ignorant of those truths. All this makes plain once again that the Word in every detail contains matters that correspond to the kinds of things that exist in the spiritual world.

Poznámky pod čarou:

4551. 'And the jewels which were in their ears' means realized in actions. This is clear from the meaning of 'jewels' as symbols representative of obedience, for the reason that by 'the ears' is meant obedience, 2542, 3869, and acts of obedience are realizations in actions; for obeying implies carrying into action. Here the expression 'realized in actions' has reference to the falsities which were to be cast aside. But this matter of the casting aside of falsities, which are realized also in actions - the subject at this point in the internal sense - must be discussed briefly here. Before a person through being regenerated by the Lord arrives at good and is moved by good to do what is true, he possesses very many falsities mixed up with truths. Indeed he is led into regeneration by means of the truths of faith, about which in the first stage of life he has no ideas other than those learned in infancy and childhood. These ideas are formed from external things in the world and from the experiences of the physical senses, and therefore they cannot be anything but illusions and consequently falsities, which are also realized in actions; for what a person believes he puts into practice. It is these falsities that are meant here. They remain with him until he has been regenerated, that is, until good is the source of his actions. Once this is the situation, good - that is, the Lord by means of good - imposes order on the truths which he has learned up to then; and while this is being done the falsities are separated from the truths and taken away.

[2] A person is totally unaware of this happening to him, yet that kind of removal and casting aside of falsities is going on from earliest childhood to the last stage of his life. This activity goes on in everyone, but it does so in a particular manner in one who is being regenerated. In one who is not being regenerated a similar activity is taking place, for when he becomes grown up and he matures in judgement that belongs to that stage in life, he regards his childhood judgements as unintelligent and absurd, thus very far removed from what he now thinks. But the difference between one who is regenerate and one who is not is that the regenerate regards as being remote from his thinking those things which do not accord with the good of faith and charity, whereas the unregenerate regards as being remote from his thinking those which do not accord with the delight he takes in what he loves. The unregenerate therefore, for the most part, regards truths as falsities, and falsities as truths. As regards jewels there were two kinds - those fastened above the nose to the forehead and those fastened to the ears. Those fastened above the nose to the forehead were symbols representative of good and were called nose-jewels, dealt with in 3103, whereas those fastened to the ears were symbols representative of obedience and are ear-jewels. But in the original language the same word is used to describe both nose-jewel and ear-jewel.