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Jeremia 48:21

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21 Und das Gericht ist gekommen über das Land der Ebene, über Cholon und über Jahza und über Mephaath,

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The New Jerusalem and its Heavenly Doctrine # 121

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121. Faith separate from love or charity is like the light of winter, in which all things on earth are torpid, and no harvests, fruits, or flowers, are produced; but faith with love or charity is like the light of spring and summer, in which all things flourish and are produced (n. 2231, 3146, 3412-3413). The wintry light of faith separate from charity is changed into dense darkness when light from heaven flows in; and they who are in that faith then come into blindness and stupidity (n. 3412-3413).

They who separate faith from charity, in doctrine and life, are in darkness, thus in ignorance of truth, and in falsities, for these are darkness (n. 9186). They cast themselves into falsities, and into evils thence (n. 3325, 8094). The errors and falsities into which they cast themselves (n. 4721, 4730, 4776, 4783, 4925, 7779, 8313, 8765, 9224). The Word is shut to them (n. 3773, 4783, 8780). They do not see or attend to all those things which the Lord so often spoke concerning love and charity, and concerning their fruits, or goods in act, concerning which (n. 1017, 3416). Neither do they know what good is, nor thus what celestial love is, nor what charity is (n. 2517, 3603, 4136, 9995).

Faith separate from charity is no faith (n. 654, 724, 1162, 1176, 2049, 2116, 2343, 2349, 2417, 3849, 3868, 6348, 7039, 7342, 9783). Such a faith perishes in the other life (n. 2228, 5820). When faith alone is assumed as a principle, truths are contaminated by the falsity of the principle (n. 2335). Such persons do not suffer themselves to be persuaded, because it is against their principle (n. 2385). Doctrinals concerning faith alone destroy charity (n. 6353, 8094). They who separate faith from charity were represented by Cain, by Ham, by Reuben, by the firstborn of the Egyptians, and by the Philistines (n. 3325, 7097, 7317, 8093).

They who make faith alone saving, excuse a life of evil, and they who are in a life of evil have no faith, because they have no charity (n. 3865, 7766, 7778, 7790, 7950, 8094). They are inwardly in the falsities of their own evil, although they do not know it (n. 7790, 7950). Therefore good cannot be conjoined with them (n. 8981, 8983). In the other life they are against good, and against those who are in good (n. 7097, 7127, 7317, 7502, 7545, 8096, 8313). Those who are simple in heart and yet wise, know what the good of life is, thus what charity is, but not what faith separate is (n. 4741, 4754).

All things of the church have relation to good and truth, consequently to charity and faith (n. 7752-7754). The church is not with man before truths are implanted in his life, and thus become the good of charity (n. 3310). Charity constitutes the church, and not faith separate from charity (n. 809, 916, 1798-1799, 1834, 1844). The internal of the church is charity (n. 1799, 7755). Hence there is no church where there is no charity (n. 4766, 5826). The church would be one if all were regarded from charity, although men might differ as to the doctrinals of faith and the rituals of worship (n. 1285[1-3], 1316, 1798-1799, 1834, 1844, 2385, 2982, 3267, 3451). How much of good would be in the church if charity were regarded in the first place, and faith in the second (n. 6269, 6272). Every church begins from charity, but in process of time turns aside to faith, and at length to faith alone (n. 1834-1835, 2231, 4683, 8094). There is no faith at the last time of the church, because there is no charity (n. 1843). The worship of the Lord consists in a life of charity (n. 8254, 8256) The quality of the worship is according to the quality of the charity (n. 2190). The men of the external church have an internal if they are in charity (n. 1100, 1102, 1151, 1153). The doctrine of the ancient churches was the doctrine of life, which is the doctrine of charity, and not the doctrine of faith separate (n. 2385, 2417, 3419-3420, 4844, 6628, 7259-7262).

The Lord inseminates and implants truth in the good of charity when he regenerates man (n. 2063, 2189, 3310). Otherwise the seed, which is the truth of faith, cannot take root (n. 880). Then goods and truths increase, according to the quality and quantity of the charity received (n. 1016). The light of a regenerate person is not from faith, but from charity by faith (n. 854). The truths of faith, when man is regenerated, enter with the delight of affection, because he loves to do them, and they are reproduced with the same affection, because they cohere (n. 2484, 2487, 3040, 3066, 3074, 3336, 4018, 5893).

They who live in love to the Lord, and in charity towards the neighbor, lose nothing to eternity, because they are conjoined to the Lord; but it is otherwise with those who are in separate faith (n. 7506-7507). Man remains such as is his life of charity, not such as his faith separate (n. 8256). All the states of delight of those who have lived in charity, return in the other life, and are increased immensely (n. 823). Heavenly blessedness flows from the Lord into charity, because into the very life of man; but not into faith without charity (n. 2363). In heaven all are regarded from charity, and none from faith separate (n. 1258, 1394). All are associated in the heavens according to their loves (n. 7085). No one is admitted into heaven by thinking, but by willing good (n. 2401, 3459). Unless doing good is conjoined with willing good and with thinking good, there is no salvation, neither any conjunction of the internal man with the external (n. 3987). The Lord, and faith in Him, are received by no others in the other life, than those who are in charity (n. 2343).

Good is in the perpetual desire and consequent endeavor of conjoining itself with truths, and charity with faith (n. 9206-9207, 9495). The good of charity acknowledges its own truth of faith, and the truth of faith its own good of charity (n. 2429, 3101-3102, 3161, 3179-3180, 4358, 5807, 5835, 9637). Hence there is a conjunction of the truth of faith and the good of charity, concerning which (n. 3834, 4096-4097, 4301, 4345, 4353, 4364, 4368, 5365, 7623-7627, 7752-7762, 8530, 9258, 10555). Their conjunction is like a marriage (n. 1904, 2173, 2508). The law of marriage is that two be one, according to the Word of the Lord (n. 10130, 10168-10169). So also faith and charity (n. 1094, 2173, 2503). Therefore faith which is faith, is, as to its essence, charity (n. 2228, 2839, 3180, 9783). As good is the esse of a thing, and truth the existere thence, so also is charity the esse of the church, and faith the existere thence (n. 3409, 3180, 4574, 5002, 9145). The truth of faith lives from the good of charity, thus a life according to the truths of faith is charity (n. 1589, 1947, 2571, 4070, 4096-4097, 4736, 4757, 4884, 5147, 5928, 9154, 9667, 9841, 10729). Faith cannot be given but in charity, and if not in charity, there is not good in faith (n. 2261, 4368). Faith does not live with man when he only knows and thinks the things of faith, but when he wills them, and from will does them (n. 9224).

There is no salvation by faith, but by a life according to the truths of faith, which life is charity (n. 379, 389, 2228, 4663, 4721). They are saved who think from the doctrine of the church that faith alone saves, if they do what is just for the sake of justice, and good for the sake of good, for thus they are still in charity (n. 2442, 3242, 3459, 3463, 7506-7507). If a mere cogitative faith could save, all would be saved (n. 2361, 10659). Charity constitutes heaven with man, and not faith without it (n. 3513, 3584, 3815, 9832, 10714-10715, 10721, 10724). In heaven all are regarded from charity, and not from faith (n. 1258, 1394, 2361, 4802). The conjunction of the Lord with man is not by faith, but by a life according to the truths of faith (n. 9380, 10143, 10153, 10310, 10578, 10645, 10648). The Lord is the tree of life, the goods of charity the fruits, and faith the leaves (n. 3427, 9337). Faith is the "lesser luminary," and good the "larger luminary" (n. 30-38).

The angels of the Lord's celestial kingdom do not know what faith is, so that they do not even name it, but the angels of the Lord's spiritual kingdom speak of faith, because they reason concerning truths (n. 202-203, 337, 2715, 3246, 4448, 9166, 10786). The angels of the Lord's celestial kingdom say only yea, yea or nay, nay, but the angels of the Lord's spiritual kingdom reason whether it be so or not so, when there is discourse concerning spiritual truths, which are of faith (n. 2715, 3246, 4448, 9166, 10786), where the Lord's words are explained:

Let your discourse be yea, yea, nay, nay; what is beyond these is from evil (Matt. 5:37).

The reason why the celestial angels are such, is, because they admit the truths of faith immediately into their lives, and do not deposit them first in the memory, as the spiritual angels do; and hence the celestial angels are in the perception of all things of faith (n. 202, 585, 597, 607, 784 1 121, 1387, 1398, 1442, 1919, 5113, 5897, 6367, 7680, 7877, 8521, 8780, 9936, 9995, 10124).

Trust or confidence, which in an eminent sense is called saving faith, is given with those only who are in good as to life, consequently with those who are in charity (n. 2982, 4352, 4683, 4689, 7762, 8240, 9239-9245). Few know what that confidence is (n. 3868, 4352).

What difference there is between believing those things which are from God, and believing in God (n. 9239, 9243). It is one thing to know, another to acknowledge, and another to have faith (n. 896, 4319, 5664). There are scientifics of faith, rationals of faith and spirituals of faith (n. 2504, 8078). The first thing is the acknowledgment of the Lord (n. 10083). All that flows in with man from the Lord is good (n. 1614, 2016, 2751, 2882-2883, 2891-2892,2904, 6193, 7643, 9128).

There is a persuasive faith, which nevertheless is not faith (n. 2343, 2682, 2689, 3427, 3865, 8148).

It appears from various reasonings as though faith were prior to charity, but this is a fallacy (n. 3324). It may be known from the light of reason, that good, consequently charity, is in the first place, and truth, consequently faith, in the second (n. 3324-6273). Good, or charity, is actually in the first place, or is the first of the church, and truth, or faith, is in the second place, or is the second of the church, although it appears otherwise (n. 3324-3325, 3330, 3336, 3494, 3539, 3548, 3556, 3570, 3576, 3603, 3701, 3995, 4337, 4601, 4925-4926, 4928, 4930, 5351, 6256, 6269, 6272-6273, 8042, 8080, 10110). The ancients disputed concerning the first or primogeniture of the church, whether it be faith or whether it be charity (n. 367[1-2], 2435, 3324).

  
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Thanks to the Swedenborg Foundation for their permission to use this translation.

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Arcana Coelestia # 3316

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3316. 'Jacob boiled pottage' means matters of doctrine when massed together. This is clear from the representation of 'Jacob' as the doctrine of natural truth, dealt with in 3305, and so as matters of doctrine within the natural man, and from the meaning of 'pottage' as a massing together of such matters of doctrine. Indeed 'boiling pottage' is massing together; for the verb in the original language is strictly speaking the noun for 'pottage' - as if you were to say 'he pottaged pottage', that is, he massed it together. It is the first state in the joining together of good and truth that is described in this verse and in those that follow to the end of the chapter. The first state of one who is being regenerated - that is, with whom truth is being joined to good - is a state in which first of all matters of doctrine regarding what is true are massed together, without any definite order, in his natural man, that is, in the storehouse there called the memory. The matters of doctrine present there at that time may be compared to the undigested particles of some ingredient, not compounded with anything else but massed together, and may be compared to a kind of chaos. But the chaos exists to the end that they may be brought into an ordered condition; for with anything that is brought into an ordered condition chaos exists at first. This is what is meant by the pottage that Jacob boiled, that is, massed together. Those matters of doctrine are not brought into an ordered condition by anything within themselves but by the good that must enter into them; and the amount of good entering into them, also the essential nature of that good, determine how far they become ordered and the nature of their then ordered condition. When good first craves and desires matters of doctrine, to the end that they may be joined to itself, it is seen in the form of an affection for truth. These are the considerations meant by 'Esau said to Jacob, Let me sip now from the red [pottage], this red [pottage]'.

[2] Such considerations do indeed appear to be quite remote from the sense of the letter, but nevertheless when man reads these words and understands them according to the sense of the letter, the angels who reside with him at the time do not have any [natural] idea at all of pottage, or of Jacob, or of Esau, or of red, or of sipping from red [pottage]. Instead they have a spiritual idea of them, which is altogether different and remote from that natural idea. The idea of those persons and objects is instantly converted into a spiritual idea. And so it is with everything else in the Word, such as, for example, when one reads of bread there the angels do not perceive bread but instead of bread instantly perceive celestial love and things that belong to celestial love, which is love to the Lord. And when one reads in the Word of wine they do not perceive wine but instead of wine spiritual love and the things that belong to that love, which is love towards the neighbour. Accordingly when one reads of pottage or soup they do not perceive pottage or soup but matters of doctrine that are not as yet joined to good, and thus a disordered massing together of them. This shows the essence and character of angels' thought and perception, and how remote these are from man's thought and perception. If a person when in a holy frame of mind were to think as they do - such as during the Holy Supper - and instead of bread were to perceive love to the Lord, and instead of wine love towards the neighbour, his thought and perception would then be similar to the angels' who in that case would draw nearer to him till at length it would be possible for them to share their thoughts with him, though only insofar as good was at the same time present in that person.

[3] That 'pottage' or soup means a massing together may be seen also from what is said about the sons of the prophets and Elisha in the Book of Kings,

Elisha came again to Gilgal, and there was a famine in the land. And the sons of the prophets were sitting before him, and he said to his servant, Set on the great pot, and boil pottage for the sons of the prophets. And one of them went out into the field to gather herbs and found a wild vine, and gathered from it wild gourds his lap full, and came and cut them up into the pot of pottage, for they did not know [what they were]. And they poured out for the men to eat. And it happened, while they were eating of the pottage, that they cried out and said, There is death in the pot, O man of God! And they could not eat it. And he said, Then bring flour. And he threw it into the pot, and said, Pour out for the people. And they ate, and there was no harm in the pot. 2 Kings 4:38-41.

In the internal sense these words have an altogether different meaning from what they do in the sense of the letter, that is to say, 'a famine in the land' means a dearth of cognitions of good and truth, 1460; 'the sons of the prophets' means those who teach, 2543; 'pottage' facts badly massed together; 'flour' truth which is obtained from good, or that which is spiritual obtained from that which is celestial, 2177. Thus the description of Elisha throwing the flour into the pot, at which point it ceased to contain anything harmful, means that those facts, massed together so, were put right by means of spiritual truth from the Lord's Word - for 'Elisha' represented the Lord as to the Word, 2762. Devoid of this spiritual sense the story about the pottage and the change effected by the flour would not have been worthy of mention in the most holy Word. As with the rest of the miracles in the Word, all of which conceal what is Divine within them, this miracle was performed for the sake of representing those things.

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