27. The faithful witness. That this signifies from whom is all truth in heaven, is evident from the signification of a faithful witness, when said of the Lord, as denoting the acknowledgment of the Divine Human, from whom is all truth in heaven; of which more will be said in what follows. The reason why it is said, "all truth in heaven," is, because Divine truth, going forth from the Divine good of the Lord, constitutes heaven in general, and with each angel there in particular. (That such is the case may be seen in the work, Heaven and Hell 13, 126-140; and that it [viz., the Divine truth] is from His Divine Human, n. 7-12, 78-86.) The Lord, as to the Divine Human, is called the "faithful witness," because Divine truth going forth from Him in heaven bears witness of Him. This witness is universally present in Divine truth there; which is evident from the fact that the angels of the interior heaven cannot think of the Divine but as under a human form, and, consequently, of a Divine Human. The reason is, that the Divine Human of the Lord fills the whole heaven and forms it, and the thoughts of the angels proceed and flow according to the form of heaven (as may be seen in the work above mentioned, n. 59-102, 200-212, 265-275). Hence it is, that the witness of Jesus Christ signifies the acknowledgment of the Lord's Divine in His Human (concerning which see above, n. 10).

[2] From these considerations it is evident what is meant, in the spiritual sense, by witnessing and by witness in the following passages:

"John" (here, John the Baptist) "came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe. He was not that Light, but came to bear witness of the Light. That was the true Light which enlighteneth every man. And I saw and bare witness" (John 1:7, 8, 34).

Light signifies Divine truth; therefore the Lord is there called the true Light which enlighteneth every man; and to bear witness of the Light signifies the acknowledgment of His Divine Human, from which Divine truth goes forth. (That light signifies Divine truth going forth from the Lord, may be seen in the work, Heaven and Hell, in the article on the light of heaven, n. 126-140.)

[3] In the same:

"Ye sent unto John, and he bare witness unto the truth: but I receive not witness from man" (5:33, 34).

In the same: "Jesus said, Verily I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and bear witness that we have seen. He that cometh from heaven is above all; and what he hath seen and heard, of that he witnesseth" (3:11, 31, 32).

In the same:

"Jesus said, Though I bear witness of myself, yet my witness is true: for I know whence I came and whither I go" (8:14);

which signifies, that He bare witness of Himself from Himself, because He was Divine truth.

In the same:

"When the Comforter, the Spirit of truth, is come, he shall bear witness of me" (15:26);

the Comforter, the Spirit of truth, is Divine truth going forth from the Lord (as may be seen, Arcana Coelestia 9818, 9820, 10330; and above, n. 25).

[4] In the same:

"Pilate said, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I might bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice. Pilate said, What is truth?" (18:37, 38).

The reason why the Lord thus answered when he was asked whether he was a king, was, because the Lord as king, is Divine truth; for this is the regal characteristic of the Lord in heaven, but His Divine good is the priestly characteristic there. This is why the Lord said that He was a king, that to this end He was born, and for this cause He came into the world, that He might bear witness unto the truth, and that every one that is in the truth heareth His voice; and therefore Pilate asked, What is truth? thus whether it was a king. (That Divine truth is the regal characteristic of the Lord in the heavens, may be seen, Arcana Coelestia 3009, 5068; and that therefore kings, in the Word, signify those who are in Divine truths, and thus, abstractedly from persons, Divine truths themselves, n. 1672, 2015, 2069, 4575, 4581, 4966, 5044.) That kings signify those who are in Divine truths, will appear more clearly in the explanation of what follows in the Apocalypse, where kings are named; and presently below, where it is said, "he hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father." From these considerations it is evident that by, "from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness," is signified the Lord as to the acknowledgment of His Divine Human, from which goes forth all truth in heaven.

3870. 'That I was hated' means the state of faith if there is no will corresponding to it. This is clear from the meaning of 'hated' as not loved, for this is the state of faith if the will does not correspond to it. The subject in the internal sense is the advance of a person's regeneration from what is external to what is internal, that is, from the truth of faith towards the good of charity. Truth which is the truth of faith is external, and good which is the good of charity is internal. So that it may be living, truth which is the truth of faith must be introduced into the will so as to receive life there. For truth which issues from knowledge is not living, only truth which issues from the will. Through the new will which the Lord creates in man life flows in from Him. The life which comes first manifests itself in obedience, this being the first degree of the will. The life which comes second manifests itself in the affection for doing what is true, this being a more advanced degree of the will, which is arrived at when delight and blessing are felt in the doing of what is true. Unless faith advances in this way truth does not become truth but something separated from life. Sometimes it becomes the corroboration of falsity, sometimes persuasive belief, and so something debased, for it couples itself to man's evil affection or desire, that is, to the will that is properly his own and the reverse of charity. Such is the faith which is believed to be true faith by many at the present day; they believe that this faith is able - of itself, without the works of charity - to save a person.

[2] But this faith - that is to say, faith separated from charity and therefore contrary to charity - is represented later on by Reuben's lying with Bilhah his father's concubine, Genesis 35:22, and by the expression of disgust by Jacob, who by then was named Israel, in the following words,

Reuben, my firstborn, you are my strength and the beginning of my power. Unstable as water, may you not excel, for you went up to your father's bed; then you defiled it. He went up to my couch. Genesis 49:3-4.

Also described in that chapter, by means of Simeon and Levi, is the contrariety to charity of the will and affection that go with this faith, namely faith separated from charity, in the following words,

Simeon and Levi are brothers; weapons of violence are their swords. Into their secret place let my soul not come; in their assembly let not my glory be united; for in their fury they killed a man, and in their wilfulness they hamstrung an ox. Cursed be their fury, for it is fierce, and their anger, for it is severe. I will divide them in Jacob, and will scatter them in Israel. Genesis 49:5-7.

That faith separated from charity is described in this case by Simeon and Levi will in the Lord's Divine mercy be shown later on.