653. Which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, signifies through the evils of the love of self and the falsities therefrom. This is evident from the signification of "Sodom," as being the love of self and evils of every kind therefrom (of which presently); also from the signification of "Egypt," as being the natural man separated from the spiritual, and falsity of evil of every kind therefrom (of which also presently). Evidently "Sodom and Egypt" mean Jerusalem, and thus the church, in which the goods of love are adulterated and the truths of doctrine are falsified, for it is next said "where also our Lord was crucified;" for the evils of the love of self and the falsities of doctrine are what crucify the Lord, therefore He was crucified by the Jews, because they were in those evils and falsities; but of this more hereafter.

[2] First let it be shown here that "Sodom" signifies in the Word the love of self, and thence every evil; for evils of every kind flow forth from the love of self; since he who loves himself only loves what is his own [proprium], and therefore immerses all things of his will and his understanding in what is his own [proprium], even so that it is impossible for him to be elevated from it to heaven and to the Lord; consequently he sees nothing from the light of heaven, but solely from the light of the world, which light, separated from the light of heaven, is mere darkness in spiritual things, which are the things of heaven and the church; and for this reason also the more a man loves himself the more he despises, yea, denies spiritual things. In consequence also of this the internal spiritual mind, by which man is in the light of heaven, is closed up, and this causes the man to be merely natural, and the merely natural man is inclined to evils of every kind. For the evils into which man is born have their seat in the natural man, and these are removed from him only to the extent in which his interior mind, which receives the light of heaven, is opened; moreover, what is man's own [proprium] has its seat in the natural man, and what is man's own [proprium] is nothing but evil.

[3] That "Sodom" therefore signifies the love of self, and thus evils of every kind, can be seen from the passages in the Word where "Sodom" is mentioned; as in the following. In Ezekiel:

Thy elder sister is Samaria, she and her daughters dwelling at thy left hand; but thy younger sister, dwelling at thy right hand, is Sodom and her daughters; thou hast corrupted thyself more than they in all thy ways; Sodom thy sister hath not done, she and her daughters, as thou hast done and thy daughters. Behold, this was the iniquity of Sodom, pride, satiety of bread, and tranquillity of quiet was hers and her daughters, and she strengthened not the hand of the afflicted and needy; therefore they became lofty, and committed abomination before Me (Ezekiel 16:46-50).

This treats of the abominations of Jerusalem, which were chiefly that they adulterated the goods and truths of the Word and of the church; "Samaria," where the Israelites were, signifies the spiritual church, in which spiritual good, which is the good of charity towards the neighbor, is the essential; but "Jerusalem," where the Jews were, signifies the celestial church, in which celestial good, which is the good of love to the Lord, is the essential. For there are two kingdoms into which heaven and thence the church is divided, the spiritual kingdom and the celestial kingdom (respecting these kingdoms see in the work on Heaven and Hell 20-28). These kingdoms were represented by the Israelites whose metropolis was Samaria, and by the Jews whose metropolis was Jerusalem.

[4] Spiritual good, which is the good of charity toward the neighbor, is the opposite of infernal evil, which is the evil of the love of the world; and celestial good is the opposite of diabolical evil, which is the evil of the love of self. From the love of self flow forth evils of all kinds, and much worse than those from love of the world (See the New Jerusalem and Its Heavenly Doctrine, n. 65-83). This is why more direful and abominable things are related of Jerusalem than of Samaria; and this is why Jerusalem is not only called "Sodom," but it is said that she did worse things than Sodom, as it is here said "Sodom hath not done as thou hast done and thy daughters." That the evil of the love of self was the evil of Sodom, is thus declared, "This was the iniquity of Sodom, pride, satiety of bread, tranquillity of quiet, and she strengthened not the hand of the afflicted and needy," "pride" meaning the love of self, "satiety of bread," the contempt of all good and truth of heaven and the church, even to loathing of them, "tranquillity of quiet," security and no anxiety on account of any evil; and "not strengthening the hands of the afflicted and needy" signifies unmercifulness. Because the love of self was the love of Sodom it is said that her daughters "became lofty and committed abomination before Jehovah," the "daughters" that became lofty signifying the cupidities of that love, and the "abomination before Jehovah" signifying every evil against the Divine Itself.

[5] Because the "Chaldeans" signify the profanation and adulteration of the truth of doctrine from the Word, and "the inhabitants of Babylon" the profanation and adulteration of the good of love, therefore the overthrow of these is also compared to the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah. In Jeremiah:

A sword against the Chaldeans, and against the inhabitants of Babylon, according to God's overthrowing Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighboring cities thereof, not a man shall dwell there, nor shall a son of man sojourn therein (Jeremiah 50:35, 40).

And in Isaiah:

So shall Babylon, the ornament of kingdoms, the splendor of the magnificence of the Chaldeans, be as God's overthrowing Sodom and Gomorrah (Isaiah 13:19).

"Sodom" signifies the evil of the love of self, and "Gomorrah" the falsity of that love; and as the love of self does not acknowledge any truth of the church, it is said, "not a man shall dwell there, nor shall a son of man sojourn therein," "man" signifying intelligence, and "son of man," the truth of the church.

[6] Because "Edom" signifies the natural man, who is in falsities from the love of self, and therefore adulterates the goods of the church, her vastation is compared to the overthrowing of Sodom and Gomorrah. In Jeremiah:

Edom shall be a desolation, as the overthrowing of Sodom and Gomorrah, no man [vir] shall dwell there, neither shall a son of man sojourn therein (Jeremiah 49:17, 18).

In Zephaniah:

Moab shall be as Sodom, and the sons of Ammon as Gomorrah, a place abandoned to nettles, and a pit of salt, a waste forever (Zephaniah 2:9).

"Moab," as has been said, means the natural man, who from the love of self adulterates the goods of the church, and "the sons of Ammon" mean those who falsify the truths of the church; and as thence is the devastation of all good and truth it is said, "a place abandoned to nettles, and a pit of salt, a waste forever;" the devastation of all good is signified by "a place of nettles," and the devastation of all truth, by "a pit of salt;" like things are signified by "Sodom and Gomorrah."

[7] Because "Judah" signifies celestial love, which is love to the Lord, from which is all good, and in the contrary sense diabolical love, which is the love of self, from which is all evil, the devastation of the church, which is signified by "Judah and Jerusalem," is also compared to the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah. In Isaiah:

Jerusalem hath stumbled, and Judah hath fallen; the hardening of their faces doth witness against them, and their sin is as Sodom's (Isaiah 3:8, 9).

Hear the word of Jehovah, ye princes of Sodom; give ear to the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah (Isaiah 1:10). "The Word of Jehovah" means Divine good, and "the law of God" Divine truth, for where good is treated of the name "Jehovah" is used, but where truth is treated of the name "God" is used; and as Divine good, to those who are in the love of self, is evil, it is said "their sin is as Sodom's," and "hear the Word of Jehovah, ye princes of Sodom;" and as Divine truth to those who are in the evil of the love of self is falsity, it is said, "give ear to the law of God, ye people of Gomorrah."

[8] In Moses:

Their vine is of the vine of Sodom, and their grapes are of the field of Gomorrah, grapes of gall, their clusters are of bitterness (Deuteronomy 32:32).

This is said of the direful falsities that exist with the posterity of Jacob, springing from the evils of the love of self. But this is explained above n. 519. In Lamentations:

They that did eat delicacies are laid waste in the streets, they that were brought up in crimson have embraced dunghills; the iniquity of My people is become greater than the sin of Sodom, that was overturned as in a moment (Lamentations 4:5, 6).

This is said of those who are of the Lord's celestial kingdom and church when they are changed into the opposite, for it is celestial love that is turned into the love of self, which is a diabolical love; of those who have been so changed the above is said. What is signified by "eating delicacies," "brought up in crimson," "laid waste in the streets," and "embracing dung-hills," has been explained in the article above n. 652. It is said that their iniquity "is become greater than the sin of Sodom," because they had the Word, from which they could know the truths and goods of heaven and the church, or of doctrine and life, and adulterated them, and this the inhabitants of Sodom could not do; for he who knows the will of the Lord and does it not, sins more than he who does not know it. Moreover, all those with whom the love of self is dominant despise the holy things of heaven and the church, and deny the Divine of the Lord; and to confirm the evils flowing forth from that love they either adulterate the Word or reject it as a writing that is holy only from having been so accepted. Those, therefore, who do this from the love of self are compared to Sodom and Gomorrah.

[9] That those who are taught by the Lord respecting the truths and goods of the church, and yet reject and deny them, do worse than those in Sodom, is evident from the Lord's words respecting Capernaum, in Matthew:

Thou Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down unto hell; for if the mighty works had been done in Sodom which were done in thee it would have remained until this day; I say unto thee ¹ that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for thee ¹ (Matthew 11:23, 24).

For the Lord after He left Nazareth abode in Capernaum (Matthew 4:13).

And there did miracles (Matthew 8:5-14; 4:46-54 to the end).

Like things were said by the Lord of the cities in which the disciples preached His coming or the Gospel and were not received. As in these words in Matthew:

Whosoever shall not receive you nor hear your words, when ye go forth out of that house or city shake off the dust of your feet; verily I say unto you it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city (Matthew 10:14, 15; Mark 6:11; Luke 10:10-12).

For no one rejects the holy things of the church and denies the Divine of the Lord more interiorly than those do who are in the love of self; those who are in the love of the world and in the evils therefrom may reject the holy things of the church, but not so interiorly, that is, from the confirmation of the heart.

[10] Like things are said of the prophets and the people who adulterate the truths and goods of the Word to confirm evils and falsities. In Jeremiah:

In the prophets of Jerusalem I have seen a horrible stubbornness, in adulterating and walking in a lie, while they have strengthened the hands of the evil that no man doth return from his wickedness; they are become to Me as Sodom, and the inhabitants thereof as Gomorrah (Jeremiah 23:14).

By "prophets" here those are meant who teach the truths and goods of doctrine, and in an abstract sense, which is the genuine spiritual sense, doctrine from the Word is meant, thus also the Word in respect to doctrine, therefore "a horrible stubbornness" signifies confirmation of heart against the truths and goods of the Word; "to adulterate and walk in a lie" signifies to pervert the goods and truths of the Word; "to adulterate" signifies to pervert the goods of the Word by evils and falsities, a "lie" means falsity, and "to walk in a lie" means to live in falsities. "To strengthen the hands of the evil" signifies to confirm evils and thence their power over goods; and "no man doth return from his wickedness" signifies to persist in the evils and falsities of doctrine; therefore it is said "they are become as Sodom, and the inhabitants thereof as Gomorrah," "as Sodom" signifying to be in evils springing from the love of self, and "the inhabitants thereof as Gomorrah" signifying an evil life from the falsities of doctrine.

[11] The evil that destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah is described as follows in Moses:

That they wished to offer violence to the angels, and were therefore smitten with blindness, so that they could not find the door where the angels were; and that therefore Jehovah caused brimstone and fire to rain upon Sodom and Gomorrah, and overthrew those cities and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which sprang up from the ground (Genesis 19:1-28).

"Their wishing to offer violence to the angels" means to Divine good and Divine truth, for these are signified by "angels;" the "blindness" with which they were smitten so that they could not find the door signified the complete rejection and denial of the Divine and of the holy things of heaven and the church, even so far as to be unable to see and acknowledge anything of heaven or the church, which is signified by "not finding the door" where the angels were; "brimstone" signifies the lust of destroying the goods and truths of the church by falsities, and "fire" signifies the love of self and every evil that destroys, here the destruction of goods and truths.

[12] That "Sodom and Gomorrah" mean all evils and falsities flowing forth from the love of self has been told me from heaven; for when they who are in evils from that love perish, which occurred at the time of the Last Judgment, there was an appearance of brimstone and fire raining down from heaven; this I also witnessed. That this would occur at the time of the Last Judgment was also predicted by the Lord in Luke:

Likewise even as it came to pass in the days of Lot, on the day that he went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all; after the same manner shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed (Luke 17:28-30).

[13] Because those who from the love of self confirm themselves by means of falsities in evils against the truths and goods of heaven and the church, completely root out with themselves every truth of doctrine and of the Word and every good of spiritual and celestial love, there takes place in them a total vastation, which is thus described in Moses:

The whole land shall be brimstone and salt, a burning; it shall not be sown, neither shall it spring forth, nor shall any herb come up thereon, according to the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah, of Admah and Zeboiim (Deuteronomy 29:23).

"Brimstone" signifies the vastation of all good by lusts from evils; "salt" signifies the vastation of all truth by falsities from those lusts; "the burning of the whole land" signifies the devastation of the church by the love of self; "it shall not be sown, neither spring forth, nor shall any herb come up thereon," signifies that there will be no capacity whatever to receive the truth of the church, "herb" signifying the truth of the church when it first springs forth. And because such is the devastation of good and truth from the love of self it is said, "like the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah, of Admah and Zeboiim," "Admah and Zeboiim" signifying the knowledges of evil and falsity. That such things are to occur at the time of the Last Judgment is what is signified by "in the day when the Son of man is revealed."

Poznámky pod čarou:

3704. 'And the God of Isaac' means the Lord's Divine Human. This is clear from the representation of 'Isaac' as the Lord's Divine Rational; and since it is in the Rational that the Human has its beginnings, 2194, and so is that from which and through which the Human has its being, 'the God of Isaac' therefore means here the Lord's Divine Human. Since every single thing in heaven, every single thing with man, and indeed every single thing in the whole natural order has reference to good and truth the Lord's Divine too is therefore distinguished into Divine Good and Divine Truth - the Lord's Divine Good being called 'the Father', and His Divine Truth 'the Son'. Yet the Lord's Divine is nothing else than Good, indeed it is Good itself; but Divine Truth is the Lord's Divine Good as it presents itself visually in heaven, that is, to angels. In this it is like the sun. Essentially the sun is nothing else than fire; but the light which one sees coming from it is not in the sun but flowing from it. For the Lord as regards Divine Good is represented by the sun, and also in the next life He is the Sun for the whole of heaven, see 1053, 1521, 1529-1531, 2495, 3636, 3643, and the Lord as regards Divine Truth is represented by the light, and also in the next life He is the Light for the whole of heaven, 1053, 1521, 1529, 1530, 2776, 3138, 3195, 3222, 3223, 3339, 3341, 3636, 3643.

[2] So essentially the Lord is nothing else than Divine Good, and this applies to both essentials - to the Divine itself and to the Divine Human. Divine Truth however does not exist within Divine Good but flows from it, for as stated above, Divine Truth is the Divine Good presenting itself visually in heaven. Now because Divine Good presents itself as Divine Truth, therefore the Lord's Divine is distinguished, to enable man to grasp it mentally, into Divine Good and Divine Truth, Divine Good being called in the Word 'the Father' and Divine Truth 'the Son'. This is the arcanum that lies behind the Lord Himself on so many occasions speaking of His Father as though He were separate from and so to speak One other than Himself, and yet at other times speaking of His being one with Himself. The fact that in the internal sense 'father' means good, and in the highest sense the Lord as regards Divine Good, has been shown just above in 3703, and the fact that 'son' means truth while 'the Son of God' and 'the Son of Man' mean the Lord as regards Divine Truth, in 1729, 1733, 2159, 2803, 2813. The matter is also clear from all those places where the Lord uses the name Father and calls Himself the Son.

[3] Not only in the Old Testament Word is the Lord called Jehovah - see 1343, 1736, 2921 - but He is also referred to there as 'Father', as is clear from the following places: In Isaiah,

To us a Boy is born, to us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder, and His name will be called, Wonderful, Counsellor, God, Hero, Father of Eternity, Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6.

From this it is quite evident that 'the Boy born to us and me Son given to us' is the Lord, and so it is He who is called 'the Father of Eternity'. In Jeremiah,

I will be a Father to Israel, and Ephraim will be my firstborn. Jeremiah 31:9.

This refers to the Lord, who, being the God of Israel and me Holy One of Israel, see 3305, is here 'a Father to Israel'. In Malachi,

Have we not all one Father? Has not one God created us? Malachi 2:10.

'Creating' here in the internal sense stands for regenerating, as it also does elsewhere in the Word, see 16, 88, 472. And since me Lord alone is Regenerator and Redeemer it is He who is here called 'Father' and 'God', as also in Isaiah,

You are our Father, for Abraham does not know us and Israel does not acknowledge us. You, O Jehovah, are our Father, our Redeemer; from eternity is Your name. Isaiah 63:16.

[4] In the same prophet,

I will clothe him with your robe and strengthen him with your girdle, and will commit your dominion into his hand, so that he may be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to the house of Judah. And I will place the key of the house of David on his shoulder; and he will open and none will shut, and he will shut and none will open. And I will fasten him like a peg in a sure place, so that he may be the throne of his father's glory, and on him they may hang all the glory of his father's house, of sons and grandsons, every small vessel - from the vessels of bowls even to all the vessels of stringed instruments. Isaiah 22:21-24.

From this it is quite evident that it is the Lord who in the internal sense here is represented and meant, and who is called 'a father to me inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah'. For He is the one 'on whose shoulder the key of the house of David is placed, who opens and none shuts, and who shuts and none opens' - see the Preface to Chapter 22. And to Him belongs 'the throne of His Father's glory', and on Him all holy things are based and from Him they are derived. Those holy things are here called 'vessels' celestial ones being called 'vessels of bowls', and spiritual ones 'vessels of stringed instruments'.

[5] Since kings and priests represented the Lord - 'kings' through their kingship representing the Lord as regards Divine Truth, and 'priests' the Lord as regards Divine Good, 3670 - priests were therefore called 'fathers', as may be seen in the Book of Judges,

Micah said to the Levite, Stay with me, and be to me a father and a priest. Judges 17:10.

The children of Dan spoke to the same man in a similar way,

Keep quiet, put your hand over your mouth, and come with us, and be to us a father and a priest. Judges 18:19.

Even kings called them the same, in the second Book of Kings,

The king of Israel said to Elisha, My father, shall I smite them? He said, You shall not smite them. 2 Kings 6:21-22.

And King Joash's words to Elisha when the latter was dying,

King Joash wept before him and said, My father, my father! The chariot of Israel and its riders! 2 Kings 13:14.

Kings called a priest 'father' because 'kings' represented the Lord as regards Divine Truth, 'priests' as regards Divine Good, and also because truth in relationship to good is as son to father, for truth stems from good.

[6] This matter is very well known in the next life, and for this reason those in heaven call no one other than the Lord 'Father', and by 'Father' mentioned in the Gospels they perceive no one other than Him, see 15, 1729. All young children there, when being introduced to the good that flows from love and to the truth partnering that love, are taught to acknowledge the Lord alone as Father. And newcomers to heaven also are taught with utmost care that God is one; and if they have been from within the Church they are taught that the whole of the Trinity resides in the Lord - for almost everybody from the Christian world possesses the idea of three Gods, even though with the lips they used to declare that there is only one God. For once the idea of three has entered in, and each one of these is called God and is also distinguished from the other so far as attributes and functions are concerned, and are even worshipped individually, it is no longer humanly possible to think of one God. Consequently there is in the heart a worship of three Gods but on the lips that of only one.

[7] The truth that the whole of the Trinity resides in the Lord is well known in the Christian world, and yet among Christians in the next life little thought takes place regarding the Lord. Indeed His Humanity is to many people a stumbling-block, for they distinguish the Human from the Divine and do not believe that it is Divine. A person will declare himself to be righteous and so made pure and almost sanctified; but to the idea that the Lord has been glorified, that is, His Human has been made Divine, they do not give any thought. But in fact He was conceived from Jehovah Himself, and in any case nobody can be made righteous, let alone be sanctified, except from the Divine, and especially from the Lord's Divine Human, which is represented and meant in the Holy Supper, where it is explicitly stated that the bread is His body and the wine His blood.

[8] The truth that the Lord is one with the Father and that He has existed from eternity, rules over all, and so is Divine Good itself and Divine Truth itself, is quite clear from the Word:

The Lord is One with the Father In John,

Nobody has ever seen God; the only begotten Son who is in the bosom of the Father, [He has made Him known.] John 1:18.

In the same gospel,

The Jews sought to kill Jesus because He had called God His Father, making Himself equal to God. Jesus answered and said, Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son cannot do anything by Himself except what He will have seen the Father doing, for that which He does the Son also does likewise. For as the Father raises the dead and quickens them, so also does the Son quicken whom He will. For the Father does not judge anyone, but has given all judgement to the Son, so that all may honour the Son even as they honour the Father. He who does not honour the Son does not honour the Father who sent Him. As the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son also to have life in Himself. The Father who sent Me has Himself borne witness to Me. You have never heard His voice nor seen His shape. Search the Scriptures; it is they that bear witness to Me. John 5:18-39.

'The Father' is used here, as has been stated, to mean the Divine Good and 'the Son' the Divine Truth, both being within the Lord. From Divine Good, which is 'the Father', nothing but what is Divine is able to proceed or come forth, and that which proceeds or comes forth is Divine Truth, which is 'the Son'.

[9] In the same gospel,

Everyone who has heard from the Father and has learned comes to Me. No one has seen the Father except Him who is with the Father, He has seen the Father. John 6:44-48.

In the same gospel,

They said to Him, Where is your Father? Jesus answered, You know neither Me nor My Father; if you knew Me you would know My Father also. John 8:18-19.

In the same gospel,

I and the Father are one. Even though you do not believe Me, believe the works, that you may know and believe that the Father is in Me, and I in the Father. John 10:30, 38.

In the same gospel,

Jesus said, He who believes in Me believes not in Me but in Him who sent Me; and he who sees Me sees Him who sent Me. I have come as light into the world in order that everyone who believes in Me may not remain in darkness. John 12:44-46.

'The Father sent Him' means in the internal sense that He proceeds from the Father. This is so in this and other places where the Lord says that the Father sent Him. 'Light' means Divine Truth, see above.

[10] In the same gospel,

I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but by Me. If you know Me you know My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him. Philip said to Him, Lord, show us the Father. Jesus said, Have I been with you so long, and yet you do not know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father. So why do you say, Show us the Father? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak from Myself, the Father who dwells in Me, He does the works. Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me. Whatever you ask in My name I will do it, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. John 14:6-11, 13.

In the same gospel,

He who has My commandments and does them, he it is who loves Me; but he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will manifest Myself to him. If anyone loves Me he will keep My word, and My father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. John 14:21, 23.

[11] Those governed by Divine Truth are meant by the ones who 'have His commandments and do them', while those governed by Divine Good are meant by the ones who 'love Him'. This is why it is said that 'he will be loved by the Father', and 'We will come to him and make Our home with him', that is to say, Divine Good and Divine Truth will come and dwell in him. It is also the reason why the following is said in the same chapter,

On that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me. John 14:20.

And elsewhere in the same gospel,

Holy Father, keep them in Your name, that they may be one as We are one. John 17:11.

From these places it is clear that the Lord talks of the Father by virtue of the Divine Good that is His, and of the Son by virtue of the Divine Truth which springs from the Divine Good. And so they are not two but one. The Lord spoke in this fashion however in order that the Word might be received both on earth and in heaven, and also because prior to His glorification the Lord was Divine truth that sprang from Divine Good, but once He had been glorified He was as to both Essences Divine Good itself in which all Divine Good and Divine Truth have their origin.

[12] The Lord has existed from Eternity

This becomes clear from the fact that it was the Lord who spoke through the prophets, and that both for this reason and the fact that Divine Truth came from Him He was called the Word, which is spoken of in John,

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the Only Begotten from the Father. John 1:1-4, 14.

'The Word' stands for all truth in heaven and on earth which comes from the Divine.

[13] His existence from eternity is explicitly taught by Him elsewhere in John,

John said, This was He who though coming after me was before me, for He was before me. Among you stands one whom you do not know. He it is who is to come after me, who was before me. John 1:15, 26-27, 30.

In the same gospel,

What if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where He was before? John 6:62.

In the same gospel,

Jesus said, Truly, truly, I say to you, Before Abraham was, I am. John 8:58.

In the same gospel,

He knew that He had come from God and was going to God. John 13:3.

In the same gospel,

The Father Himself loves you because you have loved Me and have believed that I came from God. I came from the Father and have come into the world; again I am leaving the world and am going to the Father. John 16:27-28.

In the same gospel,

I have glorified You on earth; I have accomplished the work which You gave Me to do. Now therefore, Father, glorify Me in Your Own Self with the glory I had with You before the world was, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me, because You loved Me before the foundation of the world. John 17:4-5, 24.

In Isaiah,

To us a Boy is born, to us a Son is given; and His name will be called Wonderful Counsellor, God, Hero, Father of Eternity, Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6.

[14] The Lord rules over All

This is clear in Matthew,

All things have been delivered to Me by My Father. Matthew 11:27.

In the same gospel, Jesus said to the disciples, All power in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Matthew 28:18.

In John,

The Father has given all things into the hand of the Son. He who believes in the Son has eternal life. John 3:35-36.

The Father does not judge anyone, but has given all judgement to the Son. John 5:22.

In the same gospel,

Jesus knew that the Father had given all things into His hands. John 13:3.

In the same gospel, All that the Father has is Mine. John 16:15.

In the same gospel,

Jesus said, Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You, as You have given Him power over all flesh. John 17:1-2.

In the same gospel,

All Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine, and I am glorified in them. I am no longer in the world, for I am coming to You. John 17:10-11.

In Luke,

All things have been delivered to Me by My Father. Luke 10:22.

[15] From all these places it is clear that it is Divine Good which is called 'the Father' and Divine Truth 'the Son', and that the Lord governs every single thing in all creation from Divine Good by means of Divine Truth. This being so, manifestly so from the Word, it is astounding that people in the Christian world know and teach that the whole of the Trinity resides in the Lord, and yet they do not, as those in heaven do, acknowledge and adore the Lord alone, and so one God. The truth that the Holy Spirit, who also is worshipped as God distinct and separate from Father and Son, is the holiness of the spirit - or the holiness that proceeds from the Lord through spirits or angels, that is, from His Divine Good through the Divine Truth - will in the Lord's Divine mercy be made plain elsewhere.