4169. Thy sheep and thy she-goats have not cast their young. That this signifies its state as to good and the good of truth, is evident from the signification of a “sheep,” as being good (concerning which in what follows); and from the signification of a “she-goat,” as being the good of truth (see n. 3995, 4006). By “good” simply so called is meant the good of the will; but by the “good of truth” is meant the good of the understanding. The good of the will is to do good from good; but the good of the understanding is to do good from truth. To those who do good from truth these two appear to be one and the same thing; but yet they differ much from each other; for to do good from good is to do it from the perception of good, and the perception of good exists solely with the celestial; whereas to do good from truth is to do it from memory-knowledge and the consequent understanding; but without the perception that it is so; and only because we have been so instructed by others, or by our own intellectual faculty have of ourselves arrived at the conclusion in question. This may indeed be a fallacious truth, but still if it has good as its end, that which the man does from this truth becomes as good.

[2] That “sheep” signify goods, may be seen from many passages in the Word, of which the following only shall be adduced.

In Isaiah:

He was afflicted, and He opened not His mouth; He is led as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers, and He opened not His mouth (Isaiah 53:7); concerning the Lord, where He is compared to a sheep, not from truth, but from good.

In Matthew:

Jesus said to the twelve whom He sent out, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not; but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel (Matthew 10:5-6

the “Gentiles to whom they should not go,” denote those who are in evils. (That the “Gentiles” denote evils may be seen above, n. 1259, 1260, 1849.) The “cities of the Samaritans” denote those who are in falsities; “sheep,” those who are in goods.

[3] In John:

Jesus after His resurrection said to Peter, Feed My lambs; the second time He said, Feed My sheep; and the third time, Feed My sheep (John 21:15-17);

“lambs” here denote those who are in innocence; “sheep” as first mentioned, those who are in good from good; and “sheep” as last mentioned, those who are in good from truth.

In Matthew:

When the Son of man shall come in His glory, He shall set the sheep on His right hand, and the goats on His left; and He shall say unto them on His right hand, Come ye blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was a hungered, and ye gave Me to eat; I was thirsty, and ye gave Me to drink; I was a stranger, and ye took Me in; I was naked, and ye clothed Me; I was sick, and ye visited Me; I was in prison, and ye came unto Me. Inasmuch as ye did it unto one of the least of these My brethren, ye did it unto Me (Matthew 25:31-40).

That “sheep” here denote goods (that is, those who are in good) is very evident. All kinds of the goods of charity are here contained in the internal sense, as of the Lord’s Divine mercy will be shown elsewhere. By “he-goats” are specifically signified those who are in faith and in no charity.

[4] In like manner in Ezekiel:

As for you, O My flock, saith the Lord Jehovih, behold I judge between cattle and cattle, between the rams of the sheep, and the he-goats (Ezekiel 34:17).

That the “he-goats” are specifically those who are in the faith of no charity, may be seen from the signification of “he-goats,” as being in a good sense those who are in the truth of faith, and thence in some charity; but in the opposite sense, those who are in the faith of no charity, and who reason concerning salvation from the starting point that faith saves. The same appears also from what the Lord says concerning the goats in Matthew, as cited above. But they who are in no truth of faith, and at the same time in no good of charity, are carried away into hell without such a judgment, that is, without any conviction that they are in falsity.

3995. And the spotted and speckled among the goats. ¹ That this signifies that then all the good of truth in which falsity and evil are mingled shall be His, is evident from the signification of “spotted,” as being falsity; and from the signification of “speckled,” as being evil; as shown above (n. 3993); and from the signification of “she-goats,” as being the good of truth, or the charity of faith (n. 3519). That all this will be His, is also signified by what follows, “and it shall be my reward.”

[2] A few words as to what the good of truth is, or the charity of faith. When a man is being regenerated the truth which is of faith apparently comes first, and the good which is of charity apparently follows; but when the man has been regenerated, then the good which is of charity manifestly takes the precedence, and the truth which is of faith manifestly follows. (That the former is the appearance, and the latter the real truth, may be seen above, n. 3539, 3548, 3556, 3563, 3570, 3576, 3603, 3616, 3701.) For when a man is being regenerated, he does what is good from the truth he has learned, because from truth he learns what is good; nevertheless it is the good within that effects this. For good flows in from the Lord by an internal way, that is, by the way of the soul; but truth flows in by an external way, or by the way of the senses, which is that of the body. The truth that enters by the latter way is adopted by the good that is within, and is conjoined with it, and this even until the man has been regenerated. A revolution then takes place, and truth is done from good. From this it is evident what the good of truth is, and what the truth of good. This is the reason why so many now say that the goods of charity are the fruits of faith; for so it appears in the beginning of regeneration, and from the appearance they draw this conclusion. Nor do they know otherwise, because there are few who are being regenerated, and no one can know this except the man who has been regenerated, that is, who is in the affection of good, or in charity. From the affection of good, or from charity, this can be clearly seen, and also perceived; but they who have not been regenerated do not even know what the affection of good, or charity, is; but reason about it as about something that is foreign to them, or outside of them; for which reason they call charity the fruit of faith, when yet faith is from charity. However, it is not very important for the simple to know which is prior and which posterior, provided they live in charity; for charity is the life of faith.

[3] By “cattle” here are meant not only lambs, but also sheep, kids, she-goats, rams, and he-goats, although only lambs and she-goats are mentioned; and this because by “lambs” is signified innocence; and by “she-goats,” the charity of faith; for these are the things here treated of in the internal sense. For this reason “spotted” is expressed in the original language by a word that also means “lambs” (as in Isaiah 40:10-11); and “speckled” by a word that also means a “herdman” (asin 2 Kings 3:4; Amos 1:1).

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