3854. 'Jehovah saw' means the Lord's foresight and providence. This is clear from the meaning of 'seeing' in reference to the Lord as foresight and providence, dealt with in the next verse where Reuben is the subject, who was so named from the expression 'to see' - 'Jehovah' being the Lord, see 1343, 1736, 1793, 2156, 2329, 2921, 3023, 3035.

[2] As regards foresight and providence in general, foresight has reference more to man, providence more to the Lord. The Lord foresaw from eternity what the human race was going to be like in the future and what every member of it was going to be like, and that evil was going to increase all the time, so that at length man, of himself, would rush headlong into hell. That being so, the Lord has provided not only the means by which He makes it possible for him to be diverted from hell and led towards heaven, but also does in His providence divert and lead him all the time. The Lord also foresaw that it would be impossible for any good to take root in man except in his freedom, for that which does not take root in freedom is dispelled at the first sign of evil and of temptation. This the Lord foresaw, as well as the fact that of himself, that is, from his own freedom, man would be inclined towards the deepest hell. That being so, the Lord provided that if he would not allow himself to be led in freedom towards heaven he could still be diverted towards a milder hell; but if he would allow himself to be led in freedom towards good then he could be diverted towards heaven. From these considerations one may see what foresight is and what providence is, and that appropriate provisions are made for things that are foreseen.

[3] From this it may be seen how far someone errs who believes that the Lord has not foreseen and does not see the smallest individual thing with man, or that within the smallest individual thing He does not foresee and lead, when in fact the Lord's foresight and providence are present within the tiniest details of all the smallest individual things with him, and in details so tiny that it is impossible to comprehend in any manner of thought one in many millions of them. For every smallest fraction of a moment of a person's life entails a chain of consequences extending into eternity. Indeed every one is like a new beginning to those that follow, and so every single moment of the life both of his understanding and of his will is a new beginning. And since the Lord foresaw from eternity what man was going to be like in the future and even into eternity it is clear that providence is present in the smallest individual things, and, as has been stated, is governing him and diverting him so that he may be such, this being achieved by constant re-shaping of his freedom. But this subject will in the Lord's Divine mercy be discussed further later on.

10786. They added that they also become confused when any such person tells them that they ought to have faith in and to believe the things he tells them, and that in answer to him they say that they do not know what faith is or what believing is, since they perceive intuitively that something is true. For they belonged to the Lord's celestial kingdom, where intuitive perception gives everyone a knowledge of those truths which with us are called matters of faith; for they are enlightened by the Lord, in a different way from those who belong to the Lord's spiritual kingdom. I was also allowed to see that their nature was such from the fiery source from which they received their ideas. Whenever there is talk about truths those who belong to the Lord's celestial kingdom say no more than 'Yes, yes' or 'No, no'. They never reason about truths, whether they are such or not. These are the ones about whom the Lord says,

Your words shall be Yes, yes; No, no; anything beyond this is from evil ¹ . [Matthew 5:37.]

This explains why those spirits said that they did not know what having faith or believing was. They consider this to be like someone saying to a companion who sees houses or trees with his own eyes that he ought to have faith or believe that they are houses or trees, when he can see clearly that that is what they are. Such is the character of those who belong to the Lord's celestial kingdom, and such was the character of those angelic spirits. We told them that there are few on our planet who possess intuitive perception, because people there learn truths when they are young but do not practise them. For a person has two powers of mind, called the understanding and the will. Some do not let truths penetrate any further than their memory and slightly beyond into their understanding, but not into their life, that is, into their will; and they are ones who, because they cannot receive any enlightenment or insight from the Lord, talk of the need for things to be believed or for people to have faith. They also reason about whether such things are true or not, having no wish indeed to perceive them with any insight or power of understanding. They talk in those ways because the truths that reside with them lack any light from heaven, and to those who see things without light from heaven falsities can appear as truths, and truths as falsities. Consequently very many on our planet have become afflicted with a blindness so great that even though a person does not practise truths, that is, lead a life in keeping with them, they nevertheless say that he can be saved by faith alone.

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