10490. 'And kill [every] man his brother, and [every] man his companion, and [every] man his neighbour' means a shutting off to prevent any reception and transmission of inflowing goodness and truth, and of the things touching on them. This is clear from the meaning of 'killing' as taking spiritual life away, thus taking the good of love and the truth of faith away, and therefore at this point as a shutting off to prevent any reception and transmission of them, for when they have been removed, so too has spiritual life been taken away and only natural life remains (for the meaning of 'killing' as taking spiritual life away, see 3387, 3395, 3607, 6767, 7043, 8902); from the meaning of 'brother' as the good of love and charity, dealt with in 3815, 4121, 4191, 5409, 5686, 5692, 6756; from the meaning of 'companion' as the truth of that good; and from the meaning of 'neighbour' as that which is linked to them, dealt with in 5911, 9378, thus that which touches on them. For people whose borders touch are neighbours. From all this it is evident that 'kill [every] man his brother, and [every] man his companion, and [every] man his neighbour' means a shutting off of what is internal with that nation to prevent any reception by them or transmission to them of inflowing goodness, truth, or anything that touches on them.

[2] The implications of all this are that because that nation was idolatrous at heart, ruled completely by the kinds of love in which hell consists, and yet worship representative of heavenly realities was to be established among them, their internals were altogether shut off. They were shut off for two reasons, the first being in order that external things alone with them, devoid of anything internal, might be the means by which the joining to heaven could be effected, and the second in order that the holy things of the Church and of heaven might not be rendered profane. For if that nation had acknowledged the internal things of worship, that is, the holy things of the Church and of heaven which were being represented, they would have defiled them and rendered them profane. This explains why little if any was clearly revealed to that nation about heaven and life after death, and why they were totally ignorant of the truth that the Messiah's kingdom existed in heaven. That nation is still like this at the present day, as is well known.

[3] But see what has been shown regarding that nation in the places referred to above in 10396, for instance the following,

Their whole interest lay in external things and not in anything internal, 4293, 4311, 4459(end), 4834, 4844, 4847, 4865, 4868, 4874, 4903, 4913, 9320, 9373, 9380, 9381.

Consequently their worship was merely external, 3147, 3479, 8871.

Nor did they wish to know about the inner things of worship and of the Word, 3479, 4429, 4433, 4680.

If they had known the holy inner things they would have rendered them profane, 3398, 3489, 4289.

Therefore they were not allowed to know those things, 301, 302, 304, 2520, 3769.

Nevertheless through the outward things of worship among them, which were representative of heavenly realities, there was contact with heaven, 4311, 4444, 6304, 8588, 8788, 8806.

These then are the things that should be understood and are meant by the words commanding them to kill [every] man his brother, [every] man his companion, and [every] man his neighbour.

[4] Anyone who does not know that brothers, companions, neighbours, and further names describing human relationships serve to mean the Church and heaven's forms of good and truths, or their opposites, which are evils and falsities, cannot know what is implied by very many places in the Word where those names occur, such as in the following places: In Matthew,

Do not think that I have come to bring peace on earth; I have not come to bring peace but a sword. For I have come to set a man (homo) against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and a man's enemies will be those of his own household. Whoever loves father or mother above Me is not worthy of Me; and whoever loves son or daughter above Me is not worthy of Me. And whoever does not take up his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. Matthew 10:34-38.

These verses refer to spiritual conflicts, which are the temptations that those who are to be regenerated must undergo. Thus they refer to the strife a person experiences at that time between the evils and falsities which come to him from hell and the forms of good and the truths which come to him from the Lord. Since those conflicts are what is described here the declaration 'whoever does not take up his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me' is made, 'cross' being used to mean a person's state during temptations. Anyone who does not know that these kinds of things are meant by 'man and father', 'daughter and mother', 'daughter-in-law and mother-in-law' will suppose that the Lord came into the world to remove the peace in households and families and to introduce strife, when in fact He came to bring peace and remove strife, as accords with His words in John 14:27, and elsewhere.

[5] The fact that strife between the internal man and the external is described in those verses is clear from the meaning in the internal sense of 'man and father', 'daughter and mother', and 'daughter-in-law and mother-in-law'. In that sense 'man' (homo) means good which comes from the Lord, and 'father' evil which springs from a person's self; 'daughter' means an affection for goodness and truth, and 'mother' an affection for evil and falsity; and 'daughter-in-law' means the Church's truth linked to its good, and 'mother-in-law' falsity linked to its evil. And since the conflict that takes place between the forms of good and the evils residing with a person, and between the falsities and truths, is described in that manner those verses also contain the declaration 'a man's enemies will be those of his own household'. By 'those of his own household' the things that reside with a person are meant, thus those which belong properly to himself, while 'enemies' in the spiritual sense are the evils and falsities that attack forms of good and truths. The fact that such things are meant by 'man', 'father', 'daughter', 'mother', 'daughter-in-law', and 'mother-in-law' has been shown in various places in the explanations.

[6] The like is meant by the following words in Matthew,

Brother will deliver up brother to death, and a father his son; and children will rise up against parents and put them to death. Matthew 10:21.

Also by the following in Luke,

If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brothers, and sisters, and even his own soul, he cannot be My disciple. And whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. So therefore any of you who does not renounce all his possessions cannot be My disciple. Luke 14:26-27, 33.

Is there anyone who does not see that these words should not be taken literally, at the very least from the fact that they say without any qualification that father, mother, wife, children, brothers, sisters must be hated before anyone can be the Lord's disciple, when yet it is one of the Lord's commands, in Matthew 5:43-44, that no one should be hated, not even an enemy?

[7] It is self-evident that the things which are a person's own, that is, evils and falsities in their own order, should be understood by the names of those family members, since it also says that he must hate his own soul and renounce all his possessions, that is, the things which are properly his. The state of temptation or spiritual conflict is also described here, for it says, 'whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple'. 'Being the Lord's disciple' means being led by Him and not by self, thus by the forms of good and the truths which come from the Lord and not by the evils and falsities which come from the person.

[8] The Word should be understood in a like manner in other places where those names are used, such as in Jeremiah,

They do not pay attention to My words; and My law, they reject it. Therefore thus said Jehovah, Behold, I am laying before this people stumbling-blocks, that fathers and sons together may stumble against them, a neighbour and his companion, and may perish. Jeremiah 6:19, 21.

In the same prophet,

I will scatter them, [every] man with his brother, [and fathers] and sons together. I will not spare, nor forgive, nor pity, that I should not destroy them. Jeremiah 13:14.

In the same prophet,

Jehovah caused many to stumble ¹ ; also [every] man fell upon his companion. Jeremiah 46:16.

And in Isaiah,

I will embroil Egypt with Egypt, in order that a man may fight against his brother, and a man against his companion. Isaiah 19:2.

In these places also the like should be understood by 'fathers', 'sons', 'brothers', and 'companions'.

Poznámky pod čarou:

3387. 'For he was afraid to say, My wife, [thinking,] The men of the place may perhaps kill me on account of Rebekah' means that it was impossible for Divine Truths themselves to be disclosed, and so for Divine Good to be received. This is clear from the meaning of 'being afraid to say' as an inability to disclose; from the meaning of 'wife', who is Rebekah here, as the Lord's Divine Rational in respect to Divine Truth, dealt with in 3012, 3013, 3077; from the meaning of 'killing me' as good not being received, for 'Isaac', to whom 'me' refers here, represents the Divine Good of the Lord's Rational, 3012, 3194, 3210 - good being said 'to be killed' or to perish when it is not received, for it ceases to exist with that person; and from the meaning of 'the men of the place' as people who possess matters of doctrine concerning faith, dealt with just above in 3385. From these meanings it is now evident what the internal sense of these words is, namely: If Divine truths themselves were disclosed they would not be received by those who possess matters of doctrine concerning faith because those truths go beyond the whole range of their rational grasp of things, and so go beyond the whole of their faith, and as a consequence of this no good at all could flow in from the Lord. For good from the Lord, or Divine good, cannot flow in except into truths, for truths are the vessels for good, as shown many times.

[2] Truths or appearances of truth are given to a person to enable Divine Good to develop the understanding part of his mind, and so the person himself, for truths exist to the end that good may flow in. Indeed without vessels or receptacles good has nowhere to go, for it can find no condition answering to itself. Where no truths exist therefore, that is, where they have not been received, neither does any rational or human good exist; and as a consequence the person does not possess any spiritual life. Therefore, so that a person may nevertheless possess truths, and from these receive spiritual life, appearances of truth are given, to everyone according to his ability to grasp them; and these appearances are acknowledged as truths because they have the capacity to hold Divine things within them.

[3] So that it may be known what appearances are and that they are what serve a person as Divine truths, let the following be used by way of illustration: If man were told that in heaven angels have no concept of place, and so no concept of distance, but that instead they have concepts of state, he could not possibly grasp it, for he would suppose from this that nothing distinct and separate existed but that everything was fused together, that is to say, all the angels were together in a single place. Yet everything there is so distinct and separate that nothing could ever be more so. Places, distances, and intervals of space which exist in the natural order exist in heaven as states, see 3356. From this it is evident that all the things that are stated in the Word about places and intervals of space between objects, also ideas that are formed from these and expressed through them, are appearances of truth; and unless everything were stated by means of those appearances it would in no way be received and would as a consequence be scarcely anything; for the concept of space and time is present in almost every single detail of a person's thought as long as he is in the world, that is, living within space and time.

[4] The fact that the Word speaks according to appearances involving space is clear from almost every single part of it, as in Matthew,

Jesus said, How is it that David says, The Lord [said] to my Lord, Sit at My right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool? Matthew 22:43-44.

Here the expression 'sitting at the right hand' is derived from the concept of place and so according to the appearance - when in fact it is a state of the Lord's Divine power which is described by that expression. In the same gospel,

Jesus said, Hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of power and coming on the clouds of heaven. Matthew 26:64.

Here similarly 'sitting at the right hand' and also 'coming on clouds' are expressions derived from men's concept of place, whereas the concept angels have is one of the state of the Lord's power. In Mark,

The sons of Zebedee said to Jesus, Grant us to sit in Your glory, one on Your right hand and the other on Your left. Jesus replied, To sit at My right hand and at My left is not Mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared. Mark 10:37, 40.

From this it is evident what kind of concept the disciples had of the Lord's kingdom, that is to say, one that involved sitting on the right hand and on the left. Such being the concept they had of it the Lord also replied to them in a way they could understand and so by an appearance that could be seen by them.

[5] In David,

Like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, he rejoices as a mighty man to run the course. From the end of the heavens is His going forth, and His circuit to the ends of them. Psalms 19:5-6.

This refers to the Lord, the state of whose Divine power is described by means of such things as belong to space. In Isaiah,

How you have fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the dawn! You said in your heart, I will go up into the heavens, above the stars of God ¹ I will raise my throne. I will go up above the heights of the clouds. Isaiah 14:12-14.

'Falling from heaven', 'going up the heavens', 'raising a throne above the stars of God', 'going up above the heights of the clouds' are all expressions derived from the concept and appearance of space or a place, and are used to describe self-love profaning holy things. Since celestial and spiritual things are presented to man by means of and according to visual objects like these, heaven too is therefore described as being on high when in fact it is not on high but in that which is internal, 450, 1380, 2148.

Poznámky pod čarou: