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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3570. And he brought it near to him, and he did eat. That this signifies the conjunction of good first; and that “he brought him wine and he drank” signifies the conjunction of truth afterwards, is evident from the signification of “eating,” as being to be conjoined and appropriated in respect to good (concerning which just above, n. 3568); and from the signification of “wine,” as being the truth which is from good (n. 1071, 1798); and from the signification of “drinking,” as being to be conjoined and appropriated in respect to truth (n. 3168). In regard to the circumstance that the good of the rational, represented by Isaac, conjoins with itself good first, and truth afterwards, and this through the natural, which is Jacob, the case is this: When the natural is in the state in which it is outwardly good and inwardly truth (n. 3539, 3548, 3556, 3563), it then admits many things which are not good, but which nevertheless are useful, being means to good in their order. But the good of the rational does not conjoin and appropriate to itself from this source anything but that which is in agreement with its own good;, for good receives nothing else, and whatever disagrees, it rejects. The rest of the things in the natural it leaves, in order that they may serve as means for admitting and introducing more things that are in agreement with itself.

[2] The rational is in the internal man, and what is there being transacted is unknown to the natural, for it is above the sphere of its observation; and for this reason the man who lives a merely natural life cannot know anything of what is taking place with him in his internal man, that is, in his rational; for the Lord disposes all such things entirely without the man’s knowledge. Hence it is that man knows nothing of how he is being regenerated, and scarcely that he is being regenerated. But if he is desirous to know this, let him merely attend to the ends which he proposes to himself, and which he rarely discloses to anyone. If the ends are toward good, that is to say, if he cares more for his neighbor and the Lord than for himself, then he is in a state of regeneration; but if the ends are toward evil, that is to say, if he cares more for himself than for his neighbor and the Lord, let him know that in this case he is in no state of regeneration.

[3] Through his ends of life a man is in the other life; through ends of good in heaven with the angels; but through ends of evil in hell with devils. The ends in a man are nothing else than his loves; for that which a man loves he has for an end; and inasmuch as his ends are his loves, they are his inmost life (n. 1317, 1568, 1571, 1645, 1909, 3425, 3562, 3565). The ends of good in a man are in his rational, and these are what are called the rational as to good, or the good of the rational. Through the ends of good, or through the good therein, the Lord disposes all things that are in the natural; for the end is as the soul, and the natural is as the body of this soul; and such as the soul is, such is the body with which it is encompassed; thus such as the rational is as to good, such is the natural with which it is invested.

[4] It is known that the soul of man commences in the ovum of the mother, and is afterwards perfected in her womb, and is there encompassed with a tender body, and this of such a nature that through it the soul may be able to act in a manner suited to the world into which it is born. The case is the same when man is born again, that is, when he is being regenerated. The new soul which he then receives is the end of good, which commences in the rational, at first as in an ovum there, and afterwards is there perfected as in a womb; the tender body with which this soul is encompassed is the natural and the good therein, which becomes such as to act obediently in accordance with the ends of the soul; the truths therein are like the fibers in the body, for truths are formed from good (n. 3470). Hence it is evident that an image of the reformation of man is presented in his formation in the womb; and if you will believe it, it is also the celestial good and spiritual truth which are from the Lord that form him and then impart the power to receive each of them successively, and this in quality and quantity precisely as like a man he looks to the ends of heaven, and not like a brute animal to the ends of the world.

[5] That the rational as to good through the natural conjoins with itself good first, and truth afterwards, which is signified by Jacob’s bringing dainties and bread to Isaac and his eating, and bringing him wine and his drinking, may also be illustrated by the offices which the body performs for its soul. It is the soul which gives to the body to have appetite for food, and also to enjoy the taste of it, the foods being introduced by means of the delight of appetite and the delight of taste, thus by means of external good; but the foods which are introduced do not all enter the life, for some serve as menstruums for digesting; some for tempering; some for opening; some for introducing into the vessels; but the good foods selected are introduced into the blood, and become blood, out of which the soul conjoins with itself such things as are of use.

[6] The case is the same with the rational and the natural: to appetite and taste correspond the desire and the affection of knowing truth; and knowledges correspond to foods (n. 1480); and because they correspond, they are circumstanced in like manner; the soul (which is the good of the rational) gives to long for and to be affected with the things which are of memory-knowledge and of doctrine, and introduces them through the delight of the longing and the good of the affection. But the things which it introduces are not all such as to become the good of life; for some serve as means for a kind of digesting and tempering; some for opening and introducing; but the goods which are of life it applies to itself, and thus conjoins them with itself, and from them forms for itself truths. From this it is evident how the rational disposes the natural, in order that it may serve it as the soul or what is the same, may serve the end, which is the soul, to perfect itself, that it may be of use in the Lord’s kingdom.