4. In support of this, I would like in this first chapter simply to cite passages from the Word where it says “that day, ” “on that day, ” or “at that time, ” passages where “day” and “time” mean the Lord’s Coming. From Isaiah:

In the days to come it will happen that the mountain of Jehovah will be established as the highest of the mountains. On that day Jehovah alone will be exalted. The day of Jehovah Sabaoth is majestic and high above all. On that day people will throw away idols of their silver and gold. (Isaiah 2:2, 11-12, 20)

On that day the Lord Jehovih will take away adornments. (Isaiah 3:18)

On that day the branch of Jehovah will be beautiful and glorious. (Isaiah 4:2)

[Their enemy] will roar against the people on that day and look down on the earth. Behold, there is darkness and anxiety, and the light will be growing darker among their ruins. (Isaiah 5:30)

It will happen on that day that Jehovah will whistle to the fly at the very end of the rivers of Egypt. On that day the Lord will shave [Judah] at the crossings of the river. On that day he will bring [a young cow and two sheep] to life. On that day every place will become brambles and thorns. (Isaiah 7:18, 20-21, 23)

What will you do on the day of visitation? Who will come? On that day Israel will rely on Jehovah, the Holy One of Israel, in truth. (Isaiah 10:3, 20)

It will happen on that day that the nations will seek out the root of Jesse, the one who stands as a sign for the peoples, and glory will be his rest. Above all, on that day the Lord will seek out the remnant of his people. (Isaiah 11:10-11)

You will say on that day, “I will praise you, Jehovah.” You will say on that day, “Praise Jehovah! Call upon his name!” (Isaiah 12:1, 4)

The day of Jehovah is near; it will come from Shaddai like destruction. Behold, the cruel day of Jehovah is coming-a day of resentment, blazing wrath, and anger. I will violently move heaven, and the earth will be shaken out of its place, on the day of his blazing anger. His time is at hand and it will come, and the days will not be prolonged. (Isaiah 13:6, 9, 13, 22)

It will happen on that day that the glory of Jacob will be worn away. On that day, people will look back to their Maker, and their eyes [will look] toward the Holy One of Israel. On that day there will be cities of refuge in the forsaken parts of the forest. (Isaiah 17:4, 7, 9)

Those who dwell on [this] island will say on that day, “Look at what has happened to our hope!” (Isaiah 20:6)

On that day there will be five cities in the land of Egypt speaking the languages of Canaan. On that day there will be an altar to Jehovah in the center of Egypt. On that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria, and Israel will be at the center of the land. (Isaiah 19:18-19, 23-24)

A day of tumult, trampling, and confusion from the Lord Jehovih Sabaoth... (Isaiah 22:5)

On that day Jehovah will punish the army of the high place and the monarchs of the earth. After a great many days they will be punished. Then the moon will blush and the sun will be ashamed. (Isaiah 24:21, 23)

It will be said on that day, “Behold, this is our God; we have waited for him to set us free.” (Isaiah 25:9)

On that day this song will be sung in the land of Jehovah: “We have a strong city.” (Isaiah 26:1)

On that day Jehovah will bring punishment with his sword. On that day answer him by saying, “A vineyard whose wine is pure.” (Isaiah 27:1-2, 12-13)

On that day Jehovah Sabaoth will become an ornate crown and a diadem. (Isaiah 28:5)

Then on that day the deaf will hear the words of the book, and the eyes of the blind will see out of the darkness. (Isaiah 29:18)

On the day of the great slaughter, when the towers fall, there will be a channel of waters. The light of the moon will be like the light of the sun on the day when Jehovah binds up the breach of his people. (Isaiah 30:25-26)

On that day they will each throw away the idols of their silver and gold. (Isaiah 31:7)

The day of Jehovah’s vengeance, the year of his recompense... (Isaiah 34:8)

These two things will come to you in one day: the loss of your children, and widowhood. (Isaiah 47:9)

My people will know my name, and on that day [they will know that] I am the one saying “Here I am!” (Isaiah 52:6)

Jehovah has anointed me to proclaim the year of Jehovah’s good pleasure and the day of vengeance for our God, to comfort all who are mourning. (Isaiah 61:1-2)

The day of vengeance is in my heart and the year of my redeemed has arrived. (Isaiah 63:4)

From Jeremiah:

In those days you will no longer say, “The ark of the covenant of Jehovah.” At that time they will call Jerusalem the throne of Jehovah. In those days the house of Judah will go to the house of Israel. (Jeremiah 3:16-18)

In that day the heart of the monarch will perish, and the heart of the royal family, and the priests and the prophets will be stunned. (Jeremiah 4:9)

Behold, the days are coming in which the earth will turn into a wasteland. (Jeremiah 7:32, 34)

They will fall among those who fall on the day of their visitation. (Jeremiah 8:12)

Behold, the days are coming in which I will execute judgment upon everyone whose foreskin has been circumcised. (Jeremiah 9:25)

In the time of their visitation they will perish. (Jeremiah 10:15)

There will be no remnant of them; I will bring evil upon them in the year of their visitation. (Jeremiah 11:23)

Behold, the days are coming in which it will no longer be said... (Jeremiah 16:14)

I will look at them in the back of the neck and not in the face on the day of their destruction. (Jeremiah 18:17)

Behold, the days are coming in which I will make this place a devastation. (Jeremiah 19:6)

Behold, the days are coming in which I will raise up for David a righteous branch who will rule as king. In those days Judah will be saved and Israel will dwell in safety. Therefore behold, the days are coming in which it will no longer be said... I will bring evil upon them in the year of their visitation. At the very last of days you will fully understand. (Jeremiah 23:5-7, 12, 20)

Behold, the days are coming in which I will turn back [the captivity of my people]. Alas, that day will be great, and there will be none like it. It will happen on that day that I will break the yoke and tear off the fetters. (Jeremiah 30:3, 7-8)

The day will come when the guards cry out on Mount Ephraim, “Arise, let us climb Zion to Jehovah our God.” Behold, the days are coming in which I will make a new covenant. The days are coming in which the city of Jehovah will be built. (Jeremiah 31:6, 27, 31, 38)

The days are coming in which I will perform the good word [that I promised]. In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous branch to grow for David. In those days Judah will be saved. (Jeremiah 33:14-16)

On that day I will bring words against this city for evil. You, though, I will rescue on that day. (Jeremiah 39:16-17)

That day will be a day of vengeance for the Lord Jehovih Sabaoth; he will take vengeance on his enemies. The day of destruction has come upon them, the time of their visitation. (Jeremiah 46:10, 21)

Because of the day that is coming for devastation... (Jeremiah 47:4)

I will bring upon [Moab] the year of visitation. Nevertheless I will bring back its captives at the very last of days. (Jeremiah 48:44, 47)

I will bring destruction upon them at the time of their visitation. Their youths will fall in the streets and all their men of war will be cut down on that day. At the very last of days I will bring back their captives. (Jeremiah 49:8, 26, 39)

In those days and at that time the children of Israel and the children of Judah will come together and seek Jehovah their God. In those days and at that time the iniquity of Israel will be sought, but there will be none. Woe to [the Babylonians], because their day has come, the time of their visitation. (Jeremiah 50:4, 20, 27, 31)

They are vanity, a work of errors; they will perish at the time of their visitation. (Jeremiah 51:18)

From Ezekiel:

The end has come; the end has come. It has come upon you like the morning. The time has come; the day of tumult is near. Behold the day; see, it has come. The trunk has blossomed; violence has sprouted. The day has arrived; the time has come upon their whole multitude. Their silver and gold will not rescue them on the day of Jehovah’s wrath. (Ezekiel 7:6-7, 10, 12, 19)

People were saying of the prophet, “The vision that he is seeing will not happen for many days; his prophecy concerns distant times.” (Ezekiel 12:27)

They will not be able to stand up in the war on the day of Jehovah’s wrath. (Ezekiel 13:5)

You pierced, godless prince of Israel, whose day has come, in the time of iniquity of the end... (Ezekiel 21:25, 29)

O city shedding blood in your own midst so that its time will come, you have made the days approach so that you will come to your years. (Ezekiel 22:3-4)

Surely on the day that I take their strength from them, on that day someone who has been rescued will come to you with information for you to hear. On that day your mouth will be opened to speak with the one who has been rescued. (Ezekiel 24:25-27)

On that day I will cause the horn of the house of Israel to grow. (Ezekiel 29:21)

Wail “Alas for the day, ” because the day of Jehovah is near, the day of Jehovah is near. It will be a day of cloud, a time for the nations. On that day messengers from me will go forth. (Ezekiel 30:2-3, 9)

On the day you go down into hell... (Ezekiel 31:15)

I myself will search for my flock, on a day when it is in the midst of your flock, and I will rescue them from all the places where they have been scattered on a cloudy and dark day. (Ezekiel 34:11-12)

On the day when I cleanse you from all your iniquities... (Ezekiel 36:33)

Prophesy and say, “Will you not know it on that day when my people Israel settle safely? In the days to come I will bring you against my land. [This will happen] on that day, on the day when Gog comes upon the land [of Israel]. In my zeal, in the day of my indignation, surely on this day there will be a great earthquake upon the land of Israel.” (Ezekiel 38:14, 16, 18-19)

Behold, it is coming; this is the day of which I have spoken. It will happen on that day that I will give Gog a burial place in the land of Israel, so that the house of Israel will know that I, Jehovah, am their God from that day on. (Ezekiel 39:8, 11, 22)

From Daniel:

God in the heavens has revealed mysteries concerning what will happen in the days to come. (Daniel 2:28)

The time came for the saints to establish the kingdom. (Daniel 7:22)

“Understand that the vision concerns the time of the end.” [Gabriel] said, “Behold, I am making known to you what will happen at the end of the wrath, because at the appointed time the end will come.” The vision of evenings and mornings is the truth. Hide the vision, because it is for many days. (Daniel 8:17, 19, 26)

I have come to make you understand what will happen to your people at the very last of days, because the vision applies to days yet to come. (Daniel 10:14)

Those who understand will be tested in order to be purified and cleansed, until the time of the end, since it is yet for an appointed time. (Daniel 11:35)

At that time Michael will rise up, the great leader who stands up for the children of your people. There will be a time of distress such as there has not been since the nation [began]. At this time, however, your people will be rescued-everyone who is found written in the book. (Daniel 12:1)

You, Daniel, close up the words and seal the book until the time of the end. But from the time when the daily offering is taken away and the abomination that causes devastation is set up, there will be one thousand two hundred and ninety days. You will arise into your inheritance at the end of days. (Daniel 12:4, 9, 11, 13)

From Hosea:

I will make an end of the kingdom of the house of Israel. On that day I will break the bow of Israel. Great will be the day of Jezreel. (Hosea 1:4-5, 11)

On that day you will call [me] “my husband.” On that day I will make them a covenant. On that day I will respond. (Hosea 2:16, 18, 21)

The children of Israel will turn back and seek Jehovah their God and David their king at the very last of days. (Hosea 3:5)

Come, let us return to Jehovah. After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will raise us up, and we will live in his presence. (Hosea 6:1-2)

The days of visitation have come; the days of retribution have come. (Hosea 9:7)

From Joel:

Alas for the day, because the day of Jehovah is at hand; it will come as destruction from Shaddai. (Joel 1:15)

The day of Jehovah is coming, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness. Great is the day of Jehovah and extremely terrifying; who can endure it? (Joel 2:1-2, 11)

Upon my male and female servants I will pour out my spirit in those days. The sun will be turned into darkness and the moon into blood before the great and terrifying day of Jehovah comes. (Joel 2:29, 31)

In those days and at that time I will gather all nations together. The day of Jehovah is at hand. On that day it will happen that the mountains will drip with new wine. (Joel 3:1-2, 14, 18)

From Amos:

The strong of heart will flee naked on that day. (Amos 2:16)

On the day that I punish Israel for its sins... (Amos 3:14)

Woe to you who long for the day of Jehovah. What is the day of Jehovah to you? It will be a day of darkness and not of light. Surely the day of Jehovah will be a day of darkness and not of light, a day of thick darkness with no light at all. (Amos 5:18, 20)

The songs of the Temple will be howls on that day. On that day I will make the sun set at noon, and will darken the earth on a day of light. On that day beautiful young women and also young men will faint from thirst. (Amos 8:3, 9, 13)

On that day I will raise up the fallen tent of David. Behold, the days are coming when the mountains will drip with new wine. (Amos 9:11, 13)

From Obadiah:

On that day will I not destroy the wise of Edom? Do not rejoice over them on the day of their destruction, on the day of their distress. The day of Jehovah over all nations is at hand. (Obadiah 1:8, 12-15)

From Micah:

On that day the lament will be “We have been utterly destroyed.” (Micah 2:4)

At the very last of days the mountain of the house of Jehovah will be established on the top of the mountains. On that day I will gather the lame. (Micah 4:1, 6)

On that day I will cut off your horses and your chariots. (Micah 5:10)

The day of your watchmen, your visitation, has come. The day for building the walls is here. This is the day in which he will come to you. (Micah 7:4, 11-12)

From Habakkuk:

The vision is still set for an appointed time and speaks concerning the end. If it delays, wait for it, because it will surely come and will not be postponed. (Habakkuk 2:3)

Jehovah, do your work in the midst of the years; in the midst of the years you will make it known. God will come. (Habakkuk 3:2)

From Zephaniah:

The day of Jehovah is at hand. On the day of the sacrifice of Jehovah I will execute judgment upon the royal family and upon the children of the monarch. On that day there will be the sound of shouting. At that time I will examine Jerusalem with lamps. The great day of Jehovah is at hand. This day is a day of blazing wrath; a day of distress and repression; a day of destruction and devastation; a day of darkness and gloom; a day of clouds and thick darkness; a day of trumpets and shouting. On the day of the blazing wrath of Jehovah the whole earth will be devoured and he will make a prompt end to all those who dwell in the land. (Zephaniah 1:7-8, 10, 12, 14-16, 18)

... when the day of the wrath of Jehovah has not yet come upon us. Perhaps you may be hidden on the day of the wrath of Jehovah. (Zephaniah 2:2-3)

Wait for me until the day I rise up for plunder, because that will be my judgment. On that day you will not be ashamed of your deeds. On that day it will be said to Jerusalem, “Do not be afraid.” I will deal with your oppressors at that time. At that time I will bring you back. At that time I will gather you together to give you a name and praise. (Zephaniah 3:8, 11, 16, 19-20)

From Zechariah:

I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day. On that day each of you will invite your neighbor under a vine and under a fig tree. (Zechariah 3:9-10)

Then many nations will be joined to Jehovah on that day. (Zechariah 2:11)

In those days ten men will take hold of the hem of a man of Judah. (Zechariah 8:23)

Jehovah their God will save them on that day, as the flock of his people. (Zechariah 9:16)

My covenant was broken on that day. (Zechariah 11:11)

On that day I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all peoples. On that day I will strike every horse with confusion. On that day I will make the leaders of Judah like a fiery furnace surrounded by logs. On that day Jehovah will protect the inhabitants of Jerusalem. On that day I will seek to destroy all the nations [that are coming against Jerusalem]. On that day the mourning in Jerusalem will increase. (Zechariah 12:3-4, 6, 8-9, 11)

On that day a fountain will be opened for the house of David and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem. It will happen on that day that I will cut off the names of idols from the land. On that day the prophets will be ashamed. (Zechariah 13:1-2, 4)

Behold, the day of Jehovah is coming. On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives. On that day there will be no light or radiance. One day that will be known to Jehovah, not day or night, there will be light around the time of evening. On that day living waters will go forth from Jerusalem. On that day Jehovah will be one, and his name one. On that day there will be a great panic from Jehovah. On that day “Holiness belongs to Jehovah” will be engraved on the bells of the horses. There will no longer be a Canaanite in the house of Jehovah on that day. (Zechariah 14:1, 4, 6-9, 13, 20-21)

From Malachi:

Who can bear the day of his coming? Who will stand when he appears? They will be mine on the day that I make them my treasure. Behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven. Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and terrifying day of Jehovah comes. (Malachi 3:2, 17; 4:1, 5)

From David:

In his days the righteous will flourish and there will be much peace, and he will reign from sea to sea, and from the river all the way to the ends of the earth. (Psalms 72:7-8)

There are other instances elsewhere.

3993. 'Removing from it every speckled and spotted member of the flock' means that everything good and true that is meant by 'Laban' and which - when mingled with evil, meant by 'speckled', or mingled with falsity, meant by 'spotted' - will be separated. This is clear from the meaning of 'removing' as separating, and from the meaning of 'member of the flock', in this case she-goats and lambs, as goods and truths, dealt with in 1824, 3519. The fact that these details and those that follow in this chapter hold arcana within them may be recognized from the consideration that for the most part they would not be worth mentioning in the Divine Word if they did not include any deeper arcana than those to be seen in the letter, such as the following: For his wages Jacob asked for the speckled and the spotted among the she-goats and for the black among the lambs; and after this, in the runners he placed rods - which he had peeled down to the white and which were of hazel and of plane - in front of Laban's flocks when these came on heat, and in the case of the lambs he set the faces of the flock towards the variegated and the black in Laban's flock, thereby making himself rich not by the use of a good skill but of an evil one. These details do not seem to hold anything Divine within them, and yet the Word is Divine in every single part, even to the smallest part of a letter. And what is more, knowing all these details does not contribute one tiny bit to a person's salvation, yet being Divine the Word does not contain within itself anything else than such things as lead to salvation and eternal life.

[2] From these details and others like them elsewhere anyone may come to the conclusion that some arcanum is concealed within them, and that although in the literal sense they are the kind of facts that are not worth mentioning, those details - every single one - are pregnant with ideas much more Divine. But what exactly these ideas may be cannot possibly be seen by anyone except from the internal sense, that is, unless he knows the way in which angels perceive these matters; for they perceive the spiritual sense when man sees the historical natural sense. How remote these two senses seem to be from each other when in fact they are closely linked to one another may become quite evident from the historical details explained above and from all other such details. The actual arcanum present within the details here and in those after them in this chapter may, it is true, be known to some extent from what has been stated already about Laban and Jacob - about 'Laban' meaning the kind of good by means of which genuine goods and truths are able to be introduced, while 'Jacob' means the good of truth. Yet few know what natural good corresponding to spiritual good is, even fewer what spiritual good is and that a correspondence ought to exist between the two, and fewer still that a type of good which merely looks like good is the means for introducing genuine goods and truths. This being so, the arcana which describe these matters cannot be explained easily and intelligibly since they fall within the poorly lit parts of the understanding. It is rather like someone talking in a foreign language, in that no matter how clearly the thing is explained in that language the hearer does not understand. Even so, because what is concealed in the internal sense of the Word is to be made known, the actual arcanum within the details here has to be discussed.

[3] In the highest sense the subject at this point is how the Lord made His own Natural Divine, and in the representative sense how the Lord regenerates the natural as it exists with man and brings it into correspondence with his interior man, that is, with that which is going to live after the death of the body. At that point it is called man's spirit which, when released from the body, takes with it every part of the external man except the flesh and bones. If the correspondence of the internal man with the external has not been effected in the temporal state, that is, during a person's life in the body, it is not effected after that. The Lord's joining of the two together through regeneration is the subject in the internal sense here.

[4] Previous sections have dealt with the general truths which a person ought to receive and acknowledge before he can be regenerated, those truths being meant by Jacob's ten sons by Leah and the servant-girls; then they deal - after he has received and acknowledged them - with the joining of the external man to the interior, that is, of the natural man to the spiritual, which was meant by 'Joseph'. Now in the sequence of ideas the subject is the fruitfulness of good and the multiplication of truth which begin to occur once the rational man has been joined to the spiritual, and in the measure that they are so joined. These are the considerations meant by the flock which Jacob acquired to himself by means of Laban's flock. 'Flock' here means good and truth, as it does many times elsewhere in the Word. 'Laban's flock' means the good that is represented by 'Laban', the nature of which has been stated above; 'Jacob's flock' means the genuine good and truth which is acquired by means of that good represented by Laban.

[5] It is the way in which genuine goods and truths are acquired that is described here. Yet this cannot by any means be comprehended unless one knows what is meant in the internal sense by 'speckled', 'spotted', 'black' and 'white', and therefore these must first be dealt with here. That which is speckled or that which is spotted consists of black and of white. In general 'black' means that which is evil, in particular man's proprium since this is nothing but evil. 'Dark' however means that which is false, and in particular false assumptions. 'White' in the internal sense means truth; strictly speaking it means the Lord's Righteousness and Merit, and from this the Lord's righteousness and merit as these exist with man. This whiteness is called bright because it shines from the light that radiates from the Lord. But 'white' in the contrary sense means self-righteousness or one's own merit. Indeed truth devoid of good has such merit within it, for when any good action performed by a person does not stem from the good of truth that person always desires something in return since he acts for the sake of himself. But when good lies behind the truth that a person carries into effect, that truth is enlightened by the light which radiates from the Lord. From this one may see what is meant by 'spotted', namely truth with which falsity has been mingled, and what by 'speckled', namely good with which evil has been mingled.

[6] Actually visible in the next life are colours so beautiful and bright that they defy description, 1053, 1624. They are the product of the variegation of light and shade within white and black. But although it appears before the eyes as light, the light there is unlike the light in the world. The light in heaven includes intelligence and wisdom, for Divine Intelligence and Wisdom from the Lord manifest themselves there as light and also light up the whole of heaven, 2776, 3138, 3167, 3190, 3195, 3222, 3223, 3225, 3339-3341, 3485, 3636, 3643, 3862. Shade likewise in the next life, although it appears as shade, is unlike shade in the world, since the shade in that life is the absence of light and as a consequence the lack of intelligence and wisdom. So because the white and the black are in the next life a product of light which has intelligence and wisdom within it, and a product of the shade which is the lack of these, it is evident that white and black mean such things as have been stated above. Consequently, since colours are the modifications of light and shade within surfaces consisting of white and black, it is the variegations produced by those modifications that are called colours, 1042, 1043, 1053.

[7] From all this one may see what is meant by speckled, or marked and dotted with black and white specks, namely good with which evil has been mingled, and also what is meant by spotted, namely truth with which falsity has been mingled. These are the things that were taken from 'Laban good' to serve in the introducing of genuine goods and truths. But in what way they are able to serve is an arcanum which can indeed be presented clearly to those who see in the light of heaven because this light, as has been stated, holds intelligence within it, but not to those who see in the light of the world unless their light of the world is lit up by the light of heaven, as it is with those who are regenerate. For every regenerate person sees goods and truths within his own natural light from the light of heaven, because the light of heaven brings sight to his understanding even as the inferior light of the world gives him natural sight.

[8] But all this needs to be taken a little further. No pure good, or good with which evil is not mingled, exists with anyone. Neither does any pure truth, or truth with which falsity is not mingled, exist with him. This is because man's will is nothing but evil, from which falsity is constantly passing into his understanding; for as is well known, he possesses by inheritance the evil that has been accumulated consecutively by his forefathers. From this inheritance he brings out evil into his own actions and makes it his own, adding further evil from himself to the inheritance. But the evils residing with man are of various kinds. There are evils with which goods cannot be mingled and there are evils with which they can. And the same applies to falsities. If this were not so nobody could ever have been regenerated. The evils and falsities with which goods and truths cannot be mingled are ones that are contrary to love to God and love towards the neighbour - forms of hatred, revenge, and cruelty, and consequent contempt for others in comparison with oneself, and also consequent false persuasions. But the evils and falsities with which goods and truths can be mingled are ones that are not contrary to love to God and love towards the neighbour.

[9] Take for example anyone who loves himself more than others and because of that love strives to excel others in private life and in public life, to excel them in knowledge and doctrine, and to be promoted to positions of greater importance than others, and also to greater affluence than others. If at the same time he acknowledges and adores the Lord, from the heart performs acts of kindness to the neighbour, and from conscience behaves justly and fairly, the evil that belongs to his self-love is such that good and truth can be mingled with it. For this is an evil which belongs to a person as his own and into which he is born by heredity. And to take that away from him suddenly would be to put out the fire of life that burns in him at first. But in the case of someone who loves himself more than others and because of that love despises others in comparison with himself, hates those who do not hold him in esteem and so to speak adore him, and therefore enjoys the feelings of hatred that are present in revenge and cruelty, the evil of that love is such that good and truth cannot be mingled with it because they are contraries.

[10] Take as another example anyone who believes that he is pure from sins, and so is cleansed like somebody from whom dirt has been washed away by means of much water, once he has repented and carried out the prescribed penances, or after he has made his confession and heard the confessor declare him free from sins, or after he has been to the Holy Supper. If he leads a new life, being stirred by an affection for good and truth, that falsity is such that good can be mingled with it. But if he goes on leading a carnal and worldly life as before, it is in that case a falsity with which good cannot be mingled. Also, with anyone who believes that man is saved by virtue of believing what is good and not of willing it, and yet who does will what is good and therefore does it, that falsity is such that good and truth can be attached to it. But not so if he does not will what is good and therefore does not do it.

[11] Take yet another example. If anyone does not know that man rises again after death and consequently does not believe in the resurrection, or else if anyone who does know but nevertheless doubts or practically denies it, and yet each one leads a life of truth and goodness, good and truth can be mingled with that falsity also. But if a person leads a life of falsity and evil they cannot be mingled with that same falsity because they are contraries. The falsity destroys the truth, and the evil destroys the good.

[12] And still another example. Pretence and shrewdness which have a good end in view, whether the good of the neighbour, or of one's country, or of the Church, constitute prudence. The evils that are mixed up with them can be mingled with good by reason of and for the sake of the end in view. But presence and shrewdness which have an evil end in view do not constitute prudence but trickery and deceit. Good cannot possibly be joined to these, for deceit which goes with an evil end in view brings what is of hell into every single part of a person, sets evil in the middle, and casts good away to the circumferences. This order is the order itself of hell. And so with countless other examples that could be taken.

[13] The fact that there are some evils and falsities to which goods and truths can be attached may be seen merely from the consideration that so many different dogmas and teachings exist, many of them totally heretical, and yet subscribing to each one there are people who are saved. The same may also be seen from the consideration that among gentiles outside of the Church there is another Church that is the Lord's, and that those are saved who lead charitable lives, even though falsities exist with them, 2589 2604. This could by no means be the case if there were no evils with which goods can be mingled, and no falsities with which truths can be mingled. For the evils with which goods are mingled, and the falsities with which truths are mingled, are wonderfully arranged into order by the Lord. For they are not combined with one another, still less are they made into one, but lie adjacent to and touch one another, so that in fact the goods together with the truths occupy the middle, at the central point so to speak, while the evils and falsities occupy positions radiating outwards to the surrounding areas or circumferences. Consequently the evils and falsities receive light from the goods and truths, and are variegated like patches of white and black created by light radiating from the middle or centre. This constitutes heavenly order. These are the things meant in the internal sense by 'speckled' and 'spotted'.