209. Because thou hast a little power, and hast kept my Word, and hast not denied my name. That this signifies that they have power from the Lord against evils and falsities in proportion as they cause truths from the Word to enter their life and acknowledge the Divine of the Lord in His Human, is evident from the signification of thou hast a little power, as denoting power from the Lord against evils and falsities. And because the subject treated of is those who are in the faith of charity, it is said that they have a little power, of which we shall speak presently. And from the signification of and hast kept my word, as denoting the application of truths from the Word to life; for to keep truths, or precepts signifies not only to know and perceive them, but, also to will and do them; and those who thus will and do cause the truths which they know and perceive from the Word to enter into their life (see also n. 15). And from the signification of and hast not denied my name, as being to acknowledge the Divine of the Lord in His Human, concerning which see above (n. 135).

[2] It must be known, that the two principal things that constitute the church are, to acknowledge the Divine of the Lord in His Human, and to apply truths from the Word to life; nor can any person be in the one, unless he is at the same time in the other. For all truths which enter into the life, are from the Lord, and this with those who acknowledge His Divine in His Human; for the Lord flows into all, both in the heavens and on the earth, from His Divine Human, and not from the Divine separate from the Human, nor from the Human separate from the Divine. Those therefore who in their thought separate the Divine of the Lord from His Human, and look to the Divine of the Father, not as in the Human, but as near it, or above it, thus apart from it, do not receive any influx from the Lord, nor consequently from heaven, for all those who are in the heavens acknowledge the Divine Human of the Lord (concerning which see also the work, Heaven and Hell 2-12, 59-72, 78-86, and 212).

From these considerations it is evident that all truths that enter into a man's life with those who acknowledge the Divine in His Human, that is, who acknowledge the Divine Human, are from the Lord. Truths enter into a man's life when he loves them, thus when he wills them and does them; for he who loves also wills and does. In a word, truths enter into the life, when a man lives according to them from affection. The reason why those truths are from the Lord is, that the Lord flows into a man's love, and so into the truths, and thus makes these enter into his life.

[3] Something shall now be said concerning the power which man has from the Lord against evils and falsities. All the power which angels and men have is from the Lord; and in proportion as they receive the Lord, in the same proportion they have power. He who believes that power against those things is from his proprium is much deceived; for it is evil spirits, conjoined with the hells, that induce evils and thence falsities in man. Those spirits are numerous, and every one of them is conjoined with many hells, in each of which also there are many other spirits, so that no one can avert them from man but the Lord alone, for the Lord alone has power over the hells, and man has no power at all from himself or from his proprium; in proportion, therefore, as man is conjoined to the Lord by love, in the same proportion he has power.

There are two loves that reign in the heavens, and that constitute the heavens - love to the Lord and love towards the neighbour: the former is called celestial love, and the latter spiritual love. Those who are in celestial love have much power or strength, but those who are in spiritual love have little power. And because in what is written to the angel of this church those are treated of who are in love towards the neighbour, or charity, and thence in faith, which love is spiritual love, it is therefore said, Thou hast a little strength.

[4] But it must be known that all the power which angels and men have from the Lord is from the good of love; and because the good of love does not act from itself, but by means of truths, therefore all power is from the good of love by means of truths, and, with those who are spiritual, from the good of charity by means of the truth of faith. For good clothes itself with a quality by means of truths, good without truths having no quality, and where there is no quality there is neither force nor power. It is therefore evident, that all power belongs to good by means of truths, or to charity by means of faith, and none to charity without faith, nor any to faith without charity. This is what is meant by the keys given to Peter; for by Peter is meant, in the spiritual sense, truth from good from the Lord, thus faith from charity; and by the keys given to him is signified power over evils and falsities. These things were said to Peter when he acknowledged the Divine of the Lord in His Human, by which is also meant that power is given to all who acknowledge this, and who from Him are in the good of charity and thence in the truths of faith. This is evident from these words in Matthew: Jesus said to the disciples,

"Whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. Then Jesus answering said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jona; for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in the heavens. But I say also unto thee, Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of the heavens" (16:15-19).

(But concerning Peter and the keys given to him, see what was said above, n. 9; also what is shown in the small work, The Last Judgment 57; and in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 122; and that all power is in truth from good which is from the Lord, in the work, Heaven and Hell 228-233, 539; and in Arcana Coelestia 3091, 3387, 3563, 4592, 4933, 6344, 6423, 7518, 7673, 8281, 8304, 9133, 9327, 9410, 10019, 10182.)

9642. 'The boards for the south side, southwards' means even to the more internal and the inmost parts [of it], where truth dwells in light. This is clear from the meaning of 'the boards of the dwelling-place' as the good supporting heaven, dealt with in 9634; from the meaning of 'the side (or corner)', when the term is used in reference to the four quarters, as the specific state meant by that quarter, dealt with below; and from the meaning of 'the south, southwards' ¹ as the more internal and the inmost parts, where truth dwells in light. 'The south' or 'midday' means a state of light, which is a state of intelligence produced by truths, thus also an interior state; for in the heavens the light, and the intelligence and wisdom that accompany the light, increases towards the more internal parts. Further away from those parts truth dwells in shade; and this state of truth is meant by 'the north'. This then is why 'the south side, southwards' means even to the more internal and the inmost parts, where truth dwells in light.

[2] The same things are meant by 'the south' in Isaiah,

I will say to the north, Give up; and to the south, Do not withhold. Bring My sons from afar, and My daughters from the end of the earth. Isaiah 43:6.

This refers to a new Church. 'Saying to the north' means speaking to those who are in darkness or have no knowledge of the truths of faith, who are gentiles outside the Church. 'Saying to the south' means speaking to those who dwell in the light provided by cognitions or knowledge of goodness and truth, who are people within the Church. This explains why the latter are told not to 'withhold' [those sons and daughters], but the former 'to give them up'.

[3] In Ezekiel,

Set your face the way of the south, and drop [your words] towards the south, and prophesy against the forest of the field to the south, and say to the forest of the south, Behold, I am kindling in you a fire, which will devour in you every green tree; and all faces from south to north will be scorched. Set your face towards Jerusalem, and drop [your words] against the sanctuaries, and prophesy against the land of Israel. Ezekiel 20:46-21:2.

'The south' here stands for those who have the light of truth provided by the Word, thus those who belong to the Church, yet who are influenced by falsities which they substantiate from the sense of the letter of the Word wrongly explained. This is why the expressions 'the forest of the field towards the south' and 'the forest of the south' are used. 'A forest' is a state in which factual knowledge is predominant, whereas 'a garden' is one in which truth is predominant. From this it is evident what the meaning is of 'setting one's face the way of the south, and dropping [one's words] towards the south, and prophesying against the forest of the field to the south', and then of 'set your face towards Jerusalem, and drop [your words] against the sanctuaries, and prophesy against the land of Israel'. 'Jerusalem' and 'the land of Israel' mean the Church, and 'the sanctuaries' there things of the Church.

[4] In Isaiah,

If you bring out for the hungry your soul ² and satisfy the afflicted soul, your light will rise in the darkness, and your thick darkness will be as at midday. Isaiah 58:10.

'Darkness' and 'thick darkness' stand for lack of knowledge of truth and good, 'light' and 'midday' for an understanding of them. In the same prophet, Give counsel, execute judgement, set your shade like the night in the middle of the day; ³ hide the outcasts, do not reveal the wanderer. Isaiah 16:3.

'In the middle of the day' stands for in the midst of the light of truth. In Jeremiah,

Prepare for ⁴ battle against the daughter of Zion; arise, and let us go up into the south, ⁵ for the day goes away, for the shadows of evening are set at an angle. Jeremiah 6:4.

'Going up into the south' stands for going up against the Church, where truth dwells in light from the Word. In Amos,

I will make the sun go down in the south, ⁵ and I will darken the land in broad daylight. Amos 8:9.

This stands for blotting out all the light of truth which is provided by the Word.

[5] In David,

You will not be afraid of the terror of the night, of the arrow that flies by day, of the pestilence in thick darkness, of death that lays waste at noonday. Psalms 91:5-6.

'The terror of the night' stands for falsities arising from evil that come from hell; 'the arrow that flies by day' stands for falsity which is taught openly; 'death that lays waste at noonday' stands for evil that is openly present in people's lives, and that destroys truth wherever it is able to dwell in its own light from the Word.

[6] And in Isaiah,

The prophecy of the wilderness of the sea. As whirlwinds in the south sweep through, ⁶ it comes from the wilderness, from a terrible land. Isaiah 21:1.

In Daniel,

The he-goat of the she-goats made himself exceedingly great, and his horn grew exceedingly towards the south, and towards the east, and towards the glorious [land]. And it grew even towards the host of heaven, and cast down to the earth some of the host, and of the stars, and trampled on them. Daniel 8:8-10.

This refers to the state of the future Church. It foretells that the Church will be ruined by teachings about faith separated from the good of charity, 'the he-goat of the she-goats' being this kind of faith, 4169 (end), 4769. 'The horn's growing towards the south' stands for the power of falsity from this faith directed against truths, 'towards the east' for directing it against forms of good, and 'towards the glorious [land]' for directing it against the Church. 'Towards the host of heaven' stands for directing that power against all the forms of good and the truths belonging to heaven, and 'casting down to the earth some of the host, and of the stars' stands for destroying these, and also even the cognitions or knowledge of good and truth, 4697.

[7] The whole of Chapter 11 in the same prophet describes a war between the king of the south and the king of the north. 'The king of the south' means the light of truth derived from the Word, and 'the king of the north' reasoning about truths which is based on factual knowledge. The shifting fortunes which the Church will experience until it ceases to exist are described by the different phases in the course of that war.

[8] Because 'the south' meant truth dwelling in light it was decreed that the tribes of Reuben, Simeon, and Gad should camp towards the south, Numbers 2:10-15. Encampments represented the arrangement of all things in heaven as determined by the truths and forms of the good of faith and love, 4236, 8103 (end), 8193, 8196, and 'the twelve tribes' which formed the camp meant all the truths and forms of good in their entirety, 3858, 3862, 3926, 3939, 4060, 6335, 6337, 6397, 6640, 7836, 7891, 7996, 7997. 'The tribe of Reuben' meant the truth of faith present in doctrine, 3861, 3866, 5542, 'the tribe of Simeon' the truth of faith subsequently present in life, 3869-3872, 4497, 4502, 4503, 5482, and 'the tribe of Gad' works motivated by that truth in doctrine and life, 6404, 6405. From these meanings it is evident why these three camped towards the south; for all things on the side of truth or faith belong in the south because they are in light.

[9] From all this it is now clear what 'the south side' means, namely where the state of truth dwelling in light is to be found. For all states of the good of love and the truth of faith are meant by the four corners of the earth, states of the good of love being meant by the east and west sides, and states of the truth of faith by the south and north ones. Much the same is meant by 'the four winds', as in the Book of Revelation,

... angels standing over the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth, in order that the wind should not blow onto the earth. Revelation 7:1.

And elsewhere,

Satan will come out to deceive the nations which are at the four corners of the earth. Revelation 20:7-8.

In Matthew,

He will send angels, and gather the elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. ⁷ Matthew 24:31.

And in Ezekiel,

Come from the four winds, O spirit, and breathe into these killed, that they may live. Ezekiel 37:9.

[10] Because those winds, that is, those four quarters, meant all aspects of good and truth, thus all aspects of heaven and the Church, and 'a temple' meant heaven or the Church, it had been the custom since ancient times to site temples in an east-west direction. This was because the east meant the good of love on the rise, and the west the good of love on the decline. This custom had its origin in representative signs, which were well known to the ancients who belonged to the Church.

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