Apocalypse Explained #800
800. And them that dwell in heaven, signifies spiritual goods and truths, from which is the heavenly marriage. This is evident from the signification of "blaspheming them that dwell in heaven," as being to falsify spiritual goods and truths. By "them that dwell in heaven" the angels are meant; and as the angels are angels from the reception of the Divine good and the Divine truth, and as the spiritual sense is abstracted from persons, "angels" here signify the goods and truths from which they are angels; and these are also signified by "angels" elsewhere in the Word (See above, n. 301, 302). "Angels" signify spiritual goods and truths because all who are in heaven are spiritual, and think and speak spiritually. But it is otherwise with men on earth, who being natural, think and speak naturally, and therefore goods and truths with them are natural. And as good and truth mutually love each other, and for that reason they must needs be conjoined, it is also said, from which is the heavenly marriage. This, too, is signified by "them that dwell in heaven," since all in heaven are in that marriage, and this is why heaven is likened in the Word to a marriage; and there is a like marriage in every least particular of the Word, as may be seen above (n. 238, 288, 484, 724); also an angel cannot be an angel of heaven unless he is in that marriage, or unless that marriage is with him; and the like is true of the man of the church (See n. 660). From this again it is evident that a man who separates faith from good works is not a man of the church. From this it can now be seen that "to blaspheme them that dwell in heaven" signifies to falsify spiritual goods and truths from which is the heavenly marriage.
[2] In the two preceding articles those who separate faith from the goods of life and thereby so falsify the Word as to close heaven to themselves, also those who join the goods of life to faith and thereby do not so falsify the Word as to close heaven to themselves, have been treated of. It now follows in order that something be said about those who, although they are in the churches where faith alone is acknowledged, still do not falsify the Word.
1. These are such as do not separate faith from the life but conjoin them by the belief that faith and life make one, like affection and thought, like will and understanding, like heat and light in the time of spring and summer, from the conjunction of which comes all germination, and like truth and good, when truth is put in place of faith, and good in place of life. On the conjunction of all these see The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem. Such affirm within themselves that no one who lives wickedly can have faith, but only he who lives well, and that one who lives wickedly cannot receive faith unless he performs repentance of life by seeking out his evils and desisting from them; likewise that one who lives wickedly cannot, in his spirit or in himself, have any other faith than a belief in falsity, however he may profess with the mouth a belief in truth. Therefore the life of those who so conjoin life and faith in profession and in works is charity, and their faith is the thought that a thing is so in truth. The faith of such is spiritual so far as they know truths from the Word, and live according to them, for faith becomes spiritual from the life, and so far as man thence becomes spiritual heaven is opened to him.
[3] 2. Neither do those falsify the Word who do not know, and do not wish to know, that faith is anything else than believing those things that are in the Word and doing them, for they see that faith is to believe and to do, and that to believe and not to do is a faith of the mouth and not of the heart, thus is outside of man and not within him. These, when they act, believe that faith is believing that there is a God, a heaven and a hell, and a life after death; and that to love God and to love the neighbor is to do the commandments in the Word; and such, so far as they desist from evils and shun and turn away from them because they are sins, so far do the commandments from God, and not from themselves. These also believe that the Lord came into the world to save those who believe in Him and who do what He taught.
[4] 3. Because such do not know, and do not wish to know, that faith is anything else than this, they do not acknowledge that justification and salvation are effected by merely believing that God the Father sent his Son, that by His blood He might effect propitiation, redemption, and salvation; for they perceive that merely to believe this and not to live any life of faith, which is charity, rather condemns than justifies; it rather condemns for the reason that it is not a belief in truth, but a belief in falsity; for it is a belief in immediate mercy, which is reformation and regeneration without means; which is imputation, propitiation, and intercession, not one of which is possible. Moreover, it is not true that a Son born from eternity was sent by the Father into the world, nor is it true that the Father was propitiated by the blood of the Son, nor is it true that the Lord transferred sins to Himself and thus effected redemption; and so with other things. So far as these are appearances of truth from the sense of the letter of the Word they may be asserted and also thought, but must not be so confirmed as to destroy the genuine truth that is in heaven, and that the doctrine of the church can teach from the Word. Those therefore who place all things of faith in that confession not only reject to the side all truths, which are innumerable, from which angels and men have life and wisdom, and make the universal theology to consist in certain expressions, uttered with confidence, in which there are no truths; but to confirm these expressions they must needs falsify the Word and thereby close heaven to themselves. But more on this subject elsewhere. So much concerning those who falsify the Word and those who do not falsify it.
Numbers 1:10-54
10
Of the children of Joseph: of Ephraim; Elishama the son of Ammihud: of Manasseh; Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur.
11
Of Benjamin; Abidan the son of Gideoni.
12
Of Dan; Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai.
13
Of Asher; Pagiel the son of Ocran.
14
Of Gad; Eliasaph the son of Deuel.
15
Of Naphtali; Ahira the son of Enan.
16
These were the renowned of the congregation, princes of the tribes of their fathers, heads of thousands in Israel.
17
And Moses and Aaron took these men which are expressed by their names:
18
And they assembled all the congregation together on the first day of the second month, and they declared their pedigrees after their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, by their polls.
19
As the LORD commanded Moses, so he numbered them in the wilderness of Sinai.
20
And the children of Reuben, Israel's eldest son, by their generations, after their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, by their polls, every male from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war;
21
Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Reuben, were forty and six thousand and five hundred.
22
Of the children of Simeon, by their generations, after their families, by the house of their fathers, those that were numbered of them, according to the number of the names, by their polls, every male from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war;
23
Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Simeon, were fifty and nine thousand and three hundred.
24
Of the children of Gad, by their generations, after their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war;
25
Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Gad, were forty and five thousand six hundred and fifty.
26
Of the children of Judah, by their generations, after their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war;
27
Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Judah, were threescore and fourteen thousand and six hundred.
28
Of the children of Issachar, by their generations, after their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war;
29
Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Issachar, were fifty and four thousand and four hundred.
30
Of the children of Zebulun, by their generations, after their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war;
31
Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Zebulun, were fifty and seven thousand and four hundred.
32
Of the children of Joseph, namely, of the children of Ephraim, by their generations, after their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war;
33
Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Ephraim, were forty thousand and five hundred.
34
Of the children of Manasseh, by their generations, after their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war;
35
Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Manasseh, were thirty and two thousand and two hundred.
36
Of the children of Benjamin, by their generations, after their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war;
37
Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Benjamin, were thirty and five thousand and four hundred.
38
Of the children of Dan, by their generations, after their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war;
39
Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Dan, were threescore and two thousand and seven hundred.
40
Of the children of Asher, by their generations, after their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war;
41
Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Asher, were forty and one thousand and five hundred.
42
Of the children of Naphtali, throughout their generations, after their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war;
43
Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Naphtali, were fifty and three thousand and four hundred.
44
These are those that were numbered, which Moses and Aaron numbered, and the princes of Israel, being twelve men: each one was for the house of his fathers.
45
So were all those that were numbered of the children of Israel, by the house of their fathers, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war in Israel;
46
Even all they that were numbered were six hundred thousand and three thousand and five hundred and fifty.
47
But the Levites after the tribe of their fathers were not numbered among them.
48
For the LORD had spoken unto Moses, saying,
49
Only thou shalt not number the tribe of Levi, neither take the sum of them among the children of Israel:
50
But thou shalt appoint the Levites over the tabernacle of testimony, and over all the vessels thereof, and over all things that belong to it: they shall bear the tabernacle, and all the vessels thereof; and they shall minister unto it, and shall encamp round about the tabernacle.
51
And when the tabernacle setteth forward, the Levites shall take it down: and when the tabernacle is to be pitched, the Levites shall set it up: and the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death.
52
And the children of Israel shall pitch their tents, every man by his own camp, and every man by his own standard, throughout their hosts.
53
But the Levites shall pitch round about the tabernacle of testimony, that there be no wrath upon the congregation of the children of Israel: and the Levites shall keep the charge of the tabernacle of testimony.
54
And the children of Israel did according to all that the LORD commanded Moses, so did they.
