3796. 'And so it was, when Jacob saw Rachel the daughter of Laban his mother's brother' means an acknowledgement of the affection for that truth as to its origin. This is clear from the meaning of 'seeing' here as acknowledging, as is evident from the train of thought, and from the representation of 'Rachel' as the affection for interior truth, dealt with above in 3793. The expression 'the daughter of Laban his mother's brother' embodies the origin of that affection; that is to say, it came from a parallel good which had been joined in a brotherly relationship to rational truth represented by 'Rebekah, Jacob's mother'.

[2] As regards affections for truth and good, genuine affections for truth and good which are perceived by a person all have a Divine origin since they come from the Lord. But as they come down they branch off into various and different streams where they form new origins for themselves. For as they flow into affections which are not genuine but spurious, and into affections for evil and falsity present with a person, so they become varied. Affections which often have a similar outward appearance to genuine ones present themselves, but these are nevertheless not genuine inwardly. The only way to establish their true identity is to discover the end they have in view. If that end is selfish or worldly those affections are not genuine. But if the end is the good of the neighbour, the good of the community, the good of the country, and more still if it is the good of the Church and the good of the Lord's kingdom, they are genuine, for in that case the Lord is their end, since the Lord is within those varieties of good.

[3] But it is the mark of someone wise to be aware of which ends are present in himself. Sometimes it does seem as though his ends are selfish when in fact they are not, for the human being is such that in everything he considers how it affects himself. This he does regularly and habitually. But if anyone wishes to know the ends he himself has in view he has merely to take note of his feeling of delight - whether it is on account of his receiving praise and glory, or whether it is on account of his performing some unselfish service. If it is the latter delight which he feels, genuine affection is present in him. He ought also to take note of the varying states he passes through, for those states cause his feelings to vary considerably. A person is able to find these things out in himself, but not in others, for the ends in view to anyone's affection are known to the Lord alone. This is why the Lord said,

Do not judge, lest you are judged; do not condemn, lest you are condemned. Luke 6:37.

For a thousand people may apparently share the same affection for truth and goodness, and yet the affection in each of them may have a different origin, that is, each may have a different end in view.

[4] The reason the end makes the affection what it is - that is to say, genuine, spurious, or false - is that the end is the person's actual life. Indeed a person has as his end in view that which constitutes his life, or what amounts to the same, his love. When the good of the neighbour, the common good, the good of the Church and of the Lord's kingdom is the end in view, a person's soul is in the Lord's kingdom and so abides with the Lord. For the Lord's kingdom is nothing else than a kingdom of ends and purposes directed towards the good of the human race, 3645. Angels themselves present with a person are nowhere else than within his ends in view. To the extent that someone's end in view is such as that which exists in the Lord's kingdom, angels take delight in him and join themselves to him as a brother. But to the extent a person's end is himself, angels depart and evil spirits from hell draw near, for in hell no other end in view reigns. From these considerations one may see how important it is to find out and to know where one's affections originate; these can be known from nothing else than one's end in view.

4059. Each individual phrase in these verses is clear evidence of the existence of an internal sense, and of the fact that unless that sense is understood no one can possibly know what is implied in any of the following descriptions: The sun will be darkened, and the moon also; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken; the Lord will appear in the clouds of heaven; and the angels will sound a trumpet and in so doing will gather together the elect. Anyone who is not acquainted with the internal sense of these words will believe in a literal fulfilment of such events - that the world really is going to perish, together with everything visible in the universe. It is not the destruction of the world that is meant however by a last judgement but the coming to an end or the ruination of the Church as regards charity and faith; see 3353. The same is also quite evident from the words which come later on in this same chapter in Matthew,

At that time two will be in the field; one will be taken, the other left. Two women grinding; one will be taken, the other left. Matthew 24:40-41.

5405. 'And he said, Behold, I have heard that there is corn in Egypt' means that truths can be acquired through factual knowledge. This becomes clear from the explanation just above in 5402, where 'that there was corn in Egypt' means the intention to acquire truths to itself through factual knowledge, which is 'Egypt'. What is meant by factual knowledge, which is 'Egypt', may also be seen in the same place. 'Corn' here stands for a word in the original language which means a breaking, and also for a similar word meaning to buy or to sell, when it is said that Jacob's sons 'bought' corn in Egypt and that Joseph 'sold' it there. The reason for this is that in the Ancient Church bread was broken when it was given to another, by which action was meant the sharing of what was one's own and the passing of good from oneself to another to be his own. Thus it meant making love mutual. For when someone breaks bread and gives it to another he is sharing with him what is his own. Or when a loaf is broken and shared among many, the single loaf becomes one shared mutually by all, and all are consequently joined together through charity.

[2] From this it is evident that the breaking of bread was a sign that meant mutual love. Because this had become an accepted and customary practice in the Ancient Church, the common availability of corn was therefore meant by such a breaking. 'Bread' means the good of love, see

276, 680, 1798, 2165, 2177, 3464, 3478, 3735, 3813, 4211, 4217, 4735, 4976; and this explains why, when the Lord gave bread, He broke it, as in Matthew,

Jesus taking the five loaves and the two fish, looking up to heaven, said a blessing, and breaking it gave the bread to the disciples. Matthew 14:19; Mark 6:41; Luke 9:16.

In the same gospel,

Taking the seven loaves and the fish, giving thanks, Jesus broke and gave them to His disciples, and the disciples to the crowd. Matthew 15:36; Mark 8:6.

In the same gospel,

Taking bread, saying a blessing, Jesus broke and gave to the disciples and said, Take, eat, this is My body. Matthew 26:26; Mark 14:22; Luke 22:19.

In Luke,

It happened, when the Lord was at table with them, that taking bread He said a blessing, and breaking it gave it to them. And their eyes were opened and they recognized Him. The disciples told how the Lord was known to them in the breaking of bread. Luke 24:30-31, 35.

In Isaiah,

This is the fast that I choose, to break your bread for the hungry. Isaiah 58:6-7.