2979. 'Abraham buried Sarah his wife' means that they received truth joined to good from the Lord. This is clear from the meaning of 'burying' as regenerating, dealt with above in 2916, 2917 - the fact that man was regenerate once he had received truth joined to good from the Lord will be discussed next; from the representation of 'Abraham' as the Lord, often dealt with already; and from the representation of 'Sarah as a wife' as truth joined to good, dealt with in 2063, 2065, 2507.

[2] The regeneration of the spiritual man proceeds as follows: At first he is taught the truths of faith, during which time the Lord maintains his affection for truth. At the same time the good of faith, which is charity towards the neighbour, is instilled into him, though in such a way that he hardly knows it because that good lies concealed within the affection for truth. All this takes place to the end that the truth of faith may be joined to the good of charity. As time goes by the affection for the truth of faith increases and truth is seen because of its end in view, which is good, or what amounts to the same, life. That affection grows more and more. In this way is truth instilled into good, and while it is being instilled the person absorbs into himself the good of life in accordance with the truth that has been instilled into it. Thus he acts, or seems to himself to act, from good. Prior to this the truth of faith has been for him the chief thing, but after this the good of life becomes the chief thing.

[3] At this point the person is regenerate, but regenerate according to the nature and extent of truth instilled into good. And when truth and good act as one, he is regenerate according to the nature and extent of the good. This is how regeneration proceeds. Regeneration is carried out to the end that a person may be received into heaven - heaven being nothing else than the marriage of truth and good, and of good and truth, see 2508, 2618, 2728, 2729. Unless the marriage of truth and good is effected in a person he cannot be in the heavenly marriage, that is, be in heaven.

2618. 'And Jehovah did to Sarah' means a state when the two existed united together - the Lord's Divine spiritual within His Divine celestial. This is clear from the meaning of 'doing', when it has reference to the Lord's Divine, as the entire realization of the effect and consequently of the state; and from the meaning of 'Jehovah', and also of 'Sarah', dealt with just above in 2616. As regards the state when the two existed united together - the Lord's Divine spiritual within His Divine celestial - this is the marriage itself of good and truth, which is the origin of the heavenly marriage. The heavenly marriage is the Lord's kingdom in heaven and on earth, and that is why so many times in the Word the Lord's kingdom is called a marriage, and is compared to a marriage. The reason, which is an arcanum, is that the marriage of Divine Good and Truth, and of Divine Truth and Good, within the Lord is the source of all conjugial love, and through that love the source of all celestial and spiritual love. What further arcana are embodied in these words - 'Jehovah visited Sarah as He had said, and Jehovah did to Sarah as He had spoken' - cannot be made known as they lie beyond description. For these words comprehend the state itself when the Lord's Divine exists united to His Human. Appearances of this state are presented by the Lord to the eyes of the angels by means of heavenly lights, and are illustrated also by means of indescribable representations. But those appearances cannot be presented to men because they would have to be presented by means of objects such as belong to the light of the world, which objects cannot serve to express them. Indeed a description that relies on such things makes them all the more obscure.