122. The twelve disciples of the Lord represented the church as to all things of faith and charity in the complex, as did also the twelve tribes of Israel (n. 2129, 3354, 3488, 3858, 6397). Peter, James, and John represented faith, charity, and the goods of charity in their order (n. 3750). Peter represented faith (n. 4738, 6000, 6073, 6344, 10087, 10580). And John represented the goods of charity, see the preface to the eighteenth (Arcana Coelestia 2135) and twenty-second Arcana Coelestia 2760vvv1-2 chapters of Genesis.

That there would be no faith in the Lord, because no charity, in the last time of the church, was represented by Peter's thrice denying the Lord before the cock crew the third ¹ time; for Peter there, in a representative sense, is faith; (n. 6000, 6073). "Cock crowing," as well as "twilight," signifies in the Word the last time of the church (n. 10134[1-13]). And "three" or "thrice," signifies what is complete to the end (n. 2788, 4495, 5159, 9198, 10127). The like is signified by the Lord's saying to Peter, when Peter saw John follow the Lord:

What is it to thee, Peter? follow thou Me, John; for Peter had said of John, What is this? (John 21:21, 22); (n. 10087).

John lay on the breast of the Lord, because he represented the good of charity (n. 3934, 10081). That the good of charity constitutes the church, is also signified by the words of the Lord from the cross to John:

Jesus saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved, who stood by, and He said to His mother, Woman, behold thy son: and He said to that disciple, Behold thy mother; and from that hour that disciple took her to himself (John 19:26, 27).

"John" signifies the good of charity, and "woman" and "mother," the church; and the whole passage signifies that the church will be where the good of charity is; that "woman" in the Word means the church (see n. 252-253, 749, 770, 3160, 6014, 7337, 8994). And likewise "mother" (n. 289, 2691, 2717, 3703, 4257, 5580, 8897, 10490). All the names of persons and places in the Word signify things abstractly from them (n. 768, 1888,4310, 4442, 10329).

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8530. 'Take a jar' means truth. This is clear from the meaning here of 'a jar' as truth. The reason why 'a jar' means truth is that it was a vessel to contain 'the manna', by which good is meant; and all truth is like a vessel for good. So it is also that truths are meant by 'vessels' generally, 3068, 3079, 3316, 3318, consequently by 'vessels' in particular, and here by 'a jar'. Various things in the natural order may serve to elucidate the idea that truths are vessels for containing good. Light for example is a container of heat from the sun, and also by light is meant truth and by the heat within light is meant good; the relationship of truth to good is like these. Their relationship is also like that of clothing to the body, and of the body to the soul, as well as being like that of a blood vessel or of a fibre to the blood or to the animal spirit ¹ enclosed within it. In addition it is like that of the lungs to the heart, and therefore of the breathing of the lungs to the beating of the heart. In short, the relationship is like that of any organic form which the body possesses to the life within that form. These comparisons make clear what truth without good is like, or what faith without charity is like. They show that it is like organic forms belonging to the body without any life; like the breathing of the lungs without the beating of the heart, or like the lungs without the heart; like a blood vessel or a fibre without blood or animal spirit; and also like the body without the soul. Consequently truth without good is like an inanimate object; or if evil is present instead of good it is like a corpse.

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9154. 'The master of the house shall be brought to God' means enquiring of good. This is clear from the meaning of 'being brought to God' as being brought forward for enquiry to be made, dealt with below in 9160; and from the meaning of 'the master of the house' as good which is enquired of. The reason why 'the master of the house' means good is that the subject is truths and factual knowledge that have been taken away from the memory, meant by 'the silver and the vessels which were delivered to someone for safe keeping but were taken away by theft', 9149, 9150. Since those truths and factual knowledge belong to good and exist in good 'the master of the house', to whom the objects belong and with whom they reside, means good. Good is called 'the master' because truths and factual knowledge belong to good as their master, and good is also called 'the house' because truths and factual knowledge exist within good as their house. For the meaning of 'the house' as good, and the fact that truths reside in that house, see 3652, where the Lord's words in Matthew are explained,

Let him who is on the roof of the house not go down to take anything out of the house. Matthew 24:17.

[2] The implications of this - that good should be enquired of regarding truths and factual knowledge that have been taken away from the memory - are that the good present with a person is that which receives all truths into itself. For good receives its specific quality from truths; and in the measure that truths have good within them and also around them they have life. This is like a fibre or like a vessel in a living creature. In the measure that the fibre has spirit ¹ in it and in the measure that the vessel has blood in it they have life; and a blood vessel likewise has life in the measure that it has around itself fibres with spirit in them. A similar situation exists with truth and good. Truth without good is like a fibre without spirit, and like a vein or an artery without blood, the nature of which anyone can see, namely something devoid of life and so devoid of any use within a living creature. The situation is similar when faith is devoid of charity. Since good receives its specific quality from truths, as has been stated, good also receives its form from them; for where there is form, specific quality is present, and where there is no form no specific quality is present. Again it is like the situation with spirit and blood in a living creature. Spirit is circumscribed by its fibres and so receives form through them, while blood receives form through its vessels. From all this it is evident that truth without good has no life in it, and that good without truth possesses no specific quality, consequently that faith without charity is not faith that is alive. By faith here faith composed of truth is meant, and by charity life consisting of good.

[3] All this shows how to understand the explanation that if truths and factual knowledge have been taken away, enquiry should be made of good. That is to say, it shows that when a person is governed by good, that is, by an affection for doing good, he recollects all the truths that have entered into good, but when he turns away from good the truths disappear, for falsity arising from evil is that which takes them away as if by theft. But truths that have disappeared are recollected once again when a person comes back to an affection for good or for truth through the life he leads. Anyone who stops to reflect can recognize the truth of this from his own experience and from what takes place with others. All this makes plain what is meant by enquiring of good regarding truths and factual knowledge that have been taken away from a person's memory or mind.

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