937. 22:3 And nothing accursed shall be there, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him. This symbolically means that in the church that is the New Jerusalem, people will not live apart from the Lord, because the Lord Himself will reign there, and people who are governed by truths acquired from Him through the Word and keep His commandments will abide with Him, being conjoined with Him.

That nothing accursed shall be there means, symbolically, that no evil or falsity stemming from evil that separates people from the Lord will be found in the New Jerusalem. Moreover, because evil and falsity exist only in their recipient vessel, namely people, it symbolically means that none will live apart from the Lord there. Something in the Word that is accursed means every evil and falsity that separates people from the Lord and turns them away from Him; for in that case the person becomes a diabolical or satanic spirit.

That the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in the New Jerusalem means, symbolically, that the Lord Himself will reign in that church, for the throne here symbolizes a kingdom or reign, and the Lord reigns where He alone is worshiped.

That His servants shall serve Him means, symbolically, that people who possess truths from the Lord through the Word will abide with Him and keep His commandments, being conjoined with Him. Servants of the Lord symbolize people governed by truths from Him, as may be seen in nos. 3 and 380 above, and those who minister symbolize people governed by good from Him, as may be seen in no. 128. Consequently servants who minister to Him symbolize people governed by truths springing from goodness received from the Lord through the Word, who keep His commandments.

[2] Because the church at this day does not know that conjunction with the Lord produces heaven, and that the conjunction is formed by acknowledging that He is God of heaven and earth, and at the same time by living in accordance with His commandments, we will say something about it here:

Someone who has no knowledge of this may say, "What is the conjunction? How can such an acknowledgment and life form a conjunction? Why are these needed? Cannot everyone be saved out of mercy simply? Why is some other means of salvation than faith required? Is God not merciful and almighty?"

But he should know that in the spiritual world, knowledge and acknowledgment bring about every presence, while affection that is a matter of love brings about every conjunction. For intervals of space in the spiritual world are simply appearances that accord with similarities of hearts, that is, of affections and the accompanying thoughts. Consequently, when someone is acquainted with another, whether by reputation, or by dealings with him, or socially, or as a relative, and he thinks about him with a mental image of him, the other becomes present, even though he might be as much as a hundred miles ¹ from where he appears. Furthermore, if someone also loves another that he knows, they dwell together in the same society. And if he loves the other intimately, they dwell together in the same house.

This condition is something experienced by everyone throughout the whole spiritual world, and it is a condition experienced by them that takes its origin from the fact that the Lord is present with everyone in accordance with his faith, and conjoined with a person in accordance with his love. Faith and the Lord's consequent presence are brought about by concepts of truths from the Word, especially those concepts in it regarding the Lord Himself, while love and a consequent conjunction with the Lord are brought about by living in accordance with His commandments. For the Lord says,

He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me..., and I will love him and... make (My) abode with him. (John 14:21-24)

[3] But we must also say how the case is with this. The Lord loves everyone and wills to be conjoined with them, but He cannot be conjoined with a person as long as the person is caught up in the delight of evil, such as the delight of hating and taking revenge, the delight of committing adultery and behaving licentiously, the delight of thieving or of stealing under some pretext, the delight of blaspheming and lying, and the lusts of the loves of self and the world. For everyone caught up in these is in the company of devils who reside in hell. The Lord, indeed, loves those who are there, too, but He cannot be conjoined with them unless the delights of these evil are removed, and the Lord cannot remove them unless a person examines himself so as to know his evils, acknowledge them and confess them before the Lord, and wish to desist from them and so repent. This a person must do as though of himself, because he has no sensation that he does anything from the Lord. And it is granted to a person to do so, because for the conjunction to be real, it must be a reciprocal conjunction of the person with the Lord, and of the Lord with the person.

To the extent, therefore, that evils with their delights are thus removed, to the same extent the Lord's love enters, which, as we said, is universal toward all, and the person is then withdrawn from hell and introduced into heaven.

This process is something the person must accomplish in the world, for the character of a person in the world in respect to his spirit remains the same to eternity, the only difference being that if he has lived rightly, his state becomes more and more perfect, because he is then not encompassed by a material body, but lives as a spiritual being in a spiritual body.

Notes de bas de page:

128. "'And charity and ministry.'" This symbolizes the spiritual affection called charity, and the practice of it.

Charity is a spiritual affection because charity is love for the neighbor, and a love for the neighbor is that affection.

Ministry is the practice of it, because in the Word those are called ministers who put into practice things that are matters of charity.

In the Word, a worshiper of God is called sometimes a servant, sometimes a minister; and a servant of God is the term used for one who is governed by truths, and a minister of God for one who is governed by goods. The reason is that truth serves good, and good ministers to truth. That servant is a term used for someone governed by truths, see no. 3 above. That minister, on the other hand, is a term used for someone governed by good is apparent from the following passages:

You shall be named the priests of Jehovah, ...the ministers of our God. (Isaiah 61:6)

...My covenant will also be broken... with the Levites..., My ministers. (Jeremiah 33:21)

They are called ministers because priests represented the Lord in relation to Divine good.

Bless Jehovah, all you His hosts, His ministers who do His will. (Psalms 103:21)

(Jehovah) makes His angels spirits, His ministers a flame of fire. (Psalms 104:4)

Angel spirits are ones who are governed by truths, and angel ministers are ones who are governed by goods. A flame of fire also symbolizes the goodness of love.

(Jesus said,) "whoever desires to become great..., let him be your minister. And whoever desires to be first..., let him be your servant." (Matthew 20:26-27, cf. 23:11-12)

"Minister" there refers to good, and "servant" to truth.

Ministering and ministry have the same symbolic meaning in Isaiah 56:6, John 12:26, Luke 12:37, and elsewhere.

It is apparent from this that charity and ministry symbolize the spiritual affection called charity and the practice of it. For good is connected with charity, and truth with faith.