3995. 'And the spotted and speckled among the she-goats' means that after this all the good of truth that has falsity and evil mingled within it will be 'Jacob's'. This is clear from the meaning of 'spotted' as falsity, and from the meaning of 'speckled' as evil, dealt with just above in 3993, and from the meaning of 'she-goats' as the good of truth, or the charity of faith, dealt with in 3519. The fact that all of this will be 'Jacob's' is also meant by the statement which follows, 'And that will be my wages'.

[2] What is meant by the good of truth, or the charity of faith, will be discussed briefly. While a person is being regenerated it seems as though the truth of faith takes precedence and as though the good of charity is secondary; but once he has been regenerated it is quite plain that the good of charity takes precedence, and that the truth of faith is secondary. For what is seen before regeneration is the appearance but what is seen after it is the reality of the situation, see 3539, 3548, 3556, 3563, 3570, 3576, 3603, 3616, 3701. For while a person is being regenerated he does what is good from the truth he has learned, it being from truth that he learns what good is. Yet it is the good present inwardly that performs what is good because good is flowing in from the Lord by an internal route, that is, by way of the soul, while truth flows in by an external route, that is, by way of the senses, which is that of the body. Truth which enters by the external route is adopted by the good present inwardly and is joined to it, an activity which continues until that person has been regenerated. Then a reversal takes place and truth is done from good. This shows what is meant by the good of truth and by the truth of good. It also explains why so many at the present day speak of the good deeds of charity as the fruits of faith, for these are what those deeds are seen to be when regeneration first begins. These people base such a conclusion on the appearance and know nothing else, for those who are being regenerated are few and none can have a knowledge of this matter except one who has been regenerated, that is, who has an affection for good, which is charity. It is from an affection for good, or charity, that it can be seen clearly, and also perceived, by him. People however who are not regenerate do not even know what the affection for good is, that is, what charity is, but reason about it as something foreign or extraneous to themselves. As a consequence they call charity the fruit of faith, when in fact faith is a product of charity. However, it does not matter very much whether simple people know which is prior and which is posterior, provided they are leading charitable lives, for charity is the life of faith.

[3] By the expression 'member of the flock' here is meant not only lambs but also sheep, kids, she-goats, rams, and he-goats, though only lambs and she-goats are actually mentioned. These alone are mentioned because 'lambs' means innocence, and 'she-goats' the charity of faith, these being the subject at this point in the internal sense. This too is why in the original language 'spotted' is expressed by a word which also means lambs, as in Isaiah 40:10-11, while 'speckled' is expressed by a word which also means a sheep breeder, as in 2 Kings 3:4; Amos 1:1.

10307. 'And the incense which you make, according to its composition, you shall not make for yourselves' means that worship consisting of the Church's holy truths must not be attached to the loves that are a person's own. This is clear from the meaning of 'the incense' as worship, dealt with above in 10298; from the meaning of 'making according to its composition' as consisting of the Church's holy truths ('making according to its composition' implies making from the same spices, and those spices - stacte, onycha, and galbanum - mean the Church's holy truths in their proper order, 10292-10294); and from the meaning of 'you shall not make for yourselves' as not attaching to selfish purposes, thus to the loves which are a person's own. For what a person does for the sake of himself he does for the sake of his own selfish loves. An attaching is meant here because it speaks of their making the incense for themselves.

[2] The situation in all this must also be stated. All the truths which the Church possesses have two loves in view - love to God and love towards the neighbour. The whole Word, consisting of Divine Truth itself, from which all the truths that the Church possesses are derived, hangs on those two loves, as is clear in Matthew 22:40; Mark 12:30-31; and Luke 10:27. These places say that all the Law and the Prophets hang on them; and by 'the Law and the Prophets' the whole Word is meant. But it is quite the opposite to attach Divine Truth or the Church's truths to the loves that are a person's own. By doing this the person turns away from the Lord towards self, that is, away from heaven towards hell and becomes as one of those who are there. For those in hell have the Lord behind their back and their own loves before their face. Indeed when seen by angels they appear upside down, with head downwards and feet upwards.

[3] When God's truths become attached to the loves that are a person's own they cease to be truths, because attaching them to those loves allows evil to penetrate them, which perverts them and produces an outward display of falsity from them. But if such people are told that truths should not be treated and understood in that way but in some other, they do not wish to grasp this, and some in fact cannot do so. For to tell anyone something that goes against the assumptions reinforced by his own loves is to go against the actual person; for it is to go against his understanding as governed by his will. Those who falsify truths and adulterate forms of good by attaching them to their own selfish loves are dealt with many times in the Word, where Babel is the subject, in particular in the Book of Revelation.