950. Clothed in linen clean and bright, signifies by means of the Divine truth or the Word from the spiritual sense. This is evident from the signification of "linen," as being truth, and in reference to the Lord or the Word, as being the Divine truth. This is called "clean" because it is genuine, and is called "bright" from the light in heaven, which light is brightness, since from it all things there are bright. The Divine truth that proceeds from the Lord is what appears to the eyes of angels as light, for the reason that the Divine truth enlightens their understanding; and what enlightens the understanding of angels is light to their eyes. Such is the Divine truth in heaven, and such is the Word in its spiritual sense; while Divine truth on the earth is such as the Word is in the sense of the letter, in which there are few genuine truths like those in heaven, but there are appearances of truth; and these only can the natural man receive. Nevertheless in these appearances of truth genuine truths like those in heaven lie stored up; for these are what are contained in the spiritual sense of the Word. All this makes clear that the words "there came out of the temple angels clothed in linen clean and bright" signify that the evils and falsities that have devastated the church were made manifest by the Divine truth, or the Word from its spiritual sense.
[2] There are many reasons why the spiritual sense of the Word has now been disclosed. First, because the churches in the Christian world have falsified all the sense of the letter of the Word, and this even to the destruction of the Divine truth in heaven, by which heaven has been closed up. In order, therefore, that heaven may be opened it has pleased the Lord to reveal the spiritual sense of the Word, in which sense is the Divine truth such as it is in heaven. For through the Word there is the conjunction of man with the Lord, and thus with heaven. When the Word is falsified even to the destruction of its genuine truth the conjunction perishes, and man is separated from heaven. In order, therefore, that he may again be conjoined with heaven, Divine truth such as it is in heaven has been revealed; and this has been confirmed by the spiritual sense of the Word, in which is that Divine truth. The second reason is that the falsities that have inundated and devastated the church can be dissipated only by means of the genuine truth laid open in the Word. Falsities and the evils therefrom and evils and the falsities therefrom can be seen in no other way than from truths themselves. For so long as genuine truths are not present, falsities and evils appear as in a kind of light. This light they have from confirmations by reasonings from the natural man, and by the sense of the letter explained and applied according to the appearances before that man. But when genuine truths are present, then first falsities and evils appear; for the light of heaven, which is in genuine truths, dissipates the delusive light of falsities and turns it into darkness. The third reason is, that, by means of the Divine truths of the Word that are in its spiritual sense, the New Church, which is meant by "the Holy Jerusalem" in Revelation, may be conjoined with heaven. For the Word is conjunction; but conjunction is effected only when man perceives the Word in a similar way as the angels perceive it. That "linen" signifies truth will be seen in the following article.
(Continuation: The First Commandment)
[3] "Thou shalt not make to thee other gods" includes not loving self and the world above all things; for that which one loves above all things is his god. There are two directly opposite loves, love of self and love to God, also love of the world and love of heaven. He who loves himself loves his own [proprium]; and as a man's own [proprium] is nothing but evil he also loves evil in its whole complex; and he who loves evil hates good, and thus hates God. He who loves himself above all things sinks his affections and thoughts in the body, and thus in his own [proprium], and from this he cannot be raised up by the Lord; and when one is sunk in the body and in his own [proprium] he is in corporeal ideas and in pleasures that pertain solely to the body, and thus in thick darkness as to higher things; while he who is raised up by the Lord is in light. He who is not in the light of heaven but in thick darkness, since he sees nothing of God, denies God and acknowledges as god either nature or some man, or some idol, and even aspires to be himself worshiped as a god. From this it follows that he who loves himself above all things worships other gods. The same is true, but in a less degree, of one who loves the world; for there cannot be so great a love of the world as of one's own [proprium]; therefore the world is loved because of one's own, and for the sake of one's own, because it is serviceable to it. The love of self means especially the love of domineering over others from the mere delight in ruling and for the sake of eminence, and not from the delight in uses and for the sake of the public good; while the love of the world means especially the love of possessing goods in the world from the mere delight in possession and for the sake of riches, and not from the delight in uses from these and for the sake of the good therefrom. These loves are both of them without limit, and rush on to infinity so far as opportunity is given.
