Apocalypse Explained #356
356. And he that sat on him had a bow, signifies the doctrine of charity and faith from that understanding, by which evils and falsities are combated and dispersed. This is evident from the signification of "he that sat on a white horse," as meaning the Word (respecting which just above); also from the signification of "bow," as meaning the doctrine of charity and faith, by which evils and falsities are combated and dispersed. That "bow" signifies this doctrine will be seen in what follows. Here first let something be said respecting doctrine:
1. Without doctrine no one can understand the Word.
2. Without doctrine from the Word no one can fight against evils and falsities, and disperse them.
3. Without doctrine from the Word no one within the church, where the Word is, can become spiritual.
4. Doctrine can be acquired from no other source than from the Word, and by none except those who are in illustration from the Lord.
5. All things of doctrine must be confirmed by the sense of the letter of the Word.
In respect to the first, namely, "Without doctrine no one can understand the Word," it can be seen from this, that the sense of the letter consists of pure correspondences, which contain in themselves things spiritual, thus it consists of such things as are in the world and in its nature. From this it is that the sense of the letter is natural and not spiritual, accommodated, however, to the apprehension of the simple, who do not elevate their ideas above such things as they see before their eyes. From this it is, moreover, that it contains such things as do not appear to be spiritual, although the whole Word inwardly in itself is purely spiritual, because it is Divine. For this reason there are in the sense of the letter many things that cannot serve as doctrine for the church at this day, and many things that can be applied to various and diverse principles, and from this heresies arise; yet there are many things intermingled from which doctrine can be gathered and formed, especially the doctrine of life, which is the doctrine of charity and of faith therefrom. But he who reads the Word from doctrine sees there all things that confirm, as well as many things that lie concealed from the eyes of others; nor does he suffer himself to be drawn away into strange doctrines by those things in the Word that do not seem to agree, and that he does not understand; for all things of doctrine that he sees there are clear to him, and other things are obscure to him. Doctrine, therefore, which consists of genuine truths is as a lamp to those who read the Word; but on the other hand, to those who read the Word without doctrine it is like a lampstand without a light, placed in a dark place, by means of which nothing conducive to salvation can there be seen, known, inquired into, or found; moreover, one who so reads it is liable to be led away into any errors to which the mind is bent by some love, or is drawn by some principle. From this it can be seen that without doctrine no one can understand the Word.
[2] Second, "That without doctrine from the Word no one can fight against evils and falsities, and disperse them," can be seen from this, that from doctrine truths can be seen in their own light and in their own order, but not from the Word without doctrine. This is clear from what has just been said. But if truths cannot be seen, neither can falsities and evils be seen, for the latter are the opposite of the former; and yet all combat against evils and falsities is from truths, that is, by means of truths from the Lord; consequently he who reads the Word without doctrine may easily be led to fight for falsity against truth and for evil against good, by confirming evils and falsities by a wrong interpretation and application of the sense of the letter of the Word; and as a consequence the man is not reformed; for man is reformed by the dispersion of evils and the falsities of evil, by means of truths applied to the life. This is what is here meant by "the white horse" that was seen, and by "he that sat on him having a bow;" for "a white horse" signifies the understanding of truth from the Word, and "a bow" signifies the doctrine of charity and of faith therefrom by which evils and falsities are combated and dispersed.
[3] Third, "That without doctrine from the Word no one within the church, where the Word is, can become spiritual," can be seen from what has now been said, namely, that without doctrine the Word is not understood, and that without doctrine from the Word evils and falsities cannot be combated; for man becomes spiritual by means of a life according to Divine truths, which he does not know without doctrine, and by removing evils and falsities, which cannot be done without doctrine, as was said above. Without these two man is not reformed, thus does not become spiritual, but remains natural, and confirms his natural life by the sense of the letter of the Word, which is natural, by wrongly interpreting and applying it. It is said, within the church, where the Word is, since those who are out of the church do not have the Word, and therefore know nothing about the Lord; and no one becomes spiritual except from the Lord; and yet all who acknowledge a God and worship Him under the human form, and live in charity according to a religious principle that is in accord with the Word, are prepared by the Lord to receive spiritual life, and do receive it in the other life (on which we see in the work on Heaven and Hell 313-328; and above, n. 107, 195). Man becomes spiritual by regeneration, and regeneration is effected by "water and the spirit," that is, by means of truths and a life according to them (See in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem, n. 173-186; that baptism in the Christian world is for a sign and memorial of regeneration, n. 202-209, in the same work).
[4] Fourth, "That doctrine can be acquired from no other source than from the Word, and by none except those who are in illustration from the Lord," can be seen from this, that the Word is Divine truth itself, and is such that the Lord is in it; for the Lord is in His Divine truth that proceeds from Him; those, therefore, who frame doctrine from any other source than from the Word, do not frame it from Divine truth nor from the Lord. Moreover, in the particulars of the Word there is a spiritual sense, and the angels of heaven are in that sense; consequently there is a conjunction of heaven with the church by means of the Word; those, therefore, who frame doctrine from any other source than the Word do not frame it in conjunction with heaven, from which nevertheless is all illustration. (That the conjunction of heaven with man is by means of the Word, see in the work on Heaven and Hell 303-310.) From this it is evident that doctrine is to be acquired from no other source than the Word, and by none except those who are in illustration from the Lord. They are in illustration from the Lord who love truths because they are truths; and because such as these do them, they are in the Lord and the Lord is in them.
[5] Fifth, "That all things of doctrine must be confirmed by the sense of the letter of the Word," can be seen from this, that Divine truth in the sense of the letter is in its fullness; for that is the ultimate sense, and the spiritual sense is in it; when, therefore, doctrine has been confirmed by that sense the doctrine of the church is also the doctrine of heaven, and there is conjunction by correspondence. Let this be illustrated by this only: when man thinks any truth and confirms it by the sense of the letter, it is perceived in heaven, but not if he does not confirm it; for the sense of the letter is the basis into which spiritual ideas, which are the angels' ideas, close, much the same as words are the basis into which the meaning of the thought falls and is communicated to another. That this is so might be confirmed by much experience from the spiritual world; but this is not the place to present it.
The White Horse #14
14. The Lord is the Word.
In the innermost sense of the Word the only consideration is the Lord Himself, and all the states of the glorification of His human form are described; that is, of His union with the Divine Itself; and all the states in which He was bringing hell into subjection to Himself, imposing order on everything there, and in heaven also: 2249, 7014. So, the whole life of the Lord in the world is described in that sense, and through the Word the presence of the Lord with the angels is continuous: 2523. Therefore the Lord alone is in the innermost part of the Word, and the divinity and sanctity of the Word derive from that: 1873, 9357. The Lord's saying that the Scripture concerning Himself has been fulfilled means the fulfilment of all things in its innermost sense: 7933.
The Word means divine truth: 4692, 5075, 9987. The Lord is the Word because He is the divine truth: 2533. The Lord is also the Word because it comes from Him and is about Him, see Arcana Caelestia 2859, and about the Lord alone in the innermost sense, and thus the Lord Himself is there: 1873, 9357. And because in every single part of the Word there is the marriage of divine good and divine truth, that marriage is in the Lord alone: 3004-3005, 3009, 4138, 5194, 5502, 6343, 7945, 8339, 9263, 9314. The divine Word is the one and only reality, and that in which it is, which is from what is divine, is the only true essence: 5272, 6880, 7004, 8200. And because the divine truth proceeding from the Lord, as from the sun in heaven, is the light there, and the divine good is the warmth there; and because all things there exist from these, just as everything in the world exists from light and warmth, which are also in their own essential substances and act through them; and because the natural world comes into being through heaven or the spiritual world; it is clear that all things which have been created were created from the divine truth, and so from the Word, according to these words from John: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God, and through it 1 all things were made that were made; and THE WORD WAS MADE FLESH; John 1:1-3, 14, 2803, 2894, 5272, 7850. More about the creation of all things from the divine truth, and thus from the Lord, may be seen in the work Heaven and Hell 137, and more fully in the section where there is a discussion of the sun in heaven, which is the Lord, and which is His divine love: 116-125. And the divine truth is light, and the divine good is warmth from that same sun in heaven: 126-140.
The linking of the Lord with man comes through the Word by means of its internal sense: 10375. This linking comes about through every single detail of the Word, and for this reason the Word is wonderful compared with everything ever written: 10632-10634. Once the Word was written, the Lord spoke through it to people: 10290. In addition there may also be seen ideas raised in the work Heaven and Hell concerning the linking of heaven with people through the Word: 303-310.
각주:
1. Nearly always, if not always, Swedenborg renders John 1:3 Omnia per Ipsum' (the Revd John Elliott), rather than the 'per illud' used here. The form ipsum may be either masculine or neuter, enabling through Him as a translation. The current Swedenborg Society editions of De Equo Albo and De Nova Hierosolyma, however, have 'illud' (it, neuter), and that is the form I have translated.