Commentarius

 

Borne from the belly

  

In Isaiah 46:3, 4, a man who is regenerated by the Lord, is first of all conceived, and afterwards born, and at length educated and perfected, and since regeneration in this respect is like the natural generation of man, therefore, being born from the belly represents the state of man while he is regenerating.

(Notae: Apocalypse Explained 710)

from the Writings of Emanuel Swedenborg

 

Arcana Coelestia #5348

Studere hoc loco

  
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5348. 'And to Joseph were born two sons' means the good and truth born from this, that is to say, from the influx of the celestial of the spiritual into the natural. This is clear from the meaning of 'being born' as being reborn, and so the birth of truth derived from good or faith derived from charity, dealt with in 4070, 4668, 5160 (for the generations described in the Word are spiritual ones, see 1145, 1255, 1330, 3263, 3279, 3860, 3866); and from the meaning of 'sons', who in this case are Manasseh and Ephraim, as good and truth, dealt with immediately below. For 'Manasseh' means the area of will belonging to the new natural, while 'Ephraim' means the area of understanding belonging to it. Or what amounts to the same, 'Manasseh' means the good present in the new natural, since good exists as an attribute of the will, while 'Ephraim' means the truth present there, since truth exists as an attribute of the understanding. One reads in other places about the birth of two sons. Good is meant by one, truth by the other, as for instance with Esau and Jacob. 'Esau' means good, see 3302, 3322, 3494, 3504, 3576, 3599, while 'Jacob' means truth, 3305, 3509, 3525, 3546, 3576. The like is meant by Judah's two sons by Tamar, Perez and Zerah, 4927-4929; and the same applies here in the case of Manasseh and Ephraim. The birth of these is dealt with here because the subject in what went immediately before this was the influx of the celestial of the spiritual into the natural and the consequent rebirth of it, which is effected solely by means of good and truth.

  
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Thanks to the Swedenborg Society for the permission to use this translation.

from the Writings of Emanuel Swedenborg

 

Arcana Coelestia #3006

Studere hoc loco

  
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3006. These are the things that angels perceive when the names Jesus Christ are used, and the things that are meant by its being said that in no other name is there salvation, and by what the Lord stated so many times concerning His name, as in John,

Whatever you ask in My name, I will do. John 14:13-14.

In the same gospel,

These things have been written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name. John 20:31.

And elsewhere. 'His name' means everything in its entirety by which the Lord is worshipped, and so the essential nature of all worship and doctrine, see 2724. Here therefore the good of love and charity is meant when joined to the truth of faith, which constitutes the fabric of doctrine and worship in their entirety.

  
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Thanks to the Swedenborg Society for the permission to use this translation.