from the Writings of Emanuel Swedenborg

 

Apocalypse Explained #32

Studere hoc loco

  
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32. Unto God and his Father. That this signifies Divine truth and Divine good, is evident from this, that God denotes Divine truth and Jehovah Divine good, and that therefore, in the Word, the Lord is called God where Divine truth is treated of, and Jehovah, where Divine good is (see n. 2586, 2769, 2807, 2822, 3921, 4287, 4402, 7010, 9167.) But here, instead of Jehovah, the word Father is used, because the Father of the Lord was Jehovah, and by Father is meant the same as by Jehovah. By both, God and Father, the Lord alone is meant, the Father being in Him as the soul is in the body (as may be seen above, n. 10 and 26); for He was conceived of Jehovah; and the soul of every one is from him of whom he is conceived. Therefore, when the Lord made mention of the Father, He meant His Divine in Himself; this is why He said, that, the Father was in Him and He in the Father (John 10:38; 14:10, 11); that the Father and He were one (John 10:30); that He was not alone, but He and the Father (John 16:32). (That the Lord called the Divine of Jehovah, which was in Himself from conception and which was the Being (Esse) of His life in His Human, the Father, and the Divine truth which is from Divine good, the Son, see n. 2803, 3704, 7199, 8328, 8897; that the Son of man is Divine truth, and the Father Divine good, see n. 1729, 1733, 2159, 2628, 2803, 2813, 3255, 3704, 7499, 8897, 9807. See also the citations from Arcana Coelestia, in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem, concerning the union of the Divine, which is called Jehovah the Father, with the Divine Human of the Lord, n. 304.)

  
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Translation by Isaiah Tansley. Many thanks to the Swedenborg Society for the permission to use this translation.

from the Writings of Emanuel Swedenborg

 

Arcana Coelestia #4859

Studere hoc loco

  
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4859. And covered herself in a veil. That this signifies truth obscured, is evident from the signification of “covering herself” or her face “with her veil,” as being to conceal, and thus to obscure the truth which pretended to be from good, as just above (n. 4858); and this for the purpose of conjunction with Judah. For when a bride first approached the bridegroom she covered herself with a veil-as we read of Rebekah when she came to Isaac (Genesis 24:65); and by this were signified appearances of truth (n. 3207). For a wife signifies truth, and a husband good; and as truth does not appear in its quality until it is being conjoined with its good, therefore for the sake of representing this the bride covered herself with a veil on first seeing her husband. The case is similar here with Tamar, for she regarded Shelah Judah’s son as her husband, but because she was not given to him, she regarded his father in his stead as one to perform the duty of a husband’s brother. Therefore she covered herself with a veil as a bride, and not as a harlot, though Judah believed the latter because harlots also were wont at that time to cover their faces, as is evident from verse 15. The reason why Judah so regarded her was that the Jewish nation, which is there signified by “Judah,” regarded the internal truths of the representative church no otherwise than as a harlot; and therefore Judah was conjoined with her as with a harlot, but not so Tamar with him. Because internal truths could not appear otherwise to that nation, therefore truth obscured is here signified by Tamar’s covering herself in a veil. That the truth of the church is obscured to them, is represented also at this day by their covering themselves with veils in their synagogues.

[2] There was a similar representation with Moses when the skin of his face shone as he came down from Mount Sinai, so that he covered himself with a veil whenever he spoke to the people (Exodus 34:28 to the end). Moses represented the Word which is called the Law (see the preface to Genesis 18); for which reason it is sometimes said the “Law and the Prophets” (as in Matthew 5:17, 11:13; 22:36, 40); and sometimes “Moses and the Prophets” (as in Luke 16:29, 31; 24:27, 44). By the shining of the skin of his face was represented the internal of the Word, for the “face” is the internal (n. 358, 1999, 2434, 3527, 4066, 4796, 4797), which being spiritual is in the light of heaven. His veiling his face whenever he spoke to the people represented that internal truth was covered to them, and thus obscured so that they should not have to endure any light from it.

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