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Hesekiel 13:1

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1 Und das Wort Jehovas geschah zu mir also:

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #9817

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9817. 'And you shall speak to all the wise at heart' means an influx from the Lord through the Word into all who are governed by the good of love. This is clear from the meaning of 'speaking' as influx, dealt with in 2951, 5481, 5743, 5797, 7270; and from the meaning of 'the wise at heart' as those who are governed by the good of love, dealt with below. The reason why influx from the Lord through the Word is meant is that for members of the Church the main channel by which the Lord flows in is the Word. This is so because the nature of the Word is such that all things without exception there correspond to the Divine spiritual and Divine celestial realities that exist in the heavens; and as a result of this a person shares affections and thoughts with angels, in so complete a manner that he and they are seemingly one. So it is that the world has been joined to heaven through the Word, but only among those who are governed by the good of faith and love. From all this it becomes clear that for members of the Church the Lord flows in through the Word; for the Lord is the all in the heavens, since what is Divine and emanates from the Lord, and is received by angels, composes heaven.

[2] The reason why 'the wise at heart' means those who are governed by the good of love is that the presence of wisdom in a person is attributable to the life of heaven in him, also that 'heart' means the good of love. In the Word 'spirit' and 'heart' are expressions that have regard to the life of heaven present with a person, 'spirit' being used to mean that life in the understanding part of the person's mind and 'heart' that life in the will part. To the understanding part belongs truth, but to the will part belongs good; the former has to do with faith, but the latter with love. For the understanding receives truths that constitute faith, and the will forms of good that are aspects of love. From this it is evident that by 'the wise at heart' those governed by the good of love received from the Lord are meant. The good of love is celestial good, through which spiritual good comes into being; and spiritual good is that which covers celestial good, like garments the body. And since Aaron's garments represented the Lord's spiritual kingdom lying adjacent to His celestial kingdom, and the former comes into being through the latter, the present verse goes on to say that 'the wise at heart', that is, those governed by the good of love received from the Lord, should make the garments for Aaron and his sons. As regards 'heart', that it means the good of love or celestial good, see 3635, 3880, 3883-3896, 9050; and that it therefore means the will, 2930, 3888, 7542, 8910, 9113, 9300, 9495.

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

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #4047

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4047. Others also appeared overhead whose collective action, inflowing above the head, was passing in a crosswise manner from the front backwards, and others again whose inflowing action was passing from both temples towards the middle of the brain. I perceived that they were spirits who belonged to the province of the pia mater, which is another covering and which surrounds the cerebrum and cerebellum more closely and communicates with them by means of fine cords sent out from itself. I was allowed to know the character of these spirits from their speech, for they talked to me. They were the same as they had been in the world, in that they did not have much confidence in their own thinking, and so did not commit themselves to any definite thought about holy things, but relied on what others believed without testing it to see whether it was true. This particular nature of theirs was also shown to me by an influx of their perception into the Lord's Prayer when I was reciting it. For the particular natures of all spirits and angels, however many these may be, may be known from the Lord's Prayer - through the influx of the ideas comprising their thought and affections into the contents of that prayer. From this also I perceived that such was the particular nature of these spirits, and in addition that they were able to serve angels as intermediaries. For there are intermediate spirits between the heavens through whom communication is effected. Their ideas were not closed but capable of being opened, and so they permitted things to happen to them by allowing an easy entry to influx from the angels and welcoming it. What was more, those spirits were unassuming and peaceable; and they said they were in heaven.

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