1057. They whose names are not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world. That this signifies that they are those who do not acknowledge the Lord's Divine power over heaven and earth, but as transferred to some vicar, and from him to his vicars, is evident from the signification of names not written in the book of life, as denoting those who are not received in heaven (concerning which see (n. 199, 222, 299). And because those who do not acknowledge the Lord's Divine power over heaven and earth are not received in heaven, therefore these are they who are meant; and from the signification of the foundation of the world, as denoting from the establishment of the church. By the foundation of the world, in the literal or natural sense, is meant the creation of the world; but in the internal spiritual sense the establishment of the church is meant. For the spiritual sense treats of spiritual things; and the natural sense of the natural things that pertain to the world. Hence it is that by the creation of heaven and earth, in the first chapter of Genesis, in the spiritual sense, is described the new creation or establishment of the first and Most Ancient Church on this earth. That this is described by the creation of heaven and earth in the first chapter of Genesis may be seen in the Arcana Coelestia, where the things in that chapter are explained. Moreover, by creating, in the Word, is signified to reform, and by Creator, the Lord as Reformer and Saviour. That to create signifies to reform, and that by the creation of heaven and earth in the first chapter of Genesis is described, in the spiritual sense, the establishment of the Most Ancient Church, may be seen above (n. 294, 739).

[2] The establishment of the church is also meant by the foundation of the world in these passages in the Word:

"The king shall say to them on the right hand, Come and possess as a heritage the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world" (Matthew 25:34).

Jesus praying said, "Father, because thou hast loved me before the foundation of the world" (John 17:24).

Jesus said, "The blood of all the prophets, shed from the foundation of the world, shall be required of this generation" (Luke 11:50).

That the establishment of the church is meant by the foundation of the world, is evident from the passages in the Word where it is said to found the earth, the founding of the earth, and the foundation of the earth, by which is not meant the foundation or creation of the earth, but the establishment or creation of the church upon the earth. As in Zechariah:

"Jehovah who stretcheth out the heavens, and layeth the foundations of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man in the midst of him" (12:1).

Here by stretching out the heaven, and founding the earth, is not meant the stretching out of the visible heaven, and founding the habitable earth, but the church as to its internals, which are called spiritual, and as to its externals, which are called natural. To found the latter and stretch out the former is to establish; therefore it is also said, forming the spirit of man in the midst of him, which signifies his reformation and regeneration.

[3] In Isaiah:

"Attend to me, O Jacob and Israel, my hand hath founded the earth, and my right hand hath spanned the heavens" (48:12, 13).

By founding the earth with the hand, and spanning the heavens with the right hand, are signified similar things to those explained just above, as is evident from the preceding and following parts of the chapter, where the establishment of a new church by the Lord is treated of.

In the same:

"Hast forgotten Jehovah thy Maker, who stretcheth out the heavens, and foundeth the earth" (51:13).

Here also by the heavens and the earth is signified the church as to its internal or spiritual things, and as to its external or natural things and by stretching out and founding is signified to establish.

[4] In the same:

"I will put my words into thy mouth, and with the shadow of my hand will I cover thee, to plant the heavens, and to found the earth, and to say unto Zion, Thou art my people; awake, awake, arise, O Jerusalem" (51:16, 17).

Here by planting the heavens and founding the earth, is evidently meant to establish the church; for this is said unto the prophet, that the word should be put in his mouth, and that he should be covered with the shadow of the hand to plant the heavens and to found the earth. By a prophet the earth cannot be founded, but the church. Therefore also it is added, "To say unto Zion, thou art my people;" also, "Awake, awake, arise, O Jerusalem." For by Zion and by Jerusalem, in the Word, is meant the church.

In David:

"The heaven and the earth are thine; the world and the fulness thereof thou hast founded them" (Psalm 89:11).

Here in like manner by heaven and the earth is signified the church, by the world the church as to good; and by the fulness thereof are signified all the goods and truths of the church.

[5] Again:

"Jehovah hath founded the earth and the world upon the seas, and established them upon the rivers. Who shall ascend into the mountain of Jehovah, and who shall stand in the place of his holiness?" (Psalm 24:2, 3).

That the establishment of the church is described by founding the earth and the world upon the seas, and establishing them upon the rivers, may be seen above (n. 304, 518, 741). That the establishment of the church is signified, is evident from what follows here, namely, who shall ascend into the mountain of Jehovah, and who shall stand in the place of His holiness? By the mountain of Jehovah is understood Zion; whereby is signified, where the Lord reigns by means of Divine truth; and by the place of [His] holiness is meant Jerusalem, where the temple was, by which is signified the church as to doctrine. From these things it is evident, that by the foundation of the world is signified the establishment of the church. For the same is meant by the world, as by heaven and the earth. And it is said, "To found the earth;" because by the earth is signified the church on earth, and upon this heaven is founded as to its holy things.

Hence, also, it is evident what is signified by the foundations of the earth in the following passages.

In Isaiah:

"Have ye not known, have ye not heard, hath it not been declared to you from the beginning, have ye not understood the foundations of the earth?" (40:21).

In the same:

"The foundations of the earth are corrupted" (24:18).

Likewise in Isaiah 63:12; Jeremiah 31:37; Micah 6:2; Psalms 18:7, 15; 82:5; and elsewhere).

Continuation concerning the second kind of Profanation:-

[6] The reason why profaners of this kind are stupid and foolish in spiritual things, but cunning and ingenious in worldly things is, that they make one with the devils in hell.

And because, as said above, they are merely sensual, and thence are in their own proprium, which draws its delight of life from the unclean effluvia exhaled from effete things in the body, and exhaled from dunghills, from these also arise their conceit and pride when things are in their delight.

[7] That it arises from these is evident from their delights, after death, when they live as spirits; for then in preference to the most fragrant odours they love the rank stenches that arise from the air discharged from the belly, and from latrines, which smell to them more fragrant than thyme. By the breath and touch of these the interiors of the mind are closed, and the exteriors belonging to the body are opened, whence arise their eagerness in worldly matters, and their dulness in spiritual things. In a word, the love of domination by means of the holy things of the church corresponds to filth, and the delight of it to an unspeakable stench, which to the angels is most horrible. Such is the exhalation from their hells when they are opened, but because of the oppression that arises, and on account of swooning that sometimes follows, they are kept closed.

864. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. That this signifies those who are adjoined to the Lord by the acknowledgment of His Divine Human, and by a life according to His precepts, is evident from the signification of the Lamb, as denoting the Lord as to the Divine Human, concerning which see above (n. 314); and from the signification of following Him whithersoever He goeth, as denoting to acknowledge His Divine, and to do His precepts. By following the Lord is signified the same as by going and walking after Him. That to go and walk after the Lord signifies to acknowledge, to obey, to act, and live from Him and with Him, may be seen above (n. 787).

The reason why these things are signified by following the Lord is, that no one can follow the Lord of himself, but from the Lord Himself. For the Lord draws that man after Him, who from freedom wills to follow; but He cannot draw any one who does not will to follow Him. For the Lord works this in him, so that the man follows Him of himself; thus He flows into his freedom, and effects this for the sake of the reception and implantation of truth and good in him, and thence reformation and regeneration. For unless it appeared to a man that he followed the Lord as of himself, that is, acknowledged His Divine, and did His precepts as of himself, there would be no appropriation and conjunction, and consequently no reformation and regeneration. For every thing enters man, and becomes as it were his own, which he receives in freedom, that is, as of himself, both as to thought and speech, and also as to willing and doing. But still man ought to believe, as the thing really is, that he does not do these things of himself, but from the Lord. Therefore it is not said that he is to act of himself, but as of himself. The reason why this is the case is also, that a man does not perceive the Lord's operation into his will, and into the thought therefrom; for a man knows nothing of his conjunction with the angels. He supposes therefore that whatever he wills and thinks, he wills and thinks from himself; and hence he cannot but know that he acts from himself; when, nevertheless, all good flows in, both what he thinks and what he wills, and thence does. And because he knows this from the doctrine of the church, that is, that all good is from God, therefore he ought to believe that he does not do good of himself, although he does it as of himself. This is meant by what the Lord taught in Mark:

"So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed upon the earth, and should afterwards sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how" (4:26, 27).

In John:

"No man can receive any thing except it be given him from heaven" (3:27).

And in the same:

"He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit; for without me ye can do nothing" (15:5).

[2] That to acknowledge the Lord's Divine Human, and to do His precepts is to follow Him, is because such only can be conjoined to the Lord. That every one is conjoined to the Lord according to the acknowledgment and confession of Him from the heart, and according to the life, is evident from this fact, that all the angels of heaven acknowledge no other Divine than the Divine of the Lord; and that they all live according to the laws of order, which are His precepts, that is, they live in the Divine which proceeds from the Lord, which is called Divine truth. And because they live thus, they live in a heavenly aura, or in a heavenly ether, into which no one can be admitted except him who is in life from the Lord. If any other should enter into that ether, it would be like mice being put into a syphon from which the air had been exhausted.

[3] From these things it is evident what is signified in the spiritual sense by following the Lord whithersoever He goeth. The like is signified by following Him, in these passages.

As in John:

"Jesus said, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life" (8:12).

I am the Light of the world, signifies that He is Divine truth itself; he that followeth me, signifies he that acknowledges His Divine, and does His precepts; shall not walk in darkness, signifies that he shall not be in falsities; but shall have the light of life, signifies that he shall be in Divine truths, which teach man eternal life, and lead to heaven. That by following the Lord is not here meant to follow Him, but to acknowledge His Divine, and obey Him, is evident.

[4] Again:

The shepherd of the sheep, "when he leadeth out his own sheep, goeth before them, and the sheep follow him, because they know his voice; but a stranger they do not follow, but flee from him, because they know not the voice of strangers. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me" (10:4, 5, 27).

Here, also, by following the Lord is meant, to acknowledge His Divine, and to obey Him; for it is said, He goeth before His own sheep, and the sheep follow Him, and know and hear His voice. To know and hear the voice of the Lord, signifies to do His precepts.

[5] Again:

"Whosoever desireth to come after me, let him deny himself, and follow me" (Matthew 16:24; Mark 8:34; Luke 9:23).

That to go after the Lord, and to follow Him, is to deny self, is evident. And for a man to deny himself, is not to be led of himself but of the Lord; and he denies himself who shuns and turns away from evils because they are sins; which when a man turns away from, he is led of the Lord; for he then does His precepts, not from himself, but from the Lord. Similar things are also signified elsewhere by following the Lord:

As in Matthew 19:21, 28; Mark 2:14, 15; 3:7, 8; 10:21, 28, 29; Luke 18:22, 28; John 12:26; 13:36, 37; 21:19-22.

[6] From these things it is evident that to follow the Lord is to be led by Him, and not by oneself; and no other can be led by the Lord except him who is not led by himself; and every one is led by himself who does not shun evils because they are opposed to the Word, and thus to God; consequently, because they are sins and from hell. Every one who does not thus shun and turn away from evils, is led of himself. The reason is, that the evil which is in man hereditarily constitutes his life, because it is his proprium; and before [the evils of his proprium] are removed, he does every thing from them, thus of himself. But it is otherwise when evils are removed, which is effected when he shuns them because they are infernal. Then the Lord enters with truths and goods from heaven, and leads him. The chief cause of this is, that every man is his own love; and a man as to his spirit, which lives after death, is nothing but the affection of a man's love; and all evil is from his love, and thus belongs to his love. Consequently it follows, that a man's love or affection can be reformed only by spiritually shunning and turning away from evils; and this is a shunning and turning away from them because they are infernal. From these things it is now evident what it is to follow the Lord whithersoever He goeth.