256. It was said above, that by the seven churches here written to, are not meant seven churches, but all those who belong to the church, and, in the abstract, all things of the church; that this is the case is evident from the consideration, that by seven are signified all, and all things, and that by the names are signified things. That all who belong to the church, or all things of the church, are meant by what is written to those seven churches is also evident from the explanation of those things. For all things of the church have reference to the following four general principles, doctrine, life according to it, faith according to life. These are treated of in what is written to six of the churches - doctrine, to the churches in Ephesus and Smyrna; life according to doctrine, to the churches in Thyatira and Sardis; and faith according to life, to the churches in Philadelphia and Laodicea. And because doctrine cannot be implanted in man's life and become a matter of faith unless he fights against the evils and falsities which he possesses from heredity, therefore that combat is also treated of in what is written to the church in Pergamos; for the subject there treated of is temptations; and temptations are combats against evils and falsities.

(That temptations are treated of in what is written to the church in Pergamos may be seen above, n. 130; that doctrine is the subject treated of in what is written to the churches in Ephesus and Smyrna may be seen above also, n. 93, 95, 112; that a life according to doctrine is treated of in what is written to the churches in Thyatira and Sardis, (n. 150, 182, and that faith according to life is treated of in what is written to the churches of Philadelphia and Laodicea, n. 203 and 227.) Because in what is written to this last church, namely, that in Laodicea, those who are in the doctrine of faith alone are treated of, and also, at the end, the nature of faith originating in charity, to what has already been said, it is here to be added, that love constitutes heaven; and because it does so, it also forms the church. For all the societies of heaven, which are innumerable, are arranged according to the affections of love, and also all within each society; so that it is affection, or love, according to which all things are arranged in the heavens, and not in any case faith alone. Spiritual affection, or love, is charity. It is therefore clear that no one can ever enter heaven unless he is in charity.

158. ADDITIONAL NOTE

Since this chapter has dealt with the Holy Spirit, it is of importance to note that the Holy Spirit is nowhere named in the Old Testament Word, but only 'the Spirit of holiness' in three passages, one in the Psalms of David (Psalms 51:11), and two in Isaiah (Isaiah 63:10-11). But there are frequent references in the New Testament Word, as much in the Gospels as in the Acts of the Apostles and in their Epistles. The reason is that the Holy Spirit first existed when the Lord came into the world, for it came out of Him from the Father; for 'the Lord alone is holy' (Revelation 15:4). For this reason too the angel Gabriel speaking to Mary the mother of Jesus said 'the holy thing which will be born of you' (Luke 1:35). The reason why we read 'The Holy Spirit was not yet, because Jesus was not yet glorified' (John 7:39), although it was said earlier that the Holy Spirit filled Elizabeth (Luke 1:41) and Zechariah (Luke 1:67), as well as Simeon (Luke 2:25), was that it was the spirit of Jehovah the Father which filled them; and it was called the Holy Spirit because the Lord was already at that time in the world.

This is why nowhere in the Old Testament Word does it say that the Prophets spoke from the Holy Spirit, but from Jehovah. For everywhere we read 'Jehovah spoke to me', 'The Word from Jehovah came to me', 'Jehovah said', 'The saying of Jehovah.'

To remove all possibility of doubt I propose to quote the passages solely in Jeremiah where these expressions occur:

Jeremiah 1:4, 7, 11-14, 19;

2:1-5, 9, 19, 22, 29, 31;

3:1, 6, 10, 12, 14, 16;

4:1, 3, 9, 17, 27;

5:11, 14, 18, 22, 29;

6:6, 9, 12, 15-16, 21-22;

7:1, 3, 11, 13, 19-21;

8:1, 3, 12-13;

9:3, 7, 9, 13, 15, 17, 22, 24-25;

10:1-2, 18;

11:1, 3, 6, 9, 11, 17-18, 21-22;

12:14, 17;

13:1, 6, 9, 11-15, 25;

14:1, 10, 14-15;

15:1-3, 6, 11, 19-20;

16:1, 3, 5, 9, 14, 16;

17:5, 19-21, 24;

18:1, 5-6, 11, 13;

19:1, 3, 6, 12, 15;

20:4;

21:14, 7-8, 11-12, 14;

22:2, 5-6, 11, 16, 18, 24, 29-30;

23:2, 5, 7, 12, 15, 24, 29, 31, 38;

24:3, 5, 8;

25:1, 3, 7-9, 15, 27-29, 32;

26:1-2, 18;

27:1-2, 4, 8, 11, 16, 19, 21-22;

28:2, 12, 14, 16;

29:4, 8-9, 16, 19-21, 25, 30-32;

30:15, 8, 10-12, 17-18;

31:1-2, 7, 10, 15-17, 23, 27-28, 31-38;

32:1, 6, 14-15, 25-26, 28, 30, 36, 42, 44;

33:1-2, 4, 10-13, 17, 19-20, 23, 25;

34:1-2, 4, 8, 12-13, 22;

35:1, 13, 17-19;

36:1, 6, 27, 29-30;

37:6-7, 9;

38:2-3, 17;

39:15-18;

40:1;

42:7, 9, 15, 18-19;

43:8, 10;

44:1-2, 7, 11, 24-26, 30;

45:2, 5;

46:1, 23, 25, 28;

47:1;

48:1, 8, 12, 30, 35, 38, 40, 43-44, 47;

49:2, 5-7, 12-13, 16, 18, 26, 28, 30, 32, 35, 37-39;

50:1, 4, 10, 18, 20-21, 30-31, 33, 35, 40;

51:25, 33, 36, 39, 52, 58.

These are solely from Jeremiah. There are similar expressions in all the other Prophets, but it is never said that the Holy Spirit spoke, nor that Jehovah spoke to them by means of the Holy Spirit.