24
And after those days his wife Elisabeth conceived, and hid herself five months, saying,
Luke 1:24
Explanation of Luke 1
By Rev. John Clowes M.A.
Verses 1-5. That revelation of the eternal Word made flesh is imparted to all who are in the love of truth for its own sake.
Verses 5-26. His representative as to the Word must teach the doctrine of repentance and faith in Him, the origin of which doctrine is described.
Verses 5-7. As being born from celestial good and truth.
Verses 8-18. And announced by the most high, as being instrumental in promoting purification from evils and falsities, and thus preparing mankind for the reception of good and of truth.
Verses 18-24. Nevertheless this doctrine is not admitted without doubt respecting it, the effect of which doubt is manifested in the inability to make confession of the Lord, and to preach faith in Him.
Verses 23-25. Notwithstanding however this doubt, the doctrine of repentance and faith gains confirmation, though as yet it is seen only obscurely.
Verses 26-34. It is at the same time announced from heaven, that Jehovah will come into the world, and that the Humanity, which He will assume, is the Son of god, by virtue of the Divinity from whom it came forth.
Verses 29-34. Which annunciation causes trouble and surprise, until information is given, that to that Humanity will be transferred the All of Divinity, so that in it Divinity and Humanity will be one, and in that one-ness will have rule over all things of heaven and the church.
Verses 34-36. Since the Humanity is born from the Divine Good and Divine Truth, which is Jehovah.
Verses 36-38. And preparation is made for its reception, through the doctrine of repentance and faith, which was to be taught in the church.
Verses 39-46. That on this occasion, the internal affection of good and of truth in the church is conjoined with the external, so that the productions of the latter become vivified, and the latter affection itself is made holy by virtue of it's exaltation of the former.
Verses 47-51. The former affection, at the same time, exalts the Divine Good and Divine Truth above all things, under a devout sense of the Divine mercy, which attends to the lowest concerns of man, and is ever operative in good to those who desire good.
Verses 51-54. And which assumed a Humanity, that through it the hells might be subdued, and a new church might be established, to which divine good might be imparted, and in which, truth separate from good might be rejected.
Verse 55. As had been predicted.
Verses 56-59. That for this purpose the doctrine of repentance and faith in the incarnate god is taught in the church, to the great joy of those who receive it.
Verses 59-64. The quality of which doctrine is described, as being grounded in the Divine love and mercy.
Verses 64-66. So that they, who acknowledge this quality, are enabled to make confession of the Lord, and to preach faith in Him, exciting devout adoration in all who hear them.
Verses 68-73. Because they teach from Divine truth, that Jehovah assumed a Humanity, for the purpose of effecting redemption and salvation, by conjoining Himself with His church.
Verses 73-76. And that His church, being thus purified from evils and falsities, might be reciprocally conjoined with Him, through the reception of His love and wisdom.
Verses 76-80. Therefore the doctrine of repentance and faith in the incarnate god is of Divine origin, being intended to prepare man for the reception of the Divine mercy, through the removal of all opposing principles, and through the communication of the light of Divine truth, by virtue of which the church would be delivered from the falsities of evil.
Verse 80. Which doctrine is more and more confirmed, though for a time it is received by few.
Arcana Coelestia #10481
10481. 'That those rising up against them would annihilate them' means being left without any power to withstand evils [and falsities] that come from hell. This is clear from the meaning of 'being annihilated' as being deprived of all power to withstand evils and falsities, for in the spiritual world being deprived of that power is having no power at all; and from the meaning of 'those rising up', or enemies, as evils and resulting falsities, these being the enemies that rise up in the spiritual sense. Therefore also such evils and falsities are meant in the Word by 'enemies' and 'those rising up', 2851, 8289, 9255, 9314, as in David,
O Jehovah, how much my enemies have multiplied! Many are those rising up against me, saying regarding my soul, There is no salvation for him in God. Psalms 3:1-2.
In the same author,
Make Your mercy wonderful, O You who by Your right hand save those trusting [in You] from those rising up against them 1 . Guard me from the wicked who lay me waste, from my enemies who surround me against my soul. Psalms 17:7-9.
In the same author,
Do not deliver me to the desire of my enemies, for false witnesses have risen against me, and he who breathes out violence, unless 2 I believed I would see goodness in the land of life. Psalms 27:12-13.
In the same author,
O God, command the salvation 3 of Jacob. Through You we will strike our enemies; in Your name we will trample those rising up against us. Psalms 44:4-5.
In the same author,
Foreigners have risen up against me, and violent ones have sought my soul; they have not set God before them. The Lord is with those supporting my soul. Psalms 54:3-4.
In the same author,
Deliver me from my enemies, O my God; raise me up from those rising up against me. Deliver me from the workers of iniquity. Behold, they lie in wait for my soul. Psalms 59:1-3.
In these and very many other places 'enemies' and 'those rising up' mean evils and falsities which come from hell. The expression 'those rising up' is used because evils and falsities rise up against forms of good and truths, but not vice versa.
[2] Those whose interest lies in external things separated from what is internal have no power at all to withstand evils and falsities which come from hell because all power to withstand them comes from the Divine. Those therefore who are separated from what is internal, being separated from the Divine as well, have no power; as a result they are borne along by evils and falsities, wherever hell takes them, like fluff or a straw in the wind, as is plainly evident from the evil who enter the next life from the world. This was also represented by the Israelite nation, in that they were victorious over their enemies as long as they kept to the kind of worship which they had been commanded, but were defeated by them every time they forsook that worship, thus whenever they were ruled by evil, according to the following in Moses,
If you despise My statutes, the sound of a driven leaf will pursue you, and you will flee, like flight from the sword, and you will fall without [anyone] pursuing. They will stumble over one another 4 , as though before the sword, when no one is pursuing. Leviticus 26:15, 36-37.
And elsewhere,
One will pursue a thousand, and two ten thousand; for their Rock sold them, and Jehovah shut them up. Deuteronomy 32:30.
From all this it is evident what the meaning is of 'those rising up would annihilate them'.
Footnotes:
1. The Latin means against me, which Swedenborg derives from the Latin version of Psalms translated by Sebastian Schmidt. No equivalent of the two words exists in the Hebrew.
2. Reading ni (unless) for ne (lest)
3. literally, salvations. The plural word in the Hebrew is thought to mean victories or else deliverance.
4. literally, They will stumble a man on his brother
