The Bible

 

Matthew 17:3

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3 And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with him.

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #9815

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9815. 'For glorious adornment' means in order to display Divine Truth as it exists in its inward form and its outward form in the spiritual kingdom lying adjacent to the celestial kingdom. This is clear from the meaning of 'glory' as Divine Truth, dealt with in the Preface to Genesis 18, and in 5922, 9429; and from the meaning of 'adornment' too as Divine Truth, but as it exists in its outward form. For the splendour and beauty of Divine Truth as they appear in outward things are meant by 'adornment'. So it is that the Word as to its internal sense is described as 'glory', but as to its external sense, in respect of the splendour and beauty which the internal imparts to it, is described as 'adornment'. Consequently the spiritual heaven, meant here by the holy garments that were 'for glorious adornment', is the glory, insofar as Divine Truth in its inward form is present there; and it is the adornment too, insofar as Divine Truth in its outward form is also present there.

[2] Something similar is meant by 'adornment' in the following places: In Jeremiah,

In His anger the Lord covers the daughter of Zion with a cloud. He has cast down from heaven to earth the adornment of Israel, and does not remember His footstool. Lamentations 2:1.

'The daughter of Zion' stands for the celestial Church, 'the adornment of Israel' for the spiritual Church, which is called 'the adornment' by virtue of the splendour and beauty of truth. Something similar occurs in Isaiah,

I have caused My righteousness to draw near, it is not far off, and My salvation will not delay. I will give salvation in Zion, My adornment to Israel. Isaiah 46:13.

In the same prophet,

Look out from heaven, from the dwelling-place of Your holiness and of Your adornment. Isaiah 63:15.

'The dwelling-place of holiness' stands for the celestial kingdom, and 'the dwelling-place of adornment' for the spiritual kingdom. In Daniel,

There came out one small-sized horn, and it grew exceedingly towards the south, and towards the east, and towards the adornment. 1 Daniel 8:9.

And elsewhere in the same prophet,

The king of the north too will stand in the land of adornment 1 with destruction in his hand; 2 and when he comes into the land of adornment 1 many will collapse. Daniel 11:16, 41.

'The land of adornment' stands for the Lord's Church where God's truth or the Word is.

Footnotes:

1. i.e. the land of Israel

2. literally, consummation through his hand

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

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #6647

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6647. 'And the children of Israel were fruitful and productive' means that the Church's truths increased in goodness. This is clear from the representation of 'the children of Israel' as spiritual truths, dealt with in 5414, 5879, and as the Church, 6637; from the meaning of 'being fruitful' as increasing in goodness, dealt with in 43, 55, 917, 983, 2846, 2847, 3146; and from the meaning of 'being productive' as further branching out; for once the Church has been established with a person, good increases constantly and branches out both within the internal and also towards the external, and within it. It has often been shown already that among those who belong to the spiritual Church good is increased by means of truths; for a member of the spiritual Church does not have perception as a member of the celestial Church has, and therefore he has no knowledge of what the Church's good - that is, spiritual good - is except through truths. This being so, when a member of that Church is being regenerated, the Lord uses the angels present with that person to bring truths to his awareness, and from those truths he is led on to good. But when that person has been regenerated, He brings both truth and good together to his awareness, and thereby leads him. But the character of the good with a member of the spiritual Church is determined by that of the truth, and so therefore is the character of his conscience, which serves him in place of perception, as a guide to the way he lives.

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