186. That thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead. That this signifies the quality of their thought, in that they suppose themselves to be alive because they lead a moral life, when yet they are dead, is evident from the signification of name, as being quality of state (concerning which see above, n. 148); and from the signification of living, as being to have spiritual life (of which we shall speak presently), and from the signification of being dead, as being not to have that life, but only moral life without it. The reason why this is signified by being dead is, that life in the Word signifies the life of heaven in man, which also is there called life eternal, and death is called the life of hell, which life in the Word is called death, because it is a privation of the life of heaven. Here, therefore, by thou hast a name that thou livest and art dead, is signified to suppose themselves to have spiritual life, and thus to be saved, because their life is moral, when yet they are spiritually dead. But how this is to be understood is evident from what was said above (n. 182), concerning spiritual and moral life, namely, that moral life without spiritual life is the life of the love of self and of the world, but moral life from spiritual life is the life of love to the Lord and of love towards the neighbour, and that this latter life is the life of heaven, but the former life is what is called spiritual death; and this being understood, it may be known what is here meant by living and yet being dead.

[2] That to live, or to be alive, signifies spiritual life in man, and that to be dead signifies the deprivation of that life, and damnation, is evident from several passages in the Word; of which I will adduce the following. In Ezekiel:

"When I say unto the wicked, In dying ye shall die, and thou hast not admonished him, nor spoken to dissuade the wicked one from his evil way that he may be made alive, the wicked himself shall die in his iniquity. But if thou hast admonished the wicked, and he has not gone back from his wickedness and from his evil way, he shall die in his iniquity, yet hast thou delivered thy soul. Again, if thou hast admonished a righteous man that he sin no more, and he sinneth not, living he shall live, because he hath obeyed the admonition" (3:18-21).

By in dying to die, is here signified to perish in eternal death, which is damnation, for it is said of the wicked; and by in living to live, is denoted to enjoy life eternal, which is salvation, for it is said of those who perform the work of repentance, and of the righteous. In the same:

[3] "Thou hast profaned me with my people, to slay the souls that should not die, and to cause to live the souls that should not live, whilst ye lie to the people, to them that hear a lie" (13:19).

The subject here treated of is the falsification of truth, which is meant by its being said, "Thou hast profaned me with my people," and by "your lying to the people, to them that hear a lie." Here a lie signifies falsity, and what is falsified. To slay the souls that should not die, is to deprive them of life derived from truths; and to cause to live the souls that should not live is to persuade them that life eternal is from falsities. That this is here meant by causing to live is evident from the preceding verse.

[4] In David:

"Behold the eye of Jehovah is upon them that fear him, to deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine" (Psalms 33:18, 19).

Again:

"Thou has delivered my soul from death, and my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of the living" (Psalms 56:13).

In Jeremiah:

"Behold I set before you the way of life and the way of death" (21:8).

In John:

"Jesus said Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that heareth my word hath eternal life, and shall not come into condemnation; but shall pass from death unto life" (5:24).

That in these passages death denotes damnation, and life salvation, is clear.

[5] Because death is damnation, it is also hell; therefore hell in the Word is commonly called death; as in Isaiah:

"Hell will not confess thee, nor will death praise thee; they that go down into the pit will not hope upon thy truth. The living, the living, he shall confess to thee" (38:18, 19).

Again:

"We have made a covenant with death, and with hell we have made a vision" (28:15).

In Hosea:

"I will redeem them from the hand of hell; I will liberate them from death. O death, I will be thy plague! O hell, I will be thy destruction!" (13:14).

In David:

"In death there is no remembrance of thee; in hell who shall confess thee?" (Psalms 6:5).

Again:

"The cords of death encompassed me, and the cords of hell" (18:4, 5).

Again:

"Like sheep they shall be laid in hell; death shall feed on them" (49:14).

Again:

"Jehovah, thou hast brought up my soul from hell; thou hast kept me alive" (30:3).

And in the Apocalypse:

"A pale horse, and his name that sat on him was Death, and hell followed him" (6:8).

And in another place:

"Death and hell were cast into the lake of fire" (20:14).

[6] Because death signifies damnation and hell, the meaning of the following passages in Isaiah is evident:

"He will swallow up death to eternity; and the Lord Jehovih will wipe away tears from off all faces" (25:8).

Again:

"That he might give the wicked in their sepulchre, and the rich in their deaths" (53:9).

In David:

"Jehovah, thou liftest me up from the gates of death" (Psalms 9:13).

Again:

"Thou shalt not be afraid of the arrow that flieth by day, and of the death which wasteth at noon-day" (91:5, 6).

In John:

"If a man keep my word, he shall not see death to eternity" (8:51).

And in the Apocalypse:

"He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death" (2:11).

In another place:

"Many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter" (8:11).

Again:

"The second angel poured out his vial into the sea and it became as the blood of a dead man; whence every living soul died in the sea" (16:3).

From these passages it is evident that the dead signify those who are destitute of the life of heaven, consequently those who are in evils and thence in falsities.

[7] These are meant in the following passages; as in David:

"They joined themselves also unto Baal-peor, and ate the sacrifices of the dead" (Psalms 106:28).

Again:

"He hath made me to sit in darkness, as the dead of the world" (Psalms 143:3).

In Matthew:

One of the disciples said, "Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. Jesus said, Follow me; and let the dead bury their dead" (8:21, 22).

On account of this signification of the dead, the sons of Aaron were not allowed to touch any dead body (Leviticus 21:2, 3, 11); nor the priests, the Levites (Ezekiel 44:25); nor the Nazarite (Numbers 6:6, 7); and if any one of the sons of Israel touched the dead, he was to be cleansed by the water of separation (Numbers 19:11 to the end).

[8] Because death signifies damnation and hell, hence, on the other hand, life signifies salvation and heaven; as in the following passages. In Matthew:

"Strait is [the gate], and narrow is the way which leadeth unto life" (7:14).

Again:

"It is good for thee to enter into life one-eyed, rather than having two eyes to be cast into the gehenna of fire" (18:9).

Again:

"If thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments" (19:17).

In John:

"They that have done good shall go forth unto the resurrection of life" (5:29).

Hence it is that salvation is called "life eternal," as in Matthew 19:16, 29; 25:46; Mark 10:30, 31; Luke 10:25; 18:18, 30; John 3:14-16, 36; 17:2, 3; and other places. For the same reason heaven is called the land of the living; as in David:

"O Jehovah, thou art my confidence, my portion in the land of the living" (Psalms 142:5).

Again:

That thou mayest see "the good of Jehovah in the land of the living" (Psalms 27:13).

Again:

"O bless our God, ye peoples, who placeth our soul among the living" (Psalms 66:8, 9).

[9] That the Lord alone has life in Himself, and that every man has life from Him, the Lord teaches in the following passages. In John:

"As the Father raiseth up the dead and quickeneth them, even so the Son quickeneth whom he will. As the Father hath life in himself, so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself " (5:21, 26).

Again:

"Jesus said, I am the resurrection and the life; he that believeth in me, though he die, he shall live" (11:25, 26).

Again:

"I am the way, the truth, and the life" (14:6).

Again:

"I am the bread of life, which cometh down from heaven and giveth life unto the world" (6:33, 35, 47, 48).

Hence it is that the Lord is called

Alive, and he that liveth (Apoc. 4:9, 10; 5:14; 7:2; 10:6);

as also is Jehovah in very many passages in the prophets.

[10] And because the Lord is life, therefore all have life from Him; this He also teaches in John:

"He that believeth on the Son hath eternal life; but he that believeth not the Son shall not see life" (John 3:36).

Again:

Jesus said, "I am come" that the sheep "may have life. I give unto them eternal life" (John 10:10, 28).

Again:

"He that believeth in me, though he die, he shall live" (John 11:25, 26).

Again:

"Ye will not come unto me that ye may have life" (5:40).

[11] The reason why life signifies the Lord, and hence salvation and heaven is, that the all of life is from one only Fountain, and the only Fountain of life is the Lord; angels and men are only forms recipient of life from Him. The life itself which proceeds from the Lord and which fills heaven and the world, is the life of His love, which appears in heaven as light; and because it is life, it enlightens the minds of angels and gives them understanding and wisdom. Hence it is that the Lord calls Himself not only the life, but also the light; as in John:

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and God was the Word. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. That was the true light which lighteth every man that cometh into the world" (1:1, 4-12).

Again:

"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).

And in David:

O Jehovah "with thee is the fountain of life; in thy light shall we see light" (Psalms 36:9).

The light which is life from the Lord in heaven is there called Divine truth, because it affords light to the minds of those who are there, and hence shines before their eyes. This is why light in the Word signifies Divine truth, and intelligence and wisdom therefrom, and that the Lord Himself is called light; this, however, will be more fully evident from what is said and shown in the work, Heaven and Hell 126-140, and 275).

[12] The reason why the all of life is from the Lord is this: He is the Sun of the angelic heaven, and the light of that Sun is Divine truth, and the heat of it is Divine good; each is life; this is the origin of all life in heaven and in the world. The Spiritual which flows into nature, and imparts life to it, is from no other source; but then it imparts life according to reception (concerning this circumstance, see the work, Heaven and Hell 116-125). From these considerations it is now clear why the Lord calls Himself the Life, and why those are said to have life, and to live, who receive light, which is Divine truth, from the Lord, and why those are said not to live, but to be dead, who do not receive it. That there is one only Fountain of life, and that the Lord is that Fountain, may be seen in the work, Heaven and Hell 9); and in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 278).

182. (Verse 1) And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write. That this signifies those whose life is moral, but not spiritual, because they make light of the knowledges (cognitiones) of spiritual things, and thence of wisdom and intelligence, is evident from what is written to the angel of this church, viewed in the internal or spiritual sense; from which it is evident that the subject here treated of is those whose life is such because they make light of the knowledges (cognitiones) of spiritual things, and thence of intelligence and wisdom. But before unfolding the spiritual sense of the things that follow, it must be explained and shown what moral life and spiritual life are, also what moral from spiritual life is, and what moral life without spiritual.

[2] Moral life is to act well, sincerely, and justly, in the discharge of the various duties and occupations of life; in a word, it is the life which is seen by men, because lived amongst them. But this life has a two-fold origin, either the love of self and of the world, or love to God and love towards the neighbour. Moral life from the love of self and the world is not in itself moral life, although it appears to be such; for such a man acts well, sincerely and justly for the sake of himself and the world only, and to him, what is good, sincere and just, serve but as means to an end, that is, either that he may be raised above others and rule over them, or that he may gain wealth. He thinks in this way in his spirit, or when he is by himself in private; but he dare not openly avow what he thus thinks, because it would destroy the esteem which others have of him, and thus annul the means by which he desires to attain his ends.

From these considerations it is evident, that in the moral life of such a man there lurks nothing else but the desire of obtaining all things in preference to others, thus a desire that all others may serve him, or that he may possess their goods: it is evident from this that his moral life is not moral in itself; for if he obtained what he aimed at, he would enslave others and deprive them of their goods. And because all means savour of the end, and are, in their essence, such as are their ends, on which account they are also called intermediate ends, therefore such a life, regarded in itself, is nothing but craftiness and fraud. And this is clearly evident when those external bonds that unite society are loosened, as is the case with persons of this description when they are engaged in law-suits against their fellow citizens; they then desire nothing more than to pervert right, and to gain the favour of the judge or the grace of the king, and this secretly, in order that they may deprive others of their possessions; and when they succeed they are filled with inward delight. The same is still more evident in the conduct of kings who regard honour in wars and victories, the chief delight of their hearts being to subjugate provinces and kingdoms, and, where resistance is made, to despoil the subjugated of all their goods, and also of their life; this, in most instances, is the delight of those who go out to war.

The nature of the moral life treated of above is still more manifest in all such persons when they become spirits, which takes place immediately after the death of the body, when, because they think and act from their spirit, they rush into every kind of wickedness according to their love, however morally they may, in appearance, have lived in the world.

[3] But spiritual life is altogether of another quality, because it has a different origin, for it springs from love to God and love towards the neighbour; and therefore the moral life of those who are spiritual is also different, and is truly moral; for these, when they think in their spirit, which is the case when they are in private, do not think from self and the world but from the Lord and heaven; for the interiors of their mind, that is, of their thought and will, are actually raised up by the Lord into heaven, and are there conjoined to Him; thus the Lord flows-in into their thoughts, intentions and ends, and rules them, and withdraws them from their proprium, which is entirely derived from the love of self and of the world. The moral life of such persons is, in appearance, similar to that of those mentioned above, but still it is spiritual, for it has a spiritual origin, being only the effect of spiritual life, which is the efficient cause, and thus the origin of it; for they act well, sincerely and justly towards their fellow citizens from the fear of God and the love of the neighbour, in which the Lord keeps their minds and spirits; when, therefore, they become spirits, as is the case when their bodies die, they think and act intelligently and wisely, and are raised up into heaven. Of these it may be said, that all the good of love and all the truth of faith flow into them out of heaven, that is, through heaven from the Lord; but this cannot be said of those of whom we have spoken above, for their good is not the good of heaven, nor is their truth the truth of heaven, but it is the delight of the lusts of the flesh which they call good, and the falsity therefrom which they call truth, which flow into them from self and from the world. From these considerations the nature of moral life from spiritual life, and of moral life without spiritual can be known, that is, that moral life from spiritual life is truly moral life, which may be said to be spiritual, because its cause and origin is therefrom; but that moral life without spiritual life is not moral life, and may be said to be infernal, for so far as the love of self and of the world reigns in it, so far it is fraudulent and hypocritical.

[4] From what has been now said, a conclusion may be formed as to what the quality of a holy external is, by which is meant worship in churches, prayers and the gestures at the time, among those who are in the love of self and of the world, and yet apparently lead a moral life, namely, that nothing of those things is raised up to heaven and heard there, but that they flow forth from some thought of the external or natural man, and thus from their mouth into the world; for the interior thoughts of their spirit are full of craftiness and fraud against their neighbour, and yet elevation into heaven is always effected by means of the interiors. And moreover their worship in churches, and their prayers and gestures at such time, are either from habit and familiarity from infancy, or from a belief that such external things are all that is necessary to salvation, or from there being nothing for them to do on the feast days at home or out of doors, or from the fear of being thought by their fellows to be wanting in piety.

But the worship of those who live a moral life from a spiritual origin is altogether different, for it is truly the worship of God, because their prayers are raised up to heaven, and are there heard, for the Lord receives their prayers through heaven. (More may be seen upon these subjects in the work, Heaven and Hell 468, 484, 529, 530-534; and in the explanation above, n. 107.) These things are here premised, because the subject treated of in what is written to the angel of this church is those whose life is moral but not spiritual, because they lightly esteem the knowledges (cognitiones) of spiritual things.