Explaining the Inner Meaning of John 21

Verses 21:1, 2. That after his resurrection, the Lord manifested himself in common or general principles to those who were principled in good and truth.

Verse 21:3. And this at a time, when they were teaching the knowledges of truth and good for the reformation of mankind, but whereas they taught from themselves, and not from the Lord, therefore their teaching was fruitless.

Verses 21:4, 5, 6. On which account they are gifted with interior light, yet faint, from the Lord, instructing them that they ought to do all things from the good of love and charity, and that thus natural men might be converted to the truth.

Verses 21:7, 8. Which instruction is perceived to be from the Lord by those who are principled in the good of life, and also by those who are in the good of faith, therefore these latter are more and more confirmed in truth, though as yet it was in common or general principles, whilst the former, by the truth of doctrine, seek to lead natural men to the good of life.

Verses 21:9, 10, 11. Therefore they are made sensible of the divine presence in the truth of good, and in the good of love, and obeying the divine command, they acknowledge the fruitfulness and multiplication of good and truth, in all their fullness in the church, and in their coherence, to be of the Lord.

Verses 21:12, 13, 14. Yet it is granted them of the divine mercy to appropriate to themselves that fruitfulness and multiplication, by incorporating into their own minds and lives both good and truth from the Lord, whereby all doubt is removed concerning the divine presence, and they are fully convinced of the glorification of the Lord's Humanity.

Verses 21:15, 16, 17. On which occasion exploration is made concerning the conjunction of truth and good in the church, and divine admonition given, that it is the office of truth, or of those who are principled in truth, to instruct all who are in innocence, likewise all who are in the good of charity, and lastly, all who are in the good of faith.

Verses 21:18, 19. Divine warning is also given at the same time concerning the separation of truth, or faith, from good, or charity, teaching that the faith of the church in its rise is in the good of innocence, but when it is in its setting, it would no longer be in that good, nor in the good of charity, but would be led by evils and falsities.

Verses 21:20, 21, 22, 23. But still the good of charity would remain with those who are of the Lord, even to the end of the church, and when there is a new church, and not with those who are in truth separate from good.

Verses 21:24, 25. For they, who are principled in the good of charity, bear faithful witness to the truth, being convinced of the truth by its light in their own minds, yet they cannot unfold the whole of the divine operation, because the church is not in a state to receive it.

10061. 'And put it on the tip of Aaron's right ear and on the tip of the right ear of his sons' means all the ability to perceive Divine Truth emanating from the Lord's Divine Good in the heavens. This is clear from the meaning of 'the blood' which was put on the tip of the ear as Divine Truth which is present in the heavens and in the Church and emanates from the Lord's Divine Good, dealt with immediately above in 10060; from the meaning of 'the ear' as the power of perception, dealt with in 9397, at this point the ability to perceive Divine Truth in the heavens and in the Church since all the power of perception there is used to perceive that Truth (in particular that power of perception in the celestial heaven is meant here, for those there perceive truth springing from good, see the places referred to in 9277); from the meaning of 'the tip' of the ear, which is the outermost part of it, as the whole or all, for even as what is first or highest means the whole or all, so does what is last or outermost, see above in 10044; and from the meaning of 'the right ear' as the ability to perceive truth emanating from good. The reason why 'the right ear' has this meaning is that parts on the right side of a human being correspond to the good from which truths spring, while those on the left side correspond to the truths through which comes good, 9604, 9736. It is likewise so with the brain, the face and sensory organs there, the breast, the loins, and the feet.

[2] Without knowledge of this arcanum no one can possibly know why it was commanded that the blood should be put on the tip of the right ear, on the thumb of the right hand, and on the big toe of the right foot of Aaron and his sons, or why it was commanded that the right flank of this second ram together with the fat should be burned on the altar (spoken of below, in verses 22, 25 of the present chapter). Nor likewise can anyone know why it was commanded that the blood of the sacrifice should be put on the tip of the right ear of the one to be cleansed from leprosy, and on the thumb of his right hand and the big toe of his right foot, and that the priest should pour oil from a log ¹ over his own left palm and dip his right finger in the oil that was on his left palm and sprinkle it with his right finger seven times before Jehovah, Leviticus 14:14-18, 25-28. Nor can people know the meaning where it says that the Lord told the disciples when they were fishing to cast their net on the right side of the boat, and that when they did so their catch was so great that they were not strong enough, because of the very great number of fish, to draw the net in, John 21:6. This represented the reality that when good is the side on which people act or teach they net countless items of truth; but not the reverse. Those also who possess truths and are governed by good are meant by the sheep on the right, but those who possess truths and are not governed by good are meant by the goats on the left, Matthew 25:32.

[3] 'The right hand' is also used to mean those who dwell in the light of truth emanating from good, in David,

The heavens are Yours, and the earth is Yours. The world and the fullness of it You have founded; the north and the right hand ² You have created. Psalms 89:11-12.

'The heavens', 'the earth', and 'the world' mean the Church, 9325. 'The fullness' means all truth and goodness which constitute the Church, 'the north' being those there who dwell in a state of obscurity so far as truth is concerned, 3708, and 'the right hand' those who dwell in the light of truth emanating from good, so that much the same is meant by 'the right hand' as by 'midday' or 'the south', 9642. From this it becomes clear what 'sitting at God's right hand' means when used in reference to the Lord in Psalms 110:1, 5; Matthew 26:63-64; Mark 12:36; 14:61-62; Luke 20:42-43, namely Divine Power exercised through the Lord's Divine Truth emanating from His Divine Good, 3387, 4592, 4933, 7518, 8281, 9133.

[4] Since most things in the Word also have a contrary meaning, so too do 'the right' and 'the left'. In the contrary sense 'the right' means evil from which falsity arises, and 'the left' falsity through which comes evil, as in Zechariah,

Woe to the worthless shepherd deserting the flock! The sword will fall upon his arm and upon his right eye. His arm will become wholly withered, and his right eye will be utterly darkened. Zechariah 11:17.

'Arm' here stands for the power of truth when used to justify evil; and because this power is 'worthless' it says that it 'will become wholly withered'. 'Right eye' is the knowledge of good when used to substantiate falsity; and because this knowledge is 'worthless' it says that it 'will be utterly darkened'. 'Shepherd' is one who teaches truths and leads by means of them towards good, 343, 3795, 6044, so that 'the worthless shepherd' is one who teaches and leads towards evil. 'Arm' means the power that truth springing from good possesses, 4931-4937, 7205, but 'the arm of a worthless shepherd' is the lack of power. 'Eye' is the understanding and perception of truth, 4403-4421, 4523-4534, 9051, but 'the right eye of a worthless shepherd' is a knowledge of good devoid of any understanding or perception of it because it is made to serve falsity. 'Utter (or thick) darkness' is falsity arising from evil, 7711.

[5] In Matthew,

Jesus said, If your right eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out and throw it away from you. And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away from you; it will be better for you that one of your members perish, than that your whole body be cast into gehenna. Matthew 5:29-30.

'Right eye' means an understanding of and belief in falsity arising from evil, and 'right hand' falsity itself arising from evil. Anyone may recognize that 'eye' is not used here to mean the eye nor 'right hand' to mean the right hand, and that the eye causing a person to stumble should not be plucked out, nor should the right hand causing him to stumble be cut off, for that would contribute nothing to the person's well-being. In John,

The beast placed on them all a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads. Revelation 13:16.

'Right hand' here is falsity arising from evil, and 'forehead' is the love of evil from which falsity arises. 'Forehead' means heavenly love and therefore in the contrary sense hellish love, see 9936.

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