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Arcana Coelestia #2551

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2551. 'What did you see, that you have done this thing?' means a looking into the cause. This is evident without explanation, as well as from what follows where the cause is stated. The reason ideas of how the Lord perceived and thought regarding the doctrine of faith, and regarding the rational, whether it should be consulted, are presented in that particular order in the internal sense is that it is angel-like to think about them in such a sequence. The internal sense of the Word exists in particular for angels, and has accordingly been rendered suitable to their perceptions and thoughts. For them these are experiences of delight, indeed of bliss and of happiness, when they are thinking about the Lord, about His Divinity and His Humanity, and about how the latter was made Divine. For when thinking about these they are encompassed by a celestial and spiritual sphere which is filled with the Lord, so that it may be said of them that they are in the Lord. Consequently nothing is more blissful and happy for them than to think in accordance with those things which belong to that sphere and to the affection resulting from this. What is more, they are at the same time instructed and perfected, in particular in the matter of how as He grew up the Lord by degrees and from His own power made Divine the human into which He had been born, and thus how, by means of knowledge and cognitions which He revealed to Himself, He perfected His rational, gradually dispelled its shadows, and brought it into Divine light. When the Word is being read, these and countless other realities are presented to angels in a celestial and spiritual fashion, together with thousands and thousands of representatives in the light of life. But these matters which to angels are so precious are to men of little importance since they are above and beyond them and so are lost in the darkened parts of their understanding. Conversely those which are precious to men, such as hold worldly matters within them, are to angels of little importance since they are beneath their state of existence and so are lost in the darkened parts of their wisdom. Thus, wondrous to tell, the very things which enter the darkened parts of man's mind, and almost into his contempt, pass into the light angels enjoy and into their affection, as do many things which belong to the internal sense of the Word.

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

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #2802

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2802. 'Isaac said to Abraham his father - he said - My father. And he said, Here I am, my son' means a conversing - which took place in the Lord and was grounded in love - between Divine Truth and Divine Good. This is clear from the meaning of 'Isaac', the son, as Divine Truth, and from the meaning of 'Abraham', the father, as Divine Good, both of which are dealt with in the paragraph following this; and from the affectional content of these expressions showing that both are grounded in love. From this it is evident that a conversing of the Lord with His Father is meant. Within these words more arcana lie concealed than can be perceived by any human mind, as may be recognized from the fact that the verb 'said' occurs four times in this verse (in the Word when something new is being introduced, the expression 'and said' is in the habit of appearing, see 2061, 2238, 2260) and also from the fact that the words in this verse are expressive of love, which, when they come to be perceived by celestial angels who understand the inmost sense, are formed by those angels into utterly heavenly ideas. For celestial angels form for themselves enlightened ideas from the affectional content of the Word, whereas spiritual angels do so from the spiritual meanings of the words and the subject matter there, 2157, 2275. Thus from the words of this verse in which there are four distinct and separate phases and affections springing from love, they form ideas such as cannot possibly come down within man's range of understanding nor find expression in words; and that formation of ideas is effected with an abundance and variety beyond words. All this shows the nature of the Word in its internal sense, even in places, like the present verse, where it appears plain and simple in the letter.

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