4802. There are also spirits who, even though they are evil ones, do to some extent allow the light of heaven to come in and who accept the truths of faith, so that they have some perception of truth. They accept the truths enthusiastically, yet not so that they may live according to them, but so that they may boast about being seen to have more understanding and keen-sightedness than others. For the human understanding is such that it can accept truths, even though none make truths their own except those people who live according to them. Unless the human understanding was like this no one could be reformed.

[2] Those who have been like this in the world, that is to say, have understood truths and yet have led a life of evil, remain the same in the next life. But there they put their ability to understand truths to the misuse of gaining dominion over others; for there they know that in truths they have a means of communication with some communities of heaven, and consequently that they can exist among the evil and be strong; for truths in the next life have power within them. But because their life is one of evil they are in hell.

[3] I have talked to two who during their lifetime were like this. They were amazed they should be in hell even though they had believed very strongly in the truths of faith. But I told them that the light in them by which they understood truths was like that of winter in the world. I said that objects in all their beauty and colours were no less visible than in the light of summer; yet in that winter light everything died off and nothing at all pleasant and delightful showed itself. Then I told those two spirits that because the end they had in view to understanding truths had been their own exaltation and consequently had been a selfish end, the sphere emanating from their ends in view when these rose towards the interior heavens, to the angels there, who perceived solely people's ends, could not be tolerated and were cast aside. This is why they were in hell.

[4] I went on to say that in former times people of this kind, more than any others, were called serpents of the tree of knowledge; for when life is the subject of their reasoning they speak against truths. They are, what is more, like a woman who has a lovely face but a foul stench, and who is therefore an outcast from society wherever she goes. Like her, when such people in the next life move towards angelic communities they are in actual fact emitting a stench, which even they themselves are aware of when they approach those communities. From this also one may see what faith is when devoid of the life of faith.

6752. 'And she called his name Moses' means the essential nature of the state then. This is clear from the meaning of 'name' and 'calling the name as the essential nature, dealt with in 144, 145, 1754, 1896, 2009, 2714, 3006, 3421, 6674, at this point the essential nature of a state because when someone's name is mentioned, that particular name used then means the state, 1946, 2643, 3422, 4298. This essential nature of a state that is meant is the nature of the state of the law of God as it was in the beginning with the Lord, and the nature of the state of God's truth as it is in the beginning with a person who is being regenerated. There are two people primarily who represent the Lord with respect to the Word, namely Moses and Elijah. Moses represents the Lord with respect to the historical books, Elijah with respect to the Prophets. In addition to those two there is Elisha, and lastly John the Baptist, who is therefore the one who is meant by 'the Elijah who is to come', Matthew 17:10-13; Luke 1:17. But before one can show that Moses represents the law of God, one must say what the law of God is. In a broad sense God's law means the whole Word; in a narrower sense it means the historical section of the Word; in a restricted sense it means what was written through Moses; and in a very restricted sense it means the Ten Commandments written upon Mount Sinai on tablets of stone. Moses represents the law in the narrower sense as well as in the restricted sense and also in the very restricted.

[2] In a broad sense the Law is the whole Word, both the historical section and the prophetical part. This is clear in John,

We have heard from the Law that the Christ (the Messiah) remains forever. John 12:34.

The fact that 'the Law' here is used to mean the prophetical part as well is self-evident, for this is a reference to what is written in Isaiah 9:6-7; in David, Psalms 110:4; and in Daniel 7:13-14. In the same gospel,

In order that the Word written in the Law might be fulfilled, They hated Me without a cause. John 15:25.

Much the same applies here, for it is a reference to what is written in David, Psalms 35:19. In Matthew,

Truly I say to you, Even until heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one small part of a letter will not pass from the Law till all things are done. Matthew 5:18.

Here 'the Law' in a broad sense stands for the whole Word.

[3] The Law in a narrower sense is the historical section of the Word. This is clear in Matthew,

All things whatever you wish people to do to you, do also to them; for this is the Law and the Prophets. Matthew 7:12.

Here the Word is divided into 'the Law' and 'the Prophets'; and as the Word has been divided into the historical section and the prophetical part, it follows that 'the Law' is used to mean the historical section of the Word, and 'the Prophets' to mean the prophetical part. A similar example occurs in the same gospel,

On these two commandments hang the Law and the Prophets. Matthew 22:40.

And in Luke,

The Law and the Prophets were until John. Since that time the kingdom of God is proclaimed. Luke 16:16; Matthew 11:13.

[4] In a restricted sense the Law is the Word that was written through Moses. This is clear in Moses,

When Moses had finished writing the words of this Law in a book, even until he had completed them, Moses commanded the Levites carrying the ark of Jehovah, saying, Take the book of this Law, and put it at the side of the ark of the covenant of Jehovah your God. Deuteronomy 31:14-26.

'The book of the Law' stands for the Books of Moses. In the same book,

If you do not take care to do all the words of this Law which are written in this book, Jehovah will send ¹ upon you every sickness and every plague that is not written in the book of this Law, until you are destroyed. Deuteronomy 28:58, 61.

The meaning is similar here. In David,

In the Law of Jehovah is his delight, and in His Law he meditates day and night. Psalms 1:2.

'The Law of Jehovah' stands for the Books of Moses, for the prophetical books had not yet been written; nor had the historical books apart from the Book of Joshua and the Book of Judges. In addition this restricted meaning of 'the Law' occurs in places containing the expression 'the Law of Moses', which are dealt with immediately below.

[5] In a very restricted sense the Law is the Ten Commandments written upon Mount Sinai on the tablets of stone, as is well known, see Joshua 8:32. This Law is also called the Testimony, Exodus 25:16, 21.

[6] Moses represents the Law in the narrower sense, which is the historical section of the Word, also the Law in the restricted sense, and in the very restricted sense too. This is clear from those places in the Word in which the name Moses is used instead of the Law, and those in which the Law is called the Law of Moses, as in Luke,

Abraham said to him, They have Moses and the Prophets, let them hear them. If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be persuaded if someone rises from the dead. Luke 16:29, 31.

Here 'Moses and the Prophets' has the same meaning as 'the Law and the Prophets', which is the historical section and the prophetical part of the Word. From this it is evident that 'Moses' is the Law or historical section of the Word. In the same gospel,

Jesus beginning at Moses and all the prophets explained in all the scriptures the things that concerned Himself. Luke 24:27.

In the same chapter,

All things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me. Luke 24:44.

In John,

Philip said, We have found him of whom Moses wrote in the Law - Jesus. John 1:45.

In the same gospel,

In the Law Moses commanded us. John 8:5.

In Daniel,

The curse and the oath which was written in the Law of Moses the servant of God has come down onto us, because we have sinned against Him. As it is written in the Law of Moses, All this evil has come upon us. Daniel 9:11, 13.

In Joshua,

Joshua wrote on the stone of the altar a copy of the Law of Moses. Joshua 8:32.

[7] The expression 'the Law of Moses' is used because Moses represents the Lord with respect to the Law, that is, the Word, and in a narrower sense the historical section of the Word. This explains why what is the Lord's is ascribed to Moses, as in John,

Moses gave you the Law, Moses gave you circumcision. If a man (homo) receives circumcision on the sabbath, so that the Law of Moses may not be broken... John 7:19, 22-23.

In Mark,

Moses said, Honour your father and your mother. Mark 7:10.

In the same gospel,

Jesus answering said to them, What did Moses command you? They said, Moses permitted him to write a certificate of divorce, and to put her away. Mark 10:3-4.

And because what is the Lord's is ascribed to Moses on account of his representation, both 'the Law of Moses' and 'the Law of the Lord' are used in Luke,

When the days of their purification according to the Law of Moses were completed, they brought Him to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord (as it has been written in the Law of the Lord, that every male opening the womb is to be called holy to the Lord) and to offer a sacrifice according to what has been stated in the Law of the Lord, A pair of turtle doves and two young pigeons. Luke 2:22-24, 39.

[8] Because Moses represented the Law he was allowed to go in to the Lord on Mount Sinai, not only to receive there the tablets containing the Law but also to hear the statutes and judgements belonging to the Law, and to enjoin these commands on the people. It is also said that the people should therefore believe in Moses forever,

Jehovah said to Moses, Behold, I will come to you in a thick cloud, so that the people may hear when I speak to you, and also may believe in you forever. Exodus 19:9.

The expression 'in a thick cloud' is used because 'cloud' means the letter of the Word. Here also is the reason why it says, when Moses went in to the Lord on Mount Sinai, that he went 'into the cloud', Exodus 20:21; 14:2, 18; 34:2-5. For the meaning of 'the cloud' as the literal sense of the Word, see the Preface to Genesis 18, and also 4060, 4391, 5922, 6343 (end).

[9] And since Moses represented the Law or the Word, it also says that when he came down from Mount Sinai the skin on his face shone whenever he spoke, and so he would put a veil over his face, Exodus 34:28-end. 'The shining of his face' meant the inner spirit of the Law, for this dwells in the light of heaven and is therefore called the glory, 5922. While 'the veil' meant the outward form of the Law. The reason why he veiled his face whenever he spoke to the people was that the inner spirit was concealed from them, and had become so obscure to that people that they could not bear any light from it. For the meaning of 'the face' as that which is internal, see 1999, 2434, 3527, 7577, 4066, 4796-4805, 5102, 5695. Since 'Moses' represented the Lord with respect to the historical section of the Word and 'Elijah' represented the Lord with respect to the prophetical part, Moses and Elijah were therefore seen talking to the Lord at His transfiguration, Matthew 17:3. No others except those who represented the Word could have talked to the Lord when He manifested His Divinity in the world; for talking to the Lord is done through the Word. Regarding Elijah's representation of the Lord with respect to the Word, see 1762, 5247 (end).

[10] And since these two together, both Moses and Elijah, represented the whole Word, both are mentioned in Malachi where the sending of Elijah before the Lord is referred to,

Remember the Law of Moses, My servant, which I commanded him in Horeb for all Israel - the statutes and judgements. Lo, I am sending you Elijah the prophet before the great and terrifying day of Jehovah comes. Malachi 4:4-6.

These words imply that one was to go before who was to announce the [Lord's] Coming, in accordance with the Word.

Footnotes:

9213. 'You shall restore it to him even at the going in of the sun' means that it is to be restored before the arrival of a state of shade induced by delights belonging to external kinds of love. This is clear from the meaning of 'the going in (or setting) of the sun' as a state of shade induced by delights belonging to external kinds of love. The situation here is that in heaven there are successive changes of heat with things that compose the good of love, and changes of light with those that constitute the truth of faith, thus successive changes in love and faith. In hell too there are successive changes; but they are their opposites, because there they are changes in the love of evil and belief in falsity. Those successive changes correspond to the successive changes of seasons of the year on earth, which are spring, summer, autumn, winter, and spring again, and so on. But in the spiritual world there are states instead of seasons; for the changes are not those of heat and light, but of love and faith. It should be realized however that those successive changes are not the same for one person as they are for another; rather they are different with each individual person, depending on the person's state of life acquired in the world. Sunset in heaven corresponds to a state of shade that comes over the truths of faith, and to a state of coldness that overtakes the good of love to the Lord and towards the neighbour. In such states those there enter into the delights that belong to external kinds of love, delights which put faith in the shade; for when an angel or a spirit is amid things of an external nature he is also in shade; but when amid those of an internal nature he experiences the delights and bliss that belong to heavenly kinds of love, and at the same time experiences the loveliness of faith, or is in the light of truth. These states are what spring seasons and summer seasons on earth correspond to. From all this it may now be seen why it is that 'the going in (or setting) of the sun' means a state of shade induced by delights belonging to external kinds of love. Regarding these successive changes, see what has been shown already in 5097, 5672, 5962, 6110, 7083, 8426, 8615, 8644, 8812.

[2] The things stated above show what people should understand by the explanation that factual knowledge of truths which has been dispersed by illusions that are a product of sensory impressions is to be restored before the arrival of a state of shade induced by delights belonging to external kinds of love, meant by 'If you take your companion's clothing as a pledge you shall restore it to him even at the going in of the sun'. They should understand that truths removed by illusions are to be restored while the person is still in the light of truth; for while in that light he can regain them and also dispel the falsities that illusions have introduced. But he cannot do so when in a state of shade induced by delights belonging to external kinds of love, because those delights turn truths away, and the shade does not receive them. So the illusions cling to the person and are adopted as his own. The reason why external delights or those of the external man are like this is that they attach themselves to the world, and are also aroused and so to speak brought alive by its heat. It is different with internal delights or bliss, or those of the internal man. These attach themselves to heaven, and are also aroused and brought alive by its heat, which is love coming from the Lord.

[3] This judgement or law is delivered elsewhere in Moses in the following words, No one shall take ¹ as a pledge the mill or the milling stone, for he takes the [person's] livelihood ² as a pledge. Deuteronomy 24:6.

'The mill' means the kinds of things that are of service in acquiring faith, and charity after that, 7780, and 'the soul' means the life of faith springing from charity, 9050, from which it is evident what 'not taking the mill as a pledge, for one takes the soul as a pledge' means. In the same author,

You shall not turn aside the right of the sojourner or of the orphan, nor shall you take a widow's clothing as a pledge. Deuteronomy 24:17.

'Taking a widow's clothing as a pledge' means taking away by any means at all the truths which good has a desire for. 'Clothing' means truth, as above in 9212, and 'a widow' someone in possession of good who has a desire for truths, or in the abstract sense good that has a desire for truths, 9198. For if truth is taken away, good together with its desire perishes.

[4] Still in the same author,

If you lend your companion something you shall not go into his house to get the pledge. You shall stand outside; but the man to whom you lend shall bring the pledge outdoors. If the man is needy you shall not lie down upon his pledge; you shall surely restore the pledge to him at the going down of the sun, in order that he may lie down in his own clothing and bless you; and it shall be righteousness before your God. Deuteronomy 24:10-13.

The law that the lender should stand outside and the pledge be brought out to him means the proper manner of response to truths that have been communicated; for 'lending' means communicating, 9174, and 'taking a pledge' means response. Nobody can know that these things are meant except from the kinds of things that take place in the next life, thus unless he knows what 'going into a house' means, what 'standing outside' means, and so what 'bringing outdoors' means.

[5] In the next life those who go into another's house and talk together in the same room communicate their thoughts to everyone there in such a way that they are fully convinced that they themselves are the authors of those thoughts. But if they stand outside, the thoughts are indeed perceived by them, but as if another, not they, were the author of them. This is an everyday occurrence in the next life. Those therefore who share the same opinion or feel the same way about something are seen together in the same house; and this is all the more true if they are seen together in the same room of the house. But when a difference of opinion arises among the same people, all disappear from before the eyes of those with whom they differ. Appearances such as these occur everywhere and unceasingly in the next life. The reason why they do so is that likeness of thought links people together and leads to their presence with one another; for thought is inward sight, and distances between places in that life do not exist in the way they do in the world.

[6] All this shows what 'not going into the house but standing outside to receive the pledge' means, namely not putting pressure on another or playing on his emotions to get him to corroborate truths known to oneself, but to listen to and accept his responses as they are in his own mind. For those who put pressure on another or play on his emotions to get him to corroborate truths known to themselves make this other person think or speak not from himself but from them. And when anyone thinks and speaks from another the truths present with him are thrown into disorder; nor is he improved by this, unless he is the kind of person who is still ignorant of those truths. All this makes plain once again that the Word in every detail contains matters that correspond to the kinds of things that exist in the spiritual world.

Footnotes: