8860. THE INTERNAL SENSE
Verse 1 And God spoke all these words, saying means God's truths for those in heaven and for those on earth.
Exodus 20
1
And God spake all these words, saying,
2
I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
3
Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
4
Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:
5
Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;
6
And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.
7
Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.
8
Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
9
Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:
10
But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:
11
For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
12
Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.
14
Thou shalt not commit adultery.
16
Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.
17
Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's.
18
And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off.
19
And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God Speak with us, lest we die.
20
And Moses said unto the people, Fear not: for God is come to prove you, and that his fear may be before your faces, that ye sin not.
21
And the people stood afar off, and Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was.
22
And the LORD said unto Moses, Thus thou shalt say unto the children of Israel, Ye have seen that I have talked with you from heaven.
23
Ye shall not make with me gods of silver, neither shall ye make unto you gods of gold.
24
An altar of earth thou shalt make unto me, and shalt sacrifice thereon thy burnt offerings, and thy peace offerings, thy sheep, and thine oxen: in all places where I record my name I will come unto thee, and I will bless thee.
25
And if thou wilt make me an altar of stone, thou shalt not build it of hewn stone: for if thou lift up thy tool upon it, thou hast polluted it.
26
Neither shalt thou go up by steps unto mine altar, that thy nakedness be not discovered thereon.
Apocalypse Explained #1024
1024. Verse 20. And every island fled, signifies that there was no longer any truth of faith. This is evident from the signification of "island," as being the church as to the truths of the natural man, which are called scientific truths [vera scientifica] also cognitions [cognitiones] of truth and good (concerning which see above, n. 406; here it signifies the church as to the truths of faith, for the truths that are called the truths of faith are the truths of the natural man; and that there were no longer these is signified by "every island fled." An "island" means the church as to the truths of faith, the reason is that an island is land encompassed by the sea, and "land" signifies the church, and "sea" the scientific and knowing faculty in general, which belong to the natural man. "Islands" signify also in the Word the churches with the Gentiles that possess nothing but appearances of truth, which are truths further removed from genuine truths. Islands have this signification because the islands of the sea were widely separated from the land of Canaan, which was the mainland, by which the church that was in genuine truths was signified.
(The Commandments of the Decalogue in general)
[2] The commandments of the Decalogue are called the ten words or ten commandments, because "ten" signifies all; consequently the ten words mean all things of the Word, and thus all things of the church in a summary. All things of the Word and all things of the church in a summary are meant, because there are in each commandment three interior senses, each sense for its own heaven, for there are three heavens. The first sense is the spiritual moral sense; this is for the first or lowest heaven; the second sense is the celestial spiritual sense, which is for the second or middle heaven; and the third sense is the Divine celestial, which is for the third or inmost heaven. There are thus three internal senses in every least particular of the Word. For from the Lord who is in things highest, the Word has been sent down in succession through the three heavens even to the earth, and thus has been accommodated to each heaven; and therefore the Word is with each heaven and almost with each angel in its own sense, and is read by them daily; and there are preachings from it, as on the earth.
[3] For the Word is Divine truth itself, thus the Divine wisdom, proceeding from the Lord as a sun, and appearing in the heavens as light. Divine truth is the Divine that is called the Holy Spirit, for it not only proceeds from the Lord but it also enlightens man and teaches him, as is said of the Holy Spirit. As the Word in its descent from the Lord has been accommodated to the three heavens, and the three heavens are joined together as inmosts are with ultimates through intermediates, so, too, are the three senses of the Word; which shows that the Word is given that by it there may be a conjunction of the heavens with each other, and also a conjunction of the heavens with the human race, for whom the sense of the letter is given, which is merely natural and thus the basis of the other three senses. That the ten commandments of the Decalogue are all things of the Word in a summary can be seen only from the three senses of those commandments, which are as above stated.
