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Arcana Coelestia #2803

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2803. That the Divine Truth is the “son,” and the Divine Good the “father,” is evident from the signification of a “son,” as being truth (see n. 489, 491, 533, 1147, 2633); and of a “father,” as being good; and also from the conception and birth of truth, which is from good. Truth cannot be and come forth [existere] from any other source than good, as has been shown many times. That the “son” here is the Divine Truth, and the “father” the Divine Good, is because the union of the Divine Essence with the Human, and of the Human Essence with the Divine, is the Divine marriage of Good with Truth, and of Truth with Good, from which comes the heavenly marriage; for in Jehovah or the Lord there is nothing but what is infinite; and because infinite, it cannot be apprehended by any idea, except that it is the being and the coming forth [esse et existere] of all good and truth, or is Good itself and Truth itself. Good itself is the “Father,” and Truth itself is the “Son.” But because as before said there is a Divine marriage of Good and Truth, and of Truth and Good, the Father is in the Son, and the Son is in the Father, as the Lord Himself teaches in John:

Jesus saith unto Philip, Believest thou not that I am in the Father and the Father in Me ? Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in me (John 14:10-11).

And again in the same Evangelist:

Jesus said to the Jews, Though ye believe not Me, believe the works; that ye may know and believe that the Father is in Me, and I in the Father (John 10:36, 38).

And again:

I pray for them; for all Mine are Thine, and Thine are Mine; and that they all may be one, as Thou Father art in Me, and I in Thee (John 17:9-10, 21).

And again:

Now is the Son of man glorified, and God is glorified in Him; if God be glorified in Him, God shall also glorify Him in Himself. Father, glorify Thy Son, that Thy Son also may glorify Thee (John 13:31-32; 17:1).

[2] From this may be seen the nature of the union of the Divine and the Human in the Lord; namely, that it is mutual and alternate, or reciprocal; which union is that which is called the Divine Marriage, from which descends the heavenly marriage, which is the Lord’s kingdom itself in the heavens—thus spoken of in John:

In that day ye shall know that I am in My Father, and ye in Me, and I in you (John 14:20).

And again:

I pray for them, that they all may be one, as Thou Father art in Me and I in Thee, that they also may be one in us, I in them and Thou in Me; that the love wherewith Thou hast loved Me may be in them, and I in them (John 17:21-23, 26).

That this heavenly marriage is that of good and truth, and of truth and good, may be seen above (n. 2508, 2618, 2728, 2729 and following numbers).

[3] And because the Divine Good cannot be and come forth without the Divine Truth, nor the Divine Truth without the Divine Good, but the one in the other mutually and reciprocally, it is therefore manifest that the Divine Marriage was from eternity; that is, the Son in the Father, and the Father in the Son, as the Lord Himself teaches in John:

And now O Father, glorify Thou Me with Thyself, with the glory which I had with Thee before the world was (John 17:5, 24).

But the Divine Human which was born from eternity was also born in time; and what was born in time, and glorified, is the same. Hence it is that the Lord so often said that He was going to the Father who sent Him; that is, that He was returning to the Father. And in John:

In the beginning was the Word (the “Word” is the Divine Truth itself), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God; the same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, the glory as of the Only-begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth (John 1:1-3, 14; see also John 3:13; 6:62).

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

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Apocalypse Explained #64

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64. Clothed with a garment down to the foot. That this signifies Divine truth proceeding from Him, is evident from the signification of garments, as being truths which invest good (concerning which see Arcana Coelestia 1073, 2576, 5248, 5319, 5954, 9212, 9216, 9952, 10536). Mention is here made only of a garment reaching to the foot, which is a general covering; by which, as the Lord is treated of, is therefore signified in general all Divine truth. But as the Lord is here described as to the Divine Human, which in this case is the Son of man appearing in the midst of the lampstands, and it is said that He was "clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the breasts with a golden girdle," and afterwards that "His face shone as the sun in his power," I desire to give the explanation of what is related in the Evangelists concerning the Lord when He was transfigured, where some similar expressions occur; and then of what is said concerning the soldiers dividing His garments, and casting lots upon His vesture.

[2] Concerning the Lord's transfiguration it is thus written: Jesus took Peter, James, and John into an exceedingly high mountain, and was transfigured before them; and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment became white as the light. And behold there appeared to them Moses and Elias talking with him. And, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and, behold, a voice out of the cloud, saying, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him" (Matthew 17:1-5; Mark 9:2-8; Luke 9:28-36). The reason why the Lord took Peter, James, and John, was, that they represented the church as to faith, charity, and the works of charity. He took them into a high mountain, because by mountain is signified heaven. His face shone as the sun, because the face signifies the interiors, which, being Divine, shone as the sun; for the sun is the Divine love. His garments became white as the light, because garments signify Divine truth proceeding from Him; the same is also signified by light. Moses and Elias appeared, because they both signify the Word, Moses the historical Word, and Elias the prophetical Word. A bright cloud overshadowed them, because a bright cloud signifies the Word in the letter, in which is the internal sense. The voice out of the cloud said, This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased; hear ye Him, because a voice out of a cloud signifies Divine truth from the Word, and beloved Son, the Lord's Divine Human; and because Divine truth, and therefore all the truth of the church, is from Him, it was said out of the cloud, "In whom I am well pleased; hear ye him."

[3] That the Divine Human of the Lord was thus seen, is clear, because the Divine itself cannot appear to any except by means of the Divine Human; this the Lord teaches also in John:

"No one hath seen God at any time; the only-begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he hath brought him forth to view" (1:18).

And in another place:

"Ye have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape" (John 5:37).

(That such things are signified by these words in the Evangelists, is evident from Arcana Coelestia, where it is shown that, in the Word by Peter, James, and John are signified faith, charity, and the works of charity, n. 3750, and above, n. 9; that by a high mountain is signified heaven, n. 8327, 8805, 9420, 9422, 9434, 10608; that by face are signified the interiors of the mind, n. 1999, 2434, 3527, 4066, 4796, 5102, 9306, 9546, and by the face of the Lord, mercy, peace, and every good, n. 222, 223, 5585, 9306, 9546, 9888. That by the sun is signified Divine love, see n. 2495, 4060, 7083, and in the work, Heaven and Hell 116-125. That by garments, when the Lord is treated of, is signified Divine truth, see n. 9212, 9216; that the same is signified by light, see n. 3195, 3222, 5400, 8644, 9399, 9548, 9684, and in the work, Heaven and Hell 126-140. That Moses and Elias signify the Word; that Moses does so, see Arcana Coelestia 5922, 6723, 6752, 6771, 6827, 7010, 7014, 7089, 7382, 9372, 10234; and that Elias does, see n. 2762, 5247. That clouds signify the Word [in the letter], see above, n. 36; that beloved Son is the Divine Human of the Lord is evident.) From the signification of the Lord's garments, as being Divine truth, it may be known what is signified by the soldiers dividing the Lord's garments among them, and casting lots upon His vesture, concerning which it is thus written in John,

"The soldiers took his garments and made four parts, to each soldier a part, and also his coat; now the coat was without seam, woven from the top throughout. They said therefore among themselves, Let us not divide it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be; that the Scripture might be fulfilled, which saith, They parted my garments among them, and for my vesture they did cast lots. These things therefore the soldiers did" (19:23, 24).

[4] He who does not know that in every particular of the Word there is an internal sense, which is spiritual, cannot see any arcanum in these things; he only knows that the soldiers divided the garments and not the coat, and he perceives nothing more than this, when, nevertheless, there is not only a Divine arcanum contained in this circumstance, but also in every particular of the things recorded concerning the Lord's passion. The arcanum which is contained in this circumstance is, that the Lord's garments signified Divine truth, thus the Word, because the Word is Divine truth; the garments which they divided, the Word in the letter, and the coat, the Word in the internal sense. To divide them, signifies to disperse and falsify; and soldiers signify those who belong to the church, who fight for Divine truth; wherefore it is said, "These things therefore the soldiers did." It is therefore clear, that by these words in the spiritual sense, is meant, that the Jewish Church dispersed the Divine truth which is in the sense of the letter; but that they could not disperse the Divine truth which is in the internal sense. (That the Lord's garments signified Divine truth, thus the Word, was shown above; that His coat signified Divine truth, or the Word, in the internal sense, may be seen, Arcana Coelestia 9826, 9942; that to divide is to disperse and separate from good and truth, thus to falsify, may be seen, n. 4424, 6360, 6361, 9094. That soldiers signify those who belong to the church, in this place to the Jewish church, who fought for Divine truth, is evident from the spiritual sense of warfare and of war; that war signifies spiritual combats, which are those of truth against falsity, may be seen, n. 1659, 1664, 8295, 10455; it is therefore said concerning the Levites, whose function was to deal with the things of the church, that they should go out to the warfare, and should serve in the warfare, by exercising the ministry in the tent of the assembly (Numbers 4:23, 35, 39, 43, 47; 8:23, 24).

  
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Translation by Isaiah Tansley. Many thanks to the Swedenborg Society for the permission to use this translation.