9371. THE INTERNAL SENSE.

Verses 1-2. And He said unto Moses, Come up unto Jehovah, thou and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel; and bow yourselves afar off; and Moses, he alone, shall come near unto Jehovah; and they shall not come near; and the people shall not come up with him. “And He said unto Moses,” signifies that which concerns the Word in general; “come up unto Jehovah,” signifies conjunction with the Lord; “thou and Aaron,” signifies the Word in the internal sense and the external sense; “Nadab and Abihu,” signifies doctrine from both senses; “and seventy of the elders of Israel,” signifies the chief truths of the church which are of the Word, or of doctrine, and which agree with good; “and bow yourselves afar off,” signifies humiliation and adoration from the heart, and then the influx of the Lord; “and Moses, he alone, shall come near unto Jehovah,” signifies the conjunction and presence of the Lord through the Word in general; “and they shall not come near,” signifies no separate conjunction and presence; “and the people shall not come up with him,” signifies no conjunction whatever with the external apart from the internal.

1671. Came Chedorlaomer. That this signifies the apparent good in the external man, is evident from the signification of “Chedorlaomer,” explained in the preceding verse, as being apparent good and truth, here good only, because it is said also, “and the kings that were with him,” and by “the kings” is signified the truth.

2871. Spirits in hell do not know of the existence of any other freedom than that which goes with self-love and love of the world, that is, with the desires to exercise control over others, to persecute, and to hate all who do not serve them, to torment everyone, to destroy for their own ends if they could the whole world, and to carry away and claim for themselves whatever belongs to another. While gratifying these and similar desires they are enjoying what to them is freedom, for they are attaining what is their delight. Their life consists in that freedom to such an extent that if it is taken away from them no more life is left to them than that of a new-born child. This has also been shown to me through an actual experience. A certain evil spirit was convinced that such things could be taken away from him, and that if they were he could enter heaven, and that consequently his life could be miraculously transformed into heavenly life. His loves and the desires belonging to these were therefore taken away from him - which is done in the next life by dissociation. ¹ He now looked like a small child floating around, scarcely able to move its hands. He was at the same time in such a state that he was able to think even less than any infant, being totally unable to speak anything at all or to know anything. But shortly he was restored to his own delight and thus freedom. From this it was evident that it is impossible for anyone to enter heaven who has acquired life for himself from self-love and love of the world, and whose freedom consequently rests in these. For if that life were taken away from such a person he would not have any thought or will at all remaining in him.

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