9372. And He said unto Moses. That this signifies that which concerns the Word in general, is evident from the representation of Moses, as being the Word (of which below); and from the signification of “He said,” as involving those things which follow in this chapter, thus those which concern the Word (see n. 9370). (That Moses represents the Word, can be seen from what has been often shown before about Moses, as from the preface to Genesis 18; and n. 4859, 5922, 6723, 6752, 6771, 6827, 7010, 7014, 7089, 7382, 8601, 8760, 8787, 8805.) Here Moses represents the Word in general, because it is said of him in what follows, that he alone should come near unto Jehovah (verse 2); and also that, being called unto out of the midst of the cloud, he entered into it, and went up the mount (verses 16-18).

[2] In the Word there are many who represent the Lord in respect to truth Divine, or in respect to the Word; but chief among them are Moses, Elijah, Elisha, and John the Baptist. That Moses does so, can be seen in the explications just cited above; that so do Elijah and Elisha, can be seen in the preface to Genesis 18; and n. 2762, 5247; and that John the Baptist does so is evident from the fact that he was “Elias who was to come.” He who does not know that John the Baptist represented the Lord as to the Word, cannot know what all those things infold and signify which are said about him in the New Testament; and therefore in order that this secret may stand open, and that at the same time it may appear that Elias, and also Moses, who were seen when the Lord was transfigured, signified the Word, some things may here be quoted which are spoken about John the Baptist; as in Matthew:

After the messengers of John had departed, Jesus began to speak concerning John, saying, What went ye out into the wilderness to see? a reed shaken by the wind? But what went ye out to see? a man clothed in soft raiment? Behold, they that wear soft things are in kings’ houses. But what went ye out to see? a prophet? Yea, I say unto you, even more than a prophet. This is he of whom it is written, Behold I send Mine angel before Thy face, who shall prepare Thy way before Thee. Verily I say unto you, Among those who are born of women there hath not arisen a greater than John the Baptist; nevertheless he that is less in the kingdom of the heavens is greater than he. All the prophets and the law prophesied until John. And if ye are willing to believe, he is Elias who was to come. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear (Matthew 11:7-15; and also Luke 7:24-28).

No one can know how these things are to be understood, unless he knows that this John represented the Lord as to the Word, and unless he also knows from the internal sense what is signified by “the wilderness” in which he was, also what by “a reed shaken by the wind,” and likewise by “soft raiment in kings’ houses;” and further what is signified by his being “more than a prophet,” and by “none among those who are born of women being greater than he, and nevertheless he that is less in the kingdom of the heavens is greater than he,” and lastly by his being “Elias.” For without a deeper sense, all these words are uttered merely from some comparison, and not from anything of weight.

[3] But it is very different when by John is understood the Lord as to the Word, or the Word representatively. Then by “the wilderness of Judea in which John was” is signified the state in which the Word was at the time when the Lord came into the world, namely, that it was “in the wilderness,” that is, it was in obscurity so great that the Lord was not at all acknowledged, neither was anything known about His heavenly kingdom; when yet all the prophets prophesied about Him, and about His kingdom, that it was to endure forever. (That “a wilderness” denotes such obscurity, see n. 2708, 4736, 7313.) For this reason the Word is compared to “a reed shaken by the wind” when it is explained at pleasure; for in the internal sense “a reed” denotes truth in the ultimate, such as is the Word in the letter.

[4] That the Word in the ultimate, or in the letter, is crude and obscure in the sight of men; but that in the internal sense it is soft and shining, is signified by their “not seeing a man clothed in soft raiment, for behold those who wear soft things are in kings’ houses.” That such things are signified by these words, is plain from the signification of “raiment,” or “garments,” as being truths (n. 2132, 2576, 4545, 4763, 5248, 6914, 6918, 9093); and for this reason the angels appear clothed in garments soft and shining according to the truths from good with them (n. 5248, 5319, 5954, 9212, 9216). The same is evident from the signification of “kings’ houses,” as being the abodes of the angels, and in the universal sense, the heavens; for “houses” are so called from good (n. 2233, 2234, 3128, 3652, 3720, 4622, 4982, 7836, 7891, 7996, 7997); and “kings,” from truth (n. 1672, 2015, 2069, 3009, 4575, 4581, 4966, 5044, 6148). Therefore by virtue of their reception of truth from the Lord, the angels are called “sons of the kingdom,” “sons of the king,” and also “kings.”

[5] That the Word is more than any doctrine in the world, and more than any truth in the world, is signified by “what went ye out to see? a prophet? Yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet;” and by, “there hath not arisen among those who are born of women a greater than John the Baptist;” for in the internal sense “a prophet” denotes doctrine (n. 2534, 7269); and “those who are born,” or are the sons, “of women” denote truths (n. 489, 491, 533, 1147, 2623, 2803, 2813, 3704, 4257).

[6] That in the internal sense, or such as it is in heaven, the Word is in a degree above the Word in the external sense, or such as it is in the world, and such as John the Baptist taught, is signified by, “he that is less in the kingdom of the heavens is greater than he;” for as perceived in heaven the Word is of wisdom so great that it transcends all human apprehension. That the prophecies about the Lord and His coming, and that the representatives of the Lord and of His kingdom, ceased when the Lord came into the world, is signified by, “all the prophets and the law prophesied until John.” That the Word was represented by John, as by Elijah, is signified by his being “Elias who is to come.”

[7] The same is signified by these words in Matthew:

The disciples asked Jesus, Why say the scribes that Elias must first come? He answered and said, Elias must needs first come, and restore all things. But I say unto you, that Elias hath come already, and they knew him not, but did unto him whatsoever they wished. Even so shall the Son of man also suffer of them. And they understood that He spoke to them of John the Baptist (Matthew 17:10-13).

That “Elias hath come, and they knew him not, but did unto him whatsoever they wished” signifies that the Word has indeed taught them that the Lord is to come, but that still they did not wish to comprehend, interpreting it in favor of the rule of self, and thus extinguishing what is Divine in it. That they would do the same with the truth Divine itself, is signified by “even so shall the Son of man also suffer of them.” (That “the Son of man” denotes the Lord as to truth Divine, see n. 2803, 2813, 3704)

[8] From all this it is now evident what is meant by the prophecy about John in Malachi:

Behold I send you Elijah the prophet before the great and terrible day of Jehovah cometh (Malachi 4:5).

Moreover, the Word in the ultimate, or such as it is in the external form in which it appears before man in the world, is described by the “clothing” and “food” of John the Baptist, in Matthew:

John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, had His clothing of camel’s hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his food was locusts and wild honey (Matthew 3:1, 4).

In like manner it is described by Elijah in the second book of Kings:

He was a hairy man, and girt with a girdle of leather about his loins (2 Kings 1:8).

By “clothing,” or a “garment,” when said of the Word, is signified truth Divine there in the ultimate form; by “camel’s hair” are signified memory-truths such as appear there before a man in the world; by the “leathern girdle” is signified the external bond connecting and keeping in order all the interior things; by “food” is signified spiritual nourishment from the knowledges of truth and of good out of the Word; by “locusts” are signified ultimate or most general truths; and by “wild honey” their pleasantness.

[9] That such things are signified by “clothing” and “food” has its origin in the representatives of the other life, where all appear clothed according to truths from good, and where food also is represented according to the desires of acquiring knowledge and growing wise. From this it is that “clothing,” or a “garment,” denotes truth (as may be seen from the citations above; and that “food” or “meat” denotes spiritual nourishment, n. 3114, 4459, 4792, 5147, 5293, 5340, 5342, 5576, 5579, 5915, 8562, 9003; that “a girdle” denotes a bond which gathers up and holds together interior things, n. 9341; that “leather” denotes what is external, n. 3540; and thus “a leathern girdle” denotes an external bond; that “hairs” denote ultimate or most general truths, n. 3301, 5569-5573; that “a camel” denotes memory-knowledge in general, n. 3048, 3071, 3143, 3145, 4156; that “a locust” denotes nourishing truth in the extremes, n. 7643; and that “honey” denotes the pleasantness thereof, n. 5620, 6857, 8056). It is called “wild honey,” or “honey of the field,” because by “a field” is signified the church (n. 2971, 3317, 3766, 7502, 7571, 9139, 9295). He who does not know that such things are signified, cannot possibly know why Elijah and John were so clothed. And yet that these things signified something peculiar to these prophets, can be thought by everyone who thinks well about the Word.

[10] Because John the Baptist represented the Lord as to the Word, therefore also when he spoke of the Lord, who was the Word itself, he said of himself that he was “not Elias, nor the prophet,” and that he was “not worthy to loose the latchet of the Lord’s shoe,” as in John:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and God was the Word. And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory. The Jews from Jerusalem, priests and Levites, asked John who he was. And he confessed, and denied not, I am not the Christ. Therefore they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias? But he said, I am not. Art thou the prophet? He answered, No. They said therefore unto him, Who art thou? He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said Isaiah the prophet. They said therefore, Why then baptizest thou, if thou art not the Christ, nor Elias, nor the prophet? He answered, I baptize with water; in the midst of you standeth one whom ye know not; He it is who is to come after me, who was before me, the latchet of whose shoe I am not worthy to unloose. When he saw Jesus, he said, Behold the Lamb of God, who taketh away the sin of the world! This is He of whom I said, After me cometh a man who was before me; for he was before me (John 1:1, 14, 19-30).

From these words it is plain that when John spoke about the Lord Himself, who was Truth Divine itself, or the Word, he said that he himself was not anything, because the shadow disappears when the light itself appears, that is, the representative disappears when the original itself makes its appearance. (That the representatives had in view holy things, and the Lord Himself, and not at all the person that represented, see n. 665, 1097, 1361, 3147, 3881, 4208, 4281, 4288, 4292, 4307, 4444, 4500, 6304, 7048, 7439, 8588, 8788, 8806.) One who does not know that representatives vanish like shadows at the presence of light, cannot know why John denied that he was Elias and the prophet.

[11] From all this it can now be seen what is signified by Moses and Elias, who were seen in glory, and who spoke with the Lord when transfigured, of His departure which He should accomplish at Jerusalem (Luke 9:29-31); namely, that they signified the Word (“Moses” the historic Word, and “Elias” the prophetic Word), which in the internal sense throughout treats of the Lord, of His coming into the world, and of His departure out of the world; and therefore it is said that “Moses and Elias were seen in glory,” for “glory” denotes the internal sense of the Word, and the “cloud” its external sense (see the preface to Genesis 18, and n. 5922, 8427).

2813. And bound Isaac his son. That this signifies the state of the Divine rational thus about to undergo as to truth the last degrees of temptation, is evident from the signification of “binding,” and also of “Isaac his son.” That to “bind” is to put on the state for undergoing the last degrees of temptation, is evident from the fact that he who is in a state of temptation is no otherwise than as bound or chained. That “Isaac the son” is the Lord’s Divine rational, here as to truth, may be seen above (n. 2802, 2803). All the genuine rational consists of good and truth. The Lord’s Divine rational as to good could not suffer, or undergo temptations; for no genius or spirit inducing temptations can come near to Good Divine, as it is above all attempt at temptation. But Truth Divine bound was what could be tempted; for there are fallacies, and still more falsities, which break in upon and thus tempt it; for concerning Truth Divine some idea can be formed, but not concerning Good Divine except by those who have perception, and are celestial angels. It was Truth Divine which was no longer acknowledged when the Lord came into the world, and therefore it was that from which the Lord underwent and endured temptations. Truth Divine in the Lord is what is called the “Son of man,” but Good Divine is what is called the “Son of God.” Of the “Son of man” the Lord says many times that He was to suffer, but never of the Son of God. That He says this of the Son of man, or of Truth Divine, is evident in Matthew:

Behold we go up to Jerusalem, and the Son of man shall be delivered, unto the chief priests and scribes, and they shall condemn Him, and shall deliver Him unto the Gentiles to mock and to scourge, and to crucify (Matthew 20:18-19).

Jesus said to His disciples, Behold the hour is at hand, and the Son of man is delivered into the hands of sinners (Matthew 26:45).

In Mark:

Jesus began to teach them that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders, and the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again (Mark 8:31).

It is written of the Son of man, that He shall suffer many things, and be set at nought. And the Son of man shall be delivered into the hands of men, and they shall kill Him; but when He is killed He shall rise again on the third day (Mark 9:12, 31).

Behold we go up to Jerusalem, and the Son of man shall be delivered unto the chief priests and the scribes, and they shall condemn Him to death, and shall deliver Him unto the Gentiles, and they shall mock Him, and shall spit upon Him, and shall kill Him, and the third day He shall rise again (Mark 10:33-34).

The hour is come; behold the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners (Mark 14:41).

In Luke:

The Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and the third day rise again (Luke 9:22, 44).

We go up to Jerusalem, where all the things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of man shall be accomplished; He shall be delivered up unto the Gentiles, and shall be mocked, and shamefully entreated, and spit upon, and they shall scourge and kill Him, and the third day He shall rise again (Luke 18:31-33).

The angel said to the women, Remember what He spake unto you when He was yet in Galilee, saying that the Son of man must be delivered up into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again (Luke 24:6-7).

[2] In all these places by the “son of man” is meant the Lord as to Truth Divine, or as to the Word in its internal sense, which was rejected by the chief priests and scribes, was shamefully entreated, scourged, spit upon, and crucified, as may be clearly evident from the fact that the Jews applied and arrogated everything to themselves according to the letter, and were not willing to know anything about the spiritual sense of the Word, and about the heavenly kingdom, believing that the Messiah was to come to raise up their kingdom above all the kingdoms of the earth, as they also believe at this day. Hence it is manifest that it was Truth Divine which was rejected by them, shamefully treated, scourged, and crucified. Whether you say Truth Divine, or the Lord as to Truth Divine, it is the same; for the Lord is the Truth itself, as He is the Word itself (n. 2011, 2016, 2533 at the end).

[3] The Lord’s rising again on the third day also involves that Truth Divine, or the Word as to the internal sense, as it was understood by the Ancient Church, will be revived in the consummation of the age, which is also the “third day” (n. 1825, 2788); on which account it is said that the Son of man (that is, Truth Divine) will then appear (Matthew 24:30, 37, 39, 44; Mark 13:26; Luke 17:22, 24-26, 30; 21:27, 36).

[4] That the “Son of man” is the Lord as to Truth Divine, is evident from the passages adduced, and further from the following.

In Matthew:

He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man, the field is the world. In the consummation of the age the Son of man shall send forth His angels, and they shall gather out of His kingdom all things that offend (Matthew 13:37, 41-42); where the “good seed” is the truth; the “world” is men; “He that soweth the seed” is the Son of man; and the “things that offend” are falsities.

In John:

The multitude said, We have heard out of the Law that the Christ abideth forever; and how sayest Thou that the Son of man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of man ? Jesus answered them, A little while is the Light with you; walk while ye have the Light, that darkness overtake you not; for he that walketh in the darkness knoweth not whither he goeth. While ye have the Light, believe in the Light, that ye may become the sons of Light (John 12:34-35); where, when they asked who the Son of man is, Jesus answered concerning the Light, which is the Truth, and that He is the Light or Truth in which they should believe. (As regards the Light which is from the Lord, and which is the Divine Truth, see above, n. 1053, 1521, 1529-1531, 1619-1632)

[5] But that the Son of God, or the Lord as to Good in His Human Divine could not be tempted, as was said above, this is manifest also from the Lord’s answer to the tempter, in the Evangelists:

The tempter said, If Thou art the Son of God cast Thyself down; for it is written, He shall give His angels charge concerning Thee, lest haply Thou dash Thy foot against a stone. Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God (Matthew 4:6-7Luke 4:9-12).

837. As many things have been said about faith and works, I will now bring them together in a brief summary, as follows:

1. Every man after death comes to be his own love, and the spirit of man is nothing but the affection that is of his love; when therefore a man becomes a spirit he thinks and thence speaks from his affection; he also wills and thus acts from his affection; and he desires and imbibes the things that are of his affection or love, and those that do not belong to his affection or love he turns away from and rejects. And in fact, his face gradually becomes the face of his affection or love, from which he is then known, as he is also known from his speech, the tone of which is the tone of his affection. In a word, a man after death becomes his love or his affection in form; and consequently when anyone speaks against the affection which is of his love, or assaults it, his face is changed, and he himself goes away or suddenly vanishes. As all men after death are the substances and forms of their love, therefore the whole heaven, which consists of angels who have been men, is divided into societies according to the genera and species of the affections, thus according to all the differences and varieties of the affections. And hell, also, which consists of spirits who have been men, is divided into societies according to the affections opposite to heavenly affections, and according to all the differences and varieties of these in general and in particular. That man after death is his love, or his affection which is of the love, has been heretofore unknown in the world; for the world has believed that affection does nothing and that thought does everything; and for the reason that man has not been able to reflect upon the affections and the variations of them in himself, but only upon thoughts and their variations; for thoughts he sees inwardly in himself as it were, but not affections; and what does not reach the sight of his thought, and thus become manifest, is not considered by him. But whoever is wise can know his affections by his thoughts; for the affections manifest themselves in the thoughts whenever a man is in the freedom of his spirit and is alone with himself; for he then thinks from the affection which belongs to his love. Nor is thought anything else than affection made visible in various forms by the influx of light; therefore if you take away affection the thought immediately perishes, just as light does if you take away the flame. From this it is clear how important it is to acquire for oneself heavenly love or affection. How this is acquired shall be told in what follows. But it is to be known that by affection love in its continuity is meant.

[2] That the whole life of man is the life of his love, and that the love and the life make one and are one with man, can be seen from what has been said above, namely, that everyone appears in the spiritual world with a face according to his love, that he speaks according to it, thinks, wills, desires, lusts, rejoices, and is sad, according to it, and these are the things that constitute his life, and that proceed from it. That this is so is clearly evident in the case of spirits and angels, who are all men both in face and in body; for as soon as the love of one of them is assaulted he vanishes with his whole body, even though he were sitting shut up in a room; and this I have frequently seen; and thus it was made clear that an angel or spirit is not only an affection in a human form, but also that his whole life from the head to the sole of the foot, or from cap to shoe, is nothing but affection which is of love; otherwise he could not have wholly vanished from the eyes of those sitting by him. When inquiry was made whether his corporeal form with its members is also affection which is of the love, it was found that each thing and all things of these were so; for the reason that the universal heaven, which, as has been said above, is divided and formed into societies according to all the differences and varieties of the affections, has a relation to one man, and from this all angels and spirits are human forms; therefore as heaven is a complex of all affections, so, too, is an angel and a spirit, who are least forms of heaven. This arcanum was thus made clear to me, and it was also confirmed from heaven, that all things and everything of man, both of his mind and of his body, are forms of love in a wonderful series, and that the organs of the brain and of the face, as also the members and viscera of the body, are perpetual contextures corresponding to those affections of heaven in which its societies are. And from this still another arcanum was made clear to me, namely, that the affections of the mind and the thoughts therefrom spread out and pour themselves forth into all things of the body, as into the field of their excursion and circumgyration, which field and circumgyration are from the affection of the mind and its thought into the uses from which, in which, and according to which, the members and viscera of the body are formed. For it is similar as with the affections and thoughts therefrom of the angels, in that they pour themselves forth in every direction into heaven and its societies; and according to their extension is the wisdom of the angels. (But on this see further in the work on Heaven and Hell, namely, that all angels are images of heaven, and thus are as it were heavens in the least form, n. 51-58; that the universal heaven has a relation to one man; and that thence angels and spirits are human forms, n. 59-102; that all thought from affection proceeding from angels has extension into the societies of heaven according to the quality of their love and wisdom, n 200-212.)

[3] Since love constitutes the life of man, and man is to live to eternity either in heaven or in hell in accordance with the life he has acquired in the world, it is a matter of the highest importance to know how man acquires heavenly love and becomes imbued with it, so that his life, which is to have no end, may be blessed and happy.

[4] There are two chief faculties of man's life, namely, the will and the understanding. The will is the receptacle of all things of good, and the understanding is the receptacle of all things of truth from that good. Man cannot be reformed except by means of these two faculties of life, and only by their being filled by goods and truths. Reformation is effected in this order: first, man must fill the memory with knowledges and cognitions of truth and good, and by means of these he must acquire for himself the light of reason; especially he must learn that God is one, that the Lord is the God of heaven and earth, that there is a heaven and a hell, that there is a life after death, and that the Word is holy.

[5] Next he must learn what evils are sins, first from the Decalogue, and afterwards from the Word everywhere, and must think that they are sins against God, and that they therefore withhold and separate man from heaven, and condemn and sentence him to hell. Consequently, the first thing of reformation is to refrain from sins, to shun them, and finally to be averse to them; but that he may refrain from them, shun them, and be averse to them he must pray to the Lord for help. But he must shun them and turn away from them because they are opposed to the Word, thus opposed to the Lord, and thence opposed to heaven, and because they are in themselves infernal.

[6] So far as man shuns evils, and turns away from them because they are sins, and thinks about heaven, his salvation and eternal life, so far he is adopted by the Lord, and conjoined to heaven, and so far he is endowed with spiritual affection, which is such that he not only wishes to know truths, but also to understand them, and to will and do them.

[7] Thus is man reformed by the Lord; and so far as he then knows and understands truths and wills and does them, so far he becomes a new man, that is, a regenerate man, and thus becomes an angel of heaven, and has a heavenly love and life.

[8] The love and life of such a one are wholly according to the works of his will; and the works of the will are according to the truths that are applied to the life. The knowledges of truth and good that a man has acquired for himself from infancy, and with which he has filled his memory, are not living in him until he begins to be affected by truths because they are truths, and begins to will and to do them. Until then they are only outside of the life of man. 9.

[9] By good works are meant each and every thing that a man does after he has turned away from evils because they are sins against God; for then he no longer does good works or operates them from self but from the Lord. He then also learns daily what he is to do; and he has a clear discernment of goods and evils, and shuns evils and does good with prudence, intelligence, and wisdom. Thus much respecting the love, which constitutes the life of man. Something shall now be said respecting faith.

[10] The ancients did not know what faith is; but in place of faith they had truth; for when truth is perceived or is seen in the understanding, and thus acknowledged, it is believed on its own account; consequently it cannot be said of it that faith must be had in it, since faith is in it. If, for example, one sees a tree and a flower in a garden, and another should say that he should believe or have faith that there is a tree and a flower there, and that it is such a tree and such a flower, would he not answer, Why do you wish me to believe or to have faith in this when I myself see it? This is why the angels of the third heaven, since they perceive truths from good, are unwilling even to mention faith, and in fact, do not know that it exists; and why angels of the second heaven, since they see truths from the light of truth by which their understanding is enlightened, do not acknowledge the word faith. They wonder and laugh when they hear anyone saying that the understanding is to be held captive under obedience to faith, and that one should have faith in what is not perceived and seen; and they say that in this way what is false may be believed, and by confirmations be placed as if in light, and truth itself as if in darkness; and thus falsity may play with truth as with a ball.

[11] When the world could no longer see truths from the love of them and from their light, because men had become natural and external, then faith began to be mentioned, and everything of faith began to be called truth, although it was not perceived or seen but only asserted by some leader and confirmed by passages of the Word not understood. This is the condition of the churches in the Christian world at this day, in every one of which the doctrinals of their faith are believed to be truths, and this for the sole reason that these are held by the church of their native land; and yet that it is not perceived or seen whether they are true is clear from the discussions, disputings, opinions, and heresies respecting them, in general and in particular, both public and private.

[12] So long as faith was joined with works, and charity was acknowledged in an equal degree with faith, or above it, the church was in truths from the Word, but only in a few, because they did not see them. But as soon as faith was separated from charity the church fell from truths into falsities, and at length into a faith that has destroyed all the truths of the church. This faith is a faith in justification and salvation by the merit of the Lord with the Father. For if man is saved by this faith alone, and this faith also is separated from the goods of life, which are good works, what need is there of truths, which teach the way to heaven and lead to it? Live and believe in any way you wish, and merely hold that faith, and you will be saved. But let me tell you, my reader, that all who live that faith are in natural love separated from spiritual love; and natural love separated from spiritual love is the love of self and the world, and thus the love of all evils and of all falsities from evils; and that all who thus live are so empty and so blind that they do not even know and do not see a single genuine truth of the church in the Word, although they have it and read it; and many of them have no desire to know or see truth of any kind.

[13] The reason for this is that there is no truth with man, still less any faith, unless he wills it and does it, for until then it is not a truth of the life, but only a truth of the memory, which is outside of man and not within him; and what is outside of him is dispersed. From this it is clear that faith without works is not faith-unless it be a faith in falsity from evil, which is a dead faith, such as reigns in hell.