9373. Come up unto Jehovah. That this signifies conjunction with the Lord, is evident from the signification of “coming up,” as being to be raised toward interior things (see n. 3084, 4539, 4969, 5406, 5817, 6007), consequently also to be conjoined (n. 8760). That it denotes conjunction with the Lord, is because by “Jehovah” in the Word is meant the the Lord, (n. 1343, 1736, 1793, 2004, 2005, 2018, 2025, 2921, 3023, 3035, 5663, 6280, 6303, 6905, 8274, 8864, 9315). A secret which also lies hidden in the internal sense of these words, is that the sons of Jacob, over whom Moses was the head, were not called and chosen; but they themselves insisted that Divine worship should be instituted among them (according to wh at has been said in n. 4290, 4293); and therefore it is here said, “and He said unto Moses, Come up unto Jehovah,” as if not Jehovah, but another, had said that he should come up. For the same reason in what follows it is said that “the people should not go up” (verse 2); and that “Jehovah sent not His hand unto the sons of Israel who were set apart” (verse 11); and that “the appearance of the glory of Jehovah was like devouring fire on the top of the mountain in the eyes of the sons of Israel” (verse 17); and lastly that Moses, being called the seventh day, “entered into the midst of the cloud.” For by “the cloud” is meant the Word in the letter (n. 5922, 6343, 6752, 6832, 8106, 8443, 8781); and with the sons of Jacob the Word was separated from its internal sense, because they were in external worship without internal, as can be clearly seen from the fact that now, as before, they said, “all the words which Jehovah hath spoken we will do” (verse 3); and yet scarcely forty days afterward they worshiped a golden calf instead of Jehovah; which shows that this was hidden in their hearts while they were saying with their lips that they would serve Jehovah alone. But nevertheless those who are meant by “the called and the chosen” are those who are in internal worship, and who from internal worship are in external; that is, those who are in love to and faith in the Lord, and from this in love toward the neighbor.

8806. And sanctified the people. That this signifies the veiling over of the interiors that they may appear to be in the holiness of faith, is evident from what was unfolded above (n. 8788); but it was there set forth what was the sanctification with the Israelitish people, namely, that it was a veiling over of the interiors, so that as to their externals they might appear to be in what was holy when they were in representative worship; and that unless their interiors had then been veiled over, they would not only have defiled the holiness of worship by foul thoughts and evil affections, but would also have totally destroyed it, so that nothing celestial and spiritual which was represented in the external things would have been perceived therefrom in heaven.

[2] But as by “the sons of Israel” are here meant those who are of the spiritual church, it shall be briefly told what is meant by “sanctification” with these. They who are of the spiritual church and live a life of truth and from this a life of good, are withheld from evils and are kept in good by the Lord. The good which is from the Lord is holy with them. Consequently insofar as they receive good from the Lord, so far they are holy; and they receive so much of good from the Lord, that is, are so far holy, as they live a life of good according to the genuine truths of faith, and at the same time believe that all the good which they then think and do is from the Lord. Then, too, evils with them are separated so as not to appear at all, especially those which they have derived hereditarily from parents, and which are filthy, because they have been successively accumulated with the parents for many ages back, and thus amassed in the offspring. These are the interiors which with those who are of the spiritual church are hid away and as it were veiled over (n. 966, 1667, 2307, 2308, 3701, 4317, 8550). Hence it is that all the will they possess hereditarily is destroyed. For this cause a new will is formed with them in the intellectual part by means of truths of faith from the Lord. This is the reason why, when they are being regenerated, they are led by means of truths to good; and afterward when they have been regenerated, from good into the truths of good. Hence it is evident how a new will is created in them by the Lord. (That this is formed in the intellectual part with those who are of the spiritual church, see n. 863, 875, 895, 927, 1023, 1043, 1044, 1555, 2256, 4328, 4493, 5113, 6125)

137. It is said in John,

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God.. . . All things were made by Him and without Him was not anything made that was made. In Him was life and the life was the light of men. . . . He was in the world and the world was made by Him. . . . And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory. John 1:1, 3-4, 10, 14.

It is evident that the Lord is meant by the "Word", for it is said that the Word was made flesh, but what is specifically meant by the Word has not yet been known and will therefore be explained. In this passage, the Word is the Divine Truth which is in the Lord and from the Lord. ¹ That is why the Lord is also called the Light, which is the Divine Truth, as has already been shown in this section. That by the Divine Truth all things were made and created will now be explained.

[2] In heaven Divine Truth has all power, and apart from it there is no power whatever. ² From the Divine Truth all angels are called powers, and are powers to the extent that they are receptions or receptacles of it. By means of it, they prevail over the hells and over all that oppose them. A thousand enemies there cannot endure a single ray of the light of heaven which is Divine Truth. Since angels are angels from their reception of Divine Truth, it follows that the entire heaven is from no other source, for heaven consists of angels.

[3] That there is such power latent in Divine Truth is incredible to those who have no other idea of truth than that it is thought or speech, which have no power in themselves except as others do them from obedience. But Divine Truth has power in itself, and such power that, by means of it, heaven was created and the world with all things therein. That there is such power latent in Divine Truth may be illustrated by two comparisons, namely, by the power of truth and good in man, and by the power of light and heat from the sun in the world.

By the Power of Good and Truth in Man

Everything that a man does, he does from his understanding and will, from his will by means of good and from his understanding by means of truth. For all things in the will have relation to good, and all things in the understanding, to truth. ³ Therefore, it is from good and truth that man moves his whole body, and a thousand things therein rush with one accord to do their will and pleasure. This makes it clear that the whole body has been formed for subservience to good and truth, consequently formed from good and truth.

[4] By the Power of Heat and Light from the Sun in the World

All things that grow in the world, such as trees, cereals, flowers, grasses, fruits and seeds, come into existence by no other means than by the heat and light of the sun, which shows what power of production there is in them. What, then, must be the power in Divine light which is Divine Truth, and in Divine heat which is Divine Good? For from these, heaven comes into existence and the world also, since the world comes into existence by means of heaven, as has already been shown. From these facts can be established how it is to be understood that "all things were made by the Word", and that "without Him was not anything made that was made", and that "the world was made by Him", namely, by means of Divine Truth from the Lord. ⁴ For the same reason, in the Book of Creation, Light is first spoken of, and then the things that are from Light (Genesis 1:3-4). For this reason also, all things in the universe, both in heaven and the world, have relation to Good and Truth and to their conjunction, in order to be anything.

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