463. Wanneer de daden van een mens na de dood voor hem worden opengelegd, zien de engelen aan wie de taak van het onderzoek is opgedragen, hen in het gelaat. Het onderzoek loopt over het gehele lichaam, vangt aan met de vingers van beide handen en zet zich vandaar over het hele lichaam voort. Daar ik mij verwonderde waarom dit was, werd het mij gezegd. Alle bijzonderheden van de gedachten en de wil van mensen hebben indrukken nagelaten, of zijn ingeschreven in de hersenen; want daarin bestaan zij in hun allereerste beginselen. Vervolgens worden zij ingeschreven in zijn gehele lichaam, omdat alles, wat tot de gedachte en de wil behoort, van hun eerste beginselen op het lichaam overgaat en daar eindigt, omdat dit het laatste is. Dit is de oorzaak, dat wat dan ook uit de wil van de mens en ook uit zijn daaruit voortkomende gedachte in zijn geheugen is ingeschreven, niet alleen ingeschreven is in de hersenen, maar ook over de gehele mens, en aldaar aanwezig blijft in een orde, die overeenkomt met de orde in de delen van het lichaam. Hierdoor werd het duidelijk, dat mens zodanig is in zijn geheel, als hij is in zijn wil en zijn daaruit voortgaande gedachten; zelfs zo volledig dat een slecht mens zijn eigen kwaad, en een goed mens zijn eigen goed is. Hieruit mag ook duidelijk worden wat men verstaan moet onder het boek des levens van een mens, waarvan in het Woord gesproken wordt, namelijk dat alles, zowel zijn handelingen als zijn gedachten, ingeschreven zijn over de gehele mens, en dat het voorkomt, alsof het werd voorgelezen uit een boek, wanneer zij opgeroepen worden door zijn geheugen, en als in beeltenis worden gezien, zodra de geest onderzocht wordt in het licht van de hemel. Aan hetgeen hier gezegd is, zal ik nog een gedenkwaardigheid over het geheugen van de mens na de dood toevoegen, waardoor ik verzekerd werd dat niet alleen algemene zaken, maar ook de kleinste bijzonderheden die in het geheugen van een mens zijn ingegaan, ook na de dood aanwezig blijven en nimmer uitgewist worden. Ik zag enige boeken met geschreven schrift, zoals zij in de wereld bestaan; en mij werd gezegd dat zij uit het geheugen van de schrijvers waren opgeschreven en dat er geen enkel woord ontbrak aan hetgeen door hen in de boeken in de wereld was geschreven; en dat op deze wijze de allergeringste bijzonderheden die in iemands geheugen waren, weer konden worden teruggeroepen, zelfs zulke, die hij in de wereld had vergeten. De reden werd ook verklaard: namelijk, dat de mens een uitwendig geheugen en een innerlijk geheugen heeft. Het uiterlijk geheugen is dat van zijn natuurlijke mens, en het innerlijk geheugen is dat van de geestelijke mens; en dat elke bijzonderheid die iemand gedacht, gewild, gesproken en gedaan heeft, ja zelfs wat hij heeft gehoord en gezien, is ingeschreven in zijn innerlijk of geestelijk geheugen. Wat daarin is geschreven wordt nimmer uitgewist, omdat het gelijktijdig is ingeschreven in de geest zelf en in de leden van zijn lichaam, zoals bovenvermeld; langs deze weg verkrijgt de geest een vorm overeenkomstig de gedachten en de handelingen van zijn wil. Ik weet wel dat deze dingen als ongerijmdheden zullen voorkomen en daarom moeilijk geloof zullen vinden; maar ze zijn niettemin waar. Dat daarom niemand zal denken dat er iets is wat hij in zijn hart heeft bedacht, of gedaan heeft in het geheim, dat verborgen kan blijven na de dood; maar dat hij zich verzekerd weet dat alles en elk voornemen dan openbaar zal worden als op klaarlichte dag.

222. And I will write upon him the name of My God, signifies their quality in respect to Divine truth implanted in the life. This is evident from the signification of "writing upon one," when spoken of the Lord, as being to implant in the life (of which presently); also from the signification of "name," as being quality of state (See above, n. 148); and also from the signification of "God," as being Divine truth proceeding from the Lord in heaven, thus the Lord in heaven (concerning which see above, n. 220; for the Lord is above the heavens, appearing to those who are in heaven as a sun (See the work on Heaven and Hell 116-125). The Divine proceeding therefrom, which is called Divine truth, and which makes heaven in general and in particular, is what is meant in the Word by "God;" from this it is that angels are called "gods," and that "God," in the Hebrew is Elohim, in the plural. This makes clear why the Lord here says, "the name of My God;" and above, "I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God" n. 219; and below, "I will write upon him the name of the city of My God, of the New Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from My God" n. 223.

[2] "To write upon one" means to implant in the life, because to write is to commit to paper anything from the memory, thought, or mind, that is to be preserved; in the spiritual sense, therefore, it signifies that which is to endure in man's life, inscribed on it and implanted in it. Thus the natural sense of this expression is turned into a spiritual sense; for it is natural to write upon paper and in a book, but it is spiritual to inscribe on the life, which is done when anything is implanted in the faith and love, since love and faith make man's spiritual life. Because "to write" signifies to implant in the life, it is said of Jehovah or the Lord that "He writes," and that "He has written in a book," meaning that which is inscribed by the Lord on man's spirit, that is, on his heart and soul, or what is the same, on his love and faith. Thus, in David:

My bone was not hidden from Thee when I was made in secret; upon Thy book were written all the days when they were fashioned, and not one of them is wanting (Psalms 139:15-16).

In the same :

Let them be blotted out of the book of lives, and not be written with the righteous (Psalms 69:28).

In Daniel:

The people shall be delivered, everyone that shall be found written in the book (Daniel 12:1).

In Moses:

Blot me, I pray Thee, out of the book which Thou hast written. And Jehovah said, Whosoever hath sinned against Me will I blot out of My book (Exodus 32:32-33).

In Revelation:

A book written within and on the back, sealed with seven seals, which no one could open but the Lamb only (Revelation 5:1).

Again:

All shall worship the beast whose names have not been written in the Lamb's book of life (Revelation 13:8; 17:8).

Again:

I saw that the books were opened: and another book was opened which is that of life; and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the book, ¹ according to their works. And if anyone was not found written in the book of life, he was cast into the lake of fire (Revelation 20:12-13, 20:15).

Again :

And there shall enter into the New Jerusalem only they that are written in the Lamb's book of life (Revelation 21:27).

In these passages it is not meant that they are written in a book, but that all things of faith and love are inscribed on man's spirit (as may be seen from the things shown in the work on Heaven and Hell 461-469).

[3] That "to write," in the Word, signifies to inscribe on and implant in the life, is clear from other passages where "writing" is mentioned. Thus in Jeremiah:

I will give My law in the midst of them, and will write it on their heart (Jeremiah 31:33).

"To give the law in the midst of them" means Divine truths in them; "in the midst" signifies inwardly with man (See Arcana Coelestia 1074, 2940, 2973); and "to write it on the heart" is to impress upon the love, for "heart" signifies love (See Arcana Coelestia 7542, 9050, 10336). In Ezekiel:

The prophet saw a roll of a book written front and back, and there were written thereon plaints, moaning, and woe (Ezekiel 2:9, 10; 3:1-3).

"The roll of a book written front and back" signifies the state of the church at that time, thus what the life was of those of the church; therefore "the roll of the book" means the same as "the book of life" mentioned above; and as their life was destitute of the goods of love and the truths of faith, it is said that "there were written thereon plaints, moaning, and woe":

That the law was inscribed on tables of stone, and written with the finger of God (Exodus 31:18; Deuteronomy 4:13; 9:10); signified that it must be impressed on the life (Arcana Coelestia 9416); for "the law," in a strict sense, means the ten commandments of the Decalogue, but in a broad sense, the whole Word (See Arcana Coelestia 6752, 7463); and "stone" signifies truth, here Divine truth (Arcana Coelestia 643[1-4], 1298, 3720, 6426, 8609, 10376). The like is signified by :

Their writing the words of the law upon the twelve stones taken out of the Jordan (Deuteronomy 27:2-4, 8; Joshua 4:3, seq .)

[4] In Ezekiel:

Son of man, take thee one stick, and write upon it, For Judah and for the sons of Israel, his fellows; and take another stick, and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and of all the house of Israel, his fellows; and then join them for thee one to another into one stick, that they both may be one in My ² hand (Ezekiel 37:16, 17).

What these things signify no one can know unless he knows what was represented by "Judah," and what by "Joseph." "Judah" represented the Lord's celestial kingdom, and "Joseph" His spiritual kingdom; and "writing them upon two sticks" signifies each one's state of love and of life therefrom. Their conjunction into one heaven is signified by "joining them one to another into one stick, that they both may be one in My hand." The signification of these words is like that of the Lord's words:

Other sheep also I have, which are not of this fold; them also I must bring; and there shall be one flock and one shepherd (John 10:16).

The writing was to be upon a stick, because a "stick (wood)" signifies good, and it is good that conjoins. (But these things will be more evident from what is shown in the Arcana Coelestia, namely, that the spiritual kingdom before the Lord's coming was not as it was after His coming, n. 6372, 8054; that it was the spiritual especially that were saved by the Lord's coming into the world, and that they were then conjoined with those who were of His celestial kingdom into one heaven, n. 2661, 2716, 2833, 2834, 3969, 6854, 6914, 7035, 7091, 7828, 7932, 8018, 8159, 8321, 9684. That there are two kingdoms, the celestial and spiritual, and that there are three heavens, and that these are conjoined into one heaven, see the work on Heaven 20-28, 29-40. That "Judah" in the representative sense signifies the Lord's celestial kingdom, Arcana Coelestia 3654, 3881, 5583, 5603, 5782, 6363; that " Joseph" signifies the Lord's spiritual kingdom, n. 3969, 3971, 4669, 6417; that " Ephraim" signifies the intellectual of the spiritual church, n. 3969, 5354, 6222, 6234, 6238, 6267, 6296; that "wood" signifies the good of love, n. 643, 3720, 8354.)

[5] In Isaiah:

This one shall say, I am Jehovah's; and another shall call himself by the name of Jacob; and another shall subscribe with his hand unto Jehovah, and surname himself by the name of Israel (Isaiah 44:5).

These things are said of the Lord and of His Divine Human. "Jacob" and "Israel," where the Lord is treated of, signifies His Human, and that the Human is Jehovah is meant by "This one shall say, I am Jehovah's," and "he shall subscribe with his hand unto Jehovah." (That "Israel" and "Jacob" are, in the highest sense, the Lord, see Arcana Coelestia 4286, 4570, 6424)

[6] In Jeremiah :

O Jehovah, the hope of Israel, all that forsake Me shall be ashamed, and they that depart from Me shall be written on the earth, because they have forsaken Jehovah, the fountain of living waters. Heal me, O Jehovah, that I may be healed (Jeremiah 17:13, 14). "To be written in the earth" is to be condemned on account of the state of life, since "earth" signifies what is condemned (See Arcana Coelestia n. 2327, 7418, 8306).

[7] This makes clear what is signified by the Lord's writing with His finger in the earth in John:

The Scribes and Pharisees brought to Jesus in the temple a woman taken in adultery; and they said, This woman was taken in the very act. They asked whether she should be stoned according to the law of Moses. Jesus stooped down, and with His finger wrote in the earth; and rising He said, He that is without sin among you let him first cast a stone at her; and again stooping down, He wrote in the earth. And when they heard these things, they went out one after another; and Jesus was left alone, and the woman; and He said to her, Woman, where are thine accusers; hath no man condemned thee? And He said, Go and sin no more (John 8:2-11).

The Lord's "writing in the earth" signifies the same as above in Jeremiah, "they that depart from Me shall be written in the earth," namely, that they also were condemned on account of adulteries; therefore He said, "He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her." The Lord's "writing twice in the earth" in the temple, signified their condemnation for adulteries in the spiritual sense; for the Scribes and Pharisees were those who adulterated the goods and falsified the truths of the Word, thus of the church; and "adulteries" in the spiritual sense are adulterations of good and falsifications of truth (See above, n. 141, 161); therefore that nation was also called by the Lord:

An adulterous and sinful generation (Mark 8:38).

Voetnoten:

1298. 'They had brick for stone' means that they had falsity in place of truth. This is clear from the meaning of 'brick' as falsity, dealt with just above, and also from the meaning of 'stone' in the broad sense as truth, dealt with already in 643. The reason 'stones' meant truth was that the most ancient people used to mark out boundaries by means of stones and raise up stones to testify that something was so, that is, was the truth. This is clear from the stone which Jacob set up as a pillar, Genesis 28:22; 35:14; from the pillar of stones placed between Laban and Jacob, Genesis 31:46-47, 52; and from the altar which the children of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh erected beside the Jordan as an altar of witness, Joshua 22:10, 28, 34. Consequently 'stones' in the Word means truths, so much so that not only the stones of the altar but also the precious stones in the shoulder-pieces of Aaron's ephod and in the breastplate of judgement meant the holy truths of love.

[2] Regarding the altar, when sacrificial worship on altars was introduced, an altar in that case meant representative worship of the Lord in general. 'The stones' themselves however meant the holy truths belonging to that worship. This was why it was commanded that the altar had to be built of whole and not of hewn stones, and why it was forbidden to use any iron tool on them, Deuteronomy 27:5-7; Joshua 8:31. The reason was that hewn stones, and those on which an iron tool had been used, meant artificialities and thus fabrications in worship. That is to say, they meant things that derive from the proprium, or from the inventions of man's own thought and heart, which was to profane worship, as is clearly stated in Exodus 20:25. For the same reason no tool of iron was used on the stones of the Temple, 1 Kings 6:7.

[3] That the precious stones set in the shoulder-pieces of Aaron's ephod and in the breastplate of judgement in a similar way meant holy truths has been shown already in 114. This is clear also in Isaiah,

Behold, I will set your stones in carbuncle and lay your foundations in sapphires; and I will make your suns (windows) of ruby, and your gates into precious stones, and all your border into pleasant stones And all your sons will be taught by Jehovah, and great will be the peace of your sons. Isaiah 54:11-13

The stones mentioned here stand for holy truths, and this is why it is said that 'all your sons will be taught by Jehovah'. It is also the reason why it is said in John that the foundations of the wall of the city, holy Jerusalem, were adorned with every kind of precious stone, which are each mentioned by name, Revelation 21:19-20. 'The holy Jerusalem' stands for the Lord's kingdom in heaven and on earth, the foundations of which kingdom are holy truths. Holy truths were similarly meant by the tables of stone on which the commandments of the Law, or Ten Commandments, were written. This was why they were made of stone or had a stone base, concerning which see Exodus 24:12; 31:18; 34:1; Deuteronomy 5:22; 10:1; for the commandments themselves are nothing else than truths of faith.

[4] Now because stones in ancient times meant truths, and because later on when worship on pillars, on altars, and in the Temple began, pillars, altars, and the Temple meant holy truths, the Lord also is therefore called 'a Stone': In Moses,

The Mighty One of Jacob - from there is the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel. Genesis 49:24.

In Isaiah,

The Lord Jehovih said, I am laying in Zion for a foundation a Stone, a tested Corner-Stone, precious, of sure foundation. Isaiah 28:16.

In David,

The Stone which the builders rejected has become the head of the corner Psalms 118:22.

The same is meant in Daniel 2:34-35, 45, by the stone cut out of the rock which smashed Nebuchadnezzar's statue to pieces.

[5] That 'stones' means truths is clear in Isaiah,

By this the iniquity of Jacob will be expiated, and this will be the full fruit to remove his sin, when He makes all the stones of the altar like chalk-stones scattered about. Isaiah 27:9.

'The stones of the altar' stands for truths in worship that have been dissipated. In the same prophet,

Make level the way of the people; level out, level out the highway; gather out the stones. Isaiah 62:10.

'The way' and 'the stones' stand for truths. In Jeremiah,

I am against you, O destroying mountain. I will roll you down from the rocks and I will make you into a mountain of burning. And they will not take from you a stone for a corner, nor a stone for foundations. Jeremiah 51:25-26.

This refers to Babel. 'A mountain of burning' is self-love. 'Taking no stone from it' means that there is no truth from this source.