You are the boss of a small company. You are looking to hire a new employee to fill a vacancy. The first applicant steps into the room and sits down. As you look over the application, you realize there is no resume. You must have overlooked that because you are still kind of new at being a boss. You go ahead with the interview anyway... maybe this will be interesting. After some getting-to-know-you questions, you ask the applicant about references and prior work experience. The applicant thinks for a second and then says, “don’t you know that Jesus told us not to judge?”

This is the second of two articles about judgment. The first one was about the types of judgment we ought to avoid: condemning, self-righteous, hypocritical, spiritual judgments. In this one, we will look at the type of judgment the Lord gives us permission to do.

What are the ways we can judge and even ought to judge? What are some ways in which we can be helpful once we have judged righteously?

To begin with, maybe we should just verify that it is ok for us to be judging at all. The real test is whether it makes sense in the Lord’s eyes.

So, let’s take a quick look at some verses on judgment that we used in the previous sermon:

“He who is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.” — This is NOT about NOT judging, it’s about not destroying and killing somebody’s spirit by judging them with our ideas (no matter how true they may be).

“Judge not that you be not judged....” — This really means “condemn not”, meaning that we cannot judge a person’s spiritual character, because we can only see what is on the outside.

“First, remove the plank out of your own eye, and then you can see clearly to remove the speck out of your brother's eye.” — Note that Jesus doesn’t say “don’t remove your brother’s speck.” He says, “first remove your plank.”

The Lord does give us permission to judge people’s actions. Actually, He tells us that we should. In Leviticus we are told,

“You shall do no injustice in judgment. You shall not be partial to the poor, nor honor the person of the mighty. In righteousness you shall judge your neighbor. You shall not go about as a talebearer among your people (Leviticus 19:15-16)

Here, the Lord commands the Israelites to judge their neighbor in righteousness. And, just in case anyone was looking for a little wiggle room for their habit of gossiping, I left in the Lord’s command saying, “you shall not go about as a talebearer.” Spreading negative stories is not an act of love, but rather is more likely an act of selfishness.

New Church teachings also support the practice of making certain kinds of judgments. The following from the book True Christianity offers a very practical reason for judging:

“When anyone chooses from three or four people a steward to run his household, or to be a servant, does he not investigate that person’s internal self, and choose one who is honest and faithful, and so love him?” (True Christianity 410)

Here's a somewhat similar teaching from Apocalypse Explained:

"It is permissible to everyone to think about the moral and civil life of another, and to judge of it; without such thought and judgment concerning others, no civil society could subsist." (Apocalypse Explained 629.14)

There it is: we can judge the moral and civil life of another. We can judge somebody’s actions, and we can also judge based on those actions whether or not a person appears to be acting honestly and faithfully. The judges in our courts make these kinds of decisions all the time. They have to determine whether or not a person did something with ill intent or simply accidentally.

OK. So what? So what if we judge righteously? Then what?

Well, we can use it to determine who our friends should be, or who to hire for a job. But is that all? Is it used just to keep away people that we don’t want near us? In some cases — for example in families and other unavoidable situations — it’s impossible to distance ourselves from anybody, and yet, we can still apply those judgments for good.

Loving our neighbor doesn’t mean loving the person, it means loving the good that we see in that person. Without exception, every human being is a mix of good and evil. Our goal in loving is to support the good. What, then, do we do about the evil we see? Are we supposed to love that evil in some way?

To answer this, we look to the verses following the Lord’s words about the speck and the plank. He continues by saying,

“Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces.” (Matthew 7:6)

One way to apply the Lord’s words here is to not give our love and thus support to the bad habits we see in people. That love will be destroyed, and it will not serve love’s purpose of helping our neighbor toward heaven. In order for our love to be useful, we must use our ability to judge and recognize the swine and dogs — that is, the bad habits in our neighbor and also in ourselves.

Right, so, love and support good habits... what about the bad habits? The Lord tells us not to cast our pearls before swine. So, what DO we do with the swine?

This isn’t a simple situation, so there isn’t a one-size-fits-all answer. We have to use our judgment and the Lord’s guidance to try to find the best way to respond. Here are some possible ways to approach the bad habits we observe in others.

The first thing we can do is ignore a bad habit that isn’t hurting anybody. In the story of Noah about his drunkenness, Shem and Japheth walked into the tent backwards to cover their father’s nakedness. They didn’t even look at him. We are told that angels act in this way also — they love and support the good in their neighbor while hardly noticing their sins.

The second thing we should do is protect the

innocent. In one passage, New Church teachings offer insight into the appropriate occupation of a judge. A judge inflicts a penalty on a guilty person in order to prevent evil being done to innocent people. And our judgment can serve

the same purpose — protection of the innocent.

Those are two things we can do when we judge righteously: first we can ignore it and support their good habits, and second, if a person’s sin might hurt someone, we should first protect good and innocence.

And finally, there is a third option: confront the transgressor.

We need to consider carefully how we confront someone whose actions or words merit correction. In this kind of confrontation, as with any other interaction, we might consider whether we are offering love or truth? Ask yourself what the person really needs. Or a better idea: ask the person what they need? “Hey, do you need some helpful ideas here, or do you just need somebody to listen?” It’s very possible that the person we are confronting is experiencing a difficult life situation, and they simply need some love.

And then, when we do offer truth, check if your words are really helpful by submitting them to three tests: kind, true, and useful.

First test... is the thing we are saying kind—meaning, are we really coming from love and a desire to help the person get to heaven, or are we being a little bit self-righteous or condemnatory. Even when we are offering our ideas, it should be from a place of love.

Second test... is the thing we are saying actually true, or is our perception perhaps skewing the situation. It’s very possible that we are misinterpreting someone’s actions and responding inappropriately? To avert misinterpretation, it is usually a good idea to listen to the person first.

Third test... are our words useful? Sure, we want to help, and as far as we can tell, it’s true... but is it really, actually, truly going to help the person in their situation? We may be trying to be kind, and we think it’s true, but if the person is in a hard situation, then it may not be helpful for that person.

It can be quite useful for someone to receive some outside perspective on their words and actions. If they are coming across as a jerk, they really do deserve to know. New Church teachings inform us that it can be really useful to have some outside input regarding our external appearance, otherwise we continue live in our own fantasies (See Heaven and Hell 487).

So, are you ok with being judged? With the measure you judged, are you ready for it to be measured back? Are you ready for others to do unto you as you do unto them?

If your answer is yes, then as you go about your daily life judging righteously, first think about whether the problem can simply be ignored while supporting goodness. If it can’t be, then first make sure that innocence and goodness are being protected. And if a person’s bad habit needs to be confronted, then choose your words very, very carefully. Are your words kind, true, and useful?

(Adapted from a sermon by Jeffrey Smith, April, 2021)

630. Verse 2. And the court which is without the temple cast out, and measure it not, signifies that the external of the Word, and thence of the church and worship, is not to be explored. This is evident from the signification of the "court," as being the external of the Word, and thence of the church and of worship. The "court" has this signification because the "temple" signifies heaven and the church in respect to Divine truth, as was said in the article above; therefore the "court" which was "outside the temple or in front of the temple" signifies the first or lowest heaven. For the "temple," regarded in itself, signifies the higher heavens; that is, the "adytum," where the ark of the covenant was, signified the inmost or third heaven, and "the temple outside of the adytum" signified the middle or second heaven; therefore the "court" signified the lowest or first heaven; and what signifies heaven signifies also the church, for the church is the Lord's heaven on the earth; and what signifies the church, signifies also the Word and worship, for the Word is the Divine truth, from which are heaven and the church, and worship is according to Divine truth, which is the Word. From this it is that the "court" signifies the external or ultimate of heaven and the church, and also the external or ultimate of the Word and of worship.

[2] The Word and worship are altogether as heaven and the church are; for as there are three heavens, so in the Word there are three distinct senses: the inmost sense, which is called the celestial sense, is for the inmost or third heaven; the middle sense, which is called the spiritual sense, is for the middle or second heaven; and the ultimate sense, which is called the celestial-natural and spiritual-natural sense, is for the lowest or first heaven. These three senses, besides the natural which is for the world, are in the Word and in all its particulars; and as the three heavens have the Word and each heaven is in its own sense of the Word, and from this is their heaven and also their worship, it follows that what signifies heaven signifies also the Word and worship. This is why the "court" signifies the external of the Word, and thence the external of the church and of worship.

[3] Moreover, it is to be known that the temple had two courts, one without the temple, and the other within, and "the court without the temple" signifies the entrance itself into heaven and into the church, in which are those who are being introduced into heaven; while "the court within the temple" represented the lowest heaven. It is similar with the church, also with the Word and with worship; for "the court without the temple" signifies the external of the Word, that is, the Word such as it is in the natural sense, which is for the world, by which man is introduced into its spiritual sense, in which the angels of heaven are. But what is properly signified by each court, the inner and the outer, will be told in what follows. Also, why it is here said that "the court without the temple is to be cast out, and not measured," will be told in the following article, where it is told what is signified by "it is given to the nations."

[4] From this it can now in some measure be seen what is signified in the Word by "court" and by "courts" in the following passages. In Moses:

Thou shalt make the court of the tabernacle at the corner of the south towards the south, hangings for the courts; twenty pillars, twenty bases, the hooks of the pillars and the fillets of silver, the gate of the court with the veil; its length a hundred cubits from the south to the north, and its breadth fifty from the east to the west (Exodus 27:9-18).

This court was the court of the Tent of meeting, which likewise represented and signified the lowest or first heaven; for "the Tent of meeting" represented heaven; its inmost, where the ark was, over which was the mercy seat, represented the inmost or third heaven; the law in the ark, the Lord Himself as to Divine truth or the Word; and the tent without the veil, where was the table for the loaves, the altar of incense, and the lamp stand, represented the middle or second heaven; and the court, the lowest or first heaven. (That the three heavens were represented by that tent may be seen in Arcana Coelestia, n. Arcana Coelestia 3478, 9457, 9481, 9485; but what is signified in particular by the court, and by all things pertaining to it, may be seen, n. 9741-9775.)

[5] As the court represented the lowest heaven, and thence also the external of the church, of the Word, and of worship:

The residue of the meal offerings and of the sacrifices for sin were eaten by Aaron and his sons in the court (Leviticus 6:16, 26).

"Eating in the court" these sanctified things signified appropriating to oneself the goods of the church that were signified by the meal offerings and these sacrifices; and all appropriation of holy things is effected by ultimates, for except through ultimates there can be no appropriation of interior holy things.

[6] But the courts of the temple are thus described in the first book of Kings:

Solomon made a court before the front of the house of the temple. And afterwards he built the inner court, three layers of hewn stones and a row of hewn cedar (1 Kings 6:3, 36).

The temple in like manner represented heaven and the church; the adytum, where the ark was, represented the inmost or third heaven, also the church with those who are in inmosts, which is called the celestial church; the temple outside the adytum represented the middle or second heaven, also the church with those who are in the middle, which is called the internal spiritual church; the inner court represented the lowest or first heaven, also the church with those who are in ultimates, which is called the internal-natural church; while the outer court represented the entrance into heaven.

[7] And as the temple in the highest sense signified the Lord in relation to the Divine Human, so also in relation to Divine truth, thence the temple also signifies Divine truth proceeding from the Lord, consequently the Word, for that is the Divine truth in the church. That the Lord's Divine Human is signified by the temple is evident from the Lord's words where He says:

Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up; and He spake of the temple of His body (John 2:18-23).

That the "temple" signifies the church is evident from these words of the Lord:

That there shall not be left of the temple stone upon stone that shall not be thrown down (Matthew 24:1, 2; Luke 21:5-7).

These words mean that every Divine truth, consequently everything of the church, is to perish; for the end of the church, which is called the consummation of the age, is here treated of.

[8] That there were two courts built, an inner and an outer, and there little chambers, porticos, or piazzas, and many other things, can be seen from the description of them in Ezekiel:

The angel brought me to the outer court, where, behold, there were chambers and a pavement made for the court round about, thirty chambers upon the pavement, which he measured as to the length and the breadth; and he also measured the bedchambers, the portico, the gate, everything as to length and breadth (Ezekiel 40:17-22, 40:31, 40:34, et seq.; Ezekiel 42:1-14).

And of the inner court it is said in the same:

That he measured the inner court, the gates thereof towards the north, the east, and the south; the portico, the steps with the ascents, the bedchambers, the chambers of the singers, the upper lintels (Ezek. 40:23-31, 40:44, et seq.).

And in Jeremiah:

In the chamber of Gemaliah ¹ the scribe, in the upper court, at the entrance of the gate of the new house (Jeremiah 36:10).

In the prophet Ezekiel, from chap. 40 to chap. 48, a new city, a new temple, and a new earth, are treated of, which signify a New Church that was to be established by the Lord; and the "chambers," the "bedchambers," the "porticos," and the rest, signify such things as belong to the church, its doctrine and worship; and their dimensions signify their quality (as was said and shown in the article above). But this is not the place to explain what is signified by the particulars; only that "courts" signify the external things of heaven and of the church, and thence the externals of the Word and of worship. That the externals of these are signified by the "courts" is evident from this alone, that the "temple" in general signifies heaven and the church, therefore the three divisions of the temple, namely, the courts, the temple itself, and the adytum, signify the three heavens according to their degrees. (Of what nature the three heavens are according to their degrees, see in the work on Heaven and Hell, n. 29-40 .)

[9] That "the temple and the courts" signify heaven and the church can be seen more fully from these words in Ezekiel:

The spirit raised me up and brought me into the inner court of the temple, when behold, the glory of Jehovah filled the house; and I heard one speaking unto me out of the house, saying, Son of man, the place of My throne, and the place of the soles of My feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the sons of Israel forever (Ezekiel 43:4-7).

That these "courts" signify the lowest heaven, or the external of the church, can be seen from its being said that "he was brought into the court, and thence saw the house filled with the glory of Jehovah," "the glory of Jehovah" signifying Divine truth, which constitutes heaven and the church; also afterwards, that that house was "the place of the throne of Jehovah, and the place of the soles of His feet, where He will dwell in the midst of the sons of Israel forever." That "the throne of Jehovah" means heaven may be seen above (n. 253, 297, 343, 460, 462, 477, 482); and that "the place of the soles of the feet of Jehovah" means the church, see also above n. 606; the "sons of Israel" mean all who are of the Lord's church, consequently "to dwell with them forever" signifies the unceasing presence of the Lord with them.

[10] In the same:

The glory of Jehovah lifted itself up from above the cherub over the threshold of the house, and the house was filled with the cloud. And the cloud filled the inner court. And the court was full of the brightness of the glory of Jehovah; and the voice of the wings of the cherubim was heard even to the outer court (Ezekiel 10:3, 4, 5).

The "cherubim" seen by the prophet represented the Lord in relation to providence and guard that He be not approached except through good of love; consequently the "cherubim" signify the higher heavens, particularly the inmost heaven, for this guard is there (See above n. 277, 313, 322, 362, 370, 462); therefore the "house that was filled with the cloud" signifies heaven and the church; the "inner court," which the cloud also filled, signifies the lowest heaven; and the "outer court," as far as which the voice of the wings of the cherubs was heard, signifies the entrance into heaven, which is specifically in the natural world, and afterwards in the world of spirits. For through the church in the world, and afterwards through the world of spirits, man enters into heaven. (What the world of spirits is, see in the work on Heaven and Hell 421-431 seq.) But the "cloud" and "the brightness of the glory of Jehovah" signify the Divine truth proceeding from the Lord.

[11] From this it can now be seen what is signified by "courts" in the following passages. In David:

Blessed is he whom thou choosest and causest to approach, he shall dwell in Thy courts; we shall be satisfied with the goodness of Thy house, with the holiness of Thy temple (Psalms 65:4).

This signifies that those who are in charity, or in spiritual affection, will live in heaven, and there will be in intelligence and wisdom from Divine truth and Divine good; "the chosen" (or he whom thou choosest) signifies those who are in love towards the neighbor or in charity; "causest to approach" signifies spiritual affection or love, for so far as man is in that love or that affection, so far he is with the Lord, for everyone approaches Him according to that love; "to dwell in courts" signifies to live in heaven, "to dwell" meaning to live, and "courts" meaning heaven; "to be satisfied with the goodness of the house" signifies to be in wisdom from Divine good; and "to be satisfied with the holiness of the temple" signifies to be in intelligence from Divine truth, and from both to enjoy heavenly joy; "the house of God" signifies heaven and the church in respect to Divine good, and the "temple" heaven and the church in respect to Divine truth, and "holiness" is predicated of spiritual good, which is truth.

[12] In the same:

A day in Thy courts is better than thousands, I have chosen to stand at the door in the house of my God (Psalms 84:10).

"Courts" here signify the first or lowest heaven, through which there is entrance into the higher heavens; therefore it is added, "I have chosen to stand at the door in the house of my God." In the same:

Give to Jehovah the glory of His name, bring an offering, and come into His courts (Psalms 96:8).

In the same:

Praise ye the name of Jehovah, praise, O ye servants of Jehovah, who stand in the house of Jehovah, in the courts of the house of our God (Psalms 135:1, 2).

In the same:

How amiable are Thy dwellings, O Jehovah of Hosts; my soul hath desired, yea is consumed for the courts of Jehovah (Psalms 84:1, 2).

In the same:

Come into His gates with confession, into His courts with praise, confess ye unto Him, bless His name (Psalms 100:4).

In the same:

I will pay my vows unto Jehovah before all His people, in the courts of the house of Jehovah, in the midst of thee, O Jerusalem (Psalms 116:14, 18, 19).

In the same:

The righteous shall flourish as the palm tree, he shall grow as a cedar in Lebanon. Planted in the house of Jehovah they shall spring forth in the courts of our God (Psalms 92:12, 13).

That in these passages "courts" mean heaven, in particular the lowest heaven and the church, can be seen without explanation.

[13] Likewise in the following passages. In Isaiah:

They shall gather the corn and the new wine, they shall eat and shall praise Jehovah, and they that shall bring it together shall drink in the courts of My holiness (Isaiah 62:9).

"They shall gather the corn and the new wine" signifies instruction in the goods and truths of doctrine and of the church; "they shall eat and shall praise Jehovah" signifies appropriation and the worship of the Lord; "they that shall bring it together shall drink in the courts of My holiness" signifies the enjoyment of Divine truth, and the consequent happiness in the heavens.

[14] In Joel:

Let the priests, the ministers of Jehovah, weep between the court and the altar, and let them say, Spare Thy people, O Jehovah (Joel 2:17);

"weeping between the court and the altar" signifies lamentation over the vastation of Divine truth and Divine good in the church; for the "court" has a similar signification as the "temple," namely, the church in respect to Divine truth, and the "altar" signifies the church in respect to Divine good; therefore "between the court and the altar" signifies the marriage of good and truth, which constitutes heaven and the church; and "to weep" signifies lamentation over its vastation. "Courts" also elsewhere in the Word signify the ultimates of heaven, also the externals of the church, of the Word, and of worship (as in Isaiah 1:12; Zechariah 3:7).

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