8858. A person's whole character is determined by the nature of whatever dominates his life; this is what marks him off from others. His heaven is formed in accordance with it if he is good, or his hell if he is bad. For it constitutes his true will and so the true being of his life, which is unchangeable after death. From all this one may see what the life is like in a person who has been regenerated, and what it is like in one who has not been regenerated.

9832. 'And they shall take the gold' means the good reigning universally. This is clear from the meaning of 'gold' as the good of love, dealt with in 113, 1551, 1552, 5658, 6914, 6917, 9490, 9510. Its reigning universally is meant by the fact that the gold was interwoven everywhere in the ephod, as is clear from what is stated later on in this book,

They beat out ¹ the plates of gold and cut them up into threads, to work in among the violet, and in among the purple, and in among the twice-dyed scarlet, and in among the fine linen. Exodus 39:3.

'Reigning universally' describes that which is dominant and so is present in each individual part, see 5949, 6159, 7648, 8067, 8853-8858, 8865. The reason why the gold was interwoven everywhere was that Aaron's garments represented the spiritual heaven, 9814, and in that heaven good holds sway, as it also does in the remaining heavens. In the inmost heaven it is the good of love to the Lord, in the middle one the good of charity towards the neighbour, and in the lowest the good of faith. The truth however which belongs to faith leads the way to good, and afterwards is brought forth from it. From this it is evident that a person is not in heaven until good is present within him. If merely the knowledge of truths, called the truths of faith, is present in a person he does no more than stand in front of the door; or if, knowing those truths, he is looking towards good he goes through into the porch. But if, in knowing those truths, he is not looking towards good he cannot see heaven, not even from a long way off. The reason for saying that a person is not in heaven until good is present within him is that a person must have heaven within him while in the world if he is to enter it after death. For heaven exists within people; and it is granted in mercy to those who during their life in the world allow themselves to be led by means of the truths of faith into charity towards the neighbour and into love to the Lord, that is, into good. People are not in heaven until they have come into that state in which the Lord leads them by means of good, see 8516, 8539, 8722, 8772, 9139. By good is meant the good of life; and the good of life consists in the performance of what is good because there is a will for what is good, and a will for what is good springs from love; for what a person loves, he wills.

Фусноте:

4738. 'So that he might therefore rescue him out of their hands, to return him to his father' means so that it might lay claim to it for the Church. This is clear from the meaning of 'rescuing out of their hands' as delivering, as above in 4732, and from the meaning of 'returning to his father' as laying claim to it for the Church; for Jacob, to whom 'father' refers here, represents the Jewish religion which sprang from the Ancient Church, as above in 4700, 4701. What was laid claim to for the Church was the Divine Truth concerning the Lord's Divine Human, for, as stated already, 'Joseph' means that truth specifically.

[2] To know more regarding this truth, it should be recognized that the Ancient Church acknowledged it, as also did the Primitive Christian Church. But there came a time when the papacy so extended its authority that it had control over every human soul; it exalted itself in the way the king of Babel is said to have done, in Isaiah,

You said in your heart. I will go up into the heavens, above the stars of God ¹ I will raise my throne, and I will sit on the mount of assembly, I will go up above the heights of the clouds, and I will make myself like the Most High. Isaiah 14:13-14.

Then - at that time - Divinity was taken away from the Lord's Human, that is, His Divine was made distinct and separate from His Human.

[3] The way in which this distinction was decreed in a certain council ² has also been revealed to me. I saw some people appear on the right in front of me, some distance away on a level with the sole of my foot. They were talking among themselves, but I did not hear what about. I was told that they were some of those who had come together in the council when the decree was made regarding the Lord's two Natures - His Divine one and His Human one. Shortly after that I was allowed to talk to them. They said that those who had the greatest influence in the council and who held higher positions and had higher authority than the rest met together. They did so in a room that was dark, where they decided that both Divinity and Humanity should be attributed to the Lord, the main reason for their decision being that otherwise the papacy could not have remained in being. For if they had acknowledged that the Lord was one with the Father, as He Himself says, no one could then have been acknowledged as His vicar on earth. Schisms were developing at that time, which would have toppled and destroyed the power of the papacy, had they not made that distinction. To strengthen it they also assembled proof texts from the Word and swayed the rest of the council.

[4] Those who spoke to me added that by doing this they were able to have control in heaven and on earth. They knew from the Word that all power in heaven and on earth had been given to the Lord, and this power could not have been granted to any vicar [of Christ] if the Human too were acknowledged to be Divine. For they knew that no one was allowed to make himself equal to God and that that power existed essentially in the Divine, not in the Human unless it was granted to it as it was also subsequently granted to Peter. They said that by doing what they did they were then able to keep the schismatics quiet who were most astute, and were also able to strengthen the power of the papacy. From this it is clear that they invented the distinction they made purely for the sake of having control, and that therefore they had no wish to know that the gift of power to the Lord's Human in heaven and on earth demonstrates that His Human too is Divine. It is also clear that 'Peter', to whom the Lord gave the keys of heaven, does not mean the man Peter but faith rooted in charity, which is received from the Lord alone and is therefore a power that belongs to the Lord alone - see Preface to Genesis 22.

Фусноте: