103. And hast not failed, signifies so far as they could. This is evident from the signification of "not failing," in reference to those who are eager for the knowledges of truth and good, as being so far as they could; for in what now follows, a life according to these knowledges is treated of. Those who are in a life according to these go forward and do not fail; but those who are as yet in knowledges alone, go forward as far as they can, but do not yet have the light of life, from which is vigor.

150. Verse 18. And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write, signifies those of the church with whom the internal and the external, or the spiritual and natural man, make one. This is evident from what is written to this angel understood in the internal sense, which treats of the conjunction of the internal or spiritual man with the external or natural man, or concerning those of the church in whom these are conjoined. In every man there is an internal and an external; his internal is what is called the spiritual man, the external what is called the natural man. When man is born, the external or natural man is first opened; and afterwards, as he grows up and is perfected in intelligence and wisdom, the internal or spiritual man is opened. The external or natural man is opened by such things as man derives from the world, while the internal or spiritual man is opened by such things as he derives from heaven; for the external or natural man is formed for receiving such things as are in the world, but the internal or spiritual man for receiving such things as are in heaven. The things in the world, for receiving which the external or natural man is formed, have reference, in general, to all things of civil and moral life; while the things in heaven, for receiving which the internal or spiritual man is formed, have reference, in general, to all things of love and faith.

[2] Since there are these two in man, and each separately must be opened by means proper to it, it is clear that unless the internal is opened by its proper means man continues merely natural, and his internal in that case is closed. But those with whom the internal is closed are not men of the church; for the church with man is formed through communication with heaven: and there is no communication with heaven unless man's internal is opened by its proper means, all which have reference, as was said above, to love and faith. It is to be known, moreover, that with the man of the church, that is, the man who has been regenerated by the Lord by means of truths called truths of faith and by means of a life according to them, the internal and external or the spiritual and natural man are conjoined, and that this conjunction is effected by correspondences. (The nature of correspondences, and therefore the nature of the conjunction effected by them can be seen from what is shown about them in the Arcana Coelestia, and cited from that work inThe Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 261 .)

[3] Now since a man does not become a man of the church until his internal or spiritual man has been opened and until this has been conjoined with the external or natural man, those within the church in whom this conjunction is effected are now treated of; for (as was said above, in n. 20, by "the seven churches" are not meant seven churches, but all in general who are of the Lord's church; consequently what is written to the angel of each church treats of such things as constitute the church; here, therefore, that is, "to the angel of the church of Thyatira," the internal and external are treated of, and the conjunction of the two in those of the church. (But as hitherto it has not been known that these two are actually in man, and that they must be opened and conjoined that man may be a man of the church; and as these things cannot be made clear in a few words, therefore they have been treated of in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 36-53, 179-182)

182. Verse 1. And to the angel of the church in Sardis write, signifies those who live a moral but not a spiritual life, because they have little regard for the knowledges of spiritual things and for intelligence and wisdom therefrom. This is evident from what is written to the angel of this church, from which, when viewed in the internal or spiritual sense, it can be seen that those who live a moral but not a spiritual life, because they have little regard for the knowledges of the spiritual things and for intelligence and wisdom therefrom, are here treated of. But before unfolding the things that follow as to their spiritual sense, it is necessary to explain and open what moral life is and what spiritual life is, also what moral life from spiritual life is, and what moral life apart from spiritual life. Moral life is acting well, sincerely, and justly with one's companions in all the affairs and occupations of life; in a word, it is the life that is apparent before men, because it is the life lived with them. But this life has a two-fold origin; it is either from the love of self and the world, or it is from love to God and love towards the neighbor.

[2] Moral life from the love of self and the world is not in itself moral life, although it seems to be moral; for the man acting thus acts well, sincerely, and justly for the sake of self and the world only, and what is good, sincere, and just serves him as means to an end, which is, either that he may be raised above others and rule over them, or that he may gain wealth; and of these things he thinks in his spirit, or when he is by himself secretly; but these things that he thinks he does not dare to avow openly, because they would destroy the good opinion others have of him, and thus destroy the means by which he wishes to attain his ends. From this it can be seen that there lies within the moral life of such a man nothing else than to acquire all things in preference to others, thus that he wishes to have all others to serve him, or to gain possession of their goods; from which it is evident that his moral life is not in itself a moral life; for if he should gain what he aims at, or what he has as an end, he would subject others to himself as slaves, and would deprive them of their goods. And as all means savor of the end, and in their essence are of the same quality as their ends, for which reason they are also called intermediate ends, therefore such a life, regarded in itself, is merely craftiness and fraud. And this also becomes clearly evident in the case of those with whom these external bonds are released, as takes place, when engaged in lawsuits against their fellows, when they desire nothing so much as to subvert justice, and secure the good will of the judge or the favor of the king, and this secretly, that they may deprive others of their goods; and when they obtain this, they rejoice in spirit and in heart. This is still more evident in the case of kings who place honor in wars and victories, that they find the highest joy of their hearts in subjugating provinces and kingdoms, and where resistance is made, in depriving the vanquished of all their goods, and even of life. Such also is the delight of many who engage at such times in military service. This becomes still more evident with all of this character when they become spirits, which is immediately after the death of the body. As they then think and act from their spirit, they rush into every wickedness according to their love, however morally they may have lived in appearance while in the world.

[3] But spiritual life is wholly different, because it has a different origin; for it is from love to God and love towards the neighbor. Consequently, the moral life also of those who are spiritual is different, and is a truly moral life; for these, when they think in their spirit, which takes place when they are thinking secretly by themselves, do not think from self and the world, but from the Lord and heaven; for the interiors of their minds, that is, of their thought and will, are actually elevated by the Lord into heaven, and are there conjoined to Him; thus the Lord flows into their thoughts, intentions, and ends, and governs them and withdraws them from their proprium [what is their own], which is solely from the love of self and of the world. The moral life of such persons is, in appearance, like the moral life of those described above, and yet their moral life is spiritual, because it is from a spiritual origin. Their moral life is simply an effect of spiritual life, which is the efficient cause, thus the origin. For they act well, sincerely, and justly with their fellows from fear of God and from love of the neighbor; in these loves the Lord keeps their mind and disposition [mentem et animum]; consequently when they become spirits, which takes place when the body dies, they think and act intelligently and wisely, and are elevated into heaven. Of these it may be said, that with them every good of love and every truth of faith flows in out of heaven, that is, through heaven from the Lord. But this is not true of those described above; for their good ¹ is not the good of heaven, nor is their truth the truth of heaven; but what they call good is the delight of the lust of the flesh, and it is falsity therefrom that they call truth; these flow into them from self and from the world. From this it can also be known what moral life from spiritual life is, and what moral life apart from spiritual life is; namely, that moral life from spiritual life is truly moral life, which may be called spiritual, since it has its cause and origin in the spiritual; but that moral life apart from spiritual life is not moral life, and may be called infernal, for so far as the love of self and of the world reign in it, so far it is fraudulent and hypocritical.

[4] From what has now been said, the quality of external sanctity may also be inferred (by which is meant worship in churches, prayers, and gestures then), with such as are in the love of self and of the world, and yet live an apparently moral life, namely, that nothing of these is elevated to heaven and is heard there, but that they flow out from some thought of the external or natural man, and thus from their mouth into the world. For the interior thoughts of such, which are of their very spirits, are full of craftiness and fraud against the neighbor; and yet it is through interiors that there is elevation into heaven. Moreover, their worship in churches, and prayers, and gestures at such times, are either the result of habit from infancy, and are thence become familiar, or they are from a principle that such external things contribute everything to salvation, or they are a consequence of there being no business for them at home and abroad on holy days, or of a fear of being regarded as irreligious by their companions. But worship with those who live a moral life from a spiritual origin is altogether different, for it is truly a worship of God, for their prayers are elevated to heaven and are heard, for the Lord leads their prayers through heaven to Himself. (But more may be seen on these subjects in the work on Heaven and Hell, n. 468, 484, 529, 530-534; and above, in the Explanation of the Apocalypse, n. 107.) These things are premised, because what is written to the angel of this church treats of those who live a moral but not a spiritual life, for the reason that they have little regard for the knowledges of spiritual things.

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