108. (Verse 7) He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. That this signifies that he who understands should hearken to what Divine truth proceeding from the Lord teaches and says to those who belong to His church, is evident from the signification of he who hath an ear let him hear, as being that he who understands should hearken or obey (that to hear denotes to understand and to do, or to hearken, may be seen above, n. 14); from the signification of the Spirit, in this case the Spirit of God, as being Divine truth proceeding from the Lord (concerning which see Arcana Coelestia 3704, 5307, 6788, 6982, 6993, 7004, 7499, 8302, 9199, 9228, 9229, 9303, 9407, 9818, 9820, 10330); and from the signification of the churches, as denoting, those who are in truths from good, or in faith from charity, thus those who belong to the church, for no others are of the church. These words, namely, "He that hath an ear let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches," are said to each of the churches (here to the church of Ephesus, and afterwards to the church of Smyrna, 1:11; to the church in Pergamos, 1:17; in Thyatira, 2:29; in Sardis, 3:6; in Philadelphia, 3:13; and in Laodicea, 3:22); because every one who belongs to the church may know that to know and understand the truths and goods of faith, or doctrinals, and also the Word, does not constitute the church, but to hearken, that is, to understand and to do, constitutes the church; for this is signified by the words, "he that hath an ear let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches," because this constitutes the church, and forms heaven with man, but not knowing and understanding without doing; therefore the Lord also occasionally uses the same words,

"He that hath all ear to hear let him hear" (as in Matthew 11:15; 13:43; Mark 4:9, 23; 7:16; Luke 8:8; 14:35).

In the Apocalypse it is added, "What the Spirit saith unto the churches," because by this is signified what Divine truth teaches and says to those who belong to the church, or, what is the same thing, what the Lord teaches and says, for all Divine truth proceeds from Him (see the work, Heaven and Hell 13, 133, 137, 139); therefore also the Lord himself did not use the words, "What the Spirit saith," because He Himself was the Divine truth that said it.

That to know and understand Divine truths does not constitute the church and form heaven with man, but to know, to understand and to do, the Lord teaches plainly in very many passages; as in Matthew,

"Whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, and every one that heareth, and doeth not, shall be likened unto a foolish man" (7:24, 26).

Again:

"He that received seed into the good ground, is he that heareth the Word, and understandeth it, which also beareth fruit" (13:23).

And in Luke:

"Whosoever cometh to me and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will show you to whom he is like. He is like a man which built a house, and laid the foundation on a rock. But he that heareth and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation built a house upon the earth" (6:47, 48, 49).

In the same:

"My mother and my brethren are those who hear the Word of God and do it" (8:21);

besides in many other passages. In these passages, to hear simply signifies to hear, which is to know and to understand to hear also, in common discourse, has this signification when a man is said to hear anything; but it signifies both to understand and to do, when he is said to give ear, or to be attentive; so also when he is said to hearken. Moreover, those who separate life from faith, are like those of whom the Lord speaks in Matthew:

"Seeing they see not, and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand" (13:13, 14, 15; Ezekiel 12:2).

1102. 'He will dwell in the tents of Shem' means so that the internal features of worship may be present in the external features. This becomes clear from all that has been stated already about Shem, to the effect that 'Shem' is the internal Church or internal worship, and that external worship is something altogether soulless or unclean if it does not have internal worship to give it life and sanctify it. That 'tents' means nothing else than the holiness of love and worship arising out of this becomes clear from the meaning of 'tents' dealt with already in 414. Among the ancients 'wandering about and dwelling in tents' was common expression, and by 'tents' in the internal sense was meant holy worship, for the reason that the most ancient people not only wandered about with tents but also dwelt in tents and used to celebrate holy worship in them. Consequently 'wandering about and dwelling' also meant in the internal sense living.

[2] In addition to the places quoted already in 414, let the following as well serve to confirm that 'tents' means holy worship: In David,

God forsook the dwelling-place at Shiloh, the tent where He dwelt with man. Psalms 78:60.

Here 'tent' has a similar meaning to the Temple, in which God is said 'to dwell' when He is present with someone within love. For this reason the individual in whose life holy worship had a place was called by the ancients 'a tent', and later 'a temple'. In Isaiah,

Enlarge the place of your tent, and let the curtains of your habitations be stretched out. Isaiah 54:1.

This stands for enlightenment in the things that belong to true worship. In Jeremiah,

The whole land has been laid waste; suddenly My tents have been laid waste, My curtains in a moment. Jeremiah 4:20.

Here it is quite evident that tents are not meant but holy worship. In Zechariah,

Jerusalem will dwell yet again in her own place, in Jerusalem Jehovah will save the tents of Judah. Zechariah 12:6-7.

Here 'the tents of Judah' stands for worship of the Lord arising out of the holiness of love.

[3] From these quotations it now becomes clear what 'dwelling in the tents of Shem' means, namely, so that internal worship may be present in external. But because 'Japheth', the member of the external Church, has little knowledge of what internal things are, a brief description of him will be given. When a person feels or perceives within himself that he has thoughts regarding the Lord which are good and thoughts regarding the neighbor which are good, and he wishes to perform acts of kindness for him, but not for the sake of any gain or for the sake of his own position, and when he feels that he has pity for anyone who suffers misfortune, and more so for him who errs in regard to the doctrine of faith, he may then know that 'he is dwelling in the tents of Shem', that is, that there are with him things of an internal nature by means of which the Lord is working.