209. Because thou hast a little power, and hast kept my Word, and hast not denied my name. That this signifies that they have power from the Lord against evils and falsities in proportion as they cause truths from the Word to enter their life and acknowledge the Divine of the Lord in His Human, is evident from the signification of thou hast a little power, as denoting power from the Lord against evils and falsities. And because the subject treated of is those who are in the faith of charity, it is said that they have a little power, of which we shall speak presently. And from the signification of and hast kept my word, as denoting the application of truths from the Word to life; for to keep truths, or precepts signifies not only to know and perceive them, but, also to will and do them; and those who thus will and do cause the truths which they know and perceive from the Word to enter into their life (see also n. 15). And from the signification of and hast not denied my name, as being to acknowledge the Divine of the Lord in His Human, concerning which see above (n. 135).

[2] It must be known, that the two principal things that constitute the church are, to acknowledge the Divine of the Lord in His Human, and to apply truths from the Word to life; nor can any person be in the one, unless he is at the same time in the other. For all truths which enter into the life, are from the Lord, and this with those who acknowledge His Divine in His Human; for the Lord flows into all, both in the heavens and on the earth, from His Divine Human, and not from the Divine separate from the Human, nor from the Human separate from the Divine. Those therefore who in their thought separate the Divine of the Lord from His Human, and look to the Divine of the Father, not as in the Human, but as near it, or above it, thus apart from it, do not receive any influx from the Lord, nor consequently from heaven, for all those who are in the heavens acknowledge the Divine Human of the Lord (concerning which see also the work, Heaven and Hell 2-12, 59-72, 78-86, and 212).

From these considerations it is evident that all truths that enter into a man's life with those who acknowledge the Divine in His Human, that is, who acknowledge the Divine Human, are from the Lord. Truths enter into a man's life when he loves them, thus when he wills them and does them; for he who loves also wills and does. In a word, truths enter into the life, when a man lives according to them from affection. The reason why those truths are from the Lord is, that the Lord flows into a man's love, and so into the truths, and thus makes these enter into his life.

[3] Something shall now be said concerning the power which man has from the Lord against evils and falsities. All the power which angels and men have is from the Lord; and in proportion as they receive the Lord, in the same proportion they have power. He who believes that power against those things is from his proprium is much deceived; for it is evil spirits, conjoined with the hells, that induce evils and thence falsities in man. Those spirits are numerous, and every one of them is conjoined with many hells, in each of which also there are many other spirits, so that no one can avert them from man but the Lord alone, for the Lord alone has power over the hells, and man has no power at all from himself or from his proprium; in proportion, therefore, as man is conjoined to the Lord by love, in the same proportion he has power.

There are two loves that reign in the heavens, and that constitute the heavens - love to the Lord and love towards the neighbour: the former is called celestial love, and the latter spiritual love. Those who are in celestial love have much power or strength, but those who are in spiritual love have little power. And because in what is written to the angel of this church those are treated of who are in love towards the neighbour, or charity, and thence in faith, which love is spiritual love, it is therefore said, Thou hast a little strength.

[4] But it must be known that all the power which angels and men have from the Lord is from the good of love; and because the good of love does not act from itself, but by means of truths, therefore all power is from the good of love by means of truths, and, with those who are spiritual, from the good of charity by means of the truth of faith. For good clothes itself with a quality by means of truths, good without truths having no quality, and where there is no quality there is neither force nor power. It is therefore evident, that all power belongs to good by means of truths, or to charity by means of faith, and none to charity without faith, nor any to faith without charity. This is what is meant by the keys given to Peter; for by Peter is meant, in the spiritual sense, truth from good from the Lord, thus faith from charity; and by the keys given to him is signified power over evils and falsities. These things were said to Peter when he acknowledged the Divine of the Lord in His Human, by which is also meant that power is given to all who acknowledge this, and who from Him are in the good of charity and thence in the truths of faith. This is evident from these words in Matthew: Jesus said to the disciples,

"Whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. Then Jesus answering said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jona; for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in the heavens. But I say also unto thee, Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of the heavens" (16:15-19).

(But concerning Peter and the keys given to him, see what was said above, n. 9; also what is shown in the small work, The Last Judgment 57; and in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 122; and that all power is in truth from good which is from the Lord, in the work, Heaven and Hell 228-233, 539; and in Arcana Coelestia 3091, 3387, 3563, 4592, 4933, 6344, 6423, 7518, 7673, 8281, 8304, 9133, 9327, 9410, 10019, 10182.)

3563. 'And said, The voice is Jacob's voice, and the hands Esau's hands' means that the understanding consists in this case of truth existing inwardly, while the will consists in this case of good existing outwardly, so that an inversion of order exists with them. This is clear from the use of 'voice' to refer to truth and of 'hand' to refer to good. For 'voice' is used in reference to truth, as is evident from the places introduced in Volume One, in 219, 220, and from the fact that the actual words used are 'the voice is Jacob's voice', Jacob representing natural truth, as shown in various places above. And the reason why 'hand' is used in reference to good is that 'the hand' means power and ability, 878, 3541, the source of which is nothing other than good. All the power and ability that truth possesses comes from good, even though it seems to come from truth. This likewise is evident from the fact that the actual words used are 'the hands are Esau's hands', Esau representing natural good, as also shown above. The consequent existence of an inversion of order with them is evident from the consideration that proper order requires good, which belongs to the will, to exist inwardly, and truth, which belongs to the understanding, to exist outwardly. But these matters, as stated above, are such as can hardly be explained in any intelligible way because few have any knowledge of such things. For even if a perfectly clear explanation of them were given they would still not be understood if knowledge of them is lacking. Nevertheless the matter must be discussed since it is the subject at this point.

[2] The only source of the good of the natural which manifests itself in a person is interior good, that is, the good of the rational. Natural good can have no other source, though that which flows in from the one determines the nature of the good in the other. And since the good of the natural comes from no other source, neither does the truth of the natural, for where good is, so also is truth. Both must be present if they are to be anything at all. And again, that which flows in determines the nature of the truth there. Influx is such that the good of the rational flows into the natural along two different routes - one a very short and thus direct route into the good itself of the natural, and then on through the good of the natural into the truth there, this good and this truth being represented by Esau and his venison. In addition to this, the good of the rational flows into the natural along a second route which is less short, that is to say, through the truth of the rational, by means of which influx it forms something resembling good, but which in fact is truth.

[3] Everything is thus taking place according to order when the good of the rational flows directly into the good of the natural and at the same time into the truth there, and also indirectly by way of the truth of the rational into the good of the natural, and in a similar way both directly and indirectly into the truth of the natural. When all this is taking place the influx is according to order. Such is the influx with those who have been regenerated. But a different influx exists prior to regeneration, as has been stated above. That is to say, the good of the rational does not flow into the good of the natural directly but indirectly, by way of the truth of the rational, and so manifests something resembling good in the natural, which is not genuine good nor consequently genuine truth. Instead it is something such as does indeed possess good inmostly by virtue of influx through the truth of the rational; but there is nothing more. Therefore good too presents itself there under a different form, that is to say, outwardly as good represented by 'Esau' but inwardly as truth represented by 'Jacob'. And as this is not in accordance with order an inversion of order is said to exist with them. Yet insofar as nobody can be regenerated in any other way it is according to order.

[4] I realize that no matter how clearly these matters are stated and as a consequence are able to be perceived clearly by those who have a knowledge of the existence of such things, they still remain obscure to those who do not know what influx is, more so to those who do not know that the rational is distinct and separate from the natural, and more so still to those who do not have any distinct and clear idea of what good is or of what truth is. But the nature of natural good and of natural truth in the state prior to regeneration is plain to see only from the desires present at that time. When a person desires truth not because he has life in view but some other ends, such as to become learned, and to become this because of some desire to outdo others, which amounts to childish envy, and also because of some desire for glory, the order existing with the good of the natural and the truth of the natural is akin to that represented here by Jacob. As these two exist in relation to each other, there is a reversal of order, that is to say, the will, to which good belongs, exists outwardly, while the understanding, to which truth belongs, exists inwardly.

[5] But in the state following regeneration the situation is different. In this case the person desires truth not only because he has life in view but more still because he desires the good itself which constitutes that life. Previous desires, that is to say, those connected with outdoing, with childish envy, and with glory, now break away, so much so that they seem so to speak to have been dispelled. At this point good which belongs to the will exists inwardly, and truth which belongs to the understanding exists outwardly. The result then is that truth acts as one with good since it stems from good. This order is genuine order. The order existing previously also serves to bring this order about, for the will which at that time occupies an external position allows many things to come in which contribute to regeneration, like a sponge which absorbs water, clear or muddy, so that it absorbs such things as would otherwise be rejected. Indeed these things serve as means and also as ideas that have to be formed concerning genuine goods and truths, besides other uses which they serve.