643. VI. ES GIBT EINE ZURECHNUNG; ABER ES HANDELT SICH DABEI UM EINE ZURECHNUNG DES GUTEN UND BÖSEN UND ZUGLEICH DES GLAUBENS

Wenn im Wort die Zurechnung erwähnt wird, handelt es sich dabei um die Zurechnung des Guten und Bösen, wie aus unzähligen Stellen hervorgeht, von denen einige oben bereits angeführt worden sind. Damit aber jeder Gewissheit darüber erlangt, dass es keine andere Zurechnung gibt, sollen auch hier einige dieser Stellen aus dem Wort aufgezählt werden. Diese sind:

„Des Menschen Sohn wird kommen und dann einem jeden nach seinen Taten vergelten.“ (Matthaeus 16:27) „Es werden hervorgehen, die da Gutes getan haben, zur Auferstehung des Lebens, die aber Böses getan haben zur Auferstehung des Gerichts.“ (Johannes 5:29) „Ein Buch wurde geöffnet, das Buch des Lebens, … und sie wurden alle nach ihren Werken gerichtet.“ (Offenbarung 20:12 f.) „Siehe, ich komme bald, und mein Lohn mit mir, jedem nach seinem Werk zu geben.“ (Offenbarung 22:12) „Heimsuchen will ich an ihm seine Werke, und seine Werke ihm vergelten.“ (Hoschea 4:9; Sacharja 1:6; Jeremia 25:14; 32:19) „Gott wird am Tage seines Zorns und seines gerechten Gerichts einem jeden vergelten nach seinen Werken.“ (Roemer 2:5 f.) „Wir müssen alle off enbar werden vor dem Richterstuhle Christi, damit jeder empfange, was er bei Leibesleben getan hat, es sei gut oder böse.“ (2 Korinther 5:10)

Kein anderes Gesetz der Zurechnung bestand beim Beginn der Kirche, und kein anderes wird bestehen an ihrem Ende. Ersteres zeigt sich an Adam und seinem Weib, die verdammt wurden, weil sie Böses getan hatten, indem sie vom Baum der Erkenntnis des Guten und Bösen aßen, 1 Mose 2 und 1 Mose 3; dass sich daran aber auch am Ende der Kirche nichts ändern wird, zeigen deutlich die folgenden Worte des Herrn:

„Wenn aber des Menschen Sohn in seiner Herrlichkeit kommen wird … dann wird er sitzen auf dem Throne seiner Herrlichkeit … und er wird zu den Schafen auf seiner Rechten sagen: Kommt her, ihr Gesegneten … ererbet das Reich, das euch bereitet ist von der Gründung der Welt an, denn ich bin hungrig gewesen, und ihr habt mir zu essen gegeben. Ich bin durstig gewesen, und ihr habt mich getränkt, Ich bin ein Fremdling gewesen, und ihr habt mich aufgenommen. Ich bin suchend gewesen, und ihr habt mich bekleidet. Ich bin krank gewesen, und ihr habt mich besucht. Ich bin im Gefängnis gewesen, und ihr seid zu mir gekommen. Zu den Böcken auf seiner Linken hingegen sagt er, weil sie das Gute nicht getan hatten: Weichet von mir, ihr Verfluchten, in das ewige Feuer, das dem Teufel und seinen Engeln bereitet ist.“ (Matthaeus 25:31 ff.) Jeder, der offene Augen hat, kann daran klar erkennen, dass es eine Zurechnung des Guten und Bösen gibt.

Dass es ebenso auch eine Zurechnung des Glaubens gibt, beruht darauf, dass die tätige Liebe, die dem Guten, und der Glaube, der dem Wahren angehört, in den guten Werken beisammen sind, dass aber, wo sie nicht beisammen sind, die Werke nicht gut sind, man vergleiche oben Nr. 373-377. Deshalb sagt Jakobus: „Ist nicht Abraham, unser Vater, durch Werke gerecht geworden, als er seinen Sohn auf dem Altar darbrachte? Da siehst du, dass der Glaube mit seinen Werken mitwirkte und durch die Werke der Glaube vollkommen wurde. Und so ist die Schrift erfüllt worden, die da sagt: Abraham hat Gott geglaubt, und es wurde ihm zur Gerechtigkeit gerechnet.“ (Jakobus 2:21-23)

10252. 'The best myrrh' means the perception of truth on the level of the senses. This is clear from the meaning of 'odour-bearing myrrh' as the perception of truth on the level of the senses; for its 'odour' means perception, as immediately above, and 'myrrh' truth on the level of the senses. The subject in the verses that come now is the anointing oil, by which celestial good, which is the Divine Good of the Lord's Divine Love in the inmost heaven, is meant. The nature of that good is described by the fragrant substances from which it was made. These were the best myrrh, sweet-smelling cinnamon, sweet-smelling calamus, cassia, and olive oil, which mean celestial truths and forms of good in their proper order, that is to say, ranging from those which are last and lowest in order to those which are first, or from those which are outermost to those which are inmost, the last or outermost being meant by 'myrrh'. The reason why celestial good, or the good of the inmost heaven, is described in this manner is that the truths meant by those spices are the means by which such good comes into being and is also kept in being.

[2] But since this matter demands to be investigated more deeply, the whole nature of it must be explained more fully. In order that the birth of celestial good, which is inmost good, may take place in a person, which is accomplished through being regenerated by the Lord, truths must be acquired from the Word, or from the teachings of the Church which are drawn from the Word. These truths first find ¹ their seat in the memory within the natural or external man. From there they are summoned by the Lord into the internal man, which happens when the person leads a life in keeping with them. And so far as the person has an affection for them, that is, loves them, they are raised by the Lord to an even higher or more internal level, where they are transformed into celestial good.

[3] Celestial good is the good of the love which desires to put truths from the Word into practice for the sake of good, thus for the Lord's sake since the Lord is the source of good and therefore is such good. This is how that good comes to be born, from which it is evident that such good is brought into being by means of truths from the Word, first by their presence on the most external level in a person, which is that of the senses, then by their being raised to an internal level, and finally to the inmost one itself, where those truths are transformed into celestial good. And since that good is brought into being in this way by means of truths in their own order, so subsequently is it kept in being in similar order by means of those very truths; for continuance in being is a perpetual coming into being. When good is kept in being in that manner, the same as it had been brought into being, it is complete. For now higher things descending in order have lower ones to depend on as an infrastructure for their continued existence, for a resting-place, and for a plane of support.

[4] And they have outermost or last and lowest ones, which are truths present within knowledge on the level of the senses, as a foundation. These truths are described in John, in the Book of Revelation, by the precious stones forming the foundations of the wall of the Holy Jerusalem coming down out of heaven, Revelation 21:19-20. By 'precious stones' God's truths received within good are meant, see 9476, 9863, 9873, 9905.

The fact that 'odour-bearing myrrh' means truth on the level of the senses is also clear in David,

You have loved righteousness; therefore God, Your God, has anointed You with the oil of gladness more than Your companions. With myrrh, aloes, and kessia ² [He has anointed] all Your garments. Psalms 45:7-8.

These words refer to the Lord, who alone is Jehovah's Anointed, because the Divine Good of Divine Love, meant by 'anointing oil', was within Him, 9954. By 'His garments', which are said to have been anointed with myrrh, aloes, and kessia, Divine Truths springing from His Divine Good, present in the natural degree, are meant, 5954, 9212, 9216, 9814, so that 'myrrh' means Divine Truth on the level of the senses since it is mentioned first.

[5] In Matthew,

Opening their treasures the wise men from the east offered gifts to the new-born Lord - gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Matthew 2:11.

'Gold' here means good, 'frankincense' internal truth, and 'myrrh' external truth; both kinds of truth spring from good. In this instance 'gold' is the first to be mentioned because it means good, which is inmost; 'frankincense' is the second because it means internal truth springing from good; and 'myrrh' is the third or last to be mentioned because it means external truth springing from good. For the meaning of 'gold' as good, see in the places referred to in 9874, 9881; and for that of 'frankincense' as internal truth springing from good, see below at verse 34 of the present chapter.

[6] The wise men from the east offered those gifts to the Lord born at that time to indicate His Divinity within His Humanity; for having a knowledge of correspondences and representations they knew what gold, frankincense, and myrrh each served to mean. That knowledge was the chief kind that existed in those times among Arabs, Ethiopians, and others in the east, which also explains why in the Word those who possess cognitions or knowledge of heavenly things are meant in the internal sense by Arabia, Ethiopia, and 'the sons of the east', 1171, 3240, 3242, 3762. But such knowledge during that time perished, for when the good of life passed away the knowledge was turned into magic. First it was erased among the Israelite nation, and subsequently among all the rest. At the present day it has been erased to such an extent that people do not even know of its existence; indeed it is so completely absent from the Christian world that if anyone tells them that all things in the literal sense of the Word serve by virtue of their correspondence to mean heavenly realities, and that these constitute its internal sense, they do not know what to make of it.

[7] Because myrrh served to mean the most external truth, which is truth on the level of the senses, and perception of that truth, the bodies of those who had died were anointed in former times with myrrh and aloes. That anointing served to mean the preservation of all of a person's truths and forms of good, and also to mean resurrection. Therefore also such [spices] were used as served to mean the last and lowest level of a person's life, called the life of the senses. The Lord's body was anointed with such, and together with them was wrapped in a linen cloth; and this was the custom among the Jews, see John 19:39-40, and also Luke 23:55-56. But it should be remembered that things said in the Word about the Lord Himself are to be understood in a pre-eminent sense. Consequently the spices mentioned in those verses mean His Divine life on the level of the senses, which is the life proper to the body, and also the resurrection of this with Him. As is well known, unlike anyone else the Lord rose again with the whole body He had in the world, for He left nothing in the tomb. Therefore also, when the disciples beheld the Lord and thought that they were seeing a spirit, He said to them,

Why are you troubled? See My hands and My feet; handle Me, see; for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see Me have. Luke 24:38-39.

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