104. Verse 4. But I have against thee that thou hast left thy first charity, signifies that they do not make such a life as those lived who were in the church at its beginning, the essential of knowledges. This is evident from the signification of "first charity," as being a life according to the knowledges of good and truth, such as those lived who were in the church at its beginning (of which presently); and from the signification of "leaving that charity," as being not to make it the essential of knowledges; for those who are eager for the knowledges of truth and good, and who believe that they are saved thereby, make knowledges essential, and not life, when yet a life according to knowledges is the essential. But as this essential of the church and of salvation is treated of in what follows, more will there be said about it. Charity is life, because all life in accordance with the precepts of the Lord in the Word is called "charity;" therefore to exercise charity is to live according to those precepts. (That this is so, see in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem, in the chapter on Love to the Neighbor or Charity 84-106; and in the small work on The Last Judgment 33-39.) The life of the church at its beginning is here meant by "first charity;" for every church begins from charity, and successively turns away from it to faith alone or to meritorious works. (On which subject, and on charity, see what is shown in the Arcana Coelestia, namely, that every church begins from charity, but in process of time turns away from it, n. 494, 501, 1327, 3773, 4689; thus to falsities from evil, and at length to evils, n. 1834, 1835, 2910, 4683, 4689; commonly to faith alone, n. 1834, 1835, 2231, 4683, 8094. A comparison of the church in its beginning and in its decline, with the rising and setting of the sun, n. 1837; and with the infancy and old age of man, n. Arcana Coelestia 10134; that the church is not with man until the knowledges of good and truth have been implanted in the life, n. 3310; that charity constitutes the church, n. 809, 916, 1798, 1799, 1844, 1894; that the internal of the church is charity, n. 4766, 5826; that there would be one church, and not many, as at this day, if all were regarded from charity, although they might differ in respect to doctrinals of faith and rituals of worship, n. 1286, 1316, 1798, 1799, 1834, 1844, 2385, 2982, 3267, 3451; that worship of the Lord consists in a life of charity, n. 8254, 8256; that the quality of worship is according to the quality of charity, n. 2190.)

107. Verse 6. (Revelation 2:6) But [this] thou hast, that thou hatest the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate, signifies an aversion, derived from the Divine, towards those who separate good from truth or charity from faith, from which separation there is no life. This is evident from the signification of "thou hast that thou hatest," as being aversion (it is aversion derived from the Divine, because it is said, "which I also hate"); also from the signification of "works," as being the things of the mind, that works spring from (See above, n. 98); from the signification of the "Nicolaitans," as being those who separate good from truth, or charity from faith, such as do this being without life. These have no life, because all spiritual life is from charity, and from faith separate from charity there is no life. For to know and think are of faith, but to will and to do are of charity. Those that separate charity from faith can know nothing whatever of what makes heaven and the church with man, thus of what makes spiritual life; for they do not think within themselves, but outside of themselves. To think outside of oneself is to think from memory only; for the memory is outside of the man, being as it were a court, through which is an entrance into the house and its chambers; and into the thought that is outside of man heaven cannot flow in, for heaven flows into the things that are within man, and through these into the things that are outside of him. Such, therefore, cannot be taught what makes heaven and the church, or life eternal; for everyone is taught from heaven, that is, through heaven from the Lord, about the things that pertain to life eternal; thus he is taught by way of his life, which is by way of his soul and heart. He is greatly deceived who supposes that those who separate charity from faith can be in the knowledges of truth. For such apprehend all things from themselves, and nothing from heaven; and the things that man apprehends from self, and not from heaven, are falsities, because he then thinks in darkness, and not in light. All light in such things as pertain to the church must come from heaven.

[2] It is true that there are many in the church who say that charity is the essential of the church, and not faith separate; but to say this and believe it, and not to live a life of charity, is not to make it the essential, but only to say that it is. Such, therefore, are in the same position as those who say that faith is the essential, for to them charity is a matter of faith alone, and not of life; consequently they cannot be illustrated. About such in the spiritual world something snow-like, as if of light, appears; but the light from which the snow-like appearance is derived is natural; and this light is such that when light from heaven, which is spiritual light, flows in, it is changed into darkness. Such dwell there towards the left, almost in the angle of the north and west. These are intelligent only so far as they have applied the knowledges of truth and good to life.

[3] All who are in the knowledges of truth and good, but not, conformably to these, in the good of life, may live a moral life equally with those who are in knowledges and through these in the good of life; yet their moral life is not spiritual but natural, because in their life they do not live sincerely, justly, and well from religion; and those who do not live well from religion cannot be conjoined with heaven; for it is religion that makes a man spiritual and conjoins him with the angels, who are purely spiritual. To live well from religion is to think, to will, and to do because it has been so enjoined in the Word, and because the Lord has commanded it; but to live not from religion is to think, to will, and to do from a regard solely to civil and moral laws. Such as these, since they have regard only to these laws, conjoin themselves to this world alone, for which these laws are; but the former have regard to the Lord, and thereby conjoin themselves to Him. Gentiles are saved solely by this, that in their life they have regard to religion, thinking and saying that they ought to do thus and not otherwise, because to do otherwise would be contrary to the laws of their religion, thus contrary to the Divine; and when they thus think, and act accordingly, they are endowed with spiritual life, which with them is of such quality that afterwards, in the spiritual world, they receive truths more readily than those Christians who, in what they do, give no thought to the Word, or to the doctrine of the church, which is from the Word.

[4] Those who do not think from religion do not have conscience, because they are not spiritual; consequently, if their external bonds, which are fears respecting the law and reputation, should be loosened with them, they would rush into every wickedness; while on the other hand, if external bonds, which are fears respecting the law and reputation, should be taken away from those who think from religion, they would still act sincerely, justly, and well; for they fear God, and are kept in a life of obedience and charity out of heaven from the Lord, to whom they are conjoined. Those who separate charity from faith are called "Nicolaitans" chiefly from the sound of that word in heaven, for its sound is from truth or faith, and not from good or charity. (That from the expressions in the Word it may be known whether they involve good or truth, thus also whether they involve the one separate from the other, see in the work on Heaven and Hell 241.)

9936. 'And it shall be on Aaron's forehead' means from the Lord's Divine Love. This is clear from the representation of 'Aaron' as the Lord in respect of Divine Good, which is the Good of His Divine Love, dealt with in 9806; and from the meaning of 'forehead', when the Lord is the subject, as His Divine Love. 'The Lord's face', which is the same as 'Jehovah's face', means all attributes of Divine Love, such as mercy, peace, goodness, or wisdom, 222, 223, 5585, 6848, 6849, 9306, 9545, 9546. These are meant by 'Jehovah's face' or 'the Lord's face' because in general 'the face' means a person's interiors, that is, a person's affections and consequent thoughts, thus the things which constitute his love and faith, see the places referred to in 9546. These are meant by 'the face' because they shine from the face, as if seen in their imprint or image, which also is why the face is called the image of the mind. So it is that when 'face' is mentioned in connection with Jehovah or the Lord the attributes of His Divine Love are meant. 'Forehead' in particular means Divine Love itself, because interiors have been allotted their own provinces in the face. The interiors that belong to love reside in the province of the forehead, those belonging to wisdom and intelligence in the province of the eyes, those belonging to perception in the province of the nose, and those belonging to utterance in the province of the mouth.

[2] From all this it is evident why 'forehead' - when the Lord, represented by Aaron, is the subject - means Divine Love. Since someone's forehead corresponds to his love those governed by celestial love, that is, by love to the Lord derived from the Lord, are said 'to have a sign on their foreheads', meaning that they are under the Lord's protection because they abide in His Love, as in Ezekiel,

Jehovah said, Go through the middle of Jerusalem and make a sign on the foreheads of the men (vir) who groan and sigh over all the abominations done in the midst of it, and strike; do not let your eye spare. But against any man (vir) on whom there is a sign do not go near. Ezekiel 9:4-6.

In John, in the Book of Revelation,

Behold, a Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with Him a hundred and forty-four thousand, having His Father's name written on their foreheads. Revelation 14:1.

In the same book,

They will see the face of God and of the Lamb, and His name will be on their foreheads. Revelation 22:4.

In the same book,

It was declared that they should not harm the grass of the earth, or any green thing, or any tree, but only the people who did not have God's sign on their foreheads. Revelation 9:4.

[3] 'Having God's sign on their foreheads' and 'having God and the Lamb's name on them' stand for their being kept safe from molestation by evils from hell, because they abide in the Lord through love. 'The grass' and 'any green thing', which were not to be harmed, stand for true factual knowledge by means of which the truth of faith develops, 7571, 7691; and 'any tree', which too was not to be harmed, stands for the perception of truth springing from good, 103, 2163, 2722, 2972, 4552, 7692.

[4] In Moses,

You shall love Jehovah your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength. You shall bind these words as a sign onto your hand, and let them be as frontlets between your eyes. Deuteronomy 6:4-5, 8.

'As frontlets' stands for as a sign of love to Jehovah God. The words 'between your eyes' are used because intelligence and wisdom which are born from that love are meant by 'eyes'; and wisdom born from that love consists in having God constantly before one's eyes. This is self-evidently so because the subject is love to Jehovah God. The declaration that they should love Him with all their heart, with all their soul, and with all their strength, means that they should do so with all their human powers. 'With the heart' means with the will where the good of love resides, 7542, 9050, 9300, 9495; and 'with the soul' means with the understanding where the truth of faith resides, and so with faith, 9050. These two powers belong to the internal man. 'With all their strength' means with those powers of will and understanding as they exist in the external man. The strength and power of the love of both, of the external man and of the internal, are meant by 'hands', 4931-4937, 7518; and this is why it says that those words were to be bound 'as a sign on the hand'.

[5] Since 'the forehead' by virtue of its correspondence means celestial or heavenly love with those who are good, with those who are bad it accordingly means hellish love, which is the opposite of heavenly. The forehead of the latter is called a bronze forehead in Isaiah 48:4, and an obstinate forehead in Ezekiel 3:7-8. And in reference to those ruled by hellish love it is said that they had the mark of the beast on their foreheads, Revelation 13:16; 14:9; 20:4, and also the name of Babylon on their foreheads, Revelation 17:5.