Secrets of Heaven · Volume 3 · §§ 2215–2294

2215. Sarah denied, saying, I laughed not, for she was afraid. That this signifies that human rational truth wished to excuse itself, because it observed that it was not such as it ought to be, is evident without explication.

2216. He said, Nay, for thou didst laugh. That this signifies that nevertheless it was such, is also evident without explication. How the case is with these things is evident from what is said above (n. 2072) concerning the signification of “laughing,” or of “laughter,” that it is an affection of the rational, and indeed the affection of truth or of falsity, in the rational, that is the source of all laughter. So long as there is in the rational such an affection as displays itself in laughter, so long there is in it something corporeal or worldly, and thus merely human. Celestial good and spiritual good do not laugh, but express their delight and cheerfulness in the face, the speech, and the gesture, in another way; for there are very many things in laughter, for the most part something of contempt, which, even if it does not appear, nevertheless lies concealed; and laughter is easily distinguished from cheerfulness of the mind, which also produces something similar to it. The state of the human rational with the Lord is described by Sarah’s “laughing;” and thereby is signified with what kind of affection the truth of the rational, at that time separated from good, regarded what was said: that it should be put off, and the Divine put on; not that the Lord laughed, but that He perceived from the Divine what the rational still was, and how much of the human there still was in it, and which was to be expelled. In the internal sense this is what is signified by Sarah’s “laughing.”

2217. Verse 16. And the men rose up thence, and looked toward the faces of Sodom, and Abraham went with them to send them away. “The men rose up thence,” signifies that that perception came to an end; “and looked toward the faces of Sodom,” signifies the state of the human race; “Sodom” is all evil from the love of self; “and Abraham went with them,” signifies that the Lord still remained with them in perception, but concerning the human race; “to send them away,” signifies that He willed to withdraw from that perception.

2218. The men rose up. That this signifies that that perception came to an end, is evident from the signification of “rising up,” as being to go away; and from that of the “men,” described above. By the coming of the three men, or of Jehovah, to Abraham, was represented the Lord’s Divine perception, as shown above. The Lord’s perception from the Divine at that time was first concerning the Divine Trine, which is the Divine Itself, the Divine Human, and the Proceeding. Afterwards it was concerning His Human, that it should put on the Divine. Now follows a perception from the Divine concerning the human race, as regards its quality. These three things are what are treated of in this chapter, and they follow in order, namely, that the Divine assumed the Human, and made this Divine, in order that it might save the human race. Concerning the former two it is said that the perception came to an end, which is meant in the internal sense by the “men rising up;” but the perception concerning the human race, as regards its quality, is signified in the internal sense by their “looking to the faces of Sodom, and by Abraham going with them;” and that the Lord did not will to remain in that perception, is signified by Abraham “going with them to send them away.” How the case is with these things can be better seen from the Contents which were premised, as also from the explication of what follows.

2219. They looked toward the faces of Sodom. That this signifies the state of the human race, is evident from the signification of “looking to the faces,” here, to the faces of Sodom. By “faces” are signified all man’s interiors, both good and evil, for the reason that they shine forth from the face (as shown in volume 1, n. 358). Here therefore “faces,” because predicated of Sodom, signify interior evils, which are those of the love of self, and which evils in general are meant by “Sodom,” as will be evident from what now follows. That the worst evils of all originate from the love of self, is because the love of self is destructive of human society (as shown above, n. 2045), and of heavenly society (n. 2057); and since the perversity of the human race is thence known, by the “faces of Sodom” is here signified the state of the human race.

[2] Moreover it has been shown in volume 1, in various places, what the nature of the love of self is, namely, that it is diametrically contrary to the order into which man was created. Man is distinguished above beasts by having a rational given him, to the end that everyone may will well and do well to others, as in general so in particular. This is the order into which man has been created; consequently it is love to God and love toward the neighbor that should be man’s life, and by which he should be distinguished from brute animals. This is also the order of heaven, in which it was intended man should be while he lives in the world; thus in the Lord’s kingdom; and into this kingdom he would pass when he had put off the body that had been of service to him upon the earth, and there he would rise into a state continually advancing in heavenly perfection.

[3] But the love of self is the primary and indeed the only thing that destroys all this; and not so much so the love of the world, for this is indeed opposite to the spiritual things of faith, but the love of self is diametrically opposite to the celestial things of love; for he who loves himself loves no others, but endeavors to destroy all persons whatever that do not pay reverence to him; nor does he will well and do well to anyone, except to him who is a part of himself, or can be captivated so as to be a part of himself, like something inoculated as it were with his cupidities and phantasies. Hence it is evident that from the love of self there gush forth all hatreds, all revenges and cruelties, as also all infamous simulations and deceits, and thus all heinous things against the order of human society and against the order of heavenly society.

[4] Nay, so heinous is the love of self, that when its bonds are relaxed, that is, when opportunity of free range is given it, even with those who are in the lowest condition, it so rushes on, that it not only wills to exercise dominion over neighbors and those near at hand, but also over the universe, and even over the Supreme Divine Itself. Of this the man is indeed ignorant, because he is kept in bonds not well known to him, but insofar as these bonds are slackened (as before said), so far he rushes on; and this it has been given me to know from much experience in the other life. As these things lie hidden in the love of self, they who are in the love of self, and are not endowed with the bonds of conscience, above all others hold the Lord in hatred, consequently all the truths of faith, for these are the very laws of order in the Lord’s kingdom, and these they reject so as to abominate them, which also shows itself openly in the other life. This love is also the “serpent’s head,” which the “Seed of the woman” (that is, the Lord) “treads down” (concerning which see volume 1, n. 257).

[5] But the love of self is not always that which appears in the outward form as pride and haughtiness, for sometimes such persons are able to hold the neighbor in charity, for with some such an external is born, and with some it is contracted in early life, but is afterwards subjugated, the external still remaining. But those are in the love of self who despise others and make them of no account in comparison with themselves, and who care nothing for the common good, unless it is for them, and they themselves, as it were, are it, especially those who hate all by whom they are not favored and served, persecuting them, and so far as they are able depriving them of their possessions, honor, reputation, and even life. Let those who breathe such things in intention know that they are preeminently in the love of self.

2220. That “Sodom” is all evil from the love of self, is evident from the signification of “Sodom” in the Word. Although in the following chapter it appears as if the evil of the worst adultery was signified by “Sodom,” nevertheless in the internal sense nothing else than evil from the love of self is signified by it. In the Word also the abominations that well forth from the love of self are represented by adulteries of various kinds. That “Sodom” signifies in general all evil from the love of self, and “Gomorrah” all falsity therefrom, has been shown in volume 1 (n. 1212, 1663, 1682, 1689), and is further evident from the following passages in the Word. In Jeremiah:

A sword upon the Chaldeans, and upon the inhabitants of Babel, as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and the neighbor cities thereof, saith Jehovah, there shall not a man dwell there, and there shall not a son of man sojourn therein (Jer. 50:35, 40).

This passage treats of those signified by the Chaldeans, who are such as have profane falsity in their worship (see n. 1368); and of those signified by Babel, who are such as have profane evil in their worship (see n. 1182, 1326). Their condemnation is described by the “overthrow of Sodom,” that is, of evil in general, and by the “overthrow of Gomorrah,” that is, of falsity in general; because they also have in their worship the evil of the love of self, and the derivative falsity.

[2] In Amos:

I have overthrown you as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah; and ye became as a brand plucked out of the burning (Amos 4:11),

where Samaria is treated of, by which is signified the perverted spiritual church, and which in respect to evils in general contrary to the goods of charity is called “Sodom,” and in respect to falsities in general contrary to the truths of faith is called “Gomorrah;” and in respect to both (here as previously) is called the “overthrowing of God.” In Zephaniah:

Moab shall be as Sodom, and the sons of Ammon as Gomorrah, a forsaken place of the nettle, and a pit of salt, and a desolation even to eternity; this shall they have for their pride, because they have reproached and have enlarged upon the people of Jehovah Zebaoth (Zeph. 2:9-10),

where “Sodom” denotes evil from the love of self, and “Gomorrah” the derivative falsity, of both of which “desolation” is here predicated, as previously was “overthrow.” “Pride” is the love of self; to “reproach the people of Jehovah Zebaoth,” is to bring evil upon truths; and to “enlarge upon the people,” is to bring falsity upon them.

[3] In Ezekiel:

Thine elder sister is Samaria, that dwelleth at thy left hand, she and her daughters; and thy younger sister, that dwelleth at thy right hand, is Sodom and her daughters. Thy sister Sodom hath not done, she and her daughters, as thou hast done, thou and thy daughters. Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom; pride, satiety of bread, and security of ease, were in her and her daughters, and she did not strengthen the hand of the wretched and needy; and they became haughty, and committed abomination before Me (Ezek. 16:46-50),

where the abominations of Jerusalem are treated of, and are described by “Samaria” and “Sodom”; by “Samaria,” instead of Gomorrah, as to falsities, and by “Sodom” as to evils; and it is stated what is specifically signified by “Sodom,” for it is said, “this was the iniquity of Sodom,” to wit that it was the love of self, which is there signified by “pride.” That they turned away from the goods of charity, is signified by the “satiety of bread;” that they had acquiesced in these things, is signified by the “security of ease;” that they had no mercy, is described by their “not having strengthened the hand of the poor and needy;” and that all the cupidities thence derived are imbued with the love of self, is signified by their “daughters having become haughty;” the “daughters” are cupidities.

[4] Hence it is manifestly evident what “Sodom” is, thus that it is not according to the historic sense in the following chapter, but that such things are there signified in the internal sense as are described here by the prophet, namely, those which are of the love of self. But Sodom is here described more mildly because the abominations of Jerusalem are treated of as having been greater than those of Sodom, as is also evident from the Lord’s words in Matthew:

Verily I say unto you, it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment, than for that city (Matt. 10:15; Mark 6:11; Luke 10:12).

In John:

Their bodies shall lie upon the street of the great city which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt (Rev. 11:8),

where it is evident that by “Sodom” is not meant Sodom, nor Egypt by “Egypt,” for it is said that it is “spiritually called Sodom and Egypt;” “Sodom” denotes all evil from the love of self, and “Egypt” (instead of Gomorrah) all derivative falsity.

2221. Abraham went with them. That this signifies that the Lord still remained with them in perception, but concerning the human race, is evident from the series of things in the internal sense; for to “go with the three men” (that is, with Jehovah) is to be still in perception.

2222. To send them away. That this signifies that He willed to withdraw from that perception, is evident without explication. The reason is also manifest, namely, that the perception from the Divine, and the thought therefrom concerning the human race that such was their quality, struck Him with horror, for the Lord’s love toward the human race was so great that He willed to save all to eternity by the unition of His Human Essence with the Divine, and of the Divine with the Human, on which account, when He perceived that they were such, He willed to withdraw from the perception and derivative thought, which is signified by Abraham desiring to “send the men away.”

2223. Verse 17. And Jehovah said, Shall I hide from Abraham that which I do? “And Jehovah said,” signifies perception; “Shall I hide from Abraham that which I do?” signifies that nothing ought to be hidden before the Lord.

2224. Jehovah said. That this signifies perception, is evident from the signification of “saying,” as being to perceive (see n. 1898, 1919, 2080). Here, as it is Jehovah who “said,” the meaning is that the Lord perceived from the Divine.

2225. Shall I hide from Abraham that which I do? That this signifies that nothing ought to be hidden before the Lord, is evident from the representation of Abraham, as being the Lord in that state (as already explained several times in this chapter). That the rest of the words signify that nothing ought to be hidden, is evident. In this case the sense of the letter is similar to the internal sense, as occasionally elsewhere, especially where the essentials of faith are treated of, which, being necessary to salvation, are stated in the letter such as they are in the internal sense; as for example in Moses:

Jehovah our God is one Jehovah; and thou shalt love Jehovah thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strengths; and these words shall be upon thy heart (Deut. 6:4-6);

with other similar passages.

2226. Verse 18. And Abraham shall surely be for a nation great and numerous; and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him. “Abraham shall surely be for a nation great and numerous,” signifies that from the Lord will be all good and all the derivative truth; “and in him shall all the nations of the earth be blessed,” signifies that all who are in charity will be saved by Him.

2227. Abraham shall surely be for a nation great and numerous. That this signifies that all good and all the derivative truth will be from the Lord, is evident from the representation of Abraham, as being the Lord (often shown above), and also from the signification of a “nation,” as being good (explained n. 1159, 1258-1260, 1416, 1849); here a “nation great and numerous,” by which is signified good and the derivative truth. That “great” is predicated of good, and “numerous” of truth, appears from other places in the Word, but I must refrain from citing them here. The derivative truth, that is, truth from good, in the genuine sense is spiritual good. There are two kinds of good that are distinct from each other, namely, celestial good and spiritual good. Celestial good is that of love to the Lord, spiritual good is that of love toward the neighbor. From the former, or celestial good, comes the latter, or spiritual good; for no one can love the Lord unless he also loves his neighbor. In love to the Lord is love toward the neighbor; for love to the Lord is from the Lord, and thus is from love itself toward the universal human race. To be in love to the Lord is the same as to be in the Lord; and he who is in the Lord cannot be otherwise than in His love; which is toward the human race and thus toward the neighbor; thus is he in both kinds of good, celestial and spiritual. The former is the veriest good itself; but the latter is its truth, or the truth therefrom; which truth is spiritual good, as said. The former is what is signified by “great,” but the latter by “numerous.”

2228. All the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him. That this signifies that all who are in charity will be saved by Him, is evident from the signification of being “blessed,” as being to be endowed with all goods which are from a heavenly origin (as explained n. 981, 1096, 1420, 1422). They who are endowed with goods from a heavenly origin, that is, with both celestial and spiritual goods (concerning which just above, n. 2177), are also endowed with eternal salvation, that is, are saved. By “all the nations of the earth” are meant in the internal sense those who are in the good of love and of charity, as is evident from the signification of a “nation,” as being good (n. 1159, 1258-1260, 1416, 1849). That all men in the whole globe are not meant by “all the nations of the earth,” is evident to everyone, because there are very many among them who are not saved, but only those who are in charity, that is, who have attained the life of charity.

[2] That none may be unaware how the case is with the salvation of men after their decease, it shall be briefly stated. There are many who say that man is saved by faith, or, in their words, if he only has faith; but for the most part they are those who do not know what faith is. Some suppose that it is mere thought; some that it is an acknowledgment of something to be believed; some that it is the whole doctrine of faith, which is to be believed; and others otherwise. Thus in the bare knowledge of what faith is they wander in error; consequently in the knowledge of what that is by which man is saved. Faith, however, is not mere thought, nor is it an acknowledgment of something to be believed, nor a knowledge of all things which belong to the doctrine of faith. By these no one can be saved; for they can take root no deeper than in the thought, and thought saves no one, but the life which the man has procured for himself in the world by means of the knowledges of faith. This life remains; whereas all thought which does not accord with the life perishes, even so as to become none at all. The heavenly consociations are according to lives, and by no means according to thoughts which are not of the life. Thoughts which are not of the life are counterfeit, and such are altogether rejected.

[3] In general, life is twofold, being on the one hand infernal, on the other heavenly. Infernal life is acquired from all those ends, thoughts, and works which flow from the love of self, consequently from hatred against the neighbor; heavenly life, from all those ends, thoughts, and works which are of love toward the neighbor. The latter is the life to which all things that are called faith have regard, and which is procured by all things of faith. All this shows what faith is, namely, that it is charity, for to charity all things lead which are said to be of the doctrine of faith; in it they are all contained, and from it they are all derived. The soul, after the life of the body, is such as its love is.

2229. Verse 19. For I know him, because he will command his sons, and his house after him, and they will keep the way of Jehovah to do righteousness and judgment; that Jehovah may bring upon Abraham that which He hath spoken concerning him. “For I know him,” signifies that it is true; “because he will command his sons, and his house after him, and they will keep the way of Jehovah to do righteousness and judgment,” signifies that all the doctrine of charity and faith is from Him; “sons” are they who are in truths, “house,” they who are in goods, “way” is doctrine, “righteousness” has regard to good, “judgment” to truth; “that Jehovah may bring upon Abraham that which He hath spoken concerning him,” signifies that the Human Essence will for this reason be adjoined to the Divine Essence.

2230. For I know him. That this signifies that it is true, is evident from the signification of “knowing.” Properly speaking, to “know” [cognoscere] anyone is to know [scire] that he is of such and such a quality; and it is the same when the term is applied to anything, or to anything else: to “know” it means to know that such is its quality; and therefore to “know” [nosse] has reference to that which is predicated, and it signifies that that which is meant in accordance with the series of things is so, or is true.

2231. Because he will command his sons, and his house after him, and they will keep the way of Jehovah, to do righteousness and judgment. That this signifies that all the doctrine of charity and faith is from Him, is evident from the signification of a “son,” of a “house,” of a “way,” of righteousness,” and of “judgment;” which when summed up, or gathered into one sense, signify all the doctrine of charity and faith. For by “sons” are signified all who are in truths, by “house” all who are in goods, by a “way” the doctrine by which they are instructed, which doctrine in regard to good is signified by “righteousness,” and in regard to truth by “judgment.” Doctrine concerning good is the doctrine of charity, and doctrine concerning truth is the doctrine of faith.

[2] In general, there is only one doctrine, namely, the doctrine of charity, for (as before said, n. 2228) all things of faith look to charity. Between charity and faith there is no other difference than that between willing what is good and thinking what is good (for he who wills what is good also thinks what is good), thus than that between the will and the understanding. They who reflect, know that the will is one thing and the understanding another. This is also known in the learned world, and it plainly appears with those who will evil and yet from thought speak well; from all which it is evident to everyone that the will is one thing, and the understanding another; and thus that the human mind is distinguished into two parts, which do not make a one. Yet man was so created that these two parts should constitute one mind; nor should there be any other distinction (to speak by comparison) than such as there is between a flame and the light from it (love to the Lord and charity toward the neighbor being like the flame, and all perception and thought being like the light from it); thus love and charity should be the all of the perception and thought, that is should be in each and all things of them. Perception or thought concerning the quality of love and charity is that which is called faith.

[3] But as the human race began to will what is evil, to hate the neighbor, and to exercise revenges and cruelties, insomuch that that part of the mind which is called the will was altogether destroyed, men began to make a distinction between charity and faith, and to refer to faith all the doctrinal matters that were of their religion, and call them by the single term faith; and at length they went so far as to say that they could be saved by faith alone-by which they meant their doctrinal things-provided they merely believed these, no matter how they might live. Thus was charity separated from faith, which is then nothing else whatever (to speak by comparison) than a kind of light without flame, such as is wont to be the light of the sun in time of winter, which is cold and icy, insomuch that the vegetation of the earth grows torpid and dies; whereas faith from charity is like the light in the time of spring and summer, by which all things germinate and bloom.

[4] This may also be known from the fact that love and charity are celestial flame, and that faith is the spiritual light therefrom. In this manner also do they present themselves to perception and sight in the other life; for there the Lord’s celestial manifests itself before the angels by a flaming radiance like that of the sun, and the Lord’s spiritual by the light from this radiance, by which also angels and spirits are affected as to their interiors, in accordance with the life of love and charity that appertains to them. This is the source in the other life of joys and happinesses with all their varieties. And all this shows how the case is with the statement that faith alone saves.

2232. That “sons” are those who are in truths, is evident from the signification of a “son” in the Word as being truth (see n. 489, 491, 533, 1147). By “sons” in the abstract sense are signified truths; but as applied to man, “sons” denote all those who are in truths.

2233. That a “house” denotes those who are in goods, is evident from the signification of a “house,” as being good (see n. 710, 1708, 2048). By a “house,” or those born in the house, in the abstract sense goods are in like manner signified, but as applied to man they denote all who are in good.

2234. That a “way” denotes doctrine, is evident from the signification of a “way.” A “way” in the Word is predicated of truths, because truths lead to good and proceed from good (as is evident from the passages adduced in volume 1, n. 627); and as a “way” is predicated of truths, it denotes doctrine, because doctrine comprises in one complex all the things which lead to good, that is, to charity.

2235. That “righteousness” has regard to good, and “judgment” to truth, is evident from the signification of “righteousness,” and from the signification of “judgment.” In the Word, “righteousness and judgment” are many times named together, but what they signify in the internal sense has not yet been known. In the proximate sense “righteousness” is predicated of what is righteous or just [justus], and “judgment” of what is right [rectus]. There is what is righteous when anything is judged from good, and this according to conscience; but what is right when anything is judged from the law, and thus from the righteousness of the law, thus also according to conscience, because it has the law for its rule. But in the internal sense “righteousness” denotes that which is from good, and “judgment” that which is from truth. Good is all that which belongs to love and charity; truth is all that which belongs to the derivative faith. Truth derives its essence from good, and is called truth from good, just as faith derives its essence from love, and in the same way judgment from righteousness.

[2] That such is the signification of “righteousness and judgment” is evident from the following passages in the Word. In Jeremiah:

Thus saith Jehovah, Execute ye judgment and righteousness, and rescue the spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor. Woe to him that buildeth his house in that which is not righteousness and his chambers in that which is not judgment. Did not thy father eat and drink, and do judgment and righteousness? Then he had that which is good (Jer. 22:3, 13, 15),

where “judgment” denotes the things that are of truth, and “righteousness” the things that are of good. In Ezekiel:

If the wicked shall return from his sin, and do judgment and righteousness, all his sins that he hath sinned shall not be mentioned unto him; he hath done judgment and righteousness: he shall surely live. When the wicked turns himself from his wickedness, and does judgment and righteousness, for these he shall live (Ezek. 33:14, 16, 19),

where in like manner “judgment” denotes truth, which is of faith; and “righteousness” good, which is of charity.

[3] So in Amos:

Let judgment flow like waters, and righteousness like a mighty river (Amos 5:24).

In Isaiah:

Thus saith Jehovah, Keep ye judgment, and do righteousness, for My salvation is near to come, and My righteousness to reveal itself (Isa. 56:1).

In the same:

To peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David and upon his kingdom, to establish it, and to uphold it, with judgment and with righteousness, from henceforth and even to eternity (Isa. 9:7),

denoting that they are in the truths of faith and in the goods of charity.

In the same:

Jehovah is exalted, for He dwelleth on high; He hath filled Zion with judgment and righteousness (Isa. 33:5),

where “judgment” denotes faith, “righteousness” love, and “Zion” the church. “Judgment” stands first because love comes through faith; but when “righteousness” stands first, it is because the faith is from love, as in Hosea:

I will betroth thee unto Me to eternity, and I will betroth thee unto Me in righteousness and judgment, and in mercy and in compassions; and I will betroth thee unto Me in faith, and thou shalt know Jehovah (Hos. 2:19-20),

where “righteousness” stands first, as also “mercy,” which are of love; and “judgment” follows, as also “compassions,” which are of faith from love; both are called “faith” or “faithfulness.”

[4] In David:

Thy mercy, O Jehovah, is in the heavens, thy truth reacheth unto the skies [aetheres]; Thy righteousness is like the mountains of God, Thy judgments are a great deep (Ps. 36:5-6),

where both “mercy” and “righteousness” are in like manner of love, and “truth” and “judgments” are of faith. In the same:

Truth shall spring out of the earth, and righteousness shall look forth from heaven. Yea, Jehovah shall give good, and our land shall yield its increase (Ps. 85:11-12),

where “truth,” which is of faith, denotes “judgment,” and “righteousness” love or mercy. In Zechariah:

I will bring them, and they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem, and they shall be My people, and I will be their God in truth and in righteousness (Zech. 8:8),

from which also it is evident that “judgment” denotes truth, and “righteousness” good; because “truth” is here used in place of “judgment.” In like manner in David:

He that walketh perfect, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh truth (Ps. 15:2).

[5] As faith is of charity, or as truth is of good, the truths of good are occasionally called the “judgments of righteousness;” and thus “judgments” signify almost the same as “precepts;” as in Isaiah:

They will seek Me day by day, and desire to know My ways, as a nation that doeth righteousness and forsaketh not the judgment of their God; they will ask of Me judgments of righteousness, they will desire to draw near to God (Isa. 58:2).

That “precepts” signify the same may be seen in David:

Seven times a day have I praised Thee because of the judgments of Thy righteousness; all Thy precepts are righteousness (Ps. 119:164, 172).

It is especially said of the Lord that He “does judgment and righteousness,” when He creates man anew as in Jeremiah:

Let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth Me, that I am Jehovah that doeth mercy, judgment, and righteousness in the earth, for in these things I am well pleased (Jer. 9:24),

where mercy, which is of love, is described by “judgment and righteousness.” In the same:

I will raise up unto David a righteous offshoot, and He shall reign as King, and shall act intelligently, and shall do judgement and righteousness in the earth (Jer. 23:5; 33:15).

[6] Hence it is said in John:

If I go away, I will send the Comforter unto you; and when He is come, He will reprove the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment; of sin, because they believe not on Me; of righteousness, because I go unto My Father, and ye shall see Me no more; of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged (John 16:7-11).

“Sin” here denotes all unfaithfulness. His “reproving in regard to righteousness” means in regard to all that is against good, when yet the Lord united the Human to the Divine to save the world-which is the meaning of “I go unto My Father and ye shall see Me no more.” His “reproving in regard to judgment” means in regard to all that is against truth, when yet evils were cast down into their hells so as no longer to be able to inflict injury-which is meant by the prince of the world being judged. In general, His “reproving in regard to sin, righteousness, and judgment,” means that it was in regard to all unfaithfulness against good and truth; and thus that there was no charity and faith; for in ancient times by righteousness and judgment were understood, as regards the Lord, all mercy and grace; and as regards man, all charity and faith.

2236. That Jehovah may bring upon Abraham that which He hath spoken concerning him. That this signifies that on this account the Human Essence will be adjoined to the Divine Essence, is not so evident from the signification of the words as from the fact that all things said in the Word involve the Lord’s coming to unite the Human Essence to the Divine Essence, by which unition He should save the human race. These are the things signified in the internal sense by His “bringing upon Abraham that which He hath spoken concerning him.”

2237. Verse 20. And Jehovah said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah has become great, and because their sin has become very grievous. “Jehovah said,” signifies perception; “because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah has become great, and because their sin has become very grievous,” signifies that the falsity and evil of the love of self have grown even to consummation. “Cry” is falsity, and “sin” is evil.

2238. Jehovah said. That this signifies perception, is evident from the signification, in the historical sense, of “saying,” as being to perceive, as shown several times before. When the expression “Jehovah said” occurs in the historicals of the Word, it signifies a perception which is not altogether continuous with the previous one, but is a sequent one, and sometimes a new one (see also n. 2061).

2239. Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah has become great, and because their sin has become very grievous. That this signifies that the falsity and evil of the love of self have increased even to consummation, is evident from the signification of “Sodom,” as being evil from the love of self; and of “Gomorrah,” as being the derivative falsity (shown above, n. 2220); also from the signification of a “cry,” as being falsity; and of “sin,” as being evil (to be explained presently); from all which it is evident that the “cry having become great, and the sin having become very grievous,” signifies that the falsity and evil had come to their height, or to consummation. This is better seen from what follows, where it is said that if ten were found there the city should be spared (verse 32); by which is signified, if there were still any remains, that is, anything of good and truth; for when there is no longer anything of good and truth within man, there is then wasteness and desolation, consequently consummation (concerning which in the following verse).

2240. That a “cry” denotes falsity, and “sin” evil, is evident from the signification in the Word of a “cry.” That a “cry” signifies falsity, can be evident to no one unless he knows the internal sense of the Word. The word sometimes occurs in the Prophets, and when vastation and desolation are there treated of, it is said that men “howl and cry,” by which is signified that goods and truths have been vastated; and a term is there made use of by which in the internal sense falsity is described; as in Jeremiah:

A voice of the cry of the shepherds, and the howling of the powerful ones of the flock because Jehovah layeth waste their pasture (Jer. 25:36),

where the “cry of the shepherds” denotes that they are in falsity, from which there comes vastation.

[2] In the same:

Behold, waters rise up from the north, and shall become an overflowing stream, and shall overflow the land and the fullness thereof, the city and them that dwell therein and the men shall cry, and every inhabitant of the land shall howl, because of the day that cometh to lay waste (Jer. 47:2, 4),

where the desolation of faith is treated of, which is brought about by falsities; the “overflowing stream” is falsity (as shown in Part First, n. 705, 790).

[3] In Zephaniah:

The voice of a cry from the fish gate, and a howling from the second, and a great shattering from the hills, and their wealth shall become a spoil, and their houses a desolation (Zeph. 1:10, 13),

where also a “cry” is predicated of the falsities which lay waste.

[4] In Isaiah:

In the way of Horonaim they shall rouse up a cry of shattering, for the waters of Nimrim shall be desolations, for the grass has dried up, the herb is consumed, there is no green thing (Isa. 15:5, 6; Jer. 48:3), where the desolation of faith and its consummation is described by a “cry.”

[5] In Jeremiah:

Judah hath mourned, and her gates languish, they have been blackened upon the earth, and the cry of Jerusalem is gone up and their illustrious ones have sent their younger ones to the waters they came to the pits, they found no waters, they returned with their vessels empty (Jer. 14:2, 3),

where the “cry of Jerusalem” denotes falsities for by their “finding no waters” is signified that there were no knowledges of truth, which are ” waters” (as shown in Part First, n. 28, 680, 739).

[6] In Isaiah:

I will exult in Jerusalem and be glad in My people, and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying (Isa. 65:19),

where there “not being heard the voice of weeping” `denotes that there shall not be evil; “nor the voice of crying” denotes that there shall not be falsity. Very many of these things cannot be understood from the sense of the letter, but only from the internal sense, and this is the case with a “cry.”

[7] In the same:

Jehovah looked for judgment, but behold a scab; for righteousness, but behold a cry (Jer. 5:7),

where also the vastation of good and truth is treated of. There is in this passage a kind of reciprocation, such as is occasionally found in the Prophets, and which is of such a nature that in the place of truth there is found evil, which is meant by there being “a scab instead of judgment;” and falsity in place of good, which is meant by there being “a cry instead of righteousness” (for that “judgment” is truth, and “righteousness” good, was shown above, n. 2235).

[8] There is a like reciprocation in Moses, where Sodom and Gomorrah are treated of:

Of the vine of Sodom is their vine, and of the fields of Gomorrah are their grapes; they have grapes of gall, clusters of bitternesses. (Deut. 32:32),

where there is a similar mode of speaking; for the “vine” is predicated of truths and falsities, and the “fields” and “grapes,” of goods and evils; so that “the vine of Sodom” is falsity from evil, and “the fields and grapes of Gomorrah” are evils from falsities; for there are two kinds of falsity (see volume 1, n. 1212); and so also there are two kinds of evil. Both kinds of falsity and evil are signified in this verse by the “cry of Sodom and Gomorrah having become great, and their sin having become exceeding grievous;” as is evident from the fact that “cry” is named in the first place, and “sin” in the second; and yet “Sodom,” which is evil from the love of self, is mentioned first; and “Gomorrah,” which is the derivative falsity, second.

2241. Verse 21. I will go down, I pray, and I will see whether they have made a consummation according to the cry thereof which is come unto Me, and if not I will know. “I will go down, I pray, and I will see,” signifies visitation; “whether they have made a consummation according to the cry thereof which is come unto Me, and if not I will know,” signifies whether the evil has arrived at its height.

2242. I will go down, I pray, and I will see. That this signifies visitation, is evident from the signification of “going down to see,” as being Judgment (explained in volume 1, n. 1311), consequently that it is visitation. The last time of the church in general, and that of everyone in particular, is called in the Word “visitation,” which precedes Judgment; thus a “visitation” is simply an exploration as to quality, that is, as to the quality of the church in general, or of a man in particular; and this exploration is expressed in the sense of the letter by Jehovah “going down and seeing.”

[2] This shows what is the nature of the sense of the letter, for Jehovah does not go down, since going down cannot be predicated of the Lord, because He is always in the highest; nor does Jehovah see whether a thing be so, for seeing whether it be so cannot be predicated of the Lord, because He knows all things from eternity both in general and in particular. Nevertheless it is so expressed because it appears to man as if it were so, for man is in things that are below, and when anything appears there, he does not think or even know how the case is with things that are above, thus neither how they flow in, for his thought goes no further than to what is nearest to him, and hence he cannot perceive otherwise than that there is some such thing as going down and seeing, and this the more because he imagines that no one knows what he is thinking; besides that he has no other idea than that there is a coming down from on high, and, when said of God, from the highest; whereas it is not from the highest, but from the inmost.

[3] This shows what is the nature of the sense of the letter, namely, that it is according to appearances and if it were not according to appearances, no one would understand and acknowledge the Word; thus no one would receive it. But the angels are not in appearances in the way that man is, and therefore while the Word as to the sense of the letter is for man, as to the internal sense it is for the angels, as also for those men to whom of the Lord’s Divine mercy it is given, while living in the world, to be like the angels.

[4] “Visitation” is mentioned in various places in the Word, and by it is signified either vastation-whether of the church or of each man-or deliverance, and thus exploration as to quality. It denotes vastation in Isaiah:

What will ye do in the day of visitation? it shall come from far. To whom will ye flee for help? and where will ye leave your glory? (Isa. 10:3).

And again:

The stars of the heavens and the constellations thereof shall not shine with their light, the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine, and I will visit evil upon the world, and upon the wicked their iniquity (Isa. 13:10, 11).

That by the stars and constellations which shall not shine, and the sun which shall be darkened, and the moon which shall not make her light to shine, is signified that there will be no love and no charity, may be seen above (n. 2120); and as this is vastation, it is the “day of visitation.”

[5] In Jeremiah:

They shall fall among them that fall, and in the time of their visitation they shall stumble (Jer. 8:12);

meaning the time when they have been vastated, or when there is no charity and faith. In Ezekiel:

The visitations of the city have come near, and every man with his instrument of destruction in his hand (Ezek. 9:1).

Here also vastation is treated of; hence every man has an instrument of destruction. In Hosea:

The days of visitation are come, the days of retribution are come (Hos. 9:7).

In Micah:

The day of thy watchmen, thy visitation, is come; now shall be their perplexity (Micah 7:4),

also denoting vastated charity. In Moses:

In the day of My visiting, and I will visit upon them their sin (Exod. 32:34),

where the people in the wilderness are treated of, after they had made for themselves the golden calf. That deliverance is signified by “visitation” is plain from many passages (as Exod. 3:16; 4:31; Jer. 27:22; 29:10; Luke 1:68, 78; 19:41-42).

2243. Whether they have made a consummation according to the cry of it which is come unto Me, and if not I will know. That this signifies whether evil has arrived at its height, is evident from the signification of a “cry,” as being falsity (explained just above, n. 2240). As there said (near the end) there are two kinds of falsity, namely, the falsity which is from evil, and the falsity which produces evil. The falsity which is from evil is all that which a man thinks when he is in evil, namely, all that favors his evil; as for example, when he is in adultery, that which he then thinks about adultery: that it is allowable, that it is becoming, that it is the delight of life, that the procreation of offspring is thereby promoted, and so on; all these thoughts being falsities from evil.

[2] But the falsity which produces evil takes place when from his religious belief a man conceives some principle, and consequently believes that it is good or holy, when yet in itself it is evil. For example, he who believes from his religion that there is some man who can save, and therefore worships and adores him, does evil from that falsity; and the same is true in regard to any other religious belief which in itself is false. As therefore falsity is from evil, and falsity produces evil, the expression “cry” is here used, signifying, as a kind of general expression, that which it involves, namely, evil; as is also evident from its being said, “whether they have made a consummation according to the cry of it which is come unto Me;” where “its cry” is put in the singular number, and “they have made a consummation,” in the plural.

[3] What a “consummation” is, was shown in volume 1 (n. 1857); and what a consummation is further, may be comprehended from the churches. The Most Ancient Church, which was called “Man,” was the most celestial of all. This in process of time so far degenerated from the good of love, that at length nothing celestial remained, and then was its consummation, which is described by the state of those just before the flood.

[4] The Ancient Church (which was after the flood and was called “Noah,” and was less celestial) also in course of time so departed from the good of charity, that nothing of charity remained, for it was turned partly into magic, partly into idolatry, and partly into a kind of dogmatic system separate from charity; and then was its consummation.

[5] Another church succeeded, called the Hebrew Church, which was still less celestial and spiritual, placing somewhat of holy worship in external rites. This in course of time was distorted in various ways, and that external worship was turned into idolatry; and then was its consummation.

[6] A fourth church was then restored among the posterity of Jacob, which had nothing celestial and spiritual, but only a representative of it; and therefore that church was a church representative of celestial and spiritual things, inasmuch as they did not know what their rites represented and signified; but it was instituted in order that there might still be some connection between man and heaven, such as there is between the representatives of good and truth, and good and truth themselves. This church at length so fell away into falsities and evils that every rite became idolatrous; and then was its consummation. Therefore, after the churches had thus successively declined-when in the last one the connection between the human race and heaven was altogether broken, insomuch that the human race would have perished because there was no church by which there could be a connection and a bond (see n. 468, 637, 931, 2054).

[7] The Lord then came into the world, and by the unition of the Divine Essence with the Human Essence in Himself, conjoined heaven with earth, and at the same time He set up again a new church, called the Christian Church, which at first was in the good of faith, and its members lived in charity with one another as brethren. But in process of time this church has departed in diverse ways, and at the present day has become such that its members do not even know that the fundamental of faith is love to the Lord and charity toward the neighbor; and although they say from doctrine that the Lord is the Saviour of the human race, that they are to rise again after death, and that there is a heaven and a hell, yet few believe it. As this church has become such, its consummation is not far off.

[8] All this shows what “consummation” is, namely, that it is when evil has come to its height. The case is similar in particular, that is, with every man; but how the case is with consummation as regards each person in particular, will of the Lord’s Divine mercy be told in what follows. Consummation is treated of in the Word in various places, and the state which precedes is described by “vastation” and “desolation,” which is followed by “visitation.”

2244. Verse 22. And the men looked forth thence and went toward Sodom; and Abraham as yet he was standing before Jehovah. “The men looked forth thence,” signifies the Lord’s thought from the Divine; “and went toward Sodom,” signifies concerning the human race as being in such great evil; “and Abraham as yet he was standing before Jehovah,” signifies the Lord’s thought from the Human which was adjoined in the manner stated above.

2245. The men looked forth thence. That this signifies the Lord’s thought from the Divine, is evident from the signification of “looking forth,” as being to think (for to “see,” in the internal sense, as in common discourse, is to understand, since understanding is internal sight, and in the same way to “look forth” is to think, which is of the internal sight, that is, of the understanding); and also from the signification of “the men,” as being the Divine. In this chapter throughout mention is sometimes made of “the men,” and sometimes of “Jehovah” instead of “the men:” when mention is made of “the men” there is signified a Trine, namely, the Divine Itself, the Divine Human, and the Proceeding. The Lord’s thought from this Divine is signified by “the men looked forth thence.” The thought was from the Human conjoined with the Divine, which conjunction was treated of at the beginning of this chapter; but the perception from which came the thought was from the Divine, therefore mention is now made in this same verse of “Jehovah”-that “Abraham was standing before Jehovah;” and when the Human was conjoined with the Divine, there was also together with them the Proceeding.

2246. They went toward Sodom. That this signifies thought concerning the human race as being in such great evil, is evident from the signification of “Sodom,” as being evil from the love of self (see above, n. 2220); and of “looking forth toward the faces of Sodom,” as being toward the state of the human race (n. 2219). That “Sodom” signifies the state of the human race as being in such great evil, is because by “Sodom” is not meant Sodom, but all those in the universal world who are in the love of self; and by the description of Sodom is represented the state of all who are in that evil, as is evident from what follows. That the love of self is the fountain of all evils, thus evil itself, is evident from what was said and shown of it before (n. 2045, 2057, 2219), and therefore it is here said that they were in such great evil.

2247. Abraham as yet he was standing before Jehovah. That this signifies the Lord’s thought from the Human which was adjoined in the manner stated above, is evident from the representation of Abraham in this chapter, as being the Lord as to the Human; and from his “standing before Jehovah.” Hence it follows without explication, that it was the thought from the Human which was adjoined in the manner stated at the beginning of this chapter, as also above (n. 2245).

2248. Verse 23. And Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt Thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked? “Abraham drew near, and said,” signifies the Lord’s thought from the Human, which thought adjoined itself more closely to the Divine; “wilt Thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked?” signifies the Lord’s grief from love toward the human race, and His intercession, urging that possibly there might be what is good joined to them, although they were evil.

2249. And Abraham drew near, and said. That this signifies the Lord’s thought from the Human, which thought adjoined itself more closely to the Divine, follows from the things that precede, where the Lord’s thought concerning the human race is treated of: thus without explication. That in this chapter in the internal sense the state of the Lord’s thought and perception is so fully described, and at the beginning the state of the conjunction of the Lord’s Human with His Divine, will possibly appear to man as if it were not of so much importance.

[2] And yet it is of the greatest moment; for before the angels, to whom the internal sense is the Word, these things are presented to the life, together with their representatives, in a most beautiful form; besides numberless things that follow from them and bear their likeness, concerning the Lord’s conjunction with heaven, and the reception of His Divine in their human; for the ideas of angels are such that they relish such things above all others, and perceive them as being most pleasant; and they are also enlightened and confirmed by them more and more in regard to the unition of the Lord’s Human Essence with His Divine Essence; for the angels have been men, and when men they could not but think of the Lord as a man, and of the Lord as God, as also of the Divine Trinity, and form for themselves various ideas, although at that time they knew not of what quality these ideas were.

[3] For heavenly arcana are of such a nature that although they surpass all apprehension, yet everyone forms for himself some idea of them; for nothing can possibly be retained in the memory, still less enter into anything of thought, except by means of some idea formed in one way or another. And because their ideas could not be formed otherwise than from things in the world, or from things analogous to those in the world; and because fallacies then insinuated themselves from things not understood (which in the other life alienate the ideas of thought-which are then more internal-from the truth and good of faith),[4] in order that such things may be dispersed, so much is said in this chapter, in its internal sense, about the conjunction of the Lord’s Human with His divine, and about His perception and thought; and accordingly when the Word is read, these things are so presented to the perception of the angels that their former ideas, formed from other sources and from scruples easily springing therefrom, are gradually dissipated, and new ideas are insinuated that are in conformity with the light of truth in which the angels are. This takes place more with the spiritual angels than with the celestial; for according to the purification of their ideas are they perfected for the reception of celestial things. It is known that heaven is not pure before the Lord; and it is a truth that the angels are continually being perfected.

2250. Wilt Thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked? That this signifies the Lord’s grief from love toward the human race, and His intercession urging that possibly there might be what is good adjoined to them although they were evil, is evident from the zeal of love that here shines forth, and still more in verse 25 just below, where it is said, “Be it far from Thee to do according to this thing, to cause the righteous to die with the wicked, that so the righteous be as the wicked; be it far from Thee; shall not the Judge of all the earth do judgment?” The same is evident from the signification of “the righteous” as being good (see n. 612, 2235), and from the signification of “the wicked” as being opposite to “the righteous,” that is, opposite to good, thus evil. It is likewise evident from these words, as also from the things that follow in this chapter, that there is intercession. The Lord’s intercession for the human race existed at the time when He was in the world, and in fact when He was in a state of humiliation, for as before said, He then spoke with Jehovah as with another. But of course in His state of glorification when the Human Essence has become united to the Divine Essence, and is itself also Jehovah, He does not intercede, but has mercy and affords aid from His Divine, and saves. It is Mercy itself which is the intercession, for such is its essence.

2251. Verse 24. Peradventure there be fifty righteous in the midst of the city; wilt Thou also destroy and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous that are in the midst of it? “Peradventure there be fifty righteous in the midst of the city,” signifies that possibly the truths may be full of goods; “wilt Thou also destroy and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous that are in the midst of it?” signifies intercession from love, that in such case they should not perish.

2252. Peradventure there be fifty righteous in the midst of the city. That this signifies that the truths may possibly be full of goods, is evident from the signification of “fifty,” as being what is full; from the signification of “righteous” as being good (see n. 612, 2235); from that of the “midst,” as being what is within (n. 1074); and from that of “city,” as being truth (n. 402). Thus “fifty righteous in the midst of the city,” means in the internal sense that truths may possibly be full of goods within. That there is this meaning in these words cannot be seen from the letter, for the historicals of the literal sense lead the mind in quite a different direction, that is, to different thoughts; and yet that these words are so perceived by those who are in the internal sense, I know of a certainty. The numbers themselves also, as here “fifty,” and in what follows “forty-five,” “forty,” “thirty,” “twenty,” and “ten,” are by no means perceived as numbers by those who are in the internal sense, but as real things or states (as is shown, n. 482, 487, 575, 647, 648, 755, 813, 1963, 2075).

[2] For the ancients marked the states of their church-in one way-by numbers; and the nature of their computation in so doing is evident from the signification of the numbers in the places just referred to. They had the signification of numbers from the representatives which exist in the world of spirits, where, when anything appears as numbered, it does not signify anything that is determined by the numbers, but the thing or state itself; as is evident from the things that have been adduced (n. 2129, 2130, also n. 2089) concerning “twelve,” as meaning all the things of faith. It is similar with the numbers which now follow. This shows what is the nature of the Word in the internal sense.

[3] That “fifty” signifies what is full, comes from its following next after the product of seven into seven, or forty-nine, so that it is the impletion of this number, on which account there was in the Representative Church the festival of the Seven Sabbaths on the fiftieth day, and the Jubilee in the fiftieth year. As regards the festival of the seven sabbaths we read in Moses:

Ye shall count unto you from the morrow of the sabbath, from the day that ye brought the sheaf of the wave-offering, seven entire sabbaths shall there be, even unto the morrow of the seventh sabbath shall ye count fifty days, and ye shall offer a new offering unto Jehovah (Lev. 23:15).

And concerning the Jubilee:

Thou shalt count for thee seven sabbaths of years, seven years seven times, and they shall be to thee seven sabbaths of years, nine and forty years, and ye shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty in the land to all the inhabitants thereof; it shall be a jubilee unto you (Lev. 25:8, 10),

which shows that the fiftieth is what is full in relation to sabbaths.

[4] Moreover, wherever “fifty” is mentioned in the Word, it signifies what is full; as when it is said that:

The Levites were numbered from a son of thirty years and upward, even unto a son of fifty years (Num. 4:23, 35, 39, 43, 47; 8:25);

meaning the full or final state of discharging the ministry.

That a man lying with a damsel, a virgin, shall give unto the damsel’s father fifty pieces of silver, and she should be to him for a wife, nor could he put her away (Deut. 22:29),

which denotes a full fine and full restitution.

David’s giving to Araunah for the threshing-floor where he built the altar to Jehovah, fifty shekels of silver (2 Sam. 24:24)

denotes a full price and a full purchase.

Absalom’s preparing for himself a chariot and horses, and having fifty men running before him (2 Sam. 15:1),

and in like manner:

Adonijah’s having chariots and horsemen, and fifty men running before him (1 Kings 1:5),

denotes full excellence and greatness. For they had from the ancients certain representative and significative numbers, which they observed, and which were also commanded in their rites; but most of them did not know what they signified.

[5] And in the same way, as “fifty” signifies what is full, and as this number was also representative-already said-the same thing is signified by it in the Lord’s parable of the steward, who said to him that owed the oil:

How much owest thou unto my lord? And he said, a hundred baths of oil. And he said unto him, take thy bond, and sit down quickly, and write fifty (Luke 16:6);

“fifty” denoting full payment. As fifty is a number, it indeed appears to involve nothing beyond the number; whereas in the internal sense what is full is everywhere meant by it, as in Haggai:

One came to the wine-press to draw out fifty out of the wine-press; there were twenty (Hag. 2:16),

that is, instead of fullness there was not much. “Fifty” could not have been mentioned here in the Prophet unless it had been significative.

2253. Wilt thou also destroy and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous that are in the midst of it? That this signifies intercession from love-that they should not perish-is evident from the signification of “fifty,” and of “righteous,” as also of “the midst of it,” that is, of the city (concerning which just above, n. 2252), all of which things involve intercession from love, and that they should not perish. (As regards the intercession, see above, n. 2250.) That it was from love is also manifest. With the Lord, when He was in the world, there was no other life than the life of love toward the universal human race, which He ardently desired to eternally save. This is the veriest celestial life, by which He united Himself to the Divine, and the Divine to Himself-for Esse itself, or Jehovah, is nothing else than Mercy, which is of love to the universal human race-and that life was one of pure love, which is never possible with any man. They who do not know what life is, and that the life is such as the love, do not comprehend this. This shows that insofar as anyone loves his neighbor, insofar he partakes of the Lord’s life.

2254. Verse 25. Be it far from Thee to do according to this thing, to cause the righteous to die with the wicked, that so the righteous be as the wicked; be it far from Thee; shall not the Judge of all the earth do judgment? “Be it far from Thee to do according to this thing,” signifies the Lord’s horror; “to cause the righteous to die with the wicked, that so the righteous be as the wicked,” signifies that good cannot die, because evil can be separated from it; “be it far from Thee,” signifies a greater degree of horror; “shall not the Judge of all the earth do judgment?” signifies that the Divine good cannot do this, after the manner of truth separated from good.

2255. Be it far from Thee to do according to this thing. That this signifies the Lord’s horror, is evident without explication.

2256. To cause the righteous to die with the wicked, that so the righteous be as the wicked. That this signifies that good cannot die, because evil can be separated from it, is evident from the signification of “righteous,” as being good, and of “wicked,” as being evil (see above, n. 2250). Hence to “cause the righteous to die with the wicked,” is to make good die with evil. As this ought not to be done, and causes horror to think of, it is removed in the internal sense, and then there is presented this: that good cannot die, because evil can be separated from it.

[2] How this matter stands, is known to few, if any. Be it known that all the good a man has thought and done from infancy even to the last of his life, remains; in like manner all the evil, so that not the least of it completely perishes. Both are inscribed on his book of life (that is, on each of his memories), and on his nature (that is, his native disposition and genius). From these he has formed for himself a life, and so to speak a soul, which after death is of a corresponding quality. But goods are never so commingled with evils, nor evils with goods, that they cannot be separated; for if they should be commingled, the man would eternally perish. In relation to this the Lord exercises His providence, and when a man comes into the other life, if he has lived in the good of love and of charity, the Lord then separates his evils, and by what is good with him elevates him into heaven. But if he has lived in evils, that is, in things contrary to love and charity, the Lord then separates from him what is good, and his evils bring him into hell. Such is the lot of everyone after death; but it is a separation, and in no wise a complete removal.

[3] Moreover, as the will of man, which is the one part of his life, has been utterly destroyed, the Lord separates this destroyed part from the other which is his intellectual part, and in those who are being regenerated, implants in this intellectual part the good of charity, and through this a new will; these are they who have conscience. Thus also, speaking generally, the Lord separates evil from good. These are the arcana which are meant in the internal sense by the statement that good cannot die, because evil can be separated from it.

2257. Be it far from Thee. That this signifies a greater degree of horror, is evident from the words being repeated; thus it also needs no explication.

2258. Shall not the Judge of all the earth do judgment? That this signifies that the Divine good cannot do this after the manner of truth separated from good, is evident from the signification of the “Judge of all the earth,” as also from the signification of “judgment.” The “Judge of all the earth,” signifies in the internal sense the good itself from which comes truth; which also in the representative Church was represented by the priests who were at the same time judges; for as priests they represented the Divine good, and as judges the Divine truth; but the “Judge of all the earth” means both, and this from the signification of “earth,” as explained in several places in volume 1. But to prove these things now from the representatives of that church would be too tedious. “Judgment,” however, signifies truth (as shown above, n. 2235). From these significations, and at the same time from the series of things in the internal sense, it is evident that “Shall not the Judge of all the earth do judgment?” signifies that the Divine good cannot do this after the manner of truth separated from good.

[2] In order to understand these things, be it known that there are two things which constitute the order of the universal heaven, and thence in the universe, namely, Good and Truth. Good is the essential of order, all the things of which are mercies. Truth is the secondary of order, all the things of which are truths. The Divine good adjudges all to heaven, but the Divine truth condemns all to hell; and therefore unless the Lord’s Mercy, which is of good, were eternal, all men, however many, would be condemned. This is what is signified by the statement that the Divine good cannot do this after the manner of truth separated from good. (See also what is said concerning this in volume 1, n. 1728.)

[3] That the evil are nevertheless condemned to hell, is not because the Divine good is separated from the Divine truth, but because the man separates himself from the Divine good. For the Lord in no case sends anyone down into hell, but the man sends himself, as has been already stated a number of times. In the following respect also the Divine good is conjoined with the Divine truth: that unless the evil were separated from the good, the evil would do harm to the good, and would be continually endeavoring to destroy order: thus that the good may not be harmed, is of Mercy. This stands just as in the kingdoms of the earth. If evils were not punished, the whole kingdom would be infected with evils, and so would perish; for which reason kings and judges show more mercy in punishing evils and in expelling from society those guilty of them, than by exercising in their behalf an unseasonable clemency.

2259. Verse 26. And Jehovah said, If I find in Sodom fifty righteous in the midst of the city, I will spare all the place for their sake. “Jehovah said,” signifies perception; “If I find in Sodom fifty righteous in the midst of the city,” signifies here as before, if truths are full of goods; “I will spare all the place for their sake,” signifies that they will be saved.

2260. Jehovah said. That this signifies perception, is evident from the signification of “Jehovah’s saying,” in the historic Word, as being representative of the Lord’s perception from the Divine, and something of thought following therefrom, and some reply. (Concerning the expression “Jehovah said,” see above, n. 2238.)

2261. If I find in Sodom fifty righteous in the midst of the city. That this signifies if truths are full of goods, is evident from the signification of “fifty,” as being what is full, and from the signification of “the midst of the city,” as being within truth, or in truth (as explained above, n. 2252, where the same words occur). It may be supposed that a man cannot but be saved if truths are full of goods. But be it known that there are very few truths with man, and that if there are any, they have no life unless there are goods in them; and that if there are goods in them, he is saved, but from Mercy. For, as before said, the truths with man are very few; and the goods which are in them have their quality in accordance with the truths, and the man’s life.

[2] Regarded in themselves, truths do not give life. It is goods that give life. Truths are only recipients of life, that is, of good. And therefore no one can ever say that he can be saved by truths (or as the common expression is, by faith alone), unless there is good in the truths which are of faith, and this good that must be in the truths must be the good of charity; hence faith itself, in the internal sense, is nothing else than charity (as shown above, n. 2231). As regards people’s saying that the acknowledgment of truth is the faith that saves, be it known that with those who live in things contrary to charity, there cannot possibly be any acknowledgment but only persuasion, to which there has been adjoined the life of the love of self or of the world; thus in the acknowledgment they refer to there is not the life of faith, which is that of charity. The worst men of all-from the love of self or the world, that is, for the sake of being eminent above others in what is called intelligence and wisdom, and thus of winning honors, reputation, and gains-can learn the truths of faith, and confirm them by many things; but still with them these truths are dead.

[3] The life of truth, and thus of faith, is solely from the Lord, who is life itself. The Lord’s life is mercy, which is that of love toward the universal human race. In the Lord’s life those can in no wise have part who although they profess the truths of faith despise others in comparison with themselves, and who, when their life of the love of self and of the world is touched, hold the neighbor in hatred, and take delight in his loss of wealth, of honor, of reputation, and of life. But the case with the truths of faith is that by means of them man is regenerated, for they are the veriest vessels recipient of good. Such therefore as are the truths, and such as are the goods in the truths, and such as is their conjunction and the consequent capability of being perfected in the other life, such is the state of blessedness and happiness after death.

2262. I will spare all the place for their sake. That this signifies that they will be saved, follows from the series as a conclusion, and thus without explication. “Place” signifies state (as shown above, n. 1273, 1378), and therefore it is here said the “place” instead of the “city,” to signify that they who are in such a state would be saved.

2263. Verse 27. And Abraham answered and said, Behold I pray I have taken upon me to speak unto my Lord, and I am dust and ashes. “Abraham answered and said,” signifies the Lord’s thought from the human; “Behold I pray I have taken upon me to speak unto my Lord, and I am dust and ashes,” signifies the humiliation of the human as to its relative quality.

2264. Abraham answered and said. That this signifies the Lord’s thought from the human, is evident from the signification of “Abraham” in this chapter, as being the Lord in respect to the human, concerning which several times above.

2265. Behold I pray I have taken upon me to speak unto my Lord, and I am dust and ashes. That this signifies the humiliation of the human as to its relative quality, is evident. The Lord’s state in the human (or His state of humiliation), and the Lord’s state in the Divine (or His state of glorification), have been treated of several times before; and it has been shown that in His state of humiliation the Lord spoke with Jehovah as with another; but in His state of glorification, as with Himself (n. 1999). As in the present passage Abraham (as before said) represents the Lord in His human, it is said in that state that relatively to the Divine the human is dust and ashes; on which account that state is also called His state of humiliation. The humiliation results from the self-acknowledgment that one is relatively of such a character. By the human in this place is not meant the Divine Human, but the human which the Lord derived from the mother, and which He utterly expelled, and put on in its stead the Divine Human. It is the former human, namely, the maternal human, of which “dust and ashes” are here predicated. (See what has been said above at n. 2159.)

2266. Verse 28. Peradventure there shall lack five of the fifty righteous; wilt Thou destroy all the city for five? And He said, I will not destroy it if I find there forty and five. “Peradventure there shall lack five of the fifty righteous,” signifies if there should be somewhat less; “wilt thou destroy all the city for five?” signifies, shall man perish for the little which is wanting? “and He said, I will not destroy it if I find there forty and five,” signifies that he should not perish if good and truth could be conjoined together.

2267. Peradventure there shall lack five of the fifty righteous. That this signifies if there should be somewhat less, is evident from the signification of “five,” as being a little, or less (in regard to which signification of this number, see volume 1, n. 649). What the “fifty righteous” signify, has been shown above (n. 2252).

2268. Wilt Thou destroy all the city for five? That this signifies shall man perish for the little which is wanting, is evident from the signification of “five” as being a little (as just stated); and from the signification of a “city,” as being truth, also explained before. In regard to the truths in it the human mind is compared in the Word to a “city,” and is also so called; and in regard to the goods which are in the truths, it is compared to the inhabitants of the city, and the goods are also so called; for the case as regards these is much the same. If the truths which are in man’s memories, and in the thoughts of his mind, are devoid of goods, they are like a city without inhabitants, and are in the same way vacant and empty. Nay, even of the angels it may be declared that when a man lives in love to the Lord, and in charity toward the neighbor, they dwell as it were in his truths, and insinuate affections of good from the Lord; for they are delighted to dwell thus, that is, to live with such men. Very different is it with those who are in some truths, but in no goods of charity.

2269. And He said, I will not destroy it if I find there forty and five. That this signifies that man should not perish if good and truth could be conjoined together, is evident from the signification of the number forty-five, as being conjunction. It has been already shown that the simple numbers retain their signification even when they are multiplied; and that consequently the greater numbers have a signification similar to that of the less; and such is the case with forty-five, which number is compounded by the multiplication of five into nine; and as it has been compounded by the multiplication of five into nine, it has the same signification as have “five” and “nine.” That “five” signifies a little, was shown above (n. 649), and that “nine” signifies conjunction, or what is conjoined (n. 2075); and thus the signification here is: If goods have in some measure been conjoined with truths. That in the Word numbers signify actual things, or states, is evident from what was said about fifty (n. 2252); also from what has been shown before concerning numbers (n. 482, 487, 575, 647, 648, 755, 813, 1963, 1988).

[2] It is because “five” signifies a little, and “forty-five” conjunction, that the very setting forth of these numbers in this verse is of such a nature, for it is said, “Peradventure there shall lack five of the fifty righteous;” and by this is signified, If there should be somewhat less; and then it is said, “Wilt Thou destroy all the city for five?” by which is signified, Shall they perish for the little which is wanting? For as “five” signifies a little, this number is not employed again, but it is said, “I will not destroy it if I find there forty and five;” by which is signified that they would not perish if good and truth could be conjoined together. The reason also of its being said here “forty and five,” and not “if there lack five of fifty,” is because “five” not only signifies a little (as was shown, n. 649), but also signifies disjunction (as was likewise shown in volume 1, n. 1686); and therefore in order that not disjunction, but conjunction, might be signified, this number forty-five is named; for “forty-five” denotes some conjunction, as stated above; and thus in the internal sense all things follow on in a beautiful sequence Of their own.

[3] As regards the conjunction of good with truth, it is an arcanum which cannot be described so that it can be grasped by the ordinary comprehension. It must be told in a few words. The more genuine and pure the truth, the better can the good which is from the Lord be adapted into it as its recipient vessel; but the less genuine and pure the truth, the less can the good which is from the Lord be adapted into it; for they must correspond to each other, and the conjunction of the two is effected according to the correspondence. Goods cannot possibly be insinuated into falsities, nor evils into truths, as their recipient vessels; for they are of a contrary character and nature, the one casting out the other as its enemy; nay, should they attempt to conjoin themselves together, the one would spew out the other, that is to say, good would spew out evil as if it were poison, and evil would spew out good as if it were an emetic. Such enmity between good and evil has been provided by the Lord in order to prevent the possibility of their being commingled, for if they were commingled, the man would perish. In the deceitful and in hypocrites they are not far from being conjoined together, but still precautions are taken by the Lord in order to prevent their being so conjoined. This is the reason why in the other life those who are deceitful and those who are hypocrites suffer things more direful than those which are suffered by any others.

2270. Verse 29. And he added yet to speak unto Him, and said, Peradventure forty shall be found there; and He said, I will not do it for forty’s sake. “He added yet to speak unto Him,” signifies thought; “and said, Peradventure forty shall be found there,” signifies those who have been in temptations; “and He said, I will not do it for forty’s sake,” signifies that they shall be saved.

2271. He added yet to speak unto Him. That this signifies thought, is evident from the signification in the internal sense of “speaking.” To “speak” or “speaking” is nothing else than that which flows forth from the thought; and as internal things are signified by external things-like understanding by “seeing,” the understanding by the “eye,” obedience by the “ear,” and so forth-so thinking is signified by “speaking.”

2272. And he said, Peradventure forty shall be found there. That this signifies those who have been in temptation, is evident from the signification of the number forty, as being temptations (explained in volume 1, n. 730). How these things follow on in a series may be seen from temptations. Temptations take place to the end not only that the man may be confirmed in truths, but also that truths may be more closely conjoined with goods; for man is then battling for truths against falsities, and as he is then in interior distress and in torment, the delights of the life of cupidities and their derivative pleasures come to a cessation; and then goods flow in from the Lord, the consequence of which is that evils are at the same time regarded as abominable, and the effect of this is new thoughts of a nature contrary to those possessed before, to which the man may afterwards be bent, thus from evils to goods, and these goods be conjoined with truths. And as the conjunction of good with truth is effected by means of temptations, and as it has been said in a former verse that those would be saved with whom goods can be conjoined with truths, therefore there follows what is here said; and indeed in such words as to signify that goods and truths can be conjoined by means of temptations. This is the connection of the subject matters for those who are in the internal sense.

2273. And He said, I will not do it for forty’s sake. That this signifies that they will be saved, is evident without any unfolding of the meaning. As regards those who in the preceding verse are signified by “forty-five,” it was said, “I will not destroy it if I find forty and five,” and the signification was that they should not perish if goods were able to be conjoined with truths, and there here follows a statement concerning the forty: “I will not do it for forty’s sake;” by which is not signified that they should be saved on account of temptations, for there are some who even undergo temptations and who yield in them; and therefore with these goods are not conjoined. I would even say that a man is not saved on account of temptations if he places anything of merit in them; for if he does this, it is from the love of self, in that he congratulates himself on their account, and believes that he has merited heaven more than others, and at the same time he is thinking of his own preeminence over others by despising others in comparison with himself; all of which things are contrary to mutual love, and therefore to heavenly blessedness.

[2] The temptations in which a man overcomes are attended with a belief that all others are more worthy than himself, and that he is infernal rather than heavenly; for while in temptations such ideas are presented to him; and therefore when after temptations he comes into thoughts contrary to these, it is an indication that he has not overcome; for the thoughts which the man has had in temptations are those to which can be bent the thoughts which he has after the temptations; and if the latter cannot be bent to the former, the man has either yielded in the temptation, or he again comes into similar ones, and sometimes into more grievous ones, until he has been reduced to such sanity that he believes he has merited nothing. Hence it is evident that by “forty” are here signified those with whom by means of temptations goods have been conjoined with truths.

2274. Verse 30. And he said, Oh let not my Lord be angry, and I will speak: peradventure thirty shall be found there; and He said, I will not do it if I find thirty there. “And he said, Oh let not my Lord be angry, and I will speak,” signifies anxiety concerning the human race; “peradventure thirty shall be found there,” signifies somewhat of combat; “and He said, I will not do it if I find thirty there,” signifies that these shall be saved.

2275. And he said, Oh let not my Lord be angry, and I will speak. That this signifies anxiety concerning the state of the human race, may be seen, not so much from the words, as from the affection that belongs to them. The internal sense of the Word contains within it two things, to wit, what is spiritual, and what is celestial. That which is spiritual consists in there being comprehended, abstractedly from the letter, actual things to which the literal sense serves as an object, just as do those things which the eye sees, when they serve as objects for suggesting thought about matters of a more exalted nature. That which is celestial consists in there being solely perceived the affection that belongs to the actual things that are in the internal sense. In the former are the spiritual angels, in the latter are the celestial angels. They who are in the latter, that is, in the affection, perceive at once from the affection alone what the letter involves when it is being read by man, and from it they form for themselves celestial ideas, and this with endless variety, and in an ineffable manner, in accordance with the onflowing harmony of the celestial things of love that are in the affection. From this we may see what the Word of the Lord contains within its remote recesses. When therefore these words are read: “Oh let not my Lord be angry, and I will speak,” the celestial angels at once perceive a certain anxiety, and indeed the anxiety of love toward the human race; and at the same time there are insinuated into them innumerable and ineffable things in regard to the anxiety of love which the Lord felt when He thought about the state of the human race.

2276. Peradventure thirty shall be found. That this signifies somewhat of combat, is evident from the signification of the number thirty. That “thirty” signifies somewhat of combat, thus but a little of combat, comes from the fact that this number is compounded by the multiplication of five (by which is signified some little), and six (by which is signified labor or combat, as was shown in volume 1, n. 649, 720, 737, 900, 1709).

[2] Hence also this number, wherever read in the Word, signifies something that is relatively little; as in Zechariah:

I said unto them, If it be good in your eyes, give me my hire; and if not, forbear; and they weighed my hire, thirty pieces of silver. And Jehovah said unto me, Cast it unto the potter, the goodly price* whereat I was valued by them; and I took the thirty silver pieces, and cast it to the potter in the house of Jehovah (Zech. 11:12-13);

denoting that they valued so little the Lord’s merit, and redemption and salvation by Him. The “potter” denotes reformation and regeneration.

[3] Hence the same thirty silver pieces are spoken of in Matthew:

They took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of Him whom they had bought from the sons of Israel, and gave them for the potter’s field, as the Lord commanded me (Matt. 27:9-10);

from which it is plainly evident that “thirty” here denotes the price of what is but little valued. The valuation of a servant who was held as being of little account, was thirty shekels; as is evident in Moses:

If the ox gore a manservant, or a maidservant, he shall give unto their master thirty shekels of silver; and the ox shall be stoned (Exod. 21:32).

Of how little account a servant was held, is evident in the same chapter (verses 20-21). In the internal sense a “servant” denotes labor.

[4] That the Levites were taken for the work of the ministerial office-which is described by the expression “one coming to exercise warfare, and to do the work in the tent”-from a “son of thirty years to one of fifty” (Num. 4:3, 23, 30, 35, 39, 43), was because “thirty” signified those who were being initiated, and who therefore could as yet exercise but little warfare as understood in the spiritual sense.

[5] So in other passages where “thirty” is named in the Word; as that they should offer “upon a son of an ox a meat-offering of three tenths” (Num. 15:9); which was because the sacrifice of an ox represented natural good (as shown above, n. 2180); and natural good is but little in comparison with spiritual good, which was represented by the sacrifice of a ram; and still less in comparison with celestial good, which was represented by the sacrifice of a lamb; in connection with which there was another rate of tenths for the meat-offering, as is evident in the same chapter (verses 4 to 6; also Num. 28:12-13, 20-21, 28-29; 29:3-4, 9-10, 14-15); which rates of tenths, or which proportions, would never have been commanded, unless they had involved heavenly arcana. In Mark also “thirty” denotes a little:

The seed which fell into good ground yielded fruit growing up and increasing, and brought forth, one thirty, and another sixty, and another a hundred (Mark 4:8),

where “thirty” denotes a small growth, and that which has labored but little. These numbers would not have been marked out for use, unless they had contained within them the things which they signify.

* Literally, “the magnificence of the price.” [Reviser.]

2277. He said, I will not do it if I find thirty there. That this signifies that these shall be saved, is evident from the series or connection of things in the internal sense, without any unfolding of the meaning.

2278. Verse 31. And he said, Behold I pray I have taken upon me to speak unto my Lord: peradventure twenty shall be found there; and He said, I will not destroy it for twenty’s sake. “He said, Behold I pray I have taken upon me to speak unto my Lord,” signifies here as before the humiliation of the human before the Divine; “peradventure twenty shall be found there,” signifies if there be not anything of combat, but still there be good “and He said, I will not destroy it for twenty’s sake,” signifies that they will be saved.

2279. He said, Behold I pray I have taken upon me to speak unto my Lord. That this signifies the humiliation of the human before the Divine, is evident from what was said above (n. 2265), where are the same words.

2280. Peradventure twenty shall be found there. That this signifies if there be not anything of combat, but still there be good, is evident from the signification of “twenty.” As all the numbers that are mentioned in the Word signify actual things, and states (as before said and shown in many places, see n. 2252), so also does “twenty;” and what it signifies can be seen from its derivation, namely, from twice ten. “Ten” in the Word, as also “tenths,” signify remains, by which is meant everything good and true that the Lord insinuates into man from infancy even to the end of his life, and which are treated of in the following verse. Twice ten, or double tenths, that is, twenty, signify the same, but in a higher degree, namely, good.

[2] Goods of three kinds are signified by remains, namely, the goods of infancy, the goods of ignorance, and the goods of intelligence. The goods of infancy are those which are insinuated into man from his very birth up to the age in which he is beginning to be instructed and to know something. The goods of ignorance are what are insinuated when he is being instructed and is beginning to know something. The goods of intelligence are what are insinuated when he is able to reflect upon what is good and what is true. The good of infancy exists from the man’s infancy up to the tenth year of his age; the good of ignorance, from this age up to his twentieth year. From this year the man begins to become rational, and to have the faculty of reflecting upon good and truth, and to procure for himself the good of intelligence.

[3] The good of ignorance is that which is signified by “twenty,” because those who are in the good of ignorance do not come into any temptation for no one is tempted before he is able to reflect, and in his own way to perceive the nature of good and truth. Those who have received goods by means of temptations have been treated of in the two immediately preceding verses; those who have not been in temptations, and yet have good, are now treated of in this verse.

[4] As those who have this good, which is called the good of ignorance, are signified by “twenty,” all those who went forth from Egypt were reckoned from “a son of twenty years” and upward; or as it is expressed, “everyone going forth into the army,” by whom are meant those who were no longer in the good of ignorance, concerning whom we read in Numbers (1:20, 24, 26, 28, 30, 32, 34, 38, 40, 42, 45; 26:4); and also that all those who were more than twenty years old died in the wilderness (32:10, 11), because evil could be imputed to them, and they represented those who yield in temptations; as well as that the valuing made of a male, from “a son of five years” to “a son of twenty years” was “twenty shekels” (Lev. 17:5); and another valuing from “a son of twenty years” old to one of sixty was fifty shekels (verse 3).

[5] As regards the before-mentioned goods, namely those of infancy, of ignorance, and of intelligence, the case is this. The good of intelligence is the best, for this is of wisdom the good which precedes it, namely that of ignorance, is indeed good, but as there is but little of intelligence in it, it cannot be called the good of wisdom; and as for the good of infancy, it is indeed good in itself, but still it is less good than the other two; for as yet there is not any truth of intelligence adjoined to it, and thus it has not become any good of wisdom, but it is only a plane for being able to become so; for it is the knowledges of good and truth that cause a man to be wise as a man. Infancy itself, by which is signified innocence, does not belong to infancy, but to wisdom; as can be better seen from what will be said about little children in the other life, at the end of this chapter.

[6] By “twenty,” in this verse, as has been said, there is signified no other good than the good of ignorance which good is not only declared to be with those who are under their twentieth year, as already said, but also with all who are in the good of charity and at the same time in ignorance of truth, as are those within the church who are in the good of charity, but from whatever cause, do not know what the truth of faith is; as is the case with very many of those who think devoutly about God and kindly about the neighbor; and as is also the case with all outside the church, who are called Gentiles, and who in like manner live in the good of charity. Both the latter and the former, although not in the truths of faith, yet being in good, are in the faculty of receiving the truths of faith in the other life equally as are little children; for their understanding has not as yet been tainted with principles of falsity, nor their will so confirmed in a life of evil, because they are ignorant of its being falsity and evil; and the life of charity is attended with this: that the falsity and evil of ignorance may be easily bent to truth and good. Not so is it with those who have confirmed themselves in things contrary to the truth, and at the same time have lived a life in things contrary to good.

[7] In other cases by “two tenths” in the Word is signified good both celestial and spiritual, good celestial and thence spiritual by the two tenths of which every loaf of the showbread or bread of faces was prepared (Lev. 24:5), and spiritual good by the two tenths of the meat-offering with the sacrifice of the ram (Num. 15:6; 28:12, 20, 28; 29:3, 9, 14), concerning which, of the Lord’s Divine mercy elsewhere.

2281. And He said I will not destroy it for twenty’s sake. That this signifies that they will be saved, is evident from the series of things in the internal sense, and thus without any unfolding of the meaning.

2282. Verse 32. And he said, Oh let not my Lord be angry, and I will speak but this once: peradventure ten shall be found there; and He said, I will not destroy it for ten’s sake. “He said, Oh let not my Lord be angry, and I will speak but this once,” signifies anxiety still continued concerning the state of the human race; “peradventure ten shall be found there,” signifies if there should still be remains; “and He said, I will not destroy it for ten’s sake,” signifies that they will be saved.

2283. He said, Oh let not my Lord be angry, and I will speak but this once. That this signifies anxiety still continued concerning the state of the human race, is evident from the affection of these words, as shown above (n. 2275), where the same words occur.

2284. Peradventure ten shall be found there. That this signifies if there should still be remains, is evident from the signification of the number “ten,” as being remains (explained in volume 1, n. 576, 1738). What remains are has been stated and shown before in various places (as in n. 468, 530, 560, 561, 660, 661, 1050, 1738, 1906), namely, that they are all the good and all the truth with man which lie stored up in his memories and in his life.

[2] It is well known that there is nothing good and nothing true, except from the Lord; and also that what is good and true is continually inflowing from the Lord into man, but that it is received in various ways, and in fact in accordance with the life of evil, and in accordance with the principles of falsity in which the man has confirmed himself. These are what either quench, or stifle, or pervert the goods and truths that are continually flowing in from the Lord. Lest therefore goods should be commingled with evils, and truths with falsities (for if they were commingled the man would perish eternally), the Lord separates them, and stores up in his interior man the goods and truths which the man receives; whence He will never permit them to come forth so long as the man is in evil and falsity, but only at such a time as he is in a holy state, or in some anxiety, sickness, or other trouble. These things which the Lord has thus stored up with man are what are called “remains,” of which very much mention is made in the Word; but it has not yet been known to anyone that this is what they signify.

[3] According to the quality and quantity of the remains-that is, of the good and truth with a man-does he enjoy bliss and happiness in the other life; for, as has been said, these remains are stored up in his interior man, and they are opened at the time when the man has left corporeal and worldly things behind. The Lord alone knows the quality and extent of the remains in a man; the man himself cannot possibly know this, for at the present day man is of such a character that he is able to counterfeit what is good, while within there is nothing but evil; and a man may also appear to be evil and yet have good within. On this account no man is ever allowed to judge concerning the quality of the spiritual life of another, for the Lord alone, as before said, knows this; but everyone may judge of another in regard to the quality of his moral and civil life, for this concerns society.

[4] It is very common for those who have taken up an opinion respecting any truth of faith, to judge of others that they cannot be saved, unless they believe as they do-a judgment which the Lord has forbidden (Matt. 7:1-2). On the other hand, I have learned from much experience that men of every religion are saved, provided that by a life of charity they have received remains of good and of apparent truth. This is what is meant by its being said that if ten were found, they should not be destroyed for the ten’s sake; by which is signified that they would be saved if there were remains.

[5] The life of charity consists in thinking kindly of another, and in wishing him well; and in perceiving joy in oneself from the fact that others also are saved. But those have not the life of charity who desire that none should be saved except those who believe as they do; and especially is this the case with those who are indignant that it is otherwise. This may be seen from the mere fact that more from the Gentiles are saved than from Christians; for those Gentiles who have thought kindly of their neighbor and have wished well to him, receive the truths of faith in the other life better than those who are called Christians, and acknowledge the Lord more than Christians do. For nothing is more delightful and blessed to the angels than to instruct those who come from the earth into the other life.

2285. I will not destroy it for ten’s sake. That this signifies that they will be saved, is evident from the series of the things in the internal sense, and thus without any unfolding of the meaning.

2286. Verse 33. And Jehovah went when He had completed His speaking unto Abraham; and Abraham returned unto his place. “Jehovah went when He had completed His speaking unto Abraham,” signifies that this state of perception in which the Lord was, then ceased to be such; “and Abraham returned unto his place,” signifies that the Lord returned into the state in which He had been before He perceived these things.

2287. Jehovah went when He had completed His speaking unto Abraham. That this signifies that this state of perception in which the Lord was, then ceased to be such, is evident from the signification of “speaking,” and from the representation of Abraham. “To speak,” in the internal sense, signifies to think (as shown above, n. 2271); but here it signifies to perceive, because it is declared of Jehovah that He “had completed His speaking” to Abraham; for the thought was from perception, as before said, and the perception was from the Lord’s internal, which was Jehovah. But “Abraham” in this chapter represents the Lord in the human state, as often stated above. From this we can see that by its being said that “Jehovah went when He had completed His speaking unto Abraham,” nothing else is signified in the internal sense than that the state of perception in which the Lord had been, then came to its close and completion. The reason why the Lord’s perception and thought are so much treated of in this chapter in the internal sense, may be seen above (n. 2249).

2288. Abraham returned to his place. That this signifies that the Lord returned into the state in which He had been before He perceived these things, is evident from the representation of Abraham in this chapter, as being the Lord in the human state; and from the signification of a “place,” as being a state (as shown above, volume 1, n. 1273, 1378); thus to “return to his place,” in the internal sense, here signifies to return to the state in which He had been before. That while He lived in this world the Lord had two states, namely, a state of humiliation and a state of glorification, has been said and shown before. His state of humiliation was when He was in the human which He took by inheritance from the mother; His state of glorification was when He was in the Divine which He had from Jehovah His Father. The former state, namely, that of the human from the mother, the Lord altogether put off, and put on the Divine Human, when He passed out of the world, and returned to the Divine Itself, in which He was from eternity (John 17:5), together with the Human made Divine; from both of which comes the Holy which fills the universal heaven. Thus from the Divine Itself and the Divine Human, by means of the proceeding Holy, He directs the universe.

2289. CONCERNING THE STATE OF LITTLE CHILDREN IN THE OTHER LIFE.

I have been given to know with certainty that all little children in the wide world who die, are raised again by the Lord and are taken up into heaven, and there are brought up and instructed among angels who have the care of them, and that they also grow up in proportion to their advance in intelligence and wisdom. From this we can see how immense is the Lord’s heaven from little children alone; for they are all instructed in the truths of faith and in the goods of mutual love, and become angels.

2290. They who know nothing about the state of the life after death may suppose that little children are in angelic intelligence and wisdom as soon as they come into the other life; but I have been instructed by much experience that such is not the case. Those who die not long after birth are of an infantile mind, almost as on earth, nor do they know anything more; for they possess only the faculty of knowing, and from this of understanding, and from this of being wise; which faculty is more perfect because they are not in the body, but are spirits. That they are so when they first come into heaven, has not merely been told, but has also been shown me; for of the Lord’s Divine mercy little children have on several occasions been sent to me in choirs, and I have also been allowed to read to them the Lord’s Prayer; and at the same time I have been given to perceive how the angels in whose company they were, insinuated into their tender and novitiate ideas the meaning of the things which are in this Prayer, and filled them, so far as the little ones were able to receive; and afterwards how the capacity was given the little ones of thinking such things as it were from themselves.

2291. The nature of their tender understanding was also shown me when I was praying the Lord’s Prayer; and they then inflowed into the ideas of my thought from their own understanding, which was so tender that they understood scarcely anything beyond the sense of the words. Yet their ideas in that tenderness were capable of being opened even to the Lord, that is, even from the Lord, for the Lord inflows into the ideas of little children especially, from the inmosts; for nothing has as yet closed their ideas, as is the case with adults; no principle of falsity against the understanding of truth, and no life of evil against the reception of good, and thus not against becoming wise.

2292. From all this we can see that little children do not come into the state of angels immediately after death; but that they are introduced successively, by means of the knowledges of good and truth, and this in accordance with all heavenly order; for the very least of all the things of their natural disposition are there most exquisitely perceived; and according to all the movements of their inclination both in general and in particular they are impelled to receive the truths of good and the goods of truth, and this under the Lord’s constant oversight.

2293. Especially are they all the time initiated into knowing no other Father, and thereafter in acknowledging no other than the Lord alone, and that they have life from Him; for that they are lives, that is, truly human and angelic lives, is from the intelligence of truth and the wisdom of good, which they have solely from the Lord. Hence it is that they know no otherwise than that they have been born in heaven.

2294. Many times when children have been with me in choirs, they being as yet quite infantile, they have been heard as a tender something devoid of order, so that they did not as yet act as a one, as they do afterwards when they become older; and what surprised me, the spirits about me could not refrain from trying to lead them to think and to speak. Such a desire is innate in spirits. But I often noticed that the little children resisted, not being willing to think or speak in such a way. I have often observed this refusal and resistance attended with a kind of indignation, and when any ability to speak was granted them they merely said that it was not so. I have been instructed that such is the temptation of little children in the other life, to accustom and inaugurate them not only in the resisting of falsity and evil, but also in not allowing themselves to think, speak, and act from others, and thus in not suffering themselves to be led by any other than the Lord alone.