AC GENESIS Chapter48

1. And it came to pass after these words, that one said unto Joseph, Behold thy father is sick; and he took his two sons with him, Manasseh and Ephraim.

2. And one told Jacob, and said, Behold thy son Joseph cometh unto thee; and Israel strengthened himself, and sat upon the bed.

3. And Jacob said unto Joseph, God Shaddai appeared unto me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and blessed me,

4. And He said unto me, Behold I will make thee fruitful, and will cause thee to be multiplied, and will make of thee a company of peoples; and I will give this land to thy seed after thee for an eternal possession.

5. And now thy two sons, who were born to thee in the land of Egypt, before I came unto thee into Egypt, they are mine; Ephraim and Manasseh, as Reuben and Simeon, they shall be mine.

6. And thy generation, which thou begettest after them, shall be thine; upon the name of their brethren they shall be called in their inheritance.

7. And I, in my coming from Paddan, Rachel died upon me in the land of Canaan, in the way, when there was still a tract of land to come unto Ephrath; and I buried her there in the way to Ephrath, the same is Bethlehem.

8. And Israel saw the sons of Joseph, and said, Whose are these?

9. And Joseph said unto his father, These are my sons, whom God hath given me here. And he said, Take them I pray unto me, and I will bless them.

10. And the eyes of Israel were heavy with old age; he could not see.  And he brought them near unto him; and he kissed them and embraced them.

11. And Israel said unto Joseph, I had not thought to see thy faces; and lo God hath made me see thy seed also.

12. And Joseph brought them away from his thighs; and he bowed himself with his face to the earth.

13. And Joseph took them both, Ephraim in his right hand on Israel’s left hand, and Manasseh in his left hand on Israel‘s right hand, and brought them near unto him.

14. And Israel put forth his right hand, and put it upon Ephraim’s head, and he was the younger, and his left hand upon Manasseh‘s head, he put forth his hands crosswise; for Manasseh was the firstborn.

15. And he blessed Joseph, and said, The God before whom my fathers walked, Abraham and Isaac, the God who feedeth me since I am unto this day,

16. The Angel who redeemeth me from all evil, bless the boys; and let my name be called in them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow unto a multitude in the midst of the earth.

17. And Joseph saw that his father put his right hand upon the head of Ephraim, and it was evil in his eyes; and he laid hold of the hand of his father to remove it from upon Ephraim’s head upon Manasseh‘s head.

18. And Joseph said unto his father, Not so, my father; for this is the firstborn; put thy right hand upon his head.

19. And his father refused, and said, I know, my son, I know; be also shall be for a people, and he also shall become great; and nevertheless his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his seed shall be the fulness of the nations.

20. And he blessed them in this day, saying, In thee shall Israel bless, saying, God make thee as Ephraim and as Manasseh; and he set Ephraim before Manasseh.

21. And Israel said unto Joseph, Behold, I die; and God shall be with you, and shall bring you back unto the land of your fathers.

22. And I give thee one portion above thy brethren, which I took out of the hand of the Amorite with my sword and with my bow.

AC 6216. In this chapter the subject treated of in the Internal sense is the intellectual of the church, which is from truth, and its will, which is from good. The intellectual of the church is “Ephraim,” and the will of the church is “Manasseh.”

AC 6217. That in the church the truth of faith which is of the Intellectual is apparently in the first place, and the good of charity which is of the will is apparently in the second, is signified by Israel’s putting his right hand upon the head of Ephraim, and his left upon the head of Manasseh.

AC 6218. Verses 1, 2.  And it came to pass after these words, that one said unto Joseph, Behold thy father is sick; and he took his two sons with him, Manasseh and Ephraim.  And one told Jacob, and said, Behold thy son Joseph cometh unto thee; and Israel strengthened himself, and sat upon the bed.  “And it came to pass after these words,” signifies what follows from what has gone before; “that one said unto Joseph,” signifies an eminent perception; “Behold thy father is sick,” signifies what is successive of regeneration; “and he took his two sons with him, Manasseh and Ephraim,” signifies the will of the church and the intellectual of the church born from the internal; “and one told Jacob,” signifies a perception from the truth of the natural; “and said, Behold thy son Joseph cometh unto thee,” signifies concerning the presence of the internal; “and Israel strengthened himself,” signifies new forces through spiritual good; “and sat upon the bed,” signifies that this was turned to the natural.

AC 6219. And it came to pass after these words.  That this signifies what follows from what has gone before, is evident from the signification of “words,” as being things; thus “after these words” denotes what follows from what has gone before.

AC 6220. That one said unto Joseph.  That this signifies an eminent perception, is evident from the signification of “saying,” as being perception (n. 1791, 1815, 1819, 1822, 1898, 1919, 2080, 2619, 2862, 3509, 5687); that it is an eminent perception is because the subject treated of in what follows is the intellectual and the will of the church, thus its truth and good, and this from influx through the internal celestial, which is “Joseph.”

AC 6221. Behold thy father is sick.  That this signifies what is successive of regeneration, is evident from the signification of “dying,” as being resurrection into life, and regeneration (n. 3326, 3498, 3505, 4618, 4621, 6036); hence “to be sick,” which precedes, denotes what is progressive toward regeneration, thus what is successive of regeneration.  That “dying” denotes regeneration, and“ being sick” what is successive of regeneration, cannot but appear too remote to be believed; but he who knows anything about angelic thought and speech will acknowledge that it is so.  The angels know nothing of death, nor of sickness, and therefore have no idea of them, but in their place, when man reads of them, they have the idea of the continuation of life and of resurrection; and this because when man dies, he puts oil only that which had served him for use in the world, and enters into the life In which he had been with his spirit. This is the idea that presents itself to the angels when “dying” and “being sick” are read of, and likewise the idea of regeneration, because this is resurrection into life; for before this the man had been spiritually dead; but when he has been regenerated he becomes alive and a son of the resurrection. If when he lives in the body, the man himself longs for heaven, he thinks no otherwise of death and the sickness which precedes it than as being resurrection into life; for when he thinks about heaven, he withdraws himself from the idea of the body, especially when he is sick and comes near to death. From this it is plain that the spiritual idea of the death of the body is that of newness of life; therefore when the subject of resurrection or regeneration is considered In heaven, and this idea flows down and is determined into such things as are of the world, it falls only into such as these.  Thus is it with the Word, which as to each and all things has descended from the Lord and passed through heaven down into the world; in the descent it has clothed itself with forms adapted to apprehension in the three heavens, and at last with a form adapted to the apprehension of man, which is the literal sense.

AC 6222. And he took his two sons with him, Manasseh and Ephraim.  That this signifies the will and the intellectual of the church born from the internal, is evident from the representation of Manasseh, as being the new will in the natural, and its quality (n. 5354); and from the representation of Ephraim, as being the new Intellectual in the natural, and its quality (n. 5354); that they were born from the Internal is signified by their being the sons of Joseph, by whom is represented the internal celestial (n. 5869, 5877).

[2] It is necessary to explain what is meant by the intellectual and the will of the church.  The Intellectual of the church is to perceive from the Word what the truth of faith is, and what the good of charity. It is known that the literal sense of the Word is of such a nature that whatever tenet a man embraces, he confirms from that sense; and this because the things of the literal sense of the Word are general vessels which receive truths, and because the quality of these vessels does not appear as through a transparency until they have received truths; thus because they are only generals, which must first be learned by man, In order that he may receive the particulars and singulars in a fit and proper manner. That the literal sense of the Word is of such a nature that whatever tenet a man embraces he confirms from that sense, is very manifest from so many heresies which have existed in the church, and still do so, each of which is confirmed by its partizans from the literal sense of the Word, and so confirmed that they thoroughly believe it to be true; and thereafter if they were to hear from heaven the very truth, they would not receive a bit of it.

[3] The reason is that they have not the intellectual of the church; for the intellectual of the church consists in a man‘s perceiving, when he reads the Word and carefully compares one passage with another, what is to be believed, and what is to be done.  This Intellectual is to be found in such men only as are enlightened by the Lord, and who In the Christian world are also called the enlightened; and this enlightenment is to be found in such men only as desire to know truths, not for the sake of reputation and glory, but for the sake of life and use.  This very enlightenment is received by the intellectual in a man, for it is the intellectual which is enlightened.  This is very evident from the fact that they who have little of the intellectual cannot possibly see such things from the Word; but have faith in those whom they believe to be enlightened.  Be it known further that they who have been regenerated, receive from the Lord an intellectual capable of being enlightened.  It is the light of heaven from the Lord which flows into the intellectual and enlightens it; for the intellectual has its light, its sight, and consequently its perception, from no other source.

[4] But this intellectual, which is called the intellectual of the church, is more interior than the intellectual which comes from mere memory-knowledges, for it is a perception that the thing is so, not from the dictate of memory-knowledges and philosophy, but from the dictate of the Word In its spiritual sense.  For example, they who are in the intellectual of the church are able clearly to perceive that the Word everywhere teaches that love to the Lord and charity toward the neighbor are essentials of the church; and that the life of man remains after death; and that his life is from his loves; also that faith separate from charity is not faith; and that faith avails nothing for eternal life except in so far as it is joined to the good of love to the Lord and to the good of charity toward the neighbor; consequently that these and faith must be conjoined together for there to be spiritual life.  That these are truths can be clearly perceived by those who have the intellectual enlightened, but not at all by those who have not this.

[5] It is believed that those have an intellectual in the things of the church who are skilful In confirming the tenets or doctrinals of their own church by many things, and this even to persuasion that it is so, and who also are skilful in dexterously confuting many heresies. But this is not the intellectual of the church; for to confirm a tenet is not of the intellectual, but of ingenuity in the sensuous, and it is sometimes found in the worst of men, and can also be done by those who believe nothing whatever, and also by those who are in very falsities. Nothing is more easy than for all such persons to confirm whatever they please, even to the point of persuading the simple.  But the intellectual of the church is to perceive and see, before any tenet is confirmed, whether it is true or not, and then to confirm it

[6] This is the intellectual which is represented by Ephraim; but the good of the church, which is represented by Manasseh, is the good of charity which is insinuated by the Lord into the man of the church by means of the truths of faith; for these, together with the good of charity, are what flow into the intellectual and enlighten it, and also make the intellectual and the bill constitute one mind. That both the intellectual and the will are born from the internal, may be seen from what has frequently been said and shown above; for all the affection of good and truth, by which comes enlightenment, flows from no other source, and thus is born from no other source, than the internal; that is, through the internal from the Lord.

AC 6223. And one told Jacob.  That this signifies a perception from the truth of the natural, is evident from the signification of “telling,” as being perception (n. 3608, 5601); and from the representation of Jacob, as being the truth of the natural (n. 3305, 3509, 3525, 3546, 3599, 3775, 4009, 4234, 4520, 4538, 6001).

AC 6224. And said, Behold thy son Joseph cometh unto thee. That this signifies the presence of the internal, is evident from the representation of Joseph, as being the Internal (n. 6177); and from the signification of “coming to” anyone, as being presence (n. 5934, 5941, 5947, 6063, 6089).  That “Joseph” is here the internal, and in other places the internal celestial, is in application to those things which are beneath in the natural; when it is applied to the lower things of the natural which are represented by Jacob, it is then called the “internal,” and in like manner when it is applied to Pharaoh; but when it is applied to the interior things of the natural, which are represented by Israel, and also by his ten sons, it is then called the “internal celestial,” and “internal good,” and this on account of the influx

AC 6225. And Israel strengthened himself.  That this signifies new forces through spiritual good, is evident from the signification of “strengthening himself,” as being to receive new forces; and from the representation of Israel, as being spiritual good from the natural (n. 4286, 4598, 5801, 5803, 5806, 5812, 5817, 5819, 5826, 5833).  That it is through spiritual good, is because in what immediately precedes, Jacob is called “ Jacob,” and here “Israel,” for it is said, “One told Jacob, and said, Behold thy son Joseph cometh unto thee; and Israel strengthened himself;” for “Israel” is spiritual good from the natural; but “Jacob” is the truth of the natural; and the truth of the natural, which is of faith there, is confirmed (or strengthened) by means of spiritual good, which is the good of charity.  “Israel” is also the internal of the church, and “Jacob” its external (n. 4286, 4292, 4570).  The external of the church is strengthened and receives forces from no other source than its internal.  In the internal of the church are they who are in the good of charity, which is the good of faith, and also the good of truth, and likewise spiritual good, which are “Israel;” but in the external of the church are they who are in the truth of faith, and not as yet manifestly in good, but in whose truth there is nevertheless good; this truth is “Jacob.”

AC 6226. And sat upon the bed.  That this signifies that this was turned to the natural, is evident from the signification of “bed,” as being the natural (n. 6188). “Israel’s sitting upon the bed” denotes that spiritual good was turned to the natural, because by “Israel‘s bowing himself on the head of the bed” (Gen.  47:31) was signified that spiritual good turned itself to those things which are of the interior natural (n. 6188); and therefore by his removing himself thence and sitting upon the bed is signified that spiritual good turned itself to the natural.  What is meant by turning to the interior natural, and to the exterior, cannot be stated to the apprehension, because very few know that the natural is interior and exterior, and that the thought is now in the one and now in the other; and they who do not know this, do not reflect upon it, and consequently cannot have acquired knowledge of it by any experience.  And yet this is common with everyone, but with a difference; for the thought is now elevated to what is higher, and now is again let down to what is lower; thus the thought of man now looks upward, and now looks downward.

[2] Besides, everyone can see that Israel’s bowing himself on the head of the bed, and afterward sitting upon the bed, are matters too slight to be mentioned in the most holy Word, unless they enfolded some secret which can be disclosed only by means of the internal sense, consequently only by a knowledge of what each word signifies in the spiritual sense, that is, in the sense in which are the angels.  For the angels do not, like man, think from the objects of the world, of the body, and of the earth, but from those of heaven; and what the difference is between these two classes of objects is especially evident from the correspondences treated of at the end of several chapters.

AC 6227. Verses 3-7  And Jacob said unto Joseph, God Shaddai appeared unto me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and blessed me.  And He said unto me, Behold I will make thee fruitful, and will cause thee to be multiplied, and will make of thee a company of peoples; and I will give this land to thy seed after thee for an eternal possession. And now thy two sons who were born to thee in the land of Egypt before I came unto thee into Egypt, they are mine; Ephraim and Manasseh, as Reuben and simeon, they shall be mine.  And thy generation which thou begettest after them shall be thine; upon the name of their brethren they shall be called in their inheritance. And I, in my coming from Paddan, Rachel died upon me in the land of Canaan, in the way, when there was still a tract of land to come unto Ephrath; and I buried her there in the way to Ephrath, the same is Bethlehem.  “And Jacob said unto Joseph,” signifies the communication of the truth of the natural with the internal; “God Shaddai appeared unto me at Luz In the land of Canaan,” signifies the Divine appearing in the natural in a former state; “and blessed me,” signifies prediction about vivification; “add He said unto me, Behold I will make thee fruitful, and will cause thee to be multiplied,” signifies vivification through the good of charity and the truth of faith; “ and will make of thee a company of peoples,” signifies increase indefinitely; “and I will give this land to thy seed after thee for an eternal possession,” signifies the Lord‘s kingdom for those who are in that good and truth; “and now thy two sons, who were born to thee in the land of Egypt,” signifies good and truth in the natural from the internal; “before I came unto thee into Egypt,” signifies before the truth of the natural was in the memory-knowledges there; “they are mine,” signifies that they are in me; “Ephraim and Manasseh,” signifies the intellectual and the will of the church; “as Reuben and Simeon, they shall be mine,” signifies that they shall be truth and the good of truth; “and thy generation which thou begettest after them,” signifies interior truths and goods, which are afterward; “shall be thine,” signifies that they shall be in the rational which is from the internal; “upon the name of their brethren they shall be called in their inheritance,” signifies that they would be of the quality of the truths and goods of the church, and together among them; “and I, in my coming from Paddan,” signifies from a state of knowledges; “Rachel died upon me in the land of Canaan,” signifies the end of the former affection of interior truth; “in the way, when there was still a tract of land,” signifies what is intermediate; “to come unto Ephrath,’ signifies the spiritual of the celestial in the former state; ”and I buried her there in the way to Ephrath,“ signifies the rejection of that state; ”the same is Bethlehem,“ signifies in its place a state of new affection of truth and good.

AC 6228. And Jacob said unto Joseph.  That this signifies the communication of the truth of the natural with the internal, is evident from the signification of ”saying,“ as being perception (n. 6220), and also communication (n. 3060, 4131), for that which is perceived by another is communicated; from the representation of Jacob, as being the truth of the natural (n. 6223); and from the representation of Joseph, as being the internal (n. 6224).

AC 6229. God Shaddai appeared unto me at Luz in the land of Canaan.  That this signifies the Divine appearing in the natural in a former state, is evident from the signification of ”God Shaddai,“ as being the Divine, for the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, was called ”Shaddai“ (n. 3667, 5628), and that He was Jehovah, or the Lord, thus the Divine, may be seen from what is said in (Genesis 28:13, 20); from the signification of ”appeared unto me,“ as being that He appeared; from the signification of ”Luz,“ as being the natural in a former state (n. 4556); and from the signification of the ”land of Canaan,“ as being the church.  Hence it is plain that by ”God Shaddai appeared unto me at Luz in the land of Canaan“ is signified the Divine appearing in the natural, where is the truth of the spiritual church.

AC 6230. And blessed me. That this signifies a prediction about vivification, is evident from the signification of ”blessing,“ as here being a prediction about vivification; for the blessing was that He would make him fruitful, and multiply him, and make him a company of peoples, and give the land to his seed after him for an eternal possession; all which are predictions about vivification.  Not that the posterity of Jacob were vivified; but they who are in the truth of faith and the good of charity; for these are ”Jacob“ and ”Israel“ in the internal sense.

AC 6231. And He said unto me, Behold I will make thee fruitful, and will cause thee to be multiplied.  That this signifies vivification through the good of charity and the truth of faith, is evident from the signification of ”being made fruitful,“ as being said of the good of charity, and of ”being multiplied,“ as being said of the truths of faith (n. 43, 55, 913, 983, 2846, 2847).  As these are what make man live, vivification is predicated of them.

AC 6232. And will make of thee a company of peoples.  That this signifies increase indefinitely, is evident from the signification of a ”company of peoples,“ as being truths from good without limit; for ”peoples“ signify truths (n. 1259, 1260, 3295), and ”company,“ abundance. Hence ”to make a company of peoples“ is to cause truths to increase in abundance; that it is indefinitely is because all things in the spiritual world which proceed from the Infinite, as do truths and goods, are capable of being multiplied and increasing indefinitely. That is called indefinite which cannot be defined and limited by number; nevertheless what is indefinite is finite relatively to what is infinite, and so finite that there is no ratio between the two.

[2] That truths and goods can increase indefinitely comes from the fact that they proceed from the Lord, who is infinite. That truths and goods are of this nature, may be seen from the fact that the universal heaven is in truth and good, and yet no one is in exactly the same truth and good as another.  This would still be the case if heaven were a thousand and a thousand times greater.  The same may be seen from the fact that the angels are being perfected to eternity, that is, they continually grow in good and truth, and yet cannot arrive at the grade of any perfection, because there always remains an indefinite scope; for truths are indefinite in number, and each truth has an indefinite scope within it; and so on.

[3] This is still more evident from things in nature: though men should increase in number indefinitely, still no one would have the same face as another, nor the same internal face, that is, the same mind, and not even the same tone of voice; hence it is plain that there is an indefinite variety of all things, and that there is never one thing the same as another. This variety is still more indefinite in the truths and goods that belong to the spiritual world; because one thing in the natural world corresponds to thousands and thousands in the spiritual world; and therefore the more interior things are, the more indefinite they are.

[4] That there are such indefinite things pertaining to all things in the spiritual world, and also in the natural world, is because they come forth from the Infinite, as was said above; for unless they so came forth they would never be indefinite; and therefore from the indefinite things in both worlds it is very evident that the Divine is infinite.

AC 6233. And I will give this land to thy seed after thee for an eternal possession.  That this signifies the Lord‘s kingdom for those who are in this good and truth, is evident from the signification of the ”land,“ here the land of Canaan, as being the Lord’s kingdom (n. 1607, 3038, 3481, 3705, 4240, 4447); from the signification of ”seed,“ as being the truth of faith and the good of charity (n. 1025, 1447, 1610, 1940, 2848, 3038, 3310). The ”seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob“ are those who are in goods and truths, and are called the ”sons of the kingdom,“ (n. 3373); and from the signification of an ”eternal possession,“ as being to have the Lord‘s life.  These are the ”sons of the kingdom.“

AC 6234. And now thy two sons, who were born to thee in the land of Egypt. That this signifies good and truth in the natural from the internal, is evident from the representation of Manasseh and Ephraim, who here are the ”two sons,“ as being the will and the intellectual of the church in the natural, born from the internal (n. 6222), and because good is of the will, and truth is of the intellectual, by the same are signified the good and truth of the church; from the signification of ”who were born to thee,“ namely, to Joseph, as being from the internal; and from the signification of the ”land of Egypt,“ as being the natural mind, in which are the memory-knowledges of the church (n. 5276, 5278, 5280, 5288, 5301), and as being the natural (n. 6147).

AC 6235. Before I came unto thee into Egypt. That this signifies before the truth of the natural was in the memory-knowledges there, is evident from the signification of ”before I came unto thee,“ as being before it was; from the representation of Jacob, who says this of himself, as being the truth of the natural (n. 6223); and from the signification of ”Egypt,“ as being memory-knowledges in the natural (n. 1164, 1165, 1186, 1462, 4749, 4964, 4966, 5700, 6004).  That by Jacob and his sons coming into Egypt was represented that truths were to be insinuated into the memory-knowledges of the church, was shown in the two preceding chapters (n. 6004).

AC 6236. They are mine.  That this signifies that they are in me, is evident from the representation of Jacob, who says this of himself, as being the truth of the natural; and from the representation of Manasseh and Ephraim, as being the will and the intellectual of the church in the natural (n. 5354, 6222). That these words, ”they are mine,“ denote that they are in me, is because Jacob is the truth of the natural, thus also the natural as to truth, and in the natural are the intellectual and the will which are represented by Ephraim and Manasseh; and therefore as they are in this natural, by their ”being mine“ is signified that they are in me.  That ”Jacob“ is the natural, in the supreme sense the Lord’s Divine natural, may be seen above (n. 3305, 3509, 3525, 3576, 4009, 4538, 4570, 6098), and in the relative sense truth in the natural, thus also the natural as to truth (n. 3509, 3525, 3546); and as ”Jacob“ in general is truth in the natural, therefore his ”ten sons“ are the truths of the church there in particular (n. 5403, 5419, 5427, 5458, 5512), thus now also the ”sons of Joseph.“ By Pharaoh also is represented the natural, yet not as to truths, but as to memory-knowledges, which are lower, and into which truths can be initiated and insinuated, which was represented by the coming of Jacob and his sons into Egypt.

AC 6237. Ephraim and Manasseh. That this signifies the intellectual and the will of the church, may be seen above (n. 5354, 6222).

AC 6238. As Reuben and Simeon they shall be mine.  That this signifies that they shall be truth and the good of truth, is evident from the representation of Reuben, as being faith in the understanding, and the truth of doctrine whereby men can attain to the good of life (n. 3861, 3866), thus in general the truth of the intellectual; and from the representation of Simeon, as being faith in the will, consequently truth in act, which is the good of faith or the good of truth (n. 3869-3872, 4497, 4502, 4503, 5626, 5630), thus in general the good that belongs to the new will.  That the like are represented by Ephraim and Manasseh, is evident; but as Reuben profaned his representative (n. 4601), and Simeon defiled his (n. 4497, 4502, 4503), and as on this account they were cursed (Gen. 49:3-7), therefore they lost their birthright, and in their stead Ephraim and Manasseh the sons of Joseph were acknowledged as the firstborn. (1 Chron. 5:1). Nevertheless the representative still remained with Reuben and Simeon, for it matters not what may be the quality of the person who represents (n. 665, 1097, 4281); that is to say, there remained the representative of faith in the understanding with Reuben, and the representative of faith in the will with Simeon; but with Ephraim there was the representative of the intellectual of the church, and with Manasseh of the will of the church.

AC 6239. And thy generation which thou begettest after them. That this signifies interior truths and goods, which are afterward is evident from the signification of ”generation,“ as being the things that belong to faith and charity (n. 613, 2020, 2584), thus truths and goods; and from the signification of ”after them“ as being the interior things which are afterward.  That interior things are signified is because the things which are begotten from the internal afterward, are more interior; for those things which have been begotten previously serve successively for producing those which are begotten afterward.  more interiorly, for the internal elevates the natural to itself by degrees.  This is plain from the generation of all things of the intellectual in man; for man is first sensuous, afterward he becomes more and more interior, even until he becomes intellectual. It is the same with the new generation which is effected by means of faith and charity. Hence it is that man is perfected by degrees. See what was said above about the successive elevation toward the interiors when man is being regenerated, (n. 6183).

[2] That ”generation“ in the Word signifies the things that belong to faith and charity, is because no other generation than a spiritual one can be understood in the internal sense.  This generation is also meant in David:--

They shall fear a fear; for God is in the generation of the righteous (Ps. 14:5);

the ”generation of the righteous“ denotes truths from good, for ”righteousness“ is predicated of good.  In Isaiah:--

They shall not labor in vain, nor bring forth for terror; they are the seed of the blessed of Jehovah (Isa. 65:23).

Again:--

Who hath wrought and done it?  Who calleth the generations from the beginning? I, Jehovah, the first, and with the last I am the same (Isa. 41:4).

In Ezekiel:--

Thy tradings and thy generations are of the land of the Canaanite;thy father was an Amorite, and thy mother was a Hittite. As to thy generations, in the day when thou wast born thy navel was not cut off, and thou wast not washed with waters for My sight (Ezek. 16:3, 4);

speaking of the abominations of Jerusalem, where it is very manifest that ”generations“ are generations in a spiritual sense.

[3] Again in Isaiah:--

Awake as in the days of eternity, the generations of eternities (Isa. 51:9);

the ”days of eternity“ denote the state and time of the Most Ancient Church, of which ”eternity“ is predicated because it was in the good of love to the Lord, to which good, because it is immediately from the Lord, ”eternity“ is ascribed; ”generations of eternities“ are the goods thence derived.

[4] So in Moses:--

Remember the days of eternity, understand the years of generation and generation (Deut. 32:7);

where the ”days of eternity“ denote the state and time of the Most Ancient Church which was before the flood, and was a celestial church; the ”years of generation and generation“ denote the state and time of the Ancient Church which was after the flood, and was a spiritual church; which churches are here treated of.

[5] And in Joel:--

Judah shall abide to eternity, and Jerusalem to generation and generation (Joel 3:20);

”eternity“ is here predicated of Judah, because by Judah is represented the celestial church (n. 3881); and ”generation and generation“ is predicated of Jerusalem, because by ”Jerusalem“ is signified the  spiritual church (n. 402).

[6] In Isaiah:--

My righteousness shall be to eternity, and My salvation to generation of generations (Isa. 51:8);

where ”eternity“ is predicated of the good of love, for ”righteousness“ is predicated of this good (n. 612, 2235); and ”generation,“ of the good of faith.

[7] And in David:--

Thy kingdom is a kingdom of all eternities, and Thy dominion to all generation and generation (Ps. 145:13);

where the sense is the same; for unless ”eternity“ is predicated of what is celestial, and ”generation“ of what is spiritual, only one would be mentioned; both would be a useless repetition.

[8] The things that belong to a state of faith are also signified by the command that a bastard should not come into the congregation of Jehovah to the tenth generation (Deut. 23:2); an Ammonite and a Moabite not even to the tenth generation (Deut. 23:3), and that an Edomite and an Egyptian might come into the congregation of Jehovah in the third generation (Deut. 23:8). So in the commandment of the Decalogue, in that Jehovah God would visit the iniquity of the fathers upon the sons, upon the third and fourth generation with respect to those who hate Him (Exod. 20:5).

[9] That ”generations“ denote the things of faith and charity, is because in the spiritual sense no other generations can be meant than those which are of regeneration, or of one who is regenerate; in like manner as the ”births,“ ”childbearings,“ and ”conceptions“ in the Word: that these terms denote the births, childbearings, and conceptions of faith and charity (n. 1145, 1255, 3860, 3868, 4668, 5160, 5598).

AC 6240. Shall be thine.  That this signifies that they shall be in the rational, which is the internal, is evident from the fact that the internal celestial which is represented by Joseph, is in the rational (n. 4286, 4963); and therefore by ”being thine“ is signified that they shall be in the rational, as before by ”being mine“ was signified that they should be in the natural, in which is the truth of the natural which is represented by Jacob (n. 6236).  What the rational is shall be briefly told. The intellectual of the internal man is called ”rational,“ but the intellectual of the external man is called ”natural;“ thus the rational is internal, and the natural is external; and they are perfectly distinct from each other. But a truly rational man is no other than he who is called a celestial man, and who has perception of good, and from good perception of truth; whereas he who has not this perception, but only the knowledge that a thing is true because he is so instructed, and from this has conscience, is not truly a rational man, but is an interior natural man. Such are they who are of the Lord‘s spiritual church. They differ from the celestial as the light of the moon differs from the light of the sun; and therefore the Lord appears to the spiritual as a moon, but to the celestial as a sun (n. 1521, 1529-1531, 4060, 4696).

[2] Many in the world suppose that a rational man is one who can reason acutely about many things, and so join his reasonings together that his conclusions may appear like truth; but this is found in the very worst of men, who are able to reason skillfully and persuade that evils are goods, and that falsities are truths; and the reverse. But he who reflects can see that this is vicious phantasy, and not what is rational.  The rational consists in inwardly seeing and perceiving that good is good, and from this that truth is truth; for the sight and perception of such men are from heaven.  That they who are of the Lord’s spiritual church are interiorly natural, is because they only acknowledge as truth that which they have received from their parents and masters, and afterward have confirmed in themselves; and do not see inwardly, and perceive, whether it is true from any other source than that they have confirmed it in themselves. It is otherwise with the celestial; and it is from this that the latter are rational, but the former interiorly natural. The internal celestial which is represented by Joseph, is in the rational; whereas the spiritual good which is represented by Israel, is in the interior natural (n. 4286); for it is the spiritual who are represented by Israel, and the celestial who are represented by Joseph.

AC 6241. Upon the name of their brethren they shall be called in their inheritance. That this signifies that they would be of the quality of the truths and goods of the church, and together among them, is evident from the signification of a ”name,“ and of ”being called by name,“ as being the quality (n. 144, 145, 1754, 1896, 2009, 2724, 3006, 3421); from the representation of Ephraim and Manasseh, who here are the ”brethren,“ as being the intellectual and the will of the church (n. 3969, 5354, 6222), thus truth and good (n. 6234); and from the signification of ”in their inheritance,“ as being together among them.

AC 6242. And I, in my coming from Paddan.  That this signifies from a state of knowledges, is evident from the signification of ”Paddan-aram,“ as being the interior knowledges of truth and good (n. 3664, 3680, 4107); thus ”Paddan“ is a state of knowledges.

AC 6243. Rachel died upon me in the land of Canaan. That this signifies the end of the former affection of interior truth, is evident from the signification of ”dying,“ as being to cease to be such (n. 494), and as being the end of the former representation (n. 3253, 3259, 3276, 5975); and from the representation of Rachel, as being the affection of interior truth (n. 3758, 3782, 3793, 3819).

AC 6244. In the way, when there was still a tract of land. That this signifies what is intermediate, may be seen without explication.

AC 6245. To come unto Ephrath. That this signifies the spiritual of the celestial in the former state, is evident from the signification of ”Ephrath,“ as being the spiritual of the celestial in the former state (n. 4585, 4594).

AC 6246. And I buried her there in the way to Ephrath. That this signifies the rejection of that state, is evident from the signification of ”burying,“ as being rejection (n. 4564); and from the signification of ”Ephrath,“ as being the spiritual of the celestial in the former state (n. 6245).

AC 6247. The same is Bethlehem. That this signifies in its place a state of new affection of truth and good, is evident from the signification of ”Bethlehem,“ as being the spiritual of the celestial in a new state (n. 4594), thus a state of new affection of truth and good; for the spiritual of the celestial is the truth of good, thus the affection of truth from good. It is necessary to say how the case is with the contents of this verse in the internal sense. The subject treated of is the rejection of a former affection of truth, and the reception of a new one. The former affection of truth exists while man is being regenerated, but the latter, which is the new one, when he has been regenerated. In the former state the man is affected with truth for the sake of the end that he may become intelligent, but in the latter state that he may become wise; or what is the same, in the former state he is affected with truth for the sake of doctrine, but in the latter for the sake of life; when for the sake of doctrine, then from truth he looks to good; but when for the sake of life, he from good looks to truth. Thus the latter state is the inverse of the former; and therefore the former state is rejected while the man is being regenerated; and the latter, which is a new state, is received. Moreover relatively to the latter new state, the former state is impure; for when a man is affected with truth for the sake of doctrine in order that he may become intelligent, he is also at the same time affected with reputation and glory. This affection cannot then but be present, and it is also permitted as being introductory, because the man is of such a nature.  But when he is affected with truth for the sake of life, he then rejects glory and reputation as ends, and embraces the good of life, that is, charity toward the neighbor.

AC 6248. Verses 8, 9. And Israel saw the sons of Joseph, and said, Whose are these? And Joseph said unto his father, These are my sons, whom God hath given me here. And he said, Take them I pray unto me, and I will bless them. ”And Israel saw the sons of Joseph,“ signifies a perception about the intellectual and the will of the church; ”and said, Whose are these?“ signifies and about their origin; ”and Joseph said unto his father,“ signifies an answer from within; ”These are my sons, whom God hath given me here,“ signifies that they were from the internal in the natural; ”and he said, Take them I pray unto me,“ signifies that they should accede to spiritual good; ”and I will bless them,“ signifies a prediction about good and truth.

AC 6249. And Israel saw the sons of Joseph. That this signifies a perception about the intellectual and the will of the church, is evident from the signification of ”seeing,“ as being perception (n. 2150, 3764, 4403-4421, 4567, 4723, 5400); and from the representation of Ephraim and Manasseh, as being the intellectual and the will of the church, born from the internal, which is ”Joseph“ (n. 5354, 6222).

AC 6250. And said, Whose are these? That this signifies, and about their origin, namely, a perception, is evident from the signification of ”saying,“ as being perception (n. 6220); and from the signification of ”whose are these?“ as being about their origin; for in the internal sense an interrogation denotes knowledge from perception (n. 2693, 6132).

AC 6251. And Joseph said unto his father.  That this signifies an answer from within, may be seen without explication, for by ”Joseph“ is meant the internal (n. 6177); for when a man perceives, he then on making inquiry with himself about anything, also answers himself from within.  I have also observed that when spirits have made inquiry with me, they received an answer by merely looking into my thought.

AC 6252. These are my sons, whom God hath given me here. That this signifies that they were from the internal in the natural, is evident from the representation of Joseph, whose sons they were, as being the internal (n. 6177, 6224); and from the signification of the ”land of Egypt,“ meant by ”here,“ as being the natural mind (n. 5276, 5278, 5280, 5288, 5301), thus the natural.

AC 6253. And he said, Take them I pray unto me.  That this signifies that they should accede to spiritual good, is evident from the signification of ”taking them to him,“ as being that they should accede; and from the representation of Israel to whom they should accede, as being spiritual good (n. 5801, 5803, 5806, 5812, 5817, 5819, 5826, 5833).

AC 6254. And I will bless them.  That this signifies a prediction about good and truth, is evident from the signification of ”blessing,“ as being prediction (n. 6230), here about good and truth, which are represented by Manasseh and Ephraim.  As ”to bless“ is a very general expression, it signifies various things; that it signifies also a prediction, both about the good things that will happen, and about the evil, is plain in the following chapter, where Israel foretold to his sons what should befall them; to some, evil things, as to Reuben, Simeon, and Levi; and to some, good things, as to Judah and Joseph.  This prediction is called a ”blessing“ in (Gen. 49:28) of this chapter: ”This is what their father spake of them, and blessed them, everyone according to his blessing he blessed them.“ That ”blessing“ denotes prediction, is evident from the words in the first verse of the chapter:  ”Jacob called his sons, and said, Be ye gathered together, and I will tell you what shall happen to you in the extremity of the days.“

AC 6255. Verses 10-14. And the eyes of Israel were heavy with old age; he could not see.  And he brought them near unto him; and he kissed them and embraced them.  And Israel said unto Joseph, I had not thought to see thy faces, and lo God hath made me see thy seed also. And Joseph brought them away from his thighs; and he bowed himself with his face to the earth. And Joseph took them both, Ephraim in his right hand on Israel‘s left hand, and Manasseh in his left hand on Israel’s right hand, and brought them near unto him. And Israel put forth his right hand, and put it upon Ephraim‘s head, and he was the younger; and his left hand upon Manasseh’s head; he put forth his hands crosswise; for Manasseh was the first born. ”And the eyes of Israel were heavy,“ signifies his obscure perception; ”with old age,“ signifies because at the end of the representation; ”he could not see,“ signifies no advertence; ”and he brought them near unto him,“ signifies presence; ”and he kissed them,“ signifies conjunction from the affection of truth‘ ”and embraced them,“ signifies conjunction from the affection of good; ”and Israel said unto Joseph,“ signifies elevation to the internal; ”I had not thought to see thy faces,“ signifies that he had had no hope of the influx of his love; ”and lo God hath made me see thy seed also,“ signifies that not only was the influx of love perceived, but also the good and truth thence derived; ”and Joseph brought them away from his thighs,“ signifies the good of the will and the truth of the intellectual in the natural from the affection of love on the part of spiritual good; ”and he bowed himself with his face to the earth,“ signifies their humiliation; ”and Joseph took them both, Ephraim in his right hand on Israel’s left hand,“ signifies the truth of the intellectual as in the second place; ”and Manasseh in his left hand on Israel‘s right hand,“ signifies the good of the will in the first place; ”and brought them near unto him,“ signifies adjunction; ”and Israel put forth his right hand, and put it upon Ephraim’s head,“ signifies that he accounted truth as being in the first place; ”and he was the younger,“ signifies although it is in the second; ”and his left hand upon Manasseh‘s head,“ signifies that he accounted good as being in the second place; ”he put forth his hands crosswise,“ signifies thus not according to order; ”for Manasseh was the firstborn,“ signifies since indeed good is in the prior place.

AC 6256. And the eyes of Israel were heavy. That this signifies his obscure perception, is evident from the signification of ”eyes,“ as being the intellectual sight (n. 201, 4403-4421, 4083, 4086, 4339), as also ”seeing“ (n. 6249); from the representation of Israel, as being spiritual good in the natural (n. 6253); and from the signification of ”being heavy,“ when said of the eyes, as being what is obscure, thus obscure perception.  That Israel was in obscure perception when he blessed the sons of Joseph, is because he was at the end of the representation; but in general, because that spiritual good which is represented by Israel is in obscure perception; for it is from the natural, where natural light rules, but not heavenly light, in which is the spiritual and celestial good which is from the rational.  Such is the external man, which is also called natural.  When spiritual good from the natural is mentioned, they are meant who are in this good, namely, they who are of the Lord’s spiritual church, and therefore also this church is represented by Israel (n. 4286).  That the spiritual, who are they of that church, are relatively in obscurity, may be seen above (n. 2708, 2715, 2716, 2718, 2831, 2849, 2935, 2937, 3246, 3833, 4402); and being in obscurity, they also put the truth that is of faith in the first place, as here did Israel, in that he set Ephraim before Manasseh.

[2] The reason why the spiritual so believe is that they are introduced to good by means of truth (n. 2954), and when they are being introduced, they do not perceive good, because it flows into the affection of truth from within, thus not into perception until they have been regenerated. Hence also it is that they call the goods of charity the fruits of faith; and yet those are but little solicitous about fruits who assert that faith alone saves without good works, even in death‘s last hour, no matter how the man had previously lived.  It is evident that this is an obscure perception with respect to good and truth.  Nevertheless the case is as follows: those who from principles derived from doctrine set faith before charity, and yet live a life of charity, are they who are of the Lord’s spiritual church, and are saved; for in their life they set the good of charity first, but in doctrine the truth of faith.

AC 6257. With old age. That this signifies because at the end of the representation, is evident from the signification of ”old age,“ as being newness of representation (n. 3254), thus the end of the former one.

AC 6258. He could not see. That this signifies no advertence, is evident from the signification of ”seeing,“ as being perception (n. 6249), thus also advertence.

AC 6259. And he brought them near unto him. That this signifies presence, is evident from the signification of ”bringing,“ as being to make present.

AC 6260. And he kissed them. That this signifies conjunction from the affection of truth, is evident from the signification of ”kissing,“ as being conjunction from affection (n. 3573, 3574, 4215, 4353, 5929). That it is from the affection of truth, is because it follows that ”he embraced them,“ by which is signified conjunction from the affection of good, for ”embracing“ denotes a more interior and therefore a closer affection than ”kissing,“ as is the affection of good compared with the affection of truth.

AC 6261. And embraced them. That this signifies conjunction from the affection of good, is evident from the signification of ”embracing,“ as being the conjunction of love (n. 4351), thus conjunction from the affection of good (n. 6260). That ”embracing“ denotes this affection is very evident from the testifying of love by an embrace, which is an act that flows from this; for every spiritual affection has a gesture in man‘s body that corresponds to it, and this gesture is representative of the affection. That this is also true of kissing is known.

AC 6262. And Israel said unto Joseph. That this signifies elevation to the internal, is evident from the signification of ”saying,“ as being perception, and also influx.  That it denotes elevation is because the subject treated of in this verse is the influx of love, and thus of good and truth from the internal, which influx is elevation to the internal; for the external cannot be in love toward the internal, except by means of influx and elevation from the internal.  For the very love which is felt in the external is of the internal, and because in order to the producing of any effect every acting must have its reacting or reciprocal, and the acting is the cause, and the reacting is the thing caused, therefore reaction is also of action, as the thing caused is of the cause; for all the force in the thing caused is from the cause. This is the case with reaction in every single thing in universal nature.

AC 6263. I had not thought to see thy faces. That this signifies that he had no hope of the influx of his love, is evident from the signification of ”faces,“ as being the interiors (n. 358, 2434, 3527, 3573, 4066, 4796, 4798, 5695), thus the affections, for these shine forth chiefly from the face (n. 4796, 5102), hence the ”face of God“ denotes the Divine love, consequently mercy (n. 5585); and from the signification of ”I had not thought,“ as being that he had had no hope.  That it is the influx of love which is signified by ”seeing the face,“ is also plain from what precedes and what follows.

AC 6264. And lo God hath made me see thy seed also.  That this signifies that not only was the influx of love perceived, but also good and truth thence derived, is evident from the representation of Manasseh and Ephraim, who here are the ”seed,“ as being the good of the will and the truth of the intellectual (n. 5354, 6222); and also from the signification of ”seed,“ as also being good and truth (n. 1610, 2848, 3310, 3373, 3671); and because it is said, ”I had not thought to see thy faces, and lo God hath made me see thy seed also,“ it is signified that not only was the influx of love perceived, but also the good and truth thence derived; for by ”seeing the faces“ is signified the influx of love (n. 6263).

AC 6265. And Joseph brought them away from his thighs. That this signifies the good of the will and the truth of the intellectual from the affection of love on the part of spiritual good, is evident from the representation of Joseph, as being the internal celestial (n. 5869, 5877); from the representation of Manasseh and Ephraim, whom Joseph brought away, as being the good of the will and the truth of the intellectual (n. 5354, 6222); and from the signification of ”thighs,“ as being the affection of love (n. 3021, 4277, 4280, 4575, 5050-5062).  That it was ”on the part of spiritual good“ is because they were brought away from Israel, who is spiritual good (n. 6253). By these things is signified that the internal celestial removed the good of the will and the truth of the intellectual from spiritual good, that is, from the affection of love thereof, because Israel, by whom is represented spiritual good, had caused this good and truth to approach to himself; besides their being brought to him by Joseph, by whom is represented the internal celestial; for which reason they were brought away, and were afterward brought again by Joseph, as follows.  The reason is, that there is in this way an influx of love from the internal celestial through spiritual good into them.  For this is according to order, and hence this external ritual had to be rigidly observed when they were to be blessed; for they were then being presented before the Lord, from whom is the prediction here signified by the ”blessing“ (n. 6254). Hence then it is that Joseph brought his sons from the thighs of his father, and himself afterward brought them thither.

AC 6266. And he bowed himself with his face to the earth. That this signifies their humiliation, is evident from the signification of ”bowing himself with his face to the earth,“ as being interior humiliation (n. 5682); for such bowing is a bodily act that corresponds to humiliation of mind; hence they who adore God from the heart, thus bow themselves.  It is said ”he bowed himself,“ because Joseph was in their stead, not then before Israel, but before the Lord, from whom was the blessing by Israel.  That this was done by Joseph in their stead, is because such is the case in things spiritual; the good of the will and the truth of the intellectual in the natural cannot from themselves humble themselves before the Lord, but only from the internal by means of influx; for without influx through the internal into the natural, there is nothing of will and understanding therein, and not even anything of life; for the internal is the intermediate through which is life from the Lord therein.

AC 6267. And Joseph took them both, Ephraim in his right hand on Israel’s left hand.  That this signifies the truth of the intellectual as in the second place; and that Manasseh in his left hand on Israel‘s right hand signifies the good of the will in the first place, is evident from the representation of Ephraim, as being the truth of the intellectual, and from the representation of Manasseh, as being the good of the will (n. 5354, 6222); and from the signification of the ”right hand,“ as being to be in the first place; and of the ”left hand,“ as being to be in the second place; as is manifest from all the usage in life.  How the case herein is will be shown in what follows.

AC 6268. And brought them near unto him. That this signifies adjunction, is evident without explication.

AC 6269. And Israel put forth his right hand, and put it upon Ephraim’s head.  That this signifies that he accounted truth as being in the first place, is evident from the signification of ”putting forth his right hand,“ as being to account in the first place (that the ”right hand“ denotes in the first place, is manifest); and from the representation of Ephraim, as being the intellectual, thus also the truth of faith, for this dwells in man‘s intellectual part when there is sight there from the light of heaven, thus spiritual sight (n. 6222).  It is set forth in this verse (verse 14), and also in (verses 17-19), that Israel put his right hand on Ephraim’s head, and his left hand on Manasseh‘s head; and by this is signified that he accounted the truth of faith as being in the first place, and the good of charity in the second. The reason was that until he has been regenerated, the spiritual man, who is represented by Israel (n. 4286, 6256), supposes no otherwise; for he has a sensible apprehension of what the truth of faith is, but not what the good of charity is; because the latter flows in by an interior way, but the former, by an exterior way just as does memory-knowledge.

[2] But they who are not being regenerated say absolutely that faith is in the first place, that is to say, that it is the essential of the church, because in this way they can live as they desire, and still say that they have hope of salvation.  Hence also at this day charity has so disappeared that the nature of it is known to scarcely anyone, and consequently so has faith, for the one is not possible without the other.  If charity were in the first place, and faith in the second, the aspect of the church would be different; for then no others would be called Christians than those who live a life according to the truth of faith, that is, a life of charity; and they would then also know what charity is.  Then too they would not make a number of churches by making a distinction among them according to opinions about the truths of faith; but they would say that there is one church, in which are all who are in the good of life, not only those within the region where the churches are, but also those who are outside of it.  In this manner the church would be in illustration about such things as belong to the Lord’s kingdom; for charity enlightens, and never faith without charity; and the errors that are brought in by means of faith separated would be clearly seen.

[3] Hence it is evident how different an aspect the church would have if the good of charity were in the first place, that is, were the essential, and the truth of faith in the second, that is, its formal.  The aspect of the church would then be like that of the Ancient Church, which made the church consist in charity, and had no other doctrinals of the church than those of charity: from this they had wisdom from the Lord.  The quality of that church is described in these words in Moses:--

Jehovah led him about, He instructed him, He guarded him as the pupil of His eye. As an eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her young, spreadeth abroad her wings, He took him, He bare him upon His wings; Jehovah alone did lead him, neither was there any strange god with him. He made him ride on the high places of the earth, and fed him with the increase of the fields; He made him suck honey out of the rock, and oil out of the flint of the rock; butter of the herd, and milk of the Seek, with fat of lambs, and of rams the sons of Bashan, and of he-goats, with the fat of kidneys of wheat; and of the blood of the grape thou drinkest pure wine (Deut. 32:10-14).

Wherefore they who were of that church are in heaven, and in all happiness and glory there.

AC 6270. And he was the younger. That this signifies although it is in the second place, is evident from the signification of the ”younger,“ as being to be in the second place.

AC 6271. And his left hand upon Manasseh‘s head. That this signifies that he accounted good as being in the second place, is evident from the signification of ”putting his left hand,“ as being to account in the second place; and from the representation of Manasseh, as being the will, thus also the good of charity.  How the case herein is may be seen above (n. 6269).

AC 6272. He put forth his hands crosswise. That this signifies, thus not according to order, is evident from the signification of ”putting forth the hands crosswise,“ as being not according to order; for thereby he makes the younger the firstborn, and the reverse; consequently the truth of faith prior and higher; and the good of charity posterior and lower; for ”birthright“ denotes priority and superiority (n. 3325). It is evident how much evil this introduces into the church; for thereby its people get into such obscurity that they do not know what good is, thus neither what truth is; for good is like flame, and truth like the light from it: if you take away the flame, the light also perishes; and if any light appears, it is like a deceptive light that is not from flame.  Hence it is that churches are at variance with one another, and dispute about truth, and one congregation asserts a thing to be true, which another asserts to be false. And what is still worse, when once they have set faith in the prior place in the assemblage of the church, they next begin to separate faith from charity, and to make the latter of comparatively no account, and thus to care nothing for the life, a thing to which man naturally inclines.  Hence the church perishes, for it is the life which makes the church with man, but not doctrine without life; thus not confidence, which is eminent faith; for genuine confidence is possible with those only who are in charity, from which is the life of confidence. Moreover the good of charity is actually the firstborn, that is, in the prior place, and the truth of faith appears to be so, (n. 3324, 3539, 3548, 3556, 3563, 3570, 3576, 3603, 3701, 4243, 4244, 4247, 4337, 4925, 4926, 4928, 4930, 4977).

AC 6273. For Manasseh was the firstborn. That this signifies since indeed good is in the prior place, is evident from the representation of Manasseh, as being the good that is of the will; and from the signification of ”birthright,“ as being priority and superiority (n. 3325), thus the ”firstborn“ is one who is in the prior place.  Who cannot see from natural light alone, provided it is enlightened a little, that good is in the prior place, as is also man’s will; and that truth is in the posterior place, as is also man‘s thinking?  And also that man’s will causes him to think one way and not another, consequently that the good with a man causes this or that to be true; thus that truth is in the second place, and good in the first? Think and reflect whether the truth that is of faith can take root except in good, and whether faith is faith unless it is therein rooted. Hence you may conclude what is primary or essential to the church, that is, to the man in whom the church is.

AC 6274.  Verses 15, 16. And he blessed Joseph, and said, The God before whom my fathers walked, Abraham and Isaac, the God who feedeth me since I am, unto this day, the Angel who redeemeth me from all evil, bless the boys; and let my name be called in them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow unto a multitude in the midst of the earth. ”And he blessed Joseph,“ signifies a prediction with respect to the truth of the intellectual and the good of the will having life from the internal; ”and said, The God before whom my fathers walked, Abraham and Isaac,“ signifies the Divine from which internal good and internal truth had life; ”the God who feedeth me,“ signifies this Divine vivifying the good of spiritual truth from the natural; ”since I am, unto this day,“ signifies continually; ”the Angel who redeemeth me from all evil,“ signifies the Lord‘s Divine Human, by which is effected deliverance from hell; ”bless the boys,“ signifies give them to have truth and good; ”and let my name be called in them,“ signifies that in them should be the quality of the good of spiritual truth from the natural; ”and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac,“ signifies and the quality of internal good and truth; ”and let them grow unto a multitude in the midst of the earth,“ signifies extension from the inmost.

AC 6275. And he blessed Joseph. That this signifies a prediction with respect to the truth of the intellectual and the good of the will having life from the internal, is evident from the signification of ”blessing,“ as being prediction (n. 6230, 6254) and from the representation of Ephraim and Manasseh, who here are ”Joseph,“ as being the truth of the intellectual and the good of the will in the natural, born from the internal (n. 6234, 6249). That by ”Joseph“ are meant his sons, is evident from the blessing itself, in which it is said, ”The Angel who redeemeth me from all evil, bless the boys, and let my name be called in them;“ and the reason is that this good and truth in the natural, represented by Manasseh and Ephraim, are the very internal there. The internal and the external are indeed distinct from each other; but in the natural, where they are together, the internal is as in its own adapt form, which form does nothing from itself, but only from the internal within it; thus it is merely acted upon. The case herein is like the efficient in the effect: the efficient and the effect are distinct from each other, yet the efficient is in the effect as in its own adapted form, and through it acts as cause in the sphere where the effect is produced. In man the like is the case with the good and truth in the natural, born from the internal; for the internal clothes itself with such things as belong to the natural, in order that it may be there and lead a life there; but the things with which it clothes itself are nothing but coverings, which of themselves do nothing at all.

AC 6276. And said, The God before whom my father walked, Abraham and Isaac. That this signifies the Divine from which internal good and internal truth had life, is evident from the signification of ”God,“ as being the Divine; from the signification of” walking,“ as being to live, or to have life (n. 519, 1794); from the representation of Abraham, as being in the supreme sense the Lord’s Divine Itself; and from the representation of Isaac, as being His Divine rational, thus the internal human - for Jacob is the Lord‘s Divine natural, or His external human (n. 2011, 3245, 3305, 3439, 4615).  But in the representative sense ”Abraham“ is internal good, and ”Isaac“ internal truth (n. 3703, 6098, 6185). That these things in the representative sense are signified by ”Abraham and Isaac,“ is because that good and truth which are in the Lord’s kingdom proceed from His Divine and Divine Human; and make the Lord Himself to be there; thus He Himself is His kingdom.

AC 6277. The God who feedeth me.  That this signifies this Divine vivifying the good of spiritual truth from the natural, is evident from the signification of ”feeding,“ as being to vivify.  That ”to feed“ is to instruct, (n. 6044) is because a ”pasture“ is that which sustains the spiritual life of man (n. 6078); but ”feeding“ and a” pasture“ are there said of a flock, whereas ”feeding“ is here said of Jacob - that he was sustained with food and the necessaries of life; by which in the internal sense the like is signified; for that which sustains and vivifies the life of the body, in the internal sense signifies that which sustains the spiritual life and vivifies it.  That Israel represents spiritual good from the natural, has been shown above (n. 5801, 5803, 5806, 5812, 5817, 5819, 5826, 5833); and because this good which Israel represents is the good of truth, therefore the good of spiritual truth is here signified; for in the genuine sense ”Israel“ is the spiritual church, and the good of this church is the good of truth; because those who belong to this church are instructed about good by means of truth, and when they do according to the truth in which they are instructed, then this truth is called good. This is the good which is called the good of truth, and is represented by Israel.

AC 6278. Since I am, unto this day. That this signifies continually, is evident from the signification of ”today“ and ”to this day,“ as being what is perpetual and eternal (n. 2838, 4304, 6165); here therefore ”since I am, unto this day“ signifies continually, namely, vivifying, which is ”feeding“ (n. 6277).

AC 6279. The Angel who redeemeth me from all evil. That this signifies the Lord‘s Divine Human by which is effected deliverance from hell, is evident from the signification of ”angel,“ as being the Lord’s Divine Human; from the signification of ”redeeming,“ as being to deliver; and from the signification of ”evil,“ as being hell.  The reason why ”evil“ denotes hell is that hell itself is nothing but evil; for whether you say that all in hell are evil, or that hell is evil, it is the same.  In the spiritual sense, when ”evil“ is mentioned, hell is meant, for they who are in the spiritual sense, as are the angels in heaven, think and speak abstractedly from persons, because universally, and therefore to them evil is hell.  It is the same with ”sin,“ when thereby is meant the ruling evil, as in Genesis:--

Jehovah said unto Cain, If thou doest not well, sin coucheth at the door; and unto thee is his desire, and thou shall rule over him (Gen. 4:6, 7);

where ”sin“ denotes hell, which is at hand when a man does evil.  The very evil with man is nothing else than hell, for it inflows therefrom, and the man is then a hell in the least form, as also is everyone there.  So on the other hand, the very good in man is nothing else than heaven in him; for good flows in through heaven from the Lord; and the man who is in good, is heaven in the smallest image, as also is everyone in heaven.

AC 6280. That the ”redeeming Angel“ is the Lord as to the Divine Human, is evident from the fact that by assuming the Human and making it Divine the Lord redeemed man, that is, delivered him from hell; whence the Lord as to His Divine Human is called the ”Redeemer.“ That the Divine Human is called the ”Angel“ is because the word ”angel“ means ”sent,“ and the Lord as to the Divine Human is said to be ”sent,“ as is plain from many passages in the Word of the Evangelists. Moreover before the Lord‘s coming into the world the Divine Human was Jehovah Himself flowing in through heaven when He spake the Word; for Jehovah was above the heavens, but that which passed from Him through the heavens was at that time the Divine Human; for by the influx of Jehovah into heaven, He set forth a man, and the very Divine thence derived was a Divine man. This then is the Divine Human from eternity, and is what is called ”Sent,“ by which is meant proceeding, and this is the same as ”Angel.“

[2] But as Jehovah by this Divine Human of His, could not flow in any longer with men, because they had so far removed themselves from this Divine, He therefore took on the Human and made it Divine, and thus by influx from this into heaven He could reach even those of the human race who would receive the good of charity and the truth of faith from the Divine Human, which was thus made visible, and could thus deliver them from hell, which could not possibly have been effected in any other way.  This deliverance is that which is called ”redemption,“ and the Divine Human Itself, which delivered or redeemed, is what is called the ”redeeming Angel.“

[3] But be it known that in respect to the Divine Human, as well as in respect to the Divine Itself, the Lord is above heaven; for He is the Sun which illumines heaven; thus that heaven is far beneath Him.  The Divine Human which is in heaven is the Divine truth which proceeds from Him, which is the light from Him as a sun. In respect to His essence the Lord is not Divine truth, for this is from Him as light from the sun, but He is Divine good itself, one with Jehovah.

[4] The Lord’s Divine Human is called ”Angel“ in other places also in the Word, as when He appeared to Moses in the bush, of which it is written in Exodus:--

When Moses came to the mountain of God, unto Horeb, the Angel of Jehovah appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. Jehovah saw that Moses turned aside to see, therefore God called unto him out of the midst of the bush. And he said further, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob (Exod. 3:1, 2, 4, 6);

it is the Lord‘s Divine Human which is here called the ”Angel of Jehovah,“ and it is plainly said that it was Jehovah Himself.  That Jehovah was there in the Divine Human may be seen from the fact that the Divine Itself could Such appear except through the Divine Human; according to the Lord’s words in John: ”No one hath ever seen God, the only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He hath set Him forth“ (John 1:18); and in another place: ”Ye have neither ever heard the voice of the Father, nor seen His shape“ (John 5:37).

[5] Moreover the Lord as to the Divine Human is called the ”Angel“ where it treats of leading the people into the land of Canaan, of which we read in Exodus:--

Behold I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee unto the place which I have prepared. Beware thou of His faces, for He will not bear your transgression, because My name is in the midst of Him (Exod. 23:20, 21, 23);

that the ”Angel“ in this passage is the Divine Human, is evident from the fact that it is said, ”because My name is in the midst of Him,“ that is, Jehovah Himself is.  By ”My name“ is signified the quality of Jehovah which is in the Divine Human. The Lord as to the Divine Human is the ”name of Jehovah,“ (n. 2628); and the ”name of God“ is His quality, as also everything in one complex by means of which God is worshiped, (n. 2724, 3006).

[6] In Isaiah:--

In all their distress He had distress, and the Angel of His faces will deliver them; in His love and in His indulgence He redeemed them, and He took them, and carried them all the days of eternity (Isa. 63:9);

that the ”Angel of the faces of Jehovah“ is the Lord as to the Divine Human, is manifest, for it is said that ”He redeemed them.“

[7] In Malachi:--

Behold the Lord whom ye seek shall suddenly come unto His temple, even the Angel of the covenant whom ye desire; Behold He cometh, saith Jehovah Zebaoth. But who shall endure the day of His coming, and who shall stand when He appeareth?  Then shall the meat-offering of Judah and Jerusalem be sweet to Jehovah, as in the days of eternity, and as in former years (Mal. 3:1, 2, 4);

that the ”Angel of the covenant“ is the Lord as to the Divine Human is very evident, for the subject treated of is His coming; the ”offering of Judah and Jerusalem being then sweet to Jehovah“ signifies that worship from love and faith in Him will then he sweet. That by ”Judah“ here is not meant Judah, nor by ”Jerusalem“ Jerusalem, is clearly evident; for neither then nor afterward was the offering of Judah and Jerusalem sweet.  That the ”days of eternity“ are the states of the Most Ancient Church, which was celestial; and that the ”former years“ are the states of the Ancient Church, which was spiritual, may be seen above (n. 6239).  moreover by an ”angel“ in the Word, in the internal sense, is not signified an angel, but something Divine in the Lord (n. 1925, 2319, 2821, 3039, 4085).

AC 6281. As regards ”redeeming,“ in the proper sense this signifies to restore and appropriate to Himself that which had been His; and it is predicated of slavery, of death, and of evil; when of slavery, they are meant who have been enslaved, in the spiritual sense enslaved by hell; when of death, they are meant who are in condemnation; and when of evil, as here, they are meant who are in hell, for the evil from which the angel redeems is hell (n. 6279).  As the Lord delivered man from these evils by making the Human in Himself Divine, therefore His Divine Human is called in the Word the ”Redeemer,“ as in Isaiah:--

I aid thee, saith Jehovah, and thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel (Isa. 41:14).

Again:--

Thus hath said Jehovah, the Redeemer of Israel, his Holy One (Isa. 49:7, 26).

Again:--

Jehovah Zebaoth is His name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; the God of the whole earth shall He be called (Isa.  54:5).

In these passages, the Divine Itself, which is called ”Jehovah,“ is distinguished from the Divine Human, which is called the ”Redeemer the Holy One of Israel.“

[2] But that it is Jehovah Himself in the Divine Human, is evident from the following passages.  In Isaiah:--

Thus hath said Jehovah, the King of Israel, and his Redeemer, Jehovah Zebaoth, I am the first, and I am the last, and besides Me there is no God (Isa. 44:6).

Again:--

Thus hath said Jehovah thy Redeemer, I am Jehovah thy God, that teacheth thee (Isa. 48:17).

Again:--

Thou art our Father, for Abraham knoweth us not, and Israel doth not acknowledge us; Thou Jehovah art our Father, our Redeemer; from everlasting is Thy name (Isa. 63:16).

In David:--

Jehovah who redeemed thy life from the pit (Ps. 103:4).

[3] From these passages also it is plain that by ”Jehovah“ in the Word no other is meant than the Lord (n. 1343, 1736, 2921, 3035, 5663); and that ”Jehovah the Redeemer“ is His Divine Human.  Therefore also those who have been redeemed are called the ”redeemed of Jehovah“ in Isaiah:--

Say ye to the daughter of Zion, Behold thy salvation cometh; Behold His reward is with Him, and the price of His work before Him. They shall call them, The people of holiness, the redeemed of Jehovah (Isa. 62:11, 12);

that it is the Lord from whom they are called the ”redeemed of Jehovah,“ is very clear; for it is said of His coming: ”Behold thy salvation cometh; behold His reward is with Him.“ See besides (Isa. 43:1; 52:2, 3; 63:4, 9; Hosea 13:14; Exod. 6:6; 15:13; Job 19:25), where it is evident that ”redemption“ is predicated of slavery, of death, and of evil.

AC 6282. Bless the boys. That this signifies give them to have truth and good, is evident from the signification of ”blessing,“ as being to endow with truth and good; for in the spiritual sense ”blessing“ involves nothing else (n. 1420, 1422, 4981); and from the representation of Ephraim and Manasseh, who here are the ”boys,“ as being the intellectual and the will of the church, to which truth and good should be given: to the intellectual, truth; and to the will, good.

AC 6283. And let my name be called in them.  That this signifies that in them should be the quality of the good of spiritual truth from the natural, is evident from the signification of the ”name being called in“ anyone, as being his quality in him (n. 1754, 1896, 2009, 3421); and from the representation of Israel, as being the good of spiritual truth from the natural (n. 6277); and because the quality of Israel was in them, therefore they also were received among the rest of the sons of Jacob, and were made tribes, one of Manasseh and the other of Ephraim, and with them the twelve tribes were made up, when the tribe of Levi, being made the priesthood, was not numbered among the tribes that obtained inheritance by lot (Joshua and Ezekiel 48).

AC 6284. And the name of my fathers, Abraham and Isaac. That this signifies, and the quality of internal good and truth, is evident from the signification of ”name,“ as being the quality (n. 6283); and from the representation of Abraham and Isaac, as being internal good and truth (n. 6276). Internal good and truth must be in external good and truth, in order for these to be good and truth.  For, as was said above (n. 6275), the external is merely a formed something, of such a nature that the internal can be in it, and lead a life there according to the influx into itself from the Lord; neither also is the internal anything else relatively to the highest, which is the Lord, whence is all life; and the things beneath are merely forms recipient of life through the degrees in their order, down to the last, which is the body.

AC 6285. And let them grow unto a multitude in the midst of the earth. That this signifies extension from the inmost, is evident from the signification of the ”midst,“ as being the inmost (n. 2940, 2973, 6068, 6084, 6103).  Hence ”growing unto a multitude“ is extension; for the truths that are signified by a ”multitude“ extend themselves round about from the inmost, as from a center; and the greater the extension thence is, and the better this is in accordance with heavenly order, so much the more perfect is the state; this is the state which is signified by this part of the blessing: ”and let them grow unto a multitude in the midst of the earth.“

AC 6286. Verses 17-20. And Joseph saw that his father put his right hand, upon the head of Ephraim, and it was evil in his eyes; and he laid hold of the hand of his father to remove it from upon Ephraim‘s head upon Manasseh’s head.  And Joseph said unto his father, Not so, my father; for this is the firstborn; put thy right hand upon his head.  And his father refused, and said, I know, my son, I know; he also shall be for a people, and he also shall become great; and nevertheless his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his seed shall be the fullness of the nations. And he blessed them in this day, saying, In thee shall Israel bless, saying, God set thee as Ephraim and as Manasseh; and he set Ephraim before Manasseh. ”And Joseph saw that his father put his right hand upon the head of Ephraim,“ signifies a perception that he accounted truth as being in the first place; ”and it was evil in his eyes,“ signifies displeasure; ”and he laid hold of the hand of his father,“ signifies influx into the power of his obscure perception; ”to remove it from upon Ephraim‘s head upon Manasseh’s head,“ signifies to turn him away from error; ”and Joseph said unto his father, Not so, my father, for this is the first born,“ signifies perceptible influx with respect to good that it has priority; ”put thy right hand upon his head,“ signifies that thus it should be in the first place; ”and his father refused,“ signifies no consent; ”and said, I know, my son, I know,“ signifies that so it is, but that it appears otherwise; ”he also shall be for a people, and he also shall become great,“ signifies that truth from good also shall be increased, thus the celestial man; ”and nevertheless his younger brother shall be greater than he,“ signifies that good from truth shall receive more increase, thus the spiritual man; ”and his seed shall be the fullness of the nations,“ signifies that the truth of faith shall reign; ”and he blessed them in this day,“ signifies foresight and providence eternally; ”saying, In thee shall Israel bless, saying, God set thee as Ephraim and as Manasseh,“ signifies that his own spiritual may be in the truth of the intellectual and in the good of the will; ”and he set Ephraim before Manasseh,“ signifies that he accounted truth as being in the first place, because he was spiritual.

AC 6287. And Joseph saw that his father put his right hand upon the head of Ephraim. That this signifies a perception that he accounted truth as being in the first place, is evident from the signification of ”saying,“ as being to understand and perceive (n. 2150, 2807, 3764, 4567, 4723, 5400); from the representation of Joseph, as being the internal celestial (n. 5869, 5877, 6224); from the representation of Israel, who here is the ”father,“ as being spiritual good from the natural; from the signification of ”putting the right hand on the head,“ as being to account in the first place (n. 6269); and from the representation of Ephraim, as being the truth of the intellectual in the natural (n. 6234, 6238, 6267).  From this it is plain that by ”Joseph saw that his father put his right hand on the head of Ephraim,“ is signified a perception of the internal celestial that spiritual good from the natural accounted truth as being in the first place. (n. 6256, 6269, 6272, 6273).

AC 6288. And it was evil in his eyes.  That this signifies displeasure, is evident without explication.  The reason why it displeased Joseph was that by him is represented the internal celestial, which is above the spiritual good that is represented by Israel.  What is higher can perceive how the case is with what is done in what is lower, thus also whether it is truth that is being thought there, or not. For as what is higher sees from the light of heaven, it sees the things that are below; thus the internal celestial which is ”Joseph,“ saw that the spiritual good from the natural which is ”Israel,“ was in error, and therefore it displeased him.

AC 6289. And he laid hold of the hand of his father. That this signifies influx into the power of his obscure perception, is evident from the signification of ”laying hold of the hand,“ as being influx into the power of perception; for when the internal desires by means of influx to compel the external to think and will something, it as it were takes hold of it, here of the power of perception that is signified by the ”hand.“ The ”hand“ is power, (n. 878, 3387, 4931-4937). That the perception is called obscure, is because relatively to the celestial, who are represented by Joseph, the spiritual, who are represented by Israel, are in obscurity. The spiritual are relatively in obscurity, (n. 2708, 2715, 2716, 2718, 2831, 2849, 2935, 2937, 3833, 4402). That the spiritual are in obscurity, is very evident from the fact that before they have been regenerated they are altogether in thick darkness with respect to truth and good, and that while they are being regenerated, it is such truth as is in the doctrine of their church that they acknowledge, and in which truth they have faith, whether it is true or not.  Nevertheless it is this truth that becomes good with them when it becomes of the will and thence of the life, and then it is that good which is called the good of truth, and also the good of faith, and likewise spiritual good, or the good of the spiritual church.  The quality of the good that is from such an origin may be known to everyone who considers the matter.  Nevertheless the good from such truth, even with the Gentiles, is accepted by the Lord, provided it has for a principle or starting-point charity toward the neighbor, and that in this charity there is innocence.

AC 6290. To remove it from upon Ephraim‘s head upon Manasseh’s head.  That this signifies to turn him away from error, is evident from the signification of ”removing,“ as being to turn away; and from the signification of ”from upon Ephraim‘s head upon Manasseh’s head,“ as being from error; for it was an error for him to account truth as being in the first place and good in the second, as has been shown above.

AC 6291. And Joseph said unto his father, Not so, my father; for this is the firstborn.  That this signifies perceptible influx with respect to good, that it has the priority, is evident from the signification of ”saying,“ when predicated of the internal celestial, which here is ”Joseph,“ as being influx (n. 6152); here perceptible influx, because he not only took hold of his hand, but also said, ”Not so, my father, for this is the firstborn.“

AC 6292. Put thy right hand upon his head. That this signifies that thus it should be in the first place, is evident from the signification of ”putting the right hand on the head,“ as being to account in the first place (n. 6269, 6287).  That when he was blessing, Israel placed his hand on the head, was from a ritual received from the ancients; for in the head are the very intellectual and will of man, but in the body are acts according thereto, and compliance; thus putting the hand on the head was a representative that a blessing was being communicated to the intellectual and the will, thus to the man himself. From that ancient time the same ritual remains even to this day, and is in use in inaugurations, and also in the act of blessing.

AC 6293. And his father refused.  That this signifies no consent, is evident without explication.

AC 6294. And said, I know, my son, I know. That this signifies that so it is, but that it appears otherwise, is evident from the signification of ”knowing,“ as here being to know that it is so, but that it appears otherwise. That spiritual good which is ”Israel“ now perceived this, was from the influx of the internal celestial, which is ”Joseph“, which influx has been treated of above, (n. 6289, 6291). When spiritual good is in enlightenment from such an influx, it perceives that it is so, that is, that good is in the prior place, and truth in the posterior, and also that it appears otherwise; but at this time it makes the priority consist in the fact that truth should reign over good, and for this reason he retains the right hand on the head of the younger son, and the left on the head of the firstborn.

AC 6295. He also shall be for a people, and he also shall become great. That this signifies that truth from good also shall be increased, thus the celestial man, is evident from the signification of ”people,“ as being truth (n. 1259, 1260, 3581, 4619) from the signification of ”becoming great,“ as being to be increased; and from the representation of Manasseh, of whom this is said, as being the good of the will in the natural, born from the internal (n. 6234, 6238, 6267). That truth from good is of the celestial man, is evident from what has already been frequently said and shown with respect to the celestial man, namely, that the celestial man is one who is in good from the will, and from this in truth; and that he is distinguished from the spiritual man by the fact that the latter is in truth from the intellectual, and from this in good. And because ”Manasseh“ is the good of the will, therefore by him is represented the celestial man, but the external celestial man, or the man of the external celestial church; for ”Manasseh“ is the good of the will in the natural, thus in the external man; whereas ”Joseph“ is the man of the internal celestial church, because he is the good of the will in the rational, thus in the internal man.

[2] In a few words something must be said of the truth of good which is of the celestial man. This truth is indeed called truth, but it is good.  With the celestial man there is the good of love to the Lord and the good of love toward the neighbor. The good of love to the Lord is his internal, and the good of love toward the neighbor is his external.  Therefore as regards the men who are of the celestial church, those are in the internal of this church who are in love to the Lord, and those are in its external who are in love toward the neighbor The good of this love, namely, of love toward the neighbor with the celestial man, is what is here called the ”truth of good,“ and is represented by Manasseh. For the celestial man is such that he does not reason from truth, nor about truth, because he has perception from good (that is, through good from the Lord) that a thing is so or is not so (n. 202, 337, 2715, 3246, 4448); and yet the good of charity with him is what is called truth, but celestial truth.

AC 6296. And nevertheless his younger brother shall be greater than he. That this signifies that good from truth shall receive more increase, thus the spiritual man, is evident from the representation of Ephraim, here the ”younger brother,“ as being the truth of the intellectual in the natural born from the internal (n. 6234, 6238, 6267), but here ”Ephraim“ is good from truth; and from the signification of ”becoming greater‘ than another; as being to receive more increase.  That here “Ephraim” is good from truth, is because he represents the man of the spiritual church, but the man of the external spiritual church, as Manasseh represents the man of the external celestial church (n. 6295). Good from truth constitutes this man, that is, the man of the spiritual church. The internal of this church is what is represented by Israel, but the external by Ephraim The man of the spiritual church differs from the man of the celestial church in this, that the good of the spiritual church is implanted in the intellectual part, but the good of the celestial church in the will part (n. 863, 875, 895, 927, 928, 1023, 1043, 1044, 2256, 4328, 4493, 5113); therefore Ephraim represents the spiritual man, and Manasseh the celestial.

[2] That good from truth, or the spiritual man, receives more increase than the good from which is truth, or the celestial man, is because the will of man has continually been depraved, and at last so that evil has taken entire possession of it, insomuch that nothing sound (integer) has remained there.  Therefore lest man should perish, the Lord provided that he might be regenerated as to the intellectual part, and thus be saved.  Hence then it is that there are few with whom there is anything sound left in the will part, thus few who can become celestial men, but many who can become spiritual men; thus that the latter receive more increase than the former.  This is what is signified by his “younger brother becoming greater than he.”

AC 6297. And his seed shall be the fullness of the nations. That this signifies that the truth which is of faith shall reign, is evident from the signification of “seed,” as being faith and charity (n. 1025, 1447, 1610, 1940, 2848, 3187, 3310, 3373, 3671), here faith, because predicated of Ephraim; and from the signification of the “fullness of the nations,” as being abundance, thus that the truth of faith shall reign. “Fullness” in the Word signifies all, and where it does not signify all, it signifies abundant, and is predicated both of truth and of good; for “multitude” is predicated of truth, but “magnitude” of good, thus “fullness of both,” as in Jeremiah:--

Behold waters rise up out of the north, which shall become an overflowing stream, and shall overflow the land and the fullness thereof, the city and them that dwell therein (Jer. 47:2);

“the land and the fullness” denote all, both truth and good, that is of the church.  For this reason it is added, “the city and them that dwell therein;” for by “city” are signified truths, and by “them that dwell therein,” goods (n. 2268, 2451, 2712).

[2] In Ezekiel:--

They shall eat their bread with solicitude, and drink their waters with amazement, that the land thereof may be devastated from its fullness (Ezek. 12:19);

the “land” denotes the church, and the “fullness” the good and truth there. That both are signified is evident from what precedes, that “they should eat bread with solicitude, and drink waters with amazement;” for by “bread” is signified the good of love, and by “waters” the truth of faith, which are called the “fullness of the earth.”

[3] In like manner in Amos:--

The pride of Jacob, and his palaces, I hate, therefore will I shut up the city and the fullness thereof (Amos 6:8).

In David:--

The heavens are Thine, the earth also is Thine; the world and the fullness thereof Thou hast founded (Ps. 89:11).

And elsewhere in the same:--

The earth is Jehovah’s, and the fullness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein. For He hath founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the streams (Ps. 24:1, 2);

where also the “fullness” denotes truth and good; the “earth,” the church in a specific, and the “world,” the church in a universal sense.  That “Jehovah founded the world upon the seas” denotes upon the things that are of memory-knowledge (n. 28); and that “He established it upon the streams” denotes upon the things that are of intelligence (n. 3051).  Who cannot see that it is not meant that Jehovah founded the world upon the seas, and established it upon the streams, for the world is not founded and established thereon; and therefore he who reflects can see that by “seas” and by “streams” something else is signified, and that this something else is the spiritual or internal of the Word.

AC 6298. And he blessed them in this day.  That this signifies foresight and providence eternally, is evident from the signification of “blessing,” as being prediction (n. 6230, 6254), but in the supreme sense the Lord‘s foresight; and because foresight, it is also Providence, for the one is impossible without the other; for evil is foreseen and good is provided, and the evil which is foreseen is by providence bent into good. That here “to bless” denotes foresight and providence, is because Israel, who here blesses, in the supreme sense is the Lord (n. 4286). That eternally is meant, is evident from the signification of “this day,” or “today,” as being what is eternal (n. 2838, 3998, 4304, 6165).

AC 6299. Saying, In thee shall Israel bless, saying, God set thee as Ephraim and as Manasseh. That this signifies that his own spiritual may be in the truth of the intellectual and the good of the will, is evident from the representation of Israel, as being spiritual good (n. 5801, 5803, 5806, 5812, 5817, 5819, 5826, 5833) and from the representation of Ephraim, as being the truth of the intellectual, and of Manasseh, as being the good of the will.  That the spiritual, which is “Israel,” may be in them, is signified by the words, “in thee shall Israel bless, and God set thee.”

[2] As regards the spiritual represented by Israel being in the truth of the intellectual and the good of the will, which are “Ephraim and Manasseh,” the case is this. The spiritual good which is represented by Israel is the spiritual of the internal church; whereas the truth and good represented by Ephraim and Manasseh are of the external church (n. 6296).  In order for an internal to be an internal of the church, it must needs be in the external of the church, for the external holds the place of the foundation on which the internal stands, and is the receptacle into which the internal flows.  Hence it is that the natural, which is external, must needs be regenerated; for unless it is regenerated, the internal has neither foundation nor receptacle; and if it has no foundation nor receptacle, it utterly perishes. This then is what is meant by his own spiritual being in the truth of the intellectual and the good of the will.

[3] As an illustration of this matter take this example.  The very affection of charity which a man feels within himself as a quietude and bliss in benefiting the neighbor without regard to any recompense, is the internal of the church; but to will this good and to do it from truth, that is, because it has been so commanded in the Word, is the external of the church.  If the natural, which is the external, is not in agreement, that is, does not will nor do this good, because it sees in it no recompense, thus nothing of self (for in the natural or external man there is such a disposition both from what is hereditary and from what is actual), then the internal has no foundation, nor corresponding receptacle, except such as either rejects, or perverts, or extinguishes the influx; and therefore the internal perishes, that is, is closed and stopped up, so that nothing from heaven can pass into the natural through the internal, except some light of a general nature that passes through the chinks everywhere round about, in order that there may be a faculty of thinking, of willing, and of speaking, but according to that which is in the natural, thus in favor of evil and falsity against good and truth, to which purpose it makes subservient that amount of spiritual light which in a general manner flows in through the chinks everywhere round about.

AC 6300. And he set Ephraim before Manasseh. That this signifies that he accounted truth as being in the first place, because he was spiritual, is evident from what has been unfolded above (verses 13, 14, 17-19).

AC 6301. Verses 21, 22. And Israel said unto Joseph, Behold, I die; and God shall be with you, and shall bring you back unto the land of your fathers. And I give thee one portion above thy brethren, which I took out of the hand of the Amorite with my sword and with my bow. “And Israel said unto Joseph, Behold, I die,” signifies the perception of spiritual good from the internal celestial about new life, and about the end of the representation; “and God shall be with you,” signifies the Divine providence of the Lord; “and shall bring you back unto the land of your fathers,” signifies to the state of both Ancient Churches; “and I give thee one portion above thy brethren,” signifies that the truth of the intellectual and the good of the will would have more there; “which I took out of the hand of the Amorite,” signifies by victory over evil; “with my sword,” signifies by means of truth combating; “and with my bow,” signifies from doctrine.

AC 6302. And Israel said unto Joseph, Behold, I die. That this signifies the perception of spiritual good from the internal celestial about new life, and about the end of the representation, is evident from the signification of “saying,” as being perception (n. 6220); from the representation of Israel, as being spiritual good (n. 6225) from the representation of Joseph, as being the internal celestial (n. 5869, 5877); and from the signification of “dying,” as being resurrection into life (n. 3498, 3505, 4618, 4621, 6036, 6221), and also as being the end of the former representation (n. 3253, 3259, 3276); which end is also here signified by “dying.” For when one dies who had represented anything of the church, another succeeds who continues the representation in its order. Thus after Abraham died, the representative was continued in its order in Isaac, and afterward in Jacob, and after him in his sons; and so when Moses died, the representative succeeded in Joshua, and afterward in the judges in order, even to the kings, and so on.

AC 6303. And God shall be with you. That this signifies the Divine providence of the Lord, is evident from the signification of “God shall be with you,” as being the Divine providence of the Lord; for when the Lord is with anyone, He leads him, and provides that all things which happen, whether sad or joyful, befall him for good: this is the Divine providence.  The reason why it is called the providence “of the Lord” is that it is said, “God shall be with you,” and by “God” and by “Jehovah” in the Word is meant the Lord, for there is no other God besides Him for He is the very Father and He is the very Son, for they are one; the Father is in Him, and He in the Father, as He Himself teaches in (John 14:9-11) and (n. 1343, 1736, 2921, 3035, 5663).

AC 6304. And shall bring you back unto the land of your fathers. That this signifies to the state of both Ancient Churches, is evident from the signification of “land,” as being the church (n. 566, 662, 1066, 1067, 1733, 1850, 2117, 2118, 3355, 4535, 4447, 5577) and from the signification of “fathers,” as being the men of the Ancient and Most Ancient Churches (n. 6075). It is said “to the state of both Ancient Churches,” because the sons of Israel and their descendants, like those who belonged to the Ancient Churches, in every particular represented the Lord’s kingdom, celestial and spiritual.  The representative itself was also instituted; with the Jewish nation that of the celestial kingdom, and with the Israelitish that of the spiritual kingdom; but with that generation nothing but a mere representative could be instituted, and not anything of the church or kingdom of the Lord; for they desired to see and acknowledge in the representatives absolutely nothing but what was external, and not anything internal. Nevertheless in order that there might exist a representative, and thereby some communication with heaven, and through heaven with the Lord, they were kept in externals; and it was then provided by the Lord that communication should exist by means of a mere external representative without an internal.  This was the state to which the descendants of Jacob could be brought back; nevertheless in their external representatives there lay inwardly hidden Divine things; in the highest sense such as regarded the Lord‘s Divine Human; and in the relative sense such as regarded the Lord’s kingdom in the heavens, and the church.  This state of both Ancient Churches is signified by the words, “God shall bring you back unto the land of your fathers.”

AC 6305. And I give thee one portion above thy brethren. That this signifies that the truth of the intellectual and the good of the will should have more there, is evident from the representation of Ephraim and Manasseh, who here are “Joseph” (n. 6275), as being the truth of the intellectual and the good of the will; and from the signification of “giving one portion above the brethren,” as being to have more there, namely, in the church, which is signified by “land” (n. 6304).  The reason why the good of the will and the truth of the intellectual would have more there, is that these are the two essentials of the church; and therefore the birthright also was given to the sons of Joseph (1 Chron.  5:1).

AC 6306. Which I took out of the hand of the Amorite. That this signifies by victory over evil, is evident from the representation of the Amorite, as being evil (n. 1857); and from the signification of “taking out of the hand,” as being to acquire through victory.  As regards the Amorites, be it known that by them is signified evil, and also by the Canaanites; and by the rest of the nations in that land which are mentioned in the Word are signified various kinds of evil and also of falsity.  Such things were represented by the nations when the sons of Israel came into possession of the land of Canaan, for the reason that, while the sons of Israel represented heavenly things, those nations represented infernal things, and in this way the land of Canaan represented every state of the other life; and because the nations represented infernal things, they were given to the curse, and it was forbidden to enter into a covenant with those which remained.

[2] That the sons of Israel seized and inhabited the laid of those who represented the hells, “as a representative that about the time of the Lord‘s coming the infernals would have occupied a large part of heaven; and that by coming into the world and making the Human in Himself Divine the Lord would expel them and cast them down into the hells, and thus deliver heaven from them, and give it for an inheritance to those who would he of His spiritual kingdom.

[3] That by the Amorite nation was represented evil in general, is plain from the passages where it is mentioned, as in Ezekiel:--

Jerusalem, thy tradings and thy generations were from the land of the Canaanite; thy father was an Amorite, and thy mother a Hittite (Ezek. 16:3, 45);

as in the internal sense ”father“ signifies the good of the church, but in the opposite sense evil; and ”mother“ signifies the truth of the church, but in the opposite sense falsity, therefore it is said ”thy father was an Amorite, and thy mother a Hittite.“

[4] And in Amos:--

I destroyed the Amorite before them, whose height was like the height of the cedars, and he was sturdy as the oak. I led you in the wilderness, to possess the land of the Amorite (Amos 2:9, 10);

here also the ”Amorite“ denotes evil, for the evil of the love of self is described by the ”height of the cedars and the sturdiness of the oak.“ That the ”Amorite“ is evil in general, is because the whole land of Canaan was called ”the land of the Amorite;“ for it is said, ”I led you in the wilderness, to possess the land of the Amorite.“ Again in the second book of Kings:--

Manasseh king of Judah hath done evil above all the evil that the Amorites did, who were before him (2 Kings 21:11).

[5] That with my sword signifies by means of truth combating, is evident from the signification of ”sword,“ as being truth combating (n. 2799, 4499).  And that with my bow signifies by means of doctrine, is evident from the signification of ”bow,“ as being doctrine (n. 2686, 2709).

[6] That the words ”the portion which I took out of the hand of the Amorite with my sword and with my bow“ were spoken by Israel on account of the internal sense, is very manifest, because Jacob did not take that portion from the Amorite with his sword nor with his bow, but bought it of the sons of Hamor, as is plain from the words in Genesis 33:

”Jacob came to Shalem, a city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, when he came thither from Paddan-aram; and encamped before the city.  And he bought the portion of the field, where he had spread his tent, from the hand of the sons of Hamor, Shechem’s father, for a hundred kesitah“ (Gen. 33:18, 19).

That this field was the portion which he gave to Joseph, is evident from these words in Joshua: ”The bones of Joseph, which the sons of Israel brought up out of Egypt, buried they in Shechem, in the portion of the field which Jacob bought of the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem, for a hundred kesitah; and they were for an inheritance to the sons of Joseph“ (Joshua 24:32). From this it is plain that that portion was bought, and that it was what was given to Joseph.

[7] That the city of Shechem was not meant, which was near there, where Simeon and Levi slew every male, and which they took with the sword (Genesis 34), may be seen from the fact that Jacob abhorred that deed, and on that account cursed Simeon and Levi, and utterly put away from himself that deed, saying, Let not my soul come into their secret; in their assembly let not my glory he united; for in their anger they slew a man, and in their good pleasure they unstrung an ox.  Cursed be their anger, for it was vehement; and their wrath, for it was hard: I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel” (Gen. 49:5-7). From all this it is now evident that these words, one portion which I took out of the hand of the Amorite with my sword and with my bow,“ were said by him when he was in the prophetic spirit, for the sake of the internal sense.

AC 6307. That there is an influx from the spiritual world through angels and spirits into the affections and thoughts, has been given me to know so manifestly by the experience of many years, that nothing can be more manifest. I have felt the influx, not only as to the thoughts, but also as to the affections and when evils and falsities were flowing in, I was given to know from what hells they came; and when goods and truths, from what angels. This experience has consequently become so familiar to me that at last I have been able to know whence came everyone of my thoughts and affections; and nevertheless my thoughts have been just like those which I had before.

AC 6308. This influx is effected by means of spirits and angels.  The order of the influx is that evil spirits first flew in, and the angels disperse their action.  That there is such an influx the man does not perceive, because his thought is kept in freedom by means of the equilibration between these two influxes, and because he does not attend to such things nor could the evil know if they did attend, because with them there is no equilibrium between evil and good. But they who are in good can know it; and they also know from the Word that there is something within which fights against the evil and falsity with them, and that the spiritual man fights against the natural; thus the angels, who are in man‘s interiors and in his spiritual things, against the evil spirits who are in his exteriors and in his natural things; and it is also from this that the church is called militant.  But the evil which flows into the thought from the evil spirits, does the man no harm if he does not receive it; but if he receives it and transfers it from the thought into the will, he makes it his own; and he then goes over to the side of the infernal spirits, and withdraws from the angels of heaven. This is what the Lord teaches when He says that the things which enter into a man do not make him unclean; but the things which go out of him, because these go forth from the heart, that is, from the will (Mark 7:14-23).

AC 6309. I have spoken with good spirits about the internal and the external man, saying that it is wonderful that few within the church believe (although they know it from the Word) that there is an internal man, distinct from the external, when yet they might know this from a slight daily inspection of their own thought and will, namely, from the fact that they often think interiorly otherwise than they do exteriorly; and what they think exteriorly, they let out into speech, into their faces, and into act; but not so what they think interiorly, for this they deeply hide, as is customary with dissemblers, hypocrites, and the deceitful. They who are in good may know this from the fact that they think they ought not to do so and so, rebuking themselves from which it can be seen that there is an interior man, separate from the exterior.  But the reason why they do not attend to this, or if they do attend do not perceive it is that they make life consist in the body; and also that when they immerse the whole thought in bodily and worldly things, insight into such subjects perishes, and even belief that the fact is so.  This also it has been given me to know from experience.  When I was in any heavenly idea, and dropped into thought about worldly and earthly things, instantly heavenly things perished so absolutely as scarcely to be acknowledged.  The reason is that the things of the light of heaven become darkness when they fall into those which belong to the light of this world; for in themselves these two lights are contrary to each other.  In order however that they may not be contrary, man is regenerated, and is also elevated from sensuous toward interior things; and in so far as he is elevated from sensuous things, so far he abandons evils and falsities.  But he cannot be elevated unless he is in the good of faith and of life.

AC 6310. The interiors of man are distinct according to degrees by means of derivations, and according to these degrees are also the lights.  The internal sensuous, which is nearest the sensuous things of the body, has the most gross light. This light it has been given me to discern by much experience, and I have noticed that whenever I sank into this light, falsities and evils of many kinds presented themselves, and even things scandalous against heavenly and Divine things, besides things filthy and foul.  The reason is that this light rules in the hells, and by means of it chiefly do the hells flow into man. When a man is in this light, his thought is in nearly the same light as that in which is his external sight, and is then almost in the body.  Men who are in this light are to be called the Sensuous, for they do not think beyond the sensuous things of the body. What is beyond these they neither perceive nor believe, believing only that which they see and touch.  In this light are they who have not at all cultivated things interior, living in neglect and contempt of all things rational and spiritual; and in this light are especially the avaricious and adulterers, and they who have lived in mere pleasures and in disgraceful idleness, and who consequently think what is filthy, and often what is scandalous, about the holy things of the church.

AC 6311. In the light just referred to are as before said the bells, and in it also are some who are not so evil, that is, who have not been avaricious, adulterous, or voluptuous, but who have come into this light because they have not cultivated their rational. It was given me early one morning to see these spirits in a kind of twilight; they appeared in a public place, in crowds, carrying bags in which were crude materials, weighing them, and carrying them away.  come sirens were at that time not far off, and I heard them saying that they desired to be there, because they saw men with their eyes.  For as sirens have been more adulterous than others, and also in opposition to all heavenly and spiritual things, they cannot see other spirits, except such as are in sensuous light, because they themselves are of the same character.

AC 6312. As the hells are in this sensuous light, therefore unless a man is elevated out of it, he must needs perish.  He is elevated by means of the good of faith.  There are also hells which are in a more subtle sphere, where are they who have been inwardly malignant, and have devised many arts for depriving others of their goods, and have contrived many treacherous plans in order to obtain dominion.  But it was observed that this sphere flows into the external sensuous sphere, and this at the back where are the involuntary things of man. Hence the sensuous sphere is so strong.

AC 6313. When a man is being elevated toward interior things, he comes out of the gross sensuous light into a milder light, and at the same time is withdrawn from the influx of scandalous and filthy things, and is brought nearer to the things that belong to what is just and fair, because nearer to the angels who are with him, thus nearer to the light of heaven. This elevation from sensuous things was known to the ancients, even to the Gentiles, and therefore when the lower mind is withdrawn from sensuous things, their wise men said that it comes into interior light, and at the same time into a tranquil state, and into a kind of heavenly bliss; and from this they also concluded that the mind is immortal.  Man is capable of being elevated still more interiorly, and the more interiorly he is elevated, the clearer is the light into which he comes; and at last he comes into the light of heaven, which light is nothing else than wisdom and intelligence from the Lord.  The three heavens are distinguished in no other way than according to elevations toward interior things, thus also according to degrees of light; the third heaven, being in inmost things, is in the greatest light, thus in a wisdom which far surpasses the wisdom of the lower heavens.

AC 6314. As it is with light, so also it is with the heat which is man’s vital heat.  This vital heat does not in the slightest degree derive its origin from‘ the heat which is from the sun of this world but from spiritual heat, which is love, and which proceeds from the Lord: the angels have this heat.  Hence so far as man is in love, so far he is in vital beat. The body, however, is in the heat of the world, and so is the interior sensuous; but the vital heat flows into this heat and vivifies it. The purities and the grossnesses of this heat are circumstanced in the same way as are the lights.  It is this heat which is meant by the holy fires in the Word, and therefore by these fires are there signified heavenly loves.  But in the opposite sense it is this heat which is meant by the fires of hell, and therefore by these fires in the Word are signified infernal loves and their cupidities.

AC 6315. A man who in his earthly life has been elevated from sensuous things by means of the good of faith, is alternately in sensuous and in interior light; when he is in worldly cares, in company where external things flourish, and in pleasures, he is in sensuous life; in this state he shuns and is also averse to speaking and thinking about God, and about the things that belong to faith; and if he were then to speak and think on these subjects, He would make light of them, unless at the moment he were to be elevated by the Lord toward interior things. When the same man is not in worldly things, but in interior light, he thinks from what is just and fair and if he is in a still more interior light, he thinks from spiritual truth and good. He who is in the good of life is elevated from one light into the other; and into the more interior light in an instant when he begins to think evilly; for angels are near him.  This has been given to know by much experience, because I have frequently perceived the elevations, and at the same time the changes of state in respect to the affections, and in respect to the thoughts.

AC 6316. It will surprise you to hear that a great part of the learned are sensuous.  The reason is that they have acquired their knowledge merely for the sake of reputation, in order that they may be promoted to honors and thereby to gain, but not with a view to become wise; for all the sciences in the learned world are means of becoming wise, and also means of becoming insane.  When the learned are raised to honors, they afterward live sensuous more than the simple; and they then believe it to be the part of simplicity to attribute anything to the Divine, and not to prudence and nature, and everything else to chance.

AC 6317. There were spirits with me who when they had lived in the world were called learned. They were let into the state of thought in which they had been when in the body, and their thought about spirits was communicated to me, which thought was of such a nature that they could never be brought to believe that a spirit enjoys any sensation; and everything else they had thought about spirits or souls after death was devoid of all quality.  The reason was that they had made life consist in the body, and by means of matters of knowledge and of philosophy had confirmed themselves against the life of the spirit or soul after death; and thereby had closed interior things against themselves in such a manner that they could not possibly be elevated into them. After they had confirmed themselves against the things that belong to the life after death, if the veriest truths had then been told them, they would have treated them like the blind who see not, and like the deaf who hear not; and some of them would ridicule them; and this in exact proportion to their belief in their own pre-eminent wisdom.  But the unlearned, who have been in the good of faith, are not of this character, for they have not confirmed themselves against the things of the church by means of any matters of knowledge and philosophy, and therefore their perception is broader and clearer; and because they have not closed interior things they are capable of receiving goods and truths.

AC 6318. There are also men who are more than sensuous, namely, corporeal, and are those who have wholly confirmed themselves against the Divine, and have ascribed all things to nature, and thus have lived without any regard for what is just and fair, except only in the outward form.  These being inwardly like brute animals (although outwardly they appear like men) are more than sensuous, and in the other life appear to themselves and others as if they were corporeal. They have been seen by me in front near the right foot, rising up out of the deep, very hairy, and as it were rough and gross; and when they had risen up there appeared the semblance of a sword banging over their heads. I spoke with them, and they said it appeared to them exactly as if they were in the body.

AC 6319. As regards the influx of angels with a man, it is not an influx of such thoughts as the man then has, but is according to correspondences; for the angels are thinking spiritually, whereas the man perceives this naturally; thus with the man the spiritual things fall into their correspondents, consequently into their representatives.  For example, when a man speaks of bread, of seedtime, of harvest, of fatness, and the like, the thought of the angels is then about the goods of love and of charity; and so forth.  I once dreamed a common dream, and when I awoke, I related all from beginning to end. The angels said that all things coincided exactly with those which they had spoken of among themselves; not that these were the same as I had dreamed, but things corresponding and representative, and it is the same in every single thing.  I afterward talked with them about influx. Objects, however, such as a man sees with his eyes, do not appear before the spirits who are with the man, neither are words heard such as the man hears with the ear, but such as the man is thinking.  That thought is wholly different from speech, is evident from the fact that man thinks in a moment more than he can utter in half an hour, because he thinks abstractedly from the words of language. From this may in some measure be known the nature of the intercourse of the soul with the body, namely, that it is such as is the influx of the spiritual world into the natural world; for the soul or spirit of man is in the spiritual world, and his body is in the natural world: thus it is according to correspondences.

AC 6320. When the angels flow in, they adjoin affections also, and the very affections contain innumerable things within them; but of these innumerable things only a few are received by the man, in fact those only which are applicable to the things which are already in his memory. All the other things of the angelic influx encompass them, and keep them as it were in their bosom.

AC 6321. That there is angelic influx, and that without it man cannot live, has been given to know by experience.  There are malignant spirits who have devised arts for hindering the angelic influx, but only in part.  With me also they were permitted to do this, to the end that I might know from experience that the case is so.  In proportion as they hindered the influx, the life of the thought fluctuated, and at last was the same as it is with those who are falling into a swoon.  But I was instantly restored, and those spirits were cast down into their hell. They appeared to the left, in the plane of the crown of the head, where at first they were in concealment.

AC 6322. It is according to all appearance that the external senses, as the sight and hearing, flow into the thought, and excite ideas there; for it appears that objects, and also speech, move the senses, first the external, and then the internal senses. But this appearance, however strong, is nevertheless a fallacy for what is external, being gross and material, cannot flow into and move what is internal, which is pure and spiritual: this is contrary to nature.  It is the internal sense, that is, the sense of the spirit itself, which sensates through the external sense, and disposes the external sensory to receive objects according to its dictates; and therefore the sensories (as for instance the sensory of sight, or the eye) instantly accommodate themselves to all objects in accordance with the nature of these; which would not take place in the sensories unless there were an influx from within. For all the fibers and appendages, which are very numerous about every sensory or organ of sense, are in an instant determined suitably to the quality of the object; nay, into the organ itself there is instantly imparted a conformable state.  I have often heard among spirits a discourse about this appearance, and it was as often replied by angels that influx by no means takes place from externals into internals, but always from internals into externals; and that this is according to order, contrary to which there can be no influx. Two or three times I have seen spirits separated from an angelic society because they had believed from the appearance that there exists an influx from externals into internals; thus that influx is physical and not spiritual. The reason of their separation was that according to this notion it might have been concluded that the hells, which are in externals, can flow into the heavens, which are in internals; and it might also have been concluded that the influx of life is not from the Lord, when yet everything of life flows in from Him, because He is in the inmost, and relatively to Him all things are external.

AC 6323. That within the good of love which flows in from the Lord through angels is all truth, which truth would become manifest of itself if man lived in love to the Lord and in love toward the neighbor, is evident not only from the things that take place in heaven, but also from those which take place in lower nature; and from the latter, because they are in plain sight, I may draw some illustrations.

[2] Brute animals are impelled to action in no other way than by means of the loves and the affections of these into which they have been created and afterward born; for every animal is carried whither his affection and love draw it; and this being so, they are also in all matters of knowledge that ever belong to their love; for they know from a love resembling conjugial love how to come together, cattle after their kind, and birds after their kind; birds know how to build their nests, lay their eggs, brood upon them, hatch their young, and how to feed them, and this without any instruction, merely from the love which resembles conjugial love, and from love toward their offspring, which loves have implanted in them all these matters of knowledge.  In like manner they know what things to eat for food, and how to seek them.  And, what is more wonderful, bees know how to seek their food from flowers of various kinds, and also to gather the wax with which they make their cells, wherein first they deposit their offspring, and then store up food; they also know how to provide for the winter; not to mention very many other things.  All these matters of knowledge are included in their loves, and dwell there from their earliest origin.  Into these they are born, because they are in the order of their nature into which they were created; and thereafter they are moved by a general influx from the spiritual world.

[3] If man were in the order into which he was created, namely, in love toward the neighbor, and in love to the Lord (for these loves are proper to man), he above all animals would be born not only into matters of knowledge, but also into all spiritual truths and celestial goods, and thus into all wisdom and intelligence; for he is able to think of the Lord, and to be conjoined with Him through love, and thus to be elevated to what is Divine and eternal, which is not possible to brute animals.  Thus in the supposed case man would be directed by no other than general influx from the Lord through the spiritual world. But as he is not born into order, but contrary to his order, he is therefore born into ignorance of all things; and for this reason it has been provided that he may afterward be reborn, and thus come into as much of intelligence and wisdom as he receives of good, and of truth through good, in freedom.

AC 6324. Spirits who reason much in the other life have little perception of what is true and good, and therefore they cannot be admitted into interior angelic societies; for nothing of intelligence can be communicated to them there. These spirits also have reasoned among themselves about the influx of all thoughts and affections, and said, If this be so, no one can become guilty and suffer the penalty of any fault.” But they received for answer that if a man would believe as the case really is, namely, that all that is good and true is from the Lord, and all that is evil and false is from hell, he then could not become guilty of any fault, nor could evil be imputed to him; but because he believes that it is from himself, he appropriates evil to himself, for this is the effect of his faith; and in this way evil adheres and cannot be separated from him; nay, such is man that he would be indignant if anyone should say that he thinks and wills from others, and not from himself.

AC 6325. It is an eternal truth that the Lord rules heaven and earth, and also that no one besides the Lord lives of himself, consequently that everything of life flows in - the good of life from the Lord, and the evil of life from hell. This is the faith of the heavens.  When a man is in this faith (and he can be in it when he is in good), then evil cannot be fastened and appropriated to him, because he knows that it is not from himself, but from hell.  When a man is in this state, he can then be gifted with peace, for then he will trust solely in the Lord.  neither can peace be given to any others than those who are in this faith from charity; for others continually cast themselves into anxieties and cupidities, whence come disquietudes. Spirits who desire to direct themselves, suppose that this would be to lose their own will, thus their freedom, consequently all delight, thus all life and its sweetness.  This they say and suppose, because they do not know how the case really is; for the man who is led by the Lord is in freedom itself, and thus in delight and bliss itself; goods and truths are appropriated to him; there is given him an affection and desire for doing what is good, and then nothing is more delightful to him than to perform uses. There is given him a perception of good, and also a sensation of it; and there is given him intelligence and wisdom; and all these as his own; for he is then a recipient of the Lord’s life.  It is known in the learned world that the principal cause and the instrumental cause act together as a one: man, being a form recipient of the Lord‘s life, is an instrumental cause, and the life from the Lord is the principal cause. This life is felt in the instrumental cause as of it, when yet it is not of it.

AC 6326. There was a philosopher who ranked among the more celebrated and sane, and who died some years ago, with whom I have spoken about the degrees of life in man, saying that man consists of mere forms for receiving life, and that one form is more interior than another, but that one has come into existence and subsists from another; also that when the lower or exterior form is dissolved, the higher or interior form still lives.  It was further said that all operations of the mind are variations of the form, which variations in the purer substances are in such perfection that they cannot be described; and that the ideas of thought are nothing else; and that these variations take place according to the changes of the state of the affections.  How very perfect are the variations in the purer forms may be concluded from the lungs, which fold themselves variously and vary their forms according to every expression of speech, and to every note of a tune, and to every motion of the body, and also to each state of thought and affection; and what then must be the case with interior things, which, in comparison with so large an organ, are in the greatest perfection. The philosopher confirmed what was said, and declared that such things had been known to him when he lived in the world, and that the world should apply philosophy to such uses, and should not be intent on mere forms of words and disputes about these, and thus labor in the dust.

AC 6327. A continuation will be found at the end of the following chapter.

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