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Arcana Coelestia #10360

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10360. And ye shall keep the Sabbath. That this signifies that the Divine Human of the Lord is to be worshiped, is evident from the signification of “keeping,” when said of the Divine, as being to worship; and from the signification of “the Sabbath,” as being in the supreme sense the union of the Divine which is called the “Father” and of the Divine Human which is called the “Son,” thus the Divine Human in which is this union. This union is signified by “the Sabbath,” because by the six days of labor which precede the seventh is signified every state of combat; for in the spiritual sense “labor” does not mean such labor as there is in the world, but such as those who are in the church endure before they enter the church and become the church, which labor is combat against evils and falsities of evil. A like “labor” (in the spiritual sense) was endured by the Lord when He was in the world; for He then fought against the hells, and reduced them and likewise the heavens into order, and at the same time He glorified His Human, that is, He united it to the Divine Itself which He had from conception (see n. 9715, 9809).

[2] The time and state when the Lord was in combats is signified by the six days of labor, but the state when the union had been effected is signified by the seventh day, which is called “the Sabbath,” from “rest,” because the Lord then had rest. Consequently by “the Sabbath” is signified also the conjunction of the Lord with heaven, with the church, with an angel of heaven, and with a man of the church. The reason is that all who are to come into heaven must first be in combats against evils and the falsities of evil, and when these have been separated they enter heaven and are conjoined with the Lord, and then they have rest. It is similar with men in the world. It is known that these must be in combats, that is, that they must undergo temptations, before the good and truth which make the church have been implanted in them; thus before they have been conjoined with the Lord, consequently before they have rest. From this it is evident whence it is that a state of combat is signified by the six days of labor, while rest and also conjunction are signified by the seventh day or the Sabbath.

[3] That the conjunction of good and truth also, is signified by “the Sabbath,” is because when a man is in combats he is in truths; but when truths have been conjoined with good, thus when the man is in good, he then has rest; in like manner as the Lord, when He was in the world, and fought with the hells, was in respect to His Human Divine truth; and when He had united His Human to the Divine Itself, He then, even in respect to His Human, became the Divine good, or Jehovah.

[4] (That the six days which precede the Sabbath denote the combats which precede and prepare for the heavenly marriage, which is the conjunction of good and truth, may be seen in n. 8510, 8888, 9431. As regards the former state, when man is in truths and at the same time in combats against evils and falsities of evils, which state is signified by “the six days of labor,” and as regards the latter state, when he is in good and is led by the Lord, which is signified by “the Sabbath,” see n. 7923, 7992, 8505, 8506, 8510, 8512, 8516, 8539, 8643, 8648, 8658, 8685, 8690, 8701, 8772, 9139, 9224, 9227, 9230, 9274, 9832. That when the Lord was in the world He made His Human first Divine truth, and afterward Divine good, see the places cited in n. 9199, 9315; and that He did this by the combats of temptations, see the places cited in n. 9528.)

[5] Therefore he who knows that by “the Sabbath” in the supreme sense is meant the union of the Divine Itself in the Divine Human of the Lord, may know what those things signify which are so often said in the Word about the Sabbath, as in Isaiah:

If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, so that thou doest not thine inclinations on the day of My holiness; but shalt call the Sabbath honorable delights to the Holy One of Jehovah; and shalt honor it, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own desire, nor speaking a word; then shalt thou delight thyself upon Jehovah; and I will exalt thee on the high places of the earth, and I will feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father (Isaiah 58:13-14);

He who is acquainted with the internal sense of the Word can plainly see that in this passage by “the Sabbath” is signified the state of conjunction of man with the Lord, thus the state when man is led by the Lord and not by himself, which state is when he is in good. For to be led by the Lord, and not by self, is to “turn away the foot from the Sabbath, not to do one’s own inclinations, not to do one’s own ways, not to find one’s own desire, and not to speak a word.” That in this case the church is in him, and also heaven, is signified by that “he shall be exalted on the high places of the earth, and shall be fed with the heritage of Jacob.” Moreover, that “the Sabbath” denotes the Divine Human in which is union, is signified by the Sabbath being called “a day of holiness and of delight to the Holy One of Jehovah.”

[6] And in Jeremiah:

If ye will hallow the Sabbath day, then shall there enter in by the gates of this city kings and princes sitting upon the throne of David, riding in the chariot and on horses (Jeremiah 17:24-25);

He who is not acquainted with the internal sense of the Word will suppose that these things are to be understood according to the sense of the letter, namely, that if they would hallow the Sabbath, kings and princes would enter in by the gates of the city Jerusalem, and would ride in the chariot and on horses. This however is not the meaning; but that those who reverently worship the Divine Human of the Lord shall be in the Divine truths of heaven and of the church; for by “Jerusalem” is meant the church; by “kings and princes,” its Divine truths; by “the throne of David,” heaven where the Lord is; by “chariot,” the doctrine of good and truth; and by “horses,” an enlightened understanding. (That “Jerusalem” denotes the church, see n. 2117, 3654; that “kings” denote Divine truths, n. 1672, 2015, 2069, 3009, 4575, 4581, 4966, 5044, 5068, 6148; that “princes” denote primary truths, n. 1482, 2089, 9954; that a “throne” denotes heaven, n. 5313; that “a chariot” denotes the doctrine of good and truth, n. 5321, 8215; and that “horses” denote an understanding which is enlightened, n. 2760-2762, 3217, 5321, 6534)

[7] As by “the Sabbath” was signified the Lord as to the Divine Human in which there is union, it was therefore commanded that the breads of faces should be set in order upon the table every Sabbath (Leviticus 24:8). That the Lord as to the Divine Human is meant by “bread” is known in the church. For this reason also when the Lord was in the world He called Himself “the Lord of the Sabbath” (Matthew 12:8; Mark 2:27-28; Luke 6:1-5).

[8] And therefore when the Lord was in the world, and united His Human to the Divine Itself, He abrogated the Sabbath in respect to representative worship, or in respect to its worship such as was with the Israelitish people; and made the Sabbath day a day of instruction in the doctrine of faith and of love. This is involved in what is written in John:

Jesus healing a certain man on the Sabbath day said to him, Take up thy bed and walk; and he took up his bed and walked. But the Jews said that it was not allowable to carry a bed on the Sabbath day, and sought to kill the Lord, because He loosed the Sabbath (John 5:8-10, 18).

By the “healing of the sick” is signified the purifying of man from evils and the falsities of evil; by a “bed” is signified doctrine; and by “walking” is signified life.

[9] (That all the healings of diseases which were performed by the Lord involve purification from evils and falsities, or restorations to spiritual life, see n. 8364, 9031, 9086; and that “to walk” denotes life, n. 519, 1794, 8417, 8420.) That a “bed” denotes doctrine is evident from the passages in the Word where a “bed” is mentioned, and also from the representatives in the other life, where when a bed appears and one lying on it, there is signified the doctrine in which he is; consequently beds appear there most highly adorned for those who are in truths from good. But no one can know that such things are signified by the above words of the Lord except by the internal sense, for the Lord spoke by correspondences, thus by significatives, because from the Divine.

  
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Arcana Coelestia #5044

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5044. And the prince of the prison house. That this signifies truth governing in a state of temptations, is evident from the signification of a “prince,” as being primary truth, thus the governing truth, of which presently; and from the signification of a “prison house” as being the vastation of falsity, and consequently temptation (of which above, n. 5038, 5039, 5043). What is meant by truth governing in a state of temptations must first be told. With all who are in temptations there flows in truth from the Lord, which rules and governs the thoughts and raises up the sufferers whenever they fall into doubts and even into despair. This governing truth is that truth and such truth as they have learned from the Word or from doctrine, and have confirmed in themselves. Other truths are indeed at such times also called to mind, but they do not govern the interiors. Sometimes the truth which governs is not presented visibly before the understanding, but lies hid in obscurity, yet it still governs; for the Divine of the Lord flows into it, and thus keeps the interiors of the mind in it, and therefore when it comes into light, the person who is in temptation receives consolation and is relieved.

[2] It is not this truth itself, but the affection of it, by which the Lord governs those who are in temptations; for the Divine flows only into those things which are of the affection. The truth which is implanted and rooted in a man’s interiors is implanted and rooted by affection, and not at all without affection; and the truth which has been implanted and rooted by affection, clings there, and is recalled by affection; and when this truth is so recalled, it presents the affection that is conjoined with it, which is the man’s reciprocal affection. As such is the case with the man who is in temptations, therefore no one is admitted into any spiritual temptation until he reaches adult age, and has thus become imbued with some truth by which he can be governed; otherwise he sinks under the temptation, and then his latter state is worse than the first. From these things it may be seen what is meant by truth governing in a state of temptations, which is signified by the “prince of the prison house.”

[3] That a “prince” denotes primary truth, is because a “king” in the internal sense signifies truth itself (see n. 1672, 1728, 2015, 2069, 3009, 3670, 4575, 4581, 4789, 4966); hence “princes,” because they are the sons of a king, signify the primary things of that truth. That “princes” have this signification may be seen above in n. 1482089, but as this was not there proved from many other passages in the Word, some may be cited here.

In Isaiah:

Unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the principality shall be upon His shoulder-the Prince of peace. Of the multiplying of His principality and peace there shall be no end (Isaiah 9:6-7);

which is said of the Lord. The “principality upon the shoulder” is all Divine truth in the heavens from Him; for the heavens are distinguished into principalities according to truths from good, whence also the angels are called “principalities.” Peace is a state of blessedness in the heavens, affecting with good and truth from the inmosts (n. 3780); hence the Lord is called the “Prince of peace,” and it is said that “of the multiplying of His principality and peace there shall be no end.”

[4] Again in the same prophet:

The princes of Zoan are foolish, the wise, the counselors of Pharaoh. How say ye unto Pharaoh, I am the son of the wise, the son of the kings of antiquity? The princes of Zoan are become fools, the princes of Noph are deceived; and they have seduced Egypt, the corner stone of the tribes (Isaiah 19:11, 13);

treating of Egypt, by which is signified the memory-knowledge of the church (n. 4749), thus natural truth, which is the ultimate of order; wherefore also Egypt is here called the “corner stone of the tribes,” for the “tribes” are all things of truth in one complex (n. 3858, 3862, 3926, 3939, 4060). But in this passage “Egypt” is the memory-knowledge which perverts the truths of the church, thus truths in the ultimate of order falsified, which are the “princes of Zoan” and the “princes of Noph.” He calls himself the “son of the kings of antiquity,” because the memory-knowledges in Egypt were from the truths of the Ancient Church. The truths themselves are signified by “kings,” as was shown above, and the truths of the Ancient Church are signified by the “kings of antiquity.”

[5] Again:

Asshur thinketh not right, and his heart doth not meditate right; for his heart is to destroy, and to cut off nations not a few. For he saith, Are not my princes kings? (Isaiah 10:7-8

“Asshur” denotes reasoning about Divine truths, from which come falsities, thus perverse reasoning (n. 1186). The truths thus falsified, or falsities, which are produced by reasoning and which appear as the veriest truths, are signified by his saying, “Are not my princes kings?” That “Asshur” is reasoning, and that his “princes who are kings” are primary falsities which are believed to be the veriest truths, cannot be seen and thence believed so long as the mind is kept in the historic sense of the letter, and still less if it is in the negative as to there being anything more holy and more universal in the Divine Word than what appears in the letter; and yet in the internal sense by “Asshur” nothing else than reason and reasoning is understood in the Word, and by “kings” truths themselves, and by “princes” the primary things of truth. Nothing is known in heaven of Asshur, and the angels also reject from themselves the idea of a king and a prince; and when they perceive it in man, they transfer it to the Lord, and perceive that which proceeds from the Lord and is the Lord’s in heaven, namely, the Divine truth from His Divine good.

[6] Again:

Asshur shall fall with the sword, not of a man; and the sword, not of a man, shall devour him; his rock shall also pass away by reason of dread, but his princes shall be dismayed by the ensign (Isaiah 31:8-9);

also said of Egypt, which is the memory-knowledge of the church perverted. Reasoning from memory-knowledges about Divine truths, from which come perversion and falsification, is “Asshur,” these truths perverted and falsified are the “princes,” the “sword with which Asshur shall fall” is falsity battling with and vastating truth (n. 2799, 4499). Again:

The strength of Pharaoh shall become to you for a shame, and the trust in the shadow of Egypt for a reproach, when his princes shall be in Zoan (Isaiah 30:3-4

the “princes in Zoan” denote truths falsified, thus falsities, as above.

[7] Again:

The pelican and the bittern shall possess it; and the owl and the raven shall dwell therein; he shall stretch over it the line of emptiness, and the plummet of a waste. The nobles thereof are not there, they shall call a kingdom, and all her princes shall be nothing (Isaiah 34:11-12).

The “pelican,” the “bittern,” the “owl,” and the “raven,” denote the different kinds of falsity which come into existence when the Divine truths that are in the Word become of no account. The desolation and vastation of truth are signified by the “line of emptiness, and the plummet of a waste;” and the falsities, which to them are primary truths, are signified by “princes.” Again:

I will render profane the princes of holiness, and I will give Jacob for a curse, and Israel for reproaches (Isaiah 43:28);

“to profane the princes of holiness” denotes to profane holy truths; the extirpation of the truth of the external and the internal church is signified by “giving Jacob for a curse, and Israel for reproaches”; that “Jacob” is the external church, and “Israel” the internal, may be seen above (n. 4286).

[8] In Jeremiah:

There shall enter in by the gates of this city kings and princes sitting upon the throne of David, riding in chariot and on horses, they and their princes (Jeremiah 17:25);

one who here understands the Word in the historic sense, cannot be aware that the words store within them anything more deep and holy than that kings and princes would enter in by the gates of the city in chariots and on horses, and he gathers from it that the duration of the kingdom is referred to; but he who knows what a “city,” “kings,” “princes,” the “throne of David,” and “riding in chariot and on horses” signify in the internal sense, sees there things more deep and holy; for the “city” or Jerusalem signifies the spiritual kingdom of the the Lord, (n. 2117, 3654); “kings” signify Divine truths (as shown above); “princes,” the primary things of truth; the “throne of David,” the heaven of the the Lord, (n. 1888); “riding in chariot and on horses,” the spiritual understanding of the church (n. 2760, 2761, 3217).

[9] Again:

O sword against the Chaldeans, and against the inhabitants of Babylon, and against her princes and against her wise men. O sword against the liars. O sword against her horses and against her chariots (Jeremiah 50:35-37);

a “sword” denotes truth fighting against falsity, and falsity fighting against truth and vastating it (n. 2799, 4499); the “Chaldeans” denote those who profane truths; and the “inhabitants of Babylon,” those who profane good (n. 1182, 1283, 1295, 1304, 1307, 1308, 1321, 1322, 1326, 1327 at the end); “princes” denote the falsities which to such are primary truths; “horses,” the intellectual of the church, and “chariots,” its doctrine, the vastation of which is signified by a “sword against the horses and against the chariots.”

[10] Again:

How doth the Lord in His anger cloud over the daughter of Zion! The Lord hath swallowed up, He hath not spared, all the habitations of Jacob; He hath destroyed in His wrath the stronghold of the daughter of Judah; He hath cast them forth to the earth; He hath profaned the kingdom and the princes thereof; the gates have sunk into the earth, and He hath broken the bars in pieces; the king and the princes are among the nations (Lam. 2:1-2, 9).

The “daughter of Zion and of Judah” denotes the celestial church, here this church destroyed; the “kingdom,” the truths of doctrine therein (n. 2547, 4691); the “king,” the truth itself, and the “princes,” its primaries.

[11] Again:

Our skins have been blackened like an oven, because of the storms of famine. They ravished the women in Zion, the virgins in the cities of Judah, the princes were hanged up by their hand (Lam. 5:10-12);

“the princes being hanged up by their hand” denotes that truths are profaned, for hanging represented the damnation of profanation; and because of this representation, it was also commanded when the people committed whoredom after Baalpeor and worshiped their gods, that the princes should be hanged up before the sun (Numbers 25:1-4); for to commit whoredom after Baalpeor, and to worship their gods, was to profane worship.

In Ezekiel:

The king shall mourn, and the prince shall be clothed with astonishment, and the hands of the people of the land shall be terrified; I will deal with them after their way (Ezekiel 7:27); where the “king” in like manner denotes truth in general, and the “prince,” its primaries.

[12] Again:

The prince that is in the midst of them shall be borne upon the shoulder in the dark, and shall go forth; they shall dig through the wall to bring out through it; he will veil over his faces that he see not the earth at his eye (Ezekiel 12:12).

That a “prince” here does not mean a prince, but the truth of the church, is very manifest; and when it is said of this that it shall be “borne on the shoulder in the dark,” it means that with all their might it should be conveyed down among falsities, for “darkness” is falsities; “to veil over the faces” denotes that truth should not be seen at all; his “not seeing the earth at his eye,” means that nothing of the church would be seen. (That the “earth” is the church may be seen above, n. 662, 1066, 1068, 1262, 1413, 1607, 1733, 1850, 2117, 2118 at the end, 2928, 3355, 4447, 4535.) In Hosea:

The sons of Israel shall sit many days, there is no king, and no prince, and no sacrifice, and no pillar, and no ephod, and no teraphim (Hos. 3:4).

[13] And in David:

The king’s daughter is all glorious within; and of inweavings of gold is her garment, in needlework shall she be brought to the king; instead of thy fathers shall be thy sons, thou shalt set them for princes in the whole earth (Psalms 45:13-16).

The “king’s daughter” is the Lord’s spiritual kingdom, which is called His spiritual kingdom from the Lord’s Divine truth, here described by her garment of inweavings of gold and of needlework; “sons” are the truths of that kingdom which are from the Lord’s Divine, which must be “princes,” that is, primary truths. The “prince” who together with his possessions in the New Jerusalem and in the new earth is described in Ezekiel (44:3; 45:7-8, 17; 46:8, 10, 12, 16, 18; 48:21) signifies in general the truth which is from the Lord’s Divine; for by the “New Jerusalem,” the “new temple,” and the “new earth” there, is meant the Lord’s kingdom in heaven and on earth, which is there described by representatives such as are found in other parts of the Word.

  
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Arcana Coelestia #6148

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6148. Only the ground of the priests bought he not. That this signifies that the internal procured for itself from the natural, capacities to receive good, because these are from itself, is evident from the representation of Joseph, of whom these things are said, as being the internal (of which above); from the signification of the “ground,” as being the receptacle of truth (of which also above, n. 6135-6137), here the capacity to receive good, for capacity is receptibility, and this must be within it, in order that a receptacle may be a receptacle. This capacity comes from good, that is, through good from the Lord; for unless the good of love flowed in from the Lord, no man would have the capacity to receive either truth or good. It is the influx of good of love from the Lord which causes all things within man to be disposed for reception. That the capacity to receive good is from the natural, is signified by the ground being in Egypt, for by “Egypt” is signified the natural in respect to memory-knowledges (n. 6142). The internal sense as given above is further evident from the signification of “priests,” as being good (of which in what follows); and from the signification of “not buying,” as being not to appropriate to himself these capacities as he had appropriated to himself truths and the goods of truth with their receptacles (which was done by means of desolations and sustainings), for the reason that these capacities were from himself, that is, from the internal. Thus it is that by these words, “Only the ground of the priests bought he not” is signified that the internal procured for itself from the natural, capacities to receive good, because these are from itself.

[2] The case herein is this. The capacities in man to receive truth and good are immediately from the Lord, nor does man render any aid in the procuring of them. For man is always kept in the capacity to receive good and truth, and from this capacity he has understanding and will; but a man’s not receiving them is the result of his turning to evil: the capacity does indeed then remain, but the approach to the thought and feeling of them is closed against him; and therefore the capacity to see truth and feel good perishes in proportion as a man turns himself to evil and confirms himself therein in life and faith. That man contributes nothing whatever to the capacity to receive truth and good, is known from the doctrine of the church, that nothing of the truth of faith and nothing of the good of charity comes from man, but that all comes from the Lord. Nevertheless a man can destroy this capacity in himself. From this it may now be seen how it is to be understood that the internal procured for itself from the natural, capacities to receive good, because these are from itself. It is said “from the natural,” because the influx of good from the Lord is effected by the Lord through the internal into the natural. When a capacity to receive has been acquired in the natural, then there is influx, for then there is reception (as may be seen above, n. 5828).

[3] In regard to goods being signified by “priests,” be it known that there are two things which proceed from the Lord, namely, good and truth. The Divine good was represented by priests, and the Divine truth by kings. Hence it is that by “priests” are signified goods, and by “kings” truths. (Concerning the priesthood and royalty which are predicated of the Lord, see n. 1728, 2015, 3670.) In the Ancient Representative Church the priesthood and the royalty were joined together in one person, because the good and truth which proceed from the Lord are united, and in heaven with the angels are also joined together.

[4] The person in whom these two things in the Ancient Church were joined together was called “Melchizedek,” or “King of Righteousness,” as may be seen from the Melchizedek who came to Abraham, of whom it is thus written:

Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine; and he was priest to God Most High; and he blessed Abraham (Genesis 14:18-19).

That he represented the Lord as to both is manifest from the fact that he was king and at the same time priest, and that he was allowed to bless Abraham and to offer him bread and wine, which at that time also were symbols of the good of love and the truth of faith. That Melchizedek represented the Lord as to both is further manifest from David:

Jehovah hath sworn and He will not repent, Thou art a priest eternally after the manner of Melchizedek (Psalms 110:4);

which was said of the Lord; “after the manner of Melchizedek” means that he was both king and priest, that is, in the supreme sense, that from Him proceed the Divine good and the Divine truth together.

[5] Moreover as a representative church was instituted with the posterity of Jacob, therefore in one person conjointly was represented the Divine good and the Divine truth which proceed united from the Lord. But on account of the wars and of the idolatry of that people, these two offices were at first divided, and they who ruled over the people were called “leaders,” and afterward “judges;” while they who officiated in holy things were called “priests,” and were of the seed of Aaron, and Levites. Yet afterward these two offices were joined together in one person, as in Eli and in Samuel. But because the people were of such a character that a representative church could not be instituted among them, but only the representative of a church, by reason of the idolatrous disposition which prevailed among them, therefore it was permitted that the two offices should be separated, and that the Lord as to Divine truth should be represented by kings, and as to Divine good by priests. That this was done at the will of the people, and not of the Lord’s good pleasure, is manifest from the word of Jehovah unto Samuel:

Obey the voice of the people in all that they shall say unto thee; for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them; and thou shalt show them the king’s right (1 Samuel 8:7 to the end, and 12:19-20).

[6] The reason why these two offices were not to be separated, was that the Divine truth separated from the Divine good condemns everyone; whereas the Divine truth united to the Divine good saves. For from the Divine truth man is condemned to hell, but by the Divine good he is taken out therefrom, and is elevated into heaven. Salvation is of mercy, thus from the Divine good; but damnation is when man refuses mercy, and thus rejects from himself the Divine good; wherefore he is left to judgment from truth. (That kings represented the Divine truth may be seen, n. 1672, 1728, 2015, 2069, 3009, 3670, 4575, 4581, 4966, 5044, 5068.)

[7] That priests represented the Lord as to Divine good, and that from this they signify good, may be seen from all those things in the internal sense which were instituted with respect to the priesthood when Aaron was chosen, and afterward the Levites; as that the high priest alone should enter into the Holy of holies and there minister; that the holy things of Jehovah should be for the priest (Leviticus 23:20; 27:21); that they should not have a portion and inheritance in the land, but that Jehovah should be their portion and inheritance (Numbers 18:20; Deuteronomy 10:9; 18:1); that the Levites were given to Jehovah instead of the firstborn, and that by Jehovah they were given to Aaron (Numbers 3:9, 12-13, 40 to the end; 8:16-19); that the high priest with the Levites should be in the midst of the camp when they pitched and when they set forward (Numbers 1:50-54; 2:17; 3:23-38; 4:1 to the end); that no one of the seed of Aaron in whom was any blemish should come near to offer burnt-offerings and sacrifices (Leviticus 21:17-21); besides many other things (see Leviticus 21:9-13, and elsewhere).

[8] All these things represented in the supreme sense the Divine good of the Lord, and thus in the relative sense the good which is of love and of charity. But the garments of Aaron, which were called the “garments of holiness,” represented the Divine truth from the Divine good; concerning which garments of the Lord’s Divine mercy more shall be said in the explications of what is written in Exodus.

[9] As truth is signified by “kings,” and good by “priests,” therefore in the Word “kings and priests” are frequently mentioned together; as in Revelation:

Jesus Christ hath made us kings and priests to God and His Father (Revelation 1:5-6; 5:10);

“kings” are said to be “made” from the truth which is of faith, and “priests” from the good which is of charity. Thus with those who are in the Lord truth and good are joined together, as they are in heaven (as was said above), and this is meant by “being made kings and priests.”

[10] In Jeremiah:

It shall come to pass in that day that the heart of the king and of the princes shall perish; and the priests shall be amazed; and the prophets shall wonder (Jeremiah 4:9).

Again:

The house of Israel are ashamed; they, their kings, their princes, and their priests, and their prophets (Jeremiah 2:26).

Again:

The kings of Judah, the princes, the priests, and the prophets, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem (Jeremiah 8:1).

In these passages “kings” denote truths; “princes,” primary truths (n. 1482, 2089, 5044); “priests,” goods; and “prophets,” those who teach (n. 2534).

[11] Be it known further that the fact of Joseph’s not buying the ground of the priests was a representative that all capacity to receive truth and good is from the Lord, is evident from a similar law concerning the fields of the Levites in Moses:

The field of the suburbs of the cities of the Levites may not be sold; for it is their eternal possession (Leviticus 25:34);

by this is meant in the internal sense that no man ought to claim for himself anything of the good of the church, which is the good of love and of charity, because this is from the Lord alone.

  
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Thanks to the Swedenborg Foundation for the permission to use this translation.