4 Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. 5 Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent. -Revelation 2:4-5 Bible, King James Version (KJV)
Apocalypse Revealed, by Emanuel Swedenborg, [1766], tr. by John Whitehead [1912], at sacred-texts.com
68. ...THE SPIRITUAL SENSE THE CONTENTS OF THE WHOLE CHAPTER. To the churches in the Christian world: To those there who primarily regard truths of doctrine and not goods of life, who are meant by the church of Ephesus (n. 73-90)...
Verse 4. "But I have against thee, that thou hast left thy first charity," signifies that this is against them, that they do not hold the goods of life in the first place (n. 82).
Verse 5. "Remember therefore from whence thou hast fallen," signifies remembrance of their error (n. 83). "And repent, and do the first works," signifies that they ought to invert the state of their life (n. 84). "But if not I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy lampstand out of its place, except thou repent," signifies that otherwise, of a certainty, enlightenment will not be given them to see truths any longer (n. 85)...
THE EXPLANATION. This and the following chapter treat of the seven churches, by which are described all those in the Christian church who have any religion, and out of whom the New Church, which is the New Jerusalem, can be formed; and this is formed of those who approach the Lord alone, and at the same time perform repentance from evil works. The rest, who do not approach the Lord alone, from the confirmed denial of the Divinity of His human, and who do not perform repentance from evil works, are indeed in the church, but have nothing of the church in them...
Verse 4. But I have against thee, that thou hast left thy first charity, signifies that this is against them, that they do not hold goods of life [or the goods of charity] in the first place, which, nevertheless, was and is done in the beginning of every church. This is said to this church, because by it are meant those in the church who primarily or in the first place regard the truths of doctrine, and not the goods of life (n. 73); when yet the goods of life are to be regarded in the first place, that is, primarily; for in proportion as a man is in the goods of life, in the same proportion he is really in the truths of doctrine, but not the reverse. The reason is, that the goods of life open the interiors of the mind, and these being opened, truths appear in their own light, whence they are not only understood, but also loved. It is otherwise when doctrinals are regarded primarily or in the first place. Truths may indeed then be known, but they are not seen interiorly and loved from spiritual affection... Every church in its beginning, regards the goods of life in the first place, and the truths of doctrine in the second; but as the church declines, it begins to regard the truths of doctrine in the first place, and the goods of life in the second; and at length in the end it regards faith alone, and then it not only separates the goods of charity from faith, but also omits them. From these things it may now appear, that by, "Thou hast left thy first charity," is signified that they do not hold the goods of life in the first place, which nevertheless is, and has been done in the beginning of every church...
And repent, and do the first works, signifies that they ought to invert the state of their life. Every man regards the truths of doctrine in the first place, yet so long as he does this, he is like unripe fruit; but he who is regenerated, after he has imbibed truths, regards the goods of life in the first place, and in proportion as he does so, he grows ripe like fruit; and in proportion as he grows ripe, and as far as he grows ripe, so far the seed in him becomes prolific. These two states have been seen by me, among men who had become spirits. In the first state, they appeared turned to the valleys which are above hell; and in the second, to the paradises which are in heaven. This turning of the state of life is what is here meant. That this is effected by repentance, and after it by the good of life, is meant by "Repent, and do the first works."
Or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy lampstand out of its place, except thou repent, signifies that otherwise of a certainty enlightenment will not be given them to see truths any longer. By "quickly" is signified certain (n. 4, 947); and by "lampstand," the church as to enlightenment (n. 43, 66); hence, by "removing it out of its place," is signified to remove enlightenment, that they may not see truths in their light, and at length, that they may not see them any more. This follows from what was said above (n. 82), namely, that if truths of doctrine are regarded primarily, or in the first place, they may indeed be known, but not seen interiorly, and loved from spiritual affection, therefore they successively perish; for to see truths from their own light, is to see them from man's interior mind, which is called the spiritual mind, and this mind is opened by charity; and when it is opened, light and the affection of understanding truths flow in out of heaven from the Lord. Thence is enlightenment. The man who is in this enlightenment, acknowledges truths as soon as he reads or hears them; but not he whose spiritual mind is not opened, who is one that is not in the goods of charity, however he may be in the truths of doctrine.
No comments:
Post a Comment