11 And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven. -Matthew 8:11 King James Version (KJV)
Arcana Coelestia, by Emanuel Swedenborg, [1749-56], tr. by John F. Potts [1905-10], at sacred-texts.com
...from the signification of the... "west," as being good as yet obscure, thus in its commencement; from the signification of the "east," as being the good which is lucid, and thus perfect; from the signification of the "north," as being truth as yet in obscurity; and from the signification of the "south," as being truth in the light. [2] In many passages in the Word mention is made of the... "west," of the "east," of the "north," and of the "south;" but inasmuch as it has not heretofore been known to anyone that these, like all things whatsoever in the Word, have an internal sense, in which sense they do not signify worldly things according to the sense of the letter, but spiritual and celestial things; and in the supreme sense the Divine things of the Lord Himself, therefore man could know no otherwise than that by the "west," "east," "north," and "south," were meant only the quarters of the world... But that by these expressions there are not signified such quarters... but states of good and truth, and their extension, may be seen from all the passages in the Word, especially in the Prophets, where they are mentioned; for that which is the west, east, north, and south, is altogether unknown in heaven, inasmuch as the sun there, which is the Lord, is not like the sun of the world, which rises and sets, and by its greatest altitude causes midday, and by its least causes night; but it appears with constancy, yet in accordance with the states of those who receive light from it, for its light has within it wisdom and intelligence (see n. 1619-1632, 2776, 3138, 3167, 3190, 3195, 3222, 3223, 3339, 3341, 3485, 3636, 3643); wherefore it appears in accordance with the state of each person's wisdom and intelligence. With those who are in good and truth, it appears with heat and light, but celestial and spiritual heat and light, as our sun appears in its rising and at midday; while with those who are not in good and truth, it appears as does our sun when setting, and at night. From this we can see that in the internal sense of the Word by the "east," "south," "west," and "north," are signified states of good and truth. [3] ...That the "east" signifies the Lord, and the good of love and charity which is from the Lord, was shown above (n. 101, 1250, 3249); and that the "south" signifies truth in light (n. 1458, 3195). [4] But what is signified in the genuine sense by the "west" and what by the "north;" and what in the opposite sense, may be seen from the following passages... [13] In Matthew: I say unto you that many shall come from the east and from the west, and shall sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Matt. 8:11; Luke 13:29); where "many from the east and the west" denote those who are in the knowledges and the life of good, and those who are in obscurity and ignorance; thus those who are within the church and those who are without it; for that states of good are signified by "east" and "west," was said above. (That to "sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob," signifies to be with the Lord, may be seen above, n. 3305.) That in like manner those will come from the east and from the west who shall be with the Lord in His kingdom or in His church, is said in the Prophets; as... concerning the gates of the holy Jerusalem, on the east, the north, the south, and the west (Rev. 21:13). From all this it is very evident that in the internal sense the four quarters of the world, according to which the above holy things, or representatives of what is holy, were arranged, do not signify those quarters, but states of good and truth in the Lord's kingdom. [18] That in the opposite sense the "north," and the "west," signify what is false and evil, may be seen from the following passages. In Jeremiah: The word of Jehovah came unto me the second time, saying, What seest thou? And I said, I see an open caldron; and the face thereof is toward the north. Then Jehovah said unto me, Out of the north evil shall be opened upon all the inhabitants of the land. For lo I will call all the families of the kingdoms of the north, saith Jehovah; and they shall come (Jer. 1:13-15)...[22] From the obscurity which is of the natural man there arises both what is true and what is false; when man suffers himself to be enlightened by the Word from the Lord, then his obscurity becomes lucid, for there is opened an internal way whereby influx and communication take place through heaven from the Lord; but when he does not suffer himself to be enlightened by the Word from the Lord, but by his own intelligence, then his obscurity becomes dark, and thus false; for the internal way is closed, and no influx and communication take place through heaven from the Lord, except of such a sort as to enable him to appear in the outward form as a man, by thinking and also speaking from what is evil and false. For this reason with the former the "north" signifies what is true, but with the latter what is false; for the former ascend from obscurity, that is, are elevated to the light, whereas the latter descend from obscurity, that is, remove themselves from the light; thus the former are carried to the south, but the latter to the infernal regions [of hell.]...
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