Doctrine of the Sacred Scripture · 6 of 14

By the Letter There Is Conjunction with the Lord

62.VI BY MEANS OF THE SENSE OF THE LETTER OF THE WORD THERE IS CONJUNCTION WITH THE LORD AND ASSOCATION WITH THE ANGELS The reason why there is conjunction with the Lord by means of the Word is that the Word treats solely of him, and the Lord is consequently its all in all and is called the Word, as has been shown in Doctrine of the Lord. The reason why the conjunction is in the sense of the letter is that in this sense the Word is in its fullness, its holiness, and its power, as has been shown above in its proper chapter. The conjunction is not apparent to the man, but is in the affection of truth, and in his perception of it, thus is in the man’s love for and faith in Divine truth.

63.The reason why there is association with the angels of heaven by means of the sense of the letter is that the spiritual sense and celestial sense are in it, and the angels are in these senses, the angels of the spiritual kingdom being in the Word’s spiritual sense, and those of the celestial kingdom in its celestial sense. These senses are evolved from the Word’s natural sense which is the sense of the letter while a true man is in it. The evolution is instantaneous; consequently so is the association.

64.It has been made plain to me by much experience that the spiritual angels are in the spiritual sense of the Word, and the celestial angels in its celestial sense. While reading the Word in its sense of the letter it has been given me to perceive that communication was effected with the heavens, now with this society of them, now with that, and that what I understood according to the natural sense, the spiritual angels understood according to the spiritual sense, and the celestial angels according to the celestial sense, and this in an instant. As I have perceived this communication many thousands of times, there remains with me no doubt about it. Moreover there are spirits beneath the heavens who abuse this communication; they recite some sayings from the sense of the letter, and immediately observe and take note of the society with which communication is effected. This I have frequently seen and heard. From these things it has been given me to know by actual experience that the Word in respect to its sense of the letter is the Divine medium of conjunction with the Lord and with heaven. (Concerning this conjunction by the Word see also what is said in Heaven and Hell, n. 303-310.)

65.The way in which the evolution of these senses is effected shall also be told in a few words. But for the understanding of this it will be necessary to recall what has been said above about successive order and simultaneous order, namely, that in successive order what is celestial, what is spiritual, and what is natural follow one after another, from highest things in heaven down to ultimate things in the world, and that the same things are in the ultimate (which is natural) in simultaneous order, one next another from the inmost things to the outermost ones, and that in like manner there are successive senses of the Word, celestial and spiritual, simultaneously in the natural sense. When these things are comprehended, the way in which the two senses, celestial and spiritual, are evolved from the natural sense while a man is reading the Word may in some measure be unfolded before the understanding; for a spiritual angel then calls forth what is spiritual, and a celestial angel what is celestial, nor can they do otherwise, because such things are homogeneous and in accordance with their nature and essence.

66.But this may be illustrated in the first place by comparisons drawn from the three kingdoms of nature: animal, vegetable, and mineral. From the animal kingdom: When the food becomes chyle, the blood vessels extract and call forth from it their blood, the nervous fibers their fluid, and the substances that are the origins of the fibers their animal spirit. From the vegetable kingdom: The tree, with its trunk, branches, leaves, and fruit, stands upon its root, and by means of its root it extracts and calls forth from the ground a grosser sap for the trunk, branches, and leaves, a purer for the pulp of the fruit, and the purest for the seeds within the fruit. From the mineral kingdom: In some places in the bowels of the earth there are minerals impregnated with gold, silver, and iron, and each of these metals draws its own element from the exhalations stored up in the earth.

67.We may now illustrate by an example how from the natural sense in which is the Word with men, the spiritual angels draw forth their own sense, and the celestial angels theirs. Take as an example five commandments of the Decalogue: Honor thy father and thy mother. By “father and mother” a man understands his father and mother on earth, and all who stand in their place, and by to “honor” he understands to hold in honor and obey them. But a spiritual angel understands the Lord by “father,” and the church by “mother,” and by to “honor” he understands to love. And a celestial angel understands the Lord’s Divine love by “father,” and His Divine wisdom by “mother,” and by to “honor” to do what is good from him. [2] Thou shalt not steal. By to “steal” a man understands to steal, defraud, or under any pretext take from his neighbor his goods. A spiritual angel understands to deprive others of their truths of faith and goods of charity by means of falsities and evils. And a celestial angel understands to attribute to himself what is the Lord’s, and to claim for himself His righteousness and merit. [3] Thou shalt not commit adultery. By “committing adultery” a man understands to commit adultery and fornication, to do obscene things, speak lascivious words, and harbor filthy thoughts. A spiritual angel understands to adulterate the goods of the Word, and falsify its truths. And a celestial angel understands to deny the Lord’s Divinity and to profane the Word. [4] Thou shalt not kill. By “killing,” a man understands also bearing hatred, and desiring revenge even to the death. A spiritual angel understands to act as a devil and destroy men’s souls. And a celestial angel understands to bear hatred against the Lord, and against what is His. [5] Thou shalt not bear false witness. By “bearing false witness” a man understands also to lie and defame. A spiritual angel understands to say and persuade that what is false is true and what is evil good, and the reverse. And a celestial angel understands to blaspheme the Lord and the Word. [6] From these examples it may be seen how the spiritual and celestial of the Word are evolved and drawn out from the natural sense in which they are. Wonderful to say, the angels draw out their senses without knowing what the man is thinking about, and yet the thoughts of the angels and of the men make a one by means of correspondences, like end, cause, and effect. Moreover ends actually are in the celestial kingdom, causes in the spiritual kingdom, and effects in the natural kingdom. This conjunction by means of correspondences is such from creation. This then is the source of man’s association with angels by means of the Word.

68.Another reason why association of man with angels exists by means of the natural or literal sense of the Word is that in every man from creation there are three degrees of life - celestial, spiritual, and natural - but so long as he is in this world he is in the natural, and is at the same time in the spiritual insofar as he is in genuine truths, and in the celestial insofar as he is in a life according to them; but still he does not come into the spiritual or celestial itself until after death. But of this more elsewhere.

69.From all this it is evident that in the Word alone (through the fact that it is conjunction with the Lord and association with the angels) there is spirit and life, as the Lord teaches: The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are life (John 6:63). The water that I shall give you shall be in you a fountain of water springing up into eternal life (John 4:14). Man doth not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God (Matt. 4:4). Labor for the meat that endureth unto eternal life, which the Son of man shall give unto you (John 6:27).