Logopraxis

The multiplication of truths and the infestations of falsities

Arcana Coelestia 6634. EXODUS 1: 1-7 1. And these are the names of the sons of Israel that came into Egypt with Jacob; a man and his house they came. 2. Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah; . Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin; 4. Dan and Naphtali, Gad and Asher. 5. And all the souls that came out of the thigh of Jacob were seventy souls: and Joseph was in Egypt. 6. And Joseph died, and all his brethren, and all that generation. 7. And the sons of Israel were fruitful, and were productive, and multiplied, and become very exceeding numerous; and the land was filled with them.

6639... As in those chapters in Genesis which treat of the coming of the sons of Jacob, and of Jacob himself, into Egypt to Joseph, the subject treated of in the internal sense was the initiation of the truths of the church into memory-knowledges, and as the church has not been set up anew until this initiation has taken place, here therefore, according to the series of things in the internal sense, the renewed church is treated of, and how it is continually infested by memory-knowledges and falsities. For however well truths have been initiated and the church set up with a man, still such knowledges and falsities are continually rising up and assaulting what is of the church in him. It is this which is represented by Pharaoh and the Egyptians afflicting the sons of Israel, and being desirous to kill their infant boys.

[2] He who does not know how the case is with the assailing of the truth of the church by such knowledges and falsities with those who are of the church in the other life, can in no wise believe that it is so. The man of the church who comes into the other life must be purified from such things as infest truths and goods; otherwise he cannot be uplifted into heaven, and be there in a society which has been purified from such things. If he were to be uplifted thither sooner, he would be like a dense earthly vapor in a serene aura, or like a black mass in a bright light. In order therefore that a man of the church who has recently come from the world may be purified, he is kept in a state to be assailed by memory-knowledges which disagree with truths, and also by falsities, and this until these knowledges become of no account, and are removed. This seldom takes place with man during his life in the body, but in the other life it takes place with those who are to be uplifted into heaven, and this with much variety.

 

The daughters may live

AC 6634...Exodus 1:15-16. 15. And the king of Egypt said to the midwives of the Hebrew women, of whom the name of the one was Shiphrah, and the name of the other Puah; 16. And he said, When ye do the office of a midwife to the Hebrew women, and see them upon the stools; if it be a son, then ye shall kill him; and if it be a daughter, then she shall live.

 

Self compulsion is required

AC 1937 [3] But they who have compelled themselves to resist what is evil and false-although at first they supposed that this was from themselves or from their own power, but were afterwards enlightened to see that their effort was from the Lord, even to the least of all the particulars of the effort-these in the other life cannot be led by evil spirits, but are among the happy. Thus we may see that a man ought to compel himself to do what is good and to speak what is true. The arcanum herein contained is that a man is thus gifted by the Lord with a heavenly Own(proprium), for this heavenly Own(proprium) of man is formed in the effort of his thought; and if he does not maintain this effort by compelling himself (as the appearance is), he certainly does not maintain it by not compelling himself.

 

The heavenly proprium(own) is the Lord's proprium(Own)

AC 8497 The reason why life appears as man’s own is that the Lord from Divine love wills to give and to conjoin all His own to man, and as far as it can be effected, does conjoin it. This “own” which is given by the Lord, is called the heavenly own.

AC 3813. As regards “flesh,” in the supreme sense it signifies the own of the Lord’s Divine Human, which is Divine good, and in the relative sense it signifies the own of man’s will made alive by the own of the Divine Human, that is, by His Divine good. This own is what is called the heavenly own, which in itself is the Lord’s alone appropriated to those who are in good, and thence in truth. Such an own have the angels who are in the heavens, and men who as to their interiors or as to the spirit are in the Lord’s kingdom. But in the opposite sense, “flesh” signifies the own of man’s will, which in itself is nothing but evil, and not being vivified by the Lord is called “dead,” and thus the man himself is said to be dead.

8409. As regards 'flesh' and its meaning the proprium in both the genuine and contrary senses, in the highest sense it is the Lord's Divine proprium, which is His Divine Human, and so is the good of His love towards the entire human race. From this in the sense that relates to man 'flesh' means a proprium made alive by the Lord's Proprium; that is, it is the Lord's Proprium present with the person, and so is the good of love to Him. Regarding the meaning of 'flesh' in this sense, see 3813, 7850. But in the contrary sense 'flesh' is the proprium that is man's own, thus the evil of self-love, and consequently the desires of that love, which are cravings, 999, 3813. The proprium that is man's own is nothing but evil, see 210, 215, 694, 874-876, 987, 1023, 1044, 1047, 3812 (end), 5660, 5786.

DLW 114. The Lord not only is in heaven, but also is heaven itself; for love and wisdom are what make the angel, and these two are the Lord's in the angels; from which it follows that the Lord is heaven. For angels are not angels from what is their own; what is their own is altogether like what is man's own, which is evil. An angel's own is such because all angels were once men, and this own clings to the angels from their birth. It is only put aside, and so far as it is put aside the angels receive love and wisdom, that is, the Lord, in themselves. Any one, if he will only elevate his understanding a little, can see that the Lord can dwell in angels, only in what is His, that is, in what is His very own, which is love and wisdom, and not at all in the selfhood of angels, which is evil. From this it is, that so far as evil is put away so far the Lord is in them, and so far they are angels. The very angelic of heaven is Love Divine and Wisdom Divine. This Divine is called the angelic when it is in angels. From this, again, it is evident that angels are angels from the Lord, and not from themselves; consequently, the same is true of heaven.

Arcana Coelestia 149 [2] Man’s proprium when viewed from heaven looks just like something bony, lifeless, and utterly misshapen, and so in itself something dead. But once it has received life from the Lord it appears as something having flesh. For man’s proprium is something altogether dead, though it has the appearance to him of being something; indeed it appears to be everything. Whatever is living within him comes from the Lord‘s life; and if this were to leave him, he would fall down dead as a stone. For he is purely an organ of life, though the nature of the organ determines that of the life-affection. The Lord alone possesses Proprium. By His Proprium He has redeemed man and by His Proprium saves him. The Lord‘s Proprium is Life, and from His Proprium man’s proprium, which in itself is dead, is given life.

 

 

Third Round posts are short audio clips taken from Round 3 comments offered in the online Logopraxis Life Group meetings. The aim is to keep the focus on understanding the Text in terms of its application to the inner life along with reinforcing any key LP principles that have been highlighted in the exchanges.

Doctrine of Sacred Scripture. 98. XI. The Lord came into the world that He might fulfil all things of the Word, and thereby become Divine Truth, or the Word, even in ultimates.The Lord came into the World that He might fulfil all things of the Word. This may be seen in THE DOCTRINE CONCERNING THE LORD 8-11. That He thus became Divine Truth, or the Word, even in ultimates, is meant by the following passage in John: The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:14.To be made flesh is to become the Word in ultimates;

...The Lord as the Word in ultimates is also described by John in the Revelation 1:13-16, where all the details in the description of Him signify the ultimates of Divine Truth, or of the Word. Before this the Lord was indeed the Word, but in first principles; for it is said: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. This was in the beginning with God. John 1:1-2. When, however, the Word was made flesh, then the Lord became the Word in ultimates also; and from this fact He is called the First and the Last, in Revelation 1:8, 11, 17; 2:8; 21:6; 22:12-13.

99. Before His Coming into the world the Lord was indeed present with men of the Church, but mediately through heaven; whereas after His Coming into the world He is present with men of the Church immediately.

 

On First Principles

The Worship and Love of God 99. The life of the Supreme from inmost principles; Heavenly Life, or the life of His Love, from principles proximate to them; also Mediating or natural life; finally Nature herself, who carries that order in herself, consequently in effigy; thus altogether according to the series of the folding together of the fibre we have been examining, and of the involution of its beginnings. Hence also it is evident how, according to that order, prior things infold themselves in posterior, and again unfold themselves from these latter; and thus in what manner they establish their gyre from first principles to last, and from last to first; for first principles infold themselves in things posterior, as centres in circumferences, or as the inmost principles of a nut in the husk and shell; and then and in like manner they unfold themselves, but backwards, as if removing their swaddling-clothes that they may return from things outmost to things inmost. Thus, and not otherwise, the gyre provided from eternity and established at first creation, is perfected.

Arcana Coelestia 4322. Who at this day does not believe that man comes into existence naturally from the seed and the ovum? and that in the seed from the first creation there is the ability to bring itself forth into such forms, first within the ovum, next in the womb, and afterwards of itself; and that it is not the Divine which brings things forth any longer? The reason why this is so believed is that no one knows of there being any influx from heaven (that is, through heaven from the Lord); and this because they do not desire to know that there is any heaven. For in their private meetings the learned discuss openly among themselves whether there is a hell, and thus whether there is a heaven. And as they are in doubt about heaven, they cannot receive as any first principle that there is an influx through heaven from the Lord; which influx nevertheless brings forth all things that are in the three kingdoms of the earth (especially those in the animal kingdom, and in particular in man), and holds them together in form according to their uses. Hence neither can they know that there is any correspondence between heaven and man; and still less that this is of such a nature that every several thing within him, nay, the veriest singular ones, come forth from this source, and also subsist from it, for subsistence is a perpetual coming forth, and consequently preservation in connection and form is perpetual creation.

True Christian Religion 20. (2) ...Unless an idea is formed of God as the primal Substance and Form, and of His Form as the verily Human Form, the human mind may easily involve itself in spectral fancies about God Himself, the origin of man, and the creation of the world. It would then have no other conception of God than as the nature of the universe in its first principles, that is, as its expanse, or else as emptiness or nothingness; nor any other conception of man's origin than as a flowing together of elements into that form by mere chance; nor of the creation of the world than that its substances and forms originated in points, and afterwards in geometrical lines, which are essentially nothing, because nothing can be predicated of them. In such minds everything belonging to the church is like the Styx or like Tartarean darkness.

Worship and Love of God 66. [8] At the close of this transaction, the wisdom, turning to her prince, said to him: You see how deformed they appeared, and how wild was their carriage, with their dishevelled hair on their shoulders, like furies, and with bloody and at the same time ghastly countenances, and yet they seem to themselves as images of the highest beauty. You see likewise, how great a confusion arose, and how great a one must arise, if that order be not observed, which requires that superior things should have the command over inferior, or life itself over nature; for the Supreme is the order of all orders; from Him flow ends, and thence the uses of ends, and the effects of uses. When this order is established, first principles steadily proceed in a right manner to their ultimates, and ultimates return to their first principles.

TCR 37...Those who deduce the creation of the world from any other source than the Divine love through the Divine wisdom, not knowing that these two constitute the Divine Essence, descend from reason's sight to eyesight, and bestow kisses on nature as the creator of the universe; and thereby conceive chimeras and bring forth specters. They devise fallacies, and reason from them; and their conclusions are eggs that contain birds of night. Such should not be called minds, but eyes and ears without understanding, or thoughts without soul. They talk of colors as if these existed without light; of trees as if they existed without seed; and of all things in the world as existing without the sun; for they make derivatives to be first principles and things caused to be causes; thus they turn all things upside down, lull their reason to sleep, and the things they see are dreams.

Third Round posts are short audio clips which aim to keep the focus on understanding the Text in terms of its application to the inner life along with reinforcing any key LP principles .

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6754. Verses 11-14. And it came to pass in those days, and Moses grew, and he went out unto his brethren, and saw their burdens; and he saw an Egyptian man smiting a Hebrew man, one of his brethren. And he looked forth hither and thither, and saw that there was no man, and he smote the Egyptian, and hid him in the sand. And he went out the second day, and behold two Hebrew men quarreling; and he said to the wicked one, Wherefore smitest thou thy companion? And he said, Who set thee for a man, a prince, and a judge over us? Sayest thou to kill me, as thou killedst the Egyptian? And Moses feared, and said, Surely the word is known. And it came to pass in those days, and Moses grew, signifies when those states lasted, and there was increase in true memory-knowledges; and he went out unto his brethren, signifies conjunction with the truths of the church; and saw their burdens, signifies a noticing that they were infested by falsities; and he saw an Egyptian man smiting a Hebrew man, signifies alienated memory-knowledge endeavoring to destroy the truth of the church; one of his brethren, signifies with which he was conjoined; and he looked forth hither and thither, and saw that there was no man, signifies foresight as to whether he was in safety; and he smote the Egyptian, signifies that he destroyed the alienated memory-knowledge; and hid him in the sand, signifies that he removed it to where falsities are; and he went out the second day, signifies conjunction again with the church; and behold two Hebrew men quarreling, signifies a noticing that within the church they were fighting among themselves; and he said to the wicked one, Wherefore smitest thou thy companion? signifies rebuke because one desired to destroy the faith of another; and he said, Who set thee for a man a prince and a judge over us? signifies perception that he was not yet so far advanced in the truths of the church as to settle differences within the church; sayest thou to kill me, signifies wouldest thou destroy my faith; as thou killedst the Egyptian, signifies as thou hast destroyed falsity; and Moses feared, and said, Surely the word is known, signifies that he was among alienated memory-knowledges, and not yet in truths so as to be safe.

6755. And it came to pass in those days, and Moses grew. That this signifies when those states lasted, and there was increase in true memory-knowledges, is evident from the signification of days, as being states (see n. 23, 487, 488, 493, 893, 2788, 3462, 3785, 4850); hence by it came to pass in those days, denotes when those states lasted; and from the signification of to grow, as being increase (as above, n. 6749). That the increase was in true memory-knowledges is plain from what has been unfolded above (n. 6751).

6756. And he went out unto his brethren. That this signifies conjunction with the truths of the church, is evident from the signification of brethren, as being the truths of the church (of which in what follows) and from the signification of going out unto them, as being to be conjoined with them. As regards brethren, they sometimes signify the goods, and sometimes the truths of the church; when the celestial church is treated of, they signify goods, and when the spiritual church is treated of, they signify truths, because the celestial church is in good, but the spiritual church in truth. And in ancient times all who were of the church called themselves brethren. They too who were of the spiritual church called themselves brethren, from good (see n. 3803); but the men of the internal church did this with a difference according to the quality of the good, thus according to truths, for good has its quality from truths. Afterward, when the church turned aside from good, and hence also from truth, they then no longer called one another brethren from spiritual consanguinity and affinity, which are of charity and of faith, but only from natural consanguinity and affinity, and also from friendship. Moreover, they began to be indignant that one of meaner condition should call himself a brother. The reason was that they made little or nothing of relationship from a spiritual origin, but very much, and indeed everything, of relationships from a natural and civil origin. (That the truths of the church are called brethren, is evident from the fact that the sons of Jacob represented the truths of the church in the complex, see n. 5403, 5419, 5427, 5458, 5512.)

[2] The reason why in ancient times they were called brethren from spiritual affinity, was that the new birth, or regeneration, made consanguinities and affinities in a higher degree than natural birth; and because the former derive their origin from one father, that is, from the Lord. Hence it is that men after death, who come into heaven, no longer acknowledge any brother, nor even a mother or father, except from good and truth, in accordance with which they find there new brotherhoods. From this then it is that they who were of the church called one another brethren.

[3] That the sons of Israel called all those brethren who were from Jacob, but others companions, is plain from these passages:

I will commingle Egypt with Egypt, that a man shall fight against his brother, and a man against his companion (Isa. 19:2).

A man helpeth his companion, and he saith to his brother, Be courageous (Isa. 41:6).

Beware ye a man of his companion, and confide ye not upon any brother; for every brother supplanting will supplant, and every companion will slander (Jer. 9:4).

[4] That all who were from Jacob called themselves brethren:-

Then shall they bring all your brethren out of all nations, an offering to Jehovah, upon horses, upon chariot, and upon litters (Isa. 66:20).

Thou shalt surely set over them a king, whom Jehovah thy God shall choose; from the midst of thy brethren thou shalt set a king over them; thou mayest not put over them a man a foreigner, who is not their brother (Deut. 17:15).

They also called the sons of Esau brethren, because they were from Jacob, as in Moses:

We passed over with our brethren the sons of Esau, who dwell in Seir (Deut. 2:8).

[5] That in ancient times they who were of the church called themselves brethren, was as before said because they acknowledged the Lord as the one only Father, and because from Him they had a new soul and new life. Therefore the Lord says:

Be not ye called Rabbi, for one is your Master, even Christ, and all ye are brethren (Matt. 23:8).

As spiritual brotherhood is from love, namely, that one may be another's, and they who are in good are in the Lord, and the Lord in them (John 14:20), therefore they are called brethren by the Lord:

Jesus stretching forth His hand toward His disciples said, Behold My mother and My brethren! For whosoever shall do the will of My Father who is in the heavens, the same is My brother, and sister, and mother (Matt. 12:49-50).

Insofar as ye have done it to one of the least of these My brethren, ye have done it to Me (Matt. 25:40);

and He also calls the disciples brethren (Matt. 28:10; John 20:17). By disciples in the representative sense are meant all who are in the truths of faith and the good of charity.

6757. And saw their burdens. That this signifies a noticing that they were infested by falsities, is evident from the signification of seeing, as being to notice (of which above, n. 6732); and from the signification of burdens, as being infestations by falsities; for the burdens which were laid upon the sons of Israel by Pharaoh are in the spiritual sense nothing else. Pharaoh denotes false memory-knowledge (n. 6651, 6679, 6683); and infestation by falsities are nothing else than burdens to those who are in truths. How the case is with infestations by falsities, which are burdens to those who are in truths, cannot be known by man during his life in the world; for he is not then so infested, because his mind then either cleaves to falsities or shakes them off, and this without infestation being felt. But in the other life, when those who are in truths are infested by falsities, they are then held by evil spirits as it were bound in them; but the interiors of the mind are held in truths by the Lord, by which truths the falsities are shaken off. The state of infestations by falsities, such as exists in the other life, is here meant in the internal sense, as are many other things; for the Word has been written not for man only, but also for spirits and angels.

6758. And he saw an Egyptian man smiting a Hebrew man. That this signifies alienated memory-knowledge endeavoring to destroy the truth of the church, is evident from the signification of an Egyptian as being memory-knowledge alienated from truth (n. 6692); from the signification of smiting, as being to destroy, here to attempt to destroy, because falsities cannot destroy truths; and from the signification of a Hebrew man, as being the truth of the church, for by a man is signified truth (see n. 3134), and by a Hebrew, the church (n. 6675, 6684).

6759. One of his brethren. That this signifies with which he was conjoined, is evident from the signification of brethren, as being the truths of the church (see n. 6756); and as he himself was in these, and it was the truths which are signified by his brethren with whom he was conjoined, therefore here, by reason of the connection of things in the internal sense, there is meant conjunction.

6760. And he looked forth hither and thither, and saw that there was no man. That this signifies foresight as to whether he was in safety, can be seen without explication.

6761. And he smote the Egyptian. That this signifies that he destroyed the alienated memory-knowledge, is evident from the signification of smiting, as being to destroy (as above n. 6758); and from the signification of the Egyptian,...

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And there went a man from the house of Levi, and took a daughter of Levi. And the woman conceived, and bare a son; and she saw him, that he was good, and she hid him three months. And she could no longer hide him; and she took for him an ark of rush, and daubed it with bitumen and with pitch; and she put the child therein, and laid him in the sedge at the bank of the river. And his sister stood afar off, to know what would be done to him. EXODUS 2:1- 4

How He made His human Divine

Arcana Coelestia 6716[3] ...His inmost was the Divine Itself, because it was Jehovah Himself, for He was His only-begotten Son; and because the inmost was the Divine Itself, was not this, more than in any man, able to make the external, which is from the mother, an image of itself, that is, like itself? thus making the Human, which was external and from the mother, Divine; and this by His own power, because the Divine, which was inmost, from which He worked into the Human, was His, as the soul of man, which is the inmost, is man’s. And as the Lord advanced according to Divine order, He made His Human, when He was in the world, Divine truth; but afterward, when He was fully glorified, He made it Divine good, thus one with Jehovah.

[4] How this was done is described in this chapter in the supreme sense, but as the things contained in the supreme sense, all of which treat of the Lord, surpass human understanding, I may in what follows set forth the things contained in this chapter in the internal sense. These treat of the beginning and successive states of truth Divine with the man of the church, that is, with the man who is being regenerated (see n. 6713, 6714). The reason why these things are contained in the internal sense, is that the regeneration of man is an image of the glorification of the Lord’s Human (n. 3138, 3212, 3245, 3246, 3296, 3490, 4402, 5688).

Doctrine of the Lord 35. vi. By successive steps the Lord put off the human taken from the mother, and put on a Human from the Divine within Him, which is the Divine Human, and is the Son of God. That in the Lord were the Divine and the human, the Divine from Jehovah the Father, and the human from the virgin Mary, is known. Hence He was God and Man, having a Divine essence and a human nature; a Divine essence from the Father, and a human nature from the mother; and therefore was equal to the Father as to the Divine, and less than the Father as to the human. It is also known that this human nature from the mother was not transmuted into the Divine essence, nor commingled with it, for this is taught in the Doctrine of Faith which is called the Athanasian Creed. For a human nature cannot be transmuted into the Divine essence, nor can it be commingled therewith.

AC 6753... the quality of the state signified by the name “Moses;” which quality in the supreme sense involves that the Lord, in order that He might become the law Divine as to the Human, delivered it from every falsity which cleaved to His Human from the mother, and this until He became the Divine law, that is, the Divine truth itself, and afterward when glorified became the Divine good, which is the Esse of Divine truth, that is, is Jehovah.

The 'truth of doctrine' ( a state that is being regenerated)  versus 'genuine truth of good' ( a state that has been regenerated)

6117... this truth which is received in this first period, that is, before regeneration, is not the genuine truth of good, but it is the truth of doctrine. For at this time the man does not consider whether it is truth, but acknowledges it because it is of the doctrine of the church; and so long as he does not consider whether it is truth, and from this acknowledges it, it is not his, and therefore is not appropriated to him. This is the first state with the man who is being regenerated.

[2] But when he has been regenerated, then good shows itself, especially by his loving to live according to the truth which he of himself acknowledges to be truth. Then because he wills the truth which he acknowledges, and acts according to it, it is appropriated to him; because it is not as before merely in the understanding, but is also in the will, and what is in the will is appropriated. And as the understanding then makes one with the will, for the understanding acknowledges and the will performs, there is a conjunction of the two, namely, of good and truth. When this conjunction has been effected, then as from a marriage, offspring are continually born, which are truths and goods with their blessednesses and delights. These two states are what are meant by the origin of truth from good, and by their conjunction.

[3] But the truth which is being conjoined with good, which is here signified by “there went a man from the house of Leviticus and took a daughter of Levi,” is not such truth as is received by a man in the first state, for this is the truth of the doctrine of that church in which he has been born; but it is the very truth itself; for the subject treated of in the supreme sense is the Lord, how He became the law Divine as to the Human; and the truth of this law is what is meant. That its origin is good, is because the Divine, which was the Lord’s inmost and the esse of His life, brought it forth in His Human. Thus was conjunction effected of this truth with good; for the Divine is nothing else than good.

On the 'ark' that Divine truth is first placed in versus the 'ark of the testimony'

AC 6723 [3] As it was provided that Moses should represent the Lord as to the law Divine, or the Word, specifically the historic Word, it was therefore brought about that when he was an infant he was placed in a little ark, but in one of low value, because he was in his first rising, and because his being there was only a representative; but that afterward when the law Divine itself had shone forth from Mount Sinai, it was placed in an ark which was called the “ark of the testimony.” (That the law Divine was placed in the ark, see Exodus 40:20; 1 Kings 8:9; and also that the books of Moses were placed in it, Deuteronomy 31:24-26.)

[4] Hence the ark was most holy, because it represented the Lord’s Divine Human as to the Divine law; for from the Lord’s Divine Human proceeds the Divine law, or the Divine truth, which is the same as the “Word” mentioned in John: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and God was the Word; and the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us; and we saw His glory, the glory as of the Only-begotten of the Father (John 1:1, 14).

Third Round posts are short audio clips taken from Round 3 comments offered in the online Logopraxis Life Group meetings. The aim is to keep the focus on understanding the Text in terms of its application to the inner life along with reinforcing any key LP principles that have been highlighted in the exchanges.

The practice of the Word (i.e.the feminine, good from truth) and the temptations that follow, redirects the love of the proprial wisdom . This is done without there being conscious awareness of it at the time.

Conjugial Love 193 … woman was created out of man by the transcription of his proprial wisdom, which is wisdom from natural truth; and that the love of this wisdom was transferred from man into woman that it might become conjugial love; also that this was done, to the end that in the man there may be, not self love but love of his wife, and she from her innate disposition cannot do otherwise than convert the self love with the man into his love to her. Moreover, I have heard that this is effected by the wife’s love, neither the man nor the wife being conscious of it. Hence it is that no man can ever truly love his partner conjugially if he is in the pride of self- intelligence from love of self.

[3] When this arcanum of the creation of woman out of man is understood, it can be seen that in marriage woman is likewise created, as it were, that is, is formed from man; and that this is effected by the wife, or rather through the wife, by the Lord, it being the Lord who infuses into women the inclination so to act; for the wife receives the man’s image into herself by appropriating to herself his affections (see above, no. 183); also by conjoining the man’s internal will to her own will, of which hereafter; and, moreover, by appropriating to herself the propagations of his soul, of which likewise hereafter. From this it is evident, that in accordance with the description in the Book of Creation interiorly understood, a woman is formed into a wife by means of such things as she takes from her husband and from his breast and inscribes on herself.

Arcana Coelestia 1717 [3] He who supposes that the external man can be reduced into correspondence without combats of temptations is mistaken; for temptations are the means of dissipating evils and falsities, as also of introducing goods and truths, and of reducing the things which are of the external man into obedience, so that it may serve the interior or rational man, and through this the internal, that is, the Lord operating through the internal man. That these things are effected by temptations, no one can know but he who has been regenerated through temptations. But how this is done can scarcely be described even in the most general manner, since it is done without the man’s knowing whence and how; for it is the Lord’s Divine operation.

 

It is an appearance that what is lower extends into what is higher

AC6600[3] It is said that the thought and affection of man, spirit, and angel pour themselves around into the societies, and that from this come the understanding and perception; but be it known that it is so said according to the appearance, for there is no influx of the thoughts and affections into the societies; but from the societies, and this through the angels and spirits with the man. For as has been shown at the end of preceding chapters, all influx comes from what is more interior; thus with the good from heaven (that is, through heaven from the Lord), and with the evil from hell.

 

Our life is experienced as our own.

AC 1712...if men confirm themselves in the belief that they can do good and resist evil by their own powers, and that they thus merit salvation, in this case this idea remains attached, and causes the good to be evil, and the truth to be falsity. But still it is according to order for a man to do good as of himself; and therefore he ought not to slacken his hand, with the thought, “If I can do nothing of good from myself, I ought to wait for immediate influx,” and thus remain in a passive state, for this would be contrary to order; but he must do good as of himself; yet, when he reflects upon the good which he does or has done, let him think, acknowledge, and believe that the Lord has done the work in him.

[3] If he slackens his effort, thinking as has been said, he is then not a subject into which the Lord can operate. The Lord cannot flow into anyone who deprives himself of everything into which power can be infused. It is as if one were not willing to learn anything without a revelation to himself; or as if one would teach nothing unless the words were put into him; or as if one would attempt nothing unless he were put into action as one without will. But if these things were done, he would be still more indignant at being like an inanimate thing; when yet that which is animated by the Lord in a man is that which appears as if it were from himself. It is thus an eternal truth that a man does not live from himself, but that if he did not appear to live from himself he could not live at all.

The New Jerusalem and its Heavenly Doctrine 278. Another reason our life seems to be within us is that the principal cause, which is life from the Lord, and the instrumental cause, which is we ourselves as a recipient form, act as a single cause and therefore we as the instrument perceive life as our own 1 : AC 6325.

Third Round posts are short audio clips taken from Round 3 comments offered in the online Logopraxis Life Group meetings. The aim is to keep the focus on understanding the Text in terms of its application to the inner life along with reinforcing any key LP principles that have been highlighted in the exchanges.

The Doctrine of Reflection

Spiritual Experiences 733-741

733. About reflection. I was just conversing with spirits and angels about reflection, to which I do not know whether people have given enough attention; and it was said that if they give it some thought, they will discover more secrets in the doctrine of reflection than in any other. What reflection achieves can be quite clear to everyone from the fact that we perceive no sensation of the body or its parts, and are unaware of having a sensation, unless we reflect upon that part of our body. Then we perceive heat, cold, pressure - we even feel what that part is suffering. If we reflect on our breathing, then we feel and know that we are breathing, and in this way a voluntary factor joins in; besides innumerable other instances.

734. Likewise, when we do not reflect on the things in our own mind, or our motivation - how we are thinking, what we are thinking, what we are doing, what is motivating our actions - without reflection we know nothing, except that we are, and nothing else, not what we are. On the other hand, if we reflect upon ourself from [the viewpoint of] others, or allow others to reflect upon us, and to say what we are like, then for the first time we are able to know ourself. Otherwise we can never learn, but remain in our own illusions, and from them, reflect upon others. So one thinks truths are falsities, because one is judging from one's illusions. For such as the starting-point is, such also is everything that follows.

735. Spirits especially, stay after death in a state devoid of reflection. This is also the reason that they cannot tell but that they are earthly people, living in the world as before. So they remain in their illusions and live on as the character they had been at death. But as soon as the power of reflection is given them by the Lord, they know that they are in the other life - a belief to which they can hardly be brought until they are given something, or rather many things, to reflect on. But illusions rooted into their character still remain.

736. Consequently, spirits cannot at all help thinking that they are better than the rest, especially those who had been arrogant in life, who also dislike being reflected upon. However, when they are brought into a state of reflection, they are brought into a state of better life, for then for the first time they are able to know themselves, and know more truly what they are.

737. Moreover, even the doctrine of faith accomplishes nothing at all with people, unless the Lord enables them to reflect. That is the very reason why people learn what is true and good from the Word of the Lord, namely, so that from what they learn, they may reflect upon themselves, as to whether they are as they ought to be. This reflection is given them at certain times, especially times of distress. It is of the utmost importance, therefore, to learn truths. Without spiritual knowledge, there can be no reflection, thus no reformation.

738. However, they who fall into passions and illusions, are unable to reflect from a viewpoint of truths, until those chills and those shadows have been dispelled. 1748, 11 February.

739. About reflection. The doctrine of reflection is an entire doctrine, and without it no one is able to know what inward life is, not even what the life of the body is. In fact, without reflection from a knowledge of truths, no one is reformed. For this reason, the Lord is delivering to the people on this earth, because they are living in a corrupt state, written down truths. From these, as from a wellspring, they may draw a knowledge of truth that will enable them to reflect on themselves - or more truly, from which higher knowledge, inscribed upon the memory, the Lord may cause people to reflect upon their falsities, and the like. Therefore, without spiritual knowledge, reformation is not possible.

740. It is different on the earth Jupiter, where spirits warn them, and raise up and display before them whatever they had wrongly thought and done. So reflection there takes place through revelations, as mentioned before [523, 539-545]. Revelations cannot take place on this earth, because the door toward heaven has been closed, and people's thoughts are only drawn up to heaven by the Lord at certain times. The rest of the time, they are concerned with nothing else but bodily, worldly and earthly matters, and upon these they reflect. If in these circumstances the door toward heaven were opened to them, as it was to Cain, with whom spirits could even speak, then falsities would so mix themselves together with truths that they could never be separated. Thus they would be damned to eternity. This is therefore guarded against. 1748, 11 February.

741. About spirits' appetite for learning. In place of the appetite people in bodily life have for eating and drinking to nourish the body, spirits have an appetite for, or enjoyment of learning. The angelic appetite is for learning only what is true and good, but that of spirits is for anything whatever that is new. This desire is almost constant, taking the place of the appetite for nourishing the body with earthly food. So in every heaven, there is a most intense feeling for understanding truth and goodness, or matters of belief. This brings on reflections, by means of which they are perfected more and more. 1748, 11 February. Every word of this was written in the presence of many spirits and angels who were reflecting on what had been written, and affirming it.

 

Third Round posts are short audio clips taken from Round 3 comments offered in the online Logopraxis Life Group meetings. The aim is to keep the focus on understanding the Text in terms of its application to the inner life along with reinforcing any key LP principles that have been highlighted in the exchanges.

Continuation on Influx and the Intercourse of the Soul and Body : Arcana Coelestia 6598-6626

6608...The light of understanding has been given to me, taken away, lessened, and moderated when I have been thinking, speaking, and writing.

6604...They are closer at one time to one community, at another time to another community, and when they are in among one community, all the other communities are off to the sides; and so on with every variation within those limits.

6605...For the image of heaven as a whole imprints itself on communities and makes them similar to itself, and not only on communities but also on the individual persons within a community. This is where the individuals get their human form from, for each person in an angelic community is heaven in the smallest form it takes.

6599...It is now necessary to say how the case is with thought and its ideas, namely, that the thought diffuses itself into the societies of spirits and of angels round about, and that the capacity to understand and perceive is according to the extension into these societies, that is, according to the influx from them; and in the next place that there are countless things in one idea of thought, and still more in one thought composed of ideas.

6620… in every idea which is from the Lord, there is an image of the whole heaven, because it is from Him who is heaven.

Third Round posts are short audio clips taken from Round 3 comments offered in the online Logopraxis Life Group meetings. The aim is to keep the focus on understanding the Text in terms of its application to the inner life along with reinforcing any key LP principles that have been highlighted in the exchanges.

We see what we know

Arcana Coelestia 6598... they who are able to think above the things of sense, provided the things in the memory have been set in order, possess a greater capacity than others to understand and perceive, and this according to the degree in which they view things from what is interior.

AC 6599...thought diffuses itself into the societies of spirits and of angels round about, and that the capacity to understand and perceive is according to the extension into these societies, that is, according to the influx from them; and in the next place that there are countless things in one idea of thought, and still more in one thought composed of ideas.

AC 6600[3] It is said that the thought and affection of man, spirit, and angel pour themselves around into the societies, and that from this come the understanding and perception; but be it known that it is so said according to the appearance, for there is no influx of the thoughts and affections into the societies; but from the societies, and this through the angels and spirits with the man.

AC 6601...the quality of a man’s life is altogether according to the societies into which his thought and affection extend themselves, and according to the quality and amount of this extension.

Memory knowledges are the organ of sight for the spiritual body

AC 6608. Intellectual light has been given me, taken away, diminished, and moderated, in thinking, speaking, and writing, and this frequently; and it has been given me to perceive the variations and differences. The light itself was perceived as an illumination which enlightened the substances of the interior sight, as the light of the sun enlightens the organs of bodily sight. This general illumination caused the objects of things to appear, as the objects of the earth appear to an enlightened eye; and I have been instructed that these variations came forth according to the communications with heavenly societies.

Heaven and Hell 76. But it must be remembered that a man cannot see angels with his bodily eyes, but only with the eyes of the spirit within him, 1 because his spirit is in the spiritual world, and all things of the body are in the natural world. Like sees like from being like. Moreover, as the bodily organ of sight, which is the eye, is too gross, as everyone knows, to see even the smaller things of nature except through magnifying glasses, still less can it see what is above the sphere of nature, as all things in the spiritual world are. Nevertheless these things can be seen by man when he has been withdrawn from the sight of the body, and the sight of his spirit has been opened; and this can be effected instantly whenever it is the pleasure of the Lord that man should see these things; and in that case man does not know but what he is seeing them with his bodily eyes.

HH 453 [3] A spirit that has been loosed from the body or the spirit in another man, is not visible in the human form to man, because the body's organ of sight, or its eye, so far as it sees in the world, is a material organ, and what is material can see only what is material, while what is spiritual sees what is spiritual. When, therefore, the material part of the eye becomes darkened and is deprived of its cooperation with the spiritual, the eye sees spirits in their own form, which is the human form, not only the spirits that are in the spiritual world, but also the spirit of another man while it is yet in its body.

AC 2588 [7] In order to present the subject to the apprehension of the simple, take as an example the following matter of knowledge. They who are in the affirmative that sight is not of the eye, but of the spirit, which sees the things that are in the world through the eye as an organ of its body, can confirm themselves by many things; as from our hearing things said by others; in that they refer themselves to a certain interior sight, into which they are changed; which would be impossible unless there were an interior sight; also that whatever is thought of is seen by an interior sight, by some more clearly, by others more obscurely; and again, that things we imagine present themselves not unlike objects of sight; and also that unless it were the spirit within the body that saw the objects which fall within the ken of the eye as the organ of sight, the spirit could see nothing in the other life, when yet it cannot but be that it will see innumerable and amazing things that cannot possibly be seen with the bodily eye. Then again we may reflect that in dreams, especially those of the prophets, many things have been seen although not with the eyes. And finally, should anyone be skilled in philosophy, he may confirm himself by considering that outer things cannot enter into inner things, just as compounds cannot into simples; and therefore that things of the body cannot enter into those of the spirit, but only the reverse; not to mention a host of other proofs, until at last the man is persuaded that the spirit has sight, and not the eye, except from the spirit. But they who are in the negative call every consideration of this kind either a matter of nature or one of fancy, and when they are told that a spirit possesses and enjoys much more perfect sight than a man in the body, they ridicule the idea, and reject it as an idle tale, believing that if deprived of the sight of the bodily eye they would live in the dark; although the very opposite is the truth, for they are then in the light.

The expansion of our idea of the human form

AC 6605. It is worthy of note, that as the universal heaven bears relation to a man, who from this is called the Grand Man (as shown at the end of many chapters), so each society in like manner bears relation to a man; for the image of the universal heaven flows into the societies, and causes them to be like it; and not only into the societies, but also into the individuals in the society, whence each individual has a human form; for everyone in an angelic society is a heaven in least form. The varieties of their human form are in accordance with the quality of good and of truth with them. Hence it is that every spirit and angel appears in a form wholly in accordance with the communication of his thoughts and affections with the societies. Hence the more they are in good and truth, so are they in a more beautiful form. But if the communication of the thoughts and affections has been diffused into societies not according to heavenly order, then the form is to the same extent unbeautiful. And if the communication is with infernal societies, then the form is ugly and devilish; and those who are in total opposition to good and truth, being in opposition to the form of heaven (which is the human form), in the light of heaven appear not as men, but as monsters. This is the case with the whole of hell, with the societies therein, and with the individuals in the societies; and this also with variety according to the degree of opposition of evil against good and of the derivative falsity against truth.

AC 6626. The Lord, who alone is Man, and from whom angels, spirits, and the inhabitants of earth are called men, does Himself, by His influx into heaven cause the universal heaven to represent and bear relation to a man, and by influx through heaven and from Himself immediately into the individuals there, cause each one to appear as a man, the angels in a more beautiful and resplendent form than can be described; and in like manner by His influx into the spirit of man. Nay, with an angel, a spirit, and a man who lives in charity toward the neighbor and in love to the Lord, the very smallest things of thought bear relation to a man, for the reason that this charity and this love are from the Lord, and whatever is from the Lord bears relation to a man. Moreover it is these things that make man. On the other hand, in hell, because they who are there are in things contrary to charity and celestial love, in their own light they do indeed appear like men, but in the light of heaven as dreadful monsters, in some of whom scarcely anything of the human form is recognizable. The reason is that the Lord’s influx through heaven is not received, but is either rejected, or extinguished, or perverted, causing them to have such an appearance.

 

Third Round posts are short audio clips taken from Round 3 comments offered in the online Logopraxis Life Group meetings. The aim is to keep the focus on understanding the Text in terms of its application to the inner life along with reinforcing any key LP principles that have been highlighted in the exchanges.

Click to Print Reading

6728. Verses 5-9. And Pharaoh's daughter came down to wash at the river; and her girls were going at the side of the river; and she saw the ark in the midst of the sedge, and sent her handmaid, and took it. And she opened it and saw him, the child; and behold the boy wept. And she had compassion on him, and said, This is one of the Hebrews' children. And his sister said to Pharaoh's daughter, Shall I go and call thee a woman, a nurse, from the Hebrew women, that she may suckle the child for thee? And Pharaoh's daughter said to her, Go. And the girl went, and called the mother of the child. And Pharaoh's daughter said to her, Take this child to thee, and suckle him for me, and I will give thee thy wages. And the woman took the child and suckled him. And Pharaoh's daughter came down, signifies the religiosity there; to wash at the river, signifies worship from falsity; and her girls were going at the side of the river, signifies the ministries of that religiosity that was from falsity; and she saw the ark in the midst of the sedge, signifies a perception of truth that it was of low value among false memory-knowledge; and she sent her handmaid, signifies service; and took it, signifies curiosity; and she opened it, and saw him, the child, signifies investigation of its quality, and a perception that it was truth from the Divine; and behold the boy wept, signifies sadness; and she had compassion on him, signifies admonition from the Divine; and she said, This is one of the Hebrews' children, signifies that it was of the church itself; and his sister said to Pharaoh's daughter, signifies the truth of the church near the religiosity there; Shall I go and call thee a woman a nurse from the Hebrew women? signifies perception that good was to be instilled therein by the church itself; and Pharaoh's daughter said to her, Go, signifies consent from the religiosity there; and the girl went and called the mother of the child, signifies the truth of good of the church, that it adjoined the things of the church; and Pharaoh's daughter said to her, signifies consent from the religiosity there; take this child to thee, signifies that it should adjoin it to itself; and suckle him for me, signifies that it should insinuate into it good suited to the religiosity; and I will give thee thy wages, signifies recompense; and the woman took the child, and suckled him, signifies that good was instilled into it by the church.

6729. And Pharaoh's daughter came down. That this signifies the religiosity there, is evident from the signification of daughter, as being the affection of truth and good, and hence the church (see n. 2362, 3963); and in the opposite sense the affection of falsity and evil, and hence the religiosity that is from these (n. 3024); here a religiosity from false memory-knowledges, because it was the daughter of Pharaoh, for by Pharaoh is here represented false memory-knowledge (see n. 6651, 6679, 6683, 6692). That by daughters in the Word are signified churches, can be seen from the numerous passages in which the church is called the daughter of Zion, and the daughter of Jerusalem; and that by daughters are also signified the false religiosities of many nations, is plain also from the passages in which these are called daughters; as the daughter of Tyre (Ps. 45:12); the daughter of Edom (Lam. 4:22); the daughter of the Chaldeans and of Babylon (Isa. 47:1, 5; Jer. 50:41, 42; 51:33; Zech. 2:7; Ps. 137:8); the daughter of the Philistines (Ezek. 16:27, 57); the daughter of Tarshish (Isa. 23:10); the daughter of Egypt, in Jeremiah:

Go up into Gilead, and take balm, O virgin daughter of Egypt. Make thee vessels of migration, O thou inhabitress daughter of Egypt. The daughter of Egypt is put to shame; she is given into the hand of the people of the north (Jer. 46:11, 19, 24);

the daughter of Egypt denotes the affection of reasoning about the truths of faith, whether a thing be so, from memory-knowledges, when what is negative reigns; thus it denotes the religiosity which thence arises, which is of such nature that nothing but falsity is believed.

6730. To wash at the river. That this signifies worship from falsity, is evident from the signification of washing, as being purification from filth spiritually understood (see n. 3147), hence it denotes worship, because worship is for the sake of purification; and from the signification of river, in this case the river of Egypt, as being falsity (see n. 6693).

6731. And her girls were going at the side of the river. That this signifies the ministries of that religiosity that was from falsity, is evident from the signification of girls, as being ministries, for when the daughter of Pharaoh signifies a religiosity, her girls signify its ministries; and from the signification of the river, as being falsity (see n. 6730). Thus the ministries of a religiosity from falsity are signified by the girls going at the side of the river.

6732. And she saw the ark in the midst of the sedge. That this signifies a perception of truth that it was of low value among false memory-knowledge, is evident from the signification of seeing, as being a perception (n. 2150, 3764, 4567, 4723, 5400); from the signification of an ark of rush, as being what is of low value but nevertheless derived from truth (n. 6723), thus truth which is of low value; and from the signification of sedge, as being false memory-knowledge (n. 6726); thus in the midst of the sedge denotes among such memory-knowledge. How the case herein is has been unfolded above.

6733. And she sent her handmaid. That this signifies service is evident without explication.

6734. And took it. That this signifies curiosity, is evident from the signification of taking it, namely, the ark, when it was perceived that there was some truth that was of low value among the memory-knowledge (n. 6732), as being curiosity, namely, to know the quality of that truth.

6735. And she opened it, and saw him, the child. That this signifies investigation of its quality, and a perception that it was truth from the Divine, is evident from the signification of to open, as being to investigate of what quality it was, for he who opens in order to see what and of what quality a thing is, investigates; and from the signification of seeing as being perception (see n. 6732); and from the representation of Moses, who is here the child, as being the law Divine or truth Divine (of which in what follows), thus truth from the Divine.

6736. And behold the boy wept. That this signifies sadness, is evident without explication.

6737. And she had compassion on him. That this signifies admonition from the Divine, is evident from the signification of having compassion, as being an influx of charity from the Lord; for when anyone from charity sees another in misery (as here Pharaoh's daughter saw the child in the ark of rush and weeping), compassion arises; and as this is from the Lord, it is an admonition. Moreover, when they who are in perception feel compassion, they know that they are admonished by the Lord to give aid.

6738. And she said, This is one of the Hebrews' children. That this signifies that it was of the church itself, is evident from the signification of the Hebrews, as being the things of the church (see n. 6675, 6684); thus the children of the Hebrews denote those who are of the church itself. That the Hebrews signify the things of the church, is because when the Ancient Church ceased, the Hebrew Church, which was the second Ancient Church, began. This church retained many of the representatives and significatives of the Ancient Church, and also acknowledged Jehovah; hence it is that by the Hebrews is signified the church. (Concerning the Hebrew Church, see n. 1238, 1241, 1343, 4516, 4517, 4874, 5136.)

6739. And his sister said to Pharaoh's daughter. That this signifies the truth of the church near the religiosity there, is evident from the signification of sister, as being the truth of the church (see n. 6727); and from the signification of Pharaoh's daughter, as being the religiosity there (n. 6729). Near is signified by her being at hand when Pharaoh's daughter opened the ark.

6740. Shall I go and call thee a woman a nurse from the Hebrew women? That this signifies perception that there was to be instilled therein good from the church itself, is evident from the signification of a woman, a nurse, as being the instilling of good (see n. 4563), for by the milk which the nurse gently introduces is signified the good of truth, or what is the same, the celestial spiritual (n. 2184); and from the signification of the Hebrew women, as being the things of the church (n. 6675, 6684). Its being a perception that good thence derived was to be instilled is signified by her saying, Shall I go and call? because in the internal sense the truth of good which has perception is meant; but in the sense of the letter is meant a girl who had no perception. That a nurse denotes the instilling of good, is plain also in Isaiah:

They shall bring thy sons in their bosom, and thy daughters shall be carried upon the shoulder. And kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and their queens thy nursing mothers (Isa. 49:22-23);

kings shall be thy nursing fathers denotes the instilling of truth, which is of intelligence; queens, nursing mothers, denotes the instilling of good, which is of wisdom.

Lift up thine eyes round about, and see: all are gathered together, they come to thee; thy sons come from far, and thy daughters are carried by nurses at the side (Isa. 60:4);

sons who come from far denote truths with the Gentiles, which being far off from the truth of the church, are said to come from far; daughters that are carried by nurses at the side denote the goods which are continually being instilled; for daught

And the king of Egypt said to the midwives of the Hebrew women, of whom the name of the one was Shiphrah, and the name of the other Puah; And he said, When ye do the office of a midwife to the Hebrew women, and see them upon the stools; if it be a son, then ye shall kill him; and if it be a daughter, then she shall live. And the midwives feared God, and did not as the king of Egypt spoke to them, and they kept the boys alive. And the king of Egypt called the midwives, and said to them, Wherefore do ye this word, and keep the boys alive. And the midwives said unto Pharaoh, Because the Hebrew women are not as the Egyptian women; for they are living, and have brought forth before the midwife comes unto them. And God did well to the midwives; and the people was multiplied and became very numerous. And it came to pass, because the midwives feared God, that He made them houses. And Pharaoh commanded all his people, saying, Every son that is born, ye shall cast him forth into the river, and every daughter ye shall keep alive.  Exodus 1:15-22

6673. And the king of Egypt said to the midwives of the Hebrew women. That this signifies influx from the separated memory-knowledges into the natural where the true memory-knowledges of the church are, is evident from the signification of “saying,” as being influx (see n. 5743, 6291); from the signification of the “king of Egypt,” as being separated memory-knowledges which are opposed to the truths of the church (n. 6651); from the signification of “midwives,” as being the natural (n. 4588, 4921); and from the signification of the “Hebrews,” as being the things of the church (n. 5136, 5236); thus also true memory-knowledges which are of the church. That “midwives” denote the natural, is because the natural receives that which flows in from the internal, and thus as it were acts as a midwife.

6675. And he said, When ye do the office of a midwife to the Hebrew women, and see them upon the stools. That this signifies a discernment of the truth and good flowing in from the internal into the memory-knowledges of the church, is evident from the signification of “doing the office of a midwife,” as being reception of the good and truth flowing in from the internal into the natural, for the natural is a “midwife” insofar as it receives the influx (see n. 4588, 6673); from the signification of “the Hebrew women,” as being things of the church (n. 5136, 5236); from the signification of “seeing,” as being to discern (n. 2150, 3764, 4567, 4723, 5400); and from the signification of “stools,” as being those things in the natural which receive the goods and truths flowing in from the internal, thus true memory-knowledges, for these receive. Hence it is evident that by “When ye do the office of a midwife to the Hebrew women and see them upon the stools,” is signified a discernment of the truth and good flowing in from the internal into the memory-knowledges of the church which are in the natural.

Midwife means - the bringer forth from that which is from the other side

From the Mechanical Translation:

15 and~he~will~SAY(V) (וַיֹּאמֶר / wai'yo'mer) KING (מֶלֶךְ / me'lekh) Mits'rayim (מִצְרַיִם / mits'ra'yim) to~the~much~BRING.FORTH(V)~ing(fp) (לַמְיַלְּדֹת / lam'yal'dot) the~Ever~s(הָעִבְרִיֹּת / ha'iv'ri'yot) WHICH (אֲשֶׁר / a'sher) TITLE (שֵׁם / sheym) the~UNIT (הָאַחַת / ha'a'hhat) Shiphrah (שִׁפְרָה / shiph'rah) and~TITLE (וְשֵׁם / wê'sheym) the~SECOND(הַשֵּׁנִית / ha'shey'nit) Pu'ah (פּוּעָה / pu'ah)

RMT: and the king of Mits'rayim said to the midwives of Ever, of whom the title of the one is Shiphrah and the title of the second is Pu'ah,

BRING.FORTH(V): (ילד / y.l.d) To issue out; to bring forth children, either by the woman who bears them or the man who fathers them. Alternate Translations: act as midwife (when written in the piel [active intensive] form). Strong's: #3205

Ever: (masc.: עבר / e'ver) MT: OTHER.SIDE RMT: Other side. Strong's: #5677, #5680, #5681, #5682

What is not integrated can't be attacked 

6677...If evil, which is of the love of self and of the world, and which appears good to those who are in these loves, assaults the good which is of heavenly love, the life of the one fights against the life of the other; and as the life from the good of heavenly love is from the Divine, therefore if the life from the love of self and of the world comes into collision with the former life, it begins to be extinguished, for it is suffocated. Thus they are tortured like those who are in the death agony, and therefore they cast themselves headlong into hell, where they again recover their life (n. 3938, 4225, 4226, 5057, 5058). This also is the reason why good cannot be assaulted by evil genii and spirits; and thus that they dare not destroy good. It is otherwise with truth, which has not life in itself; but from good, that is, through good from the Lord.

Facts (memory knowledges/scientifics) are not truths

[4] In Ezekiel

Behold I am against thee, Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great whale that liest in the midst of his rivers; who hath said, The river is mine, and I have made myself. Therefore I will put hooks in thy jaws, and I will make the fish of thy rivers to stick unto thy scales, and I will make thee go up out of the midst of thy rivers, and every fish of thy rivers shall stick in thy scales. I will leave thee in the wilderness, and every fish of thy rivers (Ezekiel 29:3-5, 9-10 );

what these things signify no one can know without the internal sense (that Egypt is not meant, is evident), thus unless it is known what is meant by “Pharaoh,” and what by a “river,” a “whale,” a “fish,” and “scales.” (That “Pharaoh” is the natural where memory-knowledge is, may be seen above, n. 5160, 5799, 6015; and that “whales” are the generals of memory-knowledges in the natural, n. 42; and “fishes” memory-knowledges under the general, n. 40, 991 .) “Scales” denote those things which are manifestly external, thus sensuous, to which memory-knowledges which are falsities adhere. When these things are known, it is evident what is meant in the above passage by the “river of Egypt” namely, falsity

[5] Again... Shall not the earth be shaken for this, and everyone mourn that dwelleth therein, so that it shall go up all of it like a brook, and be driven out, and overwhelmed as by the river of Egypt? In that day I will make the sun to set at noon, and I will darken the earth in the day of light (Amos 8:8-9; 9:5 ). ......Everyone can see that other things are signified here than what appear in the letter, as that “the earth shall be shaken,” and that “everyone that dwelleth therein shall mourn,” that “the sun shall set at noon,” and “the earth be darkened in the day of light.” Unless the church is understood by the “earth,” falsity by the “river,” and celestial love by the “sun,” no sense which can be unfolded is found there.

Third Round posts are short audio clips taken from Round 3 comments offered in the online Logopraxis Life Group meetings. The aim is to keep the focus on understanding the Text in terms of its application to the inner life along with reinforcing any key LP principles that have been highlighted in the exchanges.