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Arcana Coelestia
5881. For they were in consternation before him. That this signifies commotion among them, is evident from the signification of “being in consternation,” as being commotion, consternation being nothing else. By commotion is meant a new disposition and setting in order of truths in the natural, concerning which setting in order be it known that the order in which memory-knowledges and truths are arranged in man’s memory is unknown to man, but when it pleases the Lord it is known to angels. For it is a wonderful order. They cohere as in little bundles, and the little bundles themselves cohere together, and this according to the connection of things which the man had conceived. These coherences are more wonderful than any man can ever believe. In the other life they are sometimes presented to view, for in the light of heaven which is spiritual such things can be exhibited to the sight of the eye, but not at all in the light of the world. The memory-knowledges and truths are arranged into these fascicular forms solely by the man’s loves-into infernal forms by the loves of self and of the world, but into heavenly forms by love toward the neighbor and love to God. Wherefore while the man is being regenerated, and conjunction is being effected of the good of the internal man with the truths of the external, a commotion takes place among the truths, for they then undergo a different arrangement. It is this commotion which is here meant, and is signified by their “being in consternation.” The commotion then made, manifests itself by an anxiety arising from the change of the former state, namely, from a privation of the delight which had been in that state. This commotion also manifests itself by anxiety concerning the past life-that internal good and the internal itself had been relegated to the lowest place-which anxiety is treated of in what follows.
7643
[3] The Lord is continually rearranging the heavens, and constantly adding new inhabitants of heaven whom He provides with dwellings and inheritances. When He does this heaven draws nearer, that is, flows in with greater force, as a consequence of which hellish spirits plunge with greater force into evils and falsities, and into the punishments that go with them; and since they plunge into evils and falsities, they bring about vastation within themselves, as has been stated. This process does not stop until they have brought about complete vastation and cast themselves deeply into the hells.
7681. ‘Morning came’ means the state of heaven in rearranged order. This is clear from the meaning of ‘morning’ as the Lord’s kingdom, and in the highest sense as the Lord Himself, dealt with in 22, 2333, 2405, 2540, 2780, and as a state of enlightenment, 3458, 3723, 5740, 5962, though at this point ‘morning’ means heaven in a state of order. The nature of this may be recognized from what has been stated in 7643. There it is shown that the evil undergo vastation as the Lord rearranges heaven; for the inflow of goodness and truth from heaven leads to the vastation which the evil undergo. Therefore when the Lord rearranges the heavens the hells too, which are opposite heaven, are automatically rearranged. They are moved away from heaven, to positions determined by the degrees of their evil, and they are allotted places determined by the variety of their evil. This shows that nothing but good emanates from the Lord, and that evil springs from those who are opposed to good and ultimately cannot bear it. From all this it is evident that ‘morning came’ here means the state of heaven in rearranged order.
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.
