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Every truth and good has an opposing evil and falsity to be revealed

Arcana Coelestia 6368 [2] But be it known that no one can be torn away and delivered from hell unless in the life of the body he has been in spiritual good, that is, in charity through faith; for unless he has been in this good through faith, there is nothing to receive the good which flows in from the Lord; but it flows through, except that which can be fixed somewhere; and therefore these persons cannot be torn away or delivered from hell. For all the states that a man has acquired in the life of the body are retained in the other life, and are filled; with the good the states of good are retained and filled with good, and by means of these states they are elevated into heaven; and with the evil the states of evil are retained and filled with evil, and by means of these states they sink down into hell. This is the meaning of the saying that as a man dies, so he remains. This shows who they are that can be delivered by the Lord from hell by means of the Divine celestial.

Heaven and Hell 598. Man cannot be reformed unless he has freedom, for the reason that he is born into evils of every kind; and these must be removed in order that he may be saved; and they cannot be removed unless he sees them in himself and acknowledges them, and afterwards ceases to will them, and finally holds them in aversion. Not until then are they removed. And this cannot be done unless man is in good as well as in evil, since it is from good that he is able to see evils, while from evil he cannot see good…

Arcana Coelestia 9128[2] As this is an important matter, something shall be said about sight from within. A man sees in himself whether what he thinks and wills, and consequently what he says and does, is good or evil, and consequently whether it is true or false. This is quite impossible unless he sees from within. Seeing from within is seeing from the sight of the internal man in the external. The case is the same as with the sight of the eye: the eye cannot see the things which are within it, but only those which are outside of it. From this then it is that a man sees the good and the evil that are in himself. Nevertheless one man sees this better than another, and some do not see it at all. They who see it, are they who have received from the Lord the life of faith and charity, for this life is the internal life, or the life of the internal man. Such persons, being from faith in truth, and from charity in good, can see the evils and falsities in themselves; for evil can be seen from good, and falsity from truth; but not contrariwise. The reason is that good and truth are in heaven, and in its light; whereas evil and falsity are in hell, and in its darkness. From this it is evident that those who are in evil and thence in falsity cannot see the good and truth, nor even the evil and falsity, which are in themselves, consequently neither can they see from within.

[3] But be it known that to see from within is to see from the Lord; for it is the same with sight as with everything that exists, in that nothing exists from itself, but from that which is prior to or higher than itself, thus finally from the First and Highest. The First and Highest is the Lord. He who apprehends this can also apprehend that everything of life with man is from the Lord; and that as charity and faith constitute the veriest life of man, everything of charity, and everything of faith, are from the Lord.

Heaven and Hell 594. How all things are so arranged in the heavens and in the hells that each and all of those who are there may be in their equilibrium, can in some measure be seen from what has been said and shown above respecting the heavens and the hells, namely, that all the societies of heaven are distinctly arranged in accordance with goods and their kinds and varieties, and all the societies of hell in accordance with evils, and their kinds and varieties; and that beneath each society of heaven there is a society of hell corresponding to it from opposition, and from this opposing correspondence equilibrium results; and in consequence of this the Lord unceasingly provides that no infernal society beneath a heavenly society shall gain any preponderance, and as soon as it begins to do so it is restrained by various means, and is reduced to an exact measure of equilibrium. These means are many, only a few of which I will mention. Some of these means have reference to the stronger presence of the Lord; some to the closer communication and conjunction of one or more societies with others; some to the casting out of superabundant infernal spirits into deserts; some to the transference of certain spirits from one hell to another; some to the reducing of those in the hells to order, and this also is effected in various ways; some to the screening of certain hells under denser and thicker coverings, also letting them down to greater depths; besides other means; and still others that are employed in the heavens above the hells. All this has been said that it may in some measure be perceived that the Lord alone provides that there shall be an equilibrium everywhere between good and evil, thus between heaven and hell; for on such equilibrium the safety of all in the heavens and of all on the earth rests.

The freeing is in the seeing

Divine Love and Wisdom 271. EVILS AND FALSITIES ARE IN COMPLETE OPPOSITION TO GOODS AND TRUTHS, BECAUSE EVILS AND FALSITIES ARE DIABOLICAL AND INFERNAL, WHILE GOODS AND TRUTHS ARE DIVINE AND HEAVENLY. That evil and good are opposites, also the falsity of evil and the truth of good, every one acknowledges when he hears it. Still those who are in evil do not feel, and therefore do not perceive, otherwise than that evil is good; for evil gives enjoyment to their senses, especially sight and hearing, and from that gives enjoyment also to their thoughts, and thus their perceptions. While, therefore, the evil acknowledge that evil and good are opposites, still, when they are in evil, they declare from their enjoyment of it that evil is good, and good evil. For example:-One who abuses his freedom to think and to do what is evil calls that freedom, while its opposite, namely, to think the good which in itself is good, he calls bondage; when, in fact, the latter is to be truly free, and the former to be in bondage. He who loves adulteries calls it freedom to commit adultery, but not to be allowed to commit adultery he calls bondage; for in lasciviousness he has a sense of enjoyment, but of the contrary in chastity. He who is in the love of ruling from love of self feels in that love an enjoyment of life surpassing other enjoyments of every kind; consequently, everything belonging to that love he calls good, and everything contrary to it he declares to be evil; when yet the reverse is true. It is the same with every other evil. While every one, therefore, acknowledges that evil and good are opposites, those who are in evils cherish a reverse conception of such opposition, and only those who are in good have a right conception of it. No one so long as he is in evil can see good, but he who is in good can see evil. Evil is below as in a cave, good is above as on a mountain.

Arcana Coelestia 6370…he is safe among all evils, even in the midst of the hells; for love to the Lord and toward the neighbour has this effect, because they who are in this love are most closely conjoined with the Lord, and are in the Lord, because they are in the Divine which proceeds from Him; hence nothing of evil can reach them. Be it known that there are innumerable hells, distinct according to the genera of evils and the derivative falsities, and according to the species of these, and the details of the species; and that in each hell there is order; and that this order is preserved by the Lord, both immediately, and mediately through the celestial angels; at times also angels are sent thither to bring into order what is disorderly there; and when they are there, they are in safety. This is what is meant by the safety among all in the hells of him who is in what is celestial.

The reversal representation of the brothers

AC 6328 The Contents. In this chapter the subject treated of in the internal sense is not the descendants of Jacob, and what would befall them; but the truths of faith and the goods of love which the twelve tribes named from the sons of Jacob represent and signify.

6329. It first treats of faith separated from charity, which is utterly rejected. This faith is “Reuben,” “Simeon,” and “Levi.”

6330. It then treats of the celestial church, which is the “tribe of Judah,” and in the supreme sense there, of the Divine Human of the Lord.

6331. Then of the rest of the tribes according to the states of good and truth which they represent.

6332. Lastly of the celestial of the spiritual church  which is “Joseph;” and here also in the supreme sense of the Divine Human of the Lord.

6352. Simeon and Leviticus are brethren. That this signifies faith in the will, and charity, here the reverse, because they signify faith separated from charity, is evident from the representation of Simeon, as being faith in the will (see n. 3869-3872, 4497, 4502, 4503, 5482, 5626, 5630); and from the representation of Levi, as being charity (n. 3875, 3877), but here the reverse, because they signify faith separate from charity. For when this faith is represented by Reuben (as is plain from the explication of verse 4), it follows that no faith in the will, and thus no charity, are what are represented by Simeon and Levi, for these things follow in a series from their beginning. Therefore by Simeon is represented falsity in the will, and by Leviticus evil in act, for these are opposite to faith in the will and to charity. That these are signified is plain from Simeon and Leviticus being cursed.

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.