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Good needing something to fix to
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.
Fleeing from truths
6365… It is said that they shall flee at his presence, because when any one of the infernal crew approaches any angel of the Lord’s celestial kingdom, he flees at his presence, being unable to endure it, because he cannot endure the sphere of celestial love, which is that of love to the Lord; this sphere being to him like burning and tormenting fire. Moreover a celestial angel never fights, still less is his hand in the neck of his enemies, nor indeed does he regard anyone as an enemy insofar as he is concerned; yet it is so expressed on account of the conditions in this world; but the real meaning is that the infernals, regarding themselves as his enemies, flee from his presence.
6369… they who are in celestial good never fight, but are safe through good; because where they come, the evil flee away, for the evil cannot endure their presence .
Being held by the Lord when in the midst of the state
6370. Who shall rouse him up? That this signifies that he is safe among all in the hells, is evident from the signification of “who shall rouse him up,” as being to be safe. That it denotes among all in the hells is because he is safe among all evils, even in the midst of the hells; for love to the Lord and toward the neighbor 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.
When the sense of self gets shifted through the practise of truths
3812 [2] As regards the proprium in general there are two kinds, the first being the hellish proprium, the second the heavenly. The hellish proprium is acquired by a person from hell, the heavenly from heaven, that is, from the Lord through heaven. For all evil and all falsity from evil enter in from hell, and all good and all truth from good do so from the Lord. People know this from the doctrine of faith, but scarcely one in a million believes it. Consequently a person appropriates – that is, makes his own – evil entering in from hell; but good entering in from the Lord does not move him and cannot therefore be said to have a place in him. The reason why a person does not believe that evil enters in from hell and good from the Lord is that he is governed by self-love, a love which carries such unbelief with it and which goes so far as to be highly indignant when that person is told that everything comes into him from somewhere else. This then is why a person’s entire proprium is nothing but evil, see 210, 215, 694, 731, 874-876, 987, 1023, 1044, 1047. But the belief that evil is from hell and good from the Lord exists with him when he is not governed by self-love but by love towards the neighbour and love to the Lord; for this love carries such belief with it. So it is that a person receives from the Lord the heavenly proprium referred to in 155, 164, 731, 1023, 1044, 1937, 1947, 2882, 2883, 2891.
1044. ‘And it will be for a sign of the covenant between Me and the earth’ means a token of the Lord’s presence in charity, ‘the earth’ here being a person’s proprium. This is clear from what has been stated already. That ‘the earth’ means a person’s Proprium is clear from the internal sense and from the whole train of thought. Above it was stated that ‘this is the sign of the covenant between Me and you and every living soul that is with you’ meant whatever has been regenerated; but here the wording is different – ‘it will be for a sign of the covenant between Me and the earth’. From this, and also from the repetition of ‘sign of the covenant’, it is evident that something different is meant here, and indeed that ‘the earth’ is that which has not been regenerated, and which is incapable of being, namely the will part of a person’s proprium.
[2] When somebody is regenerate he belongs to the Lord so far as the understanding Part of his mind is concerned but belongs to himself so far as the will part of it is concerned. These two parts in the spiritual man are opposed to each other. But although the will part of a person’s proprium is opposed, its continuing presence is nevertheless inevitable. Indeed all the obscurity in the understanding part, that is, all the thickness of his cloud, originates there. It is constantly flowing in from there, and in the measure it flows in so the cloud in the understanding part thickens; but in the measure it is taken away, the cloud thins out. This is why ‘the earth’ here means a person’s proprium. That ‘the earth’ means the bodily part of man’s nature as well as having many other meanings has been shown already.
[3] The relationship between those two parts is like two parties who were first of all joined together by a covenant of friendship – as will and understanding were in the member of the Most Ancient Church – and then the friendship was broken off and hostility arose, as happened when man corrupted totally the will part of him. After that, when the covenant is renewed, the hostile part presents itself as though the covenant were with it. But no covenant is made with it because it is utterly opposed and contrary. It is made instead with that which flows in from it, as has been stated, that is, with the understanding part of the proprium. The sign or token of the covenant is this, that to the extent the Lord is present in the understanding part of the proprium the will part of it will be taken away. The relationship between the two is just like that of heaven and hell. The understanding part of a regenerate person, by virtue of the charity in which the Lord is present, is heaven, while the will part of him is hell. To the extent the Lord is present in heaven, hell is removed; for when he subsists from himself man is in hell, but when he does so from the Lord he is in heaven. Man is constantly being raised up from hell into heaven, and so far as he is raised up his hell is taken away from him. The sign or token therefore that the Lord is present rests in the fact that man’s own will is taken away. The possibility of that removal is achieved by means of temptations and many other means of regeneration.
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.
