Potts(1905-1910) 5398
5398. The Internal Sense. In this chapter and in those which follow about Joseph and the sons of Jacob, in the internal sense is described the regeneration of the natural as to the truths and goods of the church-that this is not effected by means of memory-knowledges, but by influx from the Divine. At the present day they who are of the church know so little about regeneration that it is scarcely anything. They do not even know that regeneration goes on through the whole course of life of one who is being regenerated, and that it is continued in the other life; or that the arcana of regeneration are so innumerable that scarcely a ten thousandth part of them can be known by the angels, and that those they do know are what effect their intelligence and wisdom. The reason why they who are of the church at this day know so little about regeneration is that they talk so much about remission of sins and about justification, and believe that sins are remitted in a moment, and some that they are wiped away like filth from the body by water, and that man is justified by faith alone or by the confidence of a single moment. The reason why the men of the church so believe is that they do not know what sin or evil is. If they knew this, they would know that sins can by no means be wiped away from anyone, but that when the man is kept in good by the Lord they are separated or rejected to the sides so as not to rise up, and that this cannot be effected unless evil is continually cast out, and this by means which are unlimited in number, and for the most part unutterable. [2] Those in the other life who have brought with them the opinion that man is justified in a moment by faith, and wholly cleansed from sins, are astounded when they see that regeneration is effected by means unlimited in number and unutterable, and they then laugh at and call insane the ignorance in which they had been in the world in regard to the instantaneous remission of sins and justification. They are sometimes told that the Lord remits the sins of those who desire it from the heart; yet still they are not thereby separated from the diabolical crew, to whom they are held fast by the evils that attend their life, which they have with them complete. They then learn by experience that to be separated from the hells is to be separated from sins, and that this cannot be done except by thousands upon thousands of ways known to the Lord only, and this-if you will believe it-in a continual succession to eternity. For man is so evil that he cannot to eternity be fully delivered from even one sin, but can only by the mercy of the Lord (if he has received it) be withheld from sin, and kept in good. [3] In what manner therefore man receives new life and is regenerated, is contained in the sanctuary of the Word, that is, in its internal sense, chiefly to the end that when the Word is being read by man the angels may thereby be in their happiness of wisdom, and also be at the same time in the delight of serving as means. In this and the following chapters about Joseph's brethren, the subject treated of in the supreme internal sense is the glorification of the Lord's natural, and in the representative sense, the regeneration of the natural in man by the Lord, here as to the truths of the church therein.
Elliott(1983-1999) 5398
5398. THE INTERNAL SENSE
This chapter and the ones that follow it concerning Jacob's sons and Joseph deal in the internal sense with the regeneration of the natural so far as the truths and goods of the Church are concerned - such regeneration being effected not by means of factual knowledge but by an influx from the Divine. Those who belong to the Church at the present day know so little about regeneration as to know virtually nothing at all about it. They do not even know that regeneration is a process that takes place throughout the whole course of the life of someone who is being regenerated and continues in the next life. Nor do they know that the arcana of regeneration are so countless that hardly the smallest fraction can be known even by angels, or that those which angels do know are what constitute the intelligence and wisdom they possess. Those belonging to the Church at the present day know so little about regeneration because they talk so much about the forgiveness of sins and justification, believing that sins can be forgiven instantaneously. Some believe that sins are washed away like dirt from the body by the use of water, and that a person is justified or made righteous by means of faith alone, that is, by means of trust of only a moment's duration. The reason people within the Church believe the way they do is that they do not know what sin or evil is. If they did possess such knowledge they would know that no one's sins can by any means at all be washed away, but that these are separated or cast away to the sides to prevent them from rising up, when the Lord maintains the presence of good within that person. They would also know that this cannot be accomplished unless evil is being cast out all the time, which is done by means that are numerically without limit and for the most part beyond description.
[2] In the next life people who have brought with them the notion that a person is made righteous by faith in an instant and completely cleansed from sins are dumbfounded when they learn that regeneration is effected by means that are numerically without limit and beyond description. They laugh at their own ignorance, which they also call madness, that is, at the ideas they held to in the world regarding instantaneous forgiveness of sins and justification. Sometimes they are told that the Lord forgives the sins of everyone who in his heart desires forgiveness; but this does not mean that they are separated from the devil's crew, to whom they are bound through the evils which go along with the life which they bring with them in its entirety. After this they learn from experience that being separated from the hells is being separated from one's sins, and that this cannot possibly be accomplished except by thousands of ways known to the Lord alone, a process which, if you can believe it, continues for ever one stage after another. For the human being is so full of evil that he cannot ever be released from even one sin. But solely by the Lord's mercy, if he will accept that mercy, he is withheld from sin and maintained in good.
[3] The way therefore in which a person receives new life and is regenerated is contained in the sanctuary of the Word, that is, in its internal sense. The primary reason why the internal sense contains that information is that when the Word is being read by man, it causes the angels to be aware of the bliss that wisdom brings them and at the same time to take delight in serving as means. The subject in the highest sense of this chapter and those that follow it, where the narrative concerns Joseph's brothers, is the glorification of the Lord's natural, and in the representative sense the regeneration by the Lord of man's natural, in this chapter so far as the truths of the Church are concerned.
Latin(1748-1756) 5398
5398. In hoc capite et in illis quae sequuntur {1} de filiis Jacobi et Josepho, in sensu interno agitur de regeneratione naturalis quoad vera et bona Ecclesiae, quod nempe per scientifica non fiat sed per influxum a Divino. Qui hodie ab Ecclesia sunt, tam parum aliquid de regeneratione sciunt ut vix aliquid; ne quidem hoc sciunt {2} quod regeneratio perstet per totum cursum vitae illius qui regeneratur, et quod continuetur in altera vita; tum {3} quod arcana regenerationis sint tam innumerabilia {4} ut vix quoad unam myriadis partem sciri queant ab angelis, et quod illa quae sciunt angeli, sint quae faciunt intelligentiam et sapientiam eorum {5}; quod qui hodie ab Ecclesia sunt, tam parum de regeneratione sciant, est causa quia tam multa loquuntur de remissione peccatorum et de justificatione, et quia credunt quod peccata momento remittantur, et quidam quod abstergantur sicut sordes e corpore per aquas, et quod per solam fidem seu per unius momenti confidentiam justificetur homo; {6} quod (t)homines Ecclesiae ita credant, est causa quia non sciunt quid peccatum seu {7} malum, si illud {8} nossent, scirent quod peccata alicui nequaquam abstergi queant, sed quod separentur seu rejiciantur {9} ad latera ne exsurgant, quando homo in bono tenetur a Domino; tum quod hoc fieri nequeat nisi malum continue ejiciatur, et hoc per media quae indefinita numero et quoad plurem partem ineffabilia; [2] qui in altera vita secum illam opinionem traxerunt quod homo momento per fidem justificetur, et prorsus abluatur a peccatis, cum appercipiunt quod regeneratio fiat per media {10} indefinita numero et ineffabilia, stupescunt, et inscitiam suam, quam etiam insaniam vocant, quam in mundo habuerunt de momentanea remissione peccatorum et de justificatione, rident; dicitur illis quandoque quod Dominus nulli non qui desiderat ex corde, remittat peccata, sed usque non ideo separantur illi a turba diabolica cui alligati sunt per mala quae {11} sequuntur vitam quam omnem secum habent; discunt dein ab experientia quod ab infernis {12} separari sit a peccatis, et quod id {13} nequaquam fieri queat nisi per mille et mille modos soli Domino notos, et hoc continua successione, si velis credere, in aeternum; nam homo tantum malum est ut ne quidem ab uno peccato plene in aeternum liberari queat, at solum ex misericordia Domini si (c)eam receperit, a peccato detineri et in bono teneri. [3] Quomodo itaque homo novam vitam accipit et regeneratur, {14} continetur in sanctuario Verbi, hoc est, in sensu ejus interno, ob causam imprimis ut angeli ex Verbo cum legitur ab homine, in suo felici sapientiae sint, et quoque tunc in jucundo inserviendi pro mediis. In hoc capite et in sequentibus, ubi de fratribus Josephi, agitur in sensu interno supremo de glorificatione naturalis Domini, et in sensu repraesentativo de regeneratione naturalis apud hominem a Domino, hic quoad vera quae Ecclesiae ibi.@1 i ubi$ @2 norunt$ @3 et$ @4 innumera$ @5 angelicam$ @6 i et$ @7 i quid$ @8 illa$ @9 separari seu rejici$ @10 i tam$ @11 i adhaerent et quae$ @12 illis$ @13 hoc$ @14 i hoc$