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254. As I also overcame, and sit with my Father in his throne. That this signifies comparatively as the Divine good is united with the Divine truth in heaven, is evident from the signification of overcoming, when said of the Lord Himself, as being to unite Divine good with Divine truth. And as this was effected by temptations and victories, therefore it is said, "as I overcame." (That the Lord united Divine good with Divine truth by temptations admitted into His Human, and by continual victories then, may be seen in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 201, 293, 302). The reason why sitting with my Father in his throne, signifies Divine good united with Divine truth in heaven, is that by Father, when mentioned by the Lord, is meant the Divine good which was in Him from conception, and by Son, the Divine truth, each in heaven; and by throne is meant heaven, as above. This Divine of the Lord in the heavens is called the Divine truth, but it is the Divine good united to the Divine truth. (That this is the case may be seen in the work, Heaven and Hell 13, 133, 139, 140).
[2] The reason why a comparison is made of the members of the church with the Lord himself, when it is said, "He that overcometh, to him will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and sit with my Father in his throne" is, that the life of the Lord upon earth was an example according to which the members of the church were to live, as the Lord Himself also teaches in John:
"I have given unto you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you. If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them" (13:15, 17).
This is why the Lord Himself, in places, makes a comparison between Himself and His disciples, as in John:
Jesus said, "As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you; continue ye in my love, as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love" (15:9, 10).
Again:
"They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I sent them into the world" (17:16, 18).
Again:
"As my Father hath sent me, even so send I you" (20:21).
Again:
"The glory which thou gavest me, I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one, I in them, and thou in me. Father, I will that they also whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me. I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it, that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them" (17:22-24, 26).
The reason why the Lord spoke of His conjunction with men as of His conjunction with the Father, that is, of His Human with the Divine which was in Himself, is that the Lord is not conjoined with man's proprium, but with what is His own. The Lord removes man's proprium, and gives from His own, and in that He dwells. That this is the case is also known in the church, as is clear from the prayer used by, and the exhortation addressed to, those who approach the Sacrament of the Supper, in which are these words: "If with a true penitent heart and lively faith we receive that holy Sacrament, for then we spiritually eat the flesh of Christ, and drink his blood, then we dwell in Christ, and Christ in us: we are one with Christ, and Christ with us." And in John 6:56. (But these things may be better comprehended from what is shown in the work, Heaven and Hell, n, 11, 12).
Hence, then, because the Divine of the Lord received by angels and men constitutes heaven and the church in them, they are one with the Lord, as He and the Father are one.
[3] In order that it may be yet more fully known how is to be understood what the Lord says, that He sits with His Father in His throne, it is to be noted that the throne of God denotes heaven, as was shown in the preceding article, also that heaven is heaven from the Divine proceeding from the Lord, which is called Divine truth, as was said above. The Lord Himself is not in heaven, but is above the heavens, and appears to those who are in the heavens as a Sun. The reason why the Lord appears as a Sun is because He is Divine love, and Divine love appears to the angels as solar fire; whence also sacred fire in the Word signifies Love Divine. From the Lord as a Sun proceed light and heat: the light which proceeds, because it is spiritual light, is Divine truth; and the heat, because it is spiritual heat, is Divine good. The latter, namely, the Divine good, is meant by the Father in heaven. (That the Lord is the Sun of heaven, and that the light and heat proceeding therefrom are the Divine truth united with the Divine good, may be seen in the work, 5:44, 45).
Again:
"Be ye perfect, as your Father in the heavens is perfect" (verse 48).
Again:
"You who are evil, know to give good gifts to your children; how much more shall your Father who is in the heavens give good things to them that ask him" (7:11).
Again:
"He that doeth the will of my Father who is in the heavens, shall enter into the kingdom of the heavens" (7:21).
Again:
"Every plant which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up" (15:13).
Also in many other passages, in Matthew 5:16:6:1, 6, 8; 12:50; 16:17; 18:14, 19, 35; Mark 9:25, 26; Luke 11:13.
[4] That the Divine good is meant by the Father is also evident from this passage in Matthew:
"Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for their angels do always behold the face of my Father who is in the heavens" (Arcana Coelestia 3703, 5902, 6050. 7834; and also heaven and the church as to good, Arcana Coelestia 2691, 2717, 3703, 5581, 8897; and by Father, when mentioned by the Lord, the Divine good of His Divine love, Arcana Coelestia 2803, 3704, 7499, 8328, 8897).
254. As I also have overcome, and sit with My Father in His throne, signifies comparatively as Divine good is united to Divine truth in heaven. This is evident from the signification of "overcoming," as being in reference to the Lord Himself, to unite Divine good to Divine truth. Because this was effected through temptations and victories, it is said, "as I also have overcome." (That the Lord united Divine good to Divine truth through temptations admitted into His Human, and then through continued victories, see The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 201, 293, 302.) "To sit with My Father in His throne" signifies Divine good united to Divine truth in heaven, because "Father," when said by the Lord, means the Divine good that was in Him from conception, and "Son" the Divine truth, both in heaven, "throne" meaning heaven (See above). This Divine of the Lord in the heavens is called Divine truth, but it is Divine good united to Divine truth. (That this is so, see in the work on Heaven and Hell 13, 133, 139-140.)
[2] There is a comparison made between the men of the church and the Lord Himself, in His saying, "He that overcometh I will give to him to sit with Me in My throne, as I also have overcome and sit with My Father in His throne," because the Lord's life in the world was an example according to which the men of the church are to live, as the Lord Himself teaches in John:
I have given unto you an example that ye also should do as I have done to you. If ye know these things, blessed are ye if ye do them (Heaven and Hell 11-12.) From this it follows that as the Divine of the Lord received by angels and by men makes heaven and the church with them, they are one with the Lord, as He and the Father are one.
[3] That the meaning of these words of the Lord, that "He sitteth with His Father in His throne," may be more clearly seen, it must be known that "God's throne" is heaven (as was shown in the preceding article), and that heaven is heaven from the Divine that proceeds from the Lord, and this Divine is called Divine truth, but is Divine good united to Divine truth (as was said above). The Lord Himself is not in heaven, but is above the heavens, and is seen by those who are in the heavens as a sun. He is seen as a sun because He is Divine love, and Divine love is seen by the angels as solar fire; this is why "sacred fire" in the Word signifies love Divine. From the Lord as a sun light and heat proceed: the light that proceeds, since it is spiritual light, is Divine truth; and the heat, since it is spiritual heat, is Divine good. This, namely, the Divine good, is what is meant by "the Father in the heavens." (That the Lord is the Sun of Heaven, and that the light and heat therefrom are Divine truth united to Divine good, may be seen in the work on Matthew 5:44, 45).
In the same:
Ye shall be perfect, as your Father in the heavens is perfect (Matthew 5:48).
In the same:
Ye who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children; how much more shall your Father who is in the heavens give good things to them who ask Him (Matthew 7:11).
In the same:
He that doeth the will of the Father who is in the heavens shall enter into the kingdom of the heavens (Matthew 7:21).
In the same:
Every plant which the heavenly Father hath not planted shall be rooted up (Matthew 15:13).
Also in other places (as in Matthew 5:16; 6:1, 6, 8; 12:50; 16:17, 18:14, 19, 35; Mark 11:25, 26; Luke 11:13).
[4] That "Father" means the Divine good can be seen also from this passage in Matthew:
Despise not one of these little ones; for their angels do always behold the face of My Father who is in the heavens (Arcana Coelestia 3703 Arcana Coelestia 3703[1-23], 5902, 6050, 7833, 7834; and also heaven and the church in respect to good, n. 2691, 2717, 3703, 5581, 8897; and "Father," when said by the Lord, means the Divine good of His Divine love, n. 2803, 3704, 7499, 8328, 8897)
254. "Sicut et Ego vici, et sedeo cum Patre meo in throno Ipsius." - Quod significet comparative sicut Divinum [Bonum] est unitum Divino Vero in caelo, constat ex significatione "vincere", cum de Ipso Domino, quod sit unire Divinum Bonum Divino Vero: hoc quia factum est per tentationes et victorias, ideo dicitur "Sicut Ego vici." (Quod Dominus univerit Divinum Bonum Divino Vero per tentationes in Humanum suum admissas, et per continuas tunc victorias, videatur in Doctrina Novae Hierosolymae, n. 201, 293, 302.) Quod "sedere cum Patre meo in throno Ipsius", significet Divinum Bonum unitum Divino Vero in caelo, est quia per "Patrem" a Domino intelligitur Divinum Bonum quod in Ipso a conceptione fuit, ac per "Filium" Divinum Verum, utrumque in caelo, ac per" thronum" caelum (ut supra). Hoc Divinum Domini in caelis vocatur Divinum Verum, sed est Divinum Bonum unitum Divino Vero. (Quod ita sit, videatur in opere De Caelo et Inferno 13, 133, 139, 140.)
[2] Quod comparatio fiat hominum ecclesiae cum Ipso Domino, dicendo, "Vincens dabo illi sedere Mecum in throno meo, sicut et Ego vici et sedeo cum Patre in throno Ipsius", est quia vita Domini in mundo fuit exemplar secundum quod victuri homines ecclesiae, ut quoque Ipse dicit apud Johannem,
"Exemplum dedi vobis, ut sicut Ego feci vobis, etiam vos faciatis:.... si hoc scitis, beati estis si feceritis illa" (13:15, 17).
Inde est quod Dominus comparationem Secum fecerit etiam aliis in locis; ut in his:
Apud Johannem,
Jesus dixit, "Quemadmodum dilexit Me Pater, ita Ego dilexi vos; manete in dilectione mea, .... sicut Ego mandata Patris mei servavi, et maneo in Ipsius dilectione" (15:9, 10 1
);
apud eundem,
"Ex mundo non sunt, sicut Ego ex mundo non sum;.... sicut Me misisti in mundum, etiam Ego misi illos in mundum" (17:16, 18);
apud eundem,
"Sicut misit Me Pater, etiam Ego mitto vos" (20:21);
apud eundem,
"Ego gloriam, quam dedisti Mihi, dedi illis, ut sint unum sicut nos unum sumus, Ego in illis, Tu in Me:.... Pater, quos dedisti Mihi, volo ut ubi sum Ego etiam illi sint Mecum, ut videant gloriam meam, quam dedisti Mihi. .... .Notum feci illis nomen tuum, et notum faciam; ut dilectio, qua dilexisti Me, in illis sit et Ego in illis" (17:22-24, 26).
Quod Dominus de Sui conjunctione cum hominibus sicut de Sui conjunctione cum Patre, hoc est, Humani sui cum Divino quod in Ipso, locutus sit, est causa, quia Dominus non conjungitur cum proprio hominis, sed cum suo apud illum; Dominus proprium hominis removet, et dat ex suo, et in eo habitat: quod ita sit, etiam in ecclesia notum est, ut patet ex solenni prece et exhortatione ad illos qui accedunt ad Sacramentum Cenae, ubi haec verba:
"If with a true penitent heart, and lively faith, we receive that holy Sacrament, for then we spiritually eat the flesh of Christ and drink His blood, then we dwell in Christ and Christ in us, and we are one with Christ and Christ with us;"
et Johannes 6:56. (Sed haec melius comprehendi possunt ex illis quae in opere De Caelo et Inferno 11, 12, ostensa sunt.) Inde nunc quia Divinum Domini receptum ab angelis et ab hominibus facit caelum et ecclesiam apud illos, unum sunt cum Domino, sicut Ipse et Pater unum sit.
[3] Ut adhuc sciatur quomodo intelligendum est quod Dominus dicat, quod sedeat cum Patre suo in throno Ipsius, sciendum est quod "thronus Dei" sit caelum (ut in superiori articulo ostensum est), ac caelum est caelum ex Divino quod procedit a Domino; et hoc Divinum vocatur Divinum Verum, sed est Divinum Bonum unitum Divino Vero (ut supra dictum est). Ipse Dominus non est in caelo, sed est supra caelos, et apparet illis qui in caelis sunt ut Sol. Quod appareat ut Sol, est quia est Divinus Amor; ac Divinus Amor apparet angelis ut Ignis solaris; unde quoque "ignis sacer" in Verbo significat Amorem Divinum. Ex Ipso ut Sole procedit Lux et Calor: Lux quae procedit, quia est Lux spiritualis, est Divinum Verum; et Calor, quia est Calor spiritualis, est Divinum Bonum: hoc, nempe Divinum Bonum, intelligitur per "Patrem in Caelis." (Quod Dominus sit Sol Caeli, et quod Lux et Calor inde, sint Divinum Verum unitum Divino Bono, videatur in opere De Caelo et Inferno 116-125, 126-140; et quod Caelum sit Caelum ex Divino quod procedit a Domino n. 7-12.) Inde constare potest quid in Verbo intelligitur per "Patrem in Caelis", et per "Patrem Caelestem":
-Ut apud Matthaeum,
Benefacite inimicis, "ut sitis filii Patris vestri qui in caelis" (5:44, 45);
apud eundem,
"Sitis perfecti, sicut Pater vester in caelis est perfectus" (5:48);
apud eundem,
"Vos qui mali estis, nostis bona dare liberis vestris; quanto magis Pater vester qui est in caelis dabit bona iis qui petunt ab Ipso" (7:11);
apud eundem,
"Faciens voluntatem Patris qui est in caelis, intrabit in regnum caelorum" (7:21);
apud eundem,
"Omnis plantatio, quam non plantavit Pater Caelestis, eradicatur" (15:13).
Et praeterea alibi (Ut Matthaeus 5:16; 6:1, 6, 8; cap. 2
Matthaeus 12:50; 16:17; 18:14, 19, 35; Marcus 11:25, 26; Luca 11:13).
[4] Quod Divinum Bonum intelligatur per "Patrem", constare etiam potest ex hoc apud Matthaeum:
"Ne contemnatis ullum ex pusillis his, nam angeli eorum.... semper vident faciem Patris mei qui in caelis est" (18:10):
quod "videant faciem Patris qui in caelis est", significat quod recipiant Divinum Bonum a Domino; quod non videant faciem Ipsius, constat a Domini verbis apud Johannem,
Patrem nemo vidit usquam (1:18; 5:37; cap. 6:46 3
).
Idem constare potest ex hoc apud Matthaeum,
"Patrem ne vocetis vestrum in terra, unus namque Pater vester qui in caelis est" (23:9);
quod nemini interdictum sit patrem suum in terra vocare "patrem", patet; nec id a Domino hic interdicitur, sed hoc dictum est quia per "Patrem" intelligitur Divinum Bonum, et
"Nullus est bonus nisi unus Deus" ([Matth.] 19:17).
(Quod Dominus ita locutus sit, est quia per" Patrem"in Verbo utriusque Testamenti in sensu spirituali intelligitur bonum, videatur n. 3703, 5902, 6050, 7833, 7834; et quoque caelum et ecclesia quoad bonum, n. 2691, 2717, 3703, 4
5581, 8897; et per "Patrem" ubi a Domino, Divinum Bonum Divini Amoris Ipsius, n. 2803, 3704, 7499, 8328, 8897.)
Footnotes:
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