JOHN 6      Other translations  -  previous  -  next  -  meaning  -  John  -  BM Home  -  Full Page

John Chapter 6

    Chapter 6

THE INTERNAL SENSE.

  1. AFTER these things jesus departed beyond the sea of Galilee of Tiberias.
  2. And much multitude followed him, because they saw his miracles [signs] which he did upon those who were diseased.

THAT the lord applies himself to those who are in the ultimates of the church amongst the Gentiles, and is followed by many who are under the influence of a miraculous faith, vs 1, 2.

  1. And jesus went up into the mountain, and there sat with his disciples.
  2. But the passover, the feast of the Jews, was near.

On which occasion he elevates himself to union with his divine good, to which he conjoins the truths of the church, and thus approaches to his final glorification, vs 3, 4.

  1. jesus then lifting up his eyes, and seeing that much multitude came to him, says to Philip, Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat?
  2. But this he said to prove him, for he himself knew what he was about to do.
  3. Philip answered him, Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little.

In this state he tries the faith of those of the church who are in intelligence, by exciting doubt respecting the implantation of good in truths, when yet he knew that it could only be done from himself, vs 5, 6, 7.

  1. One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, says to him,
  2. There is a boy here who has five barley-loaves and two small fishes; but what are they amongst so many?

This doubt extends also to those who are principled in the good of faith, being further excited from a sense of the small portion of innocence and of living scientific truth which remained in the church, vs 8, 9.

  1. But jesus said, Make the men to sit down. Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand.

Wherefore to remove this doubt, the lord requires, that the truths of the church should be admitted into the will, or love, so as to affect it, and thus to rule over scientific truths, vs 10.

  1. And jesus took the loaves, and having given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were set down; and in like manner of the fishes as much as they would.

And when this was accomplished, he imparts the good of his own love to the good of those of the church who are principled in truth, and through them to those who are principled in good, with as much of living scientific truth as could be received, vs 11.

  1. But when they were filled, he says to his disciples, Gather together the fragments that remain over and above, that nothing may be lost.
  2. Therefore they gathered [them] together, and filled twelve baskets, with the fragments of the five barley-loaves, which remained over and above to them that had eaten.

And this in all the fullness of instruction and benediction, vs 12, 13.

  1. Then the men seeing the miracle [sign] which jesus did, said, This is truly the prophet that should come into the world.

Thus proving himself to be that divine doctrine, which, it had been predicted, was to be made manifest in the flesh, vs 14.

  1. jesus then, knowing that they were about to come, and take him by force, that they might make him a king, retired again into the mountain himself alone.

But perceiving the state of the church to be such, that doctrine was in danger of being exalted above the life of doctrine, he again elevates himself into the good of his divine love, vs 15.

  1. And when it was evening, his disciples went down to the sea;
  2. And entering into a ship, they went beyond the sea to Capernaum. And it was now dark, and jesus was not come to them.

On which occasion, they who are principled in the truths of the church, being without illustration, consult scientifics and knowledges, and even the things of sense, thus immersing themselves in false principles, separate from divine good and truth, vs 16, 17.

  1. And the sea arose, by reason of a great wind that blew.
  2. So when they had rowed about twenty or thirty furlongs, they see jesus walking on the sea, and drawing near to the ship; and they were afraid.

Under the influence of which false principles, they are brought into a state of disturbance and temptation, in which state their understandings are opened to the lord's divine humanity, so as to perceive him controlling the disturbance both in the scientifics and knowledges, and begetting holy adoration, vs 18, 19.

  1. But he says to them, I am, be not afraid.

Convincing them thus that he is jehovah, the divine source of all peace and security, vs 20.

  1. Then they were willing to receive him into the ship; and immediately the ship was at the land, to which they were going.

Therefore they supplicate, that their knowledges may be always under his divine presence and influence, in consequence of which supplication they attain the life of knowledge, vs 21.

  1. On the morrow, the multitude which stood beyond the sea, seeing that there was no other boat there, except the one into which his disciples were entered, and that jesus went not with his disciples into the boat, but his disciples departed alone;
  2. But there carne other boats from Tiberias, near to the place where they did eat bread, when the lord had given thanks:
  3. When the multitude therefore saw that jesus was not there, neither his disciples, they also took shipping, and came to Capernaum, seeking jesus.
  4. And finding him beyond the sea, they said to him, Rabbi, when came you here?

That they, who are principled in the ultimates of scientific and sensual truth, perceiving their want of the knowledge of good and truth, and that these knowledges are in the possession of the men of the church, though separated from their divine source; and perceiving further that the knowledges of what is good and true are in themselves in connection with the divine instruction and benediction; consult those knowledges, and seek conjunction with the lord in his divine humanity, and make enquiry about the establishment of the church, vs 22, 23, 24, 25.

  1. jesus answered them, and said, Verily, verily, I say to you, you seek me, not because you saw the miracles, [signs] but because you did eat of the loaves, and were filled.

On which occasion they are led to explore the motives by which they are influenced, and whether those motives are grounded in external or internal considerations, vs 26.

  1. Labour not for the meat which perishes, but for the meat which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man shall give to you; for him has the father sealed, the god.

They are exhorted also to regard the good things of heavenly love and faith as infinitely superior to all other goods, and to regard them also in their connection with the lord's divine humanity, from whom alone they are derived, vs 27.

  1. Then said they to him, What shall we do that we may work the works of god?

Thus they are led to enquire further concerning the life of heavenly love and faith, and how it is to be attained, vs 28.

  1. jesus answered, and said to them, This is the work of god, that you believe on him whom he has sent.

And are instructed that the life of love and faith results from the acknowledgement in heart and life of the lord's divine humanity, vs 29.

  1. They said therefore to him, What sign do you then, that we may see and believe you, what work you?
  2. Our fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, as, it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat.

Still they want further testification of this truth, and that it should be confirmed by some representative sign, like that of manna in the wilderness, vs 30, 31.

  1. Then jesus said to them, Verily, verily, I say Unto you, Moses gave you not the bread from heaven, but my father gives you the true bread from heaven.
  2. For the bread of god is he who comes down from heaven, and gives life to the world.

Therefore they are further instructed, that the manna was merely representative of the lord's divine humanity, thus of the divine love, and of reciprocal love on the part of man, vs 32, 33.

  1. Then said they to him, lord, ever more give us this bread.
  2. But jesus said to them, I am the bread of life; he that comes to me shall never hunger, and he that believes in me shall never thirst.

Which instruction operates to produce that love, and therefore they are further taught that the lord in his divine humanity is the only source of all celestial good and truth, and that they, who receive this good, will want no other good, and they, who receive this truth, will have a sufficiency of all truth, vs 34, 35.

  1. But I said to you, that you also have seen me, and do not believe.
  2. All that the father gives me shall come to me, and him that comes to me I will not cast out.

Still there are some, who know the truth of faith, and do not receive it, inasmuch as they alone receive, who are principled in heavenly good, by virtue of which good they have eternal conjunction of life with the lord, vs 36, 37.

  1. For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.
  2. But this is the will of the father that sent me, that of all which he has given me, I should lose nothing, but should raise it up in the last day.
  3. But this is the will of him that sent me, that every one who sees the Son, and believes in him, should have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.

For this was the great end of the lord's assuming humanity, that he might fulfill the purpose of his divine love, which purpose is, that all who believe in that humanity from a right faith and love, shall have eternal life, vs 38, 39, 40.

  1. The Jews then murmured at him, because he said, I am the bread which came down from heaven.
  2. And they said, Is not this jesus the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How is it then that he says, I came down from heaven ?

But this doctrine is opposed by those of the perverted church, who conceive the Humanity of the lord to be like that of other men, and not a divine humanity, vs 41, 42.

  1. Then jesus answered, and said to them, Murmur not among yourselves:
  2. No one can come to me, except the father which sent me draw him; and I will raise him up at the last day.

The reason of which is, because they are not principled in that heavenly good which conducts to heaven, vs 43, 44.

  1. It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of god. Every one therefore who has heard of the father, and learned, comes to me.

For thus the eternal truth teaches, that it has access to all human minds, and is received by those who are principled in heavenly good, and obedient to it, vs 45.

  1. Not that any one has seen the father, except he who is from god ; he has seen the father.

Nevertheless none can acknowledge divine good except by divine truth, and therefore no one can have celestial good, unless he acknowledges the lord, vs 46.

  1. Verily, verily, I say to you, he that believes on me has eternal life.
  2. I am the bread of life.

For to acknowledge the lord is to possess the life of heaven, since he is the very essence of that life, vs 47, 48.

  1. Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead.
  2. This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that any one may eat thereof and not die.

Therefore they, who receive only natural nourishment from the Word, perish in their evils, whilst they, who receive spiritual nourishment, which is that of the good of heavenly love, have eternal conjunction of life with the lord, vs 49, 50.

  1. I am the living bread, which came down from heaven; if any one eat of this bread, he shall live for ever; and the bread which I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.

For these latter are made partakers of the Divine Celestial principle, or the divine good, communicated from the lord's divine humanity, vs 51.

  1. The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, how can this [man] give us flesh to eat?
  2. Then jesus said to them, Verily, verily, I say to you, except you eat the flesh of the Son of Man, and drink his blood, you have no life in you.
  3. He that eats my flesh, and drinks my blood, has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.

Which appears incredible to those who are of the perverted church, and who are therefore taught, that the Divine Celestial principle and the Divine Spiritual, which is from the divine humanity of the lord, is the all of life, and that whoever does not appropriate to himself this principle, has no living principle in him, but whoever appropriates it, has in him an eternal living principle, vs 52, 53, 54.

  1. For my flesh is truly meat, and my blood is truly drink.
  2. He that eats [trogon] my flesh, and drinks my blood, abides in me, and I in him.

Because the Divine Celestial principle is the only nourishment of celestial life, and the Divine Spiritual principle the only nourishment of spiritual life, and therefore whoever partakes of those principles, has conjunction of life with the lord, vs 55, 56.

  1. As the living father has sent me, and I live by the father, so he that eats [trogon] me, even he shall live by me.

And thus derives life from the lord, in like manner as he, as to his Humanity, derived life continually from the divine good in himself, vs 57.

  1. This is the bread that came down from heaven, not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eats of this bread, shall live for ever.

In which case spiritual and living nourishment is received from the Word, and not merely natural and dead nourishment, vs 58.

  1. These things said he in the synagogue, teaching in Capernaum.
  2. Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard, said, This is a hard word; who can hear it?

That this doctrine is not apprehended by those, who are under the influence of worldly and sensual love, vs 59, 60.

  1. But jesus knowing in himself that his disciples murmured at it, said to them, This offends you.
  2. If then you shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before;
  3. It is the Spirit that quickens, the flesh profits nothing; the words which I speak to you are spirit, and are life.

Who are therefore instructed, that they cannot apprehend it, unless they apprehend how the lord's Human [principle] was finally united to the Divine, and how the divine operation proceeding from that union is the source of all spiritual life, whilst what proceeds from the selfhood of man is without life; thus how the Word is the complex of divine wisdom and divine love, vs 61, 62, 63.

  1. But there are some of you who believe not; for jesus knew from the beginning who they are that believe not, and who it is that should betray him.
  2. And he said, On this account said I to you, that no one can come to me, except it be given him of my father.

They are instructed further, that all men have not faith, and that from eternity the lord foresaw the principles both of what is false and of what is evil, which are opposed to himself, and therefore taught, that none would believe in his divine humanity, who were not under the influence of the divine love, vs 64, 65.

  1. From this [time] many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.
  2. Then said jesus to the twelve, Will you also go away?

Nevertheless, many of those who heard this instruction, relapse into their former evils and errors, which gives occasion to tender expostulation of divine love with those of the new church, who are more confirmed in its goods and truths, vs 66, 67.

  1. Then Simon Peter answered him, lord, to whom shall we go? You have the sayings of eternal life.
  2. And we have believed and known, that you are the christ, the Son of the living god.

Which expostulation excites confession on the part of those who are principled in faith, that the lord's Humanity was filled with the wisdom of the divine love, and thus was one with it, vs 68, 69.

  1. jesus answered them, Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil?
  2. But he spoke of Judas Iscariot, [the son] of Simon, for he was about to betray him, being one of the twelve.

Yet even amongst those, who have received the doctrines of the new church, and been made sensible of its goods, there are some who are under the influence of infernal love, vs 70, 71.

Translation

1. AFTER these things jesus departed beyond the sea of Galilee of Tiberias.

2. And much multitude followed him, because they saw his miracles [signs] which he did upon those who were diseased.

3. And jesus went up into the mountain, and there sat with his disciples.

4. But the passover, the feast of the Jews, was near.

5. jesus then lifting up his eyes, and seeing that much multitude came to him, says to Philip, Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat?

6. But this he said to prove him, for he himself knew what he was about to do.

7. Philip answered him, Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little.

8. One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, says to him,

9. There is a boy here who has five barley-loaves and two small fishes; but what are they amongst so many?

10. But jesus said, Make the men to sit down. Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand.

11. And jesus took the loaves, and having given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were set down; and in like manner of the fishes as much as they would.

12. But when they were filled, he says to his disciples, Gather together the fragments that remain over and above, that nothing may be lost.

13. Therefore they gathered [them] together, and filled twelve baskets, with the fragments of the five barley-loaves, which remained over and above to them that had eaten.

14. Then the men seeing the miracle [sign] which jesus did, said, This is truly the prophet that should come into the world.

15. jesus then, knowing that they were about to come, and take him by force, that they might make him a king, retired again into the mountain himself alone.

16. And when it was evening, his disciples went down to the sea;

17. And entering into a ship, they went beyond the sea to Capernaum. And it was now dark, and jesus was not come to them.

18. And the sea arose, by reason of a great wind that blew.

19. So when they had rowed about twenty or thirty furlongs, they see jesus walking on the sea, and drawing near to the ship; and they were afraid.

20. But he says to them, I am, be not afraid.

21. Then they were willing to receive him into the ship; and immediately the ship was at the land, to which they were going.

22. On the morrow, the multitude which stood beyond the sea, seeing that there was no other boat there, except the one into which his disciples were entered, and that jesus went not with his disciples into the boat, but his disciples departed alone;

23. But there carne other boats from Tiberias, near to the place where they did eat bread, when the lord had given thanks:

24. When the multitude therefore saw that jesus was not there, neither his disciples, they also took shipping, and came to Capernaum, seeking jesus.

25. And finding him beyond the sea, they said to him, Rabbi, when came you here?

26. jesus answered them, and said, Verily, verily, I say to you, you seek me, not because you saw the miracles, [signs] but because you did eat of the loaves, and were filled.

27. Labour not for the meat which perishes, but for the meat which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man shall give to you; for him has the father sealed, the god.

28. Then said they to him, What shall we do that we may work the works of god?

29. jesus answered, and said to them, This is the work of god, that you believe on him whom he has sent.

30. They said therefore to him, What sign do you then, that we may see and believe you, what work you?

31. Our fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, as, it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat.

32. Then jesus said to them, Verily, verily, I say Unto you, Moses gave you not the bread from heaven, but my father gives you the true bread from heaven.

33. For the bread of god is he who comes down from heaven, and gives life to the world.

34. Then said they to him, lord, ever more give us this bread.

35. But jesus said to them, I am the bread of life; he that comes to me shall never hunger, and he that believes in me shall never thirst.

36. But I said to you, that you also have seen me, and do not believe.

37. All that the father gives me shall come to me, and him that comes to me I will not cast out.

38. For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.

39. But this is the will of the father that sent me, that of all which he has given me, I should lose nothing, but should raise it up in the last day.

40. But this is the will of him that sent me, that every one who sees the Son, and believes in him, should have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.

41. The Jews then murmured at him, because he said, I am the bread which came down from heaven.

42. And they said, Is not this jesus the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How is it then that he says, I came down from heaven ?

43. Then jesus answered, and said to them, Murmur not among yourselves:

44. No one can come to me, except the father which sent me draw him; and I will raise him up at the last day.

45. It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of god. Every one therefore who has heard of the father, and learned, comes to me.

46. Not that any one has seen the father, except he who is from god ; he has seen the father.

47. Verily, verily, I say to you, he that believes on me has eternal life.

48. I am the bread of life.

49. Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead.

50. This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that any one may eat thereof and not die.

51. I am the living bread, which came down from heaven; if any one eat of this bread, he shall live for ever; and the bread which I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.

52. The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, how can this [man] give us flesh to eat?

53. Then jesus said to them, Verily, verily, I say to you, except you eat the flesh of the Son of Man, and drink his blood, you have no life in you.

54. He that eats my flesh, and drinks my blood, has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.

55. For my flesh is truly meat, and my blood is truly drink.

56. He that eats [trogon] my flesh, and drinks my blood, abides in me, and I in him.

57. As the living father has sent me, and I live by the father, so he that eats [trogon] me, even he shall live by me.

58. This is the bread that came down from heaven, not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eats of this bread, shall live for ever.

59. These things said he in the synagogue, teaching in Capernaum.

60. Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard, said, This is a hard word; who can hear it?

61. But jesus knowing in himself that his disciples murmured at it, said to them, This offends you.

62. If then you shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before;

63. It is the Spirit that quickens, the flesh profits nothing; the words which I speak to you are spirit, and are life.

64. But there are some of you who believe not; for jesus knew from the beginning who they are that believe not, and who it is that should betray him.

65. And he said, On this account said I to you, that no one can come to me, except it be given him of my father.

66. From this [time] many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.

67. Then said jesus to the twelve, Will you also go away?

68. Then Simon Peter answered him, lord, to whom shall we go? You have the sayings of eternal life.

69. And we have believed and known, that you are the christ, the Son of the living god.

70. jesus answered them, Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil?

71. But he spoke of Judas Iscariot, [the son] of Simon, for he was about to betray him, being one of the twelve.

exposition.

Verses 5, 13, 23. That the Lord fed five thousand men, besides women and children, with five loaves and two fishes, and that after they had eaten and were satisfied, they took up twelve baskets of fragments, was a miracle worked, in consequence of the lord having first taught them, and because they received and appropriated to themselves his doctrine; this was what they had spiritually eaten, and hence natural eating followed, namely flowed in from heaven with them, as the manna with the sons of Israel, whilst they were ignorant of it; for when the lord wills, spiritual food, which also is real food, but only for spirits and angels, is turned into natural, in like manner as it was turned into manna every morning. AE 617.

Verse 13. Therefore they gathered together, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley-loaves, &c. He who does not know that the number twelve signifies all things, cannot know the arcanum which is signified by taking up twelve baskets of fragments from the five loaves and two fishes, with which the lord fed five thousand men besides women and children, when yet singular things with the numbers themselves are there significative; five thousand men besides women and children signify all of the church who are in truths derived from good, men those who are in truths, women and children those who are in goods; loaves signify the goods, and fishes the truths of the natural man; eating signifies spiritual nourishment from the lord ; twelve baskets of fragments signify the knowledges of truth and good thence derived in all abundance and fullness. AE 430.

By taking up twelve baskets of fragments is signified what is full, thus full instruction and full benediction. AE 548.

Verse 14. This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world. Frequent mention is made in the Word of a prophet, and in the sense of the letter it signifies those to whom revelation is made, also abstractedly the revelation itself, but in the internal sense, it signifies one who teaches, also abstractedly the doctrine itself which is taught; and because the lord, as was said, is doctrine itself, or the Word which teaches, therefore he is called a prophet, as also in Moses, "A prophet shall jehovah your god raise up from the midst of you, out of your brethren, like me, him shall you obey," Deut 18:15, 18; it is said like me, because the lord was represented by Moses, as well as by Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, David, and several others; and inasmuch as they expected him, therefore it is written in John, "Those men, when they had seen the miracle that jesus did, said, "This is truly the prophet that should come into the world. AC 2534.

Verse 27. Labour not for the meat which perishes, &c. For the spiritual signification of meat, see extracts at verses 32, 33, 34, of chap. iv. But for that meat which endures to everlasting life. By everlasting life is meant the life of the lord, which is the life of faith and love towards him. AE 84.

Which the Son of Man shall give to you. The lord is called the Son of Man when his passion is treated of, also when judgement is treated of, also when his advent is treated of, also when redemption, salvation, reformation, and regeneration are treated of; the reason is, because the Son of Man signifies the lord as to the Word, or divine truth, and he, as the Word, suffered, judges, comes into the world, redeems, saves, reforms, and regenerates. Doctrine of the Lord, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27.

Verses 28, 29. Then said they to him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? Jesus answered and said to them, This is the work of God, that you believe on him whom he has sent. When man shuns evil as sin, then he is in the lord, and the lord operates all things; wherefore the lord said to those who asked him, what they should do that they might work the works of God, this is the work of God, that you believe on him whom he has sent, where to believe in the Lord is not only to think that he is, but also to do his words, as he elsewhere teaches. Doctrine of Life, 48.

That works signify those things which are of love and faith, the lord makes manifest in these words, "They said to jesus, What shall we do, that we may work the works of god ? He answered, This is the work of god, that you believe on him whom he has sent." The reason why works are so often mentioned, is, because the sense of the letter of the Word consists solely of external things which are in nature, and appear before the eyes; and this to the intent that a spiritual sense may be in singular the expressions as the soul in the body, for otherwise the Word would not be communicative with the angels, since it would be as a house without a foundation. Hence also it is that when works are mentioned, they are not so understood by the angels, because they are spiritual, but those things are understood which gave birth to works, namely will or love, and hence the thought which is of faith. AE 98.

Verses 31, 32, 33. The disciples said to Jesus, What sign do you, that we may see and believe you? &c. In this passage the disciples were desirous of a sign, and that by it is signified testification that they might believe, is evident, for they said, that we may see and believe what you work; the reason why on this occasion they spoke of manna, and why the lord replied concerning bread from heaven, was, because by bread is signified every good and truth which nourishes the soul, and in the supreme sense the lord himself, from whom is the all of doctrine and the all of spiritual nourishment, by which he testified that they might see and believe. AE 706.

Verses 31 to 35. They said, Our fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat, &c. &c. By bread are here signified all things which were represented by the sacrifices, thus in the internal sense the lord himself, and because the lord himself, it signifies love itself towards the universal human race, and the things which are of love; also the reciprocal principle of man, in respect to the lord and towards his neighbour, thus it signifies all things celestial, that is, all love and charity belonging to man; wherefore they, who are not in love and charity, have not the lord belonging to them, thus they are not gifted with things good and happy, which are signified by bread in the internal sense. AC 2165.

By manna was signified the Divine Human [principle] of the lord, and because it signified the Divine Human [principle] of the lord, it signified celestial food, which is no other than love and charity with the goods and truths of faith; this food in the heavens is given every moment to the angels by the lord, thus perpetually and to eternity, which is also meant in the lord's Prayer by Give us today our daily bread. AC 2838.

Verses 33, 35, 48. The bread of God is he which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world. The internal of the lord was jehovah himself, since he was conceived of jehovah, who cannot be divided and become another's, as in the case of a son who is conceived by a man father; for the Divine [principle] like the Human, is not divisible, but is and remains one and the same; with this internal the lord united the Human essence; and because the internal of the lord was jehovah, he was not a form recipient of life, like the internal of man, but was the life itself; his Human essence also by unification was in like manner made life, wherefore the lord so often said, that he is life, as in John, vs 26; 6:33, 35, 48. AC 1999.

Verses 33, 34, 47, 48, 51. The bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world; I am the bread of life. The bread of God and the bread of life is that from which all have life; inasmuch as life, which is called intelligence and wisdom, is from the lord, it follows also that life in general is from him, for the singular things of life which make its perfection, and are insinuated into man, according to reception, are all of the general life, which latter, so far as the evils are removed from it into which man is born, so far it is perfected. AE 349.

Verse 35. I am the bread of life, he who comes to me shall never hunger, and he who believes in me shall never thirst. That to hunger in this passage denotes to come to the lord, and that to thirst denotes to believe in him, is evident; to come to the Lord is to do his precepts. AE 386.

That the lord alone has life in himself, and that every man has life from him, the lord himself teaches in the above words. AE 186.

Verses 36, 46. I said to you, that you also have seen me, and believe not; not that any one has seen the Father, &c. To see and not to believe denotes to know the truths of faith and not to receive; to see and to believe, denotes to know them and to receive; No one has seen the Father save he who is with the Father, denotes, that the divine good cannot be acknowledged, except by divine truth; hence the internal sense is, that no one can have celestial good unless he acknowledges the lord. AC 3863.

Verses 39, 40. At the last day. That this divine saying does not, as is commonly supposed, refer to any last day, when heaven and earth shall perish by conflagration, but that it denotes the last day of man in the world, and the end of a church, see chap. 3:17, 19, Exposition.

Verse 40. This is the will of him that sent me, that every one that sees, the Son, and believes in him, may have everlasting life. That they, who are conjoined to the lord by love and faith, receive eternal life, that is, the life of heaven, which is salvation, is evident from the above words. Mention is made in the Word of believing in god, and believing the things which are from god, and to believe in god is the faith which saves; but to believe the things which are from god is historical faith, which, without the former, does not save, wherefore it is not true faith; for to believe in god is to know, to will and to do, but to believe the things which are from god is only to know, which knowledge may be given without willing and doing. AE 349.

That god is a man, and that the lord is that man, is manifest from all things which are in the heavens, and which are beneath the heavens. In the heavens, all things which proceed from the lord, in the greatest and in the least [parts] are either in a human form, or have reference to the human form. The universal heaven is in a human form, every society of heaven is in a human form, every angel is a human form, and, likewise, every spirit beneath the heavens: and it has been revealed, that all things both least and greatest, which proceed immediately from the lord, are in that form, for what proceeds from god is a resemblance of him. Hence it is, that it is said of the man Adam and Eve, that they were created into the image and likeness of God, Gen 1:26, 27. Hence, also, it is that the angels in the heavens, inasmuch as they are recipients of the Divine [principle] which proceeds from the lord, are men of astonishing beauty, whereas spirits in the hells, because they do not receive the Divine [principle] which proceeds from the lord, are devils, who, in the light of heaven, do not appear as men, but as monsters. From this consideration it is, that every one in the spiritual world is known from his human form, as to the degree in which he partakes of a Divine [principle] from the lord. Hence now it may be manifest, that the lord is the only man, and that every one is a man according to the reception of divine good and divine truth from him. In fine, he who sees god as a man, sees god, because he sees the lord. The lord also says, "He who sees the Son, and believes in him, has eternal life," John 6:40; to see the Son is to see him with the spirit, because it is said, also, to those who have not seen him in the world.

It was said, that the lord is the only man, and that all are men according to the reception of divine good and divine truth from him. The reason why the lord is the only man is, because he is life itself, but all others, inasmuch as they are men from him, are recipient of life. The distinction between the man who is life, and the man who is a recipient of life, is like what subsists between uncreate and created, and between infinite and finite, which distinction is such, as to admit of no ratio; for there is no ratio given between infinite and finite, thus there is none between god as a man, and between another as a man, whether he be angel or spirit, or a man in the world. That the lord is life, he himself teaches in John, "The Word was with god, and god was the Word, in him was life, and the life was the light of men, and the word was made flesh," John 1:1, 4, 14; again, "As the father has life in himself, so has he given to the Son to have life in himself," John 5:26; again, "As the living father has sent me, and I also live by the father," John 7:57; again, "I am the resurrection and the life," John 11:25; again, "I am the way, the truth, and the life," John 14:6. Inasmuch as the lord is life, therefore, in other passages of the word, he is called the Bread of Life, the Light of Life, and the Tree of Life, also, the Alive and Living God. Since he is life, and every man is a recipient of life from him, therefore, he also teaches, that he gives life and vivifies; as in John, "As the father vivifies, so also the Son vivifies," John 5:21; again, "I am the bread of god which comes down from heaven, and gives life to the world," John 6:33; again, "Because I live, you shall live also," John 14:19; and in many passages, that He gives life to those who believe in him. Hence, also, god is called "A Fountain of life," Psalm 36:9; and in other places, Creator, Maker, Former, also, Potter, and we the clay, and the work of his hands. Inasmuch as god is life, it follows that in him we live, move, and are. Athanasian Creed, 24, 25.

Verse 44. No one can come to me, except the Father, which sent me, draw him; and I will raise him up at the last day. It is to be noted, that man of himself cannot approach to the lord, and be conjoined to him, but the lord must approach to man and be conjoined to him; and because the lord draws man to himself, John 6:44, 12:32, it appears as if man of himself approaches and conjoins himself; this is effected, when man desists from evils, for to desist from evils is left to man's disposal or freedom; in such case good flows in from the lord, which at no time is wanting, for it is in the life itself which man has from the lord ; but with the life, good is received only in that degree in which evils are removed. AC 9378.

Verse 45. And they shall be all taught of God. There is a spiritual idea, concerning which few know any thing, which flows in with those who are in the affection of truth, and interiorly dictates that what is heard or read is true, or not so. In this idea are they who read the Word in illustration from the lord. To be in illustration is nothing else than to be in perception, and thence in internal acknowledgement that a thing is true: these are they who are called the taught of Jehovah, Isaiah 54:13; John 6:45; and concerning whom it is said in Jeremiah, "Behold the day is coming, in which I will establish a new covenant; the covenant shall be this; I will give my law in the midst of them, and upon their heart I will write it; and they shall not teach any longer a man his companion, or a man his brother, saying, Know you jehovah, for they shall all know me," Jer 31:31, 33, 34. Doctrine of Faith, 5.

The angels of the lord's celestial kingdom have received and do receive divine truths immediately in the life, and not as the spiritual angels, in previous memory and thought; wherefore they have them inscribed on their hearts, and perceive them, and as it were see them in themselves, nor do they at any time reason concerning them whether it be so or not so. They are such as are described in Jeremiah 31:33, 34; and they are called in Isaiah, the taught of Jehovah, Is 54:13. That they who are taught of jehovah are such as are taught of the lord, the lord himself teaches in John 6:45, 46. HH 25.

Verse 46. Not that any one has seen the Father, save he which is of God, he has seen the Father. See Extracts at chap. 1:18.

Verses 47 to 51. I am that bread of life, &c. The burnt-offerings and sacrifices in the Jewish church represented nothing else but the celestial things which are of the lord's kingdom in the heavens, and of the lord's kingdom in the earths or in the church, also which are of the lord's kingdom or church with every one, in general all those things which are of love and charity, for these are things celestial; and each kind of sacrifice represented something peculiar; all these things were called at that time bread. When therefore the sacrifices were abolished, and in their place, instead of external worship, other things succeeded, it was commanded that bread and wine should be applied; what bread therefore signifies, is hence now manifest, namely all those things which the sacrifices represented, thus in the internal sense the lord himself, and because the lord himself, it signifies love itself towards the universal human race, and the things which are of love; thus it signifies all celestial things, and consequently wine all spiritual things. This external symbolical [rite] was commanded, because the greatest part of the human race are in external worship, therefore without something external, there would scarce appertain to them any holy principle; wherefore when they live in love to the lord, and in charity towards the neighbour, they have still an internal principle belonging to them, although they do not know that this is the veriest internal principle of worship; thus in their external worship they are confirmed in the goods which are signified by bread. AC 2165.

Verses 49, 50. Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead, &c. By the manna, which the sons of Jacob did eat in the wilderness, as to them, inasmuch as they were natural, is meant natural food; but by the bread which comes down from heaven, is meant spiritual food, because from the lord alone; and since it is from him alone, in the supreme sense by bread is meant himself, wherefore also he says, I am the bread of life; for it is divine good united to divine truth, proceeding from the lord, from which the angels, and likewise men, have spiritual life, wherefore by those words in the spiritual sense is meant, that they who nourish themselves only naturally from the Word are dead, that is, damned, as were the sons of Jacob, which also was signified by their all dying in the wilderness; but they who nourish themselves spiritually from the Word will not be liable to damnation, which is meant by their not dying; hence it is evident that it is not meant not to die, but resurrection into life, because death, if it is not death, is life. AE 899.

Verses 49, 50, 51, 58. That goods and truths are the genuine food of man, may be manifest, for he who is deprived of them, has not life, but is dead; the kinds of food, with which his soul is fed when he is dead, are delights derived from evils, and the pleasantnesses derived from falses, which are the food of death, also the delights derived from things corporeal, worldly and natural, which have nothing of life in them; and besides, such a man does not know what spiritual and celestial food is, insomuch that as often as food or bread is named in the Word, he supposes that corporeal food is signified, as in the lord's Prayer, when it is said, Give us today our daily bread, he supposes that it means only the diet of the body, and they who extend their ideas further, say that it includes also the other necessaries of the body, as clothing, wealth, and the like; yea, they contend violently that no other food is meant; when yet they see manifestly, that the expressions which go before and which follow involve only celestial and spiritual things, and that the lord's kingdom is treated of; also they may know, that the Word of the lord is celestial and spiritual; hence and from other like considerations, it may sufficiently appear how corporeal man is at this day, and that like the Jews, he is disposed to apprehend every thing which is said in the Word, in a material and most gross sense. The lord himself teaches clearly what is signified in his Word by meat and bread; by meat where he thus says in John, "Labour not for the meat which perishes, but for the meat which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man gives to you," John 6:27; by bread in the following words, "Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead; this is the bread, which comes down from heaven, that any one may eat thereof, and not die: I am the living bread, which comes down from heaven; if any one shall eat of this bread, he shall live for ever," John 6:49, 50, 51, 58; but there are some a this day, like those who heard these words, who say, "This is a hard saying, who can hear it; and who went backwards and walked no longer with him," verses 60, 66, of the same chapter, to whom the lord said, "The words which I speak to you are spirit, and are life," verse 63. AC 680.

Verses 50 to 58. Every thing holy in heaven proceeds from the Divine Human [principle] of the lord, and hence every thing holy in the church; wherefore lest it should be violated, the holy supper was instituted by the lord, and it is said in express words on the occasion, that the bread there is his flesh, and the wine there is his blood, thus that it is his Divine Human [principle] from which is derived what is holy on the occasion. Amongst the ancients, flesh and blood signified what is properly human, because what is properly human consists of flesh and blood; hence the lord said to Simon, "Blessed are you, for flesh and blood has not revealed it to you, but my father, who is in the heavens," Matt 16:17; the flesh therefore and blood signified by the bread and wine in the holy supper, is the proper Human [principle] of the lord ; the proper principle itself of the lord, which he acquired to himself by his own proper power, is divine; his proper principle from conception was what he had from jehovah his father, and was jehovah himself, hence the proper principle, which he acquired to himself in the Human [principle] was divine; this Divine proper principle [or proprium] in the human is what is called flesh and blood; flesh is his divine good, blood is the divine truth of the divine good. The human [principle] of the lord, after it was glorified or made divine, cannot be conceived as human, but as divine love in a human form; and this more than the angels, who, when they appear, as they have been seen by me, appear as forms of love and charity under a human aspect; for from the divine love the lord made his Human [principle] divine, as by celestial love man is made an angel after death, so that he appears as a form of love and charity under a human aspect, as was said. Hence it is evident that by the Divine Human [principle] of the lord in the celestial sense is signified the divine love itself, which is love towards the universal human race, which it is willing to save, make blessed and happy, and to appropriate to it his own Divine [principle] as far as it is capable of being received; this love, and the reciprocal love of man to the lord, and likewise love towards the neighbour, are what are signified and represented in the holy supper, divine celestial love by flesh or bread, and divine spiritual love by blood or wine. From these considerations it may now be manifest, what is meant by eating the lord's flesh, and by drinking his blood, in the following words, "I am the living bread which comes down from heaven; if any one eat of this bread, he shall live for ever. But the bread, which I will give, is my flesh: Verily, verily, I say to you, except you eat the flesh of the Son of Man, and drink his blood, you have no life in you: he who eats my flesh, and drinks my blood, has eternal life; and I will raise him up in the last day: For my flesh is truly meat, and my blood is truly drink: he who eats my flesh, and drinks my blood, abides in me, and I in him. This is the bread which comes down from heaven," John 6:50-58; inasmuch as by flesh and blood is signified the divine celestial principle and the divine spiritual, which is from the Divine Human [principle] of the lord, as was said, or what is the same thing, the divine good and divine truth of his love, by eating and drinking is signified to appropriate those principles to one's self, which appropriation is effected by the life of love and charity, which also is the life of faith. AC 4735.

That the flesh of the lord is the divine good of his divine love, and that his blood is the divine truth proceeding from his divine good, may be manifest from this consideration, that those principles are what nourish the spiritual life of man; hence also it is said, My flesh is truly meat, and my blood is truly drink; and likewise, This is the bread which comes down from heaven; and whereas man by love and faith is conjoined with the lord, therefore also it is said, He who eats my flesh, and drinks my blood, abides in me and I in him. But as was said above, they alone comprehend this word, who can think above the sensual things of the body; especially they who are in faith and in love to the lord ; for these are elevated by the lord from the life of the sensual principles of the body towards the life of their spirit, thus from the light of the world into the light of heaven, in which light material things, which are in the thought from the body, disappear. AC 9127.

That the flesh of the lord is divine good, and the blood divine truth, both from himself, may be manifest from this consideration, that those are the things which nourish the soul; hence it is said, My flesh is truly meat, and my blood is truly drink; and whereas man by divine good and truth is conjoined to the lord, therefore also it is said, Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and likewise dwells in me and I in him. The reason why the lord so spoke, namely why he named his flesh and his blood, and not his divine good and his divine truth, is, that the sense of the letter of the Word might consist of such things as correspond to the spiritual things, in which the angels are principled; hence the conjunction of the men of the church by the Word with the angels, which otherwise would not have place. Inasmuch as blood signifies the divine truth proceeding from the lord, and conjunction with the lord is effected through its reception by man, therefore it is called the blood of the covenant, for covenant signifies conjunction. AE 329.

That flesh is the proprium of the Divine Human [principle] of the lord, which is the divine good of the divine love, is very manifest, and it is that which in the holy supper is called body; and whereas bread and wine signify the same thing with flesh and blood, bread divine good, and wine divine truth, therefore the former were commanded instead of the latter. Divine good from the lord was also signified by the flesh of the sacrifices, which Aaron, his sons, and they who sacrificed, and others who were clean, were to eat. AE 1082.

That they come worthily to the holy supper, who are principled in faith to the lord, and in charity towards their neighbour; and that the truths of faith establish the presence of the lord, and the goods of charity together with faith conjunction, has been above demonstrated in several chapters; from which considerations it follows that they, who come worthily to the holy supper, are conjoined to the lord, and that they who are conjoined to the lord are in him, and he in them. That this effect has place with those who come worthily, the lord himself declares in John, in the words, Whoever eats my flesh, and drinks my blood, dwells in me and I in him, John 6:56; that this is conjunction with the lord he teaches also in another place, where he says, "Abide in me, and I in you; he that abides in me, and I in him, the same brings forth much fruit," John 15:4, 5. What else is conjunction with the lord, but to be amongst those who are in his body, and they make his body, who believe in him, and do his will; his will is the exercise of charity according to the truths of faith. TCR 725.

Verse 62. If then you shall see the Son of Man ascend up where he was before? That these words have reference to the lord's perfect union with the father, is evident from those passages where the lord speaks of his coming forth from the father, and coming into the world, and of his again going to the father, for by coming forth from the father is to be understood, that the Divine [principle] itself assumed the Human; by coming into the world, is to be understood that he was as a man, and by going to the father, that he united the Human essence to the Divine essence. This was understood by those words which the lord spoke in John, If you shall see the Son of Man ascending where he was before; and again, Jesus knew that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he came forth from God, and went to God; therefore he says to his disciples, Yet a little while I am with you, whither I go you cannot come, John 13:33; again, "I came forth from the father, and am come into the world, again I leave the world, and go to the father," John 16:28, where to go to the Father denotes to unite the Human essence to the Divine essence. AC 3736.

Verse 63. It is the spirit that quickens, the flesh profits nothing. In the Word, spirit is opposed to flesh, since by spirit is signified life from the lord, and by flesh life from man, as in John, "It is the spirit which vivify, the flesh profits nothing; the words which I speak to you are spirit, and are life;" hence it is manifest that spirit is life from the lord, which is the life of love and of faith in him from him, and that flesh is life from man, thus his proprium [or self-hood;] on this ground it is said, the flesh profits nothing. AC 10283.

Inasmuch as flesh signifies the proprium [or self-hood] in both senses, in the supreme sense the divine proprium of the lord, which is his Divine Human [principle] thus the good of his love towards the universal human race, hence flesh, in the sense which relates to man, denotes the proprium [or selfhood] vivified by the lord's proprium, that is, the proprium of the lord with man, thus the good of love to him; but in the opposite sense flesh denotes the proprium [or selfhood] of man, thus the evil of self-love, and hence the lusts or concupiscencies of that love, for the life of the flesh, which is proper to the body, is nothing but the pleasure of the senses, the delight of appetites, and craving. AC 8409.

Verse 63, latter part. The words which I speak to you are spirit and are life. He who believes that the holy divine [principle] which is in the Word, lies no deeper hid than in the sense which appears in the letter, discovers no holiness from any other source than from the belief that all things of the Word are divinely inspired, and that there are inexplicable arcana contained in it which are known only to god ; but they, who are not in this belief, despise the Word merely on account of its style, which is to appearance more humble than the style which is applied to the temper of the world, such as is adopted by the generality of ancient and modern writers. But let them know that a holy divine [principle] lies concealed in all and singular things of the Word, yet that it consists in this, that all and singular things treat of the lord, of his kingdom and church, which things are most holy, because they are divine things from the lord, in which thus there is eternal life, according to the lord's words in John, The words which I speak to you are spirit, and are life, John 6:63; but those most holy divine things appear evident before the angels in heaven, because the angels do not apprehend the Word naturally according to the literal sense, but spiritually according to the internal sense; men also would apprehend the Word according to this latter sense, if they lived angelic life, namely the life of faith and of love. The things contained in the internal sense of the Word are nothing else than what the genuine doctrine of the church teaches, namely the lord, faith in him, love to him, and the love of the good which is from him, which love is charity towards the neighbour. They who live this life are enlightened by the lord, and see the holy things of the Word, which in no case are seen by others. AC 9086.

The reason why the Word in its literal sense is in its fullness, in its sanctity, and in its power, is, because the two prior or interior senses, which are called spiritual and celestial, are together in the natural sense, which is the sense of the letter; but in what manner they are together, shall be briefly explained. There is given in heaven and in the world successive order and simultaneous order. In successive order one thing succeeds and follows another from highest principles even to lowest; but in simultaneous order one thing is near another from inmost principles even to outermost. Successive order is as a pillar with steps from the top to the bottom; but simultaneous order is as a work cohering with circumferences from the centre to the surface. It shall now be shown in what manner successive order becomes in the ultimate simultaneous order; the manner is this: the highest principles of successive order become the inmost of simultaneous order, and the lowest principles of successive order become the outermost of simultaneous order, comparatively as a column of steps when subsiding becomes a body cohering in a plane. Thus what is simultaneous is formed from what is successive, and this in all and singular things of the natural world, and in all and singular things of the spiritual world, for in both worlds throughout there is a first, a middle, and a last, and the first by [or through] the middle tends and verges to its last. Thus in regard to the Word, what is celestial, what is spiritual, and what is natural, proceed from the lord in successive order, and in the last [or ultimate] are in simultaneous order; thus the celestial and spiritual senses of the Word are together in its natural sense. When this is comprehended, it may be seen in what manner the natural sense of the Word, which is the sense of its letter, is the basis, the continent and firmament of its spiritual and celestial senses; also in what manner divine good and divine truth in the sense of the letter of the Word is in its fullness, in its sanctity, and in its power. From these considerations it may be manifest, that the Word is the very Word itself in the sense of its letter, for within in this sense there is spirit and life, the spiritual sense being its spirit, and the celestial sense its life. This is what the lord says, "The words which I speak to you are spirit and are life," John 6:63. SS 37, 38, 39.

The divine love and the divine wisdom in the Word are meant by justice and judgement, the divine love by justice, and the divine wisdom by judgement, wherefore in the Word justice and judgement are predicated of god. The like is meant by light and life in John, "In him was life, and the life was the light of men," John 1:4, where by life is meant the divine love of the lord, and by light his divine wisdom. The like is also meant by life and spirit in John, "jesus said, The words which I speak to you are spirit and are life," John 6:63. DLW 38. See also TCR 214.

Verses 70, 71. Jesus answered them, Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil? He spoke of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, &c. Judas Iscariot is called by the lord a devil, John 6:70; and it is said, that the devil put into his heart, John 13:2; and that after he had taken the sop Satan entered into him, John 13:27; Luke 22:3; the reason why it is so said, is, because by Judas Iscariot were represented the Jews, who, in consequence of being principled in falses derived from evil, are from evil called the devil, and from falses Satan; wherefore it is said that the devil put into his heart, for to put into the heart denotes into the love which is of his will, and that Satan, when he had taken the sop, entered into him, for to enter into him with the sop denotes into the belly, and to enter into the belly denotes into the thought, and falses derived from evil are of the thought. AE 740. See also AC 4751.

Verse 70. One of you is a devil. It is altogether unknown in the Christian world, that heaven and hell, or angels and devils, are from mankind, for it is supposed that angels were created such at the beginning, and that heaven was formed of them; it is also the common opinion, that the devil or satan was an angel of light, but in consequence of his rebelling, he was cast down with his crew, and that hence came hell. The angels are greatly astonished that such a faith obtains at this day amongst Christians, and still more, that they know nothing at all concerning heaven, when yet it is a primary object of doctrine in the church; and whereas such ignorance prevails, they are rejoiced in heart, that it has pleased the lord at this time to reveal to men many things concerning heaven and also concerning hell, and thereby as much as possible to dissipate the thick darkness which daily increases, in consequence of the church having come to its end: wherefore it is their desire that I would declare from them, that there is not in the universal heaven a single angel that was created such at first, nor a single devil in all hell that had been created an angel of light, and was afterwards cast out of heaven, but that all both in heaven and hell are from the human race; in heaven such as had lived in the world in heavenly love and faith, and in hell such as had lived in hellish love and faith; and that hell in its whole complex, or collectively, is called the devil and satan, that hell which is behind,* in which are evil genii, being called the devil, and that hell which appears in front, in which are evil spirits, being called satan.+ The nature of each of these hells may be seen in the Treatise on heaven and hell, towards the end. That the Christian world have embraced such a faith relative to those in heaven and hell, the angels further said, proceeds from certain passages in the Word taken according to their literal sense only, and not illustrated and explained by genuine doctrine from the Word; when nevertheless the letter of the Word, if not enlightened by the genuine doctrine of the church, misleads the mind into various conceits, and gives rise to ignorance, heresies, and errors.#

* Here the Author is to be understood as speaking of the situation of things and places as they appear to the spectator in the spiritual world, and which always have the same aspect with respect to his body, as to right and left, behind and before, above and beneath, &c. wherever he is, or which way soever he turns.
+ See Arcana Coelestia, AC 694, 968.
# That the doctrine of the church must be derived from the Word, AC 3464, 5402, 6832, 10763, 10765. That the Word is unintelligible without doctrine, AC 9021, 9409, 9424, 9430, 10324, 10431, 10582. That true doctrine is as a candle to those who read the Word, AC 10401. That genuine doctrine must be formed by those who are in illumination from the Lord, AC 2510, 2516, 2519, 9424, 10105. That they who abide in the literal sense of the Word without doctrine, can attain to no understanding of divine truths, AC 9409, 9410, 10582. And that they fall into many errors, AC 10431. The difference between those who teach and learn from the doctrine of the church derived from the Word, and those who teach and learn only from the literal sense of the Word, described, AC 9025.

Another reason why the man of the church entertains such a belief, is, because he imagines that no one goes to heaven or hell before the time of the last judgement, concerning which he is of opinion that all things which visibly appear will then perish, and be succeeded by a new creation, and that the soul will then be reunited to its body, and in that state live again as a man: this belief involves another concerning the angels, namely, that they were created such from the beginning; for it cannot be believed that heaven and hell are from mankind, when it is supposed that none go to either till the end of the world. But in order that man may be convinced of the contrary, it has been granted me to have fellowship with angels, and also to converse with those who are in hell, and that now for several years together, sometimes from morning till evening without interruption, and so to receive information concerning heaven and hell; and all this to the end, that the man of the church may no longer remain in his erroneous faith concerning the resurrection at the time of the judgement, and concerning the state of souls in the mean time, and also concerning angels and concerning the devil; which faith, inasmuch as it is a faith in what is false, involves the mind in darkness: and with those who think concerning such things from self-derived intelligence, leads to doubt, and at length to a denial of them; for they say in their hearts, how can so great a heaven, and so many stars, together with the sun and moon, be destroyed and dissipated? and how can the stars fall from heaven upon the earth, which yet are so much bigger than the earth? or how can bodies, which have been devoured by worms, destroyed by corruption, and dispersed by all the winds, be collected together again for the use of their respective souls? what in the mean time becomes of the soul, and what sort of a being is it without the sensations which it enjoyed in the body? with many suggestions of a like kind, which being incomprehensible, fall not within the province of faith, but destroy in many the belief of man's eternal life, and of the existence of heaven and hell, and therewith all other articles of faith belonging to the church. That this is actually the consequence, we have sufficient proof in those who say, who ever came from heaven to tell us that there is such a place? what is hell? surely it is only a creature of the brain? what is the meaning of man's being tormented for ever with fire? and what is the day of judgement? have not men been looking for it many ages in vain? not to mention a variety of other suggestions, which imply a denial of the whole. Lest therefore they who think thus, (as is the case with many who from their knowledge in worldly matters are reputed wise and learned) should any longer disturb and seduce the simple in faith and heart, and bring on infernal darkness in relation to a belief of god, of heaven, of eternal life, and of other things dependent thereon, the interiors of my spirit have been opened by the lord, and thus I have been permitted to converse with all whom I knew in the life of the body, after their decease, with some for days, with some for months, and with some for a year together, and also with so many others, that I should come short if I reckoned them at an hundred thousand, many of whom were in the heavens, and many in the hells. I have also spoken with some two days after their decease, and told them that their friends were at that time preparing for their funeral; to which they replied, that they did well to remove out of the way that which had served them for a body and its functions in the world; and they desired me to tell them, that they were not dead, but living men equally as before, that they had only passed out of one world into another, and did not know that they had lost any thing by the change, having a body and senses as before, with understanding and will as before, and also like thoughts and affections, like sensations, like pleasures, and like desires, as when they lived in this world. Most of those who were newly departed, on finding themselves living men as before, and in a similar state, (for after death the state of every one's life is at first the same as it had been in the world, but is successively changed either for heaven or hell), were affected with a new joy at their being alive, and said that they did not before believe it would be so; but greatly wondered at their former ignorance and blindness with respect to the state and condition of their life after death; and more particularly, that the men of the church should be in such darkness as to these points, when nevertheless above all persons in the whole world they might be acquainted with them.*

* Arcana Coelestia. That at this day few in Christendom believe, that man rises again immediately after death, see the preface to chap. xvi. of Gen. and AC 4622, 10758; but at the time of the last judgement when the visible world is to perish, AC 10595. The cause of such belief, AC 10594, 10758. That nevertheless man rises again immediately after death, and that then he is a man as to all and every particular, AC 4527, 5006, 7078, 8939, 8991, 10594, 10758. That the soul, which lives after death, is man's spirit, which is the real man within him, and which also in the other life is in a perfect human form, AC 322, 1880, 1881, 3633, 4622, 4735, 5883, 6054, 6605, 6626, 7021, 10594. Proved from experience, AC 4527, 5006, 8939; and from the Word, AC 10597. An explanation of what is signified by the dead being seen in the holy city, Matt 27:53, AC 9229. How man is raised from the dead, by experience, AC 168 to 189. Of man's state after resuscitation, AC 317, 318, 319, 2119, 5070, 10596. False opinions respecting the soul and the resurrection, AC 444, 415, 4527, 1022, 4658.

They then for the first time saw the cause of such blindness and ignorance, which is, that external things, such as relate to the world and the body, had so engaged and filled their minds, that they could not elevate them into the light of heaven, and penetrate into the things of the church any further than as to some points of doctrine; for corporeal and worldly things, when they are so much loved as at this day, occasion mere darkness in the mind, when man is desirous of thinking concerning the things of heaven beyond the limits prescribed in the doctrine of faith belonging to his church.

Many of the learned from the Christian world, when they find themselves after death in a body, in garments, and in houses as they had been in the world, are all amazement; and when they recall to mind, what they had thought concerning a life after death, the soul, spirits, and concerning heaven and hell, they are affected with shame, acknowledge their past infatuation, and that the simple in faith were much wiser than they, On examining those learned men who had confirmed themselves in such errors, and who had attributed all things to nature, it was found, that the interiors of their mind were shut, and the exteriors open, a proof that they had not looked towards heaven, but towards the world, and consequently also towards hell; for in proportion as the interiors of the mind are open, in the same proportion man looks towards heaven, but in proportion as the interiors are shut and the exteriors open, in the same proportion he looks towards hell; for the interiors of man are formed for the reception of heavenly things, and his exteriors for the reception of worldly things, and they who receive the world and not at the same time heaven, receive hell.*

* Arcana Coelestia. That in man the spiritual and the natural worlds are conjoined, AC 6057. That the internal of man is formed after the image of heaven, but his external after the image of the world, AC 3628, 4523, 4524, 6057, 6314, 9708, 10156, 10472.

That the spirit of a man, after its separation from the body, is a man, and in a like form, has been made manifest to me by daily experience for many years, having seen and heard them a thousand times, and also conversed with them; particularly on this subject, that men in the world do not believe it, and that they who do believe it, are reputed by the learned as simple. The spirits were grieved at heart, that such ignorance should still prevail in the world, and especially within the church; this, they said, proceeded principally from the learned, who judge of the soul from the bodily senses, in consequence of which they form no other idea of it, than as of simple thought, which, when considered without any subject in which and by which it may subsist, is like something floating in mere ether, which cannot but be dissipated on the death of the body: but inasmuch as the church holds the immortality of the soul, because it is taught in the Word, they cannot but assign to it something vital, of the quality of thought, though nothing of sense such as appertains to man, before it is reunited to its body again. On this opinion is founded the doctrine of the resurrection, and a belief in the soul's future conjunction with the body at the time of the last judgement; for from the aforesaid hypothesis concerning the soul, no other conclusion can be drawn, consistent with the faith of the church respecting man's eternal life. Hence it is, when any one thinks of the soul, according to the doctrine of the church, and at the same time according to the above hypothesis, that he has not the smallest idea of its being a spirit, and that this spirit is in a human form. Add to this, that scarce any one at this day knows what is spiritual, and still less that they who are spiritual, as all spirits and angels are, have any thing of the human form. This is the reason why almost all who come from the world are greatly astonished at their being still alive, and equally men as before, without any difference whatever; hut when they cease to be amazed at themselves, they then wonder that the church should be ignorant of this state of men after death, when notwithstanding all that have ever lived in the world, are in the other life, and living men: and because they were also surprised, that this was not discovered to man by visions, it was told them from heaven, that this could be done, for nothing is easier, when it is the lord's good pleasure, but that still they who had confirmed themselves in falses against it, would not believe, even though they were to have ocular demonstration thereof; and moreover, that it would be dangerous to manifest any thing from heaven to those who are immersed in worldly and corporeal pleasures, for in this case they would first believe and afterwards deny, and thus they would profane that essential truth; for to believe and afterwards deny, is to profane; and they who profane, are thrust down into the lowest and most grievous of all the hells. This danger is understood by the lord's words, "He has blinded their eyes, and hardened their hearts, lest they should see with the eyes, and understand with the heart, and convert themselves, and I should heal them," John 12:40; and that they who are in worldly and corporeal loves, still would not believe, is understood by these words, "Abraham said to the rich man in hell, They have Moses and the prophets, let them hear them; but he said, Nay, father Abraham, but if one from the dead come to them, they will be converted; but Abraham said to him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they believe even if one rose from the dead," Luke 16:29, 30, 31.

That heaven is from mankind, may appear from this consideration, that the minds of angels and men are alike, both possessing the same faculty of understanding, perceiving, and willing; and both are formed to receive heaven; for the human mind is capable of like wisdom with the angelical, and the only reason why men are not as wise in this world as the angels, is because they are here confined to earthly bodies, and therein the spiritual mind thinks naturally, for man's spiritual thought, which he is endued with as well as an angel, during his life in the body flows into natural ideas corresponding with spiritual, and so are perceived therein; but it is otherwise when the mind of man is loosed from the fetters of the body, then it no longer thinks naturally but spiritually; and when it thinks spiritually, it conceives things incomprehensible and unutterable to the natural man, consequently in like manner as an angel. Hence it may appear evident, that the internal of man, which is called his spirit, is in its essence on angel.* That an angel is in a perfect human form, may be seen in the treatise on heaven and hell, HH 73 to 77. But when the internal of man is not opened above, but only beneath, even then after its separation from the body, it appears in a human form, but monstrous and diabolical, for it cannot look upward to heaven, but only downward to hell.

* Arcana Coelestia. That there are as many degrees of life in man, as there are heavens, and that they are opened after death according to his life, AC 3747, 9594. That heaven is in man, AC 3884. That men, who live a life of love and charity, possess in themselves angelic wisdom, but unperceived while in the body, and that they enter into it after death, AC 2494. That man, who receives the good of love and faith from the Lord, is called an angel in the Word, AC 10528.

That heaven and hell are from mankind, the church might also have known from the Word, and received as a part of its doctrine, if it had admitted of illumination from heaven, and attended to what the lord said to the thief, "That this day he should be with him in paradise," Luke 23:43; and to what he said concerning Dives and Lazarus, "That Dives went to hell, and thence conversed with Abraham, and that Lazarus went to heaven," Luke 16:19-31; or to what the lord said to the Sadducees concerning the resurrection, "That god is not the god of the dead, but of the living," Matt 22:32. And moreover it might have been known from the common belief of all who live a good life, particularly from their belief at the hour of death, when they are no longer influenced by worldly and corporeal things, that they shall go to heaven immediately on their departure from the body. This belief prevails with all, when they do not think, from the doctrine of the church, concerning the resurrection at the time of the last judgement; in the truth of which any person may be confirmed, if he will make inquiry.

He who is instructed in the nature of divine order, may also know, that man was created for this end, namely, that he may become an angel, for in him is the ultimate of order, (see above, 9), wherein all that appertains to heavenly and angelic wisdom may be formed, renewed, and multiplied. Divine order never subsists in what is intermediate, nor forms any thing there without what is ultimate; but in order to its being in its fullness and perfection, it must proceed to its ultimate or limit: then, when it has attained thereto, it has the power of forming, and also, by virtue of things mediate therein repositioned, of renewing and producing itself afresh, which is effected by means of procreation: wherefore in the ultimates is the seminary of heaven. This also is understood by what is said of man and of his creation in the first chapter of Genesis, vs 26, 27 28: "god said, Let us make man into our image, according to our likeness. And god created man into his image, into the image of god created he him; male and female created he them. And god blessed them, and god said to them, Be fruitful, and multiply yourselves;" to create into the image and likeness of god, is to reposition in man all things of divine order from first to last, and thus as to the interiors of his mind to make him an angel.

The reason why the lord rose again, not only as to his spirit, but also as to his body, is, because, when in the world, he glorified his whole humanity,.that is, made it divine: for his soul, being derived from the father, was of itself the essential divinity, and his body became a likeness of the soul, that is, of the father, and thus it was, also made divine. Hence it was, that, differently from all other men, he rose again both as to soul and body.* This he also manifested to his disciples, when they took him to be a spirit, by saying, "Behold my hands and ray feet, that it is I myself: handle me and see, for a spirit has not flesh and bones, as you see me have," Luke 24:36, 37, 38; by which he gave them to understand, that he was man not only as to spirit, but also as to body.

*See Arcana Coelestia. That man rises again only as to his spirit, AC 10593, 10594 That the Lord alone rose again as to his body, AC 1729, 2083, 5078, 10825.

Moreover, that heaven and hell are from mankind, has been shown in many articles in the Treatise on heaven and hell, as in the following: Concerning the Gentiles or people without the church in heaven, HH 318 to 328. Of infants or little children in heaven, HH 329 to 345. Of the wise and simple in heaven, HH 346 to 356. Of the rich and poor in heaven, HH 357 to 365. That every man is a spirit as to his interiors, HH 432 to 444. That man after death is in a perfect human form, HH 453 to 460. That man after death retains every sense, as also the same memory, thought, and affection, which he had in the world, and that he leaves nothing behind him but his terrestrial body, HH 461 to 469. Of the first state of man after death, HH 491 to 498. Of his second state after death, HH 499 to 511. Of his third state, HH 512 to 517. See also what is related concerning the hells, HH 536 to 588. From all which particulars it may plainly appear, that heaven does not consist of any angels created such at the beginning, nor hell of any devil and his crew, but only of those who were born men.

translator's notes and observations.

Verse 2. And much multitude followed him, &c. In the common version of the New Testament, what is here rendered much is called great; but it is to be noted, that in the original Greek the term is polus, which properly signifies much, whereas the term great is uniformly expressed by the term megas. It deserves further to be considered that these two terms, polus and megas, or much and great, involve in them distinct spiritual ideas, megas, or great, having always relation to the principle of good, whilst polus, or much, has relation to the principle of truth.

Verse 20. But he says to them, I am, be not afraid. In the common version of the New Testament, what is here rendered, I am, is expressed by the words It is I, but the original Greek is Ego eimi, which literally translated is I am, thus again marking the supreme divinity of the speaker, by identifying him with jehovah, to whom alone belongs the significant appellation I am.

Verse 27. For Mm has the Father sealed the God. This is a literal translation from the original Greek.

Verse 35. He that comes to me shall never hunger, and he that believes in me shall never thirst. A distinction is here made between coming to and believing in, because coming to has relation to the will or love, since every man, according to the spiritual idea, advances towards an object, or recedes from it, in proportion as the object affects his ruling will or love, whereas believing in has reference to the understanding or wisdom, all belief being grounded in the knowledge and acknowledgement of truth in that principle of the human mind.

Verses 53, 54. Then Jesus said to them, Verily, verily, I say to you, except you eat the flesh of the Son of Man, and drink his blood, you have no life in you. He that eats my flesh, and drinks my blood, has eternal life. It is remarkable that in the original Greek two distinct terms are here used to express the act of eating; for when the blessed jesus says, Except you eat the flesh of the Son of Man, &c. He applies the term phagete, to express you eat, whereas when he says, He that eats my flesh, &c. He applies the term trogon, to express he that eats. The same distinction occurs again at verse 58, where it is written, "This is the bread that came down from heaven, not as your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead; he that eats of this bread shall live for ever;" for in speaking of the fathers eating manna in the wilderness, the term eating is expressed in the original by ephagon, but in speaking of him that eats of this bread, the term trogon is used. Hence it should appear that the act of spiritual eating is of two kinds, or degrees, one interior, and the other exterior, and that the former is expressed by trogo, and the latter by phago. Thus one man, in reading the holy word, may receive from it more interior nourishment than another, because he may feed on the bread of celestial love, or love to the lord, whilst another receives more exterior nourishment, by feeding only on the bread of spiritual love, which is love to his neighbour—Quere, whether this is not the case also in regard to corporeal eating, so that although two different persons shall eat the same food, yet one shall derive from it a more interior nourishment than the other, and this according to the state and temper of mind in which he eats?

Verse 66. From this [time] many of his disciples went back, &c. What is here rendered back, is expressed in the original Greek by eis ta opiso, which literally means to things behind, or, according to the spiritual idea, to external things, thus teaching the edifying lesson, that the love of external things, such as relate to the world and the body, is a motive with many for no longer following the blessed jesus in the regeneration, or in pursuit of the internal things of his everlasting kingdom.

Verse 69. And we have believed and known, that you are the Christ, &c. Two terms, believing and knowing, are here applied by Simon Peter to express his attachment, and that of the rest of the apostles, to their divine lord, the former having relation to the manner in which their understandings were affected towards him, and the latter having relation to the manner in which their wills were affected, thus both united denoting a full and complete attachment, grounded in the union of faith and love.

JOHN 6    Other translations  -  previous  -  next  -  meaning  -  John  -  BM Home  -  Full Page