Apocalypse Explained (Whitehead) n. 859

Previous Number Next Number Next Translation See Latin 

859. And no one was able to learn the song save the hundred forty-four thousand, signifies that acknowledgment and confession of the Lord was possible only with those who are in faith from charity, or in truths from good. This is evident from the signification of "the new song," as being acknowledgment and confession of the Lord (see just above, n. 857); also from the signification of "the hundred forty-four thousand," as being all who are in truths from good, thus who are in faith from charity, and in a sense abstracted from persons, truths from good (see above, n. 430). That these are meant by "the hundred forty-four thousand sealed out of all the tribes" can be seen from the explanation of the seventh chapter, where "the twelve thousand sealed out of each tribe" and "the hundred forty-four thousand" out of all the tribes, are treated of; and it is shown that these are those who acknowledge the Lord and His Divine Human, and therefore are among those who are separated from the evil, and raised up into heaven by the Lord and saved at the time of the Last Judgment; for as has been said above, this chapter treats of the separation of the good from the evil previous to the Last Judgment; therefore the good who are separated from the evil are meant by "the hundred forty-four thousand" that were sealed out of all the tribes. [2] This makes evident that the words "no one was able to learn the song save the hundred forty-four thousand" signify that acknowledgment and confession of the Lord was possible only with those who are in faith from charity, or in truths from good. Acknowledgment and confession of the Lord is not possible with any others, because no others can receive influx from heaven, that is, through heaven from the Lord. For the Lord flows into the life of everyone; and the life of heaven is from love or charity, that is from good; and the quality of love or charity is formed by truths. From this, then, is man's life; and therefore no other life receives influx out of heaven from the Lord, and thus acknowledges and confesses the Lord in heart, than the life of faith from charity or the life of truth from good. The life of faith separated from charity or the life of truth separated from good is a merely natural life, which receives nothing and can receive nothing from heaven, because from that life no communication with heaven is possible; for communication with heaven is given only through spiritual love, which is also called charity, that is, through a life according to truths from the Word; and that life is not given with those who separate faith from charity and believe that they are saved by faith alone, that is, by faith separated from good works. Since, then, "the hundred forty-four thousand" mean those who are in truths from good or who are in faith from charity, it is evident why they alone were able to learn the song, that is, were able to acknowledge and confess the Lord in heart, namely, that He is the only God, and that the trinity is in Him.


This page is part of the Writings of Emanuel Swedenborg

© 2000-2001 The Academy of the New Church