Arcana Coelestia (Potts) n. 9912

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9912. All of blue. That this signifies by means of influx from the good of the celestial kingdom, is evident from the signification of "blue" [hyacinthinum], as being the celestial love of truth (see n. 9466), which is the good of mutual love; and the good of mutual love is the external good of the celestial kingdom; for the goods in the heavens proceed in order from the inmosts to the extremes, and they inflow in the same order as they proceed; for to proceed is to flow in. (In what order goods proceed, see n. 9873.) It is this external good of the celestial kingdom that flows into the internal good of the spiritual kingdom, which is signified by "the robe." From this comes-forth the good of the spiritual kingdom, which is the good of charity toward the neighbor. This is the reason why the robe was all of blue. With regard to the influx of goods, the case is this. There is no good which is good unless it has within it an interior good from which it is; the interior good from which it is makes its essence; whence it is that this interior good exists in the good which follows, almost as the soul exists in its body. It is this following good of which it is said that it proceeds from another good, which is more interior. That the good of charity toward the neighbor proceeds from the good of mutual love, which is a prior or interior good, has been shown several times. The good of mutual love is the external good of innocence, and unless the good of charity has within it the good of innocence, it is not the good of charity (n. 2526, 2780, 3183, 4797, 6765, 7840, 9262), consequently not unless it has within it the good of mutual love. This is the reason why the robe was to be all of blue; for "blue" denotes the good of mutual love, or what is the same thing, the external good of innocence; and "the robe" denotes Divine truth in the internal form in the spiritual kingdom, which is the same thing as the good of charity (n. 9825).


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