Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 4726

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4726. 'Behold, that dreamer is coming' means those futile ideas. This is clear from the meaning of 'dreams' as declarations, dealt with in 4682, in this case declarations of Divine Truth since the words used here have reference to Joseph. But because Divine Truth - that is, its essential teachings - is rejected by those who adhere to faith alone, as shown above where the Lord's Divine Human and charity are spoken of, 'dreams' in this case therefore means futile ideas. For people of this kind see falsities as truths, and truths as falsities, or if not as falsities then as futile ideas; and 'a dreamer' is one who declares such ideas.

[2] Many things reveal that Divine Truths are seen by such people as futile ideas. For example, one Divine Truth is that the Word is holy and divinely inspired even to every tiny letter, and that its holiness and Divine inspiration are due to the fact that everything in it serves as a representative and as a sign meaning celestial and spiritual things in the Lord's kingdom. But when the internal sense of the Word is laid open and teaching is provided to show what each detail represents and means, such adherents to faith alone reject those things as futile ideas, saying that they have no use, when in fact they are celestial and spiritual matters that would bring more delight to the internal man than worldly ones do to the external man. The same is so with many other Divine Truths.


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