{"id":12422,"date":"2016-10-22T11:27:04","date_gmt":"2016-10-22T15:27:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wordstudy.newchurch.org\/?page_id=12422"},"modified":"2016-10-22T11:27:04","modified_gmt":"2016-10-22T15:27:04","slug":"faithful","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/societies.newchurch.org\/wordstudy\/bible-keywords\/faithful\/","title":{"rendered":"Faithful"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/b>In the modern world, we\u2019re used to thinking of \u201cfaith\u201d as primarily an emotional state. When Swedenborg<\/a> talks about \u201cfaith<\/a>\u201d \u2013 which it\u00a0does a lot \u2013 it means something rather different: Faith in Swedenborg\u00a0is an intellectual<\/a> state of knowing what the Lord<\/a> wants and believing that it is right<\/a>. There is really no emotion involved; faith is about accepting things that we are taught, even if we don\u2019t completely understand and can\u2019t verify them through life experience.<\/p>\n

When it comes to the idea of \u201cfaithfulness\u201d in the Bible<\/a>, however, the internal meaning<\/a>\u00a0offered in Swedenborg is much closer to the modern idea. It says there that people described as \u201cfaithful\u201d represent those who embrace the desires for good<\/a> that come from the Lord. And when it is the Lord who is described as faithful, it has reference to the divine desire for good<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n

Passages from Swedenborg<\/b><\/p>\n

Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 2760<\/b><\/p>\n

2760. In John – in the Book of Revelation – the Word as to its internal sense is described as follows,<\/p>\n

I saw heaven standing open, and, behold, a White Horse; and He who sat on it was called\u00a0faithful\u00a0and true, and in righteousness He judges and goes into battle. His eyes a flame of fire, and on His head many jewels, He has a name written which nobody knows but He Himself, and He is clothed in a garment dyed with blood, and His name is called the Word of God. And the armies that are in heaven were following Him on white horses and were clothed in linen, white and clean. And on His garment and on His thigh He has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords. Rev. 19:11-14, 16.<\/p>\n

What each individual part of this description embodies nobody can know except from the internal sense. Plainly, each one is representative and carries a spiritual meaning, such as ‘heaven standing open’; ‘the horse which was white’; ‘He who sat on it was called\u00a0faithful\u00a0and true, and in righteousness He judges and goes into battle’; ‘His eyes a flame of fire’; ‘on His head many jewels’; ‘He has a name which nobody knows but He Himself’; ‘He is clothed in a garment dyed with blood’; ‘the armies in heaven following Him on white horses’; ‘clothed in linen, white and clean’; ‘on His garment and on His thigh He has a name written’. It is stated openly that the One sitting on the White Horse is the Word, and that He is the Lord who is the Word, for it is said, ‘His name is called the Word of God’, and after that, ‘on His garment and on His thigh He has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords’.<\/p>\n

[2] From the interpretation of each individual expression it is evident that the Word as to the internal sense is described here. ‘Heaven standing open’ represents and means that the internal sense of the Word is not seen except in heaven and by those to whom heaven stands open, that is, those in whom love to the Lord and faith in Him-derived from that love are present. ‘The horse which was white’ represents and means the understanding of the Word as regards its interior contents. The next paragraph shows that ‘a white horse’ has this representation and meaning. ‘He who sat on it’ is, it is clear, the Word and the Lord who is the Word. He is called ‘faithful’ and ‘one who judges out of righteousness’ by virtue of good, and ‘true’ and ‘one who goes into battle out of righteousness’ by virtue of truth; for the Lord Himself is righteousness. ‘His eyes a flame of fire’ means Divine Truth glowing from the Divine Good that issues from His Divine Love. ‘On His head many jewels’ means all things of faith. ‘He has a name written which nobody knows but He Himself’ means that nobody sees the essential nature of the Word in the internal sense except the Lord Himself and he to whom He reveals it. ‘Clothed in a garment dyed with blood’ means the Word in the letter. ‘The armies in heaven that were following Him on white horses’ means people who have an understanding of the Word as regards its interior contents. ‘Clothed in linen, white and clean’ means that in these same persons love and faith derived from love are present. ‘On His garment and on His thigh a name written’ means truth and good. From these verses in Revelation and from those which come before and after them it is evident that around the last period [of the Church] the internal sense of the Word will be opened. But what is going to happen in that last period is also described in verses 17-21 of that chapter.<\/p>\n

Apocalypse Revealed (Rogers) n. 744<\/b><\/p>\n

744. “And those who are with Him are called, chosen, and\u00a0faithful.” This symbolically means that people who turn to the Lord and worship Him alone are those who go to heaven, both those concerned with the external elements of the church and those concerned with its internal and inmost elements.
\nThose who are with Him symbolize people who turn to the Lord, for they are the people with Him. Those who are called, chosen, andfaithful\u00a0symbolize people who are concerned with the external, internal and inmost elements of the church, who, being in the Lord, go to heaven.
\nThe called, indeed, mean all people, because all have been called, but the called who are with the Lord mean people who are in heaven with the Lord, as all those are called who are present at the wedding with the bridegroom.* The chosen do not mean that some are chosen by predestination, but people who are with the Lord are so called. Thefaithful\u00a0mean people who have faith in the Lord.
\n[2] These are people who are concerned with the external, internal, and inmost elements of the church, because the Lord’s church is, like heaven, distinguished into three degrees. In the lowest degree are people concerned with its external elements; in the second degree are people concerned with its internal ones; and in the third degree are people concerned with its inmost ones. People with the Lord who are concerned with the external elements of the church are said to be called. Those who are concerned with its internal elements are said to be chosen. And those who are concerned with its inmost elements are said to be\u00a0faithful. For that is how they are termed in the Word, in which Jacob is said to be called, and Israel chosen, since Jacob there means people concerned with the external elements of the church, and Israel people concerned with its internal ones.<\/p>\n

Apocalypse Revealed (Rogers) n. 821<\/b><\/p>\n

821. And He who sat on it was called\u00a0Faithful\u00a0and True, and in righteousness He judges and does combat. This symbolizes the Lord in relation to the Word, as being Divine good itself and Divine truth itself, who exercises judgment in accordance with both and separates the good from the evil.
\nHe who sat on it, that is, on the white horse, means the Lord in relation to the Word. That it is the Lord in relation to the Word is apparent from verse 13 below, where we are told that He was clothed with a garment stained with blood, and that His name is called “The Word of God.” “Faithful\u00a0and true” symbolizes the Divine goodness and Divine truth-faithfulness symbolizing Divine goodness because Divine goodness is\u00a0faithful. In reference to people, someone who is\u00a0faithful\u00a0is someone in the inmost or third heaven, thus someone prompted by celestial goodness, as may be seen in no. 744 above. Truth in reference to the Lord plainly symbolizes Divine truth.<\/p>\n

Apocalypse Explained (Tansley) n. 1074<\/b><\/p>\n

1074. And those that are with him, are called, and chosen, and faithful. That this signifies that those who are in love to the Lord, in love towards the neighbour, and in the faith of charity, are in the truth concerning the Lord’s Divine power, and concerning the Divine sanctity of the Word; this is evident from the signification of being called, when by the Lord, as denoting those who are in love to the Lord; and from the signification of chosen, as denoting those who are in love towards the neighbour; and from the signification of\u00a0faithful, as denoting those who are in the faith of charity. That these are meant by the called, chosen, and\u00a0faithful, is evident from the Word, where the called, chosen, and\u00a0faithful\u00a0are mentioned; and from this, that the angels of the third heaven, who are in love to the Lord, are named “the called”; the angels of the second heaven, who are in love towards the neighbour, are named “the chosen,” and the angels of the first heaven, who are in the faith of charity, are named “the\u00a0faithful.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the modern world, we\u2019re used to thinking of \u201cfaith\u201d as primarily an emotional state. When Swedenborg talks about \u201cfaith\u201d \u2013 which it\u00a0does a lot \u2013 it means something rather different: Faith in Swedenborg\u00a0is an intellectual state of knowing what the Lord wants and believing that it is right. There is really no emotion involved; […]<\/p>\n

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