{"id":12975,"date":"2018-10-08T15:30:58","date_gmt":"2018-10-08T19:30:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wordstudy.newchurch.org\/?page_id=12975"},"modified":"2018-10-08T15:30:58","modified_gmt":"2018-10-08T19:30:58","slug":"witness","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/societies.newchurch.org\/wordstudy\/bible-keywords\/witness\/","title":{"rendered":"Witness"},"content":{"rendered":"

In court, a witness is someone who saw a crime being committed, or observed something that could help determine the guilt or innocence of the person being tried. The spiritual meaning<\/a>, according to Swedenborg<\/a>, is similar; to \u201cwitness\u201d something or to be a \u201cwitness\u201d means to use the truth<\/a> \u2013 things we know to be true \u2013 to confirm the goodness<\/a> and purity of someone\u2019s motives (especially our own motives).<\/p>\n

Swedenborg teaches that good loves<\/a>, by their very nature, express themselves through true ideas<\/a> \u2013 in fact, \u201ctruth\u201d can be defined as \u201cthe expression of love<\/a>.\u201d So if we want to know the quality of a love, we can assess it by looking at the quality of the ideas it produces. Are they caring<\/a> toward the neighbor<\/a>? Will they help make the world a better place? Are they aligned with what we know of the Lord<\/a>\u2019s wishes? If the answers are \u201cyes,\u201d then those truths bear witness to the love that inspired them. This is in part why the Ten Commandments talk about \u201cbearing false witness\u201d instead of simply \u201clying.\u201d Lying can be a relatively low-level thing, but bearing false witness involves portraying evil<\/a> loves as good ones, a thing much deeper.<\/p>\n

In some places \u2013 especially Revelation and the Gospel of John \u2013 \u201cwitness\u201d is applied to Jesus<\/a>, both as a witness himself and in terms of others being a witness to him. In these cases the reference is to the greatest love, the source of all love and life<\/a>: the Lord\u2019s perfect and infinite love<\/a> for all humanity<\/a>. And to be a witness means acknowledging that love in the form of divine truth<\/a>, and the perfect humanity<\/a> it describes.<\/p>\n

\n

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

Apocalypse Explained (Tansley) n. 27<\/strong>
\n27. The faithful\u00a0witness. That this signifies from whom is all truth in heaven, is evident from the signification of a faithful\u00a0witness, when said of the Lord, as denoting the acknowledgment of the Divine Human, from whom is all truth in heaven; of which more will be said in what follows. The reason why it is said, “all truth in heaven,” is, because Divine truth, going forth from the Divine good of the Lord, constitutes heaven in general, and with each angel there in particular. (That such is the case may be seen in the work, Heaven and Hell, n. 13, 126-140; and that it [viz., the Divine truth] is from His Divine Human, n. 7-12, 78-86.) The Lord, as to the Divine Human, is called the “faithful\u00a0witness,” because Divine truth going forth from Him in heaven bears witness\u00a0of Him. This\u00a0witness\u00a0is universally present in Divine truth there; which is evident from the fact that the angels of the interior heaven cannot think of the Divine but as under a human form, and, consequently, of a Divine Human. The reason is, that the Divine Human of the Lord fills the whole heaven and forms it, and the thoughts of the angels proceed and flow according to the form of heaven (as may be seen in the work above mentioned, n. 59-102, 200-212, 265-275). Hence it is, that the\u00a0witness\u00a0of Jesus Christ signifies the acknowledgment of the Lord’s Divine in His Human (concerning which see above, n. 10).<\/p>\n

[2] From these considerations it is evident what is meant, in the spiritual sense, by\u00a0witnessing\u00a0and by\u00a0witness\u00a0in the following passages:\u2028\u2028\u00a0“John” (here, John the Baptist) “came for a\u00a0witness, to bear\u00a0witness\u00a0of the Light, that all men through him might believe. He was not that Light, but came to bear\u00a0witness\u00a0of the Light. That was the true Light which enlighteneth every man. And I saw and bare\u00a0witness” (John i. 7, 8, 34).\u2028\u2028\u00a0Light signifies Divine truth; therefore the Lord is there called the true Light which enlighteneth every man; and to bear\u00a0witness\u00a0of the Light signifies the acknowledgment of His Divine Human, from which Divine truth goes forth. (That light signifies Divine truth going forth from the Lord, may be seen in the work, Heaven and Hell, in the article on the light of heaven, n. 126-140.)<\/p>\n

[3] In the same:\u2028\u2028\u00a0“Ye sent unto John, and he bare\u00a0witness\u00a0unto the truth: but I receive notwitness\u00a0from man” (v. 33, 34).\u2028\u2028\u00a0In the same: “Jesus said, Verily I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and bear\u00a0witness\u00a0that we have seen. He that cometh from heaven is above all; and what he hath seen and heard, of that he witnesseth” (iii. 11, 31, 32).\u2028\u2028\u00a0In the same:\u2028\u2028\u00a0“Jesus said, Though I bear\u00a0witness\u00a0of myself, yet my\u00a0witness\u00a0is true, for I know whence I came and whither I go” (viii. 14);\u2028\u2028\u00a0which signifies, that He bare\u00a0witness\u00a0of Himself from Himself, because He was Divine truth.\u2028\u2028\u00a0In the same:\u2028\u2028\u00a0“When the Comforter, the Spirit of truth, is come, he shall bear\u00a0witness\u00a0of me” (xv. 26);\u2028\u2028\u00a0the Comforter, the Spirit of truth, is Divine truth going forth from the Lord (as may be seen, Arcana Coelestia, n. 9818, 9820, 10,330; and above, n. 25).<\/p>\n

[4] In the same:\u2028\u2028\u00a0“Pilate said, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I might bear\u00a0witness\u00a0unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice. Pilate said, What is truth?” (xviii. 37, 38).\u2028\u2028\u00a0The reason why the Lord thus answered when he was asked whether he was a king, was, because the Lord as king, is Divine truth; for this is the regal characteristic of the Lord in heaven, but His Divine good is the priestly characteristic there. This is why the Lord said that He was a king, that to this end He was born, and for this cause He came into the world, that He might bear\u00a0witness\u00a0unto the truth, and that every one that is in the truth heareth His voice; and therefore Pilate asked, What is truth? thus whether it was a king. (That Divine truth is the regal characteristic of the Lord in the heavens, may be seen, Arcana Coelestia, n. 3009, 5068; and that therefore kings, in the Word, signify those who are in Divine truths, and thus, abstractedly from persons, Divine truths themselves, n. 1672, 2015, 2069, 4575, 4581, 4966, 5044.) That kings signify those who are in Divine truths, will appear more clearly in the explanation of what follows in the Apocalypse, where kings are named; and presently below, where it is said, “he hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father.” From these considerations it is evident that by, “from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful\u00a0witness,” is signified the Lord as to the acknowledgment of His Divine Human, from which goes forth all truth in heaven.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 4197<\/strong>
\n[3] The meaning of ‘a\u00a0witness’ as the confirmation of good by means of truth, and of truth derived from good, and the consequent meaning of ‘a testimony’ as good in which truth is rooted, and truth which arises out of good, may be seen from other parts of the Word.<\/p>\n

‘A\u00a0witness’ is seen to mean the confirmation of good by means of truth, and of truth derived from good, from the following places:<\/p>\n

In Joshua,\u2028\u2028\u00a0Joshua said to the people, You are\u00a0witnesses\u00a0against yourselves that you have chosen Jehovah, to serve Him. And they said, We are\u00a0witnesses. Then put away the foreigner’s gods which are in the midst of you, and incline your heart to Jehovah the God of Israel. And the people said to Joshua, Jehovah our God we will serve, and His voice we will obey. And Joshua made a covenant with the people on that day, and set them a statute and a judgement in Shechem. And Joshua wrote these words in the book of the law of God; and he took a great stone and set it up there under the oak that was in the sanctuary of Jehovah. And Joshua said to all the people, Behold, this stone will be a\u00a0witness\u00a0to us, for it has heard all the words of Jehovah which He spoke to us; and it will be a\u00a0witness\u00a0to you, lest you deny your God. Josh. 24:22-27.<\/p>\n

‘A\u00a0witness’ in this passage clearly means a confirming – a confirming of the covenant and therefore of their being joined [to Jehovah]; for a covenant means a joining together, 665, 666, 1023, 1038, 1864, 1996, 2003, 2021. And since being joined to Jehovah or the Lord is not possible except through good, and since no good effecting that conjunction is possible apart from that which gains its true nature from truth, ‘a\u00a0witness’ consequently means the confirmation of good by means of truth. The good meant in this passage consisted in being joined to Jehovah or the Lord, which came about through their choosing Him, to serve Him; and the truth by which it was confirmed was meant by ‘the stone’; for ‘a stone’ means truth, see 643, 1298, 3720. In the highest sense ‘the stone’ is the Lord Himself since He is the source of all truth, and for that reason is also called ‘the Stone of Israel’ in Gen. 49:24, and in what is said here in Joshua, ‘Behold, this stone will be a\u00a0witness\u00a0to us, for it has heard all the words of Jehovah which He spoke to us’.<\/p>\n

[4] In John,\u2028\u2028\u00a0I will grant My two\u00a0witnesses\u00a0to prophesy 1260 days, clothed in sackcloth. The are the two olive trees and the two lampstands which are standing before the God of the earth. And if anyone wishes to harm them, fire will come out of their mouth and devour their enemies. These have power to shut heaven. But when they have finished their testimony, the beast that ascends from the abyss will make war with them and conquer them and kill them. But after three and a half days the spirit of life from God entered them, so that they stood up on their feet. Rev. 11:3-7, 11.<\/p>\n

‘The two\u00a0witnesses’ in this case are good and truth – that is, good in which truth is present and truth arising out of good – when both of these have been confirmed in people’s hearts, as is evident from the statement that the twowitnesses\u00a0are the two olive trees and the two lampstands. For ‘an olive tree’ means that kind of good, see 886, and ‘the two olive trees’ stands for celestial good and for spiritual good. Celestial good is essentially love to the Lord, spiritual good is essentially charity towards the neighbour. ‘The lampstands’ are the truths that belong to those two kinds of good, as will be clear when, in the Lord’s Divine mercy, the lampstands are the subject. And it is these – forms of goodness and truth – which have the power to close heaven or to open it; see the Preface to Chapter 22. ‘The beast out of the abyss, which is hell, will kill them’ means the vastation of good and truth within the Church, and ‘the spirit of life from God entered them, so that they stood up on their feet’ means a new Church.<\/p>\n

[5] Just as heaps in ancient times were set up to serve as\u00a0witnesses, so later on were altars, as is clear in Joshua,\u2028\u2028\u00a0The Reubenites and the Gadites said, See the replica of the altar of Jehovah which our fathers made, not for burnt offering or for sacrifice, but to be awitness\u00a0between us and you. And the children of Reuben and the children of Gad called it The Altar – a\u00a0witness\u00a0between us that Jehovah is God. Josh. 22:28, 34.\u2028\u2028\u00a0‘An altar’ means the good of love, and in the highest sense the Lord Himself, 921, 2777, 2811. ‘A\u00a0witness’ stands in the internal sense for the confirmation of good by means of truth.<\/p>\n

[6] Since ‘a\u00a0witness’ means the confirmation of good by means of truth, and of truth derived from good, ‘a\u00a0witness’ in the highest sense therefore means the Lord, for He Himself is the Divine Truth that confirms, as in Isaiah,\u2028\u2028\u00a0I will make with you an eternal covenant, even the true mercies of David. Lo, I have given him as a\u00a0witness\u00a0to the peoples, a prince and teacher to the peoples. Isa. 55:3, 4.\u2028\u2028\u00a0In John,\u2028\u2028\u00a0And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful\u00a0witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Rev. 1:5.\u2028\u2028\u00a0In the same book,\u2028\u2028\u00a0These things says the faithful and true\u00a0witness, the beginning of God’s creation. Rev. 3:14.<\/p>\n

[7] The requirement in the representative Church that the truth must always be established on the testimony of two or three\u00a0witnesses, not on that of one, Num. 35:30; Deut. 17:6, 7; 19:15; Matt. 18:16, originates in the Divine Law that one truth does not make good firm but many truths do so. For one truth unconnected to others does not confirm it only a number together, because from one truth it is possible to see another. One by itself does not give any form to good, and so does not manifest any essential quality possessed by good; but many in a connected series do so. For just as one musical note by itself does not constitute the melody, still less the full harmony, neither does one truth achieve anything. This is where the law requiring two or threewitnesses\u00a0originates, though to outward appearance it seems to have its origin in secular legislation. The one however is not contrary to the other, as is also the case with the Ten Commandments, dealt with in 2609.<\/p>\n

Apocalypse Revealed (Rogers) n. 6<\/strong>
\n[2] As regards the spiritual signification of bearing\u00a0witness, this is said of truth, because in the world it is truth to which one is to bear\u00a0witness, and which, when borne\u00a0witness\u00a0to, is acknowledged. But in heaven truth bears witness\u00a0to itself, because it is the very light of heaven. For when angels hear the truth, they at once recognize it and acknowledge it. And because the Lord is the embodiment of truth, as He Himself teaches in John 14:6,* He is, in heaven, self-witnessing.<\/p>\n

This makes apparent what is meant by the testimony of Jesus Christ. Therefore the Lord says,\u2028\u2028\u00a0You have sent to John, and he bore\u00a0witness\u00a0to the truth. Yet I do not receive testimony from man…. (John 5:33, 34)\u2028\u2028\u00a0And in another place:\u2028\u2028\u00a0(John) came for a\u00a0witness, to bear\u00a0witness\u00a0of the Light…. He was not that Light…. (The Word that was with God and was God, and became flesh,) was the true Light which gives light to every man…. (John 1:1, 2, 7-9, 14, 34)\u2028\u2028\u00a0Elsewhere:\u2028\u2028\u00a0Jesus…said…, “…I bear\u00a0witness\u00a0of Myself, (and) My\u00a0witness\u00a0is true, for I know where I came from and where I am going…. (John 8:14)\u2028\u2028\u00a0When the Counselor comes…, the Spirit of truth…, it will testify of Me. (John 15:26)\u2028\u2028\u00a0The Counselor, the spirit of truth, means the truth itself emanating from the Lord. Therefore it is said concerning it that it will not speak of itself but from the Lord (John 16:13-15)<\/p>\n

Apocalypse Explained (Tansley) n. 1050<\/strong>
\n1050. And with the blood of the\u00a0witnesses\u00a0of Jesus. That this signifies violence offered to those truths of the Word that teach that the Lord alone is to be worshipped, is evident from the signification of blood, as denoting the Divine truth of the Word, and the violence offered to it, as said just above; and from the signification of the\u00a0witnesses\u00a0of Jesus, as denoting those who in heart acknowledge the Lord, and worship and adore Him alone. That to bearwitness\u00a0is to acknowledge in heart, and that the testimony of Jesus is the acknowledgment of the Lord’s Divine in His Human, and that He alone is to be worshipped and adored, may be seen (n. 10, 27, 228, 392, 635, 649, 749).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In court, a witness is someone who saw a crime being committed, or observed something that could help determine the guilt or innocence of the person being tried. The spiritual meaning, according to Swedenborg, is similar; to \u201cwitness\u201d something or to be a \u201cwitness\u201d means to use the truth \u2013 things we know to be […]<\/p>\n

Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":0,"parent":10645,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"template-article.php","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[42],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12975","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","category-wxyz","blog-style1"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/societies.newchurch.org\/wordstudy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/12975","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/societies.newchurch.org\/wordstudy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/societies.newchurch.org\/wordstudy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/societies.newchurch.org\/wordstudy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/17"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/societies.newchurch.org\/wordstudy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12975"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/societies.newchurch.org\/wordstudy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/12975\/revisions"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/societies.newchurch.org\/wordstudy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/10645"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/societies.newchurch.org\/wordstudy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12975"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/societies.newchurch.org\/wordstudy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12975"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/societies.newchurch.org\/wordstudy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12975"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}