10227. 'The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less than half a shekel when they give [the offering] of Jehovah' means that all equally, however much ability they possess, should attribute to the Lord all forms of truth springing from good. This is clear from the meaning of 'the rich' as one who is affluent in truths and forms of good, and in cognitions or knowledge of them, dealt with below; from the meaning of 'the poor' as one who is not affluent in them, also dealt with below; from the meaning of 'not giving more and not giving less' as all equally; from the meaning of 'half a shekel' as all forms of truth springing from good, dealt with in 10221; and from the meaning of 'giving to Jehovah' as attributing to the Lord, for 'Jehovah' in the Word means the Lord, see the places referred to in 9373. From these meanings it is evident that 'the rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less than half a shekel when they give [the offering] of Jehovah' means that all equally, however much ability they possess, should attribute to the Lord all forms of truth springing from good.

[2] The implications of all this are that everyone possesses the ability to understand and be wise; but the reason why one person may be wiser than another is that they are not alike in attributing to the Lord all that constitutes understanding and wisdom, that is, all forms of truth and good. Those who attribute them all to the Lord are wiser than any others, because all forms of truth and good constituting wisdom flow in from heaven, that is, from the Lord there. The attribution of them all to the Lord opens the inner levels of a person's mind towards heaven. For that attribution involves the acknowledgement that no truth or good at all come from self; and in the measure that this is acknowledged self-love departs, and along with it the thick darkness resulting from falsities and evils. In the same measure also the person attains innocence, love to the Lord, and faith in Him. As a result of this the person is linked to the Divine, who then flows in, bringing enlightenment. All this shows why it is that one person may have more wisdom, another less, and also why 'the rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less', meaning that all equally possess the ability to be wise. The ability to be wise, it is true, does not exist with all in equal measure; nevertheless all equally possess the ability, for each is able to be wise.

[3] The ability to be wise should not be taken to mean an ability to use knowledge to engage in reasoning about truths and forms of good, and so an ability to prove anything you like. Rather, it is an ability to observe what is true and good, to choose what is appropriate, and to apply this to functions performed in life. Those who attribute everything to the Lord are able to do these things, whereas those who do not attribute everything to Him but to themselves only know how to reason about truths and forms of good. Nor do they see anything apart from what they derive from others; and this they see not with the power of reason, only with the workings of the memory. Since they are incapable of looking around inside actual truths they stand out of doors, affirming whatever they receive, whether true or false. The more expertly people can use their knowledge to do this, the wiser than others the world believes them to be. But the more they attribute all things to themselves, thus the more they love the things they think as a result of their own efforts, the more insane they are; for they affirm falsities more than truths and evils more than forms of good. They receive light from no other source than the illusions and appearances which exist in the world, and therefore from their own inferior light, called natural illumination, separated from the light of heaven. And when that illumination has been separated, then so far as the truths and forms of good which belong to heaven are concerned there is thick and total darkness.

[4] The fact that riches and wealth mean matters of understanding (or intelligence) and wisdom, and therefore cognitions or knowledge of truth and good as well, which also are called spiritual wealth and riches, is clear from places in the Word where they are mentioned, as in Isaiah,

I will visit upon ¹ the fruit of the pride of the king of Asshur, for the reason that he has said, By the power of my hand I have done it, and by my wisdom, for I have understanding. Therefore I will remove the boundaries of the peoples, and will plunder their treasures. My hand will find, like a nest, the wealth of the peoples. Isaiah 10:12-14.

This refers in the internal sense to those who trust in their own intelligence and believe that true wisdom comes not from heaven but from themselves. 'The king of Asshur' means reasoning, at this point as a result of self-intelligence, 1186; and 'plundering the treasures and the wealth of the peoples as a consequence' means destroying those things that constitute the truths of intelligence and wisdom.

[5] In the same prophet,

A prophecy regarding the beasts of the south. They carry their wealth on the shoulders of asses, and their treasures on the backs of camels, to Egypt. Isaiah 30:6-7.

'The beasts of the south' are those who, though they are within the Church and so dwell in the light of truth from the Word, read the Word solely for the sake of possessing knowledge and not for the sake of rendering useful services in life. For 'the south' means where the light of truth is, thus where the Word exists, 3195, 3708, 5672, 9642; 'an ass' means knowledge, as does 'a camel', and 'Egypt' too. For this meaning of 'an ass', see 5492, 5741, 7024; 'a camel', 3048, 3071, 3143, 3145, 4156; and 'Egypt', the places referred to in 9391. The fact that these prophetic words must be understood in a spiritual sense becomes clear from the consideration that no one without that sense knows what is meant by 'the beasts of the south', by 'carrying their wealth on the shoulders of asses, and their treasures on the backs of camels', or by carrying them 'to Egypt'.

[6] In the same prophet,

I will give you the treasures of darkness, and the secret wealth of concealed places, that you may know that it is I, Jehovah. Isaiah 45:3.

'The treasures of darkness, and the secret wealth of concealed places' are such things as belong to heavenly intelligence and wisdom, which are hidden from the natural man.

[7] In Jeremiah,

The sin of Judah has been written with a pen of iron. O My mountain in the field, I will give for spoil your resources and all your treasures. Jeremiah 17:1, 3.

Judah is called 'a mountain in the field' because that which was representative of the celestial Church existed there, 'mountain' being the love which the celestial Church possesses, 6435, and 'the field' the Church itself, 2971, 3766, 7502, 9139, 9295. 'The resources' and 'the treasures' which would be given for spoil are all of the Church's truths and forms of good that would be reduced to nothing.

[8] In the same prophet,

On account of your trust in your works and in your treasures, you also will be taken. Jeremiah 48:7.

'Treasures' here also stands for the matters of doctrine and the cognitions or knowledge that the Church possesses.

[9] In the same prophet,

O sword against its horses and against its chariots, and against the mixed crowd who are in its midst! O sword against its treasures, in order that they may be looted! A drought on its waters, in order that they may dry up! Jeremiah 50:36-38.

These words are directed against the Chaldeans, by whom one should understand people whose worship is external devoid of internal, thus people who claim with their lips to believe the truths of the Word but in their heart reject them. By 'sword' falsity engaged in conflict against truths is meant, 2799, 4499, 6353, 7102, 8294; by 'horses' the power of understanding, 2760-2762, 3217, 5321; and by 'chariots' matters of doctrine, 5321, 8215. By 'treasures' which would be looted are meant the Church's truths and forms of good, which would be perverted and ruined through the application of them to the evils of self-love and love of the world; and by 'a drought on the waters, in order that they may dry up!' deprivation and destruction of the truths of faith, 'water' meaning the truth of faith, see 2702, 3058, 3424, 4976, 8568, 9323.

[10] Who can fail to see that the literal meaning is not the real meaning that these words possess? For is there anything holy, anything of the Church, anything of heaven, or any sense in the idea of a sword against horses, against chariots, against a mixed crowd, against treasures, or in the idea of a drought over waters, in order that they may dry up? From all this and from all else in the Word it may be seen plainly that a spiritual sense, different from the natural, lies within every detail and that without this sense the Word cannot be called holy, and that in very many places is not even intelligible.

[11] In the same prophet,

O Babel, you who dwell on many waters, great in treasures, ... Jeremiah 51:13.

'Babel' means those who possess the Word and consequently all the Church's truths and its forms of good, but who apply them to self-love and in so doing profane them, 1326. The same thing was also represented by the action of the king of Babel, who took all the vessels of the temple, which were made of gold and silver, drank from them, and at the same time praised the gods of gold and silver, Daniel 5:2-4ff. This explains why Babel is spoken of as 'dwelling on many waters, great in treasures', 'waters' meaning truths and in the contrary sense falsities, 2702, 3058, 4976, 8568, 9323. A further description occurs in the Book of Revelation, in which the riches of Babylon are listed in Chapter 18, where they are called its 'merchandise'.

[12] In Ezekiel,

I will bring against Tyre Nebuchadnezzar. By means of the hoofs of his horses he will trample all your streets. They will seize your wealth and despoil your merchandise. Ezekiel 26:7, 11-12.

'Tyre' is used to mean the Church in respect of cognitions or knowledge of goodness and truth, 1201, 'Nebuchadnezzar' the king of Babel to mean that which is profane and lays waste, 1327(end), which happens when the truths and forms of good which the Word contains serve, through wrong application, as means to lend support to the evils of self-love and love of the world. For in these circumstances the evils of those loves exist inwardly, in the heart, while the holy things of the Church are on the lips. 'The hoofs of his horses' are the outermost levels of the natural, that is, levels of knowledge consisting solely of sensory impressions, 7729; 'streets' are the truths of faith, 2336; and 'wealth' and 'merchandise' are cognitions of goodness and truth.

[13] Since cognitions of goodness and truth are meant by 'Tyre', 1201, wherever Tyre is referred to in the Word various kinds of merchandise and riches are also referred to, as in the same prophet,

Tarshish was your trader through the vastness of all your wealth - in silver, iron, tin, and lead. Damascus was your trader because of the vastness of all your wealth. Through the vastness of your wealth and your trading you have enriched all the kings of the earth. Ezekiel 27:1-end.

In the same prophet,

By your wisdom and by your intelligence you have gained wealth for yourself; [you have gained] gold and silver in your treasuries. By the vastness of your wisdom you have increased your wealth. Ezekiel 28:4-5.

This too refers to Tyre, from which it is plainly evident that 'wealth and riches' in the Word is used to mean spiritual wealth and riches, which are cognitions of goodness and truth, thus which are the means to wisdom.

[14] Also in Zechariah,

Tyre gathers silver like the dust, and gold like the mud of the streets. Behold, the Lord will make it poor and hurl ² its wealth into the sea. Zechariah 9:3-4.

And in David,

The daughter of Tyre will offer you a gift, daughter of the king; the rich of the people will entreat your face. Psalms 45:12.

The Church in respect of the affection for truth is described here; and it is called 'the daughter of the king', for 'the daughter' means the Church in respect of affection, 2362, 3963, 6729, 9055(end), and 'the king' means truth, 1672, 2015, 2069, 3670, 4575, 4581, 4966, 6148. This is why it says that the daughter of Tyre will offer her a gift, and that the rich of the people will entreat her face, 'the rich of the people' meaning those who are affluent in truths and forms of good.

[15] In Hosea,

Ephraim said, Surely I have become rich, I have found wealth for myself. Hosea 12:8.

Nor are 'I have become rich' and 'I have found wealth for myself' used to mean an enrichment with worldly riches and wealth, but with heavenly ones; for 'Ephraim' is used to mean the Church's power of understanding, which receives light when the Word is read, 5354, 6222, 6238, 6267.

[16] In John,

To the angel of the Church of the Laodiceans [write], Because you say, I am rich, and have become enriched, and have no need - when you do not know that you are wretched, and miserable, and needy, and blind, and naked - I counsel you to buy from Me gold purified in fire that you may be enriched, and white garments that you may put on. Revelation 3:14, 17-18.

This refers to the Church which supposes that everything composing the Church consists in bare knowledge alone and which consequently considers itself superior to others, when in fact knowledge is no more than the means with which to correct and improve one's life. Anyone therefore who possesses knowledge without a life led in accord with it is wretched, miserable, needy, blind, and naked. 'Buying gold purified in fire' means acquiring real good for oneself from the Lord, and buying 'white garments' means acquiring real truths springing from that good for oneself from the Lord.

'Gold' means the good of love, see the places referred to in 9874.

'Garments' means the truths of faith, 4545, 5248, 5319, 5954, 9212, 9216, 9814, 9952.

[17] In Jeremiah,

I Jehovah give to each according to his ways, according to the fruits of his works. As a partridge collects but does not lay, [so is he who] acquires riches but not by means that are just ³ . In the midst of his days he will leave them behind; at the end of his days he will become a fool. Jeremiah 17:10-11.

This refers to those who acquire knowledge for themselves without any use for it in view other than to make themselves rich, that is, possessors of knowledge, when in fact life is what it is intended to serve. All this is meant by 'gathering as a partridge and yet not laying' and by 'acquiring riches but not by means that are just'.

[18] In Luke,

Any one of you who does not renounce all his possessions cannot be My disciple. Luke 14:33.

Anyone who does not know that 'possessions' in the internal sense are spiritual riches and wealth, which consist of cognitions or knowledge derived from the Word, cannot possibly have any other idea than that if he is to be saved he will have to strip himself of all his wealth. But that is not the meaning of those words; 'possessions' there is used to mean everything that is the product of self-intelligence. For no one can be wise by virtue of what is his own, only by virtue of what is the Lord's. Therefore 'renouncing all one's possessions' means attributing no intelligence or wisdom at all to oneself; and whoever fails to do this cannot be taught by the Lord, that is, be His disciple.

[19] Since possessions, riches, wealth, silver, and gold mean the things that constitute intelligence and wisdom, the Lord also compares the kingdom of heaven to treasure hidden in a field, Matthew 13:44; and He says that people should provide themselves treasure that does not fail in heaven; for where the treasure is, there the heart is, Matthew 6:19-21; Luke 12:33-34.

[20] Those who do not know that by 'the rich' they should understand people who possess cognitions or knowledge of truth and good, thus people who have the Word, and that by 'the poor' they should understand people who do not possess them but nevertheless desire them, cannot have any other idea than that in Luke 16 one who was rich and another who was poor in the ordinary sense of those words are meant by the rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and the poor one who was laid at his porch. But in that parable 'the rich man' is used to mean the Jewish nation, who had the Word, the 'purple' in which he was clothed meaning real good, 9467, and 'fine linen' real truth, 5319, 9469, 9596, 9744. And 'the poor man' laid at the porch is used to mean those who are outside the Church and do not have the Word but who nevertheless desire the truths and the good things of heaven and the Church.

[21] From all this too it is evident that those who have the Word, consequently Divine Truths, should be understood by 'the rich', as also in Mary's ⁴ prophecy in Luke,

God has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich He has sent away empty. Luke 1:53.

'The hungry' are those who elsewhere are called 'the poor', thus those who have no bread and water and so are wanting food and drink, that is, those who have no knowledge of goodness and truth and yet desire them. By 'bread and water' in the Word goodness and truth are meant, 9323; and by 'hungering and thirsting', thus by 'wanting food and drink', the desire for them is meant.

[22] Such people are also meant elsewhere by 'the poor', as in Luke,

Blessed are the poor, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven ⁵ . Blessed are you who are hungry, for you will be satisfied. Luke 6:20-21.

In the same gospel,

The householder told his servant to go out into the streets and lanes of the city and bring in the poor, the maimed, the lame, and the blind. Luke 14:21.

In the same gospel,

To the poor the gospel will be preached. Luke 7:22.

In Matthew,

The poor hear the gospel. Matthew 11:5.

In Isaiah,

Then the firstborn of the poor will feed, and the needy will lie down with confidence. Isaiah 14:30.

In the same prophet,

The needy of men (homo) will exult in the Holy One of Israel. Isaiah 29:19.

In Zephaniah,

I will leave in your midst a wretched and poor people, who will hope in the name of Jehovah. They will feed and rest, with none making them afraid. Zephaniah 3:12-13.

And in Isaiah,

The poor and the needy are seeking water, but there is none; their tongue is parched with thirst. I, Jehovah, will hearken to them. I will open streams on the sloping heights, and I will place springs in the midst of valleys. Isaiah 41:17-18.

[23] 'The poor and the needy seeking water' are those who desire cognitions or knowledge of goodness and truth, 'water' meaning truth. This desire is described by the statement that their tongue is parched with thirst, and the abundance which they are going to have by the promise that streams will be opened on sloping heights, and springs in the midst of valleys. From all this it is again evident that heavenly realities, which belong to the truth of faith and the good of love, are meant by earthly objects, that is, by the waters, streams on sloping heights, and springs in valleys; that these objects compose the literal sense of the Word, whereas those realities compose the spiritual sense; and that the Word is Divine by virtue of the spiritual sense, and not so without it.

[24] Another reason why wealth and riches mean such things as constitute intelligence (or understanding) and wisdom lies in correspondence. Among angels in heaven everything looks as though it is gleaming with gold, silver, and precious stones; and this is owing to the intelligent understanding of truth and wise discernment of good they possess. For the inner abilities which angels possess present themselves in this visual manner through objects that correspond to these abilities. Among spirits too who are below the heavens riches make their appearance in accordance with the state of reception of truth and good from the Lord.

Footnotes:

280. The fourth experience.

I once saw a long way off some walks between avenues of trees, and young men gathered together there in large groups; each of these was a meeting where people were discussing matters relating to wisdom. This took place in the spiritual world. I approached, and on coming near saw one whom the others reverenced as their leader, because he surpassed the rest in wisdom.

On seeing me he said: 'I was surprised when I watched you on your way here and saw you at one time becoming visible to me, at another dropping out of sight; now I saw you, now you vanished. You must surely not be in the same state of life as the people in our country.'

I replied to this with a smile: 'I am no actor, or Vertumnus ¹ , but I am by turns sometimes in light and sometimes in shade to your eyes. So here I am both a stranger and native.'

At this the wise man gazed at me and said: 'What you say is unusual and strange. Tell me who you are.'

'I am,' I said, 'in the world where you once were and which you have now left, what is called the natural world. I am also in the world where you now are, what is called the spiritual world. Consequently I am in the natural state and at the same time in the spiritual state, the natural state when with people on earth, the spiritual state when with you. When I am in the natural state, I am invisible to you; when in the spiritual state, I am visible. I have been granted by the Lord the ability to be like this. You as an enlightened man are well aware that a person who belongs to the natural world cannot see one who belongs to the spiritual world, and vice versa. Therefore when I plunge my spirit into the body, you do not see me, but when I release it from the body, you do. This is the result of the distinction between the spiritual and the natural.'

[2] When he heard me mention the distinction between the spiritual and the natural, he said: 'What distinction is that? Is it not like that between what is purer and less pure? So what is the spiritual but a purer kind of the natural?'

'It is not that sort of distinction,' I replied, 'The natural can never become refined enough to approach the spiritual, so that it becomes spiritual. It is the sort of distinction there is between prior and posterior, which have no finite relationship. For the prior is in the posterior, as the cause is in its effect; and the posterior derives from the prior, as the effect derives from its cause. That is why one is not visible to the other.'

To this the wise man said: 'I have pondered this distinction, but up to now in vain. I only wish I could grasp it.' 'You will,' I said, 'not only grasp the distinction between the spiritual and the natural, you will actually see it.' Then I went on: 'You are in the spiritual state among your people here, but in the natural state with me. For you talk with your people in the spiritual language, which is shared by every spirit and angel, but you talk with me in my native language. Every spirit or angel who talks with a man speaks his own language, French with a Frenchman, Greek with a Greek, Arabic with an Arab, and so on.

[3] 'So in order to be aware of the distinction between the spiritual and the natural as they appear linguistically, do this: go inside to your people, say something there, and memorise the words; then come back keeping them in mind, and pronounce them in my presence.'

He did so and came back to me with those words on his tongue, and uttered them; they were words completely strange and foreign, not to be found in any language of the natural world. Repeating the experiment several times showed clearly that all in the spiritual world have a spiritual language, which has nothing in common with any natural language. Everyone comes of his own accord into possession of that language after his death. I once also discovered by experience that the actual sound of the spiritual language is so different from that of a natural language, that even a loud spiritual sound is inaudible to a natural person, and so is a natural sound to a spiritual person.

[4] Later I asked him and the by-standers to go inside to their own people, and write a sentence on a piece of paper, and then to bring the paper out and read it to me. They did so, and came back with the paper in their hands, but when they went to read it, they could not, since the script was merely composed of some letters of the alphabet with curly lines over them, each one of which conveyed as its meaning a particular matter. Since each letter of the alphabet there conveys a meaning, it is obvious why the Lord is called 'alpha and omega'. When they again and again went in, wrote and came back, they learned that the script entailed and comprehended countless things which no natural script can ever express. They were told that this is because the thoughts of the spiritual man are incomprehensible and inexpressible to the natural man, and they cannot be transferred to another script and another language.

[5] Then, since the by-standers were unwilling to grasp that spiritual thought is so far beyond natural thought, that it is relatively inexpressible, I said to them: 'Carry out an experiment. Go inside to your spiritual community, think of an idea, keep it in mind, and come back and expound it in my presence.'

They went inside, thought and, keeping the thought in mind, came out; and when they went to expound what they had thought, they were unable to do so. For they could not find any idea of natural thought capable of matching an idea of purely spiritual thought, so they could not find any words to express it, for the ideas of thought become words in speech. Thereupon they went back inside, came back, and convinced themselves that spiritual ideas were far above natural ones, inexpressible, unutterable and incomprehensible to the natural man. Because the spiritual ideas excelled the natural ones so much, they said that spiritual ideas or thoughts, compared to natural ones, were ideas of ideas, and thoughts of thoughts, and could therefore express qualities of qualities and affections of affections. It followed that spiritual thoughts were the beginnings and origins of natural thoughts. This also showed that spiritual wisdom is the wisdom of wisdom, and so incapable of expression by anyone, however wise, in the natural world.

[6] Then they were told from the higher heaven that there is a still more inward or higher wisdom, called celestial, which stands in the same relationship to spiritual wisdom as this does to natural wisdom. These forms of wisdom flow in regularly, depending upon which heaven is concerned, from the Lord's Divine wisdom, which is infinite.

At this point the man conversing with me said: 'I see this, because I have perceived that a single natural idea is a container for many spiritual ideas; and also that a single spiritual idea is a container for many celestial ideas. This leads too to this conclusion, that what is divided becomes not more and more simple, but more and more complex, because it approaches closer and closer to the infinite, in which everything is at infinity.'

[7] At the conclusion of this conversation I said to the by-standers: 'You see from these three experimental proofs the nature of the distinction between the spiritual and the natural. Likewise, why the natural man is invisible to the spiritual, and the spiritual man to the natural, although either of them has a complete human form. Because of this form it seems to each as if one could see the other. But it is the interiors, which are mental, which constitute that form, and the mind of spirits and angels is composed of spiritual elements, whereas the mind of men, so long as they live in the world, is composed of natural elements.'

After this a voice was heard from the higher heaven saying to one of the by-standers, 'Come up here.' He went up, and on his return he said that the angels had not previously known the differences between the spiritual and the natural, because they had never before been given the opportunity of making the comparison with a person who was simultaneously in both worlds; and these differences can only become known by making a comparison and examining the relationship.

[8] Before we parted we had another conversation on this subject, and I said that these distinctions arise solely, 'because you in the spiritual world are substantial, not material, and substantial things are the starting points of material things. What is matter but a gathering together of substances? So you are at the level of beginnings and therefore singulars, we, however, are at the level of derivatives and compounds. You are at the level of particulars, we, however, at that of general ideas. Just as general ideas cannot enter into particulars, so natural things, which are material, cannot enter into spiritual things, which are substantial. It is just as a ship's rope cannot enter or be pulled though the eye of a sewing needle, or just as a nerve cannot be introduced into one of the fibres which compose it. This then is the reason why the natural man cannot think the thoughts of the spiritual man, and therefore neither can he express them. So Paul calls what he heard from the third heaven "beyond description."

[9] 'A further point is that thinking spiritually means thinking without using time and space; thinking naturally involves time and space. For every idea of natural thought, but not of spiritual thought, has something of time and space clinging to it. This is because the spiritual world is not in space and time, as is the natural world, though it has the appearance of both of them. Thoughts and perceptions also differ in this respect. For this reason you can think of God's essence and omnipresence from eternity, that is, of God before the creation of the world, because you think about God's essence with no idea of time, and about His omnipresence with no idea of space. Thus you grasp ideas which are far beyond the natural ideas of men.'

[10] I went on to relate how I had once thought about God's essence and omnipresence from eternity, that is, about God before the creation of the world, and because I could not yet banish space and time from the ideas I thought about, I became worried, since the idea of nature entered my mind in place of God. But I was told: 'Banish the ideas of space and time and you will see.' Then I was granted the power to banish them, and I did see. From that time on I have been able to think about God from eternity, without thinking of nature from eternity, because God is non-temporally in all time and non-spatially in all space, but nature is temporally in all time and spatially in all space. Nature with its time and space must inevitably have a beginning, but not so God, who is not in time and space. Therefore nature is from God, not from eternity, but exists in time together with its properties of time and space.

Footnotes: