He Came as a Thief in the Night

Let it be known first of all that Moon represents faith or truth; even as the Sun represents love. It is in this context that we must understand references to the Moon or, as here, to the Spirits of the Moon; in that Writing on faces, interiors, called Earths in the Universe: "It was told me by the angels, that they were from the Moon. He who was carried on the other's back, on coming to me, applied himself to my left side under the elbow, and thence spoke with me, saying that whenever they utter their voices they thus thunder; and that thereby they terrify the spirits who wish to do them evil; and put some to flight, and that thus they go with security whithersoever they will. That I might know certainly that they made this sound, he retired from me to some others, but not entirely out of sight, and thundered in like manner. They showed, moreover, that the voice being uttered from the abdomen, like an eructation, made this thundering sound. It was perceived that this was owin...

"But still the truth remains, that truly conjugial love is not possible except with people who are of the Christian Church. That also is why polygamy has been entirely banned from it. This happened, moreover, of the Lord's Divine providence, as is plainly evident to people who think rightly concerning Providence. That is why it is not lawful for a Christian to have more than one wife. This follows as already established from what we have demonstrated in the preceding discussions. It need only be added here that a genuine conjugial inclination has been more deeply impressed on the minds of Christians than on the minds of gentiles who have embraced polygamy. The minds of Christians are therefore more receptive of that love than the minds of polygamists" (Conjugal Love 337-38). Conjugal love as a marriage between good and truth or love and wisdom has been expressed in the Father and the Son. The Father represents Divine Good from which the Son, Divine Truth, proceeds; and th...

This is the foremost thing that God wants people of all religions to know: "The delight of doing good for its own sake and not for an ulterior motivation is the reward which lasts forever" (Arcana Coelestia 9984). On Exodus 22:25: "That this signifies that this must be done from charity, is evident from the signification of “a usurer,” as being one who does what is good for the sake of self-advantage; for a usurer intrusts money to another for the sake of usury, and assists another for the sake of recompense. And because genuine charity does not regard profit or recompense as the end, but the good of the neighbor, therefore by “thou shalt not be as a usurer” is signified that it must be done from charity.  He who does not know what Christian charity is, may believe that it consists not only in giving to the needy and the poor, but also in doing good to a fellow citizen, to our country, and to the church, for any cause whatever, or for any end whatever. But be it known th...