In the preface to the preceding
chapter an explication was given of what the Lord said concerning the
Judgment upon the good and the evil, in Matthew 25, verses 34
to 36. Then follow these words:
Then shall the righteous
answer Him, saying, Lord, when saw we Thee hungry and fed Thee? or
thirsty and gave Thee drink? When saw we Thee a stranger and
gathered Thee? or naked and clothed Thee? When saw we Thee sick, or
in prison, and came unto Thee? But the King shall say to them,
Verily I say to you, Insofar as ye did it to one of the least of
these My brethren, ye did it to Me. Then shall He say also unto them
on the left hand, Depart from Me ye cursed into the eternal fire,
prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry and ye gave
Me not to eat, I was thirsty and ye gave Me not to drink, I was a
stranger and ye gathered Me not, naked and ye clothed Me not, sick,
and in prison, and ye visited Me not. Then shall they also answer
Him, saying, Lord, when saw we Thee hungry, or thirsty, or a
stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto
Thee? Then shall He answer them, saying, Verily I say to you,
Insofar as ye did it not to one of these least, ye did it not to Me.
And these shall go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous
into life eternal (Matt. 25:37-46).
In the prefatory remarks to the
preceding chapter (n. 4954-4959), it was explained what is signified
in the internal sense by "giving meat to the hungry and drink to the
thirsty," by "gathering the stranger, clothing the naked, and visiting
the sick and him that is in prison"--that it is the essence of charity
which is involved and is thus described. By the "hungry," the
"thirsty," and the "stranger," is signified the affection of good and
truth; and by the "naked," the "sick," and "those who are in prison,"
self-acknowledgment (see n. 4956, 4958).
As the same things are thrice
repeated in what has already been quoted and explained, it is
unnecessary to show in detail, or word by word, what these expressions
signify in the internal sense. In this place I will merely state what
is signified by the answer made both by those on the right hand, and
by those on the left-that they had not seen Him hungry, thirsty, a
stranger, naked, sick, and in prison; and afterward what is signified
by the "King," and also by the "righteous and eternal life," and by
the "cursed and eternal fire."
The answer made by those on the
right hand:
Lord, when saw we Thee hungry
and fed Thee? or thirsty and gave Thee drink? When saw we Thee a
stranger and gathered Thee? or naked and clothed Thee? When saw we
Thee sick, or in prison, and came unto Thee?
signifies that if they had seen
the Lord Himself, everyone of them would have performed these offices;
yet not from love toward Him, but from fear because He was to be the
judge of the universe; thus not for His sake, but for the sake of
themselves; thus not from within or from the heart, but from without
and in act only.
This is as when one sees a king
whose favor he desires to gain in order that he may become great or
rich, and therefore bears himself submissively toward him. It is
similar with those who are in holy external worship, in which they as
it were see the Lord, and submit themselves to Him, believing that in
this way they will receive eternal life; and yet they have no charity,
and do no good to anyone except for their own sake, thus only to
themselves. They are like persons who in outward form pay court to
their king with much respect, and yet deride his commands because at
heart they disregard him. These and similar things are what are
signified by those on the right hand so answering; and as the evil
also do the like things in outward form, therefore they who were on
the left made nearly the same answer.
As therefore the Lord cares not
for external but for internal things, and as man testifies to his
internal things, not by worship only, but by charity and its acts, the
Lord answered:
Verily I say to you, Insofar
as ye did it to one of the least of these My brethren, ye did it to
Me;
those are called "brethren" who
are in the good of charity and of life; for the Lord is with them,
because they are in good itself; and it is they who are properly meant
by the neighbor. In these also the Lord does not manifest Himself, for
in respect to Him they are vile; but the man manifests himself before
the Lord, in that he worships Him from within.
That the Lord calls Himself
"King"--in these words: When the Son of man shall come in His
glory, then shall He sit upon the throne of His glory, then shall the
King say unto them; is because the Lord's royalty is the Divine
truth, from which and according to which judgment is effected. But
from and according to it the good are judged in one way, and the evil
in another. The good, because they have received Divine truth, are
judged from good, and thus from mercy; the evil, because they have not
received Divine truth, are judged from truth, and thus not from mercy;
for this they have rejected, and hence they continue to reject it in
the other life. To receive Divine truth is not only to have faith, but
also to practice it, that is, to cause that which is of doctrine to
become of the life. It is from this that the Lord calls Himself
"King." (That the Lord's royalty is the Divine truth has been shown
above, n. 1728, 2015, 3009, 3670, 4581, 4966.)
That they on the right hand are
called "the righteous:"--
Then shall the righteous
answer Him, saying, etc., and,
The righteous shall go into
eternal life; signifies that they are in the
Lord's righteousness. All who are in the good of charity are called
the "righteous"--not that they are righteous from themselves, but from
the Lord, whose righteousness is appropriated to them. They who
believe themselves righteous from themselves, or made so righteous
that there is no longer anything of evil in them, are not among the
righteous, but among the unrighteous; for they attribute good to
themselves, and also feel self-merit on account of it, and such can
never adore the Lord from true humiliation; so that those who in the
Word are called the "righteous," and the "saints," are those who know
and acknowledge that all good is from the Lord, and that all evil is
from themselves, that is, is theirs from hell.
The "eternal life" which is given
to the righteous, is life from good. Good has life in itself, because
it is from the Lord, who is life itself. In the life which is from the
Lord there are wisdom and intelligence; for to receive good from the
Lord and thence to will good, is wisdom; and to receive truth from the
Lord and thence to believe truth, is intelligence; and they who have
this wisdom and intelligence have life; and as happiness is joined to
such life, eternal happiness also is signified by "life." The contrary
is the case with those who are in evil. These do indeed
appear-especially to themselves-as if they had life, but it is such
life as in the Word is called "death," and also is spiritual death;
for they are not wise in any good, nor intelligent in any truth. This
may be seen by everyone who takes the matter into consideration, for
as there is life in good and in its truth, there cannot be life in
evil and in its falsity, because these are opposite and extinguish
life. Therefore the persons in question have no other life than such
as belongs to the insane.
That they on the left hand are
called "cursed," and their punishment "eternal fire," as where it is
said:
Then shall He say also unto
them on the left hand, Depart from Me ye cursed into the eternal fire,
prepared for the devil and his angels; and, These shall go away into
eternal punishment;
is because they have averted
themselves from good and truth, and have turned to evil and falsity. A
"curse," in the internal sense of the Word, signifies a turning away
(n. 245, 379, 1423, 3530, 3584). The "eternal fire" into which they
must depart is not natural fire, nor is it torment of conscience, but
is concupiscence of evil; for the concupiscences in man are spiritual
fires which consume him in the life of the body, and torment him in
the other life. By these fires the infernals torture one another in
direful ways.
[2] That "eternal fire" is not
natural fire, is evident. That it is not torment of conscience, is
because all who are in evil have no conscience, and they who have had
none in the life of the body cannot have any in the other life. But
that it is concupiscence is because all vital fire is from the loves
in man--heavenly fire from the love of good and truth, and infernal
fire from the love of evil and falsity--or what is the same, heavenly
fire is from love to the Lord and love toward the neighbor, and
infernal fire is from the love of self and the love of the world. That
all the fire or heat within man is from this source, anyone may know
if he pays attention to the matter. It is for this reason also that
love is called spiritual heat, and that by "fire" and "heat" in the
Word nothing else is signified (n. 934e, 1297, 1527, 1528, 1861, 2446,
4906). The vital fire in the evil is such that when they are in the
vehemence of their concupiscences, they are also in a kind of fire,
from which they are in the ardor and fury of tormenting others; but
the vital fire in the good is such that when in a high degree of
affection, they also are in a kind of fire, but from it they are in
the love and zeal of benefiting others.
