THE THIRD & FOURTH COMMANDMENT
Selection from Apocalypse Explained ~ Emanuel Swedenborg
Now follows the third
commandment, which is, to keep the sabbath holy.
The third and fourth
commandments of the Decalogue contain things that must be done,
namely, that the sabbath must be kept holy, and that parents must be
honored. The other commandments contain things that are not to be
done, namely, that other gods must not be worshiped; that the name
of God must not be profaned; that one must not steal, must not
commit adultery, must not bear false witness, must not covet the
goods of others. These two commandments are commandments to be done,
because the sanctification of the rest of the commandments depends
upon these, for the "sabbath" signifies the union in the Lord of the
Divine Itself and the Divine Human, also His conjunction with heaven
and the church, and thus the marriage of good and truth with the man
who is being regenerated. This being the signification of the
sabbath, it was the chief representative of all things of worship in
the Israelitish Church, as is evident in Jeremiah (17:20-27), and
elsewhere. It was the chief representative of all things of worship,
because the first thing in all things of worship is the
acknowledgment of the Divine in the Lord's Human, for without that
acknowledgment man can believe and do only from self, and to believe
from self is to believe falsities, and to do from self is to do
evils, as is also evident from the Lord's words in John:
To those asking,
What shall we do that we might work the works of God? Jesus said,
This is the work of God, that ye believe in Him whom God hath sent
(6:28, 29).
And in the same:
He that abideth
in Me and I in him, the same beareth much fruit; for without Me ye
can do nothing (John 15:5).
That the sabbath
represented that union and the holy acknowledgment of it, has been
shown in many places in the Arcana Coelestia, namely, that the "sabbath"
signified in the highest sense the union of the Divine Itself and
the Divine Human in the Lord, in the internal sense the conjunction
of the Lord's Human with heaven and with the church, in general the
conjunction of good and truth, thus the heavenly marriage (n. 8495,
10356, 10730). Therefore the rest on the sabbath day signified the
state of that union, because the Lord then has rest; also through
that union there is peace and salvation in the heavens and on the
earth. In a relative sense it signified the conjunction of man with
the Lord, because man then has peace and salvation (n. 8494, 8510,
10360, 10367, 10370, 10374, 10668, 10730). The six days preceding
the sabbath signified the labors and combats that precede union and
conjunction (n. 8510, 8888, 9431, 10360, 10667).
The man who is being
regenerated is in two states, the first when he is in truths and by
means of truths is being led to good and into good, the other when
he is in good. When man is in the first state he is in combats or
temptations; but when he is in the second state he is in the
tranquility of peace. The former state is signified by the six days
of labor that precede the sabbath; and the latter state is signified
by the rest on the sabbath day (n. 9274, 9431, 10360). The Lord also
was in two states; the first when He was Divine truth and from it
fought against the hells and subjugated them, the other when He was
made Divine good by union with the very Divine in Himself. The
former state was signified in the highest sense by the six days of
labor, and the latter by the sabbath (n. 10360). Because such things
were represented by the sabbath it was the chief representative of
worship, and the holiest of all (n. 10357, 10372). "To do work on
the sabbath day" signified to be led not by the Lord but by self,
thus to be disjoined (n. 7893, 8495, 10360, 10362, 10365). The
sabbath day is not now representative, but is a day of instruction
(n. 10360 at the end).
The fourth commandment
of the Decalogue is that parents must be honored.
This commandment was
given because honor to parents represented and thus signified love
to the Lord and love towards the church, for "father" in the
heavenly sense, that is, the Heavenly Father, is the Lord; and
"mother" in the heavenly sense, that is, the heavenly mother, is the
church; "honor" signifies the good of love; and "length of days,"
which they will have, signifies the happiness of eternal life. So is
this commandment understood in heaven, where no other father but the
Lord is known, and no other mother but the kingdom of the Lord,
which is also the church. For the Lord gives life from Himself, and
through the church He gives nourishment. That in the heavenly sense
no father in the world can be meant, and indeed, when man is in a
heavenly idea, can be mentioned, the Lord teaches in Matthew:
Call no man your
father on earth; for one is your Father who is in the heavens
(23:9).
That "Father"
signifies the Lord as to the Divine good may be seen above (n. 32,
200, 254, 297). That "mother" signifies the Lord's kingdom, the
church, and the Divine truth, may be seen in the Arcana Coelestia
(n. 289, 2691, 2717, 3703, 5581, 8897). That "length of days"
signifies the happiness of eternal life (n. 8898); and that "honor"
signifies the good of love (n. 8897, and above, n. 288, 345). All
this makes clear that the third and fourth commandments involve arcana
relating to the Lord, namely, the acknowledgment and confession of
His Divine, and the worship of Him from the good of love.
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