Apocalypse Explained, volume 1 - Swedenborg Foundation

APOCALYPSE EXPLAINED 179spiritual sense of the Word, the spiritual, which is in the natural orfrom which the natural proceeds, is to be explored.117. And affliction, signifies anxiety from a longing to knowtruths. This is evident from the signification of “affliction,” asbeing anxiety of mind from a longing to know truths; for thosewho wish to understand the Word, but who do not as yet wellunderstand it, are here treated of (see above, n. 112), and these arein anxiety as to the spirit when they do not understand. That thesehave such anxiety when they do not understand, none can knowexcept those who are in the affection of truth for the sake of truth,that is, who are in spiritual affection; who these are may be seenabove (n. 115). The reason of this is, that such are conjoined to theangels of heaven, and angels continually long for truths, becausethey long for intelligence and wisdom; they long for these as ahungry man longs for food. For this reason also intelligence andwisdom are called spiritual food. This longing also man has frominfancy, for when he is an infant, and afterwards when a child, he isconjoined to heaven, and this longing is from heaven; but withthose who turn themselves to the world it perishes. From this itmay be known what is the anxiety of mind or spiritual anxiety thatis here signified by “affliction.”[2] They have such anxiety when they read the Word and do notwell understand it, because all the truths of heaven and the churchare from the Word, and lie concealed therein in its spiritual sense,and are not opened to any except such as are conjoined to heaven,since that sense of the Word is in heaven. Yet the spiritual senseitself of the Word does not flow in with man out of heaven, but itflows into his affection, and through this into the knowledges thathe has, and thus kindles his longing, and he then receives thegenuine truths of the church so far as he can see them from theliteral sense of the Word. Everyone who is in the spiritual affectionof truth is conscious that the things that he knows are few, and thethings that he does not know are infinite. He is aware, moreover,that knowing and acknowledging this is the first step towardswisdom; and that those who pride themselves on the things theyknow, and believe themselves on account of these to be most