Apocalypse Explained, volume 1 - Swedenborg Foundation

APOCALYPSE EXPLAINED 535in respect to good, n. 2691, 2717, 3703, 5581, 8897; and “Father,”when said by the Lord, means the Divine good of His Divine love,n. 2803, 3704, 7499, 8328, 8897.)255. Verse 22. He that hath an ear let him hear what the Spiritsaith unto the churches, signifies that he who understands shouldhearken to what Divine truth proceeding from the Lord teachesand says to those who are of His church, as is evident from whatwas said and shown above (n. 108).256. It has been said above, that “the seven churches,” which arehere written to, mean not seven churches, but all who are of thechurch, and in an abstract sense all things of the church. That thisis so can be seen from this, that “seven” signifies all persons and allthings, and that by names things are meant. That the things writtento these seven churches mean all who are of the church, or allthings of the church, can be seen also from the explanation of allthe things written to them. For all things of the church havereference to these four generals, namely, doctrine, a life accordingto doctrine, faith according to life; these three are treated of in whatis written to six of the churches; doctrine, in what is written to thechurches in Ephesus and Smyrna; a life according to doctrine, inwhat is written to the churches in Thyatira and Sardis; and faithaccording to life, in what is written to the churches in Philadelphiaand Laodicea; and since doctrine cannot be implanted in the lifeand come to be of faith unless man combats against the evils andfalsities, which he has by heredity, that combat also is treated of inwhat is written to the church in Pergamos; for there temptationsare treated of, and temptations are combats against evils andfalsities. (That temptations are there treated of, see above, n. 130;that doctrine is treated of in what is written to the churches inEphesus and Smyrna, see above, n. 93, 95, 112; that a lifeaccording to doctrine is treated of in what is written to thechurches in Thyatira and Sardis, n. 150, 182; and that faithaccording to life is treated of in what is written to the churches inPhiladelphia and Laodicea, n. 903 and 227.) Since what is writtento this last church, that in Laodicea, treats of those who are in thedoctrine of faith alone, and near the end treats also of the faith of