Arcana Coelestia volume 7 - Swedenborg Foundation

ARCANA COELESTIA 3989internal man after death appears just like man in the world, with asimilar face, similar body, and similar sensitive and thinkingfaculty—to those who have cherished the opinion concerning thesoul that it is only a power of thought, and thereby as it wereethereal, thus without form, and that it will be clothed again withthe body, what is said by the internal about the nature of the soulwill seem far removed from the truth; and it will be hard to thosewho believe that the body only is the man, when they hear that thesoul is the man himself, and that the body which is buried is of nouse in the other life. And yet that this is the truth, I know; for ofthe Lord’s Divine mercy I have been with those who are in theother life—not with a few but with many, not once but often—andhave talked with them about it. So also in numberless other cases.5512. And took us for spies of the land. That this signifies that heobserved that the truths of the church were for the seeking of gainis evident from the representation of the sons of Jacob, who aremeant here by “us” as being the truths of the church in the natural(see n. 4503, 5419, 5427, 5458); and from the signification of“spies” or “spies of the land” as being those who are in the truths ofthe church merely for their own advantage (n. 5432).5513. And we said unto him, We are upright; we are no spies. Thatthis signifies denial that they were in truths for the sake of gain isevident from the signification of “saying unto him” as being areply, here denial; and from the signification of “we are upright” asbeing that they were in truths which in themselves are truths (see n.5434, 5437, 5460); and from the signification of “spies” as beingthose who are in the truths of the church for the sake of their ownadvantage, here meaning that it was not for this.5514. We are twelve brethren. That this signifies all truths in onecomplex is evident from the signification of “twelve” as being allthings, and when as here predicated of the sons of Jacob, or of thetwelve tribes named from them, and also of the twelve apostles, asbeing all things of faith in one complex (see n. 577, 2089, 2129,2130, 2553, 3272, 3488, 3858, 3862, 3913, 3926, 3939, 4060).