Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 4200

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4200. 'If you afflict my daughters, and if you take wives besides my daughters, after we have parted from each other' means that the affections for truth are to remain inside the Church. This is clear from the meaning of 'daughters', who in this case are Rachel and Leah, as affections for truth, dealt with in 3758, 3782, 3793, 3819; from the meaning of 'wives' as affections for truth that is not genuine, and so affections which do not belong to the Church - for affections for truth constitute the Church, and so 'taking wives besides those daughters' means taking no other affections than those for genuine truth; from the meaning of 'parted from each other' as when they are going to be parted from each other, that is, when they have been separated, dealt with immediately above in 4199. From these considerations it is evident that these words mean that affections for genuine truth are to remain inside the Church, and not to be defiled with truths that are not genuine.


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