8868. It must also be briefly told what is meant by truths which are from some other source than the Lord. They are in general those truths in which the Lord is not. The Lord is not in the truths with a man when the man denies Him and His Divine, and also when he acknowledges Him and still believes that good and truth are not from Him, but from himself, and who consequently claims righteousness for himself. Truths also in which the Lord is not are those which are taken from the Word, especially from the sense of its letter, and are explained in favor of self-rule and self-gain. In themselves these are truths, because they are from the Word; but in this case they are not truths, because they are wrongly explained and thus perverted. They are such as are meant by the Lord by these words in Matthew:
If anyone shall say, Lo, here is the Christ, or there; believe it not. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall give great signs and wonders; so as to lead into error, if possible, even the elect (Matt. 24:23-26; see n. 3900). And in Luke:
See that ye be not led astray; for many shall come in My name, saying, I am; and, The time is at hand; go ye not therefore after them (Luke 21:8). [2] The truths which are from the Lord are always truths from the Lord in the internal form; and the truths which are not from the Lord appear as truths in the external form only, but not in the internal form; for within they are either empty, or false, or evil. In order for truth to be truth there must be life in it; for truth without life is not the truth of faith with man; and life is from no other source than good, that is, through good from the Lord. If therefore the Lord is not in truth, it is truth without life, thus is not truth; but if falsity is in it, or evil, the truth itself in man is falsity or evil; for that which is within makes the essence, and also in the other life shines through the outside. From all this it can now be seen how it is to be understood that truths must not be thought of from any other source than the Lord. [3] As few know how the case is with truths which in the internal form are truths, thus which live from the Lord, something shall be said about these from experience. In the other life it is openly perceived from everyone who speaks there what lies hidden within the words of his speech, as whether it is closed within, or whether it is open, also what kind of affection there is therein. If the affection of good is within, it is inwardly soft; if the affection of evil, it is inwardly hard; and so on. With the angels of heaven all things of their speech are open even to the Lord, and this is both clearly perceived and also heard from the softness and the quality of this. From this also it is known what lies hidden within truths, whether the Lord or not. Truths in which the Lord is are truths which are alive, but truths in which the Lord is not are truths which are not alive. Those which are alive are truths of faith from love to the Lord and from charity toward the neighbor. Those which are not alive are not truths, because within them there are the love of self and the love of the world. In the other life spirits and angels can be discriminated by this, for everyone has truths according to his life, that is, according to that which universally reigns with him.
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