Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 2426

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2426. 'In case the evil clings to me and I die' means it would inevitably result in evil existing with him at the same time and that this being so he would be condemned. This is clear without explanation. What these words embody can be recognized from what has been stated and shown already in 301-303, 571, 582, fool, 13Z7, 1328 - that the Lord is continually making provision to prevent the mixing together of evil with good. But to the extent a person is immersed in evil, he is further away from good. It is better to be immersed completely in evil than in evil and at the same time in good. For if a person is under the influence of evil and of good simultaneously he inevitably stands condemned for ever. It is the deceitful and the hypocritical within the Church who more than anybody else stand in danger of this. This then is the meaning in the internal sense of 'in case the evil clings to me and I die'.


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