173. It is shown in THE DOCTRINE OF THE NEW JERUSALEM CONCERNING THE SACRED SCRIPTURE (n. 104-113), that by means of the Word they also have light who are outside the Church and who do not have the Word. Since man has light by means of the Word and from this light has understanding, and as both the wicked and the good have understanding, it follows that from light in its origin there is light in its derivatives, which are perceptions and thoughts respecting all subjects. The Lord says:
That without Him men can do nothing. John xv. 5.
That a man can receive nothing except it has been given him from heaven. John iii. 27.
And that the father in the heavens makes His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. Matt. v. 45.
By the sun here as elsewhere in the Word in its spiritual sense is meant the Divine Good of the Divine Love; and by rain the Divine Truth of the Divine Wisdom. These are given to the evil and to the good, to the just and to the unjust, for unless they were given no one would have perception and thought. It has been shown above that there is only one life from which all have life. Now perception and thought belong to life; therefore perception and thought are from the same fountain from which life springs. That all the light forming the understanding is from the Sun of the spiritual world, which is the Lord, has already been abundantly shown.
