2554. They will kill me for my wife's sake. That this signifies that thus the celestial things of faith also would perish, if they were to think that spiritual truth alone could be conjoined with celestial good, is evident from the signification of "killing," as being to perish; and from the signification of "wife," as being spiritual truth conjoined with celestial good (see n. 2507). This is another reason why the Lord thus thought, and is as follows. The Divine good, which is here called celestial good, is united as by a marriage to the Divine truth, which is here called spiritual truth (n. 2508); and although the Divine good is united in this manner to the Divine truth alone, it nevertheless flows into lower truths, and conjoins itself with them, but not as by a marriage; for it flows into rational truths which are only appearances of truth, and conjoins itself with them; nay, it flows into truths of sense and of memory-knowledge, which are scarcely anything but fallacies, and conjoins itself with these. Unless this were so, no man could possibly have been saved (see volume 1, n. 1831-1832). That the Divine good might be conjoined with truths of reason and of memory-knowledge, and that man might thus be saved, was the purpose of the Lord's coming into the world; for without the Lord's Human made Divine there cannot possibly be any conjunction; whereas through Him there is conjunction. [2] Besides this arcanum, there are still other arcana in the words "they will kill me for my wife's sake" (by which is signified that so the celestial things of faith would perish, if they were to think that spiritual truth alone could be conjoined with celestial good); for example, that if men were to have no regard for spiritual truth, celestial good would thereby also perish; for when the former is rejected the latter perishes; and again, that unless it were said that they should adore the Father (although there is no access to Him except through the Son, and he who sees the Son sees the Father, John 14:8-12), it would not have been received: besides other arcana.
