(AC) - A Disclosure of the Hidden Treasures of Heaven Contained in the Holy Scripture or Word of the Lord, Together with Amazing Things Seen in the World of Spirits and in the Heaven of Angels

AC 7021

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7021. Because all the men seeking thy soul are dead. That this signifies the removal of the falsities that are endeavoring to destroy the life of truth and good, is evident from the signification of "being dead," as being that they are removed, for they who are dead have also been removed; from the signification of the "Egyptians," who here are "the men," as being those who are in falsities (see n. 6692); and from the signification of "those seeking the soul," as being those who are endeavoring to destroy the life. And as spiritual life is the life of the truth that is of faith, and of the good that is of charity, it is therefore said "the life of truth and good." From this it is evident that by "all the men seeking thy soul are dead" is signified the removal of the falsities that are endeavoring to destroy the life of truth and good. By "soul" in the Word is meant every living thing, and it is attributed also to animals, but "soul" is properly predicated of man, and when of man, the term is used in various senses. Man himself is called a "soul," because his life in general is so called, also specifically his intellectual life, or understanding, and likewise his voluntary life, or will.
[2] But in the spiritual sense by "soul" is meant the life of the truth which is of faith, and of the good which is of charity, and in general the man himself as to his spirit which lives after death, in which sense it is used in these passages:
Be not afraid of those who are able to kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul (Matt. 10:28).
What doth it profit a man, if he gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what price shall a man give sufficient for the redemption of his soul? (Matt. 16:26).
The Son of man is not come to destroy men's souls, but to save them (Luke 9:56).
Ye have profaned Me among My people, to slay the souls that ought not to die, and to make the souls to live that ought not to live (Ezek. 13:19).
In these passages the "soul" denotes the spiritual life of man, which life is that of his spirit after death. "To kill the soul," "to lose the soul," "to destroy the soul," denote to die spiritually, that is, to be damned.