* There is no paragraph 2484 in the Latin.
[2] The Lord describes the close of the age, that is, the final period of the Church, as follows,
Immediately after the affliction of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Matt. 24:29; Mark 13:24, 25.
That ‘the sun’ here does not mean the sun, nor ‘the moon’ the moon, nor ‘the stars’ the stars, but that ‘the sun’ means love to the Lord and charity towards the neighbour, ‘the moon’ faith received from love and charity, and ‘the stars’ cognitions of good and truth, has been shown in 31, 32, 1053, 1521, 1529-1531, 2120, 2441. Thus these words spoken by the Lord mean that when the close of the age or final period has arrived there will no longer be any love or any charity, or consequently any faith. It is evident that this is their meaning from similar words of the Lord that occur in the Prophets, as in Isaiah,
Behold, the day of Jehovah comes, to make the earth a desolation, and He will destroy its sinners from it. For the stars of the heavens and their constellations will not shine with their light. The sun will be darkened in its rising, and the moon will not give its light. Isa. 13:9, 10.
This too refers to the final period of the Church, or what amounts to the same, the close of the age.
[3] In Joel,
A day of darkness and thick darkness, a day of cloud and obscurity. The earth quaked before Him, the heavens trembled. The sun and the moon were darkened, and the stars withdrew their shining. Joel 2:2, 10.
Here the meaning is similar. Elsewhere in the same prophet,
The sun will be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of Jehovah comes. Joel 2:31.
In addition in the same prophet,
The day of Jehovah is near. The sun and the moon have been darkened, and the stars have withdrawn their shining. Joel 3:14, 15.
In Ezekiel,
When I have blotted you out, I will cover the heavens and darken their stars, I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon will not give its light. All the bright lights in the heavens I will make dark over you, and I will put darkness over your land. Ezek. 32:7, 8.
Likewise in John,
When he opened the sixth seal I looked, and behold, a great earthquake took place, and the sun became black as sackcloth made of hair, and the full moon became like blood, and the stars fell to the earth. Rev. 6:12, 13.
In the same book,
The fourth angel sounded, so that the third part of the sun was struck, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars, and a third part of them was darkened. Rev. 8:12.
[4] These places show clearly that the Lord’s words in the Gospels embody much the same as the Lord’s words in the Prophets – namely that in the last times there will be no charity and no faith – and that this is the internal sense. All this is further evident in Isaiah,
The moon will blush, and the sun be ashamed, for Jehovah Zebaoth will reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem. Isa. 24:23.
The meaning here is that faith, which is ‘the moon’, will blush, and charity, which is ‘the sun’, will be ashamed because their condition is such; for it cannot be said of the moon and the sun that they will blush and be ashamed. And in Daniel,
The horn of the he-goat grew towards the south, and towards the east, and grew even towards the host of heaven, and it cast down to the earth some of the host, and of the stars, and trampled on them. Dan. 8:9, 10.
Here it is evident to anyone that ‘the host of heaven’ does not mean a host, nor ‘the stars’ the stars.
GENESIS 20
1 And Abraham travelled from there towards the land of the south, and dwelt between Kadesh and Shur; and he sojourned in Gerar.
2 And Abraham said of* Sarah his wife, She is my sister; and Abimelech King of Gerar sent and took Sarah.
3 And God came to Abimelech in a dream in the night, and said to him, Behold, you will die because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is married to a husband.
4 And Abimelech had not come near her, and he said, Lord, will You kill even a righteous nation?
5 Did he not say to me, She is my sister? And she herself also said, He is my brother. In the uprightness of my heart and in the blamelessness of my hands have I done this.
6 And God said to him in the dream, Yes, I know that in the uprightness of your heart you have done this, and I also withheld you from sinning against Me; therefore I did not allow you to touch her.
7 And now return the man’s wife, for he is a prophet, and will pray for you, and you will live. And if you do not return her, know that you will certainly die, you and everyone who is yours.
8 And in the morning Abimelech rose up early and called all his servants and spoke all these words in their ears; and the men were very much afraid.
9 And Abimelech called Abraham and said to him, What have you done to us, and what sin have I committed against you, that you have brought great sin on me and on my kingdom? Deeds which ought not to be done you have done to me.
10 And Abimelech said to Abraham, What did you see, that you have done this thing?
11 And Abraham said, Because I said, Surely there is no fear of God in this place, and they will kill me on account of my wife.
12 And also she is truly my sister, my father’s daughter but not my mother’s daughter; and she became my wife.
13 And it happened, when God caused** me to depart from my father’s house, that I said to her, This is your kindness which you may do for me: at every place we come to, say for me, He is my brother.
14 And Abimelech took flocks and herds, and men servants and women servants, and gave to Abraham; and he restored to him Sarah his wife.
15 And Abimelech said, Behold, my land is before you; dwell in that which is good in your eyes.
16 And to Sarah he said, Behold, I have given a thousand-pieces of silver to your brother; behold, it is for you a covering of the eyes for all who are with you, and with all; and she was vindicated.
17 And Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech and his wife, and his women servants, and they gave birth.
18 For Jehovah had completely closed every womb of Abimelech’s house because of the matter of Sarah, Abraham’s wife.
* The Latin preposition here (ad), like the Hebrew (‘el) which it translates, usually means to or towards.
** This verb is plural; see 2559.
In Chapter 12 above the subject was Abraham’s sojourn in Egypt, which meant the instruction that the Lord received in factual knowledge when He was still a boy. In the present chapter the subject is Abraham’s sojourn in Gerar, where Abimelech was. This sojourning in a similar way means instruction received by the Lord, but now it is in matters of doctrine regarding charity and faith. Dealt with in particular here is the origin of the doctrine of charity and faith; that is to say, that this doctrine is spiritual deriving from a celestial origin but is not from the rational.
These historical descriptions, like everything else in the Word, embody Divine arcana. This becomes clear from the fact that now, for a second time, Abraham said that his wife was his sister; for the same thing had happened when he entered Egypt. On that occasion he said to Sarah, ‘Say, now, you are my sister’, Gen. 12:13. And not only Abraham but also Isaac did so, in that when he came to Gerar he said that Rebekah his wife was his sister – ‘The men of the place asked about his wife, and he said, She is my sister’, Gen. 26:6, 7. And in those two chapters further similarities occur, so that such historical incidents are described three times, which would never have been done but for some hidden reason in the internal sense.
‘Abraham travelled from there towards the land of the south’ means the Lord’s advances in goods and truths of faith, ‘Abraham’ being the Lord during that state. ‘And dwelt between Kadesh and Shur’ means His state specifically, ‘Kadesh’ being the affection for interior truth coming from rational concepts, ‘Shur’ the affection for exterior truth deriving from factual knowledge. ‘And he sojourned in Gerar’ means consequent instruction in the spiritual things of faith.
[2] As regards the Lord’s instruction in general, the nature of it is quite plain from the internal sense of this chapter. From that sense it is plain that He was taught through a whole succession of revelations and so through Divine perceptions and thoughts from Himself, that is, from His Divine. These perceptions and thoughts He implanted in Divine intelligence and wisdom, and continued to do so until the perfect union of His Human and His Divine had been effected. This way of becoming wise is not at all open to anyone else, for it sprang from the Divine itself, which was His inmost, being the Father’s, from whom He had been conceived. Thus it sprang from the Divine Love itself which the Lord alone possessed and which constituted His desire to save the entire human race.
[3] It is an arcanum as yet known by scarcely anyone that love itself holds wisdom and intelligence within it, but that the nature of these is determined by that of the love. The reason wisdom and intelligence exist within love is that all influx takes place into the love, or what amounts to the same, into the good, and so into the life itself of man. This is the source of the wisdom and intelligence possessed by angels, which are beyond description. It is the source also of the wisdom and intelligence possessed by men who are governed by love to the Lord and charity towards the neighbour. Although during their lifetime the latter do not discern at all the presence with them of such wisdom and intelligence, they nevertheless enter into these after death for the reason that they exist within love itself and within charity itself, see 2494. As for the Lord’s love however, this was infinitely higher than the love which exists in angels, for it was Divine Love itself, and therefore He had within Himself the acme of all wisdom and intelligence. Yet into the possession of this, because He was born a human being (homo) and advanced as a human being does according to Divine order, He entered by successive degrees so that He might in that way unite His Human to the Divine and make it Divine, doing so by His own power.
[2] In general there are intellectual things of faith, rational things of faith, and factual things of faith. In relation to one another they accordingly pass from more interior to more exterior. The inmost things of faith are called intellectual; those which pass down from them or from there are the rational things of faith; and those in turn which pass down from these are the factual things of faith. They are interrelated, to use the language of the learned, as prior to posterior, or what amounts to the same, as superior to inferior, that is, as more interior to more exterior. It does indeed seem to man as though the factual degree of faith is first and that the rational then arises from that, and after this the intellectual from that, for the reason that this is the way a human being develops from childhood onwards. But in fact the intellectual is constantly flowing; into the rational, and the rational into the factual, though man is not directly conscious of it. In childhood the influx is obscure; in adult years it is more noticeable; and when at length the individual has been regenerated it is quite manifest. Once he is regenerate this order is quite apparent, and still more fully so in the next life, see 1495. All of these things, distinguished as described into separate degrees and existing in relation to one another in the order shown, are called spiritual. The spiritual things of faith constitute all truths that stem from good, that is, from a celestial origin. Whatever derives from the celestial is one of the spiritual things of faith.
‘Abraham said’ means the Lord’s thought. ‘Of Sarah his wife’ means spiritual truth joined to the celestial. ‘She is my sister’ means rational truth. ‘And Abimelech king of Gerar sent’ means the doctrine of faith, ‘Abimelech’ being the doctrine of faith which has regard to rational things. ‘And took Sarah’ means the affection for consulting the rational.
* The Latin preposition here (ad), like the Hebrew (‘el) which it translates, usually means to or towards.
‘God came to Abimelech’ means the Lord’s perception regarding the doctrine of faith. ‘In a dream in the night’ means a perception that was obscure. ‘And said to him’ means thought springing from this. ‘Behold, you will die because of the woman’ means that the doctrine of faith would be ruined if the rational were consulted regarding the contents of that doctrine. ‘For she is married to a husband’ means that the doctrine of true faith is spiritual, and the contents of it are joined to the celestial.
[2] Thoughts deriving from no conscience however exist with people who do not allow themselves to be governed inwardly by good and truth but by evil and falsity, that is, not by the Lord but by themselves. They imagine that they think inwardly just as much as those who do so from conscience and perception, the reason being that they do not know what conscience is, still less what perception is, though the difference between their thought and that of people thinking from conscience or perception is as great as that between hell and heaven. People whose thought is devoid of conscience think from every evil desire and false notion, and so from hell. When they think in any other manner they do so from an outward respectability for the sake of reputation. But people who think from conscience do so from affections for good and truth, and so from heaven. As for the Lord’s thought however, this surpasses all human understanding, for it sprang directly from the Divine.
[2] The reason no doctrine of faith from the rational exists is that the rational is immersed in the appearances of good and truth, and such appearances are not truths in themselves, as shown already in 2053, 2196, 2203, 2209. What is more, the rational bases itself on illusions, which are the product of external sensory impressions confirmed by facts which introduce haziness into those appearances of truth. The rational for the most part is merely human, as also becomes clear from its birth. This then is why nothing of the doctrine of faith can even be started, let alone be built up from it. Such doctrine must stem from the Lord’s Divine itself and His Divine Human. This is the origin of it, so much so indeed that the Lord is doctrine itself. It is for this reason also that in the Word He is called the Word, the truth, the light, the way, and the door. Furthermore – and this is an arcanum – all doctrine is derived from Divine Good and Divine Truth and possesses the heavenly marriage within it. Doctrine which does not possess this within it is not the genuine doctrine of faith. Consequently every detail of the Word, the source of doctrine, holds the image of a marriage within it, see 683, 793, 801.
[3] It does indeed seem in the literal or external sense of the Word as though the doctrine of faith possessed much from the rational and indeed from the natural. But the reason for this is that the Word exists for the sake of man, for whom it has been adapted in this way. Nevertheless in itself the Word is spiritual from a celestial origin, that is, it is derived from Divine Truth joined to Divine Good. The fact that doctrine would be brought to ruin if the rational were consulted as regards the contents of that doctrine will be illustrated by examples in what follows.
‘Abimelech had not come near her’ means that where the doctrine of faith was concerned rational truth was not consulted in any way. ‘And he said, Lord, will You kill even a righteous nation?’ means, Would the good and truth of doctrine be done away with?
[2] The fact that these words were uttered from a zeal that went with an affection or love towards the whole human race may be evident to anyone. Such love was directing the Lord’s thoughts even when He had not yet put off the human from the mother. And although He perceived from the Divine that the doctrine of faith had a wholly celestial origin, nevertheless in order that the needs of the human race, which does not receive anything of which it cannot form some idea from its own rational thought, might be met, it is therefore said, ‘Will You kill even a righteous nation?’ meaning, Would the good and truth of doctrine be done away with? The fact that a person does not receive anything of which he cannot form some idea from his rational thought may be seen from the ideas which a person entertains regarding Divine arcana. The latter always have some idea attached to them that is derived from worldly objects or things analogous to worldly objects by which they are retained in the memory and reproduced in thought. For without ideas derived from worldly objects a person is unable to engage in thought. If therefore truths from a Divine origin were presented naked they would never be accepted because they would go far beyond his range of understanding, and so beyond his faith as well, most of all in the case of those whose worship is external.
[3] Let the following examples illustrate this: The Divine itself cannot reside in anything except that which is Divine, and so only in the Lord’s Divine Human, and with man through His Human. If the rational were consulted it would say that the Divine itself can reside in the human of anyone. Again nothing holy exists which does not proceed from the Lord, and so from the Divine, which is one. If the rational were consulted it would say that what is holy may also spring from other sources.
[4] Again, man does not live from himself, do good from himself, believe the truth from himself, or indeed think from himself. The good and truth that he does or believes come from the Lord, but the evil and falsity come from hell. And what is more, hell – that is, those who are in hell – do not think from themselves but, in the same way as man, are recipients of the Lord’s good and truth. If the rational were consulted it would reject all those ideas because it would not comprehend them. It would also reject the idea that nobody is rewarded on account of the good he does and of the truth he teaches. And it would reject the idea that what is external does not accomplish anything, only what is internal, insofar as the affection for good is present in the doing of good, and insofar as from this the affection for truth is present in the teaching of truth, and insofar as the things are not done from oneself. So also with a thousand other examples that could be given.
[5] Such being the nature of the human rational, the Word therefore uses expressions that accord with man’s capacity to understand, and also with his inherent disposition. And this explains why the internal sense of the Word is different from its literal sense. This becomes quite clear from the Old Testament Word where most things are stated in ways that accord with the capacity to understand and the inherent disposition of the people who lived in those times. As a consequence little, indeed scarcely anything, is mentioned there about the life after death, about eternal salvation, and about the internal man. Indeed the character of the Jewish and Israelitish people with whom the Church existed at that time was such that if these matters had been disclosed to them they would not only have failed to understand them but would also have ridiculed them. If similarly it had been disclosed to them that the Messiah or Christ was going to come and save their souls for ever, this too they would have rejected as something of no importance, as also becomes clear from the same nation today. And it is so still that if what is internal or spiritual is mentioned in their presence, and the fact that the Messiah is not going to be a very great earthly king, they laugh at it.
[6] This was the reason why the Lord sometimes spoke in the way the Prophets had spoken and expressed all else by means of parables, as He Himself states in Matthew,
Jesus said, I speak to them in parables, because those who see do not see, and those who hear do not hear, nor do they understand. Matt. 13:13.
‘Those who see’ and ‘those who hear’ are those inside the Church who, though they see and hear, nevertheless do not understand. And in John,
He has blinded their eyes and hardened their heart, lest they see with their eyes and understand with their heart, and are converted and I heal them. John 12:40.
Their being ‘converted’ and being ‘healed’ implies that even so they would subsequently reject and in so doing profane, which entails eternal condemnation, see 301-303, 582, 1008, 1010, 1059, 1327, 1328, 2051, 2426. Nevertheless the Lord in many places disclosed the interior things of the Word, but solely for the benefit of the wise.
‘Did he not say to me’ means exoneration from having thought in this fashion. ‘She is my sister’ means that it was the rational which ought to be consulted. ‘And she herself also said, He is my brother’ means that the rational itself so declared that celestial good should be coupled with it. ‘In the uprightness of my heart’ means that such thinking was the product of innocence and simple good. ‘And in the blamelessness of my hands have I done this’ means the product of the affection for truth, and thus of all that enables one so to think.
[2] As regards the Lord’s life itself, it was a life in which the Human was constantly advancing towards the Divine, even to complete union, as stated many times already. For to fight the hells and overcome them He had to do so from the Human, since no conflict with the hells takes place from the Divine. That being so, He was pleased to put on the human as any other person; to be a small child as any other; to grow in knowledge and cognitions which were represented and meant by Abraham’s sojourning in Egypt, Chapter 12, and now in Gerar. Thus He was pleased to develop the rational like any other person and to dispel the shadow enveloping it and to bring it into light, and to do so from His own power. That the Lord advanced in this manner from the Human to the Divine, no one can be in any doubt if he merely considers the fact that He was a small child, and learned to talk as any small child does, and so on. But there was this difference, that the Divine itself dwelt within Him because He had been conceived from Jehovah.
[2] As regards the way in which the good and truth of the rational are acquired, its good comes from Divine good, but not its truth from Divine truth, for the truth of the rational is acquired through knowledge and cognitions which are implanted by means of the senses, external and internal, and so by an external route. Consequently many illusions that result from sensory impressions cling to the truths of that rational which cause those truths not to be truths. Nevertheless when Divine Good flows into them and takes hold of them they are in that case seen as truths and are acknowledged as truths, even though they are no more than appearances of truth. The good itself within those truths undergoes modification determined by the shadows there and comes to have the same nature as the truth. This is one arcanum which lies concealed in these words, that the rational so declared that celestial good should be coupled with it.
‘God said to him in the dream’ means a perception that was less obscure. ‘Yes, I know that in the uprightness of your heart you have done this’ means here, as previously, that such thinking was the product of innocence and of simple good, thus that there was nothing worthy of blame. ‘And I also withheld you from sinning against Me’ means nothing harmful had taken place. ‘Therefore I did not allow you to touch her’ means that the rational was not consulted at all.
[2] So that more may be known about the nature of the doctrine of faith, that it is spiritual from a celestial origin, it should be recognized that such doctrine is Divine truth from Divine good, and so is wholly Divine. That which is Divine is beyond comprehension since it surpasses all understanding, even that of angels. Nevertheless this Divine, which in itself is beyond comprehension, is able to flow in by way of the Lord’s Divine Human into man’s rational. And when it flows into his rational, the way it is received there is determined by the truths that are there. Thus it is received in varying ways, differently from one person to another. To the extent therefore that the truths residing with a person are more genuine, the Divine flowing in is also received more perfectly, and the understanding part of his mind is enlightened.
[3] Present within the Word of the Lord there are truths themselves, but in its literal sense there are truths which have been adapted to the mental grasp of those whose worship is external, while in its internal sense there are truths adapted to those who are internal people, that is, who as regards doctrine and at the same time as regards life are like angels. Their rational is as a result enlightened to such an extent that this enlightenment is compared to the brightness of the stars and of the sun, in Dan. 12:3; Matt. 13:43. This shows how important it is to know and receive interior truths. People can indeed know these truths, but none can possibly receive them except those who are governed by love to the Lord or by faith in Him. For as the Lord is Divine Good, so He is Divine Truth, and therefore doctrine itself, for everything included in the doctrine of true faith has regard to the Lord. It also has regard to the heavenly kingdom and the Church, and to the things that constitute the heavenly kingdom and the Church. But all these are His and are the intermediate ends by means of which the final end, that is, the Lord, is regarded.
[4] That the Lord is doctrine itself as regards truth and good, thus that it is He alone who is regarded in doctrine, He Himself teaches in John,
Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. John 14:6, 7.
Here ‘the way’ means doctrine, ‘the truth’ everything that constitutes doctrine, ‘the life’ good itself which is the life of truth. And that love to Him or faith in Him is that which receives, He also teaches in John,
His own did not receive him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave power to be sons of God, to those believing in His name, who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. John 1:11-13.
‘The born of God’ are those in whom love and, from this, faith are present.
‘Now return the man’s wife’ means that the spiritual truth of doctrine was by him to be brought back untouched from the rational. ‘For he is a prophet’ means that thus it was to be taught. ‘And will pray for you’ means that it will thus be revealed. ‘And you will live’ means that thus doctrine will possess life. ‘And if you do not return her’ means here, as previously, if he did not restore the spiritual truth of doctrine untouched by the rational. ‘Know that you will certainly die’ means that no doctrine of truth and good will exist. ‘And everyone who is yours’ means all that belonged to it together.
[2] It has been stated above that although the doctrine of faith is in itself Divine and so stands above all human, even angelic, range of understanding, it has nevertheless been expressed in the Word in a rational manner in accordance with man’s range of understanding. It is like a parent who is teaching small boys and girls. When teaching them he explains every single thing in accordance with their own mentality, even though he himself thinks from what is more interior or higher. Otherwise he would be teaching without their learning, or it would be like casting seed on bare rock. The same applies also to the angels who in the next life instruct the simple in heart. Although the angels possess celestial and spiritual wisdom they nevertheless do not go above the heads of those they are teaching but use simple ideas to talk to them, yet advance by degrees to higher ideas as the instruction advances. For if they were to speak from angelic wisdom the simple would not grasp anything at all and so would not be led on to the truths and goods of faith. Much the same would happen if in the Word the Lord had not taught in a rational manner in accordance with man’s range of understanding. Nevertheless in its internal sense the Word is raised up to angelic understanding. But even so, that highest level of meaning on which the Word exists with angels is infinitely lower than the Divine. This shows what the Word is like in origin, and so what it is in itself, and thus that at every point it embodies more than the whole of heaven is capable of comprehending, even as to one small part, though in the letter it seems so ordinary and so crude.
[3] The fact that the Lord is the Word, because the Word derives from Him and He is in the Word, is clear in John,
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the Only Begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:1, 4, 14.
See also Rev. 19:11, 13, 16. And because the Lord is the Word, He is doctrine also, for no other doctrine exists which is itself Divine.
Jehovah your God will raise up a Prophet like me from the midst of you, from your brothers; Him shall you obey. Deut. 18:15, 18.
The words ‘like me’ are used because the Lord was represented by Moses, as He also was by Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, David, and many more. And because people awaited Him it is therefore said in John,
When the people saw the sign which Jesus had done, they said, This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world. John 6:14.
[2] Since the Lord in the highest sense is ‘the Prophet’ and ‘the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy’, Rev. 19:10, ‘a prophet’ therefore means in the internal sense of the Word a person who teaches, and also – abstractedly – doctrine, as becomes quite clear from the following places: In Luke,
You, child, will be called prophet of the Most High. Luke 1:76.
Zechariah said this in reference to his son, John the Baptist, who was not the prophet but one preparing the way by teaching and preaching the good news about the Lord’s Coming, as he himself says,
They asked him, What are you? Are you Elijah? But he said, I am not. Are you the prophet? He answered, No. Therefore they said to him. Who are you? He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord. John 1:21-23.
[3] In Matthew,
Many will say on that day, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name? Matt. 7:22.
Here it is evident that ‘prophesying’ means teaching. In John,
You must again prophesy over many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings. Rev. 10:11.
‘Prophesying’ stands for teaching. What ‘peoples’, ‘nations’, ‘tongues’, and ‘kings’ mean has been stated and shown in various places. In the same book,
The nations will trample the holy city for forty-two months, but I will grant My two witnesses to prophesy one thousand two hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth. Rev. 11:2, 3.
Here also ‘prophesying’ stands for teaching. In Moses,
Jehovah said to Moses, See, I have made you a god to Pharaoh, and Aaron your brother will be your prophet. Exod. 7:1.
Here ‘prophet’ stands for one teaching or saying what Moses would have to say. In Joel,
I will pour out My spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters will prophesy. Joel 2:28.
‘They will prophesy’ stands for they will teach.
[4] In Isaiah,
Jehovah has poured out over you a spirit of sleep, and has closed your eyes; the prophets and your heads, the seers, He has covered; and the vision of all this has become to you like the words of a sealed book which men give to one who is able to read, saying, Read this, now; and he will say, I cannot, for it is sealed. Isa. 29:10, 11.
Here ‘the prophets’ is used to mean those who teach truth, and ‘the seers’ those who see truth. Their heads are said to be ‘covered’ when they know no truth at all and see none at all. Because in ancient times those who taught were called prophets, they were also called ‘seers’, for ‘seeing’ meant understanding, 2150, 2325. The fact that they were called ‘seers’, see 1 Sam. 9:9; 2 Sam. 24:11. They were also called ‘men (vir) of God’ because of the meaning ‘man’ carried, dealt with in 158, 265, 749, 915, 1007, 2517. The fact that they were called ‘men of God’, see 2 Kings 1:9-16; 4:7, 9, 16, 21, 22, 25, 27, 40, 42; 5:8, 14, 20; 13:19; 23:16, 17.
[5] That ‘prophets’ means in the internal sense those who teach is clear in the whole of Jeremiah 23 and the whole of Ezekiel 13, where prophets are referred to specifically, and also in many other places where they are mentioned. This also explains why ‘pseudoprophets’ means those who teach falsities, as in Matthew,
At the close of the age many pseudoprophets will arise and lead many astray. False Christs and false prophets* will arise and will show great signs, and will lead astray, if possible, even the elect. Matt. 24:11, 24; Mark 13:22.
No others are meant here by ‘pseudoprophets’ and ‘false prophets’, nor likewise by the pseudoprophet in Rev. 16:13; 19:20; 20:10.
[6] How much the internal sense of the Word is obscured by ideas that have been conceived from the representatives of the Jewish Church becomes clear from the fact that every time a prophet is mentioned in the Word the idea of prophets like those who lived in those times immediately springs to mind, an idea which impedes greatly any discernment of what is meant by them. But the wiser anyone is, the more easily is an idea conceived from such representatives banished. For example, when the temple is mentioned, people who are more wise in their thinking do not envisage the temple in Jerusalem but the temple of the Lord; when Mount Zion, or simply Zion, is mentioned, they do not envisage a location in Jerusalem but the Lord’s kingdom; and when Jerusalem is mentioned, they do not envisage the Jerusalem situated in the tribe of Benjamin and Judah but the holy and heavenly Jerusalem.
* Here, apparently following Schmidius’ Latin version of the Scriptures, Sw. has two similar but not identical expressions – pseudoprophetae and falsi prophetae. But in the original Greek the same word occurs in both places.
It happened, when Jesus was baptized and prayed, that heaven was opened. Luke 3:21.
In the same gospel,
It happened, when Jesus took Peter, James, and John, He went up on the mountain to pray. When He was praying the appearance of His face was altered, and His clothing became dazzling white. Luke 9:28, 29.
Also in John, He said when praying,
Father, glorify Your name. Then a voice came from heaven, I have both glorified it and will glorify it again. John 12:27, 28.
Here it is evident that the Lord’s praying consisted in a talking to the Divine and at the same time in revelation.
[2] The position with doctrine is that insofar as belief is rooted in what belongs to the human, that is, in sensory impressions, factual knowledge, and rational deductions, no doctrine exists; but insofar as sensory impressions, factual knowledge, and rational deductions are put aside, that is, insofar as belief is formed quite apart from these, doctrine comes into being because the Divine is able to flow in; whereas those properties possessed by the human prevent influx and reception. It is however one thing to rely for belief on rational deductions, factual knowledge, and sensory impressions, that is, to resort to them so as to arrive at belief, but quite another to confirm and strengthen belief by means of rational deductions, factual knowledge, and sensory impressions. The difference between the two approaches will be evident in what follows below, for these also are dealt with in the internal sense in this chapter.
‘In the morning Abimelech rose up early’ means a clear perception and confirmatory light flowing from celestial good. ‘And called all his servants’ means rational concepts and factual knowledge. ‘And spoke all these words in their ears’ means an exhortation made to confirmations from this source, even until they should become obedient. ‘And the men were very much afraid’ means until they should become averse.
[2] The reason why the perception which the Lord had when He was in the Human, and why His thought concerning that which was rational with the doctrine of faith, are dealt with so extensively in the internal sense is that stated above. A further reason is that it is angel-like to think in a distinct manner about the various aspects of the Lord’s life in the world, and about how He cast off the human rational and by His own power made it Divine, and at the same time to think about the nature of the doctrine of charity and faith when the rational mixes with it, besides many more things dependent on these, which are interior features of the Church and of man. To anyone whose heart and mind are set on worldly and bodily interests, such matters seem of little importance, and perhaps of no advantage to him; whereas to angels whose hearts and minds are set on celestial and spiritual interests, those same matters are precious. Their ideas and perceptions regarding them are beyond description. From this it is evident that very many matters which to man are of little importance because they are above and beyond his grasp of things are to angels of the highest worth since those matters come within the light of their wisdom; and conversely, the matters of highest worth to man, because they are worldly and so come within his grasp of things, are to angels of little importance since those matters go on away from the light of angels’ wisdom. This difference between angels and men with regard to the internal sense of the Word occurs in many places.
From the train of thought: There are many matters of a confirmatory nature that lend support to whatever the rational acknowledges; indeed its acknowledgement is due entirely to those confirmatory matters. This is why, when rational concepts are brought into a condition of obedience, an exhortation is made to things that confirm, for these are for ever at hand and so to speak rising up.
From the meaning of ‘ears’: ‘Ears’ in the internal sense of the Word means obedience because of the correspondence that exists between hearing and obeying. Furthermore, this correspondence lies hidden within the very word ‘hearing’, more so in ‘hearkening’. This correspondence has its origin in the next life where those who are obedient and willing belong to the province of the ear. Indeed they correspond to the faculty of hearing itself, an arcanum unknown as yet. But these matters will be seen more easily when correspondence will be dealt with in the Lord’s Divine mercy later on. The fact that ‘ears’ has this meaning becomes clear from very many places in the Word; but for the time being let only the following in Isaiah be quoted,
Make the heart of this people fat and their ears heavy, and plaster over their eyes, lest they see with their eyes and hear with their ears, and their heart understands. Isa. 6:10.
Here ‘seeing with the eyes’ means understanding, and ‘hearing with the ears’ means perceiving with affection and therefore means obeying. And nothing else is meant when the Lord says,
He who has an ear to hear, let him hear. Matt. 11:15; 13:9, 43; Luke 8:8; 14:35.
‘Abimelech called Abraham and said to him’ means the Lord’s thought from the doctrine of faith. ‘What have you done to us, and what sin have I committed against you?’ means reproving Himself for having thought in this fashion. ‘That you have brought great sin on me and on my kingdom’ means that thereby the doctrine of faith and all matters of doctrine would be at risk. ‘Deeds which ought not to be done you have done to me’ means horror.
He is the One who formed all things and the sceptre of His inheritance; Jehovah Zebaoth is His name. You are to me a hammer, weapons of war, and in You I will scatter the nations, and in You I will destroy the kingdoms. Jer. 51:19, 20.
This refers to the Lord who, it is clear, is not going to scatter nations or destroy kingdoms but to do so to things meant by nations and kingdoms, namely evils and falsities of doctrine.
[2] In Ezekiel,
Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the nations to where they have gone away, and will gather them from all around, and bring them into their own land; I will make them into one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel; and one King will be King to them all, and they will no longer be two nations, nor will they be divided any longer into two kingdoms. Ezek. 37:21, 22.
‘Israel’ stands for the spiritual Church, ‘nation’ for the good of that Church, that is, of doctrine, for by ‘nations’ goods are meant, see 1259, 1260, 1416, 1849. ‘Kingdom’ stands for the truths of that Church. The fact that ‘nations’ and ‘kingdoms’ here mean something different from nations and kingdoms is quite evident, for the children of Israel, or the Israelites, are spoken of as being gathered together and brought into the land when in fact they were dispersed among the gentile nations and became such themselves.
[3] In Isaiah,
I will confound Egypt with Egypt, and they will fight, every one against his brother, and every one against his companion, city against city, kingdom against kingdom. Isa. 19:2.
Here ‘Egypt’ stands for the reasonings based on facts concerning the truths of faith, 1164, 1165, 1186. ‘City’ stands for doctrine, in this case heretical doctrine, 402, 2268, 2449, ‘kingdom’ for falsity of doctrine. ‘City against city and kingdom against kingdom’ therefore stands for the fact that heresies and falsities will be in conflict with one another. The same is meant by the following words spoken by the Lord in reference to the close of the age, in Matthew,
Nation will be roused against nation and kingdom against kingdom. Matt. 24:7.
This stands for evils against evils, and falsities against falsities.
[4] The things that Daniel prophesied about the four kingdoms, Chapter 2:37-46; 7:17-end; and about the kingdoms of Media and Persia, Chapter 8:20-end; and about the kingdoms of the king of the south and the king of the north in Chapter 11; and the things that John too prophesied in the Book of Revelation about kings and kingdoms, have no other meaning. Those kingdoms are used solely to mean states of the Church as regards truths and falsities. The conditions of monarchs and of earthly kingdoms in the sense of the letter are in the internal sense states of the Church and of the Lord’s kingdom. In the internal sense nothing else occurs there than spiritual and celestial things, for regarded in itself the Word of the Lord is purely spiritual and celestial; but so that it may be read and understood by man, no matter who, ideas of the things which belong to heaven are conveyed by means of such things as exist on earth.
‘Abimelech said to Abraham’ means further thought from the doctrine of faith. ‘What did you see, that you have done this thing?’ means a looking into the cause. ‘Abraham said’ means a perception, which constituted a reply. ‘Because I said, Surely there is no fear of God in this place’ means the thought derived from this that men would have no respect for spiritual truth in that state in which they were then. ‘And they will kill me on account of my wife’ means that this being so celestial things of faith would perish also if they were to think that spiritual truth alone could be joined to celestial good.
[2] This was still more the case with men when the Lord came into the world. At that time they did not even have any knowledge of what the celestial or the spiritual was, nor even of anything internal. Wholly earthly and worldly, and thus external things possessed every thought in their minds, even the minds of the apostles themselves who supposed that the Lord’s kingdom would be like a worldly kingdom. For that reason these asked to sit one on His right hand and the other on the left and for a long while imagined they were going to sit on twelve thrones and to judge the twelve tribes of Israel, still unaware of the fact that in the next life they would not have the power to judge even the least detail of any one individual’s affairs, 2129 (end). His looking into this state of the human race was the reason why the Lord at first thought about whether the rational ought to be consulted in the doctrine of faith. In this He was moved by a love which was that the salvation of all might be taken care of and that the Word should not perish.
[2] In addition to this arcanum, there are many other arcana within these words, ‘They will kill me on account of my wife’, which mean that such being so the celestial things of faith would perish if men were to think that spiritual truth alone could be joined to celestial good. One arcanum within them is that when people had no respect for spiritual truth, celestial good would thereby perish, for once spiritual truth is rejected celestial good perishes. Another arcanum is that unless it had been declared that they were to worship the Father – though there is no other way to Him except through the Son, and ‘he who sees the Son sees the Father’, John 14:8-12 – it would not have been accepted. And there are other arcana in them besides these.
‘And also she is truly my sister’ means that rational truth possessed such a relationship. ‘My father’s daughter but not my mother’s daughter’ means that the rational was conceived from celestial good as the father but not from spiritual truth as the mother. ‘And she became my wife’ means that spiritual truth was joined to the celestial, with rationality serving as the means. ‘And it happened, when God caused me to depart from my father’s house’ means when He left behind factual knowledge and the appearances that arise from this, together with their delights, meant here by ‘father’s house’. ‘That I said to her’ means the thought at that time. ‘This is your kindness which you may do for me’ means that consequently He would at that time have this comfort. ‘At every place we come to’ means all things which after that He would deduce regarding rational truth. ‘Say for me, He is my brother’ means that it should be said that rational truth had been joined to celestial good.
* This verb is plural; see 2559.
[2] For it is well known that man is born without any knowledge and without any actual rationality, and with only the ability to acquire these; also that after he is born he learns and absorbs all things gradually, chiefly by means of sensory impressions received through hearing and sight; and as he learns and absorbs them so he becomes rational. The fact that these things are accomplished by way of the body, which is an external way, because they are accomplished through hearing and sight, is self-evident. But the thing man does not know, because he does not reflect on the matter, is that something is flowing in constantly from within which receives those things that thus enter in and are implanted through hearing and sight, and arranges them into order. That which flows in, receives, and arranges them is Divine celestial good, which comes from the Lord. This is the source of the life of those things, the source of their order, and the source of all the separate relationships among them, as has been stated. From all this it may become clear that man’s rational springs from Divine celestial good as the father, in accordance with the words in this verse, ‘she is my father’s daughter’.
[3] As regards the second arcanum – that the rational is not conceived from spiritual truth as the mother – this becomes clear from what has been stated in 1902. For if spiritual truth were to flow in from within, as good does, man would be born with total rationality and at the same time with complete knowledge, so that he would have no need to learn anything. But since man is such that because of his heredity he is under the influence of every evil and consequently of every falsity, so that if truths themselves also were to flow in he would adulterate them and falsify them and in so doing would perish for ever, the Lord has provided against any truth at all flowing in by way of man’s internal being, only by way of his external. From this it becomes clear that man’s rational does not spring from spiritual truth as the mother, in accordance with the words in this verse, ‘but not my mother’s daughter’. It pleased the Lord that His own Rational as well should be formed according to the same order, to the end that by His own power He might make Divine all things with Him that were Human, and might implant Divine spiritual Truth in, and unite it to, Divine celestial Good, and implant Divine celestial Good in, and unite it to, Divine spiritual Truth.
‘Abimelech took’ means that the doctrine of faith….’Flocks and herds’ means, having been enriched with rational goods and natural goods…… ‘And men servants and women servants’ means, and also with rational truths and natural truths, as well as with affections for these…… ‘And gave to Abraham’ means, imparted these to the Lord…. ‘And he restored to him Sarah his wife’ means, when the Divine spiritual had been joined to the celestial.
Jehovah will have compassion on Jacob, and will still choose Israel, and will set them on their own ground, and the sojourner will attach himself to them, and they will join themselves to the house of Jacob. And the peoples will take them and bring them to their place, and the house of Israel will inherit them on Jehovah’s ground as men servants and women servants. Isa. 14:1, 2.
[2] Here ‘Jacob’ stands for the external Church, ‘Israel’ for the internal, ‘sojourners’ for people who receive instruction in truths and goods, 1463, 2025. ‘Men servants and women servants’ stands for natural truths and rational truths, together with the affections for them, which are to be of service to the Church meant by Jacob and Israel. The fact that Jacob and Israel, or Jews and Israelites, were not meant here, is quite evident, for once they had been dispersed among the gentiles the Israelites became gentiles. Yet the Jews still cherish and await an even literal fulfilment of this prophecy – that sojourners will attach themselves to them, and after that peoples will bring them [to their place] and will become their men servants and women servants. But in fact where reference is made in the prophetical parts of the Word to Jews and Israelites, not even the least thing is meant in regard to these, as must also be plain to the Jews themselves from the fact that in various places it is said equally of Israel as of Judah that they were to be led back.
[3] In the same prophet,
Behold, Jehovah is emptying the earth and making it desolate, and He will disfigure the face of it and will cause its inhabitants to scatter. And it will be, as with the people so with the priest, as with the man servant so with his master, as with the woman servant so with her mistress. Isa. 24:1, 2.
Here ‘the earth’ stands for the Church, 662, 1066, 1067, 1850, which is ’emptied and made desolate, and its face disfigured and inhabitants scattered’, when interior truths and goods, meant by ‘priest and people’, and when exterior truths and goods, meant by ‘man servant and woman servant’, are no more, which comes about when external things have dominion over internal.
[4] In the same prophet,
I will bring forth seed from Jacob, and from Judah the heir of My mountains, and My chosen ones will possess it, and My servants will dwell there. Isa. 65:9.
Here ‘Jacob’ stands for the external Church, ‘Judah’ for the internal celestial Church, ‘chosen ones’ for its goods, and ‘servants’ for its truths.
[5] In Joel,
I will pour out My spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters will prophesy. Even on your men servants and women servants in those days I will pour out My spirit. Joel 2:28, 29.
The subject here is the Lord’s kingdom. ‘Prophesying’ stands for teaching, 2534, ‘sons’ for truths themselves, 489, 491, 533, 1147, ‘daughters’ for goods themselves, 489-491. ‘Men servants and women servants’ stands for lower truths and goods on which it is said that the spirit is to be ‘poured out’ when these serve to support and strengthen. That such things are meant here and elsewhere by ‘men servants and women servants’ is not too apparent, both because of the common idea which one has of men servants and women servants, and because of this being a prophecy of some seemingly historical event.
[6] In John,
I saw an angel standing in the sun, who called out with a loud voice saying to all the birds flying in mid-heaven, You may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses and those seated on them, and the flesh of all, free men and slaves, both small and great. Rev. 19:17, 18.
Here it is quite plain that not the flesh of kings, captains, mighty men, horses, those seated on these, free men and slaves, which they were to eat, is meant but internal and external truths of the Church which became ‘flesh’ for them.
[7] That ‘men servants’ means truths and ‘women servants’ goods which were subservient to and so serve spiritual and celestial truths and goods is quite clear from the laws laid down in the representative Church which had to do with men servants and woman servants. All these laws have regard to the state of the Church and of the Lord’s kingdom in general and in particular, and to the way in which lower truths and goods, which are natural and rational, have to serve those that are spiritual and celestial, and thus those that are Divine, such as the following,
The Hebrew male slave and the Hebrew female slave* was to be free in the seventh year and at that time was to receive gifts from the flock, the threshing-floor, and the winepress. Exod. 21:2-6; Deut. 15:12-15; Jer. 34:9-14.
A wife was to go free if she had entered into bondage together with her husband; but if the master had provided him with the wife, the wife and children were to be the master’s. Exod. 21:3, 4.
A poor brother who had been bought was not to serve as a slave but as a hired servant and an alien; and in the jubilee year he was to go out together with his children. Lev. 25:39-43.
If a brother were bought by an alien sojourner he could be redeemed and leave in the jubilee year. Lev. 25:47 and following verses.
Male and female slaves bought from nations round about, and from alien sojourners, were to be their possession for evermore, whom they might subject to their absolute command, but not the children of Israel. Lev. 25:44-46.
If a slave did not wish to be emancipated, he was to have his ear pierced with an awl at the door, and he was a slave for evermore. The same applied to a female slave if she did not wish to be released. Exod. 21:6; Deut. 15:16, 17.
If someone beat his own male slave or female slave with a rod, so that he died, that slave was to be avenged. But if he survived a day or two, he was to be free; for he himself was his money. Exod. 21:20, 21.
If he struck the slave’s eye or tooth [and destroyed it], he was to go free. Exod. 21:26, 27.
If an ox gored a male slave or a female slave so that he died, [the owner] was to weigh out thirty pieces of silver for the master, and the ox was to be stoned. Exod. 21:32.
A slave who had escaped from his master was not to be placed under arrest but was to live in a place of his own choice and not be oppressed. Deut. 23:15, 16. A slave who had been bought with silver and who had been circumcised was to eat the Passover. Exod. 12:44, 45.
Anyone’s daughter who had been bought was not to leave her bondage as male slaves did. If she was bad the master was not to sell her to a foreigner. If she was betrothed to his son she was to be treated as a daughter. If that son married another he was not to reduce her food, clothing, and marital rights. If he did not honour these requirements she was to leave her bondage without making any payment. Exod. 21:7-11.
[8] All these laws owe their existence to laws in heaven, which are laws to do with what is good and true. They also have regard in the internal sense to these laws in heaven, but they do so partly through correspondences, partly through representatives, and partly through meaningful signs. But when the representatives and the meaningful signs of that Church, which were the most external and lowest things of worship, were done away with, so also did the necessity for such laws come to an end. If therefore these laws which are derived from the laws of order to do with what is good and true, and from representatives and meaningful signs, were to be opened up [to reveal their inner reality], it would be evident that ‘male slaves’ means nothing else than truths of a rational and factual kind, which are lower truths and therefore ought to serve spiritual truths, and that ‘female slaves’ means accompanying goods which because they too are lower ought indeed to serve, though in a different way. This explains why certain laws laid down concerning female slaves or servants differed from those laid down concerning male ones. For regarded in themselves truths are servants much more than their accompanying goods.
[9] ‘The royal right’ referred to in Samuel means nothing else in the internal sense than the right of truth, and also the right of falsity when it starts to have dominion over truth and over good, as becomes clear from the explanation of the words describing it,
This will be the king’s right who will reign over you _ he will take your sons and appoint them to his chariots, and to his horsemen, and they will run before his chariots; he will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers; he will take your male slaves and your female slaves, and your best young men, and your asses, and will put them to do his work; he will take a tenth of your flock; and at length you yourselves will be made into slaves. And you will cry out on that day because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, but Jehovah will not answer you on that day. 1 Sam. 8:11, 13, 16-18.
‘A king’ means truth, see 1672, 2015, 2069, and so in the contrary sense what are not truths, that is, falsities. The sons whom he would appoint to his chariots and to his horsemen mean truths of doctrine that would be subservient to false assumptions, which are meant by ‘chariots and horsemen’. The daughters whom he would take to be perfumers, cooks, and bakers mean the goods of doctrine by which the falsities would be made pleasing and acceptable. The male slaves and female slaves, the young men, and the asses whom ‘he will put to do his work’ mean rational concepts and factual knowledge by means of which those falsities will be made stronger. ‘The flock of which he will take a tenth’ means remnants of good to which he will do violence. And the statement that they would be made into slaves means that instead of having dominion the celestial and spiritual things of the Word and of doctrine will be subservient so as to confirm the falsities within his assumptions and the evils within his desires. For nothing exists which cannot be introduced into false assumptions so as to confirm them, either by false application, or by a wrong interpretation, or by perversion, or by rejection of things which do not support those assumptions. It is for this reason that the words are added, ‘If you cry out on that day because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, Jehovah will not answer you on that day’.
* In this paragraph man servant and male slave translate the same word (servus), and woman servant and female slave likewise translate the same word (ancilla).
[2] With man it is one thing for him to regard the doctrine of faith from rational ideas but quite another to regard rational ideas from the doctrine of faith. Regarding the doctrine of faith from rational ideas occurs when someone does not believe in the Word, that is, in doctrine drawn from it, until he is persuaded on rational grounds that the thing is so. But regarding rational ideas from the doctrine of faith occurs when someone first of all believes in the Word or doctrine drawn from it and then confirms the same by rational ideas. The first approach is an inversion of order and leads to belief in nothing, whereas the second is genuine order and leads to greater belief. It is the first that is expressed by ‘you will die on account of the woman’, meaning that the doctrine of faith would be brought to ruin if the rational were consulted, 2516, 2538, but the second by ‘Abimelech gave flocks and herds, and men servants and women servants’, meaning that the doctrine of faith was enriched with rational and natural goods and truths.
[3] These matters receive considerable treatment in the Word in its internal sense, especially when Asshur and Egypt are referred to, the reason being that when the doctrine of faith is regarded from rational ideas, that is, when someone does not believe until he is persuaded on rational grounds that the thing is so, it is not only in that case brought to ruin but also whatever is contained within it is denied. But when rational ideas are regarded from the doctrine of faith, that is, when he believes the Word and after that confirms the same things by means of rational ideas, doctrine is in that case living and whatever is contained within it is regarded affirmatively.
[4] There are therefore two basic attitudes of mind, the first leading to utter stupidity and insanity, the second to perfect intelligence and wisdom. The first occurs when someone denies everything, that is, says in his heart that he is unable to believe those things until he is convinced by things which he can grasp in his mind and perceive with his senses. This is an attitude which leads to utter stupidity and insanity and must be termed the negative attitude. The second occurs when someone regards affirmatively the things which comprise doctrine drawn from the Word, that is, when he thinks within himself and believes that those things are true because the Lord has spoken them. This is an attitude that leads to perfect intelligence and wisdom, and must be termed the affirmative attitude.
[5] The more those who think from the negative attitude consult rational ideas and the more they consult factual knowledge and the more they consult philosophical concepts, the more they pitch themselves headlong into darkness, till at length they deny everything. The reasons for this are that nobody is able from things that are lower to grasp with his mind those that are higher, that is, from those that are lower to grasp those that are spiritual and celestial, still less those that are Divine, since these go above and beyond his entire understanding. And what is more, when this is the case everything is regarded from a basically negative attitude of mind. On the other hand, however, people who think from the affirmative attitude are able to confirm themselves by whatever rational ideas, and by whatever factual knowledge, indeed by any philosophical concepts, which they are able in any way to make use of, for to them all these matters are confirmatory and enable them to have a fuller idea of the matter.
[6] In addition there are those who are in doubt before they deny, and there are those who are in doubt before they accept affirmatively. Those in doubt before denying are people who are disposed towards a life of evil; and when carried away by that life, then insofar as they think about those matters they deny them. Those however in doubt before accepting affirmatively are people who are disposed towards a life of good; and when they allow themselves to be turned to that life by the Lord, then insofar as they think about those matters they accept them affirmatively. Since this subject is taken further in the verses that follow this, let them in the Lord’s Divine mercy be illustrated more fully at that point; see 2588.
‘Abimelech said, Behold, my land is before you’ means the Lord’s perception regarding the doctrine of love and charity. ‘Dwell in that which is good in your eyes’ means His Being, present in everything where good exists.
[2] The reason why up to this point the Lord’s thought had been concerned with the doctrine of faith but was now concerned with the doctrine of love and charity is that the Lord joined the Human to the Divine by means of truths which are matters of faith, yet at the same time by means of Divine Goods which are matters of love that were present within those truths. This He did according to the order by which also man becomes spiritual and celestial but not Divine so as to have life in himself, in the way that the Lord became so. But when the marriage had taken place in the Lord of Divine Truth to Good, and of Good to Truth, which is meant by the words ‘Abimelech restored to Abraham Sarah his wife’, 2569, His thought was now concerned with the doctrine of love and charity, and this also was according to order; for once man has become spiritual and celestial he no longer thinks from truth but from good, yet not as the Lord did – from Divine Good united to Divine Truth. This is the reason why the doctrine of love and charity is only now mentioned for the first time, even though the doctrine of faith regarded in itself is the same, and the Lord’s perception and thought always sprang from Divine love within every thing of faith. Hence it is that the doctrine of love and charity is Divine doctrine itself, and was the doctrine which was cultivated in the Most Ancient Churches. And because that doctrine made one with the doctrine of faith, they rejected people who separated these; see 2417.
[2] What is more, there is the good of doctrine and there is the truth of doctrine. The good of doctrine is love and charity, the truth of doctrine is faith. People with whom the good of doctrine resides, that is, love and charity, have with them the truth of doctrine, that is, faith. But it is one thing for good, that is, love and charity, to exist with a person, quite another for the good of doctrine to do so. Young children with whom love towards parents and charity towards other young children exist are moved by good but not by the good of doctrine, nor consequently by the truth of doctrine, or faith. The people with whom the good of doctrine exists are those who have been regenerated by means of the truths of faith. To the extent that good resides with them truths reside with them; that is, to the extent that love and charity reside with them so does faith, and therefore wisdom and intelligence.
[3] Because love to the Lord and mutual love resides with angels, so also does all truth and thus all wisdom and intelligence, not only in celestial and spiritual things but also in rational and natural. For by virtue of love, it being from the Lord, they are in touch with the very beginnings or sources of things, that is, with ends in view and causes. Seeing from beginnings, that is, from ends and causes, is seeing from heaven all things that are below, even those on earth. This is like – to use a comparison – someone in a watch-tower set on a high mountain. He is able to look around for many miles on the objects that are below, while those who are below, especially those down in a valley or in a forest, can hardly see the same number of paces away. So it is with those governed by the good of doctrine in comparison with those governed by the truth of doctrine separated from good. Although the latter imagine that they can see further than the former, they do not in fact see any good at all, nor any truth except very slightly and superficially, and even that is defiled by falsities.
[4] Even so, the wisdom and intelligence of angels is finite, and in comparison with the Lord’s Divine Wisdom most finite, amounting to hardly anything. This may be recognized from the fact that the infinite and the finite cannot be measured one against the other, and yet communication from the Divine omnipotence is possible; also from the fact that the Lord is Good itself and Love itself, and is therefore the Essential Being (Esse) of good and the Essential Being (Esse) of love which resides with angels, and so the Essential Being (Esse) of their wisdom and intelligence. From this it may also be evident that the Lord is present in heaven and on earth in everything where good exists. People who imagine that the Lord is present in truth separated from good are very much mistaken, for He is present solely in good and from this in truth, that is, in love and charity, and from these in faith.
‘And to Sarah he said’ means perception from spiritual truth. ‘Behold, I have given a thousand pieces of silver to your brother’ means an infinite abundance of rational truth joined to celestial good. ‘Behold, it is for you a covering of the eyes for all who are with you’ means that rational truths are like a covering or garment for spiritual truths. ‘And with all’ means that so also are the truths descending from these. ‘And she was vindicated’ means that thus there was no blame attached and no harm done.
[2] These words, it is evident, embody deeper arcana than can be disclosed intelligibly. And if they were to be disclosed merely to a limited extent it would be necessary to explain many things first of all, which are as yet unknown, such as what spiritual truth is; what perception from spiritual truth is; the fact that the Lord alone has had perception from spiritual truth; the fact that just as the Lord implanted rational truth within rational good so He implanted spiritual truth within celestial good, and in so doing was constantly implanting the Human within the Divine in order that in every thing the marriage might exist of the Human with the Divine, and of the Divine with the Human. These things and many more must come first before the things within this verse can be presented intelligibly. Those things are primarily suited to the minds of angels which have the ability to understand them and for the sake of which minds the internal sense of the Word exists. To them these matters are represented in a heavenly manner; and by means of those matters and of the things within this chapter, an idea is instilled of how the Lord by degrees cast aside the human which He had from the mother until at length He was no longer her son (the fact that He did not acknowledge her as His mother is evident in Matt. 12:46-49; Mark 3:31-35; Luke 8:20, 21; John 2:4) and also an idea of how by His own power He made the Human Divine until He was one with the Father, as He Himself teaches in John 14:6, 8-11, and elsewhere.
[3] By means of myriads of ideas and representations, all of which are beyond description, the Lord presents such matters to angels in clear light. The reason, as has been stated, is that these are suited to their minds, and when conscious of them they experience the bliss of intelligence and the happiness of wisdom. What is more, there are angels who, while they were men, formed ideas of the Lord’s Human as they did of that of any other person. In order that these angels may exist together with celestial angels in the next life – for in that life ideas inspired by an affection for good join people together – such erroneous ideas as they have had about the Lord are dispelled by means of the internal sense, and in this way they are perfected. This shows how precious to angels those things are within the internal sense of the Word, though they may perhaps seem of small importance to man whose idea of such things is so obscure as to be scarcely any idea at all.
[2] That ‘a thousand’ in the Word means much and countless, and infinite when it has reference to the Lord, is evident from the following places: In Moses,
I, Jehovah your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the sons, on the third and on the fourth generations of those who hate Me; and showing mercy to thousands of those who love Me and keep My commandments. Exod. 20:5, 6; 34:7; Deut. 5:9, 10.
And in Jeremiah,
Jehovah shows mercy to thousands and He repays the iniquity of the fathers into the bosom of their sons after them. Jer. 32:18.
In these two places ‘thousands’ does not mean a definite number but that which is infinite, for the Lord’s mercy, being Divine, is infinite. In David,
The chariots of God are myriad on myriad, thousands on thousands;* the Lord is within them, Sinai within holiness. Ps. 68:17.
Here ‘myriads’ and ‘thousands’ stand for things that are countless.
[3] In the same author,
A thousand will fall at your side, and a myriad at your right hand; it will not come near you. Ps. 91:7.
Here also ‘a thousand’ and ‘a myriad’ stand for things that are countless, and as it has reference to the Lord, who is meant by ‘David’ in the Psalms, those numbers stand for all who are His enemies. In the same author,
Our garners are full, yielding food and still more food; our flocks bring forth a thousand, and ten thousand in our streets. Ps. 144:13.
Here also ‘a thousand’, and ‘ten thousand’ or a myriad, stand for things that are countless. In the same author,
A thousand years in Your eyes are but as yesterday when it is past. Ps. 90:4.
‘A thousand years’ stands for that which is outside time, thus for eternity, which is infinity of time. In Isaiah,
One thousand at the rebuke of one, at the rebuke of five will you flee until you are left like a flagstaff on top of a mountain. Isa. 30:17.
Here ‘one thousand’ or a chiliad stands for a large indefinite number, ‘five’ for few, 649. In Moses,
May Jehovah the God of your fathers add to you, as you are, a thousand times, and may He bless you. Deut. 1:11.
Here ‘a thousand times’ stands for things that are countless, as in everyday speech in which also a thousand is an expression for many, as when one speaks of things being said thousands of times, or done in thousands of ways. Similarly in Joshua,
One man of you will chase a thousand, for Jehovah your God fights for you. Josh. 23:10.
[4] Being a definite calculable number, the word ‘thousand’ when used in prophetical parts, especially when these are linked together as historical descriptions, appears to mean a thousand. But in fact it means people who are many or countless – an unspecified number. For historical descriptions are of such a nature that they restrict people’s ideas to the most immediate and proper meanings that the words possess, as they also do with the names that occur there, when in fact numbers in the Word, like names also, mean real things, as may become clear from what has been shown already concerning numbers in 482, 487, 575, 647, 648, 755, 813, 1963, 1988, 2075, 2252. This explains why some people suppose that the thousand years referred to in Revelation 20:1-7 means a thousand years or periods of time, for the reason, as has been stated, that prophecies are declared in that book through historical descriptions. But in fact ‘a thousand years’ there means nothing else than that which is large and indeterminate, and elsewhere infinity of time, or eternity.
* lit. two myriads, thousands doubled.
[2] As regards rational truths being like a covering or garment for spiritual truths, the position is that the inmost parts of man’s being belong to his soul, while the more exterior belong to his body. Man’s inmost parts consist in goods and truths from which the soul has its life, or else the soul would not be a soul. Those which are more exterior however derive their life from the soul, and each one of them is like a body, or what amounts to the same, a covering or garment. This becomes clear in particular from the things that are seen in the next life, for example, from angels when these are presented to view. The interior parts of their beings shine from their faces, while the exterior are represented both in their bodies and in the clothes they are wearing, so completely that anyone there may recognize the character of those angels simply from the clothes they are wearing; for every angel consists of real substance and so is an essence given outward form. It is similar in the case of angels who have been seen and whose faces and clothing are described in the Word, such as those seen in the Lord’s tomb, Matt 28:3; Mark 16:5; and the twenty-four elders around the throne, Rev. 4:4; and others. Nor does this apply only to angels but also to everything else, even inanimate objects, mentioned in the Word. Their exteriors are a covering or garment as with the Ark of the Covenant and the tent surrounding it. ‘The Ark’ there, which was inmost, represented the Lord Himself, for the Testimony belonged there, while ‘the tent’ outside of it represented the Lord’s kingdom. Every single one of ‘the coverings’ there, that is, the veils and screens, represented the exterior celestial and spiritual things within the Lord’s kingdom, that is to say, within the three heavens This becomes clear from the plan of it that was shown to Moses on Mount Sinai, Exod. 25:9; 26:30. It was this that gave it its holiness, not the gold and silver and the carvings that were in it.
[3] Since the matter of rational truths being like a covering or garment to spiritual truths is being discussed here, and since in Moses a description of the Tent is given – of its coverings or of its screens, and also of its veils in front of places of entry – let an explanation be given, for the sake of illustration, of what specifically was meant by the veils. (But what was meant by the enveloping covers will in the Lord’s Divine mercy be stated elsewhere.) The Tabernacle had three veils, the first, which made a division between the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies; the second, which is called a screen serving as a door into the tent; the third, which is called a screen serving as a gate into the court.
[4] The first of these, the veil itself, which was a screen in front of the Ark, is referred to in Moses,
You shall make a veil of violet and purple and twice-dyed scarlet and fine-twined linen. The work of a designer,* you shall make it with cherubs on it. And you shall hang it on four pillars of shittim, overlaid with gold, and their hooks shall be of gold; [they shall stand] on four bases of silver. And you shall hang the veil under the clasps. And you shall bring in, within the veil, the Ark of the Testimony, and the veil shall divide for you the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies. Exod. 26:31-34; 36:35, 36.
This veil represented the most immediate and inmost appearances of rational good and truth, which occur among the angels of the third heaven. These appearances are described by the violet, purple, twice-dyed scarlet, and fine-twined linen, the red of which represented the goods that belong to love, and the white its truths. Also, the gold and silver with which the pillars were overlaid, and of which the hooks and bases were made had a similar representation. As regards colours being representative, see 1042, 1043, 1053, 1624; and as regards ‘gold’ meaning the good of love, 113, 1551, 1552, and ‘silver’ truth, 1551, 2048.
[5] This shows what is meant by the veil of the temple being torn in two, Matt. 27:51; Mark. 15:38; Luke 23:45 – namely that once all appearances had been dispelled the Lord entered into the Divine Itself, and at the same time He opened a means of access to the Divine Itself through His Human that had been made Divine.
[6] The second veil, or screen serving as a door to the tent, is referred to in Moses as follows,
You shall make a screen for a door of the tent, of violet and purple and twice-dyed scarlet and fine-twined linen, the work of an embroiderer. And you shall make for the screen five pillars of shittim and overlay them with gold, and their hooks shall be of gold; and you shall cast for them five bases of bronze. Exod. 26:36, 37; 36 37, 38
This screen represented the appearances of good and truth which are lower and more exterior than those mentioned already; that is, they are the middle appearances that belong to the rational, which occur among the angels of the second heaven. The description given to these appearances is virtually the same, the difference being that this screen had five pillars and five bases, by which number is meant something relatively small, for these appearances are not so unified or heavenly as the appearances belonging to the inmost or third heaven. Regarding the number ‘five’ meaning that which is small, see 649, 1686. And because these appearances look to natural things, it was commanded that the bases should be cast of bronze; for bronze represented and meant natural good, 425, 1551.
[7] The third veil, or screen serving as a gate into the court, is referred to in Moses as follows,
The screen for a gate of the court shall be twenty cubits [long], of violet and purple and twice-dyed scarlet and fine-twined linen, the work of an embroiderer; the pillars of it shall be four and the bases of these four. All the pillars of the surrounding court shall be fastened with silver; their hooks shall be of silver but their bases of bronze. Exod. 27:16, 17; 38:18, 19
This screen represented the still lower and more exterior appearances of good and truth, which are the lowest appearances belonging to the rational, and which occur among the angels of the first heaven. Because these appearances correspond to those that are more interior the description given to them is also much the same, the differences being that the pillars were not overlaid with gold but were fastened together with silver, while the hooks were made of silver – all of which mean rational truths such as have their origin immediately in factual knowledge – and the bases were made of bronze which mean natural goods. All these considerations show that there was nothing in the Tent which was not representative of the celestial and spiritual things of the Lord’s kingdom; that is, they show that all those things were made so as to provide every type or imprint of the celestial and spiritual things that exist in the three heavens. And they also show that the coverings or screens meant things which, like a body or clothing, surround or are outside of that which is inmost.
[8] In addition to all this, the fact that coverings, screens, and a garment or clothes mean relatively lower truths becomes clear from many places in the Word, as in Ezekiel,
Fine linen with embroidered work from Egypt was your sail, violet and purple from the islands of Elishah was your covering.** Ezek. 27:7.
This refers to ‘Tyre’, which means interior cognitions of celestial and spiritual things, and therefore those who possess those cognitions, 1201. ‘Embroidered work from Egypt’ stands for factual knowledge – ‘Egypt’ meaning factual knowledge, 1164, 1165, 1186, 1462. ‘Violet and purple from the islands of Elishah as a covering’ stands for forms of ritual corresponding to internal worship, 1156.
[9] In the same prophet,
All the princes of the sea will step down from upon their thrones, and will remove their robes and will strip off their embroidered clothes. They will clothe themselves with tremblings; they will sit on the ground. Ezek. 26:16.
This too refers to ‘Tyre’. ‘Robes’ and ’embroidered clothes’ stand for cognitions formed out of factual knowledge, and so stand for lower truths.
[10] In the same prophet,
I clothed you with embroidered cloth and shod you with badger, and I swathed you in fine linen and covered you with silk, and I adorned you with adornments and put bracelets on your hands and a chain on your neck. You took some of your garments and made for yourself gaily-decked high places and committed whoredom on them. You took your embroidered clothes and covered them. Ezek. 16:10, 11, 16, 18.
This describes ‘Jerusalem’, which is the spiritual Church, as it had been in early times and as it was subsequently when perverted. Its lower spiritual things and its matters of doctrine are the embroidered clothes, fine linen, and silk.
[11] In Isaiah,
The Lord, Jehovah Zebaoth, is taking away from Jerusalem and from Judah the whole staff of bread and staff of water. At that time a man will take hold of his brother, of his father’s house, [saying,] You have clothing, you will be leader for us. On that day he will speak out, saying, I will not be a binder up; and in my house there is neither bread nor clothing. You shall not make me leader of the people. The Lord will smite with a scab the crown of the head of the daughters of Zion. And on that day the Lord will take away the finery of the anklets, and of the networks, and of the crescents, and of the necklaces, and of the chainlets, and of the bracts;*** and the tiaras, and the garters, and the sashes, and the perfume boxes,**** and the earrings; the rings, and the nose-jewels, the changes of clothes, and the robes, and the veils, and the pin-cases, and the mirrors, and the muslin, and the turbans, and the mantles. Isa. 3:1, 6, 7, 17-24.
‘Jerusalem’ stands for the spiritual Church, ‘Judah’ for the celestial Church, ‘the staff of bread and the staff of water which will be taken away’ for good and truth. ‘The clothing which the leader will have’ stands for the truths that make up doctrine. The various articles of clothing and adornments that are listed belonging to the daughters of Zion mean every single genus and species of good and truth which were to be taken away from them. Unless each item that is mentioned meant some specific detail of the Church they would not be part of the Word, every expression of which has what is Divine within it. ‘The daughters of Zion’ who are said to possess all these articles means those things that constitute the Church; see 2362.
[12] In the same prophet,
Awake, awake, put on your strength, O Zion, put on your beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city; no more may there come in to you the uncircumcised and the unclean. Isa. 52:1, 2.
‘Zion’ stands for the celestial Church, ‘Jerusalem’ for the spiritual, ‘beautiful garments’ for the sacred things of faith. In the same prophet,
Their webs do not become clothing, neither are they covered in their works. Their works are works of iniquity. Isa. 59:6.
‘Webs’ stands for made-up truths which do not become clothing. ‘Clothing’ stands for exterior truths of doctrine and worship, hence the statement ‘neither are they covered in their works’.
[13] In the same prophet,
I will greatly rejoice in Jehovah, my soul will exult in my God, for He will clothe me with the clothes of salvation, with the robe of righteousness has He covered me. Isa. 61:10.
‘The clothes of salvation’ stands for truths of faith, ‘the robe of righteousness’ for the good that flows from charity. In John,
You have a few names also in Sardis, who have not soiled their garments, and they will walk with Me in white, for they are worthy. He who conquers will be clad in white garments. Rev. 3:4, 5.
In the same book,
Blessed is he who is awake and keeps his garments, so that he may not walk naked. Rev. 16:15.
In the same book,
On the thrones I saw twenty-four elders seated, clad in white garments. Rev 4:4.
Here it is evident that ‘garments’ do not mean garments but spiritual things, which are forms of truth.
[14] The same may be seen in what the Lord said when speaking about the close of the age. When He said that people were not to turn back and fetch their garments, Matt. 24:18; Mark 13:16, truths were meant by ‘garments’, see 2454, as they also are in His reference to the man who was not wearing a wedding garment, Matt. 22:11, 12, and in His reference to John,
What did you go out to see. A man clad in fine garments? Those who wear fine garments are in kings’ houses. Matt. 11:8; Luke 7:25.
This means that they did not care about the external things of doctrine and worship but about the internal, and this is why He adds,
What did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. Matt. 11:9.
‘A prophet’ here stands for the external things of doctrine and worship.
[15] As ‘clothes’ meant truths of every kind the children of Israel were commanded when leaving Egypt to ask from their neighbour for gold and silver, and for clothes, and to place them on their children, Exod. 3:22; 12:35, 36.
[16] They were also commanded not to wear clothes made from different kinds of stuff, or to wear mixed ones, Lev. 19:19; Deut. 22:11; and were commanded to make tassels for the hems of their clothes, to put a violet cord there, and when they saw it were to recollect the commandments and carry them out, Num. 15:38-40. In former times they also rent their clothes, as is evident in Josh. 7:6; Judg. 11:35; 1 Sam. 4:12; 2 Sam. 1:2, 11, 12; 3:31; 13:30, 31; 15:32; 1 Kings 21:27; 2 Kings 5:7, 8; 6:30; 22:11, 14, 19; Isa. 36:22; 37:1. This action meant a zealous regard for doctrine and truth which had in a similar way been torn to shreds, and also a humble recognition that nothing existed with them, which is meant by the adornment of clothing.
[17] That veils, screens, garments, or clothes mean such things is also evident with the prophecy of Jacob, who by now was Israel,
He will bind his colt to the vine, and the foal of his ass to a choice vine. He will wash his clothing in wine, and his garment in the blood of grapes. Gen. 49:11.
What these words mean nobody can know except from the internal sense, that is to say, what is meant by ‘a vine’, ‘a choice vine’, ‘a colt’, ‘the foal of an ass’, ‘wine’, ‘the blood of grapes’, ‘clothing’, and ‘garment’. That it is a reference to the Lord who in that prophecy is called ‘Shiloh’ is self-evident. The reference at this point is to Judah who represents the Lord’s Divine celestial. ‘The clothing he was to wash in wine’ and ‘the garment in the blood of grapes’ mean His Rational and Natural which He was to make Divine.
[18] Similarly in Isaiah,
Who is this coming from Edom, with dyed clothes from Bozra, he that is glorious in his apparel, marching in the vast numbers of his strength? Why are you red as to your clothing, and your clothes like his that treads the winepress? And I have trodden the winepress alone, and from the peoples no one was with me. Their victory has been sprinkled on my clothes, and I have stained all my raiment. Isa. 63:1-3.
Here also ‘clothes’ and ‘raiment’ stand for the Lord’s Human which, by means of the conflicts brought about by temptations and by means of victories, He made Divine by His own power; hence the statement, ‘I have trodden the winepress alone, and from the peoples no one was with me’. The reference to ‘Isaac smelling the smell of Esau’s clothes, and so blessing him’ implies much the same, Gen. 27:27.
[19] The Holiness itself of the Lord’s Divine Human was also a garment which was seen as light and as something dazzling white when He was transfigured, described in Matthew as follows,
When Jesus was transfigured His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became [white] as the light. Matt. 17:2.
In Luke,
When Jesus was praying the appearance of His face was altered; His clothing became dazzling white. Luke 9:29.
And in Mark,
When Jesus was transfigured His clothes became glistening, intensely white like snow, as no fuller on earth could bleach them. Mark 9:3.
The sacred vestments worn by Aaron when he went inside the veil, which were made of linen, were similarly representative, Lev. 16:2, 4, and so were the sacred vestments ‘for glory and adornment’ when he ministered, which are described in Exod. 28:2-end; 39:1-end. Not a detail of those vestments failed to be representative.
* lit. of designing, but where this verse is explained Sw. translates of a designer; see 9669.
** The Latin word used here is the same as that which in preceding quotations from the Word has been translated screen.
*** i.e. thin metal plates worn as jewelry
**** lit. houses of the soul
[2] The fact that no other kinds of childbirths are meant in the Word by childbirths may become clear from the following places: In Samuel,
Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread, and those who were hungry have ceased to be so, until the barren has borne seven, and she who has many has left off. Jehovah takes life and He gives life; He causes [some] to go down into hell and [others] to come up. 1 Sam. 2:5, 6.
In Jeremiah,
The bearer of seven languishes, she breathes her last. Her sun is going down while it is still day. Jer. 15:9.
In Isaiah,
Sing, O barren one, who did not bear, break forth into singing and shout, who has not gone into labour; for the sons of her that is desolate are more than the sons of her that is married, said Jehovah. Isa. 54:1.
In David,
The voice of Jehovah causes the hinds to calve, and He strips the forests bare; and in His temple everyone says, Glory. Ps. 29:9.
In Isaiah,
Blush, O Sidon, for the sea has spoken, the stronghold of the sea, saying, I have not gone into labour, I have not given birth, nor have I reared young men or brought up young women. As when the report comes to Egypt, they go into labour over the report of Tyre. Isa. 23:4, 5.
In the same prophet,
Before she went into labour she gave birth, and before pain came to her she brought forth a male child. Who has heard of such a thing as this? Who has seen such? Does a land give birth in one day? And shall I [bring to the point of birth and not] cause to give birth? said Jehovah. Shall I who cause to give birth shut up [the womb]? said your God. Isa. 66:7-9.
In Jeremiah,
Ask, now, and see whether a male can bear. Why then have I seen every man, hands on loins, like one giving birth? Jer. 30:6.
In Ezekiel,
I will send fire on Egypt, and Sin will certainly go into labour, and No will be [breached]. Ezek. 30:16.
In Hosea,
As for Ephraim, their glory will fly away like a bird, away from birth, and from the womb, and from conception. Hosea 9:11.
In the same prophet,
The pains of childbirth have come upon Ephraim, he is an unwise son, for now he will not present himself at the mouth of the womb of sons. Hosea 13:13.
In John,
A woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. Carrying in the womb she cried out in labour, and was in anguish to give birth. A dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she had given birth to her child he might devour it. She gave birth therefore to a male child, who was to rule* all nations with an iron rod. But the boy was caught up to God and His throne. Rev. 12:1, 2, 4, 5.
[3] From all these places anyone may see that no other conceptions and births are meant than those which are conceptions and births of the Church. The same may also be seen from the things said about Abimelech, that ‘God healed Abimelech, his wife, and his women servants, and they gave birth’; and that ‘Jehovah had completely closed every womb in Abimelech’s house on account of the matter of Sarah, Abraham’s wife’. What is meant in the internal sense by these words may become clear from the explanation of them, namely the character of the doctrine of faith when regarded from Divine truths, and the character of it when regarded from the rational. That is to say, when regarded from Divine truths, that is, from the Word, every single thing, both rational and factual, is confirmatory. But it is different when it is regarded from human things, that is from reason and knowledge. When regarded from the latter no good or truth at all is conceived; for to regard things from the Word is to do so from the Lord, but to regard them from reason and knowledge is to do so from man. The former gives rise to all intelligence and wisdom, the latter to all insanity and stupidity.
* lit. to shepherd
‘For Jehovah had completely closed every womb of Abimelech’s house’ means sterility of doctrine. ‘Because of the matter of Sarah’ means through the rational if it had joined itself. ‘Abraham’s wife’ means, in order that spiritual truth might be joined to celestial good.
[2] Similarly in other places in the Word where conception is referred to, as in Isaiah,
Jehovah has called me from the womb. Jehovah who formed me from the womb has said…. I will at that time be precious to Jehovah, and my God will be my strength. Isa. 49:1, 5.
‘Strength’ has reference to truth and therefore ‘God’ is used. In the same prophet,
Thus said Jehovah, your Maker, and He who formed you from the womb. Isa. 44:2, 24.
And elsewhere. For the same reason also the phrase ‘Abimelech’s house’ is used, which means the good that belongs to the doctrine of faith. As regards ‘a house’ meaning good, see 2048, 2233, and ‘Abimelech’ the doctrine of faith, 2509, 2510. The statements that ‘they gave birth’ and ‘the wombs of Abimelech’s house were closed on account of Sarah’, it is evident, hold a Divine arcanum within them, but this arcanum cannot possibly be disclosed except by means of the internal sense.
[2] People’s attitudes to matters of doctrine regarding faith have been spoken of above in 2568. There it was stated that there are two basic attitudes of mind from which people think, the negative and the affirmative; also that they think from a negative attitude who believe nothing unless they are convinced by rational considerations and by facts, and indeed by sensory evidence, whereas those people think from an affirmative attitude who believe that things are true because the Lord has said so in the Word and who thus have faith in the Lord. People who adopt the negative attitude towards the truth of anything in the Word say in their hearts that they are willing to believe when persuaded on rational grounds and by facts. But these are such as never believe, not even indeed if they were convinced by means of the evidence of their own physical senses of seeing, hearing, and touch; for they would always be producing new reasonings against such things, and in so doing they would at length completely destroy all faith and at the same time would turn the light of the rational into darkness, because they would turn it into falsities. People however who adopt the affirmative attitude, that is, who believe that things are true because the Lord has said so, are being confirmed all the time by rational considerations and by facts, and even by sensory evidence, and their ideas are being enlightened and are strengthened by these; for light comes to man through no other channel than the rational ideas and the factual knowledge which he possesses. This is so with everyone. With those who have the affirmative attitude of mind doctrine is certainly living, and of them it is said that they are healed and give birth. But with those who have the negative attitude doctrine certainly dies, and of them it is said that the womb is completely closed. All this shows what it is to enter the doctrine of faith by means of rational ideas, and what it is to enter into rational ideas from the doctrine of faith.
[3] Let these differences be illustrated by examples: The Word teaches that the first and foremost matter of doctrine is love to the Lord and charity towards the neighbour. People with the affirmative attitude towards this are able to enter into whatever things of a rational, factual, and indeed sensory kind they please, each according to his ability, knowledge, and experience. Indeed the more they do so the more they are confirmed, for the whole natural order is full of what is confirmatory. But people who deny this first and foremost teaching, and who wish first of all to be convinced by means of factual and rational considerations that a thing is true, never allow themselves to be convinced because they deny in their hearts and are all the time taking their stand on some other basic idea which they believe to be essential. In the end through confirmations of that idea these people so blind themselves that they cannot even know what love to the Lord is and what love towards the neighbour is. And because they confirm themselves in notions contrary to such love they at length also confirm themselves in the idea that no other kind of love can exist that has any delight in it except self-love and love of the world. And this they do to such an extent – if not in doctrine yet in the lives they lead – that they embrace hellish love in place of heavenly love.
[4] But with those who as yet have adopted neither a negative attitude nor an affirmative one but are in a state of doubt that precedes either of these, the position has been stated above in 2568. There it was shown that those who incline towards a life of evil fall into the negative attitude, whereas those who incline towards a life good are brought into the affirmative one. Take a different example: One of the leading ideas of the doctrine of faith is that all good comes from the Lord and all evil from man or self. People with the affirmative attitude that this is so are able to confirm themselves by many rational ideas, and by facts, such as that no good can possibly flow in except from Good itself, that is, from the fountain of good, and so from the Lord, and that good cannot have its first beginnings anywhere else. Such people find these ideas enlightened for them by all things which are truly good within themselves, within others, within society in general, and indeed within the whole of creation. But people with the negative attitude confirm themselves by everything they can possibly think of in ideas to the contrary, so much so that at length they do not know what good is. And disputing among themselves as to what the highest good is, they are profoundly ignorant of the fact that it is by means of celestial and spiritual good from the Lord that every type of good beneath it is made living, and that the delight flowing from it is truly delight. Some also imagine that if good does not come from themselves it cannot possibly come from any other source.
[5] Take another example: Those who are governed by love to the Lord and charity towards the neighbour are able to receive the truths of doctrine and to have faith in the Word, but not so those leading a life of self-love and love of the world. Or what amounts to the same, those governed by good are able to believe but not those governed by evil. People with the affirmative attitude of mind are able to confirm this in countless ways – with rational ideas and factual knowledge. With rational ideas they are able to confirm that truth is compatible with good but not with evil, and that as all falsity resides in evil it is also the product of evil, and that if any people governed by evil nevertheless possess any truth, this is on their lips, not in their heart. And with factual knowledge they are able to confirm from many points of view that truths put evils to flight and that evils detest truths. But people with the negative attitude confirm themselves in the idea that everyone, irrespective of what he is like in character – even if he leads a life for ever hating, taking delight in revenge, and practicing deceit – is able to believe as others are able to do so. Yet while holding to this idea they themselves totally reject goodness of life from doctrine, and having rejected it believe nothing whatever.
[6] To make the matter plainer still, take yet another example: Those who adopt the affirmative attitude that the Word has been written in such a way as to have an internal sense that is not apparent in the letter are also able in many ways to confirm themselves through rational considerations, such as the following,
By means of the Word man has a link with heaven.
Correspondences exist of natural things with spiritual, though the spiritual are not very apparent.
The ideas which belong to interior thought are completely different from the material ideas which fall into the words of spoken language. While man is in the world he is able to be in heaven (for he has been born for life in both places) through the Word which is intended for both places.
With some people a certain Divine light flows into the things of the understanding and into the affections when the Word is being read.
It is necessary that something be written which has come down from heaven and thus that the nature of its existence in its origins cannot be the same as its existence in the letter.
It cannot be holy except from a certain holiness which it has within it.
A person with the affirmative attitude is also able to confirm himself by means of certain facts, such as the following,
In former times people were living in an age of representatives. The writings of the Ancient Church contained such representatives, and those of many authors among the gentiles were composed of them, so that in the Churches that style of writing was regarded as being holy, and among the gentiles as being learned (books by many of those authors could also be mentioned).
But people who adopt the negative attitude, though they do not deny all these considerations and facts, nevertheless do not believe them. They persuade themselves that the Word is such as it exists in the letter, where indeed it presents a worldly appearance, but is nevertheless spiritual. They do not have any interest however in where that spiritual element lies, but for a multitude of reasons still want it. And that of which they are persuaded they are able to confirm in many ways.
[7] To present this matter in a way that can be grasped by ordinary people, let the following known fact serve as an example: Those with the affirmative attitude that sight does not belong to the eye but to the spirit which sees objects in the world by means of the eye as an organ of its own body can find confirmation of this fact in many ways. For instance, those people may find confirmation of it in their hearing of words spoken by another, in that these spoken words ally themselves to a certain interior sight, into which those words are converted – something that could not possibly occur but for the existence of that interior sight. These people may also find confirmation of the same in the consideration that whatever they think about is seen with an interior sight, by some more clearly and by others more obscurely, as well as in the consideration that the things produced by their imagination are not unlike actual objects of sight. They may find a further confirmation in the consideration that unless it were the spirit within the body that saw the things taken in by the eye as the organ of sight, the spirit would be unable to see anything in the next life, when in fact it is destined to behold countless and astonishing sights which the eye of the body cannot possibly see. In addition confirmation may be found by these people by reflecting on how in dreams, especially those of the prophets, many things have likewise been seen, yet not with the eyes. Finally, if trained in philosophy, a person may find confirmation in the consideration that things which are more exterior cannot enter into those that are more interior, just as that which is compound cannot enter into that which is simple, so that things of the body cannot enter into those of the spirit; only the reverse is possible. Besides these many other confirmations might be introduced, till at length a person is persuaded that sight belongs to the spirit, and not to the eye except from the spirit. But people with the negative attitude either speak of everything of this kind as that which is natural and physical, or else they speak of it as that which is imaginary. And when they are told that a spirit possesses and enjoys far more perfect sight than man does in the body, they laugh at the idea and dismiss it as nonsense, for they believe that they will be living in darkness when they are deprived of the sight of the eye. But in fact quite the reverse is the case in that they then dwell in the light.
[8] These examples show what it is to enter into things of a rational and factual nature from truths, and what it is to enter into truths from things of a factual and rational nature. The first method of approach is according to order, but the second is contrary to it; and when a person acts according to order he is enlightened, but when he acts contrary to order he is made blind. This makes plain how important it is for people to know and believe truths, for truths enlighten man, but falsities make him blind. Truths open up to the rational a vast and practically unlimited field, whereas falsities provide scarcely any such opening up at all, though this is not very evident. The reason why angels have so much wisdom is that they are enveloped in truths, truth being the light itself of heaven.
[9] Those who have made themselves blind through refusing to believe anything which they do not perceive with the physical senses, till at length they have no belief at all, were in former times called ‘serpents belonging to the tree of knowledge’. For they reasoned much from things as perceived by the senses and from the resulting illusions which man accepts and believes all too easily, and by such reasoning they led very many astray, see 195, 196. In the next life they are easily distinguished from other spirits by the fact that in everything which is a matter of faith they reason whether it is so. And if it is demonstrated to them a thousand times, and then another thousand, that it is so they still advance doubts of a negative kind against every confirmation that is offered, and this they would go on doing for ever. They are so blinded therefore that they are lacking in common sense, that is, they are unable to grasp what good and truth are. Yet every one of them imagines that he is wiser than anyone else in the whole universe, making wisdom consist in being able to dispose of what is Divine and to derive the origin of things from what is natural. Many who have been considered wise men in the world are pre- eminently such as these; for the more anyone with the negative attitude of mind possesses talent and knowledge, the more insane he is, more so than all others. But the more anyone with the affirmative attitude possesses talent and knowledge the wiser he is able to become. One is not by any means forbidden to develop the rational by means of factual knowledge, but one is not allowed to use it to harden oneself against the truths of faith which belong to the Word.
[10] Much concerning these matters occurs in the internal sense of the Word, especially in prophetical sections, where the subject is Asshur and Egypt, for ‘Asshur’ means reasoning, 119, 1186, and ‘Egypt’ knowledge, 1164, 1165, 1186, 1462.
People who wish to enter into matters of doctrine regarding faith and into Divine things by means of things of a factual and of a rational nature, and who are consequently of unsound mind, are referred to in Isaiah as follows,
I will confound Egypt within Egypt, and they will fight every one against his brother, and every one against his companion, city against city, and kingdom against kingdom. And the spirit of Egypt will be emptied out in the midst of it, and I will swallow up his plans. The waters from the sea will fail, and the river will be parched and dry; and the streams will depart, and the rivers of Egypt will diminish and become parched. Reed and rush will wither away. Every seed of the river will be dry. Jehovah has mingled in the midst of her a spirit of perversity, and they have made Egypt err in all its work, as a drunken man errs in his vomit. Isa. 19:2, 3, 5-7, 14.
In the same prophet,
Woe to the rebellious children, who depart to go down into Egypt but have not asked at My mouth, to strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh, and to trust in the shadow of Egypt. And the strength of Pharaoh will be shame for you, and trust in the shadow of Egypt ignominy. Isa. 30:1-3.
In the same prophet,
Woe to those who go down into Egypt for help and rely on horses and trust in chariots because they are many, but do not look to the Holy One of Israel and do not seek Jehovah. And Jehovah will stretch out His hand; he who gives help will stumble, and he who is helped will fall, and they will all be destroyed together. And Asshur will fall by a sword, not of man; and a sword, not of man, will devour him. Isa. 31:1, 3, 8.
In Jeremiah,
My people have committed two evils; they have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, to hollow out pits for themselves, broken pits which do not hold water. Is not Israel a slave? If he is a home-born [servant], why has he become a prey? Are you not bringing this on yourself by forsaking Jehovah your God at a time when He is leading you in the way? And now, what have you to do with the way to Egypt, to drink the waters of Shihor, or what have you to do with the way to Asshur, to drink the waters of the River? O generation, see the Word of Jehovah! Have I been a wilderness for Israel? or a land of darkness? For what reason have My people said, We will be our own masters, we will not come to You any more? Why do you go off so forcefully to change your way? You will also be put to shame by Egypt, as you were put to shame by Asshur. Jer 2:13, 14, 17, 18, 31, 36.
In the same prophet,
Hear the word of Jehovah, O remnants of Judah, Thus said Jehovah Zebaoth, the God of Israel, If you surely set your faces to come into Egypt, and you enter to sojourn there, then it will be, that the sword of which you are afraid will overtake you there in the land of Egypt, and the famine of which you are terrified will cleave to you there in Egypt, so that you die there. And all the men (vir) who have set their faces to come into Egypt to sojourn there will die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence, and none of them will survive or escape from before the evil which I am bringing over you. Jer. 42:15-17, and following verses.
In Ezekiel,
And let all the inhabitants of Egypt know that I am Jehovah, because they have been a staff of reed to the house of Israel. When they grasp you with the hand, you will be broken, and you will tear for them every shoulder; and when they lean on you you will be broken, and you will make all their loins to be at a stand. Therefore thus said the Lord Jehovih, Behold, I am bringing a sword over you, and I will cause man and beast to be cut off from you; and the land of Egypt will be a desolation and a waste, and they will know that I am Jehovah, for [Egypt] has said, The river is mine, and I made it. Ezek. 29:6-9, and following verses.
In Hosea,
Ephraim was like a silly dove. They called on Egypt, they went away to Asshur. When they go I will stretch My net over them. Woe to them, for they have strayed away from Me! Hosea 7:11-13.
In the same prophet,
Ephraim feeds the wind, and pursues the east wind. All the day long he multiplies lies and devastation and they make a covenant with Asshur, and oil is carried down into Egypt. Hosea 12:1.
In the same prophet,
Israel has committed whoredom beneath its God. You have taken delight in hiring yourself out on every threshing-floor. Ephraim will return to Egypt, and in Asshur they will eat what is unclean. For behold, they have gone away on account of the devastation, Egypt will gather them, Moph* will bury them; the nettle will possess their precious things of silver, the thorn will be in their tents. Ephraim has been stricken, their root has dried up, they will bear no fruit. Even when they bring forth I will slay the beloved fruits of their womb. My God will cast them away because they have not hearkened to Him, and they will be wanderers among the nations. Hosea 9:1, 3, 6, 16, 17.
In Isaiah,
Woe to Asshur, the rod of My anger, and he is the staff, in their hand, of My indignation! He does not think what is right and his heart does not consider what is right, for it is in his heart to destroy, and to cut off nations not a few, for he says, Are not my princes at the same time kings? I will visit upon the fruit of the stout heart of the king of Asshur, for he has said, By the strength of my hand I have done it, and by my wisdom, for I have intelligence, and I will remove the boundaries of peoples and will plunder their treasures, and as a powerful man will cast down the inhabitants. Therefore the Lord, the Lord Zebaoth, will send leanness among his fat ones, and instead of his glory a burning of fire will be kindled. Isa. 10:5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 16.
[11] In all these places ‘Asshur’ means reasoning, as has been shown, ‘Egypt’ and ‘pharaoh’ mean knowledge, and ‘Ephraim’ the understanding part of the mind. These and many other places elsewhere describe what man’s rational comes to be like when he reasons about the truths of faith from the negative attitude of mind. Similar teaching is embodied in the incidents recorded in Isaiah 36 and 37, when the Rabshakeh was sent from the king of Asshur and spoke out against Jerusalem and king Hezekiah, and the angel of Jehovah at that time struck down in the camp of the king of Asshur one hundred and eighty-five thousands. Those descriptions mean the disarray into which all that constitutes man’s rationality is thrown when he reasons against Divine things, however much he may seem to himself at that time to be wise.
[12] Such reasoning is also referred to in various places as ‘whoredom committed with the sons of Egypt and with the sons of Asshur’, as in Ezekiel,
You committed whoredom with the sons of Egypt, your neighbours, great in flesh, and multiplied your whoredom. And you committed whoredom with the sons of Asshur, and were still not satisfied. Ezek. 16:26, 28; 23:3, 5-21.
See 2466.
[13] People however who enter into things of a rational and factual kind from the doctrine of faith and by so doing are made wise are referred to in Isaiah as follows,
On that day there will be an altar to Jehovah in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar to Jehovah at its border; and it will be for a sign and a witness to Jehovah Zebaoth in the land of Egypt, for they will cry out to Jehovah because of the oppressors, and He will send a saviour and prince to them, and He will deliver them. And Jehovah will make Himself known to Egypt, and the Egyptians will know Jehovah on that day and will offer sacrifice and minchah, and will make a vow to Jehovah and perform it. Isa. 19:18-21.
In the same chapter,
On that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Asshur, and Asshur will come into Egypt, and the Egyptians will serve Asshur.** On that day Israel will be the third with Egypt and Asshur, a blessing in the midst of the earth, whom Jehovah Zebaoth will bless, saying, Blessed be Egypt My people, and Asshur the work of My hands, and Israel My heritage. Isa. 19:23-25.
This is referring to the spiritual Church, of which Israel is the spiritual element, Asshur the rational, and Egypt the factual. These three constitute all the intellectual powers of that Church, which come in that order one after another. This explains why it is said, ‘On that day Israel will be the third with Egypt and Asshur’, and ‘blessed be Egypt My people, Asshur the work of My hands, and Israel My heritage’.
[14] In the same prophet,
It will be on that day, that a great trumpet will be blown, and they will come – those who are perishing in the land of Asshur, and those who are outcasts in the land of Egypt – and they will bow themselves down to Jehovah on the holy mountain, in Jerusalem. Isa. 27:13.
In the same prophet,
Thus said Jehovah, The labour of Egypt, and the wares of Cush and of the Sabaeans, men of stature, will come over to you and will be yours. They will follow after you and bow down to you. To you they will make the supplication, God is with you only; and there is no other besides God. Isa. 45:14.
‘Cush and the Sabaeans’ are cognitions, 117, 1171. In Zechariah,
Egypt will go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, Jehovah Zebaoth. Zech. 14:17, 18.
In Micah,
As for me, I look to Jehovah, I wait for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me. The day for building your walls, this is the day; and they will come even to you from Asshur and the cities of Egypt even to the River. Micah 7:7, 11, 12.
[15] In Ezekiel,
Thus said the Lord Jehovih, At the end of forty years I will gather Egypt from the peoples among whom they were scattered, and I will bring back the captivity of Egypt. Ezek. 29:13, 14.
In the same prophet,
Behold, Asshur was a cedar in Lebanon, beautiful in its branches, and a shady forest, and lofty in height, and its trunk among entangled boughs. The waters caused it to grow, with its streams going around the place of its planting, and he sent out his lines of water to all the trees of the field. Therefore its height was made higher than all the trees of the field, and its branches were multiplied, and its branches were made long by many waters. In its branches all the birds of the air made their nests, and under its branches every wild animal of the field gave birth, and in its shadow dwelt all great nations. And it became beautiful in its greatness, in the length of its branches, for its root was in many waters. The cedars did not hide it in the garden of God, the fir trees were not equal to its branches. No tree in the garden of God was equal to it in its beauty. I made it beautiful in the mass of its branches, and all the trees of Eden which are in the garden of God envied it. Ezek. 31:3-9.
Here the Most Ancient Church, which was celestial, is described as to the nature of its rational and so of its wisdom and intelligence, for that Church used to look at things below from those which were Divine. Thus it looked at truths from goods themselves, and then from truths at what was subsidiary to these. By ‘Asshur’ and ‘a cedar’ are meant the rational, by ‘entangled boughs among which were its branches’ is meant factual knowledge, by ‘streams’ and ‘waters’ are meant spiritual goods, among which was its ‘root’, by ‘the height and the length of the branches’ the extent of it, by ‘the garden of God’ the spiritual Church, and by ‘the trees of Eden’ perceptions. This and the other places quoted above show what man’s rational is like and what his factual knowledge is like when they are subordinate to Divine truths and serve these by confirming them.
[16] The fact that things of a rational and factual kind serve people who have the affirmative attitude of mind as a means for making them wise was represented and meant by the command to the children of Israel to seek from the Egyptians the loan of vessels of gold and vessels of silver, and clothing, Exod. 3:22; 11:2; 12:35, 36. Something similar is meant by what is said in various places in the Word about their possessing the goods, houses, vineyards, and olive-groves, and many other things, of the nations, and also by references to the very gold and silver itself seized from the nations becoming holy, as in Isaiah,
Jehovah will visit Tyre, and she will return to hiring herself out as a harlot, and will commit whoredom with all the kingdoms of the earth on the face of the ground. And its merchandise and its harlot’s hire will become holy to Jehovah; it will not be stored or hoarded, for its merchandise will be for them that dwell before Jehovah to eat to satisfaction and for ancient clothing. Isa. 23:17, 18.
‘The merchandise of Tyre’ stands for cognitions, 1201, which to those with the negative attitude of mind are like ‘a harlot’s hire’ but to those with the affirmative attitude are like that which is holy. Something similar is also meant by the Lord’s words,
Make friends for yourselves out of the mammon of unrighteousness, so that when you fail they may receive you into eternal habitations. If then you have not appeared faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will entrust to you the true? Luke 16:9, 11.
* i.e. Memphis.
** The Hebrew of this text in Isaiah may be read in two different ways – serve Asshur or serve with Asshur. Most English versions of Isaiah prefer the second of these.
It is commonly supposed that those born outside the Church, who are called heathens and gentiles, cannot be saved for the reason that they do not possess the Word and so do not know the Lord, without whom there is no salvation. But that gentiles too are saved may be known from the single consideration that the Lord’s mercy is universal – that is, it reaches out to every individual human being. For gentiles are born human beings the same as those within the Church, who are a relative minority; and they are not to blame because they do not know the Lord. Consequently the nature of their state and condition in the next life has in the Lord’s Divine mercy been shown to me.
[2] As regards the Word, when I read to him something from the prophetical parts he was extremely delighted, above all with the fact that individual names and individual expressions meant things that were interior. He was utterly amazed that the learned nowadays take no delight in studying matters such as this. I perceived clearly that the interior parts of his thought or mind had been opened, and at the same time that those of certain Christians who were present had been closed, for with these Christians there reigned ill-will towards him and lack of belief that the Word was of such a nature. Indeed when I continued reading the Word he said that he could not remain because he perceived something more sacred than he could endure, being stirred inwardly by so much feeling. The Christians on the other hand said quite openly that they were able to remain; and the reason why they were able to do so was that their interiors had been closed and sacred things did not stir any such feelings within them.
[3] At length I spoke to him about the Lord, that He was born a man but conceived from God, that He cast off the human and put on the Divine, and that it is He who rules over all. To these points he replied that he knew many things about the Lord, and in his own way recognized that if the human race was to be saved it could not have been done in any other way. During this time certain bad Christians were introducing various objections, but to these he paid no attention, saying that it was not surprising that they did so, for during their lifetime they had absorbed obnoxious ideas regarding these matters and that unlike the ignorant they could not admit things of a confirmatory nature until these ideas had been dispersed. This person had been a gentile.
* In Heaven and Hell 322 Sw. says that he was led to believe that this spirit was Cicero.
* In Spiritual Diary [now called Spiritual Experiences] 3494 Sw. speaks of these gentiles as being Mohammedans.
* i.e. further India and the islands beyond (Oxford English Dictionary)
* A feature of certain African languages
* In the Hebrew Bible Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings are entitled The Former Prophets.
** In the Hebrew Bible Daniel does not occur among The Latter Prophets but in a section known as The Writings.
[2] That individual words used to describe them carry a spiritual meaning is also evident from what has been shown, for example, about names meaning real things, such as that Egypt means knowledge, Asshur the rational part of the mind, Ephraim the intellectual part, Tyre cognitions, Zion the celestial Church, Jerusalem the spiritual Church, and so on with everything else. The same has been shown to be so with particular expressions, such as that ‘a king’ means truth, ‘a priest’ good, and that all other words – such as kingdom, city, house, nation, people, garden, vineyard, olive-grove, gold, silver, bronze, iron, birds, beasts, bread, wine, oil, morning, day, light – each have their specific internal meaning. This is consistently so in the historical books as well as the prophetical, even though they were written by various authors and in different periods. This consistency would never have been possible if the Word had not come down out of heaven. From all this one may know that there is an internal sense in the Word, as well as from the fact that the Divine Word cannot possibly be about mere human beings such as Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and their descendants who formed the worst of the nations; or about their kings, wives, sons, daughters, prostitutes, plunderings, and like matters, all of which regarded in themselves are not worthy of mention in the Word unless by means of them such things as exist in the Lord’s kingdom are represented and meant. It is these that are worthy of the Word.
Moab will howl, the whole of Moab will howl; for the foundations of Kir Hareseth you will mourn, despite your having been stricken; for the fields of Heshbon have languished, the vine of Sibmah. The lords of the nations break down its branches, they reached even to Jazer, they wandered in the wilderness. Its shoots have been torn away; they have passed over the sea. Therefore I shall weep with weeping over Jazer, the vine of Sibmah. I will soak you with my tears, O Heshbon and Elealeh, for on the vintage and on your harvest the hedad* has fallen. Isa. 16:7-9.
And in Jeremiah,
The sound of a cry in Horonaim, devastation and great destruction! Moab has been destroyed, her little ones have caused a cry to be heard, for at the ascent of Luhith weeping goes up with weeping; for in the descent of Horonaim their enemies have heard the shout of destruction. Judgement has come to the land of the plain, to Holon, and to Jahzah, and to Mephaath, and on Dibon, and on Nebo, and on Bethdiblathaim, and on Kiriathaim, and on Bethgamul, and on Bethmeon, and on Kerioth, and on Bozrah. Jer. 48:3-5, 21-24.
Such in very many places is the nature of the prophetical parts of the Word, which would have no use if they did not possess an internal sense. It is imperative however that the Word, being Divine, should contain within it the laws of the heavenly kingdom into which man is to come.
* A Hebrew word which is a shout of exaltation, used here as a battle-cry.
[2] Take, for example, the words that those who honoured their parents would have their days prolonged upon the land. By ‘parents’ the angels in heaven perceived the Lord, and by ‘land’ His kingdom, which those who worship Him in love and faith would possess for ever as sons and heirs. People on earth however understood parents by ‘parents’, the land of Canaan by ‘the land’, and years of life by ‘the prolonging of their days’. By ‘do not steal’ angels in heaven perceived that they were not to take anything away from the Lord nor to ascribe any righteousness and merit at all to themselves. People on earth however understood that they were not to steal. From this it is clear that these commandments are true in both senses. Or take the commandment ‘not to murder’; angels in heaven perceived that they were not to hate anyone nor to destroy any good and truth existing with another. But people on earth perceived that friends must not be murdered. And so it is with all the other commandments.
* i.e. as distinct from those to do with worship
GENESIS 21
1 And Jehovah visited Sarah as He had said, and Jehovah did to Sarah as He had spoken.
2 And Sarah conceived and bore to Abraham a son in his old age, at the appointed time, as God had spoken to him.
3 And Abraham called the name of his son born to him, whom Sarah bore to him, Isaac.
4 And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac, a son eight days old, as God had commanded him.
5 And Abraham was a son a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him.
6 And Sarah said, God has made laughter for me; everyone that hears will laugh for me.
7 And she said, Who would have said to Abraham, Sarah will suckle sons? For I have born [him] a son in his old age.
8 And the boy grew, and was weaned; and Abraham made a great feast on the day when he weaned Isaac.
9 And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, mocking.
10 And she said to Abraham, Cast out this servant-girl, and her son; for the son of this servant-girl shall not inherit together with my son, with Isaac.
11 And the matter was deeply distressing to Abraham* because of his son.
12 And God said to Abraham, Do not be distressed** about the lad and about your servant-girl. Everything which Sarah says to you, hearken to her voice, for in Isaac will your seed be called.
13 And also, the son of the servant-girl I will make into a nation, because he is your seed.
14 And in the morning Abraham rose up early, and took bread and a flask of water, and gave them to Hagar. He put them on her shoulder, and the boy, and sent her away; and she went and wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba.
15 And the water from the flask was used up, and she put the boy under one of the shrubs.
16 And she went and sat by herself some distance away, withdrawing herself about a bowshot, for she said, Let me not see the death of the boy. And she sat some distance away and lifted up her voice and wept.
17 And God heard the boy’s voice, and the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven and said to her, What is the matter, Hagar? Do not be afraid, for God has heard the boy’s voice where he is.
18 Rise up, lift the boy up, and strengthen your hand in him, for I will make him into a great nation.
19 And God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water; and she went and filled the flask with water, and gave the boy a drink.
20 And God was with the boy, and he grew, and dwelt in the wilderness, and was an archer.
21 And he dwelt in the wilderness of Paran; and his mother took for him a wife from the land of Egypt.
22 And so it was at that time, that Abimelech spoke, and Phicol the general of his army, to Abraham, saying, God is with you in all that you are doing.
23 And now swear to me here by God that you will not lie to me, and to my son, and to my grandson; according to the kindness which I have done to you, may you do to me and to the land in which you have sojourned.
24 And Abraham said, I will swear.
25 And Abraham reproached Abimelech on account of a well of water which Abimelech’s servants had seized.
26 And Abimelech said, I do not know who has done this thing; and you also did not point it out to me, and I too have not heard about it until today.
27 And Abraham took flocks and herds and gave them to Abimelech; and the two of them made a covenant.
28 And Abraham set seven ewe-lambs of the flock by themselves.
29 And Abimelech said to Abraham, What are these seven ewe-lambs which you have set by themselves?
30 And he said, Because you will take the seven ewe-lambs from my hand, that they may be a witness for me that I dug this well.
31 Therefore he called that place Beersheba, because there the two of them swore an oath.
32 And they made a covenant in Beersheba; and Abimelech rose up and Phicol the general of his army, and they returned to the land of the Philistines.
33 And he planted a grove in Beersheba, and there he called on the name of [Jehovah,] the God of Eternity.
34 And Abraham sojourned in the land of the Philistines for many days.
* lit. exceedingly evil in Abraham’s eyes
** lit. Let it not be evil in your eyes
In the internal sense of this chapter the subject dealt with first is the Lord’s Divine Rational, which is represented by Isaac, verses 1-8.
Verse 1 And Jehovah visited Sarah as He had said, and Jehovah did to Sarah as He had spoken.
‘Jehovah visited Sarah’ means the presence of the Divine celestial within the Divine spiritual. ‘As He had said’ means as He had perceived. ‘And Jehovah did to Sarah’ means a state when the two existed united together. ‘As He had spoken’ means as He had thought.
‘Conceived and bore’ means received essential being and was given manifestation. ‘Sarah to Abraham’ means from the Lord’s Divine spiritual united to His Divine celestial. ‘A son’ means the Divine Rational. ‘In his old age’ means when the days had been completed for the human to be cast off. ‘At the appointed time’ means when the Rational was such that it was receptive. ‘As God had spoken to him’ means as He had willed.
[2] The soul constitutes a person’s essential Being, while the powers of the -senses or the body constitute the Manifestation of it; for the former manifests itself in the latter. Celestial and spiritual love is the Being itself of one who is being regenerated, while the rational part and the sensory part of him – when these are endowed with that love – are the Manifestation of it. The same may be said of every single thing in the universe, for nothing ever exists without conception to give it Being and birth to give it Manifestation. This may also be illustrated for learned people from the idea that every effect has its cause, and every cause has its end. The end is the Being of the cause, and the cause is the Manifestation of the end. In the same way the cause is the Being of the effect, and the effect is the Manifestation of the cause.
[2] From this anyone may see what kind of mental pictures a person is able to have while in the world or natural order regarding things which belong to the next life and about many arcana of faith. He may see that such a person is unwilling to believe those things unless he can take them in by means of objects that exist in the world, indeed by sensory evidence. For he cannot do other than suppose that if he were to divest himself of his mental pictures that have been formed from space and time, more so to divest himself of space and time themselves, he would cease to be anything at all and so would have nothing left to him from which he could perceive with his senses or have thoughts of anything apart from that which was unintelligible to him. But in actual fact quite the reverse is the case: the life of angels is such that it is the wisest and happiest of all.
[3] This is the reason why people’s ages mentioned in the Word do not in the internal sense mean ages but states, so that in this verse ‘old age’ does not mean old age. Nor does any number mean a number but some specific state, as in the case of ‘a hundred years’ mentioned further on. From this it now becomes clear that ‘the appointed time’ means the state when the rational was such that it was receptive.
[4] As regards the specific teaching presented here – that the Divine Rational received being and was given manifestation from the Lord’s Divine spiritual united to His Divine celestial, when the days had been completed for him to cast off the human and when the Rational was such that it was receptive (meant in the internal sense by ‘Sarah conceived and bore to Abraham a son in his old age, at the appointed time’) – the following needs to be known:
The human has its beginnings in the inmost part of the rational, see 2106, 2194. The Lord advanced gradually towards the union of the Human Essence with the Divine Essence, and of the Divine Essence with the Human Essence, 1864, 2033, 2523.
He did so by His own power, 1921, 2025, 2026, 2083, through continuing temptations and repeated victories, 1690, 1737, 1813, and through receiving revelations repeatedly from His own Divine, 1616, 2500, till at length He cast out the whole human from the mother, 1414, 1444, 2574.
And in this way He made His Human – as to the Rational – Divine, as taught by the things that occur in this verse.
From all this it is evident how the explanation ‘when the days had been completed for Him to cast off the human and when the Rational was such that it was receptive’ is to be understood.
[5] Some idea of this matter may be had from what happens to people who are being regenerated. The celestial things of love, and the spiritual things of faith, are instilled into them by the Lord not all at once but gradually; and when by means of those things a person’s rational has become such that it is able to be receptive, he is for the first time becoming regenerate, mostly by means of temptations in which he overcomes. While these experiences are taking place the days are being completed to cast off the old man and put on the new. Regarding man’s regeneration, see 677, 679, 711, 848, 986, 1555, 2475.
‘Abraham called the name of his son born to him’ means the nature of the Rational was such that it was Divine. ‘Whom Sarah bore to him’ means its essential being received from, and its manifestation given by, the Divine spiritual united to the Divine celestial. ‘Isaac’ means the Divine Rational.
‘Abraham circumcised his son Isaac’ means purification of the rational. ‘A son eight days old’ means a beginning and continuation. ‘As God had commended’ means according to Divine order.
[2] The Lord’s first rational was born in the way it is with others, that is to say, by means of facts and cognitions. This has been stated already where Ishmael, who represents that rational, is the subject. Because it was born, as with others, by means of facts and cognitions, thus by the external way, which is that of the senses, this rational inevitably included many things that were worldly in origin, for it is from those things that the ideas which the rational possesses are acquired. This was even more so the case with the Lord on account of the heredity He had from the mother. It was those worldly things and this heredity which the Lord gradually cast out of His rational until it was such that it was able to receive the Divine, 2624, 2625. At this point the Lord’s Divine Rational, represented by ‘Isaac’, was born, 2630, not indeed by the external way, which is that of the senses – as was the case with the previous rational – but by the internal way from the Divine itself, 2628, 2629. As this was not accomplished all at once but gradually, 1690, 2033, the rational was purified, and constantly so. It is this purification that is meant by ‘Abraham circumcised his son, a son eight days old’. That the Lord gradually made His Rational Divine and purified it constantly is clear also in John,
Jesus said, Father, glorify Your name. A voice therefore came from heaven, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again. John 12:28.
‘Glorifying’ is making Divine, see 1603, 1999.
[3] In the Ancient Church nothing else was represented and meant by circumcision than that a person should be purified from self-love and love of the world, which is also effected gradually and constantly, see 2039, 2046 (end), 2049, 2056, especially when a person has been born anew or regenerated. For at that time the Lord is flowing in by the internal way, that is, through the good that forms part of conscience; and He gradually and constantly separates the things which cling to that person both as a result of hereditary evil and of the evil of his own doing.
‘Abraham was a son a hundred years old’ means a complete state of union. ‘When his son Isaac was born to him’ means when the Lord’s Rational was made Divine.
[2] It is well known that a person cannot be regenerated except in adult years, for not until then is he able to exercise reason and judgement and in so doing to receive good and truth from the Lord. Before entering that state he is being prepared by the Lord through the implantation of such things as can serve him as the soil for receiving the seeds of truth and good. Implanted thus are many states of innocence and charity, also cognitions of good and truth, and consequently thoughts. This implantation occurs during many years before his regeneration takes place. When a person has been endowed with these things and so has been prepared, his state is now said to be complete, for the things that are interior have been arranged ready to receive. All those things with a person which the Lord grants him prior to regeneration and by means of which he is regenerated are called remnants, which in the Word are meant by the number ten, 576, 1738, 2284, and also by a hundred when the state for regeneration is complete, 1988.
[3] These things that are so with man may serve to illustrate what is meant by a complete state of the Human united to the Divine in the Lord. That is to say, they may illustrate the state when the Lord by His own power – through the conflicts brought about by temptations and through victories, and through the powers of Divine wisdom and intelligence – gathered to Himself within the Human, that is, within the Rational, so much of the Divine that He was able to unite the Divine itself to the Divine acquired within the Rational. And it was to represent this state that, even though Abraham had spent many years in the land of Canaan, Isaac was not born to him until he was a hundred years old. These are the arcana contained within the number ‘a hundred years’, which was Abraham’s age.
[4] That the number ‘a hundred’ means that which is complete may also be seen from other places in the Word, as in Isaiah,
No more will there be from it an infant of days, nor an old man who has not completed his days, for the child will die a son a hundred years old, and the sinner a son a hundred years old will be accursed. Isa. 65:20.
Here ‘a hundred’ clearly stands for that which is complete, for it is said, ‘No more will there be an infant of days, nor an old man who has not completed his days’, and, a child and a sinner will be ‘a hundred years old’, that is, a time when his state is complete.
[5] In Matthew,
Everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or fields, for My name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold and will be allotted the inheritance of eternal life. Matt. 19:29; Mark 10:29, 30.
Here ‘a hundredfold’ stands for that which is complete, otherwise described as ‘good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over’, in Luke 6:38.
[6] In Luke,
Some seed fell on good ground, and when it had grown up it brought forth fruit a hundredfold. Luke 8:8; Matt. 13:8, 23; Mark 4:20.
Here also ‘a hundred’ stands for that which is complete, a number which would not have been mentioned unless it had had that meaning. A similar meaning exists in the parable about the debtors, where the Lord says that one owed a hundred baths of oil and the other a hundred cors of wheat, Luke 16:5-7. The same applies in other places where a hundred is mentioned. It is similar with a thousand, regarding which number, see 2575.
‘Sarah said’ means perception from the Divine spiritual. ‘God has made laughter for me’ means the affection for celestial truth. ‘Everyone who hears will laugh for-me’ means that all things there will possess the affection. ‘And she said’ means thought. ‘Who would have said to Abraham, Sarah will suckle sons?’ means that by His own power the Lord implanted the Human within the Divine. ‘For I have borne [him] a son in his old age’ means that this was accomplished when the days had been completed.
[2] What is more, it should be recognized that it is the nature of the Lord’s Divine Rational when it was first born that is being described by these words, ‘God has made laughter for me; everyone that hears will laugh for me; and she said, Who would have said to Abraham, Sarah will suckle sons?’ For this was in keeping with an ancient custom that when an infant was born it was given a name which served to mean the state; and at the same time a description of that state was added, as when Cain was born to Eve and Adam, Gen. 4:1, and when Seth was born to the same, Gen. 4:25; and as when Noah was born to Lamech, Gen. 5:29, Esau and Jacob to Isaac, Gen. 25:25, 26, the twelve sons to Jacob, Gen. 29:32-35; 30:6, 8, 11, 13, 18, 20, 24; 35:18, Perez and Zerah to Tamar, Gen. 38:29, 30, Manasseh and Ephraim to Joseph, Gen. 41:51, 52, and Gershom and Eliezer to Moses, Exod. 2:22; 18:4. What all these represent, and what they mean in the internal sense, was embodied in the descriptions added to the names that were given. The same is the case here with what Isaac represents and means. What this name embodies is evident to some small extent from this brief explanation that has been given, but deeper arcana are nevertheless concealed there since they are Divine matters, which no sentences or phrases can be formed to express.
The presence of the Divine within the Human, for the sake of the two being united, verse 1.
The presence of the Human within the Divine, and thus a reciprocal union, dealt with in 2004, verse 2,
From that union the Human was made Divine, verse 3.
This was effected gradually and constantly while the Lord lived in the world, verse 4.
It started to be effected when the rational was in a state to receive, verse 5.
The nature of the state of union is described, together with the arcana of that state, verses 6, 7.
Now reference follows, and is continued through to verse 12, to the separation of the human received from the mother. That separation is meant in this present verse by ‘the weaning of Isaac’, and in those that follow it is represented by Hagar’s son being cast out of the house. And because the union of the Lord’s Divine with His Human, and of the Human with the Divine, is the marriage itself of Good and Truth, and from this marriage is derived the heavenly marriage, which is the same as the Lord’s kingdom, mention is therefore made of ‘a great feast which Abraham made when Isaac was weaned’, by which is meant the first stage of that marriage or the first union. Unless this ‘feast’, and also the weaning, had had some hidden meaning, it would never have been mentioned.
[2] Since the subject which follows now is the separation of the first human which the Lord had from the mother and the total casting off of it ultimately, it should be recognized that right to the end of His life when He was glorified the Lord gradually and constantly separated from Himself and cast off that which was merely human. That is to say, He cast off that which He had derived from the mother, until ultimately He was no longer her son but the Son of God not only in conception but also in birth, and so was one with the Father and was Jehovah himself. The truth that He separated from Himself and cast off the whole of the human received from the mother, insomuch that He was her son no longer, is plainly evident from the Lord’s own words in John,
When the wine failed, the mother of Jesus said to Him, They have no wine. Jesus said to her, O woman, What have you to do with Me? John 2:3, 4.
In Matthew,
Someone said, Behold, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside asking to speak to You. But Jesus answering said to the one who had told Him, Who is My mother, and who are My brothers? And stretching out His hand over His disciples He said, Behold My mother and My brothers; for whoever does the will of My Father who is in heaven is My brother, and sister, and mother. Matt. 12:47-50; Mark 3:32-35; Luke 11:27, 28.
In Luke,
A certain woman lifting up her voice out of the crowd* said to Him, Blessed is the womb that bore You, and the breasts that You sucked. But Jesus said, Blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it. Luke 11:27, 28.
[3] Here, when the woman referred to His mother, the Lord spoke of those mentioned in the preceding quotation. That is to say, He spoke of ‘whoever does the will of My Father is My brother, sister, and mother’, which amounts to the same as saying, ‘Blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it’. In John,
Jesus seeing his mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing by, said to His mother, O woman, behold your son! Then He said to the disciple, Behold your mother! From that hour therefore the disciple took her to his own home. John 19:26, 27.
From these words it is evident that the Lord spoke to her according to what she was thinking when she saw Him on the Cross – though He does not call her mother but woman – and that He gave the name mother instead to those meant by the disciple; hence His words to the disciple, Behold your mother! The matter is plainer still from the Lord’s own words in Matthew,
Jesus questioned the Pharisees saying, What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is He? They said to Him, David’s. He said to them, How is it then that David in the spirit calls Him Lord, saying, The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at My right hand until I make Your enemies Your footstool. If therefore David calls Him Lord, how is He his son? And no one was able to answer Him a word. Matt. 22:41-end; Mark 12:35-37; Luke 20:42-44.
Accordingly He was no longer David’s son as to the flesh.
[4] As regards the separation and casting off of the human from the mother, it must be added that they have no conception of this who entertain merely bodily ideas about the Lord’s Human and think of it as they do of the human of any other. To such people these matters are as a consequence stumbling-blocks. They do not know that as is the life so is the person, and that the Divine Being (Esse) of life, or Jehovah, was the Lord’s from conception and that a similar Being (Esse) of life manifested itself within His Human through union.
* lit. the people
‘And Sarah saw’ means the Lord’s insight from the Divine spiritual. ‘The son of Hagar the Egyptian’ means into the merely human rational, ‘Hagar the Egyptian’ being the affection for knowledge, from which affection as its mother that rational was born. ‘Whom she had borne to Abraham’ means that it was given manifestation from the Divine celestial as a father. ‘Mocking’ means not in agreement with or favourably disposed towards the Divine Rational.
[2] But as regards the Lord’s first rational, because it was born as with any other, that is to say, by means of knowledge and cognitions, it was inevitably immersed in appearances of truth, which are not in themselves truths, as may become clear from what has been presented in 1911, 1936, 2196, 2203, 2209, 2519. And because it was immersed in appearances of truth, truths devoid of appearances, as Divine truths are, were not able to agree with it nor to be favourably disposed towards it, not only because that rational can have no grasp of them but also because they are opposed to it. Let the following examples illustrate the matter:
[3] The human rational – that is to say, the rational formed from images of worldly things received through the senses, and later on from images of things analogous to actual worldly ones, such as are received from factual knowledge and from cognitions – virtually laughs or mocks if it is told that it does not live of itself but only appears to itself to do so. It likewise laughs if it is told that the less anyone believes that he lives of himself, the more he is truly living, that is, the more wise and intelligent he is, and the more blessed and happy. And it also laughs if it is told that that life is the life which angels possess, especially those who are celestial and are inmost or nearest to the Lord; for these know that nobody except Jehovah alone, that is, the Lord, lives of himself.
[4] This rational would also mock if it were told that it has nothing of its own, and that its possessing anything of its own is an illusion or an appearance. Still more would it mock if it were told that the more it is subject to the illusion that it possesses anything of its own the less it in fact possesses, and vice versa. It would likewise mock if it were told that whatever it thinks and does from what is its own is evil, even though it was good [in its effect], and if it were told that it has no wisdom until it believes and perceives that all evil comes from hell and all good from the Lord. This is a conviction, indeed a perception, that exists in all angels, yet they possess selfhood or a proprium in fuller measure than all others. But they realize and perceive that their selfhood comes from the Lord, even though it seems to be completely their own.
[5] This rational would again mock if it were told that in heaven the greatest are those who are least; that the wisest are those who believe and perceive that they themselves are the least wise; that the happiest are those who wish the greatest happiness to others and the least to themselves; that heaven consists in wishing to be below everyone else, but hell in wishing to be above everyone else; and that consequently the glory of heaven does not hold within it anything at all of that which the glory of the world holds.
[6] This rational would similarly mock if it were told that in the next life space and time do not exist at all but states in accordance with which there are appearances of space and time, and that life becomes more heavenly the further removed it is from the things that belong to space and time and the closer it comes to that which is eternal – for that which is eternal has absolutely nothing within it that is received from the notion of time or anything analogous to it. In the same way would the rational mock at countless other things it could be told.
[7] The Lord saw that such things were present in the merely human rational and that this rational therefore mocked Divine things. He did so from the Divine spiritual, which is meant by the words ‘Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian’, 2651, 2652. The fact that a person is able from within to have insight into the things residing with him that are below is well known from experience to those who have perception, and also to those who have conscience, for they see clearly enough to reproach themselves for what they think. This exemplifies how regenerate persons are able to see what their rational prior to regeneration is like. In man’s case however such perception is received from the Lord, but in the Lord’s case it was Self-derived.
‘She said to Abraham’ means perception from the Divine. ‘Cast out this servant-girl, and her son’ means that what belonged to the merely human rational was to be banished. ‘For the son of this servant-girl shall not inherit together with my son, with Isaac’ means that the merely human rational could not possess the same life as the Divine Rational itself, neither as to truth nor as to good.
[2] With everyone who is being regenerated there are two rationals, the first existing before regeneration, the second after. The first, which exists before regeneration, is acquired by means of the experiences of the senses, by means of reflecting on the things that take place in public life and in private life, by means of formulated knowledge, and by means of reasonings based on and presented through these, as well as by means of cognitions of spiritual things obtained from the doctrine of faith, that is, from the Word. But none of these acquisitions rise at this time very much above the ideas present in the external or bodily memory, which are relatively speaking quite materialistic. Consequently whatever thought takes place in the rational at this time consists of such materialistic ideas, or else, so that what it thinks may be comprehended at the same time by inner or intellectual sight, the semblances of such things are presented in the form of comparisons or analogies. Of such a nature is the first rational, or the rational that exists before regeneration.
[3] But the rational after regeneration is formed by the Lord by means of affections for spiritual truth and good, which affections the Lord implants in a remarkable manner within the truths of the first rational, and in this way the things there that are in agreement and are favourably disposed towards them are given life. The rest however, having no use, are separated from these, until at length spiritual goods and truths are gathered so to speak into bundles, once those that do not agree and which cannot be given life are cast away so to speak to the circumference, this being effected gradually as spiritual goods and truths increase together with the life of the affections for them. From this it is evident what the second rational is like.
[4] These matters may be illustrated by comparing them to the fruit of trees. To begin with the first rational is like unripe fruit which ripens gradually until it produces seeds within itself. Then, having reached the point when it is ready to part from the tree, its state is complete, regarding which see above in 2636. The second rational however, which the Lord confers on those who are being regenerated, is like this same fruit now lying in good soil, where the flesh surrounding the seeds decays and these express themselves from the core, after which they send down a root and also a shoot up above the ground that grows into a new tree and spreads out, till finally it produces new fruits, and after that gardens and orchards, according to the affections for good and truth which it is receiving; see Matt. 13:31, 32; John 12:24.
[5] But since examples help to make things clear, take the proprium which a person has before regeneration and the proprium which he has after regeneration. From the first rational which he acquires through the means mentioned above, a person believes that it is from what there is within himself, thus from his proprium, that he thinks what is true and does what it good. This first rational is incapable of thinking anything else even when the person is taught that every good of love, and every truth of faith, derives from the Lord. But when he is undergoing regeneration, which takes place in adult years, he then starts – from the second rational which is conferred by the Lord – to think that good and truth do not spring from that which is within himself, that is, from his proprium, but from the Lord, though he still does what is good or thinks what is true, as if it began from within himself, see 1937, 1947. At this time the more he becomes confirmed in this the more he is guided into the light of truth concerning those matters, until he finally believes that all good and all truth come from the Lord. At this time the proprium belonging to the first rational is gradually separated and the Lord confers on that person a heavenly proprium which becomes that of the new rational.
[6] Take a further example. To begin with the only love known to the first rational is that of self and the world, and although it hears about heavenly love being altogether different it still has no conception of it. In this case when the person then does anything good the only delight he sees in doing it is that he may seem to himself to merit another’s favour, or that he may be considered to be a Christian, or that he may obtain the joy of eternal life out of doing it. The second rational however which the Lord confers through regeneration begins to feel some delight in goodness and truth themselves and to be stirred by this delight, not on account of anything that is his own but on account of goodness and truth themselves. When led by this delight he spurns the thought of merit, until at length he detests it as something monstrous. This delight as it exists with him gradually increases and becomes a blessed delight, and in the next life a blissful delight, being for him heaven itself. From this it may now become clear how it is with each of the two rationals in one who is being regenerated.
[7] But it should be recognized that although a person is being regenerated, every single detail belonging to the first rational still remains with him. It is merely separated from the second rational, which the Lord effects in a miraculous fashion. The Lord however banished His own first rational completely, so that nothing of it remained, for what is merely human and what is Divine cannot exist together. Consequently He was no longer Mary’s son but Jehovah as regards both Essences.
[2] Once it had become Divine the Lord’s Human was no longer an organ or recipient of life; it was now Life itself, the same as that of Jehovah Himself. It had this life at the start from its very conception from Jehovah, as is plainly evident from the Lord’s own words in John,
As the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself. John 5:26.
The Divine Human is what is called ‘the Son’, 1729, 2159, 2628. In the same gospel,
In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. John 1:4.
In the same gospel,
Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. John 14:6.
In the same gospel,
Jesus said, I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me, though he die, will live. John 11:25.
In the same gospel,
The bread of God is that which* comes down out of heaven and gives life to the world. John 6:33.
Man however is not life but an organ or recipient of it, see 2021, and in various places elsewhere. From this it may be evident that when the Lord was made Jehovah even as to the Human, that which was not life in itself, that is, the merely human, was banished. This is the meaning of the statement that the son of a servant-girl could not inherit together with the son Isaac.
[3] When ‘inheriting’ in the internal sense has reference to the Lord it means possessing the Father’s life, and so possessing life within Himself; and when it has reference to men it means possessing the Lord’s life, that is, receiving life from the Lord. This is clear from many places in the Word. Possessing life in Himself is the very Being (Esse) of life, which is Jehovah, whereas possessing the Lord’s life, or receiving life from the Lord, is accepting the Lord in love and faith. And because such persons abide in the Lord and are the Lord’s they are called His heirs and sons.
[4] In the Old Testament Word ‘inheritance’ is used to refer both to what is celestial, or good, and to what is spiritual, or truth, though what is celestial is expressed by one word, what is spiritual by another. The first word may be rendered as ‘possessing by inheritance’, but the second as ‘inheriting’. In the original language the first word also implies possession, but the second a derivation from such possession, in the way that celestial and spiritual are related to each other, or good and truth are related. In the present verse, where ‘Isaac’ represents the Lord’s Divine Rational or Divine Human, the word describing possession by right of inheritance is used, for the Lord’s Divine Human is sole heir and possessor, as He also teaches in the parable recorded in Matt. 21:33, 37, 38; Mark 12:7; Luke 20:14; and in various places declares that all that is the Father’s is His.
[5] When ‘possessing by inheritance’ and ‘inheriting’ in the Word have reference to men, they mean receiving life from the Lord, and therefore receiving eternal life or heaven, for only those who receive the Lord’s life receive heaven. This is clear in John,
He who overcomes will receive all things by inheritance, and I will be his God and he will be My Son. Rev. 21:7.
In Matthew,
Everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters for My name’s sake will receive a hundredfold and will be allotted the inheritance of eternal life. Matt. 19:29; 25:43; Mark 10:17; Luke 18:18.
Here heaven is called ‘eternal life’, elsewhere simply ‘life’, as in Matt. 18:8, 9; 19:17; John 3:36; 5:24, 29, the reason being that the Lord is life itself, and anyone who receives His life is in heaven.
[6] In David,
God will save Zion and will build the cities of Judah; and they will dwell there and possess it by inheritance; and the seed of His servants will inherit it, and those loving His name will dwell in it. Ps. 69:35, 36.
Here ‘possessing by inheritance’ has reference to those in whom celestial love exists, ‘inheriting’ to those in whom spiritual love exists. In Isaiah,
He who trusts in Me will inherit the land, and will possess by inheritance My holy mountain. Isa. 57:13.
Here the meaning is similar.
[7] In Moses,
I will bring you to the land over which I lifted up My hand to give it to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and I will give it to you as a hereditary possession. Exod. 6:8.
In the sense of the letter these words mean that the land of Canaan was to be granted to them as a hereditary possession, which did in fact happen. But in the internal sense they mean that heaven was to be granted to those in whom love to and faith in the Lord were present, for as the Lord is represented by ‘Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob’ so are love itself and faith itself meant by them, and consequently people in whom love and faith are present, and who accordingly abide in the Lord. These are also meant by Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob with whom many will recline at table in the kingdom of heaven, in Matt. 8:11; for those who are in heaven are completely unaware of Abraham, Isaac, or Jacob, and know only of what is represented and meant by them. And the same goes for ‘reclining at table (or eating) with them’. For all names mentioned in the Word mean real things, see 1224, 1264, 1876, 1888, and the land of Canaan means the heavenly Canaan or heaven, 1585, 1607, 1866, which is also referred to simply as ‘the land’, 1413, 1607, 1733, 2571. So too in Matthew,
Blessed are the meek, for they will receive the inheritance of the land. Matt. 5:5.
* or He who
‘The matter was deeply distressing to Abraham’ means the Lord’s state at first when He thought about that rational being separated from Himself. ‘Because of his son’ means for the reason that He delighted in it.
* lit. exceedingly evil in Abraham’s eyes
[2] The Lord did not come into the world to save those who are celestial, but to save those who are spiritual. The Most Ancient Church, which was called Man, was celestial, and if this Church had remained uncorrupted there would have been no need for the Lord to be born a human being. But as soon as it began to decline the Lord foresaw that the celestial Church would cease to exist altogether in the world, and therefore a prophecy was given there and then about the Lord’s Coming into the world, Gen. 3:15. After the era of that Church there was no longer a celestial Church but a spiritual Church. The Ancient Church, which came after the Flood, was this spiritual Church, referred to many times in Volume One. This Church, or the people who belonged to the spiritual Church, could not have been saved unless the Lord had come into the world. This is what the Lord’s words in Matthew are used to mean,
Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. Matt. 9:12, 13.
And the following in John are used with the same meaning,
And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will hear My voice, and there will be one flock and one shepherd. John 10:16.
And the same is also meant in the parable about the hundred sheep, in Matt. 18:11-13.
[3] Now seeing that ‘Isaac’, representing the Lord’s Divine Rational, also means those that are celestial, who are called ‘heirs’, while ‘Ishmael’, representing the Lord’s merely human rational, also means those that are spiritual, who are referred to as ‘sons’ – as may also be evident from what has been stated above in 2658 – the words used in the present verse therefore mean that because of His Divine Love the Lord suffered grief. This is also the meaning of what follows in verses 13-21, where Hagar’s son and she his mother represent the spiritual Church, and where the subject is the state of that Church, that is, of those who are members of that Church, 2612. Any further declaration regarding these arcana is not as yet possible. All that can be stated here is that with the Lord when in the world all states of the Church were represented, and also the way in which those who belonged to it were to be saved through Him. Consequently the same states of the Church are also meant by those same names.
‘God said to Abraham’ means the Lord’s perception from the Divine. ‘Do not be distressed about the lad and about your servant-girl’ means a change of state towards that rational. ‘Everything which Sarah says to you, hearken to her voice’ means that He was to act in accordance with spiritual truth. ‘For in Isaac will your seed be called’ means that from the Lord’s Divine Human all salvation is available to those in whom good exists.
* lit. Let it not be evil in your eyes
As many as received Him, to them He gave power to be sons of God, to those believing in His name, who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. John 1:12, 13.
‘Also, the son of the servant-girl I will make into a nation’ means the spiritual Church which was to receive the good of faith. ‘Because he is your seed’ means that from the Lord’s Divine Human salvation is available to them also.
[2] The Lord’s kingdom in heaven and on earth is celestial and spiritual, and therefore angels are distinguished into those who are celestial and those who are spiritual, see 202, 337. To celestial angels the Lord appears as the Sun, to spiritual as the Moon, 1053, 1521, 1529-1531. Men in a similar way are distinguished into those who are celestial and those who are spiritual. Those who belonged to the Most Ancient Church which existed before the Flood were celestial, dealt with in 607, 608, 784, 895, 920, 1114-1125, while those who belonged to the Ancient Church which existed after the Flood were spiritual, dealt with in 609, 640, 641, 765. For what the difference was between those two Churches, see 567, 607, and for what the difference is between what is celestial and what is spiritual, 81, 1155, 1577, 1824, 2048, 2069, 2088, 2227, 2507. The celestial are referred to by the Lord in the following,
He calls His own sheep by name and leads them out. And when He has led out His own sheep He goes before them, and the sheep follow Him, for they know His voice.
The spiritual however are referred to in these words,
And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will hear My voice, and there will be one flock and one shepherd. John 10:3, 4, 16.
The good of love is that which constitutes the celestial Church, but the good of faith that which constitutes the spiritual Church. The truth of faith does not constitute the Church but leads into it.
‘In the morning Abraham rose up early’ means the Lord’s clear perception from the Divine. ‘And he took bread and a flask of water’ means good and truth. ‘And gave them to Hagar’ means implantation within the life of the exterior man. ‘And he put them on her shoulder’ means as much as the exterior man was able to receive. ‘And the boy’ means spiritual truth. ‘And sent her away’ means that He left the exterior man immersed in the proprium. ‘And she went and wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba’ means a state of wandering from one position to another in matters of doctrine regarding faith.
‘The water from the flask was used up’ means the desolation of truth. ‘And she put the boy under one of the shrubs’ means despair that no truth or good at all was perceived.
In poverty and in hunger, one all alone. They were fleeing to the drought, to the previous night’s desolation and devastation, picking mallows on the shrub; in the cleft of the valleys to dwell, in holes of the dust and rocks; among the shrubs they were groaning, under the wild thistle they were joined together. Job 30:3, 4, 6, 7.
This is a reference to the desolation of truth, which is described by means of expressions used commonly in the Ancient Church – for the Book of Job is a book of the Ancient Church – such as ‘in poverty and in hunger, one all alone’, ‘fleeing to the drought, the previous night’s desolation and devastation’, ‘in the clefts of valleys and rocks to dwell’, as well as ‘picking mallows on the shrubs’, and ‘groaning among the shrubs’. So also in Isaiah,
They will come and all of them will rest in rivers of desolations, in the clefts of rocks, and on all bushes, and in all water-courses. Isa. 7:19.
This also is a reference to desolation, which is described by means of similar forms of expression, namely ‘resting in rivers of desolations, in the clefts of rocks, and on bushes’.
[2] In this present verse the subject is the second state of those who are being reformed, which is a state when they are reduced to ignorance, so that they do not know any truth at all, even to the point of despair. The reason they are reduced to such ignorance is so that the persuasive light which shines from the proprium may be extinguished. This light is such that it illuminates falsities as much as it does truths and so leads to a belief in what is false by means of truths and a belief in what is true by means of falsities, and at the same time to trust in themselves. They are also reduced to such ignorance in order that they may be led through actual experience into a recognition of the fact that no good or truth at all originates in themselves or what is properly their own but in the Lord. Those who are being reformed are reduced to ignorance, even to the state of despair, at which point they receive comfort and enlightenment, as is clear from what follows. For the light of truth from the Lord cannot flow into the persuasive thinking that originates in the proprium; indeed its nature is such as to extinguish that light. In the next life that persuasive thinking presents itself as the light in winter, but with the approach of the light of heaven a kind of darkness consisting in ignorance of all truth takes the place of that wintry light. This state with those who are being reformed is called a state of desolation of truth, and is also frequently the subject in the internal sense of the Word.
[3] But few are able to know about that state because few at the present day are being regenerated. To people who are not being regenerated, it is all the same whether they know the truth or whether they do not, and also whether what they do know is the truth or whether it is not, provided that they can pass a thing off as the truth. But people who are being regenerated give much thought to doctrine and to life since they give much thought to eternal salvation. Consequently if truth deserts them, they grieve at heart because truth is the object of all their thought and affection. The nature of the state of those who are being regenerated and the nature of those who are not may become clear from the following consideration: While in the body a person lives as to his spirit in heaven and as to his body in the world. He is born into both and has been so created that he is in effect able as to his spirit to be with angels, and at the same time to be with men through the things which belong to the body. But since those who believe that they have a spirit which will continue to live after death are few in number those who are being regenerated are few. To those who do believe that they have a spirit the next life forms the whole of their thought and affection, and the world in comparison none at all. But to those who do not believe that they have a spirit the world forms the whole of their thought and affection and the next life in comparison none at all. The former are those who can be regenerated, but the latter those who cannot.
‘She went and sat by herself some distance away’ means a state of thought. ‘Withdrawing herself about a bowshot’ means the extent to which the state was away from the doctrine of truth, ‘a bow’ meaning the doctrine of truth. ‘For she said, Let me not see the death of the boy’ means grief that [spiritual truth] would thus perish. ‘And she sat some distance away’ means a state of thought. ‘And lifted up her voice and wept’ means a further degree of grief.
[2] As in the Word, and also in the books of the Ancient Church, ‘war’ meant spiritual warfare, so all weapons such as the sword, spear, buckler, shield, arrows, shafts, and bows meant such things specifically as belong to the warfare that is meant in the spiritual sense. What is meant specifically by particular kinds of weapons will in the Lord’s Divine mercy be stated elsewhere. Here the meaning of ‘the bow’, namely the doctrine of truth, will be shown, and how this meaning is derived from arrows, shafts, or darts, which mean the things of doctrine from which and with which those in particular who are spiritual fight, who in former times were therefore called ‘archers’.
[3] That ‘the bow’ means the doctrine of truth becomes clear from the following places: In Isaiah,
The arrows of Jehovah are sharp, and all His bows are bent. His horses’ hoofs are considered as flint, and His wheels as the whirlwind. Isa. 5:28.
This refers to the truths of doctrine. ‘arrows’ are spiritual truths, ‘bows’ doctrine, ‘horses’ hoofs’ natural truths, ‘wheels’ their doctrine. It is because such things are meant by them that those objects are attributed to Jehovah, to whom they cannot be attributed except in the spiritual sense, otherwise they would be words that are empty and not appropriate. In Jeremiah,
The Lord has bent His bow like an enemy, He has stood with His right hand like a foe, and has slain all things pleasant to the eye in the tent of the daughter of Zion, He has poured out His anger like fire. Lam. 2:4.
‘Bow’ stands for the doctrine of truth, which is seen by those immersed in falsities as a foe and hostile. No other kind of bow can be spoken of in reference to the Lord. In Habakkuk,
O Jehovah, You ride on Your horses, Your chariots are salvation, Your bow will be made quite bare. Hab. 3:8, 9.
Here also ‘bow’ means the doctrine of good and truth. In Moses,
The archers will exasperate him and shoot at him and hate him. He will sit in the strength of his bow, and the arms of his hands will be made strong by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob; from there is the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel. Gen. 49:23, 24.
This refers to Joseph, ‘bow’ standing for the doctrine of good and truth.
[4] In John,
I saw, and behold, a white horse, and he who sat on it had a bow; to him a crown was given. Rev. 6:2.
‘A white horse’ stands for wisdom, ‘he who sat on it’ for the Word, as is made explicit in Rev. 19:13, where the white horse is referred to again. And because ‘he who sat on it’ is the Word it is clear that ‘a bow’ means the doctrine of truth. In Isaiah,
Who stirred up righteousness from the east, called him to be His follower, gave nations before Him, and caused Him to have dominion over kings? He made them as dust to His sword, as driven stubble to His bow. Isa. 41:2.
This refers to the Lord, ‘sword’ standing for truth, ‘bow’ for doctrine derived from Him. In the same prophet,
I will set a sign among them, and I will send survivors from them to the nations, to Tarshish, Pul, and Lud, who draw the bow, to Tubal and Javan. Isa. 66:19.
‘Those who draw the bow’ stands for teachers of doctrine. For what Tarshish means, see 1156; Lud, 1195, 1231; Tubal, 1151; Javan, 1152, 1153, 1155.
[5] In Jeremiah, At the noise of the horseman and of him who wields the bow the whole city takes to flight. They have entered clouds and climbed up on rocks. The whole city has been forsaken. Jer. 4:29.
‘The horseman’ stands for those who declare the truth, ‘the bow’ for the doctrine of truth, which they flee from or fear who are immersed in falsities. In the same prophet,
Set yourselves in array against Babylon round about; O all you who bend the bow, shoot at her, spare no arrow, for she has sinned against Jehovah. Jer. 50:14, 29; 51:2, 3.
Here ‘those who shoot and bend the bow’ stands for declarers and teachers of the doctrine of truth.
[6] In Zechariah,
I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem, and the battle bow will be cut off, and He will speak peace to the nations. Zech. 9:10.
‘Ephraim’ stands for the Church’s understanding of truth, ‘bow’ for doctrine. In Samuel,
David lamented with this lamentation over Saul and over Jonathan, his son, and told [them] to teach the children of Judah the bow. 2 Sam. 1:17, 18.
Here ‘the bow’ is not the subject but doctrinal matters regarding faith. In Ezekiel,
The Lord Jehovih has said, This is the day of which I have spoken, and those who dwell in the cities of Israel will go out, and they will make fires of and burn the weapons, both shield and buckler, bow and arrows, both hand-staff and spear; and they will make a fire of them for seven years. Ezek. 39:8, 9.
The weapons mentioned here are all weapons for spiritual war. ‘Bow and arrows’ stands for doctrine and its truths. Furthermore when truths themselves separated from goods are represented visually in the next life they are seen as arrows.
[7] Just as ‘the bow’ means the doctrine of truth, so in the contrary sense it means the doctrine of falsity. In the Word things like these nearly always have a contrary sense, as stated and shown in various places; as in Jeremiah,
Behold, a people coming from the land in the north, and a mighty nation will be stirred up from the furthest parts of the earth. They lay hold on bow and spear; it is cruel and they will have no pity. Their voice will roar like the sea, they will ride upon horses, every one set in array as a man for battle, against you, O daughter of Zion! Jer. 6:22, 23.
Here ‘bow’ stands for the doctrine of falsity. In the same prophet,
Behold, a people coming from the north, a mighty nation, and many kings will be stirred up from the furthest parts of the earth. They have hold of bow and spear; they are cruel and have no pity. Jer. 50:41, 42.
Here the meaning is similar. In the same prophet,
They bend their tongue; their bow is a bow of lies and not used for truth. They grow strong in the land, for they have gone on from evil to evil and do not know Me. Jer. 9:2, 3.
‘A bow’, it is quite evident, means the doctrine of falsity, for it is said that ‘they bend their tongue, their bow is a bow of lies and not for truth’.
[8] In the same prophet,
Jehovah Zebaoth has said, Behold, I am breaking the bow of Elam, the chief of its might. Jer. 49:35.
In David,
Come, behold the works of Jehovah who makes desolations in the earth, making wars cease even to the end of the earth, He breaks the bow, shatters the spear, and burns the chariots*** with fire. Ps. 46:8, 9.
In the same author,
In Judah God is known, in Israel His name is great, and in Salem will His tabernacle be, and His dwelling-place in Zion. There He broke the bow’s fiery darts, the shield and the sword, and war. Ps. 76:1-3.
In the same author;
Behold, the wicked bend the bow, they prepare their shafts upon the string to shoot in the darkness at the upright in heart. Ps. 11:2.
Here ‘bow and shafts’ plainly stands for matters of doctrine concerning falsity.
* The text has Church, but the Latin is clearly Word.
** or The Books of Prophetic Utterances. But see 2897.
*** lit. carts or wagons
[2] It is well known that all distress and grief are the result of a person’s being deprived of the things for which he has affection, that is, which he loves. Those whose affection is solely for bodily and worldly things, that is, who love solely these, grieve when deprived of them, whereas those whose affection is for spiritual goods and truths, and who love these, grieve when deprived of them. The life in any person is nothing else than affection or love. From this one may see the nature of the state of those who are desolated as regards the goods and truths for which they have affection, that is, which they love; that is to say, one may see that their state of grief, being more interior, is more severe, and that in being deprived of good and truth it is not death of the body which they are bothered about but eternal death. It is their state which is described here.
[3] So that it may also be known which people can be maintained by the Lord in the affection for good and truth and so be reformed and become spiritual, and which ones cannot, this too must be explained briefly. In childhood everyone, when being for the first time endowed with goods and truths, is maintained by the Lord in the affirmative attitude that anything said or taught by parents and teachers is true. With those who are able to become spiritual this affirmative attitude is strengthened by means of facts and cognitions, for whatever they learn and is relevant introduces itself into the affirmative outlook and strengthens it, leading more and more towards affection for it. These are ones who become spiritual in accordance with the essence of the truth in which they have faith, and who are victorious in temptations. But it is quite different with those who are not able to become spiritual. Although in childhood an affirmative attitude exists with them, when they are older they allow doubts to enter in which thus destroy the affirmative attitude towards good and truth. And when they reach adult years they allow denials to enter in, and even the affection for what is false to enter in. If such people were led into temptations they would give in completely. Consequently they are kept free from them.
[4] But the real reason why they allow doubts and subsequently denials to enter in may be traced back to their life of evil. People who lead a life of evil cannot possibly do otherwise. The life in any person, as has been stated, is affection or love, and as is the nature of that affection or love so is the nature of his thought. The affection for evil and the thought of truth never join themselves together. In cases where they seem to join themselves, they do not in fact do so, for the thought of truth exists without the affection for it. With such people therefore truth is not truth, but merely a sound or something on the lips, from which the heart is far away. Even very wicked people can know such truth, better than anybody else sometimes. Some are also so strongly persuaded by truth of that kind that no one can see it as other than genuine. But it is not genuine truth if the life of good is absent. It is affection belonging to self-love or love of the world which causes that strong persuasion of it, which they also defend with a vehemence that is evidence of apparent zeal; indeed they go so far as to condemn people who do not receive it or believe it in a similar way. But this kind of truth varies from one person to another according to his basic way of thinking, the strength of that truth depending on the strength of his self-love or his love of the world. It is, it is true, born together with evil, but it does not join itself to evil, and therefore in the next life is rooted out. It is different in the case of those who lead a life of good; in them the truth itself finds its soil, and its ability to grow, and from the Lord its life.
[2] The fact that those who are being reformed are brought into a state of not knowing any truth, that is, into a state of desolation, insomuch that they experience grief and despair, and that at this point for the first time they receive comfort and help from the Lord, is something that is not known at the present day for the reason that few are being reformed. Those who are such that they are able to be reformed are brought into this state, if not during this life then in the next, where that state is very well known and is called vastation or desolation, regarding which something has been said in Volume One, where also see 1109. Those who experience such vastation or desolation are brought to the point of despair, and when in that state they receive comfort and help from the Lord, and at length are taken away out of that state into heaven, where in the presence of angels they are taught so to speak anew the goods and truths of faith. The primary reason why they undergo vastation or desolation is so that the things of which they are firmly persuaded, originating in what is properly their own, may crumble, see 2682, and also that they may receive the perception of good and truth, which perception they are not able to receive until those false persuasions originating in what is their own are so to speak softened. And it is the state of distress and grief even to the point of despair that effects this change. What good is, and indeed what blessedness and happiness are, nobody with even the sharpest mind is able to perceive unless he has experienced the state of being deprived of good, blessedness, and happiness. It is from this experience that he acquires a sphere of perception; and he acquires it to the same degree that he has experienced the contrary state, for the sphere of perception and how far it extends are determined by his experience of the two contrary states. These, in addition to many others, are the reasons for vastation or desolation. Let the following examples illustrate the matter.
[3] Take those people who attribute everything to their own prudence, and little or nothing to Divine Providence. Even if thousands of reasons are produced to prove that Divine Providence is universal, but universal because it exists in every least thing, and that not even a hair falls from the head – that is, nothing however small exists that has not been foreseen and that has not been provided accordingly – their state of thought regarding their own prudence would remain unaltered, except for the brief moment when they feel convinced by such arguments. Indeed if the same matter were proved to them by actual experiences, they would while witnessing or taking part in such experiences acknowledge the truth of it, but after a short while they would revert to their previous outlook. Such experiences have a fleeting effect on people’s thought but not on their affection, and unless the affection is broken down the thought remains in its same state as before; for the thought receives its conviction and its life from the affection. But when the feelings of distress and grief enter into them because they have no power at all that is their own to do anything, and those feelings reach the point of despair, their firm persuasion is broken down and their state altered. In this case they can be brought to a conviction that they have no power that is their own to do anything, and that all power, prudence, intelligence and wisdom originate in the Lord. The same is true of people who believe that their faith is self-derived and their good self-derived.
[4] Let a further example illustrate the matter. Take those who have become firmly persuaded that once they have been made righteous no evil resides with them any longer, but has been completely wiped away and destroyed, and thus that they are pure. Thousands of arguments could be used to make it clear to them that nothing is wiped away or destroyed, but that those people are withheld from evil and maintained in good by the Lord who from the life of good which they have led in the world are such that they can be withheld from evil and maintained in good by Him. In addition to these arguments they could be convinced from experiences that they are of themselves nothing but evil, indeed that they are nothing but utterly filthy masses of evil. But in spite of all those arguments and experiences they would still not depart from their opinion and belief. But when they are brought into a particular state in order that they may perceive hell within themselves, and perceiving this so clearly as to despair of the possibility of their own salvation, that firm persuasion is for the first time broken down and with it their pride and their contempt for all others in comparison with themselves, and also their arrogant assumption that they are the only ones who are saved. They can now be brought into a true confession of faith, not merely to the confession that all good comes from the Lord but also that all things exist because of His mercy; and at length they can be brought into humility of heart before the Lord, the existence of which is impossible without acknowledgement of what they are in themselves. From this it is now evident why those who are being reformed or becoming spiritual are brought into the state of vastation or desolation dealt with in the verses previous to this, and how, when experiencing this state even to the point of despair, they for the first time receive comfort and help from the Lord.
‘Rise up’ means an uplifting of the mind. ‘Lift the boy up’ means the spiritual as regards truth. ‘And strengthen your hand in him’ means support received from this. ‘For I will make him into a great nation’ means the spiritual Church.
[2] Since these states are unknown in the world, for the reason mentioned previously that few at the present day are being regenerated, let the nature of this state be described as it is experienced by those who are being regenerated in the next life, where that state is very well known. After being comforted with the hope of help, those in the next life who have experienced vastation or desolation are raised up by the Lord into heaven, thus from a state of shade, which is a state of ignorance, into a state of light, which is a state of enlightenment and of resulting renewal, and so into joy which stirs their inmost feelings. It is indeed light into which they enter, of such a nature that it enables them to see not only with their eyes but also at the same time with their understanding. How much this light renews them may become clear from the contrary state from which they have been released. At that time some who have had a childlike disposition and whose faith has been simple appear to themselves in dazzling white garments. Some appear wearing crowns. Some are taken round to many angelic communities and are everywhere received charitably as brothers; and therefore all good that is gratifying to their new life is offered to them. Some are allowed to observe the vastness of heaven, that is, of the Lord’s kingdom, and at the same time to discern the blessedness of those who are there, in addition to countless other things there which defy description. Such is the state of initial enlightenment, and of the feeling of renewal resulting from this, of all who come out of desolation.
‘God opened her eyes’ means intelligence. ‘And she saw a well of water’ means the Lord’s Word from which truths are drawn. ‘And filled the flask with water’ means truths from that source. ‘And gave the boy a drink’ means teaching given in spiritual things.
[2] The reason why ‘the eye’ means the understanding is that the sight belonging to the body corresponds to that belonging to its spirit, which is the understanding. And because it has this correspondence ‘the eye’ in the Word, in almost every place where it is mentioned, means the understanding, even where people believe something other is meant, as where the Lord says in Matthew,
The lamp of the body is the eye. If the eye is sound, the whole body is full of light. If the eye has been evil the whole body has been made full of darkness. If therefore the light is darkness, how great is the darkness! Matt. 6:22, 23; Luke 11:34.
Here ‘the eye’ is the understanding, the spiritual constituent of which is faith, as also is shown by the explanation added here – ‘if therefore the light is darkness, how great is the darkness!’ Similarly in the same gospel,
If your right eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out and throw it away from you. Matt. 5:29; 18:9.
‘The left eye’ is the understanding part of the mind, whereas ‘the right eye’ is its affection. The command to pluck out the right eye means that if it causes one to stumble one’s affection must be disciplined.
[3] In the same gospel,
Blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. Matt. 13:16.
And in Luke, Jesus said to the disciples, Blessed are the eyes which see what you see. Luke 10:23.
Here ‘the eyes which see’ means intelligence and faith, for it was not the mere fact that they saw the Lord and also His miracles and works that caused any one of the disciples to be blessed but the fact that they could grasp things with their understandings and had faith, meant by ‘seeing with the eyes’, and that they were obedient, meant by ‘hearing with the ears’. As regards ‘seeing with the eyes’ meaning to see with the understanding and also to have faith, see 897, 2325. For the understanding is the spiritual complement of sight, and faith the spiritual complement of the understanding. The sight of the eye is received from the light of the world, the sight of the understanding from the light of heaven flowing into things which belong to the light of the world; but the sight of faith is received from the light of heaven. This is the origin of such phrases as seeing with the understanding and seeing with faith. ‘Hearing with the ear’ means being obedient, see 2542.
[4] In Mark,
Jesus said to the disciples, Do you not yet know nor understand? Do you still have your heart hardened? Having eyes do you not see, and having ears do you not hear? Mark 8:17, 18.
Here it is evident that ‘having eyes but not seeing’ means not wishing to understand and not believing. In Luke,
Jesus said of the city, Would that you knew the things that make for your peace! But such is hidden from your eyes. Luke 19:41, 42.
And in Mark,
By the Lord has this been done, and it is marvellous in our eyes. Mark 12:11.
Here ‘hidden from the eyes’ and ‘marvellous in the eyes’ mean to be so to the understanding, as is well known to everyone from the meaning of ‘the eyes’ even in everyday speech.
Abraham reproached Abimelech on account of the well which Abimelech’s servants had seized (verse 25).
Also in Genesis 26,
All the wells which the servants of Isaac’s father had dug, in the days of Abraham his father, the Philistines stopped up. And Isaac returned and dug [again] the wells of water which they had dug in the days of Abraham his father, for the Philistines had been stopping them up after Abraham’s death. And Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and found there a well of living waters. And they dug another well and disputed over that also. And he moved on from there and dug another well, and they did not dispute over that. And it happened on that day, that Isaac’s servants came and pointed out to him the reasons for the well which they had dug; and they said to him, We have found waters (verses 15, 18-22, 25, 32).
[2] In these verses nothing else is meant by ‘wells’ than matters of doctrine – both those about which they disputed, and those about which they did not. Otherwise their digging of wells and their disputing so many times about them would not be important enough to be mentioned in the Divine Word.
‘The well’ referred to in Moses in a similar way means the Word or doctrine,
They travelled to Beer. This was the well of which Jehovah said to Moses, Gather the people and I will give them water. Then Israel sang this song: Spring up, O well! Answer from it! The well which the princes dug, which the willing ones* of the people dug out, as directed by the law-giver, with their staves. Num. 21:16-18.
Because ‘a well’ meant the Word, doctrine drawn from it, and truth itself, this prophetic song therefore existed in Israel – a song in which the doctrine of truth is the inner theme, as is clear from everything contained in the internal sense. From this the name Beer is derived, and the name Beersheba,** and its meaning in the internal sense as doctrine itself.
[3] Doctrine however that has no truths in it is called ‘a pit’, or a well with no water in it, as in Jeremiah,
Their illustrious ones sent their lesser ones to the water; they came to the pits; they found no water; they returned with their vessels empty. Jer. 14:3.
Here ‘waters’ stands for truths, ‘the pits in which they found no waters’ for doctrine that has no truth within it. In the same prophet,
My people have committed two evils; they have forsaken Me, the source of living waters, to hollow out pits for themselves, broken pits, which cannot hold water. Jer. 2:13.
Here in a similar way ‘pits’ stands for doctrines that are not true, ‘broken pits’ for matters of doctrine that have been ravaged.
[4] As regards ‘a spring’ meaning the Word, also doctrine, and therefore truth, this is seen in Isaiah,
The afflicted and the needy were seeking water, and there was none; their tongue was parched with thirst. I Jehovah will hearken to them, I the God of Israel will not forsake them. I will open rivers on the sloping heights, and springs in the midst of valleys; I will make the wilderness into a pool of water, and the dry land into streams of water. Isa. 41:17, 18.
In the first place this refers to the desolation of truth, which is meant by the statements that ‘the afflicted and needy sought water and there was none’, and that ‘their tongue was parched with thirst’. Then it refers, as in the present verses in Genesis where Hagar is the subject, to the comfort, renewal, and instruction following desolation, which are meant by the promise that ‘Jehovah will open the rivers on the sloping heights, will place springs in the midst of valleys, make the wilderness into a pool of water, and the dry land into streams of water’, all of which have to do with the doctrine of truth and the affection acquired from this.
[5] In Moses,
Israel dwelt securely, alone at Jacob’s spring, in a land of corn and new wine; even his heavens distil the dew. Deut. 33:28.
‘Jacob’s spring’ stands for the Word and the doctrine of truth drawn from it. It was because Jacob’s spring meant the Word, and the doctrine of truth drawn from it, that when the Lord came to Jacob’s spring He talked to the woman from Samaria and taught what is meant by the spring and by water. The incident is described in John as follows,
Jesus came to a city of Samaria called Sychar. Jacob’s spring was there. Jesus therefore, weary from the journey, sat thus by the spring. A woman from Samaria came to draw water, to whom Jesus said, Give Me a drink. Jesus said, If you knew the gift of God and who it is who is saying to you, Give Me a drink, you would ask of Him to give you living water. Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again, but he who drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a spring of water welling up into eternal life. John 4:5-7, 10, 13, 14.
Because ‘Jacob’s spring’ meant the Word, ‘water’ truth, and ‘Samaria’ the spiritual Church, as is the case many times in the Word, therefore the Lord talked to the woman from Samaria and taught that the doctrine of truth is derived from Himself, and that when it is derived from Himself, or what amounts to the same, from His Word, it is ‘a spring of water welling up into eternal life’; also that the truth itself is ‘living water’.
[6] Similar teaching occurs in the same gospel,
Jesus said, If anyone thirsts let him come to Me and drink. Whoever believes in Me, as the scripture says, Out of his belly will flow rivers of living water. John 7:37, 38.
And in the Book of Revelation,
The Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and will guide them to living springs of water; and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Rev. 7:17.
In the same book,
To him who thirsts I will give from the spring of living water without price. Rev. 21:6.
‘Rivers of living water’ and ‘living springs of water’ stand for truths which are derived from the Lord, that is, from His Word, for the Lord is the Word. The good of love and charity which comes solely from the Lord is the life of truth. The expression ‘he who thirsts’ is used of one who is stirred by a love and affection for truth; no other can so thirst.
[7] These truths are also called ‘the springs of salvation’ in Isaiah,
With joy you will draw water from the springs of salvation, and you will say on that day, Confess Jehovah, call on His name. Isa. 12:3, 4.
That ‘a spring’ means the Word, or doctrine drawn from it, is also evident in Joel,
It will happen on that day, that the mountains will drip new wine, and the hills will run with milk, and all the streams of Judah will run with water, and a spring will come forth from the house of Jehovah and will water the river of Shittim. Joel 3:18.
Here ‘water’ stands for truths, ‘a spring from the house of Jehovah’ for the Word of the Lord.
[8] In Jeremiah,
Behold I am bringing them from the north land, and I will gather them from the extremities of the earth, among them the blind one and the lame. With weeping they will come, and with supplications I will bring them to springs of water in a straight path on which they will not stumble. Jer. 31:8, 9.
‘Springs of water in a straight path’ plainly stands for matters of doctrine concerning truth. ‘The north land’ stands for the lack of knowledge or the desolation of truth, ‘weeping and supplications’ for their state of grief and despair. ‘Being brought to springs of water’ stands for renewal and instruction in truths, as in this chapter of Genesis where Hagar and her son are the subject.
[9] The same matters are presented in Isaiah as follows,
The wilderness and the dry land will be glad for them; and the lonely place will rejoice and blossom like the rose. It will bud prolifically, and will rejoice also with rejoicing and singing. The glory of Lebanon has been given to it, the majesty of Carmel and Sharon. They will see the glory of Jehovah, the majesty of our God. Strengthen the weak hands and make firm the feeble knees. The eyes of the blind will be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Waters will break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the lonely place; and the dry place will become a pool and the thirsty ground wellsprings of water. Isa. 35:1-3, 5-7.
Here ‘a wilderness’ stands for a desolation of truth. ‘Waters’, ‘streams’, ‘a pool’, ‘wellsprings of water’ stand for truths which serve to renew and give joy to people who have experienced vastation and whose joys are described in many ways here.
[10] In David,
Jehovah sends forth springs in the valleys; they will go among the mountains.
They will give drink to every wild beast of the fields; the wild asses will quench their thirst. He waters the mountains from His chambers. Ps. 104:10, 11, 13.
‘Springs’ stands for truths, ‘mountains’ for the love of good and truth, ‘giving drink’ for giving teaching, ‘wild beasts of the fields’ for people who live by that teaching, see 774, 841, 908, ‘wild asses’ for those who have none but rational truth, 1949-1951.
[11] In Moses,
The son of a fruitful one is Joseph, the son of a fruitful one beside a spring. Gen. 49:22.
‘A spring’ stands for doctrine from the Lord. In the same author,
Jehovah your God will bring you into a good land, a land of rivers, waters, springs, depths gushing out in valleys and mountains. Deut. 8:7.
‘A land’ stands for the Lord’s kingdom and Church, 662, 1066, 1067, 1262, 1413, 2571, which is called ‘good’ from the good of love and charity. ‘Rivers’, ‘waters’, ‘springs’, and ‘depths’ stand for the truths derived from that good. In the same author,
The land of Canaan, a land of mountains and valleys, on the arrival of the rain of heaven it drinks water. Deut. 11:11.
[12] That ‘waters’ means truths, both spiritual and rational, and also factual, is evident from the following places: In Isaiah,
Behold, the Lord Jehovah Zebaoth is taking away from Jerusalem and from Judah the whole staff of bread and the whole staff of water. Isa. 3:1.
In the same prophet,
To the thirsty bring water; meet with his bread the fugitive. Isa. 21:14.
In the same prophet,
Blessed are you who sow beside all waters. Isa. 32:20.
In the same prophet,
He who walks in righteous ways and speaks upright words will dwell on the heights; his bread will be given to him, his water will be sure. Isa. 33:15, 16.
In the same prophet,
At that time they will not thirst; in the wilderness He will lead them; He will make water flow for them from the rock. And He cleaves the rock and the water flows out. Isa. 48:21; Exod. 17:1-8; Num. 20:11, 13.
In David,
He split rocks in the wilderness and caused them to drink abundantly like the depths. He brought streams out of the rock and caused waters to descend like a river. Ps. 78:15, 16.
Here ‘rock’ stands for the Lord, ‘water, streams, and the depths from it’ for truths derived from Him.
[13] In the same author,
Jehovah turns rivers into a wilderness, and streams of waters into a dryness. He turns a wilderness into a pool of water, and parched land into streams of waters. Ps. 107:33, 35.
In the same author,
The voice of Jehovah is upon the waters; Jehovah is upon many waters. Ps. 29:3.
In the same author,
There is a river whose streams will make glad the city of God, the holy place of the dwellings of the Most High. Ps. 46:4.
In the same author,
By the word of Jehovah were the heavens made, and all their host by the spirit of His mouth. He gathered the waters of the sea together as a heap; He placed the depths in storehouses. Ps. 33:6, 7.
In the same author,
You visit the earth and delight in it, You enrich it very greatly; the river of God is full of water. Ps. 65:9.
In the same author,
The waters have seen You, O God, the waters have seen You. The depths trembled, the clouds poured out water. Your way was in the sea, and Your path in many waters. Ps. 77:16, 17, 19.
It is evident to anyone that ‘waters’ here do not mean waters, and that ‘the depths trembled’ and ‘Jehovah’s way was in the sea and His path in the waters’, are not meant literally, but that spiritual waters are meant, that is, things of a spiritual kind, which are matters of truth; otherwise it would all be just a heap of meaningless words. In Isaiah,
Ho, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters, and he who has no money, come, buy! Isa. 55:1.
In Zechariah,
It will happen on that day, that living waters will flow out of Jerusalem, half of them to the eastern sea and half of them to the western sea. Zech. 14:8.
[14] Furthermore when the Church which is about to be established or which has been established is the subject in the Word and it is described by a paradise, a garden, a grove, or by trees, it is usual for it to be described also by waters or rivers running through, which mean things of a spiritual, rational, or factual kind, which are matters of truth. Paradise as described in Gen. 2:8, 9, for example, is also described by the rivers there, verses 10-14, which mean things that are attributes of wisdom and intelligence, see 107-121. Similar examples occur many times elsewhere in the Word, as in Moses,
Like valleys that are planted, like gardens beside a river, like aloes Jehovah has planted, like cedars beside the waters. Waters will flow from his buckets, and his seed will be in many waters. Num. 24:6, 7.
In Ezekiel,
He took some of the seed of the land and planted it in a seed field; he took it to be beside many waters. It sprouted and became a spreading vine. Ezek. 17:5, 6.
‘A vine’ and ‘a vineyard’ mean the spiritual Church, see 1069. In the same prophet,
Your mother was like a vine in your likeness, planted beside the waters; fruitful, and made full of branches by reason of many waters. Ezek. 19:10.
[15] In the same prophet,
Behold, Asshur [was a cedar] in Lebanon; the waters caused it to grow, the depth made it high, with its rivers going round about the place of its planting; and he sent out his lines of water to all the trees of the field. Ezek. 31:3, 4.
In the same prophet,
Behold, on the bank of the river were very many trees, on this side and on that. He said to me, These waters are going out towards the eastern boundary, and they go down over the plain, and they go towards the sea, having been sent away into the sea; and the waters are fresh. And it will be that every living creature that creeps, in every place which the two rivers come to, will live; and there will be very many fish, for these waters go there, and become fresh, so that everything may live where the river goes. Its swamps and its marshes are not healed; they will be given up to salt. Ezek. 47:7-9 , 11.
This refers to the New Jerusalem or Lord’s spiritual kingdom. ‘Waters going out towards the eastern boundary’ means things that are spiritual flowing from those which are celestial, or truths derived from a celestial source, that is, faith springing from love and charity, 101, 1250. ‘Going down into the plain’ means matters of doctrine belonging to the rational, 2418, 2450. ‘Going towards the sea’ means towards factual knowledge, ‘the sea’ being a gathering together of facts, 28. ‘The living creature that creeps’ means the delights which go with these, 746, 909, 994, which will receive their life from ‘the waters of the river’, that is, from spiritual things derived from a celestial source. ‘Many fish’ stands for an abundance of appropriate facts, 40, 991, while ‘swamps and marshes’ stands for such as are inappropriate and impure. ‘Turning into salt’ stands for becoming vastated, 2455. In Jeremiah,
Blessed is the man who trusts in Jehovah. He will be like a tree planted beside the waters, which sends out its roots beside the stream. Jer. 17:7, 8.
In David,
He will be like a tree planted beside streams of water, which will yield its fruit in its season. Ps. 1:3.
In John,
He showed me a pure river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the middle of its street, and of the river, on this side and on that, was the tree of life bearing twelve fruits. Rev. 22:1, 2.
[16] Now because ‘waters’ means truths in the internal sense of the Word it was therefore commanded in the Jewish Church, for the sake of representation before the eyes of the angels who beheld ritual acts in a spiritual way, that the priests and Levites should wash themselves with water when they came to perform their duties, and that they should do so with water from the layer placed between the tent and the altar, and later on with water from the bronze sea and all the other lavers around the temple, which were there in place of a spring. In a similar way for the sake of representation the ritual involving the water of sin or of expiation which was to be sprinkled over the Levites was established, Num. 8:7, also the ritual involving the water of separation from the ashes of the red cow, Num. 19:2-19, as well as the requirement that spoils taken from the Midianites were to be cleansed with water, Num. 31:19-25.
[17] The water provided out of the rock, Exod. 17:1-8; Num. 20:1-13, represented and meant an abundance of spiritual things, that is, of truths of faith from the Lord. The bitter waters which were made drinkable by means of the wood, Exod. 15:22-25, represented and meant that truths, from being unpleasant, are made acceptable and gratifying by virtue of good, that is, of the affection for it – ‘wood’ meaning good which constitutes affection or the will, see 643. From these considerations one may now see what ‘water’ means in the Word, and from this what the water used in baptism means, regarding which the Lord says the following in John,
Unless a person has been born from water and the spirit he cannot enter the kingdom of God. John 3:5.
That is to say, ‘water’ means the spiritual constituent of faith, and ‘the spirit’ the celestial constituent of it, so that baptism is the symbol of man’s regeneration by the Lord by means of the truths and goods of faith. Not that a person’s regeneration is accomplished in baptism, but by the life, the sign of which life is denoted in baptism, and into which life Christians who possess the truths of faith because they have the Word must enter.
* the willing ones is the primary meaning of the Hebrew expression here. Put the latter also has a derivative meaning nobles, which Sw. has in other places where he quotes this verse.
** Beer is the Hebrew word for a well, and Beersheba means The well of the oath or The well of seven.
‘God was with the boy’ means the Lord’s presence with those who are spiritual. ‘And he grew’ means increases. ‘And dwelt in the wilderness’ means that which is obscure comparatively. ‘And was an archer’ means the member of the spiritual Church.
With regard to ‘God’s being with someone’ meaning the Lord’s presence, this may be seen without any explanation. The Lord is indeed present with everyone, for from no other source does life flow, and He governs every specific detail of it. This is so even with the worst of men, and in hell itself. But the nature of His presence varies according to the way His life is received. In the case of those who receive the life of the love of His good and truth wrongfully and who pervert it into the loves of what is evil and false, the Lord is present and as far as possible overrules for good their ends in view. But His presence with them is called ‘absence’ – an absence to the degree that evil is distant from good, and falsity from truth. With those however who do receive the life of the love of the Lord’s good and truth it is referred to as ‘presence’, a presence to the degree of reception. The Lord’s presence may be compared to the sun which is present with its heat and light in all plant life according to the reception of it.
With regard to ‘the boy’ meaning the spiritual as regards truth, this has been stated above. But here he means those who are spiritual because he represents the member of the spiritual Church, also the spiritual Church itself, and in the universal sense the Lord’s spiritual kingdom. For when it is said that anyone means that which is spiritual, as here where ‘the boy’ means the spiritual as regards truth, those who are spiritual are included in the meaning, since the spiritual does not exist without a subject. The same applies to everything else spoken of in the abstracted sense.
[2] In the Word ‘a wilderness’ can mean that which is sparsely inhabited and cultivated, or it can mean that which is totally uninhabited and uncultivated, and so is used in two senses. When it means that which is sparsely inhabited and cultivated, that is, where there are few dwellings, and where there are sheepfolds, pastures, and waters, it means that thing or those persons who, compared with others, have little life and light, as is the case with that which is spiritual or those who are spiritual in comparison with that which is celestial or those who are celestial. When however it means that which is totally uninhabited and uncultivated, that is, where there are no dwellings, sheepfolds, pastures, and waters, it means those who have undergone vastation as regards good and desolation as regards truth.
[3] That ‘a wilderness’ can mean that which, compared with other places, is sparsely inhabited and cultivated, that is, where there are few dwellings, and where there are sheepfolds, pastures, and waters, is clear from the following places: In Isaiah,
Sing to Jehovah a new song, His praise from the end of the earth, those that go down to the sea, and the fullness of it, the islands and their inhabitants. The wilderness and its cities will lift up [their voice]; Kedar will inhabit the settlements,* the inhabitants of the rock will sing, they will shout from the top of the mountains. Isa. 42:10, 11.
In Ezekiel,
I will make with them a covenant of peace and I will banish the evil wild animal from the land, and they will dwell securely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods, and I will give them and the places around My hill a blessing. The tree of the field will give its fruit, and the earth will give its increase.** Ezek. 34:25-27.
This refers to those who are spiritual. In Hosea,
I will bring her into the wilderness and will speak tenderly to her; and I will give her her vineyards from it. Hosea 2:14, 15.
This refers to the desolation of truth and to the comfort that follows later.
[4] In David,
The folds of the wilderness drip, and the hills gird themselves with rejoicing; the meadows clothe themselves with flocks, and the valleys are covered over with grain. Ps. 65:12, 13.
In Isaiah,
I will make the wilderness into a pool of water, and the parched land into streams of water. I will put in the wilderness the shittim-cedar, and the myrtle, and the oil tree. I will set in the wilderness the fir, that men may see and know, and may consider and understand together, for the hand of Jehovah has done this, and the Holy One of Israel has created it. Isa. 41:18-20.
This refers to the regeneration of those who have no knowledge of the truth, that is, gentiles, and to the enlightenment and teaching of those who have experienced desolation. ‘The wilderness’ is used in reference to these. ‘The cedar, the myrtle, and the oil tree’ stands for the truths and goods of the interior man, ‘fir’ for those of the exterior man. In David,
Jehovah turns rivers into a wilderness, and streams of waters into dryness. He turns a wilderness into a pool of water, and parched land into streams of water. Ps. 107:33, 35
Here the meaning is similar. In Isaiah,
The wilderness and the dry land will be glad for them, and the lonely place will rejoice and blossom like the rose. It will bud prolifically. Waters will break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the lonely place. Isa. 35:1, 2, 6.
In the same prophet,
You will be like a watered garden and like a spring of waters whose waters do not fail; and those that be of you will build the wilderness of old. Isa. 58:11, 12.
In the same prophet,
Until the spirit is poured out on us from on high, and the wilderness will become Carmel, and Carmel counted as a forest. And judgement will dwell in the wilderness and righteousness on Carmel. Isa. 32:15, 16.
This refers to the spiritual Church which, though inhabited and cultivated, is, in comparison [with the celestial Church], called ‘a wilderness’, for it is said that ‘judgement will dwell in the wilderness and righteousness on Carmel’. It is evident from the places just quoted that ‘a wilderness’ means an obscure state compared with other states not only because it is described as ‘a wilderness’ but also as ‘a woodland’; and an obscure state is plainly the meaning in Jeremiah,
O generation, observe the word of Jehovah. Have I been a wilderness to Israel, or a land of darkness? Jer. 2:31.
[5] That ‘a wilderness’ can mean that which is totally uninhabited and uncultivated, that is, where there are no dwellings, sheepfolds, pastures, and waters, and so can mean those who have experienced vastation as regards good and desolation as regards truth, is also clear from the Word. This kind of wilderness is used with two different meanings; that is to say, it may be used in reference to those who are subsequently reformed or in reference to those who are unable to be reformed. Regarding those who are subsequently reformed, such as Hagar and her son represent here, it is said in Jeremiah,
Thus said Jehovah, I have remembered you, the mercy of the days of your youth, your going after Me in the wilderness, in a land not sown. Jer. 2:2.
This refers to Jerusalem, which in this case means the Ancient Church that was spiritual. In Moses,
The portion of Jehovah is His people, Jacob is the line of His inheritance. He found him in a wilderness land and in the waste, the howling, the lonely place. He encompassed him, led him to understand, and kept him as the pupil of His eye. Deut. 32:9, 10.
In David,
They wandered in the wilderness, in a desolate way; they did not find an inhabited city. Ps. 107:4.
This refers to those who have experienced desolation of truth and are being reformed. In Ezekiel,
I will bring you to the wilderness of the peoples and I will enter into judgement with you there, as I entered into judgement with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt. Ezek. 20:35, 36.
This likewise refers to the vastation and desolation of those who are being reformed.
[6] The travels and wanderings of the Israelites in the wilderness represented nothing else than the vastation and desolation prior to reformation of those who have faith. It consequently represented the temptation of them, for when people undergo spiritual temptations they experience vastation and desolation, as may also become clear from the following in Moses,
Jehovah carried you*** along in the wilderness, as a man carries his son, in [all] the way [you went], until [you reached] this place. Deut. 1:31.
And elsewhere in the same book,
You shall remember all the way in which Jehovah your God has led you forty years already in the wilderness to afflict you, to tempt you, and to know what is in your heart, whether you will keep His commandments or not. He afflicted you, caused you to hunger, caused you to eat manna which you do not know nor your fathers knew, so that you may recognize that man does not live by bread only but that man lives by all that goes out of the mouth of Jehovah. Deut. 8:2, 3.
And further on in the same chapter,
Do not forget that Jehovah led you in the great and terrible wilderness where there were serpents, fiery snakes, and scorpions, parched places where there was no water, and that He brought you water out of the rock of flint. He fed you in the wilderness with manna which your fathers did not know, that He might afflict you, tempt you, to do you good in the end. Deut. 8:15, 16.
Here ‘wilderness’ stands for the vastation and desolation such as people experience who undergo temptations. Their travels and wanderings in the wilderness for forty years describe every state of the Church militant – how when it is self-reliant it goes under but when it relies on the Lord it overcomes.
[7] The description in John of the woman who fled into the wilderness means nothing else than temptation experienced by the Church, referred to as follows,
The woman who brought forth the male child fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God. To the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, so that she might fly into the wilderness, into her own place. And the serpent poured water like a stream out of his mouth after the woman, to swallow her up in the river. But the earth helped the woman, for the earth opened its mouth and swallowed the stream which the dragon poured out of his mouth. Rev. 12:6, 14-16.
[8] That ‘a wilderness’ may be used in reference to a totally vastated Church and to people totally vastated as regards good and truth who are unable to be reformed may be seen in the following in Isaiah,
I will make the rivers a wilderness; their fish will stink for lack of water and will die of thirst; I will clothe the heavens with thick darkness. Isa. 50:2, 3.
In the same prophet,
The cities of Your holiness were a wilderness – Zion was a wilderness, Jerusalem lay waste. Isa. 64:10,
In Jeremiah,
I looked, and behold, Carmel was a wilderness, and all its cities were destroyed from before Jehovah. Jer. 4:26.
In the same prophet,
Many shepherds have spoiled My vineyard, they have trampled down [My] portion, they have made the portion of My delight into a desolate wilderness. They have made it into a desolation; desolate, it has mourned over Me. The whole land has been made desolate, for nobody takes it to heart. On all the slopes in the wilderness those who lay waste have come. Jer. 12:10-12.
In Joel,
Fire has devoured the folds of the wilderness, and flame will burn up all the trees of the field. The streams of water have dried up, and fire has devoured the folds of the wilderness. Joel 1:19, 20.
In Isaiah, He made the world like a wilderness and destroyed its cities. Isa. 14:17.
This refers to Lucifer. In the same prophet,
The prophecy concerning the wilderness of the sea. Like storms in the south it comes from the wilderness, from a terrible land. Isa. 21:1 and following verses.
‘The wilderness of the sea’ stands for truth that has been vastated by facts and by reasonings based on these.
[9] All these places show what is meant by the following reference to John the Baptist,
It was said by Isaiah, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare a way for the Lord, make His paths straight. Matt. 3:3; Mark 1:3; Luke 3:4; John 1:23; Isa. 40:3.
These words imply that at that time the Church was so totally vastated that no good and no truth remained any longer. This is quite evident from the fact that nobody at that time knew of the existence in man of anything internal, or of anything internal in the Word, so that nobody knew that the Messiah or Christ was coming to save them for ever. The places quoted above also show what is meant by the statement that John was in the wilderness until the time of his manifestation to Israel, Luke 1:80, that he preached in the wilderness of Judea, Matt. 3:1 and following verses, and that he baptized in the wilderness, Mark 1:4; for by this he also represented the state of the Church. From the meaning of ‘a wilderness’ it may also be seen why the Lord retired so often into the wilderness, as in Matt. 4:1; 15:32-end; Mark 1:12, 13, 35, 45; 6:31-36; Luke 4:1; 5:16; 9:10 and following verses; John 11:54; and also from the meaning of ‘a mountain’ why the Lord retired into the mountains, as in Matt. 14:23; 15:29-31; 17:1 and following verses; 28:16, 17; Mark 3:13, 14; 6:46; 9:2-9; Luke 6:12, 13; 9:28; John 6:15.
* lit. courts. The Hebrew may mean courts or else villages which Sw. has in another place where he quotes this verse.
** The Latin means fruit but the Hebrew means increase which Sw. has in other places where he quotes this verse.
*** The Latin means them but the Hebrew means you.
[2] The fact that the spiritual man was in former times called ‘an archer’ and ‘a bowman’, and that doctrine was called a bow and a quiver, and the truths of doctrine, or rather matters of doctrine, were called arrows, darts, and shafts, is further clear in David,
The children of Ephraim who were armed (they were archers) turned back on the day of battle. Ps. 78:9.
‘Ephraim’ stands for the intellectual side of the Church. In the Book of Judges,
You who ride white she-asses, you who sit on Middin,* and you who walk along the way, may you ponder. From the voice of the bowmen among those drawing water, there they will discuss the righteous acts of Jehovah, the righteous acts of His village in Israel. Judg. 5:10, 11.
In Isaiah.
Jehovah called me from the womb, from my mother’s body** He made mention of my name and set my mouth like a sharp sword. In the shadow of His hand He hid me and turned me into a polished arrow; in His quiver He hid me, and He said to me, You are My servant Israel, for I will be glorified in you. Isa. 49:1-3.
‘Israel’ stands for the spiritual Church.
[3] In David,
Like arrows in the hand of a powerful man so are the children of the days of one’s youth. Blessed is the man who has filled his quiver with them. Ps. 127:4, 5.
‘A quiver’ stands for the doctrine of good and truth. In Habakkuk,
The sun, the moon, stood still in their place. At the light of Your arrows they will go, at the flash of Your glittering spear. Hab. 3:11.
In the reference to Joash king of Israel who at Elisha’s command shot the arrow from the bow through the window, with Elisha saying as he shot it, Jehovah’s arrow of salvation, Jehovah’s arrow of salvation against the Syrian, 2 Kings 13:16-18, arcana to do with the doctrine of good and truth are meant.
[4] Since most things in the Word also possess a contrary sense, darts, arrows, shafts, bows, and archers accordingly possess such. In that contrary sense they mean falsities, doctrine that teaches what is false, and those who are under the influence of falsity, as in Moses,
The son of a fruitful one is Joseph, the son of a fruitful one beside a spring, O daughters,*** he trails over the wall; and they bitterly grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him did the archers. Gen. 49:22, 23.
In Jeremiah,
They shot with their tongue, their bow is a bow of lies and not used for truth. Their tongue is a shaft extended; it speaks deceit. Jer 9:3, 8.
In David,
They sharpened their tongue like a sword, they aimed their shaft, a bitter word, to shoot in secret places at the upright; they will shoot suddenly and will not fear him. They will make strong for
themselves an evil matter; they will tell of laying snares secretly. Ps. 64:3-5.
In the same author,
Behold, the evil bend the bow, they make ready their shaft upon the string, to shoot in thick darkness itself at the upright in heart. Ps. 11:2.
In the same author,
His truth is a shield and buckler; you will not be afraid of the terror of the night, of the shaft that flies by day. Ps. 91:4, 5.
* A Hebrew word, the meaning of which is uncertain.
** lit. viscera
*** The Latin means beside the daughters’ spring, but the Hebrew appears to mean beside a spring, O daughters, which Sw. has in the chapter explaining Genesis 49.
‘He dwelt in the wilderness of Paran’ means the life of the spiritual man as regards good, ‘a wilderness’ here, as previously, meaning that which is obscure in comparison [with the celestial], ‘Paran’ enlightenment coming from the Lord’s Divine Human. ‘And his mother took for him’ means the affection for truth. ‘A wife from the land of Egypt’ means the affection for knowledge, which the member of the spiritual Church possesses.
I have laid their streets waste, so that none passes through; their cities are desolate, so that there is no one dwelling in them. Zeph. 3:6.
[2] In Jeremiah,
Jehovah was leading us through the wilderness. No man passed through in that [land], and no one dwelt there. They have turned his land into a solitary place, his cities have been burned, so that none is dwelling there. Jer. 2:6, 15.
In the same prophet,
Every city has been forsaken, with no one dwelling in them. Jer. 4:29.
In the same prophet,
In the streets of Jerusalem that are desolate there is no human being, no inhabitant, no beast. Jer. 33:10.
‘Streets’ stands for truths, 2336, ‘no human being’ for no celestial good, ‘no inhabitant’ for no spiritual good, ‘no beast’ for no natural good. In the same prophet,
The cities of Moab will become a desolation, with no one dwelling in them. Jer. 48:9.
[3] With each particular expression in the Prophets there exists the marriage of truth and good. Consequently when ‘a city’ is said to be desolate, the phrase ‘no one dwelling in it’ is also added, the reason being that ‘a city’ means truths and ‘one dwelling in it’ good. Otherwise it would be superfluous to say ‘no one dwelling in it’ when it has been stated that the city is desolate. In a similar way certain terms occur consistently to mean things that belong to celestial good, others that belong to spiritual good, and others also that belong to truths, as in Isaiah,
Your seed will possess the nations, and they will dwell in the desolate cities. Isa. 54:3
Here ‘possessing’ has reference to celestial good, ‘dwelling in’ to spiritual good. In the same prophet,
My chosen ones will possess it, and My servants will dwell there. Isa. 65:9.
Here the meaning is similar.
[4] In David,
God will save Zion and will build the cities of Judah; and they will dwell there and possess it, and the seed of His servants will inherit it, and those loving His name will dwell in it. Ps. 69:35, 36.
‘Dwelling there’ and at the same time ‘possessing’ has reference to celestial good, ‘dwelling in’ to spiritual good. In Isaiah,
He who says to Jerusalem, You will be dwelt in; and to the cities of Judah, You will be built. Isa. 44:26.
Here ‘dwelling in’ has reference to the good of the spiritual Church, which is Jerusalem. To such an extent do the terms used in the Word have reference to their own goods and their own truths that simply from a knowledge of that usage of terms one may recognize what the subject is in general that is being dealt with.
O Jehovah, I have heard Your fame; I was afraid. O Jehovah, revive Your work in the midst of the years, in the midst of the years make it known. In zeal You will remember mercy. God will come out of Teman, and the Holy One from Mount Paran. Selah. His fame has covered the heavens, and the earth has been filled with His praise. And His brightness will be as the light; He has horns going out of His hand, and there the hiding-place of His strength will be. Hab. 3:2-4.
This plainly refers to the Lord’s Coming, which is meant by ‘reviving in the midst of the years’ and ‘making known in the midst of the years’. His Divine Human is described by the words ‘God will come out of Teman, and the Holy One from Mount Paran’. He is said to come ‘out of Teman’ in regard to celestial love, and ‘from Mount Paran’ in regard to spiritual love; and the springing of these from enlightenment and power is meant by the words ‘His brightness will be as the light; He has horns going out of His hand’. ‘Brightness’ and ‘light’ mean enlightenment, ‘horns’ power.
[2] In Moses,
Jehovah came from Sinai, and dawned from Seir upon them; He shone from Mount Paran, and came from myriads of holiness From His right hand came a fiery law for them. He indeed loves the peoples. All His holy ones are in your hand and have been joined together at your feet; and He will receive of your words. Deut. 33:2, 3.
This also refers to the Lord, whose Divine Human is described by the words ‘He dawned from Seir’ and ‘He shone from Mount Paran’ – ‘from Seir’ being used in regard to celestial love, ‘from Mount Paran’ to spiritual love. Those who are spiritual are meant by ‘the peoples whom He loves’ and by ‘those joined together at your feet’, ‘the foot’ meaning that which is lower, and so more obscure, in the Lord’s kingdom.
[3] In the same author,
Chedorlaomer and the kings with him smote the Horites in their Mount Seir as far as El-paran, which is over into the wilderness. Gen. 14:5, 6.
As regards the Lord’s Divine Human being meant there by ‘Mount Seir’ and by ‘El-paran’, see 1675, 1676. In the same author,
So it was, in the second year, in the second month, on the twentieth day in the month, that the cloud lifted from over the tabernacle of the testimony. And the children of Israel travelled according to their travels from the wilderness of Sinai, and the cloud settled in the wilderness of Paran. Num. 10:11, 12.
[4] The truth that all the travels of the people in the wilderness mean the state of the Church militant, and its temptations, in which a person goes under but the Lord conquers on his behalf, and the truth that consequently they mean the Lord’s own actual temptations and victories, will in the Lord’s Divine mercy be shown elsewhere. And because the Lord underwent temptations by reason of His Divine Human, the Lord’s Divine Human is in a similar way meant here by ‘the wilderness of Paran’. The same is also meant by the following in the same author,
After that the people travelled from Hazeroth, and camped in the wilderness of Paran. And Jehovah spoke to Moses and said, Send men and let them explore the land of Canaan which I am giving to the children of Israel. And Moses sent them from the wilderness of Paran as spoken by the mouth of Jehovah. And they returned to Moses and to Aaron and to all the congregation of the children of Israel, to the wilderness of Paran in Kadesh; and they brought back word to them, and showed them the fruit of the land. Num. 12:16; 13:1-3, 26.
Their travelling from the wilderness of Paran to explore the land of Canaan means that by means of the Lord’s Divine Human these people – the children of Israel, by whom were meant those who are spiritual – have access to the heavenly kingdom, meant by the land of Canaan. But their faltering also at that time means their weakness, on account of which the Lord fulfilled everything in the Law, underwent temptations and was victorious, so that those with whom faith grounded in charity resides, also those who undergo temptations in which the Lord is victorious, have salvation from His Divine Human. This also explains why, when the Lord was tempted, He was in the wilderness, Matt. 4:1; Mark 1:12, 13; Luke 4:1; see above in 2708.
[2] As a consequence those who are spiritual do not have love to the Lord, as those who are celestial do; nor therefore does that humility exist with them which is essential in all worship and by means of which good can flow in from the Lord; for a heart that is haughty is not at all receptive, only one that is humble. Nor do those who are spiritual have love towards the neighbour, as those who are celestial do, because self-love and love of the world are constantly flowing in from the will part of their mind, bringing obscurity into the good that goes with that love towards the neighbour. This may also become clear to one who reflects from the fact that when he helps another he does so for worldly reasons; thus though he may not consciously have it in mind he is nevertheless thinking about what he will get in return either from those he helps or in the next life from the Lord, which being so his good is still defiled with merit-seeking. It may also become clear to him from the fact that when he has done anything good and is able to speak about it to others and so set himself up above others, he is in his element. But those who are celestial love the neighbour more than they love themselves, and do not ever think about repayment or in any way set themselves up above others.
[3] The good residing with those who are spiritual is in addition made obscure by persuasive beliefs that are the product of various assumptions, which likewise have their origin in self-love and love of the world. For the nature of their persuasive beliefs even in matters of faith, see 2682, 2689 (end). This too is a product of the influx of evil from the will part of their mind.
[4] It may in addition become clear that the good residing with the spiritual man is obscure compared with the celestial man’s, from the fact that he does not know what truth is, as those who are celestial do, from any perception. Instead he knows what truth is from what he has learned from parents and teachers, and also from the doctrine into which he was born. And when he adds to this anything from himself and from his own thinking, it is for the most part the senses and the illusions of the senses, also the rational and the appearances present within the rational, that predominate, and these make it barely possible for him to acknowledge any pure truth like that acknowledged by those who are celestial. But in spite of this, within things that are seemingly true the Lord implants good, even though these truths are mere illusions or else appearances of truth. But this good is made obscure by such truths, for it derives its specific nature from the truths to which it is joined. It is like the light of the sun falling upon objects. The nature of the objects receiving the light causes the light to be seen within those objects in the form of colours, which are beautiful if the nature of the recipient form and the manner of its receiving are fitting and correspondent, hideous if the nature of the recipient form and the manner of its receiving are not fitting and so not correspondent. In the same way good itself acquires a specific nature from the truth [to which it is joined].
[5] The same arcanum is also evident from the fact that the spiritual man does not know what evil is. He scarcely believes that any other evils exist than actions contrary to the Ten Commandments. Of evils present in affection and thought, which are countless, he has no knowledge nor does he reflect on them or call them evils. All delights whatever that go with evil desires and pleasures he does not regard as other than good; and the actual delights that are part of self-love he both pursues, approves of, and excuses, without knowing that such things have an effect on his spirit and that he becomes altogether such in the next life.
[6] From this it is in a similar way clear that although the whole of the Word deals with scarcely any other matter than the good which goes with love to the Lord and love towards the neighbour, the spiritual man does not know that that good is the sum and substance of faith, nor even what the essential nature of love and charity is. It is also clear that though something which is a matter of faith may be known to him – faith being considered by him to be essential in itself – he nevertheless discusses whether it is true, unless he has been confirmed by much experience of life. Those who are celestial do not discuss the same because they know and have a perception that it is true hence the Lord’s statement in Matthew,
Let your words be, Yes, yes; No, no; anything beyond this is from evil.* Matt. 5:37.
For those who are celestial are immersed in the truth itself about which those who are spiritual dispute. Consequently because those who are celestial are immersed in the truth itself, they are able to see from it numberless facets of that truth, and so from light to see so to speak heaven in its entirety. But those who are spiritual, because they dispute whether it is true, cannot – so long as they do so – arrive at the remotest boundary of the light existing with those who are celestial, let alone behold anything from their light.
* or from the evil one
[2] So that it may be known what is meant by the affection for truth existing with someone and what by the affection for good, let a brief statement be made regarding them. Those with the affection for truth think about, question, and discuss whether a thing is true, whether it is so. And when they are convinced it is true, or is so, they think about, question, and discuss what it is. Thus they remain rooted on the doorstep and cannot be admitted into wisdom until they no longer have any doubts. Those however with whom the affection for good exists know and perceive that the thing is so from the good itself governing them. Thus they do not remain on the doorstep but are in a room inside, having been admitted into wisdom.
[3] Take as an example the consideration that it is a celestial gift to think and to act from an affection for good, or from good. Those with whom the affection for truth exists discuss whether this is so, whether such a gift can exist, and what it may be. And so long as they are turning over doubts about it they are unable to be admitted. But those with the affection for good do not discuss or turn doubts over but assert that the thing is true and are for that reason admitted. For those with whom the affection for good exists, that is, those who are celestial, start off where those with the affection for truth, that is, those who are spiritual, come to a halt, so that the furthest point reached by the latter is the starting point for the former. That being so, those who are celestial are given to know, recognize, and perceive that affections for good are countless – as numerous as the communities in heaven – and that they are all joined together by the Lord into a heavenly form so as to constitute one human being so to speak. They are also given to define by perception the genus and species to which each affection belongs.
[4] Or take this example: All delight, blessedness, and happiness belong wholly to love, but the nature of the love determines that of the delight, blessedness, and happiness. The spiritual man fixes his mind on the question whether this is true and whether delight, blessedness, and happiness may not spring from some other source, such as from mixing with others, talking to others, meditation, or learning, and also whether they reside in possessions, position, reputation, and the glory resulting from these. As long as he is asking such questions he does not confirm himself in the truth that none of these accomplishes anything, only the affection born of love which is present within them and making them what they are. The celestial man however does not remain rooted in such preliminary questionings but immediately asserts that the thing is true. Consequently he is interested in the end in view and the realization of this, that is, he is governed by the very affections born of love which are countless, and in each one of which there are things beyond description, involving variations of delight, blessedness, and happiness that have no end.
[5] Take as a further example the consideration that the neighbour is to be loved for the good that resides with him. Those with whom the affection for truth exists think, question, and discuss whether this is true, that is, whether it is so. They ask what the neighbour is, what good is; but they go no further than this, and therefore they shut the door to wisdom against themselves. Those however with the affection for good assert that the thing is so and do not consequently shut the door against themselves but enter in and so come to know, recognize, and perceive from good who is pre-eminently the neighbour, also in what degree he is the neighbour, and that everyone in differing ways is the neighbour. Thus they perceive things beyond description, over and above what is known to those with the affection solely for truth.
[6] Take as yet another example the truth that a person who loves the neighbour for the good within him loves the Lord. Those with the affection for truth question whether this is so. And if they are told that anyone who loves the neighbour for the good within him loves the good, and that – since all good comes from the Lord and the Lord is present in good – when anyone loves good he also loves the Lord from whom that good comes and in which He is present, they then question whether that too is so. They also ask what loving good is, as well as what good is, and whether the Lord is present more so in good than in truth. As long as they remain rooted in such questionings they cannot get even a distant view of wisdom. But those with the affection for good know from perception that the thing is so and immediately behold the whole field of wisdom leading right on to the Lord.
[7] From these examples it may become clear why in comparison with those who have the affection for good, that is, with those who are celestial, obscurity exists with those who have the affection for truth, that is, with those who are spiritual Nevertheless the latter are able to pass from obscurity into light, provided that they are willing to adopt the affirmative attitude that all good belongs to love to the Lord and charity towards the neighbour; also that love and charity constitute spiritual conjunction, and that these are the source of all blessedness and happiness, thus that heavenly life consists in the good belonging to love received from the Lord, but not in the truth of faith separated from it.
Verse 23 And now swear to me here by God that you will not lie to me, and to my son, and to my grandson; according to the kindness which I have done to you, may you do to me and to the land in which you have sojourned.
Verse 24 And Abraham said, I will swear.
Verse 25 And Abraham reproached Abimelech on account of a well of water which Abimelech’s servants had seized.
Verse 26 And Abimelech said, I do not know who has done this thing; and you also did not point it out to me, and I too have not heard about it until today.
Verse 27 And Abraham took flocks and herds and gave them to Abimelech; and the two of them made a covenant.
Verse 28 And Abraham set seven ewe-lambs of the flock by themselves.
Verse 29 And Abimelech said to Abraham, What are these seven ewe-lambs which you have set by themselves?
Verse 30 And he said, Because you will take the seven ewe-lambs from my hand, that they may be a witness for me that I dug this well.
Verse 31 Therefore he called that place Beersheba, because there the two of them swore an oath.
Verse 32 And they made a covenant in Beersheba; and Abimelech rose up, and Phicol the general of his army, and they returned to the land of the Philistines.
[2] ‘So it was at that time’ means the state which the Lord passed through when the Rational was made Divine. ‘That Abimelech spoke, and Phicol the general of his army, to Abraham’ means the merely human rational ideas based on facts that were to be allied to the doctrine of faith, which in itself is Divine. ‘Saying, God is with you in all that you are doing’ means that it was Divine in every single detail.
[3] ‘And now swear to me here by God’ means an affirmation. ‘That you will not lie to me’ means without any element of doubt. ‘And to my son, and to my grandson’ means regarding matters of faith. ‘According to the kindness which I have done to you’ means the rational ideas which the Lord had been taught previously. ‘May you do to me and to the land in which you have sojourned’ means that which is reciprocal.
[4] ‘And Abraham said, I will swear’ means a complete affirmation. ‘And Abraham reproached Abimelech’ means the Lord’s displeasure. ‘On account of a well of water which Abimelech’s servants had seized’ means the doctrine of faith, that factual knowledge wished to attribute that doctrine to itself.
[5] ‘And Abimelech said’ means a reply. ‘I do not know who has done this thing’ means that the rational dictated something different. ‘And you also did not point it out to me’ means that it did not come from the Divine. ‘And I too have not heard about it until today’ means that it was now disclosed for the first time.
[6] ‘And Abraham took flocks and herds and gave them to Abimelech’ means Divine Goods implanted in the rational ideas belonging to doctrine that were meant by Abimelech. ‘And the two of them made a covenant’ means joined together thus. ‘And Abraham set seven ewe-lambs of the flock by themselves’ means the holiness of innocence.
[7] ‘And Abimelech said to Abraham, What are these seven ewe-lambs which you have set by themselves?’ means that He was to be taught and would acknowledge. ‘And he said, Because you will take the seven ewe-lambs from my hand’ means the holiness of innocence received from the Divine. ‘That they may be a witness for me’ means certainty. ‘That I have dug this well’ means that the doctrine came from the Divine.
[8] ‘Therefore he called that place Beersheba’ means the state and the nature of the doctrine. ‘Because there the two of them swore an oath’ means as a result of the joining together. ‘And they made a covenant in Beersheba’ means that the merely human rational ideas were allied to the doctrine of faith. ‘And Abimelech rose up, and Phicol the general of his army, and they returned to the land of the Philistines’ means that nevertheless they did not form part of that doctrine.
‘He planted a grove in Beersheba’ means doctrine with the cognitions composing it and the nature of it. ‘And he called on the name of [Jehovah,] the God of Eternity’ means worship from it.
[2] The fact that the Ancients held holy worship on mountains becomes clear from what is said about Abram in Chapter 12,
He removed from there to the mountain on the east of Bethel and pitched his tent, Bethel being towards the sea and Ai towards the east.* And there he built an altar and called on the name of Jehovah. Gen. 12:8 (1449-1455).
It is also clear from the meaning of ‘a mountain’ as the celestial entity of love, 795, 796, 1430. The fact that people also held worship in groves is clear from what is said in the present verse, ‘Abraham planted a grove in Beersheba, and there he called on the name of [Jehovah,] the God of Eternity’, and also from the meaning of ‘a garden’ as intelligence, 100, 108, 1588, and of ‘trees’ as perceptions, 103, 2163. The fact that worship on mountains and in groves was forbidden is clear from the following: In Moses,
You shall not plant for yourself a grove of any kind of tree beside the altar of Jehovah your God which you shall make for yourself. And you shall not erect for yourself a pillar, which Jehovah your God hates. Deut. 16:21, 22.
In the same author,
The altars of the nations you shall destroy; you shall break down their pillars and cut down their groves. Exod. 34:13.
They were also commanded to burn the groves of the nations with fire, Deut. 12:3.
[3] Now because the Jews and Israelites, among whom the representative ritual observances of the Ancient Church were introduced, were steeped solely in external things and were at heart nothing but idolaters, and because they were people who neither had nor wished to have knowledge of anything internal or of the life after death, and who did not know that the Messiah’s kingdom was a heavenly kingdom, therefore whenever they were in freedom they held profane worship on mountains and hills, and also in groves and forests. They also made for themselves high places to serve instead of mountains and hills, and carved images of a grove instead of groves, as becomes clear from many places in the Word, as in the Book of Judges,
The children of Israel served the baals and the groves. Judg. 3:7.
In the Book of Kings,
Israel made groves, provoking Jehovah to anger. 1 Kings 14:15.
And elsewhere in the same book,
Judah built for themselves high places and pillars and groves on every high hill, and under every leafy tree. 1 Kings 14:23.
Elsewhere in the Books of Kings,
Israel built for themselves high places in every city. And they set up pillars and groves on every high hill and under every leafy tree. 2 Kings 17:9, 10.
And elsewhere in the same book,
Manasseh king of Judah erected altars to Baal and made a grove, as Ahab king of Israel had done. And the carved image of a grove that he had made he placed in the house of God. 2 Kings 21:3, 7,
From this it is evident that they also made for themselves carved images of a grove. The fact that king Josiah destroyed these images is mentioned in the same book,
Josiah made them bring out of the temple of Jehovah all the vessels made for Baal and for the grove, and for the sun and moon, and for all the host of heaven; and he burned them outside Jerusalem, and the booths which the women had woven [in the house of Jehovah] for the grove. He also cut down the groves which Solomon had made, as well as the grove in Bethel which Jeroboam had made. 2 Kings 23:4, 5, 7, 14, 15.
The fact that King Hezekiah as well demolished such things is also stated in the same book,
Hezekiah king of Judah removed the high places, and broke the pillars, and cut down the grove, and broke to pieces the bronze serpent which Moses had made. 2 Kings 18:4.
[4] The bronze serpent, it is clear, was holy in the time of Moses, but when that which was external came to be worshipped, that bronze serpent became profane and was therefore smashed to pieces, for the same reason that worship on mountains and in groves was forbidden. These matters are made clearer still in the Prophets: In Isaiah,
You who inflame yourselves among the gods under every leafy tree, who slay the children in the rivers, under projections of the rocks. Even in the rivers you have poured out a drink offering. you have brought a gift. On a high and lofty mountain you have set your habitation and presented yourself there to offer sacrifice. Isa. 57:5-7.
In the same prophet,
On that day a man will look to his Maker and his eyes will regard the Holy One of Israel. And he will not look to the altars, the work of his hands, and will not see what his fingers have made, both the groves and the solar pillars. Isa. 17:7, 8.
In Micah,
I will cut down your carved images and your pillars from the midst of you, and you will bow down no more to the work of your hands. And I will root out your groves from the midst of you and destroy your cities. Micah 5:13, 14.
In Ezekiel,
That the slain may be in the midst of their idols, around their altars at every lofty hill, on all the mountain tops, and under every leafy tree, and under every entangled oak, the place where they offered an odour of rest to all their idols. Ezek. 6:13.
[5] From all this it is now evident where idolatrous worship originated, namely in the worship of the objects themselves that were representative and carried a spiritual meaning. The most ancient people, who lived before the Flood, saw in every single thing – in mountains, hills, plains, and valleys, in gardens, groves, forests, rivers, and waters, in fields and crops, in trees of every kind, also in living creatures of every kind, and in the heavenly bodies giving light – something that was a representative and a meaningful sign of the Lord’s kingdom. But they never let their eyes, still less their minds, linger over such objects; for them these objects served instead as the means for thinking about the celestial and spiritual things that exist in the Lord’s kingdom. Indeed so much was this the case with those objects that there was nothing at all in the whole natural world that failed to serve those people as means. It is indeed true that in itself every single thing in the natural order is representative; but at the present day this is an arcanum and scarcely believed by anyone. But after that which is celestial, which is essentially love to the Lord, had perished with man, the human race existed no longer in that state, that is, in the state of seeing from worldly objects the celestial and spiritual things of the Lord’s kingdom.
[6] Nevertheless the Ancients after the Flood knew from traditions, and from collections made by certain people, that worldly objects had such meanings; and because these had such meanings they also regarded them as holy. From this arose the representative worship of the Ancient Church, which Church, being spiritual, did not enjoy any perception, only the knowledge, that a thing was so; for that Church, compared with the Most Ancient Church, dwelt in obscurity, 2715. It did not however worship external things but by means of external things people called to mind those which were internal. Consequently when they turned to those representatives and meaningful signs they entered the holiness of worship. They were able to turn to them because they were moved by spiritual love, that is, by charity, which they made the essential of worship, and as a consequence holiness from the Lord was able to flow into their worship. But when the state of the human race had become so changed and perverted that people departed from the good of charity, and thus did not believe any longer in the existence of a heavenly kingdom or in life after death, but supposed – as is also supposed at the present day – that their condition was no different from that of animals (apart from the fact that they as human beings could think), holy representative worship was turned into idolatrous worship and external things came to be worshipped. This was why worship among many gentiles at that time, and even among Jews and Israelites, was not representative, but a worship of the representatives and meaningful signs, that is, of external things devoid of internal.
[7] As regards ‘groves’ in particular, these had, among the ancients, varying meanings, such meanings depending in fact on the kinds of trees that the groves had in them. Groves where there were olives meant the celestial things of worship, groves where there were vines the spiritual things of worship, but groves where there were figs, cedars, firs, poplars, oaks, meant various things that were of a celestial and spiritual kind. Here however simply ‘a grove’ or plantation of trees is mentioned and by it was meant ideas belonging to the rational that were allied to doctrine and its cognitions; for trees in general mean perceptions, 103, 2163, but when they have reference to the spiritual Church they mean cognitions, the reason being that the member of the spiritual Church has no other perceptions than those acquired through cognitions drawn from doctrine or from the Word. For such cognitions become part of his faith, and so of his conscience, from which he has perception.
* lit. Bethel from the sea (an idiom for from the west) and Ai from the east
[2] The fact that this is how the name Beersheba was derived is evident from Abraham’s words,
Abraham said, Because you will take the seven ewe-lambs from my hand, that they may be a witness for me that I dug this well. Therefore he called that place Beersheba, because there the two of them swore an oath. And they made a covenant in Beersheba (verses 30-32).
Similarly from Isaac’s words recorded in Chapter 26,
So it was on that day, that Isaac’s servants came and pointed out to him the reasons for the well which they had dug, and they said to him, We have found water. And he called it Shibah (‘an oath’ and ‘seven’); therefore the name of the city is Beersheba even to this day. Gen. 26:32, 33.
This too has to do with wells, about which there was disagreement with Abimelech, and with a covenant made with him. ‘Beersheba’ means merely human rational ideas which were again allied to the doctrine of faith, and because they were allied to it again and the doctrine was in that way made such that the human mind could grasp it, it is called ‘a city’ – ‘a city’ being doctrine in its entirety, see 402, 2268, 2449, 2451. What is more, the name Beersheba is used with a similar meaning in the internal sense in Gen. 22:19; 26:23; 28:10; 46:1, 5; Josh. 15:28; 19:1, 2; 1 Sam. 8:2; 1 Kings 19:3, and in the contrary sense in Amos 5:5; 8:13, 14. The whole range of celestial and spiritual things taught by doctrine is meant in the internal sense where the land of Canaan is said to range from ‘Dan even to Beersheba’; for the land of Canaan means the Lord’s kingdom, also the Church, and therefore means the celestial and spiritual things taught by doctrine, as in the Book of Judges.
All the children of Israel came out, and the congregation assembled as one man from Dan even to Beersheba. Judg. 20:1.
In the Book of Samuel,
All Israel from Dan even to Beersheba. 1 Sam. 3:20.
Elsewhere in Samuel,
To translate the kingdom from the house of Saul and to set up the throne of David over Israel and over Judah, from Dan even to Beersheba, 2 Sam. 3:10.
Elsewhere in Samuel,
Hushai said to Absalom, Let all Israel be assembled together, from Dan even to Beersheba. 2 Sam. 17:11.
Elsewhere in Samuel, David told Joab to go through all the tribes of Israel from Dan even to Beersheba. Sam. 24:2, 7.
Elsewhere in Samuel,
There died of the people from Dan even to Beersheba seventy thousand men. 2 Sam. 24:15.
In the Book of Kings,
Judah dwelt under his vine and under his fig tree, from Dan even to Beersheba, all the days of Solomon. 1 Kings 4:25.
[2] Now because ‘the name of God’ means the entirety of worship, that is, the love and faith in their entirety from which He is worshipped, it is therefore clear what is meant by hallowed be Your name – in the Lord’s Prayer, Matt. 6:9, and what by the following words spoken by the Lord,
You will be hated by everyone for My name’s sake. Matt. 10:22.
If two of you agree in My name on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by My Father who is in heaven. Where two or three are gathered in My name, there am I in the midst of them. Matt. 18:19, 20.
He who leaves houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or fields, for My name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold and will be allotted the inheritance of eternal life. Matt. 19:29.
Hosanna to the son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Matt. 21:9.
Jesus said, You will not see Me from now on until you say, Blessed is the one coming in the name of the Lord. Matt. 23:39.
You will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. Then many will stumble and betray one another, and hate one another, and all for My name’s sake.* Matt. 24:9, 10.
As many as received Him, to them He gave power to be sons of God, to those believing in His name, John 1:12.
He who does not believe is judged already because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. John 3:17, 18.
Jesus said, Whatever you ask in My name, I will do it. John 14:14, 15; 15:16; 16:23, 24, 26, 27.
Jesus said, I have manifested Your name to men. John 17:6.
Holy Father, keep them in Your name whom You have given Me, that they may be one as We are one. John 17:11, 12.
I made known to them Your name, and I will make known that the love with which You have loved Me may be in them, and I in them. John 17:26.
That you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name. John 20:37.
There are in addition very many places in the Old Testament in which the name of Jehovah and of God is not used to mean the name but love and faith in their entirety in which worship is grounded.
[3] But those who worship the name alone, without love and faith, are spoken of in Matthew as follows,
Many will say to Me on that day, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy through Your name, and cast out demons through Your name, and do many mighty works in Your name? But I will confess to them, I do not know you; depart from Me, you workers of iniquity. Matt. 7:22, 23.
As has been stated, once the member of the Church from being internal became external, and began to make worship consist in a name alone, people no longer acknowledged one God but many. For it was a custom among the ancients to add something after the name of Jehovah and by doing that to call to mind some benefit or attribute of His, as in the present verse, ‘He called on the name of [Jehovah,] the God of Eternity’. Another example occurs in the next chapter,
Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah Jireh (that is, Jehovah will see). Gen. 22:14.
And the following, among others, are further examples,
Moses built an altar and called the name of it Jehovah Nissi (that is, Jehovah is my banner). Exod. 17:15.
Gideon built an altar to Jehovah and called it [the altar] of Jehovah Shalom (that is, of peace). Judg. 6:24.
It was from this custom that those who made worship consist in a name alone came to acknowledge so many gods, and also that among the gentiles, especially those in Greece and Rome, so many gods came to be acknowledged and worshipped, whereas the Ancient Church from which those attributive names derived always worshipped but one God who was revered under so many names, for the reason that by ‘name’ they understood the essential nature.
* These six words which Sw. apparently copied from the Schmidius Latin version do not occur in the original Greek.
‘Abraham sojourned in the land of the Philistines for many days’ means that the Lord allied to the doctrine of faith very many things drawn from a knowledge of human cognitions.
What genuine conjugial love is and where it originates few know at the present day, the reason being that it exists with few. Almost everyone believes that it is inborn and so flows from, they say, a kind of natural instinct, such belief being strengthened by the fact that the inclination to pair off as in marriage also occurs among animals. But the difference between conjugial love with human beings and that inclination with animals is as the difference between the human condition and that of any animal.
[2] He said that during his lifetime he had thought nothing of adulterous behaviour. But I was given to tell him that all adultery is quite unspeakable, even though to those who are guilty of it it does not seem – because of the delight they take in it and the persuasive beliefs that result from it – to be unspeakable, but even allowable. I said that he might also know this from the fact that marriages are the seminaries of the human race and therefore the seminaries of the heavenly kingdom as well, and for that reason must not on any account be violated but be held sacred. He might also know, I continued, that adultery is unspeakable from the fact, which he ought to know because he was now in the next life and in a state of perception, that conjugial love comes down from the Lord by way of heaven, and that from that love, as from a parent, mutual love is derived, which is the foundation on which heaven rests. And he might know it also from the fact that when they merely move towards heavenly communities adulterers become aware of their own stench and cast themselves away from there down towards hell. He might at least have known that violence done to marriages was contrary to Divine laws, and contrary to the civil laws of all people, as well as contrary to the genuine light of reason, since it is contrary to order, both Divine and human, not to mention many considerations besides these.
[3] But he replied that he had never known such things during his lifetime, nor had he thought about them. He wished to reason whether what he had heard was so, but he was told that in the next life truth leaves no room for reasonings, for reasonings lend support to a person’s delights, and so to his evils and falsities. I went on to tell him that he ought first to think about the things he had been told, because they were true; or at least he ought to think from the principle very widely known in the world that nobody ought to do to another what he does not wish that other to do to him. If some other man, I asked, had in a similar way seduced the wife whom he loved – as men love their wives at the beginning of every marriage – would he not also, when feeling irate about what had occurred, have expressed, if he spoke from that feeling, a loathing for all adultery? Also, being a man with mental ability, would he not have confirmed himself more than others against all adultery, even condemning it to hell? Thus he might have judged himself from what he possessed within himself.
Jesus said, Have you not read that He who made them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, For this reason a man (homo) will leave father and mother and will cling to his wife; and the two will become one flesh? Therefore they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together let not man (homo) separate. For the hardness of your heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. Not everyone receives this teaching, but those to whom it has been given. Matt. 19:3-12.
* The mythological three-headed dog which guarded the entrance to Hades or hell.
PREFACE*
How deluded those people are who confine themselves to the sense of the letter and do not look for the internal sense in other places where this is explained in the Word becomes quite clear from the great number of heresies there are, each one of which confirms its own doctrinal position from the literal sense of the Word. It is particularly clear from that great heresy which insane and hellish self-love and love of the world have made out of the Lord’s words to Peter,
I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My Church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Matt. 16:15-19.
[2] People who keep rigidly to the sense of the letter imagine that these words refer to the man Peter and that such great power was given to him. Although they know that Peter was just an ordinary simple human being who by no means exercised such power, and that the exercise of that power is contrary to the Divine, they nevertheless adopt and stoutly defend a literal interpretation of what the Lord said, because of the insane and hellish self-love and love of the world which fill them with the desire to arrogate such power to themselves on earth and in heaven and to make gods of themselves. But the internal sense of those words is that faith itself in the Lord, which exists solely with those in whom love to the Lord and charity towards the neighbour are present, possesses that power, yet not faith but the Lord, the Source of faith. In the words addressed to Peter ‘rock’ is used to mean that faith, as it is everywhere else in the Word. It is on this faith that the Church is built, and against this faith that the gates of hell do not prevail. It is that faith also which holds the keys of the kingdom of heaven, for that faith closes heaven to prevent evils and falsities entering in, and it opens heaven to goods and truths. This is the internal sense of these words.
[3] Like the twelve tribes of Israel the twelve apostles represented nothing else than all aspects of such faith, 577, 2089, 2129, 2130 (end). Peter represented faith itself, James charity, and John the good works that flow from charity – see the Preface to Gen. 18 – as in a similar way did Reuben, Simeon, and Levi, Jacob’s three eldest sons, in the Jewish and
Israelitish representative Church, a point that is clear from a thousand places in the Word. And it was because Peter represented faith that those words were addressed to him. From all these considerations one may recognize what darkness it is into which people plunge themselves, and others with them, who explain everything literally, as they do who, taking literally the words addressed to Peter, use them to take the power of saving the human race away from the Lord and arrogate it to themselves.
* i.e. to Volume Three of the Latin
I saw heaven standing open, and, behold, a White Horse; and He who sat on it was called faithful and true, and in righteousness He judges and goes into battle. His eyes a flame of fire, and on His head many jewels, He has a name written which nobody knows but He Himself, and He is clothed in a garment dyed with blood, and His name is called the Word of God. And the armies that are in heaven were following Him on white horses and were clothed in linen, white and clean. And on His garment and on His thigh He has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords. Rev. 19:11-14, 16.
What each individual part of this description embodies nobody can know except from the internal sense. Plainly, each one is representative and carries a spiritual meaning, such as ‘heaven standing open’; ‘the horse which was white’; ‘He who sat on it was called faithful and true, and in righteousness He judges and goes into battle’; ‘His eyes a flame of fire’; ‘on His head many jewels’; ‘He has a name which nobody knows but He Himself’; ‘He is clothed in a garment dyed with blood’; ‘the armies in heaven following Him on white horses’; ‘clothed in linen, white and clean’; ‘on His garment and on His thigh He has a name written’. It is stated openly that the One sitting on the White Horse is the Word, and that He is the Lord who is the Word, for it is said, ‘His name is called the Word of God’, and after that, ‘on His garment and on His thigh He has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords’.
[2] From the interpretation of each individual expression it is evident that the Word as to the internal sense is described here. ‘Heaven standing open’ represents and means that the internal sense of the Word is not seen except in heaven and by those to whom heaven stands open, that is, those in whom love to the Lord and faith in Him-derived from that love are present. ‘The horse which was white’ represents and means the understanding of the Word as regards its interior contents. The next paragraph shows that ‘a white horse’ has this representation and meaning. ‘He who sat on it’ is, it is clear, the Word and the Lord who is the Word. He is called ‘faithful’ and ‘one who judges out of righteousness’ by virtue of good, and ‘true’ and ‘one who goes into battle out of righteousness’ by virtue of truth; for the Lord Himself is righteousness. ‘His eyes a flame of fire’ means Divine Truth glowing from the Divine Good that issues from His Divine Love. ‘On His head many jewels’ means all things of faith. ‘He has a name written which nobody knows but He Himself’ means that nobody sees the essential nature of the Word in the internal sense except the Lord Himself and he to whom He reveals it. ‘Clothed in a garment dyed with blood’ means the Word in the letter. ‘The armies in heaven that were following Him on white horses’ means people who have an understanding of the Word as regards its interior contents. ‘Clothed in linen, white and clean’ means that in these same persons love and faith derived from love are present. ‘On His garment and on His thigh a name written’ means truth and good. From these verses in Revelation and from those which come before and after them it is evident that around the last period [of the Church] the internal sense of the Word will be opened. But what is going to happen in that last period is also described in verses 17-21 of that chapter.
Dan will be a serpent on the road, a darting serpent on the path, biting the horse’s heels; and its rider will fall backwards. I am awaiting Your salvation, O Jehovah. Gen. 49:17, 18.
‘A serpent’ means one who reasons about Divine arcana on the basis of sensory evidence and factual knowledge, see 195. ‘Road’ and ‘path’ mean truth, 627, 2333, ‘heel’ means the lowest part of the natural, 259, ‘horse’ an understanding of the Word, and ‘rider’ one who teaches. From this it is evident what these prophetical words mean, namely that one who reasons about the truths of faith on the basis of sensory evidence and factual knowledge is interested solely in the lowest things belonging to the natural world and so believes nothing, which is ‘falling backwards’. And this is why the words ‘I am awaiting Your salvation, O Jehovah’ are added.
[2] In Habakkuk,
O God, You ride on Your horses, Your chariots are salvation. You made Your horses to tread in the sea. Hab. 3:8, 15.
Here ‘horses’ stands for Divine Truths that are in the Word, ‘chariots’ for doctrine drawn from them, ‘the sea’ for cognitions, 28, 2120. And since these belong to an understanding of the Word from God, it is said, ‘You made Your horses to tread in the sea’. Here, as in the quotation above from the Book of Revelation, horses are attributed to God, but this attribution would not be possible if they did not have such a meaning.
[3] In David,
Sing to God, sing praises to His name; exalt Him who rides on the clouds by His name lain. Ps. 68:4.
‘Riding on the clouds’ stands for an understanding of the Word as regards its interior contents or internal sense; for ‘clouds’ means the Word in the letter which has the internal sense within it – see the Preface to Gen. 18, where the meaning of ‘the Lord’s coming in the clouds of heaven with power and glory’ is explained.
[4] In the same author,
Jehovah bowed the heavens and came down; and thick darkness was under His feet, and He rode on a cherub. Ps. 18:9, 10.
‘Thick darkness’ here stands for clouds, ‘riding on a cherub’ for the Lord’s providence preventing man’s entering of himself into the mysteries of faith that are in the Word, 308. In Zechariah,
On that day there will be on the horse-bells, Holiness to Jehovah. Zech. 14:20. ‘The horse-bells’ stands for an understanding of the spiritual things of the Word, which are holy.
[5] In Jeremiah,
There will enter through the gates of this city kings and princes seated on the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they and their princes, the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And this city will be inhabited for ever. Jer. 17:25, 26; 22:4.
‘The city of Jerusalem’ stands for the Lord’s spiritual kingdom and Church. ‘Kings’ stands for truths, 1672, 2015, 2069, ‘princes’ for the first and foremost commandments of truth, 1482, 2089, ‘David’ for the Lord, 1888, ‘men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem’ for those in whom there exists good that flows from love, charity, and faith, 2268, 2451, 2712. Thus ‘riding in chariots and on horses’ stands for being furnished with the doctrine of truth received from an internal understanding of the Word.
[6] In Isaiah, Then will you take delight in Jehovah and I will cause you to ride over the high places of the earth and cause you to eat the heritage of Jacob. Isa. 58:14.
‘Riding over the high places of the earth’ stands for intelligence. In David,
A love song. Gird your sword on your thigh, O mighty one, [gird on] your glory and majesty. And in your majesty go on, ride on the word of truth, and of the meekness of righteousness. And your right hand will teach you marvellous things. Ps. 45: title, 3, 4.
‘Riding on the word of truth’ stands plainly for intelligence based on truth, ‘on the word of the meekness of righteousness’ for wisdom based on good.
[7] In Zechariah,
On that day, said Jehovah, I will strike every horse with panic, and its rider with madness. And on the house of Judah I will open My eyes, and every horse of the peoples I will strike with blindness. Zech. 12:4.
Here also ‘horse’ plainly stands for the understanding which was to be ‘stricken with panic and blindness’, and ‘rider’ for him with intelligence who was to be ‘stricken with madness’. In Hosea,
Take away all iniquity and accept that which is good, and we will render the praises* of our lips. Asshur will not save us, we will not ride on horses, and we will no more say Our God’ to the work of our hands. Hosea 14:2, 3.
‘Asshur’ stands for reasoning, 119, 1186, ‘horse’ for self-intelligence. ‘Horse’ and ‘rider’ are referred to in very many other places besides these.
* lit. the calves
[2] This experience has made clear to me what is meant by the fiery chariot and the fiery horses which Elisha saw when Elijah went up with the whirlwind into heaven, and what also by Elisha’s shout at that time,
My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and its riders. 2 Kings 2:11, 12,
and by the same spoken by Joash king of Israel to Elisha when the latter was dying,
My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and its riders. 2 Kings 13:14.
In the Lord’s Divine mercy it will be shown elsewhere that Elijah and Elisha represented the Lord as to the Word. That is to say, it will there be shown that the doctrine of love and charity drawn from the Word is meant by ‘the fiery chariot’, and the doctrine of faith deriving from these by ‘the fiery horses’. The doctrine of faith is the same as an understanding of the Word as to its inner content, which is the internal sense.
[3] As regards chariots and horses being seen in heaven among spirits and angels, this is evident not only from the fact that they were seen by the prophets, such as by Zechariah (1:8-10; 6:1-7) and by others, but also by Elisha’s servant, of whom the following is said in the Book of Kings,
Jehovah opened the eyes of Elisha’s servant, and he saw; and behold the mountain was full of horses, and there were fiery chariots surrounding Elisha. Kings 6:17.
Furthermore, where the intelligent and wise dwell in the world of spirits, chariots and horses are constantly making their appearance, the reason being, as has been stated, that chariots and horses represent the things that belong to wisdom and intelligence. People who have been awakened after death and are entering the next life see represented to them a young man seated on a horse, who then dismounts. The meaning of this is that before they can enter heaven they have to be furnished with cognitions of good and truth – see Volume One, in 187, 188. The fact that chariots and horses meant those things was fully known in the Ancient Church, as becomes clear also from the Book of Job, a book of the Ancient Church, where these words occur,
God has made him forget wisdom and given him no share in intelligence. After raising himself on high he laughs at the horse and its rider. Job 39:17-19.
[4] The meaning of ‘a horse’ as the understanding spread from the Ancient Church to the wise in surrounding regions, and even into Greece. As a consequence of this, when describing the sun, which meant love, 2441, 2495, they placed the god of their wisdom and intelligence there in the sun, and gave him a chariot and four fiery horses. And when they described the god of the sea – the sea meaning knowledge in general, 28, 2120 – they gave horses to him also. And when they described the upsurge of knowledge from the understanding they portrayed it as a flying horse which with its hoof broke open a fountain where the virgins who were the branches of knowledge dwelt. And by the Trojan horse nothing else was meant than a device of their understanding for destroying city walls. Even today, when the understanding is being described, it is quite usual, drawing on the custom received from those people of old, to portray the understanding as a flying horse or Pegasus, and to portray learning as a fountain. Yet scarcely anyone knows that ‘a horse’ in the mystical sense means the understanding, and ‘a fountain’ truth, let alone that those images with a spiritual meaning spread to the gentiles from the Ancient Church.
[2] In addition to representatives there are also correspondences, which denote and also mean something altogether different in the spiritual world from what they do in the natural world. The heart, for example, means the affection for good; the eyes, the understanding; the ears, obedience; the hand, power; and there are countless other correspondences besides these. These things are not represented in this manner in the world of spirits but correspond in the way something natural corresponds to something spiritual. This explains why every word within the Word, down to the smallest letter of all, embodies spiritual and celestial matters, and why the Word is inspired in the way it is, that is to say, so inspired that when man is reading it, spirits and angels immediately perceive it spiritually according to the representations and correspondences.
[3] But this knowledge which was developed so extensively and valued so highly by the ancients after the Flood, and which enabled them to think with spirits and angels, has today been completely wiped out, insomuch that scarcely anybody is willing to believe that it exists. And those who believe that it does exist merely refer to it as something mystical which has no practical value, the reason being that mankind has become utterly worldly- and bodily-minded to the point of finding the very mention of what is spiritual and celestial repugnant, and sometimes loathsome, even nauseating. How then will they react in the next life which lasts for ever, where not that which is worldly and bodily but solely that which is spiritual and celestial constitutes life in heaven?
GENESIS 22
1 And so it was after these events, that God tempted Abraham, and said to him, Abraham. And he said, Here I am.
2 And He said, Take now your son, your only one, whom you love, Isaac, and get you to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I tell you.
3 And in the morning Abraham rose up early, and saddled his ass, and took two of his servants* with him, and Isaac his son, and split the pieces of wood for the burnt offering, and rose up and went to the place of which God had told him.
4 On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place from afar off.
5 And Abraham said to his servants, Remain here with the ass, and I and the boy will go over there, and we will bow ourselves down, and return to you.
6 And Abraham took the pieces of wood for the burnt offering and laid them on Isaac his son; and he took in his hand the fire and the knife, and the two of them went on together.
7 And Isaac said to Abraham his father – he said – My father. And he said, Here I am, my son. And he said, Behold, the fire and the pieces of wood, but where is the animal for the burnt offering?
8 And Abraham said, God will see for Himself to the animal for a burnt offering, my son. And the two of them went on together.
9 And they came to the place of which God told him, and Abraham built the altar there, and laid the pieces of wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar, upon the pieces of wood.
10 And Abraham put forth his hand and took the knife to slay his son.
11 And the angel of Jehovah called to him out of heaven, and said Abraham, Abraham. And he said, Here I am.
12 And he said, Do not put forth your hand towards the boy and do not do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God and have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.
13 And Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw, and behold, a ram behind [him] caught in a thicket by its horns. And Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it as a burnt offering instead of his son.
14 And Abraham called the name of that place, Jehovah will see; as it is said today, On the mountain Jehovah will see [to it].
15 And the angel of Jehovah called to Abraham a second time out of heaven.
16 And he said, By Myself I have sworn, says Jehovah, that because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son,
17 I will certainly bless you, and I will certainly multiply your seed like the stars of the heavens and like the sand which is on the seashore. And your seed will inherit the gate of their** enemies.
18 And in your seed all the nations of the earth will be blessed because you have hearkened to My voice.
19 And Abraham returned to his servants, and they rose up and went together to Beersheba; and Abraham dwelt in Beersheba.
20 And so it was, after these events,*** that it was pointed out to Abraham, saying, Behold, Milkah, she also has borne sons, to Nahor your brother:
21 Uz her firstborn, and Buz his brother, and Kemuel the father of Aram;
22 And Kesed, and Hazo, and Pildash, and Jidlaph, and Bethuel.
23 And Bethuel begot Rebekah. These eight Milkah bore to Nahor, Abraham’s brother.
24 And his concubine, whose name was Reumah; and she too bore Tebah, and Gaham, and Tahash, and Maakah.
* Here and in verses 5 and 19 the word translated servants is the same as that used for boys.
** The Latin means your but the Hebrew means their.
*** lit. words
The subject in this chapter in the internal sense is the Lord’s severest and inmost temptations, by means of which He united the Human Essence to the Divine Essence; then it is the salvation by means of that union of those who constitute the Lord’s spiritual Church.
Verse 1 And so it was after these events, that God tempted Abraham, and said to him, Abraham. And he said, Here I am.
‘So it was after these events’ means after these things had taken place. ‘That God tempted Abraham’ means the Lord’s severest and inmost temptations. ‘And said to him, Abraham’ means the Lord’s perception from Divine Truth. ‘And he said, Here I am’ means thought and reflection.
[2] And although it is said of Him that He permits, this attribution is not made according to man’s idea of permission, that is to say, that by permitting He approves. Man cannot do other than have the idea that anyone who permits something also wills it. But it is evil residing with man which causes and even leads him into temptation. God is no more the cause of it than a king or a judge is when a person does evil and is therefore punished for it. For anyone who forsakes the laws of Divine order, all of which are those of good and from this of truth, makes himself subject to laws contrary to Divine order, which are those of evil and falsity, and consequently of punishments and torments.
Solomon began to build the house of Jehovah in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, which had been shown to David his father in the place which David had prepared at the threshing-floor of Ornan (Araunah) the Jebusite. 2 Chron. 3:1. (Compare 1 Chron. 21:16-28 with 2 Sam. 24:16-25.)
From this it may become quite clear that these details which are stated regarding the sacrifice of Isaac are representative of the Lord, otherwise everything could have taken place where Abraham was staying at the time and he would not have been commanded to make a journey from there lasting nearly three days.
[2] It is generally believed at the present day that the burnt offerings and sacrifices were signs of the Lord’s passion, and that by His passion the Lord atoned for the iniquities of all. Indeed it is believed that He drew away those iniquities on to Himself, and thus bore them Himself, so that those who believe are made righteous and are saved, if only they think, even in the last hour prior to death, that the Lord suffered on their behalf, no matter how they may have lived throughout the whole course of their lives. But such beliefs are mistaken. The passion of the Cross was the utmost degree of temptation endured by the Lord, by means of which He fully united the Human to the Divine and the Divine to the Human, and by doing this glorified Himself. That union itself is the means by which people possessing faith in Him that is grounded in charity are able to be saved. For the Supreme Divine Itself was no longer able to reach the human race which had removed itself so far away from the celestial things of love, and from the spiritual things of faith, that people did not even recognize them any more, let alone perceive them. Consequently to enable the Supreme Divine to come down to all such as this, the Lord came into the world and united the Human to the Divine within Himself. This union could not have been effected except by means of the very severe conflicts brought about by temptations and by means of victories in these, and at length by means of the final temptation, which was that of the Cross.
[3] As a result of this the Lord is able from the Divine Human to enlighten human minds, even those that are quite remote from the celestial things of love, provided that faith grounded in charity is present in them. For in the next life the Lord appears to celestial angels as the Sun, and to spiritual angels as the Moon, 1053, 1521, 1529, 1530, 2441, 2495 – all the light of heaven flowing from Him. The light of heaven is such that when it enlightens the eyes of spirits and angels it also at the same time enlightens their understanding. This ability to enlighten the understanding also exists inherently within that light, so that the amount of internal light, that is, of understanding, which anyone possesses in heaven is the same as the amount of external light he has. This shows the way in which the light of heaven is different from the light of the world. It is the Lord’s Divine Human that enlightens both the eyes and the understanding of those who are spiritual, but this could never be done unless the Lord had united the Human Essence to the Divine Essence. And unless He had united them neither men in the world, nor indeed any spiritual angel in heaven, would any longer have possessed any ability to understand or to perceive that which is good or true. Nor thus would they have possessed any blessedness and happiness at all, nor consequently any salvation at all. From this it becomes clear that the human race could not have been saved unless the Lord had assumed the Human and glorified it.
[4] From what has now been stated anyone may decide for himself the truth or otherwise of the idea that people are saved, no matter how they may have lived, if only they think from some inner emotion that the Lord suffered on their behalf and bore their sins. But in reality the light of heaven received from the Lord’s Divine Human is able to reach none except those with whom there exists the good that accompanies faith, that is, who lead charitable lives, or what amounts to the same, who possess conscience. The level itself into which that light can operate, that is, the receptacle for that light, is the good that accompanies faith, which is charity and thus conscience. That those who are spiritual have salvation from the Lord’s Divine Human, see 1043, 2661, 2716, 2718.
They will bring me to Your holy mountain and to Your dwellings. Then I will go in to the altar or God, to God my exceeding joy. Ps. 43:3, 4.
And that ‘the Temple’ was representative of Him is clear in John,
Jesus said, Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up again. He was speaking of the temple of His body. John 2:19, 21.
‘In the morning Abraham rose up early’ means a state of peace and innocence. ‘And saddled his ass’ means the natural man which He prepared. ‘And took two servants’ means the first rational which He had allied to it. ‘And Isaac his son’ means the Divine Rational begotten from Himself. ‘And split the pieces of wood for the burnt offering’ means the merit of righteousness. ‘And rose up’ means being raised up. ‘And went to the place of which God had told him’ means the state at that time according to perception.
[2] There are two elements which constitute the natural degree of man’s mind, or what amounts to the same, the natural man – natural good and natural truth. Natural good is the delight that flows forth from charity and faith, natural truth is knowledge of these. That natural truth is what is meant by ‘an ass’, and rational truth by ‘a mule’, becomes clear from the following places:In Isaiah,
A prophecy of the beasts of the south. In the land of distress and repression are the lion and the tiger, and from them come the viper and the flying fiery-serpent. They will bear their riches on the shoulders of young asses, and their treasures on the humps of camels – on a people [who] will not be any use [to them]; for the Egyptians will help in vain and to no advantage. Isa. 30:6, 7.
The expression ‘the beasts of the south’ is used of those who possess cognitions of good and truth but who make them matters of knowledge, not of life. In reference to those beasts it is said that those people ‘bear their riches on the shoulders of young asses, and their treasures on the humps of camels’, for the reason that ‘young asses’ means facts in particular, and ‘camels’ facts in general. ‘The Egyptians’, of whom it is said that they will help in vain and to no advantage, means knowledge, see 1164, 1165, 1186. It is evident to anyone that this prophecy has an internal sense and that without this it is understood by nobody, for without the internal sense no one can know what ‘the prophecy of the beasts of the south’ is, or what ‘the lion and the tiger’, or what ‘the viper and the flying fiery-serpent’, or what is meant by the words that ‘those beasts were to bear their riches on the shoulders of young asses, and their treasures on the humps of camels’, or why the assertion immediately follows that ‘the Egyptians will help in vain and to no advantage’. ‘Ass’ is used with a like meaning in Israel’s prophecy concerning Issachar, in Moses,
Issachar is a bony ass lying down between burdens. Gen. 49:14.
[3] In Zechariah,
This will be the plague with which Jehovah will smite all the peoples that wage war against Jerusalem. It will be a plague of the horse, the mule, the camel, and the ass, and every beast. Zech. 14:12, 15.
‘The horse, the mule, the camel, and the ass’ means things of the understanding residing in man which will suffer from the plague. This is clear from every single detail before and after those verses, for the subject there is the plagues which are to precede the Last Judgement or. Close of the Age and to which John makes much reference in Revelation, as do the rest of the Prophets in various places. Those who are going to wage war at that time against Jerusalem, that is, against the Lord’s spiritual Church and its truths, are meant by those animals. It will be the things of the understanding that will suffer from such plagues
[4] In Isaiah,
Blessed are you who sow beside all waters, who send forth the foot of the ox and the ass. Isa. 32:20.
‘Sowing beside all waters’ stands for those who allow themselves to be taught spiritual things – ‘waters’ meaning spiritual things and so things that constitute an understanding of truth, see 680, 739, 2702. ‘Who send forth the foot of the ox and the ass’ stands for natural things that are to be of service, ‘ox’ meaning the natural as regards good, 2180, 2566, ‘ass’ the natural as regards truth.
[5] In Moses,
Binding his young ass to the vine and the foal* of his she-ass to the choice vine. He washes his vesture in wine and his cloak in the blood of grapes. Gen. 49:11.
This is the prophecy of Jacob, by then Israel, concerning the Lord. ‘The vine’ and ‘the choice vine’ stand for the spiritual Church, external and internal, 1069. ‘Young ass’ stands for natural truth, ‘the foal of a she-ass’ for rational truth. The reason ‘the foal of a she-ass’ means rational truth is that ‘a she ass’ means the affection for natural truth, 1486, while her foal means rational truth, see 1895, 1896, 1902, 1910.
[6] In former times a judge used to ride on a she-ass and his sons on young asses, the reason being that judges represented the goods of the Church and their sons truths derived from those goods. A king however used to ride on a she-mule and his sons on mules, the reason being that kings and their sons represented the truths of the Church, see 1672, 1728, 2015, 2069. The fact that a judge rode on a she-ass is clear in the Book of Judges,
My heart goes out to the law-givers of Israel offering themselves willingly among the people. Bless Jehovah, you who ride on white she-asses, you who sit on Middin.** Judg. 5:9, 10.
The fact that judges’ sons rode on young asses,
Jair the judge over Israel had thirty sons who rode on thirty young asses. Judg. 10:3, 4.
And elsewhere in the same book,
Abdon the judge of Israel had forty sons and thirty grandsons who rode on seventy young asses. Judg. 12:14.
David said to them, Take with you the servants of your lord and cause Solomon my son to ride on the she-mule which is mine. And they caused Solomon to ride on King David’s she-mule. And Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anointed him king in Gihon. 1 Kings 1:33, 38, 44, 45.
The fact that the king’s sons rode on mules,
All King David’s sons arose, and they rode each on his mule and fled because of Absalom. 2 Sam. 13:29.
[7] From all this it is evident that riding on a she-ass indicated the judge, and riding on a she-mule the king; riding on a young ass indicated the judge’s sons, and doing so on a mule the king’s sons. They indicated these personages because, as has been stated, ‘a she-ass’ represented and meant the affection for natural good and truth, ‘a she-mule’ the affection for rational truth, ‘an ass or young ass’ natural truth itself, and ‘a mule’ as well as ‘the foal of a she-ass’ rational truth. This shows what is meant by the prophetical words that refer to the Lord, in Zechariah,
Exult, O daughter of Zion! Rejoice, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King will come to you. He is just and having salvation, humble and riding on an ass, and on a young ass, the foal of she-asses. His dominion will be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth. Zech. 9:9, 10.
The fact that the Lord wished to ride on these when He was about to enter Jerusalem is well known from the Gospels. The event is referred to in Matthew as follows,
Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a she-ass tied, and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to Me. This took place to fulfil what was spoken by the prophet saying, Tell the daughter of Zion, Behold, your King is coming to you, meek seated on a she-ass, and on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden. And they brought the she-ass and the colt and laid their garments on them and set Him on them. Matt. 21:2, 4, 5, 7.
[8] ‘Riding on an ass’ served to indicate that the natural was subordinate, and ‘riding on a colt, the foal of a she-ass’ that the rational was so; for ‘the foal of a she-ass’ is similar in meaning to ‘a mule’, as has been shown above, where Gen. 49:11 is referred to.*** From this – the spiritual meaning of these animals – and because it was the right of the supreme judge and of the king to ride on them, and at the same time so that He might fulfil the representatives of the Church, the Lord was pleased to ride in this way. His doing so is described in John as follows,
The next day a great crowd who had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, took branches of palm trees, and went to meet Him, and cried, Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel! Jesus found a young ass and sat on it, as it is written, Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your King is coming, sitting on a she-ass’s colt! These things however His disciples had not understood at first, but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written of Him, and that they had done these things for Him. John 12:12-16; Mark 11:1-12; Luke 19:28-41.
[9] From an this it may now be clear that every single thing in the Church of that period was representative of the Lord, and consequently of the celestial and spiritual things that are in His kingdom; even the she-ass and the colt of the she-ass were so, which represented the natural man as regards good and truth. The reason for the representation was that the natural man ought to serve the rational, and the rational to serve the spiritual; but the spiritual ought to serve the celestial, and the celestial to serve the Lord. This is the order in which one is subordinated to another.
[10] Because ‘an ox and an ass’ meant the natural man as regards good and truth many laws were therefore laid down in which oxen and asses are mentioned. At first glance these laws do not seem to be worthy of mention in the Divine Word, but when they are interpreted as to their internal sense, that which is spiritual and of great importance is seen within these laws, such as the following laws in Moses,
If anyone opens a pit, or if anyone digs a pit and does not cover it, and an ox or an ass falls into it, the owner of the pit shall recompense its owner with silver, and the dead animal shall be his. Exod. 21:33, 34.
If you meet your enemy’s ox or his ass going astray you shall certainly lead it back to him. If you see the ass of one who hates you Lying under its burden, and you are disinclined to remove it, you shall certainly help to remove it from it. Exod. 23:4, 5; Deut. 22:1, 3.
You shall not see your brother’s ass or ox falling down in the road and hide yourself from them; you shall certainly help to lift them. Deut. 22:4.
You shall not plough with an ox and an ass together. You shall not wear mingled material made of wool and linen together. Deut. 22:10, 11.
Six days you shall do your works, and on the seventh day you shall rest, in order that your ox and your ass may rest, and the son of your woman servant, and the settler. Exod. 23:12.
Here ‘ox and ass’ in the spiritual sense means nothing other than natural good and truth.
* lit. the son
** A Hebrew word, the meaning of which is uncertain.
*** i.e. in subsection 5 of this paragraph 378
[2] These matters cannot possibly be explained intelligibly or presented to the thought of anyone who does not know that many states exist together simultaneously, yet distinct and separate from one another, and who also does not know what a state of peace and innocence is, what the natural man is, and what the rational man is, as well as what the merit of righteousness is. He must first have a distinct idea of all of these, and must also know that from the Divine the Lord was able to bring Himself into whatever states He pleased, and that He prepared Himself to enter temptation by bringing about many states. Although these matters are with man enveloped in obscurity like that of night, they are bathed in light like that of day with the angels; for the angels, dwelling in the light of heaven flowing from the Lord, see countless things – each distinctly – within those matters and others like them, and from the affection flowing in at the same time experience indescribable joy. From this it may become clear how far removed man’s ability to understand and perceive is from angels’ ability to do so.
‘On the third day’ means that which has been completed, and the beginning of sanctification. ‘And Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw’ means thought and insight received from the Divine. ‘The place from afar off’ means into the state which He foresaw.
[2] This is why the number three was representative not only in the Ancient Church and in the Jewish but also among various gentile nations; see what has been stated about this number in 720, 901, 1825. That such was the origin of the meaning of ‘three’ is clear in Hosea,
We will return to Jehovah, for He has wounded and will heal us; He has stricken and will bind us up; He will revive us after two days, on the third day He will raise us up that we may live before Him. Hosea 6:1, 2.
Here ‘the third day’ stands for the coming of the Lord and His resurrection. The same is clear from Jonah, in that he was in the stomach of the fish three days and three nights, Jonah 1:17, to which the Lord refers in Matthew as follows,
As Jonah was in the belly of the whale three days and three nights, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. Matt. 12:40.
[3] It should be realized that in the internal sense of the Word ‘three days’ and ‘the third day’ have the same meaning, as also do ‘three’ and ‘third’ in the following places: In John,
Jesus said to the Jews, Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up. He was speaking of the temple of His body. John 2:19-21; Matt. 26:61; Mark 14:58; 15:29.
It is a well known fact that the Lord rose again on the third day.
[4] For the same reason the Lord also distinguished three periods in His life: in Luke,
Go and tell that fox, Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, but on the third day I reach completion. Luke 13:32.
Also, the Lord underwent the final temptation, which was that of the Cross, at the third hour of the day, Mark 15:25. Three hours later, that is, at the sixth hour, darkness fell over the whole land,* Luke 23:44. And three hours after that, at the ninth hour, the end came, Mark 15:33, 34, 37. But in the morning of the third day He rose again, Mark 16:1-4; Luke 24:7. See also Matt. 16:21; 17:22, 23; 20:18, 19; Mark 8:31; 9:31; 10:33, 34; Luke 18:33; 24:46. From all this, and especially from the Lord’s resurrection on the third day, the number three was representative and possessed a spiritual meaning. This fact becomes clear from the following places in the Word:
When Jehovah came down upon Mount Sinai He told Moses that he was to sanctify the people today and tomorrow and they were to wash their garments and be ready on the third day, for on the third day Jehovah would come down. Exod. 19:10, 11, 15, 16.
When they travelled from the mountain of Jehovah on a three days’ journey, the Ark of Jehovah travelled before them on the three days’ journey to search out rest for them. Num. 10:33.
There was thick darkness for three days in all the land of Egypt, and nobody could see his brother for three days, but the children of Israel had light. Exod. 10:22, 23.
[5] The flesh of a sacrifice made as a vow-offering or as a freewill-offering was to be eaten on the first and the second day; nothing was to be kept until the third day but was to be burned, because it was an abomination. So too with the flesh of a sacrifice made as a ‘eucharistic’ offering; if this was eaten on the third day the one offering the sacrifice would not be accepted and that soul would bear his iniquity. Lev. 7:16-18; 19:6, 7.
Anyone who touched a dead body was to purify himself on the third day, and on the seventh day he would be clean. If he did not do so that soul would be cut off from Israel. And one that was clean was to sprinkle water over the unclean person on the third day and on the seventh day. Num. 19:12, 13, 19.
Those who had killed someone in battle and had touched one who had been slain were to purify themselves on the third day and on the seventh day. Num. 31:19.
[6] When they came into the land of Canaan the fruit of a tree was to be uncircumcised for three years and not eaten. Lev. 19:23.
At the end of three years they were to bring every tenth part of their produce in that year and deposit it within their gates so that the Levite, the sojourner, the orphan, and the widow might eat. Deut. 14:28, 29; 26:12.
Three times a year they were to keep a feast to Jehovah. And three times a year every male person was to appear before the face of the Lord Jehovah. Exod. 23:14, 17; Deut. 16:16.
Joshua told the people that in three days they would be crossing the Jordan and inheriting the land. Josh. 1:11; 3:2.
Jehovah called to Samuel three times and the third time he answered Him. 1 Sam. 3:8.
[7] When Saul wished to kill David, David hid in the field until the third evening. Jonathan told David, I will sound out my father on the third day from now. Jonathan said that he would shoot three arrows to the side of the stone. And David fell face to the ground, before Jonathan and bowed down three times. Sam. 20:5, 12, 19, 20, 35, 36, 41.
David was to choose one of these three things – either seven years of famine in the land, or his own flight before his enemies for three months, or pestilence in the land for three days. 2 Sam. 24:12, 13.
[8] There was a famine in the days of David for three years, year after year. 2 Sam. 21:1.
Elijah stretched himself over the dead boy three times and revived him. 1 Kings 17:21.
When he had built the altar to Jehovah, Elijah told them to pour water over the burnt offering and over the wood three times. 1 Kings 18:34.
Fire consumed the captains of fifty sent on two occasions to Elijah, but not the one sent on the third occasion. 2 Kings 1:13, 14.
It was a sign to King Hezekiah that they were to eat in that year what had grown of itself, and in the second year further growth from the same; but in the third year they were to sow, reap, plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of these. 2 Kings 19:29.
[9] Daniel went into his house and had the windows open in his [upper] chamber towards Jerusalem, where three times a day he gave thanks on his knees and prayed. Dan. 6:10, 13.
Daniel was mourning for three whole weeks, not eating pleasant bread, nor drinking wine, nor anointing himself, until the three whole weeks were completed. Dan. 10:2, 3.
Isaiah went naked and barefoot three years as a sign and a portent against Egypt and against Cush. Isa. 20:3.
Out of the Lampstand went three branches on either side, and three almond-shaped cups on each branch. Exod. 25:32, 33.
In the Urim and Thummim there were three precious stones in each row. Exod. 28:17-20.
[10] In the New Temple there were to be three chambers on this side of the gate and three on that, and all three were to measure the same. And the breadth of the gate to the vestibule of the house was to be three cubits this way and three cubits that. Ezek. 40:10, 21, 48.
In the New Jerusalem there were to be three gates to the north, three to the east, three to the south, and three to the west. Ezek. 48:31-34; Rev. 21:13.
The same may be seen in the following places:
Peter denied Jesus three times. Matt. 26:34, 69 and following verses.
The Lord said to Peter three times, Do you love Me? John 21:17.
Also, in the parable about the man who planted a vineyard, he sent servants three times, and at length his own son. Luke 20:12; Mark 12:2, 4-6.
The labourers in the vineyard were hired at the third hour, the sixth hour, the ninth hour, and the eleventh hour. Matt. 20:1-17.
And concerning the fig tree which, because it bore no fruit for three years, was to be cut down. Luke 13:6, 7.
[11] Just as a group of three and a third one were representative, so also was a third part, as in the following:
Minchahs consisted of two tenths of fine flour mixed with a third part of a hin of oil, and the wine for the drink-offering was a third of a hin. Num. 15:6, 7; Ezek. 46:14.
In Ezekiel it is said that he was to run a razor over his head and over his beard, and then to divide his hair, burning a third part in the fire, striking a third around the city with his sword, and scattering a third to the wind. Ezek. 5:1, 2, 11.
In Zechariah it is said that in the whole land, two parts were to be cut off, and the third would be left. Yet this third would be led through fire and tested. Zech. 13:8, 9.
[12] In John it is said that when the first angel sounded there came hail, and fire mixed with blood; and it fell on to the earth so that a third part of the trees were burned. The second angel sounded and so to speak a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea. And a third part of the sea became blood resulting in the death of a third part of the creatures who had their being in the sea. And a third part of the ships was destroyed. The third angel sounded and there fell from the sky a great star burning like a torch and it fell upon a third part of the rivers. The name of the star is Wormwood. The fourth angel sounded and a third part of the sun was struck, and a third part of the moon, and a third part of the stars, so that a third part of these was blacked out, and the day had no light for a third part of it, nor likewise the night. Rev. 8:7-12.
[13] The four angels were released to kill a third part of mankind. Rev. 9:15.
A third part of mankind was killed by these three, fire, smoke, and brimstone, which went forth out of the mouths of the horses. Rev. 9:18.
The dragon drew with his tail a third part of the stars of heaven and cast them down to the earth. Rev. 12:4.
‘A third part’ however means something which is not yet finished, whereas ‘a third’ and ‘a group of three’ mean that which has been finished – evil in the case of the evil, good in the case of the good.
* or over the whole earth
‘Abraham said to his servants, Remain here with the ass’ means a separation at that point of the first rational together with the natural. ‘And I and the boy will go over there’ means the Divine Rational in a state of truth, equipped for the severest and inmost conflicts brought about by temptations, ‘the boy’ being the Divine Rational in that particular state. ‘And we will how ourselves down’ means submissiveness. ‘And return to you’ means conjunction after that.
[2] This alone need be said here, that the Lord could not possibly be tempted when He was one with the Divine itself, for the Divine is infinitely above all temptation. But He could experience temptation as to His human. This is the reason why, when He was to undergo the severest and inmost temptations, He joined the first human to Himself, that is to say, the rational and the natural degrees of it, as described in verse 3, and after that separated Himself from them, as stated in the present verse, though still retaining certain traits through which He could be tempted. It is for this reason that here Isaac is not spoken of as ‘my son’ but as ‘the boy’, an expression used to mean the Divine Rational in that particular state, that is to say, in a state of truth, equipped for the severest and inmost conflicts brought about by temptations, see 2793. The truth that neither the Divine itself nor the Divine Human could be tempted may become clear to anyone merely from the fact that not even angels can approach the Divine, still less the spirits who bring temptations about, and least of all the hells. From all this it is evident why the Lord came into the world and took on the human state of being with all its weakness, for by doing so He was able to be tempted as regards the human and by means of temptations to suppress the hells. He was able to restore every single thing to obedience and to order, and to save the human race which had removed itself so far away from the Supreme Divine.
[2] Knowledge regarding the changes of state in matters of the understanding and in those of the will with man, regarding the order in which they follow, and also regarding the sequence through which they pass, and regarding the way in which they are bent by the Lord as far as possible towards what is good, exists with angels. For the wisdom of angels is such that they perceive such matters to the last detail. Consequently these matters which have been revealed in the internal sense concerning changes of state with the Lord are perceptible clearly and distinctly to angels because they dwell in the light of heaven flowing from the Lord. They are also intelligible to some extent to man if he leads a life of simple good. But they are obscure and as nothing to those steeped in evil and also to those whose wisdom consists of demented ideas, for these ideas darken and extinguish their natural and rational light by means of many things which bring darkness, however much those people themselves imagine they have greater light than any others.
‘Abraham took the pieces of wood for the burnt offering’ means the merit of righteousness. ‘And laid them on Isaac his son’ means that it was joined to the Divine Rational. ‘And he took in his hand the fire and the knife’ means the good of love and the truth of faith. ‘And the two of them went on together’ means the closest possible union then [of the Divine itself and the Divine Rational].
[2798a] ‘And laid them on Isaac [his son]’ means that it, that is to say, the merit of righteousness, was joined to the Divine Rational. This becomes clear from the representation of ‘Isaac’ as the Lord’s Divine Rational, often dealt with already, and from the meaning of ‘laying it on him’ as allying it. The expression ‘his son’ is used because the Lord’s Divine Human was not only conceived but was also born from Jehovah. The Lord’s conception from Jehovah is very well known from the Word of the Lord, and therefore He is called ‘Son of the Most High’, ‘Son of God’, and ‘Only Begotten of the Father’ in Matt. 2:15; 3, 16, 17; 16:13-17; 17:5; 27:43, 54; Mark 1:11; 9:7, 9; 14:61, 62; Luke 1:31, 32, 35; 3:21, 22; 9:35; 10:22; John 1:14, 18, 49; 3:13, 16-18; 5:20-27; 6:69; 9:34, 35, 38; 10:35, 36; 20:30, 31, and besides these in very many other places where He calls Jehovah His Father.
[2] It is also well known that He was born of a virgin Mary, yet even so like any other. But when He was born again, that is, became Divine, this was from Jehovah who dwelt within Him and who was Himself as to the very Being (Esse) of life. The union of the Divine Essence and the Human Essence was effected mutually and reciprocally, so that He united the Divine Essence to the Human Essence, and the Human Essence to the Divine Essence, see 1921, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2018, 2025, 2083, 2508, 2523, 2618, 2628, 2632, 2728, 2729. From this it may become clear that the Lord made the Human within Himself Divine from His own power and in so doing became Righteousness. That which was allied to the Divine Rational when He underwent inmost temptation was the merit of righteousness; and it was from the Divine Rational that He fought, and it was against it that evil genii fought, until He glorified that Divine Rational also. These are the things meant in the internal sense by Abraham’s laying the pieces of wood for the burnt offering on Isaac his son, and they are the things which angels perceive when these words are being read.
[2] A sword means the truth of faith engaged in conflict This becomes clear from the following places: In David,
Gird Your sword on Your thigh, O Mighty One; prosper in Your glory and honour, ride on the word of truth, and Your right hand will teach You marvellous things. Ps. 45:3, 4.
This refers to the Lord. ‘Sword’ stands for truth engaged in conflict. In the same author,
The merciful will exalt in glory, they will sing on their beds. The high praises of God will be in their throats and an extremely sharp sword in their hand. Ps. 149:5, 6.
In Isaiah,
Jehovah called Me from the womb, from My mother’s body** He made mention of My name, and made My mouth like a sharp sword, and made Me into a polished arrow. Isa. 49:1, 2.
‘A sharp sword’ stands for truth engaged in conflict, ‘a polished arrow’ for the truth of doctrine, see 2686, 2709. In the same prophet,
Asshur will fall by a sword, not of man (vir); a sword, not of man (homo), will devour him; and he will flee before the sword, and his young men will become tributary. Isa. 31:8.
‘Asshur’ stands for reasoning in Divine things, 119, 1186, ‘a sword, not of man (vir)’ and ‘not of man (homo)’ stand for falsity, ‘the sword before which he will flee’ stands for truth engaged in conflict.
[3] In Zechariah,
Turn to the stronghold, O prisoners of hope; even today I declare I will render double to you – I who have bent for Myself Judah as a bow, I have filled Ephraim, and have roused your sons, O Zion, against your sons, O Javan; and I will set you as the sword of one who is mighty, and Jehovah will appear over them, and His arrow will go forth like lightning. Zech. 9:12-14.
‘The sword of one who is mighty’ stands for truth engaged in conflict. In John,
In the midst of the seven lampstands one like the Son of Man was holding in His right hand seven stars; out of His mouth a sharp two-edged sword was going forth, and His countenance was like the sun shining in full strength. Rev. 1:13, 16.
And further on,
These things says He who has the sharp two-edged sword, I will come to you quickly and engage in conflict with them with the sword of My mouth. Rev. 2:12, 16.
‘A sharp two-edged sword’ plainly stands for truth engaged in conflict, which was therefore represented as ‘a sword going out of His mouth’.
[4] In the same book,
Out of the mouth of Him who sat on the white horse went forth a sharp sword, and with it He is to smite the nations. And they were slain by the sword of Him sitting on the horse, which went out of His mouth. Rev. 19:15, 21.
Here it is plain that ‘a sword going out of His mouth’ means truth engaged in conflict. The one ‘sitting on the white horse’ is the Word, and thus the Lord who is the Word; see above 2760-2763. This explains what the Lord says in Matthew,
Do not think that I have come to bring peace on to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. Matt. 10:34.
And in Luke,
Now he who has a purse, let him take it, and likewise a bag. But he who has none, let him sell his garments and buy a sword. They said to Him, Behold, Lord, here are two swords. And Jesus said, It is enough. Luke 22:36-38.
‘A sword’ here is used to mean nothing else than the truth, from which and for which they were to engage in conflict.
[5] In Hosea,
I will make for them a covenant on that day with the wild animals of the field, and with the birds of the air, and the creeping things of the ground. And I will abolish*** the bow, and the sword, and war from the land, and I will make them lie down in safety. Hosea 2:18.
Here the subject is the Lord’s kingdom. ‘Abolishing the bow, the sword, and war’ means the absence of any conflict there over doctrine and truth. In Joshua,
Joshua lifted up his eyes and saw, and behold, a man was standing before him, with a sword drawn in his hand. He said to Joshua, I am the Prince of the army of Jehovah; and Joshua fell on his face to the earth. Josh. 5:13, 14.
These words, which refer to the time when Joshua together with the children of Israel entered the land of Canaan, are used to mean the entry – of those who have faith – into the Lord’s kingdom. Truth engaged in conflict, which is the Church’s, is ‘the sword drawn in the hand of the Prince of the army of Jehovah’.
[6] But as for ‘small swords’ or ‘knives’ meaning the truth of faith, this becomes clear from the fact that they were used not only in sacrifices but also in circumcision. Those used in circumcision were made of flint and were called ‘small swords of flint’, as is evident in Joshua,
Jehovah said to Joshua, Make small swords of flint for yourself; and again, circumcise the children of Israel a second time. And Joshua made small swords of flint for himself, and circumcised the children of Israel on the hill of the foreskins. Josh. 5:2, 3.
‘Circumcision’ was a representative of purification from self-love and love of the world, see 2039, 2632. And because such purification is achieved by means of the truths of faith, ‘small swords of flint’ were therefore used, 2039 (end), 2046 (end).
[7] II A sword means the vastation of truth This is clear from the following places: In Isaiah,
These two will happen to you; who is to condole with you? Vastation and demolition, and famine and sword; who is to comfort you? Your sons fainted, they lay at the head of every street. Isa. 51:19, 20.
‘Famine’ stands for vastation of good, and ‘sword’ for vastation of truth. ‘Lying at the head of every street’ stands for being deprived of all truth. ‘Street’ means truth, 2336; and for what vastation is, see 301-304, 407, 408, 410, 411. In the same prophet,
I will destine**** you for the sword, and all of you will bow down to the slaughter, because I called but you did not answer, I spoke but you did not listen. Isa. 65:12.
[8] In the same prophet,
By fire Jehovah will judge, and by sword, all flesh; and the slain of Jehovah will be many. Isa. 66:16.
‘The slain of Jehovah’ stands for those who have undergone vastation. In Jeremiah,
On all the hills in the wilderness those who cause devastation have come, for the sword of Jehovah is devouring from one end of the land even to the other end of the land. There is no peace for any flesh. They have sown wheat and reaped thorns. Jer. 12:12, 13.
‘The sword of Jehovah’ plainly stands for the vastation of truth. In the same prophet,
They have lied against Jehovah and said, It is not He; and no evil will come upon us; neither shall we see sword and famine. And the prophets will become wind, and there is no utterance in them. Jer. 5:12, 13.
[9] In the same prophet,
I am visiting them; the young men will die by the sword; their sons and their daughters will die by famine. Jer. 11:22.
In the same prophet,
When they offer burnt offering and minchah I will not accept them, for I am consuming them by sword and by famine and by pestilence. And I said, Ah, Lord Jehovih, behold, the prophets say to them, You will not see the sword, nor will you have famine. Jer. 14:12, 13.
In the same prophet,
The city has been given into the hand of the Chaldeans fighting against it, in face of the sword, and famine, and pestilence. Jer. 32:24, 36.
In the same prophet,
I will send sword, famine, and pestilence upon them, until they are consumed from the ground which I gave to them and their fathers. Jer. 24:10.
[10] In these places vastation is described as ‘sword, famine, and pestilence’. ‘Sword’ describes the vastation of truth, ‘famine’ the vastation of good, and ‘pestilence’ preying upon even to destruction. In Ezekiel,
Son of man, Take a sharp sword, use it as a barber’s razor and pass it over your head and over your beard. And you are to take balances and you are to divide the hair. A third part you are to burn with fire in the midst of the city; a third part you are to strike with the sword round about it; and a third part you are to scatter to the wind, and I will unsheathe the sword after them. A third part will die of pestilence, and be consumed with famine in the midst [of you], and a third part will fall by the sword round about [you], and a third part I will scatter to every wind; and I will unsheathe the sword after them. Ezek. 5:1, 2, 12, 17.
This refers to the vastation of natural truth, which is described in this fashion. In the same prophet,
The sword is without, and pestilence and famine within; he that is in the field will die by the sword, and him that is in the city famine and pestilence will devour. Ezek. 7:15.
[11] In the same prophet,
Say to the land of Israel, Thus said Jehovah, Behold, I am against you, and will draw My sword out of its sheath, and will cut off from you the righteous and the wicked. Because I will cut off from you the righteous and the wicked, therefore My sword will go out of its sheath against all flesh from south to north; and all flesh will know that I Jehovah have drawn My sword out of its sheath, and it will not return any more. The word of Jehovah came to me, saying, Son of man, prophesy and say, Thus said Jehovah, Say: A sword, a sword has been sharpened and also polished, sharpened, for great slaughter, so that it is polished to flash like lightning! Son of man, prophesy and say, Thus said the Lord Jehovih against the children of Ammon, and against their reproach, Say: A sword, a sword is bared for the slaughter, and polished to consume because [polished to shine like] lightning – while they see vanity for you, while they divine a lie for you. Ezek. 21:3-5, 8-20, 28, 29.
Here ‘a sword’ means nothing other than vastation, as is evident in the internal sense from each detail included here.
[12] In the same prophet,
The king of Babel will destroy your towers with his swords. By reason of the abundance of horses their dust will cover you; by reason of the noise of horsemen, and wheels, and chariots, your walls will be shaken. With the hoofs of his horses he will trample all your streets. Ezek. 26:9-11.
What ‘Babel’ is, see 1326, and that it causes vastation, 1327. In David, If he does not turn back God will whet His sword, bend His bow, and make it ready. Ps. 7:12.
In Jeremiah,
I said, Ah, Lord, truly You have utterly deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, You will have peace; but the sword has reached even to the soul. Jer. 4:10.
[13] In the same prophet,
Declare in Egypt, and cause it to be heard in Migdol, Stand up and prepare yourself, for the sword will devour round about you. Jer. 46:14.
In the same prophet,
A sword over the Chaldeans and against the inhabitants of Babel, and against her rulers, and against her wise men! A sword against the boasters, and they will become insane! A sword against her mighty men, and they will be dismayed! A sword against her horses, and against her chariots, and against the whole mingled crowd in her midst, and they will become as women! A sword against her treasures, and they will be plundered! A drought on her waters, and they will dry up! Jer. 50:35-38.
‘A sword’ plainly stands for the vastation of truth, for it is said to be ‘a sword against the wise men, against the boasters, against the mighty men, against the horses and chariots, against the treasures’, and that there will be ‘a drought on the waters and they will dry up’.
[14] In the same prophet,
We have given the hand to Egypt, to Asshur to be satisfied with bread. Slaves have had dominion over us; there is nobody to free us from their hand. In [peril of] our souls we acquired our bread, in face of the sword of the wilderness. Lam. 5:6, 8, 9.
In Hosea,
He will not return to the land of Egypt, and Asshur will be his king, because they have refused to return to Me. And the sword will come down on his cities, and consume his bars, and devour because of their counsels. Hosea 11:5, 6.
In Amos.
I have sent the pestilence upon you in the way of Egypt, I have slain your young men with the sword, along with your captured horses.***** Amos 4:10.
‘In the way of Egypt’ stands for the facts which cause vastation when, on the basis of these, people reason in Divine things. ‘Captured horses’ stands for the understanding when stripped of its own inherent qualities.
[15] III A sword in the contrary sense means falsity engaged in conflict. This becomes clear in David,
As to my soul, I lie in the midst of lions setting on fire the children of men; their teeth are spear and arrows, and their tongues a sharp sword. Ps. 57:4.
In the same author,
Behold, they belch out with their mouths, swords are in their lips – for who hears? Ps. 59:7.
In Isaiah,
You are cast out from your sepulchre like an abominable stock, a garment of the slain pierced by the sword, who go down to the stones of the pit like a dead body trodden underfoot. Isa. 14:19
This refers to Lucifer. In Jeremiah,
In vain have I smitten your sons, they took no correction Your own sword is devouring your prophets, like a ravaging lion. O generation, observe the Word of Jehovah, Have I been a wilderness to Israel? Jer. 2:30, 31.
[16] In the same prophet,
Do not go out into the field, and do not walk on the road, for the enemy has a sword, terror is all around. Jer. 6:25, 26.
In the same prophet,
Take the cup of the wine of wrath and make all the nations to which I send you drink it. And they will drink and reel, and go mad in face of the sword which I am sending among them. Drink and get drunk, and vomit, and fall, and do not get up again in face of the sword. Jer. 25:15, 16, 27.
In the same prophet,
Go up, O horses; rage, O chariots; let the mighty men go forth, Cush and Put, that handle the shield, and the Ludim that handle and bend the bow. And that day is to the Lord Jehovih of hosts a day of vengeance. And the sword will devour, and be sated, and become drunk on their blood. Jer. 46:9, 10.
[17] In Ezekiel,
They will strip you of your garments, and take the jewels****** of your glory, and leave you naked and bare. And they will bring up an assembly upon you, and they will stone you with stones; they will run you through with their swords. Ezek. 16:39, 40.
This refers to the abominations of Jerusalem. In Zechariah,
Woe to the worthless shepherd, the deserter of the flock! The sword will fall upon his arm and upon his right eye. His arm will be wholly withered, and his right eye utterly darkened. Zech. 11:17.
In Hosea,
They thought what was evil against Me. Their princes will fall by the sword for the rage of their tongue. This will be their derision in the land of Egypt. Hosea 7:15, 16.
[18] In Luke,
There will be great distress over the earth, and wrath on that people; for they will fall by the edge of the sword, and will be led captive among all the gentiles;******* at length Jerusalem will be trodden down by the gentiles.******* Luke 21:23, 24.
Here the Lord was referring to the close of the age – in the sense of the letter to the dispersion of the Jews and the destruction of Jerusalem, but in the internal sense to the final state of the Church. ‘Falling by the edge of the sword’ means that there was no truth any longer, but merely falsity. ‘All the gentiles’ means every kind of evil among which ‘they will be led captive’. ‘The gentiles’ – or ‘the nations’ – means evils, see 1259, 1260, 1849, 1868, and ‘Jerusalem’ means the Church, 2117, which will be so ‘trodden down’ by them.
[19] IV A sword also means the punishment of falsity
This is clear in Isaiah,
On that day Jehovah will make a visitation with His hard and great and strong sword upon Leviathan the full-length serpent,******** and upon Leviathan the twisting serpent, and He will slay the monsters that are in the sea. Isa. 27:1.
This refers to those who by means of reasonings based on sensory evidence and factual knowledge enter into the mysteries of faith. ‘The hard, great, and strong sword’ stands for the punishments of the falsity that results from those reasonings.
[20] When one reads about people being put to, and being slain by, the edge of the sword, sometimes including ‘both men and women, young people and old, oxen, sheep, and asses’, the meaning in the internal sense is punishment consisting in the condemnation of falsity, as in Josh. 6:21; 8:24, 25; 10:28, 30, 37, 39; 11:10-12, 14; 13:22; 19:47; Judg. 1:8, 25; 4:15, 16; 18:27; 20:37; 1 Sam. 15:8; 2 Kings 10:25; and elsewhere. This also explains why it was commanded to put to the sword any city which worshipped other gods, and to destroy it utterly and to burn it with fire, and to let it remain a heap for ever, Deut. 13:12-18. ‘The sword’ stands for the punishment of falsity, ‘fire’ for the punishment of evil. The angel of Jehovah with a drawn sword who stood in the path against Balaam, Num. 22:22, 31, meant the truth which stood in the way of the falsity which possessed Balaam. For that reason also he was slain with a sword, Num. 31:8.
[21] The meaning of ‘a sword’ in the genuine sense as truth engaged in conflict, and in the contrary sense as falsity engaged in it, also the vastation of truth and the punishment of falsity, has its origin in the representatives that occur in the next life. For in that life, when anyone utters that which he knows to be false, daggers so to speak instantly come down over his head and strike terror, while truth engaged in conflict is represented there as well by objects which have sharp points like the tips of swords; for such is the nature of truth if it is devoid of good, but if it exists together with good it is rounded and gentle. Such being the origin of the meaning of a sword, therefore with angels, whenever a knife, spear, small sword, or sword is mentioned in the Word, truth engaged in conflict comes to mind.
[22] The reason why a knife is hardly mentioned at all in the Word is that in the next life there are evil spirits who are called ‘knifers’. They seem to have knives hanging by their sides, and the reason for this is that they possess so brutal a nature that they wish to cut everyone’s throat with their knife. This is why knives are not mentioned, but small swords and swords, for the latter being implements normally used in battle give rise to the idea of war and so of truth engaged in conflict.
[23] Because it was well known to the ancients that a small sword, a lance, and a knife meant truth, the gentiles, who received the practice through tradition, were therefore accustomed during sacrifices to stab and slash themselves, even until they bled, with small swords, lances, or knives, as one reads of the priests of Baal,
The priests of Baal cried out with a loud voice and cut themselves after their custom with swords and lances, until blood gushed out. 1 Kings 18:28.
As regards all weapons of war in the Word meaning things that have to do with spiritual conflict, each one having some specific meaning, see 2686.
* lit. the son
** A Hebrew word, the meaning of which is uncertain.
*** lit. break
**** lit. Number
***** lit. the captivity of your horses
****** lit. the vessels
******* or the nations
******** i.e. a serpent that is on the move and not coiled up
Jesus said to Philip, Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? Believe Me that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me. John 14:10, 11.
And elsewhere in the same evangelist,
Jesus said to the Jews, Even though you do not believe Me, believe the works, that you may know and believe that the Father is in Me, and I in the Father. John 10:36, 38.
And elsewhere,
I pray for them – for all things that are Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine – that they may all be one, as You, Father, are in Me and I in You John 17:9, 10, 21.
And elsewhere,
Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God glorified in Him. If God is glorified in Him, God will also glorify Him in Himself. Father, glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You. John 13:31, 32; 17:1.
[2] From these places one may see the nature of the union of the Divine and of the Human within the Lord – that each is linked mutually to the other and responds to the other – that is, it is a reciprocal union. This is the Union which is called the Divine Marriage, from which the heavenly marriage comes down, which is the Lord’s kingdom itself in heaven and is referred to in John as follows,
On that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. John 14:20.
And elsewhere,
I pray for these, that they may all be one, as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be one in Us, I in them and You in Me, that the love with which You have loved Me may be in them, and I in them. John 17:21-23, 26.
[3] As regards this heavenly marriage being a marriage of good and truth, and of truth and good, see 2508, 2618, 2728, 2729 and following paragraphs. And since Divine Good cannot possibly have being or manifest itself without Divine Truth, and Divine Truth cannot possibly do so without Divine Good, but one is always reaching out to and responding to the other, it is therefore plain that the Divine Marriage has existed from eternity, that is, the Father in the Son, and the Son in the Father, as the Lord Himself teaches in John,
Now, Father, glorify Me in Your Own Self with the glory I had with You before the world was. John 17:5, 24.
But the Divine Human that had been born from eternity was also born in time, and what was born in time is the same as that which was glorified. This is what accounts for the Lord’s saying many times that He was going to the Father who sent Him, that is, He was returning to the Father. And in John,
In the beginning was the Word (the Word being Divine Truth itself), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made. Furthermore the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, glory as of the Only Begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:1-3, 14.
See also John 3:13; 6:62.
‘Abraham said, God will see for Himself to the animal for a burnt offering, my son’ means the reply: The Divine Human will provide those who are to be sanctified. ‘And the two of them went on together’ means a still closer union, the closest that was now possible.
[2] Clearly all the religious observances or forms of external worship which existed in the Ancient Church, and subsequently in the Jewish, represented the Lord, so that the burnt offerings and sacrifices in particular represented Him since these were the chief forms of worship among the Hebrew nation. And because they represented the Lord they also at the same time represented among men those things that are the Lord’s, that is to say, the celestial things of love, and the spiritual things of faith, and as a consequence of this represented the people themselves who were celestial and spiritual or who ought to have been so. This is why ‘the animal’ here means those who are spiritual, that is, those who belong to the Lord’s spiritual Church. As regards ‘God will see for Himself to the animal for a burnt offering, my son’ meaning that the Divine Human will provide them, this is clear from the fact that here it is not said that ‘Jehovah’ will see to it but that ‘God’ will do so. When both of these names occur, as they do in this chapter, Jehovah is used to mean the same as ‘the Father’, and God the same as ‘the Son’, so that here the Divine Human is meant; and a further reason for the usage is that the spiritual man, whose salvation comes from the Divine Human, is the subject, see 2661, 2716.
‘They came to the place of which God told him’ means His state at that point according to perception from Divine Truth. ‘And [Abraham] built the altar there’ means preparation of the Lord’s Divine human.* ‘And laid the pieces of wood in order’ means the righteousness that was allied to it. ‘And bound Isaac his son’ means the state of the Divine rational which, in this condition as regards truth, was about to undergo the last degrees of temptation. ‘And laid him on the altar, upon the pieces of wood’ means within the Divine human to which righteousness was allied.
* i.e. the Divine human prior to temptations; see 2814.
Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn Him and deliver Him to the gentiles to mock and scourge Him, and to crucify [Him]. Matt. 20:18, 19.
In the same gospel,
Jesus said to His disciples, Behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man will be delivered into the hands of sinners. Matt. 26:45.
In Mark,
Jesus began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, but after three days rise again. Mark 8:31.
In the same gospel,
It is written of the Son of Man that He will suffer many things and be treated with contempt. And the Son of Man will be delivered into the hands of men who will kill Him; but when He has been killed He will rise again on the third day. Mark 9:12, 31.
In the same gospel,
Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered to the chief priests and the scribes who will condemn Him to death, and deliver Him to the heathens. They will mock Him, and scourge Him, and spit on Him, and kill Him; but on the third day He will rise again. Mark 10:33, 34.
In the same gospel,
The hour has come; behold, the Son of Man will be delivered into the hands of sinners. Mark 14:41.
In Luke,
The Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day rise again. Luke 9:22, 44.
In the same gospel,
We are going up to Jerusalem where everything will be accomplished that has been written by the prophets concerning the Son of Man. He will be delivered to the gentiles, and will be mocked, and suffer insults, and be spat upon. And they will scourge and kill Him, but on the third day He will rise again. Luke 18:31-33.
In the same gospel,
The angel said to the women, Remember what He told you while He was still in Galilee, saving that the Son of Man must be betrayed into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again. Luke 24:6, 7.
[2] In all these places ‘the Son of Man’ is used to mean the Lord as regards Divine truth – that is, as regards the Word in its internal sense – which was to be rejected by the chief priests and the scribes, suffer insults, be scourged, spat on, and crucified. This is made quite clear by the fact that the Jews took every single thing literally, applying and misappropriating it to themselves, and had no wish to know anything whatever about the spiritual sense of the Word and about a heavenly kingdom. They believed, as they do even today, that when He came the Messiah would raise up their kingdom above all the kingdoms of the earth. From this it is evident that it was Divine truth which was rejected, insulted, scourged, and crucified by them. Whether you speak of Divine truth or of the Lord as regards Divine truth it amounts to the same, for the Lord is Truth itself just as He is the Word itself, 2011, 2016, 2533 (end).
[3] Also implied in the Lord’s rising again on the third day is the fact that Divine truth, or the Word as to its internal sense – as it was understood in the Ancient Church – will be brought back to life again at the close of the age, which also is ‘the third day’, 1825, 2788. And this is the reason why it is said that the Son of Man, that is, Divine truth, will appear at that time, Matt. 24:30, 37, 39, 44; Mark 13:26; Luke 17:22, 24-26, 30; 21:27, 36.
[4] The fact that the Son of Man is the Lord as regards Divine truth is clear from the places quoted already and further still from the following: In Matthew,
He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man; the field is the world. At the close of the age the Son of Man will send His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all offences. Matt. 13:37, 41, 42.
Here ‘the good seed’ means truth, ‘the world’ men, ‘he who sows it’ the Son of Man, and ‘offences’ falsities. In John,
The crowd said, We have heard from the Law that the Christ remains for ever. Why therefore do you say, The Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man? Jesus answered them, The Light is with you for a brief while. Walk, as long as you have the Light, lest the darkness overtakes you, for he who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going. As long as you have the Light believe in the Light, that you may be sons of the Light. John 12:34-36.
Here, when the crowd ask, ‘Who is the Son of Man?’ Jesus speaks in His reply about the Light, which is truth, and says that He Himself is the Light or Truth in which they ought to believe. Regarding the Light which comes from the Lord, and which is Divine Truth, see 1053, 1521, 1529-1531, 1619-1632.
[5] But as for the truth that the Son of God, or the Lord as to the Good within His Divine human, could not be tempted, as stated above, this is evident also from the Lord’s reply to the tempter, in the gospels,
The tempter said, If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down, for it is written, He will give His angels charge regarding you, lest you strike your foot against a stone. Jesus said to him, Again it is written, You shall not tempt the Lord your God. Matt 4:6, 7; Luke 4:9-12.
Jesus said, Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God glorified in Him. If God is glorified in Him, God will also glorify Him in Himself, and will glorify Him at once. John 13:31, 32.
So that one may have some distinct idea of this very deep arcanum let the truth with the Lord that could be tempted and that underwent temptations be termed Divine truth within the Lord’s Divine human, but Truth that could not be tempted, or undergo any temptation, because it had been glorified, be termed Divine Truth within the Lord’s Divine Human, as has also been observed in various places in what has gone before.
‘Abraham put forth his hand’ means temptation even to the final degree of power. ‘And took the knife’ means as regards truth. ‘To slay his son’ means until whatever originated in the merely human was dead.
[2] The fact that the Lord allowed temptations into Himself, even the last which was that of the Cross, becomes clear from the Lord’s own words, in Matthew,
Jesus began to show the disciples that He must suffer many things and be killed. At that point Peter took Him and began to rebuke Him, saying, Spare Yourself, Lord; let this not happen to You. But He turned and said to Peter, Go away behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling-block to Me, for you do not savour the things of God but those of men. Matt. 16:21-23.
And more explicitly in John,
No one takes My life* from Me, but I lay it down of Myself; I have power to lay it down and I have power to receive it again. John 10:18.
And in Luke,
Ought not Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory? Luke 24:26.
* or soul
[2] The Lord’s future coming into the world and His suffering of death had been known since most ancient times. The existence of that knowledge then may be recognized plainly from the custom prevalent among the gentiles of sacrificing their own children, which they did in the belief that by so doing they made atonement and satisfied God. They would never have made this abominable custom their major religious activity unless they had received from the ancients knowledge of a future coming of the Son of God, of whom, so they believed, a sacrifice would be made. The children of Jacob too inclined to this abominable practice, as also did Abraham, for nobody is tempted except through that to which he has an inclination. The fact that the children of Jacob had those inclinations is clear in the Prophets. But to prevent them plunging into that abominable practice the introduction of burnt offerings and sacrifices was permitted, 922, 1128, 1241, 1343, 2180.
The Lord first of all fought from goods and truths which were appearances of goods and truths, 1661.
Out of Divine love towards the whole human race He fought against the evils of self-love and of love of the world, 1690, 1691 (end), 1789, 1812, 1813, 1820.
He alone has fought out of Divine love, 1812, 1813.
All the hells fought against the Lord’s love, which was the salvation of the whole human race, 1820.
The Lord suffered the severest temptations of all, 1663, 1668, 1787.
By means of temptations and victories the Lord by His own power became righteousness, 1813, 2025.
The Lord effected the union of the Human Essence to the Divine Essence by means of temptations and victories, 1737, 1813, 1921, 2025, 2026.
See also what has been stated already about temptations in general, in 59, 63, 227, 847.
Temptation is a power-struggle over whether good or evil, truth or falsity, is to prevail, 1923.
Temptations involve feelings of anger, and many other emotions, 1917.
Temptations are celestial, spiritual, or natural, 847.
In temptations evil genii and spirits attack the things that belong to a person’s love, and so the things that constitute his life, 847, 1820.
What temptations accomplish, 1692, 1717, 1740.
The purpose of temptation therefore is that bodily things may be subdued, 857.
Evils and falsities with a person who is being regenerated are subdued by means of temptations, not done away with, 868.
Truth goes into battle first, 1685.
A person fights from the goods and truths which he has acquired by means of cognitions even when they are not in themselves goods and truths, 1661.
Spirits and evil genii activate the falsities and evils within man, and this leads to temptations, 741, 751, 761.
In temptations a person assumes that the Lord is absent, when in fact He is at such times more present, 840.
A person cannot by any means endure by himself the conflicts brought about by temptations, for they are conflicts against every hell, 1692 (end).
The Lord alone fights in man, 1661, 1692.
By means of temptations evil genii and spirits are deprived of their power to do evil and to inspire falsity within man, 1695, 1717.
Temptations take place with those who have conscience, and are more intense with those who have perception, 1668.
Temptations take place rarely at the present day; instead occasions of anxiety occur, which are something different and have a different origin, 762.
Persons who are dead spiritually are not able to suffer the conflicts brought about by temptations, 270.
All temptations bring with them despair over the end in view, 1787, 1820.
After temptations fluctuation occurs, 848, 857.
By means of temptations the good learn that [left to themselves] they are nothing but evil, and that all things are subject to mercy, 2334.
By means of temptations goods become joined more closely to truths, 272.
People are not saved by virtue of enduring temptations if they go under, or if they imagine that they have acquired merit through them, 273.
Every temptation involves freedom, greater freedom than outside of temptations, 1937.
‘The angel of Jehovah called to him out of heaven’ means comfort received at that time from the Divine itself. ‘And said, Abraham, Abraham. And he said, Here I am’ means a perception of comfort in the Divine Good of the Rational following temptations.
There appeared to Him an angel from heaven, strengthening Him. Luke 22:43.
Here also ‘an angel from heaven’ is used in the internal sense to mean the Divine that was within Him.
[2] In this verse the Lord’s first state following temptation is the subject, which is a state of comfort. This explains why the name God is not now used any more but Jehovah, for God is used when reference is being made to the truth from which the battle is fought, but Jehovah when reference is being made to the good from which comfort springs, 2769. All comfort following temptation is instilled into good, for good is the source of all joy, and from the good it passes over into truth. Here therefore ‘Abraham’ means the Divine Good of the Rational, as he also does in other places, and wherever the name Jehovah occurs in the same verse.
‘He said, Do not put forth your hand towards the boy’ means that He would not allow the temptation to go any further into Divine truth which belonged to the Rational. ‘And do not do anything to him’ means release. ‘For now I know that you fear God’ means glorification from Divine love. ‘And have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me’ means the union of the Human to the Divine which was effected by means of the final degree of temptation.
[2] I The fear of God in general means worship. This is evident in the Book of Kings,
The children of Israel feared other gods and walked in the statutes of the nations. The nations brought into Samaria did not at the beginning fear Jehovah; therefore Jehovah sent lions among them. Then came one of the priests whom they had made captives in Samaria, and he dwelt in Bethel and was teaching them how to fear Jehovah. Jehovah had made a covenant with the children of Israel and had commanded them, You shall not fear other gods, nor bow yourselves down to them, and you shall not serve them, nor sacrifice to them, but you shall fear Jehovah, and bow yourselves down to Him, and sacrifice to Him. 2 Kings 17:7, 8, 24, 25, 28, 32, 33, 35-37, 41.
Here ‘fearing’ clearly stands for worshipping. In Isaiah,
Because this people have drawn near with their mouth, and honoured Me with their lips, but their heart has been far from Me, and their fear of Me has been a commandment of men that has been taught to them…. Isa. 29:13.
Here ‘their fear of Me’ stands for worship in general, for it is said that that fear was ‘a commandment of men’. In Luke,
There was in a certain city a judge who did not fear God and did not regard man. Luke 18:2.
‘Who did not fear God’ stands for not worshipping Him.
[3] II The fear of God means worship based on fear when those who are not regenerate are the subject
This is evident from the following places: In Moses, when the Law was delivered on Mount Sinai to the people,
The people said to Moses, You yourself speak to us and we will listen; and do not let God speak to us lest perhaps we die. And Moses said to the people, For God has come to tempt you, and to the end that His fear may be before your faces, so that you do not sin. Exod. 20:19, 20.
And elsewhere in the same author,
Now why should we die? For this great fire will devour us; if we hear the voice of Jehovah our God any more we shall die. You go near and hear all that Jehovah our God will say, and then you tell us all that Jehovah our God will say to you, and we will listen and act. And Jehovah said to Moses, Who will grant it that they have this heart within them to fear Me and to keep all My commandments all their days? Deut. 5:25, 27, 29.
Here ‘the fear of God before your faces, so that you do not sin’ and ‘a heart to fear Me and to keep all My commandments’ means worship based on fear attributable to them because they are by nature what they are. Indeed people whose worship is external, and not at all internal, are led through fear to respect the law and to obey it; but they do not enter into any internal worship, which is holy fear, unless the good of life is present in them, and they know what is internal, and believe it. In the same author,
If you do not take care to do all the words of this Law that are written in this Book, to fear this glorious and fearful name, Jehovah your God, Jehovah will make your plagues exceptional,* and the plagues of your seed, plagues great and persistent, and diseases bad and persistent. And He will bring back on you all the sicknesses of Egypt which you fear, and they will cling to you. Deut. 28:58-60.
Here also ‘fearing the glorious and terrible name of Jehovah God’ means worship based on fear; and in order that this fear might exist among such persons all evils, even cursings, were attributed to Jehovah, 592, 2335, 2395, 2447. In Jeremiah,
Your wickedness will chasten you, and your backslidings will reprove you. Know and see that it is evil and bitter for you to forsake Jehovah your God, and for My fear not to be in you. Jer. 2:19.
In Luke,
I tell you, Do not fear those who kill the body, but after that have no more that they can do. But I will show you whom you ought to fear; fear Him who, after He has killed, has power to cast into Gehenna; yes, I tell you, fear Him. Luke 12:4, 5; Matt. 10:28.
Here also ‘fearing God’ implies worship based on some kind of fear, for fear drove those people to obey, as has been stated.
[4] III Fearing God or Jehovah means worship based on good that flows from faith, when regenerate spiritual people are the subject.
This is evident from the following places: In Moses,
The king will write for himself a copy of this Law in a Book before the Levite priests. And it will be with him, and he will read from it every day of his life, so that he may learn to fear Jehovah his God, keeping all the words of this Law and these statutes to do them. Deut. 17:18, 19.
‘The king’ in the internal sense stands for the truth of faith since the office of a king represented the Lord’s spiritual kingdom, 1672, 1728, 2015, 2069. Consequently ‘fearing Jehovah his God’ means worship of Him based on the truth of faith, which, being inseparable from the good of charity, is described as ‘keeping the words of the Law and these statutes to do them’. In Samuel,
Behold, Jehovah has set a king over you. If you will fear Jehovah and serve Him, and hearken to His voice, both you, and the king who reigns over you, will be following Jehovah your God. 1 Sam. 12:13, 14.
Here too ‘fearing Jehovah’ stands in the internal sense for worship based on the good and truth of faith, as previously, since a king or the kingly office is the subject.
[5] In Joshua,
Now fear Jehovah, and serve Him in sincerity and truth, and put away the gods which your fathers served. Josh. 24:14.
Here also ‘fearing Jehovah’ stands for worship based on good and truth which exist with the spiritual man, for ‘sincerity’ is used in reference to the good of faith, 612, ‘truth’ to the truth of faith. In Jeremiah,
They will be My people and I will be their God; and I will give them one heart and one way, to fear Me all their days, for their own good and that of their sons after them. And I will make with them an everlasting covenant, that I will not turn back from doing good to them, and I will put My fear into their heart of not departing from Me. Jer. 32:38-40.
Here ‘fearing God’ means worship based on the good and truth of faith. This becomes clear from the train of thought and from the fact that the words ‘people’ and ‘God’ are used – ‘people’ being used in reference to those with whom the truth of faith exists, see 1259, 1260, and ‘God’ being used when truth is the subject, 2586, 2769, 2807 (end). In Isaiah,
A powerful people will honour You, the city of strong nations will fear You. Isa. 25:3.
Here also ‘fearing God’ stands for worship based on spiritual truth, since the expressions ‘people’ and ‘city’ are used – ‘the city’ meaning doctrinal teaching that is true, see 402, 2268, 2449, 2451.
[6] In David,
Who is the man that fears Jehovah? He will teach him the way that he should choose. Ps. 25:12.
Here ‘the man that fears Jehovah’ stands for one who worships Him. This refers to the spiritual man, as is evident from the fact that it is said ‘He will teach him the way’ – ‘way’ meaning truth, see 627, 2333. In the same author,
Blessed is everyone who fears Jehovah and walks in His ways! Ps. 128:1.
Here the meaning is similar. In the same author,
Those who fear Jehovah will glorify Him, all the seed of Jacob will glorify Him; and they will stand in awe of Him, all the seed of Israel. Ps. 22:23.
Here ‘standing in awe of Him’ stands for worship based on the truth of faith, for ‘the seed of Israel’ is the spiritual side of the Church, that is, the good and truth of faith, 1025, 1447, 1610. In Moses,
Now Israel, what does Jehovah your God require of you but to fear Jehovah your God, to walk in all His ways, and to love Him, and to serve Jehovah your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, to keep Jehovah’s commandments and His statutes? Deut. 10:12, 13.
Here a description occurs of what ‘fearing God’ entails in the case of the spiritual man, meant by ‘Israel’, namely ‘walking in the ways of Jehovah, loving Him, serving Him, and keeping His commandments and statutes’. In John,
I saw an angel flying in mid-heaven, having an eternal gospel, and saying in a loud voice, Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgement has come. Rev. 14:6, 7.
Here ‘fearing God’ stands for holy worship based on the good and truth of faith. In Luke,
Jesus said to the paralysed man, Rise, take up your bed and go away to your home. As a consequence amazement seized them all, and they glorified God, and were filled with fear. Luke 5:24-26.
Here ‘fear’ stands for holy fear as it exists in people who by means of the truth of faith are being introduced into the good of love.
[7] IV Fearing God or Jehovah means worship based on good that flows from love, when regenerate celestial people are the subject.
In Malachi,
My covenant with Levi was [a covenant] of life and peace, and I gave them to him with fear; and he feared Me, and for My name he was crushed. The law of truth was in his mouth, and perversity was not [found] on his lips. He walked with Me in peace and uprightness. Mal. 2:5, 6.
This refers to the Lord, meant here by ‘Levi’ in the internal sense. ‘Levi’ means the priesthood, and he means love. ‘Fear’ in this instance stands for the good that flows from Divine Love, ‘the law of truth’ for the truth that accompanies it, ‘peace and uprightness’ for both.
[8] In Isaiah,
There will come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch will grow out of his roots. And the Spirit of Jehovah will rest upon Him, the Spirit of wisdom and intelligence, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of Jehovah. And His delight** will be in the fear of Jehovah. Isa. 11:1-3.
This too refers to the Lord. ‘The Spirit of knowledge and the fear of Jehovah’ stands for the Divine love of truth, ‘His delight will be in the fear of Jehovah’ for the Divine love of good.
[9] In David,
The commandments of Jehovah are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of Jehovah is pure, enlightening the eyes; the fear of Jehovah is clean, standing for ever; the judgements of Jehovah are truth, righteous altogether. Ps. 19:8, 9.
Here ‘the fear of Jehovah is clean’ stands for love, ‘the judgements of Jehovah are truth’ for faith. ‘Righteousness’ is used in reference to good that is the good of love, ‘judgements’ to truth that is the truth of faith, see 2235; and these are called ‘righteous altogether’ when truth consists in good, or faith in charity.
[10] In the same author,
Behold, the eye of Jehovah is on those who fear Him, on those who await His mercy. Ps. 33:18.
And elsewhere in the same author,
Jehovah takes no delight in the might of the horse, nor pleasure in the legs of man Jehovah’s pleasure is in those who fear Him and in those who await His mercy. Ps. 147:10, 11.
‘The might of the horse’ stands for a person’s own power to think what is true; for ‘a horses means the understanding, see 2760-2762. ‘The legs of man’ stands for a person’s own power to do good. ‘Those who fear Jehovah’ stands for people whose worship of Him is based on a love of truth, and ‘those who await His mercy’ stands for those whose worship is based on a love of good. In the Prophets when good is spoken of so also is truth, and when truth is spoken of so also is good, on account of the heavenly marriage of good and truth that exists in every individual part [of the Word], see 683, 793, 801, 2516, 2712, 2731.
[11] In the same author,
Jehovah will bless the house of Israel, He will bless the house of Aaron, He will bless those who fear Jehovah, both small and great. Ps. 115:12, 13.
Here ‘those who fear Jehovah’ stands for people whose worship is based on the good that flows from faith, meant by ‘the house of Israel’, and on the good that flows from love, meant by ‘the house of Aaron’ – both of them on account of the heavenly marriage which exists, as has been stated, in every individual part of the Word.
[12] In Isaiah,
The stability*** of your times will be strength to save, wisdom and knowledge; and the fear of Jehovah itself the treasure. Isa. 33:6.
Here ‘wisdom and knowledge’ stands for the good of faith joined to the truth of faith, ‘the fear of Jehovah’ for the good of love. In the same prophet,
Who among you fears Jehovah? [Who] listens to the voice of His servant? Isa. 50:10.
‘Who fears Jehovah’ stands for one whose worship is based on love, ‘who listens to the voice of His servant’ for one whose worship is based on faith. When one goes with the other the heavenly marriage is in that case present.
[13] From these places that have been quoted from the Word it is clear that ‘the fear of God’ means worship based either on fear, or on the good that flows from faith, or on the good that flows from love. But the more there is of fear present in worship the less there is of faith, and still less of love. Conversely, the more there is of faith present in worship, and even more so of love, the less there is of fear. Present within all worship there is fear, but this fear takes on a different form and nature; for it is holy fear. But holy fear is not so much a fear of hell and of damnation, as a fear lest anything whatever be done or thought that is contrary to the Lord and contrary to the neighbour, thus anything whatever that is contrary to the good of love and to the truth of faith. It is an abhorrence which on the one side forms the boundary of the holiness of faith and of the holiness of love. And since, as has been stated, it is not a fear of hell and damnation, it exists with those who abide in the good of faith, less so with those who abide in the good of love, that is, who abide in the Lord. Therefore,
[14] V Fearing also means distrusting, or having no faith and love.
As in Isaiah,
Thus said your Creator, O Jacob, and He who formed you, O Israel, Do not fear, for I have redeemed you, and have called you by your name; you are Mine. Isa. 43:1, 5; 44:8
In Luke,
The oath which He swore to Abraham our father, to grant us, that without fear we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve Him, in holiness and righteousness before Him. Luke 1:73-75.
In the same gospel,
Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Luke 12:32.
In Mark,
Jesus said to the ruler of the synagogue, Do not fear, only believe. Mark 5:36; Luke 8:49, 50.
In the same gospel,
Jesus said, Why are you so afraid? How is it that you have no faith? Mark 4:40.
In Luke,
The hairs of your head are numbered. Do not fear, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. Luke 12:7.
In all these places ‘fearing’ means distrusting or having no faith and love.
* lit. wonderful
** lit. His scenting
*** lit. The truth
‘Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw’ means the Lord’s thought and insight received from the Divine. ‘And behold, a ram’ means spiritual members of the human race. ‘Behind [him] caught in a thicket’ means entangled in natural knowledge. ‘By its horns’ means with all its power as regards truths of faith. ‘And Abraham went and took the ram’ means their release effected by the Lord’s Divine Human. ‘And offered it as a burnt offering instead of his son’ means their sanctification and adoption.
[2] That ‘a ram’ then means the Lord’s Divine spiritual, and so that which is spiritual with man, or what amounts to the same, spiritual members of the human race, may become clear from the burnt offerings and sacrifices that were made from rams. For example, when Aaron and his sons were consecrated to the function they performed, that is, when they were inaugurated, they were to offer one young bull for a sin offering, sprinkle its blood over the horns of the altar, and pour the remainder at the base of it. Also they were to slaughter one ram and to sprinkle its blood around the altar, and after that they were to burn the ram – the whole of it – as a burnt offering. And the blood of the second ram which had been slaughtered was to be sprinkled over the tip of Aaron’s ear, and over his thumb and big toe, and after that they were to make a wave offering of it and burn it on top of the burnt offering, Exod. 29:1-35; Lev. 8:1-end; 9:2 and following verses. Clearly all these observances were holy, but they were holy for the reason that they represented and meant holy things. Other than for this reason, none of these observances – slaughtering a young bull, sprinkling its blood over the horns of the altar and pouring the remainder at the base of it, slaying one ram and sprinkling its blood around the altar and after that burning it, and sprinkling the blood of the second ram over the tip of Aaron’s ear and over his thumb and big toe and also making a wave offering of it and burning it on top of the burnt offering – would have possessed any holiness, nor thus any worship, unless they had represented holy things. But what each observance represented does not become clear to anyone except from the internal sense. That the young bull offered as a sin offering meant the Lord’s Divine natural, and the ram His Divine spiritual, and at the same time spiritual members of the human race, may become clear from the meaning of a young bull and of a ram in the Word. Inaugurations into the priesthood were effected by means of spiritual things, for by means of spiritual things man is initiated into those which are celestial, or what amounts to the same, by means of the truths of faith he is initiated into good that stems from love. In a similar way when Aaron entered the Holy Place he was to offer a young bull as a sin offering and a ram as a burnt offering, Lev. 16:2, 3.
[3] When a Nazirite was completing the period of his Naziriteship he was to offer one male lamb a year old without a blemish as a burnt offering, and one ewe-lamb a year old without a blemish as a sin offering, and one ram without blemish as a peace offering, Num. 6:13, 14, 16, 17. The reason for these observances was that a Nazirite represented the celestial man, who is the likeness of the Lord, 51, 52, 1013. The celestial man is such that he is moved by celestial love, that is, by love to the Lord, and from this by celestial truth, 202, 337, 2069, 2715, 2718. This was why the Nazirite was required to sacrifice a male lamb and a ewe-lamb, meaning that which is celestial, and also to sacrifice a ram, meaning that which is spiritual. Young bulls, rams, and lambs were sacrificed at festivals. For example, on the first day of the feast of unleavened bread, two young bulls, one ram, and seven lambs, together with their minchah, were to be offered as a burnt offering, Num. 28:18-20. On the day of the firstfruits too, two-young bulls, one ram, and seven lambs, together with their minchah, were to be offered as a burnt offering, Num. 28:26-28. At new moons two young bulls, one ram, and seven lambs, together with their minchah, were to be offered as a burnt offering, Num. 28:11, 12; in the seventh month, on the first of the month, one young bull, one ram, seven lambs, together with their minchah; and on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, thirteen young bulls, two rams, fourteen lambs; and so on, see Num. 29:1, 2, 12-14, 17, 18, 20-24, 26-36. Young bulls and rams meant spiritual things, while lambs meant celestial. For at festivals it was required that those taking part were to be sanctified and were brought into that condition by means of spiritual things.
[4] Since ‘rams’ meant the Divine spiritual of the Lord’s Divine Human, and also spiritual things residing with man, it is therefore said in Ezekiel, where the New Temple and the New Jerusalem, that is, the Lord’s spiritual kingdom, are referred to, that when they had finished cleansing the altar they were to offer a young bull as a sin offering and a ram as a burnt offering; and for seven days they were to provide daily a he-goat for a sin offering, and a young bull and a ram, Ezek. 43:23-25. Also ‘on that day’ the prince on behalf of all the people was to provide a young bull for a sin offering, and on the seven days of the feast seven young bulls and seven rams, together with the minchah, as a burnt offering, Ezek. 45:22-24; and on the sabbath day he was to provide six lambs and a ram, Ezek. 46:4; 6.
[5] As regards the New Temple and the New Jerusalem, these in the universal sense mean the Lord’s kingdom, see 402, 940, and in particular a new Church, 2117. There neither burnt offerings nor sacrifices are offered, as may be well known to all; and from this it is evident that burnt offerings and sacrifices mean the celestial things of love and the spiritual things of faith; for these things belong to the Lord’s kingdom, and so are akin to the things meant here by young bulls, rams, and lambs. As regards the young bulls and rams, these mean spiritual things, as is clear from each detail in this part of Ezekiel in the internal sense – in general from the fact that specifically the New Temple and the New Jerusalem mean the Lord’s spiritual kingdom, while Zion means the celestial kingdom.
[6] That ‘a ram’ means that which is spiritual, or what amounts to the same, those who are spiritual, is also evident in Daniel. Daniel saw a ram with two horns which was standing before the river; and then he saw a he-goat which struck the ram, broke its horns, and trampled on it, Dan. 8:3, 4, and following verses. Here ‘the ram’ is used to mean nothing else than the spiritual Church, and ‘the he-goat’ to mean those who are governed by faith separated from charity, that is, by truth separated from good, and who step by step rise up against what is good, and finally against the Lord – as is also described. In Samuel,
Samuel said to Saul, Does Jehovah delight as greatly in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in hearkening to the voice of Jehovah? Behold, to hearken is better than sacrifice, and to obey than the fat of rams. 1 Sam. 15:22.
Here, since it is obedience – and so truth, which is spiritual – that is spoken of, and since what was said was addressed to the king – who also means truth, 1672, 2015, 2069 – the words used are not therefore ‘better than the fat of oxen (or of lambs)’ but ‘better than the fat of rams’.
[7] In David,
When Israel went out of Egypt, the house of Jacob from a foreign people, Judah became His sanctuary, Israel His dominions. The sea looked and fled, and Jordan turned itself backwards. The mountains skipped like rams, the hills like the young of the flock. What ails you, O sea, that you flee? O Jordan, that you turn yourself backwards? O mountains, that you skip like rams? O hills, like the young of the flock? At the presence of the Lord, you are in labour, O earth; at the presence of the God of Jacob, who turns the rock into a pool of water, and the flint into a fountain of water. Ps. 114:1-end.
This refers in the internal sense to spiritual good following regeneration and describes the nature of that good. The celestial-spiritual nature of it is described as the mountains skipping like rams, and the celestial-natural as hills doing so like the young of the flock – ‘mountains’ meaning the celestial things of love, see 795, 1430. Anyone may see that these words, like all the rest of David’s, contain matters that are holy, but within the internal sense, and that something spiritual is meant by the mountains skipping like rams, and the hills like the young of the flock, and by the earth going into labour at the presence of the Lord. Without the internal sense they would be expressions devoid of any real meaning.
[8] Much the same applies to the following in Moses,
He will cause him to ride over the heights of the land, and will cause him to eat the produce of the land, and will cause him to suck honey out of the crag, and oil out of the flinty rock – butter from the cattle, and milk from the flock, with the fat of lambs and rams, the breed* of Bashan, and of goats, with the kidney-fat of wheat; and of the blood of the grape you will drink unmixed wine. Deut. 32:13-15.
‘Rams, the breed of Bashan’ stands for celestial-spiritual things. As to what celestial-spiritual things are, see 1824. In David,
I will offer to You burnt offerings of things full of marrow, with the incense of rams; I will provide ox with he-goats. Ps. 66:15.
‘Burnt offerings of things full of marrow’ stands for the celestial things of love, ‘incense of rams’ for the spiritual things of faith.
[9] In Ezekiel,
Arabia and all the princes of Kedar, these were the merchants of your hand in lambs, in rams and he- goats. Ezek. 27:21.
This refers to Tyre, which means those with whom cognitions of good and truth exist, 1201. ‘Arabia’ stands for their wisdom, ‘princes of Kedar’ for their intelligence, ‘lambs’ for celestial things, ‘rams’ for spiritual things, ‘he-goats’ for natural things, which come in order one after another. In Isaiah,
The whole flock of Kedar will be gathered to You, the rams of Nebaioth will minister to You; they will come up with acceptance on My altar, and I will beautify My beautiful house. Isa. 60:7.
This refers to the Lord’s Divine Human. ‘The flock of Kedar’ stands for Divine celestial things, ‘the rams of Nebaioth’ for Divine spiritual things. From all these references it may now become clear that ‘a ram’ in the internal sense means the Lord’s Divine spiritual; and from this it means that which is spiritual with man, or what amounts to the same, it means spiritual members of the human race.
* lit. sons
[2] As regards perception in general, since few know what perception is, this must be stated here. There is the perception of what is good and true in things that are celestial and spiritual; there is the perception of what is just and fair in public life; and there is the perception of what is honourable in private life. As regards the perception of what is good and true in celestial and spiritual things, this is the perception which the more interior angels possess from the Lord. It was also the perception which members of the Most Ancient Church possessed, and it is the perception which celestial people possess, who are moved by love to the Lord. These people know in an instant from a certain inner awareness whether a thing is good and whether it is true, for the Lord instills it into them because they are joined by love to Him. But spiritual people do not possess such perception of what is good and true in celestial and spiritual things. Instead of perception they have conscience which dictates. Conscience however, as has been stated, is formed from cognitions of good and truth which they have taken in from parents and teachers and later on from their own devotion to doctrine and the Word. And on these cognitions they pin their faith, even though these may not be goods and truths to any great extent. This being so, people can have a conscience that is derived from any variety of doctrine; even gentiles possess something not unlike conscience, derived from their own form of religion.
[3] The fact that those who are spiritual have no perception of the good and truth of faith but say and believe to be true that which they have learned and grasped becomes quite clear from the consideration that everyone calls his own tenets the truth – heretics more than others – and from the consideration that they are unable to see, let alone acknowledge, the truth itself, even though thousands of things might declare it. Let everyone search within himself to see whether he is able to perceive from any other source whether a thing is true, and whether when that which is absolutely true is made plain to him he still does not acknowledge it. Take for example someone who makes faith and not love the essential of salvation. Even if all the things were read out to him which the Lord spoke regarding love and charity, see 2371, and even if he knew from the Word that all the Law and all the Prophets hung on love to the Lord and charity towards the neighbour, he would still persist in the idea of faith and would say that this alone was what saved. It is altogether different in the case of those who possess celestial and spiritual perception.
[4] But as regards the perception of what is just and fair in public life, those in the world who are rational possess this, together with the perception of what is honourable in private life. So far as these two types of perception are concerned, one person differs from the next; but this in no sense implies that such persons possess the perception of the good and truth of faith, since this kind of perception is higher or more interior and flows in from the Lord by way of the inmost part of the rational.
[5] A further reason why spiritual people do not possess a perception of the good and truth of faith is that good and truth are not implanted in the will part of their minds, as in the case of celestial people, but in the understanding part; see 863, 875, 927, 1023, 1043, 1044, 2256. This is why spiritual people are not able to enter the first region of the light that celestial people dwell in, 2718, but in comparison with them are in obscurity, 1043, 2708, 2715. The fact that those who are spiritual are entangled in natural knowledge as regards truths of faith follows from this.
[6] As regards ‘a thicket’ or ‘an entanglement’ in the internal sense meaning natural knowledge, that is, factual knowledge such as becomes fixed in the exterior memory, this may also be seen from other places in the Word: in Ezekiel,
Behold, Asshur was a cedar in Lebanon, beautiful in its boughs, and a forest shade, and lofty in height, and its trunk among entangled boughs. Ezek. 31:3.
This refers to ‘Egypt’, which is knowledge, 1164, 1165, 1186, 1462. ‘Asshur’ stands for the rational, 119, 1186, which in the Word is also ‘a cedar’, and ‘Lebanon’ as well. ‘Among entangled boughs’ stands for among facts, for the human rational is based on the facts known to it which it commands.
[7] In the same prophet,
Thus said the Lord Jehovih, Because you are exalted in height, and he has set his trunk up among entangled boughs, and his heart has become lifted up in his height, foreigners, the violent of the nations, will cut him down and cast him out. Ezek. 31:10, 12.
This refers to Egypt. ‘Setting his trunk among entangled boughs’ stands for sticking to facts and looking at spiritual, celestial, and Divine things, from them as the standpoint. In the same prophet,
This is in order that none of all the trees by the waters may exalt themselves in their height, and set their trunk up among entangled boughs, and that none of all that drink water may reach above them in their height, for they will all be given over to death, to the lower earth in the midst of the sons of men, to those going down to the pit. Ezek. 31:14.
This refers to those who wish by means of reasonings based on factual knowledge to penetrate the mysteries of faith; these become totally blind, see 215, 232, 233, 1072, 1911, 2196, 2203, 2568, 2588. Reasoning based on facts is the meaning of ‘setting their trunk up among entangled boughs’. In the same prophet,
It had strong shoots as sceptres for those who have dominion, and its height rose up above among entangled boughs. Ezek. 19:11.
Here the meaning is similar.
[8] In the same prophet,
The slain of Israel in the midst of their idols, around their altars, and under every green tree, and under every entangled oak. Ezek. 6:13.
This refers to the kind of worship which people invent for themselves who have faith in themselves, and so in those things which they hatch out from their factual knowledge. ‘An entangled oak’ stands for facts as they exist in that particular state, ‘oaks’ meaning perceptions arising out of facts, see 1442, 1443, 2144. The same feature occurs elsewhere in the same prophet,
They looked at every high hill and every entangled tree, and there they offered their sacrifices. Ezek. 20:28.
‘Entangled tree’ stands for things which are not dictated by the Word but by a person’s own factual knowledge. The fact that worship used to take place in groves and depended for its meaning on the nature of the trees, see 2722.
[9] In Isaiah,
For wickedness will burn like a fire, it will consume brier and thorn, and will kindle the entangled boughs of the wood. Isa. 9:18.
‘Brier and thorn’ stands for falsity and evil desire, ‘the entangled boughs of the wood’ for facts. In the same prophet,
Jehovah Zebaoth will hew down the entangled boughs of the wood with an axe, and Lebanon will fall by a majestic one. Isa. 10:34.
‘The entangled boughs of the wood’ stands for facts, ‘Lebanon’ for rational concepts. In Jeremiah,
Raise a standard towards Zion, for I am bringing evil from the north, and a great destruction. A lion has risen up from his thicket, and a destroyer of nations has set out and come from his place to make your land a waste. Your cities will be destroyed, and left without inhabitants. Jer. 4:6, 7.
‘From his thicket’ stands for from factual knowledge, and that which ‘rises up’ from this and enters into Divine arcana ‘makes the land a waste’, that is, lays waste the Church.
[10] The reason why in the Word facts are called ‘thickets’ is that facts are by nature like thickets, especially when the desires of self-love and love of the world, and false assumptions, exert an influence on them. Celestial and spiritual love is a love which arranges into order the facts that belong to the external memory, whereas self-love and love of the world disrupt that order and bring confusion to everything there. These are matters of which man is not aware because he takes that to be order which in fact is perverted order, that to be good which in fact is evil, and that to be truth which in fact is falsity; therefore those things are ‘in a thicket’. He is also unaware of these matters because the things that belong to the external memory where facts reside are – in comparison with those that belong to the internal memory, where rational concepts reside – in a thicket, or in some gloomy woodland. How shadowy, gloomy, and darkened it is there in comparison, nobody can know as long as he lives in the body, for during that time he imagines that all wisdom and intelligence arise from facts; but he will know it in the next life when he has entered the things that belong to the internal memory. In the external memory which is proper to man during his life in the world nothing is more lacking than the light of wisdom and intelligence. But that everything there is by comparison dark, disordered, and entangled, see 2469-2494.
[2] A horn means the power of truth that springs from good.
This is clear from the following places: In David,
You are the splendour of their strength, and in Your good pleasure You will exalt our horn. For our shield belongs to Jehovah, and our king to the Holy One of Israel. My truth and My mercy will be with him, and in My name his horn will be exalted. And I will set his hand on the sea, and his right hand on the rivers. Ps. 89:17, 18, 24, 25.
Here ‘our horn’ and ‘his horn’ plainly stand for the power of truth. The subject is the Lord’s spiritual kingdom. ‘Our king belongs to the Holy One of Israel’ stands for the fact that Divine Truth is the Lord’s ‘a king’ being truth, and the Lord’s kingship Divine Truth, see 1672, 1728, 2015, 2069. ‘Setting his hand on the sea, and his right hand on the rivers’ stands for the fact that strength resides in knowledge and in cognitions of truth – ‘hand’ and ‘right hand’ being strength, 878, and ‘sea’ and ‘river’ knowledge and cognitions, 28, 2702. In the same author,
I will love You, O Jehovah, my strength. Jehovah is my rock (petra), and my fortress, and my deliverer, my God, my rock (rupee) in which I trust, a shield and the horn of salvation. Ps. 18:1, 2; 2 Sam. 22:2, 3.
‘The horn of salvation’ stands for truth as regards its power, and here ‘strength’, ‘rock’ (petra), ‘fortress’, ‘God’, ‘rock’ (rupee), and ‘shield’ all mean spiritually the power of truth.
[3] In the same author,
In Zion I will make the horn of David to spring forth, I will make ready a lamp for My anointed. His enemies I will clothe with shame. Ps. 132:17, 18.
This refers to the Lord, who is ‘David’, 1888. ‘Horn’ stands for the power of truth, ‘a lamp’ for the light of truth. In Samuel,
My heart has exulted in Jehovah, my horn has exalted itself in Jehovah. My mouth has been enlarged against my enemies because I have rejoiced in Your salvation. Jehovah will give strength to His king, and will exalt the horn of His anointed. Sam. 2:1, 10.
In this prophecy of Hannah ‘horn’ stands for the power of truth.
[4] In Moses,
The firstborn of his cattle has honour, and his horns are unicorn horns.* With them he will thrust** the peoples together to the ends of the earth. Deut. 33:17.
In this prophecy of Moses concerning Joseph ‘unicorn horns’ stands for the mighty power of truth, as is also evident from the statement that ‘with them he will thrust the peoples to the ends of the earth’. Similarly in David,
You will exalt my horn like that of a unicorn. Ps. 92:10.
And in the same author,
O Jehovah, save me from the mouth of the lion, and from the unicorn horns* answer me. Ps. 22:21.
Divine truths, on account of their height, are called ‘unicorn horns’. It is for this reason that mention is made so many times of a horn being exalted, for exaltation means power derived from what is interior. As regards what is internal being expressed as that which is high, see 1735, 2148.
[5] In Jeremiah,
The Lord has cut down in fierce anger the whole horn of Israel, He has drawn back His right hand from before the enemy. Lam. 2:3.
‘Cutting down the whole horn of Israel’ stands for deprivation of truth which possesses power. This is also the meaning of ‘drawing back the right hand from before the enemy’. In Ezekiel,
On that day I will make a horn grow up for the house of Israel, and I will give you an opening of the mouth in the midst of them. Ezek. 29:21.
‘Making a horn grow up for the house of Israel’ stands for multiplying the truths of the spiritual Church, meant by Israel, ‘an opening of the mouth’ for the confession of those truths.
[6] In Habakkuk,
God will come out of Teman, and the Holy One from Mount Paran. His fame has covered the heavens, and the earth has been filled with His praise. And His brightness will be as the light; He has horns going out of His hand, and there the hiding-place of His strength will be. Hab. 3:3, 4.
This refers to the Lord. ‘Horns going out of His hand’ and ‘there the hiding-place of His strength will be’, it is plain, stands for the power of truth. ‘Mount Paran’ is the Divine spiritual or Divine Truth of the Lord’s Human – see 2714 – which is also ‘the brightness’ and ‘the light’.
[7] The Divine Truth of the Lord’s Human is described in John as follows,
I looked, and behold, in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, a Lamb standing as though it had been slain, having seven horns, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. Rev. 5:6.
‘Seven horns’ stands for holy, or Divine, truths – ‘seven’ meaning that which is holy, see 716, 881. ‘The seven spirits sent out into all the earth’ are the holy proclaimings of those same truths.
[8] The horns of altars meant nothing other than truth which possessed power, being spoken of in Moses as follows,
You shall make horns on the four corners of the altar; its horns shall be of one piece with it. Exod. 27:2; 38:2.
In a similar way the altar of incense was to have them on it; and it is said that the horns were to be of one piece with it, Exod. 30:2; 37:25. For the altar was the chief representative of the Lord, and of worship of Him, see 921. ‘The alter’ was a representative of His Divine Good, ‘the horns’ representatives of His Divine Truth. The derivation of truth from good was represented by the horns being protrusions from it, that is, from the altar. For the consideration that no other truth exists except that which is derived from good, see 654, 1068,*** 1162, 1176, 2063, 2261, 2417. From all this it is evident that ‘horns’ in the genuine sense means the power of truth that springs from good.
[9] Truths springing from good were meant in the following instances:
When Aaron and his sons were being admitted into their function, they were to take some of the blood of the young bull and place it with their finger on the horns of the altar. Exod. 29:12; Lev. 8:15.
Aaron was to make atonement once a year on the horns of the altar. Exod. 30:10.
When a priest sinned he was to offer a young bull, and to place some of the blood on the horns of the altar of incense. Lev. 4:3, 7.
Also, when a prince sinned he was to offer a burnt offering, and the blood was to be sprinkled over the horns of the altar of burnt offering. Lev. 4:22, 25.
The same had to be done if a person**** sinned – Lev. 4:27, 30, 34 – and also when the altar was to be ritually cleansed. Lev. 16:18, 19.
Truths springing from good were meant, for all consecrations, inaugurations, and cleansings were effected by means of truths, because truths lead towards good, 2830. That ‘the horns of the altar’ meant truths springing from good may also be seen in John,
The sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar, which stood before God. Rev. 9:13.
‘The horns of the golden altar’ plainly stands for truths that spring from good, for it was from the horns that the voice came. ‘Gold’ means good, 113, 1551, 1552, and ‘the golden altar’ more especially so.
[10] In Amos,
On the day I visit Israel for his transgressions, I will visit the altars of Bethel; and the horns of the altar will be cut away and fall to the ground. Amos. 3:14.
‘The horns of the altar will be cut away’ meant that in that place the representation of truth springing from good would remain no longer. ‘Bethel’ is Divine good, and is therefore called ‘the king’s sanctuary’ and ‘a house of the kingdom’ in Amos. 7:13. The practice of anointing kings with oil from a horn, 1 Sam. 16:1, 13; 1 Kings 1:39, in a similar way represented truth springing from good – ‘oil’ being the good, 886, ‘horn’ however the truth; the kingly office itself in the internal sense means truth such as this, 1782, 2015, which possesses power.
[11] A horn in the contrary sense means the power of falsity that springs from evil
This is clear from the following places: In Amos,
O you who rejoice in a thing of nought, saying, Have we not by our own strength acquired horns for ourselves? Amos 6. 13.
‘Home’ here stands for the power of falsity. In Zechariah,
I lifted up my eyes and saw, and behold, four horns! And I said to the angel who talked to me, What are these? And he said to me, These are the horns which have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem. And Jehovah showed me four smiths, and I said, What are these coming to do? And He said, These are the horns which have scattered Judah so that no man raised his head, and these have come to terrify, to cast down the horns of the nations lifting up their horn against the land of Judah to scatter it. Zech. 1:18-21.
‘Horns’ stands for the power of falsity that lays waste the Church. In Ezekiel,
You push with side and shoulder, and butt with your horns all the weak [sheep] until you have scattered them abroad. Ezek. 34:21.
This refers to shepherds who mislead by means of falsities. ‘Horns’ stands for the power of falsity, ‘shoulder’ for all the power they had, 1085. In Jeremiah,
Jehovah has destroyed and not spared; and He has caused the enemy to rejoice over you. He has exalted the horn of your foes. Lam. 2:17.
In the same prophet,
The horn of Moab has been cut off and his arm broken. Jer. 48:25.
‘Horn’ here stands for powerful falsity.
[12] In David,
I said to the boastful, Do not boast; and to the wicked, Do not lift up the horn, do not lift up your horn on high, do not speak with a stiff neck. All the horns of the wicked I will cut away; the horns of the righteous will be exalted. Ps. 75:4, 5, 10.
‘The horns of the wicked’ stands for the power of falsity that springs from evil, ‘the horns of the righteous’ for the power of truth that springs from good.
[13] In Daniel,
A fourth beast appeared, terrible and dreadful, exceedingly strong, which had iron teeth. It devoured, and broke in pieces, and trampled on the residue with its feet. It had ten horns. I was considering the horns, and behold, another little horn came up among them and three of the first horns were plucked up from before it. And behold, there were eyes in this horn like the eyes of a man (homo), and a mouth speaking great things. I looked then because of the sound of the great words that the horn was speaking. I desired to know the truth about the fourth beast, and about the ten horns that were on its head, and about the other one that came up, and before which three of them fell, and about the same horn which had eyes, and a mouth speaking great things. As I looked this same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed over them until the Ancient of Days came and judgement was given to the saints. And he said, As for the fourth beast, it will be a fourth kingdom on the earth, which will be different from all the kingdoms and will devour the whole earth, and trample it down, and break it in pieces. As for the ten horns, out of that same kingdom ten kings will arise, and another will arise after them, who will be different from the previous ones, and he will put down three kings. He will speak words against the Most High, and wear out the saints. After this the judgement will sit. Dan. 7:7, 8, 11, 19-26.
This refers in the internal sense to the perverted state of the Church. The things mentioned here which Daniel saw – such as the beast, the iron teeth, the horn with eyes in it, and the horns that spoke; also the war these made with the saints, and [the king] speaking against the Most High – mean a state of falsity and of heresies inside the Church. For ‘horns’ means powerful and prevalent falsity, as may be seen merely from the consideration that ‘eyes’ – that is, the power of understanding, 2701 – are attributed to them, and that they spoke even against the Most High. By ‘kingdoms’ and ‘kings’ are not meant kingdoms and kings but doctrines that teach what is false, as may be seen from the meaning of them in the Word as doctrines teaching what is true, and in the contrary sense doctrines teaching what is false, see 1672, 2015, 2069, 2547.
[14] Elsewhere in Daniel when he saw a ram standing before the river, which had two horns, horns however which were high, yet one higher than the other, though the higher one had come up last,
I saw the ram butting***** towards the west, and towards the north, and towards the south, so that no wild beast could stand before him, nor was there anyone to deliver out of his hand; therefore he did as he pleased and magnified himself. As I was considering, behold, a he-goat came from the west across the surface of the whole earth. This he-goat had a horn between his two eyes. He came to the two-horned ram****** and ran at him in the fury of his might. He struck him and broke his two horns, and there was no strength in the ram to stand before him. After that the he-goat magnified himself exceedingly, but when he was strong, the great horn was broken, and there came up four horns in its place. Shortly after, out of one of them there came forth a little horn, and it grew exceedingly towards the south, and towards the east, and towards the glorious [land]. And it grew even towards the host of heaven, and cast down to earth some of the host, and of the stars, and trampled on them. The ram with the two horns is the kings of Media and Persia, the he-goat the king of Greece. The four horns in place of the one are four kingdoms from that nation. Dan. 8:1-end.
This refers in the internal sense to the state of the spiritual Church, meant by ‘the ram’, 2830; it describes how the state of that Church gradually deteriorated and was perverted. ‘The he-goat’ is those who have faith separated from charity, or truth separated from good, who start to raise themselves up against what is good and at length against the Lord. ‘The horns of the ram’ are the truths, internal and external, of the spiritual Church, ‘the horns of the he-goat’ truths which degenerate gradually into falsities. By ‘kingdoms’ and ‘kings’ here are not meant kingdoms and kings but truths and falsities, as stated just above. For essentially the Word of the Lord does not have to do with worldly and earthly matters but with spiritual and celestial.
[15] In John,
Another sign appeared in heaven, for behold, a great fiery-red dragon having seven heads, and ten horns, and on his heads seven jewels. With his tail he drew a third part of the stars of heaven and cast them down to the earth. Rev. 12:3, 4.
And elsewhere in the same book,
I saw a beast coming up out of the sea, which had seven heads, and ten horns, and on its horns ten jewels, and on its heads a blasphemous name. It was allowed to make war on the saints and to conquer them. Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth, which had two horns like a lamb. Rev. 13:1, 2, 7, 11.
Yet again in the same book,
I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast, full of blasphemous names. It had seven heads and ten horns. She was Babylon the great. The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman is seated, and they are seven kings. The ten horns are ten kings. Rev. 17:3, 5, 7, 9, 10, 12, 13.
Here as in Daniel ‘horns’ clearly means the powers of falsity.
* i.e. horns that are high and powerful, like the horn of a unicorn
** lit. he will strike with the horn
*** The Latin is 1608.
**** lit. a soul
***** lit. striking with the horn
****** lit. to the ram, the lord of the horns
Jesus said, I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for without Me you can do nothing. John 15:5.
‘The vine’ is the spiritual Church, see 1069.
He is the father of Moab even to this day, and the father of Ammon even to this day. Gen. 19:37, 38;
and in what appears later on,
The name of the city is Beersheba even to this day. Gen. 26:33;
also,
The children of Israel do not eat the sinew of that which was displaced, which is on the hollow of the thigh, even to this day. Gen. 32:32;
as well as,
This is the pillar of Rachel’s grave even to [this] day. Gen. 35:20.
Joseph made it a statute even to this day. Gen. 47:26.
In the historical sense ‘to this day’ and ‘today’ refer to the time when Moses was alive, but in the internal sense these expressions mean perpetuity and eternity of state. ‘Day’ means state, see 23, 487, 488, 493, 893, and so therefore does ‘today’, which is the present time. That which in the world is temporal is in heaven eternal. To give the meaning of that which is eternal, the expression today or else to this day has been added, though to those who are aware only of the historical sense it does not appear to embody anything further. Similar usages of these expressions occur elsewhere in the Word, such as Josh. 4:9; 6:25; 7:26; Judg. 1:21, 26; and in other places.
[2] That ‘today’ means that which is perpetual and eternal may be seen in David,
I will tell of the statute: Jehovah has said to me, You are My Son; today I have begotten You. Ps. 2:7.
Here ‘today’ plainly stands for that which is eternal. In the same author,
For ever, O Jehovah, Your Word is fixed in the heavens, Your truth to generation after generation. You have established the earth and it stands. As for Your judgements they stand [even] today. Ps. 119:89-91.
Here also ‘today’ plainly stands for that which is eternal. In Jeremiah,
Before I formed you in the belly, I knew you, and before you came out of the womb I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations. I have set you this day (today) over nations and over kingdoms; and I have made you today into a fortified city, and into a pillar of iron, and into walls of bronze. Jer. 1:5, 10, 18.
This refers in the sense of the letter to Jeremiah, but in the internal sense the Lord is meant. ‘I have set you this day (or today) over nations and over kingdoms, and I have made you today into a fortified city’ means from eternity. In regard to the Lord one can only speak of that which is eternal.
[3] In Moses,
You are standing today, all of you, before Jehovah your God, so that you may enter into the covenant of Jehovah your God, and into His oath, which Jehovah your God is making with you today, that He may establish you today as a people for Himself, and that He will be God to you. Not indeed with you alone [do I make it], but with those who stand with us here today before Jehovah our God, and with those who are not with us today. Deut. 29:10, 12-15.
Here in the sense of the letter ‘today’ means that present time when
Moses addressed the people. Yet it is clear that it nevertheless implies subsequent times and what is perpetual; for making a covenant with anyone, and with those who were there and with those who were not, implies that which is perpetual. Perpetuity itself is what is meant in the internal sense.
[4] That ‘daily’ and ‘today’ mean that which is perpetual is clear also from the sacrifice that was offered each day. This sacrifice, because of what is meant by day, daily, and today, was called the continual, or perpetual, sacrifice, Num. 28:3, 23; Dan. 8:13; 11:31; 12:11. This may be even more plainly evident from the manna which rained from heaven, spoken of in Moses as follows,
Behold, I am causing bread to rain from heaven, and the people shall go out and gather a portion day by day. And they shall not leave any of it until the morning. That which they did leave until the morning bred worms and went rotten, except that gathered on the day before the Sabbath. Exod. 16:4, 19, 20, 23.
This happened because ‘the manna’ meant the Lord’s Divine Human, John 6:31, 32, 49, 50, 58, and because the Lord’s Divine Human meant heavenly food, which is nothing other than love and charity, together with the goods and truths of faith. In heaven the Lord imparts this food to angels moment by moment, thus perpetually and eternally, see 2193. This is also what is meant in the Lord’s Prayer by the petition, Give us today our daily bread, Matt. 6:11; Luke 11:3, that is, in every moment for evermore.
‘The angel of Jehovah called to Abraham a second time out of heaven’ means a still greater comfort received by the Lord from the Divine. ‘And he said, By Myself I have sworn, says Jehovah’ means unchangeable confirmation from the Divine. ‘Because you have done this thing’ means an accomplished fact. ‘And not withheld your son, your only son’ means the union of the Human and the Divine which was effected by means of the final degree of temptation.
[2] From many other places in the Word it becomes clear that when reference is made to Jehovah ‘swearing’ it means confirmation with someone who is like those that have just been referred to, as in David,
Jehovah is mindful of His covenant for ever, of the word He has commanded to a thousand generations, which He made with Abraham, and of His oath to Isaac. Ps. 105:8, 9.
It is similar with ‘a covenant’ as it is with ‘an oath’, for Jehovah or the Lord does not make a covenant with man. But when the subject is conjunction through love and charity, this is also presented in actual events as a covenant, see 1864. In the same author,
Jehovah has sworn and not repented, You are a Priest for ever after the manner of Melchizedek. Ps. 110:4.
This refers to the Lord. ‘Jehovah has sworn’ stands for unchangeable confirmation from the Divine, that is, that it is eternal truth.
[3] In the same author,
I have made a covenant with My chosen one, I have sworn to David My servant, I will continue your seed even for ever, and build your throne from generation to generation. Ps. 89:3, 4.
This too refers to the Lord. ‘Making a covenant with the chosen one, and swearing to David’ stands for unchangeable confirmation or eternal truth. ‘David’ stands for the Lord, 1888; ‘making a covenant’ has regard to Divine Good, ‘swearing’ to Divine Truth. In the same psalm,
I will not profane My covenant, and the utterance of My lips I will not alter. Once and for all I have sworn by My holiness, I will not lie to David. Ps. 89:34, 35.
Here also ‘David’ stands for the Lord. ‘Covenant’ here again has regard to Divine Good, ‘utterance of the lips’ to Divine Truth. They do so on account of the marriage of good and truth, which marriage exists in every individual part of the Word, dealt with in 683, 793, 801, 2516, 2712.
[4] In the same author,
Jehovah has sworn the truth to David, from which He will not turn back, Of the fruit of your body* I will set on your throne, provided your sons keep My covenant and My testimony which I teach them. Ps. 132:11, 12.
‘Jehovah has sworn the truth to David’ plainly stands for the confirmation of eternal truth. Hence the statement ‘from which He will not turn back’. As has been stated, ‘David’ is used to mean the Lord. This oath was sworn even to David because he was the kind of person who believed that the confirmation applied to himself and his descendants. For David was moved by self-love and love of his descendants, and this explains why he believed that what was declared – that is, as in the quotation above, that his seed would continue for ever and his throne from generation to generation – had reference to himself, when in fact what was said had reference to the Lord.
[5] In Isaiah,
This is as the waters of Noah to Me; as I swore that the waters of Noah should go no more over the earth, so I have sworn not to be angry with you. Isa. 54:9.
Here ‘swearing’ stands for making a covenant and confirming it with an oath. As regards its being a covenant and not an oath, see Gen. 9:11. In the same prophet,
Jehovah has sworn, saying, Surely as I have thought, so will it be. Isa. 14:24.
In the same prophet,
Jehovah has sworn by His right hand, and by His mighty arm. Isa. 62:8.
In Jeremiah,
Hear the Word of Jehovah, all you of Judah dwelling in the land of Egypt, Behold, I have sworn by My great name, said Jehovah, that My name will no more be invoked by the mouth of every man (vir) of Judah who says, As lives the Lord Jehovih in all the land of Egypt. Jer. 44:26.
In the same prophet,
I have sworn by Myself, says Jehovah, that Bozrah will become a desolation. Jer. 49:13.
In the same prophet,
Jehovah Zebaoth has sworn by His own soul, Surely I will fill you with men (homo) as with the bruchus.** Jer. 51:14.
In Amos,
The Lord Jehovih has sworn by His holiness, that, behold, the days are coming. Amos 4:2.
In the same prophet,
Jehovah has sworn by the excellence of Jacob, Surely I will never forget any of their deeds. Amos 8:7.
[6] In all these places Jehovah’s having sworn by His right hand, by His great name, by Himself, by His own soul, by His holiness, and by the excellence of Jacob, means the confirmation that there is in Jehovah or the Lord. No confirmation by Jehovah is possible except from Himself. Jehovah’s right hand, Jehovah’s great name, Jehovah’s soul, Jehovah’s holiness, and the excellence of Jacob mean the Lord’s Divine Human; through the latter confirmation came.
[7] Jehovah’s or the Lord’s swearing to give the land to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and to their descendants, in the internal sense means confirmation that He would grant the heavenly kingdom to those in whom love and faith in Him are present. These are the ones who are meant in the internal sense of the Word by the sons and descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, that is, of the patriarchs. The same was also represented in the actual historical granting of the land of Canaan to their descendants; and the Church as it existed at that time among them represented the Lord’s heavenly kingdom, as also did the land itself. For ‘the land’ and ‘the land of Canaan’ in the internal sense is the Lord’s kingdom, see 1413, 1437, 1607. This explains why it is said in Moses,
That you may prolong your days on the land which Jehovah swore to your fathers to give to them, and to their seed, a land flowing with milk and honey; so that your days may be multiplied, and the days of your sons, on the land which Jehovah swore to your fathers to give them, as long as the days of the heavens above the earth. Deut. 11:9, 21.
From all these places it may now become clear that Jehovah’s ‘swearing’ was representative of confirmation, and indeed of unchangeable confirmation, as is plainer still in Isaiah,
By Myself I have sworn; out of My mouth has gone forth the word of righteousness, which will not return, that to Me every knee will bow, every tongue will swear. Isa. 45:23.
[8] In addition to this, those who belonged to the Jewish representative Church were commanded when confirming covenants with an oath, likewise when confirming vows, as well as promises, and also guarantees, to swear by the name of Jehovah. The reason they were commanded – or to be exact, merely permitted – to do so was that the confirmation of the internal man would in that way also be represented. Thus it was that in those times oaths sworn by the name of Jehovah were like everything else, that is to say, they were representatives. The fact that such was commanded, that is, permitted, is clear in Moses, You shall fear Jehovah your God, and serve Him, and swear by His name; you shall not go after other gods. Deut. 6:13, 14.
Elsewhere in the same author,
You shall fear Jehovah your God; you shall serve Him and cling to Him, and you shall swear by His name. Deut. 10:20.
In Isaiah,
He who blesses himself in the land will bless himself by the God of truth, and he who swears in the land will swear by the God of truth. Isa. 65:16.
In Jeremiah,
If you will return, O Israel, says Jehovah, to Me may you return. And if you are removing your abominations from My sight do not waver. And swear, As Jehovah lives, in truth, in judgement, and in righteousness. Jer. 4:1, 2.
In the same prophet,
If they will diligently learn the ways of My people, to swear by My name, they will be built up in the midst of My people. Jer. 12:16.
The fact that they also swore by the name of Jehovah, that is, swore to Jehovah, [is evident] in Isaiah,
Hear this, O house of Jacob, who are called by the name of Israel and who came out of the waters of Judah, who swore by the name of Jehovah and made mention of the God of Israel, but not in truth and not in righteousness. Isa. 48:1.
In the same prophet,
On that day there will be five cities in the land of Egypt which speak with the lip of Canaan and swear to Jehovah Zebaoth. Isa. 19:18.
In Joshua it is said that the leaders of the congregation swore to the Gibeonites by Jehovah God of Israel, Josh. 9:18, 19.
[9] From this it is clear that they were permitted to swear by the name of Jehovah or by Jehovah. But it is also clear that such swearing was nothing else than a representative of confirmation of the internal man. It is well known that internal people, that is, those who possess conscience, have no need to confirm anything by means of an oath; and that they do not so confirm. By them oaths are regarded with disapproval. They are indeed able to assert quite categorically that something is so, and also to confirm the truth with the aid of reasons; but to swear that a thing is so they cannot. They are governed by an internal bond – that of conscience. The addition to this of an external bond, which is an oath, is a kind of insinuation that they are not upright in heart. What is more, the internal man is such that he loves to speak and act in freedom and not under compulsion, for with such persons the internal controls the external, and not the reverse. People who possess conscience therefore do not swear oaths, still less do those do so who possess the perception of good and truth, that is, who are celestial people. The latter do not even, by means of reasons, confirm anything for themselves or for others, but they merely say that something is so, or else is not so, 202, 337, 2718. Consequently they are further removed still from any swearing with an oath.
[10] For these reasons, and because oaths belonged among representatives which were to be brought to an end, the Lord teaches in the following words in Matthew that one should not swear at all,
You have heard that it was said, You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord your oaths. But I say to you, You shall not swear at all, neither by heaven, for it is God’s throne, nor by the earth, for it is His footstool, nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. Nor shall you swear by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. But let your words be, Yes, yes; No, no; anything beyond this is from evil.*** Matt. 5:33-37.
These words are used to mean that one should not swear at all by Jehovah or by anything whatever that is Jehovah’s or the Lord’s.
* lit. belly
** A wingless locust or the larva of a locust
*** or from the evil one
‘I will certainly bless you’ means fruitfulness by virtue of the affection for truth. ‘I will certainly multiply’ means derivations of truth from this affection. ‘Your seed’ means spiritual people who, having that good within them that springs from faith, are saved by the Lord’s Divine Human. ‘Like the stars of the heavens’ means a whole multitude of cognitions of good and truth. ‘And like the sand which is on the seashore’ means a whole multitude of correspondent facts. ‘And your seed will inherit the gate of their enemies’ means that charity and faith will take the place occupied previously by evil and falsity.
* The Latin means your but the Hebrew means their.
He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man, but the seed are the sons of the kingdom. Matt. 13:37, 38.
[2] As regards the meaning of ‘a gate’, there are in general two gates with each individual person. One gate is exposed towards hell and is open to evils and falsities from there. In that gate genii and spirits from hell are present. The other gate is exposed towards heaven and is open to goods and truths from there. In that gate angels are present. Thus there is a gate leading to hell and a gate leading to heaven. The gate to hell is open to those who are immersed in evil and falsity, and only through chinks round about overhead does any light at all from heaven penetrate, which enables them to think and to reason. But the gate to heaven is open to those who are immersed in good and truth from there.
[3] For there are two paths which lead into a person’s rational mind, a higher or internal path along which good and truth from the Lord enter in, and a lower or external path along which evil and falsity enter in surreptitiously from hell. In the middle is the rational mind towards which the two paths converge. From the goods and truths present there the rational mind is compared in the Word to a city and is actually called a city. And because it is compared to and actually called a city it is depicted as having gates, and is described in various places as having enemies, that is, evil genii and spirits, besieging it and assaulting it, while angels from the Lord are defending it, that is, the Lord Himself is doing so. The genii and spirits from hell, with their evils and falsities, can go no further than towards the lower or outer gate, and cannot pass at all into the city. If they were able to pass into the city, which is the rational mind, man would be completely done for. But when they reach the point, as it seems to them, that they have taken the city by storm, it is then closed, so that good and truth no longer flow into it from heaven, apart, as has been stated, from that small amount which comes in through chinks round about. As a consequence such persons no longer possess any charity at all or any faith at all, but make good consist in evil, and truth in falsity. They also as a consequence cease to be truly rational, though they seem to themselves to be so, 1914, 1944, and are called ‘dead men’, though they themselves believe they are more alive than any others, 81, 290 (end). These things are so because the gate to heaven is closed to them. The fact that it is closed to them is quite apparent and is discerned in the next life, and so conversely that the gate to heaven is open to those in whom good and truth are present.
[4] As regards ‘the gate of enemies’ in particular, spoken of in this verse, it is the gate that exists with a person in his natural mind. That gate when the person is wholly natural or as yet unregenerate is occupied by evils and falsities, or what amounts to the same, evil genii and spirits are flowing into it together with evil desires and false persuasions, see 687, 698, 1692. When however a person is spiritual or being regenerated, evils and falsities, or what amounts to the same, evil genii and spirits, are driven away from that gate, that is, from the natural mind. Once they have been driven away, goods and truths, or charity and faith, take their place; and these – charity and faith – are meant by ‘your seed will inherit the gate of their enemies’. This is what takes place in particular with each individual person when he is being regenerated, and similarly in the next life with those entering the Lord’s kingdom; and also what takes place in general, that is, in the Church, which is made up of many individuals.
[5] This transformation was represented by the children of Israel driving the nations from the land of Canaan. Such expulsion of those nations is what, in the literal sense, the words ‘your seed will inherit the gate of their enemies’ are used to mean; but in the internal sense the things which have just been described are meant. This also explains why in ancient times it was customary to use words such as these when blessing persons who were about to be married, as is also evident from the blessing which Laban gave to Rebekah his sister when, already betrothed, she was about to go to Isaac,
Our sister, may you be [the mother] of thousands of myriads, and may your seed inherit the gate of those who hate you. Gen. 24:60.
[6] That such things are meant in the Word by ‘the gate of enemies’ or ‘of those who hate’ becomes clear from the following places: In Isaiah,
I will kill your root with famine, and your remnant will I slay. Wail, O gate; cry, O city; you have melted away, O Philistia, all of you, for smoke comes out of the north. Isa. 14:30, 31.
‘Killing the root with famine and slaying the remnant’ stands for the removal of goods and truths which the Lord has stored away inwardly – ‘the remnant’ meaning such goods and truths, see 468, 530, 560- 562, 661, 798, 1050, 1738, 1906, 2284. ‘Gate’ stands for the place of entry into things that are interior, that is, into the rational mind. ‘City’ stands for that mind, or what amounts to the same, for the goods and truths there, 402, 2268, 2449, 2451, 2712. ‘Philistia’ stands for knowledge of the cognitions of faith, or what amounts to the same, for those who have a knowledge of those cognitions but not of the goods that spring from faith, 1197, 1198. ‘Smoke from the north’ stands for falsity from hell – smoke being falsity arising out of evil, 1861.
[7] In the same prophet,
The city of hollowness will be broken down, every house will be shut up to prevent it being entered. There will be an outcry in the streets over [the lack] of wine, all joy will be made desolate, the gladness of the earth will be banished. What is left in the city will be desolation, and the gate will be smitten with vastation, for thus will it be in the midst of the earth, in the midst of the peoples. Isa. 24:10-13.
‘The city of hollowness’ which ‘will be broken down’ stands for the human mind deprived of truth. ‘Every house will be shut up’ stands for lack of good – ‘house’ meaning good, 2233. ‘An outcry in the streets over [the lack of] wine’ stands for a state of falsity – ‘outcry’ having reference to falsities, 2240. ‘Wine’ means truth over which there will be an outcry because there is none, 1071, 1798, and ‘streets’ means the things that lead to truths, 2336. ‘The joy which is being made desolate’ has reference to truth, ‘the gladness of the earth that is being banished’ to good. All this shows what is meant by ‘what is left in the city will be desolation’ and ‘the gate will be smitten with vastation’. The gate is said to be vastated when nothing but evils and falsities reign.
[8] In Jeremiah,
The roads of Zion are mourning that none come to the appointed feast. All her gates are desolate, her priests groan, her virgins are afflicted, and she herself is in bitterness. Her enemies have become the head, her foes secure, because Jehovah has afflicted [her] over the multitude of her transgressions. Her young children have gone away captive before the enemy. Lam. 1:4, 5.
‘The roads of Zion mourning’ stands for there being no longer any truths that come from good -‘roads’ meaning truths, 189, 627, 2333. ‘All her gates are desolate’ stands for all the entrances being occupied by falsities. ‘Her enemies have become the head’ stands for evils reigning.
[9] In the same prophet,
Jehovah has caused the rampart, and the wall of the daughter of Zion, to mourn; they languish together. Her gates have become pressed down into the ground; He has destroyed and broken her bars; her king and her princes are among the nations. The law is no more; even her prophets have found no vision from Jehovah. All your foes have opened their mouth against you, they have hissed and gnashed their teeth; they have said, We have swallowed her up; this is the day we have awaited; we have found, we have seen it. Lam. 2:8, 9, 16.
‘Gates pressed down into the ground’ stands for the natural mind when occupied by evils and falsities. ‘Her king and princes are among the nations’ stands for truths immersed in evils – ‘king’ meaning truth in general, 1672, 1728, 2015, 2069, ‘princes’ first and foremost truths, 1482, 2089, and ‘nations’ evil, 1259, 1260, 1849, 1868, 2588.
[10] In Moses,
A nation from far away, from the end of the earth will distress you within all your gates until your high and fortified walls in which you trust come down in all your land. And it will distress you within all your gates, in the whole of your land. Thus will your enemy distress you. Deut. 28:49, 52, 53.
These calamities are found among the curses which Moses foretold to the people if they did not hold fast to the commandments and statutes. ‘A nation from far away, from the end of the earth’ stands in the internal sense for evils and falsities, that is, for those who are immersed in evil and falsity. ‘Distressing them within all their gates’ stands for sealing off every access to good and truth.
[11] In Nahum,
Behold, your people are women in the midst of you. The gates of your land have been opened wide to your enemies; fire has devoured your bars. Draw yourself water for the siege, strengthen your fortifications; go into the mud and tread the bitumen; strengthen the brick-kiln. Nahum 3:13, 14.
‘The gates of the land opened wide to enemies’ stands for evils occupying the position where goods ought to be. In the Book of Judges, The highways ceased to be, and they went along by-paths; they went along twisting ways; the streets in Israel ceased to be. He chose new gods, at which point the gates were assailed – was a shield seen, or a spear, among the forty thousand of Israel? Judg. 5:6-8.
This is the prophecy of Deborah and Barak. ‘The gates were assailed’ stands for an assault on goods and truths.
[12] In David,
Those who dwell in the gate plot against me; those who drink strong drink sing songs. Ps. 69:12.
‘Those who dwell in the gate’ stands for evils and falsities, and also for those who are from hell. In Ezekiel,
In the visions of God he was brought to the door of the inner gate which looked towards the north. There he saw the great abominations of the house of Israel. He was also brought to the door of the gate of the house of Jehovah which looked towards the north. There also [he saw] abominations. Ezek. 8:3, 6, 14, 15.
‘The door of the inner gate which looked towards the north’ stands for the place where interior falsities exist. ‘The door of the gate of the house of Jehovah towards the north’ stands for the place where interior evils exist. The fact that the falsities and evils are interior, and that it is an interior sphere in which such spirits and genii reside, see 2121-2124.
[13] In David,
Behold, sons are a possession of Jehovah, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like darts in the hand of a strong man so are the sons of youth.* Blessed is the man who has filled his quiver with them. They will not be put to shame, for they will speak with enemies in the gate. Ps. 127:3-5.
‘Speaking with enemies in the gate’ stands for having no fear of evils and falsities, nor thus of hell. In Isaiah,
On that day Jehovah Zebaoth will be a spirit of judgement to him who sits in judgement, and strength to those who turn back the battle towards the gate. They are also made senseless from wine, and err from strong drink. Isa. 28:5-7.
In the same prophet,
They will be cut off who cause people to sin by a word, and who lay a snare for him who reproves in the gate and cause him who is just to turn aside to something empty. Isa. 29:20, 21.
In the same prophet,
Elam bore the quiver in the chariot of man (homo), [and] horsemen, Kir uncovered the shield, and the choicest of your valleys was full of chariots and horsemen; they positioned themselves at the gate. And he looked on that day to the armoury of the house of the forest. Isa. 22:6-8.
In Jeremiah,
Judah mourned and her gates languished; the people were in black down to the ground, and the cry of Jerusalem went up. Their great men sent lesser ones to the waters; they came to the pits, they found no water. Jer. 14:1-3.
In the same prophet,
The elders have ceased from the gate, the young men from their singing. Lam. 5:14
[14] All these places show what is meant by ‘the gate of enemies’, namely hell, or those from hell who are constantly mounting an assault on goods and truths. They have their seat with a person, as has been stated, in his natural mind; but when the person is such that he allows goods and truths, and so angels, to enter in, the Lord drives away from that seat those who are from hell. And once they have been driven away, the gate to heaven, or heaven itself, is opened. This gate also is mentioned in various places in the Word, as in Isaiah,
A song in the land of Judah, Ours is a strong city, salvation will establish walls and rampart. Open the gates and the righteous nation that keeps faith will enter in. Isa. 26:1, 2.
In the same prophet,
Thus said Jehovah to His anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have grasped to put down nations before him, and I will open the loins of kings, to open doors before him, and the gates will not be shut; I will go before you and make straight the crooked places; I will break in pieces the doors of bronze and cut asunder the bars of iron. Isa. 45:1, 2.
In the same prophet,
The sons of the foreigner will build up your walls, and their kings will minister to you. They will keep your gates open continually, day and night they will not be shut. Violence will no more be heard in your land, devastation and ruin within your borders; and you will call your walls Salvation, and your gates Praise. Isa. 60:10, 11, 18.
In the same prophet,
Go through, go through the gates; prepare the way for the people; level out, level out the highway. Say to the daughter of Zion, Behold, your salvation comes. Isa. 62:10-12.
In Micah,
They will go through the gate, and go out by it; and their king will go on before them, and Jehovah at the head of them. Micah 2:13.
In David,
Lift up your heads, O gates, and be lifted up, O eternal doors, and the King of glory will come in. Who is this King of glory? Jehovah strong and mighty, Jehovah mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, O gates, lift up, O eternal doors. Ps. 24:7-10.
In the same author,
Celebrate Jehovah, O Jerusalem, praise your God, O Zion! For He strengthens the bars of your gates, He blesses your children in the midst of you. Ps. 147:12, 13.
[15] From all these places it is evident that ‘the gate of heaven’ is the place where angels are present with a person, that is, where good and truth are flowing in from the Lord. Thus there are, as has been stated, two gates, to which the Lord refers in Matthew as follows,
Enter by the narrow gate, for the gate is wide and the road is broad which leads away to destruction; and those who enter by it are many. For narrow and strait is the road that leads to life, and those who find it are few. Matt. 7:12-14; Luke 13:23, 24.
In addition the gates to the New Jerusalem and the gates to the new Temple are dealt with extensively in Ezekiel and also in John, in the Book of Revelation. By these gates nothing else is meant than the entrances into heaven – see Ezek. 40:6-49; 43:1, 2, 4; 44:1-3; 46:1-9, 12; 48:31-34; Rev. 21:12, 13, 21, 25; 22:14; Isa. 54:11, 12. And this is why Jerusalem is called The Gate of the People, Micah 1:9; Obad. verse 13.
* lit. the sons of firstfruits
‘In your seed all the nations of the earth will be blessed’ means the salvation of all who are endowed with good. ‘Because you have hearkened to My voice’ means through the union of the Lord’s Human Essence with His Divine Essence.
[2] In addition to this, these words contain the following arcanum: By means of the Church, meant here by ‘the earth’, 662, 1066, 1068, 1262, those people are saved who are outside of the Church, for ‘your seed’, as has been stated, means faith that is the expression of charity. Faith that is the expression of charity occurs only with those within the Church since such faith is in essence truth taught by doctrine coupled to goodness of life. For the truth of the matter is that the Lord’s kingdom on earth consists of all those who are endowed with good, who, though spread throughout the whole world, are nevertheless one, and as members constitute one body. The same is so with the Lord’s kingdom in the heavens. There the whole of heaven presents itself as one entire human being, which is for that reason also called the Grand Man, 684, 1276. And what is a marvel and unknown until now, all parts of the human body correspond to communities in heaven. For this reason it is sometimes said that this group of communities belong to the province of the head, that group to the province of the eye, another group to that of the chest, and so on. This correspondence will in the Lord’s Divine mercy be discussed in a section by itself.
[3] It is similar with the Lord’s Church on earth. Here the Church is like the heart and lungs, and those outside of the Church resemble parts of the body which are sustained by, and get their life from, the heart and lungs. From this it is evident that without the Church somewhere on earth the human race cannot continue to exist, even as the body cannot without the heart and lungs in it, see 468, 637, 931, 2054. It is for this reason that as often as any Church reaches its end, that is, ceases to be a Church because no charity exists any more, the Lord in His Providence always raises up a new one. When for example the Most Ancient Church, which was called Man, perished, the Lord created a new one, which was referred to as Noah. This was the Ancient Church, which existed after the Flood. And when this declined and became no longer a Church, the Jewish and Israelite representative Church was brought into being. And when this became wholly extinct the Lord came into the world and again established a new one. This was done by Him to the end that heaven might be joined to the human race by means of the Church. This is also what is meant by the words ‘in your seed all nations of the earth will be blessed’.
‘Abraham returned to his servants’ means becoming joined once again to the first rational. ‘And they rose up’ means being raised up to an even higher degree. ‘And went together to Beersheba’ means advancement in the doctrine of charity and faith, which doctrine is Divine and to which human rational ideas were allied. ‘And Abraham dwelt in Beersheba’ means that the Lord is that doctrine itself.
‘So it was, after these events’ means the thing that had been accomplished in regard to those within the Church. ‘That it was pointed out to Abraham, saying’ means the Lord’s perception. ‘Behold, Milkah, she also has borne sons, to Nahor your brother’ means those outside the Church who dwell in a brotherly relationship by virtue of good. ‘Uz her firstborn, Buz his brother, and Kemuel the father of Aram; and Kesed, and Hazo, and Pildash, and Jidlaph, and Bethuel’ means various religions and the forms of worship that derived from these. ‘Bethuel begot Rebekah’ means from good sprang [their] affection for truth. ‘These eight Milkah bore to Nahor, Abraham’s brother’ means a second group of people who are saved.
* lit. words
[2] Since those within the Church who are saved by the Lord’s Divine Human have been the subject in what has gone before, the subject in what follows from here to the end of the chapter is therefore those outside the Church who are saved. These are meant by the sons who were born to Nahor, Abraham’s brother, by Milkah his wife and by Reumah his concubine. This also follows in the sequence of thought. Anyone who is unacquainted with the internal sense of the Word would imagine that these words merely presented the family-tree of the house of Terah, given on account of Rebekah, who became the wife of Isaac, and also on account of Bethuel, whose two granddaughters, Leah and Rachel, became the wives of Jacob. But in fact, as has often been stated and shown, all names in the Word mean real things, 1224, 1264, 1876, 1888. And unless they meant real things the Word would not be Divine but worldly. From this it may also become clear that the words which follow have regard in the train of thought to the Lord’s spiritual Church, but that Church as it exists among gentiles. It was traced back through Nahor, Abraham’s brother, so as to mean those who exist in a brotherly relationship by virtue of good, as shown below in 2863.
[2] In addition to this they had the ten commandments for their law, that is to say, the commandments that they should worship God, honour parents, and not murder, steal, commit adultery, or covet what belonged to others. Nor were they satisfied to be such as are interested only in external things, but were interested in internal. It is similar at the present day, in that the more decent of the gentiles from all parts of the world sometimes talk more fittingly about such matters than Christians do. Nor do they merely talk about them but also live according to them.
[3] These and many other truths exist with gentiles, and these join themselves to the good which comes to them from the Lord. From these conjunctions of truths and good, gentiles are in a condition to receive still more truths, for one truth acknowledges another. Truths link together without difficulty as they are all interconnected and related to one another. For this reason people who have been endowed with good in the world accept the truths of faith without difficulty in the next life. Falsities with them do not combine with that good but merely attach themselves to it, yet in such a way that they can be separated from it. Things that are combined remain, whereas those that merely attach themselves are separated. They are separated at the same time as people come to know and take in truths of faith. Every truth of faith removes and separates falsity till at length the individual loathes it and flees from it. From this it is now evident who are meant by the sons whom Milkah bore to Nahor, Abraham’s brother, namely those outside the Church who dwell in a brotherly relationship by virtue of good.
‘His concubine, whose name was Reumah’ means gentiles whose worship was idolatrous but in whom good was present. ‘She too bore Tebah, and Gaham, and Tahash, and Maakah’ means their various religions. These constitute a third group of spiritual people who are saved.
[2] Servant-girls whom in those times a wife gave to her husband for the sake of producing children were called concubines, as is evident from Bilhah, Rachel’s servant-girl, who is also called Jacob’s concubine in Gen. 35:22. The practice of producing children by means of servant-girls or concubines was allowed in those times so that those outside the Church might be represented, as well as those of lower degree within the Church. The statement that the concubine’s name was Reumah embodies the essential nature of that group of people, 1896, 2009, which in this case is exaltation, this being what Reumah means. Regarding the state and condition of nations and peoples outside the Church, see 593, 932, 1032, 1059, 1327, 1328, 1366, 2049, 2051, 2284, 2589-2604.
Few know what freedom is and what non-freedom is. Freedom seems to entail everything that is in keeping with any love and associated delight, and non-freedom to entail everything that is at variance with these. That which is in keeping with self-love and love of the world, and with the desires belonging to those loves, seems to man to be freedom; but that is the freedom of hell. That however which is in keeping with love to the Lord and love towards the neighbour, consequently with the love of what is good and true, is true freedom, being the freedom that exists in heaven.
* i.e. by breaking the links which an angel or spirit has with others like himself
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light however appears in the darkness, but the darkness has not overcome it. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the Only Begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:1-5, 14.
Few know what ‘the Word’ is really used to mean here. From every particular detail it is clear that the Lord is meant, but the internal sense teaches that it is the Lord as regards the Divine Human who is meant by ‘the Word’, for it is said that ‘the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory’. And since the Divine Human is meant, ‘the Word’ is used to mean every truth having reference to Him and deriving from Him which exists in His kingdom in heaven and in His Church on earth. This is why it is said that ‘in Him was life, and the life was the light of men, and the light appears in the darkness’. And since truth is meant, ‘the Word’ is used to mean all revelation, and thus also the Word itself or Holy Scripture.
Enoch walked with God, and he was no more, for God took him. Gen. 5:24.
Therefore it is said in The Book of The Wars of Jehovah, Waheb in Suphah, and the streams of Arnon, and the descent of the streams which runs down to the dwelling at Ar and leans to the border of Moab. Num. 21:14, 15.
The prophetical parts of their Word were written in a style similar to the prophetical parts of the Old Testament, as is also evident from the quotation of these in Moses, where the following words occur,
Therefore The Utterances (or The Utterers of Prophecies) say, Come to Heshbon the city of Sihon shall be built and established. For fire went out of Heshbon flame out of the city of Sihon. It consumed Ar of Moab, the lords of the high places of Arnon. Woe to you, O Moab! You have perished, O people of Chemosh! He gave his sons as fugitives, and his daughters into captivity, to Sihon, king of the Amorites. But we shot at them; Heshbon has perished even to Dibon; and we have laid waste even to Nophah, which reaches even to Medebah. Num. 21:27-30.
These prophetical utterances embody heavenly arcana in the same way as the prophetical parts of the Old Testament. This is quite evident not only from the fact that Moses copied them and applied them to the state of affairs prevailing in his own day, but also from the fact that almost the same words occur in Jeremiah. Included there among his prophetical sayings, they hold – as becomes clear from what has been stated about the internal sense of the Word – as many heavenly arcana within them as they consist of words. Those sayings as they occur in Jeremiah are as follows,
A fire has gone out of Heshbon, and a flame from between Sihon, and has devoured the corner of Moab and the crown of the head of the sons of tumult. Woe to you, O Moab! The people of Chemosh have perished, for your sons have been taken away into captivity, and your daughters into captivity. Jer. 48:45, 46.
From this also it is evident that that Word too possessed an internal sense. Regarding the Ancient Church after the Flood, see 640, 641, 765, 1238, 1327, 2385.
I see Him, but not now; I behold Him but not near. A star will come out of Jacob, and a sceptre will rise up out of Israel, and crush the corners of Moab, and destroy all the sons of Sheth. Num. 24:17.
These prophetical words are likewise called Utterances, for the same term is used to describe those prophetical words in Num. 23:7, 18; 24:3, 15, 20.
GENESIS 23
1 And the life* of Sarah was a hundred and twenty-seven years – the years of the life* of Sarah.
2 And Sarah died in Kiriath Arba, which is Hebron in the land of Canaan; and Abraham came to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her.
3 And Abraham rose up from before his dead, and spoke to the sons of Heth, saying,
4 I am a stranger and an inhabitant among you; give me possession of a grave among you, and I will bury my dead from before me.
5 And the sons of Heth answered Abraham, saying to him,
6 Hear us, my lord; you are a prince of God in the midst of us; in the choicest of our graves bury your dead; none of us will withhold his grave from you, from burying your dead.
7 And Abraham rose up and bowed to the people of the land, to the sons of Heth.
8 And he spoke to them, saying, If you are willing** to let me bury my dead from before me, hear me and intercede for me with Ephron the son of Zohar.
9 And let him give me the cave of Machpelah which is his, which is at the end of his field; for the full price*** let him give it to me in the midst of you, as a possession for a grave.
10 And Ephron was sitting in the midst of the sons of Heth; and Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham, in the ears of the sons of Heth, to all entering into the gate of his city, saying,
11 No, my lord, hear me; the field I give to you, and the cave that is in it I give to you; before the eyes of the sons of my people I give it to you; bury your dead.
12 And Abraham bowed before the people of the land.
13 And he spoke to Ephron in the ears of the people of the land, saying, Even so, please hear me; I will give the price**** of the field; accept it from me, and I will bury my dead there.
14 And Ephron answered Abraham, saying to him,
15 My lord, hear me; the land [is worth] four hundred shekels of silver; what is that between me and you? So bury your dead.
16 And Abraham listened to Ephron, and Abraham weighed out for Ephron the silver which he had spoken of in the ears of the sons of Heth, four hundred shekels of silver, current with the merchant.
17 And the field of Ephron, which was in Machpelah – which was before Mamre – the field and the cave which was in it, and every tree which was in the field, which was in all its borders round about, was made over
18 To Abraham as an acquisition, before the eyes of the sons of Heth, in [the presence] of all entering the gate of his city.
19 And after this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife at the cave of the field of Machpelah facing Mamre, which is Hebron, in the land of Canaan.
20 And the field and the cave which was in it were made over to Abraham as a possession for a grave, from the sons of Heth.
*lit. lives
** lit. If it is with your soul
*** lit. in full silver or money
**** lit. the silver or the money
The subject here in the internal sense is the new spiritual Church which was raised up by the Lord after the previous one had altogether breathed its last, and also the reception of faith among those who belonged to the Church. ‘Sarah’ here is Divine truth that breathed its last; ‘burial’ is a raising up again; ‘Ephron’ and ‘the sons of Heth’ are those people among whom the good and truth of the Church was received; ‘Machpelah, which was before Mamre’ is regeneration; ‘Hebron in the land of Canaan’ is a new Church.
Verse 1 And the life* of Sarah was a hundred and twenty-seven years – the years of the life* of Sarah.
‘The life of Sarah was’ means all the preceding times and states of the Church as regards Divine truths. ‘A hundred and twenty-seven years’ means their completion. ‘The years of the life of Sarah’ means when any Divine truth still existed on earth.
* lit. lives
Man cannot receive anything unless it is given him from heaven. John 3:27.
And elsewhere in John,
Without Me you can do nothing. John 15:5.
The same is also clear from the doctrine of faith, which teaches that the whole of faith, that is, all truth, comes from the Lord.
[2] The representatives and the meaningful signs in the Word are such that every single one in the highest sense has regard to the Lord; and from this springs the life itself of the Word. And because they have regard to the Lord, they also have regard to His kingdom, since the Lord is the All in His kingdom. Divine things from the Lord within His kingdom are what make it the kingdom. To the extent therefore that an angel, spirit, or man receives good and truth from the Lord, and believes that these come from Him, he is in His kingdom. But to the extent that he does not receive them, and does not believe that they come from the Lord, he is not in His kingdom. Thus Divine things from the Lord are what constitute His kingdom or heaven; and this is what is meant when it is said that the Lord is the All in His kingdom.
[2] The Church passes through different phases that are like the ages of man. The first of these is early childhood, the second youth, the third adult years, and the fourth old age. The last of these – old age – is called the completion or conclusion. The phases of the Church are also like the times and seasons of the year, the first of which is spring, the second summer, the third autumn, and the fourth winter. The last of these is the conclusion of the year. The phases of the Church are also like the times and divisions of the day, the first being the dawn, the second midday, the third evening, and the fourth night. The last of these is the completion or conclusion of the day. In the Word too the states of the Church are compared to the ages of man, the seasons of the year, and the divisions of the day, and are meant there by the same because periods of time mean states, 2625, 2788, 2837. Good and truth with those who belong to the Church usually diminish in this fashion. And when good and truth do not exist any longer, or, as is said, when faith does not exist any longer, that is to say, when charity does not exist any longer, the Church has reached its old age, or its winter, or its night. And that period of time or state is called the settlement, close, and fulfilment, see 1857. Statements about the Lord coming into the world in the fullness of time, or when completion had been reached, have the same meaning, for at that time no good existed any longer, not even natural good, nor consequently any truth. This is the specific meaning of the things stated in this verse.
[2] That ‘a year’ means the whole length of time a state of the Church lasts, from start to finish, or what amounts to the same, a whole period, and that consequently ‘years’ means the periods of time within the general whole, becomes clear from the following places in the Word: In Isaiah,
Jehovah has anointed Me to bring good tidings to the afflicted; He has sent Me to bind up the broken in heart, to proclaim liberty to captives, and opening of every kind to those that are bound, to proclaim the year of Jehovah’s good pleasure, and the day of vengeance for our God. Isa. 61:1, 2.
This refers to the Coming of the Lord. ‘The year of Jehovah’s good pleasure’ stands for the time of the new Church. In the same prophet,
The day of vengeance was in My heart, and the year of My redeemed has come. Isa. 63:4.
This similarly refers to the Coming of the Lord. ‘The year of the redeemed’ stands for the time of the new Church. In the same prophet,
The day of Jehovah’s vengeance, the year of retributions on account of the controversy of Zion. Isa. 34:8.
Here the meaning is similar.
[3] That same period is also called ‘the year of visitation’: in Jeremiah,
I will bring evil to the men of Anathoth in the year of their visitation. Jer. 11:23.
In the same prophet,
I will bring upon Moab the year of their visitation. Jer. 48:44.
And plainer still in Ezekiel,
After many days you will be visited; in the latter years you will come upon the land that is brought back from the sword, that is gathered out of many peoples, upon the mountains of Israel, which will be a waste continually. Ezek. 38:8.
‘The latter years’ stands for the final period of the Church when it becomes that which is not the Church, those who previously belonged to the Church having been rejected and others having been accepted from other places. In Isaiah,
Thus said the Lord to me, Within yet a year, according to the years of a hireling, and all the glory of Kedar will be brought to an end. Isa. 21:16.
This too stands for the final period.
[4] In Ezekiel,
You have become guilty by your blood which you have shed, and defiled by your idols which you have made, and you have brought your days near, and you have come even to your years. Therefore I have made you a reproach to the nations and a mocking to all the lands. Ezek. 22:4.
‘Coming even to their years’ stands for coming to the end when the Lord departs from the Church. In Isaiah,
Jehovah has now spoken, saying, In three years, as with the years of a hireling, the glory of Moab will grow worthless, with all its great multitude; and the residue will be tiny and of no account. Isa. 16:14.
‘In three years’ also stands for the end of the previous Church – ‘three’ meaning that which has been completed and that which is a beginning, see 1825, 2788.
[5] Seven, and also seventy, have the same meaning, see 720, 728, 901. Consequently it is said in Isaiah,
And it will be on that day, that Tyre will pass into oblivion for seventy years, according to the days of one king. At the end of seventy years it will happen to Tyre according to the song of the harlot. And it will be at the end of seventy years, that Jehovah will visit Tyre, and she will return to hiring herself out as a harlot. Isa. 23:15, 17.
‘Seventy years’ stands for a whole period, from the time a Church comes into being until the time it breathes its last, which is also ‘the days of one king’, for ‘a king’ means a Church’s truth, see 1672, 1728, 2015, 2069. The captivity which the Jews were sent into lasting seventy years entails something similar. That captivity is also spoken of in Jeremiah as follows,
These nations will serve the king of Babel seventy years, and it will be, when the seventy years are fulfilled, that I will visit the king of Babel and this nation for their iniquity, said Jehovah. Jer. 25:11, 12; 29:10.
[6] That ‘a year’, and also ‘years’, is a whole period of the Church, or the time it lasts, becomes clearer still in Malachi,
Behold, I am sending My angel, and he will prepare the way before Me; and suddenly there will come to His temple the Lord whom you are seeking, and the angel of the covenant in whom you delight. Behold, He is coming, said Jehovah Zebaoth. And who can endure the day of His coming? Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to Jehovah, as in the days of old, and as in ancient years. Mal. 3:1, 2, 4.
This refers to the Coming of the Lord. ‘The days of old’ stands for the Most Ancient Church, ‘ancient years’ for the Ancient Church, ‘the offering of Judah’ for worship springing from celestial love, and ‘the offering of Jerusalem’ for worship springing from spiritual love. Here it is quite evident that neither Judah nor Jerusalem was meant. In David,
I have considered the days of old, and the years of long ago. Ps. 77:5.
Here ‘the days of old’ and ‘the years of long ago’ stand for the same two Churches, as is plainer still in Moses,
Recollect the days of old, understand the years of generation after generation; ask your father and he will show you, your elders and they will tell you, When the Most High gave to the nations an inheritance, and Himself separated the sons of man. Deut. 32:7, 8.
[7] That ‘a year’ or ‘years’ is a complete period of the Church is also evident in Habakkuk,
O Jehovah, I have heard Your fame; I was afraid. O Jehovah, revive Your work in the midst of the years, in the midst of the years make it known; in wrath You will remember mercy. God will come out of Teman, and the Holy One out of Mount Paran. Hab. 3:2, 3.
This refers to the Coming of the Lord. ‘In the midst of the years’ stands for in the fullness of time. For what the fullness of time is, see just above in 2905.
[8] As ‘a year’ and ‘years’, when used in reference to the Lord’s kingdom on earth, which is the Church, mean a complete period from start to finish, so when used in reference to the Lord’s kingdom in heaven do they mean that which is eternal; as in David,
O God, Your years are from generation to generation. You are He, and Your years will have no end. The sons of Your servants will continue, and their seed will be established before You. Ps. 102:24, 27, 28.
In the same author,
You will add days to the king’s days; His years as generation after generation! And He will dwell for ever before God. Ps. 61:6, 7.
Here ‘years’ stands for that which is eternal since these words refer to the Lord and His kingdom.
[9] The lambs offered in burnt offerings and sacrifices, which were to be in their first year, Lev. 12:6; 14:10; Num. 6:12; 7:15, 21, 33, 39, 45, 51, 57, 63, 69, 75, 81; and elsewhere, meant the celestial things of innocence in the Lord’s kingdom, which are eternal. Hence burnt offerings of calves in their first year are referred to in Micah 6:6 as being most acceptable.
[10] That ‘a year’ in the internal sense does not mean a year is made additionally clear from the consideration that angels, who possess the internal sense of the Word, are not able to possess the idea of any year. But because a year is a complete period of time within the natural world, they have instead of the idea of a year the idea of that which is completed in relation to states of the Church, and of that which is eternal in relation to states in heaven. To them periods of time are states, 1274, 1382, 2625, 2788, 2837.
‘Sarah died’ means night as regards the truths of faith. ‘In Kiriath Arba, which is Hebron in the land of Canaan’ means within the Church. ‘And Abraham came to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her’ means a state in which the Lord grieved.
[2] As regards ‘Kiriath Arba, which is Hebron’, this was a region where Abraham, Isaac and Jacob dwelt. Abraham’s dwelling there is evident from what has gone before,
Abraham came and dwelt in [the oak-groves of] Mamre, which are in Hebron. Gen. 13:18.
And Isaac and Jacob’s dwelling there too is evident from what comes further on, Jacob came to Isaac his father in Mamre, to Kiriath Arba, which is Hebron, where Abraham and Isaac sojourned. Gen. 35:27.
Joseph was sent by Jacob his father to his brothers, from the Valley of Hebron. Gen. 37:14.
From the representation dealt with already of those three personages it is clear that ‘Kiriath Arba, which is Hebron’ represented the Church before Jerusalem did so.
[3] In the course of time every Church deteriorates until it ceases to possess any faith or charity at all, at which point it is destroyed. This too was represented by ‘Kiriath Arba, which is Hebron’, that is to say, when this place was occupied by the Anakim, by whom dreadful false persuasions were meant, 581, 1673, regarding which occupation by the Anakim, see Num. 13:21, 22; Josh. 11:21; 14:15; 15:13, 14; Judg. 1:10. As regards the end or close of the Church and its destruction, this was represented by Joshua’s utterly destroying everything in that place, Josh. 10:36, 37; 11:21, and by Judah and Caleb’s smiting the Anakim, Judg. 1:10; Josh. 14:13-15; 15:13, 14. The establishment again of a new Church was represented by the allotment of its fields and villages to Caleb as his inheritance, Josh. 21:12. The city itself however became a city of refuge, Josh. 20:7; 21:13, and a city for priests, for the sons of Aaron, Josh. 21:10, 11, within the inheritance of Judah, Josh. 15:54.
[4] From this it is evident that Hebron represented the Lord’s spiritual Church in the land of Canaan. For the same reason also David was ordered by Jehovah’s command to go to Hebron and was there anointed king over the house of Judah; and after he had reigned there for seven years and six months he went to Jerusalem and took possession of Zion, see 2 Sam. 2:1-11; 5:5; 1 Kings 2:11, at which point the Lord’s spiritual Church now began to be represented by Jerusalem, and His celestial Church by Zion.
[2] The situation with all Churches is that initially every Church regards charity as being fundamental. At that time every individual person loves every other as his brother and is moved by good – not on his own account but on account of that person, of the general good of all, of the Lord’s kingdom, and above all of the Lord Himself. But with the passage of time charity starts to grow cold and to cease to exist. After that, hatred of one person against another enters in, which – though not apparent outwardly because people in organized society are subject to laws and to external restraints which keep them in check – is nevertheless being fostered inwardly. The external restraints keeping them in check stem from self-love and love of the world, being the love of position and importance, the love of wealth and also of the power that wealth brings, and so the love of reputation. Beneath these loves there lurks hatred of the neighbour, such as leads people to desire dominion over all and to possess everything that belongs to anyone else. And when these desires are opposed, such persons harbour in their mind contempt for that neighbour, breathe revenge, and take delight in his ruin, and indeed perform acts of cruelty on him insofar as they dare. It is into ways such as these that the charity of the Church ultimately goes when it reaches its end. At that time it is said of the Church that faith does not exist any longer, for when there is no charity there is no faith, as has been shown many times.
[3] There have been many Churches, which are known of from the Word, that have come to an end in this fashion. The Most Ancient Church breathed its last in such circumstances around the time of the Flood. So in a similar way did the Ancient Church which existed after the Flood, as also did the second Ancient Church called the Hebrew Church; and later on the Jewish Church. This never was a Church that had charity at the outset, but was merely the representative of a Church whose role was to preserve by means of representatives a communication with heaven until the Lord came into the world. After that a new Church was established by the Lord, which was called the gentile Church and was an internal Church since interior truths from the Lord had then been revealed. But even this Church has now reached its end, for now not only is charity non-existent but also hatred is present instead of charity. Although that hatred is not apparent outwardly it is nevertheless there inwardly and breaks out when at all possible, that is, as often as external restraints do not keep people in check.
[4] In addition to these Churches there have been many others which have not been described so specifically [in the Word] but which deteriorated in a similar way and destroyed themselves. There are many reasons why they have so deteriorated and destroyed themselves. One reason is that parents pile up evils, and from practicing these frequently until at length they become habitual, introduce them into their own nature and disposition, and in so doing hand them down by heredity to their offspring. For what parents acquire through frequent practice in their actual living takes root within their natural disposition and is transmitted by heredity to their descendants. And unless these are reformed or regenerated, that which is transmitted is perpetuated in succeeding generations, increasing all the time as it is passed down. Consequently the will becomes even more bent on evils and falsities. But when the Church reaches its close and perishes the Lord always raises up a new Church somewhere else. Yet rarely, if ever, has He done so from members of the previous Church, but from gentiles who dwelt in ignorance. Those gentiles are the subject in what follows next.
‘Abraham rose up’ means a raising up. ‘From before his dead’ means in that [state of] night. ‘And spoke to the sons of Heth, saying’ means those with whom a new spiritual Church was to exist.
[2912a] ‘From before his dead’ means in that [state of] night. This is clear from the meaning of ‘dying’, ‘death’, and ‘one who has died’ as night as regards the state of the Church, dealt with above in 2908.
[2] The Hittites belonged among those in the land of Canaan who were more acceptable. This is also made clear by the fact that Abraham, and subsequently Isaac and Jacob, dwelt among them and had a burial-place there, and also by the fact that they treated Abraham with greatest respect, as is quite clear from what is recorded about them in this chapter, especially verses 5, 6, 10, 11, 14, 15. Since they were an upright nation they therefore represent and mean the spiritual Church, or the truth of the Church. But it happened that like all the others who belonged to the Ancient Church the Hittites fell away in the course of time from charity or good that goes with faith; and this explains why later on they mean the falsity of the Church, as in Ezek. 16:3, 45, and elsewhere. Yet the Hittites did belong among those who were more honourable, as may be seen from the fact that David had Hittites with him, such as Ahimelech, 1 Sam. 26:6, and Uriah, who was a Hittite, 2 Sam. 11:3, 6, 17, 21 – by whose wife Bathsheba David begot Solomon, 2 Sam. 12:24. ‘Heth’ means exterior cognitions that have regard to life and which constitute the external truths of the spiritual Church,* see 1203.
[3] The subject in the present verse is a new Church which the Lord establishes when the previous one breathes its last, and in the verses which follow the subject is the reception of faith among those people. The subject is not some particular Church among the sons of Heth but in general the re-establishment by the Lord of a spiritual Church after its predecessor fades away and approaches its end. The sons of Heth are simply those who represent and carry a spiritual meaning. Please see what has been stated already about Churches in the following places:
In course of time a Church goes into decline and decay, 494, 501, 1327, 2422.
It departs from charity, and brings forth evils and falsities, 1834, 1835.
At that point the Church is said to be vastated and made desolate, 407-411, 2243.
The Church is established among gentiles; the reason why, 1366.
Within a Church undergoing vastation something of the Church is always preserved as a nucleus, 468, 637, 931, 2422.
If the Church did not exist in the world the human race would perish, ibid.
The Church is like the heart and lungs in that vast body, of which every member of the human race is a part, 637, 931, 2054, 2853.
The nature of the spiritual Church, 765, 2669.
Charity constitutes the Church, not faith separated from charity, 809, 916.
If all possessed charity the Church would be one even though they differ in
matters of doctrine and in forms of worship, 1285, 1316, 1798, 1799, 1834, 1844, 2385.
All people on earth who belong to the Lord’s Church, though they are scattered throughout the entire world, still so to speak make a single whole, as is the case in heaven, 2853.
Every Church is internal and external, and both together constitute a single Church, 409, 1083, 1098, 1100, 1242.
The external Church is valueless if there is no internal Church, 1795.
The Church is compared to the rise and the setting of the sun, to the seasons of the year, and also to the periods of the day, 1837.
The Last Judgement is the final period of the Church, 900, 931, 1850, 2117, 2118.
*Or, reading what Sw. has in his rough draft the truths of the external
spiritual Church
‘I am a stranger and an inhabitant among you’ means their first state when, although the Lord was not known to them, He was nevertheless able to be with them. ‘Give me possession of a grave among you’ means that they were able to be regenerated. ‘And I will bury my dead from before me’ means that He would emerge and rise up out of the night prevailing among them.
[2] The reason ‘a grave’ in the contrary sense means death or hell is that the evil do not rise again to life but to death. When therefore the evil are referred to and a grave is mentioned, no other idea comes to mind with angels than that of hell; and this also is the reason why hell in the Word is called the grave.
[3] That ‘a grave’ means resurrection and also regeneration is evident in Ezekiel,
Therefore prophesy and say to them, Thus says the Lord Jehovih, Behold, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, O My people, and I will bring you to the land of Israel, and you will know that I am Jehovah when I open your graves and cause you to come up out of your graves, O My people. And I will put My spirit within you and you will live, and I will place you on your own land. Ezek. 37:12-14.
Here the prophet refers to bones that have been made to live, and in the internal sense to regeneration. Its being a reference to regeneration is quite evident, for it is said, ‘when I will put My spirit within you and you will live, and I will place you on your own land’. Here ‘graves’ stands for the former self and its evils and falsities, while the opening of them and the coming up from them means being regenerated. Thus the idea of a grave perishes and so to speak is discarded when the idea of regeneration or new life enters instead.
[4] The description in Matt. 27:52, 53, about graves being opened and many bodies of the saints who were sleeping being raised, coming out of their graves after the Lord’s resurrection, entering the holy city, and appearing to many, embodies the same idea, that is to say, a resurrection taking place as a result of the Lord’s resurrection, and in the inner sense every individual resurrection. The Lord’s raising of Lazarus from the dead, John 11:1 and following verses, likewise embodies the re-establishment of the Church from among gentiles; for all the miracles that the Lord performed, because they were Divine, embodied the states of His Church. Something similar is also meant by the man who, having been cast into the grave of Elisha, came to life again on touching the prophet’s bones, 2 Kings 13:20, 21, for Elisha represented the Lord.
[5] As ‘burial’ meant resurrection in general and every individual resurrection, the ancients were therefore particularly concerned about their burials and about the places where they were to be buried – Abraham, for example, was to be buried in Hebron in the land of Canaan, as were Isaac and Jacob, together with their wives, Gen. 47:29-31; 49:30-32; Joseph’s bones were to be carried up out of Egypt into the land of Canaan, Gen. 50:25; Exod. 13:19; Josh. 24:32; David and subsequent kings were to be buried in Zion, 1 Kings 2:10; 11:43; 14:31; 15:8, 24; 22:50; 2 Kings 8:24; 12:21; 14:20; 15:7, 38; 16:20, the reason being that the land of Canaan and also Zion represented and meant the Lord’s kingdom, while burial meant resurrection. But it may become clear to anyone that the place itself does not contribute anything towards resurrection.
[6] The truth that ‘burial’ means resurrection to life is also evident from other representatives, such as the requirement that the wicked were not to be lamented or buried, but cast aside, Jer. 8:2; 14:16; 16:4, 6; 20:6; 22:19; 25:33; 2 Kings 9:10; Rev. 11:9; and that the wicked buried already were to be cast out of their graves, Jer. 8:1, 2; 2 Kings 23:16-18. But as regards ‘a grave’ in the contrary sense meaning death or hell, see Isa. 14:19-21; Ezek. 32:21-23, 25-26; Ps. 88:4, 5, 10, 11; Num. 19:16, 18, 19.
‘The sons of Heth answered Abraham, saying to him’ means a reciprocal state existing with members of the new Church. ‘Hear us’ means reception. ‘My lord, you are a prince of God in the midst of us’ means the Lord as regards Divine good and truth with them. ‘In the choicest of our graves’ means well-pleasing in regard to regeneration. ‘Bury your dead’ means that in this way they would emerge from night and be raised up into life. ‘None of us will withhold his grave from you’ means that all of them were made ready to receive regeneration. ‘From burying your dead’ means in order that they might emerge from night and be raised up.
[2] That in the Old Testament Word the names Jehovah Zebaoth and the name Lord have the same sense and meaning is clear in Isaiah,
The zeal of Jehovah Zebaoth will do this; the Lord has sent a word into Jacob, and it has fallen on Israel. Isa. 9:7, 8.
Elsewhere in the same prophet,
A mighty king will have dominion over them, said the Lord, Jehovah Zebaoth. Isa. 19:4.
In Malachi,
Behold, suddenly there will come to His temple the Lord whom you are seeking and the angel of the covenant in whom you delight. Behold, He is coming, says Jehovah Zebaoth. Mal. 3:1.
More plainly, in Isaiah,
I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up. Above Him stood the seraphim; each had six wings. One called to another, Holy, holy, holy is Jehovah Zebaoth. Woe is me! For I am cut off; for my eyes have seen the King, Jehovah Zebaoth. And I heard the voice of the Lord. Isa. 6:1-3, 5, 8.
From these places it is evident that Jehovah Zebaoth and the Lord have the same meaning.
[3] But ‘the Lord Jehovih’ is used more particularly when the help of omnipotence is sought and prayed for, as in Isaiah,
Say to the cities of Judah, Behold your God! Behold, the Lord Jehovih will come with might, and His arm will exercise dominion for Him; behold, His reward is with Him, and His work before Him. He will pasture His flock like a shepherd. Isa. 40:9-11.
For further examples of this use of ‘the Lord Jehovih’, see Isa. 25:8; 40:10; 48:16; 50:4, 5, 7, 9; 61:1; Jer. 2:22; Ezek. 8:1; 11:13, 17, 21; 12:10, 19, 28; 13:8, 13, 16, 18, 20; 14:4, 6, 11, 18, 20, 21; Micah 1:2; Ps. 71:5, 16; and many other places.
[4] What is more, in the Old Testament Word ‘the Lord’ entails the same as ‘Jehovah’, that is to say, ‘the Lord’ is used when good is dealt with, and therefore also the Lord is distinguished from God in the same way as Jehovah is from God; as in Moses,
Jehovah your God, He is God of gods, and Lord of lords. Deut. 10:17.
In David,
Confess the God of gods, for His mercy is for ever; confess the Lord of lords, for His mercy is for ever. Ps. 136:1-3.
[5] But nowhere in the New Testament Word, neither in the Gospels nor in the Book of Revelation, is Jehovah used. Instead of Jehovah the name the Lord occurs – for hidden reasons to be dealt with below. The fact that in the New Testament Word the Lord is used instead of Jehovah is quite clear in Mark,
Jesus said, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord. Therefore you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your thought, and with all your strength. Mark 12:29, 30.
The same is expressed in Moses as follows,
Hear, O Israel, Jehovah our God is one Jehovah; and you shall love Jehovah your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength. Deut. 6:4, 5.
Here it is evident that the name ‘the Lord’ is used instead of Jehovah. Likewise in John,
I looked, and behold, a throne had been set in heaven, with one seated upon the throne. Around the throne were four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind. Each had for himself six wings round about him, and was full of eyes within. They were saying, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God omnipotent. Rev. 4:2, 6, 8.
This is described in Isaiah as follows,
I saw the Lord seated upon a throne, high and lifted up. Above Him stood the seraphim; each had six wings. One called to another, Holy, holy, holy is Jehovah Zebaoth. Isa. 6:1-3, 5, 8.
In this case ‘the Lord’ is used instead of ‘Jehovah’, that is, ‘the Lord God omnipotent’ instead of ‘Jehovah Zebaoth’. The fact that the four living creatures are the seraphim or cherubs is evident in Ezekiel 1:5, 13-15, 19 and following verses; 10:15. That in the New Testament ‘the Lord’ is Jehovah is also clear from many other places, as in Luke,
An angel of the Lord appeared to Zechariah. Luke 1:11.
‘An angel of the Lord’ is used instead of ‘an angel of Jehovah’. In the same chapter the angel told Zechariah regarding his son,
He will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. Luke 1:16.
‘To the Lord their God’ is used instead of ‘to Jehovah their God’. Also in the same chapter, the angel told Mary regarding Jesus,
He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give to Him the throne of David. Luke 1:32.
‘The Lord God’ is used instead of ‘Jehovah God’. Still in the same chapter,
Mary said, My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Saviour. Luke 1:46, 47.
Here also ‘the Lord’ is used instead of ‘Jehovah’. And again in the same chapter, Zechariah prophesied, saying,
Blessed is the Lord God of Israel. Luke 1:68.
‘The Lord God’ is used instead of ‘Jehovah God’. In the same gospel,
An angel of the Lord stood before the shepherds, and the glory of the Lord shone around them. Luke 2:9.
‘An angel of the Lord’ and ‘the glory of the Lord’ are used instead of ‘an angel of Jehovah’ and ‘the glory of Jehovah’. In Matthew,
Blessed is He coming in the name of the Lord. Matt. 21:9; 23:39; Luke 13:35; John 12:13.
‘In the name of the Lord’ is used instead of ‘in the name of Jehovah’. There are many other places besides all these, such as Luke 1:28; 2:15, 22-24, 29, 38, 39; 5:17; Mark 12:10, 11.
[6] Among the hidden reasons why people called Jehovah the Lord were the following: If when the Lord was in the world they had been told that He was the Jehovah mentioned so many times in the Old Testament, see 1736, they would not have accepted it because they would not have believed it. And there is the further reason that as regards the Human the Lord did not become Jehovah until He had in every respect united the Divine Essence to the Human Essence, and the Human Essence to the Divine Essence, see 1725, 1729, 1733, 1745, 1815, 2156, 2751. These became fully united after the final temptation, which was that of the Cross; and it was for this reason that after the Resurrection the disciples always called Him Lord, John 20:2, 13, 15, 18, 20, 25; 21:7, 12, 15-17, 20; Mark 16:19, 20; and Thomas said,
My Lord and my God. John 20:28.
And as the Lord was the Jehovah mentioned so many times in the Old Testament, therefore He also told the disciples,
You call Me Master and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. If therefore I your Lord and Master have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one anothers’ feet. John 13:13, 14, 16.
These words mean that He was Jehovah God, for in this instance He is called ‘Lord’ as regards good, but ‘Master’ as regards truth. That the Lord was Jehovah is also meant by the angel’s words to the shepherds,
To you is born this day a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord. Luke 2:11.
‘Christ’ is used instead of ‘Messiah’, ‘Anointed One’, and ‘King’, ‘the Lord, instead of ‘Jehovah’ – ‘Christ’ having regard to truth, ‘the Lord’ to good. Anyone who does not examine the Word carefully cannot know this, for he believes that our Saviour was called Lord because this was an everyday expression that was used to offer respect to Him, as to others, when in reality He was so called by virtue of His being Jehovah.
‘Abraham rose up and bowed’ means the Lord’s joy at being received so kindly. ‘To the people of the land, to the sons of Heth’ means by those who belonged to the new spiritual Church. ‘He spoke to them, saying’ means thought and perception concerning those people. ‘If you are willing’ means if on account of an affection for truth coming from the heart. ‘To let me bury my dead from before me’ means that they wished to emerge from night and rise again. ‘Hear me’ means that they were to comply. ‘And intercede for me with Ephron the son of Zohar’ means those with whom the good and truth of faith could be received.
* lit. If it is with your soul
[2] That the expression ‘the people of the land’ is used when Israel and Jerusalem, and so when the spiritual Church are the subject, is clear from many places in the Word, as in Ezekiel,
Say to the people of the land, Thus says the Lord Jehovih to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to the land of Israel, They will eat their bread in sorrow, and drink their waters in vastation, that her land may be devastated. The inhabited cities will be vastated and the land made desolate. Ezek. 12:19, 20.
Here in the internal sense ‘Jerusalem’ and ‘the land of Israel’ stand for the spiritual Church, ‘bread’ and ‘waters’ for charity and faith, or good and truth. ‘The land’ stands for the Church itself which as regards good is said to be ‘vastated’ and as regards truth to be ‘made desolate’.
[3] In the same prophet,
The house of Israel will bury Gog and his multitude so that they will cleanse the land in seven months, and all the people of the land will bury them. Ezek. 39:11-13.
‘Gog’ stands for external worship separated from internal, which is idolatrous, 1151. ‘The house of Israel’ stands for the spiritual Church as regards good, ‘the people of the land’ as regards truth, ‘the land’ for the Church itself. The reason ‘the land’ is the Church is that ‘the land of Canaan’ represented the Lord’s kingdom and so the Church, since the Lord’s kingdom on earth is the Church.
[4] In the same prophet,
All the people of the land will give* this thruma (oblation) to the prince of Israel. And the prince will prepare for himself on that day, and for all the people of the land a young bull for a sin offering. The people of the land will bow down at the door of the gate on the sabbaths and at new moons. And the people of the land will enter at the appointed feasts. Ezek. 45:16, 22; 46:3, 9.
This refers to the New Jerusalem, that is, to the Lord’s spiritual kingdom, whose subjects are here called ‘the people of the land’. ‘The prince’ is Divine truth coming from the Lord. The expression ‘the sons of Heth’ is used because ‘sons’ means truths, see 489, 491, 533, 1147, 2623.
[5] The reason why truths are attributable to those who are spiritual is that these people are introduced to good by way of truths, that is, to charity by way of faith. And because the good they do is done from an affection for truth – for they do not know otherwise than that it is good because they have been taught that it is – their conscience too is founded on these truths of faith, see 1155, 1577, 2046, 2088, 2184, 2507, 2715, 2716, 2718.
* lit. will be to
[2] The new will there, which is received from the Lord, is what is called ‘the heart’, while the new understanding is what is called ‘the soul’. And when the expression ‘with all the heart and with all the soul’ is used, with all the will and with all the understanding is meant. This is what is meant by ‘heart and soul’ in Moses,
This day Jehovah your God is commanding you to observe these statutes and judgements – that you may keep and observe them with all your heart and with all your soul. Deut. 26:16.
You shall love Jehovah your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength. Deut. 6:5.
In the same author,
Now Israel, what does Jehovah your God require of you except to fear Jehovah your God, to go in all His ways, and to love Him, and to serve Jehovah your God with all your heart and with all your soul? Deut. 10:12; 11:13.
In the same author,
In the Book of Kings,
David said to Solomon, Jehovah will establish His Word which He spoke concerning me, saying, If [your] sons take heed to their way to walk before Me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul, there will not fail you a man on the throne of Israel. 1 Kings 2:4.
In Matthew,
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. Matt. 22:37; Mark 12:29, 30.
[3] The same is also said of Jehovah or the Lord because with the member of the Church He is the source of affection for good, which belongs to the will, and of the affection for truth, which belongs to the understanding; as in Samuel,
I will raise up for Myself a faithful priest, [who will do] according to what is in My heart and in My soul. 1 Sam. 2:35.
And in Jeremiah,
I will rejoice over them to do good to them, and I will plant them in this land in truth, with all My heart, and with all My soul. Jer. 32:41.
And there are still other places in the Word where ‘soul’ means the affection for truth, as in Isaiah,
With my soul I desired You in the night; even with my spirit within me I sought You early. For insofar as Your judgements are in the earth the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness. Isa. 26:9.
Here ‘soul’ stands for an affection for truth, ‘spirit’ for an affection for good. ‘Judgements’ has reference to truths, and ‘righteousness’ to good, see 2235.
[4] In the same prophet,
The fool speaks folly, to make empty the hungry soul, and causes the [soul] thirsting for drink to fail. Isa. 32:6.
‘The hungry soul’, which ‘the fool makes empty’, stands for the desire for good, while ‘the soul thirsting for drink’, which ‘the fool causes to fail’, stands for the desire for truth. In Jeremiah,
Their soul will become like a watered garden, and I will water the weary soul, and every sorrowful soul I will replenish. Jer. 31:12, 25.
‘The soul’ stands for the affection for truth and good. In the same prophet,
All its people groan as they search for bread. They have given their desirable things for food, to revive the soul. A comforter is far from me, one to revive my soul; my sons have been made desolate. They sought food for themselves to revive their soul. Lam. 1:11, 16, 19.
‘The soul’ stands for the life of the affection for good and truth, ‘food’ stands for wisdom and intelligence.
[5] It has been said that ‘the soul’ means the affection for truth coming from the heart, because some affections for truth exist which do not come from the heart, such as those which come from self-love, which is the desire to be above others; from love of the world, which is the love of gain; and from love of merit. Affections for truth spring in a similar way from these loves, but they are not genuine affections. They come from the will of the flesh, not from the heart. That which comes from the heart comes from the Lord. Furthermore ‘the soul’ in the Word means in the universal sense all life, see 1000, 1005, 1040, 1742. Indeed in the universal sense the soul constitutes that from which another thing has its being and life. Thus the soul of the body is its spirit, since it is from this that the body has life. The soul of the spirit however is its still more interior life from which it derives its wisdom and intelligence.
‘Let him give me the cave of Machpelah which is his’ means the obscurity of faith that was theirs. ‘Which is at the end of his field’ means where little of the Church exists. ‘For the full price’ means redemption by means of truth. ‘Let him give it to me in the midst of you as a possession for a grave’ means possession gained thus through regeneration.
* lit. in full silver or money
[2] Those who are being regenerated and becoming spiritual are very much in obscurity as regards truth. With them good from the Lord is indeed flowing in, but truth less so. Consequently a parallelism and correspondence exists with man between the Lord and good, but not between Him and truth, see 1832. The chief reason for this is that men do not know what good is, and if they did know they would still not believe it at heart. And as long as their good is enveloped in obscurity, so too is their truth, for it is from good that all truth springs. Or to be more explicit, the idea that the Lord is Good itself, and that everything which in itself is a manifestation of love to Him and of charity towards the neighbour is good, and that everything which declares and confirms this is truth, they do not know except in an extremely obscure way. Indeed they even entertain doubts, and allow reasonings to enter in against those considerations. And as long as their state is such, the light of truth from the Lord cannot flow in. Indeed they think of the Lord as they do of another human being and not of Him as God; and they model their idea of love to Him on some worldly kind of love. What genuine affection that stems from charity towards the neighbour is they scarcely know at all, or even what charity is and what the neighbour is. Yet these are essentials. From this one may recognize the great obscurity in which spiritual people are and which is all the greater before regeneration has taken place, which state is the subject here.
‘Ephron was sitting in the midst of the sons of Heth’ means those who were primarily able to receive the good and truth of faith. ‘And Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham’ means the state of their receptivity. ‘In the ears of the sons of Heth’ means obedience. ‘To all entering into the gate of his city, saying’ means matters of doctrine through which one comes to faith.
[2] And as it had come down to them from the most ancient people that nations and families represented heavenly communities, and so the things of love and charity, 685, 1159, therefore when a city is mentioned instead of a family, and a people instead of a nation, truth that constitutes faith is meant. It is also why in the genuine sense the city of God and the holy city mean faith in the Lord. And as ‘a city’ meant faith, ‘the gate of the city’ means matters of doctrine through which one comes to faith. The same was also meant in the Jewish representative Church by the judges and elders sitting in the gate of the city and giving judgement there, as is evident from historical sections of the Word, and also in Zechariah,
These are the things that you shall do: Speak the truth, everyone to his companion; judge in your gates the truth and the judgement of peace. Zech. 8:16.
And in Amos,
Hate evil, and love good, and establish judgement in the gate. Amos 5:15.
‘A gate’ also means the place of entry into the rational mind, and the rational mind is compared to a city, see 2851.
‘No, my lord, hear me’ means that initial state dealt with already. ‘The field I give to you, and the cave that is in it I give to you’ means preparation from themselves as regards the things that belong to the Church and to faith. ‘Before the eyes of the sons of my people I give it to you’ means according to the understanding of everyone. ‘Bury your dead’ means that they may emerge from night and be raised up again.
[2] But after they have been regenerated, the recognition that the situation is different is gradually instilled into them – that everything true comes wholly from the Lord. And as they grow more perfect it is also instilled into them that whatever does not come from the Lord is evil and false. Those who have been regenerated are led, if not during their lifetime then in the next life, not only to know this but also to see it with perception, for all angels enjoy the perception that this is so. Please see what has been stated already about these matters in the following places:
Everything good and true comes from the Lord, 1614, 2016.
All intelligence and wisdom come from the Lord, 109, 112, 121, 124.
Of himself man cannot achieve anything good or think anything true, 874-876.
Nevertheless everyone ought to do good as if from his proprium or own self, and not stay his hands, 1712.
If man compels himself to withstand evil and to do good as if from himself he receives a heavenly proprium from the Lord, 1937, 1947.
‘Abraham bowed before the people of the land’ means the Lord’s joy at the goodwill of those who belonged to the new spiritual Church. ‘And he spoke to Ephron’ means an influx with those who were able to receive it. ‘In the ears of the people of the land’ means even to being obedient as regards the truths of the Church. ‘Even so, please hear me’ means an interior influx. ‘I will give the price of the field; accept it from me’ means redemption as regards the truths of the Church which come from the Lord. ‘And I will bury my dead’ means that in this way they would emerge from night and be made alive.
* lit. the silver or the money
[2] The reasons why have been stated in various places already – that spiritual people possess no will at all for what is good, but instead have been provided with an ability to understand what good is. The understanding of what is good is primarily called truth, and indeed the truth of faith, while the willing of it and from this the doing of it is called good. Spiritual persons therefore, by means of an understanding of good, or what amounts to the same, by means of truth, are led on to a will for what is good, or what amounts to the same, to good. They are not led on to any will for what is good from anything that is their own, since all will for what is good has with them been destroyed, 895, 927, 2124. Instead they are led on to a new will which they receive from the Lord, 863, 875, 1023, 1043, 1044; and when they have received this new will they specifically are called the redeemed.
‘Ephron answered Abraham, saying to him’ means a state of receptivity. ‘My lord, hear me’ means the initial state of receptivity. ‘The land [is worth] four hundred shekels of silver’ means the price of redemption by means of truth. ‘What is that between me and you?’ means that he gave his assent yet still wished to achieve it by himself. ‘So bury your dead’ means here, as previously, emergence from night and consequent rising up again.
[2] That ‘four hundred years’ means the duration and the state of vastation becomes clear also from what Abraham was told,
Jehovah said to Abraham,* Know for sure that your seed will be strangers in a land not theirs. And they will serve them, and these will afflict them for four hundred years. Gen. 15:13.
There it may be seen that ‘four hundred years’ is used to mean the duration of the stay of the children of Israel in Egypt. Yet it is not the duration of their stay in Egypt that is meant but something that is not evident to anyone except from the internal sense. This becomes clear from the fact that the duration of the stay of the children of Israel in Egypt was no more than half the stated period, as becomes quite clear from the descendants of Jacob down to Moses. For the facts are that Levi was descended from Jacob, Kohath from Levi, Amram from Kohath, and Aaron and Moses from Amram, Exod. 6:16-20; Levi and his son Kohath went down to Egypt together with Jacob, Gen. 46:11; and Moses came two generations later, and was eighty years old when he spoke to Pharaoh, Exod. 7:7. These facts show that the period of time from Jacob’s entry into Egypt until his sons’ departure from that land was approximately two hundred and fifteen years.
[3] That ‘four hundred’ is used in the Word to mean something other than its numerical value in the historical sense is clearer still from its being said that
The length of time that the children of Israel dwelt in Egypt was four hundred and thirty years, and at the end of the four hundred and thirty years, it happened on that same day, that all the armies of Jehovah went out of the land of Egypt. Exod. 12:40, 41.
The duration of the stay of the children of Israel in that land was in fact only half that number of years; but it was from Abraham’s entry into Egypt that the four hundred and thirty years were measured. Consequently what is said at this point in Exodus is for the sake of the internal sense Lying within those words. In the internal sense the sojourn of the sons of Jacob in Egypt represents and means the vastation of the Church, the state and duration of which are described by the number four hundred and thirty years. Thirty describes the state of vastation of the sons of Jacob as being no vastation at all, for they were such as could not be reformed through any state of vastation (for the meaning of the number thirty, see 2276); and ‘four hundred years’ represents the general state of vastation of those who belonged to the Church.
[4] Those therefore who come out of that vastation are referred to as the redeemed, as is also evident from the words addressed to Moses,
Therefore say to the children of Israel, I am Jehovah, and I will bring you out from beneath the burdens of Egypt, and I will rescue you from their slavery, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm, and with great judgements. Exod. 6:6.
And elsewhere,
Jehovah has brought you out by means of a mighty hand, and redeemed you from the house of slaves, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Deut. 7:8; 13:5.
And elsewhere,
You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, but Jehovah your God redeemed you. Deut. 15:15; 24:18.
In Samuel,
Your people whom You redeemed for Yourself from Egypt. 2 Sam. 7:23.
Since those who emerge from the state of vastation are referred to as the redeemed, ‘four hundred shekels’ therefore means the price of redemption.
[5] As regards ‘a shekel’ meaning the price or valuation, this is clear from the following places in the Word: In Moses,
All your valuations shall be according to the shekel of holiness. Lev. 27:25.
And elsewhere,
If a soul commits a trespass and has sinned inadvertently in the holy things of Jehovah, he shall bring his guilt offering to Jehovah, a ram without blemish out of the flock, according to your valuation in silver shekels, according to the shekel of holiness. Lev. 5:15.
From this it is evident that ‘a shekel’ means the price or valuation. It is called ‘the shekel of holiness’ because the price or valuation has regard to truth and good from the Lord – truth and good from the Lord being, within the Church, holiness itself. Consequently it is called ‘the shekel of holiness’ many times elsewhere, as in Exod. 30:24; Lev. 27:3; Num. 3:47, 50; 7:13, 19, 25, 31, 37, 43, 49, 55, 61, 67, 73; 18:16.
[6] That ‘a shekel’ is the price of what is holy is quite evident in Ezekiel when the holy land and the holy city are the subject. There the shekel is referred to as follows,
The shekel there shall be twenty gerahs; twenty shekels, twenty-five shekels, fifteen shekels, shall be your maneh (pound). Ezek. 45:12.
Anyone may see that here ‘shekel’, ‘pound’, and the numbers mentioned mean holy things, that is, good and truth, for the holy land and the holy city or new Jerusalem, which are the subject there, mean nothing else than the Lord’s kingdom where neither shekel, nor gerahs, nor pound, nor the numbering of them occurs. But the number itself, from the meaning it has in the internal sense, determines the valuation or price of good and truth.
[7] In Moses it is said that every man (vir) should give a ransom for his soul, so that there would be no plague. He had to give half a shekel, according to the shekel of holiness, a shekel being twenty gerahs. Half a shekel was to be the thruma (offering) to Jehovah, Exod. 30:12, 13. Here ten gerahs, which make half a shekel, are remnants which are received from the Lord. Remnants are goods and truths stored away with a person – such remnants, being meant by ‘ten’, see 576, 1738, 1906, 2284. That remnants are goods and truths from the Lord that are stored away with a person, see 1906, 2284. Consequently they are also called ‘the thruma (or offering) to Jehovah’, and it is said that by means of this a soul will be redeemed. The reason it is stated several times that a shekel was twenty gerahs, as in these verses from Exodus, and also in Lev. 27:25; Num. 3:47; 18:16; and elsewhere, is that the shekel of twenty gerahs means the valuation of the good preserved in remnants – twenty meaning the good preserved in remnants, see 2280. Also therefore a shekel was a weight according to which the price of both gold and silver was determined, Gen. 24:22; Exod. 38:24; Ezek. 4:10; 45:12 – the price of gold because ‘gold’ means good, 113, 1551, 1552, and the price of silver because ‘silver’ means truth, 1551, 2048. From this it is now evident that ‘the land [is worth] four hundred shekels of silver’ means the price of redemption by means of truth. The reason it is called ‘the land’ is that the spiritual Church is the subject, which is reformed and regenerated by means of truth received from the Lord, 2954. That ‘the land’ means the Church, see 662, 1066, 1068, 1262, 1733, 1850, 2117, 2118 (end).
* In Genesis 15 the patriarch’s name is still Abram.
[2] The reason these people are such at first has been stated above in 2946. But when they become more advanced in cognitions of truth or faith they do indeed acknowledge that their reformation is effected by the Lord, yet they still wish to achieve it by themselves. One reason for this is that the cloud of ignorance is dispersed only gradually; another is that it takes time for truth to be corroborated; and another is that the perfection of good comes with the acquisition of cognitions of truth. Good itself that has truth implanted in it leads people not only to acknowledge but also to believe that reformation comes from the Lord. This state is the third, and a fourth follows it, that is to say, a state when they perceive that it comes from the Lord. Few however attain it during their lifetime since it is an angelic state; but those who are regenerate do attain it in the next life. From this it is evident that in the internal sense here the member of the spiritual Church is described – the nature of his state when he has yet to develop, the nature of it when he starts to develop, and at length when he has developed.
‘Abraham listened to Ephron’ means the confirmation of a readiness to obey. ‘And Abraham weighed out for Ephron the silver’ means redemption. ‘Which he had spoken of in the ears of the sons of Heth’ means according to the propensity of those who belonged to the new Church. ‘Four hundred shekels of silver’ means the price of redemption. ‘Current with the merchant’ means in conformity with their state.
For the Lord’s becoming righteousness through the severest temptations, see 1813, 2025-2027.
For the Lord’s uniting of the Human Essence to the Divine Essence, and the Divine Essence to the Human Essence, 1725, 1729, 1733, 1737, 1813, 2083.
For His doing this by His own power, 1616, 1921, 2025, 2026, 2083, 2500, 2523, 2632.
And for His salvation of the human race, especially those who belong to the spiritual Church, through that uniting of both, 2661, 2716.
These are the factors meant by the price of redemption.
[2] As regards the consideration that this price may also be spoken of in reference to man’s receptivity, though with him that price is determined by the measure of his receptivity, this may be seen from the truth that it is the Lord’s Divine which constitutes the Church with man. For the Church does not hearken to anything except that which is the Lord’s own. It is the good of love and charity, and the truth of faith, that constitute that which is called the Church. For it is well known that all good comes from the Lord and that all truth comes from the Lord. Good and truth that come from man are not good and truth. From this it is evident that the price of redemption is with man determined by the measure of his receptivity.
[3] Because among the Jews the Lord’s redemption was rated so low as to be scarcely anything at all, it is therefore said in Zechariah,
I said to them, If it is good in your eyes, give me my wages; and if not, withhold them. And they weighed out my wages, thirty pieces of silver. And Jehovah said to me, Throw it to the potter, the magnificent price I was valued at among them. Zech. 11:12, 13.
And in Matthew,
They took the thirty pieces of silver, the price set on him whom they had bought from the children of Israel, and gave them for the potter’s field, as the Lord commanded me. Matt. 27:9, 10.
‘Thirty’ is that which is so little as to be scarcely anything, see 2276. Thus the meaning is that the Jews rated the Lord’s merit and redemption as nothing, but among those who believed that all good and all truth came from the Lord, the price of redemption is meant by ‘forty’ and to a higher degree by ‘four hundred’.
[2] It is the remnants, that is, the goods and truths from the Lord stored away in a person, that receive life at that time. The goods and truths acquired in the period from early childhood to when reformation takes place are with one person more, with another less. They are preserved in his internal man, and cannot be brought out until his external man has been brought into a state of correspondence with the internal, which is effected chiefly by means of temptations, and by many kinds of vastation. Indeed until bodily desires which are contrary to goods and truths – as is the nature of desires which constitute self-love and love of the world – become dormant, celestial and spiritual desires that belong to the affection for good and truth cannot enter in. This is the reason why each individual is reformed in conformity with his state and ability. This is also the Lord’s teaching in the parable about a man who went away on a journey,
He called his servants and delivered to them his riches. To the first he gave five talents, to the second two, and to the third one, to each according to his own ability. He who received the five talents traded with them and earned five talents more. So too he who received the two earned two more. Matt. 25:14-17, and following verses.
The same teaching also occurs in the parable about the ten servants to whom he gave ten pounds to trade with, Luke 19:12, 13, and following verses.
[3] As regards ‘a merchant’ meaning those who possess cognitions of good and truth and ‘merchandise’ meaning those cognitions themselves, this is clear from the places which have just been quoted from Matthew and Luke, and also from the following: In Ezekiel,
Say to Tyre, one that dwells upon the entrances of the sea, she that is the trader of the peoples to many islands: Tarshish was your merchant because of the abundance of all riches; silver, iron, tin, and lead they exchanged for your wares. Javan, Tubal, and Meshech, they were your traders in the souls of men – and they gave vessels of bronze for your commerce. The sons of Dedan were your traders, many islands were the merchandise of your hand. Syria was your merchant in the multitude of your handyworks; Judah and the land of Israel, they were your traders. Wheat of minnith and pannag, and honey, and oil, and balm, they exchanged for your commerce. Damascus was your merchant in the multitude of your handyworks because of the multitude of all riches – in the wine of Helbon and the wool of Zahar. And Dan and Javan exchanged yarn for your wares. Dedan was your trader in chariot-cloaks.* The Arab and all the princes of Kedar were the merchants of your hand in lambs, in rams and goats; in these they were your merchants. The traders of Sheba and Raamah, they were your traders in the best of every spice. Haran, and Canneh, and Eden, the traders of Shebah; Asshur, Chilmad, was your trader. These were your traders in choice wares. Ezek. 27:3, 12, 13, 15-24.
These verses refer to Tyre, by which – as may be seen in 1201 and as is evident from all the specific details contained in these verses – cognitions of truth are meant. The tracings and merchandise, and also the wares, mentioned there have no other meaning, for which reason Tyre is described as ‘one that dwells upon the entrances of the sea’ – ‘waters’ meaning cognitions and ‘the sea’ a gathering together of these, 28. Tyre is also called ‘the trader of the peoples to many islands’, that is, extending even to those whose worship is more remote – ‘islands’ meaning more remote forms of worship, see 1158. What Tarshish means is explained in 1156, while ‘silver, iron, tin, and read’ from there means truths in their own order even to the last, which are sensory truths – what ‘silver’ means being explained in 1551, 2048, ‘iron’ in 425, 426.
What ‘Javan, Tubal and Meshech’ means is explained in 1151-1153, 1155, while ‘the souls of men’ and ‘vessels of bronze’ from those places mean things that have to do with natural life – ‘soul’ meaning all life that comes from the Lord, 1000, 1040, 1436, 1742; ‘vessels of bronze’ the natural goods which receive that life, 425, 1551. What ‘Dedan’ means is explained in 1172, ‘Syria’ in 1232, 1234. ‘Judah and the land of Israel were your traders in wheat of minnith and pannag, honey, oil, and balm’ means celestial and spiritual things from the Word. The rest of the nations and their merchandise that are mentioned mean different genera and species of truth and good, and so the cognitions that exist with those meant by ‘Tyre’.
[4] On such cognitions wisdom and understanding rest, as is quite clear in the same prophet where the following is stated,
Son of man, say to the prince of Tyre, By your wisdom and by your intelligence you have gained riches for yourself and gained gold and silver in your treasuries. By the vastness of your wisdom, by your trading, you have increased your riches, and your heart is lifted up on account of your riches; therefore, behold, I am bringing strangers – the terrible of the nations – upon you. Ezek. 28:2, 4-7.
Here it is quite evident that the commodities with which they traded mean cognitions of good and truth since there is no other source from which wisdom and intelligence may be derived. Hence the statement, ‘By your wisdom and by your intelligence you have gained riches for yourself and gained gold and silver in your treasuries’. But when cognitions are sought for the selfish purpose of becoming pre-eminent, and of gaining either reputation or riches, they have no life, and those people who possess them are deprived of such altogether. In this life they are deprived of them by embracing falsities instead of truths and evils instead of goods, and in the next life too they are deprived altogether of those things that are true. This is why it is said, ‘Because your heart is lifted up on account of your riches, therefore I am bringing strangers (meaning falsities) – the terrible of nations (meaning evils) – upon you’. And elsewhere in the same prophet,
Tyre is like [a city] destroyed in the midst of the sea. When your wares came out of the seas you satisfied many peoples; with the multitude of your riches and of your commerce you enriched the kings of the earth. Now you are broken by the seas, in the depths of the waters; your commerce and all your company have sunk in the midst of you. The merchants among the peoples hiss at you.** Ezek. 27:32-34, 36.
And in Isaiah,
The prophecy concerning Tyre. The inhabitants of the island are silent, O merchant of Sidon passing over the sea; they have replenished you. On the great waters the seed of Shihor, the harvest of the river, was her revenue and was the merchandise of nations. Who has purposed this against Tyre crowning itself, whose merchants were princes? Isa. 23:2, 3, 8.
This refers to the vastation of Tyre.
[5] Merchandise and wares are in a similar way spoken of in reference to Babylon, these being adulterated cognitions of good, and falsified cognitions of truth. In John,
Babylon has given all nations drink from the wine of the fury of her whoredom, and the kings of the earth have committed whoredom with her; and the merchants of the earth, have grown rich from the abundance of her luxuries. The merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her, since no one buys their wares any more, wares of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, etc. The merchants in these things who were made rich by her will stand far off for the fear of her torment, weeping and mourning. Rev. 18:3, 11, 12, 15.
‘Babylon’ means worship, the external features of which seem holy but the interior features are unholy, see 1182, 1283, 1295, 1304, 1306, 1326. From this it is evident what its merchandise and wares mean.
[6] That ‘a merchant’ means one who acquires to himself cognitions of truth and good, and from these intelligence and wisdom, is clear from the Lord’s words in Matthew,
The kingdom of heaven is like a trader seeking fine pearls, who, having found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it. Matt. 13:45, 46.
‘A fine pearl’ is charity or the good of faith.
[7] That all cognitions of good and truth come from the Lord is taught in Isaiah,
Thus said Jehovah, The labour of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush and of the Sabaeans, men of stature, will come over to you and will be yours. They will follow after you, they will come over in chains and bow down to you. To you they will make the supplication, God is with you only, and there is no other besides God. Isa. 45:14.
This refers to the Lord’s Divine Human.
[8] From all these places one may now see what is meant by acting as a merchant, or buying and selling, namely acquiring cognitions of good and truth for oneself, and by means of these cognitions acquiring good itself. This good is acquired from the Lord alone, as is clear in the same prophet,
Ho, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters, and he who has no money, come, buy, and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Isa. 55:1, 2.
Here ‘buying’ stands for acquiring for oneself, ‘wine’ stands for spiritual truth, 1071, 1798, ‘milk’ for spiritual good, 2184. Anyone may see that here ‘coming to the waters’ does not mean coming to the waters, nor that ‘buying’ means buying, nor ‘money’ money, nor ‘wine and milk’ wine and milk, but that each of these means something corresponding to it in the internal sense. For this is the Divine Word, in which all the expressions used – though fashioned out of things perceptible in the natural world and out of man’s sensory impressions – have Divine spiritual and celestial things corresponding to them. In this and no other way is the Word Divinely inspired.
* lit. garments of liberty for the chariot – possibly garments with loose sleeves
** lit. gnash their teeth over you
[2] Furthermore in various places in the Word mention is made of the middle or the midst and of the regions encircling it, as when the land of Canaan is referred to, ‘the middle’ is used to describe where Zion and Jerusalem are, while the areas encircling describe where the nations are who are round about. ‘The land of Canaan’ represented the Lord’s kingdom, ‘Zion’ the celestial part of it and ‘Jerusalem’ the spiritual, and there Jehovah or the Lord had His dwelling-place. The things that were round about, even to the borders, represented celestial and spiritual things spread out and derived in order from there. Where the furthest boundaries lay, there the representatives of celestial and spiritual things ended. Those representatives had their origin in the things that existed in the Lord’s kingdom in heaven, where the Lord as the Sun is in the middle, from where all celestial flame and spiritual light radiate. Those nearest to Him dwell in the brightest light, while those who are more remote dwell in less light, and those who are the most remote in the least bright. At this point lie the borders where hell, which is outside heaven, begins.
[3] With celestial flame and spiritual light the position is that the existence of celestial things which are forms of innocence and love, and spiritual things which are forms of charity and faith, is proportional to the heat and light that is received, for those things are the source of all heat and light in heaven. This then is why ‘the middle’ means that which is inmost, and the encircling regions that which is outermost; and the spacing of the things that radiate in order from the inmost to the outermost is determined by their degree of innocence, love and charity. It is similar with each individual community of heaven. Those members in the middle are the best of its kind, and the love and charity of that kind becomes correspondingly less as these become more remote, that is, as such love and charity exist with members away from the middle.
[4] It is also similar with man. The inmost part of him is where the Lord resides with him, and from there governs the outlying parts. When a person permits the Lord to bring order to the outlying parts so that these correspond to the inmost parts, his state is such that he can be received into heaven, and the inmost, the interior, and the external parts of him act as one. But if the person does not permit the Lord to bring order to those outlying parts so that they correspond, he moves away from heaven, as far away as he is from permitting the Lord to bring that order to them. The fact that man’s soul resides in the middle or inmost part of his being and the body in the outlying region or outermost parts is well known, for the body is that which surrounds and clothes his soul or spirit.
[5] With those in whom celestial and spiritual love reigns, good from the Lord flows in by way of the soul into the body, as a consequence of which the body becomes full of light, but with those in whom bodily and worldly love reigns, good from the Lord cannot flow in by way of the soul into the body. Instead their interiors are engulfed in darkness, as a consequence of which the body too becomes full of darkness, according to the Lord’s own teaching in Matthew,
The lamp of the body is the eye. If the eye is sound, the whole body is full of light. If the eye is evil, the whole body is full of darkness. If therefore the light is darkness, how great is the darkness! Matt. 6:22, 23.
‘The eye’ means the understanding part, which belongs in the soul, 2701.
[6] But matters are worse still with people whose interiors are ‘darkness’ while their exteriors seem to be ‘full of light’. They are such as outwardly pretend to be angels of light but inwardly they are devils. They are referred to as ‘Babel’. These people, when the things that are round about are destroyed, are carried headfirst into hell. This was represented by the city of Jericho whose walls fell down, and the city was given to destruction, after the priests had gone round it seven times with the ark, and had sounded their trumpets, Josh. 6:1-17. The same is meant in Jeremiah,
Set yourselves against Babel round about, all you who bend the bow. Raise a shout over her round about, she has given her hand, her foundations have fallen, her walls have been destroyed. Jer. 50:14, 15.
From this it is now evident what ’round about’ means. Reference is also made several times in the Word to ‘the encircling regions’, as in Jer. 21:14; 46:14; 49:5; Ezek. 36:3, 4, 7; 37:21; Amos 3:11; and elsewhere. By ‘the encircling regions’ is meant the things that are exterior, concerning which, in the Lord’s Divine mercy, more will be said elsewhere.
‘After this’ means that it was so. ‘Abraham buried Sarah his wife’ means that they received truth joined to good from the Lord. ‘At the cave of the field of Machpelah facing Mamre’ means that in this way they were regenerated to the extent that they could be. ‘Which is Hebron’ means that this was a new Church. ‘In the land of Canaan’ means which was a united whole in the Lord’s kingdom.
[2] The regeneration of the spiritual man proceeds as follows: At first he is taught the truths of faith, during which time the Lord maintains his affection for truth. At the same time the good of faith, which is charity towards the neighbour, is instilled into him, though in such a way that he hardly knows it because that good lies concealed within the affection for truth. All this takes place to the end that the truth of faith may be joined to the good of charity. As time goes by the affection for the truth of faith increases and truth is seen because of its end in view, which is good, or what amounts to the same, life. That affection grows more and more. In this way is truth instilled into good, and while it is being instilled the person absorbs into himself the good of life in accordance with the truth that has been instilled into it. Thus he acts, or seems to himself to act, from good. Prior to this the truth of faith has been for him the chief thing, but after this the good of life becomes the chief thing.
[3] At this point the person is regenerate, but regenerate according to the nature and extent of truth instilled into good. And when truth and good act as one, he is regenerate according to the nature and extent of the good. This is how regeneration proceeds. Regeneration is carried out to the end that a person may be received into heaven – heaven being nothing else than the marriage of truth and good, and of good and truth, see 2508, 2618, 2728, 2729. Unless the marriage of truth and good is effected in a person he cannot be in the heavenly marriage, that is, be in heaven.
[2] But the situation is altogether different in the case of Churches which say that faith is the essential thing of the Church, for they imagine that if they know this and think it, they are saved irrespective of whatever kind of life they lead. When this is the situation many Churches existing simultaneously do not make one Church; they are not even Churches. The good of faith is what makes the Church, that is, the life of love and charity in accordance with matters of faith make it. It is for the sake of life that matters of doctrine exist. This anyone may know, for why does any doctrine exist if not for some end in view? And what else is that end but life, that is, that a person may become as such doctrine teaches? Those Churches do indeed speak of saving faith as being trust, but that trust cannot possibly exist except within the good of life. Without the latter there is no receptivity, and when there is no receptivity there is no trust, except on occasions when the mind or body is sick and the desires that belong to self-love and love of the world are dormant. But with those who are leading an evil life, when this crisis is over or takes a different turn, that spurious trust disappears altogether; for trust can exist even with those who are evil. But if a person wishes to know what kind of trust he has, let him examine his affections and ends in view, and also the kind of life his actions reveal.
‘The field and cave which was in it were made over’ means that the Church and its faith…. ‘To Abraham as a possession for a grave’ means, came from the Lord alone by means of regeneration. ‘From the sons of Heth’ means that it consisted of gentiles.
[2] Furthermore it should be recognized that when any Church ceases to be a Church, that is, when charity perishes, and a new one is established by the Lord, rarely if ever is this done among those with whom the old Church existed. Instead it is established among those with whom no Church existed previously, that is, among gentiles. This is what happened when the Most Ancient Church perished. At that time a new one which was called Noah, or the Ancient Church following the Flood, was established among gentiles, that is, among those where no Church existed previously. It was similar when this Church perished. At that time the semblance of a Church was introduced among Abraham’s descendants through Jacob, and so again among gentiles; for Abraham at the time of his call was a gentile, see 1356, 1992, 2559. The actual descendants of Jacob in Egypt became more gentile still, so much so that they had no knowledge at all of Jehovah or consequently of any Divine worship. After this semblance of a Church had come to an end, the Primitive Church was established from among the gentiles, the Jews having been rejected. It will be similar with the Church existing at present called the Christian Church.
[3] The reason why it is among gentiles that the Lord establishes a new Church is that they do not possess any false assumptions that are contrary to the truths of faith, for they have no knowledge of the truths of faith. False assumptions absorbed from early childhood and subsequently confirmed must first of all be dispelled before a person can be regenerated and become a member of the Church.* Indeed gentiles are not able to profane holy things by means of evils of life, for no one can profane what is holy if he does not know what it is, 593, 1008, 1010, 1059. As gentiles do not have such knowledge, there are no stumbling-blocks to hinder them. Thus their state is such that they are better able to receive truths than those who belong to the Church; and all those among them who are leading a good life receive truths without difficulty, see 932, 1032, 1059, 1327, 1328, 1366, 2049, 2051, 2589-2604.
* Or, reading what Sw has in his rough draft become the Church
Few are aware of what representations and of what correspondences are. Nor can anyone know what they are unless he knows that there is a spiritual world and that this is distinct and separate from the natural world. For between spiritual things and natural things correspondences exist, and the manifestations of spiritual things within natural are representations. They are called correspondences because they correspond, and representations because they represent.
Whatever you ask in My name, I will do. John 14:13, 14.
In the same gospel,
These things have been written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name. John 20:31.
And elsewhere. ‘His name’ means everything in its entirety by which the Lord is worshipped, and so the essential nature of all worship and doctrine, see 2724. Here therefore the good of love and charity is meant when joined to the truth of faith, which constitutes the fabric of doctrine and worship in their entirety.
Andrew found his own brother Simon and said to him, We have found the Messiah, which when interpreted is the Christ. John 1:41.
In the same gospel,
Many from the crowd as they heard this utterance said, This is truly the prophet. Others said, This is the Christ. But others said, Surely the Christ is not therefore going to come from Galilee? Does not the Scripture say that the Christ is going to come from the seed of David, and from Bethlehem, the town where David was? John 7:40-42.
‘The Christ’ plainly stands for the Messiah whom they awaited. In the same gospel,
Do the rulers indeed acknowledge that this is indeed the Christ? Yet we know where this man is from, whereas when the Christ comes no one knows where He is from. John 7:25-27.
‘The Christ’ stands for the Messiah. No one knew where He was from because He was unacknowledged. In the same gospel,
The Jews gathered round Jesus and said to Him, How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ tell us plainly. Jesus answered them, I told you and you do not believe. John 10:24, 25.
Here also ‘the Christ’ stands for the Messiah whom they awaited. In the same gospel,
The crowd answered, We have heard from the Law that the Christ remains for ever. John 12:34.
‘The Christ’ stands for ‘the Messiah’. In the same gospel,
Martha said, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world. John 11:27.
That is, Martha believed that He was the Messiah. In Luke,
There was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. He had received an answer from the Holy Spirit that he would not see death until he had seen the Lord’s Christ. Luke 2:25, 26.
This stands for the Messiah or Jehovah’s Anointed. In the same gospel,
Jesus said to the disciples, But whom do you say that I am? Peter answered and said, God’s Christ. Luke 9:20; Mark 8:29.
And there are other instances besides these, such as Matt. 26:63, 64; John 6:68, 69; Mark 14:61, 62.
[2] Since the names Christ and Messiah are one and the same – Christ in Greek and Messiah in Hebrew meaning the Anointed – it is therefore evident that Christ is one and the same as the Anointed. It is also one and the same as King, for kings were generally called the anointed, as is evident from many places in the Historical sections of the Word, as well as the Prophetical, as in David,
The kings of the earth have set themselves, and the princes have taken counsel together against Jehovah and against His Anointed. Ps. 2:2.
In the same author,
Now I know that Jehovah saves His Anointed. He will answer Him from His holy heaven with the mighty acts of His saving right hand. Ps. 20:6.
In the same author,
Jehovah is their strength, and the saving strength of His Anointed. Ps. 28:8.
In Samuel,
Jehovah will give strength to His king, and exalt the horn of His Anointed. 1 Sam. 2:10.
In these and many other places elsewhere ‘the anointed’ stands for the king. The word used in the original language is Messiah. In all these prophetical utterances the subject in the internal sense is the Lord, who is the King, as is also evident from the New Testament, as in Matthew,
The governor asked Jesus, Are you the King of the Jews? Jesus said to him, You say so. Matt. 27:11.
In Luke,
Pilate asked Jesus, saying, Are you the King of the Jews? He answering him said, You say so. Luke 23:3; Mark 15:2.
In John,
They cried, Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel. John 12:13.
In the same gospel,
Nathanael said, Rabbi, You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel! John 1:49.
Pilate said to Jesus, Are you not then a king? Jesus answered, You say it, because I am a King. For this I was born, and for this I have come into the world, to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice. John 18:37.
From this it is clear that the Divine Truth itself is at the root of the Lord’s being called ‘the King’. The reason why kings were anointed and consequently called the anointed was that ‘the oil’ with which they were anointed meant good, 886, 2832. Also the truth, meant by ‘king’, was derived from good and was accordingly truth grounded in good, so that the kingly office with them represented the Lord as regards Divine Truth which is derived from Divine Good, and so represented the Divine marriage of good within truth, whereas the priestly function represented the Divine marriage of truth within good. The latter is meant by Jesus, the former by Christ.
See that no one leads you astray, for many will come in My name, saying, I am the Christ; and they will lead many astray. Then if anyone says to you, Behold, here is the Christ! or, There! do not believe it. For false Christs and false prophets will arise. Matt. 24:4, 5, 23, 24; Mark 13:21, 22.
Here ‘false Christs’ means truths which are not Divine – that is, falsities – and ‘false prophets’ those who teach such falsities, 2534. In the same gospel,
Neither be called masters, for you have one Master, the Christ. Matt. 23:10.
‘The Christ’ stands for Divine truth. This shows what is meant by a Christian, namely one governed by truth derived from good.
GENESIS 24
1 And Abraham, being old, was advanced in years;* and Jehovah blessed Abraham in all things.
2 And Abraham said to his servant, the oldest of his house, who administered all that he had, Put now your hand under my thigh.
3 And I will make you swear by Jehovah, the God of heaven and the God of the earth, that you do not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites in whose midst I am dwelling;
4 But that you go to my land and to the place of my nativity; and you shall take a wife for my son Isaac.
5 And the servant said to him, Perhaps the woman is not willing to go after me to this land: Must I take your son back to the land from which you came?
6 And Abraham said to him, Beware that you do not by any chance take my son back there.
7 Jehovah, the God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and from the land of my nativity, and who spoke to me, and who swore to me, saying, To your seed I will give this land, He will send His angel before you, and you shall take a wife for my son from there.
8 And if the woman is not willing to go after you, you are clear from this my oath; only do not take my son back there.
9 And the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master, and swore to him concerning this matter.
10 And the servant took ten camels from his master’s camels, and went; and every good thing that was his master’s was in his hand; and he rose up and went to Aram Naharaim, to the city of Nahor.
11 And he made the camels kneel down outside and away from the city near a well of water, at evening time, at the time that women go out to draw water.
12 And he said, O Jehovah, the God of my master Abraham, make it go right for me today** and deal mercifully with my master Abraham.
13 Behold, I am standing beside a spring of water and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water.
14 And let it be that the girl to whom I say, Let down now your pitcher and I will drink, and she says, Drink, and also I will give your camels a drink – let her be the one whom You have appointed for Your servant Isaac. And in this I shall know that You have dealt mercifully with my master.
15 And so it was, before he had finished speaking, that behold, Rebekah came out, who was born to Bethuel, the son of Milkah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham’s brother; and her pitcher was on her shoulder.
16 And the girl was very good looking, a virgin, and no man had known her. And she went down to the spring, and filled her pitcher, and went up.
17 And the servant ran to meet her and said, Let me sip now a little water from your pitcher.
18 And she said, Drink, my lord. And she hastened and lowered her pitcher on to her hand and gave him a drink.
19 And she finished giving him the drink and said, I will draw for your camels also until they have finished drinking.
20 And she hastened and emptied her pitcher into the trough, and ran again to the well to draw, and drew for all his camels.
21 And the man, wondering at her, remained silent so as to know whether Jehovah had prospered his way or not.
22 And so it was, when the camels finished drinking, that the man took a gold nose-jewel, half a shekel in weight, and two bracelets to go on her hands, ten [shekels] of gold in weight.
23 And he said, Whose daughter are you? Tell me now, is there at your father’s house a place for us to spend the night?
24 And she said to him, I am the daughter of Bethuel, the son of Milkah, whom she bore to Nahor.
25 And she said to him, There is both straw and also much fodder with us, and a place to spend the night.
26 And the man bowed, and bowed down to Jehovah.
27 And he said, Blessed be Jehovah, the God of my master Abraham, who has not abandoned His mercy and His truth towards my master. As for me, being on the way, Jehovah has led me to the house of my master’s brethren.
28 And the girl ran and told [those of] her mother’s house all about these things.
29 And Rebekah had a brother, and his name was Laban; and Laban ran to the man outside, to the spring.
30 And so it was – when he saw the nose-jewel and the bracelets on his sister’s hands, and when he heard the words of Rebekah his sister, who said, Thus the man spoke to me – that he went to the man, and behold, he was standing with the camels at the spring.
31 And he said, Come, O blessed of Jehovah; why do you stand outside? And I have swept the house, and there is a place for the camels.
32 And the man came to the house. And he ungirded the camels, and gave straw and fodder to the camels, and water to wash his feet and the feet of the men who were with him.
33 And [food] was set before him to eat, and he said, I am not eating until I have spoken my words. And he said, Speak on!
34 And he said, I am Abraham’s servant.
35 And Jehovah has blessed my master greatly and has made him great, and has given him flocks and herds, and silver and gold, and male and female servants, and camels and asses.
36 And Sarah my master’s wife bore a son to my master in her old age; and to him he has given all that he has.
37 And my master made me swear, saying, You shall not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I am dwelling;
38 But you shall go to my father’s house, and to my family, and you shall take a wife for my son.
39 And I said to my master, Perhaps the woman is not going to follow me.
40 And he said to me, Jehovah, before whom I have walked, will send His angel with you and will prosper your way; and you shall take a wife for my son from my family and from my father’s house.
41 Then you will be clear from my oath, because you have come to my family; and if they will not give her to you, you will be clear from my oath.
42 And I came today to the spring and said, O Jehovah, the God of my master Abraham, if You will, prosper now my way which I am walking in.
43 Behold, I am standing at a spring of water; and let it be that the young woman going out to draw, to whom I say, Give me a drink now of a little water from your pitcher,
44 And she says to me, Drink, and I will also draw for your camels – let her be the woman whom Jehovah has appointed for my master’s son.
45 I had scarcely finished speaking in my heart, and behold, Rebekah came out, with her pitcher on her shoulder; and she went down to the spring and drew, and I said to her, Give me a drink now.
46 And she hastened and lowered her pitcher from upon her, and said, Drink, and also I will give your camels a drink; and I drank, and she gave the camels also a drink.
47 And I asked her and said, Whose daughter are you? And she said, The daughter of Bethuel, Nahor’s son, whom Milkah bore to him. And I put a jewel on her nose, and bracelets on her hands.
48 And I bowed, and bowed down to Jehovah, and blessed Jehovah, the God of my master Abraham, who led me into the way of truth to take the daughter of my master’s brother for his son.
49 And now if you are going to show mercy and truth to my master, tell me; and if not, tell me, and I will look to the right or to the left.
50 And Laban answered, then Bethuel, and they said, From Jehovah has this thing come; we cannot speak to you bad or good.
51 Behold, Rebekah is before you; take her and go, and let her be your master’s son’s wife, as Jehovah has spoken.
52 And so it was, when Abraham’s servant heard their words, that he bowed down to the earth to Jehovah.
53 And the servant brought out vessels of silver and vessels of gold, and garments, and gave them to Rebekah; and he gave precious things to her brother and to her mother.
54 And they ate and drank, he and the men who were with him, and stayed the night; and they rose up in the morning, and he said, Send me to my master.
55 And her brother said, and her mother, Let the girl stay with us a week or ten days;*** after that you will go.
56 And he said to them, Do not delay me, since Jehovah has prospered my way. Send me away and let me go to my master.
57 And they said, Let us call the girl and ask her personally.****
58 And they called Rebekah and said to her, Are you going to go with this man? And she said, I will go.
59 And they sent away Rebekah their sister, and her nurse, and Abraham’s servant and his men.
60 And they blessed Rebekah and said to her, Our sister, may you become thousands of myriads, and may your seed inherit the gate of those who hate you.
61 And Rebekah rose up, and her maids, and they rode on the camels and went after the man. And the servant took Rebekah and went.
62 And Isaac had come from***** Beer Lahai Roi, and was dwelling in the land of the south.
63 And Isaac came out to meditate in the field towards evening, and lifted up his eyes and saw, and behold, the camels were coming.
64 And Rebekah lifted up her eyes and saw Isaac, and dropped down from upon the camel.
65 And she said to the servant, Who is that man there walking in the field to meet us? And the servant said, He is my master. And she took a veil and covered herself.
66 And the servant told Isaac all the things that he had done.
67 And Isaac brought her into the tent of Sarah his mother; and he took Rebekah, and she became his wife, and he loved her. And Isaac was comforted after [the death of] his mother.
* lit. came into days
** lit. make it take place in front of me today
*** lit. stay with us days or ten
**** lit. ask her mouth
***** lit. came from coming [from]
Described in the internal sense is the whole process by which truth was joined to good in the Lord’s Divine Rational. In this chapter it is the process of introduction which precedes that joining together. Isaac is the good of the rational, Rebekah here is the truth that has to be introduced into good, and Laban the affection for good in the natural man.
Verse I And Abraham, being old, was advanced in years;* and Jehovah blessed Abraham in all things.
‘Abraham, being old, was advanced in years’ means when the state was reached in which the Lord’s Human could become Divine. ‘And Jehovah blessed Abraham in all things’ means when all things had been rearranged by the Lord into Divine order.
* lit. came into days
[2] But what is described by the statement that all things were re-arranged into Divine order by the Lord within the Divine Human is evident from what follows in the present chapter. It describes how His Divine Rational, represented by Isaac, which had been conceived from the Divine Good, represented by Abraham, and born from the Divine Truth, represented by Sarah, was now re-arranged into that Divine order, to the end that Divine Truths from the Human itself could be joined to it. These are the arcana which this chapter contains in the internal sense and which angels possess from the Lord in full light, for in the light of heaven they are plain to see as if in broad daylight. But in the light of the world in which man dwells hardly anything is visible except dimly and in some small measure with a regenerate person, since he also dwells in some light belonging to heaven.
‘Abraham said to his servant, the oldest of his house’ means the ordering and influx of the Lord into His Natural, meant by ‘the servant, the oldest of the house’. ‘Who administered all that he had’ means the functions of the natural man. ‘Put now your hand under my thigh’ means being bound, as regards its power, to the good of conjugial love.
[2] The fact that the natural mind is distinct and separate from the rational, existing on a level below it, and in a sense acting independently, becomes clear from the things it has within it, and from the functions it performs. The things it has within it are all facts, and so also all cognitions of every kind – in short, every single thing belonging to the exterior or physical memory, dealt with in 2471, 2480. To this memory also belongs the whole faculty of imagination, which constitutes man’s interior sensory awareness and is particularly active with children and during the early stages of adolescence. To the exterior memory belong in addition all the natural affections which man has in common with animals. From this it is evident what the functions of the natural mind are.
[3] The rational mind however is interior. The items of knowledge it has within it, that is to say, every single thing belonging to the interior memory, are not evident to man, but are imperceptible during his lifetime, dealt with in 2470- 2474, 2489, 2490. It also has within it the power of thought, which is a perceptivity of what is fair and righteous, as well as of what is true and good. In addition it has all the spiritual affections which are strictly human and which mark man off from animals. From these things within itself the rational mind flows into the natural mind and activates the things that are there, views them with a certain vision, and in this way forms judgements and conclusions. The fact that these two minds are distinct and separate is quite evident from this consideration: With many people the natural mind has dominion over the rational mind, or what amounts to the same, the external man has dominion over the internal; yet it does not have dominion and is subservient only with those in whom the good of charity is present, that is, who allow themselves to be led by the Lord.
[2] It has been stated that ‘the thigh’, because of its correspondence, means conjugial love, and this may also be seen from other places in the Word, for example, from the procedure to be followed when a woman was accused by her husband of adultery, in Moses,
The priest shall make the woman take the oath of a curse, and the priest shall say to the woman, Jehovah will make you a curse and an oath in the midst of your people, when Jehovah makes your thigh fall away and your belly swell. When he has made her drink the water, then it will happen, if she has defiled herself and committed a trespass against her husband, that the water causing the curse will enter into her and become bitter, and her belly will swell, and her thigh will fall away; and the woman will be a curse in the midst of her people. Num. 5:21, 27.
‘The falling away of the thigh’ means the evil of conjugial love, which is adultery. Every other detail in the same procedure had some specific meaning, so that not even the smallest detail fails to embody something, though anyone reading the Word who has no concept of its sacredness will wonder why such things are included there. It is because ‘the thigh’ means the good of conjugial love that the expression ‘those coming out of the thigh’ is used frequently, as in a reference to Jacob,
Be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations will be from you, and kings will go out from your thighs. Gen. 35:11.
And elsewhere in the same author,
Every soul coming with Jacob to Egypt, who came out of his thigh. Gen. 46:26; Exod. 1:5.
And in a reference to Gideon, Gideon had seventy sons, who came out of his thigh. Judg. 8:30.
[3] Since ‘the thigh’ and ‘the loins’ mean the things that belong to conjugial love they also mean those that belong to love and charity, the reason being that conjugial love underlies every other kind of love, see 686, 2733, 2737-2739. These all have the same source – the heavenly marriage – which is a marriage of good and truth, regarding which see 2727-2759. For ‘the thigh’ means the good of celestial love and the good of spiritual love, as may be seen from the following places: In John,
He who sat on the white horse had on His robe and on His thigh the name written, King of kings, and Lord of lords. Rev. 19:16.
‘He who sat on the white horse’ is the Word, and so the Lord, who is the Word, see 2760-2762. ‘Robe’ means Divine Truth, 2576, and for that reason He is called ‘King of kings’, 3009. From this it is evident what ‘the thigh’ means, namely the Divine Good which flows from His love, on account of which He is also named ‘Lord of lords’, 3004-3011. And this being the Lord’s essential nature, it is said that He had a name written on His robe and on His thigh, for ‘name’ means essential nature, 1896, 2009, 2724, 3006.
[4] In David,
Gird Your sword on Your thigh, O Mighty One, in Your glory and honour! Ps 45:3.
This refers to the Lord. ‘Sword’ stands for truth engaged in conflict, 2799, ‘thigh’ for the good of love. ‘Girding the sword on the thigh’ means that the truth which He was to use in the fight was allied to the good of love. In Isaiah,
Righteousness will be the girdle of His loins, and truth the girdle of His thighs. Isa. 11:5.
This too refers to the Lord. Because ‘righteousness’ has reference to the good that flows from love, 2235, it is called ‘the girdle of His loins’, while ‘truth’ because it comes from good, is called ‘the girdle of His thighs’. Thus ‘loins’ is used in reference to the love within good, and ‘thighs’ to the love within truth.
[5] In the same prophet’
None will be weary, and none will stumble in Him. He will not slumber nor sleep. Nor has the girdle of His thighs been loosed, nor the thong of His shoes torn away. Isa. 5:27.
This refers to the Lord. ‘The girdle of His thighs’ stands, as above, for the love within truth. In Jeremiah Jehovah told the prophet to buy a linen girdle and put it over his loins but not dip it in water. He was then told to go away to the Euphrates and hide it in a cleft of the rock. When he went back at a later time to retrieve it from that place it was spoiled, Jer. 13:1-7. ‘A linen girdle’ stands for truth, but the placing of it over his loins was representative of the fact that truth was the outward
expression of good. Anyone may see that these actions are representative. Their meaning however cannot be known except from correspondences, which will in the Lord’s Divine mercy be dealt with at the ends of certain chapters further on.
[6] It is similar with the meaning of the things seen by Ezekiel, Daniel, and Nebuchadnezzar: Ezekiel saw,
Above the firmament that was above the heads of the cherubim, in appearance like a sapphire stone, there was the likeness of a throne, and above the likeness of a throne, there was a likeness, as the appearance of a Man (Homo) upon it above. And I saw as it were the shape of fiery coals, as the shape of fire, within it round about. From the appearance of His loins and upwards, and from the appearance of His loins and downwards, I saw as it were the appearance of fire, whose brightness was round about it like the appearance of the rainbow which is in the cloud on the day of rain; so was the appearance of the brightness round about, thus was the appearance of the likeness of the Glory of Jehovah. Ezek. 1:26-28.
This scene was clearly representative of the Lord and His kingdom. ‘The appearance of His loins upwards and the appearance, of His loins downwards’ is descriptive of His love, as is evident from the meaning of ‘fire’ as love, 934, and from the meaning of ‘brightness’ and of ‘the rainbow’ as wisdom and intelligence from that love, 1042, 1043, 1053.
[7] Daniel saw,
A man clothed in linen whose loins were girded with gold of Uphaz, and whose body was like tarshish,* and whose face was like the appearance of lightning and whose eyes were like fiery torches, and whose arms and feet were like the shine of burnished bronze. Dan. 10:5, 6.
What each of these expressions means – the loins, the body, the face, the eyes, the arms, and the feet – does not become clear to anyone except from representations and correspondences involved in these. From these it is evident that in what Daniel saw the Lord’s heavenly kingdom was represented, in which Divine Love constitutes the loins, and ‘the gold of Uphaz’ with which He was girded, the good resulting from wisdom that is grounded in love, 113, 1551, 1552.
[8] In Daniel: Nebuchadnezzar saw a statue whose head was fine gold, breast and arms silver, belly and thighs bronze, feet partly iron, partly clay, Dan. 2:32, 33. This statue represented consecutive states of the Church. The head of gold represented the first state, which was celestial because it was a state of love to the Lord; the breast and arms of silver represented the second state, which was spiritual because it was a state of charity towards the neighbour; the belly and thighs of bronze represented the third state, which was a state of natural good meant by ‘bronze’, 425, 1551 – natural good being love or charity towards the neighbour as this exists on a lower level than spiritual good – while the feet of iron and clay were the fourth state, which was a state of natural truth meant by ‘iron’, 425, 426, and also a state involving complete lack of cohesion with good, which is meant by ‘clay’.
From all this one may see what is meant by the thighs and loins, namely conjugial love primarily, and from this love every genuine kind of love, as is evident from the places quoted and also from Gen. 32:25, 31, 32; Isa. 20:2-4; Nahum 2:1; Ps. 69:23; Exod. 12:11; Luke 12:35, 36. The thighs and loins also mean in the contrary sense those loves that are the reverse of conjugial love and all genuine loves, namely self-love and love of the world, 1 Kings 2:5, 6; Isa. 32:10, 11; Jer. 30:6; 48:37; Ezek. 29:7; Amos 8:10.
* A Hebrew word for a particular kind of precious stone, possibly a beryl.
‘And I will make you swear by Jehovah, the God of heaven and the God of the earth’ means an utterly sacred binding to the Divine which existed in highest things and in the things derived from these. ‘That you do not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites’ means that the Divine Rational should not be joined to any affection incompatible with truth. ‘In whose midst I am dwelling’ means incompatible things in the maternal human that surround. ‘But go to my land and to the place of my nativity’ means to the Divine celestial and spiritual things which the Lord acquired to Himself. ‘And you shall take a wife for my son Isaac’ means that from this came the affection for truth which was to be joined to the affection for good belonging to the Rational.
[2] As regards ‘the daughters of the Canaanites’ meaning affections incompatible with truth, that is, affections for what is false, this becomes clear from the meaning of ‘daughters’. For the noun ‘daughters’ occurs in many places in the Word, and in these anyone may see that it is not used to mean daughters. By such expressions as ‘the daughter of Zion’, ‘the daughter of Jerusalem’, ‘the daughter of Tarshish’, ‘the daughter of My people’, affections for good and truth are meant, as shown in the paragraphs referred to above. And since affections for good and truth are meant so also are Churches, for Churches are Churches by virtue of these affections. Consequently ‘the daughter of Zion’ means the celestial Church, and means this by virtue of the affection for good, whereas ‘the daughter of Jerusalem’ means the spiritual Church from the affection for truth, 2362. And it is the same with ‘the daughter of My people’ in Isa. 22:4; Jer. 6:14, 26; 8:19, 21, 22; 9:1; 14:17; Lam. 2:11; 4:6; Ezek. 13:17.
[3] This shows what is meant by the daughters of the nations, such as by the daughters of the Philistines, the daughters of Egypt, the daughters of Tyre and Sidon, the daughters of Edom, the daughters of Moab, the daughters of the Chaldeans and Babel, and the daughters of Sodom. They mean affections for evil and falsity, from which their varieties of religion sprang, and so mean those varieties themselves. That this is the meaning of ‘daughters’ becomes clear from the following places: In Ezekiel,
The daughters of the nations will lament over Egypt. Wail over the multitude of Egypt, and send her down, her and the daughters of majestic nations, to the lower earth, together with those who go down to the pit. Ezek. 32:16, 18.
‘The daughters of majestic nations’ stands for affections for evil. In Samuel,
Tell it not in Gath; publish it not in the streets of Ashkelon, lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice, lest the daughters of the uncircumcised exult. 2 Sam. 1:20.
In Ezekiel,
You committed whoredom with the sons of Egypt. I delivered you to those who hated you, the daughters of the Philistines. Before your badness was revealed, as at the time of the reproach of the daughters of Syria, and of all round about her, the daughters of the Philistines who despise you from round about. Ezek. 16:26, 27, 57.
Anyone may see that not daughters were meant here but the varieties of religion among such people as are meant by the Philistines – those who speak repeatedly of faith yet do not at all pursue the life taught by faith, see 1197, 1198. This also explains why they are called ‘the uncircumcised’, that is, devoid of charity.
[4] In Jeremiah,
Go up to Gilead and take balm, O virgin daughter of Egypt! Make for yourself vessels of migration, O inhabitant daughter of Egypt. The daughter of Egypt has been put to shame; she has been delivered into the hand of the people from the north. Jer. 46:11, 19, 24.
‘The daughter of Egypt’ stands for the affection for reasoning from facts about whether truths of faith really are true, and so stands for the variety of religion which springs from this, the nature of which is to believe nothing except that grasped by the senses, and so to believe nothing of the truth of faith, see 215, 232, 233, 1164, 1165, 1186, 1385, 2196, 2203, 2209, 2568, 2588. In Isaiah,
He said, You will no more exult, O oppressed virgin daughter of Sidon. Isa. 23:12.
In David,
The daughter of Tyre with an offering, the rich of the people will entreat your face. Ps. 45:12.
What ‘the daughter of Sidon’ and ‘the daughter of Tyre’ mean is evident from the meaning of Sidon and Tyre, dealt with in 1201. In Jeremiah,
Rejoice and be glad, O daughter of Edom. Your iniquity, O daughter of Zion, is at an end. He will no more cause you to migrate; your iniquity will be punished, O daughter of Edom. Lam. 4:21, 22.
In Isaiah,
Like a wandering bird, a scattered nest, will the daughters of Moab be. Isa. 16:2.
In the same prophet,
Come down and sit on the dust, O virgin daughter of Babel; sit on the ground without a throne, O daughter of the Chaldeans. Sit quietly and go into darkness, O daughter of the Chaldeans, for no more will they call you the mistress of kingdoms. Isa. 47:1, 5.
In Jeremiah,
A people coming from the north, arrayed as a man for war against you, O daughter of Babel. Jer. 50:41, 42.
In the same prophet,
The daughter of Babel is like the threshing-floor; it is time to thresh her. Jer. 51:33
In Zechariah,
Ho, Zion! escape, you who dwell with the daughter of Babel. Zech. 2:7.
In David,
The daughter of Babel has been laid waste. Ps. 137:8.
In Ezekiel,
Your sisters, Sodom and her daughters will return to their condition as of old, and Samaria and her daughters will return to their condition as of old. Ezek. 16:55.
[5] Anyone may see that in these places ‘daughters’ is not used to mean daughters but affections incompatible with truth, and so the varieties of religion that spring from them. But which particular varieties they are is evident from the meaning of those peoples – from the meaning of Edom, Moab, the Chaldeans, Babel, Sodom, Samaria, all of which have been dealt with in various places in the explanations to previous chapters of Genesis. From this what is meant in the present chapter by ‘the daughters of the Canaanites’ becomes clear.
[6] This command not to contract marriages with the daughters of the Canaanites also had regard to the spiritual requirements that good should not be joined to falsity, nor evil to truth, for the result of any such joining together is profanation. The prohibition was also a representative of the matter referred to in Deut. 7:3, and in Malachi,
Judah has profaned the holiness of Jehovah, in that he loved and married the daughter of a foreign god. Mal. 2:11.
‘The servant said to him’ means the Lord’s perception concerning the natural man. ‘Perhaps the woman is not willing to go after me to this land’ means doubt in the natural man as to whether that affection was separable. ‘Must I take your son back to the land from which you came?’ means whether it could nevertheless be joined to the Divine good of the Rational. ‘Abraham said to him’ means the Lord’s perception coming from the Divine. ‘Beware that you do not take my son back there’ means that it could not possibly be joined.
[2] The genuine rational derives its being from good but its manifestation from truth. Good flows in by an internal route, but truth by an external route. In this manner good joins itself in the rational to truth and causes it to be the rational. Unless good is joined there to truth it is not the rational, even though it may seem to be because of the person’s ability to reason, 1944. This is the normal way in which the rational is formed with man.
[3] Now because the Lord was born like any other, and was willing to be taught like any other, He was also willing in a like manner to make His Rational Divine, that is to say, to make it Divine as regards good through influx from His Divine by the internal route, and as regards truth through influx by the external route. The Rational was therefore so formed as regards good that it was in a state ready to receive truth. (That forming is meant by the opening words of this chapter, ‘Abraham, being old, was advanced in years, and Jehovah blessed Abraham in all things’, namely, when the state was reached for the Lord’s Human to become Divine, and all things had been re-arranged by the Lord into Divine order, see 3016, 3017.) And there now follows the consideration that truth was to be joined to the good of the Rational. And this, as has been stated, was effected in the normal way, that is, by means of facts and cognitions summoned from the natural man.
[4] The good itself of the rational which is formed by the internal route is the ground itself, while truth is the seed that is to be sown in the ground. The genuine rational is born in no other way. So that the Rational might be formed in the same way in the Lord and be made Divine by His own power, the Lord came into the world and was willing to be born like any other. Otherwise he could have assumed a human presence without being born at all as He had done on many occasions in ancient times when He had appeared to men. These are the considerations contained in this chapter, namely the following: The way in which truth was summoned from the natural man to be joined to the good of the rational; and – since the good there was Divine – the truth there was to become Divine too. To man, especially to one who does not know that the rational is anything distinct and separate from the natural and who therefore does not know that the rational is formed by consecutive stages, by means of cognitions, all of this is so utterly obscure as to be unintelligible to him. But to those who do know something about the rational and the natural man, and have some enlightenment, such considerations are among those that are quite easy to grasp. And angels see them plainly as if in broad daylight. To gain some idea of them, see the following points that have been stated and shown already:
As to truth the rational is formed through influx into knowledge and cognitions, 1495, 1563, 1900, 1964.
It is not born from knowledge and cognitions but from the affection for these, 1895, 1900.
Knowledge and cognitions are merely vessels for good, 1469, 1496.
Empty facts have to be destroyed, 1489, 1492, 1499, 1500.
In the rational the affection for good is present as the soul within the affection for truth, 2072.
What the affection for rational truth and for factual truth are, 2503.
By means of cognitions the external man is joined to the internal man, that is, the rational man to the natural man, when cognitions are implanted in the celestial things of love and charity, 1450, 1451, 1453, 1616.
[2] It is not possible for falsity to be joined to good, nor truth to evil, but only falsity to evil and truth to good. This I have been allowed to perceive from actual observation; and I have perceived that the following is the truth of the matter: Whenever anyone who possesses the affection for good, that is, who wills good from the heart, gives any thought to what he ought to will and do, his will for good in that case flows into his thought about it and there attaches itself to and places itself within the cognitions present there as its recipient vessels. And by means of that joining together his will for good impels him to think, will, and act in the way he does. It is so to speak an ingrafting of good in truths or in cognitions of truth. But it is different with someone who has no affection for good, only for evil, that is, someone who wills what is evil – such as one who supposes that everything is good which benefits him personally, making him important and rich, and so enhancing his own position and wealth; and such is his end in view. Whenever that person gives any thought to what he ought to will and do, his will in like manner flows into his thought. There it activates the cognitions which resemble truth, and so impels him to think, will and act. In this case cognitions are used in a wrong way by him and he supposes that he can use certain general ideas which he has absorbed from the literal sense of the Word or from some other source of knowledge in any way he thinks. So it is evil that is coupled to falsity; for truth present there is deprived completely of all that makes it essentially the truth.
[3] In the next life, no matter how much better informed than others they seemed to be during their lifetime, such spirits are more stupid than others. To the extent they are convinced that they possess the truth they bring thick darkness to others. Such spirits as these were once present with me for quite some time, but they were insensitive to any affection for good deriving from truth, no matter how many truths which they had known during their lifetime were called to mind, for evil resided with them to which truths could not be joined. Nor are these spirits able to remain in the company of spirits who are good, but if any natural good at all resides with them they undergo vastation even to the point of not knowing any truth at all, and then some truth is introduced into the good that remains, insofar as the tiny amount of good remaining is capable of receiving it. Those however with whom an affection for good from the heart has been present are receptive of all truth, depending on the extent and character of the good that existed with them.
‘Jehovah, the God of heaven’ means the Lord’s Divine itself. ‘Who took me from my father’s house and from the land of my nativity’ means the Divine itself by whom the Lord freed Himself from the evils and from the falsities received from the mother. ‘And who spoke to me, and who swore to me, saying’ means the Divine itself from whom came His Divine will and understanding. ‘To your seed I will give this land’ means the Divine Truth which belonged to the Lord’s Human. ‘He will send His angel before you’ means Divine Providence. ‘And you shall take a wife for my son from there’ means that the affection for truth came indeed from there, yet from a new source.
*1661 possibly intended
All things have been delivered to Me by My Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, nor does anyone know the Father except the Son and he to whom the Son wishes to reveal Him. Matt. 11:27.
And in John,
Nobody has ever seen God; the only begotten Son who is in the bosom of the Father, He has made Him known. John 1:18.
‘The Son’ is the Lord’s Divine Human. Anyone who believes that in heaven they worship any other Father than the Lord is much mistaken.
‘If the woman is not willing to go after you’ means here, as previously, if the affection for truth were not separated. ‘You are clear from my oath’ means the freedom that the natural man has. ‘Only do not take my son back there’ means here, as previously, no resulting conjunction. ‘And the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master’ means here, as previously, that the natural man was bound, as regards its power, to the good of conjugial love. ‘And swore to him concerning this matter’ means a very solemn undertaking.
where the same words occur.
[2] Regarding human freedom, see what has been stated and shown already in 892, 905, 1937, 1947, 2744, 2870-2893, for these paragraphs show what is implied by freedom. Freedom is attributed to the natural man, but not so much to the rational man, because it is by way of the rational man and into the natural man that good flows in, in heavenly freedom, from the Lord. It is the natural man that is the recipient of that good, and in order that it may receive it and so be joined to the heavenly freedom flowing in by way of the rational man, the natural man is left in freedom. For freedom goes with love or affection. If the natural man does not receive an affection for truth from an inflowing affection for good, that man is in no sense joined to the rational. This is how it is with man, whom the Lord reforms by means of freedom, see 1937, 1947, 2876-2878, 2881.
[3] In the Lord’s case He too left the Natural in freedom when He made His Rational Divine as regards truth, that is, when He allied Divine Truth to the Divine Good of the Rational, for He was willing to make His Human Divine in the ordinary way. The ordinary way is that which occurs in anyone who is being reformed and regenerated. The actual reformation and regeneration of man is therefore a replica of what took place in the Lord. For by reformation and regeneration he becomes a new person, and is consequently called one begotten anew, and one created anew; and to the extent that he has been reformed he seems to have the Divine within him. But there is this difference, that the Lord made Himself Divine by His own power, whereas man is not able to effect the slightest reformation by his own power, only from the Lord. The expression ‘seems to have the Divine’ is used because man is solely a recipient of life, whereas the Lord is Life itself as to both Essences, see 1954, 2021, 2658, 2706, 3001.
‘The servant took ten camels from his master’s camels, and went’ means Divine general facts in the natural man. ‘And every good thing that was his master’s was in his hand’ means the goods and truths associated with those facts residing with the natural man. ‘And he rose up’ means a raising up. ‘And went to Aram Naharaim’ means resulting cognitions of truth. ‘To the city of Nahor’ means kindred matters of doctrine.
[2] That ‘camels’ means general facts is clear from other places in the Word where they are mentioned, as in Isaiah,
A prophecy of the beasts of the south. In the land of distress and anguish are the young lion and the old lion from them, the viper and the flying fiery-serpent. They carry their wealth on the shoulders of young asses, and their treasures on the backs of camels, to a people that do not profit them. And Egypt’s help will be in vain and to no advantage. Isa. 30:6, 7.
‘The beasts of the south’ stands for those who possess cognitions or the light of cognitions but lead evil lives. ‘Carrying their wealth on the shoulders of young asses’ stands for the cognitions which belong to their rational, ‘a young ass’ being rational truth, see 2781. ‘Their treasures on the backs of camels’ stands for the cognitions which belong to their natural, ‘the backs of camels’ being the natural, ‘camels’ themselves the general facts there, ‘treasures’ the cognitions which they consider to be precious. The words ‘Egypt’s help will be in vain and to no advantage’ mean that to them knowledge is of no use, ‘Egypt’ being knowledge, see 1164, 1165, 1186, 1462, 2588 (end). It is evident that camels are not meant by ‘camels’ here because it is said that the young lion and the old lion carry their treasures on the backs of camels. Anyone may see that some arcanum of the Church is meant by this description.
[3] In the same prophet,
The prophecy of the wilderness of the sea. Thus said the Lord, Go, set a watchman to point out what he sees. And he saw a chariot, a pair of horsemen, a chariot of asses, a chariot of camels, and he listened diligently. He answered and said, Fallen, fallen has Babel. Isa. 21:1, 6, 7, 9.
‘The wilderness of the sea’ stands for the hollowness of knowledge that serves no use. ‘A chariot of asses’ stands for a mass of specific facts, ‘a chariot of camels’ for a mass of general facts which are present in the natural man. It is the hollow reasonings found with people meant by Babel which are described in this fashion.
[4] In the same prophet,
Your heart will enlarge itself because the abundance of the sea will be turned to you, the wealth of the nations will come to you. A multitude of camels will cover you, dromedaries of Midian and Ephah, all those from Sheba will come. They will bring gold and frankincense, and will spread abroad the praises of Jehovah. Isa. 60:5, 6.
This refers to the Lord, and to the Divine celestial and spiritual things within His natural. ‘The abundance of the sea’ stands for a vast quantity of natural truth, ‘the wealth of the nations’ for a vast quantity of natural good. ‘A multitude of camels’ stands for general facts in abundance, ‘gold and frankincense’ for goods and truths which are ‘the praises of Jehovah’. ‘From Sheba’ is from the celestial things of love and faith, see 113, 117, 1171. The queen of Sheba’s coming to Solomon in Jerusalem with vast amounts of wealth, with camels carrying spices, and very much gold, and precious stones, 1 Kings 10:1, 2, represented the wisdom and intelligence which came to the Lord, who in the internal sense of these verses is meant by Solomon. ‘Camels carrying spices, gold, and precious stores’ means matters of wisdom and intelligence in the natural man.
[5] In Jeremiah,
To Arabia and to the kingdoms of Hazor which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babel smote: Arise and go up to Arabia, and lay waste the sons of the east. They will take their tents, their curtains, and all their vessels, and they will bear their camels away from them. Their camels will become booty, and the multitude of their flocks booty, and I will scatter them to every wind. Jer. 49:28, 29, 32.
Here ‘Arabia’ and ‘the kingdoms of Hazor’, used in the contrary sense, stand for people who possess cognitions of celestial and spiritual things but whose only use for them is to be considered wise and intelligent in their own eyes and in those of the world. ‘The camels that will be borne away from them to become booty and that will be scattered to every wind’ means in general the factual knowledge of those people and their cognitions of good and truth, which will begin to be removed from these people in this life through their belief in things of a contrary nature, and in the next life removed altogether.
[6] In Zechariah,
The plague with which Jehovah will smite all the peoples that wage war against Jerusalem: It will be a plague of the horse, the mule, the camel, and the ass, and every beast. Zech. 14:12, 15.
‘A plague of the horse, the mule, the camel, the ass’ stands for the removal of the powers of the understanding which follow one another in the same consecutive order, from rational concepts to natural images. What a horse is, see 2761, 2762; a mule, 2781; an ass, 2781. ‘Camels’ stands for general facts in the natural man. The pestilence in Egypt ‘on the cattle in the field, on the horses, on the asses, on the camels, on the herd, and on the flock’, Exod. 9:2, 3, had a similar meaning.
From all these places it becomes clear that ‘camels’ in the internal sense of the Word means general facts which belong to the natural man. General facts are those which include within themselves many particular ones, while these include within themselves those that are specific. All these constitute in general the understanding part of the natural man.
‘He made the camels kneel down’ means a holy ordering of general facts. ‘Outside and away from the city’ means removed from matters of doctrine. ‘Near a well of water’ means to receive the truths of faith. ‘At evening time’ means a more obscure state at that time. ‘At the time that women go out to draw water’ means a state of instruction.
3055a ‘Near a well of water’ means to receive the truths of faith. This is clear from the meaning of ‘a well of water’ as the Word, the source of the truth of faith, and also truth itself, dealt with in 2702. The phrase ‘a well of water’ is used in this verse, but ‘a spring’ in all that follows; and for the difference between the two in the internal sense – between ‘a well of water’ and ‘a spring’ see the paragraph just referred to.
[2] Those concepts in the rational do not come immediately into a person’s view while he is living in the body. For it is the things in the natural which enter his awareness, rarely those in the rational except when a certain kind of light falls on those images in the natural, as when some mental power enters into and arranges into order the contents of a person’s thought, or as when one gains an insight into the matter on which the mind is dwelling. Unless these and many other considerations are known, scarcely any intelligible explanation of what occurs in this verse is at all possible; such as that a holy ordering of general facts is meant, and also a removal from matters of doctrine so as to receive the truths of faith, and that this ordering and this removal occur during a state of obscurity, and that a state such as this is one of instruction.
[3] Nevertheless let a brief description be given, insofar as the matter can be understood, of what goes on in a person when he is being reformed by the Lord, for man’s reformation is to some extent an image of what happened to the Lord when He was in the world, as stated above in 3043. While a person is being reformed the things that are general within his natural man are being ordered by the Lord so that they correspond to things that are in heaven. What correspondence is, and the fact that it is a relationship between spiritual things and natural, see 2987, 2989-2991, 3002. The things which are general are first of all ordered in such a way that those which are particular can be gradually introduced into them by the Lord, and then those that are specific into these. For unless the general are ordered, no order can come to the particular, because the latter enter into and confirm the former. Still less can order come to the specific, for these enter into the particular (which act as general things for them) and give light to the particular. This is what is meant by a holy ordering of general facts, and what is meant in the internal sense by making the camels kneel down. In this way they submit themselves to receive influx.
[4] While these things are being ordered in this manner matters of doctrine are removed since they are conclusions drawn from facts. For so to speak a dictate flows in by way of the rational, declaring that one thing is true, another not true – true because it agrees with general things when ordered, or not true because it disagrees. No other type of influx as to truths exists. Matters of doctrine are indeed present already, yet they are not really matters of doctrine until they are believed, but merely facts. When they are thought about therefore, any conclusion that is drawn is not from them but from other things concerning them. This is what is meant by being removed from matters of doctrine, and what is meant in the internal sense here by ‘outside the city’. But this state is what is called an obscure state and is meant by ‘evening time’; but once matters of doctrine have been confirmed so that they are believed morning, or a state of light arrives. All else in this verse is evident from what has now been stated.
With joy you will draw water from the springs of salvation, and [you will say] or that day, Confess Jehovah. Isa. 12:3, 4.
‘Drawing water’ stands for receiving instruction, having intelligence, and being wise. In the same prophet,
To the thirsty bring water, O inhabitants of the land of Tema. Isa. 21:14.
‘Bringing water to the thirsty’ stands for giving instruction. In the same prophet,
The wretched and the needy are seeking water, and there is none; their tongue is parched with thirst. Isa. 41:17.
‘Those seeking water’ stands for those desiring instruction in truths, ‘and there is none’ stands for the fact that nobody had any. In addition ‘drawers of water’ in the Jewish Church represented those who constantly seek to know truths but to no other end than just knowing them, and who consequently pay no attention to their purpose. Such persons were rated among the lowest of all. The Gibeonites mentioned in Josh. 9:21, 23, 27, represented them.
‘He said’ means communication. ‘O Jehovah, the God of my master Abraham’ means of the Divine itself, which is the Father, with the Divine Human, which is the Son. ‘Make it go right for me today’ means providence at work from eternity. ‘And deal mercifully’ means an influx of love. ‘With my master Abraham’ means the Divine Human. ‘Behold, I am standing beside a spring of water’ means a state when within the Human conjunction takes places involving Divine truth. ‘And the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water’ means affections for truth, and instruction acquired through those affections. ‘And let the girl to whom I say’ means an affection that has innocence within it. ‘Let down now your pitcher’ means submitting facts. ‘And I will drink’ means instruction from them in truth. ‘And she says, Drink’ means an affirmative response to the same. ‘And also I will give your camels a drink’ means consequent enlightenment of all facts within the natural man. ‘Let her be the one whom You have appointed for Your servant Isaac’ means the joining together of Divine truth and Divine Good in the Rational. ‘And in this I shall know that You have dealt mercifully with my master’ means that the beginning of the marriage lies in Divine love.
*lit. make it take place in front of me today
Son, that is to say, communication of these. This is clear from what has been stated and shown several times above, namely the following:
‘Jehovah God’ is the Lord’s Divine itself, which is called the Father, while ‘Abraham’ represents His Divine Human, 2833, 2836.
Jehovah in the Old Testament Word is the Lord Himself, see 1736, 1815, 2921.
The Most Ancient Church before the Flood, and the Ancient Church after the Flood, meant by ‘Jehovah’ none other than the Lord, 1343, 1676, 1990, 2016, 3035.
Within the Lord exists the Trinity of the Divine itself, the Divine Human, and the Divine Holy proceeding, and these are one, 1999, 2149, 2156, 2288, 2329, 2447.
The entire Trinity within the Lord is Jehovah, 2156, 2329; and every single thing in the Lord is Jehovah, 1902, 1921.
The Lord is one with the Father, and no other is meant in heaven by the Father, 14, 15, 1725, 1729, 1733, 1815, 2005, 2018, 2025, 2803, 3038.
The Lord constitutes the whole of heaven since He is its All; from Him comes the whole of innocence, peace, love, charity, mercy, and conjugial love, as do all Good and Truth, Moses and the Prophets, and so the Word in every detail, have reference to Him; and all the religious observances of the Church were representative of Him, 2751.
As to the Divine Human the Lord is called the Son, 2628.
The Lord’s Divine Human was not only conceived but also born from His Divine Essence, which is Jehovah, 2798.
Thus as to the Human the Lord became Jehovah, and Life from Himself, 1603, 1737
[2] The Lord has existed from eternity, as is quite clear from the Word, see 2803, even though He was born at a particular point in time. For He it was who spoke through Moses and the Prophets (having also appeared to many) in whose writings it is said that He was Jehovah. But this very deep arcanum cannot be revealed to anyone except to those who possess Divine perception, and so to scarcely any apart from members of the Most Ancient Church, who were celestial and possessed such perception. From these people I have heard that Jehovah Himself was the Lord as regards the Divine Human whenever He came down into heaven or flowed in by way of heaven, for heaven resembles one human being as to all its members, and for that reason is also called the Grand Man, 684, 1276, 2996, 2998, 3021. The Divine itself within heaven or the Grand Man was the Divine Human, and was Jehovah Himself clothed in that manner with the Human.
[3] But when the human race had become such that the Divine itself clothed as the Divine Human could no longer exert any influence on it, that is, when Jehovah could no longer reach down to mankind in that way because it had moved so far away, Jehovah, who is the Lord as regards the Divine Essence, came down and took upon Himself the Human, which was by conception Divine, but by birth from the virgin was like that of any other human being. But what He received from the virgin He cast out, and by Divine means made Divine the Human that had been born. From this Human made Divine proceeds all that is holy. Thus the Divine Human has come into being as an Essence by itself which fills the whole of heaven and causes those to be saved who previously could not be saved. This now is the Lord, who alone as to the Divine Human is Man, and from whom everyone has it to be [truly] human, 49, 288, 477, 565, 1894.
The Lord’s life was a love towards the whole human race, 2253, and from that love He did battle, 1690, 1789, 1812, 1813, 1820.
It surpasses all understanding, 1799, 2077.
The Lord is Divine love itself, 2077, 2500, 2572.
Jehovah is love, 1735.
Nothing apart from love has life, 1589.
Anyone who possesses mutual love possesses the Lord’s life, 1799, 1802, 1803.
Love and charity are the celestial itself, 1419, 1824.
[2] No one is ever instructed through truths but through the affections for truth. For when truths are devoid of affection they do indeed flow as sounds into the ear but they do not pass into the memory. What causes them to pass into the memory and stay there is affection. For good that is the object of affection is like the soil into which truths are sown as seeds. But the quality of the soil, that is, the essential nature of the affection, determines the nature of that which is produced from the seed sown there. The end in view or the use dictates the essential nature of the ground – that is, of the affection – and so dictates the nature of that which is produced from the seed sown there. Or if you prefer, the love itself is what decides it, for love is to all things the end in view and the use. Nothing is considered to be an end in view and a use except that which is loved.
The new wine will mourn, the vine will languish, all the merry-hearted will sigh; they will not drink wine with singing, strong drink will be bitter to those drinking it. Isa. 24:7, 9.
‘Not drinking wine with singing’ stands for not receiving instruction from the affection for truth and not receiving any consequent delight. ‘Strong drink being bitter to those drinking it’ stands for repugnance. In the same prophet,
It will be as when a thirsting man dreams, and behold, he is drinking; and he awakes, and behold, he is faint, and the soul is craving. Isa. 29:8.
‘Thirsting’ stands for desiring instruction, ‘drinking’ for receiving it,
but in things that are valueless.
[2] In Jeremiah,
Our waters we drink for silver, our timbers come for a price. Lam. 5:4.
‘Drinking waters for silver’ stands for receiving instruction but not for nothing, and also attributing truth to oneself. Truth is a free gift and so does not come from oneself but from the Lord, as these words in Isaiah declare,
Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters, and he who has no money, come, buy! Isa. 55:1.
And in John,
Jesus said, If anyone thirsts let him come to Me and drink. Whoever believes in Me, out of his belly will flow rivers of living water. John 7:37, 38.
Here ‘drinking’ means being given instruction and accepting it. In Luke,
They will say, We ate in Your presence and we drank, and You taught in our streets. But the Lord will say, I do not know where you come from; depart from Me, all you workers of iniquity! Luke 13:26, 27.
Here ‘eating and drinking in the Lord’s presence’ stands for giving instruction in, and proclaiming, the good and truth of faith, doing so from cognitions drawn from the Word, which is meant by ‘You taught in our streets’. But because they did it for selfish reasons – for the sake of personal honour and gain, thus not out of any affection for good and truth, and so possessed cognitions of truth and yet led evil lives – it is said, ‘I do not know where you come from; depart from Me, all you workers of iniquity!’
[3] In the same gospel, where Jesus was talking to the disciples,
That you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom. Luke 22:30.
It is evident to anyone that in the Lord’s kingdom they do not eat and drink, and that no table is there, thus that something different is meant by ‘eating and drinking at the Lord’s table in His kingdom’, that is to say, enjoying a perception of good and truth. So also with what the Lord says in Matthew,
I tell you that I shall not drink from now on of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it [new] with you in My Father’s kingdom. Matt. 26:28, 29.
‘Drinking’ stands for giving living instruction in truths and imparting a perception of good and truth. That which the Lord said –
Do not be anxious for your soul, what you are going to eat or what you are going to drink, nor for your body, what you are going to put on. Matt 6:25, 31; Luke 12:29 – is indicative of spiritual things, that so far as all things of faith are concerned, goodness and truth are imparted by the Lord. In John,
Jesus said to the Samaritan woman, Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again, but he who drinks from the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a spring of water leaping up into eternal life. John 4:7-14. ‘Drinking’ clearly stands for being given instruction in goods and truths, and the acceptance of them.
‘And so it was, before he had finished speaking’ means the realization of what he willed. ‘That behold, Rebekah came out’ means the affection for truth coming from matters of doctrine. ‘Who was born to Bethuel, the son of Milkah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham’s brother’ means the whole origin of that affection. ‘And her pitcher was on her shoulder’ means vessels that receive truth, and a total effort to uphold that truth. ‘And the girl was very good looking’ means the beauty of the affection for truth. ‘A virgin, and no man had known her’ means pure from everything false. ‘And she went down to the spring’ means Divine truth. ‘And filled her pitcher’ means vessels for receiving. ‘And went up’ means a raising up.
[2] In general ‘a husband’ in the Word means good and ‘his wife’ truth, 1468, 2517; for the essence of every marriage is derived, that is, conjugial love is derived, from the marriage of Divine Good to Truth, and of Truth to Good in the Lord, 2508, 2618, 2728, 2729, 2803. The reason the affection for truth comes from matters of doctrine is that Rebekah is said ‘to have come out’, that is to say, out of the city, and ‘a city’ means matters of doctrine, see 402, 2449. Truths too come from matters of doctrine.
[2] Although it appears to be simple and a single entity, every affection nevertheless contains details within itself which are so countless that it cannot even be apprehended, let alone described by any idea. For present within every affection there is a person’s whole life which he has acquired from his earliest childhood through to the time of life when that affection is active in him. Indeed even more is present there, namely that which at birth he derived by heredity from father and mother, grandparents, and great grandparents. In fact that affection constitutes the whole person such as he is. In the next life through a revelation of a person’s affection one is sometimes enabled to see how far that person is moved by self-love, and how far by love of the world; to see how far he is moved by a love of the things of first importance such as the end in view and the purpose; also how far he is moved by a love of good and truth, and to see the nature of that good and truth; and to see as well how these are ordered, that is to say, whether joined together, close together, or separated; thus to see how far such good and truth do not accord with heavenly order or how far they do accord. All of these things are able to be seen, as has been stated, through the revelation of the affection because affection constitutes the whole person. The truth of this seems unbelievable to man, but it is still the truth.
[2] That ‘vessels’ means the external containers of spiritual things is also evident from other places in the Word, as in Isaiah,
Even as the children of Israel bring their gift in a clean vessel to the house of Jehovah. Isa. 66:20.
This refers to the Lord’s kingdom. ‘A gift in a clean vessel’ is a representative of the external man in relation to the internal. The one who brings the gift is the internal man, ‘the clean vessel’ a compatible external man, and so the things present in the external man, which are facts, cognitions, and matters of doctrine. In Jeremiah,
The cry of Jerusalem went up, and the nobles sent their inferiors to the waters; they came to the pits, they found no water, they returned with their vessels empty, they were ashamed. Jer. 14:2, 3.
‘Empty vessels’ stands for cognitions with no truth in them, and also truths with no good in them. In the same prophet,
Nebuchadnezzar king of Babel has devoured me, he has troubled me, he has made me an empty vessel. Jer. 51:34.
‘An empty vessel’ stands in like manner for empty cognitions – ‘Babel’ being one who lays waste, see 1327 (end). In Moses,
Like valleys that are planted, like gardens beside a river. Waters will flow from buckets, and his seed will be towards many waters. Num. 24:6, 7.
These verses belong to Balaam’s oracle concerning Jacob and Israel. ‘Waters will flow from buckets’ stands for truths flowing from cognitions. In the parable about the ten virgins it is said that five of them took oil in their vessels together with their lamps, but that the foolish did not, Matt. 25:4. ‘Virgins’ means affections; ‘the wise took oil in their vessels’ means that they took good within truths, and so charity within faith. ‘Oil’ is good, see 886; ‘lamps’ stands for love.
[2] ‘A virgin’ in the Word means those who are in the Lord’s kingdom, or what amounts to the same, who have the Lord’s kingdom within them. This is clear in John,
These are the ones who were not defiled with women, for they are virgins, these are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes; for they are spotless before God’s throne. Rev. 14:4, 5.
[3] Plainly, these are called ‘virgins, who follow the Lamb’, that is, who are in the Lord’s kingdom; and they are also said to be ‘spotless’. In the proper sense they are ‘virgins’ who are governed by love to the Lord – that is, who are celestial – and so who are moved by an affection for good. They too are called ‘virgins’ who are governed by charity towards the neighbour – that is, who are spiritual – and so are moved by the affection for truth, as becomes clear from the following places in the Word: In Isaiah,
She has spurned you, she has scorned you, the virgin daughter of Zion; she wags her head behind you, the daughter of Jerusalem. Isa. 37:22.
These words are addressed to the king of Asshur. ‘The virgin daughter of Zion’ stands for the celestial Church, ‘the daughter of Jerusalem’ for the spiritual Church.
[4] In Jeremiah,
Again I will build you, and you will be built, O virgin of Israel! Again you will adorn yourself with your timbrels and will go forth in the dance of the merrymakers. And their life* will become like a watered garden, and they will not sorrow any more: Then will the virgin rejoice in the dance, and the young men and the old together. Jer. 31:4, 12, 13.
‘Virgin of Israel’ stands for the spiritual Church. The affection for truth which springs from good which exists with that Church is described here and elsewhere as ‘timbrels’ and ‘dances’. In the same prophet,
The roads of Zion mourn, her priests groan, her virgins are dejected. The Lord has trodden the winepress for the virgin daughter of Judah. See my grief – my virgins and my young men have gone into captivity. Lam. 1:4, 15, 18.
‘Virgins’ stands for affections for good and truth. Elsewhere in the same prophet,
Women have been ravished in Zion, virgins in the cities of Judah. Lam. 5:11.
‘Virgins’ stands for affections for good.
[5] In Amos,
They will run to and fro to seek the Word of Jehovah, and will not find it. On that day the beautiful virgins and the young men will faint for thirst. Amos 8:12, 13.
‘The beautiful virgins’ stands for affections for truth, ‘the young men’ for truths, or what amounts to the same, those with whom truths exist, of whom it is said that ‘they will run to and fro to seek the Word of Jehovah, and will not find it’, and so ‘will faint for thirst’.
[6] In Zechariah,
Jehovah their God will save them on that day; as a flock – His people. For how great is his goodness, and how great his beauty! Grain will make the young men flourish, and new wine the virgins. Zech. 9:16, 17.
‘The young men’ stands for truths, ‘the virgins’ for affections. In David,
All glorious is the king’s daughter within, in her clothing with gold interweavings; in embroidered robes she is led to the king. Virgins following her, her friends, have been brought to You. Ps. 45:13, 14.
‘The king’s daughter’ stands for the Lord’s spiritual kingdom. ‘Virgins following her, her friends’ stands for affections for truth.
[7] In the same author,
They have seen Your goings, O God, the goings of my God in the sanctuary. The singers went before, players of the stringed instrument after, in the midst of the young women playing timbrels. Ps. 68:24, 25.
‘The young women playing timbrels’ also stands for affections for truth. But young women are distinguished from virgins by innocence, the word ‘virgins’ being used because of conjugial love, thus of those in whom innocence is present since conjugial love is innocence itself, see 2736. This explains why in the verses quoted from John they are said ‘to follow the Lamb wherever He goes’, for ‘the Lamb’ is used to mean the Lord’s innocence. Furthermore all in heaven are called virgins from the innocence present in their good. According to the amount and particular nature of the innocence present in that good ‘they follow the Lamb’.
* lit. soul
[2] This explains why the expressions ‘going up’ to Jerusalem, but ‘coming down’ from Jerusalem are used; also ‘going up’ from Jerusalem to Zion, and ‘coming down’ from Zion to Jerusalem; for the parts surrounding Jerusalem mean the exterior features of the Church, Jerusalem meaning the more interior features and Zion the inmost. Since in the internal sense this verse describes the initial stage in the raising up of truth from the natural man to the rational man, therefore it is first of all said here that the affection for truth represented by Rebekah ‘went down to the spring’ and shortly after that ‘went up’. For as stated above in 3074, Divine love flows into the affection for good, and from there into the affection for truth, and in so doing brings life and light to the things that are in the natural man, and at the same time orders them. This is the meaning of ‘going down’. In this way truths are raised up from the natural man into the rational man where they are joined to good. This is the meaning of ‘going up’.
[2] The reason for this is that the idea can hardly enter anyone’s head that there is a constant Divine influx by way of the internal man into the external man – that is, the idea that celestial and spiritual things flow by way of the rational man into the natural man, or what amounts to the same, into the natural things belonging to the external. Also, the idea that by means of that influx truths are constantly being summoned out of the natural man, raised up, and implanted in the good that is present in the rational can hardly enter in. And if not even these things are known to take place, what possibility is there of anyone knowing how the whole process takes place, a process involving wisdom so great, as it is from the Divine, that not the tiniest fraction can ever be explored? Only its most general aspects can be seen.
[3] This therefore being so, let no one be surprised that the things present here in the internal sense cannot be described intelligibly, and the things which are described are beyond human comprehension, for they have reference to and describe that process. Furthermore the internal sense exists chiefly for angels, to the end that by means of the Word communication may exist between heaven and man; and to the angels these things are among such as give them great delight, because food in heaven consists of everything that constitutes intelligence and wisdom. And to them the blessedness of wisdom and intelligence consists in whatever has the Lord as its subject.
‘The servant ran to meet her, and said’ means investigation by Divine Good. ‘Let me sip now a little water from your pitcher’ means to see whether it was possible for any truth from that source to be joined to it. ‘And she said, Drink, my lord’ means an affirmative response. ‘And she hastened and lowered her pitcher on to her hand’ means the submission of the recipients which was accomplished by power. ‘And gave him a drink’ means introduction. ‘And she finished giving him the drink’ means the subsequent stage. ‘And said, I will draw for your camels also until they have finished drinking’ means the affirmative response as regards the enlightenment of all facts within the natural man. ‘And she hastened and emptied her pitcher into the trough’ means the separation of the affection for truth which was being introduced into Divine good. ‘And ran again to the well’ means a lower affection for truth. ‘And drew for all his camels’ means by which general facts were enlightened.
*The English terms master and lord translate the same Latin word Dominus.
[2] Nothing else exists to receive good except truth; but as is the truth so is the reception, and so consequently the enlightenment. When therefore enlightenment comes by way of truth, the enlightenment from truth in that case appears to be attributable to truth, though in fact it is attributable to the good which is shining, as described, through the truth. Enlightenment from good by way of truth also penetrates further and affects more deeply, and it produces that lower affection for truth to be dealt with shortly. The light of heaven flows from the Lord’s Divine Good by way of His Divine Truth. And because it comes by way of the Divine Truth in His Human it reaches not only celestial people but also spiritual, and enlightens all who are in heaven with wisdom and intelligence. This being the source of these, the internal sense of the Word therefore deals so much with Divine Good and Divine Truth within the Lord’s Human. In the present context it deals with the initial enlightenment of truth from good and of good by means of truth.
‘The man, wondering at her, remained silent’ means a state of perception regarding those things. ‘So as to know whether Jehovah had prospered his way or not’ means regarding Divine Truth, as to what sort it was. ‘And so it was, when the camels finished drinking’ means acknowledgement resulting from enlightenment in general facts. ‘That the man took a gold nose-jewel’ means Divine Good. ‘Half a shekel in weight’ means the amount needed for the introduction. ‘And two bracelets’ means Divine Truth. ‘To go on her hands’ means the power of the affection for truth. ‘Ten [shekels] of gold in weight’ means the full amount involved in the introduction.
[2] The real situation is as follows: Every truth that is raised up from the natural man – that is, out of facts, or cognitions and matters of doctrine since these belong in the natural man – into the rational man, and is received there, must first be acknowledged as to what sort it is, whether it accords with the good that is there or not. If it does accord it is received, but if it does not it is rejected. The apparent truths in an attendant group of them are many, but only those are joined which acknowledge the good that is there, and so which love good and are loved by good. But in order that they may be acknowledged as such there has to be the enlightenment in the natural man by means of which every single thing in the natural man can be seen simultaneously, and so a choice be made. Enlightenment such as this in the natural man comes from good, yet does so by way of truth, see 3094. This enlightenment is what is meant by Rebekah’s drawing for the camels, causing them to drink, or giving them a drink.
[2] As regards ‘a nose-jewel’ being a sign of the good involved in marriage, this is also clear from other places in the Word, as in Ezekiel,
I adorned you with ornaments and put bracelets on your hands and a chain on your neck, and I put a jewel on your nose. Ezek. 16:11, 12.
This refers to the Ancient Church, meant by Jerusalem here and described as a bride to whom bracelets, a chain, and a nose-jewel were given. ‘Bracelets on the hands’ were a representative sign of truth, ‘a jewel on the nose’ a representative sign of good. In Isaiah,
Because the daughters of Zion are haughty the Lord will make bald the crown of their heads, and will take away the rings and the nose-jewels, the changes of clothes, the robes. Isa. 3:16-18, 21, 22.
‘The daughters of Zion that are haughty’ stands for affections for evil within the Church, 2362, 3024. ‘The rings and the nose-jewels’ that will be removed stands for good and the signs of it. ‘The changes of clothes’ and ‘the robes’ stand for truth and the signs of it. In Hosea,
I will visit on her the days of the baals to whom she burned incense and decked herself with her nose-jewel and her other jewellery and went after her lovers. Hosea 2:13.
This refers to the perverted Church and to the new one following it. ‘Nose- jewel’ also stands for a sign of the good of the Church. When those jewels were fitted to the ears they again meant good, though good put into practice, and in the contrary sense evil put into practice, as in Gen. 35:4; Exod. 32:2, 4.
[2] That ‘weight’ is the state of something as regards good is evident from the following places in the Word: In Ezekiel where the prophet was told to eat food each day twenty shekels in weight, and to drink water in measure the sixth of a hin,
For, behold, I am breaking the staff of bread in Jerusalem, so that they may eat bread by weight and with anxiety, and drink water by measure and with dismay; that they may be in want of bread and water. Ezek. 4:10, 11, 16, 17.
This refers to the vastation of good and truth, which is represented by ‘the prophet’. A state of good when vastated is meant by their having to eat food and bread ‘by weight’, and a state of truth when vastated by their having to drink water ‘by measure’ – ‘bread’ meaning that which is celestial, and so good, see 276, 680, 2165, 2177, and ‘water’ that which is spiritual, and so truth, 739, 2702, 3058. From this it is evident that ‘weight’ is used in reference to good, and ‘measure’ to truth.
[3] In the same prophet,
You shall have just balances, and a just ephah, and a just bath. Ezek. 45:10 and following verses.
This refers to the holy land, by which the Lord’s kingdom in heaven is meant, as may be recognized from every detail at this point in this prophet, where what are required are not balances, an ephah, and a bath that are just but the goods and truths meant by those weights and measures. In Isaiah,
Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand and weighed the heavens in [His] palm, and gathered the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in a balance, and the hills in the scales? Isa. 40:12.
‘Weighing the mountains in a balance and the hills in the scares’ stands for the truth that the Lord is the source of the heavenly things of love and charity, and that He alone orders the states of these things. For ‘the mountains’ and ‘the hills’ referred to in connection with those weights mean the heavenly things of love, see 795, 796, 1430, 2722.
[4] In Daniel,
The writing on the wall of Belshazzar’s palace was, Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin. This is the interpretation: Mene, God has numbered your kingdom and brought it to an end; Tekel, you have been weighed in the scales and have been found wanting; Peres, your kingdom has been divided and given to the Medes and Persians. Dan. 5:25-28.
Here ‘mene’ or ‘He has numbered’ has reference to truth, but ‘tekel’ or ‘weighed in the scales’ to good. Described in the internal sense is the time when the age is drawing to a close.
[2] With regard to the introduction of truth into good, before truth has been introduced and rightly joined it does indeed reside with man, yet it has not so to speak become his or his own. But as soon as it is introduced into its own good it does become his own. It goes out of his external memory and passes over into the internal memory. Or what amounts to the same, it ceases to exist in the natural or external man, and passes over into the rational or internal man, where it clothes itself with the person himself and constitutes his humanity, that is, his own human character. This is the situation with all truth that is being joined to its good, as also in a similar way with falsity that is being joined to evil which it calls good. The difference however is that truth opens the rational and so makes a person rational, whereas falsity closes the rational and makes him irrational, though he seems to himself while in the darkness enveloping him at this time to be more rational than others.
‘He said, Whose daughter are you?’ means further investigation concerning innocence. ‘Tell me now, is there at your father’s house a place for us to spend the night?’ means investigation concerning the good of charity. ‘And she said to him, I am the daughter of Bethuel, the son of Milkah, whom she bore to Nahor’ means here, as previously, the whole origin of it. ‘And she said to him’ means perception. ‘There is both straw’ means factual truths. ‘And also much fodder with us’ means the goods that go with these. ‘And a place to spend the night’ means that state.
[2] None but perfect truth is ever allowed to be with perfect good. When anything less than perfect truth approaches, this does not join itself to perfect good but to some variety of good that is not in itself good yet seems as if it were good. If falsity approaches, the good retires to an inward position and the falsity joins itself outwardly to some evil which it believes to be good. This Divine ordering is effected by the Lord by means of spirits and angels, and is completely hidden in this world, but fully known in the next. Anyone also of sound reason is able to know this and at least to comprehend it. For evil and falsity constitute hell and flow in from hell, whereas good and truth constitute heaven, and also flow in by way of heaven from the Lord. This being so, evil and truth can no more be joined together than hell to heaven. For this reason a more delicate balance is preserved in these matters than anyone can possibly believe. This then is what is meant by investigation.
[2] The reason why investigation concerning the origin of the affection for truth as regards innocence and as regards the good of charity is described in the internal sense is that truth which is to be introduced into and joined to good does not have its first origin in any other source, as becomes clear from all with whom truth is received and wedded to good. Inside the Church, no matter how much those who do not possess any innocence or charity towards the neighbour know the truth and confess it with their lips, they in no way acknowledge it in their hearts. And outside the Church, in the case of gentiles who are called to the truth of faith or who receive instruction in it in the next life, only those receive it who possess innocence and lead charitable lives one with another. In fact innocence and charity constitute the ground in which the seeds of truth are able to take root and spring up.
[2] Within the natural man, as within the rational man, there exist in general two kinds of things which constitute its essence – those that make up the understanding and those that make up the will. Truths belong to the things constituting the understanding, goods belong to those constituting the will. The truths present in the natural man are factual truths- that is to say, all the things housed in his external memory – and it is these that are meant by ‘straw’ when camels, and also horses, mules and asses are the subject. But the goods present in the natural man are chiefly the delights that go with an affection for those truths, and it is these goods that are meant by ‘fodder’.
[2] Investigation also takes place with everyone who is being reformed, also with anyone who receives remnants. But of this investigation man knows nothing at all. To him it is so shrouded in obscurity that he does not even believe that it exists, even though it is taking place moment by moment. The Lord however, who alone has sight of a person’s state, not only as it is at present but also as it will be for ever, is the one who carries out that investigation. Investigation involves a very delicate balancing to prevent even the smallest amount of falsity being joined to good, or the least amount of truth to evil. If falsity were joined to good, or truth to evil, a person would perish for ever, for he would in that case be suspended in the next life between hell and heaven, ejected by hell on account of good, and by heaven on account of evil.
‘The man bowed, and bowed down to Jehovah’ means gladness and joy. ‘And he said, Blessed be Jehovah, the God of my master Abraham’ means here, as previously, from the Divine itself and the Divine Human. ‘Who has not abandoned His mercy’ means a perception of the influx of love. ‘And His truth towards my master’ means an influx of charity from that inflowing love. ‘As for me, being on the way’ means within a state of truth joined to good in the Rational. ‘Jehovah has led me to the house of my master’s brethren’ means to good, the source of truth.
No faith exists except through love, 30-38.
Faith does not exist except where charity does so, 654, 724, 1162, 1176, 2261.
Faith is faith grounded in charity, 1608, 2049, 2116, 2343, 2349, 2417.
Charity constitutes the Church, not faith separated from charity, 809, 916, 1798, 1799, 1834, 1844, 2190, 2228, 2442.
From these paragraphs it is evident that in the internal sense truth or faith is the same as charity. Indeed all faith springs from charity, and faith that does not spring from it is not faith. Or what amounts to the same, all truth in the internal sense is good, since all truth is grounded in good, and truth that is not grounded in it is not truth. For truth is nothing else than the form that good takes, 3049; it is born from, and receives its life from nothing other than good.
[2] With those who are spiritual however it is different. These do think about the things that are matters of faith, and when they are being reformed and regenerated it is by means of the things which are matters of faith that they are led into charity towards the neighbour. Consequently when spiritual people are the subject ‘mercy from the Lord’ is used to mean the influx of charity towards the neighbour, and ‘truth’ to mean the influx of faith. Nevertheless once the spiritual man has been regenerated this faith becomes charity, for now he acts from charity, so much so that anyone among them who does not act from charity is not regenerate, whereas anyone who does act from charity is regenerate. Also, he now has no interest at all in matters of faith or truth, for his life springs from the good of faith, and no longer from the truth of faith. Indeed truth has now so joined itself to good that it ceases to be seen except as the form which good takes, that is, faith is now nothing else so to speak than the form which charity takes.
[3] From this one may see what the most ancient people meant, and what the ancients meant, by mercy and truth which are mentioned so many times in the Word, as in David,
The king will dwell for ever before God. Prepare mercy and truth, let them watch over him. Ps. 61:7.
In the same author,
Mercy and truth will meet, righteousness and peace will kiss each other. Ps. 85 10.
In the same author,
The Lord God is great in mercy and truth. Ps. 86:15.
In the same author,
My truth and My mercy will be with Him. Ps. 89:24.
In the same author,
Jehovah has remembered His mercy and His truth to the house of Israel. Ps. 98:3.
In the same author,
O Jehovah, not to us, but to Your name give glory, for the sake of Your mercy and Your truth. Ps. 115:1.
In Micah,
Jehovah God will give truth to Jacob, mercy to Abraham, which You have sworn to our fathers from days of old. Micah 7:20.
Here ‘Jacob’ stands for the Lord’s external man, ‘Abraham’ for the internal as regards the human. In Hosea,
Jehovah’s controversy with the inhabitants of the land because there is no truth, and no mercy, and no knowledge of God. Hosea 4:1.
‘No truth’ stands for no reception of the influx of charity, ‘no mercy’ for no reception of the influx of love, ‘no knowledge of God’ for no reception of the influx of the truth of faith.
*Or, reading what Sw. has in his rough draft the perception
‘The girl ran’ means the inclination of that affection. ‘And told [those of] her mother’s house all about these things’ means towards whatever natural good enlightenment was able to reach. ‘And Rebekah had a brother’ means the affection for good in the natural man. ‘His name was Laban’ means the essential nature of that affection. ‘And Laban ran to the man outside, to the spring’ means its inclination towards truth that was to be introduced into Divine truth. ‘And so it was, when he saw the nose-jewel and the bracelets on his sister’s hands’ means when it recognized Divine Good and Divine Truth within the power of the affection for truth, meant by ‘a sister’. ‘And when he heard the words of Rebekah his sister’ means the inclination of it. ‘Who said, Thus the man spoke to me’ means the leanings of truth in the natural man. ‘And he went to the man’ means that it attached itself. ‘And behold, he was standing with the camels’ means presence in general facts. ‘At the spring’ means the enlightenment of them from Divine truth.
[2] Since the subject in this verse is the origin of truth that was to be joined to good in the Rational it is therefore said that Rebekah, who represents that truth, ‘ran to her mother’s house’, for this is where truth originates. As stated and shown above, all good flows in by an internal route, that is, by way of the soul, into man’s rational, and through the rational into his factual knowledge, and even into his sensory awareness, and by means of enlightenment there causes truths to be seen. From there truths are summoned, stripped of the natural form they possess, and joined to good in the mid-way position, that is to say, in the rational, and together constitute the rational man, and at length the spiritual man. How all this is effected however is quite unknown to anyone, for at the present day scarcely any knowledge exists of what good is or of its being distinct and separate from truth. Still less does anyone know that a person is reformed by means of the influx of good into truth and by the joining together of the two. Nor is it known that the rational is distinct and separate from the natural. And since these matters which are very general are unknown, it cannot possibly be known how truth is introduced into good, and how the joining together of these two is effected – which are the things dealt with in this chapter in the internal sense. Now seeing that these arcana have been revealed and are open to view to any who are governed by good, that is, who have minds like those of angels, such arcana, no matter how obscure they may appear to others, must be explained since they are in the internal sense.
[3] Regarding that enlightenment, which comes from good by way of truth in the natural man, here called ‘the mother’s house’, the position is that Divine Good with man flows into his rational, and through the rational into his natural, and even into his factual knowledge, that is, into the cognitions and matters of doctrine there, as has been stated. Then by fitting the truths there to itself, inflowing Divine Good shapes them for itself, and by means of them enlightens everything in the natural man. But if the life of the natural man is such that it does not receive Divine Good, but either rejects, or perverts, or stifles it, Divine Good cannot fit truths to itself and so shape them for itself. As a consequence the natural cannot be enlightened any longer, for enlightenment in the natural man is effected by good through truths; and when there is no longer any enlightenment no reformation can take place. This is the reason why in the internal sense also so much reference is made to the nature of the natural man, and so to the origin of truth, namely that it arises from the good there.
* This number does not appear to be correct.
[2] These considerations and everything else dealt with show the nature of the internal sense and what arcana exist there. Except from interior exploration of the Word and at the same time from revelation, how can anyone know that these words – ‘Laban ran to the man outside, to the spring’ – mean the inclination of the affection for good towards truth that was to be introduced into Divine truth? Yet these are the things that angels perceive when these words are read by man. Indeed such are the correspondences between man’s ideas and an angel’s ideas that while man understands these words according to the sense of the letter and has the idea of Laban running to the man outside, to the spring, an angel perceives the inclination of the affection for good towards truth that was to be introduced into Divine truth. With angels there is no idea of Laban, or of running, or of a spring, but spiritual ideas corresponding to these. The existence of such correspondence between natural things and ideas based on these and spiritual things and ideas may also be seen from what has been stated about correspondences in 1563, 1568, 2763, 2987-3003, 3021.
[3] As to the specific matter dealt with here – that truth was to be introduced into Divine truth – the situation is that at first truth in the natural man was not Divine truth but truth that had the appearance of being Divine. For no truth in its earliest stages is the actual truth but an appearance of truth. In the course of time however it sheds the cloak of appearance and puts on the real essence of truth. To make this intelligible it can be illustrated by examples, for the moment by this alone: It is a Divine truth that the Lord is never angry, never punishes anyone, let alone does evil to anyone, and that from the Lord nothing but good ever comes. Nevertheless in its earliest stages this truth declares that the Lord is angry when someone sins, and that the Lord therefore punishes; indeed with some people it declares that evil comes from the Lord. But as a person progresses from early childhood, grows up, and matures in judgement he casts away that which from the appearance seemed to him to be the truth and gradually takes up the truth itself, which is that the Lord is never angry and does not punish, let alone perform evil. Accordingly it is by means of apparent truth that a person is introduced into actual truth; for it is a general concept that enters first, which in itself is obscure, containing scarcely anything that is to be seen until it has been enlightened by means of particular ideas, and these in turn by specific details. And once it has been enlightened interior things are discernible. In this way the delusions and appearances which are truths at the time of ignorance are dispersed and banished.
[2] The truth of the matter is that Divine Good and Divine Truth joined together within the Lord constitute the Divine marriage itself, from which the heavenly marriage springs, which in a similar way is a marriage of good and truth. From this too conjugial love springs, see 2727-2759. Consequently when a marriage is the subject in the Word the heavenly marriage is meant in the internal sense, which is the marriage of good and truth, and in the highest sense the Divine marriage which exists within the Lord. For this reason nothing else is meant here by the marriage of Isaac and Rebekah. The marriage itself exists when good and truth have been joined together, but the betrothal of the two, or the state preceding the marriage, when one is being introduced into the other. But it is the state preceding the betrothal that is described here. In this state, as it is in the power of a [marriageable] girl to become betrothed, and subsequently as a wife to be joined to a husband, so it is in the power of the affection for truth to be introduced into Divine Truth and so to be joined to Divine Good. What is more, in the initial affection for truth and after that in every affection for it, with the Lord, Divine Good itself and Divine Truth itself were inmostly present because Jehovah Himself was present there. This was the source of the power which is the subject here.
I look, and there is no man, and from these there is no counsellor. Isa. 41:28.
‘No man’ stands for no one having intelligence, and so for no truth.
[2] In the same prophet,
I came, and there was no man; I called and no one answered. Isa. 50:2.
Here the meaning is the same. In the same prophet,
Truth has stumbled in the street, and uprightness has been unable to come in, and truth has been removed, and he who retreats from evil is insane. Jehovah saw, and it was evil in His eyes that there was no judgement. And He saw, and there was no man, and wondered. Isa. 59:14-16.
‘No man’ clearly stands for no one having intelligence, and so in the universal sense for no truth. These verses in Isaiah refer to the final period of the Church when no truth at all exists any longer. Hence the statement ‘truth has stumbled in the street, uprightness cannot come in, and truth has been removed’. ‘The street’ too has reference to truth, see 2336, as does ‘judgement’, 2235. In Jeremiah,
Run to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem and see now, and take note, and search in its broad places, if you find a man, if anyone is executing judgement and seeking truth. Jer. 5:1.
Here also ‘a man’ clearly stands for one having intelligence, and for truth. In Zephaniah,
I will make their streets desolate with none passing through; their cities will be devastated, with not a man and not an inhabitant there. Zeph. 3:6.
‘Not a man’ stands for no truth, ‘not an inhabitant’ for no good, 2268, 2451, 2712. The same occurs in many other places besides these.
[2] The verses which follow immediately after this describe the preparation further – the light of heaven, which is the Lord’s Divine light, flowed into the ideas formed in the light of the world in His natural man so that He might bring forth from there the truth that was to be joined to good in the Rational. Thus it was to be brought forth in what is the ordinary way. Therefore to make His Human Divine the Lord came into the world in the ordinary way, that is, He was willing to be born as any other person is born, to receive instruction as any other does, and to be born again as any other, but with this difference: Man is born again from the Lord, whereas the Lord not only regenerated Himself from Himself, but also glorified Himself, that is, made Himself Divine; also man is made new through the influx of charity and faith, whereas the Lord was made so through the influx of Divine Love that was within Him and that was His own. From this it may be seen that man’s regeneration is an image of the Lord’s glorification, or what amounts to the same, that in the process of man’s regeneration as the image one can envisage, though remotely, the process of the Lord’s glorification.
‘He said, Come, O blessed of Jehovah’ means an invitation to the Divine within Himself. ‘Why do you stand outside?’ means at some distance away. ‘And I have swept the house’ means all things had been prepared and filled with forms of good. ‘And there is a place for the camels’ means a state for all the things which were to serve Him. ‘And the man came to the house’ means influx into the good there. ‘And he ungirded the camels’ means freedom for the things that were to be subservient. ‘And gave straw and fodder to the camels’ means instruction in truths and goods. ‘And water to wash his feet’ means purification there. ‘And the feet of the men who were with him’ means purification of all things that were His in the natural man. ‘And [food] was set before him to eat’ means that [the affection for] good in the natural man wished to make Divine things its own. ‘And he said, I am not eating’ means refusal. ‘Until I have spoken my words’ means until it had received instruction. ‘And he said, Speak on!’ means desire for it.
[2] For the ordinary way is that instruction should come first. Then influx takes place according to the depth of knowledge laid down by that instruction – so that from that depth of knowledge truth may continually flow and be introduced into, and then be joined to, the good of the rational. From these considerations one may see the nature of the arcana contained in the internal sense of the Word, and that those arcana are such that even the most general of them are scarcely intelligible to man. To angels however they are plain to see, together with countless other things which cannot possibly be put into words.
[2] As in Isaiah,
The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Sweep (prepare) the way of Jehovah; make straight in the lonely place a highway for our God. Isa. 40:3.
In the same prophet,
Level out, level out, sweep (prepare) the way; remove the stumbling block from My people’s way. Isa. 57:14.
In the same prophet,
Go through, go through into the gates; sweep (prepare) the way of the people. Level out, level out the way; gather out the stones. Isa. 62:10.
In Malachi,
Behold, I am sending My angel, and he will sweep (prepare) the way before Me; and suddenly there will come to His temple the Lord whom you are seeking. Mal. 3:1.
In these places ‘sweeping the way’ stands for getting oneself ready and preparing to receive truth. They refer to the Lord’s coming, for which people were to prepare themselves so as to receive the truth of faith, and through that the good of charity, and through this in turn eternal salvation.
[3] In David,
You caused a vine to journey out of Egypt. You cast out the nations, and You planted it, You swept before it and caused its root to be rooted, and it filled the land. Ps. 80:8, 9.
This refers in the highest sense to the Lord. ‘A vine out of Egypt’ is truth based on facts, ‘casting out the nations’ cleansing from evils, ‘sweeping before it’ preparing for goods to fill it. ‘Sweeping the house’ also means in the contrary sense the person who dispossesses himself of all goods and truths and so is filled with evils and falsities, as in Luke,
If the unclean spirit finds no rest he says, I will return to my house out of which I came. And if when he comes he finds it swept and decorated, he goes away and brings seven other spirits more evil than himself, and they enter in and dwell there. Luke 11:24-26; Matt. 12:43-45.
[2] This is the way in which faith – that is, truth which is the truth of faith made to take root; and unless it is coupled to good in the rational the truth of faith never receives any life, nor does any fruit develop from it. For everything called the fruit of faith is the fruit of that good which is the good of love and charity coming by way of truth which is the truth of faith. Unless spiritual warmth, which is the good of love, is actively present in spiritual light, which is the truth of faith, man would be like ground frozen stiff, as in wintertime, when nothing grows, let alone bears any fruit. For just as light devoid of warmth is totally unproductive, so is faith devoid of love.
[2] For good is flowing in constantly from the Lord, but when by way of the internal or spiritual man it reaches the external or natural man it is either perverted there, or turned away, or stifled. But when indeed the things that belong to self-love and love of the world are removed, good is received there, and bears fruit there, since the person now performs the works of charity. This may become clear from many considerations, such as this: When the things that belong to the external or natural man are quiescent – as they are in times of ill- fortune, wretchedness, and sickness – a person instantly starts to become spiritually-minded and to will what is good, and also to perform acts of devotion insofar as he is able. But when that state alters, these things are altered too.
[3] In the Ancient Church ‘washings’ were signs meaning these things, and in the Jewish Church the same were representations. The reason why in the Ancient Church they were meaningful signs but in the Jewish Church representations was that members of the Ancient Church regarded that custom as some external act of worship. Nor did they believe that they were purified by that kind of washing but by a washing away of the filth of the natural man, which, as has been stated, is composed of the things that belong to self-love and love of the world. But the member of the Jewish Church did believe that he was purified by such washing, for he did not know, and did not wish to know, that the purifying of a person’s interior self was meant.
[4] That ‘washing’ means the washing away of that filth is clear in Isaiah,
Wash yourselves; purify yourselves; remove the evil of your doings from before My eyes; cease to do evil. Isa. 1:16.
Here it is evident that ‘washing themselves’ means purifying themselves and removing evils. In the same prophet,
When the Lord will have washed the excrement of the daughters of Zion and washed away the blood of Jerusalem from its midst in a spirit of judgement and in a spirit of purging. Isa. 4:4.
Here ‘washing the excrement of the daughters of Zion and washing away the blood of Jerusalem’ stands for purifying from evils and falsities. In Jeremiah,
Wash your heart from wickedness, O Jerusalem, that you may be saved. How long will your iniquitous thoughts lodge within you? Jer. 4:14.
[5] In Ezekiel,
I washed you with water, and washed away the blood from upon you, and anointed you with oil. Ezek. 16:9.
This refers to Jerusalem, which is used here to mean the Ancient Church. ‘Washing with water’ stands for purifying from falsities, ‘washing away the blood’ for purging from evils, ‘anointing with oil’ for filling with good at that time. In David,
Wash me from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. You will purge me with hyssop and I shall be clean; You will wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Ps. 51:2, 7.
‘Being washed’ plainly stands for being purified from evils and derivative falsities.
[6] These were the things that were meant by ‘washing’ in the Representative Church. For the sake of the representation, when they had been made unclean and needed to be cleansed, people were commanded in that Church to wash the skin, hands, feet, and also their garments. All these meant things that belong to the natural man. Also for the sake of the representation, lavers made of bronze were placed outside the Temple – that is to say, ‘the bronze sea and the ten bronze lavers’ mentioned in 1 Kings 7:23-29; there was also the bronze laver from which Aaron and his sons were to wash themselves, placed between the Tent of Meeting and the Altar, and so outside the Tent of Meeting, Exod. 30:18, 19, 21 – the meaning of which was that only external or natural things needed to be purified. And unless they have been purified, that is, unless things belonging to self-love and love of the world have been removed from them, internal things which belong to love to the Lord and towards the neighbour cannot possibly flow in, as stated above.
[7] To enable these matters to be understood more easily, that is to say, regarding the need for external things to be purified, let good works – or what amounts to the same, the goods of charity, which are at the present day called the fruits of faith, and which, since they are actions, are external – serve to exemplify and illustrate the point: Good works are bad works unless the things belonging to self-love and love of the world are removed. For until these have been removed works, when performed, are good to outward appearance but are inwardly bad. They are inwardly bad because they are done either for the sake of reputation, or for financial gain, or for improvement of one’s position, or for reward. They are accordingly either merit-seeking or hypocritical, for the things that belong to self-love and love of the world cause those works to be such. But when indeed these evils are removed, works become good, and are the goods of charity. That is to say, they are done regardless of self, the world, reputation, or reward, and so are not merit-seeking or hypocritical, because in that case celestial love and spiritual love flow from the Lord into those works and cause them to be love and charity in action. And at the same time the Lord also purifies the natural or external man by means of those things and orders it so that that man receives correspondingly the celestial and spiritual things that flow in.
[8] This becomes quite clear from what the Lord taught when He washed the disciples’ feet: In John,
He came to Simon Peter, who said to Him, Lord, do You wash my feet? Jesus answered and said to him, What I am doing you do not know now, but you will know afterwards. Peter said to Him, You will never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me. Simon Peter said to Him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and head! Jesus said to him, He who is washed has no need except that his feet be washed, but is clean all over. Now you are clean, but not all of you. John 13:4-17.
‘He who is washed has no need except that his feet be washed’ means that anyone who has been reformed needs to be cleansed only in regard to natural things, that is, to have evils and falsities removed from them. For when that happens all is ordered by the influx of spiritual things from the Lord. Furthermore ‘feet-washing’ was an act of charity, meaning that one ought not to dwell on the evils of another person. It was also an act of humility, meaning the cleansing of another from evils, like filth from the body, as also becomes clear from the Lord’s words in verses 12-17 of that chapter in John, and also in Luke 7:37, 38, 44, 46; John 11:2; 1 Sam. 25:41.
[9] Anyone may see that washing himself does not purify a person from evils and falsities, only from the filth that clings to him. Yet because it belonged among the religious observances commanded in the Church it follows that it embodies some special idea, namely spiritual washing, which is purification from the filth that clings to man inwardly. Members of that Church therefore who knew these things and thought of purification of the heart, that is, the removal of the evils of self-love and love of the world from the natural man, and tried to achieve it with utmost zeal, practiced ritual washing as an external act of worship, as commanded. But among those who did not know and did not wish to know those things but who supposed that the mere ritual act of washing garments, skin, hands, and feet would purify them, and who supposed that provided they performed such rituals they would be allowed to continue leading lives of avarice, hatred, revenge, mercilessness, and cruelty – all of which constitute spiritual filth – the performance of the ritual was idolatrous. Nevertheless by means of that ritual they were still able to represent, and by means of the representation to display, some vestige of a Church, by means of which heaven was in a way joined to mankind prior to the Lord’s Coming. But that conjunction was such that heaven had little or no influence at all on the member of that Church.
[10] The Jews and Israelites were such that they did not think at all of the internal man, nor did they wish to know anything about the same. Thus they knew absolutely nothing about the celestial and spiritual things which belong to the life after death. Nevertheless to prevent the end of all communication with heaven and so with the Lord, they were bound to the performance of external observances by which internal things were meant. All their captivities and plagues were in general to the end that external observances might be duly carried out for the sake of the representation. It was for this reason that the following laws were given:
Moses was to wash Aaron and his sons with water at the tent door, to sanctify them. Exod. 29:4; 40:12; Lev. 8:6.
Aaron and his sons were to wash their hands and feet before entering the Tent of Meeting and approaching the Altar to minister, lest they died. This was to them a statute for ever. Exod. 30:18-21; 40:30, 31.
Before putting on his vestments Aaron was to wash his flesh. Lev. 16:4, 24.
Levites were to be purified by sprinkling the water of expiation over them, passing a razor over their flesh, and washing their clothes – then they were pure. Num. 8:6, 7.
Anyone who ate the carcass of a clean animal,* or that which had been torn to pieces, was to wash his clothes and bathe himself with water, and if he did not wash himself and bathe his flesh he would bear his iniquity. Lev. 17:15, 16.
Anyone who touched the bed of a person who had a discharge, or sat on a vessel on which that person had sat, and anyone who touched that person’s flesh was to wash his clothes and to bathe himself with water, and be unclean until the evening. Lev. 15:5-7, 10-1: and following verses.
The person who sent the goat away to Azazel was to wash his flesh. Lev. 16:26.
When a leper was to be cleansed he was to wash his clothes, shave off all his hair, wash himself in water, and then he would be clean. Lev. 14:8, 9.
Even vessels themselves which had become unclean through contact with unclean persons were made to go through water and be unclean until the evening. Lev. 11:32.
From all these laws it may be seen that nobody was made clean or pure internally through ritual washing, but that such a person merely represented him who was pure or spiritually clean, for the reason stated above. The Lord teaches the same quite explicitly in Matt. 15:1-20; Mark 7:1-23.
* i.e. an animal that had not been slaughtered but had died naturally
[2] At the present day these matters are so unknown to the majority that such people have no conception at all of any such thing taking place. The chief reason for this is that few at the present day are being regenerated, and even those who are do not know from doctrine that it is the good of charity into which the truth of faith is introduced and joined, or that this takes place in the rational. Nor do they know that when it takes place their state is completely altered, that is to say, their thought no longer runs from the truth of faith towards the good of charity, but from that good towards truth. With the Lord however it was not regeneration but glorification, that is, from Himself all things were made Divine, both those in the rational and those in the natural. How this was effected is described in the internal sense.
‘He said, I am Abraham’s servant’ means that it was from Divine Good. ‘And Jehovah has blessed my master greatly and has made him great’ means the Divine Human as regards good and as regards truth. ‘And has given him flocks and herds’ means goods in general. ‘And silver and gold’ means truths in general. ‘And male and female servants, and camels and asses’ means truths specifically. ‘And Sarah my master’s wife bore a son to my master’ means the Divine Rational born from Divine Truth. ‘In her old age’ means when that state actually existed. ‘And to him he has given all that he has’ means that all Divine things are His. ‘And my master made me swear’ means here, as previously, a binding and solemn undertaking. ‘Saying! You shall not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites’ means here, as previously, that the Divine Rational should not be joined to any affection incompatible with truth. ‘In whose land I am dwelling’ means incompatible things in which Divine good is present. ‘But you shall go to my father’s house’ means good which comes from the Divine. ‘And to my family’ means truth which comes from the Divine. ‘And you shall take a wife for my son’ means that from this a joining together would be effected. ‘And I said to my master, Perhaps the woman is not going to follow me’ means here, as previously, doubt in the natural man as to whether that affection was separable. ‘And he said to me’ means instruction. ‘Jehovah, before whom I have walked, will send His angel with you’ means here, as previously, Divine Providence. ‘And will prosper your way’ means as regards truth. ‘And you shall take a wife for my son’ means that a joining together would be effected. ‘From my family and from my father’s house’ means from the good and truth that came from the Divine there. ‘Then you will be clear from my oath’ means here, as previously, the freedom which the natural man has. ‘Because you have come to my family; and if they will not give her to you’ means as regards separation. ‘You will be clear from my oath’ means that in that case no blame was attached to the natural man. The remainder of this section, as far as verse 48, is similar in meaning to a previous part of the chapter.
‘Now if you are going to show mercy and truth to my master’ means investigation of their consent by both mental powers – will and understanding. ‘Tell me; and if not, tell me’ means a state in which they are free to deliberate. ‘And I will look to the right or to the left’ means reciprocal freedom. ‘And Laban answered, then Bethuel, and they said, From Jehovah has this thing come; we cannot speak to you bad or good’ means acknowledgement that it was the Lord’s alone. ‘Behold, Rebekah is before you; take her and go, and let her be your master’s son’s wife, as Jehovah has spoken’ means consent inspired from the Lord.
[2] In human regeneration, which is an image of the Lord’s glorification, 3138, the truth of faith may indeed be learned, but it is not acknowledged, still less accepted by good, until consent flows from both mental powers – from the will and from the understanding. Consent is acknowledgement itself. Through that acknowledgement acceptance takes place, especially by the will, for there good resides. And when the truth of faith has been accepted by the will, or what amounts to the same, by good, a person is regenerate, for in his case truth is grounded in good, and faith is grounded in charity; that is, as regards life, truth is charity itself, 3121.
[2] Everyone may know, if he merely stops to think, that nothing ever exists as a person’s own unless it forms part of his will. That which belongs solely to the understanding does not become a person’s own until it belongs also to his will, for what belongs to the will constitutes the essential being (esse) of a person’s life, whereas what belongs to the understanding constitutes the manifestation (existere) of that essential being. Consent flowing from the understanding alone is not consent, but all consent springs from the will. Unless therefore the truth of faith which belongs to the understanding is received by the good of love which belongs to the will it is in no sense truth that has been acknowledged, and so is not faith. In order that it may be received by good that belongs to the will it is necessary that a free state should exist. Everything that belongs in the will looks to be free. The state itself of the will is freedom, for what I will, I choose and desire since that is what I love and acknowledge as that which is good. From this it becomes clear that the truth of faith in no sense becomes a person’s own until it has been accepted by the will, that is, introduced and joined to the good there, which cannot happen except in a free state.
[2] The arcanum embodied here in Laban and Bethuel’s manner of reply – that is, in the brother speaking first, then the father – is that when good from the rational man flows into the natural man, it does not flow directly into the truth there but into the good, and then by way of the good into the truth. Unless that good flows in as described, the affection for truth cannot come into being. The affection for good in the natural man is that which acknowledges, and so is the first to consent, for a direct communication exists between rational good and natural good, but no direct communication between rational good and natural truth. Regarding the parallelism that exists between them, see 1831, 1832. Here two ancient customary sayings occur – ‘from Jehovah has the thing come’ meaning that it was done by Jehovah, and also ‘we cannot speak to you bad or good’ meaning that people did not dare either to deny or to affirm. Reference to the acknowledgement being the Lord’s alone follows next.
[2] It is well known that nobody is born rational but merely into the ability to become so, and that he becomes rational by means of factual knowledge, that is to say, by means of cognitions which divide up into many genera and species, the first of which are the means leading on to those next to them, and so on in order to the last of all which are cognitions of the spiritual things of the Lord’s kingdom and are called matters of doctrine. These latter cognitions are learned in part from the doctrine of faith, in part directly from the Word, and in part therefore by a person’s own efforts, as is also well known. As long as these matters of doctrine remain solely in the memory they are merely factual truths and have not as yet been made over to the individual as his own. They first become made over to him when he starts to love them for the sake of life, and more so when he applies them to life. When this happens truths are raised up from the natural memory into the rational part of the mind and are there joined to good. And when they have been joined they are no longer matters of knowledge but of life, for in that case a person is no longer learning from truths how to live but actually living by them. In this way truths come to be his own and become matters of the will. He accordingly enters the heavenly marriage, for the heavenly marriage consists in good and truth joined together in the rational. With men these things are accomplished by the Lord.
[3] But in Himself the Lord did this by Himself, unaided. From the Divine itself He not only begot the Rational as regards Good, but also through this the Natural as regards Truth, which He joined to Good. For it is good that chooses truth for itself and also gives form to it, for good acknowledges nothing else as truth but that which is compatible with it. Thus Divine good that was the Lord’s moulded Truth for itself. Nor did it acknowledge as Truth anything else than that which would be compatible with Divine Good, that is, which would be Divine of Itself. Thus He achieved every single thing by His own power. These are the things that are meant by ‘acknowledgement that it was the Lord’s alone’ and by ‘consent inspired from the Lord’.
‘So it was, when Abraham’s servant heard their words, that he bowed down to the earth to Jehovah’ means the perception of joy in the natural man. ‘And the servant brought out vessels of silver and vessels of gold, and garments’ means truth and good, and the adornment of these. ‘And gave them to Rebekah’ means which passed at that point to the affection for truth. ‘And he gave precious things to her brother’ means spiritual things passing from there to natural good. ‘And to her mother’ means to natural truth also. ‘And they ate and drank’ means making one’s own the good and truth introduced in this way. ‘He and the men who were with him’ means the things which were in the natural man. ‘And they stayed the night’ means its peace. ‘And they rose up in the morning’ means a degree of raising up. ‘And he said, Send me to my master’ means the affection desiring the joining together.
[2] In ancient times such things used to be given to a virgin at her betrothal. They were given to her because of the representation and the meaningful sign which denoted that ‘a betrothed virgin’ corresponded to the truth of the Church that was to be joined to good. This also is how the Ancient Church in its earliest days is described in Ezekiel,
When it was the time for falling in love, I clothed you with embroidered cloth, swathed you in fine linen, and covered you with silk, and I adorned you with ornaments, and put bracelets on your hands and a chain on your neck, and I put a jewel on your nose, and earrings on your ears, and a beautiful crown on your head. Thus were you adorned with gold and silver, and your garments were fine linen, and silk, and embroidered cloth. Ezek. 16:8-13.
And when the same Church had departed from truth and good it is described in that chapter as follows,
You took some of your garments and made for yourself gaily-decked high places. And for your adornment you took vessels made of My gold and of My silver, which I had given you, and you made for yourselves figures of the male. And you took your embroidered garments and covered them. Ezek. 16:16-18.
From these places it is quite evident that ‘silver, gold, and garments’ means nothing else than things that are the Church’s, that is to say, truth and good, and things that belong to truth and good.
Blessed by Jehovah is his land, in regard to the precious things of heaven, to the dew, and to the deep lying beneath, and to the precious things of the fruits of the sun, and to the precious things of the produce of the months, and to the precious things of the eternal hills, and to the precious things of the earth and of its fulness. Deut. 33:13-16.
Here ‘the precious things of heaven’, ‘the precious things of the fruits of the sun’, ‘the precious things of the produce of the months’, ‘the precious things of the eternal hills’, and ‘the precious things of the earth’ mean various kinds of spiritual things. The word ‘precious’ was also applied to precious stones, pearls, balms, spices, and similar commodities, which all mean spiritual things.
[2] What spiritual things are has been stated many times already, namely that in the Lord’s kingdom there are celestial things and there are spiritual things. Celestial things are forms of good, spiritual things forms of truth from that good. Nothing exists in the universe that is unrelated to good or to truth. Everything to do with use and life is related to good, whereas everything to do with doctrine and knowledge, in particular concerning use and life, is related to truth. Or what amounts to the same, that which belongs to the will is called good or evil, whereas that which belongs to the understanding is referred to as truth or falsity. Good therefore, being that alone which is the expression of love and charity and which flows in from the Lord, is celestial, whereas truth, being that which springs from good, is spiritual. The reason ‘precious things’ were given to the brother when ‘vessels of silver, vessels of gold, and garments’ were given to the sister when she became a bride was that the brother meant good in the natural man, and this good is enlightened when truth is introduced into good in the rational. Indeed this is the origin of all enlightenment of good and truth in the natural man.
[2] Through the Fall however the natural man started to raise itself above the spiritual man and so turn Divine order itself upside down. As a consequence the natural man separated itself from the spiritual, and spiritual things could not reach it any longer except so to speak through chinks to provide the ability to think and speak. But so that spiritual things might flow in once more into the natural man this had to be regenerated by the Lord, that is, truth from the natural man had to be introduced and joined to good in the rational. When this happens spiritual things have access to the natural man, for now the light of heaven flows in and illuminates things in the natural man, and causes what is there to receive light. The goods there receive the warmth that the light conveys, which is love and charity, whereas the truth receives rays of light, which is faith. It is in this way that spiritual things pass from the rational into natural good and truth. Natural good in that case consists in all the delight and satisfaction gained from having service to the spiritual man as the end in view, and so service to the neighbour, more so to one’s country, more so still to the Lord’s kingdom, and above all to the Lord. And natural truth consists in all doctrinal teaching and factual knowledge which have wisdom, that is, the performance of those things, as the end in view.
‘Her brother said, and her mother’ means doubt on the part of the natural man. ‘Let the girl stay with us’ means being kept back by them. ‘A week or ten days; after that you will go’ means a state of departure which was seen by them as a complete state. ‘And he said to them, Do not delay me’ means the will of the affection for good. ‘Since Jehovah has prospered my way’ means that all things had now been provided. ‘Send me away, and let me go to my master’ means as regards the state of introduction. ‘And they said, Let us call the girl and ask her personally’ means consent solely of the affection for truth. ‘And they called Rebekah and said to her, Are you going to go with this man? And she said, I will go’ means its full consent.
* lit. stay with us days or ten
** lit. ask her mouth
[2] From these considerations it is evident that no one is born into any truth but that everything has to be learned – learned by an external way, namely that of hearing and sight. By this way truth has to be introduced into and implanted in a person’s memory; but so long as truth is confined to the memory it is merely knowledge. So that truth may suffuse a person it has to be summoned from the memory and taken more towards the interior parts of his mind; for he is a human being by virtue of what is interiorly in him, which is the rational part of his mind. For without the faculty of reason no one is a human being. The character of a person’s rationality, and the amount he has, therefore determine what kind of a human being and how much of a human being he is. No one can possibly be rational unless good exists in him. The good which sets the human being above other living beings consists in loving God and loving the neighbour. All human good comes from that source, to which good truth has to be introduced and joined, within the rational. Truth is introduced and joined to good when a person loves God and loves the neighbour, for in that case truth enters into good, since good and truth mutually acknowledge each other. Indeed good is the source of all truth, and truth regards good as its own end in view and as its own soul – thus the source of its life.
[3] But it is not easy for truth to be separated from the natural man and to be raised up from there into the rational, for present in the natural man there are delusions, there are evil desires, and there are false persuasions. During the time these are present there and are linking themselves to truth the natural man holds on to such truth and does not allow it to be raised up into the rational. This is what is meant in the internal sense by these words, ‘Let the girl stay with us for a week or ten days; after that you will go’. The reason for this is that it doubts the truth and it reasons whether it really is the truth. But as soon as the evil desires and false persuasions, with their resulting delusions, are separated by the Lord, and that person – from good – begins to reject his reasonings against truth, and to treat his doubts with disdain, truth is in a condition to depart from the natural, to be raised up into the rational and to assume a state of good. For in this case truth comes to be truth rooted in good, and possesses life.
[4] To make these matters more intelligible let some examples be taken: It is a spiritual truth that all good comes from the Lord and all evil from hell. This truth has to be firmly established and elucidated in many ways before it can be raised up from the natural man into the rational. Nor can it possibly be raised up in that direction until the love of God abides in a person. For previously that truth is not acknowledged and so not believed. It is similar with other truths, such as with the truth that Divine providence exists in the most individual aspects of everything, and if it did not exist in these it would not exist in the whole. Or with the truth that a person first starts to live when that which in the world he believes to constitute the whole of life perishes and that the life which he now receives is in comparison with the life he had previously beyond words and boundless, and that no one has any knowledge at all of this life as long as he is under the influence of evil. These truths and others like them cannot be believed unless the person is governed by good. Good is what comprehends them, for the Lord flows in with wisdom by way of good.
[2] The Ancient Church formed for itself an idea of these things from marriages. That is to say, they formed that idea from a virgin’s state before betrothal; from her state after she had been betrothed; from her state when she was to be given away in marriage, and after that when she had been given away, and finally when she bore children to her husband.* The fruits of truth produced from good, or of faith from charity, they called children; and so on. Such was the wisdom of the Ancient Church. Their books were written in this style too, and the custom of writing in this fashion spread from them to the gentiles themselves. For by means of those things that exist in the world they wished to give expression to things in heaven; indeed from natural things they wished to see spiritual. But today that wisdom is entirely lost.
*The Latin can mean this or else when she was subject to her husband. But since in his rough draft Sw. first wrote gigneret prolem (bring forth offspring) the translation bore children is preferred here.
‘They sent away Rebekah their sister’ means separation from the affection for Divine truth. ‘And her nurse’ means from the innocence belonging to that affection. ‘And Abraham’s servant and his men’ means from the Divine things within the natural man. ‘And they blessed Rebekah and said to her’ means heartfelt desires resulting from Divine enlightenment. ‘Our sister, may you become thousands of myriads’ means infinite fruitfulness of the affection for truth. ‘And may your seed inherit the gate of those who hate you’ means the Lord’s spiritual kingdom arising from the marriage of good and truth in the Divine Human, a kingdom possessing charity and faith where evil and falsity had been previously. ‘And Rebekah rose up’ means a raising up of the affection for truth and the resulting separation. ‘And her maids’ means subsidiary affections. ‘And they rode on the camels’ means that the understanding part of the mind was raised up above natural facts. ‘And went after the man’ means under the guidance of natural Divine Truth. ‘And the servant took Rebekah and went’ means that natural Divine Good did the introducing.
[2] From this it becomes clear that innocence is the first state, which is that of ‘a suckling’. A woman who suckles an infant other than her own also means innocence therefore, for the state of giver and receiver, as with the one who acts and the other who is acted upon, is perceived as being similar. The reason why here it is said that they sent away ‘the nurse’ or wet nurse too is so that the affection for truth might be described, that is to say, that it sprang from innocence; for it is not the affection for truth unless it has innocence within it, 2526, 2780, 3111. Indeed it is by means of innocence that the Lord flows into that affection, doing so together with wisdom since true innocence is wisdom itself, see 2305, 2306; and those who possess it are seen in the eyes of angels as infants or small children, 154, 2306.
[3] That ‘a suckling’ in the Word means innocence is also evident from other places, as in David,
Out of the mouth of infants and sucklings You have founded strength. Ps. 8:2; Matt. 21:16.
Here ‘infants’ stands for celestial love, ‘sucklings’ for innocence. In Jeremiah,
Why are you committing great evil against your own souls, to cut off from you man and woman, infant and suckling from the midst of Judah, so that I cause no remnant to be left to you? Jer. 44:7.
Here similarly ‘infant and suckling’ stands for celestial love and its innocence. When these cease to exist no remnants exist any longer, that is, no good or truth that has been stored away by the Lord in the internal man remains any longer, remnants being good and truth stored away there by Him, see 1906, 2284. For when innocence perishes so do all goods and truths, for innocence comes directly from the Divine Himself, and so is the essential element in them. In the same prophet,
The infant and the suckling faint in the streets of the city. Lam. 2:11.
Here the meaning is similar. In the same prophet,
The sea monsters give the breast, they suckle their young; the daughter of My people is cruel, the tongue of the suckling has cleaved to the roof of its mouth for thirst; the little children begged for bread, none held it out to them. Lam. 4:3, 4.
Again ‘suckling’ stands for innocence, ‘little children’ for affections for good. In Moses,
Outside the sword will bereave – and out of the chambers terror – both young man and virgin, and suckling together with old man. Deut. 32:25.
‘The sword will bereave young man, virgin, and suckling together with old man’ stands for the fact that falsity will destroy the affection for truth and the affection for good, and also innocence together with wisdom. In Isaiah,
They will bring your sons in their bosom, and your daughters will be carried on their shoulder; and kings will be your foster fathers, and their queens your wet nurses. Isa. 49:22, 23.
‘Kings as foster fathers’ stands for intelligence, ‘queens as wet nurses’ for wisdom, which, as stated above, is the wisdom that goes with innocence.
[2] ‘A thousand’ meaning much, also that which is infinite – see 2575 – ‘a myriad’ means that which is even more, and ‘thousands of myriads’ that which is even more again, as also elsewhere. In Moses,
When the Ark came to rest he said, Return, O Jehovah, to the myriads of the thousands of Israel. Num. 10:36.
Here also ‘the myriads of thousands’ means that which is infinite because it has reference to the Lord, who is Jehovah here. In the same author,
Jehovah dawned from Seir upon them, He shone from Mount Paran, and came out of myriads of holiness. Deut. 33:2.
‘Myriads’ again stands for that which is infinite. In David,
The chariots of God are myriads of thousands of peacemakers. Ps. 68:17.
‘The chariots of God’ stands for things which belong to the Word and to doctrine drawn from it, ‘myriads of thousands’ for infinite things present there. In John,
I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne, numbering myriads of myriads, and thousands of thousands. Rev. 5:11.
This stands for the fact that they were countless.
[2] In the Ancient Church there existed this customary expression of a heartfelt desire which was said to a betrothed virgin when about to be married – ‘may you become thousands of myriads, and may your seed inherit the gate of your enemies (or those who hate you)’. But the wise of that Church understood spiritual things by these words. That is to say, to them that customary expression meant that when people entered into the marriage of good and truth – that is, once they were regenerate – goods and truths would become fruitful by thousands of myriads, that is, without end. That expression also meant to them that charity and faith would assume the position previously occupied by evil and falsity. But when the wisdom of the Ancient Church died out they no longer understood that customary expression in a spiritual way but in an altogether worldly one. That is to say, they meant that they would have countless descendants who would take possession of and inherit the land of the gentile nations. Jacob’s descendants more than all others understood the expression in this way and convinced themselves that this was how it was to be understood from the fact that they not only did increase enormously but also inherited the land, which to them was ‘the gate of their enemies’. They did not know that all these things were representatives, that is to say, representatives of the Lord’s celestial and spiritual kingdom, and that consequently after the expulsion of evils and falsities good and truth took their place. This will be especially clear when, in the Lord’s Divine mercy, those representatives are explained.
[3] In particular, that is to say, with each individual person who becomes the Lord’s kingdom, the situation is that before he becomes the kingdom, that is, before he is regenerated, nothing but evil and falsity exists within. Indeed hellish and devilish spirits are in possession of that which is called ‘the gate’, dealt with in 2851. But when he is becoming the Lord’s kingdom, that is, being regenerated, evils and falsities, or what amounts to the same, hellish and devilish spirits, are driven away from there, and good and truth enter in and inherit that position. A conscience for good and truth is in that case present. And what applies to the individual in particular applies also to people in general. This shows what these words are used to mean in the internal sense.
*The English terms maid and girl translate the same Latin word puella.
‘Isaac had come from Beer Lahai Roi’ means Divine Rational Good born from Divine Truth itself. ‘And was dwelling in the land of the south’ means consequently in Divine light. ‘And Isaac came out to meditate in the field’ means a state of the Rational immersed in good. ‘Towards evening’ means as compared with the things below it. ‘And lifted up his eyes and saw’ means directing the attention. ‘And behold, the camels were coming’ means towards general facts in the natural man.
*lit. came from coming [from]
Hagar called the name of Jehovah who spoke to her, You are a God who sees me; for she said, Have I not also here seen after Him who sees me? Therefore she called the spring, Beer Lahai Roi (The spring of the Living One who sees me).
For the meaning of these two verses, see 1952-1958, where also it is evident that ‘a spring’ means Divine Truth, and that ‘the Living One who sees me’ means Divine Rational Good, which is there called the Lord’s Interior man, springing from Divine Truth. The substance of this very deep arcanum is that Good and Truth belong essentially to the Divine itself; but the Lord’s Divine Human came into existence from Divine Good, and was born from Divine Truth. Or what amounts to the same, the Lord’s Essential Being (Esse) was Divine Good, and the Manifestation (Existere) of Him was Divine Truth. This was the origin of the Lord’s Divine Rational Good to which He joined Divine Truth from the Human.
[2] Light is mentioned many times in the Word, and in the internal sense it means truth springing from good. In the highest internal sense however ‘light’ means the Lord Himself since He is Good and Truth themselves. He Himself is also in actual fact the light in heaven, but this is infinitely brighter than the light on earth, see 1053, 1117, 1521-1533, 1619-1632. In that light spirits and angels behold one another, and by means of it all the glory that exists in heaven is clearly visible. In brightness that light seems to be much the same as the light in the world, but this is not the case, for it is not a natural light but a spiritual one. It holds wisdom within itself, so much so that it is nothing else than wisdom that shines in this manner before the eyes of those in heaven. Consequently the wiser the angels are, the brighter the light surrounding them, 2776. This light also enlightens the understanding of man, especially of one who is regenerate, but man does not discern it during his lifetime because the light of the world reigns at that time. Evil spirits too in the next life behold one another, and also behold many representatives which manifest themselves in the world of spirits. They do so indeed by the light of heaven. Yet it is an inferior light like that coming from a coal fire, for when the light of heaven reaches them it is turned into this inferior light.
[3] As for the source itself of light, this from eternity has existed from the Lord alone, for Divine Good itself and Divine Truth itself, the source of light, is the Lord. The Divine Human which existed from eternity, John 17:5, was that actual light. Because such light was unable any longer to influence the human race which had retreated so far from good and truth, and so from the light, and had cast itself into darkness, the Lord was therefore willing to be born and assume the Human itself. Indeed in so doing He was able to bring light not only to man’s rational concepts but also to his natural ideas. For the Lord made Divine within Himself both the Rational and the Natural so that people who were in such gross darkness could have light.
[4] As regards the Lord’s being ‘the light’, that is, Good and Truth themselves, and so the source of all intelligence and wisdom, and consequently of salvation, this becomes clear from many places in the Word, as in John,
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. John came to bear witness to the light. He was not that light but [came] to bear witness to the light. He was the true light which enlightens every man coming into the world. John 1:1, 4, 7-9.
‘The Word’ was Divine Truth, and so the Lord Himself as regards the Divine Human, of which it is said that ‘the Word was with God, and the Word was God’.
[5] In the same gospel,
This is the judgement, that light has come into the world, but men preferred darkness rather than light. John 3:19.
‘Light’ stands for Divine Truth. In the same gospel,
Jesus said, I am the light of the world. He who follows Me will not walk
darkness but will have the light of life. John 8:12.
In the same gospel,
The light is with you for a brief while longer. Walk, as long as you have the light, lest the darkness overtakes you. As long as you have the light, believe in the light, that you may be sons of the light. John 12:35, 36.
In the same gospel,
He who sees Me sees Him who sent Me. I have come as light into the world in order that everyone who believes in Me may not remain in darkness.
John 12:45, 46.
In Luke,
My eyes have seen Your salvation which You have prepared before the face of all peoples, a light for revelation to the gentiles, and the glory of Your people Israel. Luke 2:30-32.
This is Simeon’s prophecy regarding the Lord which was made after
His birth.
[6] In Matthew,
The people sitting in darkness have seen a great light; and for those sitting in the region and shadow of death, the light has arisen. Matt. 4:16; Isa. 9:2.
From all these places it is quite evident that as regards Divine Good and Truth within the Divine Human the Lord is called ‘the light’. The same is also seen in prophetical parts of the Old Testament, as in Isaiah,
The light of Israel will be a fire, and his Holy One a flame. Isa. 10:17.
In the same prophet,
I Jehovah have called You in righteousness, and I will give You for a covenant of the people, and a light of the nations. Isa. 42:6.
In the same prophet,
I have given You as a light of the nations, that You may be My salvation right to the ends of the earth. Isa. 49:6.
In the same prophet,
Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of Jehovah has risen upon you. Nations will walk to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising. Isa. 60:1, 3.
[7] All the light of heaven, consequently wisdom and intelligence, come
from the Lord. This is taught in John,
The Holy City, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband, has no need of the sun or of the moon to shed light in it; the glory of God will give it light, and its lamp is the Lamb.
Rev. 21:2, 3.
And further regarding the same city,
There will be no night there, nor do they need a lamp or light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light. Rev. 22:5.
[8] Also in Isaiah,
The sun will no longer be to you a light by day, and for brightness the moon will not give light to you, but Jehovah will be to you an everlasting light, and your God will be your glory. Your sun will no longer go down and your moon will not be withdrawn, for Jehovah will be to you an everlasting light. Isa. 60:19, 20.
‘The sun will no longer be a light by day, and for brightness the moon will not give its light’ stands for the fact that it is not the things that belong to natural light but those that belong to spiritual light which are meant by ‘Jehovah will be an everlasting light’. The name Jehovah used here and elsewhere in the Old Testament means the Lord, see 1343, 1736, 2156, 2329, 2921, 3023, 3035.
[9] His being the light of heaven was also disclosed to the three disciples Peter, James, and John – that is to say, at the Transfiguration when His face shone like the sun, and His garments became white as the light, Matt. 17:2. ‘Face like the sun’ meant Divine Good, ‘garments as the light’ Divine Truth. From this one may know what is meant by the words that occur in the blessing,
Jehovah make His face shine upon you and be merciful to you. Num. 6:25.
‘Jehovah’s face’ is mercy, peace, and good, see 222, 223; and as ‘the sun’ means Divine Love, the Lord’s Divine Love is accordingly seen in the angelic heaven as the sun, 30-38, 1053, 1521, 1529-1531, 2441, 2495.
‘Rebekah lifted up her eyes and saw Isaac’ means a reciprocal directing by the affection for truth. ‘And dropped down from upon the camel’ means the separation of this affection from facts within the natural man, at the point when rational good was seen. ‘And she said to the servant’ means investigation from the Divine Natural. ‘Who is that man there walking in the field to meet us?’ means regarding the Rational immersed in good alone. ‘And the servant said, He is my master’ means acknowledgement. ‘And she took a veil and covered herself’ means appearances of truth.
[2] A similar situation also exists with the things that constitute the cognitions of spiritual good and truth among people whom the Lord is regenerating or causing to be born again. At first they are exactly like young children, in that at that time the spiritual truths which they possess exist as facts, for when matters of doctrine are learned and introduced into the memory they are nothing other than facts. But then the Lord summons those facts from the memory one after another and implants them in the person’s life, that is, in good; for good is his life. Once this has happened a conversion so to speak takes place, that is to say, the person starts to act from good, that is, from life, and no longer from knowledge as he had done previously. Accordingly, anyone who is being born anew is like a young child in this respect; but they are matters to do with spiritual life that he absorbs, so that he does not act from doctrine, or truth, but from charity, or good. When this happens a state of blessedness begins with him and wisdom begins to exist with him. These considerations show what separation from facts within the natural man is, meant by Rebekah’s dropping down from upon the camel, which she did before she knew that it was Isaac. These details, as anyone may see, embody arcana within them.
[2] Good itself is holy because it is the Divine proceeding from the Lord, and flows in by a higher path or entrance within man. But truth, so far as its origin is concerned, is not holy because it flows in by a lower path or entrance, and at first belongs to the natural man. But when it is raised up from the natural man towards the rational man it is gradually purified, and at first sight of the affection for good is separated from facts, takes to itself the appearances of truth, and in this guise approaches good. This is a sign of the nature of its origins and that it could not endure the first sight of Divine good until it had entered the bridegroom’s chamber, which was the sanctuary of good, and the two had become joined together. At that point truth no longer beholds good from or through appearances, but is beheld by good without any appearances.
[3] But it should be recognized that no truths with man, nor even with an angel, are ever pure, that is, free of appearances. Every single one is an appearance of the truth, but appearances are nevertheless accepted by the Lord as truths if they hold good within them. To the Lord alone do pure truths, being Divine truths, belong – for as the Lord is Good itself, so is He Truth itself. See however what has been stated already about truths and appearances of truth:
The coverings and the veils of the Tent of Meeting meant appearances of truth, 2576.
Truths with man are appearances steeped in illusions, 2053.
Rational concepts are appearances of truth, 2516.
Truths exist within appearances, 2196, 2203, 2209, 2242.
Divine good flows into appearances, and even into illusions, 2554.
Appearances of truth are adapted by the Lord as though they were truths, 1832.
In the Word things are expressed in accord with appearances, 1838.
What appearances are however becomes quite clear from those places in the Word where things are expressed according to appearances. But there are different degrees of appearances of truth. Natural appearances of truth are for the most part illusions, but when they reside with people who are governed by good they ought not in their case to be called illusions but appearances, and even in some respects truths, for good is held within them which holds the Divine within itself and causes them to be different in essence. Rational appearances of truth however are more and more interior. These occur in heaven, that is to say, they exist with angels who are in heaven; see 2576.
[4] To have some idea of what the appearances of truth are let the following serve by way of illustration:
i Man supposes that he is reformed and regenerated by means of the truth of faith, but this is an appearance. He is reformed and regenerated by means of the good of faith, that is, by means of charity towards the neighbour and love to the Lord.
ii Man supposes that because truth teaches, truth enables him to perceive what is good; but this is an appearance. It is good that enables truth to perceive, for good is the soul or life of truth.
iii Man supposes that truth leads to good when he lives according to the truth he has learned; but it is good which flows into truth and leads truth towards itself.
iv To man it seems as though truth perfects good, when in fact good perfects truth.
v To man it seems as though the good actions of life are the fruits of faith, but they are the fruits of charity.
From these few illustrations one can know in some measure what appearances of truth are. Such appearances are countless.
‘The servant told Isaac all the things that he had done’ means perception from the Divine Natural showing how real things stood now. ‘And Isaac brought her into the tent of Sarah his mother’ means the sanctuary of truth within the Divine Human. ‘And he took Rebekah, and she became his wife, and he loved her’ means the joining together. ‘And Isaac was comforted after [the death of] his mother’ means a new state.
[2] The situation is that the rational part of the mind exists in the degree above the natural, and Rational Good within the Lord was Divine. Truth however which was to be raised up from the natural was not Divine until joined to the Divine Good of the Rational. So that the Good of the Rational might flow into the natural therefore, there had to be a means in between. This means could not be anything else than the natural which was to partake of the Divine. This is represented by the oldest servant of Abraham’s house administering all that he had, 3019, 3020, for that servant means the Divine Natural, see 3191, 3192, 3204, 3206.
[2] It is impossible to say anything more about this very deep arcanum than this: Divine Good and Truth themselves within the Lord’s Divine Human to which Truth from the Human was joined are what were meant by the Sanctuary or Holy of Holies in the Tabernacle and in the Temple. The nature of that Good and Truth was represented by the objects within the Sanctuary, such as the golden altar, the table with the loaves of the presence, and the lampstand; and further within, by the Mercy Seat and the Ark; and within it, inmostly, by the Testimony which was the Law delivered from Sinai. This was the Holy of Holies itself or Sanctuary of Truth.
[2] As to the Human the Lord was made new, that is, was glorified, or what amounts to the same, was made Divine; but nobody can possibly grasp this, nor thus believe it, who is immersed in worldly and bodily loves. He has no knowledge at all of what spiritual or celestial is, and does not even wish to know. But anyone who is not immersed in worldly and bodily loves can perceive it, for he believes that the Lord is one with the Father, that everything holy comes from Him, and consequently that He is Divine even as regards the Human. And anyone who believes this perceives it in his own way.
[3] The state of the Lord’s glorification can be grasped to some extent from the state of man’s regeneration, for man’s regeneration is an image of the Lord’s glorification, 3043, 3138. When a person is being regenerated he becomes completely different from before and is made new. Once he has been regenerated therefore he is called one who has been born again and created anew. At that point a person’s face and speech remain the same, but not so his mind. Once he is regenerate his mind is open towards heaven, and love to the Lord and charity towards the neighbour, together with faith, reside in it. It is the mind that makes him a person who is different and new. Change of state cannot be discerned in a person’s body, only in his spirit. The body is merely the covering for his spirit. When he lays aside the former his spirit is seen, and indeed in a form altogether different if he has been regenerated. In this case it is a visible form of love and charity that possesses beauty beyond description, 553, replacing the previous form, which had been a visible form of hatred and cruelty possessing ugliness also beyond description. From this it may become clear what a regenerate person is, that is, one born again or created anew, namely one who is altogether different from before and who is new.
[4] From this image one can have some conception of the Lord’s glorification. He was not regenerated as man is but was made Divine, being made so from Divine love itself, for He was made Divine love itself. The nature of His form at that time was shown to Peter, James, and John when they were allowed to see Him not with their physical eyes but with those of the spirit, that is to say, on the occasion when His face shone like the sun, Matt. 17:2. This was His Divine Human, as is clear from the voice which at that time declared from the cloud, ‘This is My beloved Son’, Matt. 17:5 – ‘the Son’ being the Divine Human, see 2628.
In the world of spirits countless representatives manifest themselves almost constantly. They are visible forms of spiritual and celestial things, not unlike the forms that occur in the world. The origin of them I have been given to know through daily association with spirits and angels. Representatives in the world of spirits flow in from heaven, and from the ideas and the discussions of the angels there. Indeed when angels’ ideas and their discussions resulting from those ideas come down to spirits, they present themselves in a variety of ways as representatives. Upright spirits are able to know from those representatives what angels are discussing with one another, for inwardly representatives have within them that which comes from angels, and since this stirs the affections of those spirits, it is perceived even as to the essential nature of it. Angels’ ideas and discussions cannot present themselves to spirits in any other way, for an idea existing with an angel contains immeasurably more than an idea existing with a spirit, and unless it were given visible form and presented itself in a representative way, and so visually by means of images, a spirit would understand hardly anything whatever of those things. For such things are for the most part inconceivable. But when they are represented by means of visible forms they are rendered such that spirits are able to comprehend some fairly general aspects. This is a marvel, for not even the smallest detail of the things that are represented fails to express something spiritual or celestial present in an idea existing with the angelic community from which the representative flows down.
[2] This light – the light of heaven – is immeasurably more perfect than the light of the world. Things which in the light of the world make a single ray make myriads in the light of heaven. The light of heaven holds intelligence and wisdom within it. This is the light which flows into the light of the world which shines in the external or natural man and causes the latter to perceive things with the senses. Unless the light of heaven were flowing in a person would have no discernment at all, for the life present in things which belong to the light of the world is received from that inflowing light. Between these two forms of light – that is, between things that belong to the light of heaven and those that belong to the light of the world – a correspondence exists when the external or natural man makes one with the internal or spiritual man, that is, when the external man is subservient to the internal. In this case things that occur in the light of the world are representative of such as occur in the light of heaven.
[2] Spirits who are interested only in the things that belong to the light of the world, and who are consequently under the influence of falsities derived from evils, do indeed in the next life have light from heaven, but it is like a feeble light shed by that of an ignis fatuus, and like that emitted from a burning coal or a firebrand. This light however, as the light of heaven draws near, is instantly extinguished and turns into thick darkness. Those who see in that light are subject to delusions, and the things they see in their delusions they believe to be truths; and to them none else are truths. Their delusions are also tied up with filthy and disgusting objects in which they take very great delight, so that in their thinking they are like those who are crazy and insane. Where falsities are concerned they do not stop and reason whether these are accurate or not, but instantly affirm that they are so; but where goods and truths are concerned they engage all the time in reasoning, which ends in denial of them.
[3] For truths and goods received from the light of heaven flow into the interior mind which with those people is closed, and therefore that light flows around outside that mind, and becomes such that it is modified only by the falsities which appear to them as truths. Truths and goods cannot be acknowledged except with those whose interior mind has been opened. Into that mind light from the Lord flows in, and to the extent it has been opened those things are acknowledged. That mind has been opened only with those in whom innocence, love to the Lord, and charity towards the neighbour are present. It is not opened with those in whom truths of faith are present unless goodness of life is present at the same time.
The subject in this chapter is the sons of Abraham by Keturah, and then also the sons of Ishmael, who are mentioned by name. After that Isaac and Rebekah are referred to – that is, the birth of Esau and Jacob to them; and finally a description is given of how Esau sold his birthright to Jacob for lentil pottage. Anyone may see that these details are such as do indeed serve to present that period in the history of the Church, but that they are of little use where spiritual life is concerned, for the sake of which the Word exists. What value is it to anyone if he knows who the sons were that were born to Abraham by Keturah, and who that were born to Ishmael; and also if he knows that Esau, when exhausted from hunting, desired the lentil pottage, and that Jacob by being crafty in that situation acquired the birthright in exchange for that pottage? Similarly with the next chapter. What value is it to anyone if he knows that Abimelech’s herdsmen disputed with Isaac’s over the wells which they had dug, in almost the same way as they had done previously with Abraham’s herdsmen in Chapter 21? In addition some places include mere lists of names, as in Chapter 36, where the descendants of Esau are listed. And the same is true with every other chapter. As historical narratives they contain so little of the Divine that you cannot possibly refer to them as that Word which is Divinely inspired as to every word and even to every jot – that is, the Word which was sent down from the Lord by way of heaven to the one who wrote those things. For what has been sent down from the Lord is Divine in every single part. Thus, being the exploits of men, the historical descriptions are not Divine, except by virtue of the things which are contained deeply concealed within those descriptions, every single one of which has regard to the Lord and His kingdom. In embodying such things within them the historical narratives of the Word are quite different from and superior to all other historical writings in all the world.
GENESIS 25
1 And Abraham took another wife; and her name was Keturah.
2 And she bore to him Zimran, and Jokshan, and Medan, and Midian, and Ishbak, and Shuah.
3 And Jokshan begot Sheba and Dedan; and the sons of Dedan were Asshurim, and Letushim, and Leummim.
4 And the sons of Midian, Ephah and Epher, and Enoch,* and Abida, and Eldaah. All these were the sons of Keturah.
5 And Abraham gave all that he had to Isaac.
6 And to the concubines’ sons, whom Abraham had, Abraham gave gifts; and he sent them away from being with Isaac his son – while he was still living – eastwards to the land of the east.
7 And these are the days of the years of Abraham’s life which he lived, a hundred and seventy-five years.
8 And Abraham breathed his last and died in a good old age, an old man and full [of years]; and he was gathered to his peoples.
9 And Isaac and Ishmael his sons buried him at the cave of Machpelah, at the field of Ephron the son of Zohar the Hittite, which faced Mamre.
10 The field which Abraham bought from the sons of Heth, there Abraham was buried and Sarah his wife.
11 And so it was after the death of Abraham, that God blessed Isaac his son; and Isaac dwelt in** Beer Lahai Roi.
12 And these are the generations of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah’s servant-girl, bore to Abraham.
13 And these are the names of the sons of Ishmael, by their names, according to their births: Nebaioth, Ishmael’s firstborn, and Kedar, and Abdeel, and Mibsam;
14 And Mishma, and Dumah, and Massa;
15 Hadad, and Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah.
16 And these are the sons of Ishmael, and these are their names, in their villages, and in their fortified places; twelve princes of their peoples.
17 And these are the years of Ishmael’s life, a hundred and thirty-seven years; and he breathed his last and died, and was gathered to his peoples.
18 And they resided from Havilah as far as Shur, which is opposite Egypt as you come towards Asshur. [His lot] fell opposite all his brothers.
19 And these are the generations of Isaac, Abraham’s son: Abraham begot Isaac.
20 And Isaac was a son of forty years when he took Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan Aram, the sister of Laban the Aramean, to be his wife.
21 And Isaac prayed to Jehovah on behalf of his wife because she was barren; and Jehovah granted his prayer, and Rebekah his wife conceived.
22 And the sons struggled together within her, and she said, If this is so, why am I [going through this]? And she went to inquire of Jehovah.
23 And Jehovah said to her, Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples will be separated from your bowels, and [one] people will prevail over [the other] people, and the greater will serve the less.
24 And her days for bringing forth were completed, and behold, there were twins in her womb.
25 And the first came out, ruddy all over, like a hairy garment; and they called his name Esau.
26 And after that his brother came out, and his hand was grasping Esau’s heel; and he called his name Jacob. And Isaac was a son of sixty years when she bore them.
27 And the boys grew up, and Esau was a man skilled in hunting, a man of the field; and Jacob was a blameless man, dwelling in tents.
28 And Isaac loved Esau because of the venison*** in his mouth; and Rebekah loved Jacob.
29 And Jacob boiled pottage; and Esau came from the field, and he was weary.
30 And Esau said to Jacob, Let me sip now from the red [pottage], this red [pottage], for I am weary. Therefore he called his name Edom.
31 And Jacob said, Sell me – as if today – your birthright.
32 And Esau said, Behold, I am going to die; so what is this birthright to me?
33 And Jacob said, Swear to me, as if today; and he swore to him, and he sold his birthright to Jacob.
34 And Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil pottage; and he ate, and drank, and he rose up, and went. And Esau despised the birthright.
*In most English versions this name appears as Hanoch, but in the Latin, as in the original Hebrew, the spelling is the same as that of the one mentioned in Gen. 4:17, 18; 5:18-24.
** lit. with
*** or hunting
In this chapter the subject in the internal sense is this:
The Lord’s spiritual kingdom and its derivatives, verses 1-4. It was separated from the Lord’s celestial kingdom, verses 5, 6. The representation of the Lord by Abraham came to an end, verses 7, 8; and the representation of the Lord by Isaac and Ishmael started, verses 9-11.
Verse 1 And Abraham took another wife; and her name was Keturah.
‘Abraham took another wife’ means a further state which the Lord, whom Abraham represents, passed through – for ‘Abraham and Sarah’ represented the Lord as regards the Divine Celestial, ‘Abraham and Keturah’ the Lord as regards the Divine Spiritual, so that ‘Abraham’ here represents the Lord as regards Divine Spiritual Good, and his wife as regards Divine Truth allied to that Good. ‘And her name was Keturah’ means the essence of this Divine Truth.
And God made the two great Lights, the greater Light to have dominion over the day, and the lesser Light to have dominion over the night. Gen. 1:16.
[2] The Lord’s kingdom is in general celestial and spiritual, that is, it consists of those who are celestial and of those who are spiritual. And because the Lord’s Divine appears to those who are celestial as being celestial, but to those who are spiritual as being spiritual, it is therefore said that Abraham and Sarah represented the Lord as regards the Divine Celestial, but Abraham and Keturah as regards the Divine Spiritual. But as scarcely anyone knows what the celestial is or what the spiritual, and who they are who are celestial or spiritual, please see what has been stated and shown about them already in the following places:
What the celestial is and what the spiritual, 1155, 1577, 1824, 2048, 2184, 2227, 2507.
Who celestial people are and who spiritual, 2088, 2669, 2708, 2715.
The celestial man is a likeness of the Lord and does good from love, whereas the spiritual man is an image of the Lord and does it from faith, 50-52, 1013.
Those who are celestial perceive truth from good and never indulge in reasoning about it, 202, 337, 607, 895, 1121, 2715.
With the celestial man good is implanted in the will part of his mind, but with the spiritual man in the understanding part, within which, in the case of those who are spiritual, a new will is created, 863, 875, 895, 897, 927, 1023, 1043, 1044, 2256.
From good itself those who are celestial see things without limit, but those who are spiritual, because they reason whether a thing is so, cannot reach even the furthest limit to which the light that the celestial have spreads, 2718.
Compared with those who are celestial those who are spiritual dwell in obscurity, 1043, 2708, 2715.
The Lord came into the world to save those who are spiritual, 2661, 2716, 2833, 2834.
[2] What spiritual good is and spiritual truth allied to that good becomes clear from the places referred to immediately above in 3235. With the spiritual man good is in general that which is called the good of faith, which is nothing else than charity towards the neighbour. But to be charity it must come from the new will which the Lord confers on the spiritual man. Spiritual truth allied to that good is what is called the truth of faith, which initially does nothing else than see charity as the end in view for which it exists, and later on as the source of its own existence. To be the truth of faith, or to be faith, it must in the case of the spiritual man come from a new understanding which the Lord confers on him, and which must receive its light from the new will.
‘She bore to him Zimran, and Jokshan, and Medan, and Midian, and Ishbak, and Shuah’ represents general divisions of the Lord’s spiritual kingdom in heaven and on earth. ‘And Jokshan begot Sheba and Dedan’ means the derivatives from the first division. ‘And the sons of Dedan were Asshurim, and Letushim, and Leummim’ means the derivatives from the second division. ‘And the sons of Midian, Ephah and Epher, and Enoch, and Abida and Eldaah’ means the derivatives from the third division. ‘All these were the sons of Keturah’ means as regards matters of doctrine and the worship that sprang from these.
*In most English versions this name appears as Hanoch, but in the Latin, as in the original Hebrew, the spelling is the same as that of the one mentioned in Gen. 4:17, 18; 5:18-24.
[2] It is clear that these sons of Abraham by Keturah have this representation from the consideration that Abraham and Keturah represent the Lord’s Divine Spiritual; that is to say, ‘Abraham’ represents the Lord’s Divine Spiritual Good, ‘Keturah’ His Divine Spiritual Truth joined to that Good, dealt with just above in 3235, 3236. And because Abraham and Keturah represent the Lord’s Divine Spiritual, their sons therefore represent general divisions of the kingdom which originates in the Lord’s Divine Spiritual. The expression ‘general divisions’ is used because the Lord’s kingdom is represented by ‘the land’ which is divided up among those to whom it is given to possess as an inheritance, as the land of Canaan was given to the children of Israel. There are in general twelve divisions, for twelve means all things of charity and of faith derived from this which constitute the Lord’s kingdom, dealt with below at verse 16. Six, thus half that number, is mentioned here; but half of a number embodies the same as the whole number, for provided that which it embraces is similar, multiplying and dividing does not vary the essential character of the thing itself.
[2] It should be recognized in addition that the inhabitants of those kingdoms are distinguished from one another by means of good and truth for the reason that some are governed more by good, others more by truth. And it is from this that derivatives arise, that is to say, derivatives of good and derivatives of truth. The derivatives of good in the Lord’s spiritual kingdom are those which are represented by the sons of Jokshan, who are referred to in this verse, but the derivatives of truth there are those which are represented by the sons of Midian, who are referred to in the next verse. Now because there are two categories of spiritual people – those governed more by good and those governed more by truth – two varieties of doctrine therefore exist among them, namely matters of doctrine concerning charity and matters of doctrine concerning faith. Matters of doctrine concerning charity exist for the sake of those governed by the good of faith, who are meant here by the sons of Jokshan. But matters of doctrine concerning faith exist for the sake of those governed by the truth of faith, who are meant by the sons of Midian. Sheba and Dedan are those who constitute the first category, that is, people in the Lord’s spiritual kingdom who are governed by the good of faith and with whom matters concerning charity exist. This explains why Sheba and Dedan mean the cognitions of celestial things, or what amounts to the same, those with whom such cognitions exist, that is, with whom matters of doctrine concerning charity exist, for matters of doctrine are cognitions, and that which is celestial with the spiritual man is charity. For Sheba and Dedan mean those cognitions, as has been shown in Volume One, in 117, 1168, 1171, 1172, though there they are the great-grandsons of Ham, and are called the sons of Raamah. It should be realized however that Ham, like Japheth and Shem also, never was an actual person, but that those who belonged to the Church after the Flood called Noah were distinguished as regards goods and truths into three groups, and these groups were referred to by those names, 736, 1062, 1065, 1140, 1141, 1162, and in various other places. Nevertheless there were nations which were so called, but these were descended from different individuals, as is evident here from Sheba and Dedan who were descended from Jokshan, Abraham’s son by Keturah.
[3] As regards ‘Sheba’ meaning those with whom cognitions of celestial things exist- thus those governed by the good of faith – this is clear from the places introduced in 117, 1171. ‘Dedan’ has a similar meaning, as is clear from the texts quoted in 1172, as well as from the following: In Isaiah,
The prophecy concerning Arabia. In the forest in Arabia you will spend the night, O bands of Dedanites. To the thirsty bring water; O inhabitants of the land of Tema, meet with his bread the fugitive, for they will flee before the swords, before the drawn sword. Isa. 21:13-15.
‘Spending the night in the forest in Arabia’ stands for being made desolate as regards good. For ‘Arabia’ means those with whom celestial things exist, that is, the goods of faith, so that ‘speeding the night there in the forest’ is when goods exist no longer, and therefore means desolation, which is also described by ‘fleeing before the swords, before the drawn sword’. Celestial things, that is, the goods of faith – or what amount to the same, the works of charity – which are theirs, are meant by ‘bringing water to the thirsty, and with bread meeting the fugitive’.
[4] In Jeremiah,
I took the cup from Jehovah’s hand and made all the nations to whom Jehovah sent me drink it – Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, and its kings and its princes, to turn them into a desolation; Pharaoh king of Egypt, and his servants, and his princes, and all his people; all the kings of Tyre and all the kings of Sidon; Dedan and Tema, and Buz, and all who have cut the corners [of their hair] all the kings of Zimri, and all the kings of Elam, and all the kings of Media, and all the kings of the north. Jer. 25:17-19, 22, 23, 25, 26.
This also refers to the desolation of the spiritual Church, different elements of which Church are mentioned in order and are meant by Jerusalem, the cities of Judah, Egypt, Tyre, Sidon, Dedan, Tema, Buz, Zimri, Elam, and Media.
[5] In Ezekiel,
Sheba and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish, and all its young lions will say to you, Have you come to seize the spoil? Have you assembled your company to carry off plunder, to carry away silver and gold, and to take cattle and possessions, and seize great spoil? Ezek. 38:13.
This refers to Gog who means external worship separated from internal, which is idolatrous, 1151. ‘Sheba and Dedan’ stands for the internal aspects of worship, namely the goods of faith, ‘Tarshish’ for corresponding external worship. The silver, gold, cattle, possessions, and spoil which Gog – or external worship separated from the internal – wishes to ‘carry away’ are the cognitions of good and truth, which those who are meant by Sheba and Dedan fight for and defend, and who are on that account called ‘young lions’. In the proper sense ‘Sheba’ is those with whom cognitions of good exist, ‘Dedan’ those with whom cognitions of truth derived from good are present.
[2] In the Lord’s kingdom there are countless variations to goods and truths, yet all those countless variations make up one heaven. Indeed there are so many that one community is in no sense exactly like another, that is, governed by the same good and truth, see 684, 685, 690. One heaven there is made up of many varying parts arranged by the Lord in such a way that they all accord. This accordance or harmony of the many is effected by the Lord through the relationship which each of them has to Him, 551. It is like the organs, members, and viscera of the body. None is exactly like another. Yet although they are all different from one another they nevertheless make one, through the relatedness of them all to one soul, and through this soul to heaven and so to the Lord. For anything that has no connection with the Lord is in reality nothing. From this it may be seen that specific differences in truth and good are countless. But the kinds of these, indeed the most general kinds, which belong to the spiritual Church, are meant by these sons and grandsons of Abraham by Keturah.
[3] Because members of the spiritual Church do not have perception, as those of the celestial Church do, of what good and truth are, but instead acknowledge as truths things which they have had to learn, they are therefore constantly engaged in discussion about them and in reasoning whether they are true. Everybody adheres to the teaching which his own Church upholds and calls it the truth. This is what gives rise to so many differences. Furthermore the majority make their minds up about goods and truths from appearances and illusions – each one in a different way from another. But no one does so from any perception; indeed they do not know what perception is. Since their understanding is so darkened as regards goods and truths of faith, it is no wonder that disagreements exist about the most essential truth of all, that is to say, about the Lord’s Divine, His Human, and His Holy proceeding from these. Those who are celestial perceive that these are not three but one, but in the case of those who are spiritual a mental image of three remains, though they are willing to think of them as one. Since therefore disagreements exist regarding this most essential truth, it may be seen that the variations and differences in matters of doctrine are countless. From this one may know the origin of the derivatives meant by the names of those mentioned at this point. But although there are so many variations and differences in matters of doctrine, or so many derivatives, nevertheless they all together form one Church when everyone acknowledges charity to be the essential thing of the Church, or what amounts to the same, when everyone regards life as the end in view of doctrine – that is, when everyone asks, How does a member of the Church live? rather than, What does he think? For in the next life everyone is allotted a place by the Lord that accords with the good constituting his life, not with the truth he knows from doctrine separated from that good.
[2] Just as those in whom the truth of faith is joined to the good of that faith are meant by Midian so also in the contrary sense Midian means those under the influence of falsity because the good of life is lacking in them – as becomes clear from the following: In Isaiah,
A drove of camels will cover you, dromedaries of Midian and Ephah; all those from Sheba will come. They will bring gold and frankincense, and will proclaim the praises of Jehovah. Isa. 60:6.
This refers to the Lord’s spiritual kingdom. ‘Dromedaries of Midian and Ephah’ stands for matters of doctrine. Matters of doctrine concerning good are meant by ‘gold’, those concerning truth by ‘frankincense’; and both by ‘the praises of Jehovah’. From this also it is evident what ‘Ephah’ means. ‘The Midianites’ who pulled Joseph out of the pit and sold him to Ishmaelites, and to Potiphar in Egypt, Gen. 37:28, 36, means people governed by truth coupled to simple good, as will in the Lord’s Divine mercy be seen later on when those verses are dealt with.
[3] As regards ‘Midian’ also meaning those under the influence of falsity because the good of life is lacking in them, this may be seen from what is said about Midian in Moses,
The elders of Moab and the elders of Midian with deceptions in their hand came to Balaam and spoke to him the words of Balak. Num. 22:4, 7, and following verses.
In the good sense ‘Moab’ stands for people with whom natural good exists and who easily allow themselves to be misled, but in the contrary sense stands for those who adulterate goods, 2468. ‘Midian’ in the good sense, as has been stated, stands for those who are governed by truth coupled to simple good, and so who are easily led to believe things, but in the contrary sense, as here, stands for those who falsify truths. Falsifications are meant by ‘deceptions in their hand’, and deeds which are the product of falsities by their sending to Balaam to act against the children of Israel, who are the goods, and from these the truths, of faith.
[4] The acts of whoredom committed by the sons of Israel with Midianite women which brought about the plague that Phinehas checked by running through with his spear the Midianite woman and the Israelite man in the brothel, Num. 25:6-8, and following verses, has a similar meaning, for acts of whoredom represented falsifications of truth, 2466, 2729. And because falsifications of truth are what are meant in the internal sense by acts of whoredom, therefore by command twelve thousand of the children of Israel assailed them, killed their kings, all the males, and the women they had taken captive who had had carnal knowledge of a man, and divided the booty among themselves, Num. 25:16, 17; 31:1-end. The reason why ‘twelve thousand’ were involved was that ‘twelve’ means all things of faith, 577, 2089, 2129 (end), 2130 (end), by means of which falsities are destroyed. ‘The kings’ they killed are falsities, as also are ‘the males’, ‘the women who had had carnal knowledge of a man’ are affections for falsity, and ‘the booty’ which consisted of gold, silver, and cattle, are truths that have been falsified. From this it is evident that every single thing mentioned there is representative of the punishment and destruction of falsity by means of truths.
[5] The same is meant by the facts related about the Midianites in the Book of Judges,
Because the children of Israel did evil in the eyes of Jehovah they were given into the hand of Midian for seven years.
On account of Midian the children of Israel made dens for themselves in the mountains, also caves, and strongholds. And whenever Israel put in seed, Midian and Amalek and the sons of the east came up and destroyed the produce of their land.
After that they were liberated by Gideon by means of the three hundred who had lapped water with their tongue like a dog, whereas those who had sunk down on their knees to drink had been sent home.
Further references to them, in addition to these, are made in Chapters 6-8.
Here too every single detail is representative of the falsification of truth, and on that account of punishment even to the point of their being destroyed by the kind of things meant by ‘lapping water with their tongue like a dog’. But what each detail means in the internal sense would take too long to explain here. All this will in the Lord’s Divine mercy be dealt with in its proper place. In Habakkuk,
He looked and scattered the nations, and the mountains of time were dissolved, and the hills of old sank down. Below Aven I saw the tents of Cushan, the curtains of the land of Midian trembled. Hab. 3:6, 7.
This refers to the Coming of the Lord. ‘The tents of Cushan’ stands for a religion raised up out of evil, ‘the curtains of the land of Midian’ for a religion raised up out of falsity.
‘Abraham gave all that he had to Isaac’ in the highest sense means all the Divine things within the Divine Rational, and in the relative sense the celestial things of love imparted to the Lord’s celestial kingdom. ‘And to the concubines’ sons, whom Abraham had, Abraham gave gifts’ means that places in the Lord’s spiritual kingdom were allotted to those adopted by the Lord’s Divine Human, namely those who were spiritual. ‘And he sent them away from being with Isaac his son’ means the distinguishing and separation of those who were spiritual from those who were celestial. ‘While he was still riving’ means to whom he was able to impart life. ‘Eastwards to the land of the east’ means towards the good of faith.
[2] There are two components which strictly speaking make up the human – the rational and the natural. The Lord’s Rational is represented by ‘Isaac’, but His Natural by ‘Jacob’. The Lord made both of these Divine. How He made the Rational Divine is contained in what is stated regarding Isaac, but how He made the Natural so in what is stated later on regarding Jacob. But the latter – the Natural – could not be made Divine before the Rational was made Divine, for it was by means of the Rational that the Natural became Divine. This explains why the words that are being explained here mean all the Divine things within the Divine Rational.
[3] Furthermore every single detail which in the internal sense has reference to the Lord also has reference to His kingdom and Church, the reason being that the Lord’s Divine constitutes His kingdom. Consequently when the Lord is the subject so also is His kingdom the subject; see 1965. However when the internal sense has reference to the Lord it is the highest sense, but when it has reference to His kingdom it is the relative sense. The relative sense of these words – ‘Abraham gave all to Isaac’ – is that the celestial things of love were imparted to the Lord’s celestial kingdom. Indeed in the relative sense ‘Isaac’ means the celestial kingdom, for the rest of Abraham’s sons, that is to say, those he had by Keturah, mean the Lord’s spiritual kingdom, as shown above, as also does Ishmael, who is dealt with below.
[2] From what has been shown several times already about those who constitute the Lord’s spiritual kingdom and who are called the spiritual, as in 3235 and elsewhere, it becomes clear that they are not sons of the marriage itself of good and truth, but of a certain covenant not so conjugial. They are indeed descended from the same father but not from the same mother, that is, from the same Divine Good but not from the same Divine Truth. Indeed with those who are celestial, since they are the product of the marriage itself of good and truth, good exists and truth rooted in that good. They never make investigations into what the truth may be but have a perception of it from good. Nor in conversation do they say more than this regarding what is true, ‘Yes, that is so’, in keeping with the Lord’s teaching in Matthew,
Let your words be Yes, yes; No, no; anything beyond this is from evil.* Matt. 5:37.
But those who are spiritual, since they are the product of a covenant not so conjugial, do not have any perception from which they can know what is true. Instead they call that the truth which parents and teachers have told them to be the truth. Consequently with them there is no marriage of good and truth. Nevertheless that which they believe to be the truth for the reason just given is adopted by the Lord as truth when goodness of life exists with them; see 1832. This now explains why the spiritual are here called ‘the concubines’ sons’, which is used to mean all the sons of Keturah mentioned already, and also those descended from Hagar, dealt with shortly below in verses 12-18.
[3] In former times – to enable both those who are celestial and those who are spiritual to be represented in marriages – a man was allowed to have a concubine in addition to a wife. That concubine was given to the husband by his wife (uxor), in which case the concubine was called his wife (mulier), or was said to have been given to him as a wife (mulier), as when Hagar the Egyptian was given to Abraham by Sarah, Gen. 16:3, when the servant-girl Bilhah was given to Jacob by Rachel, Gen. 30:4, and when the servant-girl Zilpah was given to Jacob by Leah, Gen. 30:9. In those cases they are called ‘wives’ (mulier), but elsewhere concubines, as is Hagar the Egyptian in the present verse, Bilhah in Gen. 35:22, and even Keturah herself in 1 Chron. 1:32.
[4] The reason why those men of old had concubines in addition to a wife, as not only Abraham and Jacob did, but also their descendants, such as Gideon, Judg. 8:31; Saul, 2 Sam. 3:7; David, 2 Sam. 5:13; 15:16; Solomon, 1 Kings 11:3, was that they were permitted to do so for the sake of the representation. That is to say, the celestial Church was represented by the wife, and the spiritual Church by the concubine. They were permitted to do so because they were the kind of men with whom conjugial love did not exist; so that to them marriage was not marriage but merely copulation for the sake of begetting off-spring. With such persons those permissions were possible without any harm being done to love or consequently to the conjugial covenant. But such permissions are never possible among people with whom good and truth are present and who are internal people, or potentially so. For as soon as good and truth, and internal things, exist with the human being, such permissions come to an end. This is why Christians are not allowed, as the Jews were, to take a concubine in addition to a wife, and why such is adultery. Regarding the adoption of those who are spiritual by the Lord’s Divine Human, see what has been stated and shown already on the same subject in 2661, 2716, 2833, 2834.
* or from the evil one
The wisdom of Solomon surpassed the wisdom of all the sons of the east. 1 Kings 4:30.
And in Matthew, in reference to those who came to Jesus at His birth,
Wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? for we have seen His star in the east and have come to worship Him. Matt. 2:1, 2.
[2] Indeed in Syria there existed the final remnants of the Ancient Church, which is why cognitions of good and truth still remained there, as also becomes clear from Balaam who not only worshipped Jehovah but also prophesied concerning the Lord and called Him,
A star out of Jacob and a sceptre out of Israel. Num. 24:17.
The fact that he belonged to the sons of the east in Syria is self-evident, for he says of himself when delivering his discourse,
From Syria Balak has brought me, the king of Moab from the mountains of the east. Num. 23:7.
The fact that Aram or Syria was where the sons of the east lived is made additionally clear from the consideration that when Jacob went to Syria he is said to have gone to the land of the sons of the east, Gen. 29:1.
‘These are the days of the years of Abraham’s life which he lived’ means the state representative of the Lord as regards the Divine itself that was portrayed by means of Abraham. ‘A hundred and seventy-five years’ means the things constituting that state. ‘And Abraham breathed his last and died’ means the end of the representation portrayed by means of Abraham. ‘In a good old age, an old man and full [of years]’ means a new state of representation. ‘And he was gathered to his peoples’ means that these things involving Abraham [were completed]. ‘And Isaac and Ishmael his sons buried him’ means that the representation of the Lord was now taken over by Isaac and Ishmael. ‘At the cave of Machpelah’ means resurrection as regards truth. ‘At the field of Ephron the son of Zohar the Hittite, which faced Mamre’ means as regards good; also meant, as previously, are those who are spiritual, who receive truth and good from the Lord’s Divine Human and are saved. ‘The field which Abraham bought from the sons of Heth’ means the Lord’s spiritual kingdom resulting from this. ‘There Abraham was buried and Sarah his wife’ means resurrection.
*i.e. the numbers 100, 70, and 5
[2] What is more, while he lives in the body a person’s soul is always present in some community of spirits in the next life, 1277, 2379 – one who is evil in a community of hellish spirits, one who is good in a community of angels. Accordingly, everyone is present in a community consisting of the kind of people with whom he agrees so far as good and truth, or evil and falsity, are concerned. And into that same community a person comes when he dies, 687. These are the things that were meant among the ancients by their being gathered to their fathers, or gathered to their peoples, as is said here of Abraham when he breathed his last, and of Ishmael in verse 17 of this same chapter, of Isaac in Gen. 35:29, of Jacob in Gen. 49:29, 33, of Aaron in Num. 20:24, 26, of Moses in Num. 27:13; 31:2; Deut. 32:50, and of the first generation which entered the land of Canaan, Judg. 2:10. But in the internal sense of the Word when the subject has to do with anyone’s life being representative, ‘being gathered to his peoples’, as stated above, in that case means that he ceases to be dealt with any longer.
‘At the field of Ephron the son of Zohar the Hittite, which faced Mamre’ means as regards good; also meant, as previously, are those who are spiritual, who receive truth and good from the Lord’s Divine Human and are saved.
‘The field which Abraham bought from the sons of Heth’ means the Lord’s spiritual kingdom resulting from this.
‘There Abraham was buried and Sarah his wife’ means resurrection.
This may be seen from what has been stated and shown already about the meaning of all these statements in Chapter 23, in 2913, 2928, 2968-2971, 2975, 2980, and about the meaning of ‘burying’ in 2916, 2917.
‘So it was after the death of Abraham’ means after the state and period of the representation of the Lord by means of Abraham. ‘That God blessed Isaac his son’ means the start of the representation of the Lord by means of Isaac. ‘And Isaac dwelt in Beer Lahai Roi’ means the Lord’s Divine Rational dwelling in Divine light.
*lit. with
[2] As regards the Lord’s spiritual Church it should be realized that it exists throughout the whole world, for it is not confined to those who possess the Word and from the Word have knowledge of the Lord and of some truths of faith. It also exists among those who do not possess the Word and therefore do not know the Lord at all, and as a consequence have no knowledge of any truths of faith – for all truths of faith regard the Lord. That is, it exists with gentiles remote from the Church. For among those people there are many who know from the light of reason that there is one God, that He has created and preserves all things; and also that He is the source of everything good, and consequently of everything true; and that being the likeness of Him makes a person blessed. And what is more, they live up to their religion, in love to that God and in love towards the neighbour. From an affection for good they perform the works of charity, and from an affection for truth they worship the Supreme Being. Such people among the gentiles belong to the Lord’s spiritual Church. And although they do not know the Lord while they are in the world they nevertheless have within themselves a worship and virtual acknowledgement of Him when good exists within them, for the Lord is present within all good. For this reason also they acknowledge the Lord in the next life without difficulty, and receive the truths of faith better than Christians do in whom good is not so much present, as may be seen from what has been disclosed from experience about the state and condition in the next life of nations and peoples outside the Church, in 2589-2604. Their natural light present in their minds holds spiritual light within it, for without spiritual light received from the Lord such truths cannot possibly be acknowledged.
[3] From this it may now become clear what Ishmael means, and therefore what the Ishmaelites mean, in the representative sense – those belonging to the Lord’s spiritual Church who lead lives of simple goodness and therefore rely on natural truth for doctrine. Such people are also meant by the Ishmaelites in the following statement regarding Joseph,
Behold, a band of Ishmaelites came from Gilead, and their camels bearing wax, resin, and stacte, taking them down into Egypt. Gen. 37:25.
Here ‘Ishmaelites’ stands for those in whom simple good is present, such as exists with upright gentiles. ‘Camels bearing wax, resin, and stacte’ stands for the interior goods of such people. The same is meant by the Ishmaelites mentioned in verse 28 of that chapter, and in 39:1, as well as in the Book of Judges, in the reference to Gideon’s requesting everyone to give him the earrings of his spoil, for being indeed Ishmaelites they had gold earrings, Judg. 8:24. ‘Gold earrings’ means the things that constitute simple good, 3103.
[2] Consequently the spiritual man and the rational man are practically the same. The difference between one spiritual person and another lies solely in what each person’s reason and his life resulting from this are like. Their birth or regeneration is brought about by Divine influx into the affection for cognitions, see 1555, 1904, 2046, 2063, 2189, 2657, 2675, 2691 (end), 2697, 2979. See what has been stated and shown already about Ishmael – that he represented the Lord’s first rational which was not as yet Divine, 1893, and that later on he represented those who are truly rational, or who are spiritual, 2078, 2691, and so represented the Lord’s spiritual Church, 2699.
‘These are the names of the sons of Ishmael’ means the essential characteristics of those people’s forms of doctrine. ‘By their names, according to their births’ means interior characteristics according to derivatives of faith. ‘Nebaioth, Ishmael’s firstborn, and Kedar, and Abdeel, and Mibsam; and Mishma, and Dumah, and Massa; Hadad, and Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah’ means everything that constitutes the spiritual Church, in particular among the gentiles. ‘These are the sons of Ishmael, and these are their names’ means matters of doctrine and the essential nature of them. ‘In their villages’ means the external aspects of the Church. ‘In their fortified places’ means the internal aspects. ‘Twelve princes of their peoples’ means all the first and foremost features of that spiritual Church.
[2] The situation with the Lord’s spiritual Church is that it is spread throughout the whole world, and wherever it exists varies so far as matters of belief or truths of faith are concerned. Those variations are the derivatives meant by ‘births’, which occur either simultaneously or consecutively. The same applies to the Lord’s spiritual kingdom in the heavens – that is to say, in matters of faith variety is so great that not one community, nor even one member of a community, is in complete agreement with any other in the things which constitute the truths of faith, 3241. But for all that, the Lord’s spiritual kingdom in the heavens is one, the reason being that with everyone charity is the chief thing, for charity makes the spiritual Church, not faith, unless you say that faith is charity.
[3] Anyone who has charity loves the neighbour, and when the latter differs from him in matters of belief he thinks nothing of it provided he leads a life that is good and true. Neither also does he condemn upright gentiles, in spite of the fact that they have no knowledge of the Lord and do not know any truth of faith. For the person who has charity, that is, who leads a good life, receives such truths from the Lord as agree with his good, and gentiles receive such things as can be turned in the next life into the truths of faith, 2599-2603. But the person who has no charity, that is, who does not lead a good life, cannot receive any truth. He can indeed know the truth, but it is not implanted in his life. He is indeed able to speak that truth with his lips, but not have it in his heart, for truth cannot be joined to evil. For this reason also, although they are in the Church because they were born in it, those who know truths which they call matters of belief and yet do not lead a charitable or good life nevertheless do not belong to the Church. For they have nothing of the Church within them, that is, no good at all to which truth may be joined.
[2] That ‘Nebaioth and Kedar’ represent those things that constitute the spiritual Church, in particular among gentiles, that is to say, its goods and its truths derived from these, is clear in Isaiah,
A drove of camels will cover you, dromedaries of Midian and Ephah; all those from Sheba will come. They will bring gold and frankincense, and will proclaim the praises of Jehovah. The whole flock of Kedar will be gathered to you, the rams of Nebaioth will minister to you; they will come up with acceptance on My altar. Isa. 60:6, 7.
This refers in the highest sense to the Lord, and in the relative sense to His kingdom. ‘The flock of Kedar’ stands for spiritual good – ‘a flock’ being spiritual good, see 343, 415, 2566. ‘The rams of Nebaioth’ stands for spiritual truth – ‘a ram’ being spiritual truth, 2833.
[3] Kedar is Arabia, as is evident from the places quoted below; and Arabia was named Kedar after Ishmael’s son, as becomes clear from the fact that the names mentioned in these two verses are those of countries or nations which were all named after the sons and grandsons of Abraham, as Midian, Ephah, and Sheba above in verses 2-4, and so Kedar and Nebaioth here. In Ezekiel,
Arabia and all the princes of Kedar, these were the merchants of your hand in lambs, and in rams, and in he-goats. In these they were your merchants. Ezek. 27:21.
This refers to Tyre, that is, to people who possess cognitions of good and truth – ‘Tyre’ being such persons, see 1201. ‘Arabia’ stands for spiritual good, ‘the princes of Kedar’ for spiritual truths. ‘Lambs, rams, and he-goats’ are spiritual goods and truths.
[4] In Jeremiah,
Arise, go up to Kedar, and lay waste the sons of the east. They will take their tents and their flocks, their curtains and all their vessels, and bear their camels away from them. Jer. 49:28, 29.
This refers to the vastation of the spiritual Church meant by ‘Kedar’ and ‘the sons of the east’. ‘Tents and flocks’ stands for the goods of that Church, ‘curtains and vessels’ for its truths. The sacred things of worship are meant by ‘tents and flocks’, and by ‘curtains and vessels’; but the sacred things of worship are all related to good and truth.
[5] Those however who have no truth because no good resides with them are represented by Arabs and Kedarites in the wilderness, as in Isaiah,
Babel will not be dwelt in for ever, the Arab will not remain there. Isa. 13:20.
In the same prophet,
Let the wilderness and its cities lift up [their voice], the villages which Kedar inhabits. Isa. 42:10, 11.
In Jeremiah,
By the wayside you have sat waiting for them, like an Arab in the wilderness. Jer. 3:2.
In David,
Woe is me, for I sojourn in Meshech; I delay among the tents of Kedar. Ps. 120:5.
In Isaiah,
In the forest in Arabia you will spend the night, O bands of Dedanites. To the thirsty bring water; O inhabitants of the land of Tema, meet with his bread the fugitive, for they will flee before the swords, before the drawn sword, before the bent bow, and before the grievousness of war. For thus said the Lord to me, Within a year, according to the year of a hireling, and all the glory of Kedar will come to an end; and the remainder of the number of the bows of the mighty men of the sons of Kedar [will be few]. Isa. 21:13-17.
‘Spending the night in the forest of Arabia’ stands for being vastated as regards truth, and ‘the bands of Dedanites’ stands for those who possess cognitions, 3240, 3241 (end). ‘The inhabitants of the land of Tema’ stands for those in whom simple good is present, such as exists with upright gentiles – people, it is clear, who were descended from Ishmael’s son called Tema. ‘Kedar’ stands for those who possess simple truth, of whom it is said that ‘they are going to flee before the swords, and before the grievousness of war’, which means that they will not experience the conflicts that are brought about by temptations because good does not exist with them any longer.
[6] In Jeremiah,
Pass over to the islands of the Kittians and see, and send to Kedar and examine closely, and see whether there has been such a thing, whether a nation has changed its gods, which are no gods. Jer. 2:10, 11.
‘The islands of the Kittians’ stands for those who are more remote from worship, that is, for gentiles in whom simple good and consequently natural truth are present, 1156, 1158 – ‘Kedar’ also meaning, it is evident, such people. In the same prophet,
I took the cup from Jehovah’s hand and made all the nations to whom Jehovah sent me drink it – Dedan and Tema, and Buz, and all who have cut the corners [of their hair]; and all the kings of Arabia, and all the kings of the west, dwelling in the wilderness. Jer. 25:17, 23, 24.
This too refers to the vastation of the spiritual Church which among other
names is called Tema and Arabia. From this it is evident that Tema, like Arabia, means those who belong to the spiritual Church. To Arabia however kings and also cities are attributed, but to Kedar princes and villages.
[7] In addition to these Dumah is also mentioned, in Isaiah 21:11, 12. The reason why those nations mean the things that constitute the spiritual Church is that the Ancient Church, which was a spiritual Church, existed among them also, 1238, 2385, though their doctrinal teachings and religious observances varied. Nevertheless there was only one Church because those people made charity, not faith, the essential thing. In course of time however, as charity came to an end, that special feature of the Church which existed with them died out. Nevertheless a representative of the Church through them was maintained which differed according to that form of the Church that had once existed among them. Consequently when these nations are mentioned in the Word it is not these nations that are meant but only that form of the Church in general which had once existed there.
[2] That the number twelve means those things becomes clear from what has been introduced in the places mentioned above, as well as from the following in the Word: In John,
I heard the number of the sealed out of every tribe of Israel – twelve thousand sealed out of the tribe of Judah, twelve thousand sealed out of the tribe of Reuben, twelve thousand sealed out of the tribe of Gad, and so on. Rev. 7:4-6, and following verses.
Here ‘twelve thousand sealed out of every tribe’ means nothing else than that everyone who receives faith, that is, who receives the good that accompanies it, is saved. In the same book,
A woman encircled with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. Rev. 12:1.
‘A woman’ stands for the Church, 252, 253, ‘the sun’ for celestial love, ‘the moon’ for spiritual love, 30-38, 1529, 1530, 2441, 2495. ‘Twelve stars’ stands for all things of faith – ‘stars’ being cognitions of good and truth, which are matters of faith, 2495, 2849.
[3] In the same book,
The holy city New Jerusalem, having twelve gates, and above the gates twelve angels, and names written which are those of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel. The wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. He measured the city with the measuring rod, twelve thousand stadia. And he measured its wall, a hundred and forty-four cubits (twelve twelves), which is the measure of a man, that is, of an angel. The twelve gates were twelve pearls. Rev. 21:12, 14, 16, 17, 21.
Here nothing else is meant by the holy city than the Lord’s spiritual kingdom, and by the gates, wall, and foundations the things that constitute charity and faith, all of which things are meant by the frequently mentioned number twelve. The fact that neither the twelve tribes nor the twelve apostles are meant literally may be recognized by anyone. In the same book,
In the middle of its street, and of the river, on this side and on that, was the tree of life bearing twelve fruits, yielding its fruit each month. Rev. 22:2.
‘Twelve fruits’ means all things of charity.
[4] In Matthew,
Jesus said, Truly I say to you, that you who have followed Me, in the regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on His throne of glory, will sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. Matt. 19:28.
Here ‘the apostles’ is not used to mean the apostles, nor ‘thrones’ to mean thrones, nor ‘tribes’ tribes, but matters of faith in their entirety, see 2129. Furthermore when the twelve tribes are referred to in the Old Testament Word they mean all things of the Church. The same applies to the twelve stones set according to the names of the twelve tribes of Israel, in the Urim and Thummim, Exod. 28:21; to the twelve loaves of the presence that were laid out on the table, Lev. 24:5, 6; and so on with every other reference to twelve. Also the names themselves of the twelve sons of Jacob or Israel contain all things of faith, as will be seen in the Lord’s Divine mercy in Chapters 29 and 30 below.
‘These are the years of Ishmael’s life’ means a state representative of the Lord’s spiritual kingdom, portrayed by means of Ishmael. ‘A hundred and thirty-seven years’ means the things constituting that state. ‘And he breathed his last and died’ means the end of the representation portrayed by means of Ishmael. ‘And he was gathered to his peoples’ means that these things involving Ishmael [were completed]. ‘And they resided from Havilah as far as Shur, which is opposite Egypt as you come towards Asshur’ means the whole extent of intelligence. ‘[His lot] fell opposite all his brothers’ means disputes concerning truth, but that he was the superior.
‘These are the generations of Isaac, Abraham’s son’ means the Lord’s Divine Rational, from which the Divine Natural sprang. ‘Abraham begot Isaac’ means that the Divine itself begot the Divine Rational. ‘And Isaac was a son of forty years’ means from His own power by means of the conflicts brought about by temptations. ‘When he took Rebekah’ means the joining of Divine Truth [to the Divine Rational]. ‘The daughter of Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan Aram, the sister of Laban the Aramean, to be his wife’ means its essential nature and its state.
[2] The Lord’s Natural could not be made Divine until truth had been allied to His Rational and that truth had been made Divine – for the influx into the Natural had to be an influx from the Divine Good of the Rational by way of Divine Truth there. Indeed the entire life of the natural man so far as knowing and acting with understanding are concerned is due to such an influx. It is the rational in fact that coordinates everything in the natural, and in accordance with that coordination fittingly regards the things that are there. Indeed the rational is like a higher faculty of seeing which, when it looks at facts belonging to the natural man, is like someone looking down on to a plain below him. The light of that faculty of seeing is the light of truth, but the origin of that light rests with the good present in the rational. But more of this in what follows below.
‘Isaac prayed to Jehovah’ means communication of the Divine which is the Son with the Divine which is the Father. ‘On behalf of his wife because she was barren’ means that the Divine Natural did not as yet exist. ‘And Jehovah granted his prayer’ means carried into effect. ‘And Rebekah his wife conceived’ means from Divine Truth as the mother. ‘And the sons struggled together within her’ means conflict, which is the subject here. ‘And she said, If this is so, why am I [going through this]?’ means distress. ‘And she went to inquire of Jehovah’ means a state of communication. ‘And Jehovah said to her’ means perception from the Divine. ‘Two nations are in your womb’ means the natural as regards good, interior and exterior, which is conception. ‘And two peoples will be separated from your bowels’ means resulting truth. ‘And [one] people will prevail over [the other] people’ means that at first truth must be superior to the good of truth. ‘And the greater will serve the less’ means that the good of truth must for a time be subordinate.
[2] In man’s case the situation is that while he is being regenerated the Lord instills good, that is, goodwill to the neighbour, into his rational. This goodwill or good has truth from the natural man allied to it. Once this is completed his natural has still to be regenerated, as anyone may recognize from the fact that the internal or rational man often conflicts with the external or natural; and as long as conflict exists the natural is not regenerate. And while the natural remains unregenerate the rational as regards truth is barren. As is the case in general so it is similarly in every particular instance in which the rational does not agree with the natural; in every such instance the rational as regards truth is called barren.
[3] The work of regeneration revolves for the most part around making the natural man correspond to the rational man, not only in general but also in particular. And the natural man is brought into such correspondence by the Lord by means of the rational. That is to say, good is instilled into the rational, and within this good as the soil truths are planted, after which by means of rational truths the natural is brought into obedience. When it is obedient it in that case corresponds; and to the extent it corresponds a person has been regenerated.
[2] As for the good which is the subject here, it is twofold – interior and exterior. Interior good communicates with the interior man, that is, with the rational, while exterior good communicates with the external, that is, with the things that belong to the body, bringing life to the external senses as well as to actions. Without such communication in both parts no one is able to live as a rational being or as a physical organism. Interior communication is what remains with a person after death and then constitutes his natural life, for a spirit too possesses natural life since his spiritual life is encompassed in the natural as the ultimate level of it. For no one is able to think spiritually immediately after death except from the things that belong to his natural. Exterior communication however is what a person has while he is living in the body, but it comes to an end with the death of the body. From these considerations it may now be seen what ‘two nations in the womb’ means, namely the natural as regards good, interior and exterior. ‘In the womb’ means, in the internal sense, conception, and this is why at this point the expression ‘which is conception’ is used in reference to that good.
[2] To have any concept of this good it should be recognized that until he has been regenerated a person does good from truth, but after he has been regenerated he does it from good. Or to make the point clearer still, before he has been regenerated the good he does is a product of the understanding, but after he has been regenerated it is a product of the will. Good therefore which is a product of the understanding is not in itself good but truth, whereas good that is a product of the will is good. For example, when a person does not honour his parents but then learns from the Ten Commandments to do so, his honouring of them is at first a product of the commandment. Such honouring however, being a product of the commandment, is not in itself good because it does not flow from love. It flows either from obedience to the law or from fear of the law, but is nevertheless called the good of truth. When it first arises however it is truth, for at that time it is not good that he performs but truth. When however his honouring of them is the product of love it is in that case good. The same is so in every other example that could be taken.
And by your sword you will live, and you will serve your brother; and it will be, when you have dominion over him, that you will break his yoke from above your neck. Gen. 27:40.
[2] The fact that the things said in this verse have an internal sense, and that without that internal sense nobody can know what they mean, is quite evident, that is to say, what is meant by ‘two nations are in your womb, and two peoples will be separated from your bowels’, and by ‘[one] people will prevail over [the other] people, and the greater will serve the less’. The fact that they do mean the things that have been stated is clear from what follows where the subject is dealt with extensively. Furthermore one can scarcely credit that these statements embody such things unless one knows about good and truth, about the birth of the first from the second, and about the change of state with a person when being regenerated. In the internal sense the subject is indeed the Lord, here how the Lord made His Natural Divine. But in the representative sense the subject is the regeneration of man, for man’s regeneration is an image of the Lord’s glorification, 3043, 3138, 3212 – that is, in regeneration one sees as in a certain image the manner in which the Lord glorified His Human, or what amounts to the same, made it Divine. For as the Lord changed completely His human state into a Divine one, so also does the Lord when He is regenerating man change his state completely, for He turns his old man into a new man.
‘Her days for bringing forth were completed’ means the first state of the effect. ‘And behold, there were twins in her womb’ means that the two were conceived simultaneously. ‘And the first came out, ruddy all over, like a hairy garment’ means good constituting the life of natural truth. ‘And they called his name Esau’ means its essential nature. ‘And after that his brother came out’ means truth. ‘And his hand was grasping Esau’s heel’ means the lowest level of natural good, to which [truth] clung with some power. ‘And he called his name Jacob’ means the doctrine of natural truth. ‘And Isaac was a son of sixty years when she bore them’ means the state of Rational Truth at that time.
[2] The reason why ‘ruddy’ or ‘red’ means good constituting the life is that all good flows from love, and love itself is celestial and spiritual fire. Love is also compared to and actually called fire, see 933-936, as well as being compared to and actually called blood, 1001. Because both fire and blood are red, good that flows from love is meant by ‘ruddy’ and ‘red’, as may also be seen from the following places in the Word: In the prophecy of Jacob, who by then was Israel,
He will wash his clothing in wine and his garment in the blood of grapes. His eyes will be redder than wine, and his teeth whiter than milk. Gen. 49:11, 12.
This refers to Judah, who is used here to mean the Lord, as may be clear to anyone. ‘Clothing’ here and ‘garment’ are the Lord’s Divine Natural. ‘wine’ and ‘the blood of grapes’ are the Divine Good and Divine Truth of the Natural – Divine Good being spoken of as ‘eyes redder than wine’, and Divine Truth as ‘teeth whiter than milk’. It is the joining together of good and truth within the Natural that is described in this fashion.
[3] In Isaiah,
Who is this who is coming from Edom, red as to his clothing, and his clothes like his that treads in the winepress? Isa. 63:1, 2.
Here ‘Edom’ stands for the Divine Good of the Lord’s Divine Natural, as will be evident later on. ‘Red as to clothing’ is the good of truth, and ‘clothes like his that treads in the winepress’ the truth of good. In Jeremiah,
Her Nazirites were brighter than snow, they were whiter than milk. They were ruddier in body** than rubies, polished like sapphire.*** Lam. 4:7.
‘Nazirites’ represented the Lord’s Divine Human, in particular the Divine Natural, and so the good of the latter was represented by their being ‘ruddier in body than rubies’.
[4] Because ‘red’ meant good, in particular the good of the natural, the Jewish Church – in which every single thing was representative of the Lord, and from this of His kingdom, and consequently of good and truth which are the source of the Lord’s kingdom – was therefore commanded to have a covering for the tabernacle of red-rams’ skins, Exod. 25:5; 26:14; 35:5-7, 23; 36:19. That Church was also commanded to prepare the water for making atonement from the ashes of the red heifer that had been burnt, Num. 19:2 and following verses. Unless the colour red had been a sign of something heavenly in the Lord’s kingdom, it would never have been commanded that the rams should be red and that the heifer should be red. The fact that they represented sacred things anyone acknowledges who considers the Word to be sacred. Because the colour red had that meaning, therefore also the coverings of the Tabernacle were interwoven with, and had loops made of, scarlet, purple, and violet yarn, Exod. 35:6.
[5] Seeing that almost everything also has a contrary sense, as often stated, so too has ‘red’. In the contrary sense ‘red’ means evil that is the outcome of self-love, the reasons for this being that the desires belonging to self-love are compared to and actually called fire, 934 (end), 1297, 1527, 1528, 1861, 2446, and are likewise compared to and actually called blood, 374, 954, 1005. Consequently ‘red’ in the contrary sense means those things, as in Isaiah,
Jehovah said, Though your sins are like scarlet, they will be white as snow. Though they are red as crimson,**** they will be as wool. Isa. 1:18.
In Nahum,
The shields of the mighty men of Belial have been made red, the mighty men are in crimson!; enveloped in the fire of torches are the chariots on the day [of preparation]. Nahum 2:3.
In John,
Another sign appeared in heaven, Behold, a great fiery-red dragon having seven heads, and on his heads seven jewels. Rev. 12:3.
In the same book,
I saw, and behold, a white horse, and he who sat on it had a bow; to him a crown was given; he went out conquering and to conquer. Then there came out another horse, fiery-red; and he who sat on the horse was permitted to take peace away from the earth, and so that men would slay one another. Therefore to him was given a great sword. After that a black horse came out, and at length a pale horse, whose name is death. Rev. 6:2-8.
* The Latin word is tunica, which is discussed in 4677.
** lit. bone
*** lit. sapphire their polishing
**** lit. purple
[2] It is from this representation that in the Word ‘hair’, or ‘the hair on the head’ is used to mean the natural, especially as regards truth, as in Zechariah,
It will happen on that day, that the prophets will be ashamed, [every] man on account of his vision when he has prophesied. And he will not put on a hairy garment in order to deceive. Zech. 13:4.
‘The prophets’ stands for people who teach truths, here for those who teach falsities, 2534. ‘Vision’ stands for truths, here for falsities, ‘hairy garment’ for the natural as regards truth. But because it was not truth but falsity the phrase ‘in order to deceive’ is used. Such clothing was worn by the prophets so that truth, being external, might be represented by them. This also was why, dressed in a similar way, Elijah the Tishbite is called a hairy man, 2 Kings 1:8, and why John, the last of the prophets, had a garment of camel hair, Matt. 3:4 – ‘camels’ being facts in the natural man, see 3048, 3071, 3143, 3145, and facts being the truths of the natural man, 3293.
[3] That ‘the hair’ meant the natural as regards truth is quite clear from the Nazirites who were commanded not to shave their heads with a razor all the days of their Nazirite vow, not until their days of abstinence to Jehovah had been completed. Then they were to let down the hair on their heads and at the door of the Tent of Meeting were to shave the head of their Naziriteship and put the hair on to the fire which was beneath the eucharistic sacrifice, Num. 6:5, 18, 19. They represented the Lord’s Divine Human, and from this the person belonging to the celestial Church, who was a likeness of the Lord, 51 – representing that person’s natural man by ‘the hair’. When they were being sanctified therefore they were to lay aside their old or previous natural man into which they had been born and were to assume the new. This was meant by the requirement, when the days of abstinence to Jehovah had been completed, to let down the hair on their heads and to put it on to the fire beneath the sacrifice. For the state of the celestial man is a state in which good is present in him and from that good he has a knowledge of all truths. He never thinks and talks from truths about good, still less from facts about good, see 202, 337, 2715, 2718, 3246. Furthermore those who are celestial are of such a nature that before they lay aside that state into which they were born their natural has become so powerfully equipped with truth that they are capable of fighting with the hells; for it is truth, never good, that goes into battle. The hells cannot make even the remotest approach towards good. That truth is of such a nature, and good of such a nature, see 1950, 1951.
[4] From this it is evident how it was that Samson had strength from his hair, referred to as follows,
The angel of Jehovah appeared to Samson’s mother, saying, Behold, you will conceive and bear a son. And no razor shall come up over his head; the boy shall be a Nazirite of God from the womb. Judg. 13:3, 5.
Later on he revealed to Delilah that if he were shaved his strength would leave him and he would be rendered powerless. And immediately he had been shaved, his strength did leave him and the Philistines seized him. And when subsequently the hair on his head started to grow again, where he had been shaved, his strength returned to him, enabling him to dislodge the pillars of the house, Judg. 16:1-end. Who does not see that this description holds a heavenly arcanum within it, and that nobody knows what that arcanum is unless he has been taught regarding representatives, that is to say, that a Nazirite portrayed the celestial man, and as long as he had his hair he portrayed the natural part of that man, with whom, as has been stated, such strong and powerful truth was present? And Samson had such strength because at that period of time all representatives which the Lord had commanded had such force and effect. But he was not a consecrated Nazirite like those mentioned above, that is to say, someone who had put on a state of good instead of truth. The chief reason why the ultimate existence of his strength lay in his hair was so that he might represent the Lord who from the natural man as regards truth was to fight the hells and overcome them. This He did before putting on Divine Good and Truth even as regards the natural man.
[5] From this it is also evident why the high priest, on whose head the anointing oil had been poured and who had been consecrated* to wear the garments, was commanded not to shave his head or to rend his garments, Lev. 21:10. And in a similar way where the new Temple is referred to the Levitical priests were commanded not to shave their head or to let their hair grow long, Ezek. 44:20; that is to say, they represented the Lord’s Divine Natural as regards truth that is derived from good and is called truth grounded in good. That ‘hair’ or the hair on the head means the natural as regards truth is clear also from the prophetical parts of the Word, as in Ezekiel,
I gave you to be like the seed of the field, from which you grew up and became tall to full beauty; your breasts were formed and your hair had grown. Ezek. 16:7.
This refers to Jerusalem, which is the Ancient Church here and which in process of time became perverted. ‘Breasts were formed’ stands for natural good, ‘hair which has grown’ for natural truth.
[6] In Daniel,
I saw, until thrones were placed, and the Ancient of Days was seated. His clothing was white as snow, and the hair of His head like pure wool. His throne was a flame of fire. Dan. 7:9.
And in John,
In the midst of the seven lampstands one like the Son of Man, clothed with a long robe and surrounded by a golden girdle around the breasts. His head however and hair were white, like white wool, like snow; but His eyes were like a flame of fire. Rev. 1:13, 14.
‘Hair white like pure wool’ stands for the Divine Natural as regards truth. In the Word, and in the religious observances of the Jewish Church, truth itself was represented by ‘white’, and because truth is derived from good is called ‘pure wool’. The reason why truth was represented by ‘white’ and good by ‘red’ was that truth is akin to light and good to fire, the source of the light.
[7] As with everything else in the Word ‘the hair’ also has a contrary sense and means the natural as regards truth when perverted, as in Isaiah,
On that day the Lord will shave by means of a razor hired at the crossing-places of the River – by means of the King of Asshur – the head and the hair of the feet; and it will consume the beard also. Isa. 7:20.
In Ezekiel,
Son of man, take for yourself a sharp sword, use it as a barber’s razor which you shall run over your head and over your beard. Then you are to take balances and you are to divide it. A third you are to burn with fire in the midst of the city; a third you are to strike with the sword round about it; and a third you are to scatter to the wind. You shall take from it a small number, and bind it in your skirts. Finally you are to take from these again and cast them into the midst of the fire, and burn them with fire, and from this, fire will come forth to the whole house of Israel. Ezek. 5:1-4.
All this, by the use of representatives, describes how natural truth, interior and exterior, meant by ‘the hair’ and ‘the beard’, ceased to exist any longer. Its destruction by lusts is meant by its being burned with fire, by reasonings by its being struck with the sword round about the city, by false assumptions by its being scattered to the wind. These statements are similar in content to what the Lord teaches in Matthew about some seed, which is the truth, falling among thorns, some on stony ground, and some along the path, Matt. 13:1-9.
[8] That ‘the heir’ means the unclean truths and the falsities belonging to the natural man was also represented by the requirement that when a woman from among enemies who had been taken captive was to be married to [an Israelite], she was to be brought to his home, the hair on her head was to be shaved off, her nails were to be pared, and the garments of her captivity were to be removed, Deut. 21:12, 13. Also when Levites were consecrated, the water of expiation was to be sprinkled over them, they were to pass a razor over their entire flesh, and to wash their clothes, and so be pure, Num. 8:7. Also, Nebuchadnezzar was driven from among men so that he ate grass like oxen, and his body was wet from the dew of heaven, till his hair grew to be like eagles’ feathers and his nails like birds’ claws, Dan. 4:33. In the case of leprosy they were required to note the colours of hair and beard, whether these were white, reddening, yellow, or black. They were to look for the same in garments. And the person who was cleansed from leprosy was required to shave all the hair on his head, his beard, and his eyebrows, Lev. 13:1-end; 14:8, 9. The latter meant the unclean falsities that result from unholiness, which is leprosy in the internal sense.
[9] ‘Baldness’ however meant the natural when no truth at all is present in it, as in Isaiah,
He is going up to Bayith, and to Dibon, the high places, to weep over Nebo; and Moab will howl over Medeba. On all their heads is baldness; every beard is shaved off. Isa. 15:2.
In the same prophet, Instead of well-set hair there will be baldness, branding instead of beauty. Isa. 3:24
The children who said to Elisha, Go up, you baldhead! Go up, you baldhead! and who were torn apart by the bears out of the forest, 2 Kings 2:23, 24, represent people who blaspheme the Word as though it had no truth within it; for Elisha represented the Lord as regards the Word, 2762. From this it is also evident how prevalent representatives were at that period of time.
*lit. whose hand had been filled
[2] The implications of truth clinging with some power to the lowest good of the natural are that when the natural, or the natural man, is being regenerated, the conception of good and truth there is from the rational man, that is, from the spiritual man by way of the rational man, prior to this from the celestial man by way of the spiritual man, and prior to this from the Divine by way of the celestial man. Thus it is an influx which starts with the Divine and, passing through consecutive degrees, terminates in the lowest part of the natural, that is, in the worldly and bodily part. When the lowest natural has been contaminated by what is inherited from the mother, truth is unable to be united to good. It can do no more than cling to it with some power. Nor is truth united to good until the contamination has been eliminated. This is the reason why good but not truth is bred within a human being, and why small children therefore are devoid of all knowledge of truth and why truth has to be acquired through learning and after that joined to good, see 1831, 1832. This also explains why it is said that they struggled together within her, that is, they conflicted, 3289. Consequently when first conceived truth supplants good, as is said regarding Jacob, that he supplanted Esau,
Does he not call his name Jacob, and he has supplanted me these two times. Gen. 27:36.
And in Hosea,
He will make a visitation on Jacob over his ways and requite him according to his deeds; in the womb he supplanted his brother. Hosea 12:2, 3.
[3] Those whose attention is fixed solely on the historical details and who cannot take it off these know no more than this, that the details contained here, and also those that have gone before [regarding the circumstances of the twins’ birth], foretell what took place between Esau and Jacob, as is also corroborated by what follows. But the Lord’s Word is such that the historical details follow their own sequence, while the spiritual details, which belong to the internal sense, follow theirs, so that the historical details are seen by the external man, but the spiritual details by the internal man. This being so a correspondence exists between the two, that is to say, between the external man and the internal man; and this is effected by means of the Word, for the Word serves to unite heaven and earth, as shown many times. Thus when anyone in a holy frame of mind reads the Word, a union is effected of his external man which is on earth with his internal man which is in heaven.
[2] Those who confine themselves to the sense of the letter suppose that in the Word Jacob is used to mean every one of those people descended from Jacob, and for that reason they apply to those people everything that has been stated about Jacob either as history or as prophecy. But the Word is Divine in that first and foremost every single thing within it has regard not just to one particular nation or people but to the whole human race, namely to everyone present, past, and future. More than that, it has reference to the Lord’s kingdom in heaven; and in the highest sense to the Lord Himself. This is what makes it a Divine Word. If it were concerned with merely one particular nation it would be human only and would have nothing more of the Divine within it than the existence among that nation of holy worship. The fact that such worship did not exist among the people called ‘Jacob’ may be known to anyone. For this reason also it is evident that ‘Jacob’ is not used in the Word to mean Jacob, nor ‘Israel’ to mean Israel – for almost everywhere in prophetical parts, when Jacob is referred to, Israel is mentioned too. And no one can know what is meant specifically by the first or what by the second except from that sense which lies more deeply and conceals the arcana of heaven within itself.
[3] In the internal sense therefore ‘Jacob’ means the doctrine of natural truth, or what amounts to the same, people who possess that doctrine, no matter what nation they belong to; and in the highest sense ‘Jacob’ is used to mean the Lord, as becomes clear from the following places: In Luke,
The angel said to Mary, You will conceive in your womb and bear a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give to Him the throne of His father David, so that He will reign over the house of Jacob for ever, and of His kingdom there will be no end. Luke 1:31-33.
Everyone recognizes that here ‘the house of Jacob’ was not used to mean the Jewish nation or people, for the Lord’s kingdom included not merely that people but all throughout the world who have faith in Him, and from faith have charity. From this it is clear that when the angel used the name Jacob he did not mean the people of Jacob. Nor consequently are those people meant anywhere else. Nor are the references to the seed of Jacob, the sons of Jacob, the land of Jacob, the inheritance of Jacob, the king of Jacob, and the God of Jacob, which occur so many times in the Old Testament Word, meant literally.
[4] It is similar with the name Israel, as in Matthew,
The angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, Rise, take the Boy and His mother, and flee into Egypt, and be there until I tell you. He rose and took the Boy and His mother by night, and departed into Egypt, so that what had been said by the prophet might be fulfilled, when he said, Out of Egypt have I called My Son. Matt. 2:13-15.
In the prophet this promise is stated as follows,
When Israel was a boy I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son. Hosea 11:1.
Here it is quite evident that ‘Israel’ is the Lord. From the sense of the letter however nothing more may be known beyond the fact that ‘the boy Israel’ means the immediate descendants of Jacob who came into Egypt and at a later time were summoned from there. It is similar in other places where the names Jacob and Israel occur, although it is not apparent from the sense of the letter, as in Isaiah,
Hear, O Jacob my servant, and Israel whom I have chosen, Thus said Jehovah who made you and formed you from the womb, who helps you, Fear not, O my servant Jacob, and Jeshurun whom I have chosen, for I will pour out waters upon thirsty land, and rivers upon the dry. I will pour out My spirit upon your seed, and My blessing upon your sons. This one will say, I am Jehovah’s, and another will call himself by the name of Jacob, and he will write with his hand, Jehovah’s, and surname himself by the name of Israel. Isa. 44:1-3, 5.
Here ‘Jacob’ and ‘Israel’ plainly stand for the Lord, and ‘the seed’ and ‘the sons of Jacob’ for those having faith in Him.
[5] In the prophecy concerning Israel’s sons, in Moses,
Joseph will sit in the strength of his bow, and the arms of his hands will be made strong by the hands of the mighty Jacob; from there is the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel. Gen. 49:24.
Here also ‘the mighty Jacob’ and ‘the Stone of Israel’ plainly stand for the Lord. In Isaiah,
My glory will I not give to another. Hearken to Me, O Jacob, and O Israel whom I called: I am the same; I am the first; I am also the last. Isa. 48:11, 12.
Here again ‘Jacob’ and ‘Israel’ are the Lord. In Ezekiel,
I will take the stick of Joseph which is in the hand of Ephraim and of the tribes of Israel his companions, and I will add them to it, to the stick of Judah, and make them into one stick, that they may be one in My hand. I will take the children of Israel from among the nations where they have gone, and will gather them from all around and bring them on to their own land. And I will make them into one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel; and one king will be king to them all, and they will no longer be two nations, nor will they ever be divided into two kingdoms again. My servant David will be king over them, and they will all have one shepherd. At that time they will dwell in the land which I gave to Jacob my servant, in which your fathers dwelt. They will dwell in it, they, and their sons, and their sons’ sons even for ever. David My servant will be their prince for ever. I will make with them a covenant of peace; it will be an eternal covenant with them. I will bless* them, and multiply them, and I will set My sanctuary in their midst for evermore. Thus will My dwelling-place be with them, and I will be their God. and they will be My people, so that the nations may know that I Jehovah sanctify Israel, to be My sanctuary in their midst for evermore. Ezek. 37:19, 21, 22, 24-28.
Here again it is quite clear that ‘Joseph’, ‘Ephraim’, ‘Judah’, ‘Israel’, ‘Jacob’, and ‘David’ are not used to mean those persons, but in the highest sense Divine spiritual things within the Lord and which exist in the Lord’s kingdom and in His Church. Anyone may know that David will not be, as is said, their king and prince for ever, but that ‘David’ is used to mean the Lord, 1888. Anyone may also know that Israel will not be gathered together from where they have been scattered, or that they will be sanctified, or, as is said, that the sanctuary will be set in their midst, but that, as is well known, ‘Israel’ in the representative sense means all those who have faith.
[6] In Micah,
I will surely gather Jacob, all of you, I will surely assemble the remnant of Israel; I will put them together, like the sheep of Bozrah. Micah 2:12.
Here the meaning is similar. In Isaiah,
Those who are to come Jacob will cause to take root. Israel will blossom and flower, and the face of the earth will be filled with produce. Isa. 27:6.
Here also the meaning is similar. In the same prophet,
Thus said Jehovah, who redeemed Abraham, to the house of Jacob, Jacob will no more be ashamed, and no more will his face grow pale. For when he sees his male children, the work of My hands, in his midst they will sanctify My name, and they will sanctify the Holy One of Jacob, and will fear the God of Israel. And those who err in spirit will know understanding. Isa. 29:22-24.
In the same prophet,
Jehovah said to His anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have grasped, to subdue nations before him, and I will ungird the loins of kings, to open doors before him, and gates may not be closed: I will go before you and make straight the crooked places; I will break in pieces the doors of bronze and cut asunder the bars of iron, I will give you the treasures of concealed places, and the secret wealth of hoarded objects, that you may know that it is I, Jehovah, who called you by your name, the God of Israel. For the sake of My servant Jacob, and of Israel My chosen, I have called you by your name. I have surnamed you when you did not know Me. Isa. 45:1-4.
This also clearly refers to the Lord. In Micah,
In the latter days the mountain of the house of Jehovah will be established at the head of the mountains. Many nations will come and say, Come and let us go up to the mountain of Jehovah, and to the house of the God of Jacob, that He may teach us about His ways, and we will go in His paths. For out of Zion will go forth teaching, and the word of Jehovah from Jerusalem. Micah 4:1, 2.
In David,
Jehovah loves the gates of Zion more than all the dwelling-places of Jacob. Glorious things are spoken in you, O city of God. Ps. 87:1-3.
In Jeremiah,
They will serve Jehovah their God and David their king, whom I will raise up for them. And do not fear, O My servant Jacob, and do not be dismayed, O Israel, for behold, I am saving you from afar. Jer. 30:9, 10.
In Isaiah,
Listen to Me, O islands, and hearken, O peoples from afar. Jehovah called me from the womb, from my mother’s body** He remembered my name. And He said to me, You are My servant Israel in whom I will be rendered glorious. Isa. 49:1, 3.
In the same prophet,
Then will you take delight in Jehovah and I will convey you over the high places of the earth, and I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob. Isa. 58:14.
In the same prophet,
I will bring forth seed from Jacob, and from Judah the heir of My mountain, so mat My chosen ones may possess it, and My servants may dwell there. Isa. 65:9.
[7] In all these places ‘Jacob’ and ‘Israel’ are used in the highest sense to mean the Lord, and in the representative sense the Lord’s spiritual kingdom, and the Church which is the Church by virtue of the doctrine of truth and the life of good – ‘Jacob’ meaning those who are in the external aspects of that Church, and ‘Israel’ those who are in the internal. These and very many other places show that nowhere is ‘Jacob’ used to mean Jacob, or ‘Israel’ to mean Israel, any more than when the names ‘Isaac’ and ‘Abraham’ are used Isaac or Abraham is meant, as in Matthew,
Many will come from the east and from the west and will recline with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. Matt. 8:11.
In Luke,
You will see Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets in the kingdom of God. Luke 13:28.
And in the same gospel,
Lazarus was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom. Luke 16:22.
For in heaven angels have no knowledge at all of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Angels there perceive nothing else from those words when read by man than the Lord as regards the Divine and the Divine Human. When man reads about reclining with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob they perceive nothing else than being with the Lord; and when about being in Abraham’s bosom nothing else than resting in the Lord. Such wording has been used however because mankind at that time was so far removed from things of an internal nature that it neither knew nor wished to know anything other than this, that everything in the Word was to be taken literally. And when the Lord spoke to them in that literal manner He did so in order that they might receive faith, and also at the same time in order that the internal sense might be contained within what He said, by means of which mankind was joined to Himself. This being so one may see what is meant in the Old Testament Word by ‘the God of Jacob’ and by ‘the Holy One of Israel’, namely the Lord Himself. For places where ‘the God of Jacob’ means the Lord, see 2 Sam. 23:1; Isa. 2:3; 41:21; Micah 4:2; Ps. 20:1; 46:7; 75:9; 76:6; 81:1, 4; 84:8; 94:7; 114:7; 132:2; 146:5; and for places where ‘the Holy One of Israel’ means the Lord, Isa. 1:4; 5:19, 24; 10:20; 12:6; 17:7; 29:19; 30:11, 12, 15; 31:1; 37:23; 41:14, 16, 20; 43:3, 14; 45:11; 47:4; 48:17; 49:7; 54:5; 55:5; 60:9, 14; Jer. 50:29; Ezek. 39:7; Ps. 71:22; 78:41; 89:18.
* lit. give
** lit. viscera
‘The boys grew up’ means the initial state. ‘And Esau was a man skilled in hunting’ means the good of life that has its origin in sensory truths and factual truths. ‘A man of the field’ means the good of life that has its origin in matters of doctrine. ‘And Jacob was a blameless man’ means truth. ‘Dwelling in tents’ means worship arising out of this. ‘And Isaac loved Esau because of the venison in his mouth’ means that the Divine Good of the Lord’s Divine Rational loved the good of truth. ‘And Rebekah loved Jacob’ means that the Divine Truth of the Divine Rational loved the doctrine of truth.
* or hunting
[2] The reason why ‘hunting’ means the sensory truths and factual truths that are taught to those in whom the good of life is present and who have the affection for those truths is that the word ‘hunting’ in a broad sense refers to creatures caught through hunting, such as rams, he-goats, she-goats, and the like, by which are meant spiritual goods, see 2180, 2830; and also because the weapons used in hunting, which were the quiver, the bow, and darts, mean matters of doctrine upholding what is true, 2685, 2686, 2709. These are the things meant by ‘hunting’, as may be seen from what Isaac his father told Esau, in Chapter 27 below,
Take now your weapons, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field and hunt venison for me, and make me savoury food such as I love. Gen. 27:3, 4;
and, in the same chapter, from what he told Jacob, who was posing as Esau,
Bring it to me that I may eat from my son’s venison, so that my soul may bless you. Gen. 27:25.
These quotations show what ‘hunting’ or ‘venison’ means.
[3] Consequently ‘hunting’ is teaching [what is true] or else inducing a belief in what is false, and in both senses, that is to say, acting from an affection for truth or from an affection for falsity. Acting from an affection for truth is described in Jeremiah,
I will bring them back over their land which I gave to their fathers. Behold, I am sending to many fishermen, and they will fish them; and after that I will send to many hunters and they will hunt them from upon every mountain, and from upon every hill, and from the holes in the rocks. Jer. 16:15, 16.
‘Fishermen’ stands for those whose teaching is drawn from sensory truths, 40, 991, ‘hunters’ those whose teaching is drawn from factual truths, and also from matters of doctrine. ‘Upon every mountain, and upon every hill’ stands for teaching people who are stirred by the affection for good and by the affection for truth – ‘mountain’ and ‘hill’ carrying such meanings, see 795, 796, 1430. ‘Hunting in the field’, as in Gen. 27:3, implies the same. Inducing others to believe what is false and doing so from the affection for falsity is described in Ezekiel,
Behold, I am against your little pillows with which you there hunt the souls to make them fly away, and I will tear them from on your arms, and I will let the souls go that you hunt, souls to fly away; and I will tear off your veils and deliver My people out of your hand, and they will be no more in your hand to be hunted. Ezek. 13:18-21.
For the meaning of ‘hunting’ in this sense, see 1178, though nets are normally associated with this type of hunting.
[2] That ‘the field’ is the good of life in which the things of faith, that is, spiritual truths existing with the Church, are implanted, becomes quite clear from the Lord’s parable about the sower in Matthew,
A sower went out to sow, And as he sowed some fell on the pathway, and the birds came and devoured them. Some fell on rocky ground where they did not have much soil,* and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil**, but when the sun rose they were scorched; and since they had no root they withered away. Some fell among thorns, and the thorns came up and choked them. But some fell on good soil** and yielded fruit, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. He who has an ear to hear let him hear. Matt. 13:4-9; Mark 4:3-9; Luke 8:5-8.
This describes four types of land or ground within the field, that is, within the Church. The fact that here ‘the seed’ is the Lord’s Word, and so the truth which is called the truth of faith, and that ‘the good soil’ is the good which is called the good of charity is evident to anyone, for it is the good in man that receives the Word. ‘The pathway’ is falsity, ‘rocky ground’ is truth which is not rooted in good, ‘thorns’ are evils.
[3] With regard to the good of life which has its origin in matters of doctrine being meant by ‘a man of the field’, the position is that those who are being regenerated first of all do good as matters of doctrine direct them, for they do not of themselves know what good is. They learn to do good from matters of doctrine concerning love and charity; from these they know who the Lord is, who the neighbour is, what love is, and what charity is, and so what good is. Those who have come into this stage are stirred by the affection for truth and are called ‘men (vir) of the field’. But after that, once they have been regenerated they do good not from matters of doctrine but from love and charity, for the good itself which they have learned about through matters of doctrine exists with them, and they are in that case called ‘men (homo) of the field’. It is like someone who is by nature inclined to commit adultery, steal, and murder but who learns from the Ten Commandments that such practices belong to hell and so refrains from them. In this state he is influenced by the Commandments, for he fears hell and learns from those Commandments and similarly from much else in the Word how he ought to conduct his life. In his case when he does what is good he does it from the Commandments. But when good exists with him he starts to loathe adultery, theft, and murder to which he was previously inclined. In this state he no longer does what is good from the Commandments but from the good which by now resides with him. In the first state the truth he learns directs him to good, but in the second state good is the source of truth taught by him.
[4] The same also applies to spiritual truths which are called doctrinal and are more interior Commandments still. For matters of doctrine are interior truths which the natural man possesses, the first truths there being sensory ones, the second truths being factual, and interior truths matters of doctrine. The latter are based on factual truths inasmuch as a person can have and retain no idea, notion, or concept of them except from factual truths. But the foundations on which factual truths are based are sensory truths, for without sensory truths nobody is able to possess factual ones. Such truths, that is to say, factual and sensory, are meant by ‘a man skilled in hunting’, but matters of doctrine are meant by ‘a man of the field’. Such is the order in which those kinds of truths stand in relation to one another in man. Until a person has become adult therefore, and through sensory and factual truths possesses matters of doctrine, he is incapable of being regenerated, for he cannot be confirmed in the truths contained in matters of doctrine except through ideas based on factual and sensory truths – for nothing is ever present in a person’s thought, not even the deepest arcanum of faith there, which does not involve some natural or sensory idea, though generally a person is not aware of the essential nature of such ideas. But in the next life the nature of them is revealed before his understanding, if he so desires, and also a visual representation before his sight, if he wants it; for in the next life such things can be presented before one’s eyes in a visual form. This seems unbelievable but it is nevertheless what happens there.
*lit. ground
** lit. earth or land
[2] These considerations are such indeed as can be grasped only with great difficulty, in particular because the most general features of all regarding this matter are unknown in the world, even among the learned. The world does not know, for example, that the rational is quite distinct and separate from the natural, or that good and truth are what constitute the rational and what constitute the natural, let alone that the rational flows into the natural enabling a person to think and to will what he thinks. As long as these very general features remain unknown, one can understand only with great difficulty what the influx described above is. Yet these are things in which angels have light, things in which they perceive countless details. And they do this with the delight which is theirs when they are permitted at the same time to think about the Lord’s Divine in relation to His Human. Anyone who is governed by good, and who, though still in the body, has what is angelic within him, is also given some light by the Lord in these matters and others like them. But anyone who is not governed by good finds it irksome when he thinks about such matters, the more so when he thinks about those things as they apply to the Divine which belongs to the Lord’s Human. It is better therefore if such people turn their minds away from those matters, for they have no grasp of them at all – indeed they reject them, saying at heart, What value is any of this to me? It doesn’t bring me any honour, or any material gain.
‘Jacob boiled pottage’ means matters of doctrine when massed together. ‘And Esau came from the field’ means an urgent desire for the good of life. ‘And he was weary’ means a state of conflict. ‘And Esau said to Jacob’ means the Lord’s perception from the good of the natural. ‘Let me sip now from the red [pottage]’ means a desire for matters of doctrine. ‘This red [pottage]’ means that which is seemingly good. ‘For I am weary’ means here, as previously, a state of conflict. ‘Therefore he called his name Edom’ means the resulting nature of the good, to which matters of doctrine regarding truth were allied.
[2] Such considerations do indeed appear to be quite remote from the sense of the letter, but nevertheless when man reads these words and understands them according to the sense of the letter, the angels who reside with him at the time do not have any [natural] idea at all of pottage, or of Jacob, or of Esau, or of red, or of sipping from red [pottage]. Instead they have a spiritual idea of them, which is altogether different and remote from that natural idea. The idea of those persons and objects is instantly converted into a spiritual idea. And so it is with everything else in the Word, such as, for example, when one reads of bread there the angels do not perceive bread but instead of bread instantly perceive celestial love and things that belong to celestial love, which is love to the Lord. And when one reads in the Word of wine they do not perceive wine but instead of wine spiritual love and the things that belong to that love, which is love towards the neighbour. Accordingly when one reads of pottage or soup they do not perceive pottage or soup but matters of doctrine that are not as yet joined to good, and thus a disordered massing together of them. This shows the essence and character of angels’ thought and perception, and how remote these are from man’s thought and perception. If a person when in a holy frame of mind were to think as they do – such as during the Holy Supper – and instead of bread were to perceive love to the Lord, and instead of wine love towards the neighbour, his thought and perception would then be similar to the angels’ who in that case would draw nearer to him till at length it would be possible for them to share their thoughts with him, though only insofar as good was at the same time present in that person.
[3] That ‘pottage’ or soup means a massing together may be seen also from what is said about the sons of the prophets and Elisha in the Book of Kings,
Elisha came again to Gilgal, and there was a famine in the land. And the sons of the prophets were sitting before him, and he said to his servant, Set on the great pot, and boil pottage for the sons of the prophets. And one of them went out into the field to gather herbs and found a wild vine, and gathered from it wild gourds his lap full, and came and cut them up into the pot of pottage, for they did not know [what they were]. And they poured out for the men to eat. And it happened, while they were eating of the pottage, that they cried out and said, There is death in the pot, O man of God! And they could not eat it. And he said, Then bring flour. And he threw it into the pot, and said, Pour out for the people. And they ate, and there was no harm in the pot. 2 Kings 4:38-41.
In the internal sense these words have an altogether different meaning from what they do in the sense of the letter, that is to say, ‘a famine in the land’ means a dearth of cognitions of good and truth, 1460; ‘the sons of the prophets’ means those who teach, 2543; ‘pottage’ facts badly massed together; ‘flour’ truth which is obtained from good, or that which is spiritual obtained from that which is celestial, 2177. Thus the description of Elisha throwing the flour into the pot, at which point it ceased to contain anything harmful, means that those facts, massed together so, were put right by means of spiritual truth from the Lord’s Word – for ‘Elisha’ represented the Lord as to the Word, 2762. Devoid of this spiritual sense the story about the pottage and the change effected by the flour would not have been worthy of mention in the most holy Word. As with the rest of the miracles in the Word, all of which conceal what is Divine within them, this miracle was performed for the sake of representing those things.
[2] So that the nature of this state may be known – though only as man experiences it – let a brief statement be made regarding it. Man is nothing other than an organ or vessel which receives life from the Lord, for man does not live of himself, 290, 1954, 2021, 2536, 2706, 2886-2889, 3001. The life flowing in with man from the Lord comes from His Divine Love. This Love, that is, the life from it, flows in and applies itself to the vessels that are in man’s rational and that are in his natural. On account of the hereditary evil into which man is born, and on account of the evil of his own doing which man acquires to himself, these vessels with him are set the wrong way round for receiving that life. But insofar as it is possible for this inflowing life to do so, it resets those vessels to receive it. These vessels within the rational man and within his natural are such as are called truths. In themselves they are nothing else than perceptions of the variations in form possessed by those vessels and of the changes of state which in different ways give rise to those variations, which are produced in the most delicate of organic substances, and in ways that defy description, 2487. Good itself, which possesses life from the Lord, that is, which is life, is that which flows in and resets them.
[3] When therefore those vessels, varying in the forms they take, are set and turned, as has been stated, the wrong way round for inflowing life, they clearly have to be re-positioned to receive that life, that is, to be controlled by it. This cannot possibly be effected as long as the person remains in that condition into which he was born or which he has brought upon himself. Indeed at that time they are unsubmissive because they resolutely withstand and harden themselves against the heavenly order governing the way that life acts. Indeed the good which moves them, and to which they are subservient, is that which stems from self-love and love of the world. From the dull warmth it contains that good makes these vessels what they are. Consequently before they can be made submissive and capable of receiving any of the life that belongs to the Lord’s love, they have to be softened. The only ways that such softening can be achieved is by temptations, for temptations take away the things that constitute self-love and contempt for others in comparison with oneself, consequently that constitute self-glory, and also hatred and revenge on account of that. When therefore they have to some extent been subdued and mellowed by means of temptations those vessels start to become yielding and compliant to the life which belongs to the Lord’s love and which is constantly flowing in with man.
[4] From this point onwards good, first of all in the rational man and then in the natural, starts to be joined to the truths there, for as has been stated, truths are nothing else than perceptions of the variations in form which are determined by the states that are changing all the time – those perceptions being a product of the life that is flowing in. This is the reason why a person is regenerated, that is, is made new, by means of temptations, or what amounts to the same, by means of spiritual conflicts, and after that receives an inward disposition different from before, that is to say, becomes gentle, humble, single-minded, and contrite at heart. From these considerations one may now see the use served by temptations, which is that good from the Lord may not only flow in but also render the vessels subservient and so join itself to them. For truths are the recipient vessels of good, see 1496, 1832, 1900, 2063, 2261, 2269. Here therefore, since the subject is the joining together of good and truth in the natural man, and since the first stage of that conjunction comes about through the conflicts brought about by temptations, ‘he was weary’ clearly means a state of conflict.
[5] As for the Lord however, who is the subject here in the highest sense, He so imposed Divine order on everything within Himself by means of the very severe conflicts that went with temptations that nothing remained of the human He had derived from the mother, 1444, 1573, 2159, 2574, 2649, 3036, so that He was not made new as any other human being but was made altogether Divine. For man, who is made new through regeneration, nevertheless retains within himself the inclination towards evil; indeed he retains the evil itself but is withheld from it by the influx of the life that is the life of the Lord’s love, and by an extremely powerful force. But the Lord cast out completely everything evil that was His by heredity from the mother and made Himself Divine, doing so even as to the vessels, that is, as to the truths. This is what in the Word is called Glorification.
[2] Consequently a person’s rational is able to be adjusted to truths and to receive them before the natural does. This becomes quite clear from the fact that the rational man with someone who is to be regenerated conflicts greatly with the natural, or what amounts to the same, the internal man does so with the external. For as is also well known, the internal man is able to see truths and also to will them, but the external man refuses to see them and stands opposed to them. For in the natural man there are facts, which are to a great extent derived from the illusions of the senses, and which, although they are falsities, he nevertheless believes to be truths. There are also countless things which the natural man does not grasp, since the natural man, compared with the rational man, is in shade and thick darkness; and the things which the natural man does not grasp are thought not to exist or not to be so. There are also desires in the natural man which are those of self-love and love of the world, and the things which support those desires he calls truths. And when a person gives in to them everything that arises from them is contrary to spiritual truths. Present also are reasonings derived from falsities imprinted since early childhood. What is more, a person comprehends plainly with his senses the things which exist in his natural man, but less so those which exist in his rational until he has shed the body. This also causes him to suppose that the natural constitutes the whole, and what does not fall within the compass of his natural senses he believes to be scarcely anything.
[3] These and many others are the factors which cause the natural man to receive truths much later and with greater difficulty than the rational man receives them. Consequently conflict occurs, which persists for rather a long time and does not end until the recipient vessels of good in the natural man have been softened by means of temptations, as shown above in 3318; for truths are nothing else than recipient vessels of good, 1496, 1832, 1900, 2063, 2261, 2269. The harder those vessels are the more firmly is a person settled in the things referred to above. And the more firmly settled he is, the more serious is the conflict if he is to be regenerated. This therefore being the situation with the natural man – that the joining of truths to good in the natural man is effected by means of the conflicts brought about by temptations – Esau’s statement ‘I am weary’ occurs a second time here.
[2] That ‘Esau’ and ‘Edom’ mean these things becomes clear from the following places: In Isaiah,
Who is this who is coming from Edom, with spattered clothes from Bozrah glorious in his apparel, marching in the vast numbers of his strength? Why are you red as to your clothing, and your clothes like his that treads in the winepress? I have trodden the winepress alone, and from the peoples no man was with me. I looked around but there was none helping, and I wondered, and there was nobody to uphold, and my own arm saved me. Isa. 63:1-3, 5.
Here it is quite clear that ‘Edom’ is the Lord, and the fact that it is the Lord as regards the Divine Good of the Divine Natural is evident because the subject is the joining together of good and truth in the Lord’s Human, and the conflicts brought about by temptations through which He joined the two together. ‘Clothes’ here means the truths of the natural man, or truths that are lower compared with other truths, see 2576, while ‘red’ is the good of the natural man, 3300. The Lord’s work in which – by His own power, and through the conflicts brought about by temptations – He joined truths present there to good is described by the words ‘I have trodden the winepress alone, and from the peoples no man was with me. I looked around but there was none helping; I wondered, and there was nobody to uphold, and my own arm saved me’ – ‘arm’ meaning power, 878.
[3] In the Book of Judges,
O Jehovah. when You went forth from Seir, when You set out from the field of Edom, the earth trembled, the heavens also dropped, the clouds indeed dropped [water], the mountains flowed down. Judg. 5:4, 5.
‘Setting out from the field of Edom’ is almost the same in meaning as ‘coming from Edom’ in Isaiah. Likewise in Moses,
Jehovah came from Sinai, and dawned from Seir upon them. Deut. 33:2.
In the same author,
I see Him, but not now; I behold Him, but not near. A star will arise out of Jacob, and a sceptre will rise up out of Israel. And Edom will be an inheritance, and Seir will be an inheritance, of his enemies – with Israel doing valiantly – and will have dominion in regard to Jacob, and will destroy what is left of the city. Num. 24:17-19.
This refers to the Lord’s Coming into the world, His Human Essence being called ‘a star out of Jacob, and a sceptre out of Israel’. ‘Edom’ and ‘Seir’ which are to be ‘an inheritance’ stand for the Divine Good of the Lord’s Divine Natural. Their becoming ‘an inheritance of his enemies’ stands for the fact that it would take the place of those things that existed previously in the Natural. Dominion at that time over the truths there is meant by ‘he will have dominion over Jacob, and he will destroy what is left of the city’ – ‘Jacob’ being the truth of the natural, 3305, and ‘a city’ doctrine, 402, 2268, 2449, 2712, 2943, 3216. Dominion is said to be had over those truths when they are subsidiary to and subject to good. Before this comes about they are called enemies because they constantly offer resistance, as shown above in 3321.
[4] In Amos,
On that day I will raise up the tent of David that is fallen down, and I will close up their breaches, and I will restore its destroyed places, and I will build it as in the days of old, that they may possess the remnants of Edom, and all the nations which have been called by My name. Amos 9:11, 12.
‘The tent of David’ stands for the Church and worship of the Lord; ‘the remnants of Edom’ for those within the Church who are governed by good, ‘the nations which have been called by His name’ for those outside the Church who are governed by good – ‘the nations’ being those who are governed by good, 1259, 1260, 1416, 1849. In David,
Upon Edom I will cast my shoe. Who will bring me to the fortified city? Who will lead me even to Edom? Will not You, O God? Ps. 60:8-10.
‘Edom’ stands for the good of the natural. Its being the good of the natural is evident from the meaning of ‘shoe’ as the lowest part of the natural, 1748.
[5] In Daniel,
At the time of the end the king of the south will clash with him; therefore the king of the north will rush upon him like a whirlwind with chariots, and will overflow and penetrate; and when he comes into the glorious land many will fall These however will be delivered out of his hand, Edom and Moab, and the firstfruits of the children of Ammon. Dan. 11:40, 41.
This refers to the final state of the Church. ‘The king of the north’ stands for falsities, or what amounts to the same, for people in possession of falsities. ‘Edom’ stands for those in whom simple good is present, the type of good that exists with those who constitute the Lord’s external Church. The same applies to ‘Moab’ and ‘the children of Ammon’, 2468; and as the two of them, that is to say, Edom and Moab, mean those in whom natural good exists, both are therefore mentioned together in many places. But the difference between them is that ‘Edom’ is the good of the natural to which matters of doctrine concerning truth have been allied, whereas ‘Moab’ is natural good such as also exists with those with whom the two have not been joined together. Both sets of people seem to outward appearance to be alike, but they are not so inwardly.
[6] From this it is now evident why it was said that they were not to abhor an Edomite since he was a brother, nor an Egyptian since they had been strangers in his land, Deut. 23:7. Because ‘an Edomite’ means the good of the natural, and ‘an Egyptian’ means the truths of the same, which are facts, 1164, 1165, 1186, 1462, therefore the two are mentioned in the good sense. It is also evident why Jehovah told Moses that they were not to quarrel* with the children of Esau, for none of their territory would be given to the children of Jacob, not even enough to leave a footprint, Deut 2. 4-6.
[7] In the contrary sense however Esau and Edom represent those who turn away from good by utterly despising truth and who are unwilling to associate any truth of faith at all with it, which happens chiefly for reasons of self-love. Consequently Esau and Edom in the contrary sense mean those people The same was also represented by the king of Edom coming out with many people and a strong force and refusing to let Israel pass across his frontier, Num. 20:14-22. This evil, that is to say, the evil of self-love, which is such as does not accept the truths of faith, nor thus matters of doctrine concerning truth, is described in various places in the Word as Esau and Edom, the state of the Church when it comes to be such also being described at the same time; as in Jeremiah,
Against Edom. Is there no wisdom any longer in Teman? Has counsel perished from those who have intelligence? Has their wisdom become rotten? Flee! They have turned themselves away, they have gone down to dwell in the deep, O inhabitants of Dedan, for I will bring the calamity of Esau upon him. I will strip Esau bare, I will uncover his secret places, and he is not able to be concealed. His seed have been laid waste, and his brothers, and his neighbours. Leave your orphans, I will keep them alive, and let your widows trust in Me. Edom will become a waste; everyone who passes by it will be astonished and will hiss at all its plagues. Jer. 49:7, 8, 10, 11, 17, and following verses.
[8] In David,
They say, Let not the name of Israel be remembered any more, for they consult together with one accord; against You they make a covenant – the tents of Edom, and the Ishmaelites, and Moab, and the Hagrites. Ps. 83:4-6.
In Obadiah,
Thus said the Lord Jehovih to Edom, Behold, I have made you small among the nations; you are utterly despised. The pride of your heart has deceived you, you who dwell in the clefts of the rock, whose seat is on high, who say in your heart, Who will bring me down to the ground? Though you exalt yourself like the eagle, and though you set your nest among the stars, from there will I bring you down. How are the men of Esau searched out, their hidden treasures sought out! Will I not on that day destroy the wise men out of Edom, and those who have intelligence out of Mount Esau, so that your mighty men may be dismayed, O Teman, and every man from Mount Esau cut off by slaughter? For the violence done to Jacob your brother shame will cover you, and you will be cut off for ever. The house of Jacob will be a fire, and the house of Joseph a flame, and the house of Esau turned into stubble; and they will burn them and consume them, and there will be nothing left over to the house of Esau. And the people of the south will inherit the mountain of Esau. Obad. verses 1-4, 6, 8-10, 18, 19, 21.
‘Edom’ and ‘Esau’ here stand for the evil of the natural man, which evil, arising out of self-love, despises and rejects all truth – which leads to its devastation.
[9] In Ezekiel,
Son of man, set your face against Mount Seir, and prophesy against it, and say to it, Thus said the Lord Jehovih, I am against you, Mount Seir, and I will stretch out My hand against you, and I will make you a waste and a desolation. Because you possess eternal enmity, and give over the children of Israel to the power of the sword** in the time of their disaster and in the time of the iniquity of the end. Because you said concerning the two nations and the two lands, They are mine and we will inherit them – and Jehovah is there. And you will know that I Jehovah have heard all your insults which you have uttered against the mountains of Israel. You will be a waste, Mount Seir, and all Edom. the whole of it. Ezek. 35:2-5, 8-10, 12, 15.
Here it is quite clear that ‘Edom’ in the contrary sense is those who despise, reject, and insult spiritual goods and truths, meant by ‘the mountains of Israel’.
[10] In the same prophet,
Thus said the Lord Jehovih, Surely in the fire of My jealousy have I spoken against the remnants of the nations, and against the whole of Edom, who have given My land to themselves as an inheritance with the joy of all [their] heart, with utter contempt.*** Ezek. 36:5.
Here similarly ‘giving the land to themselves as an inheritance’ stands for laying waste the Church, that is, good and truth that are the Church’s.
[11] In Malachi,
The Word of Jehovah against Israel; I have loved you, said Jehovah, and you say, How have You loved us? Is not Esau Jacob’s brother? And I love Jacob, and I hate Esau and am making his mountain into a waste. Mal. 1:1-3.
Here ‘Esau’ stands for the evil of the natural which does not accept spiritual truth, meant by ‘Israel’, 3305, or the doctrine of truth, meant by ‘Jacob’, 3305, and is for that reason ‘laid waste’, meant by ‘hating’. For ‘hating’ has no other meaning, as is evident from what has been introduced above from the Word regarding Esau and Edom in the good sense. But when truth does not allow itself to be allied to good, Jacob is referred to in a contrary way, as in Hosea,
He will make a visitation on Jacob over his ways and requite him according to his deeds; in the womb he supplanted his brother. Hosea 12:2, 3.
* lit. mix hands
** lit. and cause the children of Israel to flow over the hands of the swords
*** lit. with contempt of soul
‘Jacob said’ means the doctrine of truth. ‘Sell me – as if today – your birthright’ means that in the short term the doctrine of truth was apparently prior. ‘And Esau said, Behold, I am going to die’ means that [the good of the natural] would after that rise again ‘So what is this birthright to me?’ means that at this time there is no need for that good to be prior. ‘And Jacob said’ means the doctrine of truth. ‘Swear to me, as if today; and he swore to him’ means confirmation. ‘And he sold his birthright to Jacob’ means that in the meantime priority was conceded [to the doctrine of truth].
[2] That which is prior is good itself – the good of life. This good is the ground itself into which truths are sown, and the nature of the ground determines how the seeds, that is, the truths of faith, are received. Truths are, indeed, able to be stored away previous to this in the memory like seeds in a box or in the crop situated in the gullet of small birds, but they do not become part of a person until the ground is prepared. And the character of the ground, that is, of good, determines that of their growth and fruitfulness. But see what has been shown in many places already regarding these matters. Those places are indicated below so that from them it may be known what good is and what truth is, and that good has priority over truth, not truth over good:
[3] Why no distinct idea may be had of the difference between good and truth, 2507.*
Good flows in by an internal route unknown to man, whereas truth is obtained by an external route, which is known to him, 3030, 3098.
Truths are the recipient vessels of good, 1496, 1832, 1900, 2063, 2261, 2269, 3068, 3318.
Good acknowledges its own truth to which it is joined, 3101, 3102, 3179.
Very careful examination is made and precaution taken to prevent falsity being joined to good, or truth to evil, 3033, 3101, 3102.
Good forms for itself the truth to which it is joined since it acknowledges no other as truth than that which accords with it, 3161.
Truth is nothing other than that which springs from good, 2434.
Truth is the form that good takes, 3049.
Truth possesses within itself the image of good, and within good the replica of itself from which it springs, 3180.
The seed that is truth is rooted in the good that stems from charity, 880.
Faith cannot possibly exist except within its own life, that is, within love and charity, 379, 389, 654, 724, 1608, 2343, 2349.
It is possible for truths that constitute matters of doctrine concerning faith to be looked at from love and charity, but not the reverse, 2454.
Looking from faith and not from love and charity is looking behind oneself and turning backwards, 2454.
Truth is given life according to the good anyone has, thus according to the state of innocence and charity residing with that person, 1776, 3111.
Truths of faith can be received only by those who are governed by good, 2343, 2349.
Those who have no charity are not able to acknowledge the Lord, nor thus any truth of faith at all If they do profess it, it is something external devoid of what is internal, or something that is the product of hypocrisy, 2354.
No faith at all is present where there is no charity, 654, 1162, 1176, 2429.
Wisdom, intelligence, and knowledge are ‘the sons’ of charity, 1226.
Since love exists with angels, so do intelligence and wisdom, 2500, 2572.
Angelic life consists in the good deeds of charity; and angels are forms of charity, 454, 553.
Love to the Lord is His likeness and charity towards the neighbour His image, 1013.
Angels perceive through love to the Lord anything that is a matter of faith, 202.
Nothing has life except love and affection, 1589.
Those who have mutual love, or charity, have the Lord’s life, 1799, 1803.
Love to the Lord and love towards the neighbour is heaven itself, 1802, 1824, 2057, 2130, 2131.
The Lord’s presence is relative to the state of love and charity, 904.
All the Ten Commandments and all matters of faith have their origin in charity, 1121, 1798.
Knowledge of matters of doctrine concerning faith achieves nothing if a person does not have charity, for matters of doctrine have charity as the end in view, 2049, 2116.
No acknowledgement of truth, nor thus faith, can exist unless a person is governed by good, 2261.
The holiness of worship depends on the nature of and the amount of the truth of faith that has been implanted in charity, 2190.
There is no salvation through faith but through the life of faith, which is charity, 2228, 2261.
The heavenly kingdom belongs to those who have faith that is the expression of charity, 1608.
In heaven all are viewed from charity and from faith from this, 1258.
They are not allowed into heaven, except by willing what is good from the heart, 2401.
People are saved who possess faith provided that faith includes good, 2261, 2442.
Faith which has not been implanted in the good of life perishes altogether in the next life, 2228.
If faith that is purely thought could save, all would be brought into heaven; but it is because their life prevents them that some are not able to be saved, 2363.
Those who maintain the idea that faith alone saves defile truths with the falsity of that idea, 2383, 2385.
The fruits of faith are good works; a good work is charity; charity is love to the Lord; and that love is the Lord, 1873.
The fruits of faith are the fruit of good which stems from love and charity, 3146.
Trust or confidence which is called faith that saves cannot exist except with those who are leading a good life, 2982.
Good is the life of truth, 1589.
At what point truths may be said to have acquired life, 1928.
Good from the Lord flows into truths of every kind, but it is supremely important that they should be genuine truths, 2531.
The amount of good and truth that flows in from the Lord depends on the extent to which evil and falsity is being removed. 2411, 3142, 3147.
Good cannot flow into truth as long as a person is under the influence of evil, 2388.
Truth is not truth until it has been accepted by good, 2429.
The marriage of good and truth exists in every single thing, 2173, 2508, 2517.
The affection for good constitutes life, and the affection for truth exists for the sake of life, 2455.*
Truth tends towards good, and stems from good, 2063.
By means of influx truths are summoned out of the natural man, raised up, and implanted in the good present in the rational, 3085, 3086.
When truth is joined to good it becomes a person’s own, 3108.
For truth to be joined to good there has to be consent from the understanding and the will. When there is consent from the will conjunction takes place, 3157, 3158.
Truth in the rational is acquired by means of cognitions, and truths become a person’s own when they are joined to good. at which point they belong to the will and exist for the sake of life, 3161.
Truth is introduced and joined to good, not all at once but throughout the whole of life, and beyond, 3200.
Just as light devoid of warmth is unproductive, so is the truth of faith when devoid of good stemming from love, 3146.
The nature of the idea of truth devoid of good, and the nature of its light in the next life, 2228.
Separated faith is like the light in winter, whereas faith derived from charity is like the light in the spring, 2231.
Those who in action separate the truth, which constitutes faith, from charity are unable to have conscience, 1076, 1077.
The reason why they have separated faith from charity and said that faith saved, 2231.
When a person is being regenerated the Lord instills good into the truths residing with him, 2063, 2189.
A person is not regenerated by means of truth but by means of good, 989, 2146, 2183, 2189, 2697.
When a person is being regenerated the Lord comes to meet him and fills the truths residing with him with the good of charity, 2063.
Those who lead a good life but do not have the truth of faith, like gentiles and young children, receive truths of faith in the next life and undergo regeneration, 989; regarding gentiles, 932, 1032, 2049, 2284, 2589-2604; regarding young children, 2290-2293, 2302-2304.
A person is regenerated by means of the affection for truth, and one who is regenerate acts from the affection for good, 1904.
With one who is to be regenerated seed is unable to take root except in good, 880, 989.
The light that a regenerate person has flows from charity, not from faith, 854.
The same truths are indeed truths with one person, but with another less so, and with some they are even falsities; this variation is determined by the good of life in each of them, 2439.
What the difference is between the good of a young child, the good of one who does not know, and the good of one who has intelligence, 2280.
Who are able to enter into cognitions of truth and into faith, and who are not, 2689.
The Church does not exist unless truths of doctrine have been implanted in the good of life, 3310.
Doctrine does not make the Church, but charity, 809, 916, 1798, 1799, 1834, 1844.
The Church’s doctrines count for nothing if people do not live according to them, 1515.
The doctrine of faith is the doctrine of charity, 2571.
The Church exists from charity, not from separated faith, 916.
Anyone may know from charity whether the internal dimension of worship exists with him, 1102, 1151, 1153.
The Lord’s Church spread throughout the world is everywhere various so far as truths are concerned, but it is one through charity, 3267.
The Church would be one Church if all had charity even though they differed in religious observances and on points of doctrine, 809, 1285, 1316, 1798, 1799, 1834, 1844.
From being many it would become one Church if with everyone charity and not faith were the essential thing of the Church, 2982.
There are two kinds of doctrinal teachings – teachings to do with charity and teachings to do with faith. The Ancient Church possessed matters of doctrine concerning charity which today belong among things that have been lost, 2417.
How ignorant of the truth they are who do not possess matters of doctrine concerning charity, 2435.
And because at the present day faith is regarded as the essential thing of the Church people do not even see or pay any attention to the things that the Lord has said so many times about love and charity, 1017, 2373.
Good that is the expression of love to the Lord and of charity towards the neighbour is higher and prior to truth that constitutes faith, and not the reverse, 363, 364.
* This number does not appear to be correct.
[2] By the expressions prior and priority of place, describing the birthright, are meant not only first in time but also first in degree; that is to say, it is a question of which one is to have dominion, good or truth? For until it has been joined to good truth is always prior; or what amounts to the same, until they have been regenerated, people governed by truth believe that truth is prior to and higher than good. That is how it appears at that time; but once truth with them has been joined to good, that is, once they have been regenerated, they see and perceive that truth is posterior and lower than good, and with them good has dominion over truth. This is what is meant by that which Isaac his father told Esau,
Behold, of the fatness of the earth will be your dwelling, and of the dew of heaven from above. And by your sword you will live, and you will serve your brother; and it will be, when you have dominion, that you will break his yoke from above your neck Gen. 27:39, 40.
[3] But because within the Church those who are not being regenerated outnumber those who are, and those who are not base their judgements on what is the appearance, it has therefore been disputed, even from ancient times, whether priority of place belongs to truth or to good. With those who have not been regenerated and also with those who are not completely regenerate the opinion prevails that truth is prior, for they have not yet acquired a perception of good; and as long as anybody is without a perception of good he is in the dark or ignorant regarding these matters. But because those who have been regenerated are governed by good itself, they are able to discern from resulting intelligence and wisdom what good is, and that good comes from the Lord and flows in by way of the internal man into the external, doing so constantly without the person being aware of it. They are able to perceive that it joins itself to the truths of doctrine that are in the memory, and that as a consequence good in itself is prior even though it has not appeared so beforehand. This then is why the dispute arose about which one was prior and higher than the other, a dispute which was represented by Esau and Jacob, as well as by Perez and Zerah, Judah’s sons by Tamar, Gen. 38:28-30, and also after that by Joseph’s sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, Gen. 48:13, 14, 17-20. The dispute arises because the spiritual Church is such that it has to be led to good by means of truth, and while being led to good it does not have the perception of good except insofar as this, quantitatively and qualitatively, lies concealed within the affection for truth. At that time it is indistinguishable from the delight of self-love and of love of the world which exists at the same time within that affection and is believed to be good.
[4] Good however is the firstborn, that is, good flowing from love to the Lord and from love towards the neighbour, for no other good is good except that which flows from these. This becomes clear from the fact that life is present within good but not within truth except the life received from good, and from the fact that good flows into truths and gives them life, as may be seen clearly from what has been stated and shown already in 3324 about good and truth. For this reason all in whom love to the Lord and charity towards the neighbour are present are called ‘the firstborn’. They were also represented in the Jewish Church by firstborn creatures – that is, when these are understood in the relative sense; for the Lord is the Firstborn, and those people are likenesses and images of Him.
[5] The Lord as regards His Divine Human is the Firstborn. This is clear in David,
He will cry to Me, You are My Father, My God, and the Rock of My Salvation; I will also make Him the Firstborn, supreme over the kings of the earth. My mercy I will keep for Him for ever, and My covenant will stand firm for Him, and I will establish His seed for ever, and His throne as the days of the heavens. Ps. 89:26-29.
This refers to the Lord. And in John,
From Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the Firstborn from mortal men, and Prince of the kings of the earth. Rev 1:5.
And to fulfil those things that had been written regarding Him and that represented Him He was also the Firstborn Son, Luke 2:7, 22, 23.
[6] The Lord also calls ‘the firstborn’ those in whom love to Him and charity towards the neighbour are present because they are likenesses and images of Him This is clear in John,
The hundred and forty-four thousand purchased from the earth – these are the ones who were not defiled with women, for they are virgins; these are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes; these have been purchased from men as firstfruits (the firstborn) to God and the Lamb, and in their mouth no lie was found, for they are spotless before God’s throne. Rev. 14:3-5.
‘A hundred and forty-four’, or twelve times twelve, stands for those who have the faith that is grounded in charity, 3272, ‘thousands’ for countless numbers or for them all, 2575, ‘virgins’ for the good that flows from love to the Lord and from charity towards the neighbour, 2362, 3081, and so for those with whom innocence is present, which is also the meaning of ‘following the Lamb’ since the Lord by virtue of His innocence is called ‘the Lamb’. This is why they are called the firstfruits or the firstborn.
[7] From these quotations it is evident that the Lord as regards the Divine Human was represented in the Jewish Church by firstborn beings, as also are those with whom love to Him is present, for they abide in the Lord. But the firstborn beings mentioned in the Word have a dual representation. They represent the Lord as regards Divine celestial love and as regards Divine spiritual love. The Lord’s Divine celestial love is specific to the celestial Church, or to those belonging to that Church, who are called celestial on account of their love to the Lord. The Lord’s Divine spiritual love is specific to the spiritual Church, or to those belonging to that Church, who are referred to as spiritual on account of their love to the neighbour. The Lord’s Divine love goes out to all, but because people receive it variously – the celestial person in one way, the spiritual in another – it is said to be specific.
[8] Concerning the firstborn beings which represented the Lord as regards Divine celestial love, and also the people who belonged specifically to the celestial Church, the following is said in Moses,
The firstborn of your sons you shall give to Me. You shall do the same with your oxen and your flock. Seven days it shall be with its mother; on the eighth you shall give it to Me. And you shall be men who are sanctified to Me. Exod. 22:29-31.
The reason why it was to stay seven days with its mother was that the seventh day meant the celestial man, 84-87, and that seven consequently means that which is holy, 395, 433, 716, 881. The reason why on the eighth day they were to be given to Jehovah was that the eighth day meant the continuation from a new beginning, that is to say, the continuation of love, 2044. In the same author,
The firstborn among beasts, which is given as the firstborn to Jehovah, no man shall consecrate it; whether an ox or of the herd, it is Jehovah’s. Lev. 27:26, 27.
In the same author,
The firstfruits of all that is in the land, which they bring to Jehovah, shall be yours (Aaron’s); every clean person in your house shall eat them. All that opens the womb among all flesh which they offer to Jehovah, man and beast, shall be yours. Nevertheless you shall redeem the firstborn of man, and the firstborn of unclean beasts you shall redeem. The firstborn of an ox, or the firstborn of a sheep, or the firstborn of a goat you shall not redeem; they are holy. Their blood you shall sprinkle over the altar and burn their fat as a fire-offering for an odour of rest to Jehovah. Num. 18:13, 15-18.
In the same author,
Every firstborn male that is born among your herds and among your flocks you shall sanctify to Jehovah your God; you shall do no work by means of the firstborn of your oxen, and you shall not shear the firstborn of your flock. And if there is a blemish in it, lameness or blindness, any ill blemish whatever, you shall not sacrifice it to Jehovah your God. Deut. 15:19-22.
[9] Because ‘the firstborn [among beasts]’ represented the Lord and those who are the Lord’s by virtue of love to Him, the tribe of Levi was therefore taken instead of all the firstborn, the reason for this being that Levi represented the Lord as regards His love. Also, Levi means love, for Levi is a name that means to cling to and to be joined together – and ‘to cling to’ and ‘to be joined together’ in the internal sense is love. This will in the Lord’s Divine mercy be dealt with later on, at Gen. 29:34. Regarding the Levites the following is said in Moses,
Jehovah spoke to Moses. saying, Behold, I Myself will take the Levites from the midst of the children of Israel, instead of every firstborn, that which opens the womb, from the children of Israel; and the Levites will be Mine. For every firstborn is Mine; on the day I struck every firstborn in the land of Egypt I sanctified every firstborn for Myself in Israel; from man even to beast they shall be Mine. Num. 3:11-13.
In the same author,
Jehovah said to Moses, Number every firstborn male from the children of Israel, a month old and over, and take the number of their names. And take the Levites for Me – I am Jehovah – instead of every firstborn among the children of Israel, and the beast of the Levites instead of every firstborn among the beasts of the children of Israel. Num. 3:40, 41, and following verses.
Also Num. 8:14, 16-18. And the Levites were given to Aaron, Num. 8:19, because Aaron represented the Lord as regards the priesthood, that is, as regards Divine love; for the priesthood represented the Lord’s Divine love, see 1728, 2015 (end).
[10] Concerning the firstborn creatures however which represented the Lord as regards Divine spiritual love, and also the people who belonged specifically to the spiritual Church, the following is said in Jeremiah,
With weeping they will come, and with supplications I will lead them, I will bring them to springs of water in a straight path on which they will not stumble; and I will be a Father to Israel, and Ephraim will be My firstborn. Jer. 31:9.
This refers to a new spiritual Church. ‘Israel’ stands for spiritual good, ‘Ephraim’ for spiritual truth, who is called ‘the firstborn’ because the subject is a Church that is to be established in which the understanding – which is the holder of truth – is apparently the firstborn. Indeed Ephraim took Reuben’s place and became the firstborn, Gen. 48:5, 20; 1 Chron. 5:1. He did so because Joseph, whose sons were Ephraim and Manasseh, represented the Lord as regards Divine spiritual love. But fundamentally Israel, that is, spiritual good, is the firstborn. This is clear in Moses,
Jehovah said to Moses, You shall say to Pharaoh, Thus said Jehovah, My firstborn son is Israel, and I say to you, Send My son so that he may serve Me, and you have refused to send him; behold, I kill your son, the firstborn. Exod. 4:22, 23.
Here ‘Israel’ in the highest sense is the Lord as regards Divine spiritual love, and in the relative sense those in whom spiritual love, that is, charity towards the neighbour, is present.
[11] In the case of the spiritual Church, in the beginning or when it is about to be established, it is the doctrine of truth that is the firstborn with the external Church and the truth taught by doctrine the firstborn with the internal Church – or what amounts to the same, the doctrine of faith is the firstborn with the external Church and faith itself with the internal Church. But once it has been set up, or is a reality among its members, it is the good flowing from charity that is the firstborn with the external Church and charity itself with the internal Church. When however the Church does not allow itself to be established, as happens when it is no longer possible for the member of the Church to be regenerated, it gradually retreats from charity and turns aside to faith. Furthermore it no longer concerns itself with life but with doctrine; and when that happens it casts itself into shadows and sinks into falsities and evils. In so doing it ceases to be a Church and brings about its own annihilation. This was represented by Cain, in that he slew Abel his brother – Cain meaning faith separated from charity, and Abel the charity which he annihilated, see 340, 342, 357, 362, and following paragraphs. Later on it was represented by Ham – and Canaan his son – in that he mocked Noah his father, 1062, 1063, 1076, 1140, 1141, 1162, 1179. After that it was represented by Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn, in that he defiled his father’s bed, Gen. 35:22, and at length by Pharaoh and the Egyptians, in that these afflicted the children of Israel. It is clear from the Word that all these were accursed, as the following shows:
Cain
Jehovah said, What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying out to Me from the ground. And now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. Gen. 4:10, 11.
Ham and Canaan
Ham, the father of Canaan, saw his father’s nakedness and pointed it out to his two brothers. And Noah awoke from his wine. He said, Cursed be Canaan, a slave of slaves will he be to his brothers. Gen. 9:22, 24, 25.
Reuben
Reuben, my firstborn, you are my strength, and the beginning of my power, excelling in eminence, and excelling in might. Unstable as water, may you not excel, for you went up to your father’s bed; then you defiled it. He went up to my couch. Gen. 49:3, 4.
This was why he was deprived of the birthright, 1 Chron. 5:1. The same was represented by Pharaoh and the Egyptians, and therefore their firstborn sons and firstborn creatures were slain. This is clear from their representation as facts, 1164, 1165, 1186, for whenever anyone enters into the arcana of faith along the path of factual knowledge, he no longer believes anything, apart from that which he is able to grasp through sensory evidence and factual knowledge. In that case things which belong to the doctrine of faith, and above all those which are matters of charity, he perverts and annihilates.
[12] These are the considerations which are represented in the internal sense by the slaying of the firstborn sons and firstborn creatures of Egypt, referred to in Moses as follows,
I will pass through the land of Egypt during that night, and will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from man even to beast; and on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgement; I am Jehovah. And the blood will be a sign on your houses where you are; and when I see the blood I will pass by over you, and the plague will not be on you for a destroyer when I strike the land of Egypt. Exod. 12:12, 13.
‘The firstborn of Egypt’ is doctrinal teaching regarding faith and regarding charity, which is perverted, as has been stated, by means of facts. ‘The gods of Egypt’ on whom judgement would be executed are falsities. No plague would be brought by the destroyer where there was blood on houses means in the highest sense the place where the Lord as regards Divine spiritual love resides, and in the relative sense where spiritual love, that is, charity towards the neighbour, resides, see 1001.
[13] Further reference to Pharaoh and the Egyptians is made in the same book as follows,
Moses said, Thus said Jehovah, As at midnight I will go out into the midst of Egypt, and all the firstborn in the land of Egypt will die, and Pharaoh’s firstborn who was to sit on his throne, even to the firstborn of the servant-girl who is behind the mill, and all the firstborn of the beasts. But on all the children of Israel not a dog will move its tongue, from man even to beast. Exod. 11:4-7.
And after that,
It happened at midnight, that Jehovah struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from Pharaoh’s firstborn who was to sit on his throne even to the firstborn of the prisoner who was in the dungeon,* and all the firstborn of the beasts. Exod. 12:29.
The reason why it took place at midnight was that ‘night’ means the final state of the Church when there is no faith any longer because there is no charity any longer, 221, 709, 1712, 2353. In David,
He struck all the firstborn in Egypt, the beginning of powers in the tents of Ham. Ps. 78:51.
In the same author,
Then Israel came to Egypt, and Jacob became a sojourner in the land of Ham. God struck all the firstborn in their land, the beginning of all their powers. Ps. 105:23, 36.
‘The tents of Ham’ is the name given to the worship of the Egyptians, which is based on false assumptions that result from truth separated from good, or what amounts to the same, from faith separated from charity – ‘tents’ meaning worship, see 414, 1102, 1566, 2145, 2152, 3312, and ‘Ham’ faith separated from charity, 1062, 1063, 1076, 1140, 1141, 1162, 1179.
[14] This confirms yet again that ‘the slaying of the firstborn of Egypt’ had no other meaning. Now because all the firstborn of Egypt had been slain, and yet so that the firstborn might represent the Lord as regards Divine spiritual love and at the same time represent those who are governed by that love, [the Israelites] were commanded to sanctify all the firstborn the instant they were leaving. These matters are stated in Moses as follows,
Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, Sanctify to Me all the firstborn, whatever opens the womb among the children of Israel; with man and with beast let them be Mine. You shall make over to Jehovah all that opens the womb, and every firstling of a beast, that are yours; the males shall be Jehovah’s. And every firstling of an ass you shall redeem in the herd. If you do not redeem it, you shall break its neck. And all the firstborn of man among your sons you shall redeem. And it shall be – when your son asks you in time to come, saying, What is this? – that you shall say to him, By a strong hand Jehovah led us out of Egypt, from the home of slaves. And so it was, that Pharaoh hardened himself against sending us away, and Jehovah slew all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of man even to the firstborn of the beasts. Therefore I sacrifice to Jehovah all that open the womb, the males, and all the firstborn of my sons I redeem. Exod 13:1, 2, 12-15; 34:19, 20; Num. 33:3, 4.
From all these quotations one may now see what is meant in the spiritual sense by the birthright.
*lit. in the house of the pit
[2] Nevertheless the Lord does allow such things in that initial period to carry him along because he could not otherwise be regenerated. The arrival at intelligence and wisdom takes time In the meantime he is led on by means of those truths to good, that is, to charity. And once he has charity he perceives for the first time what good is and acts from good, and at the same time good is the source of his decisions and conclusions concerning truths. And things that do not accord with that good he calls falsities and rejects. In this way he has dominion over truths like a master over his servants
‘Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil pottage’ means that the good of life was given the good of truth and the good of doctrine. ‘And he ate, and drank’ means taking to oneself. ‘And he rose up’ means a consequent raising up. ‘And went’ means life. ‘And Esau despised the birthright’ means that the good of life did not in the meantime attach any importance at all to priority of place.
[2] These words and those that follow in this final verse describe progress made in regard to truth and good. They describe the situation with the spiritual man while being regenerated, that is to say, how he first learns matters of doctrine concerning truth; how next he is stirred by an affection for them, which is the good of doctrine; how after that, through insight into the matters of doctrine, he is stirred by an affection for the truths which they hold within them, which is the good of truth; and how at length he desires to live according to them, which is the good of life. Thus while undergoing regeneration the spiritual man advances from the doctrine of truth towards the good of life. But once he has reached that point the order is reversed – that good is the point from which he sees the good of truth, the latter the point from which he sees the good of doctrine, and this good in turn the point from which he sees matters of doctrine concerning truth. From these considerations it may be known how, from being sensory-minded, a person becomes spiritual, and what he is like when he has become spiritual.
[3] Those varieties of good, that is to say, the good of life, the good of truth, and the good of doctrine, are all distinct from one another, as becomes clear to those who weigh the matter up. The good of life is that which issues from the will, the good of truth that which issues from the understanding, while the good of doctrine is that which issues from knowledge. Doctrinal teaching is such that it includes all three. It is clear that ‘lentils’ means the good of doctrine from the fact that wheat, barley, beans, lentils, millet, and spelt are such things as are meant by bread, though with specific differences. The fact that ‘bread’ in general means good is evident from what has been stated and shown in 276, 680, 2165, 2177; and so specific kinds of good are meant by the grains and beans that have been mentioned – nobler kinds of good by wheat and barley, but less noble by beans and lentils, as also becomes evident from these words in Ezekiel,
You, take for yourself wheat and barley, and beans and lentils, and millet and spelt, and put them into a single vessel, and make them into bread for yourself. Ezek 4:9, 12, 13.
[2] To make it quite clear which one is prior to and higher than the other – truth or good – let a further brief comment be made. It is probably well known that nothing is ever able to enter the human memory and remain there unless there is some affection or love to attract it. If there were no affection, or what amounts to the same, no love, there would not be any discernment It is to this affection or love to which the thing entering in links itself, and once linked to that affection it remains. This becomes clear from the consideration that when a like affection or love returns that thing reappears as well, presenting itself together with many others which, from a like affection or love, have entered in previously. This goes on repeatedly. This is the origin of a person’s thought, and from his thought, of his speech. It is similar also when a thing returns, whether it is the objects of the senses, or the objects of thought, or the speech of another that causes it to return, then the affection also with which the thing had entered in is reproduced. This is something which experience teaches, and anyone may confirm it for himself if he stops to reflect
[3] Matters of doctrine concerning truth as well enter the memory in a similar way and in the earliest stages it is the affections belonging to varying loves that bring them in, as stated above in 3330. Genuine affection which belongs to the good of charity, though not recognized at that time, is nevertheless present. And to the extent it is able to be present it is allied to matters of doctrine concerning truth from the Lord and also remains allied. When the time comes therefore when a person is able to be regenerated the Lord inspires the affection for good, and through that affection arouses the things that have been allied to that affection from Himself. In the Word these things are called remnants In that case by means of that affection for good the affections belonging to other loves are gradually removed, and so also are the things which have been linked to them. In this way the affection for good, or what amounts to the same, the good of life, starts to have dominion. It also had dominion before this but that could not be seen by the person himself, for to the extent someone is ruled by self-love and love of the world the good that belongs to genuine love is not apparent. From this one may now see what is meant in the internal sense by the historical details that have been told regarding Esau and Jacob.
What correspondences are, and what representations are, may be seen from what has been stated and shown already; namely that correspondences exist between things belonging to the light of heaven and those belonging to the light of the world, while representations consist of things belonging to the light of heaven which manifest themselves within those belonging to the light of the world, 3225. But what the light of heaven is, and the nature of it, cannot be known so easily by man because he dwells within the things that belong to the light of the world. And to the extent he dwells within these the things that exist within the light of heaven are seen by him as darkness and as nothing at all. These two, the light of heaven and the light of the world, are what form the whole of man’s intelligence, when life is flowing in.
[2] In man mental images are nothing else than the forms and shapes of such things as he has been taking in with his physical sight – forms and shapes wonderfully diverse or, as I will call it, modified. His interior mental images or thought however are nothing else than the forms and shapes of such things as he has absorbed with his mental sight – forms and shapes even more wonderfully diverse or, as again I will call it, modified. Things which come into being in this way are not in themselves animate but are made so from the influx of life from the Lord.
[2] Such things also exist within man – for man is a spirit clothed with the body – as becomes clear from the fact that when anything spoken that is perceived by the ear rises up towards the more interior parts, it passes into mental images not unlike those of visual objects, and from these into conceptual ideas, and in this way one comes to perceive the sense of the words. Anyone who reflects on these matters properly may recognize from them that within him there is his spirit, which is his internal man, and also that he has this kind of ability to communicate following his separation from the body, for the same ability exists with him though this is not evident to him in his lifetime because of the obscurity, indeed the thick darkness brought about by earthly, physical, and worldly things.
[2] It was to this form – the external form – that the angels were comparing human minds, and their thoughts and speech flowing from these. But angelic minds they compared to the things that are within, which in comparison with those that make up the human mind are unlimited and also beyond comprehension. They also compared the ability to think to the ability which organs have to act according to the form which the fibres take. They said that this ability belonged not to the fibres but to the life within the fibres, just as the ability to think does not belong to the mind but to the life from the Lord that is flowing into it. When they are being made by angels such comparisons also at the same time manifest themselves in representatives, by means of which the interior forms referred to are presented both visually and mentally, and within an instant, even as to the smallest incomprehensible parts. But the comparisons which are made by means of spiritual and celestial things, such as those made among celestial angels, are immensely superior in the beauty of wisdom to those comparisons which are made by means of natural things.
All things in the literal sense of the Word are representatives and meaningful signs of those present in the internal sense, 1404, 1408, 1409, 2763.
The Word given through Moses and the Prophets was written by means of representatives and meaningful signs, and could not be written in any other style if it was to have an internal sense through which communication existed between heaven and earth, 2899.
The Lord too therefore spoke by means of representatives, and for the added reason that He spoke from the Divine itself, 2900.
Where the representatives and meaningful signs contained in the Word, and in religious observances, had their origin, 2179.
Representatives arose from the meaningful signs of the Ancient Church, and these arose from the perceptivity of the Most Ancient Church, 920, 1409, 2896, 2897.
The most ancient people received their representatives from dreams as well, 1977.
Enoch means those who gathered together the perceptivity of the most ancient people, 2896.
In heaven representatives of the Lord and of His kingdom occur constantly, 1619.
The heavens are full of representatives, 1521, 1532.
Angels’ ideas are transformed in the world of spirits into various representatives, 1971, 1980, 1981.
The representatives by which young children are led into intelligence, 2299.
Representatives in the natural order are the product of influx from the Lord, 1632, 1881.
Within the whole natural order there are representatives of the Lord’s kingdom, 2758.
Within the external man there are things that do correspond and those that do not correspond to the internal man, 1563, 1568.
[2] After that I heard many more groups who presented various things within representatives; and although the choirs were many, and each choir had many members, they all nevertheless acted as one, for from the form taken by the various representations there resulted a single whole, containing that which was superbly heavenly. Such is the whole of heaven able to be – which consists of myriads upon myriads acting as one – through the mutual love reigning there, for thus they allow themselves to be led by the Lord. And the wonder of it is, the more there are, that is, the more myriads there are constituting heaven, the more distinct and separate, and the more perfect, does every single one become; all the more so in the case of the angels of the interior heaven, since all perfection increases towards the interior parts.
[2] Here first let the following words be explained which appear in Matthew,
The disciples came to Jesus, saying, Tell us. when will those things take place, and what will be the sign of Your coming and of the close of the age? And Jesus answering said to them, See that no one leads you astray, for many will come in My name, saying, I am the Christ; and they will lead many astray. But when you hear of wars and rumours of wars, see that you are not alarmed; for all things must take place; but the end is not yet. For nation will be roused against nation and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines, and plagues, and earthquakes in various places. All these are but the beginning of sorrows. Matt. 24:3-8.
Those who confine themselves to the sense of the letter cannot know whether these words and those that follow in this chapter refer to the destruction of Jerusalem and the dispersion of the Jews, or whether they refer to the end of days which is called the Last Judgement. But those admitted into the internal sense see clearly that the end of the Church is being referred to, this end being that which here and in other places is called ‘the coming of the Lord’ and ‘the close of the age’. And inasmuch as the end of the Church is meant one is able to see that all these statements made by the Lord mean such things as have to do with the Church. But their overall meaning may be seen from the individual meaning below which each of them has in the internal sense.
Many will come in My name, saying, I am the Christ; and they will lead many astray. ‘Name’ here does not mean name, nor ‘the Christ’ the Christ, but ‘name’ means that by which the Lord is worshipped, 2724, 3006, while ‘the Christ’ means truth itself, 3009, 3010. Thus the meaning is that people will come who say that this is the sum and substance of faith, that is, it is the truth, when in fact it is neither the sum and substance of faith, nor the truth, but falsity.
They will hear of wars and rumours of wars means that arguments and disagreements over truths will arise which are wars in the spiritual sense.
Nation will be roused against nation and kingdom against kingdom means that evil will conflict with evil, and falsity with falsity, ‘nation’ meaning good, but in the contrary sense evil, see 1259, 1260, 1416, 1849, and ‘kingdom’ meaning truth, but in the contrary sense falsity, 1672, 2547. And there will be famines, and plagues, and earthquakes in various places means that no cognitions of good and truth will exist any more, and thus that the state of the Church is altered, meant by ‘an earthquake’.
It will happen, that he who is fleeing from the sound of the terror will fall into the pit, and he who is climbing out of the middle of the pit will be caught in the snare, for the floodgates from on high have been opened and the foundations of the earth have been made to tremble, the earth has been utterly shattered. The earth has been made to quake thoroughly, the earth staggers like a drunken man, it sways to and fro like a hut, and heavy upon it is its transgression, and it will fall and not rise again. And it will be on that day, that Jehovah will visit the host of the height on high and the kings of the ground on the ground. Isa. 24:18-21.
Here it is quite evident that ‘the earth’ is the Church, for the subject is a Church whose ‘foundations’ are said to ‘have been made to tremble’, while the Church itself, having been ‘shattered’ and ‘made to quake’, ‘staggers’ and ‘sways to and fro’ when good and truth are not known any longer. ‘The kings of the ground’ are truths, in this case falsities, upon which visitation will take place. As regards ‘kings’ meaning truths and in the contrary sense falsities, see 1672, 2015, and as regards ‘the ground’ being similar in meaning to ‘the earth’, namely the Church, though there is a difference, see 566, 1068.
[2] In the same prophet,
I will make a man (homo) more rare than pure gold, and a man (homo) than the gold of Ophir. Therefore I will make heaven quake and the earth will quake out of its place, at the wrath of Jehovah Zebaoth and in the day of His fierce anger. Isa. 13:12, 13.
Here also, the subject being Judgement Day, ‘the earth’ plainly stands for the Church which is said to ‘quake out of its place’ when it undergoes a change of state – ‘place’ meaning state, see 1273-1275, 1377, 2625, 2837. In the same prophet,
Is this the man who, making the earth quake, making the kingdoms quake, makes the world into a wilderness and destroys its cities? Isa. 14:16, 17.
This refers to Lucifer. ‘The earth’ stands for the Church, which is said ‘to quake’ when it lays claim to all things as its own. For ‘kingdoms’ means the truths accepted by the Church, see 1672, 2547.
[3] In Ezekiel,
It will be on that day, that Gog will come over the land of Israel. My wrath will come up in My anger and in My zeal. In the fire of My wrath I will say, Surely on that day there will be a great earthquake on Israel’s ground. Ezek. 38:18-20.
‘Gog’ stands for external worship that has been separated from internal and so made idolatrous, 1151. ‘Israel’s land’ or ‘ground’ stands for the spiritual Church, ‘an earthquake’ for an alteration of its state. In Joel,
The earth quaked before Him, the heavens trembled. The sun and the moon were darkened, and the stars withdrew their shining. Joel 2:10.
This also refers to Judgement Day. ‘The earth quaked’ stands for an altered state of the Church, ‘the sun and moon’ for the good of love and the truth of faith, 1529, 1530, 2441, 2495, which are said to be ‘darkened’ when goods and truths are not acknowledged any longer. ‘The stars’ stands for cognitions of good and truth, 2495, 2849. In David,
The earth trembled and quaked, and the foundations of the mountains shook and trembled because He was angered. Ps. 18:6, 7.
‘The earth trembled and quaked’ stands for the Church when its state has become perverted.
[4] In John,
When he opened the sixth seal I looked again, and behold, a great earthquake took place, and the sun became black as sackcloth made of hair, and the full moon became like blood, and the stars in the sky fell to the earth. Rev. 6:12, 13.
Here ‘an earthquake’, ‘the sun’, ‘the moon’, and ‘the stars’ have a similar meaning to that which they have above in Joel. In the same book,
At that hour a great earthquake took place, and a tenth part of the city fell, and there were killed in the earthquake seven thousand people.* Rev. 11:13.
From all these places it is evident that ‘an earthquake’ means nothing other than an alteration of the state of the Church, and that ‘the earth’ has no other meaning in the internal sense than the Church. And since ‘the earth’ is the Church it is clear that ‘the new heaven and the new earth’ which are to take the place of the previous heaven and earth, Isa. 65:17; 66:22; Rev. 21:1, means nothing other than a new Church, internal and external, 1733, 1850, 2117, 2118 (end).
*lit. seven thousand names of people
GENESIS 26
1 And there was a famine in the land, in addition to the previous famine that occurred in the days of Abraham; and Isaac went to Abimelech the king of the Philistines, to Gerar.
2 And Jehovah appeared to him, and said, Do not go down to Egypt; dwell in the land of which I tell you.
3 Sojourn in this land, and I will be with you, and will bless you, for to you and to your seed I will give all these lands, and I will fulfil the oath which I swore to Abraham your father.
4 And I will cause your seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and I will give to your seed all these lands; and in your seed all the nations of the earth will be blessed,
5 Because Abraham hearkened to My voice and practiced My observances, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws.
6 And Isaac dwelt in Gerar.
7 And the men of the place asked about his wife, and he said, She is my sister. For he was afraid to say, My wife, [thinking,] The men of the place may perhaps kill me on account of Rebekah; for she was good-looking.
8 And it happened, because his days were prolonged for him there, that Abimelech the king of the Philistines looked through a window and saw, and behold, Isaac was laughing with Rebekah his wife.
9 And Abimelech called Isaac, and said, But behold, she is your wife! So how did you come to say, She is my sister? And Isaac said to him, Because I said, Perhaps I may die because of her.
10 And Abimelech said, What is this you have done to us? One of the people might easily have lain with your wife, and you would have brought guilt on us.
11 And Abimelech commanded all the people, saying, Anyone touching this man and his wife will surely die.
12 And Isaac sowed in that land and reaped* in that year a hundred measures; and Jehovah blessed him.
13 And the man increased, and went on increasing, so much so that he became extremely prosperous.**
14 And he had acquired flocks, and had acquired herds, and he had many servants; and the Philistines envied him.
15 And all the wells which his father’s servants had dug in the days of Abraham his father, the Philistines stopped them up and filled them up with dust.
16 And Abimelech said to Isaac, Go away from being with us, for you are much mightier than we are.
17 And Isaac went away from there, and camped in the Valley of Gerar and dwelt there.
18 And Isaac came back and dug again the wells of water which they had dug in the days of Abraham his father and which the Philistines had been stopping up after Abraham’s death; and he called them names, according to the names which his father had called them.
19 And Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and found there a well of living water.
20 And the herdsmen of Gerar disputed with Isaac’s herdsmen, saying, The water is ours. And he called the name of the well Esek, because they contended with him.
21 And they dug another well and disputed over that also; and he called the name of it Sitnah
22 And he moved on from there and dug another well, and they did not dispute over that; and he called the name of it Rehoboth, and said, Because now Jehovah has made room for us and we shall be fruitful in the land.
23 And he went up from there to Beersheba.
24 And Jehovah appeared to him that night, and said, I am the God of Abraham your father; do not fear, for I am with you, and I will bless you, and will cause your seed to multiply, for the sake of Abraham My servant.
25 And he built an altar there and called on the name of Jehovah, and pitched his tent there. And Isaac’s servants dug a well there.
26 And Abimelech went to him from Gerar, and Ahuzzath his companion, and Phicol the commander of his army.
27 And Isaac said to them, For what reason have you come to me, seeing that you hate me and have sent me away from you?
28 And they said, We saw clearly that Jehovah was with you, and we said, Let there be now a solemn agreement between us, between us and you, and let us make a covenant with you.
29 If you do us no harm as we have not touched you and as we have done to you nothing but good, and sent you away in peace; you are now the blessed of Jehovah.
30 And he made a feast for them, and they ate and drank.
31 And in the morning they rose up early, and swore, a man to his brother; and Isaac sent them away, and they went from being with him, in peace.
32 And so it was on that day, that Isaac’s servants came and pointed out to him the reasons for the well which they had dug; and they said to him, We have found water.
33 And he called it Shibah; therefore the name of the city is Beersheba even to this day.
34 And Esau was a son of forty years, and he took for a wife Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and also Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite.
35 And they were a bitterness of spirit to Isaac and Rebekah.
* lit. found
** lit. great
In this chapter the subject in the internal sense is how the three degrees of the appearances of truth were allied to Divine truth so that truths and matters of doctrine concerning these might be received and the Church come into existence.
Included in Chapter 21 is the description of a time when Abimelech made a covenant with Abraham, and when Abraham reproached him about a well of water that his servants had seized. Here a very similar description occurs again, involving Abimelech and Isaac, similar also in that, as Abraham had done, so also did Isaac call his wife his sister. From these considerations it is evident that the reason why similar events occurred again and are told again – with the mention of wells in both incidents – involves a Divine arcanum within it. Except for that which is Divine being concealed within them, there would be no value in knowing anything about those events. The internal sense however teaches what is concealed there and the fact that the subject is the Lord when joined to those who are in His Kingdom in heaven and on earth by means of truths – to angels by means of the appearances of truth belonging to a higher degree, and to men by the appearances of truth belonging to a lower degree, consequently by means of the Word where, in the internal sense and in the external sense, those appearances exist.
[2] For Divine truths are such that they cannot possibly be grasped by any angel, still less by any man. They go far beyond the whole range of their understanding. Yet so that the Lord may be joined to angels and men Divine truths flow in, with both angels and men, within appearances; and when those appearances have Divine truths within them, then these Divine truths can be received and acknowledged. And this is done in such a way as is adequate for everyone to grasp them. Appearances therefore, that is, angelic and human truths, exist in three degrees. These are the Divine arcana that are contained in the internal sense within the deeds done and told involving Abimelech and Abraham in Chapter 21, and these involving Abimelech and Isaac in this.
‘There was a famine in the land, in addition to the previous famine that occurred in the days of Abraham’ means an absence of cognitions of faith. ‘And Isaac went to Abimelech the king of the Philistines, to Gerar’ means matters of doctrine concerning faith – ‘Abimelech’ being the doctrine of faith which has regard to rational things, ‘the king of the Philistines’ matters of doctrine, and ‘Gerar’ faith.
[2] The subject here in the internal sense is that the Lord received all matters of doctrine concerning faith from His own Divine; for no matter of doctrine exists, not even the smallest, that does not come from the Lord, for the Lord is doctrine itself. This is why the Lord is called the Word, for the Word is doctrine. But because everything in the Lord is Divine, and the Divine cannot be comprehended by any created being, matters of doctrine which come from the Lord, in that they present themselves before created beings, are not therefore wholly Divine truths but appearances of truth. All the same, appearances do include Divine truths within them, and because they include them, appearances also are called truths. These appearances are the subject in this chapter.
[2] The expression ‘matters of doctrine’ is used to describe all those things that constitute doctrine, and insofar as that doctrine is able to be received and to be acknowledged in heaven by angels and on earth by men it is said to have regard to rational concepts. Actually it is the rational that receives and acknowledges them; but the rational is such that it cannot possibly comprehend Divine things, for it is finite, and what is finite cannot comprehend anything of what is Infinite. For this reason Divine truths from the Lord present themselves before the rational by means of appearances. This is why matters of doctrine are no more than the appearances of Divine truth, that is, no more than celestial and spiritual vessels that hold what is Divine within them. And because they hold the Divine, that is, the Lord, within them, they therefore stir a person’s affection, and thereby the Lord is joined to angels and to men.
‘Jehovah appeared to him, and said’ means thought coming from the Divine. ‘Do not go down to Egypt; dwell in the land of which I tell you’ means not resorting to facts but to rational concepts which, when enlightened from the Divine, are appearances of truth. ‘Sojourn in this land’ means instruction. ‘And I will be with you’ means the Divine. ‘And will bless you’ means that in this way there would be an increase. ‘For to you’ means good. ‘And to your seed’ means truth. ‘I will give all these lands’ means spiritual things. ‘And I will fulfil the oath which I swore to Abraham your father’ means confirmation thereby.
[2] Whether you speak of rational concepts enlightened from the Divine, or of appearances of truth, or of celestial and spiritual truths as these exist in the Lord’s kingdom in the heavens, or in heaven, and as they exist in the Lord’s kingdom on earth, or in the Church, it amounts to the same. The same are also called matters of doctrine, but this is so because of the truths they hold within them. The rational, both in angels and in men, has its being and is called rational from appearances of truth that have been enlightened from the Divine. Devoid of those appearances the rational has no existence, so that rational concepts are appearances. The reason it is said here that he was not to go down to Egypt, that is, not to resort to facts, is that facts have been dealt with already, in that Abraham’s sojourning in Egypt represented the Lord’s instruction in facts during childhood; see 1502.
[3] The implications of the arcanum that he was not to go down into Egypt but was to sojourn in the land of Gerar, that is, He was not to have regard to facts but to rational concepts, are that all appearances of truth that hold the Divine within them belong to the rational, so much so that rational truths and appearances of truth are one and the same, whereas facts belong to the natural, so much so that natural truths and factual truths are one and the same. Rational truths, or appearances of the truth, cannot possibly exist or manifest themselves except from an influx of the Divine into the rational, and by way of rational concepts into the facts that belong to the natural. That which is produced at that time in the rational is seen in the natural as an image produced by many objects reflected simultaneously in a mirror. This is how they present themselves to men and to angels also, though with angels the presentation of rational concepts in the natural is not very manifest, as it is with those in the world of spirits and the spiritual-natural realm, who therefore have representatives of truth.
[4] It is similar with men, with every one, for as stated already anyone who is governed by good is a miniature heaven, or what amounts to the same, an image of heaven as a whole. And because Divine Truth is unable to flow directly into the facts that are present in the natural man, but only – as has been stated – by way of rational concepts it is therefore said here, Do not go down to Egypt, but dwell in the land of Gerar. But as no clear idea of these matters is possible unless one knows the nature of influx, and also the nature of ideas, therefore they are in the Lord’s Divine mercy to be dealt with at the ends of chapters, where experiences to do with influx will be described.
*The Latin means instructing, but see 1463, 2025.
He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man, the field is the world, the seed are the sons of the kingdom. Matt 13:37, 38.
And for this reason also ‘sons’ generally means truths, 489, 491, 533, 1147, 2623.
[2] Anyone who thinks rather more deeply or inwardly may recognize that the seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, mentioned so many times, and spoken of so many times as those who were to be blessed, and more so than all nations and peoples in all the world, cannot in the Divine Word mean the descendants of those three. For among all nations they least of all were moved by the good that flows from love to the Lord and from charity towards the neighbour. Nor indeed did any truth of faith exist with them. Who the Lord is, what His kingdom is, and so what heaven is and what the life after death, they did not know at all. They did not know these things because for one thing they did not wish to know and for another because if they had come to know about them they would have denied them completely in their hearts and so would have profaned interior goods and truths, as they did exterior by becoming on so many occasions open idolaters. This is the reason why any interior truths are rarely visible in the literal sense of the Old Testament Word. Because the nature of those people was such, the Lord therefore said about them, quoting Isaiah,
He has blinded their eyes and hardened their heart, lest they see with their eyes and understand with their heart, and are converted and I heal them. John 12:40.
What He said about them when they declared they were ‘the seed of Abraham’,
They said, We are the seed of Abraham. Our father is Abraham. Jesus said to them, If you were Abraham’s sons, you would do the works of Abraham. You are from your father the devil, and the desires of your father you will to do. John 8:33, 39, 44.
Here also ‘Abraham’ is used to mean the Lord, as in every other instance in the Word. The Lord explicitly states that they were not His seed or sons but came from the devil. From this it is quite evident that ‘the seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob’ in both the historical part and the prophetical part of the Word is in no way used to mean such descendants, for the Word is Divine in every detail Instead it means all who constitute ‘the Lord’s seed’, that is, those with whom the good and truth of faith in Him are present. The fact that heavenly seed, that is, all good and truth, comes from the Lord alone, see 1438, 1614, 2016, 2803, 2882, 2883, 2891, 2892, 2904, 3195.
‘I will cause your seed to multiply as the stars of heaven’ means truths and cognitions of faith ‘And I will give to your seed all these lands’ means derivative Churches. ‘And in your seed all the nations of the earth will be blessed’ means all with whom good is present, both inside and outside the Church. ‘Because Abraham hearkened to My voice’ means the union of the Lord’s Divine Essence with the Human Essence by means of temptations. ‘And practiced My observances, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws’ means through revelations constantly coming from Himself.
Now I know that you fear God and have not withheld your only son from Me. By Myself I have sworn, says Jehovah, that because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will certainly bless you, and I will certainly multiply your seed like the stars of the heavens. Gen. 22:12, 16, 17.
‘Not withholding your only son from Me’, which was ‘hearkening to His voice’, means the union of the Human and the Divine effected by means of the final degree of temptation, see 2827, 2844.
[2] That these considerations are meant by hearkening to the voice of Jehovah, or the Father, is also evident from the Lord’s words uttered in Gethsemane, in Matthew,
My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless not as I will but as You will. Again, for the second time, My Father, if this cup cannot pass from Me unless I drink it, Your will he done. Matt. 26:39, 42; Mark 14:36; Luke 22:42.
But because Jehovah or the Father was within Him, that is, He was in the Father and Father in Him – John 14:10, 11 – ‘hearkening to Jehovah’s voice’ is used to mean that the Lord through temptations united the Divine to the Human by His own power, as is also clear from the Lord’s own words in John,
As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father, and I lay down My life,* for the sheep. For this reason the Father loves Me, that I lay down My life,* so that I may receive it again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself; I have power to lay it down and I have power to receive it again; this commandment I have received from My Father. John 10:15, 17, 18.
Through temptations the Lord united His Divine Essence to His Human Essence by His own power, see 1663, 1668, 1690, 1691 (end), 1725, 1729, 1733, 1737, 1787, 1789, 1812, 1820, 2776, 3318 (end).
* lit. soul
[2] At first sight these matters do indeed seem to be quite remote from the sense of the letter, or even from the internal sense closest to the letter. All the same, when these words are read by man, this is the meaning those same words have in heaven, for as stated several times already, and as may be seen from the examples in 1873, 1874, the sense of the letter is laid aside as it rises up towards heaven and another heavenly sense takes its place, with the result that this latter sense cannot be recognized as that which arises out of the former. For the idea in the minds of those in heaven is that everything in the internal sense of the Word has to do with the Lord, and also that everything in the Word comes from the Lord. Also in their minds is the idea that even when He was in the world He thought from the Divine, and so from Himself, and acquired all intelligence and wisdom to Himself through revelations constantly coming from the Divine. Consequently they do not perceive anything other than this from the words used here. For the practice of all things of the Word, internal as well as external, meant by ‘practicing the observances, commandments, statutes, and laws’ is not applicable to the Lord because He Himself was the Word and therefore He Himself was the observance that was to be practiced; He Himself was the commandment, also the statute, and the law. For all these have regard to Him as the First from whom they spring and the Last to whom they lead. In the highest sense therefore these words can mean nothing else than the uniting of the Lord’s Divine to His Human by means of revelations constantly coming from Himself. For unlike any others the Lord thought from the Divine, and so from Himself, see 1904, 1914, 1935, and acquired intelligence and wisdom to Himself by means of revelations constantly coming from the Divine, 1616, 2500, 2523, 2632.
[3] As regards ‘practicing observances’ meaning in the genuine sense all aspects of the Word in general, ‘commandments’ the internal aspects of the Word, ‘statutes’ the external aspects of the Word, and ‘laws’ every specific detail in the Word, this becomes clear from many places when seen in the internal sense. Let some of these be brought in here, such as the following in David,
Blessed are the blameless in the way, walking in the law of Jehovah; blessed are those who keep His testimonies. O that my ways were directed to keep Your statutes! I will keep Your statutes; do not forsake me utterly. With my whole heart I have sought You; cause me not to wander from Your commandments. I have laid up Your Word in my heart, that I might not sin against You. Blessed are You, O Jehovah; teach me Your statutes! With my lips I have declared all the judgements of Your mouth. I take delight in the way of Your testimonies. I meditate on Your commands and look to Your ways. I delight in Your statutes, I do not forget Your Word. Recompense Your servant that I may live and keep Your Word. Open my eyes that I may see wondrous things out of Your law. Do not hide Your commandments from me. Quicken me according to Your Word. Teach me Your statutes. Make me understand the way of [Your] commands. Ps. 119:1-27.
The subject in the whole of this psalm is the Word and the things that constitute the Word, which plainly are commandments, statutes, judgements, testimonies, commands, and ways. But the specific meaning of each of these cannot possibly be seen from the sense of the letter. In that sense they are scarcely more than repetitions of the same thing, but it may be seen from the internal sense in which ‘commandments’ has an altogether different meaning from ‘statutes’; and ‘judgements’, ‘testimonies’, ‘commands’, and ‘ways’ each have a different meaning again. Something similar occurs elsewhere in the same author,
The law of Jehovah is perfect, restoring the soul; the testimony of Jehovah is sure, making wise the simple; the commands of Jehovah are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of Jehovah is pure, enlightening the eyes; the fear of Jehovah is clean, standing for ever; the judgements of Jehovah are truth. Ps. 19:7-9.
And in the Book of Kings,
David said to Solomon, You shall practise the observance of your God, to walk in His ways, to keep His statutes, and His commandments, and His judgements, and His testimonies, as it is written in the law of Moses. 1 Kings 2:3.
‘Practicing an observance’ stands for all aspects of the Word in general, for this expression comes first, and those that follow are related to it as less general aspects. Actually ‘practicing observances’ means the same as ‘keeping what has to be kept’. In Moses,
You shall love Jehovah your God, and you shall practice His observance, and His statutes and judgements, and His commandments, all your days. Deut. 11:1.
Here ‘practising an observance’ or keeping something that is to be kept in a similar way stands for all aspects of the Word in general, ‘statutes’ for the external aspects of the Word such as forms of ritual, and things that are representatives and meaningful signs of the internal sense, but ‘commandments’ for the internal aspects of the Word such as matters of life and teaching, especially those that belong to the internal sense. But the meaning of commandments and statutes will in the Lord’s Divine mercy be discussed elsewhere.
‘Isaac dwelt in Gerar’ means the Lord’s state as regards matters of faith in respect to rational concepts which were to be allied. ‘And the men of the place asked about his wife’ means questions that people ask about Divine Truth. ‘And he said, She is my sister’ means rational truth. ‘For he was afraid to say, My wife, [thinking,] The men of the place may perhaps kill me on account of Rebekah’ means that it was impossible for Divine Truths themselves to be disclosed, and so for Divine Good to be received. ‘For she was good-looking’ means that it could be received without difficulty because of its being called Divine.
[2] That ‘dwelling in’ means one’s being and life, and so one’s state, is evident from very many places in the Word, as in David,
I will dwell in the house of Jehovah for the length of days. Ps. 23:6.
One thing have I asked from Jehovah, that will I seek: I may dwell in the house of Jehovah all the days of the my life. Ps. 27:4
He shall not dwell within My house who practices deceit. Ps. 101:7.
Here ‘dwelling in the house of Jehovah’ stands for one’s being and life residing in good that stems from love, for this good is ‘the house of Jehovah’. In Isaiah,
Those dwelling in the land of the shadow of death, upon them has the light shone out. Isa. 9:2.
‘Those dwelling in the land of the shadow of death’ stands for the state of those who have no knowledge of good and truth. In the same prophet,
Babel will not be dwelt in for ever. Isa. 13:20.
This stands for the state of condemnation of those meant by ‘Babel’.
[3] In the same prophet,
O Jehovah God of Israel, dwelling among the cherubim. Isa. 37:16.
O Shepherd of Israel, dwelling among the cherubim, shine forth. Ps. 80:1.
‘Dwelling among the cherubim’ means the Lord at work in a providential state, in which He prevents anyone’s access to the sacred things of love and faith unless that person has been prepared for it by the Lord, 308. In David,
In peace I both lie down and sleep, for You, O Jehovah, alone make me dwell in safety. Ps. 4:8.
‘Making a person dwell in safety’ stands for a state of peace. In Jeremiah,
You who dwell on many waters, great in treasures, your end has come, the measure of your gain. Jer. 51:13.
This refers to Babel. ‘Dwelling on many waters’ stands for possessing cognitions concerning truth.
[4] In Daniel,
God Himself reveals deep and hidden things; He knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with Him. Dan. 2:22.
‘Dwelling’ stands for having its being. In the same prophet,
The beast of the field had shade under that tree, and in its branches dwelt the birds of the air. Dan. 4:12.
And in Ezekiel,
Under its branches every wild beast of the field brought forth, and in its shadow dwelt all great nations. Ezek. 31:6.
‘Dwelling’ stands for one’s being and life. In Hosea,
Threshing-floor and winepress will not feed them, and new wine will be deceptive to her. They will not dwell in Jehovah’s land, but Ephraim will return to Egypt. Hosea 9:2, 3.
‘Not dwelling in Jehovah’s land’ stands for not being in a state where the good of love is present, and so for not being in the Lord’s kingdom.
[2] Truths or appearances of truth are given to a person to enable Divine Good to develop the understanding part of his mind, and so the person himself, for truths exist to the end that good may flow in. Indeed without vessels or receptacles good has nowhere to go, for it can find no condition answering to itself. Where no truths exist therefore, that is, where they have not been received, neither does any rational or human good exist; and as a consequence the person does not possess any spiritual life. Therefore, so that a person may nevertheless possess truths, and from these receive spiritual life, appearances of truth are given, to everyone according to his ability to grasp them; and these appearances are acknowledged as truths because they have the capacity to hold Divine things within them.
[3] So that it may be known what appearances are and that they are what serve a person as Divine truths, let the following be used by way of illustration: If man were told that in heaven angels have no concept of place, and so no concept of distance, but that instead they have concepts of state, he could not possibly grasp it, for he would suppose from this that nothing distinct and separate existed but that everything was fused together, that is to say, all the angels were together in a single place. Yet everything there is so distinct and separate that nothing could ever be more so. Places, distances, and intervals of space which exist in the natural order exist in heaven as states, see 3356. From this it is evident that all the things that are stated in the Word about places and intervals of space between objects, also ideas that are formed from these and expressed through them, are appearances of truth; and unless everything were stated by means of those appearances it would in no way be received and would as a consequence be scarcely anything; for the concept of space and time is present in almost every single detail of a person’s thought as long as he is in the world, that is, living within space and time.
[4] The fact that the Word speaks according to appearances involving space is clear from almost every single part of it, as in Matthew,
Jesus said, How is it that David says, The Lord [said] to my Lord, Sit at My right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool? Matt. 22:43, 44.
Here the expression ‘sitting at the right hand’ is derived from the concept of place and so according to the appearance – when in fact it is a state of the Lord’s Divine power which is described by that expression. In the same gospel,
Jesus said, Hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of power and coming on the clouds of heaven. Matt. 26:64.
Here similarly ‘sitting at the right hand’ and also ‘coming on clouds’ are expressions derived from men’s concept of place, whereas the concept angels have is one of the state of the Lord’s power. In Mark,
The sons of Zebedee said to Jesus, Grant us to sit in Your glory, one on Your right hand and the other on Your left. Jesus replied, To sit at My right hand and at My left is not Mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared. Mark 10:37, 40.
From this it is evident what kind of concept the disciples had of the Lord’s kingdom, that is to say, one that involved sitting on the right hand and on the left. Such being the concept they had of it the Lord also replied to them in a way they could understand and so by an appearance that could be seen by them.
[5] In David,
Like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, he rejoices as a mighty man to run the course. From the end of the heavens is His going forth, and His circuit to the ends of them. Ps. 19:5, 6.
This refers to the Lord, the state of whose Divine power is described by means of such things as belong to space. In Isaiah,
How you have fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the dawn! You said in your heart, I will go up into the heavens, above the stars of God* I will raise my throne. I will go up above the heights of the clouds. Isa. 14:12-14.
‘Falling from heaven’, ‘going up the heavens’, ‘raising a throne above the stars of God’, ‘going up above the heights of the clouds’ are all expressions derived from the concept and appearance of space or a place, and are used to describe self-love profaning holy things. Since celestial and spiritual things are presented to man by means of and according to visual objects like these, heaven too is therefore described as being on high when in fact it is not on high but in that which is internal, 450, 1380, 2148.
*The Latin means heaven; but the Hebrew means God which Sw. has in other places where he quotes this verse.
‘It happened, because his days were prolonged for him there’ means a state of reception. ‘That Abimelech the king of the Philistines looked through a window and saw’ means the doctrine of faith which has regard to rational concepts held within cognitions. ‘And behold, Isaac was laughing with Rebekah his wife’ means that Divine Good was present within Divine Truth. ‘And Abimelech called Isaac, and said’ means the Lord’s perception from doctrine. ‘But behold, she is your wife! So how did you come to say, She is my sister?’ means, if it was Divine Truth, then it was not also rational truth. ‘And Isaac said to him, Because I said, Perhaps I may die because of her’ means that it would not be received.
[2] That ‘windows’ means the things that constitute internal sight, that is, the understanding, which are referred to by the single term ‘intellectual concepts’ is clear from the places in the Word introduced in 655, as well as from the following: In Joel,
They will run about the city, they will run on the wall, they will climb into the houses, they will go in through the windows like a thief. Joel 2:9.
This refers to the evils and falsities present in the final days of the Church. ‘Climbing into the houses’ stands for destroying goods which belong to the will – ‘houses’ being goods that belong to the will, see 710, 2233, 2234; and ‘going in through the windows’ for destroying truths and cognitions of those which belong to the understanding. In Zephaniah,
Jehovah will stretch out His hand over the north and will destroy Asshur. Herds will lie down in the midst of her, every wild beast of that nation. The spoonbill also and the duck will lodge in its pomegranates.* A voice will sing in the window, dryness will be on the threshold, for the cedar has been laid bare. Zeph. 2:13, 14.
This refers to the destruction of the truths of faith by means of reasonings, meant by Asshur, 119, 1186. ‘A voice will sing in the window’ stands for the desolation of truth, and so of the ability to understand what is true.
[3] In the Book of Judges,
She looked through the window, and the mother of Sisera exclaimed through the lattices, Why is his chariot so long in coming? Judg 5:28.
These words come in the prophecy of Deborah and Barak and have to do with the resurgence of the spiritual Church. ‘Looking through the window’ stands for the reasonings of those who deny truths and in so doing destroy things that belong to the Church; for such reasonings are intellectual concepts in the contrary sense. In Jeremiah,
Woe to him who builds his house without righteousness, and his upper rooms without judgement, who says, I will build myself a wide house and spacious upper rooms, and he cuts out windows for himself, panelling it with cedar, and paints it with vermilion. Jer. 22:13, 14.
‘Building a house without righteousness, and upper rooms without judgement’ stands for building a religion out of what is not good and not truth – ‘righteousness and judgement’ meaning good and truth, see 2235. ‘Cutting out windows for oneself, panelling it with cedar, and painting it with vermilion’ stands for falsifying truths, intellectual and spiritual. The windows of the Temple in Jerusalem represented nothing else than such things as constitute intellectual and thus spiritual concepts. The windows of the new temple that are mentioned in Ezekiel, 40:16, 22, 25, 33, 36; 41:16, 26, have a similar meaning, for anyone may see that the new temple, the new Jerusalem, and the new earth described in that prophet mean nothing else than the Lord’s kingdom, and that accordingly the details mentioned concerning them are the kind of things that belong to that kingdom.
*The original Hebrew word is thought to describe capitals shaped like pomegranates.
[2] For the literal sense is the representative of, and carries all that is meant in the internal sense, and the internal sense in turn is representative of and carries all that is meant in the highest sense In the Word every representative or meaningful sign is in essence that which is represented or meant by it, and for that reason is the Lord’s Divine. For a representative is nothing else than an image of the one who is being represented, and the image holds within itself the one who is presented. This may be seen from a person’s speech and also from his gestures; that is to say, his speech and gestures are merely images of the things that are going on inwardly in that person’s thought and will, so that speech and gestures are the thought and will expressed in outward form. Take away thought and will from them and you would be left with something wholly lifeless, and so with nothing human at all. From this one may see the true nature of the Word – that it is Divine, even in the letter.
[2] The arcanum lying behind this matter is this: Spiritual people do not have perception as celestial people do, and therefore they do not know that Divine Truth becomes rational truth with a person once he has been regenerated. They do indeed assert that all good and all truth come from the Lord; but when these come to be present in their rational they still suppose that good and truth are their own and so originate so to speak in themselves. For they are unable to be separated from the proprium which desires this. With celestial people however the situation is that they do perceive Divine Good and Truth within the rational, that is, within rational concepts which, when enlightened from the Lord’s Divine, are appearances of truth, 3368, and also within the natural, that is, within facts and sensory impressions. And this being the state in which celestial people live they are able to recognize that all good and truth flow in from the Lord, and that it is an ability to perceive what is good and true, which is communicated to them from the Lord as their own and is the cause of their delight, blessedness, and happiness. It was for this reason that the most ancient people who were celestial perceived within the particular objects which they saw with the eyes nothing else than spiritual and celestial things, 1409.
[3] Because this arcanum has to do with the regenerated spiritual person who through his regeneration by the Lord has received Divine Good within a new will and Divine Truth within a new understanding, and because that person perceives nothing other than this – that if the truth were rational it could not be Divine, as stated above, and so if it were Divine it would have nothing in common with rational – it is therefore stated here that if it was Divine Truth, then it was not also rational truth. This also is the reason why such people desire matters of faith to be believed in simplicity without any scrutiny by the rational. They are unaware of the fact that no matter of faith, not even the deepest arcanum of faith, can be grasped by anyone without the aid of some rational idea, or even a natural one, though he has no knowledge of the nature of those ideas, 3310 (end). In this way they are able to protect themselves against those who from a negative attitude argue about the truth of every single thing, 2568, 2588. But to those who have an affirmative attitude of belief in the Word the former is a harmful attitude to adopt, for it is one in which a person’s freedom to think may be taken away and his conscience bound even to something extremely heretical, with the result that control is established over the person internally and externally. These are the considerations meant by Abimelech’s saying to Isaac, ‘Behold, she is your wife! So how did you come to say, She is my sister?’
[2] With regard to the profanation of truth the position is that Divine Truth cannot possibly be profaned except by those who have already acknowledged it. For these people have first of all, through acknowledgement and faith, come to the truth, and so have been introduced into it. If after this they depart from that truth there remains within them a permanent imprint of it, which is recalled together with falsity and evil whenever these are recalled. And being attached to falsity and evil that truth is consequently made profane. People therefore with whom this happens have within them permanently that which is condemning, and so the hell which is their own. Indeed when those in hell draw near a sphere where good and truth are present they instantly experience their own hell, for they run into that which they hate, and as a consequence into torment. People therefore who have profaned truth dwell permanently with that which torments them – the intensity of torment depending on the degree of profanation. This being so, the Lord makes the greatest provision to prevent Divine Good and Truth being made profane. He does so especially with anyone who is such that he cannot help profaning them, by keeping him as far back as possible from acknowledgement of and faith in truth and good. For as has been stated, no one is able to profane them except him who has already acknowledged and come to believe them.
[3] This was the reason why internal truths were not disclosed to the descendants of Jacob – to the Israelites and Jews. Not even the existence of anything internal within man, nor thus any kind of internal worship was openly declared to them, and scarcely anything about life after death, or about the heavenly kingdom of the Lord or the Messiah whom they awaited. The reason why these truths were not declared was, as foreseen, that if they had been disclosed to them, the Jews and Israelites were such as could not help profaning them; for they had no desire for anything other than what was earthly. And because those descendants were such, and are so still, they are still allowed to remain without any belief at all in internal truths. For if at one point they had given their assent to them and then had withdrawn it they would inevitably have ended up in the worst hell of all.
[4] This was also the reason why the Lord did not come into the world and reveal the internal features of the Word until the time when no good at all, not even natural good, remained with them. For at that point they were no longer capable of receiving any truth and acknowledging it internally – for good is what receives – and so were no longer capable of profaning it. It is this state that is meant by the fulness of time, and by the close of the age, and also by the last day, spoken of many times in the Prophets.
[5] It is for the same reason also that at the present time the arcana belonging to the internal sense of the Word are being revealed, for today scarcely any faith exists because charity is non-existent, so that the close of the age is here. When these conditions prevail these arcana can be revealed without any risk of profanation since they are not acknowledged interiorly. It is for the sake of this arcanum that in the Word mention is made of Abraham and of Isaac, of how, when dwelling in Gerar with Abimelech, each called his wife his sister. See in addition what has been stated and shown already on the same subject, to the effect that those who acknowledge are able to profane, but not those who do not acknowledge, still less those who do not even know, 593, 1008, 1010, 1059. How much danger lies in profaning sacred things and the Word, see 571, 582. People inside the Church are able to profane sacred things, but not those outside, 2051. The Lord provides against the occurrence of profanation, 1001, 2426. Worship may become external to prevent the profaning of internal worship, 1327, 1328. People are kept in ignorance to prevent the truths of faith being made profane, 301-303.
[2] But it should be realized that those who belong to the spiritual Church are not able to adulterate good to such an extent that they profane it, for the reason that they are not able to receive good so far as to perceive it, as those who are celestial do. They are able however to profane truth because they are able to acknowledge it. Yet in the final period of the Church they are not able even to acknowledge truth, because at that time universal disbelief prevails concerning the Lord, concerning life after death, and concerning the internal man. And the disbelief which reigns universally makes it impossible for them to penetrate into the interior truths of faith. That which prevails with everyone universally limits them and keeps them back from entering more deeply into such things, even when the person is unaware of that universal disbelief and also when he supposes that he does believe.
[3] But those who are able to profane good are such as belong to the celestial Church, for they are able to receive it so as to perceive it, as was done by those living before the Flood who have consequently been segregated from everyone else and are kept in a hell separated from the hells of others – regarding which see 1265-1272. The prevention of the occurrence ever again of the profanation of good is meant by the reference to Jehovah expelling man and causing cherubim to dwell away from the east towards the garden of Eden, and the flame of a sword turning this way and that to guard the way of the tree of life, Gen. 3:24. On these matters, see 308, 310.
Jehovah was willing to bruise Him and make Him imperfect. If You make His soul [full of] guilt, He will see His seed, He will prolong His days, and the will of Jehovah will prosper by His hand. Isa 53:10.
This refers to the Lord. ‘Making His soul [full of] guilt’ stands for sin imputed to Him and so for blame laid on Him by those who hated Him. Not that He drew any sin at all to Himself to bear it away. In Ezekiel,
By the blood which you have shed, you have been held guilty,* and by your idols which you have made you are defiled. Ezek 22:4.
‘Shedding blood’ stands for doing violence to good, 374, 376, 1005, leading to guilt. In David,
Those who hate the righteous will he held guilty.** Jehovah redeems the soul of His servants, nor will all who trust in Him be held guilty.** Ps. 34:21, 22.
[2] ‘Guilt’ accordingly stands for all sin that remains. The separation of it by means of good from the Lord is redemption, which was also represented by the atonement made by the priest when people offered the guilt-offering, dealt with in Lev. 5:1-19; 6:1-7; 7:1-10; 19:20-22; Num. 5:1-8, where also types of guilt are listed, namely these: When people have heard a curse uttered but do not say they have heard it: When they have touched something unclean: When they have sworn to do evil: When they have sinned unintentionally against holy things that are Jehovah’s: When they have done one of the things which they are commanded not to do: When they have refused to return to somebody his deposit: When they deny that they have found something that was lost, and have sworn falsely: When they have lain with a woman who is a slave, betrothed to another man, and not yet redeemed or made free: When they have committed any sin against another person by transgressing against Jehovah.
*lit. have had guilt
** lit. will have guilt
[2] For information about the Lord in His providence not allowing anyone, because of the danger of eternal condemnation, to enter into goodness and truth, that is, into an acknowledgement of them and affection for them, beyond the point where he is able to remain with them, see above in 3398. For goodness and truth, as stated and shown several times already, are such that when present with a person they retreat to an internal position that is determined by the amount of evil and falsity also present in him. Consequently insofar as the angels present with him from heaven depart, the devil-spirits present with him from hell draw near, and vice versa. To one in whom evil and falsity are present, the removal of good and truth, and consequently of angels, is not apparent, for at that time he is convinced that evil is good, and falsity is truth. This conviction arises from his affection for them and from the resulting delight. And when this is his state he is quite incapable of recognizing that goodness and truth have been removed from him. Goodness and truth – or angels – are said to be removed from a person when he has no affection for them, that is, when he no longer takes any delight in them, and instead his affection is for the things that go with self-love and love of the world, that is, when he takes delight wholly in these.
[3] Having a knowledge of goodness and truth – or holding them in the memory, and testifying to them with the lips – does not constitute possession of goodness and truth, but a heartfelt affection for them does. Nor does anyone possess goodness and truth when his affection for them springs from a desire to gain reputation or wealth by means of them. In his case he is not stirred by any real affection for them but by honour and gain, and he makes such goodness and truth the means for obtaining these. In the next life the goods and truths which such people have known, even proclaimed, are taken away from them, while the self-love and love of the world remain from which their life is derived. From these considerations it may be seen what the situation is with goodness and truth, namely that unless he is able to remain with them to the end of his life no one is allowed to approach goodness and truth with affection and faith, unlike those who actually profane them, for such people are unable to be held back from approaching them.
‘Isaac sowed in that land’ means interior truths from the Lord as they appear to the rational. ‘And he reaped in that year a hundred measures’ means an abundance. ‘And Jehovah blessed him’ means as regards the good that flows from love within them. ‘And the man increased, and went on increasing, so much so that he became extremely prosperous’ means increases. ‘And he had acquired flocks, and had acquired herds’ means as regards interior good and as regards exterior good. ‘And he had many servants’ means truth derived from that good. ‘And the Philistines envied him’ means that people governed by no more than a knowledge of cognitions did not have any grasp of such good and truth.
*lit. found
** lit. great
[2] To make it clearer still what appearances of truth are, let the following example be added: It is well known that the Divine is infinite as regards Being (Esse) and eternal as regards Manifestation (Existere), and that what is finite is incapable of comprehending what is infinite, or indeed of comprehending what is eternal, since what is eternal is the Manifestation (Existere) of what is infinite. And because the Divine itself is infinite and eternal, so are all things which proceed from the Divine infinite and also eternal. And as those things are infinite angels are quite incapable of grasping them, for they too are finite beings. That being so, things that are infinite and eternal present themselves to angels within appearances that are finite, though within appearances such as are very far above the range of what man can comprehend. For example, man is quite incapable of possessing any idea of what is eternal except from what is temporal. And being incapable of having any idea other than this he is incapable of comprehending what ‘from eternity’ is and so what the Divine prior to the existence of time or creation of the world is. And as long as his thinking contains any idea at all that is formed from what is temporal, he slips inevitably, if he thinks about what is eternal, into errors from which he cannot be rescued. But the angels, whose ideas are not formed from anything temporal but from timeless state, are enabled to perceive it supremely well, for to them eternity is not eternity of time but eternity of state devoid of any idea of that which is temporal.
[3] From this one may see what the appearances existing with angels are like compared with man’s, and how superior their appearances are to man’s. For man cannot have one shred of thought, not even the least shred, that is not in some way temporal and spatial in origin, whereas angels’ thought has no such origin at all. Instead their thought has its origin in timeless state, in which the being (esse) and the manifestation (existere) of things is the only consideration. These few comments show the nature of the appearances of truth which are the subject in these verses, and that these appearances belong to a higher degree. The verses that follow deal in order with the appearances of truth that belong to a lower degree which are also suitable to the human race.
[2] But in the internal or relative sense the subject is the appearances that belong to the higher degree, which, as has been stated, exist with angels; and it is the abundance of these appearances that is meant by the words ‘he reaped in that year a hundred measures’. Thus the situation with the appearances of truth, or truths that come from the Divine, is that those belonging to the higher degree are immensely superior in their abundance and perfection to those that belong to the lower degree. For millions, indeed millions of millions, of things which beings on the higher degree perceive distinctly and separately appear as no more than a single whole with those on the lower degree; for the lower things are simply compound wholes made up of those things that are higher. This may be deduced from the two memories present in man, of which the interior memory, being on the higher degree, is immensely superior to the exterior which belongs to the lower degree, see 2473, 2674. This shows what wisdom angels enjoy in comparison with men. Indeed angels of the third heaven dwell in a fourth degree above man, and therefore, when shown to man, that wisdom can only be referred to as that which is above comprehension, indeed as that which defies description.
‘All the wells which his father’s servants had dug in the days of Abraham his father, the Philistines stopped them up’ means that people who possessed knowledge of cognitions did not wish to know interior truths that came from the Divine and so effaced them. ‘And filled them up with dust’ means by means of earthly things. ‘And Abimelech said to Isaac’ means the Lord’s perception regarding that doctrine. ‘Go away from being with us, for you are much mightier than we are’ means that they would not be able to tolerate those things because of their Divine content. ‘And Isaac went away from there’ means that the Lord abandoned interior matters of doctrine. ‘And camped in the Valley of Gerar and dwelt there’ means that He did so for lower rational concepts, that is, He abandoned interior appearances for exterior ones.
[2] The subject at this point is the appearances of truth that belong to the lower degree, which are able to exist with those who possess a knowledge of cognitions and whom ‘the Philistines’ are used to mean here. With regard to the interior truths that come from the Divine and are effaced by those called the Philistines, the position is that in the Ancient Church and after it the name Philistines was used for those who gave little thought to life and very much to doctrine, and who in course of time even rejected matters of life and acknowledged matters of faith – which faith was separated from life – as being the essential element of the Church. As a consequence they attached no importance at all to matters of doctrine concerning charity which in the Ancient Church constituted the all of doctrine, and so they effaced it. Instead they proclaimed matters of doctrine concerning faith and centred the whole of their religion in these. And since in this way they departed from the life of charity, that is, from charity as the sum and substance of life, they more than all others were called ‘the uncircumcised’. For by ‘the uncircumcised’ were meant all in whom charity was not present, no matter how much doctrine they knew, 2049 (end).
[3] Because such people departed from charity they also removed themselves from wisdom and intelligence, for no one can have a wise and intelligent discernment of what truth is unless good, that is, charity, reigns in him. Indeed all truth originates in good and has regard to good, so that anyone who is devoid of good is unable to have an intelligent discernment of truth, and does not even wish to know it. When such people in the next life are far away from heaven, light bright as snow is sometimes seen to be with them. But that light is like the light in wintertime which, being devoid of warmth, is unproductive. This also explains why, when such persons draw near to heaven, their light is converted into utter darkness, and their minds into something akin to that darkness, which is stupidity. From these considerations it may now be seen what is meant by the statement that people who possessed no more than a knowledge of cognitions did not wish to know interior truths that came from the Divine and so effaced them.
[2] For example, people who are concerned with matters of doctrine and not so much with life do not know anything other than this, that the heavenly kingdom is like kingdoms on earth, in that people are made great there when they govern others. The delight that comes from this is the only delight they know of; and this they prefer to all other delight. For this reason the Lord has also spoken in the Word according to that appearance, as in Matthew,
He who does and teaches so will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. Matt 5:19.
And in David,
I said, You are gods, and sons of the Most High, all of you. Ps. 82:6; John 10:34, 35.
And because at first the disciples themselves did not have any other conception of the heavenly kingdom than that of greatness and position over others, like that on earth – as is clear in Matt. 18:1; Mark 9:34; Luke 9:46, and also the idea of their sitting on the right hand and on the left of a king, Matt. 20:20, 21, 24; Mark 10:37 – the Lord therefore replied according to their mental grasp and also inclination of mind when an argument arose among them about which one of them was to be greatest,
You will eat and drink at My table in My kingdom, and you will sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel. Luke 22:24, 30; Matt. 19:28.
For at that time they did not know that the delight of heaven is not the delight that goes with being great and having position over others, but the delight that goes with being humble and with the affection for serving others; and so it does not consist in wishing to be the greatest but to be the least, as the Lord teaches in Luke,
Whoever presents himself as least among you all will be great. Luke 9:48.
[3] Thus people who have a knowledge of cognitions but are devoid of the life of charity cannot know of the existence of any other delight than that which results from having position over others. And since that delight alone occupies their minds and constitutes the whole of their life, therefore they do not have any knowledge at all of the heavenly delight which results from humility and from the affection for serving others. That is, they do not know the delight that accompanies love to the Lord and charity towards the neighbour, and the consequent bliss and happiness. The reason why the Lord adapted what He had to say to their imperfect outlook was so that they could be aroused and led on to good, to learn it, to teach it, and to do it. And yet He does teach what greatness and position actually are in heaven, as in Matt. 19:30; 20:16, 25-28; Mark 10:31, 42-45; Luke 9:48; 13:30; 22:25-28. These and other ideas like them belong to the lower degree of appearances of truth, for in relation to others those in heaven are made great, and are given positions, power, and authority over others, in that one single angel is more powerful than ten thousands of spirits in hell, yet not so from himself but from the Lord. And he has that power from the Lord in the measure that he believes he can achieve nothing from himself and is accordingly the least. And he is able to have such a belief in the measure that humility and an affection for serving others exist in him, that is, insofar as the good that is essentially love to the Lord and charity towards the neighbour is present in him.
‘Isaac came back and dug again the wells of water which they had dug in the days of Abraham his father’ means that the Lord disclosed the truths that had existed with the Ancients. ‘And which the Philistines had been stopping up after Abraham’s death’ means that people who had no more than a knowledge of cognitions refused to recognize those truths. ‘And he called them names’ means the essential nature of them. ‘Like the names which his father had called them’ means meaningful signs of truth.
[2] The truths which existed with the Ancients have been completely effaced at the present time, so much so that scarcely anybody knows that they have ever existed or that they could have been anything different from those also taught today. But those truths were indeed quite different. People had representatives and meaningful signs of celestial and spiritual things in the Lord’s kingdom, and so of the Lord Himself; and those who understood them were called the wise. They were also wise, because they were accordingly able to talk to spirits and angels; for when angelic speech which is spiritual and celestial and therefore unintelligible to man comes down to someone in the natural realm, it falls into representatives and meaningful signs like those that occur in the Word and consequently make the Word a sacred document. To make correspondence complete the Divine cannot present Itself before man in any other way. And because with the Ancients there were manifested representatives and meaningful signs of the Lord’s kingdom, which hold nothing else than celestial and spiritual love within them, the Ancients also possessed matters of doctrine too which wholly and completely were concerned with love to God and charity towards the neighbour, by virtue of which also they were called the wise.
[3] From those matters of doctrine they knew that the Lord was going to come into the world, that Jehovah would be within Him, and that He would make the Human within Him Divine and in so doing would save the human race. From them they also knew what charity was, namely the affection for serving others without any thought of reward; and what was meant by the neighbour to whom they were to exercise charity, namely all persons throughout the world, though each one had to be treated differently. These matters of doctrine have now been completely lost, and instead there are matters of doctrine concerning faith, which the Ancients had regarded as being relatively worthless. These matters of doctrine, that is to say, those concerning love to the Lord and charity towards the neighbour, have at the present time been rejected on one hand by those who in the Word are referred to as Babylonians and Chaldeans, and on the other by people called Philistines and also Egyptians. They have become so completely lost that scarcely any trace of them remains. Who at the present day knows what charity is which is devoid of all self-regard and repudiates all self-interest? Who knows what is meant by the neighbour – that individual persons are meant who are to be treated each one differently according to the nature and amount of good that resides with him? Thus good itself is meant, and therefore in the highest sense the Lord Himself since He resides in good and is the source of good; for good that does not originate in Him is not good, however much it may seem to be. And because there is no knowledge of what charity is and of what is meant by the neighbour, there is no knowledge of who are really meant in the Word by the poor, the wretched, the needy, the sick, the hungry and thirsty, the oppressed, widows, orphans, captives, the naked, strangers, the blind, the deaf, the lame, the maimed, and others such as these. Yet the matters of doctrine which existed with the Ancients taught who each of these really was and to which category of the neighbour and so of charity each belonged. It is in accordance with those matters of doctrine that the whole Word so far as the sense of the letter is concerned has been written, and therefore those who have no knowledge of them cannot possibly know of any interior sense of the Word.
[4] As in Isaiah,
Is it not to break your bread to the hungry, and that you may bring afflicted outcasts to your house; when you see the naked and cover him, and not hide yourself from your own flesh? Then will your light break forth like the dawn, and your healing will spring up speedily, and your righteousness will walk before you, the glory of Jehovah will gather you up. Isa. 58:7, 8.
Anyone who keeps rigidly to the sense of the letter believes that if he merely gives bread to the hungry, brings afflicted outcasts or wanderers into his house, and clothes the naked, he will on that account enter into Jehovah’s glory, or into heaven. Yet those actions are solely external, which the wicked also can perform to merit the same. But by the hungry, the afflicted, and the naked are meant those who are spiritually such, thus differing states of wretchedness in which one who is the neighbour may find himself and to whom charity is to be exercised.
[5] In David,
He executes judgement for the oppressed, He gives bread to the hungry, Jehovah sets the bound free, Jehovah opens the blind [eyes], Jehovah lifts up the bowed down, Jehovah loves the righteous, Jehovah guards strangers, He upholds the orphan and the widow. Ps 146:7-9.
Here the oppressed, the hungry, the bound, the blind, those bowed down, strangers, the orphan and the widow are not used to mean people who are ordinarily called such but those who are spiritually so, that is, as to their souls. It was who these were, what state and degree of the neighbour they belonged to, and so what charity needed to be exercised towards them, that was taught by the matters of doctrine which existed with the Ancients. Besides these verses from Psalm 146 there are others elsewhere throughout the Old Testament. Indeed when the Divine comes down into what is natural existing with man it comes down into such things as constitute the works of charity, each work differing from the rest according to its genus and species.
[6] The Lord also spoke in a similar way since He spoke from the Divine itself, as in Matthew,
The King will say to those at His right hand, Come, O blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you; for I was hungry and you gave Me food, I was thirsty and you gave Me drink, I was a stranger and you took Me in, I was naked and you clothed Me, I was sick and you visited Me, I was in prison and you came to Me. Matt. 25:34-36.
The works listed here mean all the main kinds of charity and the degree of good to which each work – that is, to which each person who is a neighbour towards whom charity is to be exercised – belongs. Also taught is the truth that the Lord in the highest sense is the neighbour, for He says,
Insofar as you did it to one of the least of these My brothers you did it to Me. Matt 25:40.
From these few places one may see what is meant by truths as they existed among the Ancients. The utter effacement of these truths however by those concerned with matters of doctrine concerning faith and not with the life of charity, that is, by those who in the Word are called ‘the Philistines’, is meant in the words that come next – ‘the Philistines stopped up the wells after Abraham’s death’.
Hear this, O house of Jacob, who are called by the name of Israel and who came out of the waters of Judah. For they are called after the city of holiness, and upon the God of Israel they place their reliance. Isa. 48:1, 2.
Here ‘being called after the city of holiness’ stands for being of some particular nature. And in Luke,
Behold, you will conceive in the womb and will bear a son, and you will call His name Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High. Luke 1:31, 32.
‘Being called Son of the Most High’ stands for His Essential Being (Esse).
And it will happen, that every wild creature that creeps, wherever the river comes to, is living; and there will be very many fish, for those waters go there, and become fresh; and everything is living where the river goes. Ezek. 47:8, 9.
Here ‘the river’ is the Word, ‘the waters which cause everything to live’ are the Divine Truths within it, ‘fish’ are facts, 40, 991.
[2] The Lord teaches that the Word of the Lord is such that it gives life to him who is thirsty, that is, to one who desires life, and that it is a spring whose waters are living, in John,
Jesus said to the woman from Samaria at Jacob’s well, If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, Give Me a drink, you would ask from Him, and He would give you living water. He who drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst, but the water that I shall give him will become in him a spring of water welling up into eternal life. John 4:10, 14.
The reason why the Word is living and therefore confers life is that in its highest sense the subject is the Lord, while in the inmost sense it is His kingdom in which the Lord is everything. And this being so it is life itself which the Word contains and which flows into the minds of those who read the Word devoutly. This is why the Lord, in regard to the Word which comes from Himself, calls Himself ‘a spring of water welling up into eternal life’; see also 2702.
[3] The fact that the Word of the Lord is called ‘a well’ in addition to ‘a spring’ is clear in Moses,
Israel sang the song: Spring up, O well! Answer to it! The well which the princes dug, which the chiefs of the people dug out, as directed by the Lawgiver,* with their staves. Num. 21:17, 18.
These words were sung at the place Beer, that is, the place of the well. In this case ‘a well’ means the Word which existed with the Ancient Church, as is evident from what has been said previously about the Word in 2897. ‘The princes’ means the first and foremost truths of which [the Word] consists – ‘princes’ being first and foremost truths, see 1482, 2089 – ‘nobles of the people’ lower truths such as those present in the literal sense, 1259, 1260, 2928, 3295. ‘The Lawgiver’ is clearly the Lord, ‘staves’ the powers which those truths possessed.
*lit. into the Lawgiver
[2] For example, a person in a state of contrariety believes that to obtain eternal life he must renounce riches, and all physical and worldly pleasures, and so the delights of life; for he believes that all these things are contrary to spiritual life. But in themselves they are not contrary to that life but correspond to it; for they are means to an end, that is to say, they exist so that the internal or spiritual man may be enabled to find joy in performing the good deeds of charity, and in addition to live contentedly in a healthy body. It is ends in view which alone cause the internal man and the external man either to be contrary or to correspond to each other. They are contrary when the riches, pleasures, and delights spoken of become ends in view, for in that case spiritual and celestial things that belong to the internal man are despised and ridiculed, or even simply rejected, by a person. But they correspond when they do not become ends but means to higher ends, that is to say, to things that belong to life after death, and so to the heavenly kingdom and to the Lord Himself. In this case bodily and worldly things appear to him to be hardly anything compared with those just mentioned and when he does think about them he considers them to be merely means to ends in view.
[3] From these considerations it is evident that things that appear to be contraries are not in themselves so, but that the reason why they appear to be such is that contrariety exists within the persons themselves. Those in whom it does not exist act in similar ways, utter similar things, seek wealth in similar ways, and pursue similar pleasures to those in whom contrariety does exist, so much so that to outward appearance scarcely any distinction can be made between them. The reason for this is that solely their ends in view distinguish the former from the latter, or what amounts to the same, that which they really love distinguishes one person from another, for what people love they have as their end in view. But although to outward appearance, that is, as to their bodies, people are similar, they are nevertheless completely different inwardly, that is, as to their spirits. The spirit of one in whom correspondence exists, that is, with whom the external man corresponds to the internal man, is shining and beautiful, like heavenly love when presented in visible form. But the spirit of one in whom contrariety exists, that is, with whom the external man is contrary to the internal man – even though he looks like the other in external appearance – is dark and ugly, like self-love and love of the world, that is, like contempt for others and like hatred, when presented in a visible form.
[4] It is similar with very many things in the Word, that is to say, those in the literal sense appear as contraries to those in the internal sense. Yet they are in no way contraries but have a perfect correspondence with one another. For example, in the Word reference is made many times to Jehovah or the Lord being angry, being wroth, destroying, and casting into hell, when in fact He is never angry, let alone casts anyone into hell. The former ideas belong to the sense of the letter, but the latter to the internal sense. The latter appear to be contraries, but this is because man dwells in a state of contrariety. It is like the Lord’s appearing as the Sun to angels in heaven, and therefore as spring-like warmth and as light like that of the dawn, but to those in hell like something altogether darkened and therefore as cold like that of winter and as thick darkness like that of night – as a consequence of which angels are governed by love and charity, but those in hell by hatred and enmity. Thus to those in hell He is, as the sense of the letter refers to Him, one who is angry and wrathful, who destroys and casts into hell, but to the angels He is, as the internal sense portrays Him, one who is never angry and wroth, still less one who destroys and casts into hell.
[5] When the subject in the Word therefore is things that are contrary to the Divine such appearances inevitably present themselves. Even so, it is the Divine – which the wicked turn into that which is of the devil – that is then at work. Furthermore to the extent they draw near the Divine those in hell subject themselves to torments. Something similar is true of the words of the Lord’s Prayer, Do not lead us into temptation. According to the letter the meaning is that He leads into temptation, but the internal sense is that He does not lead anyone into it, as is well known, see 1875. Similarly with everything else which occurs in the literal sense of the Word.
* The same word (pastor) is used for a herdsman as for a shepherd.
[2] Thus the position with the internal sense of the Word is that those in whom no more than a knowledge of cognitions exists, who are referred to as ‘the Philistines’, and those in whom no more than matters of doctrine concerning faith are present, who are called ‘the herdsmen of the Valley of Gerar’, and with whom no charity towards the neighbour exists, inevitably refuse to recognize the existence of the internal sense of the Word. There are several reasons why they do so, the chief of which is that they do not acknowledge the Lord in their hearts, however much they confess Him with their lips. Nor in their hearts do they love the neighbour, however much they outwardly declare their love towards him. And anyone who in his heart does not acknowledge the Lord and does not in his heart love the neighbour inevitably refuses to recognize the internal sense of the Word, for the Word does not in the internal sense have anything else as its subject than love to the Lord and love towards the neighbour, on account of which the Lord says that on those two commandments depend the Law and the Prophets, that is, the whole Word, Matt. 22:37-40. I have also been allowed to see the extent to which those people do not recognize the internal sense of the Word from those who are like them in the next life. At the mere mention of the existence of the internal sense of the Word, which is not apparent in its literal sense, and of the fact that its subject is love to the Lord and towards the neighbour, not only is denial of its existence noticeable in those people but also repugnance and even loathing.
[3] This is the chief reason. A second reason is that they turn the Word completely upside down by placing the bottom on top, or what amounts to the same, making what is secondary primary. Indeed they set up faith as the essential thing of the Church, and the things that constitute love to the Lord and love towards the neighbour as the fruits of faith. But the truth is that if love to the Lord is compared to the tree of life in the paradise of Eden, charity and its works are the fruits from it, while faith and everything that is part of faith are merely the leaves. When therefore people so turn the Word upside down that they derive the fruit not from the tree but from the leaves, it is not surprising that they fail to recognize the internal sense of the Word and acknowledge merely its literal sense. For as is well known. the literal sense can be used to confirm any dogma, including the most heretical.
[4] A further reason why they do not recognize the internal sense is that the faith of people who are concerned solely with matters of doctrine concerning faith and not with goodness of life is inevitably persuasion of what is false, that is, it is a faith based on false assumptions as well as true ones. As a consequence they are more stupid than all others, for insofar as anyone is persuaded by what is false he is stupid, but insofar as anyone is concerned with goodness of life, that is, with love to the Lord and charity towards the neighbour, he has intelligence, that is, faith from the Lord. Consequently the former cannot do other than have a negative attitude regarding the internal sense of the Word, whereas the latter cannot do other than have a positive attitude. For the interiors of people who have merely a knowledge of matters of doctrine and are devoid of the good of life are closed, so much so that the light of truth from the Lord cannot flow in and enable them to discern that it is so, whereas the interiors of those in whom love to the Lord exists are open, so much so that the light of truth from the Lord can flow in, inspire their minds with affection, and enable them to discern that it is so.
[5] There is yet another reason why they do not take any delight in reading the Word, except to gain position and wealth, and a reputation on account of these things – which delight is the delight that goes with self-love and love of the world. So true is this that if such gains are not to be had they reject the Word altogether. Such people in their hearts refuse to recognize not only the internal sense of the Word when they hear about it but also the literal sense itself, no matter how much they imagine they do believe in it. For anyone whose end in view is the delight that goes with self-love and love of the world casts out of his heart altogether everything that has to do with eternal life, and speaks from his natural and bodily-minded man when he speaks about the kind of things that he calls truths not for the sake of the Lord and of His kingdom but for the sake of himself and those who are his own. These and many other considerations are what cause people called ‘the herdsmen of the Valley of Gerar’ and ‘the Philistines’ to refuse to recognize the internal sense of the Word.
[2] Learning at the present day does not go much beyond these limits, that is to say, beyond discussion of whether a thing exists and is so, and this as a consequence precludes people from an intelligent understanding of truth. For example, anyone who does no more than contend whether the internal sense of the Word exists cannot possibly see the countless, indeed unlimited, details which the internal sense contains. Or, anyone who argues whether charity is anything in the Church, and whether all things that constitute it are matters of faith, cannot know the countless, indeed unlimited, things which exist within charity. Indeed he remains totally ignorant of what charity is.
[3] It is similar with life after death, the resurrection of the dead, the last judgement, and heaven and hell. Those who do no more than argue whether these exist remain outside the portals to wisdom. It is as though they merely knock but are not even able to see into the splendid palaces of wisdom. And what is remarkable, those who act in this way believe that they are wiser than all others, and that the wiser they are the better they are able to discern whether a thing is so, and more so to confirm that it is not. Yet simple persons in whom good is present, and whom the former despise, are able to discern in an instant that a thing exists, and the nature of it, without any disagreement, let alone learned argument. Such simple people have a common-sense discernment of truth, but the former annihilate such common-sense discernment by their wish to discuss first whether such things even exist. The Lord refers to these two groups when He says that things have been hidden from the wise and intelligent and have been revealed to infants, Matt. 11:25; Luke 10:21.
‘He moved on from there’ means moving on to things lower still. ‘And dug another well, and they did not dispute over that’ means the literal sense of the Word. ‘And he called the name of it Rehoboth’ means the essential nature of the truth from there. ‘And said, Because now Jehovah has made room for us’ means increases of truth from there. ‘And we shall be fruitful in the land’ means increases of good from there. ‘And he went up from there to Beersheba’ means that the Divine doctrine of faith came from there.
[2] As regards the Word, this did not exist in most ancient times when the Church was celestial, for members of that Church had the Word inscribed on their hearts. Indeed the Lord taught them directly by way of heaven what good was and from this what truth was, and enabled them to perceive each of these from love and charity, and to know each of them from revelation. To them the very Word itself was the Lord. This Church was succeeded by another which was not celestial but spiritual. At first this Church did not have a Word other than that which had been acquired from the most ancient people, a Word which was representative of the Lord and served spiritually to mean His kingdom. Thus to them the internal sense was the Word itself. The fact that they also had a written Word, both historical and prophetical, which is no longer extant, and that this in a similar way had an internal sense within it which was concerned with the Lord, see 2686. Consequently the wisdom of those times consisted in both speaking and in writing by means of representatives and meaningful signs – inside the Church about Divine things, and outside the Church about other matters, as is evident from the writings of these ancients which we possess. But in the course of time that wisdom perished, so that at length people were not aware that any internal sense existed even in the books of the Word. That was what the Jewish and Israelitish nation were like. They regarded the prophetical part of the Word to be holy because it sounded ancient and they heard the name of Jehovah when the sense of the letter was read, but at the same time they did not believe that anything deeper and Divine lay concealed in it. Nor does the Christian world think that the Word has any deeper holiness.
[3] From this it becomes clear how as time went by wisdom shifted from things that were the most internal to those that were the most external, and how mankind removed itself from heaven and at length sank as low as the dust of the ground in which wisdom is now seen to reside. Since this is what happened to the Word, that is to say, its internal sense has gradually been effaced, so that at the present day its existence is not known, and yet that sense is the very Word itself in which the Divine is most nearly present, this chapter therefore describes its consecutive states.
[2] Furthermore anyone in whom simple good is present and who in simplicity believes the Word according to its literal sense is granted the ability to perceive truths when he is taught by angels in the next life. In the meantime the few truths that do reside with him are given life by charity and innocence. And when the latter are present in him the falsities which have also infiltrated the darkness of his ignorance do no harm. For these do not become allied to the good there but are held back from it so to speak on the boundaries and so can be removed without difficulty. But things are different in the case of those who are not leading a good life. With them the falsities which by wrong interpretation they hatched out of the Word occupy the middle or so to speak the centre, while truths are in the surrounding areas or boundaries. They are as a consequence falsities which do become allied to the evil life they are leading, and truths are scattered.
‘Jehovah appeared to him that night, and said’ means the Lord’s perception regarding that obscurity. ‘I am the God of Abraham your father; do not fear, for I am with you’ means that the Divine also was present there [in the literal sense of the Word]. ‘And I will bless you, and will cause your seed to multiply’ means the increase of good and truth from there. ‘For the sake of Abraham My servant’ means because of the Lord’s Divine Human. ‘And he built an altar there’ means that which is a meaningful sign of the Lord and a representative of Him. ‘And he called on the name of Jehovah’ means the worship derived from there. ‘And pitched his tent there’ means the holiness contained in it. ‘And Isaac’s servants dug a well there’ means the doctrine that came from there.
[2] To enable people to have a clearer knowledge of what the situation is with the literal sense of the Word, let this be discussed briefly: The relationship of the internal sense to the literal is like the relationship between the interiors and the exteriors of the human being, that is, between all that is celestial or spiritual in him and all that is natural or bodily. His interiors dwell in the light of heaven, but his exteriors in the light of the world. For the nature of the difference between the light of heaven and the light of the world, consequently for the difference between things belonging to the light of heaven and those belonging to the light of the world, see 1521-1533, 1619-1632, 1783, 1880, 2776, 3138, 3167, 3190, 3195, 3222, 3223, 3225, 3337, 3339, 3341, 3413. That is to say, the difference is like that existing between the light of day and the shade of night. Since man dwells in that shade and does not wish to know that truth from the Lord has light within it he inevitably believes that his shade is light, and indeed the reverse also – that his light is shade. For he is like the owl which, when flying in the shade of night, imagines it is in the light, but when flying in the light of day imagines it is in the shade. Indeed the internal eye – that is, the understanding – by means of which a person sees interiorly, assumes no other shape with someone like that, such being exactly how he has shaped it. For he opens it when he looks downwards, that is, to worldly and bodily things, and shuts it when he looks upwards, that is, to spiritual and celestial. With these people it is similar with the Word. That which appears in its literal sense they imagine to belong to the light but that which appears in the internal sense they imagine to belong to the shade. For how the Word appears to anyone depends on his own essential nature. In reality the internal sense of the Word in relation to its literal sense is like the light of heaven to the light of the world, 3086, 3108, that is, it is like the light of day to the light of night.
[3] Within the internal sense there are individual details, millions of which together constitute one particular feature that occurs in the literal sense. Or what amounts to the same, within the internal sense there exist particular features, millions of which together constitute just one general whole that occurs in the literal sense. This general whole is what is seen by man, but not the particular features which are present within it and which constitute it. Nevertheless man can see within the general whole the order that holds the particular features together, though he sees it according to his own essential nature. That order is the holiness which stirs his affections.
[2] From these considerations it is evident why the Divine Human is called a servant, namely that it serves the Divine for the purpose of giving man access to Himself, and it serves the human race in their salvation. This then is what is meant by ‘Abraham My servant’, as also in David, Remember His marvellous acts that He has done, the signs and the judgements of His mouth, O seed of Abraham His servant, O sons of Jacob His chosen ones. He sent Moses His servant, Aaron whom He had chosen. He remembered His Holy word, with Abraham His servant. Ps 105:5, 6, 26, 42.
Here ‘Abraham His servant’ is used to mean the Lord’s Divine Human. In a similar way the Lord’s Divine Human is also meant in the highest sense by ‘servant Israel’, ‘servant Jacob’, and ‘servant David’:
SERVANT ISRAEL
In Isaiah,
You, Israel, My servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham My friend, you whom I took from the ends of the earth, and called from the extremities* of it, and said to you, You are My servant, I have chosen you. Isa. 41:8, 9.
Here, in the highest sense, ‘Israel My servant’ is the Lord in relation to
the internal aspects of the spiritual Church, and ‘Jacob’ to the external aspects of that Church. In the same prophet,
He said to me, You are My servant Israel in whom I will be rendered glorious. It is a light thing that You should be a servant to Me to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the preserved of Israel. And I have given You as a light of the nations, that You may be My salvation right to the ends of the earth. Isa. 49:3, 6.
Here ‘servant Israel in whom I will be rendered glorious’ clearly stands for the Lord’s Divine Human. Plainly He is called ‘a servant’ from the service He performs, for it is said ‘that You may be a servant to Me to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the preserved of Israel’.
[3] SERVANT JACOB
In Isaiah,
I will give you the treasures of darkness and the secret riches of hiding-places for the sake of My servant Jacob, and of Israel My chosen. Isa. 45:3, 4.
Here ‘servant Jacob’ and ‘Israel the chosen’ are used to mean the Lord – ‘servant Jacob’ in relation to the external Church, ‘Israel the chosen’ in relation to the internal Church.
[4] SERVANT DAVID
In Ezekiel,
I will gather the children of Israel from all around. My servant David will be king over them, and they will all have one shepherd. They will dwell in the land which I gave to My servant Jacob. And they will dwell in it, they and their sons, and their sons’ sons even for ever. And David My servant will be their pence for ever. Ezek. 37:21, 24, 25.
‘Servant David’ clearly stands for the Lord’s Divine Human, 1888, and does so by virtue of Divine Truth which is meant by ‘the king’, who is David in this case, 1728, 2015, 3009. Also, in relation to good truth itself is the servant, see 3409. This being so the Lord calls Himself one who serves or ministers, in Mark,
Whoever would be great among you must be your minister; and anyone who would be first among you must be the servant of all, even as the Son of Man did not come to be ministered to but to minister. Mark 10:43-45; Matt. 20:26-28.
And in Luke,
Who is the greater, one who sits at table or one who ministers? Is it not the one who sits at table? But I am in the midst of you as one who ministers. Luke 22:27.
*lit. wings
‘And Abimelech went to him from Gerar’ means the doctrine of faith which has regard to rational concepts. ‘And Ahuzzath his companion, and Phicol the commander of his army’ means the first and foremost features of their doctrine of faith. ‘And Isaac said to them, For what reason have you come to me, seeing that you hate me and have sent me away from you?’ means, Why should they desire what is Divine seeing that they refused to recognize it and loathed that which is contained in the internal sense of the Word?
[2] As within every Church that is the Lord’s some people are internal and others are external – the internal being those whose affection is for good, the external those whose affection is for truth – so it is also with those who are represented here by Abimelech, his companion, and the commander of his army. Those who are internal have been dealt with already in Chapter 21:22-33, where it is said of Abimelech and Phicol the commander of his army that they came to Abraham and made a covenant with him in Beersheba, see 2719, 2720. But those who are external are dealt with here.
[2] It may be seen from many places that by ‘armies’ or ‘hosts’ in the Word are meant truths or falsities, as in Daniel,
The one [little] horn of the he-goat* grew exceedingly towards the south, and towards the east, and towards the glorious [land]. And it grew even towards the host of heaven, and cast down to earth some of the host, and of the stars, and trampled on them. It drew itself up even towards the pence of the host. His host was set over the continual [burnt offering] on account of the transgression, and it cast down truth to the earth. I heard a holy one speaking. He said, For how long is this vision, the continual burnt offering, and the desolating transgression, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden down? Dan. 8:9-13.
‘The horn that grew towards the south, the east, and the glorious [land]’ is the power of falsity that springs from evil, 2832, ‘the host of heaven’ truths, ‘the prince of the host’ the Lord as regards Divine Truth. And since in the good sense ‘an army’ or ‘a host’ is truth it is said that the horn cast down to earth some of the host, and then that it cast down truth to the earth.
[3] In the same prophet,
The king of the north will raise a multitude greater than the former, and at the end of the period of years he wit surely come with a great army and with many riches. Then he will stir up his power and his heart against the king of the south with a great army. And the king of the south will engage in war with an exceedingly great and mighty army, but he will not stand. For even those who eat his food will break him, and his army will overflow, and many will fall down slain. Dan. 11:13, 25, 26.
The whole of that chapter refers to war between the king of the north and the king of the south. ‘The king of the north’ is used to mean falsities as also is ‘his army’, while ‘the king of the south and his army’ is used to mean truths. It is prophecy concerning the vastation of the Church.
[4] In John,
I saw heaven standing open, and behold, a white horse! and He who sat on it was called faithful and true. He was clothed in a garment dyed in blood, and His armies in heaven were following Him on white horses and were clothed in linen, white and clean. I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered to make war with Him who was sitting on the horse and with His army. Rev. 19:11, 13, 14, 19.
‘He who sat on the white horse’ stands for the Word of the Lord, or the Lord as regards the Word, 2760-2762. ‘His armies which in heaven were following Him’ stands for truths from the Word and so for those in heaven who possess truths. ‘The beast’ stands for the evils that belong to self-love, ‘the kings of the earth and their armies’ for falsities. Conflicts between falsity and truth are what are described here.
[5] In David,
By the word of Jehovah were the heavens made, and their host by the spirit of His mouth. Ps. 33:6.
‘Their host’ or the host of heaven stands for truths. Since ‘an army’ means truths, the children of the kingdom, and angels, by virtue of the truths which they possess, are called the host of heaven, as in Luke,
Suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God. Luke 2:13.
In David,
Bless Jehovah, all His hosts, His ministers doing His will. Ps. 103:21.
In the same author,
Praise Jehovah, all His angels, praise Him, all His hosts. Ps. 148:2.
In Isaiah,
Lift up your eyes on high and see; who created these? He who brings out their host by number; He calls them all by name. From the multitude of the powerful and of the mighty not a man will be missing. Isa. 40:26.
In the same prophet,
It was I that made the earth and created man on it. It was I – My hands – that stretched out the heavens; and I commanded all their host. Isa. 45:12.
Here ‘the host of the heavens’ stands for truths, and so for angels since angels, as has been stated, are in possession of truths.
[6] In the first Book of Kings,
I saw Jehovah sitting on His throne, and the entire host of heaven standing beside Him, on His right hand and on His left. 1 Kings 22:19
In Joel,
Jehovah gave voice before His army, for His camp is exceedingly great; for that which executes His word is uncountable. Joel 2:11.
In Zechariah,
I will pitch by My house a camp composed of an army passing through and resuming, so that the oppressor passes over them no more. Exult greatly, O daughter of Zion! Make a noise, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King comes to you. Zech. 9:8, 9.
This refers to the Coming of the Lord. ‘His army’ stands for Divine truths For this reason, and also because the Lord alone fights on man’s behalf against hells that are constantly endeavouring to attack, the Lord is called many times in the Word Jehovah Zebaoth, God Zebaoth, the Lord Zebaoth – that is, Jehovah, God, or Lord of Hosts – as in Isaiah,
The noise of a tumult of the kingdoms of the nations gathered together! Jehovah Zebaoth is leading an army of war. Isa 13:4.
‘The kingdoms of the nations’ stands for falsities that spring from evils, ‘leading an army of war’ for fighting on man’s behalf.
[7] Because the twelve tribes of Israel represented the Lord’s heavenly kingdom, and ‘tribes’ as well as ‘twelve’ meant all things of faith in their entirety, that is, all the truths of the kingdom, 577, 2089, 2129, 2130, 3272, they were also called Jehovah’s hosts, as in Exod. 7:4; 12:17, 41, 51. And commands were given to bring them out of Egypt according to their hosts, Exod. 6:26, to encamp according to their hosts, Num. 1:52, and to divide them into hosts, Num. 2:1- end.
[8] That truths are meant by ‘armies’ is also clear in Ezekiel,
Persia and Lud and Put were in your army, as your men of war; they hung the shield and helmet in you, they gave you your reputation. The sons of Arvad, and your army, were on your walls round about, and the Gammadim were in your towers. Ezek. 27:10, 11.
This refers to Tyre which means interior cognitions of good and truth, and so those who possess them, 1201, ‘army’ standing for truths themselves ‘Lud’ and ‘Put’ too mean those who possess cognitions, see 1163, 1164, 1166, 1195, 1231. ‘The shield and helmet’ describes such things as belong to spiritual conflict.
[9] As regards ‘an army’ or ‘a host’ in the contrary sense meaning falsities, this is evident in Isaiah,
It will be on that day, that Jehovah will visit the host of the height on high, and the kings of the earth on the earth. Isa. 24:21.
Here ‘the host of the height’ stands for falsities that result from self-love. In Ezekiel,
I will bring you back and put hooks in your jaws, and I will bring you forth, and all your army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed perfectly, a great company with shield and buckler, all of them wielding swords. You will come from your place, from the uttermost parts of the north, you and many peoples with you, all of them riding horses, a great company, a great army. Ezek. 38:4, 15.
This refers to Gog, who means external worship separated from internal and so made idolatrous, 1151. ‘His army’ stands for falsities.
[10] In Jeremiah,
I will send against Babel the archer, him who arches his bow and draws himself up in his breastplate. Do not spare the young men; utterly destroy all its host. Jer. 51:2, 3.
‘Babel’ stands for worship whose external features appear holy but whose interiors are profane, 1182, 1283, 1295, 1304, 1306-1308, 1321, 1322, 1326. ‘Its host’ means the falsities that go with such as these, and the army of Babel in other places has the same meaning as in Jer. 34:1, 21; 32:2; 39:1. In Ezekiel,
Pharaoh will see them and will comfort himself over all his multitude, Pharaoh and all his army, slain by the sword; for I will put My terror in the land of the living. Ezek. 32:31, 32.
This refers to Egypt, which means those who by means of reasonings based on facts pervert truths, 1164, 1165. ‘His army’, that is, Pharaoh’s, stands for derivative falsities, as also does ‘Pharaoh’s army’ in other places, as in Jer. 37:5, 7, 11; 46:2; Ezek. 17:17. In Luke,
When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its devastation is near. Luke 21:20.
This refers to the close of the age or final period of the Church when faith does not exist any longer. ‘Jerusalem’ – which means the Church, see 2117 – is ‘surrounded by armies’ when beset by falsities.
[11] From these quotations it is clear that ‘the hosts of heaven’, which Jews and Israelite idolaters worshipped, in the internal sense meant falsities. The second Book of Kings says of them,
They forsook all the commandments of their God and made for themselves a molten image of two calves, and made a grove, and bowed down to all the host of heaven. 2 Kings 17:16.
This refers to the Israelites. And elsewhere it is said of Manasseh that he built altars for all the host of heaven, 2 Kings 21:5, and that King Josiah brought out of the temple all the vessels made for Baal, and for the grove, and for all the host of heaven, 2 Kings 23:4. And in Jeremiah it is said that they were to spread the bones of the princes, of the priests, and of the prophets before the sun, the moon, and all the host of heaven, which they had loved and had served and had gone after, Jer. 8:1, 2. And elsewhere,
The houses of Jerusalem and the houses of the king of Judah will be defiled, like the place of Topheth – all the houses on whose roofs they have burned incense to all the host of heaven and have poured out drink offerings to other gods. Jer. 19:13.
And in Zephaniah,
I will stretch out My hand against those worshipping on their roofs the host of heaven. Zeph. 1:5.
It is the stars to which the expression ‘the host of heaven’ refers primarily, and by ‘the stars’ is meant truths, and also in the contrary sense falsities; see 1128, 1808.
* lit. The one horn of the he-goat of the she-goats i.e. the little horn that grew up out of one of four horns
‘They said, We saw clearly that Jehovah was with you’ means that they knew the Divine to be present within it. ‘And we said, Let there be now a solemn agreement between us, between us and you, and let us make a covenant with you’ means that their matters of doctrine concerning faith, regarded in themselves, should not be refused recognition. ‘That you do us no harm as we have not touched you and as we have done to you nothing but good, and have sent you away in peace’ means that they had not done and would not do violence to the internal sense of the Word. ‘You are now the blessed of Jehovah’ means that it came from the Divine.
[2] As regards the Lord’s kingdom on earth, that is, His Church, because its matters of doctrine are drawn from the literal sense of the Word it is inevitably varying so far as these are concerned. That is to say, one group declares that this idea is the truth of faith because it is so stated in the Word, while another declares that that idea is the truth because that likewise is stated there, and so on. Consequently because its matters of doctrine are drawn from the literal sense of the Word the Lord’s Church differs from one group to the next, and not only from group to group but sometimes from individual to individual within a group. But dissent in matters of doctrine concerning faith does not mean that the Church cannot be one Church, provided all are of one mind in willing what is good and doing it.
[3] Take for example someone who acknowledges as a matter of doctrine that charity is the product of faith but nevertheless leads a life of charity towards the neighbour. Even though the truth does not exist with him so far as doctrine is concerned, yet it does exist with him so far as life is concerned, and consequently he has the Lord’s Church or kingdom within him. Or, to take another example, someone who says that good works ought to be done for the sake of reward in heaven, as accords with the literal sense of the Word in Matthew 10:41, 42; 25:34-36, and elsewhere, and yet when performing good works he gives no thought at all to merit. He likewise is in the Lord’s kingdom because the truth exists in him so far as life is concerned. This being what he is really like so far as life is concerned, he readily allows himself to be told that nobody is able to reach heaven on merit and that the works which a person regards as meritorious are not good. So it is with every other example that could be taken. For the literal sense is such that in many places it seems to contradict itself, the reason being that it contains appearances of truth that are suited to those who are engrossed in external things, and therefore who are also filled with a love of worldly things as well as bodily pleasures.
[4] Here therefore, through ‘Abimelech’, those people are dealt with who possess matters of doctrine concerning faith and who, as stated above, make faith the essential thing for salvation. Also dealt with is the agreement of their matters of doctrine with the internal sense. These people too, it is clear, are joined to heaven and the Lord by means of the literal sense, yet only those among them with whom good is present, that is, those who, though they make faith the essential thing so far as their doctrine is concerned, nevertheless make charity the essential so far as their life is concerned. For when they have confidence in, or put their trust in the Lord, which they call faith, affection that goes with love to the Lord is present, and therefore so far as life is concerned good is present in them. But see what has been stated and shown already in the following paragraphs:
Not doctrine but charity taught by it makes the Church, 809, 916, 1798, 1799, 1834, 1844.
Matters of doctrine have no value unless people live according to them, 1515.
The Church varies so far as truths are concerned, but is one through charity, 3267.
Parallelism exists between the Lord and man as regards celestial things that are matters of good, but not as regards spiritual things that are matters of truth, 1831, 1832.
Doctrine is invariably the same, that is to say, it is always concerned with love to the Lord and charity towards the neighbour, 3445.
The Church would be one if charity were present with all, even though they differed from one another in forms of worship and in matters of doctrine, 809, 1285, 1316, 1798, 1799, 1834, 1844, 2982.
The Church would be like the Lord’s kingdom in heaven if charity were present with all, 2385.
Countless variations of good and truth exist in heaven, but by acting in harmony with one another they nevertheless make one, like the organs and members of the body, 684, 690, 3241.
‘He made a feast for them’ means dwelling together. ‘And they ate and drank’ means communication. ‘And in the morning they rose up early’ means a state of enlightenment. ‘And swore, a man to his brother’ means confirmation with those who do the good of truth. ‘And Isaac sent them away, and they went from being with him, in peace’ means that they were satisfied.
[2] The Lord does indeed join Himself to those with whom this good exists, but not in the same way as He does to those who do the good of charity, for love and charity constitute spiritual conjunction, but not so faith except through love and charity. It is for this reason that the words used are not ‘they made a covenant with Isaac’ but ‘they swore, a man to his brother’; for ‘a covenant’ has reference to good, which is the good of love and charity, whereas ‘an oath’ has reference to truth, which is the truth of faith, 3375. Also ‘dwelling together’ meant by ‘a feast’, 3456, is used in reference to those who do the good of truth. From people such as these in the next life I have been given to know that they have been separated from those who do the good of charity; for the latter are joined more nearly to the Lord than the former, since the former’s good is so to speak hard and inflexible, and not communicable, and so is not in heaven but on the threshold of heaven.
‘So it was on that day’ means that state. ‘That Isaac’s servants came’ means rational concepts. ‘And pointed out to him the reasons for the well which they had dug; and they said to him, We have found water’ means interior truths obtained by means of these. ‘And he called it Shibah’ means the conjunction of confirmed truth by means of them. ‘Therefore the name of the city is Beersheba’ means the essential nature of the doctrine resulting from that conjunction. ‘Even to this day’ means the perpetuity of the state.
[2] For people who have no other matters of doctrine than those concerning faith and yet who live according to them are linked in some way to Him, though in a remote way. It is remote for the reason that they do not know from any affection what charity towards the neighbour is, let alone love to the Lord, but only from some concept that belongs to faith. Thus they do not possess any perception of good, only a type of persuasion that that is true and accordingly good which their matters of doctrine tell them to be so. And when they are confirmed in those matters of doctrine they are just as likely to be subject to falsity as to truth, for nothing else than good can confirm a person as to what the truth is.
[3] Truth does indeed teach what good is, but it does so without perception, whereas good teaches what truth is from perception. Anyone may recognize this difference, and also the nature of it, simply from the following general command concerning charity,
All things whatever you would wish people to do to you, do so to them. Matt. 7:12.
The person who acts from this commandment does indeed do what is good to others; but he does it because it is so commanded rather than from any affection in the heart. And as often as he does that good deed he begins from a selfish motive, and also in doing such good his thoughts are of merit. But when he does not act from the commandment but from charity, that is, from affection, his actions begin in the heart, and so in freedom. And as often as he performs that act he begins from the desire itself for what is good, and so that which is a delight to him; and because in this delight he finds reward he has no thought of merit.
[4] From this one may now see what the difference is between doing good from faith and doing it from charity, and that people who do it from faith are more remote from good itself, which is the Lord, than those who do it from charity. The former cannot be easily brought to the good that flows from charity so that they may perceive it because truths are not present in them to any great extent. For no one can be brought to that good unless untruths have been rooted out first, which cannot be effected as long as untruths are so deeply rooted that a person is persuaded that they are truths.
[2] The situation with matters of doctrine drawn from the literal sense of the Word is that when anyone possesses them and at the same time lives according to them a correspondence exists within himself. For the angels who reside with him are alive to the interior truths when he is alive to the exterior; and in this way he has communication with heaven by means of matters of doctrine, though this is conditioned by how good a life he leads. For example, when at the Holy Supper this person in simplicity thinks about the Lord from the words ‘This is My body’ and ‘This is My blood’ the angels residing with him have in mind love to the Lord and charity towards the neighbour; for love to the Lord corresponds to the Lord’s body and to the bread, while charity towards the neighbour corresponds to His blood and to the wine, 1798, 2165, 2177, 2187. This being the nature of the correspondence, there flows from heaven by way of the angels into that holiness present with the person at that time an affection which he receives according to the good within his life.
[3] Actually angels dwell with every person in the affection that belongs to his life, and so in the affection for the matters of doctrine according to which he lives, but never in the matters of doctrine with which his life is at variance. If his life is at variance with them, as it is if his affection is to gain position and wealth for himself by means of matters of doctrine, the angels in that case depart and spirits from hell dwell in that affection. These either instill their confirmations into him that favour self and the world – thus a false persuasion, which is such that he does not care at all whether a thing is true or false, provided people’s attention is drawn to himself – or they take away all faith, in which case the doctrine on that person’s lips is merely a sound prompted and fashioned by the fire of those loves.
Because you will take the seven ewe-lambs from my hand, that there may be a witness for me that I dug this well. Therefore he called that place Beersheba, because there the two of them swore an oath.
‘Beersheba’ at that point meant the state and nature of the doctrine that came from the Divine and through which the conjunction was effected. And as the subject was the interior features of that Church it is said that ‘that place’ was called Beersheba, whereas here, the subject being the exterior features of that Church, it is said that ‘the city’ was so called. For in reference to its interior features the expression ‘the place’ – meaning its state, 2625, 2837, 3356, 3387 – is used; but in reference to its exterior features the expression ‘the city’, meaning doctrine, is used; for the state and the essential nature of doctrine are determined by the Church’s interior qualities.
‘Esau was a son of forty years’ means a state of temptation as regards the natural good of truth. ‘And he took for a wife Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and also Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite’ means the wedding to it of natural truth from a source other than genuine truth itself. ‘And they were a bitterness of spirit to Isaac and Rebekah’ means that this led at first to grief.
[2] People therefore who do the good of truth, or who live in accordance with matters of doctrine, are regenerate as regards interior things, which are their rational concepts, but not yet as regards exterior, which are their natural things. For a person is regenerated as to the rational part of his mind before being regenerated as to the natural part, 3286, 3288. The natural exists wholly in this world, and it is on the natural as their foundation that the person’s thought and will are based. This is the reason why, while being regenerated, a person is aware of conflict between his rational or internal man and his natural or external man, and why his external is regenerated much later and with far more difficulty than the internal. Indeed what is closer to the world and closer to the body cannot be easily rendered subservient to the internal man except over a considerable period of time and by means of very many new states into which it has to be brought. These states are states of self-recognition and of recognition of the Lord, that is to say, of his own miserable condition and of the Lord’s mercy, and so of humiliation, through conflicts brought about by temptations. This being so, there is immediately added at this point the reference to Esau and his two wives, by which such things are meant in the internal sense.
[3] It is well known to anyone what natural good is, namely the good into which a person is born. But what the natural good of truth is, is known to few, if anyone. There are four types of natural good, or good that one is born with. These are, natural good that stems from the love of good; natural good that stems from the love of truth; also natural good that stems from the love of evil; and natural good that stems from the love of falsity. A person derives the good that he is born with from his parents, whether from father or from mother. For every characteristic which parents have acquired from frequent practice and conduct, that is, which they have taken into themselves by their own actions in life until with them they have become so habitual as to appear natural, is passed on to their children and becomes hereditary. If parents have led a good life from a love of good and have experienced delight and blessedness in that life, and if this is their state when they conceive an offspring, their offspring acquires from them an inclination towards this same form of good. If parents have led a good life from a love of truth – for which good, see 3459, 3463 – and have experienced delight in that life, and if this is their state when they conceive an offspring, their offspring acquires from them an inclination towards that same form of good. And the same applies to those who by heredity receive the good that stems from a love of evil and the good that stems from a love of falsity.
[4] The latter are called good because the kinds of good done by them seem in outward appearance to be good, despite the fact that there is nothing good at all about them. Very many with whom natural good is apparent possess this type of good. Those with whom natural good that stems from love of evil is present tend and incline towards evils of every kind, for they readily allow themselves to be led astray. That good is the source of their susceptibility especially towards foul delights, different kinds of adultery, and also of cruelty. Those with whom natural good stemming from a love of falsity is present incline towards falsities of every kind. Because of that good they seize on false persuasion, especially that used by hypocrites and deceivers, who know how to win people’s attention, worm their way into affections, and feign innocence. Into these so-called forms of good – of good that stems from evil or from falsity – the majority are born at the present day in the Christian world, in whom natural good exists, the reason being that their parents have acquired a delight in evil and a delight in falsity through their own actions in life, and in this way have implanted it in their children, and so in their descendants.
[2] The implications of this are that natural good of truth is not spiritual good, that is, it is not the good of faith nor the good of charity until it has been reformed. Natural good comes from parents, as stated immediately above in 3469, but spiritual good comes from the Lord. To receive spiritual good therefore a person has to undergo regeneration. At first, while this is taking place truths from a source other than genuine truth itself are allied to him, such as do not remain permanently with him but merely serve as the means by which genuine truths are brought in. Once these have been brought in, truths that are not genuine are separated. It is akin to the stages through which children pass: At first they learn very many things, including those that are childish – games and so on – not to make them wise but to prepare the way for them to receive the useful things that lead to wisdom. Once they have received the latter the former things are separated, indeed they are put away. Or it is like fruit which at first is filled with sour juice before it is able to receive sweet. The sour juice, which is not the genuine, is the means by which the sweet is brought in. As the latter comes in the former is dispelled.
[3] So it is with the natural part of man’s mind when this is being regenerated, for natural good is such that of itself it is unwilling to obey and serve the rational as a slave does his master but wishes to take command. To render it submissive and subservient however it is chastened by means of states of vastation and temptation to the point when its cravings die down. At that point it is moderated by means of an influx from the Lord, by way of the internal man, of the good of faith and charity, even to the point where good acquired by heredity is gradually rooted out and a new good implanted in place of it. Into this new good truths of faith are introduced, like new fibres into the human heart, along which fibres new fluid is borne in, until a new heart has slowly been developed. The truths that are borne in at first cannot come from the genuine fount of truth because evils and falsities exist within the good present previously, which is natural good. Instead they are the kind of seeming truths or appearances of truth that have some affinity with genuine truths, and through which little by little the opportunity and place for those genuine truths to insert themselves is provided. Genuine good is like the blood in blood vessels or the fluid in fibres, bringing truths along and giving them shape. The good which takes shape in this way in the natural or external man is general, structured or joined together so to speak from particular and individual facets of spiritual good coming by way of the rational or internal man from the Lord, who alone forms and creates things anew. This explains why so many times in the Word the Lord is called One who forms and Creator.
[2] The reason why there was grief at first is that when truths are brought into association with natural good they give rise to grief initially since they weigh down the conscience and cause feelings of anxiety owing to the presence of cravings with which spiritual truth conflicts. But this initial grief lessens gradually and at length disappears. It is like the body, when feeble and ill, having to be restored to health by painful remedies. While in that condition it at first suffers pain and grief.
ESPECIALLY THOSE CONTAINED IN THE WORD
Every single thing in the sense of the letter of the Word is representative of something spiritual or celestial belonging to the Lord’s kingdom in heaven, and in the highest sense is representative of the Lord Himself. This becomes clear from what has been shown already, and in the Lord’s Divine mercy from what has yet to be shown. But because people have distanced themselves so far away from heaven and have engrossed themselves in nature far below, indeed in what is earthly, they are utterly repelled when told that the Word conceals deeper things than those grasped from the letter. They are even more repelled when told that the Word contains things that are beyond man’s mental grasp and that are suited only to the wisdom of the angels; and they are still more repelled when told that it contains Divine things themselves infinitely transcending the angels’ power of understanding. The Christian world does indeed acknowledge that the Word is Divine; but the fact that it is so Divine the Christian world nevertheless denies in its heart if not with its lips. Nor is this surprising since the earthly-mindedness which exists in people at the present day does not allow them to grasp more exalted things; nor do they wish to.
[2] Certain spirits who were with me at the time, and who had not previously believed that the Word of the Lord was of such a nature, began to repent of their unbelief. They said that in their present state they now believed because they had heard that spirit say he had heard, seen, and perceived that it was so. But other spirits continued in their unbelief, saying that it was not so but all a delusion. They also were therefore suddenly carried up, and spoke to me from where they were. They now confessed that it was anything but a delusion, for now they perceived from amid spiritual realities that it was so, their perception indeed being far keener than can possibly be imparted to any of the senses during the life of the body. Shortly afterwards others also were carried up into the same heaven. I had known one of them during his lifetime, and he bore similar witness. Among other things he also said that he was so dazed by the glory of the Word in its internal sense that he was unable to describe it. Speaking at this time with some kind of compassion he said it was remarkable that people on earth know nothing at all of such matters. On two occasions after this I saw others who had been carried up to the second heaven among the angelic spirits, and from there they spoke to me, while I was reading Deuteronomy 3 from beginning to end. They said that they understood none but the interior sense of the Word, declaring at the same time that there was not even the smallest part of a letter which did not have a spiritual sense within it that did not link with everything else in a very beautiful way. They also said that in the interior sense the names used in the Word mean real things. Thus these people as well were confirmed in the same knowledge of such things, for they had not previously believed that every single thing in the Word has been inspired by the Lord. This they also wished to affirm before others on oath, but they were not allowed to do so.
[2] Yet because a sense of holiness within external things could exist with that nation, so that they were able to regard as holy the religious observances by which the heavenly things of the Lord’s kingdom were represented; and because they were able to venerate Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, also Moses and Aaron, and after these David, all of whom represented the Lord; and above all because they were able to have a deep and holy respect for the Word in which every single thing was representative and a meaningful sign of Divine things, the representative Church was therefore established among that nation. But if that nation had known of internal things to the extent that they acknowledged them they would have rendered them profane and in so doing would have possessed simultaneously external holiness and internal unholiness, so that there could not have been any communication at all of representatives with heaven by means of that nation. This is why interior things were not disclosed to them, not even the truth that the Lord would come to save their souls.
[3] Because this was the case with the tribe of Judah more than with all the other tribes, and because today as in former times they regard as holy the religious observances which can be performed outside Jerusalem; because also they venerate their patriarchs, and above all have a deep and holy respect for the Old Testament Word; and because it was foreseen that Christians would virtually reject the Old Testament and also would befoul their own internals with things that are unholy, that nation has been preserved up to the present day, in accordance with the Lord’s words in Matthew 24:34. With Christians it was to be different, as they were to have knowledge of internal things and were also to live as internally-minded people. If Christians had in fact done so, the Jewish nation would like others have been annihilated before many centuries had gone by. With that nation however the situation is that their external holiness, or holiness of worship, can have no affect on them internally, for internally they are defiled from filthy self-love and filthy love of the world, and also from the idolatry in which they worship external things devoid of internal. And because accordingly they have nothing of heaven within themselves, they are not able to take anything heavenly with them into the next life, with the exception of the few who are governed by mutual love and so do not live in contempt of others compared with themselves.
[2] Among Christians it is less easy to create the same situation since they do have a knowledge of the interior aspects of worship, though they do not believe them. Thus they are not able to have any holy feelings for external things divorced from internal. Furthermore with people who lead the life of faith communication is effected by means of the goods present within them – evils and falsities having meanwhile been banished. And at this point – amazingly so – every single detail of the Word when read by them is manifested before the angels. This happens despite the fact that those persons reading the Word pay no attention to the sense of it. This has been shown to me from much experience, for with those people the internal which is not so perceptible serves as a basis.
[2] After that I said that the Messiah’s kingdom according to prophecy was going to last for ever, and those with Him would also inherit the land for ever. If His kingdom were of this world and they were brought into the land of Canaan it would last only for the few years that constitute the human life-span. Besides, all who had died since the expulsion of the Jews from the land of Canaan would not enjoy such blessedness. From this, I said, they could recognize that the land of Canaan represented and meant the heavenly kingdom; indeed they would recognize it all the more easily, in that they now knew they were in the next life and were going to live for ever, from which it was evident that this next life was the place where the Messiah had His kingdom. And, I continued, if they were allowed to talk to angels they could know that the whole angelic heaven was the Lord’s kingdom.
[3] I added that by the new earth, the new Jerusalem, and the new temple described in Ezekiel nothing else could be meant than such a kingdom of the Messiah. To all these points they were unable to make any response apart from weeping bitterly at the prospect of being led into the land of Canaan by the Messiah only to die after so few years and leave behind the blessedness they were to enjoy there.
[2] The learned know that remaining in being consists in perpetual coming into being. Nevertheless it is contrary to their affection for falsity, and consequently to their reputation for being learned, to say that natural forces are constantly kept in being, even as they came into being, from the Lord’s Divine. Now because every single thing remains in being from the Divine, that is, is constantly coming into being from Him, and every single thing from that source is inevitably a representative of the real thing by means of which it has come into being, the whole visible universe is therefore nothing else than a theatre that is representative of the Lord’s kingdom. And this in turn is a theatre representative of the Lord Himself.
All these are the beginning of sorrows. At that time they will deliver you up to affliction, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. And at that time many will stumble, and betray one another, and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and will lead many astray. And because iniquity is multiplied the charity of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole inhabited earth as a testimony to all nations; and at that point the end will come.
All these are the beginning of sorrows means the things that have already happened, that is to say, the things that belong to the first state of the perversion of the Church, which, as has been stated, takes place when people cease to know any longer what goodness is and what truth is and start to argue with one another about them, with the result that falsities, and consequently heresies arise. The fact that such things perverted the Church before very many centuries had gone by is evident from the consideration that the Church in the Christian world became divided, and that its divisions were the result of opinions concerning goodness and truth; so that the Church began to be perverted a long way back in the past.
[2] At that time they will deliver you up to affliction, and will kill you means that goodness and truth will perish, at first through ‘affliction’- that is, through perversion – and then through men ‘killing’ them, that is, through denial. For ‘killing’, when used in reference to goodness and truth, means that these are not being accepted, and thus that people deny them, see 3387, 3395. ‘You’ – the apostles – means all things of faith in their entirety, and so means the good of faith as well as the truth of faith; for the twelve apostles meant those things, see 577, 2089, 2129, 2130 (end), 3272, 3354. Here it is quite evident that they have that meaning, for the subject is not the preaching of the apostles but the close of the age.
[3] And you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake means contempt for and loathing of everything to do with goodness and truth. ‘Hating’ is holding in contempt and loathing, for these are manifestations of hatred. ‘By all nations’ means by persons under the influence of evil, for ‘nations’ refers to these, see 1259, 1260, 1849, 1868, 2588 (end). ‘For My name’s sake’ is for the Lord’s sake, and so for the sake of everything that comes from Him – ‘the Lord’s name’ being everything in its entirety by which He is worshipped, and so everything belonging to His Church, see 2724, 3006.
[4] At that time many will stumble, and betray one another, and hate one another means hostility on account of those things. ‘Many will stumble’ means the hostility in itself – the Lord’s Human being that against which the hostility is directed. That this will be a cause of offence or a stumbling-block is foretold in various places in the Word. ‘Betray one another’ is hostility towards one another arising out of falsity conflicting with truth. ‘And hate one another’ is hostility towards one another arising out of evil conflicting with good.
[5] And many false prophets will arise and will lead many astray means declarations of falsity – ‘false prophets’ meaning teachers of falsities, thus false doctrine, see 2534. ‘And will lead many astray’ means that there will be things that are the issue of that doctrine.
[6] And because iniquity is multiplied the charity of many will grow cold means charity together with faith breathing its last. ‘Because iniquity is multiplied’ means in keeping with falsities of faith. ‘The charity of many will grow cold’ means charity breathing its last; for the two – charity and faith – go together side by side. Where there is no faith there is no charity; and where there is no charity there is no faith. Charity however is that which receives faith, and the absence of charity is that which rejects faith. This is the origin of all falsity and of all evil.
[7] But he who endures to the end will be saved means the salvation of those who have charity. ‘He who endures to the end’ is the person who does not allow himself to be led astray, and so does not yield in times of temptation.
[8] And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole inhabited earth as a testimony to all nations means that the Christian world wilt be the first to come to know it. ‘Will be preached’ means that it will come to be known. ‘This gospel of the kingdom’ is this truth, that it really is so – ‘gospel’ being pronouncement, ‘the kingdom’ truth, for ‘the kingdom’ means truth, see 1672, 2547. ‘In the whole inhabited earth’ is the Christian world, ‘the earth’ being that region where the Church, and so the Christian world, is, see 662, 1066, 1068, 1262, 1733, 1850, 2117, 2118, 2928, 3355. Here the Church is called ‘the inhabited earth’ from the life of faith, that is, from the good that dwells in truth, for ‘inhabiting’ in the internal sense is living, and ‘inhabitants’ are the goods that dwell in truth, 1293, 2268, 2451, 2712, 3384. ‘As a testimony’ means to ensure that they know, and to prevent them pretending that they do not know. ‘To all nations’ means to the evil, 1259, 1260, 1849, 1868, 2588. For when people are under the influence of falsity and evil they no longer know what truth is or what good is; indeed they believe that falsity is truth, that evil is good, and vice versa. When the Church reaches this state, at that point the end will come. The words that follow next, to be explained in the Lord’s Divine mercy in the preliminary section of the next chapter of Genesis, deal with that state of the Church which is called ‘the abomination of desolation’, which is the third state.
[2] Indeed in the next life it is solely in accordance with internal things that people think and speak, for external things have been left behind with the body. There it is evident that however peaceable such people seemed to be in the world they nevertheless hated one another, and hated everything belonging to faith, hating the Lord above all else; for at the mere mention of the Lord’s name in their presence in the next life a sphere not only of contempt but also of loathing and hostility towards Him clearly emanates from them and envelops them, including those who to outward appearances spoke about Him with reverence and also preached about Him. It is similar when charity and faith are mentioned. As to their inward form which is disclosed there, these people are such as they would have been while living in the world if external restraints had been released and taken away from them. That is, if they had not in the world feared for their lives and feared the law, and in particular if they had not feared for their reputation on account of the positions they strove and worked for, and of the wealth they desired and avidly sought after, they would on account of their deadly hatred have laid into one another, as their intentions and thought directed them. And without any conscience they would have seized other people’s goods and also without any conscience would have butchered them, no matter how utterly innocent their victims may have been. Such is the nature of Christians interiorly at the present day, apart from a few who remain unknown. From all this it is evident what the nature of the Church is essentially.
GENESIS 27
1 And so it was, that Isaac was old and his eyes were becoming dark so that he could not see; and he called Esau his elder son and said to him, My son; and he said to him, Here I am.
2 And he said, Behold now, I am old; I do not know the day of my death.
3 And now take, I beg you, your weapons, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field and hunt venison for me.
4 And make me savoury food such as I love, and bring it to me, and I will eat, so that my soul may bless you before I die.
5 And Rebekah was listening to Isaac while he spoke to Esau his son. And Esau went to the field to hunt for venison, to bring it [home].
6 And Rebekah said to Jacob her son – she said – Behold, I listened to your father speaking to Esau your brother, saying,
7 Bring me venison, and make me savoury food, and I will eat, and I will bless you before Jehovah, before my death.
8 And now, my son, hearken to my voice, to what I command you.
9 Go now to the flock, and take for me from there two good kids of the she-goats, and I will make them into savoury food for your father, such as he loves.
10 And bring it to your father, and let him eat, so that he may bless you before his death.
11 And Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, Behold, Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I am a smooth man.
12 Perhaps my father will feel me, and I shall be in his eyes as one who misleads, and I shall bring upon myself a curse and not a blessing.
13 And his mother said to him, Upon me be your curse, my son; only hearken to my voice, and go, take them for me.
14 And he went and took them, and brought them to his mother; and his mother made savoury food such as his father loved.
15 And Rebekah took the best clothes* of Esau her elder son, which were with her in the house, and put them on Jacob her younger son.
16 And she put the skins of the kids of the she-goats on his hands and on the smooth of his neck.
17 And she gave the savoury food and the bread which she had made into the hand of Jacob her son.
18 And he went to his father, and said, My father. And he said, Behold, here I am; who are you, my son?
19 And Jacob said to his father, I am Esau your firstborn; I have done what you told me. Rise up now; sit, and eat from my venison, so that your soul may bless me.
20 And Isaac said to his son, Why have you found it so quickly, my son? And he said, Because Jehovah your God caused it to come before my face.
21 And Isaac said to Jacob, Come near now, and I will feel you, my son, whether you are my son Esau, or not.
22 And Jacob came near to Isaac his father; and he felt him, and said, The voice is Jacob’s voice, and the hands Esau’s hands.
23 And he did not recognize him because his hands were hairy like the hands of Esau his brother; and he blessed him.
24 And he said, Are you my very son Esau? And he said, I am.
25 And he said, Bring it to me, and I will eat from my son’s venison, so that my soul may bless you. And he brought it to him, and he ate; and he brought him wine, and he drank.
26 And Isaac his father said to him, Come near now, and kiss me, my son.
27 And he came near and kissed him. And he smelled the odour of his clothes, and he blessed him, and he said, See, the odour of my son, like the odour of the field that Jehovah has blessed.
28 And God will give to you of the dew of heaven, and of the fatness of the land, and abundance of grain and of new wine.
29 Peoples will serve you, and peoples will bow down to you. Be lord over your brothers, and your mother’s sons will bow down to you. Cursed are those cursing you, and blessed those blessing you.
30 And so it was, as soon as Isaac had finished blessing Jacob, and Jacob had only just gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, that Esau his brother came in from his hunting.
31 And he too made savoury food, and brought it to his father; and he said to his father, Let my father arise, and eat from his son’s venison, so that your soul may bless me.
32 And Isaac his father said to him, Who are you? And he said, I am your son, your firstborn, Esau.
33 And Isaac trembled very greatly, and he said, Who then is he who has hunted venison and brought it to me, and I have eaten from all of it before you came in, and have blessed him? Indeed, he will be blessed!
34 Even as Esau heard his father’s words, he cried out with a great and exceedingly bitter cry, and said to his father, Bless me, me also, my father.
35 And he said, Your brother came in deceitfully, and has taken away your blessing.
36 And he said, Does he not call his name Jacob? And he has supplanted me these two times. He took away my birthright, and behold, now he has taken away my blessing. And he said, Have you not reserved a blessing for me?
37 And Isaac answered, and said to Esau, Behold, I have made him lord over you, and have given all his brothers to him as servants, and I have sustained him with grain and new wine. And for you therefore, what shall I do, my son?
38 And Esau said to his father, Have you but one blessing, my father? Bless me, me also, my father. And Esau raised his voice, and wept.
39 And Isaac his father answered, and said to him, Behold, of the fatness of the land will be your dwelling, and of the dew of heaven from above.
40 And by your sword you will live, and you will serve your brother; and it will be when you have dominion over him, that you will break his yoke from above your neck.
41 And Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father had blessed him; and Esau said in his heart, The days of mourning for my father are approaching, and I will kill Jacob my brother.
42 And the words of Esau her elder son were pointed out to Rebekah, and she sent and summoned Jacob her younger son, and said to him, Behold, Esau your brother is consoling himself concerning you [by planning] to kill you.
43 And now, my son, hearken to my voice, and arise, flee to Laban my brother, to Haran.
44 And stay with him for a few days, until your brother’s wrath turns back,
45 Until your brother’s anger turns back from you, and he forgets what you have done to him, and I send and fetch you from there. Why should I be bereft of you both in one day?
46 And Rebekah said to Isaac, I loathe my life on account of the daughters of Heth. If Jacob takes a wife from the daughters of Heth, like these of the daughters of the land, what would life hold for me?
* lit. clothes of desires
Previously, where Isaac and Rebekah were the subject, the internal sense dealt with the Rational and how the Lord had made it Divine within Himself. The internal sense now deals with the Natural and how the Lord made that Divine within Himself. Esau is the good, Jacob the truth, of the Natural, for while He was in the world the Lord did indeed make Divine within Himself His entire Human, both that which is interior, namely the Rational, and that which is exterior, namely the Natural, and the Bodily as well. He did so according to Divine order. According to the same order also the Lord renews or regenerates man, and this is why the representative sense here deals with a person’s regeneration as regards his natural. In that sense also Esau is the good of the natural, and Jacob its truth. Nevertheless both are Divine because all good and truth that a regenerate person has come from the Lord.
Verse 1 And so it was, that Isaac was old and his eyes were becoming dark so that he could not see; and he called Esau his elder son and said to him, My son; and he said to him, Here I am.
‘So it was, that Isaac was old’ means when the state was reached. ‘And his eyes were becoming dark so that he could not see’ means when the Rational wished to enlighten the Natural from the Divine. ‘And he called Esau his elder son’ means the affection for natural good, or the good of life. ‘And he said to him, My son; and he said to him, Here I am’ means presence as the result of foresight and provision.
[2] When therefore the rational has been regenerated but not the natural the former in that case seems to itself to be made dark, for no correspondence exists between the two. Actually the rational receives its sight from the light of heaven, whereas the natural receives its sight from the light of the world; but unless a correspondence exists between the two the rational is unable to see anything that is in the natural. Everything there is like shadow or even like thick darkness. But once a correspondence does exist, things that are in light in the natural are then apparent to the rational, for things that belong to the light of the world are then enlightened by those that belong to the light of heaven, which are so to speak shining through. But these matters are more clearly evident from what has been stated and shown already about correspondence see 2987, 2989-2991, 3002, 3138, 3167, 3222, 3223, 3225, 3337, 3485. Through what is stated and shown in these paragraphs one may grasp to some extent that the words ‘Isaac’s eyes were becoming dark so that he could not see’ mean that the Rational wished to enlighten the Natural from the Divine, that is to say, to make even the Natural Divine, for the subject in the highest sense is the Lord. Light is thereby shed on this matter by what occurs with man when he is being regenerated and which has been described already; for man’s regeneration is an image of the Lord’s glorification, 3043, 3138, 3212, 3296, 3490.
[2] Each of them, good and truth in the natural or external man, is ‘a son’, that is to say, a son of the rational or internal man, for whatever comes into being in the natural or external man flows in from the rational or internal man, and from there comes into being and is born. That which does not come into being and is not born from there is not living and human, but is like what you might call body and senses without a soul. Hence both good and truth are called ‘sons’, and indeed sons of the rational. Yet it is not the rational that produces and gives birth to the natural, but an influx by way of the rational into the natural, an influx coming from the Lord. His ‘sons’ therefore are all the young children who are born, and after that time whenever they become wise. Also, insofar as the latter are at that time ‘young children’ – that is, insofar as the innocence of a young child, the love of a child for its parent (who is now the Lord), and mutual charity towards playmates (who are now the neighbour) exist in them, they are adopted by the Lord as ‘sons’.
‘He said, Behold now, I am old’ means that the state was reached. ‘I do not know the day of my death’ means the life within the natural. ‘And now take, I beg you, your weapons, your quiver and your bow’ means the matters of doctrine concerning good which were in his possession. ‘And go out to the field’ means where a good ground exists. ‘And hunt venison for me’ means truth acquired from good. ‘And make me savoury food such as I love’ means the forms of pleasantness received from that truth, because it is acquired from good. ‘And bring it to me, and I will eat’ means making it its own. ‘So that my soul may bless you’ means allying it to its own life. ‘Before I die’ means the first state of awakening in the natural.
[2] This may be seen even more clearly in the human being, for while a person is in the world, that is, while he lives in the body, his rational is distinct and separate from the natural, so much so that he can be raised above the level of external sensory perceptions which belong to the body, and even to a certain extent above the level of inner sensory perceptions which belong to his natural man, and to be aware on the level of his rational, and so of spiritual thought. This is even more evident from the fact that when a person dies he leaves behind him altogether the external sensory perceptions that belong to the body, retaining at the same time the life of his interior man. Indeed he brings with him even the facts that exist in the external or natural memory, though he does not have the use of them, see 2475-2477, 2479-2483, 2485, 2486. From this it is evident that the rational or internal man is distinct and separate from the external man. But while a person is living in the body his rational does not seem to be distinct and separate from the natural, the reason being that he is living in the world or the natural order. That being so the life of the rational manifests itself within the natural, so much so that the rational does not seem to have any life at all if the natural does not at the same time have any. The amount of life that the rational seems to have in this case depends on how far the natural corresponds to it – see above in 3493. From this it may be seen that there is a corresponding life in the natural, which life is meant by the words which Isaac addressed to Esau, ‘I do not know the day of my death’. For ‘Isaac’ represents the rational, and ‘Esau’ the natural, in both cases as regards good.
[2] The natural is not renewed, it does not receive a corresponding life from the rational – that is, it is not regenerated – except by means of matters of doctrine or cognitions of good and truth, the celestial man being regenerated by means primarily of cognitions of good, the spiritual man by means primarily of cognitions of truth. Matters of doctrine or cognitions of good and truth cannot be conveyed to the natural man, nor thus be joined to it and made its own, except through all delight and pleasantness that are appropriate for it, for they are instilled by the external way or that of the senses. Anything that does not enter in by way of some delight or pleasantness does not attach itself there and so does not remain. These are the factors meant by truth acquired from good, and the forms of pleasantness received from this truth. And it is these that are the subject in what follows.
‘Rebekah was listening to Isaac while he spoke to Esau his son’ means the affection for truth and the life from that affection. ‘And Esau went to the field to hunt for venison, to bring it [home]’ means the effort of the affection for good to acquire the truth that was to be allied to the Divine Rational. ‘And Rebekah said to Jacob her son – she said’ means the Lord’s perception from Divine Truth concerning natural truth. ‘Behold, I listened to your father speaking to Esau your brother, saying’ means that the desire of the Divine Good of the Divine Rational was for the affection for good. ‘Bring me venison’ means truth acquired from good. ‘And make me savoury food’ means the desire and pleasure gained from the pleasantness received from that truth. ‘And I will eat’ means in that way making it its own. ‘And I will bless you before Jehovah’ means conjunction thereby. ‘Before my death’ means life thus within the natural.
[2] Indeed angelic ideas are not at all like human ideas. Angelic ideas are spiritual; and when they become more interior they are celestial, whereas human ideas are natural, and when formed from things that happened in history are sensory impressions. The Lord however has effected through the Word such a correspondence between spiritual things which belong to heaven and natural ones which belong to the world that natural ideas are converted in an instant into spiritual ones. Consequently heaven is joined to the world through mankind, and in particular through the Word, and so through the Church in which the Word is present. The fact that the correspondence of natural things and spiritual exists in every single thing that can be grasped and perceived mentally will in the Lord’s Divine mercy be clear from what is to be stated from experience about the Grand Man at the ends of chapters below.
[2] Here, as stated above, the subject in the highest sense is the glorification of the Lord’s Natural, and in the representative sense the regeneration of the natural with man, 3490. It is according to order that this is effected by means of truth, that is, by means of cognitions of good and truth, for without these the natural cannot receive light from the rational, that is, by way of the rational, and so be regenerated. Cognitions are vessels for receiving good and truth entering in from the rational. The way in which the vessels receive and the amount they receive determine the nature of their enlightenment and how far they are enlightened. Vessels which receive good and truth from the rational are the truths themselves belonging to the natural, which are no more than facts, cognitions, and matters of doctrine. From the order according to which they flow in and from the order which exists among them there they become goods. This is the origin of the good of the natural.
[2] The rational mind is distinguished into two separate mental powers, one called the will, the other the understanding. That which goes forth from the will when someone is being regenerated is called good, and that which goes forth from the understanding is called truth. Until a person has been regenerated the will does not act in unison with the understanding. Instead the will desires good whereas the understanding desires truth; and so different is each desire from the other that the effort of the will is perceived to be quite distinct and separate from that of the understanding. This is perceived however only by those who stop to reflect, knowing what the will is and the things that constitute this, and what the understanding is and the things that constitute that. But it is not perceived by those who do not know those things and therefore do not stop to reflect. And there is the added reason that the natural mind is regenerated by way of the rational mind, see 3493, and indeed according to order as follows: The good of the rational does not pass directly into the good of the natural and regenerate it but by way of truth which belongs to the understanding, thus giving the appearance that it enters in from the truth of the rational. These are the matters which this chapter deals with in the internal sense; for ‘Isaac’ is the rational mind as regards good present in the will, ‘Rebekah’ as regards truth present in the understanding. ‘Esau’ is the good of the natural springing from the good of the rational, ‘Jacob’ the truth of the natural springing from the good of the rational by way of the truth there.
[3] These considerations show the kind of arcana contained in the internal sense of the Word; yet there are very few which can be described in a way intelligible to the human mind. The number of those which are beyond man’s comprehension and defy description is unlimited. For the more deeply the Word goes, that is, the more interiorly into heaven, the more unlimited and also the more indescribable do they become not only to man but also to angels of the lower heaven. And when it reaches the inmost heaven the angels there perceive that the arcana are infinite and, being Divine are quite beyond their comprehension. Such is the nature of the Word.
[2] Such are the things meant by eating and drinking in the Holy Supper, where again eating and drinking mean making one’s own; that is to say, ‘eating’ means making good one’s own and ‘drinking’ making truth one’s own. If good, that is to say, love to the Lord and charity towards the neighbour, gives form to the internal or rational man, and by way of this rational man gives form to a corresponding external or natural man, the person becomes in particular and in general an image of heaven, and therefore an image of the Lord. But if contempt for the Lord and for the good and truth of faith, and hatred towards the neighbour give form to the rational man, the person becomes in particular and in general an image of hell – the more so if at the same time he eats and drinks in a holy manner, for profanation then results. Consequently people who eat and drink worthily make eternal life their own, whereas those who do so unworthily make [eternal] death their own.
‘Now, my son, hearken to my voice, to what I command you’ means the desire and pleasure perceived by Divine Truth within the Divine Rational towards natural truth. ‘Go now to the flock’ means to homeborn natural good that has not been joined to the Divine Rational ‘And take for me from there two good kids of the she-goats’ means truths born from that good. ‘And I will make them into savoury food for your father, such as he loves’ means that from these it will produce things that are delightful. ‘And bring it to your father, and let him eat’ means for the Divine Good of the Divine Rational, which makes those things its own. ‘So that he may bless you’ means conjunction thereby. ‘Before his death’ means awakening in the natural.
[2] With everyone who is being regenerated something similar takes place. The good which a person receives from the Lord as a new Father is interior, but the good he possesses from parents is exterior. The good which he receives from the Lord is called spiritual good, whereas that which he possesses from parents is called natural good. The latter good – that which he possesses from parents – is of service first of all in the reformation of him, for it is through that good, serving as joy and delight, that facts, and after that cognitions of truth, are brought in. But once it has served as the means to effect that purpose it is separated, and spiritual good comes to the fore and manifests itself. This becomes clear from much experience, merely for example from the fact that when a child first starts to learn he is moved by a desire for knowing, not initially on account of any end in view that is seen by himself but because of some innate joy and delight and because of other incentives. Later on, as he grows up, he is moved by a desire for knowing on account of some end he has in view – excelling others, that is, his rivals. Later still he is so moved on account of some worldly end. But when about to be regenerated his desire for knowing stems from the delight and pleasantness of truth, and when undergoing regeneration, which takes place in adult years, from a love of truth, and later on from a love of good. The ends in view which had existed previously, and their delights, are now separated little by little, to be replaced by interior good which comes from the Lord and manifests itself in his affection. From this it is evident that previous delights, which seemed in outward appearance to be forms of good, have served as means. Consecutive series of means such as these occur unceasingly.
[3] Such series may be compared to a tree, which at the initial stage or the start of spring decks its branches with leaves, and after that as that stage or spring advances it adorns them with blossom. Then, around summertime, it produces the elementary signs of its fruit, which go on to develop into the fruit itself; and at length within the fruit it produces seeds, in which are contained new trees like itself – potentially a whole garden, which becomes a reality if those seeds are planted. Such are the comparisons existing in the natural world. They are also representatives, for the whole natural order is a theatre representative of the Lord’s kingdom in heaven, and therefore of the Lord’s kingdom on earth, which is the Church, and consequently of the Lord’s kingdom with every regenerate person. From all this it is evident how natural or homeborn good, despite being a merely external and indeed worldly delight, may be of service as the means for producing the good of the natural which may join itself to the good of the rational and so become regenerate or spiritual good, that is, good which comes from the Lord. These are the things which are represented and meant in this chapter by Esau and Jacob.
[2] As regards ‘kids of the she-goats’ meaning truths born from good, this becomes clear from those places in the Word where kids and she-goats are mentioned. It should be recognized that all gentle and useful beasts mentioned in the Word mean in the genuine sense celestial things, which are forms of good, and spiritual things, which are forms of truth, see 45, 46, 142, 143, 246, 714, 715, 776, 2179, 2180, 2781, 3218. And since there are various genera of celestial things or forms of good, and consequently there are various genera of spiritual things or forms of truth, one beast has a different meaning from another; that is to say, a lamb has one meaning, a kid another, and a sheep, she-goat, ram, he-goat, young bull, or ox another, while a horse or a camel has yet another meaning. Birds have a different meaning again, as also do beasts of the sea, such as sea monsters, and fish. The genera of celestial and spiritual things, and consequently of forms of good and truth, are more than anyone can number, even though when that which is celestial or good is mentioned, and also when that which is spiritual or truth, this is not envisaged as being anything complex, consisting of many parts, but as a single entity. Yet how complex both of these are, that is, how countless the genera are of which they consist, may be seen from what has been stated about heaven in 3241, to the effect that it is distinguished into countless separate communities, according to the genera of celestial and spiritual things, that is, of goods of love and of derivative truths of faith. Furthermore each genus of good and each genus of truth has countless species into which the communities of each genus are separated. And each species in a similar way has separate sub-species.
[3] The commonest genera of good and truth are what the living creatures offered as burnt offerings and sacrifices represented. And because the genera are quite distinct and separate, people were explicitly commanded to use those living creatures and no others, that is to say, in some sacrifices lambs and ewe-lambs, and also kids and female kids of she-goats were to be used, in other sacrifices rams and sheep, and also he-goats, were to be used, while in other sacrifices again, calves, young bulls, and oxen, or else pigeons and doves, were to be used, see 992, 1823, 2180, 2805, 2807, 2830, 3218. What kids and she-goats meant however becomes clear both from the sacrifices in which they used to be offered and from other places in the Word. These show that lambs and ewe-lambs meant innocence belonging to the internal or rational man, and kids and she-goats innocence belonging to the external or natural man, and so the truth and the good of the latter.
[4] The fact that truth and good present in the innocence that belongs to the external or natural man is meant by a kid and a she-goat is clear from the following places in the Word: In Isaiah,
The wolf will dwell with the lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the kid, the calf also and the young lion and the sheep together; and a little child will lead them. Isa. 11:6.
This refers to the Lord’s kingdom and to the state there in which people have no fear of evil, that is, no dread of hell, because they are with the Lord. ‘The lamb’ and ‘the kid’ stand for people who have innocence within them, and who, being the most secure of all, are mentioned first.
[5] When all the firstborn of Egypt were smitten the people were commanded to kill from among the lambs or among the kids a male without blemish, and to put some of the blood on the doorposts and on the lintel of their houses; and so the destroyer would not strike them with the plague, Exod. 12:5, 7, 13. ‘The firstborn of Egypt’ means the good of love and charity that was wiped out, 3325. ‘The lambs’ and ‘the kids’ are states of innocence, in which those with whom these exist are secure from evil. Indeed all in heaven are kept secure by the Lord through states of innocence. That security was represented by the killing of the lamb or kid, and putting the blood on the doorposts and on the lintel of the houses. .
[6] To avert his own death when a person saw Jehovah manifested as an angel he would sacrifice ‘a kid of the she-goats’, as Gideon did when he saw Him, Judg. 6:19, and also Manoah, Judg. 13:15, 16, 19. The reason they offered a kid was that Jehovah or the Lord cannot appear to anybody, not even to an angel, unless the one to whom He appears is in a state of innocence. Therefore as soon as the Lord is present people are brought into a state of innocence, for the Lord enters in by way of innocence, even with angels in heaven. Consequently no one is able to enter heaven unless he has a measure of innocence, according to the Lord’s words recorded in Matt. 18:3; Mark 10:15; Luke 18:17. Regarding people’s belief that they would die when Jehovah appeared to them if they did not offer such a burnt offering, see Judg. 13:22, 23.
[7] Since genuine conjugial love is innocence itself, 2736, it was customary in the representative Church for a man to go to his wife with the gift of a kid of the she-goats, as one reads of Samson in Judg. 15:1, and also of Judah when he visited Tamar, Gen. 38:17, 20, 23. The fact that ‘a kid’ and ‘a she-goat’ meant innocence is also evident from the sacrifices made as guilt offerings that a person would offer if he had sinned through error, Lev. 1:10; 4:28; 5:6. Sinning through error is sinning through ignorance that has innocence within it. The same is evident from the following Divine command in Moses,
You shall bring the first of the firstfruits of your land to the house of Jehovah your God. You shall not boil a kid in its mother’s milk. Exod. 23:19; 34:26.
Here the requirement ‘to bring the firstfruits of the land to the house of Jehovah’ means the state of innocence which exists in early childhood; and ‘not boiling a kid in its mother’s milk’ means that they were not to destroy the innocence of early childhood. This being their meaning, the one command, in both places referred to, follows directly after the other. In the literal sense there seems to be no connection at all between them as there is in the internal sense.
[8] Because kids and she-goats, as has been stated, meant innocence it was also required that the curtains over the tabernacle should be made from she-goat hair, Exod. 25:4; 26:7; 35:5, 6, 23, 26; 36:14, as a sign that all the holy things represented in it depended for their very being on innocence. ‘She-goat hair’ means the last or outermost degree of innocence present in ignorance, such as exists with gentiles who in the internal sense are meant by the curtains of the tabernacle. These considerations now show what truths born of good are, and what the nature of these is, meant by the two good kids of the she-goats which Rebekah his mother spoke about to Jacob. That is to say, they are truths belonging to innocence or early childhood, meant also by the things which Esau was to bring to Isaac his father, dealt with in 3501, 3508. They were not in fact such truths, but initially they appeared to be. Thus it was that Jacob pretended by means of them to be Esau.
‘Jacob said to Rebekah his mother’ means the Lord’s perception from Divine Truth concerning natural truth. ‘Behold, Esau my brother is a hairy man’ means the nature of natural good compared with natural truth. ‘And I am a smooth man’ means the nature of natural truth compared with natural good. ‘Perhaps my father will feel me’ means an inmost degree of perception. ‘And I shall be in his eyes as one who misleads’ means rejection because of being, as it seems, contrary to order. ‘And I shall bring upon myself a curse and not a blessing’ means a separation. ‘And his mother said to him’ means perception from Divine Truth. ‘Upon me be your curse, my son’ means that there will be no separation. ‘Only hearken to my voice, and go, take them for me’ means from the effect.
[2] Because the inner things present in a person manifest themselves thus in a visible form, especially in the face, the most ancient people – who were celestial and had no knowledge at all of what it was to employ presence, let alone of what hypocrisy or what deceit was – were able to see the mind of another plainly revealed in his face. For this reason the face also meant things of the will and those of the understanding, that is, interior rational things as regards good and truth, 358, 1999, 2434. Indeed those interior things as regards good were meant by the blood and its redness, and as regards truths by the form resulting from it, and its pure whiteness. But interior natural things were meant by things growing out of these, such as hairs and scales are; that is to say, things stemming from the natural as regards good were meant by ‘hairs’ and those stemming from the natural as regards truth by ‘scales’. Consequently people governed by natural good were called ‘hairy men’ whereas those governed by natural truth were called ‘smooth men’. These considerations show what these words ‘Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I am a smooth man’ mean in the internal sense, namely the nature of natural good compared with natural truth, and the nature of natural truth compared with natural good. From this it is also evident what Esau represents, that is to say, the good of the natural; for he was called Esau because of his hairiness, Gen. 25:25, and Edom because of his ruddiness, Gen 25:30. And Mount Seir where he dwelt also has a similar meaning, namely, shaggy. This being so, the mountain that led up to Seir was called the bald or smooth mountain, mentioned in Josh. 11:17; 12:7, which was also the representative of truth leading upwards to good.
[3] ‘Hairy’ has reference to good and from this to truth, and also in the contrary sense to evil and from this to falsity, as has been shown in 3301. But ‘smooth’ has reference to truth and in the contrary sense to falsity, as is also evident from the following places in the Word: In Isaiah,
You who inflame yourselves among the gods under every green tree, among the smooth [stones] of the valley is your portion. Isa. 57:5, 6.
Here ‘inflaming’ has reference to evil, ‘smooth [stones] of the valley’ to falsity. In the same prophet,
The craftsman encourages the smith, the one rubbing smooth the hammer by his striking the anvil, and says of the soldering. It is good. Isa. 41:7.
Here ‘the craftsman encourages the smith’ has reference to evil, ‘the one rubbing smooth the hammer’ to falsity. In David,
Butter makes his* mouth smooth; when his heart draws near, his words are softer than oil. Ps. 55:21.
Here ‘a smooth mouth’ or flattery refers to falsity, ‘heart’ and consequent soft words to evil. In the same author,
Their throat is an open sepulchre, they speak smooth things with their tongue. Ps. 5:9.
‘Throat is an open sepulchre’ refers to evil, ‘tongue speaking smooth things’ to falsity. In Luke,
Every valley will be filled, and every mountain and hill will be brought low; and the crooked places will be made straight, and the rough places into level ways. Luke 3:5.
‘Valley’ stands for what is lowly, 1723, 3417, ‘mountain and hill’ for what is exalted, 1691. ‘The crooked made straight’ stands for turning into good that evil which is due to ignorance, for ‘length’ and things to do with length have reference to good, 1613; ‘rough places into level ways’ stands for turning into truths those falsities which are due to ignorance – ‘way’ having reference to truth, 627, 2333.
*The Latin means your but the Hebrew means his.
‘He went and took them, and brought them to his mother’ means a state of the obedience of natural truth. ‘And his mother made savoury food such as his father loved’ means things that are delightful, yet not desirable. ‘And Rebekah took the best clothes of Esau her elder son’ means genuine truths that clothe good. ‘Which were with her in the house’ means which come from Divine Good by way of the Divine Truth of the Divine Rational. ‘And put them on Jacob her younger son’ means the affection for truth, that is, the life of good originating in truth. ‘And she put the skins of the kids of the she-goats’ means the external truths clothing homeborn good. ‘On his hands’ means according to the ability to receive. ‘And on the smooth of his neck’ means so that truth which disjoined was not apparent. ‘And she gave the savoury food’ means things that are delightful from that source. ‘And the bread’ means good from that source. ‘Which she had made’ means which came from Divine Truth. ‘Into the hand of Jacob her son’ means that such was the affection for natural truth.
*lit. clothes of desires
[2] In the case of man the situation is as follows: The end in view of regeneration is that a person may be made new as regards his internal man, and so as regards the soul or spirit. But he is unable to be made new or be regenerated as regards that internal man without also being made new as regards the external man. For although a person becomes a spirit after death he nevertheless takes with him into the next life those things that belong to his external man, namely natural affections, also matters of doctrine, as well as factual knowledge; in short he takes with him everything belonging to the exterior or natural memory, see 2475-2483. Indeed these things form the groundwork on which his interiors ultimately rest. The disposition of those exterior things therefore determines what the interior become when these latter enter into the former, for within those exterior things they undergo modification. From this it is evident that a person has to be regenerated or made new not only as regards the internal or rational man but also as regards the external or natural man. Except for this there would not be any correspondence. Regarding the correspondence that exists between the internal man and the spiritual things belonging to the internal man with the external man and the natural things belonging to the external man, see 2987, 2989-2991, 3002, 3493.
[3] The state of man’s regeneration is described in the representative sense in this chapter as Esau and Jacob. At this point the nature of the first stage of that state is described, that is to say, when a person is being regenerated or before he has become regenerated. In fact this state is the complete reverse of the state in which a person has become regenerate. Indeed in the former state, that is to say, when a person is being regenerated or before he has become regenerated, things of the understanding, which are those of truth, seemingly take the lead; but once he has become regenerate those of the will, which are those of good, do so. The fact that things of the understanding or of truth seemingly take the lead in the first state was represented by Jacob claiming for himself Esau’s birthright – see 3325, 3336 – and then claiming his blessing, the subject under discussion here. And the fact that the state is the complete reverse of the regenerate state is represented by Jacob’s impersonating Esau, that is to say, being dressed in Esau’s clothes and with the skins of the kids of the she-goats. Indeed in this state rational truth has not yet been so joined to rational good, or what amounts to the same, the understanding has not been so joined to the will, as to flow and act into the natural and set in order the things that are so reversed there.
[4] This also becomes clear from much experience, in particular from this. A person is able to discern in his understanding, and from this the natural is able to know many things that are good and true, but the will is unable as yet to act in accordance with those things. Take for example the truth that love and charity are the essential thing with a human being. He is able to see and confirm this in his understanding, but until he has been regenerated he is unable to acknowledge it in his will. There are also people totally lacking in love to the Lord and in charity towards the neighbour who can well grasp this truth. The same applies to the truth that love is the very life of man, and that the nature of his life is determined by that of his love; also the truth that all delight and all pleasantness stem from love, as do all gladness and all happiness, where again the nature of the love determines that of the gladness and the happiness. A person is also able to grasp in his understanding, even though the will disagrees with it or even opposes it, the truth that the happiest life originates in love to the Lord and love towards the neighbour because the Divine itself is flowing into that life, and conversely that the unhappiest life originates in self-love and love of the world because hell is flowing into that life.
[5] Consequently the understanding, but not the will, is able to perceive the truth that love to the Lord is the life of heaven, and that mutual love is the soul from that life. In the measure therefore that a person does not think from the life of his [unregenerate] will, and does not reflect on his own life from there, he perceives that truth in his understanding; but in the measure that he does think from the life of his [unregenerate] will he does not perceive it, indeed he refuses to believe it. It may also be perfectly clear to a person in his understanding that it is into humility, if it exists in him, that the Divine is able to enter, because in that state of humility self-love and love of the world, and therefore hellish things which stand in the way, are removed. But as long as his will is not a new will, and his understanding is not united to this, no humility of heart can exist in a person. Indeed, in the measure that a person leads an evil life, that is, in the measure that his will is bent on evil, such humility cannot be there in him, and also the truth spoken of above is unclear to him and he refuses to believe it. Therefore a person may also be able to perceive in his understanding that when humility is present in someone it is not there for the sake of a love of glory in the Lord but for the sake of Divine Love, in which case the Lord is able to enter in with goodness and truth and bring blessing and happiness to that person. But to the extent that the will is consulted, this truth is obscured. And the same is so with very many other circumstances.
[6] This ability of being able to understand what good and truth is even though he does not will it has been conferred on man to enable him to be reformed and regenerated. For this reason this ability exists with evil and good alike; indeed the ability is sometimes keener with the evil. But there is this difference – with the evil no affection for truth exists for the sake of life, that is, for the sake of the good of life which originates in truth, and so they are not capable of being reformed. But with the good there does exist the affection for truth for the sake of life, that is, for the sake of the good of life, and so they are capable of being reformed. The first state in the reformation of the latter however is a state in which truth taught by doctrine seems to them to be primary, and the good of life secondary, since truth is the source of their good actions. But their second state is a state in which the good of life is primary and truth taught by doctrine secondary, since good, that is, the will for good, is the source of their good actions. And when this is the case, because the will is joined to the understanding as in a marriage, the person is regenerate. These two states are the subject in the internal sense in these incidents involving Esau and Jacob.
On account of the greatness of your iniquity your skirts have been uncovered, your heels have suffered violence. Can the Ethiopian change his skin and the leopard its spots? Also are you able to do good, having been taught to do evil? Jer. 13:22, 23.
Here ‘skirts’ means external truths, ‘heels’ the lowest goods – ‘the heel’ and ‘shoes’ being the lowest natural things, see 259, 1748. And because those truths and goods, as it is said, spring from evil, they are compared to an ‘Ethiopian’, who was black, and his ‘skin’, and also to ‘a leopard and its spots’.
[2] In Moses,
If you take your neighbour’s clothing as a pledge you shall restore it to him before the sun goes down; for this is his only covering; it is his clothing for his skin, in which he will lie down. Exod. 22:26, 27.
Inasmuch as all the laws contained in the Word, including civil and judicial ones, have a correspondence with laws in heaven concerning what is good and true, and from this correspondence came to be laid down, so it was with the law just quoted. For why else would it have ever been laid down that they were to restore clothing that had been pledged before the sun went down, and why else is it said that ‘it is his clothing for his skin, in which he lies down’? The correspondence is evident from the internal sense, which is that people were not to cheat their neighbour of external truths, which are the matters of doctrine by which they conduct their lives, and also religious observances – ‘clothing’ meaning such truths, see 297, 1073, 2576, and ‘the sun’ the good of love or of life that ensues from those truths, 1529, 1530, 2441, 2495. The prevention of that good from perishing is meant by the statement about the restoration of the pledge before the sun went down. And since the things laid down in those laws are the external coverings of interior things, or the outermost aspects of these, the words ‘his clothing for his skin in which he lies down’ are used.
[3] Because ‘skins’ meant external things it was commanded that there should be for the tent a covering made of red ram skins and over that a covering of badger skins, Exod. 26:14. For the tent was representative of the three heavens, and so of the celestial and spiritual things of the Lord’s kingdom. The curtains enveloping it represented natural things, which are external, 3478; and these are the ram skins and the badger skins. And since external things are those which cover internal, or natural things are those which cover spiritual and celestial, in the way that the body does the soul, that command was therefore given. It was for a like reason commanded that when the camp was on the move Aaron and his sons were to cover the ark of the testimony with the veil and were to place a badger-skin covering over it. And over the table and what was on it they were to spread a twice-dyed scarlet cloth and then cover that with a badger-skin covering. They were likewise required to place the lampstand and all its vessels under a covering made of badger skin – also all the vessels for ministering they were to place under a violet cloth, and then cover them with a badger-skin covering, Num. 4:5, 6, 8, 10-12. Anyone who thinks about the Word in a devout way may see that Divine things were represented by all these objects, such as the ark, the table, the lampstand, and the vessels for ministering, also the coverings of twice-dyed scarlet and of violet, as well as the coverings of badger skin, and that these objects represented Divine things contained within external ones.
[4] Because the prophets represented those who teach, and therefore represented teaching from the Word concerning what is good and true, 2534; and because Elijah represented the Word itself, 2762, as also did John, who for that reason is called the Elijah who is to come, Matt. 17:10-13; and in order that these might represent the nature of the Word in its external form, that is, in the letter,
Elijah wore a skin girdle around his loins. 2 Kings 1:8. And John had a garment of camel hair and a skin girdle around his waist. Matt. 3:4.
Because animal ‘skin’ and human ‘skin’ means external things, which in relation to spiritual and celestial are natural things, and because it was customary in the Ancient Church to speak and to write by means of meaningful signs, reference is also made to both types of skin, and with the same meaning, in Job, a book of the Ancient Church. This becomes clear from a number of places in that book, including the following,
I know my Redeemer; He is alive; and at the last He will rise above the dust; and afterwards these things will be encompassed by my skin, and out of my flesh shall I see God. Job 19:25, 26.
‘Encompassed by skin’ stands for the natural as it exists with someone after he has died, dealt with in 3539. ‘Out of one’s flesh seeing God’ is doing so from a proprium made alive. For the proprium is meant by ‘flesh’, see 148, 149, 780; and the Book of Job is a book of the Ancient Church, a fact which is evident, as has been stated, from its style which draws on representatives and meaningful signs. It is not however one of the books called the Law and the Prophets, the reason being that it has no internal sense in which the one subject is the Lord and His kingdom. For it is this alone that determines whether any book is a Book of the true Word.
[2] The reason why ‘the neck’ means that which joins together is that higher things with man which belong to the head communicate with lower that belong to the body by means of the neck between. Consequently both influx and communication, and therefore conjunction, are meant by that which lies between. This will be seen far more clearly from the correspondences of the Grand Man with the parts of the human body, to be dealt with at the ends of chapters. The same is consequently meant in the Word by ‘the neck’, as in Isaiah,
His spirit, like an overflowing stream, will divide even at the neck. Isa. 30:28.
Here ‘an overflowing stream’ stands for falsity flowing over in this fashion. ‘Dividing at the neck’ stands for blocking and cutting off the communication and consequent joining together of higher things with lower ones, which are blocked and cut off when spiritual good and truth are not being received.
[3] In Habakkuk,
You crushed the head from the house of the wicked, laying bare the foundation even at the neck. Hab. 3:13.
‘Crushing the head from the house of the wicked’ stands for destroying false assumptions. ‘Laying bare the foundation even at the neck’ stands for preventing thereby any joining together. In Jeremiah,
Entangled transgressions have risen up above my neck. He has struck at my strength; the Lord has given me into [their] hands; I am unable to rise up again. Lam. 1:14.
‘Entangled transgressions have risen up above my neck’ stands for falsities coming up towards interior or rational things.
[4] Because ‘the neck’ meant that communication and joining together, ‘bands around the neck’ therefore meant the cutting off and so the destruction of truth, which occurs when spiritual things that are flowing in constantly from the Lord are no longer allowed to pass into the rational part of a person’s mind, nor as a consequence into the natural part. It is this cutting off or destruction that is represented by Jeremiah’s being told to make bands and bars for himself and put them on his neck; to send them to different peoples and say that they would be serving Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babel; and to say that those who did not place their necks under his yoke would be visited by sword, famine, and pestilence; but those who did bring their necks under it would be left in the land, Jer. 27:2, 3, 8, 11. ‘Placing the neck under the yoke of the king of Babel and serving him’ stands for being made desolate as regards truth and vastated as regards good. For ‘Babel’ means one who lays waste, see 1327 (end); and people undergo vastation to prevent holy things from being profaned, 301-303, 1327, 1328, 2426, 3398, 3399, 3402. And since evil and falsity come to be served once the influx of good and truth has been cut off, ‘placing the neck under the yoke’ also means serving. In the same prophet,
Jehovah said, I will break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babel from over the neck of all nations within two years. Jer. 28:11.
This stands for their being delivered from vastation. In Isaiah,
Shake yourself from the dust, arise, sit, O Jerusalem; loose the bonds from your neck, O captive daughter of Zion. Isa. 52:2.
‘Loosing the bonds from the neck’ stands for letting in and receiving good and truth In Micah,
Behold, against this family I am devising this evil from which you will not remove your necks nor go erect, for that will be a time of evil. Micah 2:3.
‘Not removing necks from evil’ stands for not letting truth in. ‘Not going erect’ stands for not looking up to higher things, that is, to those of heaven, 248.
‘He went to his father, and said, My father. And he said, Behold, here I am; who are you, my son?’ means a state of perception resulting from the presence of that truth. ‘And Jacob said to his father’ means discernment by natural truth. ‘I am Esau your firstborn’ means that it believed itself to be natural good itself. ‘I have done what you told me’ means obedience. ‘Rise up now; sit, and eat from my venison’ means truth belonging to the affection for that kind of good. ‘So that your soul may bless me’ means conjunction. ‘And Isaac said to his son’ means perception. ‘Why have you found it so quickly, my son?’ means so rapid a production. ‘And he said, Because Jehovah your God caused it to come before my face’ means provision.
‘Isaac said to Jacob’ means perception concerning this natural. ‘Come near now, and I will feel you, my son’ means inmost perception from its presence. ‘Whether you are my son Esau, or not’ means that it was not natural good. ‘And Jacob came near to Isaac his father’ means a state of being present. ‘And he felt him’ means complete perception from this. ‘And said, The voice is Jacob’s voice, and the hands Esau’s hands’ means that the understanding consists in this case of truth existing inwardly, while the will consists in this case of good existing outwardly, so that an inversion of order exists with them. ‘And he did not recognize him because his hands were hairy like the hands of Esau his brother’ means that from the will which occupied an external position he perceived that it was natural good. ‘And he blessed him’ means resulting conjunction
[2] The only source of the good of the natural which manifests itself in a person is interior good, that is, the good of the rational. Natural good can have no other source, though that which flows in from the one determines the nature of the good in the other. And since the good of the natural comes from no other source, neither does the truth of the natural, for where good is, so also is truth. Both must be present if they are to be anything at all. And again, that which flows in determines the nature of the truth there. Influx is such that the good of the rational flows into the natural along two different routes – one a very short and thus direct route into the good itself of the natural, and then on through the good of the natural into the truth there, this good and this truth being represented by Esau and his venison. In addition to this, the good of the rational flows into the natural along a second route which is less short, that is to say, through the truth of the rational, by means of which influx it forms something resembling good, but which in fact is truth.
[3] Everything is thus taking place according to order when the good of the rational flows directly into the good of the natural and at the same time into the truth there, and also indirectly by way of the truth of the rational into the good of the natural, and in a similar way both directly and indirectly into the truth of the natural. When all this is taking place the influx is according to order. Such is the influx with those who have been regenerated. But a different influx exists prior to regeneration, as has been stated above. That is to say, the good of the rational does not flow into the good of the natural directly but indirectly, by way of the truth of the rational, and so manifests something resembling good in the natural, which is not genuine good nor consequently genuine truth. Instead it is something such as does indeed possess good inmostly by virtue of influx through the truth of the rational; but there is nothing more. Therefore good too presents itself there under a different form, that is to say, outwardly as good represented by ‘Esau’ but inwardly as truth represented by ‘Jacob’. And as this is not in accordance with order an inversion of order is said to exist with them. Yet insofar as nobody can be regenerated in any other way it is according to order.
[4] I realize that no matter how clearly these matters are stated and as a consequence are able to be perceived clearly by those who have a knowledge of the existence of such things, they still remain obscure to those who do not know what influx is, more so to those who do not know that the rational is distinct and separate from the natural, and more so still to those who do not have any distinct and clear idea of what good is or of what truth is. But the nature of natural good and of natural truth in the state prior to regeneration is plain to see only from the desires present at that time. When a person desires truth not because he has life in view but some other ends, such as to become learned, and to become this because of some desire to outdo others, which amounts to childish envy, and also because of some desire for glory, the order existing with the good of the natural and the truth of the natural is akin to that represented here by Jacob. As these two exist in relation to each other, there is a reversal of order, that is to say, the will, to which good belongs, exists outwardly, while the understanding, to which truth belongs, exists inwardly.
[5] But in the state following regeneration the situation is different. In this case the person desires truth not only because he has life in view but more still because he desires the good itself which constitutes that life. Previous desires, that is to say, those connected with outdoing, with childish envy, and with glory, now break away, so much so that they seem so to speak to have been dispelled. At this point good which belongs to the will exists inwardly, and truth which belongs to the understanding exists outwardly. The result then is that truth acts as one with good since it stems from good. This order is genuine order. The order existing previously also serves to bring this order about, for the will which at that time occupies an external position allows many things to come in which contribute to regeneration, like a sponge which absorbs water, clear or muddy, so that it absorbs such things as would otherwise be rejected. Indeed these things serve as means and also as ideas that have to be formed concerning genuine goods and truths, besides other uses which they serve.
‘He said, Are you my very son Esau? And he said, I am’ means a state of affection for natural truth, in that at that point it believed itself to be natural good because of its outward form. ‘And he said, Bring it to me, and I will eat from my son’s venison’ means a desire to join natural truth to itself by means of good. ‘So that my soul may bless you’ means conjunction. ‘And he brought it to him, and he ate’ means first of all a conjunction of good. ‘And he brought him wine, and he drank’ means followed by a conjunction of truth.
[2] It is the rational that exists within the internal man. What goes on there is unknown to the natural since it is above its range of discernment. Consequently anyone who leads a merely natural life cannot know anything whatever about those things that are going on with him in his internal man, that is, in his rational. The Lord re-arranges those things without a person’s being at all conscious of it. Consequently he knows nothing at all about how he is regenerated; indeed he is scarcely aware of his being regenerated. If he does wish to know however let him merely pay attention to his ultimate intentions, which are rarely disclosed to anyone. If those intentions are directed towards good, that is to say, if he considers the neighbour and the Lord more than he does himself he is in a state of regeneration. But if his intentions are directed towards evil, that is to say, if he considers himself more than he does the neighbour and the Lord, let him realize that he is not in any state of regeneration.
[3] A person’s ultimate aims and intentions in life determine where he is in the next life, aims which look towards what is good placing him among angels in heaven, aims which look towards what is evil placing him among devils in hell. A person’s ultimate intentions are nothing else than his loves; for what a person loves he has as his end in view. And being his loves, his ultimate aims and intentions constitute his inmost life, see 1317, 1568, 1571, 1645, 1909, 3425, 3562, 3565. Aims present in a person which look towards what is good reside in his rational, and are called the rational as regards good or the good of the rational. Through those aims residing there, that is, by means of the good there, the Lord re-arranges all things that are in the natural; for the end in view is like the soul, and the natural like the body belonging to that soul. The nature of the soul determines that of the body which surrounds it, as does the nature of the rational as regards good determine that of the natural clothing it.
[4] It is well known that a person’s soul begins in the mother’s ovum, and is after that developed in her womb, and is there surrounded with a tiny body, which indeed is such that by means of it the soul is able to function properly in the world into which it is born. A similar situation exists when a person is born again, that is, when he is regenerated. The new soul which he acquires at that time is an end which has good in view. This end in view has its beginnings in the rational, where first of all it is so to speak in the ovum, and is after that developed so to speak in the womb. The tiny body with which that soul is surrounded is the natural, and the good there comes to be of such a nature that it acts in obedience to the soul’s ends in view. The truths there are like fibres in the body, for it is from good that truths take shape, 3470. From this it is clear that a person’s reformation is imaged by the formation of him in the womb. And if you are willing to believe it, it is also celestial good and spiritual truth from the Lord that are shaping him and at that time endowing him with power that enables him to receive that good and that truth gradually – and indeed in the manner and to the extent that he looks as a human being towards ends that are of heaven and not as an animal towards those that are of the world.
[5] The matter of the rational as regards good first of all joining the good, then the truth, to itself by means of the natural – meant by Jacob’s bringing savoury food and bread to Isaac and his eating it, and bringing him wine and his drinking it – may also be illustrated by means of the duties the body performs for its soul. It is the soul that enables the body to desire food and it is also the soul that enables the body to savour it. Different kinds of food are introduced through the delight that goes with appetite and the delight that goes with taste, thus through external good; but not all of these pass into the life of the body. Rather, some kinds of food serve as solvents to digest food, some as neutralizers, some as openers of and others as introducers into vessels. But good types of food are selected and introduced into the bloodstream, and then become blood. And from the latter the soul joins to itself such things as are of use to it.
[6] A similar situation exists with the rational and the natural. Corresponding to the desire for food and to taste are the desire and the affection for knowing truth; and corresponding to different kinds of food are facts and cognitions, 1480. And because they so correspond a similar situation exists with them. The soul which is the good of the rational provides the desire for those things and is moved by them, so that the things which belong to knowledge and doctrine are introduced through the delight that belongs to desire, and through the good that belongs to affection. But not everything that is introduced is such that it becomes the good which nourishes life; instead some things serve as the means so to speak to digest and neutralize, some to open up and introduce. But goods which nourish life are applied by the soul, and so joined by the soul, to itself, and from these it forms truths for itself. From this it is evident how the rational re-arranges the natural so that the rational as the soul may be served by it, or what amounts to the same, so that the natural may serve the end in view, which is the soul, in developing itself so that it may be of use in the Lord’s kingdom.
‘Isaac his father said to him, Come near now’ means a degree of perception more interior still. ‘And kiss me, my son’ means as to whether union is possible. ‘And he came near and kissed him’ means presence and union. ‘And he smelled the odour of his clothes’ means the pleasing emanation from the truth of good which he perceived. ‘And he blessed him’ means conjunction thereby. ‘And he said, See, the odour of my son’ means pleasure perceived in truth acquired from good. ‘Like the odour of the field’ means as the good ground from which truth is acquired. ‘That Jehovah has blessed’ means which is multiplied and made fruitful from the Divine. ‘And God will give to you of the dew of heaven’ means from Divine Truth. ‘And of the fatness of the land’ means from Divine Good. ‘And abundance of grain’ means natural good from this. ‘And of new wine’ means natural truth from the same. ‘Peoples will serve you’ means truths of the Church.* ‘And peoples will bow down to you’ means truths grounded in good. ‘Be lord over your brothers’ means the apparent dominion at first of the affection for natural truth over affections for natural good. ‘And your mother’s sons will bow down to you’ means over all other affections for truth. ‘Cursed be those cursing you’ means that the person who separates himself will be separated. ‘And blessed those blessing you’ means that the person who joins himself will be joined.
* The printed Latin edition adds three words here which may be translated ‘or spiritual churches’. But they are deleted from Sw.’s rough draft, and they are not included in 3581 below.
[2] These instances of a joining together are the subject here. They cannot possibly be achieved except through the means provided by the Divine. Indeed they are effected by means such as are quite unknown to man and of which he can gain scarcely any idea through the things which belong to the light of the world, that is, which belong to the natural light with him, but rather through the things belonging to the light of heaven, that is, to rational light. Nevertheless all those means have been disclosed in the internal sense of the Word, and are evident to those who know the internal sense, and so to angels who see and perceive countless details relating to this subject, of which scarcely one can be drawn out and explained adequately for man to grasp it.
[3] Yet from effects and the signs of those effects this joining of the rational to the natural is to some extent evident to man, for the rational mind, that is, the inward areas of will and understanding with a person ought to present themselves in his natural mind. Just as the natural mind presents itself in the face and facial expressions, so much so that the face is the outward expression of the natural mind, so ought the natural mind to be the outward expression of the rational mind. When rational and natural are joined together, as they are with those who are regenerate, whatever a person wills and thinks inwardly within his rational makes itself evident in his natural; and this in turn makes itself evident in the face. This is what the face is to angels and what it was to the most ancient people who were celestial. Indeed they were never afraid that others might know their ends and intentions, for they willed nothing but good. For anyone who allows himself to be led by the Lord never intends or thinks anything else. Where a state such as this exists the rational as regards good joins itself to the good of the natural directly, and through the good of the natural to the truths of the natural. It also joins itself indirectly through the truth there in the rational to the truth in the natural, and through this to the good there. All this effects an indissoluble joining together.
[4] But how far mankind is removed at the present day from this state, and so from the heavenly state, may be seen from the belief that practical wisdom requires one, in the world, to use words, also to perform acts, as well as to adopt facial expressions which are other than what one in fact thinks and intends. Indeed it is believed that one should so control the natural mind itself that in unison with its face it acts in quite an opposite way from inward thoughts and desires that flow from an evil end in view. To the most ancient people this was utterly abominable, and people who behaved in that way were expelled as devils from their community. From these considerations, as from effects and the signs of those effects, one may see what the joining together of the rational or internal man as regards good and truth with his natural or external man implies. One may thus also see what one who is an angel is like and what one who is a devil is like.
Serve Jehovah with fear, and kiss the Son lest He be angry and you perish in the way; for His wrath will shortly blaze up. Blessed are all who trust in Him. Ps. 2:11, 12.
This refers to the Lord, whose Divine Human is ‘the Son’. ‘Kissing Him’ is being joined to Him by means of faith grounded in love. In the same author,
Let mercy and truth meet, let righteousness and peace kiss each other. Ps. 85:10.
‘Let righteousness and peace kiss each other’ stands for let them join themselves to each other. In Hosea,
Ephraim has uttered what is horrible and has become guilty through Baal. And now they sin more and more; they are making for themselves a molten image from their silver, even an idol by their own intelligence, the complete work of craftsman to these saying, Those offering human sacrifice kiss the calves. Hosea 13:1, 2.
[2] ‘Ephraim’ stands for intelligence, in this case one’s own intelligence. That is, ‘Ephraim’ stands for those who believe and wish to believe that it is not the Lord who is the source of their wisdom. ‘A molten image made from their silver’ stands for good made false. ‘The complete work of craftsmen’ stands for intelligence that is one’s own. Those who are such are said to ‘kiss the calves’, that is, to embrace magic and ally themselves to it. In the first Book of Kings,
Jehovah said to Elijah, I have caused seven thousand to be left over in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him. 1 Kings 19:18.
‘Kissing’ stands for becoming joined to ‘Baal’ because of one’s affection for him – and so stands for worshipping him.
Who are you, my son? And Jacob said to his father, I am Esau your firstborn.
Then from verses 21-23,
Isaac said to Jacob, Come near now, and I will feel you, my son, whether you are my son Esau, or not.
And after feeling him he said, The voice is Jacob’s voice, and the hands Esau’s hands; and he did not recognize him.
Also from verse 24,
And he said. Are you my very son Esau? And he said, I am.
And at length, when kissing him,
He smelled the odour of his clothes.
That is to say, he smelled Esau’s clothes, at which point he blessed him and said,
See, the odour of my son.
From all this it is clear that by the son whom he blessed he meant none other than Esau. This also was why when he heard from Esau that it had been Jacob,
Isaac trembled very greatly. Verse 33.
And he said, Your brother came in deceitfully. Verse 35.
The reason why Jacob retained the blessing however, according to what is said in verses 33-37, was that truth represented by ‘Jacob’ would from the point of view of time apparently have dominion, as shown frequently above.
[2] But once the time of reformation and regeneration is completed good itself which has been Lying hidden in the inmost parts and from there has been disposing every single thing which seemed to be a matter of truth, that is, which truth had ascribed to itself, comes to the fore and openly has dominion. And this is what Isaac’s words addressed to Esau mean,
By your sword you will live, and you will serve your brother. And it will be when you have dominion over him, that you will break his yoke from above your neck, Verse 40.
The internal sense of these words is that all the time truth is joined to good, good appears to be in the lower position but will eventually be in the higher. At this point there will be a joining together of the rational with the good of the natural, and through the good of the natural with the truth. Truth will thus become the truth of good. In this case ‘Esau’ will consequently represent the good itself of the natural and ‘Jacob’ the truth of the natural, both joined to the rational. Accordingly in the highest sense they will represent the Lord’s Divine Natural – ‘Esau’ as regards the Divine Good there and ‘Jacob’ as regards the Divine Truth.
[2] As regards ‘the dew’ meaning truth, this too is clear from other places in the Word, as in Zechariah,
The seed of peace, the vine will give its fruit, and the land will give its increase, and the heavens will give their dew. Zech. 8:12.
This refers to a new Church. ‘The vine will give its fruit’ stands for the fact that the spiritual element of the Church, which is the truth of faith, will yield good, while ‘the land will give its increase’ stands for the fact that the celestial element of the Church, which is the good of charity, will yield truth, ‘the dew which the heavens will give’ being that good and truth. In Haggai,
Because of My house which lies waste the heavens above you have withheld their dew, and the earth has withheld its increase. Hagg. 1:9, 10.
‘The dew of the heavens’ and ‘the increase of the earth’ which were held back stand for similar things.
[3] In David,
From the womb of the dawn You have the dew of Your nativity. Ps. 110:3, 4.
This refers to the Lord. ‘The dew of nativity’ stands for the celestial element of love. In Moses,
Blessed by Jehovah is his land, of the precious things of heaven, of the dew, of the deep also Lying below. Deut. 33:13.
This refers to Joseph. ‘The precious things of heaven’ are spiritual things, 3166, which are ‘the dew’, ‘the deep Lying below’ being natural things. In the same author,
Israel dwelt securely. alone at Jacob’s spring, in a land of grain and new wine; even his heavens distilled dew. Deut. 33:28.
Here ‘even his heavens distilled dew’ stands for spiritual things, which are those of truth.
[4] ‘Dew’ in the genuine sense is the truth of good which is the product of a state of innocence and peace, for by ‘the morning’ or dawn when the dew comes down are meant those states of innocence and peace, 2333, 2405, 2540, 2780. This also was why the manna from heaven accompanied the dew which used to come down in the morning time, as becomes clear in Moses,
In the morning there was a deposit of dew around the camp, and when the deposit of dew went up, behold, on the face of the wilderness a round congealed thing, a congealed thing like hoar frost on the earth. Exod. 16:13, 14.
When the dew came down over the camp at night, the manna came down on it. Num. 11:9.
Because ‘the manna’ was heavenly bread it meant in the highest sense the Lord as regards Divine Good, and consequently with men the celestial element of love, for this originates in the Lord’s Divine, 276, 680, 1798, 2165, 2177, 3464, 3478. ‘The dew’ on which and with which the manna came down stands in the highest sense for Divine Truth, and in the relative sense for spiritual truth with men. ‘The morning time’ is the state of peace in which those goods and truths are present, 92, 93, 1726, 2780, 3170.
[5] Because ‘the dew’ means truth which comes from good, or what amounts to the same, that which is spiritual originating in that which is celestial, spiritual truth is for that reason also compared in the Word to the dew, for the objects used as signs of spiritual things are also used as comparisons with those same things, as in Isaiah,
Thus said Jehovah to me, I will be still and I will behold in My dwelling-place; like clear warmth on the light, like a cloud of dew when the harvest is warm. Isa. 18:4.
In Hosea,
What shall I do to you, O Ephraim? What shall I do to you, O Judah? For your holiness – like a dawn cloud, and like the dew that falls in the morning – [is going away]. Hosea 6:4; 13:3.
In the same prophet,
I will be as the dew to Israel, he will blossom* as the lily, and strike root like Lebanon. Hosea 14:5.
In Micah,
The remnant of Jacob will be in the midst of many peoples, like dew from Jehovah, like raindrops on the grass. Micah 5:7.
In David,
It is like the good oil upon the head, that runs down over the collar** of Aaron’s robes. It is like the dew of Hermon which runs down over the mountains of Zion, for there Jehovah has commanded the blessing of life even for evermore. Ps. 133:2, 3.
In Moses,
My doctrine will flow down like the rain, My word will distill like the dew, like showers on the tender grass, and like raindrops on the grass. Deut. 32:2.
Here ‘the dew’ stands for the multiplication of truth that comes from good, and for the fruitfulness of good through truth. And because the dew is that which every morning causes field and vineyard to be fruitful, good and truth themselves are meant by the grain and new wine referred to next in this verse.
* lit. sprout
** lit. the mouth
The heavens have withheld their dew, and the earth has withheld its increase. And I have called for a drought over the land, and over the mountains, and over the grain, and over the new wine, and over that which the earth brings forth. Hagg. 1:10, 11.
Here ‘a drought’ stands for a lack of dew and rain, and so for a lack of truth deriving from any good. ‘A drought over the grain’ is the lack of good, and ‘a drought over the new wine’ the lack of truth.
[2] In Moses,
Israel will dwell securely, alone at Jacob’s spring, in a land of grain and new wine; and his heavens will distill dew. Deut. 33:28.
‘Alone’ stands for those who are not infested by evils and falsities, 139, 471. ‘A land of grain and new wine’ stands for the good and truth of the Church. In Hosea,
I will be as the dew to Israel, he will blossom* as the lily, and strike root like Lebanon. His branches will go out, and his beauty will be like the olive, and his odour like that of Lebanon. Those dwelling in its shadow will turn back, they will quicken the grain and will blossom as the vine; the memory of it will be as the wine of Lebanon. Hosea 14:5-7.
Here ‘the grain’ stands for spiritual good, ‘the wine’ for spiritual truth In Isaiah,
A curse will consume the earth. The new wine will mourn, the vine will languish; all the merry-hearted will sigh. Isa. 24:6, 7.
This refers to the vastation of the spiritual Church. ‘The new wine will mourn’ stands for the fact that truth will come to an end.
[3] In Jeremiah,
Jehovah has redeemed Jacob. They will come and sing on the height of Zion, and they will converge towards the goodness of Jehovah. towards the grain, and towards the new wine, and towards the oil, and towards the young** of the flock and of the herd. Jer. 31:11, 12.
‘The grain’ and ‘the new wine’ stand for good and for truth derived from good, ‘the oil’ for the good which is both a producer and a product of these, ‘the young of the flock and of the herd’ for the truth which is acquired in this manner. This being the meaning of those things they are called ‘the goodness of Jehovah’. In Hosea,
She did not know that it was I who gave her the grain and the new wine and the oil, and who multiplied the silver and the gold which they made for Baal. Therefore I will return and take back My grain and My new wine in its season, and I will snatch away My wool and My flax. Hosea 2:8, 9.
This refers to the Church when perverted, and it is evident that ‘grain’ is not used to mean grain, nor ‘new wine’ new wine, nor yet oil, silver, gold, wool, and flax to mean such material things. Rather, spiritual things are meant, that is, those which consist in what is good and true.
Something similar is the case where in the same prophet a new Church is dealt with,
I will betroth you to Me in faith, and you will know Jehovah. And it will be on that day, that I shall hear the heavens, and they will hear the earth, and the earth will hear the grain, and the new wine, and the oil, and these will hear Jezreel. Hosea 2:20-22.
‘Jezreel’ stands for a new Church. In Joel,
Awake, you drunkards, and weep; and wail, all you drinkers of wine, because of the new wine that has been cut off from your mouth. The field has been laid waste, the land is mourning because the grain has been laid waste; the new wine has dried up, the oil languishes. Joel 1:5, 10.
[4] In the same prophet,
Be glad, O children of Zion, and rejoice in Jehovah your God, for He has given you the morning rain for righteousness, and will cause the morning and the evening rain to come down on you in the first [month]. And the threshing-floors will be full of perfect grain, and the presses will overflow with new wine and oil. Joel 2:23, 24.
In the same prophet,
It will happen on that day, that the mountains will drip new wine, and the hills will flow with milk, and all the streams of Judah will flow with water, and a spring will come forth from the house of Jehovah. Joel 3:18.
This refers to the Lord’s kingdom, it being spiritual things that are meant by ‘new wine’, ‘milk’, and ‘water’, the abundance of which is being described in this fashion. In Zechariah,
Jehovah their God will serve them on that day, as a flock His people. For how great is his goodness, and how great his beauty! Grain will make the young men flourish, and new wine the virgins. Zech. 9:16, 17.
In David,
You visit the earth and delight in it; You greatly enrich it; the stream of God is full of water; You prepare their grain. The meadows clothe themselves with flocks, and the valleys are covered over with grain; let them clap their hands, let them also sing. Ps. 65:9, 13.
From all these places it is now evident what ‘grain’ is and what ‘new wine’ is.
* lit. sprout
** lit. the sons
‘And so it was, as soon as Isaac had finished blessing Jacob’ means when the first joining together had accordingly been effected. ‘And Jacob had only just gone out from the presence of Isaac his father’ means the development and the change that took place in this state. ‘That Esau his brother came in from his hunting’ means truth acquired from good and its arrival. ‘And he too made savoury food, and brought it to his father’ means things that were desirable and delightful to the Divine Rational. ‘And he said to his father, Let my father arise, and eat from his son’s venison’ means so that it might make truth acquired from natural good its own. ‘So that your soul may bless me’ means so that it might join itself to this. ‘And Isaac his father said to him, Who are you? And he said, I am your son, your firstborn, Esau’ means a state of perception concerning natural good and concerning truth from that good. ‘And Isaac trembled very greatly’ means the great change that accompanied the inversion of state. ‘And he said, Who then is he who has hunted venison and brought it to me’ means questioning regarding that truth. ‘And I have eaten from all of it before you came in’ means which had been made its own. ‘And have blessed him? Indeed, he will be blessed!’ means that it was indeed joined to it.
[2] From what has gone before one may see what is embodied in the fact that Isaac asked for venison from his son so that he might eat of it before he blessed him; and that he did not bless him until after he had eaten; and thus that after he had eaten there followed the blessing of the one who made and brought him the food, as is also evident from Isaac’s words here spoken in reference to Jacob, ‘He brought it to me and I have eaten from all of it before you came in, and have blessed him. Indeed, he will be blessed!’ The reason is evident from an internal understanding of the rituals of the Ancient Church With them ‘eating’ meant making one’s own and being joined to – joined to him at whose house they had eaten, that is, shared his bread. ‘Food’ means in general those things which are the signs of love and charity, that is, the very things that constitute celestial and spiritual food – ‘bread’ in that case meant things that are the sign of love to the Lord, and ‘wine’ those that are the sign of charity towards the neighbour. When these things had been made their own, those persons were joined together. They accordingly talked to one another from affection and shared one another’s company. Feasts among the ancients were nothing else than this; the meals of consecrated things in the Jewish Church represented nothing else; and the meals at midday or in the evening which those in the Primitive Christian Church took together did not entail anything else.
‘Esau heard his father’s words’ means the discernment of natural good from Divine good. ‘And he cried out with a great and exceedingly bitter cry’ means the great change that accompanied the inversion of state. ‘And said to his father, Bless me, me also, my father’ means that natural good desired to be joined to Divine good, even though through it truth was already joined. ‘And he said, Your brother came in deceitfully’ means the reversal of order. ‘And has taken away your blessing’ means the conjunction thus effected. ‘And he said, Does he not call his name Jacob?’ means the nature of natural truth. ‘And he has supplanted me these two times’ means that order was reversed by this ‘He took away my birthright’ means the prior position that it occupied. ‘And behold, now he has taken away my blessing’ means conjunction ‘And he said, Have you not reserved a blessing for me?’ means, Was not natural good joined in any way at all in that previous state? ‘And Isaac answered, and said to Esau’ means an informing. ‘Behold, I have made him lord over you’ means that in that state natural truth would have dominion over natural good. ‘And have given all his brothers to him as servants’ means that in this case affections for good were to outward appearances subordinate to the affection for truth. ‘And I have sustained him with grain and new wine’ means, as previously, its good and truth. ‘And for you therefore, what shall I do, my son?’ means that in that state good has nothing else ‘And Esau said to his father’ means the discernment of natural good. ‘Have you but one blessing, my father?’ means, Was it not possible in that case for anything from natural good to be linked to it? ‘Bless me, me also, my father’ means that it desired to be joined even though through it truth was already joined. ‘And Esau raised his voice, and wept’ means a further state in the change that took place. ‘And Isaac his father answered, and said to him’ means a perception that natural good would be made Divine. ‘Behold, of the fatness of the land will be your dwelling-place’ means life received from Divine Good. ‘And of the dew of heaven from above’ means from Divine Truth. ‘And by your sword you will live, and you will serve your brother’ means that all the time truth was joined to good, that good would to outward appearance occupy the lower position. ‘And it will be when you have dominion over him’ means that it will come to occupy the prior position. ‘That you will break his yoke from above your neck’ means that good would now be the means through which any joining together was effected – and that truth would be the truth of good.
[2] Natural good, which Esau represents at first, is the Lord’s Natural when He was a young child. This was Divine from the Father but human from the mother; and to the extent it was from the mother it was steeped in hereditary evil Its nature being such it was not able instantly to exist within that kind of order in which it could receive the Divine that was present inmostly, but it had first of all to be brought into order by the Lord. It is similar with the truth which Jacob represents; for where good is, so must truth be if it is to be anything at all. The whole area of thought, where truth resides, is joined to the area of will, where good resides. This is so even with young children. Once therefore the Lord had brought into order the Natural as regards Good and as regards Truth within Himself – into the kind of order in which the Natural received the Divine, so that He Himself was flowing in from His own Divine – and once He had gradually driven out everything human received from the mother, ‘Esau’ at that point represents the Lord’s Divine Natural as regards Good, and ‘Jacob’ His Divine Natural as regards Truth.
[3] But Esau and Jacob represent the Divine Good and the Divine Truth of the Lord’s Divine Natural when they have been joined together as brothers. Regarded in themselves Divine Good and Divine Truth are a single power working together to give form to and to receive good and truth that are put into practice. The latter, that is to say, good and truth put into practice, are dealt with later on. These considerations show how many are the arcana contained in the internal sense of the Word. Those arcana are such that not even the most general aspects of them are intelligible to man, as is the case perhaps with those that have just been referred to. How then [can he grasp] the countless specific details regarding them? But they are suited to the grasp and understanding of angels who gain from the Lord heavenly ideas concerning these things and others like them, which ideas are enlightened by representatives full of indescribable pleasantness and bliss. From this one can have an idea of what angelic wisdom is like, yet only a remote idea of it because such things remain in the unenlightened part of man’s understanding.
[2] What is implied in all this may be seen from what has been stated and shown so far. But because few understand what is meant by the apparent priority of truth, and by the inferiority for the time being of good – the chief reason for their not understanding being that few stop to reflect on such matters, indeed they do not even reflect on the idea that good is distinct and separate from truth – [let some explanation be offered here]. None of those who pursue a life of self-love and love of the world are aware of what good is, for they do not believe in the existence of any other kind of good than that which is a product of that life. And being unaware of what good is they are also unaware of what truth is, for truth is the companion of good. They do, it is true, know from revelation that good consists in loving God and the neighbour, and truth in matters of doctrine drawn from the Word. But because they do not live according to those things they have no perception of that good and truth; for these are known to them but are not actually present in them. Indeed even those persons who are in the process of being regenerated do not know what good is until they have been regenerated. For prior to their regeneration they have supposed that truth is good and that acting in accordance with truth is good, when in fact it is not good that they are doing at that time but truth. While a person is passing through this state he is passing through that state which is described as Jacob and the blessing conferred on him. But once he passes on into the state in which he performs a good action from an affection for good, that is, once he has been regenerated, he passes into that state which is described in the blessing conferred on Esau.
[3] This may be illustrated from what happens to a person in the first and second stages of life, and after that in the third and fourth stages. During the first stage nothing more than his memory is involved in his knowing things in the Word and likewise matters of doctrine regarding faith. During this stage also he believes he is good when he knows many things from the Word and from doctrine and is able to apply some of them not to his own life but to the lives of others. During the second stage when he is more grown up he is not content to know only with his memory things in the Word and matters of doctrine but now begins to reflect on these with his own ability to think, and insofar as he adds anything to these from his own thought he is pleased by it. Consequently he is moved by an affection for truth which originates in some worldly love, which is also a means to his learning further things which would be neglected by him but for that worldly love. During the third stage however, if he is among such people as are able to be regenerated he starts to think about use, and in that case to reflect on what he reads in the Word and absorbs from doctrine for the sake of the use these serve. While he is passing through this state order is reversed; that is to say, truth is no longer placed first quite so much. But during the fourth stage, when it is the stage of his regeneration, because now the state is complete, dealt with in 2636, he loves the Word and matters of doctrine drawn from the Word – that is, he loves truth – for the sake of the good of life, and therefore loves them from a desire for the good of life. Thus good, which up to that time has apparently taken second place, now comes to occupy the first.
[4] The reason why good has apparently taken second place is that it has lain concealed inmostly within the person’s entire affection. Nor has it been able to show itself because it has been surrounded by such things as those with which it could not accord, that is to say, by vain and worthless things like those that constitute worldly glory and self-glory. But once he has been regenerated these things depart and the good that has lain inmostly comes so to speak out of prison and enters into those things which are outside, and takes truths to itself, makes them the truths of good, and in this way manifests itself.
[5] During all this time the good present with a person is something which so to speak he does not consciously will, yet is present within his will – present in every detail of his thought and consequently in every detail of his activity. He is not aware of possessing this which he does not consciously will because he does not perceive anything present with himself apart from that which is his own, that is, which he does will. That which he does not will is twofold: on the one hand there is that which he has inherited from father and mother, on the other that which flows in from the Lord by way of heaven. While a person is growing up that which he has inherited from parents manifests itself more and more, if he is such that he does not allow himself to be regenerated. For he draws on evils from his heredity and makes them properly his own. But that which is not consciously willed yet flows from the Lord by way of heaven manifests itself in adult years with those who are being regenerated. With the latter this activity has in the meantime arranged and governed every single detail of thought, and also of will, though that activity has not been apparent.
‘Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father had blessed him’ means that natural good found the conjunction with truth – inverted as regards order – repugnant. ‘And Esau said in his heart’ means thought. ‘The days of mourning for my father are approaching, and I will kill Jacob my brother’ means an inversion, and the removal from truth of the life from itself. ‘And the words of Esau her elder son were pointed out to Rebekah’ means the Lord’s perception coming from Divine Truth concerning the inclination of natural good at that time. ‘And she sent and summoned Jacob her younger son, and said to him’ means a state in which the affection for truth discerned from an influx coming by way of Divine truth…. ‘Behold, Esau your brother is consoling himself concerning you [by planning] to kill you’ means, the intention to invert the state and to remove from truth the life from itself. ‘And now, my son, hearken to my voice, and arise’ means a continuance. ‘Flee to Laban my brother, to Haran’ means in the direction of the affection for external or bodily good. ‘And stay with him for a few days’ means in that which was subsequent. ‘Until your brother’s wrath turns back’ means until the state changes. ‘Until your brother’s anger turns back from you’ means the subsequent stage of the state with natural good. ‘And he forgets what you have done to him’ means the condition that resulted from the delay. ‘And I send and fetch you from there’ means that at that point the end in view has been reached. ‘Why should I be bereft of you both in one day?’ means that otherwise there would be no conjunction.
[2] The reason why ‘hating’ in the internal sense means repugnance is that it has reference to good, represented by ‘Esau’, and good does not even know what hatred is, since it is the complete opposite of it. Things that are opposites cannot possibly coexist in the same subject. But instead of hatred, good – or the person in whom good is present – feels a certain kind of repugnance, and this is why hatred here in the internal sense means repugnance. Actually the internal sense is intended primarily for those who are in heaven, and therefore when it comes down from there and passes into the literal sense, the feeling of repugnance enters into words that denote hatred when historical narratives refer to hatred. Yet at the same time no idea of hatred is present in the minds of those in heaven. This is similar to what has been told from experience in Volume One, in 1875, about the words in the Lord’s Prayer, Do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. The idea of temptation and evil is rejected until something purely angelic, that is to say, good, devoid of any idea of temptation or evil remains. And coupled with this purely angelic idea there is a kind of indignation and a repugnance to any thought of evil when thinking about the Lord.
[3] It is similar with those places in the Word where one reads about Jehovah or the Lord hating, as in Zechariah,
Let none of you in your hearts think evil of his companion, nor love any lying oath, for all these things I hate, says Jehovah. Zech. 8:17.
In Moses,
You shall not erect for yourself a pillar, which Jehovah your God hates. Deut 16:22.
In Jeremiah,
My heritage has become to Me like a lion in the forest It has lifted up its voice against Me, therefore I hate it. Jer 12:8.
In Hosea,
In Gilgal I hate them. Because of the wickedness of their deeds I will drive them out of My house; I will love them no more. Hosea 9:15.
Here ‘the hatred’ that is attributed to Jehovah or the Lord is not in the internal sense hatred but mercy, for the Divine is mercy. But when that mercy flows down to someone who is under the influence of evil he is exposed to the punishment that goes with evil, in which case mercy looks like hatred. And because it looks like hatred it is also called such in the sense of the letter.
[4] The same applies when in the Word anger, wrath, or fury are attributed to Jehovah or the Lord, dealt with in 245, 592, 696, 1093, 1683, 1874, 2335, 2395, 2447. The Jewish and Israelitish people more than all others were such that as soon as they detected any enmity present even with allies they believed that they were entitled to treat them cruelly, not only killing them but also exposing their bodies to wild animals and birds. And because the Lord’s inflowing mercy was converted in this way into such hatred with them, a hatred directed, as has been stated, not only against enemies but also against allies, they inevitably believed that Jehovah too was capable of hating, being angry, wrathful, and furious. This is the reason why the Word has spoken in this way according to the appearance. For what a person is in himself determines how he sees the Lord, 1838, 1861, 2706. But the nature of hatred in the case of these in whom love and charity, that is, good, are present, is clear from the Lord’s words in Matthew,
You have heard that it was said, You shall love your neighbour and hate your enemy. But I say to you, Love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who hurt and persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. Matt. 5:43-45.
[2] From this it may also be seen that ‘killing Jacob his brother’ does not mean in the internal sense killing but the removal of that life which does not properly belong to truth. For of itself truth has no life except from good, truth being merely a vessel for receiving good, see 1496, 1832, 1900, 2063, 2261, 2269, 2697, 3049, 3068, 3128, 3146, 3318, 3387. It is in good that life lies, but not in truth unless it receives it from good 1589, and many other paragraphs. Consequently the removal from truth of the life from itself does not destroy truth but gives it life, for when truth seems to possess life from itself it does not possess any life at all other than that which is not life in itself. But when that life from itself is removed, life itself is then conferred on it, that is to say, the life received by way of good from the Lord, who is life itself.
[3] This is plain to see in those in the next life with whom truth alone exists. Their ideas appear closed, so much so that things of heaven are unable to flow in except in so general a way that it is scarcely recognized as being influx from that source. But the ideas of those with whom good as well as truth exists appear to be open, so much so that things of heaven flow so to speak into a miniature heaven or an image of themselves, for such things flow by way of the good present with those persons into the truths, see 1869, 2429. The fact that truth has the life from itself removed from it when good starts to occupy the prior position or to have dominion may be seen from what has been stated and shown already about the apparent priority of truth in the first stage and about the priority of good later on. It is this removal from truth of life from itself that is meant here. The reason why these matters are referred to as ‘mourning for a father’ is that ‘the days of mourning’ means an inversion of state, the inversion of state that was meant above in verse 33 by Isaac’s ‘trembling very greatly’, 3593, and in verse 34 by Esau’s crying out ‘with a loud and bitter cry’, 3597.
[2] These matters cannot be grasped at all by those whose affection is for themselves and the world, for they believe that no other kind of life can possibly exist, and consequently that if that life were removed they would have no life at all. For people possessing that life cannot by any means know what spiritual and celestial life is. But the truth of the matter is that when that life is removed, that is to say, the life belonging to an affection for self and the world, life flows in from the Lord such as is angelic and heavenly, bringing with it wisdom and intelligence that are beyond description. From the point of view of this life from the Lord, the previous life seems to be none at all or to be like the abject life of beasts, for it entails nothing Divine at all apart from being able to think and to talk, and so to have an outward form like everyone else has.
[3] As regards the intention on the part of good to invert the state and to remove from truth the life from itself, meant by the words ‘Esau is consoling himself concerning you [by planning] to kill you’, the position is that with someone who is being regenerated good intends constantly to bring about an inversion of state and to produce that order in which truth does not occupy the prior position but, in conformity with the state of heaven, the secondary position. This intention however lies concealed deeply within it and is not discerned until it is actually carried into effect. It is like conjugial love, which does not show itself in infancy and childhood but nevertheless lies concealed within, and does not emerge until every single thing has been properly ordered to enable it to manifest itself. During all that time however it is producing all the means suited to it, that is, they are produced from it. Something similar may be seen in the vegetable kingdom in which within every tree and young plant there lies concealed inmostly the effort to produce fruit or seeds. But that effort cannot manifest itself until all the means have been produced first, that is to say, shoots, leaves, and blossom; and when these have been produced, that effort comes into act.
[4] It is the same with those who are being born anew. The conjugial relationship which exists between good and truth lies concealed for a long time but is nevertheless present as the effort within the efficient cause and from this within the effect itself. But it does not appear until everything has been properly ordered, and once everything has been properly ordered only then does it emerge and manifest itself. This effort is what is meant by the intention to invert the state and to remove from truth the life from itself. From this it is evident that the note which is sounded in the internal sense is altogether different from that in the sense of the letter; that is to say, it speaks of truth being brought into order and receiving life, not of the destruction and removal of life from it.
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