CHAPTER I
1. THE Revelation of Jesus Christ which God gave unto him, to show unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he signified [this], sending by his angel unto his servant John,
2. Who bare witness of the Word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, whatsoever things he saw.
3. Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear, the words of the prophecy, and keep the things which are written therein; for the time is at hand.
4. John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace to you, and peace, from him who is, and who was and who is to come; and from the seven spirits which are in sight of his throne;
5. And from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the first born from the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. To him that loveth us, and washeth us from our sins in his blood,
6. And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be the glory and the strength (robur) unto the ages of the ages. Amen.
7. Behold, he cometh with the clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they who pierced him; and all the tribes of the earth shall wail over him. Even so; Amen.
8. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, saith the Lord, who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.
9. I John, who also am your brother and companion in affliction, and in the kingdom and patient expectation of Jesus Christ, was in the island called Patmos, for the Word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.
10. I was in the spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet,
11. Saying, I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last; what thou seest write in a book, and send to the churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea.
12. And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And, being turned, I saw seven golden lampstands;
13. And in the midst of the seven lampstands one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the breasts with a golden girdle.
14. And his head and his hairs were white as white wool, as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire;
15. And his feet like unto burnished brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the voice of many waters.
16. And he had in his right hand seven stars; and out of his mouth went forth a sharp two-edged sword; and his face was as the sun shineth in his power.
17. And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the First and the Last;
18. And am he that liveth, and was dead; and behold I am alive unto the ages of the ages, Amen; and I have the keys of hell and of death.
19. Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter.
20. The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden lampstands; the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches; and the seven lampstands which thou sawest are the seven churches.
MANY have expounded this prophetical book which is called the Apocalypse; but none of them have understood the internal or spiritual sense of the Word, therefore they have applied the particulars which it contains to the successive states of the church, which they have learnt from history; and in addition to this they have applied many things to civil affairs. Consequently such expositions are mostly conjectures, which can never appear in such light that they can be approved as truths; and therefore they are cast aside as mere opinions as soon as they are read. The reason why the current explanations of the Apocalypse are of this description is, as just observed, that their authors know nothing of the internal or spiritual sense of the Word; when, nevertheless, all things in the Apocalypse are written in a style similar to that of the prophetical parts of the Old Testament, and of the whole Word. And the Word is natural in the letter, but in its inner content spiritual; and consequently it contains a sense within, which does not appear at all in the letter. The nature of the difference between these two senses may be seen from what is said and shown in the small work concerning The White Horse, and in the Appendix there, taken from Arcana Coelestia.
VERSES 1-3. The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to show unto his servants things which must shortly in come to pass; and he signified [this], sending by his angel unto his servant John, who bare witness of the Word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, whatsoever things he saw. Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear, the words of the prophecy, and keep the things which are written therein; for the time is at hand. “The Revelation of Jesus Christ,” signifies, predictions by the Lord concerning the last times of the church; “which God gave unto him, to show unto his servants,” signifies, for those who are in truths from good; “things which must shortly come to pass,” signifies, which will certainly take place; “and he signified [this], sending by his angel unto his servant John,” signifies, which are revealed from heaven to those who are in the good of love.
“Who bare witness of the Word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ,” signifies, that it is for those who in heart acknowledge the Divine truth, and the Divine of the Lord in His Human; “whatsoever things he saw,” signifies, that their understanding is enlightened.
“Blessed,” signifies, those in whom heaven is; “is he that readeth,” signifies, that they perceive; “and they that hear the words of the prophecy,” signifies, that they live according to the doctrine of heaven; “and keep the things which are written therein,” signifies, that they do so from the delight of the love of truth; “for the time is at hand,” signifies, that the interior state is such.
are in the good of love, because it is said, “sending by his angel unto his servant John,” and by John are represented and meant those who are in the good of love. For by the twelve apostles were represented and signified all those in the church who are in truths from good consequently, all truths from good, from which the church is and by each apostle in particular is represented and signified something specific. For example, by Peter is represented and signified faith; by James, charity; and by John, the good of charity, or the good of love. Because John represented this good, therefore the revelation was made to him; for revelation from heaven, such as is here described, can be made to none but those who are in the good of charity or of love. Others, indeed, may hear the things that are uttered from heaven, but they cannot perceive them. They alone have spiritual perception who are in the good of love; the reason is, that they receive those things, not only in the hearing, but also in the love; and to receive in the love is to receive fully, since the things so received are loved; and those who thus receive, see those things in their understanding, in which is the sensation of their internal sight. That this is the case has been made evident to me from much experience, and it might also be illustrated by much rational argument; but upon this subject it is not yet permissible to speak. Here it is only necessary to observe, that all the names mentioned in the Word, signify, not persons, but things; thus, John signifies those who are in the good of love, and therefore, in the abstract, the good of love itself. (That all names in the Word signify things, may be seen in Arcana Coelestia, n. 768, 1888, 4310, 4442, 10,329. That the names of persons and places in the Word cannot enter heaven, but that they are changed into the things which they signify, n. 1876, 5225, 6516, 10,216, 10,282, 10,432. How elegant the internal sense of the Word is, although mere names are mentioned, is illustrated by examples, n. 1224, 1264, 1888. That the twelve disciples of the Lord represented, and thence signified, all things of love and faith in the aggregate, in like manner as the twelve tribes of Israel, n. 2129, 3354, 3488, 3858, 6397. That Peter, James, and John represented, and hence signified, faith, charity, and the good of charity, in their order, see Pref. to Gen. xviii. and xxii. and n. 3934, 8581, 10,087.)
“I say unto thee, that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of the heavens” (Matt. xvi. 18, 19).
It appears from the letter as if that power was given to Peter, when nevertheless none was given to him; but it was said thus to him, because Peter signified truth from the good which is from the Lord, and truth from good which is from the Lord has all power, thus the Lord has all power from good by means of truth. (That this is the case may be seen illustrated in the small work, The Last Judgment, n. 57.) Another arcanum, which may be seen when it is known that Peter signifies faith, is, why the Lord said to him, that before the cock crew, he would deny Him thrice, which also happened (Matt. xxvi. 34, and following verses). By this was signified, that in the last time of the church there would be no faith in the Lord, because there would be no charity; for cock-crowing, as well as twilight, signifies the last time of the church (Arcana Coelestia, n. 10,134); and three, or three times, signifies what is complete to the end (Arcana Coelestia, n. 2788, 4495, 5159, 9198, 10,127. That the end of the church comes when there is no faith, because no charity, may be seen in the small work, The Last Judgment, n. 33-39, etc.). [3] A third arcanum which may be seen, is, the signification of the following words concerning Peter and John:
Jesus said to Peter, Simon Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord, thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs. He saith to him the second time, Simon Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord, thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep. He saith unto him the third time, Simon Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? and said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. And he saith unto him, Feed my sheep. Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest; but when thou shalt behold, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and lead whither thou wouldest not. And when he had thus spoken, he saith unto him, Follow me. Peter, being turned, seeth the disciple whom Jesus loved, following, and he saith, Lord, this man what? Jesus saith unto him, If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to thee? Follow thou me” (John xxi. 15-22).
What these things signify no one can know unless he knows the internal sense, and that Peter signifies faith, and John the good of charity consequently that Peter signifies those in the church who are in faith, and John, those who are in the good of charity. By Jesus saying three times to Peter, “Lovest thou me?” and Peter saying three times, “I love thee,” and Jesus then saving, “Feed my lambs,” and “Feed my sheep,” is signified, that they who are in faith from love ought to instruct those who are in the good of love to the Lord and in the good of charity towards the neighbour. For those who are in faith from love are also in truths, and those who are thence in truths, instruct concerning good, and lead to good; for all the spiritual good which a man has is procured and implanted by means of truths. (That lambs signify those who are in the good of innocence and of love to the Lord, may be seen, Arcana Coelestia, n. 3994, 10,132; that sheep signify those who are in the good of charity towards the neighbour, n. 4169, 4809; and that to feed is to instruct, n. 5201, 6078.) [4] What would be the quality of faith in the first time of the church, and what its quality in the last time is next described by the Lord. The first time of the church is meant by “when thou wast young,” and the last time by “when thou shalt be old.” That when he was young he girded himself, and walked whither he would, signifies, that, in the first time of the church, they would drink in truths from the good of charity, and would act from freedom; for to act from freedom is to act from the affection of truth from good. “When thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee and lead whither thou wouldest not,” signifies, that in the last time of the church they would no longer drink in truths from the good of charity, that is, they would know them merely because stated by another, and would thus be in a servile state, that being a servile state in which good does not lead. (That garments signify truths, may be seen, Arcana Coelestia n. 1073, 2576, 5319, 5954, 9212, 9216, 9952, 10,536; and that therefore to gird oneself denotes to drink in and apprehend truths, n. 9952. That to walk is to act and live; that to act from freedom is to act from love or affection, since what a man loves that he does freely, n. 2870, 3158, 8987, 8990, 9585, 9591. That every church begins from charity, but that in process of time it declines to faith, and at length to faith alone, 1834, 1835, 2231, 4683, 8094.) [5] Because, at the last time of the church, faith becomes of such a quality as to reject the good of charity, saying that faith alone constitutes the church and saves, and not the good of life, which is charity, therefore Jesus said to Peter, by whom such faith is there meant, “Follow me.” “And, being turned, Peter seeth the disciple whom Jesus loved, following, and saith, Lord, what this man?” by which is signified, that faith, in the last time of the church, would turn away from the Lord; for it is said of Peter, by whom that faith is signified, that, “being turned,” he saw; and he also said of the disciple whom Jesus loved or of John, by whom is signified the good of charity, “what this man?” that is, that he is nothing; but Jesus said to him, “If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to thee; follow thou me”; by which is signified that the good of charity will follow the Lord, and acknowledge Him, even to the last time of the old church and the first of the New. (That the last time of the old church is called the consummation of the age, and the beginning of the New, the coming of the Lord, may be seen, Arcana Coelestia, n. 4535, 10,622.) The fourth arcanum which may hence be seen is, why the Lord loved John more than the rest of the disciples, and why John therefore lay on the breast, or in the bosom, of the Lord (John xiii. 23; xxi. 20) viz., that it was because the good of love was in the Lord’s mind when He saw John, who represented and signified that good, because it is that good which constitutes heaven and the church, (as may be seen in the work, Heaven and Hell, n. 13-19). [6] The fifth arcanum which becomes evident when it is known that John represented the good of love, is, what is signified by the words of the Lord from the cross to the mother Mary, and to John:
“When Jesus saw his mother, and the disciple standing by whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy Son! And he saith to that disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home” (John xix. 26, 27).
By mother and by woman is there meant the church, and by John the good of charity; and by the things said to them, that the church will be where there is the good of charity. (That by woman, in the Word, is meant the church, may be seen, Arcana Coelestia n. 252, 253, 749, 770, 3160, 6014, 7337, 8994; that the same is signified by mother, n. 289, 2691, 2717, 3703, 4257, 5581, 8897, 10,490. That to take her to his own home is to dwell together, is manifest.) From these considerations it is now evident how great are the arcana which lie concealed in the Word, which are laid open only to those who know its internal or spiritual sense; nor, without that sense, can it be known what is signified by its being said that the twelve apostles shall sit upon twelve thrones, and judge the twelve tribes of Israel (Matt. xix. 28; Luke xxii. 30). By the apostles, in this passage, are not meant the apostles, but all truths from good which are from the Lord; so that those words signify, that the Lord alone will judge all from the truths which are from good, thus, every one according to those truths.
“I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man cometh unto the Father but by me” (John xiv. 6).
Because this acknowledgment is signified by the testimony of Jesus Christ, therefore it is said, that
The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy (Rev. xix. 10).
The spirit of prophecy is the life and soul of doctrine (that spirit, in the internal sense of the Word, signifies the life or soul, may be seen, Arcana Coelestia, n. 5222, 9281, 9818; and that prophecy signifies doctrine, n. 2534, 7269); and the acknowledgment of the Lord is the very life or soul of all doctrine in the church. But concerning these things more will be said in what follows. [3] The reason why to bear witness is to acknowledge in heart, is, because spiritual things are treated of; no one can bear witness of those things unless from the heart, because from no other ground can he perceive that they are so. But to bear witness concerning such things as exist in the world, is to do so from science, or from memory and thought, because the man has so seen or heard. But it is otherwise in things spiritual; for these fill the whole life, and constitute it. Man’s spirit, in which the man’s life primarily resides, is nothing else but his will, or his love, and his understanding and faith therefrom; and the heart signifies, in the Word, the will and love, and understanding and faith therefrom. It is therefore manifest why by bearing witness, in the spiritual sense, is meant to acknowledge in heart. Since by heart is signified the good of love, and it is this alone that acknowledges Divine truth and the Divine of the Lord in His Human, and because that good is signified by John, therefore also it is said by John, that he bare witness of the Word of God and of the testimony of Jesus Christ; as also in another place:
“And he that saw bare witness, and his witness is true, and he knoweth that he saith truths, that ye may believe” (John xix. 35)
and in another place:
“This is the disciple that testifieth of these things, and wrote these things; and we know that his testimony is true” (John xxi. 24).
14. And they that hear the words of the prophecy. That this signifies that those live according to the doctrine of heaven, is evident from the signification of hearing, as denoting to perceive and obey (concerning which see Arcana Coelestia, n. 2542, 3869, 4653, 5017, 7216, 8361, 8990, 9311, 9397, 10,061), thus also to live according thereto; for those who perceive and obey the doctrine of heaven, live according to it; and from the signification of the words of the prophecy, as denoting the truths of the doctrine of heaven; for words are truths, (n. 4692, 5075), and prophecy is doctrine (n. 2534, 7269); in the present case, the doctrine of heaven, because it is the prophecy of the Word, which is from heaven. The reason why to hear is to obey and live is, because with the celestial angels, the things that, are heard enter into the life; but as this is unknown, I will briefly illustrate it. There are two senses given to man, which serve as means of receiving those things by which the Rational is formed, and also those things by which the man is reformed, these are, the sense of seeing and the sense of hearing; the other senses are for other uses. The things that enter by the sense of sight, enter into his understanding and enlighten it; therefore by sight is signified the understanding enlightened; for the understanding corresponds to the sight of the eye as the light of heaven does to the light of the world; but the things that enter by the sense of hearing, enter into the understanding and at the same time into the will, therefore the hearing signifies perception and obedience. This is the reason why, in human languages, It is customary to speak of hearing any one, and also of giving ear to any one; similarly, of being a hearer, and of hearkening; and by hearing any one is meant to perceive, and by giving ear to any one is meant to obey; as also by being a hearer; and both are signified by hearkening. This characteristic dwells in human languages, from the spiritual world, in which a man’s spirit is; but the origin of this in the spiritual world shall also be stated.
[2] Those in the spiritual world who are in the province of the ear, are forms of obedience from perception (that all who are in the spiritual world are in some province which is named from the members, organs, or internal parts of man, because they correspond thereto, may be seen in the work, Heaven and Hell, n. 87-102); and the province of the ear is in the axis of heaven, and therefore into it, or into those who are there, the whole spiritual world inflows, with the perception that the thing is to be done; for this is the ruling perception in heaven; hence it is that those who are in that province, are forms of obedience from perception. That the things which enter by hearing, enter directly by the understanding into the will, may be further illustrated from the instruction of the angels of the celestial kingdom, who are the wisest; these receive all their wisdom by hearing and not by sight; for whatever they hear of Divine things, they receive in the will from veneration and love, and make a part of their life; and because they receive it directly in the life, and not first in the memory, therefore they do not talk about matters of faith, but when told of them by others, they answer only, “Yea, Yea,” or “Nay, nay,” according to the Lord’s words in Matthew (v. 37). From these things it is manifest, that man is endowed with the sense of hearing chiefly for the reception of wisdom, but sight for the reception of intelligence. Wisdom consists in perceiving, willing, and doing; intelligence, in knowing and perceiving. (That the celestial angels drink in wisdom by hearing, and not by sight, may be seen in the work, Heaven and Hell, n. 270, 271; and more concerning those angels, n. 20-28.)
“Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you” (xxviii. 20).
In Luke:
“Blessed are they that hear the Word of God, and keep it.” (xi. 28).
In John:
“Verily, verily, I say unto you, if a man keep my word, he shall not see death to eternity” (viii. 51).
In the same:
“If a man love me, he will keep my word. He that loveth me not, keepeth not my words (xiv. 15, 23, 24).
Again in the same: “If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love. Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you” (xv. 10, 14):
to do is to will, and to will is to do; because in deeds the will is everything.
“Jesus saith, he who loveth me, keepeth my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him” (xiv. 23).
And in the same, “Ye know” the Comforter, the Spirit of truth; “for he dwelleth with you and shall be in you” (xiv. 17);
the Comforter, [the Spirit] of truth, is the Divine truth proceeding from the Lord; therefore it is said, “He shall be in you.”
* Latin propinquitates, literally “nearnesses.”
“John,” signifies, the Lord as to doctrine; “to the seven churches,” signifies, to all those who are in truths from good, or in faith from charity; “in Asia,” signifies those who are in the light of intelligence; “Grace be unto you, and peace,” signifies, the delight of truth and good; “from him who is, and who was, and who is to come,” signifies, from Him who is the All in all of heaven and the church from eternity; “to eternity and from the seven spirits,” signifies, the Divine in heaven; “which are in sight of his throne,” signifies, presence and providence.
“And from Jesus Christ,” signifies, from the Lord as to the Divine Human; “the faithful witness,” signifies, from whom is all truth in heaven; “the first-born from the dead,” signifies, from whom is all the good there; “and the prince of the kings of the earth,” signifies, from whom is all truth from good in the church; “to him that loveth us, and washeth us from our sins in his blood,” signifies, His love, and regeneration by Him, by means of truths which are from Him.
“And hath made us kings and priests,” signifies, that from Him we are in His spiritual and celestial kingdom; “to God and his Father,” signifies, by Divine truth and Divine good; “to him be the glory and the strength unto the acres of the ages,” signifies, that these things are from Him alone to eternity; “Amen,” signifies, Divine confirmation.
“And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, as the glory of the only-begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth; of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace. For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ” (i. 14, 16, 17).
As grace is the affection and delight of truth, therefore mention is made of both grace and truth.
And in Luke, after the Lord had explained in the synagogue the prophetic declaration of Isaiah concerning Himself, thus concerning Divine truth, it is said,
“And all wondered at the words of grace which proceeded out of his mouth” (iv. 22).
The Divine truths which the Lord spoke are called words of grace proceeding out of His mouth, because they were acceptable, grateful, and delightful. In general, Divine grace is everything given by the Lord; and as every such thing given has reference to faith and love, and faith is the affection of truth from good, therefore, this is specifically meant by Divine grace; for to be gifted with faith and love, or with the affection of truth from good, is to be gifted with heaven, thus with eternal blessedness.
But at present we cannot enter further into this arcanum. (Something may be seen respecting it in the work, Heaven and Hell, n. 167.) Here let it be observed only that the same is understood by “Jehovah” as by, “who is, who was, and who is to come,” because the word Is, which is JEHOVAH, involves the past, which is meant by “who was,” and the future, which is meant by “who is to come,” and thus signifies from eternity to eternity. [2] That Is signifies from eternity is also known in the Christian world from that Psalm of David, where it is said,
“I will declare concerning the decree; Jehovah hath said unto me. Thou art my son; this day have I begotten thee” (ii. 7).
It is known that these things are said of the Lord, and that by to-day is meant from eternity. (That to-morrow, in the Word, where the Lord is treated of, also signifies to eternity, may be seen, Arcana Coelestia, n. 3998.) The reason why who is, who was, and who is to come signifies also the All in all of heaven and the church is, because it signifies eternal, and eternal cannot be expressed by any other word in heaven than by Divine. The reason of this is that Infinite cannot fall into an angelic idea, still less into a human idea; and by eternal is meant the infinite Manifestation (Existere) from the infinite as Being (Esse); but the only idea that can be formed of this is, that, the Eternal, which is the Divine as to Manifestation, is the All in all of heaven and the church. For the whole heaven is not heaven from the proprium of the angels, but from the Divine of the Lord; nor is the church the church from the proprium of men, but from the Divine of the Lord; for all the good of love and the truth of faith are from the Lord; and the good of love and the truth of faith constitute heaven and the church; angels and men are only recipients, and in proportion to their reception, heaven and the church dwell in them. (These things may be seen fully illustrated In the work. Heaven and Hell, n. 7-12, where it is shown that the Divine of the Lord constitutes heaven, and that the Divine which constitutes heaven is the Divine Human, which is the Divine Manifestation (Existere) from the Divine as Being (Esse), n. 78-86.)
“Abide in me, and I in you; he that abideth in me and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit” (xv. 4, 5).
In the same:
“If a man love me, he will keep my word; and my Father and I will come unto him, and make our abode with him” (xiv. 23).
And again, in the same:
Jesus said to His disciples, “Ye know the Comforter, the Spirit of truth; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you” (xiv. 17).
The Comforter, the Spirit of truth, is the Divine truth going forth from the Lord; or, what is the same, is the Lord as to Divine truth; and the disciples are all those who are in goods and thence in truths; it is therefore said, “He shall be in you.”
Again, in the same; “The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us” (i. 14)
the Word also is Divine truth; and that the Word is the Lord is clear, for it is said that the Word was made flesh. (That the Word signifies Divine truth, and the Lord, may be seen, Arcana Coelestia, n. 4692, 5075, 9987.) The reason why sight here signifies providence also is because all presence of the Lord is providence (as may be evident from what is said in the little work, The New Jerusalem and its Doctrine, n. 267-279; and in the work, Heaven and Hell, n. 9, 12, 145).
“John” (here, John the Baptist) “came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe. He was not that Light, but came to bear witness of the Light. That was the true Light which enlighteneth every man. And I saw and bare witness” (John i. 7, 8, 34).
Light signifies Divine truth; therefore the Lord is there called the true Light which enlighteneth every man; and to bear witness of the Light signifies the acknowledgment of His Divine Human, from which Divine truth goes forth. (That light signifies Divine truth going forth from the Lord, may be seen in the work, Heaven and Hell, in the article on the light of heaven, n. 126-140.)
[3] In the same:
“Ye sent unto John, and he bare witness unto the truth: but I receive not witness from man” (v. 33, 34).
In the same: “Jesus said, Verily I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and bear witness that we have seen. He that cometh from heaven is above all; and what he hath seen and heard, of that he witnesseth” (iii. 11, 31, 32).
In the same:
“Jesus said, Though I bear witness of myself, yet my witness is true, for I know whence I came and whither I go” (viii. 14);
which signifies, that He bare witness of Himself from Himself, because He was Divine truth.
In the same:
“When the Comforter, the Spirit of truth, is come, he shall bear witness of me” (xv. 26);
the Comforter, the Spirit of truth, is Divine truth going forth from the Lord (as may be seen, Arcana Coelestia, n. 9818, 9820, 10,330; and above, n. 25).
[4] In the same:
“Pilate said, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I might bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice. Pilate said, What is truth?” (xviii. 37, 38).
The reason why the Lord thus answered when he was asked whether he was a king, was, because the Lord as king, is Divine truth; for this is the regal characteristic of the Lord in heaven, but His Divine good is the priestly characteristic there. This is why the Lord said that He was a king, that to this end He was born, and for this cause He came into the world, that He might bear witness unto the truth, and that every one that is in the truth heareth His voice; and therefore Pilate asked, What is truth? thus whether it was a king. (That Divine truth is the regal characteristic of the Lord in the heavens, may be seen, Arcana Coelestia, n. 3009, 5068; and that therefore kings, in the Word, signify those who are in Divine truths, and thus, abstractedly from persons, Divine truths themselves, n. 1672, 2015, 2069, 4575, 4581, 4966, 5044.) That kings signify those who are in Divine truths, will appear more clearly in the explanation of what follows in the Apocalypse, where kings are named; and presently below, where it is said, “he hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father.” From these considerations it is evident that by, “from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness,” is signified the Lord as to the acknowledgment of His Divine Human, from which goes forth all truth in heaven.
“I will make him the first-born, higher than the kings of the earth” (Psalm lxxxix. 27).
What is meant by His being higher than the kings of the earth, will be seen in the subsequent article. (That the Lord, when He departed out of the world, made His Human Divine Good, may be seen, Arcana Coelestia, n. 3194, 3210, 6864, 7499, 8724, 9199, 10,076, thus that He came forth from the Father and returned to the Father, n. 3194, 3210; and that after the union, the Divine truth, which is the Comforter, the Spirit of truth, goes forth from Him, n. 3704, 3712, 3969, 4577, 5704, 7499, 8127, 8241, 9199, 9398, 9407. But this mystery may be seen more fully explained in the small work, The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem, n. 293-295; and in the passages from Arcana Coelestia there cited, n. 303-305.)
Since the Lord as to His Divine Human is called the first-born, because all good goes forth from Him, therefore all the first-born in the Israelitish church were holy to Jehovah; and therefore also the Levites were taken in the place of all the first-born in Israel. For by the sons of Levi were represented those of the church who are in the good of charity. On this account, also, a double portion of the inheritance fell to the first-born. All this, because the first-born signified good from the Lord, and, in the highest sense, the Lord Himself as to the Divine Human, from which all good comes; for all the things commanded in the Israelitish church were representative of spiritual and celestial Divine things. [3] That all the first-born in the Israelitish church were holy to Jehovah is evident from Moses, in the following passages:
“Sanctify unto me all the first-born, whatsoever openeth the womb among the sons of Israel, in man and in beast; it is mine” (Exod. xiii. 2).
“Thou shalt cause to pass over unto Jehovah all that openeth the womb, and every firstling that cometh of a beast as many as thou hast, the males shall be Jehovah’s” (xiii. 12).
“Thou shalt not delay the first fruits of thy produce, and the first fruits of thy wine; the first-born of thy sons shalt thou give unto me. Likewise shalt thou do with thine oxen and with thy sheep; seven days it shall be with its dam; on the eighth day thou shalt give it me. And ye shall be men of holiness unto me” (Exod. xxii. 29-31).
The reason why they were to give also the first-born of beasts, was, because these also were representative; on which account, also, they were made use of in burnt-offerings and sacrifices. (What the various beasts in these services represented, may be seen, Arcana Coelestia, n. 1823, 3519, 9280, 10,042.) The Levites were accepted in place of all the first-born in Israel (concerning which, see Numb. iii. 12, 13, 41, 45; viii. 15-19), because, as observed above, the sons of Levi represented, and thence signified, the good of charity, and Levi, in the highest sense, represented the Lord as to that good (as may be seen, n. 3875, 3877, 4497, 4502, 4503, 10,017). The reason why a double portion of the inheritance fell to the first-born (Deut. xxi. 17), was, because a double portion signified the good of love (n. 720, 1686, 5194, 8423).
[2] The reason why flesh and blood are mentioned in the literal sense of the Word is, that the spiritual things corresponding to them may be perceived in heaven; for all spiritual things terminate in natural things, in which they have their ultimate plane, therefore the Divine passing through the heavens terminates in that plane, and there subsists, comparatively like a house upon its foundation, and then it is in its fulness. This is why the Word in the letter is of such a quality, and flesh and blood are there mentioned. Nevertheless, the angels are astonished that the man of the church, who may also become spiritual from the Word, does not suffer himself to be raised above the literal sense, and thinks not spiritually but materially of the Lord, and of His flesh and blood. But because they wondered at this, and were told that most people, especially the simple, think spiritually concerning those things, they therefore investigated whether it was so; and they discovered that most people, and almost all the simple, when they go to the Holy Supper, do not think of flesh and blood, but only of the holiness which they then have from the Lord. The angels also perceived that this is continually provided by the Lord, in order that the man of the church, at such time, may be in a spiritual, and not a material idea. [3] The reason why material eating is meant, and is understood in the particular doctrines of the churches is, because they have thought of the Human of the Lord as of the human of another man, and not at the same time of the Divine in His Human, rejecting the expression, “Divine Human.” Those who have thus thought of the Human of the Lord, could not but think materially of His flesh and blood. The case would have been different if they had thought of the Lord according to the universal doctrine of the church, that His Divine and Human are one Person, being united as soul and body (as may be seen above, n. 10 and 26). Moreover, blood is mentioned in many other places in the Word, as also again in the Apocalypse (chap. vi. 12; vii. 14; viii. 7, 8; xi. 6; xii. 11; xiv. 20; xvi. 3, 4, 6; xviii. 24; xix. 2, 13); therefore I wish, in the following pages, more fully to prove the fact, that by blood is signified truth from the Lord, and in an opposite sense, falsity that offers violence to that truth.
“Thou hast made us unto our God kings and priests, and we shall reign on the earth” (Apoc. v. 10);
And in Matthew:
“The [good] seed are the sons of the kingdom” (xiii. 38)
the seed sown in the field denotes truths from good, which man has from the Lord (as may be seen, Arcana Coelestia, n. 3373, 10,248, 10,249). Every one also may perceive that the Lord will not make all those who are there treated of kings, that He calls them kings from the power and the glory belonging to those who are in truths from good from the Lord.
From these considerations it may now be seen, that by king, in the prophetic Word, is meant the Lord as to Divine truth, and by kings and princes, those who are in truths from good from the Lord; and, as most terms used in the Word have also an opposite sense, in that sense kings signify those who are in falsities from evil. [3] That by king in the Word is meant the Lord as to Divine truth, is evident from the words of the Lord Himself to Pilate:
“Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. For this was I born, and for this came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is in the truth heareth my voice. Pilate saith unto him, What is truth?” (John xviii. 37, 38).
From the question of Pilate, What is truth? it is evident that he understood that the Lord called truth a king; but because he was a Gentile, and knew nothing from the Word, he could not be instructed that Divine truth was from the Lord, and that He was Divine truth; therefore, immediately after his question, “He went out to the Jews, saying, I find no fault in him”; and afterwards put upon the cross,
“This is Jesus, the king of the Jews. And when the chief priests said unto him, Write not, The king of the Jews, but that he said, I am the king of the Jews, Pilate answered, What I have written, I have written” (John xix. 19-22).
[4] These things being understood, it may be known what is meant by kings in the following passages in the Apocalypse:
“The sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates, and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings from the rising of the sun might be prepared” (xvi. 12).
With the great whore that sitteth upon many waters, “the kings of the earth have committed fornication” (xvii 1, 2).
“The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sitteth, and they are seven kings; five are fallen, the other is not yet come. And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, who have not yet received the kingdom, but they receive power as kings one hour with the beast. These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them; for he is Lord of lords and King of kings” (xvii. 9, 10, 12, 14).
“And the woman whom thou sawest is the great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth” (xvii. 18).
“All nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of the fornication” of Babylon, “and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her” (xviii. 3).
“And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war with him that sat on the horse, and with his army” (xix. 19).
“And the nations which are saved shall walk in the light of it, and the kings of the earth shall bring their glory and honour into it” (xxi. 24).
In these passages by kings are not meant kings, but all who are either in truths from good, or in falsities from evil, as said above.
In like manner in Daniel, by “the king of the south,” and “the king of the north,” who made war against each other (xi. 1 to the end). By the king of the south are there meant those who are in the light of truth from good, and by the king of the north those who are in darkness from evil. (That the South in the Word signifies those who are in the light of truth from good, may be seen, Arcana Coelestia, n. 1458, 3708, 3195, 5672, 9642, and the north those who are in the darkness of falsity from evil, n. 3708, and in general in the work, Heaven and Hell, n. 141-153; where the four quarters in heaven are treated of.)
[5] Kings are also frequently mentioned by the prophets in the Old Testament, where also are likewise meant those who are in truths from good from the Lord, and, in an opposite sense, those who are in falsities from evil; as in Isaiah:
“He shall disperse many nations; kings shall shut their mouths upon him; because what was [not] told them they have seen, and what they have not heard they have understood” (lii. 15).
And in the same:
“Zion of the Holy One of Israel, thou shalt suck the milk of the nations, and shalt suck the breasts of kings” (lx. 16).
Also, in the same:
“Kings shall be thy nursing fathers and princesses thy nursing mothers; they shall bow down to thee with their face to the earth” (xlix. 23).
And moreover in Isaiah xiv. 9; xxiv. 21; lx. 10; Jerem. ii. 26; iv. 9; xlix. 38; Lament. ii. 6, 9; Ezek. vii. 26, 27; Hosea, iii. 4; Zeph. i. 8; Psalm ii. 10; cx. 5. Falsities, Gen. xlix. 20.
[6] Because kings signify those who are in truths from good from the Lord, therefore it became a custom from ancient times, that kings, when they were crowned, should be distinguished by certain insignia which signify truths from good; as, for example, that the king should be anointed with oil, that he should wear a crown of gold, that he should hold a sceptre in the right hand, that he should be clothed with a crimson robe, that he should sit upon a throne of silver, and that he should ride with his insignia upon a white horse. (For oil signifies good from which is truth, as may be seen, Arcana Coelestia, n. 886, 4683, 9780, 9954, 10,011, 10,261, 10,268; a crown of gold upon the head has a similar signification, n. 9930; a sceptre, which is a staff, signifies the power of truth from good, n. 4581, 4876, 4966; a robe and cloak signifies Divine truth in the spiritual kingdom, n. 9825, 10,005; and crimson, the spiritual love of good, n. 9467; a throne, the kingdom of truth from good, n. 5313, 6397, 8625; and silver, that truth itself, n. 1551, 1552, 2954, 5658.) A white horse signifies the understanding enlightened from truths (as may be seen in the little work, The White Horse, n. 1-5. That rituals observed at the coronation of kings involve such things, but that the knowledge thereof is at this day lost, see also n. 4581, 4966).
[7] Since it is evident from these things what is signified by king in the Word, I will add to the above, why the Lord, when He entered Jerusalem, sat upon the foal of an ass, and why the people then proclaimed Him king, and also strewed their garments in the way (Matt. xxi. 1-8; Mark xi. 1-11; Luke xix. 28-40; John xii. 14-16); which is predicted in Zechariah:
“Exult, O daughter of Zion! shout, O daughter of Jerusalem; behold, thy king cometh unto thee, just and having salvation; riding upon an ass, and upon the foal of an ass” (ix. 9; Matt. xxi. 5; John xii. 15).
The reason of this was, that to sit upon an ass, and upon the foal of an ass, was the mark of distinction belonging to a chief, judge and also to a king. This is evident from the following passages:
“My heart is toward the lawgivers of Israel, ye who ride upon white asses” (Judges v. 9, 10).
“The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; who shall bind his ass’s foal to the vine, and the son of his she-ass to the noble vine” (Gen. xlix. 10, 11).
Because to sit upon an ass and the foal of an ass was a sign of such rank, therefore the judges rode upon white asses (Judges v. 9, 10), and their sons upon asses’ colts (Judges x. 4, and xii. 14); and a king himself, when he was crowned, upon a she-mule (1 Kings i. 33), and his sons upon mules (2 Sam. xiii. 29). He who does not know what is signified in a representative sense by a horse, a mule, and the foal of an ass, supposes that the Lord’s riding upon the foal of an ass, signified affliction and humiliation; whereas it signified regal magnificence; therefore also the people then proclaimed the Lord king, and strewed their garments upon the way. (The reason why this was done when He went into Jerusalem was because by Jerusalem is signified the church, as may be seen in the small work, The New Jerusalem and its Doctrine, n. 6; that garments signify truths clothing good, and ministering to it, may be seen in Arcana Coelestia, n, 1073, 2576, 5248, 5319, 5954, 9212, 9216, 9952, 10,536, and in the work, Heaven and Hell, n. 177-182.) [8] From these things it is now evident what is signified by king and by kings in the Word, so also, what by the Anointed, Messiah, and Christ; for Anointed, Messiah, and Christ, just as King, signify the Lord as to Divine truth going forth from His Divine good; for a king is called the anointed, and the term signifying anointed is Messiah in Hebrew and Christ in Greek. (But that the Lord, as to His Divine Human was alone “the Anointed of Jehovah,” because in Him alone was the Divine good of the Divine love from conception, because He was conceived of Jehovah; but all the anointed only represented Him, as may be seen, n. 9954, 10,011, 10,269. But that priests signified the good that exists in the celestial kingdom may be seen in Arcana Coelestia, where it is shown that priests represented the Lord. as to Divine good, n. 2015, 6148; that the priesthood was representative of the Lord as to the work of salvation, because this was from the Divine good of His Divine love, see n. 9809; that the priesthood of Aaron, of his sons, and of the Levites was representative of the work of salvation in successive order, see n. 10,017; that hence by the priesthood, and by priesthoods in the Word, is signified the good of love which is from the Lord, see n. 9806, 9809. That by the two names, Jesus and Christ, is signified both His Priestly and His regal function, that is, by Jesus is signified the Divine good, and by Christ the Divine truth, n. 3004, 3005, 3009. That priests who do not acknowledge the Lord, and also kings, represent the contrary of the above, or evil and the falsity from evil, n. 3670.)
“If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask whatever will, and it shall be done unto you. Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; and ye shall become my disciples” (xv. 7, 8).
(That the salvation of the human race is the glory of the Lord, see Arcana Coelestia, n. 4347, 4593, 5957, 7550, 8263, 10,646.)
“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end,” signifies, that He rules all things from primaries by means of ultimates, and therefore all things of heaven to eternity; “Saith the Lord, who is, and who was, and who is to come,” signifies, from Him who is the All in all of heaven and of the church, from eternity to eternity, and Jehovah; “the Almighty,” signifies, from Himself.
“Then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven, with power and much glory” (Matt. xxiv. 30; Mark xiii. 26; Luke xxi. 27).
The consummation of the age, which is the subject there treated of, is the last time of the church; and the coming of the Lord at that time is the revelation of Himself, and of the Divine Truth which is from Him, in the Word, by means of the internal sense. The Lord reveals Himself only in the Word, and by means of the internal sense. Power and glory also signify the Word in the internal sense. (That this is fulfilled at this day, namely, that the age is consummated, and the Last Judgment accomplished; and also that the Lord has come in the clouds of heaven, that is, has revealed the internal sense of the Word, may be seen in the small work, The Last Judgment, from the beginning to the end; and also in the work, Heaven and Hell, n. 1; as well as in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem, n. 249-266. That the consummation of the age signifies the last time of the church, may be seen, Arcana Coelestia, n. 4535, 10,622. That the coming of the Lord is the revelation of Divine truth by means of the internal sense, see n. 3900, 4060; that clouds signify the sense of the letter of the Word, see n. 4060, 4391, 5922, 6343, 6752, 8106, 8781, 9430, 10,551, 10,574; that glory signifies Divine truth in heaven, thus the internal sense, because this is Divine truth in heaven, see n. 5922, 9429, 10,574. The reason why the Lord is said to come in power is, because all power belongs to Divine truth which is from the Lord, see the work, Heaven and Hell, n. 228-233, 539.) The same is meant by the words of the Lord to the chief priest:
“Jesus said” to the chief priest, “Hereafter ye shall see the Son of man sitting at the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven” (Matt. xxvi. 64; Mark xiv. 62).
The Son of man is the Lord as to Divine truth. To sit at the right hand of power, denotes His omnipotence; to come in the clouds of heaven, denotes revelation of Divine truth concerning Himself in the Word; for He has revealed Himself, and has also fulfilled all things that are contained in the internal sense, which treats especially of the glorification of His Human.
[3] The same is signified by clouds in the following passages. In Daniel:
“I saw in the visions of the night, and behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven” (vii. 13).
In the Apocalypse: “I saw, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a crown” (xiv. 14, 16).
In Isaiah: “Behold, Jehovah sitting upon a light cloud” (xix. 1).
In David: “Sing unto God, sing praises to his name, extol him that rideth upon the clouds” (Psalm lxviii. 4).
And again: “Jehovah maketh the clouds his chariot; he walketh upon the wings of the wind” (Psalm civ. 3).
Who cannot see that these things are not to be understood according to the sense of the letter, namely, that Jehovah sits on a cloud, that He rides upon the clouds, and that He makes the clouds His chariot? He who thinks spiritually may know that Jehovah is in His Divine truth, for this proceeds from Him, consequently that this is meant there by clouds; therefore it is said, that Jehovah makes the clouds His chariot; for by chariot is signified the doctrine of truth (as may be seen, Arcana Coelestia, n. 2762, 5321, 8215).
[4] Similarly in the following places:
In Isaiah: “Drop down ye heavens from above, and ye higher clouds [pour out] justice” (xlv. 8).
In Nahum: “The way of Jehovah is with cloud and storm, and clouds are the dust of his feet” (i. 3).
In David: “Ascribe ye strength unto God; his excellency is over Israel, and his strength is in the higher clouds” (Psalm lxviii. 34).
In Moses: “There is none like unto the God of Jeshurun, riding in the heaven in thy help, and in his magnificence upon the clouds” (Deut. xxxiii. 26).
And in David: “A faithful witness in the clouds” (Psalm lxxxix. 37).
From these things it is evident what is signified where, it is said that the cloud filled the inner court (Ezek. x. 3, 4); and that the cloud rested upon the tent, of which frequent mention is made in Moses. Likewise, that when Jesus was transfigured, He was seen in glory, and a cloud covered His three disciples, and it was said to them out of the cloud,
“This is my beloved Son” (Matt. xvii 1-10; Mark. ix 1-11; Luke ix. 28-36).
(See also what is said concerning the Lord being seen in the midst of angels in a cloud, in the small work, The Earths in the Universe, n. 171.)
“I heard the number of them which were sealed; and there were sealed a hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the sons of Israel. Of the tribe of Judah were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Reuben were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Gad were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Asher were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Naphtali were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Manasseh were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Simeon were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Levi were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Issachar were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Zebulun were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Joseph were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Benjamin were sealed twelve thousand” (vii. 4-8).
In this passage those who belonged to the Israelitish nation are not meant, but all those, however many they may be, who are in truths from good; for all these are sealed for heaven. The numbers one hundred and forty-four thousand and twelve thousand, also signify all, and each tribe signifies all those who are in that truth or good which is signified by its name. (As may be evident from what is shown in Arcana Coelestia in regard to the following: what good and truth are signified by Judah, n. 3881, 6363; what by Reuben, n. 3861, 3866, 4605, 4731, 4734, 4761, 6342-6345; what by Gad, n. 3934, 3935; what by Asher, n. 3938, 3939, 6408; what by Naphtali, n. 3927, 3928 what by Manasseh, n. 3969, 5354, 6222, 6231, 6238, 6267, 6296 what by Simeon, n. 3869-3872, 4197, 4502, 4503, 5482, 5626, 5630; what by Levi, n. 3875, 3877, 4497, 4502, 4503; what by Issachar, n. 3956, 3957; what by Zebulun, n. 3960, 3961, 6383; what by Joseph, n. 3969, 3971, 4669, 6417; and what by Benjamin, n. 3969, 4592, 5411, 5413, 5443, 5639, 5686, 5688, 5689, 6440. That all numbers in the Word signify things, see n. 482, 487, 647, 648, 755, 813, 1963, 2075, 2252, 3252, 4264, 4495, 4670, 5265, 6175, 9488, 9659, 10,217, 10,253. That twelve signifies all, and all things as to truths from good, see n. 577, 2089, 2129, 2130, 3272, 3858, 3913; also, the numbers 72, 144, 12,000, 144,000, because they arise from the number 12 by multiplication, n. 7973. That numbers multiplied signify the same as the simple numbers from which they are produced by multiplication, see n. 5291, 5335, 5708, 7973.) [4] He who does not know that numbers signify things, what the numbers twelve, one hundred and forty-four, and twelve thousand signify, and also what tribes and apostles signify, cannot know what is signified by those passages in the Apocalypse, where it is said, that the holy city, New Jerusalem,
“had a wall great and high, having twelve gates, and in the gates twelve angels, and names written which are the names of the twelve tribes of Israel; and the wall had twelve foundations, in which were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. The wall was a hundred and forty and four cubits, and the length and the breadth of the city twelve thousand furlongs” (xxi. 12, 14, 16, 17).
The signification of all these things may be seen explained in the little work, The New Jerusalem and its Doctrine, n. 1; where it is shown, that by Jerusalem is signified the church as to doctrine; by the wall, its truths of defence; by the gates, introductory truths; by the foundations, the knowledges upon which doctrine is founded; by twelve angels, and by twelve tribes, all truths and goods collectively; the same by the twelve apostles; and by the numbers twelve, one hundred and forty-four, and twelve thousand, all things and all persons. [5] Moreover, he who knows that such things are signified by the twelve tribes may see the mystery involved in the names of the twelve tribes being engraved upon the precious stones of the Urim and Thummim, and also the signification of the breast-plate (Exod. xxviii. 21; xxxix. 10-15). (This arcanum may be seen unfolded in Arcana Coelestia, n. 3858, 6335, 6640, 9863, 9865, 9873, 9874, 9905.) He may also see what is the signification of the twelve apostles sitting upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel (Matt. xix. 28), namely, that the Lord alone will judge every one by truths from good (n. 2129, 6397); also what things are meant by the predictions of Israel the father, concerning his sons (Gen. xlix.); and also the meaning of many other passages in the Word where the tribes are mentioned (as in Isaiah xix. 13; xlix. 6; lxiii. 17; Jer. x. 16; Ezek. xlviii. 1, and following verses; Psalm cxxii. 3-5; Deut. xxxii. 8; Numb. xxiv. 2; Apoc. v. 9; vii. 4-9; xi. 9; xiii. 7; xiv. 6; and elsewhere). [6] And again, the meaning of the Lord’s words about the consummation of the age and His coming, may be seen:
“After the tribulation of those days the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken. And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven; and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man the clouds of heaven, with power and much coming in glory” (Matt. xiv. 29, 30).
(These words may be seen explained in detail in the work, Heaven and Hell, n. 1; and in the following passages in Arcana Coelestia, where it is shown that the twelve tribes of Israel represented, and thence signified, all truths and goods collectively, thus all things of faith and love, n. 3858, 3926, 4060, 6335; that similar things are signified by the twelve apostles, n. 2129, 3354, 3488, 3858, 6397; and that they have various significations according to the order in which they are named, n. 3862, 3926, 3939, 4603, 6337, 6640, 10,335.)
“Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself; [handle me] and see, for a spirit hath not flesh and bones as ye see me have” (Luke xxiv. 39).
It is by means of this, therefore, that the Lord is in ultimates; and because He made these things also Divine, He thus entered into the Divine power of ruling all things from primaries by means of ultimates. If the Lord had not done this, the human race on this earth would have perished in eternal death. But this mystery cannot here be further enlarged on, because many things must be known in order that an idea may be formed and obtained concerning the Divine government from primaries by means of ultimates. (Some light, however, may be obtained on the subject from the following things shown in Arcana Coelestia:-That interior things flow successively into external things, even into what is outermost or ultimate, and that they also exist or subsist there, n. 634, 6239, 6465, 9216, 9217. Concerning the order of influx, that internal things not only flow in successively, but also form what is simultaneous in the ultimate, n. 5897, 6451, 8603, 10,099. That therefore all interior things are held together in connection, from what is primary by means of the ultimate, n. 9828, and in the work, Heaven and Hell, n. 297. That consequently in ultimates there is strength and power, n. 9836; that hence also the ultimate is more holy than interior things, n. 9824; that consequently the first and the last signify all things, n. 10,044, 10,329, 10,335. Concerning the successive degrees into which the heavens are distinguished, and into which also the interiors of man are distinguished, see the work, Heaven and Hell, n. 38.) It is said also, that the Lord is the beginning and the end, by which is meant that He is from eternity to eternity; but this cannot be more fully explained than has been done above (n. 23, which see).
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and God was the Word. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us” (i. 1, 2, 3, 14).
By the Word is meant the Divine truth in the heavens, from which all things there exist. That the same is the Lord as to the Divine Human is evident, because it is said, “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us.” And because all the life of the angels is also from Him, and all light in the heavens, it is said, “In him was life, and the life was the light of men. (All these things may be seen more fully illustrated in the work, Heaven and Hell, viz., that the Divine of the Lord makes heaven, n. 7-12. That this is His Divine Human, n. 78-86. That all the life of angels is therefrom, n. 9; and also all the light of heaven, n. 126-140. That all the power the angels have is from the Lord, and none at all from themselves, n. 228-233.) From these considerations it is evident that “Almighty” denotes to be, to live, and to have power from Himself. That the Divine Human of the Lord is, lives, and has power from Itself, equally as His Divine in Himself, which is called the Father, the Lord also teaches:
“As the Father hath life in himself, so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself” (John v. 26)
and that no other has life in himself, is plain from the words of Jesus,
“Without me ye can do nothing” (John xv. 5).
“I John” signifies, doctrine concerning the Lord; “who also am your brother,” signifies, and concerning the good of love to Him; “and companion in affliction,” signifies the truth of faith infested by falsities; “in the kingdom,” signifies, in the church where there are truths; “and in expectation of Jesus Christ,” signifies, where there is the knowledge of the Divine in His Human; “was in the isle called Patmos,” signifies, revelation to the Gentiles; “for the Word of God,” signifies, that Divine truth may be received; “and for the testimony of Jesus Christ,” signifies, and that the Divine Human of the Lord may be acknowledged.
“I was in the spirit,” signifies, a spiritual state when there is revelation; “on the Lord’s day,” signifies, Divine influx at the time; “and I heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet,” signifies clear perception of Divine truth revealed from heaven.
“Saying, I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last,” signifies, who ruleth all things from primaries by means of ultimates, and thus all things of heaven to eternity; “what thou seest write in a book,” signifies, that they may he revealed for posterity; “and send unto the churches which are in Asia,” signifies, and then to all those who are in the light of intelligence; “unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea,” signifies, in particular according to reception.
“One said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to speak with thee; but he answered, Who is my mother? and who are my brethren? My mother and my brethren are they who hear the Word of God and do it” (Matt. xii. 47-50; Luke viii. 19-21).
And in another place:
“One is your master, Christ, but all ye are brethren” (Matt. xxiii. 8);
hence it is evident what it is to be a brother to the Lord. (But concerning this it has been shown, above, that all are associated in heaven according to spiritual affinities, which pertain to the good of love and faith. And that such know each other as kindred, see the work, Heaven and Hell, n. 205. See also what is said in Arcana Coelestia, n. 685, 917, 2739, 3612, 3815, 4121; that therefore, by brethren in the Word, are meant those who are conjoined by good, see n. 2360, 3303, 3803, 3815, 4121, 4191, 4267, 5409, 6756, 10,490. That they are called brethren by the Lord, who are in the good of love and of faith from Him, see n. 4191, 5686, 5692, 6756; that people are also called brethren from spiritual affinity, n. 6756; that charity and faith, thus good and truth, are brethren, and in what respect, n. 367, 3160, 9806; that good and truth are also brother and sister, and in what respect, n. 2508, 2524, 3160; that good and truth are also married partners, and in what respect, n. 3160; that man with brother denotes truth with good, n. 3459, 4725.)
“He that received the seed upon stony places hath no root in himself, but when affliction and persecution ariseth because of the Word, immediately he is offended” (xiii. 20, 21).
And in the same:
In the consummation of the age: “they shall deliver you up to affliction, and then shall be great affliction, such as was not from the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor shall be. Immediately after the affliction of those days the sun shall be darkened” (Matt. xxiv. 9, 21, 29; Mark xiii. 19, 24).
The consummation of the age is the last time of the church; and because falsities would then reign and fight against truths, therefore it is said that they shall be in affliction, and so great as was not from the beginning of the world. This is what is meant by the affliction in which John is said to be a companion, by whom is here meant doctrine concerning the Lord; for in the Apocalypse the last time of the church is treated of (see above, n. 5).
“The sons of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness” (viii. 12).
The sons of the kingdom there mentioned, are those who are of the church where truths do not reign, but falsities. And in the same:
“He who heareth the Word of the kingdom, and giveth no heed to it, the wicked one cometh, and taketh away that which was sown in his heart; this is that which was sown by the way-side. The field is the world; the [good] seed are the sons of the kingdom” (xiii. 19, 38).
To hear the Word of the kingdom is to hear the truths of the church; and because seed signifies truths, therefore those who receive truths are called sons of the kingdom. (That seed signifies the truth of the church see Arcana Coelestia, n. 3038, 3373, 3671, 10,248, 10,249.) In the same:
“Therefore the kingdom of God shall be taken from you and given to a nation bringing forth fruit” (xxi. 43).
That the kingdom of God there signifies the church as to truths, thus also the truths of the church, is clear from its being said that it should be taken from them, and given to a nation bringing forth fruit; and fruit signifies good. Again, in the same:
In the consummation of the age, “nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom” (xxiv. 7).
The consummation of the age is the last time of the church; nation against nation denotes evil against good, and kingdom against kingdom denotes falsity against truth. (That nation signifies the good of the church, and in an opposite sense, the evil thereof, see Arcana Coelestia, n. 1059, 1159, 1258, 1260, 1416, 1849, 6005.) [3] It is evident from these things what is meant by kingdom in the Lord’s prayer,
“Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so also on the earth. Thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory” (Matt. vi. 10, 13).
Thy kingdom come, signifies, that truth may be received thy will be done, signifies, that it may be received by those who do the will of God; thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, signifies, Divine truth from God alone; it is also said power and glory, because to Divine truth belong all power and glory (as may be seen above, n. 33). From these considerations it may be seen that the kingdom of God signifies, in many other passages of the Word, the church as to truths, also heaven, and, in the highest sense, the Lord as to the Divine Human. The reason why kingdom, in the highest sense, signifies the Lord as to the Divine Human is, that all Divine truth proceeds from Him; and the reason why kingdom signifies heaven is, that heaven, with the angels, is from no other source than the Divine truth which proceeds from the Lord’s Divine Human (see in the work, Heaven and Hell, n. 7-12, 78-86, 126-140).
“Glorify Jehovah in Urim, the name of the God of Israel in the isles of the sea” (xxiv. 15).
Again:
“He shall not extinguish, neither break to pieces, until he set
judgment in the earth; and the isles shall hope in his law. Sing to Jehovah a new song, his praises, ye ends of the earth; ye that go down to the sea, the isles, and the inhabitants thereof, shall give glory to Jehovah, and shall announce his praise in the isles” (xlii. 4, 10, 12).
Again:
“Listen, O isles, unto me, and hearken ye people from afar” (xlix. 1).
Again:
“In me shall the islands hope, and upon mine arm shall they trust” (li. 5).
Again:
“The islands shall trust in me, and the ships of Tarshish” (lx. 9).
In Jeremiah:
“Hear the words of Jehovah, O ye nations, and declare them in the islands from afar” (xxxi. 10).
And in Zephaniah:
Jehovah “will make lean all the gods of the land, that they may adore him, every one in his place; all the islands of the nations” (ii. 11).
And elsewhere, as in Isaiah xxiii. 2, 6; xli. 1, 5; xlii. 15; lxvi. 19; Jerem. ii. 10; xxv. 22; Ezek. xxvii. 3, 7, 15, 35. From these and other passages it is evident that isles signify the nations [or Gentiles], specifically as to the doctrine of truth, and elsewhere as to the doctrine of falsity; for most things in the Word have also opposite significations.
Every man, however, has implanted within him, by continual influx from heaven, a desire to see the Divine, and indeed under a human form. [2] This is implanted with the simple, and also with the upright among the Gentiles (see in the work, Heaven and Hell, n. 82); therefore all those of them who have lived in charity, are received by the Lord, and are gifted with heaven; others cannot be received, because there is no conjunction. (That all the angels in heaven, and also the wisest in ancient times and all those who have spiritual faith, or living faith, that is, with whom faith is living, both on this earth, and on all the earths in the universe, see their Divine in thought, because they acknowledge the Divine Human, and are therefore accepted by the Lord, may be seen in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem, n. 280-310; and in the work, Heaven and Hell, n. 79-86, 316, 321; and in the small work, The Earths in the Universe, n. 7, 40, 41, 65, 68, 91, 98, 99, 107, 121, 141, 154, 158, 159, 169.) Since this heaven-implanted perception is almost entirely repudiated by the learned of the world, and access to the Divine thereby precluded, a New Church is being established by the Lord among the Gentiles, who have not extirpated that idea, and, together with it, faith. The extirpation of this implanted principle from the Christian world, had its origin in the Babylonish nation, which separated the Lord’s Human from the Divine, in order that the leaders among them might be acknowledged as the Vicar of the Lord’s Human, and so might transfer His Divine power to himself, saying, that the Lord received that power from the Father, when notwithstanding He received it from Himself, because from His Own Divine. They are consequently unwilling to hear anything about the Divine Human (see Arcana Coelestia, n. 4738). But on this subject, since it is the chief of all things in the church, more will be related in the following pages.
He who knows nothing of this sight believes that, when angels were seen by men, they assumed a human form, and that when they vanished out of sight, they laid it down; this, however, was not the case, but angels then appeared in their own form, which is the human form, not before the sight of their bodily eyes, but before the sight of their spirit, this sight being then opened. This is plainly evident from the Lord being seen by the disciples after His resurrection, when He Himself showed them that He was a man in a perfect form (Luke xxiv. 39; John xx. 20-28); and nevertheless He became invisible; for when they saw Him, the eyes of their spirit were opened; but when He became invisible those eyes were closed. That man has a sight of this kind, is evident to me from much experience; for all the things that I have seen in the heavens were seen by means of that sight; and then I was in a state of wakefulness similar to that in which I was when they were not seen. But this sight is seldom opened to any one by the Lord at this day, and that for many reasons.
“He shall send angels with a great voice of a trumpet, and they shall gather together the elect from the four winds” (xxiv. 31).
In Isaiah:
“All ye inhabitants of the world, and dwellers on the earth, when the sign of the mountains is lifted up, behold; and when the trumpet is sounded, hear” (xviii. 3).
In Jeremiah
“Proclaim with the trumpet in the land. Set up the standard towards Zion. How long shall I see the standard, and hear the sound of the trumpet? For my people is stupid they are foolish sons, and have no understanding” (iv. 5, 6, 21, 22).
In the same prophet:
“I have set watchmen over you, saying, Hearken to the voice of the trumpet. But they said, We will not hearken. Therefore hear ye nations” (vi. 17, 18).
In Ezekiel:
“He heard the voice of the trumpet, and took not warning; his blood shall be upon him. But had he taken warning, he would have delivered his soul” (xxxiii. 5).
And in Hosea:
“Set the trumpet to thy mouth, because they have transgressed my covenant, and have trespassed against my law” (viii. 1).
And in Zechariah:
“The Lord Jehovih shall sound with the trumpet, and shall go forth in whirlwinds of the south” (ix. 14).
And in David:
“God goeth up with a shout, and Jehovah with the voice of a trumpet” (Psalm xlvii. 5).
And also in Apoc. iv. 1; viii. 2, 7, 8, 13; ix. 1, 13, 14; x. 7; xviii. 22. Because a trumpet signified Divine truth, therefore when Divine truth had first to be revealed before the people of Israel, the voices of a trumpet were heard from Mount Sinai (Exod. xix. 16). Hence, therefore, to sound with a trumpet became a representative with them, when they were convoked, when they journeyed, and also in their solemnities, in the beginnings of months, at burnt offerings and peace offerings (Numb. x. 1-10). They also sounded with trumpets when they went to battle against the Midianites (Numb. xxxi. 6); and when they took the city of Jericho (Joshua vi. 4-20); for those wars and battles signified spiritual combats, which are combats of truth against falsity, and of falsity against truth.
60. Verses 12-16. And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden lampstands; and in the midst of the seven lampstands one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the breasts with a golden girdle. His head and his hairs were white as white wool, as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire. And his feet were like unto burnished brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the voice of many waters. And he had in his right hand seven stars; and out of his mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was as the sun shineth in his power.
“And I turned to see the voice that spake with me,” signifies, the understanding enlightened; “and being turned I saw seven golden lampstands,” signifies, the New Heaven and the New Church, which are in the good of love.
“And in the midst of the seven lampstands one like the Son of man,” signifies, the Lord, from whom is the all of heaven and of the church; “clothed with a garment down to the foot,” signifies, Divine truth proceeding from Him; “and girt about the breasts with a golden girdle,” signifies, Divine good in like manner.
“His head and his hairs were white,” signifies His Divine in Primaries and ultimates; “as white wool, as snow,” signifies as to good and truth there; “and His eyes were as a flame of fire,” signifies, Divine providence from His Divine love.
“And his feet were like unto burnished brass, as if they burned in a furnace,” signifies, the ultimate of Divine order, which is the Natural; “and his voice as the voice of many waters,” signifies, Divine truth in ultimates.
“And he had in his right hand seven stars,” signifies, all the knowledges (cognitiones) of good and truth from Him; “and out of his mouth went a sharp, two-edged sword,” signifies, the dispersion of all falsities by the Word; “and his face was as the sun shineth in his power,” signifies, His Divine love, from which are all things of heaven.
In the Word it is also usual to mention those things in the first place which are done in the last, because intermediate things are included in them; for the primary thing, in the spiritual sense, is the end for which all the other things exist, inasmuch as the end is the primary and the ultimate, and all other things have respect to it (as may be seen in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem, n. 98). [2] That a lampstand signifies heaven and the church, may be evident from the description of the lampstand which was in the tabernacle; for by the tabernacle was represented heaven in its whole extent; and by the lampstand therein the spiritual heaven, which is the second heaven (see Arcana Coelestia, n. 3478, 9457, 9481, 9485, 9548-9577, 9783). That this is the case is clearly evident from the fact, that John saw in the midst of the seven lampstands one like unto the Son of man; and the Son of man is the Lord as to the Divine Human, from which Divine truth proceeds, which is the all in all of heaven and the church. In the spiritual heaven the inhabitants see lampstands of great splendour; their heaven is represented by these; I have also been permitted to see them. It is, therefore, evident what is meant, in the spiritual sense of the Word, by lampstands and by lamps, in the following passages. In the Apocalypse:
“I will remove thy lampstand out of its place, except thou repent” (ii. 5)
To remove their lampstand, is to take away heaven or the church from them. In Zechariah:
The angel said to the prophet: “What seest thou? And I said, I saw, and behold a lampstand all of gold, its bowl on the top of it, and its seven lamps thereon, with seven pipes to the lamps” (iv. 2, 3).
In this passage Zerubbabel is treated of, who was to lay the foundation of the house of God, and to perfect it; by whom is represented the Lord, who was about to come, and to restore heaven and the church, which are signified by the lampstand; and the holy truths therein are the seven lamps. Because a lampstand derives its representative signification from lamps, and lamps theirs from light, which in heaven is the Divine truth, therefore the Lord also is called a lamp, as in the Apocalypse:
The holy Jerusalem “had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it; for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the lamp thereof” (xxi. 23; xxii. 5).
This is why David, and the kings after him, were called “lamps of Israel” (2 Sam. xxi. 17; 1 Kings xi. 36; xv. 4; 2 Kings viii 19). For by David was represented the Lord as to his regal function; and similarly by the kings of Judah and Israel. (The representation by David may be seen in Arcana Coelestia, n. 1888, 9954; and by kings, above, n. 31.) The reason why the lampstands that were seen were of gold, was, that gold signifies the good of love, and all that proceeds from the Lord is from Divine love; wherefore the Divine of the Lord in the heavens is love to Him and love towards the neighbour, which is charity (as may be seen in the work, Heaven and Hell, n. 13-19). This is the reason why the lampstands here mentioned, and also the lampstand lit the tabernacle, was of gold.
The multitude said unto Jesus, “How sayest thou that the Son of man must be lifted up? who is this Son of man? Jesus answered them, Yet a little while the light is with you; walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you. While ye have the light believe in the light, that ye may be sons of light” (xii. 34-36).
From these words it is clear that by the Son of man is signified the same as by light; for when they inquired, “Who is this Son of man?” the Lord answered that He was the light in which they should believe. (That light is the Divine truth proceeding from the Divine Human of the Lord, may be seen in the work, Heaven and Hell, n. 126-140; and in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem, n. 49; thus also that the Son of man is the Divine truth.) It is said in Luke:
[3] “Blessed are ye when men shall hate you for the Son of man’s sake” (vi. 22).
For the Son of man’s sake is for the sake of the Divine truth which proceeds from the Lord. Divine truth is the all of faith and love to the Lord; and because they who are evil deny those things, and they who deny also hate them, and the good acknowledge them, therefore it is said, that these latter are blessed. Again, in the same:
[4] “The days will come, when ye shall desire to see one of the days of the Son of man, but ye shall not see it. Then they shall say to you, Behold here, or behold there; go not away, nor follow them” (xvii. 22, 23).
To desire one of the days of the Son of man, is to desire something of genuine Divine truth. The end of the church is there meant, when there will be no longer any faith, because no charity, at which time all Divine truth will perish; and because Divine truth is signified by the Son of man, therefore it is said, “Then shall they say, Behold here, or behold there; follow them not.” And in the same:
[5] “When the Son of man cometh, shall He find faith on the earth?” (xviii. 8);
that is, when Divine truth shall be revealed out of heaven, it will not be believed. The Son of man, in this place also, is the Lord as to Divine truth; the coming of the Lord is the revelation of Divine truth at the end of the church. (See Arcana Coelestia, n. 3900, 4060.)
[6] And in Matthew:
“As the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall the coming of the Son of man be. Then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven; and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven, with power and glory” (xxiv. 27, 30).
(That by the coming of the Lord in the clouds of heaven, is there signified the revelation of Divine truth at the end of the church, may be seen above, n. 36.) [7] And in the same:
“I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven” (xxvi. 64).
And in Luke:
“Hereafter shall the Son of man sit on the right hand of the power of God” (xxii. 69).
The Son of man is the Lord as to the Divine Human, and as to Divine truth proceeding from It; to sit on the right hand of power, means that He has omnipotence; its being said that they should see this now, means, that Divine truth was in its omnipotence when the Lord in the world had conquered the hells, and reduced to order all things there and in the heavens, and that thus those would be saved who should receive Him in faith and love. (See Arcana Coelestia, n. 9715. That to sit on the right hand denotes omnipotence, may be seen Arcana Coelestia, n. 3387, 4592, 4933, 7518, 8281, 9133; that all the power of good is by truth, n. 6344, 6423, 8304, 9327, 9410, 9639, 9643. That Divine power itself is by Divine truth proceeding from the Divine Human of the Lord, see n. 6948; that the clouds in which the Son of man will come are the Word in the letter, which is Divine truth in the ultimate of order, see the preface to the xviii. chapter of Genesis, Arcana Coelestia, n. 4060, 4391, 5922, 6343, 6752, 8443, 8781; and that glory is the Divine truth itself, such as it is in the internal sense of the Word, see n. 4809, 5922, 8267, 9429.)
[8] From these considerations it is now evident what is signified by these words in the Apocalypse:
“I saw, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown” (xiv. 14).
And in Daniel:
“I saw in the visions of the night, and behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of the heavens” (vii. 13).
Because all judgment is executed from truth, therefore it is said, that it is given to the Lord “to execute judgment, because he is the Son of man” (John v. 27); and that “the Son of man shall render to every one according to his deeds” (Matt. xvi. 27); and that “when the Son of man shall come, he shall sit upon the throne of his glory, and shall judge” (Matt. xxv. 31). [9] And again in Matthew, it is said:
“He who soweth the good seed is the Son of man; the field is the world; the good seed are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the evil” (xiii. 37, 38).
The good seed is Divine truth, therefore it is said that the Son of man soweth it; the sons of the kingdom are Divine truths in heaven and the church; for son denotes truth (see Arcana Coelestia, n. 489, 491, 533, 1147, 2623), and, in an opposite sense, falsity, which also is the son of evil. [10] In the same:
“The Son of man hath not where to lay his head” (viii. 20);
by which is signified, that Divine truth had not a place anywhere, or with any man, at that time. Again it is said, that the Son of man would suffer and be put to death (Matt. xvii. 12, 22; xxvi. 2, 24, 45; Mark viii. 31; ix. 12, 31); by which is signified, that thus they would treat Divine truth, consequently the Lord, who was Divine truth itself, as He also teaches in Luke:
“The Son of man must first suffer, and be rejected of this generation” (xvii. 25).
[11] In Jeremiah:
“No man [vir] shall dwell there; neither shall a son of man [hominis] abide there” (xlix. 18, 33).
In the same:
In the cities “no man shall dwell, nor shall a son of man pass through them” (li. 43).
He who is not acquainted with the spiritual sense of the Word, believes that by cities here are meant cities, and that by man, and by a son of man, are meant a man and a son; also, that the cities were thus to be desolated, so that no one should be in them; but it is the state of the church as to the doctrine of truth which is described by those words; for cities denote the doctrinals of the church (as may be seen, Arcana Coelestia, n. 402, 2449, 3216, 4492, 4493); and man is the essential truth thereof, conjoined with good (see n. 3134, 7716, 9007); thus the Son of man is truth. Because the Son of man signified Divine truth proceeding from the Lord, therefore the prophets also, through whom it was revealed, were called “sons of man,” as Daniel (viii. 17); and Ezekiel (ii. 1, 3, 6, 8; iii. 1, 3, 4, 10, 17, 25; iv. 1, 16; viii. 5, 6, 8, 12, 15; xii. 2, 3, 9, 18, 22, 27). As most things in the Word have also an opposite sense, so also has the signification of a son of man, which in that sense denotes falsity opposed to truth. Thus in Isaiah:
“What art thou, that thou fearest man? he dies; and a son of man? he is as grass” (li. 12).
And in David:
“Place not your trust in princes, in a son of man, with whom there is no salvation” (Psalm cxlvi. 3).
Princes denote primary truths (see Arcana Coelestia, n. 2089, 5044); thus, in an opposite sense, primary falsities; and son of man denotes falsity itself.
[3] That the Divine Human of the Lord was thus seen, is clear, because the Divine itself cannot appear to any except by means of the Divine Human; this the Lord teaches also in John:
“No one hath seen God at any time; the only-begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he hath brought him forth to view” (i. 18).
And in another place:
“Ye have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape” (John v. 37).
(That such things are signified by these words in the Evangelists, is evident from Arcana Coelestia, where it is shown that, in the Word by Peter, James, and John are signified faith, charity, and the works of charity, n. 3750, and above, n. 9; that by a high mountain is signified heaven, n. 8327, 8805, 9420, 9422, 9434, 10,608; that by face are signified the interiors of the mind, n. 1999, 2434, 3527, 4066, 4796, 5102, 9306, 9546, and by the face of the Lord, mercy, peace, and every good, n. 222, 223, 5585, 9306, 9546, 9888. That by the sun is signified Divine love, see n. 2495, 4060, 7083, and in the work, Heaven and Hell, n. 116-125. That by garments, when the Lord is treated of, is signified Divine truth, see n. 9212, 9216; that the same is signified by light, see n. 3195, 3222, 5400, 8644, 9399, 9548, 9684, and in the work, Heaven and Hell, n. 126-140. That Moses and Elias signify the Word; that Moses does so, see Arcana Coelestia, n. 5922, 6723, 6752, 6771, 6827, 7010, 7014, 7089, 7382, 9372, 10,234; and that Elias does, see n. 2762, 5247. That clouds signify the Word [in the letter], see above, n. 36; that beloved Son is the Divine Human of the Lord is evident.) From the signification of the Lord’s garments, as being Divine truth, it may be known what is signified by the soldiers dividing the Lord’s garments among them, and casting lots upon His vesture, concerning which it is thus written in John,
“The soldiers took his garments and made four parts, to each soldier a part, and also his coat; now the coat was without seam, woven from the top throughout. They said therefore among themselves, Let us not divide it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be; that the Scripture might be fulfilled, which saith, They parted my garments among them, and for my vesture they did cast lots. These things therefore the soldiers did” (xix. 23, 24).
[4] He who does not know that in every particular of the Word there is an internal sense, which is spiritual, cannot see any arcanum in these things; he only knows that the soldiers divided the garments and not the coat, and he perceives nothing more than this, when, nevertheless, there is not only a Divine arcanum contained in this circumstance, but also in every particular of the things recorded concerning the Lord’s passion. The arcanum which is contained in this circumstance is, that the Lord’s garments signified Divine truth, thus the Word, because the Word is Divine truth; the garments which they divided, the Word in the letter, and the coat, the Word in the internal sense. To divide them, signifies to disperse and falsify; and soldiers signify those who belong to the church, who fight for Divine truth; wherefore it is said, “These things therefore the soldiers did.” It is therefore clear, that by these words in the spiritual sense, is meant, that the Jewish Church dispersed the Divine truth which is in the sense of the letter; but that they could not disperse the Divine truth which is in the internal sense. (That the Lord’s garments signified Divine truth, thus the Word, was shown above; that His coat signified Divine truth, or the Word, in the internal sense, may be seen, Arcana Coelestia, n. 9826, 9942; that to divide is to disperse and separate from good and truth, thus to falsify, may be seen, n. 4424, 6360, 6361, 9094. That soldiers signify those who belong to the church, in this place to the Jewish church, who fought for Divine truth, is evident from the spiritual sense of warfare and of war; that war signifies spiritual combats, which are those of truth against falsity, may be seen, n. 1659, 1664, 8295, 10,455; it is therefore said concerning the Levites, whose function was to deal with the things of the church, that they should go out to the warfare, and should serve in the warfare, by exercising the ministry in the tent of the assembly (Numb. iv. 23, 35, 39, 43, 47; viii. 23, 24).
“I will place thee for an eternal excellency, a joy of generation and generation. Thou shalt suck the milk of the nations, and shalt suck the breasts of kings” (lx. 15, 16).
Kings denote truths from good from the Lord (as may be seen above, n. 31); breasts and chest denote that good, which is the good of spiritual love. [3] That the chest signifies the good of spiritual love is from correspondence with heaven; for the whole heaven corresponds to all things of man; the inmost or third heaven corresponds to the head; the middle or second to the chest, and the ultimate or first, to the feet. On account of such correspondence, heaven is also called the Grand Man (Maximus Homo); and because the inmost or third heaven corresponds to the head, therefore by the head is signified the good of celestial love, which is the good of love to the Lord. The reason of this is, that the good of celestial love reigns in and constitutes that heaven; and because the middle or second heaven corresponds to the chest, therefore by the chest is signified the good of spiritual love, which is the good of love towards the neighbour, because this good reigns in and constitutes that heaven. And because the ultimate or first heaven corresponds to the feet, therefore by feet is signified the good of natural from spiritual love, which is the good of faith; the reason is that, that good reigns in and constitutes that heaven. From these considerations it is clear why it is that the breasts signify spiritual love, and the chest its good. (But these things may be better understood from what is shown in the work, Heaven and Hell; especially from the articles which treat of the three heavens, n. 29-39, where it is shown, that the Divine of the Lord in the heavens is love to Him and charity towards the neighbour, see n. 13-19; that the whole heaven resembles one man, see n. 59-67; and that there is correspondence of heaven with all things of man, see n. 87-102; and in Arcana Coelestia, n. 4938, 4939, 10,087. It is permitted to adduce from that work, by way of illustration, these few things. That the chest signifies the good of spiritual love, is because within, in the chest, are the heart and lungs, and the heart from correspondence signifies celestial love and the lungs spiritual love, but the lungs fill the chest; that there is such a correspondence, see Arcana Coelestia, n. 3383-3896, 9280, 9300; what celestial love is and what spiritual love, may be seen in the work, Heaven and Hell, n. 23.)
[4] From these considerations it is also evident why the strength of Samson was in his hair (Judges xvi. [13] to the end), for it is said that he was a Nazarite from his mother’s womb (Judges xiii. 7; xvi. 17); so also it was not lawful for the chief priest and his sons, nor for the Levites, to shave the head and make themselves bald (Levit. x. 6; xxi. 5, 10; Ezek. xliv. 20). So, too, to cut off the beard, which also had a similar signification, was ignominious with the people of Israel (2 Sam. x. 4, 5). The reason why the forty-two boys were torn in pieces by bears, because they mocked Elisha, calling him bald-head, was, that Elijah and Elisha represented the Lord as to the Word, which is Divine truth, the sanctity and strength of which are in the ultimates from primaries, as said above; and because baldness signified the deprivation of them, therefore this circumstance took place; bears also signify truth in ultimates. (That Elijah and Elisha represented the Lord as to the Word, may be seen, Arcana Coelestia, n. 2762, 5247.) [5] From these considerations it is also clear why the garment of Elias was hairy, and that of John was made of camel’s hair; for John the Baptist, as well as Elias, represented the Lord as to the Word, therefore he was also called Elias (as may be seen, Arcana Coelestia, n. 7643, 9372). When these things are understood it can be known what is signified by the head, hairs, beard, and baldness in the Word. As in Isaiah:
“In that time shall the Lord, by the king of Assyria, shave the head, and the hairs of the feet; he shall also consume the beard” (vii. 20).
In the same:
“Upon all heads shall be baldness, every beard shaven” (xv. 2).
In Jeremiah:
“Truth hath perished, and is cut off from their mouth; cut off thine hair and cast it away” (vii. 28, 29).
And in Ezekiel:
“Take a razor, and pass it upon the head and beard” (v. 1).
Again:
“On every face shall be shame, and upon all heads baldness” (vii. 18).
Again:
“Every head was made bald” (xxix. 18).
In Amos:
“I will bring baldness upon every head” (viii. 10).
And in David:
“God shall bruise the head of his enemies, the hairy scalp of him that goeth on in his guilt” (Psalm lxviii. 21).
In these passages, and in others, by cutting off the hair of the head, shaving the beard, and inducing baldness, is signified to deprive of all good and truth, because he who is deprived of the ultimates is also deprived of things prior, for prior things exist and subsist in ultimates, as said above. In the world of spirits also, there are seen those who are bald; and I have been informed that they are those who were abusers of the Word and had applied the sense of the letter, which is Divine truth in the ultimates, to wicked purposes, and consequently were deprived of all truth; they are also the most wicked, and many of them are from the Babylonish nation; but, on the contrary, the angels are seen with becoming hair.
“His raiment became shining, exceeding shining white as snow; so as no fuller on earth can whiten them” (Mark ix. 3).
And concerning the Ancient of Days, in Daniel:
“I saw until the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of Days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head as white wool” (vii. 9).
Garment also signifies the Divine in ultimates (as may be seen above, n. 64); and the Ancient of Days, the Lord from eternity. [2] Because wool signifies good in ultimates, therefore good is sometimes described in the Word by wool, and truth by linen and by snow, as in Hosea:
“She said, I will go after my lovers, who give my bread and my waters, my wool and my flax. Therefore I will return and will take my corn in its time, and I will take away my wool and my flax” (ii. 5, 9);
and in Ezekiel:
“Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe yourselves with the wool; ye kill that which is the best, ye feed not the flock” (xxxiv. 3).
In David:
“Jehovah sendeth forth his word upon earth; he giveth snow like wool” (Ps. cxlvii. 15, 16).
And in Isaiah:
“If your sins were as scarlet, they shall be white as snow; if they were red as crimson, they shall be as wool” (i. 18).
The reason why snow is spoken of in reference to sins which were as scarlet, and wool of sins which were red as crimson, is because scarlet signifies truth from good, and, in an opposite sense, falsity from evil (see Arcana Coelestia, n. 4922, 9468) and red and crimson signify good, and, in an opposite sense, evil of every kind (Arcana Coelestia, n. 3330, 9467, 9865).
“Incline thine ear, O Jehovah, and hear; open thine eyes, O Jehovah, and see” (xxxvii. 17).
In Jeremiah:
“I will set mine eye upon them for good, and I will bring them back upon this land, and I will build them” (xxiv. 6).
And in David:
“Behold the eye of Jehovah is upon them that fear him” (Ps. xxxiii. 18);
and in the same:
“Jehovah is in the temple of his holiness, his eyes behold, and his eyelids prove the sons of man” (Ps. xi. 4.);
and in other places. (Concerning the Divine providence, see The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem, n. 267-279.)
When these things are understood, it will be evident that by the feet of Jehovah, or of the Lord, in the Word, is signified the ultimate of Divine order, or the Natural; and because the external of the church, of worship, and of the Word, is the ultimate of Divine order in the church, and is the Natural, therefore this is specifically signified by the feet of Jehovah, or of the Lord. [3] It was for this reason that, when the Lord was seen as an angel by the prophets, in other places, He was seen by them also in a similar manner. Thus by Daniel:
“I lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a man clothed in linen, whose loins were girded with gold of Uphaz; his body also was like the beryl, and his eyes as torches of fire his arms and his feet as the brightness of polished brass” (x. 5, 6).
Similarly, the cherubs, which mean the Lord as to providence and protection (see Arcana Coelestia, n. 9277, 9509, 9673), were seen by Ezekiel:
“Their feet sparkled as the brightness of polished brass” (i. 7).
So also the Lord was afterwards seen as an angel, in the Apocalypse:
“I saw an angel coming down from heaven, clothed with a cloud; and a rainbow was about his head, and his face was as the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire” (x. 1).
Because the Lord was thus seen as to the feet, therefore under the feet was seen, by some of the sons of Israel,
“as it were a work of sapphire stone, and as the substance of heaven in purity” (Exod. xxiv. 10).
The reason why the Lord was not seen by them as to the feet, but under the feet, was, that they were not in the external of the church, of worship, and of the Word, but under it (as may be seen in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem, n. 248). Since the feet of Jehovah, or the Lord, signify the ultimate of Divine order, and this is specifically the external of the church, of worship, and of the Word, therefore this is called His footstool in the Word, as in Isaiah:
“The glory of Lebanon shall come unto thee, to beautify the place of my sanctuary; I will make the place of my feet honourable. And they shall bow themselves down at the soles of thy feet” (lx. 13, 14).
Again:
“Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool” (lxvi. 1).
In Jeremiah:
God “doth not remember his footstool in the day of anger” (Lam. ii. 1).
And in David:
“Adore ye Jehovah, towards his footstool” (Ps. xcix. 5).
Again:
“We will go into his habitation; we will bow ourselves at his footstool” (Ps. cxxxii. 7).
And in Nahum:
“The clouds of Jehovah are the dust of his feet” (l. 3).
That cloud denotes the external of the Word, or the Word as to the letter, may be seen above, n. 36; and because cloud denotes the external of the Word, it also denotes the external of the church and of worship, for the church and worship are from the Word. It is said the dust of His feet, because those things which are in the sense of the letter of the Word, which sense is natural, appear scattered.
“whose head was of gold, the chest and arms of silver, the belly and thighs of brass, the legs of iron, and the feet partly of iron and partly of clay” (Dan. ii, 32, 33).
The state of the church from its first time to its last as to good and truth, is here signified; its last time was when the Lord came into the world.
When it is known that gold signifies celestial good, silver spiritual good, brass natural good, and iron natural truth, many arcana in the Word where those metals are mentioned can be known. For example, what is signified by these words in Isaiah:
“For brass I will bring gold, for iron I will bring silver, and for wood brass, and for stones iron; I will also make thy government peace, and thine exactors justice” (lx. 17).
[3] But as the signification of brass is what is here treated of, as being natural good, it is necessary only to adduce a few passages where brass is mentioned and signifies that good. Thus in Moses:
“Asher acceptable to his brethren, and dipping his foot in oil; iron and brass thy shoe, and as thy day, thy fame” (Deut. xxxiii. 24, 25).
Asher, as one of the tribes, signifies the happiness of life, and the delight of the affections (see Arcana Coelestia, n. 3938, 3939, 6408); to dip the foot in oil signifies natural delight (that oil denotes delight, see n. 9954, and that the foot denotes the Natural, see above, n. 69); the shoe being iron and brass signifies the lowest Natural derived from truth and good, shoe denoting the lowest Natural (see n. 1748, 1860, 6844); iron is its truth, and brass its good, as above. Again,
“Jehovah thy God will bring thee into a rich land; a land out of whose stones thou shalt cut iron, and out of whose mountains brass” (Deut. viii. 7, 9).
And in Jeremiah:
“I will give thee unto this people for a fortified wall of brass, that they may fight against thee, and not prevail over thee” (xv. 20).
And in Ezekiel:
“Javan, Tubal, and Mesech, they were thy merchants; with the soul of man and vessels of brass they gave thy merchandise” (xxvii. 13).
In this chapter the merchandises of Tyre are treated of, by which are signified the knowledges (cognitiones) of good and truth. By the names Javan, Tubal, and Mesech, are signified those things that pertain to good and truth, to which the knowledges relate; the soul of man denotes the truth of life; vessels of brass denote scientifics of natural good. [4] (What is signified by Tyre, may be seen, Arcana Coelestia, n. 1201; what by merchandises, n. 2967, 4453; what by Tubal and Mesech, n. 1151; what by Javan, n. 1152, 1153, 1155; what by the soul of man, n. 2930, 9050, 9281; what by vessels, n. 3068, 3079, 3316, 3318.) Again, in the same prophet:
The feet of the cherubs “shone like the appearance of polished brass” (i. 7).
(What the cherubs and the feet signify, may be seen above, n. 69.) And in the same prophet:
I saw, and, “lo, a man, whose appearance was like the appearance of brass, and a thread of flax in his hands; he stood in the gate” (xl. 3).
Because the angel here mentioned measured the wall and the gates of the house of God, which signify the externals of the church, his appearance was seen to be the appearance of brass.
He who knows that brass signifies the external of the church, which in itself is natural, may in some measure understand why the altar of burnt-offering was overlaid with brass, and the gate round it was of brass, and the vessels of brass (Exod. xxvii. 1-4), also why the great vessel, which was called the sea, with the twelve, oxen under it, and the ten lavers with the bases, and also all the vessels of the tabernacle for the house of God, were made by Solomon of polished brass (1 Kings vii. 43-47). He who knows what brass signifies, can also enter into the arcanum why a serpent of brass was commanded to be set up for the people to look at, concerning which it is thus written in Moses:
“Jehovah sent serpents among the people, which bit the people. And he said unto Moses, Make thee a serpent, and set it upon a pole; and it shall come to pass that every one that is bitten, when he hath looked upon it, shall live. And Moses made a serpent of brass, and set it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that when a serpent had bitten any man, and he looked upon the serpent of brass, he lived” (Numb. xxi. 6, 8, 9).
That the Lord was signified by that serpent, He himself teaches in John:
“As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (iii. 14, 15).
By the serpent is signified the ultimate of life in man, which is called the external Sensual, which is natural. To represent this ultimate, which in the Lord was Divine, among the sons of Israel, with whom all things were representative, a serpent of brass was made; and the signification was, that, if they looked to the Divine Human of the Lord, they would revive, that is, if they believed in Him, they should have eternal life, as the Lord himself also teaches. (That to see in the spiritual sense is to believe, may be seen above, n. 37, 68; and that a serpent denotes the external Sensual, which is the ultimate of the life of man, see Arcana Coelestia, n. 195-197, 6398, 6949, 10,313.) That brass and iron in the Word also signify what is hard, as in Isaiah xlviii. 4; Dan. vii. 19; and other places, will be seen in the following pages.
71. And his voice as the voice of many waters. That this signifies Divine truth in ultimates, is evident from the signification of a voice, when it is from the Lord, as denoting Divine truth (concerning which see Arcana Coelestia, n. 219, 220, 3563, 6971, 8813, 8914, and above, n. 55), and from the signification of the waters, as denoting the truths of faith, and also the knowledges (cognitiones) of truth (concerning which see n. 2702, 3058, 5668, 8568, 10,238); and because the knowledges (cognitiones) of truth are in ultimates, therefore by His voice as the voice of many waters, because it relates to the Lord, is signified Divine truth in ultimates. (That knowledges (cognitiones) and Scientifics (scientifica) belong to the external or natural man, because they are in the light of the world, thus, in ultimates, may be seen, Arcana Coelestia, n. 5212, and in general from what is said in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem, n. 51.) As it is not yet known that waters in the Word signify the truths of faith and the knowledges (cognitiones) of truth, and, perhaps, because it appears far-fetched, I wish here briefly to show that such things are meant by waters in the Word. This is also necessary because without a knowledge of the signification of waters, it cannot be known what is signified by baptism, nor what by the washings observed in the Israelitish Church, of which mention is so frequently made. Waters signify the truths of faith, because bread signifies the good of love; the reason why waters and bread have such a signification is that the things that pertain to spiritual nourishment are expressed, in the sense of the letter, by those things that have reference to natural nourishment. For bread and water, by which are meant all food and drink in general, nourish the body, and the truths of faith and the good of love nourish the soul. This is also from correspondence; for when bread and water are read in the Word, the angels, being spiritual, understand those things which nourish them; these are the goods of love and the truths of faith.
[2] But some passages shall be here adduced, whence it may be known that waters signify the truths of faith, likewise the knowledges (cognitiones) of truth. Thus in Isaiah:
“The earth shall be full of the knowledge (scientia) of Jehovah, as the waters cover the sea” (xi. 9).
Again:
“With joy shall ye draw water out of the fountains of salvation” (xii. 3).
Again:
“He that walketh in justice, and speaketh uprightnesses, bread shall be given him, and sure waters” (xxxiii. 15, 16).
Again:
“The poor and the needy seek water, but there is none; their tongue faileth for thirst. I will open rivers in high places, and fountains in the midst of the valleys. I will make the wilderness a pool of waters, and the dry land springs of waters. That they may see, and know, and hearken, and understand” (xli. 17, 18, 20).
Again:
“I will pour out waters upon him that is thirsty; and, floods upon the dry ground; I will pour my spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring” (xliv. 3).
Again:
“Thy light shall arise in obscurity, and thy darkness as the noon-day; that thou mayest be as a watered garden, and as the going forth of waters, whose waters shall not lie” (lviii. 10).
In Jeremiah:
“My people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, to hew out for themselves pits that hold no water” (ii. 13).
Again:
“Their nobles sent their little ones for water; they came to the pits, and found no waters; they returned with their vessels empty; they were ashamed and confounded” (xiv. 3).
Again:
“They have forsaken Jehovah, the fountain of living waters” (xvii. 13).
Again:
“They shall come with weeping, and with weeping will I lead them; I will lead them to fountains of waters, in a way of rectitude” (xxxi. 9).
And in Ezekiel:
“I will break the staff of bread, and they shall eat bread by weight, and with care; and they shall drink water by measure, and with astonishment. That they may want bread and water, and be desolated, a man and his brother, and consume away for their iniquities” (iv. 16, 17; xii. 18, 19; Isaiah, li. 14).
And in Amos:
“Behold, the days come, in which I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for waters, but for hearing the Word of Jehovah. They shall wander from sea to sea, they shall run to and fro, to seek the Word of Jehovah, and shall not find it; in that day shall the fair virgins and young men faint for thirst” (viii. 11-13).
And in Zechariah;
“In that day living waters shall go out from Jerusalem” (xiv. 8).
And in David:
“Jehovah is my shepherd, I shall not want. He will lead me to the waters of rest” (Psalm xxiii. 1, 2).
In Isaiah:
“They shall not thirst; he will make waters to flow for them out of the rock, and he will cleave the rock, that the waters may flow out” (xlviii. 21).
In David:
“O God, early will I seek thee; my soul thirsteth, weary without waters” (Psalm lxiii. 1).
Again:
Jehovah “sendeth his Word, he maketh the wind to blow, that the waters may flow” (Psalm cxlvii. 18).
Again:
“Praise Jehovah, ye heavens of heavens, and ye waters which are above the heavens” (cxlviii. 4).
In John:
Jesus came to the fountain of Jacob; “A woman of Samaria came to draw water, to whom Jesus said, Give me to drink; – if thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith unto thee, Give me to drink, thou wouldest ask of him, and he would give thee living water. The woman said unto him, Whence hast thou that living water? Jesus said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again; but whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him, shall be in him a fountain of water, springing up into everlasting life” (iv. 7-15).
Again:
Jesus said, “If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink. He that believeth on me, as the Scripture saith, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water” (vii. 37, 38).
And in the Apocalypse:
“Unto him that is athirst shall be given of the fountain of the water of life freely” (xxi. 6).
And in another place:
The angel showed him “a river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb” (xxii. 1).
And again:
“The spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst, come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely” (xxii. 17).
[3] These passages are adduced, that it may be known that by waters in the Word are signified the truths of faith, and hence what is signified by the water of baptism, concerning which the Lord thus teaches in John:
“Except a man be born of water and of the spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God” (iii. 5);
where water denotes the truths of faith, and the spirit a life according to them (as may be seen in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem, n. 202-209, and the following numbers). Because it has not hitherto been known that waters signify the truths of faith, and that all things that were instituted amongst the sons of Israel were representative of spiritual things, it has therefore been believed, that by the washings commanded them their sins were wiped away, although they were in no sense wiped away; those washings only represented purification from evils and falsities, by means of the truths of faith and a life according to them (as may be seen in Arcana Coelestia, n. 3147, 5954, 10,237, 10,240). From these considerations it is now clear, that by His voice as the voice of many waters, is meant Divine truth; as also in Ezekiel:
“Behold the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east, and his voice was as the voice of many waters; and the earth was enlightened by his glory” (xliii. 2).
And in David:
“The voice of Jehovah is upon the waters, Jehovah is upon many waters” (Ps. xxix. 3).
And in the following words in the Apocalypse:
“I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters” (xiv. 2).
[4] I know that some will wonder why waters are mentioned in the Word, and not the truths of faith, although the purpose of the Word is to teach man about his spiritual life; and if the truths of faith had been mentioned instead of waters, men would have known that the waters of baptism and of washings contribute nothing to his purification from evils and falsities. But it must be noted, that the Word, to be Divine, and at the same time to be for heaven and the church, must be altogether natural in the letter; for unless this were the case, it could not be the medium of effecting the conjunction of heaven with the church; for it would be like a house without a foundation, and like a soul without a body; for the ultimates include all the interiors, and are their foundation (as may be seen above, n. 41). Man also is in ultimates, and heaven has its foundation upon the church in him. This is why the style in which the Word is written is of such a character; therefore, when man thinks spiritually from the natural things which are in the sense of the letter of the Word, he is conjoined with heaven which could not otherwise be the case.
“They that be intelligent shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that justify many, as the stars for ever” (xii. 3).
They that are intelligent, are those who are in truths, and those that justify many, are those who are in good (as may be seen in the work, Heaven and Hell, n. 346-348).
[3] When it is known that the sun signifies the Lord as to Divine love, thus also Divine love from the Lord, and that stars signify the truths of the church, and the knowledges (cognitiones) thereof, it can also be known what is signified in the Word, where it is said that the sun shall be darkened, and that the stars shall withdrawn their shining, and also that they shall fall from heaven; and it may also be seen what stars signify when mentioned in other parts of the Word, as in the following passages in Isaiah:
I will make “the earth a waste, that he may destroy the sinners from it; the stars of the heavens and the constellations thereof shall not shine with their light; the sun shall be covered with darkness in his rising, and the moon shall not give forth the splendour of her light” (xiii. 9, 10).
The vastation of the church is there treated of, which takes place when there is no longer any good of love and truth of faith; the earth which shall be laid waste is the church (as may be seen above, n. 29). [4] In Ezekiel:
“I will cover the heavens when I shall extinguish thee, and will darken the stars; the sun will I cover with a cloud, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine; all the luminaries of light will I darken over thee, and I will give darkness over the land” (xxxii 7, 8).
Darkness over the land denotes falsities in the church. In Joel:
“The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining” (ii. 10, 11; iii. 15).
In Matthew:
In the consummation of the age “after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken” (xxiv. 29; Mark xiii. 24).
In Daniel:
From one of the horns of the he-goat “went forth a little horn, and it increased greatly towards the south, and towards the east, and towards glory; and it increased towards the host of the heavens, and it cast down of the host and of the stars, and trampled upon them; yea, even to the prince of the host it lifted up itself” (viii. 9, 10, 11).
Here, by the host of heaven are meant the goods and truths of the church in their whole extent (as may be seen, Arcana Coelestia, n. 3448, 7236, 7988, 8019), specifically those which combat against falsities (see n. 7277); hence Jehovah is called, Jehovah Zebaoth, that is, of hosts (see n. 3448, 7988). In the Apocalypse:
The dragon, with his tail “drew the third part of the stars of heaven to the earth” (xii. 4).
Stars also in that passage denote the goods and truths of the church, and the knowledges (cognitiones) thereof; the third part denotes the greater part; but what is signified by the dragon will be seen in the following pages. Again:
“The stars of heaven fell to the earth” (Apoc. vi. 13).
Again:
“A star fell from heaven unto the earth” (Apoc. ix. 1).
Again:
“A great star fell from heaven burning as a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters” (Apoc. viii. 10).
Because stars signify the goods and truths of the church and the knowledges (cognitiones) thereof, by their falling from heaven is signified that they perish. In David:
Jehovah “counteth the number of the stars, he calleth them all by names” (Ps. cxlvii. 4)
and in the same:
“Praise ye Jehovah, sun and moon; praise him all ye stars of light” (Ps. cxlviii. 3).
In the book of Judges:
“The kings came, they fought from heaven; the stars fought in their courses” (v. 19, 20).
Because the angels in the spiritual heaven shine as stars, and because all truth and good belonging to them are from the Lord, therefore the Lord, as He is called an angel, is also called a star; as in Moses:
“A star shall arise (orietur) out of Jacob, and a sceptre shall rise (surget) out of Israel” (Numb. xxiv. 17).
And in the Apocalypse:
Jesus, “the bright and morning star” (xxii. 16).
It is therefore clear why it was that
The wise men from the east saw a star, and followed it, and that it stood where Jesus was born (Matt. ii. 1, 2, 9).
From these considerations it can now be known what is signified by the seven stars which were seen in the right hand of the Son of man, who is the Lord as to the Divine Human (as may be seen above, n. 63).
“And am he that liveth,” signifies who is from eternity; “And was dead,” signifies that He is rejected; “and behold, I am alive unto the ages of the ages,” signifies eternal life from Him. “Amen,” signifies Divine confirmation; “and have the keys of hell and of death,” signifies that He has the power of saving.
“Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be,” signifies that all these things are for posterity, because they are Divine.
“The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand,” signifies revelation concerning all goods and truths which are from Him; “and the seven golden lampstands,” signifies, and concerning those things in the new heaven and new earth. “The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches,” signifies those who receive goods and truths from the Lord; “and the seven lampstands which thou sawest are the seven churches,” signifies that all such are in the new heaven and in the New Church.
“I lifted up mine eyes and looked, and behold a certain man clothed in linen. His face was as the appearance of lightning, and his eyes as torches of fire, and his feet like the brightness of polished brass. I, Daniel, alone saw the vision, for the men who were with me saw not the vision; but a great fear fell upon them, so that they fled. And there remained no strength in me; and I was in a deep sleep, and my faces upon the ground. And, behold, a hand touched me, which set me upon my knees and upon the palms of my hands, and said, Fear not” (x. 5-12).
This state is also described in Ezekiel, when he saw the cherubs, which signify the Lord as to providence:
When I saw the glory of Jehovah, “I fell upon my faces, and I heard a voice speaking, which said, Son of man, stand upon thy feet and I will speak to thee. And the spirit entered into me when he spake unto me, and set me upon my feet, and I heard him that spake unto me” (i. 28; ii. 1, 2; iii. 24).
The same was the case, also, when Jesus was transfigured before Peter, James, and John; concerning which it is thus written in Matthew:
“While Peter was yet speaking, behold a bright cloud overshadowed them; and behold, a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased, hear ye him. And when the disciples heard these things, they fell upon their face, and were sore afraid. And Jesus came and touched them, and said, Arise, be not afraid. And when they lifted up their eyes they saw no man save Jesus only” (xvii. 5-8).
From these passages it is clear that such is the nature of the presence of the Divine Human of the Lord with man, when in a state of humiliation of heart, that he falls upon his face, and by the touch of the Lord’s hand is raised upon his feet. That it was the presence of the Lord as to the Divine Human which produced these effects is evident, for the Son of man who was in the midst of the seven lampstands thus appeared before John. That the Son of man is the Lord as to the Divine Human, may be seen above (n. 63). In the same way the Lord appeared before the disciples when He was transfigured, therefore also it is said, that when they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no one save Jesus only. That it was also the Lord as to the Divine Human, that was seen by Daniel and Ezekiel, is evident from the declaration of the Lord Himself,
That no one hath ever heard the voice of the Father or seen His form (John v. 37; 1. 18). That they also adored the Lord, when He was in the world,
By falling upon the face at His feet, may be seen in Matthew xxviii. 9; and in Mark vii. 25, Luke viii. 41; xvii. 15-18; and in John xi. 32.
[2] It is impossible for man to live in the body in the presence of the Divine; and they who do live are surrounded with a column of angels, which moderates the Divine influx; for the body of no man whatever is capable of receiving of the Divine, therefore it dies and is cast off. That man cannot live in the body in the presence of the Divine, is evident from the words of the Lord to Moses,
“Thou canst not see my face; for there shall no man see me, and live” (Exod. xxxiii. 20);
therefore Moses, because he desired to see Him, was placed in the hole of a rock, and covered until the Lord had passed by. It was known also to the ancients that man could not see God and live, as is evident from the book of Judges:
“Manoah said unto his wife, Dying we shall die, because we have seen God” (xiii. 22).
This was also testified among the sons of Israel, when the Lord was seen from Mount Sinai, concerning which it is thus written in Moses:
“Be ready against the third day; for the third day Jehovah will come down in the sight of all the people upon Mount Sinai. And thou shalt set bounds unto the people round about, saying, Take heed to yourselves that ye go not up into the mountain, or touch the border of it; whosoever toucheth the mountain, dying he shall die;” and because terror seized upon them, they said to Moses, “Speak thou with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die” (Exod. xix. 11, 12; xx. 19).
(That by Mount Sinai is signified heaven, where the Lord is, and that by touching is signified to communicate, to transfer, and to receive, and that for this reason it was forbidden to touch the border of that mountain, may be seen in the explanation of that chapter in Arcana Coelestia.)
[3] The reason why Jehovah was seen by many, as recorded in the Word, was, that they were at the time surrounded with a column of spirits, and thus preserved, as said above; thus also the Lord has been oftentimes seen by me. But the state of spirits before the Divine presence differs from the state of man; spirits cannot die; therefore, if they are evil, they undergo a spiritual death at the Divine presence, the nature of which death will be presently described; but those who are good, are taken to societies, where the sphere of the Divine presence is tempered and accommodated to reception. This is why there are three heavens, and in each heaven many societies, and those who are in the higher heavens are nearer to the Lord, and those who are in the lower are more remote from Him (concerning this see what is said in the work, Heaven and Hell, n. 20-28, 29-40, 41-50, 206-209). What the spiritual death is which evil spirits undergo at the Divine presence, shall be briefly stated. [4] Spiritual death is an aversion and removal from the Lord; but, when evil spirits who are not yet vastated, that is, determined to their ruling love, enter any angelic society, then, because the Divine of the Lord is there present, they are direfully tortured, and not only avert themselves, but also cast themselves into the deep, where no light from heaven enters; some into dark caverns of rocks; in a word, into the hells (concerning this see what is shown in the work, Heaven and Hell, n. 54, 40, 410, 525, 527). This aversion and removal from the Lord is called spiritual death; the spiritual of heaven is also dead with them.
From these considerations it is evident that, by the Lord, who is there called the Son of man, laying His right hand upon John, when he lay as dead, is signified, that He communicated and transferred to him life from Himself (concerning which, see above). [3] To touch, and to touch with the hand, has a similar signification in many passages in the Word, as in the following. In Daniel:
The Lord, who there appeared to him as a man clothed in linen, whose aspect was as the appearance of lightning, and His eyes as torches of fire, and His feet as the brightness of polished brass, touched him; restored him to his station; set him upon his knees; touched his lips, and opened his mouth; and again touched him, and strengthened him (x. 4 to the end).
In Jeremiah:
“Jehovah put forth his hand and touched my mouth, and said, I give my words into thy mouth” (i. 9).
And in Matthew:
Jesus put forth His and to the leper “and touched him, saying, I will, be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed” (viii. 3).
In the same:
Jesus saw Peter’s wife’s mother sick of a fever “and he touched her hand, and the fever left her” (viii. 14, 15).
In the same:
Jesus touched the eyes of two blind men and their eyes were opened (ix. 29).
In the same:
“While Peter was speaking, behold a bright cloud overshadowed the disciples, and behold a voice out of the cloud which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him. And when the disciples heard it, they fell upon their face, and were sore afraid. Then Jesus came near and touched them, and said, Arise, be not afraid” (xvii. 5-7).
In Luke:
Jesus came and touched the bier of the dead man, and said, “Young man, I say unto thee, Arise. Then he that was dead sat up, and began to speak” (vii. 14, 15).
In the same:
Jesus touched the ear of the deaf man, and healed him (xxii. 51).
In Mark:
“They brought young children to him, that he should touch them. And he took them up in his arms, put his hands upon them, and blessed them” (x. 13, 16).
In the same:
They brought unto Jesus those that were sick “that they might touch the hem of his garment; and as many as touched were made whole” (Matt. xiv. 35, 36).
In Luke:
“A woman having an issue of blood, touched the border of Jesus’ garment; and immediately her issue of blood stanched. Jesus said, Some one hath touched me, for I perceive that virtue is gone out of me” (viii. 43, 44, 46).
[4] Because by the touching and laying on of hands, is signified to communicate and transfer to another what is one’s own, therefore from ancient times it has been customary in the churches to lay hands upon the heads of those who were inaugurated and blessed, as Moses was commanded to do in the case of Joshua (Numb. xxvii. 18-23; Deut. xxxiv. 9). Since all things among the sons of Israel were representative and significative of spiritual things, so also was the touch; therefore those were sanctified who touched what was holy, and those were polluted who touched what was unclean, for the touch signified communication and transference from one to another, and reception from one by another; as is evident from the following passages in Moses: whosoever shall touch the tent of the assembly, the ark of the testimony, the table and all its vessels, the lampstand and its vessels, the altar of incense, the altar of burnt offering and all its vessels, and the laver and its foot, shall be holy (Exod. xxx. 26-29). Whatsoever touched the altar should be holy (Exod. xxix. 37). Every thing which touched the remainder of the meat-offering, and the remainder of the flesh from the sacrifices, should be holy (Lev. vi. 11-20).
“Whosoever touched a dead body, and purified not himself, defiled the tabernacle of Jehovah; therefore that soul should be cut off from Israel. Whosoever touched one that was slain with a sword in the open fields, or a bone of a man, or a grave, should be unclean seven days. He that toucheth the waters of separation, shall be unclean until even. Whatsoever the unclean person toucheth shall be unclean until even” (Numb. xix. 11, 13, 16, 21, 22).
He who toucheth unclean beasts, and unclean creeping things, shall be unclean; everything upon which they shall fall shall be unclean, whether a vessel of wood, raiment, water, an earthen vessel, food, drink, an oven, except a fountain, pit, a receptacle of waters, shall be unclean (Lev. xi. 31-36). Besides other places, as Lev. v. 2, 3; vii. 21; xi. 37, 38; xv. 1 to the end; xxii. 4; Numb. xvi. 26; Isaiah lii. 11; Lam, iv. 14, 15; Hos. iv. 2, 3; Hagg. ii. 12, 13, 14.
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and God was the Word. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us” (i. 1, 4, 14).
That it is the Lord who is here meant by the Word is clear; for it is said, the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us. And again:
“As the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself” (v. 26).
And again:
“Jesus said, I am the resurrection and the life” (xi. 25).
And again:
“Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life” (xiv. 6).
It is commonly believed that man has life implanted in him, and thus that it does not continually flow in from Him who alone has life in Himself, and who thus alone is life; but this is a faith of falsity (as may be seen in the work, Heaven and Hell, n. 9).
“The Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders and chief priests and scribes” (ix. 22).
And again:
“The Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of this generation” (xvii. 25).
in Mark:
“It is written of the Son of man, that he must suffer many things, and be set at nought” (ix. 12).
In Luke:
“When Jesus took unto him the twelve, he said unto them, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all things foretold by the prophets concerning the Son of man shall be accomplished; that he shall be delivered unto the Gentiles, and shall be mocked and spitefully entreated, and spit upon; and afterwards they shall scourge him, and put him to death; and the third day he shall rise again” (xviii. 31, 32, 33).
The particulars here mentioned show how the Jews treated the Divine truth, which was from the Word. Jerusalem, in this passage, is the Jewish church; to be delivered to the Gentiles, to be mocked, to be spitefully entreated, to be spit upon, to be scourged, to be put to death, denote the wicked ways in which they treated Divine truth; and because the Lord was Divine truth itself, as being the Word (John l. 14), and it was foretold in the prophets that Divine truth would be so treated in the end of the church, therefore it is said that all things should be accomplished which are written by the prophets concerning the Son of man. [3] Similarly it is said in another passage:
“These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled which are written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the Psalms, concerning me” (Luke xxiv. 44).
That all things were accomplished, when Jesus was crucified, He Himself said, when He was upon the cross:
“When Jesus knew that all things were now accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, he saith, I thirst” (John xix. 28).
The reason why He then said, I thirst, was, because He desired a new church, which should acknowledge Him. (That to thirst, in the spiritual sense, signifies to desire, and that it is said of the truths of the church, may be seen, Arcana Coelestia, n. 4958, 4976, 8568.) These are also the things which are predicted by Daniel concerning vastation and desolation:
“After sixty and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself; and the people of the prince that shall come, shall destroy the city and the sanctuary, so that its end shall be with a flood. At last upon the bird of abominations shall be desolation, and even to the consummation and decision it shall drop upon the devastation” (ix. 26, 27).
Desolation and vastation signify reprobation and rejection of Divine truth, with those who are of the church (as may be seen, Arcana Coelestia, n. 5360, 5376). [4] That Divine truth, which is the Word, was so rejected by the Jews, is also meant by these words in Matthew:
“I say unto you, That Elias is come already, and they knew him not, but have done unto him whatsoever they listed. Likewise also shall the Son of man suffer of them” (xvii. 12).
By Elias is signified the Word (as may be seen in Arcana Coelestia, in the preface to Gen. chap. xviii., and n. 2762, 5247), and also by John the Baptist, therefore he was called Elias (n. 7643, 9372). Hence it is plain what is signified by its being said that Elias was come, and that they had done to him whatsoever they listed, and that the Son of man would in like manner suffer of them. How the Jews explained the Word, and thus rejected it, is evident from very many passages in the Evangelists, where the Lord makes it, clear. From these considerations it is now evident, that by “I was dead,” is signified that He was rejected. (That the Lord also by the passion of the cross, glorified His Human, that is, made it Divine, may be seen in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem, n. 294, 295, 302, 305.)
“As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have life eternal. He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life; but he that believeth not the Son shall not see life” (John iii. 14, 15, 16, 36).
And again:
“The water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water, springing up into everlasting life” (iv. 14):
water is the truth of faith (as may be seen above, n. 71). In the same:
“Every one who seeth the Son, and believeth on him, hath eternal life. The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life” (vi. 40, 63).
The words which the Lord speaks, are also the truths of faith. In the same:
“I am the resurrection and the life; he that believeth in me, though he die, yet shall he live” (xi. 25, 26).
In the same:
“Labour for the food which endureth unto eternal life, which the Son of man shall give unto you” (vi. 27).
The food which the Lord gives, is also the truth and good of faith, because spiritual food is meant (see Arcana Coelestia, n. 3114, 4459, 4792, 5147, 5293, 5340, 5342, 5410, 5426, 8562, 9003). [3] It was said that the life of the Lord is in faith in Him and love to Him with man; the reason is, that the all of faith and love is from Him, and that which is from Him is also Himself; for it is His proceeding Divine, which is called the Spirit of truth, and the Holy Spirit; and because the Lord is therein, and it is Himself, therefore it is said that they should abide in the Lord, by which is meant to abide in faith and love to Him, from Him; as He says in John:
“Abide in me, and I in you. If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. Continue ye in my love. If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love. He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit; for without me ye can do nothing” (xv. 4-10).
From these things it may be known what is meant by these words in John:
“Ye see me; because I live ye shall live also” (xiv. 19).
(That to see the Lord is to believe in Him, may be seen above, n. 14, 25, 37; and that to have faith, or to believe in the Lord, is to be in love and charity, see the small work, The Last Judgment, n. 33-39; and in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem, n. 108-122.)
The man who believes that he thinks and wills from himself is ignorant of this; nevertheless, I can assert from all my experience concerning this circumstance, that everything that a man thinks and wills, is from either one or other of those two sources. This also is the reason why a man who thinks and wills evil, is actually in hell; and where he actually is when he lives in the world, thither also he comes after death; he cannot go to any other place, because his spirit is formed and composed of those things which he thinks and wills, therefore when he thinks and wills evil, he is wholly formed and constituted of evil, so that he is his own evil in form. Hence it is that infernal spirits are altogether the images of their own evil, monstrous and horrible according to the species of evil; but the only means by which a spirit can be formed and fitted for heaven is to receive the Lord in faith and love, for the Lord alone, because He is present in faith and love with man, removes evils, and forms him into an image of heaven, which is an angel. [3] From these considerations it is evident what is signified by having the keys of hell and of death. The reason why they are called keys is, that all the hells are shut up, and only opened when evil spirits are cast in thither, and when any are taken out, as in the case when evils increase with men. The openings then made are called gates, and because they are called gates, therefore mention is made of keys, by which, on that account, is signified the power of opening and shutting, for the opening and shutting of gates is effected by means of keys. Something similar to this is signified by the keys given to Peter (Matt. xvi. 18, 19), because by Peter is there signified truth from good which is from the Lord, thus that the Lord alone, from whom is all the truth of faith and good of love, has that power (as may be seen in the small work, The Last Judgment, n. 57).
87. (v. 19) Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter. That this signifies that all those things are for posterity, because they are Divine, is evident from the signification of writing, as being that it was for remembrance (concerning which, see Arcana Coelestia n. 8620), thus, that those things were for posterity; and from the signification of “which thou hast seen, and which are, and which shall be hereafter” as being all things; for the three times, namely, the past, the present and the future, signify all things; and because the things which he should write were from the Lord, therefore they signify things Divine, for nothing can proceed from the Lord but what is Divine. The various particulars, also, recorded in the Apocalypse, as well as those which are in the other prophetical parts of the Word, have an internal sense, and the internal sense is in the light of heaven, which is Divine truth proceeding from the Lord. It is here said, “which thou hast seen, and which are, and which shall be,” because it was spoken above concerning the Lord, who is, and who was, and who is to come, and there the Lord Himself is treated of; but here the Divine things from Him with man are treated of, as is evident from what precedes and from what follows in the series.
1. UNTO the angel of the Ephesian church write: These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden lampstands;
2. I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy endurance, and that thou canst not bear them that are evil; and hast explored them that say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars;
3. And hast borne, and hast endurance, and for my name’s sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted.
4. But, I have against thee, that thou hast left thy first charity.
5. Remember therefore whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy lampstand out of its place except thou repent.
6. But this thou hast, that thou hatest the works of the Nicolaitanes, which I also hate.
7. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches: To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life which is in the midst of the paradise of God.
8. And unto the angel of the church of the Smyrnaeans write: These things saith the First and the Last, who was dead and is alive.
9. I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty (but thou art rich), and I know the blasphemy of them that say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan.
10. Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer. Behold the devil is about to cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days; be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.
11. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches: he that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.
12. And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write: These things saith he that hath the sharp two-edged sword.
13. I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, even where Satan’s throne is: and thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied my faith, even in the days wherein Antipas was my faithful martyr, who was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth.
14. But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to cast a stumbling-block before the sons of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication.
15. So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes, which thing I hate.
16. Repent, or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.
17. He that hath an ear let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches: To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna; and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth.
18. And unto the angel of the church in Thyatira write: These things saith the Son of God, who hath his eyes like unto a flame of fire, and his feet like burnished brass:
19. I know thy works, and charity, and ministry, and faith, and thy endurance, and thy works; and the last to be more than the former.
20. But I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, who calleth herself a prophetess, to teach, and to seduce my servants to commit whoredom and to eat things sacrificed unto idols.
21. And I gave her time to repent of her whoredom; and she repented not.
22. Behold, I cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great affliction, except they repent of their deeds.
23. And I will kill her sons with death. And all the churches shall know that I am he that searcheth the reins and hearts and I will give unto every one of you according to his works.
24. But unto you I say, and unto the rest in Thyatira, as many as have not this doctrine, and who have not known the depths of Satan, as they speak; I put upon you none other burden.
25. Nevertheless, that which ye have, hold fast till I come.
26. And he that overcometh and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations;
27. And he shall rule them with a rod of iron, as earthen vessels shall they be broken in pieces, even as I received of my Father.
28. And I will give him the morning star.
29. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.
IN the preceding pages it has been explained what is meant by the seven churches, and by the angels thereof, which is as follows:- the seven churches mean all those who are in truths from good; and the seven angels, all those who correspond to them in heaven (as may be seen, n. 20 and 90). And because heaven and the church make one, by correspondence, therefore it is said in what follows, “Write to the angel of the church,” and not, “Write to the church.” The reason why it is thus said, is also that there must be correspondence, in order that the church may be the church with man; for if there were not correspondence, there would be no communication with heaven, thus heaven would not be with man; and if heaven were not with him, the church would not be with him (as may be seen in the work, The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem, n. 241-248. What the correspondence of the man of the church with heaven is, cannot be stated in a few words; but he who desires to know it, may be instructed on the subject from the things said and shown in the work, Heaven and Hell, n. 87-115 and 291-310). In a word, there is correspondence when man is made spiritual, and man becomes spiritual when he acknowledges that which is Divine, and specifically the Lord, and loves to live according to the precepts contained in the Word; for when he does this, he is conjoined with heaven and then the Spiritual corresponds with his Natural. I know, however, that these things will seem to many to be beyond their apprehension; but the reason is, that it is not the delight of their love to know them; for if it were, they would not only see them clearly, but would also desire to know more of such things; for what a man loves he desires, and what he loves is his delight; whatever also is loved, enters with joy, and at the same time with light, into the idea of the mind.
VERSES 1-7. Unto the angel of the Ephesian church write: These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden lampstands.
I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy endurance, and that thou canst not bear them that are evil, and hast explored them that say they are apostles and are not, and hast found them liars: And hast borne, and hast endurance, and for my name’s sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted. But, I have against thee, that thou hast left thy first charity. Remember therefore whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy lampstand out of its place, except thou repent. But this thou hast, that thou hatest the works of the Nicolaitanes, which I also hate. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches: To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life which is in the midst of the paradise of God.
“Unto the angel of the Ephesian church write,” signifies, for remembrance to those within the church who are in the knowledges (cognitiones) of good and truth from the Word: “these things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand,” signifies, from whom are all the knowledges (cognitiones) of good and truth; “who walketh in the midst of the seven golden lampstands,” signifies, from whom is life to all in the New Heaven and the New Church.
“I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy endurance,” signifies all things that they think, will, and do, thus all things of love and faith in the spiritual and in the natural man: “and that thou canst not bear them that are evil,” signifies, that they reject evils: “and hast explored them that say they are apostles and are not, and has found them liars,” signifies, also falsities, as far as they can be searched out.
“And hast borne, and hast endurance,” signifies, resistance against those who assault the truths of faith, and zeal in instruction: “and for my name’s sake hast laboured,” signifies, acknowledgment of the Lord and of the knowledges (cognitiones) of truth which refer to Him: “and hast not fainted” signifies as far as they were able.
“But, I have against thee that thou hast left thy first charity,” signifies, that they do not make such a life as pertains to those who live in the beginning of the church, the essential of knowledges (cognitiones).
“Remember therefore whence thou art fallen, and repent and do the first works,” signifies remembrance of former things, and hence that they have departed from the truth, and that the good of life, as at the beginning of the church, may come into mind: “or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy lampstand out of its place, except thou repent,” signifies, if not, it is certain that heaven will not be given.
“But this thou hast, that thou hatest the works of the Nicolaitanes, which I also hate,” signifies, aversion from the Divine in regard to those who separate good from truth, or charity from faith, from which there is no life.
“He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches,” signifies, that he who understands should hearken to what Divine truth proceeding from the Lord teaches and says to those who are of His church: “To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life,” signifies, that he who receives in the heart shall be filled with the good of love, and hence with heavenly joy; “which is in the midst of the paradise of God,” signifies that all the knowledges (cognitiones) of good and truth in heaven and in the church look thither and proceed thence.
reason why it is stated that He so speaks who holdeth the seven stars in His right hand, and walketh in the midst of the golden lampstands, is, because by stars are signified the knowledges (cognitiones) of good and truth, and by golden lampstands, the New Heaven and the New Church. A Divine characteristic is thus prefixed to the description of each church, which indicates the subject treated of (as also in the description of the churches following, verses 8, 12, 18; chap. iii. 1, 7, 14). The reason why the characteristics are so prefixed, is, that the all of the church is from the Lord; hence also it is clear, that in the first chapter the Lord as to His Divine Human is described by representatives seen by John, so that there might be taken thence what was to be prefixed to the description of each church, for a testimony and a memorial that the all of the church is from the Lord, and indeed from His Divine Human; for from this proceed all the good of love and the truth of faith which constitute the church.
What immediately proceeds from His essential Divine does not come to man, because His essential Divine is invisible, and therefore does not fall into the thought, and what does not fall into the thought does not enter into faith; for everything of faith must be the subject of thought. (That the Son of man, who is described by the representatives seen by John in the first chapter, is the Lord as to the Divine Human and the Divine truth thence proceeding, may be seen above, n. 63.) The reason why the knowledges (cognitiones) of truth and good are here first treated of, is, that they are the first things of the church; for no one can be initiated into faith and charity, which constitute the church, except by knowledges (cognitiones) pertaining to the church from the Word (as may be seen in the Appendix from the Arcana Coelestia in Heaven and Hell, after n. 356).
[2] That in the Word ways signify truths or falsities, and that to walk signifies to live, is evident from several passages therein: a few only shall here be adduced by way of confirmation. Thus in Isaiah:
We have sinned against Jehovah “nor would they walk in his ways, neither have they heard his law” (xlii. 24).
And in Moses:
“If ye shall keep all these commandments, by loving Jehovah your God, by walking in all his ways” (Deut. xi. 22).
And again:
“Thou shalt keep all these commandments to do them, by loving Jehovah thy God, and walking in his ways all the days” (Deut. xix. 9; xxvi. 17).
Again:
“I will set my dwelling place in the midst of you, and I will walk in the midst of you, and I will be to you for a God” (Lev. xxvi. 11, 12).
Again:
“Jehovah thy God walketh in the midst of thy camp, and therefore shall thy camp be holy” (Deut. xxiii. 14).
And in Isaiah:
“Remember now, Jehovah, that I have walked before thee in truth” (xxxviii. 3).
Again:
“Entering into peace, walking in uprightness” (lvii. 2).
And in Malachi:
“In peace and in uprightness hath he walked with me (ii. 6).
And in David:
“Thou hast delivered my feet from stumbling, that I may walk before God in the light of the living” (Psalm lvi. 13).
And in John:
Jesus said, “I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life” (viii. 12).
In the same:
“Yet a little while the light is with you; walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you; for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth. While ye have the light, believe in the light” (xii. 35, 36).
And in Mark:
“The Pharisees and Scribes asked him, Why walk not thy disciples according to the tradition of the elders?” (vii. 5.)
And in Moses:
“If ye walk contrary to me, and will not hearken unto me, I will also walk contrary to you” (Lev. xxvi. 21, 23, 24, 27).
And in Isaiah:
“The people that walk in darkness have seen a great light; they that dwell in the land of the shadow [of death], upon them hath the light shined” (ix. 2).
And in Micah:
“All people walk in the name of their god, and we will walk in the name of Jehovah our God” (iv. 5).
And in Isaiah:
“Who among you feareth Jehovah? who walketh in darkness, and hath no light?” (l. 10);
besides many other passages, as in Jer. xxvi. 4; Ezek. v. 6; xx. 13, 16; Mic. iv 5; Zech. x. 12; Luke i. 6. From these passages it is evident that by walking, in the spiritual sense, is signified to live; and because it signifies to live, therefore, when said of the Lord, as in this passage, life itself is signified; for the Lord is life itself, and all others are recipients of life from Him (as may be seen above, n. 82, 84).
“Unto the angel of the church of the Smyraeans write; these things, saith the first and the last, I know thy works, and affliction, and poverty” (verses 8, 9);
“Unto the angel of the church in Pergamos write, These things said he that hath the sharp two-edged sword, I know thy works, and where thou dwellest” (vers. 12, 13);
“Unto the angel of the church in Thyatira write, These things saith the Son of God, I know thy works and charity” (vers. 18, 19);
“Unto the angel of the church in Sardis write, These things saith he that hath the seven spirits of God, I know thy works, that thou art said to live” (iii. 1);
“Unto the angel of the church in Philadelphia write, These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, I know thy works” (verses 7, 8); and
“Unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, I know thy works” (vers. 14, 15).
[3] Because it was there said of each, “I know thy works,” it is clear that by works are signified in general all things of the church; and because all things of the church have reference to love and faith, therefore these are meant by works in the spiritual sense. The reason why such things are meant by works in the spiritual sense, is, that every work, or every deed, or every act, which is apparently done from the body, is not done from the body, but by the body from the will and thought of man; for not one particle of the body is moved, but from the will and thought. This is why works signify those things, but not the things which are manifested in the external form. That this is the case, is known to every one who reflects. Who is there that is wise that regards a man from his deeds alone, and not from his will? If he wills well, he loves his deeds; but if he wills evil, he does not love his deeds: the latter he also sees and explains according to the intention of his will. He who is spiritual attends still less to the deeds, and explores the will. The reason is, as has been said, that deeds are nothing in themselves, but they derive their character entirely from the will; for deeds are the will in act. It is said the will, but, in the spiritual sense, is meant the love, because a man wills what he loves, and what, he loves that he wills. The will of man is only a receptacle of his love (as may be seen from what is said and shown in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem, concerning that faculty of man, n. 28-35; and in the work, Heaven and Hell, n. 358, 470-484).
[4] Because works or deeds in the Word signify specifically those things that proceed from a man’s love or will, therefore it is often said in the Word that man shall be judged and rewarded according to his works, where works such as they are in the external form are not meant, but in the internal, as in the following passages:
“The Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels, and then he shall reward every man according to his works” (Matt. xvi. 27)
“Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord, Yea, saith the spirit, that they may rest from their labours; their works do follow them” (Apoc. xiv. 13).
“I will give unto every one of you according to his works” (Apoc. ii. 23).
“I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God; and the books were opened: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. The sea gave up the dead that were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead that were in them; and they were judged every man according to their works” (Apoc. xx. 12, 13).
“Behold I come, and my reward is with me, to give every man according to his works” (Apoc. xxii. 12).
And in Jeremiah:
“I will recompense them, according to their works, and according to the doing (factum) of their hands” (xxv. 14).
O Jehovah, “whose eyes are open upon all the ways of men, to give to every one according to his ways and according to the fruit of his works” (xxxii. 19).
“I will punish them for their ways, and reward them for their works” (Hosea iv. 9).
“According to our ways and according to our works, so Jehovah hath dealt with us” (Zech. i. 6).
When the Lord foretells concerning the Last Judgment, He makes mention only of works, and declares that those who have done good works shall enter into life eternal, and those who have done evil works into condemnation (Matt. xxv. 32-46). [5] That works signify the things of love and faith, the Lord also shows in these words:
“They said unto Jesus, What shall we do, that we may work the works of God? He answered, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom” the Father “hath sent” (John vi. 28, 29).
And in another place:
“The night shall come when no man can work” (John ix. 4).
Night signifies the last time of the church, when there is no faith, because no charity. (That night signifies time see Arcana Coelestia, n. 2353, 6000.) The reason why works are so often mentioned, is, that the sense of the letter of the Word consists only of things external, which are in nature, and are seen by the eyes in order that the spiritual sense may be in each of the expressions, as the soul is in the body; for otherwise the Word would not be a means of communication with the angels, but would be like a house without a foundation (see what was said above, n. 8, 16). This is why the angels, because they are spiritual, do not understand works, when works are named, but the things from which works proceed, which are, as was said above, the will or love, and thence the thought belonging to faith. (But this circumstance may be seen more clearly set forth in the work, Heaven and Hell, n. 470-483, where it is shown that a man after death is such as his life was in the world.) The reason why by labour in the spiritual sense is meant everything that a man thinks, is, that to labour spiritually is to think; and the reason why endurance signifies every thing that a man does is, that to endure in this case is to be assiduous, and to remove the obstacles which are in the natural man, which continually rise up and cause hindrance.
[2] The reason why by apostles are signified those who teach the truths of the church is, that they are called apostles from the fact of their being sent to teach and to preach concerning the Lord and concerning, the bringing near of the kingdom of God by Him; thus the truths of the church, by which the Lord is known and the kingdom of God is brought near: the kingdom of God on earth is the church. It is therefore evident that by apostles, in the spiritual sense of the Word, are meant not the twelve apostles who were sent by the Lord to teach concerning Himself and His kingdom, but all those who are in the truth of the church, and, apart from persons, those truths in themselves. For in the Word it is customary to speak of persons; but those who are in its spiritual sense, as the are, think not at all of persons, but apart from them, therefore of things only. The reason of this also is, that it is material to think of persons, but spiritual to think without the idea of a person; as, for instance, wherever the disciples are named in the Word, and prophets, priests, kings, Jews, Israel, inhabitants of Zion and of Jerusalem, and so on. [3] (The very names of persons and places are also changed into things with the angels, as may be seen, Arcana Coelestia, n. 768, 1224, 1264, 1876, 1888, 4310, 4442, 5225, 5095, 6516, 10,216, 10,282, 10,329, 10,432; and that the angels think apart from persons, n. 8343, 8985, 9007.) That the Lord’s disciples were called apostles from the fact of their being sent to teach concerning Him and His kingdom, is clear in Luke:
Jesus sent His twelve disciples to preach the kingdom of God: and the apostles, when they returned, told him all that they had done; and He spake unto them of the kingdom of God (ix. 1, 2, 10, 11).
In the same:
“When it was day, Jesus called unto him his disciples; and of them be chose twelve, whom also he named apostles” (vi. 13).
In the same:
“I will send unto them prophets and apostles, and some of them they shall slay and persecute” (xi. 49).
They are called prophets and apostles, because by prophets, just as by apostles, are meant those who are sent to teach truths; but by prophets those who are in the Old Testament, and by apostles those who are in the New. (That prophets, in the Word, signify those who teach truths, and, apart from persons, the truths themselves, may be seen, Arcana Coelestia, n. 2534.) Because the twelve apostles signify the truths themselves of the church, therefore it is said, in the Apocalypse:
“The wall” of the New Jerusalem “had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb” (xxi. 14).
(That by the New Jerusalem is meant the church as to doctrine, may be seen in the small work, The New Jerusalem and its Doctrine, n. 6: that by its wall are signified truths of doctrine for defence, see in the Arcana Coelestia, n. 6411); that by the foundations of the wall are signified the knowledges (cognitiones) of truth, upon which doctrine is founded, n. 9643; that by twelve are signified all truths in the aggregate, n. 577, 2089, 2129, 2130, 3272, 3858, 3913: hence it is clear why it is said that in the foundations of the wall were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.)
In many passages of the Word, it is said, “for the sake of the name of Jehovah,” “for the sake of the name of the Lord,” “for the sake of the name of Jesus Christ,” and that the name of God should be hallowed, and similar expressions. Those who do not think beyond the sense of the letter are of opinion, that in these passages name alone is understood: but this is not so, but everything by which the Lord is worshipped, everything which has relation to love and faith. Hence by the name of the Lord in the Word, are meant all things of love and of faith by which He is worshipped, but, in this case, the acknowledgment of the Lord, and of the knowledges (cognitiones) of truth which have regard to Him, because this is said to those only who study those knowledges (cognitiones). [2] The reason why by the name of Jehovah, or of the Lord, is not meant the name itself, but everything of love and faith, is found in the spiritual world. In that world, the names used on earth are not enunciated, but the names of the persons spoken of are formed from the idea of all those things that are known about them, which things are summed up in one expression. Such is the enunciation of names in the spiritual world; this is why names in that world, as well as all other things, are spiritual. Nor are the names of the Lord and of Jesus Christ uttered there as on earth, but, instead of them, a name is formed from the idea of all those things that are known and believed concerning Him, which idea is derived from everything of love and of faith in Him. The reason is, that these things in the aggregate are the Lord with them; for the Lord is present with every one in the goods of love and of faith that are from Him. This being the case, the character of every one as to his love and faith in the Lord is there immediately known, merely from his enouncing in a spiritual expression, or a spiritual name, “the Lord” or “Jesus Christ.” This is why those who have no love or faith towards Him, cannot utter His name, that is, they cannot form any spiritual name of Him. From these considerations it is now clear why it is that by the name of Jehovah, of the Lord, or of Jesus Christ, in the Word, is not meant the name, but the all of love and of faith by which He is worshipped.
[3] Lest, therefore, the opinion entertained by many should prevail, that the name alone of Jesus Christ, without love and faith in Him, thus without the knowledges (cognitiones) by which love and faith exist, contributes something to salvation, I adduce herewith a few passages from the Word in which the above-mentioned expressions are found, from which those who think more deeply may see that name alone is not meant. Thus in the following:
“Jesus said, Ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake” (Matt. x. 22: xxiv. 9, 10.)
“Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them” (Matt. xviii. 20).
“As many as received him, to them gave be power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe in his name” (John i. 12).
“When Jesus was in Jerusalem, many believed in his name” (John ii. 23).
“He that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only-begotten Son of God” (John iii. 18).
“These things are written that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name” (John xx. 31).
“Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord (Matt. xxi. 9; xxiii. 39; Luke xiii. 35; xix. 38).
“And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name’s sake, shall receive a hundred fold, and shall inherit life everlasting” (Matt. xix. 29).
(What is here signified by houses, brethren, sisters, father, mother, wife, children, and lands, which are to be left for the sake of the name of the Lord, may be seen in Arcana Coelestia, n. 10,490.)
“Jesus said, Whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, I will do it” (John xiv. 13, 14);
here “to ask in my name,” is to ask from love and faith.
“Many shall come in my name, saying, I am: go ye not therefore after them” (Luke xxi. 8; Mark xiii. 6);
by these “coming in the name of the Lord” and saying “I am” denotes to preach false doctrines and declare that they are true, and thus lead astray. The same is signified by these words in Matthew:
“Many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ, and shall deceive many” (xxiv. 5, 11, 23-27);
for by Jesus is meant the Lord as to Divine good, and by Christ, the Lord as to Divine truth (Arcana Coelestia, n. 3004, 3005, 3009, 5502), and by not being Christ, is signified, not Divine truth, but falsity.
[4] In the Old Testament, the name of Jehovah has a signification similar to that of the name of the Lord, because Jehovah, in the Old Testament, is the Lord. Thus it is said in Isaiah:
“And in that day shall ye say, Confess ye to Jehovah, call upon his name” (xii. 4).
Again:
“O Jehovah, we have waited for thee; the desire of our soul is to thy name, and to the remembrance of thee. By thee only will we make mention of thy name” (xxvi. 8, 13).
Again:
“From the rising of the sun shall my name be called upon” (xli. 25).
And in Malachi:
“From the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same, my name shall be great among the nations: and in every place incense shall be offered unto my name, and a pure offering; for my name shall be great among the nations” (i. 11).
And in Isaiah:
“Every one that is called by my name, I have created him for my glory; I have formed him; yea, I have made him ” (xliii. 7). And in Micah:
“All people walk in the name of their God, and we will walk in the name of Jehovah our God” (iv. 5).
And in Moses:
“Thou shalt not take the name of thy God in vain for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain” (Deut. v. 11).
Again:
“Jehovah separated the Levites, that they should minister and bless in the name of Jehovah” (Deut. x. 8).
Again:
“They shall worship Jehovah in one place, where he shall place his name” (Deut. xii. 5, 11, 13, 14, 18, 26; xvi. 2, 6, 11, 15, 16).
“Where he shall place his name,” denotes where there shall be worship from the good of love and the truths of faith. This was done at Jerusalem, and therefore by Jerusalem is signified the church as to doctrine and worship (as may be seen in the small work, The New Jerusalem and its Doctrine, n, 6).
[5] Because by the name of Jehovah, or of the Lord, in the spiritual sense, is signified all worship from the good of love and the truths of faith, therefore, in the highest sense, by the name of Jehovah is meant the Lord as to the Divine Human, because from His Divine Human proceeds the all of love and of faith. That the Lord, in the highest sense, is meant by the name of Jehovah, is clear in John:
“Jesus said, Father, glorify thy name. A voice came from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again” (xii. 28).
And in Isaiah:
“I will give thee for a covenant to the people, for a light of the Gentiles. I am Jehovah, that is my name, and my glory will I not give to another” (xlii. 6, 8).
The coming of the Lord is here treated of. In Jeremiah:
“Behold the days come, saith Jehovah, that I will raise unto David a righteous branch, and a king shall reign, and this is his name whereby he shall be called, Jehovah, our righteousness” (xxiii. 5, 6).
Hence it is clear that in the Lord’s Prayer the words “hallowed be thy name” (Matt. vi. 9) mean, that the Divine Human of the Lord is to be regarded as holy, and to be worshipped. [6] Because the name of the Lord signifies such things, it is evident what is meant by the following passages.
In John:
“The shepherd of the sheep calleth his own sheep by name” (x. 3).
In Luke:
“Rejoice because your names are written in heaven (x. 20).
And in the Apocalypse:
“Thou hast a few names in Sardis” (iii. 4).
He who does not know what name signifies in the Word cannot possibly know how these words are to be understood in Matthew:
“He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet, shall receive a prophet’s reward; and he that receiveth a righteous man in the name of a righteous man, shall receive a righteous man’s reward; and whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward” (x. 41, 42).
To receive a prophet in the name of a prophet, a righteous man in the name of a righteous man, and to give drink in the name of a disciple, signifies to love truth for the sake of truth, good for the sake of good, and to exercise charity from the faith of truth. For by a prophet is signified truth, by a righteous man is signified good, and by a disciple is signified good from truth; and to give to drink of cold water is to exercise charity from obedience; in their name denotes for the sake of their quality, thus for the sake of those things. Who could ever understand these things, unless it were known what name signifies? To love and to do truth for the sake of truth, and good for the sake of good, is to be affected with truth and good for their own sake, and not for the sake of one’s own fame, honour, and gain. The former affection of truth and good is an affection truly spiritual; but the affection of truth and good for the sake of one’s own fame, honour, and gain, is an affection merely natural. And because those who love truth and good for their own sake, or because they are truth and good, are in the spiritual affection of truth and good, it is therefore said, that they shall receive the reward of a prophet and of a righteous man; by which is meant, that they are in the spiritual affection of truth and good, this affection having its reward in itself, because it has heaven in itself. (That the happiness of heaven is in the affection of loving and doing truth and good without regarding reward as an end, thus for the sake of truth and good, may be seen in Arcana Coelestia, n. 6388, 6478, 9174, 9984. That a prophet signifies one who teaches truth, thus also, abstractedly, the truth which is taught, see n. 2534, 7269. That a righteous man signifies the good of love to the Lord, n. 2235, 9857. That a disciple signifies good from truth, which is the good of charity, n. 2129, 3354, 3488, 3858, 6397. That to give to drink is to instruct in the goods and truths of faith, and thus to exercise charity, n. 3069, 3772, 4017, 4018, 8562, 9412; and that name signifies the quality of a thing, n. 144, 145, 1754, 1896, 2009, 3237; hence the name of Jehovah, or of the Lord, signifies all the quality by which He is worshipped, n. 2724, 3006, 6674, 9310.)
He who believes that those can be in the knowledges (cognitiones) of truth who separate charity from faith, is much deceived, for they suppose everything to be from themselves, and nothing from heaven. And the things which a man apprehends from self, and not from heaven, are falsities, because he thinks in darkness, and not in the light; all light in those things that pertain to the church, must come from heaven. [2] There are indeed many in the church who say that charity is the essential of the church and not faith separate from it; but to say this and believe it, and not to live the life of charity, is merely to say that it is, and not to make it the essential; these, therefore, are like those who say that faith is the essential, for with them charity is a matter of faith alone, and not of the life; therefore they cannot be enlightened. In the spiritual world there is seen with such persons something snowy, of light as it were; but the light from which the snowy appearance comes, is natural, this being of such a character, that, on the influx of the light of heaven, which is spiritual, it is changed into darkness. These dwell to the left in the spiritual world, almost in the angle of the north and west. Those only are intelligent who apply the knowledges of truth and good to the life. [3] All those who are in the knowledges (cognitiones) of truth and good, and not in the good of life in agreement with them, may live a moral life equally with those who are in knowledges, and thereby in the good of life by means of them; but their moral life is natural, and not spiritual, because they do not live sincerely, justly and well from religion; and those who are such cannot be conjoined with heaven, for religion makes man spiritual, and conjoins him with the angels, who are spiritual. To live well from religion, is to think, to will, and to do, because it is so taught in the Word, and because the Lord has commanded it; but not to live from religion, is to think, will, and do, only on account of civil and moral laws. The latter, because they regard nothing else but those laws, are conjoined only with the world, for which those laws are made; but the former look to the Lord, and thence are conjoined to Him.
The reason why the Gentiles are saved, is solely from this fact, that in their life they have regard to religion, thinking and saying, that they ought to act in a certain way and no other, because it is in agreement with the laws of their religion, and such and such things are to be left undone, because they are contrary to those laws, thus against the Divine; and when they so think and act, spiritual life is imparted to them, which is of such a nature with them, that they afterwards receive truths in the spiritual world, more readily than those Christians who, when they do anything, think nothing from the Word, and the doctrine of the church, which is from the Word. [4] Those who do not think from religion, since they, are not spiritual, have no conscience; if therefore their external bonds, which are fear of the law and of the loss of reputation, were removed, they would rush into every kind of enormity; but, on the other hand, if the external bonds, which are fear of the law and of the loss of reputation, were taken away from those who think from religion, they would still act justly, uprightly, and well; for they fear God, and are kept in a life of obedience and charity by influx out of heaven from the Lord, to whom they are conjoined. The reason why those who separate charity from faith are called Nicolaitanes, is chiefly from the sound of that expression in heaven, for it sounds from truth or faith, and not from good or charity. (That from expressions in the Word it may be known whether they involve good or truth, thus also whether they involve one separate from the other, may be seen in the work, Heaven and Hell, n. 241.)
“He that hath all ear to hear let him hear” (as in Matt. xi. 15; xiii. 43; Mark iv. 9, 23; vii. 16; Luke viii. 8; xiv. 35).
In the Apocalypse it is added, “What the Spirit saith unto the churches,” because by this is signified what Divine truth teaches and says to those who belong to the church, or, what is the same thing, what the Lord teaches and says, for all Divine truth proceeds from Him (see the work, Heaven and Hell, n. 13, 133, 137, 139); therefore also the Lord himself did not use the words, “What the Spirit saith,” because He Himself was the Divine truth that said it.
That to know and understand Divine truths does not constitute the church and form heaven with man, but to know, to understand and to do, the Lord teaches plainly in very many passages; as in Matthew,
“Whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, and every one that heareth, and doeth not, shall be likened unto a foolish man” (vii. 24, 26).
Again:
“He that received seed into the good ground, is he that heareth the Word, and understandeth it, which also beareth fruit” (xiii. 23).
And in Luke:
“Whosoever cometh to me and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will show you to whom he is like. He is like a man which built a house, and laid the foundation on a rock. But he that heareth and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation built a house upon the earth” (vi. 47, 48, 49).
In the same:
“My mother and my brethren are those who hear the Word of God and do it” (viii. 21);
besides in many other passages. In these passages, to hear simply signifies to hear, which is to know and to understand to hear also, in common discourse, has this signification when a man is said to hear anything; but it signifies both to understand and to do, when he is said to give ear, or to be attentive; so also when he is said to hearken. Moreover, those who separate life from faith, are like those of whom the Lord speaks in Matthew:
“Seeing they see not, and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand” (xiii. 13, 14, 15; Ezek. xii. 2).
These appearances in the spiritual world, actually flow from correspondence; for the interiors of the mind of the inhabitants of that world are by such forms actually presented before their eyes. (These things may be seen better from two articles in the work, Heaven and Hell; in the first, where the correspondence of heaven with all things of the earth is treated of, n. 103-115; and in the other, where representatives and appearances in heaven are treated of, n. 170-176, and n. 177-190.) [3] This then is why trees are so often mentioned in the Word, by which are signified those things which pertain to a man’s mind; and why it is, that in the first chapters of Genesis, two trees are said to have been placed in the garden of Eden, one of which was called the tree of life, and the other the tree of knowledge (scientia). By the tree of life mentioned there is signified the good of love to the Lord, and thence heavenly joy, which those possessed who at that time formed the church, and who are meant by the man and his wife; and by the tree of knowledge is signified the delight of knowledges (cognitiones) without any other use than to be accounted learned, and to acquire renown for erudition, solely for the sake of honour or gain. The reason why the tree of life also signifies heavenly joy is, because the good of love to the Lord, which is specifically signified by that tree, has heavenly joy in it. (See the work, Heaven and Hell, n. 395-414, and The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem, n. 230-239.)
[4] That trees, so often mentioned in the Word, signify the interiors of man’s internal and external minds, and the things produced by the trees, as the leaves and fruit, such things as are derived from them, is evident from the following passages:
“I will give in the desert the cedar, the schittah tree, and the myrtle, and the oil tree; I will set in the wilderness the fir tree, the pine and the box” (Isa. xli. 19).
The establishment of the church is there treated of;
“The glory of Lebanon shall come unto thee, the fir tree, the pine tree, and the box together, to beautify the place of my sanctuary” (Isa. lx. 13).
“Let all the trees of the field know that I, Jehovah, humble the lofty tree, and exalt the humble tree, cause the green tree to become dry, and make the dry tree to bud” (Ezek. xvii. 24).
“Behold, I will kindle a fire in thee, and it shall consume every green tree in thee, and every dry tree” (Ezek. xx. 47).
“The vine is dried up, and the fig tree languisheth; the pomegranate tree, the palm tree also, and the apple tree, all the trees of the field are withered, because joy is withered away from the sons of men” (Joel i. 12).
“When the angel sounded, there followed hail and fire which fell upon the earth; and the third part of the trees was burnt up” (Apoc. viii. 7)
Nebuchadnezzar saw in a dream “a tree in the midst of the earth, and the height thereof was great, the leaf thereof fair, and the flower thereof much, and in it was food for all” (Dan. iv. 10-12).
Because trees in general signify such things as pertain to man, and constitute the interiors of his mind, and thus the spiritual things pertaining to the church, and both the latter and the former are various, therefore so many species of trees are mentioned, and every species signifies something different. (What the various species signify is shown in Arcana Coelestia, as what is signified by the oil tree, n. 9277, 10,261 what by the cedar, n. 9472, 9486, 9528, 9715, 10,178 what by the vine, n. 1069, 5113, 6375, 6378, 9277; what by the fig, n. 217, 4231, 5113, and so forth.) [5] Moreover, the things which are upon trees, as leaves and fruits, signify those things that pertain to man; leaves signify the truths pertaining to him, and fruits the goods, as in the following passages:
“He shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river; her leaf shall be green; neither shall it cease from yielding fruit” (Jer. xvii. 8).
By the river which went out from the house of God “upon the bank thereof, on this side and on that side, ascendeth the tree of food, whose leaf falleth not off, nor is its fruit consumed; it springeth again in its months, because its waters issue out of the sanctuary, whence its fruit is for food, and its leaf for medicine” (Ezek. xlvii. 12).
“In the midst of the street of it, and of the river (going out from the throne of God and the Lamb), on this side and on that side, was there the tree of life bearing twelve fruits, and yielding her fruit every month, and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations” (Apoc. xxii. 1, 2).
“Blessed is the man whose delight is in the law; he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season, his leaf also shall not wither” (Ps. i. 1-3).
“Be not afraid, for the tree shall bear her fruit, the fig tree and the vine shall yield their strength” (Joel ii. 22).
“The trees of Jehovah are full of sap, the cedars of Lebanon which he hath planted” (Ps. civ. 16).
“Praise Jehovah, ye fruitful trees, and all cedars” (Ps. cxlviii. 9).
[6] Because fruits signified the goods of life with man, therefore in the Israelitish church, which was a representative church, it was commanded that the fruit of trees, like the men themselves, should be circumcised, concerning which it is thus written: The fruit of a tree serving for food shall be uncircumcised in the land of Canaan;
“three years shall it be uncircumcised unto you; and in the fourth year all the fruit thereof shall be holy, the praises of Jehovah. And in the fifth year shall ye eat of the fruit thereof” (Lev. xix. 23, 24, 25).
Because the fruit of the tree signified goods of life, therefore also it was commanded, that
in the feast of tabernacles they should take the fruit of the tree of honour, and the boughs, and should rejoice before Jehovah, and thus they should keep the feast (Lev. xxiii. 40, 41);
for by tabernacles were signified the goods of celestial love, and thence holy worship (see Arcana Coelestia, n. 414, 1102, 2145, 2152, 3312, 4391, 10,545); and by the feast of tabernacles was signified the implantation of that good of love (n. 9296). Because fruit signified the goods of love, which are the goods of life, therefore it was among the blessings that the tree of the field should yield its fruit; and among the curses that it should not yield its fruit (Lev. xxvi. 4, 20). And therefore also they were forbidden, when any city was besieged, to lay the axe to any tree of good fruit (Deut. xx. 19, 20).
From these considerations it is now evident that by fruits are signified the goods of love, or, what is the same, goods of life, which are also called works, as also what is meant in these passages in the Evangelists:
“The axe lies at the root of the trees; every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit shall be hewn down and cast into the fire” (Matt. iii. 10; vii. 16-21).
Either make the tree good and the fruit good, or else make the tree corrupt and the fruit corrupt; for the tree is known by its fruit” (Matt. xii. 33; Luke vi. 43, 44).
“Every branch in me that beareth not fruit shall be taken away: but every branch that beareth fruit shall be purged, that it may bring forth more fruit” (John xv. 2-8).
“A certain man had a fig-tree planted in his vineyard he came seeking fruit thereon, and found none. Then saith he unto the vinedresser, Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on the fig-tree, and find none: cut it down; why cumbereth it the ground?” (Luke xiii. 6-9).
“Jesus saw a fig-tree in the way; he came to it, and found nothing thereon but leaves only; he said, Let no fruit grow on thee for ever. And immediately the fig tree withered away” (Matt. xxi. 19; Mark xi. 1:13, 14, 20).
By the fig-tree is signified the natural man and his interiors, and by the fruit his goods (see Arcana Coelestia, n. 217, 4231, 5113); but leaves signify knowledges (cognitiones), (n. 885). Hence it is clear what is signified by the fig-tree withering away, because the Lord found on it leaves only, and no fruit. All these passages are quoted in order that it may be known that by the tree of life in the midst of the paradise of God, is signified the good of love proceeding from the Lord, and heavenly joy therefrom.
“Jehovah will comfort Zion, he will comfort all her waste places, so that he will make her wilderness into Eden, and her desert into the garden of Jehovah: joy and gladness shall be found therein” (li. 3).
In Ezekiel:
“Thou hast been in Eden, the garden of God every precious stone thy covering” (xxviii. 13).
These things are said concerning Tyre, because by Tyre in the Word is signified the church which is in the knowledges (cognitiones) of good and truth, and thence in intelligence (see Arcana Coelestia, n. 1201). Its intelligence derived therefrom is signified by Eden, the garden of God, also by every precious stone of which was his covering (see Arcana Coelestia, n. 114, 9863, 9865, 9868, 9873). In the same:
“Behold, Asshur a cedar in Lebanon. The cedars did not hide it in the garden of God; nor any tree in the garden of God was equal to it in beauty. I have made it beautiful by the multitude of its branches; and all the trees of Eden in the garden of God, envied it” (xxxi. 3, 8, 9).
By Asshur in the Word are meant those who have become rational by the knowledges (cognitiones) of good and truth, thus whose winds are enlightened from heaven. (That Asshur denotes man’s Rational may be seen, Arcana Coelestia, n. 119, 1186.) [3] Something shalt here be said to explain, how it is to be understood that all knowledges (cognitiones) of good and truth have regard to the good of love to the Lord, and also that they thence proceed; which things are signified by the words: “To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life which is in the midst of the paradise of God.” The good of love to the Lord is the Lord Himself because the Lord is in the good of His own love with men, spirits, and angels.
That all knowledges (cognitiones) of good and truth look to this, or to the Lord, is known in the Christian Church; for the doctrine of the church teaches that without the Lord there is no salvation; and also, that all salvation is in the Lord; the knowledges (cognitiones) of good and truth, or doctrinals from the Word, teach how man may come to God, and be conjoined to Him. (That no one can be conjoined to God except from the Lord, and in the Lord, may be seen in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem, 283, 296.) It is therefore evident that all things which the church teaches from the Word, have regard to the Lord and to love to Him, as the end to which they are all directed. That all knowledges of good and truth, or doctrinals from the Word, proceed from the Lord, is also known in the church; for it is taught in the church that everything of love and of faith is from heaven, and nothing from man, and also that no one can love God and believe in Him from himself. To love God and to believe in Him, involve all those things that the church teaches, which are called doctrinals and knowledges (cognitiones), because it is from these that He is loved and believed in. Love and faith are not granted to man without previous knowledges (cognitiones); for without the latter man would be empty. [4] From these considerations it follows, that as everything of love and of faith proceeds from the Lord, so also all the knowledges (cognitiones) of good and truth, which constitute and form love and faith, proceed from Him, because all these knowledges look to the Lord, and proceed from Him; and this is what is signified by the tree of life in the midst of the paradise of God; therefore, all the trees in the paradise are called trees of life, and trees of Jehovah. Thus, in the Apocalypse they are called trees of life:
“In the midst of the street of it, and of the river going out from the throne of God and the Lamb, on this side and on that side, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve fruits” (xxii. 1, 2);
and “trees of Jehovah” in David:
“The trees of Jehovah are full of sap, and the cedars of Lebanon which he hath planted” (Ps. civ. 16).
It is therefore clear that by the tree of life in the midst of paradise, is meant every tree there, that is, every man, in the midst of whom, that is, in whom, is the Lord. From these considerations, and those adduced in the preceding article, it may be known what is signified by the statement, that to him that overcometh the Lord will give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.
“And unto the angel of the church of the Smyrnaeans write,” signifies, for remembrance to those within the church who wish to understand the Word, and do not yet understand it, and therefore as yet have but little knowledge of truth and good, which nevertheless they desire in heart. “These things saith the first and the last,” signifies the Lord who rules all things from the Divine Human, from primaries by means of ultimates. “Who was dead and is alive,” signifies that He is rejected, and that nevertheless eternal life is from Him.
“I know thy works,” signifies love; “and tribulation,” signifies anxiety from the desire of knowing truths; “and poverty (but thou art rich),” signifies acknowledgment that they know nothing of themselves; “and the blasphemy of them that say they are Jews and are not,” signifies vituperation by those who think themselves to be in the knowledges (cognitiones) of good and truth, because they have the Word, and yet it is not so; “but are a synagogue of Satan,” signifies the doctrine of all their falsities.
“Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer,” signifies not to grieve on account of such persecution. “Behold, the devil is about to cast some of you into prison,” signifies that those who are in falsities from evil, will attempt to deprive them of all truth from the Word; “that ye may be tried,” signifies that consequently there will be increase of the desire for truth; “and ye shall have tribulation ten days,” signifies that infestation, and thence temptation, will endure for some time; “be thou faithful even unto death,” signifies continuance in truths to the end; “and I will give thee a crown of life,” signifies wisdom, and thence eternal happiness.
“He that hath all ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches,” signifies that he who understands should hearken to what Divine truth proceeding from the Lord teaches and says to those who belong to His church. “He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death,” signifies that he who continues in the genuine affection for truth to the end of his life in the world, shall come into the New Heaven.
[3] The reason why that which is written to the angel of the church of Ephesus is concerning those within the church who are in the knowledges (cognitiones) of truth and good and not at the same time, or not as yet, in a life according to them, thus concerning those who are in the affection of truth from a natural origin; and now, in what is written to the angel of the church of the Smyrnaeans, concerning those who are in the knowledges of truth and good and at the same time in a life in agreement with them, thus concerning those who are in the affection of truth from a spiritual origin, is, that the former is the first principle of the church, and the latter is the second. For no one can be introduced into the church, and formed for heaven, except by means of knowledges from the Word, without which a man would not know the way to heaven, and without which the Lord cannot dwell with him. That without the knowledges of truth and good from the Word no one can know anything concerning the Lord, the angelic heaven, or charity and faith, may easily be known; and what a man does not know, he cannot think about, and thus cannot will, therefore neither can he believe or love. It is therefore evident that a man by means of knowledges learns the way to heaven. That without the knowledges of good and truth from the Word, the Lord cannot be present with a man and lead him, is also known; for in the case of him who knows nothing concerning the Lord, concerning heaven, charity and faith, the spiritual mind, which is the higher mind, and is intended to see by the light of heaven, is void and has nothing from the Divine in it, and yet the Lord cannot dwell with a man except in that which is His own, that is, in those things which are from Him; hence it was said, that the Lord cannot dwell with man unless he be in the knowledges of truth and good from the Word, and thence in the life thereof.
From these considerations taken together it follows, that the natural man can by no means become spiritual without the knowledges of truth and good from the Word.
[4] The reason why by the angel of the church of the Smyrnaeans are meant those within the church who are willing to understand the Word, and do not as yet understand, and consequently are, as yet, but little in the knowledges of truth and good, which nevertheless they desire, is, that they are in the spiritual affection of truth, and such also live the life of charity; for they have spiritual affection as a result of this, because there can be nothing spiritual in man but from charity. They who are in that affection study the Word, and desire nothing more than that they may understand it, and this because there are innumerable things in it which they do not understand, because the Word in its bosom is spiritual, involving infinite arcana. While therefore a man lives in the world, and sees from the natural man, he can be but little established in the knowledges of truth and good, but only in the generals, in which, however, innumerable things may be implanted when be comes into the spiritual world, or heaven. [5] The man who is in the affection of truth from a spiritual origin, then knows much more than he knew before; for the general knowledges which he has are vessels, as it were, that can be filled with many things, and which actually are filled, when he comes into heaven. That this is the case is evident from this circumstance alone, that all the angels in heaven are from the human race, and yet their wisdom is such as can be described only by things inexpressible and incomprehensible, as is well known. (That the angels of heaven have no other origin than the human race, may be seen in the work, Heaven and Hell, n. 311-317; and in the small work, The Last Judgment, n. 14-22.) The infilling with intelligence and wisdom above referred to, is meant by the words of the Lord in Luke:
“Good measure, pressed down and shaken together and running over, shall be given into your bosom” (vi. 38).
In Matthew:
“Whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance” (xiii. 12; xxv. 29).
And in Luke:
“The Lord said to the servant who, from the pound given to him, gained ten pounds, Because thou hast been faithful in little, thou shalt have authority over ten cities (xix. 16, 17).
By ten is there signified what is much and fall, and by cities intelligence and wisdom. (That ten signify much and full, may be seen, Arcana Coelestia, n. 1988, 3107, 4638; and that cities signify those things which belong to intelligence and wisdom, 2449, 2712, 2943, 3216, 3584, 4492, 4493, 5297.)
“These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden lampstands” (v. 1, of this chapter).
[2] In the preceding chapter the Son of man is thus described:
“I am the first and the last; I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive unto the ages of the ages” (v. 17, 18).
These things are here premised in what is written to the angel of the church of the Smyrnaeans, in these words:
“These things saith the first and the last, who was dead and is alive” (v. 8).
In the preceding chapter, the Son of man is thus described:
“Out of his mouth went a sharp two-edged sword” (v. 16),
which is also premised in what is written to the angel of the Church in Pergamos, in these words:
“These things saith he who hath the sharp two-edged sword” (v. 12).
In the preceding chapter, the Son of man is described as having eyes like a flame of fire, and feet like to fine brass as if they burned in a furnace (v. 14, 15). These things are premised in what is written to the angel of the church of Thyatira, in these words:
“These things saith the Son of God, who hath his eyes like unto a flame of fire, and his feet like fine brass” (v. 18).
[3] Similar things are premised in what is written to the angels of the other three churches, of which we shall treat in the following chapter. From these considerations it is evident, that it is the Son of man who says the things which are written to the churches. And because by the Son of man is meant the Lord as to the Divine Human (as was shown above, n. 63), it follows that all the things written to the churches are from the Divine Human of the Lord; and hence it also follows, that the Divine Human is the All in all of the church, as it is the All in all of heaven. Here, also, by his being styled the First and the Last, is signified that the Lord from His Divine Human rules all things from primaries by means of ultimates. (That the Lord as to the Divine Human is the All in all of heaven, may be seen in the work, Heaven and Hell, n. 7-12, and n. 78-86, and other places. And because the Lord is the All in all of heaven, He is also the All in all of the church, for the church is the kingdom of the Lord on the earth.) This I can assert, that no one within the church who does not acknowledge the Divine of the Lord in His Human, can enter into heaven. To acknowledge the Divine of the Lord in His Human, is to think of His Divine when His Human is thought of. The reason why He should thus be thought of, is, because the whole heaven is from His Divine Human (as may be seen explained in the work, Heaven and Hell, from beginning to end. See also above, n. 10, 49, 52, 82).
[2] It is therefore evident, that there can be no conjunction with the Father unless from the Lord, and in the Lord. This the Lord Himself teaches very clearly in the Evangelists. In John:
“No one hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he hath brought him forth to view” (i. 18).
Again:
“Ye have neither heard the Father’s voice at any time, nor seen his shape” (v. 37).
In Matthew:
“Neither knoweth any man the Father save the Son and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him” (xi. 27).
In John:
I am the way, the truth and the life; no man cometh unto the Father but by me” (xiv. 6).
Again:
“If ye know me, ye know my Father also; he that seeth me seeth the Father”; (Philip) “believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? believe me, that I am in the Father, and the Father in me” (xiv. 7-11);
and that the Father and the Lord are one (x. 30, 38).
Again:
“I am the vine, ye are the branches; without me ye can do nothing” (xv. 5).
[3] It is therefore evident, that the Lord is rejected by those within the church who approach the Father directly, and pray to Him to have compassion for the sake of the Son; for these cannot but think of the Human of the Lord, as of the human of another man, thus they cannot think of His Divine in the Human, and still less of His Divine united with His Human as the soul is conjoined with the body, according to the doctrine universally received in the Christian world (see above, n. 10 and 26).
Who is there in the Christian world, that acknowledges the Divine of the Lord that desires by this acknowledgment to separate His Divine from His Human? Nevertheless, to think of the Human alone, and not at the same time of the Divine in the Human, is to regard them as separate, which is not to think of the Lord, or of both as one person, although the doctrine received in the Christian world is, that the Divine and Human of the Lord make not two persons but one person. [4] Those who constitute the church at this day do, indeed, think of the Divine of the Lord in His Human, when they speak from the doctrine of the church; but it is quite otherwise when they think and speak within themselves apart from doctrine. But let it be known, that a man is in one state when he thinks and speaks from doctrine, and another when he thinks and speaks apart from it. When a man thinks and speaks from doctrine, he thinks and speaks from the memory of his natural man; but when he thinks and speaks unfettered by doctrine, his thought and speech are then from his spirit. For to think and speak from the spirit, is to think and speak from the interiors of one’s mind, therefore, what he then speaks is his real faith. The state of a man also after death is such as were the thought and speech of his spirit within himself unfettered by doctrine, and not such as were his thought and speech from doctrine, if the latter has not become one with the former. [5] Man has two states as to faith and love, one while he is in doctrine, and another when he is unfettered by it, but the state of his faith and love apart from doctrine saves him, and not the state of his speech concerning faith and love derived from doctrine, unless the latter has become one with the former. Man does not know this, although to think and speak from doctrine concerning faith and love, is to speak from the natural man and its memory, is evident from this circumstance alone, that both the evil and the good can think and speak in this way when they are with others. And it is for this reason that evil equally with good prelates, or prelates who have no faith equally with those who have faith, can preach the gospel, to all appearance with a similar zeal and affection. The reason is, that, in such case, a man, as stated, thinks and speaks from his natural man and its memory; but to think from the spirit is not to think from the natural man and its memory, but from the spiritual man, and from the faith and affection of this man. From this alone it is evident, that there are two states pertaining to man, and that the former state just referred to does not save him, but the latter. For after death a man is a spirit, therefore such as he was in the world as to his spirit, such does he remain after his departure out of the world.
[6] Moreover, that there are two states pertaining to the man of the church, it has been granted me to know from much experience; for after death a man can be brought into either state, and also is actually brought into both; many, when they have been brought into the former state, have spoken like Christians, and from their speech were believed by others to be Christians, but as soon as they were brought back into the latter state, the state of their own spirit, they then spoke like diabolical spirits, and in complete opposition to what they had spoken before (see the work Heaven and hell, n. 491-498, and n. 499-511). [7] From these considerations it also is evident how it is to be understood that the Lord is repudiated at this day by those who are within the church, that is, that from doctrine indeed the Divine of the Lord must be acknowledged and believed equally as the Divine of the Father; for the doctrine of the church teaches, that, “as is the Father, so also is the Son, uncreate, infinite, eternal, omnipotent, God, Lord, neither of them greater or less, before or after the other” (see the creed of Athanasius). Notwithstanding this, however, they do not approach and worship the Lord as Divine, but they worship the Divine of the Father, as is the case when they pray to the Father that He may have compassion on them for the sake of the Son. When they use these words, they do not in the least think of the Divine of the Lord, but of His Human separate from the Divine, thus of His Human as similar to that of another man. They then think not of one God, but of two, or three. To think in this way of the Lord, is to repudiate Him; for not to think of His Divine in conjunction with His Human, which nevertheless are not two persons but one person, and make a one as soul and body, is by separation to exclude the Divine.
[8] I have occasionally talked with spirits who, whilst they lived in the world, were of the Popish religion, and I inquired whether they ever thought in the world concerning the Lord’s Divine? They said that they had thought on the subject as often as they were in doctrine with insight, and that then they acknowledged His Divine to be equal with that of the Father, but apart from doctrine, they thought of His Human alone, and not of His Divine. They were asked why they say that the power, which belonged to the Human of the Lord, was given Him by the Father, and not by Himself, since they acknowledged His Divine to be equal to that of the Father? They then turned away, without answering; but they were told that the reason was, that they arrogated to themselves all His Divine power; which they could not have done, unless they had separated the Divine from the Human. That the Lord is repudiated by them, every one may conclude from this circumstance, that they worship the Pope as the Lord, and that they no longer ascribe any power to the Lord. [9] I will here relate a great scandal uttered by the Pope who was called Benedict XIV. He declared openly that he believed, when he lived in the world, that the Lord had no power, because He had transferred it all to Peter, and thence to his successors; adding that he believed that the Romish saints have more power than the Lord, because they retain it from God the Father, but that the Lord abdicated it entirely, and conferred it on the Popes; but that still He must be worshipped, because without such worship the Pope would not be worshipped with sanctity. But this Pope, because he arrogated to himself what was Divine, even after death, was, after some days, cast, into hell.
[2] From these considerations it may be known what is meant by poverty in the spiritual sense. The reason why he who is spiritually poor, nevertheless is rich, is, that he is in the spiritual affection of truth; for intelligence and wisdom flow from the Lord into this affection. Every one’s affection receives and takes in things congenial to itself, as a sponge absorbs water: thus the spiritual affection of truth receives and takes in spiritual truths, which are the truths of the church derived from the Word. The reason why the spiritual affection of truth is from the Lord alone is, that the Lord is Divine truth in heaven and in the church, for it proceeds from Him; and because the Lord loves to lead every one to Himself, and to save him, and this can only be effected by the knowledges (cognitiones) of good and truth from the Word, therefore He loves to implant these in man, and to make them principles of his life; for in this and in no other way can he lead man to Himself and save him. It is therefore clear that all spiritual affection of truth is from the Lord, and that no one can be in that affection unless he acknowledges the Divine of the Lord in His Human; for by this acknowledgment there is conjunction, and according to conjunction there is reception. (On this subject more may be seen in the work, Heaven and Hell, where it treats of the wisdom of the angels of heaven, n. 265-275; and concerning the wise and the simple in heaven, n. 346-356, and in the same work, n. 13, 19, 25, 26, 133, 139, 140, 205, 297, 422, 523, 603, and in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem, n. 11-27; and above, n. 6, 59, 112, 115, 117.)
[3] Throughout the Word frequent mention is made of the poor and needy, and also of the hungry and thirsty. By the poor and needy are signified those who believe that they know nothing of themselves, and also those who do not know, because they have not the Word. By the hungry and thirsty are signified those who continually desire to possess truths, and to be perfected by them. Both the latter and the former are meant by the poor, the needy, the hungry, and thirsty, in the following passages:
“Blessed are the poor in spirit; for theirs is the kingdom of the heavens. Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness; for they shall be filled” (Matt. v. 3, 6).
“Blessed be ye poor; for yours is the kingdom of the heavens. Blessed are ye that hunger; for ye shall be filled” (Luke vi. 20, 21).
“To the poor the gospel shall be preached,” and “the poor hear the gospel” (Luke vii. 22; Matt. xi. 5).
“The master of the house said to his servant, Go out into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in the poor” (Luke xiv. 21).
“Then the first-born of the poor shall feed, and the needy shall lie down in safety” (Isa. xiv. 30).
“I was an hungered, and ye gave me to eat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me to drink” (Matt. xxv. 35).
“The poor and needy seek water, and there is none; their tongue faileth for thirst. I, Jehovah, will hear them. I will open rivers in high places, and fountains in the midst of the valleys” (Isa. xli. 17, 18).
From this last passage it is evident that by the poor and needy are meant those who desire the knowledges (cognitiones) of good and truth; for the water which they seek denotes truth. (That water denotes the truth of faith, may be seen above, n. 71.) Their desire is here described by their tongue failing for thirst; and the abundance which they should have, by rivers being opened in high places, and fountains in the midst of the valleys.
[4] Those who do not know that by the rich are signified those who have the Word, and who can therefore have the knowledges (cognitiones) of truth and good, and that by the poor are signified those who have not the Word and yet desire truths, cannot but suppose that by the rich man in Luke (xvi. 19, and following verses), who was clothed in crimson and fine linen, are meant the rich in the world, and that by the poor man who lay at his gate, and desired to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table, are meant the poor in the world. But here, by the rich man is meant the Jewish nation, which possessed the Word, and could therefore be in the knowledges of truth and good; and by the poor man are meant the Gentiles, who had not the Word, and yet desired the knowledges of truth and good. The reason why the rich man is described as being clothed with crimson and fine linen, is, that crimson signifies genuine good (see Arcana Coelestia, n. 9467), and fine linen signifies genuine truth (see Arcana Coelestia, n. 5319, 9469, 9596, 9744), both from the Word. The reason why the poor man is described as being laid at the rich man’s gate, and desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from his table, is, that to be laid at the gate denotes to be cast out, and to be deprived of reading and understanding the Word; and to wish to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table denotes to desire some truths therefrom, for food signifies the things of knowledge (scientia), intelligence and wisdom, and in general, good and truth (see Arcana Coelestia, n. 3114, 4459, 4792, 5147, 5293, 5340, 5342, 5410, 5426, 5576, 5582, 5588, 5655, 8562, 9003), and a table signifies that which receives such things (see Arcana Coelestia, n. 9527). Because the poor man had that desire, which is the same thing as being in the spiritual affection of truth, therefore it is said of him that he was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom, by which is signified that he was raised up into an angelic state of intelligence and wisdom; the bosom of Abraham denoting the Divine truth which is in heaven; for those who are therein are with the Lord. (That Abraham in the Word signifies the Lord, may be seen, Arcana Coelestia, n. 2010, 2833, 2836, 3245, 3251, 3305, 3439, 3703, 6098, 6185, 6276, 6804, 6847.) [5] What is here signified by the rich man, and by the poor man who hungered, is also signified by the rich and the hungry in Luke:
“He hath filled the hungry with good, and the rich he hath sent empty away” (i. 53).
(That by riches in the Word, are signified spiritual riches, which are the knowledges (cognitiones) of truth and good from the Word, may be seen, Arcana Coelestia, n. 1694, 4508, 10,227; and in the work, Heaven and Hell, n. 365; and in the opposite sense, the knowledges of falsity and evil, which they confirm from the sense of the letter of the Word, Arcana Coelestia, n. 1694. That riches in the Word signify the knowledges of truth and good, and therefore intelligence and wisdom, is the result of correspondence; for with the angels in heaven all things appear shining, as it were from gold, silver, and precious stones; and this according as they are in the intelligence of truth and in the wisdom of good: with spirits also who are below the heavens, there are riches in appearance according to their reception of truth and good from the Lord.)
It is therefore evident how much those are mistaken who believe, according to the letter, that the Jews are to be brought back into the land of Canaan, and that they are elected and destined for heaven in preference to others; whereas few from that nation are saved, because none are saved but those who believe in the Lord; and he who believes in the Lord in the world, believes in Him after his departure out of the world; but that nation altogether casts Him out from its belief. [3] That by Judah is meant the Lord as to His kingdom and as to the Word, may be seen from the prophecy of Israel concerning his sons, which, when it is unfolded by the internal sense, shows what each tribe represented in the church. That the tribe of Judah represented the Lord’s kingdom, or the church where the Word is, is quite clear from what is said concerning Judah:
“Judah is a lion’s whelp; from the prey, my son, thou art gone up. The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a law-giver from between his feet, until Shiloh come, and unto him shall the gathering of the people be; who shall bind to the vine the foal of his ass, and to the noble vine the son of his she-ass; whilst he washeth his garment in wine, and his covering in the blood of grapes” (Gen. xlix. 9, 10, 11).
That the particulars mentioned signify the Lord’s kingdom, or the church, may be seen in Arcana Coelestia, where they are explained. [4] He who knows that by Judah, in the highest sense, is meant the Lord, and, in the internal sense, His kingdom and Word, and in the external sense doctrine from the Word, also, in an opposite sense, those who deny the Lord and adulterate the Word, may know what is signified by Judah in many other places of the Word; as in these following:
“Hear ye, O house of Jacob, called by the name of Israel, and they have gone forth from the waters of Judah” (Isa. xlviii. 1).
The house of Jacob, and Israel, is the church; to go forth from the waters of Judah signifies from doctrine out of the Word, for the church is thence. (That waters denote truths of doctrine from the Word, may be seen above, n. 71.)
“The sons of Judah and the sons of Jerusalem have ye sold unto the sons of the Grecians, that ye might remove them far from their borders. It shall come to pass in that day, that all the rivers of Judah shall flow with waters, and a fountain shall go forth out of the house of Jehovah, and Judah shall sit to eternity” (Joel iii. 6, 18, 20).
To sell the sons of Judah and the sons of Jerusalem to the sons of the Grecians, is to falsify the goods and truths of the church; in that day, denotes when that church is at its end and a new one established among the Gentiles; all the rivers of Judah shall flow with waters, signifies abundance of truths and goods from the Word, to those who are in the New Church; that these are from the Word is signified by the fountain going forth out of the house of Jehovah. It is therefore clear that by Judah who shall sit to eternity, is not meant Judah, or the Jewish nation, but all those who are in good by means of truths from the Word.
[5] Similar things are meant by Judah in the following passages:
“I will have mercy upon the house of Judah, and will save them. Then shall the sons of Judah and the sons of Israel be gathered together, and appoint themselves one head, and they shall come up out of the land; for great is the day of Jezreel” (Hosea i. 7, 11).
“Then many nations shall adhere to Jehovah in that day; they shall be to me for a people, for I will dwell in thee; then Jehovah shall make Judah a heritage to himself, his portion upon the land of holiness, and shall again choose Jerusalem” (Zech. ii. 11, 12).
“Jehovah Zebaoth shall visit his flock, the house of Judah, and shall make them [as] a horse of glory in the war: I will render the house of Judah powerful” (Zech. x. 3, 6).
“God will save Zion, and will build the cities of Judah; and they shall dwell there, and inherit it. The seed also of his servants shall inherit it: and they who love the name of Jehovah shall dwell therein” (Ps. lxix. 35, 36).
“And I will bring forth a seed out of Jacob, and out of Judah an inheritor of my mountains, that mine elect may, possess it” (Isa. lxv. 9);
besides in many other places. (That the Jewish nation is not meant in the Word in these and other places where they are called elect and heirs, may be further seen from what is adduced concerning that nation from Arcana Coelestia, in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem, n. 248.) From these considerations it is now evident what is signified by “The blasphemy of those who say they are Jews, and are not.”
That there was every kind of false doctrine among the Jewish nation, is evident from many things known concerning that nation; for instance, that they deny the Lord, that they expect a Messiah who shall establish an earthly kingdom, and exalt them above all the other nations of the world; that they place all worship in externals, and reject the internals of worship which belong to faith and love to the Lord; that they regard all things in the Word as referring to themselves, and falsify it by traditions of their own invention, as may be seen, Matt. xv. 6-9; Mark vii. 1-13. Moreover, what the character of that nation has been from the beginning, as to their interiors, is evident from the song of Moses (in Deut. xxxii.), and from many other places. (See also the citations from Arcana Coelestia, in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem, n. 248.)
121. (v. 10) Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer. That this signifies that they should not grieve on account of such persecution is evident from the signification of fear when said of those who are about to suffer persecutions, as being that they should not grieve in mind, for such fear is also grief; and from the signification of those things which thou shalt suffer from those who are in all kinds of falsity, as being that these are about to persecute. The persecution of those who are in the spiritual affection of truth, by those who are in falsities, is now treated of. This is particularly evident from those who are of such a character in the world of spirits (concerning which world see what is said in the work, Heaven and Hell, n. 421-535); for there the quality of every one as to the interiors of his thought and intention is made evident, because every one there is in himself, because he is a spirit, and it is the spirit which thinks and intends. All spirits there are conjoined either with the hells or with the heavens. Those who are conjoined with the hells, as soon as they perceive any one who is in the spiritual affection of truth, begin to burn with hatred, and endeavour to destroy him; they cannot even endure the sight of him. When most of these perceive only slightly the delight of the spiritual affection of truth, which is the essential delight of heaven, they become insane, as it were, and nothing is then more delightful to them than to endeavour to extinguish it. It is evident from this, that all in the hells are in opposition, to the spiritual affection of truth, and all in the heavens are in that affection. It would be similar on earth among men, if they had the perception which spirits have; but because this is not the case, and hence they do not know those who are in spiritual affection, they remain quiet, and act amicably, according to the delights of the world.
This disposition, however, manifests itself in the churches, among those who study religious dogmas, and also among those who are in that spiritual affection, by this circumstance, that falsities break out in their thoughts, striving to extinguish their desire, and the delight thence derived. Such falsities are from hell; for everything that a man thinks is either from hell
or heaven (as was said above, n. 120).
[3] He who knows that by the Lord’s disciples are meant all those who are in truths from good from the Lord, and in an abstract sense, the truths themselves from good and that by their being cast into prison by the devil is meant the endeavour of those who are in falsities from evil to deprive them of truths, and, in the abstract, detention or imprisonment of truths by falsities, as said above, will be able to understand what is signified in each of these senses in the following passages:
“They shall lay their hands on you, and persecute you, delivering you up to synagogues and into prisons, for my name’s sake” (Luke xxi. 12).
(That for the Lord’s name’s sake signifies on account of the goods of love and the truths of faith, from Him, may be seen above, n. 102.)
“Then shall they deliver you up to affliction, and shall kill you, and ye shall be hated for my name’s sake” (Matt. xxiv. 9, 11).
“They will deliver you up to councils, to synagogues, and they will scourge you, for my sake” (Matt. x. 17, 18; Mark xiii. 9).
“Behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men and scribes; and some of them ye shall kill and crucify, and some of them ye shall scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city” (Matt. xxiii. 34).
“There was a certain householder, which planted a vineyard, and let it out to husbandmen. And when the time of the fruits drew near, he sent his servants to the husbandmen, that they might receive the fruits of it. And the husbandmen took his servants, and beat one, and killed another, and stoned another. Again, he sent other servants, and they did unto them likewise: last of all, he sent unto them his son. But when the husbandmen saw the son, they said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and let us seize on his inheritance. And they took him, and cast him out of the vineyard, and slew him” (Matt. xxi. 33-44).
“The wisdom of God said, I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they shall slay and persecute” (Luke xi. 49).
(That by prophets in the Word are meant those who teach truths, and, in an abstract sense, the doctrine of truth, may be seen, Arcana Coelestia, n. 2534, 7269; and that apostles have a similar signification, see above, n. 100.)
“Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice and be exceeding glad; for great is your reward in the heavens; for so persecuted they the prophets who were before you” (Matt. v. 11, 12).
“Blessed are ye when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man’s sake; for in the like manner did their fathers unto the prophets” (Luke vi. 22, 23).
[4] Similar to this is the signification of the words of the Lord to His disciples, in which He exhorts them to take up their cross and follow Him; as in the following passages:
“Jesus said unto his disciples, If any one will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me” (Matt. xvi. 24; Mark viii. 34);
to deny one’s-self, is to reject the evils which are from the proprium.
“Whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple” (Luke xiv. 27).
Jesus said to the young man who was rich:
“One thing thou lackest; go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and come, take up the cross and follow me” (Mark x. 21).
By this is meant, in the spiritual sense, that he should reject the falsities of Jewish doctrine, should receive the doctrine of truth from the Lord, and undergo assaults and temptations from falsities. They therefore are deceived who believe that those who desire to follow the Lord should sell their goods, and suffer the cross. Because the Lord is Divine truth itself, which (in John i. 1, 2, 3, 14) is called the Word, therefore by the Lord’s suffering Himself to be scourged and crucified is signified, that Divine truth which is in the Word was so treated by the Jews (that all things related concerning the passion of the Lord in the Evangelists, involve and signify that the Jews so treated Divine truth, may be seen above, n. 83); therefore the Lord says,
“Remember my word: If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you” (John xv. 20).
[5] That the Jews in particular are meant by the devil who should cast the disciples of the Lord into prison, and that, in general, all who call themselves Jews, and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan, are meant, according to what was adduced above, n. 119, 120, is evident from the words of the Lord in John,
“Ye do not understand my speech because ye cannot hear my word. Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him; when he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own; for he is a liar, and the father of it” (viii. 43, 44).
By their father being a murderer from the beginning, and by the truth not being in him, but a lie, is signified that, from the beginning, they had been opposed to truths, and in falsities from evil; for by a murderer is meant a destroyer of the truth of the church, and a father denotes those that were before. (Concerning the quality of the Jewish nation, what it was formerly, and also what it is at this day, see The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem, n. 248; that by the bound in prison are signified those who are in falsities from evil, see Arcana Coelestia, n. 4958, 5096: that to be bound in prison signifies to be held back and separated from truths, n. 5037, 5038, 5086, 5096; and also to be tempted, n. 5037, 5038.) [6] The reason why the Jews were of such a character was, that they were influenced by the love of self and of the world more than any other nation; and such persons, when they read the Word, apply everything to their own loves, and especially the Jews because they are so often named. The case is similar with others who are in those loves, for the love which rules turns the mind of him who reads to those things only which favour it. For love is like a fire, which gives light to such things, whilst all other things are either passed by as if unseen, or they are considered from the point of view of a sinister explanation, and are thus falsified. Both the latter and the former infest those who are in the spiritual affection of truth, and are what is meant by the devil, who casts into prison those who belong to the Lord’s church; for from these all falsities from the spiritual world flow into those who desire truths, and hold them as if they were bound in prison. The same are also meant by those concerning whom the Lord says,
“I was in prison, and ye visited me not” (Matt. xxv. 43).
Man has two minds, one exterior, and the other interior the exterior mind is called the natural mind, but the interior is called the spiritual mind; the former is opened by means of the knowledges (cognitiones) of things in the world, but the latter by the knowledges (cognitiones) of things which are in heaven; these the Word teaches, and the church from the Word; by means of these man becomes spiritual, when he knows them and lives according to them. [2] This is meant by the words of the Lord in John:
“Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God” (iii. 5):
by water, are signified the truths of faith, and by spirit, a life according to them (as may be seen above, n. 71; and in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem, n. 202-209). Very many people believe at this day, that mankind will go to heaven solely by sacred worship performed in temples, and by adorations and prayers; but such of them as are unconcerned about the knowledges (cognitiones) of truth and good from the Word, and who neglect to furnish not only the memory, but also the life, with these, remain natural as before, nor do they become spiritual, because their sacred worship, adorations and prayers, do not proceed from a spiritual origin; for their spiritual mind is not opened by the knowledges of spiritual things and by a life according to them, but is empty; and worship proceeding from what is void is only a natural gesture, within which there is nothing spiritual. If such persons are insincere and unjust as to moral and civil life, then their sacred worship, adorations and prayers are inwardly of such a nature as to repel heaven, instead of which they believe that they receive heaven by this means; for such worship is like a vessel containing putrid or filthy matters, which filter through; it is also like a splendid garment that clothes a body covered with ulcers: I have seen many thousands of such cast into hell. But it is otherwise with the holy worship, the adorations and prayers of those who are in the knowledges of truth and good, and whose life is in accordance with them; with such, those things are pleasing to the Lord, for they are the effects of their spirit in the body, or the effects of their faith and love, and thus are not only natural gestures, but spiritual acts.
From these considerations it is evident that the knowledges of truth and good from the Word, and a life in agreement with them, alone make man spiritual: and that he who is thus made spiritual can be gifted with angelic wisdom from the Lord, together with eternal happiness; nor do the angels derive happiness from any other source than wisdom. [3] The reason why a crown signifies wisdom is, that all those things that clothe man, and distinguish him, derive their signification from that part of him which they clothe or adorn (see Arcana Coelestia, n. 9827), and a crown signifies wisdom, because it is worn on the head, by which in the Word wisdom is signified, for there wisdom resides. Accordingly it is written in Ezekiel:
“I have adorned thee with ornament, and I have placed bracelets upon thy hands; and a chain upon thy neck. Moreover, I have put a jewel upon thy nose, and earrings upon thine ears, and a crown of ornament upon thy head” (xvi. 11, 12).
Jerusalem is here treated of, by which is signified the church, as established by the Lord, and its quality; by the particular adornments here mentioned are meant, in the spiritual sense, such things as belong to the church; these derive their respective significations from the part to which they are applied; by a crown is here meant wisdom. (But what is meant specifically by ornament, may be seen, Arcana Coelestia, n. 10,536, 10,540; what by bracelets, n. 3103, 3105; what by a chain, n. 5320; what by a jewel, n. 4551; and what by earrings, n. 4551, 10,402.) Similarly the wisdom that is from the knowledges of truth and good from the Word and from a life according to them, is signified by a crown in many other passages in the Word, as in Isaiah xxviii. 5; Jer. xiii. 18; Lam. v. 15, 16; Ezek. xxi. 25, 26; xxiii. 42; Zech. vi. 11-13; Ps. lxxxix. 38, 39; cxxxii. 17, 18; Job. xix. 9; Apoc. iii. 11; iv. 4. The custom of crowning kings comes down from ancient times, when men were acquainted with representatives and significatives, for they knew that kings represented the Lord as to Divine truth, and that a crown was used to signify wisdom. (That kings represented the Lord as to Divine truth, may be seen, Arcana Coelestia, n. 1672, 2015, 2069, 3009, 4581, 4966, 5068, 6148.) That those who are in truths are called kings and kings’ sons (see above, n. 31). And because those who are in the knowledges of truth are called kings in the Word, and kings have crowns, therefore in this place, where they are treated of, it is said that they should receive a crown of life.
128. He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death. That this signifies that he who continues in the genuine affection of truth to the end of his life in the world shall come into the new heaven, is evident from the signification of overcoming, when said of those who desire the knowledges of truth and good from the Word, as being to continue in the genuine affection of truth, even to the end of life in the world. It is said “he that overcometh” because these are they who undergo spiritual temptation, which is from evils and falsities, and fight against them; and to resist evils and falsities and to tame and subdue them as enemies, is to overcome. But no one overcomes, unless be continues in the spiritual affection of truth, even to the end of his life in the world. The work is then finished, for a man remains to eternity such as he then is, that is, such as his life has been up to that time: death is its completion. But no one can overcome except the Lord alone; the man who believes that he overcomes of himself, and not the Lord with him, does not overcome, but falls; for it is spiritual faith which overcomes, and nothing of spiritual faith is from man, but it is entirely from the Lord. (What spiritual faith is may be seen in the small work, The Last Judgment, n. 33-39; and in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem, n. 108-120; and what spiritual temptation is, n. 187-201 in the same.) That “shall not be hurt of the second death,” denotes to come into the New Heaven, cannot be understood unless it be known what is meant by the former heaven, and what by the New Heaven, which are treated of in chap. xxi. of the Apocalypse. (What is meant by the former heaven is shown in the small work, The Last Judgment, n. 65-72; and what by the New Heaven, in The New Jerusalem and its Doctrine, n. 1-7.) But what is meant by the first death and by the second death, as also by the first and second resurrection, is shown in the explanation of chaps. xx. and xxi., where it is said:
“The rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection; on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ” (xx. 5, 6).
“Their part shall be in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone, which is the second death” (xxi. 8).
It is therefore evident that the second death is damnation: to be hurt of it, is to be damned, and, on the contrary, not to be hurt of it is to be saved. And because all those who are saved come into the New Heaven, therefore to come into the new heaven is what is signified by not being hurt of the second death. (Concerning which heaven and those of whom it consists, see the small work, The New Jerusalem and its Doctrine, n. 2-6.)
“And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write,” signifies for remembrance to those within the church who are in temptations. “These things saith he that hath the sharp two-edged sword,” signifies the Lord, who alone fights in temptations.
“I know thy works,” signifies love and faith; “where thou dwellest,” signifies among whom he now lives; “where Satan’s throne is,” signifies where every kind of falsity reigns; “and thou boldest fast my name,” signifies the acknowledgment of the Divine in the Human; “and hast not denied my faith,” signifies constancy in truths; “even in the days wherein Antipas was my faithful martyr, who was slain among you,” signifies, in that time and state when all were held in hatred who professed the Divine Human of the Lord; “where Satan dwelleth,” signifies, by those who are in the doctrine of all falsities.
“But I have a few things against thee,” signifies that they should take heed; “because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to cast a stumblingblock before the sons of Israel,” signifies those whose understanding is enlightened and who teach truths, but still love to destroy by guile those who belong to the church; “to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication,” signifies in order that they may acquire evils, and the falsities therefrom.
“So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes, which thing I hate,” signifies those who separate good from truth, or charity from faith, which is against Divine order.
“Repent,” signifies dissociation from them: “or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth,” signifies, if not, when visitation comes, they will be dispersed.
“He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches,” signifies, that he who understands should hearken to what Divine truth proceeding from the Lord teaches and says to those who belong to His church: “To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna,” signifies, to him who conquers in temptations, the delight of heavenly love from the Divine Human of the Lord: “and I will give him a white stone,” signifies wisdom and intelligence; “and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth,” signifies the state of the interior life, which is unknown to all except those who are in it.
By Divine truth is meant also Divine good, because they proceed unitedly from the Lord (as may be seen in the work, Heaven and Hell, n. 13, 140). [3] Now because Divine truth proceeding from the Lord constitutes an angel, therefore, in the highest sense, in the Word, by angel is meant the Lord Himself, as in Isaiah:
“The angel of the faces of Jehovah liberated them; on account of his love, and his indulgence, he redeemed them; and he bore, and carried them all the days of eternity” (Isa. lxiii. 9).
And in Moses:
“The angel who hath redeemed me from all evil, bless them (Gen. xlviii. 16).
In the same:
“Behold, I send an angel before thee to keep thee in the way; beware of his faces, and obey his voice, for my name is in the midst of him” (Exod. xxiii. 20-23).
[4] Because the Lord as to Divine truth is called an angel, therefore also Divine truths are meant, in the spiritual sense, by angels, as in the following passages:
“The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend. In the consummation of the age the angels shall go forth, and sever the wicked from among the just” (Matt. xiii. 41, 49).
“And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and shall gather together the elect from the four winds” (Matt. xxiv. 31).
“When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory” (Matt. xxv. 31).
Jesus said, “Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man” (John i. 51).
In these passages, in the spiritual sense, by angels are meant Divine truths, and not angels; as in the foregoing passages, where it is said that, in the consummation of the age, the angels shall gather out all things that offend, shall sever the wicked from the just, that they shall gather together the elect with a great sound of a trumpet from the four winds, and that the Son of man with His angels shall sit upon a throne of glory. It is not meant that the angels will do these things, together with the Lord, but the Lord alone by His Divine truths; for an angel has no power of himself, but all power is from the Lord by means of His Divine truth (see the work, Heaven and Hell, n. 230-233). Similarly by the angels of God seen ascending and descending upon the Son of man is meant, that Divine truths were in Him and from Him.
[5] By angels also in other places are meant Divine truths proceeding from the Lord, consequently the Lord as to Divine truths, as where it is said, that
to the seven angels were given seven trumpets, and that the angels sounded the trumpets (Apoc. viii. 2, 6-8, 10, 12, 13; ix. 1, 13, 14).
It is said, that to the angels were given trumpets, and that they sounded them, because trumpets and the sound of them signify Divine truth to be revealed (see above, n. 55). Similar things are also meant
by the angels fighting against the dragon (Apoc. xii. 7, 9);
by the angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting Gospel (Apoc. xiv. 6);
by the seven angels pouring out the seven vials (Apoc. xvi. 1-4, 8, 10, 12);
by the twelve angels at the twelve gates of the New Jerusalem (Apoc. xxi. 12).
[6] That this is the case will also be seen in what follows. That by angels are meant Divine truths from the Lord, is quite clear in David:
Jehovah “maketh his angels winds, and his ministers a flaming fire” (Ps. civ. 4).
By these words are signified Divine truth and Divine good; for the wind of Jehovah in the Word signifies Divine truth, and His fire Divine good. (As is evident from what is shown in Arcana Coelestia, as, that the wind of the nostrils of Jehovah denotes Divine truth, n. 8286; that the four winds denote all things of truth and good, n. 3708, 9642, 9668; that hence to breathe in the Word signifies the state of the life of faith, n. 9280; from which it is evident what is signified by Jehovah breathing into the nostrils of Adam (Gen. ii. 7); by the Lord breathing upon His disciples (John xx. 22): and by these words of the Lord, “The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the voice thereof, and knowest not whence it cometh” (John iii. 8); concerning which see n. 96, 97, 9229, 9281; and, moreover, n. 1119, 3886, 3887, 3889, 3892, 3893. That flaming fire denotes Divine love, and thence Divine good see in the work, Heaven and Hell, n. 133-140, 566, 567, 568; and 7 above, n. 68.) [7] That an angel signifies Divine truth proceeding from the Lord, is quite clear from these words in the Apocalypse:
“He measured the wall” of the New Jerusalem “an hundred and forty-four cubits, the measure of a man, that is, of an angel” (xxi. 17).
That the wall of the New Jerusalem is not the measure of an angel anyone may see; but that the term signifies all truths for defence, which are there meant by angel, is evident from the signification of the wall of Jerusalem, and of the signification of the number one hundred and forty-four. (That a wall signifies all truths for defence, may be seen, Arcana Coelestia n. 6419; that the number one hundred and forty-four signifies all things of truth in the aggregate, n. 7973; that measure signifies the quality of a thing as to truth and good, n. 3104, 9603, 10,262. These things may also be seen explained as to the internal sense in the small work, The New Jerusalem and its Doctrine, n. 1.) [8] Because by angels in the Word are meant Divine truths, therefore men through whom Divine truths are made known are sometimes called angels, as in Malachi:
“The priest’s lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth, because he is the angel of Jehovah” (ii. 7).
He is said to be the angel of Jehovah, because he teaches Divine truth; not that he is the angel of Jehovah, but the Divine truth which he teaches is. It is also known in the church that no one has Divine truth from himself. Lips, in the above passage, also signify the doctrine of truth, and law the Divine truth itself. (That lips signify the doctrine of truth may be seen, Arcana Coelestia, n. 1286, 1288, and that the law is the Divine truth itself, n. 3382, 7463.) This also is why John the Baptist is called an angel:
Jesus said, “This is he of whom it is written, Behold, I send my angel before thy face, who shall prepare thy way before thee” (Luke vii. 27).
[9] The reason why John is called an angel is, because by him, in the spiritual sense, is signified the Word, which is Divine truth, just as by Elias. (See Arcana Coelestia, n. 7643, 9372; and that what is signified, the same is meant, by a person in the Word, see n. 665, 1097, 1361, 3147, 3670, 3881, 4208, 4281, 4288, 4292, 4307, 4500, 6304, 7048, 7439, 8588, 8788, 8806, 9229.) [10] It is said, that by angels in the Word, in the spiritual sense, are meant Divine truths proceeding from the Lord, because these constitute angels, and when angels utter them, they do not speak from themselves but from the Lord. That this is the case, the angels not only know but also perceive. A man who believes that nothing of faith is from himself, but from God, also knows this, but he does not perceive it. That nothing of faith is from man, but all from God, is the same thing as if it were said, that nothing of truth which has life is from man, but from God; for truth has relation to faith, and faith to truth.
Jesus said, that he was not come to send peace upon earth, but a sword (x. 34);
where, by sword is meant the combat of temptation; the reason it is so said, was, that men at that time were immersed in falsities, and the Lord revealed interior truths; and falsities cannot be cast forth except by combats from those truths. [3] In Luke:
Jesus said to the disciples “Now he that hath a purse, let him take it, and likewise a scrip; and he that hath no sword, let him sell his garment and buy one” (xxii. 35-38).
By a purse and scrip are signified spiritual knowledges (cognitiones), thus truths; by garments are signified things proper to themselves; and by a sword is signified combat. [4] Again in Jeremiah:
“O sword, against the Chaldeans, and against the inhabitants of Babylon, and against her princes, and against her wise men. O sword, against liars that they may become foolish; O sword, against her mighty men that they may be dismayed; O sword, against her horses and against her chariots; O sword, against her treasures that they may be spoiled; a drought upon her waters, that they may be dried up” (l. 35-38).
By sword is here signified the dispersion and vastation of truth by each of those against whom it is denounced, as by the Chaldeans, the inhabitants of Babylon, the princes and wise men thereof, liars, mighty men, horses, chariots and treasures, are signified the persons or things that will be vastated; as by horses are signified intellectual things; by chariots, doctrinals; and by treasures, knowledges (cognitiones); hence it is said a drought is upon her waters, and they shall be dried up; for waters signify the truths of the church, and a drought by which they are dried up, signifies vastation. (That drought and drying up denote where there is no truth, may be seen, Arcana Coelestia, n. 8185; that waters denote the truths of the church, may be seen above, n. 71; that treasure denotes knowledges, n. 1694, 4508, 10,227; that horses denote intellectual things and chariots doctrinals, may be seen in the small work, The White Horse, n. 2-5.) [5] In Isaiah:
“Jehovah shall contend, and by his sword with all flesh, and the slain of Jehovah shall be multiplied” (lxvi. 16).
In Jeremiah:
“Upon all the hills in the desert the spoilers have come, because the sword of Jehovah devoureth from the end of the earth even to the end of the earth” (xii. 12).
In Ezekiel:
“Prophesy, and say, a sword well sharpened, and also well polished; it is sharpened to slay a slaughter, it is polished to glitter; the sword shall be repeated the third time; the sword of the slain, the sword of great slaughter penetrating into the secret chambers, that the heart may faint, and offences may be multiplied against all their gates will I set the point of the sword ah! it has become lightning” (xxi. 9, 10, 14, 15, 28).
In Isaiah:
“Bring waters to meet him that is thirsty, with bread prevent him that wandereth; for before the sword shall they wander, before the drawn sword, and before the bended bow, and for the grievousness of war” (xxi. 14, 15).
In Ezekiel:
“They shall quake with fear when I shall brandish my sword before their faces, that they may tremble every moment, a man for his own soul; by the swords of the mighty casting down the multitude of them” (xxxii. 10-12).
In David:
“The saints will be joyful in glory; they will sing aloud upon their beds. Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a two-edged sword in their hand” (Ps. cxlix. 5, 6).
In the same:
“Gird thy sword upon thy thigh, O mighty. In thy honour ascend thy chariot, ride on the Word of truth; thy right hand shall teach thee wonderful things. Thine arrows are sharp” (Ps. xlv. 3-5).
And in the Apocalypse:
“And there was given to him sitting on the red horse a great sword ” (vi. 4).
And in another place:
“And out of the mouth of him sitting upon the white horse goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations. And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse” (xix. 15, 21).
By sword in the above passages is signified truth combating and destroying; this destruction is especially evident in the spiritual world, where those who are in falsities cannot sustain the truth. They are in a state of anguish, as if struggling with death when they come into the sphere of light, that is, where Divine truth is, and also they are thus deprived of truths, and vastated.
[6] As most expressions In the Word have also an opposite sense, so also has sword, and in that sense it signifies falsity combating against truth and destroying it. The vastations of the church, which take place when there are no longer any truths, but only falsities, are described in the Word by a sword, as in the following passages:
“They shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive among all nations; at length Jerusalem shall be trodden down of” all “nations, until the times of the nations shall be fulfilled” (Luke xxi. 24).
The consummation of the age, here treated of, is the last time of the church, when falsities shall prevail. To fall by the edge of the sword, denotes that truths would be destroyed by falsity; nations denote evils; by Jerusalem is signified the church. [7] In Isaiah:
“I will make a man more rare than fine gold. Every one that is found shall be thrust through; and every one that is gathered together shall fall by the sword” (xiii. 12, 15).
By the man who is rare, is denoted those who are in truths; to be thrust through and to fall by the sword, denotes to be consumed by falsities. [8] In the same:
“In that day they shall cast away every man the idols of his silver, and the idols of his gold, which your own hands have made unto you. Then shall Asshur fall by the sword, not of a man (vir) and the sword, not of a man (homo), shall devour him but he who fleeth before the sword, his young men shall be for tribute” (xxxi. 7, 8).
The idols which their hands have made denote falsities from their own intelligence; by Asshur is denoted the Rational by which this is effected. To fall by the sword, not of a man (vir), and not of a man (homo), denotes not to be destroyed by any combat of truth against falsity. By he who fleeth before the sword, his young men shall be for tribute, is denoted, that the truth which is not destroyed shall be made subservient to falsities. That this is the meaning of those words is not evident in the sense of the letter; it is therefore evident how far removed is the spiritual sense from the sense of the letter. [9] In Jeremiah:
“I have smitten your sons in vain; and they received not correction; your own sword hath devoured your prophets” (ii. 30).
In the same:
“Behold, the prophets say unto them, Ye shall not see the sword, neither shall ye have famine. By sword and famine shall those prophets be consumed. If I go forth into the field, then behold the slain with the sword; and if I enter into the city, then behold the sicknesses of famine” (xiv. 13-18).
Both these passages treat of the vastation of the church as to truth: by prophets are meant those who teach truths, and by the sword which consumes them, falsity combating and destroying. By field is signified the church; by city doctrine; the slain with the sword in the field, denote those in the church with whom truths are destroyed; by the sicknesses of famine in the city is signified a defect of all truth in doctrine.
[10] In the same:
“They have denied Jehovah, and said, It is not he; neither shall evil come upon us: neither shall we see sword and famine” (v. 12).
In the same:
“The young men shall die by the sword; their sons and their daughters shall die by famine” (xi. 22).
By young men are signified those who are in truths, and, in the abstract, truths themselves; to die by the sword is to be destroyed by falsities; sons and daughters signify the knowledges of truth and good; by famine is meant a defect of them. [11] In Lamentations:
“We get our bread with the peril of our souls, because of the sword of the wilderness” (v. 9).
By wilderness is meant where there is no good because no truth; by the sword thereof, the destruction of truth; bread denotes good, which is obtained with the peril of the soul because all good is implanted in man by truth. [12] In Ezekiel:
“The sword without, and the pestilence and famine within; he that is in the field shall die by the sword, and he that is in the city, famine and pestilence shall devour him” (vii. 15).
By sword is here meant the destruction of truth; by pestilence, consequent extinction; and famine signifies a complete defect. The signification is similar in other places; as in Jeremiah (xxi. 7; xxix. 17, 18; xxxiv. 17). [13] In Zechariah:
“Woe to the shepherd of nought deserting the flock, a sword upon his arm, and upon his right eye; his arm in drying up shall dry up, and his right eye in darkening shall be darkened” (xi. 17).
A sword upon the arm denotes the destruction of the Voluntary as to good; by a sword upon the right eye is signified the destruction of the Intellectual as to truth; that all good and all truth would perish, is signified by its being said, that the arm in drying up shall dry up, and the right eye in darkening shall be darkened. [14] In Isaiah:
“Thus shall ye say unto your master, Be not afraid of the words that thou hast heard, wherewith the servants of the king of Asshur have blasphemed Jehovah. Behold, I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land. And Sennacherib the king of Asshur returned; and it came to pass, when he bowed himself in the house of Nisroch his god, his two sons smote him with the sword” (xxxvii. 6, 7, 37, 38).
Because it is the Rational that acknowledges and that denies the Divine, and when it denies it seizes eagerly on every falsity instead of truth, and thus perishes, therefore this representative came to pass, that is, that the king of Asshur, because he blasphemed Jehovah, was smitten with the sword by his sons, in the house of Nisroch his god. Asshur signifies the Rational in both senses (see Arcana Coelestia, n. 119, 1186); the sons of that king signify falsities, and the sword signifies destruction by them. So also, in Moses, it was commanded that the city which worshipped other gods should be smitten with the sword, and burned with fire (Deut. xiii. 12, 13, 15, 16). [15] This statute was made, because at that time all things were representative; to worship other gods is to worship from falsities; to be smitten with the sword is to perish by falsity; and to be burned with fire is to perish by the evil of falsity. [16] In the same:
“Whosoever toucheth one that is slain with the sword in the field shall be unclean” (Numb. xix. 16, 18, 19).
The slain in the field with the sword, represented those within the church who destroyed the truths which they had; by field is meant the church. [17] That sword signifies falsities destroying truth is clear in David:
“The sons of men are inflamed; their teeth are as spears and darts, and their tongue a sharp sword” (Ps. lvii. 4).
“Behold, they belch out with their mouth, swords are in their lips” (Ps. lix. 7).
Working iniquity “they whet their tongue like a sword; they make ready their bow with bitter words” (Ps. lxiv. 3).
From these considerations it is clear what is signified by the words of the Lord to Peter:
“All they that take the sword shall perish by the sword” (Matt. xxvi. 51, 52);
that is, those who believe falsities will perish by them.
[18] From these things it is now clear what is signified in the Word by sword in both senses. The reason why such things are signified by it, is also from appearances in the spiritual world. When spiritual combats take place there, which are combats of truth against falsity, and of falsity against truth, various weapons of war are seen there, as swords, spears, shields, and similar things; not that these combats are carried on by such things, for they are appearances only, representative of spiritual combats. When falsities fight keenly against truths, sometimes the glitter or sheen of a sword waving itself on both sides, and striking with great terror, is seen, by which those are dispersed who fight from falsities. [19] From this it is clear what is meant by these words in Ezekiel:
“They shall be horribly afraid when I shall brandish my sword before their faces, that they may tremble at every moment for their own soul” (xxxii. 10, 11, 12).
In the same:
“Prophesy, and say, a sword has been sharpened, and also well polished, that it may shine, that the heart may faint, ah! it has become lightning” (xxi. 9, 10, 15).
The reason why a sword causes such great terror is that iron, of which it is made, signifies truth in ultimates, and glitter and sheen are from the light of heaven, and its shining upon it; the light of heaven is Divine truth proceeding from the Lord; Divine truth, thus falling into those who are filled with falsity, strikes terror. [20] It is therefore clear what is signified when Adam was cast out
“By cherubim being placed at the east of Eden, and the flame of a sword turning every way, and brandishing itself to guard the way to the tree of life (Gen. iii. 24).
By the tree of life is signified celestial love, which is love to the Lord; by cherubim a guard; by the flame of a sword turning itself every way, the terrible driving away and rejection of all who are in falsities; the east of Eden denotes where the presence of the Lord is in that celestial love. By those words therefore is signified that all approach to the acknowledgment of the Lord alone is closed to those who do not live a life of love. That by sword is signified falsity is quite clear in Ezekiel, where is thus said of the prince of Tyre:
“They shall unsheath swords upon the beauty of thy wisdom ” (xxviii. 7).
By the prince of Tyre is here signified intelligence derived from the knowledges (cognitiones) of truth; and because this is extinguished by falsities it is therefore said that they should unsheathe their swords upon wisdom, which could not have been said unless by swords were meant falsities.
[2] The reason why “Antipas, my faithful martyr,” signifies those who are hated because of their acknowledgment of the Divine Human of the Lord is that at that time one Antipas was on this account slain, therefore by him are meant all those who are hated on that account: just as by Lazarus, who lay at the rich man’s gate, and desired to be fed with the crumbs which fell from his table, are meant all those whom the Lord loves because they desire truths from spiritual affection (as may be seen above, n. 118). That the Lord loved a certain person called Lazarus, whom also He raised from the dead is evident in John (chap xi. 3, 5, 36), and that he sat with the Lord at table (chap. xii.), therefore, he who desired to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table, by which is signified a desire for truths from spiritual affection, was called by the Lord Lazarus. As he was named Lazarus on that account, so Antipas is here mentioned because he became a martyr for the name of the Lord, that is, because of the acknowledgment of His Divine Human. [3] That such are hated by all those who do not think of the Divine of the Lord at the same time as they do of His Human, cannot be known from their conduct while they are in the world, but they make it clear in the other life, where they burn with so much hatred against those who approach the Lord alone as cannot be described in words; there is nothing which they more eagerly desire than to murder them. The reason is that all who are in the hells are against the Lord, and all who are in the heavens are in favour of the Lord; and those who belong to the church, and do not acknowledge the Divine of the Lord in His Human, act as one with the hells, hence they entertain such great hatred. It has been often told them that they do evil, because they know from the Word,
that the Lord hath all power in the heavens and on earth (Matt. xxviii. 18);
thus that He is the God of heaven and earth: also
that He is the way, the truth, and the life, and that no one cometh to the Father but by Him (John xiv. 6);
as also that
he who seeth the Lord seeth the Father, because He is in the Father and the Father in Him (John xiv. 7-11);
and
that no one hath seen the Father’s shape, nor heard His voice, but the Lord alone, who is in His bosom, and is one with Him (John i. 18; v. 37);
besides many other places. When they hear these truths they turn themselves away, for they cannot deny them, but are offended, and even breathe out murder against all those who acknowledge them, because hatred is rooted in them (as may be seen above, n. 114). That such persons would hate all those who thus acknowledge the Lord, was foretold by the Lord Himself in several passages, as in Matthew:
In the consummation of the age, “they shall deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake” (xxiv. 9, 10).
And in John:
Jesus said, “If the world hate you, know ye that it hated me before it hated you. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you. All these things will they do unto you for my name’s sake” (xv. 18-25).
(See moreover the passages adduced above from the Word, n. 122.) These things are said, that it may be known that by “Antipas, my faithful martyr, who was slain among you,” is meant those who are hated because they acknowledge the Divine Human of the Lord.
That Balaam was a soothsayer is evident from these words in Moses:
“The elders of Moab and the elders of Midian departed with the rewards of divination in their hand, and they came unto Balaam” (Numb. xxii. 7).
“When Balaam saw that it was good in the eyes of Jehovah to bless Israel, he went not as at other times to seek for divinations” (Numb. xxiv. 1).
And in Joshua:
“Balaam the son of Beor, the soothsayer, did the sons of Israel slay with the sword upon their slain” (xiii. 22).
That he was called by Balak, king of Moab, to curse the people of Israel, may be seen, Numb. xxii. 5, 6, 16, 17; Deut. xxiii. 3, 4; but that Jehovah prevented this, and caused him to speak prophetically, Numb. xxii. 9, 10, 12, 20; xxiii. 5, 16. The prophecies which he uttered may be seen Numb. xxiii. 7-10, 18-24; xxiv. 5-9, 15-19, 20-24; all of which things are truths, because it is said, that:
“Jehovah put a word into his mouth” (Numb. xxiii. 5, 12, 16).
That afterwards he consulted with Balak how he might destroy the people of Israel by guile, by withdrawing them from the worship of Jehovah to the worship of Baal-peor, is clear from these words in Moses:
“In Shittim the people began to commit whoredom with the daughters of Moab. And they called the people unto the sacrifices of their gods; and the people did eat and bowed down to their gods. And especially did he join himself unto Baal-peor. Therefore twenty and four thousand were slain of Israel” (Numb. xxv. 1-3, 9).
They slew Balaam amongst the Midianites: and the sons of Israel led captive all the women of the Midianites, which thing was “agreeable to the counsel of Balaam to deliver them to iniquity against Jehovah, in the matter of Peor” (Numb. xxxi. 8, 16).
That by Balaam are meant those whose understanding is enlightened and who teach truths follows from what is said in the above passages; for he spoke truth prophetically concerning Israel, and also concerning the Lord; that he spoke also concerning the Lord may be seen in his prophecy (Numb. xxiv. 17). To speak prophetically concerning Israel, is not to speak concerning the people of Israel, but concerning the Lord’s church, which is signified by Israel. The enlightenment of his understanding he himself also describes in these words:
“The saying of Balaam, the son of Beor, of the man whose eyes are opened, who heareth the words of God, falls prostrate, and has his eyes uncovered” (Numb. xxiv, 3, 4, 15, 16).
To have the eyes opened, or to have them uncovered, is to have the understanding enlightened; for eyes in the Word signify the understanding (as may be seen, Arcana Coelestia, n. 2701, 4410-4421, 4523-4534, 9051, 10,569). [3] That by Balaam are also meant those who love to destroy by guile those who belong to the church is also evident from what has been shown above; and moreover, that when he rode upon the ass, he continually meditated the use of divinations, to destroy the sons of Israel. When he could not accomplish this by curses, he consulted with Balak to destroy them by calling them to the sacrifices of his gods, and to commit whoredom with the daughters of Moab; by the sons of Israel whom he wished to destroy, is signified the church, because the church was instituted amongst them (see Arcana Coelestia, n. 6426, 8805, 9340).
[4] The arcanum concerning the ass upon which Balaam rode, which turned three times out of the way on seeing an angel with a sword drawn, and the fact of its speaking to Balaam, shall be here briefly explained. Balaam, when he rode upon the ass, continually meditated divinations against the sons of Israel; the gain with which he should be honoured was in his mind, as is clear from these words concerning him,
“He went not as at other times to seek for divinations” (Numb. xxiv. 1).
He was also a soothsayer in heart, therefore he thought of nothing else, when he thought in himself. By the ass upon which he rode is signified, in the spiritual sense of the Word, an enlightened Intellectual; therefore to ride upon an ass or mule was amongst the distinctions of a chief judge and of king (as may be seen above, n. 31; and in Arcana Coelestia, n. 2781, 5741, 9212). The angel with the sword drawn signifies Divine truth enlightening and fighting against falsity (as may be seen above, n. 131); hence, the ass turning three times out of the way signifies that the enlightened understanding did not agree with the thought of the soothsayer, which also is meant by what the angel said to Balaam:
“Behold, I went out to withstand thee, because thy way is evil before me” (Numb. xxii. 32).
By way, in the spiritual sense of the Word, is signified that which a man thinks from intention (as may be seen in the work, Heaven and Hell, n. 479, 534, 590, and in the small work, The Last Judgment, n. 48). That he was withheld from the thought and intention of using divinations by the fear of death, is clear from what the angel said to him:
“Unless the ass had turned from me, surely now also I had slain thee” (Numb. xxii. 33).
[5] It sounded in the ears of Balaam as if the ass spoke to him, although she did not speak, but the speech was heard as if proceeding from her. That this is the case, has often been shown me by actual experience. It has been granted me to hear horses, as it were, speaking, although the speech was not from them, but as it were from them. This was actually the case with Balaam, to the intent that this history might be described in the Word for the sake of the internal sense in detail. In the internal sense is described how the Lord defends those who are in truths and goods, lest they should be hurt by those who speak as from enlightenment, and yet have the disposition and intention to lead astray. He who believes that Balaam could do injury to the sons of Israel by divinations is much deceived; for these could avail nothing, against them; this Balaam also confessed when he said:
“Divination avails not against Jacob, nor soothsayings against Israel” (Numb. xxiii. 23).
The reason why Balaam could lead that people astray by guile was because they were such in heart that they worshipped Jehovah with the mouth only, but Baal-peor with the heart; and because they were of such a nature, this was permitted. [6] Moreover it is to be noted that man’s understanding can be enlightened, although his will is in evil; for the intellectual faculty is separated from the voluntary faculty in the case of all those who are not regenerated; but these two faculties act as one only in those who are regenerated; for it is the office of the understanding to know, to think, and to speak truths, but that of the will, to will the things that are understood, and from the will or love to do them. The disagreement between these faculties is quite manifest with evil spirits; for when such are turned towards good spirits they even understand truths, and also acknowledge them, almost as if they were enlightened; but as soon as they turn themselves from them, they return to the love of their will, and see nothing of truth; indeed, they even deny the things that they had heard (as may be seen in the work, Heaven and Hell, n. 153, 424, 455). [7] The possibility of having his understanding enlightened has been granted to man for the sake of reformation. For in man’s will dwells every kind of evil, both that into which he is born, and that into which he comes of himself; and the will cannot be amended unless man knows, and by the understanding acknowledges, truths and goods, and also evils and falsities, otherwise he cannot turn away from the latter and love the former. (More may be seen concerning the will and the understanding in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem, n. 28-35.)
“Israel abode in Shittim, where the people began to commit whoredom with the daughters of Moab. For they called the people unto the sacrifices of their gods: and the people did eat, and bowed down to their gods. Especially did he join himself to Baal-peor; therefore the anger of Jehovah was kindled against Israel, and twenty and four thousand were slain” (Numb. xxv. 1-3, 9).
It was among the statutes when sacrifices were instituted, that some part of the sacrifices, especially the eucharistic, should be burnt upon the altar, and some part should be eaten in the holy place. The sacrifices themselves signified worship grounded in love and faith, and the eating of them together, signified appropriations of that good. (That sacrifices signified all things of worship from the good of love and faith, may be seen, n. 923, 6905, 8680, 8936, 10,042; and that eating together signified the appropriation of good, n. 10,109.) Because the eating together of things sanctified to Jehovah signified the appropriation of good, therefore the eating together of the sacrifices which were for the gods of the Gentiles, and which were called things sacrificed to idols, signified the appropriation of evil.
[2] That to commit whoredom, in the spiritual sense, signifies to acquire falsities and also to falsify truths is evident from several passages in the Word. The same was signified by the whoredoms of the sons of Israel with the daughters of Moab; for all the historicals of the Word involve and signify spiritual things (as is evident from the explanations of Genesis and Exodus, which are called Arcana Coelestia). And because the sons of Israel eating of things sacrificed to idols, and their whoredoms with the daughters of Moab, involved also such things (for what they signify they also involve), therefore it was commanded that the heads of the people should be hung up to Jehovah before the sun; and therefore also Phinehas the son of Eleazar thrust through a man of Israel and a Midianitish woman in a tent, on account of which he was also blessed; and for the same reason there were slain of Israel twenty and four thousand, as may be seen, Numb. xxv. 1 to the end. Such punishments and plagues would by no means have been commanded solely because of their eating of the idolatrous sacrifices, and committing whoredom with the women of another nation, unless these things involved things unlawful against heaven and the church, which are not evident in the literal sense of the Word, but only in its spiritual sense. The unlawful things involved were the profanation at the same time of the goods and truths of the church, which, as said above, was the appropriation of evil and falsity.
[3] That adulteries and whoredoms involve such things is evident from numerous passages in the Word, where they are referred to, from which it is clear that by them are signified the adulterations of good and the falsifications of truth. In Ezekiel:
Jerusalem, “thou hast trusted in thy beauty, and hast played the harlot because of thy renown, so that thou hast poured out thy fornications on every one that passed by. Thou hast committed fornication with the sons of Egypt thy neighbours, great of flesh, and hast multiplied thy whoredoms. Thou hast played the whore with the sons of Asshur, when there was no satiety to thee, with whom thou committedst whoredom. Thou hast multiplied thy fornication even to Chaldea, the land of merchandise. An adulterous woman receiveth strangers under her own husband. All others give reward to their harlots, but thou hast given reward to all thy lovers, and hast rewarded them that they may come unto thee on every side in thy whoredoms. Wherefore, O harlot! hear the word of Jehovah” (xvi. 15, 26, 28, 29, 32, 33, 35, and following verses).
Who cannot see, that by the whoredoms here mentioned are not meant whoredoms in an ordinary natural sense? For the church in which all the truths of the Word are falsified is here treated of; these things are what are meant by whoredoms; for whoredoms, in the spiritual sense, or spiritual whoredoms, are nothing but falsifications of truth. Jerusalem, there, is the church; the sons of Egypt with whom she committed whoredom, are scientifics (scientifica) and knowledges (cognitiones) of every kind, perversely applied to confirm falsities. The sons of Asshur, are fallacious reasonings therefrom; Chaldea, the land of merchandize, signifies the profanation of truth; the rewards which she gave to her lovers, signify the selling of falsities. From the adulteration of good by means of the falsification of truth, that church is called a woman adulterous under her own husband. [4] In the same:
“Two women, the daughters of one mother, have committed whoredoms in Egypt; they committed whoredoms in their youth.” One “committed whoredom under me, and chose for lovers the Assyrians her neighbours: she gave her whoredoms upon them, nevertheless she hath not deserted her whoredoms in Egypt.” The other “hath corrupted her love more than she, and her whoredoms above the whoredoms of her sister she added to her whoredoms, she loved the Chaldeans the sons of Babel came to her to the bed of loves, and they defiled her with their whoredom” (xxiii, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 11, 14, 16, 17, and following verses).
That by whoredoms are here also meant spiritual whoredoms, is evident from the particulars mentioned. The two women, daughters of one mother, are the two churches, the Israelitish and the Jewish; their whoredoms with the Egyptians, the Assyrians and Chaldeans signify things similar to what were explained above; the bed of loves with the sons of Babel is the profanation of good. [5] In Jeremiah:
“Thou hast played the harlot with many companions, thou hast profaned the land with thy whoredoms, and with thy wickedness. Hast thou seen that which backsliding Israel hath done? Going away upon every high mountain and under every green tree, and there hast thou played the harlot: perfidious Judah also hath gone away and played the harlot, so that by the voice of her whoredom she hath profaned the land; she hath committed adultery with stone and with wood” (iii. 1, 2, 6, 8, 9).
Israel is the church which is in truth, Judah is the church which is in good, for they represented these two churches; the falsifications of truth are signified by the whoredoms of Israel, and the adulterations of good by the whoredoms of Judah. To go away upon every high mountain and under every green tree, and commit whoredom, is to inquire into all the knowledges of good and truth, even from the Word, and to falsify them; to commit adultery with stone and wood, is to pervert and profane all truth and good; stone signifies truth, and wood signifies good. [6] In the same:
“Run ye through the streets of Jerusalem, and seek in the broad ways thereof, if ye can find a man (vir), if there be any that executeth judgment, that seeketh the truth. When I fed them to the full, they committed whoredom and came by troops to the house of the harlot” (v. 1, 7).
To run through the streets, and to seek in the broad ways of Jerusalem is, to see and examine the doctrinals of that church; for Jerusalem is the church, and streets and broad ways are doctrinals. If thou canst find a man (vir), if there be any that executeth judgment, that seeketh the truth denotes whether there be any truth in the church. When I had fed them to the full they committed whoredom denotes, that when truths were revealed to them they falsified them; such a church, as to doctrine, is the house of the harlot, into which they came by troops. [7] In the same:
“Thine adulteries, and thy neighings, the crime of thy whoredom, and thine abominations on the hills in the field have I seen. Woe unto thee, O Jerusalem! thou wilt not be made clean” (xiii. 27).
Neighings denote profanations of truth, because a horse signifies the Intellectual where truth dwells; the hills in the field signify the goods of truth in the church, which are perverted. [8] In the same:
“I have seen in the prophets of Jerusalem an horrible obstinacy, in committing adultery and going in a lie” (xxiii. 14).
In the same:
“They have done foolishness in Israel, and have committed adultery with the wives of their companions, and have spoken my word in my name lyingly” (xxix. 23).
To adulterate and to commit adultery here clearly denote to pervert truths; the prophets signify those who teach truths from the Word; for it is said, in committing adultery and going in a lie, and they have spoken my word lyingly. A lie, in the Word, signifies what is false. [9] In Moses:
“Your sons were feeding in the desert forty years; and they bore your whoredoms even till their bodies were consumed in the desert” (Numb. xiv. 33).
That the sons of Israel were not consumed in the wilderness because they bore whoredoms, but because they rejected heavenly truths is evident from the fact that this was said to them because they were not willing to enter into the land of Canaan, but wished to return into Egypt. For by the land of Canaan is signified heaven and the church, with its truths; and by Egypt are signified those things falsified, and turned into magic. [10] In Micah:
“All the graven images thereof shall be beaten to pieces, and all the rewards of whoredom shall be burned in the fire; and all the idols thereof will I lay desolate, for she hath gathered them from the hire of an harlot, and they shall return to the hire of an harlot” (i. 7).
Graven images and idols signify the falsities which are from man’s own intelligence; the hire of a harlot denotes the knowledges of truth and good which they applied to falsities and evils, and thus perverted. [11] And in Hosea:
Jehovah said to the prophet, “Take unto thee a wife of whoredoms and children of whoredoms, for the land doth commit great whoredom in departing from Jehovah” (i. 2).
By this was represented that the quality of the church was such that it was wholly immersed in falsities. [12] In the same:
“They sinned against me; I will change their glory into shame; they committed whoredom, because they have quite forsaken Jehovah. Whoredom, wine and new wine, occupied the heart. Your daughters commit whoredom, and your daughters-in-law commit adultery” (iv. 7, 10, 11, 13).
Whoredom, wine and new wine, are falsified truths. Whoredom is the falsification itself, wine is interior falsity, new wine is exterior falsity; the daughters who commit whoredom are the goods of truth perverted; the daughters-in-law who commit adultery are evils conjoined with falsities therefrom. [13] In Isaiah:
“It shall come to pass after the end of seventy years that Jehovah will visit Tyre, that she may return to her meretricious hire, and commit fornication with all the kings of the earth upon the faces of the world; at length her merchandize shall be holy to Jehovah” (xxiii. 17, 18).
Tyre, in the Word, signifies the church with respect to the knowledges (cognitiones) of truth and good; the meretricious hire spoken of denotes the same knowledges applied to evils and falsities by perversion; her merchandize is the selling thereof. To commit fornication with all the kings of the earth, denotes with everyone of the truths of the church. The reason why it is said that her merchandize and her meretricious hire shall be holy to Jehovah, is, that by these are signified knowledges of truth and good applied by them to falsities and evils. And a man, by definite knowledges, may become wise; for they are the means of becoming wise; they are also a means of becoming insane when they are falsified by application to evils and falsities.
The same is signified where it is said that
they should make to themselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness (Luke xvi. 9);
and where it is commanded that
the sons of Israel should borrow from the Egyptians gold, silver and raiment, and take them away with them (Exod. iii. 22; xii. 35, 36);
for by the Egyptians are signified scientifics (scientifica) of every kind, which they applied to falsify truths. [14] In Moses:
“I will cut off the soul which looketh back to such as have familiar spirits, and to wizards, to go a whoring after them” (Lev. xx. 5).
“He entereth into peace, he walketh in uprightness. But draw near hither, ye sons of the sorceress, the seed of the adulterer and the whore” (lvii. 2, 3).
“Woe to the city of bloods, full of lies; the horseman ascendeth, and the glitter of the sword, and the sheen of the spear, the multitude of the slain, above the multitude of the whoredoms of the harlot, of the mistress of sorceries, selling the nations by her whoredoms” (iii. 1, 3, 4).
In Moses
A covenant was not to be made with the inhabitants of the land, lest their sons and their daughters go a whoring after their gods (Exod. xxxiv. 15).
In the same:
“That ye may remember all the commandments of Jehovah, and do them: and that ye seek not after your own heart and your own eyes, after which ye used to go a whoring” (Numb. xv. 39).
In the Apocalypse:
Babylon “hath made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication” (xiv. 8).
The angel said: “I will show the judgment of the great harlot that sitteth upon many waters: with whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication” (xvii. 1, 2).
Babylon “all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her” (xviii. 3).
“He hath judged the great harlot, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication” (xix. 2).
[15] That in these passages by whoredoms are meant falsifications of truth, is evident. Because such things are signified by whoredoms and adulteries, and as they have the same signification in heaven, therefore, in the Israelitish church, which was a representative church in which all things were significative, the following commands were given:
That there should not be a whore nor a whoremonger in Israel (Deut. xxiii. 17).
That the man who committed adultery with the wife of a man, and he who committed adultery with the wife of his companion, should be put to death (Levit. xx. 10).
That the gift of a whore should not be brought into the house of Jehovah with any vow (Deut. xxiii. 18).
That the sons of Aaron should not take a harlot to wife, nor a woman put away by her husband. That the high priest should take a virgin to wife. That the daughter of a priest, if she profaned herself by committing whoredom, should be burned with fire (Levit. xxi. 7, 9, 13, 14), besides many other passages.
[16] That whoredoms and adulteries involve such things, has been testified to me from much experience in the other life. The spheres of spirits who have been of such a quality, manifest those things. From the presence of spirits who have confirmed in themselves falsities, and applied truth from the sense of the letter of the Word to confirm them, there goes forth an abominable sphere of whoredom; such spheres correspond to all the prohibited degrees (concerning which see Levit. xx. 11-21), with differences according to the application of truths to falsities, and according to the conjunction of falsities with evils, especially with the evils flowing from the love of self (concerning which more may be seen in the work, Heaven and Hell, n. 384, 385, 386).
That this is what is meant by manna is evident from the words of the Lord Himself in John:
“Our fathers did eat manna in the desert, as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat. The bread of God is he who cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world. I am the bread of life. Your fathers, did eat manna in the desert and are dead. This is that bread which cometh down from heaven, that he that eateth of it may not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven, if any man eat of this bread he shall live for ever. The bread that I will give is my flesh” (vi. 31-58).
That it is the Lord Himself who is meant by manna and by bread, He plainly teaches, for He says,
“I am the bread of life that came down from heaven.”
That it is the Lord as to the Divine Human, He also teaches when He says,
“The bread which I will give is my flesh.”
[2] The Lord taught the same when He instituted the holy supper:
“Jesus took bread, and blessed, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat, this is my body” (Matt. xxvi. 26; Mark xiv. 22; Luke xxii. 19).
To eat of this bread is to be conjoined to Him by love, for to eat signifies to appropriate and be conjoined, as said above; and love is spiritual conjunction. The same thing is signified by eating in the kingdom of God, in Luke:
“Blessed is he that eateth bread in the kingdom of God” (xiv. 15).
Again:
“Ye shall eat and drink at my table in the kingdom of God” (xxii. 30).
In Matthew:
“Many shall come from the east and west, and shall recline with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom” of God (viii. 11).
(That by Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, is meant the Lord, may be seen, Arcana Coelestia, n. 1893, 4615, 6098, 6185, 6276, 6804, 6847.) And in John:
“Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man will give unto you” (vi. 27).
[3] (That the Son of man is the Lord as to the Divine Human, may be seen above, n. 63.) The reason why it is called hidden manna is, because the delight of heavenly love, which those receive who are conjoined to the Lord by love is quite unknown to those who are not in heavenly love; and this delight no one can receive but he who acknowledges the Divine Human of the Lord; for it proceeds from this. Because this delight was unknown to the sons of Israel in the desert, they therefore called it manna, as is evident in Moses:
“Jehovah said unto Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you. And in the morning the dew lay round about the camp. And when the dew that lay was gone up, behold, upon the face of the desert there lay a small round thing; and when they saw it, they said, It is manna (What is this?). Moses said unto them, This is the bread which Jehovah hath given you to eat. And the house of Israel called the name thereof manna” (Exod. xvi. 3 to the end).
“Jehovah fed thee with manna which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of Jehovah doth man live” (Deut. viii. 3).
The reason why this delight, which is meant by manna, was unknown to the sons of Israel was, that they were in bodily delight more than other nations; and those who are in this delight cannot know anything at all of heavenly delight. (That the sons of Israel were of such a character may be seen in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem, n. 248.) It is called delight, and by this is meant the delight of love; for all the delight of life is from love. [4] Because it is the delight of heavenly love that is signified by eating of the hidden manna, it is therefore called the bread of the heavens in David:
“Jehovah commanded the clouds from above, and opened the doors of the heavens; and rained down manna upon them to eat, and gave them of the corn of the heavens” (Psalm lxxviii. 23, 24).
And in another place:
“Jehovah satisfied them with the bread of the heavens” (Psalm cv. 40).
It is called the bread of the heavens because it rained down from heaven with the dew, but in the spiritual sense it is called the bread of the heavens because it flows down from the Lord through the angelic heaven; in this sense, no other heaven is meant, and no other bread than that which nourishes the soul of man. That bread is here meant in this sense is evident from the words of the Lord himself in John, where He says, that
He is the manna or bread which came down from heaven (vi. 31-58).
And in Moses, where it is said
that Jehovah fed them with manna that He might teach that man doth not live by bread alone, but by every utterance of the mouth of Jehovah (Deut. viii. 3).
The utterance of the mouth of Jehovah is everything that proceeds from the Lord, and this, specifically, is Divine truth united with Divine good (as may be seen in the work, Heaven and Hell, n. 13, 133, 139, 140, 284-290).
[5] This delight is also described by correspondences in Moses:
The manna was “like coriander seed, white, and the taste of it was like a cake made with honey” (Exod. xvi. 31).
And in another place:
“They made cakes of it; and the taste of it was as of the juice of oil” (Numb. xi. 7, 8).
The reason why the manna had such an appearance and taste was, that the white seed of coriander signifies truth from a celestial origin, a cake the good of celestial love, honey its external delight, oil that love itself, and its juice, whence was the taste, its internal delight, and the rain with the dew, in which the manna was, the influx of Divine truth in which that delight is contained. (That seed signifies truth from a heavenly origin, may be seen, Arcana Coelestia, n. 3038, 3373, 10,248, 10,249: that white is said of that truth, n. 3301, 3993, 4007, 5319; that cake signifies the good of heavenly love, n. 7978, 9992, 9993; that oil signifies that love itself, n. 886, 3728, 9780, 9954, 10,261, 10,269; hence its juice signifies its delight, because the taste is therefrom and the taste is the delight and pleasantness, see n. 3502, 4791-4805. But more may be seen concerning these things in the explanation of chap. xvi. of Exodus in Arcana Coelestia.) The reason why the delight of celestial love is signified by eating of the hidden manna, although by the hidden manna the Lord as to the Divine Human is signified, is that it is the same thing whether we say the Divine Human of the Lord, or the Divine love, for the Lord is Divine love itself, and what proceeds from Him is Divine good united to Divine truth; both belong to love, and are also the Lord in heaven. Therefore to eat of Him is to be conjoined to Him, and this is effected by love from Him. (But these things may be better understood from what is said and shown in the work, Heaven and Hell, n. 13-19, 116-125, 126-140; and also in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem, n. 210-222 and 307.)
[2] That name in the Word signifies quality of state is evident from many passages, some of which shall here be adduced by way of confirmation. Thus in Isaiah:
“Lift up your eyes on high, and see; Who hath created these things? he who leadeth out the host in number; he called them all by name” (xl. 26).
His calling them all by name, denotes that He knows the qualities of all, and gives to them according to their state of love and faith. And in John:
“He that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the porter openeth, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out” (x. 2, 3).
Similarly, in Isaiah:
“Thus saith Jehovah thy creator, O Jacob, and thy former, O Israel, Fear not, for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by name, thou art mine” (xliii. 1).
Again:
“That thou mayest know that I am Jehovah, who had called thee by thy name. For Jacob, my servant’s sake, and Israel mine elect, I have called thee by thy name, though thou hast not known me.” (xlv. 3, 4).
I have called thee by thy name, denotes that he knew the quality of the state of the church; for Jacob and Israel are the church, Jacob the external church, and Israel the internal church. [3] Again, in the same prophet:
O Israel, “if thou hadst hearkened to my commandments, thy name should not have been cut off nor destroyed before me” (xlviii. 19).
Cutting off and destroying the name before Jehovah, denotes the quality of the state by which conjunction is effected; this is the spiritual state of those who belong to the church which is signified by Israel. In the same:
“Jehovah hath called me from the womb, from the bowels of my mother hath he remembered my name” (xlix. 1).
Here remembered my name, denotes to know the quality. In the same:
“For Zion’s sake I will not be silent, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest. And the nations shall see thy righteousness, and all kings thy glory; and thou shalt be called by a new name, which the mouth of Jehovah shall utter” (lxii. 1, 2).
Again, in the same prophet:
“He shall call his servants by another name” (lxv. 15).
To call by a new name, and by another name, denotes to give another state of life, namely, a state of spiritual life. And in Ezekiel:
“The city of bloods, polluted by name” (xxii. 2, 5).
The city of bloods, denotes doctrine which offers violence to the good of charity, which is said to be polluted by name, when it abounds with falsities and thence with evils, which constitute its quality. [4] And in Moses:
“Moses said unto Jehovah, Thou hast said, I know thee by name. And Jehovah said unto Moses, This word also which thou hast spoken I will do, for I have known thee by name” (Exod. xxxiii. 12, 17).
That He knew Moses by name, denotes that He knew his quality. And in the Apocalypse:
“Thou hast a few names in Sardis, which have not defiled their garments. He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment, and I will confess his name before my Father. Him that overcometh, I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, and my new name” (iii. 4, 5, 12).
That name here signifies quality of state as to the good of love and truth of faith is evident. And in another place,
“whose names are not written in the book of life” (Apoc. xiii. 8; xvii. 8).
The names written in the book of life, are all things of a man’s love and faith, thus all things of his spiritual life as to their quality. Again:
“They shall see the face” of God and the Lamb, “and his name shall be in their foreheads” (Apoc. xxii. 4).
[5] His name being in their foreheads, denotes a state of love; for the forehead corresponds to love, and hence signifies love. The reason why name in the Word signifies the quality of the state of man is, that in the spiritual world each one is named according to the state of life in which he is, thus variously. For spiritual speech is not like human speech; all things there are expressed according to ideas of things and of persons; and those ideas fall into words or expressions. (This will be more evident from what is shown concerning the speech of the angels of heaven, in the work, Heaven and Hell, n. 234-245. Moreover it may be seen above, n. 102 and 135, where it is shown what the name of Jehovah, of the Lord, and of Jesus Christ, in the Word signifies.)
“And unto the angel of the church in Thyatira write:” signifies, those of the church with whom the internal and external, or the spiritual and natural man, make one: “These things saith the Son of God,” signifies the Lord as to the Divine Human, from which that quality of the church is derived: “who hath his eyes like unto a flame of fire,” signifies the Divine Providence from His Divine love, and Divine wisdom and intelligence communicated to those who are in love, and thence in faith towards Him; “and his feet like fine brass,” signifies the ultimate of Divine order, which is the Natural, full of Divine love.
“I know thy works, and charity,” signifies the internal of those who belong to the church; “and ministry and faith,” signifies good and truth therein; “and thy endurance,” signifies conjunction with the external; “and thy works, and the last to be more than the first,” signifies the externals thence derived.
“But, I have a few things against thee,” signifies, that they should take heed. “Because thou sufferest that woman, Jezebel,” signifies the delight of the love of self and of the world; “who calleth herself a prophetess, to teach, and to seduce my servants,” signifies that thence is the doctrine of every kind of falsity; “to commit whoredom and to eat things sacrificed unto idols,” signifies the falsifications of truth, and the adulterations of good.
“And I gave her time to repent of her whoredom, and she repented not,” signifies that those who are thence in falsities do not turn themselves to truths and by truths.
“Behold, I cast her into a bed,” signifies that they are left to their own natural man, and to the doctrine of falsities therein; “and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation,” signifies grievous temptations to those who addict themselves to their falsities; “except they repent of their deeds,” signifies unless they separate themselves from them.
“And I will kill her children with death,” signifies that thus falsities are extinguished. “And all the churches shall know that I am he who searcheth the reins and the hearts,” signifies the acknowledgment of all who belong to the church that the Lord alone knows and explores the exteriors and interiors, also the things of faith and of love; “and I will give to every one of you according to your works,” signifies, eternal blessedness according to the state of his internal in the external.
“But unto you I say, and unto the rest in Thyatira,” signifies to every one with whom the internal is conjoined to the external; “as many as have not this doctrine,” signifies with whom external delight, which is that of the love of self and of the world, does not rule; “and who have not known the depths of Satan as they speak,” signifies entangled by these: “I will put upon you none other burden,” signifies that of this alone they should take heed.
“Nevertheless, that which ye have, hold fast until I come,” signifies permanence in a state of love and of faith, even to visitation.
“And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works even unto the end,” signifies after combat against those loves and the removal of them, as far as possible, perseverance in love and faith; “to him will I give power over the nations,” signifies over his evils, which will then be expelled by the Lord.
“And he shall rule them with a rod of iron,” signifies, that he will chastise evils by means of the truths which are in the natural man: “as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken in pieces,” signifies the total dispersion of falsities; “even as I received of my Father,” signifies comparatively as the Lord did from His Divine when He glorified his Human. “And I will give him the morning star,” signifies intelligence and wisdom from the Divine Human of the Lord.
“He that hath an ear, let him hear what the spirit saith unto the churches,” signifies that he who understands should hearken to what Divine truth proceeding from the Lord teaches and says to those who belong to His church.
It is moreover to be observed, that, with the man of the church who is regenerated by the Lord by means of the truths that are called truths of faith, and by a life according to them, the internal and external, or spiritual and natural man, are conjoined, and that this is effected by correspondences. (What is the nature of correspondences, and thence the nature of the conjunction which is thereby effected, is evident from what is shown concerning them in Arcana Coelestia, and from the extracts from that work in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem, n. 261.) [3] Now because man does not become a member of the church before his internal or spiritual man is opened and is conjoined with the external or natural man, therefore those within the church in whom this conjunction is effected, are now treated of. For, as said above (n. 20), by the seven churches are not meant seven churches, but all those in general who belong to the Lord’s church. Hence, in writing to the angel of each church, the subject treated of is those things that constitute that church; in the present case, therefore, or in what is said to the angel of the church of Thyatira, the internal and external man are treated of, and the conjunction of both in those who are within the church. (But inasmuch as it has been hitherto unknown that these two principles actually pertain to man, and that they are to be opened and conjoined in order that man may become a member of the church, and as these things cannot be described in a few words, they may be seen treated of more at large in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem, n. 36-53, and 179-182.)
[2] It is different with those who have thought of God in the human form; all these have their ideas directed to the Divine, nor do their thoughts, like those of the former, wander in every direction. And, inasmuch as the Divine under a human form, is the Divine Human of the Lord, therefore the Lord bends and determines their thoughts and affections to Himself. Because this is the essential of the church, therefore it continually flows in from heaven with man, consequently it is, as it were, implanted in every one to think of the Divine under a human form, and thus inwardly in themselves to see the Divine, except in the case of those who have extinguished this impression in themselves (as may be seen in the work, Heaven and Hell, n. 82). It is therefore evident why all men after death, however vast their number, when they become spirits, are turned to their own loves, and that hence those who have worshipped the Divine under the human form turn to the Lord, who is seen by them as a Sun above the heavens. But those who have not worshipped Him under the human form are turned to the loves of their own natural man, all of which have reference to the loves of self and of the world; thus they turn backwards from the Lord; and to turn themselves backwards from the Lord, is to turn towards hell. (That all turn themselves to their own loves in the spiritual world, may be seen in the work, Heaven and Hell, n. 17, 123, 142-145, 151, 153, 255, 272, 510, 548, 552, 561.
[3] All those who lived in ancient times, and worshipped the Divine, saw the Divine, in thought, under a human form, and scarcely any one thought of an invisible Divine; and the Divine under the human form, even at that time, was the Divine Human. But because this Divine Human was the Lord’s Divine in the heavens and passing through the heavens, when heaven became weakened for the reason that men, of whom heaven consists, from internal became successively external, and thus natural, it therefore pleased the Divine Himself to put on the Human, and to glorify this, or make it Divine, that thus from Himself He might affect all, both those who are in the spiritual world and those who are in the natural world, and save those who acknowledge and worship His Divine in the Human.
[4] This is manifest from many passages in the Prophets of the Old Testament, and also in the Evangelists, from which we shall adduce only the following in John:
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and God was the Word. 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. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. That was the true light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. He was in the world, and the world knew him not. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory” (i. 1-14).
That the Lord as to the Human is there meant by the Word, is quite clear, for it is said, “the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory;” and that the Lord made His Human Divine, is also plain from these words, “the Word was with God, and God was the Word,” and this was made flesh, that is, man. And whereas all Divine truth proceeds from the Divine Human of the Lord, and this is His Divine in the heavens, therefore by the Word is also signified Divine truth; and it is said, He was the true light which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. Light also is Divine truth; and because men, from being internal, became external or natural, because they no longer acknowledged Divine truth, or the Lord, therefore it is said that the darkness comprehended not the light, and that the world acknowledged Him not. (That the Word is the Lord as to the Divine Human, and Divine truth thence proceeding, may be seen in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem, n. 263 and 304. That light is Divine truth, and that darkness denotes the falsities in which those are who are not in the light, may be seen in the work, Heaven and Hell, n. 126-140, 275.) [5] That those who acknowledge the Lord, and worship Him from love and faith, and are not in the loves of self and of the world, are regenerated and saved, is also taught in these words,
“As many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, to them that believe in his name; which were born, not of bloods, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man (vir), but of God” (i. 12, 13).
Those who are born of bloods, are those who destroy love and charity; the will of the flesh denotes all evil derived from the loves of self and of the world, and is man’s voluntary proprium, which in itself is nothing but evil; the will of man is falsity derived from that voluntary proprium. That those who are not in these loves receive the Lord, are regenerated and saved, is meant by them that believe in His name becoming the sons of God, and being born of God. (That to believe in the name of the Lord, is to acknowledge His Divine Human, and to receive from Him love and faith, may be seen above, n. 102, 135. That bloods denote those things that destroy love and charity, see Arcana Coelestia, n. 4735, 5476, 9127: that flesh denotes the voluntary proprium of man, which in itself is nothing but evil, n. 210, 215, 731, 874-876, 987, 1047, 2307, 2308, 3518, 3701, 3812, 4328, 8480, 8550, 10,283-10,286, 10,731; and that man’s proprium is the love of self and the love of the world, n. 694, 731, 4317, 5660. That man (vir) denotes the Intellectual, and hence truth or falsity, because the Intellectual is from the one or the other, see n. 3134, 3309, 9007, thus the will of man (vir) denotes the intellectual proprium, which, when it exists from the voluntary proprium, which in itself is nothing but evil, if; nothing but falsity; for where evil is in the will there falsity is in the understanding. That to be born of God is to be regenerated by the Lord, may be seen in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem, n. 173-184. Moreover, that all in the universe, from influx out of heaven, and from revelation, worship the Divine under the human form, may be seen in the small work, The Earths in the Universe, n. 98, 121, 141, 154, 158, 159, 169; and likewise all the angels of the higher heavens, in the work, Heaven and Hell, n. 78-86.)
[6] From these considerations it is now evident that the all of the church, thus also the all of heaven pertaining to men, is from the Lord’s Divine Human. It is on this account that the Son of Man, who is the Divine Human, is described, in the first chapter of the Apocalypse, by various representatives, and afterwards from that description are taken the exhortations to the several churches (as may be seen above, n. 113), and specifically to this church, in writing to which this great essential of the church is treated of, that is, the conjunction of the internal and external, or the regeneration of the man of the church; for it is said to the angel of this church, “These things saith the Son of man, who hath his eyes like unto a flame of fire.”
[2] The reason why eyes signify the understanding is, that all the sight of the eyes with men and angels is therefrom. That all the sight of the eyes is from the understanding, seems like a paradox to those who do not know the interior causes of things, from which effects are manifested in the body. Those who are ignorant of those causes believe simply that the eye sees of itself, that the ear hears of itself, that the tongue tastes of itself, and that the body feels of itself, when, nevertheless, the interior life of man, which is the life of his spirit, this being the life of his understanding and will, or of his thought and affection, feels by the organs of the body the things that are in the world, and thus perceives them naturally. The whole body, with all its sensories, is only an instrument of its soul or spirit. This also is the reason why, when the spirit of man is separated from his body, the latter is altogether without sensation, but the former afterwards sensates as before. (That a man’s spirit sees, hears and feels, after it is freed from the body, just as it did before in the body, may be seen in the work, Heaven and Hell, n. 461-469. Concerning the correspondence of the understanding with the sight of the eye, see Arcana Coelestia, n. 4403-4421, 4523-4534.) With beasts also, their interior life, which is also called their soul, sensates in a similar manner by means of the external organs of their body, but with this difference, that a beast does not sensate rationally like man, thus does not think from understanding and will, as man does (as may be seen in the work, Heaven and Hell, n. 108; and in the work, The Last Judgment, n. 25).
[3] This then is why eye in the Word signifies the understanding of truth or intelligence and wisdom, as may be seen from the following passages:
“Say to this people, hear ye in hearing, but understand not; and see ye in seeing, and know not. Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and smear their eyes, lest they see with their eyes” (Isaiah vi. 9, 10; John xii. 40).
To smear the eyes lest they see with their eyes, is to darken their understanding lest they should understand. [4] In the same:
“Jehovah hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep, and hath closed your eyes; the prophets and your heads, the seers, hath he covered” (xxix. 10).
Here closing the eyes, covering the prophets, and the heads and the seers hath He covered denotes the [covering] of the understanding of truth. By prophets are meant those who teach truths; these are also called heads, because the head signifies intelligence; and they are also called seers, from the revelation of Divine truth with them. [5] In the same:
“The eyes of them that see shall not blink, and the ears of them that hear shall harken” (xxxii. 3).
The eyes of them that see denote those who understand truths. In the same:
“Who shutteth his eyes lest they may see evil. Thine eyes shall see the king in his beauty” (xxxiii. 15, 17).
To shut the eyes lest they may see evil denotes not to admit evil into the thought; that their eyes should see the king in his beauty denotes that they should understand truth in its own light with pleasantness; for by the king in this passage, is not meant a king, but truth (as may be seen above, n. 31). [6] In Jeremiah:
“Hear this, O foolish people, who are without heart who have eyes, and see not; who have ears, and hear not ” (v. 21; Ezek. xii. 2).
In Lamentations:
“The crown of our head hath fallen; for this our heart is become faint, and for this our eyes are dim” (v. 17).
By the crown of the head is denoted wisdom (as may be seen above, n. 126); the heart being faint denotes that the will of good is no more. (That the heart denotes the will and love, may be seen in the work, Heaven and Hell, n. 95.) The eyes denote the understanding of truth, and are said to grow dim when truth is no more understood. [7] In Zechariah:
“The punishment of the shepherd deserting the flock, a sword upon his right eye; and his right eye in darkening shall be darkened” (xi. 17).
By the sword upon the right eye, and the right eye in darkening shall be darkened, is meant that all truth in the understanding should perish by falsity. (That sword denotes the destruction of truth by falsity, may be seen above, n. 131.)
[8] Again:
“The plague wherewith Jehovah will smite all peoples who shall fight against Jerusalem; their eyes shall consume away in their sockets” (xiv. 12).
The peoples who shall fight against Jerusalem denote those who fight against the church: Jerusalem is the church; that their eye should consume away denotes that all intelligence should perish, because they fight from falsities against truths. [9] Again, in Zechariah:
“I will smite every horse with astonishment, and every horse of the peoples with blindness” (xii. 4).
The vastation of the church is there treated of; by horse is signified the Intellectual, wherefore by the horse being smitten with astonishment and blindness is denoted the stupidity and blindness of the understanding. (That horse signifies the Intellectual, may be seen in the small work, The White Horse, n. 1-5.) [10] In David:
“Hear me, O Jehovah, my God! enlighten mine eyes lest I sleep death” (Psalm xiii. 3).
Here eyes denote the understanding. In Moses:
“Thou shalt not take a gift, for a gift doth blind the eyes of the wise” (Deut. xvi. 19).
To blind the eyes of the wise denotes to prevent them from seeing or understanding the truth. [11] In Matthew:
“The lamp of the body is the eye; if thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness” (vi. 22, 23; Luke xi. 34).
By eye in this passage is not meant eye, but the understanding; by a single eye, the understanding of truth; by an evil eye, the understanding of falsity; darkness denotes falsities, the whole body denotes the whole spirit, for this is wholly of such a quality as the will and the understanding therefrom.
If man’s spirit has the understanding of truth from the will of good, it is then an angel of light, but if it has only the understanding of falsity, it is a spirit of darkness. In the above passage is described the reformation of man by the understanding of truth; hence it is clear, that he who knows what the eye signifies, may know the arcanum contained in those words. (That man is reformed by means of truths received in the understanding, may be seen above, 112, 126.) [12] In Matthew:
“If thy right hand offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee; for it is good to enter into life one-eyed, rather than having two eyes to be cast into the gehenna of fire” (v. 29; xviii. 9; Mark ix. 47).
By eye in these passages is not meant eye, but the understanding thinking; by the right eye offending, the understanding thinking evil; to pluck it out, and cast it away, denotes not to admit such evil, but to reject it; one-eyed, denotes the understanding not thinking evil, but truth only; for the understanding can think truth: if it thinks evil, it is from the will of evil. The reason why the right eye is mentioned, is, that the right eye signifies the understanding of good, and the left eye the understanding of truth (see Arcana Coelestia, n. 4410, 6923). [13] In Isaiah:
“In that day shall the deaf hear the words of the book, and the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity, and out of darkness” (xxix. 18).
In the same:
“Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf” (xxxv. 5).
In the same:
Again:
“I will give thee for a light of the nations; to open the eyes of the blind, to lead him that is bound out of the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house” (xlii. 6, 7).
Again:
“Bring forth the blind people that have eyes, and the deaf that have ears” (xliii. 8).
To open the eyes of the blind is to instruct those who as yet are ignorant of truths, but who, yet, desire them; these are signified by the nations. Similar things are signified by the
Lord’s healing the blind (Matt. ix. 27-29; xx. 30 to the end; xxi. 14; Mark viii. 23, 25; Luke xviii. 35 to the end; John ix. 1-21).
For all the miracles of the Lord involve those things that belong to the church and heaven, and therefore they were all Divine (as may be seen, Arcana Coelestia, n. 7337, 8364, 9031). [14] Because the eye signified the understanding, it was commanded among the statutes given to the sons of Israel,
That no one of the seed of Aaron who was blind, or had a blemish in the eye, should approach to offer the sacrifice, nor enter within the veil (Levit. xxi. 17-23);
That what was blind should not be offered for a sacrifice (Levit. xxii. 22; Mal. i. 8):
hence also it was among the curses,
That a fever should consume the eyes (Levit. xxvi. 16).
From these considerations it may now be known that, by the eyes of the Son of man which were as a flame of fire is signified the Divine wisdom and intelligence communicated to those who are in love and thence in faith towards the Lord. [15] That His Divine providence is also hereby signified, is evident from what was shown above (n. 68), to which may be added what was said of the cherubim in Ezekiel, and of the four animals about the throne mentioned in the Apocalypse, by which is also signified the Divine providence, and specifically a guard that the Lord should not be approached except by means of good. In Ezekiel:
“I looked, behold four wheels near the cherubim: their whole flesh, and their backs, and their hands, and their wings, and the wheels were full of eyes round about” (x. 9, 12).
And in the Apocalypse:
“About the throne were four animals full of eyes, before and behind; each one had wings about him, and they were full of eyes within” (iv. 6, 8).
These four animals also were cherubim, for the description given of them is almost similar to that of the cherubim in Ezekiel. So many eyes are ascribed to them because the Divine providence of the Lord, which is signified by cherubim, is His government of all things in the heavens and in the earths from Divine wisdom; for the Lord from His Divine providence sees all things, disposes all things, and foresees all things. (That by cherubim is signified the Divine providence of the Lord, and specifically a guard that the Lord should not be approached except by means of good, may be seen, n. 9277, 9509, 9673.)
“These things saith the Son of man, who hath his eyes like unto a flame of fire, and his feet like fine brass.”
For by eyes, when said of men, is signified the internal, which is spiritual, and by feet the external, which is natural; but by eyes and feet, when said of the Lord, are signified the Divine things from which those exist with man.
155. And ministry and faith. That this signifies good and truth pertaining to them is evident from the signification of ministry, as denoting good, of which we shall speak presently; and from the signification of faith, as denoting truth. The reason why faith signifies truth is, that truth is of faith, and faith is of truth. The reason why ministry signifies good is, that, in the Word, it is used in reference to good; hence the office of Aaron, of his sons, and of the Levites, was called ministry, and in general the offices of priests. By ministering to Jehovah, or the Lord, is meant to worship Him from the good of love; hence it is evident that ministry has reference to works, and faith to charity, concerning which see above, where it is said,
“I know thy works and charity”;
for faith and charity make one, because where there is no charity there is no faith (as may be seen in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem, n. 108-122; and in the small work, The Last Judgment, n. 33-40).
[2] That ministry, and to minister, in the Word, are said of the good of love, is evident from the following passages; as in David:
Jehovah “maketh his angels spirits, his ministers a flaming fire” (Ps. civ. 4).
By Jehovah making His angels spirits is signified that they are recipients of His Divine truth (see above, n. 130). By making His ministers a flaming fire, is signified that they are recipients of His Divine good, for flaming fire signifies the good of love (as may be seen above, n. 68). Hence it is clear, that by ministers are meant those who are in the good of love.
[3] In the same:
“Bless Jehovah, all ye his hosts; ye ministers of his that do his will” (Ps. ciii. 21).
Those are called the hosts of Jehovah who are in truths (see n. 3448, 7236, 7988, 8019), and ministers those who are in goods; therefore it is said that they do His will. To do the will of the Lord is to act from the good of love; for all good has reference to the will, as all truth has to the understanding.
[4] In Isaiah:
“Ye shall be called the priests of Jehovah; the ministers of our God” (lxi. 6).
Priests are called ministers because they represented the Lord as to the good of love, and hence, those who are in the good of love are, in the Word, called priests (see Arcana Coelestia, n. 2015, 6148, 9809, 10,017). It is also from this circumstance that they are called the ministers of God. This is why the office of Aaron and his sons is called the ministry, as likewise that of the Levites is called the priesthood, and why to enter into the tent of assembly and officiate in the ministry, as also to approach to the altar and there officiate in the ministry, is called ministering (as may be seen in Exodus xxviii. 35, xxx. 20; Numb. viii. 15, 19, 24-26). And in Jeremiah:
“My covenant shall be broken with the Levites the priests, my ministers” (xxxiii. 21).
(That Aaron represented the Lord as to the good of love, may be seen, Arcana Coelestia, n. 9806, 9946, 10,017; that the priests in general signified the same, n. 2015, 6148; that hence by the priesthood in the Word is signified the Divine good of the Lord’s Divine love, n. 9806, 9809.)
[5] The whole heaven is divided into two kingdoms: in one kingdom are the angels who are in the good of celestial love, in the other the angels who are in the good of spiritual love, or charity. The celestial kingdom of the Lord is called His priesthood, and the spiritual kingdom His royalty (see the work, Heaven and Hell, n. 24, 226). To minister is predicated of those who are in the Lord’s celestial kingdom, but to serve of those who are in His spiritual kingdom. Hence it is clear what is meant in the following passages by to minister and minister, and to serve and servant. Jesus said to the disciples:
“Whosoever will be great among you, must be your minister. And whosoever will be chief among you, must be your servant: even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister” (Matt. xx. 26-28; xxiii. 11; Mark ix. 35; Luke xxii. 24-27).
Jesus said,
“If any man will minister to me, let him follow me; then where I am, there shall also my minister be; if any man hath ministered to me, him will my Father honour” (John xii. 26).
Jesus said
“Blessed are those servants whom the Lord when he cometh shall find watching; I say unto you, that he will gird himself and make them to sit down, and rising up will minister to them” (Luke xii. 37).
In Isaiah:
“The sons of the stranger, that join themselves to Jehovah to minister to him, and to love the name of Jehovah” (lvi. 6).
Hence, because ministering is said of the good of love, the sons of the stranger are said to minister to Jehovah, and to love Him; and of the Lord Himself it is said, that He will minister. From these considerations it is evident that by ministry is signified all that is done from the good of love, thus the good of love.
“I know thy works, and the last to be more than the first.”
By the last being more than the first is meant, that such works are fuller of love after the conjunction of the internal man with the external. For the more the internal is conjoined with the external, so much the more of the internal there is in the externals, consequently in the deeds or works; for external things, or works, are nothing but effects of the interior things of the will, and thence of the thought; and effects derive all their quality from the internals from which they exist, as motion from its effort; effort in man is will, and motion therefrom is action.
[5] From what has been explained in this verse it is evident that the order of the conjunction of the internal with the external in the man of the church is described, as follows; the internal by “I know thy works and charity”; the good of the internal and its truth, by “ministry and faith”; the conjunction of the internal with the external by “endurance”; and the external things thence derived, by “I know thy works, and the last to be more than the first.” But that such things are involved in these words, no one can see from the sense of the letter, but from the spiritual sense which is within the sense of the letter.
159. Because thou permittest that woman Jezebel. That this signifies the delight of the love of self and of the world is evident from the signification of that woman Jezebel, as denoting the church entirely perverted; for by woman in the Word is signified the church (see Arcana Coelestia, n. 252, 253, 749, 770, 6014, 7337, 8994), in this case the church perverted. And because all perversion of the church exists from these two loves, – the love of self and the love of the world – by Jezebel is signified the delight of those loves; and the church in which those loves reign, is called the woman Jezebel from this fact, that by Jezebel the wife of Ahab, in the Word, was represented the delight of those loves, and thereby the perversion of the church; for all the things written in the Word, even in its historical parts, are representative of such things as pertain to the church (see The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem, n. 249-266). The reason why all perversion of the church exists from these two loves when they obtain the ascendancy over heavenly love is, that they are entirely opposed to the two loves that constitute heaven and the church, these being love to the Lord and love to the neighbour, and that from those two opposite loves exist all evils and falsities therefrom (see The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem, n. 59, 61, 65-83; and the work, Heaven and Hell, n. 252, 396, 399, 400, 486, 551-565, 566-575). [2] That Jezebel, the wife of Ahab, represented the things here mentioned will be seen presently; but something shall first be said concerning the delights of man’s loves.
The quality of every man is according to his love, and all the delight of his life is from his love; for whatever favours his love he perceives to be delightful, and whatever is adverse to his love, undelightful. Hence, whether it be said that the quality of man is according to his love, or according to the delight of his life, it amounts to the same thing. Those therefore, who are loves of self and of the world, that is, in whom these loves reign, have no other delight of life, or no other life, than infernal life. For those loves, or the delights of life therefrom, which are perpetual, turn all their thoughts and intentions to self and the world, and in proportion as they do this, in the same proportion they immerse them in man’s proprium, which he has from heredity, and thus at the same time in evils of every kind; and so far as man’s thoughts and intentions are turned to his hereditary proprium, which in itself is nothing but evil, so far are they turned away from heaven.
For the interiors of man, which belong to his mind, that is, those of his thought and intention, or to his understanding and will, are actually turned downwards to his own loves, that is, to self, where the love of self and the delights thereof reign, and outwards, that is, from heaven to the world, where the love of the world reigns with its delights. But it is otherwise when a man loves God above all things, and his neighbour as himself; in this case the Lord turns the interiors of man’s mind or of his thought and intention to Himself, and thus averts them from his proprium, and raises them up, and this in a manner altogether unknown to him. This is why man’s spirit, which is the man himself, after its release from the body, is actually turned to its own love, because that constitutes the delight of his life, and indeed is his life. (That all spirits are actually turned to their own loves, may be seen in the work, Heaven and Hell, n. 17, 123, 142-145, 151, 153, 272, 510, 548, 552, 561; and above, n. 41.) [3] What has been said may receive some degree of illustration from the fact, that all the most minute parts of the body turn themselves to the common centre of our earth, which is called the centre of gravity; this is why men, wherever they are, even those who are in the opposite direction, and are called antipodes, stand upon their feet. But this centre of gravity is only the centre of gravity in nature; but there is another centre of gravity in the spiritual world, and this, with man, is determined from the love in which he is; downwards if his love is infernal, and upwards if his love is heavenly. Wherever man’s love is determined, there also his thoughts and intentions are determined; for these are in the spiritual world, and are actuated by the forces which are there. From these things it is now evident, that the perversion of the church, signified by the woman Jezebel, takes place with man solely from the loves of self and of the world, because these loves turn the interiors of his mind downwards, and thus avert them from heaven. It is said, the perversion of the church with man, because the church is in man, as heaven is in an angel; every church is constituted of those who belong to it, and not of others, although born where the church is. This can be clearly understood from the fact that love and faith constitute the church; and love and faith must be in man, therefore the church also must be in him. (That heaven is in an angel, and that the church is in man, may be seen in the work, Heaven and Hell, n. 33, 53, 54, 57, 454; and in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem, n. 232, 233, 241, 245, 246.)
That Ahab the king of Israel took Jezebel the daughter of the king of the Zidonians to wife, and that he went away and served Baal, and erected to him an altar in Samaria, and made a grove (1 Kings xvi. 31-33);
That Jezebel slew the prophets of Jehovah (1 Kings xviii. 4, 13);
And that she would also have slain Elijah (xix. 1, 2, and following verses);
That, by a stratagem in substituting false witnesses, she took away the vineyard from Naboth, and slew him (xxi. 6, 7, and following verses);
Hence it was predicted by Elijah, that dogs should eat her (1 Kings xxi. 23; 2 Kings ix. 10);
And afterwards that, by the command of Jehu, she was thrown out of the window, and that her blood was sprinkled upon the wall, and upon the horses that trod her under foot (2 Kings ix. 32-34).
[2] By all these things the perversion of the church arising from the delight of the love of self and of the world, and from the evils and falsities thence originating was represented; for all the historical parts of the Word, as well as the prophetical, are representative of those things that pertain to the church. By Baal, whom Ahab served, and to whom he erected an altar, is signified worship from the evils of the love of self and of the world; by the grove which he made is signified worship from falsities thence derived. By Jezebel slaying the prophets of Jehovah is signified the destruction of the truths of the church; by her desiring also to slay Elijah is signified a desire to annihilate the Word, for Elijah represented the Word. By the vineyard, which, by false witnesses, she took away from Naboth, is signified the falsification of truth, and the adulteration of good; by the prophecy of Elijah that dogs should eat her, is signified uncleanness and profanation. By her being thrown out of a window, and by the sprinkling of her blood upon the wall and upon the horses that trod her under foot, is signified the lot of those who are of such nature and quality. What is the lot of these is evident from the particulars understood in the internal sense. From these considerations it can be seen, that no other Jezebel is meant by the woman Jezebel who calleth herself a prophetess than Jezebel the wife of Ahab, treated of in the Word; and that by her are described those who are immersed in false doctrines derived from the delights of the love of self and of the world.
“When Jehoram saw Jehu, he said, Is it peace, Jehu? and he answered, What peace, so long as the whoredoms of thy mother Jezebel and her witchcrafts are so many?” (ix. 22).
[2] Something shall be said briefly concerning the circumstance that those who falsify truths in themselves by applying them to the delight of the love of self, do not afterwards turn themselves to truths. Man, from his Spiritual or Internal, and from his Intellectual, sees the truths which pertain to the church from the Word, but he receives them there only in proportion as he so loves them as to be willing to do them. When man thus wills to do them, his internal or spiritual man calls forth and elevates to itself from the natural man and its memory the truths which are therein, and conjoins them to the love of his will; thus the internal spiritual man is opened, where the interior or higher mind dwells, and is successively filled and perfected. But if he suffers the natural delight, which is the delight of the love of self and of the world, to predominate, he then sees all things from that delight, and, in this case, if he perceives truths, he applies them to his own love, and falsifies them. When this is the case, the internal spiritual man is closed, because it is accommodated to the reception of such things as pertain to heaven, and cannot endure truths to be falsified. Wherefore, when truths are falsified, it contracts and closes up, like a fibril when touched with a prickle or sting; and the internal being once closed, the love of self or the love of the world reigns, or both together, and they form the external or natural man altogether in opposition to the internal or spiritual man. This is why those who have falsified truths by applying them to the delights of the love of self and of the world cannot afterwards turn themselves to truths. This is what is meant by these words,
“I gave” to the woman Jezebel “time to repent of her whoredom, and she repented not.”
[3] That a bed signifies the natural man, and also the doctrines which are therein, is evident from the passages where it is mentioned in the Word, as in Amos:
“As the shepherd snatcheth out of the mouth of the lion two legs or a small piece of an ear, so shall the sons of Israel be snatched away that dwell in Samaria in the corner of a bed, and in the extremity of a couch (iii. 12).
Here a lion signifies the church; in this case those of the church who destroy goods and truths; the legs or small piece of an ear, denote the goods which are in the natural man, and therefore some perception therefrom of truth; the sons of Israel who dwell in Samaria are those who belong to the church; in the corner of a bed and in the extremity of a couch signify their being in a small degree in natural light from the Spiritual, and consequently in some truths. [4] In the same:
“Woe to them that are at ease in Zion, and trust in the mountains of Samaria; that lie upon beds of ivory, and upon their own couches, and eat the lambs out of the flock, and the calves out of the midst of the stall; that invent to themselves instruments of music; that drink wine in bowls, and anoint themselves with the first fruits of the oils: but they are not affected with grief over the breach of Joseph” (vi. 1, 4-6).
Here, by trusting in the mountain of Samaria are meant they who trust to themselves and hatch out doctrines from their own intelligence. Samaria is the spiritual church perverted; beds of ivory are the fallacies of the senses upon which doctrine is founded; to stretch themselves upon couches, denotes to confirm and multiply the fallacies thence derived; to eat the lambs out of the flock, and the calves out of the midst of the stall, to drink wine in bowls, and to anoint themselves with the first fruits of the oils, denotes to take the goods and truths of the Word from the sense of its letter, and to apply and falsify them. Not to be affected with grief over the breach of Joseph, denotes to make it of no account that the spiritual church perishes, and that its truths are destroyed. (That Joseph, in the highest sense, signifies the Lord as to the Divine Spiritual, in the internal sense, the spiritual kingdom of the Lord, thus also the spiritual church, and, in the external sense, the fructification of good and multiplication of truth, may be seen, Arcana Coelestia, n. 3969, 3971, 4669, 6417, 6526.) [5] In Moses:
“May the blessings of thy father prevail above the blessings of my parents, may they be upon the head of Joseph, and upon the crown of the bed of his brethren” (Gen. xlix. 26).
Joseph, as stated, denotes the spiritual church of the Lord the crown of the bed of his brethren, is the Spiritual which flows into all the truths and goods of that church; for the twelve sons or tribes of Israel signify all the truths and goods of the church in the aggregate (see Arcana Coelestia, n. 3858, 3926, 4060, 6335). [6] In Luke:
“I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left. Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left. Two men shall be in the field – the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left” (xvii. 34-36).
The consummation of the age is here treated of, which is the last time of the church, when judgment comes. To be in one bed, is to be in one doctrine of the church; two women grinding, denote those who collect and learn those things that are serviceable to faith; two men in the field, are those in the church who apply to themselves goods and truths. (That those who grind denote those who collect and learn those things that, are serviceable to faith, see Arcana Coelestia, n. 4335, 7780, 9995. That field denotes the reception of truth and good, see Arcana Coelestia, 368, 3310, 9141, 9295.) [7] In John:
Jesus said to the sick man at the pool of Bethesda, “Rise, take up thy bed, and walk. And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked. Afterwards, Jesus found him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole; sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon thee” (v. 8, 9, 14).
In Mark:
They uncovered the roof, where Jesus was, and “let down the bed wherein the sick of the palsy lay.” Jesus said, “Whether is it easier to say, Thy sins are forgiven thee, or to say, Arise, take up thy bed, and walk?” Then He said, “Arise, take up thy bed” and walk, “and go thy way into thine house. Then immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went forth before them all” (ii. 4, 9, 11, 12).
By the Lord saying to those sick men, Arise, take up thy bed, and walk is signified doctrine and life according to it; the bed signifying doctrine, and to walk, life (that to walk signifies to live, may be seen above, n. 97); and a sick person signifies those who have transgressed and sinned; wherefore the Lord said to the sick man at the pool of Bethesda, Behold, thou art made whole; sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee; and to the paralytic, let down in a bed through the roof, “Whether is it easier to say, Thy sins are forgiven thee, or to say, Arise, take up thy bed, and walk?”
Those who do not understand the internal sense of the Word, may suppose that the words which the Lord spoke involve nothing more than appears in the sense of the letter, when, nevertheless, the whole contains in it a spiritual sense; for He spake from the Divine, and thus both at the same time before heaven and before the world (see Arcana Coelestia, 2533, 4637, 4807, 9048, 9063, 9086, 10,126, 10,276). [8] The bed of Og, the king of Bashan, is thus described in Moses:
“Og, king of Bashan was left of the remnants of the Rephaim: behold, his bed was a bed of iron; is it not in Rabbah of the sons of Ammon? nine cubits was the length thereof, and four cubits the breadth of it, after the cubit of a man” (Deut. iii. 11).
The bed of Og is here described, because he was of the remnants of the Rephaim, and because he was king of Bashan. For by the Rephaim were signified those who more than all others were in the love of self, and therefore intensely natural, and, from the persuasion of their own importance above others, were in falsities of every kind (see Arcana Coelestia, n. 581, 1268, 1270, 1271, 1673, 7686). By Bashan was signified the external of the church, thus the Natural. For Bashan was outside of the land of Canaan, where the church was: on this account, the bed of Og, king of Bashan, was described, which would not have been done but for the sake of the spiritual signification of Og, as mentioned above. For whatever is related in the Word, even in its historical parts, is significative as to every single expression; this is why everything in the Word, generally and particularly, is spiritual, and consequently Divine from inmosts to ultimates. It is for this reason, that the bed is said to be of iron, and that it was in Rabbath of the sons of Ammon, and that the length thereof was nine cubits, and the breadth thereof four cubits, after the cubit of a man; for iron signifies what is natural (as may be seen below, n. 176). Rabbah of Ammon signifies falsification of truth (as may be seen in Arcana Coelestia, n. 2468); and the length being nine cubits, and the breadth four, after the cubit of a man, signifies the conjunction of evil with falsity.
[9] From these things it may be seen what is the nature of the Word in its inmost bosom. Because bed signifies doctrine, it was therefore amongst the statutes in the church with the sons of Israel,
that every bed whereon a person had lain who had a flux should be unclean; and that the man who touched such bed should wash his garments and bathe himself in waters (Lev. xv. 4, 5).
By having a flux are signified those who are in natural separate from spiritual love; to wash the garments and to bathe the body in waters signifies purification by means of the truths of faith (see The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem, n. 202-209). Because Jacob, in the Word, signifies the external church amongst those who are in natural light and live a moral life from the obedience of faith, although not from internal affection, therefore, when Jacob is spoken of, there is seen in the spiritual world, from above to the right, as it were a man lying in a bed; hence it is that it is said of him in the Word, when he was dying,
“When Jacob had made an end of commanding his sons, he gathered up his feet upon the bed, and expired” (Gen. xlix. 33).
It is said he gathered up his feet upon the bed because by the feet also is signified the Natural (see Arcana Coelestia, n. 2162, 3147, 3761, 3986, 4280, 4938-4952).
166. (v. 23) And I will kill her sons with death. That this signifies that thus falsities are extinguished is evident from the signification of sons, as being truths of the church from the Word, and, in the opposite sense, falsities, concerning which we shall speak presently; and from the signification of killing with death, as being to extinguish; for falsities are separated, and, as it were, extinguished by means of temptations, and by man’s desisting from them, and fleeing from and holding them in aversion. The reason why sons in the Word signify truths, and, in the opposite sense, falsities is, that, in the spiritual sense of the Word, only those things are treated of that concern the church and heaven; and all things of the church and heaven have reference to the goods of love and the truths of faith. This is why names of consanguinities and affinities, as husband, wife, son, daughter, brother, sister, daughter-in-law, son-in-law, and several others, signify spiritual things that have reference to spiritual birth, which is regeneration, and to the heavenly marriage, which is the marriage of good and truth. The things born from this marriage are also goods and truths; hence it is that by daughters in the Word are signified goods, and by sons, truths, both from good, which is signified by father, and from truth, which is signified by mother. (That all the truths and goods pertaining to the regenerate man, are conjoined according to spiritual affinities, and follow in order, may be seen, Arcana Coelestia, n. 2508, 3815, 4121. That all in heaven are also associated according to spiritual affinities, may be seen in the work, Heaven and Hell, n. 205. That sons signify truths and affections of truth, is shown in Arcana Coelestia, 489, 491, 533, 2623, 3373, 4257, 8649, 9807; that sons’ sons signify truths in successive order, n. 6583, 6584; that by father, mother, brethren, children, are signified goods and truths, or evils and falsities, pertaining to man, n. 10,490; that to smite the mother upon the sons, denotes to destroy everything belonging to the church, n. 4257; that the Lord called himself the Son of man, because He was Divine truth, and because all the truth of heaven and of the church proceeds from Him, see above, n. 63.)
It is therefore evident that by Jehovah, or the Lord, in the Word, searching the heart and reins is signified that He explores the goods of love and the truths of faith, and separates them from evils and falsities. [2] This is signified by reins in the following places: in Jeremiah,
“Jehovah Zebaoth, judge of justice, proving the reins and the heart” (xi. 20).
Again:
“Thou hast planted them, yea, they have taken root: they grow, yea, they bring forth fruit; thou art near in their mouth and far from their reins. Jehovah, thou shalt see me, and shalt prove my heart” (xii. 2, 3).
By being near in the mouth, and far from the reins is meant truth only in the memory, and thence in some of his thoughts when a man speaks, but not in the will and thence in act. Truth in the will and thence in act is that which separates and dissipates falsities; truth in the will and thence in act is to will and do what a man knows and thinks to be truth; this truth is what is specifically meant by reins. [3] Again in the same prophet:
“I Jehovah search the heart, and prove the reins, even to give every one according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his works” (xvii. 10).
To search the heart is to purify good by separating evil from it; to prove the reins, is to purify truth by separating falsity from it. It is therefore said, “To give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his works”; ways denote the truths of faith, and the fruit of works denotes the goods of love. (That ways denote truths of faith, may be seen above, n. 97, and that the fruit of works denotes the goods of love, n. 98, 109, 116.) [4] In the same:
“Jehovah Zebaoth, proving the just, seeing the reins and the heart” (xx. 12).
And in David:
“Establish the just for thou who triest the hearts and reins art a just God” (Ps. vii. 9).
The just denote those who love to do what is good and true, whose truths and goods are purified by the Lord, which is signified by His seeing and trying the reins and the hearts.
In the same:
“Prove me, O Jehovah, and try me, explore my reins and my heart” (Ps. xxvi. 2).
Because truths are separated from falsities and goods from evils by temptations, it is therefore said, try me. In the same:
“For my heart was embittered and I am pricked in my reins. But I am foolish, and I do not know” (Ps. lxxiii. 21, 22).
The infestation of good by evil and of truth by falsity, is described by these words. In the same:
“Behold, thou desirest truth in the reins, and in the hidden part thou makest wisdom known to me” (Ps. li. 6).
Here reins are expressed by another word in the original tongue, which involves the separation both of falsities from truths and of evils from goods. It is therefore evident that the reins signify purification and separation. [5] In the same:
“I will bless Jehovah, who hath given me counsel; nightly, also, do my reins chastise me” (Ps. xvi. 7).
Nights signify the state of man when falsities rise up; the combat in such cases of truths with them is signified by “my reins chastise me.” In the same:
“Even the darkness doth not make darkness before thee, but the night is light as the day; as the darkness so is the light; for thou possessest my reins, my bone was not hid from thee when I was made in secret” (Ps. cxxxix. 12, 13, 15).
Falsities are signified by darkness and truths by light; to possess the reins, is to know the falsities and truths pertaining to man; hence it is said, “my bone was not hid from thee when I was made in secret,” which signifies that no falsity that was made could be bid. (That darkness denotes falsities and light truths may be seen in the work, Heaven and Hell, n. 126-140 and that bone signifies truth in the ultimate of order, and, in the opposite sense, falsity, in Arcana Coelestia, n. 3812, 5560, 5565, 6592, 8005.) [6] Because the reins signified truths purified from falsities, therefore in the sacrifices the fats and reins were alone offered up, as may be seen in Exodus xxix. 13; Levit. iii. 4, 10, 15; iv. 9; and other places.
The reason why the fats and reins alone were offered upon the altar was, because the fats signified the goods of love, and the reins the truths of faith. (That fats or fatnesses signify the goods of love, may be seen, Arcana Coelestia, n. 353, 5943, 6409, 10,033. That the reins signify the truths of faith examining, purifying, and rejecting from themselves falsities is from correspondence; for all parts of the body, even the most minute, have a correspondence, as may be seen in the work, Heaven and Hell, where it is shown, under its proper article, that “there is a correspondence of all things of heaven with all things of man,” n. 87-102; and concerning, the kidneys, n. 96, 97.) Unless it be known that there is such a correspondence, who could know why it is so often stated of Jehovah, or the Lord, in the Word, that He searches and tries the reins and the heart? (Concerning the correspondence of the kidneys, the ureters, and vesicles, see Arcana Coelestia, n. 5380-5386.) The reason why to search the reins and the heart also signifies to explore the exteriors and interiors of man is, that truth is without, and good is within; and spiritual good, which in its essence is truth, and which is specifically signified by the reins, is exterior good: but celestial good, which is specifically signified by the heart, is interior good. (This is more evident from what is said and shown concerning, the spiritual kingdom and the celestial kingdom in the work, Heaven and Hell, n. 20-26.)
[2] The natural sense of the Word, which is the sense of its letter, is one with the things of nature, and therefore serves as a basis for the sense which is without these things. For all things in nature are ultimates of Divine order; and the Divine does not stop in the midst, but flows down to ultimates, and thus subsists. This is why the Word is such in the letter; unless it were of this nature, it would not serve as a basis for the wisdom of angels, who are spiritual. It may be seen, therefore, how much those err who despise the Word on account of its style. The reason why nations signify those who are in good, and, in the abstract goods themselves, is, that men in ancient times lived divided into nations, families and houses. They then mutually loved each other; the father of a nation loved the whole nation which sprang from himself; thus the good of love was the ruling good among them. This is why by nations are signified goods; but when men went in opposition to this, as was the case in the following ages, when empires took their rise, then nations signified evils. (See what is further said upon this subject in the small work, The Earths in the Universe, n. 49, 90, 173, 174.)
[3] That nations in the Word signify goods or evils, and peoples truths or falsities is evident from the following passages.
In Isaiah:
“The nations shall walk to thy light and kings to the splendour of thy rising. Then shalt thou see and flow, and thine heart shall be enlarged, because the multitude of the sea is converted unto thee, the hosts of the nations come unto thee: thy gates shall be open continually, they shall not be shut day and night, to bring unto thee the host of the nations; and their kings shall be led down; for the nation or kingdom that will not serve thee shall perish. And the nations by wasting shall be wasted. Thou shalt suck the milk of nations, yea, the breasts of kings shalt thou suck; a little one shall become a thousand, and the few a numerous nation” (lx. 3, 5, 11, 12, 16, 22).
Here the Lord is treated of; and by nations are meant all those who are in the good of love, and by kings all those who are in the truths of faith towards Him. It is therefore evident who are meant by the nations of whom it is said, they “shall walk to thy light,” and by “the host of the nations that shall be brought;” and also who are meant by kings, respecting whom it is said, “they shall walk to the brightness of thy rising,” and “the kings of the nations shall be led down.” It is also plain what is meant by sucking the milk of the nations and the breasts of kings; milk is the delight of the good of love, similarly breasts, as milk is from them. The multiplication of truth and the fructification of good, are described by a little one becoming a thousand, and the few a numerous nation. But by the nations which shall perish are meant all those who are in evils, and also the evils themselves.
[4] In the same:
“Behold I will lift up my hand towards the nations, and towards the peoples I will lift up my standard, that they may bring thy sons in the bosom and carry thy daughters upon the shoulder; and kings shall be thy nourishers, and princesses those who shall suckle thee; with the face to the earth shall they bow down to thee” (xlix. 22, 23).
The subject here treated of is also the Lord, and those who shall worship and adore Him. To lift up His hand towards the nations, and His standard towards the peoples is to claim to Himself all who are in the goods of love and thence in truths; concerning whom it is said, that they shall bring thy sons in the bosom, and carry thy daughters upon the shoulder, sons denoting the affections of truth and daughters the affections of good (as may be seen above, n. 166). And of these it is said, kings shall be thy nourishers, and princesses those who shall suckle thee. Kings signify truths themselves, and princesses the goods thereof; and because a man is regenerated by means of these, and also nourished, it is therefore said that they shall be nourishers and those who shall give suck. (That man is regenerated by truths and by a life according to them, may be seen in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem, n. 23, 24, 27, 186.) This is the internal sense of those words; and without that sense who could understand them?
[5] In the same:
“Jehovah said, Behold I spread out upon” Jerusalem “peace as a river, and as a torrent the glory of the nations that ye may suck. He shall come to gather together all nations and tongues, that they may come and see my glory. They shall announce my glory in the nations; then shall they bring your brethren from all nations, a gift to Jehovah upon horses and upon the chariot, to the mountain of my holiness” (lxvi. 12, 18, 19, 20).
Jerusalem here signifies the church of the Lord in the heavens and on earth. It is said the church in the heavens, because the church is there also (as may be seen in the work, Heaven and Hell, n. 221-227). By nations and tongues, are meant all those who are in the goods of love and thence in truths. To bring from all nations a gift to Jehovah, upon horses and upon the chariot, denotes worship from the good of love, which is signified by a gift to Jehovah. Horses and chariots signify intellectual and doctrinal things, for from these and upon these worship is founded. (That horses and chariots have such a signification may be seen in the small work, The White Horse, n. 1-5.) [6] In the same:
“In that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the peoples; the nations shall seek” (xi. 10).
The root of Jesse is the Lord; to stand for an ensign of the peoples denotes that He may be seen by those who are in truths. The nations which shall seek, denote those who are in the good of love.
It is supposed that by nations are here meant the nations that will accede to, and acknowledge the Lord, from which there will be a church, called the church of the Gentiles. Yet these are not meant by the nations, but all those who are in love and faith towards the Lord, whether within the church or without it (which may be seen in the work, Heaven and Hell, n. 308, 318-328). [7] In the same:
“A strong people shall honour thee, the city of the powerful nations shall fear thee” (xxv. 3).
“Open ye the gates that the righteous nation may enter in. Thou hast added to the nation, Jehovah, thou hast added to the nation, thou art glorified” (xxvi. 2, 15).
“Come near, ye nations, to hear; and hearken, ye peoples” (xxxiv. 1).
In the same:
“I, Jehovah, have called thee in justice, for a covenant to the people, for a light of the nations” (xlii. 6).
In Jeremiah:
“And the nations shall bless themselves in him – and in him shall they glory” (iv. 2).
In the same:
Who shall not fear thee, O king of nations? – and in all their kingdoms, there is none like unto thee” (x. 7).
And in Daniel:
“I saw in visions of the night, and behold with the clouds of heaven one like the Son of man. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, and all peoples, nations, and tongues shall serve him” (vii. 13, 14).
And in David:
“Let the peoples confess thee, O God; let all the peoples confess thee. Let the nations be glad and sing for joy: for thou shalt judge the peoples in rectitude, and shalt lead the nations upon earth” (lxvii. 3-4).
In the same:
“That I may see the good of thy chosen and be glad in the joy of thy nations” (cvi. 5).
In the Apocalypse:
The glory and honour of the nations shall be brought into the New Jerusalem (xxi. 26).
In Isaiah:
“Ye shall be called the priests of Jehovah; the ministers of our God, shall be said to you; ye shall eat the riches of the nations, and in their glory shall ye glory” (lxi. 6).
In Lamentations:
“The breath of our nostrils, the anointed of Jehovah, was taken in their pits, of whom we said, In his shadow we shall live among the nations” (iv. 20).
In these places, by nations are meant all those who are in love to the Lord, whether they be within the church, where the Word is, or out of it. That by nations, in an opposite sense, are meant those who are in evils, and, in the abstract, evils themselves, is evident from the following passages; [8] as in Jeremiah:
“I will bring a nation upon you from far: it is a strong nation, it is a nation of an age, a nation whose language thou knowest not. It shall eat up thine harvest and thy bread, and shall eat thy sons and thy daughters: it shall eat up thy vine and thy fig-tree; it shall desolate cities with the sword” (v. 15, 17).
The vastation of the church is here treated of. By nation is meant the evil which will consummate it; hence it is said, that it shall eat up the harvest and the bread, the sons and daughters, the vine and the fig-tree, and impoverish cities with the sword. By these things are signified all the goods of love and truths of faith: by the harvest is signified a state of reception of truth from good (see Arcana Coelestia, n. 9295); by bread, the good of love (see The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem, n. 218); by sons and daughters, the affections of truth and good (see above, n. 166); by vine, the internal church, thus the internal things of the church (see Arcana Coelestia, n. 1069, 5113, 6376, 9277); by the fig-tree, the external church, thus the external things of the church (n. 5113); by cities, doctrines (see Arcana Coelestia, n. 402, 2449, 2712, 2943, 3216, 4492, 4493); by sword, falsity destroying (see above, n. 73, 131). From these considerations it is evident that by nation is signified the evil which destroys everything of the church.
[9] In the same:
“Behold I lay stumbling blocks before this people, that they may stumble upon them, the fathers and the sons together. Behold a people cometh from the land of the north, and a great nation from the sides of the land. They have no mercy; their voice roareth like the sea, and they ride upon horses” (vi. 21-23).
In this passage also, nation denotes evil, and people falsities the stumbling blocks upon which the fathers and the sons stumble denote perversions of good and truth; fathers denote goods, and sons the truths therefrom. It is said, a people from the land of the north, and a nation from the sides of the land, because the north signifies that falsity from evil, and the sides of the land those things that are outside the church, thus they signify evils remote from the goods of the church. To roar like the sea, and to ride upon horses, denotes to persuade from the fallacies of the senses, and by reasonings therefrom.
[10] In Ezekiel:
“The land is full of the judgment of bloods, and the city is full of violence, therefore I will bring upon them the worst of the nations, and they shall occupy their houses; the king shall mourn and the prince shall be clothed with stupor” (vii. 23, 24, 27).
The land is the church; being full of the judgment of bloods, signifies that it is immersed in falsities destroying goods; city denotes doctrine; to be full of violence signifies offering violence to the good of charity; the worst of the nations denotes dire falsities from evil; to occupy their houses denotes to possess their minds; the king who shall mourn is the truth of the church; the prince who shall be clothed with stupor signifies truth subservient. (That the land signifies the church, may be seen, Arcana Coelestia, n. 662, 1066, 1068, 1262, 1413, 1607, 2928, 3355, 4447, 4535, 5577, 8011, 9325, 9643; that bloods denote falsities destroying goods, n. 374, 1005, 4735, 5476, 9127; that city denotes doctrine, n. 2268, 2449, 2451, 2712, 2943, 3216, 4492, 4493; that violence denotes to violate the good of charity, n. 6353; that house denotes the things that belong to a man’s mind, n. 710, 2231, 2233, 2559, 3128, 3538, 4973, 5023, 6690, 7353, 7848, 7910, 7929, 9150; that the king who shall mourn denotes the truth of the church, may be seen above, n. 31.) [11] Again, in David:
“Jehovah rendereth vain the counsel of the nations, he subverteth the thoughts of the peoples” (Ps. xxxiii. 10).
Nations denote those who are in evils, and peoples those who are in falsities; and because both the former and the latter are signified, it is therefore said, that Jehovah rendereth vain the counsel of the nations, and subverteth the thoughts of the peoples, which are two expressions as it were signifying one thing, but yet they are distinct in the internal sense, in which nations signify one thing, and peoples another.
[12] In Luke:
“Then they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be taken captive among all nations, and at length Jerusalem shall be trodden down by the nations, until the times of the nations be fulfilled. And there shall be signs in the sun, and the moon, and the stars, and upon the earth distress of nations, the sea and the waves roaring” (xxi. 24, 25).
The consummation of the age is here treated of, which is the last time of the church, when there is no longer any faith because no charity, or no truth because no good. This is described in the above passage by correspondences. To fall by the edge of the sword is to be destroyed by falsities; to be taken captive among all nations is to be possessed by evils of every kind; Jerusalem, which shall be trodden under foot is the church; the sun denotes love to the Lord; the moon, faith towards Him; the stars denote knowledges (cognitiones) of good and truth; the signs in them denote that they therefore would perish; the sea and the waves roaring are fallacies and reasonings. [13] In Matthew:
“Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places; and they shall deliver you up to tribulation; and ye shall be hated by all nations for my name’s sake” (xxiv. 7, 9; Luke xxi. 10, 11).
These things are also said by the Lord concerning the last time of the church; and by nation rising against nation, and kingdom against kingdom is signified that there will be dissensions of evils and falsities among themselves. By famines and pestilences are signified defect and consumption of truths; by earthquakes, the perversion of the church; by being hated by all nations is signified to be hated by all those who are in evil; by the name of the Lord, on account of which they shall be hated are signified all things of love and faith by which the Lord is worshipped (as may be seen above, n. 102, 135).
[14] In Ezekiel:
“Behold, Asshur a cedar in Lebanon, he is become high and his branches are multiplied: in his branches have all the birds of the heavens built their nests, and under his branches all the beasts of the field have brought forth, and in his shade have dwelt great nations. But his heart is lifted up in his height, wherefore I will give him into the hand of the strong, one of the nations, strangers shall cut him off, and the violent of the nations shall cast him down; whence all peoples of the earth have descended from his shade, and have deserted him” (xxxi. 3, 5, 6, 11, 12).
These things could not be understood by any one without a knowledge of the spiritual or internal sense of the Word. It may be supposed that they are mere comparisons, in which there is not any spiritual signification, when, nevertheless, the most minute particulars therein signify something pertaining to heaven and the church; therefore they shall be briefly explained. Asshur denotes the enlightened Rational of the man of the church; this is called a cedar in Lebanon, because a cedar signifies the same thing as Asshur, specifically truth from good in the Rational; and Lebanon denotes the mind wherein the Rational resides, because cedars grew in Lebanon. By his branches being multiplied are meant truths therefrom. The fowls of heaven building their nests in his branches signify the affections of truth; and the beasts of the field which brought forth under his branches, the affections of good. The great nations which dwell under his shade, are the goods of love; his heart lifted up in his height, is the love of self. To be delivered into the hands of the strong one of the nations, and to be cast down by the violent of the nations, denote his being destroyed as to goods and truths by the evils derived from the love of self. The people of the earth who went down from his shade and left him, signify all the truths of the church. It is therefore evident that by nations are signified goods, and, in the opposite sense, evils; by the nations which dwelt under his shade, goods, and by the nations which cut him off and cast him down, evils. (See moreover what is said and shown concerning nations and their signification in Arcana Coelestia, namely, that by nations in the Word are signified those who are in good, and hence that they signify goods themselves, n. 1059, 1159, 1258, 1260, 1416, 1849, 6005; concerning the assembly of the nations as denoting truths and goods, n. 4574, 7830; concerning the holy nation, as denoting the spiritual kingdom, n. 9255, 9256. When it is said nation and people, by nation are meant those who are in celestial good, and by people those who are in spiritual good, n. 10,288. That by nations, especially those of the land of Canaan, are meant evils and falsities of every kind, n. 1059, 1205, 1868, 6306, 8054, 8317, 9320, 9327.)
[2] The successive states of the church, even until the coming of the Lord, are meant by the gold, the silver, the brass, and the iron of which the statue seen by Nebuchadnezzar in a dream was composed, as it is thus recorded in Daniel:
“His head was fine gold, his breast and his arms silver, his belly and his thighs brass, his legs iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay. And a stone was cut out” of the rock, “and smote the image upon his feet, that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces. Whereas thou sawest the feet, part of potter’s clay and part of iron,” it signifies that “the kingdom shall be divided; the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly broken. Whereas thou sawest iron mixed with clay of mire, they shall mingle themselves by the seed of man; but they shall not cohere the one with the other, even as iron is not mixed with clay” (n. 32-34, 41-43).
By the head which was fine gold is meant the first state of the church, when men were in the good of love to the Lord; by the breast and arms, which were silver is meant the second state of the church, when they were in truth from that good. By the belly and thighs which were of brass, the following or third state of the church, when men were no longer in spiritual but in natural good, for brass signifies that good; by the legs which were of iron is meant the fourth state of the church, when there was no longer natural good, but only truth; but by the feet which were of iron and clay is meant the last state of the church, when there are truth and falsity: truth in the Word and falsity in doctrine. When the truths of the Word are falsified, and doctrine is drawn from falsified truth, then the state of the church is part iron and part clay, and thus the kingdom is partly strong and partly broken. The kingdom in this passage denotes the church; therefore the church is also called the kingdom of God. That truths are thus mixed with falsities, but that still they do not cohere, is meant by Whereas thou sawest iron mixed with clay of mire, they shall mingle themselves by the seed of man, but they shall not cohere one with the other, even as iron is not mixed with clay. The seed of man denotes Divine truth which is in the Word. (That this is signified by seed, may be seen, Arcana Coelestia, n. 3038, 3337, 10,248, 10,249; that man signifies the Lord, from whom is the Word and also the church, see n. 768, 4287, 7424, 7523, 8547, 9276.) That potter’s clay signifies the falsities that are in the natural man, will be seen presently in the following article, no. 177. By the stone cut out of the rock, which smote the image, upon his feet is meant the Lord by means of Divine truth, and the destruction of falsities not cohering with truths from the Word. (That stone signifies truth, and that the stone of Israel is the Lord as to Divine truth, may be seen, Arcana Coelestia, n. 643, 1298, 3720, 6426, 8609, 10,376; that rock also signifies the Lord, n. 8581, 10,580, and in the small work, The Last Judgement n. 57.) Because iron signifies truths in the natural man, therefore the feet of the statue were of iron, for feet signify the Natural (as may be seen, Arcana Coelestia, n. 2162, 3147, 3761, 3986, 4280, 4938-4952).
[3] Similar things are signified by gold, silver, brass, and iron, in the prophet Isaiah:
“For brass I will bring gold, for iron silver, for wood brass, and for stones iron” (lx. 17).
For brass to bring gold denotes celestial good for natural good; for iron silver denotes celestial truth for natural truth: for wood brass, and for stones iron denote natural good and truth in such abundance as are wood and stone. The state of the celestial church is here treated of. (That iron signifies truth in the natural man, may be seen, Arcana Coelestia, n. 425, 426.) [4] These things are adduced, in order that it may be known that a rod of iron signifies power, by means of which the Lord chastises the evils and disperses the falsities that are in the natural man. For a rod or staff signifies power, as was said above, and iron signifies truths in the natural man. The reason why the Lord chastises evils and disperses falsities by means of truths in the natural man is, that all evils and the falsities therefrom reside therein, but none in the spiritual or internal man. The internal man does not receive evils and falsities, but is closed against them; and because these all reside in the natural man, therefore they must be chastised and dispersed by the things that are also there, which are truths. Truths in the natural man are scientifics (scientifica) and knowledges cognitiones), from which man can think, reason and conclude naturally concerning the truths and goods of the church, and concerning the falsities and evils which are opposed to them, and thence be in some natural enlightenment when he reads the Word: for the Word in the letter is not intelligible without enlightenment, and this is either spiritual or natural. Spiritual enlightenment is only granted to those who are spiritual, who are those who are in the good of love and of charity, and consequently in truths; but natural enlightenment alone is granted to those who are natural (which may be seen in the work, Heaven and Hell, n. 153, 425, and n. 140, above). To those also who are spiritual while they live in the world, there is granted enlightenment in the Natural; but this exists from the enlightenment in the Spiritual; for with them the Lord flows in through the spiritual or internal man into the natural or external, and thus enlightens the latter. From this enlightenment man sees what is true and good, and what is false and evil; and when he sees these things, then the Lord disperses the evils and falsities which are in the natural man by means of the truths and goods which are also there, and which make one with the goods and truths in the spiritual or internal man. (Further particulars concerning sciences (scientiis) and knowledges (cognitionibus), and what they effect, may be seen in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem, n. 51, and concerning influx, n. 277, 278.)
[5] From these considerations it may now be seen, what is signified by the rod of iron with which the Lord shall rule the nations, that is, will chastise the evils in the natural man. These things are said to the angel of this church because the subject treated of in what is written to this angel is the internal and external man, and their conjunction. For, when the internal and external, or the Spiritual and Natural are conjoined, then the Lord chastises the evils and falsities that are in the natural man, and this by means of the knowledges (cognitiones) of truth and good. But in the case of those in whom the internal and external man are not conjoined, evils and falsities cannot be chastised and expelled, because they receive nothing through the spiritual man from heaven, but everything they receive is from the world, which their Rational favours, and for which it furnishes confirmations.
Things similar to those here signified by a rod of iron, are also signified in the following passages; as in David:
“Thou shalt bruise” the nations “with a sceptre of iron; as a potter’s vessel shalt thou disperse them” (Ps. ii. 9).
In Isaiah:
“He shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked” (xi. 4).
In the Apocalypse:
The woman “brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron” (xii. 5).
Out of the mouth of him that sat upon the white horse “went a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations; for he shall rule them with a rod of iron” (xix. 15).
And in Micah:
“Arise, O daughter of Zion; for I will make thine horn iron, and I will make thy hoofs brass, and thou shalt beat in pieces many peoples” (iv. 13).
The daughter of Zion is the celestial church; a horn is power in the natural man; hoofs are its ultimates, which are called sensual scientifics (scientifica sensualia); hence it is evident what is signified by making the horn iron, and the hoofs brass. (That the daughter of Zion is the celestial church may be seen, Arcana Coelestia, n. 2362, 9055; that horn denotes the power of truth from good in the natural man, n. 2832, 9081, 9719-9721, 10,182, 10,186; and that hoofs are the scientifics of the sensual man, which are truths in the ultimate of order, n. 7729.)
[2] Those, therefore, who read the Word solely for the sake of a name for learning, or to acquire fame that they may be raised to honours, or that they may gain wealth by this means, never see and perceive truths, but falsities instead of them. And the truths which exist there before their eyes, they either pass by, as if they saw them not, or else they falsify them; the reason is, that to read the Word solely for such purposes as these, is, to read it for the sake of self and the world as ends, thus from the loves of self and of the world. And because these loves belong to man’s proprium, therefore the things that a man sees and perceives from them are from his own intelligence. [3] But those who read the Word from the spiritual affection of truth, which is the love of knowing truth because it is truth, see the truths of the Word, and rejoice in heart when they see them; the reason is, that they are enlightened by the Lord. This enlightenment descends from the Lord through heaven from the light there; this light is Divine truth: to them therefore it is granted to see truths from their own light, and this in the Word, because the Word is Divine truth, and in it are treasured up all the truths of heaven. But those alone are in light, who are in the two loves of heaven, which are love to the Lord and love towards the neighbour for these loves open the interior or higher mind, which is formed to receive the light of heaven, and through which that light flows in and enlightens them. But they do not perceive truths in that mind whilst they live in the world, but they see them in the lower mind, or that of the external or natural man; these are they who do not think from their own intelligence when they read the Word. The principal reason why these do not think from their own intelligence when they read the Word is, that, their interior or spiritual mind looks to the Lord, and the Lord then raises it up to Himself, and together with it the lower or natural mind, and thus withdraws it from man’s proprium; this cannot be done in the case of those who chiefly regard themselves and the world.
[4] From these considerations it is evident that a man, from his own intelligence, can perceive nothing but evils, and see nothing but falsities; but that goods and truths, which belong to heaven and the church, are perceived and seen from the Lord alone. When the internal or spiritual man, in which resides the interior or higher mind, of which we have just spoken, is opened, then the Lord subdues the evils and disperses the falsities that are in the external or natural man.
These, then, are the things meant in the spiritual sense, by the Son of man giving them power over the nations, and ruling them with a rod of iron, breaking them in pieces as a potter’s vessels. [5] That a potter’s vessels signify those things that are from man’s own intelligence, thus falsities in the natural man, is evident from various passages in the Word, of which the following, are adduced in confirmation; as in David:
“Thou shalt bruise the nations with a sceptre of iron; as a potter’s vessel shalt thou disperse them” (Ps. ii. 9).
To bruise the nations with a sceptre of iron, signifies here also to chastise and subdue the evils which are in the natural man. The term sceptre here has the same signification as rod and staff in other passages. The words, “as a potter’s vessel,” are added because by them is signified the falsity which is from man’s own intelligence. In the sense of the letter this is a comparison; for it is said as a potter’s vessel, and as earthen vessels; but in the internal sense comparisons are not perceived as comparisons, because comparisons are equally from significatives (see Arcana Coelestia, n. 3579, 8989). A potter’s vessel, or an earthen vessel, signifies falsity, because a potter is one who forms, and a vessel is that which is formed; when man forms it, it is false, but when the Lord forms it in man it is true. This is why a potter’s vessel in the Word signifies either falsity or truth, and a potter signifies one who forms.
[6] The Lord Himself is, in the Word, called a potter, from the formation of man by means of truths, as in Isaiah:
“Jehovah, our father; we are the clay, thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hands” (lxiv. 8).
In the same:
“Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker, the potsherd with the potsherds of the earth! Doth the clay say to him that fashioneth it, What makest thou?” (xlv. 9).
In the same:
“Shall the potter be counted as clay? shall the work say of its maker, He made me not? and shall the thing formed say of the potter, He understandeth not? (xxix. 16).
[7] Because the Jews and Israelites falsified all the truths of the Word by applying them to themselves, and to their own exaltation above all the nations and peoples in the universe, therefore their falsities are called broken vessels of a potter; as in Isaiah:
“They have said to the seers, See not; and to those who have vision, see not for us right things; speak unto us smooth things, see illusions, depart out of the way; therefore iniquity shall break them as the breaking of the bottle of the potters; in beating he shall not spare; whence there shall not he found in the fragment thereof a sherd to take fire from the hearth, or to draw waters out of the pit” (xxx. 10, 11, 14).
That they wholly deprived themselves of truths and immersed themselves in falsities, is described by their saying to the seers, See not, and to them that have vision, See not for us right things, speak unto us smooth things, see illusions, depart out of the way. That they had thus immersed themselves in falsities so that nothing of truth remained, is described by the breaking of the potter’s vessel so that there should not be found in the fragments a sherd to take fire from the hearth, or to draw waters out of the pit; by which is signified that there should not remain with them so much of truth as to enable them to perceive any good and truth from the Word. For fire signifies good, and water signifies truth; the hearth signifies the Word as to good, a pit the Word as to truth.
[8] In Jeremiah:
“The word came to Jeremiah, saying, Arise and go down to the potter’s house. Therefore I went down to the potter’s house, when, behold, he wrought a work on the table. And the vessel that he made was marred; and he returned and made it another vessel as it was right in the eyes of the potter to make” (xviii. 1-4).
In this passage is also meant that with the Jewish nation there remained nothing but falsity; and the vessel that was marred in the potter’s house denotes that falsity. By the house of the potter is meant the state in which they were. That the truth of the church was taken away from them and given to others, is meant by the potter making it another vessel such as was right in his eyes. [9] In the same:
“Jehovah said, Go buy a potter’s bottle of the elders of the people, and of the elders of the priests, and go forth into the valley of the son of Hinnom. Then shalt thou break the bottle before the eyes of the men that go with thee, and shalt say: I will break this people, and this city, as one breaketh a potter’s vessel, that cannot be made whole again: and in Tophet shall they bury because there is no more a place to bury in” (xix. 1, 2, 10, 11).
By the bottle or vessel of the potter, to be taken of the elders of the people and of the priests is meant the falsity in which all of that nation were. That this falsity was of such a nature as could not be dispersed by truths is described by the command given to the prophet that he should break the vessel in the sight of them that went with him, so that it could not be made whole again; and that they should bury in Tophet, because there was no more a place elsewhere signifies where all truths and goods should be consumed.
[10] In Nahum:
“Draw for thyself waters for the siege, strengthen thy fortifications; enter into the mire and tread clay; repair the brick-kiln. There shall the fire devour thee; the sword shall cut thee off” (iii. 14, 15).
To draw waters for the siege and to strengthen the fortifications denotes to strengthen falsities against truths by various means; to enter into the mire and tread clay is to confirm falsities by fictions and fallacies. Doctrine therefrom is called a brick-kiln, because infernal love is established by means of truths falsified; hence it is said that the fire should devour him and the sword cut him off. Fire signifies infernal love, and a sword falsity, fighting against and destroying truth. A potter’s vessel, or an earthen vessel, signifies falsity, because it corresponds to a device, and a device is that which is from man’s own intelligence; it was from this correspondence that the prophets were commanded to do such things as are mentioned above.
[3] From these considerations it is now evident why it is that morning is so often mentioned in the Word when it treats of Jehovah or the Lord, of His advent, kingdom and church, and of the goods thereof; as in the following passages, which shall be adduced by way of illustration. In the second Book of Samuel:
“The God of Israel said, The Rock of Israel spake to me. He is as the light of the morning; the sun riseth, a morning without clouds” (xxiii. 3, 4).
The God of Israel, and the Rock, is the Lord as to his Divine Human, and the Divine truth proceeding therefrom. He is called the God of Israel, because Israel denotes His spiritual church, and the Rock, because His Divine in the church is Divine truth (see Arcana Coelestia, n. 3720, 6426, 8581, 10,580). Because the Lord in the angelic heaven is the Sun, and all the light of the angels is therefrom, and as the Sun there is continually in its morning, therefore it is said, “He is as the light of the morning, the sun riseth, a morning without clouds.”
[4] In David:
“From the womb of the morning thou hast the dew of thy youth; thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek” (Ps. cx. 3, 4).
This is said of the Lord, as about to come into the world. From the womb of the morning thou hast the dew of thy youth, denotes conception from the Divine itself, and hence the glorification of His Human: a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek, denotes that Divine good and Divine truth proceed from Him; for the Lord as a priest is Divine good, and as king of holiness, which is Melchizedek, is Divine truth (see Arcana Coelestia, n. 1725).
[5] In Ezekiel:
The cherubs “stood at the eastern door of the gate of the house; the glory of the God of Israel was over them above” (x. 19).
Cherubs signify the Lord as to providence, and as to protection lest any should approach except by means of the good of love; the eastern door of the gate of the house signifies approach; the house of God is heaven and the church; the east is where the Lord appears as a Sun, thus where He is continually in the morning; hence it is said the glory of the God of Israel was over them above. [6] In the same:
The angel “led me to the gate which looketh towards the east. When, behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east; and the earth was enlightened with his glory. And the glory of Jehovah came into the house by the way of the gate whose face is towards the east” (xliii. 1, 2, 4).
In the internal sense here, is described the influx of the Lord into those who are in His kingdom and church; the God of Israel is the Lord as to the Divine Human and the Divine truth proceeding therefrom; the house of God is His kingdom and the church; glory is the Divine truth such as it is in heaven; to come by the way of the east into the house denotes from the sun where it is continually in its morning. (That glory is Divine truth such as it is in heaven, see Arcana Coelestia, n. 4809, 5922, 8267, 8427, 9429; that the house of God denotes heaven and the church as to good, and temple the same as to truth, see n. 3720: and that the east, in the highest sense, is the Lord, because He is the Sun of heaven, which is always in its rising and morning, and that hence the east denotes the good of love from Him, see n. 3708, 5097, 9668.) [7] In the same:
The angel “afterwards led me back to the door of the house, where, behold, waters issuing out from under the threshold of the house towards the east, will descend into the plain and come towards the sea, being sent forth into the sea that the waters may be healed; whence it comes to pass that every living soul that creepeth, whithersoever the rivers come, shall live; whence there is exceeding much fish, because these waters shall come thither, and they are healed, that everything may live whither the river shall come” (xlvii. 1, 2, 8, 9).
Here also is described, by pure correspondences, the influx of the Lord from His Divine Human into those who belong to His kingdom and church. By the waters issuing out from under the threshold of the house eastward is described the Divine truth proceeding from Him, and flowing into those who are in the east, that is, who are in the good of love to Him. By the waters going down into the plain and into the sea, and the waters of the sea being thence healed is signified influx into the natural man and into the knowledges (cognitiones) which are there. That hence there would be a very great multitude of fish signifies scientific truths (scientifica vera) in the natural man; that everything should live whither the river should come, signifies, that they should have life from Divine truth. No one can see that such things are signified except from the internal sense of the Word; when, notwithstanding, every single expression involves arcana concerning the regeneration of man by the Lord. But what is involved in each expression will be made known when we come to treat of the twenty-second chapter of the Apocalypse, where similar things are mentioned.
[8] In David:
“I have waited for Jehovah; my soul doth wait, my soul waiteth for the Lord more than they who watch for the morning; they who watch for the morning, because with him is plenteous redemption, and he will redeem Israel” (Ps. cxxx. 5-8).
The coming of the Lord into the world is here treated of, and the reception of Him by those who are in the good of love. The coming of the Lord is signified by I have waited for Jehovah, my soul waiteth for the Lord, because with Him is plenteous redemption, and He will redeem Israel; and the reception of Him by those who are in the good of love is signified by more than they who watch for the morning, they who watch for the morning. Here, morning, in the highest sense, signifies the Lord, and, in the internal sense, His kingdom and church; and they who watch for the morning signify those who wait for the coming of the Lord, who are such as are in the good of love, because to them the Lord is the morning.
[9] That morning signifies the coming of the Lord into the world, and, at such a time, a new church, is evident from the following passages; as in Daniel:
“Until the evening and the morning, two thousand and three hundred, then what is holy shall be justified. The vision of the evening and the morning which was told is truth” (viii. 14, 26).
The evening signifies the last time of the former church, and the morning the first time of the new church, thus the coming of the Lord. In Isaiah:
“Crying to me out of Seir, Watchman, what of the night? watchman, what of the night? The watchman said, The morning cometh, and also the night” (xxi. 11, 12).
Here also the coming of the Lord is treated of; the night is the last time of the former church, and the morning the first of the new (what is signified by calling out of Seir, may be seen, Arcana Coelestia, n. 4240, 4384). In Ezekiel:
“The end cometh, the end cometh, the morning cometh upon thee, O thou inhabitant of the land; behold the day cometh, the morning is gone forth” (vii. 6, 7, 10).
This passage equally treats of the coming of the Lord and the end of the former church and the beginning of a new one. In Zephaniah:
“Jehovah in the morning, in the morning he shall bring his judgment to the light, nor shall he fail” (iii. 5).
[10] Here similar things are meant. Because morning signifies the coming of the Lord, also His kingdom and church, and also the good of love which is from Him, it is therefore obvious what is meant by morning in the following passages. In David:
“Cause me to hear thy mercy in the morning” (Psalm cxliii. 8).
Again:
“I will sing aloud of thy mercy in the morning” (lix. 16).
Again:
“O satisfy us in the morning with thy mercy; that we may rejoice and be glad all our days” (xc. 14).
Again:
“O Jehovah, my voice shalt thou hear in the morning; in the morning I will set myself in order for thee” (v. 3).
Again:
“God is in the midst of her; God shall help her at the dawn of the morning” (xlvi. 5).
Again:
“O God, my God; in the morning will I seek thee” (lxiii. 1)
In Isaiah:
“In the day shalt thou make thy plant to grow, and in the morning shalt thou make thy seed to blossom” (xvii. 11).
Again:
“Jehovah be thou their arm every morning” (xxxiii. 2).
Again:
“Jehovah hath given me the tongue of the learned; he hath awakened me every morning” (l. 4).
In Jeremiah:
“I spake unto you every morning” (vii. 13; xi. 7 xxv. 3, 4).
From the signification of morning it is evident what is meant by
The manna falling in the morning (Exod. xvi. 12, 13, 21).
Jehovah descending in the morning upon Mount Sinai (Exod, xix. 16);
And the priest being commanded to burn wood upon the altar all night until the morning (Levit. vi. 12).
Also what is involved in the command respecting the sacrifice of the passover is evident:
“Thou shalt sacrifice the passover at the going down of the sun. Afterwards thou shalt eat it; and thou shalt look back in the morning, and go unto thy tents” (Deut. xvi. 6, 7).
The reason why they should sacrifice the passover when the sun went down was, that the setting of the sun signified the last time of the church; that they should look back in the morning, signified the establishment of a new church, thus the coming of the Lord. These passages have been adduced in order that it may be known that by the morning star which the Son of man would give is signified wisdom and intelligence from His Divine Human. And because those who receive wisdom and intelligence from the Lord also receive Him; for the Lord is in the wisdom and intelligence which are from Him, so that, He is Himself the wisdom and intelligence which they possess, therefore the Lord Himself is also called the morning star in the Apocalypse:
“I am the root and the offspring of David, the bright and morning star” (xxii. 16).
He is similarly called a star (Numb. xxiv. 17).
1. AND unto the angel of the church in Sardis write: These things saith he that hath the seven spirits of God, and the seven stars: I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead.
2. Be wakeful, and strengthen the things that remain which are about to die: for I have not found thy works full before God.
3. Remember, therefore, how thou hast received and heard, and take heed and repent. If therefore thou shalt not be wakeful, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.
4. Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white; for they are worthy.
5. He that overcometh shall be clothed in white garments and I will not blot his name out of the book of life, and I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.
6. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.
7. And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth and no one shutteth, and shutteth and no one openeth.
8. I know thy works: behold I have set before thee an open door, and no one is able to shut it; because thou hast some power, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name.
9. Behold, I will give them of a synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold I will make them to come and worship at thy feet and to know that I have loved thee.
10. Because thou hast kept the word of my endurance, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation which is to come upon the whole world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.
11. Behold, I come quickly; hold fast that thou hast, that no one take thy crown.
12. He that overcometh, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out, and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the New Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God, and my new name.
13. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.
14. And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write: These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God:
15. I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot; I would thou wert cold or hot.
16. So, then, because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.
17. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked,
18. I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eye-salve, that thou mayest see.
19. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten; be zealous therefore and repent.
20. Behold, I stand at the door, and knock; if any man hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.
21. To him that overcometh, I will give to sit with me in my throne, as I also overcame and am set down with my Father in his throne.
22. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.
EXPLANATION.
VERSES 1-6. And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write: These things saith he that hath the seven spirits of God, and the seven stars: I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead. Be wakeful, and strengthen the things that remain, which are about to die; for I have not found thy works full before God. Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and take heed, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not be wakeful, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee. Thou hast a few names even in Sardis, which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white; for they are worthy. He that overcometh shall be clothed in white garments; and I will not blot his name out of the book of life; and I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.
“And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write,” signifies those whose life is moral, and not spiritual, because they make light of the knowledges (cognitiones) of spiritual things, and thence of intelligence and wisdom. “These things saith he that hath the seven spirits of God,” signifies the Lord, from whom are all the truths of heaven and the church; “and the seven stars,” signifies, from whom are all the knowledges (cognitiones) of truth and good: “I know thy works,” signifies, the things of their life that thou hast a name that thou livest and art dead,” signifies, the quality of their thought, in that they suppose themselves to be alive, because their life is moral, when, yet, they are dead.
“Be wakeful” signifies, that they should procure for themselves life: “and strengthen the things that remain which are ready to die,” signifies, that the things of moral life should be quickened: “for I have not found thy works full before God,” signifies, that otherwise the Divine is not in moral life.
“Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and take heed,” signifies, remembrance of what the Lord teaches in the Word, and attention to it: “and repent,” signifies, thus spiritual life. “If therefore thou shalt not be wakeful,” signifies, if thou dost not procure spiritual life: “I will, come upon thee as a thief,” signifies, an unexpected time, when all knowledges procured from the Word which have not acquired spiritual life will be taken away: “and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee,” signifies, ignorance of that time and their state then.
“Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments,” signifies those whose life is moral from a spiritual origin, by applying the knowledges (cognitiones) of truth and good to the uses of their life: “and they shall walk with me in white; for they are worthy,” signifies, their spiritual life, which they have by means of the knowledges (cognitiones) of truth and good from the Word.
“He that overcometh,” signifies, who perseveres even until death: “shall be clothed in white garments,” signifies, intelligence and wisdom according to truths and their reception: “and I will not blot his name out of the book of life,” signifies, that they will be in heaven, because they are fitted for it: “and I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels,” signifies, that they shall be in Divine good and thence in Divine truth. “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches” signifies, that he who understands should hearken to what Divine truth proceeding from the Lord teaches and says to those who belong to His church.
From these considerations it is evident, that in the moral life of such a man there lurks nothing else but the desire of obtaining all things in preference to others, thus a desire that all others may serve him, or that he may possess their goods: it is evident from this that his moral life is not moral in itself; for if he obtained what he aimed at, he would enslave others and deprive them of their goods. And because all means savour of the end, and are, in their essence, such as are their ends, on which account they are also called intermediate ends, therefore such a life, regarded in itself, is nothing but craftiness and fraud. And this is clearly evident when those external bonds that unite society are loosened, as is the case with persons of this description when they are engaged in law-suits against their fellow citizens; they then desire nothing more than to pervert right, and to gain the favour of the judge or the grace of the king, and this secretly, in order that they may deprive others of their possessions; and when they succeed they are filled with inward delight. The same is still more evident in the conduct of kings who regard honour in wars and victories, the chief delight of their hearts being to subjugate provinces and kingdoms, and, where resistance is made, to despoil the subjugated of all their goods, and also of their life; this, in most instances, is the delight of those who go out to war.
The nature of the moral life treated of above is still more manifest in all such persons when they become spirits, which takes place immediately after the death of the body, when, because they think and act from their spirit, they rush into every kind of wickedness according to their love, however morally they may, in appearance, have lived in the world. [3] But spiritual life is altogether of another quality, because it has a different origin, for it springs from love to God and love towards the neighbour; and therefore the moral life of those who are spiritual is also different, and is truly moral; for these, when they think in their spirit, which is the case when they are in private, do not think from self and the world but from the Lord and heaven; for the interiors of their mind, that is, of their thought and will, are actually raised up by the Lord into heaven, and are there conjoined to Him; thus the Lord flows-in into their thoughts, intentions and ends, and rules them, and withdraws them from their proprium, which is entirely derived from the love of self and of the world. The moral life of such persons is, in appearance, similar to that of those mentioned above, but still it is spiritual, for it has a spiritual origin, being only the effect of spiritual life, which is the efficient cause, and thus the origin of it; for they act well, sincerely and justly towards their fellow citizens from the fear of God and the love of the neighbour, in which the Lord keeps their minds and spirits; when, therefore, they become spirits, as is the case when their bodies die, they think and act intelligently and wisely, and are raised up into heaven. Of these it may be said, that all the good of love and all the truth of faith flow into them out of heaven, that is, through heaven from the Lord; but this cannot be said of those of whom we have spoken above, for their good is not the good of heaven, nor is their truth the truth of heaven, but it is the delight of the lusts of the flesh which they call good, and the falsity therefrom which they call truth, which flow into them from self and from the world. From these considerations the nature of moral life from spiritual life, and of moral life without spiritual can be known, that is, that moral life from spiritual life is truly moral life, which may be said to be spiritual, because its cause and origin is therefrom; but that moral life without spiritual life is not moral life, and may be said to be infernal, for so far as the love of self and of the world reigns in it, so far it is fraudulent and hypocritical.
[4] From what has been now said, a conclusion may be formed as to what the quality of a holy external is, by which is meant worship in churches, prayers and the gestures at the time, among those who are in the love of self and of the world, and yet apparently lead a moral life, namely, that nothing of those things is raised up to heaven and heard there, but that they flow forth from some thought of the external or natural man, and thus from their mouth into the world; for the interior thoughts of their spirit are full of craftiness and fraud against their neighbour, and yet elevation into heaven is always effected by means of the interiors. And moreover their worship in churches, and their prayers and gestures at such time, are either from habit and familiarity from infancy, or from a belief that such external things are all that is necessary to salvation, or from there being nothing for them to do on the feast days at home or out of doors, or from the fear of being thought by their fellows to be wanting in piety.
But the worship of those who live a moral life from a spiritual origin is altogether different, for it is truly the worship of God, because their prayers are raised up to heaven, and are there heard, for the Lord receives their prayers through heaven. (More may be seen upon these subjects in the work, Heaven and Hell, n. 468, 484, 529, 530-534; and in the explanation above, n. 107.) These things are here premised, because the subject treated of in what is written to the angel of this church is those whose life is moral but not spiritual, because they lightly esteem the knowledges (cognitiones) of spiritual things.
That by spirit, when said of man, is signified truth received in the life, is evident from the following passages. [2] In Ezekiel:
“Make you a new heart and a new spirit; why will ye die, O house of Israel?” (xviii. 31).
In the same:
“A new heart will I give you, and a new spirit will I give in the midst of you” (xxxvi. 26).
In David:
“Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a firm spirit within me. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and contrite heart God does not despise” (Ps. li. 10, 17).
In these passages heart signifies the good of love, and spirit the truth of faith, from which man has spiritual life; for there are two things that constitute man’s life, good and truth; these his spiritual life. [3] Because heart signifies good, and spirit truth, when both are received in the life, therefore heart, in the opposite sense, signifies evil, and spirit falsity; for most expressions in the Word have also an opposite sense. Heart and spirit are used in this sense in the following passages in David:
“A generation that sets not their heart aright, and whose spirit is not steadfast with God” (Ps. lxxviii. 8).
In Ezekiel:
“Every heart shall melt, and every spirit shall faint” (xxi. 7).
In Moses:
“Jehovah hath made heavy the spirit of the king of Heshbon, and hath hardened his heart” (Deut. ii. 30).
In Isaiah:
“Conceive chaff, bring forth stubble; fire shall devour your spirit” (xxxiii. 11).
In Ezekiel:
“Woe unto the foolish prophets, who go away after their own spirit” (xiii. 3).
In the same:
“That which ascendeth upon your spirit shall never come to pass” (xx. 32).
[4] From these considerations it is evident, that the whole of man’s life is meant by heart and spirit; and because his whole life has reference to these two, namely, to good and truth, and, in the spiritual sense, to love and faith, therefore, by heart and spirit those two lives are meant. This is also why heart and spirit signify man’s will and understanding, because these two faculties constitute his life; for a man has no life but in those faculties; the reason is, that the will is the receptacle of good and its love, or of evil and its love, and the understanding is the receptacle of truth and its faith, or of falsity and its faith, and, as has been said, all things in man have reference to good and truth or to evil and falsity, and, in the spiritual sense, to love and faith (see The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem, n. 28-35). The reason why by spirit, when said of man, is signified truth or falsity, and hence his life from the one or the other is, that by spirit is properly meant the spirit which is in man, and which thinks, and this it does either from truths or from falsities. But, as said above, the two things that constitute man’s life are understanding and will. The life of the understanding is to think from either truths or falsities, and the life of the will is to affect, or inflame with love, those things which the understanding thinks. These two lives of a man’s spirit correspond to the two lives of his body, which are the life of the respiration of the lungs and the life of the pulse of the heart; man’s spirit is united to the body by this correspondence (as may be seen above, n. 167, and in the work, Heaven and Hell, n. 446, 447). [5] Because of this correspondence, the spirit is so named from a term which, in the original, and in several other languages, signifies wind; therefore to expire is frequently expressed in the Word by giving up the spirit. Thus in David:
“I have taken away their spirit, he has expired” (Ps. civ. 29).
In Ezekiel:
The Lord Jehovih said to the dry bones, “Behold, I bring spirit into you, that ye may live: and the Lord Jehovih said, Come from the four winds, O spirit, and breathe into these slain; and the spirit came into them, and they lived again” (xxxvii. 5, 9, 10).
In the Apocalypse:
“The two witnesses were slain by the beast that came up out of the abyss, but after three days and a half the spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet” (xi. 7, 11).
In Luke:
Jesus, taking the hand of the dead maid, “cried, saying, Maid, arise; and her spirit came again, and she arose straightway” (viii. 54, 55).
[6] When these passages are understood it will be evident what is signified by spirit when said of man, in numerous places in the Word, from which the following only shall be adduced; as in John:
“Except anyone be born of water and of the spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh and whither it goeth; so is every one that is born of the spirit” (iii. 5, 8).
In the same:
The Lord breathed on the disciples, and said, “Receive ye the Holy Spirit” (xx. 21, 22).
In the Book of Genesis:
“Jehovah breathed into man’s nostrils the breath of lives” (ii. 7);
besides other places.
[7] That spirit, in the spiritual sense, signifies truth, and man’s life thence derived, which is intelligence, is quite clear from the following passages. In John:
“The hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth” (iv. 23).
In Daniel:
“In him was an excellent spirit of knowledge and understanding. I have heard concerning thee that the spirit of God is in thee, and that light and understanding and excellent wisdom are found in thee” (v. 12, 14).
In Moses:
“Thou shalt speak unto all the wise in heart, whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom” (Exod. xxviii. 3).
In Luke:
John “grew, and waxed strong in spirit” (i. 80).
And concerning the Lord,
Jesus “the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, and was filled with wisdom” (ii. 40).
[8] When it is known what is signified by the term spirit when used in reference to man, its meaning may be known when said of Jehovah, or the Lord, to whom are attributed all the things which a man has, face, eyes, ears, arms, hands, as also heart and soul, thus also spirit, which in the Word is called the spirit of God, the spirit of Jehovah, the spirit of His nostrils, the spirit of His mouth, the spirit of truth, the spirit of holiness, and the Holy Spirit, by which is meant Divine truth proceeding from the Lord, as is evident from many passages in the Word.
The reason why Divine truth proceeding from the Lord is the spirit of God is, that all the life which men possess is therefrom, as also the heavenly life of those who receive that Divine truth in faith and life. That this is the spirit of God, the Lord himself teaches in John:
“The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life” (vi. 63).
In Isaiah:
“There shall go forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse: the spirit of Jehovah shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might” (xi. 1, 2).
Again:
“I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to the nations” (xlii. 1).
Again:
“When [the enemy] shall come like a river, the spirit of Jehovah shall lift up a standard against him” (lix. 19).
Again:
“The spirit of the Lord Jehovih is upon me, therefore Jehovah hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor” (lxi. 1).
And in John:
“He whom the Father hath sent, speaketh the words of God; for God hath not given the spirit by measure” (iii. 34);
this is said of the Lord. That the Holy Spirit is Divine truth proceeding from the Lord, is evident in John:
“I tell you the truth: it is expedient for you that I go away; for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. When he, the Spirit of Truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth; for he shall not speak of himself, he shall receive of mine and shall show it unto you” (xvi. 7, 13, 14).
[9] That the Comforter, here mentioned, is Divine truth proceeding from the Lord is quite clear; for it is said the Lord himself spoke “the truth” to them, and declared that, when He should go away, He would send the Comforter, the Spirit of Truth, who should guide them into all truth, and that He would not speak from himself but from the Lord. It is here said, he shall receive of mine, because Divine truths proceed from the Lord; and mine is said of what proceeds; for the Lord himself is Divine love, and that which proceeds from Him is Divine truth, thus is His own (see what is said in the work, Heaven and Hell, n. 139, 140, and the preceding numbers, and in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem, n. 307). That to go forth and to proceed is meant by being sent and sending, may be seen in Arcana Coelestia, n. 2397, 4710, 6831, 10,561; in like manner here by I will send Him unto you.
[10] That the Comforter is the Holy Spirit is evident in John:
“The Comforter, the Holy Spirit, he shall teach you all things ” (xiv. 26).
In the same:
Jesus stood and cried with a loud voice: “Saying, If anyone thirst, let him come unto me and drink. He that believeth on me, as the Scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. This spake he of the Spirit which they that believe on him should receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet, because Jesus was not yet glorified” (vii. 37-39).
That the Holy Spirit is Divine truth proceeding from the Lord, which flows into man, both immediately from the Lord Himself and mediately by angels and spirits, is clear also from the above words. For the Lord declares that he who believes on Him, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water; and then it is added that He spake this concerning the Spirit which they should receive; for water, in the spiritual sense, signifies truth, and rivers of living water, Divine truth from the Lord in abundance; the same is therefore meant by the Spirit which they should receive. (That water signifies truth, and living water Divine truth, may be seen above, n. 71.) And because Divine truth proceeds from the Lord’s Human glorified, and not immediately from His Divine itself, because this was glorified in itself from eternity, it is therefore here said,
“The Holy Spirit was not yet, because Jesus was not yet glorified.”
(That to glorify is to make Divine, and that the Lord fully glorified His Human, that is, made it Divine by his last temptation and victory on the cross, may be seen in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem, n. 293-295, 300-306.) [11] In heaven they greatly wonder that those who form the church do not know that the Holy Spirit, which is Divine truth, proceeds from the Lord’s Human, and not immediately from His Divine, when, notwithstanding, the doctrine received in the whole Christian world teaches that, – “As is the Father, so also is the Son, uncreate, infinite, eternal, omnipotent, God, Lord; neither of them is first or last, nor greatest or least. Christ is God and man: God from the nature of the Father, and man from the nature of the mother; but although He is God and man, yet nevertheless there are not two, but one Christ; He is one, not by changing the Divinity into the humanity, but by the Divinity receiving to itself the humanity. He is altogether one, not by a commixing of two natures, but one person alone, because as the body and soul are one man, so God and man is one Christ.” This is from the creed of Athanasius.
Now because the Lord’s Divine and Human are not two, but one Person alone, and are united as the soul and body, it can be known that the Divine which is called the Holy Spirit goes forth and proceeds from His Divine by means of the Human, thus from the Divine Human; for nothing whatever can proceed from the body except out of the soul by means of the body, because all the life of the body is from its soul. And because, as is the Father so is the Son, uncreate, infinite, eternal, omnipotent, God and Lord, and neither of them is first or last, nor greatest or least, it follows that the proceeding Divine, which is called the Holy Spirit, proceeds from the Divine itself of the Lord by means of His Human, and not from another Divine which is called the Father; for the Lord teaches that He and the Father are one, and that the Father is in Him and He in the Father (concerning which, see below, n. 200). But the reason why most of those in the Christian world think otherwise in their hearts, and consequently believe otherwise, the angels have said is from the fact that they think of the Human of the Lord as separate from His Divine; which nevertheless is contrary to the doctrine that teaches that the Divine and Human of the Lord are not two persons, but one Person alone, and united as soul and body.
That this is in the doctrine of the whole Christian world was provided by the Lord, because it is the essential of the church, and the essential of the salvation of all. But that they have divided the Divine and Human of the Lord into two natures, and have said that the Lord is God from the nature of the Father, and man from the nature of the mother, was because they did not know that when the Lord fully glorified His Human He put off the Human taken from the mother, and put on that from the Father (according to what is shown in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem, n. 295). That this distinction was also made in a certain council, on account of the Pope, by those who were then present, in order that he might be acknowledged as the Lord’s vicar, may be seen in Arcana Coelestia, n. 4738.
[12] That the Spirit of God is Divine truth, and hence spiritual life to the man who receives it, is further evident from the following passages. In Micah:
“I am full of power with the Spirit of Jehovah, and of judgment” (iii. 8).
In Isaiah:
“I will pour out waters upon him that is thirsty, and rivulets upon the dry ground, and my spirit upon thy seed” (xliv. 3).
Again:
“In that day shall Jehovah of hosts be for a spirit of judgment to him that sitteth in judgment, and for strength to them” (xxviii. 5, 6).
In Ezekiel:
“That ye may know that I will put my spirit in you that ye may live” (xxxvii. 14).
In Joel:
“I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and also upon the men-servants, and upon the handmaids” (ii. 28).
In the Apocalypse:
“The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy” (xix. 10).
Because the Spirit of God signifies Divine truth, it is therefore called
the Spirit of the mouth of Jehovah (Ps. xxxiii. 6)
“the spirit of his lips” (Isa. xi. 4);
“the breath of God,” and “the spirit of his nostrils” (Lam. iv. 20; Ps. xviii. 15; Job. iv. 9).
In Matthew:
John said, “I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance; but he that cometh after me shall baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire” (iii. 11).
To baptize, in the spiritual sense, signifies to regenerate; the Holy Spirit is Divine truth, and fire is Divine good. (That to baptize signifies to regenerate, may be see above, n. 71; and that fire is the good of love, n. 68.) [13] From these considerations it is now evident what is meant by the words of the Lord to His disciples:
“Going . . . baptize into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit” (xxviii. 19).
Here by the Father is meant the Divine itself, by the Son, the Divine Human, and by the Holy Spiri