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374. (Verse 6) A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny. That thereby is signified, that the genuine good of the church is of no account with them, and also the genuine truth, is clear from the signification of measure (choenix), which was the measure for wheat and barley among the Greeks, as denoting the quality of estimation, for by measure in the Word, as was said in the article above, is signified the quality of a thing as to good and as to truth. From the signification of wheat, as denoting the good of the church in general, concerning which we shall speak presently; from the signification of barley, as denoting the truth of that good, which will be also treated of presently; and from the signification of a penny, which is the price of estimation, as denoting as if it were of no account. This piece of money, because it was the smallest of all, consequently, signifies the least price, but here as if it were of no price. The reason is, because by the red horse, spoken of above, is signified the understanding of the Word destroyed as to good, and by the black horse, the understanding of the Word destroyed as to truth (see above, n. 364, and 372); and when the understanding of the Word as to good and truth is destroyed, then the genuine good and genuine truth of the church are estimated as it were at nothing. The reason why it is estimated here at a penny, is, because some piece of money must be assumed, in order that some price may be expressed in the sense of the letter. Because it is said that a balance was in the hand of him that sat on the horse, and that he measured the wheat and the barley, therefore that piece of money, which was the least of all, is taken for the price of estimation; and because there was no longer any understanding of the Word as to good and as to truth, therefore, by a penny, in the spiritual sense, is here signified [that the estimation is] as it were of no account.
[2] The reason why it is said a measure of wheat and three measures of barley, is, because the number one is said of good, and three of truths. And by one, when it is said of good, is signified what is perfect, thus also what is genuine; and by three, when said of truths, is signified what is full, thus also what is genuine; hence it is that a measure of wheat, and three measures of barley, signify the genuine good and the genuine truth of the church. The reason why wheat signifies good, and barley the truth thereof, is, because all things of the field signify the things of the church; and the things of the field, as crops of various kinds, serve for food; and things that are for the food and nourishment of the body, signify, in the spiritual sense, such things as nourish the soul or mind, all of which have relation to the good of love, and the truth of faith; hence wheat and barley especially have such a signification, because bread is made from them. (That foods of every kind signify spiritual food, thus the things pertaining to knowledge, intelligence, and wisdom, consequently the good and truth from which these are, may be seen, n. 3114, 4459, 5147, 5293, 5340, 5342, 5410, 5426, 5576, 5582, 5588, 5655, 5915, 8408, 8562, 9003; of bread in general, in the small work concerning the New Jerusalem 218; that field signifies the church. n, 2971, 3766, 9139.) That wheat and barley signify such things, is from correspondence, as may be seen from the things that appear in the spiritual world, where all appearances are correspondences. Plains, fields, crops of various kinds, and also loaves appear there; whence it is known that they correspond, and, consequently, that they have a signification according to correspondences.
[3] That wheat and barley signify the good and truth of the church, wheat the good thereof, and barley the truth, is evident from the passages in the Word where they are mentioned, as from the following. In Jeremiah:
Jehovah "who hath dispersed Israel, shall gather him together, and shall guard him as a shepherd doth his flock; for Jehovah hath redeemed Jacob, and hath liberated him out of the hand of him that was stronger than he; hence shall they come and sing in the height of Zion, and they shall flow together to the good of Jehovah, to the wheat, to the new wine, and to the oil, and to the sons of the flock and of the herd; and their soul shall become as a watered garden" (328); by the hand of him that was stronger than he, is signified from the evil and falsity which before had possession; their internal joy, or joy of heart, arising from celestial good and the truths thence, is signified by, "hence shall they come and sing in the height of Zion, and they shall flow together to the good of Jehovah, to the wheat, to the new wine, and to the oil, and to the sons of the flock and of the herd." To sing in the height of Zion signifies internal celestial joy, or such as exists in the Lord's celestial kingdom, to sing denoting that joy (see above, n. 326); height denoting what is internal, and Zion the celestial kingdom. Wheat signifies the good of the natural man; new wine, the truth thereof; oil, the good of the spiritual man; the sons of the flock signify spiritual truths, and the sons of the herd natural truths; because these are signified, they are called the goodness of Jehovah. That hence they have intelligence and wisdom, is signified by, "their soul shall become as a watered garden"; for by a garden in the Word is signified intelligence, and being watered its increase continually; that wheat, new wine, oil, the sons of the flock and herd, are not meant here, is evident, for it is said that Jehovah hath redeemed Jacob, and that their soul shall become as a watered garden.
[4] In Joel:
"The field is wasted, the land hath mourned; for the corn is wasted; the new wine is dried up, the oil languisheth. The husbandmen were ashamed; the vine-dressers howled over the wheat and over the barley; because the harvest of the field is perished" (1:10-12).
These things are not said concerning a field and its barrenness, but concerning the church and its vastation; therefore by field, land, corn, new wine, and oil, are not meant these things, but by the field and by land, the church; by the field, the church as to the reception and increase of truth and good, and by the earth, the church as to the nation therein; by corn, good of every kind in the external man; by new wine, the truth also therein; by oil, the good of the internal man; by the husbandmen who were ashamed, and the vine-dressers who howled over the wheat and over the barley, are signified those who are of the church, and by the wheat and barley are signified the good and the truth thereof; and by the harvest of the field which, consequently, perished, is signified all worship from them.
[5] In Jeremiah:
"The spoilers are come upon all the hills in the wilderness; for the sword of Jehovah shall devour from the end of the earth even to the end of the earth; there is no peace to any flesh. They have sown wheat, and reaped thorns" (12:12, 13).
These things also are said concerning the church and its vastation. By the hills in the wilderness upon which the spoilers are said to come, is signified that all the good of charity has perished through evils and falsities; hills in the Word signify where the good of charity resides, and, in an abstract sense, that good itself. The wilderness signifies where it exists no more, because there is no truth; and spoilers signify evils and falsities whereby good and truth perish. By the sword of Jehovah devouring from the end of the earth even to the end of the earth, is signified falsity destroying all things of the church; by the sword devouring, falsity destroying, and from the end of the earth even to the end of the earth, are signified all things of the church. By, "there is no peace to any flesh," is signified that there is no longer internal rest on account of the dominion of evil and falsity; by, "they have sown wheat, and reaped thorns," is signified that instead of the goods of truth there are evils of falsity, wheat denoting the goods of truth, and thorns denoting the evils of falsity.
[6] In the same:
Ishmael, who was of the seed of the kingdom, slew Gedaliah, whom the king of Babylon had made governor over the land, and all the Jews who were with him, and the Chaldeans, also the men from Shechem, from Shiloh, and from Samaria; "but ten men were found among them who said unto Ishmael, Slay us not; for we have things hid in the field, wheat and barley, and oil and honey. So he forbare, and slew them not" (41:1-8).
By these historical statements, in the internal sense, is described the condemnation of those who profane holy things; for by Gedaliah, whom the king of Babylon made governor over the land, and by the Jews who were with him, also by the Chaldeans, and the men from Shechem, from Shiloh, and from Samaria, are meant those who profane, and, in an abstract sense, profanations of every kind. For the king of Babylon signifies the profanation of good and truth, their condemnation is signified by their being slain, for by, to be slain, is signified to be slain spiritually (see n. 315); but by the ten men, who said to Ishmael, "Slay us not; for we have things hid in the field, wheat and barley, and oil and honey," are meant those who have not profaned the holy things of the church, because inwardly they possess good and truth; for those who profane have inwardly nothing of good and truth, but only outwardly when they speak and preach, whereas, those who do not profane have good and truth inwardly, and this is meant by their saying, that they had things hid in the field, wheat, barley, oil, and honey; wheat and barley signify the goods and truths of the external man, oil signifies the good of the internal man, and honey, the delight thereof; by ten men are signified all those who are of such a description, the number ten signifying all men and all things; by his forbearing and not slaying them, is signified that they were not profane, thus not condemned; by Ishmael are represented those who are in the genuine truths of the church; this is also signified by the seed of the kingdom from which he was. Such are the things involved in these historical statements, the historical parts of the Word possessing an internal sense as well as the prophetical parts.
[7] In Moses:
"Jehovah thy God bringeth thee unto a good land, a land of rivers of water, of fountains and depths that issue out of valley and mountain; a land of wheat and barley, and of vine, and fig-tree, and pomegranate; a land of olive oil and honey" (Deuteronomy 8:7, 8).
In the sense of the letter the land of Canaan is thus described, but in the spiritual sense the Lord's church, this being signified by the land of Canaan according to this sense; and all the kinds of good and truth pertaining to the church are recounted. The reason why the land is called a land of rivers of water, is, because rivers of water signify the doctrinals of truth. By fountains and depths issuing out of valley and mountain, are signified interior and exterior truths from the Word; by fountains the interior truths thence, and by depths the exterior truths. The latter are said to issue out of the valley, because a valley signifies what is lower and exterior, where such [truths] are; and the former are said to issue out of the mountain, because a mountain signifies what is higher and interior, where such [truths] are. By a land of wheat and barley, and of vine and fig-tree, and pomegranate, is signified the church as to good and truth of every kind; wheat and barley signifying good and truth from a celestial origin; the vine and fig-tree, good and truth from a spiritual origin; and the pomegranate, the knowledges of good and truth. And by a land of olive oil and honey, is signified the church as to the good of love and its delight. He who does not know the spiritual sense of the Word believes simply that the land of Canaan alone is described by these words, in which case the Word would be only natural and not spiritual, and yet the Word in its internal is everywhere spiritual, and it is spiritual when by the above words are understood the spiritual things that are signified, namely, goods and truths of every kind. But what is specifically signified by rivers, fountains, depths, a valley, a mountain, the vine, the fig-tree, the pomegranate, the olive, oil, and honey, is shown in the Arcana Coelestia, all the passages of which it would take too long to adduce; yet several of them have been pointed out, and will be pointed out, in this work upon the Explanation of the Apocalypse; these may be consulted in their proper places.
[8] In Job:
"If I have eaten the strength of the earth without silver, or have caused the soul [of the owners] thereof to expire, let the thorn come forth instead of wheat, and the wild vine instead of barley" (Job 31:38-40).
To eat the strength of the earth without silver, signifies to appropriate to oneself the good of the church without the truth, the earth denoting the church, and silver denoting truth; and to cause the soul [of the owners] thereof to expire, signifies thus to make void spiritual life. "Let the thorn come forth instead of wheat, and the wild vine instead of barley," signifies that evil is regarded as good, and falsity as truth; wheat denoting good, the thorn evil, barley truth, and the wild vine falsity; for good can only be procured by truths.
[9] In Isaiah:
"I have heard a consummation and decision from the Lord Jehovih of hosts upon the whole earth. Will the ploughman plough all day to sow, will he open and harrow his ground? When he hath made plain the faces thereof, doth he not cast abroad the fennel, and cast in the measured wheat and the appointed barley and the appointed spelt? Thus he is instructed to judgment, his God doth teach him" (28:22, 24-26).
By these words, in the spiritual sense, there is described the church with the Jewish and Israelitish nation as being altogether destroyed, and that it was to no purpose to learn and know the Word, but that the good and truth thereof may be applied to the use of life; hence and not otherwise intelligence [can be received] from the Lord. That the church with that nation was altogether destroyed, is meant by, "I have heard a consummation and decision from the Lord Jehovih of hosts upon the whole earth," consummation and decision denoting complete destruction, and the whole earth denoting the whole church, that is, everything thereof; its being to no purpose to learn and know the Word, is signified by, "Will the ploughman plough all day to sow? will he open and harrow his ground?" to plough for sowing denoting to learn, and to harrow the ground denoting to deposit in the memory. That the good and truth of the Word should be applied to the use of life, is signified by, "When he hath made plain the faces thereof, doth he not cast abroad the fennel, and cast in the measured wheat and the appointed barley and the appointed spelt?" When he hath made plain the faces of the ground, and scattered the fennel, signifies when he has prepared by the Word; the measured wheat and the appointed barley and the appointed spelt, signify to apply good and truth to the use of life; wheat denoting good, barley truth, and spelt knowledges; that hence, and in no other way, is there intelligence from the Lord, is signified by, "Thus he is instructed to judgment, his God doth teach him"; judgment signifying intelligence, and his God doth teach him, signifying that it is from the Lord.
[10] In Moses:
"Jehovah made him ride upon the high places of the earth, and he fed him with the produce of the fields; he made him to suck honey out of the rock, and oil out of the flint of the rock; butter of the herd and milk of the flock, with fat of lambs, and rams of the sons of Bashan, and of goats, with the fat of kidneys of wheat; and thou drinkest the pure blood of grapes" (Deuteronomy 32:12-14).
These things are said of the Ancient Church established by the Lord after the deluge, which was in intelligence and wisdom, because in the good of charity and in the faith thence. Their wisdom and intelligence from the Lord, is signified by, "Jehovah made them to ride upon the high places of the earth, and fed them with the produce of the fields"; the celestial and spiritual goods which they receive by truths, are described by, "He made him to suck honey out of the rock, and oil out of the flint of the rock; butter of the herd and milk of the flock, with the fat of lambs, and of rams of the sons of Bashan, and of goats, with the fat of kidneys of wheat; and thou drinkest the pure blood of grapes"; wheat signifies here all good in general, and the blood of grapes, also pure wine, all the truth thence.
[11] In David:
"O that my people had hearkened unto me, and, Israel had walked in my ways! I should have fed them with the fat of wheat; and with honey out of the rock should I have satisfied them" (Psalms 81:13, 14, 16).
By the fat of wheat, and by honey out of the rock, with which they would be fed and satisfied, are signified good of every kind from celestial good and the delight thereof from the Lord; for by fat is signified celestial good; by wheat, good of every, kind; by honey, the delight of good; and by a rock, the Lord. That they will possess these things if they live according to the Lord's precepts, is meant by its being said, "O that my people had hearkened unto me, and Israel had walked in my ways!" ways in the Word signifying truths and also precepts, and to walk signifying to live.
[12] In the same:
"Praise Jehovah, O Jerusalem; praise thy God, O Zion. For he strengtheneth the bars of thy gates; he blesseth thy sons in the midst of thee. He maketh thy borders peace, and filleth thee with the fat of wheat" (Psalms 147:12-14).
By Jerusalem and Zion is meant the church; by Jerusalem, the church as to the truths of doctrine, and by Zion the church as to the goods of love; who maketh thy border peace, signifies all things of heaven and the church, for border signifies all those things; "He filleth thee with the fat of wheat," signifies with every good of love and with wisdom, fat signifying the good of love, and wheat all things therefrom, which being from good are also goods; because these things are signified, therefore it is said, "the fat of wheat."
[13] In Hosea:
"Jehovah said" unto the prophet, "Go again, love a woman beloved of her companion, and an adulteress, according to the love of Jehovah toward the sons of Israel, who look to other gods, and love flagons of grapes. And I bought her to me for fifteen pieces of silver, and for a homer of barley, and a half homer of barley" (3:1, 2).
The quality of the Jewish and Israelitish church as to doctrine and worship was represented by this, namely, that by vain traditions they had falsified all things of the Word, although they worshipped it as holy. A woman beloved of her companion, and an adulteress, whom the prophet was to love, signifies a church of such a quality, a woman the church, and being loved by her companion and an adulteress, the falsification of truth and the adulteration of good; "according to the love of Jehovah toward the sons of Israel, who look to other gods," signifies falsities of doctrine and evils of worship, these things being signified by looking to other gods; loving flagons of grapes, signifies the Word in the sense of the letter alone, for wine signifies truths of doctrine from the Word, grapes the goods of it from which are truths, and a flagon signifies that which contains, thus the ultimate sense of the Word, which is the sense of the letter, which they apply to their own falsities and evils; that he bought her to him for fifteen pieces of silver, signifies at a very small price, fifteen denoting very little; the homer of barley and the half homer of barley signify so little of good and truth, as to be scarcely any.
[14] In Matthew:
John [said] concerning Jesus, "He shall baptize you with the Holy Spirit, and with fire; whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his floor, and gather the wheat into the garner; but the chaff he will burn with fire unquenchable" (3:11, 12).
By baptizing with the Holy Spirit and with fire, is signified to reform the church, and to regenerate the man of the church by means of Divine truth and Divine good; to baptize signifies to reform and regenerate; the Holy Spirit, the Divine truth proceeding from the Lord; and fire, the Divine good of His Divine love; by the wheat which He will gather into the garner, and by the chaff which He will burn with fire unquenchable, are signified good of every kind, which is of heavenly origin, that it shall be preserved to eternity, consequently, those who are in that [good]; and falsity of every kind, which is of infernal origin, that it shall be destroyed, consequently, those who are in it; and because wheat, a garner, and chaff are mentioned, a fan and a floor are also mentioned, and by the fan is signified separation, and by the floor, where the separation takes place.
[15] In the same:
Jesus said, "The kingdom of the heavens is like unto a man who sowed good seed in his field; but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares, and went his way. But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also. So the servants of the householder coming said unto him, Master, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares? Then he said unto them, An enemy hath done this. And the servants said, Wilt thou therefore that we go and gather them up? But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up at the same time the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest; and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them; but gather the wheat into my barn" (187); the enemy signifies hell, and the tares signify the evils of falsity. What the remaining portions even to the end signify, is evident from what is adduced in the small work concerning the Last Judgment 70); for they involve mysteries which are there laid open; here we need say only, that wheat signifies the good of truth, and thence those who are in good by means of truth; and that by tares are signified the evil of falsity, and thence those who are in evil by means of falsities. That these things are said concerning the Last Judgment, is clear from what follows in the same chapter, where it is said:
"He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man; the field is the world; the seed are the sons of the kingdom; the tares are the sons of the wicked one; the enemy is the devil; the harvest is the consummation of the age" (verses 38, 39);
the consummation of the age denotes the last time of the church, when Judgment takes place. From these passages adduced from the Word, it is evident that wheat signifies the good of the church in general, and barley the truth thereof.
374. Verse 6. A measure of wheat for a denarius, and three measures of barley for a denarius, signifies that the genuine good of the church, as also the genuine truth of the church, is of no account to them. This is evident from the signification of "measure" [choenix] (which was the Greek measure for wheat and barley), as being the quality of estimation, for "measures" in the Word (as was said in the article above), signify the quality of a thing in respect to good and in respect to truth. It is evident also from the signification of "wheat," as being the good of the church in general (of which presently); also from the signification of "barley," as being the truth of that good (of which presently); and from the signification of "a denarius," the standard of estimation, as being as of no account. Because this was the smallest coin, it signifies the least worth, but here as of no account. The reason for this is that "the red horse" (mentioned above), signifies the understanding of the Word destroyed in respect to good, and "the black horse" the understanding of the Word destroyed in respect to truth (See above, n. 364, 372); and when the understanding of the Word in respect to good and in respect to truth has been destroyed, then the genuine good and the genuine truth of the church are estimated as of no account. The "denarius" is here taken as the standard of estimation, because some piece of money must be taken that some price may be expressed in the sense of the letter, since it is said that "a balance was in the hand of him that sat upon the horse," and that "the wheat and the barley were measured;" consequently the smallest coin of all was taken as the standard of the estimation of the price; and as there was no longer any understanding of the Word in respect to good and in respect to truth, a "denarius" in the spiritual sense here signifies as of no account.
[2] It is said, "a measure of wheat and three measures of barley," because "one" is predicated of good, and "three" of truths; and "one," when predicated of good, signifies what is perfect, thus also what is genuine; and "three," when predicated of truths, signifies what is full, thus also what is genuine; consequently "a measure of wheat and three measures of barley" signify the genuine good and the genuine truth of the church. "Wheat" signifies good, and "barley" its truth, because all things belonging to the field signify the things that belong to the church; and things belonging to the field, as crops of various kinds, serve for food; and things for food and for the nourishment of the body signify in the spiritual sense such things as nourish the soul or mind, all of which have relation to the good of love and the truth of faith; thus especially wheat and barley, because bread is made from them. (That foods of every kind signify spiritual food, thus the things of knowledge, intelligence, and wisdom, consequently the good and truth from which these are, see Arcana Coelestia 3114, 4459, 5147, 5293, 5340, 5342, 5410, 5426, 5576, 5582, 5588, 5655, 5 9 5915, 8408, 8562, 9003. Of "bread" in general, see the work on The New Jerusalem, n. 218; that "field" signifies the church, seeArcana Coelestia 2971, 3766, 9139.)
That "wheat" and "barley" have such a signification is from correspondence, as is evident from the things that appear in the spiritual world, where all appearances are correspondences. There plains, fields, crops of various kinds, and also bread appear; from this is the knowledge that they are correspondences, and consequently that they have significations according to correspondences.
[3] That "wheat" and "barley" signify the good and truth of the church, "wheat" its good, and "barley" its truth, can be seen also from the passages in the Word where they are mentioned, as from the following. In Jeremiah:
Jehovah, who hath dispersed Israel, will bring him together and will keep him as a shepherd doth his drove; for Jehovah hath ransomed Jacob, and hath redeemed him out of the hand of him that was stronger than he. Therefore shall they come and sing aloud in the height of Zion, and shall flow together unto the good of Jehovah, to the wheat, to the new wine, and to the oil, and to the sons of the flock, and of the herd; and their soul shall become as a watered garden (328; "out of the hand of him that was stronger than he" signifies out of evil and falsity, which before had possession; the internal joy or joy of heart arising from celestial good and truths therefrom that such have, is signified by "therefore shall they come and sing aloud in the height of Zion, and shall flow together unto the good of Jehovah, to the wheat, to the new wine, and to the oil, and to the sons of the flock and of the herd," "to sing in the height of Zion" signifying internal celestial joy, or such as is in the Lord's celestial kingdom, "to sing aloud" meaning that joy (See above, n. 326, "height" what is internal, and "Zion" the celestial kingdom; "wheat" signifies the good of the natural man, "new wine" its truth; "oil" the good of the spiritual man, "the sons of the flock" spiritual truths, and "the sons of the herd" natural truths; because these are what are signified they are called "the good of Jehovah." That such have intelligence and wisdom from this source is signified by "their soul shall become as a watered garden," for "garden" in the Word signifies intelligence, and "watered" continual growth. "Wheat," "new wine," "oil," "the sons of a flock and of the herd," are plainly not here meant, for it is said, "Jehovah hath ransomed Jacob, and their soul shall become as a watered garden. "
[4] In Joel:
The field was devastated, the ground mourned; for the corn was devastated, the new wine was dried up, the oil languished. The husbandmen were ashamed, the vine-dressers howled for the wheat and for the barley, because the harvest of the field hath perished (Joel 1:10, 11).
This is not said of a field and its barrenness, but of the church and its vastation; therefore "field," "ground," "corn," "new wine," and "oil" do not mean these things themselves, but "field" and "ground" mean the church, "field" the church in relation to the reception and bringing forth of truth and good, and "ground" the church in respect to the nation that is in it; "corn" means good of every kind in the external man; "new wine" the truth also therein; "oil" the good in the internal man; "the husbandmen that were ashamed," and "the vine-dressers that howled for the wheat and for the barley" signify those who are of the church, "wheat" and "barley" signifying the good and truth of the church; and "the harvest of the field that thus perished" signifying all worship from good and truth.
[5] In Jeremiah:
Upon all the heights in the wilderness the devastators have come; because the sword of Jehovah devoureth from the end of the land even to the end of the land; no flesh hath peace. They have sown wheat and have reaped thorns (Jeremiah 12:12-13).
This, too is said of the church and its vastation; "the heights in the wilderness upon which the devastators have come" signify that every good of charity has perished through evils and falsities, "heights" in the Word signifying where there is the good of charity, and in an abstract sense that good itself, "wilderness" signifies where there is no good because no truth, and "devastators" signify the evils and falsities through which good and truth perish; "the sword of Jehovah devoureth from the end of the land even to the end of the land" signifies falsity destroying all things of the church, "the sword devouring" meaning falsity destroying, and "from the end of the land even to the end of the land" signifying all things of the church; "no flesh hath peace" signifies that there is no longer internal rest, because of the dominion of evil and falsity; "they have sown wheat and have reaped thorns" signifies that instead of the goods of truth there are the evils of falsity, "wheat" meaning the goods of truth, and "thorns" the evils of falsity.
[6] In the same:
Ishmael, who was of the seed of the kingdom, slew Gedaliah, whom the king of Babylon had appointed over the land, and all the Jews who were with him, and the Chaldeans, also the men from Shechem, from Shiloh, and from Samaria; but ten men were found among them who said unto Ishmael, Put us not to death, for we have things hid in the field, wheat and barley, and oil and honey. So he forbare, and put them not to death (315; but "the ten men who said to Ishmael, put us not to death for we have things hid in the field, wheat and barley, and oil and honey," mean those who have not profaned the holy things of the church, because inwardly they have good and truth; for those who profane have nothing of good and truth inwardly, but only outwardly when they speak and preach, while those who do not profane have good and truth inwardly; this is meant by their saying that "they have things hid in the field, wheat, barley, oil, and honey," "wheat and barley" signifying the goods and truths of the external man, "oil" the good of the internal man, and "honey" the delight thereof; "ten men" signify all who are such, "ten" signifying all persons and all things; that "he forbare and put them not to death" signifies that they were not profane, thus not damned; "Ishmael" represents those who are in the genuine truths of the church, which is also signified by "the seed of the kingdom," of which he was. Such are the things involved in this history, the histories in the Word equally with the prophecies having an internal sense.
[7] In Moses:
Jehovah thy God bringeth thee into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and depths going forth in valley and mountain; a land of wheat and barley, and of vine, and fig-tree, and pomegranate; a land of oil olive and honey (Deuteronomy 8:7-8
In the sense of the letter this is a description of the land of Canaan, but in the spiritual sense the Lord's church is described, since this is meant in that sense by "the land of Canaan;" and all kinds of good and truth pertaining to the church are enumerated. The land is called "a land of brooks of water," because "brooks of water" signify the doctrinals of truth; "fountains and depths going forth in valley and mountain" signify interior and exterior truths from the Word, "fountains," interior truths therefrom, and "depths" exterior truths. The latter are said to go forth "out of the valley," because "a valley" signifies what is lower and exterior, where such truths are; and the former are said "to go forth out of the mountain," because a "mountain" signifies what is higher and interior, where truths of that kind are; "a land of wheat and barley, and of vine and fig-tree, and pomegranate," signifies the church in respect to good and truth of every kind, "wheat and barley" signifying good and truth from a celestial origin, "vine and fig-tree" good and truth from a spiritual origin, and "pomegranate" knowledges of good and truth; and "a land of oil olive and honey" signifies the church in respect to the good of love and its enjoyment. One who does not know the spiritual sense of the Word believes no otherwise than that this merely describes the land of Canaan; but in that case the Word would be merely natural, and not spiritual, and yet the Word everywhere is in its bosom spiritual, and it is spiritual when by these words are understood the spiritual things they signify, namely, goods and truths of every kind. (But what "brooks," "fountains," "depths," "valley," "mountain," "vine," "fig-tree," "pomegranate," "olive," "oil" and "honey" signify is shown in Arcana Coelestia, all of which would be too extended to cite here; but many of these things have been shown and will be shown in this explanation of Revelation, and these may be consulted in their places.)
[8] In Job:
If I have eaten the strength (of the earth) without silver, and have made the soul of its [masters] to expire, let the thorn come forth instead of wheat, and the wild vine instead of barley (Job 31:39-40).
"To eat the strength of the earth without silver" signifies to appropriate to oneself the good of the church without the truth, "earth" meaning the church, and "silver" truth; and "to make the soul of its [masters] to expire" signifies thus to empty out the spiritual life; "let the thorn come forth instead of wheat, and the wild vine instead of barley" signifies that evil will be held for good, and falsity for truth, "wheat" meaning good, "thorn" evil, "barley" truth, and "wild vine" falsity; for good can be acquired only by means of truths.
[9] In Isaiah:
I have heard a consummation and decision from the Lord Jehovih of Hosts upon the whole earth. Will the ploughman plough all day for sowing? will he open and harrow his ground? when he hath made plain the faces thereof doth he not scatter the fennel? and doth he not put in the measured wheat and the appointed barley and the appointed spelt? Thus doth he chasten him for judgment, his God doth instruct him (Isaiah 28:22, 24-26).
This in the spiritual sense describes the total destruction of the church with the Jewish and Israelitish nation, and teaches that it is of no avail to learn and know the Word except for the purpose of applying its good and truth to the use of life; from this source and no other is intelligence from the Lord. That the church with that nation was wholly destroyed is meant by "I have heard a consummation and decision from the Lord Jehovih of Hosts upon the whole earth," "consummation and decision" meaning the complete destruction, and "the whole earth," the whole church, that is, every thing of it; that it is of no avail to learn and know the Word is signified by "will the ploughman plough all day for sowing? Will he open and harrow his ground?" "to plough for sowing" meaning to learn, and "to harrow the ground" meaning to deposit in the memory. That the good and truth of the Word should be applied to the use of life is signified by "when he hath made plain the faces thereof, doth he not scatter the fennel, and put in the measured wheat and the appointed barley and the appointed spelt?" "When he hath made plain the faces of the ground he scattereth the fennel" signifies when there is preparation by the Word; "the measured wheat and the appointed barley and the appointed spelt" signify the application of good and truth to the use of life, "wheat" meaning good, "barley" truth, and "spelt" knowledges; and that from this source and no other is intelligence from the Lord is signified by "thus doth he chasten for judgment, his God doth instruct him," "judgment" signifying intelligence, and "his God doth instruct him" signifying that it is from the Lord.
[10] In Moses:
Jehovah made him ride upon the high places of the earth, and fed him with the increase of the fields; He made him to suck honey out of the cliff, and oil out of the flint of the rock; butter of the herd and milk of the flock, with the fat of lambs, and of rams, the sons of Bashan, and of he-goats, with the fat of the kidneys of wheat; and thou drinkest the blood of grapes, unmixed wine (Deuteronomy 32:13-14).
This is said of the Ancient Church established by the Lord after the flood, which was in intelligence and wisdom, because it was in the good of charity and in the faith therefrom. This intelligence and wisdom from the Lord is signified by "Jehovah made him to ride upon the high places of the earth, and fed him with the increase of the fields;" the celestial and spiritual goods that they received through truths are described by "He made him to suck honey out of the cliff, and oil out of the flint of the rock; butter of the herd and milk of the flock, with the fat of lambs, and of rams, the sons of Bashan, and of he-goats, with the fat of the kidneys of wheat; and thou drinkest the blood of grapes, unmixed wine," "wheat" signifying here in a general sense all good, and "blood of grapes" and "unmixed wine" all truth therefrom.
[11] In David:
O that My people would hearken unto Me, and Israel would walk in My ways! I would feed 1them with the fat of wheat; and with honey out of the rock I would satisfy them (Psalms 81:13, 16).
"Fat of wheat," and "honey out of the rock with which they would be fed and satisfied" signify good of every kind from celestial good and enjoyment thereof from the Lord; for "fat" signifies celestial good, "wheat" good of every kind, "honey" the enjoyment of good, and "rock" the Lord. That those who live according to the Lord's commandments will possess these things is meant by "O that My people would hearken unto me, and Israel would walk in My ways!" "Ways" in the Word signifying truths and also commandments, and "to walk" signifying to live.
[12] In the same:
Celebrate Jehovah, O Jerusalem; praise thy God, O Zion. For He strengtheneth the bars of thy gates, He blesseth thy sons in the midst of thee. He maketh thy border peace, and satisfieth thee with the fat of wheat (Psalms 147:12-14).
"Jerusalem" and "Zion" mean the church; "Jerusalem" the church in respect to the truths of doctrine, and "Zion" the church in respect to the goods of love; "He maketh thy border peace" signifies all things of heaven and the church, for "border" signifies all these things; "He satisfieth thee with the fat of wheat" signifies with every good of love and with wisdom, "fat" signifying the good of love, and "wheat" all things from it, which are goods because they are from good; these things being signified, it is said, "the fat of wheat."
[13] In Hosea:
Jehovah said to the prophet, Go yet, love a woman beloved of her companion, and an adulteress, even as the love of Jehovah to the sons of Israel, who regard other gods, and love flagons of grapes. And I bought her to me for fifteen pieces of silver, and for a homer of barley, and a half homer of barley (Hosea 3:1-2).
This represented what the Jewish and Israelitish church was in respect to doctrine and worship, namely that by vain traditions it had falsified all things of the Word, though worshiping it as holy; "a woman beloved of her companion, and an adulteress whom the prophet should love" signifies such a church, "a woman" signifying the church, and "beloved of her companion and an adulteress" the falsification of truth and the adulteration of good; "even as the love of Jehovah to the sons of Israel, who regard other gods" signifies the falsities of doctrine and the evils of worship; these are signified by "regarding other gods;" "loving flagons of grapes" signifies the Word in the sense of the letter alone, for "wine" signifies the truths of doctrine from the Word, "grapes" its goods from which are truths, and "a flagon" signifies that which contains, thus the ultimate sense of the Word, which is the sense of the letter, and which they apply to their falsities and evils. "He bought her to him for fifteen pieces of silver" signifies for a small price, "fifteen" meaning very little; "a homer of barley" and "half a homer of barley" signifying so little of good and truths as to be scarcely any.
[14] In Matthew:
John said of Jesus, He shall baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire; whose fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly purge His floor; and will gather the wheat into the garner; but the chaff He will burn with unquenchable fire (Matthew 3:11-12).
"To baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire" signifies to reform the church and to regenerate the man of the church by means of Divine truth and Divine good; "to baptize" signifying to reform and to regenerate, "the Holy Spirit" Divine truth proceeding from the Lord, and "fire" the Divine good of His Divine love. "The wheat that He will gather into the garner" signifies good of every kind that is of heavenly origin, which He is to preserve to eternity, thus those who are in good; and "the chaff that He will burn with unquenchable fire" signifies falsity of every kind that is of infernal origin, which He is to destroy, thus those who are in falsity; and because "wheat," "garner," and "chaff" are mentioned, "fan" and "floor" are also mentioned, "fan" signifying separation, and "floor" signifying where separation is effected.
[15] In the same:
Jesus said, The kingdom of the heavens is like unto a man that sowed good seed in his field; but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares, and went away. But when the blade sprang up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also. And the servants of the householder coming said unto him, Lord, didst thou not sow good seed in thy field? whence then hath it tares? Then he said unto them, A man, an enemy hath done this. But the servants said, wilt thou then that we going out gather them up? But he said, Nay; lest haply while ye gather up the tares, ye root up at the same time the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest; and in the season of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye first the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn (Matthew 13:24-30).
What these words involve is very clear from the spiritual sense, for the particulars here are correspondences. For when the Lord was in the world, He spoke by pure correspondences, because He spoke from the Divine. Here the Last Judgment is treated of when there must be a separation of the good from the evil, and the good are to come into heaven, and the evil into hell. "The good seed in the field that the man sowed" signifies the truths of the church that are from good, "field" signifying the church where these are, and "sowing" signifying influx and reception, thus also instruction; "the man who sowed" means the Lord through the Word, in which are all the truths of the church; "while men slept his enemy came and sowed tares, and went away," signifies that with natural men the falsities of evil flow in from hell, and are received; for "to sleep" signifies to live a natural life separated from the spiritual life (See above Matthew 13:37-39).
"The consummation of the age" is the last time of the church when judgment takes place. From these passages quoted from the Word it can be seen that "wheat" signifies the good of the church in general, and "barley" its truth.
Footnotes:
1. In AC 6377 we read "He would feed."
374. (Vers. 6.) " (Et audivi vocem in medio quatuor animalium dicentem, ) Choenix tritici denario, et tres choenices hordei denario." - Quod significet quod genuinum bonzim ecclesiae illis sit nihili et quoque genuinum verum ecclesiae, constat ex significatione "choenicis", quae fuit mensura tritici et hordei apud Graecos, quod sit quale aestimationis; nam per "mensuras" in Verbo (ut in superiori articulo dictum est) significatur quale rei quoad bonum et quoad verum; ex significatione "tritici", quod sit bonum ecclesiae in genere (de qua sequitur); ex significatione "hordei", quod sit verum illius boni (de qua etiam sequitur); et ex significatione "denarii", qui est aestimationis pretium, quod sit tanquam nihili: is nummus quia erat omnium minimus, inde per illum significatur pretium minimum, hic autem tanquam nihili. Causa est, quia per "equum rufum" (de quo supra) significatur intellectus Verbi deperditus quoad bonum, et per "equum nigrum" intellectus Verbi deperditus quoad verum (supra, n. 364 et 372); et cum intellectus Verbi quoad bonum et quoad verum deperditus est, tunc genuinum bonum ac genuinum verum ecclesiae aestimatur tanquam nihili. Quod aestimetur hic pro "denario", est quia aliquis nummus assumendus erat, ut aliquid pretii diceretur in sensu litterae, quia dicitur quod "statera esset in manu sedentis super equo", ac quod "triticum et hordeum mensurarentur"; ideo is nummus qui erat omnium minimus, pro aestimationis pretio assumptus est; et quia intellectus Verbi quoad bonum et quoad verum non amplius est, ideo per "denarium" hic in sensu spirituali significatur tanquam nihili.
[2] Quod dicatur "choenix tritici et tres choenices hordei", est quia "unum" praedicatur de bono, ac "tria" de veris; ac per "unum" cum de bono significatur perfectum, ita quoque genuinum, et per "tria" cum de veris significatur plenum, ita quoque genuinum; inde est quod per "choenix tritici et tres choenices hordei" significetur genuinum bonum et genuinum verum ecclesiae.
Quod "triticum" significet bonum, et "hordeum" verum ejus, est quia omnia quae agri sunt, significant illa quae ecclesiae sunt; et illa quae agri sunt, ut messes varii generis, inserviunt esui; ac quae esui sunt et nutriunt corpus, significant in spirituali sensu talia quae nutriunt animam seu mentem, quae omnia se referunt ad bonum amoris et ad verum fidei; inde imprimis "triticum" et "hordeum", quia ex illis panis.
(Quod "cibi" omnis generis significent cibum spiritualem, ita quae sunt scientiae, intelligentiae et sapientiae, proinde bonum et verum ex quibus illa, videatur n. 3114, 4459, 5147, 5293, 5340, 5342, 5410, 5426, 5576, 5582, 5588, 1
5655, 2
5915, 3
8408, 8562, 9003; in genera "panis", in opusculo De Nova Hierosolyma, n. 218; quod "ager significet ecclesiam, n. 2971, 3766, 9139.)
Quod "triticum" et "hordeum" significent talia, est ex correspondentia, ut constare potest ex illis quae apparent in mundo spirituali, ubi omnes apparentiae sunt correspondentiae; apparent ibi campi, agri, messes varii generis, et quoque panes; unde scitur quod correspondeant, et consequenter quod secundum correspondentias significent.
[3] Quod "triticum" et "hordeum" significent bonum et verum ecclesiae, "triticum" bonum ejus et "hordeum" verum ejus, etiam constare potest ex locis in Verbo ubi nominantur, ut ex sequentibus:
Apud Jeremiam,
Jehovah "qui dispersit Israelem, congregabit eum, et custodiet eum sicut pastor gregem suum; quia redemit Jehovah Jacobum, et liberavit eum e manu fortioris illo: unde venient et canent in altitudine Zionis, et confluent ad bonum Jehovae, ad triticum, ad mustum, et ad oleum, et ad filios gregis et armenti; et fiet anima eorum sicut hortus irriguus" (31:10-12):
agitur ibi de instauratione ecclesiae novae; per "Israelem" et per Jacobum" significatur illa ecclesia; per "Israelem" ecclesia spiritualis interna, et per "Jacobum" externa, nam omnis ecclesia est interna et externa: instauratio ejus describitur per quod "Jehovah congregabit eum, custodiet eum sicut pastor gregem suum, quia redemit Jacobum, et liberavit e manu fortioris illo"; per "redimere" significatur reformare (videatur supra, n. 328); per "manum fortioris illo" significatur e malo et falso, quae prius occupaverunt; gaudium internum seu gaudium cordis illorum oriundum ex bono caelesti et ex veris inde, significatur per "unde venient et canent in altitudine Zionis, et confluent ad bonum Jehovae, ad triticum, ad mustum, et ad oleum, et ad filios gregis et armenti"; "canere in altitudine Zionis" significat gaudium internum caeleste seu quale est in regno caelesti Domini, "canere" gaudium illud (videatur supra, n. 326), "altitudo" internum, et "Zion" regnum caeleste; "triticum" significat bonum naturalis hominis, "mustum" verum ejus, "oleum" bonum spiritualis hominis, "filii gregis" vera spiritualia, et "filii armenti" vera naturalia; haec quia significantur, vocantur "bonum Jehovae": quod illis inde intelligentia et sapientia, significatur per "fiet anima eorum sicut hortus irriguus", per "hortum" enim in Verbo significatur intelligentia, et per "irriguum" continue crescens: quod non ibi intelligantur triticum, mustum, oleum, filii gregis et armenti, patet, nam dicitur "redemit Jehovah Jacobum", et quod "fiet anima eorum sicut hortus irriguus."
[4] Apud Joelem,
"Devastatus est ager, luxit terra, quia devastatum est frumentum, exaruit mustum, languet oleum; pudefacti sunt agricolae, ejularunt vinitores, super tritico et super hordeo, eo quod perierit messis agri" (1:10-12):
haec non dicta sunt de agro et ejus sterilitate, sed de ecclesia et ejus vastatione; quare per "agrum", "terram", "frumentum", "mustum" et "oleum", non illa intelliguntur, sed per "agrum" et per "terram" ecclesia, (per "agrum" ecclesia quoad receptionem et procreationem veri et boni, et per "terram" ecclesia quoad gentem ibi, ) per "frumentum" bonum omnis generis in externo homine, per "mustum" verum etiam ibi, per "oleum" bonum in interno homine; per "agricolas" qui pudefacti, et per "vinitores" qui ejularunt, super tritico et super hordeo, significantur illi qui ab ecclesia, et per "triticum' et per "hordeum" significatur bonum ejus et verum ejus; et per "messem agri" quae inde periit, significatur omnis cultus ex illis.
[5] Apud Jeremiam,
"Super omnes colles in deserto venerunt vastatores, quia gladius Jehovae devorans a fine terrae usque ad finem terrae: non pax ulli carni; severunt tritica, et spinas messuerunt" (12:12, 13):
etiam haec dicta sunt de ecclesia et ejus vastatione; per "colles in deserto" super quos "venerunt vastatores" significatur quod omne bonum charitatis perierit per mala et falsa; "colles" in Verbo significant ubi bonum charitatis, et in sensu abstracto ipsum illud bonum, "desertum" significat ubi non illud quia non verum, et "vastatores" significant mala et falsa per quae bonum et verum pereunt: per "gladium Jehovae devorantem a fine terrae usque ad finem terrae" significatur falsum destruens omnia ecclesiae; per "gladium devorantem" falsum destruens, et per "a fine terrae usque ad finem terrae" significantur omnia ecclesiae: per "non pax ulli carni" significatur quod non amplius interna requies propter dominium mali et falsi: per "severunt tritica, et spinas messuerunt" significatur quod pro bonis veri sint mala falsi; "tritica" sunt bona veri, et "spinae" sunt mala falsi.
[6] Apud eundem,
Ismael qui fuit de semine regni, occidit Gedaliam, quem fecerat rex Babelis praefectum in terra, et omnes Judaeos qui fuerunt cum eo, et Chaldaeos, tum viros ex Sichem, ex Schilunte et Samaria: "decem tamen viri inventi sunt inter eos, qui dixerunt ad Ismaelem, Ne occidas nos, quia sunt nobis abscondita in agro, tritica et hordea, et oleum et mel; ideo omisit eos nec occidit" (41:1-8):
per haec historica in sensu interno describitur damnatio eorum qui profanant sancta; per "Gedaliam" enim, quem rex Babelis praefectum fecit in terra, et per "Judaeos qui fuerunt cum eo", ac per "Chaldaeos", "viros ex Sichem, ex Schilunte et Samaria", intelliguntur illi qui profanant, ac in sensu abstracto omnis generis profanationes, nam "rex Babelis" significat profanationem boni et veri; damnatio eorum significatur per quod "occisi sint", per "occidi" enim significatur spiritualiter occidi (videatur n. 315); per "decem" autem "viros", qui dixerunt ad Ismaelem, "Ne occidas nos, quia sunt nobis abscondita in agro, tritica et hordea, et oleum et mel", intelliguntur illi qui non profanarunt sancta ecclesiae, quia illis bonum et verum intus est; qui enim profanant, illis nihil boni et veri intus est, sed modo extra cum loquuntur et praedicant; at illis qui non profanant est bonum et verum intus: hoc intelligitur per quod dixerint "esse illis abscondita in agro, tritica, hordea, oleum et mel"; per "tritica" et "hordea" significantur bona et vera externi hominis, per "oleum" significatur bonum interni hominis, et per "mel" ejus jucundum; per "decem viros" significantur omnes illi qui tales sunt, nam "decem" significant omnes et omnia: per quod "omiserit eos et non "occiderit" significatur quod non profani, ita non damnati: per Ismaelem repraesentantur qui in genuinis veris ecclesiae sunt, quod etiam significatur per "semen regni" e quo erat. Talia involvunt haec historica, nam historica in Verbo aeque habent sensum internum ac prophetica.
[7] Apud Mosen,
"Jehovah Deus tuus deducens te ad terram bonam, terram fluviorum aquae, fontium et abyssorum exeuntium e valle et e monte, terram tritici et hordei, et vitis et ficus, et malogranati, terram olivae olei et mellis" (Deuteronomius 8:7, 8):
describitur ita terra Canaan in sensu litterae, at in sensu spirituali describitur ecclesia Domini, quoniam haec per "terram Canaan" in hoc sensu significatur, et recensentur omnia genera boni et veri quae ecclesiae sunt; quod dicatur "terra fluviorum aquae", est quia "fluvii aquae" significant doctrinalia veri; per "fontes et abyssos exeuntes e valle et e monte" significantur interiora et exteriora vera ex Verbo, per "fontes" interiora vera inde, et per "abyssos", exteriora vera; haec dicuntur "ex valle exire" quia "vallis" significat inferiora et exteriora ubi talia, et illa dicuntur "ex monte exire" quia "mons" significat superiora et interiora ubi talia: per "terram tritici et hordei, et vitis et ficus, et malogranati", significatur ecclesia quoad bonum et verum omnis generis, "triticum et hordeum" significant bonum et verum ex caelesti origine, "vitis et ficus" bonum et verum ex spirituali origine, et "malogranatum" cognitiones boni et veri; et per "terram olivae olei et mellis", significatur ecclesia quoad bonum amoris et ejus jucundum. Qui non scit sensum spiritualem Verbi, is non aliter credit quam quod solum terra Canaan per illa verba describatur; unde foret Verbum modo naturale et non spirituale; et tamen Verbum ubivis in sinu suo est spirituale, et spirituale est quum per verba illa intelliguntur spiritualia quae significantur, nempe bona et vera omnis generis. (Quid autem in specie per "fluvios", "fontes", "abyssos", "vallem", "montem", "vitem", "ficum", "malogranatum", "olivam", "oleum" et "mel" significatur, ostensum est in Arcanis Caelestibus, quae omnia adducere prolixum nimis foret; pleraque tamen ex illis ostensa sunt et ostendentur in hac super Apocalypsin explicatione, quae consulantur in suis locis.)
[8] Apud Hiobum,
"Si vim" terrae "comedi sine argento, et animam (dominorum) ejus exhalare feci, pro tritico exeat spina, et pro hordeo labrusca" (31:39, 40):
"vim terrae comedere sine argento" significat appropriare sibi bonum ecclesiae absque vero ("terra" est ecclesia, et "argentum" est verum); et "exhalare facere animam (dominorum) ejus" significat sic vitam spiritualem evacuare; "pro tritico exeat spina, et pro hordeo labrusca", significat quod pro bono habeatur malum, et pro vero falsum ("triticum" est bonum, "Spina" malum, "hordeum" verum, et "labrusca" falsum); bonum enim non comparari potest nisi per vera.
[9] Apud Esaiam,
"Consummationem et decisionem audivi a cum Domino Jehovih Zebaoth, super universam terram... num toto die arabit arator ad serendum, aperiet et occabit terram suam? nonne quando complanavit facies ejus, dispergit nigellam?... et reponit triticum mensuratum et hordeum designatum, et zeas designatas? ita erudit eum ad judicium, Deus ejus docet eum" (28:22, 24-26):
per haec in sensu spirituali describitur quod ecclesia apud gentem Judaicam et Israeliticam prorsus destructa sit, et quod nihil faciat quod discant et sciant Verbum, sed ut bonum et verum ejus usui vitae applicetur; inde et non aliunde intelligentia a Domino: quod ecclesia apud illam gentem prorsus destructa sit, intelligitur per "Consummationem et decisionem audivi a Domino Jehovih Zebaoth super universam terram"; "consummatio et decisio" est plenaria destructio, et "universa terra" est tota ecclesia, hoc est, omne ejus; quod nihil faciat quod discant et sciant Verbum, significatur per "Num toto die arabit arator ad serendum, aperiet et occabit terram suam?" "Arare ad serendum" est discere, et "occare terram" est reponere in memoria. Quod bonum et verum Verbi usui vitae applicandum sit, significatur per "Nonne quando complanavit facies ejus, dispergit nigellam, et reponit triticum mensuratum et hordeum designatum, et zeas designatas?" "Nonne quando complanavit facies terrae dispergit nigellam?" significat quando praeparavit per Verbum; "triticum mensuratum et hordeum designatum, et zeae designatae?" significant applicare bonum et verum usui vitae ("triticum" est bonum, "hordeum" est verum, et "zeae" sunt cognitiones): quod inde non aliunde intelligentia a Domino, significatur per "ita erudit ad judicium, Deus ejus docet eum"; "judicium significat intelligentiam, "Deus ejus docet eum" significat quod a Domino.
[10] Apud Mosen,
Jehovah "equitare fecit eum super excelsis terrae, et cibavit proventu agrorum, sugere fecit eum mel e rupe, et oleum e saxo petrae; butyrum armenti et lac gregis cum adipe agnorum et arietum filiorum Baschanis et hircorum, cum adipe renum tritici, et 4
sanguinem uvarum bibis merum" (Deuteronomius 32:13, 14):
haec dicta sunt de Ecclesia Antiqua post diluvium a Domino instaurata, quae in intelligentia et sapientia erat quia in bono charitatis et inde in fide; intelligentia eorum et sapientia a Domino significatur per quod "Jehovah equitare fecerit eum super excelsis terrae, et cibaverit proventu agrorum"; bona caelestia et spiritualia quae illis per vera, describuntur per quod "sugere fecerit eum mel e rupe, et oleum e saxo petrae, butyrum armenti et lac gregis cum adipe agnorum et arietum filiorum Baschanis et hircorum, cum adipe renum tritici, et sanguinem uvarum bibis merum"; "triticum" significat ibi in genere omne bonum, et "sanguis uvarum" ac "merum" omne verum inde.
[11] Apud Davidem,
"Utinam populus meus obediret Mihi, et Israel in viis meis ambularent, ... 5
cibarem eos adipe tritici, et e petra melle saturarem eos (Psalms 81:14, 17 [B.A. 13, 16]):
per "adipem tritici", et per "mel e petra", quibus cibarentur et saturarentur, significatur bonum omnis generis ex bono caelesti, et jucundum ejus a Domino, per "adipem", enim significatur bonum caeleste, per "triticum" bonum omnis generis, per "mel" jucundum boni, et per "petram" Dominus; quod haec illis si vivant secundum praecepta Domini, intelligitur per "Utinam populus meus obediret Mihi, et Israel in viis meis ambularent"; "viae" in Verbo significant vera et quoque praecepta, ac "ambulare" significat vivere.
[12] Apud eundem,
"Lauda, Hierosolyma, Jehovam; collauda, Zion, Deum tuum; nam firmat Vectes portarum tuarum: benedicit filiis tuis in medio tui, qui ponit terminum tuum pacem, adipe triticorum satiat te" (Psalms 147:12-14):
per "Hierosolymam" et "Zionem" intelligitur ecclesia, per "Hierosolymam" ecclesia quoad vera doctrinae, et per "Zionem" ecclesia quoad bona amoris; "qui ponit terminum tuum pacem" significat omnia caeli et ecclesiae, nam "terminus" significat omnia illa; "adipe triticorum satiat te" significat omni bono amoris et sapientia, "adeps" enim significat bonum amoris, et "triticum" omnia quae ex illo, quae quia ex bono sunt etiam bona sunt; quia haec significantur, ideo dicitur "adeps triticorum."
[13] Apud Hoscheam,
"Dixit Jehovah" ad prophetam, "Denuo abi, ama mulierem amatam socio et adulterantem, juxta amorem Jehovae erga filios Israelis, et hi respicientes ad deos alios, et amantes lagenas uvarum: et comparavi eam mihi per quindecim argenti, et corum hordeorum, et semicorum hordeorum" (3:1, 2):
per hoc repraesentabatur Ecclesia Judaica et Israelitica qualis erat quoad doctrinam et cultum, quod nempe per traditiones vanas falsificaverit omnia Verbi, tametsi id ut sanctum coluerunt; "mulier amata socio et adulterans" quam propheta amaret, significat ecclesiam talem; "mulier" ecclesiam, "amata socio et adulterans" falsificationem veri et adulterationem boni: "juxta amorem Jehovae erga filios Israelis, et hi respicientes ad deos alios", significat falsa doctrinae et mala cultus; haec significantur per "respicere ad deos alios": "amantes lagenas uvarum" significat Verbum in solo sensu litterae, nam "vinum" significat vera doctrinae ex Verbo, "uvae" bona ejus ex quibus vera, et "lagena" id quod continet; ita ultimum Verbi sensum, qui est sensus litterae, quem applicant suis falsis et malis: quod "comparaverit sibi illam per quindecim argenti" significat exiguo pretio; "quindecim significant exiguum: "corus hordeorum et semicorus hordeorum" significat tam parum boni et veri ut vix aliquid.
[14] Apud Matthaeum,
Johannes de Jesu, "Ille vos baptizabit spiritu sancto et igne, cujus ventilabrum in manu Ipsius, et perpurgabit aream suam, et colliget triticum in horreum, paleam autem comburet igne inexstinguibili" (3:11, 12):
per "baptizare spiritu sancto et igne" significatur reformare ecclesiam et regenerare hominem ecclesiae per Divinum Verum et Divinum Bonum; "baptizare" significat reformare et regenerare, "spiritus sanctus" Divinum Verum procedens ab Ipso, et "ignis" Divinum Bonum Divini Amoris Ipsius: per "triticum" quod colliget in horreum, et per "paleam" quam comburet igne inexstinguibili, significatur bonum omnis generis quod ex origine caelesti quod in aeternum conservaturus, ita eos qui in illo sunt, et falsum omnis generis quod ex origine infernali quod destructurus, ita eos qui in illo sunt; et quia dicitur "triticum", "horreum" et "palea", etiam dicitur "ventilabrum" et "area", ac per "ventilabrum" significatur separatio, ac per "aream" ubi separatio fit.
[15] Apud eundem,
Jesus dixit, "simile est regnum caelorum homini seminanti bonum semen in agro suo, sed cum dormiverunt homines, venit ejus inimicus et seminavit zizania et abivit: quum vero germinavit herba, et fructum fecit, tunc apparuerunt etiam zizania: accedentes autem servi patrisfamilias dixerunt illi, Domine, nonne bonum semen seminasti in agro tuo? unde ergo habet zizania? Hic tunc dixit illis, Inimicus homo hoc fecit. Servi autem dixerunt, Visne ergo exeuntes colligamus ea? Ipse vero dixit, Non, ne forte colligentes zizania eradicetis simul cum illis triticum; sinite una crescere utraque usque ad messem, et in tempore messis dicam messoribus, Colligite prius zizania, et colligate ea in fasciculos ad comburendum ea, triticum vero congregate in horreum meum" (13:24-30):
quid haec involvunt, patet manifeste ex sensu spirituali, nam singula ibi sunt correspondentiae; Dominus enim cum in mundo fuit per meras correspondentias locutus est, quia ex Divino; agitur ibi de ultimo judicio, quando separandi sunt boni a malis, ac boni venturi in caelum et mali in infernum: "semen bonum in agro", quod homo seminavit, significat ecclesiae vera quae ex bono sunt; "ager" significat ecclesiam ubi illa, et "seminare" significat influere ac recipere, ita quoque instruere: "homo qui seminavit" est Dominus per Verbum ubi omnia vera ecclesiae sunt: "cum dormiverunt homines, venit ejus inimicus et seminavit zizania et abivit", significat quod apud naturales homines falsa mali ab inferno influant et recipiantur, "dormire" enim significat vivere vitam naturalem absque spirituali (videatur supra, n. 187(a)), et "inimicus" significat infernum, et "zizania" significant mala falsi. Quid reliqua usque ad finem significant, constare poteSt ex illis quae in opusculo De Ultimo Judicio (n. 70) adducta sunt, involvunt enim arcana , quae ibi exposita sunt; hic solum quod per "triticum" significetur bonum veri et inde illi qui in bono per vera sunt, ac per "zizania" malum falsi et inde illi qui in malo per falsa sunt. Quod illa dicta sint de ultimo judicio, constat ex sequentibus in eo capite, ubi dicitur,
"Qui seminat bonum semen est Filius hominis, ager est mundus, semen. .. sunt filii regni, zizania sunt filii mali, inimicus... est diabolus, messis consummatio saeculi" (vers. [37,] 38, 39):
"consummatio saeculi" est ultimum tempus ecclesiae quando judicium. Ex his locis ex Verbo allatis constare potest quod "triticum" significet bonum ecclesiae in genere, ac "hordeum" verum ejus.
Footnotes:
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