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403. As a fig-tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken by a mighty wind. That this signifies, which the natural man has laid waste by his reasonings, is plain from the signification of a fig-tree, as denoting the natural man, of which we shall speak presently; from the signification of its untimely figs, as denoting those things that are in the natural man, these being especially the knowledges implanted in the natural man from infancy, and are not yet mature, having been merely heard and thence received; and from the signification of, shaken by a mighty wind, as denoting, which the natural man has laid waste by reasonings. To be shaken by a mighty wind here signifies reasonings from the falsities of evil; for mighty in the Word is said of good and evil; wind, of truth and falsity; and to be shaken thereby, of reasoning thence. The reason why such things are signified by these words, although they are said comparatively, is, that all comparisons in the Word are significative, just as other things, for they are equally correspondences. With respect to these things, the case is this: every man is born natural from his parents, but becomes spiritual from the Lord; this is called to be born again, or regenerated. And because he is born natural, therefore the knowledges he imbibes from infancy, before he becomes spiritual, are implanted in his natural memory. But as he advances in years, and begins to view rationally the knowledges of good and truth he has imbibed from the Word or from preaching, if he then leads an evil life, he seizes upon and examines the falsities that are the opposite of and contrary to these knowledges; then as he is gifted with a talent for reasoning, he reasons from falsities against the knowledges of his infancy and childhood, and as a result these are cast out, and falsities succeed in their place. This, therefore, is what is signified by, "The stars shall fall to the earth, as a fig-tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken by the wind."
[2] That the fig-tree signifies the natural man is from correspondence; for in heaven gardens and paradises appear, where there are trees of every kind, and every tree signifies something of the Divine, which is communicated to angels from the Lord. In general, the olive signifies the celestial which is of the good of love; the vine, the spiritual which is of the truth from that good; and the fig-tree, the natural, which is derived from the spiritual or the celestial. And because those trees signify such things, therefore they also signify the angel or man with whom such things exist; but in a general sense they signify a whole society, because every society in the heavens is formed so as to present the image of one man. But in the spiritual sense those trees signify the church; the olive, the celestial church; the vine, the spiritual church; and the fig-tree, the natural church, which is the external church corresponding to the internal. From these considerations it is evident why it is that the fig-tree is said to signify the natural man, that is, the Natural in man.
[3] That the fig-tree signifies this, and, in general, the external church, is also clear from other passages in the Word, where it is mentioned, as from the following. In Isaiah:
"All the host of the heavens shall be consumed, and the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll; and all the host thereof shall fall down, as the leaf falleth off from the vine, and as that which falleth from the fig-tree" (34:4).
These things are said concerning the day of the Last Judgment, which was about to come, and also came. For the Last Judgment predicted by the prophets of the Old Testament, was accomplished by the Lord when He was in the world; and because similar things then took place as in the Last Judgment, which was predicted in the Apocalypse, and which has at this day been accomplished by the Lord, therefore nearly similar things are said. As in the prophet Isaiah, that, all the host of the heavens shall fall down, as the leaf falleth off from the vine, and as that which falleth from the fig-tree, also that the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll. In the Apocalypse, that the stars shall fall unto the earth, as a fig-tree casteth her untimely figs, and that the heaven shall depart as a scroll rolled together. That all the host of the heavens shall be consumed, signifies that all the goods and truths of love and faith have been corrupted; for by the host of the heavens are meant all the goods and truths of love and faith; the sun, moon, and stars, by which those things are signified, being called the host of the heavens. The heavens being rolled together as a scroll, signifies their dissipation; that all the host shall fall down as the leaf from the vine, and as that which falleth from the fig-tree, signifies the laying waste from the falsities of evil.
[4] In Jeremiah:
"In consuming I will consume them; there shall be no grapes on the vine, nor figs on the fig-tree, and the leaf shall fade" (8:13).
There being no grapes on the vine signifies that there is no spiritual good; for the vine signifies the spiritual man, and the grape, because it is its fruit, signifies the good of that [man], which is called spiritual good; nor figs on the fig-tree, signifies that there is no natural good, for the fig-tree signifies the natural man, and the fruit of the fig-tree signifies the good of that [man], which is called natural good. That the vine does not signify the vine, nor the fig-tree the fig-tree, is evident, for it is said, "In consuming I will consume them, there shall be no grapes on the vine, nor figs on the fig-tree," for they will not on that account be consumed. The vastation of the church is also treated of, as clearly appears from what precedes and follows there.
[5] In Hosea:
"I will also make all her joy to cease, her feast, her new moon, her sabbath. And I will devastate her vine and her fig-tree, whereof she hath said, These are the rewards of my whoredom; and I will make her a forest, and the wild beast of the field shall devour" (2:11, 12).
The churches are here treated of, and the falsification of truth therein. That it is said concerning the church, is clear from the second verse of this chapter, where it is said, contend with your mother; for she is not my wife, and I am not her husband. By a mother and by a wife is signified the church; the holy things of the church also, from which worship is performed, and the worship itself, are signified by the feast, the new moon, and the sabbath, which shall cease; therefore by, "I will devastate her vine and her fig-tree," is signified that both spiritual good and natural good would perish. That they shall be made a forest, and the wild beast of the field shall devour, signifies that both shall be merely natural, and that the spiritual shall be consumed by falsities and lusts; the forest signifying the merely natural, and the wild beast of the field, falsities and lusts. And inasmuch as falsities in the church are especially falsified truths, and these are treated of in this chapter, therefore it is said, "whereof she hath said, These are the rewards of my whoredom," the rewards of whoredom signifying falsification.
[6] In Joel:
"A nation shall come up upon my land, strong, and without number; its teeth are the teeth of a lion, and it hath the great grinding teeth of a lion. It hath reduced my vine to a waste, and my fig-tree to froth; the branches thereof are made white. The vine is dried up, and the fig-tree languisheth; the pomegranate-tree, and also the palm-tree, and the apple-tree, all the trees of the field are withered" (1:6, 7, 12).
In this whole chapter the devastated church is treated of; and by the nation, which comes up upon the land, which is strong and without number, which has the teeth of a lion, and the great grinding teeth of a lion, is not signified any nation of such a kind, but direful evil and the falsity thence. By the land upon which it comes up, is signified the church; by the teeth of a lion are signified the falsities of that evil; and because these destroy all the goods and truths of the church, they are called the great grinding teeth of a lion; a lion signifying that which destroys. Hence by, "He hath reduced my vine to a waste, and my fig-tree to froth," is signified that the church internal and external is thereby vastated; for the vine signifies the internal church, and the fig-tree the external; froth signifies where there is inwardly no truth; and by, "in making it bare he has made it bare, and cast it away," is signified that there is no longer any good or truth which is not destroyed; to make bare, namely, of fruits and leaves, denotes to deprive of goods and truths; and to cast away denotes entirely to destroy. By, "the branches thereof are made white," is signified, that there is no longer anything spiritual. By the pomegranate, the palm, and the apple, and all the trees of the field which are withered, are signified species of goods and truths of the church, and the knowledges thereof, which are consummated by evils and falsities; the trees of the field, in general, signifying the knowledges of good and truth.
[7] In the same:
"Be not afraid, ye beasts of my fields; for the dwelling-places of the wilderness are made grassy, for the tree beareth her fruit, the fig-tree and the vine shall yield their strength" (2:22).
The establishment of the church is here treated of; therefore by the beasts of the field are not meant beasts of the field, but the affections of good in the natural man, consequently, those with whom such affections are. Who does not see that they are not beasts to whom it is said, "Be not afraid, ye beasts of my fields?" By, "the dwelling-places of the wilderness are made grassy," is signified that with such there will be knowledges of truth where there were none before; the dwelling-places of the wilderness denoting the interiors of the mind of those in whom they did not exist before; grassy signifies the increase and multiplication thereof; "for the tree beareth her fruit, the fig-tree and the vine shall yield their strength," signifies that they have natural good and spiritual good, for strength here denotes the production of fruit.
[8] In Amos:
"Your many gardens, and your vineyards, and your fig-trees, and your olive-trees, the canker-worm hath devoured; yet have ye not returned unto me" (4:9).
By gardens are signified all things of the church that constitute intelligence and wisdom; by vineyards, spiritual goods and truths; by fig-trees, natural goods and truths; by olive-trees, celestial goods and truths; the canker-worm denotes the falsity which destroys; the fig-tree, the vine, and the olive, properly signify the church, and the man of the church; but because the church is a church and a man is a man from goods and truths, therefore these also are signified by those trees, the goods by their fruits, and the truths by their branches and leaves.
[9] In Haggai:
"Set your heart from this day and henceforwards. Is there not yet seed in the barn, and even to the vine and fig-tree, and the pomegranate, and the olive-tree?" (2:18, 19).
By these words, in the spiritual sense, is meant that goods and truths are yet remaining; all goods and truths from primaries to ultimates are meant by the vine, the fig-tree, the pomegranate, and the olive-tree; by the vine, spiritual good and truth; by the fig-tree, natural good and truth; by the pomegranate, the knowing and perceptive faculty in general, and specifically the knowledges and perceptions of good and truth; and by the olive-tree, the perception of celestial good and truth; the barn signifies where those things are, either the church, or the man in whom the church is, or the mind of man, which is the subject.
[10] In Habakkuk:
"The fig-tree shall not blossom, neither shall increase be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall deceive, and the fields shall yield no food" (3:17).
The fig-tree shall not blossom, signifies that there shall be no natural good; neither shall increase be in the vines, signifies that there shall be no spiritual good; the labour of the olive shall deceive signifies that there shall be no celestial good; the fields shall yield no food, signifies that there shall be no spiritual nourishment.
[11] In Moses:
"Jehovah God leadeth thee to a good land, a land of rivers of water, of fountains and depths that go out of valley and mountain; a land of wheat and barley, and of the vine and fig-tree and pomegranate; a land of oil olive, and honey" (Deuteronomy 8:7, 8).
By the good land to which they shall be led, is meant the land of Canaan, by which is signified the church, therefore here the same things are signified by the vine, the fig-tree, the pomegranate, and the olive, as now [explained] above. The other things may be seen explained before in n. 374. Because by the land of Canaan is signified the church, and by the vine, the fig-tree, and the pomegranate, are signified the internal and external things of the church, therefore it came to pass that the explorers of that land brought such things thence; concerning this it is thus written in Moses:
The explorers of the land of Canaan "came to the river Eshcol, and cut down from thence a branch with one cluster of grapes, which they bare between two upon a pole; [they brought] also of the pomegranate, and of the figs" (Num. 13:23).
[12] Because the vine and the fig-tree signify such things, therefore it is said in the Word of those who are in the goods and truths of the church, and thence in safety from evils and falsities, that they shall sit under their own vine, and under their own fig-tree in security, and none shall make them afraid; as in the first book of Kings:
"Judah and Israel dwelt safely, every man under his vine and under his fig-tree, from Dan even to Beersheba, all the days of Solomon" (Heaven and Hell 188). And because these have truths inscribed upon their hearts, and, therefore, do not debate concerning them, it is said that "nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more," by which is signified, that in that kingdom there shall be no dispute about truths (as may be seen in the same work, n. Heaven and Hell 25, 26, 270, 271). That by the truths and goods which they possess, they shall be safe from evils and falsities, is signified by, they shall sit under their own vine and under their own fig-tree, none making them afraid.
[13] In Jeremiah:
"Lo, I will bring upon you a nation from afar, which shall eat up thine harvest, and thy bread; it shall eat up thy sons and thy daughters; it shall eat up thy flock and thine herd; it shall eat up thy vine and thy fig-tree" (5:15, 17).
By a nation from afar is signified the evil opposed to celestial good; by from afar is signified distant and remote from goods and truths, also opposed; "which shall eat up thine harvest, and thy bread," signifies that it shall destroy all truths and goods by means of which there is spiritual nourishment; "it shall eat up thy sons and thy daughters," signifies all the spiritual affections of truth and good; "it shall eat up thy flock and thine herd," signifies truths and goods internal and external; "it shall eat up thy vine and thy fig-tree," signifies, thus the internal and external of the church.
[14] In Hosea:
"I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness; I saw your fathers as the first-ripe in the fig-tree in its first season" (Arcana Coelestia 6050, 6075, 6846, 6876, 6884, 7648, 8055); because they were in good, but at the beginning in ignorance of the truth, by which, however, good is [formed], it is said, "I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness; I saw your fathers as the first-ripe in the fig-tree in its first season"; grapes signifying spiritual good, wilderness signifying ignorance of the truth; and the first-ripe in the fig-tree signifying natural good from spiritual good in infancy.
[15] In Luke:
"And when all these things begin to come to pass, look up, and lift up your heads. And he spake a parable; Behold the fig-tree, and all the trees; when they now have shot forth, ye see and shall know of your own selves that summer is now near. So also ye, when ye shall see these things, know that the kingdom of God is nigh" (21:28-31; Matthew 24:32; Mark 13:28, 29).
The subject here treated of is the consummation of the age, which is the Last Judgment, and the signs that precede are enumerated; these are meant by, "when all these things begin to come to pass." That a new church will then commence, which will be external in the beginning, is signified by, "Behold the fig-tree, and all the trees, when they have shot forth." This parable or similitude was related, because the fig-tree signifies the external church, and the trees signify the knowledges of truth and good. The kingdom of God, which then is near, signifies the Lord's New Church; for at the time of the Last Judgment, the old church perishes, and a new commences.
[16] In Luke:
"Every tree is known by his own fruit; for of thorns [men] do not gather figs, nor of a bramble-bush gather they the grape" (6:44).
As by fruit is signified the good of life, and the good of life is external good from internal, or natural good from spiritual, and as man is known from this good, therefore the Lord says, "Every tree is known by his own fruit; of thorns [men] do not gather figs, nor of a bramble-bush gather they the grape," the fig here denoting the good of the external or natural man, and the grape denoting the good of the internal or spiritual man; the thorns and the bramble-bush denote the evils opposed to them.
[17] Because the kings of Judah and Israel represented the Lord as to Divine truth, and Divine truth is, as it were, tortured, and labours with man, when there is not a life according to it, and it does not become the good of life; but only when it becomes of the life, it lives; this was signified by the following:
That by command of Jehovah to Hezekiah king of Judah, when he was sick, they should bring a lump of figs, and lay it for a plaster, upon the boil, and so should he live (2 Kings 20:7; Isaiah 38:21).
From these things it is evident that the fig-tree, in the genuine sense, signifies the natural man as to good and truth, the fig itself as a tree, the natural man; the fig as a fruit, the good of the natural man; and its leaf, the truth of that good.
[18] But that the fig-tree in an opposite sense signifies the natural man as to evil and falsity, the fig as a tree, the natural man himself, the figs of it as fruit, the evil of that natural man; and its leaf, the falsity of that evil, is plain from the following passages.
In Jeremiah:
"Jehovah shewed me, and, behold, two baskets of figs were set before the temple of Jehovah. One basket [held] very good figs, as of fig-trees bearing the first-fruits; and the other basket [held] exceeding bad figs, which could not be eaten for badness. Jehovah said, As these figs are good, so will I acknowledge the migration of Judah into the land of the Chaldeans for good; and I will set mine eye upon them for good, and I will bring them back upon this land; and I will build them, and I will plant them. And like the figs that are bad; so will I give them that are left in this land, to commotion, and to evil in all nations; and I will send upon them the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, that they may be consumed" (391, 392, 394, 397); namely, that the inwardly evil, who could nevertheless lead a moral life, like the spiritual life in externals, remained upon the earth in the spiritual world, and made themselves habitations there upon the higher places; and that the inwardly good were removed from them, and concealed by the Lord in the lower earth. This was represented by the carrying away of the Jews into the land of the Chaldeans, and by the continuance of the rest in the land; therefore it is said concerning those who suffered themselves to be carried away into the land of the Chaldeans, "I acknowledge the migration of Judah into the land of the Chaldeans for good; and I will set mine eye upon them for good, and I will bring them back upon this land; and I will build them, and I will plant them"; whereas, concerning those who remained, it is said, "I will give them that are left in this land, to commotion, and to evil in all nations; and I will send upon them the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, that they may be consumed." That these were the things represented, is plain also from this fact, that the temple of Solomon was destroyed before they were carried away, and that a new [temple] was built when they returned. By the temple is signified Divine worship; and by the new temple, that [worship] restored.
[19] From these things it is evident what is signified by the two baskets of figs set before the temple of Jehovah, in one of which were figs that were very good, as of fig-trees bearing the firstfruits, and in the other were figs exceeding bad, which could not be eaten for badness; namely, that those who are inwardly good, from whom a new heaven is to be formed, are meant by the basket of good figs, and those who are inwardly evil, who are to be cast down into hell, are meant by the basket of bad figs. Therefore it is said concerning the latter, that they could not be eaten for badness; by which is signified that they were inwardly evil; and concerning the former that they were as fig-trees bearing the first-fruits, by which is signified that they were inwardly good, so that a new heaven could be formed from them; for the fig, as a fruit, signifies the good of life in the internal, and at the same time in the external form, and, in an opposite sense, it signifies the good of life solely in the external form, which is evil of life, because it is inwardly evil; for every external derives its quality from the internal, for it is the effect of it. The reason why, with such persons, evil appears in the externals as good, is, because they feign what is good for the sake of the evil that is within, in order to obtain some end, to which apparent good serves as a means. The same is said of those who remained in the land of Canaan elsewhere in the same [prophet]:
"Thus said Jehovah of the king, and all the people that dwell in this city, that are not gone forth with you into captivity; Behold, I will send upon them the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, and I will make them like harsh figs, that cannot be eaten for badness" (29:16, 17).
[20] That the fig as a tree, in the opposite sense, signifies the merely natural man, and the church from such, or those with whom there is no natural good, because there is no inward good, is plain in Luke:
Jesus "spake this parable: A certain man had a fig-tree planted in his vineyard; he therefore came seeking fruit thereon, but found none. He said unto the vine-dresser, Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig-tree, but find none, cut it down, for wherefore also maketh it the ground unfruitful? But he answering said, Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it, and dung it: if only it bear fruit, [well]; if not at all, after that thou shalt cut it down" (13:6-9).
By the vineyard, in which the fig-tree was, is signified the church, where also those are who are in externals; for there is both an internal and an external in the Lord's church; the internal of the church consists of charity and the faith thence, but the external of the church consists of the good of life. Because the works of charity and faith, which constitute the good of life, pertain to the natural man, and charity itself and the faith thence to the spiritual man, hence by the vineyard is signified the internal of the church, and by the fig-tree its external. With the Jewish nation there was only the external of the church, because it was in external representative worship; therefore by the fig-tree is meant the church with that nation; but because they were in external and in no internal worship, for they were inwardly evil, and since external worship without internal is no worship, and with the evil is evil worship, therefore with them there was nothing of natural good. Hence it is said, that for three years he had not found fruit on the fig-tree, and that he commanded the vinedresser to cut it down; by which is signified, that from beginning to end there was not any natural good with that nation; for by three years is signified a whole period, or a time from beginning to end; and by the fruit of the fig-tree is signified natural good; by natural good is meant spiritual-natural good, or good in the natural from the spiritual. And because a church composed of such as are not in natural good, as was the Jewish nation, is not a church, therefore it is also said of the fig-tree, "wherefore also maketh it the ground unfruitful?" the earth denoting the church. That the vine-dresser begged that it should still be left, and that he would dig about it, signifies that [the nation] should remain, and that hereafter they should be instructed by the Christians, in the midst of whom they would be; but because no answer was made to this, it is meant that the fig-tree would still produce no fruit; that is, that the Jewish nation would do no good that proceeds from anything spiritual.
[21] This is signified by the fig-tree which withered away on account of the Lord's finding no fruit thereon.
In Matthew:
"In the morning, Jesus returning into the city, hungered. And seeing a fig-tree in the way, he came to it, but found nothing thereon but leaves, therefore he said unto it, Let nothing grow on thee henceforward for ever; whence the fig-tree from that time withered away" (386). He who does not know what the fig-tree signifies, and that by that fig-tree was meant the church with that nation, can think no otherwise than that this was done by the Lord from indignation, because He hungered; whereas it was not done on this account, but that the quality of the Jewish nation might be thereby signified. For all the Lord's miracles involve and signify such things as belong to heaven and the church, whence those miracles were Divine (as may be seen, n. 7337, 8364, 9031 at the end).
[22] The perverted church, or the perverted man of the church as to his natural or external man, is also signified by the fig-tree, in David:
"He gave them hail for rain, a fire of flames in their land and he smote their vines and their fig-trees; he brake the tree of their border" (Psalms 105:32, 33).
These things are said concerning Egypt, by which is signified the natural man who is in falsities and evils; and by the vine, the fig-tree, and the tree of the border, are signified all things of the church; by the vine, the internal or spiritual things thereof; by the fig-tree, the external or natural things thereof; and by the tree of the border, every thing of the cognitive and perceptive faculty; the border signifying the ultimate in which interior things terminate, and in which they are together, and the trees [signifying] knowledges and perceptions. Because all these things were perverted and therefore damned, it is said that they were smitten and broken, by which is signified destruction and damnation. That [this was] from the falsities of evil that originate in the love of the world, is signified by, "hail for rain, a fire of flames in their land"; rain as hail signifies the falsities of evil, and a fire of flames signifies the love of the world.
[23] In Nahum:
All thy strongholds [shall be] like fig-trees with the first ripe figs if they are shaken, they fall upon the mouth of the eater (3:12).
This is said of the city of bloods, by which is signified doctrine in which truths are falsified and goods adulterated. This is compared to fig-trees with their first-fruits, which, if they be shaken, fall upon the mouth of the eater, and by this is signified that the goods therein are not goods, however much they appear as goods; and that they are not received, and if they are received, they are received only in the memory and not in the heart. That they fall when they are shaken, signifies that they are not goods although they appear as goods, because they are the first-fruits; and upon the mouth of the eater signifies non-reception, not even in the memory. That the mouth of the eater signifies not to receive, is plain from appearances in the spiritual world; for those who commit any thing to the memory appear to receive with the mouth; therefore to fall upon the mouth signifies, not to receive even in the memory, but only to hear, and also if they do receive, that it is only in the memory, and not in the heart. By fig-trees with their first-fruits can also be understood genuine goods, with which the same is accomplished with those who are in falsities of evil.
403. As a fig tree casteth her unripe figs when shaken by a great wind, signifies which knowledges the natural man has laid waste by its reasonings. This is evident from the signification of "fig-tree," as being the natural man (of which presently); from the signification of "her unripe figs" as being the things that are in the natural man, which especially are the knowledges implanted in the natural man from infancy, and that are not yet mature, having been merely heard and thence accepted; also from the signification of "shaken by a great wind," as being, which the natural man has laid waste by reasonings. "To be shaken by a great wind" here signifies the reasonings from the falsities of evil, for "great" in the Word is predicated of good and of evil, "wind" of truth and of falsity, and "to be shaken thereby," of reasoning therefrom. Such is the signification of these words, although they are used comparatively, because in the Word all comparisons, like the rest, are significative, for they are equally correspondences. With respect to these things, the case is this: every man is born natural from his parents, but becomes spiritual from the Lord, which is called to be born anew or to be regenerated; and because he is born natural, therefore the knowledges that he imbibes from infancy, before he becomes spiritual, are implanted in his natural memory; but as he advances in years and begins to consider rationally the knowledges of good and truth that he has imbibed from the Word or from preaching, if he is then leading an evil life he eagerly adopts and is imbued with the falsities that are opposite and contrary to these knowledges, and then, because he is endowed with ability to reason, he reasons from falsities against the knowledges of his infancy and childhood, in consequence of which these are cast out, and falsities take their place; this, therefore, is what is signified by "the stars shall fall to the earth as a fig-tree casteth her unripe figs when shaken by a great wind."
[2] That "the fig-tree" signifies the natural man is from correspondence; for in heaven gardens and paradises are seen, where there are trees of every kind, and each tree signifies something of the Divine that is communicated to angels by the Lord. In general, "the olive" signifies the celestial, which is of the good of love; "the vine" the spiritual, which is of truth from that good; and "the fig-tree," the natural, which is derived from the spiritual or the celestial. And as these trees have this signification they also signify the angel or man in whom such things exist. But in a general sense they signify a whole society, because every society in the heavens is so formed as to present the image of a single man. In the spiritual sense, however, these trees signify the church, "the olive" the celestial church, "the vine" the spiritual church, and "the fig-tree" the natural church, which is the external church corresponding to the internal. From this it can be seen why "the fig-tree" is said to signify the natural man, that is, the natural with man.
[3] That "the fig tree" signifies this, and, in general, the external church is evident also from other passages in the Word, where it is mentioned, as from the following. In Isaiah:
All the host of the heavens shall waste away, and the heavens shall be rolled up as a book; and all their 1host shall fall down as the leaf falleth off from the vine, and as that which falleth from the fig-tree (Isaiah 34:4).
This is said of the day of the Last Judgment, which was to come, and which also did come; for the Last Judgment foretold by the prophets of the Old Testament was accomplished by the Lord when He was in the world; and as the things then done were like those done in the Last Judgment that is foretold in Revelation, and has at this day been accomplished by the Lord, so nearly the same things are said; as in the prophet Isaiah, that "all the host of the heavens shall fall down, as the leaf falleth off from the vine, and as that which falleth from the fig-tree," likewise that "the heavens shall be rolled up as a scroll;" and in Revelation, that "the stars shall fall unto the earth, as a fig-tree casteth her unripe figs," and that "the heaven shall depart as a book rolled up." "All the host of the heavens shall waste away" signifies that all goods and truths that are of love and faith are corrupted, "the host of the heavens" meaning all goods and truths that are of love and faith; for the sun, moon, and stars, by which these are signified, are called "the host of the heavens." "The heavens shall be rolled up as a book" signifies their dispersion; "all the host shall fall down as the leaf from the vine, and as that which falleth from the fig tree" signifies a laying waste from the falsities of evil.
[4] In Jeremiah:
In consuming I will consume them; there shall be no grapes on the vine nor figs on the fig-tree, and the leaf shall wither (Jeremiah 8:13).
"No grapes on the vine" signifies that there is no spiritual good, for "the vine" signifies the spiritual man, and "the grape," as being its fruit, signifies the good of that man, which is called spiritual good; "nor figs on the fig-tree" signifies that there is no natural good, for "the fig-tree" signifies the natural man, and "the fruit of the fig tree" signifies the good of that man which is called natural good. Evidently "the vine" does not mean a vine, nor "the fig-tree" a fig-tree, for it is said, "In consuming I will consume them, there shall be no grapes on the vine nor figs on the fig-tree," for they would not be consumed on that account. Moreover, the vastation of the church is what is treated of, as is clearly evident from what there precedes and follows.
[5] In Hosea:
I will make all her joy to cease, her feast, her new moon, her sabbath. And I will lay waste her vine and her fig-tree, whereof she hath said, These are my meretricious hire; and I will make them a forest, and the wild beast of the field shall eat them (Hosea 2:11-12).
This treats of the churches and of the falsification of truth therein. That the church is treated of is evident from the second verse of this chapter, where it is said, "Plead with your mother; for she is not my wife, and I am not her husband," "mother" and "wife" meaning the church. Moreover, the holy things of the church, from which worship is performed, and the worship itself, are signified by "the feast, the new moon, and the sabbath," which shall cease; therefore "I will lay waste her vine and her fig-tree" signifies that both spiritual good and natural good are to perish. That "they will be made a forest, and the wild beast of the field shall eat them" signifies that both will be merely natural, and that the spiritual will be consumed by falsities and lusts; "forest" signifying the merely natural, and "wild beast of the field" falsities and lusts. And as falsities in the church are especially falsified truths, and these are treated of in this chapter, it is said, "whereof she hath said, These are my meretricious hire," "meretricious hire" signifying falsification.
[6] In Joel:
A nation shall come up upon My land, vigorous and without number; its teeth are the teeth of a lion, and it hath the cheek-teeth of an immense 2lion. It hath made My vine a waste. and My fig-tree foam; [in stripping it hath stripped it, and cast it away;] the branches thereof are made white. 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 dried up (Joel 1:6-7, 12).
This whole chapter treats of the devastated church; and "the nation that comes up upon the land, vigorous and without number, having the teeth of a lion, and the cheek-teeth of an immense lion," does not signify any such nation, but direful evil and falsity therefrom; "the land upon which it comes up" signifies the church; "the teeth of a lion" signify the falsities of such evil; and because these destroy all the goods and truths of the church, they are called "the teeth of the lion and the great cheek-teeth of a lion," "lion" signifying [falsity] which destroys. Therefore "it hath made My vine a waste, and My fig-tree foam," signifies that the church internal and external is thereby vastated, "vine" signifying the internal church, and "fig-tree" the external, "foam" signifying where there is inwardly no truth; "in stripping it hath stripped it, and cast it away" signifies that there is no longer any good or truth that is not destroyed, "to strip," that is, of fruits and leaves, means of goods and truths, and "to cast away" means to destroy entirely; "the branches thereof are made white" signifies that there is no longer anything spiritual; "the pomegranate, the palm, and the apple, and all the trees of the field, that are dried up" signify the kinds of goods and truths of the church, and its knowledges, which are consummated by evils and falsities, "the trees of the field" signifying in general the knowledges of good and truth.
[7] In the same:
Fear not, ye beasts of My fields; for the habitations of the wilderness are full of herbs, for the tree beareth her fruit, the fig-tree and the vine shall yield their strength (Joel 2:22).
This treats of the establishment of the church, therefore "the beasts of the field" do not mean beasts of the field, but the affections of good in the natural man, consequently those in whom are such affections. Who does not see that it cannot be beasts to whom it is said, "Fear not, ye beasts of my fields?" "The habitations of the desert are made full of herbs" signifies that with such there will be knowledges of truth where there were none before, "the habitations of the wilderness" meaning the interiors of the mind of those in whom these did not exist before, "full of herbs" signifying the increase and multiplication of these; "for the tree beareth her fruit, the fig tree and the vine shall yield their strength" signifies that they have natural good and spiritual good, "strength" here meaning the production of fruit.
[8] In Amos:
Your many gardens and your vineyards, and your fig-trees and your olive-trees, the palmer worm hath devoured; yet have ye not returned unto me (Amos 4:9).
"Gardens" signify all things of the church that constitute intelligence and wisdom; "vineyards" spiritual goods and truths; "fig-trees" natural goods and truths; "olive-trees" celestial goods and truths; "the palmer worm" means the falsity that destroys; "the fig-tree," "the vine," and "the olive" properly signify the church and the man of the church; but as the church is a church and man is a man from goods and truths, so these also are signified by those trees, goods by their fruits, and truths by their branches and leaves.
[9] In Haggai:
Set your heart from this day and onwards. Is not the seed yet in the barn, even to the vine and fig-tree, and the pomegranate and the olive-tree? (Haggai 2:18-19).
These words in the spiritual sense mean that there are goods and truths yet remaining; all goods and truths from first to last are meant by "the vine, the fig-tree, the pomegranate, and the olive-tree," "the vine" meaning spiritual good and truth; "the fig-tree" natural good and truth; "the pomegranate" in general that which belongs to knowing and perceiving, and in particular, the knowledges and perceptions of good and truth; and "the olive-tree" the perception of celestial good and truth; "the barn" signifies where all these are, either the church or the man in whom the church is, or the mind of the man which is the subject.
[10] In Habakkuk:
The fig-tree shall not blossom, neither shall there be produce on the vines; the labor of the olive shall dissemble, and the fields shall yield no food (Habakkuk 3:17).
"The fig-tree shall not blossom" signifies that there shall be no natural good; "neither shall there be produce on the vines" signifies that there shall be no spiritual good; "the labor of the olive shall dissemble" signifies that there shall be no celestial good; "the fields shall yield no food" signifies that there shall be no spiritual nourishment.
[11] In Moses:
Jehovah God bringeth thee to 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).
"The good land" to which they shall be led means the land of Canaan, which signifies the church; here, therefore, "vine," "fig-tree," "pomegranate," and "olive," have a like signification as above. (The remainder may be seen explained before, n. Numbers 13:23).
[12] Because "the vine" and "the fig-tree" signify such things, it is said in the Word of those who are in the goods and truths of the church, and thus in safety from evils and falsities, that "they shall sit securely under their own vine and under their own fig-tree, and none shall make afraid." Thus in the first book of Kings:
Judah and Israel dwelt in security, every man under his vine and under his fig-tree, from Dan even to Beersheba, all the days of Solomon (Heaven and Hell 188). And as such have truths inscribed on their hearts, and therefore do not dispute about them, it is said that "nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more," which signifies that in that kingdom there shall be no disputation about truths (See in the same work, n 25-26, 270, 271). That through the truths and goods in which they are, they shall be safe from evils and falsities is signified by "they shall sit under their own vine and under their own fig tree, and none shall make afraid."
[13] In Jeremiah:
Lo, I will bring upon you a nation from afar, which shall eat up thy harvest and thy bread; and it shall eat up thy sons and thy daughters; it shall eat up thy flock and thy herd; it shall eat up thy vine and thy fig tree (Jeremiah 5:15, 17).
"A nation from afar" signifies the evil opposed to celestial good, "from afar" signifying apart and remote from, also opposed to, goods and truths; "which shall eat up thy harvest and thy bread" signifies that it will destroy all truths and goods by which there is spiritual nourishment; "which shall eat up thy sons and thy daughters" signifies all the spiritual affections of truth and good; "which shall eat up thy flock and thy herd" signifies truths and goods internal and external; "which shall eat up thy vine and thy fig tree" signifies thus the internal and the external of the church.
[14] In Hosea:
I found 3Israel like grapes in the wilderness; I saw your fathers as the first-ripe in the fig-tree in its first season (Arcana Coelestia 6050, 6075, 6846, 6876, 6884, 7649, 8055); because these were in good, but at the beginning in ignorance of truth, through which, however, good comes, it is said, "I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness; I saw your fathers as a fig-tree in its first season," "grapes" signifying spiritual good, "wilderness" signifying ignorance of truth, and "the first-ripe in the fig-tree" signifying natural good from spiritual good in infancy.
[15] In Luke:
When these things begin to come to pass, look up, and lift up your heads. And He spoke a parable: Behold the fig-tree and all the trees; when now they shall have shot forth ye see and shall know of your own selves that summer is now near. So ye also, when ye shall see these things coming to pass know that the kingdom of God is nigh (Luke 21:28-31; Matthew 24:32; Mark 13:28-29).
This treats of the consummation of the age, which is the Last Judgment, and the signs which precede are enumerated, which are meant by "when all these things begin to come to pass;" that a new church is then to begin, which in its beginning will be external, is signified by "Behold the fig-tree and all the trees, when they have shot forth." This parable or similitude was related because "the fig-tree" signifies the external church, and "trees" signify the knowledges of truth and good; "the kingdom of God," which then is near, signifies the new church of the Lord; for at the time of the Last Judgment the old church perishes and a new one begins.
[16] In Luke:
Every tree is known by its own fruit; for from thorns men do not gather figs, nor from a bramble bush gather they the grape (Luke 6:44; Matthew 7:16);
as "fruit" signifies the good of life, and the good of life is external good from internal, or natural good from spiritual, and as from this good man is known, so the Lord says, "Every tree is known by its own fruit; from thorns men do not gather figs, nor from a bramble-bush gather they the grape," "fig" here meaning the good of the external or natural man, and "the grape" the good of the internal or spiritual man; "thorns" and "bramble-bush" mean the evils opposed to these goods.
[17] Because the kings of Judah and Israel represented the Lord in relation to Divine truth, and Divine truth with man endures distress and labors as it were, when the life is not according to it and when it is not made the good of life, but when it is made the good of life it lives, so this was signified by the following:
By command of Jehovah they brought to Hezekiah king of Judah, when he was sick, a lump of figs, and placed it as a plaster upon his boil, and so he lived (2 Kings 20:7; Isaiah 38:21).
From this it can be seen that "the fig-tree" in the genuine sense, signifies the natural man in respect to good and truth, the fig itself as a tree the natural man, the fig as a fruit the good of the natural man, and its leaf the truth of that good.
[18] But that "the fig-tree" in the contrary sense signifies the natural man in respect to evil and falsity, the fig as a tree the natural man itself, the figs of it as fruit, the evil of that natural man, and its leaf the falsity of that evil, is evident from the following passages. In Jeremiah:
Jehovah showed me, and behold, two baskets of figs set before the temple of Jehovah, one basket of very good figs, as of fig-trees bearing the firstfruits; and the other basket of very bad figs, that could not be eaten for badness. Jehovah said, As the good figs, so will I recognize those carried away of Judah into the land of the Chaldeans for good; and I will set Mine eyes upon them for good, and I will bring them back upon this land; and I will build them, and I will plant them. And as the bad figs, so will I give them that are left in this land to commotion, and to evil to all nations; and I will send among them the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, that they may be consumed (391, 392, 394, 397), namely that those who were inwardly evil, and yet were able to maintain a moral life externally like a spiritual life, remained upon the earth in the spiritual world, and made habitations for themselves there upon the higher places; while those who were inwardly good were removed from them, and concealed by the Lord in the lower earth; this was what was represented by the carrying away of the Jews into the land of the Chaldeans, and by the continuance of the rest of them in the land; therefore it is said concerning those who suffered themselves to be carried away into the land of the Chaldeans, "I recognize those carried away of Judah into the land of the Chaldeans for good; and I will set Mine eyes upon them for good, and I will bring them back upon this land; and I will build them, and I will plant them;" while of those that remained it is said "I will give them that are left in this land to commotion, and to evil to all nations; and I will send among them the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, that they may be consumed." That this is what was represented is evident also from this, that the temple of Solomon was destroyed before they were carried away, and a new one was built when they returned; "temple" signifying Divine worship, and "a new temple" worship restored.
[19] From this it can be seen what is signified by "the two baskets of figs set before the temple of Jehovah, in one of which were very good figs, as of fig-trees bearing the firstfruits, and in the other very bad figs, that could not be eaten for badness," namely, that those who are inwardly good, of whom a new heaven is to be formed, are meant by "the basket of good figs;" and those who are inwardly evil, who are to be cast down into hell, are meant by "the basket of bad figs;" wherefore it is said of the latter that "they could not be eaten for badness," signifying that such are inwardly evil, while of the former it is said that they were "as fig-trees bearing the firstfruits," signifying that such are inwardly good, so that a new heaven may be formed out of them; for "the fig," as a fruit, signifies the good of life both in its internal and its external form, and in the contrary sense it signifies the good of life merely in its external form, which is the evil of life, because inwardly it is evil, every external deriving all its quality from its internal, as it is an effect of it. With such, evil appears in externals as good, because they feign good for the sake of the evil that is within, in order to obtain some end, to which the seeming good serves as a means. The like is said of those who remained in the land of Canaan elsewhere in the same prophet:
Thus said Jehovah concerning the king, and all the people that dwell in this city that are not gone forth with you into captivity: Behold, I will send against them the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, and I will make them like vile figs, that cannot be eaten for badness (Jeremiah 29:16-17).
[20] That "the fig," as a tree, in the contrary sense signifies a merely natural man, and a church constituted of such, or those with whom there is no natural good because there is no good within is evident in Luke:
Jesus spoke this parable: A certain man had a fig-tree planted in his vineyard; he therefore came seeking fruit thereon, but found none. He said unto the vine dresser, Behold, three years I come seeking fruit on this fig-tree, but find none; cut it down, why also doth it make the land unfruitful? But he answering said, Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it and dung it, if indeed it will bear fruit; but if not, after that thou shalt cut it down (Luke 13:6-9).
"The vineyard in which was the fig-tree" signifies the church, which contains also such as are in externals; for in the Lord's church there is both an internal and an external; the internal of the church is charity and the faith therefrom, while the external of the church is the good of life. The works of charity and faith, which are the good of life, belong to the natural man, while charity itself and faith therefrom belong to the spiritual man, therefore "a vineyard" signifies the internal of the church, and "a fig-tree" its external. With the Jewish nation there was only the external of the church, since it was in external representative worship; therefore "a fig tree" means the church with that nation; but because they were in external worship and in no internal, being inwardly evil, and external worship without internal is no worship, and with the evil is evil worship, therefore with them there was nothing of natural good. It is therefore said that "for three years he found no fruit on the fig-tree, and that he told the vine dresser to cut it down," which signifies that from beginning to end there was no natural good with that nation, "three years" signifying a whole period, or the time from beginning to end, and "the fruit of the fig tree" signifying natural good; by natural good is meant spiritual-natural good, or good in the natural from the spiritual. And because a church composed of such as are not in natural good, as was the Jewish nation, is not a church, it is also said "why also doth it make the land unfruitful?" "land" meaning the church; "the vine dresser saying that it should still be left, and he would dig about it" signifies that they would remain, and that they would hereafter be instructed by the Christians, in the midst of whom they would be; but no answer being made to this means that the fig tree would still produce no fruit, that is, that no good proceeding from anything spiritual would be done by the Jewish nation.
[21] This is the signification of "the fig-tree that withered away" when the Lord found no fruit on it, in Matthew:
In the morning Jesus returning into the city, hungered. And seeing a fig-tree by the way, He came to it, but found nothing thereon but leaves, therefore He said unto it, Let nothing grow on thee henceforward forever; therefore from that time the fig-tree withered away (386. One who does not know the signification of "fig-tree," and that this fig-tree meant the church with that nation, thinks no otherwise than the Lord did this from indignation because He was hungry; but it was not done for that reason, but that it might be signified that such was the quality of the Jewish nation; for all the Lord's miracles involve and signify such things as belong to heaven and the church, whence those miracles were Divine (See Arcana Coelestia 7337, 8364, 9051 at the end).
[22] A perverted church, or the man of the church perverted in respect to his natural or external man is also signified by the fig-tree in David:
He gave them hail for their rain, a fire of flames in their land; and He smote their vine and their fig-tree; He brake the tree of their border (Psalms 105:32-33).
This was said of Egypt, which signifies the natural man that is in falsities and evils; and "vine," "fig tree," and "the tree of the border" signify all things of the church, "vine" the internal or spiritual things thereof, "fig-tree" the external or natural things thereof, and "the tree of the border" everything pertaining to knowing and perceiving, "the border" signifying the ultimate in which the interior things close, and in which they are together, and "trees" signifying knowledges and perceptions. Because all these things were perverted and therefore damned, it is said that they were "smitten and broken," which signifies destruction and damnation; that this was done by the falsities of evil which are from the love of the world is signified by "hail for their rain, a fire of flames in their land," "rain as hail" signifying the falsities of evil, and "the fire of flames" the love of the world.
[23] In Nahum:
All thy fortresses shall be like fig-trees with the first-ripe figs, if they be shaken they fall upon the mouth of the eater (Nahum 3:12).
This is said of "the city of bloods," which signifies doctrine in which truths are falsified and goods adulterated. This is compared to "fig-trees with the first-ripe figs, if they be shaken they fall upon the mouth of the eater," and this signifies that the goods therein are not goods, however much they may appear to be goods; and that such are not received, or if received are received only in the memory and not in the heart. That "if they be shaken they fall" signifies that they are not goods although they appear to be goods, because they are "the first-ripe figs;" and their falling "upon the mouth of the eater" signifies that they are not received even in the memory. That "the mouth of the eater" signifies non-reception is evident from appearances in the spiritual world; for those who commit anything to memory appear to receive it with the mouth; so "to fall upon the mouth" signifies not to receive even in the memory but only to hear, and also if they do receive, that it is only in the memory and not in the heart. "Fig-trees with their first-ripe figs" may also mean genuine goods, of which the like is true as of those who are in the falsities of evil.
Footnotes:
1. The photolithograph has "its host;" the Hebrew "their host;" the latter is found in AE 573.
2. The photolithograph has "immense teeth," but AC 556 and AC 9052 have "immense lion" with Hebrew.
3. The photolithograph has "I saw;" Hebrew has "I found;" this is also found in the explanation AE 403, as well as AE 918, and in AC 217, 1971, 5117.
403. "Sicut ficus dejicit grossos suos a magno vento concussa." - Quod significet qisas naturalis homo per ratiocinationes suas depopulatus est, constat ex significatione "ficus", quod sit naturalis homo, de qua sequitur; ex significatione "grossorum ejus", quod sint illa quae in naturali homine, quae imprimis sunt cognitiones naturali homini implantatae ab infantia, et nondum maturae, quia solum auditae et inde receptae; et ex significatione "magno vento concussa", quod sit quas naturalis hoino per ratiocinationes depopulatus est; "magno vento concuti" significat hic ratiocinationes ex falsis mali, nam "magnum" in Verbo dicitur de bono et de malo, "ventus" de vero et de falso, et "concuti ab illo" de ratiocinatione inde. Quod talia significentur per illa verba, tametsi comparative sunt dicta, est quia omnes comparationes in Verbo, similiter ac reliqua, significant, sunt enim aeque correspondentiae. Cum his ita se habet: omnis homo nascitur a parentibus naturalis, sed fit a Domino spiritualis, quod dicitur e novo nasci seu regenerari; et quia nascitur naturalis, ideo cognitiones quas ab infantia haurit, antequam fit spiritualis, implantantur memoriae ejus naturali; quando autem aetate provehitur, et incipit rationaliter intueri cognitiones boni et veri, quas ex Verbo seu ex praedicatione hausit, si tunc vitam agit malam, arripit et imbuit falsa quae cognitionibus illis opposita et contraria sunt; ac tunc, quia ratiocinandi dote pollet ratiocinatur ex falsis contra cognitiones infantiae et pueritiae suae; quod cum fit, dejiciuntur illae, et loco earum succedunt falsa: haec itaque sunt quae significantur per quod "stellae cadant in terram, tanquam ficus dejicit grossos magno vento concussa."
[2] Quod "ficus" significet naturalem hominem, est ex correspondentia; in caelo enim apparent horti et paradisi, ubi omnis generis arbores sunt, et unaquaevis arbor aliquid Divini, quod communicatur angelis a Domino, significat. In genere "olea" significat caeleste quod est boni amoris, "vitis" spirituale quod est veri ex illo bono, ac "ficus" naturale quod ex spirituali aut ex caelesti derivatur; et quia illae arbores talia significant, ideo etiam significant angelum aut hominem apud quos illa sunt. In communi autem sensu significant totam societatem, quia unaquaevis societas in caelis est formata ut sistat imaginem unius hominis. In spirituali autem sensu significant illae arbores ecclesiam; "olea" ecclesiam caelestem, "vitis" ecclesiam spiritualem, et "ficus" ecclesiam naturalem, quae est ecclesia externa correspondens internae. Ex his constare potest, unde est quod dicatur quod "ficus" significet naturalem hominem, hoc est, naturale apud hominem.
[3] Quod "ficus" illud, et in communi ecclesiam externam significet, patet quoque ab aliis locis in Verbo ubi nominatur, ut ab his sequentibus:
Apud Esaiam,
"Contabescet omnis exercitus caelorum, et convolventur sicut liber caeli; et omnis exercitus 1
eorum decidet, sicut decidit folium de vite, et sicut decidens de ficu" (34:4):
haec dicta sunt de die ultimi judicii, qui venturus; et qui etiam venit, nam ultimum judicium praedictum a prophetis Veteris Testamenti peractum est a Domino cum fuit in mundo; et quia tunc similia facta sunt quae in ultimo judicio quod in Apocalypsi praedictum est, et hodie a Domino peractum est, ideo hic paene similia dicuntur: ut apud prophetam Esaiaim quod "omnis exercitus caelorum decidet sicut decidit folium de vite, et sicut decidens de ficu", tum quod "caeli convolventur sicut volumen"; in Apocalypsi, quod "stellae cadent in terram, sicut ficus dejicit grossos suos", et quod "caelum abscedet sicut liber convolutus"; quod "contabescet" omnis exercitus caelorum" significat quod omnia bona et vera, quae amoris et fidei, corrupta sint; per "exercitum" enim "caelorum" intelliguntur omnia bona et vera quae amoris et fidei; nam sol, luna et stellae, per quae illa significabantur, vocabantur "exercitus caelorum"; quod "convolventur caeli sicut volumen" significat dissipationem eorum; quod "omnis exercitus decidet sicut folium de vite, et sicut decidens de ficu", significat depopulationem ex falsis mali.
[4] Apud Jeremiam,
"Consumendo consumam eos; non uvae in vite, neque ficus in ficu, et folium defluet" (8:13):
"non uvae in vite" significat quod non bonum spirituale, "vitis" enim significat spiritualem hominem, ac "uva", quia est fructus ejus, bonum illius, quod vocatur bonum spirituale; "non ficus in ficu" significat quod non bonum naturale, "ficus" enim "arbor" significat naturalem hominem, ac "ficus fructus" significat bonum illius, quod vocatur bonum naturale; quod "vitis" non significet vitem, nec "ficus" ficum, patet, nam dicitur "Consumendo consumam eos; non uvae in vite, non ficus in ficu"; non enim ideo consumentur; agitur etiam de vastatione ecclesiae, ut manifeste constat ex praecedentibus et sequentibus ibi.
[5] Apud Hoscheam,
"Cessare faciam omne gaudium ejus, festum ejus, novilunium ejus, sabbathum ejus, ... et devastabo vitem ejus et ficum ejus, de quibus dixit, Merces meretricia illa mihi, ... et ponam ea in silvam, et comedet fera agri" (2:11, 12):
agitur ibi de ecclesiis, et de falsificatione veri ibi; quod de ecclesia, patet a versu secundo illius capitis, ubi dicitur, "Contendite cum matre vestra, quoniam illa non uxor mea, et Ego non Maritus ejus"; per "matrem" et per "uxorem" intelligitur ecclesia; etiam sancta ecclesiae, ex quibus fiebat cultus, ac ipse cultus, significantur per "festum, novilunium et sabbathum", quae cessabunt; quare per "devastabo vitem et ficum ejus", significatur quod tam bonum spirituale quam bonum naturale periturum sit: quod "ponentur in silvam, et comedet ea fera agri", significat quod utrumque erit mere naturale, et quod spirituale consumetur a falsitatibus et cupiditatibus; "silva" significat mere naturale, et "fera agri" falsitates et cupiditates: et quia falsitates in ecclesia sunt imprimis falsificata vera, et de his in eo capite agitur, ideo dicitur, "de quibus dixit, Merces meretricia illa mihi"; "merces meretricia" significat falsificationem.
[6] Apud Joelem,
"Gens ascendet super terram meam, robusta, et non numerus, dentes ejus dentes leonis, et molares leonis 2
immanes illi; redegit vitem meam in vastitatem, et ficum meam in spumam: (denudando denudavit eam, et projecit;) dealbati sunt palmites ejus, ... vitis exaruit et ficus languet, malus punica etiamque palma et malus, omnes arbores agri exsiccatae sunt" (1:6, 7, 12):
agitur in toto illo capite de devastata ecclesia; et per "gentem quae ascendit super terram, quae robusta et non numerus, cui dentes leonis, et molares leonis 3
immanes", non significatur aliqua gens quae talis, sed dirum malum et inde falsum; per "terram" super quam ascendit, significatur ecclesia, per "dentes leonis" significantur falsa illius mali, et quia haec destruunt omnia vera et bona ecclesiae, dicuntur "dentes leonis ac molares ejus 4
immanes", per "leonem" significatur (falsum) destruens: inde per "redegit vitem meam in vastitatem, et ficum meam in vastitatem, et ficum meam in spumam", significatur quod ecclesia interna et externa ex illis vastata sit, "vitis" enim significat ecclesiam internam et "ficus" externam, "spuma" significat ubi non est verum intus; et per "denudando denudavit eam, et projecit", significatur quod non bonum nec verum amplius quod non destructum; "denudare", nempe a fructibus et foliis, est a bonis et veris, et "projicere" est prorsus destruere; per "dealbati sunt palmites ejus" significatur quod non amplius aliquod spirituale: per "malum punicam, palmam, malum, et omnes arbores agri quae exsiccatae sunt", significantur species bonorum et verorum ecclesiae, ac cognitiones ejus, quae ex malis et falsis consummata sunt; "arbores agri" in genere significant cognitiones boni et veri.
[7] Apud eundem
"Ne timete, bestiae agrorum meorum, quia herbosa facta sunt habitacula deserti, quia arbor facit fructum suum, ficus atque Vitis dabunt vim suam" (2:22);
agitur ibi de instauratione ecclesiae; quare per "bestias agri" non intelliguntur bestiae agri, sed affectiones boni in naturali homine, inde 5
illi apud quos illae affectiones sunt; quis non videt quod non bestiae sint ad quas dicitur "Ne timete, bestiae agrorum meorum?" Per quod "habitacula deserti herbosa facta sint" significatur quod apud illos erunt cognitiones veri ubi non prius fuerunt; "habitacula deserti" sunt interiora mentis illorum in quibus non prius fuerunt, "herbosum" significat crescentiam et multiplicationem earum: "quoniam arbor facit fructum, suum, ficus atque vitis dabunt vim suam", significat quod illis bonum naturale et bonum spirituale, nam "vis" ibi est productio fructus.
[8] Apud Amos,
"Plurimos hortos vestros, et vineas vestras et ficus vestras, et oleas vestras comedit eruca, nec tamen reversi estis ad Me" (4:9):
per "hortos" significantur omnia ecclesiae quae faciunt intelligentiam et sapientiam ; per "vineas" bona et vera spiritualia: per "ficus" bona et vera naturalia; per "oleas" bona et vera caelestia; "eruca" est falsum destruens: "ficus", "vitis" et "oleae" proprie significant ecclesiam et hominem ecclesiae; sed quia ecclesia est ecclesia et homo est homo ex bonis et veris, ideo quoque haec per illas arbores significantur, bona per "fructus" et vera per "ramos" et "folia" earum.
[9] Apud Haggaeum,
"Ponite... cor vestrum a die hoc et deinceps;... nonne adhuc semen in horreo? et usque ad vitem et ficum, et malogranatum et arborem oleae?" (2:18, 19):
per haec verba in sensu spirituali intelligitur quod adhuc residua sint bona et vera; omnia bona et vera a primis ad ultima intelliguntur per "vitem, ficum, malogranatum et arborem oleae"; per "vitem" bonum et verum spirituale, per "ficum" bonum et verum naturale, per "malogranatum" in genere cognitivum et perceptivum, et in specie cognitiones et perceptiones boni et veri, et per "arborem oleae" perceptio boni et veri caelestis: "horreum" significat ubi illa sunt, sive ecclesia, sive homo in quo ecclesia, sive mens hominis quae est subjectum.
[10] Apud Habakuk,
"Ficus non florebit, neque proventus in vitibus, mentietur opus olivae, et agri non facient cibum" (3:17):
"ficus non florebit" significat quod non erit bonum naturale; "neque proventus in vitibus" significat quod non bonum spirituale; "mentietur opus olivae" significat quod non bonum caeleste; "agri non facient fructum" significat quod nulla nutritio spiritualis.
[11] Apud Mosen,
"Jehovah Deus... ducens 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):
per "terram bonam", ad quam ducentur, intelligitur terra Canaan, per quam significatur ecclesia; quare hic similia per "vitem", "ficum", "malogranatum", et "oleam" significantur quae nunc supra. (Reliqua videantur explicata prius, n 374(c).)
Quia per "terram Canaanem" significatur ecclesia, ac per "vitem", "ficum" et "malogranatum" significantur ecclesiae interna et externa, ideo factum est quod exploratores illius terrae deportaverint talia inde, de qua re ita apud Mosen,
Exploratores terrae Canaanis "venerunt ad fluvium Eschkolem, et absciderunt inde palmitem et botrum uvarum unum, quem portarunt in vecte per duos, ac de malogranatis et de ficubus" (Numeri 13:23).
[12] Quia "vitis" et "ficus" talia significant, ideo dicitur in Verbo de illis qui in bonis et veris ecclesiae sunt, et inde in tuto a malis et falsis, quod sedeant sub vite sua et sub ficu sua in securitate et non terrens: Ut in Libro Primo Regum,
"Habitavit Jehudah et Israel in securitate, quisque sub Vite sua et sub ficu sua a Dane usque ad Beerschebam omnibus diebus Salomonis" (5:5 [B.A. 4:25]):
apud Sachariam,
"Removebo iniquitatem terrae hujus in die uno; in die illo... clamabitis vir ad socium, ad vitem et ad ficum" ( 6
haec dicta sunt de regno Domini, quod est apud illos in caelis et in terris qui in amore in Ipsum sunt; regnum Domini significatur per "montem Jehovae qui constitutus in caput montium", "mons" enim "Jehovae" significat regnum Domini ab illis qui in amore in Ipsum sunt; et quia illi habitant supra reliquos in caelis, dicitur de monte illo quod "constitutus in caput montium" (videatur in opere De Caelo et Inferno 188): hi quia habent vera inscripta cordibus, et ideo non disceptant de illis, dicitur quod non "tollent gens contra gentem gladium, nec discent amplius bellum", per quod significatur quod in regno illo nulla erit disceptatio de veris (videatur in eodem opere, n. 25, 26, 270, 271): quod per vera et bona, in quibus sunt, tuti erunt a malis et falsis, significatur per quod "sedebunt sub vite sua et sub ficu sua, non terrens."
[13] Apud Jeremiam,
"Ecce Ego adducens super Vos gentem e longinquo, ... quae comedet messem tuam, et panem tuum, comedet filios tuos et filias tuas, comedet gregem tuum et armentum tuum, comedet vitem tuam et ficum tuam" (5 [15,] 17, 17):
per "gentem e longinquo" significatur malum oppositum bono caelesti; per "e longinquo" significatur distans ac remotum a bonis et veris, ac oppositum: "quae comedet messem tuam et panem tuum", significat quod destruet omnia vera et bona per quae nutritio spiritualis; "quae comedet filios tuos et filias tuas" significat omnes affectiones veri et boni spirituales; "quae comedet gregem tuum et armentum tuum" significat vera et bona interna et externa; "quae comedet vitem tuam et ficum tuam" significat sic ecclesiae internum et externum.
[14] Apud Hoscheam,
"Sicut uvas in deserto 7
inveni Israelem, sicut primitivum in ficu in initio vidi patres vestros" (9:10):
per "Israelem" et per "patres" ibi non intelliguntur patres tribuum ex filiis Jacobi, sed qui ab Antiqua Ecclesia fuerunt, quia illi in bono (videatur in Arcanis Caelestibus, n. 6050, 6075, 6846, 6876, 6884, 8
7649, 8055); quia illi in bono fuerunt, at in principio in ignorantia veri per quod tamen bonum, dicitur "sicut uvas in deserto inveni Israelem, sicut ficus in initio vidi patres vestros"; "uvae" significant bonum spirituale, "desertum" significat ignorantiam veri, "primitivum in ficu" significat bonum naturale ex bono spirituali in infantia.
[15] Apud Lucam,
"Quando haec omnia incipiunt fieri, suspicite et tollite capita vestra...: et dixit parabolam, Spectate ficum et omnes arbores; quando protruserint jam, videntes a vobismet ipsis cognoscetis quod jam prope aestas sit; sic et vos quando videritis hoc fieri, cognoscite quod prope sit regnum Dei" (21:28-31; 9
Matth. 24:32; Marcus 13:28, 29):
agitur ibi de consummatione saeculi, quae est ultimum judicium, et enumerantur signa quae praecedunt, quae intelliguntur per "quando haec omnia incipiunt fieri"; quod nova ecclesia tunc incohatura, quae in initio externa erit, significatur per "Spectate ficum et omnes arbores cum protruserint": haec "parabola" seu "similitudo" dicta est, quia "ficus" significat ecclesiam externam, et "arbores" significant cognitiones veri et boni; "regnum Dei" quod tunc prope est significat novam ecclesiam Domini; tempore enim ultimi judicii perit vetus ecclesia et incohatur nova.
[16] Apud Lucam,
"Omnis arbor a proprio fructu cognoscitur, non enim ex spinis colligunt ficus, neque ex rubo vindemiant uvam" (6:44; Matthaeus 7:16):
quoniam per "fructum" significatur bonum vitae, et bonum vitae est bonum externum ab interno, seu bonum naturale ex spirituali, et quia homo ex hoc bono cognoscitur, ideo dicit Dominus, "Omnis arbor ex proprio fructu cognoscitur; ex spinis non colligunt ficus, neque ex rubo vindemiant uvam"; "ficus" hic est bonum externi seu naturalis hominis, et "uva" est bonum interni seu spiritualis hominis; "spinae" et "rubus" sunt mala illis opposita.
[17] Quoniam reges Jehudae et Israelis repraesentabant Dominum quoad Divinum Verum, et Divinum Verum quasi angitur et laborat apud hominem quando non vivitur secundum id et fit bonum vitae, at quando fit bonum vitae, vivit; hoc significatum est (per)
Quod ex jussu Jehovae ad Hiskiam regem Jehudae aegrotantem adferrent massam ficuum, et contererent super ulcus, et sic viveret (2 Reg.20:7; Esaias 38:21).
Ex his constare potest quod "ficus" in genuino sensu significet naturalem hominem quoad bonum et verum, ipsa ficus ut arbor naturalem hominem, ficus ut fructus bonum naturalis hominis, ac folium ejus verum illius boni.
[18] Quod autem "ficus" in opposito sensu significet naturalem hominem quoad malum et falsum, ficus ut arbor illum naturalem hominem, ficus ejus ut fructus malum naturalis illius hominis, et folium ejus falsum illius mali, constat ex sequentibus his locis:
Apud Jeremiam,
"Ostendit mihi Jehovah, cum ecce duae corbes ficuum constitutae ante Templum Jehovae... una corbis ficus bonae valde, sicut ficuum primitias ferentium; et altera corbis ficus malae valde, quae comedi non poterant prae malitia:... dixit Jehovah, ... Sicut ficus bonae sunt, ita agnoscam migrationem Jehudae... in terram Chaldaeorum in bonum, et ponam oculum meum super eos in bonum, etreducam eos super terram hanc, et aedificabo eos, ... et plantabo eos...: et sicut ficus malae, ita dabo... relictos in terra hac... in commotionem et in malum omnibus gentibus et mittam in eos gladium, famem et pestem, ut consumantur" (24:1-10):
per "captivitatem Judaeorum in terra Chaldaeorum" significatur simile quod per captivitatem spiritualem seu remotionem bonorum a malis in mundo spirituali, secundum illa quae supra (n. 391(a), 392(a), 394, 397) memorata sunt; nempe quod interius mali, qui usque vitam moralem similem vitae spirituali in externis potuerunt agere, in mundo spirituali remanserint super terra, et habitationes sibi fecerint super editioribus locis ibi; ac interius boni ab illis remoti fuerint, ac reconditi a Domino in terra inferiore: hoc repraesentatum est per transportationem Judaeorum in terram Chaldaeorum, et per remanentiam reliquorum in terra; quapropter dicitur de illis qui se transportari passi sunt in terram Chaldaeorum, "Agnosco transmigrationem Jehudae in terram Chaldaeorum in bonum, et ponam oculum meum super eos in bonum, et reducam eos super terram hanc, et aedificabo eos et plantabo eos"; at de illis qui remanserunt dicitur, "Dabo relictos in terra hac in commotionem, et in malum omnibus gentibus, et mittam in eos gladium, famem et pestem, ut consumantur." Quod haec repraesentata fuerint, constat etiam ex eo, quod Templum Salomonis destructum sit ante deportationem, et quod novum aedificatum sit dum reversi sunt; per "templum" significatur cultus Divinus, et per "novum templum" ille restauratus.
[19] Ex his constare potest quid significatur per "duas corbes ficuum constitutas ante Templum Jehovae, in quarum ulla fuerunt ficus bonae valde, sicut ficuum primitias ferentium, et in altera ficus malae valde, quae comedi non poterant prae malitia"; nempe quod illi qui interius boni sunt, a quibus novum caelum formandum est, intelligantur per "corbem ficuum bonarum", et illi qui interius mali, qui dejiciendi in infernum, intelligantur per "corbem ficuum malarum"; quare de his dicitur, quod "non comedi possent prae malitia", per quod significatur quod interius mali; et de illis, quod "sicut ficus primitias ferentes", per quod significatur quod .interius boni, ut novum caelum ab illis formetur; "ficus" enim ut fructus significat bonum vitae in interna et simul in externa forma, et in opposito sensu significat bonum vitae solum in externa forma, quod est malum vitae, quia malum est interius; externum enim omne suum quale trahit ab interno, nam est effectus ejus. Quod malum appareat in externis ut bonum apud illos, est quia mentiuntur bonum propter malum, quod intus est, ad obtinendum finem, cui bonum apparens servit ut medium. Simile dicitur de illis qui permanserunt in terra Canaane alibi apud eundem,
"Sic dixit Jehovah de rege... et de universo populo habitante in urbe hac qui non exiverunt vobiscum in captivitatem, ... Ecce Ego mittens in eos gladium, famem, et pestem, et dabo eos sicut ficus horridas, quae non comedi possunt prae malitia" (29:16, 17).
[20] Quod "ficus" ut arbor in opposito sensu significet hominem mere naturalem, et ecclesiam a similibus, seu apud quos non est bonum naturale quia non est bonum intus, constat apud Lucam,
Jesus "dixit hanc parabolam: 10
ficum habebat aliquis in vinea plantatam, venit ergo fructum quaerens in ea sed non invenit; dixit ad vinitorem, Ecce tres annos venio quaerens fructum in ficu hac, non autem invenio; exscinde illam, ut quid etiam terram infrugiferam faciat? Hic vero respondens dixit, Domine, relinque illam etiam hoc anno, usque dum fodiam circum illam, et adjiciam stercus, si quidem fecerit fructum; sin minus, in futurum exscindas illam" (13:6-9):
per "vineam" in qua erat "ficus", significatur ecclesia ubi etiam illi qui in externis sunt, nam in ecclesia Domini est internum et externum; internum ecclesiae est charitas et inde fides, externum autem ecclesiae est bonum vitae: quia opera charitatis et fidei, quae sunt bonum vitae, sunt naturalis hominis, et ipsa charitas et inde fides sunt spiritualis hominis, inde per "vineam" significatur ecclesiae internum et per "ficum" externum ejus.
Apud gentem Judaicam fuit modo externum ecclesiae, quia in cultu externo repraesentativo erat; quare per "ficum" ecclesia apud illam gentem intelligitur: sed quia in cultu externo erant, et in nullo interno, erant enim intus mali, et quia cultus externus absque interno est nullus cultus, et apud malos est malus cultus, ideo apud illos non aliquod bonum naturale fuit; quare dicitur quod "per tres annos non invenerit fructum in ficu", et quod "dixerit ad vinitorem ut exscinderetur", per quod significatur quod ab initio ad finem non fuerit bonum naturale apud illam gentem; per "tres annos" enim significatur tota periodus, seu tempus ab initio ad finem, et per "fructum ficus" significatur bonum naturale; per bonum naturale intelligitur bonum spirituale naturale, seu bonum in naturali ex spirituali: et quia ecclesia a talibus, qui non in bono naturali, ut erat gens Judaica, non est ecclesia, ideo etiam dicitur, "Quid etiam terram infrugiferam faciat?" "terra" est ecclesia.
Quod "vinitor dixerit, ut adhuc relinqueretur, et foderetur circum illam", significat quod relinquetur et quod instruentur posthac a Christianis, in quorum medio erunt; sed quia nihil ad hoc respondebatur, intelligitur quod ficus usque nullum fructum productura sit, hoc est, quod gens illa nullum bonum, quod ex aliquo spirituali procedit, factura sit.
[21] Hoc significatur per "ficum arefactam" propterea quod Dominus nullum fructum in ea invenerit, apud Matthaeum,
"Mane revertens" Jesus "in urbem esurivit; et videns ficum unam in via, venit ad eam, sed nihil invenit in illa nisi folia: ideo dixit illi, Ne posthac ex te (fructus) nascatur in aeternum; unde arefacta est ex tempore ficus" (21:18, 19; Marcus 11:12, 13 [, [14]):
per "ficum" etiam hic intelligitur ecclesia apud gentem Judaicam; quod apud illam gentem non aliquod bonum naturale esset, sed modo verum falsificatum, quod in se est falsum, significatur per quod Dominus venerit ad ficum sed nihil invenerit in illa nisi folia; "fructus" quem non invenit significat bonum naturale, quale supra descriptum est; et "folium" significat verum falsificatum, quod in se est falsum, nam "folium" in Verbo significat verum, sed folium arboris quae est absque fructu significat falsum, et apud illam gentem verum falsificatum, quia habebant Verbum in quo vera sunt, sed quae falsificaverunt per applicationem ad se; unde traditiones eorum: quod gens illa nusquam aliquod bonum naturale ex origine spirituali, quod vocatur spirituale naturale, factura sit, significatur per verba quae Dominus de illa dixit, "Nec posthac ex te (fructus) nascetur in aeternum, unde arefacta est ex tempore"; per "arefieri" significatur non bonum et verum amplius. Quod Dominus hoc viderit et dixerit cum reversus est in urbem et esurivit, est quia per "urbem Hierosolymam" significatur ecclesia, et per "esurire", cum de Domino, significatur desiderare bonum in ecclesia (videatur supra, n. 386(h)). Qui non scit quid significat "ficus", et quod per illam ficum intellecta sit ecclesia apud illam gentem, non aliud cogitat quam quod hoc factum sit a Domino ex indignatione quia esurivit; at hoc non ideo factum est, sed ut significaretur quod gens Judaica talis esset; omnia enim miracula Domini involvunt et significant talia quae caeli et ecclesiae sunt, unde illa miracula fuerunt Divina (videatur n. 7337, 8364, 11
9051 fin. ).
[22] Ecclesia perversa seu homo ecclesiae perversus quoad naturalem seu externum suum hominem etiam significatur per "ficum" apud Davidem,
"Dedit pluvias eorum grandinem, ignem flammarum in terra eorum; et percussit vitem eorum et ficum eorum, confregit arborem termini eorum" (Psalms 105:32, 33):
haec de Aegypto dicta sunt, per quam significatur naturalis homo qui in falsis et malis; ac per "vitem", "ficum" et "arborem termini" significantur omnia ecclesiae, per "vitem" interna seu spiritualia ejus, per "ficum" externa seu naturalia ejus, et per "arborem termini" omne cognitivum et perceptivum; per "terminum" significatur ultimum, in quod interiora desinunt et in quo ea simul sunt, et per "arbores" cognitiones et perceptiones: quae omnia quia perversa fuerunt et ideo damnata, dicitur quod "percussa et confracta", per quae significatur exitium et damnatio: quod ex falsis mali quae ex amore mundi, significatur per "pluvias eorum grandinem, ignem flammarum in terra eorum"; "pluviae ut grando" significant falsa mali, et "ignis flammarum" significat amorem mundi.
[23] Apud Nahum,
"Omnia munimenta tua ut ficus cum primitiis; quae si commoventur, decidunt super os comedentis" (3:12):
haec de "urbe sanguinum", per quam significatur doctrina in qua vera falsificata et bona adulterata sunt; haec comparatur "ficubus cum primitiis, quae si commoventur, decidunt super os comedentis", et per hoc significatur, quod bona ibi non bona sint, utcunque apparent ut bona; et quod non recipiantur, et si recipiuntur solum recipiantur memoria et non corde: quod "decidant dum commoventur" significat quod non bona sint tametsi apparent ut bona, quia sunt "primitiae"; et "super os comedentis" significat non receptionem, ne quidem memoria: quod "os comedentis" significet non recipere, constat ex apparentiis in mundo spirituali, apparent enim recipere ore qui aliquid memoriae tradunt; quare "super os ejus cadere" significat ne quidem memoria recipere, sed modo audire, et quoque si recipiunt, quod modo memoria et non corde: per "ficus cum primitiis" etiam intelligi possunt bona genuina, cum quibus simile fit apud illos qui in falsis mali sunt.
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