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404. (Verse 14) And the heaven departed as a book when it is rolled together. That this signifies that the spiritual man was shut, is plain from the signification of heaven, as denoting the church in general and in particular; for the church is the Lord's heaven on earth; the church also makes one with heaven by conjunction; therefore when heaven and earth are mentioned in the Word, the church internal and external is meant; for the internal of the men of the church is heaven with them, and the external is the world with them. And because by heaven and earth is signified the church internal and external, hence also the internal and external man, or the spiritual and natural man, is signified; for the man is a church in whom is the good of love and faith, therefore from the men in whom the church is, the church in general exists; hence it is clear why by heaven is here meant the internal or spiritual man. It is said the spiritual man, and the spiritual mind is meant, which is the higher or interior mind of man, whereas the lower or exterior mind is called the natural man; and from the signification of, "it departed as a book when it is rolled together," as denoting its being closed; for the spiritual mind, which is, as was said, the higher or interior mind with man, is opened by truths applied to life, thus by goods, whereas it is closed by falsities applied to life, thus by evils, and the closing up is like the rolling together of the scroll of a book. That this is so, was plainly evident by the appearances in the spiritual world, when the Last Judgment was accomplished; for then the mountains and hills there appeared sometimes to be rolled together as the scroll of a book is rolled together, and then they that were upon them were rolled down into hell. The cause of this appearance is based on this circumstance, that the interiors of their minds, through which somewhat of light from heaven flowed in before, were then shut. What takes place in general with many, takes place with every one of a like quality in particular; for in the spiritual world such as is the general, such is the particular (as may be seen in the work concerning 34:4).
404. Verse 14. And the heaven departed as a book rolled up, signifies that the spiritual man became closed up. This is evident from the signification of "heaven," as being the church in general and in particular; for the church is the heaven of the Lord on the earth; moreover, the church makes one with heaven by conjunction; therefore when "heaven and earth" are mentioned in the Word, the church internal and external is meant, for the internal of the men of the church is heaven with them, and their external is the world with them; and as "heaven and earth" signify the church internal and external so they signify the internal and external man, or the spiritual and the natural man; for as man in whom is the good of love and of faith is a church, so the church, in general exists from the men in whom the church is. This makes clear why it is that "heaven" here means the internal or spiritual man. It is said "the spiritual man," by which is meant the spiritual mind, which is the higher or interior mind of man, while the lower or exterior mind is called the natural man. The above is evident also from the signification of "departed as a book rolled up," as meaning that it became closed up; for the spiritual mind, which is, as was said, the higher or interior mind with man, is opened by truths applied to life, thus by goods, but it is closed up by falsities applied to life, thus by evils; and the closing up is as the rolling up of the scroll of a book. That this is so was made very clear by the appearances in the spiritual world when the Last Judgment was accomplished; for the mountains and the hills there then appeared sometimes to be rolled up as the scroll of a book is rolled up, and those that were upon them were then rolled down into hell. The cause of this appearance was this: that the interiors of their minds, through which somewhat of light from heaven had before flowed in, were then closed up. What takes place in general with many, takes place with everyone in particular of a like character, for in the spiritual world such as the general is, such is the particular (See in the work on Isaiah 34:4).
404. (Vers. 14.) " 1
Et caelum abscessit tanquam liber convolutus." - Quod significet quod spiritualis homo occlusus sit, constat ex significatione "caeli", quod sit ecclesia in communi et in particulari, nam ecclesia est caelum Domini in terris, etiam ecclesia unum facit cum caelo per conjunctionem: (quare cum in Verbo dicitur "caelum et terra" intelligitur ecclesia interna et externa, internum enim hominum ecclesiae est caelum apud illos, et externum est mundus apud illos: et quia per "caelum et terram" significatur ecclesia interna et externa, inde quoque significatur homo internus et externus, seu homo spiritualis et naturalis; nam homo est ecclesia, in quo bonum amoris et fidei est, quare ex hominibus in quibus est ecclesia, existit ecclesia in communi: inde patet unde est quod per "caelum" hic intelligatur homo internus seu spiritualis: homo spiritualis dicitur, et intelligitur mens spiritualis, quae est mens superior seu interior hominis; mens autem inferior seu exterior vocatur homo naturalis): et ex significatione "abscessit sicut liber convolutus", quod sit quod occlusus sit; nam mens spiritualis, quae est, ut dictum, mens superior seu interior apud hominem, aperitur per vera applicata vitae, ita per bona, at vero occluditur per falsa applicata vitae, ita per mala, et occlusio est sicut convolvitur volumen libri. Quod ita sit, patuit manifeste ex apparentiis in mundo spirituali, cum ultimum judicium factum est; ibi enim tunc apparuerunt montes et colles quandoque convolvi sicut volumen libri convolvitur, et tunc illi qui super iis erant devolvebantur in infernum; quae apparentia trahit causam ex eo, quod interiora mentis eorum, per quae aliquid lucis e caelo prius influxit, occlusa fuerint; quod fit in communi apud plures, hoc fit apud unumquemvis talem in particulari; nam in mundo spirituali quale est commune tale est particulare (videatur in opere De Caelo et Inferno 73). Per "librum" intelligitur volumen, quoniam antiquis temporibus non erant typi et inde libri quales hodie, sed erant volumina ex membranis; inde per "libros" in Apocalypsi intelliguntur volumina, et per "abscessit caelum tanquam liber convolutus" intelligitur tanquam volumen convolutum: similiter apud Esaiam,
"Contabescet omnis exercitus caelorum; et convolventur, sicut liber, caeli" (34:4).
Footnotes:
1. The editors made a correction or note here.