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518. And it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters. - That this signifies that thence all understanding of truth perished, and through that the doctrine of the church, is evident from the signification of falling from heaven, when stated of stars, as denoting to perish, concerning which we shall speak presently; from the signification of the third part, as denoting all; concerning which above (n. 506), here all, because it is said of the understanding of truth and of doctrine, which are signified by rivers and fountains of waters; from the signification of rivers, as denoting the understanding of truth, concerning which we shall speak presently; and from the signification of fountains of waters, as denoting the Word, and doctrine from the Word, whence fountains denote the truths of the Word and doctrinals; concerning which above (n. 483).
[2] The reason why falling, when said of stars, which signify the cognitions of good and truth from the Word, as above, signifies to perish, is, that when the Divine Truth in the spiritual world, descends out of heaven to the earth where the evil are, it is turned into falsity, and when Divine Truth is falsified, it then perishes. This also is signified by the words "the stars shall fall from heaven" (413:2, 418:1, 419:1, 489); for the Divine Truth is changed into such falsity as agrees with the evil of those into whom it flows. That this is the case, is evident from the following experience. It was granted me to see how Divine Truth is changed into falsity, when it passes deep down into hell, and I perceived that it was changed successively in its descent, and at length into the utmost falsity.
[3] The reason why rivers signify the understanding of truth, and also intelligence, is, that waters signify truths, the understanding being a receptacle and collection (complexus) of truths, as a river is of waters, and that thought from the understanding, which is intelligence, is as it were a stream of truth. From the same origin, that is, from the signification of waters, which denote truths, it is that a fountain signifies the Word, and the doctrine of truth, and that pools, lakes, and seas, signify the cognitions of truth in their entire compass.
[4] That waters signify truths, and living waters, truths from the Lord, may be seen above (n. 71, 483), and also in the following places in this article. That rivers and streams signify the understanding of truth and intelligence, is evident from the Word where rivers and streams are mentioned, as in Isaiah,
"Then shall the lame man leap as a hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing; for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and rivers in the plain of the wilderness" (Isaiah 35:6).
These things are said concerning the Lord, the reformation of the Gentiles, and the establishment of the church among them. By the lame men who shall leap as a hart, are signified those who are not in genuine good, because not in the knowledges of truth and good. By the tongue of the dumb which shall sing, is signified confession of the Lord by those who are in ignorance of truth. For in the wilderness shall waters break out, signifies that there shall be truths where there was none before; and rivers in the plain of the wilderness, signifies that there shall be intelligence where there was none before; wilderness denoting where there is no truth, and the plain of the wilderness where there is no intelligence. Waters denote truths, and rivers intelligence.
[5] Again:
"I will open rivers upon high places, and fountains in the midst of the valleys; I will make the desert a pool of waters, and the dry land springs of waters" (Isaiah 41:18).
This is said of the salvation of the Gentiles by the Lord. To open rivers upon high places, denotes to impart interior intelligence; and to open fountains in the midst of valleys, denotes to instruct the external man in truths; the rest may be seen explained above (n. 483).
[6] In the same:
"Behold, I do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the desert, and rivers in the wilderness. The wild beast of the field shall honour me, the dragons and the daughters of the owl; because I gave waters in the desert, and rivers in the wilderness, to give drink to my people, my chosen" (Isaiah 43:19, 20).
These things also said of the Lord, and of a new church from Him, are meant by, "Behold I do a new thing; now it shall spring forth." By making a way in the desert, and rivers in the wilderness, is signified that there shall be truth, and the intelligence of truth, where they did not exist before; way denotes truth leading to heaven, and rivers denote intelligence; by giving drink to the people, is signified to instruct those who desire to be instructed. By the wild beast of the field, the dragons, and the daughters of the owl, are signified those who know truths and goods from the memory only, yet do not understand and perceive them; such are those who depending entirely upon others, speak truth without any idea of truth.
[7] Again:
"I will pour waters upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry [ground]; I will pour out my spirit upon thy seed, and [my] blessing upon thine offspring" (Isaiah 44:3).
To pour waters upon him that is thirsty signifies to instruct those in truths who are in the affection for truth. To pour floods upon the dry [ground] signifies to give intelligence to those who are in the desire for truth from good; the signification of pouring out the spirit and blessing is similar; for by the Spirit of God is signified the Divine Truth, and by blessing, the multiplication and fructification thereof, thus intelligence. Who does not see that here and above, waters and streams, desert and wilderness, are not meant, but such things as pertain to the church? Therefore it is also here added, I will pour out my Spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring."
[8] In Moses;
"Jehovah bringeth thee into a land of rivers of water, of fountains and abysses springing out of valley and mountain" (Deuteronomy 8:7).
The land of Canaan into which Jehovah would bring them, means the church; therefore rivers of water, fountains and depths that spring out of valley and mountain, signify such things as pertain to the church; rivers of water signify the understanding of truth, fountains doctrinals from the Word; depths that spring out of valley and mountain, the cognitions of truth and good in the natural and in the spiritual man.
[9] In Isaiah:
"Look upon Zion, and Jerusalem. There Jehovah shall be magnificent unto us, a place of rivers and streams, of breadth of spaces, a ship of oar shall not go therein, nor magnificent ship pass through it" (Isaiah 33 [Isaiah 33:20,] 21).
Here also, by a place of rivers and streams are signified wisdom and intelligence. The signification of the rest is explained above. (See n. 514:10.)
[10] In Joel:
"It shall come to pass in that day, that the mountains shall drop down new wine (mustum), and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the rivers of Judah shall flow with waters, and a fountain shall go forth out of the house of Jehovah, and shall water the stream of Shittim" (3:18).
This passage is also explained above (n. 433:13 and 483:5). By the fountain which shall go forth out of the house of Jehovah is signified the truth of doctrine descending from the Lord out of heaven; and by the stream of Shittim which it shall water is signified to enlighten the understanding.
[11] In Ezekiel:
"Waters issued out from under the threshold of the house" of God "eastward. The man (vir) brought me, and caused me to return to the brink of the river. When I had returned, behold, upon the bank of the river were very many trees on the one side and on the other. He said every living soul which creepeth, whithersoever the rivers shall come, shall live; and there shall be a very great multitude of fish, because these waters shall come thither, and they shall be healed, in order that every thing may live whither the river cometh. By the river upon the bank thereof, on this side and on that side, cometh up every tree for food, whose leaf falleth not, neither is the fruit thereof consumed; it is reborn into its months, because its waters issue out of the sanctuary" (Ezekiel 47:1-12).
These words are also explained above (n. 422:15, 513:7); and from them it is evident that by the waters issuing out of the house of God towards the east is signified the Divine Truth proceeding from the Lord and flowing in with those who are in the good of love; and that by the river, upon the banks whereof is every tree for food, and from the waters of which every soul which creepeth lives, and whence there shall be a very great multitude of fish, is signified intelligence from the reception of Divine Truth, whence are all things in man, his affections and perceptions, as well as his cognitions and scientifics, and thoughts, thence attain spiritual life.
[12] In Jeremiah:
"Blessed is the man (vir) that trusteth in Jehovah; he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out his roots by the river, nor shall he see when heat cometh, but his leaf shall be green" (Jeremiah 17:7, 8).
The tree planted by the waters means the man with whom there are truths from the Lord. By spreading out his roots by the river is meant the extension of intelligence from the spiritual into the natural man. The rest may be seen explained above (n. 481:2).
Where gardens and trees are treated of in the Word, there also irrigating waters and rivers are mentioned, and for this reason, that trees signify perceptions and cognitions; while waters and rivers denote truths, and thence the understanding [of them]. For without the understanding of truths man is like a garden where there is no water, whose trees wither away.
[13] As in Moses:
"As the valleys are they planted, as gardens by the river, as lign aloes which Jehovah hath planted, and as cedar trees beside the waters" (Numbers 24:6, 7).
These words are spoken of the sons of Israel, by whom the church, which was then to be planted, is signified. This church is compared to valleys that are planted, and to a garden by the river, because valleys signify the intelligence of the natural man, and a garden the intelligence of the spiritual man; and it is compared to lign aloes, and to cedar trees, because lign aloes signify those things which belong to the natural man, and cedar trees those that pertain to the rational man. Because all these live from the influx of the Divine Truth from the Lord, therefore they are said to be planted by the river and by the waters, by which is signified inflowing Divine Truth, whence there is intelligence.
[14] Since by the garden in Eden, or Paradise, are meant the wisdom and intelligence possessed by the Most Ancient people who lived before the flood, therefore where their wisdom is described, the influx of Divine Truth, and therefore of intelligence, is also described by the river which "went out of Eden to water the garden, and from thence it was parted and became into four heads" (Arcana Coelestia 107-121).
[15] Again, in Ezekiel:
"Ashur was a cedar in Lebanon. The waters caused it to grow, the abyss made it high so that with its rivers it went round about his plant, and sent out his watercourses unto all the trees of the field" (Ezekiel 31:3, 4).
Ashur signifies the rational man, or the Rational of man; similarly the cedar in Lebanon. And because the genuine Rational is perfected by the cognitions of truth and good, it is said that the waters caused it to grow, and the abyss made it high, waters denoting truths and the abyss the cognitions of truth in the natural man. The increase of intelligence is signified by its rivers running about his plant; and the multiplication of the cognitions of truth, by sending out his watercourses unto all the trees of the field.
[16] Again, in David:
"Thou hast brought a vine out of Egypt. Thou hast sent out its shoots unto the sea, and its little branches unto the river" (Psalm 80:8, 11).
By the vine out of Egypt, are meant the sons of Israel, who are called a vine because they represented the spiritual church, which is signified by a vine in the Word; their tarrying in Egypt represented their first initiation into the things of the church, for Egypt signified the scientifics which serve the things of the church. When, therefore, the vine signifies the church, and Egypt, the scientific serving it, the signification in the spiritual sense of bringing a vine out of Egypt is evident. The extension of the intelligence of the church even to things scientific and rational, is signified by, "Thou hast sent out its shoots unto the sea, and its little branches unto the river." To send out its shoots unto the sea, and its little branches unto the river, denotes multiplication and extension. The sea signifies the Scientific, and the river, which is here Euphrates, the Rational.
[17] The extension of the church, and the multiplication of its truths, and thence of intelligence, are described by the extension of the land of Canaan to the Sea Suph (Red Sea), to the sea of the Philistines, and to the river Euphrates, in Moses:
"I will set thy bounds from the Sea Suph (Red Sea) even unto the sea of the Philistines, and from the desert even unto the river" (Exodus 23:31).
The boundaries of the land of Canaan signify the ultimates of the church, which are scientific truths, cognitions of truth, and good from the Word, and things rational. The Sea Suph (Red Sea) signifies scientific truth (scientificum verum), the sea of the Philistines, where Tyre and Sidon were, signifies the cognitions of truth and good from the sense of the letter of the Word, and by the river Euphrates is signified the Rational. For scientifics are serviceable to the cognitions of truth and good from the Word, and both these are serviceable to the Rational, and the Rational is serviceable to intelligence, and this comes to pass by means of truths conjoined to spiritual good.
[18] Expressions similar to those concerning the church and its extension, are also used concerning the power of the Lord over all things of heaven and the church in David:
"I will set his hand in the sea, and his right hand in the rivers" (Psalm 89:25).
This is said of David, by whom the Lord is meant. The power of the Lord, even to the ultimates of heaven and the church, thus over the whole heaven, and over every thing of the church, is signified by setting his hand in the sea, and his right hand in the rivers. Power is signified by the hand, and the right hand, and the ultimates of heaven and the church are signified by the sea and the rivers. That the ultimates of heaven are seas and rivers has been frequently shown above. These were represented by the two seas and by the two rivers which formed the boundaries of the land of Canaan. The two seas were the sea of Egypt and the sea of the Philistines, where Tyre and Sidon were; and the two rivers were Euphrates and the Jordan. But the Jordan was the boundary between the land of Canaan interior and exterior; in the latter were the tribes of Reuben and Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh. Similarly it is said in Zechariah:
"His dominion shall be from sea even to sea, and from the river even to the ends of the earth" (Zechariah 9:10).
This also is said concerning the Lord, and similar things are meant. His dominion even to the ultimates of heaven and the church is over all things of heaven and of the church; for the ultimates are the boundaries.
[19] Again, in David:
"Thy throne is established of old; thou art from everlasting. The rivers have lifted up, O Jehovah, the rivers have lifted up their voice; the rivers have lifted up their roaring. Jehovah on high is mightier than the voices of many mighty waters, than the waves of the sea" (Psalm 93:2, 3, 4).
These things also are said concerning the Lord. His dominion from eternity to eternity over heaven and earth is signified by thy throne is established of old; thou art from everlasting. The glorification of the Lord on account of His coming, and thence the salvation of the human race, is signified by the rivers lifting up their voice and their roaring. For the rivers, here three times mentioned, signify all things of man's intelligence, both in the internal and in the external man. The Divine Truth from Him, by means of which are power and salvation, is signified by the voices of many mighty waters, than the waves of the sea. Waters denote truths, and the voices of many mighty waters Divine truths.
[20] The glorification and celebration of the Lord from joy of heart are thus described elsewhere in David:
"Let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof, the world, and they that dwell therein. Let the rivers clap their hands; let the mountains be joyful" (Psalm 98:7, 8).
These words signify the glorification of the Lord by the whole heaven. Glorification from the ultimates thereof is signified by the sea roaring and the fulness thereof. The glorification from the whole heaven is signified by let the world roar and they that dwell therein, the world signifying the whole heaven as to its truths, and they that dwell therein signifying the whole heaven as to its goods. For inhabitants, in the Word, signify those who are in the goods of heaven and the church, and thus the goods of them. The glorification of the Lord by means of the truths of intelligence, and the goods of love, is signified by the rivers clapping their hands, and the mountains being joyful. Rivers denote the truths of intelligence, and mountains the goods of love.
[21] Divine Truth from the Lord, from whose reception there is intelligence, is signified by the waters from the rock in Horeb (Exodus 17:6), concerning which it is thus written in David:
"He clave the rocks in the wilderness, and gave them drink as out of the great abysses. He brought streams also out of the rock, and caused waters to run down like rivers. He smote the rock, that the waters gushed out, and the streams overflowed" (Psalm 78:15, 16, 20).
And again:
"He opened the rock, and the waters gushed out; rivers ran in the dry places" (Psalm 105:41).
The rock there means the Lord; and the waters which flowed thence mean the Divine Truth from Him, and the rivers mean intelligence and wisdom therefrom. By giving them drink as out of great abysses, is signified to drink in and perceive the interior things of wisdom.
[22] So in John:
Jesus said, "If any man thirst let him come unto me, and drink." He that cometh to me, "as the Scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow streams of living water; this spake he of the spirit, which they that believe on him should receive" (John 7:37, 38, [39]).
By coming to the Lord, and drinking, is signified to receive from Him the truths of doctrine, and the faith thereof. That spiritual intelligence springs therefrom is signified by "out of his belly shall flow streams of living water," living water denoting the Divine Truth which is from the Lord alone; streams the things which are of intelligence, and the belly, thought from the memory, for to this the belly corresponds. And because streams of living water signify intelligence by means of the Divine Truth from the Lord, it is therefore added, "But this spake he of the spirit, which they that believe on him should receive." The spirit which they should receive from the Lord denotes the Divine Truth, and thence intelligence, wherefore also the Lord calls the spirit which they should receive, the spirit of truth (John 14:16-18; 16:7-15).
[23] In David,
Jehovah "hath founded" the world "upon the seas, and established it upon the rivers" (Psalm 24:2).
By the world is signified heaven and the church in their whole compass. The seas signify cognitions and knowledges (scientiae) which are the ultimates of the church, and specifically, the cognitions of truth and good, such as they are in the sense of the letter of the Word. The floods signify introduction by means of these into celestial intelligence. Hence the meaning of these words in the spiritual sense is evident, namely, that the interior things of heaven and the church, which are called celestial and spiritual, are founded upon the cognitions of truth and good, contained in the sense of the letter of the Word, rationally understood. It is said, "He hath founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the floods," because seas and floods are in the boundaries of heaven, and were represented by the Sea Suph (Red Sea), the sea of the Philistines, the river Euphrates, and the river Jordan, which were the boundaries of the land of Canaan. And because ultimates, in the Word, signify lowest things, it is said that Jehovah hath founded and established the [world] upon them. That the earth is not founded upon the seas and floods, is evident.
[24] Again:
"The Lord at thy right hand hath smitten kings in the day of his wrath. He hath judged among the nations, he hath filled [the earth] with the dead bodies, he hath smitten the head over much country. He shall drink of the stream in the way; therefore shall he lift up the head" (Psalm 110:5-7).
These things are said concerning the Lord, and His combat against falsities and evils from hell, and their entire subjugation. By kings are meant falsities from hell, and by the nations are meant the evils therefrom. His Divine power is meant by "The Lord at the right hand." The subjugation and destruction of falsities and evils from the hells, is signified by His smiting them in the day of His wrath, His judging among the nations, and His filling [the earth] with dead bodies. By the head which He smote over much country, is meant the love of self, from which all evils and falsities proceed, and smiting over much country denotes total destruction and damnation. By the stream in the way, of which the head shall drink, and in consequence of which shall exalt itself, is signified the Word in the letter, to drink of it, denoting to learn something therefrom, and to lift up the head, denoting continued resistance. For none of those who are in falsities from evil, can be cast down into hell, before those things which they know from the Word are taken away from them, because all things of the Word communicate with heaven, and by that communication they lift up the head, but when those things are taken away, then they are cast down into hell. This is the meaning of those words, which no one could understand without the spiritual sense, and the knowledge therefrom of the nature of the Word.
[25] Thus also in Habakkuk:
"Was Jehovah enraged with the rivers? was thine anger against the rivers? was thy wrath against the sea? because thou didst ride upon thy horses, thy chariots salvation" (3:8).
These words contain a supplication that the church may be guarded and not perish. The rivers and the sea signify all things of the church, because they are the ultimates thereof, as shown above. Riding upon horses, when stated of Jehovah, that is, of the Lord, signifies the Divine Wisdom which is in the Word; and chariots signify doctrinals therefrom.
[26] Again, in David:
"Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be changed, and though the mountains shake in the heart of the seas; the waters thereof shall be in tumult and be troubled, the mountains shall tremble with the swelling thereof. There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the holy city of God, the dwelling places of the Most High, God is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved" (Psalm 46:2-5).
These words, in the spiritual sense, mean, that although the church with all things thereof, perish, still the Word, and the Divine Truth therein, shall not perish. For the earth signifies the church, mountains signify the goods of love, and waters, truths, and by being changed, shaken, put in tumult, troubled, and trembling, are signified the states thereof, when they perish, and falsities and evils enter in their place, consequently, the states of the church when its goods are vastated and its truths desolated. The details of this passage may be seen explained above (n. 304:17 and 405:45). That the Word shall not perish, or the Divine Truth which is for the church, is signified by the river, whose streams shall make glad the city of God, it shall not be changed. A river here has the same signification as fountain, namely the Word, because its streams, which signify truths, are spoken of. The city of God signifies the church as to doctrine, to make glad, signifies influx and reception from joy of heart, and not to be changed signifies not to perish, as to any thing.
[27] Again, in Isaiah:
"Then the waters shall fail in the sea, and the river shall be wasted and dried up, the streams shall recede; the rivers of Egypt shall be minished and dried up, the reed and the flags shall wither. The paper reeds, near the stream, near the mouth of the stream, and all seed of the stream, shall wither, it shall be driven away, and be no more" (19:5, 6, 7).
These things are said concerning Egypt, which signifies the Scientific of the natural man. The stream signifies the cognition and perception of truth, and, in the opposite sense, the apperception of falsity. That these would perish is signified by the stream being wasted and dried up, and that thus truths would be no longer, not even natural and sensual truths, which are the lowest of all, is signified by the reed and the flags withering, the paper reeds near the stream, and all the seed of the stream withering, and being driven away, so as to be no more.
[28] Again, in the same prophet:
"I have digged, and drunk waters; and with the sole of my foot have I dried up all the rivers of Egypt" (Isaiah 37:25).
These are the words of Senacherib the king of Assyria, who signifies the Rational perverted, destroying all cognition and apperception of truth; this is signified by his drying up with the sole of his foot all the rivers of Egypt. The rivers of Egypt signify the cognitions and apperceptions of truth, because Egypt signifies the natural man as to scientifics; and cognition and perception belong to the natural man, as intelligence does to the spiritual man.
[29] So again, in Ezekiel:
"They shall draw their swords against Egypt, that they may fill the land with the slain. And I will make the rivers dry, and sell the land into the hand of the wicked; and I will make the land waste, and the fulness thereof, by the hand of strangers" (Ezekiel 30:11, 12).
Egypt signifies the Scientific of the natural man, serviceable to the intelligence of the rational and spiritual man. That scientific truths are destroyed, is signified by "They shall draw their swords against Egypt," swords signifying falsities destroying truths. By the slain are signified those who perish by falsities; by making the rivers dry, is signified that there shall be no more cognition and apperception of truth. To sell the land into the hand of the wicked, and to make it waste by the hand of strangers, signifies to destroy by means of evils and falsities; for strangers denote falsities.
[30] Again, in Zechariah:
"All the depths of the stream shall be dried up; and the pride of Ashur shall be brought down, and the staff of Egypt shall pass away" (Zechariah 10:11).
All the depths of the river shall be dried up (that is the Euphrates), signifies that all subtle reasonings from [man's] own intelligence shall perish. The pride of Ashur, signifies [man's] own intelligence which pertains to the perverted Rational. The staff of Egypt shall depart away, signifies that the scientifics serviceable to such reasonings shall avail nothing.
[31] Again, in Isaiah:
"I will make waste mountains and hills, and dry up all their herbs; and I will make the rivers islands, and I will dry up the pools" (Isaiah 42:15).
I will make waste mountains and hills, signifies that the goods of love and charity will perish; and dry up all their herbs, signifies that the truths from those goods shall perish; I will make the rivers islands, and dry up the pools, signifies that intelligence and the cognition of truth shall perish.
[32] Again, in the same prophet:
"Behold, at my rebuke I dry up the sea, I make the rivers a desert; their fish shall stink, because there is no water, and shall die" (Isaiah 50:2).
This passage is explained above (n. 342:8).
Again, in Nahum:
"He rebuketh the sea, and maketh it dry, and dryeth up all the streams" (Nahum 1:4).
And in David:
Jehovah "turneth rivers into a desert, and the water-springs into dry ground" (Psalm 107:33).
And in Job:
"Man giveth up the ghost, and where is he? The waters fail from the sea, and the river is wasted and dryeth up" (Job 14:10, 11).
[33] So far it has been shown, that rivers signify the understanding of truth and intelligence. But that in the opposite sense, rivers signify the understanding of falsity, and reasoning from [man's] own intelligence, which is in favour of falsities in opposition to truths, is evident from the following passages.
Thus in Isaiah:
"He will send messengers on the sea to a nation scattered and peeled, whose land the rivers have spoiled" (Isaiah 18:2).
Rivers here signify the falsities of [man's] own intelligence, which have destroyed. The explanation of the rest may be seen above (n. 304:22 and 331:5).
So again:
"When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm thee" (43:2).
To pass through the waters and through the rivers, and not to be overwhelmed, signifies that falsities, and reasonings from falsities against truths, shall not corrupt.
[34] In Jeremiah:
"Behold waters rise up out of the north, and shall be an overflowing stream, and shall overflow the land, and the fulness of it" (Jeremiah 47:2).
Waters out of the north signify the falsities of doctrine from [man's] own intelligence; these are compared to a stream overflowing the land, because a stream signifies reasoning from falsities, and by the land, is meant the church, whose destruction by falsities is compared to an inundation by a stream.
[35] Again, in David:
"Had it not been Jehovah who was with us, when man rose up against us; then the waters had overwhelmed us, the river had gone over our soul; then the waters of the proud had gone over our soul" (Psalm 124:2, 4, 5).
By the waters of the proud here mentioned are signified falsities that favour the love of self and confirm it, and also falsities of doctrine from [man's] own intelligence. A river or stream signifies reasoning from these falsities against truths. It is evident therefore that these words, "Had it not been Jehovah who was with us, when man rose up against us," signify, when man from himself, from his own love and intelligence rises up and endeavours to destroy the truths of the church. For the subject treated of is Israel, by whom is signified the church. The waters that would have overwhelmed them, and the rivers that would have gone over their soul, signify falsities and reasonings from them, and consequently the destruction of spiritual life, which man receives by means of truths and a life according to them. Waters signify falsities, rivers, reasonings from them, and by overwhelming and going over the soul, is signified the destruction of spiritual life.
[36] In Isaiah:
"Behold, the Lord will bring up upon them the waters of the river, strong and many, the king of Assyria, and all his glory; and he shall come up over all his channels, and go over all his banks; and he shall pass through Judah; he shall overflow" (Isaiah 8:7, [8]).
Assyria, and the king of Assyria, in the Word, signify the Rational, here the Rational perverted. Therefore his river, which was Euphrates, means reasoning, and the waters of the river mean falsities confirmed by reasonings; these therefore are signified by the waters of the river, strong and many, which are called strong from desire, and many from falsity. The abundance of falsities from evil destroying the truths of the good of the church, is signified by the waters of the river coming up over all his channels, and going over all his banks, also, by passing through Judah and overflowing. Judah signifies the church where the Word is.
[37] So in Jeremiah:
"What hast thou to do with the way of Egypt, to drink the waters of Shihor? or what hast thou to do with the way of Assyria, to drink the waters of the river?" (Jeremiah 2:18).
By the waters of Shihor, or of Egypt, are signified false scientifics, or scientifics that confirm falsities, and by the waters of the river, are signified false reasonings from them, and thus reasonings from [man's] own intelligence. These words signify that neither the former nor the latter must be received into the mind.
[38] Again, in the same prophet:
"They have stumbled and fallen toward the north by the river Euphrates. Who is this that cometh up as a stream, [whose waters] are put in commotion like streams? Egypt cometh up as a stream, and as streams his waters are put in commotion; for he saith, I will ascend, and I will cover the earth; I will destroy the city and the inhabitants thereof" (Jeremiah 46:6, 7, 8).
These words signify the destruction of the church and its truths by false reasonings from confirming scientifics. By the north are signified those with whom falsity prevails, and whence it proceeds. The river Euphrates signifies false reasonings; Egypt, confirming scientifics; the waters put in commotion signify falsities themselves; and ascending, covering the earth, destroying the city and them that dwell in it, signify the destruction of the church and of its doctrine. The earth denotes the church, city the doctrine of truth, and they that dwell in it, its goods. Similar things are signified by the Nile the river of Egypt, and by the Euphrates the river of Assyria, in other parts of the Word; as in Isaiah 7:18, 19; 11:15, 16; Ezekiel 29:3, 4, 5, 10; 31:15; 32:2; Psalm 74:14, 15; Psalm 78:44; Exodus 7:17-21; also by the rivers of Babylon (Psalm 137:8). Since all spiritual temptations are caused by falsities which break into the thoughts, and infest the interior mind, thus by reasonings from them, therefore also temptations are signified by inundations of waters, and by a bursting in of streams and torrents, as in Jonah:
"Thou didst cast me into the deep, into the heart of the seas; and the stream compassed me about; all thy billows and thy waves passed over me" (Jonah 2:3).
And in David:
"The cords of death (Sheol) compassed me, and the floods of Belial made me afraid" (Psalm 18:4).
And in Matthew:
"The rain descended, and the streams came, and the winds blew and beat upon that house; and it fell not; for it was founded upon a rock" (Matthew 7:25).
So in Luke:
"And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, but could not shake it; for it was founded upon a rock" (Luke 6:48).
518. And it fell upon the third part of the rivers and upon the fountains of the waters, signifies that consequently all understanding of truth perished and thereby the doctrine of the church. This is evident from the signification of "falling" from heaven, as being, in reference to stars, to perish (of which presently); also from the signification of "the third part," as being everything (of which above, n. 506, here all, because it is said of the understanding of truth and of doctrine, which are signified by "rivers" and "fountains of waters;" also from the signification of "rivers," as being the understanding of truth (of which presently); and from the signification of "fountains of waters," as being the Word and doctrine from the Word, thus "fountains" mean the truths of the Word and doctrinals (of which above, n. 483).
[2] When "to fall" is predicated of stars, which mean the knowledges of truth and good from the Word (as above), it signifies to perish, because when Divine truth in the spiritual world falls out of heaven to the earth there, where the evil are, it is turned into falsity, and when Divine truth becomes falsity it perishes. This is signified also by:
The stars shall fall from heaven (413, 418, 419, 489); for Divine truth is changed into falsity of the same character as the evil belonging to those into whom it flows. This becomes evident from the following experience: It has been granted me to observe carefully how Divine truth was changed into falsity while it was passing down deep into hell, and it was perceived that it was changed successively as it flowed down, at length even into what was most false.
[3] "Rivers" signify the understanding of truth, likewise intelligence, because "waters" signify truths, and the understanding is the receptacle and complex of truths, as a river is of waters, and because thought from the understanding, which is intelligence, is like a stream of truth. From the same origin, namely, from the signification of "waters" as being truths, a "fountain" signifies the Word and the doctrine of truth, and "pools," "lakes," and "seas," signify the knowledges of truth in the complex. That "waters" signify truths, and "living waters" truths from the Lord, may be seen above (n. 71, 483); and also in the following passages in this article.
[4] That "rivers" and "streams" signify the understanding of truth and intelligence can be seen from the Word where "rivers" and "streams" are mentioned. Thus in Isaiah:
Then shall the lame leap as a hart, and the tongue of the dumb shall sing; for waters shall break out in the wilderness, and brooks in the plain of the desert (Isaiah 35:6).
This is said of the Lord, also of the reformation of the Gentiles, and of the establishment of the church among them. "The lame who shall leap as a hart" signifies one who is not in genuine good because he is not in the knowledges of truth and good; "the tongue of the dumb which shall sing" signifies confession of the Lord by those who are in ignorance of the truth; "waters shall break out in the wilderness" signifies that there shall be truths where there were none before; "and brooks in the plain of the desert" signifies that there shall be intelligence where there was none before, "wilderness" meaning where there is no truth, and "plain of the desert" where there is no intelligence; "waters" mean truths, and "brooks" intelligence.
[5] In the same:
I will open rivers on the heights, and fountains will I place in the midst of the valleys, I will make the wilderness into a pool of waters, and the dry land into springs of waters (483.)
[6] In the same:
Behold I am doing a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even place a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. The wild beast of the field shall honor Me, the dragons and the daughters of the owl; because I will give waters in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert, to give drink to My people, My chosen (Isaiah 43:19, 20).
This treats of the Lord and of a new church to be established by Him, which is meant by "Behold I am doing a new thing; now it shall spring forth;" "to place a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert" signifies that there shall be truth and the understanding of truth where there were none before, "way" meaning truth leading to heaven, and "rivers" understanding; "to give drink to the people" signifies to instruct those who desire it; "the wild beast of the field, the dragons, and the daughters of the owl" signify those who know truths and goods merely from memory, and do not understand and perceive them; these speak about truth with no idea of truth, depending solely upon others.
[7] In the same:
I will pour out waters upon him that is thirsty, and streams upon the dry ground; I will pour out My spirit upon thy seed, and My blessing upon thine offspring (Isaiah 44:3).
"To pour out waters upon him that is thirsty" signifies to instruct in truths those who are in the affection of truth; "to pour streams upon the dry land" signifies to give intelligence to those who are in a desire for truth from good; the like is signified by "pouring out the spirit and the blessing;" for God's "spirit" signifies Divine truth, and "blessing" its multiplication and fructification, thus intelligence. Who does not see that here and above, waters and streams, wilderness and desert, are not meant, but such things as pertain to the church? Therefore it is here added, "I will pour out My spirit upon thy seed, and My blessing upon thine offspring."
[8] In Moses:
For Jehovah leadeth thee to a land of brooks of water, of fountains, of depths flowing forth in valley and mountain (Deuteronomy 8:7).
The land of Canaan, to which Jehovah was to lead them, signifies the church, therefore "brooks of water, fountains, and depths flowing forth in valley and mountain," signify such things as belong to the church; "brooks of water" signifying the understanding of truth, "fountains" doctrinals from the Word, and "depths flowing forth in valley and mountain" the knowledges of truth and good in the natural and in the spiritual man.
[9] In Isaiah:
Look upon Zion and Jerusalem, where the glorious Jehovah will be with us a place of rivers, of streams, of breadth of spaces; no ship of oar shall go therein, and no magnificent ship shall pass through it (514.
[10] In Joel:
In that day the mountains shall drop down must, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the watercourses of Judah shall flow with waters, and a fountain shall go forth out of the house of Jehovah and shall water the brook of Shittim (433, 483.) "The fountain that shall go forth out of the house of Jehovah" signifies the truth of doctrine out of heaven from the Lord; and "the brook of Shittim that it shall water," signifies the illustration of the understanding.
[11] In Ezekiel:
The waters issued out from under the threshold of the house of God towards the east. The man led me and brought me back upon the bank of the river. When I returned, behold upon the bank of the river very many trees on the one side and on the other. He said, Every living soul that creepeth, whithersoever the rivers shall come, shall live; whence there are exceeding many fish, because these waters come thither and are healed, that everything may live whither the river cometh. And by the river upon the bank thereof, on this side and on that side, cometh up every tree for food, whose leaf falleth not, neither is the fruit thereof consumed; it is renewed in its months, because its waters flow out of the sanctuary (422, 513), which makes evident that "the waters flowing out of the house of God towards the east" signify Divine truth proceeding from the Lord and flowing in with those who are in the good of love; and that "the river, upon the bank of which was every tree for food, and by the waters of which every soul that creepeth lived, whence there were many fish," signifies intelligence from the reception of Divine truth, from which all things with man, his affections and perceptions, as well as his cognitions and knowledges and the thoughts therefrom acquire spiritual life.
[12] In Jeremiah:
Blessed is the man that trusteth in Jehovah; He shall be like a tree planted by the waters and that sendeth forth his roots by the stream, and he shall not see when the heat shall come, his leaf shall be green (481.)
Where trees and gardens are treated of in the Word, waters and rivers to water them are also mentioned, for the reason that "trees" signify perceptions and knowledges, and "waters" and "rivers" truths and understanding therefrom; for without the understanding of truths man is like a garden where there is no water, whose trees wither away.
[13] As in Moses:
As the valleys are they planted, as gardens by the river, as lign aloes which Jehovah hath planted, and as cedar-trees beside the waters (Numbers 24:6).
This is said of the sons of Israel, by whom the church is signified which was then to be planted. This church is compared to valleys which are planted, and to a garden by the river, because "valleys" signify the intelligence of the natural man, and a "garden" the intelligence of the spiritual man, and it is compared to lign aloes and cedar-trees, because "lign aloes" signify the things of the natural man, and "cedar-trees" the things of the rational man; since these all live from the influx of Divine truth from the Lord they are said to be planted "by the river and beside the waters," which signifies Divine truth flowing in, from which is intelligence.
[14] As "the garden in Eden" or "paradise" means the wisdom and intelligence that the most ancient people had who lived before the flood, so where their wisdom is described, the influx of Divine truth, and of intelligence thence, is also described in these words:
A river went forth from Eden to water the garden, and from thence it was parted and was in four heads (Arcana Coelestia 107-121.)
[15] In Ezekiel:
Asshur, a cedar in Lebanon. The waters made it grow, the abyss made it high, so that with its rivers it went round about its plant, and sent out its conduits unto all the trees of the field (Ezekiel 31:3, 4).
"Asshur" signifies the rational man, or the rational of man, likewise "the cedar in Lebanon;" and because the genuine rational is perfected by the knowledges of truth and good it is said that "the waters made it grow, and the abyss made it high," "waters" meaning truths, and "the abyss" the knowledges of truth in the natural man; the increase of intelligence is signified by "with its rivers it went round about its plant;" and the multiplication of the knowledges of truth by "it sent out its conduits unto all the trees of the field."
[16] In David:
Thou hast caused a vine to go forth out of Egypt. Thou hast sent out its boughs unto the sea, and its shoots unto the river (Psalms 80:8, 11).
"A vine out of Egypt" means the sons of Israel, who are called a "vine" because they represented the spiritual church, which is what "vine" signifies in the Word; their tarrying in Egypt represented their first initiation into the things of the church, for "Egypt" signified the knowledges [scientifica] subservient to the things of the church when, therefore, "the vine" signifies the church, and "Egypt" the knowledge serving it, it is evident what is signified in the spiritual sense by "Thou hast caused a vine to go forth out of Egypt." The extension of the intelligence of the church even to things known and things rational is signified by "Thou hast sent out its boughs unto the sea, and its shoots unto the river;" "to send out boughs and shoots" meaning multiplication and extension, the "sea" knowledge []scientificum]; and the "river," which here is the Euphrates, the rational. The extension of the church and the multiplication of its truths and of intelligence therefrom are described by the extension of the land of Canaan to the Sea Suph, to the sea of the Philistines, and to the river Euphrates.
[17] In Moses:
And I will set thy border from the Sea Suph even to the sea of the Philistines, and from the wilderness even to the river (Exodus 23:31).
"The borders of the land of Canaan" signify the ultimates of the church, which are true knowledges [scientifica vera], cognitions of truth and good from the Word, and things rational. "The Sea Suph" signifies true knowledge; "the sea of the Philistines," where Tyre and Sidon were, signifies the knowledges of truth and good from the sense of the letter of the Word; and "the river Euphrates" signifies the rational; for knowledges [scientifica] serve the cognitions of truth and good from the Word, and both these serve the rational, and the rational serves intelligence, which is given by means of spiritual truths joined to spiritual good.
[18] The like that is here said of the church and its extension is said of the Lord's power over all things of heaven and the church, in David:
I will set his hand in the sea, and his right hand in the rivers (Psalms 89:25).
This is said of David, by whom is here meant the Lord; the Lord's power, even to the ultimates of heaven and the church, thus over the whole heaven, and over everything of the church, is signified by "setting the hand in the sea, and the right hand in the rivers," "hand" and "right hand" signify power, and the "sea" and "rivers" the ultimates of heaven and the church. The ultimates of heaven are seas and rivers, as has been several times said above. These were represented by the two seas and by the two rivers that formed the boundaries of the land of Canaan. The two seas were the sea of Egypt and the sea of the Philistines, where were Tyre and Sidon; and the two rivers were the Euphrates and the Jordan. But the Jordan was the boundary between the interior land of Canaan and the exterior; in the exterior were the tribes of Reuben and Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh. Likewise in Zechariah:
His dominion shall be from sea even to sea, and from the river even to the ends of the earth (Zechariah 9:10).
This, too, is said of the Lord, and has a like meaning; His dominion even to the ultimates of heaven and the church means over all things of heaven and the church, for the ultimates are the boundaries.
[19] In David:
Thy throne is established from then; Thou art from everlasting. The rivers have lifted up, O Jehovah, the rivers have lifted up their voice; the rivers have lifted up their roaring. More than the voices of many glorious waters, more than the waves of the sea, Jehovah is glorious (Psalms 93:2-4).
This, too, is said of the Lord; His dominion from eternity to eternity over heaven and earth is signified by "Thy throne is established from then; Thou art from everlasting." The glorification of the Lord because of His coming and because of the consequent salvation of mankind is signified by "the rivers have lifted up their voice (and their roaring);" for "rivers," here three times mentioned, signify all things of man's intelligence, both in the internal and in the external man. Divine truth from the Lord, through which there is power and through which there is salvation, is signified by "more than the voices of many glorious waters, more than the waves of the sea," "waters" meaning truths, and "the voices of many glorious waters" Divine truths.
[20] The glorification and celebration of the Lord from joy of heart are thus described elsewhere in David:
Let the sea and the fullness thereof give forth a sound, the world and they that dwell therein. Let the rivers clap their hands; let the mountains sing aloud together (Psalms 98:7, 8).
The glorification of the Lord by the universal heaven is signified by these words. The glorification from its ultimates is signified by "Let the sea and the fullness thereof give forth a sound;" the glorification from the whole heaven is signified by "let the world and they that dwell therein give forth a sound," "the world" signifying the universal heaven in respect to its truths, and "they that dwell therein" signifying the universal heaven in respect to its goods; for "inhabitants" signify in the Word those who are in the goods of heaven and the church, and thus the goods of such. The glorification of the Lord by the truths of intelligence and by the goods of love, is signified by "let the rivers clap their hands, let the mountains sing aloud together," "rivers" meaning the truths of intelligence, and "mountains" the goods of love.
[21] Divine truth from the Lord, the reception of which is the source of intelligence, is signified by "the waters from the rock in Horeb" (Exodus 17:6), thus spoken of in David:
He clave the rocks in the wilderness, and made them to drink out of the great abysses, and He brought flowing waters out of the rock, and made the waters to run down like rivers. He smote the rock, so that the waters gushed out and the brooks overflowed (Psalms 78:15, 16, 20).
And again:
He opened the rock that the waters might flow; the rivers ran in the dry places (Psalms 105:41).
The "rock" here means the Lord; and the "waters that flowed out therefrom" mean Divine truth from Him; and the "rivers" signify intelligence and wisdom therefrom; "to drink of the great abysses" signifies to imbibe and perceive the arcana of wisdom.
[22] In John:
Jesus said, If anyone thirst, let him come unto Me and drink. He that cometh unto Me, as the Scripture saith, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. This saith He of the Spirit, which they that believe on Him were to receive (John 7:37-39).
"To come to the Lord and drink" signifies to receive from Him the truths of doctrine and belief therein; that spiritual intelligence is therefrom is signified by "out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water," "living water" being Divine truth which is from the Lord alone, "rivers" the things belonging to intelligence, and the "belly" thought from memory, for to this the belly corresponds; and as "rivers of living water" signify intelligence through Divine truth from the Lord it is added, "this saith He of the spirit which they that believe on Him were to receive," "the spirit that they were to receive from the Lord," meaning Divine truth and intelligence therefrom; so, too, the Lord called the spirit that they received "the spirit of truth" (John 14:16-18; 16:7-15).
[23] In David:
Jehovah hath founded the world upon the seas, and established it upon the rivers (Psalms 24:2).
The "world" signifies heaven and the church in the whole complex, the "seas" signify cognitions and knowledges which are the ultimates of the church, and in particular, the cognitions of truth and good, such as are in the sense of the letter of the Word; "rivers" signify introduction through knowledges into heavenly intelligence. This makes clear the meaning of these words in the spiritual sense, namely, that the interior things of heaven and the church, which are called celestial and spiritual, are founded upon the cognitions of truth and good which are in the sense of the letter of the Word rationally understood. It is said, "He hath founded the world upon the seas and established it upon the rivers," because there are seas and rivers in the boundaries of heaven, represented by the Sea Suph, the sea of the Philistines, the river Euphrates, and the river Jordan, which were the boundaries of the land of Canaan; and because what is ultimate means in the Word what is lowest, it is said that Jehovah "founded" and "established" upon these. Evidently the earth is not founded upon seas and rivers.
[24] In the same:
The Lord at thy right hand hath stricken through kings in the day of His anger, He hath judged among the nations, He hath filled with dead bodies, He hath stricken through the head over many a land. He drinketh out of the brook in the way; therefore shall He exalt the head (Psalms 110:5-7).
This is said of the Lord, and of His combat against falsities and evils from the hells, and of their subjugation. "Kings" mean falsities from hell, and "nations" evils therefrom. The Lord's Divine power is meant by "the Lord at the right hand;" "He hath stricken through them in the day of His anger, He hath judged among the nations, and He hath filled with dead bodies," signifies the subjugation and destruction of evils and falsities from the hells; "the head that He hath stricken through in many a land," means the love of self, which is the source of all evils and falsities; "to strike through in many a land" signifies total destruction and damnation; "the brook out of which the head drinketh," and because of which "it shall be exalted," signifies the Word in the letter, "to drink out of it" meaning to learn something from it, and "to lift up the head" meaning to resist for a time; for all those who are in falsities from evil cannot be cast down into hell until the things that they know from the Word are taken away from them, since all things of the Word communicate with heaven, by which communication they exalt the head; but when these are taken away they are cast down into hell. This is the meaning of these words, which no one can see except by means of the spiritual sense and a knowledge of the quality of the Word.
[25] In Habakkuk:
Was Jehovah displeased with the rivers? Was Thine anger against the rivers? Was Thy wrath against the sea? Because Thou ridest upon Thy horses, Thy chariots are salvation (Habakkuk 3:8).
This is a supplication that the church may be guarded and not perish; the "rivers" and the "sea" signify all things of the church, because they are its ultimates (as above); "to ride upon horses," in reference to Jehovah, that is, the Lord, signifies the Divine wisdom which is in the Word; and "chariots" signify doctrinals therefrom.
[26] In David:
We will not fear when the earth shall be changed, and when the mountains shall be moved from 1the heart of the seas; the waters thereof shall be in tumult, shall be made turbid, the mountains shall quake in the pride thereof. There is a river the streams whereof shall make glad the holy city of God, the dwelling places of the Most High; God is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved (304, 405, where this is more completely explained). That the Word or Divine truth for the church is not to perish is signified by "There is a river the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God; she shall not be changed;" "river" signifying here the like as "fountain," namely, the Word, because "streams" are predicated of it, by which are signified truths; the "city of God" signifies the church in respect to doctrine; "to make glad" signifies influx and reception from joy of heart, and "not to be changed" signifies not to perish in any respect.
[27] In Isaiah:
Then the waters shall fail in 2the sea, and the river shall dry up and become dry, and the rivers shall recede; the rivers of Egypt shall be minished and dried up, the reed and flag shall wither; the paper reeds by the stream near the mouth of the stream, and all seed of the stream shall become dry, be driven away, and be no more (Isaiah 19:5-7).
This is said of Egypt, which signifies the knowing faculty [scientificum] of the natural man, and its "stream" the cognition and apperception of truth, and in the contrary sense the apperception of falsity; that these are to perish is signified by "the stream shall dry up and become dry;" that thus there would be no longer truths, not even natural and sensual truths, which are the lowest, is signified by "the reed and flag shall wither, the paper reeds by the stream, and all the seed of the stream shall become dry, be driven away, and be no more."
[28] In the same:
I have digged and have drunk waters; and with the sole of my steps have I dried up all the streams of Egypt (Isaiah 37:25).
These are the words of Senacherib, the king of Assyria, by whom the perverted rational destroying all knowledge and apperception of truth is signified; this is signified by his "drying up with the sole of his steps all the streams of Egypt." The "streams of Egypt" signify knowledges and apperceptions of truth, because "Egypt" signifies the natural man in respect to knowledges (scientifica), and cognition and apperception belong to the natural man, as intelligence does to the spiritual man.
[29] In Ezekiel:
They shall draw out their swords against Egypt, to fill the land with the slain. Then will I make the rivers dry land, and will sell the land into the hand of evil ones; and I will make the land waste, and the fullness thereof, by the hand of strangers (Ezekiel 30:11, 12).
"Egypt" signifies the knowing faculty [scientificum] of the natural man serving the intelligence of the rational and spiritual man. The destruction of true knowledges [scientifica] by falsities is signified by "They shall draw out their swords against Egypt," "swords" signifying falsities destroying truths; the "slain" signify those who are destroyed by falsities; "to make the rivers dry land" signifies that there shall no longer be any cognition or apperception of truth; "to sell the land into the hand of evil ones and to make it waste by the hand of strangers," signifies to destroy by evils and by falsities, "strangers" signifying falsities.
[30] In Zechariah:
All the depths of the river shall be dried up, and the pride of Assyria shall be cast down, and the staff of Egypt shall depart away (Zechariah 10:11).
"All the depths of the river (namely, the Euphrates) shall be dried up" signifies that all the acute reasonings from self-intelligence shall perish; the "pride of Assyria" signifies the self-intelligence of the perverted rational; "the staff of Egypt shall depart away" signifies that the knowledges [scientifica] that serve such reasonings shall be of no avail.
[31] In Isaiah:
I will lay waste mountains and hills, and dry up all their herb; and I will make the rivers islands, and I will dry up the pools (Isaiah 42:15).
"I will lay waste mountains and hills" signifies that the goods of love and charity will perish; "and dry up all their herb" signifies that the truths that are from those goods will perish; "I will make the rivers islands, and I will dry up the pools," signifies that intelligence and knowledge of truth will perish.
[32] In the same:
Behold, at My rebuke I dry up the sea, I make the rivers into a wilderness; their fish shall rot because there is no water, and shall die (Isaiah 50:2).
(See above, n. Nahum 1:4).
In David:
Jehovah maketh rivers into a wilderness, and water springs into dry ground (Psalms 107:33).
In Job:
A man giveth up the ghost, and where is he? The waters depart from the sea, and the river drieth up and becometh dry (Job14:10, 11).
[33] It has been shown thus far that "rivers" signify the understanding of truth and intelligence. In the contrary sense "rivers" signify the understanding of falsity and reasoning from self-intelligence which is in favor of falsities and opposes truths, as is evident from the following passages. In Isaiah:
He shall send ambassadors by the sea to a nation meted out and trodden down, whose land the rivers have spoiled (1 Isaiah 18:2).
"Rivers" here signify the falsities of self-intelligence that destroy. (What the rest signifies see explained above, n. Isaiah 43:2).
"To pass through waters and through rivers and not be overflowed" signifies that falsities and reasonings from falsities against truths shall not corrupt.
[34] In Jeremiah:
Behold waters rising up out of the north, which like 3an overflowing stream shall overflow the land and its fullness (Jeremiah 47:2).
"Waters out of the north" signify the falsities of doctrine from self-intelligence; these are compared to "a stream overflowing the land," because a "stream" signifies reasoning from falsities, the "land" the church, and "its overflow by a stream" its destruction by falsities.
[35] In David:
Unless Jehovah were for us when man rises up against us, then the waters had overflowed us, the river had gone over our soul; then the waters of the proud had gone over our soul (Psalms 124:2, 4, 5).
The "waters of the proud" here mentioned, signify falsities favoring the love of self and confirming it, also the falsities of doctrine from self-intelligence; the "river" signifies reasoning from falsities against truths; this makes clear what is meant by "Unless Jehovah were for us, when man rises up against us," namely, when man from himself, from self-love, and from self-intelligence, rises up and endeavors to destroy the truths of the church; for this treats of Israel, by whom the church is signified; the "waters that had overflowed them," and the "rivers that had gone over their soul," signify falsities and reasonings from falsities, and the consequent destruction of the spiritual life that man has through truths and through a life according to them; "waters" signify falsities, "rivers" reasonings from them, and "overflowing and going over the soul" signifies the destruction of spiritual life.
[36] In Isaiah:
Behold, the Lord will make to go up upon them the waters of the river, strong and many, the king of Assyria and all his glory; and he shall go up over all his channels, and shall go over all his banks; and he shall go through Judah, and shall overflow (Isaiah 8:7, 8).
"Assyria" and its king signify in the Word the rational, here the rational perverted; so "his river" which was the Euphrates, means reasoning, and "the waters of the river" mean falsities confirmed by reasonings; these therefore are signified by "the waters of the river, strong and many," which are called "strong" from cupidity, and "many" from falsity; the abundance of falsities from evil destroying the truths of the good of the church is signified by "the waters of the river shall go up over all his channels, and over all his banks," also "he shall go through Judah, and shall overflow," "Judah" signifying the church where the Word is.
[37] In Jeremiah:
What hast thou to do with the way of Egypt, to drink the waters of Sihor? Or what hast thou to do with the way of Assyria, to drink the waters of the river? (Jeremiah 2:18).
The "waters of Sihor," or of Egypt, signify false knowledges, or knowledges confirming falsities, and "the waters of the river" signify false reasonings from these, thus such as are from self-intelligence; that such falsities and reasonings must not be imbibed is what these words signify.
[38] In the same:
Towards the north, by the bank of the river Euphrates, have they stumbled and fallen. Who is this that cometh up like a stream, whose waters are tossed like the streams? Egypt cometh up like a stream, and his waters are tossed like streams; for he saith, I will come up, I will cover the earth, I will destroy the city and those that dwell in it (Jeremiah 46:6-8).
This signifies the destruction of the church and of its truths by false reasonings from confirming knowledges [scientifica]; the "north" signifies those in whom and from whom there is falsity, the "river Euphrates" false reasonings, "Egypt" confirming knowledges, the "waters that are tossed" falsities themselves, and "to come up, to cover the earth, to destroy the city and those that dwell in it," signifies the destruction of the church and of its doctrine, the "earth" meaning the church, the "city" doctrine of truth, and "those that dwell in it" its goods. Like things are signified by the Nile, "the river of Egypt," and by the Euphrates, "the river of Assyria," elsewhere in the Word (as in Isaiah 7:18, 19; 11:15, 16; Ezekiel 29:3-5, 10; 31:15; 32:2; Psalms 74:14, 15; 78:44; Exodus 7:17-21); also by "the rivers of Babylon" (Psalms 137:1). As all spiritual temptations come through falsities that break into the thoughts and infest the interior mind, thus through reasonings from falsities, so temptations are signified by the inundations of waters and by the irruptions of rivers and torrents. As in Jonah:
Thou hadst cast me into the depths, even into the heart of the seas; and the river was round about me; all Thy waves and Thy billows passed over me (Jonah 2:3).
In David:
The cords of death compassed me, and the brooks of Belial terrified me (Psalms 18:4).
In Matthew:
And the rain descended, and the rivers came, and the winds blew and beat upon that house; yet it fell not, for it was founded upon a rock (Matthew 7:25, 27).
In Luke:
When a flood arose, the stream dashed against that house and could not shake it; for it had been founded upon a rock (Luke 6:48, 49).
Footnotes:
1. Latin "from," the Hebrew has "in," which we also find in n. 394, 405, 538, etc.
2. Latin "in," Hebrew "out of," as we also find in n. 275; Arcana Coelestia 28, 2588, 9755
3. Latin "like," Hebrew "become," as we also find in n. 223; Arcana Coelestia 705, 2240, 6297.
518. "Et cecidit super tertiam partem fluviorum at super fontes aquarum." - Quod significet quod inde perierit omnis intellectus veri, et per id doctrina ecclesiae, constat ex significatione "cadere" e caelo, cum de stellis, quod sit perire (de qua sequitur); ex significatione "tertiae partis", quod sit omne (de qua supra, n. 506), hic omnis, quia dicitur de intellectu veri et de doctrina, quae significantur per "fluvios" et per "fontes aquarum"; ex significatione "fluviorum", quod sint intellectus veri (de qua sequitur); et ex significatione "fontis aquarum", quod sit Verbum et doctrina ex Verbo, et inde quod "fontes" sint vera Verbi et doctrinalia (de qua supra, n. 483).
[2] Quod "cadere", cum dicitur de stellis, per quas intelliguntur cognitiones veri et boni ex Verbo (ut supra), significetur perire, est quia Divinum Verum, cum in mundo spirituali cadit e caelo in terram ibi, ubi sunt mali, vertitur in falsum; et cum Divinum Verum fit falsum, tunc perit. Hoc quoque significatur per quod
"Stellae cadent de caelo" (Matthaeus 24:29; Marc. 13:25 1
;
nempe quod in ultimo tempore ecclesiae periturae sint cognitiones veri et boni. Quod Divinum Verum, dum in mundo spirituali cadit e caelo in terram ibi, ubi sunt mali, vertatur in falsum et sic pereat, videatur supra (n. 413 [a] 418 [a] 419 [a, f] , 489): vertitur enim Divinum Verum in tale falsum quale est malum illis apud quos influit. Quod ita sit, constare potest ab hac experientia: datum mihi est animadvertere quomodo mutatur Divinum Verum in falsum, quum delabebatur profunde in infernum, et apperceptum quod mutaretur successive cum defluxit, usque tandem in falsissimum.
[3] Quod "fluvii" significent intellectum veri, tum intelligentiam, est quia "aquae" significant vera, ac intellectus est receptaculum et complexus veritatum, sicut fluvius est aquarum, et quia cogitatio ex intellectu, quae est intelligentia, est sicut flumen veri: ex eadem origine, nempe ex significatione "aquarum", quod sint vera, est quod "fons" significet Verbum, ac doctrinam veri; quodque "stagna", "lacus" et "maria" significent cognitiones veri in complexu.
Quod "aquae" significent vera, et "aquae vivae" vera a Domino, videatur supra (n. 71, 483), et quoque in sequentibus locis in hoc articulo:
[4] quod "fluvii" et "flumina" significent intellectum veri, ac intelligentiam, constare potest ex Verbo ubi fluvii et flumina nominantur:
- Ut apud Esaiam,
"Tunc saliet sicut cervus claudus, et cantabit lingua muti, quia erumpent in deserto aquae, et fluvii in planitie deserti" (cap. 35:6):
haec de Domino, ac de reformatione gentium, et instauratione ecclesiae apud illas: per "claudum", qui saliet sicut cervus, significatur qui non in genuino bono est, quia non in cognitionibus veri et boni; per "linguam muti quae cantabit" significatur confessio Domini ab illis qui in ignorantia veri sunt: "erumpent in deserto aquae" significat quod vera erunt ubi non prius; et "fluvii in planitie deserti" significat quod intelligentia ubi non prius; "desertum" est ubi non verum, "planities deserti" ubi non intelligentia; "aquae" sunt vera, et "fluvii" sunt intelligentia.
[5] Apud eundem,
"Aperiam super clivis fluvios; et in medio vallium fontes ponam; desertum in stagnum aquarum, et terram siccam in scaturigines aquarum" (41:18):
haec dicta sunt de salvatione gentium a Domino; "aperire super clivis fluvios" est dare intelligentiam interiorem; "in medio vallium ponere fontes" est instruere in veris externum hominem. (Reliqua videantur explicata supra, n. 483.)
[6] Apud eundem,
"Ecce Ego faciens novum; nunc progerminabit, nonne agnoscitis illud? etiam poanam in deserto viam, in solitudine fluvios: honorabit Me fera agri, dracones et filiae noctuae, eo quod dederim in deserto aquas, et fluvios in solitudine, ad potandum populum meum, electum meum" (43:19, 20):
haec etiam de Domino, et de nova ecclesia ab Ipso, quae intelligitur per "Ecce Ego faciens novum, nunc progerminabit": per "ponere in deserto viam et in solitudine fluvios" significatur quod Verum et intelligentia veri erunt ubi non prius, via est verum ducens ad caelum, ac "fluvii" sunt intelligentia; per "potare populum" significatur instruere illos qui desiderant: per "feram agri, dracones et filias noctuae", significantur qui modo ex memoria sciunt vera et bona, ac non intelligunt et percipiunt illa; illi loquuntur verum absque idea veri, pendentes solum ab aliis.
[7] Apud eundem,
"Effundam aquas super sitientem, et fluenta super aridam; effundam spiritum meum super semen tuum, et Benedictionem [meam] super natos tuos" (44:3):
"effundere aquas super sitientem " significat instruere in veris illos qui in affectione veri sunt; "effundere fluenta super aridam" significat dare intelligentiam illis qui in desiderio veri ex bono sunt: simile significatur per "effundere spiritum" et "benedictionem"; nam per "Spiritum" Dei significatur Divinum Verum, et per "benedictionem" multiplicatio et fructificatio ejus, ita intelligentia. Quis non videt quod hic et supra non intelligantur aquae, et fluvii, nec desertum et solitudo, sed talia quae sunt ecclesiae? Quare etiam hic adjicitur, "Effundam spiritum meum super semen tuum, et benedictionem meam super natos tuos."
[8] Apud Mosen,
"Jehovah.... ducens te.... ad terram fluviorum aquae, fontium, abyssorum exeuntium e valle et e monte" (Deuteronomius 8:7):
per "terram Canaanem", ad quam Jehovah ducturus eos, significatur ecclesia; quare "fluvii aquae", "fontes", "abyssi exeuntes e valle et e monte", significant talia quae sunt ecclesiae; "fluvii aquae" intellectum veri, "fontes" doctrinalia ex Verbo, "abyssi exeuntes e valle et e monte" cognitiones veri et boni in naturali homine et in spirituali.
[9] Apud Esaiam,
"Specta Zionem... et Hierosolymam;.... ibi magnificus Jehovah nobis, locus fluviorum, fluminum, latitudinis spatiorum; non ibit in eo navis remi, et navis magnifica non transibit eum" (33 [20,] 21):
hic quoque per "locum fluviorum et fluminum" significatur sapientia et intelligentia. (Quid reliqua significant, supra, n. 514 [c] , explicatum est.)
[3] 18):
(haec quoque supra, n. 433 [c] et 483, explicata sunt): per "fontem" qui "e Domo Jehovae exibit" significatur verum doctrinae e caelo a Domino; per "flumen schittim" quod irrigabit, significatur illustratio intellectus.
[11] Apud Ezechielem,
"Aquae exeuntes de sub limine Domus" Dei "versus orientem:.... vir duxit me et reduxit me super ripa fluvii; cum redirem, ecce super ripa fluvii arbor multa valde hinc et illinc: dixit, .... Omnis anima vivens quae reptat, quocunque venerint fluvii, vivet; unde fit piscis multus valde, quia veniunt eo aquae hae, et sanantur, ut Vivat omne quo venerit fluvius:.... porro juxta fluvium ascendit super ripa ejus hinc et illinc omnis arbor cibi, cujus non decidit folium, neque consumitur fructus ejus; in menses suos renascitur, quia aquae ejus e sanctuario sunt exeuntes" (47:1-12):
haec quoque explicata sunt supra (n. 422 [c] et 513 [a]); ex quibus patet quod per "aquas exeuntes e Domo Dei versus orientem" significetur Divinum Verum procedens a Domino, influens apud illos qui in bono amoris sunt; et quod per "fluvium, super cujus ripa omnis arbor cibi, et a cujus aquis omnis anima reptans vivit, unde piscis multus", significetur intelligentia ex receptione Divini Veri; unde omnia apud hominem, tam ejus affectiones et perceptiones quam cognitiones et scientifica, et inde cogitationes, vitam spiritualem adipiscuntur.
[12] Apud Jeremiam,
"Benedictus vir qui confidit in Jehovah;.... erit sicut arbor plantata juxta aquas, et juxta fluvium emittit radices suas; neque videbit cum venerit aestus, sed erit folium ejus viride" (17:7, 8):
per "arborem plantatam juxta aquas" intelligitur homo apud quem vera a Domino sunt; per "juxta fluvium emittit radices suas" intelligitur extensio intelligentiae a spirituali homine in naturalem. (Reliqua videantur explicata supra, n. 481.)
Ubi in Verbo de arboribus et hortis agitur, ibi etiam dicitur de aquis et fluviis irrigantibus, ex causa quia per "arbores" significantur perceptiones et cognitiones, ac per "aquas" et "fluvios" vera et inde intellectus; nam absque intellectu veritatum, est homo Sicut hortus ubi non aqua, cujus arbores arescunt:
[13]
- Ut apud Mosen,
"Sicut valles plantantur, sicut hortus juxta fluvium, sicut santalos plantavit Jehovah, sicut cedros juxta aquas" (Numeri 24:6, 7):
haec de filiis Israelis, per quos significatur ecclesia, quae tunc plantanda; quae ecclesia comparatur vallibus quae plantantur, et horto juxta fluvium, quia per "valles" significatur intelligentia naturalis hominis, et per "hortum" intelligentia spiritualis hominis; et comparatur santalis et cedris, quia per "santalos" significantur illa quae sunt naturalis hominis, et per "cedros" illa quae sunt rationalis hominis; quia omnia illa vivunt ex influxu Divini Veri a Domino, ideo dicuntur illa plantata "juxta fluvium" et "aquas", per quae significatur Divinum Verum influens, unde intelligentia.
[14] Quoniam per "Hortum in Edene" seu "Paradisum" intelligitur sapientia et intelligentia, quae fuit antiquissimis qui ante diluvium vixerunt, ideo ubi describitur sapientia eorum, etiam describitur influxus Divini Veri et inde intelligentiae, per
Fluvium qui "exivit ex Edene ad irrigandum hortum, et inde separabatur, et erat in quatuor capita" (Genesis 2:10, seq.):
"fluvius ex Edene" significat sapientiam ex amore, qui est Eden; "ad irrigandum hortum" est ad dandum intelligentiam: descriptio intelligentiae fit per "quatuor fluvios", de quibus ibi agitur. (Sed hoc explicatum videatur in Arcanis Caelestibus n. 107-121.)
[15] Apud Ezechielem,
"Aschur cedrus in Libano aquae crescere fecerunt eam, abyssus altam fecit eam, ita ut cum fluviis suis iverit circa plantam suam, et aquaeductus suos emiserit ad omnes arbores agri" (31:3, 4):
"Aschur" significat rationalem hominem seu rationale hominis; similiter "cedrus in Libano": et quia genuinum rationale perficitur a cognitionibus veri et boni, dicitur quod "aquae crescere fecerint eam, et abyssus altam fecerit eam"; "aquae" sunt vera, et "abyssus" cognitiones veri quae in naturali homine: incrementum intelligentiae significatur per quod " [cum] fluviis suis iverit circa plantam"; et multiplicatio cognitionum veri per quod "aquaeductus suos emiserit ad omnes arbores agri."
[16] Apud Davidem,
"Vitem ex Aegypto proficisci fecisti emisisti propagines ejus usque ad mare, et ad fluvium ramusculos ejus" (Psalms 80:9, 12 [B.A. 8, 11]):
per "vitem ex Aegypto" intelliguntur filii Israelis, qui "vitis" dicuntur quia representaverunt ecclesiam spiritualem, quam "vitis" in Verbo significat: commoratio eorum in Aegypto repraesentabat primam initiationem in res ecclesiae, nam "Aegyptus "significabat scientifica inservientia rebus ecclesiae; cum itaque "vitis" significat ecclesiam, et "Aegyptus" scientificum ei inserviens, patet quid in sensu spirituali significatur per "vitem ex Aegypto proficisci fecisti"; extensio intelligentiae ejus usque ad scientifica et ad rationalia, significetur per" Emisisti propagines ejus usque ad mare, et ramusculos ad fluvium"; "emittere propagines et ramusculos" significat multiplicationem et extensionem, "mare" significat scientificum, et "fluvius", hic Euphrates, rationale. Extensio ecclesiae, et multiplicatio veritatum ejus, et inde intelligentiae, describitur per terrae Canaanis extensionem ad Mare Suph, Mare Philisthaeorum, et ad fluvium Euphratem,
[17] apud Mosen,
"Ponam terminum tuum 2
a Mare Suph usque ad Mare Philisthaeorum, et a deserto usque ad fluvium" (Exodus 23:31):
per "terminos terrae Canaanis" significantur ultima ecclesiae, quae sunt scientifica vera, cognitiones veri et boni ex Verbo, et rationalia; per "Mare Suph" significatur scientificum verum; per "Mare Philisthaeorum", ubi erat Tyrus et Sidon, significantur cognitiones veri et boni ex sensu litterae Verbi; et per "fluvium Euphratem" significatur rationale: nam scientifica inserviunt cognitionibus veri et boni ex Verbo, et hae cum illis inserviunt rationali, et rationale inservit intelligentiae, quae datur per vera spiritualia conjuncta bono spirituali.
[18] Simile quod de ecclesia et ejus extensione, etiam de potentia Domini super omnia caeli et eccleSiae, dicitur apud Davidem,
"Ponam in mari manum Ejus, et in fluviis dextram Ejus" (Psalms 89:26 [B.A. 25]):
haec de Davide, per quem ibi intelligitur Dominus; potentia Domini usque ad ultima caeli et ecclesiae, ita super totum caelum et super omne ecclesiae, significatur per "ponere in mari manum et in fluviis dextram"; potentia significatur per "manum" et "dextram", et ultima caeli et ecclesiae per "mare" et per "fluvios": ultima caeli sunt maria" et sunt "fluvii", ut supra aliquoties dictum est; haec repraesentata sunt per bina maria, et per binos fluvios, qui erant termini terrae Canaanis; bina maria erant mare Aegypti et mare Philisthaeorum, ubi Tyrus et Sidon; et bini fluvii erant Euphrates et Jordanes: sed Jordanes erat terminus inter terram Canaanem interiorem et exteriorem; in hac erant tribus Reubenis et Gadis, ac dimidia tribus Menassis. Similiter apud Sachariam,
"Dominari Ipsius a mari usque ad mare, et a fluvio Usque ad fines terrae" (9:10):
haec etiam de Domino, per quae similia intelliguntur; dominium Ipsius usque ad ultima caeli et ecclesiae est super omnia caeli et ecclesiae, ultima enim sunt termini.
[19] Apud Davidem,
"Firmatus thronus tuus ex tunc, ab aeterno Tu; sustulerunt flumina, Jehovah, sustulerunt flumina vocem suam, sustulerunt flumina fragorem suum: prae vocibus aquarum multarum magnificarum, prae fluctibus maris, magnificus Jehovah" (Psalms 93:2-4)
haec quoque de Domino; dominium Ipsius ab aeterno in aeternum super caelum et terram significatur per "Firmatus thronus tuus ex tunc, ab aeterno Tu": glorificatio Domini propter adventum Ipsius, et inde salvationem generis humani, significatur per quod "flumina sustulerint vocem suam" et "fragorem suum"; per "flumina" hic ter nominata significantur omnia quae sunt intelligentiae hominis in interno homine, et omnia quae in externo: Divinum Verum ab Ipso, per quod potentia, et per quod salvatio, significatur per "voces aquarum multarum magnificarum prae fluctibus maris"; "aquae" sunt vera, "voces aquarum multarum magnificarum" sunt Divina vera.
[20] Glorificatio et celebratio Domini ex gaudio cordis describitur ita alibi apud Davidem,
"Sonitum edat mare et plenitudo ejus, orbis et habitantes in eo; flumina plaudant manu, una montes jubilent" (Psalms 98:7, 8):
per illa verba significatur glorificatio Domini ab universo caelo: glorificatio ab ultimis ejus significatur per "Sonitum edat mare et plenitudo ejus"; glorificatio a toto caelo significatur per "Sonitum edat orbis et habitantes in eo"; "orbis" significat universum caelum quoad vera ejus, et "habitantes in eo" significant universum caelum quoad bona ejus; "habitatores" in Verbo significant illos qui in bonis caeli et ecclesiae sunt, ita bona illorum: glorificatio Domini per vera quae sunt intelligentiae, et per bona quae sunt amoris, significatur per "Flumina plaudant manu, una montes jubilent"; "flumina" sunt vera intelligentiae, et "montes" sunt bona amoris.
[21] Divinum Verum a Domino, ex quo recepto intelligentia, significatur per "aquas e petra in Chorebo" (Exodus 17:6), de qua ita apud Davidem,
"Diffidit petras in deserto, et bibere fecit abyssos magnas, et eduxit fluenta e petra; et descendere fecit aquas sicut flumina; percussit petram ut aquae emanarent, et fluvii effluxerunt" (Psalms 78:15, 16, 20);
et alibi,
"Aperuit Petram, ut effluerent aquae; iverunt in siccitatibus fluvii" (Psalms 105:41):
per "Petram" ibi intelligitur Dominus; et per "aquas" quae inde effluxerunt, intelligitur Divinum Verum ab Ipso; et per "fluvios" significatur intelligentia et sapientia inde; per "bibere abyssos magnas " significatur haurire et percipere arcana sapientiae.
[22] Apud Johannem,
Jesus dixit, "Si quis sitiverit, venito ad Me et bibito; quisquis" Venit ad Me, "sicut dixit scriptura, flumina e ventre ejus fluent aquae viventis: hoc dixit de spiritu, quem accepturi credentes in Ipsum" (7:37, 38 [, 39]):
per "venire ad Dominum et bibere" significatur ab Ipso recipere vera doctrinae et eorum fidem: quod inde intelligentia spiritualis, significatur per quod "flumina e ventre ejus fluent aquae viventis"; "aqua vivens" est Divinum Verum quod unice est a Domino, "flumina" sunt illa quae intelligentiae, et "venter" significat cogitationem ex memoria, correspondet enim illi: et quia per "flumina aquae viventis" significatur intelligentia per Divinum Verum a Domino, ideo adjicitur, "Haec dixit de spiritu quem accepturi credentes in Ipsum"; "spiritus" quem accepturi a Domino est Divinum Verum et inde intelligentia; quare etiam Dominus vocat spiritum quem acciperent,
"Spiritum veritatis" (Joh. cap. 14:16-18; 16:7-15).
[23] Apud Davidem,
Jehovah "super maria fundavit" orbem, "et super flumina stabilivit eum" (Psalms 21:2):
per "orbem" significatur caelum et ecclesia in toto complexu "maria" significantur cognitiones et scientiae, quae sunt ultima ecclesiae, in specie cognitiones veri et boni quales sunt in sensu litterae Verbi; per "flumina" significatur introductio per illas ad intelligentiam caelestem. Ex his constare potest quid per illa verba in sensu spirituali intelligitur; quod nempe interiora caeli et ecclesiae, quae vocantur caelestia et spiritualia, fundentur super cognitionibus veri et boni, quae in sensu litterae Verbi, rationaliter intellectis. Dicitur quod "fundaverit orbem super maria, et stabiliverit super flumina", quia maria et fluvii sunt in terminis caeli, repraesentata per Mare Suph, Mare Philisthaeorum, fluvium Euphratem, et fluvium Jordanem, quae erant termini terrae Canaanis; et quia "ultima" in Verbo significant infima, dicitur quod "Jehovah fundaverit" et "stabiliverit" super illa. Quod non tellus super maribus et super fluviis fundata sit, constat.
[24] Apud eundem,
"Dominus ad dextram tuam, percussit in die irae suae reges, judicavit inter gentes, implevit cadaveribus, percussit caput super terram multam, e flumine in via bibit, propterea exaltabit caput" (Psalms 110:5-7):
haec dicta sunt de Domino, et de pugna Ipsius contra falsa et mala quae ex infernis, et de horum subjugatione: per "reges" intelliguntur falsa ex inferno, per "gentes" intelliguntur mala inde; Divina Ipsius potentia intelligitur per "Dominus ad dextram"; falsorum et malorum ex infernis subjugatio et destructio significatur per quod "percusserit illos in die irae suae, judicaverit inter gentes, et impleverit cadaveribus": per "caput", quod percussit in terram multam, intelligitur amor sui, ex quo omnia mala et falsa; "percutere in terram multam" significat destructionem totalem et damnationem: per "flumen", e quo caput bibit et propter quod exaltabit se, significatur Verbum in littera; "bibere ex illo" est aliquid inde discere, et "exaltare caput" est tamdiu repugnare; omnes enim qui in falsis ex malo sunt, non prius in infernum possunt dejici quam dum illis ablata sunt illa quae sciunt ex Verbo, quoniam omnia Verbi communicant cum caelo, per quam communicationem exaltant caput; sed illis ablatis in infernum dejiciuntur. Hic sensus est illorum verborum, qui absque sensu spirituali, et absque cognitione de Verbo quale est, nemini patet.
[25] Apud Habakuk,
"Num fluviis succensuit Jehovah? num contra fluvios ira tua? num contra mare excandescentia tua? quia equitas super equis tuis, currus tui salus" (3:8):
ita supplicatur ut ecclesia custodiatur et non pereat; per "fluvios" et per "mare" significantur omnia ecclesiae, quia sunt ultima ejus (ut supra); per "equitare super equis", dum de Jehovah, hoc est, Domino, significatur Divina Sapientia quae inest Verbo; et per "currus" significantur doctrinalia inde.
[26] Apud Davidem,
"Non timebimus cum mutabitur terra, et cum movebuntur montes 3
in corde marium: tumultuabuntur, turbabuntur aquae ejus, contremiscent montes in exaltatione ejus. Fluvius, cujus rivi laetificabunt urbem Dei sanctam, habitationes Altissimi, Deus in medio ejus, non dimovebitur" (Psalms 46:3-5 [, 62-[5]):
haec in sensu spirituali involvunt, quod tametsi ecclesia cum omnibus ejus perit, usque non periturum sit Verbum et Divinum ibi Verum; per "terram" enim significatur ecclesia, per "montes" bona amoris, per "aquas" vera, et per "mutari", "commoveri", "tumultuari", "turbari" et "contremiscere", status illorum quando pereunt, ac loco eorum intrant falsa et mala; proinde status ecclesiae quando quoad bona vastatur et quoad vera desolatur: (sed videatur supra, n. 304 [c] et 405 [h] , ubi illa penitius explicata sunt): quod non periturum sit Verbum seu Divinum Verum pro ecclesia, significatur per quod "fluvius, cujus rivi laetificabunt urbem Dei, non mutabitur"; "fluvius" significat hic simile cum "fonte", nempe Verbum, quia dicuntur "rivi ejus", per quos significantur vera; "urbs Dei" significat ecclesiam quoad doctrinam; "laetificare" significat influxum et receptionem ex gaudio cordis; et "non mutari" significat non perire quoad aliquid.
[27] Apud Esaiam,
"Tunc deficient aquae 4
in mari, et fluvius exsiccabitur et exarescet, et recedent flumina; comminuentur, et exsiccabuntur fluvii Aegypti, calamus et ulva marcescent, papyri juxta flumen, juxta os fluminis, et omne semen fluminis exarescet, impelletur, et non erit" (19:5-7):
haec dicta sunt de Aegypto, per quam significatur scientificum quod est naturalis hominis; et per "flumen" ejus, cognitio et apperceptio veri, et in opposito sensu apperceptio falsi; quod illa peritura sint, significatur per quod "flumen exsiccabitur et exarescet"; quod sic non amplius erunt vera, ne quidem vera naturalia et sensualia, quae sunt infima, significatur per quod "calamus et ulva marcescent, papyri juxta flumen, et omne semen fluminis exarescet, impelletur et non erit."
[28] Apud eundem,
"Ego fodi et bibi aquas, et exsiccabo vola gressuum meorum omnes fluvios Aegypti" (37:25):
verba Sancheribi regis Aschuris, per quem significatur rationale perversum, destruens omnem cognitionem et apperceptionem Veri; hoc significatur per quod "exsiccabit vola gressuum suorum omnes fluvios Aegypti." Quod "fluvii Aegypti" significent cognitiones et apperceptiones veri, est quia "Aegyptus" significat naturalem hominem quoad scientifica, et naturali homini est cognitio et apperceptio, sicut est spirituali homini intelligentia.
[29] Apud Ezechielem,
"Evaginabunt gladios suos contra Aegyptum, ut impleant terram confosso: tunc dabo fluvios aridam, et vendam terram in manum malorum, et vastabo terram et plenitudinem ejus per manum alienorum" (30:11, 12):
per "Aegyptum" significatur scientificum quod naturalis hominis inserviens intelligentiae rationalis et spiritualis hominis: quod scientifica vera destruentur per falsa, significatur per "Evaginabunt gladios suos contra Aegyptum"; per "gladios" significantur falsa destruentia vera: per "confossum" significatur qui periit per falsa: per "dare fluvios aridam", significatur quod nulla amplius cognitio et apperceptio veri: "vendere terram in manum malorum, et vastare illam per manum alienorum", significat destruere per mala et per falsa; "alieni" significant falsa.
[30] Apud Sachariam,
"Exsiccabuntur omnes profunditates fluminis, et dejicietur superbia Aschuris, et baculus Aegypti recedet" (10:11):
"exsiccabuntur omnes profunditates fluminis", nempe Euphratis, significat quod omnes acutae ratiocinationes ex propria intelligentia periturae sint; "superbia Aschuris" significat propriam intelligentiam, quae est rationalis perversi; "baculus Aegypti recedet" significat quod scientifica inservientia ratiociniis nihil valitura sint.
[31] Apud Esaiam,
"Vastabo montes et colles, et omnem herbam eorum arefaciam, et ponam fluvios in insulas, et stagna exsiccabo " (42:15):
"Vastabo montes et colles" significat quod peritura sint bona amoris et charitatis; "omnem herbam eorum arefaciam" significat quod peritura sint vera quae ex bonis illis; "ponam fluvios in insulas et stagna exsiccabo" significat quod peritura sit intelligentia et cognitio veri,
[32] Apud eundem,
"Ecce per increpationem meam exsicco mare, pono fluvios in desertum, putrescet piscis eorum, eo quod non sit aqua, et morietur" (50:2):
(vide supra, n. 342 [c] , ubi explicata sunt): apud Nahum,
"Increpans mare, et exsiccat illud, ac omnia flumina arefacit" (1:4);
apud Davidem,
Jehovah "ponit fluvios [in] desertum, et exitus aquarum in siccitatem" (Psalms 107:33);
apud Hiobum,
"Exspirat homo, ubi est? abeunt aquae ex mari, et fluvius exsiccatur et exarescit" (14:10, 11).
[33] Hactenus ostensum est quod per "fluvios" significetur intellectus veri ac intelligentia; quod autem in opposito sensu per "fluvios" significetur intellectus falsi et ratiocinatio ex propria intelligentia, quae est pro falsis contra vera, constat ex sequentibus locis:
- Apud Esaiam,
"Mittet in mari legatos.... ad gentem delineatam et conculcatam cujus terram depraedati sunt fluvii" (18:2):
per "fluvios" hic significantur falsa quae propriae intelligentiae, quae destruxerunt. (Quid reliqua significant, videatur supra, n. 304 [d] 331 [a] .) Apud eundem,
"Cum transibis per aquas, tecum Ego; et per fluvios, non submergent te" (43:2):
"transire per aquas et per fluvios et non submergi" significat quod falsa et ratiocinationes ex falsis contra vera non corrumpent.
[34] Apud 5
Jeremiam,
"Ecce aquae ascendentes ex septentrione, quae 6
sicut flumen inundans, inundabunt terram et plenitudinem ejus" (47:2):
"aquae ex septentrione" significant falsa doctrinae quae ex propria intelligentia: quae comparantur "flumini inundanti terram", quia per "flumen" significatur ratiocinatio ex falsis, per "terram" ecclesia; hujus destructio per falsa per "inundationem a flumine."
[35] Apud Davidem,
"Nisi Jehovah esset pro nobis, cum insurgit contra nos homo tunc aquae submersissent nos, fluvius transivisset super animam nostram, tunc transivissent super animam nostram aquae superbi" (Psalms 124:2, 4, 5):
per "aquas superbi", de quibus hic agitur, significantur falsa faventia amori sui et confirmantia illum, tum falsa doctrinae quae ex propria intelligentia; per "fluvium" significatur ratiocinatio ex illis contra vera; inde patet quid intelligitur per "Nisi Jehovah esset pro nobis cum insurgit contra nos homo", quod nempe cum homo ex se, suo amore et ex propria intelligentia insurgit et conatur destruere vera ecclesiae; agitur enim de Israele, per quem significatur ecclesia: per "aquas" quae submersissent eos, et per "fluvios" qui transivissent super animam eorum, significantur falsa et ratiocinationes ex illis, et inde destructio vitae spiritualis, quae homini est per vera et per vitam secundum illa; per "aquas" significantur falsa, per "fluvios" ratiocinationes ex illis, et per "submergere et transire super animam", destructio vitae spiritualis.
[36] Apud Esaiam,
"Ecce Dominus ascendere faciet super eos aquas fluvii validas et multas, regem Aschuris, et omnem gloriam ejus; et ascendet super omnes rivos ejus, et ibit super omnes ripas ejus; ibit per Jehudam, et inundabit" (8:7 [, 8]):
per "Aschurem" et ejus regem in Verbo significatur rationale, hic rationale perversum; inde per "fluvium ejus", qui erat Euphrates, intelligitur ratiocinatio; et per "aquas fluvii" intelliguntur falsa per ratiocinationes confirmata; haec itaque significantur per "aquas fluvii validas et multas", quae "validae" dicuntur ex cupiditate, et "multae" ex falsitate: abundantia falsorum ex malo destruentium vera boni ecclesiae, significatur per quod "aquae fluvii ascendent super omnes rivos ejus, et super omnes ripas", et quod "ibit per Jehudam, et inundabit"; per "Jehudam" significatur ecclesia ubi Verbum.
[37] Apud Jeremiam,
"Quid tibi cum via Aegypti, ut bibas aquas Schichoris? aut quid tibi cum via Assyriae, ut bibas aquas fluvii?" (2:18):
per "aquas Schichoris" seu Aegypti, significantur scientifica falsa, seu scientifica confirmantia falsa; et per "aquas fluvii" significantur falsa ratiocinia ex illis, ita quae sunt ex propria intelligentia; quod haec et illa non haurienda sint, significatur per illa verba.
[38] Apud eundem,
"Septentrionem versus, juxta litus fluvii Euphratis, impegerunt et ceci derunt; quis hic sicut flumen ascendit? [cujus aquae] sicut flumina commoventur? Aegyptus sicut flumen ascendit, et sicut flumina commoventur aquae; dixit enim, Ascendam, obtegam terram, perdam urbem et habitantes in ea" (46:6-8):
per haec significatur destructio ecclesiae et ejus veritatum per falsa ratiocinia ex scientificis confirmantibus; per "septentrionem" significatur apud quos falsum, et unde; per "fluvium Euphratem " falsa ratiocinia; per "Aegyptum" scientifica confirmantia; per "aquas" quae commoventur ipsa falsa; et per "ascendere, obtegere terram, perdere urbem et habitantes in ea", significatur destructio ecclesiae et ejus doctrinae; "terra" est ecclesia, "urbs" est doctrina veri, et "habitantes" sunt bona ejus.
Similia significantur per "fluvium Aegypti" Nilum, et per "fluvium Assyriae" Euphratem, alibi in Verbo (ut Esai., cap. 7:18, 19; 11:15, 16: Ezech., cap. 29:3, 4, 5, 10; 31:15; 32:2; Psalms 74:14, 15; Ps. 78:44 7
; 8
[3]);
apud Davidem,
"Circumdederunt me funes mortis, et flumina Belialis terruerunt me" (Psalms 18:5 [B.A. 4]);
apud Matthaeum,
"Descendit imber, venerunt flumina, et flarunt venti, et irruerunt in domum illam; tamen non cecidit, fundata enim erat super petra" (7:25, 27);
et apud Lucam,
"Unde inundatione facta, illisum flumen domui illi, sed non valuit dimovere eam, quoniam fundata erat super petra" (6:48, 49).
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