----中文待译----
526. And the third part of them was darkened.- That this signifies that all those things were changed into falsities of evil, and into the evils of falsity, is evident from the signification of darkness which denotes falsities, and hence of being darkened which denotes to be changed into falsities. The reason why it denotes to be changed into the falsities of evil and the evils of falsity is, that it is said the third part of the sun was darkened, the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars; and the sun signifies the good of love, the moon, the good and truth of faith, and the stars, the cognitions of good and truth. Therefore the third part of the sun being darkened, signifies that the good of love was changed into evil, and the falsity thence, which is the falsity of evil. For good is changed into evil, and thence falsity, but the truth of faith, signified by the moon, is changed into falsity, and thence evil, which is the evil of falsity. The evil of falsity is the falsity of doctrine, from which proceeds evil of life, and the falsity of evil is evil of life, from which proceeds falsity of doctrine.
[2] The reason why darkness signifies falsity, is, that light signifies truth, and falsity is the opposite of truth, as darkness is of light. Moreover, when a man does not possess the light of life, which is the Divine Truth, the shadow of death is then in him, which is falsity. For man, from his proprium, is in every evil, and the falsity therefrom, and he can be removed from them only by means of the truths of the church; where therefore there are no truths, there the falsities of evil are. That truths are the only means by which man can be removed from evils, purified and reformed, may be seen in the Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 24).
[3] That darkness in the Word, signifies falsities of various kinds, is evident from the following passages.
In Joel:
"The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of Jehovah come" (2:31).
By the sun being turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, is signified the same as by the third part of the sun and the third part of the moon being darkened, namely, that at the end of the church the falsity of evil will be in the place of the good of love, and the evil of falsity in the place of the truth of faith. Similar things are signified elsewhere also in the Word, where mention is made of the darkening of the sun and moon.
[4] Thus in Isaiah:
"For the stars of the heavens, and the constellations thereof, shall not give their light; the sun shall be darkened in his rising, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine" (13:10; 24:21, 23).
In Ezekiel:
"When I shall extinguish thee, I will cover the heavens; and make the stars thereof dark; I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not make her light to shine. All the luminaries of light in the heavens will I make dark over thee, and set darkness upon thy land" (32:7, 8).
Again, in Joel:
"The day of Jehovah is near in the valley cut off. The sun and the moon are darkened, and the stars have withdrawn their shining" (3:14, 15).
In the same:
"The day of Jehovah cometh, a day of darkness and thick darkness, a day of cloud, and obscurity, the earth quaketh before him, the sun and moon are darkened, and the stars have withdrawn their shining" (2:1, 2, 10).
And in the Evangelists:
"Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven" (Matthew 24:29; Mark 13:24, 25).
These things are said concerning the last time of the church, when there are no longer any spiritual good and truth, or good and truth of heaven and the church, but only evil and falsity. That the goods and truths of the church, which are called the goods of love and the truths of faith, are changed into evils and falsities, is signified by the sun and moon being obscured and darkened, and the stars not giving their light. The last judgment, which then follows, is signified by the day of Jehovah great and terrible; and because this takes place when the church is in darkness and thick darkness, therefore it is also called a day of darkness, and of thick darkness, and also a day of cloud and obscurity, as also in the following passages.
[5] In Amos:
"Woe unto you that desire the day of Jehovah! what to you is the day of Jehovah? It is a day of darkness and not light. Shall not the day of Jehovah be darkness, and not light? even thick darkness, and no brightness in it?" (5:18, 20).
And in Zephaniah:
"The day of Jehovah, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and thick darkness, a day of clouds and gloominess" (1:14, 15).
And in Isaiah:
"In that day he shall look into the land, which behold is darkness and sorrow, and the light becomes darkened in the ruins thereof" (5:30).
And again:
"He shall look unto the earth; and, behold, distress and thick darkness, the gloom of straitness; and driven with thick darkness" (8:22).
And again:
"Behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the people" (60:2).
So in Jeremiah:
"Give glory to Jehovah your God, before he cause darkness, and before your feet stumble upon the mountains of twilight, then shall we look for light, but he will turn it into the shadow of death, and make it thick darkness" (13:16).
These passages also relate to the last time of the church, when the Lord shall come into the world, and judgment be accomplished; because at that time there is no longer any good of love, or truth of faith, but evil of falsity, and the falsity of evil, that day is therefore called a day of darkness and of thick darkness.
[6] The same is signified by the darkness over all the land from the sixth hour to the ninth, when the Lord was crucified (Matthew 27:45; Mark 15:33; Luke 23:44-49). By the darkness over all the land was represented, that in the entire church there was nothing but evil and the falsity thence and the falsity and the evil thence. The three hours also signify what is full and absolute; for all the details related in the Evangelists concerning the passion of the Lord, contain in them interior things of heaven, and signify celestial Divine things, and these can be made evident only by means of the internal spiritual sense.
[7] That falsity is signified by darkness, is still further evident from the following passages.
Thus in Isaiah:
"Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness" (5:20).
To put darkness for light, and light for darkness, signifies to call falsity truth, and truth falsity; that darkness denotes falsity and light truth, is clear, for good and evil are first mentioned, afterwards therefore, truth and falsity.
[8] So in John:
"And this is the judgment, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, for their works were evil" (3:19).
The Lord here calls Himself the light because He was the Divine Truth itself when in the world; therefore light signifies the Lord as to Divine Truth, and also Divine Truth from the Lord; and because darkness is opposed to light, therefore the darkness which men loved rather than the light, signifies the infernal falsity, which is the falsity of evil. That the falsity of evil is here meant by darkness, is evident from the words, for their works were evil. The falsity of evil exists from evil works or evils of the life; for as good conjoins to itself truth, so evil conjoins to itself falsity, the one is from the other.
[9] Similar things are signified by light and by darkness in the following passages in John:
"In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in the darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not" (Heaven and Hell 126-140). Since the Divine Truth is the light in the heavens, it follows that the falsity of evil, which is the falsity in the hells, is darkness; it does not indeed appear as darkness to those who are in the hells, for they do see one another, but the light (lumen) by which they see is like that from ignited charcoal, and such light, when the light of heaven flows into it, becomes complete darkness. For this reason the caverns and dens in which [the infernals] are, appear, to those who are in the heavens, like gloomy caves.
[10] From these considerations it is evident why darkness signifies the falsities of evil, and why the Lord said that those who are cast into hell should be cast into outer darkness (Matthew 8:12; 22:13; 25:30).
So in David:
"The enemy persecuteth my soul; he hath smitten my life down to the ground; he hath made me to sit in darkness, as the dead of the world" (Psalm 143:3).
Here, by the enemy who persecuteth his soul, is signified, in the spiritual sense, evil; therefore his being made to sit in darkness, signifies to be in falsities.
[11] So in Isaiah:
"Therefore is judgment far from us, neither doth justice overtake us; we look for light, but, behold darkness; for brightness, but we walk in thick darkness" (59:9).
By judgment is far from us, is signified that there is no understanding of truth; neither doth justice overtake us, signifies that there is no good of life; we look for light, but, behold, darkness, signifies expectation of truth, but behold falsity; and for brightness, but we walk in thick darkness, signifies the expectation of goods by truths, but behold the life of falsity from evils. For brightness signifies the goods of truth, because light signifies truth, and truth is resplendent from good; thick darkness signifies the falsities of evil, and to walk signifies to live.
[12] So in Luke:
"But this is your hour, and the power of darkness" (22:53).
This the Lord said to the chief priests, the rulers of the temple, and the elders who took Him by means of Judas. The power to do this wickedness the Lord calls the power of darkness, because they were in the falsities of evil, in falsities concerning the Lord, and in evils against Him; by darkness is here also meant hell, because such falsities of evil are there.
[13] So again:
The lamp of the body is the eye; if therefore thine eye is clear, thy whole body also shall be full of light; but if thine eye is evil, thy body also is full of darkness. Take heed, therefore, that the light which is in thee be not darkness. If thy whole body therefore be full of light, having no part dark, the whole shall be full of light, as when the bright shining of a lamp doth give thee light" (11:34, 35, 36; Matthew 6:22, 23).
The eye here signifies the understanding, and the pure or single eye, the understanding of truth from good; but the evil eye signifies the understanding of falsity from evil; the body which is said to be either full of light or darkness, signifies the whole man. It may then be concluded that the signification of these words in their series, is, that the whole man is of such a nature as the quality of his understanding from the will. For every man is his own good and his own truth, because he is his own love or his own affection, therefore his nature is entirely such as that of his understanding from the will. For all truth is of the understanding, and all good of the will; the body being only obedience, because it is the effect from an efficient cause, and the efficient cause is the understanding from the will; the quality therefore of the one is according to the quality of the other, since every effect derives all that it has from the efficient cause. That care must be taken, lest truth once perceived in the understanding and received into the will, be turned into falsity, which is done from evil, is meant by, "Take heed, therefore, that the light which is in thee be not darkness," for falsities consequently become worse; therefore it is said in Matthew in the passage already quoted, "If, therefore, the light which is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness."
[14] Darkness also signifies the falsities of evil in the prophet Isaiah:
"Sit thou silent, and enter into darkness, O daughter of the Chaldeans; for they shall call thee no more the mistress of kingdoms" (47:5).
Here, the daughter of the Chaldeans signifies the falsification of truth, and hence darkness signifies the falsities of evil, since evil falsifies truth. The falsity of evil was also signified by the thick darkness, which was over all the land of Egypt, during three days, while the children of Israel had light in their dwellings (Exodus 10:21, 22, 23); also by the darkness in Genesis 15:12, 17, and in many other passages.
[15] It has been shown so far, that darkness, in the Word, signifies the falsities of evil; that darkness also signifies falsities not of evil, such as were the falsities of religion with the upright Gentiles, originating in ignorance of the truth [shall now be shown]. That these falsities are also called darkness, is clear from the following passages:
In Isaiah:
"The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light; they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined" (9:2).
And in Matthew:
"The people which sat in darkness saw great light; to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up" (4:16).
And in Luke:
The dayspring from on high hath appeared "to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death" (1:78, 79).
Again, in Isaiah:
"And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul then shall thy light rise in darkness, and thy thick darkness be as the noon day (58:10).
Again:
"He shall say to the bound, Go forth; to them that are in darkness, Show yourselves" (49:9).
Again, in the same prophet:
"And in that day shall the deaf hear the words of the book, and the eyes of the blind shall see out of thick darkness and out of darkness" (29:18).
And again:
"And I will bring the blind by a way that they have not known; I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight (42:16).
And in Micah:
"When I sit in darkness, Jehovah shall be a light unto me" (7:8).
In these passages, darkness signifies the falsities of ignorance, such as formerly existed, and at this day exist, with the upright Gentiles. These falsities are altogether distinct from the falsities of evil, for the latter contain in themselves evil, because they are from evil, while the former contain in themselves good, for they have good for an end. Those therefore who are in those falsities can be instructed in truths, and also when instructed they receive truths in the heart, because the good, which is in their falsities, loves the truth, and also conjoins itself with the truth when it is heard. The case is different with the falsities of evil; these are averse to, and reject all truth, because it is truth, and does not therefore agree with evil.
[16] In the Word, darkness also signifies mere ignorance arising from the deprivation of truth; as in David (Psalm 18:29; Psalm 139:11, 12). Darkness also signifies natural light (lumen naturale), for this, in comparison with spiritual light, is like darkness; wherefore also the angels, when they look down into the natural light of man, such as is in the natural cognition of men, regard it as darkness, and the things which are in it, as in darkness; this light (lumen), is signified by the darkness mentioned in Genesis (Micah 1:2-5). And because the sense of the letter of the Word is natural, therefore this also in the Word is called a cloud, and also darkness, in comparison with the internal sense, which is the light of heaven, and is called glory.
526. And the third part of them was darkened, signifies that all these were changed into the falsities of evil and into the evils of falsity. This is evident from the signification of "darkness," as being falsities, and thus "to be darkened" means to be changed into falsities. It means a change both into the falsities of evil and into the evils of falsity, because it is said that "the third part of the sun was darkened, the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars," and the "sun" signifies the good of love, the "moon" the good and truth of faith, and the "stars" the knowledges of good and truth; therefore "the third part of the sun was darkened" signifies that the good of love was changed into evil and into falsity from evil, which is the falsity of evil; for good is changed into evil and into falsity therefrom, but the truth of faith, which is signified by the "moon," is changed into falsity and into evil therefrom, which is the evil of falsity. The evil of falsity is the falsity of doctrine out of which comes evil of life, and the falsity of evil is the evil of life out of which comes the falsity of doctrine.
[2] Darkness signifies falsity because light signifies truth, and falsity is the opposite of truth as darkness is of light; moreover, when the light of life, which is the Divine truth, is not with man, the shadow of death is with him, which is falsity; for man from what is his own (proprium) is in every evil and in falsity from the evil, and he is removed from these only by means of the truths of the church; consequently where there are no truths there are the falsities of evil. (That it is only by means of truths that man is removed from evils, is purified, and is reformed, see in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 24.)
[3] That "darkness" signifies in the Word falsities of various kinds can be seen from the following passages. In Joel:
The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of Jehovah cometh (Joel 2:31).
"The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood," has a similar signification as "the third part of the sun and the third part of the moon were darkened," namely, that at the end of the church there will be the falsity of evil in the place of the good of love, and evil of falsity in the place of truth of faith.
[4] Elsewhere in the Word where the darkening of the sun and moon is spoken of there is a like meaning, as in Isaiah:
For the stars of the heavens and the constellations thereof shall not make their light to shine; the sun shall be darkened in its rising, and the moon shall not make bright her light (1 Isaiah 13:10; 24:21, 23).
In Ezekiel:
When I shall extinguish thee I will cover the heavens and make the stars thereof dark; I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not make her light to shine; all luminaries of light in the heavens will I make dark over thee, and I will set darkness upon thy land (Ezekiel 32:7, 8).
In Joel:
The day of Jehovah is near in the valley of decision; the sun and the moon have been darkened, and the stars have withdrawn their brightness (Joel 3:14, 15).
In the same:
The day of Jehovah cometh, a day of darkness and of thick darkness, a day of cloud and obscurity. Before Him the earth trembled, the sun and the moon were darkened, and the stars withdrew their brightness (Joel 2:1-2, 10).
In the Gospels:
Immediately after the affliction of those days the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven (Matthew 24:29; Mark 13:24, 25).
This is said of the last time of the church, when there is no longer any spiritual good or truth, or the good and truth of heaven and the church, but evil and falsity. That the goods and truths of the church, which are called the goods of love and the truths of faith are changed into evils and falsities, is signified by "the sun and moon shall be obscured and darkened, and the stars shall not give their light;" the Last Judgment that then follows is meant by "the day of Jehovah great and terrible;" and as this comes when the church is in darkness and in thick darkness, that day is also called "a day of darkness and thick darkness," and also "a day of cloud and obscurity," as also in the following passages.
[5] In Amos:
Woe unto you that desire the day of Jehovah. What to you is the day of Jehovah? It is darkness, and not light. Shall not the day of Jehovah be darkness, and not light? Even thick darkness, and no brightness to it? (Isaiah 5:18, 20).
In Zephaniah:
The day of Jehovah, a day of wasteness and devastation, a day of darkness and thick darkness, a day of clouds and of gloominess (Zephaniah 1:14, 15).
In Isaiah:
In that day he shall look upon the land, which behold is darkness and distress, and the light shall grow dark in its ruins (Isaiah 5:30).
In the same:
He shall look unto the earth, and behold distress and darkness dimmed with straitness and driven with thick darkness (Isaiah 8:22).
In the same:
Behold, darkness covereth the earth, and thick darkness the peoples (Isaiah 60:2).
In Jeremiah:
Give glory to Jehovah your God before He causeth darkness, and before your feet stumble upon the mountains of twilight; then shall ye look for light, but He will turn it into the shadow of death, He will make it thick darkness (13 Jeremiah 13:16).
This is said of the last time of the church, when the Lord is to come into the world, and judgment is to be accomplished; because there will then be no longer any good of love or truth of faith, but the evil of falsity and the falsity of evil, that day is called "a day of darkness and of thick darkness."
[6] The same is signified by:
The darkness that came over all the land from the sixth hour to the ninth hour when the Lord was crucified (Matthew 27:45; Mark 15:33; Luke 23:44-49).
"The darkness over all the land" represented that in the whole church there was nothing but evil and falsity therefrom, and falsity and evil therefrom; moreover, the three hours signify what is full and complete; for each and all things related in the Gospels respecting the Lord's passion have stored up in them arcana of heaven, and signify Divine celestial things, which can be laid open only by means of the internal spiritual sense.
[7] That "darkness" signifies falsity is further evident from the following passages. In Isaiah:
Woe unto them that call evil good and good evil, that put darkness for light and light for darkness (Amos 5:20).
"To put darkness for light and light for darkness" signifies to call falsity truth and truth falsity; it is clear that "darkness" means falsity and "light" truth, for good and evil are first spoken of, therefore what follows must be respecting truth and falsity.
[8] In John:
This is the judgment, that the Light hath come into the world, and men have loved the darkness rather than the light, because their works were evil (John 3:19).
The Lord here calls Himself the Light because He was the Divine truth itself when in the world; therefore "the Light" signifies the Lord in relation to Divine truth, also Divine truth from the Lord; and as darkness is opposed to light, "the darkness that men loved rather than the light" signifies infernal falsity, which is the falsity of evil. That the falsity of evil is here signified by "darkness" is evident from its being said, "because their works were evil." The falsity of evil springs from evil works, or the evils of life; for as good joins to itself truth, so evil joins to itself falsity; for the one belongs to the other.
[9] "Light" and "darkness" have a similar signification in the following passages in John:
In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. And the light appeareth in the darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not (Heaven and Hell 116-140). Now as Divine truth is the light in the heavens, it follows that the falsity of evil, which is the falsity in the hells, is darkness. This darkness is not indeed darkness to those who are in the hells, for they see one another; but the light by which they see is like the lumen from burning coal, and this lumen, when the light of heaven flows into it, becomes mere darkness. For this reason also the caverns and dens in which they are appear to those in heaven like gloomy caves.
[10] From this it can be seen why "darkness" signifies the falsities of evil, and why the Lord says:
That those who are in hell are to be cast into outer darkness (Matthew 8:12; 22:13; 25:30).
In David:
The enemy pursueth my soul; he hath crushed my life down to the earth; he hath made me to sit in darkness, like the dead of the world (Psalms 143:3).
"The enemy who pursueth his soul" signifies in the spiritual sense evil; consequently "to make me to sit in darkness" signifies falsities.
[11] In Isaiah:
Judgment is far from us, and righteousness doth not overtake us; we wait for light, but behold darkness; for brightness, but we walk in thick darkness (Isaiah 59:9).
"Judgment is far from us" signifies that there is no understanding of truth; "righteousness doth not overtake us" signifies that there is no good of life; "we wait for light, but behold darkness," signifies waiting for truth, but behold falsity; "for brightness, but we walk in thick darkness," signifies waiting for goods through truths, but behold a life of falsity from evils; for "brightness" signifies the goods of truth, because "light" signifies truth, and truth is bright from good; "thick darkness" signifies the falsities of evil, and "to walk" signifies to live.
[12] In Luke:
But this is your hour and the power of darkness (Luke 22:53).
The Lord said this to the chief priests, the captains of the temple, and the elders, who seized Him by the aid of Judas. The power to do this wickedness the Lord calls "the power of darkness," because they were in the falsities of evil, in falsities respecting the Lord and in evils against Him; here also "darkness" means hell, because such falsities of evil are there.
[13] In the same:
The lamp of the body is the eye; when therefore thine eye is pure thy whole body also shall be light; but when the eye is evil thy body also shall be dark. Take heed, therefore, that the light that is in thee be not darkness. If thy whole body therefore be light, having no part dark, the whole shall be light, as when a lamp by its flashing doth give thee light (Luke 11:34-36; Matthew 6:22, 23).
The "eye" here signifies the understanding, and the "pure (or single) eye" the understanding of truth from good; but the "evil eye" signifies the understanding of falsity from evil; the "body" that is either light or dark, means the whole man. From this the signification of these words in series can be concluded, namely, that the whole man is such as is his understanding from the will; for every man is his truth and his good, because he is his love or affection; therefore he is throughout wholly such as he is in respect to his understanding from his will; for all truth is of the understanding, and all good is of the will; for the body is a mere obedience, since it is the effect of an effecting cause, and the effecting cause is the understanding from the will; therefore such as is the quality of the one such is that of the other, for the effect has its all from its effecting cause. That heed must be taken that truth once perceived in the understanding and received into the will be not turned into falsity, which is done from evil, is meant by "take heed, therefore, that the light that is in thee be not darkness," for from this falsities become worse; therefore in Matthew, in the passages just referred to, it is said:
If, therefore, the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is the darkness! (Matthew 6:23).
[14] "Darkness" signifies the falsities of evil also in Isaiah:
Sit thou silent and enter into darkness, O daughter of the Chaldeans; for they shall no longer call thee the mistress of kingdoms (Isaiah 47:5).
"The daughter of the Chaldeans" signifies the falsification of truth, therefore "darkness" signifies the falsities of evil, since evil falsifies truth:
The thick darkness of darkness that was over all the land of Egypt for three days, while in the dwellings of the sons of Israel there was light (Exodus 10:21-23);
signifies also the falsity of evil. Likewise the "darkness" in Genesis (Genesis 15:17), and in many other passages.
[15] It has been shown thus far that "darkness" signifies in the Word the falsities of evil. "Darkness" signifies also falsities not of evil, such as were the falsities of religion among the upright Gentiles, which falsities were with them because of their ignorance of the truth; that these falsities were also called "darkness" is evident from the following passages:
This people walking in darkness have seen a great light; those dwelling in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light become bright (Isaiah 9:2).
In Matthew:
A people sitting in darkness saw a great light; and to those sitting in the region and shadow of death a light hath arisen (Matthew 4:16).
In Luke:
The dayspring from on high appeared to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death (Luke 1:78, 79).
In Isaiah:
If thou shalt draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul, thy light shall arise in the darkness, and thy thick darkness be as the noonday (Isaiah 58:10).
In the same:
He shall say to the bound, Go forth; to them that are in darkness, Be revealed (49 Isaiah 49:9).
In the same:
In that day shall the deaf hear the words of the book, and the eyes of the blind shall see out of thick darkness and in 1darkness (Isaiah 29:18).
In the same:
And I will lead the blind in a way that they have not known. I will make darkness into light before them, and crooked things into straightness (Isaiah 42:16).
In Micah:
When I sit in darkness Jehovah shall be a Light unto me (Micah 7:8).
In these passages "darkness" signifies the falsities of ignorance, such as existed, and as exist at this day among the upright Gentiles. These falsities are altogether distinct from the falsities of evil, which have evil stored up in them because they are from evil, while the former have good stored up in them because they have good as an end. Those, therefore, who are in these falsities can be instructed in truths, and they also when instructed receive truths in the heart, for the reason that good, which is in their falsities, loves truth, and also conjoins itself to truth when it is heard. It is otherwise with the falsities of evil; these are averse to all truth and cast it off because it is truth, and thus is not in agreement with evil.
[16] Again, "darkness" signifies in the Word mere ignorance from lack of truth (as in David, Psalms 18:29; 139:11, 12). "Darkness" signifies also natural lumen, for this in comparison with spiritual light is like darkness; therefore also when angels look down into man's natural lumen, such as is in man's natural cognition, they regard it as darkness, and the things that are in it as in darkness; this light is signified by "darkness" in Genesis 1:2-5. And as the sense of the letter of the Word is natural, that sense also is called in the Word "a cloud," and also "darkness," in comparison with the internal spiritual sense, which is the light of heaven, and is called "glory."
Footnotes:
1. Latin "in," Hebrew "out of," which we also find in n. 152, 239; Arcana Coelestia 212, 897, 2393.
526. "Et obtenebrabatur tertia pars illorum." - Quod significet quod omnia illa conversa sint in falsa mali et in mala falsi, constat ex significatione "tenebrarum", quod sint falsa, et inde "obtenebrari", quod sit converti in falsa: quod in falsa mali et in mala falsi, est quia dicitur quod "obtenebrata sit tertia pars solis, tertia pars lunae, et tertia pars stellarum"; et per "solem" significatur bonum amoris, per "lunam" bonum et verum fidei, et per "stellas" cognitiones boni et veri; inde per quod "obtenebrata sit tertia pars solis" significatur quod bonum amoris conversum sit in malum et inde falsum, quod est falsum mali: bonum enim convertitur in malum et inde falsum; at verum fidei, quod significatur per "lunam", convertitur in falsum et inde malum, quod est malum falsi: malum falsi est falsum doctrinae ex quo malum vitae, et falsum mali est malum vitae ex quo falsum doctrinae.
[2] Quod "tenebrae" significent falsum, est quia "lux" significat verum, et falsum est oppositum vero sicut tenebrae sunt luci: et quoque dum lux vitae, quae est Divinum Verum, non est apud hominem, tunc est apud illum umbra mortis, quae est falsum; homo enim ex proprio est in omni malo et inde falso, et ab illis removetur unice per vera ecclesiae; quare ubi non vera sunt, ibi sunt falsa mali. (Quod homo unice per vera a malis removeatur, purificetur et reformetur, videatur in Doctrina Novae Hierosolymae, n. 24 fin. )
[3] Quod "tenebrae" in Verbo significent falsa varii generis, constare potest a sequentibus locis:
- Apud Joelem,
"Sol vertetur in tenebras, et luna in sanguinem, antequam venit dies Jehovae magnus et terribilis" (3:4 [B.A. 2:31]):
quod "sol vertetur in tenebras et luna in sanguinem", simile significat quod "tertia pars solis et tertia pars lunae obtenebraretur"; nempe quod in fine ecclesiae falsum mali erit loco boni amoris, et malum falsi loco veri fidei.
[4] Similia etiam significantur alibi in Verbo, ubi dicitur de solis et lunae obscuratione: ut apud Esaiam,
"Stellae caelorum et sidera eorum non lucebunt luce sua, obtenebratus erit sol in ortu suo, et luna non splendere faciet lucem suam" ([13:10;] 24:21, 23);
apud Ezechielem,
"Obtegam, cum exstinxero te, caelos, et atrabo stellas eorum; solem nube obtegam, et luna non lucere faciet lucem suam: omnia luminaria lucis in caelis atrabo super te, et dabo tenebras super terra tua" (32:7, 8, [14,] 15);
apud eundem,
"Venit dies Jehovae dies tenebrarum et caliginis, dies nubis et obscuritatis coram Ipso commota est terra sol et luna atrati sunt, et stellae contraxerunt splendorem suum" (2 [2:1, 2,] 10);
apud Evangelistas,
"Statim post afflictionem dierum illorum, sol obscurabitur, et luna non dabit lucem suam, et stellae cadent de caelo" (Matthaeus 24:29; Marcus 13:24, 25):
haec dicta sunt de ultimo tempore ecclesiae, quando non bonum et verum spirituale, seu bonum et verum caeli et ecclesiae amplius, sed malum et falsum: quod bona et vera ecclesiae, quae vocantur bona amoris et vera fidei, convertantur in mala et falsa, significatur per quod "sol et luna obscurati" et "atrati erunt", et quod "stellae non lucebunt"; ultimum judicium, quod tunc sequitur, intelligitur per "diem Jehovae magnum et terribilem"; et quia ille existit quando ecclesia in tenebris et in caligine est, ideo ille dies etiam vocatur "dies tenebrarum et caliginis", et quoque "dies nubis et obscuritatis"; ut quoque in sequentibus locis:
[5] Apud Amosum,
"Vae desiderantibus diem Jehovae; quid vobis dies Jehovae? ille tenebrarum et non lucis;.... nonne tenebrae dies Jehovae, et non lux? et caligo, non autem splendor illi?" (5:18, 20);
apud Zephaniam,
"Dies Jehovae dies vastitatis et devastationis, dies tenebrarum et caliginis, dies nubis et obnubilationis" (1 [14,] 15);
apud Esaiam,
"In die illo.... despiciet in terram, quae ecce tenebrae et anxietas, et lux obtenebrescit in ruinis ejus" (5:30);
apud eundem,
"Ad terram spectabit, et ecce angustia et caligo, 1
obscuratum angustia, et caligine impulsus" (8:22);
apud eundem,
"Ecce tenebrae obtegunt terram, et caligo populos" (60:2);
apud Jeremiam,
"Date Jehovae Deo Vestro gloriam, antequam tenebras inducat, et antequam offendant pedes vestri ad montes crepusculi; tunc exspectabimus lucem, sed ponet illam in umbram mortis, ponet in caliginem" (13:16 2
):
haec de ultimo tempore ecclesiae, quando Dominus venturus in mundum, et facturus judicium; quia tunc non amplius aliquod bonum amoris ac verum fidei, sed malum falsi et falsum mali, ideo vocatur ille dies, "dies tenebrarum et caliginis."
[6] Simile significatur per
Tenebras quae "factae sunt super universam terram ab hora sexta ad horam nonam", cum Dominus crucifixus fuit (Matthaeus 27:45; Marcus 15:33; 3
per "tenebras super universam terram" repraesentabatur quod in universa ecclesia non nisi quam malum et inde falsum ac falsum et inde malum esset; "tres horae" etiam significant plenum et prorsus; omnia enim et singula quae memorantur de passione Domini apud Evangelistas, in se recondunt arcana caeli, ac significant Divina caelestia, quae solum per sensum internum spiritualem patefiunt.
[7] Quod "tenebrae" significent falsum, constat adhuc ex sequentibus locis:
- Apud Esaiam,
"Vae dicentibus de malo bonum et de bono malum, ponentibus tenebras in lucem et lucem in tenebras" (5:20):
"ponere tenebras in lucem et lucem in tenebras" significat dicere falsum esse verum et verum esse falsum: quod "tenebrae" sint falsum et "lux" verum, patet; primum enim dicitur de bono et malo, quare postea de vero et falso.
[8] Apud Johannem,
"Hoc est judicium, quod Lux venerit in mundum, at quod dilexerint homines magis tenebras quam lucem, erant enim opera eorum mala" (3:19):
Dominus Se nominat Lucem, quia erat ipsum Divinum Verum cum in mundo; inde per "Lucem" significatur Dominus quoad Divinum Verum, tum etiam Divinum Verum a Domino; et quia tenebrae luci opponuntur, per "tenebras" quas homines magis dilexerunt, significatur falsum infernale, quod est falsum mali: quod sit falsum mali quod ibi per "tenebras" significatur, constat ex eo, quia dicitur, "Erant enim opera eorum mala." Ex operibus malis seu ex malis vitae existit falsum mali; nam sicut bonum sibi conjungit verum, ita malum sibi conjungit falsum, unum enim est alterius.
[9] Similia per "lucem" et per "tenebras significantur in sequentibus locis apud Johannem,
"In Ipso vita, erat, et vita erat Lux hominum; et lux in tenebris apparet, sed tenebrae illam non comprehenderunt" (1:4, 5);
apud eundem,
Jesus dixit, "Ego sum Lux mundi; qui Me sequitur, non ambulabit in tenebris, sed habebit lucem vitae" (8:12);
apud eundem,
Jesus dixit, "Ambulate quousque Lucem habetis, ne tenebrae vos apprehendant; nam qui ambulat in tenebris, non scit quorsum abit Ego Lux in mundum veni, ut omnis qui credit in Me, in tenebris non maneat" (8:35, 46):
in his locis per "tenebras" significatur falsum infernale; per "lucem" enim, cui opponuntur tenebrae, significatur Divinum Verum: quod "lux" significet Divinum Verum, est quia lux in caelis in sua essentia est Divinum Verum procedens a Domino (videatur in opere De Caelo et Inferno 126-140); quia nunc Divinum Verum est lux in caelis, sequitur quod falsum mali, quod est falsum in infernis, sint tenebrae. Non quidem sunt tenebrae illis qui in infernis sunt, vident enim se mutuo; sed lumen ex quo vident, est sicut lumen ex carbonibus ignitis; at hoc lumen, cum in illud influit lux caeli, fit mera caligo: inde quoque est, quod cavernae et antra, in quibus sunt, appareant illis qui in caelis sunt sicut specus tenebricosae.
[10] Exinde constare potest unde est quod "tenebrae" significent falsa mali, et quod dicatur a Domino
Quod ejiciendi sint in tenebras exteriores qui in inferna (Matth. cap. 8:12; 22:13; 25:30).
Apud Davidem,
"Persequitur hostis animam meam, contrivit in terram vitam meam, sedere me fecit in tenebris, sicut mortuos mundi" (Psalms 143:3):
per "hostem" qui persequitur animam ejus, in sensu spirituali significatur malum; unde per "sedere me fecit in tenebris" significatur in falsis.
[11] Apud Esaiam,
"Procul est judicium a nobis, et non assequitur nos justitia, exspectamus lucem sed ecce tenebrae, et splendores, in caligine ambulamus" (59:9):
"procul est judicium a nobis" significat quod non sit intellectus veri; "non assequitur nos justitia" significat quod non sit bonum vitae; "exspectamus lucem sed ecce tenebrae" significat exspectationem veri sed ecce falsum: "et splendores in caliginibus ambulamus" significat exspectationem bonorum per vera, sed ecce vita falsi ex malis; "splendores" enim significant bona veri, quia "lux" significat verum, et quia verum Splendet ex bono; "caligines" significant falsa mali, et "ambulare" significat vivere.
[12] Apud Lucam,
"Sed haec est vestra hora et potestas tenebrarum" (22:53):
haec dixit Dominus ad principes sacerdotum, praefectos templi et seniores, qui per Judam comprehenderunt Ipsum; 4
potestatem faciendi hoc facinus vocat Dominus "potestatem tenebrarum", quia illi erant in falsis mali, in falsis de Domino, et in malis contra Ipsum: per "tenebras" etiam ibi intelligitur infernum, quia talia falsa mali ibi sunt.
[13] Apud eundem,
"Candela corporis est oculus: si ergo oculus tuus purus est, etiam totum corpus tuum lucidum erit; si vero oculus malus est, etiam corpus tuum tenebricosum erit; vide ergo ne lux quae in te tenebrae sit: si ergo corpus tuum totum lucidum non habens partem tenebricosam, erit lucidum totum, sicut quando candela splendore illuminat te" (11:34-36; Matthaeus 6:22, 23):
per "oculum" hic significatur intellectus, et per "oculum purum" seu "simplicem" intellectus veri ex bono; per "oculum" autem "malum" significatur intellectus falsi ex malo per "corpus", quod vel lucidum vel tenebricosum, intelligitur totus homo: inde concludi potest quid per illa verba in serie significatur, nempe quod totus homo talis sit qualis ejus intellectus ex voluntate; est enim omnis homo suum verum et suum bonum, quia est suus amor seu sua affectio; quare est prorsus talis per totum qualis est quoad intellectum ex voluntate, omne verum enim est intellectus, et omne bonum est voluntatis; nam corpus est modo obedientia, quia est effectus causae efficientis, ac intellectus ex voluntate est causa efficiens; inde qualis haec talis ille, nam effectus omne suum habet a sua causa efficiente. Quod cavendum sit ne verum semel intellectu perceptum et voluntate receptum vertatur in falsum, quod fit ex malo, intelligitur per "Vide ergo ne lux quae in te tenebrae sit"; nam inde falsa fiunt pejora: quare apud Matthaeum, in loco etiam nunc citato, dicitur
"Si ergo lumen quod in te tenebrae sit, tenebrae quantae" ([vers. [2]).
[14] Per "tenebras" etiam significantur falsa mali apud Esaiam,
"Sede in silentio, et intra in tenebras, filia Chaldaeorum; quia non amplius vocabunt te dominam regnorum" (47:5):
per "filiam Chaldaeorum" significatur falsificatio veri; inde per "tenebras" significantur falsa mali, quoniam malum falsificat verum. Per
Caliginem tenebrarum, quae fuit in omni terra Aegypti tres dies, dum in habitationibus filiorum Israelis fuit lux (Exod 10:21-23),
significatur etiam falsum mali: tum per "tenebras", Genesis 15:17; et pluries alibi.
[2]);
apud Matthaeum,
"Populus sedens in tenebris vidit lumen magnum: sedentibus in regione et umbra mortis lux exorta est" (4:16);
apud Lucam,
Ortus ab alto apparuit "illis qui in tenebris et umbra mortis sedent" (1 [78,] 79);
apud Esaiam,
"Si exprompseris famelico animam tuam, et animam afflictam saturaveris, exorietur in tenebris lux tua, et caligo tua sicut meridies" (58:10);
apud eundem,
"Dicet vinctis, Exite; eis qui in tenebris, Revelamini" (49:9);
apud eundem,
"Audient in die illo surdi verba libri, et ex caligine 5
eque tenebris oculi caecorum videbunt" (29:18);
apud eundem,
"Ducam caecos in via non noverunt ponam tenebras coram illis in lucem, et contorta in rectitudinem" (42:16);
apud Micham,
"Quando sedero in tenebris, Jehovah lux mihi" (7:8):
in his locis "tenebrae" significant falsa ignorantiae, qualia fuerunt et hodie sunt apud gentes probas. Haec falsa prorsus distincta sunt a falsis mali; haec enim in sese recondunt malum, quia a malo sunt, at illa in sese recondunt bonum, pro fine enim habent bonum: quapropter ii qui in illis falsis sunt, possunt instrui in veris, et quoque dum instruuntur recipiunt vera corde, ex causa quia bonum, quod est in illorum falsis, amat verum, et quoque se conjungit vero quando auditur: aliter falsa mali; haec aversantur et respuunt omne verum, ex causa quia verum est, et sic cum malo non concordat.
[16] "Tenebrae" etiam significant in Verbo meram ignorantiam ex deprivatione veri (ut apud Davidem, Ps. 6
18:29; Psalms 139:11, 12). "Tenebrae" quoque significant lumen naturale, hoc enim respective ad lucem spiritualem est sicut tenebrae: quare etiam angeli, cum despiciunt in lumen naturale hominis, quale est in cognitione naturali hominum, spectant id sicut tenebras; et illa quae in illo sunt, sicut in tenebris: hoc lumen per "tenebras" significatur, Genesis 1:2-5. Et quia sensus litterae Verbi naturalis est, ideo quoque ille in Verbo vocatur "nubes" et quoque "tenebrae", respective ad sensum internum spiritualem, qui est lux caeli, et vocatur "gloria."
Footnotes:
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