----中文待译----
724. And she brought forth a male child.- That this signifies the doctrine of truth, which is for the New Church, which is called the New Jerusalem, is plain from the signification of a son, as denoting truth, and of a male (masculus) child, as denoting the genuine truth of the church, consequently its doctrine, for the truth of the church from the Word is its doctrine, since doctrine contains the truths that are for the church. But the genuine doctrine of the church is the doctrine of good, that is the doctrine of life, which is that of love to the Lord and of charity towards the neighbour; still it is doctrine of truth, for doctrine teaches life, love, and charity, and so far as it teaches these it is truth. For when a man knows and understands what good is, what life is, what love is, and what charity is, he then knows and understands those things as truths, since he knows and understands what good is, how he ought to live, what love and charity are, and what kind of man he is who is in the life of love and charity. And as long as these things are matters of knowledge (scientia) and of the understanding, they are merely truths, and thus doctrines; but as soon as they, from being knowledge and understanding, pass over into the will, and thus into act, they are then no longer truths but goods, for interiorly man wills nothing but what he loves, and that which he loves is to him good.
From these things it is evident, that every doctrine of the church is a doctrine of truth, and that the truth of doctrine becomes good, and becomes that of love and charity, when from doctrine it passes into life.
[2] This doctrine, signified here by a male child, is especially the doctrine of love to the Lord, and of charity towards the neighbour, thus it is the doctrine of the good of life, but which is yet the doctrine of truth. That the doctrine of the good of love, and thence of life, is here signified by a male child, is evident from this, that the woman, who brought forth the son, was seen encompassed with the sun, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars. And the sun signifies love to the Lord, and the crown of twelve stars signifies the knowledges of good and truth; and from such a woman and mother, nothing could be born except what pertains to love and good, thus doctrine concerning them. This therefore is the male (masculus) child.
[3] That doctrine is for the New Church, which is called the New Jerusalem, because the woman treated of in this chapter is the one that is called the bride, the Lamb's wife, which was the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God (401, 525, 527, 708). The male child also signifies the doctrine of the church, because a son, in the Word, signifies truth, and the doctrine of the church is truth in its whole extent.
That a son, in the Word, signifies truth, is evident from what has been said before concerning the woman, the womb, and bringing forth, namely, that woman signifies the church, womb the inmost of love and the reception of truth from good, while to bring forth signifies the production and fructification of these. See above concerning woman (n. 707); the womb (n. 710); and bringing forth (n. 721). From this it follows that sons and daughters, since they are births, signify the truths and goods of the church, sons its truths, and daughters its goods; in a word, that all terms relating to marriage and thus to procreation on earth, signify such things as belong to the marriage of good and truth, thus father, mother, sons, daughters, sons-in-law, daughters-in-law, grandsons, and several other terms, signify goods and truths procreating, and goods and truths procreated, and in fact derivative goods and truths in their order.
[4] But it must be understood that goods and truths procreating are in the spiritual man, and those which are procreated are in the natural man; and that those which are in the spiritual man are like the father and mother, and those which are from these in the natural man are like brothers and sisters; and again that the truths and goods that are further procreated as if from sons married within marriageable limits, and from daughters married also within the same, are in the natural man, after these, as parents, have been raised up into the spiritual man. For all conception, and all travail or gestation in the womb take place in the spiritual man, but birth itself takes place in the natural man. The spiritual man is therefore continually enriched by the elevation into it out of the natural man, of truths and goods, which, like parents, will procreate anew; therein also all things are associated like the societies of heaven, according to the affections for truth and good, and their relationships and affinities. It is therefore clear that those spiritual procreations, like the natural procreations from a father and mother, are multiplied like families and houses on earth, and are made fruitful like trees from seeds, from which arise in the spiritual man gardens, called paradises, but groves and orchards in the natural, and shady forests in the sensual man.
[5] But because sons are mentioned in many places in the Word, and since it has not yet been known that they signify the truths of the church and of doctrine, out of many passages I will cite only the following for the purpose of proof.
In the Evangelists:
Jesus said, "He who leaveth houses, brethren, sisters, father, mother, wife, children, lands, for my name's sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and shall obtain the inheritance of life eternal" (Matthew 19:29; Mark 10:29, 30).
"Every one who cometh to me, and hateth not his father, mother, wife, children, brethren, and sisters, yea, his own soul, is not my disciple" (Luke 14:26).
Who cannot see that father, mother, wife, children, brethren, and sisters, also houses and lands, are not here meant, but such things as belong to man himself, and are called his own? For these things a man must leave and hate, if he desires to worship the Lord, to be His disciple, to receive a hundredfold, and to obtain the inheritance of life eternal. The things that are a man's own are those that are of his love, and thus of his life into which he is born, consequently they are evils and falsities of every kind; and because these are of his love and life, it is therefore said that he must also hate his own soul. These evils and falsities are signified by father and mother, wife, children, brethren, and sisters; for all those things, which belong to the love and life of man, or to the affection and the thought therefrom, or to the will and thus to the understanding, are formed and conjoined like generations, descending from one father and one mother, and are also distinguished as into families and houses. The love of self and consequent love of the world are their father and mother, and the desires arising therefrom, and their evils and falsities are the children, which are brethren and sisters. That this is the meaning is clearly evident from this, that the Lord could not desire that any one should hate his father and mother, or wife or children, or brethren or sisters, since this would be contrary to the spiritual love implanted in every one from heaven, which is that of parents for their children, of children for their parents, and also contrary to conjugial love, which is that of the husband for his wife, and of the wife for her husband, also contrary to mutual love, which is that of brothers and sisters for one another; in fact, the Lord even teaches that enemies must not be hated, but loved. It is evident from these things that the terms denoting consanguinities, affinities, and relationships in the Word, mean consanguinities, affinities, and relationships in a spiritual sense.
[6] In the same:
Jesus said to His disciples, "The brother shall deliver the brother to death, the father the son, and children shall rise up against their parents, and shall deliver them to death" (Matthew 10:21; Mark 13:12).
"The father shall be divided against the son, and the son against the father, the mother against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother, the mother-in-law against the daughter-in-law, and the daughter-in-law against the mother-in-law" (Luke 12:53).
That these things are not to be understood according to the letter is clear from what precedes, where Jesus says that He came not to give peace upon the earth, but division; and that "there shall be five in one house divided, three against two, and two against three," which signifies that falsities and evils will fight against truths and goods, and truths and goods against falsities and evils - which is the case when man comes into temptations and is being reformed; this combat is signified by division and rising up. That "the father shall be divided against the son, and the son against the father," signifies that evil will fight against truth, and truth against evil, the father there denoting the evil, which is man's proprium, and the son the truth which man has from the Lord. That the desire for falsity will fight against affection for truth, and affection for truth against the desire for falsity, is signified by "the mother shall be divided against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother," mother here denoting the desire for falsity, and daughter affection for truth; and so on. That this is the meaning is also evident from the words of the Lord elsewhere, where He says, that in Him "they shall have peace," thus not division (John 14:27; 16:33).
[7] In Luke, the angel said to Zechariah concerning John,
"He shall go before" the Lord "in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the sons" (1:17).
And in Malachi:
"I will send to you Elijah the prophet, before the great and terrible day of Jehovah cometh, that he may turn the heart of the fathers to the sons, and the heart of the sons to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse" (4:5, 6).
John the Baptist was sent before to prepare the people for the reception of the Lord by baptism, for baptism represented and signified purification from evils and falsities, and also regeneration through the Word by the Lord. Unless this representation had preceded, the Lord could not have manifested Himself and taught and lived in Judea and Jerusalem, since He was God of heaven and God of earth under a human form, and could not have been in the midst of a nation which was in mere falsities as to doctrine, and in mere evils as to life. Unless therefore that nation had been prepared for the reception of the Lord by a representative of purification from falsities and evils by baptism, it would have been destroyed by diseases of every kind at the presence of the Divine Itself. This then is the signification of the words, "Lest I come and smite the earth with a curse." That this would have been the case is well known in the spiritual world, for there those who are in falsities and evils are direfully tormented and spiritually die at the presence of the Lord.
[8] The baptism of John was able to produce such an effect, because the Jewish church was a representative church, and with them all conjunction of heaven was effected by representatives, as is also evident from the washings commanded therein. As for example all who became unclean had to wash themselves and their garments, and were then regarded as clean; similarly the priests and Levites washed themselves before they entered the tent of assembly and afterwards the temple, to perform their sacred duties; also Naaman was cleansed from leprosy by washing in Jordan. Washing and baptism did not themselves purify them from falsities and evils, but they only represented, and thus signified, purification from these; nevertheless this was received in heaven, as though they themselves had been purified. It was in this way that heaven was conjoined with the people of that church through the baptism of John; and when heaven was thus conjoined to them, the Lord, who was the God of heaven, could manifest Himself to them, teach them, and dwell among them. That Jerusalem and all Judea, and all the region about Jordan went out to John, and were baptized by him in Jordan, confessing their sins, is evident in Matthew (chap. Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 248).
This now was the reason why John was sent before to prepare the way of the Lord, and to prepare the people for Him. It may be concluded from these things what is signified by turning the heart of the fathers to the sons, and the heart of the sons to the fathers, namely, that it means to induce a representation of the conjunction of spiritual goods with truths, and of truths with goods, thus of regeneration by the Lord by means of the Word. For regeneration is the conjunction of goods with truths, and of truths with goods, and it is the Lord who regenerates, and the Word which teaches.
[9] It was said of this John that he should go before the Lord in the spirit and power of Elijah, and that he was Elijah, because John, like Elijah, represented the Lord as to the Word, and thus signified the Word, which is from the Lord; and as there is Divine Wisdom and Divine Power in the Word, these are meant by the spirit and power of Elijah. That the Word is of such a nature may be seen in Heaven and Hell 303-310), and in the small work on the White Horse.
[10] That sons signify truths from the Word, is also evident from the following passages.
In David:
"Lo, sons are a heritage of Jehovah, the fruit of the belly a reward; as darts in the hand of a mighty man, so are sons of youth; happy is the man who hath his quiver full of them, they shall not be ashamed when they speak with enemies in the gate" (Psalm 127:3-5).
Sons who are a heritage of Jehovah, and the fruit of the belly which is a reward, mean the truths and goods of the church; sons mean truths, and the fruit of the belly means goods, for both of these are a reward and a heritage of Jehovah, that is, heaven, which is from truths and goods, namely, from the reception of them. Sons of youth, who are as darts in the hands of a mighty man, signify the truths of the Ancient Church, which were natural truths from a spiritual source; this church is meant by youth. And because these truths have all power against evils and falsities, it is therefore said, "As darts in the hand of a mighty man," darts signifying truths destroying falsities. Doctrine from truths is signified by quiver because it is also signified by bow; and as those who are in doctrine from those truths fear nothing from falsities, it is said, "Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them; they shall not be ashamed when they speak with enemies in the gate;" not to be ashamed denoting not to be conquered, and enemies in the gate the falsities of evil which are from hell.
[11] In the same:
"Deliver me out of the hand of the sons of the stranger, whose mouth speaketh vanity, and their right hand is the right hand of a lie; for our sons are as plants, become great in their youth, and our daughters as cornerstones hewn out in the model of a palace" (Psalm 144:11, 12).
That the sons of the stranger here mean falsities is plain, for it is said, "Whose mouth speaketh vanity, and their right hand is the right hand of a lie;" and that our sons signify truths is also plain, for it is said, "They are as plants, become [great] in their youth," plants also denoting truths, and youth denoting here, as above, the Ancient Church, which possessed genuine truths. Our daughters signify the affections for truth, which are therefore compared to cornerstones hewn out in the model of a palace, because a palace is a representative of the understanding in which truths are in a beautiful form, and they are in a beautiful form when they are from affection for truth.
[12] In Micah:
"Make thee bald and poll thee, because of the sons of thy delights; enlarge thy baldness as the eagle, for they have gone away from thee" (1:16).
Mourning because the truths of the church are destroyed is described by making bald, and by polling themselves, for the hair signifies truths in ultimates, and those who are without truths in ultimates are also without internal truths; for this reason those in the spiritual world who have no truths from good appear bald. That truths are destroyed is signified by "the sons of thy delights have gone away from thee"; they are called sons of delights from the love of truths and consequent delights.
[13] In Zechariah:
"He saw two olive trees at the right hand of the lampstand and at the left, and he said, These are the two sons of the olive standing by the Lord of the whole earth" (4:11, 14).
The two olive trees signify the two churches, the celestial church and the spiritual church, the former at the right hand of the lampstand, and the latter at the left; the sons of the olive signify the truths of those churches, which are doctrinals.
[14] In the same:
"I will bend Judah for me, I will fill Ephraim with the bow, and I will stir up thy sons, O Zion, with thy sons, O Javan; and I will set thee as the sword of a mighty man" (357:1, 433:8), where it is explained. Because sons signify truths, it is said, that they shall be set as the sword of a mighty man, the sword of a mighty man signifying truth effectually destroying falsity.
[15] In Isaiah:
"I will raise up against them the Medes, whose bows shall dash in pieces the young men, and they will have no pity on the fruit of the belly, their eye will not spare the sons" (710:24).
[16] In Jeremiah:
"My tent is laid waste, and all my cords plucked away; my sons have departed from me, and they are not" (10:20).
The tent which is laid waste, signifies the church as to the good of love and worship from it, for all worship in ancient times was performed in tents, and afterwards in the tent of assembly, in memory of which the feast of tents or tabernacles was instituted. All my cords are plucked away, signifies that there is no conjunction of truth with good, or of truths with each other, which thus fall apart; and consequently no conjunction of heaven with the church. My sons have departed from me, and they are not, signifies that the truths of the church from the Word have been dissipated, and that man has thus removed himself from the Lord.
[17] In the same:
"Behold, I bring back the captivity of the tents of Jacob, and I will have pity on his dwelling-places, that the city may be built upon her own heap, and the palace shall be inhabited after its own manner, and his sons shall be as aforetime, and his congregation shall be established before me" (30:18, 20).
The tents of Jacob and his dwelling-places, signify all things of the church and its doctrine; tents signify its goods, and dwelling-places its truths; their captivity signifies spiritual captivity which exists when the truths and goods of the Word cannot be perceived, because of the dominion of falsities. To shake off falsities and to teach truths is signified by bringing back the captivity. That the city may be built upon its own heap, signifies doctrine from truths, which has become a ruin through falsities, city meaning doctrine; and the palace shall be inhabited after its manner, signifies the spiritual understanding of truths, as was the case with the ancients, palace denoting the understanding of spiritual truths; for in the understanding there are spiritual truths in their own forms, which appear like palaces when they are presented to the sight. His sons shall be as aforetime, and his congregation shall be established before Me, signifies that the truths of the church shall be as they were with the ancients, and that their forms shall remain as they did with them in a restored conjunction, sons here denoting truths, and congregation their conjunction and arrangement into forms, such as exists in the understanding of the man of the church, from which he has intelligence; after its manner and aforetime, mean as with the ancients.
[18] In Lamentations:
"Mine eye runneth down with waters, because the counsellor who refresheth my soul is far from me; my sons are made desolate, because the enemy hath prevailed" (1:16).
Mourning because the church is devastated is meant by Mine eye runneth down with waters; its devastation as to truths is signified by My sons are made desolate; that this is done by the falsities of evil, is signified by The enemy hath prevailed, - the enemy denoting falsity of evil and the hell from which it springs.
[19] In Isaiah:
"Awake, awake, rise up, O Jerusalem, who hast drunk out of the hand of Jehovah the cup of his anger; thou hast sucked out the dregs of the cup of trembling; there is none to lead her of all the sons whom she hath brought forth, nor any to take her by the hand of all the sons whom she hath brought up. Thy sons have fainted, they lie at the head of all the streets" (51:17, 18, 20).
The restoration of the church, which had fallen into mere falsities of evil, is signified by Awake, awake, rise up, O Jerusalem, who hast drunk out of the hand of Jehovah the cup of His anger, thou hast sucked out the dregs of the cup of trembling. Jerusalem denotes the church as to doctrine, to awake and rise up denotes its restoration, to drink the cup of anger denotes falsity, and the dregs of the cup mere falsities from which are evils, and to attract these is signified by drinking and sucking. There is none to lead her of all the sons whom she hath brought forth, nor any to take her by the hand of all the sons whom she hath brought up, signifies that none of the truths of the Word which she has learned and imbibed will lead her away from falsities, sons here meaning truths. Thy sons have fainted, they lie at the head of all the streets, signifies that truths are dispersed by falsities of every kind; because sons denote truths, fainting signifies to be dissipated, and to lie at the head of all the streets signifies by means of falsities of every kind, for the streets of a city signify true doctrinals, here false doctrinals.
[20] In the same:
"Fear not, Jacob, I will bring thy seed from the east, and I will gather thee from the west; I will say to the north, Give up, and to the south, Keep not back, bring my sons from afar, my daughters from the end of the earth" (43:5-6).
This is not said of the posterity of Jacob, but of the Gentiles, of whom the church is to be formed. Jacob and his seed mean those who will be of that church. That it must be formed of those who are in falsities from ignorance, and thus in obscurity as to truths, is signified by I will gather thee from the west, and I will say to the north, Give up; and that these must not be repelled but accepted by those who are in the good of love and in the truths of doctrine in their lucidity, is signified by I will bring thy seed from the east, and I will say to the south, Keep not back; for the east signifies the good of love in lucidity, the south the truth of doctrine in lucidity, the west the good of love in obscurity, and the north the truth of doctrine in obscurity, such as those are in who, from ignorance of truth, are in falsities, and yet desire truths. Those quarters have such significations, because, in the spiritual world, all dwell distinctly in those quarters according to the light of truth and the affection for good in which they are. These things have a similar signification in Matthew, where it is said that the elect are to be gathered together "from the four winds, from the ends of the heavens, even to the ends of them" (24:31). That all those who are in falsities from ignorance, and yet in the desire for truth, are to be brought into that church, is signified by Bring my sons from afar, and my daughters from the end of the earth; sons denoting those who are in truths, and daughters those who are in affection for truths; thus also, in a sense removed from persons, they signify truths and their affections; and afar off and the end of the earth signify removal from the light of truth, because they are in falsities from ignorance, through not possessing the Word, and having no understanding of its meaning.
[21] In the same prophet:
"They shall hasten thy sons; thy destroyers and they that lay thee waste shall go out from thee; behold, I will lift up my hand towards the nations, and towards the peoples will I raise up my sign, that they may bring thy sons in the bosom, and carry thy daughters upon the shoulder" (Isaiah 49:17, 22).
This also treats of the establishment of a new church by the Lord. The sons whom they shall hasten, and whom they shall bring in the bosom, and the daughters whom they shall carry upon the shoulder, mean all those who are in truths and in affection for them, and in a sense removed from persons, truths themselves and affections for them with those who will be of the new church; destroyers and they that lay waste signify falsities of evil; that these must be removed is signified by They shall go out from thee.
[22] In the same:
"The isles shall trust in me, and the ships of Tarshish in the beginning, to bring thy sons from afar, their silver and their gold with them" (60:9).
This also is said of the church of the Gentiles; and the sons who shall be brought, signify those who will receive truths. The rest of the passage may be seen explained above (n. 11:9-11).
Sons from the sea, signify truths scientific (vera scientifica) and rational truths; it is therefore said that "they shall come as a bird from Egypt, and as a dove from the land of Assyria"; Egypt signifying the Natural, and Assyria the Rational, both of them as to truths; but these things have also been explained above (n, 275:19, 601:7, 654:22).
[23] And in David:
"Hear this, all ye peoples, perceive in the ear, all ye inhabitants of the age, both the sons of man (homo) and the sons of man (vir), the rich and the poor together; my mouth shall speak wisdoms, and the meditation of my heart intelligences" (Psalm 49:1-3).
The sons of man (homo), signify spiritual truths which are from the Lord through the Word, and these are doctrinals, while the sons of man (vir), signify rational and natural truths, which are from the understanding, thus they signify the understanding of the Word; the rich and the poor, signify those who are wise from these in many things, and those who are wise in few things.
[24] In the same:
Jehovah, "return, look down from the heavens, and see and visit this vine, and the shoot which thy right hand hath planted, and upon the son whom thou hast made strong for thyself; let thy hand be for the man (vir) of thy right hand, for the son of man (homo) whom thou hast made strong for thyself" (Psalm 80:14, 15, 17).
This David said of the church and of himself, which is the sense of the letter, for by the shoot and by the son he meant himself; but in the spiritual sense, the vine and the shoot which Jehovah planted signify the spiritual church, represented by the sons of Israel. The son whom He made strong for Himself, signifies the truth of doctrine from the Word; the man of the right hand, for whom is the hand, and the son of man, whom He had made strong for Himself, signify the truth of the Word in the natural sense, which is the sense of the letter, and the truth of the Word in the spiritual sense, which is the internal sense.
[25] In Ezekiel:
"Behold, I will profane my sanctuary, the greatness of my strength, the desire of your eyes, and the fondness of your soul; and your sons and your daughters, whom ye have left, shall fall by the sword" (24:21, 25).
This describes the devastation of all truth which those have who are of the church. The sanctuary which He will profane signifies the Word from which is the church, for this is the sanctuary itself, since it is Divine Truth; from its power against falsities and evils, which are from hell, it is called The greatness of the strength of Jehovah; from intelligence and heavenly life therefrom, it is called The desire of your eyes, and the fondness of your soul. That all truths with affection for them will perish through falsities is signified by Your sons and your daughters shall fall by the sword, - sons denoting truths, daughters, affections for truth, and the sword, falsity destroying the truth.
[26] In Moses:
"When the Most High gave the nations an inheritance, when he separated the sons of man, he set the bounds of the people, according to the number of the sons of Israel" (39, 430, 657).
[27] In Jeremiah:
"Shame hath devoured the labour of our fathers from our childhood, their flocks and their herds, their sons and their daughters; we lie down in our shame, and our reproach doth cover us" (3:24, 25).
In the same:
"Behold, I bring upon you a nation from afar, O house of Israel, which shall devour thy harvest and thy bread; it shall devour thy sons and thy daughters; it shall devour thy flock and thy herd, it shall devour thy vine and thy fig tree, it shall impoverish thy fortified [cities] in which thou trustest, with the sword" (5:15, 17).
These words in the spiritual sense, describe the devastation of all things of the church with the Israelites. The nation from afar, signifies the falsity of evil, which is the falsity of the sensual man, destroying truths; harvest, bread, sons, daughters, flock, herd, vine, and fig-tree, which that nation will devour, signify all things of the church; harvest and bread, its truths and goods in regard to nourishment; sons and daughters, its truths and goods in regard to generation; flock and herd, spiritual and natural truths and goods; vine and fig-tree, the internal and external spiritual church therefrom.
[28] In Ezekiel:
"Though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in the midst of it, as I live, if they delivered their sons or their daughters, they only shall be delivered, and the land shall become a desolation; I will bring a sword upon the land, and I will cut off from it man and beast" (14:14, 16-18, 20).
By these words the devastation of the church is also described as to all the truths of good and the goods of truth, except with those who are reformed by means of truths from the Word, and by temptations; these are signified by Noah, Daniel, and Job. That with the rest all the truths of good and goods of truth will perish is signified by They should not deliver their sons or their daughters, but they only would be delivered; the devastation of the church by falsities is signified by The land shall become a desolation, and I will bring a sword upon the land, - land denoting the church, and sword falsity destroying truth. That all spiritual and natural truth will be destroyed, and that all intelligence and knowledge (scientia) of truth will consequently perish, is signified by I will cut off from it man and beast.
[29] In the same:
"The fathers shall eat the sons in the midst of thee, and the sons shall eat their fathers; I will execute judgments in thee, and all thy remnant I will scatter unto every wind" (5:10).
In Moses:
"[It was said] among the curses, that they should eat the flesh of their sons and of their daughters" (Leviticus 26:29).
The fathers shall eat the sons, and the sons the fathers, signifies that evils will destroy truths, and falsities goods, fathers denoting evils and goods, and sons falsities and truths; and because everything of spiritual life with man thus perishes, it is said that judgments will be executed, and the remnant scattered unto every wind, the remnant denoting the truths and goods stored up by the Lord in man from his infancy and childhood.
[30] We read also, that they led away their sons to idols to be devoured, and for food, and through the fire; as in the following passages.
In Ezekiel:
"Thou hast taken thy sons [and thy daughters] whom thou hast brought forth to me, and these thou hast sacrificed unto them to be devoured. Is this of thy whoredoms a small matter? Thou hast slaughtered my sons, and hast delivered them up, when thou madest them to pass through unto them. Thou art thy mother's daughter, and the sister of thy sisters, they loathed their husbands and their sons" (16:20, 21, 45).
These things are said of the abominations of Jerusalem. And by sacrificing their sons and daughters to idols to be devoured is signified to destroy and consume all the truths and goods of the church; to do this to truths from the Word, is signified by slaughtering the sons, and making them to pass through unto them; that the truths and goods of the Word are destroyed by falsifications and adulterations, is signified by whoredoms here and elsewhere in that chapter.
[31] In the same:
"I will pollute them with their gifts, in that they led through [the fire] every opening of the womb, that I might make them desolate. Wherefore ye offer gifts, when ye led your sons through the fire ye are polluted by all your idols" (587).
[32] In the same:
Oholah and Oholibah "committed whoredom, and blood was in their hands, and with their idols they committed whoredom; their sons also whom they begat to me they led through unto them for food" (Ezekiel 23:37).
Oholah and Oholibah mean Samaria and Jerusalem, Samaria means the spiritual church, and Jerusalem the celestial, each as to doctrine. Falsifications and adulterations of the Word are signified by their committing whoredom, and by blood being in their hands; the falsities which thence spring up from [their] own intelligence are signified by their idols with which they committed whoredom; the signification of leading their sons through [the fire] to the idols for food, namely, that they destroyed the truths of the Word by falsities is therefore evident.
[33] As sons signify truths, therefore "the seeds which fell into the good ground" are called by the Lord "sons of the kingdom; " and "the tares" which denote falsities, sons of the evil (Arcana Coelestia 643, 1298, 3720, 6426, 8609, 10376).
[34] As sons signify truths, so in the opposite sense they also signify falsities, as in some of the passages quoted above, also in these words of Isaiah:
"Prepare the slaughter for her sons, for the iniquity of their fathers; that they may not rise and possess the land, and the faces of the earth be filled with cities. I will rise against them, and I will cut off from Babel the name and the residue, and the son and the grandson; and I will make her a heritage for the bittern, and pools of waters, and I will sweep her with the besom of destruction" (14:21-23).
This is said of Babel, which signifies adulteration of the Word and profanation. Here the total vastation of truth with those who are meant by Babel is treated of. That truths with them were utterly destroyed through adulteration of the Word is signified by Prepare the slaughter for her sons, that they may not rise and possess the land, and the faces of the earth be filled with cities; the land means the church in which there are truths, and cities mean doctrinals from mere falsities. That all truths from primaries to ultimates would perish, is signified by cutting off from Babel the name and the residue, the son and the grandson; that nothing whatever of truth would remain, is signified by she shall be swept with the besom of destruction.
[35] It must be understood that sons, in the passages above quoted, signify those who are in truths, or those who are in falsities. But because the spiritual sense of the Word has nothing in common with persons, therefore in that sense sons signify truths or falsities apart from the idea of personality. The spiritual sense is of such a nature, because the idea of person limits thought and its extension into heaven in every direction; for all thought that proceeds from affection for truth extends through heaven on all sides, nor has it any termination except like light into shade; but when a person is at the same time thought of, then the idea together with intelligence has its termination, where the person is; this is why sons, in the spiritual sense, signify truths or falsities considered apart from personality.
724. Verse 5. And she brought forth a son, a male, signifies the doctrine of truth for the New Church that is called the New Jerusalem. This is evident from the signification of a "son," as meaning truth, and of "a son, a male," as meaning the genuine truth of the church, consequently also its doctrine, for the truth of the church from the Word is its doctrine, since the doctrine contains the truths that are for the church. But the genuine doctrine of the church is the doctrine of good, thus the doctrine of life, which is of love to the Lord and of charity towards the neighbor; but yet it is the doctrine of truth, since doctrine teaches life, love, and charity, and so far as it teaches it is truth; for when a man knows and understands what good is, what life is, what love is, and what charity is, he knows and understands these things as truths, since he knows and understands what good is, how he ought to live, and what love and charity are, and of what quality a man is who is in the life of love and charity; and as long as these are matters of knowledge and understanding they are nothing but truths, and thus doctrines; but as soon as they pass over from knowledge and from the understanding into the will, and thus into act, they are no longer truths but goods; for interiorly man wills nothing but what he loves, and that which he loves is to him good. From this it can be seen that every doctrine of the church is a doctrine of truth, and that the truth of doctrine becomes good and comes to be of love and charity when from doctrine it passes into life.
[2] This doctrine that is here signified by "the son, a male" is especially the doctrine of love to the Lord and of charity towards the neighbor, thus the doctrine of the good of life, which nevertheless is still the doctrine of truth. That the doctrine of the good of love, and thus of life, is here signified by "the son, a male" can be seen from this, that "the woman" who brought forth the son was seen "arrayed with the sun, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars," and "the sun" signifies love to the Lord, and "the crown of twelve stars," signifies the knowledges of good and truth, and from such a woman and mother nothing else is begotten except what pertains to love and good, thus the doctrine respecting these; this, therefore, is "the son, a male."
[3] This doctrine 1is for the New Church that is called the New Jerusalem, because "the woman" treated of in this chapter is the one who is called "the Bride, the Lamb's wife," which was "the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God" (401, 525, 527, 708). "The son, a male" signifies the doctrine of the church, for the reason also that in the Word "son" signifies truth, and the doctrine of the church is truth in the whole complex. That in the Word "son" signifies truth can be seen from what has been said before respecting "woman," the "womb," and "bringing forth;" namely, that "woman" signifies the church, the "womb" the inmost of love and the reception of truth from good, and "to bring forth" bringing these forth and making them fruitful. (Respecting "woman" see above, n. 707; the "womb," n. 710; and "to bring forth," n. 721.) From this it follows that "sons and daughters," since they are births, signify the truths and goods of the church, "sons" its truths, and "daughters" its goods; in a word, that all terms pertaining to marriage and thus to procreation on the earth signify such things as pertain to the marriage of good and truth, thus "father," "mother," "sons," "daughters," "sons-in-law," "daughters-in-law," "grandsons," and others, signify goods and truths procreating, and goods and truths procreated, and furthermore goods and truths derived in their order.
[4] But it is to be known that procreating goods and truths are in the spiritual man, and procreated goods and truths are in the natural man, and that those in the spiritual man are like the father and mother, and those that are from these in the natural man are like brothers and sisters; and again that truths and goods that are procreated anew as if from sons married within marriageable limits, and from daughters married within the same, are in the natural man, after these as parents have been raised up into the spiritual man; for all conception and all bearing or gestation in the womb takes place in the spiritual man, while the birth itself takes place in the natural man. Thus the spiritual man is continually enriched by the elevation into it of truths and goods out of the natural man, which as parents will procreate anew; and there all things are associated like the societies of heaven according to the affections of truth and good, and their relationships and affinities. Thence it is evident that these spiritual procreations, like the natural procreations from a father and mother, are multiplied like families and houses on earth, and are made fruitful like trees from seeds, from which are gardens that are called paradises in the spiritual man, but groves and woods in the natural, and shady forests in the sensual.
[5] But as "sons" are mentioned in many passages in the Word, and it has not yet been known that they signify the truths of the church and of doctrine, out of many I will merely cite the following passages in the way of confirmation. In the Gospels:
Jesus said, He that leaveth houses, brethren, sisters, father, mother, wife, children, fields, for My name's sake, shall receive a hundred-fold, and shall inherit eternal life (Matthew 19:29; Mark 10:29, 30).
Any man that cometh unto Me, and hateth not his own father, mother, wife, children, brethren, and sisters, yea, his own soul, is not My disciple (Luke 14:26).
Who cannot see that father, mother, wife, children, brethren, and sisters, also houses and fields, are not here meant, but such things as belong to man himself, and are called his own [proprium]? For these things a man must leave and hate, if he wishes to worship the Lord and to be His disciple, and to "receive a hundred-fold," and "to inherit eternal life." The things that are a man's own are those that are of his love, and thus of his life into which he was born, consequently they are evils and falsities of every kind; and as these are of his love and life it is said that "he must hate his own soul." These evils and falsities are signified by "father and mother, wife, children, brethren, and sisters;" for all things that are of man's love and life, or that are of affection and thought therefrom, or of the will and the understanding therefrom, are formed and conjoined like generations descending from one father and one mother, and are also distinguished as into families and houses. The love of self and the consequent love of the world are their "father and mother," and the cupidities arising therefrom and their evils and falsities are the "children," which are "brethren and sisters." That this is the meaning can be clearly seen from this, that the Lord does not wish to have anyone hate his father and mother, or wife or children, or brethren or sisters, since this would be contrary to the spiritual love implanted in everyone from heaven, which is the love of parents for children and of children for parents, and contrary to conjugial love, which is the love of the husband for his wife and of the wife for her husband, as also contrary to mutual love, which is the love of brothers and sisters for one another.
Yea, the Lord teaches that enemies must not be hated, but loved. All this shows that the terms that define consanguinities, alliances, and relationships in the Word mean consanguinities, alliances, and relationships in a spiritual sense.
[6] In the same:
Jesus said to His disciples, The brother shall deliver the brother to death, the father, the son, and children shall rise up against their parents and deliver them to be put to death (Matthew 10:21; Mark 13:12).
The father shall be divided against the son, and the son against the father, the mother against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother, the mother-in-law against the daughter-in-law, and the daughter-in-law against the mother-in-law (Luke 12:53).
That this is not to be understood according to the letter is clear from what precedes, where Jesus says that He came not to give peace upon the earth but division, and that "there shall be five in one house divided, three against two, and two against three," which signifies that falsities and evils will combat against truths and goods, and truths and goods against falsities and evils, which is done when man comes into temptations and is being reformed; this combat is signified by "division" and "rising up against;" that "the father shall be divided against the son and the son against the father" signifies that evil will fight against truth and truth against evil, "father" here meaning the evil that is man's own [proprium], and "son" the truth that man has from the Lord.
That the cupidity of falsity will fight against the affection of truth, and the affection of truth against the cupidity of falsity, is signified by "the mother shall be divided against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother," "mother" here meaning the cupidity of falsity, "daughter" the affection of truth; and so on. That this is the meaning can also be seen from what the Lord says elsewhere, that in Him, "they shall have peace," thus not division (John 14:27; 16:33).
[7] In Luke:
The angel said to Zechariah of John, He shall go before the Lord in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the sons (Luke 1:17).
And in Malachi:
I will send to you Elijah the prophet before the great and terrible day of Jehovah comes, that he may turn the heart of the fathers to the sons, and the heart of the sons to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse (Malachi 4:5, 6).
John the Baptist was sent before to prepare the people for the reception of the Lord by baptism, because baptism represented and signified purification from evils and falsities, and also regeneration by the Lord by means of the Word. Unless this representation had preceded, the Lord could not have manifested Himself and have taught and lived in Judea and in Jerusalem, since the Lord was the God of heaven and earth under a human form, and He could not have been present with a nation that was in mere falsities in respect to doctrine and in mere evils in respect to life; consequently unless that nation had been prepared for the reception of the Lord by a representation of purification from falsities and evils by baptism, it would have been destroyed by diseases of every kind by the presence of the Divine Itself; therefore this is what is signified by "lest I come and smite the earth with a curse." That this is so is well known in the spiritual world, for those there who are in falsities and evils are direfully tormented and spiritually die at the presence of the Lord.
[8] The baptism of John could produce such an effect because the Jewish Church was a representative church, and all their conjunction with heaven was effected by representatives, as can be seen from the washings there commanded; as that all who became unclean must wash themselves and their garments, and in consequence were accounted clean; likewise the priests and Levites must wash themselves before they entered the tent of meeting and afterwards the temple and officiated in holy functions; in like manner Naaman was cleansed from leprosy by washing in Jordan. The washing and baptizing itself did not indeed purify them from falsities and evils, but only represented and thence signified purification from them; nevertheless, this was received in heaven as if they were themselves purified. It was thus that heaven was conjoined to the people of that church by means of the baptism of John; and when heaven was thus conjoined to them, the Lord, who was the God of heaven, could manifest Himself to them there, teach them, and abide among them:
That to John went out Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region round about Jordan, and they were baptized by him in Jordan, confessing their sins (248). This now was the reason why John was sent before to prepare a way for the Lord, and to prepare the people for Him. And from this it may be concluded what "turning the heart of the fathers to the sons and the heart of the sons to the fathers" signifies, namely, that it means inducing a representation of the conjunction of spiritual goods with truths and truths with goods, thus of regeneration by the Lord by means of the Word. For regeneration is the conjunction of goods with truths and of truths with goods, and it is the Lord who regenerates, and the Word that teaches.
[9] It was said of this John that "he should go before the Lord in the spirit and power of Elijah," and that he was Elijah, because John, like Elijah, represented the Lord in relation to the Word, and thence signified the Word, which is from the Lord; and as Divine wisdom and Divine power are in the Word, these are meant by "the spirit and power of Elijah." (That the Word is such see in the work on Heaven and Hell 303-310; and in the small work on The White Horse.)
[10] That "sons" signify truths from the Word can be seen also from the following passages. In David:
Lo, sons are a heritage of Jehovah, the fruit of the belly is His reward; as darts in the hand of a mighty one, so are the sons of youth; happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them; they shall not be ashamed when they shall speak with the enemies in the gate (Psalms 127:3-5).
"Sons" who are a heritage of Jehovah and "the fruit of the belly" which is a reward mean the truths and goods of the church, "sons" truths, and "the fruit of the belly" goods, for both of these are a reward and an heritage of Jehovah, that is, heaven, which is from truths and goods, that is, from the reception of them; "the sons of youth" who are as darts in the hand of a mighty one, signify the truths of the ancient church, which were natural truths from spiritual truths; this church is meant by "youth;" and as these truths have all power against falsities and evils it is said, "as darts in the hand of a mighty one," "darts" meaning truths destroying falsities.
Doctrine from truths is signified by "quiver," because it is signified by "bow," and because those who are in doctrine from these truths fear nothing from falsities, it is said, "happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them; they shall not be ashamed when they shall speak with the enemies in the gate;" "not ashamed" meaning not to be conquered, and "enemies in the gate" the falsities of evil which are from hell.
[11] In the same:
Deliver me out of the hand of the sons of the alien, whose mouth speaketh vanity, and their right hand is a right hand of falsehood; for our sons are as plants made great in their youth and our daughters as cornerstones hewn out in the model of a palace (Psalms 144:11, 12).
Evidently "sons of the alien" here mean falsities, for it is said, "whose mouth speaketh vanity, and their right hand is a right hand of falsehood," and that "our sons" signify truths is also evident, for it is said that "they are as plants made great in their youth," "plants" also meaning truths, and "youth" here, as above, the ancient church, which had genuine truths. "Our daughters" signify the affections of truth, which are therefore compared to "cornerstones hewn out in the model of a palace," because a "palace" is a representative of the understanding, in which truths are in a beautiful form, and they are in a beautiful form when they are from the affection of truth.
[12] In Micah:
Make thee bald and poll thee, because of the sons of thy delights, enlarge thy baldness as the eagle, for they have departed from thee (Micah 1:16).
Mourning because the truths of the church are destroyed is described by "making bald," "enlarging baldness," and "polling themselves," for the "hair" signifies truths in ultimates, and those who are without truths in ultimates are also without internal truths; for this reason those in the spiritual world who have no truths from good appear bald. That truths are destroyed is signified by "the sons of thy delights have departed from thee;" they are called "sons of delight" from love of the truths and the consequent delights.
[13] In Zechariah:
He saw two olive trees at the right hand of the lampstand and at the left, and he said, These are the two sons of the olive standing by the Lord of the whole earth (Zechariah 4:11, 14).
"The two olive trees" signify the two churches, the celestial church and the spiritual church, the former "at the right hand of the lampstand," and the latter "at the left;" "the sons of the olive" signify the truths of these churches, which are doctrinals.
[14] In the same:
I will bend Judah for me, I will fill Ephraim with the bow, and I will stir up thy sons, O Zion, with thy sons, O Javan; and I will set thee as the sword of a mighty one (357, 443, where it is explained). Because "sons" signify truths it is said that "they shall be set as the sword of a mighty one;" "the sword of a mighty one" signifying truth powerfully destroying falsity.
[15] In Isaiah:
I will stir up against them the Medes, whose bows will dash in pieces the young men, and they will have no pity on the fruit of the belly, their eye will not spare the sons (710)
[16] In Jeremiah:
My tent is devastated, and all my cords torn off; my sons have gone out from me, and they are not (Jeremiah 10:20).
The "tent" that is devastated signifies the church in respect to the good of love and worship from it, for all worship in ancient times was celebrated in tents, and afterwards in the Tent of meeting, in remembrance of which the feast of tents or tabernacles was instituted; "all my cords are torn off" signifies that there is no conjunction of truth with good, nor of truths with each other, which have thus fallen apart, and consequently there is no conjunction of heaven with the church; "my sons have gone out from me and they are not" signifies that the truths of the church from the Word have been dispersed, and that man has thus removed himself from the Lord.
[17] In the same:
Behold, I will bring back the captivity of Jacob's tents, and will have compassion on his habitations, that the city may be built on her own heap, and the palace shall be inhabited after its own manner; and his sons shall be as of old, and his congregation shall be established before Me (Jeremiah 30:18, 20).
"Jacob's tents and habitations" signify all things of the church and of its doctrine, "tents" its goods, and "habitations" its truths; their "captivity" signifies spiritual captivity, which exists when the truths and goods of the Word cannot be perceived because of the falsities which rule. To disperse falsities and to teach truths is signified by "bringing back the captivity;" "that the city may be built on her own heap" signifies doctrine from truths which has become a ruin through falsities, "city" meaning doctrine; "and the palace shall be inhabited after its own manner" signifies the spiritual understanding of truths, as with the ancients, "palace" meaning the understanding of spiritual truths, for in the understanding are spiritual truths in their forms, which, when they are so presented as to be seen, appear like palaces; "his sons shall be as of old, and his congregation shall be established before Me," signifies that the truths of the church shall remain as with the ancients, and that their forms shall remain, as with the ancients, in restored conjunction, "sons" here meaning truths, and "congregation" their conjunction and such arrangement into forms as exists in the understanding of the man of the church, from which he has intelligence; "after its own manner" and "as of old" mean as with the ancients.
[18] In Lamentations:
Mine eye floweth down with waters, because the counselor who refresheth my soul is far from me; my sons are laid waste, because the adversary hath prevailed (Lamentations 1:16).
Mourning because the church is laid waste is meant by "mine eye floweth down with waters;" its devastation in respect to truths is signified by "my sons are laid waste;" that this was done by the falsities of evil is signified by "the adversary hath prevailed," "adversary" meaning the falsity of evil and the hell from which it springs.
[19] In Isaiah:
Awake, awake, rise up, O Jerusalem, which hast drunk out of the hand of Jehovah the cup of His anger; thou hast sucked out the dregs of the cup of trepidation; there is none to lead her of all the sons whom she hath brought forth, neither is there any that taketh hold of her by the hand of all the sons that she hath brought up. Thy sons have fainted, they lie at the head of all the streets (Isaiah 51:17, 18, 20).
The restoration of the church, which had fallen into mere falsities of evil, is signified by "Awake, awake, rise up, O Jerusalem, which hast drunk out of the hand of Jehovah the cup of His anger; thou hast sucked out the dregs of the cup of trepidation;" "Jerusalem" means the church in respect to doctrine; "awake and rise up" means its restoration; "to drink the cup of anger" means falsity, and "the dregs of the cup" mean mere falsities from which are evils, and to draw these in is signified by "drinking" and "sucking;" "there is none to lead her of all the sons whom she hath brought forth, neither is there any that taketh hold of her by the hand of all the sons that she hath brought up," signifies that no truths of the Word that she has learned and imbibed will lead her away from falsities; "sons" here meaning truths; "thy sons have fainted, they lie at the head of all the streets," signifies that truths are dispersed by falsities of every kind; because "sons" mean truths, "fainting" signifies to be dispersed, and "to lie at the head of all the streets" signifies by means of falsities of every kind, for "the streets of a city" signify true doctrinals, here false doctrinals.
[20] In the same:
Fear not, Jacob, I will bring thy seed from the east, and I will gather thee from the west, I will say to the north, Give up, and to the south, Hold not back; bring My sons from afar, and My daughters from the end of the earth (Isaiah 43:5, 6).
This is not said of Jacob's posterity, but of the Gentiles of whom the church is to be formed. "Jacob and his seed" mean those who will be of that church; that it is to be formed of those who are in falsities from ignorance, and thence in obscurity in respect to truths, is signified by "I will gather thee from the west, and I will say to the north, Give up;" and that these are not to be repulsed, but must be accepted, by those who are in the good of love and in the truths of doctrine in their clearness, is signified by "I will bring thy seed from the east, and I will say to the south, Hold not back;" "the east" signifying the good of love in clearness; "the south" the truth of doctrine in clearness; "the west" the good of love in obscurity, and "the north" the truth of doctrine in obscurity, such as those have who are in falsities from ignorance of truth and yet desire truths. This is the signification of these quarters, because all in the spiritual world dwell in these quarters distinctly according to the light of truth and the affection of good. These things have a like signification in Matthew, where it is said that "the elect are to be gathered together from the four winds, from the ends of the heavens even to the ends of them" (Matthew 24:31). That all who are in falsities from ignorance and yet in a desire for truth are to be brought into that church, is signified by "bring My sons from afar, and My daughters from the end of the earth," "sons" signifying those who are in truths, and "daughters" those who are in the affection of truths, and thence also in a sense abstractedly from persons they signify truths and the affections of them; and "afar off" and "the end of the earth" signify removal from the light of truth, because they are in falsities from ignorance from not having the Word or having no understanding of its meaning.
[21] In the same:
They shall hasten thy sons; 2they that destroy thee and they that lay thee waste shall go out from thee. Behold I will lift My hand toward the nations, and lift up Mine ensign to the peoples, that they bring thy sons in the bosom, and carry thy daughters upon the shoulder (Isaiah 49:17, 22).
This, too, treats of the establishment of the New Church by the Lord; and "sons" whom they shall hasten and whom they shall bring in the bosom, and "the daughters" whom they shall carry upon the shoulder, mean all who are in truths and in the affection of them, and in a sense abstractedly from persons truths themselves and affections for them with those who will be of the New Church; "they that destroy and they that lay waste" signify the falsities of evil; that these are to be removed is signified by "they shall go out from thee."
[22] In the same:
The isles shall trust in Me, and the ships of Tarshish in the beginning, to bring thy sons from far, their silver and their gold with them (275, 601, 654.)
[23] In David:
Hear this all ye peoples, perceive with the ear, all ye inhabitants of the age; both the sons of man [homo] and the sons of man [vir], the rich and the needy together; my mouth shall speak wisdoms, and the meditations of my heart shall be intelligences (Psalms 49:1-3).
"The sons of man" [homo] signify spiritual truths from the Lord through the Word, which are doctrinals, and "the sons of man" [vir] signify rational and natural truths that are from the understanding, thus they signify the understanding of the Word; "the rich and the needy" signify those who attain much wisdom from these and those who attain but little.
[24] In the same:
Jehovah, return, look from the heavens, and see and visit this vine and the shoot which Thy right hand hath planted, and upon the son whom Thou hast made mighty for Thyself; let Thy hand be over the man of Thy right hand, over the son of man whom Thou hast made mighty for Thyself (Psalms 80:14, 15, 17).
David said this of the church and of himself, which is the sense of the letter, for by the "shoot" and the "son" he meant himself; but in the spiritual sense the "vine" and the "shoot" that Jehovah planted signify the spiritual church that is represented by the sons of Israel; the "son" whom He made mighty for Himself signifies the truth of doctrine from the Word; "the man of the right hand" over whom was the hand, and "the son of man" whom He had made mighty for Himself, signify the truth of the Word in the natural sense, which is the sense of the letter, and the truth of the Word in the spiritual sense, which is the internal sense.
[25] In Ezekiel:
Behold I will profane My sanctuary, the greatness of My strength, 3the desire of your eyes, and the fondness of your soul; and your sons and your daughters, whom ye have left, shall fall by the sword (Ezekiel 24:21, 25).
This describes the devastation of all truth that those of the church have; the "sanctuary" that He will profane signifies the Word from which is the church, for this is the sanctuary itself, because it is Divine truth; from its power against falsities and evils, which are from hell, it is called "the greatness of Jehovah's strength;" from the consequent intelligence and heavenly life it is called "the desire of your eyes and the fondness of your soul;" that all truths with the affection of them will be destroyed by falsities is signified by "your sons and your daughters shall fall by the sword," "sons" meaning truths, "daughters" the affections of truth, and "sword" falsity destroying truth.
[26] In Moses:
When the Most High gave the nations an inheritance, when He separated the sons of man, He set the borders of the peoples according to the number of the sons of Israel (39, 430, 657).
[27] In Jeremiah:
Shame hath devoured the labor of our fathers from our childhood, their flocks and their herds, their sons and their daughters; we lie down in our shame, and our confusion doth cover us (Jeremiah 3:24, 25).
So I will bring upon you a nation from afar, O house of Israel, which shall eat up thy harvest and thy bread, and it shall eat up thy sons and thy daughters, it shall eat up thy flock and thy herd, it shall eat up thy vine and thy fig tree, it shall impoverish thy strongholds in which thou trusteth, with the sword (Jeremiah 5:15, 17).
This describes in the spiritual sense the devastation of all things of the church with the Israelites; "the nation from afar" signifies the falsity of evil, which is the falsity of the sensual man, destroying truths; "harvest," "bread," "sons," "daughters," "flock," "herd," "vine," and "fig tree," which that nation will eat up, signify all things of the church; "harvest and bread" its truths and goods in respect to nourishment; "sons and daughters" its truths and goods in respect to generations; "flock and herd" truths and goods spiritual and natural; "vine and fig tree" the internal and external spiritual church from these.
[28] In Ezekiel:
Though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in the midst of it, as I live, if they would deliver their sons or their daughters, they only shall be delivered; and the land shall become a desolation; I will bring a sword upon the land, and I will cut off from it man and beast (Ezekiel 14:14, 16-18, 20).
This, too, describes the devastation of the church in respect to all truths of good and goods of truth, except with those who are reformed by means of truths from the Word and temptations; these are signified by "Noah, Daniel, and Job." That with the rest all truths of good and goods of truth will perish is signified by "they would not deliver their sons or their daughters, but they only would be delivered;" the devastation of the church by falsities is signified by "the land shall become a desolation, and I will bring a sword upon the land," "land" meaning the church, and "sword" falsity destroying truth. That every truth, spiritual and natural, will be destroyed, and thence all intelligence and the knowledge of truth will perish, is signified by "I will cut off from it man and beast."
[29] In the same:
The fathers shall eat the sons in the midst of thee, and the sons shall eat their fathers; I will do judgments in thee, and the whole remnant of thee will I scatter unto every wind (Ezekiel 5:10).
In Moses:
It was among the curses that they should eat the flesh of their sons and daughters (Leviticus 26:29).
"The fathers shall eat the sons, and the sons the fathers" signifies that evils will destroy truths and falsities goods, "fathers" meaning evils and goods, and "sons" falsities and truths; and as everything of spiritual life with man thus perishes, it is said that "judgments will be done and the remnant be scattered unto every wind," "remnant" meaning the truths and goods stored up by the Lord with man from infancy and childhood.
[30] We read also that "they led away their sons to idols to be devoured," and "for food," and "to pass through fire," as in the following passages. In Ezekiel:
Thou hast taken thy sons whom thou hast brought forth to Me, and these thou hast sacrificed unto them to be devoured. Were thy whoredoms a small matter? Thou hast slaughtered My sons, and hast given them up when thou didst cause them to pass through to them. Thou art thy mother's daughter and the sister of thy sisters, who loathed their husbands and their sons (Ezekiel 16:20, 21, 45).
This is said of the abominations of Jerusalem. "To sacrifice sons and daughters unto idols to be devoured" signifies to destroy and consume all truths and goods of the church; to do the like to truths from the Word is signified by "slaughtering sons, and making them to pass through to them;" that they destroyed the truths and goods of the Word by falsifications and adulterations is signified by "whoredoms" here and elsewhere in that chapter.
[31] In the same:
I will defile them with their gifts, in that they caused to pass over every opening of the womb, that I might lay them waste. Wherefore ye offer gifts, when ye caused your sons to pass through the fire; ye are defiled by all your idols (587.)
[32] In the same:
Oholah and Oholibah have committed whoredom and blood was in their hands; and with their idols have they committed whoredom; and their sons also whom they bare unto Me they have caused to pass through for them for food (Ezekiel 23:37).
By "Oholah and Oholibah" Samaria and Jerusalem are meant; and "Samaria" means the spiritual church, and "Jerusalem" the celestial church, each in respect to doctrine; falsifications and adulterations of the Word are signified by "their committing whoredom" and by "blood in their hands;" the consequent falsities from self-intelligence are signified by "they committed whoredom with their idols;" from this it is clear what is signified by "causing their sons to pass through for their idols for food," namely, that they destroyed the truths from the Word by falsities.
[33] Because "sons" signify truths:
The seeds that fell into the good land are called by the Lord the sons of the kingdom; and the tares, which are falsities, are called the sons of the evil one (Arcana Coelestia 643 Arcana Coelestia 643[1-4], 1298, 3720, 6426, 8609, 10376.
[34] As "sons" signify truths, so in the contrary sense they signify falsities; as in some of the passages quoted above, also in these words of Isaiah:
Prepare slaughter for his sons for the iniquity of their fathers, that they rise not up and possess the land and the faces of the land be filled with cities. I will rise up against them, and I will cut off from Babylon name and remnant, and son and son's son. I will also make it a heritage for the bittern, and pools of waters, and I will sweep it with the besom of destruction (Isaiah 14:21-23).
This is said of Babylon, which signifies the adulteration of the Word and profanation. Here the total vastation of truth with those who are meant by "Babylon" is treated of. That truths with them were utterly destroyed by the adulteration of the Word is signified by "Prepare slaughter for his sons, that they rise not up and possess the land and the faces of the land be filled with cities," "land" meaning the church in which are truths, and "cities" doctrinals from mere falsities. That all truths from first to last will perish is signified by "name and remnant shall be cut off from Babylon, son and son's son;" that nothing whatever of truth would remain is signified by "she shall be swept with the besom of destruction. "
[35] It is to be known that in the passages quoted above, "sons" signify those who are in truths or those who are in falsities; but as the spiritual sense of the Word has nothing in common with persons, "sons" signify in that sense truths or falsities abstracted from the idea of person. The spiritual sense is such because the idea of person limits thought and its extension into heaven in every direction; for all thought that proceeds from the affection of truth makes its way through heaven in all directions, and has no termination except as light has in shade; but when person is at the same time thought of, the idea has its termination where the person is, and intelligence with it; this is why "sons" signify in the spiritual sense truths or falsities regarded abstractly.
Footnotes:
1. The Latin has "this church is for the New Church," for "this doctrine," etc.
2. The Hebrew has "thy sons shall hasten," as found in Arcana Coelestia 10540.
3. The Hebrew has "your strength," as found in Arcana Coelestia 9479.
724. [Vers. 5.] "Et peperit filium masculum." - Quod significet doctrinam veri quae pro nova ecclesia, quae Novae Hierosolyma vocatur, constat ex significatione "filii", quod sit verum, et "filii masculi" quod sit genuinum verum ecclesiae; inde quoque doctrina ejus, nam verum ecclesiae ex Verbo 1
est doctrina ejus, haec enim continet vera quae pro ecclesia: at genuina doctrina ecclesiae est doctrina boni, ita doctrina vitae, quae est amoris in Dominum et charitatis erga proximum; at usque est doctrina veri, nam doctrina docet vitam, amorem et charitatem, et quatenus docet est verum; nam cum homo scit et intelligit quid bonum, quid vita, quid amor et quid charitas, tunc scit et intelligit illa ut vera, scit enim et intelligit quale est bonum, quomodo vivendum, quidque amor et charitas, et qualis homo cui vita amoris et charitatis est; et quamdiu haec sunt scientiae et intellectus, non sunt nisi quam vera et inde doctrinae; ast ut primum illa a scientia et ex intellectu transeunt in voluntatem et inde in actum, non amplius sunt vera sed sunt bona; homo enim interius non aliud vult quam quod amat, et quod amat hoc ei bonum est. Ex his constare potest quod omnis doctrina ecclesiae sit doctrina veri; et quod verum doctrinae fiat bonum, ac fiat amoris et charitatis, dum a doctrina transit in vitam. Haec doctrina, quae hic per "filium masculum" significatur, est praecipue doctrina amoris in Dominum, et charitatis erga proximum; ita doctrina boni vitae, quae tamen usque est doctrina veri.
[2] Quod doctrina boni amoris et inde vitae significetur hic per "filium masculum", constare potest ex eo, quod "mulier", quae peperit filium, visa sit "circumdata sole, et super capite ejus corona stellarum duodecim", et per "solem" significatur amor in Dominum, et per "coronam stellarum duodecim" significantur cognitiones boni et veri; et ex muliere tali et matre non aliud generatur quam quod est amoris et boni, ita doctrina de illis; hoc itaque est "filius masculus."
[3] Quod illa 2
doctrina sit pro nova ecclesia, quae Nova Hierosolyma vocatur, est quia haec "mulier", de qua in hoc capite agitur, est quae vocatur "sponsa, Agni uxor", quae fuit
"civitas sancta Hierosolyma descendens e caelo a Deo" (cap. 21:9, 10);
inde est quod visa sit "circumdata sole", per "solem" enim intelligitur Dominus quoad Divinum Amorem (videatur supra, n. 401, 525, 527, 708).
Quod "filius masculus" significet doctrinam ecclesiae, est quoque quia "filius" in Verbo significat verum, et doctrina ecclesiae est verum in omni complexu.
Quod "filius" in Verbo significet verum, constare potest ex illis quae prius de "muliere", de "utero" et de "parere" dicta sunt; nempe quod "mulier" significet ecclesiam, "uterus" intimum amoris ac receptionem veri ex bono, ac "parere" productionem et fructificationem eorum; (de "muliere" videatur supra, n. 707, de "utero", n. 710, et de "parere", n. 721); inde sequitur quod per "filios" et "filias", quia sunt partus, significentur vera et bona ecclesiae, per "filios" vera, et per "filias" bona ejus; verbo, quod per omnia nomina quae sunt conjugii, et inde procreationis in terra, significentur talia quae sunt conjugii boni et veri; ita per "patrem", "matrem", "filios", "filias", "generos", "nurus", "nepotes", et per plura, significentur bona et vera procreantia, ac bona et vera procreata, et porro bona et vera ordine derivata.
[4] Sed sciendum est quod bona et vera procreantia sint in spirituali homine, et quod bona et vera procreata in naturali; et quod illa quae in spirituali homine sunt, sint sicut pater et mater; et quod ea quae in naturali homine sunt, quia inde, sint sicut fratres et sorores; et quod dein vera et bona quae e novo procreantur sicut ex filiis maritatis intra affinitatem, et ex filiabus nuptis etiam intra eandem, sint in naturali homine, postquam illa ut parentes elevata sunt in spiritualem; ibi enim fit omnis conceptio et omnis parturitio seu gestatio in utero, sed ipsi partus fit in naturali homine: inde spiritualis homo, per elevationem verorum et bonorum, quae sicut parentes procreabunt nova, e naturali homine illuc, locupletatur continue, ubi omnia consociantur sicut societates caeli, secundum affectiones veri et boni, et earum propinquitates et affinitates. Inde patet quod procreationes illae spirituales, sicut procreationes naturales ex patre et matre, multiplicentur sicut familiae et domus in terris; et sicut ex seminibus fructificantur arbores, unde horti, qui paradisi dicuntur in spirituali homine, at luci et nemora in naturali, at silvae umbrosae in sensuali.
[5] Sed quia in Verbo permultis in locis dicuntur "filii", et nondum notum est quod per illos significentur vera ecclesiae et doctrinae, velim ex multis modo sequentia loca confirmationis causa inde adducere:
- Apud Evangelistas,
Jesus dixit, "Qui relinquit domos, fratres, sorores, patrem, matrem, uxorem, liberos, agros propter nomen meum, centuplum accipiet, et vitae aeternae hereditatem sortietur" (Matthaeus 19:29; Marcus 10:29, 30);
"Omnis qui ad Me venit, et non odit suum patrem, matrem, uxorem, liberos, fratres et sorores, immo animam suam, non est "meus discipulus" (Luca 14:26):
quis non videre potest quod non pater, mater, uxor, liberi, fratres, et sorores, nec domus et agri hic intelligantur sed quod talia quae sunt ipsius hominis, et ejus propria vocantur; haec enim homo relicturus est et odio habiturus, si velit colere Dominum et "Ejus discipulus esse", ac "centuplum recipere", et "vitae aeternae hereditatem sortiri": propria hominis sunt ejus amoris et inde ejus vitae in quam natus est, proinde sunt mala et falsa omnis generis; et quia illa sunt ejus amoris et vitae, ideo dicitur quod etiam "odisse debeat animam suam": haec mala et falsa significantur per "patrem et matrem, uxorem, liberos, fratres et sorores"; nam omnia quae sunt amoris et vitae hominis, seu quae sunt affectionis et inde cogitationis, seu quae sunt voluntatis et inde intellectus ejus, illa formata et conjuncta sunt, sicut generationes descendentes ex uno patre et una matre, et quoque distincta sicut in familias et domos; amor sui et inde amor mundi sunt eorum "pater et mater", et cupiditates inde oriundae, ac earum mala et falsa, sunt "liberi", qui "fratres" et "sorores": quod haec intelligantur, manifeste constare potest ex eo, quod Dominus non velit ut aliquis odio habeat patrem et matrem, nec uxorem, nec liberos, nec fratres et sorores, quia id foret contra amorem spiritualem cuivis e caelo insitum, qui est parentum erga liberos ac liberorum erga parentes, tum contra amorem conjugialem, qui est mariti erga uxorem et uxoris erga maritum, ut et contra amorem mutuum, qui est fratrum et sororum inter se; immo docet Dominus quod nec inimici odio habendi sint, sed amandi. Ex his patet quod per nomina consanguineorum, affinitatum et propinquorum in Verbo intelligantur consanguinei, affines et propinqui in sensu spirituali.
[6] Apud eosdem,
Jesus dixit discipulis, "Tradet frater fratrem in mortem, pater filium, et insurgent liberi contra parentes, et morti dabunt eos" (Matthaeus 10:21; Marcus 13:12);
"Dividetur pater contra filium, et filius contra patrem, mater contra filiam et filia contra matrem, socrus contra nurum, et nurus contra socrum" (Luca 12:53):
quod neque haec intelligenda sint secundum litteram, constat ex praecedentibus ibi, ubi Jesus dicit quod "non venerit ad dandum pacem super terra, sed divisionem", sed quod "erunt quinque in una domo divisi, tres contra duos et duo contra tres", per quae significatur quod pugnatura sint falsa et mala contra vera et bona, ac vicissim, quod fit quando homo in tentationes venit et reformatur; illa pugna per "divisionem" et "insurrectionem" significatur: quod "pater dividetur contra filium et filius contra patrem" significat quod malum pugnaturum sit contra verum, et verum contra malum; ibi "pater" est malum quod est proprium hominis, et "filius" est verum quod est homini a Domino: quod cupiditas falsi pugnatura sit contra affectionem veri, et affectio veri contra cupiditatem falsi, significatur per quod "dividetur mater contra filiam, et filia contra matrem"; "mater" ibi est cupiditas falsi, et "filia" est affectio veri; et sic porro: quod ita sit, etiam constare potest ex eo,
quod Dominus alibi dicat (ut Johannes 14:27; 16:33), quod in Ipso "pacem habituri sint", ita non divisionem.
[7] Apud Lucam,
Angelus dixit ad Sachariam de Johanne, "Praecedet coram" Domino "in spiritu et virtute Eliae, ad convertendum corda patrum ad filios" (1:17);
et apud Malachiam,
"Mittam Vobis Eliam prophetam, antequam venit dies Jehovae magnus et terribilis, ut convertat cor patrum ad filios, et cor filiorum ad patres eorum, ne veniam et percutiam terram anathemate" (3:23, 24 [B.A. 5, 6]):
quod Johannes Baptista praemissus sit ad praeparandum populum ad receptionem Domini, erat per baptismum; baptismus enim repraesentabat et significabat purificationem a malis et falsis, et quoque regenerationem per Verbum a Domino; quae repraesentatio nisi praecesserit, Dominus non potuisset in Judaea et in Hierosolyma Se manifestare, docere, et commorari quia Dominus fuit Deus caeli et Deus terrae sub forma Humana, qui non una potuit esse cum gente quae in meris falsis quoad doctrinam, et in meris malis quoad vitam fuit; quare nisi repraesentativum purificationis a falsis et malis per baptisma praeparaverit illam gentem ad receptionem Domini, gens illa a praesentia Ipsius Divini morbis omnis generis periisset; hoc ergo est quod significatur per "ne veniam et percutiam terram anathemate." Quod ita sit, in mundo spirituali notissimum est; ibi enim illi qui in falsis et malis sunt, ad praesentiam Domini dire cruciantur et spiritualiter moriuntur.
[8] Quod baptisma Johannis illum effectum potuisset producere, erat quia Ecclesia Judaica fuit ecclesia repraesentativa, et omnis conjunctio caeli cum illis fuit per repraesentativa; ut quoque constare potest ex lavationibus ibi mandatis; ut quod omnes immundi facti lavarent se et vestes, et inde pro mundis habiti sunt; similiter quod sacerdotes et Levitae lavarent se, antequam intrarent Tentorium conventus, et tunc Templum, ac fungerentur officiis sanctis; similiter quod Naaman mundatus sit a lepra per lavationem in Jordane; ipsa lavatio et baptizatio non quidem purificabat illos a falsis et malis, sed modo repraesentabat et inde significabat purificationem ab illis, quod tamen in caelo acceptum erat sicut ipsi purificati essent: ita caelum fuit conjunctum cum populo illius ecclesiae per baptisma Johannis; et quando caelum ita fuit conjunctum illis, potuit Dominus, qui erat Deus caeli, ibi Se manifestare, docere et commorari.
Quod ad Johannem "exiverit Hierosolyma et universa Judaea, et uni versa confinia Jordanis, et baptizati sint ab illo in Jordane, confitentes peccata sua", constare potest apud Matthaeum (3:5, 6);
Et quod dixerit illis, "Progenies viperarum, quisnam monstravit vobis effugere a futura ira?" (Luca 3:7.)
Quod conjunctio caeli cum Judaeis et cum Israelitis fuerit per repraesentativa, videatur in Doctrina Novae Hierosolymae (n. 148). Haec nunc fuit causa cur Johannes praemissus fuit ad parandum viam Domino, et ad praeparandum Ipsi populum. Ex his concludi potest quid significatur per "convertere cor patrum ad filios, et cor filiorum ad patres"; nempe, quod sit inducere repraesentationem conjunctionis bonorum spiritualium cum veris, et vicissim, ita regenerationis per Verbum a Domino; nam regeneratio est conjunctio illorum, ac Dominus est qui regenerat, et Verbum docet.
[9] Quod de Johanne illo dicatur, quod "praecederet coram Domino in spiritu et virtute Eliae", et quod "esset Elias", erat causa, quia Johannes ille sicut Elias repraesentabat Dominum quoad Verbum, et inde significabat Verbum quod a Domino; et quia in Verbo est Divina sapientia et Divina potentia, est ea quae intelligitur per "spiritum et virtutem Eliae." (De Verbo quod tale, videatur in opere De Caelo et Inferno 303-310; et in opusculo De Equo Albo.)
[10] Quod "filii" significent vera ex Verbo, constare etiam potest ex sequentibus locis:
- Apud Davidem,
"Ecce hereditas Jehovae filii, merces fructus ventris; sicut tela in manu potentis, sic filii adolescentiae; beatus vir qui implevit pharetram ex illis; non pudefient cum loquentur cum hostibus in porta" (Psalms 127:35):
per "filios" qui hereditas Jehovae, et per "fructum ventris" qui merces, intelliguntur vera et bona ecclesiae; per "filios" vera et per "fructum ventris" bona; nam haec et illa sunt merces et hereditas Jehovae, hoc est, caelum, quod est ex veris et bonis, nempe ex receptione illorum; per "filios adolescentiae" qui sicut tela in manu potentis, significantur vera Ecclesiae Antiquae, quae vera naturalia ex spirituali erant; haec ecclesia intelligitur per "adolescentiam"; et quia omnis potentia est illis veris contra falsa et mala, ideo dicitur, "sicut tela in manu potentis"; "tela" significant vera destruentia falsa: doctrina ex veris significatur per "pharetram" quia per "arcum"; et quia illi qui in doctrina ex illis veris sunt, nihil timent a falsis, dicitur, "Beatus vir qui ex illis implevit pharetram; non pudefient cum loquentur cum hostibus in porta"; "non pudefieri", est non vinci, et "hostes in porta" sunt falsa mali quae ex inferno.
[11] Apud eundem,
"Eripe me e manu filiorum alienigenae, quorum os loquitur vanitatem, et dextra eorum dextra mendacii; nam filii nostri sicut plantae magnae factae in adolescentia eorum, filiae nostrae sicut anguli excisi figura palatii" (Psalms 144:11, 12):
quod hic per "filios alienigenae" intelligantur falsa, patet, nam dicitur, "quorum os loquitur vanitatem, et dextra eorum dextra mendacii"; et quod per "filios nostros" significentur vera, etiam patet, nam dicitur quod "sint sicut plantae factae in adolescentia"; "plantae" sunt etiam vera, et "adolescentia" est hic, ut supra, Ecclesia Antiqua, cui genuina vera fuerunt: per "filias nostras", significantur affectiones veri, quae ideo comparantur "angulis excisis figura palatii", quia "palatium" est repraesentativum intellectus, in quo veritates in pulchra forma sunt, et in pulchra forma sunt quando ex affectione veri.
[12] Apud Micham,
"Calvitiem induc, et tonde te, propter filios deliciarum tuarum; dilata calvitiem tuam sicut aquila, quia migrarunt a te" (1:16):
luctus propter vera ecclesiae deperdita describitur per "calvitiem inducere" ac "dilatare", ac per "tondere se"; "crines" enim significant vera in ultimis, et qui absque veris in ultimis sunt, etiam absque veris internis sunt; inde est quod in mundo spirituali appareant calvi qui in nullis veris ex bono sunt: quod vera sint deperdita, significatur per quod "filii deliciarum migraverint a te"; "filii deliciarum" dicuntur ex amore illorum et inde jucundis.
[13] Apud Sachariam,
Vidit duas oleas "juxta dextram candelabri et juxta sinistram; .... et dixit, Hae sunt duo filii oleae stantes juxta Dominum totius terrae" (4:11, 14);
per "duas oleas" significantur binae ecclesiae, ecclesia caelestis et ecclesia spiritualis, illa quae "ad dextram candelabri", haec quae "ad sinistram"; per "filios oleae" significantur vera illarum, quae sunt doctrinalia.
[14] Apud eundem,
"Tendam Mihi Jehudam, arcu implebo Ephraimum, et excitabo filios tuos, Zion, cum filiis tuis, Javan; et ponam te sicut gladium potentis" (9:13):
per "filios Zionis" et per "filios Javanis" significantur vera Verbi interna et externa, per "filios Zionis" vera interna, et per "filios Javanis" vera externa; (quid reliqua significant, videatur supra, n. 357 [a] 443 [b] , ubi explicata sunt): quia per "filios" significantur vera, dicitur quod "ponentur sicut gladius potentis"; "gladius potentis" significat verum potenter destruens falsum.
[15] Apud Esaiam,
"Excitabo contra illos Medum, .... quorum arcus juvenes allident, et fructus ventris non miserebuntur, filiis non parcet oculus illorum" (13:17, 18):
quoniam per "Medum" intelliguntur qui nihili faciunt vera et bona ecclesiae, ideo etiam dicitur, "Filiis non parcet oculus eorum", "filii" namque sunt vera Verbi et ecclesiae. (Sed haec videantur supra, n. 710 [c] , explicata.)
[16] Apud Jeremiam,
"Tentorium meum devastatum est, et omnes funes mei evulsi, filii mei exiverunt a Me, et non illi" (10:20):
per "tentorium" quod devastatum significatur ecclesia quoad bonum amoris et ex eo cultum, omnis enim cultus antiquitus peractus est in tentoriis, et postea in Tentorio conventus, in quorum memoriam institutum est Festum Tentoriorum seu Tabernaculorum "omnes funes mei evulsi" significat quod non conjunctio veri cum bono, nec veritatum inter se, quae sic dilapsae, et inde non conjunctio caeli cum ecclesia; "filii mei exiverunt a Me, et non illi", significat quod vera ecclesiae ex Verbo dissipata sint, et quod sic homo se removerit a Domino.
[17] Apud eundem,
"Ecce Ego reducens captivitatem tentoriorum Jacobi, et habitaculorum ejus miserebor, ut aedificetur urbs super tumulo suo, et palatium juxta morem suum habitabitur; .... et erunt filii ejus sicut olim, et congregatio ejus coram Me constabit" (30:18, 20):
per "tentoria Jacobi" et "habitacula" ejus significantur omnia ecclesiae et ejus doctrinae, per "tentoria" bona ejus, et per "habitacula" vera ejus: per "captivitatem" illorum significatur captivitas spiritualis, quae est cum propter falsa, quae regnant, vera et bona Verbi non possunt percipi: falsa discutere et vera docere, significatur per "reducere captivitatem": "ut aedificetur urbs super tumulo suo", significat doctrinam ex veris per falsa collapsam; "urbs" est doctrina: "et palatium juxta morem suum habitabitur" significat intellectum spiritualem veritatum, sicut apud antiquos; "palatium" est intellectus veritatum spiritualium, nam in intellectu sunt veritates spirituales in suis formis, quae apparent, cum ita sistuntur videndae, sicut palatia: "erunt filii ejus sicut olim, et congregatio ejus coram Me constabit", significat quod vera ecclesiae futura sicut apud antiquos, et quod formae eorum in sarta conjunctione, sicut apud illos mansurae sint; "filii" ibi sunt vera, et "congregatio" est conjunctio eorum et dispositio in formas, qualis est apud hominem ecclesiae in intellectu, unde ei intelligentia; "secundum morem" et " [sicut] olim" est sicut apud antiquos.
[18] In Threnis,
"Oculus meus descendit aquis, quia procul est a me consiliarius recreans animam meam; facti sunt filii mei devastati, eo quod invaluerit hostis" (1:16):
luctus propter quod devastata sit ecclesia, intelligitur per quod "oculus meus descendat aquis"; devastatio ejus quoad vera significatur per quod "filii facti sint devastati": quod id per falsa mali, significatur per quod "invaluerit hostis"; "hostis" est falsum mali, ac infernum unde illud,
[19] Apud Esaiam,
"Excitare, excitare, surge Hierosolyma, quae bibisti e manu Jehovae calicem irae ejus, faeces calicis trepidationis.. exsuxisti; non qui ducit eam de omnibus filiis quos peperit, nec qui apprehendit manum ejus de omnibus filiis quos educavit; .... filii tui defecerunt, jacuerunt in capite omnium platearum" (51:17, 18, 20 3
):
restauratio ecclesiae quae in mere falsa mali lapsa est, significatur per "Excitare, excitare, surge Hierosolyma, quae bibisti e manu Jehovae calicem irae ejus, faeces calicis trepidationis exsuxisti"; "Hierosolyma "est ecclesia quoad doctrinam; "excitare" et "surgere" est restauratio ejus, "bibere calicem irae" est falsum, "faeces calicis" sunt mere falsa ex quibus mala, illa attrahere significatur per "bibere" et "exsugere": "non qui ducit eam de omnibus filiis quos peperit, nec qui apprehendit manum de omnibus filiis quos educavit", significat quod nulla vera ex Verbo quae didicit et hausit a falsis illam abducat; "filii" ibi sunt vera: "filii tui defecerunt, jacuerunt in capite omnium platearum", significat quod vera dissipata sint per omnis generis falsa; quia "filii" sunt vera, per "deficere" significatur dissipari, et per "jacere in capite omnium platearum" significatur per falsa omnis generis, "plateae" enim "urbis" significant doctrinalia vera, hic doctrinalia falsa.
[20] Apud eundem,
"Ne timeto", Jacob, .... "ab oriente adducam semen tuum, et ab occidente colligam te; dicam septentrioni, Da, et meridiei, Ne inhibe; adduc filios meos e longinquo, et filias meas ab extremitate terrae" (43:5 [, 6]):
haec non de Jacobi posteris, sed de gentibus, a quibus ecclesia formanda est, dicta sunt: per "Jacobum" [et] ejus semen intelliguntur qui ab illa ecclesia futuri sunt; quod formanda sit ab illis qui in falsis ex ignorantia sunt, et inde in obscuro quoad vera, significatur per "Ab occidente colligam te, et dicam septentrioni, Da"; et quod ab illis qui in bono amoris et in veris doctrinae ex claro sunt, non repellendi sint, sed acceptandi, significatur per "Ab oriente adducam semen tuum, et dicam meridiei, Ne inhibe"; "oriens" enim significat bonum amoris in claro, "meridies" verum doctrinae in claro, "occidens" bonum amoris in obscuro, et "septentrio" verum doctrinae in obscuro, quale est illis qui ex ignorantia veri in falsis sunt, et usque desiderant vera; haec enim significantur per illas plagas, quia in mundo spirituali omnes habitant distincte in plagis illis secundum lucem veri et affectionem boni. Per illa significentur similia cum his apud Matthaeum, quod "congregandi sint electi a quatuor ventis, a terminis caelorum usque ad terminos illorum" (24:31). Quod omnes qui in falsis ex ignorantia sunt, et tamen in desiderio veri, ad ecclesiam illam adducendi sint, significatur per "Adduc filios meos e longinquo, et filias ab extremitate terrae"; "filii" significant illos qui in veris, et "filiae" illos qui in affectione illorum, et inde quoque abstracte a personis significant vera et affectiones illorum; ac "longinquum" et "extremitas terrae" significant remotionem a luce veri, quia in falsis ex ignorantia, ex eo quod illis non fuerit Verbum, vel quia non intellectus sensus Verbi.
[21] Apud eundem,
"Festinabunt 4
filios tuos, destructores tui et devastatores tui ex te exibunt; .... ecce tollam erga gentes manum meam, et erga populos attollam signum meum, ut adferant filios tuos in sinu, et filias tuas super humero apportent (49:17, 22):
etiam haec de instauratione novae ecclesiae a Domino; et per "filios" quos festinabunt et quos adferent in sinu, et per "filias" quas super humero apportabunt, intelliguntur omnes qui in veris et in affectione illorum sunt, et abstracte a personis ipsa vera et affectiones illorum apud illos qui e nova ecclesia erunt; "destructores et devastatores" significant falsa mali; quod haec removenda sint, significatur per "ex te exibunt."
[22] Apud eundem,
"Mihi insulae confident, et naves Tharschisch in principio, ad adducendum filios tuos e longinquo, argentum eorum et aurum eorum cum illis" (60:9):
haec quoque de Ecclesia Gentium, et per "filios" qui adducentur, significantur qui recepturi sunt vera. (Reliqua videantur explicata supra, n. 50, 406 [c] 514 [d] .) Apud Hoscheam,
"Non perdam Ephraimum; .... post Jehovam ibunt, sicut leo rugiet, quia ille rugiet, et cum honore accedent filii a mari; cum honore advenient, sicut avis ex Aegypto, et sicut columba e terra Assyriae, et habitare faciam eos in domibus suis" (11:9-11):
per "filios e mari" significantur vera scientifica et vera rationalia; quare dicitur quod "advenient sicut avis ex Aegypto, et sicut columba e terra Assyriae"; per "Aegyptum" significatur naturale, et per "Assyriam" rationale, utrumque quoad vera. (Sed haec quoque explicata sunt supra, n. 275 [b] 601 [a] 654 [e] .)
[23] Apud Davidem,
"Audite hoc, omnes populi; aure percipite, omnes habitatores saeculi; tam filii hominis quam filii viri, una dives et egenus; os meum loquetur sapientias, et meditatio cordis mei intelligentias" (Psalms 49:2-4 [B.A. 1-3]):
per "filios hominis" significantur vera spiritualia quae a Domino per Verbum, quae sunt doctrinalia; et per "filios viri" significantur vera rationalia et naturalia, quae sunt ex intellectu, ita intellectus Verbi: per "divitem et egenum" significantur qui ex illis multa et qui ex illis pauca sapiunt.
[24] Apud eundem,
Jehovah "revertere, respice e caelis, et vide et visita vitem hanc, et surculum quem plantavit dextra tua, et super filium quem confortaveras Tibi; .... sit manus tua pro viro dextrae tuae, pro filio hominis quem confortasti Tibi" (Psalms 80:15, 16, 18 [B.A. 14, 15, [17]):
haec David de ecclesia et de se dixit, quod est sensus litterae, se enim intellexit per "surculum" et per "filium"; sed in sensu spirituali per "vitem" et per "surculum" quem plantavit Jehovah significatur ecclesia spiritualis repraesentata per filios Israelis; per "filium" super quem confortaverat Sibi, significatur verum doctrinae ex Verbo; per "virum dextrae" pro quo manus, et per "filium hominis" super quem confortaverat Sibi, significatur verum Verbi in sensu naturali, qui est sensus litterae, et verum Verbi in sensu spirituali, qui est sensus internus.
[25] Apud Ezechielem,
"Ecce profanaturus sum sanctuarium meum, magnificentiam roboris 5
mei, desiderium oculorum vestrorum, et indulgentiam animae vestrae; ac filii vestri et filiae vestrae, quos reliquistis, gladio cadent" (24:21, 25):
ita describitur devastatio omnis veri quod illis qui ab ecclesia; per "sanctuarium" quod profanabit, significatur Verbum ex quo ecclesia, hoc enim est ipsum Sanctuarium, quia est Divinum Verum; ex potentia ejus contra falsa et mala quae ab inferno, vocatur id "magnificentia roboris" Jehovae; ex intelligentia et vita caelesti inde, vocatur "desiderium oculorum vestrorum, et indulgentia animae vestrae": quod omnia vera cum affectione illorum per falsa peritura sint, significatur per quod "filii vestri et filiae vestrae gladio cadent"; "filii" sunt vera, "filiae" affectiones veri, et "gladius" falsum destruens verum.
[26] Apud Mosen,
"Cum hereditatem daret Altissimus gentibus, cum separaret filios hominis, constituit terminos populorum juxta numerum filiorum Israelis" (Deuteronomius 32:8):
haec de Antiquis Ecclesiis, quae ante Israeliticam fuerunt, et de earum instauratione a Domino, dicta sunt; per "gentes" intelliguntur qui in bono amoris fuerunt, et per "filios hominis" qui in veris doctrinae ex illo bono; quod illis omnia vera et bona fuerint, significatur per "Constituit terminos populorum juxta numerum filiorum Israelis"; quod "duodecim filii Israelis", seu "duodecim tribus", repraesentaverint et inde significaverint ecclesiam quoad omnia vera et bona, videatur supra (n. 39, 430, 657).
[27] Apud Jeremiam,
"Pudor comedit laborem patrum nostrorum a pueritia nostra, pecora eorum et armenta eorum, filios eorum et filias eorum; jacemus in pudore nostro, et operit nos ignominia nostra" (3:24, 25);
et apud eundem,
"Ecce Ego adducens super vos gentem e longinquo, domus Israelis, quae comedet messem tuam, et panem tuum, comedet filios tuos et filias tuas, comedet gregem tuum et armentum tuum, comedet vitem tuam et ficum tuam, depauperabit [urbes] munimentorum tuorum, quibus tu confidis, gladio" (5 [15,] 17):
per haec in sensu spirituali describitur devastatio omnium Ecclesiae apud Israelitas; per "gentem e longinquo" intelligitur falsum mali, quod est falsum sensualis hominis, vera destruens; per "messem", "panem", "filios", "filias", "gregem", "armentum", "vitem" et "ficum", quae gens illa comedet, significantur omnia ecclesiae; per "messem et panem" vera et bona ejus quoad nutritionem, per "filios et filias" vera et bona ejus quoad generationem, per "gregem et armentum" vera et bona spiritualia et naturalia, per "vitem et ficum" ecclesia spiritualis interna et externa ex illis.
[28] Apud Ezechielem,
"Si tres viri, Noach, Daniel et Hiob.... in medio ejus, vivus Ego si filios aut si filias eripuerint, illi soli eripientur, et terra fiet desolatio adducam gladium super terram, .... et exscindam ex ea hominem et bestiam" (14 [14,] 16-18, 20):
per haec quoque describitur devastatio ecclesiae quoad omnia vera boni et bona veri, praeter apud illos qui per vera ex Verbo et per tentationeS reformantur; hi significantur per "Noachum", "Danielem" et "Hiobum": quod apud reliquos peritura sint omnia vera boni et bona veri, significatur per quod "non filios aut filias eriperent", sed quod "illi soli eriperentur": devastatio ecclesiae per falsa significatur per quod "terra fiet desolatio", et per "Adducam gladium super terram"; "terra" est ecclesia, et "gladius" est falsum destruens verum: quod destruetur omne verum spirituale et naturale, et quod inde peritura omnis intelligentia et scientia veri, significatur per quod "exscindam ex ea hominem et bestiam."
[29] Apud eundem,
"Patres comedent filios in medio tui, et filii comedent patres suos; faciam in te judicia, et dispergam omnes reliquias tuas in omnem ventum" (5:10);
apud Mosen,
Quod ederent carnem filiorum et filiarum, inter maledictiones (Leviticus 26:29):
per quod "patres comedent filios, et filii patres", significatur quod mala destructura sint vera, et quod falsa bona; "patres" sunt mala et bona, ac "filii" sunt falsa et vera; et quia sic omne vitae spiritualis apud hominem perit, dicitur quod "facturus judicia, et dispersurus reliquias in omnem ventum"; "reliquiae" sunt vera et bona apud hominem ab infantia et pueritia a Domino recondita.
[30] Etiam legitur quod "traduxerint filios suos idolis ad devorandum", "inque cibum", et "per ignem", in sequentibus:
- Apud Ezechielem,
"Tu sumpsisti filios tuos [et filias tuas] , quos peperisti Mihi, et sacrificasti.. iis ad devorandum: num hoc parum de scortationibus tuis? Mactasti.. filios meos, et tradidisti eos, dum transire fecisti eis illos: .... filia matris tuae, .... et soror tu sororum, .. fastidiverunt mari tos suos et filios suos" (16:20, 21, 45 6
):
haec de abominationibus Hierosolymae: ac per "sacrificare filios et filias idolis ad devorandum" significatur destruere et consumere omnia vera et bona ecclesiae; similiter vera ex Verbo, per "mactare filios", et "transire facere eis illos"; quod destruxerint vera et bona Verbi per falsificationes et adulterationes, significatur per "scortationes" ibi et alibi in eo capite.
[31] Apud eundem,
"Polluam illos cum donis illorum, eo quod traduxerint omnem aperturam uteri, ut devastem illos: .... quare offertis dona.., cum traducitis filios Vestros per ignem, vos polluti per omnia idola vestra" (20:26, 31):
destruere vera per mala amoris sui, et per cupiditates ex proprio, significatur per "traducere filios per ignem"; ac per falsa, significatur per "pollui idolis."
(Quod "idola" significent falsa doctrinae et cultus quae ex propria intelligentia, videatur supra, n. 587.)
[32] Apud eundem,
Ohola et Oholiba "scortatae sunt, et sanguis in manibus illarum, et cum idolis suis scortatae sunt; etiamque filios suos, quos genuerunt Mihi, traduxerunt illis in cibum" (23:37):
per "Oholam" et "Oholibam" intelliguntur Samaria et Hierosolyma, et per "Samariam" intelligitur ecclesia spiritualis, ac per "Hierosolymam" ecclesia caelestis, utraque quoad doctrinam; falsificationes et adulterationes Verbi significantur per quod "scortatae sint", et quod "sanguis in manibus illarum"; falsa inde ex propria intelligentia significantur per quod "cum idolis suis scortatae sint"; inde patet quid significatur per quod "filios suos idolis traduxerint in cibum", nempe quod vera ex Verbo destruxerint per falsa.
[33] Quoniam "filii" significant vera, ideo
"Semina quae ceciderunt in bonam terram" vocantur a Domino "Filii regni; ac "zizania" quae sunt falsa, "Filii mali" (Matth. 13:38 7
);
Tum qui in Veris sunt, Vocantur "Filii lucis" (Johannes 12:36);
Qui in conjugio veri et boni a Domino, "Filii nuptiarum" (Marc. 2:19 8
);
Et qui regenerati sunt, "Filii Dei" (Johannes 1:11-13).
Quia per "lapides" in Verbo significantur vera, dixit Johannes Baptista
"Quod Deus possit ex lapidibus his suscitare filios Abrahamo" (Luca 3:8).
(Quod per "lapides" significentur vera, super quibus fundantur vera interiora, videatur in Arcanis Caelestibus, n. 643, 1298, 3720, 6426, 8609, 10376.)
[34] Sicut per "filios" significantur vera, ita etiam per illos in opposito sensu significantur falsa, ut in quibusdam locis supra allatis; [tum quoque in hoc] apud Esaiam,
"Parate filiis ejus mactationem oh iniquitatem patrum eorum, ut non resurgant et possideant terram, et impleantur facies terrae urbibus: surgam contra eos, ...et exscindam Babeli nomen et residuum, et filium et nepotem, ...et ponam eam in hereditatem anatariae, et in stagna aquarum, et everram eam scopis perdendo" (14:21-23):
haec de Babele, per quam significatur adulteratio Verbi et profanatio; hic agitur de totali vastatione veri apud illos qui per "Babelem" intelliguntur; quod prorsus destructa sint vera apud illos per adulterationem Verbi, significatur per "Parate filiis ejus mactationem, ut non resurgant et possideant terram, et impleantur facies terrae urbibus"; per "terram" intelligitur ecclesia in qua vera, et per "urbes" intelliguntur doctrinalia ex meris falsis; quod peritura sint omnia vera a primis ad ultima, significatur per quod "exscindetur Babeli nomen et residuum, filius et nepos"; quod prorsus nihil veri remansurum sit, significatur per "Everretur scopis perdendo."
[35] Sciendum est quod per "filios" in locis supra allatis significentur illi qui in veris aut qui in falsis sunt; at quia sensus spiritualis Verbi non aliquid commune habet cum personis, ideo in eo sensu per "filios " significantur vera aut falsa abstracte ab idea personae; quod sensus spiritualis talis sit, est quia idea personae finit cogitationem et ejus extensionem in caelum quaquaversum; omnis enim cogitatio, quae ex affectione veri procedit, vadit per caelum undequaque, nec terminatur nisi sicut lux in umbram; at cum cogitatur simul persona, tunc terminatur idea ubi persona est, et cum illa etiam intelligentia: haec causa est quod per "filios" in sensu spirituali significentur vera aut falsa abstracte.
Footnotes:
1. The editors made a correction or note here.
2. The editors made a correction or note here.
3. The editors made a correction or note here.
4. The editors made a correction or note here.
5. The editors made a correction or note here.
6. The editors made a correction or note here.
7. The editors made a correction or note here.
8. The editors made a correction or note here.