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730. And the woman fled into the wilderness.- That this signifies the church among a few, because with those who are not in good, and therefore not in truths, appears from the signification of the woman, as denoting the church (concerning which see above, n. 707); from the signification of the wilderness, as denoting where there are no truths because there is no good, of which we shall speak presently; and from the signification of fleeing thither, as denoting to tarry among those who are not in truths, because not in good; and as, at the end of the church, there are few who are in truths from good, therefore it signifies among a few. It is evident from this what these words involve, namely, that a New Church, which is called the Holy Jerusalem, and is signified by the woman, can as yet be instituted only with a few, because the former church is become a wilderness; and the church is called a wilderness (desertum) when there is no longer any good; and where there is no good there are no truths. When the church is such, then evils and falsities reign, which hinder the reception of its doctrine, which is the doctrine of love to the Lord and of charity towards the neighbour, with its truths; and when doctrine is not received, there is no church, for the church is from doctrine.
[2] Something shall first be said concerning the fact that there are no truths where there is no good. By good is meant the good of a life according to truths of doctrine from the Word. The reason is, that the Lord never flows immediately into truths with man, but mediately through his good; for good is of his will, and the will is the man himself; from the will the understanding is brought forth and formed. For the understanding is so connected with the will, that what the will loves the understanding sees and also brings forth into the light; if therefore the will is not in good, but in evil, then the influx of truth from the Lord into the understanding produces no effect, for it is dissipated, because it is not loved; in fact, it is perverted, and the truth is falsified. It is evident from this why the Lord does not flow immediately into man's understanding except so far as the will is in good. The Lord can enlighten the understanding with every man, and thus flow in with Divine truths, since every man has the ability to understand truth, and this for the sake of his reformation; nevertheless the Lord does not flow in, because truths remain only so far as the will has been reformed. Moreover, it would be dangerous to so enlighten the understanding in truths as to produce belief, except so far as the will acts as one with it, for man would then be able to pervert, adulterate, and profane truths, and this would be most damnatory. Besides, so far as truths are known and understood, and are not at the same time lived, they are nothing but lifeless truths, and lifeless truths are like statues which are without life. From these things it is evident why there are no truths where there is good not in essence, but only in form.
[3] The quality of the man of the church is such at its end because he then loves the things of the body and of the world above all things, and when these are loved supremely, then those which pertain to the Lord and heaven are not loved; for no one can at the same time so serve two masters as to love the one and hate the other, since they are opposites. For from the love of the body, which is the love of self, and from the love of the world, which is the love of riches - when these are loved above all things - evils of every kind flow forth, and falsities from evils, and these are the opposites of goods and truths, which come from love to the Lord, and from charity towards the neighbour. It is evident from these few observations why the woman is said to have fled into the wilderness, that is, among a few, because with those who are not in good, and thus not in truths.
[4] In many places in the Word mention is made of wilderness (desertum), and also of desert (solitudo) and waste, and these signify the state of the church when there is no longer any truth therein because there is no good. This state of the church is called a wilderness (desertum), because the place in the spiritual world, where those dwell who are not in truths because not in good, is like a wilderness (desertum), where there is no verdure in the plains, no harvest in the fields, no fruit trees in the gardens, - a barren land, parched and dry. Moreover wilderness, in the Word, signifies the state of the church with the nations who are in ignorance of truth, and yet in the good of life according to their religion, from which they have a desire for truths. Wilderness also signifies in the Word the state of those who are in temptations, because in temptations goods and truths are shut in by the evils and falsities that come forth and are presented to the mind. That wilderness has these significations in the Word is evident from the passages therein where mention is made of wilderness (desertum).
[5] (I). A wilderness (desertum) means the state of the church, when there is no longer any truth therein, because there is no good, as is evident from the following passages.
In Isaiah:
"Is this the man that moveth the earth, that maketh kingdoms tremble, that hath made the world a wilderness (desertum), and destroyed the cities thereof" (14:16, 17).
This is said of Lucifer, by whom Babel is meant; and to move the earth, make kingdoms tremble, and make the world a wilderness, signifies to destroy all the truths and goods of the church, earth denoting the church, kingdoms its truths, world its goods, and wilderness where these are no longer. To destroy its cities signifies its doctrinals, a city denoting doctrine. The adulteration of the Word, by which doctrine and thus the church are destroyed, is here signified by Babel.
[6] In the same:
"Upon the land of my people shall come up the thorn of the briar, because upon all the houses of gladness in the joyous city; for the palace shall be a wilderness (desertum), the multitude of the city left behind. The hill and the watch-tower shall be over the caves for ever, a joy of wild asses, a pasture for flocks" (410:7), where they are explained.
[7] In the same:
"By my rebuke I dry up the sea, I make the rivers into a wilderness (desertum), the fish thereof shall stink, because there is no water, and shall die with thirst" (50:2).
To make the rivers into a wilderness signifies to deprive the understanding of truths, consequently to deprive man of intelligence; the rest of the passage may be seen explained above (n. 4:26, 27).
Carmel signifies the spiritual church, which is in truths from good; that this was a wilderness, signifies that there were in it no truths from good; the cities which are desolated signify doctrinals without truths; the whole land being a waste signifies the church destitute of good and consequently of truths.
[8] In the same:
"Many shepherds have destroyed my vineyard, they have trodden my field under foot, they have made the field of my desire a wilderness (desertum) of solitude, upon all the hills in the wilderness spoilers have come, because the sword of Jehovah devoureth from the end of the land to the end thereof" (12:10, 12).
The truths and goods of the church being completely destroyed by falsities from evil, is signified by They have destroyed the vineyard, trodden the field under foot, made the field of desire a wilderness of solitude, and the spoilers have come upon all the hills in the wilderness, because the sword of Jehovah devoureth; - vineyard and the field signify the church as to truth and good, the field of desire the church as to doctrine, while a wilderness of solitude signifies where these are not; the spoilers in the wilderness signify evils from the absence of truths; the sword of Jehovah devouring signifies falsity destroying; from the end of the earth to the end of the earth, signifies all things of the church.
[9] In Lamentations:
"With the peril of our souls we get our bread, because of the sword of the wilderness (desertum)" (5:9).
To get bread with the peril of their souls, signifies the difficulty and danger of procuring for themselves truths of life from the Word; because of the sword of the wilderness, signifies because the falsity of evil prevails in the church and falsifies truths, and thus destroys them.
[10] In Ezekiel:
"The vine is now planted in the wilderness (desertum), in a land of drought and thirst" (19:13).
Vine signifies the church, which in the beginning of the chapter is called a mother who became a lioness; it is said to be planted in the wilderness when there is no longer any truth therein, because no good; a land of drought means where there is no good but evil instead of it, and a land of thirst means where there is no truth, but falsity instead of it.
[11] In Hosea:
"Contend with your mother, that she may put away her whoredoms from her faces, lest peradventure I strip her naked and set her as in the day of her birth, and make her as a wilderness (desertum), and set her as a land of drought, and slay her with thirst" (2:2, 3).
This treats of the church that has falsified the truths of the Word; mother denotes the church, and her whoredoms the falsifications of truth. To deprive the church of all truth, as it was before it was reformed, is signified by stripping her naked, and setting her as in the day of her birth; wilderness and land of drought signifies the church without good. To slay with thirst signifies the deprivation of truth; thirst is said of truths, because water, for which one thirsts, signifies truth, while drought has reference to the want of good, because it is a result of being scorched.
[12] In the same:
"He is fierce among the brethren; an east wind, the wind of Jehovah, shall come, coming up from the wilderness (desertum), and his spring shall become dry, and his fountain shall be dried up" (13:15).
This is said of Ephraim, by whom is meant the understanding of the Word, which is called fierce among the brethren when it eagerly defends falsities, and fights for them against truths. An east wind, the wind of Jehovah, signifies the ardour of desire arising from a love for and a pride in destroying truths; this is said to come up from the wilderness, when it is from an understanding in which there are no truths from good but only falsities from evil; such an understanding is a wilderness because it is empty and void. That such ardour and pride destroys everything of doctrine and of the Word, is signified by "his spring shall become dry, and his fountain shall be dried up," a spring signifying doctrine, and a fountain the Word.
[13] In Joel:
"Unto thee, O Jehovah, do I cry, because the fire hath consumed the dwellings of the wilderness and the flame hath burned up all the trees of the field; because the beasts of the field hath panted after thee, because the brooks of waters are dried up, and the fire hath consumed the dwellings of the wilderness (desertum)" (650). Because the brooks of waters are dried up, and the fire hath consumed the dwellings of the wilderness, signifies that there are consequently no longer any truths and goods of life.
[14] In the same:
"The day of Jehovah cometh; a fire devoureth before him, and behind him a flame burneth; the land is as the garden of Eden before him, but behind him a wilderness (desertum) of wasteness, and nothing escaped him" (2:1, 3).
The day of Jehovah means the end of the church, which is called the consummation of the age, and the Lord's coming at that time. That at the end of the church the love of self, and consequently the pride of [man's] own intelligence, consumes all the goods and truths of the church is signified by a fire devoureth before him, and behind him a flame burneth, fire signifying the love of self, and flame the pride of [man's] own intelligence (as above). The land before him is as the garden of Eden, but behind him a wilderness of wasteness, signifies that in the beginning, when that church was established with the ancients, there was the understanding of truth from good, but at its end falsity from evil; the garden of Eden denoting the understanding of truth from good, and wisdom therefrom, and a wilderness of wasteness denoting no understanding of truth from good, and thus insanity from falsities that are from evil; by nothing escaping him is signified that there is nothing whatever of truth from good.
[15] In Isaiah:
"The land (terra) mourneth and languisheth, Lebanon is ashamed and is withered, Sharon is become as a wilderness (desertum), Bashan is shaken, and Carmel" (33:9).
These words also describe the devastation of good and the desolation of truth in the church. Lebanon signifies the church as to the rational understanding of good and truth. Sharon, Bashan, and Carmel, signify these as to the knowledges of good and truth from the natural sense of the Word, the devastation and desolation of these being signified by mourning, languishing, and withering, and becoming like a wilderness, wilderness meaning where there is no truth, because no good.
[16] In Jeremiah:
"Because the land (terra) is full of adulteries, because the land mourneth on account of the curse, the pastures of the wilderness (desertum) have become dry" (23:10).
The land full of adulteries signifies the church in which the goods and truths thereof from the Word are adulterated; the curse, on account of which the land mourneth, signifies all evil of the life and falsity of doctrine; while by the pastures of the wilderness, which have become dry, are signified the knowledges of good and truth from the Word, pastures denoting those knowledges because they nourish the mind, and wilderness, the Word when it is adulterated.
[17] In David:
Jehovah "turneth rivers into a wilderness (desertum), and the springing forth of water into dry ground, a land of fruit into saltness, for the wickedness of them that dwell therein" (Psalm 107:33, 34).
The rivers which are turned into a wilderness signify intelligence from the understanding of truth and of the Word in its interior sense - which has been devastated by falsities from evils; rivers denoting such things as belong to intelligence, and a wilderness, where these things are absent and falsities from evil in their place. The springing forth of waters that are turned into dry ground, signify that the ultimate things of the understanding, called the knowledges (cognitiones) of truth and good, have no light of truth and no spiritual affection for truth, waters signifying truths, dry ground, lack of these from the absence of light and affection, and springing forth, the ultimates of truths such as are the truths of the sense of the letter of the Word. The land of fruit which shall be turned into saltness, signifies the good of love and of life profoundly vastated by falsities, saltness denoting the devastation of truth by falsities; and as all devastation by falsities comes from evil of life, it is therefore added, "for the wickedness of them that dwell therein."
[18] In Jeremiah:
"Lift up thine eyes unto the hills, and see where thou hast been defiled; upon the ways hast thou sat as an Arab in the wilderness (desertum), whence thou hast profaned the land with thy whoredoms and thy wickedness" (3:2).
These words also describe the adulteration and falsification of the Word, which are signified by being defiled and committing whoredom. Lift up thine eyes to the hills and see where thou hast been defiled, signifies to observe that the knowledges of truth and good in the Word have been adulterated; to lift up the eyes signifies to observe, hills signify those knowledges because the trees and groves which are upon them signify knowledges; hills also signify the goods of charity which are thus destroyed. Upon the ways hast thou sat as an Arab in the wilderness, signifies to lie in wait lest any truth should come forth and be received, ways denoting the truths of the church, to sit in them denoting to lie in wait; and an Arab in the wilderness means one who, like a robber in the wilderness, kills and plunders. Thou hast profaned the land with thy whoredoms and wickedness, signifies the falsification of the truths of the Word by evils which have come to be ends of the life.
[19] In the same:
"O generation, see ye the Word of Jehovah; have I been a wilderness (desertum) to Israel, have I been a land of darkness?" (2:31).
That all good of life and truth of doctrine is taught in the Word, and not evil of life and falsity of doctrine, is meant by See ye the Word of Jehovah, have I been a wilderness to Israel, have I been a land of darkness?
[20] In Joel:
"Egypt shall be a wasteness, and Edom a wilderness (desertum) of wasteness, for the violence of the sons of Judah, whose innocent blood they have shed in their land" (211, 433); and that to shed innocent blood signifies to do violence to Divine Truth, thus to adulterate the truth of the Word, may also be seen above (n. 329). The adulteration of the Word is affected by the knowledges (scientifica) of the natural man, when these are applied to confirm falsities and evils, and the natural man becomes a wasteness and a wilderness when its knowledges are used to confirm falsity and evil, Egypt signifying those knowledges, and Edom the pride that falsifies by means of these.
[21] In Malachi:
"Esau I hated, and I made his mountains a waste, and gave his heritage to the dragons of the wilderness (desertum)" (1:3).
Esau signifies the love of the natural man; his mountains signify evils from that love, and his heritage signifies falsities from those evils, while the dragons of the wilderness signify mere falsifications from which these come.
Since all things of the Word had been adulterated with the Jewish nation, and there was no longer any truth because there was no good, therefore John the Baptist was in the wilderness, which represented the state of that church, about which it is thus written in the Evangelists:
John the Baptist "was in the wilderness, until the days of his appearing unto Israel" (Luke 1:80); and "he preached in the wilderness of Judea (Matthew 3:1-3; Mark 1:2-4; Luke 3:2, 4, 5);
and in Isaiah,
"The voice of one crying in the wilderness (desertum), Prepare the way of Jehovah, make plain in the desert (solitudo) a path for our God" (40:3).
[22] Therefore also the Lord says concerning Jerusalem, which means the church as to doctrine,
"Your house shall be left deserted" (Arcana Coelestia 3900); for by Christ is meant the Lord as to Divine Truth, consequently as to the Word and as to doctrine from the Word; and false Christs, concerning whom those things are said, signify falsities of doctrine from falsified truths of the Word. From the passages now quoted from the Word it is evident that a wilderness means a church in which there are no truths because no good, consequently where there is falsity because there is evil; for where truth and good do not exist, there falsity and evil are; both cannot exist together, which is meant by the words of the Lord, that no man can serve two masters.
[23] (II) A wilderness (desertum) also signifies the state of the church with the nations who were in ignorance of truth, and yet in good of life according to their religion, from which they desired truths, as is also evident from the passages in the Word, where the church to be established among the nations is treated of.
In Isaiah:
"The spirit shall be poured out upon you from on high, then the wilderness (desertum) shall be a fruitful field, and the fruitful field shall be counted for a forest; judgment shall dwell in the wilderness, and justice shall abide in the fruitful field" (32:15, 16).
This is said of those who are in natural good, and are being reformed. Influx out of heaven into such is signified by The spirit shall be poured out upon you from on high. That truth from a spiritual origin shall then be implanted in them, is signified by The wilderness shall be a fruitful field, - a wilderness denoting the natural man destitute of truths, and the fruitful field, or land of harvest, denoting the natural man made fruitful in truths; that as a result it will possess the knowledge (scientia) of the cognitions of truth and good, is signified by The fruitful field shall be counted for a forest; forest is said in reference to the natural man as a garden is to the spiritual, therefore a forest signifies knowledge (scientia), and a garden intelligence. That in it there will consequently be what is right and just is signified by Judgment shall dwell in the wilderness, and justice shall abide in the fruitful field; judgment and justice, in the spiritual sense, signify truth and good, but in the natural sense, what is right and just.
[24] In the same:
"I will open rivers upon the heights, and set fountains in the midst of the valleys; I will turn the wilderness (desertum) into a pool of waters, and the dry land into springs of waters; I will give in the wilderness the cedar of shittah, the myrtle and the oil tree; I will set in the desert (solitudo) the fir, the pine, and the box" (41:18, 19).
This also treats of the reformation and enlightenment of the nations. To open rivers upon the heights, and to set fountains in the midst of the valleys, signifies to give intelligence from spiritual truths and from natural truths, rivers upon the heights signifying intelligence from spiritual truths, and fountains in the midst of the valleys intelligence from natural truths. To turn the wilderness into a pool of waters, and the dry land into springs of waters, signifies to fill the spiritual and the natural man with truths, where before there were no truths; the spiritual man in which there were no truths is meant by a wilderness, since truth was not previously there, and the natural man in which there was no truth, is meant by dry land, since into it there had previously been no spiritual influx. Truths in abundance for the spiritual man are meant by the pool of waters, and truths in abundance for the natural man are meant by the springs of waters. To set in the wilderness the cedar of shittah, the myrtle, and the oil tree, signifies to give rational truths and the perception of them; and to set in the desert the fir, the pine, and the box, signifies similarly, natural truths, which are knowledges (scientifica) and cognitions, with the understanding of them; the cedar denoting higher rational truth, the myrtle, lower rational truth, and the oil tree, the perception of good, and thus of truth; the fir denotes higher natural truth; the pine, lower natural truth; and the box, the understanding of good and truth in the natural man.
[25] In David:
"He turneth the wilderness (desertum) into a pool of waters, and the dry land into the springing forth of waters; and there he maketh the hungry to dwell, that they may build a city of habitation" (Psalm 107:35, 36).
This is also said of the enlightenment of the nations. To turn the wilderness into a pool of waters has a signification similar to that above; and there he maketh the hungry to dwell, signifies for those who desire truths, these being meant in the Word by the hungry and thirsty. That they may build a city of habitation, signifies that out of those truths they may formulate for themselves doctrine of life, a city denoting doctrine, and to inhabit denoting to live.
[26] In Isaiah:
"Behold, I do a new thing, now it shall spring forth, I will also make a way in the wilderness (desertum), rivers in the desert (solitudo); the wild beasts of the field shall honour me, the dragons and the daughters of the owl, because I will give waters in the wilderness, rivers in the desert, to give drink to my people, my chosen" (518).
[27] In the same:
"Jehovah will comfort Zion, he will comfort all her waste places, and he will make her wilderness (desertum) like Eden, and her desert (solitudo) like the garden of Jehovah; gladness and joy shall be found in her, confession and the voice of singing" (721).
[28] In David:
"The habitations of the wilderness (desertum) drop, and the hills gird themselves with exultation; the meadows are clothed with flocks, and the valleys are covered with corn" (Psalm 65:12, 13).
This also is said of the church among the nations. By "the habitations of the wilderness drop (stillant)" is signified that their minds, which before were in ignorance of truth, acknowledge and receive truths, to drop being said of the influx, acknowledgment, and reception of truth; habitations denote the interiors of man's mind, and wilderness denotes a state of ignorance of truth. The hills gird themselves with exultation, signifies that goods with them receive truths with joy of heart; the meadows are clothed with flocks, and the valleys covered with corn, signifies that both the spiritual mind and the natural mind receive truths suitable to themselves, meadows signifying those things that belong to the spiritual mind, and thus to the rational, and valleys those which belong to the natural mind, while a flock signifies spiritual truth, and corn signifies natural truth.
[29] In Isaiah:
"Let them sing praise, the end of the earth, those that go down to the sea, and the fulness thereof, the islands and the inhabitants thereof; let the wilderness (desertum) and the cities thereof lift up the voice, the villages which Arabia doth inhabit; let the inhabitants of the rock sing, let them cry out from the top of the mountains" (406:5).
[30] Since the state of ignorance of truth, in which the nations were, is signified by a wilderness, a desire for truth by hunger, and instruction from the Lord by feeding, therefore, it came to pass that the Lord departed into a wilderness (desertum), taught the multitude there which sought Him, and afterwards fed them. That this took place in a wilderness can be seen in Matthew 14:13-22; 15:32-38; Mark 6:31-43; 8:1-9; Luke 9:12-17; for all things which the Lord did, and all things connected with Him, were representative, because they were correspondences, so also were these things. From these passages, and those cited above, it is evident that a wilderness (desertum) signifies such a state with man as is uncultivated and uninhabited, thus a state not yet vitalized by what is spiritual; consequently, in reference to the church, it signifies a state unvivified by truths; thus it signifies the religion of the nations, which was almost empty and void, because they did not possess the Word wherein are truths, and thus did not know the Lord, who teaches them. And because they did not possess truths, therefore their good did not differ from their truth; for good is like its truth, because the one belongs to the other. From these things it is evident what a wilderness signifies, where the nations are treated of, namely that they have no truth, and yet that they desire it in order that their good may be vivified.
[31] (III.) A wilderness also signifies the state of those who are in temptations, because in them truths and goods are shut in by the falsities and evils that rise up and come before the mind, as is evident from the wandering of the sons of Israel in the wilderness forty years; for this represented every state of the temptations into which those come who are being regenerated, and of whom a church is about to be formed. Every man is born natural, and so lives, until he becomes rational, and when he has become rational, then he can be led by the Lord, and become spiritual; and this is effected by the implantation of the knowledges of truth from the Word, and, at the same time, by the opening of the spiritual mind, which receives the things of heaven, and by the calling forth and raising up of those knowledges out of the natural man, and by the conjunction of them with the spiritual affection for truth. This opening and conjunction is possible only through temptations, because in these man interiorly fights against the falsities and evils which are in the natural man; in a word, man is brought into the church, and becomes a church, by means of temptations. These things were represented by the wandering of the sons of Israel, and by their being led about in the wilderness. The state of the natural man before he is regenerated was represented by their dwelling in the land of Egypt, for the land of Egypt signified the natural man, with its knowledges (scientifica) and cognitions, together with the desires and appetites, which reside in it, as is evident from what has been said and shown above concerning Egypt (n. 654). But the spiritual state, which is the state of the church in man, was represented by the introduction of the sons of Israel into the land of Canaan; for the land of Canaan signified the church with its truths and goods, together with its affections and delights, which reside in the spiritual man, while the reformation and regeneration of man, before he from natural becomes spiritual, and thus a church, was represented by their wanderings and journeyings in the wilderness forty years.
[32] That this is the case, and that a wilderness signified a state of temptations, is evident from the following passages in Moses:
"Thou shalt remember all the way which Jehovah thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness (desertum), that he might afflict thee, and try thee, and know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments or not; and he afflicted thee and caused thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither have thy fathers known, that he might teach thee that man doth not live by bread alone, but by every word (enuntiatum) of the mouth of Jehovah doth man live; thy raiment waxed not old upon thee, neither did thy foot swell, these forty years" (Deuteronomy 8:2, 3, 4):
"In the wilderness (desertum) which thou sawest, Jehovah thy God bore thee, as a man doth bare his son, he went before you in the way to seek you out a place, in which ye might encamp, in fire by night to show you the way, and in a cloud by day" (Deuteronomy 1:31, 33).
Jehovah, "who led thee through the great and terrible wilderness (desertum) of the serpent, of the fiery serpent, and of the scorpion, and of drought, where there were no waters; who brought thee forth waters out of the rock of flint, and fed thee with manna in the wilderness, that he might afflict and try thee, to do thee good in thy latter end" (Deuteronomy 8:15, 16).
Again:
Jehovah found Jacob "in a land of wilderness (desertum), in emptiness, in howling, in a desert (solitudo); he led him about, he instructed him, he guarded him as the pupil of the eye" (Deuteronomy 32:10).
All these particulars, and all the details related in the book of Exodus concerning the journeyings of the sons of Israel in the wilderness, from their going forth from Egypt to their entrance into the land of Canaan, depict the temptations in which the faithful are, before they become spiritual, that is, before the goods of love and of charity and their truths, constituting the
church in man, are implanted.
[33] He who knows what spiritual temptations are, knows that when a man is in them, he is so infested by evils and falsities that he scarcely knows but that he is in hell. He knows too that the Lord fights in man against temptations from within; also that He sustains him in the meantime with spiritual food and drink, which are the goods and truths of heaven; that the natural man loathes these things; that the natural man with its lusts is nevertheless thus subdued, and as it were dies; and that thus it is brought into subjection to the spiritual man; and that a man is thus reformed, and regenerated, and introduced into the church. All this is involved in what is related concerning the sons of Israel in the wilderness.
[34] But in order to make it clear that this is meant, it will be well to explain in detail some of the passages here quoted.
1. . That man in temptations is so infested by evils and falsities, that he scarcely knows but that he is in hell, is meant by "Jehovah led thee through the great and terrible wilderness of the serpent, of the fiery serpent, of the scorpion, and of drought, where there were no waters." The great and terrible wilderness signifies grievous temptations; the serpent, the fiery serpent, and the scorpion, signify evils and falsities with their persuasions proceeding from the sensual and natural man, serpents denoting evils therefrom, fiery serpents falsities therefrom, and scorpions persuasions; drought, where there were no waters, signifies a want of truth, and the interception of it. These things are also meant by the words, "that Jehovah might afflict thee, and try thee, and know what was in thine heart."
[35] 2. . That the Lord fights in man against evils and falsities from hell, is signified by Jehovah found Jacob in a wilderness, in emptiness, in howling, in a desert, He guarded him as the pupil of His eye; also by He bore him as a man doth bare his son; and by His going before them in fire by night and in a cloud by day.
3. . That the Lord sustains man in the meantime with spiritual meat and drink, which are the goods and truths of heaven, is signified by feeding them with manna, bringing forth waters for them out of the rock of flint, and by leading and instructing them, manna meaning the good of celestial love, and waters out of the rock of flint the truths of that good from the Lord.
4. . That in temptations the natural man loathes these things, is meant by the sons of Israel complaining so often of the manna, and longing for the foods of Egypt; wherefore it is here said, "Jehovah afflicted thee and caused thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna."
[36] 5. . That nevertheless the natural man with his lusts is subdued, and as it were dies, and is subject to the spiritual man, was represented by the death in the wilderness of all those who went forth out of Egypt, and desired to return thither, being unwilling to enter the land of Canaan; and by their children being introduced into that land. That such was the representation and signification of those circumstances, can be known and seen only from the spiritual sense.
6. . That man after temptations becomes spiritual, and is introduced into the church, and through the church into heaven, was represented by their being brought into the land of Canaan, for the land of Canaan signified the church, and also heaven; and this is signified by these words: "That Jehovah might afflict thee, and try thee, to do thee good in thy latter end." Their spiritual life is described by Jehovah's teaching them that man doth not live by bread alone, but by every word of the mouth of Jehovah. That their raiment waxed not old, and neither did their foot swell, signified that the natural man is not hurt by these afflictions, for garments signify the truths of the natural man, and the foot the natural man itself. Moreover forty, whether years or days, signifies the entire duration of temptations; as may be seen above (n. 633).
[37] Similar things are involved in these words in David:
"They wandered in the wilderness (desertum) in a solitary way, they found not a city of habitation, hungry and thirsty; when their soul fainted in the way, they cried out to Jehovah, he led them that they might go to a city of habitation" (Psalms 107:4-7).
This is said in general of those who have been redeemed, in particular of the sons of Israel in the wilderness; and the above words describe the temptations of such as are being regenerated by the Lord. The city of habitation which they found not, signifies the doctrine of life which constitutes the church in man; and as the church is formed in man by a life according to doctrine, when temptations have been passed through, it is said that Jehovah led them in a straight way, that they might go to a city of habitation; the want of truth even to despair, and yet desire for it, is signified by their being hungry and thirsty, and their soul fainting in the way.
[38] In Jeremiah:
"I remembered thy youth, the love of thine espousals, when thou wentest after me in the wilderness (desertum). They said not, Where is Jehovah, who caused us to come up out of the land of Egypt, who led us in the wilderness, in the land of the desert (solitudo) and of the pit, in a land of drought and of dense shade, in a land through which no man (vir) passed; and where no man (homo) dwelt; and I led you into a land of corn, to eat the fruit thereof and the good thereof" (2:2, 6, 7).
The youth and love of espousals which Jehovah remembered, signify the state of man's reformation and regeneration when from natural he becomes spiritual; since man is by this means conjoined to the Lord, and as it were espoused to Him, it is this that is meant by the love of espousals; and because this is effected by temptations, it is said, "When thou wentest after me in the wilderness" He led me in the wilderness, in the land of the desert and the pit, in a land of drought and dense shade, describes a state of temptations, a wilderness signifying that state, the land of the desert and the pit signifying that state as to the evils and falsities that come forth, while a land of drought and dense shade signifies the perception of good and the understanding of truth obscured. I led you into a land of corn, that ye might eat the fruit thereof and the good thereof, describes the state of man after temptations, which signifies introduction into the church in which there are truths of doctrine, by means of which there is an appropriation of the good of love and of charity, land signifying the church; land of corn denotes the church as to truths of doctrine, while to eat signifies to appropriate, fruit the good of love, and good the good of charity and of life.
[39] In Ezekiel:
"I will lead you out from the peoples, and will gather you from the lands, and I will lead you into the wilderness (desertum) of the peoples, and I will plead with you there face to face, even as I pleaded with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt; then will I cause you to pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant" (20:34-37).
Here also a wilderness denotes a state of temptations, which state is called the wilderness of the peoples and also the wilderness of the land of Egypt, because the state of the natural man before regeneration is meant, which, because there are then no goods and truths in it, but only evils and falsities, is a wilderness and a desert (solitudo), but when falsities and evils have been driven out therefrom, and truths and goods implanted in their place, then from being a wilderness he becomes Lebanon and a garden. To plead with them in the wilderness face to face, signifies to show them to the life and to acknowledgment of what quality they are; for in temptations the evils and falsities of man come forth and appear; face to face means to the life and to acknowledgment. That after man has endured hard things, conjunction with the Lord, which is reformation, is effected, is signified by Then will I cause you to pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bonds of the covenant, - to cause you to pass under the rod denoting to suffer hard things, and the bond of the covenant denoting conjunction with the Lord.
[40] In Hosea:
"I will visit upon her the days of the Baalim, in which she went after her lovers; therefore behold I will bring you into the wilderness (desertum), and afterwards I will speak upon her heart, and I will give her her vineyards thence, and the valley of Achor for a door of hope, and she shall answer there according to the days of her youth, and according to the days of her coming up out of the land of Egypt; and in that day thou shalt call me my husband, and shalt no more call me my Baal" (2:13-16).
The Baalim and lovers, after whom she went, signify such things as pertain to the natural man, and are loved, namely, desires and the falsities therefrom; that these must be removed by means of temptations is signified by I will bring you into the wilderness. That afterwards there will be consolation is signified by Afterwards I will speak upon her heart; that then they will have spiritual and natural truths is signified by I will give her her vineyards thence, and the valley of Achor. That afterwards they will have influx of good from heaven and consequent joy such as those had who were of the Ancient Churches, and who from natural became spiritual, is signified by She shall answer or sing there according to the days of her youth, and according to the days of her coming up out of the land of Egypt, - the days of youth signifying the times of the Ancient Church, and according to the days of her coming up out of the land of Egypt, signifying when from natural they have become spiritual. Conjunction with the Lord at that time through the affections for truth when the desires from the natural man have been rejected, is signified by In that day thou shalt call me my husband, and shalt no more call me my Baal.
[41] Since a wilderness signifies a state of temptations, and forty, whether years or days, the whole duration thereof from beginning to end, therefore the temptations of the Lord, which were the most dreadful of all, and which He sustained from childhood to the passion of the cross, are meant by the temptations of forty days in the wilderness, concerning which it is written as follows in the Evangelist:
"Jesus was led by the spirit into the wilderness (desertum), that he might be tempted of the devil; and when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he afterwards hungered; and the tempter drew near unto him" (Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 201). All these temptations of the Lord are signified by the temptations in the wilderness during forty days and forty nights, because wilderness signifies a state of temptations, and forty days and forty nights their whole duration. No more is recorded of these by the Evangelists, because thus much only was revealed concerning them; still in the prophets, and especially in the Psalms of David, they are described at length. The beasts with which the Lord is said to have been, signify infernal societies; and fasting here signifies affliction, such as exists in the combats of temptations.
[42] (IV.) A wilderness also signifies hell, because that is called a wilderness where there is no harvest or habitation, also where there are wild beasts, serpents, and dragons, which signify where there is no truth of doctrine, or good of life, consequently where there are desires (concupiscentiae) arising from evil loves, and thence falsities of every kind. And as these exist in hell, and the former in a wilderness, therefore a wilderness also signifies hell from correspondence. Moreover, the natural man in every one, so long as it is separated from the spiritual - as is the case before regeneration - is hell, because all the hereditary evil into which man is born resides in his natural man, and is cast out from it, that is, removed, only by means of the influx of Divine Truth through heaven from the Lord. And this influx into the natural man can come only through the spiritual, for the natural man is in the world, and the spiritual man in heaven, therefore the spiritual man must first be opened before the Lord out of heaven can remove the hell which is in the spiritual man.
[43] How this is removed was represented by the he-goat, called Azazel, which was cast out into the wilderness; for the he-goat from correspondence signifies the natural man, as to its affections and knowledges, and in the opposite sense, as to its desires and falsities. Of this he-goat it is written in Moses, that Aaron should take two he-goats, and cast lots upon them, one for the he-goat to be sacrificed, the other for Azazel; and after he had atoned for the tent of meeting and the altar with the blood of the sacrificed bullock and of the sacrificed he-goat, he should lay his hands upon the head of the he-goat Azazel, and confess upon it the iniquities and sins of the sons of Israel, which he should put upon the head of the he-goat, and afterwards should send him into the wilderness (desertum) by the hand of a man appointed.
"So the he-goat shall bear upon himself all the iniquities" of the sons of Israel "into a land cut off and into the wilderness; and also the skin, the flesh, and the dung of the bullock and of the sacrificed he-goat should be burned in the wilderness; thus should they be atoned for and cleansed from all their sins" (Leviticus 16:5-34).
These things were commanded in order that expiation might thereby be represented, that is, purification from evils and falsities. Two he-goats were taken to represent this, because a he-goat signified from correspondence the natural man, the he-goat that was to be sacrificed the natural man as to the part purified, and the he-goat that was to be sent into the wilderness the unpurified natural man. And this latter abounds with disorderly desires and impurities of every kind, as said above, therefore the he-goat was sent out of the camp into a land cut off and into the wilderness, that he might bear away the iniquities and sins of all in that church. A land cut off and the wilderness signify hell; Aaron's laying his hands upon its head, and confessing sins, represented communication and translation; for this comes to pass when man is purified or expiated from sins, for sins are then sent back to hell, and affections for good and truth are implanted in their place. These were represented in part by the fat from the bullock and from the other he-goat offered in sacrifice, also by their blood, and especially by the burnt-offering from the ram - concerning which see verses 5-24 in the same chapter; for the ram from correspondence signifies the natural man as to the good of charity. It must, however, be understood that the Israelitish people were not in the least purified from their sins by these things, but that simply the purification of the natural man, while he is being regenerated, was represented. All things pertaining to man's regeneration were represented by such external things, especially by sacrifices, and this was done for the sake of the conjunction of heaven with that church by means of those externals of worship, the internals which the externals represented being seen in the heavens. Who cannot see that the sins of a whole assembly could not be transferred to the he-goat, and borne by him to hell? From these details the signification of wilderness in its various senses is evident.
730. Verse 6 (707), also from the signification of "wilderness," as being where there are no truths because there is no good (of which presently); also from the signification of "fleeing" thither, as meaning to tarry among those who are not in truths because they are not in good; and as there are at the end of the church but few who are in truths from good, it signifies among a few. From this it is clear what these words involve, namely, that the New Church that is called the Holy Jerusalem, which is signified by "the woman," can as yet be instituted only with a few, by reason that the former church is become a wilderness; and the church is called a "wilderness" when there is no longer any good; and where there is no good there are no truths. When the church is such, evils and falsities reign, which hinder the reception of its doctrine, that is, the doctrine of love to the Lord and of charity towards the neighbor, with its truths; and when doctrine is not received there is no church, for the church is from doctrine.
[2] Something shall first be said of there being no truths where there is no good. By good is meant the good of the life according to the truths of doctrine from the Word. The reason is because the Lord never flows immediately into truths with man, but mediately through his good; for good is of the will, and the will is the man himself; from the will the understanding is produced and formed; for the understanding is adjoined to the will so that what the will loves the understanding sees, and also brings forth into light; consequently if the will is not in good, but is in evil, then the influx of truth from the Lord into the understanding has no effect, for it is dissipated, because it is not loved, yea, it is perverted, and the truth is falsified. From this it is clear why the Lord does not flow immediately into man's understanding except so far as the will is in good. With every man the Lord can enlighten the understanding, and thus flow in with Divine truths, since there is given to every man the ability to understand truth, and this for the sake of his reformation; nevertheless the Lord does not flow in, because truths do not remain except so far as the will has been reformed. Moreover, it is dangerous to so enlighten the understanding in truths as to produce belief except so far as the will acts as one with it; since man can then pervert, adulterate, and profane truths, which is most hurtful. Furthermore, so far as truths are known and understood and are not at the same time lived, they are nothing but lifeless truths, and lifeless truths are like statues that have no life. From this it can be seen why it is that there are no truths where there is no good, that is, not in essence but only in form.
[3] The man of the church at its end is such, because man then loves supremely such things as belong to the body and the world; and when these are loved supremely then the things pertaining to the Lord and heaven are not loved, for no one can serve two masters at the same time but that he will love the one and hate the other, since they are opposites. For from the love of the body, which is the love of self, and from the love of the world, which is the love of riches, when these are loved above all things, evils of every kind flow forth, and from evils falsities, and these are the opposites of goods and truths, which come forth from love to the Lord and from charity towards the neighbor. These few words will make clear why it is that the woman is said "to have fled into the wilderness," that is, among a few, because of being with those who are not in good, and thus not in truths.
[4] In the Word wilderness and also solitude and waste places are mentioned in many passages, and these signify the state of the church when there is no longer any truth in it because there is no good. This state of the church is called a "wilderness" because in the spiritual world the place where those dwell who are not in truths because they are not in good is like a wilderness, where there is no verdure in the plains, nor harvest in the fields, nor fruit trees in the gardens, but a barren land, parched and dry; moreover "wilderness" signifies in the Word the state of the church with the Gentiles who are in ignorance of truth, and yet are in the good of life according to their religious principle, from which they have a desire for truths. "Wilderness," signifies also in the Word the state of those who are in temptations, because in temptations goods and truths are shut in by the evils and falsities that come forth and are presented to the mind. That "wilderness" has these significations in the Word can be seen from the passages therein where "wilderness" is mentioned.
[5] In respect to the first meaning, namely, that "wilderness" means the state of the church when there is no longer any truth in it because there is no good, it is evident from the following passages. In Isaiah:
Is this the man that maketh the earth to tremble, that maketh kingdoms quake, that hath made the world a wilderness and destroyed the cities thereof? (Isaiah 14:16, 17)
This is said of Lucifer, by whom Babylon is meant, and "to make the earth to tremble, to make kingdoms quake, and make the world a wilderness," signifies to destroy all the truths and goods of the church; "the earth" meaning the church; "kingdoms" its truths; "world" its goods; and "wilderness" where these are not. "To destroy its cities" signifies its doctrinals, "city" signifying doctrine. The adulteration of the Word, whereby doctrine and thus the church is destroyed, is here signified by "Babylon. "
[6] In the same:
Upon the land of my people shall come up the thorn of the briar, yea, upon all the houses of joy in the triumphing city; for the palace shall be deserted, the multitude of the city shall be forsaken. The height and the watchtower shall be over the caves forever, a joy of wild asses, a pasture for flocks (410, where it is explained.
[7] In the same:
At My rebuke I dry up the sea, I make the rivers into a wilderness, their fish shall rot because there is no water, and shall die for thirst (Isaiah 50:2).
"To make the rivers into a wilderness," signifies to deprive the understanding of truths, thus to deprive man of intelligence. (The rest may be seen explained above, n. Jeremiah 4:26, 27).
"Carmel" signifies the spiritual church, which is in truths from good; that this was a "wilderness" signifies that there were in it no truths from good; "cities which were desolate" signify doctrinals without truths; "the whole land a waste" signifies a church destitute of good and consequently of truths.
[8] In the same:
Many shepherds have destroyed My vineyard, they have trodden down My field, they have made the field of My desire a wilderness of solitude. Devastators are come upon all the hills in the wilderness, for the sword of Jehovah devoureth from one end of the land to the other end of it (Jeremiah 12:10, 12).
The total destruction of the truths and goods of the church by falsities from evil is signified by "they have destroyed the vineyard, trodden down the field, made the field of desire a wilderness of solitude; and devastators are come upon all the hills in the wilderness, for the sword of Jehovah devoureth;" "vineyard and field" signify the church in respect to truth and good; "field of desire" signifies the church in respect to doctrine; and "wilderness of solitude" where these are not; "devastators in the wilderness" signify evils because of the absence of truths; "the sword of Jehovah devoureth" signifies falsity destroying; "from one end of the land to the other end of the land" signifies all things of the church.
[9] In Lamentations:
We get our bread with the peril of our souls, because of the sword of the wilderness (Lamentations 5:9).
"To get bread with the peril of souls" signifies the difficulty and danger in acquiring the truths of life from the Word; "because of the sword of the wilderness" signifies because the falsity of evil prevails in the church and falsifies truths and thus destroys them.
[10] In Ezekiel:
The vine is now planted in the wilderness, in a land of drought and thirst (Ezekiel 19:13).
"Vine" signifies the church, which in the beginning of this chapter is called "a mother who became a lioness;" this is said "to be planted in the wilderness" when there is no longer any truth in it because there is no good; "a land of drought" means where there is no good, but evil instead, and a "land of thirst" means where there is no truth, but falsity instead.
[11] In Hosea:
Strive with your mother that she may put away her whoredoms from her faces, lest I strip her naked and set her as in the day of her birth, and make her as a wilderness, and set her as a land of drought, and slay her with thirst (Hosea 2:2, 3).
This is said of the church that has falsified the truths of the Word; "mother" means the church, and "whoredoms" the falsifications of truth; "to strip her naked and set her as in the day of her birth" signifies to deprive the church of all truth, as it was before it was reformed; "wilderness" and "land of drought" signify a church without good; and "to slay with thirst" signifies a deprivation of truth; "thirst" is predicated of truths, because "water," which is thirsted for, means truth, and "drought" is predicated of the want of good, because it is a result of scorching.
[12] In the same:
He is fierce among the brethren; an east wind shall come, the wind of Jehovah, coming up from the wilderness, and his spring shall become dry, and his fountain shall be dried up (Hosea 13:15).
This is said of Ephraim, by whom the understanding of the Word is meant, and this is called "fierce among the brethren" when it eagerly defends falsities, and combats for them against truths; "an east wind, the wind of Jehovah," signifies the ardor of desire from a love for and pride in the destruction of truths; this is said "to come up from the wilderness" when it is from an understanding in which there are no truths from good, but only falsities from evil; such an understanding is a "wilderness" because it is empty and void; that by such ardor and pride everything of doctrine and of the Word is destroyed is signified by "his spring shall become dry and his fountain shall be dried up," "spring" meaning doctrine, and "fountain" the Word.
[13] In Joel:
O Jehovah, to thee do I cry, because the fire hath consumed the habitations of the wilderness, and the flame hath burned all the trees of the field; for the beasts of the field pant after Thee, for the streams of waters are dried up, and the fire hath consumed the habitations of the wilderness (650; "for the streams of waters are dried up, and the fire hath consumed the habitations of the wilderness" signifies that consequently there are no longer any truths and goods of life.
[14] In the same:
The day of Jehovah cometh; a fire consumeth before him, and behind him a flame kindleth; the land is as the garden of Eden before him, but behind him a wilderness of wasteness, and nothing escaped him (Joel 2:1, 3).
"The day of Jehovah" means the end of the church, called the consummation of the age, and the Lord's coming at that time. That at the end of the church the love of self and the consequent pride of self-intelligence consume all its goods and truths is signified by "a fire devoureth before him, and behind him a flame kindleth," "fire" signifying the love of self, and "flame" the pride of self-intelligence, as above. "The land is as the garden of Eden before him, but behind him a wilderness of wasteness," signifies that in the beginning, when that church was established with the ancients, there was an understanding of truth from good, but at its end falsity from evil; "the garden of Eden" signifying the understanding of truth from good and the consequent wisdom, and "wilderness of wasteness" signifying no understanding of truth from good, and consequent insanity from falsities that are from evil; "nothing escaped him" signifies that there is nothing whatever of truth from good.
[15] In Isaiah:
The land mourneth, it languisheth, Lebanon blusheth, it hath withered away, Sharon is become like a desert, Bashan is shaken out, and Carmel (Isaiah 33:9).
This, too, describes the devastation of good and the desolation of truth in the church. "Lebanon" signifies the church in respect to a rational understanding of good and truth; "Sharon," "Bashan," and "Carmel," the church in respect to the knowledges of good and truth from the natural sense of the Word; the devastation and abandonment of these is signified by "mourning," "languishing," "withering away," and "becoming like a desert," the "desert" meaning where there is no truth because there is no good.
[16] In Jeremiah:
Because the land is full of adulterers, because the land mourneth on account of cursing, the pastures of the wilderness are dried up (Jeremiah 23:10).
"The land full of adulterers" signifies the church which has its goods and truths from the Word adulterated; the "curse" on account of which the land mourneth, signifies all the evil of life and falsity of doctrine; and "the pastures of the wilderness that are dried up" signify the knowledges of good and truth from the Word; "pastures" meaning such knowledges because they nourish the mind, and "wilderness" signifies the Word when it is adulterated.
[17] In David:
Jehovah maketh rivers into a wilderness, and the springs of water into dryness, a land of fruit into saltiness, for the wickedness of them that dwell therein (Psalms 107:33, 34).
"The rivers that are made into a wilderness" signify intelligence from the understanding of truth and also of the Word in its interior sense, that has been devastated by falsities from evil; "rivers" meaning such things as belong to intelligence, and "wilderness" where these things are absent, and in their place are the falsities from evil. "The springs of water that are turned into dryness" signify that the lowest things of the understanding, which are called the knowledges of truth and good, have no light of truth or spiritual affection for it; "waters" signifying truths; "dryness" deprivation of these from the absence of light and affection, and "springs" the ultimates of truth, like the truths of the sense of the letter of the Word. "The land of fruit that shall be made into saltiness" signifies the good of love and of life deeply vastated by falsities; "saltiness" meaning the devastation of truth by falsities; and as all devastation by falsities comes from the evil of the life it is added, "for the wickedness of them that dwell therein. "
[18] In Jeremiah:
Lift up thine eyes unto the hills, and see where thou hast been defiled, upon the ways hast thou sat as an Arabian in the wilderness, whence thou hast profaned the land with thy whoredoms and thy wickedness (Jeremiah 3:2).
This describes the adulteration and falsification of the Word, which are signified by "being defiled and committing whoredom;" so "Lift up thine eyes unto the hills, and see where thou hast been defiled," signifies to give thought to the knowledges of truth and good in the Word, that they have been adulterated; "to lift up the eyes" signifies to give thought, "hills" signify those knowledges because the groves and trees that are upon them signify knowledges; "hills" signify also the goods of charity which are so destroyed; "upon the ways hast thou sat as an Arabian in the wilderness" signifies to lie in wait, lest any truth should come forth and be received; "ways" meaning the truths of the church; "to sit in them" meaning to lie in wait, and "an Arabian in the wilderness" meaning one who kills and plunders like a robber in the wilderness. "Thou hast profaned the land with thy whoredoms and wickedness" signifies the falsification of the truths of the Word by evils that have come to be of the life.
[19] In the same:
O generation, see ye the Word of Jehovah; have I been a wilderness to Israel? have I been a land of darkness? (Jeremiah 2:31)
That every good of life and truth of doctrine is taught in the Word, and not the evil of life and the falsity of doctrine, is meant by "see ye the Word of Jehovah; have I been a wilderness to Israel? have I been a land of darkness?"
[20] In Joel:
Egypt shall be a waste, and Edom a waste wilderness, because of the violence to the sons of Judah, whose innocent blood they have shed in their land (211, 433; and that "shedding innocent blood" signifies to do violence to Divine truth, thus to adulterate the truth of the Word, n. 329.) The adulteration of the Word is effected by the knowledges [scientifica] of the natural man when these are applied to confirm falsities and evils, and the natural man becomes a "waste" and a "wilderness" when his knowledges are used to confirm falsity and evil; "Egypt" signifies such knowledges, and "Edom" the pride that falsifies by means of these.
[21] In Malachi:
Esau I hated, and made his mountains a waste and his heritage for the dragons of the wilderness (Malachi 1:3).
"Esau" signifies the love of the natural man; "his mountains" signify the evils from that love, and "his heritage" signifies the falsities from those evils, and "the dragons of the desert" signify mere falsifications from which these come.
[22] Because with the Jewish nation all things of the Word had been adulterated, and there was no longer any truth because there was no good, John the Baptist was "in the wilderness," and this represented the state of that church, respecting which it is written in the Gospels:
John the Baptist was in the wilderness till the days of his appearing unto Israel (Arcana Coelestia 3900); for "Christ" means the Lord in relation to Divine truth, consequently in relation to the Word and to doctrine from the Word, and "false Christs," of whom this is said, signify the falsities of doctrine from the truths of the Word falsified. From the passages that have been cited from the Word it can be seen that "wilderness" means the church in which there are no truths because there is no good, consequently in which there is falsity because there is evil; for where there is no truth and good, there is falsity and evil; the two cannot exist together, and this is meant by the Lord's words, that "no one can serve two masters."
[23] 2. Again, "wilderness" signifies the state of the church with the Gentiles that have been in ignorance of truth, and yet have been in the good of life according to their religious principle, from which they have desired truths, as can be seen from the passages in the Word that treat of the church that is to be established among the Gentiles. In Isaiah:
The spirit shall be poured out upon you 1from on high; then the wilderness shall be a fruitful field, and the fruitful field shall be esteemed a forest; judgment shall dwell in the wilderness, and justice shall abide in the fruitful field (Isaiah 32:15, 16).
This is said of those who are in natural good, and are being reformed; influx out of heaven into such is signified by "the spirit shall be poured out upon you 2from on high;" that truth from a spiritual origin will then be implanted in them is signified by "the wilderness shall be a fruitful field;" "wilderness" meaning the natural man destitute of truths, and "fruitful field" (or land of harvest) the natural man made fruitful by truths. That in consequence the natural man will have a knowledge of the cognitions of truth and good is signified by "the fruitful field shall be esteemed a forest;" "forest" is predicated of the natural man as "garden" is of the spiritual, therefore a "forest" signifies knowledge and a "garden" intelligence; that in consequence there will be in the natural man that which is right and just is signified by "judgment shall dwell in the wilderness, and justice shall abide in the fruitful field;" "judgment" and "justice" signify in the spiritual sense truth and good, but in the natural sense that which is right and just.
[24] In the same:
I will open rivers on the heights, and fountains will I place in the midst of the valleys; I will make the wilderness into a pool of waters, and the dry land into springs of waters; I will give in the wilderness the cedar of shittah, the myrtle, and the oil tree; I will set in the solitude the fir tree, the pine, and the box tree (Isaiah 41:18, 19).
This, too, is said of the reformation and enlightenment of the Gentiles; and "to open rivers upon the heights and to place fountains in the midst of the valleys" signifies to give intelligence from spiritual truths and from natural truths; "rivers upon the heights" signifying intelligence from spiritual truths, and "fountains in the midst of valleys" intelligence from natural truths; "to make the wilderness into a pool of waters, and the dry land into springs of waters" signifies to fill the spiritual and the natural man with truths where before there were no truths; the spiritual man in which there were no truths is meant by "wilderness," since hitherto there had been no truth in it; and the natural man in which there was no truth is meant by "dry land," since hitherto there had been no spiritual influx into it; that the spiritual man will have truths in abundance is meant by "a pool of waters," and that the natural man will have truths in abundance is meant by the "springs of waters." "To set in the wilderness the cedar of shittah, the myrtle, and the oil tree" signifies to give rational truths and a perception of them, and "to set in the solitude the fir tree, the pine, and the box tree," signifies in like manner natural truths, which are knowledges and cognitions with the understanding of them; the "cedar" meaning higher rational truth; the "myrtle" lower rational truth; "oil tree" perception of good and thus of truth; "fir tree" the higher natural truth; the "pine" lower natural truth; and "box tree" the understanding of good and truth in the natural man.
[25] In David:
He maketh the wilderness into a pool of waters, and the dry land into a springing forth of waters; and there He maketh the hungry to dwell, that they may build a city of habitation (Psalms 107:35, 36).
This, likewise, is said of the enlightenment of the Gentiles. "To make the wilderness into a pool of waters" has a similar signification as just above; "and there He maketh the hungry to dwell" signifies for the sake of those who desire truths; these are meant by "the hungry and famished" in the Word; "that they may build a city of habitation" signifies that out of truths they may make for themselves a doctrine of life, "city" meaning doctrine, and "to inhabit" meaning to live.
[26] In Isaiah:
Behold, I am doing a new thing, now it shall spring forth; I will even place a way in the wilderness, rivers in the solitude; the wild beast of the field shall honor Me, the dragons and the daughters of the owl, because I will give waters in the wilderness, rivers in the solitude, to give drink to My people, My chosen (518.
[27] In the same:
Jehovah will comfort Zion, He will comfort all her waste places, and He will make her wilderness as Eden, and her solitude like the garden of Jehovah; joy and gladness will be found therein, confession and the voice of singing (721)
[28] In David:
The habitations of the wilderness drop, and the hills gird themselves with exultation; the meadows are clothed with flocks, and the valleys are covered over with corn (Psalms 65:12, 13).
This, also, is said of the church among the Gentiles. "The habitations of the wilderness drop" signifies that their minds that before have been in ignorance of truth acknowledge and receive truths; "to drop" is predicated of the influx, acknowledgment and reception of truth; "habitations" are predicated of the interiors of man which belong to his mind, and "wilderness" is predicated of a state of the ignorance of truth. "The hills gird themselves with exultation" signifies that the goods in them receive truths with joy of heart; "the meadows are clothed with flocks, and the valleys are covered over with corn," signifies that both the spiritual mind and the natural mind receive truths suitable to themselves; "meadows" signifying such things as belong to the spiritual mind and thus to the rational mind, and "valleys" such as belong to the natural mind; "flock" spiritual truth, and "corn" natural truth.
[29] In Isaiah:
Let them sing praise, the end of the earth, those that go down to the sea, and its fullness, the islands and the inhabitants thereof. Let the wilderness and the cities thereof lift up the voice, the villages that Arabia doth inhabit; let the inhabitants of the rock sing, let them cry out from the head of the mountains (406)
[30] Since the state of ignorance of truth, in which the Gentiles have been, is signified by a "wilderness," and the desire for truth by "hunger," and instruction by the Lord by "feeding," it came to pass that the Lord withdrew into the wilderness, and there taught the multitude that sought Him, and afterwards fed them. (That this took place in the wilderness can be seen in Matthew 14:13-22; 15:32-38; Mark 6:31-34; 8:1-9; Luke 9:12-17.) For all things that the Lord did and all things connected with Him were representative because they were correspondences, so also were these things. From these and the passages cited above it is evident that a "wilderness" signifies an uncultivated and uninhabited state with man, thus a state not yet made vital from what is spiritual, consequently, as applied to the church, a state not vivified by means of truths; thus it signifies such a religious principle as the Gentiles had, which was almost empty and void, because they did not have the Word where truths are, and thence did not know the Lord who teaches truths; and as they did not have truths, their good also could be no otherwise than such as the truth was with them, for good is like its truth, because one is of the other. From this it can be seen what "wilderness" signifies where the Gentiles are treated of, namely, where there is no truth and yet a desire for it that their good may be vivified.
[31] 3. Again, "wilderness" signifies the state of those who are in temptations, because in them truths and goods are shut in by the falsities and evils that come forth and are presented to the mind. This can be seen from the wandering of the sons of Israel in the wilderness forty years; for this represented every state of temptations into which those come who are being regenerated, and of whom the church is to consist. Every man is born natural, and lives naturally until he becomes rational; and when he has become rational he can be led by the Lord and become spiritual; and this is effected by the implanting of the knowledges of truth from the Word, and at the same time by the opening of the spiritual mind which receives the things of heaven, and by calling forth these knowledges and elevating them out of the natural man and conjoining them with the spiritual affection of truth. This opening and conjunction is possible only through temptations, because in temptations man fights interiorly against the falsities and evils that are in the natural man. In a word, man is introduced into the church and becomes a church through temptations. This was represented by the wandering and leading about of the sons of Israel in the wilderness. The state of the natural man before he is regenerated was represented by their sojourning in the land of Egypt, for "the land of Egypt" signified the natural man and its knowledges and cognitions, together with the cupidities and appetites that reside in it (as can be seen from what has been said and shown above respecting Egypt, n. 654. But the spiritual state, which is the state of the church with man, was represented by the introduction of the sons of Israel into the land of Canaan, for "the land of Canaan" signified the church with its truths and goods, together with its affections, and delights, which reside in such a man; while the reformation and regeneration of man before from being natural he becomes spiritual and thus a church, was represented by their wanderings and journeyings in the wilderness forty years.
[32] That this is so, and that "the wilderness" signified a state of temptations, can be seen in Moses:
Thou shalt remember all the way which Jehovah thy God hath led thee these forty years in the wilderness, that He might afflict thee and try thee, and know what was in thine heart whether thou wouldst keep His commandments or no; and He afflicted thee and made thee to hunger, and made thee to eat manna, which thou knewest not neither did thy fathers know; that He might teach thee that man doth not live by bread only, but by all that goeth forth from the mouth of Jehovah doth man live; thy raiment waxed not old upon thee, and thy foot swelled not, these forty years (Deuteronomy 8:2-4).
In the same:
In the wilderness which thou sawest, Jehovah thy God bare thee as a man doth bear his son. He went before you in the way, to seek for you a place in which ye might encamp, in fire by night to show you the way, and in the cloud by day (Deuteronomy 1:31, 33).
In the same:
Jehovah, who led thee through the great and fearful wilderness of the serpent, of the fiery serpent and of the scorpion, and of thirst, where there were no waters; who brought thee forth waters out of the rock of flint, and fed thee with manna in the wilderness, that He might afflict thee and try thee, to do thee good in thy latter end (Deuteronomy 8:15, 16).
In the same:
Jehovah found Jacob in a land of wilderness, in an emptiness, a howling, a solitude; He led him about, He instructed him, He guarded him as the pupil of the eye (Deuteronomy 32:10).
The particulars here mentioned, and all the particulars related in the book of Exodus respecting the journeyings of the sons of Israel in the wilderness, from their going forth from Egypt to their entrance into the land of Canaan, depict the temptations that the faithful encounter before they become spiritual, that is before the goods of love and charity with their truths are implanted, which constitute the church with man.
[33] He who knows what spiritual temptations are knows that when a man is in them he is so infested by evils and falsities as scarcely to know otherwise than that he is in hell; he knows, too, that the Lord with man fights against temptations from the interior; as also that He sustains man in the meantime with spiritual food and drink, which are the goods and truths of heaven; that the natural man loathes these; that nevertheless the natural man with his lusts is thus subdued and as it were dies; and that he is thus brought into subjection to the spiritual man; and that man is thus reformed and regenerated and introduced into the church. All this is involved in what is related respecting the sons of Israel in the wilderness. But to make clear that this is meant it is allowed to explain some of the particulars in the passages quoted.
[34] 1. That man in temptations is so infested by evils and falsities as scarcely to know otherwise than that he is in hell is meant by "Jehovah led thee through the great and fearful wilderness of the serpent, of the fiery serpent, of the scorpion, and of thirst, where there were no waters;" "the great and fearful wilderness" signifies grievous temptations; "the serpent, the fiery serpent, and the scorpion," signify evils and falsities with their persuasions coming forth from the sensual and natural man; "serpents" meaning evils therefrom, "fiery serpents" falsities therefrom, and "scorpions" persuasions; "thirst where there were no waters" signifies a lack and shutting off of truth. The above is meant also by "Jehovah afflicted thee and tried thee, that He might know what was in thine heart."
[35] 2. That the Lord with man fights against evils and falsities that are from hell is signified by "Jehovah found Jacob in a wilderness, in emptiness, a howling, a solitude, He guarded him as the pupil of His eye;" also by "He bare him as a man doth bear his son;" also by "He went before them in fire by night and in the cloud by day."
3. That the Lord sustains man in the meantime with spiritual food and drink, which are the goods and truths of heaven, is signified by "He fed them with manna, He brought them forth waters out of the rock of flint, and He led them and instructed them;" "manna" meaning the good of celestial love, and "waters out of the rock of flint" the truths of that good from the Lord.
4. That in temptations the natural man loathes those things is meant by the sons of Israel so often complaining of the manna, and lusting after the food of Egypt; therefore it is here said, "Jehovah afflicted thee and caused thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna."
[36] 5. That nevertheless the natural man with his lusts is subdued and as it were dies and becomes subject to the spiritual man, was represented by the death in the wilderness of all those that went forth out of Egypt and desired to return thither, and refused to enter into the land of Canaan, and that their children were brought into that land. That this represented and signified such things can be known and seen only from the spiritual sense.
6. That after temptations man becomes spiritual, and is brought into the church, and through the church into heaven, was represented by their being brought into the land of Canaan, for "the land of Canaan" signified the church, and also heaven; and this is signified by "Jehovah afflicted thee and tried thee, to do thee good in thy latter end."
Their spiritual life is described by Jehovah's teaching them that "man doth not live by bread only, but by everything going forth from the mouth of Jehovah." That "their raiment waxed not old and their foot swelled not" signifies that the natural man was not injured by these afflictions, for "raiment" signifies the truths of the natural man, and the "foot" the natural man itself. Moreover "forty," whether years or days, signifies the entire duration of temptations (See above, n. 633).
[37] Like things are involved in these words in David:
They wandered in the wilderness in loneliness of life, 1they found no city of habitation, hungry and thirsty; when their soul was disheartened in the way, they cried to Jehovah. He led them in a way of straightness, 2that they might go to a city of habitation (Psalms 107:4-7).
This was said in general of those who have been redeemed, and in particular of the sons of Israel in the wilderness, and these words describe the temptations of those who are being regenerated by the Lord. "The city of habitation which they found not" signifies the doctrine of life which constitutes the church in man; and as the church is formed in man by a life according to doctrine, when temptations have been passed through, it is said that "Jehovah led them in a way of straightness that they might go to a city of habitation;" the lack of truth even to despair, and yet desire for it, is signified by "they were hungry and thirsty, so that their soul was disheartened in the way."
[38] In Jeremiah:
I remembered thy youth, the love of thine espousals, when thou wentest after Me in the wilderness. They said not, Where is Jehovah, who made us to come up out of the land of Egypt, who led us in the wilderness, in the land of solitude and of the pit, in a land of drought and of dense shade, in a land through which no man [vir] passed, and where no man [homo] dwelt? And I led you into a land of grain, to eat the fruit thereof and the good thereof (Jeremiah 2:2, 6, 7).
The "youth" and "love of espousals" that Jehovah remembered signify the state of man's reformation and regeneration, when from being natural he becomes spiritual; because man is thereby conjoined to the Lord, and as it were espoused to Him, this is what is meant by the "love of espousals;" and because this is effected through temptations it is said, "When thou wentest after Me in the wilderness;" the state of temptations is described by "He led me in the wilderness, in a land of solitude and of the pit, in a land of drought and dense shade;" "wilderness" signifying that state; "land of solitude and of the pit" signifying that state in respect to the evils and falsities that come forth, and the "land of drought and dense shade" signifying the perception of good and the understanding of truth obscured. The state of man after temptations is described by "I led you into a land of grain, to eat the fruit thereof and the good thereof," which signifies to be brought into the church in which are the truths of doctrine, by means of which the good of love and of charity are appropriated; "land" signifying the church; "the land of grain" the church in respect to the truths of doctrine; "to eat" to appropriate; "fruit" the good of love, and "good" the good of charity and of life.
[39] In Ezekiel:
I will lead you out from the peoples, and will gather you from the lands, and I will lead you into a wilderness of peoples, and I will plead with you there face to face, even as I pleaded with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt; then will I cause you to pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant (Ezekiel 20:34-37).
Here again "wilderness" stands for a state of temptations, which state is called "a wilderness of peoples" and "the wilderness of the land of Egypt," because the state of the natural man before regeneration is meant, which is a wilderness and a solitude because there are then no goods and truths in it, but only evils and falsities; but when falsities and evils have been exterminated therefrom, and truths and goods have been implanted in their place, from being a wilderness it becomes "Lebanon" and a "garden." "To plead with them in the wilderness face to face" signifies to show them to the life of what quality they are and in a way that they acknowledge it; for in temptations man's evils and falsities come forth and appear; "face to face" means to the life and so as to be acknowledged. That after man has endured hard things, conjunction with the Lord, which is reformation, takes place, is signified by "then will I cause you to pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bonds of the covenant;" "to cause to pass under the rod" meaning to endure hard things, and "the bond of the covenant" meaning conjunction with the Lord.
[40] In Hosea:
I will visit upon her the days of the Baalim, in which she went after her lovers. Therefore behold, I will bring you 3into the wilderness, and afterwards I will speak upon her heart, and I will give her her vineyards thence, and the valley of Achor for an entrance of hope, and she shall make answer there according to the days of her youth, and according to the days of her coming up out of the land of Egypt; and in that day thou shalt call Me, my Husband, and shalt no more call Me, my Baal (Hosea 2:13-16).
The "Baalim" and "lovers," after whom she went, signify the things that belong to the natural man and are loved, namely, cupidities and falsities therefrom; that these must be removed by means of temptations is signified by "I will bring you 3into the wilderness;" that afterwards there will be consolation is signified by "afterwards I will speak upon her heart;" that they will then have spiritual and natural truths is signified by "I will give her vineyards thence and the valley of Achor." That afterwards they will have influx of good out of heaven and consequent joy, as those had who were of the ancient churches and who from natural had become spiritual, is signified by "she shall make answer or sing there according to the days of her youth, and according to the days of her coming up out of the land of Egypt," "days of youth" signifying the times of the ancient church, and "according to the days of her coming up out of Egypt," signifying when from natural they became spiritual. Conjunction with the Lord at that time through the affections of truth, when the cupidities from the natural man have been rejected, is signified by "in that day thou shalt call Me, my Husband, and thou shalt no more call Me, my Baal."
[41] As a "wilderness" signifies a state of temptations, and "forty," whether years or days, their whole duration from beginning to end, therefore the temptations of the Lord, which were the most direful of all, and which He sustained from childhood to the passion of the cross, are signified by the temptations of the forty days in the desert, which are thus described in the Gospels:
Jesus was led by the spirit into the wilderness, to be tempted of the devil; and when He had fasted forty days and forty nights He afterwards hungered; and the tempter drew near unto Him (201.) All these temptations of the Lord are signified by the temptations in the wilderness forty days and forty nights, since the "wilderness" signifies a state of temptations, and "forty days and forty nights" the whole duration of these. No more was written respecting these in the Gospels because no more was revealed respecting them; nevertheless in the prophets, and especially in the psalms of David, they are described at length. "The beasts" with which the Lord is said to have been, signify the infernal societies; and "fasting" signifies here such affliction as there is in the combats of temptation.
[42] 4. Again, "wilderness" also signifies hell, because that is called a wilderness where there is no harvest or habitation, likewise where there are wild beasts, serpents, and dragons, which signify where there is no truth of doctrine or good of life, consequently where there are lusts from evil loves, and falsities therefrom of every kind; and as these are in hell and the former in a wilderness, so from correspondences the "wilderness" also signifies hell. Moreover, the natural man with everyone, so long as it is separated from the spiritual, as it is before regeneration, is a hell, because all the hereditary evil into which man is born resides in his natural man, and is not cast out from it, that is, removed, except by the influx of Divine truth through heaven from the Lord; and this influx into the natural man can come only through the spiritual, for the natural man is in the world and the spiritual in heaven; therefore the spiritual man must be opened before the hell that is in the natural man can be removed by the Lord out of heaven.
[43] How this is removed was represented by the he-goat called Azazel that was cast out into the desert; for the "he-goat" from correspondence signifies the natural man in respect to his affections and knowledges, and in the contrary sense in respect to his cupidities and falsities. Of this he-goat we read thus in Moses:
That Aaron should take two he-goats and cast lots upon them, one for the he-goat to be sacrificed, the other for Azazel; and after he had expiated the Tent of meeting and the altar with the blood of the sacrificed bullock and of the sacrificed he-goat, he should lay his hands upon the head of the he-goat Azazel, and should confess upon it the iniquities and sins of the sons of Israel; which he shall put upon the head of the he-goat, and afterwards should send him by the hand of a man appointed into the wilderness. So the he-goat shall bear upon him all the iniquities of the sons of Israel into the land cut off and into the wilderness; and the skin, the flesh, and the dung of the bullock and of the sacrificed he-goat should be burned in the wilderness; thus should they be expiated and cleansed from all their sins (Leviticus 16:5-34).
These things were commanded to represent expiation, that is, purification from evils and falsities. Two he-goats were taken to represent this, because a "he-goat" from correspondence signifies the natural man; the he-goat that was to be sacrificed represented the natural man in reference to the part purified, and the he-goat that was to be sent into the wilderness the natural man not purified. And as the natural man swarms with cupidities and uncleanness of every kind, as has been said above, therefore that he-goat was sent out of the camp into a land cut off and into the wilderness that he might bear away the iniquities and sins of all in that church; "the land cut off and the wilderness" signifying hell. Aaron laying his hands upon its head and confessing the sins represented communication and transference, for this is done when man is purified or expiated from sins, for the sins are then sent down to hell, and the affections of good and truth are implanted in their place; these were represented in part by the fat sacrificed from the bullock and from the other he-goat, also by their blood, and especially by the burnt offering from the ram (respecting which see verses 5-24 in the same chapter) Leviticus 16:5-24, for the "ram" from correspondence signifies the natural man in respect to the good of charity. But it is to be known that the Israelitish people were not in the least purified from their sins by this, but the purification of the natural man when he was being regenerated was thus merely represented. All things of man's regeneration were represented by such external things, especially by sacrifices; and this was done for the sake of the conjunction of heaven with that church through the externals of worship, the internals that the externals represented being seen in the heavens. Who cannot see that the sins of the whole congregation could not be transferred to a he-goat and borne by him to hell? From this it is evident what is signified by "wilderness" in its various senses.
Footnotes:
1. The Hebrew has "in loneliness of way," as found also in Arcana Coelestia 2708.
3. The Hebrew has "a straight way," as found also in 223.
3. The Hebrew has "her," as found in Arcana Coelestia 2708.
730. [Vers. 6.] "Et mulier fugit in desertum." - Quod significet ecclesiam inter paucos, quia apud illos qui non in bono sunt et inde nec in veris, constat e, significatione "mulieris", quod sit ecclesia (de qua supra, n. 707); et ex significatione "deserti", quod sit ubi non vera sunt quia non bonum (de qua sequitur); et ex significatione "fugere illuc", quod sit commorari apud illos qui non in veris sunt, quia non in bono; et quia in fine ecclesiae pauci sunt qui in veris ex bono sunt, significatur inter paucos. Ex his constare potest quid illa verba involvunt, nempe quod Nova Ecclesia, quae Sancta Hierosolyma vocatur, quae per "mulierem" significatur, non adhuc institui posset, nisi apud paucos, ex causa quia prior ecclesia desertum facta est; et ecclesia vocatur "desertum" cum non bonum amplius; et ubi non bonum est, ibi nec sunt vera; et cum ecclesia talis est, tunc regnant mala et falsa, quae obstant, quin doctrina ejus, quae est doctrina amoris in Dominum et charitatis erga proximum, cum veris suis recipiatur; et cum doctrina non recipitur, non ecclesia est, nam ecclesia est ex doctrina.
[2] Primum aliquid dicetur de eo, quod non vera sint ubi non bonum: per bonum intelligitur bonum vitae secundum vera doctrinae ex Verbo; causa est, quia Dominus nusquam immediate influit in vera apud hominem, sed mediate per bonum ejus; bonum enim voluntatis ejus est, et voluntas est ipse homo; ex voluntate producitur et formatur intellectus, nam intellectus adjunctus est voluntati, ut quod voluntas amat intellectus videat, et quoque proferat in lucem; quare si voluntas non in bono est, sed in malo, tunc influxus veri a Domino in intellectum non conducit, nam dissipatur, quia non amatur, immo pervertitur, et verum falsificatur; ex eo patet cur Dominus non immediate influat in intellectum hominis, nisi quantum voluntas in bono est. Potest Dominus intellectum apud unumquemvis hominem illustrare, et sic cum Divinis veris influere, quoniam omni homini data est facultas intelligendi verum et hoc propter reformationem ejus; sed usque non influit, quoniam non manent vera, nisi quantum voluntas reformata est. Illustrare intellectum veris usque ad fidem, nisi quantum voluntas unum agit, etiam periculosum est; potest enim homo tunc vera pervertere, adulterare et profanare, quod damnosissimum est: praeterea vera quatenus sciuntur et intelliguntur, et non simul vivuntur, non sunt nisi quam vera inanimata; ac vera inanimata sunt quasi statuae quae absque vita. Ex his constare potest, unde est, quod non vera sint ubi non bonum, nisi quoad formam et non quoad essentiam.
[3] Quod talis sit homo ecclesiae in fine ejus, est quia tunc super omnia amat talia quae corporis et quae mundi sunt; et cum haec super omnia amantur, tunc illa quae Domini et quae caeli sunt, non amantur, nemo enim simul servire potest duobus dominis, quin unum amet, et alterum odio habeat; sunt enim opposita: ex amore enim corporis, qui est amor sui, et ex amore mundi, qui est amor divitiarum, quando super omnia amantur, profluunt omnia mala, et ex malis falsa, quae opposita sunt bonis et veris, quae ex amore in Dominum et ex amore erga proximum proveniunt: ex his paucis constare potest, unde est quod mulier dicatur "fugisse in desertum", hoc est, inter paucos, quia apud illos qui non in bono, et inde nec in veris sunt.
[4] In Verbo in plurimis locis dicitur "desertum", et quoque "solitudo" et "vastitas", et per illa significatur status ecclesiae, quando ibi non aliquod verum amplius est quia non bonum: quod ille status ecclesiae "desertum" dicatur, est quia in mundo spirituali, ubi commorantur illi qui non in veris sunt quia non in bono, est sicut desertum, ubi non viride in campis, nec messis in agris, nec arbor fructus in hortis, sed terra sterilis, arida et sicca: praeterea per "desertum" in Verbo significatur status ecclesiae apud gentes, quae in ignorantia veri sunt, et usque in bono vitae secundum suum religiosum, ex quo desiderant vera: et quoque per "desertum" in Verbo significatur status illorum qui in tentationibus sunt, quia in his bona et vera interclusa sunt per mala et falsa quae emergunt, et animo obversantur. Quod illa et haec per "desertum" in Verbo significentur, constare potest ex locis ibi, ubi "desertum" dicitur.
[5] Quod primum attinet, nempe quod per "desertum" intelligatur status ecclesiae quando ibi non aliquod verum amplius, quia non bonum, constat ex sequentibus:
- Apud Esaiam,
"Num hic vir commovens terram, tremefaciens regna, posuit orbem in desertum, et urbes ejus destruxit?" (14:16, 17):
haec de Lucifero, per quem intelligitur Babel; et per "commovere terram, tremefacere regna, et ponere orbem in desertum", significatur destruere omnia ecclesiae vera et bona; "terra" est ecclesia, "regna" sunt vera ejus, "orbis" sunt bona ejus, ac "desertum" est quando illa non sunt: per "urbes ejus destruere" significantur doctrinalia; "urbs" significat doctrinam: adulteratio Verbi, per quam doctrina et inde ecclesia destruitur, hic significatur per "Babelem."
[6] Apud eundem,
"Super terra populi mei spina sentis ascendit, 1
quia super omnibus domibus laetitiae, urbe hilari; nam palatium erit desertum, multitudo urbis derelicta: clivus et specula erit super speluncis in aeternum, gaudium onagrorum, pascuum gregum" (32:13, 14):
"super terra populi mei spina sentis ascendit" significat falsum mali in ecclesia; "spina sentis" est falsum mali, "terra" est ecclesia: "super omnibus domibus laetitiae, urbe hilari", significat ubi bona et vera doctrinae ex Verbo cum affectione recepta sunt: quid autem significatur per quod "palatium erit desertum, multitudo urbis derelicta, clivus et specula super speluncis, gaudium onagrorum, pascuum gregum", videatur supra (n. 410 [c]), ubi explicata sunt.
[7] Apud eundem,
"Per increpationem meam exsicco mare, pono fluvios in desertum, putrescet piscis illorum, eo quod non sit aqua, et moriatur siti" (50:2):
per "ponere fluvios in desertum" significatur intellectum deprivare veris, ita hominem intelligentia. (Reliqua videantur supra, n. 342 [c] . explicata.) Apud Jeremiam,
"Vidi cum ecce Carmel desertum, et omnes urbes desolatae sunt coram Jehovah, .... vastitas erit tota terra" (4:26, 27):
per "Carmelem" significatur ecclesia spiritualis quae in veris ex bono est; quod illa "desertum", significat quod ibi non vera ex bono; per "urbes" quae "desolatae" significantur doctrinalia absque veris; per "totam terram" quae "vastitas" significatur ecclesia quod absque bono et inde absque veris.
[8] Apud eundem,
"Pastores multi perdiderunt vineam meam, conculcarunt agrum meum, redegerunt agrum desiderii mei in desertum solitudinis; .... super omnes colles in deserto venerunt vastatores, quia gladius Jehovae devorans a fine terrae ad finem" ejus (12:10, 12):
quod vera et bona ecclesiae prorsus destructa sint per falsa ex malo, significatur per quod "perdiderint vineam, conculcaverint agrum, redegerint agrum desiderii in desertum solitudinis", et quod "super omnes colles in deserto venerint vastatores, quia gladius Jehovae devorans"; "vinea et ager" significant ecclesiam quoad verum et bonum, "ager desiderii" illam quoad doctrinam, "desertum solitudinis" significat ubi illa non; "vastatores in deserto" significant mala ex non veris, "gladius Jehovae devorans" significat falsum destruens, "a fine terrae ad finem terrae" significat omnia ecclesiae.
[9] In Threnis,
"Cum periculo animarum nostrarum adducimus panem nostrum propter gladium deserti" (5:9):
"cum periculo animarum adducere panem" significat difficultatem et discrimen comparandi sibi vera vitae ex Verbo; "propter gladium deserti" significat propter falsum mali regnans in ecclesia, falsificans vera et sic destruens illa.
[10] Apud Ezechielem,
Vitis "nunc plantata est in deserto, in terra ariditatis et sitis" (19:13):
per "vitem" significatur ecclesia, quae in principio capitis vocatur "mater, quae facta leaena": "plantata in deserto" dicitur cum in illa non amplius verum quia non bonum; "terra ariditatis" est non bonum sed loco ejus malum; et "terra sitis" est non verum sed loco ejus falsum.
[11] Apud Hoscheam,
"Contendite cum matre vestra, .... ut removeat scortationes suas a faciebus suis, .... ne forte exuam eam nudam, et sistam eam secundum diem pari ejus, et ponam eam sicut desertum, et disponam eam sicut terram ariditatis, et occidam eam per sitim" (2:2, 3):
haec de ecclesia quae falsificavit vera Verbi; "mater" est ecclesia, et "scortationes" sunt falsificationes veri: deprivare illam omni vero sicut fuit antequam reformata, significatur per "exuere nudam", et "sistere illam secundum diem pari ejus": ecclesia absque bono significatur per "desertum" et "terram ariditatis", et deprivatio veri per "occidere siti"; "sitis" dicitur de veris, quia "aqua" quae sititur est verum; et "ariditas" dicitur de carentia boni, quia ex adustione.
[12] Apud eundem,
"Ille inter fratres ferox est, veniet eurus ventus Jehovae, a deserto ascendens, et exarescet scaturigo ejus, et exsiccabitur fons ejus" (13:15):
haec de Ephraimo, per quem intelligitur intellectus Verbi; qui "inter fratres ferox" dicitur, quando falsa animose defendit, ac pro illis contra vera pugnat: per "eurum ventum Jehovae" significatur ardor cupiditatis ex amore et fastu destruendi vera; qui "ex deserto ascendere" dicitur, quando ex intellectu in quo non sunt vera ex bono sed falsa ex malo; talis intellectus est "desertum", quia inanis et vacuus: quod ex ardore et fastu illo destruatur omne doctrinae et omne Verbi, significatur per "Exarescet scaturigo ejus et exsiccabitur fons ejus"; "scaturigo" est doctrina, et "fons" est Verbum.
[13] Apud Joelem,
"Ad Te, Jehovah, clamo; quia ignis comedit habitacula deserti, et flamma deflagravit omnes arbores agri; quia bestiae agri 2
glocitavit ad Te, quia exsiccati sunt rivi aquarum, et ignis comedit habitacula deserti" (1:19, 20):
"ignis comedit habitacula deserti, et flamma deflagravit omnes arbores agri", significat quod amor sui et fastus propriae intelligentiae consumpserit omnem perceptionem boni et omnem intellectum veri doctrinae ex sensu litterae Verbi; "ignis" significat amorem sui, et "flamma" fastum propriae intelligentiae, "habitacula deserti" significant bona doctrinae ex sensu litterae Verbi, et "arbores agri" cognitiones veri ejus; ille sensus vocatur "desertum" quando modo naturaliter, ita secundum apparentias, et non simul spiritualiter, ita secundum sensum genuinum, intelliguntur: "bestiae agri glocitant ad Te" significat lamentationes illorum qui naturales sunt, et usque desiderant vera; (quod "bestiae" significent affectiones naturalis hominis, videatur supra, n. 650): "quia exsiccati sunt rivi aquarum, et ignis comedit habitacula deserti", significat quod non sint vera et bona vitae inde amplius.
[14] Apud eundem,
"Venit dies Jehovae; .... ante eum comedit ignis, et post eum deflagrat flamma; sicut hortus Eden terra ante eum, sed post eum desertum vastitatis, neque ereptio facta illi" (2 [1,] 3):
per "diem Jehovae" intelligitur finis ecclesiae, qui vocatur consummatio saeculi, et tunc adventus Domini; quod in fine ecclesiae amor sui et inde fastus propriae intelligentiae consumat omnia bona et vera ecclesiae, significatur per "Ante eum comedit ignis, et post eum deflagrat flamma"; "ignis" significat amorem sui, "flamma" fastum propriae intelligentiae (ut supra): "sicut hortus Eden terra ante eum, sed post eum desertum vastitatis", significat quod in principio, quando ecclesia illa apud antiquos instaurata fuit, intellectus veri ex bono fuerit, sed in fine, falsum ex malo; "hortus Eden" significat intellectum veri ex bono et inde sapientiam, et "desertum vastitatis" significat nullum intellectum veri ex bono, et inde insaniam ex falsis quae ex malo: "non ereptio facta illi" significat quod ne hilum veri ex bono.
[15] Apud Esaiam,
"Luget, languescit terra, erubuit Libanus, emarcuit, factus est Scharon sicut desertum, excussus est Baschan atque Carmel" (33:9):
per haec quoque describitur devastatio boni et desolatio veri in ecclesia; per "Libanum" significatur ecclesia quoad rationalem intellectum boni et veri; per "Scharonem", "Baschanem" et "Carmelem", illa quoad cognitiones boni et veri ex Verbi sensu naturali; quarum devastatio et desolatio significatur per "lugere", "languescere", "emarcescere", et "fieri sicut desertum"; "desertum" est ubi non verum quia non bonum.
[16] Apud Jeremiam,
"Quia adulteris plena est terra, quia propter maledictionem luget terra, exaruerunt pascua deserti" (23:10):
per "terram adulteris plenam" significatur ecclesia, in qua bona et vera ejus ex Verbo adulterata sunt; per "maledictionem", propter quam luget terra, significatur omne malum vitae et falsum doctrinae; et per "pascua deserti", quae exaruerunt, significantur cognitiones boni et veri ex Verbo; "pascua" sunt illae cognitiones quia animum alunt, et "desertum" est Verbum cum adulteratum est.
[17] Apud Davidem,
Jehovah "ponit fluvios in desertum, et exitus aquarum in siccitatem, terram fructus in salsuginem, ob malitiam habitantium in ea" (Psalms 107:33, 34):
per "fluvios qui ponuntur in desertum" significatur intelligentia ex intellectu veri, et quoque Verbi quoad sensum interiorem ejus, devastata per falsa ex malo; "fluvii" sunt talia quae intelligentiae, et "desertum" ubi non illa, sed loco eorum falsa ex malo: per "exitus aquarum" qui "ponuntur in siccitatem" significatur quod ultima intellectus, quae cognitiones veri et boni vocantur, sint absque omni luce et affectione spirituali veri; "aquae" significant vera, "siccitas" deprivationem eorum ex non luce et affectione, et "exitus" ultima eorum, qualia sunt vera sensus litterae Verbi: per "terram fructus" quae "ponetur in salsuginem" significatur bonum amoris et vitae profunde vastatum per falsa; "salsugo" est devastatio veri per falsa: et quia omnis devastatio per falsa est ex malo vitae, ideo additur, "ob malitiam habitantium in ea."
[18] Apud Jeremiam,
"Tolle oculos tuos ad colles, et vide ubi [non] stuprata es; super viis sedisti sicut Arabs in deserto; unde profanasti terram scortationi bus tuis et malitia tua" (3:2):
per haec quoque describitur adulteratio et falsificatio Verbi; per "stuprari" et "scortari" illae significantur: inde "Tolle oculos ad colles, et vide ubi [non] stuprata es", significat animadvertere ad cognitiones veri et boni in Verbo, quod adulteratae; "tollere oculos" significat animadvertere; "colles" significant cognitiones illas, propter lucos et arbores quae super illis, per quas illae significantur; etiam per "colles" significantur bona charitatis quae sic destructa: "super viis sedisti sicut Arabs in deserto" significat insidiari ne aliquod verum prodeat et recipiatur; "viae" sunt vera ecclesiae, "sedere in illis" est insidiari, et "Arabs in deserto" est qui sicut latro in deserto occidit et deprivat: "profanasti terram scortationibus et malitia" significat falsificationem veritatum Verbi ex malis quae facta sunt vitae.
[19] Apud eundem,
"O generatio, vos videte Verbum Jehovae; num desertum fui Israeli? num terra tenebrarum?" (2:31):
quod omne bonum vitae et verum doctrinae doceatur in Verbo, et non malum vitae ac falsum, intelligitur per "Videte Verbum Jehovae num desertum fui Israeli num terra tenebrarum?"
[3] 19 3
):
per "Aegyptum" et per "Edomum" significatur naturalis homo, qui perverterat vera et bona Verbi; quod ille destruendus sit, ut non videat nisi talia per quae confirmet illa, significatur per quod "Aegyptus erit in vastitatem, et Edom in desertum vastitatis": quod id propter adulterationem omnis boni et veri in Verbo, significatur per "propter violentiam filiorum Jehudae, quorum fuderunt sanguinem innocentem"; per "violentiam filiorum Jehudae" significatur adulteratio Verbi quoad bonum, et per "effusionem sanguinis innocentis" significatur adulteratio Verbi quoad vera ejus: (quod "Jehudah" significet ecclesiam caelestem, et quoque Verbum, videatur supra, n. 211, 433 [c] ; et quod "effundere sanguinem innocentem" significet violentiam inferre Divino Vero, ita adulterare verum Verbi, n. 329): adulteratio Verbi fit per scientifica naturalis hominis quando illa applicantur ad confirmandum falsa et mala, et is fit "vastitas" et "desertum" quando scientifica ejus fiunt confirmationes falsi et mali; "Aegyptus" significat scientifica illa, et "Edom" fastum qui per illa falsificat.
[21] Apud Malachiam,
"Esavum odio habui, et posui montes ejus vastitatem, et hereditatem ejus draconibus deserti" (1:3):
per "Esavum" significatur amor naturalis hominis; per "montes ejus" significantur mala ex amore illo; ac per "hereditatem" falsa ex malis illis; et per "dracones deserti" significantur merae falsificationes ex quibus illa.
[22] Quoniam apud gentem Judaicam omnia Verbi adulterata fuerunt, et ibi non verum amplius quia non bonum, ideo Johannes Baptista "in deserto" fuit, per quod repraesentabatur status illius ecclesiae, de qua re ita apud Evangelistas:
Johannes Baptista "fuit in desertis usque ad dies apparitionis illius ad Israelem" (Luc. 80 4
);
Quod praedicaverit in deserto Judaeae (Matthaeus 3:1-3; Marcus 1:2-4; Luca 3:2, 4, 5):
et apud Esaiam,
"Vox clamantis in deserto, Parate viam Jehovae, complanate in soli tudine semitam Deo nostro" (40:3).
Quare etiam Dominus de "Hierosolyma", per quam intelligitur ecclesia quoad doctrinam, dixit quod
"Relinquitur domus vestra deserta" (Luca 13:35):
"domus deserta" significat eccleSiam absque veris quia absque bono. Quid autem significatur per haec apud Matthaeum,
"Si dixerint vobis, Ecce" Christus "in deserto est, ne exeatis; si in conclavibus, ne credatis" (24:26),
videatur explicatum in Arcanis Caelestibus (n. 3900): per "Christum" enim intelligitur Dominus quoad Divinum Verum, proinde quoad Verbum et quoad doctrinam ex Verbo; et per "falsos Christos", de quibus illa dicuntur, significantur falsa doctrinae ex veris Verbi falsificatis. Ex allatis e Verbo locis constare potest quod per "desertum" intelligatur ecclesia ubi non vera quia non bonum, consequenter ubi falsum quia malum, nam ubi non verum et bonum ibi est falsum et malum; non datur utrumque simul, quod intelligitur per Domini verba, quod "nemo duobus dominis servire possit."
[23] (2) Quod per "desertum" etiam significetur status ecclesiae apud gentes, quae in ignorantia veri fuerunt, et usque in bono vitae secundum suum religiosum, ex quo desideraverunt vera, constare etiam potest ex locis in Verbo ubi de ecclesia apud gentes instauranda agitur:
- Apud Esaiam,
"Effundetur super 5
vos spiritus ex alto, tunc desertum erit in arvum, et arvum in silvam reputabitur; [et] habitabit in deserto judicium, et justitia in arvo considebit" (32:15, 16):
hic de illis qui in naturali bono sunt, et reformantur; influxus e caelo in illos significatur per "Effundetur Super 6
vos spiritus ex alto"; quod tunc verum ex origine spirituali eis implantabitur, significatur per quod "desertum erit in arvum"; "desertum" est naturalis homo destitutus veris, et "arvum" seu terra messis est naturalis homo fructificatus veris: quod inde ei scientia cognitionum veri et boni, significatur per quod "arvum in silvam reputabitur"; "silva" dicitur de naturali homine, sicut "hortus" de spirituali; quare per "silvam" significatur scientia, et per "hortum" intelligentia: quod inde in illo rectum et justum, significatur per quod "habitabit in deserto judicium, et justitia in arvo residebit"; "judicium" et "justitia" in spirituali sensu significant verum et bonum, sed in naturali rectum et justum.
[24] Apud eundem,
"Aperiam super clivis fluvios, et in medio vallium fontes ponam, desertum in stagnum aquarum, et terram siccam in scaturigines aquarum: dabo in deserto cedrum schittae, myrtum et arborem olei; ponam in solitudine abietem, taedam et buxum" (41:18, 19);
haec quoque de reformatione et illustratione gentium; et per "aperire super clivis fluvios, et in medio vallium fontes ponere", significatur dare intelligentiam ex veris spiritualibus et ex veris naturalibus; "fluvii super clivis" significant intelligentiam ex veris spiritualibus, et "fontes in medio vallium" intelligentiam ex veris naturalibus: per "ponere desertum in stagnum aquarum, et terram siccam in scaturigines aquarum", significatur implere veris spiritualem hominem et naturalem, ubi prius non aliqua vera; spiritualis homo in quo non vera, intelligitur per "desertum", quoniam non prius aliquod verum ibi; et naturalis homo in quo [non] vera, intelligitur per "terram siccam", quia non prius influxus in illum spiritualis; vera in copia spirituali homini intelliguntur per "stagnum aquarum", et vera in copia naturali homini per "scaturigines aquarum": per "ponere in deserto cedrum schittae, myrtum et arborem olei", significatur dare vera rationalia et perceptionem illorum; et per "ponere in solitudine abietem, taedam et buxum", significatur similiter vera naturalia, quae sunt scientifica et cognitiones, cum earum intellectu; "cedrus" est verum rationale superius, "myrtus" verum rationale inferius, "arbor olei" perceptio boni et inde veri; "abies" est verum naturale superius, "taeda" est verum naturale inferius, et "buxus" est intellectus boni et veri ibi.
[25] Apud Davidem,
"Ponit desertum in stagnum aquarum, et terram siccam in exitus aquarum, et facit ibi habitare famelicos, ut erigant urbem habitationis" (Psalms 107:35, 36):
pariter haec de illustratione gentium; et per "ponere desertum in stagnum aquarum", similia significantur quae mox supra: "et facit ibi habitare famelicos" significat pro illis qui desiderant vera; hi per "famelicos "et "esurientes in Verbo intelliguntur: "ut erigant urbem habitationis" significat ut ex illis sibi faciant doctrinam vitae; "urbs" est doctrina, et "habitare" est vivere.
[26] Apud Esaiam,
"Ecce Ego faciens novum, nunc progerminabit; .... etiam ponam in deserto viam, in solitudine fluvios: honorabit Me fera agri, dracones et filiae noctuae, eo quod dederim in deserto aquas, fluvios in solitudine, ad potandum populum meum, electum meum" (43:19, 20):
etiam haec de nova ecclesia apud gentes a Domino instauranda; et per "desertum" significatur status ecclesiae apud illos qui in ignorantia veri sunt, et usque in desiderio sciendi illa; quid autem Singula in sensu spirituali significant, videatur supra (n. 518 [a]), ubi explicata sunt.
[27] Apud eundem,
"Consolabitur Jehovah Zionem, consolabitur omnes Vastitates ejus, et ponet desertum ejus sicut Eden, et solitudinem ejus sicut hortum Jehovae, laetitia et gaudium invenietur in ea, confessio et vox cantus" (51:3):
etiam haec de nova eccleSia apud gentes, quae agniturae Dominum; illa ecclesia intelligitur per "Zionem", et instauratio ejus ac reformatio eorum per "consolari"; per "desertum", quod ponetur Sicut Eden, et per "solitudinem" qui sicut hortus Jehovae, significatur sapientia et intelligentia ex amore in Dominum, quae illis qui prius in nullo intellectu veri, et in nulla perceptione boni fuerunt. (Sed haec videantur supra, n. 721 [b] , explicata.)
[28] Apud Davidem,
"Stillant habitacula deserti, et exultatione colles cingunt se, induunt prata gregem, et valles operiuntur frumento" (Psalms 65:13, 1412, [13]):
haec quoque de ecclesia apud gentes; et per "stillant habitacula deserti" significatur quod mentes eorum quae prius in ignorantia veri fuerunt, agnoscant et recipiant vera; "stillare" dicitur de influxu, agnitione et receptione veri, "habitacula" dicuntur de interioribus hominis, quae mentis ejus sunt, et "desertum" dicitur de statu ignorantiae veri: quod "colles cingant se exultatione" significat quod bona apud illos recipiant vera cum gaudio cordis: quod "prata induant gregem, et valles operiantur frumento", significat quod utraque mens, spiritualis et naturalis, recipiat vera sibi convenientia; "prata" significant illa quae mentis spiritualis et inde rationalis sunt, et "valles" illa quae mentis naturalis, ac "grex" verum spirituale, et "frumentum" verum naturale.
[29] Apud Esaiam,
" 7
Cantent.... laudem extremitas terrae, descendentes mare, et plenitudo ejus, insulae et habitatores earum; extollant vocem desertum et urbes ejus, villae quas inhabitat Arabia; cantent habitatores petrae, e capite montium clament" (42:10, 11):
haec de ecclesia apud illos qui remoti ab ecclesiae veris fuerunt, quia naturales et sensuales; illorum ignorantiae status intelligitur per "desertum", et eorum gaudium ex praedicatione et cognitione veri, per "cantare laudem et extollere vocem." (Quid reliqua significant, explicatum est supra, n. 406 8
.)
[30] Quoniam status ignorantiae veri, in quo fuerunt gentes, significatur per "desertum", de desiderium veri per "famem", et instructio a Domino per "cibationem", ideo factum est quod Dominus secesserit in desertum, ac ibi docuerit turbam quae Ipsum quaesivit, ac postea illos cibaverit; (quod hoc factum sit "in desertis" constare potest apud Matthaeum, cap. 14:13-22; 15:32-38; Marcus 6:31-34; 8:1-9; Luca 9:12-17): omnia enim quae a Domino [facta] sunt, et quoque quae cum Domino, repraesentativa fuerunt, quia correspondentiae; ita quoque illa: ex quibus, ut ex locis e Verbo supra adductis, patet quod "desertum" significet tale apud hominem quod non excultum et habitatum est, ita quod nondum vitale ex spirituali factum est; proinde applicate ad ecclesiam, quod non vivificatum per vera; ita religiosum apud gentes, quod paene inane et vacuum fuit, quia non habuerunt Verbum ubi sunt vera, et inde nec Dominum noverunt qui illa docet; et quia non illis vera fuerunt, ideo nec illorum bonum potuit aliud esse quam quale verum apud illos; bonum enim simile est suo vero, quia unum est alterius. Ex his constare potest quid per "desertum", ubi de gentibus agitur, significatur; nempe, non verum, et usque desiderium ad vivificandum suum bonum.
[31] (3) Quod etiam per "desertum" significetur status illorum qui in tentationibus sunt, quia in his vera et bona interclusa sunt per falsa et mala, quae emergunt et animo obversantur, constare potest ex vagatione filiorum Israelis in deserto quadraginta annis; per illam repraesentatus est omnis status tentationum, in quem veniunt illi qui regenerantur, ex quibus futura ecclesia. Omnis homo nascitur naturalis, et quoque vivit naturalis, usque dum fit rationalis; et cum factus est rationalis, tunc duci potest a Domino, et fieri spiritualis; quod fit per implantationem cognitionum veri ex Verbo, et simul tunc per aperitionem mentis spiritualis, quae recipit illa quae caeli sunt, ac per evocationem et elevationem cognitionum illarum e naturali homine, et per conjunctionem cum spirituali affectione veri: ipsa illa aperitio et conjunctio non dari possunt nisi quam per tentationes, quia homo in illis pugnat interius contra falsa et mala quae in naturali homine sunt: verbo, homo introducitur in ecclesiam, et fit ecclesia, per tentationes. Haec repraesentata fuerunt per vagationem et circumductionem filiorum Israelis in deserto: status hominis naturalis, antequam regeneratur, repraesentatus est per commorationem eorum in terra Aegypti, nam "terra Aegypti" naturalem hominem cum scientificis et cognitionibus, una cum cupiditatibus et appetitibus, quae in illo resident, significabat (ut constare potest ex illis quae supra de Aegypto, 654, dicta at ostensa sunt): at status spiritualis, qui est status ecclesiae apud hominem, repraesentatus est per introductionem filiorum Israelis in terram Canaanem, nam "terra Canaan" ecclesiam cum ejus veris et bonis, una cum ejus affectionibus et jucunditatibus, quae in illo resident, significabat: at reformatio et regeneratio hominis, antequam a naturali fit spiritualis, et sic ecclesia, repraesentabatur per illorum errores et vagationes in deserto quadraginta annis.
[32] Quod ita sit, et quod "desertum" illud significaverit statum tentationum, constare potest apud Mosen,
"Recordaberis omnis viae qua duxit te Jehovah Deus tuus his quadraginta annis in deserto, ut affligeret te, et tentaret te, ac cognosceret quid in corde tuo, num custoditurus esses praecepta Ipsius, nec ne; et afflixit te, et esurire fecit te, et cibavit te manne, quod non noveras, nec noverunt patres tui, 9
ut doceret te quod non per panem solum vivat homo, sed per omne enuntiatum oris Jehovae vivat homo: vestis tua non inveterata est desuper te, et pes tuus non intumuit his quadraginta annis" (Deuteronomius 8:2-4);
apud eundem,
"In deserto, quod vidisti, portaverat te Jehovah Deus tuus, sicut portat vir filium suum; .... ivit ante vos in via, ad investigandum vobis locum quo castrametaremini, in igne noctu ad monstrandum viam, .... et in nube interdiu" (Deuteronomius 1:31, 33);
apud eundem,
Jehovah, "qui duxit te per desertum magnum et formidabile, serpentis, presteris et scorpionis et sitis, ubi non aquae; qui eduxit tibi aquas e petra scopuli, et cibavit te manne in deserto ut affligeret te et tentaret, ad benefaciendum tibi in posteritate tua" (Deuteronomius 8:15, 16);
apud eundem,
Jehovah invenit Jacobum "in terra deserti, in inanitate, ejulatu, solitudine; circumduxit eum, instruxit eum, custodivit eum sicut pupillam oculi" (Deuteronomius 32:10):
per singula quae hic dicuntur, tum per singula quae de profectionibus filiorum Israelis in deserto, ab exitu eorum ab Aegypto ad introitum in terram Canaanem, in Libro Exodi memorantur, describuntur tentationes, in quibus sunt fideles, antequam fiunt spirituales, ita antequam implantantur bona amoris et charitatis cum illorum veris, quae faciunt ecclesiam apud hominem.
[33] Qui novit quales sunt tentationes spirituales, is novit quod homo, cum in illis est, tunc infestetur a malis et falsis, adeo ut vix aliter sciat quam quod in inferno sit; tum quod Dominus apud hominem pugnet contra illa ex interiori; ut et, quod interea sustentet illum cibo et potu spirituali, quae sunt bona et vera caeli; quod naturalis homo illa fastidiat; quod naturalis homo sic usque dometur et quasi moriatur cum suis concupiscentiis; et quod ille sic subjiciatur spirituali homini; et quod homo sic reformetur et regeneretur, ac introducatur in ecclesiam: haec sunt quae omnia, quae de filiis Israelis in deserto memorantur, involvunt. [Ut sciatur] quod involvant talia, licet quaedam ex allatis singillatim exponere:
[34] - (1.) Quod homo in tentationibus infestetur a malis et falsis, adeo ut vix sciat aliter quam quod in inferno sit, intelligitur per quod "Jehovah duxerit te per desertum magnum et formidabile, serpentis, presteris, scorpionis, et sitis ubi non aquae": per "desertum magnum et formidabile" significantur graves tentationes; per" serpentem, presterem, scorpionem", significantur mala et falsa cum persuasionibus emergentia ex sensuali et naturali homine; "serpentes" sunt mala inde, "presteres" sunt falsa inde, et "scorpiones" sunt persuasiones per "sitim ubi non aquae" significatur defectus et interclusio veri. Illa quoque intelliguntur per quod "Jehovah afflixerit te, et tentaverit te, ut cognosceret quid in corde tuo."
[35] (2.) Quod Dominus apud hominem pugnet contra mala et falsa quae ab inferno, significatur per quod "Jehovah invenerit Jacobum in deserto, in inanitate, ejulatu, solitudine, custodiverit eum sicut pupillam oculi sui"; quod "portaverit eum sicut portat vir filium suum"; quodque "praeiverit illis in igne noctu, et in nube interdiu."
(3.) Quod Dominus interea sustentet hominem cibo et potu spirituali, quae sunt bona et vera caeli, significatur per quod "cibaverit illos manna", quod "eduxerit illis aquas e petra scopuli", et quod "duxerit et instruxerit illos"; per "mannam" intelligitur bonum amoris caelestis, et per "aquas e petra scopuli" intelliguntur vera illius boni a Domino.
(4.) Quod naturalis homo illa in tentationibus fastidiat, intelligitur per cupiverint cibos Aegypti; quare hic dicitur quod "Jehovah afflixerit te, esurire fecerit te, et cibaverit manna."
[36] (5.) Quod usque naturalis homo dometur, et quasi moriatur cum ejus concupiscentiis, et subjiciatur spirituali homini, repraesentatum est per quod omnes qui Aegypto exiverunt, et illuc redire cupiverunt, ac in terram Canaanem intrare renuerunt, mortui sint in deserto, et quod infantes illorum in illam introducti sint: quod haec per illa repraesentata et significata sint, non sciri ac videri potest nisi quam ex senSu spirituali. (6.) Quod homo post tentationes spiritualis fiat, ac introducatur in ecclesiam, et per ecclesiam in caelum, repraesentatum est per introductionem illorum in terram Canaanem, nam "terra Canaan" significabat ecclesiam, et quoque caelum; et id significatur per quod "Jehovah afflixerit te, et tentaverit te, ad benefaciendum tibi in posteritate tua": vita illorum spiritualis describitur per quod Jehovah docuerit illos quod "non per panem solum vivat homo, sed per omne enuntiatum oris Jehovae." Quod "non vestis eorum inveterata fuerit, et pes eorum non intumuerit", significat quod naturalis homo non laesus sit per afflictiones illas; "vestes" enim significant vera naturalis hominis, ac "pes" ipsum naturalem hominem. Praeterea per "quadraginta", sive annos sive dies, significatur integra duratio tentationum (videatur supra, n. 633).
[37] Similia involvunt haec apud Davidem,
"Errarunt in deserto [in] solitudine 10
viae, urbem habitationis non invenerunt, famelici et sitibundi; cum anima eorum in "via" deficeret, clamarunt ad Jehovam duxit eos in 11
via recti, ut irent ad urbem habitationis" (Psalms 107:4-7):
haec in genere dicta sunt de redemptis, in specie de filiis Israelis in deserto, et per illa verba describuntur tentationes illorum qui regenerantur a Domino; et per "urbem habitationis" quam non invenerunt, significatur doctrina vitae, quae apud hominem facit ecclesiam; et quia ecclesia formatur apud hominem per vi tam secundum doctrinam, exactis tentationibus, dicitur quod Jehovah "duxerit eos in 12
via recti, ut irent ad urbem habitationis"; defectus veri usque ad desperationem, et usque desiderium ejus, significatur per quod "famelici et sitibundi essent, ut anima eorum in via deficeret."
[38] Apud Jeremiam,
"Recordatus sum.. juventutis tuae, amoris desponsationum tuarum, cum ivisti post Me in deserto, non dixerunt, Ubi Jehovah, qui ascendere fecit nos e terra Aegypti, qui duxit nos in deserto, in terra solitudinis et foveae, in terra siccitatis et umbrae densae, in terra per quam non transivit vir, neque habitavit homo? Et duxi vos in terram frugis, ad comedendum fructum ejus et bonum ejus" (2:2, 6, 7):
per "juventutem" et "amorem desponsationum", quorum recordatus est Jehovah, significatur status reformationis et regenerationis hominis, dum a naturali fit spiritualis; quia homo per id conjungitur Domino, et quasi desponsatur Ei, est id quod intelligitur per "amorem desponsationum": quia id fit per tentationes, dicitur "cum ivisti post Me in deserto"; status tentationum describitur per "Duxit me in deserto, in terra solitudinis et foveae, in terra .siccitatis et umbrae densae"; "desertum" significat illum statum, "terra solitudinis et foveae" significat illum quoad mala et falsa quae emergunt, "terra siccitatis et umbrae densae" significat perceptionem boni et intellectum veri obscuratum: status hominis post tentationes describitur per "Duxi vos in terram frugis, ad comedendum fructum ejus et bonum ejus", per quae significatur quod introducti in ecclesiam, ubi vera doctrinae, per quae appropriatio boni amoris et charitatis; "terra" significat ecclesiam, "terra frugis" illam quoad vera doctrinae, "comedere" significat appropriari, "fructus" bonum amoris, ac "bonum" bonum charitatis et vitae.
[39] Apud Ezechielem,
"Educam vos ex populis, et congregabo vos e terris et ducam vos in desertum populorum, et disceptabo ibi vobiscum facies ad facies, quemadmodum disceptavi cum patribus vestris in deserto terrae Aegypti; .... tunc transire faciam vos sub virga, et adducam vos in vinculum foederis" (20:34-37):
hic quoque "desertum" pro statu tentationum; qui status hic vocatur "desertum populorum", et quoque "desertum terrae Aegypti", quia intelligitur status naturalis hominis ante regenerationem, qui ex eo quod ibi non bona et non vera tunc, sed mala et falsa, est desertum et solitudo; at quando inde falsa et mala exterminata sunt, ac vera et bona loco eorum implantata, tunc fit ille ex deserto Libanus et hortus: "disceptare cum illis in deserto facies ad facies" significat monstrare illis ad vivum et ad agnitionem quales sunt, nam in tentationibus emergunt et apparent mala et falsa hominis; "facies ad facies" est ad vivum et ad agnitionem: quod postquam homo dura passus est, conjunctio fiat cum Domino, quae est reformatio, significatur per "Tunc transire vos faciam sub virga, et adducam vos in vincula foederis"; "transire facere sub virga" est dura pati, et "vinculum foederis" est conjunctio cum Domino.
[40] Apud Hoscheam,
"Visitabo super illam dies baalium, .... quibus ivit post amasios suos; .... propterea ecce... deducam 13
vos in desertum, et postea loquar super cor ejus, et dabo illi vineas ejus inde, et vallem Achoris in ostium spei, et respondebit illic juxta dies adolescentiae suae, et juxta dies ascendere ejus e terra Aegypti; et in die illo.... vocabis, Marite mi, et non vocabis amplius Me, Baal mi" ( 14
21316 15
vos in desertum"; quod dein consolandi, significatur per "postea loquar super cor ejus"; quod illis tunc vera spiritualia et naturalia, significatur per "Dabo illi vineas ejus inde, et vallem Achoris": quod postea influxus boni e caelo et inde gaudium erit sicut apud illos qui ex Ecclesiis Antiquis fuerunt, et e naturalibus facti sunt spirituales, significatur per quod "respondebit " seu cantabit "illic juxta dies adolescentiae suae, et juxta dies ascendere ejus e terra Aegypti"; "dies adolescentiae" significant tempora Antiquae Ecclesiae; "juxta dies ascendere ejus ex Aegypto" significat cum e naturalibus facti sunt spirituales, : conjunctio tunc cum Domino per affectiones veri, rejectis cupiditatibus e naturali homine, significatur per "In die illo vocabis Me, Marite mi, et non vocabis amplius Me, Baal mi."
[41] Quoniam "desertum" significat statum tentationum, et "quadraginta" sive anni sive dies integram durationem a principio ad finem, ideo tentationes Domini, quas prae reliquis immanissimas a pueritia usque ad passionem crucis, sustinuit, intelliguntur per tentationes quadraginta dierum in deserto, de quibus ita apud Evangelistas,
"Jesus deductus est in desertum a spiritu, ut tentaretur a diabolo, et cum jejunasset dies quadraginta et noctes quadraginta, postea esurivit; et accessit ad Ipsum tentator" (Matthaeus 4:1-3; Luca 4:23);
"Spiritus" Jesum "impellens fecit exire in desertum; et erat.., in deserto dies quadraginta, tentatus.., et erat cum bestiis" (Marcus 1:12, 13):
per haec non intelligitur quod Dominus solummodo quadraginta diebus, et in fine eorum, a diabolo tentatus sit; sed quod per omnem suam vitam usque ad ultimam, quando Ipsi in Gethsemane anxietas cordis immanis, ac postea passio crucis dira fuit; nam Dominus per tentationes in humanum, quod Ipsi fuit ex matre, admissas, subjugavit omnia inferna, et simul glorificavit Humanum suum: (sed de his Domini tentationibus videantur quae in Arcanis Caelestibus scripta sunt, quae in unum collecta sunt in Doctrina Novae Hierosolymae, n. 201): omnes illae tentationes Domini significantur per "tentationes in deserto quadraginta diebus et quadraginta noctibus", quoniam "desertum" significat statum tentationum, et "quadraginta dies et noctes" omnem earum durationem. Causa quod non plura de illis apud Evangelistas scripta sunt, est quia de illis non plura revelata sunt; at usque apud Prophetas, et imprimis in Psalm is Davidis, large describuntur. Per "bestias", cum quibus Dominus dicitur fuisse, significantur societates infernales; ac per "jejunationem" ibi significatur afflictio, qualis est in tentationum pugnis.
[42] (4) Quod per "desertum" etiam significetur infernum, est quia "desertum" dicitur ubi non messis nec habitatio, tum ubi sunt ferae, serpentes, dracones, per quae significatur ubi non est verum doctrinae et bonum vitae; consequenter ubi sunt concupiscentiae ex malis amoribus, et inde falsitates omnis generis; et quia haec in inferno sunt, et illa in deserto, ideo ex correspondentia "desertum" etiam significat infernum. Praeterea naturalis homo apud unumquemvis, quamdiu is 16
separatus est a spirituali, qualis est ante regenerationem, est infernum, ex causa quia omne malum hereditarium, in quod homo nascitur, insidet ejus naturali homini, et inde non ejicitur, hoc est, removetur, quam per influxum Divini Veri per caelum a Domino; et is influxus non datur in naturalem hominem nisi per spiritualem; naturalis enim homo est in mundo, et spiritualis in caelo; quare primum aperiendus est spiritualis homo antequam e caelo a Domino removeri potest infernum, quod est in naturali homine.
[43] Quomodo illud removetur, repraesentatum est per hircum Asasel vocatum, ejectum in desertum; per "hircum" enim ex correspondentia significatur naturalis homo quoad ejus affectiones et cognitiones, ac in opposito sensu quoad ejus cupiditates et falsitates. De hoc hirco ita legitur apud Mosen,
Quod Aharon acciperet duos hircos, et daret super illis sortes, unam pro hirco sacrificando, alteram pro Asasele; et postquam per sanguinem juvenci sacrificati, et hirci sacrificati, expiaverit Tentorium conventus et altare, imponeret manus suas super caput hirci Asasel, et confiteretur super eo iniquitates et peccata filiorum Israelis, quae dabit super caput hirci, et postea mitteret illum per manum viri destinati in desertum. "Sic portabit hircus super se omnes iniquitates" filiorum Israelis "in terram excisionis" et desertum; et quoque in deserto combureretur cutis, caro et fimus juvenci et hirci sacrificati; sic expiarentur et mundarentur ab omnibus peccatis (Levit. 16:5-34 17
):
haec mandata sunt ut per ea repraesentaretur expiatio, hoc est, purificatio a malis et falsis; quod bini hirci ad illam repraesentandam accepti fuerint, erat quia "hircus" ex correspondentia significabat naturalem hominem; "hircus qui sacrificandus erat" naturalem hominem quoad partem 18
purificatam, et "hircus qui mittendus erat in desertum" naturalem hominem non purificatum: et quia hic scatet omnis generis cupiditatibus et immunditiis, ut supra dictum est, ideo ille "e castris emissus est in terram excisionis et desertum", ut exportaret iniquitates et peccata omnium in illa ecclesia; per "terram excisionis" et "desertum" significatur infernum: impositio manuum ab Aharone super capite ejus, et confessio peccatorum, repraesentabat communicationem et translationem; ita enim fit quando homo a peccatis purificatur seu expiatur, nam peccata tunc ad infernum remittuntur, ac loco illorum implantantur affectiones boni et veri; hae quoad partem repraesentabantur per "adipes" qui sacrificabantur ex juvenco et ex hirco altero, perque "sanguinem" illorum, ac imprimis per "holocaustum ex ariete" (de quo ibi, vers. 5 et 24); nam "aries" ex correspondentia significat naturalem hominem quoad bonum charitatis. At sciendum est quod populus Israeliticus per haec ne hilum purificatus a peccatis fuerit, sed quod solum ita repraesentata fuerit purificatio naturalis hominis, dum regeneratur: omnia regenerationis hominis per talia externa, imprimis per sacrificia, repraesentabantur; et id propter conjunctionem caeli cum ecclesia illa per externa cultus, quorum interna, quae repraesentabantur, spectata sunt in caelis. Quis non videre potest quod peccata totius coetus non transmitti possint in hircum, et ab illo deferri in infernum? Ex his constare potest quid, "desertum" in vario sensu significat.
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