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768. And went away (abivit) to make war with the rest of her seed.- That this signifies, And thence a determined effort, springing from a life of evil, to attack the truths of the doctrine of that church, is plain from the signification of going away, as denoting a determined effort springing from a life of evil (concerning which we shall speak presently); from the signification of making war, as denoting to attack and to desire to destroy (concerning which see above, n. 573, 734); and from the signification of her seed, as denoting the truths of the doctrine of the church (concerning which we shall also speak presently). It is said the rest of her seed, because those who are in those truths, are meant, and in an abstract sense the truths of that church, which they believe themselves able to assault and destroy. To go away (abire) signifies here a determined effort from a life of evil, because to go (ire) in the spiritual sense signifies to live, therefore in the Word, the expressions "to go (ire) with the Lord," and "to walk with Him" and "after Him," are used, and they signify to live from the Lord; but when "to go" (ire) is said of the dragon, whose life is a life of evil, it signifies to make an effort from that life, and because that effort is an effort from hatred, which is signified by his anger (see above, n. 754, 758), therefore a determined effort is signified, because he who makes an effort from hatred makes a determined effort.
[2] Since the hatred of those meant by the dragon is a hatred against those who are in the truths of the doctrine of the church which is the New Jerusalem, therefore it is a hatred against the truths of doctrine which such possess. For those who love any one, also those who cherish hatred against any one, indeed love or hate the person in whom those things are which they love or hate, and these things are truths of doctrine in them, therefore truths of doctrine are signified by "the rest of her seed." It is therefore evident that, in the spiritual sense of the Word, person is not regarded, but something considered apart from personality, as in the present case, that which is in the person. This may be further illustrated in this way. It is said in the Word, that the neighbour should be loved as a man loves himself, but in the spiritual sense it does not mean that the neighbour should be loved as to the person, but that those things should be loved which are in the person from the Lord. For a person is not actually loved because he is a person or man, but on account of his character, and thus a person is loved for his qualities; this then is meant by neighbour; and it is the spiritual neighbour, or the neighbour in the spiritual sense, who is to be loved. This quality or neighbour with those who are of the church of the Lord is everything that proceeds from the Lord, which in general has reference to all good, spiritual, moral, and civil, therefore those who are in these goods love those who are in the same; this then is to love the neighbour as oneself.
[3] From these things it is evident that the rest of her seed, namely, of the woman, who signifies the church, mean those who are in the truths of the doctrine of that church, and in a sense apart from personality - which is the true spiritual sense - the truths of the doctrine of that church; similarly in other passages of the Word, as in the following in Moses:
"I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed. He shall tread upon thine head, and thou shalt wound his heel" (Genesis 3:15).
This is a prophecy concerning the Lord. The serpent there signifies man's Sensual, where his proprium resides, which in itself is nothing but evil, while the woman signifies the spiritual church, or the church which is in Divine truths. And because the Sensual of man has been destroyed, and the man of the church becomes spiritual when he is raised up out of the Sensual, it is therefore said, there shall be enmity between thee and the woman. The seed of the serpent signifies all falsity from evil, and the seed of the woman all truth from good, and in the highest degree, Divine Truth; and as all Divine Truth is from the Lord, and as the Lord by its means destroyed falsity from evil, it is therefore said, "He shall tread upon thy head;" "He" signifies the Lord, and head all falsity from evil. That the Sensual would still do injury to Divine Truth in its ultimates, which is the Word in the sense of the letter, is signified by "thou shalt wound his heel," the heel signifying that ultimate and that sense. That these have suffered and do still suffer injury from the Sensual, is evident from this single example, that the Roman Catholics understand the woman here to mean Mary and the worship of her, therefore in their Bibles the reading is not "He" (ille), but "it" (illud) and she (illa).
[4] So also in a thousand other passages.
In Jeremiah:
"Behold, the days shall come in which I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man and with the seed of beast" (31:27).
This is said of the Lord, and of a new church from Him; His coming is signified by "Behold the days shall come." To sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah, signifies to reform those who will be of that church, the house of Israel signifying the spiritual church, and the house of Judah the celestial church. And as reformation takes place by means of spiritual truths and by means of natural truths therefrom, it is said, "with the seed of man and the seed of beast," the seed of man signifying spiritual truth, from which man has intelligence, and the seed of beast natural truth, from which man has knowledge (scientia), also a life according to it, both of these from the affection for good. That man signifies affection for spiritual truth and good, may be seen above (n. 2:15).
Is there one that seeketh the seed of God? signifies that no one seeks Divine Truth; the seed of God here evidently signifies Divine Truth; so "the born of God" mean those who are regenerated by the Lord by means of Divine Truth, and a life according to it.
[5] In Isaiah:
"Jehovah willed to bruise him, he hath weakened [him]; if thou shalt make his soul a guilt offering, he shall see seed, he shall prolong days, and the will of Jehovah shall prosper by his hand" (53:10).
This is said of the Lord. The whole of this chapter treats of His temptations, by means of which He subjugated the hells. The increasing severity of His temptations is described by Jehovah willed to bruise Him, and weaken Him; and the severest temptation, which was the passion of the cross, is signified by, "If thou shalt make His soul a guilt offering, - to make His soul a guilt offering signifying the last temptation, by which He completely subjugated the hells, and fully glorified His Human, through which comes redemption. The Divine Truth that afterwards proceeded from His Divine Human, and the salvation of all those who receive Divine Truth from Him, is signified by, He shall see seed; that this will continue for ever is signified by, He shall prolong days, to prolong, when said of the Lord, signifying to continue for ever, and days signifying states of light, which are the states of the enlightenment of all by means of Divine Truth. That this is from His Divine for the salvation of mankind is signified by The will of Jehovah shall prosper by His hand.
[6] In the same:
"Fear not, for I am with thee; I will bring thy seed from the east, and I will gather thee from the west; I will say to the north, Give up, and to the south, Keep not back, bring my sons from afar, my daughters from the end of the earth" (422:5, 724:20).
[7] In the same:
"Thou shalt break forth to the right and to the left, and thy seed shall inherit the nations, and make the desolate cities to be inhabited" (54:3).
This is said of a church from the Lord with the Gentiles, and this church is here meant by the barren woman that did not bare, and who should have many sons (ver. 1). The seed that shall inherit the nations, signifies the Divine Truth that shall be given to the nations. To break forth to the right hand and to the left, signifies extension and multiplication, the right hand signifying truth in light, and the left hand truth in shade. The reason of this signification is, that in the spiritual world, to the right hand is the south, where those are who are in the clear light of truth, and to the left is the north, where those are who are in an obscure light of truth. To make the desolate cities to be inhabited, signifies their life according to Divine truths, which before this had been destroyed, cities denoting the truths of doctrine from the Word, to be inhabited signifying to live according to truths, and desolate cities those truths previously destroyed, that is, with the Jewish nation.
[8] In the same:
"Their seed shall become known in the nations, and their offspring in the midst of the peoples; all that see them shall acknowledge them, that they are the seed that Jehovah hath blessed" (Isaiah 61:9).
This also is said of the church to be established by the Lord. The seed that shall become known in the nations, signifies Divine Truth that will be received by those who are in the good of life; and the offspring in the midst of the peoples, signifies life according to Divine truth. Those that see them shall acknowledge that they are the seed, signifies enlightenment that it is the real truth that they receive; that Jehovah hath blessed, signifies that it is from the Lord. Such is the signification of these words in a sense apart from personality, but in a strict sense those who will receive Divine Truth from the Lord are meant.
[9] In the same:
"They are the seed of the blessed of Jehovah, and their offspring with them" (65:23).
This also is said of a church from the Lord. By the seed of the blessed of Jehovah are meant those who will receive Divine Truth from the Lord; and by their offspring are meant those who live according to it, but in a sense apart from personality, which is the true spiritual sense, seed means Divine Truth, and offspring a life according to it, as shown above. By offspring are meant those who live according to Divine Truth, and in an abstract sense, life according to it, because the word in the original, rendered offspring, is from a word which means to go forth and to proceed, and that which goes forth and proceeds from the Divine Truth received is a life according to it.
[10] In the same:
"As new heavens and a new earth, which I will make, shall stand before me, so shall your seed and your name stand" (148).
[11] In David:
"Thou hast founded the earth, and the heavens are the work of thy hands. They shall perish, and thou shalt continue; they shall all wax old like garments, like a garment shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed. But thou art the same, and thy years shall have no end; the sons of thy servants shall abide, and their seed shall be established before thee" (Psalm 102:25-28).
The earth which God hath formed, and the heavens the work of His hands, which shall perish, have a similar signification to that of the former heaven and former earth which have passed away (see Apoc. 21:1).
And because the face of the earth and of the heavens in the spiritual world will be entirely changed at the day of the Last Judgment, and there will be a new earth and new heavens in the place of the former, it is therefore said, that "they shall all wax old like garments, like a garment shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed;" they are compared to garments, because garments signify external truths, such as those had who were in the former heaven (caelo) and former earth, which heaven and earth do not endure, because not in internal truths. The state of Divine Truth that shall endure from the Lord to eternity is signified by "thou shalt continue, and thou art the same, and thy years shall have no end," the years of God signifying states of Divine Truth. The sons of Thy servants shall abide, and their seed shall be established before Thee, signifies that angels and men who are recipents of Divine Truth shall have eternal life, and that truths of doctrine with them shall endure to eternity, sons of the servants of God denoting angels and men who are recipients of Divine Truth, and their seed denoting the truths of doctrine.
[12] In the same:
"The seed that shall serve him shall be numbered to the Lord for a generation" (Psalm 22:30).
This also is said of the Lord. The seed that shall serve Him, means those who are in truths of doctrine from the Word; while it shall be numbered to the Lord for a generation, signifies that they shall be His to eternity, to be counted signifying to be arranged and disposed in order, here to be added to, thus to be His.
[13] In many passages in the Word mention is made of the seed of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, also of the seed of Israel, and this in the historical sense of the letter means their posterity; but, in the spiritual sense, Divine Truth and the truth of doctrine from the Word are meant, because Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Israel, in this sense, mean the Lord, as can be seen from passages in the Word, where they are mentioned. For example, where it is said, that they shall come from the east and from the west, and shall recline (accumbo) 1with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of the heavens (Matthew 8:11), which means the enjoyment of celestial good from the Lord. So in other passages. And as the Lord is meant by them in the internal sense, therefore their seed signifies the Divine Truth which is from the Lord, and thus also truth of doctrine from the Word, as in the following passages.
In Moses:
Jehovah said to Abraham, "All the land which thou seest will I give to thee and to thy seed for ever; and I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth" (Genesis 13:15, 16):
"Look up towards the heavens and number the stars, so shall thy seed be" (Genesis 15:5).
"In thy seed shall all nations be blessed" (Genesis 22:18).
To Isaac,
"To thee and to thy seed will I give all these lands, and I will multiply thy seed as the stars of heaven; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed" (Genesis 26:3-5).
To Jacob,
"Unto thy seed after thee will I give this land" (Genesis 35:12).
The land "given to Abraham, to Isaac, and Jacob, and to their seed after them" (Deuteronomy 1:8):
"The seed of your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob" (Deuteronomy 4:37; chap. 10:15; chap. 11:9).
Since by Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as stated, the Lord is meant, by Abraham the Lord as to the celestial Divine of the church, by Isaac as to the spiritual Divine of the church, and by, Jacob as to the natural Divine of the church; therefore their seed signifies the Divine Truth proceeding from the Lord, the seed of Abraham signifying celestial Divine Truth, the seed of Isaac spiritual Divine Truth, and the seed of Jacob natural Divine Truth; consequently those are meant who are in Divine Truth from the Lord. But the land which the Lord will give to them means the church, which is in Divine Truth from Him; it can therefore be understood what is signified by all nations being blessed in their seed; for they could not be blessed in their posterity, that is, in the Jewish and Israelitish nation, but in the Lord and from the Lord by the reception of Divine Truth from Him.
[14] That the Jews are not meant by the seed of Abraham, is plain from the words of the Lord in John:
The Jews answered, "We are Abraham's seed, and have never been in bondage to any man. Jesus answered, I know that ye are Abraham's seed, yet ye seek to kill me, because my word hath no place in you; ye are of your father the devil" (119, 433).
[15] In David,
"He will make them to fall in the wilderness, and will make their seed to fall among the nations, and will scatter them in the lands" (Psalm 106:26, 27).
To make their seed fall among the nations, and to scatter them in the lands, signifies that Divine Truth would perish with them through evils and falsities.
The seed of Israel has a similar signification in these passages:
"Thou Israel my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham my friend, whom I have taken from the ends of the earth" (Isaiah 41:8, 9).
"I will pour out my Spirit upon" the seed of Israel and Jacob, "and my blessing upon their offspring" (Isaiah 44:3).
"In Jehovah all the seed of Israel shall be justified, and shall glory" (Isaiah 45:25).
"Jehovah, who brought up and who led the seed of the house of Israel out of the land towards the north, and out of all the lands whither I have driven them, that they may dwell upon their own land" (Jeremiah 23:8).
Israel, in the highest sense, means the Lord as to the internal of the church, therefore his seed also signifies the Divine Truth which is with those who are of the church signified by Israel. Israel means the church with those who are interiorly natural, and have truths therein from a spiritual source. Therefore Israel signifies a spiritual natural church.
[16] Since David, in the Word, means the Lord as to royalty, and the royalty of the Lord signifies Divine Truth in the church, therefore also his seed means those who are in the truths of the church from the Word, and these are also called sons of the king, and sons of the kingdom; it means also that Divine Truth is in them, as in the following passages:
"As the host (exercitus) of the heavens cannot be numbered, or the sand of the sea be measured, so will I multiply the seed of David and the Levites my ministers" (205); therefore his seed signifies that Divine Truth with those who are in truths from good, thus also those who are in truths of doctrine from the Word. For truths of doctrine from the Word, or truths of the Word, are all from good; and as such are meant by the seed of David, therefore, in an abstract sense, the truth of the Word, or the truth of doctrine from the Word, is also meant by it. That the seed of David does not mean his posterity can be seen by any one, for it is said that his seed shall be multiplied as the host of the heavens and the sand of the sea, and that it shall be established and set to eternity, also that his throne shall be built up to generation and generation, and shall be as the days of the heavens and as the sun. Such things can in no way be said about the seed of David, that is, about his posterity, and his throne, for where now are these to be found? But all those things harmonize, when it is seen that by David the Lord is meant, by his throne, heaven and the church, and by his seed, the truth of heaven and of the church.
[17] In Jeremiah:
"If I shall not have fixed my covenant of day and night, the ordinances of heaven and of the earth, I will cast away also the seed of Jacob and of David my servant, that I will not take of his seed to rule over the seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; and I will cause their captivity to return, and will have mercy on them" (33:25, 26).
In the same:
"Jehovah said, who giveth the sun for a light by day, the ordinances of the moon and the stars for a light by night; If these ordinances shall depart from before me, the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me for ever" (31:35, 36).
In these passages the seed of Jacob and of David, also the seed of Israel, mean also those who are in Divine truths, but the seed of Jacob mean those who are in natural Divine Truth, David means those who are in spiritual Divine Truth, and Israel means those who are in Divine Truth spiritual-natural, which is mediate between natural Divine Truth and spiritual Divine Truth. For there are degrees of Divine Truth as there are degrees of its reception by the angels in the three heavens, and in the church. The covenant of day and night, and the ordinances of heaven and earth, signify the conjunction of the Lord with those who are in Divine truths in the heavens, and who are in Divine truths on earth. Covenant signifies conjunction; statutes the laws of conjunction, which are also the laws of order, and the laws of order are Divine truths; day signifies the light of truth such as it is with the angels in the heavens; and night the light of truth such as it is with men on earth, and also such as it is with those, both in the heavens and on earth, who are under the Lord as a moon; therefore it is also said, "Who giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night." But the seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, here mean all those who are of the Lord's church in every degree; of these, and of the seed of Jacob and David it is said that if they acknowledge not the Lord, and do not receive Divine Truth from Him, the Lord will not reign over them.
[18] In the same:
"No one of his seed shall prosper who sitteth upon the throne of David, and ruleth any more in Judah" (22:30).
This is said of Coniah, king of Judah, who is there called a despised and worthless idol; and it is said of him that "he and his seed shall be taken away and cast unto the earth" (verse 28 of the same chapter). This king has a signification similar to that of Satan, and his seed signifies infernal falsity; that this shall not rule in the Lord's church in which is celestial Divine Truth, is signified by No one of his seed shall sit upon the throne of David, nor rule any more in Judah, Judah here denoting the celestial church in which the Lord reigns.
[19] As David represented the royalty of the Lord, so Aaron represented His priesthood, therefore the seed of Aaron means those who are in affection for real truth which is from celestial good. Because of this representation the following statute was given for Aaron:
"The high priest shall not take to wife a widow, or a divorced woman, or one polluted, a harlot, but he shall take a virgin of his own people to wife, lest he profane his seed amongst his people; I Jehovah do sanctify him" (Leviticus 21:14, 15).
As man (vir) and wife (uxor), in the Word, in its spiritual sense, signify the understanding of truth and the will of good, and as thought belongs to the understanding and affection to the will, therefore man and wife also signify the thought of truth and affection for good, also truth and good. It is consequently evident what a widow, one divorced, and one polluted, a harlot, signify; a widow signifies good without truth, because left by truth, which is the man; a woman divorced signifies good rejected by truth, thus discordant good; and one polluted, a harlot, signifies good adulterated by falsities, which is no longer good but evil. Because of this signification of these women, the high priest was forbidden to take any of them to wife, because he represented the Lord as to the priesthood, which signified the Divine Good. And as a virgin signifies the will or affection for genuine truth, and since genuine truth makes one with and is in agreement with Divine Good, and these two are conjoined in heaven and in the church, and their conjunction is called the heavenly marriage, therefore it was enacted that the high priest should take a virgin to wife. And as truth of doctrine is a result of this marriage, but from a marriage with such as are signified by a widow, a divorced woman, and one polluted, a harlot, falsity of doctrine is produced, it is therefore said, "Lest he profane his seed among his people." Seed signifies genuine truth of doctrine, and thus also the doctrine of genuine truth from the good of celestial love; and his people signify those who are of the church in which is the doctrine of genuine truth from the Word. And as this was representative of the heavenly marriage, which is the marriage of the Lord with the church, it is therefore said, "I Jehovah do sanctify him."
[20] Because the high priest represented the Lord as to Divine Good, and his seed signified Divine Truth, which is the same as genuine truth of doctrine, it was therefore also made a statute, that a man a stranger, who was not of the seed of Aaron, should not come near to burn incense before Jehovah (Numbers 16:40). A man a stranger signifies falsity of doctrine, and to burn incense signifies worship from spiritual good, which, in its essence, is genuine truth; while the seed of the high priest signifies Divine Truth from a celestial origin; for this reason a law was made that no stranger, who was not of the seed of Aaron, should offer incense in the tent of meeting before Jehovah.
[21] When it is known what feature of heaven and the church was represented by other persons also mentioned in the Word, the signification of their seed will be understood, as in the case of the seed of Noah, Ephraim, and Caleb, in the following passages.
Concerning Noah, "I will establish my covenant with you, and with your seed after you" (Genesis 9:9).
Israel said of Ephraim, "His seed shall be the fulness of the earth" (Genesis 48:19).
And Jehovah said of Caleb, "His seed shall inherit the earth (Numbers 14:24).
What Noah and Ephraim represented and signified has been explained in the Arcana Coelestia. Caleb represented those who were to be introduced into the church, therefore by their seed is signified the truth of doctrine of the church.
[22] The signification of the seed of man is also similar to that of the seed of the field, because a field equally as man signifies the church; therefore, in some passages, the terms seed and sowing are applied to the people of the earth, just as they are applied to a field; as in the following.
In Jeremiah:
"I had planted thee a noble vine, a seed of truth; how art thou turned into branches of a strange vine unto me" (2:21).
In David:
"Their fruit will I destroy from the earth, and their seed from the sons of man" (Psalm 21:10).
In Hosea:
"I will sow" Israel "unto me in the earth" (2:23).
In Zechariah:
"I will sow" Judah and Joseph "among the peoples, and in remote places they shall remember me" (10:9).
In Ezekiel:
"I will look again to you, that ye may be tilled and sown; then will I multiply man upon you, all the house of Israel, the whole of it" (36:9, 10).
In Jeremiah:
"Behold, the days come in which I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man, and the seed of beast" (Jeremiah 31:27).
In Matthew:
"The seed sown are the sons of the kingdom" (Matthew 13:38).
But it is not necessary to show here that the seed of the field has a signification similar to that of the seed of man, for we have here only to explain the signification of the seed of the woman, and to confirm it from the Word.
[23] Because seed signifies truth of doctrine from the Word, and, in the highest sense, Divine Truth, therefore, in the opposite sense, seed signifies falsity of doctrine, and infernal falsity.
As in Isaiah:
"Draw near hither, ye sons of the sorceress, seed of an adulterer, and ye that have committed whoredom. Against whom do ye sport yourselves, against whom do ye make wide the mouth and draw out the tongue? Are ye not the children of transgression, the seed of falsehood" (57:3, 4).
By sons of a sorceress and seed of an adulterer, are signified falsities from the Word when it has been falsified and adulterated, by the sons of the sorceress, falsities from the Word falsified, and by the seed of an adulterer, falsities from the Word adulterated. The Word is said to be falsified when truths are perverted, and to be adulterated when its goods are similarly perverted, also when its truths are applied to the loves of self. Children of transgression and the seed of falsehood, signify falsities flowing from such former falsities. To sport themselves, signifies to take delight in things falsified; to make wide the mouth, signifies the delight in thought therefrom, and to draw out the tongue, signifies delight in teaching and propagating such falsities.
[24] In Isaiah:
"Woe to the sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evil doers, sons that are corrupters; they have forsaken Jehovah, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel, they have gone away backwards" (589, 659:20, 697).
[25] In Moses:
"He who hath given his seed to Molech shall surely die, the people of the land shall stone him with stones. I will set My faces against that man, and I will cut him off from the midst of his people, because he hath given of his seed to Molech, to defile my sanctuary, and to profane the name of my holiness" (655). That such falsity is destructive of all the good of the Word and of the church is signified by, "I will set my faces against that man, and I will cut him off from the midst of his people, because he hath polluted my sanctuary, and profaned the name of my holiness," sanctuary signifying the truth of heaven and of the church, and the name of holiness all its quality. From the passages quoted, it is now evident that seed, in the highest sense, means Divine Truth from the Lord, and it consequently means the truth of the Word and of the doctrine of the church which is from the Word, while in the bad sense it means, infernal falsity which is the opposite of that truth.
Footnotes:
1. Gr. anaklino [in Greek].
768. And went away to make war with the remnant of her seed, signifies and an ardent effort, springing from a life of evil, to assault the truths of doctrine of that church. This is evident from the signification of "going away," as being an ardent effort from a life of evil (of which presently); also from the signification of "making war," as being to assault and to wish to destroy (of which above n. 573, 734); also from the signification of "her seed," as being the truths of doctrine of the church (of which also presently). It is said "the remnant of her seed" because it means those who are in these truths, and in an abstract sense the truths of that church, which they believe themselves capable of assaulting and destroying. "To go away" signifies an ardent effort from a life of evil, because "to go" signifies in the spiritual sense to live, therefore in the Word the expressions "going with the Lord," and "walking with Him" and "after Him," are used, and these signify to live from the Lord; but when "going" is predicated of the dragon, whose life is a life of evil, it signifies to make an effort from that life; and because that effort is an effort from hatred, which is signified by "his anger" (See above, n. 754, 758), so an ardent effort is signified because he who makes an effort from hatred makes an ardent effort.
[2] As the hatred of those who are meant by "the dragon" is a hatred against those who are in the truths of doctrine of the church which is the New Jerusalem, therefore it is a hatred against the truths of doctrine that such have. For those who are in love towards anyone, as also those who are in hatred against anyone, are indeed in love towards a person or in hatred against a person with whom those things are which they either love or hate, and these are the truths of doctrine with them, therefore the truths of doctrine are signified by "the remnant of her seed." This shows that in the spiritual sense of the Word person is not regarded, but a thing abstracted from person, as here a thing that is with the person. This may be further illustrated by the saying in the Word that the neighbor must be loved as one loves himself, but in the spiritual sense this does not mean that the neighbor is thus to be loved in respect to person, but those things are to be loved which are from the Lord with the person; for a person is not actually loved because of his being a person or a man, but because of his being such as he is; thus the person is loved because of his quality, consequently that quality is meant by "neighbor," and that is the spiritual neighbor or the neighbor in the spiritual sense that must be loved; and this with those who are of the Lord's church is everything that proceeds from the Lord; and this in general refers to all good, spiritual, moral, and civil; therefore those who are in these goods love those who are in the same goods; and this therefore is to love one's neighbor as oneself.
[3] From this it can be seen that "the remnant of her seed," namely, of the woman who signifies the church, means those who are in the truths of doctrine of that church; and in a sense abstracted from persons which is the genuine spiritual sense, the truths of the doctrine of that church are meant.
Likewise elsewhere in the Word, as in the following passages. In Moses:
I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and the woman's seed. He shall trample on thy head and thou shalt wound his heel (Genesis 3:15).
This is a prophecy respecting the Lord. The "serpent" here signifies the sensual of man, where what is man's own has its seat, which in itself is nothing but evil; and the "woman" signifies the spiritual church, or the church which is in Divine truths. And as the sensual of man has been destroyed, and when the man of the church becomes spiritual he is elevated out of the sensual, it is said, "there shall be enmity between thee and the woman." "The seed of the serpent" signifies all falsity from evil, and "the seed of the woman" all truth from good, and in the highest degree Divine truth; and as all Divine truth is from the Lord, and as by it the Lord destroys falsity from evil, it is said "He shall trample on thy head, "He" meaning the Lord, and "head" all falsity from evil. That the sensual would still do injury to Divine truth in its ultimates, which is the Word in the sense of the letter, is signified by "He shall wound the heel;" "the heel" signifying that ultimate and that sense. That the ultimate of truth and the sense of the letter have suffered and do still suffer hurt from the sensual, can be seen from this single example, that the papists understand the woman here to mean Mary and the worship of her; therefore in their Bibles the reading is not "He," but "it" and "she." So in a thousand other passages.
[4] In Jeremiah:
Behold the days shall come in which I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man and with the seed of beast (Jeremiah 31:27).
This is said of the Lord, and of the New Church from Him. His coming is signified by "Behold the days shall come;" "to sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah" signifies to reform those who will be of that church, "the house of Israel" signifying the spiritual church, and "the house of Judah" the celestial church; and as reformation is effected by means of spiritual truths and by means of natural truths therefrom, it is said "with the seed of man and with the seed of beast;" "the seed of man" signifying spiritual truth from which man has intelligence, and "the seed of beast" signifying natural truth from which man has knowledge, also life according to it, both of these from the affection of good. That "man" signifies the affection of spiritual truth and good may be seen above (n. Malachi 2:15)
"Is there one that seeketh the seed of God?" signifies that no one seeks Divine truth; evidently "the seed of God" here signifies Divine truth; so "the born of God" mean those who are regenerated by the Lord by means of Divine truth, and a life according thereto.
[5] In Isaiah:
Jehovah willed to bruise Him, He hath weakened Him; if Thou shalt make His soul a guilt offering, He shall see seed, He shall prolong days, and the will of Jehovah shall prosper by His hand (Isaiah 53:10).
This is said of the Lord, and the whole of this chapter treats of His temptations, by means of which He subjugated the hells. The increasing grievousness of His temptations is described by "Jehovah willed to bruise Him, and to weaken Him;" the most grievous temptation, which was the passion of the cross, is signified by "if Thou shalt make His soul a guilt offering;" "to make His soul a guilt offering" signifies the last temptation, by which He fully subjugated the hells and fully glorified His Human, which is the means of redemption. The Divine truth that afterwards proceeded from His Divine Human, and the salvation of all who receive Divine truth from Him, is signified by "He shall see seed;" that this will continue forever is signified by "He shall prolong days;" "to prolong" signifying in reference to the Lord to continue forever, and "days" signifying states of light, which are states of the enlightenment of all by Divine truth; that this is from His Divine for the salvation of the human race is signified by "the will of Jehovah shall prosper by His hand."
[6] In the same:
Fear not, for I am with thee; I will bring thy seed from the sunrise, and I will bring thee together from the west; I will say to the north, Give, and to the south, Hold not back; bring my sons from afar, and my daughters from the end of the earth (Isaiah 43:5, 6).
This is supposed to refer to the bringing back of the sons of Israel into the land of Canaan; but this is not the meaning here; but it means the salvation by the Lord of all who receive Divine truth from Him; and of whom the New Church consists; this is what is signified by "His seed which shall be brought from the sunrise, and brought together from the west, and which the north shall give and the south 1shall not hold back," therefore it also follows: "Bring My sons from afar, and My daughters from the end of the earth;" "sons" signifying those who are in the truths of the church, and "daughters" those who are in its goods. (But these words may be seen explained above, n. 422, 724)
[7] In the same:
On the right hand and on the left thou shalt break forth, and thy seed shall inherit the nations and make the desolate cities to be inhabited (Isaiah 54:3).
This is said of the church from the Lord with the Gentiles, which church is here meant by "the barren woman that did not bear," who should have many sons (verse 1). "The seed that shall inherit the nations" signifies the Divine truth that shall be given to the Gentiles; "to break forth on the right hand and on the left" signifies extension and multiplication; the "right hand" signifying truth in light, and the "left hand" truth in the shade, for the reason that in the spiritual world to the right hand is the south where those are who are in the clear light of truth, and to the left is the north where those are who are in an obscure light of truth. "To make the desolate cities to be inhabited" signifies their life according to Divine truths, which before this had been lost; "cities" meaning the truths of doctrine from the Word; "to be inhabited" signifying to live according to truths, and "desolate cities" those truths heretofore lost, that is, with the Jewish nation.
[8] In the same:
Their seed shall become known among the nations and their offspring in the midst of the peoples; all that see them shall acknowledge them that they are the seed that Jehovah hath blessed (Isaiah 61:9).
This, too, is said of the church to be established by the Lord. "The seed that shall become known among the nations" signifies Divine truth that will be received by those who are in the good of life; "and the offspring in the midst of the peoples" signifies life according to Divine truth; "those that see them and shall acknowledge that they are the seed" signifies enlightenment, that it is the genuine truth that they receive; "that Jehovah hath blessed" signifies that it is from the Lord. But such is the signification of these words in a sense abstracted from persons, but in a strict sense those are meant who will receive Divine truth from the Lord.
[9] In the same:
They are the seed of the blessed of Jehovah, and their offspring with them (Isaiah 65:23).
This, also, is said of the church from the Lord; and "the seed of the blessed of Jehovah" means those who will receive Divine truth from the Lord; and "their offspring," those who live according to it; but in the sense abstracted from persons, which is the genuine spiritual sense, "seed" means Divine truth, and "offspring," a life according to it (as just above). "Offspring" mean those who live according to Divine truth, and in an abstract sense life according to it, because the word in the original rendered "offspring" means going out or proceeding, and that which goes out or proceeds from Divine truth received is a life according to Divine truth.
[10] In the same:
As the new heavens and the new earth which I am about to make shall stand before Me, so shall your seed and your name stand (148)
[11] In David:
Thou hast founded the earth, and the heavens are the work of Thy hands; they shall perish, and Thou shalt stand; they shall all wax old like garments, like a vesture shalt Thou change them, and they shall be changed; but Thou art the same, and Thy years shall have no end; the sons of Thy servants shall dwell, and their seed shall be established before Thee (Psalms 102:25-28).
"The earth" which God formed, and "the heavens the work of His hands," which shall perish, have a similar signification as "the former earth and the former heaven" that passed away (in Revelation 21:1; about which, see at that place); and as the face of the earth and heavens in the spiritual world will be altogether changed at the day of the Last Judgment, and there will be a new earth and new heavens in place of the former, it is said "they shall all wax old like garments, like a vesture shalt Thou change them, and they shall be changed;" they are likened to garments because garments signify external truths, such as those had who were in the former heavens and the former earth, which were not permanent because they were not in internal truths. The state of Divine truth that shall endure from the Lord to eternity is signified by "Thou shalt stand," and "Thou art the same, and Thy years shall have no end;" "the years of God" signifying the states of Divine truth. "The sons of Thy servants shall dwell, and their seed shall be established before Thee," signifies that angels and men, who are recipients of Divine truth, shall have eternal life, and that truths of doctrine shall endure with them to eternity; "the sons of the servants of God" meaning angels and men who are recipients of Divine truth, and "their seed" meaning truths of doctrine.
[12] In the same:
A seed that shall serve Him shall be counted to the Lord for a generation (Psalms 22:30).
This also is said of the Lord; and "the seed that shall serve Him" means those who are in the truths of doctrine from the Word; and "it shall be counted to the Lord for a generation" signifies that they shall be His to eternity; "to be counted" signifying to be arranged and disposed in order, here to be numbered with or added to, thus to be His.
[13] In many passages in the Word mention is made of "the seed of Abraham," "of Isaac," and "of Jacob," likewise of "the seed of Israel," and in the historical sense of the letter their posterity is meant; but in the spiritual sense Divine truth and the truth of doctrine from the Word are meant, for the reason that Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Israel, mean in that sense the Lord, as can be seen from passages in the Word where they are mentioned; as where it is said:
That they shall come from the east and from the west, and shall recline with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of the heavens (Matthew 8:11);
which means the enjoyment of celestial good from the Lord. So also elsewhere. And as the Lord is meant by them in the internal sense, "their seed" signifies Divine truth which is from the Lord, and thus also the truth of doctrine from the Word; as in these passages. In Moses:
Jehovah said to Abram, All the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it and to thy seed forever; and I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth (Genesis 13:15, 16).
Look up towards the heavens and number the stars, so shall thy seed be (Genesis 15:5).
In thy seed shall all the nations be blessed (Genesis 22:18).
To Isaac:
To thee and to thy seed will I give all these lands; and I will multiply thy seed as the stars of heaven; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed (Genesis 26:3-5).
To Jacob:
Unto thy seed after thee will I give this land (Genesis 35:12).
The land given to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, and to their seed after them (Deuteronomy 1:8).
The seed of your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Deuteronomy 4:37; 10:15; 11:9).
Since, as has been said, the Lord is meant by "Abraham," "Isaac," and "Jacob;" by "Abraham" the Lord in reference to the celestial Divine of the church; by "Isaac" in reference to the spiritual Divine of the church, and by "Jacob" in reference to the natural Divine of the church, so their "seed" signifies Divine truth proceeding from the Lord; "the seed of Abraham" signifying celestial Divine truth; "the seed of Isaac" spiritual Divine truth, and "the seed of Jacob" natural Divine truth; consequently those also are meant who are in Divine truth from the Lord. But the "land which the Lord will give to them" means the church which is in Divine truth from Him; and thence it may be known what is signified by "in their seed shall all nations be blessed;" for they could not be blessed in their posterity, namely, in the Jewish and Israelitish nation, but they were to be blessed in the Lord and from the Lord by the reception of Divine truth from Him.
[14] That "the seed of Abraham" does not mean the Jews is evident from the Lord's words in John:
The Jews answered, We are Abraham's seed, and have never been servants to any man. Jesus answered, I know that ye are Abraham's seed; yet ye seek to kill Me, because My word hath no place in you; ye are of your father the devil (119, 433).
[15] In David:
He will make them to fall in the wilderness, and will make their seed to fall among the nations and will scatter them in the lands (Psalms 106:26, 27).
"To make their seed to fall among the nations and to scatter them in the lands" signifies that Divine truth would perish with them by evils and falsities. "The seed of Israel" has a similar signification in these passages:
Thou Israel My servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham My friend, whom I have taken hold of from the ends of the earth (Isaiah 41:8, 9).
I will pour out My spirit upon the seed of Israel and Jacob, and My blessing upon their offspring (Isaiah 44:3).
In Jehovah all the seed of Israel shall be justified, and shall glory (Isaiah 45:25).
Jehovah who brought up and who brought back the seed of the house of Israel out of the land 2towards the north, and out of all the lands whither I have driven them, that they may dwell upon their own land (Jeremiah 23:8).
In the highest sense "Israel" means the Lord in relation to the internal of the church, therefore "his seed" similarly signifies the Divine truth that is with those who are of the church that is signified by "Israel." "Israel" means the church with those who are interiorly natural, and have truths therein from a spiritual origin. For this reason "Israel" signifies the church that is spiritual-natural.
[16] Since "David" in the Word means the Lord in reference to royalty, and the Lord's royalty means Divine truth in the church, so his "seed" means those who are in the truths of the church from the Word, who are called "the sons of the king" and "the sons of the kingdom;" it means also that Divine truth is with them, as in the following passages:
As the host of the heavens shall not be numbered, nor the sand of the sea measured, so will I multiply the seed of David and the Levites My ministers (205); therefore "his seed" signifies that Divine truth with those who are in truths from good, thus also who are in the truths of doctrine from the Word; for truths of doctrine from the Word, or the truths of the Word, are all from good; and as these are meant by "the seed of David," so in an abstract sense the truth of the Word or the truth of the doctrine from the Word is meant by it. That "the seed of David" does not mean his posterity anyone can see, for it is said that "his seed shall be multiplied as the host of the heavens and the sand of the sea," and that "it shall be established and set to eternity," also that "his throne shall be built up to generation and generation," and "shall be as the days of the heavens," and "as the sun," which cannot at all be said of the seed of David, that is, of his posterity and of his throne, for where now are his seed and throne to be found? But all these things harmonize when "David" is taken to mean the Lord, "his throne" heaven and the church, and "his seed" the truth of heaven and of the church.
[17] In Jeremiah:
If I shall not have set My covenant of day and night, the statutes of heaven and of earth, I will also reject the seed of Jacob and of David My servant, that I will not take of his seed to be rulers over the seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; and I will cause their captivity to return, and will have compassion on them (Jeremiah 33:25, 26).
In the same:
Jehovah said, who giveth the sun for a light by day, the statutes of the moon and stars for a light by night. If these statutes shall remove from before Me, the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before Me all the days (Jeremiah 31:35, 36).
In these passages, again, "the seed of Jacob" and of "David," likewise "the seed of Israel," mean those who are in Divine truths; but "the seed of Jacob" means those who are in natural Divine truth, "David" those who are in spiritual Divine truth, and "Israel" those who are in natural-spiritual Divine truth, which is mediate between natural Divine truth and spiritual Divine truth. For there are degrees of Divine truth, as there are degrees of its reception in the three heavens by the angels and in the church. "The covenant of day and night, and the statutes of heaven and earth," signifying the conjunction of the Lord with those who are in Divine truths in the heavens, and with those who are in Divine truths on the earth, "covenant" signifying conjunction, and "statutes" the laws of conjunction, which are also the laws of order, and the laws of order are Divine truths; while "day" signifies such light of truth as the angels in the heavens have; and "night" such light of truth as men on the earth have, likewise such light of truth as those have who are in the heavens and on the earth under the Lord as a moon; therefore it is added, "who giveth the sun for a light by day, and the statutes of the moon and stars for a light by night." But here "the seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob," mean all who are of the Lord's church, in every degree; of these and of the seed of Jacob and David it is said that if they acknowledge not the Lord, and receive not Divine truth from Him, the Lord will not reign over them.
[18] In the same:
No one of his seed shall prosper who sitteth upon the throne of David and ruleth anymore in Judah (Jeremiah 22:30).
This is said of Coniah, king of Judah, who is here called "a despised and worthless idol," and it is said of him:
That he and his seed shall be taken away and cast unto the earth (verse 28).
This king has a similar signification as Satan, and "his seed" signifies infernal falsity; that this shall not rule in the Lord's church, in which is celestial Divine truth, is signified by "no one of his seed shall sit upon the throne of David or shall rule anymore in Judah;" "Judah" here meaning the celestial church in which the Lord reigns.
[19] As "David" represented the Lord's royalty, so "Aaron" represented his priesthood; therefore "the seed of Aaron" means those who are in the affection of genuine truth which is from celestial good. Because of this representation this statute was given for Aaron:
The high priest shall not take a widow, or one divorced, or one polluted, a harlot, but he shall take a virgin of his own people to wife, lest he profane his seed among his people; I Jehovah do sanctify him (Leviticus 21:14, 15).
As "man and wife" In the Word in its spiritual sense signify the understanding of truth and the will of good, and as thought is of the understanding and affection is of the will, so "man and wife" also signify the thought of truth and the affection of good, likewise truth and good. Thence it is clear what is signified by a "widow," by "one divorced," and by "one polluted" and "a harlot;" "a widow" signifies good without truth, because left by truth, which is the man; "one divorced" signifies good rejected by truth, thus discordant good; and "one polluted, a harlot," signifies good adulterated by falsities, which is no longer good but evil. Because of this signification of these women the high priest was forbidden to take any of them to wife, because he represented the Lord in reference to the priesthood, which signified the Divine good. And as a "virgin" signifies the will or affection of genuine truth, and genuine truth makes one with and is in harmony with Divine good, and these two are conjoined in heaven and in the church, and their conjunction is called the heavenly marriage, therefore it was required that the high priest should take a virgin to wife. And as the truth of doctrine is born of this marriage, while the falsity of doctrine is born of a marriage with such as are signified by "a widow," "one divorced," and "one polluted, a harlot," it is said, "lest he profane his seed among his peoples," "seed" signifying the genuine truth of doctrine, and thus also the doctrine of genuine truth from the good of celestial love, and "his peoples" signifying those who are of the church in which there is the doctrine of genuine truth from the Word. Also as this was a representative of the heavenly marriage, which is the marriage of the Lord with the church, therefore it is said, "I Jehovah do sanctify him."
[20] Since the high priest represented the Lord in reference to Divine good, and his "seed" signified Divine truth, which is the same as the genuine truth of doctrine, it was also made a statute:
That no man a stranger, who was not of the seed of Aaron, shall come near to burn incense before Jehovah (Numbers 16:40).
"A man a stranger" signifies the falsity of doctrine, and "burning incense" signifies worship from spiritual good, which in its essence is genuine truth; and "the seed of the high priest" signifies Divine truth from a celestial origin; therefore it was decreed by law that no stranger who was not of the seed of Aaron should burn incense in the Tent of meeting before Jehovah.
[21] When it is known what of heaven and the church was represented also by other persons mentioned in the Word, what is signified by "their seed" will also be known, as by the seed of Noah, Ephraim, and Caleb, in the following passages. Of Noah:
I establish My covenant with you and with your seed after you (Genesis 9:9).
Israel said of Ephraim:
His seed shall be the fullness of the earth 3(Genesis 48:19).
And Jehovah said of Caleb:
His seed shall inherit the earth (Numbers 14:24).
What "Noah" and "Ephraim" represented and signified has been explained in the Arcana Coelestia. But "Caleb" represented those who are to be introduced into the church; therefore their "seed" signifies the truth of the doctrine of the church.
[22] The "seed of the field" has a similar signification as the "seed of man," because a "field," the same as "man," signifies the church; for this reason the terms "seed" and also "sowing" are in some passages applied to the people of the earth the same as they are applied to a field, as in the following. In Jeremiah:
I had planted thee a noble vine, a seed of truth; how art thou turned into branches of a strange vine unto Me! (Jeremiah 2:21).
In David:
Their fruit will I 4destroy from the earth, and their seed from the sons of man (Psalms 21:10).
In Hosea:
I will sow Israel unto Me in the earth (Hosea 2:23).
In Zechariah:
I will sow Judah and Joseph among the peoples, and they shall remember Me in remote places (Zechariah 10:9).
In Ezekiel:
I will look again to you, that ye may be tilled and sown; then will I multiply man upon you, all the house of Israel, the whole of it (Ezekiel 36:9).
In Jeremiah:
Behold the days shall come in which I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man and with the seed of beast (Jeremiah 31:27).
In Matthew:
The seed sown are the sons of the kingdom (Matthew 13:38).
But it is not necessary to show here that the seed of the field has a similar meaning as the seed of man, for here only what is signified by "the seed of the woman" is what is to be explained and confirmed from the Word.
[23] Since "seed" signifies the truth of doctrine from the Word, and in the highest sense Divine truth, so in the contrary sense "seed" signifies the falsity of doctrine and infernal falsity. As in Isaiah:
Draw near hither, ye sons of the sorceress, ye seed of the adulterer, and thou that hast 5committed whoredom. Against whom do ye sport yourselves, against whom do ye make wide the mouth and lengthen the tongue? Are ye not children of transgression, the seed of a lie? (Isaiah 57:3, 4)
"The sons of the sorceress and the seed of an adulterer" signify falsities from the Word when it has been falsified and adulterated, "the sons of the sorceress" meaning the falsities from the Word falsified, and "the seed of an adulterer," falsities from the Word adulterated. The Word is said to be falsified when its truths are perverted, and to be adulterated when its goods are perverted, as also when truths are applied to the loves of self. "Children of transgression and seed of a lie" signify falsities flowing from such prior falsities. "To sport themselves" signifies to take delight in things falsified; "to make wide the mouth" signifies delight in the thought therefrom; and "to lengthen the tongue" delight in teaching and propagating such falsities.
[24] In Isaiah:
Woe to the sinful nation, a people heavy with iniquity, a seed of evil-doers, sons that are corrupters; they have forsaken Jehovah, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel, they have estranged themselves backwards (589, 659, 697)
[25] In Moses:
He that hath given of his seed to Molech dying shall die, the people of the land shall stone him with stones. I will set My faces against that man, and I will cut him off from the midst of his people, because he hath given of his seed to Molech, to defile My sanctuary and to profane the name of My holiness (655.) That such falsity is destructive of every good of the Word and of the church is signified by "I will set My faces against that man, and I will cut him off from the midst of his people, because he hath defiled My sanctuary and profaned the name of My holiness," "sanctuary" signifying the truth of heaven and the church, and "the name of holiness" all that it is. From the passages quoted it can now be seen that "seed" means in the highest sense Divine truth which is from the Lord, and thence the truth of the Word and of the doctrine of the church which is from the Word; while in the evil sense it means infernal falsity which is the opposite of that truth.
Footnotes:
1. The Latin has "west," but see the text above it.
2. The Latin has "and the land;" the Hebrew "out of the land, "as found in Arcana Coelestia 566.
3. The Hebrew has "of the nations," as found in Arcana Coelestia 6286, 6297.
4. The Hebrew has "wilt Thou," as found in Arcana Coelestia 348.
5. The Hebrew has "she that hath," as also found in Arcana Coelestia 7297, 8904.
768. "Et abivit facere bellum cum reliquis seminis ejus." - Quod significet et inde ex vita mali ardentem conatum impugnandi vera doctrinae illius ecclesiae, constat ex significatione "abire", quod sit a vita mali ardens conatus (de qua sequitur); ex significatione "facere bellum", quod sit impugnare et velle destruere (de qua supra, n. 573, 734); ex significatione "seminis ejus", quod sint vera doctrinae ecclesiae (de qua etiam sequitur) quod "reliqui seminis" dicantur, est quia intelliguntur illi qui in iis veris sunt, et in sensu abstracto vera illius ecclesiae, quae impugnare et destruere se posse credunt.
Quod "abire" significet ex vita mali ardenter conari, est quia ire in sensu spirituali significat vivere; inde in Verbo dicitur "ire cum Domino", et "ambulare cum Ipso" et "post Ipsum", per quae significatur vivere a Domino: at cum "ire" dicitur de dracone, cujus vita est vita mali, significatur ex illa vita conari; et quia conatus ille est conatus ex odio, quod significatur per "iram" ejus supra (n. 754, 758), inde significatur ardens conatus; nam qui ex odio conatur, is ardenter conatur.
[2] Quoniam odium illorum, qui per "draconem" intelliguntur, est odium contra illos qui in veris doctrinae ecclesiae, quae est Nova Hierosolyma, sunt, ideo est odium contra vera doctrinae, quae sunt apud illos; illi enim qui in aere erga aliquem sunt, tum qui in odio contra aliquem, illi quidem in [amore sunt erga personam, vel in] odio sunt contra personam, apud quam illa sunt quae vel amant vel odio habent, et ea sunt vera doctrinae apud illos ideo sunt vera doctrinae quae per "reliquos seminis ejus" significantur. Inde constare potest quod in sensu spirituali Verbi non spectetur persona, sed res abstracte a persona, hic res quae apud personam. Hoc adhuc illustrari potest per hoc: dicitur in Verbo quod "proximus amandus sit sicut ipse se amat"; at in sensu spirituali non intelligitur quod proximus quoad personam ita amandus sit, sed quod illa quae apud personam a Domino sunt, amanda sint; persona enim actualiter non amatur ex eo quod persona aut homo sit, sed quod talis aut talis sit; ita amatur persona ex quali ejus; quare id quale est quod per "proximum" intelligitur, quod itaque est proximus spiritualis, seu proximus in spirituali sensu, qui amandus est; et hoc, apud illos qui ab ecclesia Domini sunt, est omne quod procedit a Domino, quod in genere se refert ad omne bonum tam spirituale quam morale et civile; quare qui in his bonis sunt, illi amant eos qui in iisdem sunt: hoc itaque est "amare proximum sicut se ipsum."
[3] Ex his constare potest quod per "reliquos seminis ejus", nempe "mulieris", per quam significatur ecclesia, intelligantur illi qui in veris doctrinae illius ecclesiae sunt; ac in sensu abstracto a personis, qui est genuinus sensus spiritualis, intelligantur vera doctrinae illius ecclesiae.
Similiter in Verbo alibi, ut in sequentibus locis:
- Apud Mosen,
"Inimicitiam ponam inter te et inter mulierem, et inter semen tuum et inter semen" mulieris; "Ille conculcabit tibi caput, et tu laedes Illi calcaneum" (Genesis 3:15):
prophetia de Domino; per "serpentem" ibi significatur sensuale hominis, ubi hominis proprium est, quod in se non est nisi quam malum; et per "mulierem" significatur ecclesia spiritualis, seu ecclesia quae in Divinis veris est; et quia sensuale hominis deperditum fuit, et homo ecclesiae elevatur a sensuali dum fit spiritualis, inde dicitur quod "inimicitia erit inter te et inter mulierem": per "semen serpentis" significatur omne falsum ex malo, et per "semen mulieris" omne verum ex bono, et in supremo gradu Divinum Verum; et quia omne Divinum Verum est a Domino, et Dominus per Id destruit falsum ex malo, ideo dicitur, "Ille conculcabit tibi caput"; "Ille" significat Dominum, et "caput" omne falsum ex malo: quod usque sensuale nociturum sit Divino Vero in ultimis ejus, quod est Verbum in sensu litterae, significatur per quod "laedet calcaneum"; "calcaneus" significat illud ultimum et illum sensum. Quod laedant et laeserint, constare potest ex unico hoc exemplo, quod Pontificii per "mulierem" intelligant Mariam, et ejus cultum; quare non "Ille" sed illud et illa in Bibliis illorum legitur. Ita in mille aliis locis.
[4] Apud Jeremiam,
"Ecce dies venient, ...quibus seminabo domum Israelis et domum Jehudae, semine hominis et semine bestiae" (31:27):
haec de Domino, et de nova ecclesia ab Ipso; adventus Ipsius significatur per "Ecce dies venient"; per "seminare domum Israelis et domum Jehudae" significatur reformare illos qui ab ea ecclesia erunt; per "domum Israelis" significatur ecclesia spiritualis, et per "domum Jehudae" ecclesia caelestis; et quia reformatio fit per vera spiritualia et per vera naturalia inde, dicitur, "semine hominis et semine bestiae"; per "semen hominis" significatur verum spirituale ex quo homini intelligentia; et per "semen bestiae" significatur verum naturale ex quo homini scientia, et secundum id vita; utrumque ex affectione boni: quod "homo" significet affectionem veri et boni spiritualis videatur supra (n. 280); et quod "bestia" affectionem naturalem (n. 650); "ita semen hominis et semen bestiae" significat vera illarum affectionum.
Apud Malachiam,
"Non unus.. facit cui spiritus; quid num unus quaerit semen Dei?" (Malachiam 2:15):
"Quid num quaerit unus semen Dei?" significat quod nullus quaerat Divinum Verum; quod hic "semen Dei" significet Divinum Verum, patet; inde per "natos a Deo" intelliguntur qui regenerati sunt a Domino per Divinum Verum, et per vitam secundum illud.
[5] Apud Esaiam,
"Jehovah voluit conterere Ipsum, infirmavit; si posueris reatum animam suam, videbit semen, prolongabit dies, et voluntas Jehovae per manum Ipsius prosperabitur" (Esaiam 53:10):
haec de Domino; et de Ipsius tentationibus per quas subjugavit inferna, ibi in toto capite agitur: ingravescentia tentationum describitur per quod "Jehovah voluerit conterere et infirmare Ipsum"; gravissima tentatio, quae fuit passio crucis, significatur per "si posueris reatum animam suam"; per "ponere reatum animam suam" significatur ultima tentatio, per quam plene subjugavit inferna, et plene glorificavit Humanum suum, per quae redemptio: Divinum Verum quod dein processit ex Divino Humano Ipsius, et salvatio omnium qui Divinum Verum ab Ipso recipiunt, significatur per "Videbit semen": quod in aeternum duraturum, significatur per "prolongabit dies"; "prolongare", cum de Domino, significat durationem in aeternum, et "dies" significant status lucis, qui sunt status illustrationum omnium per Divinum Verum: quod hoc a Divino Ipsius ad salvandum genus humanum, significatur per quod "voluntas Jehovae per manum Ipsius prosperabitur."
[6] - Apud eundem,
"Ne timeto, quia Tecum Ego; ab oriente adducam semen tuum, et ab occidente colligam te; dicam septentrioni, Da; et meridiei, Ne inhibe; adduc filios meos e longinquo, et filias meas ab extremitate terrae" (43:5, 6):
creditur quod per haec significetur reductio filiorum Israelis in terram Canaanem; sed hoc ibi non intelligitur, sed intelligitur salvatio a Domino omnium qui ab Ipso Divinum Verum recipiunt, a quibus nova ecclesia; haec per "semen Ipsius" quod ab oriente adducetur, ab occidente colligetur, et quod septentrio dabit, et 1
meridies non prohibebit, significatur: quare etiam sequitur, "Adduc filios meos e longinquo, et filias meas ab extremitate terrae"; per "filios" significantur qui in veris ecclesiae sunt, et per "filias" qui in bonis ejus. (Sed haec videantur supra, n. 422 [b] , 2
724 [d] , explicata.)
[7] Apud eundem,
"Ad dextram et sinistram erumpes, et semen tuum gentes hereditabit, et urbes desolatas habitari facient" (54:3):
haec de ecclesia a Domino apud gentes, quae ecclesia ibi intelligitur per "sterilem" quae non pepererat, cui multi filii (vers. I, ibi): per "semen quod hereditabit gentes" significatur Divinum Verum quod gentibus dabitur; per "ad dextram et ad sinistram erumpere" significatur extensio et multiplicatio; per "dextram" significatur verum quod in luce est, et per "sinistram" verum quod in umbra, ex causa quia in mundo spirituali ad dextram est meridies, ubi illi qui in clara luce veri sunt, et ad sinistram est septentrio, ubi illi qui in obscura luce veri sunt; per "urbes desolatas habitari facere" significatur vita eorum secundum Divina vera, quae antehac deperdita sunt; "urbes" sunt vera doctrinae ex Verbo, "habitari" significat vivere secundum illa, "urbes desolatae" 3
significant illa vera antehac deperdita, nempe apud gentem Judaicam.
[8] Apud eundem,
"Notum fiet in gentibus semen eorum, et prognati eorum in medio populorum; omnes videntes eos agnoscent eos, quod illi semen cui benedixit Jehovah" (61:9):
haec quoque de ecclesia a Domino instauranda; et per "semen" quod in gentibus notum fiet, significatur Divinum Verum quod recepturi illi qui in bono vitae sunt; et per "prognatos in medio populorum" significatur vita secundum illud; per "videntes" qui "agnoscent eos quod illi semen", significatur illustratio quod genuinum verum sit quod recipiunt; "cui benedixit Jehovah", significat quod a Domino: sed haec per illa significantur in sensu a personis abstracto, at in sensu stricto intelliguntur illi qui Divinum Verum a Domino recepturi sunt.
[9] Apud eundem,
"Semen benedictorum Jehovae illi, et prognati illorum cum illis" (65:23):
etiam hic de ecclesia a Domino; et per "semen benedictorum Jehovae" intelliguntur illi qui Divinum Verum a Domino recepturi sunt; et per "prognatos illorum" intelliguntur qui vivunt secundum illud; in sensu autem a personis abstracto, qui est genuinus sensus spiritualis, per "semen" intelligitur Divinum Verum, et per "prognatos" vita secundum illud (ut mox supra). Quod per "prognatos" intelligantur illi qui vivunt secundum Divinum Verum, et in sensu abstracto vita secundum illud, est quia in lingua originali vox prognatus est a voce quae significat exire et procedere; et quod exit et procedit a Divino Vero recepto est vita secundum illud.
[10] Apud eundem,
"Quemadmodum caeli novi et terra nova, quae facturus sum, stabunt coram Me, ..sic stabit semen vestrum, et nomen vestrum" (66:22):
haec quoque de Domino, et de salvatione fidelium ab Ipso: ecclesia nova ab Ipso intelligitur per "caelos novos et terram novam", per "caelos novos" ecclesia interna, et per "terram novam" ecclesia externa; quod Divinum Verum et quale ejus persistet, significatur per quod "stabit semen vestrum, et nomen vestrum"; per "semen" significatur Divinum Verum, quod etiam est verum doctrinae ex Verbo, et per "nomen" significatur quale ejus. (Quod par "nomen" significatur quale rei et quale status, videatur supra, n. 148.)
[11] Apud Davidem,
"Terram fundasti, et opus manuum tuarum caeli; illi peribunt, et Tu perstabis; et omnes sicut vestes veterascent, sicut vestem mutabis eos, et mutabuntur; Tu autem idem, et anni tui non consumentur, filii servorum tuorum habitabunt, et semen eorum coram Te stabilietur" (Psalms 102:26-29 [B.A. 25-28):
per "terram" quam Deus formavit, et per "caelos" qui opus manuum Ipsius, qui peribunt, significatur simile quod per "priorem terram" et "prius caelum" quae transierant (in Apocalypsi 21:1; de quibus ibi); et quia facies terrae et caelorum in mundo spirituali, die ultimi judicii prorsus mutabitur, ac loco priorum nova terra et novi caeli futuri, ideo dicitur quod "omnes sicut vestes veterascent, sicut vestem mutabis, et mutabuntur": comparantur vestibus, quia "vestes" significant vera externa, quae illis qui in priori caelo et in priori terra, quae non permanent, quia in veris internis non sunt: status Divini Veri, quod a Domino in aeternum permansurum est, significatur per "Tu perstabis, et Tu idem, et anni tui non consumentur"; per "annos Dei" significantur status Divini Veri: "filii servorum tuorum habitabunt, et semen eorum coram Te stabilietur", significat quod angelis et hominibus, qui receptiones Divini Veri sunt, vita aeterna erit, ac quod vera doctrinae apud illos in aeternum permansura sint; "filii servorum Dei" sunt angeli et homines, qui receptiones Divini Veri sunt; ac "semen eorum" sunt vera doctrinae.
[12] Apud eundem,
"Semen quod serviet Ipsi numerabitur Domino in generationem" (Psalms 22:31 [B.A. 30]):
hic quoque de Domino; et per "semen quod serviet Ipsi" intelliguntur qui in veris doctrinae ex Verbo sunt: et per "numerabitur Domino in generationem" significatur quod Ipsius erunt in aeternum; "numerari" significat ordinari et disponi, hic adnumerari seu adjici, ita esse Ipsius.
[13] In Verbo in plurimis locis dicitur, "Semen Abrahami", "Isaci" et "Jacobi", tum "semen Israelis"; et per id in sensu litterae historico intelligitur posteritas eorum, sed in sensu spirituali intelligitur Divinum Verum, ac verum doctrinae ex Verbo, ex causa, quia per "Abrahamum", "Isacum", "Jacobum" et "Israelem" in hoc sensu intelligitur Dominus, ut constare potest ex locis in Verbo ubi illi nominantur; ut ab hoc,
Quod venturi sint ab oriente usque et occidente, et accubituri cum Abrahamo, Isaco et Jacobo in regno caelorum (Matthaeus 8:11);
per quod intelligitur quod fruituri bono caelesti a Domino: ita quoque alibi: et quia Dominus per illos in sensu interno intelligitur, ideo per "semen" eorum significatur Divinum Verum quod a Domino, proinde etiam verum doctrinae quod ex Verbo; ut in his locis:
- Apud Mosen,
Jehovah dixit Abramo, "Omnem terram, quam tu vides, tibi dabo et semini tuo in perpetuum: et ponam semen tuum sicut pulverem terrae" (Genesis 13:15, 16);
"Suspice versus caelos, et numera stellas; .... sic erit semen tuum" (Gen. 15:5 4
);
"Benedicentur in semine tuo omnes gentes" (Genesis 22:18);
Ad Isacum,
"Tibi et semini tuo dabo omnes terras has, .... et multiplicabo semen tuum sicut stellas caeli; et benedicetur in semine tuo omnibus gentibus terrae" (Genesis 26:3-5);
Ad Jacobum,
"Semini tuo post te dabo terram hanc" (Genesis 35:12);
Terra data "Abrahamo, Isaco et Jacobo, .... et semini illorum post illos" (Deuteronomius 1:8);
Semen patrum vestrorum, Abrahami, Isaci et Jacobi (Deuteronomius 4:37; 10:15; 11:9):
quoniam per "Abrahamum", "Isacum" et "Jacobum" intelligitur Dominus, ut dictum est, per "Abrahamum" Dominus quoad Divinum caeleste ecclesiae, per "Isacum" quoad Divinum spirituale ecclesiae, et per "Jacobum" quoad Divinum naturale ecclesiae, ideo per "semen" eorum significatur Divinum Verum procedens a Domino; per "semen Abrahami" Divinum Verum caeleste, per "Isaci" Divinum Verum spirituale, et per "Jacobi" Divinum Verum naturale; consequenter etiam intelliguntur illi qui in Divino Vero a Domino sunt: per "terram" autem, quam Dominus daturus est illis, intelligitur ecclesia, quae in Divino Vero ab Ipso est; inde sciri potest quid significatur per quod "in semine illorum benedicentur omnes gentes"; non enim in posteritate illorum, nempe in gente Judaica et Israelitica, benedici potuerunt, sed in Domino et a Domino per receptionem Divini Veri ab Ipso.
[14] Quod per "semen Abrahami" non intellecti sint Judaei, constat ex Domini verbis apud Johannem,
Responderunt Judaei, "Semen Abrahami sumus, et nemini servi fuimus unquam: .... Jesus.. respondit, .... Scio quod semen Abrahami sitis, sed quaeritis Me occidere, quia Verbum meum non locum habet in vobis; .... vos ex patre diabolo estis" (Johannes 8:33, 34, 37, 44):
ex quibus patet quod illi non intellecti sint per "semen Abrahami", sed quod per "Abrahamum" intelligatur Dominus, et per "semen Abrahami" Divinum Verum a Domino, quod est Verbum; nam dicitur, "Scio quod semen Abrahami sitis, sed quaeritis Me occidere, quia Verbum meum non locum habet in vobis": quod dixerit Dominus, "Scio quod semen Abrahami sitis", significat quod sciat quod verum ecclesiae, quod est Verbum, apud illos esset; sed quod usque Dominum rejicerent, significatur per "Quaeritis Me occidere"; et quod non in Divinis veris a Domino essent, significatur per "quia Verbum meum non locum habet in vobis"; et quod non nisi quam malum et inde falsum apud illos esset, significatur per "Vos ex patre diabolo estis", et "Non est veritas in illo", et postea, "Quando loquitur mendacium, ex propriis loquitur"; per "mendacium" significatur Divinum Verum seu Verbum adulteratum: quod dixerit Dominus, "Scio quod semen Abrahami sitis", erat quoque quia per "Jehudam" significatur Dominus quoad Verbum (videatur supra, n. 119, 433 [a]).
[15] Apud Davidem,
"Facturus cadere eos in deserto, et facturus cadere semen eorum in gentes, et dispersurus eos in terras" (Psalms 106:26, 27):
per "facere cadere semen eorum inter gentes, et dispergere eos in terras", significatur quod Divinum Verum apud illos periturum sit per mala et per falsa. Simile significatur per "semen Israelis", in his locis: -
"Tu Israel servus meus, Jacobus quem elegi, semen Abrahami amici mei, quem apprehendi a finibus terrae" (Esaias 41:8, 9);
"Effundam spiritum meum super semen" Israelis et Jacobi, "et bene dictionem meam super natos" eorum (Esaias 44:3);
"In Jehovah justificabuntur, et gloriabuntur omne semen Israelis" (Esaias 45:25):
"Jehovah qui ascendere fecit, et reduxit semen domus Israelis, 5
e terra septentrionem versus, et ex omnibus terris quo depuli eos, ut habitent super terra sua" (Jeremias 23:8):
per "Israelem" in supremo sensu intelligitur Dominus quoad ecclesiae internum; quare per "semen ejus" similiter intelligitur Divinum Verum, quod apud illos qui ab ecclesia, quae per "Israelem" significatur, sunt: per "Israelem" intelligitur ecclesia apud illos qui interius naturales sunt, et in veris ibi ex origine spirituali; ideo per "Israelem" significatur ecclesia spiritualis naturalis.
[16] Quoniam per "Davidem" in Verbo intelligitur Dominus quoad regium, et per regium Domini significatur Divinum Verum in ecclesia, inde quoque per "semen" ejus intelliguntur illi qui in veris ecclesiae ex Verbo sunt, qui etiam vocantur "filii regis" et "filii regni", proinde etiam Divinum id Verum apud illos, in his sequentibus locis:
"Sicut non numerabitur exercitus caelorum, et non mensuratur arena maris, ita multiplicabo semen Davidis.., et Levitas ministros meos" (Jeremias 33:22);
"Pepigi foedus electo meo, juravi Davidi servo meo, in aeternum usque firmabo semen tuum, et aedificabo in generationem et generationem thronum tuum. .... Ponam in aeternum semen illius, et thronum illius sicut dies caelorum. .... Semen illius in aeternum erit, et thronus illius sicut sol coram Me" (Psalms 89:4, 5, 30, 37 [B.A. 3, 4, 29, 36]):
quod per "Davidem" in Verbo intelligatur Dominus quoad regium, quod est Divinum Verum in regno spirituali Domini, videatur supra (n. 205): inde per "semen" ejus significatur Divinum id Verum apud illos qui in veris ex bono sunt, ita quoque qui in veris doctrinae ex Verbo sunt; nam vera doctrinae ex Verbo, seu vera Verbi, omnia sunt ex bono: et quia illi per "semen Davidis" intelliguntur, ita etiam in sensu abstracto per id intelligitur verum Verbi, seu verum doctrinae ex Verbo. Quod per "semen Davidis" non intelligantur posteri ejus, quisque potest videre, nam dicitur quod "semen ejus multiplicabitur sicut exercitus caelorum et arena maris", quodque "firmabitur et ponetur in aeternum", et quod "thronus ejus aedificabitur in generationem et generationem", quodque "erit sicut dies caelorum", et "sicut sol"; quae de Davidis semine, hoc est, posteritate, deque ejus throno, prorsus non dici possunt; nam ubinam nunc semen ejus et thronus ejus? At omnia illa coincidunt, cum per "Davidem" intelligitur Dominus, per "thronum ejus" caelum et ecclesia, ac per "semen ejus" verum caeli et ecclesiae.
[17] Apud Jeremiam,
"Si non foedus meum diei et noctis, statuta caeli et terrae non posuero etiam semen Jacobi et Davidis servi mei reprobarem, ut non sumam de semine ejus dominantes super semen Abrahami, Isaci et Jacobi, et reducam captivitatem.., et miserebor.." (33:25, 26);
apud eundem,
"Dixit Jehovah dans solem in lucem diei, statuta lunae et stellarum in lucem noctis: .... Si recesserint statuta haec coram Me, ..etiam semen Israelis cessabunt, ut non sint gens coram Me omnibus diebus" (31:35, 36):
in his locis per "semen Jacobi" et "Davidis", tum per "semen Israelis", etiam intelliguntur illi qui in Divinis veris sunt; sed per "semen Jacobi" illi qui in Divino Vero naturali, per "Davidem" qui in Divino Vero spirituali, et per "Israelem" qui in Divino Vero naturali spirituali, quod est medium inter Divinum Verum naturale et spirituale; sunt enim gradus Divini Veri, sicut sunt gradus receptionis ejus ab angelis in tribus caelis, et in ecclesia: per "foedus diei et noctis", et per "statuta caeli et terrae", significatur conjunctio Domini cum illis qui in Divinis veris sunt in caelis, et qui in Divinis veris in terris; per "foedus" significatur conjunctio; per "statuta" significantur leges conjunctionis, quae etiam sunt leges ordinis, ac leges ordinis sunt Divina vera; per "diem" significatur lux veri qualis est apud angelos in caelis, et per "noctem" lux veri qualis est apud homines in terris, tum etiam lux veri qualis apud illos qui in caelis et in terris sub Domino ut Luna sunt; quare etiam dicitur, "Dans solem in lucem diei, et statuta lunae et stellarum in lucem noctis" per "semen" autem "Abrahami, Isaci et Jacobi", intelliguntur hic omnes qui ab ecclesia Domini sunt, in omni gradu; de quibus et de "semine Jacobi et Davidis" dicitur, quod si non agnoscerent Dominum, et non ab Ipso reciperent Divinum Verum, Dominus non regnaturus sit super illos.
[18] Apud eundem,
"Non prosperabitur de semine ejus quisquam qui sedeat super throno Davidis, et dominetur amplius in Jehudah" ( 6
):
haec de Chonia rege Jehudae, qui ibi vocatur "idolum contemptum et abjectum", et de quo dicitur,
Quod "ille et semen ejus sublati et projecti in terram" (vers. 28, ibi);
per quem regem simile significatur quod per "Satanam", et per "semen ejus" falsum infernale: quod hoc non dominabitur in ecclesia Domini, in qua Divinum Verum caeleste est, significatur per quod "non quisquam ex ejus semine sedebit super throno Davidis et dominabitur amplius in Jehudah"; "Jehudah" ibi est ecclesia caelestis, in qua Dominus regnat.
[19] Sicut per Davidem repraesentatum est regium Domini, ita per Aharonem repraesentatum est sacerdotium Ipsius; quare per "semen Aharonis" intelliguntur qui in affectione genuini veri sunt quod a bono caelesti. Propter repraesentationem talium, hoc pro 7
Aharone statutum est,
Sacerdos magnus "viduam aut repudiatam, aut corruptam meretricem non accipiet, sed Virginem de populis suis accipiet uxorem, ne profanet semen suum in populis suis: Ego.. Jehovah sanctificans illum" (Leviticus 21:14, 15):
quoniam per "virum et uxorem" in Verbo, in sensu ejus spirituali, significatur intellectus veri et voluntas boni, et quia cogitatio est intellectus et affectio est voluntatis, ideo etiam per "virum et uxorem" significatur cogitatio veri et affectio boni, tum verum et bonum: inde constare potest quid significatur per "viduam", per "repudiatam", perque "corruptam", et "meretricem"; per "viduam" significatur bonum absque vero, quia a vero, quod est "vir", relictum; per "repudiatam" significatur bonum rejectum a vero, ita discordans; per "corruptam meretricem" significatur bonum adulteratum a falsis, quod non amplius est bonum, sed malum. Quia talia significabantur per illas mulieres, ideo sacerdoti magno interdictum fuit aliquam ex illis in uxorem ducere, quia per sacerdotem magnum repraesentabatur Dominus quoad sacerdotium, per quod significabatur Divinum Bonum; et quia per "virginem" significatur voluntas seu affectio genuini veri, et genuinum verum unum facit et concordat cum Divino Bono, et illa duo in caelo et in ecclesia conjuncta sunt, et conjuncta vocantur conjugium caeleste, ideo sancitum fuit quod sacerdos magnus virginem duceret uxorem: et quia ex hoc conjugio gignitur verum doctrinae, at ex conjugio cum talibus quae significantur per "viduam", "repudiatam", "corruptam meretricem", gignitur falsum doctrinae, ideo dicitur, "ne profanet semen suum in populis suis"; per "semen" significatur genuinum verum doctrinae, et inde quoque doctrina genuini veri ex bono amoris caelestis, et per "populos ejus" significantur illi qui ab ecclesia, in qua est doctrina genuini veri ex Verbo: et quia id erat repraesentativum conjugii caelestis, quod est Domini cum ecclesia, ideo dicitur, "Ego Jehovah sanctificans illum."
[20] Quia per sacerdotem magnum repraesentatus est Dominus quoad Divinum [Bonum] , et per "semen" ejus significatum est Divinum Verum, quod idem est cum genuino vero doctrinae, ideo statutum est
Quod non vir alienus, qui non ex semine Aharonis est, accedet ad suffiendum suffimentum coram Jehovah (Numeri 17:5 [B.A. 16:40]):
per "virum alienum" significatur falsum doctrinae, et per "suffire suffimentum" significatur cultus ex bono spirituali, quod in sua essentia est genuinum verum; et per "semen sacerdotis magni" significatur Divinum Verum ex origine caelesti; ideo lex lata est ut non aliquis alienus, nisi qui ex semine Aharonis esset, suffitus in Tentorio conventus coram Jehovah daret.
[21] Quando notum est quid caeli et ecclesiae repraesentabatur per alios etiam in Verbo nominatos, etiam scitur quid per "Semen" illorum significatur; ut per "semen Noachi", "Ephraimi", et "Kalebi", in sequentibus:
De Noacho, "Erigo foedus meum vobiscum, et cum semine vestro post vos" (Genesis 9:9);
Israel dixit de Ephraimo, "Semen ejus erit plenitudo 8
terrae" (Genesis 48:19);
Et dixit Jehovah de Kalebo, "Semen ejus hereditabit terram" (Numeri 14:24):
quid per Noachum et Ephraimum repraesentatum et significatum est, in Arcanis Caelestibus explicatum est; per Kalebum autem repraesentati sunt qui intromittendi sunt in ecclesiam: inde etiam per "semen" eorum significatur verum doctrinae ecclesiae.
[22] Simile quod per "semen hominis" etiam significatur per "semen agri", ex causa quia per "agrum" significatur aeque ecclesia ac per "hominem": et quia simile significatur, ideo aliquibus in locis dicitur "semen" et quoque "seminare" de populo terrae sicut de agro, ut in sequentibus:
- Apud Jeremiam,
"Ego plantaveram te vitem nobilem.., semen veritatis; quomodo.. conversa es Mihi in palmites vitis alienae?" (2:21);
apud Davidem,
"Fructum eorum de terra 9
perdes, et semen eorum de filiis hominis" (Psalms 21:11 [B.A. 10]);
apud Hoscheam,
"Seminabo" 10
Israelem "Mihi in terra" (2:23);
apud Sachariam,
"Seminabo" Jehudam et Josephum "inter populos, et in locis remotis recordabuntur Mei" (10:9);
apud Ezechielem,
"Respiciam ad vos ut excolamini, et seminemini; tunc multiplicabo super vobis hominem, omnem domum Israelis totam" (36:9):
apud Jeremiam,
"Ecce dies venient.., quibus seminabo domum Israelis et domum Jehudae semine hominis et semine bestiae" (31:27); [et in parabola Domini, ]
Semen seminatum "sunt filii regni" (Matthaeus 13:38).
Quod autem "semen agri" simile significet cum "semine hominis", hic ostendere supersedetur, quia hic modo explicatur et ex Verbo confirmatur quid "semen mulieris" significat.
[23] Quoniam per "semen" significatur verum doctrinae ex Verbo, et in supremo sensu Divinum Verum, inde in Opposito sensu per "semen" significatur falsum doctrinae, et falsum infernale:
- Ut apud Esaiam,
"Vos accedite huc, filii praestigiatricis, semen adulteri, et scortata 11
es. Contra quem oblectatis vos? contra quem dilatatis os, elongatis linguam? Nonne vos nati praevaricationis, semen mendacii?" (57:3, 4):
per "natos praestigiatricis" et per "semen adulteri", significantur falsa ex falsificato et adulterato Verbo; per "natos praestigiatricis" falsa ex illo falsificato, et per "semen adulteri" falsa ex illo adulterato; Verbum dicitur falsificatum quando vera ejus pervertuntur, et dicitur adulteratum quando similiter bona ejus, tum quando vera applicantur amoribus sui: per "natos praevaricationis et semen mendacii", significantur falsa ex prioribus illis falsis scaturientia: per "oblectare se" significatur jucundum ex falsificatis capere: per "dilatare os" significatur jucundum cogitationis inde, et per "elongare linguam" significatur jucundum docendi et propalandi illa.
[24] Apud Esaiam,
"Vae genti peccatrici, populo gravi iniquitate, semini malorum, filiis corruptoribus, dereliquerunt Jehovam, provocarunt Sanctum Israelis, abalienarunt se retrorsum" (1:4):
per "gentem peccatricem" significantur illi qui in malis sunt, et per "populum gravem iniquitate" significantur illi qui in falsis inde sunt, nam "gens" in Verbo dicitur de malis, ac "populus" de falsis (videatur supra, n. 175, 331, 625): falsum illorum qui in malis sunt significatur per "semen malorum", et falsa illorum qui in falsis ex malo illo sunt significantur per "filios corruptores": (quod "filii" significent illos qui in veris sunt, et in opposito sensu qui in falsis, et abstracte vera et falsa, videatur supra, n. 724): per "dereliquerunt Jehovam et provocarunt Sanctum Israelis", significatur quod rejecerint Divinum Bonum et Divinum Verum; per "Jehovam" intelligitur Dominus quoad Divinum Bonum, et per "Sanctum Israelis" Dominus quoad Divinum Verum: et per quod "abalienaverint se retrorsum" significatur quod ex illis prorsus recesserint, et ad infernale malum et falsum abiverint, nam qui in malis et falsis sunt in mundo spirituali se retro vertunt a Domino (videatur in opere De Caelo et Inferno 123).
Apud eundem,
"Non adunaberis cum iis in sepulchro, nam terram tuam perdidisti, populum tuum occidisti, non nominabitur in aeternum semen mali tiosorum" (14:20):
haec de Lucifero, per quem intelligitur Babel; et per "semen malitiosorum", quod non nominabitur in aeternum, significatur dirum falsum mali quod ex inferno. (Reliqua videantur explicata supra, n. 589, 659 [e] , 697.)
[25] Apud Mosen,
"Qui dederit de semine suo Molecho, moriendo morietur, populus terrae lapidabunt eum lapide: Ego.. dabo facies meas contra virum hunc, et exscindam eum e medio populi sui, eo quod de semine suo dederit Molecho, ut pollueret sanctuarium meum, et profanaret nomen sanctitatis meae" (Leviticus 20:3; 18:21):
per "dare de semine suo Molecho" significatur verum Verbi et inde doctrinae ecclesiae, per applicationem ad spurcos amores corporis, sicut ad neces, odia, vindictas, adulteria et similia, destruere, unde pro Divinis acceptantur falsa infernalia; haec falsa significantur per "semen datum Molecho;"
Molech erat deus filiorum Ammonis (1 Regnum 11:7),
et positus erat in valle Hinnomis, quae vocabatur Topheth, ubi cremabant filios et filias (2 Regnum 23:10);
per cujus "ignem" significabantur amores illi supradicti: et quia per "semen datum Molecho" significatur falsum tale infernale, et lapidatio fuit poena mortis pro laeso et destructo vero Verbi et inde doctrinae, dicitur quod "vir qui dederit de semine suo Molecho, moriendo morietur, et populus terrae lapidabunt eum lapide": (quod lapidatio fuerit poena laesi et destructi veri, videatur supra, n. 655): quod id falsum sit destructivum omnis boni Verbi et ecclesiae, significatur per "Dabo facies meas contra virum hunc, et exscindam e medio populi sui, quia polluit sanctuarium meum, et profanavit nomen sanctitatis meae"; per "sanctuarium" significatur verum caeli et ecclesiae, et per "nomen sanctitatis" significatur omne quale ejus. Ex locis allatis nunc constare potest quod per "semen" in sensu supremo intelligatur Divinum Verum quod a Domino, ac inde verum Verbi et doctrinae ecclesiae quod ex Verbo; et in malo sensu falsum infernale illi Vero oppositum.
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