240. But that "naked" signifies those who are without the understanding of truth because without the will of good, is evident from the passages in the Word where "naked" and "nakedness" occur, which will be cited below. This is what "naked" and "nakedness" signify, because "garments" signify truths that are of the understanding, and he that is without truths is also without good, for all spiritual good is procured by means of truths; without truths, or except by means of truths, there is no spiritual good; spiritual good is charity. "Naked" and "nakedness" signify lacking in, or the lack of, intelligence and love, thus of the understanding and will of good; also for the reason that garments cover the body and flesh, and "body" and "flesh" signify good, therefore "garments" signify the things that cover good.

[2] There is the understanding of truth, and the understanding of good; the understanding of truth is the understanding of such things as are of faith, and the understanding of good is the understanding of such things as are of love and charity. There is also the will of truth and the will of good; the will of truth is with those who are of the Lord's spiritual kingdom; but the will of good with those who are of His celestial kingdom. The latter, because they are in love to the Lord, and from this in mutual love, which is to them charity towards the neighbor, have truths inscribed on their hearts, and thence do them; and what proceeds out of the heart is out of the will of good, "heart" meaning the will of good. But those who are in love towards the neighbor, which love is charity, have truths inscribed not on their hearts but on the memory, and therefore on the intellectual mind, and what proceeds therefrom out of the affection is the will of truth. Thus it is that spiritual angels are distinguished from celestial angels. The latter appear naked in heaven, but the former clothed. Celestial angels appear naked because they have no need of the memory to retain truths, nor of understanding therefrom to comprehend them, because they have them inscribed on the heart, that is, on the love and will, and thence see them. But spiritual angels appear clothed because they have truths inscribed on the memory and thence on the understanding, and truths of the memory and of the understanding therefrom correspond to garments; they therefore all appear clothed according to their intelligence. (That angels are thus clothed, see in the work on Heaven and Hell 177-182.) From this it can be seen what "naked" signifies in both senses, namely, in the one sense it signifies those who are in celestial good, but in the other those who are not in good because not in truths.

[3] But these things can be better seen from the passages in the word where "naked" and "nakedness" occur, which now follow. In Isaiah:

Jehovah said to the prophet, Put off the sackcloth from upon thy loins, and put off thy shoe from upon thy foot. And he did so. Then Jehovah said, Like as My servant Isaiah hath gone naked and barefoot, so shall the king of Assyria lead the captivity of Egypt, and the crowd of Cush that is to be carried away, lads and old men, naked and barefoot, and with buttocks bare, the nakedness of Egypt (Isaiah 20:2-4).

What of the church and of heaven lies hidden in these words no one can see unless he knows their spiritual sense; for in every particular of the Word there is something of the church and of heaven, because the Word is spiritual; this shall therefore be explained. By "prophet" the doctrine of the church is here meant; "putting off the sackcloth from his loins," or presenting the loins naked, means to disclose filthy loves; the customary "sackcloth" of the prophet here means the breeches that cover, and "the loin" signify such loves; "putting off the shoe from upon his foot," or unshoeing the soles of the foot, signifies to disclose the filthy things of nature; that "the king of Assyria shall lead the captivity of Egypt, and the crowd of Cush that is to be carried away," means that the perverted rational will confirm evils and falsities by means of knowledges [scientifica] and by means of fallacies; "lads and old men" means by means of all things both general and particular; "naked and barefoot" means that they are deprived of all truth and all good; "buttocks bare" means the evils of self-love; "the nakedness of Egypt" means falsities therefrom. From this it is clear what things of the church and of heaven are here treated of, namely, that the perverted rational, which is the rational that denies God and attributes all things to nature, confirms itself by means of knowledges [scientifica] and fallacies, until it is destitute of all the understanding of truth and the will of good.

(That "prophet" in the Word means doctrine, see Arcana Coelestia, n. 2534, 7269;

That the "loins" signify loves in both senses, n. 3021, 4280, 5059;

That "feet" signify the natural things with man, and "the soles of the feet" the things that are in ultimates, n. 2162, 3147, 3761, 3986, 4280, 4938-4952;

That "shoes" signify these same things in respect to their covering, n. 1748, 2162, 4835, 6844;

That "the king of Assyria" signifies the rational in both senses, n. 119, 1186;

That "Egypt" signifies the faculty of knowing [scientificum] of the natural man, in both senses, good and bad, n. 1164, 1165, 1186, 1462, 5700, 5702, 6015, 6651, 6679, 6683, 6692, 7296, 9340, 9391.

That "Cush" signifies the fallacies of the senses, n. 1163, 1164, 1166)

[4] In Ezekiel:

When I passed by thee, and saw thee, I covered thy nakedness, and I washed thee, and I clothed thee. But thou didst trust in thy beauty and play the harlot, and thou hast not remembered the things ¹ of thy youth, when thou wast naked and bare; thou hast committed whoredom with the sons of Egypt, and with the sons of Asshur. And thou hast multiplied thy whoredom even unto Chaldea. Moreover, thy nakedness was revealed through thy whoredoms. Therefore they shall stone thee with stones, and shall cut thee in pieces with swords; and shall burn up thine houses with fire (Ezekiel 16:6).

Jerusalem is here treated of, by which the church in respect to doctrine is meant, and these and many other expressions in the same chapter describe what the church was in its beginning, and what it became when it turned away from good and from truth. What the church was when it was established by the Lord, thus what it was in the beginning, is described by these words, "When I passed by thee, and saw thee, I covered thy nakedness, I washed thee and clothed thee." "To cover the nakedness" signifies to remove the evils of the will and the falsities of the understanding; "to wash" signifies to purify from evils, and "to clothe" signifies to instruct in truths. But what the church became when it turned away from good and truth is described by what follows; "thou didst trust in thy beauty" signifies intelligence from one's own [ex proprio], and that this gave delight; "committing whoredom" signifies that thus it was imbued with falsities; "committing whoredom with the sons of Egypt, and with the sons of Asshur," signifies falsifications confirmed by knowledges [scientifica] and by things rational therefrom; "multiplying whoredom even unto Chaldea" signifies even to the profanation of truth. This shows what is signified by "Moreover thy nakedness was revealed through thy whoredoms," namely, that the church through falsities and falsifications was deprived of all the understanding of truth. "They shall stone thee with stones" signifies that the church will die through falsities; "they shall cut thee in pieces with swords" signifies that the church will utterly die through the falsifications of truth; and "they shall burn up thy houses with fire" signifies that it will wholly perish through infernal loves, "houses" meaning all things with man, and "fire" meaning infernal love. From this it is clear what is contained in these words relating to heaven and the church, and that this can be seen only from the spiritual sense. (That "to wash" signifies to purify from evils and falsities, see Arcana Coelestia 3147[1-10], 10237, 10240, 10243; that "to clothe" signifies to instruct in truths, n. 1073, 2576, 5248, 5319, 5954, 9212, 9216, 9952, 10536; that "beauty" signifies intelligence, n. 3080, 4985, 5199, here intelligence from one's own [ex proprio]. That "to commit whoredom" means to become imbued with falsities, see above, n. 141; that "Egypt" means the faculty of knowing [scientificum]; and "Asshur" the rational, see just above. That "Chaldea" is the profanation of truth, Arcana Coelestia 1182, 1283, 1295, 1304, 1306-1308, 1321, 1322, 1326; that "to stone with stones" signifies to die through falsities, n. 5156, 7456, 8575, 8799; that "sword" signifies falsity combating against truth and destroying it, n. 2799, 4499, 7102; therefore "to cut in pieces with swords" means to die utterly through falsifications of truth. That "fire" signifies infernal love, n. 1861, 5071, 6314, 6832, 7575, 10747; and that "house" signifies the whole man, and the things which are with him, thus that are of his understanding and will, n. 710, 2231, 2233, 2559, 3128, 3538, 4973, 5023, 6690, 7353, 7848, 7910, 7929, 9150. From this it is clear what is signified by "they shall burn up thy houses with fire.")

[5] In Hosea:

Strive with your mother, that she may put away her whoredoms and her adulteries; lest I strip her naked, and make her as the wilderness, as a land of dryness, and let her die with thirst; and on her sons I will not have compassion, because they are the sons of whoredoms (Hosea 2:2-4).

Here also the church fallen into falsities and evils is treated of; "the mother with whom they should strive" signifies the church; "whoredoms" and "adulteries" signify falsities and evils therefrom; "to make her as the wilderness, and as a land of dryness," signifies to be without good and truth; "to let her die with thirst" signifies a total lack of truth; "her sons whom I will not have compassion on" signify all the falsities thereof in general, and they are therefore called "sons of whoredoms." (That "mother" signifies the church, see Arcana Coelestia 289, 2691, 2717, 3703, 4257, 5581, 8897; that "wilderness" signifies where there is no good, because no truth, n. 2708, 4736, 7055; "a land of dryness" signifies where there is no truth, because "water" signifies the truth of faith, n. 2702, 3058, 5668, 8568, 10238; that "to cause to die with thirst" signifies to perish from the lack of truth, n. Arcana Coelestia 8568[1-10] end. That "sons" signify the affections of truth and truths in general, n. 2362, 3963, 6729, 6775, 6779, 9055; thus, in the opposite sense, the affections of falsity and falsities in general. From this it can be seen what is signified by "stripping her naked," namely, that the church will be without good and truth.)

[6] In Lamentations:

Jerusalem hath sinned a sin; therefore all that honored her hold her vile, because they have seen her nakedness (Lamentations 1:8).

In Ezekiel:

Oholah, which is Samaria, committed whoredom with the Egyptians and with the sons of Asshur; these uncovered her nakedness, they took her sons and daughters, and her they finally slew with the sword; therefore will I give thee into the hand of those whom thou hatest, that they may deal with thee in hatred, and take away all thy labor, and leave thee naked and bare, that the nakedness of thy whoredoms may be uncovered (Ezekiel 23:4, 8-10, 18, 28-29).

In this chapter Samaria, which is called "Oholah," and Jerusalem, which is called "Oholibah," are treated of, and by both the church is signified. "Samaria," where the sons of Israel were, signifies the church in which there are not truths but falsities, and "Jerusalem" the church where there are not goods but evils. What is signified by "committing whoredom with the Egyptians, and with the sons of Asshur," and by "slaying her daughters and sons with the sword," was explained above. From this it is clear that "leaving her naked and bare" signifies without truth and good.

[7] In Isaiah:

The Lord will make bald the crown of the head of the daughters of Zion, and Jehovah will make naked their buttocks (Isaiah 3:17).

"The daughters of Zion" signify the celestial church and the things of that church, but here that church perverted. "The crown of their head which shall be made bald" signifies intelligence of which the church shall be deprived; and "the buttocks which shall be made naked" signify the love of evil and falsity.

[8] In Nahum:

Woe to the city of bloods; it is all full of lies and rapine, because of the multitude of her whoredoms. I will uncover thy skirts upon thy faces; and will show the nations thy nakedness, and the kingdoms thy disgrace (Nahum 3:1, 4-5).

"The city of bloods" signifies the doctrine of falsity which offers violence to the good of charity.

[9] In Habakkuk:

Woe unto him that maketh his companion drink, also making him drunken; that thou mayest look on their nakednesses; drink thou also, that thy foreskin may be uncovered (Habakkuk 2:15-16).

"To make a companion drink, and drunken," signifies to so imbue one with falsities that he does not see the truth; "to look on nakednesses" means so that falsities which are of the understanding and evils which are of the will are seen; "that the foreskin may be uncovered" means so that filthy loves are seen. (That "to drink" is to be instructed in truths, see Arcana Coelestia 3069, 3772, 4017, 4018, 8562, 9412; in the contrary sense, therefore, it means to be imbued with falsities. That "to be made drunken" means to become insane from falsities, thus not to see truths, n. 1072; that "the foreskin" signifies corporeal and earthly loves, n. 4462, 7045) From this it can be seen what is signified by:

Noah's drinking wine and becoming drunken, so that he lay naked in the midst of his tent, and that Ham laughed at the nakedness of his father; but Shem and Japheth covered his nakedness, and turned away their faces that they might not see the nakedness of their father (Genesis 9:21-23).

(But these things may be seen explained in the Arcana Coelestia, where they are treated of.)

[10] In Lamentations:

O daughter of Edom, the cup shall pass over unto thee also; thou shalt be drunken, and shall be made naked (Lamentations 4:21).

Here, "being drunken and made naked" signify the like as above. (But who those are who are meant by "Edom," see Arcana Coelestia, n. 3322, 8314.) In Isaiah:

Daughter of Babylon and of Chaldea, sit upon the earth. Take the millstone, and grind meal; uncover thy locks, uncover the thigh, pass through the rivers. Thy nakedness shall be uncovered, yea, thy reproach shall be seen (Isaiah 47:1-3).

By "the daughter of Babylon and of Chaldea" those are meant who profane the goods and truths of the church. "To grind meal" means to falsify truths; "to uncover the locks and the thigh" means to be deprived of the intelligence of truth and of the will of good; the like is meant by "passing through the rivers," and "uncovering nakedness."

[11] Because "nakedness" signified the deprivation of the understanding of truth and of the will of good, it was commanded:

That Aaron and his sons should not ascend by steps upon the altar, that their nakedness be not discovered thereon (Exodus 20:26);

Also that they should make them linen breeches to cover the flesh of their nakedness, and that these should be upon them when they went in unto the tent of meeting, and when they came near to the altar, and that otherwise they should bear iniquity and die (Exodus 28:42-43).

From this it is clear what is signified by the words in the following verse of this chapter: "I counsel thee to buy of Me white garments, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness be not manifest." Also in the following passages of this book, of Revelation:

Blessed is he that is wakeful and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and his shame be seen (Revelation 16:15).

[12] Moreover, "the naked" in the Word mean those also who are not in truths and thence not in good, being ignorant of truths and yet longing for them. This is the case with those within the church when those who teach are in falsities, and with those outside of the church who do not have the Word and consequently do not know truths and thence know nothing about the Lord. Such are meant in the following passages.

In Isaiah:

Is not this the fast that I choose, To break bread to the hungry, and when thou seest the naked that thou cover him? (Isaiah 58:6-7).

In Ezekiel:

He giveth his bread to the hungry, and covereth the naked with a garment (Ezekiel 18:7);

and in Matthew:

I was naked, and ye clothed Me not (Matthew 25:43).

"To cover with a garment," and "to clothe," signify to instruct in truths. (That "garments" are truths, see above, n. 195. That "naked" signifies also the good of innocence, see Arcana Coelestia 165, 8375, 9960; and in the work on Heaven and Hell 179, 180, 280.)

Notes de bas de page:

7269. 'And Aaron your brother will be your prophet' means doctrinal teachings derived from it. This is clear from the meaning of 'prophet' as the truth contained in doctrinal teachings, thus teachings derived from the Word, dealt with in 2534. For more about the representation of 'Aaron' as the teachings of the Church or teachings derived from the Word which present what is good and true, see 6998, 7009, 7089. Since 'prophet' means doctrinal teachings, its meaning in a more precise and limited sense is, in accordance with what has been stated immediately above at the end of 7268, a teacher.

633. Forty-two months, signifies even to the end of the old church and the beginning of the new. This is evident from the signification of "months," as being states, here the states of the church; for "times," whether hours or days or months or years or ages, signify states, and such states are designated by the numbers by which such times are determined, as here by the number "forty-two" (that this is so, see above, n. 571, 610). This is evident also from the signification of "forty-two" as being the end of the former church and the beginning of the new; this is the signification of that number, because it means six weeks, and "six weeks" has a similar signification as the "six days" of one week, namely, a state of combat and labor, and thus the end when the church is altogether vastated, or when evil is consummated; and "the seventh week" which then follows signifies the beginning of a new church; for the number "forty-two" arises from the multiplication of six into seven, six times seven making forty-two, therefore "forty-two" has a similar signification as "six weeks," and "six weeks" something similar to the "six days" of one week, namely, a state of combat and labor, as was said, and also a full state, here the full consummation of good and truth, that is, the full vastation of the church.

[2] In the Word mention is sometimes made of "forty," sometimes days, sometimes months, sometimes years, and that number signifies either the full vastation of the church, or a complete temptation. That this state is signified by the numbers "forty" and "forty-two," can be seen from the following passages. In Ezekiel:

Egypt shall not be inhabited forty years; I will make Egypt a solitude in the midst of the lands that are desolate, and her cities in the midst of the cities that are laid waste, they shall be a solitude forty years; and I will scatter Egypt among the nations, and will disperse them into the lands. At the end of forty years I will bring together Egypt from the peoples, whither they were scattered, and will bring back the captivity of Egypt (Ezekiel 29:11-14).

"Egypt" signifies the church in respect to true knowledges [scientifica], upon which doctrine is based. True knowledges at that time were the knowledges of correspondences and representations, upon which the doctrine of their church was based. But because the Egyptians turned these knowledges into magic, and thus perverted the church, its vastation is described, which is meant by "forty years;" this, therefore, is the signification of "Egypt shall not be inhabited forty years, and her cities shall be a solitude forty years." That "Egypt must be scattered among the nations and dispersed into the lands" signifies that evils and falsities will altogether occupy that church and pervert all its knowledges [scientifica]. This makes clear that "forty years" signifies a state of full vastation of the church, or even to its end, when there will be no more good or truth remaining. But the beginning of a new church, which is signified by "the end of forty years," is meant by these words, "at the end of forty years I will bring together Egypt from the peoples whither they were scattered, and will bring back the captivity of Egypt."

[3] In the same prophecy:

That the prophet should lie on his right side forty days, and lay siege to Jerusalem, which shall want bread and water, and be desolated, a man and his brother, and pine away for its iniquity (Ezekiel 4:6, 7, 17);

has a similar signification. The full vastation of the church is also here signified by that number; "Jerusalem" signifies the church; "to lay siege to it" signifies to distress the church by evils and falsities; "to want bread and water" signifies to be vastated in respect to the good of love and the truth of doctrine; "to be desolated, a man and his brother, and to pine away for iniquity," has a similar signification, for "man and his brother" mean truth and charity, and "to pine away" means to die out.

[4] The "forty days" of the flood have a similar signification in Genesis:

For yet seven days I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights, and I will destroy all substance that I have made from upon the faces of the earth. And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights, then after seven days he sent forth a dove, which did not return unto him (Genesis 7:4, 12; 8:6, 12).

The "flood" signifies the devastation of the old or Most Ancient Church, likewise the Last Judgment upon those who were of that church; "the rain of forty days" signifies the ruin of that church by the falsities of evil; but the beginning of a new church is signified by the drying up of the earth after those forty days, and by its sprouting up anew; the "dove" that he sent out signifies the good of charity, which was the essential of that church. (But respecting these things see Arcana Coelestia, where they are explained.)

[5] The law in Moses:

That the wicked man might be smitten with forty stripes, and no more lest thy brother seem vile in thine eyes (Deuteronomy 25:3);

originated in this signification of the number "forty." Full punishment as well as vastation is described by "forty," since punishment is equally the consummation of evil; and as reformation follows after punishment, it is said that he should not be smitten with more stripes, "lest thy brother seem vile in thine eyes;" for "forty" signifies the end of evil, and also the beginning of good, therefore if he were smitten with more than forty stripes the beginning of good, or reformation, would not be signified.

[6] The vastation of the church with the sons of Jacob by a servitude of four hundred years in Egypt is signified by the words of Jehovah to Abraham:

Know that thy seed shall be a sojourner in a land not theirs, where they shall subject them to servitude four hundred years (Genesis 15:13).

"Four hundred" has a similar signification as "forty," just as one "thousand" has a similar signification as one "hundred," and one "hundred" as "ten. "

[7] The vastation of the church and also full temptation are signified by the tarrying of the sons of Israel forty years in the wilderness, which is thus spoken of in the following passages:

Your sons shall be shepherds in the wilderness forty years, and shall bear your whoredoms even till your carcasses are consumed ¹ in the wilderness (Numbers 14:33, 34).

He made them to wander in the wilderness forty years, until all the generation that had done evil in the eyes of Jehovah was consumed (Numbers 32:13).

Jehovah hath known thy walking through the great wilderness these forty years, Jehovah thy God hath been with thee that thou lackedst nothing (Deuteronomy 2:7).

Thou shalt remember all the way which Jehovah thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, that He might afflict thee and tempt thee; He fed thee with manna; to afflict thee, to tempt thee, and to do thee good at the last (Deuteronomy 8:2, 3, 15, 16).

Your fathers tempted Me, they proved Me; forty years I loathed this generation, and I said, It is a people that do err in heart, and they have not known My ways (Psalms 95:9, 10).

I have made you to come up out of the land of Egypt, and I have led you in the wilderness forty years to possess the land of the Amorites (Amos 2:10).

From what has been cited it is clear that "forty years" signifies not only the vastation of the church with the sons of Israel, but also full temptation; also "the end of those years" signifies the beginning of a new church. The vastation of the church is described by these words, that "they should be shepherds in the wilderness forty years, and should bear whoredoms, even till their carcasses should be consumed; also by these, "until all this generation that had done evil in the eyes of Jehovah was consumed;" also by these, "I loathed this generation, and I said, It is a people that do err in heart, and they have not known My ways." But the temptation that is also signified by "forty years" is described by these words, "Jehovah thy God hath been with thee these forty years, that thou lackedst nothing;" also by these, "Jehovah led thee forty years in the wilderness, that He might afflict thee and tempt thee; and He fed thee with manna;" also by these, "He led thee in the wilderness to tempt thee, and to do thee good at the last." The beginning of a new church, after the end of the forty years, is described by their introduction into the land of Canaan, which took place after these forty years; and this is also meant by these words, "to do thee good at the last;" so also by these, "I have led you in the wilderness forty years to possess the land of the Amorites."

[8] Full temptation is signified also by:

Moses was upon Mount Sinai forty days and forty nights, during which he ate no bread and drank no water (Exodus 24:18; 34:28; Deuteronomy 9:9, 11, 18, 25).

In like manner that Jesus was in the wilderness, tempted by the devil, and fasted there forty days (Matthew 4:1, 2; Mark 1:13; Luke 4:1).

From this it can be seen that the number "forty" in the Word signifies full vastation and consummation, that is, when all the good of the church is vastated and the evil is consummated; also that the same number signifies full temptation, and also the establishment of the church anew, or reformation. From this it can be known what is signified by "the forty-two months during which the nations trampled down the holy city," likewise by the following in Revelation:

That there was given to the beast coming up out of the sea a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and there was given to him authority forty-two months (Revelation 13:1, 5).

Let no one, therefore, believe that "forty-two months" mean months, or that any time designated by numbers is meant here and in what follows.

Notes de bas de page: