"The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God." (Luke 1:35)

What amazing words these must have been to Mary, a young woman, when she first heard them. Just minutes before she had probably been engaged in some mundane task of daily life in her mother's home, perhaps grinding flour or baking bread, maybe weaving or spinning wool into yarn. If she was like most young women who are shortly to be married, her mind would have been turned to her future life with Joseph, what their home would be like, the children they would have and the life that they would lead together. Happy images of the future would have filled her thoughts. She would have had her hopes, dreams and expectations--images of how her life would be as the future wife of Joseph.

Suddenly with the appearance of the angel Gabriel, her visions of the future contained a new and dramatically different element. The angel told her that she was highly favored and blessed among women, that the Lord was with her and that she would soon conceive and bring forth a son whose name would be Jesus. This child would be given the throne of Mary's ancient forebear, King David, and reign forever.

Mary voiced the question of how this would take place. She knew the order of natural conception and knew that the angel's message did not fit into this order. In explanation the angel Gabriel told her of the greatest miracle of all time saying, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God."

We are called to believe that miracles do occur. Some people are troubled by the idea of miracles based on their picture of cause and effect in this world. They have accepted that the only causes are natural ones, the laws of physics and so on. For such a person the idea of Jesus being born without a natural father is fantastic beyond belief.

But we are called to believe that miracles have and do occur. There are forces that attack this belief. We have grown up in a culture that has a strong sense of natural order. Science today is capable of explaining so many events that previously were mysteries. It is capable of explaining them by means of fundamental laws of nature. For some this sense of natural law can become so strong that the Lord's active presence within creation vanishes. For some there is no Divine intervention within this system. All is fixed and moves along with changes taking place by mere random accident. But it could be noted that according to natural law most changes result in more chaos, not less chaos. Changes tend toward the break down of a higher order into a lower one.

Think of the example of a person quickly typing out a document on a computer. You would expect that errors would be introduced into the typing. What is the likelihood that the errors would improve the original document? It’s possible, but rather unexpected. But the argument for pure natural evolution is that given enough time and the forces of natural selection life as we now know it has developed. Asserting that human life came about purely by random accidents starting with the genetic code of the most primitive life millions of years ago seems akin to saying that given enough time and enough typed copies a simple child’s nursery rhyme could evolve into a Shakespearean play without any plan or higher thought being involved.

We are called to believe that miracles do occur. However, the Writings for the New Church have taught us that we are not to expect to see the miracles of the Old and New Testaments performed today in the same way they were performed in the time those books were written. We read:

The reason miracles are not done at this day, as before, is that miracles compel, and take away free will in spiritual things; and from being spiritual, they make a person natural. All in the Christian world . . . can become spiritual; and they become spiritual solely from the Lord through the Word; and the faculty for this would perish if they were brought to believe through miracles. (True Christian Religion 501)

Partially based on statements such as this, a person can come to a pattern of thinking that does not believe in the Lord’s ability to affect things for good in a miraculous way even today. A person could believe in God, but still tend to view the progression of his or her life as following laws of a machine-like system. Anything that does not fit into this fixed system is believed to be a miracle that would take away spiritual freedom--the very freedom that the Lord was born into the world to reestablish.

Perhaps, though, it is too easy for us to become too limited in our view. So limited that we block out a sight of the miracles that can occur within our own lives without taking away our spiritual freedom. Perhaps it is too easy for this limited point of view to block out a sense of the Lord's presence, a sense of the Holy Spirit's presence. How does the Lord reach out to touch our lives?

What of Mary's life? The events surrounding the first Christmas were a major intervention within her life. The same is true of her husband to be, Joseph. Both of them could have denied the possibility of a miraculous conception and this state of denial would have been far more damaging than that of Zacharias's. Could the Lord's birth ever have taken place if Mary was not willing to accept the angel's words? Her firstborn was to have a continuing effect throughout her whole life. His presence was not without many events that brought a sense of awe and wonder to both Mary and Joseph. We know of at least one event that showed that raising Jesus was not always easy. At age 12, they spent three anxious days searching for Him, only to find Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of teachers, listening and asking questions.

In addition to the way in which Jesus' birth and life intervened in Joseph and Mary's life, think of the way His presence affected the disciples. Many of them were happily going about their daily jobs when they were called to leave all behind and follow Him. While this intervention sometimes involved something of the miraculous, it also involved an element of free will. Just as Joseph and Mary could have resisted the words of the angel announcing that the Lord would be born, so also the disciples could have heard the Lord call them to follow and shook their heads and returned to their work. There were many, many others who were influenced in this same way. Many others who heard the Lord's words calling to them and had their lives profoundly influenced by what He said.

The Lord comes to each of us in our lives many times each day. While we may not have anything occur in our lives that an objective observer would call miraculous, it is not true that our lives will follow some pre-established route, set by our inborn nature and directed by compelling experience of the natural world. The Lord's first birth represents the way in which He comes in any age to anyone who will receive Him. Just as the words of the angel Gabriel would have been a dramatic intervention within the happy normalcy of the future that Mary would have envisioned, so also the Lord can come to us announcing the conception of a future for us that is far different from the one our natural mind would envision. The Lord comes to us offering and promising a far different set of reactions to daily events from the ones we presently have--a different perspective, a far greater patience in some areas and a stronger resolve and commitment in others. He comes to us bringing light to areas of thoughts that we had resigned ourselves to being in deep darkness and bringing warmth to much that we might otherwise have done from need or duty.

The angel Gabriel was sent to a virgin, whose name was Mary. Ancient prophecies had promised that the Messiah would be born as the child of a young woman. Several hundred years after this prophecy was given, a Greek version of the Old Testament called the Septuagint, introduced a new element of the miraculous by using a word in this prophecy that was not the general one for a young woman, but rather the distinctive Greek term for "virgin." When the angel appeared to Joseph in a dream, the gospel of Matthew records that he quoted this prophecy according to the way it is presented in the Septuagint. The Writings for the New Church make it quite clear that this seemingly added idea is correct and even essential in our understanding of the Lord's advent.

There are two distinct reasons for the importance of a belief in the virgin birth. One reason has to do with the essential need for Jesus to be born with a natural mother but without a natural father if He was going to become our Savior and Redeemer. It was crucial for the work of Jesus that He not derive from His birth any of the internal evils that are passed on through the soul provided by the natural father in any natural conception. His soul and life came directly from the infinite God. His developing mind and life were the ever more perfect manifestation in human form of the Father and creator, our Lord and God. But it was important that He take on a natural mind at first empty of any experience and knowledge as you and I were born with. It was important that He take on the hereditary inclinations to evil that birth to a natural mother brought to His life.

The second reason for believing in the virgin birth exists because of the representation of the term virgin and what this says about how the Lord comes to us in our lives. We are told that a virgin represents someone who willing to have his or her life affected by truth. In this story, Mary represents a state of mind in each of our lives that is not controlled by self interest nor committed to a determined course of action. It is a state of mind that is open to new possibilities.

The Lord comes to us to each of us bringing the promise of a new conception of life just as the angel Gabriel came to the virgin Mary. He comes promising a rebirth or regeneration of life that is radically different from the one we come by naturally. It is not to the hustle and bustle of established life that He appears, but rather to those states of mind that, like the virgin Mary, look forward to something new and different and most importantly are willing to receive the conception of this new life. The life that comes to us naturally, apart from any presence of the Lord, is like a child conceived of a human father and mother. Without the Lord's presence, this life cannot have any other basis than self-interest and worldly concern. Experience may teach us to broaden this self-interest and to temper these concerns, but apart from the Lord's advent within our lives they will never rise above this level. The Lord is born within each of our lives within the states of mind that are willing to be affected by what the Word teaches--by the states of mind that are willing to rise above the prompting of our natural inclinations to be self-serving and natural in our interests, thoughts and actions. He is born within the states of mind that are willing to turn outward to recognize and serve the needs of those around us. He is born within the states of mind that are willing to recognize that natural things exist to serve the needs of mankind and creation as a whole and have their proper uses as well as their abuses.

Our preparation for the celebration of Christmas, more than any other event of the season, tends to turn people outward to others. It is a time that can help us to recognize the community of caring people that we live in. And it is a time that can remind us that many are in need--there are many people who can use our help. This help may be a matter of providing food, clothing and shelter for those have not been able to or have not yet come to be provident enough to provide them for themselves. It can be a matter of giving a hand to someone who could use some help with a job, sharing some burden with them. Christmas is a time when we give gifts that symbolize and love and friendship for others. The most lasting gifts are those that we give when we recognize the spiritual needs of others—when we recognize that, by our words and actions, we can help the Lord bring loving warmth to another person's life. We, by our words and actions, can bring the light of greater understanding to another person's life. We have the capability of helping others receive far greater blessings in life than they might otherwise. Our preparation for and celebration of Christmas can remind us of how a truly Christian life is one of wisely giving and of serving. The state of mind that receives this reminder is the one imaged by the virgin, Mary.

The Lord comes to each of us in our lives, just as the angel Gabriel came to Mary. He comes telling of events that can take place, if we are willing, which far exceed anything we might picture ourselves. He promises us a new life, born within our own, but not taking its source from us. He promises the presence of the Holy Spirit within this new life. He comes with a miraculous intervention in the natural course of events. The words of the angel Gabriel to Mary are also words to us with the promise of a new life that will profoundly affect what we care about, think and do each day throughout the year. These words are the promise of a new life for each of us.

After the close of this service you are invited to take the sacrament of the Holy Supper. This act of worship represents our desire to receive the Lord’s gifts of love and wisdom within our lives, represented by our eating of the bread and drinking of the wine. There is a powerful reminder of the words of the angel Gabriel in The True Christian Religion description of this sacrament

...the Holy Supper for those who approach it worthily is a kind of guarantee and seal put on their adoption as sons of God ... the Lord is then present and introduces into heaven those who are born of Him, that is, who are regenerated. (True Christian Religion 728)

As the angel Gabriel said to Mary, so the Lord would say to us, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God."

(რეკომენდაციები: Arcana Coelestia 1573 [1-8]; Isaiah 7:1-15; Luke 1:26-38)

329. Because it is said, "Thou hast redeemed us to God in thy blood," and this is understood within the church entirely according to the sense of the letter, and not according to any spiritual sense, I wish also to show, that by blood is not meant blood, or the Lord's passion upon the cross, but the Divine truth proceeding from the Lord, and the reception thereof by man; consequently, that by, "Thou hast redeemed us in thy blood," is denoted that He has delivered and freed from hell those who acknowledge Him, and receive Divine truth from Him (as has been said above, n. 328). In illustration of this point I desire to adduce the following. Because all things that were commanded, in the Israelitish church, were representatives of celestial and spiritual things, and not the least thing was otherwise, therefore it was also commanded, when the paschal supper was first instituted,

That they should take of the blood, and sprinkle it on the two side-posts and on the upper door-post, upon the houses wherein they should eat the paschal lamb; "and the blood shall be for you for a sign upon the houses where you are, and when I shall see the blood, I will pass over you, nor shall there be any plague upon you from the destroyer, when I shall pass through the land of Egypt."

And further:

"Ye shall take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in the blood that is in the bason, and strike the lintel and the two sideposts with the blood that is in the bason; and none of you shall go out of the door of his house until the morning. And Jehovah will pass through to smite the Egyptian; and when he seeth the blood upon the lintel, and on the two side-posts, Jehovah will pass over the door, and will not suffer the smiter to come into your houses to smite you (Exodus 12:7, 13, 22, 23).

He who does not know that there is any spiritual sense in the Word, believes that by blood is here meant the Lord's blood upon the cross; but this is not at all understood in heaven. But by the paschal supper here the angels there understand the same as by the Holy Supper instituted by the Lord, in which instead of the paschal lamb there are bread and wine; and then the Lord said that the bread was His flesh and that the wine was His blood; and any one knows, or may know, that bread and wine are what nourish the body, the bread as meat and the wine as drink, and that in the Word, which in its inmost is spiritual, those things also must be spiritually understood.

[2] Thus bread means all spiritual meat, and wine all spiritual drink; spiritual meat is all the good that is communicated and imparted to man by the Lord, and spiritual drink is all the truth that is communicated and imparted to him by the Lord; these two, namely, good and truth, or love and faith, make a man spiritual; it is said, or love and faith, because all good is of love, and all truth of faith. Hence it is evident that by bread is meant the Divine good of the Lord's Divine love, and as to man, that [good] received by him; and that by wine is meant the Divine truth proceeding from the Divine good of the Lord's Divine love, and as to man, that [truth] received by him. Because the Lord says that His flesh is bread, and His blood is wine, it is evident that by the Lord's flesh is meant the Divine good of His Divine love, and that by eating it, is meant to receive it, to appropriate to oneself, and thus to be conjoined with the Lord; and that by the Lord's blood is meant the Divine truth proceeding from the Divine good of His Divine love, and that by drinking it is meant to receive that [truth], to appropriate to oneself, and thus to be conjoined with the Lord.

[3] Spiritual nourishment also is from the good and truth which proceed from the Lord, as all the nourishment of the body is from meat and drink; hence also is their correspondence, which is such, that where anything of meat, or that serves, for meat, is named in the Word, good is meant, and where anything of drink is named, or what serves for drink, truth is meant. From these considerations it is evident, that by the blood from the Paschal lamb, which the sons of Israel were commanded to sprinkle upon the two posts, and upon the lintel of their houses, is meant the Divine truth proceeding from the Lord; this also on being received in faith and life, protects man against the evils which rise up out of hell, for the Lord is with man in His Divine truth, for it is of the Lord Himself with him, yea, it is Himself with him. Who that thinks from sound reason cannot see that the Lord is not in His blood with any one, but in His Divine, which is the good of love and the good of faith received by man? What, however, each particular there signifies, namely, what the two posts and the lintel, what the destroyer and smiter, and what Egypt, and what many other things in that chapter, may be seen in the Arcana Coelestia, where they are explained.

[4] From these observations it is clear now, without further explanation, what is signified by the Lord's words when He instituted the Holy Supper:

"And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed, brake, and gave to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. And he took the cup, and having given thanks, he gave to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; for this is my blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many. I say unto you that I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine until that day when I shall drink it with you in the kingdom of God" (Matthew 26:26-29; Mark 14:22-25; Luke 22:15-20).

Because by wine is meant Divine truth nourishing spiritual life, therefore the Lord says to them, "I say unto you that I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine until that day when I shall drink it new with you in the kingdom of God." Hence it is evident that what is meant is [something] spiritual, for He says, that He would drink with them, and that in the kingdom of God, or in heaven, and also that He would eat with them of the Paschal lamb there (Luke 22:16).

[5] From what has been said above it is also clear what is signified by these words of the Lord:

"The bread that I will give is my flesh. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye shall have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, abideth in me, and I in him. This is the bread which came down from heaven" (John 6:51-58).

That the Lord's flesh is Divine good and His blood Divine truth, both of them from Him, is evident from this fact, that those are the things that nourish the soul; hence it is said, "My flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed."

And because a man by the Divine good and truth is conjoined to the Lord, therefore it is also said, "Whoso eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood, shall have eternal life," and also, "He abideth in me and I in him." The reason why the Lord thus spoke, namely, why He said His flesh and His blood, and not His Divine good and His Divine truth, is, that the sense of the letter of the Word might be composed of such things as correspond to spiritual things, in which the angels are; hence the conjunction of the men of the church by means of the Word with them, which could not be otherwise effected (see the Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 252, 258-262; and the work concerning Heaven and Hell 303-310).

[6] Because blood signifies the Divine truth proceeding from the Lord, and by the reception thereof by man conjunction with the Lord is effected, therefore the blood is called the blood of the covenant, for covenant signifies conjunction. The blood is called the blood of the covenant by the Lord when He instituted the Holy Supper; for He said,

"Drink ye all of it, for this is my blood of the new covenant" or testament (Matthew 26:28; Mark 14:24; Luke 22:20).

It is also called the blood of the covenant in Moses; where these [passages occur]:

"Moses came" from Mount Sinai "and told the people all the words of Jehovah, and all the judgments. And Moses wrote all the words of Jehovah, and rose up early in the morning, and builded an altar under the mount. And he sent youths of the sons of Israel, and offered burnt-offerings, and sacrificed bullocks as sacrifices of peace unto Jehovah. And Moses took half of the blood, and put it in basons; and half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar. And he took the book of the covenant, and read in the ears of the people; and they said, All that Jehovah hath said will we do and hear. And he took the blood, and sprinkled it upon the people, and said, Behold the blood of the covenant, which Jehovah hath concluded with you upon all these words. And they saw the God of Israel; and there was under his feet as the work of a sapphire stone, and as the substance of heaven for purity" (Exodus 24:3-8, 10).

That blood here signifies the Divine truth proceeding from the Lord and received by man, and thence conjunction, is evident, for half of it was sprinkled upon the altar, and half upon the people; for by the altar was signified all worship that is from the good of love, and by the people, those who perform worship, and receive the good of love by means of truths; for all reception of Divine good is effected by means of truths made truths of life, and conjunction thence is by the good in those truths. That there is conjunction by the good in those truths, or by truths made truths of life, and that blood was a representative thereof, is quite clear from the words here, for this was done when Moses descended from mount Sinai, whence the Law was promulgated, and also the statutes and judgments which were to be observed; and it is said that Moses wrote all those words of Jehovah, and read them in the ears of the people, who said, "All that Jehovah hath said will we do and hear," which they said twice, as may be seen in verses 3 and 7.

[7] Words or truths become truths of life by doing them; and because Moses wrote those words, he called them "the Book of the Covenant," by which is signified that there is conjunction by its means. By the law promulgated by Jehovah from mount Sinai, and by the statutes and judgments which were also commanded at that time, is signified all Divine truth, or Divine truth in its whole compass. Hence it is that these things are called "the Book of the Covenant," and the ark in which that book was placed, the "Ark of the Covenant," covenant signifying conjunction. Because the Divine truth, by which there is conjunction, proceeds from the Lord, therefore also the Lord was seen by them and under the feet as the work of sapphire stone. That He was so seen under the feet signifies that the Divine truth is such in ultimates. The Divine truth in ultimates is the Divine truth in the sense of the letter of the Word; the work of sapphire stone signifies the transparency thereof from Divine truth in the internal or spiritual sense; the God of Israel is the Lord. (That the sapphire stone signifies transparency from internal truths, may be seen, n. 9407; and that the God of Israel is the Lord as to the Divine Human, may be seen above, n. 328.) Hence now it is evident, that a covenant or conjunction is made by Divine truth, and that the blood sprinkled upon the altar, and half thereof upon the people, was a representative of it, because blood signifies the Divine truth proceeding from the Lord, and received by man, as has been said above. (That a covenant signifies conjunction may be seen, n. 665, 666, 1023, 1038, 1864, 1996, 2003, 2021, 6804, 8767, 8778, 9396, 10632. That the law, in a strict sense, signifies the ten precepts of the Decalogue, and, in a broad sense, the whole Word, thus all Divine truth, n. 2606, 3382, 6752, 7463, 9417. That mount Sinai thence signifies heaven where the Lord is, from whom is Divine truth, or from whom is the law, in both the strict and broad sense, n. 8399, 8753, 8793, 8805, 9420; and that the altar was the principal representative of the Lord, and of the worship of Him from the good of love, n. 921, 2777, 2811, 4489, 4541, 8935, 8940, 9388, 9389, 9714, 9963, 9964, 10123, 10151, 10242, 10245, 10642.)

[8] Because blood signifies the Divine truth proceeding from the Lord, and received by man, whence there is conjunction, therefore, all things representative of things Divine proceeding from the Lord, which are also called celestial and spiritual, were consecrated by oil and by blood, and were then called holy. The reason why they were consecrated by oil and blood, that they might represent, was because by oil was signified the Divine good of the Divine love, and by blood the Divine truth thence proceeding, for truth proceeds from good. That consecrations and sanctifications were made by oil, will be seen in the following pages, under the proper article; here only those passages shall be mentioned, which relate to blood; as:

When Aaron and his sons were sanctified, that blood was sprinkled upon the horns of the altar and round about the altar; and upon Aaron and his sons, and upon their garments (Exodus 29:12, 16, 21; Leviticus 8:24).

That blood was sprinkled seven times before the veil which was upon the ark, and upon the horns of the altar of incense (Leviticus 4:6, 7, 17, 18).

That before Aaron entered within the veil to the mercy-seat, he should sacrifice, and burn incense, and should sprinkle the blood with the finger on the mercy-seat seven times towards the east (Leviticus 16:12-15).

That the blood of the burnt-offering and of the sacrifice should be sprinkled upon the altar, around the altar, and at the bottom of the altar (Leviticus 1:5, 11, 15; 3:2, 8, 13; 4:25, 30, 34; 5:9; 8:15, 24; 17:6; Num. 18:17; Deuteronomy 12:27).

That the blood should be sprinkled upon the horns of the altar, and thus the altar should be purified (Exodus 30:10; Leviticus 16:18, 19).

The reason why the blood from the burnt-offerings and sacrifices was sprinkled, and poured out upon the altar, around the altar, or at the foundation thereof was, because the altar with the burnt-offerings and sacrifices upon it represented and thence signified all worship from the good of love and the truths thence; and because truths proceed from good, therefore the blood was sprinkled on, and poured out, around the altar, for around signifies proceeding.

[9] But these things may be more evident from what has been shown concerning burnt-offerings and sacrifices in the Arcana Coelestia, as from the following: That burnt-offerings and sacrifices signified all things of worship from the good of love, and the truths thence, n. 923, 6905, 8680, 8936, 10042. That therefore burnt-offerings and sacrifices were called bread, n. 2165, because bread signifies every thing that nourishes spiritual life, n. 2165, 3478, 4976, 5147, 5915, 6118, 8410, 8418, 9323, 10686. That burnt-offerings and sacrifices signified Divine, celestial, and spiritual things, which are the internals of the church, from which are all things of worship, n. 2180, 2805, 2807, 2830, 3519, with a variation according to the variety of worship, n. 2805, 6905, 8936. That, therefore, there were many kinds of burnt-offerings and sacrifices, and in them various processes, and also various animals of which they consisted, n. 2830, 9391, 9990. That the various things which they specifically signified, may be known from the particulars of the process unfolded by the internal sense, n. 10042. That in the rituals and processes of the sacrifices are contained mysteries of heaven, n. 10057. That in general there are contained [in them] arcana of the glorification of the Lord's Human, and in a respective sense arcana of man's regeneration and his purification from evils and falsities, n. 9990, 10022, 10042, 10053, 10057. What was signified by the meat-offerings, which were bread and cakes, which also were offered in sacrifice, n. 10079; what by the drink-offering, which was wine, n. 4581, 10137.

[10] These things being understood, it can be known from them that by the blood of the sacrifice also elsewhere in the Word is signified Divine truth; as in Ezekiel:

"Say to the bird of every wing, and to the beast of the field, Assemble yourselves, and come; gather yourselves from every side to my sacrifice that I do sacrifice for you, a great sacrifice upon the mountains of Israel, that ye may eat flesh, and drink blood. Ye shall eat the flesh of the mighty, and drink the blood of the princes of the earth. And ye shall eat fat to satiety, and drink blood even to drunkenness, of my sacrifice which I sacrifice for you. And ye shall be satiated at my table with horse, with chariot, with every man of war: So will I give my glory among the nations" (39:17-21).

The restoration of the church is the subject here treated of, and by Israel and Jacob are meant all who belong to the church, concerning whom therefore these things are said. By a great sacrifice upon the mountains of Israel are signified all things of their worship; by flesh and by fat is signified the good of love, and by blood truth from that good, from which worship the abundance of both is described by their eating flesh and fat to satiety, and drinking blood even to drunkenness, and this from the sacrifice; wherefore it is also said, they shall be satiated at my table with horse, chariot, and every man of war; for by horse is signified the understanding of truth, by chariot doctrine, and by a man of war truth fighting against falsity and destroying it. Who cannot see that by the blood here mentioned, is not meant blood, as that they should drink the blood of the princes of the earth, and that they should drink blood even to drunkenness from the sacrifice? The princes of the earth signify the principal truths of the church; hence their blood signifies spiritual nourishment from those truths. Because such things are signified, therefore, in this chapter, it is also said lastly concerning Israel, by whom is signified the church:

"Then will I not hide my faces any longer from them for I will pour out my spirit upon Israel" (verse 29).

The reason why it is said, say to the bird of every wing and to the beast of the field, is because by the bird of every wing is signified spiritual truth in its whole compass, and by the beast of the field the affection of good. (That by birds in the Word are signified things spiritual, see n. 745, 776, 866, 988, 991, 3219, 5149, 7441; in like manner by wings, n. 8764, 9514. That by beasts are signified affections, and by the beasts of the field the affections of good, n. 2180, 3218, 3519, 5198, 9090, 9280, 10609; and that hence both birds and beasts were used in sacrifices, n. 1823, 3519, 7523, 9280.)

[11] In confirmation that the beast of the field and the fowl signify such things, I will adduce here only one passage from the Word:

"In that day will I make a covenant for them with the beast of the field, and with the bird of the heavens, and with the creeping thing of the ground; and the bow and the sword and the battle will I break off from the earth. And I will betroth thee unto me for ever; and I will betroth thee unto me in justice and in judgment, and in mercy and in compassions, and I will betroth thee unto me in truth" (Hosea 2:18, 19, 20).

Here, by making a covenant with the beast of the field, and with the bird of the heavens, is signified with the affections of good and with spiritual truths, for with these the Lord is conjoined to man, the Lord being in these things with him; hence it is called a covenant with them, covenant denoting conjunction. That beasts signify the affections of good, and birds things spiritual, will be fully shown in the following pages under their proper articles.

[12] Because the fat in sacrifices signified Divine good, and the blood Divine truth, both from the Lord, and both received by man, effected conjunction, the posterity of Jacob, or the Jews and Israelites, were therefore forbidden to eat any fat or any blood (see Leviticus 3:17; 7:23-27; 17:11-14; Deuteronomy 12:16, 23-25; 15:23). The reason of this was, because that nation was not in any good of love, nor in any truth of good, but in the falsities of evil; and to eat fat and blood signified with them the mingling of truth from good with falsity from evil, which is profanation; hence also it is evident that by blood is signified the Divine truth. That fat or fatness in the Word signifies the good of love, may be seen, n. 353, 5943, 6409, 10033. And that the Jews and Israelites were solely in externals and not in internals, and, consequently, not in spiritual truths and goods, but in falsities of evil; and that all things of their worship were externals separated from things internal, and that still by things external they could represent the internal things of worship, may be seen in the Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 248.

[13] Because the blood in the sacrifices signified Divine truth, therefore also it was forbidden them

to sacrifice upon what was leavened the blood of the sacrifice (Exodus 23:18; 34:25).

For by leaven is signified falsity, and by what was leavened truth falsified (see n. 2342, 7906, 8051, 9992).

[14] The reason why the Lord's flesh signifies the Divine good of the Divine love, and why His blood signifies the Divine truth proceeding from that good, is, because there are two things which proceed from the Lord's Divine Human, namely, Divine good and Divine truth, hence the latter is His blood, and the former is His flesh. That which proceeds is the Divine-celestial and the Divine-spiritual, which constitute the heavens in general and in particular. (But this will better appear from what has been shown in the work concerning Heaven and Hell, under the following articles, namely, that the Divine of the Lord makes heaven, n. 7-12; that the Divine of the Lord in heaven is love to Him, and charity towards the neighbour, n. 13-19; that hence the whole heaven in the whole and in part has reference to one man, n. 59-77; that this is from the Lord's Divine Human, n. 78-87; and moreover from what [has been] shown concerning the sun in heaven, and concerning the light and heat thence, and that the heat is the Divine good, and the light the Divine truth, both proceeding from the Lord, n. 116-140. From all these considerations it may in some degree be comprehended, whence it is that the Divine proceeding is meant by flesh and blood, namely, the Divine good by flesh and the Divine truth by blood.)

[15] There are also two things with man which constitute his spiritual life, namely, the good of love and the truth of faith; the will is the receptacle of the good of love with him, and the understanding is the receptacle of the truth of faith with him. All things of the mind, that is, of the will and understanding, have a correspondence with all things of the body, wherefore, the latter are moved at the command of the former. The correspondence of the will is in general with the flesh, and the correspondence of the understanding is with the blood; hence it is that man's voluntary proprium is meant in the Word by flesh, and the intellectual proprium by blood; as in Matthew:

"Jesus said to Simon, Blessed art thou, for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee" (16:17).

These things are adduced, that it may be known that in the Word things voluntary and intellectual, thus spiritual, are meant by flesh and blood, where they are said of man, and things Divine where they are said of the Lord. But these observations are intended for those whose minds can be elevated above natural ideas and can see causes.

[16] This also is what is signified by the blood and water which issued out of the Lord's side concerning which it is thus written in John:

"One of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came thereout blood and water. And he that saw testifieth, and his testimony is sure; he knoweth that he saith true things, that ye also might believe" (19:34, 35).

These things were done that they might signify the Lord's conjunction with the human race by means of the Divine truth proceeding from the Divine good of His love. Breast signifies Divine love; blood and water signify Divine truth proceeding; blood the Divine truth which is for the spiritual man, and water the Divine truth which is for the natural [man]; for all things related in the Word concerning the Lord's passion are also significative (see above, n. 83, 195 at end). And because those things signify His love, and man's salvation by the Divine truth proceeding from Him, therefore the evangelist also says: "He that saw testifieth, and his testimony is sure; he knoweth that he saith true things, that ye also might believe."

[17] To what has been already adduced, I desire to add the following passages from the Word. In Zechariah:

"Exult greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem; behold, thy King cometh. And he shall speak peace unto the nations; and his dominion shall be from sea even to sea, and from the river even to the ends of the earth. As for thee, also, by the blood of thy covenant I will send forth thy bound ones out of the pit wherein is no water" (9:9-11).

These things are spoken concerning the Lord, and the establishment of the church among the nations by Him. By the blood of the covenant is here meant the Divine truth, by which conjunction of the Lord [shall be effected], with those who shall be of His church, as stated above; wherefore it is also said, "I will send forth thy bound ones out of the pit wherein is no water," for by those are signified the nations that are in falsities from ignorance; the pit in which there is no water signifies where there is no truth, and to send them forth thence, signifies to liberate them from them. That by water is signified the truth of the church, may be seen above, n. 71; and that by the bound in the pit are signified those who are in falsities from ignorance, and, nevertheless, in the desire of knowing truths, may be seen in the Arcana Coelestia 4728, 4744, 5038, 6854, 7950.

[18] In David:

God "shall save the souls of the needy; he shall redeem their soul from deceit and violence; and precious shall their blood be in his eyes. And he shall live, and he shall give him of the gold of Sheba; and shall pray for him continually; all the day shall he bless him. Upon the top of the mountains his fruit shall be shaken" (Psalms 72:13-16).

The needy are here treated of, by whom are signified those who desire truths from a spiritual affection. Concerning these it is said, that from deceit and violence He shall redeem their soul; by which is signified their liberation from evils and falsities, which destroy the goods of love and the truths of faith. That their reception of Divine truth is acceptable and grateful to the Lord, is signified by, their blood shall be precious in His eyes; blood here denoting the Divine truth received. Their reformation is described by these words: "He shall live, and he shall give him of the gold of Sheba; and shall pray for him continually; all the day shall he bless him." The gold of Sheba denotes the good of charity; to pray for them continually signifies that they shall be continually withheld from falsities, and kept in truths; and He shall bless him, signifies that they shall be continually in the good of charity and faith; wherefore it is also said, "Upon the top of the mountains his fruit shall be shaken," the top of the mountains signifying heaven, whence they have the good of love from the Lord, which is the fruit.

[19] In Moses:

"The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; who shall bind to the vine his ass's foal, and to the noble vine the son of his she-ass, whilst he washeth his garments in wine, and his covering in the blood of grapes" (Genesis 49:10, 11).

In this prophetical declaration the Lord is treated of, concerning whom it is said, "He shall bind to the vine his ass's foal, and to the noble vine the son of his she-ass, he shall wash his garments in wine, and his covering in the blood of grapes"; and by a vine is signified the church, and by wine and the blood of grapes is signified the Divine truth. What the other things signify may be seen in the explanation of those words in the Arcana Coelestia. The same is meant by the blood of grapes in Deuteronomy 32:14; where the subject treated of is the Ancient Church reformed by the Divine truth.

[20] From what has been shown in this and the preceding article, it is evident to those who acknowledge the spiritual sense of the Word, that by, "Thou hast redeemed us to God in thy blood," is meant conjunction with the Divine by the acknowledgment of the Lord, and by the reception of Divine truth from Him; and that the same is meant by blood in the twelfth chapter of this prophetical book, where it is said:

That Michael and his angels overcame the dragon by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony (verse 11).

It is said, the blood of the Lamb, and the word of the testimony, because the blood of the Lamb signifies the reception of Divine truth from the Lord, and the word of the testimony the acknowledgment of His Divine Human.

[21] That blood signifies the Divine truth is still further evident from its opposite sense, in which blood signifies violence offered to the Divine truth by the falsities of evil, and its destruction thereby; and because opposites also show what is signified in the genuine sense, therefore I desire to adduce some passages in which blood and bloods signify that. It is to be observed that most things in the Word have also an opposite sense, and that from that sense it may be known what is signified in the genuine sense; let these therefore serve for illustration. In the Apocalypse:

"The second angel poured out his vial upon the sea; and it became as the blood of a dead man; and every living animal in the sea died. And the third angel poured out his vial into the rivers and fountains of waters; and they became blood" (16:3, 4).

And elsewhere:

The two witnesses "have power over the waters, to turn them into blood" (Apoc. 11:6).

In Isaiah:

"The waters of Nimrim shall be desolations; and the waters of Dimon are full of blood" (15:6, 9).

In David:

"He sent darkness, and made it dark. He turned their waters into blood, and slew their fish" (Psalms 105:28, 29).

From these passages from the opposite it appears what blood signifies; for blood, in the genuine sense, signifies the Divine truth, and with the recipients truth from good; hence, in the opposite sense, it signifies violence offered to the Divine truth, and with those who do that, falsity from evil. This opposite signification appears from this circumstance, that the waters of the sea, the rivers, and fountains, are said to be turned into blood; for by waters are signified truths, wherefore by blood there falsities which destroy truths. By the living animal in the sea, and by the fish, are signified true scientifics; thus by their dying and being slain by blood are signified those truths also destroyed. That by waters are signified truths, may be seen above, n. 71; and that by fish are signified the true scientifics of the natural man, may be seen in the Arcana Coelestia 40, 991.

[22] Again, in the Apocalypse:

"I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth, and the whole moon became [as] blood" (6:12).

In Joel:

"I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth; blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great day of Jehovah come" (2:30, 31).

Here also from the opposite it is known, that blood signifies violence offered to the Divine truth; for by the sun in the Word is signified the Divine Celestial, which is the Divine good, and by the moon is signified the Divine Spiritual, which is the Divine truth; therefore it is said that the moon shall be turned into blood. That the moon has this signification may be seen in the work concerning Heaven and Hell 118, 119.

[23] In Isaiah:

"He who walketh in justice, and speaketh righteousness, who stoppeth his ear lest he hear bloods, and shutteth his eyes lest he see evil" (33:15).

To stop the ear lest he hear bloods, denotes lest he hear falsities from evil.

In David:

"Thou wilt destroy them that speak a lie; a man of bloods and deceit Jehovah abominates" (Psalms 5:6).

The man of bloods and deceit [is used] for those who are in falsities from evil, and therefore it is said, "Thou wilt destroy them that speak lies"; lies in the Word signifying falsities.

In Isaiah:

"And it shall come to pass that he that is left in Zion, and he that remaineth in Jerusalem, shall be called holy unto him, every one that is written to life in Jerusalem. When the Lord shall have washed the excrement of the daughters of Zion, and shall have washed away the bloods of Jerusalem out of the midst thereof by the spirit of judgment, and by the spirit of cleansing" (4:3, 4).

Because by Jerusalem is signified the church as to doctrine, it is therefore said, When He shall have washed away its bloods out of the midst thereof, by which, therefore, are signified the falsities of evil. By the spirit of judgment is signified the Divine truth, and because this purifies, it is said by the spirit of cleansing.

[24] In Ezekiel:

"In the day wherein thou wast born, I passed by beside thee, and I saw thee trodden under foot in thy bloods, and I said to thee, In thy bloods, live; yea, I said to thee, In thy bloods, live; I have washed thee; and I have washed away thy bloods from upon thee, and I have anointed thee with oil" (16:5, 6, 9, 22, 36, 38).

The subject here treated of is Jerusalem, by which is signified the church as to the doctrine of truth, first here concerning the falsities of evil in which it was before it was reformed, and afterwards concerning its reformation. The falsities of evil are signified by its being seen trodden under foot in bloods; and its reformation by His having washed, and washed away the bloods, and anointed with oil. To wash signifies to purify by truths; to wash away bloods signifies to remove the falsities of evil; and to anoint with oil signifies to gift with the good of love.

[25] In Lamentations:

"For the sins of the prophets" of Jerusalem, "and the iniquities of her priests; that have shed the blood of the just in the midst of her. They have wandered blind in the streets, they are polluted with blood, the things that they cannot they touch with their garments" (4:13, 14).

By the prophets of Jerusalem are signified those who will teach the truths of doctrine, and by the priests those who will lead by truths to good; here, in the opposite sense, because it is said for their sins. By shedding the blood of the just is signified to falsify truths and to adulterate goods; therefore it is said, "They have wandered blind in the streets, they are polluted with blood, the things that they cannot they touch with their garments." To wander blind in the streets, signifies not to see truths at all, streets denoting truths; polluted with blood, signifies to be wholly in falsities; by its being said, the things that they cannot they touch with [their] garments, signifies that what they cannot pervert they falsify, garments denoting the truths that invest interior things, which truths are the truths of the sense of the letter of the Word.

In Isaiah:

"All the crowd shall be confounded by the earthquake, and the garment is polluted with bloods" (9:5).

The earthquake signifies the perversion of the church by the falsification of truth, and the garment polluted with bloods signifies the falsification of the sense of the letter of the Word.

[26] In Jeremiah:

"Wickedness hast thou taught for thy ways, in the wings also is found the blood of innocent souls, in the act of digging through I found them not, but in all these" (2:34).

Here by the blood found in the wings is signified the same as above by, the things that they cannot they touch with their garments, wings being garments. That he did not find them in the act of digging through, but in all of them, signifies that the truths themselves they dared not destroy, but that they falsified the truths of the sense of the letter, wings signifying those truths.

[27] In Isaiah:

"Your hands are full of bloods" (1:15).

In the same:

"For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies, and your tongue hath meditated perverseness. Their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed innocent blood; their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity" (59:3, 7).

Their hands being defiled with blood, and their fingers with iniquity, signifies that in all things belonging to them there is falsity and evil of falsity; the hands and the fingers signify power, and hence everything that they have in which there is power. Because these things are signified, therefore it is also said, your lips have spoken lies, and your tongue hath meditated perverseness; lies denoting falsities, and perverseness denoting the evil of falsity. That their feet make haste to shed innocent blood, signifies to destroy the good of love and charity, this being signified by shedding innocent blood; the good of innocence is that from which are all the good and truth of heaven and the church (as may be seen in the work concerning Heaven and Hell 276-283). From these considerations it is evident what is signified, in the general sense, by bloods in the plural, namely, the violence offered both to the truths and the goods of the Word and of the church. Because by shedding innocent blood is signified to destroy the good of love and charity, therefore, every kind of precaution was taken lest innocent blood should be shed, and if it was shed, that the land might be expiated (Deuteronomy 19:10, 13; 21:1-9); for the land signifies the church.

[28] In Isaiah:

"Jehovah goeth forth out of his place to visit the iniquity of the earth; then shall the earth disclose her bloods, and shall no more cover her slain" (26:21).

By the bloods that the earth shall disclose, are signified all the falsities and evils that have destroyed the truths and goods of the church, the earth denoting the church where those things are; by the slain are signified those who have perished by them. That the slain signify those who have perished by falsities and evils, may be seen, n. 315.

In the Apocalypse:

In Babylon "was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth" (18:24).

The blood of prophets and of saints means truths and goods extinguished; and the slain those who have perished by falsities and evils, as mentioned just above.

[29] The same is meant by:

"The blood of the prophets which was shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel even to the blood of Zacharias, son of Barachias, whom they slew between the temple and the altar" (Matthew 23:30, 34, 35; Luke 11:50, 51).

In the spiritual sense, by Abel are meant those who are in the good of charity, and, apart from person, that good itself; and by Cain those who make faith alone the only means of salvation, and the good of charity of no account, and thence reject and slay it; and by Zacharias are meant those who are in truths of doctrine, and, apart from person, the truth itself of doctrine; hence by the blood of both is signified the extinction of all good and truth; by their slaying him between the temple and the altar, is signified, in the spiritual sense, every kind of rejection of the Lord; for the temple signifies the Lord as to Divine truth, and the altar Him as to Divine good, and, between them, signifies both together. (That Abel, in a representative sense, denotes the good of charity, may be seen, n. 342, 354, 1179, 3325; and that Cain denotes faith alone, separate from charity, n. 340, 347, 1179, 3325. That a prophet signifies the doctrine of truth, n. 2534, 7269. That the temple signifies the Lord as to Divine truth, and the altar Him as to Divine good, and, in the respective sense, the Lord's kingdom and church as to those, n. 2777, 3720, 9714, 10642. That between both signifies where there is the marriage of the Divine good and the Divine truth, n. 10001, 10025.)

[30] In the Word, it is often said of those condemned to death, that their bloods were upon them, and thereby, in the spiritual sense, is meant that damnation was upon them on account of the falsities and evils by which they have destroyed the truths and goods of the church; for by bloods in general are signified all falsities of doctrine, of life, and of worship, from which are the evils that destroy the church. These evils are in part recounted in Ezekiel (18:10-13). These are also signified by bloods, in John:

"As many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name; which were born, not of bloods, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God" (1:12, 13).

By the Lord's name are meant all the truths and goods by which He is to be worshipped; by bloods are meant all falsities and evils that destroy; by the will of the flesh, and by the will of man, are signified all evils of love and falsities of faith; for flesh signifies man's voluntary proprium from which is all evil, and man (vir) signifies man's intellectual proprium from which is all falsity, the will denoting where those things are; to be born of God, is to be regenerated by the truths of faith, and by a life according to them.