"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."

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

375. And see thou hurt not the oil and the wine. That this signifies, that it is provided that the internal or spiritual sense of the Word should not suffer hurt, either as to good or as to truth, is clear from the signification of oil as denoting the good of love, of which we shall speak presently; from the signification of wine, as denoting the truth of that good, for every good has its own truth, or every truth is of good, hence according to the quality of the good such is the truth; and from the signification of hurting, as denoting to do injury thereto. That it is the internal or spiritual sense of the Word as to good and truth that is here specifically signified by oil and wine, is clear from this consideration, that by wheat and barley are signified good and truth just as by oil and wine, but by wheat and barley the good and truth of the church in general, consequently, those who are in the sense of the letter of the Word; for the goods and truths that are in that sense of the Word, are goods and truths in general, the sense of the letter including the spiritual sense, and thereby spiritual goods and truths; therefore wheat and barley signify the goods and truths of the church in general, which belong to the sense of the letter of the Word; whereas oil and wine signify the goods and truths of the internal or spiritual sense of the Word. The latter are interior goods and truths, but the former exterior.

[2] That there are interior and exterior goods and truths, the former in the spiritual or internal man, the latter in the natural or external, is evident from what is said and shown in the work concerning Heaven and Hell, namely, that there are three heavens, and that the inmost or third heaven is in inmost goods and truths, or in those of the third degree; and that the middle or second heaven is in lower goods and truths, or those of the second degree; and that the ultimate or first heaven is in ultimate goods and truths, or in those of the first degree. Ultimate goods and truths, or those of the first degree, are such as are contained in the sense of the letter of the Word; therefore those who remain in that sense, and thence form doctrine for themselves, and live according thereto, are in ultimate goods and truths. These, since they do not see interior things, because they are not purely spiritual like the angels of the higher heavens, but spiritual-natural, are still in heaven, but in the ultimate, because the goods and truths that they have drawn from the sense of the letter of the Word, and which are with them, contain in them interior goods and truths pertaining to the spiritual sense of the Word, for they correspond, and by correspondence form one.

[3] For example: He who believes from the sense of the letter of the Word, that God is angry, that He condemns, and casts into hell those who live wickedly, although this is not truth in itself, because God is never angry, nor does He condemn man or cast him into hell; yet still, this with those who live well, and who thus believe because the Word in the letter says so, is accepted by the Lord as truth, because the truth inwardly lies concealed in it, as also is evident before the interior angels, although they themselves do not see it. Let this also serve as an example: He who believes that he shall enjoy long life, if he loves his father and mother, according to the precept of the Decalogue, and if he loves them on that account, and lives well, is accepted in like manner as if he had believed the real truth, for he does not know that by father and mother, in the highest sense, are meant the Lord and His kingdom; by father, the Lord, and by mother His kingdom; and that by prolongation of days, or length of life, is signified happiness to eternity. The case is similar in a thousand other instances. These things are mentioned that it may be known what is meant by the exterior and interior goods and truths of the Word, because by wheat and barley are signified exterior goods and truths, that is, those that are of the sense of the letter of the Word; whereas by oil and wine are signified interior goods and truths, that is, those that are of the spiritual sense of the Word.

[4] The reason why wheat and barley signify exterior goods and truths, or the goods and truths of the sense of the letter of the Word, is, because they are the harvest of the field, and do not serve for food until they are made into bread, and bread in the Word signifies interior goods, consequently, wheat and barley signify those things by which those goods [are formed], and such things are the goods and truth of the sense of the letter of the Word. But that oil and wine signify the interior goods, which are those of the internal or spiritual sense of the Word, is evident from their signification in the Word, as will be clear from what follows. The reason why injury is not to be done to these, is that they may not be profaned, for if they are known, and believed, and afterwards denied, or also if the life be contrary to them, they are then profaned; and to profane interior goods and truths, is to conjoin oneself with heaven, and at the same time with hell, which is altogether to destroy spiritual life; for the goods and truths that are believed, remain, and also the evils and falsities that succeed in their place by denial or by a life contrary to them. Hence there is a conjunction of the good and truth of heaven with the evils and falsities of hell, which cannot be separated, but must be torn asunder, and when they are torn asunder, everything of the spiritual life is destroyed. Hence it is that profaners after death are not spirits in human form, as others are, but they are mere fantasies, and seem to themselves to flit hither and thither without any thought; and at length they are separated from others, and cast down into the lowest hell of all; and because they do not appear in a human form as other spirits, therefore, they are no longer called he or she, but it, that is, not man; but more may be seen respecting the profanation of good and truth in the Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 169, 172).

[5] Because such a lot awaits those who profane the interior goods and truths of heaven and the church, therefore, the internal or spiritual sense of the Word, in which these are contained, was not opened to the Jews, because if it had been, they would have profaned it; and, therefore, neither was it opened to Christians, because these also, if it had been opened, would have profaned it. Hence also it was concealed from the latter as from the former, that there is any internal or spiritual sense in the sense of the letter, which is the natural [sense] of the Word. And in order that they should be ignorant of it, it was provided that the science of correspondences, which was the chief knowledge with the ancients, should be lost, so that the nature of correspondence should be entirely unknown, and, consequently, the nature of the spiritual sense of the Word. For the Word is written by pure correspondences, therefore, without this knowledge, the nature of the spiritual sense could not be known. This was provided by the Lord, lest genuine goods and truths themselves, in which the higher heavens are, should be profaned.

[6] But the reason why the internal or spiritual sense of the Word is at this day opened, is, because the Last Judgment is accomplished, and hence all things in the heavens and in the hells are reduced into order, and thus it can be provided by the Lord that profanations may not take place. That the internal or spiritual sense of the Word would be opened after the Last Judgment was accomplished, was foretold by the Lord in the Revelation (concerning which, see the small work concerning the White Horse). That no injury should be done to the internal or spiritual sense of the Word, is also signified by the Lord's garments being divided by the soldiers, and not the vesture, which was without seam, woven from the top throughout (John 19:23, 24). For by the Lord's garments is signified the Word; by the garments which were divided, the Word in the letter; by the vesture, the Word in the internal sense; and by the soldiers, those who fought for the goods and truths of the church. That such persons are signified by soldiers, may be seen above (n. 64, at the end); and that garments in the Word signify truths clothing good, and the Lord's garments signify Divine truth, thus the Word (also above, n. 64, 195).

[7] That oil signifies the good of love, is especially evident from the anointings among the sons of Israel, or in their church, which were performed by oil; for all things of the church were thereby consecrated, and when consecrated they were called holy, as the altar and the vessels thereof, the tent of the assembly and all things therein, likewise those who were appointed to the priesthood and their garments, and further the prophets, and afterwards the kings. Any one can see that oil itself does not sanctify, but that which is signified by oil, which is the good of love to the Lord from the Lord; this is signified by oil; when, therefore, persons or things were anointed with oil, from that moment they became representative, for the oil induced a representation of the Lord, and of the good of love from Him, the good of love to the Lord from the Lord, being the essential holy [element] of heaven and the church, by which everything Divine flows in. Hence the things of heaven and the church, which are called things spiritual, are holy in proportion as they contain this [element].

[8] The reason of the representation of holiness by oil is this: The Lord alone as to the Divine Human is the Anointed of Jehovah, for in Him, from conception, was the essential Divine good of the Divine love, and therefrom His Human was the essential Divine truth when He was in the world, and afterwards, by union with the essential Divine in Himself, He made that also the Divine good of the Divine love; and because all things of the church represented things Divine from the Lord, and, in the highest sense, the Lord Himself - for the church instituted with the sons of Israel was a representative church - therefore oil, by which was signified the Divine good of the Divine love, was used to introduce into representations; and afterwards the things or persons that were anointed were considered as holy, not that there was any holiness thereby in them, but because holiness was thereby represented in heaven, when they were [engaged] in worship.

[9] These observations are made in order that it may be known that oil signifies the good of love; but to make it more evident, I will explain every particular in order, namely:

[i] That in ancient times they anointed with oil the stones set up for statues.

[ii] Likewise the arms of war, as bucklers and shields.

[iii] Afterwards, that they anointed the altar and all the vessels thereof, and the tent of the assembly and all things therein.

[iv] Also besides, those who were appointed to the priesthood, and also their garments.

[v] And also the prophets.

[vi] And afterwards the kings, who were thence called the anointed.

[vii] That it was customary to anoint themselves and others with oil, to testify gladness of mind and benevolence.

[viii] And that hence it is evident that oil in the Word signifies good; the oil of holiness which was prepared for anointing those things that were to be used in the worship of the church, the Divine good of the Divine love; and oil in general, good and its delight.

[10] (i) That they anointed stones set up for statues, appears in the book of Genesis:

"Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put under his head, and set it up for a statue, and poured oil on the top of it. And he called the name of that place Bethel. And he said, If I come again to my father's house in peace, this stone which I have set for a statue, shall be the house of God" (28:18-22).

The reason why stones were thus anointed, was, because by stones were signified truths, and truths without good have no spiritual life, that is, no life from the Divine; but when the stones were anointed with oil, then they represented truths from good, and in the highest sense, the Divine truth proceeding from the Lord's Divine good, who is thence called the Stone of Israel. The stones themselves set up were statues, and were accounted holy, and hence arose the use of statues among the ancients, and afterwards in their temples. Because, then, the stone set up by Jacob was representatively sanctified, therefore, Jacob called the name of the place Bethel, and said that that stone should be the house of God; Bethel signifies the house of God, and the house of God signifies the church as to good, and, in the highest sense, the Lord as to His Divine Human (John 2:19-22). (The remainder may be seen explained in the Arcana Coelestia. Besides there also that statues were set up by the ancients for a sign, for a witness, and for worship, n. 3727; that they were at first holy boundaries, n. 3727; that afterwards they were used in worship, n. 4580; what they signified, n. 4580, 10643. That stones signify truths, and the Stone of Israel the Lord as to Divine truth, n. 643, 1298, 3720, 6426, 8609, 9388, 9389, 10376. That the pouring of oil upon the head of a statue, or anointing it, was done that the representative of truth from good might be introduced, and thus might be used in worship, n. 3728, 4090.)

[11] (ii) That they anointed the arms of war, as bucklers and shields, is seen in Isaiah:

"Arise, ye princes, anoint the shield" (21:5).

And in the second book of Samuel:

"The shield of the heroes is polluted; the shield of Saul is not anointed with oil" (1:21).

The reason why the arms of war were anointed was, because they signified truths fighting against falsities; and truths from good are what prevail against them, but not truths without good; therefore the arms of war represented the truths by which the Lord Himself fights in man, against the falsities from evil from hell. (That arms of war signify truths fighting against falsities, may be seen, n. 1788, 2686, and above, n. 131, 367; and that wars in general signify spiritual combats, n. 1664, 2686, 8273, 8295; and enemies, evils and falsities, in general the hells, n. 2831, 8289, 9314.)

[12] (iii) That they anointed the altar and all vessels, also the tent of the assembly and all things therein, is clear in Moses:

"Jehovah said unto Moses, Thou shalt anoint the altar, and sanctify it" (Exodus 29:36).

In the same:

"Thou shalt make the oil of the anointing of holiness wherewith thou shalt anoint the tent of the assembly, and the ark of the testimony, and the tables and all the vessels thereof, and the candlestick, and all the vessels thereof, and the altar of incense, and the altar of burnt-offering, and all the vessels thereof, and the lavers and the base. Thus shalt thou sanctify them, that they may be holy of holies; every one who would touch them, shall sanctify himself "' (Exodus 30:25-29; 40:9-11; Leviticus 8:10-12; Num. 7:1).

The reason why the altars were anointed, and the tent of the assembly, with all things therein, was that they might represent the Divine and holy things of heaven and the church, consequently, the holy things of worship; and they could not represent them unless they had been consecrated by something significative of the good of love, for the Divine enters by the good of love, and is thereby present, consequently, also in worship, and without it, the Divine neither enters nor is present. (That the altar was an especial representative of the Lord, and thence of worship from the good of love, may be seen, n. 2777, 2811, 4489, 4541, 8935, 8940, 9388, 9389, 9714; and that the tabernacle with the ark was the special representative of heaven where the Lord is, n. 9457, 9481, 9485, 9594, 9632, 9596, 9784.)

[13] (iv) That they anointed those who were appointed to the priesthood, and their garments, is clear in Moses:

"Take the oil of anointing, and pour it upon the head of Aaron, and thou shalt anoint him" (Exodus 29:7 30:30).

In the same:

"Put upon Aaron the garments of holiness, and thou shalt anoint him, and sanctify him; that he may minister unto me in the priesthood. And thou shalt anoint his sons, as thou didst anoint the father, and it shall be that their anointing is to them an everlasting priesthood throughout their generations" (Exodus 40:13-15).

In the same:

"Moses poured of the oil upon Aaron's head, and anointed him to sanctify him. And afterwards he took of the oil of anointing, and of the blood which was upon the altar, and sprinkled it upon Aaron, upon his garments, upon his sons, and upon his sons' garments with him; and sanctified Aaron, his garments, and his sons, and his sons' garments with him (Leviticus 8:6, 12, 30).

The reason why Aaron and his sons were anointed, and their very garments, was, that they might represent the Lord as to the Divine good, and as to Divine truth thence; Aaron, the Lord as to the Divine good, and his sons, [the Lord] as to the Divine truth thence; and in general that the priesthood might represent the Lord as to His work of salvation. The reason of their garments being anointed (Exodus 29:29) was, because garments represented spiritual things clothing. (That Aaron represented the Lord as to Divine good, may be seen, n. 9806; that his sons represented the Lord as to Divine truth proceeding from Divine good, n. 9807; that the priesthood in general represented the Lord as to His work of salvation, n. 9809; that the garments of Aaron and his sons represented things spiritual, n. 9814, 9942, 9952.)

[14] Because consecration for the purpose of representation was effected by anointing, and by Aaron and his sons were represented the Lord and what proceeds from him, therefore, to Aaron and his sons were given the holy things of the sons of Israel, which were gifts given to Jehovah, and were called heave offerings; and it is said that they are the anointing, or for the anointing, that is, that they are a representation, or for a representation, of the Lord, and of the Divine things that proceed from Him; as appears from the following passages in Moses:

"The wave breast and the heave shoulder have I taken of the sons of Israel. This anointing of Aaron, and anointing of his sons, out of the burnt offerings of Jehovah, which he commanded to give them in the day that he had anointed them from among the sons of Israel" (Leviticus 7:34-36).

And elsewhere in the same:

"Jehovah spake unto Aaron, Behold I have given thee the charge of mine heave offerings as to the hallowed things of the sons of Israel; unto thee have I given them by reason of the anointing, and to thy sons, by an ordinance for ever. Every gift of theirs as to every meat offering, as to every sacrifice of sin and guilt, every trespass of the sons of Israel, all the fat of the pure oil, and all the fat of the new wine, and of the corn, their first-fruits which they shall give unto Jehovah, I have given them to thee, likewise everything devoted in Israel, every opening of the womb, thus every heave offering of things holy. Thou shalt have no inheritance in their land, neither shalt thou have any part in the midst of them; I am thy part and thine inheritance in the midst of the sons of Israel" (Num. 18:8-20).

From these considerations it is clear that anointing denotes representation, because by anointing they were consecrated or inaugurated into representation; and thereby was signified that all consecration into the holiness of heaven and the church is by means of the good of love from the Lord, and that the good of love is the Lord with them; because this is the case, it is said that Jehovah is his part and inheritance.

[15] (v) That they also anointed the prophets, is clear from the first book of Kings:

Jehovah said unto Elijah, "Anoint Hazael to be king over Syria; and Jehu anoint to be king over Israel; and Elisha anoint to be prophet instead of thee" (19:15, 16).

And in Isaiah:

"The spirit of the Lord Jehovih is upon me; therefore hath Jehovah anointed me to preach good tidings unto the poor" (61:1).

The reason why the prophets were anointed, was, because the prophets represented the Lord as to the doctrine of Divine truth, consequently, as to the Word; for the Word is the doctrine of Divine truth. (That the prophets represented, and thence signified, doctrine from the Word, may be seen, n. 2534, 7269; specifically Elijah and Elisha, n. 2762, 5247 at the end, 9372). That it is the Lord as to the Divine Human who is represented, thus through whom Jehovah anointed, the Lord Himself teaches in Luke (4:18-21).

[16] (vi) That they afterwards anointed kings, and that they were called the anointed of Jehovah, is clear from many passages in the Word (as 1 Sam. 10:1; 15:1; 16:3, 6; 24:7, 11; 26:9, 11, 16, 23; 2 Sam. 1:16; 2:4, 7; 5:3; 19:2 ¹ ; 1 Kings 1:34, 35; 19:15, 16; 2 Kings 9:3; 11:12; 23:30; Lamentations 4:20; Hab. 3:13; Psalms 2:2, 6; 20:6; 28:8; 45:8; 84:10; 89:21, 39, 51; 132:17; and elsewhere). The reason why kings were anointed, was, that they might represent the Lord as to judgment from Divine truth; wherefore, by kings in the Word, Divine truths are signified (see above, n. 31). The reason why kings were called the anointed of Jehovah, and why it was therefore sacrilege to injure them, was, because by the anointed of Jehovah is meant the Lord as to the Divine Human, although, as to the sense of the letter, it is applied to the king who was anointed with oil; for the Lord, when He was in the world, was the Divine truth itself as to the Human, and was the Divine good itself of the Divine love as to the very esse of His life, which in man is called the soul from the father, for He was conceived of Jehovah, Jehovah in the Word denoting the Divine good of the Divine love, which is the esse of the life of all; hence it is that the Lord alone was the anointed of Jehovah in very essence and in very deed, because the Divine good of the Divine love was in Him, and the Divine truth proceeding from that essential good in His Human when He was in the world. (See above, n. 63, 200, 228, 328; and in the Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 293-295, 303-305.) But the kings of the earth were not the anointed of Jehovah; they were so called, because they represented the Lord, who was alone the Anointed of Jehovah, and, therefore, it was sacrilege to hurt the kings of the earth on account of their anointing; but the anointing of the kings of the earth was effected by oil, whereas the anointing of the Lord as to the Divine Human was accomplished by the Divine good itself of the Divine love, which oil signified and anointing represented; hence it is that the Lord was called the Messiah and Christ, Messiah in the Hebrew tongue signifying anointed, and Christ the same in the Greek tongue (John 1:41; 4:25).

[17] From these considerations it is evident that when the anointed of Jehovah is mentioned in the Word, in a representative sense the Lord is meant. As in Isaiah:

"The spirit of the Lord Jehovih is upon me; therefore Jehovah hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the poor; he hath sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives" (Isaiah 61:1).

That it is the Lord as to the Divine Human, whom Jehovah anointed, is clear in Luke, where the Lord openly declares it in these words:

There was delivered unto Jesus "the book of the prophet Isaiah. And he opened the book, and found the place where it was written, The spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me, he hath sent me to preach the gospel to the poor; to heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the accepted year of the Lord. After that, closing the book, he gave it to the minister, and sat down. But the eyes of all in the synagogue were fastened on him. He began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears" (4:17-21).

In Daniel:

"Know therefore, and perceive, that from the going forth of the Word even to the restoration and building of Jerusalem even to Messiah the Prince, shall be seven weeks" (9:25).

To build Jerusalem denotes the establishment of the church, Jerusalem denoting the church; Messiah the Prince, or the Anointed, denotes the Lord as to the Divine Human.

[18] In the same:

"Seventy weeks are determined to seal up the vision and the prophet, and to anoint the Holy of holies" (9:24).

To seal up the vision and the prophet, denotes to conclude the things that are said in the Word concerning the Lord, and to complete them, to anoint the Holy of holies, denotes the Lord's Divine Human, in which was the Divine good of the Divine love, or Jehovah.

[19] The Lord is also meant by the anointed of Jehovah in the following passages. In David:

"The kings of the earth stood together, and the rulers consulted together, against Jehovah, and against his anointed. I have anointed my king upon Zion, the mountain of my holiness" (Psalms 2:2, 6).

The kings of the earth denote falsities, and the rulers denote the evils which are from the hells, against which the Lord when He was in the world fought, and which He conquered and subdued. The Anointed of Jehovah is the Lord as to the Divine Human from which He fought; Zion, the mountain of holiness, upon which He is called anointed as a king, is the celestial kingdom, which is in the good of love; this kingdom is the inmost of heaven and the inmost of the church.

[20] In the same:

"I have found David my servant; with the oil of holiness have I anointed him" (Psalms 89:20).

By David here, as also elsewhere, is meant the Lord (see above, n. 205); the oil of holiness with which Jehovah anointed him, denotes the Divine good of the Divine love; that it is the Lord who is here meant by David, is evident from the things which precede and those which follow, for it is said,

"Thou spakest in vision of thy Holy One, and saidst, I will set his hand also in the sea, and his right hand in the rivers. He shall call me, my Father. Also I will make him my first-born, higher than the kings of the earth. His seed will I establish for ever, and his throne as the days of the heavens" (verses 19, 25-27, 29; besides many other passages).

Similarly elsewhere in the same:

In Zion "will I make the horn of David to bud; I will prepare a lamp for mine anointed; his enemies will I clothe with shame, but upon himself shall his crown flourish" (Psalms 132:17, 18).

That here also the Lord is meant by David is evident from the preceding verses, in which it is said,

"We heard of him in Ephratah; we found him in the fields of the wood. We will go into his habitation; we will bow down ourselves at his footstool. Thy priests shall be clothed with justice; and thy saints shall shout for joy. For thy servant David's sake turn not away the faces of thine anointed" (verses 6-8, and following).

From this it is evident that the Lord as to His Divine Human is here meant by David, the anointed of Jehovah.

[21] In Jeremiah:

"They pursued us upon the mountains, they laid wait for us in the wilderness. The breath of our nostrils, the anointed of Jehovah, was taken in their pits, of whom we had said, Under his shadow we shall live among the nations" (Lamentations 4:19, 20).

Here, also, by the anointed of Jehovah is meant the Lord, for the assault on Divine truth by evils and falsities is here treated of, which is signified by, upon the mountains they pursued, and in the wilderness laid wait; the breath of the nostrils denotes heavenly life itself which is from the Lord (n. 9818).

[22] From these things it may now be known, why it was accounted sacrilege to injure the anointed of Jehovah, as is also plain from the Word. Thus, in the first book of Samuel:

David said, "Jehovah forbid that I should do this word unto my Lord, the anointed of Jehovah, and that I should put forth my hand against him, because he is the anointed of Jehovah" (24:6, 10).

So again:

"David said to Abishai, Destroy him not: for who can stretch forth his hand against the anointed of Jehovah, and be guiltless?" (1 Samuel 26:9).

In the second book of Samuel:

David said unto him, who said that he had slain Saul, "Thy blood be upon thy head; for thou hast said, I have slain the anointed of Jehovah" (2 Samuel 1:16).

And in another place:

"Abishai said, Shall not Shimei be put to death for this, that he cursed the anointed of Jehovah?" (19:21).

(That Shimei was therefore slain, by command of Solomon, may be seen in 1 Kings 2:36, to the end.)

[23] (vii) That it was customary to anoint themselves and others with oil, to testify gladness of mind and goodwill, is clear from the following passages. In Amos:

"Who drink out of bowls of wine, and anoint themselves with the first-fruits of the oils, but they are not grieved for the breach of Joseph" (6:6).

In Micah:

"Thou shalt tread the olive, but thou shalt not anoint thee with oil" (6:15), "for thou wilt not be glad."

In Moses:

"Thou shalt have olive trees throughout all thy border, but thou shalt not anoint thee with the oil" (Deuteronomy 28:40).

Similarly in Isaiah:

"To give them a head-dress instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning" (61:3).

In David:

"Thy God hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows" (Psalms 45:7).

In the same:

"My horn shalt thou exalt like the horn of a unicorn; I shall grow old in fresh oil" (Psalms 92:10).

In the same:

"Wine maketh glad the heart of man, to make merry the faces with oil" (Psalms 104:15).

In Luke:

Jesus said to Simon, "I entered into thine house, and my head with oil thou didst not anoint; but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment" (7:44, 46).

In Matthew:

"But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face, that ye may not appear unto men to fast" (6:17).

[24] To fast signifies to mourn, because in mourning they fasted, and desisted from the expression of gladness, therefore they were then not in the habit of anointing themselves with oil; as in Daniel:

"I Daniel was mourning three weeks. I ate not the bread of desires, neither came flesh nor wine in my mouth, neither was I anointed with anointing, until three weeks of days were fulfilled" (10:2, 3).

From these passages it is plain that it was a customary thing to anoint themselves and others with oil; not with the oil of holiness, with which the priests, the kings, the altar and tabernacle were anointed, but with common oil, because this oil signified gladness and satisfaction, which is of the love of good; whereas the oil of holiness signified the Divine good; concerning which it is said:

"Upon man's flesh shall it not be poured, and in quality thereof ye shall not make any like it; it shall be holy unto you. He who shall prepare any like it, or who shall put any of it upon a stranger, shall be cut off from his people" (Exodus 30:32, 33, 38).

[25] (viii) That hence it is evident that oil in the Word signifies good; the oil of holiness, which was prepared for anointing those things that were used in the worship of the church [signifying] the Divine good of the Divine love, and oil in general, good and its delight, is evident also from other passages in the Word where oil is mentioned, as from the following.

[26] In David:

"Behold how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together! It is like the good oil upon Aaron's head, that descendeth upon the beard, even Aaron's beard; which descendeth upon the collar (os) of his garments; as the dew of Hermon that descendeth upon the mountains of Zion; there Jehovah hath commanded the blessing of life even to eternity" (Psalms 133:1-3).

No one can know what these words signify, unless he knows also what brethren signify, what the oil upon the head of Aaron, his beard, and the collar of his garments, and further what the dew of Hermon, and the mountains of Zion. By brethren are here signified good and truth, for these are called brethren in the Word; therefore, by, "Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together," is signified that all heavenly good and delight are in the conjunction of good and truth, because all heavenly good and pleasure is from the conjunction of good and truth; by the oil upon the head "that descendeth upon the beard, even Aaron's beard, that descendeth upon the collar of his garments," is signified that thence are all the good and delight of heaven, from inmost to ultimates. For by the head is signified the inmost, by the beard the ultimate; by descending upon the collar of his garments are signified the influx and conjunction of celestial good and spiritual good. (That in the Word good and truth are called brethren, may be seen, n. 367, 3160, 9806; that the head signifies what is inmost, n. 4938, 4939, 9656, 9913, 9914; the beard, what is ultimate, n. 9960; the collar of the garments, the influx and conjunction of celestial and spiritual good, consequently, of good and truth, n. 9913, 9914. And this is said of Aaron, because by him was represented the Lord as to Divine good, for all good and all conjunction of good and truth are from Him (n. 9806, 9946, 10017). By the dew of Hermon is signified Divine truth, and by the mountains of Zion is signified Divine good; hence by, "as the dew of Hermon that descendeth upon the mountains of Zion," is signified the conjunction of truth and good, which is there treated of; and because angels and men possess all spiritual life from that conjunction, it is also said, there Jehovah hath commanded the blessing of life to eternity. (That dew signifies Divine truth, may be seen, n. 3579, 8455; that mountains signify Divine good, and whence this is, n. 795, 4210, 6435, 8327, 8758, 10438, 10608; and that Zion signifies the church where the good of love is, n. 2362, 9055 at the end.) Hence it is plain what is the nature of the Word in its spiritual sense, although it sounds thus in the letter.

[27] In Ezekiel:

"I entered into a covenant with thee, that thou mightest be mine. And I washed thee with waters, yea, I washed away thy bloods from upon thee, and I anointed thee with oil. And I clothed thee also with needle work, and shod thee with badgers' skins, and I girded thee about with fine linen, and covered thee with silk. Thou didst eat fine flour, honey, and oil, whence thou art become exceeding beautiful, and hast prospered even to a kingdom" (16:8-10, 13).

These things are said of Jerusalem, by which is signified the church, therefore the particulars of these signify spiritual things pertaining to the church. That these expressions are not used of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, namely, that Jehovah washed them with waters, washed away their bloods, clothed them with needle work, and shod them with badgers' skins, is evident. But by washing with waters is signified to reform and purify by truths; by washing away bloods is signified to remove the falsities of evil; by anointing with oil is signified to endow with the good of love; by clothing with needle work, and shoeing with badgers' skins, is signified to instruct in the knowledges of truth and good from the sense of the letter or ultimate sense of the Word; by eating fine flour, honey, and oil, is signified to appropriate truth and good; by thence becoming beautiful, is signified to become intelligent; and by prospering even to a kingdom, is signified that they became a church, a kingdom denoting the church.

[28] In Jeremiah:

"Jehovah hath redeemed Jacob, therefore they shall come and sing in the height of Zion, and shall flow together unto the goodness of Jehovah; to the wheat, and to the new wine, and to the oil, and to the sons of the flock and of the herd; and their soul shall become as a watered garden" (31:11, 12).

By new wine and oil are signified truth and good; what the other expressions signify may be seen just above, n. 374.

[29] In Joel:

Be glad, ye sons of Zion, and rejoice in Jehovah your God; for he hath given you the seasonable rain in justice, so that your floors are full of pure corn, the presses overflow with new wine and oil" (Joel 2:23, 24).

Here also by new wine and oil are signified the truth and good of the church, the sons of Zion, to whom these things are said, signifying those who are of the church; by the seasonable rain in justice, is signified Divine truth flowing into good, whence are conjunction, fructification, and multiplication of them; and by the floors full of pure corn is signified fulness thence.

[30] In the same:

"The field is wasted, the land mourned; for the corn is wasted, the new wine is dried up, the oil languisheth" (1:10).

By these words is signified that all things of the church which, in general, have reference to the good of love, and the truth of faith, are devastated. The field, and also the land, denote the church; field, the church from the reception of truth, and the land, the church from the perception of good; corn denotes every thing thereof; the new wine denotes the truth, and oil the good.

[31] In Isaiah:

"I will sing to my beloved a song of my friend; my beloved had a vineyard in the horn of a son of oil, which he fenced, and gathered out the stones thereof, and planted it with a noble vine; and he looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes" (5:1, 2).

By the vineyard which belonged to the beloved in the horn of a son of oil, is signified the spiritual church, which possessed truths from the good of love, and thus most excellent; for a vineyard signifies the spiritual church, or the church which is in truths from good; its consecration is meant by the horn of oil, for inaugurations were performed by oil out of a horn; and a son of oil denotes truth from good. By the beloved is meant the Lord, because He establishes the churches, of whom, therefore, it is said, "which he fenced, and gathered out the stones, and planted with a noble vine," a noble vine denoting spiritual truth from a celestial [origin], or truth from the good of love; by the grapes which he looked that it should bring forth, are signified the goods of charity, which are goods of life; and by the wild grapes which it brought forth, are signified evils opposed to the goods of charity, or evils of life.

[32] In Hosea:

"In that day, I will hear the heavens, and they shall hear the earth; and the earth shall hear the corn, and the new wine, and the oil; and they shall hear Israel. And I will sow her unto me in the earth" (2:21-23).

These things are said concerning a new church to be established by the Lord; and by hearing are meant to obey and to receive; following and succeeding in order, obedience and reception are thus described. That the heavens should receive from the Lord, is meant by, I will hear the heavens; that the church should receive from the heavens, thus from the Lord through the heavens, is meant by, the heavens shall hear the earth; the reception of good and truth by the church, is meant by, the earth shall hear the corn, and the new wine, and the oil; the new wine denoting truth, and the oil denoting good; and that those of the church, with whom there are good and truth, should thence receive, is meant by, they shall hear Israel. That the earth is not meant, nor its corn, new wine, and oil, but the church with its goods and truths, is clear, for it is said, "I will sow Israel unto me in the earth."

[33] In Isaiah:

"I will give in the wilderness the cedar of shittah, and the myrtle, and the oil-tree; I will set in the solitary place the fir, the pine, and the box" (41:19).

These things are said concerning the establishment by the Lord of the church amongst the Gentiles; and by the wilderness and by the solitary place is signified where there was before no good, because no truth; by the cedar of shittah, the myrtle, and the oil-tree, is signified spiritual and celestial good; and by the fir, the pine, and the box, are signified the good and truth thence in the Natural; for by every tree in the Word is signified something of the good and truth of the church; and the cedar of shittah, the myrtle, and the oil-tree, signify such things of the church as are in the spiritual or internal man; and the fir, the pine, and the box, such things of the church as are in the natural or external man.

[34] In David:

"[Jehovah is] my shepherd; I shall not want. He will make me to lie down in pastures of tender grass, he will lead me to waters of rests. Thou shalt prepare a table before me in the presence of mine enemies; my head shalt thou make fat with oil; my cup runneth over" (Psalms 23:1, 2, 5).

By these words, in the internal sense, is meant, that he who trusts in the Lord is led into all the goods and truths of heaven, and abounds in the delights thereof. By my shepherd is meant the Lord; by pastures of tender grass are signified the knowledges of truth and good; by waters of rests are signified the truths of heaven thence; by a table is signified spiritual nourishment; by making fat the head with oil is signified wisdom which is from good; by my cup runneth over is signified intelligence which is from truths, the cup signifying the same as the wine. They are called pastures of tender grass and waters of rests as if they were comparisons, because the Lord is called a shepherd, and the flock is led of the shepherd into green pastures and to limpid waters, but yet they are correspondences.

[35] In Ezekiel:

"Judah and the land of Israel were thy traders in the wheats of Minnith and Pannag, and in honey, oil, and balsam" (27:17).

This is said of Tyre, by which is signified the church as to the knowledges of truth and good; and so by Tyre are signified the knowledges of the truth and good of the church; and by Judah and the land of Israel, who were her traders, is signified the church, - by Judah the church as to good, and the land of Israel the church as to truths from good; and by trading is signified to procure to themselves, and to communicate to others. By the wheats of Minnith and Pannag are signified goods and truths in general; and by honey, oil, and balsam, specific goods and truths, - by honey and oil, goods; and by balsam, truths which are grateful from good, for all truths which are from good, are perceived in heaven as fragrant, and consequently grateful. This also was the reason why the oil of anointing was prepared of various fragrant things (concerning which see Exodus 30:22-33); as also the oil for the lamps (concerning which see Exodus 27:20, 21).

[36] In Moses:

Jehovah "fed him with the produce of the fields, he made him to suck honey out of the rock, and oil out of the stone of the rock" (Deuteronomy 32:12, 13).

These things are said of the ancient church. To suck oil out of the stone of the rock means to be imbued with good by the truths of faith, honey denoting natural good and delight, oil denoting spiritual good and delight; and rock and the stone of the rock denoting the truth of faith from the Lord. If spiritual things were not meant by these words, what could be meant by sucking honey out of the rock, and oil out of the stone of the rock?

[37] In Habakkuk:

"The fig-tree shall not blossom, neither shall there be produce from the vines; the olive shall beguile the labour, and the fields shall yield no meat" (3:17).

In this passage neither the fig-tree, nor the vine, nor the olive, nor fields, are meant, but heavenly things to which they correspond. The fig-tree corresponds to, and, therefore, signifies, natural good; the vine corresponds to spiritual good, which in its essence is truth; the olive, as the fruit from which the oil is, corresponds to the good of love in act; and fields correspond to all things of the church; produce and meats thence signify all things pertaining to spiritual nourishment; hence it is evident what those things signify in order.

[38] In Hosea:

"Ephraim feedeth on wind, they make a covenant with Assyria, and oil is carried down into Egypt" (12:1).

These words are not at all understood, unless it is known what Ephraim, Assyria, and Egypt signify. Man's intellectual proprium is here described, which, by reasonings from scientifics, perverts and adulterates the goods of the church. Ephraim denotes the Intellectual; Assyria, reasoning; and Egypt, the Scientific; hence, to carry down oil into Egypt, is to pervert the goods of the church by reasonings from scientifics.

[39] In Zechariah:

"I beheld a candlestick of gold; two olive trees by it, one upon the right side of the bowl, and the other upon the left side thereof. These are the two sons of oil that stand near the Lord of the whole earth" (4:1-3, 11, 14).

The two olive trees, and the two sons of oil, denote the good of love to the Lord, and the good of charity towards the neighbour; the latter upon His left hand, the former upon His right.

[40] Similarly in the Apocalypse:

"The two witnesses shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and three score days. These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth" (11:3, 4).

The two olive trees and the two candlesticks denote the same goods, which, because they are from the Lord, are called the two witnesses; but more will be said concerning these in the explanation of them.

[41] Because oil signified the good of love to the Lord, and the good of charity towards the neighbour, therefore

The Lord likened the kingdom of the heavens to ten virgins, of whom five had oil in their lamps, and five had not; wherefore the latter were called foolish, and the former wise (Matthew 25:1-11).

By the ten virgins are signified all who belong to the church; and by five are signified some, or a part of them, for these are signified by the numbers ten and five in the Word. And by a virgin, or daughter, is signified the church; by oil are signified the good of love to the Lord, and the good of charity towards the neighbour; and by lamps are signified the truths, which are called truths of faith; hence it is evident what is meant by these words in the spiritual sense, namely, those who know truths from the Word, or from the doctrine of the church, and are not in the good of love and charity, that is, do not live according to them. They are the virgins who have no oil in their lamps, and who, therefore, are not admitted into heaven; but those who are in the good of love and of charity, and thence in truths from the Word, or from the doctrine of the church, are the virgins who have oil in their lamps, and are received into heaven. Hence it is clear why the latter are called prudent virgins, but the former foolish.

[42] Because oil signified the good of love and charity, and wine signified truth, therefore

The Lord says of the Samaritan, who, as he journeyed, saw on the way a man wounded by thieves, that he poured oil and wine into his wounds, and afterwards set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and said that they should take care of him (Luke 10:30-37).

These things, in the spiritual sense, are thus perceived; by the Samaritan are meant the Gentiles who were in the good of charity towards the neighbour; by the man wounded by thieves are meant those who are infested by infernals, for they are thieves, because they injure and destroy man's spiritual life; by the oil and wine, which he poured into his wounds, are meant things spiritual, which heal man; by oil good, and by wine truth; by his setting him on his own beast, is signified his doing this according to his intelligence, so far as he was able, for a horse signifies the Intellectual, in like manner a beast of burden; his bringing him to an inn, and saying that they should take care of him, signifies, to those who are instructed in the doctrine of the church from the Word, and who are better able to heal him than he is who is still in ignorance; thus are these words understood in heaven, from which it is also evident that the Lord, when He was in the world, spake by pure correspondences, thus for the world and for heaven at the same time.

[43] Because oil signified the good of love and charity, and those are healed thereby who are spiritually sick, therefore it is said of the Lord's disciples,

"That they anointed many with oil, and healed them" (Mark 6:13).

What besides is signified by the oil prepared for the lamps, and what by the oil prepared for anointings, may be seen in the Arcana Coelestia 9778-9789; and n. 10250-10288), where they are explained. From these considerations it may now be seen, that by oil are signified celestial good and spiritual good, or the good of love to the Lord, and the good of charity towards the neighbour; by the oil of anointing, the good of love to the Lord from the Lord, and by the oil for the lamps, the good of charity from the Lord towards the neighbour.

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