2. It is the doctrine of the Church that the above passage treats of the Coming of the Lord. Thence it is that there have been opened, by the Lord, arcana ¹ concerning heaven and hell, man's life after death, the Word and the last judgment. All these things have been written down in the Latin language and sent to all the Archbishops and Bishops of this kingdom [of Great Britain] and to the Nobility. So far, not a voice has been heard. This is a sign that the things which pertain to heaven and the Church do not affect them interiorly. It also shows that it is now the very end of the Church and indeed that the Church no longer exists. For the Church exists where the Lord is worshipped and the Word is read with enlightenment. ² . . . Summaries of the truth presented in the little works referred to may be seen at the end of this work.

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252. And will sup with him, and he with Me, signifies communicating to them the felicities of heaven. This is evident from the signification of "supping," as being to communicate the goods of heaven. "To sup" means to communicate, because "banquets," "feasts," "dinners," and "suppers" in the Word signify consociations by love, and thus a communication of love's delights, for all delights are of love. These things derive their signification from that of bread and of wine, which signify the good of love, celestial and spiritual; and from that of eating together, which signifies communication and appropriation. This was formerly signified by the paschal supper, and is at this day signified by the holy supper (See above, n. 146); and in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 210-222). Mention is made of "supping," because weddings were celebrated at supper time, and weddings signify the conjunction of good and truth, and the consequent communication of delights. It is therefore said in Revelation:

Blessed are they which are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb (Revelation 19:9);

and afterwards:

Come and be gathered together unto the supper of the great God (Revelation 19:17).

[2] As suppers signify consociations by love, and consequent communication of delights, therefore the Lord compared the church and heaven to a "supper," and also to a "wedding;" to a "supper" in Luke:

The master of the house made a great supper, and bade many; but all those that were called excused themselves. Therefore, being angry, he ordered his servant to bring in the poor, the maimed, the halt, and the blind; saying of those called, that none of them should taste of the supper (Luke 14:16-24).

(Nearly the same is meant by the wedding to which invitations were given in Matthew 22:1-15.) "Supper" here means heaven and the church; "those called who excused themselves" mean the Jews with whom the church then was; for the church specifically is where the Word is, and where the Lord is known through the Word. "The poor, the maimed, the halt, and the blind," mean those who are spiritually such, and who were then outside the church. Heaven and the church are here likened to "a supper" and to "a wedding," because heaven is the conjunction of angels with the Lord by love, and their consociation among themselves by charity, and the consequent communication of all delights and felicities; the like is true of the church, since the church is the Lord's heaven on the earth. (That heaven is the conjunction of the angels with the Lord by love, and also their mutual consociation by charity, see in the work on Heaven and Hell 13-19, and a consequent communication of all delights and felicities, n. 396-400)

[3] In the Word it is said in many places that in heaven they will "eat together;" and this means in the spiritual sense that they are to enjoy blessedness and felicity; thus "eating together" has here a like significance as "supping." Thus in Luke:

They shall come from the east and the west, and from the north and the south, and shall recline to eat in the kingdom of God (Luke 13:29).

And in Matthew:

Many shall come from the east and the west, and shall recline to eat with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of the heavens (Matthew 8:11).

Those who are to "come from the east, the west, the north and the south," are all who are in the good of love, and in the truths of faith therefrom. (That the "four quarters" in the Word have such a signification, may be seen in the work on Heaven and Hell. n. 141-153: that "Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob," mean the Lord in respect to the Divine Itself and the Divine Human,Arcana Coelestia 1893, 4615, 6098, 6185, 6276, 6804, 6847; consequently "to recline to eat with them" means to be conjoined with the Lord, and to be consociated one to another by love, and by such conjunction and consociation to enjoy eternal blessedness and felicity, and this from the Lord alone.)

[4] In Luke:

Jesus said, Let your loins be girded about, and your lamps burning, and be ye yourselves like unto men waiting for their Lord when He shall return from the wedding, that when He cometh and knocketh they may open unto Him. Blessed are those servants whom the Lord when He cometh shall find watching; verily I say unto you, that He shall gird Himself, and make them to recline to eat, and drawing near, He will minister to them (Luke 12:35).

"The loins that are to be girded" mean the good of love (Arcana Coelestia 3021[1-8], 4280, 9961); "the lamps that are to be burning" signify the truths of faith from the good of love (Arcana Coelestia 9548, 9551, 9783); "girding Himself, making them to recline to eat, and ministering to them," signifies to bestow upon them every good.

[5] In the same:

Ye are they which have continued with Me in My temptations; I appoint unto you, even as My Father hath appointed unto Me, a kingdom, that ye may eat and drink at My table in the kingdom (Luke 22:28-30).

"To eat and drink at the Lord's table in the kingdom of God" is to be conjoined to the Lord by love and faith, and to enjoy heavenly blessedness.

[6] In Matthew:

Jesus said, I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this product of the vine, until that day when I will drink it new with you in My Father's kingdom (Matthew 26:29).

These words were spoken by the Lord after He instituted the Holy Supper; and "the product of the vine" signifies Divine truth from Divine good, and blessedness and felicity therefrom.

[7] The signification of "feast" is like that of "supper," in Isaiah:

In this mountain shall Jehovah make unto all peoples a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees (Isaiah 25:6);

here the coming of the Lord is treated of, and "a feast of fat things" signifies the appropriation and communication of goods, and "a feast of wines on the lees," or the best wine, the appropriation of truths. (That "fat things" signify the goods of love, see Arcana Coelestia 353, 5943, 10033; and also the delights of love, n. 6409; and that "wine" signifies the good of charity, which in its essence is truth, n. 1071, 1798, 6377)

[8] The "wedding to which the ten virgins were invited" has a like meaning, of which in Matthew:

The kingdom of the heavens is like unto ten virgins, who took their lamps and went forth to meet the bridegroom. And five of them were prudent, and five were foolish. The foolish, when they took their lamps, took no oil with them; but the prudent took oil in their vessels with their lamps. Now while the bridegroom tarried they all slumbered and slept. But at midnight a cry arose, Behold the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him. Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said unto the prudent, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are going out. But the prudent answered, saying, Peradventure there will not be enough for us and you; go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the wedding, and the door was shut. Afterward came the other virgins, saying, lord, lord, open to us. But he answered and said, Verily I say to you, I know you not (Matthew 25:1-12).

This treats of conjunction with the Lord by love and faith; this the "wedding" moreover signifies; "oil" signifies the good of love, and "lamps" the truth of faith. To make clear that in every particular that the Lord spoke there is a spiritual sense, I will lay open the particulars of the spiritual sense of this parable. "The kingdom of the heavens," to which the ten virgins are likened, means heaven and the church; "the ten virgins" signify all who are of the church ("ten" all, and "virgins" those who are in the affection of spiritual truth and good, which affection constitutes the church), therefore "Zion" and "Jerusalem," by which the church is signified, are called in the Word "virgins," as "the virgin Zion," and "the virgin Jerusalem," and in Revelation it is said that "virgins follow the Lamb." "The lamps that they took to go forth to meet the bridegroom" signify the truths of faith; "the bridegroom" means the Lord in respect to conjunction with heaven and the church by love and faith; for "a wedding" is treated of, which signifies that conjunction. "The five prudent virgins" and "the five foolish" signify those of the church who are in faith from love, and those who are in faith apart from love (the same as "the prudent and foolish" in Matthew 7:24, 26). "Midnight, when the cry arose," signifies the Last Judgment, and in general the end of man's life, when he will be adjudged either to heaven or to hell; "the foolish virgins then saying to the prudent, Give us of your oil, and the prudent answering that they should go to them who sell," signifies the state of all after death-that those who have not the good of love in faith, or the truth of faith from the good of love, then wish to acquire it for themselves, but in vain, since such as man's life has been in the world such he remains. From this it is clear what is signified by "the prudent virgins" going in to the marriage, and that the foolish who said, "Lord, Lord, open to us," received for answer, "Verily I say unto you, I know you not." "I know you not" signifies that the Lord was not conjoined to them, since spiritual love conjoins, and not faith without love; for the Lord has His abode with those who are in love, and in faith therefrom, and these He knows because He Himself is there.

5943. 'And you will eat the fat of the land' means making the good there their own. This is clear from the meaning of 'eating' as being communicated, joined together, and made one's own, dealt with in 2187, 2343, 3168, 3517 (end), 3832, 4745; and from the meaning of 'the fat of the land' - of Egypt - as the good within the natural. The meaning of 'fat' as that which is celestial or good is clear from many places in the Word, not only the fat found in an animal's body but also fat obtained from other sources, such as butter and oil; and other products with any fat in them - such as milk, honeys, or resins - also mean good in the measure that they have it in them.

[2] 'Fat' was representative of celestial good, thus of love received from the Lord, as is clear from the burnt offerings and sacrifices in these all the fat had to be burned on the altar, thereby providing 'an odour of rest to Jehovah'; and the children of Israel were forbidden because of this to eat fat. From these regulations, as from all the rest, it may be plain to see that the observances established among the Israelites were representative of celestial and spiritual realities and thus held what was holy within them. If this had not been so there would have been no Divine purpose at all behind the requirements to sacrifice all the fat of an animal, making this 'an odour of rest to Jehovah', or behind the Prohibition that forbade the eating of fat, and also of blood. It would surely be a stupid way of thinking about the Divine if one were to believe that He could take pleasure in fat or that Jehovah should make a requirement that did not conceal something deeper. Furthermore a person would be far too earthly - and bodily-minded if he had no interest at all in knowing the real meaning of such requirements; it would be a sign that he had no desire to know anything about the Word and eternal life.

[3] Regarding 'the fat' the following is stated in Moses,

You shall take all the fat covering the entrails, and the omentum over the liver, and the fat on the kidneys; and you shall burn them on the altar. Exodus 29:13, 22.

See also Leviticus 3:4-5, 9-10, 14-15; 4:8-9, 19, 26, 31, 35; 7:3-4. They were also required to sacrifice the fat on the breast, Leviticus 7:30-31. The phrase 'an odour of rest to Jehovah' occurs in the following places,

This is the bread of Jehovah's fire-offering for an odour of rest. Leviticus 3:16. The priest shall sprinkle the blood on the altar of Jehovah, and shall offer the fat for an odour of rest to Jehovah. Leviticus 17:6.

And elsewhere,

The fat of the firstborn of an ox and of a sheep must be burned on the altar as an odour of rest to Jehovah. Numbers 18:17.

'An odour of rest' means the pleasure gained from the good of love.

[4] As regards the non-eating of fat by the children of Israel, Let all the fat be for Jehovah. Therefore this is a perpetual statute throughout your generations, in all your dwelling-places: You shall not eat any fat or any blood. Leviticus 3:16-17.

And elsewhere,

Speak to the children of Israel, saying, You shall not eat any fat, neither of ox, nor sheep, nor she-goat. Everyone who eats the fat from a beast, from one offered as a fire-offering to Jehovah, that soul eating it will be cut off from his peoples. Nor shall you eat any blood Leviticus 7:23-26.

[5] Burnt offerings and sacrifices were the main form taken by Divine worship among those people, 923, 2180. For this reason worship is meant by 'burnt offerings and sacrifices' in general, while the essential nature of worship is meant by what was offered in sacrifice and by the whole procedure followed then. 'The fat and the burning of it' meant the very Divine celestial itself, namely the good of love received from the Lord, as may also be seen in the following places:

In Isaiah,

Jacob, you have not bought Me [sweet] cane with silver, and you have not satisfied Me with the fat of your sacrifices; you have wearied Me so much with your sins. ¹ Isaiah 43:24.

'You have not bought [sweet] cane with silver' stands for, You have not acquired the truths of faith for yourself; and 'you have not satisfied Me with the fat of sacrifices' stands for, Nor [have you offered] the good of love.

[6] In David,

I will offer You burnt offerings of fat ones, with the incense of rams. Psalms 66:15.

'Burnt offerings of fat ones' stands for worship fired by love. In Moses,

When it will be said, Where are their gods, the rock in which they trusted, who ate the fat of their sacrifices, [who] drank the wine of their drink-offering? Deuteronomy 32:37-38.

This would have been said by gentiles who imagined that the gods were fed especially by such offerings. They were totally unaware of the fact that 'the fat of sacrifices' was what was celestial, or the good of love, within worship, and that 'the wine of a drink-offering' was the truth of faith derived from that good. These offerings, when they were made, stirred the affections of the angels and were therefore prescribed so that through representatives and correspondences heaven might be near to man.

[7] In David,

Jehovah will remember all your offerings, and will make your burnt offering fat. Psalms 20:3.

'Making a burnt offering fat' stands for making worship good. In Isaiah,

Jehovah Zebaoth will make for all peoples on this mountain a feast of fat things, a feast of lees, ² of fat things full of marrow, of sedimentary lees. ³ He will swallow up death for ever, and the Lord Jehovah will wipe away tears from upon all faces. Isaiah 25:6, 8.

'A feast' stands for heaven and being joined to angels there through love and charity, 3596, 3832, 5161, 'fat things' being forms of the good of love and charity. In the same prophet,

Why do you spend money on that which is not bread, and your labour on that which does not satisfy? Attend diligently to Me and eat what is good, that your soul may delight itself in fatness. Isaiah 55:2.

[8] In Jeremiah,

I will turn their mourning into joy, and will comfort them, and will give them gladness instead of their sorrow. And I will fill the soul of the priests with fat, and My people will be satisfied with My goodness. Jeremiah 31:13-14.

'Fat' plainly stands for what is good, for it is said that 'the soul will be satisfied' with it and it is referred to as 'Jehovah's goodness', meaning nothing else than what is celestial, which is received from Him. In David,

My soul will be satisfied as with fatness and fat, and my mouth will praise You with joyful lips. ⁴ Psalms 63:5.

Here the meaning is similar. In the same author,

You have crowned the year of Your goodness, and Your tracks drip with fatness. Psalms 65:11

In the same author,

The sons of man put their trust in the shadow of Your wings. They will be filled with the fat of Your house, and You give them drink from the river of Your delights. Psalms 36:7-8.

In Isaiah,

Then Jehovah will give rain for your seed with which you will sow the land, and bread of the produce of the earth; and there will be fatness and wealthiness. Isaiah 30:23.

[9] In John,

All things fat and splendid have gone away, and you will find them no more. Revelation 18:14.

This refers to Babylon. 'All things fat and splendid have gone away' stands for the departure of all forms of the good of love and truth of faith. In Moses,

He caused him to suck honey out of the crag and oil out of the stony rock - butter from the herd, and milk from the flock, with the fat of lambs and of rams, the breed ⁵ of Bashan, and of goats, with the kidney-fat of wheat; and of the blood of the grape you drink unmixed wine. Deuteronomy 32:13-14.

This refers to the spiritual Ancient Church, whose various kinds of good - meant by 'honey', 'oil', 'butter', 'milk', and 'fat' - are enumerated.

[10] Because 'fat' meant good, the word was also applied to the kinds of things that had no fat in them but nevertheless had good as their meaning, so that 'fat' and 'good' were so to speak one and the same. An example of this is the fat of wheat in the verses quoted immediately above, and similarly in David,

I would feed them with the fat of wheat. Psalms 81:16.

And elsewhere,

He is the one who makes peace your border, and with the fat of wheat He satisfies you. Psalms 147:14.

Also in Moses,

Because all the fat of the pure oil, and all the fat of the new wine and of the grain, which were the first fruits, were Jehovah's, they were given to Aaron. Numbers 18:12.

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