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Joel 3

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1 Sillä katso, niinä päivinä ja sillä ajalla, kuin minä Juudan ja Jerusalemin vankiuden palautan,

2 Tahdon minä koota kaikki pakanat, ja viedä heitä alas Josaphatin laaksoon; ja tahdon siellä heidän kanssansa riidellä, minun kansani ja minun perimiseni Israelin tähden, jonka he pakanain sekaan hajoittivat, ja jakoivat minun maani itsellensä,

3 Ja ovat minun kansastani arpaa heittäneet; ja ovat pojan porton edestä antaneet, ja piian myyneet viinan edestä, ja sen juoneet.

4 Mitä myös minun on teidän kanssanne, te Tyrosta ja Zidonista, ja te kaikki Philistealaisten rajat? vai tahdotteko te minulle kaiketi kostaa? Jos te minulle tahdotte kostaa, niin minä tahdon sen äkisti ja pian kostaa teidän päänne päälle.

5 Sillä te olette minun hopiani ja kultani ottaneet, ja minun kauniit kappaleeni teidän kirkkoihinne vieneet;

6 Ja myyneet Juudan ja Jerusalemin lapset Grekiläisille, heitä kauvas heidän rajoistansa saattaaksenne.

7 Katso, minä tahdon heidät sieltä herättää, johonka te heidät myyneet olette; ja tahdon sen kostaa teidän päänne päälle;

8 Ja tahdon myydä jälleen teidän poikanne ja tyttärenne Juudan lasten kautta; ne pitää heidät rikkaasen Arabiaan, kaukaisen maan kansalle myymän; sillä Herra on sen puhunut.

9 Julistakaat näitä pakanain seassa, pyhittäkäät sota, herättäkäät väkevät, käyköön edes, ja menköön ylös kaikki sotaväki.

10 Tehkäät vannanne miekoiksi ja viikahteenne keihäiksi. Ja joka heikko on, se sanokaan: minä olen väkevä.

11 Kootkaat teitänne, ja tulkaat tänne kaikki pakanat ympäristöltä, ja kootkaat teitänne; anna, Herra, sinun väkevät sinne astua alas.

12 Nouskaat pakanat ja menkäät ylös Josaphatin laaksoon; sillä minä tahdon siellä istua, ja tuomita kaikki pakanat ympäristöltä.

13 Sivaltakaat viikahteella, sillä elo on kypsä; tulkaat ja astukaat alas; sillä kuurnat ovat täydet, ja kuurna-astiat kuohuvat; sillä heidän pahuutensa on suuri.

14 Paljo kansaa pitää oleman ympärillä joka paikassa Tuomiolaaksossa; sillä Herran päivä on läsnä Tuomiolaaksossa.

15 Aurinko ja kuu pimenevät, ja tähdet peittävät valkeutensa.

16 Ja Herra on Zionista kiljuva, ja antaa kuulla äänensä Jerusalemista, että taivaan ja maan pitää vapiseman. Mutta Herra on kansansa turva, ja linna Israelin lapsille.

17 Ja teidän pitää tietämän, että minä Herra teidän Jumalanne asun Zionissa minun pyhällä vuorellani; silloin on Jerusalem pyhäksi tuleva, ja ei pidä muukalaisen käymän enään sen lävitse.

18 Sillä ajalla pitää vuoret makiaa viinaa tiukkuman, ja kukkulat rieskaa vuotaman, ja kaikki Juudan ojat pitää vettä täynnä oleman; ja lähde pitää Herran huoneessa käymän, ja Sittimin ojaan juokseman.

19 Vaan Egyptin pitää autioksi tuleman, ja Edom synkiäksi erämaaksi; sen vääryyden tähden, mikä Juudan lapsille tehty on, että he viattoman veren heidän maassansa vuodattaneet ovat.

20 Mutta Juudassa pitää ijankaikkisesti asuttaman, ja Jerusalemissa ijankaikkiseen aikaan.

21 Ja minä tahdon puhdistaa heidän verensä, jota en minä ennen ole puhdistanut; ja Herra on asuva Zionissa.

   


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Apocalypse Explained #376

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376. It has thus far been shown that "oil" signifies celestial good, which is the good of love to the Lord; it shall now be shown that "wine" signifies spiritual good, which is the good of charity towards the neighbor and the good of faith; and as this good in its essence is truth, it is said in the general explanation that "the oil and the wine hurt not," which signifies that there must no harm be done to the internal or spiritual sense of the Word in respect either to good or to truth, or what is the same, that there must no harm be done to the goods and truths which are in the internal or spiritual sense of the Word. The good of charity and the good of faith in their essence are truth, because that good is implanted by the Lord in man's intellectual part by means of the truths that are called the truths of faith, and when man lives according to these truths they become goods; for by means of truths a new will is formed in that part, and whatever proceeds from the will is called good. This will, moreover, is the same as conscience, and conscience is a conscience of truth, for it is formed by truths of every kind from the doctrine of the church, and from the sense of the letter of the Word (but on this subject see further in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 130-138; and the extracts from the Arcana Coelestia 139-141). From this now it is that "wine" signifies truth.

[2] Furthermore, there are goods and truths internal and external; internal goods and truths are signified by "the oil and the wine" that must not be hurt; but external goods and truths are signified by "wheat and barley." External goods and truths are those that are in the sense of the letter of the Word, while internal goods and truths are those that are in the internal or spiritual sense of the Word; or external goods and truths are such as are in the lower heavens with the angels there, that is, in the ultimates of heaven, while internal goods and truths are such as are in the higher heavens with the angels there, that is, in the third and second heavens. These goods and truths are genuine goods and truths themselves, but the former are truths and goods because they correspond, thus are correspondences; internal goods and truths have immediate communication with the angels of heaven, while external goods and truths have not an immediate but a mediate communication through correspondences. This is why the Jews, because they were only in the sense of the letter and had no knowledge of the signification of things in the spiritual sense, were unable to do harm to the spiritual sense in respect either to good or to truth, and consequently were unable to do harm to genuine goods and truths. So the Christian Church at this day is unable to do harm to the genuine goods and truths which are in the spiritual sense of the Word, for it has been ignorant of that sense, and at the same time ignorant of genuine goods and truths.

[3] The spiritual sense of the Word was not disclosed to Christians, because genuine goods and truths, such as are in the higher heavens, lie concealed in the spiritual sense of the Word; and so long as these goods and truths were unperceived and unknown that sense could not be opened, since these goods and truths could not be seen. In the Christian churches genuine goods and truths have not been perceived and known for the reason that those churches have been divided, in general, into the Papal and the Evangelical; and those in the Papal Church are utterly ignorant of truths, because they do not depend upon the Word, thus upon the Lord who is the Word, that is, Divine truth, but upon the pope, from whose mouth scarcely anything proceeds except what is from the love of ruling, and that love is from hell; therefore with them scarcely a single truth of the church exists; while in the Evangelical churches faith alone has been assumed as the essential means of salvation, and as a consequence the good of love and charity has been rejected as nonessential, and where good is rejected no truth which is truth in itself can exist, since all truth is from good; for the Lord flows into man's good, and by means of good illustrates him and gives him the light to perceive truths, therefore without that light, which is man's very spiritual life, there is no truth, however much it may sound like truth because it is from the Word; it is truth falsified by the ideas that are held in respect to it; for from faith separate from charity, or from truths without good, no other result can follow. This is why the spiritual sense of the Word could not be disclosed to the Christian churches, for if it had been disclosed, they would have falsified and perverted it by ideas from fallacies, and thus would have profaned it. This also is why no one will ever hereafter be admitted into the spiritual sense of the Word unless he is in genuine truths from good, and no one can be in genuine truths from good unless in heart he acknowledges the Lord alone as the God of heaven and earth, for from Him is every good and thence every truth. The spiritual sense of the Word is at this day opened, and therewith also genuine truths and goods are disclosed, because the Last Judgment has been accomplished by the Lord, and thus all things in the heavens and in the hells have been reduced to order; and for this reason it can be provided by the Lord that no harm can be done to genuine truths and goods, which are in the spiritual sense of the Word, and this could not have been provided before (See in the small work on The Last Judgment 73).

[4] That "wine" signifies spiritual good, or the good of charity and the good of faith, which in its essence is truth, can be seen from the following passages in the Word. In Isaiah:

Ho, everyone that thirsteth, come ye to the waters; and he that hath no silver; come ye, buy and eat; buy wine and milk without silver and without price (Isaiah 55:1).

Anyone can see that this does not mean that wine and milk may be bought without silver, "wine and milk" therefore signify things spiritual, namely, "wine" spiritual good, which in its essence is truth, as was said above, but "milk" the good of that truth. That these are given by the Lord freely to those who are ignorant of truth and good, and yet in a desire for these, is signified by "he that hath no silver, come ye, buy and eat; buy without silver;" "to buy" signifies to acquire for oneself, and "to eat" signifies to make one's own, which is done by application as from oneself. Those who are ignorant of truth and good, and yet are in a desire for them, are evidently meant, for it is said, "Ho, everyone that thirsteth, come ye to the waters," "to thirst" signifying to desire, and "waters" signifying truths, here the Word where truths are.

[5] In Joel:

It shall come to pass in that day, the mountains shall drop down sweet wine, and the hills shall flow with milk; all the water-courses of Judah shall flow with waters (Joel 3:18).

This treats of the Lord's coming, and of the new heaven and the new church from Him. It is well known that the mountains in the land of Canaan, or in Judea, did not then drop down sweet wine, nor the hills flow with milk, nor the water-courses of Judah flow with waters more than before, therefore these words must mean something else than new wine, milk, and waters, or than mountains, hills, and water-courses, namely, "that the mountains shall drop down sweet wine" [mustum] or wine [vinum], means that from the good of love to the Lord there shall be genuine truth; "the hills shall flow with milk" means that from the good of charity towards the neighbor there shall be spiritual life; and "all the water-courses of Judah shall flow with waters" means that from the particulars of the Word there shall be truths. (For "Judah" signifies the Lord's celestial kingdom, and also the Word, see Arcana Coelestia 3881[1-11], 6363; therefore "its water-courses" signify the particulars of the Word; that "mountains" signify the good of love to the Lord, n. Arcana Coelestia 795, 4210, 6435, 8327, 8758, 10438, 10608; and "hills" the good of charity towards the neighbor, n. 6435, 10438; and this because in heaven those who are in the good of love to the Lord dwell upon mountains, and those who are in the good of charity towards the neighbor dwell upon hills, n. Arcana Coelestia 10438, and Heaven and Hell, n. 188.)

[6] In Amos:

Behold the days come, that the ploughman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him that draweth forth seed; and the mountains shall drop down sweet wine, and all the hills shall dissolve. I will bring back the captivity of My people Israel, and they shall build the waste cities; and they shall inhabit them, and they shall plant vineyards and drink the wine thereof, and they shall make gardens and eat the fruit of them. Then will I plant them upon their ground (Amos 9:13-15).

This chapter treats first of the vastation of the church, and then of its restoration by the Lord; and "the people Israel" do not mean that people, but those with whom the church was to be established; and "the ploughman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him that draweth forth the seed," signifies that he who receives good and truth shall also perform uses, or bear fruit, thus that with the man of the church the two shall be present at the same time; "the mountains shall drop down sweet wine, and all the hills shall dissolve," signifies, as just above, that from the good of love to the Lord and from the good of charity towards the neighbor there shall be truths in abundance, "sweet wine" here, or "wine," meaning truth; that "the captivity of the people Israel shall be brought back" signifies the restoration of the church among the Gentiles, for "captivity" means spiritual captivity, in which those are who are remote from goods and truths, and yet in a desire for them (See Arcana Coelestia 9164). "The waste cities that they shall build" signify the doctrinals of truth and good from the Word, before destroyed and at that time to be restored; "the vineyards which they shall plant," and "the wine of which they shall drink," signify all things of the church from which there is intelligence, "a vineyard" signifies the spiritual church, and therefore "vineyards" signify all things of the church; "wine" signifies the truth of the church in general, and "to drink it" signifies to be instructed and become intelligent, thus intelligence; and "the gardens which they shall make, and the fruit of which they shall eat," signifies wisdom, "gardens" meaning all things of intelligence, and their "fruit" signifying the goods of life, thus "to eat their fruit" signifies the appropriation of good, thus wisdom, for wisdom comes when truths are committed to the life; and because this is what is meant, therefore it is said of Israel, "I will plant them upon their ground."

[7] In Moses:

He bindeth his foal to the vine, the son of his she-ass unto the noble vine; he washeth his vesture in wine, and his covering in the blood of the grapes. His eyes are red with wine, and his teeth white with milk (Genesis 49:1, 12).

This is in the prophecy of Israel the father respecting Judah, by whom here Judah is not meant, but the Lord in relation to the celestial kingdom; and "wine" and the "blood of grapes" mean the Divine truth. (What the rest signifies, and that "wine" signifies Divine truth, because this has reference to the Lord, see Arcana Coelestia 6375-6381.)

[8] In the same:

Jacob brought of his venison to his father Isaac, and he did eat; and he brought him wine, and he drank. And Isaac blessed him, saying, God give thee of the dew of heaven, and of the fatnesses of the earth, and plenty of corn and new wine (Genesis 27:25, 27-28, 37).

Those who do not know that the Word is spiritual in its particulars may suppose that by "Isaac" here is meant Isaac, and by "Jacob" Jacob, and therefore that by "the fatnesses of the earth," and "the corn and new wine," no other and deeper things are meant; but "Isaac" here represents the Lord, and "Jacob" the church; thence the "fatnesses of the earth" mean the celestial things that are of the good of love; and "corn and new wine" every good and truth of the church. (But these words may also be seen explained in Arcana Coelestia n. 3570, 3579, 3580.)

[9] In the same:

If ye shall harken to My commandments, I will give rain to your land in its time, the former rain and the latter rain; and thou shall gather in thy corn, and thy new wine, and thy fresh oil (Deuteronomy 11:13-14).

These blessings of the earth were promised to the sons of Israel if they would hear and do the commandments of Jehovah, and the blessings followed because with them the church was representative, and the things that were said and commanded by Jehovah corresponded to things spiritual, thus these blessings of the earth to the blessings of heaven. The blessings of heaven, to which the blessings of the earth correspond, all have reference to the things that are of the good of love and the truth of faith; these blessings therefore are signified by "the former rain and the latter rain," for "rain" in particular signifies Divine truth flowing in out of heaven, from which all things of the church and heaven with man are born, grow, and are brought forth; therefore "the corn, new wine, and oil, which they should gather in," signify every good and truth of the external and internal man.

[10] In the same:

Thus Israel dwelt securely, alone by the fountain of Jacob, in a land of corn and new wine; yea, his heavens shall drop down dew (Deuteronomy 33:28).

This was the conclusion of the blessings of the sons of Israel by Moses, which were all prophetical, and every son or every tribe of Israel signified something of the church (as in Genesis 49); and here "Israel" signifies the church itself; and "to dwell securely, alone by the fountain of Jacob," signifies to live without infestation from evils and falsities, and to be led by the Lord alone through Divine truth, the "fountain of Jacob" meaning Divine truth and the Word; and "to live in a land of corn and new wine" signifies in every good and truth of the church; and "yea, his heavens shall drop down dew," signifies influx out of heaven.

[11] In the same:

He made him ride upon the high places of the earth, and gave him butter of the herd, and milk of the flock, with the fat of lambs, and of rams, the sons of Bashan, and of he-goats, with the fat of the kidneys of wheat; and thou drinkest the blood of the grape, unmixed wine (Deuteronomy 32:13-14).

These things are said of the Ancient Church, which was the church previous to the Israelitish Church, and was in the good of charity and in truths of faith. The goods of every kind, in which it was, are meant by these things, namely, the "butter of the herd," the "milk of the flock," "the fat of lambs," "the fat of rams," "the fat of goats," "the fat of the kidneys of wheat;" and spiritual truths are meant by "the blood of the grape" and "unmixed wine."

[12] In Jeremiah:

They shall come and sing aloud in the height of Zion, and shall flow together unto the good of Jehovah, to the corn, and to the new wine, and to the fresh oil, and to the sons of the flock and of the herd (Jeremiah 31:12).

"Corn," "new wine," and "fresh oil," signify goods and truth of every kind (what these mean in particular, see above, n. 374). In Isaiah:

Jehovah hath sworn by His right hand, and by the arm of His strength, Surely I will no longer give thy corn to be food for thine enemies, and the sons of the alien shall not drink thy new wine for which thou hast labored; but they that gather it shall eat it and praise Jehovah, and they that bring it together shall drink it in the courts of holiness (Isaiah 62:8-9).

This is said of Jerusalem, which signifies the church in relation to doctrine; therefore "the corn that shall no longer be given as food for the enemies, and the new wine that the sons of the alien shall not drink" signify in general the good and truth of the church, which shall no longer be consumed by evils and falsities; "enemies" here meaning evils, and "the sons of the alien" falsities, and "to eat," or "to have food given them," and "to drink," mean to consume. That goods and truths will remain with those who receive them, and thence make use of them, is signified by "they that gather it shall eat it," and "they that bring it together shall drink it;" worship from these is signified by "praising Jehovah," and "drinking in the courts of holiness."

[13] In the same:

Gladness is taken away, and exultation from Carmel; and in the vineyards there is no singing aloud, no shouting for joy; the treader treadeth not out the wine in the wine-vats; I have made the vintage-shouting to cease (Isaiah 16:10).

This describes the taking away of the heavenly enjoyment that is from good and its truths, because good and truth itself is taken away; the good of the church is meant by "Carmel," and its truths by "vineyards" and by "treading out the wine in the wine-vats;" the enjoyments thereof that are taken away are meant by "gladness," "exultation," "singing aloud," "shouting," and "vintage-shouting," for it was a custom to sing in the vineyards, and in the winepresses when the grape was trodden into wine, that enjoyments from truths, which were signified by "wine," might be represented.

[14] In Jeremiah:

With more than the weeping of Jazer I will weep for thee, O vine of Sibmah; thy shoots are passed over the sea, they reach even to the sea of Jazer; upon thy autumn fruits, and upon thy vintage the devastator is fallen. Whence gladness and exultation is gathered out of Carmel, and out of the land of Moab; and I have caused the wine to cease in the wine-vats; none shall tread with shouting; their shouting shall be no shouting (Jeremiah 48:32-33).

This also treats of the taking away of the heavenly enjoyment that is from the good of love and the truths thence, for all heavenly enjoyment is in these and from these. Lamentation over it is meant by "weeping" [flere fletum]; deprivation of it is meant by "gladness and exultation is gathered out of Carmel," likewise by "the devastator falling upon it," "the wine failing," and "the shouting being no shouting;" the good that was taken away, for which there was lamentation, is meant by "the autumn fruits;" and the truths of good that were taken away are meant by "the vintage," and by "the wine in the wine-vats." That truths were banished, and that they perished through knowledges [scientifica] is meant by "the vine of Sibmah," and by its "shoots that have gone over the sea, even to the sea of Jazer," "sea" signifying the knowing faculty [scientificum].

[15] In Lamentations:

The infant and the suckling faint in the broad places of the city. They say to their mothers, Where is the corn and the wine? when they faint as one pierced in the broad places of the city, when their soul is poured out upon their mother's bosom (Lam. 2:11-12).

These words contain a lamentation over the Jewish Church, that every good and truth thereof has perished; and the lamentation is described by "the infant and the suckling who faint in the broad places of the city, and say to their mothers, Where is the corn and the wine?" The "infant and the suckling" signify those who are in the good of innocence, and in an abstract sense, the good of innocence itself; by this good every good of the church is meant, since it is the essential of all its goods (See in the work on Heaven and Hell, n. 276-283, 285, 288, 341, 382). "The broad places of the city" signify the truths of doctrine; "mothers" all things of the church; "corn and wine" all the good and truth of the church in general. It is said that "they faint as one pierced in the broad places of the city, when their soul is poured out upon their mother's bosom," because "one pierced" signifies those who perish spiritually from the deprivation of truth, and "soul" signifies spiritual life. (That "the broad places of the city, in which they faint," signify the truths of doctrine, see Arcana Coelestia, n. 2336; and that "the mother, into whose bosom the soul is poured out," signifies the church, n. 2691, 2717, 3703, 4257, 5581, 8897)

[16] In Zephaniah:

Their wealth shall be for plunder, and their houses for a waste, that they may build houses but not inhabit them, and plant vineyards but not drink the wine thereof (Zephaniah 1:13).

The "wealth that shall be for plunder" signifies spiritual wealth, which is the knowledges of good and truth; "the houses that shall be for devastation" signify the things of the church in man; that from these when devastated one profits nothing and receives nothing, even though he listens to them, and sees them in the Word, is signified by "building and not inhabiting, and planting vineyards and not drinking the wine thereof," "houses" meaning the goods of the church, and "vineyards" with "wine" its truths.

[17] Like things are meant in Micah:

Thou shalt sow but shalt not reap; thou shalt tread the olive but shalt not anoint thee with oil, and the new wine but shall not drink wine (Micah 6:15).

In Amos:

Vineyards of desire shall ye plant, but ye shall not drink the wine of them (Amos 5:11).

And in Hosea:

The threshing-floor and the wine-vat shall not feed them, and the new wine shall dissemble unto them. They shall not pour forth wine to Jehovah, and these shall not be agreeable unto Him (Hosea 9:2, 4).

The "threshing-floor and the wine-vat" signify the same as "corn and wine," because corn and wine are there collected; that they will not profit by what they hear is signified by "they shall not feed them, and the new wine shall dissemble unto them;" and that thence their worship is not accepted is signified by "they shall not pour forth wine to Jehovah, and these (that is, the offerings) shall not be agreeable unto Him."

[18] In Joel:

Awake, ye drunkards, and weep; and howl, all ye drinkers of wine, because of the sweet wine which is cut off from your mouth. The field is devastated, the ground mourned, for the corn was devastated, the new wine was dried up, the fresh oil languisheth; the husbandmen were ashamed; the vine-dressers howled (Joel 1:5, 10-11).

What these words signify in the spiritual sense, may be seen above n. 374, where they are explained; "wine" and "sweet wine" meaning the truth of the church, and "vine-dressers" those who are in truths and teach them. This treats of a devastated church, in which goods and truths have perished.

[19] In Ezekiel:

Damascus was thy trader in the multitude of thy works, in the multitude of all riches, in the wine of Heshbon 1 and the wool of Zachar (Ezekiel 27:18).

This is said of Tyre, which signifies the church in relation to the knowledges of good and truth; and "Damascus," which was a city in Syria, signifies the concordant knowing faculty [scientificum]; and the "tradings" referred to in this chapter signify the acquisition and communication and also the use of these. Because "Damascus" signifies the concordant knowing faculty, it is called a "trader in the multitude of all works and riches," "works" by which uses are effected, signifying the knowledges of good, and "riches" the knowledges of truth; and as the knowledges of truth and good are in the natural man, for therein is everything pertaining to cognition and knowing that is perceptible, therefore it is said "in the wine of Heshbon and the wool of Zachar," the "wine of Heshbon" signifying natural truth, and the "wool of Zachar" natural good.

[20] In Isaiah:

A malediction shall devour the earth; the new wine shall mourn, the vine shall languish, all the glad of heart shall sigh. They shall not drink wine with a song; strong drink shall be bitter to them that drink it. The city of voidness shall be broken down; every house shall be shut, that no one come in (Isaiah 24:6-7, 9-10).

These words describe the perversion of the church, which takes place when falsity rules in place of truth, whence there is no longer any good; for man has good by means of truths. "The earth that the malediction will devour" signifies the church, "malediction" meaning its perversion; the "new wine that will mourn," and the "vine that will languish," signify all truth of the church, "to mourn" and "to languish" signifying deprivation of it; that there shall no longer be any heavenly enjoyment and blessedness is signified by "all the glad of heart shall sigh, they shall not drink wine with a song;" that they shall turn away from all things that agree with truths is signified by "strong drink shall be bitter to them that drink it," "strong drink" signifying the things that are from truths and agree with them. But that the doctrine of falsity shall be destroyed is signified by "the city of voidness shall be broken down," "city" meaning doctrine, and "a void" falsity; and that there shall no longer be any good or wisdom with man is signified by "every house shall be shut, that no one come in," which takes place when there is no truth, but only falsity.

[21] In Amos:

Who drink out of bowls of wine, and anoint themselves with the firstfruits of the oils; but they are not grieved for the breach of Joseph (Amos 6:6).

This and what precedes in that chapter describes those who are in external worship without internal, such as the Jews were formerly and still are; the "bowls of wine out of which they drink" are the externals of truth from which is worship; and the "firstfruits of the oils with which they anoint themselves" are the externals of good, from which also is worship; "Joseph" signifies the internal of the church or its spiritual; not being affected because this perishes is signified by "they are not grieved for his breach." (That external worship without internal is no worship, see Arcana Coelestia 1094, 1175, 7724; that the Jews were formerly and still are in external worship without internal, n. 1200, 3147, 3479, 8871; that "Joseph" signifies the spiritual church, thus also the spiritual of the church, n. 3969, 3971, 4669, 6417)

[22] In Zechariah:

I will render the house of Judah mighty and I will save the house of Joseph; on this account they shall be as the mighty Ephraim, and their heart shall be glad as if with wine (Zechariah 10:6-7).

"The house of Judah" signifies the Lord's celestial church, and the "house of Joseph" the Lord's spiritual church; and "to render mighty their houses" signifies to multiply with them truths from good, for all might is of truth from good; therefore it is said, "they shall be as the mighty Ephraim;" "Ephraim" signifying the understanding of truth from good, which is called mighty from its multiplication; heavenly enjoyment therefrom is signified by "their heart shall be glad as if with wine," "wine" meaning truth from good from which that enjoyment comes. (That truths have all power from good, see in the work o n Heaven and Hell 228-233; and also above, n. 209, 333; that "Judah" in the Word signifies the Lord's celestial kingdom, Arcana Coelestia 3881[1-11], 6363; and "Ephraim" the intellectual of the church, n. 3969, 5354, 6222, 6234, 6238, 6267, 6296.)

[23] In Daniel:

Belshazzar king of Babylon, and his magnates, and his wives, and his concubines, drank wine out of vessels of the temple of Jerusalem, and praised the gods of silver, brass, iron, wood, and stone. Therefore there was written on the wall, Numbered, weighed, and divided. And then he [Nebuchadnezzar] was driven out from the sons of man, and his dwelling was with the wild asses (Daniel 5:2-5, 21).

In the internal sense this describes the profanation of good and truth, which also is meant by "Babel" or "Babylon;" for "to drink wine out of the vessels of the temple of Jerusalem" signifies to draw the truths of the church from the Word, "to drink wine" meaning to draw truths, and "the vessels of the temple of Jerusalem" meaning the truths that belong to the doctrine of the church from the Word; and "to praise the gods of gold, silver, brass, iron, wood, and stone" signifies worship from the love of self and the world; for these gods signify idolatrous worship of every kind, and profanation; that it was therefore written on the wall, "numbered, weighed, divided" signifies separation from all things of heaven and the church. That afterwards "the king was driven out from the sons of man, and his dwelling was with the wild asses" signifies separation from all truth, and the allotment of his life with the infernals, "sons of man" meaning the truths of the church, "wild asses" those who are in dire falsities like those in the hells, and "dwelling" meaning the allotment of the life.

[24] In Joel:

They have cast a lot upon My people; for they have given a boy for a harlot, and sold a girl for wine, which they drank (Joel 3:3).

"To cast lots upon the people" signifies to dissipate the truths of the church, "to cast a lot" signifying to dissipate, and "people" signifying the church in relation to truths, thus also the truths of the church; "to give a boy for a harlot" signifies to falsify truth, "boy" meaning the truth of the church, and "harlot" falsity; and "to sell a girl for wine, which they drank" signifies to pervert the good of the church by truth falsified, "girl" meaning the good of the church, and "wine" truth falsified.

[25] Because "wine" signified the truth of the church that is from good, it was commanded that, with the sacrifices upon the altar, a meal-offering and a drink-offering should be offered, and the meal-offering was bread, and the drink-offering wine; these signified worship of the Lord from the good of love, and from the truths therefrom; for all worship is from these. (On the drink-offerings, the portions of wine with them at the different sacrifices, see Exodus 29:40, 41; Leviticus 23:13, 18; Numbers 6:1-4, 15, 17; 15:4-7, 10, 24; 28:7-10, 24, 31; 29:6, 11, 16, 19, 22, 25, 27, 28, 31, 34, 38, 39; and besides Genesis 35:14) This makes clear what is signified in Joel:

The meal-offering and the drink-offering was cut off from the house of Jehovah; the priests, the ministers (of the altar), mourned (Joel 1:9);

namely, that worship from the good of love, and from the truths therefrom, had perished. Who cannot see that the meal-offering and the drink-offering, which were bread and wine, were not pleasing to Jehovah in worship, unless they had signified such things as are of heaven and the church?

[26] From this it can now be seen what the bread and wine in the Holy Supper involve, namely, the bread, the good of love to the Lord from the Lord, and the wine, the good of faith, which in its essence is truth. (But on the Holy Supper and the bread and wine of it, see The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 210-222.) Because "wine" signifies the good of faith, which in its essence is truth, when the Lord instituted the sacrament of the supper, He said:

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

I say unto you, I will not drink of the product of the vine until the kingdom of God shall come (Luke 22:18).

"The product of the vine," that is, "wine," which the Lord "would drink with them new in His Father's kingdom," or "when the kingdom of God should come," means that all Divine truth in heaven and the church would then be from His Divine Human; He therefore calls it "new," and also He calls it "the new testament in his blood" (Luke 22:20); for "the Lord's blood" has a like signification as "wine" (See above, n. 30, 328, 329). And as everything Divine, since the Lord has risen, proceeds from Him, He says that He will drink it with them when the kingdom of God shall come, and it came when He reduced all things to order in the heavens and in the hells. That the kingdom of God came at the same time with the Lord and that it is from Him can be seen from Matthew 3:2; 4:8; 10:7; 12:28; 16:28; Mark 1:14, 15; 9:1; Luke 1:32, 33; 9:11, 27, 60; 10:11; 16:16; 17:20, 21; 23:42, 51; John 18:36. Now, because "bread" signifies the good of love, and "wine" the good of faith, which in its essence is the truth from that good, and in the highest sense, "bread" signifies the Lord in respect to Divine good, and "wine" the Lord in respect to Divine truth, and because there is a correspondence between spiritual things and natural, (and such a correspondence that when "bread" and "wine" are in man's thought, the good of love and the good of faith are in the angels' thoughts), and because all things of heaven and the church have reference to the good of love and the good of faith, therefore the Lord instituted the Holy Supper in order that by means of it there might be a conjunction of the angels of heaven with the men of the church.

[27] Because such things are meant by "bread and wine" in heaven, therefore:

Melchizedek, king of Salem, going out to meet Abram, brought out bread and wine; and he was a priest to God Most High. And he blessed Abram (Genesis 14:18-19).

"Melchizedek" here represents the Lord in relation to Divine good and in relation to Divine truth, as priest in relation to Divine good, and as king to Divine truth; therefore he "brought out bread and wine," "bread" signifying Divine good, and "wine" Divine truth; or when applied to man, "bread" signifying the good of love to the Lord, and "wine" the good of faith, which is from the reception of Divine truth.

[28] The "wine" spoken of by the Lord in the following passages has a like signification:

They do not put new wine into old wine-skins, else the skins burst, and the wine is spilled; but they put [new] wine into fresh wine-skins, and both are preserved (Matthew 9:17).

And no man having drunk old wine straightway desireth new; for he saith, The old is more useful (Luke 5:39).

This comparison, like all others in the Word, is from correspondences, "wine" signifying truth, "old wine" the truth of the old or Jewish Church, and "wine-skins" things that contain, "old wine-skins" the statutes and judgments of the Jewish Church, and "fresh wine-skins" the precepts and commandments of the Lord. That the statutes and judgments of the Jewish Church, which related especially to sacrifices and representative worship, are not in agreement with the truths of the Christian Church is meant by "they do not put new wine into old wine-skins, else the wine-skins burst and the wine is spilled; but they put [new] wine into fresh wine-skins, and both are preserved together." That those who have been born and educated in the externals of the Jewish Church cannot be brought immediately into the internals belonging to the Christian Church is signified by "no man having drunk old wine straightway desireth new; for he saith, "The old is more useful."

[29] The same is signified by "the water turned into wine at Cana of Galilee," thus described in John:

At the wedding in Cana of Galilee, when the wine failed, there were six water-pots of stone set there, according to the cleansing of the Jews. Jesus said, Fill the water-pots; and they filled them to the brim. Then he said unto them Draw out now, and bear unto the ruler of the feast; and they bare it. While the ruler of the feast tasted the water that was made wine, he calleth the bridegroom, and saith unto him, Every man setteth on first the good wine; and when they have had enough, the inferior; thou hast kept the good wine until now (John 2:1-10).

It should be known that all the miracles done by the Lord, as well as all the miracles by Him spoken of in the Old Testament, signified, that is, contained within them, such things as belong to heaven and the church, and that thence His miracles were Divine (See Arcana Coelestia 7337, 8364, 9051). So with this miracle; here, as elsewhere in the Word, "a wedding" signifies the church; "in Cana of Galilee" means among the Gentiles; "water" the truth of the external church, such as was the truth of the Jewish Church from the sense of the letter of the Word, and "wine" the truth of the internal church, such as is the truth of the Christian Church; therefore the Lord's "making the water wine" signifies that of the truths of the external church He will make truths of the internal church by opening the internal things that have lain concealed in them. "The six water-pots of stone, set there according to the cleansing of the Jews," signify all these truths in the Word, and thence in the Jewish Church and its worship; these were all representative and significative of things Divine in the Lord and from the Lord, which contained things eternal. For this reason there were "six water-pots of stone, set for the cleansing of the Jews;" the number "six" signifies all, and is predicated of truths; "stone" signifies truth, and "the cleansing of the Jews" purification from sins; thus all things of the Jewish Church are signified, since that church regards purification from sins as its all, for so far as anyone is purified from sins, so far he becomes a church. "The ruler of the feast" means those who are in the knowledges of truth; his saying to the bridegroom, "every man setteth on first the good wine; and when men have had enough, the inferior; thou hast kept the good wine until now," signifies that every church has its beginning in truths from good, but falls away into truths not of good, but that now, at the end of the church, truth from good, or genuine truth, is granted, namely by the Lord.

[30] It is because "wine" signifies the truth of the church, and "oil" the good of the church, that the Lord says, in the parable of the man who was wounded by thieves:

That the Samaritan poured oil and wine into his wounds (Luke 10:33-34);

where "the man wounded by thieves" means those who are infested and have their conscience hurt by evil men, who are "robbers;" and "the Samaritan" means the Gentiles that are in the good of charity; therefore "his pouring into his wounds oil and wine" signifies the spiritual things that heal a man thus injured, "oil" meaning the good of love, and "wine" the good of faith, or truth. What the rest signifies, namely, "that he set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and told them to take care of him," may be seen above (n. 375[8]), where they are explained. That "wine" signifies the truth of the church can be seen not only from the passages cited, but also from others in the Word (as Isaiah 1:21, 22; 25:6; 36:17; Hosea 7:4, 5, 14; 14:5-7; Amos 2:8; Zechariah 9:15, 17; Psalms 104:14-16).

[31] As most things in the Word have also a contrary sense, so, too, has "wine," and in that sense it signifies truth falsified, and also falsity, as in the following passages. In Isaiah:

Woe to the crown of pride, to the drunkards of Ephraim, to the flower of his fading adornment, which is on the head of the valley of the fat ones frenzied with wine; the crown of pride, the drunkards of Ephraim, they shall be trampled under the feet; these go astray through wine, and through strong drink they err; the priest and the prophet go astray through strong drink, they are swallowed up of wine, they err through wine, 2 they go astray among the seeing, they waver in judgment (Isaiah 28:1, 3, 7).

This is said of those who are insane in things spiritual because they believe themselves to be intelligent of themselves, and glory in it; the state of such is here described by pure correspondences; those who are insane in things spiritual or in truths are meant by "the drunkards," and those who thence believe themselves intelligent by "Ephraim," and hence glorying in intelligence or learning is meant by the "crown of pride;" for those who are in falsities of doctrine and have confirmed themselves in them, when they are illustrated and see truths, in the other life become like drunkards. The learned who have confirmed themselves in falsities become such, and to confirm oneself in falsities is to confirm from oneself and not from the Lord. This makes clear what is signified by "woe to the crown of pride, to the drunkards of Ephraim;" "the flower of the fading adornment that is on the head of the valley of the fat ones frenzied with wine" signifies the truth of the church destroyed even as it is born by the glorying of the self-intelligence that is of the natural man separated from the spiritual, when falsity is seen instead of truth, "the flower of the adornment" meaning truth as it is born declining or perished; "the head of the valley of the fat ones" means the intelligence of the natural man; "frenzied with wine" means those who see falsity in place of truth; "the crown of pride, the drunkards of Ephraim, they shall be trampled under the feet," signifies that this intelligence shall utterly perish; "these go astray through wine, and through strong drink they err," signifies through falsities and through such things as are from falsities; "the priest and the prophet go astray through strong drink, they are swallowed up of wine, they are gone astray through strong drink," signifies that such are those who ought to be in the doctrine of good and truth, and in a sense abstracted from persons that such is their doctrine itself; "they go astray among the seeing, they waver in judgment," signifies that they do not see the truths of intelligence. That these words have such a signification no one can see except from the spiritual sense; without that it could not be known that "crown" and "head" signify intelligence, that "drunkards" signify those who are insane in things spiritual, that "Ephraim" signifies here man's own understanding, or that which is from himself, that "valley" signifies the lower things of the mind, which are natural and sensual, and that "priest and prophet" signify the doctrine of good and truth.

[32] In the same:

Linger ye, wonder, be astounded, and cry out; they are drunken, but not with wine; they stagger, but not with strong drink; for Jehovah hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep, and hath closed up your eyes; the prophets and your heads, the seers hath He covered (Isaiah 29:9-10).

This is said of those who can see nothing of truth when they hear or read it from the Word; those who are such are called "drunken but not with wine," and "they stagger, but not with strong drink," "wine" signifying in particular the truth of the spiritual and thus of the rational man, and "strong drink" the truth of the natural man therefrom. Because such are meant it is said, "Jehovah hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep, and hath closed up your eyes," "the spirit of deep sleep" meaning no perception, and the "eyes closed up" no understanding. "The prophets and your heads [the seers] hath He covered," signifies those who are in the doctrine of truth and were wise and intelligent thence; "prophets" signify those who are in the doctrine of truth, and in an abstract sense, doctrine itself, "heads" signify the wise, and in an abstract sense, wisdom, and "seers" signify the intelligent, and in an abstract sense, intelligence. Wonder at such gross stupidity is described by "Linger ye, wonder, be astounded," and lamentation over it by "cry out." Such are those who are in a life of evil, and at the same time in the principles of falsity, however learned they are believed to be; for a life of evil shuts out the perception of good by which thought has life and light, and the principles of falsity shut out the understanding of truth, on which account they see from the sensual man only, and not at all from the spiritual.

[33] In the same:

The dogs are strong of soul, they know not satiety; and they are shepherds who know not intelligence. Come, I will take wine and we will be drunk with strong drink (Isaiah 56:11-12).

This is said of those who care for nothing but worldly and earthly things, which close the internal spiritual man. These, from having no perception of good and no understanding of truth, are called "dogs strong of soul, they know not satiety," that is, they are unable to receive good, "to know" here signifies to be able, and "satiety" reception of good, for satiety is predicated of food, by which spiritual nourishment is signified. That they have no understanding of truth is meant by "they are shepherds who know not intelligence;" those are called "shepherds" who believe themselves able to instruct others, for "to feed" means to instruct; and because such persons love falsities and things falsified, it is added, "Come, I will take wine, and we will be drunk with strong drink."

[34] In Jeremiah:

Thus said Jehovah, God of Israel, Every bottle shall be filled with wine. Behold I fill all the inhabitants of this land, and the kings sitting for David upon his throne, and the priests and the prophets, all the inhabitants of Jerusalem with drunkenness (Jeremiah 13:12-13).

Here, too, "wine" signifies falsity, and "every bottle that shall be filled with wine" signifies the mind of man, since the mind is a recipient of truth or of falsity, as a bottle is of wine; "the kings sitting for David upon his throne" signify those who would otherwise be in Divine truths, "priests" those who would be in Divine goods, "prophets," those who would be in doctrine, "the inhabitants of Jerusalem" all who are of the church; and "the drunkenness with which they shall be filled" signifies insanity in spiritual things.

[35] In the same:

I am become like a drunkard, and like a man into whom wine hath passed, because of Jehovah, and because of the words of His Holiness. For the land is full of adulterers (Jeremiah 23:9-10).

This is a lamentation over the adulteration of good and falsification of truth in the church, which is signified by "the land is full of adulterers;" these are meant by "adulteries," and the church by "land." Insanity in spiritual things through reasonings from evils against Divine goods and from falsities against Divine truth is signified by, "I am become like a drunkard, and like a man into whom wine has passed, because of Jehovah, and because of the words of His Holiness;" "to become like a drunkard and like a man into whom wine hath passed" signifies confusion of mind and insanity by reasoning from evils and falsities; "because of Jehovah" signifies because of Divine goods, and "because of the words of his holiness" signifies because of Divine truths.

[36] In Isaiah:

Hear now this, thou afflicted, and drunken but not with wine (Isaiah 51:21).

The "drunken but not with wine," mean here those who are in falsities from ignorance of truth. That:

Noah drank of the wine and was drunken, and therefore lay naked in the midst of his tent (Genesis 9:21);

means in the spiritual sense, something entirely different from the meaning in the letter; likewise:

Lot's being made drunken by his daughters, and their then lying with him (Genesis 19:32-34).

What is meant by the drunkenness of Noah in the spiritual sense may be seen in Arcana Coelestia 1070-1081); and what by the drunkenness of Lot (n. 2465 end). "Drunkenness" also elsewhere in the Word signifies insanity in spiritual things, and lapsing into errors (Isaiah 19:11, 12, 14; Jeremiah 25:27; Joel 1:5-7; Jeremiah 51:7; Leviticus 10:8, 9).

[37] That "wine" in a contrary sense signifies falsity, is also evident from Isaiah:

Woe unto them that rise early in the morning, that follow strong drink; to them that delay until twilight till wine inflames them. But they do not look upon the work of Jehovah, and they see not the working of His hands. Woe to the wise in their own eyes, and the intelligent before their own faces. Woe unto the mighty in drinking wine, and to men of strength to mingle strong drink (Isaiah 5:11-12, 21-22).

This is said of those who frame for themselves doctrinals from self-intelligence not from the Lord, or from Him out of the Word, which consequently are mere falsities. "Woe unto them who rise early in the morning, who follow strong drink, to them who delay until twilight till wine inflame them; but they do not look upon the work of Jehovah, and they see not the working of His hands" signifies therefore the perverted states of those who believe that they are illustrated of themselves, whence they are in falsities of doctrine, and care not for the Word, from which they might know goods and truths of life and of doctrine. "To rise early in the morning," and "to delay until twilight" signifies to be illustrated; and "to follow strong drink," and "to be inflamed with wine" signifies to hatch out doctrinals of themselves; "not to look upon the work of Jehovah," and "not to see the working of His hands" signifies not to care for the Word, or the goods of life and the truths of doctrine there disclosed; "the work of Jehovah" is predicated of the goods of life, and "the working of His hands" of the truths of doctrine, both from the Word; because such persons are meant, therefore it is said, "Woe to the wise in their own eyes, and the intelligent before their own faces;" "the wise in their own eyes" signifying those who are wise from their own intelligence, and "the intelligent before their own faces" signifying those who are intelligent from their own affection, "eyes" signifying the understanding, and "face" affection. And "woe unto the mighty in drinking wine, and to men of strength to mingle strong drink," signifies unto such as aspire after great things, and are ingenious in confirming the falsities that favor the loves of self and their own principles; "the mighty" are those who aspire to great things; "men of strength" those who are ingenious, and seem to themselves to be intelligent; "to drink wine" means to imbibe falsities, and "to mingle strong drink" means to confirm them. Such are all those who are in the love of self, and who seek after the reputation for learning, for such are in what is their own, and cannot be elevated above it; therefore their own thought is in the corporeal sensual, by which no truth is seen, and no spiritual good is perceived. But those who are not in the love of self, and who seek intelligence for the sake of the uses of life, are elevated by the Lord from what is their own into the light of heaven, and though not themselves aware of it, are illustrated.

[38] In Hosea:

Whoredom and new wine have taken up the heart. My people ask the wood, and their rod answereth them; for the spirit of whoredom hath led them astray, and they have committed whoredom under their God. Ephraim is joined to idols; their wine is gone; in whoring they commit whoredom (Hosea 4:11-12, 17-18).

This treats of those who falsify truths; the falsification of truth is signified by "whoredom," and the falsity therefrom by "new wine." This makes clear what is signified by "whoredom and new wine have taken up the heart; the spirit of whoredoms hath seduced them, they have committed whoredom under their God, and the wine hath departed, in whoring they commit whoredom," namely, that such falsify Divine truths, and consequently have no truth at all, "to commit whoredom under their God" signifies to falsify Divine truths, and "the wine hath departed" signifies that consequently they have no truth at all; "Ephraim, who is joined to idols" signifies those who are in self-intelligence, and the "idols to which he is joined" signify the falsities of religion. "My people ask the wood, and their rod answereth them" signifies that they consult their self-love, and favor it from self-intelligence; for "wood" or an idol of wood, which they ask, signifies self-love, and "the rod that answers" signifies power from what is one's own, thus intelligence.

[39] In Revelation:

Babylon is fallen is fallen, the great city, because of the wine of the wrath of her whoredom she hath made all nations to drink. If anyone worshipeth the beast he shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which hath been mingled unmixed in the cup of the anger [of God]; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone (Revelation 14:8-10);

I will show thee the judgment of the great harlot that sitteth upon many waters, with whom the kings of the earth committed whoredom, and they that dwell in the earth were made drunk from the wine of her whoredom (Revelation 17:1-2).

For of the wine of the wrath of her whoredom have all nations drunk, and the kings of the earth have committed whoredom with her (Revelation 18:3).

"The wine of the anger of God" signifies the falsity of evil, and "the wine of whoredom" signifies truth falsified; what the rest means will appear in the explanation of it, likewise what these words mean in Revelation:

Babylon the great was remembered before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the wrath of God's anger (Revelation 16:19);

"The wine of God's anger" having the same meaning as "the chalice, or cup, of God's anger."

[40] In Jeremiah:

Babylon hath been a cup of gold in the hand of Jehovah, making the whole earth drunken; the nations have drunk of her wine, therefore the nations are mad (Jeremiah 51:7).

And in David:

There is a cup in the hand of Jehovah, and He hath mingled the wine, hath filled it with mixture, and hath poured out; but the lees of it all the wicked of the earth shall suck out and drink (Psalms 75:8).

As the "meal-offering" and the "drink-offering," which were bread and wine, signify worship from the good of love and the truths of faith, so in a contrary sense, the "meal-offering" and "drink-offering" signify worship from the evils that are of the love of evil, and from the falsities of faith; this was signified by the "meal-offering" and "drink-offering" that were offered to idols and to the gods (Isaiah 57:6; 65:11; Jeremiah 7:18; 44:17-19; Ezekiel 20:28; Deuteronomy 32:38). From the signification of "wine" it can be seen what "vineyard," "vine," its "branches," and "grapes" signify in the Word, namely, that "a vineyard" signifies the spiritual church, that is, the church that is in the truths and goods of doctrine from the Lord, "a vine" the doctrine itself, its "branches" truths from which doctrine is formed, and "the grapes" which are the fruit of vineyards and of vines, the goods of charity and the goods of faith (but of these elsewhere).

Бележки под линия:

1. Hebrew has "Helbon. "

2. In AC 6377 we read "strong drink."

  
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Thanks to the Swedenborg Foundation for their permission to use this translation.

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Apocalypse Explained #518

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518. And it fell upon the third part of the rivers and upon the fountains of the waters, signifies that consequently all understanding of truth perished and thereby the doctrine of the church. This is evident from the signification of "falling" from heaven, as being, in reference to stars, to perish (of which presently); also from the signification of "the third part," as being everything (of which above, n. 506, here all, because it is said of the understanding of truth and of doctrine, which are signified by "rivers" and "fountains of waters;" also from the signification of "rivers," as being the understanding of truth (of which presently); and from the signification of "fountains of waters," as being the Word and doctrine from the Word, thus "fountains" mean the truths of the Word and doctrinals (of which above, n. 483).

[2] When "to fall" is predicated of stars, which mean the knowledges of truth and good from the Word (as above), it signifies to perish, because when Divine truth in the spiritual world falls out of heaven to the earth there, where the evil are, it is turned into falsity, and when Divine truth becomes falsity it perishes. This is signified also by:

The stars shall fall from heaven (Matthew 24:29; Mark 13:25);

namely, that in the last time of the church the knowledges of truth and good will perish. That when Divine truth in the spiritual world falls out of heaven to the earth there, where the evil are, it is changed into falsity and thus perishes, may be seen above (n. 413, 418, 419, 489); for Divine truth is changed into falsity of the same character as the evil belonging to those into whom it flows. This becomes evident from the following experience: It has been granted me to observe carefully how Divine truth was changed into falsity while it was passing down deep into hell, and it was perceived that it was changed successively as it flowed down, at length even into what was most false.

[3] "Rivers" signify the understanding of truth, likewise intelligence, because "waters" signify truths, and the understanding is the receptacle and complex of truths, as a river is of waters, and because thought from the understanding, which is intelligence, is like a stream of truth. From the same origin, namely, from the signification of "waters" as being truths, a "fountain" signifies the Word and the doctrine of truth, and "pools," "lakes," and "seas," signify the knowledges of truth in the complex. That "waters" signify truths, and "living waters" truths from the Lord, may be seen above (n. 71, 483); and also in the following passages in this article.

[4] That "rivers" and "streams" signify the understanding of truth and intelligence can be seen from the Word where "rivers" and "streams" are mentioned. Thus in Isaiah:

Then shall the lame leap as a hart, and the tongue of the dumb shall sing; for waters shall break out in the wilderness, and brooks in the plain of the desert (Isaiah 35:6).

This is said of the Lord, also of the reformation of the Gentiles, and of the establishment of the church among them. "The lame who shall leap as a hart" signifies one who is not in genuine good because he is not in the knowledges of truth and good; "the tongue of the dumb which shall sing" signifies confession of the Lord by those who are in ignorance of the truth; "waters shall break out in the wilderness" signifies that there shall be truths where there were none before; "and brooks in the plain of the desert" signifies that there shall be intelligence where there was none before, "wilderness" meaning where there is no truth, and "plain of the desert" where there is no intelligence; "waters" mean truths, and "brooks" intelligence.

[5] In the same:

I will open rivers on the heights, and fountains will I place in the midst of the valleys, I will make the wilderness into a pool of waters, and the dry land into springs of waters (Isaiah 41:18).

This is said of the salvation of the Gentiles by the Lord; "to open rivers on the heights" means to bestow interior intelligence; and "to place fountains in the midst of valleys" means to instruct the external man in truths. (The rest may be seen explained in n. 483.)

[6] In the same:

Behold I am doing a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even place a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. The wild beast of the field shall honor Me, the dragons and the daughters of the owl; because I will give waters in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert, to give drink to My people, My chosen (Isaiah 43:19, 20).

This treats of the Lord and of a new church to be established by Him, which is meant by "Behold I am doing a new thing; now it shall spring forth;" "to place a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert" signifies that there shall be truth and the understanding of truth where there were none before, "way" meaning truth leading to heaven, and "rivers" understanding; "to give drink to the people" signifies to instruct those who desire it; "the wild beast of the field, the dragons, and the daughters of the owl" signify those who know truths and goods merely from memory, and do not understand and perceive them; these speak about truth with no idea of truth, depending solely upon others.

[7] In the same:

I will pour out waters upon him that is thirsty, and streams upon the dry ground; I will pour out My spirit upon thy seed, and My blessing upon thine offspring (Isaiah 44:3).

"To pour out waters upon him that is thirsty" signifies to instruct in truths those who are in the affection of truth; "to pour streams upon the dry land" signifies to give intelligence to those who are in a desire for truth from good; the like is signified by "pouring out the spirit and the blessing;" for God's "spirit" signifies Divine truth, and "blessing" its multiplication and fructification, thus intelligence. Who does not see that here and above, waters and streams, wilderness and desert, are not meant, but such things as pertain to the church? Therefore it is here added, "I will pour out My spirit upon thy seed, and My blessing upon thine offspring."

[8] In Moses:

For Jehovah leadeth thee to a land of brooks of water, of fountains, of depths flowing forth in valley and mountain (Deuteronomy 8:7).

The land of Canaan, to which Jehovah was to lead them, signifies the church, therefore "brooks of water, fountains, and depths flowing forth in valley and mountain," signify such things as belong to the church; "brooks of water" signifying the understanding of truth, "fountains" doctrinals from the Word, and "depths flowing forth in valley and mountain" the knowledges of truth and good in the natural and in the spiritual man.

[9] In Isaiah:

Look upon Zion and Jerusalem, where the glorious Jehovah will be with us a place of rivers, of streams, of breadth of spaces; no ship of oar shall go therein, and no magnificent ship shall pass through it (Isaiah 33:20, 21).

Here, too, "a place of rivers and streams" signifies wisdom and intelligence (the signification of the rest is explained above, n. 514.

[10] In Joel:

In that day the mountains shall drop down must, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the watercourses of Judah shall flow with waters, and a fountain shall go forth out of the house of Jehovah and shall water the brook of Shittim (Joel 3:18).

(This also has been explained above, n. 433, 483.) "The fountain that shall go forth out of the house of Jehovah" signifies the truth of doctrine out of heaven from the Lord; and "the brook of Shittim that it shall water," signifies the illustration of the understanding.

[11] In Ezekiel:

The waters issued out from under the threshold of the house of God towards the east. The man led me and brought me back upon the bank of the river. When I returned, behold upon the bank of the river very many trees on the one side and on the other. He said, Every living soul that creepeth, whithersoever the rivers shall come, shall live; whence there are exceeding many fish, because these waters come thither and are healed, that everything may live whither the river cometh. And by the river upon the bank thereof, on this side and on that side, cometh up every tree for food, whose leaf falleth not, neither is the fruit thereof consumed; it is renewed in its months, because its waters flow out of the sanctuary (Ezekiel 47:1-12).

This, too, has been explained above (n. 422, 513), which makes evident that "the waters flowing out of the house of God towards the east" signify Divine truth proceeding from the Lord and flowing in with those who are in the good of love; and that "the river, upon the bank of which was every tree for food, and by the waters of which every soul that creepeth lived, whence there were many fish," signifies intelligence from the reception of Divine truth, from which all things with man, his affections and perceptions, as well as his cognitions and knowledges and the thoughts therefrom acquire spiritual life.

[12] In Jeremiah:

Blessed is the man that trusteth in Jehovah; He shall be like a tree planted by the waters and that sendeth forth his roots by the stream, and he shall not see when the heat shall come, his leaf shall be green (Jeremiah 17:7, 8).

"The tree planted by the waters" means a man with whom there are truths from the Lord; "he sendeth forth his roots by the stream" means the extension of intelligence from the spiritual man into the natural. (The rest may be seen explained above, n. 481.)

Where trees and gardens are treated of in the Word, waters and rivers to water them are also mentioned, for the reason that "trees" signify perceptions and knowledges, and "waters" and "rivers" truths and understanding therefrom; for without the understanding of truths man is like a garden where there is no water, whose trees wither away.

[13] As in Moses:

As the valleys are they planted, as gardens by the river, as lign-aloes – three times which Jehovah hath planted, and as cedar-trees beside the waters (Numbers 24:6).

This is said of the sons of Israel, by whom the church is signified which was then to be planted. This church is compared to valleys which are planted, and to a garden by the river, because "valleys" signify the intelligence of the natural man, and a "garden" the intelligence of the spiritual man, and it is compared to lign-aloes – three times and cedar-trees, because "lign-aloes – three times" signify the things of the natural man, and "cedar-trees" the things of the rational man; since these all live from the influx of Divine truth from the Lord they are said to be planted "by the river and beside the waters," which signifies Divine truth flowing in, from which is intelligence.

[14] As "the garden in Eden" or "paradise" means the wisdom and intelligence that the most ancient people had who lived before the flood, so where their wisdom is described, the influx of Divine truth, and of intelligence thence, is also described in these words:

A river went forth from Eden to water the garden, and from thence it was parted and was in four heads (Genesis 2:10, et seq.). "A river from Eden" signifies wisdom from love, which is Eden; "to water the garden" means to bestow intelligence; intelligence is described by the four rivers there treated of. (This may be seen explained in Arcana Coelestia 107-121.)

[15] In Ezekiel:

Asshur, a cedar in Lebanon. The waters made it grow, the abyss made it high, so that with its rivers it went round about its plant, and sent out its conduits unto all the trees of the field (Ezekiel 31:3, 4).

"Asshur" signifies the rational man, or the rational of man, likewise "the cedar in Lebanon;" and because the genuine rational is perfected by the knowledges of truth and good it is said that "the waters made it grow, and the abyss made it high," "waters" meaning truths, and "the abyss" the knowledges of truth in the natural man; the increase of intelligence is signified by "with its rivers it went round about its plant;" and the multiplication of the knowledges of truth by "it sent out its conduits unto all the trees of the field."

[16] In David:

Thou hast caused a vine to go forth out of Egypt. Thou hast sent out its boughs unto the sea, and its shoots unto the river (Psalms 80:8, 11).

"A vine out of Egypt" means the sons of Israel, who are called a "vine" because they represented the spiritual church, which is what "vine" signifies in the Word; their tarrying in Egypt represented their first initiation into the things of the church, for "Egypt" signified the knowledges [scientifica] subservient to the things of the church when, therefore, "the vine" signifies the church, and "Egypt" the knowledge serving it, it is evident what is signified in the spiritual sense by "Thou hast caused a vine to go forth out of Egypt." The extension of the intelligence of the church even to things known and things rational is signified by "Thou hast sent out its boughs unto the sea, and its shoots unto the river;" "to send out boughs and shoots" meaning multiplication and extension, the "sea" knowledge []scientificum]; and the "river," which here is the Euphrates, the rational. The extension of the church and the multiplication of its truths and of intelligence therefrom are described by the extension of the land of Canaan to the Sea Suph, to the sea of the Philistines, and to the river Euphrates.

[17] In Moses:

And I will set thy border from the Sea Suph even to the sea of the Philistines, and from the wilderness even to the river (Exodus 23:31).

"The borders of the land of Canaan" signify the ultimates of the church, which are true knowledges [scientifica vera], cognitions of truth and good from the Word, and things rational. "The Sea Suph" signifies true knowledge; "the sea of the Philistines," where Tyre and Sidon were, signifies the knowledges of truth and good from the sense of the letter of the Word; and "the river Euphrates" signifies the rational; for knowledges [scientifica] serve the cognitions of truth and good from the Word, and both these serve the rational, and the rational serves intelligence, which is given by means of spiritual truths joined to spiritual good.

[18] The like that is here said of the church and its extension is said of the Lord's power over all things of heaven and the church, in David:

I will set his hand in the sea, and his right hand in the rivers (Psalms 89:25).

This is said of David, by whom is here meant the Lord; the Lord's power, even to the ultimates of heaven and the church, thus over the whole heaven, and over everything of the church, is signified by "setting the hand in the sea, and the right hand in the rivers," "hand" and "right hand" signify power, and the "sea" and "rivers" the ultimates of heaven and the church. The ultimates of heaven are seas and rivers, as has been several times said above. These were represented by the two seas and by the two rivers that formed the boundaries of the land of Canaan. The two seas were the sea of Egypt and the sea of the Philistines, where were Tyre and Sidon; and the two rivers were the Euphrates and the Jordan. But the Jordan was the boundary between the interior land of Canaan and the exterior; in the exterior were the tribes of Reuben and Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh. Likewise in Zechariah:

His dominion shall be from sea even to sea, and from the river even to the ends of the earth (Zechariah 9:10).

This, too, is said of the Lord, and has a like meaning; His dominion even to the ultimates of heaven and the church means over all things of heaven and the church, for the ultimates are the boundaries.

[19] In David:

Thy throne is established from then; Thou art from everlasting. The rivers have lifted up, O Jehovah, the rivers have lifted up their voice; the rivers have lifted up their roaring. More than the voices of many glorious waters, more than the waves of the sea, Jehovah is glorious (Psalms 93:2-4).

This, too, is said of the Lord; His dominion from eternity to eternity over heaven and earth is signified by "Thy throne is established from then; Thou art from everlasting." The glorification of the Lord because of His coming and because of the consequent salvation of mankind is signified by "the rivers have lifted up their voice (and their roaring);" for "rivers," here three times mentioned, signify all things of man's intelligence, both in the internal and in the external man. Divine truth from the Lord, through which there is power and through which there is salvation, is signified by "more than the voices of many glorious waters, more than the waves of the sea," "waters" meaning truths, and "the voices of many glorious waters" Divine truths.

[20] The glorification and celebration of the Lord from joy of heart are thus described elsewhere in David:

Let the sea and the fullness thereof give forth a sound, the world and they that dwell therein. Let the rivers clap their hands; let the mountains sing aloud together (Psalms 98:7, 8).

The glorification of the Lord by the universal heaven is signified by these words. The glorification from its ultimates is signified by "Let the sea and the fullness thereof give forth a sound;" the glorification from the whole heaven is signified by "let the world and they that dwell therein give forth a sound," "the world" signifying the universal heaven in respect to its truths, and "they that dwell therein" signifying the universal heaven in respect to its goods; for "inhabitants" signify in the Word those who are in the goods of heaven and the church, and thus the goods of such. The glorification of the Lord by the truths of intelligence and by the goods of love, is signified by "let the rivers clap their hands, let the mountains sing aloud together," "rivers" meaning the truths of intelligence, and "mountains" the goods of love.

[21] Divine truth from the Lord, the reception of which is the source of intelligence, is signified by "the waters from the rock in Horeb" (Exodus 17:6), thus spoken of in David:

He clave the rocks in the wilderness, and made them to drink out of the great abysses, and He brought flowing waters out of the rock, and made the waters to run down like rivers. He smote the rock, so that the waters gushed out and the brooks overflowed (Psalms 78:15, 16, 20).

And again:

He opened the rock that the waters might flow; the rivers ran in the dry places (Psalms 105:41).

The "rock" here means the Lord; and the "waters that flowed out therefrom" mean Divine truth from Him; and the "rivers" signify intelligence and wisdom therefrom; "to drink of the great abysses" signifies to imbibe and perceive the arcana of wisdom.

[22] In John:

Jesus said, If anyone thirst, let him come unto Me and drink. He that cometh unto Me, as the Scripture saith, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. This saith He of the Spirit, which they that believe on Him were to receive (John 7:37-39).

"To come to the Lord and drink" signifies to receive from Him the truths of doctrine and belief therein; that spiritual intelligence is therefrom is signified by "out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water," "living water" being Divine truth which is from the Lord alone, "rivers" the things belonging to intelligence, and the "belly" thought from memory, for to this the belly corresponds; and as "rivers of living water" signify intelligence through Divine truth from the Lord it is added, "this saith He of the spirit which they that believe on Him were to receive," "the spirit that they were to receive from the Lord," meaning Divine truth and intelligence therefrom; so, too, the Lord called the spirit that they received "the spirit of truth" (John 14:16-18; 16:7-15).

[23] In David:

Jehovah hath founded the world upon the seas, and established it upon the rivers (Psalms 24:2).

The "world" signifies heaven and the church in the whole complex, the "seas" signify cognitions and knowledges which are the ultimates of the church, and in particular, the cognitions of truth and good, such as are in the sense of the letter of the Word; "rivers" signify introduction through knowledges into heavenly intelligence. This makes clear the meaning of these words in the spiritual sense, namely, that the interior things of heaven and the church, which are called celestial and spiritual, are founded upon the cognitions of truth and good which are in the sense of the letter of the Word rationally understood. It is said, "He hath founded the world upon the seas and established it upon the rivers," because there are seas and rivers in the boundaries of heaven, represented by the Sea Suph, the sea of the Philistines, the river Euphrates, and the river Jordan, which were the boundaries of the land of Canaan; and because what is ultimate means in the Word what is lowest, it is said that Jehovah "founded" and "established" upon these. Evidently the earth is not founded upon seas and rivers.

[24] In the same:

The Lord at thy right hand hath stricken through kings in the day of His anger, He hath judged among the nations, He hath filled with dead bodies, He hath stricken through the head over many a land. He drinketh out of the brook in the way; therefore shall He exalt the head (Psalms 110:5-7).

This is said of the Lord, and of His combat against falsities and evils from the hells, and of their subjugation. "Kings" mean falsities from hell, and "nations" evils therefrom. The Lord's Divine power is meant by "the Lord at the right hand;" "He hath stricken through them in the day of His anger, He hath judged among the nations, and He hath filled with dead bodies," signifies the subjugation and destruction of evils and falsities from the hells; "the head that He hath stricken through in many a land," means the love of self, which is the source of all evils and falsities; "to strike through in many a land" signifies total destruction and damnation; "the brook out of which the head drinketh," and because of which "it shall be exalted," signifies the Word in the letter, "to drink out of it" meaning to learn something from it, and "to lift up the head" meaning to resist for a time; for all those who are in falsities from evil cannot be cast down into hell until the things that they know from the Word are taken away from them, since all things of the Word communicate with heaven, by which communication they exalt the head; but when these are taken away they are cast down into hell. This is the meaning of these words, which no one can see except by means of the spiritual sense and a knowledge of the quality of the Word.

[25] In Habakkuk:

Was Jehovah displeased with the rivers? Was Thine anger against the rivers? Was Thy wrath against the sea? Because Thou ridest upon Thy horses, Thy chariots are salvation (Habakkuk 3:8).

This is a supplication that the church may be guarded and not perish; the "rivers" and the "sea" signify all things of the church, because they are its ultimates (as above); "to ride upon horses," in reference to Jehovah, that is, the Lord, signifies the Divine wisdom which is in the Word; and "chariots" signify doctrinals therefrom.

[26] In David:

We will not fear when the earth shall be changed, and when the mountains shall be moved from 1 the heart of the seas; the waters thereof shall be in tumult, shall be made turbid, the mountains shall quake in the pride thereof. There is a river the streams whereof shall make glad the holy city of God, the dwelling places of the Most High; God is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved (Psalms 46:2-5).

This involves in the spiritual sense, that although the church and all things thereof perish, still the Word and the Divine truth it contains shall not perish; for the "earth" signifies the church; "mountains" signify the goods of love; "waters" truths; and "to be changed," "to be moved," "to be in tumult" "to be made turbid" and "to quake" signify the states of these when they perish, and falsities and evils enter in their place, consequently the states of the church when it is vastated in respect to goods and desolated in respect to truths (See above, n. 304, 405, where this is more completely explained). That the Word or Divine truth for the church is not to perish is signified by "There is a river the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God; she shall not be changed;" "river" signifying here the like as "fountain," namely, the Word, because "streams" are predicated of it, by which are signified truths; the "city of God" signifies the church in respect to doctrine; "to make glad" signifies influx and reception from joy of heart, and "not to be changed" signifies not to perish in any respect.

[27] In Isaiah:

Then the waters shall fail in 2 the sea, and the river shall dry up and become dry, and the rivers shall recede; the rivers of Egypt shall be minished and dried up, the reed and flag shall wither; the paper reeds by the stream near the mouth of the stream, and all seed of the stream shall become dry, be driven away, and be no more (Isaiah 19:5-7).

This is said of Egypt, which signifies the knowing faculty [scientificum] of the natural man, and its "stream" the cognition and apperception of truth, and in the contrary sense the apperception of falsity; that these are to perish is signified by "the stream shall dry up and become dry;" that thus there would be no longer truths, not even natural and sensual truths, which are the lowest, is signified by "the reed and flag shall wither, the paper reeds by the stream, and all the seed of the stream shall become dry, be driven away, and be no more."

[28] In the same:

I have digged and have drunk waters; and with the sole of my steps have I dried up all the streams of Egypt (Isaiah 37:25).

These are the words of Senacherib, the king of Assyria, by whom the perverted rational destroying all knowledge and apperception of truth is signified; this is signified by his "drying up with the sole of his steps all the streams of Egypt." The "streams of Egypt" signify knowledges and apperceptions of truth, because "Egypt" signifies the natural man in respect to knowledges (scientifica), and cognition and apperception belong to the natural man, as intelligence does to the spiritual man.

[29] In Ezekiel:

They shall draw out their swords against Egypt, to fill the land with the slain. Then will I make the rivers dry land, and will sell the land into the hand of evil ones; and I will make the land waste, and the fullness thereof, by the hand of strangers (Ezekiel 30:11, 12).

"Egypt" signifies the knowing faculty [scientificum] of the natural man serving the intelligence of the rational and spiritual man. The destruction of true knowledges [scientifica] by falsities is signified by "They shall draw out their swords against Egypt," "swords" signifying falsities destroying truths; the "slain" signify those who are destroyed by falsities; "to make the rivers dry land" signifies that there shall no longer be any cognition or apperception of truth; "to sell the land into the hand of evil ones and to make it waste by the hand of strangers," signifies to destroy by evils and by falsities, "strangers" signifying falsities.

[30] In Zechariah:

All the depths of the river shall be dried up, and the pride of Assyria shall be cast down, and the staff of Egypt shall depart away (Zechariah 10:11).

"All the depths of the river (namely, the Euphrates) shall be dried up" signifies that all the acute reasonings from self-intelligence shall perish; the "pride of Assyria" signifies the self-intelligence of the perverted rational; "the staff of Egypt shall depart away" signifies that the knowledges [scientifica] that serve such reasonings shall be of no avail.

[31] In Isaiah:

I will lay waste mountains and hills, and dry up all their herb; and I will make the rivers islands, and I will dry up the pools (Isaiah 42:15).

"I will lay waste mountains and hills" signifies that the goods of love and charity will perish; "and dry up all their herb" signifies that the truths that are from those goods will perish; "I will make the rivers islands, and I will dry up the pools," signifies that intelligence and knowledge of truth will perish.

[32] In the same:

Behold, at My rebuke I dry up the sea, I make the rivers into a wilderness; their fish shall rot because there is no water, and shall die (Isaiah 50:2).

(See above, n. 342), where this is explained.)

In Nahum:

He rebuketh the sea and maketh it dry, and drieth up all the rivers (Nahum 1:4).

In David:

Jehovah maketh rivers into a wilderness, and water springs into dry ground (Psalms 107:33).

In Job:

A man giveth up the ghost, and where is he? The waters depart from the sea, and the river drieth up and becometh dry (Job14:10, 11).

[33] It has been shown thus far that "rivers" signify the understanding of truth and intelligence. In the contrary sense "rivers" signify the understanding of falsity and reasoning from self-intelligence which is in favor of falsities and opposes truths, as is evident from the following passages. In Isaiah:

He shall send ambassadors by the sea to a nation meted out and trodden down, whose land the rivers have spoiled (1 Isaiah 18:2).

"Rivers" here signify the falsities of self-intelligence that destroy. (What the rest signifies see explained above, n. 304, 331.) In the same:

When thou shalt pass through the waters I will be with thee; and through the rivers they shall not overflow thee (Isaiah 43:2).

"To pass through waters and through rivers and not be overflowed" signifies that falsities and reasonings from falsities against truths shall not corrupt.

[34] In Jeremiah:

Behold waters rising up out of the north, which like 3 an overflowing stream shall overflow the land and its fullness (Jeremiah 47:2).

"Waters out of the north" signify the falsities of doctrine from self-intelligence; these are compared to "a stream overflowing the land," because a "stream" signifies reasoning from falsities, the "land" the church, and "its overflow by a stream" its destruction by falsities.

[35] In David:

Unless Jehovah were for us when man rises up against us, then the waters had overflowed us, the river had gone over our soul; then the waters of the proud had gone over our soul (Psalms 124:2, 4, 5).

The "waters of the proud" here mentioned, signify falsities favoring the love of self and confirming it, also the falsities of doctrine from self-intelligence; the "river" signifies reasoning from falsities against truths; this makes clear what is meant by "Unless Jehovah were for us, when man rises up against us," namely, when man from himself, from self-love, and from self-intelligence, rises up and endeavors to destroy the truths of the church; for this treats of Israel, by whom the church is signified; the "waters that had overflowed them," and the "rivers that had gone over their soul," signify falsities and reasonings from falsities, and the consequent destruction of the spiritual life that man has through truths and through a life according to them; "waters" signify falsities, "rivers" reasonings from them, and "overflowing and going over the soul" signifies the destruction of spiritual life.

[36] In Isaiah:

Behold, the Lord will make to go up upon them the waters of the river, strong and many, the king of Assyria and all his glory; and he shall go up over all his channels, and shall go over all his banks; and he shall go through Judah, and shall overflow (Isaiah 8:7, 8).

"Assyria" and its king signify in the Word the rational, here the rational perverted; so "his river" which was the Euphrates, means reasoning, and "the waters of the river" mean falsities confirmed by reasonings; these therefore are signified by "the waters of the river, strong and many," which are called "strong" from cupidity, and "many" from falsity; the abundance of falsities from evil destroying the truths of the good of the church is signified by "the waters of the river shall go up over all his channels, and over all his banks," also "he shall go through Judah, and shall overflow," "Judah" signifying the church where the Word is.

[37] In Jeremiah:

What hast thou to do with the way of Egypt, to drink the waters of Sihor? Or what hast thou to do with the way of Assyria, to drink the waters of the river? (Jeremiah 2:18).

The "waters of Sihor," or of Egypt, signify false knowledges, or knowledges confirming falsities, and "the waters of the river" signify false reasonings from these, thus such as are from self-intelligence; that such falsities and reasonings must not be imbibed is what these words signify.

[38] In the same:

Towards the north, by the bank of the river Euphrates, have they stumbled and fallen. Who is this that cometh up like a stream, whose waters are tossed like the streams? Egypt cometh up like a stream, and his waters are tossed like streams; for he saith, I will come up, I will cover the earth, I will destroy the city and those that dwell in it (Jeremiah 46:6-8).

This signifies the destruction of the church and of its truths by false reasonings from confirming knowledges [scientifica]; the "north" signifies those in whom and from whom there is falsity, the "river Euphrates" false reasonings, "Egypt" confirming knowledges, the "waters that are tossed" falsities themselves, and "to come up, to cover the earth, to destroy the city and those that dwell in it," signifies the destruction of the church and of its doctrine, the "earth" meaning the church, the "city" doctrine of truth, and "those that dwell in it" its goods. Like things are signified by the Nile, "the river of Egypt," and by the Euphrates, "the river of Assyria," elsewhere in the Word (as in Isaiah 7:18, 19; 11:15, 16; Ezekiel 29:3-5, 10; 31:15; 32:2; Psalms 74:14, 15; 78:44; Exodus 7:17-21); also by "the rivers of Babylon" (Psalms 137:1). As all spiritual temptations come through falsities that break into the thoughts and infest the interior mind, thus through reasonings from falsities, so temptations are signified by the inundations of waters and by the irruptions of rivers and torrents. As in Jonah:

Thou hadst cast me into the depths, even into the heart of the seas; and the river was round about me; all Thy waves and Thy billows passed over me (Jonah 2:3).

In David:

The cords of death compassed me, and the brooks of Belial terrified me (Psalms 18:4).

In Matthew:

And the rain descended, and the rivers came, and the winds blew and beat upon that house; yet it fell not, for it was founded upon a rock (Matthew 7:25, 27).

In Luke:

When a flood arose, the stream dashed against that house and could not shake it; for it had been founded upon a rock (Luke 6:48, 49).

Бележки под линия:

1. Latin "from," the Hebrew has "in," which we also find in n. 394, 405, 538, etc.

2. Latin "in," Hebrew "out of," as we also find in n. 275; Arcana Coelestia 28, 2588, 9755

3. Latin "like," Hebrew "become," as we also find in n. 223; Arcana Coelestia 705, 2240, 6297.

  
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Thanks to the Swedenborg Foundation for their permission to use this translation.