10584. And I will remove the palm of My hand, and thou shalt see My back parts, and My faces shall not be seen. That this signifies that they should see the external things of the Word, of the church, and of worship, but not the internal things; is evident from the signification of the “back parts of Jehovah,” as being the external things of the Word, of the church, and of worship (of which in what follows); and from the signification of the “faces of Jehovah,” as being the internal things of these (of which above, n. 10578); consequently by “seeing the back parts and not the faces of Jehovah” is signified seeing the external things of the Word, of the church, and of worship, and not the internal things. That such was the Israelitish and Jewish nation, and that such it is at this day also, has been shown in all that precedes of this chapter, and of the preceding one.

[2] The reason why the “back parts of Jehovah” signify the external things of the Word, of the church, and of worship, is that the “faces” signify the internal things (see n. 10578). And those are said to “see the back parts of Jehovah and not the faces,” who believe and adore the Word; but only its external, which is the sense of the letter, and do not penetrate more interiorly, as do those who have been enlightened, and who make for themselves doctrine from the Word, by which they may see its genuine sense, thus its interior sense. (That the Word cannot be apprehended without doctrine, and that doctrine drawn from the Word by one who is enlightened must be for a lamp to the understanding, see n. 9382, 9409, 9410, 9424, 9430, 10105, 10324, 10400, 10431; and that the internal sense of the Word teaches this doctrine, n. 9430.) From all this it can be seen what it is to “see the back parts of Jehovah and not His faces.”

[3] But those who do not believe in the Word, do not even see the back parts of Jehovah; but turn themselves backward from Jehovah, and see only themselves and the world. These are they who are meant by those in the Word who are said to “turn their back parts to the temple, and to adore the sun,” of whom it is written in Ezekiel:

I was brought into the court of the house of Jehovah, and behold five and twenty men, whose back parts were toward the temple of Jehovah, and their faces toward the east; and the same bowed themselves toward the rising of the sun (Ezekiel 8:16);

by “the sun and its rising” is meant the sun of the world and its rising, and thereby is signified the love of self, which love is diametrically opposite to love to the Lord. From this it is that the sun of the world is presented in the idea of the angels as something at the back quite dark; whereas the Lord, who is the sun of heaven, appears before the face (n. 7078). Of such men it is said that they “turn their back parts to the temple,” and also that they “go backward,” in Jeremiah:

Thou hast forsaken Jehovah, thou art gone backward (Jeremiah 15:6).

They have gone away in the stubbornness of their evil heart, and have come backward, and not forward (Jeremiah 7:24).

2069. Kings of peoples shall be from her. That this signifies truths from the conjoined truths and goods, which are the “kings of peoples,” is evident from the signification of “kings,” as being in general all truths (see above, n. 2015); and from the signification of “peoples,” as also being truths, and in general all things spiritual; for “kings” are predicated of peoples, and not of nations except when nations signify evils (see n. 1259, 1260). In the prophetic Word there is frequent mention of “kings” and “peoples;” but by these are never meant kings and peoples; for in the very Word itself, which is the internal sense, kings and peoples are not treated of at all, but the celestial and spiritual things which belong to the Lord’s kingdom, thus goods and truths. The sense of the letter simply furnishes objective forms (as is done by human words) for causing its meaning to be understood.

[2] As it is here said of Sarah that “kings of peoples shall be from her,” and as by “Sarah” is signified the Divine truth which the Lord had, it is evident that by “kings of peoples” are signified truths from the conjoined truths and goods, which are all truths of the internal church, or the interior truths of faith. These truths, being from the Lord, are called “kings” in various passages of the Word, and also “king’s sons,” as shown above (n. 2015).

[3] Everyone can see that some internal Divine thing lies hidden in the words that “kings of peoples shall be from her”— for in this verse Isaac is treated of, and in reference to him it is said, “I will bless her and she shall be for nations;” but of Sarah, that “kings and peoples shall be from her”—and also in nearly the same thing being said of Abraham (verse 6), in that “kings should come forth” from him; but it is not said of him as of Sarah, that “kings of peoples” should be from him. The arcanum that is herein lies too deeply hidden to be unfolded and described in a few words. From the representation and signification of Abraham as being the Divine Good, and from the representation and signification of Sarah as being the Divine Truth, the arcanum is in some measure evident to the effect that all celestial truth will go forth and will be from the Lord’s Divine Good, meant by “Abraham;” and that all spiritual truth will go forth and will be from the Lord’s Divine Truth, meant by “Sarah.” Celestial truth is that which is with the celestial angels, and spiritual truth is that which is with the spiritual angels; or what is the same thing, celestial truth is that which was with the men of the Most Ancient Church, which was before the flood, and which was a celestial church; and spiritual truth is that which was with the men of the Ancient Church, which was after the flood, and which was a spiritual church. For angels, as well as men of the church, are distinguished into the celestial and the spiritual. The celestial are distinguished from the spiritual by love to the Lord; and the spiritual are distinguished from the celestial by love toward the neighbor.

[4] But concerning celestial truth and spiritual truth no more can be said until it is known what the distinction is between the celestial and the spiritual, or what is the same, between the celestial church and the spiritual church (concerning which see Part First, n. 202, 337, 1577; also what was the quality of the Most Ancient Church, and what that of the Ancient Church, n. 597, 607, 640, 765, 1114-1125, and in many other places; and that to have love to the Lord is celestial, and to have love toward the neighbor is spiritual, n. 2023).

[5] These considerations will suffice to open the arcanum that by the “kings” who should go forth from Abraham, spoken of in the sixth verse, are signified the celestial truths that inflow from the Lord’s Divine Good; and that by the “kings of peoples” who should be from Sarah, spoken of in the present verse, are signified the spiritual truths that inflow from the Lord’s Divine Truth. For the Lord’s Divine good cannot inflow except with the celestial man, because it inflows into the will part, as it did in the case of the Most Ancient Church; but the Lord’s Divine truth inflows with the spiritual man, because it inflows solely into his intellectual part, which in him has been separated from his will part (see n. 2053, at the end); or what is the same, celestial good inflows with the celestial man, and spiritual good with the spiritual man; and on this account the Lord appears to the celestial angels as a Sun, but to the spiritual as a Moon (see n. 1529, 1530).