5433. To see the nakedness of the land ye are come. That this signifies that they would like nothing better than to know in themselves that there are no truths, is evident from the signification of “coming to see,” as being to desire to know that it is so, thus that they would like nothing better than to know; from the signification of “nakedness,” as being to be without truths, thus that there are no truths (of which in what follows); and from the signification of “land,” as being the church (see n. 566, 662, 1067, 1262, 1733, 1850, 2117, 2118, 3355, 4447, 4535); here therefore the “nakedness of the land” denotes no truths in the church. That “nakedness” signifies deprived of truths, or without truths, is because “garments” in general signify truths, and each specific garment signifies some particular truth (see n. 2576, 3301, 4545, 4677, 4741, 4742, 4763, 5248, 5319). Hence “nakedness” signifies being without truths, as will also be seen below from passages taken from the Word.

[2] How the case herein is, is plain from what was said just above (n. 5432), that they who learn truths not for the sake of truth and of life, but for the sake of gain, cannot but think within themselves that the truths of the church are not truths. The reason is that the affection of gain is an earthly affection, and the affection of truth is a spiritual affection. One or the other must have the dominion, for no man can serve two masters. Therefore where one affection is, the other is not; thus where there is the affection of truth, there is not the affection of gain; and where there is the affection of gain, there is not the affection of truth. Consequently, if the affection of gain has dominion, it must needs be that nothing is more desired than that truths should not be truths, and also that they should be believed to be truths by others; for if the internal man looks downward to earthly things, and vests everything in them, it is impossible for him to look upward, and to vest anything in heavenly things, because the earthly things completely absorb and stifle the heavenly things. The reason is that the angels of heaven cannot be with man in earthly things, and therefore they draw back, and the infernal spirits then come near, who cannot be with man in heavenly things. The result is that heavenly things are naught to him, and earthly things are everything; and when earthly things are everything to him, he believes himself to be more learned and wise than anyone else, in that to himself he denies the truths of the church, saying at heart that they are for the simple. Man must therefore be either in earthly affection or in heavenly affection, for he cannot be at the same time with the angels of heaven and with the infernals; because he would then hang between heaven and hell. But when he is in the affection of truth for the sake of truth, that is, for the sake of the Lord’s kingdom, where the Divine truth is, thus for the sake of the Lord Himself, he is then among angels, nor does he then despise gain so far as it is useful for his life in the world; but he has as the end, not gain, but uses therefrom, which he looks upon as mediate ends to the final heavenly end; thus by no means does he set his heart upon gain.

[3] That “nakedness” signifies to be without truths, may be seen from other passages in the Word, as in the Revelation:

To the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write, Because thou sayest I am rich, and have been enriched, so that I have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched and miserable and needy and blind and naked (Revelation 3:17); where “naked” denotes penury of truth. In the same:

I counsel thee to buy of Me gold purified in the fire, that thou mayest be rich, and white garments, that thou mayest be clothed, and the shame of thy nakedness be not made manifest (Revelation 3:18);

“to buy gold” denotes to procure and appropriate good to one’s self; “that thou mayest be rich,” denotes being in celestial and spiritual good; “white garments” denote spiritual truths; the “shame of thy nakedness” denotes being without goods and truths. (That “to buy” is to procure and to appropriate to one’s self may be seen above, n. 5374; also that “gold” is celestial and spiritual good, n. 1551, 1552; that “garments” are truths, n. 1073, 2576, 4545, 4763, 5248, 5319; and that “white” is predicated of truth, because from the light of heaven, n. 3301, 3993, 4007, 5319)

[4] Again:

Behold I come as a thief, blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked (Revelation 16:15);

“he that keepeth his garments” denotes him that keepeth truths; “lest he walk naked,” denotes being without truths.

In Matthew:

The King shall say unto them on His right hand, I was naked, and ye clothed Me; and to them on His left, I was naked, and ye clothed Me not (Matthew 25:36, 43); where “naked” denotes the good who acknowledge that there is nothing of good and truth in themselves (n. 4958).

[5] In Isaiah:

Is not this the fast, to break thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the afflicted that are cast out into thy house? When thou seest the naked that thou cover him? (Isaiah 58:7); where the meaning is similar.

In Jeremiah:

Jerusalem hath sinned a sin; therefore she hath become a menstruous woman; all that honored her despise her, because they have seen her nakedness (Lam. 1:8); where “nakedness” denotes without truths.

In Ezekiel:

Thou hast come into comelinesses of comelinesses, the paps have been made firm, and thy hair was grown, yet thou wast naked and bare. I spread My skirt over thee, and covered thy nakedness. Thou hast not remembered the days of thy youth, when thou wast naked and bare (Ezekiel 16:7-8, 22);

[6] this is said of Jerusalem, by which is meant the Ancient Church, as it was when set up, and as it afterward became, namely, that at first it was without truths, but afterward was instructed in them, and at last rejected them. Again:

If a just man who hath done judgment and justice give his bread to the hungry, and cover the naked with a garment (Ezekiel 18:5, 7); where “to cover the naked with a garment” denotes to instruct in truths those who desire them.

In Hosea:

Lest I strip her naked, and show her as in the day that she was born, and make her as a wilderness, and set her like a land of drought, and slay her with thirst (Hos. 2:3); where “stripping naked” denotes to deprive of truths.

In Nahum:

I will show the nations thy nakedness, and the kingdoms thy shame (Nah. 3:5); where “showing the nations the nakedness” denotes to show the ugliness; for all ugliness is from want of truths, and all beauty is from truths (n. 4985, 5199).

4763. And he rent his garments. That this signifies mourning, is evident from the signification of “rending the garments,” as being mourning, namely, on account of truth having been destroyed, or because there was no faith. We often read in the Word, especially the historic, of persons rending their garments; but the origin of this is not known at the present day, and it is also unknown that it was representative of grief on account of truth being lost. This act became representative from the fact that “garments” signified truths, as before shown (n. 4545). Further on in this chapter it is also said that when Jacob recognized his son’s tunic he rent his garments (verse 34), and by this is signified mourning for truth destroyed. So in other places in the Word, as when Rabshakeh, who was sent by Sennacherib the king of Assyria, spoke insults against Jerusalem; whereupon Eliakim who was over the King’s household, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah the recorder, rent their garments and told these things to King Hezekiah; and when the king heard it he also rent his garments, and covered himself with sackcloth (Isaiah 36:22; 37:1; 2 Kings 18:37; 19:1). The insults which Rabshakeh spoke were against God, the King, and Jerusalem, thus against Divine truth, as is still plainer from the internal sense of the passage; hence the garments were rent because of mourning.

[2] When Jehudi had read before the king the roll of the book which Jeremiah wrote, it is said that the king cast it into the fire, and that the king and his servants, who heard all those words, did not rend their garments (Jeremiah 36:23-24); their not rending their garments denoted that they did not mourn when Divine truth was not received. The rending of their garments by Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, when the spies brought an evil report of the land of Canaan, and their speaking against them (Numbers 14:6), involves a similar meaning; for the land of Canaan signifies the Lord’s kingdom, to speak against which is to speak falsity against Divine truth. When the ark of God was taken by the Philistines, and the two sons of Eli were slain, that there ran a man out of the army to Shiloh with his garments rent and dust upon his head (1 Samuel 4:11-12), signified mourning over lost Divine truth and Divine good; for, as the ark represented the Lord’s kingdom, and in the supreme sense the Lord Himself, and hence the holy of the church, the rent garments signified mourning over lost Divine truth; and dust upon the head, over lost Divine good.

[3] We read of Samuel and Saul:

As Samuel turned about to go away, Saul laid hold upon the skirt of his tunic, and it was torn off. And Samuel said unto him, Jehovah hath rent the kingdom of Israel from upon thee this day, and hath given it to thy companion. I will not return with thee, for thou hast rejected the word of Jehovah, and Jehovah hath rejected thee from being king over Israel (1 Samuel 15:26-28);

Saul’s tearing off the skirt of Samuel’s tunic represented what Samuel said—that the kingdom should be rent from him, and that he should no longer be king of Israel; for “kingdom” in the internal sense signifies Divine truth (n. 1672, 2547, 4691), as also do a “king” and “royalty” (n. 1672, 1728, 2015, 2069, 3009, 3670, 4575, 4581), and specifically the Kingdom and king of Israel, because by Israel was represented the Lord’s royalty. So what is related of Jeroboam and the prophet Ahijah:

When Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem, and the prophet Ahijah found him in the way, when he had clad himself with a new garment, and they two were alone in the field, Ahijah laid hold of the new garment that was upon him, and rent it in twelve pieces; and he said to Jeroboam, Take thee ten pieces; for thus saith Jehovah the God of Israel, Behold I rend the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon, and will give ten tribes to thee (1 Kings 11:29-31).

[4] The same is true of their rending their garments when Saul was slain in battle, as related in the second book of Samuel:

After Saul had been slain in battle, on the third day a man came from the camp whose garments were rent; and when David heard of the death of Saul, David took hold of his garments and rent them; as did all his servants that were with him (2 Samuel 1:1-2, 11:11);

by this also was represented mourning on account of Divine truth lost and thrown away by those who were in faith separate; for as before said Divine truth was signified by royalty, and they who were in faith separate were represented by the Philistines, by whom Saul was slain (n. 1197, 1198, 3412, 3413); as also is evident from David’s lament over him in the same chapter (2 Samuel 1:17-27).

[5] When Absalom had smitten his brother Amnon, and the tidings came to David that Absalom had smitten all the king’s sons, David “rent his garments and lay on the earth, and all his servants stood by with their garments rent” (2 Samuel 13:28, 30-31); this also was done for the sake of representing that truths from the Divine were destroyed, these being signified in the internal sense by the king’s sons. So when David fled before Absalom he was met by Hushai the Archite with his tunic rent (2 Samuel 15:32); for in the Word by a king, especially by David, is represented Divine truth. In like manner also when Elijah spoke to Ahab king of Israel the words of Jehovah, that he should be extirpated on account of the evil which he had done, Ahab rent his garments and put sackcloth upon his flesh (1 Kings 21:27).

[6] That the rending or tearing of garments represented mourning on account of lost truth, is further evident from the following passages:

Hilkiah the priest found the book of the law in the house of Jehovah; and Shaphan read it before king Josiah. And when the king heard the words of the book of the law, he rent his garments (2 Kings 22:11);

manifestly on account of the Word (that is, Divine truth) having been so long lost, and obliterated in hearts and life. When the Lord confessed that He was the Christ the Son of God, that the high priest rent his garments, saying, He hath spoken blasphemy (Matthew 26:63-65; Mark 14:63-64), signified that he had no other belief than that the Lord spoke against the Word, and thus against Divine truth.

[7] When Elijah went up in a whirlwind, and Elisha saw it, he took hold of his own garments, and rent them in two pieces; and he took up the tunic of Elijah that fell from upon him, and smote the waters, and they were parted hither and thither, and Elisha went over (2 Kings 2:11-14); that Elisha then rent his garments in two pieces was on account of mourning that the Word (that is, Divine truth) was lost; for by Elijah is represented the Lord as to the Word, that is, Divine truth (n. 2762). The tunic falling from Elijah, and being taken up by Elisha, represented that Elisha continued the representation. That a tunic is Divine truth may be seen above (n. 4677), wherefore also the garment which was rent in such mourning was the tunic, as is evident from some of the passages above cited. As a “garment” signified the truth of the church, and in the supreme sense Divine truth, it was therefore a disgrace to go with rent garments, except in such mourning—as is evident from what was done to the servants of David by Hanun the king of the sons of Ammon, in that he shaved off half of their beards, and cut off their garments in the middle, even to their buttocks; for which reason they were not admitted to David (2 Samuel 10:4-5).