644. Verse 6. These have power to shut heaven that it rain no rain in the days of their prophecy, signifies that those who reject the goods and truths of heaven and the church that proceed from the Lord, receive no influx out of heaven. This is evident from the signification of "shutting heaven," as being lest any influx out of heaven be received (of which presently); also from the signification of "rain," as being truth fertilizing, which is truth from which there is good that flows down out of heaven (of which also presently); also from the signification of "their prophecy," as being prediction respecting the Lord and His coming, and respecting the good of love to Him and the truths of faith in Him. This revelation and the proclamation of this revelation at the end of the church is what is chiefly meant by "the days of the prophecy of the two witnesses." It is the Lord that is chiefly proclaimed at the end of the church by "the two witnesses," because "the two witnesses," which are the good of love to the Lord and the truth of faith in Him, are what chiefly bear witness of Him, therefore it is afterwards said that:

The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy (Revelation 19:10).

[2] "To shut heaven" means to prevent the reception of any influx out of heaven, because it is added, "that it rain no rain," which signifies influx of Divine truth out of heaven. For it is well known that every good of love and every truth of faith flows in out of heaven, that is, from the Lord through heaven, with man, and that it flows in continually; from which it follows that neither the good of love nor the truth of faith is in anywise man's, but is the Lord's with him. These both flow in so far as evil and falsity do not obstruct; it is these that shut heaven so that there is no influx; for evil and good, and falsity and truth, are opposites, consequently where the one is the other cannot be; for evil with man prevents the entrance of good, and falsity the entrance of truth; while good causes evil to be removed, and truth falsity; for these are opposites, as heaven and hell are opposites; therefore the one acts against the other with an unceasing endeavor to destroy, and the one that prevails destroys the other.

[3] Moreover, there are in every man two minds, an interior which is called the spiritual mind, and another, the exterior which is called the natural mind. The spiritual mind is created for the reception of light from heaven, but the natural mind for the reception of light from the world. The spiritual mind, therefore, which is man's interior mind, is heaven with him, and the natural mind, which is man's exterior mind, is the world with him. The interior mind, which is heaven with man, is opened so far as man acknowledges the Divine of the Lord, and man so far acknowledges this as he is in the good of love and charity and in the truths of doctrine and faith. But this interior mind, which is heaven with man, is unopened so far as man does not acknowledge the Divine of the Lord, and does not live the life of love and faith; and that mind is shut so far as man is in evils and in falsities therefrom; and when it is shut then the natural mind with man becomes a hell; for in the natural mind are evil and its falsity, consequently when the spiritual mind which is heaven with man is shut, the natural mind which is hell rules. From this it can be seen what is meant by "heaven is shut that it rain no rain. "

[4] It is said that the two witnesses have power "to shut heaven," but still these do not shut it, but the evil and falsity shut it that rule with the men of the church at its end. This is said of "the two witnesses," as was said above that "fire shall go forth out of their mouth and shall devour their enemies," and yet no fire goes forth from them and devours (as has been said in the two articles above). "That it rain no rain" signifies no influx of Divine truth out of heaven, because "water," which makes rain, signifies the truth of the Word, and the truth of doctrine and faith therefrom (See above, n. 71, 483, 518, 537, 538); and as rain water descends out of the clouds in heaven, so "to rain rain" signifies the influx of Divine truth from the Lord in heaven, and as rain fertilizes the earth, so "rain" signifies Divine truth fertilizing and making fruitful the church, for which reason "rain" signifies also spiritual blessing.

[5] That "rain" in the Word does not mean rain, but the inflowing Divine, which causes intelligence and wisdom, and also the good of love and the truth of faith in man, to grow and become fruitful, and that "to rain" signifies influx can be seen from the following passages. In Moses:

My doctrine shall flow down as the rain, My word shall distill as the dew, as the drops on the grass, and as the showers on the herb (Deuteronomy 32:2).

Doctrine is here compared to rain, because "rain" signifies the Divine truth proceeding, from which is everything of doctrine; for all comparisons in the Word are also from correspondences. Because "rain" signifies the Divine truth flowing down it is said, "My doctrine shall flow down as the rain." "Dew" signifies good, and since "word" has the same signification, therefore it is said, "My word shall distill as the dew." So intelligence and wisdom therefrom are signified by "the drops on the grass," and by "the showers on the herbs," for as the grass and herb of the field grow from the waters of the rain and dew, so do intelligence and wisdom by the influx of Divine truth from the Lord. This is first said by Moses, because in this chapter he is speaking of the twelve tribes of Israel, which signify in the spiritual sense all truths and goods of the church, and thus doctrine in the whole complex.

[6] In the same:

The land which ye shall pass over to possess it is a land of mountains and valleys, of the rain of heaven it drinketh waters. And I will give the rain of your land in its time, the former rain and the latter rain, that thou mayest gather in thy corn, and thy new wine, and thine oil. But if ye shall serve other gods, and shall not walk in my statutes, the anger of Jehovah shall glow against you; He will shut heaven that there be no rain, and the land shall not yield her produce (Deuteronomy 11:11, 14, 16, 17).

This describes the land of Canaan and its fruitfulness; but as that land means in the spiritual sense the church, it follows that all things of this description signify such things as belong to the church, as "mountains," "valleys," "corn," "new wine," "oil," "produce," and "rain." "A land of mountains and valleys" signifies the higher and lower, or internal and external things of the church; the internal things of the church are with the internal man, which is also called the spiritual man, and the external things of the church are with the external man, which is called the natural man; that both these are such as to receive the influx of Divine truth is signified by "of the rain of heaven it drinketh waters." That Divine truth inflows in both states, that is, when the man of the church is in his spiritual state and when he is in his natural state, is signified by "the rain given in its time, the former rain and the latter rain;" for the man of the church is by turns in a spiritual state and in a natural state, and the influx and reception of Divine truth in a spiritual state is meant by "the former or morning rain," and in a natural state by "the latter or evening rain;" spiritual and celestial good and truth which the man of the church has therefrom is meant by the "corn," "new wine," and "oil," which they shall gather in; that the falsities of doctrine and of worship will prevent the influx and reception of Divine truth, and in consequence, the increase of spiritual life, is signified by "if ye shall serve other gods there shall be no rain, and the land will not yield her produce," "other gods" signifying the falsities of doctrine and of worship.

[7] In the same:

If ye walk in My statutes and keep My commandments and do them, the land shall yield its produce, and the tree of the field shall yield its fruit (Leviticus 26:3, 4).

Here "the rain that shall be given in its time, and the produce of the land," have a similar signification as above; and as the church was at that time an external church, representative of interior spiritual things, so when they walked in the statutes, and kept the commandments and did them, it came about that they had rain in its time, and the earth yielded its produce, and the tree of the field its fruit; and yet the rain and the produce thence were representative and significative, "rain" represented the Divine flowing in, "the produce," the truth of doctrine and the understanding of truth, and "the fruit of the tree," the good of love and the will of good.

[8] This can be seen from its being said:

That the rain was withheld, and consequently there was a famine in the land of Israel for three years and a half, under Ahab, because they served other gods and killed the prophets (1 Kings 17:1; (1_Kings 1 Kings 18:1);Luke 4:25).

This was a representative, and thus a significative, that no Divine truth flowing in out of heaven could be received because of the falsities of evil, which were signified by "other gods" and by "Baal," whom they worshiped. "Killing the prophets" signified also the destruction of the Divine, for a "prophet" signifies in the Word the doctrine of truth from the Word.

[9] In Isaiah:

I will lay waste My vineyard; it shall not be pruned nor hoed, that the briar and the bramble may come up; and I will command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it (Isaiah 5:6).

Here, too, it is said of Jehovah that He layeth waste His vineyard, "and commandeth the clouds that they rain no rain upon it;" and yet this is not done by Jehovah, that is, the Lord, for He always flows in both with the evil and with the good, which is meant by His "sending His rain upon the just and upon the unjust" (Matthew 5:45); but the cause is with the man of the church, that he does not receive any influx of Divine truth, for the man who does not receive closes up with himself the interiors of his mind, which receive; and when these are shut the inflowing Divine is rejected. The "vineyard" which is laid waste signifies the church; "it is not pruned nor hoed" signifies no ability to be cultivated and so prepared to receive; "the briar and bramble" which shall come up signify the falsities of evil; "to command the clouds that they rain no rain" signifies that no influx of Divine truth from heaven is received.

[10] In Jeremiah:

The showers have been withholden, and there hath been no latter rain; and still the forehead of a harlot woman remained to thee, thou didst refuse to be ashamed (Jeremiah 3:3).

They said not in their heart, Come, let us fear Jehovah our God; that giveth the rain, and the former and the latter rain in its time. He keepeth unto us the weeks, the stated times of harvest; your iniquities make these things to turn away (Jeremiah 5:24, 25).

In Amos:

I have withholden the rain from you, when there were yet three months to the harvest, so that I might cause it to rain upon one city, and not cause it to rain upon another city; one field received the rain, but the field upon which it did not rain dried up; therefore two, three cities wandered unto one city to drink waters, yet they were not satisfied; nevertheless ye have not returned unto Me (Amos 4:7, 8).

In Ezekiel:

Son of man, say, thou art a land that is not cleansed, that hath no rain in the day of anger; there is a conspiracy of her prophets in the midst of her (Ezekiel 22:24, 25).

In Zechariah:

Whosoever of the families of the land shall not go up to Jerusalem to worship Jehovah of Hosts, upon them there shall be no rain (Zechariah 14:17).

In these passages also "rain" signifies the reception of the influx of Divine truth, which is the source of spiritual intelligence; and that there is "no rain" signifies that no such intelligence is given by any influx because of the evils and falsities that refuse to receive and that reject it.

[11] In Jeremiah:

The nobles sent their little ones for water; they came to the pits and found no waters, because the land was broken, for there had been no rain upon the earth; the husbandmen were ashamed, they covered up the head (Jeremiah 14:3, 4).

"Nobles" mean those who teach and lead, and "little ones" those who are taught and led; "waters" signify the truths of doctrine; "pits in which there are no waters" signify doctrinals in which there are no truths; "there had been no rain upon the earth" signifies that no influx of Divine truth is received by reason of the falsities in the church; "the husbandmen were ashamed and covered up the head" signifies those who teach, and their grief.

[12] In Isaiah:

Then Jehovah shall give rain to thy seed with which thou sowest the land; and the bread of the increase of the land, and it shall be fat and rich; thy cattle shall feed in that day in a broad meadow (Isaiah 30:23).

This would be when the Lord should come. The influx of Divine truth proceeding from Him is signified by "the rain" which the Lord will then give to the seed, "rain" meaning Divine influx, and "seed" the truth of the Word; "to sow the land" signifies to plant and form the church in oneself; "the bread of the increase which Jehovah will give" signifies the good of love and charity, which is produced by the truths of the Word vivified by Divine influx; "fat and rich" signifies full of the good of love and truths therefrom, for "fat" is predicated of good, and "rich" of truths; "the cattle shall feed in that day in a broad meadow" signifies the extension and multiplication of good and truth by Divine influx, and consequent spiritual nourishment, "cattle" meaning the goods and truths in man, "that day" the Lord's coming, and "a broad meadow" the Word, through which is Divine influx and spiritual nourishment; "breadth" is predicated of the extension and multiplication of truth.

[13] In the same:

As the rain cometh down and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither but irrigateth the earth, and maketh it to bring forth and to bud, that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall My Word be that goeth forth out of My mouth; it shall not return unto Me empty, but it shall do what I will, and it shall prosper in that to which I sent it (Isaiah 55:10, 11).

Here "the Word" which goeth forth out of the mouth of God is compared to the rain and snow from heaven, because "the Word" means Divine truth proceeding from the Lord, which with us flows in through the Word; "rain and snow coming down out of heaven" have a similar meaning, "rain" signifying spiritual truth, which has been appropriated to man, and "snow" natural truth, which is like snow when it is in the memory only; but it is made spiritual by love, as snow is made rain water by heat. "To irrigate the earth and to make it to bring forth and to bud" signifies to vivify the church that it may bring forth the truth of doctrine and of faith, and the good of love and of charity; the truth of doctrine and of faith is signified by "the seed that it gives to the sower," and the good of love and of charity by "the bread that it gives to the eater;" "it shall not return to Me empty, but it shall do what I will," signifies that it shall be received, and that by it man shall be led to look to the Lord.

[14] In Ezekiel:

I will give them and the circuits of My hill a blessing, and I will send down the rain in its time, they shall be rains of blessing; then the tree of the field shall give its fruit, and the land shall give its produce (Ezekiel 34:26, 27).

"The circuits of the hill of Jehovah" mean all who are in the truths of doctrine and thence in the good of charity; "to send down the rain in its time" signifies the influx of Divine truth adapted to the affection and will of the one receiving; and as the fructification of good and the multiplication of truth are therefrom, they are called "the rains of blessing," and it is said that "the tree of the field shall give its fruit, and the land shall give its produce;" "the tree of the field" and "the land" signifying the church and the man of the church, and "the fruit of the tree of the field" the fructification of good, and "the produce of the earth" the multiplication of its truth.

[15] In Joel:

Rejoice, ye sons of Zion, and be glad in Jehovah your God, for He shall give you the former rain in righteousness, yea, He shall cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain and the latter rain, in the first, that the floors may be full of pure grain, and the vats overflow with new wine and oil (Joel 2:23, 24).

"The sons of Zion" signify those who are in genuine truths through which they have the good of love, for "Zion" signifies the celestial church which is in the good of love to the Lord through genuine truths. That the Lord with such flows in with the good of love, and from that good into truths, is signified by "He shall give them the former rain in righteousness;" "righteousness" is predicated in the Word of the good of love, and "the righteous" mean those who are in that good (See above, n. 204). That the Lord continually flows into truths with the good of love is signified by "He shall cause to come down the former rain and the latter rain, in the first;" that from this they have the good of love towards a brother and companion is signified by "their floors are full of pure grain;" and that from this they have the truth and the good of love to the Lord is signified by "the vats overflow with new wine and oil." Those who are of the Lord's celestial church have the good of love towards a brother and companion; and this love, with those who are of the Lord's spiritual church, is called charity towards the neighbor.

[16] In Zechariah:

Ask of Jehovah the rain in its time; ¹ Jehovah will make mists and will give to them the shower of rain, to a man the herb in the field (Zechariah 10:1).

Here, too, "rain" signifies the influx of Divine truth from the Lord, from which man has spiritual intelligence; "the shower of rain" signifies Divine truth flowing in abundantly, and "to give the herb in the field" signifies the knowledge of truth and good from the Word and intelligence therefrom.

[17] In David:

Thou dost visit the earth and gladden it, thou greatly enrichest it; the stream of God is full of waters, thou preparest their grain, and so thou dost establish it. Water its furrows; settle its ridges; dissolve it with showers; bless its budding (Psalms 65:9, 10).

The "earth" signifies here the church; "the stream full of waters" signifies the doctrine full of truths; "to water its furrows, to settle its ridges, and to dissolve it with showers" signifies to fill with the knowledges of good and truth; "to prepare grain" signifies everything that nourishes the soul; therefore it is added, "so thou dost establish the earth," that is, the church; "to bless the budding" signifies to produce continually anew and to cause truths to spring forth.

[18] In the same:

O God, thou makest the rain of good will to drop down (Psalms 68:9).

In the same:

He shall come down like rain upon the herb of the meadow, like drops in the fissure of the earth; in his days shall the righteous flourish (Psalms 72:6, 7).

In these passages "rain" does not mean rain, but the influx of Divine truth with man, from which he has spiritual life. In Job:

My word they will not repeat, and my speech will drop upon them, and they will wait for me as for the rain, and they will open their mouth for the latter rain (Job 29:22, 23).

Evidently "rain" here means truth spoken by anyone, and flowing into another, for "word," "speech," and "opening the mouth" signify truth going forth from anyone by speech; this is why it is called "rain," and "latter rain," and is said "to drop," which here means to speak.

[19] In Jeremiah:

The Maker of the earth by His power prepareth the world, by His wisdom and by His understanding He stretcheth out the heavens; at the voice that He giveth forth there is a multitude of waters in the heavens; and He maketh the vapors to go up from the end of the earth; He maketh lightnings for the showers, and bringeth forth the wind out of His treasuries (Jeremiah 10:12, 13; 51:16; Psalms 135:7).

"The world which the Maker of the earth prepares by His power" signifies the church in the whole globe, "power" signifying the potency of Divine truth; "the heavens which He stretcheth out by wisdom and understanding" signify the church in the heavens corresponding to the church on earth, "wisdom and understanding" signifying the Divine proceeding, from which angels and men have the wisdom of good and the understanding of truth, and "to stretch out" signifying the formation and extension of the heavens in general, and the extension of understanding and wisdom with everyone who receives; "at the voice that He giveth forth there is a multitude of waters in the heavens" signifies that from the Divine proceeding there are spiritual truths in immeasurable abundance, "voice" signifying the Divine proceeding, "waters" truths, and "multitude" abundance; "He maketh the vapors to go up from the end of the earth" signifies truths in ultimates, such as the truths of the Word are in the sense of the letter, in which are spiritual truths, "the end of the earth" signifying the ultimates of the church, "vapors" truths for those who are in ultimates, and "to make them to go up" meaning to give spiritual truths from ultimates because they are in ultimates, for spiritual truths are what especially make the church fruitful; "He maketh lightning for the showers" signifies enlightenment from influx of Divine truth with them; "and bringeth forth the wind out of His treasuries" signifies spiritual things in the Word from heaven.

[20] In Luke:

When ye see a cloud rising in the west straightway it is said, There cometh a shower, and so it cometh to pass; and when ye see the south wind blowing it is said, There will be a scorching heat, and it cometh to pass. Ye hypocrites, ye know how to discern the face of the earth and of heaven, how is it that ye do not discern this time? (Luke 12:54-56)

By this comparison the Lord teaches that they see earthly things but not heavenly things; and the comparison itself, like all other comparisons in the Word, is derived from correspondences; for "a cloud rising in the west" signifies the Lord's coming at the end of the church predicted in the Word, "cloud" signifying the Word in the letter, "rising" the Lord's coming, and the "west" the end of the church; "straightway it is said, There cometh a shower" signifies that then there will be an influx of Divine truth; "and when ye see the south wind blowing" signifies the proclamation of His coming; "it is said, There will be a scorching heat" signifies that then there will be an influx of Divine good. The same words signify also contentions and combats of truth from good with falsities from evil, "shower and scorching heat" signifying also such contentions and combats; for this comparison follows the words of the Lord:

That He came not to give peace on the earth, but division, and that the father shall be divided against the son, and the son against the father, the mother against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother (Luke 12:51-53);

and these words signify such contention and combat; that "shower" also has this signification may be seen below. Because this comparison, regarded in its spiritual sense, implies the coming of the Lord, and because from blindness induced by falsities they did not acknowledge Him, although they might have known Him from the Word, it therefore follows:

Ye hypocrites, ye know how to discern the face of the earth and of heaven, but ye do not discern this time (verse 56);

that is, the time of His coming, and the conflict of the falsity of evil with the truth of good that then took place.

[21] In Hosea:

Let us know, and let us follow on to know Jehovah; His going forth is prepared as the clouds; and He shall come to us as the rain, as the latter rain that irrigateth the earth (Hosea 6:3).

This is said of the Lord and His coming; and as all Divine truth proceeds from Him, from which angels and men have life and salvation, it is said "He shall come to us as the rain, as the latter rain that irrigateth the earth," "to irrigate the earth" signifying to render fertile the church, which is said to be rendered fertile when truths are multiplied and thence intelligence increases, and when goods are made fruitful, and thence celestial love increases.

[22] In the second book of Samuel:

The rock of Israel spake to me; as the light of morning the sun riseth, of a morning without clouds; from the brightness after rain there is grass out of the earth (2 Samuel 23:3, 4).

This is said of the Lord, who from the Divine truth that proceeds from Him is called "the Rock of Israel." That Divine truth proceeds from His Divine good is meant by "as the light of the morning the sun riseth." There is a comparison with light because "light" signifies the Divine truth proceeding, and with the morning because "morning" signifies the Divine good, and with the rising sun because "rising" and the "sun" signify the Divine love; that these are without obscurity is signified by "the light of a morning without clouds;" the enlightenment of the man of the church by the reception and after the reception of Divine truth from the Lord's Divine good is signified by "from the brightness after rain," "brightness" signifying enlightenment, and "rain" influx and consequent reception. That those who are of the church have therefrom knowledge [scientia], intelligence, and wisdom, is signified by "the grass out of the earth," "grass," like "pasture," signifying spiritual nourishment, and thence knowledge [scientia], intelligence, and wisdom, which are spiritual food, and the "earth" signifying the church and the man of the church.

[23] In Matthew:

Love your enemies, bless ² them that curse you, bless them that hate you, and pray for them that hurt and persecute you; that ye may be sons of your Father who is in the heavens; who maketh His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust (Matthew 5:44, 45).

Here first charity towards the neighbor, which is to wish good and do good even to enemies, is described by "loving them, blessing them, and praying for them," for genuine charity regards only the good of another. Here "to love" signifies charity, "to bless" instruction, and "to pray" intercession, and for the reason that inwardly in charity there is the end to do good. That this is the Divine itself with man, such as it is with regenerate men, is signified by "that ye may be sons of your Father in the heavens," "Father in the heavens" means the Divine proceeding, for all who receive this are called "sons of the Father," that is, of the Lord; "the sun that He maketh to rise on the evil and on the good" signifies the Divine good flowing in; and "the rain that He sendeth on the just and on the unjust" signifies the Divine truth flowing in; for the Divine proceeding which is "the Father in the heavens," flows in with the evil equally as with the good, but the reception of it must be on man's part, yet not on man's part as from man, but as if from man, for the ability to receive is given to man continually, and it also flows in to the extent that man removes the evils that oppose, and does this also from the ability that is continually given, the ability itself appearing to be man's, although it is of the Lord.

[24] From this it can now be seen that "rain" signifies in the Word the influx of the Divine truth from the Lord, from which man has spiritual life, and this because "waters," of which rain consists, signify the truth of doctrine and the truth of faith. But as "waters," in the contrary sense, signify the falsities of doctrine and of faith, so "showers of rain" or "a shower," as well as "inundations of waters" and a "flood," signify not only falsities destroying truths, but also temptations in which man either yields or conquers. This is the signification of shower [imber] in Matthew:

Everyone that heareth My words and doeth them I will liken to a prudent man who built his house upon a rock; and the shower descended, and the rivers came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house, yet it fell not. But everyone that heareth My words and doeth them not shall be likened unto a foolish man who built his house upon the sand; and the shower descended, and the rivers came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it (Matthew 7:24-27).

Here "shower" and "rivers" mean temptations, in which man conquers or in which he yields; "waters" mean the falsities that usually inflow in temptations; and "rivers," which here are inundations of water from a shower, signify temptations; "the winds that blow and beat" signify the thoughts that arise therefrom, for temptations arise through the breaking in of falsities injected by evil spirits into the thoughts. The "house" they beat upon signifies man, strictly his mind, which consists of understanding or thought and of will or affection; he that receives the words of the Lord, that is, Divine truths, in one part of the mind only, which is that of the thought or understanding, and not at the same time in the other part, which is that of the affection or will, yields in temptations, and falls into grievous falsities, which are the falsities of evil; therefore it is said, "great was the fall of it;" but he who receives Divine truths in both parts, that is, both in the understanding and in the will, conquers in temptations. The "rock" upon which that house is founded signifies the Lord as to Divine truth, or Divine truth received by the soul and heart, that is, by faith and love, in other words, by the understanding and will; while the "sand" signifies Divine truth received only in the memory, and somewhat therefrom in the thought, and thus in a scattered and disconnected way, because intermixed with falsities, and falsified by notions. This makes clear what is meant by "hearing the words and not doing them." That this is the sense of these words can be seen more clearly from what precedes them.

[25] An "overflowing rain" or "shower" signifies an inundation of falsities also in Ezekiel:

Say unto them that daub on what is unfit that it shall fall, because an overflowing rain, because ³ ye, O hailstones, shall fall, and a wind of tempests shall break through. Thus said the Lord Jehovih, I will make a wind of tempest to break through in My wrath, and an overflowing rain in Mine anger, and hailstones in wrath for a consummation, and I will throw down the wall that ye have daubed with what is unfit (Ezekiel 13:11, 13, 14).

"Daubing with what is unfit" signifies the confirmation of falsity by fallacies, whereby falsity appears as truth; "hailstones" signify truths without good, thus without any spiritual life, which are all inwardly falsities, for ideas that are dead cause them to be merely shells, and like pictures in which there is nothing living; such truths merely known belong to the natural man, into which nothing from the spiritual flows. "The overflowing rain and the wind of tempests" signify falsities rushing in copiously, and things imaginary, and disputes about truths, which make it impossible for anything of truth to be seen, and which thus destroy man.

[26] In the same:

I will plead with Gog with pestilence and with blood, and I will rain an overflowing rain and hailstones, fire and brimstone, upon him and upon his troops, and upon the many people who are with him (Ezekiel 38:22).

"Gog" means such as are in external worship without any internal worship; and as such worship consists of what are like shells, the kernels of which are either rotten or have been eaten out by worms, these things are called "overflowing rain and hailstones," which signify falsities rushing in copiously and things imaginary which destroy man. The evils of falsity and the falsities of evil are signified by "fire and brimstone."

[27] The "flood of waters," of which it is said:

That it overflowed the whole earth and destroyed all except Noah and his sons (Genesis 7, Genesis 8),

also signifies the flood of falsities by which the Most Ancient Church was finally destroyed; "Noah and his sons" signify a new church, which is to be called the Ancient Church, and the establishment of that church after the Most Ancient Church had been devastated. (But the particulars of the description in these chapters of the flood and of the salvation of the family of Noah, may be seen explained in the Arcana Coelestia. That "waters" signify truths, and in the contrary sense, falsities, may be seen above, n.71, 483, 518, 537, 538; and that "the overflowings of waters" signify the overflowings of falsities and temptations, see also above, n. 518 .)

Poznámky pod čarou:

3858. Since the subject in the verses that follow now is the twelve sons of Jacob, and since the twelve tribes of Israel were named after them as their fathers, let an introductory statement be made here about what the tribes mean and why there were twelve. Nobody as yet has known the arcanum lying within these considerations, for people have believed that the historical descriptions of the Word are purely history and hold nothing more of the Divine within them than their ability to be made to apply to matters of a holy nature when these are under discussion. Consequently they have also believed that the twelve tribes meant nothing else than the divisions of the Israelitish people into so many separate nations or general families, when in fact Divine realities are implied in those tribes. That is to say, those tribes mean so many universal divisions of faith and love and so mean things that constitute the Lord's kingdom in heaven and on earth, each tribe in particular meaning some universal division. But what exactly each tribe means will be evident from the verses that follow directly after this, where the subject is the sons of Jacob after whom the twelve tribes were named. In general the twelve tribes meant everything constituting the doctrine of truth and good, that is, of faith and love; for these - that is to say, truth and good, or faith and love - constitute the Lord's kingdom, since what are essentially matters of truth or faith constitute the whole of thought there, and what are essentially matters of good or love constitute the whole of affection. And because the Jewish Church was established so as to represent the Lord's kingdom the divisions of that people into twelve tribes therefore meant those things of His kingdom. This is an arcanum which has not previously been disclosed.

[2] Twelve means all things in general, as shown already in 577, 2089, 2129, 2130 (end), 3272, while 'tribes' means matters of truth and good, or of faith and love, so that 'the twelve tribes' means all of these. Let this meaning of 'the twelve tribes' be substantiated here from the Word before each one is dealt with individually. In John,

The holy city New Jerusalem, having twelve gates, and above the gates twelve angels, and names written which are those of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel. The wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. He measured the city with the measuring rod, twelve thousand stadia. And he measured its wall, a hundred and forty-four cubits, which is the measure of a man, that is, of an angel. The twelve gates were twelve pearls. Revelation 21:12, 14, 16-17, 21.

'The holy city', or the New Jerusalem, means the Lord's new Church, as is evident from each detail of this description. Previous chapters refer to what the condition of the Church was going to be like before its end; this chapter refers to a new Church. That being so, 'the gates', 'the wall', 'the foundations' mean nothing else than things constituting the Church, which are those of charity and faith since these constitute the Church.

[3] From this it may be clear to anyone that 'twelve' used so many times in that description, also 'tribes', and 'apostles' too, are not used to mean twelve, or tribes, or apostles, but that 'twelve' is used to mean all things in their entirety; see what has been shown in 577, 2089, 2129, 2130 (end), 3272. The same is true of the number 'a hundred and forty-four', for this is twelve twelves. And since 'twelve' means all things it is evident that 'the twelve tribes' means all things constituting the Church, which, as stated above, are truth and good, or faith and love. The same is also true of 'the twelve apostles' who as well represented all things constituting the Church, that is, all things of faith and love, see 2129, 3354, 3488, 3857. That number is therefore called 'the measure of a man, that is, of an angel', by which is meant a state of truth and good. For 'measure' means state, see 3104, and 'man' means that which constitutes the Church, as is evident from things said about the meaning of 'man' in 478, 479, 565, 768, 1871, 1894, and also from the fact that the Lord's kingdom is called the Grand Man, which it is called by virtue of good and truth which come from the Lord, dealt with at the ends of chapters in 3624-3649, 3741-3750. And 'angel' has the same meaning, 1705, 1754, 1925, 2821, 3039.

[4] As in John, so also in the Prophets, in the Old Testament Word, is the new Jerusalem referred to, where in a similar way the Lord's new Church is meant, as in Isaiah 65:18-19, and following verses; in Zechariah 14; and in particular in Ezekiel, Chapters 40-48, where the new Jerusalem, the new Temple, and a new earth describe in the internal sense the Lord's kingdom in heaven, and the Lord's kingdom on earth, which is the Church. The contents of those chapters, plainer than anywhere else, show what 'earth', 'Jerusalem', 'Temple', and everything in them meant, and also what 'the twelve tribes' means. For the subject of those chapters is the division of the land and the inheritance of it according to tribes, as well as the city and its walls, foundation, and gates, and everything that was to go with the Temple there. From those chapters let simply matters relating to the tribes be quoted here,

The Lord Jehovih said, This is the boundary of your inheritance of the land, according to the twelve tribes of Israel. You shall divide this land according to the tribes of Israel. But you shall divide it by lot as an inheritance, and for sojourners sojourning in your midst. They shall cast lots with you for an inheritance in the midst of the tribes of Israel. Ezekiel 47:13, 21-23.

As regards the land, it will be for the prince as a possession in Israel. And the princes will no longer oppress My people, and the land they will give to the house of Israel according to their tribes. Ezekiel 45:8.

Concerning inheritances and how they were assigned to individual tribes which are also referred to there by name, see Ezekiel 48:1 and following verses; and concerning the gates of the city which are named after the tribes of Israel, verses 31-34 of the same chapter.

[5] Quite plainly, when the tribes are spoken of here it is not the tribes who are meant, for by that time ten tribes had long since been scattered throughout the whole world, and had not subsequently returned. Nor can they possibly return, for they have become gentiles. And yet reference is made to each individual tribe, and to how it was to inherit the land and what its boundary was to be. What the boundary for the tribe of Dan was to be is stated in verse 2; what the boundary for the tribe of Asher was to be in verse 3; what those of Naphtali, Manasseh, Ephraim, Reuben, and Judah were to be, and concerning the inheritance of the Levites; and what the boundaries of Benjamin, Simeon, Issachar, Zebulun, and Gad were to be in verses 4-29. In addition to all this that chapter declares that the city was to have twelve gates named after the tribes of Israel - three gates facing north, those of Reuben, Judah, and Levi; three gates facing east, those of Joseph, Benjamin, and Dan; three gates facing south, those of Simeon, Issachar and Zebulun; and three gates facing west, those of Gad, Asher, and Naphtali, in verses 31-34.

[6] From all this it is evident that 'the twelve tribes' means all things that belong to the Lord's kingdom, and so all that are matters of faith and love, for these constitute the Lord's kingdom, as stated above. Because the twelve tribes meant all things of the Lord's kingdom they also represented that kingdom by their encampments and by their travellings. In Moses it is said that they were to encamp according to the tribes around the Tent of Meeting - to the east, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun; to the south, Reuben, Simeon, and Gad; to the west, Ephraim Manasseh, and Benjamin; and to the north, Dan, Asher, and Naphtali, and as they were encamped so they travelled, Numbers 2:1-end. In all this they represented the Lord's kingdom, as is quite evident from Balaam's prophecy,

When Balaam lifted up his eyes and saw Israel dwelling according to tribes, the Spirit of God came upon him and he delivered his utterance, and said, How good your tabernacles are, O Jacob; your dwelling-places, O Israel! They are like valleys that are planted, like gardens beside a river, like aloes Jehovah has planted, like cedars beside the waters. Numbers 24:2-3, 5-6.

The fact that Balaam received from Jehovah these words spoken by him is explicitly stated in Numbers 22:8, 18-19, 35, 38; 23:5, 12, 16, 26; 24:2, 13.

[7] From this also it is evident what the inheritances of the land of Canaan according to tribes represented, in connection with which it is said in Moses that he was to take a census of the congregation of the children of Israel, according to their fathers' houses; a census of those twenty or more years old, everyone going into the army of Israel. The land was to be distributed by lot; according to the names of their fathers' tribes they were to receive an inheritance, Numbers 26:2, 7-56; 33:54; 34:19-29. And Joshua's actual division of the land by lot according to tribes is described in Chapters 13, 15, 19 of the Book of Joshua. From these particular details it is evident that the Lord's kingdom was represented, as has been stated; for the land of Canaan meant that kingdom, see 1585, 1607, 3038, 3481, 3705.

[8] The reason why they are called 'armies' and why it is said that 'they encamped according to their armies and travelled according to their armies', Numbers 2:4, 6, 8, 11, 13, 15, 19, 21-23, 26, 28, 30, is that 'an army' had the same meaning [as 'a tribe'], namely truths and goods, see 3448. And the Lord is called Jehovah Zebaoth or 'Jehovah of Armies (or Hosts)' 3448. They were for these reasons called 'the armies of Jehovah' when they departed from Egypt, as in Moses,

It happened at the end of the four hundred and thirty years, on that same day it happened that all the armies of Jehovah were to come out of the land of Egypt. Exodus 12:41.

Anyone may recognize that such people in Egypt, and after that in the wilderness, were not called 'the armies of Jehovah' except in a representative sense, for no good or truth was present in them, the worst of all nations.

[9] From this it is also quite evident what was meant by the names of the twelve tribes on Aaron's breastplate, which was called the Urim and Thummim. Concerning the breastplate the following is said in Moses,

There shall be four rows in it and twelve stones. These stones shall be according to the names of the sons of Israel, twelve according to their names. The engravings of a signet, for each one over its name, there shall be for the twelve tribes. Exodus 28:17, 21; 39:14.

For 'Aaron' represented the Lord's Divine priesthood, and therefore all the vestments worn by him as high priest meant Divine celestial and spiritual things. But the exact meaning of those vestments will in the Lord's Divine mercy be clear where they are the subject. Since the breastplate itself was most holy, the names of it were representations of all the essential characteristics of love and faith in the Lord. These are the Urim and Thummim. The reason why the names were engraved on the precious stones was that 'stones' in general meant truths, 1298, 3720, and 'precious stones' truths shining through from good, 114. And because the name of each individual tribe meant some essential characteristic, a specific stone was also allocated for each tribe, Exodus 28:17-20; 39:10-13, which expressed by means of its colour and transparence the characteristic meant by that tribe. This was how Jehovah or the Lord gave answers by means of the Urim and Thummim.

[10] The two shoham stones which were on the two shoulder-pieces of the ephod had a similar representation but in a lesser degree than the twelve stones on the breastplate. For 'the shoulders' meant all power, and so the Lord's omnipotence, 1085, whereas 'the breast' or heart and lungs meant Divine celestial and spiritual love - 'the heart' Divine celestial love, 'the lungs' Divine spiritual love, see 3635 and the end of the present chapter where the Grand Man and its correspondence with the province of the heart and the province of the lungs is the subject. The two stones on the shoulder-pieces of the ephod are referred to in Moses as follows,

You shall take two shoham stones and engrave on them the names of the sons of Israel, six of the names on one stone and the remaining six names on the other stone, according to their births. You shall put two stones on the shoulder-pieces of the ephod, stones of remembrance for the sons of Israel. Exodus 28:9-12; 39:6-7.

[11] Because 'the tribes' meant what are essentially matters of truth and good, or faith and love, and each tribe meant some universal aspect of these, and since the tribe of Levi meant love, as will be evident from the explanation at verse 34 below, one can therefore recognize what was meant by their placing rods, one for each tribe, in the Tent of Meeting and by Levi's rod alone blossoming with almonds. All this is described in Moses as follows,

He was told to take twelve rods, one rod for each head of their fathers' houses, and these were to be left in the Tent of Meeting, the name of Aaron being written on the rod of Levi. Aaron's rod was placed in the middle of them. And the next day, behold, Aaron's rod for the tribe of Levi had blossomed; it had produced buds, ¹ so that it flowered and produced almonds. Numbers 17:2-8.

These occurrences meant that love was the essential, also the first and foremost, thing of all in the Lord's kingdom and that love is the source of all fruitfulness. And the reason why Aaron's name was on the rod was that Aaron represented the Lord as regards His Divine priesthood. For by the Lord's priesthood is meant Divine Good, which essentially is His love and mercy, and by the Lord's kingship is meant Divine Truth which stems from Divine Good, see 1728, 2015 (end), 3670.

[12] From what has been introduced so far one may now see what 'tribes' and 'the twelve tribes' mean in the following places: In John,

I heard the number of the sealed, a hundred and forty-four thousand sealed out of every tribe of Israel - twelve thousand sealed out of the tribe of Judah, twelve thousand sealed out of the tribe of Reuben, twelve thousand sealed out of the tribe of Gad, twelve thousand sealed out of the tribe of Asher, twelve thousand sealed out of the tribe of Naphtali, twelve thousand sealed out of the tribe of Manasseh, twelve thousand sealed out of the tribe of Simeon, twelve thousand sealed out of the tribe of Levi, twelve thousand sealed out of the tribe of Issachar, twelve thousand sealed out of the tribe of Zebulun, twelve thousand sealed out of the tribe of Joseph, twelve thousand sealed out of the tribe of Benjamin. Revelation 7:4-8.

In Moses,

Remember the days of old, understand the years of generation after generation.

When the Most High gave to the nations an inheritance, when He separated the sons of man, He fixed the boundaries of the peoples according to the number of the sons of Israel. Deuteronomy 32:7-8.

In David,

Jerusalem, built as a city which is closely compacted together, to which the tribes go up, the tribes of Jah, a testimony to Israel, to confess the name of Jehovah. Psalms 122:3-4.

[13] In Joshua, who was told,

The Ark of the Covenant of the Lord of all the earth is going to pass over before you into the Jordan. Take twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one man from each tribe. And it will happen when the soles of the feet of the priests bearing the Ark of Jehovah, the Lord of all the earth, rest in the waters of the Jordan, that the waters of the Jordan will be cut off. They will stand in one heap. Joshua 3:11-17.

And further,

Take out of the midst of the Jordan, from the places where the priests' feet stood, twelve stones which you are to prepare and carry with you. And let each man take a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of Israel, that it may be a sign that the waters of the Jordan were cut off. Moreover Joshua set up twelve stones in the middle of the Jordan, beneath the places where the feet of the priests bearing the Ark of the Covenant had stood. Joshua 4:1-9.

Also in the description about Elijah,

Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word had come, Israel shall be your name; and he built an altar to the name of Jehovah. 1 Kings 18:31-32.

[14] That 'the tribes' means the goods of love and the truths of faith is also clear from the Lord's words in Matthew,

Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and glory. Matthew 24:30.

Here 'all the tribes of the earth will mourn' means that the acknowledgement of truth and the life of good will not exist any longer, for the subject in that chapter is the close of the age. Similarly in John,

Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, and those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will wail over Him. Revelation 1:7.

What 'coming in the clouds of heaven' means, see Preface to Genesis 18. See in addition what I have been shown from experience about the number 'twelve', in 2129, 2130.

[15] The reason why all things of faith and love are called 'tribes' is that the same expression in the original language also means a sceptre and a rod. For 'a sceptre' and also 'a rod' mean power, as will in the Lord's Divine mercy be shown elsewhere. For this reason the noun 'tribe' entails the idea that forms of good and truth possess within them all power from the Lord. And angels too are therefore referred to as 'powers' and also 'principalities', for 'princes' means the first and foremost aspects of charity and faith, such as the twelve princes descended from Ishmael, Genesis 25:16, see 2089, as well as the princes who were leaders of the tribes, Numbers 7; 13:4-16.

[16] From what has been said up to now about the twelve tribes one can recognize why the Lord's disciples, who later on were called apostles, were twelve in number, and that like the tribes they represented the Lord's Church as regards goods and truths, 2129, 3354, 3488, 3857. 'Peter' represented faith, 'James' charity, and 'John' the works that flow from charity, see the Prefaces to Genesis 18, 22, and also 3750. This is also quite evident from the things which the Lord said about them and to them.

Poznámky pod čarou: