6377. He washes his clothing in wine. That this signifies that His natural is Divine truth from His Divine good, is evident from the signification of “washing,” as being to purify (see n. 3147); from the signification of “wine,” as being the good of love toward the neighbor, and the good of faith, and in the supreme sense Divine truth from the Divine good of the Lord (of which presently); and from the signification of “clothing,” as being what is exterior, which covers what is interior (n. 5248); thus the natural, for this is exterior, and covers the rational which is interior; hence also “clothing” denotes truth, because truth is exterior, and covers good which is interior (n. 2576, 4545, 4763, 5319, 5954).

[2] That “wine” denotes love toward the neighbor and the good of faith, may be seen from what has been shown in respect to the bread and wine in the Holy Supper (n. 2165, 2177, 3464, 4581, 5915), namely, that the “bread” is the good of celestial love, and that the “wine” is the good of spiritual love. This may be seen also from the meat-offering and the drink-offering in the sacrifices, in which the “meat-offering” signified the good of love, and the “drink-offering” the good of faith, the meat-offering consisting of such things as signified the good of love, and the drink-offering of wine which signified the good of faith; moreover the very sacrifices were called “bread” (n. 2165). That a drink-offering of wine was employed in the sacrifices may be seen in Exodus 29:40; Leviticus 23:1 2, 13, 18, 19; Numbers 15:2-15; 28:6-7, 18 end; 29:1-7.

[3] That “wine” signifies love toward the neighbor and the good of faith, is plain also from Isaiah:

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

everyone must know that they were not to buy wine and milk, but that which is signified by wine and milk, that is, love toward the neighbor and faith; these are given by the Lord without silver and without price.

[4] And in Hosea:

The threshing-floor and the winepress shall not feed them, and the new wine shall deceive them. Ephraim shall return into Egypt, and they shall eat what is unclean in Assyria. They shall not pour out wine to Jehovah; and their sacrifices shall not be pleasing unto Him (Hos. 9:2-4);

here also in the internal sense are meant the good of love and the good of faith, that they ceased; the good of love is the “threshing-floor,” from the grain there and the bread that comes from it; and the good of faith is the “wine press,” the “new wine,” and the “libation of wine:” that “Ephraim shall return into Egypt” denotes that the intellectual should consult memory-knowledges with respect to the secrets of faith; “they shall eat what is unclean in Assyria” denotes that which results from the consequent reasoning. (That “Ephraim” is the intellectual of the church, may be seen, n. 5354, 6222, 6238, 6267; also that “Egypt” is memory-knowledge, n. 1164, 1165, 1186, 1462, 5702; and “Assyria” reasoning, n. 1186.) Moreover the very connection shows that there is more in the words than appears in the letter; for in the internal sense there is coherence, but not in the external; as when it is said that “the threshing-floor and the winepress shall not feed them,” and that “the new wine shall deceive them,” and presently that “Ephraim shall return into Egypt, and they shall eat what is unclean in Assyria;” and moreover without the internal sense what could be meant by “Ephraim returning into Egypt,” and by their “eating what is unclean in Assyria?”

[5] The cessation of mutual love and of the good of faith is also described by a “winepress” and “wine” in Jeremiah:

Upon thy vintage hath the waster fallen; whence gladness was gathered, and joy from Carmel, and from the land of Moab, for I have caused wine to cease from the winepresses; he will not tread hedad ¹ (Jeremiah 48:32-33).

[6] That “wine” signifies the good of mutual love and of faith, is plain also in John:

I heard a voice out of the midst of the four animals saying, Hurt not the oil and the wine (Revelation 6:6); where “oil” is the good of celestial love; and “wine,” the good of spiritual love.

[7] The like is meant by “oil and wine” in the Lord’s parable about the Samaritan, in Luke:

A certain Samaritan as he journeyed, and seeing him who had been wounded by thieves, was moved with compassion, wherefore coming to him he bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine (Luke 10:33-34); where “pouring in oil and wine” signifies that he performed the works of love and of charity. (That “oil” denotes the good of love may be seen above, n. 886, 3728) The like was meant by the ancients pouring oil and wine upon a pillar when they sanctified it (Genesis 35:14; n. 4581, 4582).

[8] That “wine” denotes the good of love and of faith, is plain from the Lord’s words which He said of wine when He instituted the Holy Supper:

I say to you that I will not drink henceforth of this product of the vine until that day when I shall drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom (Matthew 26:29; Luke 22:17-18);

everyone can see that He would not drink wine there, but that there is signified the good of love and of faith, which He would give to those who are of His kingdom. The like is signified by “wine” in Isaiah 24:9, 11; Lam. 2:11-12; Hos. 14:7; Amos 9:13-14; Zech. 9:15, 17; Luke 5:37-39.

[9] As “wine” signifies the good of love and of faith, therefore in the supreme sense it signifies the Divine truth from the Divine good of the Lord, for from this by influx the man who receives it has the good of love and of faith.

[10] As most expressions in the Word have also a contrary sense, so also has “wine,” in which sense “wine” signifies falsity from evil, as in Isaiah:

Woe unto them that rise up in the morning under the dawn, and follow strong drink; that tarry into the twilight, that wine may inflame them! Woe to the heroes to drink wine, and to men of strength to mingle strong drink! (Isaiah 5:11, 22).

Again:

These also err through wine, and through strong drink go astray; the priest and the prophet err through strong drink, they are swallowed up of wine, they go astray through strong drink; they err among the seer, they stumble in judgment (Isaiah 28:7).

The shepherds know not to understand, they all look back to their own way. Come ye, I will take wine, and we will be drunken with strong drink; and let there be, on the morrow, as on this day, a great abundance (Isaiah 56:11-12).

And further (in Jeremiah 13:12; Hos. 4:11; 7:5; Amos 2:8; Mic. 2:11 Psalms 75:8; Deuteronomy 32:33). Falsity from evil is also signified by the “cup of the wine of anger” (Jeremiah 25:15-16; Revelation 14:8, 10; 16:19); and by the “wine press of the wine of the fury of the anger of God” (Revelation 19:15); and by the “wine of whoredom” (Revelation 17:2; 18:3).

Poznámky pod čarou:

6222. And he took his two sons with him, Manasseh and Ephraim. That this signifies the will and the intellectual of the church born from the internal, is evident from the representation of Manasseh, as being the new will in the natural, and its quality (concerning which see n. 5354e); and from the representation of Ephraim, as being the new intellectual in the natural, and its quality (n. 5354); that they were born from the internal is signified by their being the sons of Joseph, by whom is represented the internal celestial (n. 5869, 5877).

[2] It is necessary to explain what is meant by the intellectual and the will of the church. The intellectual of the church is to perceive from the Word what the truth of faith is, and what the good of charity. It is known that the literal sense of the Word is of such a nature that whatever tenet a man embraces, he confirms from that sense; and this because the things of the literal sense of the Word are general vessels which receive truths, and because the quality of these vessels does not appear as through a transparency until they have received truths; thus because they are only generals, which must first be learned by man, in order that he may receive the particulars and singulars in a fit and proper manner. That the literal sense of the Word is of such a nature that whatever tenet a man embraces he confirms from that sense, is very manifest from so many heresies which have existed in the church, and still do so, each of which is confirmed by its partisans from the literal sense of the Word, and so confirmed that they thoroughly believe it to be true; and thereafter if they were to hear from heaven the very truth, they would not receive a bit of it.

[3] The reason is that they have not the intellectual of the church; for the intellectual of the church consists in a man’s perceiving, when he reads the Word and carefully compares one passage with another, what is to be believed, and what is to be done. This intellectual is to be found in such men only as are enlightened by the Lord, and who in the Christian world are also called the enlightened; and this enlightenment is to be found in such men only as desire to know truths, not for the sake of reputation and glory, but for the sake of life and use. This very enlightenment is received by the intellectual in a man, for it is the intellectual which is enlightened. This is very evident from the fact that they who have little of the intellectual cannot possibly see such things from the Word; but have faith in those whom they believe to be enlightened. Be it known further that they who have been regenerated, receive from the Lord an intellectual capable of being enlightened. It is the light of heaven from the Lord which flows into the intellectual and enlightens it; for the intellectual has its light, its sight, and consequently its perception, from no other source.

[4] But this intellectual, which is called the intellectual of the church, is more interior than the intellectual which comes from mere memory-knowledges, for it is a perception that the thing is so, not from the dictate of memory-knowledges and philosophy, but from the dictate of the Word in its spiritual sense. For example, they who are in the intellectual of the church are able clearly to perceive that the Word everywhere teaches that love to the Lord and charity toward the neighbor are essentials of the church; and that the life of man remains after death; and that his life is from his loves; also that faith separate from charity is not faith; and that faith avails nothing for eternal life except insofar as it is joined to the good of love to the Lord and to the good of charity toward the neighbor; consequently that these and faith must be conjoined together for there to be spiritual life. That these are truths can be clearly perceived by those who have the intellectual enlightened, but not at all by those who have not this.

[5] It is believed that those have an intellectual in the things of the church who are skillful in confirming the tenets or doctrinals of their own church by many things, and this even to persuasion that it is so, and who also are skillful in dexterously confuting many heresies. But this is not the intellectual of the church; for to confirm a tenet is not of the intellectual, but of ingenuity in the sensuous, and it is sometimes found in the worst of men, and can also be done by those who believe nothing whatever, and also by those who are in very falsities. Nothing is more easy than for all such persons to confirm whatever they please, even to the point of persuading the simple. But the intellectual of the church is to perceive and see, before any tenet is confirmed, whether it is true or not, and then to confirm it.

[6] This is the intellectual which is represented by Ephraim; but the good of the church, which is represented by Manasseh, is the good of charity which is insinuated by the Lord into the man of the church by means of the truths of faith; for these, together with the good of charity, are what flow into the intellectual and enlighten it, and also make the intellectual and the will constitute one mind. That both the intellectual and the will are born from the internal, may be seen from what has frequently been said and shown above; for all the affection of good and truth, by which comes enlightenment, flows from no other source, and thus is born from no other source, than the internal; that is, through the internal from the Lord.