10111. 'To sanctify them' means in order that they may be in possession of truths from good which come from the Lord. This is clear from the meaning of 'being sanctified' as representing the Lord and the holy things which come from Him, dealt with in 9956, 9988, and so in the spiritual sense as being led by the Lord, since the Lord alone is holy and He is the source of everything holy, 8806, 9229, 9479, 9688, 9818, 9820. From this it is evident that receiving truths through good from the Lord, thus receiving faith through love derived from Him and shown towards Him, is meant by being sanctified. Not that the person regarded in himself is therefore holy; only the Lord present with Him is holy. For faith and love constitute the Lord's presence with a person, since He is the one to whom unceasingly they owe their existence.

2850. 'And like the sand which is on the seashore' means a whole multitude of correspondent facts. This is clear from the meaning of 'the sea' as facts in general or a gathering together of them, dealt with in 28, 2120, and from the meaning of 'the sand' as facts individually and separately. Facts are compared to 'the sand' because in the internal sense the particles of stone from which the sand is formed mean facts, 643, 1298. Both comparisons are made here - that they will be multiplied 'as the stars of the heavens' and 'as the sand on the seashore 'because 'stars', or cognitions, are related to the rational, whereas 'the sand of the seashore', or facts, are related to the natural. When the things that belong to the rational man, namely the goods and truths present in cognitions, so exist in accordance with the things that belong to the natural man, that is to say, with facts, that they make one or mutually support each other, they in that case correspond. The Lord brings man's rational concepts and his natural images into this state of correspondence when He regenerates him, that is, makes him spiritual. It is for this reason that both the stars of the heavens and the sand on the seashore are mentioned here. Otherwise one phrase would have been sufficient.