538. The "abyss" signifies the hells where and from which are falsities, because those hells where the falsities of evil have rule appear like seas, in the depths of which is the infernal crew, which is in the falsities of evil. These hells appear like seas because falsities continually flow out from them, and falsities appear like waters; this is why "waters" in the Word also signify falsities. Moreover, from the waters themselves the quality of the falsity there is known, for falsities are of many kinds, as many as there are evils. Falsities that are from grievous evils appear over those hells like dense and black waters, and falsities from the evil of the love of self like ruddy waters, the density and color making evident the kind of falsity. It must be remembered that in the spiritual world truths also appear like waters, but like limpid and pure waters. This is because there are three degrees of man's life, as there are three heavens. Those in whom the third degree is opened are in an atmosphere pure like ether; those who are in the third or inmost heaven are in such an atmosphere; those in whom only the second degree is opened are in an atmosphere as it were aerial; those who are in the second or middle heaven are in such an atmosphere: but those in whom the first degree only is opened are in a kind of watery, rare, and pure atmosphere; those who are in the first or ultimate heaven are in such an atmosphere. This is because interior perceptions and thoughts, as being more perfect, correspond to a purity of atmosphere like that in which they are, for they pour themselves forth from every angel and still more from every angelic society, and present a corresponding sphere, which sphere is manifested in a purity like that of the perceptions and thoughts of the angels, that is, of their intelligence and wisdom. This sphere appears, as has been said, like an atmosphere, like an ethereal atmosphere in the inmost heaven, like an aerial atmosphere in the middle heaven, and like a rare watery atmosphere in the ultimate heaven. This makes evident that a kind of watery atmosphere corresponds to natural thought and perception, but a rare watery atmosphere corresponds to spiritual-natural thought and perception in which are the angels of the ultimate heaven; but a dense watery atmosphere, approaching either to black or ruddy, corresponds to natural thought in which there is nothing spiritual, and natural thought in which there is nothing spiritual those have who are in the hells where falsities prevail, for all who are there are merely natural and sensual. (That man has three degrees of life, like the three heavens, and that they differ in purity, see in the work on Heaven and Hell 33, 34, 208, 209, 211.) This makes evident why such hells are called in the Word "seas" and "abysses," "seas" because they appear like seas, and "abysses" from their depth.

[2] That "seas," "depths," and "abysses" signify the hells where and from which are the falsities of evil, can be seen in the following passages of the Word. In Moses:

Pharaoh's chariots and his army hath He cast into the sea. The abysses have covered them; they went down into the depths like a stone. From the wind of Thy nostrils the waters were piled up, the floods stood upright as a heap, and the abysses were congealed in the heart of the sea (Exodus 15:4, 5, 8).

This is from the song of Moses respecting Pharaoh and his army after they were drowned in the Sea Suph. "Pharaoh and his army" signifying those who are in falsities from evil, and the "Sea Suph" the hell where those falsities are; from which it is evident that "the abysses covered them" signifies that the hells covered them. (What the rest signifies in the spiritual sense, see Arcana Coelestia 8272-8279, and 8286-8289, where it is explained.)

[3] These things have a like signification in David:

He rebuked the Sea Suph that it might be dried up, and He led them through the abysses as in the wilderness. The waters covered his ¹ adversaries (Psalms 106:9, 11).

In Isaiah:

Art Thou not He who dried up the sea, the waters of the great abyss; who made the depths of the sea for a way that the redeemed might pass over? (Isaiah 51:10, 15).

Who divided the waters before them, who led them through the abysses like a horse in the wilderness; they stumbled not (Isaiah 63:12, 13).

The "sons of Israel" before whom the Sea Suph was dried up, and through which, when dried up, they passed safely, mean all who are in truths from good, whom the Lord protects, lest the falsities of evil that continually rise up from the hells should harm them; this is the meaning of "He dried up the sea, the waters of the great abyss," and of "He made its depths for way that the redeemed might pass over," also of "He led them through the abysses;" for falsities that are exhaled from the hells, consequently the hells, continually surround man (for it is the same whether you say falsities from the hells, or the hells), but the Lord continually disperses them with those who are in truths from good from Him; so this is what is signified by "drying up the sea," and "leading them through the abysses." Those who are in truths from good from the Lord are meant by the "redeemed."

[4] "To dry up the abyss" and "to make dry the rivers" have the same signification in Isaiah:

Jehovah saith to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be inhabited; and to the cities of Judah, Ye shall be built, and I will raise up the waste places thereof; saying to the abyss, Be dry; and I will make dry thy rivers (Isaiah 44:26, 27).

"Jerusalem" signifies the Lord's church, and "the cities of Judah" signify the goods and truths of doctrine; the restoration of the church and of doctrine is signified by "to be inhabited" and "to be built;" the dispersion of evils and falsities that are from the hells and protection from them, are signified by "drying up the abyss and making dry the rivers" (as above).

[5] The same is signified in Zechariah:

Israel shall pass through the sea of distress, and shall smite the waves in the sea, and all the depths of the river shall be dried up; and the pride of Assyria shall be cast down, and the staff of Egypt shall depart (Zechariah 10:11).

That those who are protected by the Lord in truths from good shall live, although falsities from the hells encompass them, is signified by "Israel shall pass through the sea and shall smite the waves in the sea, and all the depths of the river shall be dried up," for "Israel" means those who are in truths from good; the "sea" signifies hell and all falsity therefrom; the "waves of the sea" signify reasonings from falsities against truths; "to dry up all the depths of the river" signifies to disperse all the falsities of evil, even the deeper, the "river Nile" signifying false knowledge [scientificum]; therefore it follows "the pride of Assyria shall be cast down, and the staff of Egypt shall depart," "Assyria" signifying reasoning from falsities against truths, and "Egypt" knowledge [scientificum] applied to confirm falsities; "the pride of Assyria which shall be cast down" signifies self-intelligence from which comes reasoning; and "the staff of Egypt which shall depart" signifies the power that is added to reasoning by knowledges that are applied for confirmation.

[6] In Ezekiel:

In the day when he shall go down into hell, I will cause to mourn, I will cover the abyss over him (Ezekiel 31:15).

This is said of Pharaoh and Assyria; and "Pharaoh" has a similar signification as "Egypt," namely, knowledge destroying the truth of the church by application to falsities, and "Assyria" signifies reasoning from falsities; that those who are such are cast down into hell, where such falsities and reasonings from falsities are, is signified by "he shall go down into hell, and shall be covered with the abyss;" from which it is evident that the "abyss" means the hell where and from which are the falsities of evil.

[7] In Micah:

God will turn back, He will have compassion upon us, He will subdue our iniquities, and He will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea (Micah 7:19).

Because "the depths of the sea," the same as "abysses," mean the hells where and from which are evils and falsities, it is said, "He will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea."

[8] In Ezekiel:

When I shall make thee a desolate city like the cities that are not inhabited; when I shall make the abyss to come up against thee, and many waters shall cover thee; then will I make thee to go down with them that go down into the pit, to the people of an age, and I will make thee to dwell in the land of the lower parts, in the desolations from an age, with them that go down into the pit, that thou have no habitation (Ezekiel 26:19, 20).

This is said of Tyre, which signifies the church in respect to the knowledges of truth and good, or in respect to the truths of the natural man, for the truths of the natural man are the knowledges of truth and good; this treats of the vastation of the church in respect to these; to make Tyre "a desolate city, like the cities that are not inhabited," signifies its doctrine without truths, and like the doctrines that are without good, for the truths of doctrine without good are not truths, since all truths are of good; "to make the abyss to come up against Tyre, that many waters may cover her," signifies immersion in falsities from hell in great abundance, the "abyss" meaning hell, and "many waters" falsities in great abundance; "with them that go down into the pit, to the people of an age," signifies to those in hell who were there from the most ancient church just before the flood; these are called "the people of an age, because they were from ancient time, and were, above others, in direful falsities. This shows what is signified by "making to dwell in the land of the lower parts, in the desolations from an age, with them that go down into the pit, that thou have no habitation," "to have no habitation" signifying here not to be in any truths, because not in good, for such do not dwell in houses but in pits.

[9] Like things are signified in Zechariah:

Behold, Jehovah ² will impoverish Tyre, and smite her wealth in the sea; and she herself shall be devoured by fire (Zechariah 9:4).

"To smite her wealth in the sea" signifies to cast falsities into hell, "the sea" meaning the hell in which are the falsities of evil, and "wealth" meaning the falsities themselves.

[10] In Ezekiel:

Those that despise thee have brought thee into many waters; the east wind hath broken thee in the heart of the seas. Thy riches, thy tradings, thy merchandise, thy mariners, and thy pilots, they that caulked thy chinks, and they who trade thy trading, and all thy men of war that are in thee, and in all thine assembly which is in the midst of thee, shall fall into the heart of the seas in the day of thy fall (Ezekiel 27:26, 27).

This treats of Tyre, and is said of her ships, which signify the knowledges of good and truth, or the truths of the natural man that they acquire and trade in, but here they mean falsities; "the heart of the seas in which the east wind hath broken her, and into which they shall fall in the day of her fall," has a similar signification as the "abyss," namely, the hell from which are the falsities of doctrine; "the east wind" meaning influx out of heaven, and the "day of her fall" the Last Judgment. "Riches" signify falsities; "tradings and merchandise" the acquisition and communication of falsities; "mariners" signify those who minister, and "pilots" the religious leaders who lead and teach; "men of war" those who defend, and "the assembly" false doctrinals.

[11] In Jonah:

Out of the belly of hell have I cried; Thou hast heard my voice. Thou hadst cast me into the depth, even into the heart of the seas; and the river was round about me; all Thy billows and Thy waves passed over me. The waters enclosed me about even to the soul; the abyss encompassed me round about, the sedge was wrapped about my head. I went down to the cuttings off of the mountains; the bars of the earth are upon me forever; yet Thou hast made my life to come up out of the pit (Jonah 2:2, 3, 5, 6).

The Lord teaches in Matthew (Matthew 12:39, 40; 16:4; Luke 11:29, 30), that Jonah's being in the whale three days and three nights represented that the Lord would thus be in the heart of the earth; and these words of Jonah describe the Lord's direful temptations. And because it is by the overflow of evils and falsities that come up out of hell, and as it were overwhelm, that temptations exist, it is said that "out of the belly of hell he cried," and that "he was cast into the depth, even into the heart of the seas," which signifies hell; "the river and the waters that enclosed him," and "the billows and waves that passed over," signify the evils and falsities from hell; "the abyss that encompassed round about," signifies the hells where and from which are the falsities; "the cuttings off of the mountains to which he went down," signify the hells where and from which are evils; that the Lord was as it were bound by these is signified by "the sedge wrapped about the head," and "the bars of the earth that were upon him," "wrapped by sedge" signifying to be bound as it were by falsities, and "the bars of the earth" signifying to be bound as it were by evils; victory over these from His own power is signified by "yet hast Thou made my life to come up out of the pit." It is said, "Thou hast made to come up," but in reference to the Lord this means that He made Himself to come up by His Divine, that is, by His own power.

[12] The following passages in David have a like signification:

Abyss calleth unto abyss at the voice of Thy waterspouts; all Thy breakers and Thy waves have passed over me (Psalms 42:7).

The waters are come even to my soul. I have sunk in mire of depths, there is no standing; I have come into depths of waters, and the billow overwhelms me. Deliver me out of the mire, and let me not sink; let me be delivered from them that hate me, and out of the depths of waters. Let not the flood of waters overwhelm me, and let not the pit shut her mouth upon me (Psalms 69:1, 2, 14, 15).

In the same:

Return, quicken me; return and make me to come up out of the depths of the earth (Psalms 71:20).

In the same:

I have been counted with them that go down into the pit; neglected among the dead, like the slain that lie down in the grave, whom Thou rememberest no more; and from Thy hand they are cut off. Thou hast laid me in the pit of the lower parts, in dark places, in the depths (Psalms 88:4-6).

These passages in David describe the Lord's temptations when He was in the world, by which He subjugated the hells and glorified His Human; "waves" and "billows" signify evils and falsities; and "abysses" and "depths of the sea," likewise "the pit" signify the hells where and from which are evils and falsities; for as was said above, temptations are like immersions in the hells and obsessions by evils and falsities. This is signified by the lamentations in David in many places, and also in the Prophets; for in the spiritual sense of the Word there is much that treats of the Lord's temptations by which He subjugated the hells and arranged all things in order in the heavens and in the hells, and by which He glorified His Human; these things are especially meant in Luke (Luke 24:44) by the things predicted "in the Prophets and in the Psalms of David," respecting the Lord, and fulfilled by Him.

[13] "The abyss" and "the sea" and "its depths" also signify the hells in the following passages. In Jeremiah:

Flee ye, they have turned themselves away, they have cast themselves down into the deep, the inhabitants of Dedan, and of Hazor (Jeremiah 49:8, 30).

In the same:

The sea has come up upon Babylon; she is covered with the multitude of the waves thereof (Jeremiah 51:42).

In Amos:

The Lord Jehovih hath made me to see; and behold, the Lord Jehovih calleth to devour ³ by fire; it hath devoured the great abyss (Amos 7:4).

In David:

The waters saw Thee, O God, the waters saw Thee, they were afraid; the abysses also trembled (Psalms 77:16).

In the same:

We will not fear when the earth shall be changed, and when the mountains shall be moved in the heart of the sea; the waters thereof shall be in tumult, shall be made turbid (Psalms 46:2, 3).

In Moses:

On the same day were all the fountains of the great abyss broken up, and the floodgates of heaven were opened (Genesis 7:11).

And again:

The fountains also of the abyss and the flood gates of heaven were stopped (Genesis 8:2).

In Job:

Where shall wisdom be found? and where is the place of intelligence? Man knoweth not the price thereof. The abyss saith, It is not in me; and the sea saith, It is not with me (Job 28:12-14).

In the same:

Hast thou entered into the weepings of the sea, and hast thou walked in search of the abyss? Have the gates of death been revealed unto thee, and hast thou seen the gates of the shadow of death? (Job 38:16, 17).

In the Gospels:

Whoso shall cause one of these little ones that believe in Me to stumble, it is profitable for him that an ass-millstone be hanged about his neck, and that he be sunk in the depths of the sea (Matthew 18:6; Mark 9:42; Luke 17:2).

The demons that had possession of the man besought Jesus that He would not command them to depart into the abyss, therefore He suffered them to enter into the swine (Luke 8:31, 33; Matthew 8:31, 32).

And in the following passages of Revelation:

The beast that came up out of the abyss and made war (Revelation 11:7).

The beast that thou sawest was and is not, and is about to come up out of the abyss (Revelation 17:8).

I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key of the abyss, and a great chain upon his hand. And he bound the dragon a thousand years, and cast him into the abyss (Revelation 20:1-3).

In these passages, also, "the abyss" and "the depth of the sea" signify the hell where and from which are the falsities of evil; for the reason that the evil spirits who are there, and who while they lived as men in the world were in the falsities of evil, seem to dwell as it were in the bottom of the seas, and this the more deeply according to the grievousness of the evil from which was their falsity.

[14] As "abysses" signify the hells, where and from which are falsities, so "abysses" signify also the ultimates of heaven, where and from which are the knowledges of truth, which are the truths of the natural man. This is because the ultimates of heaven appear to be in waters, but such as are limpid and clear; for, as was said above, the atmosphere of the highest heaven is like an ethereal atmosphere, that of the middle heaven like an aerial atmosphere, and that of the lowest heaven like a watery atmosphere; this is like a watery atmosphere because the truths with those who are in it are truths of the natural man, and the atmosphere of the natural man is as it were watery. This is what gives rise to the appearances of rivers, lakes, and seas, in the spiritual world; consequently "seas" signify also cognitions and knowledges [cognitiones et scientifica] in general, or in the whole complex (See above, n. 275, 342).

[15] "Abysses" also have a like signification in the following passages. In Moses:

Jehovah thy God bringeth thee to a good land, a land of rivers of waters, of fountains and abysses going forth from valley and mountain (Deuteronomy 8:7).

(This may be seen explained above, n. 518.) In the same:

God will bless Joseph with the blessings of heaven from above, with the blessings of the abyss that coucheth below (Genesis 49:25; Deuteronomy 33:13). (This, too, is explained above, n. 448.)

In David:

By the word of Jehovah were the heavens made; and all the hosts ⁴ of them by the breath of His mouth. He gathered the waters of the sea together as a heap; He giveth the abysses in storehouses (Psalms 33:6, 7). (See above, n. 275), where this is explained.)

In the same:

Thou hast covered the earth with the abyss as with a garment (Psalms 104:6). (See above, n. 275.)

In the same:

Praise Jehovah from the earth, ye whales and all abysses (Psalms 148:7).

"Abysses" in these passages signify the ultimates of heaven, in which are spiritual-natural angels.

In Ezekiel:

The waters made thee ⁵ to grow, the abyss made it high (Ezekiel 31:4). (See also above, n. 518.)

[16] Furthermore "abysses" signify Divine truths in abundance and the arcana of Divine wisdom. Thus in David:

He clave the rock in the desert, and made them to drink out of great abysses (Psalms 78:15).

In the same:

Jehovah, Thy righteousness is like a great abyss (Psalms 36:6; also elsewhere).

Poznámky pod čarou:

4459. 'Jacob's sons answered Shechem and Hamor his father deceitfully means evil thought and intention regarding the truth and the good of the Church among the Ancients. This is clear from the representation of 'Shechem' as truth among the Ancients, or what amounts to the same, truth from the ancient Divine stock, dealt with in 4399, 4454; from the representation of 'Hamor' as the good from which that truth sprang, dealt with in 4399, 4431, 4447, 4454; and from the meaning of 'deceit' as evil thought and intention. In general deceit implies evil against another and against what he says and does, for the thought and intention of the one who is deceitful is different from that of the other person, as is also clear from the outcome of events described in this chapter. From this it is evident that 'the sons of Jacob answered Shechem and Hamor his father deceitfully' means evil thought and intention regarding the truth and the good of the Church among the Ancients.

[2] The sons of Jacob, that is, his descendants, could have none but an evil thought and intention regarding the truth and the good belonging to the internal man, because they were interested in external things devoid of internal, 4281, 4293, 4307, 4429, 4433. They saw no value at all in internal things, and therefore utterly despised them. Such is also the nature of that nation at the present day, and so it is of all who are interested only in external things. People who are interested only in external things do not even know what it is to be interested in internal things, since they have no knowledge of what is internal. If anyone in their presence mentions that which is internal they either endorse the existence of it because they know from doctrine of its existence, though that endorsement is attributable to their deceit, or else they deny the existence of it with their lips as they do in their hearts. For they do not go further than the experiences of the senses of the external man, and as a consequence do not believe in any life after death. Nor do they believe any resurrection to be possible apart from their rising again in the physical body. That being so, they are allowed to have these thoughts concerning the resurrection, or else they would not have any at all. For they centre the whole of life in the body, not knowing that the life of their body flows from the life of their spirit which lives after death. People who are interested only in external things cannot possibly have any faith, for external things with them annihilate all thought concerning internal ones, and consequently all belief in them.

[3] Since this kind of ignorance reigns at the present day, an explanation needs to be given of what it is to be interested in external things devoid of internal. All people who are devoid of conscience are interested only in external things, for the internal man reveals itself through conscience. Anyone is devoid of conscience if he thinks and does what is true and good not for the sake of what is true and good but for the sake of his own personal position and gain, and also merely because he fears the law and fears for his own life. For if reputation, position, gain, and life were not endangered he would plunge without conscience into every unmentionable act. This is quite evident from those in the next life who were such during their lifetime. Because interior things are laid bare in that life those people are constantly endeavouring to destroy others, on account of which they are in hell, where they are held in bonds in a spiritual manner.

[4] To enable anyone to have a fuller knowledge of what is meant by an interest in external things, and what by an interest in internal ones; to enable him to know also that people who are interested only in external things cannot have any conception of what internal ones are and so cannot feel any affection for them (for nobody feels any affection for things of which he has no conception) let the following, for example, be considered. One who is least in heaven is the greatest, one who is humble is exalted, and also one who is poor and needy is rich and affluent. People who are interested only in external things cannot have any conception of these matters, for they think that the least cannot possibly be the greatest, nor the humble be the exalted, and that the poor cannot possibly be rich or the needy affluent. Yet this is precisely how it is in heaven. And because they cannot have any conception of these matters they are consequently unable to feel any affection for them; and when they reflect on them from the point of view of the bodily and worldly things which interest them they feel an aversion to them. How it is in heaven they do not know at all, and as long as they are interested only in external things they do not wish to know, nor indeed are they capable of knowing. For in heaven one who knows, acknowledges, and believes in his heart that is, with affection - that none of his power is self-derived, but that all the power he has comes from the Lord, is called the least. Yet he is the greatest because his power comes from the Lord. Similarly so with one who is humble yet exalted; for one who is humble, acknowledging and believing from affection that he has no self-derived power at all, nor any self-derived intelligence and wisdom, nor any goodness and truth, has power, an intelligent understanding of truth, and a wise discernment of good, conferred on him by the Lord more than on others. And likewise so with the poor and the needy being rich and affluent; for he is called poor and needy who believes in his heart and with affection that nothing he possesses begins in himself, nor does anything he knows and is wise in, nor does anything he has power in. In heaven he is rich and is affluent, the Lord granting him total wealth since he is wiser and richer than all others and lives in most magnificent palaces, 1116, 1626, 1627, and among the treasures constituting all the riches of heaven.

[5] Take as another example someone who is interested only in external things. Such a person cannot have any conception at all that heavenly joy consists in loving the neighbour more than himself and the Lord above all things, and that happiness depends on the amount and the quality of that love. For one interested only in external things loves himself more than his neighbour, and if he does love others it is because they show him favour; and so he loves them for a selfish reason - and he therefore loves himself in them and them in himself. A person like this cannot know what loving others more than himself is; indeed he does not wish to know, and is incapable of knowing. Consequently when told that heaven consists in such love, 548, he is repelled by the idea. Hence those who have been like this during their lifetime are unable to draw near any heavenly community; and when they do draw near, because they feel repelled by it, they cast themselves down headlong into hell.

[6] Because few at the present day know what it is to be interested in external things and what it is to be interested in internal ones, and because the majority believe that those interested in internal things cannot be interested in external ones, and vice versa, let one further example be introduced to illustrate the matter. Take the nourishment of the body and the nourishment of the soul. A person who is interested in merely external pleasures takes care of his own skin, gratifies his stomach, likes to live sumptuously, and finds that the choicest food and drink yields him the highest pleasure. A person however who is interested in internal things also takes delight in those same pleasures, but his governing affection is to nourish the body with pleasurable foods so that it may be healthy, the end in view being a healthy mind in a healthy body. His primary concern is health of mind, for which health of the body serves as a means. One who is a spiritual man does not stop there but regards health of mind or of the soul as the means provided to acquire intelligence and wisdom, not for the sake of reputation, position, or gain, but for the sake of the life after death. And one who is spiritual in a more interior degree regards intelligence and wisdom as a mediate end enabling him to serve as a useful member in the Lord's kingdom; while one who is celestial regards the same as that which enables him to serve the Lord. To him bodily food is a means to the enjoyment of spiritual food; and spiritual food is a means to the enjoyment of celestial food. And because they ought to serve in this manner those foods also correspond, and are therefore called foods. From these examples one may see what is meant by being interested only in external things and what by being interested in internal ones.

[7] The Jewish and Israelite nation, which is the subject in this chapter in the internal historical sense, apart from those who have died as children, are for the most part such. They more than all others are interested in external things, for they are governed by avarice. Those who do not love profit and gain for the sake of any use, only for the sake of gold and silver, and who focus the whole delight of life in those possessions, dwell in the outermost or lowest places, since they are entirely earthly things which they love. But those loving gold and silver because of some use these may serve are people who rise above earthly things, in accordance with that use. The use itself which a person loves is what gives direction to his life and marks him off from others, an evil use making him like one in hell and a good use like one in heaven. It is not indeed the use itself that does so but the love behind it, for everyone's life is inherent in his love.