Keeping balance in one’s spiritual life is of supreme importance—and perhaps this is why the book of Daniel is given in two such clearly demarcated forms. The first six chapters show us the history of Daniel’s life in Babylon, from the time of his captivity as a youth to his elevation to power in the reign of Darius the Mede. The overall view of these first six chapters is to bring home the concept that our spiritual life is an ongoing progression. Certainly there are hard times, and certainly the selfishness in our characters is often hard to beat. Implicit in the history, however, is the ongoing promise that this evil can and will be beaten. We need to keep this in mind.

As we turned to the prophetic section of the book the importance of the historical section becomes clearer. In chapter seven, in the midst of the horrific vision which tells of our slide into evil, we need to remember the context of the vision—it takes place in the reign of Belshazzar. So does the vision of chapter eight, which describes the alternating states of good and evil, and particularly the state in which evils seems to so completely take over and dominate our minds.

In these visions there is a tendency to feel desperate. Will any goodness ever return to us, will the state ever swing back towards goodness? Daniel’s reaction to this vision was to faint and feel sick for days.

The darkness of night, however, is always broken by the gleams of morning light. In the depths of temptation, even to the point of despair, we are given the gift of the long view shown in the historical section. Belshazzar the king, during whose reign Daniel saw these visions, was deposed by Darius the Mede, and even though he faced terrible dangers during those years, nevertheless, he rose to a position of great power.

Belshazzar, as we have seen earlier depicts states of selfishness and evil in our external life. When we allow ourselves unfettered selfishness, when we willingly permit ourselves to discard the restraining truths of the Word, then our evil will express itself in daily life. Even the good things we do, when done from a selfish motive, are really expressions of evil. Like Belshazzar before us, when we are in this state, we wantonly profane the love of goodness and the understanding of truth given to us by the Lord.

This state, however, never lasts unless we choose to embrace it of our own free accord. As in the case of the four beasts shown in chapter seven, there will be a time of judgment. Like Belshazzar we will be weighed in the balances and found wanting.

The important question, however, is what do we do to turn the tide of evil, or tip the balances of our lives? Even in chapter eight, when Daniel sees the vision of the ram and the goat, he was within the walls of the citadel of Shushan, showing us that no matter how much we slide into evil, the Lord provides that our conscience is always able to be activated, and from that conscience we are able to see our condition, repent and turn away from it.

It follows, then, that chapters seven and eight outline a natural progression from the origin of evil in our lives—described as the beast, to the rule of evil, shown by the actions of the goat. Liberation comes from humility and repentance before the Lord, and chapter nine focuses on repentance leading the way to a fulfilment of spiritual life.

VERSES 1-2

We first met Darius the Mede at the end of chapter five, when he swept into Babylon and killed Belshazzar on the very night of the profane feast. Specific mention was made that Darius was sixty two years old at the time. Analysis of the way Darius exalted Daniel, especially his unwillingness to have him put to death, indicates that Darius represents a person who is in the process of turning aside from pure selfishness into a state where the conscience, symbolised by Daniel, is elevated to high rank. In this state the conscience begins to rule our thoughts as Daniel ruled in Babylon, second only to himself (Cf. Daniel 6:3).

The reign of Darius stands as a counterpoint to that of Belshazzar, both in the historical and prophetical series. In Belshazzar’s reign, epitomising selfishness, Daniel saw visions of beasts putting goodness to flight. Those states, as said before, alternate with other states when the conscience is able to direct our feelings and thoughts. These latter are states of spiritual lucidity and recommitment to regeneration, and by correspondence take place during the reign of Darius.

Daniel, who had lived long in Babylon, surviving both Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar, found himself an old man. He had been carried into captivity as a young boy, and later watched from afar as Jerusalem was destroyed by the Babylonian hordes. From his privileged vantage point he was aware of the vast number of Jews compelled to live in Babylon on order from the king. He was equally aware of the destruction of the temple at Jerusalem, and knew that this meant that no sacrificial worship could take place. Yet Daniel also knew prophecies indicating that this state of affairs would not last forever. He states that he "understood by the books the number of years specified … that He would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem." Years in the internal sense of the Word never refer to time, always to state, and the number of years therefore refers to the states a person must go through in their selfish, or Babylonian, states, before they are set free to live again without the influence of selfishness to mar their lives.

The desolation of Jerusalem is the damage done to the church, or more specifically the states of genuine goodness and truth within us, by the evils of selfishness. Selfishness is the single most destructive human emotion, as we have seen from the violence of its depiction in the actions of Nebuchadnezzar, the profanation of Belshazzar, and in the terror of the beast and the goat. Yet if the human conscience is nurtured and fed, if it is lifted up, as Darius honoured and promoted Daniel, then the conscience will flourish, and spiritual sanity will be restored.

The process takes a lifetime. "Two thousand three hundred evenings and mornings," Daniel was told—alternations continuing through states of temptations until it is possible for a new state to break into our minds and establish itself there.

In chapter nine the seventy years of Babylonian captivity describe the steady breakdown of the power of selfishness over us. "Seventy years" of captivity before release represents the states in us before the Lord is present. When we are in states of selfishness, our selfishness blocks out the presence of the Lord. As we regenerate, however, the selfishness is put aside, and the Lord is able to draw closer. The presence of the Lord in our lives has the effect of further breaking down our selfishness, and ushering in new states of life freed from these.

Seen from this point of view, chapter nine follows clearly from chapters seven and eight. The pendulum of life has swung, we are aware of our evils, in fact we are still immersed in them, but by the power of the conscience we begin the process of breaking free.

VERSES 9-19

Spiritual regeneration begins in humility. Daniel was aware of Israel’s captivity in Babylon, and longed for it to end. In humility he turned his face towards the Lord God, to make his requests by prayers and supplications and to emphasise his grief and mourning over this state of affairs with the time honour practices of fasting, wearing garments of sack-cloth and pouring ashes over his head.

These actions, rooted in the deepest of Old Testament times contain within them the very essence of repentance. We will forever remain slaves to selfishness unless and until we are willing to humble ourselves to the Lord. This begins when we recognise the work of the beast and the goat in our own lives, when we see Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar as twin kings of evil directing our inner and outer selves. It is easy to lay the blame for these states on others, to claim that our up-bringing was not good, for example, but in reality the responsibility is ours. The Daniel side of our minds needs to be active.

The first step of the spiritual activity which will eventually set us free is recorded in the words "Daniel set his face to the Lord God." That single physical motion is the beginning of the series of spiritual events in our lives which will eventually free us from selfishness. In the internal sense the "face" represents our internal states, which gives us the ability to see our lives from a different perspective than simply that of the senses (Arcana Coelestia 358, 5165) As we saw earlier, it was because of Daniel, or our conscience, that we are able to see anything in ourselves at all. Part of the judgment arising from truth is looking at ourselves, as we are, and rejecting the evil or grosser parts of our beings. Daniel turning his face to the Lord God takes on the meaning of a person focusing his or her internals on the presence of the Lord in them. To do this, they have to turn aside from their selfishness.

By fixing our sights on the Lord we are able to begin the process of repentance. Repentance is a process which involves a complete reorientation of our lives. We are told that “actual repentance consists in a person’s examining himself, recognising and acknowledging his sins, praying to the Lord, and beginning a new life” (True Christian Religion 528).

The visions of Chapter Seven and Eight, which show the origin and progress of evil in our lives, can easily be related to the self examination required in repentance. Chapter Nine deals more fully with the acknowledgement of sins, and prayer to the Lord for forgiveness.

Yet repentance can never begin without turning our faces towards the Lord God, for, as in the words of the Psalmist, all our sins are really sins against Him. Recognising this is the basis of true humility.

It is in this humility that Daniel proposed to speak to the Lord. Notice his words as he turned his face towards the Lord God "to make request by prayer and supplication." In the literal sense Daniel is praying for the restoration of Jerusalem and freedom from Babylon. In our lives, our request is for a return to the states of innocence and peace we last experienced in our infant years, with the difference that after regeneration this innocence is an expression of wisdom in contrast with infant ignorance.

Daniel turned to the Lord with "prayer and supplication." These words are not merely repetition of the same thing. In the Word where pairs of words are used in this way, it draws attention to the duality in the Word (Doctrine of the Sacred Scripture 80-90, True Christian Religion 248-253). The Word is an outpouring of love and wisdom from the Lord, which is reflected in each and every detail, but most clearly when pairs of words are used to describe the same thing. "Prayer and supplication" as a pair of words, meaning the same thing, express both the love and wisdom from Lord, and by using them in this fashion, Daniel draws attention to the fact that our humility and repentance come from both the will and the understanding parts of our being.

Should we turn to the Lord with the will only, we may find that we wish to repent, but do not have any idea of how to do so. The desire may well eventually founder because it is not directed by the understanding. On the other hand, repentance which does not also draw from a will or desire to change has no depth. The intellectual side of our minds alone cannot lead us into a new life. So the two must go together, as partners, to lead us with by the desire of the will according to the wisdom of the understanding. Like Daniel, we need to turn to the Lord with "prayer and supplication."

Prayer, we are told "is talking to God and at the same time some inner view of the things that are being prayed for” (Arcana Coelestia 2535). Prayer is a very necessary part of our spiritual lives. We are told that a person can remove evils "only if he acknowledges the Divine Providence and prays that the removal be done by it” (Divine Providence 184). The power to overcome evils is given in response to the prayer (Doctrine of Life 31), which is described as "a certain opening of the man's interiors toward God” (Arcana Coelestia 2535). As our interiors open to the Lord, the power He used to fight against evil spirits is given to us to use as our own power, which puts us into a state of freedom to resist evil.

Notice Daniel’s actions in prayer. The matter for which he prayed was close to his heart, the deliverance of Israel from Babylonian captivity. He knew the prophecy of seventy years, and knew also that about seventy years had passed since the captivity had taken place. His prayer, however, was not one of demanding his rights, there was no arrogance in his tone, such as we sometime find in our own when we think the Lord has not lived up to His side of the covenant.

Daniel’s prayer was full of inner and outer humility. We see the outer humility first as he prepared himself for prayer by fasting and clothing himself in sackcloth and ashes. As in every detail of the Word this sequence of actions contains within itself a series of states, in this case states preparatory to prayer itself.

Daniel began with fasting. In the internal sense "to fast" means "to mourn on account of the lack of good and truth” (Apocalypse Explained 1189:2). In our prayer to the Lord for help in times of temptation and deliverance from it, it is important to begin with the attitude of recognition that we actually have no real good or truth in us. Our goodness is under control of the love of self, just as Daniel was, in spite of his high position, technically still a captive of the king of Babylon.

We can only begin to really break free of the bondage of self when we come to this recognition—and this is why Daniel had to witness those two terrible visions, so that he, and we through him, could see our own state, and be affected by it, and be moved by a desire to break free from it. The concept of "fasting" therefore, also contains a willingness to enter into combat against the Babylonian side of ourselves (Apocalypse Explained 730).

There is another element in the idea of fasting which is also of great importance here. "Fasting" also stands for the desire to learn the forms of good and the truths of faith (Arcana Coelestia 9050:7). Without this desire our spiritual progress grinds to a halt. A person who has no interest in acquiring knowledge about the forms of goodness and truth closes his or her mind to the presence of the Lord, remaining thus in ignorance and will eventually lapse, without resistance, back into a life of unfettered selfishness.

This fasting is in many ways analogous to the young Daniel, recently carried to Babylon from Jerusalem, when he refused to eat the food from the king’s table. Although he did eat fresh vegetables, technically he fasted in regards to Nebuchadnezzar’s food. "Eating" and "drinking" represent the assimilation of goods and truths in our minds, and in the opposite sense, the assimilation of evil and falsity. By refusing to eat the king’s food, young Daniel showed himself unwilling to partake of the feelings and thoughts arising from selfishness. It was really that unwillingness which sustained him during the course of his life, and now, as he begins to pray to the Lord, he once again fasts.

The reality of this in our own lives is very important. Our conscience is formed partly from an unwillingness to embrace evil, not only once but continually. When we come to repent our sins, this unwillingness has to be at the very core of our spirits, otherwise our repentance will be of no avail.

There are many examples in the Old Testament of people in a state of mourning who fast, wear garments of sackcloth and cover their heads with ashes. In the New Testament the Lord ties together the concept of grieving or mourning with repentance when He said, “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes (Luke 10:13).

It was entirely in keeping with the customs of the Old Testament, therefore, for Daniel in his grief over the captivity of the people, to augment his fast with clothes of sackcloth and ashes on his head. In the internal sense to be clothed in sackcloth means to be in mourning because one does not one has not been receptive of Divine good and truth (Apocalypse Explained 637), and thus that good has been destroyed (Arcana Coelestia 4779). Ashes, which were placed on the head, or sometimes people rolled in them, represent the false thoughts and ideas a person has had on account of evil (Arcana Coelestia 7520).

Daniel’s actions are deeply symbolic of a person who is beginning the process of serious repentance. By fasting, wearing sackcloth and ashes he indicates the feeling of humility and sorrow, or contrition, we need in order to truly enter into repentance. While contrition is necessary to motivate us to repent, one needs to be careful that those intense feelings of sorrow about our evil states do not so dominate our thoughts that we feel that the sorrow itself is repentance. One needs to guard against falling into the trap of thinking that we are total depraved sinners without seeing any particular evil in ourselves which can be overcome by repentance (True Christian Religion 513). Repentance is an activity, not a feeling.

Daniel does not wallow in his sorrow, he directs his thoughts to the Lord with the words of prayer and confession. Repentance is a process beginning is self-examination done in a state of humility. A person who is repenting needs to then do two things after self-examination- prayer and confession. As one takes the findings of self-examination to the Lord in prayer, so one confesses ones sins to Him. Confession "will be that he sees, recognises, and acknowledges his evils, and finds himself to be a miserable sinner" (True Christian Religion 539). The person doesn’t need to list particular incidents of sin to the Lord, for the Lord is present in the process of self-examination, but he or she needs to have a clear understanding of the sins to be repented.

Once the person confesses to the Lord, it is necessary to pray to the Lord for forgiveness. Even though the Lord constantly forgives people their sins, but it is necessary to pray for forgiveness for our own sakes because it reminds us that forgiveness comes with the removal of sins, and sins are removed as we refrain from them and enter a new life. We also need to be reminded of the fact that the Lord does indeed forgive us our sins if we repent them. (True Christian Religion 539).

Daniel’s prayer is a model of confession and begging for forgiveness. He begins with a recognition of the Lord Himself. Notice the duality of the terms in his opening, "O Lord, great and awesome God." As we saw earlier, this juxtaposition of two names refers to the qualities of Divine Love and Divine Wisdom. The name used for God in any given chapter of the Word indicates the quality or aspect of God present in the internal sense at that point. Generally the name "Lord" refers to the Lord’s love operating in people’s lives, while God describes the Divine truth which is the vehicle carrying love down to the level at which people can receive it (Arcana Coelestia 2921, 2769).

This opening of a prayer can seem like simply addressing the prayer to the Lord, but it is much more than that. It indicates that in the state of repentance we need to keep two things in mind, firstly, that the Lord is a God of love. Without this idea there would be no real reason to repent at all. If the Lord was a God of anger or revenge, then no matter what we do we would never be able to be reconciled with Him, for no human being can ever hope to prepare for the Lord a state so perfect that He would be appeased. If, however, one sees God as a God of love, then there the quality of mercy is allowed, and from this there is hope. Secondly, by using the term God, we are reminded of the order by which the Lord both creates and governs His creation. This order is inscribed by the Lord on all things, including the process of repentance. Daniel’s choice of words here is no accidental greeting to the Supreme, but carefully chosen because it conveys the fullness of God to us in a state of repentance.

The presence of the Lord in repentance is in order. Daniel continues that the Lord "keeps His covenant and mercy with those who love Him, and with those who keep his commandments." Here again we see the positioning of two issues, covenant and mercy.

The Lord’s covenant, first given to Noah, and reiterated to Abram and many others after him is simple: if people obey they will prosper, if they disobey they will perish. The whole of the Old Testament bears testimony to this covenant. A covenant is an agreement between two parties, and in the Lord’s covenant the two parties are Himself and the human race. The covenant is the promise that people can be regenerated and so conjoined to the Lord (Arcana Coelestia 665, 666). Every impulse towards goodness and truth in our lives bears testament to this covenant.

However, it is also told in the pages of the Old Testament, and in our own lives, that we do not always embrace the Lord’s goodness and truth. We fall short in the part we play in the covenant. The nature of the human being is attracted to selfishness and a desire to dominate over others. This is why we end up captives in our own spiritual Babylon, dominated by Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar. Yet within the Lord’s covenant is the implicit promise of repentance. If we turn away from selfishness, the Lord can and will remit our sins, and we will be renewed. Daniel in his prayer is aware of the Lord’s mercy as a factor of the covenant, and appeals to it. We too need to be aware of this, for it inspires us with hope, and spurs us on to a rejection of evil.

Daniel continues then with a confession of the sins of Israel, "we have sinned and committed iniquity, we have done wickedly and rebelled." Notice again the duality of phrase, sin and committed iniquity. "To sin" means "to sin, to miss, to miss the way, to go wrong, to incur guilt" (Brown-Driver-Briggs definition no. 2398). While "iniquity" means "to bend, to twist, to distort” (Brown-Driver-Briggs Definition no. 5753). In these dictionary definitions one sees the fullness of Daniel’s confession. Not only was the sin from the will, which causes one to miss the way, go wrong and incur guilt, but also from the understanding as one bends, twists and distorts the truth. One can trace this process through the pages of Daniel, especially in the historical series, where in chapter two one sees the influence of the evil of selfishness on the understanding and in chapter three on the will. Both need to be cleansed, and so both need to be confessed.

Essentially "sin" is a state of disjunction from the Lord (Arcana Coelestia 4997), it is the breaking of the Lord’s covenant and arises in the loves of selfishness and greed. All people are born with an inclination towards evils, but they are not born "sinners" as is commonly believed by those who propound the doctrine of "original sin." Sin enters a person’s life when he or she becomes, through purposeful action, guilty of evil (Arcana Coelestia 7147), and so separated from the life of goodness and truth which is the basis of the Lord’s covenant.

In order for a sin to be a sin it must be done purposefully, or from intention, while knowing that it is opposed to the Lord’s teaching. We are told that “to sin is to do and think what is evil and false intentionally from the will, for such things which are done intentionally from the will are such as come forth out of the heart and defile man, consequently which destroy spiritual life with him” (Arcana Coelestia 8925).

Recognising sin in our lives, then, is recognition of the fact that we have turned aside from the Lord. We have broken covenant with Him, and can only be lead back into communion with Him through the process of repentance and reformation.

In a similar way "to commit iniquity" means to twist or distort the truth. There is a steady thread of this distortion running throughout Daniel, from Jehoiakim, king of Judah who represents a lust for evil and an aversion to truth (Apocalypse Explained 481:4), to the magicians, astrologers, sorcerers and Chaldeans that Nebuchadnezzar called on to interpret his dreams. These represent the habitual thought processes we fall into to protect and enhance our selfish states. Whenever our minds are not directed by the conscience, our thoughts are dominated by the selfish will, with the result that we commit iniquity by thinking selfishly.

This kind of acknowledgement is the beginning of the formal process of repentance. As Daniel says in his prayer, "we have done wickedly and rebelled, even by departing from Your precepts and Your judgements." In these words he captures the totality of human evil, both as to its motivation sin and the expressive thought. All sin, in one way or another, is a rebellion against God. As we have seen in earlier chapters Lucifer’s fall was occasioned by his rebellion.

Any general recognition of sin and iniquity of life, however, needs to be more than simply a general statement of evil. It does people no good to simply admit that of themselves they are sinners without specifying at least one sin. A person may know from the Word that he or she is a sinner, but unless that person actually searches out his or her evils, they remain as a source of spiritual infection (Charity 3). If we claim to be sinners without self-exploration, can cannot truly confess ourselves to be sinners (Arcana Coelestia 8390, The New Jerusalem and its Heavenly Doctrine 159) for our confession would have no basis in self-perception and would merely be a lip confession, which can be made even by evil men when the thought of hell-fire is present (True Christian Religion 517).

It follows then that Daniel highlights a specific example of how the Jews had sinned against God, which lead to their captivity in Babylon. He said, “Neither have we heeded Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your name to our kings and our princes, to our fathers and all the people of the land” (Daniel 9:6).

The sin of the ancient Jews was the ignoring of and disobedience to the prophets sent by the Lord to lead the people. King after king of Judea set up idols, worshipping them in place of the Lord, until finally the kingdom was overrun, the temple desecrated and destroyed, the people carried off into captivity or scattered. Jehoiakim, king of Judah at the time of the Babylonian captivity is a case in point. His father, Josiah, read the Word and restored the temple. He tore down idolatrous places of worship and re-instituted the Passover (2 Kings 23, 24). Jehoiakim, inheriting the throne at age twenty five, knowing full well the reforms of Josiah, and yet chose to reject these by "doing evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his fathers had done” (2 Kings 23:37). In this way he ignored the Lord and disobeyed His teachings.

Much the same happens to us. When selfishness controls us it leads us to intentionally reject the teachings of the Word—even though we may pay lip-service to them. The result is a state of disobedience which can only be rectified through repentance. Each alternation of state, when we swing from goodness into evil is such an action. As Daniel says, we do not listen to the Lord’s prophets.

In the literal sense of the Word a prophet is one who preaches the truth, as did Elijah and Elisha, to name but two. However, in the internal sense a prophet represents the teaching itself, thus the doctrine from the Word (Arcana Coelestia 2534). As we have seen earlier, "kings" in the Word represent the ruling principles in our lives, and if these are false, then all our subsidiary thoughts, the "princes" will also be false.

The nature of sin and iniquity, then, is to allow the ruling principles in our minds, our "kings," and our thoughts derived from these, our "princes" to fall into falsity by ignoring the teachings of the Word. When a person can see this tendency within themselves, they are well on the way to truly confessing their sins to the Lord, not as an abstract state of life, but specific incidents of disobedience.

Part of this process of recognition and confession of sins is an observance of the consequences of one’s sins. Remember that Daniel is writing this prayer partly in response to the captivity of Judah—a captivity resulting from the neglect on the part of at least the king of Judah to obey the Word of the Lord. This captivity describes our states when we are held captive by the evils and falsities arising in selfishness. Daniel could clearly see that the historical captivity resulted from the disobedience of the kings of Judah. Can we see that our evils and their consequences are a result of our disobedience to the Lord? Can we come to the point at which we acknowledge our guilt to the Lord in Daniel’s words?

“Lord, to us belongs shame of face, to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, because we have sinned against you.”—Such a cry to the Lord would be cold and sterile if there was not hope of redemption. The historical story of Daniel shows us, however, that there is always hope. The recurring theme is that the Lord is always with us, even in the darkest times to bring the light of knowledge and a renewed commitment to change. In times of repentance this is perhaps more important than at any other time, for when we repent we undertake to change based on our recognition of the states of evil and falsity within us. At those times we need to remember that the Lord does not bear grudges, and that the very force of His Divine Providence is leading us towards heaven.

The measure of the Lord’s mercy is highlighted in the concept that when one sins, one sins against the Lord Himself (Psalm 51:4). Daniel recognises that by not listening to the teaching of the prophets the Jews had "not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God." This is a further development in the recognition of sin in oneself. To reject and be disobedient to the teaching or doctrine of the Word is one thing, for the Word is open to many interpretations, it can be twisted this way and that to suit people’s will. The real damage to the Word comes, however, through the motive for the twisting. As we have seen in many places in Daniel, when the Word is twisted to underpin and protect selfish loves, then one does damage to the Lord Himself, for He is the Word itself. As Daniel points out, the prophets are "His servants," as teaching is a servant of truth itself.

The result is the disjunction of sin, a breaking of the covenant and separation from all the goodness and truth which originates in the Lord, and which is described in the book of Deuteronomy as a curse. There are too many curses to list, but they all indicate various states of evil which befall those who separate themselves from the Lord.

In Daniel the woes of captivity are indicated as being curses from the Lord on the Jews for disobeying the Lord, and it is easy to be sympathetic to this view. Evil, especially selfishness causes life to unravel, if not in this world, then certainly in the next. Relationships based on selfishness will never be happy, conflict dogs those whose only concern is themselves. This unhappiness and conflict may seem to be a curse or disaster sent by the Lord to punish the evil doer, yet it is a great truth that the Lord never punishes anyone for their evils (Arcana Coelestia 696, 697, 1857).

For a person who is in the process of repentance this is both a necessary and comforting thought, for if the Lord cast us into hell because of our sins, all hope would be lost and life would lose its point. We need to know that regardless of how dreadful our evils may seem, and how willingly we allow ourselves to be drawn into them, still the Lord is, as Daniel says "righteous in all the works which He does, though we have not obeyed His voice."

It is important in order to keep a state of balance in repentance to remember the times the Lord has helped us in our captivity to selfishness. In his prayer Daniel remembers back to the liberation from Egypt. If we take the historical series of the book of Daniel as our guide, we can see the Lord’s hand in the way He patiently and continually led Nebuchadnezzar through terrible times to the eventual point where the king could praise the Lord as his God. Each detail of that journey is reflected in our progressive liberation from selfishness and all its attendant states. Finally as our inner motivations change, we can be lead to the state depicted in the reign of Darius when Daniel is given charge over the land.

Providence can never be seen in advance, only in hindsight (Divine Providence 178, 187). In the throes of temptation and repentance is seems as if the Lord has abandoned us, yet He is always there to show us the way to a new state of life.

VERSES 20-27

The wonder of prayer lies in the answers. Sometimes people are not certain whether the Lord listens to prayer, and whether prayer can ever change the Lord’s mind about something. This is not, or at least should not be the reason we pray. Prayer is for our benefit, for it focuses our minds upon the Lord and opens up the interiors of our minds making it possible for us to receive His presence. The answers to prayers are seldom given in loud or dramatic ways. More often than not the answer lies in a small quiet awareness of the Lord’s presence. As we are told in the doctrines, the answer comes as “…something like a revelation (which is manifested in the affection of him that prays) as to hope, consolation, or a certain inward joy” (Arcana Coelestia 2535).

Daniel prayed to the Lord for the salvation of Israel, captive in Babylon for seventy years. He prayed with deep humility, with an awareness of the evils of the Jews, and a willingness to confront those evils. The Lord answered his prayer.

When we are in the process of repenting, we too need to pray to the Lord in confession and in prayer for forgiveness and mercy. The fact of saying those prayers is powerful, for in confessing our sins to the Lord we acknowledge from humility of heart that the evils of our lives are not defensible. The action of prayer is, in many ways, the opposite and therefore the antidote to the rule of Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar in our minds. While they are present we justify our evils, we permit and actively make possible states opposed to the presence of the Lord. But in confession this changes, and our minds are opened.

Supplication, or prayer for mercy does much the same thing. In our Babylonian states we are self-sufficient—we don’t need the Lord or His Word. Our minds are dominated across the axes of our will and understanding just as the he-goat in chapter eight extended the power of his horns to the four winds of the earth. By opening our minds in prayer, however, we acknowledge that this selfish power is not real power. Real power belongs to the Lord who can and will forgive us, and in so doing gives us the power to override selfishness and break its hold over us.

While Daniel prayed, he became aware of the answer from the Lord. The imagery in his words show us a great deal about how the Lord answers prayers from the heart. As he prayed he became aware of "the man Gabriel" who flew swiftly and reached him at the time of the evening offering.

In Chapter Eight we learned that Gabriel was in reality an entire society of angels (Apocalypse Explained 302). Gabriel represents the Divine truth itself drawing near to human conscience (Arcana Coelestia 8192). This is the first part of the Lord’s answer to our prayers. When we pray we ask the Lord to hear us. The essence of prayer in Daniel’s words are summed up in verse nineteen: “O Lord hear! O Lord forgive! O Lord listen and act!”

The Lord listens with His Divine truth, and answers with truth, represented by Gabriel flying down to Daniel, reaching him at "about the time of the evening offering." As we have seen many times in this study, "evening" is a state of obscurity caused by the presence of selfishness blocking out charity and thus faith. When we repent and pray to the Lord we are still in that state of obscurity, and yet part of the answer of prayer is to lift the darkness and give us insight into the nature of our lives and a clearer vision of how to overcome our evils. This is why Gabriel came in the evening, but notice his words to Daniel “Daniel, I have now come forth to give you skill to understand.”

The answer to prayers is given as "hope, consolation, or a certain inward joy” (Arcana Coelestia 2535). These spiritual gifts come from the Lord’s love for all humanity, but love is always communicated by means of wisdom. In other words we cannot have a feeling of hope unless we have thoughts of hope. We will not experience consolation unless we know that things will turn out for the better. Without the thought process, faith if you will, there can be no inward joy, for joy, or any emotion cannot exist in a vacuum separated from the thought processes.

The Lord’s answer to Daniel’s, and our, prayers is by lightening the darkness in our minds. Gabriel came to bring "skill to understand," with us that is the skill to see the evils of life clearly. It means breaking away from the persuasive power of the astrologers, magicians, soothsayers and Chaldeans who held such power over Nebuchadnezzar. In the historical series we were shown how they failed the king whose questions could only be satisfied by Daniel, our conscience.

So it is with us. In the process of repentance our conscience leads us to see our sins and urges us to confess them to the Lord. As we do so, the Lord enlightens our minds. This makes it possible for us to see several things from His perspective, firstly the enormity of our sins, secondly the possibility of rejecting them and being forgiven, and thirdly real hope that we will be freed from them. All this takes "skill to understand," and an increasingly clear sight of the Divine truth.

Gabriel then begins to explain to Daniel. He goes back to the very point at which Daniel began his prayer of repentance—the seventy years of captivity in Babylon, saying “Seventy weeks are determined for your people and for your holy city, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sins, to make reconciliation for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy” (Daniel 9:24).

As we saw at the beginning of this chapter "seventy weeks" means the time of fullness from beginning to end of the Babylonian captivity (Apocalypse Explained 684). This period represents the steady breakdown of selfishness in our lives. When we are in states of selfishness we are held captive by the "Babylonians" within, yet with the rise of conscience to power, that hold is gradually broken, and the process is described by Daniel’s steady rise to power. The promise given to us in the process of repentance, therefore, is that we will eventually be liberated during the course of "seventy weeks."

Daniel was told that the captivity of seventy weeks would be upon his people and the city of holiness. The "people" are those states in us which belong to the church (Apocalypse Explained 684), or, in other words, all the states of goodness and truth, of charity and faith which are oppressed and held in bondage by selfishness. When we are selfish it is impossible to be in states of true charity—we cannot love other people when we love ourselves more, nor can we think in terms of truth clearly when our thoughts are clouded by habitual self justification. In these states of spiritual captivity, our conscience is present, as Daniel was present throughout the entire Babylonian captivity, to lead us to a state of repentance when bondage can be broken.

The "city of holiness" with us relates to the thought process based on truths from the Word which lead us into revolt against selfishness (Apocalypse Explained 684). While we are in spiritual bondage our thoughts are dominated by selfishness, but the Lord provides certain truths from the Word which form the basis of our conscience. These truths are the "cities of holiness" for they are from the Lord and make it possible for the Lord to be present in our minds, even in our darkest hours. It also makes it possible for the conscience to develop to the point where it can enter into active opposition against selfishness.

The seventy weeks "determined for your people and your holy city" are the states of life we pass through as we journey through our captivity. A person cannot repent from selfishness until he or she sees the quality of self, and rejects it, just as Nebuchadnezzar had to be brought down to a point of madness before he could be completely restored, and as Belshazzar had to be weighed in the balances and found wanting before he could be killed. We too have to pass through that process, and allow it to run its course, for it is only when we are moved with horror at our evils, as Daniel was moved to feel physically sick at the sight of the he-goat, that we can be led into true repentance, and then the Lord can come to us in full glory.

Gabriel’s words all built up to this point. One has to finish the transgression, make an end of sins and a reconciliation of iniquity, and then the Most Holy is anointed. In the Lord’s own life this verse meant that He would eventually unite the Divine to the Human through to process of glorification (Apocalypse Explained 624, 684). He did this by continual victories over hell from His own power (Arcana Coelestia 2025).

We overcome hell by the power of the Lord, and when we do so, we come into the states of peace and tranquillity which typify heaven, and yet that can only happen in a state of total rejection of evil and falsity (This state of rejection is called "vastation," and without it the Lord cannot be fully received (Arcana Coelestia 728)).

Having explained this to Daniel, Gabriel continues: “Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the command to restore and build Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince, there shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublesome times” (Daniel 9:25).

In history the ancient Jews were liberated from Babylon by king Cyrus. They returned home with the intention of rebuilding Jerusalem and the temple armed with the confidence that the cost of rebuilding was be born by the state. Even the vessels taken by Nebuchadnezzar would be restored to their rightful places. A tremendous inertia set in, however. Only the oldest of the captives could remember Jerusalem after seventy years, and many of the Jews were firmly established in Babylon. Historian John Bright writes that “the early years of the restoration venture proved bitterly disappointing, bringing little but frustration and discouragement (Bright 1972:361, 363, 364).

These early difficulties were mirrored in Gabriel’s words to Daniel, that from the giving of the command to the restoration of the temple to the coming of the Messiah shall be "seven weeks and sixty two weeks." The "going forth of the command" means the end of the time of preparation. Specifically in the analysis in the Apocalypse Explained we are told that these Word signify the end of the Old Testament because it was fulfilled by the coming of the Lord. The "restoration and building of Jerusalem" describes the renewal of the church by the Lord’s coming (Apocalypse Explained 684).

In the story of regeneration, these concepts can be seen to apply to the establishment of a new state within the human soul who has undergone the process of repentance and who is in process of fulfilling his or her potential of the development of new spiritual states. Thus the "going forth of the command" can be seen to be the process of repentance, which is the true beginning of regeneration, while the "building of the Jerusalem" is the final, regenerated state in which the ends of selfishness have been defeated and one returns to true worship of the Lord in every aspect of life.

As in earlier chapters Gabriel provides Daniel with a time frame for this development. This should not be thought of as natural time, however, but as the progression of state through which one passes between repentance and regeneration. Regeneration does not spring into being fully formed the moment a person decides to repent. It is a life-time process involving the gradual transition from a self-oriented life to a selfless life. To manage this one needs to undergo the rigours of temptation and the discipline of self compulsion.

The time given by Gabriel is familiar. The time between the order and the building of Jerusalem is seven weeks. Here we see the repetition of seven, and the meaning is the same—the full cycle of life, indicating once again that rebirth is an ongoing process.

More interesting, however, is the statement that "after sixty and two weeks it shall be restored and built." The term "sixty two" is only used in one other place in the Word, in Daniel chapter five, where we are told that Darius was sixty two years old when he killed Belshazzar. At that point we saw that sixty two represents a state in which faith is developing, but has not yet reached its fullness, for "sixty" describes the progress we make, while "two" indicates the incompleteness of that progress.

By pointing this out we are prepared to realise that whilst repentance is a major step forward in our spiritual lives, by itself it is not enough. If we persist, however, that repentance will develop into the states of reformation and finally regeneration, and the city Jerusalem will be built in our minds.

The angel says that in sixty two weeks the "street will be built again, and the wall." A "street" describes the truth of teaching from the Word (Apocalypse Explained 684). This is not simply an intellectual knowledge of what the Word teaches but an insight into the relevance of that truth to our lives. This truth is clearly related to the conscience which has been developing in the person throughout the course of his or her life, and which is now coming to fruition in leading the person to repentance.

The New King James version here describes the wall being build around the city, but in the original language the term is more properly translated as a trench, a moat or a ditch (Brown-Driver-Briggs Definition #2742. Swedenborg uses the term "fossa" which is translated "moat" or "drainage ditch"). In the internal sense a "moat" represents the doctrine or teaching which leads a person through life. The street and the moat are two sides of the same insightful concept of truth which the Lord gives to us as a result of repentance and prayer.

However, we should also know, as was mentioned above, that repentance initiates one into states of temptation. As soon as we begin to shun selfishness, there is a reassertion of the selfishness. The result is that we enter into the alternations of state described in Daniel’s visions in chapters seven and eight. These alternations are states of temptation as we struggle to be freed from the evil sides of our personalities, and remain connected to the good. The city, street and moat, therefore would be built in "troublesome times," meaning that our spiritual life is regained with difficulty.

There will even be times when "the Messiah will be cut off," a concept similar to the vision in chapter eight, when one feels that one’s spiritual progress, described by the ram, is scattered by the he-goat. The "Messiah shall be cut off" indicates states of relapse into selfishness (Apocalypse Explained 684), although within that selfishness there is still the hope that as long as our conscience survives, like Daniel in the citadel of Shushan, there will be enough power to turn the corner once again and repent.

This is the promise of repentance. When we turn to the Lord in prayer of confession and thanksgiving, we need to know that while things will ultimately be all right, still there is a hard road ahead. Nevertheless we are not alone. The Lord answered Daniel’s prayer with honesty, and He answers our prayers in the same way. The city will be rebuilt, but there is work to be done in the rebuilding of it. Nevertheless, at the time of repentance, we can experience the hope, consolation and inward joy in knowing that the Lord walked this path before us, and from His own power fought and defeated these same inner demons. He gives us the power to walk that path.

422. Verse 2. And I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, signifies the Divine love going forth from the Lord. This is evident from the signification of "angel," as being something Divine proceeding from the Lord; for "angel" in the Word means, in the nearest sense, an entire angelic society, but in a general sense "angel" signifies everyone who receives Divine truth in doctrine and life; while in the highest sense "angel" signifies something Divine proceeding from the Lord, and in particular Divine truth (respecting these significations of an angel see above, n. 90, 130, 200, 302, 307); here, therefore, "the angel ascending from the rising of the sun" signifies the Divine proceeding from the Lord's love; "the rising of the sun" or the "east" signifying the Lord's Divine love, and "to ascend therefrom" signifying to go forth and proceed; so here "the angel ascending from the rising of the sun" signifies the Divine love going forth from the Lord. The things that follow are also of the Divine love, namely, that the good be not harmed. "The rising of the sun" signifies the Lord's Divine love, because the Lord is the sun in the angelic heaven, and the Lord appears as a sun from His Divine love; where the Lord appears as a sun, there in heaven is the east, and as the sun is constantly there it is also constantly in its rising.

[2] In the spiritual world there are four quarters, namely, east, west, south, and north; and these quarters are all determined by the sun, which is the Lord; where this sun is, there is the east, opposite to it is the west, to the right the south, and to the left the north. In the eastern quarter angels who are in love to the Lord dwell, because they are under the nearest auspices of the Lord, for the Lord most nearly and directly flows into them from Divine love, and this is why "the rising of the sun" and the "east" signify in the Word the Lord's Divine love. (That the Lord appears in the angelic heaven as a sun, and that it is the Lord's Divine love that thus appears, see in the work on Heaven and Hell 116-125; consequently that the "sun" signifies in the Word the Divine love, see above, n. 401; that all the quarters in the spiritual world are determined from the east, where the Lord is as a sun, see in the work on Heaven and Hell 141; therefore that those who are in the good of love to the Lord dwell in the eastern quarter, n. 148-149.)

[3] The quarters, namely, the east, west, south, and north, are frequently mentioned in the Word, and he who knows nothing about the spiritual sense of the Word believes that this means the quarters of our solar world, and thus supposes that no arcana of heaven and the church are involved therein; and yet the quarters mentioned in the Word mean the quarters in the spiritual world; which are altogether different from the quarters in our world; for there all angels and spirits have their dwelling places in the quarters according to the quality of their good and truth; those who are in the good of love to the Lord dwelling there in the east and the west, and those who are in truths from that good dwelling in the south and north. They dwell in this manner because the Lord there is the sun, and from Him as the sun are all heat and light, or all good and truth. The heat there, which is spiritual heat or the good of love, inflows directly from the east into the west, and decreases according to reception by the angels, consequently according to the distances, for in the spiritual world all distance from the Lord is in the measure of the reception of good and truth from Him. This is why those who are in interior and thence in clear good of love dwell there in the east, and those who are in exterior and thence obscure good of love dwell in the west. The light, too, which is spiritual light, or Divine truth, flows directly from the east into the west; it also flows into either side, but with the difference, that the Divine truth that flows from the east into the west is in its essence the good of love, while that which flows into either side is in its essence truth from that good; consequently those who dwell in the south and in the north, which are the quarters at the sides, are in the light of truth; those in the south in the clear light of truth, and those in the north in an obscure light of truth; the light of truth is intelligence and wisdom. (But respecting these quarters more may be seen in the work on Heaven and Hell 141-153.) These, therefore, are the quarters meant in the Word where quarters are mentioned, and they also signify such Divine things as exist in those quarters; namely, the "east" the good of love in clearness, the "west" the good of love in obscurity, the "south" truth from that good in clearness, and the "north" truth from that good in obscurity.

[4] Furthermore, there are quarters in the spiritual world which differ from those just mentioned, and are removed from them about thirty degrees; these are under the auspices of the Lord as a moon; for the Lord appears as a sun to those who are in love to Him, but as a moon to those who are in charity towards the neighbor and in faith therefrom (respecting this appearance, see also in the work on Heaven and Hell 118, 119, 122). In the eastern and western quarters there dwell those who are in the good of charity towards the neighbor; and in the southern and northern quarters those who are in truths from that good, which are called the truths of faith. These quarters are also sometimes meant in the Word, where these truths and this good are treated of.

[5] From this it can be seen that one who knows nothing about the quarters of heaven, which have here been mentioned, cannot know the spiritual things of the Word in the passages where the quarters are mentioned, as in the following. In Isaiah:

I will bring in thy seed from the sunrise and bring thee together from the west; I will say to the north, Give up, and to the south, Hold not back; bring in My sons from far, and My daughters from the end of the earth (Isaiah 43:5, 6).

This treats of Jacob and Israel, and one who does not know that these quarters mean the spiritual things mentioned above, may believe the meaning to be that the sons of Israel and Jacob are to be gathered from every side; but "Jacob" and "Israel" mean the church, which consists of those who are in the good of love and in truths from that good, and their "seed" means all who are of that church. "I will bring in thy seed from the sunrise, and will bring thee together from the west," means that those who are in the good of love are to be brought in and gathered together; and "I will say to the north, Give up, and to the south, Hold not back," means that those who are in truths from that good are to be brought in and gathered together. That all who are in these truths and goods, even to those who are in ultimates shall be brought together, is signified by "bring My sons from far, and My daughters from the end of the earth;" "sons" meaning those who are in truths, and "daughters" those who are in goods; "from far," and "from the end of the earth," signifying those who are in the ultimate truths and goods of the church. These quarters have a like signification in the following passages. In David:

Jehovah will gather the redeemed out of the lands, from the sunrise and from the west, from the north and from the sea (Psalms 107:3).

In Moses:

Jehovah said to Jacob in a dream, Thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and shall spread itself towards the west and towards the east, and towards the north and towards the south (Genesis 28:14).

In Luke:

They shall come from the sunrise and from the west, and from the north and from the south, and shall recline in the kingdom of God (Luke 13:29).

[6] In many passages the words "from east to west," and not at the same time "from north and south," are mentioned, by which all who are in the good of love to the Lord and in the good of charity towards the neighbor are meant. Moreover, these quarters involve the two others, because all who are in good are also in truths, for good and truth everywhere act as one; these, therefore, are meant where "from east to west" is mentioned. In Matthew:

Many shall come from the east and even from the west, and shall recline at meat with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of the heavens (Matthew 8:11).

In the passage above cited from Luke (13:29), it is said of those reclining at meat in the kingdom of the heavens that "they shall come from the east and the west, from the north and from the south;" here it is said only "from the east and from the west," because by these two quarters are meant the other two at the same time as has been said. The same is true of the following passages. In Malachi:

From the rising of the sun unto its going down My name is great among the nations (Malachi 1:11).

In David:

From the rising of the sun unto its going down the name of Jehovah is to be praised ¹ (Psalms 113:3).

In Isaiah:

From the going down of the sun they shall fear the name of Jehovah, and His glory from the rising of the sun (Isaiah 59:19).

In the same:

That they may know from the rising of the sun and from its going down that there is none beside Me (Isaiah 45:6).

In David:

God, Jehovah God, speaketh, and shall call the earth from the rising of the sun unto its going down (Psalms 50:1).

In Zechariah:

Behold, I save My people from the land of the sunrise and from the land of the going down of the sun (Zechariah 8:7).

In these passages, "from the rising" and "from the going down" signify all who are in the goods and truths of heaven and of the church. Like things are signified by the quarters:

With reference to which the temple was measured (Ezekiel 42).

And with reference to which the land was to be given for an inheritance (Ezekiel 47:13, et seq .).

And should be distributed among the twelve tribes of Israel (Ezekiel 48).

Also with reference to which the sons of Israel were to measure the camp (Numbers 2).

And with reference to which they should go forward (Numbers 10).

And with reference to which the gates of the new city would be placed (Ezekiel 40; Revelation 21:13; and the same elsewhere).

[7] The temple was to be measured with reference to the quarters (in Ezekiel), and the land was distributed with reference to the quarters (in Ezekiel and also in Joshua), likewise the sons of Israel encamped in reference to the quarters and went forward in the same order, for the reason that all things in the spiritual world are arranged in reference to the quarters, both in general and also in particular. In general, all angels and spirits have their dwelling places in accordance with the states of good and truth with them in corresponding quarters, as was said above; the same is true in particular; for in all assemblies, those who are present are allotted places in quarters that correspond to the states of their life; in like manner they are seated in their temples there, and in like manner also dwell in their houses: in a word, each and every thing there is arranged in accordance with the quarters of heaven; for the form of heaven is the same in every particular as it is in general. This makes evident what is signified by the arrangements in reference to quarters in the Word, also by the quarters in reference to which the tabernacle was built, and in reference to which the temple also was built by Solomon; besides other things.

[8] So much in respect to quarters in general. That the "east" signifies the Lord in respect to Divine love, and thus the Lord with those who receive the good of love to Him, can be seen from the following passages. In Ezekiel:

He brought me to the gate of the temple that looketh toward the east; and behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east; and His voice was like the voice of many waters; and the earth was enlightened by His glory. And the glory of Jehovah came into the house by the way of the gate whose face is toward the east. Then the spirit took me up, and brought me into the inner court; and behold, the glory of Jehovah filled the house (Ezekiel 43:1, 2, 4, 5).

This treats of the building of a new temple, which signifies a new church to be established by the Lord; and because introduction is effected through the good of love to the Lord and through the truth from that good, there was seen "a gate that looked towards the east, and the God of Israel coming from the way of the east;" "gate" signifying introduction and entrance; "the God of Israel" meaning the Lord; the "east" the good of love from Him to Him, and "glory" the truth from that good; for the Lord enters into heaven and so into the church from His Divine love, which in the heavens appears as a sun (as was said above); from this is all Divine good there as well as all Divine truth. That there was seen "the glory of Jehovah entering into the house by the way of the gate whose face is towards the east," and that "the glory of Jehovah filled the house," have a like signification; "house" or "temple" signifying heaven and the church. "Glory" in the Word signifies Divine truth proceeding from the Lord; "the glory of the God of Israel" Divine truth illustrating those who are in the Lord's spiritual kingdom, and "the glory of Jehovah" Divine truth illustrating those who are in the Lord's celestial kingdom. Divine truth is called "glory" because it is the light of heaven, and from that light come all the splendor, magnificence, and glory there, for in the heavens whatever appears before the eyes is from that light; it is therefore added, "the earth was enlightened by His glory," "the earth" meaning the church. The influx of this light towards the lower parts on every side is signified by "His voice was like the voice of many waters; "voice" signifying influx, and "waters" truths.

[9] In the same:

Afterwards He brought me back by the way of the gate of the outer sanctuary that looketh towards the east; and it was shut. But Jehovah the God of Israel shall enter in by it (Ezekiel 44:1, 2).

In the same:

The gate of the inner court that looketh toward the east shall be shut the six days of work; but on the day of the Sabbath it shall be opened (Ezekiel 46:1).

Here, too, "the gate that looketh towards the east" signifies the introduction by the Lord into heaven and into the church through the good of love proceeding from Him; this therefore is meant by "the east;" and that this is done by the Lord is signified by "Jehovah the God of Israel shall enter by that gate;" that introduction is effected by worship of the Lord from that good is signified by "the gate shall be opened on the day of the Sabbath;" and that when there is no worship from that good introduction is not effected is signified by "that gate shall be shut the six days of work."

[10] In the same:

And the cherubim lifted up their wings, and he stood at the entrance of the gate of the house of Jehovah on the east; and the glory of the God of Israel was over them above (Ezekiel 10:19).

"The cherubim" signify the Lord in respect to Divine Providence, and in respect to protection that there be no approach except through the good of love (See above, n. 152, 277); and as the Lord is signified by "the cherubim," and from the Lord as a sun, where the east is, all good of love and all truth from that good proceed, so "the cherubim were seen to stand at the entrance of the gate of the house of Jehovah on the east, and the glory of the God of Israel over them above;" "the house of Jehovah," "the east," and "the glory of the God of Israel," having a similar signification here as above.

[11] In Isaiah:

Who hath stirred up one from the sunrise, whom He hath called in righteousness to His train, He hath given the nations before him and made him to rule over kings? (Isaiah 41:2).

This treats of the Lord, who is said to have been "stirred up from the sunrise" because He was conceived from the Divine Itself, which in its essence is Divine love; it is from this that the Lord is the sun of the angelic heaven; "to call in righteousness" signifies to restore heaven and the church; for "the righteousness of the Lord" signifies in the Word that from His own power He saved the human race, and this was done by reducing all things in the heavens and hells to order. (See above, n. 293 what the rest signifies was explained above, n. 357.)

[12] In the second book of Samuel:

The spirit of Jehovah spake in me, the God of Israel said, the Rock of Israel spake to me, As the light of the morning when the sun riseth, a morning without clouds; from the brightness after rain cometh grass out of the earth (2 Samuel 23:2-4).

"The God of Israel" and "the Rock of Israel" mean the Lord, and because He is the sun of the angelic heaven, and because all Divine truth which illustrates angels and men, and gives intelligence and works reformation, proceeds from Him as a sun and flows in, so it is said "as the light in the morning when the sun riseth, a morning without clouds; from the brightness after rain cometh grass out of the earth;" "the light in the morning when the sun riseth" signifying Divine truth from the Lord as a sun; "a morning without clouds" signifying the purity of that truth; "rain" its influx, and "grass out of the earth" the consequent intelligence and reformation; for these are signified by "grass" because grass springs out of the earth by the action of the sun of the world after rain, and intelligence is from the Lord as a sun through the influx of Divine truth.

[13] In Isaiah:

Jehovah shall arise upon thee, and His glory shall be seen upon thee. And the nations shall walk to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising (Isaiah 60:2, 3).

This is said of the Lord; and the Divine in Him is meant by "Jehovah shall arise upon thee, and His glory shall be seen upon thee;" the Divine good of the Divine love is meant by "Jehovah shall arise upon thee," and Divine truth from that good by "His glory shall be seen upon thee;" "nations" signify those who are in good, and "kings" those who are in truths from good; of the former it is said "they shall walk to thy light," which signifies a life according to Divine truth; and of the latter, "they shall walk to the brightness of thy rising," which signifies a life of intelligence from Divine good; "to walk" signifying to live; "light" Divine truth, and "the brightness of rising" Divine truth from Divine good, whence is intelligence.

[14] In Ezekiel:

Then the cherubim lifted up their wings, and the glory of the God of Israel was over them above. And the glory of Jehovah went up over the midst of the city, and stood over the mountain on the east of the city (Ezekiel 11:22, 23).

"The cherubim" signify the Lord in respect to Divine Providence and protection, and "the glory of the God of Israel" signifies Divine truth proceeding from the Lord (as above). And because Divine truth, which is light, proceeds from the Lord as a sun in the angelic heaven, "the glory of Jehovah was seen to go up over the midst of the city, and to stand over the mountain on the east of the city," for Jerusalem is the city that is meant, and it signifies the church in respect to doctrine; and because the doctrine of the church is from Divine truth, the glory of Jehovah was seen "to go up over the midst of the city," and because all Divine truth proceeds from the Lord as a sun, and there the east is, the glory was seen "to stand over the mountain on the east of the city;" the mountain on the east of the city was the Mount of Olives. That "the Mount of Olives" signifies the Lord's Divine love, and on that account the Lord was accustomed to tarry on that mountain, may be seen above n. 405; and that the Mount of Olives was before Jerusalem on the east may be seen in Zechariah (Zechariah 14:4).

[15] In Ezekiel:

He brought me back to the entrance of the house; where behold, waters going out from under the threshold of the house towards the east, the front of the house being east, and the waters coming down from under, from the right side of the house, at the south of the altar. And he brought me out by the way of the gate northward, and led me round by the outer way to the outer gate, by the way that looketh eastward; and behold, waters running from the right side. He said to me, These waters go forth toward the eastern boundary, and go down into the plain, and come towards the sea, being sent forth into the sea that the waters may be healed; whence it cometh to pass that every living soul that creeps, whithersoever the brooks come, liveth; whence there is exceeding much fish. And by the brook upon the bank thereof, on this side and on that side, cometh up every tree for food, whose leaf falleth not, nor does its fruit come to an end (Ezekiel 47:1, 2, 8, 9, 12).

This describes a new church to be established by the Lord in the heavens and on the earth, when everything Divine shall proceed from the Lord's Divine Human; for before the Lord's coming the Divine proceeded from His Divine that He calls "the Father," but after the church had become vastated, this did not reach to the ultimates. Here "house" signifies the church, its "gate" entrance and introduction, the "east" the Lord where His Divine love appears as a sun, and "the waters going out" Divine truth proceeding from that sun. The "plain" and the "sea" signify the ultimates of the church, that is, where those are who are in ultimate truths and goods, to whom the Divine did not reach before, because they are natural and sensual, and but little spiritual. That "the waters of the sea were healed by the flowing in of the brook from the east" signifies that after the Lord's coming even these had life from the Divine; "exceeding much fish" signifies the abundance of cognitions and knowledges, which in such also acquire spiritual life; the fructification of good and the multiplication of truth are signified by "on the bank of the brook every tree for food cometh up, whose leaf falleth not off, and its fruit does not come to an end." From this it can be seen what the particulars here signify in series, and that "the east," from which they all are, signifies the Lord and His Divine love.

[16] The like is signified in Zechariah:

And it shall come to pass in that day that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; part of them to the eastern sea (Zechariah 14:8).

This, too, treats of the Lord. "In that day" signifies His coming, and the "eastern sea" signifies the last limit toward the east in the spiritual world, at which there was no reception of Divine truth before the Lord's coming, but where there was reception when Divine truth proceeded from His Divine Human. That the ultimates in the spiritual world are like seas may be seen above n. 342; and that there are dry places and wastes there may be seen in Joel (Joel 2:20).

[17] Because in heaven, where the angels are, the Lord appears as a sun, and is there the east:

So Aaron, when he made expiation for himself and his house, sprinkled of the blood of the bullock before the mercy-seat eastward (Leviticus 16:14, 15);

So Moses and Aaron and his sons pitched their camp before the Tent of the meeting towards the east (Numbers 3:38);

Also the tribe of Judah (Numbers 2:3).

"Moses, Aaron and his sons," and "the tribe of Judah," represented the Lord in respect to Divine good and Divine truth proceeding from Divine love; for this reason their camp was towards the east. So, too, the ancients in their adorations turned their faces to the rising of the sun; and so built their temples that the front parts, where the adytum was, should look towards the east, which from the old custom is still done at the present day. Moreover, the whole angelic heaven is turned to the Lord as a sun, thus constantly to the east; furthermore, all the interiors of the angels in the heavens are turned in that direction, and for this reason the angels of heaven turn their faces to the Lord. (Respecting this turning see many things worthy of mention in the work Heaven and Hell 17, 123, 142-144, 272)

[18] Because the Lord is the east it is said in Matthew:

As the lightning cometh forth from the east, and is seen even unto the west, so shall the coming of the Son of man be (Matthew 24:27).

Since "the rising of the sun" signifies in reference to men the good of love, proceeding from the Lord as a sun, received by them, it is said in the book of Judges:

Let all Thine enemies perish, O Jehovah; but let them that love Him be as the rising of the sun in his might (Judges 5:31).

This is in the prophetic song of Deborah and Barak; and of those who love Jehovah, who are those that are in the good of love to the Lord, it is said, "Let them be as the rising of the sun in his might."

[19] In Moses:

Joseph shall have of the firstfruits of the mountains of the east, and of the precious things of the hills of an age (Deuteronomy 33:15).

"Joseph" in the representative sense signifies the Lord's spiritual kingdom, therefore it is said of him that he shall have "of the firstfruits of the mountains of the east, and of the precious things of the hills of an age;" "the firstfruits of the mountains of the east" signify the genuine goods of love to the Lord, and thence of charity towards the neighbor; "the mountains of the east" meaning the good of love to the Lord, and "firstfruits" genuine and primary goods; "the hills of an age" mean the goods of charity towards the neighbor; when these are genuine they are called "precious things." (The rest of the blessing of Joseph may be seen explained above, n. 405.)

[20] In ancient times there was a church in many kingdoms of Asia, as in the land of Canaan, in Syria and Assyria, in Arabia, Ethiopia, Egypt, Chaldea, in Tyre and Sidon, and elsewhere; but the church with them was a representative church, for in all the particulars of their worship, and in every one of their statutes, spiritual and celestial things, which are the internals of the church, were represented, and in the highest sense the Lord Himself was represented. These representatives in worship and statutes remained with many even to the Lord's coming, and thence there was a knowledge of His coming; as can be seen from the predictions of Balaam, who was from Syria, and who prophesied of the Lord in these words:

I see Him, but not now; I behold Him, but not nigh; there shall arise a Star out of Jacob, and a Scepter shall rise out of Israel (Numbers 24:17).

That this knowledge was afterwards preserved is evident from this, that certain wise men from the east, when the Lord was born saw a star from the east, which they followed, which is thus described in Matthew:

In the days of Herod the king wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, where is He that is born King of the Jews? for we saw His star in the east, and have come to worship Him; and lo, the star which they saw in the east went before them till it came and stood over where the young child was (Matthew 2:1, 2, 9).

The star appeared to those from the east because the Lord is the east; and because they had knowledge respecting the Lord's coming from representatives that were with them, the star appeared and went before them, first to Jerusalem, which represented the church itself in respect to doctrine and in respect to the Word, and from there to the place where the infant Lord lay. Moreover, a "star" signifies the knowledges of good and truth, and in the highest sense the knowledge respecting the Lord. (That "stars" signify in the Word the knowledges of good and truth, see above, n. 72, 179, 402.) And because the Orientals had such knowledges they were called "sons of the east." That those from Arabia were so called is evident in Jeremiah (Jeremiah 49:28). Also "sons of the east" signify in the Word the knowledges of good and truth; "Kedar," that is, Arabia, has a similar signification. That Job was one of the sons of the east is evident from Job 1:3).

[21] As most things in the Word have also a contrary sense, so does "the east," and in that sense it signifies the love of self, because this love is the opposite of love to the Lord. In this sense the east is mentioned in Ezekiel 8:16, and in Isaiah (Isaiah 2:6). That "the east" signifies the Lord in respect to Divine love, and thus the good of love to Him, can be more fully seen from what was shown above respecting the sun (n. 401; and the morning, n. 176; for where the sun is in the angelic heaven there is the east; and as the morning is where the sun rises, and there the sun is always in its rising and never setting, so "morning" has a like signification.

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