408. (Verse 15) And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men. That this signifies all internal goods and truths, and all external goods and truths, by means of which there are wisdom and intelligence, is clear from the signification of kings, as denoting truths from good in their whole extent (concerning which see above, n. 31); from the signification of great men, and rich men, as denoting internal goods and truths, concerning which we shall speak presently; from the signification of chief captains, and mighty men, as denoting external goods and truths; the chief captains denoting such goods, and the mighty men such truths, concerning which also we shall speak presently. It is said also, by which there are wisdom and intelligence, because from internal goods and truths, which are spiritual goods and truths, there is wisdom, and from external goods and truths, which are natural goods and truths from spiritual, there is intelligence. Wisdom is distinguished from intelligence in this, that wisdom is from the light of heaven, and intelligence from the light of the world enlightened by the light of heaven. Hence it is that wisdom is said of spiritual goods and truths, and intelligence of natural goods and truths; for spiritual goods and truths are from the light of heaven, because the spiritual mind, or the internal mind, is in the light of heaven; and natural goods and truths are from the light of the world, because the natural and external mind is in the light of the world; but in proportion as this mind receives the light of heaven through the spiritual mind, in the same proportion it is in intelligence. He who supposes that intelligence is from the light of the world only, which is called natural light, is much deceived. To see goods and truths from themselves, whether they be civil, moral, or spiritual, is understood by intelligence; but to see them from another, is not intelligence but knowledge. But that it may be known how these things are to be understood, see what is said in the preceding article (n. 406), namely, that man has two minds, the one spiritual or internal, the other natural or external, and that the spiritual or internal mind is opened with those who apply the goods and truths of the Word to the life, but that it is not opened with those who do not apply the goods and truths of the Word to the life, but only the natural or external mind; hence the latter are called natural men, but the former spiritual; to which it must be added, that in proportion as the spiritual or internal mind is opened, in the same proportion spiritual light, which is the light of heaven, flows in thereby from the Lord into the natural or external mind, and enlightens it and imparts intelligence. The goods and truths that make the spiritual or internal mind are meant by the great men, and the rich men; goods by the great men, and truths by the rich men; and the goods and truths which make the natural or external mind are meant by the chief captains, and the mighty men; such goods by the chief captains, and such truths by the mighty men. Hence it is clear that these words, in the internal sense, include all things with man; for the extinction of all things is treated of in what follows. All things in man have reference to good and truth, as also all things in the universe, man having all wisdom and intelligence from and according to these.

[2] He who considers the sense of the letter only, cannot see otherwise than that kings, and the chief men in their kingdoms, are meant, and that so many are mentioned in order that the sense may be exalted. But no word in the Word is without meaning, because it is Divine in everything therein; therefore by them are meant things Divine pertaining to heaven and the church, which in general speech are called things celestial and spiritual, from which the Word is Divine, celestial, and spiritual. The Word also was given, that by its means there may be a conjunction of heaven with the church, or of the angels of heaven with the men of the church (as may be seen in the work concerning Heaven and Hell 303-310); and such conjunction cannot exist if nothing else were meant by these words but what appears in the sense of the letter, namely, that the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the chief captains, and the mighty men, also every bondman and every freeman, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains, these things also being natural; but when thereby spiritual things are at the same time meant, then there is conjunction. For otherwise the angels could not be conjoined with men, since the angels are spiritual, because [they are] in the spiritual world, and hence think spiritually and also speak spiritually; but men are natural, because in the natural world, and hence think naturally and speak naturally. These observations are made in order that it may be known that by the kings of the earth, great men, rich men, chief captains, and mighty men are also signified spiritual things. That spiritual things are meant; namely, by great men and rich men, internal goods and truths, and by the chief captains and the mighty men, external goods and truths, is evident from their signification where they are mentioned in the Word.

[3] That great men in the Word signify internal goods, which are the goods of the internal or spiritual man, is because great and greatness, in the Word, are said of good, and many and multitude, of truth (as may be seen above, n. 336, 337). That internal goods are signified by great men, is, that by these four, namely, great men, rich men, chief captains, and mighty men, are signified all the goods and truths in man, thus both the goods and truths of the internal or spiritual man, and of the external or natural man. By the great men and the rich men [are meant] the goods and truths of the internal or spiritual man; and by the chief captains and the mighty men, the goods and truths of the external and natural man; therefore it is also added, every bondman and every freeman, the bondman signifying the external of man, which is called the natural man, and the freeman, the internal of man, which is called the spiritual man. Similar things are also signified by great men elsewhere in the Word (namely, in Jeremiah 5:5; in Nahum 3:9; and in Jonah 3:7). That rich men signify internal truths, which are spiritual truths, or those who are in such truths, is plain from what has been shown above (n. 118, 236). That chief captains signify external goods, which are goods of the natural man, was also shown above (n. 336); wherefore it is unnecessary to adduce more concerning them. But that the mighty men signify external truths, or truths of the natural man, is plain from many passages in the Word, where mighty men, and strong men, also power and strength, are mentioned; the reason is, that all power belongs to truths from good, and indeed to the truths that are in the natural man. That all power belongs to truths from good, is, because good does not act of itself, but by means of truths, for good forms itself into truths, and clothes itself with them, as the soul with the body, and so acts; the reason why it acts by means of truths in the natural man, is, that all interior things are together therein, and in their fulness. That all power pertains to truths from good, or to good by truths, may be seen above (n. 209, 333; and in the work concerning Heaven and Hell 231, 232, 539); and that all power is in ultimates, because the Divine is therein in its fulness, above (n. 346; and in the Arcana Coelestia 9836, 10044). From these things it is evident that by mighty men are meant external truths, or the truths of the natural man.

3900. Then if anyone says to you, Behold, here is the Christ! or There! do not believe it means a warning to beware of what they teach. 'The Christ' refers to the Lord as regards Divine Truth, and therefore to the Word and to doctrine from the Word. But here the contrary is clearly meant - Divine Truth falsified, or doctrine that teaches what is false. For 'Jesus' means Divine Good and 'Christ' Divine Truth, see 3004, 3005, 3008, 3009.

[2] For false Christs and false prophets will arise means the falsities taught by that doctrine. 'False Christs' means matters of doctrine from the Word that have been falsified, that is, truths that are not Divine, as is evident from what has been stated immediately above; see also 3010, 3732 (end). And 'false prophets' means those who teach those falsities, 2534. In the Christian world those who teach falsities are in particular those who have self-aggrandizement and also worldly wealth as their end in view. Indeed they twist the truths of the Word to suit themselves. For when self-love and love of the world is the end in view, nothing else is contemplated. These are the 'false Christs and false prophets'.

[3] And they will show great signs and wonders means proofs and convincing reasons that are based on outward appearances and on illusions by which the simple allow themselves to be led astray. The meaning of 'signs and wonders' will in the Lord's Divine mercy be shown elsewhere.

[4] So as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect means those who lead lives that are good and true and who therefore abide in the Lord. These are the ones who in the Word are called 'the elect'. They are rarely present in a group of those who cloak worship that is profane with outward reverence; or if they are present there they go unrecognized because the Lord hides them and so protects them. Until they have been made strong by Him, they easily allow themselves to be led astray by external practices expressing reverence; but once they have been made strong they are not deceived. For though they are not aware of it, they are kept by the Lord in the company of angels, when it is impossible for them to be led astray by that unspeakable crew.

[5] Behold, I have told you beforehand means an exhortation to be shrewd, that is, to be on their guard, since they are among false prophets who appear in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves, Matthew 7:15. Those false prophets are the sons of the age who are more shrewd, that is, more cunning, in their own generation than the sons of light, referred to in Luke 16:8. For this reason the Lord warns them as follows,

Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and simple as doves. Matthew 10:16.

[6] If therefore they say to you, Behold, He is in the wilderness! do not go out; Behold, He is in the inner rooms! do not believe it means that what they say about the truth, what they say about good, and many other things, are not to be believed. Nobody can see that this is the meaning of these words except one who is acquainted with the internal sense. They contain an arcanum within them, as one may see from the fact that the Lord spoke them and that without some other sense concealed within them interiorly they would not amount to anything. That is to say, the injunctions not to go out if they said that Christ was in the wilderness and not to believe it if they said that He was in the inner rooms would not amount to anything. But truth that has undergone vastation is what 'the wilderness' means, and good that has undergone vastation, what 'the inner rooms' or inward parts means. The reason why truth that has undergone vastation is meant by a wilderness is that when the Church has undergone vastation, that is, when there is no Divine truth there any longer because no good exists there any longer, that is, no love to the Lord or charity towards the neighbour, it is called a wilderness or said to be in the wilderness. For the word wilderness is used to mean everything that is uncultivated or uninhabited, 2708, and also to mean that which has little life to it, 1927, as is the case at that time with truth in the Church. From this it is evident that 'the wilderness' here means a Church in which truth does not exist.

[7] 'The inner rooms' or inward parts however in the internal sense means the Church as regards good, and also simply that which is good. A Church in which good is present is called 'the House of God', 'the inner rooms' in this case being forms of good, as also are the contents of that house. For 'the House of God' means Divine good, and 'a house' in general means good that flows from love and charity, see 2233, 2234, 2559, 3142, 3652, 3720. The reason why what they say about truth and what they say about good is not to be believed is that they call falsity the truth and evil good. Indeed people whose end in view is self and the world do not understand anything else by truth and good than that they themselves should be adored and they themselves should receive benefits. And if they give the impression that they are devout it is so that they may be seen dressed in sheep's clothing.

[8] What is more, the Word which the Lord has spoken contains more in it than anyone can calculate, and 'the wilderness' is an expression that has a wide range of spiritual meanings. As everything uncultivated or uninhabited is called 'the wilderness' and all things that are interior are called 'the inner rooms', therefore 'the wilderness' also means the Old Testament Word since this is considered to be superseded, while 'the inner rooms' means the New Testament Word since this teaches about interior things, that is, it is concerned with the internal man. The Word as a whole is likewise referred to as 'the wilderness' when it no longer serves to supply matters of doctrine, and 'inner rooms' is the name given to human practices which, being departures from the commands and ordinances of the Word, turn the Word into a wilderness. This is also well known in the Christian world, for people whose worship is outwardly holy but inwardly profane owing to the introduction of novelties which have as their end in view pre-eminence over all others and becoming wealthier than all others set aside the Word. Indeed they go so far as not to allow others to read it. And even in the case of those whose worship is not profane as just described and who do regard the Word to be holy and do allow it a place among ordinary people, they nevertheless bend and explain everything in accordance with their own teachings. And this turns the rest of the Word which does not accord with their own teachings into a wilderness, as becomes quite clear from those who focus salvation on faith alone and show contempt for the works of charity. They turn so to speak into a wilderness everything which the Lord Himself has stated in the New Testament, and so many times in the Old, about love and charity. And everything to do with faith without works is turned so to speak into inner rooms. From this it is evident what is meant by, If they say to you, Behold, He is in the wilderness! do not go out; Behold, He is in the inner rooms! do not believe it.

[9] For as the lightning comes from the east and is seen as far as the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be means that internal worship of the Lord will be like lightning which is instantly dispersed. For 'lightning' means that which is a manifestation of heavenly light and thus that which has reference to love and faith since these are the components of heavenly light. 'East' in the highest sense means the Lord, in the internal sense good that flows from love, charity, and faith received from the Lord, see 101, 1250, 3249. 'West' in the internal sense however means that which has gone down or ceased to be, and so means the non-acknowledgement of the Lord or of good that flows from love, charity, and faith. Accordingly 'the lightning which comes from the east and is seen as far as the west' means dispersal. The Lord's coming does not consist, as the letter has it, in His appearing once again in the world, but in His presence within everyone. He is present there as often as the gospel is preached and that which is holy is contemplated.

[10] For wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together means that confirmations of falsity by means of reasonings will be multiplied in the Church that has undergone vastation. When the Church is devoid of good and as a consequence devoid of the truth of faith, that is, when it has undergone vastation, it is called dead, since good and truth are the source of its life. And so when it is dead it is compared to 'the carcass'. Reasonings to the effect that goods and truths are nothing except insofar as they can be grasped mentally, and confirmations of evil and falsity by means of those reasonings, are meant by 'the eagles', as may be seen from what follows immediately below. The fact that 'the carcass' here means the Church when devoid of the life of charity and faith is evident from the Lord's words where the close of the age is the subject, in Luke,

The disciples said (referring to the close of the age or the Last Judgement), Where, Lord? Jesus said to them, Where the body is, there the eagles will be gathered together. Luke 17:37.

'The body' is used here instead of the carcass, it being a dead body that is understood in this case, which means the Church. For it is clear from many references in the Word that the House of God - that is, the Church - is where the Judgement begins. These then are the details meant in the internal sense by the Lord's words which have been introduced and explained above. The most wonderful flow of ideas, though barely visible at all in the sense of the letter, may be seen by anyone who thinks about them in the connected sequence explained above.