730. Verse 6 (Revelation 12:6). And the woman fled into the wilderness, signifies the church among a few, because with those who are not in good, and consequently not in truths. This is evident from the signification of "woman," as being the church (See above, n. 707), also from the signification of "wilderness," as being where there are no truths because there is no good (of which presently); also from the signification of "fleeing" thither, as meaning to tarry among those who are not in truths because they are not in good; and as there are at the end of the church but few who are in truths from good, it signifies among a few. From this it is clear what these words involve, namely, that the New Church that is called the Holy Jerusalem, which is signified by "the woman," can as yet be instituted only with a few, by reason that the former church is become a wilderness; and the church is called a "wilderness" when there is no longer any good; and where there is no good there are no truths. When the church is such, evils and falsities reign, which hinder the reception of its doctrine, that is, the doctrine of love to the Lord and of charity towards the neighbor, with its truths; and when doctrine is not received there is no church, for the church is from doctrine.

[2] Something shall first be said of there being no truths where there is no good. By good is meant the good of the life according to the truths of doctrine from the Word. The reason is because the Lord never flows immediately into truths with man, but mediately through his good; for good is of the will, and the will is the man himself; from the will the understanding is produced and formed; for the understanding is adjoined to the will so that what the will loves the understanding sees, and also brings forth into light; consequently if the will is not in good, but is in evil, then the influx of truth from the Lord into the understanding has no effect, for it is dissipated, because it is not loved, yea, it is perverted, and the truth is falsified. From this it is clear why the Lord does not flow immediately into man's understanding except so far as the will is in good. With every man the Lord can enlighten the understanding, and thus flow in with Divine truths, since there is given to every man the ability to understand truth, and this for the sake of his reformation; nevertheless the Lord does not flow in, because truths do not remain except so far as the will has been reformed. Moreover, it is dangerous to so enlighten the understanding in truths as to produce belief except so far as the will acts as one with it; since man can then pervert, adulterate, and profane truths, which is most hurtful. Furthermore, so far as truths are known and understood and are not at the same time lived, they are nothing but lifeless truths, and lifeless truths are like statues that have no life. From this it can be seen why it is that there are no truths where there is no good, that is, not in essence but only in form.

[3] The man of the church at its end is such, because man then loves supremely such things as belong to the body and the world; and when these are loved supremely then the things pertaining to the Lord and heaven are not loved, for no one can serve two masters at the same time but that he will love the one and hate the other, since they are opposites. For from the love of the body, which is the love of self, and from the love of the world, which is the love of riches, when these are loved above all things, evils of every kind flow forth, and from evils falsities, and these are the opposites of goods and truths, which come forth from love to the Lord and from charity towards the neighbor. These few words will make clear why it is that the woman is said "to have fled into the wilderness," that is, among a few, because of being with those who are not in good, and thus not in truths.

[4] In the Word wilderness and also solitude and waste places are mentioned in many passages, and these signify the state of the church when there is no longer any truth in it because there is no good. This state of the church is called a "wilderness" because in the spiritual world the place where those dwell who are not in truths because they are not in good is like a wilderness, where there is no verdure in the plains, nor harvest in the fields, nor fruit trees in the gardens, but a barren land, parched and dry; moreover "wilderness" signifies in the Word the state of the church with the Gentiles who are in ignorance of truth, and yet are in the good of life according to their religious principle, from which they have a desire for truths. "Wilderness," signifies also in the Word the state of those who are in temptations, because in temptations goods and truths are shut in by the evils and falsities that come forth and are presented to the mind. That "wilderness" has these significations in the Word can be seen from the passages therein where "wilderness" is mentioned.

[5] In respect to the first meaning, namely, that "wilderness" means the state of the church when there is no longer any truth in it because there is no good, it is evident from the following passages. In Isaiah:

Is this the man that maketh the earth to tremble, that maketh kingdoms quake, that hath made the world a wilderness and destroyed the cities thereof? (Isaiah 14:16, 17)

This is said of Lucifer, by whom Babylon is meant, and "to make the earth to tremble, to make kingdoms quake, and make the world a wilderness," signifies to destroy all the truths and goods of the church; "the earth" meaning the church; "kingdoms" its truths; "world" its goods; and "wilderness" where these are not. "To destroy its cities" signifies its doctrinals, "city" signifying doctrine. The adulteration of the Word, whereby doctrine and thus the church is destroyed, is here signified by "Babylon. "

[6] In the same:

Upon the land of my people shall come up the thorn of the briar, yea, upon all the houses of joy in the triumphing city; for the palace shall be deserted, the multitude of the city shall be forsaken. The height and the watchtower shall be over the caves forever, a joy of wild asses, a pasture for flocks (Isaiah 32:13, 14).

"Upon the land of my people shall come up the thorn of the briar" signifies the falsity of evil in the church; "the thorn of the briar" meaning the falsity of evil, and "land" the church. "Upon all the houses of joy in the triumphing city" signifies where the goods and truths of the doctrine from the Word have been received with affection. But what is signified by "the palace shall be deserted, the multitude of the city shall be forsaken, the height and the watchtower shall be over the caves, a joy of wild asses, and a pasture for flocks," may be seen above n. 410, where it is explained.

[7] In the same:

At My rebuke I dry up the sea, I make the rivers into a wilderness, their fish shall rot because there is no water, and shall die for thirst (Isaiah 50:2).

"To make the rivers into a wilderness," signifies to deprive the understanding of truths, thus to deprive man of intelligence. (The rest may be seen explained above, n. 342 In Jeremiah:

I saw, and lo, Carmel was a wilderness, and all the cities were desolate before Jehovah; the whole land shall be a waste (Jeremiah 4:26, 27).

"Carmel" signifies the spiritual church, which is in truths from good; that this was a "wilderness" signifies that there were in it no truths from good; "cities which were desolate" signify doctrinals without truths; "the whole land a waste" signifies a church destitute of good and consequently of truths.

[8] In the same:

Many shepherds have destroyed My vineyard, they have trodden down My field, they have made the field of My desire a wilderness of solitude. Devastators are come upon all the hills in the wilderness, for the sword of Jehovah devoureth from one end of the land to the other end of it (Jeremiah 12:10, 12).

The total destruction of the truths and goods of the church by falsities from evil is signified by "they have destroyed the vineyard, trodden down the field, made the field of desire a wilderness of solitude; and devastators are come upon all the hills in the wilderness, for the sword of Jehovah devoureth;" "vineyard and field" signify the church in respect to truth and good; "field of desire" signifies the church in respect to doctrine; and "wilderness of solitude" where these are not; "devastators in the wilderness" signify evils because of the absence of truths; "the sword of Jehovah devoureth" signifies falsity destroying; "from one end of the land to the other end of the land" signifies all things of the church.

[9] In Lamentations:

We get our bread with the peril of our souls, because of the sword of the wilderness (Lamentations 5:9).

"To get bread with the peril of souls" signifies the difficulty and danger in acquiring the truths of life from the Word; "because of the sword of the wilderness" signifies because the falsity of evil prevails in the church and falsifies truths and thus destroys them.

[10] In Ezekiel:

The vine is now planted in the wilderness, in a land of drought and thirst (Ezekiel 19:13).

"Vine" signifies the church, which in the beginning of this chapter is called "a mother who became a lioness;" this is said "to be planted in the wilderness" when there is no longer any truth in it because there is no good; "a land of drought" means where there is no good, but evil instead, and a "land of thirst" means where there is no truth, but falsity instead.

[11] In Hosea:

Strive with your mother that she may put away her whoredoms from her faces, lest I strip her naked and set her as in the day of her birth, and make her as a wilderness, and set her as a land of drought, and slay her with thirst (Hosea 2:2, 3).

This is said of the church that has falsified the truths of the Word; "mother" means the church, and "whoredoms" the falsifications of truth; "to strip her naked and set her as in the day of her birth" signifies to deprive the church of all truth, as it was before it was reformed; "wilderness" and "land of drought" signify a church without good; and "to slay with thirst" signifies a deprivation of truth; "thirst" is predicated of truths, because "water," which is thirsted for, means truth, and "drought" is predicated of the want of good, because it is a result of scorching.

[12] In the same:

He is fierce among the brethren; an east wind shall come, the wind of Jehovah, coming up from the wilderness, and his spring shall become dry, and his fountain shall be dried up (Hosea 13:15).

This is said of Ephraim, by whom the understanding of the Word is meant, and this is called "fierce among the brethren" when it eagerly defends falsities, and combats for them against truths; "an east wind, the wind of Jehovah," signifies the ardor of desire from a love for and pride in the destruction of truths; this is said "to come up from the wilderness" when it is from an understanding in which there are no truths from good, but only falsities from evil; such an understanding is a "wilderness" because it is empty and void; that by such ardor and pride everything of doctrine and of the Word is destroyed is signified by "his spring shall become dry and his fountain shall be dried up," "spring" meaning doctrine, and "fountain" the Word.

[13] In Joel:

O Jehovah, to thee do I cry, because the fire hath consumed the habitations of the wilderness, and the flame hath burned all the trees of the field; for the beasts of the field pant after Thee, for the streams of waters are dried up, and the fire hath consumed the habitations of the wilderness (Joel 1:19, 20).

"The fire hath consumed the habitations of the wilderness and the flame hath burned all the trees of the field" signifies that the love of self and the pride of self-intelligence have consumed all the perception of good and all the understanding of the truth of doctrine from the sense of the letter of the Word, "fire" signifying the love of self, "flame" the pride of self-intelligence, "the habitations of the wilderness" the goods of doctrine from the sense of the letter of the Word, and "the trees of the field" the knowledges of its truth. The sense of the letter of the Word is called a "wilderness" when it is merely understood naturally, thus according to appearances, and not at the same time spiritually, or according to the genuine sense. "The beasts of the field pant after Thee" signifies the lamentations of those who are natural and yet have a desire for truths; that "beasts" signify the affections of the natural man may be seen above n. 650; "for the streams of waters are dried up, and the fire hath consumed the habitations of the wilderness" signifies that consequently there are no longer any truths and goods of life.

[14] In the same:

The day of Jehovah cometh; a fire consumeth before him, and behind him a flame kindleth; the land is as the garden of Eden before him, but behind him a wilderness of wasteness, and nothing escaped him (Joel 2:1, 3).

"The day of Jehovah" means the end of the church, called the consummation of the age, and the Lord's coming at that time. That at the end of the church the love of self and the consequent pride of self-intelligence consume all its goods and truths is signified by "a fire devoureth before him, and behind him a flame kindleth," "fire" signifying the love of self, and "flame" the pride of self-intelligence, as above. "The land is as the garden of Eden before him, but behind him a wilderness of wasteness," signifies that in the beginning, when that church was established with the ancients, there was an understanding of truth from good, but at its end falsity from evil; "the garden of Eden" signifying the understanding of truth from good and the consequent wisdom, and "wilderness of wasteness" signifying no understanding of truth from good, and consequent insanity from falsities that are from evil; "nothing escaped him" signifies that there is nothing whatever of truth from good.

[15] In Isaiah:

The land mourneth, it languisheth, Lebanon blusheth, it hath withered away, Sharon is become like a desert, Bashan is shaken out, and Carmel (Isaiah 33:9).

This, too, describes the devastation of good and the desolation of truth in the church. "Lebanon" signifies the church in respect to a rational understanding of good and truth; "Sharon," "Bashan," and "Carmel," the church in respect to the knowledges of good and truth from the natural sense of the Word; the devastation and abandonment of these is signified by "mourning," "languishing," "withering away," and "becoming like a desert," the "desert" meaning where there is no truth because there is no good.

[16] In Jeremiah:

Because the land is full of adulterers, because the land mourneth on account of cursing, the pastures of the wilderness are dried up (Jeremiah 23:10).

"The land full of adulterers" signifies the church which has its goods and truths from the Word adulterated; the "curse" on account of which the land mourneth, signifies all the evil of life and falsity of doctrine; and "the pastures of the wilderness that are dried up" signify the knowledges of good and truth from the Word; "pastures" meaning such knowledges because they nourish the mind, and "wilderness" signifies the Word when it is adulterated.

[17] In David:

Jehovah maketh rivers into a wilderness, and the springs of water into dryness, a land of fruit into saltiness, for the wickedness of them that dwell therein (Psalms 107:33, 34).

"The rivers that are made into a wilderness" signify intelligence from the understanding of truth and also of the Word in its interior sense, that has been devastated by falsities from evil; "rivers" meaning such things as belong to intelligence, and "wilderness" where these things are absent, and in their place are the falsities from evil. "The springs of water that are turned into dryness" signify that the lowest things of the understanding, which are called the knowledges of truth and good, have no light of truth or spiritual affection for it; "waters" signifying truths; "dryness" deprivation of these from the absence of light and affection, and "springs" the ultimates of truth, like the truths of the sense of the letter of the Word. "The land of fruit that shall be made into saltiness" signifies the good of love and of life deeply vastated by falsities; "saltiness" meaning the devastation of truth by falsities; and as all devastation by falsities comes from the evil of the life it is added, "for the wickedness of them that dwell therein. "

[18] In Jeremiah:

Lift up thine eyes unto the hills, and see where thou hast been defiled, upon the ways hast thou sat as an Arabian in the wilderness, whence thou hast profaned the land with thy whoredoms and thy wickedness (Jeremiah 3:2).

This describes the adulteration and falsification of the Word, which are signified by "being defiled and committing whoredom;" so "Lift up thine eyes unto the hills, and see where thou hast been defiled," signifies to give thought to the knowledges of truth and good in the Word, that they have been adulterated; "to lift up the eyes" signifies to give thought, "hills" signify those knowledges because the groves and trees that are upon them signify knowledges; "hills" signify also the goods of charity which are so destroyed; "upon the ways hast thou sat as an Arabian in the wilderness" signifies to lie in wait, lest any truth should come forth and be received; "ways" meaning the truths of the church; "to sit in them" meaning to lie in wait, and "an Arabian in the wilderness" meaning one who kills and plunders like a robber in the wilderness. "Thou hast profaned the land with thy whoredoms and wickedness" signifies the falsification of the truths of the Word by evils that have come to be of the life.

[19] In the same:

O generation, see ye the Word of Jehovah; have I been a wilderness to Israel? have I been a land of darkness? (Jeremiah 2:31)

That every good of life and truth of doctrine is taught in the Word, and not the evil of life and the falsity of doctrine, is meant by "see ye the Word of Jehovah; have I been a wilderness to Israel? have I been a land of darkness?"

[20] In Joel:

Egypt shall be a waste, and Edom a waste wilderness, because of the violence to the sons of Judah, whose innocent blood they have shed in their land (Joel 3:19).

"Egypt" and "Edom" signify the natural man that has perverted the truths and goods of the Word; that it is to be so destroyed as to see only such things as serve for confirmation is signified by "Egypt shall be a waste, and Edom a waste wilderness;" that this will be because of the adulteration of every good and truth in the Word is signified by "because of the violence to the sons of Judah, whose innocent blood they have shed;" "violence to the sons of Judah" signifying the adulteration of the Word in respect to good, and "shedding innocent blood" the adulteration of the Word in respect to its truths. (That "Judah" signifies the celestial church, and also the Word, see above, n. 211, 433; and that "shedding innocent blood" signifies to do violence to Divine truth, thus to adulterate the truth of the Word, n. 329.) The adulteration of the Word is effected by the knowledges [scientifica] of the natural man when these are applied to confirm falsities and evils, and the natural man becomes a "waste" and a "wilderness" when his knowledges are used to confirm falsity and evil; "Egypt" signifies such knowledges, and "Edom" the pride that falsifies by means of these.

[21] In Malachi:

Esau I hated, and made his mountains a waste and his heritage for the dragons of the wilderness (Malachi 1:3).

"Esau" signifies the love of the natural man; "his mountains" signify the evils from that love, and "his heritage" signifies the falsities from those evils, and "the dragons of the desert" signify mere falsifications from which these come.

[22] Because with the Jewish nation all things of the Word had been adulterated, and there was no longer any truth because there was no good, John the Baptist was "in the wilderness," and this represented the state of that church, respecting which it is written in the Gospels:

John the Baptist was in the wilderness till the days of his appearing unto Israel (Luke 1:80).

That he preached in the wilderness of Judea (Matthew 3:1-3; Mark 1:2-4; Luke 3:2, 4, 5);

and in Isaiah:

The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of Jehovah, make level in the solitude a highway for our God (Isaiah 40:3).

So also the Lord says of "Jerusalem," which means the church in respect to doctrine:

Your house is left deserted (Luke 13:35).

"A house deserted" signifies the church that is without truths because it is without good. But what is signified by the following in Matthew:

If they say unto you, Lo, Christ is in the wilderness, go not forth; if in the secret chambers, believe not (Matthew 24:26);

may be seen explained in Arcana Coelestia 3900); for "Christ" means the Lord in relation to Divine truth, consequently in relation to the Word and to doctrine from the Word, and "false Christs," of whom this is said, signify the falsities of doctrine from the truths of the Word falsified. From the passages that have been cited from the Word it can be seen that "wilderness" means the church in which there are no truths because there is no good, consequently in which there is falsity because there is evil; for where there is no truth and good, there is falsity and evil; the two cannot exist together, and this is meant by the Lord's words, that "no one can serve two masters."

[23] 2. Again, "wilderness" signifies the state of the church with the Gentiles that have been in ignorance of truth, and yet have been in the good of life according to their religious principle, from which they have desired truths, as can be seen from the passages in the Word that treat of the church that is to be established among the Gentiles. In Isaiah:

The spirit shall be poured out upon you ¹ from on high; then the wilderness shall be a fruitful field, and the fruitful field shall be esteemed a forest; judgment shall dwell in the wilderness, and justice shall abide in the fruitful field (Isaiah 32:15, 16).

This is said of those who are in natural good, and are being reformed; influx out of heaven into such is signified by "the spirit shall be poured out upon you ² from on high;" that truth from a spiritual origin will then be implanted in them is signified by "the wilderness shall be a fruitful field;" "wilderness" meaning the natural man destitute of truths, and "fruitful field" (or land of harvest) the natural man made fruitful by truths. That in consequence the natural man will have a knowledge [scientia] of the cognitions of truth and good is signified by "the fruitful field shall be esteemed a forest;" "forest" is predicated of the natural man as "garden" is of the spiritual, therefore a "forest" signifies knowledge and a "garden" intelligence; that in consequence there will be in the natural man that which is right and just is signified by "judgment shall dwell in the wilderness, and justice shall abide in the fruitful field;" "judgment" and "justice" signify in the spiritual sense truth and good, but in the natural sense that which is right and just.

[24] In the same:

I will open rivers on the heights, and fountains will I place in the midst of the valleys; I will make the wilderness into a pool of waters, and the dry land into springs of waters; I will give in the wilderness the cedar of shittah, the myrtle, and the oil tree; I will set in the solitude the fir tree, the pine, and the box tree (Isaiah 41:18, 19).

This, too, is said of the reformation and enlightenment of the Gentiles; and "to open rivers upon the heights and to place fountains in the midst of the valleys" signifies to give intelligence from spiritual truths and from natural truths; "rivers upon the heights" signifying intelligence from spiritual truths, and "fountains in the midst of valleys" intelligence from natural truths; "to make the wilderness into a pool of waters, and the dry land into springs of waters" signifies to fill the spiritual and the natural man with truths where before there were no truths; the spiritual man in which there were no truths is meant by "wilderness," since hitherto there had been no truth in it; and the natural man in which there was no truth is meant by "dry land," since hitherto there had been no spiritual influx into it; that the spiritual man will have truths in abundance is meant by "a pool of waters," and that the natural man will have truths in abundance is meant by the "springs of waters." "To set in the wilderness the cedar of shittah, the myrtle, and the oil tree" signifies to give rational truths and a perception of them, and "to set in the solitude the fir tree, the pine, and the box tree," signifies in like manner natural truths, which are knowledges and cognitions with the understanding of them; the "cedar" meaning higher rational truth; the "myrtle" lower rational truth; "oil tree" perception of good and thus of truth; "fir tree" the higher natural truth; the "pine" lower natural truth; and "box tree" the understanding of good and truth in the natural man.

[25] In David:

He maketh the wilderness into a pool of waters, and the dry land into a springing forth of waters; and there He maketh the hungry to dwell, that they may build a city of habitation (Psalms 107:35, 36).

This, likewise, is said of the enlightenment of the Gentiles. "To make the wilderness into a pool of waters" has a similar signification as just above; "and there He maketh the hungry to dwell" signifies for the sake of those who desire truths; these are meant by "the hungry and famished" in the Word; "that they may build a city of habitation" signifies that out of truths they may make for themselves a doctrine of life, "city" meaning doctrine, and "to inhabit" meaning to live.

[26] In Isaiah:

Behold, I am doing a new thing, now it shall spring forth; I will even place a way in the wilderness, rivers in the solitude; the wild beast of the field shall honor Me, the dragons and the daughters of the owl, because I will give waters in the wilderness, rivers in the solitude, to give drink to My people, My chosen (Isaiah 43:19, 20).

This, too, is said of the New Church to be established by the Lord among the Gentiles. The "wilderness" signifies the state of the church with those who are ignorant of truth, and yet have a desire to know it. But what the particulars signify in the spiritual sense may be seen explained above n. 518.

[27] In the same:

Jehovah will comfort Zion, He will comfort all her waste places, and He will make her wilderness as Eden, and her solitude like the garden of Jehovah; joy and gladness will be found therein, confession and the voice of singing (Isaiah 51:3).

This, also, is said of the New Church among the Gentiles that will acknowledge the Lord; that church is meant by "Zion," and its establishment and the reformation of the Gentiles by "comforting;" "the wilderness that shall be made as Eden and the solitude like the garden of Jehovah" signifies wisdom and intelligence from love to the Lord that those have who before had no understanding of truth and no perception of good. (But this may be seen explained above, n. 721)

[28] In David:

The habitations of the wilderness drop, and the hills gird themselves with exultation; the meadows are clothed with flocks, and the valleys are covered over with corn (Psalms 65:12, 13).

This, also, is said of the church among the Gentiles. "The habitations of the wilderness drop" signifies that their minds that before have been in ignorance of truth acknowledge and receive truths; "to drop" is predicated of the influx, acknowledgment and reception of truth; "habitations" are predicated of the interiors of man which belong to his mind, and "wilderness" is predicated of a state of the ignorance of truth. "The hills gird themselves with exultation" signifies that the goods in them receive truths with joy of heart; "the meadows are clothed with flocks, and the valleys are covered over with corn," signifies that both the spiritual mind and the natural mind receive truths suitable to themselves; "meadows" signifying such things as belong to the spiritual mind and thus to the rational mind, and "valleys" such as belong to the natural mind; "flock" spiritual truth, and "corn" natural truth.

[29] In Isaiah:

Let them sing praise, the end of the earth, those that go down to the sea, and its fullness, the islands and the inhabitants thereof. Let the wilderness and the cities thereof lift up the voice, the villages that Arabia doth inhabit; let the inhabitants of the rock sing, let them cry out from the head of the mountains (Isaiah 42:10, 11).

This is said of a church with those who were remote from the truths of the church because they were natural and sensual; their state of ignorance is meant by the "wilderness," and their joy from the preaching and the knowledge of truth is signified by "singing praise and lifting up the voice." (The rest may be seen explained above, n. 406)

[30] Since the state of ignorance of truth, in which the Gentiles have been, is signified by a "wilderness," and the desire for truth by "hunger," and instruction by the Lord by "feeding," it came to pass that the Lord withdrew into the wilderness, and there taught the multitude that sought Him, and afterwards fed them. (That this took place in the wilderness can be seen in Matthew 14:13-22; 15:32-38; Mark 6:31-34; 8:1-9; Luke 9:12-17.) For all things that the Lord did and all things connected with Him were representative because they were correspondences, so also were these things. From these and the passages cited above it is evident that a "wilderness" signifies an uncultivated and uninhabited state with man, thus a state not yet made vital from what is spiritual, consequently, as applied to the church, a state not vivified by means of truths; thus it signifies such a religious principle as the Gentiles had, which was almost empty and void, because they did not have the Word where truths are, and thence did not know the Lord who teaches truths; and as they did not have truths, their good also could be no otherwise than such as the truth was with them, for good is like its truth, because one is of the other. From this it can be seen what "wilderness" signifies where the Gentiles are treated of, namely, where there is no truth and yet a desire for it that their good may be vivified.

[31] 3. Again, "wilderness" signifies the state of those who are in temptations, because in them truths and goods are shut in by the falsities and evils that come forth and are presented to the mind. This can be seen from the wandering of the sons of Israel in the wilderness forty years; for this represented every state of temptations into which those come who are being regenerated, and of whom the church is to consist. Every man is born natural, and lives naturally until he becomes rational; and when he has become rational he can be led by the Lord and become spiritual; and this is effected by the implanting of the knowledges of truth from the Word, and at the same time by the opening of the spiritual mind which receives the things of heaven, and by calling forth these knowledges and elevating them out of the natural man and conjoining them with the spiritual affection of truth. This opening and conjunction is possible only through temptations, because in temptations man fights interiorly against the falsities and evils that are in the natural man. In a word, man is introduced into the church and becomes a church through temptations. This was represented by the wandering and leading about of the sons of Israel in the wilderness. The state of the natural man before he is regenerated was represented by their sojourning in the land of Egypt, for "the land of Egypt" signified the natural man and its knowledges and cognitions, together with the cupidities and appetites that reside in it (as can be seen from what has been said and shown above respecting Egypt, n. 654. But the spiritual state, which is the state of the church with man, was represented by the introduction of the sons of Israel into the land of Canaan, for "the land of Canaan" signified the church with its truths and goods, together with its affections, and delights, which reside in such a man; while the reformation and regeneration of man before from being natural he becomes spiritual and thus a church, was represented by their wanderings and journeyings in the wilderness forty years.

[32] That this is so, and that "the wilderness" signified a state of temptations, can be seen in Moses:

Thou shalt remember all the way which Jehovah thy God hath led thee these forty years in the wilderness, that He might afflict thee and try thee, and know what was in thine heart whether thou wouldst keep His commandments or no; and He afflicted thee and made thee to hunger, and made thee to eat manna, which thou knewest not neither did thy fathers know; that He might teach thee that man doth not live by bread only, but by all that goeth forth from the mouth of Jehovah doth man live; thy raiment waxed not old upon thee, and thy foot swelled not, these forty years (Deuteronomy 8:2-4).

In the same:

In the wilderness which thou sawest, Jehovah thy God bare thee as a man doth bear his son. He went before you in the way, to seek for you a place in which ye might encamp, in fire by night to show you the way, and in the cloud by day (Deuteronomy 1:31, 33).

In the same:

Jehovah, who led thee through the great and fearful wilderness of the serpent, of the fiery serpent and of the scorpion, and of thirst, where there were no waters; who brought thee forth waters out of the rock of flint, and fed thee with manna in the wilderness, that He might afflict thee and try thee, to do thee good in thy latter end (Deuteronomy 8:15, 16).

In the same:

Jehovah found Jacob in a land of wilderness, in an emptiness, a howling, a solitude; He led him about, He instructed him, He guarded him as the pupil of the eye (Deuteronomy 32:10).

The particulars here mentioned, and all the particulars related in the book of Exodus respecting the journeyings of the sons of Israel in the wilderness, from their going forth from Egypt to their entrance into the land of Canaan, depict the temptations that the faithful encounter before they become spiritual, that is before the goods of love and charity with their truths are implanted, which constitute the church with man.

[33] He who knows what spiritual temptations are knows that when a man is in them he is so infested by evils and falsities as scarcely to know otherwise than that he is in hell; he knows, too, that the Lord with man fights against temptations from the interior; as also that He sustains man in the meantime with spiritual food and drink, which are the goods and truths of heaven; that the natural man loathes these; that nevertheless the natural man with his lusts is thus subdued and as it were dies; and that he is thus brought into subjection to the spiritual man; and that man is thus reformed and regenerated and introduced into the church. All this is involved in what is related respecting the sons of Israel in the wilderness. But to make clear that this is meant it is allowed to explain some of the particulars in the passages quoted.

[34] 1. That man in temptations is so infested by evils and falsities as scarcely to know otherwise than that he is in hell is meant by "Jehovah led thee through the great and fearful wilderness of the serpent, of the fiery serpent, of the scorpion, and of thirst, where there were no waters;" "the great and fearful wilderness" signifies grievous temptations; "the serpent, the fiery serpent, and the scorpion," signify evils and falsities with their persuasions coming forth from the sensual and natural man; "serpents" meaning evils therefrom, "fiery serpents" falsities therefrom, and "scorpions" persuasions; "thirst where there were no waters" signifies a lack and shutting off of truth. The above is meant also by "Jehovah afflicted thee and tried thee, that He might know what was in thine heart."

[35] 2. That the Lord with man fights against evils and falsities that are from hell is signified by "Jehovah found Jacob in a wilderness, in emptiness, a howling, a solitude, He guarded him as the pupil of His eye;" also by "He bare him as a man doth bear his son;" also by "He went before them in fire by night and in the cloud by day."

3. That the Lord sustains man in the meantime with spiritual food and drink, which are the goods and truths of heaven, is signified by "He fed them with manna, He brought them forth waters out of the rock of flint, and He led them and instructed them;" "manna" meaning the good of celestial love, and "waters out of the rock of flint" the truths of that good from the Lord.

4. That in temptations the natural man loathes those things is meant by the sons of Israel so often complaining of the manna, and lusting after the food of Egypt; therefore it is here said, "Jehovah afflicted thee and caused thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna."

[36] 5. That nevertheless the natural man with his lusts is subdued and as it were dies and becomes subject to the spiritual man, was represented by the death in the wilderness of all those that went forth out of Egypt and desired to return thither, and refused to enter into the land of Canaan, and that their children were brought into that land. That this represented and signified such things can be known and seen only from the spiritual sense.

6. That after temptations man becomes spiritual, and is brought into the church, and through the church into heaven, was represented by their being brought into the land of Canaan, for "the land of Canaan" signified the church, and also heaven; and this is signified by "Jehovah afflicted thee and tried thee, to do thee good in thy latter end."

Their spiritual life is described by Jehovah's teaching them that "man doth not live by bread only, but by everything going forth from the mouth of Jehovah." That "their raiment waxed not old and their foot swelled not" signifies that the natural man was not injured by these afflictions, for "raiment" signifies the truths of the natural man, and the "foot" the natural man itself. Moreover "forty," whether years or days, signifies the entire duration of temptations (See above, n. 633).

[37] Like things are involved in these words in David:

They wandered in the wilderness in loneliness of life, ¹ they found no city of habitation, hungry and thirsty; when their soul was disheartened in the way, they cried to Jehovah. He led them in a way of straightness, ² that they might go to a city of habitation (Psalms 107:4-7).

This was said in general of those who have been redeemed, and in particular of the sons of Israel in the wilderness, and these words describe the temptations of those who are being regenerated by the Lord. "The city of habitation which they found not" signifies the doctrine of life which constitutes the church in man; and as the church is formed in man by a life according to doctrine, when temptations have been passed through, it is said that "Jehovah led them in a way of straightness that they might go to a city of habitation;" the lack of truth even to despair, and yet desire for it, is signified by "they were hungry and thirsty, so that their soul was disheartened in the way."

[38] In Jeremiah:

I remembered thy youth, the love of thine espousals, when thou wentest after Me in the wilderness. They said not, Where is Jehovah, who made us to come up out of the land of Egypt, who led us in the wilderness, in the land of solitude and of the pit, in a land of drought and of dense shade, in a land through which no man [vir] passed, and where no man [homo] dwelt? And I led you into a land of grain, to eat the fruit thereof and the good thereof (Jeremiah 2:2, 6, 7).

The "youth" and "love of espousals" that Jehovah remembered signify the state of man's reformation and regeneration, when from being natural he becomes spiritual; because man is thereby conjoined to the Lord, and as it were espoused to Him, this is what is meant by the "love of espousals;" and because this is effected through temptations it is said, "When thou wentest after Me in the wilderness;" the state of temptations is described by "He led me in the wilderness, in a land of solitude and of the pit, in a land of drought and dense shade;" "wilderness" signifying that state; "land of solitude and of the pit" signifying that state in respect to the evils and falsities that come forth, and the "land of drought and dense shade" signifying the perception of good and the understanding of truth obscured. The state of man after temptations is described by "I led you into a land of grain, to eat the fruit thereof and the good thereof," which signifies to be brought into the church in which are the truths of doctrine, by means of which the good of love and of charity are appropriated; "land" signifying the church; "the land of grain" the church in respect to the truths of doctrine; "to eat" to appropriate; "fruit" the good of love, and "good" the good of charity and of life.

[39] In Ezekiel:

I will lead you out from the peoples, and will gather you from the lands, and I will lead you into a wilderness of peoples, and I will plead with you there face to face, even as I pleaded with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt; then will I cause you to pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant (Ezekiel 20:34-37).

Here again "wilderness" stands for a state of temptations, which state is called "a wilderness of peoples" and "the wilderness of the land of Egypt," because the state of the natural man before regeneration is meant, which is a wilderness and a solitude because there are then no goods and truths in it, but only evils and falsities; but when falsities and evils have been exterminated therefrom, and truths and goods have been implanted in their place, from being a wilderness it becomes "Lebanon" and a "garden." "To plead with them in the wilderness face to face" signifies to show them to the life of what quality they are and in a way that they acknowledge it; for in temptations man's evils and falsities come forth and appear; "face to face" means to the life and so as to be acknowledged. That after man has endured hard things, conjunction with the Lord, which is reformation, takes place, is signified by "then will I cause you to pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bonds of the covenant;" "to cause to pass under the rod" meaning to endure hard things, and "the bond of the covenant" meaning conjunction with the Lord.

[40] In Hosea:

I will visit upon her the days of the Baalim, in which she went after her lovers. Therefore behold, I will bring you ³ into the wilderness, and afterwards I will speak upon her heart, and I will give her her vineyards thence, and the valley of Achor for an entrance of hope, and she shall make answer there according to the days of her youth, and according to the days of her coming up out of the land of Egypt; and in that day thou shalt call Me, my Husband, and shalt no more call Me, my Baal (Hosea 2:13-16).

The "Baalim" and "lovers," after whom she went, signify the things that belong to the natural man and are loved, namely, cupidities and falsities therefrom; that these must be removed by means of temptations is signified by "I will bring you ³ into the wilderness;" that afterwards there will be consolation is signified by "afterwards I will speak upon her heart;" that they will then have spiritual and natural truths is signified by "I will give her vineyards thence and the valley of Achor." That afterwards they will have influx of good out of heaven and consequent joy, as those had who were of the ancient churches and who from natural had become spiritual, is signified by "she shall make answer or sing there according to the days of her youth, and according to the days of her coming up out of the land of Egypt," "days of youth" signifying the times of the ancient church, and "according to the days of her coming up out of Egypt," signifying when from natural they became spiritual. Conjunction with the Lord at that time through the affections of truth, when the cupidities from the natural man have been rejected, is signified by "in that day thou shalt call Me, my Husband, and thou shalt no more call Me, my Baal."

[41] As a "wilderness" signifies a state of temptations, and "forty," whether years or days, their whole duration from beginning to end, therefore the temptations of the Lord, which were the most direful of all, and which He sustained from childhood to the passion of the cross, are signified by the temptations of the forty days in the desert, which are thus described in the Gospels:

Jesus was led by the spirit into the wilderness, to be tempted of the devil; and when He had fasted forty days and forty nights He afterwards hungered; and the tempter drew near unto Him (Matthew 4:1-3; Luke 4:1-3).

The spirit urging Jesus caused Him to go out into the wilderness; and He was in the wilderness forty days, tempted, and He was with the beasts (Mark 1:12, 13).

This does not mean that the Lord was tempted by the devil only forty days, and at the end of these, but that He was tempted throughout His whole life even to the last, when He endured direful anguish of heart in Gethsemane and afterwards the dreadful passion of the cross; for by means of the temptations admitted into the human that He had from the mother, the Lord subjugated all the hells, and at the same time glorified His Human. (But of these temptations of the Lord see what is written in the Arcana Coelestia, and collected therefrom in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem, n.201.) All these temptations of the Lord are signified by the temptations in the wilderness forty days and forty nights, since the "wilderness" signifies a state of temptations, and "forty days and forty nights" the whole duration of these. No more was written respecting these in the Gospels because no more was revealed respecting them; nevertheless in the prophets, and especially in the psalms of David, they are described at length. "The beasts" with which the Lord is said to have been, signify the infernal societies; and "fasting" signifies here such affliction as there is in the combats of temptation.

[42] 4. Again, "wilderness" also signifies hell, because that is called a wilderness where there is no harvest or habitation, likewise where there are wild beasts, serpents, and dragons, which signify where there is no truth of doctrine or good of life, consequently where there are lusts from evil loves, and falsities therefrom of every kind; and as these are in hell and the former in a wilderness, so from correspondences the "wilderness" also signifies hell. Moreover, the natural man with everyone, so long as it is separated from the spiritual, as it is before regeneration, is a hell, because all the hereditary evil into which man is born resides in his natural man, and is not cast out from it, that is, removed, except by the influx of Divine truth through heaven from the Lord; and this influx into the natural man can come only through the spiritual, for the natural man is in the world and the spiritual in heaven; therefore the spiritual man must be opened before the hell that is in the natural man can be removed by the Lord out of heaven.

[43] How this is removed was represented by the he-goat called Azazel that was cast out into the desert; for the "he-goat" from correspondence signifies the natural man in respect to his affections and knowledges, and in the contrary sense in respect to his cupidities and falsities. Of this he-goat we read thus in Moses:

That Aaron should take two he-goats and cast lots upon them, one for the he-goat to be sacrificed, the other for Azazel; and after he had expiated the Tent of meeting and the altar with the blood of the sacrificed bullock and of the sacrificed he-goat, he should lay his hands upon the head of the he-goat Azazel, and should confess upon it the iniquities and sins of the sons of Israel; which he shall put upon the head of the he-goat, and afterwards should send him by the hand of a man appointed into the wilderness. So the he-goat shall bear upon him all the iniquities of the sons of Israel into the land cut off and into the wilderness; and the skin, the flesh, and the dung of the bullock and of the sacrificed he-goat should be burned in the wilderness; thus should they be expiated and cleansed from all their sins (Leviticus 16:5-34).

These things were commanded to represent expiation, that is, purification from evils and falsities. Two he-goats were taken to represent this, because a "he-goat" from correspondence signifies the natural man; the he-goat that was to be sacrificed represented the natural man in reference to the part purified, and the he-goat that was to be sent into the wilderness the natural man not purified. And as the natural man swarms with cupidities and uncleanness of every kind, as has been said above, therefore that he-goat was sent out of the camp into a land cut off and into the wilderness that he might bear away the iniquities and sins of all in that church; "the land cut off and the wilderness" signifying hell. Aaron laying his hands upon its head and confessing the sins represented communication and transference, for this is done when man is purified or expiated from sins, for the sins are then sent down to hell, and the affections of good and truth are implanted in their place; these were represented in part by the fat sacrificed from the bullock and from the other he-goat, also by their blood, and especially by the burnt offering from the ram (respecting which see verses 5-24 in the same chapter) Leviticus 16:5-24, for the "ram" from correspondence signifies the natural man in respect to the good of charity. But it is to be known that the Israelitish people were not in the least purified from their sins by this, but the purification of the natural man when he was being regenerated was thus merely represented. All things of man's regeneration were represented by such external things, especially by sacrifices; and this was done for the sake of the conjunction of heaven with that church through the externals of worship, the internals that the externals represented being seen in the heavens. Who cannot see that the sins of the whole congregation could not be transferred to a he-goat and borne by him to hell? From this it is evident what is signified by "wilderness" in its various senses.

Poznámky pod čarou:

724. Verse 5. And she brought forth a son, a male, signifies the doctrine of truth for the New Church that is called the New Jerusalem. This is evident from the signification of a "son," as meaning truth, and of "a son, a male," as meaning the genuine truth of the church, consequently also its doctrine, for the truth of the church from the Word is its doctrine, since the doctrine contains the truths that are for the church. But the genuine doctrine of the church is the doctrine of good, thus the doctrine of life, which is of love to the Lord and of charity towards the neighbor; but yet it is the doctrine of truth, since doctrine teaches life, love, and charity, and so far as it teaches it is truth; for when a man knows and understands what good is, what life is, what love is, and what charity is, he knows and understands these things as truths, since he knows and understands what good is, how he ought to live, and what love and charity are, and of what quality a man is who is in the life of love and charity; and as long as these are matters of knowledge and understanding they are nothing but truths, and thus doctrines; but as soon as they pass over from knowledge and from the understanding into the will, and thus into act, they are no longer truths but goods; for interiorly man wills nothing but what he loves, and that which he loves is to him good. From this it can be seen that every doctrine of the church is a doctrine of truth, and that the truth of doctrine becomes good and comes to be of love and charity when from doctrine it passes into life.

[2] This doctrine that is here signified by "the son, a male" is especially the doctrine of love to the Lord and of charity towards the neighbor, thus the doctrine of the good of life, which nevertheless is still the doctrine of truth. That the doctrine of the good of love, and thus of life, is here signified by "the son, a male" can be seen from this, that "the woman" who brought forth the son was seen "arrayed with the sun, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars," and "the sun" signifies love to the Lord, and "the crown of twelve stars," signifies the knowledges of good and truth, and from such a woman and mother nothing else is begotten except what pertains to love and good, thus the doctrine respecting these; this, therefore, is "the son, a male."

[3] This doctrine ¹ is for the New Church that is called the New Jerusalem, because "the woman" treated of in this chapter is the one who is called "the Bride, the Lamb's wife," which was "the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God" (Revelation 21:9-10). This is why she was seen "arrayed with the sun;" "the sun" meaning the Lord in relation to Divine love (See above, n. 401, 525, 527, 708). "The son, a male" signifies the doctrine of the church, for the reason also that in the Word "son" signifies truth, and the doctrine of the church is truth in the whole complex. That in the Word "son" signifies truth can be seen from what has been said before respecting "woman," the "womb," and "bringing forth;" namely, that "woman" signifies the church, the "womb" the inmost of love and the reception of truth from good, and "to bring forth" bringing these forth and making them fruitful. (Respecting "woman" see above, n. 707; the "womb," n. 710; and "to bring forth," n. 721.) From this it follows that "sons and daughters," since they are births, signify the truths and goods of the church, "sons" its truths, and "daughters" its goods; in a word, that all terms pertaining to marriage and thus to procreation on the earth signify such things as pertain to the marriage of good and truth, thus "father," "mother," "sons," "daughters," "sons-in-law," "daughters-in-law," "grandsons," and others, signify goods and truths procreating, and goods and truths procreated, and furthermore goods and truths derived in their order.

[4] But it is to be known that procreating goods and truths are in the spiritual man, and procreated goods and truths are in the natural man, and that those in the spiritual man are like the father and mother, and those that are from these in the natural man are like brothers and sisters; and again that truths and goods that are procreated anew as if from sons married within marriageable limits, and from daughters married within the same, are in the natural man, after these as parents have been raised up into the spiritual man; for all conception and all bearing or gestation in the womb takes place in the spiritual man, while the birth itself takes place in the natural man. Thus the spiritual man is continually enriched by the elevation into it of truths and goods out of the natural man, which as parents will procreate anew; and there all things are associated like the societies of heaven according to the affections of truth and good, and their relationships and affinities. Thence it is evident that these spiritual procreations, like the natural procreations from a father and mother, are multiplied like families and houses on earth, and are made fruitful like trees from seeds, from which are gardens that are called paradises in the spiritual man, but groves and woods in the natural, and shady forests in the sensual.

[5] But as "sons" are mentioned in many passages in the Word, and it has not yet been known that they signify the truths of the church and of doctrine, out of many I will merely cite the following passages in the way of confirmation. In the Gospels:

Jesus said, He that leaveth houses, brethren, sisters, father, mother, wife, children, fields, for My name's sake, shall receive a hundred-fold, and shall inherit eternal life (Matthew 19:29; Mark 10:29, 30).

Any man that cometh unto Me, and hateth not his own father, mother, wife, children, brethren, and sisters, yea, his own soul, is not My disciple (Luke 14:26).

Who cannot see that father, mother, wife, children, brethren, and sisters, also houses and fields, are not here meant, but such things as belong to man himself, and are called his own [proprium]? For these things a man must leave and hate, if he wishes to worship the Lord and to be His disciple, and to "receive a hundred-fold," and "to inherit eternal life." The things that are a man's own are those that are of his love, and thus of his life into which he was born, consequently they are evils and falsities of every kind; and as these are of his love and life it is said that "he must hate his own soul." These evils and falsities are signified by "father and mother, wife, children, brethren, and sisters;" for all things that are of man's love and life, or that are of affection and thought therefrom, or of the will and the understanding therefrom, are formed and conjoined like generations descending from one father and one mother, and are also distinguished as into families and houses. The love of self and the consequent love of the world are their "father and mother," and the cupidities arising therefrom and their evils and falsities are the "children," which are "brethren and sisters." That this is the meaning can be clearly seen from this, that the Lord does not wish to have anyone hate his father and mother, or wife or children, or brethren or sisters, since this would be contrary to the spiritual love implanted in everyone from heaven, which is the love of parents for children and of children for parents, and contrary to conjugial love, which is the love of the husband for his wife and of the wife for her husband, as also contrary to mutual love, which is the love of brothers and sisters for one another.

Yea, the Lord teaches that enemies must not be hated, but loved. All this shows that the terms that define consanguinities, alliances, and relationships in the Word mean consanguinities, alliances, and relationships in a spiritual sense.

[6] In the same:

Jesus said to His disciples, The brother shall deliver the brother to death, the father, the son, and children shall rise up against their parents and deliver them to be put to death (Matthew 10:21; Mark 13:12).

The father shall be divided against the son, and the son against the father, the mother against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother, the mother-in-law against the daughter-in-law, and the daughter-in-law against the mother-in-law (Luke 12:53).

That this is not to be understood according to the letter is clear from what precedes, where Jesus says that He came not to give peace upon the earth but division, and that "there shall be five in one house divided, three against two, and two against three," which signifies that falsities and evils will combat against truths and goods, and truths and goods against falsities and evils, which is done when man comes into temptations and is being reformed; this combat is signified by "division" and "rising up against;" that "the father shall be divided against the son and the son against the father" signifies that evil will fight against truth and truth against evil, "father" here meaning the evil that is man's own [proprium], and "son" the truth that man has from the Lord.

That the cupidity of falsity will fight against the affection of truth, and the affection of truth against the cupidity of falsity, is signified by "the mother shall be divided against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother," "mother" here meaning the cupidity of falsity, "daughter" the affection of truth; and so on. That this is the meaning can also be seen from what the Lord says elsewhere, that in Him, "they shall have peace," thus not division (John 14:27; 16:33).

[7] In Luke:

The angel said to Zechariah of John, He shall go before the Lord in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the sons (Luke 1:17).

And in Malachi:

I will send to you Elijah the prophet before the great and terrible day of Jehovah comes, that he may turn the heart of the fathers to the sons, and the heart of the sons to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse (Malachi 4:5, 6).

John the Baptist was sent before to prepare the people for the reception of the Lord by baptism, because baptism represented and signified purification from evils and falsities, and also regeneration by the Lord by means of the Word. Unless this representation had preceded, the Lord could not have manifested Himself and have taught and lived in Judea and in Jerusalem, since the Lord was the God of heaven and earth under a human form, and He could not have been present with a nation that was in mere falsities in respect to doctrine and in mere evils in respect to life; consequently unless that nation had been prepared for the reception of the Lord by a representation of purification from falsities and evils by baptism, it would have been destroyed by diseases of every kind by the presence of the Divine Itself; therefore this is what is signified by "lest I come and smite the earth with a curse." That this is so is well known in the spiritual world, for those there who are in falsities and evils are direfully tormented and spiritually die at the presence of the Lord.

[8] The baptism of John could produce such an effect because the Jewish Church was a representative church, and all their conjunction with heaven was effected by representatives, as can be seen from the washings there commanded; as that all who became unclean must wash themselves and their garments, and in consequence were accounted clean; likewise the priests and Levites must wash themselves before they entered the tent of meeting and afterwards the temple and officiated in holy functions; in like manner Naaman was cleansed from leprosy by washing in Jordan. The washing and baptizing itself did not indeed purify them from falsities and evils, but only represented and thence signified purification from them; nevertheless, this was received in heaven as if they were themselves purified. It was thus that heaven was conjoined to the people of that church by means of the baptism of John; and when heaven was thus conjoined to them, the Lord, who was the God of heaven, could manifest Himself to them there, teach them, and abide among them:

That to John went out Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region round about Jordan, and they were baptized by him in Jordan, confessing their sins (Matthew 3:5, 6);

And that he said to them, O offspring of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come (Luke 3:7).

That the Jews and Israelites were conjoined to heaven by means of representatives may be seen in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem (n.248). This now was the reason why John was sent before to prepare a way for the Lord, and to prepare the people for Him. And from this it may be concluded what "turning the heart of the fathers to the sons and the heart of the sons to the fathers" signifies, namely, that it means inducing a representation of the conjunction of spiritual goods with truths and truths with goods, thus of regeneration by the Lord by means of the Word. For regeneration is the conjunction of goods with truths and of truths with goods, and it is the Lord who regenerates, and the Word that teaches.

[9] It was said of this John that "he should go before the Lord in the spirit and power of Elijah," and that he was Elijah, because John, like Elijah, represented the Lord in relation to the Word, and thence signified the Word, which is from the Lord; and as Divine wisdom and Divine power are in the Word, these are meant by "the spirit and power of Elijah." (That the Word is such see in the work on Heaven and Hell 303-310; and in the small work on The White Horse.)

[10] That "sons" signify truths from the Word can be seen also from the following passages. In David:

Lo, sons are a heritage of Jehovah, the fruit of the belly is His reward; as darts in the hand of a mighty one, so are the sons of youth; happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them; they shall not be ashamed when they shall speak with the enemies in the gate (Psalms 127:3-5).

"Sons" who are a heritage of Jehovah and "the fruit of the belly" which is a reward mean the truths and goods of the church, "sons" truths, and "the fruit of the belly" goods, for both of these are a reward and an heritage of Jehovah, that is, heaven, which is from truths and goods, that is, from the reception of them; "the sons of youth" who are as darts in the hand of a mighty one, signify the truths of the Ancient Church, which were natural truths from spiritual truths; this church is meant by "youth;" and as these truths have all power against falsities and evils it is said, "as darts in the hand of a mighty one," "darts" meaning truths destroying falsities.

Doctrine from truths is signified by "quiver," because it is signified by "bow," and because those who are in doctrine from these truths fear nothing from falsities, it is said, "happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them; they shall not be ashamed when they shall speak with the enemies in the gate;" "not ashamed" meaning not to be conquered, and "enemies in the gate" the falsities of evil which are from hell.

[11] In the same:

Deliver me out of the hand of the sons of the alien, whose mouth speaketh vanity, and their right hand is a right hand of falsehood; for our sons are as plants made great in their youth and our daughters as cornerstones hewn out in the model of a palace (Psalms 144:11, 12).

Evidently "sons of the alien" here mean falsities, for it is said, "whose mouth speaketh vanity, and their right hand is a right hand of falsehood," and that "our sons" signify truths is also evident, for it is said that "they are as plants made great in their youth," "plants" also meaning truths, and "youth" here, as above, the Ancient Church, which had genuine truths. "Our daughters" signify the affections of truth, which are therefore compared to "cornerstones hewn out in the model of a palace," because a "palace" is a representative of the understanding, in which truths are in a beautiful form, and they are in a beautiful form when they are from the affection of truth.

[12] In Micah:

Make thee bald and poll thee, because of the sons of thy delights, enlarge thy baldness as the eagle, for they have departed from thee (Micah 1:16).

Mourning because the truths of the church are destroyed is described by "making bald," "enlarging baldness," and "polling themselves," for the "hair" signifies truths in ultimates, and those who are without truths in ultimates are also without internal truths; for this reason those in the spiritual world who have no truths from good appear bald. That truths are destroyed is signified by "the sons of thy delights have departed from thee;" they are called "sons of delight" from love of the truths and the consequent delights.

[13] In Zechariah:

He saw two olive trees at the right hand of the lampstand and at the left, and he said, These are the two sons of the olive standing by the Lord of the whole earth (Zechariah 4:11, 14).

"The two olive trees" signify the two churches, the celestial church and the spiritual church, the former "at the right hand of the lampstand," and the latter "at the left;" "the sons of the olive" signify the truths of these churches, which are doctrinals.

[14] In the same:

I will bend Judah for me, I will fill Ephraim with the bow, and I will stir up thy sons, O Zion, with thy sons, O Javan; and I will set thee as the sword of a mighty one (Zechariah 9:13).

"The sons of Zion" and "the sons of Javan" signify the truths of the Word internal and external, "the sons of Zion" internal truths, and "the sons of Javan" external truths (what the rest signifies see above, n. 357, 443, where it is explained). Because "sons" signify truths it is said that "they shall be set as the sword of a mighty one;" "the sword of a mighty one" signifying truth powerfully destroying falsity.

[15] In Isaiah:

I will stir up against them the Medes, whose bows will dash in pieces the young men, and they will have no pity on the fruit of the belly, their eye will not spare the sons (Isaiah 13:17, 18).

Because the "Medes" mean those who make no account of the truths and goods of the church, it is said "their eye will not spare the sons," "sons" meaning the truths of the Word and of the church. (But this may be seen explained above, n. 710)

[16] In Jeremiah:

My tent is devastated, and all my cords torn off; my sons have gone out from me, and they are not (Jeremiah 10:20).

The "tent" that is devastated signifies the church in respect to the good of love and worship from it, for all worship in ancient times was celebrated in tents, and afterwards in the Tent of meeting, in remembrance of which the feast of tents or tabernacles was instituted; "all my cords are torn off" signifies that there is no conjunction of truth with good, nor of truths with each other, which have thus fallen apart, and consequently there is no conjunction of heaven with the church; "my sons have gone out from me and they are not" signifies that the truths of the church from the Word have been dispersed, and that man has thus removed himself from the Lord.

[17] In the same:

Behold, I will bring back the captivity of Jacob's tents, and will have compassion on his habitations, that the city may be built on her own heap, and the palace shall be inhabited after its own manner; and his sons shall be as of old, and his congregation shall be established before Me (Jeremiah 30:18, 20).

"Jacob's tents and habitations" signify all things of the church and of its doctrine, "tents" its goods, and "habitations" its truths; their "captivity" signifies spiritual captivity, which exists when the truths and goods of the Word cannot be perceived because of the falsities which rule. To disperse falsities and to teach truths is signified by "bringing back the captivity;" "that the city may be built on her own heap" signifies doctrine from truths which has become a ruin through falsities, "city" meaning doctrine; "and the palace shall be inhabited after its own manner" signifies the spiritual understanding of truths, as with the ancients, "palace" meaning the understanding of spiritual truths, for in the understanding are spiritual truths in their forms, which, when they are so presented as to be seen, appear like palaces; "his sons shall be as of old, and his congregation shall be established before Me," signifies that the truths of the church shall remain as with the ancients, and that their forms shall remain, as with the ancients, in restored conjunction, "sons" here meaning truths, and "congregation" their conjunction and such arrangement into forms as exists in the understanding of the man of the church, from which he has intelligence; "after its own manner" and "as of old" mean as with the ancients.

[18] In Lamentations:

Mine eye floweth down with waters, because the counselor who refresheth my soul is far from me; my sons are laid waste, because the adversary hath prevailed (Lamentations 1:16).

Mourning because the church is laid waste is meant by "mine eye floweth down with waters;" its devastation in respect to truths is signified by "my sons are laid waste;" that this was done by the falsities of evil is signified by "the adversary hath prevailed," "adversary" meaning the falsity of evil and the hell from which it springs.

[19] In Isaiah:

Awake, awake, rise up, O Jerusalem, which hast drunk out of the hand of Jehovah the cup of His anger; thou hast sucked out the dregs of the cup of trepidation; there is none to lead her of all the sons whom she hath brought forth, neither is there any that taketh hold of her by the hand of all the sons that she hath brought up. Thy sons have fainted, they lie at the head of all the streets (Isaiah 51:17, 18, 20).

The restoration of the church, which had fallen into mere falsities of evil, is signified by "Awake, awake, rise up, O Jerusalem, which hast drunk out of the hand of Jehovah the cup of His anger; thou hast sucked out the dregs of the cup of trepidation;" "Jerusalem" means the church in respect to doctrine; "awake and rise up" means its restoration; "to drink the cup of anger" means falsity, and "the dregs of the cup" mean mere falsities from which are evils, and to draw these in is signified by "drinking" and "sucking;" "there is none to lead her of all the sons whom she hath brought forth, neither is there any that taketh hold of her by the hand of all the sons that she hath brought up," signifies that no truths of the Word that she has learned and imbibed will lead her away from falsities; "sons" here meaning truths; "thy sons have fainted, they lie at the head of all the streets," signifies that truths are dispersed by falsities of every kind; because "sons" mean truths, "fainting" signifies to be dispersed, and "to lie at the head of all the streets" signifies by means of falsities of every kind, for "the streets of a city" signify true doctrinals, here false doctrinals.

[20] In the same:

Fear not, Jacob, I will bring thy seed from the east, and I will gather thee from the west, I will say to the north, Give up, and to the south, Hold not back; bring My sons from afar, and My daughters from the end of the earth (Isaiah 43:5, 6).

This is not said of Jacob's posterity, but of the Gentiles of whom the church is to be formed. "Jacob and his seed" mean those who will be of that church; that it is to be formed of those who are in falsities from ignorance, and thence in obscurity in respect to truths, is signified by "I will gather thee from the west, and I will say to the north, Give up;" and that these are not to be repulsed, but must be accepted, by those who are in the good of love and in the truths of doctrine in their clearness, is signified by "I will bring thy seed from the east, and I will say to the south, Hold not back;" "the east" signifying the good of love in clearness; "the south" the truth of doctrine in clearness; "the west" the good of love in obscurity, and "the north" the truth of doctrine in obscurity, such as those have who are in falsities from ignorance of truth and yet desire truths. This is the signification of these quarters, because all in the spiritual world dwell in these quarters distinctly according to the light of truth and the affection of good. These things have a like signification in Matthew, where it is said that "the elect are to be gathered together from the four winds, from the ends of the heavens even to the ends of them" (Matthew 24:31). That all who are in falsities from ignorance and yet in a desire for truth are to be brought into that church, is signified by "bring My sons from afar, and My daughters from the end of the earth," "sons" signifying those who are in truths, and "daughters" those who are in the affection of truths, and thence also in a sense abstractedly from persons they signify truths and the affections of them; and "afar off" and "the end of the earth" signify removal from the light of truth, because they are in falsities from ignorance from not having the Word or having no understanding of its meaning.

[21] In the same:

They shall hasten thy sons; ² they that destroy thee and they that lay thee waste shall go out from thee. Behold I will lift My hand toward the nations, and lift up Mine ensign to the peoples, that they bring thy sons in the bosom, and carry thy daughters upon the shoulder (Isaiah 49:17, 22).

This, too, treats of the establishment of the New Church by the Lord; and "sons" whom they shall hasten and whom they shall bring in the bosom, and "the daughters" whom they shall carry upon the shoulder, mean all who are in truths and in the affection of them, and in a sense abstractedly from persons truths themselves and affections for them with those who will be of the New Church; "they that destroy and they that lay waste" signify the falsities of evil; that these are to be removed is signified by "they shall go out from thee."

[22] In the same:

The isles shall trust in Me, and the ships of Tarshish in the beginning, to bring thy sons from far, their silver and their gold with them (Isaiah 60:9).

This also is said of the church of the Gentiles; and the "sons" that will be brought signify those who will receive truths. (The rest may be seen explained above, n. 50, 406, 514) In Hosea:

I will not destroy Ephraim. They shall go after Jehovah; He shall roar like a lion, for he shall roar, and sons from the sea shall draw near with honor; with honor shall they come, as a bird out of Egypt, and as a dove out of the land of Assyria, and I will make them to dwell in their houses (Hosea 11:9-11).

"Sons from the sea" signify true knowledges and rational truths; therefore it is said, "they shall come as a bird out of Egypt, and as a dove out of the land of Assyria," "Egypt" signifying the natural, and "Assyria" the rational, both in respect to truths. (This, too, is explained above, n. 275, 601, 654.)

[23] In David:

Hear this all ye peoples, perceive with the ear, all ye inhabitants of the age; both the sons of man [homo] and the sons of man [vir], the rich and the needy together; my mouth shall speak wisdoms, and the meditations of my heart shall be intelligences (Psalms 49:1-3).

"The sons of man [homo]” signify spiritual truths from the Lord through the Word, which are doctrinals, and "the sons of man [vir]” signify rational and natural truths that are from the understanding, thus they signify the understanding of the Word; "the rich and the needy" signify those who attain much wisdom from these and those who attain but little.

[24] In the same:

Jehovah, return, look from the heavens, and see and visit this vine and the shoot which Thy right hand hath planted, and upon the son whom Thou hast made mighty for Thyself; let Thy hand be over the man of Thy right hand, over the son of man whom Thou hast made mighty for Thyself (Psalms 80:14, 15, 17).

David said this of the church and of himself, which is the sense of the letter, for by the "shoot" and the "son" he meant himself; but in the spiritual sense the "vine" and the "shoot" that Jehovah planted signify the spiritual church that is represented by the sons of Israel; the "son" whom He made mighty for Himself signifies the truth of doctrine from the Word; "the man of the right hand" over whom was the hand, and "the son of man" whom He had made mighty for Himself, signify the truth of the Word in the natural sense, which is the sense of the letter, and the truth of the Word in the spiritual sense, which is the internal sense.

[25] In Ezekiel:

Behold I will profane My sanctuary, the greatness of My strength, ³ the desire of your eyes, and the fondness of your soul; and your sons and your daughters, whom ye have left, shall fall by the sword (Ezekiel 24:21, 25).

This describes the devastation of all truth that those of the church have; the "sanctuary" that He will profane signifies the Word from which is the church, for this is the sanctuary itself, because it is Divine truth; from its power against falsities and evils, which are from hell, it is called "the greatness of Jehovah's strength;" from the consequent intelligence and heavenly life it is called "the desire of your eyes and the fondness of your soul;" that all truths with the affection of them will be destroyed by falsities is signified by "your sons and your daughters shall fall by the sword," "sons" meaning truths, "daughters" the affections of truth, and "sword" falsity destroying truth.

[26] In Moses:

When the Most High gave the nations an inheritance, when He separated the sons of man, He set the borders of the peoples according to the number of the sons of Israel (Deuteronomy 32:8).

This is said of the Ancient Churches that preceded the Israelitish, and of the establishment of these by the Lord; "nations" mean those who were in the good of love, and "the sons of man" those who were in the truths of doctrine from that good; that these had all truths and goods is signified by "He set the borders of the people according to the number of the sons of Israel;" that "the twelve sons of Israel" (or the twelve tribes) represented and thus signified the church in respect to all truths and goods, may be seen above (n.39, 430, 657).

[27] In Jeremiah:

Shame hath devoured the labor of our fathers from our childhood, their flocks and their herds, their sons and their daughters; we lie down in our shame, and our confusion doth cover us (Jeremiah 3:24, 25).

So I will bring upon you a nation from afar, O house of Israel, which shall eat up thy harvest and thy bread, and it shall eat up thy sons and thy daughters, it shall eat up thy flock and thy herd, it shall eat up thy vine and thy fig tree, it shall impoverish thy strongholds in which thou trusteth, with the sword (Jeremiah 5:15, 17).

This describes in the spiritual sense the devastation of all things of the church with the Israelites; "the nation from afar" signifies the falsity of evil, which is the falsity of the sensual man, destroying truths; "harvest," "bread," "sons," "daughters," "flock," "herd," "vine," and "fig tree," which that nation will eat up, signify all things of the church; "harvest and bread" its truths and goods in respect to nourishment; "sons and daughters" its truths and goods in respect to generations; "flock and herd" truths and goods spiritual and natural; "vine and fig tree" the internal and external spiritual church from these.

[28] In Ezekiel:

Though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in the midst of it, as I live, if they would deliver their sons or their daughters, they only shall be delivered; and the land shall become a desolation; I will bring a sword upon the land, and I will cut off from it man and beast (Ezekiel 14:14, 16-18, 20).

This, too, describes the devastation of the church in respect to all truths of good and goods of truth, except with those who are reformed by means of truths from the Word and temptations; these are signified by "Noah, Daniel, and Job." That with the rest all truths of good and goods of truth will perish is signified by "they would not deliver their sons or their daughters, but they only would be delivered;" the devastation of the church by falsities is signified by "the land shall become a desolation, and I will bring a sword upon the land," "land" meaning the church, and "sword" falsity destroying truth. That every truth, spiritual and natural, will be destroyed, and thence all intelligence and the knowledge of truth will perish, is signified by "I will cut off from it man and beast."

[29] In the same:

The fathers shall eat the sons in the midst of thee, and the sons shall eat their fathers; I will do judgments in thee, and the whole remnant of thee will I scatter unto every wind (Ezekiel 5:10).

In Moses:

It was among the curses that they should eat the flesh of their sons and daughters (Leviticus 26:29).

"The fathers shall eat the sons, and the sons the fathers" signifies that evils will destroy truths and falsities goods, "fathers" meaning evils and goods, and "sons" falsities and truths; and as everything of spiritual life with man thus perishes, it is said that "judgments will be done and the remnant be scattered unto every wind," "remnant" meaning the truths and goods stored up by the Lord with man from infancy and childhood.

[30] We read also that "they led away their sons to idols to be devoured," and "for food," and "to pass through fire," as in the following passages. In Ezekiel:

Thou hast taken thy sons whom thou hast brought forth to Me, and these thou hast sacrificed unto them to be devoured. Were thy whoredoms a small matter? Thou hast slaughtered My sons, and hast given them up when thou didst cause them to pass through to them. Thou art thy mother's daughter and the sister of thy sisters, who loathed their husbands and their sons (Ezekiel 16:20, 21, 45).

This is said of the abominations of Jerusalem. "To sacrifice sons and daughters unto idols to be devoured" signifies to destroy and consume all truths and goods of the church; to do the like to truths from the Word is signified by "slaughtering sons, and making them to pass through to them;" that they destroyed the truths and goods of the Word by falsifications and adulterations is signified by "whoredoms" here and elsewhere in that chapter.

[31] In the same:

I will defile them with their gifts, in that they caused to pass over every opening of the womb, that I might lay them waste. Wherefore ye offer gifts, when ye caused your sons to pass through the fire; ye are defiled by all your idols (Ezekiel 20:26, 31).

To destroy truths by the evils of the love of self and by cupidities from one's own [proprium] is signified by "causing sons to pass through fire;" and to destroy truths by falsities is signified by "defiled by idols." (That "idols" signify the falsities of doctrine and worship from self-intelligence may be seen above, n.587.)

[32] In the same:

Oholah and Oholibah have committed whoredom and blood was in their hands; and with their idols have they committed whoredom; and their sons also whom they bare unto Me they have caused to pass through for them for food (Ezekiel 23:37).

By "Oholah and Oholibah" Samaria and Jerusalem are meant; and "Samaria" means the spiritual church, and "Jerusalem" the celestial church, each in respect to doctrine; falsifications and adulterations of the Word are signified by "their committing whoredom" and by "blood in their hands;" the consequent falsities from self-intelligence are signified by "they committed whoredom with their idols;" from this it is clear what is signified by "causing their sons to pass through for their idols for food," namely, that they destroyed the truths from the Word by falsities.

[33] Because "sons" signify truths:

The seeds that fell into the good land are called by the Lord the sons of the kingdom; and the tares, which are falsities, are called the sons of the evil one (Matthew 13:38).

Also those who are in truths are called the sons of light (John 12:36).

Those who are in the marriage of truth and good from the Lord are called the sons of the nuptials (Mark 2:19).

And those who are regenerated are called sons of God (John 1:11-13).

Because "stones" in the Word signify truths, John the Baptist said:

God is able of these stones to raise up sons unto Abraham (Luke 3:8).

That "stones" signify the truths upon which interior truths are based may be seen in Arcana Coelestia 643[1-4], 1298, 3720, 6426, 8609, 10376.

[34] As "sons" signify truths, so in the contrary sense they signify falsities; as in some of the passages quoted above, also in these words of Isaiah:

Prepare slaughter for his sons for the iniquity of their fathers, that they rise not up and possess the land and the faces of the land be filled with cities. I will rise up against them, and I will cut off from Babylon name and remnant, and son and son's son. I will also make it a heritage for the bittern, and pools of waters, and I will sweep it with the besom of destruction (Isaiah 14:21-23).

This is said of Babylon, which signifies the adulteration of the Word and profanation. Here the total vastation of truth with those who are meant by "Babylon" is treated of. That truths with them were utterly destroyed by the adulteration of the Word is signified by "Prepare slaughter for his sons, that they rise not up and possess the land and the faces of the land be filled with cities," "land" meaning the church in which are truths, and "cities" doctrinals from mere falsities. That all truths from first to last will perish is signified by "name and remnant shall be cut off from Babylon, son and son's son;" that nothing whatever of truth would remain is signified by "she shall be swept with the besom of destruction. "

[35] It is to be known that in the passages quoted above, "sons" signify those who are in truths or those who are in falsities; but as the spiritual sense of the Word has nothing in common with persons, "sons" signify in that sense truths or falsities abstracted from the idea of person. The spiritual sense is such because the idea of person limits thought and its extension into heaven in every direction; for all thought that proceeds from the affection of truth makes its way through heaven in all directions, and has no termination except as light has in shade; but when person is at the same time thought of, the idea has its termination where the person is, and intelligence with it; this is why "sons" signify in the spiritual sense truths or falsities regarded abstractly.

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