3296. And the elder shall serve the younger. That this signifies that for a time the good of truth should be inferior, is evident from the signification of the “elder,” as being good; from the signification of “serving,” as being inferior; and from the signification of the “younger,” as being truth. How the case herein is may be seen from what follows, where it is described under the representation of Esau and Jacob; for as before said by Esau is represented good, and by Jacob, truth. That there was struggling or combat concerning priority and dominion, is described in the internal sense by Jacob’s taking away from Esau the birthright, and also his blessing; yet that this was done only for a time is manifest from Isaac’s prophecy concerning Esau.

And upon thy sword shalt thou live, and shalt serve thy brother; and it shall come to pass when thou shalt have the dominion, that thou shalt break his yoke from off thy neck (Genesis 27:40).

[2] That these things have an internal sense, and that what they signify cannot be known without the internal sense (namely, what is signified by two nations being in the womb, and by two peoples being separated from the bowels, and by one people prevailing over the other, and the elder serving the younger), is evident; and that they signify what has been said, is evident from what follows, where much will be said on this subject. Moreover it can with difficulty be believed that these expressions involve such things unless it is known how the case is with good and truth, and concerning the birth of the one from the other, and the change of state in man when he is being regenerated. In the internal sense indeed the Lord is treated of, and here how He made His natural Divine; nevertheless in the representative sense the regeneration of man is also treated of; for man’s regeneration is an image of the Lord’s glorification (n. 3043, 3138, 3212); that is, in regeneration as in a certain image it appears how the Lord glorified His Human, or what is the same, made it Divine. For as the Lord altogether changed His human state into the Divine, so also in man, when He regenerates him, the Lord utterly changes the man’s state, for He makes his old man new.

2744. It was shown me how the delights from conjugial love advance, on the one side to heaven, and on the other to hell. The advancement of the delights toward heaven was into blessedness and happiness continually more and more, even to what was beyond number or description; and the more interior, the more innumerable and ineffable, even to the very celestial happiness of the inmost heaven, or of the heaven of innocence; and this with the greatest freedom, for all freedom is from love; and thus the greatest freedom is from conjugial love, and is heavenly freedom itself. It was then shown how the delights of conjugial love descend toward hell-that they remove themselves little by little away from heaven, and this likewise with apparent freedom, till at last scarcely anything human remains in them. The deadly and infernal end to which they come has been seen, but cannot be described. A certain spirit who was then with me, and likewise saw these things, ran hastily forward to some sirens, of this character, declaring that he would show them the quality of their delight, and at first having the idea of delight; but as by little and little he came more in front, his idea was continued on, like the progress of the delight, to hell; and at length it ended in such horror. Sirens are women who have been in the persuasion that it is honorable to commit whoredom and adultery, and have also been valued by others for being so disposed, and for being in the elegancies of life. Most of them come into the other life from Christendom. They are treated of above (n. 831, 959, 1515, 1983, 2483).