922. Verse 20. And the wine-press was trodden without the city, signifies the bringing forth of falsity from evil out of hell. This is evident from the signification of "treading the wine-press," as being to bring forth truth from good, and in the contrary sense to bring forth falsity from evil, since "grapes," from which wine is made in the wine-press, signify the good of charity, and in the contrary sense evil; and from good truth is brought forth, and from evil falsity. That this, as well as falsifications of the Word, are signified by "the great wine-press of the anger of God," can be seen from the preceding article n. 920. The above is evident also from the signification of "without the city," as being from hell, for "city" signifies the doctrine of truth from the Word (See above, n. 223), while "without the city" signifies the doctrine of falsity from the Word falsified; and as the falsification of the Word is from hell, "without the city" means out of hell. In the Word "city" signifies doctrine, and "the city of David," that is, Zion, and "the city of Jerusalem," signify the church as to the Word and as to doctrine from the Word, therefore "without the city" signifies, not from the Word and doctrine from the Word; and what is not from the Word and from doctrine therefrom is from hell. "Without the city" has a like signification as "without the camp" of the sons of Israel in the desert, for their "camp" signified heaven and the church, and "without the camp," signified hell. For this reason the lepers and all that were unclean were sent out of the camp (Leviticus 13:46; Numbers 5:1-6); and the excrements, by which things infernal were signified, were left without the camp (Deuteronomy 23:13, 14).

[2] That the "wine-press" and "treading it" signify the bringing forth of falsity from evil and the bringing forth of truth from good, can be seen from the Word where "wine-press" is mentioned. That it signifies the bringing forth of falsity from evil can be seen from the following passages. In Lamentations:

The Lord hath prostrated all my strong ones in the midst of me, He hath proclaimed against me an appointed time for breaking my young men; the Lord hath trodden the wine-press for the daughter of Judah (Lamentations 1:15).

This treats of the end of the church with the Jewish nation; and "the strong ones whom the Lord hath prostrated in the midst thereof" signifies the destruction of the love of good; those who are in love of good are called in the Word "strong ones," because good from its love prevails over the hells, and is therefore "strong." "In the midst" signifies all and everywhere. "To break the young men" signifies the destruction of all the understanding of truth; "an appointed time" means when both the goods and the truths of the church were all devastated with that nation; this time was when the Lord came into the world, and is what is meant by "the fullness of times." So "the Lord hath trodden the wine-press for the daughter of Judah" signifies the perversion of the church and the adulteration of the Word that is brought forth from evils of life and falsities of doctrine, "the daughter of Judah" being the church from the doctrine of truth from the Word, and "wine-press" being the bringing forth of falsity from evil, and the consequent adulteration of the Word and overthrow of the church. In the sense of the letter this is attributed to the Lord; but this is reversed in the spiritual sense, in which it is meant that this was done by that nation itself.

[3] In Joel:

Send forth the sickle, for the harvest is ripe; come, get ye down, for the wine-press is full, the vats have overflowed; for their wickedness is great (Joel 3:13.)

The devastation of the church as to good and as to truth is thus described; and "the wine-press is full and the vats have overflowed" signifies that there was nothing except falsities from evil. (The rest may be seen explained, n. 911.

In Hosea:

Be not glad, O Israel, over a likeness, like the nations: for thou hast committed whoredom under thy God; thou hast loved the reward of whoredom upon all corn-floors; the floor and the wine-press shall not feed them, and the new wine shall be false to her (Hosea 9:2).

This treats of the falsification of the Word; "the floor and the wine-press shall not feed them" signifies that they will not draw from the Word the goods and truths that nourish the soul. (But this passage also has been explained above, n. 695)

[4] In Jeremiah:

Upon thy vintage hath the spoiler fallen; therefore gladness and joy are gathered out of Carmel, and out of the land of Moab; and I have caused the wine to cease from the wine-presses; none shall tread with shouting; the shouting shall be no shouting (Jeremiah 48:32-34).

What is signified by "the vintage" upon which the spoiler hath fallen, and what by "the gladness and joy" that were gathered, may be seen above n. 919; that there is no longer any truth because there is no good is signified by "I have caused the wine to cease from the wine-presses;" and that there is no longer any joy from any spiritual love is signified by "none shall tread with shouting," "shouting" meaning the rejoicing of those that tread the wine press.

[5] In Isaiah:

Who is this that cometh from Edom, His garments sprinkled from Bozrah, He that is honorable in His apparel, walking in the multitude of His strength? I that speak in justice, mighty to save. Wherefore art Thou red in Thy garment, and Thy garments as of one that treadeth in the wine-press? I have trodden the wine-press alone; and of the people not a man was with Me; therefore have I trodden them in mine anger, and trampled them in My wrath; therefore their victory is sprinkled upon My garments, and I have stained all My raiment (Isaiah 63:1-3).

This is said of the Lord, and of His combats against all the hells; and as He fought against them from the Human, in which was the Divine Itself, it is said, "Who is this that cometh from Edom, His garments sprinkled from Bozrah?" which signifies fighting from the good of love and from truth, which are from the Divine; for Edom means red, and Bozrah gathering the vintage; and "red" is predicated of good, and "gathering the vintage" of truth; and because this is what Edom and Bozrah mean, the expressions "red" and "as one treading in the wine-press" are afterwards used. And as the Divine good and the Divine truth that are here meant are the Word in the letter, and this is what is signified by the Lord's "garments" it is said, "garments sprinkled," also "honorable in His apparel." And as all strength in the Word is in the letter it is said, "walking in the multitude of His strength." Judgment from His Divine upon the good and upon the evil and consequent salvation, is meant by "I that speak in justice, mighty to save." The violence offered to the Word by the Jewish nation is signified by "Wherefore art Thou red in Thy garments, and Thy garments as of one that treadeth in the wine-press?" "Red in garment" is predicated of the violence offered to the Divine good of the Word, which is meant above by "Edom," and "garments as of one that treadeth in the wine-press" is predicated of the violence offered to Divine truth in the Word, which is meant above by "Bozrah." "The Lord's garments" signify the Word in the letter, to which violence was offered through adulterations and falsifications of it. The casting down of the hells and of their falsities by His own power is signified by "I have trodden the wine-press alone, and of the people not a man was with Me." The casting down into the hells of those who were in direful evils and in falsities therefrom is signified by "I have trodden them in Mine anger and trampled them in My wrath;" "anger" is predicated of evils, and "wrath" of falsities; and these are attributed to the Lord; although it is those who are in evils and in falsities therefrom that are angry and wrathful against the Lord. And as the judgment by which the hells were subjugated was accomplished by the Lord by means of temptations admitted into His Human, even to the last, which was the passion of the cross, it is said, "therefore their victory is sprinkled upon My garments, and I have stained all My raiment." For by all things of His passion and by the last temptation on the cross the Lord represented the violence offered by the Jewish nation to the Word, that is, to Divine truth (See above, n. 183, 195, 627, 655, 805).

[6] That "wine-press" and "treading it" signify the bringing forth of truth from good, because "the grape" signifies spiritual good, and "wine from the grape" truth from that good, can be seen from the following passages.

In Joel:

Rejoice, ye sons of Zion, the floors are full of corn, and the winepresses overflow with new wine and oil (Joel 2:23, 24).

"Sons of Zion" signify those who are in wisdom from the Divine truth; "the floors are full of corn" signifies that they have celestial good in abundance; "the wine-presses overflow with new wine and oil" signifies that from the good of charity they have truth and its delight.

[7] In Matthew:

A man, a householder, planted a vineyard, and set a hedge about it, and digged a wine-press in it, and built a tower; and let it out to husbandmen, who slew the servants sent to them, and finally the son (Matthew 21:33).

The "vineyard" which the householder planted signifies the church that was instituted with the sons of Jacob; the "hedge" which he set about it signifies protection from the falsities of evil, which are from hell; "and digged a wine-press in it" signifies that it had spiritual good; "and built a tower" signifies interior truths from that good which looked to heaven; "and let it out to husbandmen" signifies to that people; "they slew the servants that were sent to them" signifies that they slew the prophets; "and finally the son" signifies the Lord.

[8] In Isaiah:

My beloved had a vineyard in a horn of a son of oil, which he fenced and gathered out the stones, and planted it with a noble vine, and built a tower in the midst of it, and also hewed out a wine-press in it; and he looked that it should bring forth grapes, but it brought forth wild grapes (Isaiah 5:1, 2).

"Vineyard," "tower," and "wine-press," have a like signification here as just above in Matthew. (The rest may be seen explained n. 918. In most passages, where "vintage" and "wine press" are mentioned, the "harvest" and "corn floor" are also mentioned (as in Hosea 9:1, 2; Joel 2:23, 24; 3:13; Numbers 18:26-30; Deuteronomy 15:14; 16:13; 2 Kings 6:27); and for the reason that "harvest" and "corn-floor," from "corn" and "bread" signify the good of celestial love, which is love to the Lord; and "vintage" and "wine-press," from the "grape" and the "wine," signify the good of spiritual love, which is love towards the neighbor; for these two loves make one, like an efficient cause and its effect. This has been said because here in Revelation the "harvest" is mentioned, and afterwards the "vintage" in the same way. (For the "harvest" see verses 14, 15; and the "vintage," verse 19.)

911. Send Thy sickle and reap, for the hour for Thee to reap is come, for the harvest of the earth is dried up, signifies that it is the time for collecting the good and separating them from the evil, because this is the end of the church. This is evident from the signification of "sending the sickle," as being to collect the good and separate them from the evil (of which presently); also from the signification of "the hour to reap is come," as being the time for doing this; also from the signification of "for the harvest of the earth is dried up," as being the last state or the end of the church, for "harvest" signifies the last state or the end, and "the earth" signifies the church. From this it is clear that "Send Thy sickle and reap, for the hour to reap is come, for the harvest of the earth is dried up," signifies that it is the time for collecting the good and separating them from the evil, because this is the end of the church. "To send the sickle and reap" means to collect the good and to separate them from the evil, because "the harvest of the earth" signifies the last state of the church, when the Last Judgment takes place and the evil are cast into hell and the good raised up into heaven, and thus they are separated.

[2] That the collecting, separation, and Last Judgment do not take place before can be seen in the work on The Last Judgment, and will be more fully explained in the appendix to this book. This is briefly set forth in the Lord's words in Matthew:

Jesus spake this parable: The kingdom of the heavens is like unto a man that sowed good seed in his field; but while men slept his enemy came and sowed tares, and went away. But when the blade sprang up and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also. The servants of the father of the family came and said unto him, Lord, didst thou not sow good seed in thy field? whence then hath it tares? And he said unto them, An enemy hath done this. But the servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that going we collect them? But he said, Nay, lest haply while ye collect the tares ye root up at the same time the wheat with them. Rather let both grow together until the harvest; and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Collect first the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn. And His disciples came unto Him, saying, Explain unto us the parable of the tares of the field. He answering said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man; the field is the world; and the seed are the sons of the kingdom; but the tares are the sons of the evil one; and the enemy that soweth them is the devil; while the harvest is the consummation of the age; and the reapers are angels. As then the tares are collected and burned in the fire, so shall it be in the consummation of the age. The Son of man shall send forth His angels, and they shall collect out of His kingdom all things that cause stumbling and them that do iniquity, and shall send them into a furnace of fire; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then shall the just shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of the Father (Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43).

The Lord by this parable illustrates all that is said in this chapter of Revelation (in verses 14 to 19) respecting the Son of man having a sickle in His hand and reaping, and that the earth was reaped by Him and the angels. For this parable teaches that the "sower" means the Lord, who is here called "the Son of man;" that the "reapers," or "those that reap," mean the angels; also that "the tares shall be cast into a furnace of fire and the good seed gathered into the barn;" and that this could not be done until "the consummation of the age" (which signifies the last state of the church), "lest the wheat should be rooted up at the same time with the tares."

[3] As this parable of the Lord contains arcana respecting the separation of the evil from the good, and the Last Judgment, it is important that its particulars should be explained. "The kingdom of the heavens" signifies the Lord's church in the heavens and on earth; for the church is in both. "The man who sowed good seed in his field" means the Lord as to the Divine truth, which is the Word, in the church; "the man," who is called in the following verses "the Son of man," is the Lord as to the Word; "good seed" is Divine truth; and "field" the church where the Word is. "While men slept his enemy came and sowed tares, and went away," signifies that while men are living a natural life, or the life of the world, evils from hell secretly, or while they are unconscious of it, introduce and implant falsities, "to sleep" signifying to live a natural life or the life of the world, since such a life is sleep as compared with spiritual life, which is wakefulness. The "enemy" signifies evils from hell, which influence that life when it is separated from spiritual life; "to sow tares" signifies to insinuate and implant falsities; "and went away" signifies that it was done secretly and when they were unconscious of it. "But when the blade sprang up and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also," signifies that when truth increased and brought forth good, falsities from evil were mingled with it; "the blade springing up" signifying truth such as it is when it is first received, "fruit" signifying good, and "tares" falsities from evil, here these mingled with truths.

[4] "The servants of the father of the family came and said unto him, Lord, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? whence then hath it tares?" signifies those who are in truths from good perceiving that falsities from evil have been mingled with them, and complaining, "the Lord's servants" signifying those who are in truths from good, "the father of the family" signifying the Lord as to truths from good ("father" the Lord as to good, and "family" the Lord as to truths); the "good seed," the "field," and the "tares," having the same signification as above. "And he said unto them, An enemy hath done this," signifies that such falsities were from evil in the natural man. "But the servants said to him, Lord, wilt thou then that going we collect the tares?" signifies the separation and casting out of falsities from evil before truths from good are received and increase. "But he said, Nay, lest haply while ye collect the tares ye root up at the same time the wheat with them," signifies that thus truth from good and its increase would also perish; for truths are mingled with falsities with the men of the church, and these cannot be separated and the falsities cast out until they are reformed.

[5] "Rather let both grow together until the harvest; and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, Collect first the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn," signifies that the separation and casting out of falsities from evil cannot be effected until it is the last state of the church; since it is then that the falsities of evil are separated from the truths of good, and the falsities of evil are delivered up to hell, and the truths of good are conjoined with heaven, or what is the same, the men who are in them. This takes place in the spiritual world, where all who are of the church from its beginning to its end are in this way separated and judged. The "harvest" signifies the end or the last state of the church; "to bind into bundles" signifies to conjoin together particular kinds of falsities from evil; "to burn" signifies to deliver up to hell; and "to gather into the barn" signifies to conjoin with heaven.

[6] "He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man" signifies the Divine truth from the Lord. "The field is the world" signifies the church everywhere. "The seed are the sons of the kingdom" signifies that the Divine truth is with those who are of the church. "The tares are the sons of the evil one" signifies falsities with those who are in evil. "The enemy that soweth them is the devil" signifies that their falsities are from evil, which is from hell. "The harvest is the consummation of the age" signifies the last time and state of the church. "The reapers are angels" signifies that the Divine truth from the Lord is what separates. "The Son of man shall send forth angels, and they shall collect out of His kingdom all things that cause stumbling," signifies that the Divine truth from the Lord will remove those things that hinder the separation. "They that work iniquity" signifies those who live wickedly. "And shall send them into a furnace of fire" signifies into the hell where those are who are in love of self and in hatred and revenge. "There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth" signifies where there is what is direful from evils and falsities. "Then shall the just shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of the Father" signifies that those who have done the Lord's commandments shall live in heaven in heavenly loves and their joys; those are called "just" who acknowledge the Lord and do His commandments. Such was to be the state of the angels after the Last Judgment, because the superior power which had before been on the side of hell was then restored to heaven, which was a source of joy to the angels with unceasing increase.

[7] It remains to give some explanation of the Lord's words respecting the separation of the evil from the good, namely, "Rather let both grow together until the harvest; and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, Collect first the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn." This signifies the separation of the evil from the good when the Last Judgment is at hand. Why they were not separated before may be seen in the work on The Last Judgment 59, 70), to which I will here add, that it is according to Divine order for things that must in the end be separated to grow in connection; and that when the end is reached separation is easily and as it were spontaneously effected. This might be illustrated by a thousand lessons of experience in both worlds, and also from correspondences in the animal and vegetable kingdom; from which it can be seen as in a general mirror why the evil were not separated from the good until near the time of the Last Judgment; and this is the signification of the things in Revelation here explained, that the angel said to Him that sat upon the cloud, "Reap, for the hour for Thee to reap is come, for the harvest of the earth is dried up."

[8] Also in the following passages the "harvest" signifies the last state of the church, when the old church has been laid waste, that is, when there is no longer any truth or good left in it that has not been falsified or cast aside. In Joel:

At the valley of Jehoshaphat will I sit to judge all the nations round about. Send forth the sickle, for the harvest is ripe; come, get ye down, for the wine-press is full, the vats overflow, for their wickedness is great (Joel 3:12, 13).

This chapter treats of the falsification of the truth in the Word, and the devastation of the church by it; and this verse treats of the last state of the church, when judgment takes place; and this state is described, as in Revelation, by "sending forth the sickle, for the harvest is ripe," the "harvest" being that last state; also by "the wine-press is full and the vats overflow," as in this chapter of Revelation, Revelation 14:19-20. That judgment then takes place is plainly declared, "the valley of Jehoshaphat," where judgment is executed, signifying the falsification of the Word.

[9] In Jeremiah:

Cut off him that soweth in Babylon and him that handleth the sickle in the time of harvest (Jeremiah 50:16).

And in the same:

The daughter of Babylon is like a threshing-floor; it is time to thresh her; yet a little while and the time of her harvest shall come (Jeremiah 51:33).

Here, too, "the time of harvest" means the last state of the church, when there is no longer any good or any truth; its devastation is described by "cutting off him that soweth and him that handleth the sickle in the time of harvest;" also by "threshing as on a threshing-floor," "Babylon" meaning those who seek dominion by means of the holy things of the church.

[10] In Isaiah:

I will bewail for Jazar, the vine of Sibmah; I will water thee with my tears, O Heshbon and Elealeh; for upon thy vintage and upon thy harvest the battle shout hath fallen (Isaiah 16:9).

Here again, "harvest" signifies the last state of the church, for "the battle shout" signifies the end, because it was a custom to exult and call out when the vintage was finished and the harvest was gathered in; but here it signifies to lament, because it is said to have fallen. "Jazar, the vine of Sibmah," and "Heshbon and Elealeh," signify men of the external church who explain the Word to favor worldly loves, for these places had been given for an inheritance to the tribes of Reuben and Gad, and these, because they dwelt beyond the Jordan, represented the external church. "The vine of Sibmah" signifies the church of such; and their destruction when the Lord should come and accomplish judgment is also described in that chapter.

[11] In Jeremiah:

The harvest is past, the autumn is ended, and we have not been saved; because of the bruising of my daughter I am bruised (Jeremiah 8:20, 21).

Here again the "harvest" signifies the last state of the church. "Because of the bruising I am bruised" signifies grief that there is no longer any good and truth, "daughter" signifying the affection of truth, and thus the church, for that affection is of the church and the church is from it.

[12] In Isaiah:

It shall come to pass when the harvest, the standing corn, is gathered, and his arm reapeth ears, and there shall be left in it gleanings, as in the shaking of an olive tree, three berries in the top of the bough, four or five in the branches of the fruit-bearing one. In the day shalt thou make thy plant to grow, and in the morning shalt thou make thy seed to blossom; the harvest shall be a heap in the day of possession, and desperate sorrow (Isaiah 17:5, 6, 11).

This chapter treats of the knowledges of truth and good belonging to the church, and of their destruction. These are here signified by "Damascus," of which this chapter treats, and by "Aroer." Their destruction is described by "there shall be left in it gleanings, as in the shaking of an olive tree, three berries in the top of the bough, four or five in the head ¹ of the fruit bearing one," also by "the harvest shall be a heap in the day of possession," that is, that there shall be no more than a single heap; therefore it is added, "and desperate sorrow." This makes clear that "harvest" signifies here the last state of the church. That state is signified also by "morning," for when the last state of the church is at hand it is morning to those who are to be of the New Church, and evening and night to those who are of the old church. That this is what "morning" here means is evident from the last verse of this chapter, where it is said:

About the time of evening behold terror; before the morning it is not (Isaiah 17:14).

"Terror" signifies destruction.

[13] In Joel:

The husbandmen were ashamed, the vine-dressers howled for the wheat and for the barley, because the harvest of the field hath perished (Joel 1:11).

The devastation of the church as to good and truth is here meant by "the harvest of the field hath perished;" "husbandmen" mean those who are in the good of the church, and "vine-dressers" those who are in its truths; "wheat and barley" mean good itself and truth itself; grief on account of devastation is signified by "they were ashamed and howled."

[14] "Harvest" signifies the last state of the church, because "corn," which is the harvest, signifies the good of the church and truth from good, and "field" the church itself. That all things pertaining to natural nourishment, such as wheat, barley, oil, wine, and the like, signify such things as pertain to spiritual nourishment has been shown above in many places; and the things that pertain to spiritual nourishment have reference in general to good and truth and knowledges of them, thus to doctrine and to a life according to these knowledges. Therefore it is said in Jeremiah:

A nation from afar shall eat up thy harvest and thy bread, 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 fortified cities, in which thou dost trust, with the sword (Jeremiah 5:17).

"A nation from afar" means the falsity of evil destroying; "from afar" signifying what is far away from good and truth. "Harvest" and "bread" signify nourishing truths and goods of the church; "sons and daughters" goods and truths generating; "flock and herd" goods and truths spiritual and natural, "vine and fig-tree" the internal spiritual church, and the external natural church; the "fortified cities in which they trust" signify doctrinals from self-intelligence; "to be impoverished with the sword" signifies to be destroyed by falsities of evil.

[15] As "harvest" signifies all things that spiritually nourish man, and these have reference to the truths of doctrine and the goods of life, so "harvest" signifies the church in general and in particular; in general, in these words in the Gospels:

Jesus said to His disciples, The harvest is plenteous but the laborers are few; pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest that He send laborers into His harvest (Matthew 9:37, 38; Luke 10:2).

The "harvest" here means all with whom the church was to be established by the Lord, thus also the church in general; and "laborers" mean all who will teach from the Lord.

[16] Likewise in John:

Jesus said to the disciples, Say ye not there are yet four months and then cometh the harvest? Behold I say unto you, Lift up your eyes and look on the fields that they are white already for harvest. And he that reapeth receiveth reward and gathereth fruit unto life eternal. For herein is the saying true, that there is one who soweth and another who reapeth. I sent you to reap that whereon ye have not labored; others have labored, but ye have entered into their labor (John 4:35-38).

This was said by the Lord of a New Church to be established by Him. That the establishment of that church was then at hand is meant by "Lift up your eyes and look on the fields that they are white already for harvest." To teach those who were to be of that church, or as the Lord says elsewhere, "to collect and gather into the barn," is signified by "reaping." That it is the Lord who teaches, thus who collects and gathers, and not themselves (for it was the Lord, by means of the angels, that is, by means of Divine truths from the Word, who prepared for reception those whom the disciples converted to the church), is meant by "there is one who soweth and another who reapeth; I sent you to reap that whereon ye have not labored; others have labored, but ye have entered into their labor."

[17] The increase of the church with man in particular, and with men in general by the Lord, is also described by "harvest" in Mark:

Jesus said, So is the kingdom of God as if a man should cast seed upon the earth, and should then sleep and rise night and day, and the seed should spring up and grow up he knoweth not how. For the earth beareth fruit of herself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full corn in the ear. But when the fruit hath come forth straightway he putteth forth the sickle, because the harvest is ready (Mark 4:26-29).

"The kingdom of God" means the church of the Lord in the heavens and on the earth; and the implantation of it with all who receive truths and goods from the Lord, not from self, is described by these words, every particular of which corresponds to spiritual things and signifies them; as that "a man casts seed upon the earth, that he then sleeps, and rises night and day, that the seed springs up and grows up he knows not how;" for "seed" signifies the Divine truth, "to cast seed into the earth" signifies the work of man, "to rise day and night" and finally "to put in the sickle" signifies in every state. The rest signifies the Lord's work; and the "harvest" the implantation of the church in particular and in general. For it is to be known, that, although the Lord works all things, and man nothing from self, yet He wills that man should work as if from self in all that comes to his perception. For without man's cooperation as if from self there can be no reception of truth and good, thus no implantation and regeneration. For to will is the Lord's gift to man; and because the appearance to man is that this is from self, He gives him to will as if from self.

[18] Such being the signification of "harvest" two feasts were instituted with the sons of Israel, one of which was called the feast of seven weeks, which was that of the harvest of firstfruits; and the other the feast of tabernacles, which was the feast of ingathering of the fruits of the earth. Of these the first signified the implantation of truth in good, and the other the bringing forth of good, thus regeneration. But the feast of unleavened bread, or the Passover, which preceded, signified deliverance from the falsities of evil, which is the first thing of regeneration.

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