632. And the holy city shall they trample down, signifies that they will destroy all the doctrine of good and truth from the Word. This is evident from the signification of "the holy city," as being the doctrine of truth and good from the Word; in the sense of the letter "the holy city" means Jerusalem, which in the Word here and there is called "the holy city;" but "Jerusalem" means the church, and a "city" the doctrine of the church; that a "city" [civitas or urbs] signifies doctrine, see above n. 223; therefore "the holy city" signifies the doctrine of Divine truth, for Divine truth is what is called "holy" in the Word n. 204. This is evident also from the signification of "trampling down," as being to destroy altogether, in particular by means of things sensual and natural, consequently by means of fallacies, which are called the fallacies of the senses, from which when not explained mere falsities spring; such things are signified by "trampling down," because trampling is done by the soles of the feet, and "the soles of the feet" signify the external sensual things of man, and "feet" his natural things. That this signification of "soles" and of "feet" is from correspondence, see above (n. 65, 606; and in the work on Heaven and Hell 96).

[2] It is said that "the nations shall trample down the holy city," because this follows after the words, "The court which is without the temple cast out, for it is given to the nations," and the "court" signifies the external of the Word, of the church, and of worship, and the external of the Word is what is perverted, and thus adulterated and falsified, by the nations, that is, by those who are in evils and falsities. For, as was said in the preceding article, the external of the Word, which is called the sense of its letter, is for children and the simple-minded, and is therefore written according to appearances, thus for those who are sensual and natural; for infants are first sensual, afterwards natural, and when they advance in age they become spiritual. But when a man does not become spiritual, as is the case with all who live in evil, he does not understand the Word spiritually, but only naturally and sensually, and he who so understands the Word perverts it, and explains it according to the falsities of his religion and according to the evils of his life. This is why it is said that "they shall trample it down." Moreover, those who deny and despise the truths of heaven and the church appear in the spiritual world to trample them under the soles of the feet, and this, as was said above, because the external sensual of man corresponds to the soles of the feet, which are what trample down. It is said that the external sensual of man does this, but it is the sensual of those only who are merely sensual, who are such as deny the truths of heaven and the church, and who also believe nothing except what they can see with their eyes and touch with their hands.

[3] "To trample down" is predicated of such in the following passages also. In Luke:

They shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led captive among all nations, and Jerusalem shall finally be trampled down by the nations, until the times of the nations shall be fulfilled (Luke 21:24).

This has a similar signification as the passage in Revelation here explained, that "the court is given to the nations, and the holy city shall they trample down forty-two months;" for "they shall fall by the edge of the sword" signifies that they shall perish by falsities; "they shall be led captive among all nations" signifies that evils will make a prey of the goods and truths of the church; "Jerusalem shall be trampled down" signifies the destruction of the church in respect to doctrine; for "Jerusalem" signifies the church in respect to doctrine; "its being trampled down by the nations" signifies the total destruction of the church by evils of life and falsities of doctrine; "until the time of the nations shall be fulfilled" signifies until evil is consummated (See above, n. 624); this consummation is also signified by the "forty-two months." This, too, like what is said in Revelation, was said by the Lord respecting the time just preceding the Last Judgment.

[4] In Ezekiel:

Is this a small thing to you? Ye feed upon the good pasture, and trample down with your feet the remainder of your pastures; ye drink the sediment of the waters, ye stir up the remainder with your feet; and thus my flock feeds upon what ye have trampled down with your feet, and drink that which is stirred up by your feet (Ezekiel 34:18, 19).

"Good pasture" signifies all that which spiritually nourishes, especially the Word and the knowledges of truth and good therefrom; "to feed upon it and to trample down the remainder with the feet" signifies to so do away with it that it does not appear, and to so destroy it that it is not, and this is done by reasonings from the corporeal-sensual, and from the natural man separated from the spiritual. This therefore is what is meant by "trampling down with the feet;" "the sediment of the waters" signify truths defiled by falsities, for "waters" mean truths, and "to drink thereof" signifies to learn and to receive; "to stir up the remainder of the waters with the feet" signifies to bring nevertheless into confusion by reasonings from the natural man the truths that are not defiled by falsities, "feet" signifying the natural things in man. From this what is signified by "my flock shall drink what is trampled down by the feet, and what is stirred up by the feet," can be seen.

[5] In Daniel:

The he-goat cast the ram to the earth and trampled him down, nor was there anyone to deliver the ram out of his hand; afterwards one horn waxed great from a little one; even to the host of the heavens, and some of the host and of the stars it cast down to the earth and trampled them down (Daniel 8:7, 9, 10).

The "he-goat" here signifies faith separated from charity, and the "ram" signifies faith conjoined to charity, thus charity, the same as the "he-goats and sheep" in Matthew 25:31-46; "the one horn that waxed great from a little one" signifies justification by faith alone; "the host of the heavens" signifies all truths and goods of heaven and the church, and the "stars" signify the knowledges of good and truth; therefore "to trample down the ram" and also "the host of the heavens" signifies to destroy charity utterly, and with it all the truths and goods of heaven and the church, and this by the corporeal-sensual; for they who are in faith separated from charity, that is, who believe that they are saved by faith alone whatever their life may be, become corporeal-sensual, and are consequently in falsities in respect to all things of the Word and of the church; for they have no perception of the Word otherwise than according to the ultimate sense of its letter, seeing nothing interiorly in it; and even if they speak truths from the Word they nevertheless perceive them falsely; therefore this is what is signified by "the he-goat cast down to the earth some of the host of the heavens and some of the stars, and trampled them down." That charity towards the neighbor, that is, the good of life, is in like manner destroyed, is meant by "the he-goat cast the ram to the earth and trampled him down;" for they who are in faith separated from charity, who are meant by the "he-goat," make faith the essential and charity the nonessential, therefore they live for the body and the world, and are solicitous about themselves only, and not at all about the neighbor; and those who do this cast charity (which is meant by the "ram, ") to the earth and trample it down.

[6] In Luke:

Some seed fell upon the way and was trampled down, or the fowls of heaven devoured it (Luke 8:5).

"Seed" signifies Divine truth, or the truth of the Word; "to fall upon the way and be trampled down" signifies to be received only by the corporeal-sensual, and not interiorly; for that which is received in the spirit and in the heart is meant by "the seed that fell into the good earth." "The fowls of heaven that devoured it" signify falsities, for all evils and falsities therefrom have their seat in the corporeal-sensual, consequently unless a man becomes spiritual, and thinks from what is spiritual, he thinks nothing but falsities from evil. (What the corporeal-sensual is, and what sensual men are, see in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 50, also above, (n. 342, 543, 550, 552, 554, 556, 559, 563, 569, 570, 580)

[7] In Isaiah:

I will make known to you what I will do to My vineyard; in taking away its hedge that it may be eaten up, and in breaking down its wall that it may be trampled down (Isaiah 5:5).

"Vineyard" here signifies the Lord's church, which is called a spiritual church; "to take away its hedge, and break down its wall," signifies to falsify and thus destroy the truths that defend the church; "the hedge and the wall about the vineyard" have a similar signification as "the wall and the bulwarks about Jerusalem;" "to eat up and trample down the vineyard" signifies to lay waste the church, so that no truth and good can spring up, and thus to destroy it.

[8] In Jeremiah:

Many shepherds have destroyed My vineyard, they have trampled down My field, they have made the field of desire a wilderness of solitude (Jeremiah 12:10).

Here, too, the "vineyard," like "field," signifies the Lord's church; "to destroy," "to trample down," and "to make a wilderness of solitude" signifies to so destroy that nothing of the good and truth of the church remains. In Isaiah:

Our enemies have trampled down our ¹ sanctuary (Isaiah 63:18).

"Enemies" signify the evils of life; "to trample down the sanctuary" signifies to destroy the truths of doctrine from the Word, and this also by means of the corporeal-sensual, for all who are in evils of life are corporeal-sensual.

[9] In David:

The enemy pursueth my soul and overtaketh it, and trampleth down my life to the earth, and maketh my glory to dwell in the dust (Psalms 7:5).

Here, too, "enemy" signifies evil, in general the devil, that is, hell, from which evil comes; and "to trample down the life to the earth and make glory to dwell in the dust" signifies to destroy by means of the corporeal-sensual all truths of heaven and the church; for these constitute spiritual life, and are signified by "glory;" "dust," too, is predicated of the corporeal-sensual, and this is also meant by "walking upon the belly and eating dust," as is here and there said of the serpent.

[10] "To trample down" has a similar signification in the following passages. In Isaiah:

I will make the hypocritical nation to be trampled down like the clay of the streets (Isaiah 10:6).

In Micah:

The enemy of Jehovah shall be for a trampling down like the mire of the streets (Mic. Micah 7:10).

In Zechariah:

They shall be as the mighty ones trampling down the mire of the streets in the war, and they shall fight because Jehovah is with them, and they shall make ashamed them that ride upon horses (Zechariah 10:5).

In Malachi:

Then thou shalt ² trample down the wicked, and they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet, in the day that I am making (Malachi 4:3).

In Isaiah:

The crown of pride, the drunkards of Ephraim, they shall be trampled down under the feet (Isaiah 28:3).

In the same:

I have trampled down the peoples in My anger, and made them drunk in My wrath, and I have made their victory to descend to the earth (Isaiah 63:6).

In David:

Through Thee will we push down our adversaries; in Thy name will we trample them down that rise up against us (Psalms 44:5).

In the same:

God will trample down our adversaries (Psalms 60:12; 108:13).

"To trample down" in these passages also signifies to destroy, which is done by those who are corporeal-sensual, for those who are such "trample down" all things of heaven and the church, for they are in what is lowest, and their thoughts cannot be elevated by the Lord, for they themselves let them down to the earth, and there they lick the dust. Such are all those that deny the Divine. For all the evils that a man has from birth have their seat in his natural and in his corporeal-sensual; consequently unless he suffers himself to be elevated out of them by the Lord, which is effected by Divine means, which are the truths and goods of faith and love, or by the truths and goods of doctrine and life, he remains in his evils, which are implanted in his natural and in his corporeal-sensual, and then he tramples down the celestial and spiritual things belonging to heaven and the church.

[11] "To tread upon the lion, the adder, serpents, and scorpions," means not only to destroy the evils and falsities that are signified by these, but also not to be hurt by them; this is meant in David:

Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder, the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample down (Psalms 91:13).

In Luke:

Behold I give you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, that nothing may by any means hurt you (Luke 10:19).

This is so said in the Word because those who are in the hells appear before the eyes of good spirits and angels sometimes in the forms of various beasts and serpents, according to the kind of evil and of falsity therefrom in which they are; their thoughts themselves, when they go forth from the intention of their will, present such appearances. Exhalations from their evils and falsities continually breathe forth through the lands that are over these hells, or by which these hells are covered; so that to walk upon such places is dangerous to those who are only natural, and still more to those who are corporeal-sensual; for an exhalation arises therefrom, and a contagion affects those who walk there. But those who are led by the Lord may safely tread upon that earth without infection or infestation, because the interiors that are of their mind, or of their thought and affection, are elevated by the Lord above their corporeal-sensual, which corresponds to the soles of the feet. This makes clear what is meant, in a strict sense, by "treading upon the lion, the adder, the serpents, and the scorpions without being hurt by them," also why it is so said in the Word. But what is signified by a "lion" and by "serpents and scorpions" has been told and shown elsewhere.

Poznámky pod čarou:

51. The worldly knowledge and spiritual knowledge that serve for the opening of our inner spiritual self. "Worldly knowledge" refers to the knowledge we have in our outer or earthly self and its memory, but not to the knowledge we have in our inner or spiritual self: 3019, 3020, 3293, 3309, 4967, 9918, 9922. Since worldly knowledge belongs to the outer or earthly self it is relatively menial. This is because the outer or earthly self is made to serve the inner or spiritual self the way the world serves heaven: 5077, 5125, 5128, 5786, 5947, 10272, 10471. The outer self is like the world because the laws of the divine design that prevail in the world are written into it; and the inner self is like heaven because the laws of the divine design that prevail in heaven are written into it: 4523, 4524, 5368, 6013, 6057, 9278, 9279, 9283, 9709, 10156, 10472; [see also] Heaven and Hell 51-58.

[2] There are bodies of knowledge of an earthly nature that have to do with our civic condition and our civic life; there are bodies of knowledge that have to do with our moral condition and our moral life; and there are bodies of knowledge that have to do with our spiritual condition and our spiritual life: 5774, 5934. For clarity's sake, though, I refer to knowledge about our spiritual condition and our spiritual life as "spiritual knowledge," which mainly consists of theological teachings: 9945.

[3] It is important for us to become steeped in worldly and spiritual knowledge, because it is through this that we learn to think, then to understand what truth and goodness are, and eventually to be wise-that is, to live by what we have learned: 129, 1450, 1451, 1453, 1548, 1802. Worldly and spiritual knowledge are basic things on which our life is built and founded-both our civic and our moral life as well as our spiritual life; but they need to be learned with the goal of living a useful life: 1489, 3310. Spiritual knowledge opens a pathway to the inner self and then joins the inner and the outer self together according to our usefulness: 1563, 1616. Our rationality is born by means of worldly and spiritual knowledge (1895, 1900, 3086), yet it is not born through that knowledge itself, but through and according to our desire to put it to use (1895). The inner self is opened and gradually perfected through worldly and spiritual knowledge if we seek good and useful goals, especially goals related to eternal life: 3086. Then spiritual insights from the heavenly and spiritual self encounter the knowledge of worldly and spiritual things that is in the earthly self and adopt what is suitable: 1495. Then from the knowledge about worldly and spiritual things that is in our earthly self the Lord, by means of our inner self, draws out, refines, and raises up what is useful for heavenly life (1895, 1899, 1900, 1901, 1902, 5871, 5874, 5901), but information that is incompatible or conflicting is pushed aside and excluded (5871, 5886, 5889). The sight of our inner self calls forth from the worldly and spiritual knowledge in our outer self only those things that relate to what we love: 9394. Our worldly and spiritual knowledge is arranged in bundles and bound together according to the type of love that drove us to learn it: 5881. Then to the eye of our inner self the information that relates to what we love is at the center and in bright light, while the information that does not relate is off to the sides and in darkness: 6068, 6085. Worldly and spiritual knowledge is gradually sown in our loves and takes up residence there: 6323. If we were born loving the Lord and loving our neighbor we would be born into all knowledge and understanding, but since we are born loving ourselves and the world we are born into total ignorance: 6323. Knowledge, intelligence, and wisdom are the offspring that are born of love for the Lord and love for our neighbor: 1226, 2049, 2116.

[4] Since knowledge of worldly and spiritual things belongs to the outer or earthly self, it is in this world's light, but truths that have become matters of love and faith and therefore have been applied to life are in heaven's light: 5212. Even so, earthly concepts are needed to help us understand the truths that we are applying to life: 5510. There is a spiritual inflow through the inner self into the knowledge of worldly and spiritual things that is in the outer self: 1940, 8005. Knowledge of worldly and spiritual things is a container and vessel for the truth and goodness that belong to the inner self: 1469, 1496, 3068, 5489, 6004, 6023, 6052, 6071, 6077, 7770, 9922. That is why "vessels" in the Word, spiritually understood, means knowledge of worldly and spiritual things: 3068, 3069, 3079, 9394, 9544, 9723, 9724. Our worldly knowledge is like a mirror in which we can see and perceive in a kind of image things that are true and things that are good in the inner self (5201); all three meet together there on the outermost level (5373, 5874, 5886, 5901, 6004, 6023, 6052, 6071, 6077). Since worldly information is in this world's light, it is tangled and dark compared to things that are in heaven's light, which means that the same holds true for the contents of the outer self in comparison to those of the inner self: 2831. In fact, in the Word "a thicket" (2831) and "clouds" and "darkness" (8443, 10551) mean worldly knowledge.

[5] We need to make our start from the truths of a body of teaching from the Word and acknowledge them first, and then it is allowable to turn to worldly knowledge in order to find support for them and verify them: 6047. So if people have a positive attitude toward the truths that belong to religious faith, it is all right for them to look to worldly knowledge for intellectual support, but it is not all right for people who have a negative attitude to such truths, because a positive attitude as a starting point pulls everything in a positive direction, but a negative attitude as a starting point pulls everything in a negative direction: 2568, 2588, 3913, 4760, 6047. There is an affirmative way of doubting and a negative way of doubting, the former being characteristic of the good and the latter characteristic of the evil: 2568. Engagement with worldly knowledge on the basis of the truths that belong to religious faith accords with proper order; but the reverse, engaging on the basis of worldly knowledge with the truths that belong to religious faith, is contrary to proper order: 10236. Since inflow is spiritual and not physical or earthly it is a flow from the truths that belong to religious faith (because these are spiritual) into worldly knowledge (because this is earthly): 3219, 5119, 5259, 5427, 5428, 5479, 6322, 9109, 9110.

[6] People who doubt in a truly negative way, and say that they will not believe until they are convinced by objective evidence, will never believe: 2094, 2832. People who do this become insane in regard to matters of the church and heaven: 128, 129, 130. They fall prey to false beliefs and evil cravings (232, 233) in the other life when they think about spiritual matters they become like drunks (1072). More about what they are like: 196. Some examples illustrating the fact that spiritual matters cannot be grasped if they are approached from the wrong direction: 233, 2094, 2196, 2203, 2209. Many scholars are more insane in spiritual matters than ordinary people because they are resolutely negative and have an abundant supply of facts to support their denial: 4760. An example of a scholar who was incapable of understanding anything about spiritual life: 8629. People who use worldly knowledge to dispute the truths that belong to religious faith do so with vehemence, since their arguments are based on the deceptive impressions of the five senses. These impressions, being hard to dispel, are arresting and persuasive: 5700. People who understand nothing of what is true and who are also given to evil are able to reason about the truths and the good actions taught by faith, and yet they have no enlightenment: 4214. Simply confirming a dogma is not a sign of intelligence, because a dogma that is false is as easy to confirm as one that is true: 1017, 2477, 2490, 4741, 5033, 6865, 7012, 7680, 7950, 8521, 8780. People who reason about the truths of the church by asking whether something is so or not are completely in the dark about truths and have no spiritual light yet: ¹ 215, 1385, 3428.

[7] There are types of knowledge that support divine truths and types that do not: 5213. Empty facts have to be eliminated from our minds: 1489, 1492, 1499, 1500. Facts are empty if they intend and support our love for ourselves and the world and lead us away from loving the Lord and our neighbor, because this kind of thing closes the inner self so completely that we can then not accept anything from heaven: 1563, 1600. Worldly knowledge is a means to both wisdom and madness; by it the inner self is either opened or closed and our rational functioning is either developed or destroyed: 4156, 8628, 9922.

[8] Worldly learning means nothing after death except what we have gained through it for our understanding and life: 2480. Nevertheless, all our worldly knowledge remains intact after death, though it is dormant: 2476-2479, 2481-2486.

[9] The same facts that are false for evil people because they are used for evil purposes are true for good people because they are used for good purposes: 6917. The truths that evil people know are not actually true no matter how true they may seem when they say them, because there is something evil within those truths and they are falsified as a result; not even the knowledge they have deserves to be called knowledge, because it has no life within it: 10331.

[10] It is one thing to be wise, another to be intelligent, another to be knowledgeable, and another to act; all the same, for people engaged in a spiritual life, these follow in order and correspond to each other, and they are all present together in the doing and in the deeds: 10331. It is also one thing to know the truth, another to acknowledge it, and still another to believe it: 896.

[11] An example of the kind of craving for information that spirits have: 1973. Angels have an immense desire for knowledge and wisdom because knowledge, intelligence, and wisdom are spiritual food: 3114, 4459, 4792, 4976, 5147, 5293, 5340, 5342, 5410, 5426, 5576, 5582, 5588, 5655, 6277, 8562, 9003.

[12] Among the ancients the most important field of study was knowing correspondences, but nowadays that body of knowledge has been erased: 3021, 3419, 4280, 4844, 4964, 4965, 6004, 7729, 10252. There was a knowledge of correspondences among the people of the Near East and in Egypt: 5702, 6692, 7097, 7779, 9391, 10407. This was the source of their hieroglyphics: 6692, 7097. Through their knowledge of correspondences the ancients gained access to spiritual knowledge of various kinds: 4749, 4844, 4966. The Word was written in pure correspondences, and that is the source of its inner or spiritual meaning. Without a knowledge of correspondences we cannot know that this meaning exists or know what the nature of the Word is: 3131, 3472-3485, 8615, 10687. How superior a knowledge of correspondences is to other forms of knowledge: 4280.

Poznámky pod čarou: