THE EXPLANATION of Isaiah Chapter 13

(Note: Rev. Smithson's translation of the Isaiah text is appended below the explanation)

1. THE burden of Babel, which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw.

VERSE 1. The burden of Babel [or Babylon], which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw. - As in this chapter and in the following [and also in many other parts of the Word, especially in Revelation xvii., xviii.] the subject treated of is concerning Babylon, therefore before we proceed to the explication of these chapters, it shall be shown what is understood by "Babylon" in general and in particular; also what its quality is in the beginning, and what it becomes afterwards by degrees.

By "Babylon" or by "Babel" is understood the church, consisting of those who, by the holy things of the church, aspire to dominion over the universal terrestrial globe, and this by exercising a dominion over the souls of men, claiming to themselves a power of saving whomsoever they will; and who at last seek and appropriate to themselves dominion over heaven and hell; for which end they derive and transfer to themselves all the Lord's power, as if it was given to them by Him. The church, consisting of such in its. beginning, is not the same as it becomes in process of time, In the beginning they are, as it were, in zeal for the Lord, for the Word, for love and faith, and especially for the salvation of men; but in that zeal lies concealed the fire of the love of ruling, which in process of time, as dominion increases, breaks out, and in the degree in which it comes into act, the holy things of the church become the means, and dominion itself the end; and when dominion becomes the end, then the holy things of the church are applied to that end, thus to themselves; and then they not only make the salvation of souls dependent on their own power, but also appropriate to themselves all the divine power of the Lord; and when they do this, they then pervert all the good and all the truth of the church, and thus profane its sanctities; - these things are "Babylon."

That this is the case has been shown to me to the life. In the spiritual world there were such as affected a like dominion: and whereas they knew that all power belonged to the Lord alone, they put on a zeal as it were for Him, and for heaven, and for the church, and laboured with all their might that they might worship the Lord alone, and that all things of the Word might be kept most holy; they also ordered that sanctity and integrity might reign in all; but it was given to know that in that zeal lay concealed an ardent cupidity of ruling over all others, believing that these things which they ordained were accepted by the Lord; for in truth, as soon as they obtained dominion, by degrees the end was revealed, which was not that the Lord, but that themselves, might rule, and thus that the Lord might serve them, and not they the Lord, being indignant if it was not allowed them as gods to dispose all things at their nod; yea, it was apperceived that they made light of the Lord, and even rejected Him, if the power was not granted them of doing all things according to their own pleasure, and unless every decision of theirs was assented to. It was also apperceived that they were desirous, under any pretence, to transfer His divine power to themselves if they dared, but were afraid of being cast down into hell if they did so; hereby it was shown how "Babylon", begins, and how itterminates.

Hence also it was given to conclude, that whilst dominion becomes the end, and the holy things of the church become the means, the worship of God is turned under various pretences into the worship of men, so that they themselves are gods in act, and the Lord is God not in act, but is merely called so for the sake of form. Now, inasmuch as dominion by the holy things of the church over the souls of men, over heaven, and over the Lord Himself, is inwardly profane, it follows that it is infernal; for the devils who are in hell covet nothing more than to exercise dominion over heaven, and over the Lord Himself, which they also attempt under various pretences, but whilst they are in the attempt they are swallowed up by hell. Inasmuch as in the world they who cast down the Lord from the seat of His kingdom, and place themselves upon it, are in heart like to devils, it is evident that the church consisting of them, in process of time, must be devastated as to all the Good and all the Truth thereof; this is its end. That they are devils appears from the same in the spiritual world. They who have exercised the divine power of the Lord in the world, after death speak most holily concerning the Lord and worship Him with all external devotion; but when their interiors are inspected [for they may be uncovered and inspected in the spiritual world], it is given to see that they are profane, because atheistical, and full of diabolical craftiness; hence it was manifested that their holy externals served them only as means to an end, which end was dominion.

It was once a question among certain spirits, whether any devil in hell could do the like, wherefore one of the worst was then called, and it was told him that he might receive dominion over many, if he could worship the Lord with sanctity, and acknowledge His Divine [Principle] equal to the Divine [Principle] of the Father, and perform at the same time all things appertaining to worship: he, when he heard that he could have dominion over many, immediately disposed his interiors to cunning, and his exteriors to holiness, and worshipped the Lord in a more holy manner than many angels, waxing angry against all those who adored Him not; but as soon as he observed that dominion was not given to him he became enraged against the Lord Himself, and not only denied His Divine [PrincipleJ and also the Divine [PrincipleJ of the Father, but cast reproaches upon both, for he was an atheist. That such is also the nature of "Babylon" at this day is manifestly evident from this consideration, that under the pretence of the keys being given to Peter, they have transferred to themselves all the divine power of the Lord, having shut up divine Truth from the people by taking away from thorn the Word, and have attributed to the dictates of the pope a sanctity equal, yea, actually superior to the sanctity of the Word: they also teach but little, if anything, of the fear and worship of God, but the fear and worship of themselves, and also the worship of holy things for the sake of themselves. Hence it is manifest that "Babylon", in its end, is the church void and empty of all the good of love to God, and of all the good of love towards their neighbour, and consequently of all truth, whence it is no longer a church, but an idolatry; and therefore differing very little from the Gentilism of the aucients, who worshipped Baal, Ashtaroth, Beelzebub, and several others, and notwithstanding had temples, stated feasts, altars, sacrifices, incense, drink-offerings, and other things similar to what were in the Jewish church. These things are adduced concerning "Babylon" in its beginning and in its end, in order that it may be known whence it is that "Babel", in the Word, is sometimes extolled even to heaven, and sometimes cast down even to hell. That such is the nature of "Babel" may fully appear from the descriptions and representations thereof in the Prophets, and especially in Daniel. Apocalypse Explained 1029.

2. Upon a lofty mountain erect the standard; exalt the voice unto them; wave the hand; that they may enter the gates of princes.

Verse 2. Upon a lofty mountain erect the standard, etc. - By a "sign" or a "standard", in the Word, is signified a calling together to war, and whereas it is Jehovah who [in this case] calls together for war, protection from Him is also signified by the "standard." That by a "standard" or a sign is signified a calling a together for war is manifest from this consideration, that when convocations were made, whether for journeyings or for festivals, or for war, they sounded the trumpet, and also lifted up a sign or standard upon the mountains. That they "sounded the trumpet", see Numbers 10:1-11; that they "lifted up a sign or standard" is evident from the following passages:

"Announce you in Judah, and in Jerusalem call you to be heard; and say, and sound the trumpet in the earth; proclaim, fill, say, Be gathered together, and let us enter into cities of fortification. Set up a standard towards Zion: assemble, stay not." (Jeremiah 4:5, 6)

And in Isaiah, "All you inhabitants of the globe, and dwellers all the earth, when a standard shall be lifted up, behold you, and when a trumpet sounds, hear you." (Isaiah 18:3)

Again,

"He has lifted up a standard for the Gentiles from far, and has hissed to him from the extremiity of the earth, and behold, the swift one shall quickly come. (Isaiah 5:26)

Again - "LIft you up a standard on a lofty mountain, lift up a voice unto them, shake the hand, that the gates of the princes may come." (Isaiah 13:2)

Again,

"Thus says the Lord Jehovih, Behold, I Will lift up My hand towards the nations, and towards the people will lift up My standard, that, they may bring your sons in the bosom, and may carry your daughters upon the shoulder." (Isaiah 49:22)

Frorn these passages it is evident that by a "standard" is signified a gathering together. That a "standard" or a sign, when it is predicated of the Lord, signifies also protection, is manifest from Isaiah, "They shall fear from the west the name of Jehovah, and from the rising of the sun His glory, because He shall come as a strait river, the Spirit of Jehovah shall set up a standard in it; then shall the Redeemer come to Zion." (Isaiah 59:19)

Again,

"It shall come to pass in that day, the Root of Jesse, which stands for a standard of the people, the nation shall seek; and His rest shall be glory." (Isaiah 11:10)

Inasmuch as a "sign", which in the original tongue is expressed by the same expression as a "standard", signified a gathering together, and when it was said of the Lord, signified also protection, therefore it was expressly commanded that a brazen serpent should be set for a sign, concerning which it is thus written in Moses "Jehovah said to Moses, Make to yourself a serpent, and set it upon a standard; and it shall come to pass, that everyone who has been bitten, and shall look at it, shall live. And Moses made a serpent of brass, and set it upon a standard; whence it came to pass, if a serpent bit a man, and he looked on the serpent of brass, he revived." (Numbers 21:8, 9)" That the "brazen serpent" represented the Lord, see John 3:14, 15; that it also signified protection is evident, for the healing effected by "looking on the serpent which was on the standard", signified healing from evils of the false by looking on the Lord through faith in Him; for the Lord says in the passage quoted from John "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whosoever believes in Him may not perish, but have eternal life." Arcana Coelestia 8624.

3. I have commanded My sanctified ones; I have also called My mighty ones to [execute] My wrath;. those that exult in My greatness.

Verse 3. I have commanded My sanctified ones; I have also called My mighty ones, etc. - [These words signify that the Lord, as the Word, arranges His divine Truths, "His sanctified ones", -, - and His divine Goods "His mighty ones", for the execution of judgment, denoted by His "wrath." Similar things are meant by these words as by the Lord's "coming to judgment with His angels." Matthew 24:31.]

4. The voice of a multitude in the mountains, the likeness of much people; the voice of the tumult of kingdoms, of nations gathered together! Jehovah of Hosts musters the host for the battle.

Verse 4. The voice of the tumult of kingdoms, of nations gathered together, etc. - By the "kingdoms of the nations gathered together", of which a tumult is predicated, are not understood nations gathered together from the kingdoms [of this world], for this is a prophetic, and not an historical passage; but by the "kingdoms of the nations gathered together", are signified the falsities of evil which they have made to cohere, and by their "tumult" is understood their threats and eagerness of desire to combat against truths; for "kingdoms" are predicated of truths, and, in the opposite sense, of falsities, and "nations" signify goods, and, in the opposite sense, evils, as may be seen above, n. 175, 331; and "tulmult" is predicated of the eager desire of combating, in the present case, against truths; "Jehovah rnusters the host", signifies the arrangement of truths from good by the Lord against the falsities from evil; the Lord, is the Word, is called " Jehovah Zebaoth", from truths and goods comating against falsities and evils, for "Zebaoth" signifies hosts, and "hosts" signify the truths and goods of heaven and the church; and to "number" or muster, signifies to arrange them, and "war" spiritual combat. Apocalypse Explained 453.

As to the meaning of "Jehovah Zebaoth", or of Hosts, see above, Chapter 1:9, 24, the Exposition.

5. They come from a distant land, from the extremity of the heavens; Jehovah, and the weapons of His wrath, to destroy the whole land.

Verse 5. They come front a distant land, from the extremity of the heavens, etc. - To be at a distance [or to "come from a distant land "] signifies to be in externals, because a man is in himself when he is in his internals, for his love resides there, and hence is his life. The internals of man are such things as belong to his spirit, and in the Word are understood by "things near"; wherefore externals, which are remote from internals, are understood by "things distant." Every evil man also, whilst he is in externals, is not like himself such as he is in internals; for he then speaks and acts otherwise than he thinks and wills. For his thought and his will then is that be may appear a civil, moral, and also a spiritual man, and this either on account of the law and its penalties, or on account of fame and of honour and gain, thus on account of the fear of the loss of those things. That then rnan was at a distance from himself is evident from this circumstance, that when he returns from his externals into his internals, which is the case when he is alone, he then thinks and wills altogether otherwise, and also speaks otherwise with his companions who are like himself; hence it is evident that to "stand at a distance" is to be in things external. What is signified, in a good sense, by "coming from afar" or a distance, see below, Chap, Isaiah 43:6; 49:1, 12, the Exposition; and in Zechariah-

"They shall come from afar, and build the temple of Jehovah." (Zechariah 6:15)

Those "coming from afar" are the nations who are receptive of what is good and true; the "temple which they shall build" is the church. But in the opposite sense, by "afar off", and "the extremity of the earth or of heaven", is signified evil, because this is the external man; for all who are in evils, and thence in falsities, are external men. These are understood by "the nations and the peoples at a distance, and coming from the extremities of the earth", in the following passages, as in Isaiah,

"The nations afar off and coming from the end of the earth"; (Isaiah 5:26; 13:5), and in Jeremiah 4:16; 5:15. Apocalypse Explained 1133. See also above, Chapter 5:26, the Exposition.

[They who "come from a distance to destroy the land", that is, the church as fallen under the dominion of Babylon, or as actuated by the love of dominion by means of the truths of the Word and the holy things of the church, are here represented as "the weapons of Jehovah's wrath", which are evils and falsities of every kind arising from Babylonish principles, For Babylon must not be thought of as a distant city long since destroyed, but as a state of things existing in the fallen church and in the unregenerate mind. It should be observed that Jehovah is said to "commancl His sanctified ones", and to "call His mighty ones", (verse 3.) which signify the Lord's coming to judgment in the Truths conjoined with the Goods of His Word, by the influx and power of which, evils and falsities, signified by those "from a distance", are laid bare and overwhelm them with destruction. Why evils and falsities are said to be "the weapons of Jehovah's wrath", see above, in respect to "anger", when ascribed to Jehovah, Chapter 9:12, 17, 21; see also Chapter 1:24, the Exposition.]

6. Howl you, for the day of Jehovah is near; as a devastation from the Almighty shall it come.

7. Therefore shall all hands be slackened, and every heart of man shall melt;

Verses 6-8. Howl you, for the day of Jehovah is near, etc. - The "day of Jehovah which is near", signifies the Last Judgment performed by the Lord when He was in the world; their terror on account of the destruction then impending, is signified by "all hands are slackened, and every heart of man melteth, and they are sore afraid"; that their attempts to receive the goods and truths of heaven and the church are then in vain, by reason of the falsities of evil in which they were and still are, is signified by "pangs and sorrows seizing them, as a woman in travail"; that they are in the evils of hatred and anger, is signified by their "faces being faces of flames." Apocalypse Explained 721.

Verse 6. As a devastation from the Almighty shall it come. - The "devastation from the Almighty" [Shaddai] , signifies devastation in temptations. That God, as to temptations, was called by the ancients Shaddai, see Arcana Coelestia 1992, 3667.

"God Shaddai" signifies temptations and consolations after them, because Truths from Good [the source of consolations], are implanted in man by temptations, Arcana Coelestia 5376, and Apocalypse Explained 283.

8. And they shall. be terrified: pangs and sorrows shall seize them; as a woman in travail they shall be pained: they shall be astonished every man at his companion; their faces shall be faces of flames.

Verse 8. They shall be terrified; pangs and sorrows shall seize them, as a woman in travail, etc. - These words treat of the Last Judgment [specifically upon those understood by Babylon], when the evil are let into their interiors. The interiors of those who are in the love of self and of the world, and thence, in hatred and revenge, are understood by "their faces being faces of flames", for so they appear. The torments they then suffer from the influx of divine Good and of divine Truth, are signified by the "pangs and sorrows as of a woman in travail." Their torments are compared to the "pangs and sorrows of a woman in labour", from a similar cause to that stated in Genesis 3:16; for evils and falsities are then conjoined; in which case, when divine Good and Truth flow in, "pangs and sorrows seize upon them." Apocalypse Explained 412.

9. Behold, the day of Jehovah cometh! cruel with indignation, and with burning wrath: to make the land a desolation; and the sinners thereof He shall destroy from out of her.

Verses 9, 10, 12, 13. Behold, the day of Jehovah cometh, to make the land a desolation; etc. - That the "land" here denotes the church, is evident from each expression understood in a spiritual sense. The subject treated of is concerning its end, when Truth and Good, or Faith and Charity, are no more; for by "the constellations and stars which do not shine", are signified the knowledges of Truth and Good; by "the sun which is darkened in its rising", is signified love; by "the moon which causes not its light to shine", is signified faith; by "man who shall be rendered more rare than pure gold," is signified intelligence and wisdom. Hence it is manifest what is meant by "Behold, the day of Jehovah cometh, to make the earth a desolation; I will make the heavens tremble, and, the earth [or land] shall be shaken out of her place." The "day of Jchovah" is the end of the church, when judgment takes place; the "earth" [or land] is the church; that the earth itself is not shaken out of its place is evident, but that the church where there is not Love and Faith is removed; to be " shaken out of her place" is to be removed Irom a former state. Apocalypse Explained 304.

Verses 9, 13. Behold, the day of Jehovah cometh, cruel with indignation etc. - By a "cruel day" and the "burning wrath of Jehovah" is understood the Last Judgment; and because it is the evil which waxes hot and the false which is angry, it is therefore called "the day of the wrath of anger"; by "the earth which shall be made a desolation, and which shall be shaken out of her place", is understood the earth. which is in the spiritual world, for in that world there are earths as in our world; and when the Last Judgment is performed, the earths in that world are "made a desolation", and are "shaken out of their places", the mountains and hills being overturned, and the valleys sinking into marshes, where the face of things is entirely changed. By the "earth", in the spiritual sense, is everywhere understood the church; for in the spiritual world the face of the earth is similar to the state of the church with those who dwell there, wherefore when the church perishes the earth also perishes, for they make one; and then in place of the former earth a new one exists. But these changes are unknown to us on our earth, which nevertheless are to be declared and manifested, in order that the spiritual sense of such expressions as we are treating of may be unrlerstood. A Apocalypse Explained 413.

The devastation and destruction of the church at its end are described by the "indignation, anger, and wrath of Jehovah", whereas it is quite the contrary, namely, that instead of the Lord it is man who as being in evil, is "indignant, angry, and burns with wrath", and opposes himself to what is Good and True. The punishment which is from evil is ascribed to Jehovah on account of the appearance. Elsewhere, frequently, in the Word, the last time of the church and its destruction is called "the day of the anger of Jehovah." Arcana Coelestia 5798.

As to the meaning of "anger", when ascribed in the Word to the Lord, see above, Chapter 9:12, 17, 21, the Exposition.

10. For the stars of heaven, and the constellations thereof, shall not shine forth with their light: the sun shall be darkened at his rising, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine.

Verses 9-18. The day of Jehovah cometh, cruel with indignation, and with burning wrath, etc. - The subject here treated of is concerning the last time of the churoh, when there is no longer any faith and charity, which time is "the day of Jehovah, cruel with indignation, and with burning wrath." Every one may see that something else is meant than what the words barely dictate; but what is meant cannot be known but from the significatives of the expressions in the spiritual sense, in which sense that "earth" [or land] denotes the church, see Arcana Coelestia 566, 662; hence "to make the land a desolation, and to destroy sinners from out of her", signifies the man of the church at that time without faith and charity. That "stars and constellations" denote the knowledges of truth and good, see Arcana Coelestia 2120; which are said "not to shine with their light", when they are no longer illustrated by the light of heaven which flows in by [or through] the faith of charity; that the "sun" denotes love to the Lord, and the "moon" faith in Him, see Arcana Coelestia 2120, 2441; hence "the sun being darkened in his rising", signifies that love to the Lord cannot exist with man, and "the moon not causing her light to shine", signifies that neither can charity and faith exist, thus that man cannot any longer be regenerated. To "make a man more rare than fine gold, and [the son of] man than the gold of Ophir", signifies that good is no longer seen, nor truth, for by "man" is signified the good of the church, Arcana Coelestia 4287, and by the "son of man" truth derived from good; in the supreme sense the Divine Truth proceeding from the Lord, Arcana Coelestia 1724, 1733. "Everyone that is found shall be thrust through", signifies that all would perish by reason of the evil of the false; and "everyone that is gathered together shall fall by the sword", signifies that they should perish by reason of the false; that to be "thrust through" denotes to perish by reason of the evil of the false, see Arcana Coelestia 4503; and that to "fall by the sword" denotes to perish by reason of the false, see Arcana Coelestia 2799. "Their infants shall be dashed before their eyes", signifies that they were about extinguish innocence altogether, for" infants" denote innocence, Arcana Coelestia 430; "their wives being ravished", signifies that the goods of truth were perverted, for" wives" denote the goods of truth, Arcana Coelestia 2517, 4510, and to be "ravished" denotes to be perverted, Arcana Coelestia 2466, 4865. "their bows shall dash the young men to pieces", signifies that the truths of good were about to perish by doctrines of the false derived from evil, for a "bow" denotes the doctrine of truth, and, in the opposite sense, the doctrine of the false, Arcana Coelestia 2686; "young men" denote truths confirmed, Arcana Coelestia 7668; and "their eye shall not spare the sons", signifies that he who understands truths still extinguishes them, for "sons" denote truths, Arcana Coelestia 489, 491, and the "eye" denotes the understanding of truth, Arcana Coelestia 2701. From these considerations it is now plain what is meant by the above prophetic words, that is, that when the church comes to its end, all Truth and all Good are about to perish. Arcana Coelestia 8902.

11. And I will visit upon the world its wickedness, and upon the wicked their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogance of the proud to cease; and I will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible.

Verse 11. I will visit upon the world its wickedness, and upon the wicked their iniquity. - By the "world" here also are understood those of the church who are in evils, and by the "impious" those who are in falsities; wherefore it is said, "I will visit upon the world its wickedness, and upon the wicked their iniquity"; "evil or 'wickedness" denoting evil, and "iniquity" is predicated of falsities. Apocalypse Explained 741.

Verses 11, 15. I will visit upon the world its wickedness; everyone found therein shall be thrust through, etc. - Treating also of Babylon. That "everyone found therein shall be thrust through", signifies that they shall perish by evil; and "everyone that is gathered together shall fall by the sword", signifies to perish by falsities. Apocalypse Explained 315.

12. I will make a man more rare than fine gold; and [the son of] man than the gold of Ophir.

13. Wherefore I will make the heavens tremble; and the earth shall be shaken out of her place: in the indignation of Jehovah of Hosts;. and in the day of His burning anger.

Verse 12. I will make a man more rare than fine gold, etc. - By a "man" [virum hominem] is signified intelligence, and by a "man" [hominem], wisdom: and that these were about to cease, is signified by its being said that "they shall be rendered rare." Intelligence is distinguished from wisdom by this, that intelligence is the understanding of truth, such as the spiritual man has, and wisdom is the understanding of truth, such as the celestial man has; the understanding of the latter being from the will of good. Hence it is evident what is signified bythe "man" [virum hominem] and what by the "man" [hominem], in the above passage. Apocalypse Explained 280.

By a "man" is there understood intelligence, the scarcity of which Is understood by being "more rare than fine gold; by intelligence is meant that which is derived from truths, truths being the foundation of all intelligence.

By "shaking the heavens, and the earth being moved out of its place", is signified the dissipation of the good of love and the truth of faith, and worship in the externals thence derived; "the heavens and the earth" signifying here, as above, the internal and external of the church, the former being the good of love and faith; and the latter the worship thence derived; for according to the quality of the internal of the man of the church, such is his external, inasmuch as the latter proceeds entirely from the former. Without this there is external inanimate worship and expression without spirit, and without thought from which expression flows, and will from which gesture comes, without life, for there is no spiritual principle therein from which life is derived. Apocalypse Explained 400.

14. And it [Babel] shall be as a roe chased, and as sheep when there is none to gather them: they shall look everyone to his own people, and they shall flee everyone to his own land.

15. Everyone that is found shall be thrust through; and everyone that is gathered together shall fall by the sword.

16. And their infants shall be dashed before their eyes; their houses shall be plundered, and their wives ravished.

Verse 14., And it [Babel] shall be as a roe chased, etc. - [The "roe" or gazelle chased", and the "sheep having none to gather them", etc., signify when predicated of Babel, as in this case, those who are in external good as represented by those animals, but not in internal good. At the period of Judgment there are many who have the semblance of good in the external, but not the reality thereof in the internal. "They seem to have", (Luke 8:18) but this semblance is then taken away, when "they look to their own people, and flee to their own land", which signifies that they come to their own states, and put on externals corresponding to their internals.]

17. Behold, I will raise up against them the Medes, who do not esteem silver; and as to gold, have no delight in it.

18. Their bows shall dash the young men to pieces; and all the fruit of the womb they shall have no pity: their eye shall not spare the sons.

Verses 17, 18. Behold, I will raise up against them the Medes, etc. By the "Medes" are understood those who make no account of the Truth and Good of the church, and destroy those things which are thence of the understanding and love; by the "silver which they shall not esteem", and by the "gold with which they shall not be delighted", is signified the Truth and Good of heaven and the church; by "silver" their truth, and by "gold" their good. "Their bows shall dash the young men to pieces, and on the fruit of the womb they shall have no pity, " signifies that falsities of doctrine will destroy all the understanding of truth and all the good of love; "bows" denotin the falsities of doctrine, "young men" the intelligence of truth, and "the fruit of the "womb" the good of love; "their eye shall not spare the sons", signifies that their perverted understanding and insanity will devastate all the truth of the church; "sons" denoting truths, and the "eye" the understanding perverted, which is insanity. It is to be observed that by the "Medes" are not understood the Medes, but such persons and things in the church as devastate it. Apocalypse Explained 710.

19. And Babel, the beauty of kingdoms, the glory of the magnificence of the Chaldeans, shall become as the overthrow by God of Sodom and Gomorrah.

Verse 19. Inasmuch as all the evil with them is from the love of self, and all the false is from that evil, and that evil and the false thence derived is condemned to hell, therefore it is said, "So shall Babel be, as the overthrow by God of Sodom and Gomorrah"; the "overthrow by God" signifying condemnation to hell, and "Sodom and Gomorrah", the evils originating in the love of self and the falsities thence derived. That these things are signified by "Sodom and Gomorrah", may be seen in the Arcana Coelestia 220, 2246, 2322. Apocalypse Explained 357.

For the signification of "Sodom and Gomorrah", see above, ChapterIsaiah 1:9, the Exposition.

Verses 19-22. Babel [or Babylon], etc. - The subject treated of in the whole of this chapter is concerning the total devastation of all things appertaining to the Good, and of all things appertaining to the Truth of the church, with those who are signified by "Babylon."

By "so shall Babel be", in the sense of the letter, is understood the great city called "Babel", but in the spiritual sense is understood thereby the church which became "Babylon." Babel is called "the beauty of the kingdoms, and the glory of the magnificence of the Chaldeans", from the wisdom of that church in its beginning, as has been said before; but, in general, by "Babylon" or "Babel" is understood the church in which all the goods of love are destroyed, and at last profaned, and by "Chaldeans", the church in which all the truths of faith are destroyed; hence it is that it is called "the overthrow by God of Sodom and Gomorrah"; "Sodom" also signifying the destruction of all good by the love of self, and "Gomorrah" the destruction of all truth thence derived. "It shall not be inhabited for ever, nor shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation", signifies the destruction thereof to eternity; "not to be inhabited for ever" having respect to the destruction of Good, and "not to be dwelt in from generation to generation" having respect to the destruction of Truth, for they who destroy Good and Truth, and afterwards embrace what is evil and false in the place thereof, cannot be reformed. It is otherwise with those who are in evils and falsities, but yet have not destroyed Good and Truth, as is the case with the nations or Gentiles who are ignorant of Good and Truth. "The Arab shall not pitch [his] tent there, neither shall the shepherds make their flocks to lie there", signifies that the church will become such a wilderness; the "Arab" denoting those who live in a wilderness, but do not continue there, because there is no corn nor fruit, as is the case also with "the flocks of the shepherds", when there is no pasture. "The zijim shall lie there, and the ochim shall fill their houses", signifies infernal falsities and evils appertaining to them; the "zijim" infernal falsities, and the "ochim" infernal evils; and the "house" is the mind of those who are of such a quality. "The daughters of the owl shall dwell there, and there shall the satyrs dance", signifies that falsified truths and adulterated goods are there; falsified truths are "the daughters of the owl", and adulterated goods are the "satyrs"; and to "dance or leap" denotes the joy arising from the' filthy lust [of dominion] whereby the good of love to the Lord is adulterated. "The ijim shall howl in their houses, and dragons in their palaces of delights" [or voluptuousness], signifies those adulterations and falsifications in their doctrines. Apocalypse Explained 1029.

20. It shall not be inhabited for ever; nor shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation: the Arab shall not pitch [his] tent there; neither shall the shepherds make their flocks to lie there.

Verse 20. It shall not be inhabited for ever; nor shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation; etc. - Whereas the love of self does not acknowledge any truth of the church, it is said "not a man shall dwell there, nor shall the son of man tarry therein"; by "man" [vir] is signified intelligence, and by "the son of man " [filius hominis], the truth of the church. Apocalypse Explained 653.

21. But monsters [Zijim] shall lie there; and doleful creatures [Ochim] shall fill their houses: and the daughters of the owl shall dwell there; and there shall the satyrs dance.

22. And wild beasts [Ijim] shall howl in their houses, and dragons in their palaces of voluptuousness: and her time is near to come; and her days shall not be prolonged.

Verse 21. But monsters [Zijim] shall lie there; and doleful creatures [Ochim] shall fill their houses: and the daughters of the owl shall dwell there; and there shall the satyrs dance. - These things are said concerning Babel. That such merely natural and corporeal concupiscences appertain to those who are understood by "Babel", and constitute the life of their mind, is signified by their "houses" being filled with such things, and by their" dwelling and dancing there"; by "house" is signified the mind [mens], or the merely external rnind [animus] of man, with the things therein contained; by "the daughters of the owl" are signified falsities, and by "the demons of the forest, or satyrs", cupidities merely corporeal. Apocalypse Explained 586. See also Apocalypse Revealed 756, 757.

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Isaiah Chapter 13.

1. THE burden of Babel, which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw.

2. Upon a lofty mountain erect the standard; exalt the voice unto them; wave the hand; that they may enter the gates of princes.

3. I have commanded My sanctified ones; I have also called My mighty ones to [execute] My wrath;. those that exult in My greatness.

4. The voice of a multitude in the mountains, the likeness of much people; the voice of the tumult of kingdoms, of nations gathered together! Jehovah of Hosts musters the host for the battle.

5. They come from a distant land, from the extremity of the heavens; Jehovah, and the weapons of His wrath, to destroy the whole land.

6. Howl you, for the day of Jehovah is near; as a devastation from the Almighty shall it come.

7. Therefore shall all hands be slackened, and every heart of man shall melt;

8. And they shall. be terrified: pangs and sorrows shall seize them; as a woman in travail they shall be pained: they shall be astonished every man at his companion; their faces shall be faces of flames.

9. Behold, the day of Jehovah cometh! cruel with indignation, and with burning wrath: to make the land a desolation; and the sinners thereof He shall destroy from out of her.

10. For the stars of heaven, and the constellations thereof, shall not shine forth with their light: the sun shall be darkened at his rising, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine.

11. And I will visit upon the world its wickedness, and upon the wicked their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogance of the proud to cease; and I will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible.

12. I will make a man more rare than fine gold; and [the son of] man than the gold of Ophir.

13. Wherefore I will make the heavens tremble; and the earth shall be shaken out of her place: in the indignation of Jehovah of Hosts;. and in the day of His burning anger.

14. And it [Babel] shall be as a roe chased, and as sheep when there is none to gather them: they shall look everyone to his own people, and they shall flee everyone to his own land.

15. Everyone that is found shall be thrust through; and everyone that is gathered together shall fall by the sword.

16. And their infants shall be dashed before their eyes; their houses shall be plundered, and their wives ravished.

17. Behold, I will raise up against them the Medes, who do not esteem silver; and as to gold, have no delight in it.

18. Their bows shall dash the young men to pieces; and all the fruit of the womb they shall have no pity: their eye shall not spare the sons.

19. And Babel, the beauty of kingdoms, the glory of the magnificence of the Chaldeans, shall become as the overthrow by God of Sodom and Gomorrah.

20. It shall not be inhabited for ever; nor shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation: the Arab shall not pitch [his] tent there; neither shall the shepherds make their flocks to lie there.

21. But monsters [Zijim] shall lie there; and doleful creatures [Ochim] shall fill their houses: and the daughters of the owl shall dwell there; and there shall the satyrs dance.

22. And wild beasts [Ijim] shall howl in their houses, and dragons in their palaces of voluptuousness: and her time is near to come; and her days shall not be prolonged.

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.

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