10134. The one lamb thou shalt offer in the morning. That this signifies the removal of evils through the good of innocence from the Lord in a state of love and of the consequent light in the internal man, is evident from the signification of “offering a lamb,” or sacrificing it, as being the removal of evils through the good of innocence from the Lord (of which below); and from the signification of “morning,” as being a state of love and of the consequent light in the internal man (of which also below). By “offering,” or “sacrificing, a lamb” is signified the removal of evils through the good of innocence from the Lord, because by burnt-offerings and sacrifices was signified purification from evils and the derivative falsities, or what is the same, their removal, and the implantation of good and truth, and their conjunction by the the Lord, (n. 9990, 9991, 10022, 10042, 10053). (That purification from evils is their removal, see the places cited in n. 10057; and that a “lamb” denotes the good of innocence, n. 10132)

[2] That the removal of evils, and the implantation of good and truth, and their conjunction, are effected through the good of innocence by the Lord, is because in all good there must be innocence in order that it be good, and because without innocence good is not good. For innocence is not only the plane in which truths are sown, but is also the very essence of good; so far therefore as a man is in innocence, so far good becomes good, and truth lives from good; consequently so far the man becomes alive, and so far the evils with him are removed; and insofar as they are removed, goods and truths are implanted and conjoined by the Lord. This is the reason why the continual burnt-offering was made by means of lambs. (That all the good of heaven and the church has innocence in it, and that without innocence good is not good, see n. 2736, 2780, 6013, 7840, 7887, 9262; also what innocence is, n. 3994, 4001, 4797, 5236, 6107, 6765, 7902, 9262, 9936)

[3] That “morning” denotes a state of love and of the consequent light in the internal man, is because in the heavens the states with the angels vary as to love and the faith thence derived, as in the world with men times vary as to heat and its attendant light. These times, as is well known, are morning, noon, evening, and night; hence in the Word by “morning” is signified a state of love; by “noon,” a state of light in clearness; by “evening,” a state of light in obscurity; and by “night,” or “twilight,” a state of love in obscurity. (That there are such variations of states in the heavens, see n. 5672, 5962, 6110, 7218, 8426; and that morning there is a state of peace and innocence, thus a state of love to the Lord, n. 2405, 2780, 8426, 8812, 10114; that noon is a state of light in clearness, n. 3708, 5672, 9642; evening a state of light in obscurity, n. 3056, 3833, 6110; and that there is no night in heaven, but twilight, n. 6110, by which is signified a state of love in obscurity.)

[4] That by “morning” is signified a state of love and of the consequent light in the internal man, is because when an angel is in a state of love and light, he is then in his internal man; but when he is in a state of light and love in obscurity, he is then in the external man. For the angels have an internal and an external, and when they are in the internal, the external is almost quiescent; but when they are in the external, they are in a more gross and obscure state. Consequently when they are in a state of love and light, they are in their internal, thus in their morning; and when they are in a state of light and love in obscurity, they are in the external, thus in their evening; from which it is plain that variations of states are made by elevations toward more interior things, thus into a higher sphere of heavenly light and heat, consequently nearer to the Lord; and by lowerings toward more exterior things, into a lower sphere of heavenly light and heat, and thus more remote from the Lord.

[5] Be it known that interior things are higher, thus nearer to the Lord; and that exterior things are lower, thus more remote from the Lord; and that light in the heavens is the Divine truth which is of faith, and heat in the heavens is the Divine good which is of love, both proceeding from the Lord. For the Lord in heaven is a Sun, from which the angels have everything of life, and from it man has everything of spiritual and heavenly life (see the p laces cited in n. 9548, 9684; also that interior things are higher, thus nearer to the Lord, n. 2148, 3084, 4599, 5146, 8325).

[6] The man who is being regenerated, and likewise the man who has been regenerated, also undergo variations of state as to love and as to faith, by means of elevations toward more interior things, and by lowerings toward more exterior things; but there are few who are able to reflect upon this, because they do not know what it is to think and to will in the internal man, and in the external; nor indeed what the internal man is, and what the external. To think and to will in the internal man is to think and to will in heaven, for the internal man is there; but to think and to will in the external man is to think and to will in the world, for the external man is there; and therefore when a man is in love to God and in the consequent faith, he is in the internal man, because in heaven; but when he is in obscurity as to love and the consequent faith, he is in the external man, because in the world. These states also are meant by “morning,” “noon,” “evening,” and “night” or “twilight” in the Word.

[7] It is similar with the states of the church, the first state of which is also called “morning” in the Word, the second “noon,” the third “evening,” and the fourth or last, “night.” But when the church is in its night, in which it is when no longer in love to God and in faith, then from the twilight morning begins with another nation, where a new church is set up.

[8] For it is with the church in general as with man in particular; his first state is a state of innocence, thus also of love toward his parents, nurse, and infant companions; his second is a state of light, for when the infant becomes a child, he learns things that belong to light, that is, the truths of faith, and believes them; the third state is when he begins to love the world and to love himself, which takes place when he becomes a youth and when he thinks from himself, and in proportion as these loves increase, faith decreases, and with faith charity toward the neighbor and love to God; the fourth and last state is when he does not care for these things, and still more when he denies them.

[9] Such also are the states of every church from its beginning to its end. Its first state is likewise a state of infancy, thus also of innocence, consequently of love to the Lord, which state is called “morning;” the second state is a state of light; the third is a state of light in obscurity, which is its “evening;” and the fourth is a state of no love and hence of no light, which is its “night.” This is so because evils increase day by day, and insofar as they increase, one person infects another like a contagion; especially parents their children, besides that hereditary evils are successively condensed, and so transmitted.

[10] That “morning” signifies the first state of the church, and also a state of love, is evident from Daniel:

A holy one said, How long shall be the vision, the continual sacrifice, and the wasting transgressions? And he said to me, Until evening and morning two thousand three hundred; then shall the holy thing be justified (Daniel 8:13-14).

The subject here treated of is the coming of the Lord; “evening” denotes the state of the church before his coming, while “morning” denotes the first state of the church after His coming, and in the supreme sense it denotes the Lord Himself. That in the supreme sense the Lord is the “morning” is because He is the Sun of heaven, and the Sun of heaven never sets, but is always rising; hence also the Lord is called the “east,” consequently also the “morning” (n. 2405, 2780, 9668).

[11] And in Isaiah:

One crieth unto me out of Seir, Watchman, what of the night? what of the night? The watchman said, The morning cometh, and also the night (Isaiah 21:11-12);

by the “watchman” in the internal sense is meant one who observes the states of the church and its changes, thus every prophet; by “night” is meant the last state of the church; by “morning” its first state; by “Seir,” from which the watchman crieth, is signified the enlightening of the nations which are in darkness (that “Seir” has this meaning, see n. 4240; and that “night” denotes the last state of the church, n. 6000); “the morning cometh, and also the night,” signifies that though there is enlightening to those who are of the new church, yet there is night to those who are in the old. The like is signified by “morning” in David:

In the evening weeping may pass the night, but in the morning shall be singing (Psalms 30:5).

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

[12] As in the supreme sense “morning” signifies the Lord, and from this, love from Him to Him, therefore the manna, which was heavenly bread, “rained down every morning” (Exodus 16:8, 12-13, 21). (That the Lord is the bread which comes down from heaven, thus the manna, see John 6:33, 35, 48, 50; and that “bread” denotes celestial love, which is love from the Lord to the Lord, n. 2165, 2177, 3464, 4217, 4735, 5405, 5915, 9545.) And as the Lord is “the east,” and “the morning,” and as all celestial love is from Him, therefore also He rose “in the morning on the day of the Sabbath” (Mark 16:9); and therefore also the day before the feast of the passover was called “the evening;” for by the feast of the passover was signified the presence of the Lord and the liberation of the faithful by Him from damnation (n. 7867, 9286-9292).

[13] He who is acquainted with the internal sense of the Word, is able to know what is involved in Peter’s thrice denying the Lord before the cock crew twice (Matthew 26:34, 74-75; Mark 14:30, 68, 72; Luke 22:34, 60-61; John 18:27); for by Peter was represented the faith of the church, or what is the same, the church as to faith; by the time when the cock crew was signified the last state of the church, which time was also called “cockcrowing;” by the denial three times was signified full and complete denial of the Lord in the end of the church. That Peter represented the faith of the church, thus the church as to faith, see the preface to Genesis 18 and Genesis 22, and also n. 3750, 4738; and that these words to Peter signified the denial of the Lord in the church at the time of its end (n. 6000, 6073, 10087); for the Lord is denied when there is no longer any faith, and there is no faith when there is no longer any charity. That “three” signifies what is full and complete, see n. 2788, 4495, 7715, 8347, 9198, 9488, 9489; and from this it was said that he would deny three times. That this was done in twilight, when morning was about to come, is evident in John 18:28; and that cock crowing and twilight are the same, is evident in Mark:

Watch ye, for ye know not when the lord of the house will come; at even, or at midnight, or at cock crowing, or in the morning (Mark 13:35).

From all this it can now be seen what is signified by “morning.”

9198. Any widow. That this signifies those who are in good without truth, and yet long for truth, is evident from the signification of “a widow,” as being good without truth, and yet longing for it. That “a widow” has this signification is because by “a man” is signified truth, and by his “woman” is signified good; and therefore when the woman of a man becomes a widow, she signifies good without truth. But in a still more interior sense “a widow” signifies truth without good. The reason is that in this sense “a husband” signifies good, and his “wife” truth (see n. 3236, 4510, 4823). In this sense the Lord is called “Husband” and “Bridegroom,” from the Divine good; and His kingdom and church is called “Wife” and “Bride” from the reception of the Divine truth which proceeds from the the Lord, (n. 9182). But as in the passage under consideration the Lord’s celestial church is not treated of, but His spiritual church, by “a widow” is signified one who is in good and not in truth, and yet longs for truth. The case is similar with “an orphan.” In the inmost or celestial, sense “an orphan” signifies those who are in good and long for truth. See the passages quoted and explained in regard to the signification of “widow” and “orphan” in the celestial sense, in n. 4844; to which may be added what the Lord says in Luke concerning the widow in Sarepta:

Verily I say unto you, No prophet is accepted in his own country. Of a truth I say unto you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elias, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, when there was a great famine over all the land; yet unto none of them was Elias sent, save to Sarepta of Sidon, unto a woman that was a widow (Luke 4:24-26).

[2] As all things the Lord spoke, He spoke from the Divine, therefore His words have an internal sense, and in this sense the subject here treated of is the Lord Himself and His kingdom and church. What therefore the Lord meant in this sense by the words He spoke of the widow in Sarepta of Sidon, is plain when they are unfolded. That “no prophet is accepted in his own country” signifies that the Lord, and the Divine truth which is from Him, are less received and loved in heart within the church, than outside of it. He spoke to the Jews, with whom the church then was; and it is known that the Lord was less received by them than by the nations outside the church. The case is similar at this day in the church which from Him is called the Christian Church. In this the Lord is indeed received in doctrine; but only by a few with acknowledgment of heart; and by still fewer from the affection of love. It is otherwise with the converted Gentiles outside the church. These worship and adore Him as their one only God, and they say with the mouth, and think at heart, that they acknowledge Him as God, because He has appeared in a human form (n. 5256). The reverse is the case within the church, where because He was born a man He is with difficulty acknowledged from the heart as God. These make His Human like their own human, although they know that His Father was Jehovah, and not a man. From all this it is evident what is meant in the internal sense by “no prophet being accepted in his own country.” A “prophet” in this sense denotes the Lord as to Divine truth, thus in respect to the doctrine of the church. (That “a prophet” denotes one who teaches, and in the abstract sense doctrine, and when predicated of the Lord, the Divine truth of the Word, see above, n. 9188)

[3] That “there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elias” signifies in the internal sense the state of acknowledgment of truth Divine from the Word at that time in the church. For as before said, “widows” denote those who are in good without truth; “Elias” denotes the Lord as to the Word; “the days of Elias” denote the states of reception of truth Divine from the Word at that time; and “Israel” denotes the church. (That “Elias” represented the Lord as to the Word, may be seen in the preface to Genesis 18, and n. 2762, 5247, 8029; that “days” denote states, n. 893, 2788, 3462, 3785, 4850, 6110, 8426; and that “Israel” denotes the church, n. 4286, 6426, 6637, 8805)

[4] “When the heaven was shut up three years and six months” signifies the full vastation of the internal church; for “heaven” denotes the internal of the church; and “three years and six months” denotes to the full. That “heaven” denotes the internal of the church, see n. 1733, 1850, 3355, 4535; and this is said to be “shut up” when it is vastated, that is, when it is no more. That “three years and six months” denotes to the full, is evident from the signification of “a thousand two hundred and sixty days” in Revelation 11:3; 12:6 (which days make three years and six months), as being to the full, that is, even unto the end; in like manner from the signification of “three days and a half” in Revelation 11:9-11; and also from the signification of “a time and times and half a time” in Revelation 12:14, and Daniel 12:7, as being to the full, or, even to the end.

[5] “When there was a great famine over all the land” signifies the vastation of the external church also; for “a famine” denotes the lack and desolation of truth and good (n. 3364, 5277, 5279, 5281, 5300, 5360, 5376, 5415, 5576, 6110, 7102); and “the land” denotes the external church (n. 1262, 1413, 1733, 1850, 2117, 2118, 3355, 4535, 5577, 8011, 8732). “Yet unto none of them was Elias sent” signifies the Lord as to the Word-and thus the Word of the Lord-not sent to others, because He would not have been received elsewhere; for “Elias,” as before said, denotes the Lord as to the Word.

[6] “Save to Sarepta of Sidon, unto a woman that was a widow,” signifies only unto those who are in good and long for truth. It is said “Sarepta of Sidon” because “Sidon” signifies the knowledges of good and truth (n. 1201). That “a woman a widow” denotes one who is in good, and longs for truth, is evident from what has just been said, and especially from what is related of her in the first book of Kings, where are these words: “Elijah came to Sarepta of Sidon to a widow woman, that she might sustain him; and he said to her, Fetch me a little water that I may drink, and bring me a morsel of bread in thine hand; and she said that she had only a little meal in the barrel, and a little oil in the cruse, sufficient only for a cake for herself and her son.” And Elijah said:

Make me thereof a little cake first, and bring it out to me, and afterward make for thee and for thy son. She did so; and the barrel of meal was not consumed; and the cruse of oil did not fail (1 Kings 17:9-16).

[7] Obedience, and the longing of good for truth, are described by her giving water to the prophet at his bidding, and afterward by her first making a cake for him out of her own little supply, and then for herself and her son; and that thereby she was enriched with the good of truth is signified by “the barrel of meal not being consumed, and the cruse of oil failing not;” for in the internal sense “water” denotes truth (n. 2702, 3058, 3424, 4976, 5668, 8568); “meal,” truth from good (n. 2177); “oil,” the good of love (n. 886, 4582, 4638); and “a cake” made of these, truth conjoined with its good (n. 7978). From all this it is clear that “a widow” denotes one who is in good and longs for truth. Good and its longing for truth is described by the charity toward the prophet, which was greater than toward herself and her son. “The prophet,” as before shown, denotes the doctrine of truth.

[8] From all this it is evident what is the nature of the Word, namely, that it conceals within itself the secret things of heaven, which are not apparent in the letter; when yet in every word which the Lord Himself spoke when He was in the world, and which He had before spoken through the prophets, there are things heavenly and wholly Divine, and raised above the sense of the letter; and this not only in each word, but also in each syllable of the words, nay, in every point of each syllable. But who believes that this is so? Nevertheless it is a certain fact, of which I have received full and unquestionable proof, concerning which of the Lord’s Divine mercy elsewhere.