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.”

4495. And it came to pass on the third day. That this signifies what is continuous even to the end, is evident from the signification of the “third day,” as being what is complete from beginning to end (see n. 2788), thus also what is continuous. That this is the signification of the “third day,” can scarcely be believed by those who regard the historicals of the Word as mere worldly histories, holy merely because they are in the sacred volume. But that not only the historicals of the Word themselves enfold within them spiritual and heavenly things which are not apparent in the letter, but that so also do all the words, and even all the numbers, has been shown in the preceding explications; that such is really the case will of the Lord’s Divine mercy become still more evident in the prophetic parts, which do not keep the mind so closely engaged with the succession of statements in the sense of the letter as do the historical parts. But that the number “three,” also the number “seven,” and the number “twelve,” enfold deep secrets within them, must be evident to everyone who examines the Word in regard to its interiors; and if these numbers are so full of significance, it follows that there must be something deeply hidden in all the other numbers that occur in the Word, for the Word is holy throughout.

[2] Sometimes when speaking with angels, as it were written numbers appeared before my eyes like those seen on paper in bright day, and I perceived that the very things they were speaking of fell into such numbers; and from this experience I learned that every number mentioned in the Word holds within it some mystery, as is very evident from the following passages:

He measured the wall of the Holy Jerusalem a hundred and forty-four cubits, which is the measure of a man, that is, of an angel (Revelation 21:17).

He that hath intelligence let him compute the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man, and his number is six hundred and sixty six (Revelation 13:18).

That the number first mentioned—“144”—results from the multiplication of twelve into itself, and that the number “666” is a product of three and six, is manifest, but what holy thing they enfold within them may appear from the holiness of the number “twelve” (see n. 577, 2089, 2129, 2130, 3272, 3858, 3913), and of the number “three” (n. 720, 901, 1825, 2788, 4010).

[3] This latter number—“three”—being significative of what is complete even to the end, thus of one period, great or small, was received in the representative church, and was employed whenever such a thing was signified; and also in the Word (in which all things have a signification both in general and in particular) as may be seen from the following instances:

That they should go three days’ journey and should sacrifice (Exodus 3:18; 5:3).

That they should be ready against the third day, because on the third day Jehovah would come down upon Mount Sinai (Exodus 19:11, 15-16, 18).

That nothing should be left of the flesh of the sacrifice until the third day (Leviticus 7:16-18; 19:6-7).

That the water of separation should be sprinkled upon the unclean on the third day and on the seventh day (Numbers 19:11-22).

That they who touched one slain in war should be purified on the third day and on the seventh day (Numbers 31:19-25).

That Joshua commanded the people to pass over Jordan within three days (Josh. 1:11; 3:2).

That Jehovah called Samuel three times, and Samuel ran to Eli three times, and Eli understood the third time that Jehovah had called Samuel (1 Samuel 3:1-8).

That Jonathan said to David that he should hide himself in the field unto the third day at even, and that Jonathan sent to him on the third morrow, and revealed the disposition of his father; and that Jonathan then shot three arrows at the side of the stone; and that after this David bowed himself three times to the earth before Jonathan (1 Samuel 20:5, 12, 19-20, 35-36, 41).

That three things were offered to David to chose from: that there should come seven years of famine, that he should flee three months before his enemies, or that there should be three days’ pestilence in the land (2 Samuel 24:11-13).

That Rehoboam said to the congregation of Israel who sought to be relieved from the yoke of his father, that they should go away three days, and come again; and that they came to Rehoboam the third day, as the King bade, saying, Come to me again the third day (1 Kings 12:5, 12).

That Elijah stretched himself upon the widow’s son three times (1 Kings 17:21).

That Elijah told the people to pour water upon the burnt-offering and the wood the third time, and they did it the third time (1 Kings 18:34).

That Jonah was in the belly of the whale three days and three nights (Jonah 1:17; Matthew 12:40).

That the Lord spoke of a man who planted a vineyard and sent his servants three times, and afterwards his son (Mark 12:2, 4-6; Luke 20:12-13).

That He said of Peter that he should deny Him thrice (Matthew 26:34; John 13:38).

That He said to Peter three times, Lovest thou Me? (John 21:15-17).

From these and many other places in the Word it may be seen that there was some mystery in the number “three,” and that therefore this number was received among the significatives in the ancient churches. That it signifies an entire period of the church and of the things in the church, whether great or small, is manifest; and that it consequently signifies what is complete and also continuous to the end, is very plain in Hosea:

Jehovah will vivify us after two days; on the third day He will raise us up, and we shall live before Him (Hos. 6:2).