865. These were bought from among men, firstfruits to God and the Lamb, signifies those received in the new church by the Lord. This is evident from the signification of "those bought by the Lord," as being those who receive instruction from the Word, especially respecting the Lord, and who live according to it (See above, n.860). The same are meant by those called "redeemed by the Lord;" and "the redeemed" are those who have been regenerated by the Lord and these are those who follow the Lord, that is, are led by Him (of whom just above). Also from the signification of "firstfruits of God and the Lamb," as being those who have given themselves to the Lord and have been adopted by Him. That those who are of the new church are meant is evident from their being called "firstfruits to God and to the Lamb," since those who are received in that church acknowledge the Lord's Divine Human and live according to His commandments. No others are received in the new church which is called "the New Jerusalem," because those who do not believe this and live thus are not in accord with the life of heaven, nor with the light there, nor with the heat there: for the light there is the Divine truth, which is the source of all intelligence and wisdom; and the heat there is the Divine good, which is the source of all love and charity. All man's affection and thought therefrom not only is within him and constitutes his life but is also outside of him and constitutes the sphere of his life. This is why heaven is divided into societies according to the varieties of the affections and their thoughts; consequently unless the affections and the thoughts therefrom are spiritual, which are formed solely by the acknowledgment of the Lord and a life according to His commandments, they cannot be admitted into any society of heaven, for they are repugnant thereto; and this is why those who do not acknowledge the Lord's Divine Human and do not live according to His commandments in the Word cannot be consociated with the angels of heaven. That this is so has been proved to me by much experience. There were some who had the same idea of the Lord as of any other man, and had lived in the faith of the present day, which is cogitation (or thought) without any good of life. As these believed that eternal life is merely being admitted into heaven, so according to their wish they were admitted into a certain society; but as soon as the light of heaven struck their eyes, their sight, and at the same time their understanding, began to be wholly darkened, and they began to fall into a stupor and into foolishness; and when the heat of heaven breathed upon them they began to be tormented in a direful manner, and their head and limbs began to writhe like serpents; consequently they cast themselves downwards, swearing that admission to heaven, unless they were in the light and heat of heaven, was hell to them, and that they had not known that everyone has heaven from love and its faith, or from a life according to the Lord's commandments in the Word, and from faith in the Lord, and not at all from faith without the life of faith, which is charity.

[2] It shall now be told briefly what "firstfruits" signify in the Word. The signification of firstfruits is similar to that of "firstborn;" but "firstborn" is predicated of animals, and "firstfruits" of vegetables; thus "the firstborn" are such as are born first, and "firstfruits" are from the first products; and both of them signify the spiritual good that is first formed, which in itself is truth from good which is from the Lord. This has its origin in the fact that there are two minds in man, a natural mind and a spiritual mind. From the natural mind alone nothing is produced but evil and its falsity; but as soon as the spiritual mind is opened, good and its truth are produced; and that which is first produced is meant by the "firstborn" and the "firstfruits." And as all things that are born and produced from the spiritual mind are from the Lord and not from man, these were sanctified to Jehovah, that is, to the Lord, because they were His, and thus were holy. And as that which is born or produced first signifies all things that follow in their order, as a leader is followed by his people, or a shepherd by his flock, so "the giving of the firstborn and the firstfruits to the Lord" signified that all the rest were also His.

[3] But that this may come yet more clearly into the understanding it is to be known that the merely natural mind is formed to the idea or image of the world, but the spiritual mind to the idea or image of heaven; also that the spiritual mind is not opened to any man, except by the acknowledgment of the Lord's Divine and by a life according to His commandments; and until this mind has been opened no good and no truth therefrom are produced; but as soon as it is opened these are produced, and what is produced is from the Lord. Therefore the first thing that is produced is called holy, and signifies that all things that are afterwards produced are holy. This makes clear that the opening of the womb or matrix signifies the opening of the spiritual mind. This signification of opening the womb or matrix is from correspondence, the womb corresponding to the good of celestial love. (On this correspondence see above, n. 710, and in the Arcana Coelestia 4918, 5050-5062)

[4] Because this is what is signified by "firstfruits," and because the things pertaining to the harvest, as wheat, barley, and the rest, and also wool, signified the goods and truths of heaven and the church, and the clean and useful beasts had a similar signification, so the firstborn of the latter and the firstfruits of the former were given to the Lord; and as the high priest represented the Lord as to His priestly function, which is the good of love, these things were given to that priest, and thus all things that were products of the corn, wine, and oil were made holy. But respecting these firstfruits see the statutes for the sons of Israel in the law of Moses; as respecting the first of the products of all corn, of oil, of wine, of the fruit of the tree, also of the fleece, likewise of the firstborn of the herd and the flock; and that these were given as holy to Jehovah, and by Jehovah to Aaron, and after him to the high priest (Exodus 22:29; Numbers 13:20; 15:17-22; 18:8-20; Deuteronomy 18:4; 26 the end): also concerning the feast of the first fruits of harvest and of the first fruits of bread (Exodus 23:14-16, 19, 26; Leviticus 23:9-15, 20; 23:20-25; Numbers 28:26-31).

[5] From all this it can now be seen that "firstfruits to God and to the Lamb" mean those who will be of the new church which is called "the New Jerusalem," who acknowledge the Lord's Divine Human and live a life of love, that is, a life according to the Lord's commandments in the Word. In such and in no others is the spiritual mind opened; therefore no others are led by the Lord, or "follow Him whithersoever He goeth." That "God and the Lamb" means in Revelation the Lord as to the Divine Itself, and at the same time as to the Divine Human, may be seen above (n.297, 314, 343, 460, 482).

580. Verse 19. For their power was in their mouth, signifies sensual thoughts and reasonings therefrom that have most power with them. This is evident from the signification of "their power," as being to have power, here to have most power; and from the signification of the "mouth," as being the sensual thought and reasonings therefrom. For the "mouth" and the things belonging to the mouth signify the things of the understanding and of thought and speech therefrom, for these correspond to the mouth. For all the organs that are included in the one term "mouth," as the larynx, the glottis, the throat, the tongue, the mouth, the lips, are organs that serve the understanding for utterance and for speech, and this is why the "mouth" signifies the thought and reasoning therefrom. But as man's thought is interior and exterior, that is spiritual, natural, and sensual, so the "mouth" signifies such thought as pertains to the man treated of, here sensual thought, because it is the man who is made sensual by falsities of evil who is treated of; sensual thought is the lowest thought of all, and is material and corporeal; in such thought are all who are in evils with respect to life, and in consequent falsities in respect to doctrine, however learned and accomplished they may be believed to be, and whatever ability they may have to fit together their falsities in a beautiful order, and to embellish them with elegant and eloquent discourse.

[2] That the "mouth" from correspondence, thus in the spiritual sense, signifies thought, but in the natural sense utterance, can be seen from the following passages. In David:

The mouth of the righteous meditateth wisdom (Psalms 37:30).

The "mouth" here signifies thought from affection, for man from that meditates wisdom, but not from the mouth and its speech. In Luke:

Jesus said, I will give you a mouth and wisdom which they will not be able to oppose (Luke 21:15).

Here the mouth evidently stands for speech from the understanding, thus for the thought from which man speaks. In Matthew:

Not that which entereth into the mouth maketh the man unclean, but that which cometh out of the mouth, this maketh the man unclean. Whatsoever goeth into the mouth passeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught. But the things that proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart. Out of the heart go forth evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false testimonies, blasphemies (Matthew 15:11, 17-19).

"That which entereth into the mouth" means in the literal sense food of every kind, which, after its use in the body, goes out through the belly into the draught; but in the spiritual sense, "that which entereth into the mouth" signifies all things that enter into the thought from the memory, and also from the world, and these also correspond to food; while the things that enter into the thought, and not also into the will, do not render a man unclean; for the memory, and thought therefrom, are to man only as a way of entrance to him, since the will is the man himself. The things that merely enter the thought and go no further are cast out as it were through the belly into the draught, "the belly" signifying from correspondence the world of spirits, from which thoughts flow in with man, and the "draught" signifying hell.

[3] It must be known that man cannot be purified from evils and the consequent falsities, unless the unclean things that are in him come forth as far as into the thought, and are there seen, recognized, discerned, and put away. This makes evident that "that which entereth into the mouth" signifies in the spiritual sense what enters into the thought from the memory and from the world; while "that which cometh out of the mouth" signifies in the spiritual sense thought from the will or from love; for the "heart," from which thought goes forth into the mouth and from the mouth, signifies man's will and love; and as the love and will constitute the whole man, for the man is such as his love is, so the things that go forth therefrom into the mouth and out of the mouth are what make the man unclean. That these are evils of every kind is evident from the things enumerated. Such is the meaning of these words of the Lord in the heavens. (That the "heart" signifies the will and love see above, n. 167.)

[4] In Isaiah:

Then flew one of the seraphim unto me, in whose hand was a burning coal from the altar; and he touched my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; therefore thine iniquity is taken away and thy sin is expiated (Isaiah 6:6-7).

"One of the seraphim touching the mouth and lips of the prophet with a burning coal from the altar" signifies his interior purification, which is that of the understanding and will, and thus inauguration into the gift of teaching; "the burning coal from the altar" signifies the Divine love, from which is all purification, and "the mouth and lips" signify thought and affection, or what is the same, the understanding and the will; when these are purified man is withdrawn from iniquity and sin; consequently it is said, "therefore thine iniquity is taken away and thy sin is expiated." Anyone can see that iniquity is not taken away by a burning coal applied to the mouth and lips. (That the things belonging to the mouth correspond to things intellectual, because from them the voice and speech proceed, may be seen in Arcana Coelestia 8068, 9384. That "from the mouth and from the heart" means from the understanding and from the will, n. 3313, 8068.)