747. That accuseth them before God day and night, signifies and who have denounced them and disputed with them continually from the Word. This is evident from the signification of "to accuse," as being to assault (See above, n. 746); consequently it means to denounce and to dispute with, for he who accuses also disputes and denounces; also from the signification of "before God," as being from the Word (of which presently); also from the signification of "day and night," as meaning continually and without intermission; for "day and night" signify all states of life, "day" the state of the life when the mind is in clear thought, and "night" when the mind is in obscure thought. These two states of life mean continually, because there is in the spiritual world no division of times into years, months, weeks, days, and hours, but instead of these there are changes of state; for there angels and spirits are sometimes in clear thought and sometimes in obscure thought. That angels and spirits are by turns in a state of clear perception and in a state of obscure perception can be seen in the work on Heaven and Hell 154-161. But in particular their states follow each other variously, as from one affection into another; and it is from these states that angels and spirits number their times; thus these take the place of times in the world, which are years, months, weeks, days, nights, and hours. Because then their states of life in general change as to clearness or obscurity of understanding, and thus are in a continual succession, so "days and nights" signify continually. "To accuse before God" signifies to denounce and to dispute from the Word; because those who are meant by "the dragon," who are those that separate faith from life, argue and dispute from the Word; and to dispute from the Word is to dispute "before God," for God is in the Word, since the Word is from God, and is Divine truth proceeding from the Lord. This is why it is said in John:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and God was the Word (John 1:1).

They dispute in favor of faith separated from a life of charity, because they confirm their heresy from certain passages in the Word understood according to the mere letter, and when they have thus confirmed it they believe it to be the very truth of the church, although it is a falsity. In general, "to accuse day and night" signifies the continual influx of falsity from those who are meant by "the dragon;" and as their falsities are from the Word falsified, therefore this is signified by "accusing before God."

643. As for the meaning itself of these expressions - that 'planks of gopher' means lusts and 'rooms' the two parts of this man - this becomes clear from the Word. Gopher is a wood full of sulphur, as is the fir and others of that group. It is on account of the sulphur in it that it is said to mean lusts, for it catches fire easily. The most ancient people compared and likened those elements that exist with man to gold, silver, bronze, iron, stone, and wood, his inmost celestial to gold, the lower celestial to bronze, and the lowest or bodily descending from this to wood, while the inmost spiritual they compared and likened to silver, the lower spiritual to iron, and the lowest degree of it to stone. When those objects are mentioned in the Word these are the things meant by them in the internal sense, as in Isaiah,

Instead of bronze I will bring gold, and instead of iron I will bring silver, and instead of wood, bronze, and instead of stones, iron. And I will make peace your assessment and righteousness your tax-collectors. Isaiah 60:17.

This refers to the Lord's kingdom in which no such metals exist, but instead celestial and spiritual elements. It is quite clear that the latter are meant because of the reference to peace' and 'righteousness'. Here, gold, bronze, and wood correspond to one another and mean celestial elements or those belonging to the will, as has been stated. Silver, iron, and stone also correspond to one another, and mean spiritual elements or those belonging to the understanding.

[2] In Ezekiel,

They will spoil your riches, they will despoil your merchandise, your stones and your timbers. Ezekiel 26:12.

It is quite clear that 'riches' and 'merchandise' do not mean material riches and merchandise, but celestial and spiritual ones. So also 'stones' and 'timbers' - 'stones' being things of the understanding and 'timbers' those of the will. In Habakkuk,

The stone cries out from the wall, and the beam out of the woodwork answers back. Habakkuk 2:11.

'Stone' stands for the lowest degree of the understanding, and 'wood' for the lowest degree of the will, which answers back when anything is drawn from sensory knowledge. In the same prophet,

Woe to him who says to a piece of wood, Awake! or to a dumb stone, Arise, this will teach! Behold, this is bound in gold and silver, and there is no spirit ¹ at all in the midst of it. But Jehovah is in His holy temple. Habakkuk 2:19-20.

Here also 'wood' stands for evil desire, 'stone' for the lowest degree of the understanding, and therefore 'being dumb' and 'teaching' are used in reference to that stone. 'No spirit in the midst of it' means that it represents nothing celestial or spiritual, like a temple in which there is stone and wood, overlaid with gold and silver, existing with people who give no thought to what those things represent.

[3] In Jeremiah,

Our waters we drink for silver, our timbers come for a price. Lamentations 5:4.

Here 'waters' and 'silver' mean things of the understanding, 'timbers' those of the will. In the same prophet,

Who say to wood, You are my father; and to a stone, You gave birth to us. Jeremiah 2:27.

Here 'wood' stands for desire which belongs to the will, from which there is conception, and 'stone' for sensory knowledge, from which there is birth. All through the Prophets therefore 'serving wood and stone' stands for images carved out of wood or stone, which means that people were slaves to evil desires and to delusions. The Prophets also speak of 'committing adultery with wood and stone', as in Jeremiah 3:9. In Hosea,

The people inquire of their piece of wood, and their staff makes declaration to them, for the spirit of whoredom has led them astray. Hosea 4:12.

This stands for their inquiring of a wooden image, or evil desires. In Isaiah,

The tophet has been prepared since yesterday. Its pyre is fire and much wood; the breath of Jehovah is like a stream of burning brimstone. Isaiah 30:33.

Here 'fire', brimstone', and 'wood' stand for filthy desires.

[4] In general 'wood' means those elements which constitute the lowest parts of the will. Precious kinds of wood, such as cedar and so on, mean elements that are good - for example, the cedar timbers in the Temple, or the cedarwood used in cleansing leprosy, Leviticus 14:4, 6-7, or the wood cast into the bitter waters at Marah, by which the waters were made sweet, Exodus 15:25. These in the Lord's Divine mercy will be dealt with in their proper places. Non-precious kinds of wood however, also those which were made into images, and those that were used for a pyre as well, and the like, mean evil desires, as do planks of gopher here on account of the brimstone or sulphur in them. As in Isaiah,

The day of Jehovah's vengeance - her streams will be turned into pitch, and her dust into brimstone, and her land will become burning pitch. Isaiah 34:8-9.

'Pitch' stands for dreadful delusions, 'brimstone' for filthy desires.

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