5135. For in being carried off by theft I was carried away. That this signifies that celestial things were alienated by evil, is evident from the representation of Joseph, who says these things of himself, as being the celestial in the natural (n. 5086, 5087, 5106), consequently the celestial things therein; and from the signification of “being carried off by theft,” as being to be alienated by evil; for “to steal” is to alienate, and “theft” is the evil which alienates, and also the evil which claims the celestial things that are in the natural. “Theft” signifies alienation in respect to the abode of which it takes possession, and from which it casts out goods and truths, and which it fills with evils and falsities; “theft” also signifies the claiming of what belongs to others when it attributes to itself and makes its own the goods and truths which are in that abode, and also when it applies them to evils and falsities. That it may be known what “theft” is in the spiritual sense, it is necessary to state how the case is with evils and falsities when they enter and take possession of the abode, and also when they claim the goods and truths which are there.

[2] From infancy until childhood, and sometimes till early manhood, by instruction from his parents and teachers a man is imbued with goods and truths; for he then learns them with avidity, and believes them in simplicity. The state of innocence favors them and adapts them to the memory, but places them only at the first threshold; for the innocence of infancy and childhood is not internal innocence which affects the rational, but is external innocence which affects only the exterior natural (see n. 2306, 3183, 3494, 4563, 4797). But when the man grows older and begins to think from himself, and not as before from parents and teachers, he then takes up again and as it were ruminates the things which he had before learned and believed, and either confirms them, or doubts about them, or denies them. If he confirms them, it is a sign that he is in good; if he denies them, it is a sign that he is in evil; but if he doubts about them, it is a sign that in succeeding years he will accede either to the affirmative or to the negative.

[3] The things which man as a little child in its first age learns eagerly or believes, and which he afterward either confirms, or doubts about, or denies, are especially these: that there is a God, and that He is one; that He has created all things; that He rewards those who do well, and punishes those who do evil; that there is a life after death, in which the evil go to hell and the good to heaven, thus that there is a hell and a heaven, and that the life after death is eternal; also that he ought to pray daily, and this with humility; that the Sabbath day is to be kept holy; that parents are to be honored; and that no one must commit adultery, murder, or theft; with other like things. These things man imbibes and is imbued with from early childhood; but when he begins to think from himself and to lead himself, if he confirms such things in himself, and adds to them things which are still more interior, and lives according to them, then it is well with him; but if he begins to infringe these things, and at last to deny them, however much for the sake of civil laws and for the sake of society he may live in externals according to them, he is then in evil.

[4] This evil is what is signified by “theft,” insofar as like a thief it takes possession of the abode in which good has been before, and insofar as with many it takes away the goods and truths which had been there before, and applies them to confirm evils and falsities. The Lord insofar as possible then removes from that abode the goods and truths of early childhood, and withdrawing them toward the interiors stores them up in the interior natural for use. These goods and truths stored up in the interior natural are signified in the Word by “remains” (see n. 468, 530, 560, 561, 660, 661, 1050, 1738, 1906, 2284). But if evil steals the goods and truths there, and applies them to confirm evils and falsities, especially if it does this from deceit, then it consumes these remains; for it then mingles evils with goods and falsities with truths till they cannot be separated, and then it is all over with the man.

[5] That such things are signified by “theft,” may be seen from the mere application of “theft” to the things of spiritual life. In spiritual life there are no other riches than the knowledges of good and truth, and no other possessions and inheritances than the felicities of life arising from goods and their truths. As before said, to steal these things is “theft” in the spiritual sense; and therefore by “thefts,” in the Word, nothing else is signified in the internal sense; as in Zechariah:

I lifted up mine eyes, and saw, when behold a flying roll. Then said he unto me, This is the curse that goeth forth upon the faces of the whole earth; for everyone that stealeth hence, like it is innocent; and everyone that sweareth, like it is innocent. I have cast it forth that it may enter into the house of the thief, and into the house of him that sweareth by My name for lying; and it shall pass the night in his house, and shall consume it and the wood thereof and the stones thereof (Zech. 5:1, 3-4

the evil which takes away the remains of good is signified by “him that stealeth,” and by the “house of the thief;” and the falsity which takes away the remains of truth is signified by “him that sweareth,” and by the “house of him that sweareth for lying;” the “faces of the whole earth” denote the universal church; therefore it is said that “the curse shall consume the house and the wood thereof and the stones thereof.” The “house” is the natural mind or man as to this mind (n. 3128, 3538, 4973, 5023); “wood” is the goods therein (n. 2784, 2812, 3720, 4943); and the “stones” are truths (n. 643, 1298, 3720).

[6] Profanation and hence the taking away of good and truth are signified in the spiritual sense by the deed of Achan, who took of the accursed things a mantle of Shinar, two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold, and hid them in the earth in the midst of his tent, and who therefore was stoned, and all the things were burned; as is related in Joshua:

Jehovah said unto Joshua, Israel hath sinned, they have transgressed My covenant which I commanded them; and they have taken of the accursed thing, and have stolen, lied, and have put it among their vessels (Josh. 7:10-11, 21, 25);

by “accursed things” were meant falsities and evils, which were in no wise to be mixed up with holy things; the “mantle of Shinar, shekels of silver, and wedge of gold” are in the spiritual sense species of falsity; “hiding them under the earth in the midst of the tent” signified a commixture with holy things. (That a “tent” denotes what is holy may be seen above, n. 414, 1102, 1566, 2145, 2152, 3312, 4128, 4391, 4599.) These things were signified by Israel’s “stealing, lying, and putting it among their vessels;” for “vessels” are holy truths (see n. 3068, 3079, 3316, 3318).

[7] In Jeremiah:

I will bring the issue of Esau upon him, the time that I shall visit him. If grape gatherers came to thee, would they not leave some grape gleanings? If thieves by night, would they not destroy a sufficiency? I will strip Esau, I will uncover his secret things, and he shall not be able to hide, his seed is devastated, and his brethren, and his neighbors, and he is not (Jeremiah 49:8-10); where “Esau” denotes the evil of the love of self to which falsities are adjoined (n. 3322). That this evil consumes the remains of good and truth is signified by “thieves in the night destroying a sufficiency;” and by “his seed, his brethren, and his neighbors being devastated, and he is not.” “Seed” denotes the truths which are of faith from charity (n. 1025, 1447, 1610, 1940, 2848, 3038, 3310, 3373); “brethren” denote the goods which are of charity (n. 367, 2360, 2508, 2524, 3160, 3303, 3459, 3815, 4121, 4191); “neighbors” denote the adjoined and related truths and goods which belong to him.

[8] Something similar is said of Esau in Obadiah:

If thieves come to thee, if overthrowers by night (how wilt thou be cut off!) will they not steal till they have enough? If grape gatherers come to thee, will they not leave some clusters? (Obad. 1:5);

“grape gatherers” denote falsities which are not from evil; by these falsities the goods and truths stored up by the Lord in man’s interior natural (that is, remains) are not consumed, but by falsities derived from evils, which steal truths and goods and also by wrong applications employ them to confirm evils and falsities.

[9] In Joel:

A great people and mighty, they shall run like heroes; they shall climb the wall like men of war; and they shall march everyone in his ways; they shall run to and fro in the city; they shall run on the wall; they shall climb up into the houses; they shall enter in through the windows like a thief (Joel 2:2, 7, 9);

a “great people and mighty” denotes falsities fighting against truths (n. 1259, 1260); and because they fight mightily in destroying truths, they are said to be “like heroes and men of war;” the “city” through which they are said to “run to and fro” denotes the doctrinals of truth (n. 402, 2268, 2449, 2712, 2943, 3216); the “houses into which they shall climb” denote the goods which they destroy (n. 710, 1708, 2048, 2233, 3128, 3652, 3720, 4982); the “windows through which they shall enter in” denote things intellectual and the derivative reasonings (n. 655, 658, 3391); hence they are compared to a “thief,” because they take possession of the abode previously occupied by truths and goods.

[10] In David:

As thou hatest discipline, and castest My words behind thee; if thou seest a thief thou runnest with him, and thy part is with adulterers. Thou openest thy mouth for evil, and with thy tongue thou weavest deceit (Psalms 50:17-19);

speaking of a wicked person, “to run with a thief” denotes to alienate truth from himself by means of falsity.

[11] In Revelation:

They repented not of their murders, nor of their enchantments, nor of their whoredoms, nor of their thefts (Revelation 9:21);

“murders” denote evils which destroy goods; “enchantments,” falsities therefrom which destroy truths; “whoredoms,” truths falsified; “thefts” goods thus alienated.

[12] In John:

Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not through the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, he is a thief and a robber. But he that entereth in through the door is the shepherd of the sheep. I am the door; through Me if anyone enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and shall find pasture. The thief cometh not but to steal, and to murder, and to destroy (John 10:1-2, 9-10);

here again a “thief” denotes the evil of merit; for he who takes away from the Lord what is His, and claims it for himself, is called a “thief.” As this evil closes the way and prevents good and truth from the Lord from flowing in, it is said “to murder” and “to destroy.” The same is signified by the commandment in the Decalogue:

Thou shalt not steal (Deuteronomy 5:19; see n. 4174).

From all this it is evident what is signified by the laws enacted in the Jewish Church in regard to thefts (as in Exodus 21:16; 22:1-4; Deuteronomy 24:7); for as all the laws in that church originated in the spiritual world, they correspond to the laws of order which are in heaven.

3652. According to the internal sense, the signification is as now follows.

When therefore ye shall see the abomination of desolation;

(Matthew 24:15) signifies the devastation of the church, which occurs when the Lord is no longer acknowledged; consequently when there is no love and no faith in Him; also when there is no longer any charity toward the neighbor; and consequently when there is not any faith of good and truth. When this is the case in the church, or rather in the region where the Word is in existence-that is, when men are such in the thoughts of the heart, even if not in the doctrine of their lips-then there is “desolation,” and the things just mentioned are its “abomination;” so that the words “when ye shall see the abomination of desolation” signify when anyone observes such things; and what is to be done in such a case is told in what now follows in verses 16 to 18.

[2] Which was told of by Daniel the prophet;

(Matthew 24:15) in the internal sense signifies by the prophets; for where any prophet is mentioned by name in the Word, it is not the prophet that is meant, but the prophetic Word itself; because names never penetrate into heaven (see n. 1876, 1888); and yet the same is not signified by one prophet as by another. What is signified by “Moses,” “Elias,” and “Elisha,” may be seen in the preface to chapter 18 and in n. 2762; but by “Daniel” is signified everything prophetic concerning the Lord’s advent, and concerning the state of the church; in the present case concerning its last state. The subject of devastation is largely treated of in the Prophets, and by it in the sense of the letter is signified the devastation of the Jewish and Israelitish Church, but in the internal sense there is signified the devastation of the church in general, thus also the devastation which is now at hand.

[3] Standing in the holy place;

(Matthew 24:15) signifies devastation as to all things which are of good and truth; the “holy place” is a state of love and faith (that “place” in the internal sense is state, see above, n. 2625, 2837, 3356, 3387); the holy of this state is the good which is of love, and the derivative truth which is of faith; and nothing else than these is meant by “holy” in the Word, because these things are from the Lord, who is the Holy itself, or the Sanctuary.

Let him that readeth understand;

(Matthew 24:15) signifies that these things are to be well observed by those who are in the church, especially by those who are in love and faith; who now come to be treated of.

[4] Then let them that are in Judea flee into the mountains;

(Matthew 24:16) signifies that they who are of the church will not look elsewhere than to the Lord, thus to love to Him, and to charity toward the neighbor (that by “Judea” is signified the church, will be shown below; that by a “mountain” is signified the Lord Himself, but by “mountains” love to Him, and charity toward the neighbor, may be seen above, n. 795, 796, 1430, 2722). According to the sense of the letter the meaning would be that when Jerusalem was besieged, as it came to be by the Romans, then they should not betake themselves thither, but to the mountains, according to what is written in Luke:

When ye see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that her devastation is at hand. Then let them that are in Judea flee upon the mountains; and let them that are in the midst of her depart out; and let not them that are in the regions enter therein (Luke 21:20-21);

[5] but in this passage the case is the same with Jerusalem, namely, that in the sense of the letter it is Jerusalem which is understood, while in the internal sense it is the Lord’s church (see n. 402, 2117); for each and all of the things recorded in the Word concerning the Jewish and Israelitish people are representative of the Lord’s kingdom in the heavens, and of His kingdom on earth; that is, of the church, as has been often shown. Hence it is that by “Jerusalem” in the internal sense is nowhere meant Jerusalem, nor by “Judea,” Judea. But these matters were of such a nature as to be capable of representing the celestial and spiritual things of the Lord’s kingdom, and the events took place for the sake of the representation. In this way the Word could be so written as to be adapted to the apprehension of the man who should read it, and also to the understanding of the angels who are with the man. This likewise was the reason why the Lord spoke in the same manner; for had He spoken otherwise, His Word would not have been adapted to the understanding of those who read it, especially at that time; nor to the understanding of the angels; thus it would neither have been received by man, nor understood by the angels.

[6] Let him that is upon the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house;

(Matthew 24:17) signifies that such as are in the good of charity should not betake themselves to those things which belong to doctrinal matters of faith. In the Word the “housetop” signifies the higher state of man, thus his state as to good; but those things which are below it signify the lower state of man, thus his state as to truth (n. 710, 1708, 2233, 2234, 3142, 3538). As regards the state of a man of the church, the case is this: While he is being regenerated he learns truths for the sake of good, for he has the affection of truth on this account; but after he has been regenerated he acts from truth and good. After the man has arrived at this state he ought not to betake himself to his former state, for if he should do this he would reason from truth concerning the good in which he is, and would thereby pervert his state, for all reasoning ceases, and ought to cease, when a man is in a state to will what is true and good; for he then thinks and acts from the will, consequently from conscience, and not as before from the understanding; and if he should again think and act from this, he would fall into temptations in which he would succumb. This then is what is signified by “Let him that is upon the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house.”

[7] And let him that is in the field not return back to take his garment; (that is, his tunic), [Matthew 24:18], signifies that such as are in the good of truth should not betake themselves from the good thereof to what is doctrinal of truth. In the Word a “field” signifies this state of man in respect to good (what is meant by “field” may be seen above, n. 368, 2971, 3196, 3310, 3317, 3500, 3508); and a “garment” or “tunic” signifies that which clothes good, that is, what is doctrinal of truth, for this is as clothing to good (that a “garment” has this signification may be seen above, n. 297, 1073, 2576, 3301). Everyone can see that in these words deeper things are hidden than those which appear in the letter, for they were spoken by the Lord Himself.