697. The sixth memorable occurrence. On one occasion I saw a strange aerial phenomenon not far from me. I saw a cloud that split into several little clouds, some of which were dark blue and some of which were black. I saw them apparently colliding with each other. Rays or bands of light shone through the clouds. At times these rays looked sharpened to a point. At other times they looked blunted like broken swords. At times the rays came at each other, and at other times they retreated, just as if they were boxing. The little clouds of different colors, then, seemed as if they were doing battle with each other, but in fact they were just playing.

Because this strange sight was not far away, I was able to look at the area beneath it. There I discerned teenagers, young adults, and older adults entering a building of white stone above and red stone below. The phenomenon was occurring in the air directly above this building.

I addressed one of the people going into the building and asked, "What is this place?"

"It is a hall," the person replied, "where young adults are initiated into various issues related to wisdom. "

[2] I then went in along with them. I was "in the spirit," that is, in the same state as the people of the spiritual world, who are known as spirits and angels.

In the hall I saw a lectern [on a stage] at the front of the room, benches in the middle of the room, seats all around at the sides, and a balcony above the entrance [at the back]. The lectern was for the young adults who would respond to the question for debate that would be posed for that occasion. The benches were for the audience. The seats at the side were for people who had given wise responses at similar events in the past. The balcony was for the elders who were the arbiters and judges of the event. In the middle of the balcony there was a platform where a wise man was sitting, whom they referred to as the senior professor. He was the one who would propose the question to which the young adults would respond from the lectern.

After all were gathered, the man on the platform stood up and said, "Respond now, if you would, to the following question and resolve it if you can: What is the soul and how do we experience it?"

[3] All were stunned to hear the question, and a murmur went through the crowd. Some members of the audience on the benches said, "From the Golden Age to our own, who among humans has ever been able to see and discern through rational thought what the soul is, let alone how we experience it? Isn't this beyond the reach of any intellect?"

The elders in the balcony responded, "This is not beyond the reach of the intellect but lies within its scope and purview. Just give your responses!"

Some young men stood up. They were the ones who had been selected that day to come up to the lectern and give their responses to whatever the question would be. There were five of them. An examination by the elders had identified them as particularly sharp-minded and capable. They sat down on padded chairs on either side of the lectern. Later on they got up in the same order in which they had sat down. When each speaker stood up to speak, he would first put on a silk vest that was opalescent in color, and over that a fine wool gown with flowers interwoven, and finally a hat, the top of which was covered in a floral wreath with a ringlet of tiny sapphires.

[4] I saw the first young man, clothed as just noted, going up to the lectern. He said, "What the soul is, and how we experience it, has not been revealed to anyone since the day of creation. It is a secret stored in the treasure-house of God alone. What has been disclosed is that the soul dwells within us like a queen. Where exactly she holds court is a topic on which learned authorities have made various conjectures. Some have thought that she sits in the little protuberance between the cerebrum and the cerebellum known as the pineal gland; they imagined this to be the seat of the soul because the entire person is governed through those two brains, and both brains are controlled by that little growth as it wishes; therefore it in effect controls the entire person from head to toe.

"This appeared either true," he added, "or at least plausible to many people in the world at the time, but in later times it was rejected as imaginary. "

[5] After he had spoken, he took off the gown, the vest, and the hat. The second selected speaker put them on and went up to the lectern. His pronouncement on the soul was as follows.

"Throughout all of heaven and the whole world, no one knows what the soul is or how we experience it. All that is known is that it exists, and exists within us; but where it resides is a matter of conjecture. This much is certain, however: it dwells in the head, since that is where the intellect does its thinking and where the will does its intending. The front surface of the head contains organs for all five senses. The thing that gives life to the will, the intellect, and the senses is the soul, which resides within the head. Where exactly her court is I would not dare to say, but I see the point of those who assign the seat of the soul to the three ventricles of the brain; at other times, I side with those who locate it in the striated body in the brain; at other times, I side with those who locate it in the medullary substances of either brain; at other times, I side with those who locate it in the cortical substance; and at still other times I side with those who assign it to the dura mater. There is no lack of white pebbles to vote for each of these locations.

"One could vote for the three ventricles of the brain because they are the vessels that hold the animal spirits and all the cerebral fluids. One could vote for the striated body because this forms the medulla out of which the nerves come forth and through which each brain is extended to form the spinal cord; the fibers that are woven together to form the entire body come out of the medulla and the spinal cord. One could vote for the medullary substance of each brain because this substance is a gathering place for, and a mass of, all the fibers that constitute the points of origin of the entire person. One could vote for the cortical substance because it contains the first and last ends and therefore the origins of all the fibers, both the sensory fibers and the motor fibers. One could vote for the dura mater because it is a common covering that surrounds both brains and through extensions covers the heart and the internal organs of the body. As for me, I'm not choosing any one of these over the other. I leave it to you to choose and decide, if you would, which theory you prefer. "

[6] After he had finished speaking he stepped down from the lectern and passed the vest, gown, and hat to the third speaker.

The third speaker stepped up behind the lectern and said the following.

"Who am I as a young man to tackle so sublime a proposition? I challenge the learned persons sitting here at the sides of the room, I challenge you, the wise who sit in the balcony, indeed I challenge the angels of the highest heaven to answer me this: Can any human beings ever from their own rational light form for themselves any idea of the soul?

"As for where the soul's seat is within us, I, like anyone else, can offer a conjecture. My opinion is that the soul is in the heart and the blood. This is my conjecture because the heart rules both the head and the body through the agency of the blood. The heart extends its largest blood vessel, known as the aorta, to transmit blood to the entire body, and the vessels called the carotid arteries to transmit blood to the entire head. There is universal consensus on the point that the soul acts from the heart through the blood to sustain, nourish, and give life to the entire organic system of both the head and the body. You will find further support for your confidence in what I'm saying in the fact that Sacred Scripture mentions the soul and the heart many times. For example, you are to love God with all your soul and with all your heart; and God creates in us a new soul and a new heart. See Deuteronomy 6:5; 10:12; 11:13; 26:16; Jeremiah 32:41; Matthew 22:37; Mark 12:30, 33; Luke 10:27; and elsewhere. We are openly told in Leviticus 17:11, 14 that the blood is the soul of the flesh. "

When he had finished, several shouted "Learned! Learned!" They were ministers.

[7] Then the fourth person put on the garments and stepped up to the lectern. "I too suspect that there is no one with mental faculties that are so fine-tuned and sharp as to be able to discern what the soul is and how we experience it. Therefore I am of the opinion that those who try to investigate the soul will find their mental edge worn down by years of fruitless research.

"Since I was young I have always shared the belief of the ancients that our soul is in everything throughout us; it is in every part. It is in the head, and everything it contains, and in the body, and everything it contains. It was a foolish invention on the part of recent writers to designate a seat for the soul in one particular area, rather than everywhere. For one thing, the soul is a spiritual substance; it fills us and dwells in us, but it cannot be said to have either extension or place. For another thing, surely when we say 'soul' we mean 'life'; and life is in the whole and in every part of us. "

Many in the auditorium agreed with what he said.

[8] Then the fifth speaker stood up. Wearing the same apparel as the others, he expressed from the lectern the following opinion.

"I shall not spend time discussing where the soul is, and whether it is in this or that part or everywhere within the whole. Instead, drawing from my own storehouse and treasure I will reveal my thinking on the topic of what the soul is and how we experience it. Everyone thinks of the soul as something pure that can be compared to ether, air, or wind, but possesses some of the rational life that distinguishes us from animals. I base this opinion on the fact that when we expire, we are said to breathe out or exhale our soul or spirit. As a result, the soul that lives on after death is believed to be a kind of breath with some type of life that is capable of thinking, and this life is called the soul. What else could the soul be? Nevertheless, I did hear those in the balcony who said that the question of what the soul is and how we experience it is not beyond the reach of the intellect, but lies within its scope and purview. I ask and pray therefore that you yourselves unveil this eternal mystery!"

[9] The elders in the balcony looked toward the senior professor who had originally proposed the question. He gathered from their nodding that they wanted him to go down and teach.

He immediately came down from his platform, passed through the auditorium, and stepped up to the lectern. Stretching out his hand, he said, "Listen, if you would, please. Surely everyone believes the soul is the inmost and subtlest essence within us; but what is an essence without a form? It is a figment of the imagination. Therefore the soul is a form. Let me say what kind of form it is: It is the form of all the components of love and all the components of wisdom. All the components of love are called desires; all the components of wisdom are called perceptions. These perceptions come from these desires; therefore they come together as a single form. Within that form there are countless individual things, but the design, arrangement, and close interaction of them allow them to be referred to as one thing. They can be called one thing because nothing can be taken away and nothing can be added without turning the whole into something different than it is.

"What else is the human soul but a form like this? All the components of love and all the components of wisdom are the essential elements of this form. In human beings, these components are present in the soul, and the soul makes them present in the head and the body.

[10] "You are called spirits and angels. In the world, you believed that spirits and angels were like pieces of wind or ether, and were therefore just higher or lower minds. Now, of course, you see clearly that you are truly, really, and actually human beings, who used to live and think inside a physical body in the material world. You knew then that the physical body has no life or thought; there was a spiritual substance that lived and thought within the body. You called this the soul. You did not know what form it took, however; but now you have seen your soul, and you are seeing it right now. You yourselves are all souls! You yourselves are the souls about whose immortality you have heard and thought and said and written such a great deal. Because you are forms of love and wisdom from God, to eternity you can never die. Therefore the soul is the human form; nothing can be taken away from it and nothing can be added to it. The soul is the inmost form of all the forms throughout the entire body. And because the forms that lie outside draw both their essence and their form from what lies within, therefore you are souls just the way you appear to yourselves and to us right now.

"Briefly put, the soul is the real person, because it is the deepest self. Therefore its form is fully and perfectly human. It is not, however, life; it is a nearby vessel that receives life from God, and is therefore a dwelling place for God. "

[11] Many applauded this statement of his; but some said, "We'll have to think about that. "

I then went home. To my surprise I saw that over the hall, where that strange aerial phenomenon had appeared earlier, there now appeared a white cloud that had no rays or bands of light fighting with each other. That cloud then came down through the roof of the hall itself and lit up the walls. I heard that the people there saw passages of Scripture on the walls, among which was this: "Jehovah God breathed the breath of lives into the human being's nostrils, and the human being turned into a living soul" (Genesis 2:7).

741. That seduceth the whole world, signifies that pervert all things of the church. This is evident from the signification of "the whole world," as being all things of the church (of which presently); and as all things of the church are signified by "the whole world," so "to seduce it" signifies to pervert those things; for all things of the church are perverted when the good of charity, which is the good of life, is separated and removed from faith as not contributing and effecting anything to salvation. Thereby all things of the Word and thence all things of the church are falsified, for the Lord says that the law and the prophets ¹ hang on these two commandments, "To love God above all things, and the neighbor as thyself." These two commandments signify to live and act according to the commandments of the Word; for to love is to will and to do, since what a man interiorly loves, that he wills, and what he wills that he does. "The law and the prophets" signify all things of the Word.

[2] There are two principles of evil and falsity into which the church successively falls. One is dominion over all things of the church and of heaven, which dominion is meant in the Word by "Babel" or "Babylonia;" into this the church falls by reason of evil; the other is the separation of faith from charity, in consequence of which separation all the good of life perishes; this is meant in the Word by "Philistia," and is signified by "the he-goat" in Daniel, and by "the dragon" in Revelation; into this the church falls by reason of falsity. But since this chapter treats of "the dragon," which especially signifies the religion of faith separate from charity, I will mention in passing some things whereby the defenders of faith separate seduce the world. They especially seduce by teaching that as from oneself no one can do good that is in itself good, or can do good without placing merit in it, so good works can contribute nothing to salvation; nevertheless, goods should be done on account of use for the public good; and these are the goods that are meant in the Word and thence in preachings, and in some of the prayers of the church. How great an error this is shall now be told. When a man does good from the Word, that is, because it is commanded by the Lord in the Word, he does it not from himself but from the Lord, for the Lord is the Word (John 1:1, 14), and the Lord is in those things that man has from the Word, as He teaches in these words in John:

He that keepeth My word, I will come unto him and will make My abode with him (John 14:23).

This is why the Lord so often commands that His words and commandments must be done; and that those who do them shall have eternal life; so also that everyone will be judged according to his works. From this it then follows that those who do good from the Word do good from the Lord, and good from the Lord is truly good, and so far as it is from the Lord there is no merit in it.

[3] That good from the Word, thus from the Lord, is truly good, is evident also from these words in Revelation:

I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hear My voice and open the door, I will come in to him and will sup with him and he with Me (Revelation 3:20).

This shows that the Lord is always and continually present and bestows the effort to do good, but that man must open the door, that is, must receive the Lord; and he receives Him when he does good from His Word. Although this appears to man to be done as of himself, yet it is not of man but of the Lord in him. It so appears to man because he has no other feeling than that he thinks from himself and acts from himself; and yet when he thinks and acts from the Word he does it as if of himself, therefore he then also believes that he does it of the Lord.

[4] From this it can be seen that the good that a man does from the Word is spiritual good, and that this conjoins man to the Lord and to heaven. But the good that a man does for the world's sake and for the sake of the communities in the world, which is called civil and moral good, conjoins him to the world and not to heaven. Moreover, the conjunction of the truth of faith is with spiritual good, which is the good of charity towards the neighbor, because faith in itself is spiritual, and what is spiritual cannot be conjoined with any other good than what is equally spiritual. But civil and moral good, separate from spiritual good, is not good in itself, because it is from man; yea, so far as self and the world lie concealed in it, it is evil; this good, therefore, cannot be conjoined with faith, yea, if it were to be conjoined faith would be dissipated.

[5] "To seduce the whole world" signifies to pervert all things of the church, because "the world" signifies in general the church as to all things of it, both goods and truths; but in particular it signifies the church in respect to good; this is the signification of "world" when "the earth" also is mentioned. That "the earth" in the Word signifies the church has been shown above (n. 304, 697); but when "the world" is also mentioned "the earth" signifies the church in respect to truth. For there are two things that constitute the church, namely, truth and good, and these two are signified by "earth" and "world" in the following passages.

[6] In Isaiah:

With my soul have I desired Thee in the night; yea, with my spirit in the midst of me have I early waited for Thee; for when Thou teachest the earth Thy judgments, the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness (Isaiah 26:9).

"Night" signifies a state in which there is no light of truth, and "morning" a state in which there is the light of truth; the latter state is from love, but the former is when there is as yet no love. So "the soul that desired Jehovah in the night" signifies a life that is not yet in the light of truth; and "the spirit in the midst of him with which he waited for Jehovah in the morning" signifies a life that is in the light of truth; so it is added, "for when Thou teachest the earth Thy judgments, the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness," which signifies that the church is in truths from the Lord, and by means of truths is in good; "earth" signifying the church in respect to truths, and "world," the church in respect to good; for "judgment" in the Word is predicated of truth, and "righteousness" of good, and "inhabitants" signifying the men of the church who are in the goods of doctrine and thence of life. (That "judgment" in the Word is predicated of truth, and "righteousness" of good, may be seen in the Arcana Coelestia 2235, 9857; and that "to inhabit" signifies to live, and thence "inhabitants" those who are in the good of doctrine and thus of life, may be seen above, n. 133, 479, 662)

[7] In Lamentations:

The kings of the earth believed not, and all the inhabitants of the world, that the enemy and the adversary would come into the gates of Jerusalem (Lamentations 4:12).

"The kings of the earth" signify the men of the church who are in truths, and "the inhabitants of the world" the men of the church who are in good; that "kings" signify those who are in truths may be seen above (n. 31, 553, 625); and that "the inhabitants" signify those who are in good has been shown just above. Thence it is clear that the "earth" signifies the church in respect to truths, and the "world" the church in respect to good. And as all things of the doctrine of the church were destroyed by falsities and evils, it is said that "they believed not that the enemy and the adversary would come into the gates of Jerusalem;" "enemy" signifying the falsities that destroyed the truths of the church, which are meant by "the kings of the earth," and "adversary" signifying the evils that destroyed the goods of the church, which are meant by "the inhabitants of the world;" "Jerusalem" meaning the church in respect to doctrine.

[8] In David:

Let all the earth fear Jehovah, let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him (Psalms 33:8).

Here, too, the "earth" signifies those who are in the truths of the church, and "the inhabitants of the world" those who are in the goods of the church. In the same:

The earth is Jehovah's and the fullness thereof, the world and they that dwell therein; He hath founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the rivers (Psalms 24:1, 2).

Here, also, the "earth" signifies the church in respect to truth, and "the fullness thereof" signifies all truths in the complex; and the "world" signifies the church in respect to good, and "they that dwell" signify goods in the complex. What is signified by "founding it upon the seas and establishing it upon the rivers" may be seen above (n. 275, 518).

[9] In Isaiah:

We have conceived, we have travailed, we have as it were brought forth wind; we have not wrought salvation in the earth, and the inhabitants of the world ² have fallen ³ (Isaiah 26:18).

Here, again, the "earth" stands for the church in respect to truths, and the "world" for the church in respect to goods. (The rest may be seen explained above, n. 721.) In the same:

Come near, ye nations, to hear, and attend ye people; let the earth hear and the fullness thereof, the world and all its offspring (Isaiah 34:1).

That "nations" mean those who are in goods, and "peoples" those who are in truths, may be seen above (n. 175, 331, 625); therefore it is added, "let the earth hear and the fullness thereof, the world and all its offspring," "the earth and the fullness thereof" signifying the church in respect to all truths, and "the world and all its offspring" the church in respect to all goods.

[10] In the same:

All ye inhabitants of the world and ye dwellers on the earth, when the ensign of the mountains shall be lifted up, see ye, and when the trumpet shall be sounded, hear ye (Isaiah 18:3).

"The inhabitants of the world and the dwellers on the earth" signify all in the church who are in goods and truths, as above; the Lord's coming is signified by "when the ensign of the mountains shall be lifted up, see ye, and when the trumpet shall be sounded, hear ye;" "the ensign upon the mountains," as well as "the sounding of the trumpet," signify a calling together to the church.

[11] In David:

Before Jehovah, for He cometh, for He cometh to judge the earth; He shall judge the world in righteousness and the peoples in truth (Psalms 96:13; 98:9).

This treats of the Lord's coming, and the last judgment at that time. Because the "world" signifies those of the church who are in good, and "peoples" those who are in truths, it is said that "He shall judge the world in righteousness and the peoples in truth;" "righteousness" as well as the "world" refers to good. In the same:

Before the mountains were brought forth, and before the earth and the world were formed, from everlasting and even to everlasting Thou art God (Psalms 90:2).

"Mountains" signify those who dwell upon mountains in the heavens, who are those that are in celestial good, while "the earth and the world" signify the church consisting of those who are in truths and in goods.

[12] In the same:

Jehovah reigneth, He is clothed with majesty, Jehovah is clothed with strength, He girdeth Himself; the world also shall be established, nor shall it be moved; Thy throne is established from then, Thou art from eternity (Psalms 93:1, 2).

This is said of the Lord when about to come into the world; and as He has glory and power from the Human that He united to His Divine, it is said that "He is clothed with majesty and strength," and that "He girdeth Himself;" for the Lord assumed the Human that He might have power to subjugate the hells. The church that He was about to establish and protect forever is signified by "the world that shall be established and shall not be moved," and "the throne that shall be established;" for the "world" signifies heaven and the church as to the reception of Divine good, and "throne" heaven and the church as to the reception of Divine truth.

[13] In the same:

Say among the nations, Jehovah reigneth; the world also shall be established, neither shall it be moved; He shall judge the peoples in uprightness; the heavens shall be glad and the earth shall rejoice (Psalms 96:10, 11).

This, too, is said of the Lord about to come, and of the church to be established by Him and protected to eternity, which is signified by "the world that shall be established and not moved," as above; and as the "world" signifies the church in respect to good it is added that "He shall judge the peoples in uprightness;" the "peoples," like "earth," signify those who are in the truths of the church, therefore it is said "the peoples of the earth," but "the inhabitants of the world;" "uprightness" also means truths. The joy of those who are in the church in the heavens and in the church on earth is signified by "the heavens shall be glad and the earth shall rejoice."

[14] In the same:

Jehovah shall judge the world in righteousness, He shall judge the peoples in uprightness (Psalms 9:8).

Because the "world" means the church in respect to good, and "righteousness" is predicated of good, it is said "Jehovah shall judge the world in righteousness;" and as those are called "peoples" who are in truths, and "uprightness" means truths, as above, it is said, "He shall judge the peoples in uprightness." In Jeremiah:

Jehovah maketh the earth by His power, and prepareth the world by His wisdom, and by His intelligence He stretcheth out the heavens (Jeremiah 10:12; 51:15).

"Jehovah maketh the earth by His power" signifies that the Lord establishes the church by the power of Divine truth; "He prepareth the world by His wisdom" signifies that He forms the church that is in good from Divine good by means of Divine truth; "by His intelligence He stretcheth out the heavens" signifies that thus He enlarges the heavens.

[15] In David:

The heavens are Thine and the earth is Thine, the world and the fullness thereof Thou hast founded (Psalms 89:11).

"The heavens and the earth" signify the church in the heavens and in the earths, both in respect to truths, and "the world and the fullness thereof" signifies the church in the heavens and in the earths, both in respect to goods, "fullness" meaning goods and truths in the whole complex. In the same:

If I were hungry I would not tell thee, for the world is Mine and the fullness thereof (Psalms 50:12).

This is said of sacrifices, that the Lord does not delight in them, but in confession and works, for it is added:

Should I eat the flesh of the stout ones, or drink the blood of he-goats? Sacrifice unto God confession, and pay thy vows to the Most High (Psalms 50:13-14).

So "if I should be hungry" signifies if I should desire sacrifices; but as the Lord desires worship from goods and truths it is said "for the world is Mine and the fullness thereof;" "fullness" signifying goods and truths in the whole complex, as above. This is said of the beasts that were sacrificed, but these signify in the spiritual sense various kinds of good and truth.

[16] In Matthew:

These good tidings of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world, for a witness unto all, and then shall the end come (Matthew 24:14).

Because the "world" signifies the church in respect to good it is said that "these good tidings shall be preached unto all nations," for the "nations" who are to hear and receive signify all who are in good. Moreover, "nations" signify all who are in evils, who also will hear; but then the "world" signifies the whole church when it is already in evils; therefore it is said that "then shall the end come."

[17] In the first book of Samuel:

Jehovah raiseth up the depressed out of the dust, He exalteth the needy from the dunghill, to make them sit with princes, and He shall make them to inherit the throne of glory; for the bases of the earth are Jehovah's, and He hath set the world upon them (1 Samuel 2:8).

This is the prophecy of Hannah the mother of Samuel. "To raise up the depressed out of the dust and the needy from the dunghill" signifies the instruction of the Gentiles, and the enlightenment in interior truths which would be revealed by the Lord, and thus the removal from evils and falsities. "The bases of the earth" signify exterior truths, such as those of the sense of the letter of the Word, for on those truths interior truths have their foundation; therefore the "world" which He hath set upon them signifies the church in respect to all its goods and truths. (But as to this see above, n. 253, 304)

[18] In Isaiah:

Jacob shall cause them that are to come to take root, Israel shall blossom and bud, so that the faces of the world shall be filled with the increase (Isaiah 27:6).

"Jacob" means the external church, and "Israel" the internal church; and as the internal of the church is founded upon its externals, and internals are thereby multiplied and made fruitful, it is said that "Jacob shall cause them that are to come to take root, and Israel shall blossom and bud;" the consequent fructification of the church is signified by "the faces of the world shall be filled with the increase."

[19] In the same:

Is this the man that maketh the earth to tremble, that maketh the kingdoms to quake, that hath made the world a wilderness, and thrown down the cities thereof? Prepare slaughter for his sons for the iniquity of their fathers, that they rise not up and possess the earth and the faces of the world be filled with cities (Isaiah 14:16, 17, 21).

This is said of Lucifer, by whom "Babylon" is meant, that is, the love of ruling over heaven and over the earth; therefore "to make the earth to tremble, to make the kingdoms to quake, to make the world a wilderness and throw down the cities thereof," signifies to destroy all things of the church; the "earth" meaning the church in respect to truth; "kingdoms," churches distinguished according to truths; the "world" the church in respect to good, and "cities" doctrinals. "To prepare slaughter for the sons for the iniquity of their fathers" signifies the destruction of the falsities that arise from their evils; "that they possess not the earth and fill the faces of the world with cities" signifies lest falsities and evils, and doctrinals from them, take possession of the whole church.

[20] In the same:

The earth shall mourn and be confounded, the world shall languish and be confounded, the exaltation of the people of the earth shall languish, and the earth itself shall be profaned under its inhabitants (Isaiah 24:4, 5).

This describes the desolation of the church in respect to its truths and goods by reason of the pride of self-intelligence, and the profanation of truths that are from good. The desolation is described by "mourning, being confounded, and languishing;" the church in respect to truths and goods is signified by "the earth and the world;" the pride of self-intelligence by "the exaltation of the people of the earth," and the profanation of truths that are from good by "the earth shall be profaned under its inhabitants."

[21] In Nahum:

The mountains shall quake before Him, and the hills shall melt; the earth shall be burnt up before Him, and the world and all that dwell therein (Nahum 1:5).

What is signified by the "mountains" that shall quake, and the "hills" that shall melt, may be seen above (n. 400, 405). But "the earth and the world and they that dwell therein shall be burnt up" signifies that the church in respect to all its truths and goods will be destroyed by infernal love.

[22] In David:

The channels of waters appeared and the foundations of the world were revealed at Thy rebuke, O Jehovah, at the breath of the spirit of Thy nostrils (Psalms 18:15; 2 Samuel 22:16).

That all things of the church in respect to its truths and goods were overturned from the foundation is signified by "the channels of waters appeared and the foundations of the world were revealed;" "the channels of waters" meaning the truths, and "the foundations of the world" its goods, and "to appear" and "to be revealed" meaning to be overturned from the foundation. That this destruction is from the hatred and fury of the evil against Divine things is signified by "at Thy rebuke, O Jehovah, at the breath of the spirit of Thy nostrils;" the "rebuke" and "the spirit of Jehovah's nostrils" have a similar signification as "His anger and wrath" mentioned elsewhere in the Word. But since the Lord has no anger or wrath against the evil, while the evil have against the Lord, and as anger and wrath appear to the evil when they perish to be from the Lord, therefore this is so said according to that appearance. "The breath of the spirit of Jehovah's nostrils" means also the east wind, which destroys by drought, and overturns by its penetrating power.

[23] In the same:

The voice of Thy thunder is in the world, the lightnings enlightened the world, the earth trembled and quaked (Psalms 77:18).

His lightnings shall enlighten the world; the earth shall see and fear, the mountains shall melt like wax before Jehovah, before the Lord of the whole earth (Psalms 97:4, 5).

This describes the state of the wicked because of the Lord's presence in His Divine truth, which state is like that of the sons of Israel when the Lord appeared to them upon Mount Sinai. That they then heard thunders, saw lightnings, and that the mountain appeared to be in a consuming fire as of a furnace, and they feared exceedingly, is known from the Word. This was because they were evil in heart; for the Lord appears to everyone according to what is his quality, to the good as a recreating fire, and to the evil as a consuming fire. From this it is clear what is signified by "the voice of Thy thunder is in the world, the lightnings enlightened the world, the earth trembled and quaked;" and "the mountains shall melt before Jehovah, the Lord of the whole earth;" "the world" meaning all that are of the church who are in goods, but here who are in evils, and the "earth" all that are of the church who are in truths, but here who are in falsities.

[24] In Isaiah:

I will visit malice upon the world, and upon the wicked their iniquity (Isaiah 13:11).

Here, too, the "world" means those that are of the church who are in evils, and the "wicked" those who are in falsities, therefore it is said "I will visit malice upon the world, and upon the wicked their iniquity;" "malice" means evil, and "iniquity" is predicated of falsities.

[25] In Job:

They shall thrust him away from light unto darkness, and chase him out of the world (Job 18:18).

Because "light" signifies the truth, and the "world" the good of the church, and when the wicked man casts himself from truth into falsity he also casts himself from good into evil, it is said "they shall thrust him away from light into darkness, and chase him out of the world," "darkness" meaning falsities, and "to chase out of the world" meaning to cast out from the good of the church.

[26] In Luke:

Men will faint for fear and for expectation of the things coming upon the whole world; for the powers of the heavens shall be shaken; and then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud of the heavens with power and much glory (Luke 21:26, 27).

This is said of the consummation of the age, which is the last time of the church, when there is no longer any truth because there is no good; the state of heaven at that time is described by these words, that "men will faint for fear and for expectation of the things coming upon the whole world;" this describes the fear of those who are in the heavens, that everything of the church in respect to its good and therefore in respect to its truths would perish, and the expectation of help from the Lord. That the power of Divine truth is weakened is signified by "the shaking of the powers of the heavens;" "the powers of the heavens" meaning Divine truths in respect to power; that the Lord will then make evident Divine truth, which has power and from which is intelligence, is signified by "then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud of the heavens, with power and much glory."

[27] "The earth and the world" have a like signification in the following passage in Revelation:

They are the spirits of demons doing signs to go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them together unto the war (Revelation 16:14).

It is said "unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world," because one thing of the church is signified by "earth," and another by "world." As the "world" signifies the church in respect to good it also signifies all things of the church, for good is the essential of the church; therefore where there is good there is also truth, for every good desires truth and wishes to be conjoined to truth and to be spiritually nourished by it, thus also reciprocally.

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