652. Verse 8. And their bodies shall be upon the street of the great city, signifies their extinction by the evils and falsities of doctrine. This is evident from the signification of "bodies" as being that the good of love and the truth of doctrine signified by "the two witnesses" have been extinguished; for "to be killed" signifies to be extinguished, here spiritually, because it refers to those who have wholly destroyed these things in themselves. In like manner the Lord is said "to have been slain" and "to be dead," to signify that the Divine proceeding from Him, which is Divine good and Divine truth, has been rejected, that is, the Lord has been slain and is dead with those by whom that has been rejected (See above, n. 83). This is evident also from the signification of "the street of the great city," as being the truth and good of doctrine, and in the contrary sense the falsity and evil of doctrine; for "street" signifies truth leading, and in the contrary sense falsity leading (of which presently); and "city" signifies doctrine (of which above, n. 223. It is said "great city," because "great" is predicated of good, and in the contrary sense of evil, as "many" is predicated of truth, and in the contrary sense of falsity (See above, n. 223, 336, 337). This now makes clear that "the bodies of the two witnesses upon the street of the great city" signifies the extinction of the good of love and charity and of the truth of doctrine and faith by the falsities and evils of doctrine. As the evils and falsities of doctrine are signified, it is next said "which great city is spiritually called Sodom and Egypt," "Sodom" signifying the evils of the love, and "Egypt" the falsities therefrom, each pertaining to doctrine, by which the church at its end is destroyed (concerning which in the following articles).

[2] "Street" signifies the truth of doctrine, and in the contrary sense the falsity of doctrine, because in the spiritual sense a "way" signifies truth leading to good, and in the contrary sense falsity leading to evil (See above, n. 97); and streets are ways in a city, and as a "city" signifies doctrine, so a "street" signifies the truth and the falsity of doctrine. Moreover, in the spiritual world there are cities, and streets in them, as in the cities of the world; and what each one is in respect to the affection of truth and intelligence therefrom is known there merely from the place where he dwells and from the streets in which he walks. Those who are in a clear perception of truth dwell in the southern quarter of the city and also walk there; those who are in a clear affection of the good of love dwell in the eastern quarter and also walk there; those who are in an obscure affection of the good of love dwell in the western quarter and also walk there; and those who are in an obscure perception of truth dwell in the northern quarter and also walk there. But in the cities where those live who are in the persuasion of falsity from evil the reverse is true. This makes clear why it is that a "street" signifies truth or falsity leading.

[3] That "streets" have this signification can be seen from the following passages. In Jeremiah:

Run ye to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, and see, I pray, and know, and seek in the open places thereof if ye can find a man [vir] that doeth judgment, that seeketh truth; then will I pardon her (Jeremiah 5:1).

Because "the streets of Jerusalem and the open places thereof" signify the truths of doctrine, according to the states of affection and perception of those who are of the church, and because "Jerusalem" signifies the church in respect to doctrine it is said, "Run ye to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, and see and know, and seek in the open places thereof;" and because "judgment" is predicated of truths, since all judgment comes from laws and precepts, which are truths, and because "truth" signifies the truth of doctrine and of faith it is said, "if ye can find a man [vir] that doeth judgment and that seeketh truth."

The "open places" mean particularly the corners of the city, thus the quarters where the dwelling places are; and as each one in the cities in the spiritual world has his dwelling place in accordance with his affection of good and his perception of truth, clear or obscure, therefore "open places" signify truths and goods according to each one's affection and perception.

[4] In Isaiah:

Judgment hath been rejected backward, and justice hath stood afar off; for truth hath stumbled in the street, and rectitude cannot enter (Isaiah 59:14).

"Judgment and justice" signify in the Word truth and good; that these no longer exist is signified by "judgment hath been rejected backward, and justice has stood afar off;" that they have wandered away from the truths of doctrine, and consequently there is no truth in the life, which is the good of life, is signified by "truth hath stumbled in the street, and rectitude cannot enter," for all good of life is acquired by means of the truths of doctrine, for it is by them that a man learns how he ought to live. Because "street" signifies where truth leads, it is said "truth hath stumbled in the street."

[5] In Nahum:

The chariots raged in the street, they ran to and fro in the open places (Nahum 2:4).

Because "chariots" signify the doctrinals of truth, and "streets" and "open places" what is in accord with each one's affection and perception, as above, it is said "the chariots raged in the streets, they ran to and fro in the open places," "to rage" signifying to call falsities truths, and "to run to and fro" signifying to wander off.

[6] In the book of Judges:

In the days of Jael the ways ceased, they that go in footpaths went in crooked paths, they ceased, the open places ceased in Israel (Judges 5:6, 7).

This is in the Song of Deborah and Barak, which treats of the desolation of truth in the church, and afterwards of its restoration; the desolation is described by "the ways ceased, they that go in footpaths went in crooked paths, they ceased, the open places ceased in Israel;" "ways and paths" having the same signification as "streets and open places," namely, truths of doctrine leading, and "to go in crooked ways" signifies to wander away from truths.

[7] In Isaiah:

The city of emptiness shall be broken down, every house shall be shut that no one may enter; a cry over the wine in the streets; every joy shall be mixed, the gladness of the earth shall be banished (Isaiah 24:10, 11).

"The city of emptiness" signifies doctrine in which there is falsity and no truth; "house" signifies the good of the will and thus of the life; thence is evident what is signified by "the city of emptiness shall be broken down, every house shall be shut that no one may enter;" "a cry over the wine in the streets" signifies lamentation on account of the lack of truth and the mingling of truth with falsity, "wine" signifying the truth of the church from the Word; therefore it is said "in the streets," because "street" too signifies truth, and where truth is sought. "Joy and gladness" are mentioned, because "joy" is predicated of the delight that is from the affection of good, and "gladness" of the delight that is from the affection of truth; that these delights will cease is signified by "every joy shall be mixed, the gladness of the earth shall be banished," the earth signifying the church.

[8] In Jeremiah:

How is the city of glory forsaken, the city of my joy! Therefore her young men shall fall in the streets, and all the men of war shall be cut off (Jeremiah 49:25, 26; 50:30).

"The city of glory" signifies the doctrine of Divine truth, and "the city of joy" signifies the delight from the affection of good and truth therein; "young men" signify those who are made intelligent by means of truths; and that the understanding of truth would perish is signified by "the young men shall fall in the streets;" "men of war" signify truths combating against falsities; that there will be no defense of truth against falsities is signified by "all the men of war shall be cut off."

[9] In Ezekiel:

You have multiplied your slain in this city, so that you have filled the streets thereof with the slain (Ezekiel 11:6).

The "slain" mean in the Word those who are destroyed by falsities; for the "sword," by which they are slain, signifies falsity destroying truth; "city" signifies here, as above, the doctrine of truth; thence appears what is signified by "the slain in the city;" "to fill the streets with the slain" signifies to lay waste the truth by falsities.

[10] In Lamentations:

They that did eat delicacies are laid waste in the streets; and they that were brought up in crimson have embraced dunghills. The form of the Nazirites is darker than blackness, they are not recognized in the streets. They have wandered about blind in the streets, they are polluted with blood. They have hunted our steps so that we cannot go in the streets (Lamentations 4:5, 8, 14, 18).

Here, too, "streets" signify the truths of doctrine leading to the good of life, or truths according to which one must live. This treats of the church where the Word is, and its devastation in respect to truths; therefore "they that did eat delicacies are laid waste in the streets" signifies that those who have imbibed genuine truths from the Word have no longer any truths, "delicacies" meaning genuine truths from the Word; "they that were brought up in crimson have embraced dunghills" signifies that those who had imbibed genuine goods from the Word have nothing but the falsities of evil, "crimson" signifying the genuine good of the Word, in particular the celestial love of truth, and "dunghills" signifying the falsities of evil; "the form of the Nazirites is darker than blackness, they are not recognized in the streets," signifies that Divine truth is in such obscurity that it is apparent to no one; "the Nazirites" represent the Lord in relation to Divine truth, and therefore signify Divine truth from the Lord; "they have wandered about blind in the streets, they are polluted with blood," signifies that the truths of the Word are no longer seen because they have been falsified, "the blind" signifying those who do not see truths. "They have hunted our steps, so that we cannot go in the streets," signifies leading astray, so that it is not known how to live, "to hunt the steps" signifying to lead astray by falsities, and "to go" signifying to live, therefore "to go in the streets" signifies to live according to truths.

[11] In Zephaniah:

I will cut off the nations, their corners shall be laid waste; I will make desolate their streets, that none may pass through; their cities shall be laid waste, that there may be no man nor inhabitant (Zephaniah 3:6).

The "nations that shall be cut off," signify the goods of the church; the "corners that shall be laid waste" signify the truths and goods of the church in the whole complex (that this is the signification of "corners" see above, n. 417; the "streets that shall be made desolate, that no one may pass through," signify the truths of doctrine; for the "cities that shall be laid waste, that there may be no man nor inhabitant," signify doctrinals, "man" and "inhabitants" meaning in the Word in the spiritual sense all who are in truths and goods, thus in an abstract sense, truths and goods.

[12] In Zechariah:

I will return to Zion, and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem, whence Jerusalem shall be called the city of truth. There shall yet old men and women dwell in the streets of Jerusalem, and the streets shall be full of boys and girls playing in the streets thereof (Zechariah 8:3-5).

This is said of the Lord's coming, and of the New Church to be established by Him; "Zion" means the church in respect to the good of love, and "Jerusalem" the church in respect to the truths of doctrine, therefore Jerusalem is called "the city of truth;" "the old men and women who shall dwell in the streets of Jerusalem" mean those that are intelligent and wise through the truths of doctrine; "the boys and girls playing in the streets, of whom the streets of the city shall be full," signify the affections of truth and good and their delights, in which those shall abound who live in the truths of doctrine.

[13] In Jeremiah:

According to the number of thy cities were thy gods, O Judah; and according to the number of the streets of Jerusalem have ye set up altars to shame, altars to burn incense to Baal (Jeremiah 11:13).

"According to the number of thy cities were thy gods, O Judah," signifies that there were as many falsities as doctrinals, "cities" signifying doctrinals, and "gods" falsities of religion; "according to the number of the streets of Jerusalem have ye set up altars to shame" signifies that there were as many kinds of worship as there were falsities of doctrine, "streets" here signifying the falsities of doctrine, and "altars" worship; worship from falsities is what is meant, because the altars meant were altars of incense, for it is said, "altars to burn incense to Baal," and "incense" signifies spiritual good, which in its essence is truth from good, and in the contrary sense falsity from evil.

(That this is the signification of "incense" and its "altar," see above, n. 324, 491, 492, 567.)

[14] In the same:

Seest thou not what they do in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? The sons gather wood and the fathers kindle the fire, the women knead dough to make cakes to the queen of the heavens, and to pour out drink-offerings to other gods; I will make to cease in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem the voice of joy and the voice of gladness (Jeremiah 7:17, 18, 34).

What these words signify in the spiritual sense may be seen fully explained above n. 555; also that "the cities of Judah" signify the doctrinals of the church, and "the streets of Jerusalem" its truths of doctrine.

[15] In the same:

Have ye forgotten the evils which they did in the land of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? (Jeremiah 44:9)

"The land of Judah" signifies the church in respect to good, but here in respect to evil; and "the streets of Jerusalem" signify the truths of doctrine, but here its falsities of doctrine.

[16] In Ezekiel:

With the hoofs of his horses Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon shall trample down all thy streets; he shall slay thy people with the sword, and he shall bring down the pillars of strength to the earth; they shall make a spoil of thy wealth (Ezekiel 26:11, 12).

"Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon" signifies the profanation of truth and its consequent destruction; "to trample down all thy streets with the hoofs of his horses" signifies that all the truths of the church will be destroyed by the fallacies of the sensual man; "he shall slay the people with the sword" signifies that truths will be destroyed by falsities; that thus also all worship from truths will be destroyed is signified by "he shall bring down the pillars of strength to the earth," for "pillars" signify holy worship from truths, and because all power is of truth from good they are called "pillars of strength;" that knowledges of truth will also be destroyed is signified by "they shall make a spoil of thy wealth." (That "wealth" and "riches" mean the knowledges of truth, see above, n. 236.)

[17] In the same:

Thou hast built thee an eminent place and hast made thee an exalted place in every street, upon every head of the way thou hast made thee thy eminent place, and thou hast made thy beauty abominable (Ezekiel 16:24, 25, 31).

"Eminent place" and "exalted place" with the ancients signified heaven; from this came the practice of sacrificing upon high mountains, or in place of these upon places built up high, therefore worship from evils and from the falsities of doctrine is signified by "making an eminent and an exalted place in every street, and upon every head of the way;" and as that worship became idolatrous it is said that "they made their beauty abominable," "beauty" meaning truth and intelligence therefrom; for everyone in the spiritual world is beautiful according to truths from good, and intelligence therefrom.

[18] In Amos:

Lamentations shall be in all the streets, and they shall say in all the open places, Alas, alas! and they shall call the husbandman to mourning (Amos 5:16).

"Lamentations shall be in all the streets, and they shall say in all the open places, Alas, alas!" signifies grief because truth and good are everywhere laid waste; "and they shall call the husbandman to mourning" signifies the grief of the men of the church on this account, "husbandman" signifying the man of the church, because a "field" signifies the church in respect to the implantation of truth.

[19] In David:

Our garners are full, affording food on food; our flocks are thousands and ten thousands in our streets; our oxen are laden, there is no breach nor fleeing away, nor outcry in our open places (Psalms 144:13, 14).

"Garners which are full of food" signify the doctrinals from the Word, thus the Word itself, wherein are all truths of doctrine which furnish instruction and spiritual nourishment; "flocks are thousands and ten thousands in the streets" signifies spiritual goods and truths, "thousands of flocks" goods, and "ten thousands" truths; "oxen laden" signify natural goods and their affections; "no breach" signifies their coherence; "no fleeing away" signifies no loss of any of these; "no outcry in the open places" signifies no lamentation anywhere over the lack of these.

[20] In Job:

God, who giveth rain upon the faces of the earth, and who sendeth waters upon the faces of the streets (Job 5:10).

"To give rain upon the faces of the earth" signifies the influx of Divine truth into all things with those who are of the church; and "to send waters upon the faces of the streets" signifies Divine influx into the truths of doctrine, that man may be rendered spiritual thereby.

[21] In Isaiah:

In its streets they have girded themselves with sackcloth, upon its roofs and in its streets he shall howl, flowing down in weeping (Isaiah 15:3).

This is said of the city Ar in the land of Moab, which signifies the doctrine of those who are in truths from the natural man; grief over their falsities of doctrine, from the first to the last, is signified by "they have girded themselves with sackcloth, upon its roofs and in its streets he shall howl," "roofs" meaning interior things, and "streets" exterior things with such. In Jeremiah:

Upon all the roofs of Moab and in its streets, lamentation everywhere (Jeremiah 48:38).

The signification here is similar, as above.

[22] In Daniel:

Know and perceive that from the going forth of the Word even to the restoration and building of Jerusalem, even to Messiah the prince; after sixty and two weeks it shall be restored and built, street and ditch, but in straitness of times (Daniel 9:25).

He who knows not the spiritual sense of the Word may think that by "Jerusalem" here Jerusalem is meant, and that it is to be restored and built; also that "the street and ditch" which it is said will be restored and built mean a street and ditch of that city; but "Jerusalem" means the church that is to be established by the Lord, and "street and ditch" mean the truth of doctrine; "street" truth, and "ditch" doctrine. What is there signified by the number of weeks is not to be explained in this place.

[23] This makes evident that "the street of the New Jerusalem" has a like signification in the following passages in Revelation:

The twelve gates were twelve pearls and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass (Revelation 21:21).

And afterwards:

He showed me a pure river of water of life, bright as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb; in the midst of the street thereof and of the river on either side was the tree of life, bearing twelve fruits (Revelation 22:1, 2).

But these passages will be explained hereafter.

[24] In Isaiah:

Thy sons have fainted, they lay at the head of all the streets, as an antelope in a net (Isaiah 51:20).

This, too, is said of Jerusalem, that is, the church vastated in respect to doctrine, "sons" meaning those who are in the truths of doctrine; "to faint and to lie at the head of all the streets" signifies to be deprived of all truth, "head or beginning of the streets" signifying entrance to truth, thus all truth.

[25] In Lamentations:

The infant and the suckling faint in the streets of the city. Lift up thy hands to the Lord respecting the souls of thine infants, who have fainted from famine at the head of all the streets (Lamentations 2:11, 19).

"Infant and suckling" signify innocence, and also the goods and truths that are first born and made alive by knowledges from the Word with men who are regenerating, and which, being the first, are faultless and blameless; entire lack of these is signified by "they have fainted in the streets of the city, and at the head of all the streets;" it is said "from famine," because "famine" signifies loss, lack, and ignorance of knowledges, and at the same time desire for them (See above, n. 386).

[26] In Nahum:

Her infants were dashed in pieces at the head of all the streets, and over her honorable ones they cast a lot, and all her great ones were bound with chains (Nahum 3:10).

Here also "infants" mean the truths that are firstborn and vivified, and "to be dashed in pieces at the head of all the streets" signifies to be scattered and to perish; "honorable ones" signify the goods of love; "to cast a lot over them" signifies dispersion of these; "great ones" signify the truths of good; and "to be bound with chains" signifies to be tied by falsities so that truth cannot come forth. This is said of "the city of bloods" which signifies the doctrine in which the truths of the Word are falsified.

[27] In Jeremiah:

Death cometh up through our windows, it cometh into our palaces, to cut off the infant from the street, the young men from the open places (Jeremiah 9:21).

"Death" means here spiritual death, which takes place when falsity is believed to be truth and truth to be falsity, and the life is in accordance therewith; "windows" signify the thoughts from the understanding, "palaces" the interior and thus the more sublime things of the human mind; this makes clear what is signified by "death cometh up through the windows and cometh into our palaces;" "infant" signifies here as above the truths that are firstborn through knowledges from the Word; "young men" signify truths acquired, from which comes intelligence; and "streets and open places" signify the truths of doctrine and the truths of life which lead to intelligence and wisdom; this makes clear what is signified by "cutting off the infant from the street, the young men from the open places."

[28] In the same:

I am full of the anger of Jehovah, I am weary with holding in; pour out upon the infant in the street, and upon the assembly of young men; for even the man with the woman shall be taken, the old man with him that is full of days (Jeremiah 6:11).

Here "the infant in the street" and "the young men" have a similar signification as above; "man [vir] and woman" signify truth conjoined to good and intelligence therefrom; and "old man" and "one full of days" signify wisdom.

[29] As "street" signifies the truth of doctrine leading, and in the contrary sense falsity, "the clay of the streets," "the mire," and "dung" signify the falsity of the love of evil, in the following passages. In Isaiah:

Their carcass has become as the dung of the streets (Isaiah 5:25).

He shall make him to be trodden down like the clay of the streets (Isaiah 10:6).

In Micah:

She shall be trodden down like the mire of the streets (Mic. Micah 7:10).

In David:

I will beat them small as the dust before the faces of the wind, I will spread them out as the mire of the streets (Psalms 18:42).

All this, too, is from the appearances in the spiritual world; in the cities there in which falsities from evil reign the streets appear full of dung, mire and clay. This makes evident what is signified by:

The Lord's commanding the seventy whom He sent out to preach the Gospel, Into whatever city ye enter and they receive you not, go out into the streets thereof and say, Even the dust of your city that cleaveth unto us do we shake off from us ¹ (Luke 10:10, 11).

[30] Because "the streets of a city" signify the truths of doctrine, according to which one should live, it was customary to teach and to pray in the streets. Thus in the second book of Samuel:

Tell it not in Gath, publish it not in the streets of Ashkelon, lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice (2 Samuel 1:20).

In Matthew:

When thou doest alms sound not a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the open places that they may have glory of men. And when thou prayest thou shalt not be as the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets where they may be seen of men (Matthew 6:2, 5).

And in Luke:

Then shall ye begin to say, We did eat before Thee and drink, and Thou didst teach in our streets; but He shall say, I tell you I know you not whence ye are (Luke 13:26, 27).

[31] Furthermore, from the signification of "street," as meaning the truth of doctrine, it is also evident why the Lord said in the parable that:

The master of the house commanded his servants to go out quickly into the streets and open places of the city and bring in the poor, the maimed, the lame, and the blind (Luke 14:21).

"The poor, the maimed, the lame, and the blind," do not mean such in a natural sense, but such in a spiritual sense, that is, such as had not the Word, and were therefore in ignorance of truth and in lack of good, but still desired truths by means of which they might obtain good; such were the Gentiles with whom the church of the Lord was afterwards established.

[32] Because "the street of a city" signified either truth or falsity teaching and leading, therefore:

The angels that came to Sodom said that they would lodge all night in the street (Genesis 19:2).

And for the same reason it was commanded that:

If the sons of Israel observed that those in any city served other gods they should smite the inhabitants of the city with the sword, utterly destroying the city, and they should bring all the spoil of it into the midst of the street, and burn the city and all the spoil with fire (Deuteronomy 13:14, 16, 17).

"Other gods" signify the falsities of worship, "the sword" the destruction of falsities by truths; "spoil" the falsification of truth; and "fire" the punishment of the love of evil and its destruction.

[33] From these passages cited from the Word it can be seen what is signified by "the bodies of the two witnesses were cast forth upon the street of the great city which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt," and afterwards that "they were not suffered to be placed in sepulchers;" for it was a custom with the Jewish and Israelitish nation to cast out the slain that were enemies into the ways and streets, and not to bury them, as a sign of their hatred of such; but still this represented that by such enemies infernal evils and falsities that could not be raised again to life were meant, that is, those who were in infernal evils and falsities.

[34] This is evident in Jeremiah:

The prophets prophesy, saying, Sword and famine shall not be in this land; by sword and by famine shall these prophets be consumed, and the people to whom they prophesy shall be cast out into the streets of Jerusalem, and there shall be no one to bury them (Jeremiah 14:15, 16).

A "prophet" means the doctrine of truth, here the doctrine of falsity, because they prophesied falsities; and as "streets" signified where falsities are, it is said that "they were to be cast out into the streets of Jerusalem."

Poznámky pod čarou:

2722. That 'he planted a grove in Beersheba' means doctrine from this with the cognitions composing it and the nature of it is clear from the meaning of 'a grove' and from the meaning of 'Beersheba'. As regards 'groves', holy worship in the Ancient Church was offered on mountains and in groves. It was offered on mountains because 'mountains meant the celestial things of worship, and in groves because 'groves' meant the spiritual things of it. As long as that Church - the Ancient Church - retained its simplicity their worship on mountains and in groves was holy, the reason being that celestial things, which are those of love and charity, were represented by places that were high and lofty, such as mountains and hills, while spiritual things, which derive from celestial, were represented by places with fruits and foliage such as gardens and groves. But after representatives and meaningful signs began to be made idolatrous because people worshipped external things without internal, that holy worship became profane; and they were therefore forbidden to hold worship on mountains and in groves.

[2] The fact that the Ancients held holy worship on mountains becomes clear from what is said about Abram in Chapter 12,

He removed from there to the mountain on the east of Bethel and pitched his tent, Bethel being towards the sea and Ai towards the east. ¹ And there he built an altar and called on the name of Jehovah. Genesis 12:8 (1449-1455).

It is also clear from the meaning of 'a mountain' as the celestial entity of love, 795, 796, 1430. The fact that people also held worship in groves is clear from what is said in the present verse, 'Abraham planted a grove in Beersheba, and there he called on the name of [Jehovah,] the God of Eternity', and also from the meaning of 'a garden' as intelligence, 100, 108, 1588, and of 'trees' as perceptions, 103, 2163. The fact that worship on mountains and in groves was forbidden is clear from the following: In Moses,

You shall not plant for yourself a grove of any kind of tree beside the altar of Jehovah your God which you shall make for yourself. And you shall not erect for yourself a pillar, which Jehovah your God hates. Deuteronomy 16:21-22.

In the same author,

The altars of the nations you shall destroy; you shall break down their pillars and cut down their groves. Exodus 34:13.

They were also commanded to burn the groves of the nations with fire, Deuteronomy 12:3.

[3] Now because the Jews and Israelites, among whom the representative ritual observances of the Ancient Church were introduced, were steeped solely in external things and were at heart nothing but idolaters, and because they were people who neither had nor wished to have knowledge of anything internal or of the life after death, and who did not know that the Messiah's kingdom was a heavenly kingdom, therefore whenever they were in freedom they held profane worship on mountains and hills, and also in groves and forests. They also made for themselves high places to serve instead of mountains and hills, and carved images of a grove instead of groves, as becomes clear from many places in the Word, as in the Book of Judges,

The children of Israel served the baals and the groves. Judges 3:7.

In the Book of Kings,

Israel made groves, provoking Jehovah to anger. 1 Kings 14:15.

And elsewhere in the same book,

Judah built for themselves high places and pillars and groves on every high hill, and under every leafy tree. 1 Kings 14:23.

Elsewhere in the Books of Kings,

Israel built for themselves high places in every city. And they set up pillars and groves on every high hill and under every leafy tree. 2 Kings 17:9-10.

And elsewhere in the same book,

Manasseh king of Judah erected altars to Baal and made a grove, as Ahab king of Israel had done. And the carved image of a grove that he had made he placed in the house of God. 2 Kings 21:3, 7,

From this it is evident that they also made for themselves carved images of a grove. The fact that king Josiah destroyed these images is mentioned in the same book,

Josiah made them bring out of the temple of Jehovah all the vessels made for Baal and for the grove, and for the sun and moon, and for all the host of heaven; and he burned them outside Jerusalem, and the booths which the women had woven [in the house of Jehovah] for the grove. He also cut down the groves which Solomon had made, as well as the grove in Bethel which Jeroboam had made. 2 Kings 23:4-5, 7, 14-15.

The fact that King Hezekiah as well demolished such things is also stated in the same book,

Hezekiah king of Judah removed the high places, and broke the pillars, and cut down the grove, and broke to pieces the bronze serpent which Moses had made. 2 Kings 18:4.

[4] The bronze serpent, it is clear, was holy in the time of Moses, but when that which was external came to be worshipped, that bronze serpent became profane and was therefore smashed to pieces, for the same reason that worship on mountains and in groves was forbidden. These matters are made clearer still in the Prophets: In Isaiah,

You who inflame yourselves among the gods under every leafy tree, who slay the children in the rivers, under projections of the rocks. Even in the rivers you have poured out a drink offering. you have brought a gift. On a high and lofty mountain you have set your habitation and presented yourself there to offer sacrifice. Isaiah 57:5-7.

In the same prophet,

On that day a man will look to his Maker and his eyes will regard the Holy One of Israel. And he will not look to the altars, the work of his hands, and will not see what his fingers have made, both the groves and the solar pillars. Isaiah 17:7-8.

In Micah,

I will cut down your carved images and your pillars from the midst of you, and you will bow down no more to the work of your hands. And I will root out your groves from the midst of you and destroy your cities. Micah 5:13-14.

In Ezekiel,

That the slain may be in the midst of their idols, around their altars at every lofty hill, on all the mountain tops, and under every leafy tree, and under every entangled oak, the place where they offered an odour of rest to all their idols. Ezekiel 6:13.

[5] From all this it is now evident where idolatrous worship originated, namely in the worship of the objects themselves that were representative and carried a spiritual meaning. The most ancient people, who lived before the Flood, saw in every single thing - in mountains, hills, plains, and valleys, in gardens, groves, forests, rivers, and waters, in fields and crops, in trees of every kind, also in living creatures of every kind, and in the heavenly bodies giving light - something that was a representative and a meaningful sign of the Lord's kingdom. But they never let their eyes, still less their minds, linger over such objects; for them these objects served instead as the means for thinking about the celestial and spiritual things that exist in the Lord's kingdom. Indeed so much was this the case with those objects that there was nothing at all in the whole natural world that failed to serve those people as means. It is indeed true that in itself every single thing in the natural order is representative; but at the present day this is an arcanum and scarcely believed by anyone. But after that which is celestial, which is essentially love to the Lord, had perished with man, the human race existed no longer in that state, that is, in the state of seeing from worldly objects the celestial and spiritual things of the Lord's kingdom.

[6] Nevertheless the Ancients after the Flood knew from traditions, and from collections made by certain people, that worldly objects had such meanings; and because these had such meanings they also regarded them as holy. From this arose the representative worship of the Ancient Church, which Church, being spiritual, did not enjoy any perception, only the knowledge, that a thing was so; for that Church, compared with the Most Ancient Church, dwelt in obscurity, 2715. It did not however worship external things but by means of external things people called to mind those which were internal. Consequently when they turned to those representatives and meaningful signs they entered the holiness of worship. They were able to turn to them because they were moved by spiritual love, that is, by charity, which they made the essential of worship, and as a consequence holiness from the Lord was able to flow into their worship. But when the state of the human race had become so changed and perverted that people departed from the good of charity, and thus did not believe any longer in the existence of a heavenly kingdom or in life after death, but supposed - as is also supposed at the present day - that their condition was no different from that of animals (apart from the fact that they as human beings could think), holy representative worship was turned into idolatrous worship and external things came to be worshipped. This was why worship among many gentiles at that time, and even among Jews and Israelites, was not representative, but a worship of the representatives and meaningful signs, that is, of external things devoid of internal.

[7] As regards 'groves' in particular, these had, among the ancients, varying meanings, such meanings depending in fact on the kinds of trees that the groves had in them. Groves where there were olives meant the celestial things of worship, groves where there were vines the spiritual things of worship, but groves where there were figs, cedars, firs, poplars, oaks, meant various things that were of a celestial and spiritual kind. Here however simply 'a grove' or plantation of trees is mentioned and by it was meant ideas belonging to the rational that were allied to doctrine and its cognitions; for trees in general mean perceptions, 103, 2163, but when they have reference to the spiritual Church they mean cognitions, the reason being that the member of the spiritual Church has no other perceptions than those acquired through cognitions drawn from doctrine or from the Word. For such cognitions become part of his faith, and so of his conscience, from which he has perception.

Poznámky pod čarou: