9755. 'And the breadth of the court on the side of the sea' means the state of that heaven in respect of truths on the level of factual knowledge. This is clear from the meaning of 'the breadth' as truth, dealt with in 1613, 3433, 3434, 4482, 9487; from the meaning of 'the court' as the lowest heaven, dealt with above in 9741; and from the meaning of 'the sea' as the place where items of knowledge on which reasoning about truths is based are gathered together, thus also the natural level and the sensory level of the mind, for these are containers. Here 'the side of the sea' is an expression denoting the west side, and by 'the west' good dwelling in obscurity is meant. However, since the words 'the west' are not used but 'the sea', factual knowledge is meant, which too dwells in comparative obscurity because factual knowledge belongs to the natural or external man, and the natural or external man dwells in the light of the world. This light, compared with the light of heaven in which the internal man dwells, is like the shade when the sun is going down in the west.

[2] This may also be recognized from things as they appear in the next life. The Sun of heaven, which is the Lord, appears there midway above the horizon in the direction of the right eye. It is for the angels of heaven the Source of all light, and with the light the Source of all intelligence and wisdom. The sun of the world however does not appear as such when they think about it, but instead as a gloomy object in the opposite direction behind the back. That is also where the west is, in the heavens; for the Lord there as the Sun is the east. From all this it becomes clear that 'the west' means good dwelling in obscurity, and that this is the good that governs the external or natural man. The natural man, as has been stated, dwells in the light of the world, and this light in comparison with the light of heaven is like the shade when the sun is going down in the west. The natural man's truth however is meant by the water of the sea. This truth consists in factual knowledge, for truth in the natural or external man is truth present in knowledge, whereas truth in the spiritual or internal man is truth present in faith. And truth present in knowledge comes to be truth present in faith when it is raised from the natural or external man to the spiritual or internal man. So it is that truths with a person in childhood are truths present in knowledge; but in adult life, if the person allows himself to be regenerated, they come to be truths present in faith. For the internal man is being opened gradually as the person advances into adult life.

[3] The reason why 'the sea' means a place where items of knowledge are gathered together is that truths are meant by 'waters', 'springs', and 'rivers', so that gatherings of them are meant by 'seas'. That this is so is also clear from places in the Word where 'the sea' and 'the seas' are mentioned, as in David,

The earth is Jehovah's and the fullness of it, the world and those who dwell in it. He has founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the rivers. Psalms 24:1-2.

'The earth' and 'the world' stand for the Church. 'The seas' on which He has founded the world are truths on the level of factual knowledge, 'the rivers' on which He has established it are the truths of faith. The fact that the earth, world, seas, or rivers should not be understood here is self-evident; for the world has not been founded upon the seas, nor has it been established upon the rivers.

[4] In the same author,

You broke up the sea by Your strength, You broke the heads of the monsters upon the waters. You broke in pieces the heads of Leviathan; You gave him as food to the people, the Ziim. You dried up the rivers of strength. Psalms 74:13-15.

This refers in the internal sense to knowledge that destroys the truths of faith. 'The monsters' whose heads will be broken are factual knowledge in general, 42, 7293; and 'Leviathan' has a similar meaning, 7293. 'The people, the Ziim', to whom it was to be given as food, are those steeped in falsities, or actual falsities. From this it is evident what 'the sea' means, namely factual knowledge misapplied in order to weaken and destroy truths. In Habakkuk,

You trampled the sea with Your horses, the mud of many waters. Habakkuk 3:15.

'Trampling the sea with horses', when said to have been done by Jehovah, stands for teaching the natural man, where factual knowledge belongs.

[5] In Zechariah,

On that day living waters will flow out from Jerusalem, part of them to the eastern sea, and part of them to the western ¹ sea. Zechariah 14:8.

'Living waters from Jerusalem' are truths of faith that receive their life from the good of love, 'the eastern sea' and 'the western sea' being the natural level and the sensory level of the mind where items of knowledge reside, that is, truths that have been gathered together. In Hosea,

They will go after Jehovah, and respectfully [His] sons from the sea ² will draw near; respectfully they will come like a bird from Egypt. Hosea 11:10-11.

'Sons from the sea' are truths on the level of factual knowledge which belong to the natural man. This explains why it says that 'they will come like a bird from Egypt', for 'Egypt' in the Word means factual knowledge, 9340, 9391.

[6] In Ezekiel,

All the princes of the sea will step down from their thrones, and will cast away their robes and strip off their embroidered clothes. They will clothe themselves with tremblings, they will say, How you have perished, O one inhabited in the seas, O praised city which was powerful in the sea. Ezekiel 26:16-17.

This has to do with the ruination of the cognitions of good and truth, meant by Tyre, to which the words here refer, 1201, cognitions of good and truth being items of knowledge which the Church possesses. 'The princes of the sea' are leading cognitions, 1482, 2089, 5044; and 'casting away robes and embroidered clothes' means removing truths as they exist on the level of factual knowledge, 9688. Since such truths are meant by 'Tyre', Tyre is called 'one inhabited in the seas' and 'a city powerful in the sea'.

[7] In Jeremiah,

The sea has come up over Babel, she has been covered with the multitude of its waves; her cities have been reduced to a desolation. Jeremiah 51:42-43.

'Babel' stands for worship which to outward appearances is holy but inwardly is unholy, 1182, 1326. 'The sea' spread over Babel is falsity rising up from factual knowledge; 'its waves' are reasonings that consist of that knowledge, and the resulting denials; 'cities' which were turned into a desolation are matters of doctrine.

[8] Something similar occurs in the Book of Revelation,

Every shipmaster, and everyone on board ships, and sailors, and all who trade on the sea, stood at a distance [and were crying out] as they saw the smoke of Babylon's burning, saying, Woe, woe, the great city, in which all who have ships on the sea have been made rich by her wealth. ³ Then an angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying, Thus with vehemence will Babylon be thrown down. Revelation 18:17-21.

'Ships' are teachings drawn from the Word, 6385, and from this it is evident what 'shipmaster' means, and 'sailor', also 'the sea', and 'those who trade on it'. 'A stone like a millstone' is truth through which faith develops; 'being thrown into the sea' means being consigned to the falsity of factual knowledge. In the next life seas appear, and also ships on them; I have often been allowed to see such ships and seas. The seas there are in a bad sense a sign of the falsities of factual knowledge, and people on ships a sign of those who traffic in and supply such falsities.

[9] In Jeremiah,

Thus said Jehovah who gives the sun for light by day and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for light by night, who stirs up the sea that its waves may roar, ... Jeremiah 31:35.

'The sun for light by day' is the good of love from which light comes to truths. 'The ordinances of the moon and of the stars for light by night' are forms of the good of faith and of cognitions from which truth has light in darkness. 'Stirring up the sea that its waves may roar' means dispelling the falsities of factual knowledge on which mere reasonings about truths are based.

[10] In Isaiah,

Has My hand been altogether shortened, that it cannot redeem? Or is there no power in Me to deliver? Lo, by My rebuke I dry up the sea, I make the rivers a desert. Their fish will putrify because there is no water and they die of thirst. Isaiah 50:2.

'Drying up the sea' stands for doing away with the good and truth of factual knowledge, 'making the rivers a desert' for laying actual truths waste. 'The fish' which will putrify means the factual knowledge that the natural man possesses, 40, 991; 'because there is no water' means the non-existence of truth, 2702, 3058, 3424, 4976, 5668, 8568; 'dying of thirst' means owing to the lack of truth, 8568.

[11] Something similar occurs elsewhere in the same prophet,

The waters will fail from the sea, and the river will be parched and dry; and the streams will recede, the rivers of Egypt will diminish and dry up. Isaiah 19:5-6.

'The waters will fail from the sea' stands for the departure of truths in the place where they are gathered together; 'the rivers of Egypt' which are going to dry up are factual knowledge. In the same prophet,

The earth is full of the knowledge of Jehovah as the waters cover the sea. Isaiah 11:9.

'The waters' stands for truths, 'the sea' for a gathering together of them, that is, for knowledge of them, which is why it speaks of the earth's being full of 'the knowledge of Jehovah'.

[12] In John,

The second angel sounded, and so to speak a great mountain burning with fire was thrown into the sea. And a third part of the sea became blood resulting in the death of a third part of the creatures which had their being in the sea. ⁴ And a third part of the ships was destroyed. Revelation 8:8-9.

'A great mountain burning with fire' is self-love; 'the sea' into which it was thrown is factual knowledge in general; 'blood' which it became is truth that has been falsified and made profane, 4735, 4978, 7317, 7326; and 'the creatures' which died as a result are those in possession of teachings which present the truth.

[13] Something similar occurs elsewhere in the same book,

The second angel poured out his bowl into the sea, and it became like the blood of one dead, from which every living soul died in the sea. Revelation 16:3-4.

Factual knowledge serving evils in the destruction of truths and in the substantiation of falsities is meant here by 'the sea'. In the same book,

... a beast coming up out of the sea, speaking blasphemies. Revelation 13:1ff.

'A beast out of the sea' is factual knowledge destroying the truths of faith. From all this it becomes clear that 'the sea' means a place where factual knowledge is gathered together and is the resource which reasoning about the truths of faith makes use of.

[14] Since 'the sea' has this meaning Zebulun is spoken of as dwelling at the shore of the seas and at the haven of ships, Genesis 49:13, and in another place as one who 'will suck the plentifulness of the sea, and the hidden treasures of the sand, Deuteronomy 33:19. Zebulun is used in the representative sense to mean those who make use of factual knowledge to arrive at conclusions about the truths of faith; this is why it says that he was going to dwell 'at the shore of the seas'.

[15] In the contrary sense however 'the sea' means factual knowledge which has the world as the end in view; in this case its 'waves' are reasonings that are the product of worldly notions about Divine matters. Consequently 'being immersed in the sea' means being immersed so thoroughly in factual knowledge which is the product of worldly and earthly notions that there is no belief whatever in God's truth, as in Matthew,

Whoever causes one of the little ones believing in Me to stumble, it would be better for him if an ass's millstone ⁵ were hung onto his neck and he were plunged into the depth of the sea. Matthew 18:6.

'A millstone' is truth which is of service to faith, 4335, 7780, 'an ass' is the natural because it is a servant, 2781, 5741, 5958, 6389, 8078, so that 'an ass's millstone' is natural and worldly knowledge. 'The neck' means the joining of interior things to exterior ones, 3542; 'being hung on it' means a blocking and cutting off of good and truth, 3542, 3603; 'being plunged into the depth of the sea' means sinking into what is merely worldly and bodily, thus into hell. These words, like all others spoken by the Lord, are accordingly such as carry a spiritual meaning.

[16] But [the nature of] the factual knowledge meant by 'the sea' depends altogether on the density and blackness of its waters, or conversely on the clearness and transparency of them. So it is that factual knowledge looking towards heaven, which is the spiritual dimension within the natural man, is called the glassy sea in Revelation 15:1-2. A time when no one will use factual knowledge to reason about the truths of faith, but truths will be imprinted on people's hearts is meant by the sea will be no more in Revelation 21:1.

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5044. 'And the governor of the prison-house gave' means the truth governing in a state of temptations. This is clear from the meaning of 'the governor (or the prince)' as the primary and so governing truth, dealt with below; and from the meaning of 'the prison-house' as the laying waste of falsity, and therefore temptation, dealt with above in 5038, 5039, 5043. What the truth governing in a state of temptations is must first be discussed. With all who are undergoing temptations truth from the Lord is flowing in, and this truth rules and governs their thoughts, uplifting them every time they are given to doubt and also to feelings of despair. This truth is what that governing truth is, and it is the kind of truth which they have learned from the Word and from doctrine and which they themselves have confirmed. Other kinds of truth may also be called on at such times, but these do not govern those persons interiorly. Sometimes the truth governing them does not make itself clearly visible in their understanding but lies obscured, yet continues to govern. For the Lord's Divine flows into that governing truth and in so doing keeps the interior parts of the mind within its domain, so that when it comes out into the light the person undergoing temptation receives comfort from it and is uplifted by it.

[2] Not the actual truth but an affection for it is what the Lord uses to govern those undergoing temptations; for the Divine does not flow into anything except that which is regarded with affection. Truth that has been implanted and become rooted in a person interiorly has been implanted and become rooted there through affection. Absolutely nothing grows there without affection. Truth that has been implanted and become rooted through affection sticks in the mind, and it is recollected through an affection for it. Furthermore when that truth is recollected it also manifests the affection attached to it, an affection which in that person is a reciprocal one. This being what goes on in a person who undergoes temptations, no one is therefore allowed to experience any spiritual temptation until he reaches adult years and so has acquired some truth by means of which he may be governed. Without that truth he goes under, in which case his latter state is worse than his former one. From all this one may see what is implied by the truth governing in a state of temptations, meant by 'the governor of the prison-house'.

[3] The reason 'a prince (or a governor)' means a primary truth is that 'a king' in the internal sense means the truth itself, 1672, 1728, 2015, 2069, 3009, 3670, 4575, 4581, 4789, 4966, and consequently because 'princes' are the king's chief subjects the primary features of that truth are meant by them. For this meaning of 'princes', see 1482, 2089; yet because those two paragraphs have not shown that meaning from other places in the Word, let some be introduced here: In Isaiah,

To us a boy is born, to us a son is given, on whose shoulder will be the government ¹ - the prince of peace, increasing government ² and peace [to which] there will be no end. Isaiah 9:6-7.

This refers to the Lord. 'The government upon his shoulder' means all Divine Truth in the heavens originating in Him, for the heavens are distinguished into separate principalities in keeping with the varieties of truth derived from good, which also explains why angels are called principalities. 'Peace' means the state of bliss in the heavens which inmostly affects what is good and true, 3780. This is why the Lord is called 'the prince of peace' and why it speaks of Him 'increasing government and peace to which there will be no end'.

[4] In the same prophet,

The princes of Zoan are foolish, the wise counsellors of Pharaoh. How do you say to Pharaoh, I am a son of the wise, a son of the kings of old? The princes of Zoan have become fools, the princes of Noph deluded, and they have led Egypt astray, the corner-stone of the tribes. Isaiah 19:11, 13.

This refers to Egypt, by which the Church's factual knowledge is meant, 4749, and so natural truth, which is the last and lowest degree of order. For the same reason Egypt is here called 'the corner-stone of the tribes', for by 'the tribes' are meant all aspects of truth in their entirety, 3858, 3862, 3926, 3939, 4060. Here however 'Egypt' is factual knowledge that perverts the truths known to the Church, and so is truths in the lowest degree of order that have been falsified, meant by 'the princes of Zoan and the princes of Noph'. The reason Egypt calls itself 'a son of the kings of old' is that the factual knowledge which existed in that land had its origin in the truths known to the Ancient Church. Actual truths are meant by 'kings', as shown above, and the truths known to the Ancient Church by 'the kings of old'.

[5] In the same prophet,

Asshur does not think what is right and his heart does not consider what is right, for his heart is to destroy, and to cut off nations not a few, for he says, Are not my princes kings? Isaiah 10:7-8.

'Asshur' stands for reasoning about Divine truths which gives rise to falsities, and so stands for perverted reason, 1186. Truths falsified in this way, that is, falsities, which are the product of reasoning and look altogether like truths, are meant when Asshur says 'Are not my princes kings?' As long as a person's mind is fixed on the historical sense of the letter he cannot see or consequently believe that 'Asshur' means reasoning, and that 'princes who are kings' means major falsities which are regarded as supreme truths. Still less can he believe this if he refuses to entertain the idea that there is something holier and more universal within the Divine Word than that which is seen in the literal sense. Yet in the internal sense 'Asshur' is used to mean in the Word nothing else than reason and reasoning, and 'kings' to mean actual truths, 'princes' the primary features of truth. Also, those in heaven have no knowledge as to what or who 'Asshur' may be, besides which angels put away from themselves the idea of a king or a prince; and when they detect this idea residing with man they transfer it to the Lord and then perceive that which goes forth from the Lord and which is the Lord's in heaven, namely His Divine Truth going forth from His Divine Good.

[6] In the same prophet,

Asshur will fall by the sword, not of man (vir), and a sword, not of man (homo), will devour him. Also his rock will pass away by reason of terror, and his princes will be dismayed by the ensign. Isaiah 31:8-9.

This too refers to Egypt, by which the Church's factual knowledge once it has been perverted is meant. Reasoning based on known facts regarding Divine truths which leads to perversion and falsification is meant by 'Asshur', those perverted and falsified truths being 'his princes'. 'The sword by which Asshur will fall' is falsity engaged in conflict with truth and bringing about the devastation of it, 2799, 4499.

In the same prophet,

The strength of Pharaoh will become shame for you, and trust in the shadow of Egypt ignominy, when his princes will be in Zoan. Isaiah 30:3-4.

'Princes in Zoan' stands for truths that have been falsified, and so stands for falsities, as above.

[7] In the same prophet,

The spoon-bill and the duck will possess it, and the owl and the raven will dwell in it; and he will stretch over it the line of emptiness, and the plumb-line of a waste place. Let them call its nobles who are not there a kingdom, and all its princes will be nothing. Isaiah 34:11-12.

'The spoon-bill', 'the duck', 'the owl', 'the raven' stand for varieties of falsity which arise when Divine truths in the Word are rendered valueless. The desolation and laying waste of truth is meant by 'the line of emptiness and the plumb-line of a waste', while the falsities, which are primary truths so far as the people described here are concerned, are meant by 'its princes'. In the same prophet,

I will render the princes of holiness profane, and I will give Jacob to utter destruction and Israel to reproaches. Isaiah 43:28.

'Rendering the princes of holiness profane' refers to holy truths. The annihilation of the truth known to the Church - the internal Church and the external - is meant by 'giving Jacob to utter destruction and Israel to reproaches', 'Jacob' being the external Church and 'Israel' the internal, see 4286.

[8] In Jeremiah,

There will enter through the gates of this city kings and princes seated on the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they and their princes. Jeremiah 17:25.

Anyone who understands the Word at this point according to its historical sense cannot know that anything deeper and holier lies hidden within these words than the idea that kings and princes will enter through the gates of the city in chariots and on horses, from which he gathers that the duration of the kingdom is meant. But one who is aware of what is meant by 'city' in the internal sense, and what is meant by 'kings', 'princes', 'the throne of David', and 'riding in chariots and on horses' sees deeper and holier matters in this description. For 'the city', which is Jerusalem, means the Lord's spiritual kingdom, 2117, 3654; 'kings' Divine Truths, as shown above; 'princes' the primary features of truth; 'the throne of David' the Lord's heaven, 1888; and 'riding in chariots and on horses' the existence in the Church of a spiritual understanding, 2760, 2761, 3217.

[9] In the same prophet,

O sword against the Chaldeans and against the inhabitants of Babel, and against its princes and against its wise men! O sword against the liars! O sword against its horses and against its chariots! Jeremiah 50:35-37.

'Sword' stands for truth engaged in conflict with falsity, and for falsity in conflict with truth and laying it waste, 2799, 4499. 'The Chaldeans' stands for those who profane truths, and 'the inhabitants of Babel' for those who profane good, 1182, 1283, 1295, 1304, 1307, 1308, 1321, 1322, 1326, 1327 (end). 'Princes' stands for falsities, which to such people are primary truths. 'Horses' stands for the Church's possession of understanding, and 'chariots' for its doctrinal teaching, the laying waste of these being meant by 'a sword against its horses and against its chariots'.

[10] In the same prophet,

How in His anger the Lord covers the daughter of Zion with a cloud! The Lord has swallowed up - He has not spared - all the dwelling-places of Jacob. He has destroyed in His wrath the strongholds of the daughter of Judah; He has cast them down to the ground; He has profaned the kingdom and her princes. The gates have sunk into the ground; He has broken in pieces her bars; her king and princes are among the nations. Lamentations 1:1, 2, 9.

'The daughter of Zion and Judah' stands for the celestial Church, in this case for that Church when it has been destroyed. 'The kingdom' stands for the truths of doctrine there, 2547, 4691, 'king' for truth itself, and 'princes' for the primary features of this truth.

[11] In the same prophet,

Our skins have been blackened like an oven because of the storms of famine; they have ravished women in Zion, virgins in the cities of Judah. Princes have been hung up by their hands. Lamentations 5:10-12.

'Princes hung up by their hands' stands for the fact that truths have been made profane, for being hung up represented the damnation brought about by profanation. And because being hung up represented that profanation the command was also given that when the people went whoring after Baalpeor and worshipped their gods, the princes were to be hung up before the sun, Numbers 25:1-4, since 'to go whoring after Baalpeor and to worship their gods' was to make worship profane.

In Ezekiel,

The king will mourn, and the prince will be wrapped in stupidity, and the hands of the people of the land will be all atremble; I will deal with them in their way. Ezekiel 7:27.

Here likewise 'the king' stands for truth in general, and 'the prince' for the primary features of it.

[12] In the same prophet,

The prince who is in the midst of them will be carried on the shoulder under darkness and will go forth; they will dig through the wall to lead out through it; he will cover his face, so that with the eye he does not see the earth. Ezekiel 12:12.

Here it is quite evident that 'the prince' does not mean a prince but truth known to the Church. When the words 'will be carried on the shoulder under darkness' are used in reference to it, the meaning is that total power is used to bear away among falsities, 'darkness' meaning falsities. 'Covering the face' means that truth is completely out of sight; 'so that with the eye he does not see the earth' means that nothing of the Church is visible, 'earth' or 'land' meaning the Church, see 661, 1066, 1067, 1262, 1413, 1607, 1733, 1850, 2117, 4535. In Hosea,

The children of Israel will sit many days with no king and no prince, and no sacrifice, and no pillar, and no ephod, and no teraphim. Hosea 3:4.

[13] And in David,

All glorious is the king's daughter within, in her clothing with gold interweavings; in embroidered robes she will be led to the king. Instead of your fathers will be your sons; you will set them as princes in the whole earth. Psalms 45:13-14, 16.

'The king's daughter' means the Lord's spiritual kingdom. It is called His spiritual kingdom by virtue of the Lord's Divine truth, which in this instance is described by means of 'clothing consisting of gold interweavings and of embroidered robes'. 'Sons' are the truths of that kingdom which are derived from the Lord's Divine, which are going to be 'the princes', that is, the primary features of it.

'The prince' who is described - he and his possession in the New Jerusalem and in the new land - in Ezekiel 44:3; 45:7-8, 17; 46:8, 10, 12, 16, 18; 48:21, means, in general, truth that is derived from the Lord's Divine. For 'the New Jerusalem' in these places, 'the New Temple', and 'the new land' are used to mean the Lord's kingdom in heaven and on earth, which kingdom is described here in Ezekiel by means of representatives such as figure elsewhere in the Word.

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