4728. 'And let us throw him into one of the pits' means among falsities. This is clear from the meaning of 'pits' as falsities. The reason 'pits' means falsities is that people who are immersed in false assumptions are kept for a considerable time after death beneath the lower earth, until falsities have been removed from them and so to speak cast away to the sidelines. The places situated there are called pits. Those who go there are people who have to undergo vastation, dealt with in 1106-1113, 2699, 2701, 2704. ¹ This is why by 'pits' in the abstract sense falsities are meant. The lower earth is directly below the feet, and is a region that does not extend to any great distance all around. There the majority stay after death before being raised up into heaven. Mention is also made of this lower earth in various places in the Word. Below it are places where vastation takes place, and they are called pits. Beneath these places and extending to quite a distance all around are the hells.

[2] From this one may have some idea of what is meant by hell, the lower earth, or the pit, when these are mentioned in the Word, as in Isaiah,

You have been sent down to hell, to the sides of the pit; you are cast out from your sepulchre like an abominable branch, a garment of the slain, those pierced by the sword, who go down to the stones of the pit. Isaiah 14:15, 19.

This refers to the king of Babel, who represents the profanation of truth, for 'a king' represents truth, 1672, 2015, 2069, 3009, 4581, and 'Babel' profanation, 1182, 1326. 'Hell' is the place where the condemned are, and their state of condemnation is compared to 'an abominable branch' and 'a garment of the slain and of those pierced by the sword, who go down to the stones of the pit'. 'A garment of the slain' means truth that has been made profane; 'those pierced by the sword' means people among whom truth has been annihilated; 'the pit' means falsity that is to be laid waste, 'stones' the limits of that falsity, which are also therefore called 'the sides', for surrounding the pits there are the hells. 'A garment' means truth, 2576, and therefore 'a garment of the slain' means truth that has been made profane, for 'the blood' with which it has been stained means that which has been made profane, 1003. 'Those pierced by the sword' means those among whom truth has been annihilated, 4503. From all this it is also evident that without the internal sense one cannot by any means know what these things mean.

[3] In Ezekiel,

When I cause you to go down with those going down to the pit, to the people of old, and I cause you to dwell in the land of the lower ones, in the desolations from of old, so that you do not dwell with those going down to the pit, I will give beauty in the land of the living. Ezekiel 26:20.

'Those going down to the pit' stands for those who are made to undergo vastation. 'Not dwelling with those who go down to the pit' stands for being delivered from falsities.

[4] In the same prophet,

That none of all the trees by the waters may become arrogant because of their height nor send their trunk up among entangled boughs, and that none of all [the trees] that drink water may reach above them because of their height - all will be given over to death, to the lower earth in the midst of the sons of men, to those going down to the pit. At the sound of its crashing down I will make the nations tremble, when I cause him to go down into hell with those going down to the pit. And all the trees of Eden, the choicest and the most excellent of Lebanon, all those drinking water, will comfort themselves on the lower earth. Ezekiel 31:14, 16.

This refers to Egypt, meaning knowledge, which enters by itself into the mysteries of faith, that is, people who enter into them, 1164, 1165, 1186. What has been stated above makes plain the meaning of hell, the pit, and the lower earth mentioned at this point in the prophet. Nor from anywhere else than the internal sense can anyone see what is meant by 'the trees by the waters', 'the trees of Eden', 'the trunk sent up among entangled boughs', 'the choicest and the most excellent of Lebanon', and 'those drinking water'.

[5] In the same prophet,

Son of man, wail over the multitude of Egypt, and cause it and the daughters of magnificent nations to go down to the lower earth. with those going down into the pit. Asshur is there to whom graves have been given in the sides of the pit, all of them slain with the sword. Ezekiel 32:18, 22-23.

What these words mean may be seen from the explanations given above. In David,

Jehovah, You have caused my soul to come up out of hell; You have caused me to live, out of those going down to the pit. Psalms 30:3.

In the same author,

I have been reckoned with them going down to the pit; I have become as a man with no strength. You have put me in the pit of the lower ones, in darkness, in the depths. Psalms 88:4, 6.

In Jonah,

I had gone down to the bottoms of the mountains; the bars of the land were upon me for ever. Nonetheless You brought up my life from the pit. Jonah 2:6.

This refers to the Lord's temptations, and to deliverance from them. 'The bottoms of the mountains' means where the most condemned are, for the gloomy dark clouds which seemingly surround them are mountains.

[6] As regards 'the pit' meaning falsity laid waste, and in the abstract sense falsity itself, this is clear in addition in Isaiah,

They will be gathered together, in a gathering as the bound for the pit, and they will be shut up in the dungeon; but after a multitude of days they will be visited. Isaiah 24:22.

In the same prophet,

Where is the anger of the oppressor? He that leads out will hasten to open, and he will not die at the pit; nor will bread fail. Isaiah 51:13-14.

In Ezekiel,

Behold, I am bringing strangers upon you, the violent of the nations, who will draw their swords against the loveliness of your wisdom, and they will profane your splendour. They will bring you down into the pit, and you will die the deaths of those slain in the heart of the seas. Ezekiel 28:7-8.

This refers to the prince of Tyre, who means people under the influence of false assumptions.

[7] In Zechariah,

Exult greatly, O daughter of Zion! Make a noise, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King comes to you, just, meek, and riding on an ass, and on a colt, the young of she-asses. Through the blood of the covenant I will let out your bound ones from the pit in which there is no water. Zechariah 9:9, 11.

'The pit in which there is no water' stands for falsity that has no truth at all within it, as also in verse 24 below where it is said that they cast Joseph into the pit and the pit was empty, having no water in it. In David,

To You, O Jehovah, do I call; my rock, do not be silent to me, lest if You are silent to me I seem like those going down into the pit. Psalms 28:1.

In the same author,

Jehovah caused me to come up out of the pit of VASTATION, out of the miry clay, and He set my feet upon a rock. Psalms 40:2.

[8] In the same author,

Do not let the flow of waters rush over me, nor the deep swallow me up, nor the pit close its mouth over me. Psalms 69:15.

In the same author,

He sent His word and healed them, and rescued them from their pits. Psalms 107:20.

'From pits' stands for from falsities. In the same author,

Make haste, answer me, O Jehovah. My spirit is consumed. Do not hide Your face from me, lest I become like those going down into the pit. Psalms 143:7.

Because 'a pit' means falsity, and 'the blind' those who are immersed in falsities, 2383, the Lord therefore says,

Let them alone; they are blind leaders of the blind. For if the blind leads the blind both will fall into a pit. Matthew 15:13, 14; Luke 6:39.

Something similar to what was represented by Joseph was also represented by the prophet Jeremiah, who describes what happened to him as follows,

They took Jeremiah and cast him into the pit which was in the court of the guard, and let Jeremiah down by ropes into the pit where there was no water. Jeremiah 38:6.

That is, they cast Divine Truths away among falsities that had no truth at all within them.

Poznámky pod čarou:

4581. 'And he poured out a drink-offering onto it' means the Divine Good of Truth. This is clear from the meaning of 'a drink-offering' as the Divine Good of Truth, dealt with below. But first one must say what the good of truth is. The good of truth is that which elsewhere has been called the good of faith, which is love towards the neighbour, or charity. There are two universal kinds of good, the first being that which is called the good of faith, the second that which is referred to as the good of love. The good of faith is the kind of good meant by 'a drink-offering', and the good of love the kind meant by 'oil'. The good of love exists with those whom the Lord brings to what is good by an internal way, while the good of faith exists with those He brings to it by an external way. The good of love exists with members of the celestial Church, and likewise with angels of the inmost or third heaven, but the good of faith with members of the spiritual Church, and likewise with angels of the middle or second heaven. Consequently the first kind of good is called celestial good, whereas the second kind is called spiritual good. The difference between the two is, on the one hand, willing what is good out of a will for good and, on the other, willing what is good out of an understanding of it. The second kind of good therefore - spiritual good or the good of faith, which is the good of truth - is meant by 'a drink-offering'; but the first - celestial good or the good of love - is meant in the internal sense by 'oil'.

[2] Nobody, it is true, can see that such things as these were meant by 'oil' and 'a drink-offering' unless he does so from the internal sense. Yet anyone may see that things of a holy nature were represented by them, for unless those holy things were represented by them what else would pouring out a drink-offering or pouring oil onto a stone pillar be but some ridiculous and idolatrous action? It is like the coronation of a king. What else would the ceremonies performed on that occasion be if they did not mean and imply things of a holy nature - placing the crown on his head; anointing him with oil from a horn, on his forehead and on his wrists; placing a sceptre in his hand, as well as a sword and keys; investing him with a purple robe, and then seating him on a silver throne; and after that, his riding in his regalia on a horse, and later still his being served at table by men of distinction, besides many other ceremonies? Unless these represented things of a holy nature and were themselves holy by virtue of their correspondence with the things of heaven and consequently of the Church, they would be no more than the kind of games that young children play, though on a grander scale, or else like plays that are performed on the stage.

[3] But all those ceremonies trace their origin back to most ancient times when ceremonies were holy by virtue of their representation of things that were holy and of their correspondence with holy things in heaven and consequently in the Church. Even today they are considered holy, though not because people know their spiritual representation and correspondence but through the interpretation so to speak they put on symbols in common use. If however people did know what the crown, oil, horn, sceptre, sword, keys, purple robe, silver throne, riding on a white horse, and eating while men of distinction act as the servers, all represented and to what holy thing each corresponded, they would conceive of those things in an even holier way. But they do not know, and surprisingly do not wish to know; indeed that lack of knowledge is so great that the representatives and the meaningful signs included within such ceremonies and within every part of the Word have been obliterated from people's minds at the present day.

[4] The fact that 'a drink-offering' means the good of truth, or spiritual good, may be seen from the sacrifices in which drink-offerings were used. When sacrifices were offered they were made either from the herd or from the flock, and they were representative of internal worship of the Lord, 922, 923, 1823, 2180, 2805, 2807, 2830, 3519. To these the minchah and the drink-offering were added. The minchah, which consisted of fine flour mixed with oil, meant celestial good, or what amounted to the same, the good of love - 'the oil' meaning love to the Lord and 'the fine flour' charity towards the neighbour. But the drink-offering, which consisted of wine, meant spiritual good, or what amounted to the same, the good of faith. Both these therefore, the minchah and the drink-offering, have the same meaning as the bread and wine in the Holy Supper.

[5] The addition of a minchah and a drink-offering to a burnt offering or to a sacrifice is clear in Moses,

You shall offer two lambs in their first year, each day continually. One lamb you shall offer in the morning, and the second you shall offer between the evenings; and a tenth of fine flour mixed with beaten oil, a quarter of a hin, and a drink-offering of a quarter of a hin of wine, for the first lamb; and so also for the second lamb. Exodus 29:38-41.

In the same author,

You shall offer on the day when you wave the sheaf of the firstfruits of the harvest a lamb without blemish in its first year as a burnt offering to Jehovah, its minchah being two tenths of fine flour mixed with oil, and its drink-offering wine, a quarter of a hin. Leviticus 23:12-13, 18.

In the same author,

On the day when the days of Naziriteship are completed he is to offer his gift to Jehovah, sacrifices and also a basket of unleavened [loaves] of fine flour, cakes mingled with oil, and unleavened wafers anointed with oil, together with their minchah and their drink-offerings. Numbers 6:13-17.

In the same author,

Upon the burnt offering they shall offer a minchah of a tenth [of an ephah] of fine flour mixed with a quarter of a hin of oil, and wine as the drink-offering, a quarter of a hin - in one way upon the burnt offering of a ram, and in another upon that of a bull. Numbers 15:3-11.

In the same author,

With the continual burnt offering you shall offer a drink-offering, a quarter of a hin for a lamb; in the holy place pour out a drink-offering of wine to Jehovah. Numbers 28:6-7.

Further references to minchahs and drink-offerings in the different kinds of sacrifices are continued in Numbers 28:7-end; 29:1-end.

[6] The meaning that 'minchah and drink-offering' had may be seen in addition from the considerations that love and faith constitute the whole of worship, and that in the Holy Supper 'the bread' - described in the quotations above as fine flour mixed with oil - and 'the wine' mean love and faith, and so the whole of worship, dealt with in 1798, 2165, 2177, 2187, 2343, 2359, 3464, 3735, 3813, 4211, 4217.

[7] But when people fell away from the genuine representative kind of worship of the Lord and turned to other gods and poured out drink-offerings to these, 'drink-offerings' came to mean things that were the reverse of charity and faith, namely the evils and falsities that go with the love of the world; as in Isaiah,

You inflamed yourselves among the gods under every green tree. You have also poured out a drink-offering to them, you have brought a minchah. Isaiah 57:5-6.

'Inflaming oneself among the gods' stands for cravings for falsity - 'gods' meaning falsities, 4402 (end), 4544. 'Under every green tree' stands for the trust in all falsities which leads to those cravings, 2722, 4552. 'Pouring out a drink-offering to them' and 'bringing a minchah' stand for the worship of those falsities. In the same prophet,

You who forsake Jehovah, who forget My holy mountain, who set a table for Gad, and fill a drink-offering for Meni. Isaiah 65:11.

In Jeremiah,

The sons gather pieces of wood, and the fathers kindle fire, and the women knead dough to make cakes for the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink-offerings to other gods. Jeremiah 7:18.

[8] In the same prophet,

We will surely do every word that has gone out of our mouth, to burn incense to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink-offerings to her, as we did, we and our fathers, and our princes in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. Jeremiah 44:17-19.

'The queen of heaven' stands for all falsities, for 'the hosts of heaven' in the genuine sense means truths, and in the contrary sense falsities, and so in the same way do 'king' and 'queen'. 'Queen' accordingly stands for all [falsities] and 'pouring out drink-offerings to her' means worshipping them.

[9] In the same prophet,

The Chaldeans will burn the city, and the houses upon whose roofs they have burned incense to Baal and poured out drink-offerings to other gods. Jeremiah 32:29.

'The Chaldeans' stands for people whose worship involves falsity. 'Burning the city' stands for destroying and laying waste those whose doctrines teach falsity. Upon the roofs of the houses burning incense to Baal' stands for the worship of what is evil, 'pouring out drink-offerings to other gods' for the worship of what is false.

[10] In Hosea,

They will not dwell in Jehovah's land, but Ephraim will return to Egypt, and in Assyria they will eat what is unclean. They will not pour libations of wine to Jehovah. Hosea 9:3-4.

'Not dwelling in Jehovah's land' stands for not abiding in the good of love. 'Ephraim will return to Egypt' stands for the Church when its understanding will come to be no more than factual and sensory knowledge. 'In Assyria they will eat what is unclean' stands for impure and profane desires that are the product of reasoning. 'They will not pour libations of wine to Jehovah' stands for no worship based on truth.

[11] In Moses,

It will be said, Where are their gods, the rock in which they trusted, who ate the fat of the sacrifices, [who] drank the wine of their drink-offering? Let them rise up and help them! Deuteronomy 32:37-38.

'Gods' stands for falsities, as above. 'Who ate the fat of the sacrifices' stands for their destruction of the good belonging to worship, '[who] drank the wine of their drink-offering' for their destruction of the truth belonging to it. A reference to 'drink-offerings of blood' also occurs in David,

They will multiply their pains; they have hastened to another, lest I pour out their drink-offerings of blood, and take up their names upon My lips. Psalms 16:4.

By these 'drink-offerings' are meant profanations of truth, for in this case 'blood' means violence done to charity, 374, 1005, and profanation, 1003.