427. Till we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads. That this signifies that those who are in truths from good must first be separated, is evident from the signification of sealing, which denotes to distinguish and separate, and of which we shall speak presently; from the signification of the servants of God, as denoting those who are in truths from good (concerning which see above, n.6); and from the signification of forehead, which denotes the good of love. The basis of this signification of the forehead is correspondency; for everything in man's body, both internal and external, corresponds to heaven, the whole heaven in the Lord's sight being as one man and so arranged as to correspond to each and all things in man. The whole face, where the organs of the sensations of sight, smell, hearing, and taste, are situated, corresponds to the affections and thence to the thoughts in general, the eyes corresponding to the understanding, the nostrils to perception, the ears to hearing and obedience, and the taste to the desire of knowing and of becoming wise. But the forehead corresponds to the good of love, from which all these proceed, because it forms the highest part of the face, and embraces at once the anterior and primary parts of the brain, whence are man's intellectual [powers]. Hence the Lord looks upon the angels in the forehead, and the angels look to the Lord with the eyes; the reason of this is that the forehead corresponds to love, from which the Lord looks upon them, while the eyes correspond to the understanding, from which they look to the Lord. For the Lord permits Himself to be seen by means of the influx of love into their understandings. Concerning this fact see Heaven and Hell 141, 151), and that the whole heaven collectively represents one man (n. 68 to 87); and that therefore there is a correspondence of all things of heaven with all things of man (n. 87-102). From these things it is evident that being sealed on their foreheads, signifies to be in the good of love to the Lord from the Lord, and by means of that to be distinguished and separated from those who are not in that love. For the Lord looks upon them in the forehead, and fills them with the good of love, from which they look to Him with thought from affection. Others cannot be looked upon by the Lord in the forehead, because they avert themselves from Him, and turn to that opposite love, which fills and attracts them. That every one in the spiritual world, and also man as to his spirit, turns the face to the ruling love may be seen in Heaven and Hell 17, 123, 142-144, 153, 552).

[2] That to be sealed does not mean to be sealed, but to be brought into that state in which their quality can be known, so that they may be conjoined with those who are in a similar state, and separated from those who are in a dissimilar state, is signified by being marked, and by a mark, in the following passages.

In Ezekiel:

"And Jehovah said," to the man clothed in linen, "Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that mourn and that sigh for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof. Go ye through the city after him, and smite; let not your eye spare, neither have ye pity; but come not near any man upon whom is the mark" (9:4-6).

The subject is here the separation of the good from the evil. To be marked (or sealed) on the forehead has the same signification as in this passage in the Apocalypse, that is, to be distinguished and separated from the evil, and conjoined to the good. The casting-out of the evil, and their condemnation are also afterwards described. Those who are in good are described by the men that cry and sigh for all the abominations done in the midst of the city of Jerusalem. Those who mourn and sigh over the abominations are such as are not in evils and the falsities therefrom; mourning and sighing over them signify aversion and grief on account of them, Jerusalem denoting the church, and the city doctrine. The casting-out of the evil and their condemnation are afterwards described, by the command that they should go through the city after him and smite, and that their eye should not spare. To smite and to kill signify to be damned, for spiritual death is damnation, and is signified in the Word by natural death.

[3] In Isaiah:

"He will come to gather together all nations and tongues, that they may come and see my glory. And I will set a mark among them" (66:18, 19).

These words are spoken concerning the Lord, and the new church to be established by Him, and therefore concerning the new heaven and the new earth, as is evident from verse 22 of that chapter. By gathering together all nations and tongues, the same is signified as by gathering together the elect from the four winds (Matthew 24:31). To gather together signifies to call His own to Himself; nations signify those who are in good, and tongues, those who are in a life according to doctrine. To come and see the glory of the Lord, signifies to be enlightened in Divine Truth, and thus to experience heavenly joy; for the glory of the Lord signifies the Divine Truth, and the illustration and joy which it affords. To set a mark among them, signifies to distinguish and separate them from the evil, and conjoin them to the good.

[4] It is said of Cain, that Jehovah set a mark upon him, lest any should kill him (Genesis 4:15). Unless this interior fact of the Word be known, that by persons named in its historical parts, things are meant in the spiritual sense, or that every person there mentioned represents, and consequently signifies, something pertaining to the church and heaven, nothing further can be known than the literal history, which appears to be no more divine than other histories. But in every detail of the Word, both prophetical and historical, there is the Divine, which does not appear in the letter, except to those who are in the spiritual sense and acquainted with it. The interior spiritual fact contained in the history of Cain and Abel is that Abel represents the good of charity, and Cain the truth of faith; and this good and this truth are also called brethren in the Word. The truth of faith is called the first-born because truths which are afterwards to become the truths of faith, are first acquired and stored up in the memory, in order that good may take thence as from a storehouse what it can conjoin to itself, and thus cause them to be truths of faith. For truth is not of faith until man wills it and does it, and as far as man does this, the Lord conjoins him to Himself and to heaven, and from love flows in with good, and by means of good into the truths which he has acquired from his childhood, conjoins them to good, and causes them to become truths of faith. Before this has taken place, they are nothing more than cognitions and knowledges (scientiae), and these he believes as yet only in the same way that he believes what he hears from others which he can give up if he afterwards think differently, therefore this faith is the faith of another in himself, and not his own, and yet a man's faith must be his own, in order that it may remain with him after death. It becomes his own when he sees, wills, and does what he believes, for then it enters into the man, moulds his spirit, and becomes an integral part of his affection and thought; for the spirit of man in its essence is nothing else but his own affection and thought.

[5] That which is of affection is called good, and that which is of thought therefrom is called truth; nor does a man believe anything to be the truth, but that which belongs to his affection, that is, to the interior affection of his spirit. Wherefore what a man thinks from interior affection is his belief, and nothing else that he retains in his memory, whether from the Word or the doctrine of the church, from reading, from preaching, or from his own understanding, is faith, although he thinks that it is, and although it is declared and believed to be so at this day. This primary and first-begotten [principle] is represented and signified by Cain in the above historical part of the Word, for Cain was the first-begotten. When it is believed that such a faith saves man, and not the willing and doing of it, or a life according to it, then there arises the baneful heresy that faith alone saves whatever the life may be, and that there may be faith without life, although this is not faith, but merely knowledge exteriorly in the memory, and not interiorly in the life. If this be called faith it is historical faith, which is the faith one man has from another, and has no life in itself, until he who possesses it sees for himself that what he has received is true, and this first takes place when he wills and does it. When that heresy prevails, then charity, which is the good of life, is annihilated, and at length rejected as not essential to salvation. This was represented by Cain's slaying his brother Abel; for faith and charity or the truth of faith and the good of charity, are called brethren in the Word, as stated above.

[6] That Jehovah set a mark upon Cain lest he should be slain, signifies that he distinguished him from others, and preserved him, because saving faith cannot exist, unless historical faith precede, which is the knowledge of the things of the church and of heaven derived from others, in a word, the knowledge of such things as shall afterwards pertain to faith. For unless a man from his infancy received truths from the Word, from the doctrine of the church, or from preaching, he would possess none, and the Lord cannot act upon such a man, nor can he receive influx out of heaven from the Lord, for He operates and inflows by means of good into the truths which a man possesses and conjoins them, and thus makes charity and faith one. From these considerations it is evident what is signified by Jehovah setting a mark on Cain, lest any one should slay him, and by him that should slay him being avenged sevenfold. Besides, those who are only in historical faith, that is, in the knowledge of such things as belong to faith, - and such persons and faith are signified by Cain, - are also preserved, because they can teach others truths from the Word, for they teach from the memory.

[7] Since the forehead corresponds to the good of love, and therefore the Lord from His Divine Love looks upon angels and men in the forehead, as stated above, it was commanded that a plate of pure gold, upon which was engraved "Holiness to Jehovah," should be placed upon the mitre of Aaron on the forehead, concerning which it is thus written in Moses:

"And thou shalt make a plate of pure gold, and grave upon it, like the engravings of a signet, Holiness to Jehovah. And thou shalt put it on a thread of purple, upon the forefront of the mitre it shall be, that it may be upon Aaron's forehead, and it shall be always upon his forehead, that they may be accepted before Jehovah" (Exodus 28:36-38).

For Aaron, as the chief priest, represented the Lord as to the good of Divine Love, and therefore his garments represented such things as proceed from that love. The mitre represented intelligence and wisdom, and the forefront of it, love, from which are intelligence and wisdom, and so the plate of pure gold, upon which "Holiness to Jehovah" was engraved, was there placed upon a thread of purple. The pure gold of which the plate was made signifies the good of celestial love; the purple forming the thread upon which the plate was put, signifies the good of spiritual love, and spiritual love is the love of truth; the engraving of a signet signifies continuance to eternity; holiness to Jehovah signifies the Lord as to the Divine Human, from which every thing holy of heaven and of the church proceeds. These were upon the front of the mitre which was on the head of Aaron, because the mitre like the head, signifies Divine Wisdom, and the forehead, the Divine Good of Love. Aaron represented the Lord as to the good of love, as may be seen in the Arcana Coelestia 9806, 9946, 10017). "Purple" signifies the love of truth (n. 9466, 9687, 9833); and the mitre signifies intelligence and wisdom (n. 9827).

[8] Since the forehead signifies the good of love, the Israelites were therefore commanded to bind upon their foreheads the precept concerning love to Jehovah.

Thus in Moses:

"And thou shalt love Jehovah thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And thou shalt bind these words for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be for frontlets before thine eyes" (Deuteronomy 6:5, 8; 11:18; Exodus 13:9, 16).

It is said, that they should be for frontlets before the eyes, to represent the fact that the Lord looks upon angels and men in the forehead, because from Divine Love, and gives to angels and men the power to see Him from intelligence and wisdom, for the eyes signify the understanding. All man's understanding also is from the good of his love, and according to that which he receives from the Lord. That they should also bind them upon the hand represented the ultimates, because the hands are the ultimates of the powers of man's soul; therefore upon the forehead and upon the hand signifies in primaries and in ultimates. Primary and ultimate signify all, as may be seen above (n. 417). This precept was bound in this manner, because on it hang all the law and the prophets, that is the whole Word, consequently all things of heaven and of the church. That the law and the prophets hang on this precept, the Lord teaches in Matthew (22:35-38, 40). From this it is evident why kings at their coronation were in former times and are to-day anointed with oil upon the forehead and upon the hand. For kings formerly represented the Lord as to Divine Truth, and because this is received in the good of love which flows in from the Lord, therefore anointing was performed upon the forehead and upon the hand. The oil also, with which they were anointed, signifies the good of love. Therefore kings in the Word signify those who are in truths from good, and in an abstract sense truths from good; as may be seen above (n. 31). From these considerations it is clear what a sign or mark upon the forehead means, as mentioned here and in other passages in the Apocalypse (9:4; 14:1; 22:3, 4).

[9] But on the other hand, the forehead signifies the evil of love which is opposite to the good of love, and therefore what is hard, obstinate, shameless and infernal. Thus in Isaiah, "hardness" is described in these words:

"Thou art hard, for thy neck is an iron sinew, and thy forehead brass" (48:4).

In Ezekiel "obstinacy."

"The house of Israel will not hearken unto me; for all the house of Israel are of an obstinate forehead and hard of heart" (3:7).

In Jeremiah "shamelessness."

"Thou hadst a harlot's forehead, thou refusedst to be ashamed" (Jeremiah 3:3).

"Infernal" in the Apocalypse (13:16; 14:9-11; 16:2; 17:5; 19:20; 20:4). For as the good of love is celestial, and therefore gentle, patient, and modest, so the evil opposite to that good is infernal, hard, obstinate, and shameless.

9954. 'And you shall anoint them' means a representative sign of the Lord in respect of the good of love. This is clear from the meaning of 'anointing' as consecrating to serve as a representative sign, dealt with in 9474. The reason why to serve as a representative sign of the Lord in respect of the good of love is meant, or what amounts to the same thing, to serve as a representative sign of the good of love that comes from the Lord, is that 'oil', which was used to carry out anointing, means the good of love, 886, 4582, 4638, 9780. It is of interest to know what is implied in all this, since anointing has remained in practice from ancient times down to the present day (monarchs are anointed), and anointing is held to be holy today in just the same way as it was in former times. It was among the ancients - in whose times every act of worship involved the use of representative signs, that is to say, of such things as served to represent realities of a more internal nature, which are those of faith and love derived from the Lord and offered back to Him, thus which are Divine - that the practice of anointing came in; it came in because 'the oil' that was used to carry out the anointing was a sign of the good of love. For the ancients knew that the good of love was the essential reality which gives life to everything constituting the Church and worship. That good is the Essential Being (Esse) of life; for the Divine flows in by way of the good of love with a person and composes his life - heavenly life when truths are received within good. From this it is evident what anointing represented, and that because of its representation objects which had been anointed were called holy and also held to be holy. Such objects served the Church to represent Divine and heavenly realities, and in the highest sense the Lord Himself, who is Good itself, thus to represent the good of love which comes from Him, and also the truth of faith, to the extent that this has life from the good of love. This now explains why in ancient times they anointed stones set up as pillars, and also weapons of war, such as shields; later on the altar and all its vessels, as well as the tent of meeting and everything in it; and in addition those who were to serve in the priestly office, and their garments, also prophets, and at length kings, who were therefore called Jehovah's Anointed. It also became a common practice to anoint oneself and others to bear witness to gladness of mind and goodwill.

[2] 1. They anointed stones set up as pillars

This is clear in the Book of Genesis,

In the morning Jacob rose up early, and took the stone which he had placed as his headrest, and placed it as a pillar and poured oil on the top of it. Genesis 28:18.

The reason why stones were anointed in this manner was that truths were meant by 'stones', and truths devoid of good do not have the life of heaven, that is, life from the Divine, within them. When therefore stones had been anointed with oil they represented truths oiled with good, and in the highest sense Divine Truth emanating from the Lord's Divine Good, and so represented the Lord Himself, who was consequently called The Stone of Israel, 6426.

Truths are meant by 'stones', see 643, 1298, 3720, 3769, 3771, 3773, 3789, 3798, 6426, 8941, 9476.

They are in like manner meant by 'pillars', 3727, 4580, 9388, 9389.

'Anointing pillars' means causing truths to be oiled with good, thus to be the truths of good, and so to exist as good, 3728, 4090, 4582.

The fact that stones set up as pillars were held to be holy is clear in the same chapter of Genesis, where it says,

Jacob called the name of that place Bethel, and said, If I come back in peace to my father's house, this stone which I have placed as a pillar will be God's house. Genesis 28:19, 21-22.

Bethel is [a name meaning] God's house, and God's house is the Church, also heaven, and in the highest sense it is the Lord Himself, 3720.

[3] 2. They anointed weapons of war, such as shields

This is clear in Isaiah,

Rise up, O princes, anoint the shield. Isaiah 21:5.

And in the second Book of Samuel,

The shield of heroes was defiled, the shield of Saul was not anointed with oil. 2 Samuel 1:21.

The reason why weapons of war were anointed was that they were a sign of truths engaged in conflict against falsities, truths oiled with good being what prevail over them, but not truths devoid of good. When weapons of war had been anointed therefore they represented truths emanating from good that comes from the Lord, thus truths which the Lord Himself, when present with people, employs to fight on their behalf against falsities arising from evil, that is, against the hells. Regarding 'weapons of war', that they mean truths engaged in conflict against falsities, see 1788, 2686. For in the Word 'war' means spiritual conflict, 1664, 2686, 8273, 8295, and 'enemies' the hells, in general evils and falsities, 2851, 8289, 9314.

[4] 3. They anointed the altar and all its vessels, also the tent of meeting and everything in it

This is clear in Moses,

Jehovah said to Moses, You shall anoint the altar and sanctify it. Exodus 29:36.

In the same author,

You shall make the holy anointing oil, ¹ with which you shall anoint the tent of meeting, and the ark of the Testimony, and the table and all its vessels, and the lampstand and all its vessels, and the altar of incense, and the altar of burnt offering and all its vessels, and the laver and its base. Thus you shall sanctify them, that they may be most holy. Everyone who touches them will make himself holy. Exodus 30:25-29.

In the same author,

You shall take the oil of anointing, and anoint the dwelling-place and all that is in it, and sanctify it and all its vessels, that it may be holy. You shall also anoint the altar of burnt offering and all its vessels, and make the altar holy, that the altar may be most holy; and you shall anoint the laver and its base, and sanctify it. Exodus 40:9-11.

In the same author,

Moses anointed the dwelling-place and everything that was in it. After this he sprinkled some of the oil over the altar and all its vessels, and the laver and its shaft, to sanctify them. Leviticus 8:10-12; Numbers 7:1.

[5] The reason why the altar had to be anointed, also the dwelling-place and everything there, was that they might represent the Divine and holy things of heaven and of the Church, consequently the holy things of worship. They could not have represented these things unless they had been consecrated to do so by something such as served to represent the good of love. For the Divine comes in through the good of love, and through this good is present in heaven and in the Church, and therefore also in worship. Without that good the Divine cannot come in or be present, only what composes the human self, and with that self hell, and with hell evil and falsity; for the human self is nothing else. From this it is evident why anointing was effected by the use of oil; for 'oil' in the representative sense is the good of love, see 886, 4582, 4638, 9780; the altar was the chief representative of the Lord, and consequently of worship springing from the good of love, 2777, 2811, 4489, 4541, 8935, 8940, 9388, 9389, 9714; and the dwelling-place with the ark in it was the chief representative of heaven in which the Lord was present, 9457, 9481, 9485, 9594, 9596, 9632, 9784. As regards the human self or proprium, that it consists of nothing but evil and falsity, thus nothing but hell, 210, 215, 694, 874-876, 987, 1047, 3812 (end), 5660, 8480, 8941, 8944; and in the measure that what composes the human self is removed, the Lord can be present, 1023, 1044, 4007 (end).

[6] 4. They anointed those who were to serve in the priestly office, and their garments

This is clear in Moses,

Take the oil of anointing, and you shall pour it over Aaron's head, and you shall anoint him. Exodus 29:7; 30:30.

In the same author,

Clothe Aaron with the holy garments, ² and you shall anoint him and make him holy, that he may serve Me in the priestly office. And you shall anoint his sons, as you anointed the father; and it shall be, that their anointing may make them an everlasting priesthood throughout their generations. ³ Exodus 40:13-15.

In the same author,

Moses poured some of the oil over Aaron's head, and anointed him, to make him holy. Then he took some of the oil of anointing and some of the blood which was on the altar, and sprinkled it over Aaron, over his garments, over his sons, and over the garments of his sons with him, and sanctified Aaron, his garments, his sons also, and the garments of his sons with him. Leviticus 8:12, 30.

[7] The reason why Aaron had to be anointed, and his sons had to be anointed, also their actual garments, was that they might represent the Lord in respect of Divine Good, and in respect of Divine Truth emanating from that Good, Aaron representing the Lord in respect of that Divine Good and his sons in respect of the emanating Divine Truth, and in general that the priesthood might represent the Lord in respect of all the work of salvation. They had to be anointed in their garments, Exodus 29:29, because Aaron's garments represented the Lord's spiritual kingdom lying adjacent to His celestial kingdom. The celestial kingdom is where the good of love to the Lord derived from the Lord reigns, so that the flow of the Divine into the spiritual kingdom is accomplished by way of the good of love. This was why being consecrated to serve as a representative sign was accomplished by the use of oil, which in the spiritual sense is the good of love.

Aaron represented the Lord in respect of Divine Good, see 9806.

His sons represented the Lord in respect of Divine Truth emanating from Divine Good, 9807.

The priestly office in general represented the Lord in respect of all the work of salvation, 9809.

Aaron's garments represented the Lord's spiritual kingdom lying adjacent to His celestial kingdom, 9814.

His sons' garments represented the things that emanate from there, 9946, 9950.

The good of love to the Lord reigns in the celestial kingdom, see the places referred to in 9277.

[8] Since being consecrated to serve as a representative sign was accomplished by means of anointing, and since Aaron and his sons represented the Lord and what comes from Him, the holy things of the children of Israel - that is, the gifts which they presented to Jehovah, called 'heave offerings' - were given to Aaron and his sons; and they are spoken of as 'the anointing' and also as 'for the anointing', ⁴ meaning the representation or for the representation of the Lord, and what comes from Him, as is clear from the following in Moses,

The breast of the wave offering, and the flank of the heave offering I have received from the children of Israel, from the sacrifices of peace offerings; I have given them to Aaron and his sons. This is the anointing of Aaron and the anointing of his sons from the fire offerings to Jehovah, which I decreed to give them, on the day they were anointed, ⁵ from among the children of Israel. Leviticus 7:34-36.

And elsewhere in the same author,

Jehovah spoke to Aaron, Behold, I have given you charge of My heave offerings, even all the holy things of the children of Israel; I have given them to you for the anointing, and to your sons, as a statute forever. Every offering of theirs, even every minchah of theirs, even every sacrifice of sin offering and guilt offering, every wave offering of the children of Israel, all the best ⁶ of pure oil, and all the best ⁶ of the new wine and the grain, their firstfruits which they will give to Jehovah I have given to you. Also every devoted thing in Israel, everything opening the womb, thus every heave offering of holy things [shall be yours]. You shall not have an inheritance in their land, nor shall any portion be yours in their midst. I am your portion and your inheritance in the midst of the children of Israel. Numbers 18:8-20.

From these quotations it is evident that 'the anointing' means the representation, for it was through being anointed that they were consecrated to serve as a representative sign, a sign which meant that everything in heaven and the Church is made holy through the good of love which comes from the Lord, and that the good of love is the Lord as He is present with them. This explains why it says that Jehovah is his ⁷ 'portion and inheritance'.

[9] 5. They also anointed prophets

This is clear in the first Book of Kings,

Jehovah said to Elijah, Anoint Hazael as king over the Syrians, and anoint Jehu as king over Israel, and anoint Elisha as prophet in place of you. 1 Kings 19:15-16.

And in Isaiah,

The Spirit of the Lord Jehovih is upon Me, therefore Jehovah has anointed Me to bring good tidings to the poor. He has sent Me to bind up the broken in heart, to preach liberty to the captives. Isaiah 61:1.

The reason why prophets were anointed was that prophets represented the Lord in respect of teachings that present Divine Truth, thus in respect of the Word since this consists of teachings that present Divine Truth. Regarding prophets, that they represented the Word, see 3652, 7269, Elijah and Elisha in particular, 2762, 5247 (end), 9372. And - as the Lord Himself teaches in Luke 4:18-21 - the Lord in respect of His Divine Human is the One who is being represented, and so is the One who 'He whom Jehovah has anointed' is used to mean.

[10] 6. Afterwards they anointed kings, and these were called Jehovah's Anointed

This is clear from a large number of places in the Word, such as 1 Samuel 10:1; 15:1, 17; 16:3, 6, 12; 24:6, 10; 26:9, 11, 16, 23; 2 Samuel 1:16; 2:4, 7; 5:3; 19:21; 1 Kings 1:34, 45; 19:15-16; 2 Kings 9:3; 11:12; 23:30; Lamentations 4:20; Habakkuk 3:13; Psalms 2:2, 6; 20:6; 28:8; 45:7; 84:9; 89:20, 38, 51; 132:17; and elsewhere. The reason why they anointed kings was in order that they might represent the Lord in respect of judgement based on Divine Truth. Consequently truths that are God's are meant in the Word by 'kings', see 1672, 2015, 2069, 3009, 3670, 4575, 4581, 4966, 5044, 5068, 6148.

[11] Kings were called Jehovah's Anointed, and therefore it was utterly forbidden to do them harm, because 'Jehovah's Anointed' is used to mean the Lord's Divine Human, though in the sense of the letter the title is applied to a king who had been anointed with oil. While He was in the world the Lord was Divine Truth itself as to His Humanity, and Divine Good itself as to that Essential Being (Esse) constituting the life within Him, the equivalent of which in people is called the soul from the father; for He was conceived from Jehovah. In the Word Jehovah is the Divine Good of Divine Love, and that Good is the Essential Being (Esse) of every human life. Consequently the Lord alone was 'Jehovah's Anointed' in all that He was and in all that He did (ipsa essentia et ipso actu); for Divine Good was within Him, and Divine Truth emanating from that Good was within His Humanity while He was in the world, see the places referred to in 9194, 9315(end). Earthly kings were not Jehovah's Anointed, but served to represent the Lord, who alone was Jehovah's Anointed; and this was why, because they had been anointed, it was utterly forbidden to do harm to earthly kings. But the anointing of earthly kings was accomplished by the use of oil, whereas the anointing of the Lord in respect of His Divine Human was accomplished by means of the actual Divine Good of Divine Love which oil represented. This is why He was called Messiah and Christ, Messiah meaning the Anointed in Hebrew, and Christ meaning the like in Greek, John 1:41; 4:25.

[12] From all this it becomes clear that where the term 'Jehovah's Anointed' is used in the Word the Lord is meant, as in Isaiah,

The Spirit of the Lord Jehovih is upon Me, therefore Jehovah has anointed Me to bring good tidings to the poor. He has sent Me to bind up the broken in heart, to preach liberty to the captives. Isaiah 61:1.

The truth that the Lord in respect of His Divine Human is the One whom Jehovah had anointed is clear in Luke, where the Lord declares it explicitly in the following words,

The book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Jesus, and He unrolled the book, and found the place where it was written, The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me. He has sent Me to bring good tidings to the poor, to heal the crushed at heart, ⁸ to preach good tidings of forgiveness to the bound, and of sight to the blind, to release the wounded with forgiveness, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord. After this He rolled up the book, gave it to the minister, and sat down. The eyes however of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. He began to say to them, Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your ears. Luke 4:17-21.

[13] In Daniel,

Know therefore and perceive that from the going forth of the Word to restore and to build Jerusalem until the Messiah, the Prince, there will be seven weeks. Daniel 9:25.

'Building Jerusalem' means establishing the Church, 'Jerusalem' being the Church, 3654. 'The Messiah, the Prince', or the Anointed One, is the Lord in respect of the Divine Human. In the same prophet,

Seventy weeks have been decreed to seal up vision and prophet, and to anoint the Holy of Holies. Daniel 9:24.

'Sealing up vision and prophet' means drawing to a close those things that have been declared in the Word regarding the Lord and fulfilling them. 'Anointing the Holy of Holies' refers to the Lord's Divine Human in which the Divine Good of Divine Love, or Jehovah, was present.

[14] 'Jehovah's Anointed' is again used to mean the Lord in the following places: In David,

The kings of the earth have set themselves, and the masters of the earth have taken counsel together, against Jehovah and against His Anointed. I have anointed My king over Zion, the mountain of My holiness. Psalms 2:2, 6.

'The kings of the earth' are falsities, and 'the masters' evils, that come from the hells, against which the Lord fought while He was in the world, and which He overcame and subdued. 'Jehovah's Anointed' is the Lord in respect of His Divine Human, for from this Human He fought them. 'Zion, the mountain of holiness' over which, it says, the Anointed will be king, is the celestial kingdom, which is governed by the good of love. This kingdom is the inmost part of heaven and the inmost of the Church.

[15] In the same author,

I have found My servant David; with the oil of holiness I have anointed him. Psalms 89:20.

By 'David' here the Lord is meant, as also elsewhere, see 1888. 'The oil of holiness' with which Jehovah anointed Him is the Divine Good of Divine Love, 886, 4582, 4638. The fact that the Lord is the One who is meant in this verse by 'David' is evident from other verses before and after it, for among much else they say,

You spoke in a vision regarding Your Holy One, I will set His hand in the sea, and His right hand in the rivers. He will cry to Me, You are My Father. I will also make Him the Firstborn, supreme over the kings of the earth. I will establish His seed forever, and His throne as the days of the heavens. Psalms 89:19, 25-29.

[16] The like occurs elsewhere in the same author,

In Zion I will make the horn of David to spring forth, I will make ready a lamp for My Anointed; His enemies I will clothe with shame, and upon Himself His crown will flourish. Psalms 132:17-18.

Here also the Lord is meant by 'David', as is evident from previous verses in the Psalm which say,

Behold, we heard of Him in Ephrathah, we found Him in the fields of the wood. We will enter His dwelling-places, we will bow down at His footstool. Your priests will be clothed with righteousness, and Your holy ones will shout for joy. For Your servant David's sake do not turn away the face of Your Anointed. Psalms 132:6-10.

From these verses it becomes clear that the Lord in respect of His Divine Human is meant by 'David, Jehovah's Anointed'.

[17] In Jeremiah,

They pursued us over the mountains, they lay in wait for us in the wilderness. The Breath ⁸ of our nostrils, Jehovah's Anointed, was caught in their pits, of whom we had said, In His shadow we shall live among the nations. Lamentations 4:19-20.

Here also 'Jehovah's Anointed' is used to mean the Lord, for the subject is the assault made on Divine Truth by falsities and evils, meant by their pursuing over the mountains and lying in wait in the wilderness. 'The Breath of nostrils' is real heavenly life which comes from the Lord, 9818.

[18] From all this it may now be recognized why it was utterly forbidden to do harm to Jehovah's Anointed, as is again evident from the Word, for example in the first Book of Samuel,

David said, Jehovah forbid me that I should do this thing to my master, Jehovah's Anointed, and raise ¹⁰ my hand against him, since he is Jehovah's Anointed. 1 Samuel 24:6, 10.

And in another place,

David said to Abishai, Do not destroy him, for who can raise ¹¹ a hand against Jehovah's Anointed and be innocent? 1 Samuel 26:9.

In the second Book of Samuel,

David said to him who said he had killed Saul, Your blood is on your own head, because you have said, I have killed Jehovah's Anointed. 2 Samuel 1:16.

And in another place,

Abishai said, Shall not Shimei be killed on account of this, that he cursed Jehovah's Anointed? 2 Samuel 19:21.

Shimei was therefore put to death by Solomon's command, see 1 Kings 2:36-end.

[19] 7. It became a common practice to anoint oneself and others, to bear witness to gladness of mind and goodwill

This is clear in the following places: In Daniel,

I, Daniel, was mourning for three weeks. I did not eat pleasant bread, and flesh and wine did not come to my mouth, and I did not anoint myself at all, until the three whole weeks were completed. Daniel 10:2-3.

In Matthew,

When you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you do not appear to people to be fasting, but to your Father in secret. Matthew 6:17-18.

'Fasting' means being in mourning. In Amos,

... who drink from bowls of wine, and anoint themselves with the best of oils, but feel no grief over the ruin of Joseph. Amos 6:6.

In Ezekiel,

I washed you with water, and washed away the blood from upon you, ¹² and anointed you with oil. Ezekiel 16:9.

This refers to Jerusalem, by which the Church is meant. In Micah,

You will tread olives but not anoint yourself with oil. Micah 6:15.

In Moses,

You will have olive trees within all your borders, but you will not anoint yourself with oil, because your olive will be shaken off. Deuteronomy 28:40.

In Isaiah,

To give them beauty ¹³ for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning. Isaiah 61:3.

In David,

Your God has anointed you with the oil of gladness more than your companions. Psalms 45:7.

In the same author,

You spread a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You make my head fat with oil. Psalms 23:5.

In the same author,

You will exalt my horn like that of a unicorn; I will grow old with green oil. ¹⁴ Psalms 92:10.

In the same author,

Wine gladdens the human heart, to cheer the face with oil. Psalms 104:15.

In Mark,

The disciples went out and anointed many sick people with oil, and healed them. Mark 6:13.

In Luke,

Jesus said to Simon, I entered your house, and you did not anoint My head with oil; but this woman has anointed My feet with ointment. Luke 7:44, 46.

[20] From all this it is evident that it became the practice to anoint themselves and others with oil. They did so not with 'the holy oil' with which priests, kings, the altar, and the tabernacle were anointed, but with ordinary oil because this oil was a sign of the gladness and bliss that belong to the good of love. 'The holy oil' however was a sign of Divine Good, about which it says, It shall not be poured on human flesh, and as to the composition of it, you shall not make any other like it; it shall be holy to you. The man who prepares any other like it, or who puts any of it on a foreigner, shall be cut off from his people. Exodus 30:32-33, 38.

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