554. And their faces as men's faces, signifies that they seem to themselves to be spiritual affections of truth. This is evident from the signification of "faces," as being the interiors of the mind and affection (of which above, n. 412; and from the signification of "man," as being the spiritual affection of truth, and thus intelligence and wisdom (of which above, n. 280; and as the face is a type of man's interiors, "faces" have the same signification as the men themselves, namely, the affections of truth, but here that they seem to themselves to be affections of truth, and thus intelligent and wise, because it is said of the locusts that their faces appeared "as men's faces."

[2] The locusts appeared with such a face because of the strong persuasiveness in which sensual men are who are in falsities from evil, and who are signified by "locusts;" the persuasiveness itself presents such an appearance, but only before themselves and before such others as are also in falsities from evil, but not before the angels of heaven; and for the reason that angels are in the light of heaven, and whatever they see they see from that light, and the light of heaven, being Divine truth, dissipates everything fantastic that comes from persuasiveness. Sensual men appear thus to themselves because sensual men persuade themselves that they are more in truths from good than others are, although they are in falsities from evil; for they are unable to look inwardly from heaven at anything, but only outwardly from the world; those who see from the world alone see only from a delusive light, from which they suppose themselves to be more intelligent and wiser than others, not knowing what intelligence and wisdom are, or what they are from. From this persuasive faith is their belief that they are in the spiritual affection of truth; this therefore is signified by "the faces of the locusts seemed to be as men's faces."

[3] But this must be illustrated by experience in the spiritual world. All who are in the heavens are men in respect both to the face and to the rest of the body, for they are in the spiritual affection of truth, and the spiritual affection of truth is itself a man in form, because that affection is from the Lord, who alone is Man, and because from Him the universal heaven conspires to the human form; consequently angels are forms of their affections, and these also are apparent in their faces. (But these things are fully explained in the work on Heaven and Hell 59-102.) But those who are in hell, where all are external and sensual, because they are in falsities from evil, while they also appear to themselves in respect to the face to be men, so appear only amongst their own; but when they are looked at in the light of heaven they appear like monsters of direful face, and sometimes in place of the face only something hairy, or with a horrible grate-like set of teeth, and sometimes lurid like something dead, in which there is nothing living and human; for such are the forms of hatred, revenge, and cruelty, wherein is spiritual death, because they are in opposition to the life that is from the Lord. That among themselves they appear with a face like men is from fantasy and consequent persuasion. (But respecting these appearances see also in the work on Heaven and Hell 553.)

4335. In the Word 'those who are grinding' means those within the Church who are led to know the truth by an affection for good, and in the contrary sense those within the Church who are led to know it by an affection for evil, as may be seen from the following places: In Isaiah,

Come down and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babel; sit on the ground, without a throne, O daughter of the Chaldeans. Take a mill and grind flour; uncover your hair, bare your feet, uncover your thigh, pass through the rivers. Isaiah 47:1-2.

'The daughter of Babel' stands for those among whom externally things give the appearance of being holy and good but interiorly they are unholy and evil, 1182, 1326. 'The daughter of the Chaldeans' stands for those among whom externally things give the appearance of being holy and true, but interiorly they are unholy and false, 1368, 1816. 'Taking a mill and grinding flour' stands for producing teachings out of the truths which they pervert; for 'flour', being the product of wheat or of barley, means truths which are products of good, but in the contrary sense truths which they pervert so as to lead people astray. In Jeremiah,

I will banish from them the voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the sound of mills, and the light of the lamp. And this whole land will be a waste and desolation. Jeremiah 25:10-11.

[2] In John,

No craftsman of any craft will be found in Babylon any more; no sound of a mill will be heard in it any more; and the light of a lamp will not shine in it any more, and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride will not be heard in it any more. Revelation 18:21-23.

'No sound of a mill will be heard in Babylon any more' means that there will not be any truth. 'The light of the lamp will not shine any more' means that neither will there be any understanding of truth. In Lamentations,

They have ravished women in Zion, virgins in the cities of Judah. Princes have been hung up by their hands, the faces of the old men have not been honoured. The young men have been led away to grind at the mill, and the boys collapse under the wood. Lamentations 5:11-14.

'The young men have been led away to grind at the mill' stands for being led away to produce falsities by the use of truths, and so by the power of persuasion.

[3] In Moses,

Ah the firstborn in the land of Egypt will die, from Pharaoh's firstborn seated upon his throne, even to the servant-girl's firstborn who is behind the mill. Exodus 11:5.

'The firstborn of Egypt' stands for truths of faith which have been separated from the good of charity and therefore become falsities, 3325.

'The servant-girl's firstborn who is behind the mill' stands for the affection for such truth from which falsities are obtained. These were the things represented by such historical events.

[4] In the same author,

He shall not take as a pledge the mill or the milling stone, for they are the livelihood ¹ of him who pledges them. Deuteronomy 24:6.

This law was laid down because 'the mill' meant matters of doctrine and 'the milling stone' the truths that were an integral part of them and are called 'the livelihood of him who pledges them'. But for the spiritual meaning which 'mill' and 'milling stone' possess that law would obviously not have been given; nor would it have been said that they were 'his livelihood'.

[5] I have been shown that 'grinding' derives its spiritual meaning from the representatives which manifest themselves in the world of spirits. For I have seen people there who seemed to be grinding; these spirits, I have been told, mean those who gather large numbers of truths together not with any use in view, other than for the sake of their own pleasure. Because truths in that case are devoid of their own affection which originates in good, they do indeed look like truths to external appearance; but because there is no inner substance to them they are sheer fancies. But if evil is present within them truths are used to support that evil, and so are made falsities through that use of them.

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