587. And idols of gold and of silver and of brass and of stone and of wood, signifies false doctrinals that are from self-intelligence, that favor the loves of the body and of the world, and principles derived therefrom. This is evident from the signification of "idols," as being the falsities of doctrine, of religion, and of worship, which are from self-intelligence. But what "idols of gold, of silver, of brass, of stone, and of wood," signify in particular can be seen from the signification of "gold, silver, brass, stone, and wood;" "gold" signifies spiritual good, "silver" spiritual truth, "brass" natural good, "stone" natural truth, and "wood" sensual good. All these goods and truths enter into genuine doctrine, because such doctrine is both from the spiritual and from the natural sense of the Word. When a false doctrinal is confirmed by the spiritual things of the Word it becomes an idol of gold and an idol of silver; but when it is confirmed by the natural things of the Word, such as belong to the sense of its letter, it becomes an idol of brass and stone; and when it is confirmed by the mere sense of the letter it becomes an idol of wood; for both the interior or spiritual and the exterior or natural senses of the Word can be applied to confirm falsities, as can be seen from innumerable heresies which are all confirmed thereby.

[2] Falsities become confirmed when the genuine sense of the Word is not understood, and for the reason that self-loves and the principles derived therefrom are dominant, and when these are dominant man sees nothing from the light of heaven, but whatever he sees is from the light of the world separated from the light of heaven; and when the light of the world is separated from the light of heaven there is thick darkness in things spiritual. It is to be known that the sons of Israel took from Egypt and also from the nations round about the foul custom of worshiping idols; and as they were merely external men they also had that worship implanted in them from natural inclination, as can be seen from the idolatries of so many of the kings of Judah and Israel related in the Word, and also from Solomon himself who was the wisest of them; but still these idols which they made for themselves and worshiped, when they are mentioned in the Word, signify in the spiritual sense false doctrinals from self-intelligence, from which and according to which is worship.

[3] This signification of idols, too, has its cause from the spiritual world; there evil spirits who have framed for themselves falsities of doctrine are seen fashioning idols and marking them in various ways until they appear to be in a human form; they also make selections from various representatives and fit them together so as to cohere, and thus counterfeit that form in externals. It has been permitted me to witness the formation of such idols by leaders of the church, who have persuaded themselves that falsities are truths; and as they excelled in ingenuity they knew how to join the particulars together assiduously, and afterwards to clothe them. Such an idol I have seen made by the English, by which they represented that faith alone is the essential of salvation, and that it produces the goods of charity without any cooperation from man. Idols are formed in the spiritual world by those who are in falsities of doctrine that are from self-intelligence, because Divine truths, from which is the genuine doctrine of the church, induce upon angels the human form; for this reason also angels signify in the Word Divine truths; and for this reason falsities of doctrine that are confirmed from the Word are presented as idols in the human form; truths of the Word that are falsified and that are used as confirmations induce that form, but because the truths are falsified an idol is presented that has no life.

[4] That "idols, graven images, and molten images," signify the falsities of doctrine, of religion, and of worship, can be seen from the following passages in the Word. In Isaiah:

The artificer casteth a graven image, and the refiner spreadeth it over with gold and casteth chains of silver. He that is too impoverished for an oblation chooseth wood that will not rot; he seeketh unto him a wise artificer to prepare a graven image that shall not be moved (Isaiah 40:19, 20).

This describes how doctrine is fused and welded together by means of falsities, thus by means of such things as are from self-intelligence, for these are all falsities. The "artificer," the "refiner," and the "wise artificer," whom he seeketh unto him, mean one who fashions and forms such a doctrine. "To spread it over with gold" signifies that it may appear in the external form as good; "to cast chains of silver" signifies that falsities may fit together and appear as truths; "to choose wood that doth not rot, and to prepare a graven image that shall not be moved," signifies that the doctrine may be acknowledged and not seem to be false.

[5] In Jeremiah:

Every man has become foolish by knowledge; every refiner is put to shame by the graven image; for his molten image is a lie, and there is no breath in them; they are vanity, and a work of errors; in the time of their visitation they shall perish (Jeremiah 10:14, 15; 51:17, 18).

Because a "graven image" signifies the falsity of doctrine, of religion, and of worship, therefore it is said, "every man has become foolish by knowledge, and every refiner is put to shame by the graven image;" the "knowledge by which man becomes foolish" signifies self-intelligence, wherefore falsity therefrom is signified by "the graven image;" such falsity is also meant by "the molten image is a lie, vanity, and a work of errors." That there is no spiritual life in falsities, or in the things that are from self-intelligence, is meant by "there is no breath in them;" for life is solely in Divine truths, that is, in truths that are from the Lord, as He teaches:

The words that I speak unto you are spirit and are life (John 6:63).

[6] In Jeremiah:

He hath cut wood out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman with the axe. He doth deck it with silver and with gold; he doth fasten them with nails and with hammers, that it move not. They are rigid like a palm-tree, but they speak not; they must needs be borne, because they cannot go. They are both brutish and foolish; the wood is a teaching of vanities. Silver spread into plates is brought from Tarshish, and gold from Uphaz, the work of the workman and of the hands of the refiner; their garment is hyacinthine and purple; they are all the work of the wise. But Jehovah is the God of truth, He is the living God, and the King of an age (Jeremiah 10:3-5, 8-10).

That the "graven image" here means the falsity of doctrine, of religion, and of worship, fashioned and formed by the ingenious by means of self-intelligence, is evident from the particulars of this description when viewed in the spiritual sense. The self-intelligence by means of which it is cut out and formed is meant by "the work of the hands with the axe," and by "the work of the workman and of the hands of the refiner," and by "the work of the wise." That "the work of the hands of the workman and artificer" signifies what is from self-intelligence has been shown in the preceding article; the falsities that are from it are signified by "they are both brutish and foolish, the wood is a teaching of vanities;" that these have no life is signified by "they are rigid like a palm-tree, they speak not, they cannot go;" "to speak" and "to go" signify to live, and to live means to live spiritually. Confirmations from the Word are signified by "silver spread into plates brought from Tarshish," and by "gold from Uphaz," also by "hyacinthine and purple" which was their garment; "silver from Tarshish" signifies the truth of the Word, and "gold from Uphaz" the good of the Word, both falsified; "hyacinthine and purple" have a similar meaning. That every truth of doctrine, of religion, and of worship, is from Jehovah, that is, from the Lord, is meant by "Jehovah is the God of truth, the living God, the King of an age;" for the Lord is called "God" from Divine truth, and also "living," and "King."

[7] In Isaiah:

They that form a graven image are all of them vanity, and their most desirable things do not profit; and they are witnesses to themselves that they see not, and know not. For all his fellows shall be ashamed, and the workmen themselves. He fashioneth iron with the tongs, and worketh it in the coal, and strengthens ¹ it with sharp hammers, so he worketh it by the arm of his strength; yea, he is hungry until he hath no power, neither doth he drink water until he is exhausted. He fashioneth wood, he stretcheth out the line, and describeth it with a rule; he maketh it in its angles, and shapeth it by a circle, that he may make it in the form of a man, according to the beauty of man, to dwell in the house. To cut out for himself cedars, or he hath taken the box-tree or the oak; although it be for a man to burn, and he taketh of them to be warm, and also kindleth it to bake bread, yet he maketh a god and boweth himself down, he maketh of it a graven image and adoreth it. They know not nor discern, for they have forgotten so that their eyes do not see, and their hearts do not understand. And none taketh it into his heart, there is no knowledge or intelligence, neither doth he say, Is there not a lie in my right hand? (Isaiah 44:9-20).

This whole description of a "graven image" means the formation of doctrine from self-intelligence, and the particulars of the description signify the particulars of such formation. Why otherwise should there be in the Divine Word so extended a description of the mere formation of a graven image? That there is nothing but what is false, because it is from self-intelligence, is meant by "They that form a graven image are all of them vanity, and their most desirable things do not profit;" also by "they have no knowledge nor intelligence, neither doth he say, Is there not a lie in my right hand?" The self-intelligence out of which the falsity of doctrine is formed is described by "He fashioneth iron with the tongs, and worketh it in the coal by the arm of his power;" "to fashion iron with the tongs, and to work it in the coal," signifies to hammer out falsities that favor self-loves; to join falsities with falsities by means of fallacies that make them seem to be truths, is described by "he stretched out the line, and describeth it with a rule, he maketh it in its angles, he defineth it by a circle, that he may make it in the form of a man, according to the beauty of man, to dwell in the house;" "the form of a man" signifies an appearance of truth, and "the beauty of man," an appearance of intelligence therefrom, and "to dwell in the house" signifies an appearance of spiritual life therefrom. That from this there is no life of intelligence or of the perception of truth and good is signified by "They know not nor understand, their eyes do not see, and their hearts do not understand." It would be too lengthy to explain what each single thing signifies in particular in this description; it is only necessary that everyone shall be able to see that there is something signified more interior and wise than the mere formation of a graven image. Let it be known that in this description heavenly wisdom which is ineffable lies hidden, and that the angels are in this wisdom when these things are read by man, although the man thinks of nothing but a graven image and its formation; for there are here as many correspondences and as many arcana of wisdom therefrom as there are words.

[8] In Habakkuk:

What profiteth the graven image? For the maker thereof hath graven it; the molten image and the instructor of a lie? For the former of its lie trustest in it, since he maketh dumb gods. Woe unto him that saith to the wood, Awake; to the silent stone, Be watchful, it shall instruct! Behold, it is fixed with gold and silver, and there is no breath in the midst of it. But Jehovah is in the temple of His holiness (Habakkuk 2:18-20).

As a "graven image" means the falsity of doctrine, of religion, and of worship, in which there is nothing of spiritual life because it is from self-intelligence, it is said "What profiteth the graven image? For the maker thereof hath given it; the molten image and the instructor of a lie? in which the former of the lie trustest;" a "lie" signifying falsity, and "the instructor and former of a lie" signifying him who frames it; that there is no intelligence or life in it or from it is signified by "he maketh dumb gods, and there is no breath in the midst of it;" that every truth of doctrine, of the church, and of worship, is from the Lord alone is signified by "Jehovah is in the temple of His holiness;" "temple of holiness" meaning heaven, where and from which is Divine truth.

[9] In David:

Their idols are silver and gold, the work of the hands of man. They have a mouth but they speak not, eyes have they but they see not (Psalms 115:4, 5; 135:15, 16).

"Their idols are silver and gold" signifies external worship without internal, confirmed by the sense of the letter of the Word not understood, and also by the fallacies of the senses; "the work of the hands of man" signifies what is from self-intelligence (that "the work of the hands" means what is from self-intelligence, see in the preceding article). "They have a mouth but they speak not, eyes have they but they see not," signifies that from these there is no thought nor any understanding of truth.

[10] From self-intelligence nothing but falsity comes, because man's self [proprium] is nothing but evil, for it favors his own love and his own intelligence; such, therefore, do not seek truths for the sake of truths, but only for the sake of reputation, renown, glory, and gain, and when these are dominant heaven cannot flow in with its light and open the sight and enlighten, consequently they see like owls, moles, and bats, in the dark, according to these words in Isaiah:

In that day a man shall cast away the idols of his silver and the idols of his gold, which they made for themselves to bow down to the moles and to the bats (Isaiah 2:18, 20).

In Jeremiah:

A drought is upon her waters and they have become dry; for this is a land of graven images, and they boast of horrible things. Therefore the tziim and the ijim shall dwell there, and the daughters of the owl shall dwell therein (Jeremiah 50:38, 39).

"A drought upon her waters" signifies that there is no truth; "the tziim and the ijim" signify infernal falsities and evils, and "the daughters of the owl" signify the affections of falsity. This is said of the land of Chaldea, and of Babylon, which signify the profanations of truth and good by falsities that favor evils, which such frame for themselves for the sake of dominion.

[11] In Hosea:

They have made for themselves a molten image of their silver, idols in their intelligence, all of them the work of the artificers; those that sacrifice man kiss the calves (Hosea 13:2).

Because a "molten image" signifies a doctrinal from self-intelligence it is said, "They have made a molten image of their silver, idols in their intelligence, all of them the work of the artificers;" and because by means of it they destroy spiritual life and put on what is merely natural, it is said, "those that sacrifice man kiss the calves," "to sacrifice man" signifying to destroy spiritual life, and "to kiss the calves" signifying to become merely natural.

[12] In Isaiah:

Behold they are all an iniquity, their works are nothing; their molten images are wind and emptiness (Isaiah 41:29).

Evils of doctrine, of religion, and of worship, are signified by "they are all an iniquity, their works are nothing," and falsities by "their molten images are wind and emptiness;" "wind and emptiness" are predicated in the Word of falsities from self. In Jeremiah:

Why have they provoked Me to anger with their graven images and with the vanities of aliens? (Jeremiah 8:19).

"Vanities of aliens" also signify the falsities of religion, like as "graven images," therefore it is said, "with their graven images, with the vanities of aliens."

[13] In Ezekiel:

Every man of the house of Israel who shall make idols to ascend upon his heart, and shall put the stumbling block of iniquity before his faces, shall yet come to the prophet; shall I, Jehovah, answer him who cometh with a multitude of his idols? (Ezekiel 14:4).

Here, too, "idols" stand for the falsities of doctrine which are from self-intelligence; to accept these falsities and to acknowledge them is signified by "making idols to ascend upon his heart;" and to be affected by them and live according to them is signified by "putting the stumbling block of iniquity before his faces;" that to such the Lord cannot reveal the genuine truths of doctrine so long as they are in these falsities is signified by "if he shall come to the prophet, shall I, Jehovah, answer him who cometh with a multitude of his idols?" A "prophet" means one who teaches truths, and in the abstract sense the doctrine of genuine truth which is from the Lord; and "a multitude of idols" signifies falsities in abundance, for from one falsity assumed as a principle, falsities flow forth in abundance, together with falsities in a series from their connection; this is why they are called "idols," in the plural, and "a multitude of idols."

[14] In the same:

I will sprinkle clean waters upon you that ye may be cleansed from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols will I cleanse you (Ezekiel 36:25).

Because "idols" signify falsities of doctrine it is said, "I will sprinkle clean waters upon you;" "clean waters" signifying genuine truths, and "to sprinkle them upon them" signifies to purify from falsities; these falsities are also called "uncleannesses," because they are falsities from evil, and falsities producing evil.

[15] In Micah:

I will make Samaria into a heap of the field, and I will make its stones to flow down into the valley, and I will open its foundations. Then all her graven images shall be beaten to pieces, and all the hire of her whoredom shall be burned up with fire, and all their idols will I lay waste; for she hath gathered them from the hire of a harlot, therefore to the hire of a harlot shall they return (Micah 1:6, 7).

"Samaria when it became idolatrous" represented the church devastated in respect to the truths of doctrine and the goods of life, or destroyed by the falsities of doctrine and by the evils of life; devastation in respect to all the truths of the church is signified by "it shall be made into a heap of the field, and its stones shall flow down into the valley, and its foundations shall be opened;" "the field" meaning the church; "the heap of the field" its devastation; "the stones" the truths of the church, and "foundations" the natural truths upon which the church is founded; the complete devastation of these is signified by "the stones shall flow down into the valley, and the foundations shall be opened;" the destruction of the church by the falsities of doctrine is signified by "her graven images shall be beaten to pieces, and her idols laid waste;" "the hire of whoredom which shall be burned up with the fire," signifies the falsification of truth by applications to favor the loves of self and of the world.

[16] "Graven images," "molten images," and "idols," have a similar signification in the following passages. In Isaiah:

As My hand hath found the kingdoms of the idols and their graven images of Jerusalem and Samaria, shall I not, as I have done unto Samaria and her idols, so do to Jerusalem and her idols? (Isaiah 10:10, 11).

Ye shall judge unclean the covering of the graven images of thy silver, and the plating of the molten images of thy gold; thou shalt disperse them as a menstruous thing; thou shalt call it dung (Isaiah 30:22).

In that day a man shall cast away the idols of his silver and the idols of his gold, which your hands have made for you a sin (Isaiah 31:7).

Lest thou say, Mine idol hath done these things, and my graven image, and my molten image hath commanded them (Isaiah 48:5).

They shall be turned backward, they shall be ashamed with shame, that trust in a graven image, that say to a molten image, Ye are our gods (Isaiah 42:17).

A lion upon a watchtower said Babylon is fallen, is fallen; and all the graven images of her gods he hath broken unto the earth (Isaiah 21:8, 9).

In Ezekiel:

Your altars shall be destroyed, and your sun images shall be broken; and I will make your slain to fall before your idols. And I will lay the carcasses of the sons of Israel before their idols (Ezekiel 6:4, 5).

In Micah:

In that day I will cut off thy graven images and thy statues out of the midst of thee; that thou mayest no longer worship the work of thy hands (Micah 5:10, 13).

In Moses:

And I will cast your bodies upon the bodies of your idols, and My soul shall abhor you (Leviticus 26:30).

The graven images of their gods shall ye burn up with fire; thou shalt not covet the silver or gold that is on them to take it unto thee, for it is an abomination to thy God (Deuteronomy 7:25).

Cursed be he who shall make a graven and a molten image, an abomination unto Jehovah, the work of the hands of the artificer, and shall put it in a secret place (Deuteronomy 27:15).

[17] "Idols of gold, silver, brass, stone, and wood," have a similar signification as:

The gods of gold, of silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone, that king Belshazzar praised when he drank wine with his nobles and wives out of the vessels of gold and silver that were brought from the temple of Jerusalem; on account of which the handwriting appeared on the wall, and the king [Nebuchadnezzar] ² was himself driven out from man, and became like a beast (Daniel 5:1, et seq.).

"The vessels of gold and silver of the temple of Jerusalem" signified the holy goods and truths of the church; "the gods of gold, silver, brass, iron, wood, and stone, which the king of Babylon then praised," have a similar meaning as "idols" of the same, and these signify the evils and falsities of doctrine and of worship; "to praise" signifying to worship; "to drink out of the vessels of the temple of Jerusalem and at the same time to praise or worship those gods" signifies the profanation of good and truth by evils and falsities in worship; and because by profanation everything spiritual in man is destroyed, and man without the spiritual is not a man, so Nebuchadnezzar was driven away from man and became like a beast.

[18] Because an external without an internal must not be worshiped, but only an external from an internal, thus the internal in the external, it was forbidden to make any graven image in the likeness of anything living on the earth, in Moses:

Ye shall not make you a graven image, the shape of any similitude, the figure of male or female, the figure of any beast that is on the earth, the figure of any winged bird that flieth under heaven, the figure of anything that creepeth on the ground, the figure of any fish that is in the waters under the earth (Deuteronomy 4:16-18; 5:8).

This was prohibited because the Jewish nation, more than all other nations, was in externals without internals, and thus in the worship of all the external things that the nations called holy; and to worship external things other than those that represented heavenly things, which were the altar, the sacrifice upon it, the Tent of meeting, and the temple, was idolatrous. The Jewish worship of these, indeed, was also an idolatrous worship, but inasmuch as the church with them was a representative church their worship was accepted for the sake of the representation, although it did not affect them in respect to their soul, as can be seen from the various things shown respecting that nation in Arcana Coelestia (See what is collected in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem, n.248). And as the worship of an external anywhere else than where it was commanded, which was beside the tent in the desert and beside the temple and in the temple in Jerusalem, was the worship of the representative itself without any intuition of the thing represented, thus a worship of what is merely earthly apart from anything heavenly, therefore this was forbidden them, even to the extent that they should not make for themselves any graven images of such things; for the nature of that nation was such that as soon as they saw them made they worshiped them.

[19] That the idolatrous nations worshiped the images, not only of men but also of various beasts, birds, and creeping things, came from its having been handed down from the ancients that these objects signified things celestial and spiritual; as that "beasts" signified affections; "birds" the thoughts therefrom; and "creeping things" and "fishes" the same in the sensual-natural man. From this it came that when those who were in external worship without any internal heard that the holy things of heaven and the church were signified by these objects, they began to worship them; as the Egyptians, and from them the sons of Israel in the wilderness and afterwards in Samaria, worshiped calves, because "calves" with the ancients signified the good affections of the natural man.

Poznámky pod čarou:

10406. 'And fashioned it with a chisel' means a product of their own intelligence. This is clear from the meaning of 'fashioning with a chisel', when an idol is the subject, as producing false teachings by the use of one's own intelligence, which happens when the literal sense of the Word is used in support of self-love and love of the world. When these rule a person he does not have any enlightenment from heaven. Instead his own intelligence is what he draws on for all the ideas he acquires; and these he substantiates by means of the literal sense of the Word, which he falsifies by using it in a wrong way and interpreting it in a perverted manner. And after this he favours those ideas because he is the author of them.

[2] Various places throughout the Word contain references to graven images and molded images. People who take the Word entirely literally suppose that no more than idols should be understood by them in those places. Not idols however should be understood but false matters of doctrine upheld by the Church, such as are fashioned by a person himself when guided by some love of his own. Falsities when fashioned in such a way that they may hang together and look like truths are meant by 'a graven image'; and falsities when fused together in support of external kinds of love in such a way that evils look like forms of good are meant by 'a molded image'. And since 'the golden calf' is used to mean both types of falsities it says here that Aaron fashioned it with a chisel, by which the fashioning of falsities to look like truths should be understood; then immediately after it says that he made the gold into a calf of molded [metal], and in verse 24 that he threw it into the fire and the calf came out, by which the fusing together of falsities in support of external kinds of love in order that evils may look like forms of good should be understood. This is also what every matter of doctrine is like that is forged by a person and not by the Lord. Matters of doctrine are forged by the person when that person has his own glory and gain as the end in view; but they are forged by the Lord when the good of the neighbour and the good of the Lord's kingdom are regarded as the end in view.

[3] These kinds of things are meant by 'graven images' and 'molded images' in the following places: In Isaiah,

You will judge unclean the covering of the graven images of your silver, and the clothing of the molded image of your gold. Isaiah 30:22.

'The covering of the graven images of silver' means the appearance presented by falsities, as though they were truths, and 'the clothing of the molded image of gold' means the appearance presented by evils, as though they were forms of good; for 'the covering' and 'the clothing' mean the outward appearances with which they are endued or coated over. 'Silver' means truth, and 'gold' good, and this is why 'the graven images' are said to be 'of silver' and 'the molded image' to be 'of gold'. For the meaning of 'silver' as truth and of 'gold' as good, see 1551, 1552, 5658, 6914, 6917, 9874, 9881.

[4] In the same prophet,

The craftsman casts a graven image, and a goldsmith overlays it with gold, and casts silver chains for it. He seeks for himself a skilled ¹ craftsman to make ready a graven image which is immovable. Isaiah 40:19-20.

This describes a fashioning of falsities so that they may hang together and look as though they were truths. 'A graven image' means such falsity, 'the craftsman' means the person who fashions it by the use of self-intelligence, 'a goldsmith overlays it with gold' means when he makes it to look like what is good, 'casts silver chains for it' means by making it all hang together, 'which is immovable' means which cannot therefore be weakened and destroyed.

[5] In the same prophet,

Makers of the graven image, [all are] vanity; and their most desirable things are profitless. Who has fashioned a god, and cast a molded image, that it may not profit him? All his companions will be ashamed, and the workmen themselves. He fashions the iron with tongs, and works it with the coals, and forms it with sharp hammers; so he makes it with his strong arm ² . He fashions wood, stretches out a cord, and marks it off with a ruler. He makes it into its angles, and marks it out with a ring, and makes it into the form of a man (vir), according to the beauty of a human being, to dwell in the house. Isaiah 44:9-14.

This too describes how false teachings are fashioned so that they may hang together and look like truths and forms of good. Every detail here serves to describe how this is brought about by a person using self-intelligence under the guidance of his own wishes, desire, and love. The truth of this may be seen by those who know that all things in the Word have an inner meaning by means of which they must be understood in a spiritual way. Why else should such a description of fashioning a graven image be given? To the end that it may look like truth and good is the meaning when it says that 'he makes it in the form of a man, according to the beauty of a human being'; for in the internal sense 'a man' means truth and 'a human being' the good of that truth.

[6] In Jeremiah,

Every person has been made stupid by knowledge; every metal-caster has been filled with shame by his graven image, for his molded image is a lie; and there is no spirit in those things. Jeremiah 10:14; 51:17.

Here 'graven image' means that which is the product of self-intelligence, and 'molded image' that which accords with the person's love. This meaning is plainly evident, for it says that a person has been made stupid by knowledge, and every metal-caster has been filled with shame by his graven image, and that his molded image is a lie, 'knowledge' here being self-intelligence, and 'a lie' the falsity of evil; and since those objects have nothing of God within them it says that there is no spirit in those things.

[7] In the same prophet,

O sword against its horses and against its chariots, against its treasures, in order that they may be looted! A drought on its waters, in order that they may dry up! For it is the land of graven images. Jeremiah 50:37-38.

'The land of graven images' means a Church in which falsities reign. This too is perfectly clear from the details of these verses when understood in the spiritual sense. Without that sense what would a sword against horses, against chariots, against treasures, and a drought on waters be but words or sounds that have no spirit within them? But from those details when understood in the internal sense it is evident that these verses describe the destruction of the Church's truths and so the subsequent reign of falsities there, meant by 'the land of graven images'. For 'sword' means falsity engaged in conflict with and destroying truths, 'horses' an enlightened power of understanding, 'chariots' matters of doctrine, 'treasures' cognitions or knowledge of truth and good, 'waters on which there is a drought' the non-existence of truths any longer, and 'the land' the Church.

'Sword' means truth engaged in conflict against falsity, and in the contrary sense falsity engaged in conflict against truths and destroying them, see 2799, 6353, 7102, 8294.

'Horses' means an enlightened power of understanding, 2760-2762, 3217, 6534.

'Chariots' means matters of doctrine, 5321, 8146, 8148, 8215.

'Treasures' means cognitions of truth and good, 10227.

'Waters' means truths, 2702, 3058, 3424, 4976, 5668, 8137, 8138, 8568, 9323, 10238.

'The land' means the Church, see in the places referred to in 9325.

From all this it is evident what 'a drought on the waters, that they may dry up' and what 'the land of graven images' mean.

[8] In Habakkuk,

What profit is a graven image since its image-maker has graven it, and a molded image and a teacher of lies, since the image-maker trusts in the thing he himself has made? Habakkuk 2:18.

From these words too it is evident that 'a graven image' and 'a molded image' are not used to mean a graven image and a molded image but falsity that is being made up and the evil to which the falsity lends support; for it speaks of 'the image-maker' and 'a teacher of lies'.

[9] 'Graven image' and 'molded image' have similar meanings in the following places: In Isaiah,

Babel has fallen, and all the graven images of her gods he has broken ³ to the earth. Isaiah 21:9.

In the same prophet,

They will be greatly ashamed, those trusting in a graven image, saying to a molded image, You are our gods. Isaiah 42:17.

In the same prophet,

I told you, and caused you to hear, lest you should say, My idol has done this; my graven image and my molded image has commanded these things. Isaiah 48:5.

In Hosea,

They have called themselves, and gone from their presence ⁴ . They sacrificed to the baals, and burned incense to graven images. Hosea 11:2.

In Micah,

All the graven images of Samaria will be pounded to pieces, and all her pay as a prostitute will be burned with fire; and all her idols I will make a waste. Micah 1:7.

[10] Since falsities and evils upheld by religious teaching, which are meant by 'graven images and molded images', are forged by a person's self-intelligence under the guidance of his love, the Word also calls them 'the work of human hands', 'the work of the hands of a craftsman', and 'the work of the hands of a workman', as in the following places: In Hosea,

Now they sin more and more, they make for themselves a molded image from their silver, idols by their own intelligence, completely the work of craftsmen. Hosea 13:2.

In Moses,

Cursed is the man who makes a graven or a molded image, an abomination to Jehovah, the work of the hands of the craftsman. Deuteronomy 27:15.

In David,

Their idols are silver and gold, the work of human hands. Psalms 115:4; 135:15.

In Jeremiah,

They burned incense to other gods, and bowed down to the works of their own hands. Jeremiah 1:16.

In the same prophet,

The children of Israel provoked Me to anger through the work of their hands. Jeremiah 32:30; 44:8.

And in the same prophet,

One cuts out wood from the forest, the work of the hands of the workman using an axe. They decorate it with silver and gold; they make it firm with pegs and hammers. Jeremiah 10:3-4.

[11] 'The work of the hands' means that which is a product of the human proprium or self, thus that which is a product of a person's own understanding and a product of his own will; and those things are a product of the self - of both that understanding and that will - that exist as a result of self-love. And this is the origin of all falsities in the Church. Because all falsities are the product of the human self, and 'the work of the hands' means that which originates there, it was forbidden to move an iron tool, axe, or chisel over the stones ⁵ from which an altar and also the temple were built, as is evident in Moses,

If you make for Me an altar of stones, you shall not build it with hewn ones; for if you move your chisel over it you will profane it. Exodus 20:25.

Also in another place,

If you build an altar of stones to Jehovah you shall not move an iron tool over them. Deuteronomy 27:5.

And in the first Book of Kings,

The house was built of whole stone, as it had been brought [there]; for not a hammer or axe, [nor] any tool of iron, was heard in the house while it was being built. 1 Kings 6:7.

These places have been introduced to enable people to know what they should understand by Aaron's fashioning the gold with a chisel and making a calf of molded [metal] out of it.

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