948. 22:11 "He who is unjust, let him be unjust still; he who is filthy, let him be filthy still; he who is righteous, let him be righteous still; he who is holy, let him be holy still." This symbolizes the state of everyone in particular after death and before being judged, and in general before the Last Judgment, that those caught up in evils will have their goods taken away, and those caught up in falsities will have their truths taken away, and conversely, that people prompted by goods will have their evils taken away, and those prompted by truths will have their falsities taken away.

He who is unjust symbolizes someone caught up in evils, and he who is righteous someone prompted by goods (no. 668). He who is filthy or unclean symbolizes someone caught up in falsities (nos. 702, 728, 924), and he who is holy someone prompted by truths (nos. 173, 586, 666, 852). It follows from this that to let him who is unjust be unjust still means, symbolically, that someone caught up in evils will be still more caught up in evils, and that to let him who is filthy be filthy still means, symbolically, that someone caught up in falsities will be still more caught up in falsities; and conversely, that to let him who is righteous be righteous still means, symbolically, that someone prompted by goods will be still more prompted by goods, and that to let him who is holy be holy still means, symbolically, that someone prompted by truths will be still more prompted by truths.

Moreover, it also symbolically means that people caught up in evils will have their goods taken away, and those caught up in falsities will have their truths taken away, and conversely, that people prompted by goods will have their evils taken away, and those prompted by truths will have their falsities taken away. For someone caught up in evils is still more caught up in evils to the extent that his goods are taken away, and someone caught up in falsities is still more caught up in falsities to the extent that his truths are taken away; and conversely, someone governed by goods is still more governed by goods to the extent that his evils are taken away, and someone governed by truths is still more governed by truths to the extent that his falsities are taken away.

Either the one or the other befalls everyone after death, for thus they are prepared, the evil for hell, and the good for heaven. For an evil person cannot take goods and truths with him to hell, nor can a good person take evils and falsities with him into heaven, since that would throw both heaven and hell into disorder.

[2] It must be rightly known, however, that we mean the inwardly evil and the inwardly good. For the inwardly evil may be outwardly good, since they can behave and speak as though they were good, as hypocrites do, and the inwardly good may at times be outwardly evil, since they can do evil things and utter falsities, and yet repent and wish to be instructed in truths.

The case here is the same as that declared by the Lord:

...to everyone who has, more will be given, that he may have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away." (Matthew 13:12; 25:29; Mark 4:25; Luke 8:18; 19:26)

This befalls all people after death before being judged. It also was the case with people collectively who either perished or were saved at the time of the Last Judgment. For the Last Judgment could not take place before then, because as long as the evil held on to their goods and truths, they were conjoined in outward appearances with angels in the lowest heavens. And yet they had to be separated. This, too, was foretold by the Lord in Matthew 13:24-30, 38-40, an event that may be seen explained in nos. 324, 329, 343, 346, 398 above.

It can be seen from this what is symbolically meant in the spiritual sense by letting him who is unjust be unjust still, by letting him who is filthy be filthy still, by letting him who is righteous be righteous still, and by letting him who is holy be holy still.

Something similar is meant by these verses in Daniel:

Go your way, Daniel, for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end. Many shall be purged and cleansed...; the wicked shall do wickedly, and none of the wicked shall understand; but those who understand shall understand. (Daniel 12:9-10)

323. With sword, with famine, with death, and by the beasts of the earth. This symbolically means, by doctrinal falsities, by evil practices, by self-love, and by lusts.

To be shown that a sword symbolizes truths fighting against evils and falsities and destroying them, and in an opposite sense, falsity fighting against goods and truths and destroying them, see nos. 52, 108, 117 above. Accordingly, because the subject is the destruction of all good in the church, a sword here symbolizes doctrinal falsities.

That a famine symbolizes evil practices - this we will confirm below.

Death symbolizes a person's self-love because death symbolizes the extinction of spiritual life, and thus natural life divorced from any spiritual life, as shown in no. 321 above, and this life is the life of a person's self-love; for this life causes a person to love nothing but himself and the world, and so to love also evils of every kind, evils which, because of that life's love, are delightful to him.

That beasts of the earth symbolize lusts arising from the love will be seen in no. 567 below.

Here we will say something about the symbolic meaning of famine. A famine symbolizes the privation and rejection of concepts of truth and goodness, springing from evil practices. It symbolizes as well an ignorance of concepts of truth and goodness, owing to an absence of these in the church. And it symbolizes also a desire to know and understand them.

[2] I. That a famine symbolizes the privation and rejection of concepts of truth and goodness, springing from evil practices, and thus symbolizes evil practices, can be seen from the following passages:

They shall be consumed by the sword and by famine, so that their corpses become food for the birds of heaven and for the beasts of the earth. (Jeremiah 16:4)

These two things shall befall you...: devastation and ruin, and famine and sword... (Isaiah 51:19)

Behold, I am visiting punishment upon them. The young men shall die by the sword; their sons and their daughters shall die by famine. (Jeremiah 11:22)

...deliver up her children to famine, and cause them to flow down upon the hands of the sword..., that their men may be put to death... (Jeremiah 18:21)

...I will send on them the sword, famine, and pestilence, and will make them like rough figs that cannot be eaten, they are so bad. And I will pursue them with the sword, with famine, and with pestilence. (Jeremiah 29:17-18)

I will send upon them the sword, famine, and pestilence, till they are consumed from the land... (Jeremiah 24:10)

...I proclaim liberty to you..., to the sword, to pestilence, and famine! And I will deliver you for turmoil to all nations. (Jeremiah 34:17)

...because you have defiled My sanctuary..., a third of you shall die of pestilence and be consumed with famine...; and a third shall fall by the sword... When I send against them the evil arrows of famine, which shall be for destruction... (Ezekiel 5:11-12, 16-17)

The sword is outside, and the pestilence and famine within. (Ezekiel 7:15)

...for all the evil abominations... they shall fall by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence. (Ezekiel 6:11-12)

...I will send My four evil judgments on Jerusalem - the sword, famine and wild beast, and pestilence - to cut off man and beast from it. (Ezekiel 14:13, 15, 21)

And so, too, elsewhere, as in Jeremiah 14:12-13, 15-16; 42:13-14, 16-18, 22; 44:12-13, 27, Mark 13:8, Luke 21:11. Sword, famine, pestilence and beasts in these places have similar symbolic meanings to those of the sword, famine, death, and beasts of the earth in the present verse. For the Word has a spiritual meaning in it in every single constituent, in which a sword means the destruction of spiritual life by falsities, in which famine means the destruction of spiritual life by evils, in which a beast of the earth means the destruction of spiritual life by the lusts accompanying falsity and evil, and in which pestilence and death means a complete destruction and thus damnation.

[3] II. That famine, or hunger, symbolizes an ignorance of concepts of truth and goodness, owing to an absence of these in the church, is clear as well from various passages in the Word, as in Isaiah 5:13; 8:19-22, Lamentations 2:19; 5:8-10, Amos 8:11-14, Job 5:17, 20, and elsewhere.

III. That famine or hunger symbolizes a desire to know and understand the church's truths and goods is apparent from the following: Isaiah 8:21; 32:6; 49:10; 58:6-7; Matthew 5:6; 25:35, 37, 44; Luke 1:53; John 6:35; and elsewhere.