12
Und was die übrigen Tiere betrifft: ihre Herrschaft wurde weggenommen, aber Verlängerung des Lebens ward ihnen gegeben bis auf Zeit und Stunde.
Daniel 7:12
Apocalypse Explained # 64
64. Clothed with a garment down to the foot, signifies Divine truth proceeding from Him. This is evident from the signification of "garments" as being truths that clothe good (See Arcana Coelestia, n. 1073, 2576, 5248, 5319, 5954, 9212, 9216, 9952, 10536). Here is only mentioned "a garment down to the foot," which is a general covering; by which, as the Lord is treated of, all Divine truth in general is meant. Since the Lord is here described in respect to the Divine Human, which is here the "Son of man seen in the midst of the lampstands," and it is said that He was "clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about at the paps with a golden girdle," and afterwards that "His face shone as the sun in his power," I wish to give an explanation of what is said in the Evangelists about the Lord when He was transfigured, where some similar expressions are used; and afterwards of what is said about the soldiers dividing His garments, and casting the lot upon His tunic.
[2] Of the Lord's transfiguration it is thus written:
Jesus took Peter, James, and John, into a very high mountain, and He was transfigured before them; and His face did shine as the sun, and His garments became white as the light. And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah speaking with Him. And behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold, a voice out of the cloud, saying, This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye Him (Matthew 17:1-5; Mark 9:2-8; Luke 9:28-36).
The Lord took Peter, James, and John, because by them the church in respect to faith, charity, and the works of charity was represented; He took them "into a high mountain," because "mountain" signifies heaven; "His face did shine as the sun," because "face" signifies the interiors, and it did shine as the sun because His interiors were Divine, for the "sun" is Divine love; "His garments became white as the light," because "garments" signify Divine truth proceeding from Him; the like is signified by "light." "Moses and Elijah" appeared, because the two signify the Word, "Moses" the historical Word, and "Elijah" the prophetical Word; "a bright cloud overshadowed them," because "a bright cloud" signifies the Word in the letter within which is the internal sense; "a voice out of the cloud said, This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased, hear ye Him," because "a voice out of the cloud" signifies Divine truth out of the Word, and "beloved Son," the Lord's Divine Human. And because Divine truth is from Him, and thence all truth of the church, it was said out of the cloud, "in whom I am well pleased, hear ye Him."
[3] It was plainly the Divine Human of the Lord that was thus seen, for the Divine Itself cannot be seen by anyone, except through the Divine Human. This the Lord also teaches in John:
No man hath seen God at any time; the only-begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, He hath brought Him forth to view (John 1:18).
And in another place:
Ye have neither heard the voice of the Father at any time, nor seen His shape (John 5:37).
(That such things are signified by these words in the Evangelists, can be seen in the Arcana Coelestia where the particulars are made known, namely, that by "Peter," "James," and "John," in the Word, are signified faith, charity, and the works of charity, n. 3750, and above, n. 8-9; by "high mountain" is signified heaven, n. 8327, 8805, 9420, 9422, 9434, 10608; by "face," the interiors which are of the mind, n. 1999, 2434, 3527, 4066, 4796, 5102, 9306, 9546; and by "the face of the Lord," mercy, peace, and every good, n. 222-223, 5585, 9306, 9546, 9888; by "the sun," Divine Love, n. 2495, 4060, 7083; and in the work on Heaven and Hell 116-125; by "garments," when the Lord is treated of, Divine truth, n. 9212, 9216; and the like by "light," n. 3195, 3222, 5400, 8644, 9399, 9548, 9684; and in the work on Heaven and Hell, n. 126-140. That "Moses and Elias" signify the Word; "Moses," see Arcana Coelestia 5922, 6723, 6752, 6771, 6827, 7010, 7014, 7089, 7382, 9372, 10234; and "Elias," see n. 2762, 5247. That "clouds" signify the Word in the letter, see above, n. 36; that "beloved Son" is the Divine Human of the Lord is evident.) From the fact that the "Lord's garments" signify Divine truth, it may be known what is signified by the soldiers dividing the garments of the Lord among them, and casting a lot upon His tunic, of which it is thus written in John:
The soldiers took His garments, and made four parts, to every soldier a part, also the tunic. Now the tunic was without seam, woven from the top throughout. They said therefore one to another, Let us not rend it, but cast lots for whose it shall be; that the Scripture might be fulfilled which saith, They parted My garments among them, and upon My vesture they did cast lots. These things therefore the soldiers did (John 19:23-24).
[4] He who is not aware that in every particular of the Word there is an internal sense which is spiritual, cannot see any arcanum in these things; he knows only that the soldiers divided the garments and not the tunic; and beyond this he knows nothing; when not only in this fact is there a Divine arcanum, but also in every particular of what is recorded concerning the passion of the Lord. The arcanum in this fact is that the garments of the Lord signified Divine truth, thus the Word, because the Word is Divine truth; the "garments" that they divided, the Word in the letter, and the "tunic" the Word in the internal sense; to "divide them" signifies to disperse and falsify; and "the soldiers" signify those that are of the church, who should fight in behalf of Divine truth. This is why it is said, "These things therefore the soldiers did." From this it is clear that the meaning of these words in the spiritual sense is that the Jewish Church dispersed the Divine truth which is in the sense of the letter, but could not disperse the Divine truth which is in the internal sense. That the "garments of the Lord" signified Divine truth, thus the Word, was shown above; that His "tunic" signified Divine truth, or the Word, in the internal sense, see Arcana Coelestia n.9826, 9942; that to "divide" is to disperse and separate from good and truth, thus to falsify, see n. 4424, 6360, 6361, 9094; that "the soldiers" signify those that are of the church, here of the Jewish church, who should fight in behalf of Divine truth, is clear from the spiritual sense of "warfare" and of "war;" that "war" signifies spiritual combats, which are of truth against falsity, see n. 1659, 1664, 8295, 10455; it is therefore said of the Levites, whose function pertained to such things as are of the church, that they were discharging military duty and were serving in war, when they were exercising their ministry in the tent of the assembly (Numbers 4:23, 35, 39, 43, 47; 8:23, 24).
Matthew 13
1
The same day went Jesus out of the house, and sat by the sea side.
2
And great multitudes were gathered together unto him, so that he went into a ship, and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore.
3
And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow;
4
And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up:
5
Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth:
6
And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.
7
And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them:
8
But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold.
9
Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.
10
And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?
11
He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.
12
For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.
13
Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.
14
And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive:
15
For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.
16
But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.
17
For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.
18
Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower.
19
When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side.
20
But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it;
21
Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended.
22
He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.
23
But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.
24
Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field:
25
But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way.
26
But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also.
27
So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares?
28
He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up?
29
But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them.
30
Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.
31
Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field:
32
Which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof.
33
Another parable spake he unto them; The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened.
34
All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake he not unto them:
35
That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world.
36
Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into the house: and his disciples came unto him, saying, Declare unto us the parable of the tares of the field.
37
He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man;
38
The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one;
39
The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels.
40
As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world.
41
The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity;
42
And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
43
Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.
44
Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field.
45
Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls:
46
Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it.
47
Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind:
48
Which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away.
49
So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just,
50
And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
51
Jesus saith unto them, Have ye understood all these things? They say unto him, Yea, Lord.
52
Then said he unto them, Therefore every scribe which is instructed unto the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old.
53
And it came to pass, that when Jesus had finished these parables, he departed thence.
54
And when he was come into his own country, he taught them in their synagogue, insomuch that they were astonished, and said, Whence hath this man this wisdom, and these mighty works?
55
Is not this the carpenter's son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas?
56
And his sisters, are they not all with us? Whence then hath this man all these things?
57
And they were offended in him. But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, save in his own country, and in his own house.
58
And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief.
