8215. 'And He took off the wheels of his chariots' means that the power to advance falsities was taken away. This is clear from the meaning of 'taking off' as taking away; from the meaning of 'wheel' as the power to go forward, dealt with below; and from the meaning of 'Pharaoh's chariots' as doctrinal teachings that uphold falsity, dealt with in 8146, 8148, thus as falsities. What 'wheel' means in the genuine sense may be recognized from the meaning of 'chariot'. There were two kinds of chariots ¹ - those used to carry merchandise, and those used in battle. Chariots used for carrying merchandise served to mean doctrinal teachings that conveyed the truth, or in the contrary sense to mean those that conveyed falsity. Chariots used in battle likewise served to mean doctrinal teachings in either of those senses, but teachings involved in conflict. That is, they were used to mean actual truths or actual falsities lined up for conflict. From this one may see what 'a chariot wheel' is used to mean, namely the power to move forward, here to advance falsities and fight against truths. Since this power belongs to the understanding part of a person's mind, 'wheel' also means the understanding so far as matters of doctrine are concerned.

[2] In the next life chariots are frequently seen, laden with various kinds of merchandise; and these chariots differ from one another in outward appearance and size. When they are seen they serve to mean truths in their entirety, or doctrinal teachings, which are so to speak receptacles of truth, while their 'merchandise' serves to mean knowledge or cognitions that have different kinds of use. These things are seen in heaven when religious teachings are the object of conversation among angels. For since angels' conversation is incomprehensible to people who are below them, representatives are used to present it. To some it is presented, as has been stated, by means of chariots, which represent visually to them every single detail of the conversation; from that representation the contents of the conversation can be understood and seen in an instant. Some details are seen in the outward appearance of the chariot, some in its structure, some in its colour, some in its wheels, some in the horses pulling it, and others in the merchandise that the chariot is carrying. From these representatives springs the use of 'chariots' in the Word to mean doctrinal teachings.

[3] From all this one may in some measure be able to see that 'chariot wheels' means power that the understanding possesses; for just as a chariot is moved and sent forward by means of its wheels, so are the truths contained in doctrinal teachings sent into action by the power of understanding. This is also the meaning of 'wheels' in Isaiah,

Whose arrows are sharp, and all bows bent. His horses' hoofs are considered as flint, His wheels as the whirlwind. Isaiah 5:28.

This refers to one who lays truth waste, 'arrows' being falsities, and 'bows' false doctrine, 2686, 2709, while 'the hoofs' of the horses are the sensory knowledge belonging to perverted powers of understanding, 7729, 'wheels' powers to pervert and destroy truths, like a whirlwind.

[4] In Ezekiel,

I saw the living creatures, and behold, one wheel was on the earth with [each of] the living creatures, beside its four faces. The appearance of the wheels and their works were like a kind of tarshish, ² and the four had the same likeness. In addition the appearance of them, and their works, was like a wheel in the middle of a wheel. They went along on four sides in the direction they went; they did not turn aside as they went. Their rims were so high that they were awesome; ³ in addition their rims were full of eyes round about all four of them. Thus when the living creatures went, the wheels went along with them. The spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels. Ezekiel 1:15-21; 10:9-14.

The Lord's providence is meant by 'the four living creatures', which were cherubs, 308, and Divine intelligence, or foresight, by 'the wheels'. This is why it says that the wheels went along together with the living creatures, that their rims were full of eyes, and also that the spirit of the living creatures, which was the truth of wisdom, was in them.

[5] In Daniel,

I saw, until thrones were placed, and the Ancient of Days was seated His clothing was white as snow, the hair of His head like pure wool. His throne was flames of fire; His wheels were burning fire. Daniel 7:9.

'The Ancient of Days' here is the Lord in respect of Divine Goodness; 'the thrones' that were placed are falsities; 'His clothing' is God's truth in its outward appearance; 'the hair of His head' is God's goodness in its outward appearance; 'His throne' is heaven and the Church; 'His wheels' are forms of wisdom and intelligence, that is, God's truths, and 'burning fire' the flames of love and charity. Under the ten lavers around Solomon's temple there were also

Wheels of bronze. The workmanship of the wheels was like the workmanship of a chariot wheel; their axles, ⁴ and their rims ⁵ , and their tires, and their spokes were all of cast [bronze]. 1 Kings 7:30-33.

Those 'lavers' or stands served to mean the receptacles of truth by means of which a person is purified and regenerated. 'The wheels' served to mean the powers of understanding by means of which advances are made.

Poznámky pod čarou:

6971. 'And do not hear the voice of the former sign' means that if they did not obey what was declared by the Word, then instead of being spiritual and rational they would become people who were not spiritual or rational. This is clear from the meaning of 'hearing' as obeying, dealt with in 2542, 3869, 5017; from the meaning of 'the voice' as what is declared by the Word, dealt with below; and from the meaning of 'the former sign' as an indication that instead of being spiritual and rational they would become people who were not spiritual or rational. The truth of this may be seen from the meaning of 'the serpent' that was made out of Moses' rod when it was thrown onto the earth - the event to which 'the first sign' refers here - as a person who thinks on a sensory and bodily level, 6949, and so is not spiritual or rational. For a person who is sensory- and bodily-minded is not rational, and so is not spiritual either, because he thinks things that are false and desires those that are evil. One who behaves like this is not rational, still less spiritual, for an acceptance of and belief in what is true, together with a life of goodness, since these two come from the Divine, constitute true spirituality within rationality, whereas an acceptance of and belief in what is false, together with a life of evil, are the opposite. For the fact that wholly sensory- and bodily-minded people are like this, see 6844, 6845, 6948, 6949.

[2] Those people become wholly sensory- and bodily-minded who have first had a knowledge of things that belong to the spiritual world but after that have rejected them, and then have adopted fundamental ideas of falsity that are contrary to truths and focused their lives solely on worldly, bodily, and earthly values. They have consequently come to believe that life is meant to be filled with pleasures of every kind, saying, 'What more does a person have while he is alive? When we die, we die; as for the possibility of life after death, has anyone ever come back to talk about it? We have no knowledge of anything that will go on living when the life goes out of a person.' If anyone using rational arguments induces those people to give any thought to eternal life, they think that nothing worse will happen to them than to anyone else, and they immediately go back to living in the way they had done previously. With such people the passageway for the light of heaven to flow in is closed, and at the natural level of their minds the light of heaven is turned into thick darkness, while the light of the world there becomes brightness, 6907, a brightness that shines ever more brilliantly, the more that the light of heaven is darkened. This is why such people do not see the evil in their lives as anything other than goodness, or consequently the false ideas as anything other than true. Here then is the reason why a person becomes sensory- and bodily-minded. In short, once the way is opened for the light of heaven to flow in and then closed, a person is impelled to look downwards, and not upwards. This is done in keeping with Divine order so as to prevent truths once accepted and remaining in a person's inner self from being contaminated by falsities and thereby rendered profane.

[3] The same applies to gentiles who fall away from their religion, though their lot is better than that of people within the Church since what they possess are not truths from the Word, not genuine truths therefore but truths coupled with many misconceptions, which cannot be profaned in the way genuine ones can.

As regards the meaning of 'the voice' as that which is declared by the Word, it should be recognized that frequent use is made of the expression 'the voice'. It is also linked to other things that have nothing to do with a voice, such as the linking of it here to 'the sign' - 'If they do not hear the voice of the former sign they will believe the voice of the latter sign' - and also elsewhere, for example in Nahum,

The voice of the whip and the voice of the sound of the wheel. Nahum 3:2.

And in David,

The rivers have lifted up their voice, more than the voices of many mighty waters. Psalms 93:3-4.

[4] The fact that 'the voice' means a declaration, in the good sense a declaration by the Word, when it is called 'the voice of Jehovah', is clear in David,

The voice of Jehovah is powerful; the voice of Jehovah is glorious; the voice of Jehovah breaks the cedars; the voice of Jehovah flashes forth flames of fire; the voice of Jehovah causes the wilderness to shake; the voice of Jehovah causes the hinds to calve, and strips the forests bare. Psalms 29:3-5; Psalms 7-9.

And elsewhere in the same author,

. . . to Him who rides above the heavens of heavens of old. Behold, He will put forth His voice, a mighty voice. Psalms 68:33.

Here 'voice' stands for Divine Truth, and so for the Word and a declaration made by it. For what more is meant by 'voice', see 219; and for its use in reference to truth, 3563.