724. And she brought forth a male child.- That this signifies the doctrine of truth, which is for the New Church, which is called the New Jerusalem, is plain from the signification of a son, as denoting truth, and of a male (masculus) child, as denoting the genuine truth of the church, consequently its doctrine, for the truth of the church from the Word is its doctrine, since doctrine contains the truths that are for the church. But the genuine doctrine of the church is the doctrine of good, that is the doctrine of life, which is that of love to the Lord and of charity towards the neighbour; still it is doctrine of truth, for doctrine teaches life, love, and charity, and so far as it teaches these it is truth. For when a man knows and understands what good is, what life is, what love is, and what charity is, he then knows and understands those things as truths, since he knows and understands what good is, how he ought to live, what love and charity are, and what kind of man he is who is in the life of love and charity. And as long as these things are matters of knowledge (scientia) and of the understanding, they are merely truths, and thus doctrines; but as soon as they, from being knowledge and understanding, pass over into the will, and thus into act, they are then no longer truths but goods, for interiorly man wills nothing but what he loves, and that which he loves is to him good.

From these things it is evident, that every doctrine of the church is a doctrine of truth, and that the truth of doctrine becomes good, and becomes that of love and charity, when from doctrine it passes into life.

[2] This doctrine, signified here by a male child, is especially the doctrine of love to the Lord, and of charity towards the neighbour, thus it is the doctrine of the good of life, but which is yet the doctrine of truth. That the doctrine of the good of love, and thence of life, is here signified by a male child, is evident from this, that the woman, who brought forth the son, was seen encompassed with the sun, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars. And the sun signifies love to the Lord, and the crown of twelve stars signifies the knowledges of good and truth; and from such a woman and mother, nothing could be born except what pertains to love and good, thus doctrine concerning them. This therefore is the male (masculus) child.

[3] That doctrine is for the New Church, which is called the New Jerusalem, because the woman treated of in this chapter is the one that is called the bride, the Lamb's wife, which was the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God (21:9, 10). This is why she was seen encompassed with the sun, for the sun means the Lord as to Divine Love, as may be seen above (n. 401, 525, 527, 708). The male child also signifies the doctrine of the church, because a son, in the Word, signifies truth, and the doctrine of the church is truth in its whole extent.

That a son, in the Word, signifies truth, is evident from what has been said before concerning the woman, the womb, and bringing forth, namely, that woman signifies the church, womb the inmost of love and the reception of truth from good, while to bring forth signifies the production and fructification of these. See above concerning woman (n. 707); the womb (n. 710); and bringing forth (n. 721). From this it follows that sons and daughters, since they are births, signify the truths and goods of the church, sons its truths, and daughters its goods; in a word, that all terms relating to marriage and thus to procreation on earth, signify such things as belong to the marriage of good and truth, thus father, mother, sons, daughters, sons-in-law, daughters-in-law, grandsons, and several other terms, signify goods and truths procreating, and goods and truths procreated, and in fact derivative goods and truths in their order.

[4] But it must be understood that goods and truths procreating are in the spiritual man, and those which are procreated are in the natural man; and that those which are in the spiritual man are like the father and mother, and those which are from these in the natural man are like brothers and sisters; and again that the truths and goods that are further procreated as if from sons married within marriageable limits, and from daughters married also within the same, are in the natural man, after these, as parents, have been raised up into the spiritual man. For all conception, and all travail or gestation in the womb take place in the spiritual man, but birth itself takes place in the natural man. The spiritual man is therefore continually enriched by the elevation into it out of the natural man, of truths and goods, which, like parents, will procreate anew; therein also all things are associated like the societies of heaven, according to the affections for truth and good, and their relationships and affinities. It is therefore clear that those spiritual procreations, like the natural procreations from a father and mother, are multiplied like families and houses on earth, and are made fruitful like trees from seeds, from which arise in the spiritual man gardens, called paradises, but groves and orchards in the natural, and shady forests in the sensual man.

[5] But because sons are mentioned in many places in the Word, and since it has not yet been known that they signify the truths of the church and of doctrine, out of many passages I will cite only the following for the purpose of proof.

In the Evangelists:

Jesus said, "He who leaveth houses, brethren, sisters, father, mother, wife, children, lands, for my name's sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and shall obtain the inheritance of life eternal" (Matthew 19:29; Mark 10:29, 30).

"Every one who cometh to me, and hateth not his father, mother, wife, children, brethren, and sisters, yea, his own soul, is not my disciple" (Luke 14:26).

Who cannot see that father, mother, wife, children, brethren, and sisters, also houses and lands, are not here meant, but such things as belong to man himself, and are called his own? For these things a man must leave and hate, if he desires to worship the Lord, to be His disciple, to receive a hundredfold, and to obtain the inheritance of life eternal. The things that are a man's own are those that are of his love, and thus of his life into which he is born, consequently they are evils and falsities of every kind; and because these are of his love and life, it is therefore said that he must also hate his own soul. These evils and falsities are signified by father and mother, wife, children, brethren, and sisters; for all those things, which belong to the love and life of man, or to the affection and the thought therefrom, or to the will and thus to the understanding, are formed and conjoined like generations, descending from one father and one mother, and are also distinguished as into families and houses. The love of self and consequent love of the world are their father and mother, and the desires arising therefrom, and their evils and falsities are the children, which are brethren and sisters. That this is the meaning is clearly evident from this, that the Lord could not desire that any one should hate his father and mother, or wife or children, or brethren or sisters, since this would be contrary to the spiritual love implanted in every one from heaven, which is that of parents for their children, of children for their parents, and also contrary to conjugial love, which is that of the husband for his wife, and of the wife for her husband, also contrary to mutual love, which is that of brothers and sisters for one another; in fact, the Lord even teaches that enemies must not be hated, but loved. It is evident from these things that the terms denoting consanguinities, affinities, and relationships in the Word, mean consanguinities, affinities, and relationships in a spiritual sense.

[6] In the same:

Jesus said to His disciples, "The brother shall deliver the brother to death, the father the son, and children shall rise up against their parents, and shall deliver them to death" (Matthew 10:21; Mark 13:12).

"The father shall be divided against the son, and the son against the father, the mother against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother, the mother-in-law against the daughter-in-law, and the daughter-in-law against the mother-in-law" (Luke 12:53).

That these things are not to be understood according to the letter is clear from what precedes, where Jesus says that He came not to give peace upon the earth, but division; and that "there shall be five in one house divided, three against two, and two against three," which signifies that falsities and evils will fight against truths and goods, and truths and goods against falsities and evils - which is the case when man comes into temptations and is being reformed; this combat is signified by division and rising up. That "the father shall be divided against the son, and the son against the father," signifies that evil will fight against truth, and truth against evil, the father there denoting the evil, which is man's proprium, and the son the truth which man has from the Lord. That the desire for falsity will fight against affection for truth, and affection for truth against the desire for falsity, is signified by "the mother shall be divided against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother," mother here denoting the desire for falsity, and daughter affection for truth; and so on. That this is the meaning is also evident from the words of the Lord elsewhere, where He says, that in Him "they shall have peace," thus not division (John 14:27; 16:33).

[7] In Luke, the angel said to Zechariah concerning John,

"He shall go before" the Lord "in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the sons" (1:17).

And in Malachi:

"I will send to you Elijah the prophet, before the great and terrible day of Jehovah cometh, that he may turn the heart of the fathers to the sons, and the heart of the sons to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse" (4:5, 6).

John the Baptist was sent before to prepare the people for the reception of the Lord by baptism, for baptism represented and signified purification from evils and falsities, and also regeneration through the Word by the Lord. Unless this representation had preceded, the Lord could not have manifested Himself and taught and lived in Judea and Jerusalem, since He was God of heaven and God of earth under a human form, and could not have been in the midst of a nation which was in mere falsities as to doctrine, and in mere evils as to life. Unless therefore that nation had been prepared for the reception of the Lord by a representative of purification from falsities and evils by baptism, it would have been destroyed by diseases of every kind at the presence of the Divine Itself. This then is the signification of the words, "Lest I come and smite the earth with a curse." That this would have been the case is well known in the spiritual world, for there those who are in falsities and evils are direfully tormented and spiritually die at the presence of the Lord.

[8] The baptism of John was able to produce such an effect, because the Jewish church was a representative church, and with them all conjunction of heaven was effected by representatives, as is also evident from the washings commanded therein. As for example all who became unclean had to wash themselves and their garments, and were then regarded as clean; similarly the priests and Levites washed themselves before they entered the tent of assembly and afterwards the temple, to perform their sacred duties; also Naaman was cleansed from leprosy by washing in Jordan. Washing and baptism did not themselves purify them from falsities and evils, but they only represented, and thus signified, purification from these; nevertheless this was received in heaven, as though they themselves had been purified. It was in this way that heaven was conjoined with the people of that church through the baptism of John; and when heaven was thus conjoined to them, the Lord, who was the God of heaven, could manifest Himself to them, teach them, and dwell among them. That Jerusalem and all Judea, and all the region about Jordan went out to John, and were baptized by him in Jordan, confessing their sins, is evident in Matthew (chap. 3:5, 6), and that he said to them,

"O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come" (Luke 3:7).

That the Jews and Israelites were conjoined to heaven by means of representatives may be seen in the Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 248).

This now was the reason why John was sent before to prepare the way of the Lord, and to prepare the people for Him. It may be concluded from these things what is signified by turning the heart of the fathers to the sons, and the heart of the sons to the fathers, namely, that it means to induce a representation of the conjunction of spiritual goods with truths, and of truths with goods, thus of regeneration by the Lord by means of the Word. For regeneration is the conjunction of goods with truths, and of truths with goods, and it is the Lord who regenerates, and the Word which teaches.

[9] It was said of this John that he should go before the Lord in the spirit and power of Elijah, and that he was Elijah, because John, like Elijah, represented the Lord as to the Word, and thus signified the Word, which is from the Lord; and as there is Divine Wisdom and Divine Power in the Word, these are meant by the spirit and power of Elijah. That the Word is of such a nature may be seen in Heaven and Hell 303-310), and in the small work on the White Horse.

[10] That sons signify truths from the Word, is also evident from the following passages.

In David:

"Lo, sons are a heritage of Jehovah, the fruit of the belly a reward; as darts in the hand of a mighty man, so are sons of youth; happy is the man who hath his quiver full of them, they shall not be ashamed when they speak with enemies in the gate" (Psalm 127:3-5).

Sons who are a heritage of Jehovah, and the fruit of the belly which is a reward, mean the truths and goods of the church; sons mean truths, and the fruit of the belly means goods, for both of these are a reward and a heritage of Jehovah, that is, heaven, which is from truths and goods, namely, from the reception of them. Sons of youth, who are as darts in the hands of a mighty man, signify the truths of the Ancient Church, which were natural truths from a spiritual source; this church is meant by youth. And because these truths have all power against evils and falsities, it is therefore said, "As darts in the hand of a mighty man," darts signifying truths destroying falsities. Doctrine from truths is signified by quiver because it is also signified by bow; and as those who are in doctrine from those truths fear nothing from falsities, it is said, "Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them; they shall not be ashamed when they speak with enemies in the gate;" not to be ashamed denoting not to be conquered, and enemies in the gate the falsities of evil which are from hell.

[11] In the same:

"Deliver me out of the hand of the sons of the stranger, whose mouth speaketh vanity, and their right hand is the right hand of a lie; for our sons are as plants, become great in their youth, and our daughters as cornerstones hewn out in the model of a palace" (Psalm 144:11, 12).

That the sons of the stranger here mean falsities is plain, for it is said, "Whose mouth speaketh vanity, and their right hand is the right hand of a lie;" and that our sons signify truths is also plain, for it is said, "They are as plants, become [great] in their youth," plants also denoting truths, and youth denoting here, as above, the Ancient Church, which possessed genuine truths. Our daughters signify the affections for truth, which are therefore compared to cornerstones hewn out in the model of a palace, because a palace is a representative of the understanding in which truths are in a beautiful form, and they are in a beautiful form when they are from affection for truth.

[12] In Micah:

"Make thee bald and poll thee, because of the sons of thy delights; enlarge thy baldness as the eagle, for they have gone away from thee" (1:16).

Mourning because the truths of the church are destroyed is described by making bald, and by polling themselves, for the hair signifies truths in ultimates, and those who are without truths in ultimates are also without internal truths; for this reason those in the spiritual world who have no truths from good appear bald. That truths are destroyed is signified by "the sons of thy delights have gone away from thee"; they are called sons of delights from the love of truths and consequent delights.

[13] In Zechariah:

"He saw two olive trees at the right hand of the lampstand and at the left, and he said, These are the two sons of the olive standing by the Lord of the whole earth" (4:11, 14).

The two olive trees signify the two churches, the celestial church and the spiritual church, the former at the right hand of the lampstand, and the latter at the left; the sons of the olive signify the truths of those churches, which are doctrinals.

[14] In the same:

"I will bend Judah for me, I will fill Ephraim with the bow, and I will stir up thy sons, O Zion, with thy sons, O Javan; and I will set thee as the sword of a mighty man" (9:13).

The sons of Zion and the sons of Javan signify the internal and external truths of the Word, the sons of Zion internal truths, and the sons of Javan external truths. The signification of the rest of the passage may be seen above (n. 357:1, 433:8), where it is explained. Because sons signify truths, it is said, that they shall be set as the sword of a mighty man, the sword of a mighty man signifying truth effectually destroying falsity.

[15] In Isaiah:

"I will raise up against them the Medes, whose bows shall dash in pieces the young men, and they will have no pity on the fruit of the belly, their eye will not spare the sons" (13:17, 18).

Because the Medes mean those who make no account of the truths and goods of the church, it is also therefore, said, "Their eye will not spare the sons," for sons denote the truths of the Word and of the church; but these things may be seen explained above (n. 710:24).

[16] In Jeremiah:

"My tent is laid waste, and all my cords plucked away; my sons have departed from me, and they are not" (10:20).

The tent which is laid waste, signifies the church as to the good of love and worship from it, for all worship in ancient times was performed in tents, and afterwards in the tent of assembly, in memory of which the feast of tents or tabernacles was instituted. All my cords are plucked away, signifies that there is no conjunction of truth with good, or of truths with each other, which thus fall apart; and consequently no conjunction of heaven with the church. My sons have departed from me, and they are not, signifies that the truths of the church from the Word have been dissipated, and that man has thus removed himself from the Lord.

[17] In the same:

"Behold, I bring back the captivity of the tents of Jacob, and I will have pity on his dwelling-places, that the city may be built upon her own heap, and the palace shall be inhabited after its own manner, and his sons shall be as aforetime, and his congregation shall be established before me" (30:18, 20).

The tents of Jacob and his dwelling-places, signify all things of the church and its doctrine; tents signify its goods, and dwelling-places its truths; their captivity signifies spiritual captivity which exists when the truths and goods of the Word cannot be perceived, because of the dominion of falsities. To shake off falsities and to teach truths is signified by bringing back the captivity. That the city may be built upon its own heap, signifies doctrine from truths, which has become a ruin through falsities, city meaning doctrine; and the palace shall be inhabited after its manner, signifies the spiritual understanding of truths, as was the case with the ancients, palace denoting the understanding of spiritual truths; for in the understanding there are spiritual truths in their own forms, which appear like palaces when they are presented to the sight. His sons shall be as aforetime, and his congregation shall be established before Me, signifies that the truths of the church shall be as they were with the ancients, and that their forms shall remain as they did with them in a restored conjunction, sons here denoting truths, and congregation their conjunction and arrangement into forms, such as exists in the understanding of the man of the church, from which he has intelligence; after its manner and aforetime, mean as with the ancients.

[18] In Lamentations:

"Mine eye runneth down with waters, because the counsellor who refresheth my soul is far from me; my sons are made desolate, because the enemy hath prevailed" (1:16).

Mourning because the church is devastated is meant by Mine eye runneth down with waters; its devastation as to truths is signified by My sons are made desolate; that this is done by the falsities of evil, is signified by The enemy hath prevailed, - the enemy denoting falsity of evil and the hell from which it springs.

[19] In Isaiah:

"Awake, awake, rise up, O Jerusalem, who hast drunk out of the hand of Jehovah the cup of his anger; thou hast sucked out the dregs of the cup of trembling; there is none to lead her of all the sons whom she hath brought forth, nor any to take her by the hand of all the sons whom she hath brought up. Thy sons have fainted, they lie at the head of all the streets" (51:17, 18, 20).

The restoration of the church, which had fallen into mere falsities of evil, is signified by Awake, awake, rise up, O Jerusalem, who hast drunk out of the hand of Jehovah the cup of His anger, thou hast sucked out the dregs of the cup of trembling. Jerusalem denotes the church as to doctrine, to awake and rise up denotes its restoration, to drink the cup of anger denotes falsity, and the dregs of the cup mere falsities from which are evils, and to attract these is signified by drinking and sucking. There is none to lead her of all the sons whom she hath brought forth, nor any to take her by the hand of all the sons whom she hath brought up, signifies that none of the truths of the Word which she has learned and imbibed will lead her away from falsities, sons here meaning truths. Thy sons have fainted, they lie at the head of all the streets, signifies that truths are dispersed by falsities of every kind; because sons denote truths, fainting signifies to be dissipated, and to lie at the head of all the streets signifies by means of falsities of every kind, for the streets of a city signify true doctrinals, here false doctrinals.

[20] In the same:

"Fear not, Jacob, I will bring thy seed from the east, and I will gather thee from the west; I will say to the north, Give up, and to the south, Keep not back, bring my sons from afar, my daughters from the end of the earth" (43:5-6).

This is not said of the posterity of Jacob, but of the Gentiles, of whom the church is to be formed. Jacob and his seed mean those who will be of that church. That it must be formed of those who are in falsities from ignorance, and thus in obscurity as to truths, is signified by I will gather thee from the west, and I will say to the north, Give up; and that these must not be repelled but accepted by those who are in the good of love and in the truths of doctrine in their lucidity, is signified by I will bring thy seed from the east, and I will say to the south, Keep not back; for the east signifies the good of love in lucidity, the south the truth of doctrine in lucidity, the west the good of love in obscurity, and the north the truth of doctrine in obscurity, such as those are in who, from ignorance of truth, are in falsities, and yet desire truths. Those quarters have such significations, because, in the spiritual world, all dwell distinctly in those quarters according to the light of truth and the affection for good in which they are. These things have a similar signification in Matthew, where it is said that the elect are to be gathered together "from the four winds, from the ends of the heavens, even to the ends of them" (24:31). That all those who are in falsities from ignorance, and yet in the desire for truth, are to be brought into that church, is signified by Bring my sons from afar, and my daughters from the end of the earth; sons denoting those who are in truths, and daughters those who are in affection for truths; thus also, in a sense removed from persons, they signify truths and their affections; and afar off and the end of the earth signify removal from the light of truth, because they are in falsities from ignorance, through not possessing the Word, and having no understanding of its meaning.

[21] In the same prophet:

"They shall hasten thy sons; thy destroyers and they that lay thee waste shall go out from thee; behold, I will lift up my hand towards the nations, and towards the peoples will I raise up my sign, that they may bring thy sons in the bosom, and carry thy daughters upon the shoulder" (Isaiah 49:17, 22).

This also treats of the establishment of a new church by the Lord. The sons whom they shall hasten, and whom they shall bring in the bosom, and the daughters whom they shall carry upon the shoulder, mean all those who are in truths and in affection for them, and in a sense removed from persons, truths themselves and affections for them with those who will be of the new church; destroyers and they that lay waste signify falsities of evil; that these must be removed is signified by They shall go out from thee.

[22] In the same:

"The isles shall trust in me, and the ships of Tarshish in the beginning, to bring thy sons from afar, their silver and their gold with them" (60:9).

This also is said of the church of the Gentiles; and the sons who shall be brought, signify those who will receive truths. The rest of the passage may be seen explained above (n. 50, 406:10, 514:5).

In Hosea:

"I will not destroy Ephraim, they shall go after Jehovah, like a lion he shall roar, because he shall roar, and with honour shall sons approach from the sea; with honour they shall come, as a bird from Egypt, and as a dove from the land of Assyria, and I will cause them to dwell in their own houses" (11:9-11).

Sons from the sea, signify truths scientific (vera scientifica) and rational truths; it is therefore said that "they shall come as a bird from Egypt, and as a dove from the land of Assyria"; Egypt signifying the Natural, and Assyria the Rational, both of them as to truths; but these things have also been explained above (n. 275:19, 601:7, 654:22).

[23] And in David:

"Hear this, all ye peoples, perceive in the ear, all ye inhabitants of the age, both the sons of man (homo) and the sons of man (vir), the rich and the poor together; my mouth shall speak wisdoms, and the meditation of my heart intelligences" (Psalm 49:1-3).

The sons of man (homo), signify spiritual truths which are from the Lord through the Word, and these are doctrinals, while the sons of man (vir), signify rational and natural truths, which are from the understanding, thus they signify the understanding of the Word; the rich and the poor, signify those who are wise from these in many things, and those who are wise in few things.

[24] In the same:

Jehovah, "return, look down from the heavens, and see and visit this vine, and the shoot which thy right hand hath planted, and upon the son whom thou hast made strong for thyself; let thy hand be for the man (vir) of thy right hand, for the son of man (homo) whom thou hast made strong for thyself" (Psalm 80:14, 15, 17).

This David said of the church and of himself, which is the sense of the letter, for by the shoot and by the son he meant himself; but in the spiritual sense, the vine and the shoot which Jehovah planted signify the spiritual church, represented by the sons of Israel. The son whom He made strong for Himself, signifies the truth of doctrine from the Word; the man of the right hand, for whom is the hand, and the son of man, whom He had made strong for Himself, signify the truth of the Word in the natural sense, which is the sense of the letter, and the truth of the Word in the spiritual sense, which is the internal sense.

[25] In Ezekiel:

"Behold, I will profane my sanctuary, the greatness of my strength, the desire of your eyes, and the fondness of your soul; and your sons and your daughters, whom ye have left, shall fall by the sword" (24:21, 25).

This describes the devastation of all truth which those have who are of the church. The sanctuary which He will profane signifies the Word from which is the church, for this is the sanctuary itself, since it is Divine Truth; from its power against falsities and evils, which are from hell, it is called The greatness of the strength of Jehovah; from intelligence and heavenly life therefrom, it is called The desire of your eyes, and the fondness of your soul. That all truths with affection for them will perish through falsities is signified by Your sons and your daughters shall fall by the sword, - sons denoting truths, daughters, affections for truth, and the sword, falsity destroying the truth.

[26] In Moses:

"When the Most High gave the nations an inheritance, when he separated the sons of man, he set the bounds of the people, according to the number of the sons of Israel" (Deuteronomy 32:8).

This is said of the ancient churches which preceded the Israelitish, and of the establishment of these by the Lord; the nations mean those who were in the good of love, and the sons of man those who were in truths of doctrine from that good; that these had all truths and goods is signified by He set the bounds of the people, according to the number of the sons of Israel. That the twelve sons of Israel, or the twelve tribes, represented and thus signified the church as to all truths and goods, may be seen above (n. 39, 430, 657).

[27] In Jeremiah:

"Shame hath devoured the labour of our fathers from our childhood, their flocks and their herds, their sons and their daughters; we lie down in our shame, and our reproach doth cover us" (3:24, 25).

In the same:

"Behold, I bring upon you a nation from afar, O house of Israel, which shall devour thy harvest and thy bread; it shall devour thy sons and thy daughters, it shall devour thy flock and thy herd, it shall devour thy vine and thy fig tree, it shall impoverish thy fortified [cities] in which thou trustest, with the sword" (5:15, 17).

These words in the spiritual sense, describe the devastation of all things of the church with the Israelites. The nation from afar, signifies the falsity of evil, which is the falsity of the sensual man, destroying truths; harvest, bread, sons, daughters, flock, herd, vine, and fig-tree, which that nation will devour, signify all things of the church; harvest and bread, its truths and goods in regard to nourishment; sons and daughters, its truths and goods in regard to generation; flock and herd, spiritual and natural truths and goods; vine and fig-tree, the internal and external spiritual church therefrom.

[28] In Ezekiel:

"Though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in the midst of it, as I live, if they delivered their sons or their daughters, they only shall be delivered, and the land shall become a desolation; I will bring a sword upon the land, and I will cut off from it man and beast" (14:14, 16-18, 20).

By these words the devastation of the church is also described as to all the truths of good and the goods of truth, except with those who are reformed by means of truths from the Word, and by temptations; these are signified by Noah, Daniel, and Job. That with the rest all the truths of good and goods of truth will perish is signified by They should not deliver their sons or their daughters, but they only would be delivered; the devastation of the church by falsities is signified by The land shall become a desolation, and I will bring a sword upon the land, - land denoting the church, and sword falsity destroying truth. That all spiritual and natural truth will be destroyed, and that all intelligence and knowledge (scientia) of truth will consequently perish, is signified by I will cut off from it man and beast.

[29] In the same:

"The fathers shall eat the sons in the midst of thee, and the sons shall eat their fathers; I will execute judgments in thee, and all thy remnant I will scatter unto every wind" (5:10).

In Moses:

"[It was said] among the curses, that they should eat the flesh of their sons and of their daughters" (Leviticus 26:29).

The fathers shall eat the sons, and the sons the fathers, signifies that evils will destroy truths, and falsities goods, fathers denoting evils and goods, and sons falsities and truths; and because everything of spiritual life with man thus perishes, it is said that judgments will be executed, and the remnant scattered unto every wind, the remnant denoting the truths and goods stored up by the Lord in man from his infancy and childhood.

[30] We read also, that they led away their sons to idols to be devoured, and for food, and through the fire; as in the following passages.

In Ezekiel:

"Thou hast taken thy sons [and thy daughters] whom thou hast brought forth to me, and these thou hast sacrificed unto them to be devoured. Is this of thy whoredoms a small matter? Thou hast slaughtered my sons, and hast delivered them up, when thou madest them to pass through unto them. Thou art thy mother's daughter, and the sister of thy sisters, they loathed their husbands and their sons" (16:20, 21, 45).

These things are said of the abominations of Jerusalem. And by sacrificing their sons and daughters to idols to be devoured is signified to destroy and consume all the truths and goods of the church; to do this to truths from the Word, is signified by slaughtering the sons, and making them to pass through unto them; that the truths and goods of the Word are destroyed by falsifications and adulterations, is signified by whoredoms here and elsewhere in that chapter.

[31] In the same:

"I will pollute them with their gifts, in that they led through [the fire] every opening of the womb, that I might make them desolate. Wherefore ye offer gifts, when ye led your sons through the fire ye are polluted by all your idols" (20:26, 31).

To destroy truths by the evils of the love of self, and by desires from the proprium, is signified by leading the sons through the fire and [to destroy them] by falsities, is signified by being polluted with idols. That idols signify falsities of doctrine, and worship from [man's] own intelligence, may be seen above (n. 587).

[32] In the same:

Oholah and Oholibah "committed whoredom, and blood was in their hands, and with their idols they committed whoredom; their sons also whom they begat to me they led through unto them for food" (Ezekiel 23:37).

Oholah and Oholibah mean Samaria and Jerusalem, Samaria means the spiritual church, and Jerusalem the celestial, each as to doctrine. Falsifications and adulterations of the Word are signified by their committing whoredom, and by blood being in their hands; the falsities which thence spring up from [their] own intelligence are signified by their idols with which they committed whoredom; the signification of leading their sons through [the fire] to the idols for food, namely, that they destroyed the truths of the Word by falsities is therefore evident.

[33] As sons signify truths, therefore "the seeds which fell into the good ground" are called by the Lord "sons of the kingdom; " and "the tares" which denote falsities, sons of the evil (Matthew 13:38). Also those who are in truths are called "sons of light" (John 12:36); those who are in the marriage of truth and good from the Lord, are called "sons of the nuptials" (Mark 2:19); and those who are regenerated, "sons of God" (John 1:11-13). Because stones, in the Word, signify truths, John the Baptist said, "God is able of these stones to raise up sons unto Abraham" (Luke 3:8). That stones signify the truths upon which interior truths are based may be seen in the Arcana Coelestia 643, 1298, 3720, 6426, 8609, 10376).

[34] As sons signify truths, so in the opposite sense they also signify falsities, as in some of the passages quoted above, also in these words of Isaiah:

"Prepare the slaughter for her sons, for the iniquity of their fathers; that they may not rise and possess the land, and the faces of the earth be filled with cities. I will rise against them, and I will cut off from Babel the name and the residue, and the son and the grandson; and I will make her a heritage for the bittern, and pools of waters, and I will sweep her with the besom of destruction" (14:21-23).

This is said of Babel, which signifies adulteration of the Word and profanation. Here the total vastation of truth with those who are meant by Babel is treated of. That truths with them were utterly destroyed through adulteration of the Word is signified by Prepare the slaughter for her sons, that they may not rise and possess the land, and the faces of the earth be filled with cities; the land means the church in which there are truths, and cities mean doctrinals from mere falsities. That all truths from primaries to ultimates would perish, is signified by cutting off from Babel the name and the residue, the son and the grandson; that nothing whatever of truth would remain, is signified by she shall be swept with the besom of destruction.

[35] It must be understood that sons, in the passages above quoted, signify those who are in truths, or those who are in falsities. But because the spiritual sense of the Word has nothing in common with persons, therefore in that sense sons signify truths or falsities apart from the idea of personality. The spiritual sense is of such a nature, because the idea of person limits thought and its extension into heaven in every direction; for all thought that proceeds from affection for truth extends through heaven on all sides, nor has it any termination except like light into shade; but when a person is at the same time thought of, then the idea together with intelligence has its termination, where the person is; this is why sons, in the spiritual sense, signify truths or falsities considered apart from personality.

706. And a great sign was seen in heaven.- That this signifies Divine testification concerning the future church, and the reception of its doctrine, and as to those by whom it will be assaulted, is evident from the signification of a great sign in heaven, as denoting Divine manifestation and testification. That this refers to the church, and the reception of its doctrine, and also assault upon it, is evident from what follows, for the woman means the church, her male child, doctrine, while the dragon and his angels, and afterwards the beasts, mean those who will assault the church and its doctrine. This vision is called a great sign, because a sign means Divine manifestation concerning things to come, also testification, here concerning the future church and its doctrine, and also concerning assault upon it by those who are meant by the dragon and the beasts. This is called a sign, because it manifests and testifies. The terms sign and miracle are frequently used in the Word, sign meaning that which points out, witnesses, and persuades in regard to the subject of inquiry; but miracle means that which arouses, strikes dumb and fills with amazement. Thus a sign moves the understanding and faith, and a miracle the will and its affection; for the will with its affection is what is aroused, stricken dumb and filled with amazement, while it is understanding and its faith that are persuaded by signs and testifications.

[2] That there is a difference between a sign and a miracle is evident from this fact, that although the Jews saw so many miracles performed by the Lord still they asked signs of Him; and also from this fact, that the prodigies wrought in Egypt and in the wilderness are sometimes called signs, sometimes miracles, and sometimes also both. And it is further evident from this, that in every part of the Word there is a marriage of truth and good, thus also of the understanding and will, for truth pertains to the understanding and good to the will, consequently signs there have reference to things pertaining to truth, thus to those of faith and the understanding, and miracles to things pertaining to good, thus to those of affection and the will. What is the specific meaning of signs and miracles, when both are mentioned in the Word, is now plain, as in the following passages.

In Moses:

"I will harden the heart of Pharaoh, that I may multiply my signs and my miracles in the land of Egypt" (Exodus 7:3).

In the same:

"Jehovah gave signs and miracles great and evil upon Egypt, upon Pharaoh, and upon all his house" (Deuteronomy 6:22).

In the same:

Hath Jehovah "assayed to come and take to himself a nation out of the midst of a nation, by miracles, by signs, and by wonders" (Deuteronomy 4:34).

In David:

"They remembered not the day in which Jehovah set signs in Egypt, and prodigies in the field of Zoan" (Psalm 78:42, 43).

In the same:

"They set among them the words of his signs and miracles in the land of Ham" (Psalm 105:27).

In the same:

"He sent signs and miracles into the midst of thee, O Egypt, upon Pharaoh and all his servants" (Psalm 135:9).

In Jeremiah:

"Who hast set signs and miracles in the land of Egypt, and even to this day, both in Israel, and in men, and hast led thy people Israel out of the land of Egypt, by signs and by miracles" (32:20, 21).

From these passages it is clear that the prodigies wrought in Egypt, and afterwards among the sons of Israel, are called signs and miracles, signs because they testified and persuaded, and miracles because they aroused and filled [the people] with amazement; yet they agree, in this, that the things which arouse and fill [people] with amazement also testify and persuade, just as those things that arouse the will also persuade the understanding, or as those things that move the affection also by persuasion move the thought.

Similarly in the Evangelists:

In the consummation of the age "there shall arise false Christs and false prophets; they shall give great signs and miracles, and shall lead astray, if it be possible, even the elect" (Matthew 24:24; Mark 13:22).

Here also great signs and miracles have a similar signification, namely, that they testify and persuade, and that they strike dumb and fill with amazement, from which strong persuasion will arise. Who those are that are meant by false Christs and false prophets, and by the elect, may be seen above (n. 624:5, 684:7).

[3] In Moses:

"If there shall arise in the midst of thee a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, who shall give thee a sign or a miracle, and the sign or miracle come to pass which he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go unto other gods, thou shalt not obey" (Deuteronomy 13:1-3).

Here a prophet, and a dreamer of dreams, also a sign and miracle are mentioned, because a sign refers to a prophet, and a miracle to a dreamer of dreams; for a prophet means one who teaches truths, and, in the abstract sense, the doctrine of truth, and a dreamer [of dreams] means one who stirs up (another) to do a thing, and, in the abstract sense, the act of stirring up, from which a thing is done; this also pertains to a miracle as the former does to a sign. For prophets were instructed by a living voice from the Lord, and dreamers by representatives arousing to action, which flowed into the affection of the dreamer, and from that into the sight of the thought; for when a man dreams, his natural understanding is laid asleep, and his spiritual sight which derives its all from the affection is opened. But in this passage, the sight which derives its all from an evil affection is meant, for it is spoken of the prophets who teach falsities and who dream vain things, for by other gods are meant the falsities and vain things that such heard and saw.

[4] That signs signify testifications, which point out and persuade to the belief that a thing is so, is evident from the following passages.

In Moses:

"If they will not believe thee, nor hear the voice of the first sign, yet they will believe the voice of the latter sign; and if they will not believe these two signs, nor hear thy voice, thou shalt take of the waters of the river, and they shall become blood" (Exodus 4:8, 9).

This is said of the miracles wrought by Moses, when the Lord appeared to him in the bush, which are called signs, because they were to testify and persuade them to believe that Moses was sent to lead them out of Egypt. It is therefore three times said "that they may believe," and also "that they may hear his voice."

[5] In the same:

"Jehovah said unto Moses, How long will this people not believe in me, for all the signs which I have done in the midst of them; none of the men who have seen my glory, and the signs which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, shall see the land" (Numbers 14:11, 22, 23).

Similarly here likewise miracles are called signs, because mention is made of believing; for, as has been said, miracles are called signs because they persuade and induce faith; and as signs did not induce faith, with those who, by reason of fear, were not willing to enter into the land of Canaan, therefore it is said concerning them that they should not see the land. Similar things are signified by signs in Exodus 14:17; and 10:1, 2.

[6] In the Evangelists:

The Scribes and Pharisees said, "Master, we desire to see from thee a sign; and he answering, said, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh a sign, but no sign shall be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet; as Jonah was in the belly of the whale (cetus) three days and three nights, so shall the Son of man be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights" (Matthew 12:38-40; Luke 11:16, 29, 30).

That a sign here means testification that they would be persuaded and believe that the Lord was the Messiah and the Son of God who was to come, is plain; for the miracles which the Lord wrought in great numbers, and which they saw, were no signs to them, because miracles, as said above, are signs only to the good. Jonah was in the belly of the whale (cetus) three days and three nights, and this was taken for a sign, because it signified the burial and resurrection of the Lord, thus the complete glorification of His Human, three days and three nights signifying completeness.

[7] In Matthew:

The Pharisees and the Sadducees, tempting, asked Jesus "to show them a sign from the heavens. He answering, said, When it is evening, ye say, it will be fair weather, for the heaven is red; and in the morning, it will be tempestuous to-day, for the heaven is red and gloomy. Ye hypocrites, ye know how to discern the face of the heaven, but ye cannot the signs of the times. An evil and adulterous nation requireth a sign, but no sign shall be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonah" (16:1-4).

The sign which they asked from heaven here also means testification, that they would be persuaded and believe that the Lord was the Son of God, although miracles were performed, which they did not call signs. The Lord at that time spoke of evening and morning, because "evening and morning" signifies the Lord's coming; here it means, when the church with the Jews was devastated, for then they had "fair weather," because they knew not the Lord, and lived securely in falsities from evil; this is the evening. But when they knew Him, and, because of falsities from evils in which they were, denied and assaulted Him, then this state is signified by the morning when it is tempestuous. This is why the Lord said, "Ye hypocrites, ye know how to discern the face of the heaven, but the signs of the times ye cannot," that is, the Lord's coming; because they were an evil and adulterous nation, that is, one that adulterated the Word, therefore He said that a sign should not be given them.

[8] So again in Mark:

"The Pharisees began to dispute with 'Jesus,' seeking of him a sign from heaven; and he, sighing in his spirit, said, Why doth this generation seek after a sign? Verily, I say unto you, A sign shall not be given unto this generation" (8:11, 12).

That here a sign signifies testification, from which they might plainly know, acknowledge, and believe that the Lord was the Messiah and the Son of God whom they expected through the predictions in the prophets, is evident from the fact that Jesus sighed in spirit, and said, "Why doth this generation seek after a sign? Verily, I say unto you, A sign shall not be given unto this generation." The reason of this was, that if it had been plainly revealed or told them from heaven, and if so persuaded they had acknowledged and believed, nevertheless they would have afterwards rejected it, and to reject after acknowledgment and faith is to profane, and the lot of profaners in hell is the worst of all.

[9] That for this reason plain testification was not given them from heaven, is clear from these words in John:

"He hath blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, lest they should see with their eyes and understand with their heart, and should turn themselves, and I should heal them" (12:40).

To turn themselves and be healed means here to profane, as is the case when truths and goods are acknowledged, especially when the Lord is acknowledged, and afterwards denied; this would have been the case if the Jews had turned themselves and been healed in consequence of a sign. To see with the eyes and understand with the heart signifies to receive in the understanding and will, or in faith and love. From this it is plain that a sign signifies unmistakeable testification. Concerning the lot of profaners, see the Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 172).

[10] In John:

The disciples said unto Jesus, "What sign doest thou, that we may see and believe thee? what workest thou? Our fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, as it is written, He gave them bread out of heaven to eat. Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses did not give you bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven; for the bread of God is he who cometh down from heaven and giveth life to the world" (6:30-33).

Here also the disciples desired a sign; that this signifies testification that they might believe, is clear from their saying, "That we may see and believe, what workest thou?" They then spoke of manna, and the Lord answered concerning bread from heaven, because bread signifies all the good and truth that nourishes the soul, and, in the highest sense, the Lord Himself, from whom are everything of doctrine and everything of spiritual nourishment, by means of which He testified that they might see and believe. Nevertheless testification, which is a sign from heaven, was given to the three disciples, Peter, James, and John, as is evident from the transfiguration of the Lord, for then they saw His glory, and also heard a voice out of heaven, saying, "This is my beloved Son, hear ye him" (Mark 9:7; Luke 9:35; Matthew 17:5).

[11] In John:

When Jesus cast out of the temple them that sold therein, the Jews said, "What sign showest thou, that thou doest these things? Jesus answered, and said to them, destroy this temple, yet in three days I will raise it up" (2:16, 18, 19).

That here to show a sign signifies to testify by something wonderful, or by a voice from heaven, is plain. But because such testification would have condemned rather than saved them, as has been said just above, therefore He answered them concerning the temple - by which He meant His body - that this should be dissolved (solveretur), that is, should die, and rise again glorified on the third day. This also is what the Lord meant by the sign of Jonah in the belly of the whale (cetus) three days and three nights. That the temple in the highest sense signifies the Lord's body, may be seen in John (2:21).

[12] In Luke:

"The angel said to the shepherds, There is born to you this day, in the city of David, a Saviour who is Christ the Lord; and this is the sign unto you, ye shall find a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger" (2:11, 12, 16).

Since a sign meant testification that they might believe that the Saviour of the world was born, it is therefore said that they should find Him lying in a manger, wrapped in swaddling clothes; but that this was a testification no one can know until it is known what is meant by a manger, and by swaddling clothes. A manger means doctrine of truth from the Word, because horses signify the understanding of the Word, as is evident from what has been shown above (n. 355, 364), and in the small work concerning the White Horse 2-4); thus a manger where horses are fed signifies doctrine of truth from the Word. It is said also, in the seventh verse of the same chapter, that this was done because there was no place in the inn, an inn signifying a place of instruction. This is also the signification of inn in Luke 10:34, 22:11; Mark 14:14; and elsewhere. And this was the case with the Jews, who were then in mere falsities, through adulteration of the Word. This therefore is what is signified by there being no place in the inn. For if it had pleased the Lord, He might have been born in the most splendid palace, and been laid in a bed adorned with precious stones, but this would have been among such as were in no doctrine of truth, and there would have been no heavenly representation. He is also said to have been wrapped in swaddling clothes, because swaddling clothes signify primary truths, which are truths of innocence, and also truths of Divine Love; for nakedness when said in reference to a babe, signifies the deprivation of truth. From this it is evident why it was said by the angels, "This is the sign unto you, ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger."

[13] In the Evangelists: the disciples said to Jesus,

"What shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the consummation of the age?" (Matthew 24:3; Mark 13:4; Luke 21:7.)

The coming of the Lord and the consummation of the age signify the beginning of a new church and the end of the former church; the coming of the Lord, the beginning of a new church; and the consummation of the age, the end of the old church. Therefore in those chapters the Lord instructs His disciples concerning the successive vastation of the former church, and the establishment of a new church at its end. But He instructs and teaches them by pure correspondences, which cannot be unfolded and made known except by means of the spiritual sense; and because the Lord spoke by correspondences, therefore these were all signs, and thus testifications. They are also called signs by the Lord, in Luke:

"There shall also be terrors and great signs from heaven; there shall be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and upon the earth distress of nations in hopelessness, the sea and the waves roaring" (21:11, 25).

In Matthew:

"And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man; and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven, with power and glory" (24:30).

The signification of these and the other particulars contained in the same chapter, in the spiritual sense, has been explained in the Arcana Coelestia; and the signification of the appearance of the sign of the Son of man in the clouds of heaven has been shown in Heaven and Hell 1); further explanation is therefore unnecessary.

[14] In Mark: Jesus said unto the disciples,

"These signs shall follow them that believe: in my name they shall cast out demons; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents; if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall be restored. And they went forth and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them by signs following" (16:17, 18, 20).

Although these were miracles, yet they are called signs, because they testified of the Divine power of the Lord who performed them; therefore it is said, the Lord working with them by these signs. If these had been performed by the evil they would have been called miracles, for with them such things cause only amazement, and make an impression on the mind, and yet produce no conviction; but it is otherwise, with the good, for with them, these same things are testifications which induce belief, they are therefore also called signs, and it is said "these signs shall follow them that believe." But how these signs could produce conviction, shall also be briefly stated. Those miraculous signs - that they should cast out demons, speak with new tongues, take up serpents, that if they drank any deadly thing it should not hurt them, and that the sick should be restored by the laying on of hands - were spiritual in their essence and origin, from which these flowed forth and came forth as effects; for they were correspondences, which derive their all from the spiritual world by influx from the Lord. For example, that they should cast out demons in the name of the Lord, derived its effect from this circumstance, that the name of the Lord spiritually understood means everything of doctrine out of the Word from the Lord, and that demons are falsities of every kind; and these are thus cast out, that is, removed by means of doctrine out of the Word from the Lord. That they should speak with new tongues, derived its effect from this, that new tongues signify doctrinals for the new church; they should take up serpents because serpents signify the hells as to wickedness (malitia), and thus they would be safe from its infestation. They should not be hurt if they drank a deadly thing, denotes that the wickedness (malitia) of the hells should not infect them. That the sick should be restored by the laying on of hands means through communication and conjunction with heaven, thus with the Lord, to be restored to health from spiritual diseases, which are called iniquities and sins; the laying on of the disciples' hands, corresponding to communication and conjunction with the Lord, thus to the removal of iniquities by His Divine power.

[15] In Isaiah:

Jehovah said unto Ahaz, "Ask thee a sign of Jehovah; direct [it] into the deep, or lift [it] up above; the Lord giveth you a sign; behold, a virgin shall conceive and bring forth a son, and shall call his name God with us" (7:11, 14).

These things were said to Ahaz, king of Judah, because the king of Syria and the king of Israel made war against him, even unto Jerusalem, on whose side also was the tribe of Ephraim; but still they did not prevail, for the reason that the king of Syria here represented the External or Natural of the church, the king of Israel its Internal or Spiritual, and Ephraim the Intellectual; here, however, those three, namely, the Natural, the Spiritual, and the Intellectual perverted, and these wished to attack the doctrine of truth, signified by the king of Judah and by Jerusalem, therefore they did not succeed. But in order that Ahaz might be assured that their attempt would be vain, he was told to ask a sign, that is, a testification that he might be assured, and the choice was given him, whether it should be from heaven or from hell; this was signified by "direct [it] into the deep, or lift [it] up above"; for the king was evil. But because Jerusalem, which signifies the doctrine of truth from the Word, was not to be destroyed by such before the Lord's coming, therefore a miraculous sign was given to him testifying concerning that subject, namely, that "a virgin shall conceive and bring forth a son, whose name shall be God with us." That this church would subsequently be destroyed, is shown further on in that chapter.

[16] In the same:

"This shall be a sign to thee from with Jehovah, behold, I will bring back the shadow of the steps ¹ which is gone down on the steps of Ahaz before the sun, ten steps backward, that the sun may return ten steps on the steps which it has gone down" (38:7, 8).

This sign was given to king Hezekiah as a testification that the Lord would defend him and Jerusalem from the king of Assyria - as said in verse 6 of that chapter, - that king signifying the perverted Rational destroying all things of the church; therefore this sign similarly represented a new church, to be established by the Lord, but here, that the time would be extended beyond that which was told to Ahaz just above. Bringing back the shadow that had gone down on the steps of Ahaz before the sun, signifies holding back the time when it should take place, the steps of Ahaz signifying time, here until the Lord's coming, and the shadow signifying the progression of time from the rising to the setting. Its being brought back ten steps signifies the extension of the time as yet for several years, ten signifying several, and the sun which should go back signifying the Lord's coming. But this shall be further illustrated. The Lord's coming took place when the Jewish church was at an end, that is, when there was no good and truth left in it. This is meant by the words, when iniquity was consummated, and also by the fulness of times, in which the Lord was to come. The entire period of the duration of the Jewish church was represented by the steps of Ahaz, its beginning by the first step there, which is when the sun is in its rising, and its end by the last step in its setting. It is therefore plain that by the bringing back of the shadow from the setting towards the rising, means the extension of that time. This would take place on the steps of Ahaz, because Ahaz was a wicked king, and profaned the holy things of the church, therefore, if his successors had acted in a similar manner, the end of that church would have come quickly, but as Hezekiah was an upright king the time was extended; for on that account the iniquity of that nation was not so soon to arrive at its consummation, that is, its end.

[17] In the same:

Say ye unto the king Hezekiah, "This shall be a sign to thee, in this year ye shall eat that which springeth up of itself, and in the second year that which further groweth; but in the third year sow ye, reap, and plant vineyards, and eat the fruit thereof" (Isaiah 37:30).

This was said to king Hezekiah, when Sennacherib, king of Assyria, made war against him, and spoke proudly of himself, and insolently of God and of Israel; and in consequence one hundred and eighty-five thousand were smitten in his camp, and he himself was slain by his sons. This was done, because Assyria signifies the Rational, and the king of Assyria the same, while Judea signifies the Celestial of the church, and its king the Spiritual; but here the king of Assyria signifies the perverted Rational, which destroys by false reasonings all the celestial and spiritual things of the church, which are its goods and truths. And because by Judea and its king are signified the Celestial and Spiritual of the church which will be from the Lord when He comes into the world, therefore these things are said, which describe the regeneration of those who will be of that church. Consequently the sign, that they should eat in the first year that which springeth up of itself, signifies the celestial good which the Lord will implant in them; that which further groweth in the second year, signifies the truth of that good which shall come from it. To sow, to reap, to plant vineyards, and to eat the fruit of them, signify all the goods and truths which flow forth therefrom; to sow and reap, signifies the implantation of good and its reception; to plant vineyards, the implantation of truth and its reception. To eat the fruit of them, signifies the enjoyment which the regenerate man has of goods and of the things therefrom that give satisfaction. These things are called a sign, because they are testifications concerning the celestial church with those who are meant in the spiritual sense by Judah, whose regeneration is effected from the Lord by means of the implantation of celestial good, afterwards by means of the implantation of spiritual good, which in its essence is the truth of celestial good, and, lastly, by multiplication and fructification in the natural man.

[18] In the same:

"Thus said Jehovah, the Holy One of Israel, and his Former; they asked of me signs concerning my sons, and concerning the work of my hands they command me; I have raised him up in justice, and I will make straight all his ways. He shall build my city and let go my captivity, not for price, or for reward" (Isaiah 45:11, 13).

This also treats of the Lord's coming, and of the establishment of a church by Him. The Lord is meant by Jehovah, the Holy One of Israel, and His Former. He is called the Holy One of Israel from Divine Truth, and His Former from the establishment of a church by its means, and Israel denotes the church; therefore His sons, concerning whom they asked signs, mean those who are in truths from the Lord, while the work of His hands means their formation and the establishment of the church among them. I have raised Him up in justice, and all His ways will I make straight, signifies that Divine Good and Divine Truth are His; for justice, in the Word, is used in reference to good, and ways signify truths, leading, in this case, Divine truths, because they are spoken of the Lord. He shall build my city, and let go my captivity, signifies that He will restore the doctrine of truth, and liberate those who are in falsities from ignorance, a city signifying the doctrine of truth, and captivity the falsities of ignorance in which the nations were, and through which they were in spiritual captivity. Not for price, or for reward, signifies freely given from Divine Love.

[19] In the same:

"Let them relate to you the things which shall happen, declare ye those former things, that we may set our heart, and may know the latter end of them; or cause us to hear things to come, declare to us a sign for the future, that we may know that ye are gods" (Isaiah 41:22, 23).

That to tell things past and to come belongs to the Lord alone, and not to any man or spirit, is expressed by "declare a sign for the future, that we may know that ye are gods"; this concludes that which precedes, therefore to declare a sign is to testify by persuading to believe.

In Ezekiel:

"Take to thee a pan of iron, and set it for a wall of iron between thee and the city, and thou shalt set thy faces against it, that it may be for a siege, and thou shalt lay siege to it; this shall be a sign to the house of Israel" (4:3).

[20] These and the rest of the things in this chapter are representative of the state of the church with the Jewish nation, signifying that they had no truth that was not falsified and adulterated, which in itself is falsity. Such truth is signified by the pan of iron which he was to set for a wall between himself and the city; and because this is hard, like iron, excluding and not admitting any genuine truth, it is said, "that it may be for a siege, and thou shalt lay siege to it." That this sign should be a witness concerning the church as being such is signified by "this shall be a sign to the house of Israel," a sign denoting testification, and the house of Israel the church.

[21] In David:

"The enemy hath destroyed all things in the sanctuary; the enemies roared in the midst of thy feast; they have set their signs for signs. We see not our signs; there is no more a prophet" (Psalm 74:3, 4, 9).

The enemy hath destroyed all things in the sanctuary, signifies that evil has destroyed the holy things of the church; the enemies have roared in the midst of thy feast, signifies that falsities have destroyed all things of worship; they have set their signs for signs, signifies that they have testified and persuaded by every means. We see not our signs, signifies that no testifications of truth were accepted in the church; there is no more a prophet, signifies no doctrine of truth.

[22] In the same:

Jehovah, "make me a sign for good, that they that hate me may see and be ashamed, that thou, Jehovah, hast helped me, and consoled me" (Psalm 86:17).

To make a sign for good, signifies testification that Jehovah will help and console him, as is said afterwards, for this is the good for which Jehovah makes a sign; because a sign is testification of this, therefore it is said, "that they that hate me may see and be ashamed."

[23] In the same:

God, "who setteth fast the mountains by his strength, is girded with power; who maketh the tumult of the seas to cease, the tumult of the waves thereof and the noise of the peoples, that the inhabitants of the uttermost parts may fear because of thy signs" (Psalm 65:6-8).

Thus is described the Lord's Divine Power through testifications that induce belief. But testifications that are signs, are not His setting fast the mountains, making the tumult of the seas and of the waves thereof to cease, and the noise of the peoples, for these are not such signs as convince those who ascribe all things to nature, but the signs that testify to the Lord's Divine Power are those meant in the spiritual sense, in which sense heaven and the church are treated of. For in that sense the mountains which God setteth fast by His strength mean the higher heavens, because the angels of those heavens dwell upon mountains; and in the abstract sense, love to the Lord and charity towards the neighbour are meant; these are what the Lord girds with power, setteth fast by His strength, that is He causes them to subsist for ever. That mountains have such a signification, may be seen above (n. 405). The tumult of the seas and the tumult of the waves, mean the disputations and reasonings of those who are beneath the heavens, and who are natural and sensual. That seas signify the things of the natural man, thus those who are natural, and that therefore their tumults and waves signify their disputations and reasonings, may also be seen above (n. 342). The noise of the peoples means contradictions from falsities, for peoples signify those who are in truths, and, in the opposite sense, those who are in falsities, as may be seen above (n. 175, 331, 625). That the inhabitants of the uttermost parts may fear because of Thy signs, signifies holy worship from faith concerning the Divine Power with those who are in the ultimates of heaven and of the church. That to fear denotes to worship the Lord from charity and faith, may be seen above (n. 696); and that the inhabitants of the uttermost parts denote those who are in the ultimates of heaven and of the church, and are in the faith of charity there, is evident from this, that the uttermost parts are the ultimates of heaven and of the church. From these things it is evident that signs here signify testifications concerning the Lord's Divine Power.

[24] In Jeremiah:

"This shall be a sign unto you, that I will visit upon you in this place, that ye may know that my words shall stand upon you for evil; behold, I give the king of Egypt into the hand of his enemies, and into the hand of them that seek his soul" (44:29, 30).

This treats of those of the church who have become natural, meant by those who sojourned in Egypt, and returned therefrom. That such would be destroyed by evils and falsities is meant by, He will give the king of Egypt into the hand of his enemies, and into the hand of them that seek his soul, enemies there denoting those who are in evils, and them that seek the soul, those who are in falsities, thus, in an abstract sense, evils and falsities. That Egypt means the natural man may be seen above (n. 654). This is called a sign, because it is a testification that this will come to pass. Therefore it is said, that ye may know that My words shall stand upon you for evil.

[25] That a sign means testification concerning the certainty of a thing, is evident also from the following passages.

In Isaiah:

"Hezekiah said, What is the sign that I shall go up into the house of Jehovah?" (38:22).

In the book of Judges:

Gideon said unto the angel of Jehovah, "Show me a sign that thou art he who speaketh to me;" and the sign was this, when he touched with the staff the flesh and unleavened cakes, which Gideon offered, a fire went up out of the rock, and consumed them (6:17, 21).

In the First Book of Samuel:

"This shall be a sign unto thee, which shall come upon thy two sons; in one day they shall both die" (2:34).

In the same book:

"If the Philistines say, Come up unto us, then will we go up, because Jehovah hath given them into our hand; this shall be the sign unto us" (14:10).

Almost similar things are signified by the "Signs of the covenant" (Genesis 9:13; 17:11; Ezekiel 20:12, 20; and elsewhere), namely, testifications concerning conjunction. Testifications are also signified by the signs performed by the evil which appeared like miracles, in the following passages.

[26] In Isaiah:

Jehovah "rendereth vain the signs of the liars, he rendereth the diviners insane, turning the wise men backward, and maketh their knowledge foolish" (44:25).

In Jeremiah:

"Jehovah hath said, Learn not the way of the nations, and be not dismayed at the signs of the heavens; for the nations are dismayed at them; the statutes of the nations are vanity" (Jeremiah 10:2, 3).

In the Apocalypse:

The beast coming up out of the earth "made great signs, so that he even maketh fire to come down from heaven unto the earth before men, and seduceth them that worship upon the earth, on account of the signs which were given him to do" (13:13,14).

Again:

"They are the spirits of demons, making signs to go forth unto the kings of the earth, to gather them together to the war of that great day" (16:14).

And again:

"The beast was taken, and with him the false prophet, who made signs before them, by which he seduced them that had received the mark of the beast" (19:20).

But what is meant by signs upon the hand and in the forehead, may be seen above (n. 427). Moreover, the signs which were set upon the mountains to gather the people together to war, to battle, and so on, signified indications to perform the things commanded.

As in Isaiah:

"It shall be in that day the nations shall seek the root of Jesse, which standeth for a sign of the peoples, and his rest shall be glory. When he shall lift up a sign to the nations, and shall gather together the outcasts of Israel and the dispersed of Judah from the four winds of the earth" (11:10-12).

In Jeremiah:

"Set thee up signs, make thee pillars, set thy heart to the highway, the way thou goest" (31:21).

In the same:

"Announce among the nations, and cause it to be heard, and lift up a sign, Babel is taken" (50:2).

In the same:

"Against the walls of Babel lift up a sign, keep custody, appoint guards; lift up a sign in the land, sound the trumpet among the nations" (51:12, 27);

and elsewhere, especially in the historical parts of the Word. From all that has been quoted from the Word, it is evident that a great sign seen in heaven signifies Divine manifestation and testification, as also in the third verse of this chapter, and afterwards in chap. 15:1.

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