283. Verse 8. And the four animals, each by itself, had six wings round about, signifies the appearance of the spiritual Divine on all sides about the celestial Divine. This is evident from the signification of the four animals, which were the cherubim, as being the Lord's Divine guard and providence that the higher heavens be not approached except from the good of love and of charity; and as this is the significance of the four animals as regards their bodies, they signify also the celestial Divine (of which presently). It is evident also from the signification of "six wings round about," as meaning the spiritual Divine round about the celestial Divine (of which also presently). The "cherubim" in respect to their bodies signify the celestial Divine, and in respect to their wings the spiritual Divine; because all things that represent heavenly things signify in respect to their bodies what is essential, and in respect to what is about them what is formal. So man also, in respect to his body signifies good in essence, and in respect to the encompassing things good in form. Celestial good is good in essence, and spiritual good is good in form; and this for the reason that the will, in which good resides, is man himself, or the man in essence; while the understanding in which is truth, which is the form of good, is the man thence derived, thus man in form; this good also is round about the other.

[2] But let it be told first what the celestial Divine is, and what the spiritual Divine is. The heavens are divided into two kingdoms, one of which is called the celestial kingdom, and the other the spiritual kingdom. They differ in this, that those in the celestial kingdom are in the good of love to the Lord, and those in the spiritual kingdom are in the good of charity towards the neighbor. Therefore the celestial Divine is the good of love to the Lord, and the spiritual Divine is the good of charity towards the neighbor. Moreover, according to these goods the heavens are arranged; the highest or third heaven consists of those who are in celestial good, or in the good of love to the Lord; and the heaven that succeeds this, and is called the middle or second heaven, consists of those who are in spiritual good, or in the good of charity towards the neighbor; and as celestial good is good in the highest place, and spiritual good is good in the second place, therefore the latter is round about the former; for that which is above is also within, and that which is below is also without, and what is without is round about. This is why in the Word higher things, and things in the midst, signify things interior; and lower things, and things round about, signify things exterior. Now as each good, the celestial and the spiritual, guards, and as the "animals," that is, the cherubim, in respect to their bodies signify the celestial Divine, and in respect to their wings the spiritual Divine, it is clear that by "the four animals, each by itself, were seen to have six wings round about," the appearance of the spiritual Divine on all sides round about the celestial Divine is signified. (But a fuller idea of these things can be had from what is said and shown in the work on Heaven and Hell; first, from the chapter where it is shown that The Divine of the Lord makes Heaven, n. 7-12; then from the chapter, The Divine of the Lord in Heaven is Love to Him, and Charity towards the Neighbor, n. 13-19; and lastly, in the chapter, Heaven is divided into two Kingdoms, a Celestial Kingdom and a Spiritual Kingdom, n. 20-28.)

[3] The cherubim were seen as animals because heavenly things are represented in ultimates in various ways, as can be seen from many passages in the Word; as:

That the Holy Spirit appeared as a dove over Jesus when He was baptized (Matthew 3:16-17).

And that the Divine of the Lord appeared as a lamb (Revelation 5:6, 8, 13).

And from this the Lord was also called a Lamb (Revelation 6:1, 16, 7:9-10, 14, 17, 12:11, 13:8, 14:1, 4, 17:14; 19:7, 9, 21:22-23, 27).

There were "four cherubim," and "each had six wings," because "four" signifies celestial good, and "six" spiritual good; for "four" signifies conjunction, and inmost conjunction with the Lord is through love to Him; but "six" signifies communication, and communication with the Lord is by means of charity towards the neighbor.

[4] That "wings" signify the spiritual Divine, which in its essence is truth from good, can be seen from the following passages. In David:

If ye have lain among the ranks, [ye shall have] the wings of a dove overlaid with silver, and her pinions with the yellow of gold; when Thou, Shaddai, dost spread out, kings shall be in it (Psalms 68:13-14).

What it means that "those who lie among the ranks shall have the wings of a dove overlaid with silver, and her pinions with the yellow of gold," and that "kings shall be in it when Shaddai spreadeth out," can be understood only from the internal sense; in that sense "to lie among the ranks" signifies to live according to the statutes; "the wings of a dove overlaid with silver" signify spiritual truths; her "pinions with the yellow of gold" signify spiritual good from which are those truths; "Shaddai" signifies a state of temptations; "kings in it" signify truths in that state and after it. "The wings of a dove overlaid with silver" signify spiritual truths, because "wing" signifies the spiritual, "dove" signifies truth from good, and "silver" the truth itself; "pinions overlaid with the yellow of gold" signify spiritual good from which are those truths, because "pinions" and "the yellow of gold" signify spiritual good from which are truths. "When Shaddai spreadeth out" signifies a state of temptations because "God Shaddai" signifies temptations and consolations after them; and as truths from good are implanted in man by temptations it is said, "kings shall be in it," for "kings" signify truths from good (See above, n. 31).

[5] In the same:

God rode upon a cherub, He did fly, and was borne upon the wings of the wind (Psalms 18:10).

"God rode upon a cherub" signifies the Lord's Divine Providence; "He did fly" signifies omnipresence in the spiritual world; "He was borne upon the wings of the wind" signifies omnipresence in the natural world; "wings of the wind" are things spiritual, from which are things natural.

[6] In the same:

Jehovah covereth thee under His pinion, and under His wings shalt thou trust; truth is a shield and a buckler (Psalms 91:4).

"To cover under the pinion" signifies to guard by Divine truth, which is the spiritual Divine; and "to trust under His wings" signifies under truth known [verum scientificum], which is the spiritual natural Divine; and as both signify truth, and "to cover" signifies guarding by means of it, it is said, "truth is a shield and a buckler." This makes clear what is signified:

By being hidden under the shadow of God's wings (Psalms 17:8);

By putting trust under the shadow of His wings (Psalms 36:7; 57:1);

Also by singing under the shadow of His wings (Psalms 63:7).

[7] That "wing" in reference to the Lord signifies the spiritual Divine is further evident from the following passages. In Ezekiel:

When I passed by thee, and saw thee, that behold thy time was the time of loves, I spread My wing over thee, and I covered thy nakedness (Ezekiel 16:8).

Here Jerusalem is treated of, and by it the church is meant, here its reformation; "the time of loves" signifies the state when it could be reformed; "I spread My wing over thee" signifies spiritual truth by which reformation is effected; "I covered thy nakedness" signifies putting evil out of sight thereby; for the evil that man has by heredity and afterwards from what is his own [ex proprio] is put out of sight, that is, so removed as not to appear, by spiritual truths, which are truths from good.

[8] In David:

Jehovah covereth Himself with light as with a garment; He stretcheth out the heavens like a curtain; He layeth the beams of His chambers in the waters; He maketh the clouds His chariot; He walketh upon the wings of the wind (Psalms 104:2, 3).

The "light with which Jehovah covereth Himself" signifies Divine truth in the heavens; it is called His "garment" because it proceeds from Him as a sun, and is thus outside of Him and about Him. This has a like meaning with the "light" and "the garments" of the Lord, when He was transfigured (Matthew 17:2; Mark 9:3; Luke 9:28-37). "He stretcheth out the heavens like a curtain" signifies filling heaven and them that are therein with Divine truth, and thereby with intelligence; "He layeth the beams of His chambers in the waters" means to fill those who are in the ultimate heaven and in the church with the knowledges of truth and good; "He maketh the clouds His chariot" signifies the doctrine of truth from the literal sense of the Word, "clouds" mean that sense, and "chariot" doctrine; "to walk upon the wings of the wind" signifies the spiritual sense of the Word contained in the literal sense.

[9] In Malachi:

Unto you that fear My name shall the Sun of righteousness arise, and healing in His wings (Malachi 4:2).

"The Sun of righteousness" signifies the good of love, which is the celestial Divine; and the "wings of Jehovah, in which there is healing," signify truth from that good, which is the spiritual Divine; "healing" is reformation thereby.

[10] In Moses:

As an eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her young, spreadeth abroad her wings, beareth them on her wings, so Jehovah doth lead him (Deuteronomy 32:11, 12).

Here comparison is made with an "eagle," because "eagle" signifies intelligence, and "wing" the spiritual Divine, which is Divine truth, from which is intelligence.

[11] In Isaiah:

They that wait upon Jehovah renew their strength, they mount up with a wing like eagles (Isaiah 40:31).

"To mount up with a wing like eagles" is to ascend into the light of heaven, which is Divine truth or the spiritual Divine from which is intelligence.

[12] In Ezekiel:

The mountain of height will I plant it; that it may lift up the bough and bear fruit, and become a magnificent cedar; that under it may dwell every bird of every wing (Ezekiel 17:23). "A magnificent cedar" signifies the spiritual church; "every bird of every wing" signifies things intellectual which are from spiritual truths.

From this it can be seen what "the wings of the cherubim," both here and elsewhere in the Word, signify, namely, the spiritual Divine, which is Divine truth instructing, regenerating, and protecting.

[13] As also in Ezekiel:

Each cherub had four faces: and each had four wings, their wings were erect one toward the other, each had two wings covering their bodies. I heard the sound of the wings like the sound of great waters, as the voice of Shaddai; when they went, the voice of a tumult like the voice of a camp; when they stood they let down their wings. I heard the voice of their wings kissing each the other, and the voice of wheels beside them; the voice of the wings of the cherubim was heard even unto the court without, as the voice of God Shaddai. The likeness of hands was under their wings (Ezekiel 1:4, 6, 23-24; 3:12-13; 10:5, 21).

That "wings" here signify the spiritual Divine, which is the Lord's Divine truth in His celestial kingdom, is evident from the particulars of the description here; that there were "four wings" signifies the spiritual Divine in that kingdom; that "their wings were erect one toward the other," and "kissed each other" signifies consociation and conjunction from the Lord of all in that kingdom; that "the wings covered their bodies" signifies the spiritual Divine there encompassing the celestial Divine; that "the sound of their wings was heard as the sound of great waters," and "as the voice of wheels," and "as the voice of Shaddai," and that "the voice of the wings was heard even unto the court without" signifies the quality of the spiritual Divine, that is, of Divine truths in the ultimate heaven; for "voice" is predicated of truth; "waters" signify truths and the perception of truths; "wheels" the truths of doctrinals, because a "chariot" signifies doctrine; and "God Shaddai" means truth rebuking in temptations, and afterwards consoling; the "court without" is the ultimate heaven; the "likeness of hands under the wings" signifies the power of Divine truth.

[14] From this also can be seen what the "wings" of the cherubim, that were over the mercy-seat which was upon the ark, signified, which are thus described in Moses:

Make one cherub from the one end, and the other cherub from the other end; out of the mercy-seat shall ye make the cherubim on the two ends thereof. And the cherubim shall spread out the wings upwards, covering over the mercy-seat with the wings, and their faces shall be a man to his brother; towards the mercy-seat shall be the faces of the cherubim. And thou shalt put the mercy-seat above the ark; and to the ark thou shalt commit the testimony that I shall give thee (Exodus 25:18-21).

Here, too, "cherubim" in like manner signify the Lord's Providence in respect to guarding, that the highest heaven or the celestial kingdom be not approached except through the good of love from the Lord and to the Lord. The "testimony" or the "law," in the ark, signifies the Lord Himself; the "ark" the inmost or the highest heaven; the "mercy-seat" the hearing and reception of all things of worship which are from the good of love, and then expiation; the "wings of the cherubim" signify the spiritual Divine in that heaven or in that kingdom; that "the wings were spread out upwards," and that "they covered the mercy-seat," and that "their faces were toward the mercy-seat" signify the reception itself and hearing. (But all this can be seen more fully explained in Arcana Coelestia 9506-9546.) And as the "wings of the cherubim" and their direction signify Divine truth heard and received by the Lord, therefore it follows in Moses:

And there I will meet with thee, and I will speak with thee from above the mercy-seat, from between the two cherubim which are upon the ark of the testimony, all things which I will command unto the sons of Israel (Exodus 25:22, and Numbers 7:89).

[15] As most expressions in the Word have a contrary sense also, so do "wings," in which sense they signify falsities and reasonings from them; as in Revelation:

Out of the smoke [of the pit of the abyss] went forth locusts. And the voice of their wings was as the voice of chariots of many horses running to war (Revelation 9:2-3, 9).

"Locusts" signify falsities in extremes, and "horses" reasonings from them, and "war" signifies the combat of falsity against truth; it is therefore said, "the voice of the wings of the locusts was as the voice of chariots of many horses running to war."

[16] In Hosea:

Ephraim is joined to idols. Their wine is gone; in whoring they have committed whoredom. The wind hath bound her up in its wings, and they shall be ashamed because of their sacrifices (Hosea 4:17-19).

"Ephraim" signifies the intellectual, such as it is with those within the church who are illustrated when they read the Word; "idols" signify the falsities of doctrine; therefore "Ephraim joined to idols" signifies a perverted intellectual seizing upon falsities; that "their wine is gone" signifies that the truth of the church is gone, "wine" meaning that truth; "in whoring they have committed whoredom" signifies that they have falsified truths, "whoredom" meaning the falsification of truth; "the wind hath bound up in its wings" signifies reasonings from fallacies, from which are falsities. (What fallacies in respect to things spiritual are, see The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 53.) "Wind in the wings" has a like signification in Zechariah 5:9.

175. I will give him power over the nations, signifies over the evils within him, which will then be scattered by the Lord. This is evident from the signification of "nations," as being evils (of which presently); and from the signification of "giving power over them," as being that these (the evils) will then be dispersed by the Lord. "To have power," in reference to "over the nations," means to scatter in reference to evils; thus there is an adaptation of words to their subjects. It is said that evils will be scattered by the Lord, for the Lord scatters evils by means of truths. He first discovers them to man by means of truths, and when man acknowledges the evils, the Lord scatters them. (That the Lord alone does this, see The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 200.) "Nations and peoples" are often mentioned in the Word, and those who know nothing of the spiritual or internal sense of the Word, believe that peoples and nations are to be understood. But "peoples" mean those who are in truths, or in the contrary sense those who are in falsities, and "nations" those who are in goods, or in the contrary sense, those who are in evils. And as such are meant by "peoples" and by "nations," so abstractly from persons "peoples" mean truths or falsities, and "nations" goods and evils; for the true spiritual sense is abstracted from persons, spaces, times, and like things, that are proper to nature.

[2] With these the natural sense of the Word, which is the sense of its letter, is at one; and the sense that is at one with these serves as a basis to the sense that is apart from them. For all things that are in nature are ultimates of Divine order, and the Divine does not rest in the middle, but flows down even to its ultimates, and there subsists. From this it is that the Word in the letter is such as it is, and unless it were such it would not serve as a basis for the wisdom of angels who are spiritual. It can be seen from this how mistaken those are who despise the Word on account of its style. "Nations" signify those who are in good, and in the abstract, goods, because men who lived in ancient times were divided into nations, families, and houses; and they then loved each other mutually; and the father of a nation loved the whole nation which was from him; thus the good of love reigned among them. For this reason "nations" signified goods. But when men came into the opposite state, which took place in the following ages when empires were established, then "nations" signified evils. (See further on this subject in the small work on The Earths in the Universe 49, 90, 173, 174.)

[3] That "nations" in the Word signify either goods or evils, and "people" either truths or falsities, can be seen from the following passages. In Isaiah:

Nations shall walk to Thy light, and kings to the brightness of Thy rising. Then shalt Thou see and flow together, and Thine heart shall be enlarged, because the multitude of the sea is converted unto Thee, the army of the nations come unto Thee; Thy gates shall be opened continually, they shall not be shut by day and by night, that men may bring unto Thee the army of the nations, and their kings shall be brought; for the nation or kingdom that will not serve Thee shall perish; and the nations by wasting shall be wasted. Thou shalt suck the milk of nations, even the breasts of kings shalt Thou suck. The little one shall become a thousand, and the few a numerous nation (Isaiah 60:3, 5, 11-12, 16, 22).

Here the Lord is treated of; and by "nations" all who are in the good of love to Him are meant, and by "kings" all who are in the truths of faith in Him. From this it is manifest who are meant by the "nations" that "shall walk to Thy light;" and by "the army of the nations that shall be brought;" also, who are meant by "the kings" that "shall walk to the brightness of Thy rising;" and by "the kings of the nations" that "shall be brought;" also, what is meant by "Thou shalt suck the milk of nations and the breasts of kings" ("milk" is the delight of the good of love, likewise "breasts," for milk is from them). The multiplication of truth and the fructification of good are described by the "little one shall become a thousand, and the few a numerous nation." But by "the nations that shall be wasted" are meant all that are in evils, and also the evils themselves.

[4] In the same:

Behold I will lift up My hand towards the nations, and set up Mine ensign towards the peoples, that they may bring thy sons in the bosom, and carry thy daughters upon the shoulder; and kings shall be thy nourishers and the chief women thy sucklers; with the face to the earth shall they bow down to thee (Isaiah 49:22, 23).

Here also the Lord is treated of, and those who shall worship and adore Him. To "lift up His hand towards the nations, and His ensign towards the peoples, " ¹ is to join to Himself all who are in the goods of love and in truths therefrom; of these it is said that "they shall bring thy sons in the bosom, and carry thy daughters upon the shoulder;" "sons" are the affections of truth, and "daughters" the affections of good (See above, n. 166). And of these it is said that their "kings shall be thy nourishers, and the chief women thy sucklers." "Kings" are truths themselves, "chief women" are the goods thereof; and as man is regenerated by both of these, and also nourished, it is said that they shall be "nourishers" and "sucklers." (That man is regenerated by means of truths and a life according to them, see in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 23, 24, 27, 186.) This is the internal sense of these words; without that sense who could understand them?

[5] In the same:

Jehovah said, Behold I spread out upon Jerusalem peace as a river, and as a torrent the glory of the nations, that ye may suck. He will come to gather all nations and tongues, that they may come and see My glory. They shall declare My glory among the nations; then shall they bring your brethren out of all nations, as a gift to Jehovah, upon horses and upon the chariot, to the mountain of My holiness (Isaiah 66:12, 18-20).

Here "Jerusalem" is the Lord's church in the heavens and on the earth; it is said the church in the heavens, for the church is there also (See in the work on Heaven and Hell 221-227). By "nations and tongues" all who are in the goods of love and in truths therefrom are meant. It is said that "they shall bring out of all nations a gift to Jehovah, upon horses and upon the chariot;" "a gift to Jehovah" is worship from the good of love; "horses and chariots" are intellectuals and doctrinals, for these are the source and foundation of worship. (That this is what "horses and chariots" signify, see The White Horse 1-5.)

[6] In the same:

It shall be in that day that a Root of Jesse, which shall stand for a sign of the people, the nations shall seek (Isaiah 11:10). "The root of Jesse" is the Lord; "to stand for a sign of the people" means that it may be seen by those who are in truths; "the nations which shall seek," are those who are in the good of love. It is believed that "nations" here mean the nations that are to approach and acknowledge the Lord, from which is to be the church that is called the church of the Gentiles; but these are not meant by "nation" but all who are in love to the Lord and faith in Him, whether within the church or out of it (See in the work on Heaven and Hell 308, 318-328).

[7] In the same:

A strong people shall honor Thee, the city of the powerful nations shall fear thee (Isaiah 25:3).

In the same:

Open ye the gates, that the righteous nation may enter in. Thou hast increased the nation, O Jehovah, Thou hast increased the nation, Thou art glorified (Isaiah 26:2, 15).

In the same:

Come near, ye nations, to hear; and hearken, ye peoples (Isaiah 34:1).

In the same:

I, Jehovah, have called thee in righteousness, for a covenant to the people, for a light of the nations (Isaiah 42:6).

In Jeremiah:

The nations shall bless themselves in Him, and in Him shall they glory (Jeremiah 4:2).

In the same:

Who will not fear Thee, O king of nations? and in all their kingdom there is none like unto Thee (Jeremiah 10:7).

In Daniel:

I was seeing in the night visions, and behold with the clouds of heaven One like the Son of man. And there was given Him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom; and all peoples, nations, and tongues shall worship Him (Daniel 7:13, 14).

In David:

The peoples shall give thanks unto Thee, O God; all the peoples shall give thanks unto Thee. Let the nations be glad and sing for joy; for Thou shalt judge the peoples with equity, and shalt lead the nations upon the earth (Psalms 67:3, 4).

In the same:

That I may see the good of Thy chosen, and be glad in the joy of Thy nations (Psalms 106:5).

In Revelation:

The glory and honor of the nations shall be brought into the New Jerusalem (Revelation 21:26).

In Isaiah:

Ye shall be called priests of Jehovah; ministers of your ² God, it shall be said to you. Ye shall eat the wealth of the nations, and in their glory shall ye glory (Isaiah 61:6).

In the Lamentations:

The breath of our nostrils, the Anointed of Jehovah, was taken in their pits; of whom we had said, In His shadow we shall live among the nations (Lamentations 4:20).

In these passages, by "nations" all who are in love to the Lord, whether within the church where the Word is or outside it, are meant.

[8] That by "nations" in a contrary sense those who are in evils are meant, and in the abstract, evils themselves, can be seen from the following passages. In Jeremiah:

I will bring a nation upon you from far, it is a mighty nation; it is a nation of an age, a nation whose tongue thou shalt not know. It shall eat up thy harvest and thy bread; it shall eat up thy sons and thy daughters; it shall eat up thy vine and thy fig-tree; it shall impoverish the cities with the sword (Jeremiah 5:15, 17).

The vastation of the church is here treated of; and by "nation" is meant the evil that will consummate it; it is therefore said, that "it shall eat up the harvest and the bread," "the sons and daughters," "the vine and the fig-tree," and "shall impoverish the cities with the sword;" by which all the goods of love and the truths of faith are signified; by "harvest" a state of the reception of truth from good (See Arcana Coelestia 9295); by "bread" the good of love (See in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 218); by "sons and daughters" the affections of truth and good (See above, n. 166); by "vine" the internal church, thus the internal things of the church (See Arcana Coelestia 1069, 5113, 6376, 9277); by "fig-tree" the external church, thus the external things of the church (Arcana Coelestia 5113); by "cities" doctrines (Arcana Coelestia 402, 2449, 2712, 2943, 3216, 4492, 4493); by "sword" falsity destroying (See above, n. 73, 131). From this it can be seen that by "nations" is signified the evil that destroys all these.

[9] In the same:

Behold I lay stumbling-blocks before this people, that they may stumble upon them, the fathers and the sons together. Behold, a people cometh from the land of the north, and a great nation from the sides of the earth. They have no compassion, their voice roareth like the sea, and they ride upon horses (Jeremiah 6:21-23).

Here also "nation" means evil, and "peoples" falsities, "the stumbling-blocks upon which the fathers and the sons stumble" are the perversions of good and truth ("fathers" are goods, and "sons" truths therefrom). It is said, "a people from the land of the north, and a nation from the sides of the earth," for the "north" signifies falsity from evil, and "the sides of the earth" signify what is outside of the church, thus evils remote from the goods of the church. "To roar like the sea, and to ride upon horses," is to persuade by fallacies of the senses, and by reasonings therefrom.

[10] In Ezekiel:

The land is full of the judgment of bloods, and the city is full of violence, wherefore I will bring the worst of the nations, that they may occupy their houses; the king shall mourn, and the prince shall be clothed with stupor (Ezekiel 7:23-24, 27).

The "land" is the church; "full of the judgment of bloods" is to be in falsities that destroy goods; "city" is doctrine; "full of violence" is to use force against the good of charity; "the worst of the nations" are direful falsities from evil; "to occupy their houses" is to possess their minds; "the king who shall mourn" is the truth of the church; "the prince who shall be clothed with stupor," is subservient truth. (That the "land" is the church, see Arcana Coelestia 662, 1066, 1068, 1262, 1413, 1607, 2928, 3355, 4447, 4535, 5577, 8011, 9325, 9643; that "bloods" are falsities destroying good, n. 374, 1005, 4735, 5476, 9127; that "city" is doctrine, n. 2268, 2449, 2451, 2712, 2943, 3216, 4492, 4493; that "violence" is using force against the good of charity, n. 6353; that "houses" are the things of man that belong to his mind, n. 710, 2231, 2233, 2559, 3128, 3538, 4973, 5023, 6690, 7353, 7848, 7910, 7929, 9150; that "the king who shall mourn" is the truth of the church, see above n. 31.)

[11] In David:

Jehovah bringeth the counsel of the nations to naught, He overthroweth the thoughts of the peoples (Psalms 33:10).

"Nations" mean those who are in evils, and "peoples" those who are in falsities; and because both are signified, it is said that "Jehovah bringeth the counsel of the nations to naught, and overthroweth the thoughts of the peoples," which are two expressions, as it were, of one thing, yet they are distinct in the internal sense, in which "nations" signify one thing, and "peoples" another.

[12] In Luke:

Then they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led captive among all nations, and at length Jerusalem shall be trodden down by the nations, until the time of the nations be fulfilled. Then there shall be signs in sun, moon, and stars, and upon the earth anguish of nations, the sea and the waves roaring (Luke 21:24-25).

The consummation of the age is here treated of, which is the last time of the church, when there is no longer any faith because there is no charity, or no truth because there is no good. This is here described by correspondences: "to fall by the edge of the sword" is to be destroyed by falsities; "to be led captive among all nations" is to be possessed by evils of every kind; "Jerusalem, which shall be trodden down," is the church; the "sun" is love to the Lord; the "moon" faith in Him; the "stars" the knowledges of good and truth; the "signs" in them mean that these are to perish; "the sea and the waves that shall roar" are fallacies and reasonings therefrom.

[13] In Matthew:

Nation shall rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. And they shall deliver you unto affliction, and ye shall be hated of all the nations for My name's sake (Matthew 24:7, 9; Luke 21:10, 11).

These things also were said by the Lord respecting the last time of the church; and by "nation shall rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom" is signified that there will be conflicts of evils and falsities among themselves; by "famines and pestilences" are signified the failure and wasting of truths; by "earthquakes" the perversion of the church; by "being hated of all nations" is signified to be hated by all who are in evil; "the name of the Lord," for the sake of which they shall be hated, signifies all things of love and faith whereby the Lord is worshiped (See above, n. 102, 135).

[14] In Ezekiel:

Behold Asshur a cedar in Lebanon. He has become high, and his branches have been multiplied. In his branches have all the fowl of the heavens built their nests, and under his branches all the beasts of the field have brought forth, and in his shade have dwelt all great nations. But his heart is lifted up in his height; therefore I will give him into the hand of the strong one of the nations, strangers shall cut him off, the violent of the nations, and they shall cast him down; whence all peoples of the earth have gone down from his shadow, and have abandoned him (Ezekiel 31:3, 5, 6, 10-12).

These things no one can understand unless he has a knowledge of the spiritual or internal sense of the Word. He will believe them to be mere comparisons, in which there is no spiritual signification; when yet all the particulars therein signify things of heaven and the church; therefore they shall be explained briefly. "Asshur" is the rational of the man of the church which is illustrated; this is called "a cedar in Lebanon," because a "cedar" has the same signification as "Asshur," specifically truth from good in the rational; and "Lebanon" is the mind where the rational resides, because there were cedars in Lebanon.

By "his branches that were multiplied" are meant truths therefrom; "the fowl of the heavens that built their nests in his branches" are the affections of truth; and "the beasts of the field that brought forth under his branches" are the affections of good; the "great nations that dwelt in his shade" are the goods of love; "his heart lifted up in his height" is the love of self; "to be given into the hands of the strong one of the nations," and "to be cast down by the violent of the nations," means that evils from that love will destroy goods and truths; "the peoples of the earth that went down from his shadow and abandoned him" are all truths of the church. From this it is manifest that "nations" signify goods, and in the contrary sense evils; by "the nations that dwelt in his shade," goods; and by "the nations that cut him off, and cast him down," evils. (See, moreover, what is said and shown about nations and their signification in Arcana Coelestia, namely, that by "nations" in the Word are meant those who are in good, and consequently goods themselves, n. 1059, 1159, 1258, 1260, 1416, 1849, 6005; "the assembly of the nations," truths and goods, n. 4574, 7830; "the holy nation," the spiritual kingdom, n. 9255, 9256; when it is said "nation and people," by "nation" those who are in celestial good are meant, and by "people" those who are in spiritual good, n. 10288. That by "nations," especially the nations of the land of Canaan, evils and falsities of every kind are meant, n. 1059, 1205, 1868, 6306, 8054, 8317, 9320, 9327).

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