401. And the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood. That this signifies that all good of love was separated, and thence that all truth of faith was falsified, is plain from the signification of the sun, as denoting, in the highest sense, the Lord as to Divine love, and thence with man the good of love to the Lord from the Lord, of which we shall speak presently; from the signification of black as sackcloth of hair, as denoting separated; black being said of darkness, thus of what does not appear from any light. It is said, "as sackcloth of hair," because the Sensual of man is meant, which is the lowest part of the natural, and, consequently, around the interiors, in which it induces darkness. There are two minds in man, (a spiritual and a natural; the spiritual mind thinks and perceives from the light [luce] of heaven, but the natural mind thinks and perceives from the light [luce] of the world; from the latter, man has a light [lumen], which is called natural light [lumen]. It is the latter mind that is called the natural man, but the former is called the spiritual man. Because the natural mind is below or outside the spiritual mind, it is, consequently, also around it, for it encloses it on every side, therefore, it is called sackcloth of hair; for when the spiritual mind, which is the higher and more interior mind, is shut, then the natural mind, which is lower and more exterior, is in darkness as to all things of heaven and the church, for all the light possessed by the natural mind, and constituting the intelligence thereof, is from the light of his spiritual mind, which light is the light of heaven. The Sensual, which is the ultimate of the Natural, appears also as hairy in the light of heaven; hence it is that hair signifies the ultimate of the natural man, which is his Sensual (see n. 3301, 5247, 5569-5573).

[2] These things are mentioned in order that it may be known why it is said that the sun became black as sackcloth of hair; from the signification of the moon, as denoting spiritual truth, which is called the truth of faith, concerning which we shall treat presently; and from the signification of its becoming as blood, as denoting that truth was falsified; for blood, in the genuine sense, signifies Divine truth, and, in the opposite, violence offered to it, thus Divine truth falsified (that blood in the Word signifies these things, see above, n. 329); hence it is evident what the moon becoming as blood signifies. The reason why the sun signifies the Lord as to Divine love, and thence with man the good of love to the Lord from the Lord, and that the moon signifies spiritual truth, is, that the Lord in the heaven where the celestial angels are, appears as a Sun, and in the heaven where the spiritual angels are, as a moon. His appearance as a Sun is from His Divine love; for the Divine love appears as fire, whence the angels in the heavens have their heat; consequently, by celestial and spiritual fire, in the Word, is meant love. The Lord's appearance as a moon is from the light of that sun, for the moon derives her light (lumen) from that sun, and the light (lux) in heaven is Divine truth, consequently, by light in the Word is signified Divine truth. But concerning the sun and moon in the heavens, and concerning the heat and light thence, see what is shown in the work, Heaven and Hell 116-125, 126-140.

[3] That by sun in the Word is signified the Lord as to Divine love, and with man the good of love to the Lord, and by moon the Lord as to Divine truth spiritual, is plain from the following passages. In Matthew:

When Jesus was transfigured before Peter, James, and John, "his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment became as the light" (17:1, 2).

Because the Lord was then seen in His Divine, as to His face He appeared as the Sun, and as to His raiment, as the light, for the face corresponds to love, and garments correspond to truths; and because the Divine love was in Him, therefore, His face shone as the sun, and because the Divine truth was from Him, therefore His raiment became as the light; the light also in heaven is the Divine truth proceeding from the Lord as a Sun. (That the face, when said of the Lord, denotes love and every good, may be seen in the Arcana Coelestia 5585, 9306, 9546, 9888; and that raiment, when said of the Lord, signifies Divine truth, may be seen above, n. 64, 195.) The Lord appears in like manner in heaven before the angels, when He appears present to them, but then He appears outside the sun. Therefore He was also seen in like manner by John when he was in the spirit; as is clear in the Apocalypse, where it is said that

The face of the Son of Man "was seen as the sun shineth in his strength" (1:16).

That it was the Lord who was seen is evident (see above, n. 63).

[4] Similarly, when the Lord was seen by John as an angel, it is written,

"And I saw a strong angel coming down from heaven, clothed with a cloud; and a rainbow was around his head, and his face was as the sun" (Apoc. 10:1).

For by angels, in the Word, in its spiritual sense, are not meant angels, but something Divine from the Lord, because the Divine that appears from them is not of them, but of the Lord with them. Similarly, the Divine truth which they speak, and which is full of wisdom, they do not speak from themselves, but from the Lord; for they have been men, and men derive all wisdom and intelligence from the Lord. Hence it is evident that by an angel in the Word is meant the Lord, who also on this occasion appeared as a Sun. (That by an angel in the Word is meant something Divine from the Lord, may be seen in the Arcana Coelestia 1925, 2821, 3039, 4085, 6280, 8192; that on this account angels in the Word are called gods, n. 4295, 4402, 7268, 7873, 8301, 8192.

[5] Hence when the church was represented as a woman, the sun then appeared round about her; concerning which it is thus written in the Apocalypse:

"A great wonder was seen in heaven; a woman encompassed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars" (12:1).

That by the woman here is signified the church, will be seen in the explanation to be given in the following pages. (That a woman signifies the church may be seen in the Arcana Coelestia 252, 253, 749, 770.) And because the church is from the Lord, therefore, she was seen encompassed with the sun. What is signified by the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars, will also be shown in that explanation.

[6] Hence it is said by David:

"The God of Israel said, the Rock of Israel spake to me, as the light of the morning, when the sun riseth, a morning without clouds, by clear shining after rain" (2 Sam. 23:3, 4).

By the God of Israel, and by the Rock of Israel, is here meant the Lord as to the church, and as to Divine truth therein; by the God of Israel, as to the church, and by the Rock of Israel, as to Divine truth therein; and because the Lord is the sun of the angelic heaven, and the Divine truth proceeding from Him is the light of that heaven, it is therefore said of the Divine that He spoke, which is Divine truth, as the light of the morning when the sun riseth; because this is pure, and proceeds from His Divine love, it is therefore added, "a morning without clouds, by clear shining after rain," for the shining of the light, or of the Divine truth proceeding from Him, is from the Divine love; after rain signifies after communication and reception, for its shining then is with angels and men to whom it is communicated, and by whom it is received. (That the Rock and the Stone of Israel denote the Lord as to Divine truth, may be seen, n. 6426, 8581, 10580; and that light denotes the Divine truth proceeding from the Lord as a Sun, thus from His Divine love, in the work concerning Heaven and Hell 126-140.)

[7] Similarly it is said, in the book of Judges, respecting those who love Jehovah:

"Let them that love him be as the sun arising in his might" (5:31).

(That Jehovah, in the Word, denotes the Lord as to the Divine good of Divine love, may be seen in the Arcana Coelestia 1736, 2921, 3035, 5041, 6303, 6281, 8864, 9315, 9373, 10146.) Concerning those who love Him, it is said, "as the sun arising in his might," by which is signified the Lord's Divine love in them. Respecting them it is also said in Matthew that they shall shine as the sun:

"The just shall shine as the sun in the kingdom of my Father" (13:43).

In the Word, those are called just who love the Lord, that is, from love do His commandments; and they shine as to the face with an effulgence like that of the sun, because the Lord's Divine love is communicated to them and received by them, by virtue of which the Lord is in their midst, that is, in their interiors, which manifest themselves in the face. That those are called just who are in the good of love towards the Lord, may be seen above, n. 204.

[8] In David:

"His seed shall endure for ever, and his throne as the sun before me. It shall be established for ever as the moon, and as a faithful witness in the clouds" (Psalms 89:36, 37).

These things are said concerning the Lord, and concerning His heaven and church, for by David, who is there treated of in the sense of the letter, is meant the Lord (as may be seen above, n. 205). By his seed which shall endure for ever, is signified the Divine truth, and those also are signified, who receive it. By his throne which [shall endure] as the sun before Me, are signified His heaven and church, which are in celestial good, which is the good of love. By the throne which shall be established for ever as the moon, is signified heaven and the church, which are in spiritual good, which is Divine truth. By a faithful witness in the clouds, is signified the Word in the sense of the letter, which is called a witness because it testifies, the clouds denoting the sense of the letter of the Word.

[9] In the same:

"They shall fear thee with the sun, and before the moon, a generation of generations. In his day shall the just flourish; and much peace until the moon is not. His name shall endure for ever, before the sun shall the name of the Son be held: and all nations shall be blest in him" (Psalms 72:5, 7, 17).

These things also are said of the Lord, for this Psalm treats of Him; and because the Lord appears in heaven to those who are in His celestial kingdom as a Sun, and to those who are in His spiritual kingdom as a moon, therefore it is said, "They shall fear thee with the sun, and before the moon, a generation of generations; that the just shall flourish in that day; and much peace until the moon is not," signifies, that those who are in love to the Lord, shall continue in truths from that good, because truths with those who are in the celestial kingdom, or who are in love to the Lord, are implanted in them, for those are called just who are in the good of love, and peace is said of that good. But that it may be known how this is to be understood, namely, until the moon is not, it shall be told. The light proceeding from the Lord as a Sun, differs from the light which proceeds from the Lord as a moon in the heavens, as much as the light of the sun in the world by day differs from the light of the moon in the world by night; similarly, the intelligence of those who are in the light of the sun of heaven, [differs] from the intelligence of those who are in the light of the moon there; therefore, those who are the light of the sun there, are in pure Divine truth; but those who are in the light of the moon there, are not in pure Divine truth, for they are in many falsities, which they have derived from not understanding the Word in the sense of the letter; these falsities still appear to them as truths. From these things it is evident that by "until the moon is not" is signified until there is [no] falsity with them, which appears as truth, but pure truth which makes one with the good of love. It should, however, be known that the falsities of those who are in the light of the moon in the heavens, are falsities in which there is no evil, and that, therefore, such [falsities] are accepted by the Lord as if they were truths (concerning which falsities, see the Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 21). This, therefore, is what is signified by "until the moon is not," namely, with those who are meant by the just, in whom there is much peace. But, in the highest sense, by those words are meant the Lord as to His Divine Human, that this shall become the Divine good of the Divine love, therefore it is also added, "before the sun shall the name of the Son be held." By the Son is meant the Lord's Divine Human; and because by the nations are meant all those who are in good, or who receive the good of love from the Lord, it is therefore said, "and all nations shall be blessed in Him." That by nations are signified those who are in good, and by peoples those who are in truths, may be seen above, n. 331.

[10] In Isaiah:

"There shall be upon every high mountain, and upon every lofty hill, brooks and streams of waters in the day of the great slaughter, when the towers shall fall. And the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven days" (30:25, 26).

These things are said concerning the Last Judgment, which is meant by the day of the great slaughter, when the towers shall fall. By the towers which shall fall are meant those who are in evils and the falsities thence, specifically those who are in the love of ruling by the holy things of the church (as may be seen in the work concerning the Last Judgment 56, 58). That it shall then be granted to those who are in love to the Lord and in charity towards the neighbour, to understand truths, is signified by, "There shall be upon every high mountain, and upon every lofty hill, brooks and streams of waters." Those who are upon a high mountain, are those who are in the good of love to the Lord, a high mountain signifying that good; those who are upon a lofty hill, are those who are in the good of charity towards the neighbour, a hill signifying that good, brooks and streams of waters signifying intelligence from truths. That then there shall be truth in the Lord's spiritual kingdom, as there was formerly truth in the celestial kingdom, and that then the truth in the celestial kingdom shall become the good of love, is meant by, "The light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven days"; for by light is meant the Divine truth proceeding from the Lord; by the light of the moon, the Divine truth in the spiritual kingdom, and by the light of the sun, the Divine truth in the celestial kingdom; by sevenfold is signified full and perfect, and truth is then full and perfect when it becomes good, or is good in form. It is evident that the sun and moon in the earths are not meant, but the sun and moon in the heavens. It should be known, that when the Last Judgment takes place, the Lord appears in the heavens in much greater effulgence and splendour than at other times, and this because the angels there must then be more powerfully defended; for lower things, with which the exteriors of the angels have communication, are in a state of disturbance. This is why, when the Last Judgment is here treated of, it is said, "The light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven days"; and therefore it is also said that there shall then be brooks and streams of waters upon every high mountain, and upon every lofty hill, by which [is signified] abundance of intelligence with those who are upon the higher mountains and higher hills, for the lower mountains and hills are those upon which judgment takes place. (That the Lord appears to those who are in His celestial kingdom as a Sun, and to those who are in His spiritual kingdom as a moon, may be seen in the work concerning Heaven and Hell 116-127; and that the light from them is the Divine truth, n. 127-140.)

[11] In the same:

"Thy sun shall no more go down, and thy moon shall not withdraw itself: for Jehovah shall be for a light of eternity unto thee, and the days of thy mourning shall be fulfilled" (60:20).

The Lord is here treated of, and the new heaven and the new earth, that is, the church to be established by Him. That the good of love to the Lord and the good of charity towards the neighbour should not perish with those who are in that church, is meant by, "Thy sun shall no more go down, and thy moon shall not withdraw itself"; for, to those who are in the good of love to Him, the Lord appears as a Sun, and to those who are in truths from the good of charity towards the neighbour, as a moon; hence by thy sun is signified the good of love to the Lord, and by thy moon the good of charity, which, in its essence, is truth from good. That they shall continue to eternity in truths from the good of love, and in truths from the good of charity, is meant by, "Jehovah shall be for a light of eternity unto thee, and the days of thy mourning shall be fulfilled." A light of eternity is said of those who are in the good of love to the Lord, and the fulfilling of the days of mourning, of those who are in the good of charity towards the neighbour, or in truths from good; for mourning, with those who belonged to the ancient churches, represented grief on account of the loss or destruction of truth and good; that they shall be fulfilled, signifies that they shall be ended, and so that they shall be in truths from good. From these things it is evident what is signified by the sun becoming as sackcloth of hair, and the moon becoming as blood, namely, that the good of love to the Lord is separated, and, consequently, truth is falsified.

[12] Things almost similar are signified in the following passages. In Isaiah:

"Behold, the day of Jehovah cometh, cruel with indignation and the wrath of anger, to lay the land waste; and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it. For the stars of the heavens and the constellations thereof shine not with their light; the sun shall be darkened in his rising, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine. I will visit their wickedness upon the world, and upon the impious their iniquity" (13:9-11).

By the day of Jehovah, cruel with indignation and the wrath of anger, is signified the day of the Last Judgment; by the stars of the heavens and the constellations thereof not shining with their light, the sun being darkened in his rising, and the moon not making her light to shine, is signified, that the knowledges (cognitions) of good and truth have perished, also the good of love to the Lord, and the good of charity towards the neighbour, and consequently, the truth which is called the truth of faith; for by stars are signified the knowledges of good; by constellations, the knowledges of truth; by the sun, the good of love to the Lord; and by the moon, the good of charity towards the neighbour, which, in its essence, is truth from good, and is called the truth of faith. The sun is said to be darkened in his rising, and the moon not to make her light to shine; not that the sun and moon in the angelic heavens are darkened, for the sun there is always in its effulgence, and the moon in its splendour; but before those who were in evils and the falsities thence, goods and truths are thus [obscured]; therefore it is thus said according to the appearance, for those who are in evils and the falsities thence, turn themselves away from the good of love and charity, consequently, from the Lord, and then they will nothing but evil, and think nothing but falsity, and those who will and think nothing else, see nothing but thick darkness and darkness (caliginem et tenebras) in the things that pertain to heaven and the church. Because such persons are meant, with whom the sun is darkened and the moon does not make her light to shine, therefore it is said, "to lay the land waste, and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it," and afterwards, "I will visit their wickedness upon the world, and their iniquity upon the impious." By the land and the world is signified the church; by laying it waste, is signified that there is no longer any good; and by visiting upon the world their wickedness, and upon the impious their iniquity, is signified the Last Judgment.

[13] In Ezekiel:

"When I shall extinguish thee, I will cover the heavens, and make the stars thereof dark; I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine. All the luminaries of light in the heavens will I make dark over thee, and set darkness upon thy land" (32:7, 8).

These things are said concerning Pharaoh king of Egypt, by whom the natural man separate from the spiritual is there signified. This, when separated, is entirely in thick darkness and in darkness as to all things of heaven and the church, and as far as it is separated it denies them; for the natural man sees nothing in such things from itself, but through the spiritual man from the Lord, for the natural man is in the heat and light of the world, whereas the spiritual is only in the heat and light of heaven. From these things it is evident what is meant by the details here, namely, that by, "When I shall extinguish thee, I will cover the heavens," are signified the interiors, which are in the light of heaven; by, "I will make the stars thereof dark," are signified the knowledges of good and truth; by, "I will cover the sun with a cloud," is signified the good of love to the Lord; by, "the moon shall not cause her light to shine," is signified the good of charity towards the neighbour and the truth of faith thence; by, "All the luminaries of light will I make dark over thee," are signified all truths; and by, "I will set darkness upon thy land," are signified falsities.

[14] In Joel:

The day of Jehovah cometh. A day of darkness and of thick darkness, a day of cloud and obscurity. Before him the earth is moved; the sun and the moon are darkened, and the stars withdraw their shining (2:1, 2, 10).

In the same:

"The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of Jehovah cometh" (2:31).

In the same:

"The day of Jehovah is near in the valley cut off. The sun and the moon are darkened, and the stars have withdrawn their shining" (3:14, 15).

In the Evangelists:

"Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven" (Matthew 24:29; Mark 13:24, 25).

In the Apocalypse:

"The fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars; and the third part of them was darkened, and the day shone not for a third part of it, and the night likewise" (8:12).

And elsewhere:

"There arose a smoke out of the pit of the abyss, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke" (9:2).

That in these passages, by the sun and the moon being darkened (tenebratos) is meant that there were no longer any good and truth, is plain from what has been said above; therefore they are no further explained.

[15] Because such things are signified by the sun being darkened, therefore the sun was darkened when the Lord was upon the cross, because He was entirely rejected by the church, which was then among the Jews, and they were, consequently, in dense darkness or in falsities. Concerning this [it is] thus [written] in Luke:

"At the sixth hour darkness came over all the land until the ninth hour, for the sun was darkened" (23:44, 45).

This was done for a sign and a token that the Lord was denied, and that hence there was no good and truth among those who belonged to the church; for all signs from the heavens, among them, represented and signified such things as pertain to the church, because the church with them was a representative church, or consisted of such things in externals as represented, and thence signified, the internal things of the church. That darkness came over the whole land, signified that, with those who belonged to the church, there was nothing but falsities of evil, the whole land denoting the whole church, and darkness signifying falsities. That it continued for three hours, namely, from the sixth to the ninth hour, signified that [there remained] utter falsity, and no truth whatever; for the number three signifies full, whole, and entirely, and six and nine signify all things in the aggregate, here falsities and evils. And inasmuch as falsities and evils were with them because the Lord was denied, it is therefore said, and darkness came, and the sun was darkened. By the sun which was obscured the Lord is meant, who is said to be obscured when falsities so prevail in the church that He is not acknowledged, and evils so [prevail] that He is crucified. (That all things in general and particular recorded in the Word concerning the Lord's passion, are significative, may be seen above, n. 64, 83, 195 at the end.)

[16] In Micah:

"Jehovah said against the prophets that seduce the people, Night shall be unto you, instead of a vision; and darkness shall rise upon you, instead of divination; and the sun shall set over the prophets, and the day shall grow black over them" (3:5, 6).

What these words signify in the spiritual sense, may be seen above (n. 372), where they are explained.

In Amos:

"It shall come to pass in that day, that I will cause the sun to set at mid-day, and I will darken the earth in the day of light" (8:9).

By these words is signified that in the church, where the Word is, from which good and truth can be known, there is nevertheless nothing but evil and falsity. To cause the sun to set, and to darken the earth, signify evil of the life, and falsity of doctrine in the church; for by the rising of the sun is signified the good of love, which is the good of life, and by the setting of the sun is signified evil of the love, which is evil of the life; and by the darkening of the earth is signified the falsity of doctrine thence, darkness signifying falsities, and the earth the church. By, at mid-day, and, in the day of light, is signified, when knowledges of good and truth may be there, because they have the Word; mid-day signifying, where there are knowledges of good, and the day of light, where there are knowledges of truth. That they are from the Word is, because the latter are said of the church where the Word is.

[17] In Habakkuk:

"The mountains were moved; the overflowing of the waters passed by. The sun and moon stood in [their] place; for light thine arrows go forth, for splendour the lightning of thy spear" (3:10, 11).

In this chapter the Lord's advent and the Last Judgment then [accomplished] by Him, are treated of. By the mountains being moved, and the overflowing of the waters passing by, is signified that those are rejected who are in the love of self and of the world, through the falsities of evil into which they are let. Mountains signify the loves of self and of the world; and the overflowing of the waters signifies immersion in the falsities thence; waters denoting falsities, and overflowing denoting immersion. That genuine truths and goods do not then appear to them, but instead thereof imaginary truths and goods, which in themselves are falsities and evils, is signified by, "for light thine arrows go forth, for splendour the lightning of [thy] spear"; arrows or lightnings (fulgura) signifying imaginary truths, which in themselves are falsities, and the lightning (fulmen) of the spear signifying imaginary goods, which in themselves are evils of falsity. For such signs appear in the spiritual world, with those who are in falsities from the loves of self and the world, when the Last Judgment takes place, and such are rejected.

[18] Because in this prophet it is said, "The sun and moon stood still in their place," it shall also be explained what is signified by the sun resting in Gibeon, and the moon in the valley of Ajalon; concerning which it is thus written in Joshua:

"Then spake Joshua to Jehovah, and he said in the sight of Israel, Sun, rest thou in Gibeon; and thou, Moon, in the valley of Ajalon. And the sun rested, and the moon stayed, until the nation was avenged upon its enemies. Is not this written in the book of the Upright (Recti)? And the sun stood in the midst of the heaven, neither hasted to go down about a whole day" (10:12, 13).

That it is said that the sun stood in Gibeon, and the moon in the valley of Ajalon, signified that the church was entirely vastated as to all good and truth; for [a battle] was then fought against the king of Jerusalem and the kings of the Amorites; and by the king of Jerusalem is signified the truth of the church entirely vastated by falsities, and by the kings of the Amorites is signified the good of the church vastated by evils; therefore those kings were smitten with hailstones, by which were signified the dire falsities of evil. It is said that the sun rested and the moon stayed in [their] place, namely, before the sons of Israel, that they might see their enemies; but this is prophetical, although it is historically related, as is evident from the fact of its being said, "Is not this written in the book of the Upright?" which was a prophetical book from which they were taken; therefore from the same book it is also said, "Until the nation was avenged upon its enemies," and not, "Until the sons of Israel were avenged upon their enemies," nation being used prophetically. The same is also evident from this, that this miracle, if it had thus taken place, would have inverted the whole order of the world; the rest of the miracles in the Word would not do this. In order, therefore, that it might be known that this was said prophetically, it is added, "Is not this written in the book of the Upright? But nevertheless, that there was a light given to them from heaven, as the light of the sun in Gibeon, and as the light of the moon in the valley of Ajalon, is not to be doubted.

[19] In Jeremiah:

"She that hath borne seven shall languish; she shall breathe out her soul; her sun shall set while it is yet day; it shall be ashamed and blush; and the remains of them will I deliver to the sword before their enemies" (15:9).

By, "She that hath borne seven shall languish; she shall breathe out her soul," is signified the church to which the Word and thereby all truths are given. To bear seven denotes, to be gifted with all the truths of the church, as in the first book of Samuel (2:5), as may be seen above (n. 257). By, "her sun shall set while it is yet day," is signified that the good of the church would perish, although it possessed the Word, and by it might have been in light. "It shall be ashamed and blush" - that is, the sun - signifies because good and truth are not received, but evil and falsity, as is also evident from the passage immediately following from Isaiah. "The remains of them will I deliver to the sword before their enemies," signifies that all the remaining good and truth shall perish by falsity from evil, remains denoting all that is left; to be delivered to the sword denoting, to perish by falsities; [and] enemies denoting evils.

[20] In Isaiah:

"Jehovah will visit upon the host of the height in the height, and upon the kings of the earth upon the earth. Then the moon shall blush, and the sun be ashamed" (24:21, 23).

To visit signifies to destroy, because visitation precedes judgment, when those who are in evils and the falsities thence are destroyed. By the host of the height in the height are signified all the evils from the love of self. By the host are signified all evils; by the kings of the earth, falsities of every kind; and by the earth, the church. It is hence evident what is signified by, "Jehovah will visit upon the host of the height in the height, and upon the kings of the earth upon the earth." The reason why it is said, upon the host of the height in the height, is, that those who are in the love of self, in the spiritual world seek high places. By, "Then the moon shall blush, and the sun be ashamed," is signified that there is no longer any reception of Divine truth and Divine good, the moon and the sun signifying the truth of faith and the good of love, which are said to blush and be ashamed when they are no longer received, but instead thereof falsity and evil.

[21] In David:

"Jehovah, who made the heavens by his intelligence, hath stretched out the earth upon the waters. He hath made great luminaries; the sun to rule by day; the moon and stars to rule by night. He hath smitten Egypt in their first-born; and hath brought out Israel from their midst" (Psalms 136:5-11).

He who knows nothing of the spiritual sense of the Word, must hold that these words involve nothing but what appears in the sense of the letter; but yet each particular involves such things as relate to angelic wisdom, these being all things Divine, celestial, and spiritual. The new creation or regeneration of the men of the church, of whom the church [is formed] is thereby described. By the heavens which [Jehovah] hath made by His intelligence, are signified the internal things of the men of the church, which, in one expression, are called the spiritual man, where intelligence resides, and where their heaven is. By the earth which He hath stretched out upon the waters, is signified the external of the church, which, in one expression, is called the natural man. It is here said to be stretched out upon the waters, because therein are the truths by which he is regenerated, waters denoting truths. By the great luminaries, the sun, the moon, and the stars, are signified the good of love, the truth from that good, and the knowledges of good and truth - by the sun, the good of love; by the moon, the truth from that good; and by the stars, the knowledges (cognitions) of good and truth. The reason why it is said that the sun was made to rule by day, is that the day signifies the light of the spiritual man, for it has enlightenment and perception from the good of love; and the reason why it is said that the moon and the stars were made to rule by night, is that the night signifies the light of the natural man, for the light of this is to the light of the spiritual man, comparatively as the light of the night from the moon and the stars, to the light of the day from the sun. Because the regeneration of the men of the church is treated of, it also follows, "He hath smitten Egypt in their first-born; and brought out Israel from their midst," for by Egypt is signified the natural man, such as he is from birth, namely, in absolute falsities from evil; the first-born thereof denote primary things, and the destruction of these while man is being regenerated, is meant by, "He hath smitten Egypt in their first-born." By Israel is signified the spiritual man, and by bringing him out from their midst, is signified to open, and thus to regenerate it; for the man of the church is regenerated from the Lord by the dissipation of the falsities from evils, in the natural man, and by the opening of the spiritual man, which is effected from the Lord by means of spiritual light, which is Divine truth.

[22] Similar things are signified by these words in Genesis:

"God made two great luminaries; the great luminary to rule by day, and the lesser luminary to rule by night, and the stars" (1:16).

The subject treated of in this chapter is the new creation or the regeneration of the men of whom the Most Ancient Church [was constituted], which is described in the sense of the letter, by the creation of heaven and earth. Similar things also are signified by these words in Jeremiah:

"Thus said the Lord Jehovih, who giveth the sun for the light of the day, and the ordinances of the moon and the stars for the light of the night" (31:35).

By the ordinances of the moon and the stars, are signified all things that are effected in the natural man according to the laws of order.

[23] In David:

"Praise ye Jehovah, all his angels; praise him, all his hosts; praise him, sun and moon; praise him, all ye stars of light; praise him, ye heaven of heavens" ([Ps.] 148:1-4).

By praising Jehovah is signified to worship Him. By the angels are signified those who are in Divine truths from the good of love, for such are angels. By all the hosts are signified goods and truths in their whole compass. By the sun and moon are signified the good of love and the truth from that good. By the stars of light are signified the knowledges of truth from good. By the heavens of heavens are signified goods and truths both internal and external. Because man worships the Lord from those things that he has from the Lord, thus from the goods and truths which he has, and because man also is a man from them, it is therefore said to them, namely, to the sun, moon, and stars, by which are signified goods and truths, that they shall praise, that is, worship Jehovah. Who does not know that the sun, moon, and stars do not praise, that is, worship?

[24] In Moses:

Of Joseph he said, blessed of Jehovah be his land, for the precious things of heaven, for the dew, for the deep that also lieth beneath, and for the precious things of the produce of the sun, and for the precious things brought forth of the months" (Deuteronomy 33:13, 14).

These words [occur] in the blessing of the children of Israel by Moses; because by Joseph are meant the Spiritual-Celestial, who are those who are the highest in the spiritual kingdom, and thence communicate first of all with those who are in the Lord's celestial kingdom. By his land is signified that spiritual kingdom, also the church formed of those. By the precious things of heaven, the dew, and the deep that also lieth beneath, are signified things spiritual-celestial in the internal and external man. By the precious things of the produce of the sun, and the precious things brought forth of the months, are signified all things that proceed from the Lord's celestial kingdom, and all things that proceed from His spiritual kingdom, thus the goods and truths thence. For by the sun is signified the good of love to the Lord from the Lord, which is the good those possess who are in the Lord's celestial kingdom; by the produce thereof are signified all the things that proceed thence. By the things brought forth of the months, are signified all the things that proceed from the Lord's spiritual kingdom; here months signify the same things as [are stated] of the moon, namely, truths from good, for the same word is used for both in the original tongue. But he who knows nothing of the two kingdoms of heaven, the celestial and the spiritual, and of their conjunction by intermediates, will be in obscurity respecting those things that have now been said. (But respecting those kingdoms and respecting the intermediates, see what is adduced in the work concerning Heaven and Hell 20-28.)

[25] In Isaiah:

"I will make thy suns a ruby, and thy gates into stones of carbuncle, and all thy border into stones of desire" (54:12).

These things are said of the Gentiles outside the church, from whom a new church was to be established by the Lord. By, "I will make thy suns a ruby," is signified, that goods [shall be] brilliant from the fire of love, suns there denoting the goods of love, and the ruby denoting a brilliance as from fire. By, "I will make thy gates into stones of carbuncle," is signified, that truths [shall be] resplendent from good, gates denoting the introductory truths, specifically the doctrinals that are from good. For all genuine truths of doctrine proceed from good, and are goods; and carbuncle stones signify their brightness from good, all precious stones signifying truths from good, [and] the colour, brightness, and fire thereof, indicating the quality of truth from good. By, "I will make all their border into stones of desire," is signified, that the scientific truths which pertain to the natural man, shall be pleasant and delightful from good; for by a border is meant the same as by a foundation, and this is the natural man, because in the things there the goods and truths of the spiritual man are terminated, and stones of desire denote truths pleasant and delightful from good. By these are meant the goods and truths of the Word which those have who belong to the New Church, [and] which will be of such a nature. That the sun signifies the good of love, is also evident from the fact of their being called suns in the plural number.

[26] In Job:

"If I rejoiced that my wealth was great, and that my hand had found much; if I beheld the light that it shone, and the moon that it walked clearly; and my heart hath secretly misled itself, and my hand hath kissed my mouth" (31:25-28).

By these words in the spiritual sense is meant that he had not acquired to himself intelligence from the proprium, and that he had taken no merit to himself, nor gloried in it; for, "If I rejoiced that my wealth was great, and that my hand had found much," signifies, had he gloried that he had intelligence, and that he had acquired it to himself from the proprium? wealth denoting the knowledges of good and truth, by which intelligence [is attained]; and "that my hand had found much," denoting what he acquired from the proprium. "If I beheld the light that it shone, and the moon that it walked clearly," signifies the spiritual truths that constitute intelligence; the sun and the moon signifying spiritual truths. "And my heart hath secretly misled itself, and my hand hath kissed my mouth," signifies, have I thence gloried inwardly? and have I claimed them to myself?

[27] In Matthew:

"That ye may be the sons of your Father which is in the heavens; for he maketh his sun to arise upon the evil and the good, and sendeth rain upon the just and the unjust" (5:45).

Charity towards the neighbour is here treated of, as is evident from what precedes and follows here, and specifically concerning the Jews, who accounted the Gentiles as enemies, and their own [countrymen] as friends. That they ought to love the former just as with the latter, is illustrated by the Lord by this comparison. But because all comparisons in the Word are from correspondences, and thence signify, as do other things that are not said comparatively, therefore this comparison also [corresponds]; and by, the Father in the heavens maketh His sun to rise upon the evil and the good, and sendeth rain upon the just and the unjust, is signified that the Lord flows in from heaven with the Divine good of love and with the Divine truth, equally with those who are outside the Jewish Church, as with those who are within it, the sun also there signifying the good of love, and the rain the Divine truth. The evil and the unjust signify, in the internal sense, those who belonged to the Jewish Church, because they did not receive; and the good and the just signify those who were outside that church, and did receive. In general, all the evil and good, and the just and unjust, are those who are here meant, for the Lord flows in with good and truth equally with all, but all do not equally receive.

[28] Because the sun signifies the Lord as to Divine love, therefore He is called the Sun of justice in Malachi ( 3:20); and a Sun and Shield in David (Psalms 84:11). Because the sun signifies the good of love to the Lord with man, hence [by], from the rising of the sun unto the going down thereof, are signified all those who are in the good of love to the Lord, from the first to the last, from the rising of the sun [denoting] from the first, and to the going down of the sun [denoting] to the last, as in the following passages. In Malachi:

"From the rising of the sun even unto the going down [thereof], my name shall be great among the nations" (1:11).

In David:

"From the rising of the sun unto the going down [thereof], the name of Jehovah [is to be] praised" (Psalms 113:3).

In the same:

"God, Jehovah God, speaketh, and shall call the earth from the rising of the sun unto the going down thereof" (50:1).

In Isaiah:

That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the setting, that there is none beside me (45:6).

In the same:

From the setting of the sun shall they fear the name of Jehovah (Ex. 19).

In the same:

"I will stir up [one] that shall come from the north, and [one] that shall invoke my name from the rising of the sun" (41:25).

The reason why, from the rising of the sun unto the going down thereof, signifies all those, from the first to the last, who are in the good of love to the Lord, is that all dwell in heaven according to quarters. Those who are in the good of love to the Lord dwell from the east to the west; in the east, those who are in the clear good of love, and in the west those who are in the obscure good of love. Hence it is that, from the rising of the sun to the going down thereof, are signified all those from the first to the last who are in the good of love. Its being said in Isaiah, I will stir up [one] that shall come from the north and from the rising of the sun, signifies those who are outside the church and those who are within it. For the north signifies an obscurity of truth, thus those who are outside the church, because they are in obscurity as to truths, since they have not the Word, and, consequently, know nothing concerning the Lord; and the rising of the sun signifies those who are within the church, because they have the Word in which the Lord is always present, and so in His rising. (That by the east, or the rising of the sun, and by the west, or the setting of the sun, is meant the good of love in clearness, and the good of love in obscurity, may be seen in the work concerning Heaven and Hell 141, 148-150); and that by the north is meant truth in obscurity, in the same chapter (n. 148-150), for there the four quarters in the spiritual world are treated of.) By the setting of the sun is also signified the state of the church when it is in ignorance, which is its first state; and by the rising of the sun is signified its state when it is in light. By the setting of the sun is also signified the state of the church when it is in evils and the falsities thence; and by the rising of the sun, when it is in goods and the truths thence.

[29] The first state of the church, when it is still in ignorance, is signified by the commencement of the passover in the evening when the sun was set; according to these words of Moses:

"Thou shalt sacrifice the passover at even, at the going down of the sun, at the stated time of thy going forth out of Egypt" (Deuteronomy 16:6).

For by the feast of the passover was signified the celebration of the Lord on account of deliverance from damnation, which is effected by regeneration, and, in the highest sense, the remembrance of the glorification of the Lord's Human, because thence is deliverance (as may be seen, n. 7093, 7867, 9286-9295, 10655). And because the first state of regeneration is a state of ignorance, therefore that feast commenced in the evening, when the sun was going down. That state is also signified by the departure of the sons of Israel from Egypt; for in Egypt they were in a servile state, and thence in a state of ignorance, therefore it is said, "at the stated time of the going forth out of Egypt."

[30] The last state of the church, which is when the church is in falsities and evils, which is its last state, is signified by the going down of the sun, in Moses:

"When the sun was about to go down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, a terror and great darkness fell upon him. At length, when the sun had set, and it was dark, behold, a furnace of smoke, and a torch of fire that passed through between those pieces" (Genesis 15:12, 17).

These things are said of the posterity of Abram from Jacob, or of the Israelitish and Jewish nation; and by, "When the sun was about to go down," and by, "At length, when the sun was set," is signified the last state of the church in that nation, that they were in absolute falsities and evils. The great darkness and the furnace of smoke, signify falsities from evil; and the torch of fire signifies the dire love of self, from which their evils and falsities [proceeded].

[31] As most things in the Word also have an opposite sense, so also have the sun and moon, and, in that sense, the sun signifies the love of self, and the moon, the falsities thence. The reason why such things are signified by the sun and moon is, that those who are in a natural, and not in a spiritual idea, do not think beyond nature, and hence when they see that from those two luminaries, or from their light and heat, all things arise upon the earth, and, as it were, live, they suppose that they are the rulers of the universe; they do not elevate their thoughts higher. This is the case with all those who are in the love of self, and thence in evils and falsities, for such are merely natural and sensual men, and the merely natural and sensual man does not think beyond nature, for what he does not see and touch, he believes to be nothing. The ancients, with whom all things of the church consisted of representatives of spiritual things in natural, and with whom, therefore, the sun signified the Lord as to Divine good, and the moon Him as to Divine truth, and who therefore in worship turned their faces to the rising of the sun-those among them who were in the love of self, and thence were merely natural and sensual, began to worship, as their chief gods, the sun and the moon which they saw with their eyes. And because they alone did this, or persuaded others who were in the love of self, and thence in evils and falsities, to do it, therefore, by the sun is signified the love of self, and by the moon the falsity thence. This is still more evident from those spirits in the other life who had been of such a quality in the world; these avert the face from the Lord, and turn it to certain dark objects (caliginosum et tenebricosum) there, which are in place of the sun and moon of the world, from opposition to the sun and moon of the angelic heaven (concerning which more may be seen in the work concerningHeaven and Hell 122, 123). By such persons was the worship of the sun and moon instituted in ancient times, when all Divine worship was representative. But at this day, representatives having ceased, the worship of the sun and moon does not exist in the Christian world, but instead thereof the worship of self, which exists with those in whom the love of ruling predominates. Hence it is now clear what is signified by the sun and moon in the opposite sense.

[32] That in ancient times they worshipped the sun and moon, is manifest from the Gentiles, who dedicated shrines to them, of which [there are records] in many histories; that the Egyptians also, as well as the Jews and Israelites, [worshipped the sun and moon] is plain from the Word. That the Egyptians [did so may be seen] in Jeremiah:

The king of Babylon "shall come, and shall smite the land of Egypt, and shall break in pieces the statues of the house of the sun, in the land of Egypt" (43:11, 13).

That the Jews and Israelites also [did so, may be seen] in Ezekiel:

I beheld "their faces towards the east; and they bowed themselves towards the rising of the sun" (8:16).

The abominations of Jerusalem are here treated of. In the second book of Kings:

Josiah the king "put down the idolatrous priests, who burned incense to Baal, to the sun, the moon, and to the stars, and to all the host of the heavens. He furthermore took away the horses that the kings of Judah had set up to the sun, at the entering in of the house of Jehovah, and burned the chariots of the sun with fire" (23:5, 11).

In Jeremiah:

"They shall bring out the bones of the kings of Judah, the bones of his princes, and the bones of his priests, and the bones of his prophets, and the bones of the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and they shall spread them to the sun and the moon and all the host of the heavens, whom they have loved, and whom they have served" (8:1, 2).

And also 44:17-19, 25; Deuteronomy 4:19; 17:3, 5).

[33] Because by Moab in the Word are signified those who are in the life of falsity from the love of self; and as by their worship [is signified] the worship of self, therefore, when the Israelitish people approached the worship of the Moabitish people, it was commanded that the heads of the people should be hung up before the sun; concerning which circumstance it is thus written in Moses:

"The daughters of Moab called the people unto the sacrifices of their gods; and the people did eat, and bowed themselves down unto their gods. Especially did Israel join himself unto Baalpeor; wherefore Jehovah said unto Moses, Take all the heads of the people, and hang them up before the sun" (Num. 25:1-4).

That Moab signifies those who are in the life of falsity from the love of self, and who thence adulterate the goods of the church, may be seen, n. 2468, 8315.

[34] Hence also it is clear that the sun of the world signifies the love of self. Because the love of self lets man into his proprium, and keeps him therein, for man's proprium looks to himself continually, and is nothing but evil, and from evil every falsity exists, therefore by the heat of the sun is signified adulterated truth, which in its essence is the falsity of evil. This is signified by the heat of the sun in the following passages. In the Apocalypse

"The fourth angel poured out his vial into the sun; and it was given unto him to scorch men with fire" (16:8).

And elsewhere:

"They shall hunger no more, neither shall the sun light upon them, nor any heat" (7:16).

In David:

"The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night. Jehovah shall guard thee from all evil; he shall guard thy soul" (Psalms 121:6, 7).

By the sun is here meant the love of self, and by the moon the falsity thence; because all evil is from that love, and from that [all] falsity, therefore it is said, "Jehovah shall guard thee from all evil, and he shall guard thy soul," the soul signifying the life of truth.

[35] In Matthew:

"Other seeds fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth; and when the sun was risen they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away" (13:5, 6; Mark 4:5, 6).

By the seeds are signified truths from the Word, or those which man receives from the Lord, for it is afterwards said, that it is the Son of Man that soweth. By stony places is signified an historical faith, which is the faith of another in man, for he believes it to be true, not because he sees it in himself, but because another, in whom he trusts, has said it. By ground is signified spiritual good, because this receives truths, as ground does seeds. By the sun being risen is signified the love of self; and by the seed being scorched and withering away, are signified to adulterate and to perish. Hence it is clear what is signified by these words of the Lord in a series, namely, that the truths implanted from infancy from the Word or from preaching, when man begins to think from himself, are adulterated and perish by lusts from the love of self. All things, indeed, in the Word, are truths, but they are adulterated by the ideas of the thought concerning them, and their application, whence truths, with such, are not truths except as to the utterance of them only. The reason why this is so, is that all the life of truth is from spiritual good, and spiritual good resides in the higher or interior mind, which is called the spiritual mind. This mind cannot be opened with those who are in the love of self, for they look to themselves in everything. If they raise their eyes to heaven, still the thought of their spirit dwells on self, and, consequently, from the fire of its own glory, it excites things sensual, external, and corporeal, which have been taught from childhood to imitate such affections as pertain to the spiritual man.

[36] It is written in Jonah that the gourd, which came up over him, withered away, and that the sun smote his head so that he fell sick; these words, because they are not intelligible without the internal sense, shall be explained in a few words. Of these things, it is thus written in Jonah:

"Jehovah prepared a gourd, which came up over Jonah, that it might be a shade over his head, to turn away his evil, and Jonah rejoiced over the gourd. And God prepared a worm, when the morning rose the next day, which smote the gourd that it withered. It further came to pass, when the sun arose, that God prepared a drying east wind; and the sun beat upon the head of Jonah, and he was sick, whence he wished that his soul might die. Then God said to Jonah, Is it just for thee to be angry over the gourd? He said, It is just for me to be angry, even unto death. Jehovah said, Thou hast had pity upon the gourd, for which thou hast not laboured; thou hast not done what is perfect, because thou wast made a son of night, and a son of night perisheth; shall not I have pity upon Nineveh, a great city, in which are more than twelve thousand of men?" (4:6-11).

By these things is described the character of the Jewish nation, that they are in the love of self and the falsities thence. Jonah belonged to that nation, and therefore was sent to Nineveh; for the Jewish nation possessed the Word, whence they were able to teach those who were outside the church, and are called Gentiles; these are signified by Nineveh. Because the Jews were, more than others, in the love of self and in the falsities from that love, they wished well to none but themselves, consequently not to the Gentiles, but hated them; and because that nation was of such a quality, and Jonah represented it, therefore, he was very angry that Jehovah should spare Nineveh, for it is said,

"Jonah was sick with a great sickness, so that he was angry, and from the sickness of anger he said, Take, O Jehovah, my soul from me; for my death is better than my life" (verses 1, 3).

This evil in that nation is signified by the gourd, which the worm smote, so that it withered away. By the sun which beat upon the head of Jonah, is signified the love of self, which prevailed in that nation; and by the drying east wind, the falsity thence; and by the worm which smote the gourd, is signified the destruction of evil and the falsity thence. That this is signified by the gourd, is evident from these things in this description, that Jonah at first rejoiced over the gourd, and that after the gourd was smitten by the worm and withered, that he was angry for it, even unto death, and also from its being said, that he had pity upon the gourd. That the Jewish nation, because in love of such a kind, and in the falsity of such a kind thence, was liable to damnation, is meant by these words to Jonah, thou hast not done what is perfect, because thou wast made a son of night, and a son of night perisheth. (That the Jewish nation was of such a quality, may be seen in the Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 248.)

[37] The reason that the love of self is signified here and in the preceding passages, is, that by the sun, in the genuine spiritual sense, is signified love to the Lord, and to this love the love of self is opposed. The Lord's Divine love, also, which is present with every one, is turned into the love of self with the evil. For everything that flows into a recipient subject is changed into what agrees with its own nature; as the pure heat of the sun is turned into an offensive smell in subjects of such a nature and the pure light of the sun, into hideous colours in objects of such reception; hence it is that by the sun which beat upon the head of Jonah, is signified the love of self, in himself. And also in Matthew, by the risen sun, by which the seeds upon the stony places were scorched.

[38] In the Apocalypse:

"The city" New Jerusalem "has no need of the sun and moon, to shine in it; for the glory of God doth lighten it, and the Lamb is the lamp thereof" (21:23; 22:5).

By the sun here, of which the city New Jerusalem will have no need, is signified natural love, which, viewed in itself, is the love of self and the world; and by the moon is signified natural light, for natural light viewed in itself is from natural love, and the quality of the light is according to the quality of the love; but spiritual love and spiritual light are signified by, the glory of God shall lighten it, and the Lamb is the lamp thereof.

[39] That such is the meaning of these words, is quite clear from these words in Isaiah:

"The sun shall be no more a light to thee by day; and in shining the moon shall not give light to thee; but Jehovah shall be unto thee for a light of eternity, and thy God for thy glory. Thy sun shall no more go down, and thy moon shall not withdraw itself; for Jehovah shall be unto thee for a light of eternity, and the days of thy mourning shall be fulfilled" (Isaiah 60:19, 20).

Similar things are signified by the sun and moon in a former passage adduced above in the Apocalypse, namely, by the sun [is signified] merely natural love, and by the moon, the natural light thence. But by the sun and the moon in the last passage are meant the sun and moon of the angelic heaven, and by that sun is signified the Lord's Divine love, and by the moon the Divine truth, as explained above. For it is first said, "The sun shall be no more a light to thee by day, and in shining the moon shall not give light to thee"; and afterwards it is said, "Thy sun shall no more go down; and thy moon shall not withdraw itself." From these things it is now clear what the sun and the moon signify in both senses.

3704. 'And the God of Isaac' means the Lord's Divine Human. This is clear from the representation of 'Isaac' as the Lord's Divine Rational; and since it is in the Rational that the Human has its beginnings, 2194, and so is that from which and through which the Human has its being, 'the God of Isaac' therefore means here the Lord's Divine Human. Since every single thing in heaven, every single thing with man, and indeed every single thing in the whole natural order has reference to good and truth the Lord's Divine too is therefore distinguished into Divine Good and Divine Truth - the Lord's Divine Good being called 'the Father', and His Divine Truth 'the Son'. Yet the Lord's Divine is nothing else than Good, indeed it is Good itself; but Divine Truth is the Lord's Divine Good as it presents itself visually in heaven, that is, to angels. In this it is like the sun. Essentially the sun is nothing else than fire; but the light which one sees coming from it is not in the sun but flowing from it. For the Lord as regards Divine Good is represented by the sun, and also in the next life He is the Sun for the whole of heaven, see 1053, 1521, 1529-1531, 2495, 3636, 3643, and the Lord as regards Divine Truth is represented by the light, and also in the next life He is the Light for the whole of heaven, 1053, 1521, 1529, 1530, 2776, 3138, 3195, 3222, 3223, 3339, 3341, 3636, 3643.

[2] So essentially the Lord is nothing else than Divine Good, and this applies to both essentials - to the Divine itself and to the Divine Human. Divine Truth however does not exist within Divine Good but flows from it, for as stated above, Divine Truth is the Divine Good presenting itself visually in heaven. Now because Divine Good presents itself as Divine Truth, therefore the Lord's Divine is distinguished, to enable man to grasp it mentally, into Divine Good and Divine Truth, Divine Good being called in the Word 'the Father' and Divine Truth 'the Son'. This is the arcanum that lies behind the Lord Himself on so many occasions speaking of His Father as though He were separate from and so to speak One other than Himself, and yet at other times speaking of His being one with Himself. The fact that in the internal sense 'father' means good, and in the highest sense the Lord as regards Divine Good, has been shown just above in 3703, and the fact that 'son' means truth while 'the Son of God' and 'the Son of Man' mean the Lord as regards Divine Truth, in 1729, 1733, 2159, 2803, 2813. The matter is also clear from all those places where the Lord uses the name Father and calls Himself the Son.

[3] Not only in the Old Testament Word is the Lord called Jehovah - see 1343, 1736, 2921 - but He is also referred to there as 'Father', as is clear from the following places: In Isaiah,

To us a Boy is born, to us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder, and His name will be called, Wonderful, Counsellor, God, Hero, Father of Eternity, Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6.

From this it is quite evident that 'the Boy born to us and me Son given to us' is the Lord, and so it is He who is called 'the Father of Eternity'. In Jeremiah,

I will be a Father to Israel, and Ephraim will be my firstborn. Jeremiah 31:9.

This refers to the Lord, who, being the God of Israel and me Holy One of Israel, see 3305, is here 'a Father to Israel'. In Malachi,

Have we not all one Father? Has not one God created us? Malachi 2:10.

'Creating' here in the internal sense stands for regenerating, as it also does elsewhere in the Word, see 16, 88, 472. And since me Lord alone is Regenerator and Redeemer it is He who is here called 'Father' and 'God', as also in Isaiah,

You are our Father, for Abraham does not know us and Israel does not acknowledge us. You, O Jehovah, are our Father, our Redeemer; from eternity is Your name. Isaiah 63:16.

[4] In the same prophet,

I will clothe him with your robe and strengthen him with your girdle, and will commit your dominion into his hand, so that he may be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to the house of Judah. And I will place the key of the house of David on his shoulder; and he will open and none will shut, and he will shut and none will open. And I will fasten him like a peg in a sure place, so that he may be the throne of his father's glory, and on him they may hang all the glory of his father's house, of sons and grandsons, every small vessel - from the vessels of bowls even to all the vessels of stringed instruments. Isaiah 22:21-24.

From this it is quite evident that it is the Lord who in the internal sense here is represented and meant, and who is called 'a father to me inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah'. For He is the one 'on whose shoulder the key of the house of David is placed, who opens and none shuts, and who shuts and none opens' - see the Preface to Chapter 22. And to Him belongs 'the throne of His Father's glory', and on Him all holy things are based and from Him they are derived. Those holy things are here called 'vessels' celestial ones being called 'vessels of bowls', and spiritual ones 'vessels of stringed instruments'.

[5] Since kings and priests represented the Lord - 'kings' through their kingship representing the Lord as regards Divine Truth, and 'priests' the Lord as regards Divine Good, 3670 - priests were therefore called 'fathers', as may be seen in the Book of Judges,

Micah said to the Levite, Stay with me, and be to me a father and a priest. Judges 17:10.

The children of Dan spoke to the same man in a similar way,

Keep quiet, put your hand over your mouth, and come with us, and be to us a father and a priest. Judges 18:19.

Even kings called them the same, in the second Book of Kings,

The king of Israel said to Elisha, My father, shall I smite them? He said, You shall not smite them. 2 Kings 6:21-22.

And King Joash's words to Elisha when the latter was dying,

King Joash wept before him and said, My father, my father! The chariot of Israel and its riders! 2 Kings 13:14.

Kings called a priest 'father' because 'kings' represented the Lord as regards Divine Truth, 'priests' as regards Divine Good, and also because truth in relationship to good is as son to father, for truth stems from good.

[6] This matter is very well known in the next life, and for this reason those in heaven call no one other than the Lord 'Father', and by 'Father' mentioned in the Gospels they perceive no one other than Him, see 15, 1729. All young children there, when being introduced to the good that flows from love and to the truth partnering that love, are taught to acknowledge the Lord alone as Father. And newcomers to heaven also are taught with utmost care that God is one; and if they have been from within the Church they are taught that the whole of the Trinity resides in the Lord - for almost everybody from the Christian world possesses the idea of three Gods, even though with the lips they used to declare that there is only one God. For once the idea of three has entered in, and each one of these is called God and is also distinguished from the other so far as attributes and functions are concerned, and are even worshipped individually, it is no longer humanly possible to think of one God. Consequently there is in the heart a worship of three Gods but on the lips that of only one.

[7] The truth that the whole of the Trinity resides in the Lord is well known in the Christian world, and yet among Christians in the next life little thought takes place regarding the Lord. Indeed His Humanity is to many people a stumbling-block, for they distinguish the Human from the Divine and do not believe that it is Divine. A person will declare himself to be righteous and so made pure and almost sanctified; but to the idea that the Lord has been glorified, that is, His Human has been made Divine, they do not give any thought. But in fact He was conceived from Jehovah Himself, and in any case nobody can be made righteous, let alone be sanctified, except from the Divine, and especially from the Lord's Divine Human, which is represented and meant in the Holy Supper, where it is explicitly stated that the bread is His body and the wine His blood.

[8] The truth that the Lord is one with the Father and that He has existed from eternity, rules over all, and so is Divine Good itself and Divine Truth itself, is quite clear from the Word:

The Lord is One with the Father In John,

Nobody has ever seen God; the only begotten Son who is in the bosom of the Father, [He has made Him known.] John 1:18.

In the same gospel,

The Jews sought to kill Jesus because He had called God His Father, making Himself equal to God. Jesus answered and said, Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son cannot do anything by Himself except what He will have seen the Father doing, for that which He does the Son also does likewise. For as the Father raises the dead and quickens them, so also does the Son quicken whom He will. For the Father does not judge anyone, but has given all judgement to the Son, so that all may honour the Son even as they honour the Father. He who does not honour the Son does not honour the Father who sent Him. As the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son also to have life in Himself. The Father who sent Me has Himself borne witness to Me. You have never heard His voice nor seen His shape. Search the Scriptures; it is they that bear witness to Me. John 5:18-39.

'The Father' is used here, as has been stated, to mean the Divine Good and 'the Son' the Divine Truth, both being within the Lord. From Divine Good, which is 'the Father', nothing but what is Divine is able to proceed or come forth, and that which proceeds or comes forth is Divine Truth, which is 'the Son'.

[9] In the same gospel,

Everyone who has heard from the Father and has learned comes to Me. No one has seen the Father except Him who is with the Father, He has seen the Father. John 6:44-48.

In the same gospel,

They said to Him, Where is your Father? Jesus answered, You know neither Me nor My Father; if you knew Me you would know My Father also. John 8:18-19.

In the same gospel,

I and the Father are one. Even though you do not believe Me, believe the works, that you may know and believe that the Father is in Me, and I in the Father. John 10:30, 38.

In the same gospel,

Jesus said, He who believes in Me believes not in Me but in Him who sent Me; and he who sees Me sees Him who sent Me. I have come as light into the world in order that everyone who believes in Me may not remain in darkness. John 12:44-46.

'The Father sent Him' means in the internal sense that He proceeds from the Father. This is so in this and other places where the Lord says that the Father sent Him. 'Light' means Divine Truth, see above.

[10] In the same gospel,

I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but by Me. If you know Me you know My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him. Philip said to Him, Lord, show us the Father. Jesus said, Have I been with you so long, and yet you do not know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father. So why do you say, Show us the Father? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak from Myself, the Father who dwells in Me, He does the works. Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me. Whatever you ask in My name I will do it, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. John 14:6-11, 13.

In the same gospel,

He who has My commandments and does them, he it is who loves Me; but he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will manifest Myself to him. If anyone loves Me he will keep My word, and My father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. John 14:21, 23.

[11] Those governed by Divine Truth are meant by the ones who 'have His commandments and do them', while those governed by Divine Good are meant by the ones who 'love Him'. This is why it is said that 'he will be loved by the Father', and 'We will come to him and make Our home with him', that is to say, Divine Good and Divine Truth will come and dwell in him. It is also the reason why the following is said in the same chapter,

On that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me. John 14:20.

And elsewhere in the same gospel,

Holy Father, keep them in Your name, that they may be one as We are one. John 17:11.

From these places it is clear that the Lord talks of the Father by virtue of the Divine Good that is His, and of the Son by virtue of the Divine Truth which springs from the Divine Good. And so they are not two but one. The Lord spoke in this fashion however in order that the Word might be received both on earth and in heaven, and also because prior to His glorification the Lord was Divine truth that sprang from Divine Good, but once He had been glorified He was as to both Essences Divine Good itself in which all Divine Good and Divine Truth have their origin.

[12] The Lord has existed from Eternity

This becomes clear from the fact that it was the Lord who spoke through the prophets, and that both for this reason and the fact that Divine Truth came from Him He was called the Word, which is spoken of in John,

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the Only Begotten from the Father. John 1:1-4, 14.

'The Word' stands for all truth in heaven and on earth which comes from the Divine.

[13] His existence from eternity is explicitly taught by Him elsewhere in John,

John said, This was He who though coming after me was before me, for He was before me. Among you stands one whom you do not know. He it is who is to come after me, who was before me. John 1:15, 26-27, 30.

In the same gospel,

What if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where He was before? John 6:62.

In the same gospel,

Jesus said, Truly, truly, I say to you, Before Abraham was, I am. John 8:58.

In the same gospel,

He knew that He had come from God and was going to God. John 13:3.

In the same gospel,

The Father Himself loves you because you have loved Me and have believed that I came from God. I came from the Father and have come into the world; again I am leaving the world and am going to the Father. John 16:27-28.

In the same gospel,

I have glorified You on earth; I have accomplished the work which You gave Me to do. Now therefore, Father, glorify Me in Your Own Self with the glory I had with You before the world was, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me, because You loved Me before the foundation of the world. John 17:4-5, 24.

In Isaiah,

To us a Boy is born, to us a Son is given; and His name will be called Wonderful Counsellor, God, Hero, Father of Eternity, Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6.

[14] The Lord rules over All

This is clear in Matthew,

All things have been delivered to Me by My Father. Matthew 11:27.

In the same gospel, Jesus said to the disciples, All power in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Matthew 28:18.

In John,

The Father has given all things into the hand of the Son. He who believes in the Son has eternal life. John 3:35-36.

The Father does not judge anyone, but has given all judgement to the Son. John 5:22.

In the same gospel,

Jesus knew that the Father had given all things into His hands. John 13:3.

In the same gospel, All that the Father has is Mine. John 16:15.

In the same gospel,

Jesus said, Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You, as You have given Him power over all flesh. John 17:1-2.

In the same gospel,

All Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine, and I am glorified in them. I am no longer in the world, for I am coming to You. John 17:10-11.

In Luke,

All things have been delivered to Me by My Father. Luke 10:22.

[15] From all these places it is clear that it is Divine Good which is called 'the Father' and Divine Truth 'the Son', and that the Lord governs every single thing in all creation from Divine Good by means of Divine Truth. This being so, manifestly so from the Word, it is astounding that people in the Christian world know and teach that the whole of the Trinity resides in the Lord, and yet they do not, as those in heaven do, acknowledge and adore the Lord alone, and so one God. The truth that the Holy Spirit, who also is worshipped as God distinct and separate from Father and Son, is the holiness of the spirit - or the holiness that proceeds from the Lord through spirits or angels, that is, from His Divine Good through the Divine Truth - will in the Lord's Divine mercy be made plain elsewhere.