280. And the third animal had a face like a man. That this signifies the appearance in ultimates of the Divine guardianship and providence as to wisdom, is evident from the signification of the face of a man, as denoting the affection of truth, the face signifying affection, and man signifying one who receives Divine truth; and because his Rational is therefrom, by man is signified wisdom; for man was created that he might be rational and wise, by which he is distinguished from the brute animals; this is why man in the Word signifies wisdom. The reason why man signifies the affection of truth and at the same time wisdom is that the affection of truth, and wisdom, act as one. For he who is in the spiritual affection of truth, that is, who is affected with truth, or who loves truth because it is truth, is conjoined to the Lord, because the Lord is present in His own truths, and is His own truth with man; hence a man has wisdom, and hence he is a man. Some suppose that a man is a man from his face and his body, and that by these he is distinguished from the beasts; but they are in error; a man is a man from wisdom, therefore so far as any one is wise, so far is he a man. This is why those who are wise appear in heaven and in the light of heaven as men, graceful and beautiful according to their wisdom; whereas those who are not wise (and such are those who have no spiritual affection, but merely natural affection, in which a man is when he does not love truth for its own sake but for the sake of glory, honour and gain), these, in the light of heaven, do not appear as men, but as monsters in various forms (as may be seen in the work, Heaven and Hell 70, 72, 73-77, 80; and what wisdom is, and what non-wisdom, may be seen in the same, n. 346-365).

[2] That by man in the Word is signified the affection of truth, and thence wisdom, is evident from the following passages, as in Isaiah:

"O Lord, how long? He said, Until the cities shall be laid waste so that they shall be without an inhabitant, and the houses so that a man shall not be in them, and the land be utterly desolate; Jehovah shall remove man, and deserts shall be multiplied in the midst of the land" (6:11, 12).

These things are not said of the laying waste of the land, that there should be no more any cities or houses therein, and that these should be without inhabitant, and without man; but they are said of the laying waste of good and truth in the church. By cities are there signified the truths of doctrine; by inhabitant is signified the good of doctrine; by houses are signified the interior things of man's mind; and by man the spiritual affection of truth and thence wisdom. This is signified by the houses being laid waste that there be no man in them; by the land which shall be utterly desolate, is signified the church; hence it is evident what is signified by removing man, and by multiplying deserts in the midst of the land; a desert signifies where there is no good because no truth.

[3] In the same:

"I will make a man (vir homo) more rare than pure gold; and a man (homo) than the gold of Ophir" (13:12).

By a man (vir homo) is signified intelligence, and by a man (homo) wisdom; and that these were about to cease is signified by its being said that they shall be made rare. Intelligence is distinguished from wisdom by this, that intelligence is the understanding of truth such as the spiritual man has, and wisdom is the understanding of truth such as the celestial man has; the understanding of the latter being from the will of good. It is therefore evident what is signified by man (vir homo), and what by man (homo), in the above passage.

[4] Again:

"The inhabitants of the earth are burned up, and few men are left" (24:6).

By the inhabitants of the earth, are signified the goods of the church, and these are said to be burned up when the loves of self and of the world begin to reign; and that in such case the spiritual affection of truth, and of wisdom thence derived, would cease is signified by few men being left.

[5] Again:

"The highways lie waste; he that traverses the way hath ceased; he hath rendered the covenant vain, he hath despised the cities, he regardeth not man" (33:8).

The devastation of the church is also here spoken of; the highways which lie waste, and he that traverses the way, who has ceased, signify that the goods and truths which lead to heaven were no more; the covenant being rendered vain, signifies that, there was no conjunction with the Lord; he hath despised the cities signifies that they spurn doctrine; he regardeth not man, signifies that they make no account of wisdom.

[6] In Jeremiah:

"I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was empty and void; and the heavens, and they had no light. I beheld, and, lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled" (4:23, 25).

That the earth as being empty and void is not here meant, nor the heavens as having no light, nor that there was no man upon the earth, nor that all the birds of heaven were fled, is evident; but the true import of these things can be evident only from the spiritual sense of the Word. In that sense, by the earth is signified the church; being empty and void signifies its being destitute of good and truth; by the heavens, where there is no light, are signified the interiors of man's mind, which are the receptacles of the light of heaven; the light which is not there denotes the Divine truth and wisdom therefrom: therefore it is said, "I beheld, and, lo, there was no man;" by the birds of heaven which were fled are signified the Rational and Intellectual.

[7] In the same:

"Behold the days come, saith Jehovah, when I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man, and with the seed of beast" (31:27).

By the house of Israel and the house of Judah is signified the church as to truth and good; by the seed of man and the seed of beast are signified the spiritual affection of truth and the natural affection of the same. For when man and beast are mentioned in the Word they signify what is spiritual and what is natural, or what is internal and what is external (as may be seen, Arcana Coelestia 7424, 7523, 7872).

[8] In Zephaniah:

"I will consume man and beast, I will consume the bird of the heavens and the fish of the sea; I will cut off man from the surfaces of the earth" (1:3).

To consume man and beast, denotes the spiritual affection of truth and the natural affection of the same; to consume the bird of the heavens and the fish of the sea denotes spiritual truths and natural truths; and to cut off man from the surfaces of the earth denotes the affection of truth and wisdom.

[9] In Ezekiel:

"Ye, my flock, the flock of my pasture; ye are man, I am your God" (34:31).

The flock of the pasture signifies spiritual good and truth; the pasture denotes the reception thereof from the Lord; hence it is said, "ye are man, I am your God," man denoting the spiritual affection of truth, and wisdom.

[10] In the same:

"Behold, I am with you, and I will have respect unto you, and ye shall be tilled and sown; then I will multiply man upon you, all the house of Israel, even the whole of it; and the cities shall be inhabited, and the wastes shall be builded; I will cause man to walk upon you, even my people Israel. Thus saith the Lord Jehovih, Inasmuch as ye say, Thou art consuming man and hast bereaved thy peoples, therefore thou shalt not consume man any more," and thy sword shall not bereave any more, "the devastated cities shall be full of the flock of man" (36:9-14, 38).

The subject here treated of is the restoration of the church. By Israel is signified the spiritual church, or the church that is in spiritual good, which is the good of charity; this church is here called man from the spiritual affection of truth, which constitutes the church; wherefore it is said:

"I will multiply man upon you, all the house of Israel. I will cause man to walk upon you, even my people Israel."

By the waste cities being filled with the flock of man is signified that the doctrines of the church shall be full of spiritual truths; by the sword which shall not bereave any more is signified that falsity shall no more destroy truth.

[11] In the same prophet:

"Thy mother is a lioness; she lay down among lions, one of her whelps rose up, which learned to catch the prey, it devoured men" (19:2, 3, 6).

Mother denotes the church, in this case the church perverted; the falsity of evil destroying truth is signified by the lioness lying down among lions; by her whelp which learned to catch the prey, and which devoured men, is signified the primary falsity of their doctrine, which destroyed truths and consumed every affection thereof. These things are said concerning the princes of Israel, by whom are signified primary truths, but here, in an opposite sense, primary falsities.

[12] In Jeremiah:

"Hazor shall become a dwelling for dragons, a desolation even for an age; there shall not dwell there a man (vir), nor a son of man (homo) abide in her" (49:33).

Here the subject is the church which is in falsities, and in no truths. Hazor signifies the knowledges (cognitiones) of truth; and the knowledges (cognitiones) of falsity are signified by a dwelling for dragons; that there is consequently no truth, or doctrine of truth is signified by there shall not dwell there a man, nor a son of man abide in her; man denotes truth, and the son of man the doctrine of truth.

[13] Again, in the Apocalypse:

"He measured the wall" of the Holy Jerusalem, "an hundred and forty and four cubits, the measure of a man, that is, of an angel" (21:17).

No one can understand what is signified by the wall of the holy Jerusalem being an hundred and forty and four cubits, and by this being the measure of a man, that is, of an angel, unless he knows the signification of the holy Jerusalem, of its wall, of the number 144, also of a man, and of an angel. The holy Jerusalem signifies the church as to doctrine; wall signifies truth defending; the number 144, signifies all truths from good in the aggregate; man signifies the reception of these from affection, and an angel signifies the same; it is therefore said to be the measure of a man, that is, of an angel, measure signifying quality. From these considerations it is evident how these words are to be spiritually understood. (These things may be seen more clearly explained in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem, n.1.)

[14] Because by man is signified the spiritual affection of truth, and thence wisdom, therefore by man is also signified the church, because the church with man is a church from the spiritual affection of truth and of wisdom therefrom.

From this it is evident that man in the first chapter of Genesis, signifies the church which was the first and the most ancient on this earth; this is meant by Adam, or man (homo). The establishment of that church is described in the first chapter by the creation of the heaven and the earth, its intelligence and wisdom, are signified by paradise, and its fall is described by man's eating of the tree of knowledge.

[15] But by man in the highest sense, is meant the Lord Himself, because from Him are heaven and the church, and also the spiritual affection of truth and wisdom with every one of those who constitute heaven and the church. This is why, in the highest sense, the Lord alone is man, and that others, in both the natural and the spiritual worlds, are so far man as they receive from Him truth and good, thus so far as they love the truth and live according to it. Hence also it is that the whole angelic heaven appears as one man, and also each society there; and hence also it is that the angels appear in a perfect human form (concerning these things more may be seen in the work, Heaven and Hell 59-67, 68-72, 73-77, 87-102).

[16] It is for this reason that the four cherubim, by which are signified the guardianship and providence of the Lord lest the higher heavens should be approached except by the good of love, were seen as men, although they had each four faces; and also that the Lord was seen above them as a man. That the four cherubim were seen as men, is evident in Ezekiel:

"This was the aspect" of the four animals, "they had the likeness of a man, but four faces to each" (1:5, 6).

Similarly the two cherubim over the mercy seat were, as to the face, like men. Again, that the Lord was seen above the cherubim as a man, is expressly affirmed by the same prophet:

"Above the expanse which was over the head" of the cherubim, "as it were the appearance of a sapphire stone, the likeness of a throne, and upon the likeness of a throne, a likeness as it were the appearance of a man upon it above" (1:26).

10061. 'And put it on the tip of Aaron's right ear and on the tip of the right ear of his sons' means all the ability to perceive Divine Truth emanating from the Lord's Divine Good in the heavens. This is clear from the meaning of 'the blood' which was put on the tip of the ear as Divine Truth which is present in the heavens and in the Church and emanates from the Lord's Divine Good, dealt with immediately above in 10060; from the meaning of 'the ear' as the power of perception, dealt with in 9397, at this point the ability to perceive Divine Truth in the heavens and in the Church since all the power of perception there is used to perceive that Truth (in particular that power of perception in the celestial heaven is meant here, for those there perceive truth springing from good, see the places referred to in 9277); from the meaning of 'the tip' of the ear, which is the outermost part of it, as the whole or all, for even as what is first or highest means the whole or all, so does what is last or outermost, see above in 10044; and from the meaning of 'the right ear' as the ability to perceive truth emanating from good. The reason why 'the right ear' has this meaning is that parts on the right side of a human being correspond to the good from which truths spring, while those on the left side correspond to the truths through which comes good, 9604, 9736. It is likewise so with the brain, the face and sensory organs there, the breast, the loins, and the feet.

[2] Without knowledge of this arcanum no one can possibly know why it was commanded that the blood should be put on the tip of the right ear, on the thumb of the right hand, and on the big toe of the right foot of Aaron and his sons, or why it was commanded that the right flank of this second ram together with the fat should be burned on the altar (spoken of below, in verses 22, 25 of the present chapter). Nor likewise can anyone know why it was commanded that the blood of the sacrifice should be put on the tip of the right ear of the one to be cleansed from leprosy, and on the thumb of his right hand and the big toe of his right foot, and that the priest should pour oil from a log ¹ over his own left palm and dip his right finger in the oil that was on his left palm and sprinkle it with his right finger seven times before Jehovah, Leviticus 14:14-18, 25-28. Nor can people know the meaning where it says that the Lord told the disciples when they were fishing to cast their net on the right side of the boat, and that when they did so their catch was so great that they were not strong enough, because of the very great number of fish, to draw the net in, John 21:6. This represented the reality that when good is the side on which people act or teach they net countless items of truth; but not the reverse. Those also who possess truths and are governed by good are meant by the sheep on the right, but those who possess truths and are not governed by good are meant by the goats on the left, Matthew 25:32.

[3] 'The right hand' is also used to mean those who dwell in the light of truth emanating from good, in David,

The heavens are Yours, and the earth is Yours. The world and the fullness of it You have founded; the north and the right hand ² You have created. Psalms 89:11-12.

'The heavens', 'the earth', and 'the world' mean the Church, 9325. 'The fullness' means all truth and goodness which constitute the Church, 'the north' being those there who dwell in a state of obscurity so far as truth is concerned, 3708, and 'the right hand' those who dwell in the light of truth emanating from good, so that much the same is meant by 'the right hand' as by 'midday' or 'the south', 9642. From this it becomes clear what 'sitting at God's right hand' means when used in reference to the Lord in Psalms 110:1, 5; Matthew 26:63-64; Mark 12:36; 14:61-62; Luke 20:42-43, namely Divine Power exercised through the Lord's Divine Truth emanating from His Divine Good, 3387, 4592, 4933, 7518, 8281, 9133.

[4] Since most things in the Word also have a contrary meaning, so too do 'the right' and 'the left'. In the contrary sense 'the right' means evil from which falsity arises, and 'the left' falsity through which comes evil, as in Zechariah,

Woe to the worthless shepherd deserting the flock! The sword will fall upon his arm and upon his right eye. His arm will become wholly withered, and his right eye will be utterly darkened. Zechariah 11:17.

'Arm' here stands for the power of truth when used to justify evil; and because this power is 'worthless' it says that it 'will become wholly withered'. 'Right eye' is the knowledge of good when used to substantiate falsity; and because this knowledge is 'worthless' it says that it 'will be utterly darkened'. 'Shepherd' is one who teaches truths and leads by means of them towards good, 343, 3795, 6044, so that 'the worthless shepherd' is one who teaches and leads towards evil. 'Arm' means the power that truth springing from good possesses, 4931-4937, 7205, but 'the arm of a worthless shepherd' is the lack of power. 'Eye' is the understanding and perception of truth, 4403-4421, 4523-4534, 9051, but 'the right eye of a worthless shepherd' is a knowledge of good devoid of any understanding or perception of it because it is made to serve falsity. 'Utter (or thick) darkness' is falsity arising from evil, 7711.

[5] In Matthew,

Jesus said, If your right eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out and throw it away from you. And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away from you; it will be better for you that one of your members perish, than that your whole body be cast into gehenna. Matthew 5:29-30.

'Right eye' means an understanding of and belief in falsity arising from evil, and 'right hand' falsity itself arising from evil. Anyone may recognize that 'eye' is not used here to mean the eye nor 'right hand' to mean the right hand, and that the eye causing a person to stumble should not be plucked out, nor should the right hand causing him to stumble be cut off, for that would contribute nothing to the person's well-being. In John,

The beast placed on them all a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads. Revelation 13:16.

'Right hand' here is falsity arising from evil, and 'forehead' is the love of evil from which falsity arises. 'Forehead' means heavenly love and therefore in the contrary sense hellish love, see 9936.

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