9755. 'And the breadth of the court on the side of the sea' means the state of that heaven in respect of truths on the level of factual knowledge. This is clear from the meaning of 'the breadth' as truth, dealt with in 1613, 3433, 3434, 4482, 9487; from the meaning of 'the court' as the lowest heaven, dealt with above in 9741; and from the meaning of 'the sea' as the place where items of knowledge on which reasoning about truths is based are gathered together, thus also the natural level and the sensory level of the mind, for these are containers. Here 'the side of the sea' is an expression denoting the west side, and by 'the west' good dwelling in obscurity is meant. However, since the words 'the west' are not used but 'the sea', factual knowledge is meant, which too dwells in comparative obscurity because factual knowledge belongs to the natural or external man, and the natural or external man dwells in the light of the world. This light, compared with the light of heaven in which the internal man dwells, is like the shade when the sun is going down in the west.

[2] This may also be recognized from things as they appear in the next life. The Sun of heaven, which is the Lord, appears there midway above the horizon in the direction of the right eye. It is for the angels of heaven the Source of all light, and with the light the Source of all intelligence and wisdom. The sun of the world however does not appear as such when they think about it, but instead as a gloomy object in the opposite direction behind the back. That is also where the west is, in the heavens; for the Lord there as the Sun is the east. From all this it becomes clear that 'the west' means good dwelling in obscurity, and that this is the good that governs the external or natural man. The natural man, as has been stated, dwells in the light of the world, and this light in comparison with the light of heaven is like the shade when the sun is going down in the west. The natural man's truth however is meant by the water of the sea. This truth consists in factual knowledge, for truth in the natural or external man is truth present in knowledge, whereas truth in the spiritual or internal man is truth present in faith. And truth present in knowledge comes to be truth present in faith when it is raised from the natural or external man to the spiritual or internal man. So it is that truths with a person in childhood are truths present in knowledge; but in adult life, if the person allows himself to be regenerated, they come to be truths present in faith. For the internal man is being opened gradually as the person advances into adult life.

[3] The reason why 'the sea' means a place where items of knowledge are gathered together is that truths are meant by 'waters', 'springs', and 'rivers', so that gatherings of them are meant by 'seas'. That this is so is also clear from places in the Word where 'the sea' and 'the seas' are mentioned, as in David,

The earth is Jehovah's and the fullness of it, the world and those who dwell in it. He has founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the rivers. Psalms 24:1-2.

'The earth' and 'the world' stand for the Church. 'The seas' on which He has founded the world are truths on the level of factual knowledge, 'the rivers' on which He has established it are the truths of faith. The fact that the earth, world, seas, or rivers should not be understood here is self-evident; for the world has not been founded upon the seas, nor has it been established upon the rivers.

[4] In the same author,

You broke up the sea by Your strength, You broke the heads of the monsters upon the waters. You broke in pieces the heads of Leviathan; You gave him as food to the people, the Ziim. You dried up the rivers of strength. Psalms 74:13-15.

This refers in the internal sense to knowledge that destroys the truths of faith. 'The monsters' whose heads will be broken are factual knowledge in general, 42, 7293; and 'Leviathan' has a similar meaning, 7293. 'The people, the Ziim', to whom it was to be given as food, are those steeped in falsities, or actual falsities. From this it is evident what 'the sea' means, namely factual knowledge misapplied in order to weaken and destroy truths. In Habakkuk,

You trampled the sea with Your horses, the mud of many waters. Habakkuk 3:15.

'Trampling the sea with horses', when said to have been done by Jehovah, stands for teaching the natural man, where factual knowledge belongs.

[5] In Zechariah,

On that day living waters will flow out from Jerusalem, part of them to the eastern sea, and part of them to the western ¹ sea. Zechariah 14:8.

'Living waters from Jerusalem' are truths of faith that receive their life from the good of love, 'the eastern sea' and 'the western sea' being the natural level and the sensory level of the mind where items of knowledge reside, that is, truths that have been gathered together. In Hosea,

They will go after Jehovah, and respectfully [His] sons from the sea ² will draw near; respectfully they will come like a bird from Egypt. Hosea 11:10-11.

'Sons from the sea' are truths on the level of factual knowledge which belong to the natural man. This explains why it says that 'they will come like a bird from Egypt', for 'Egypt' in the Word means factual knowledge, 9340, 9391.

[6] In Ezekiel,

All the princes of the sea will step down from their thrones, and will cast away their robes and strip off their embroidered clothes. They will clothe themselves with tremblings, they will say, How you have perished, O one inhabited in the seas, O praised city which was powerful in the sea. Ezekiel 26:16-17.

This has to do with the ruination of the cognitions of good and truth, meant by Tyre, to which the words here refer, 1201, cognitions of good and truth being items of knowledge which the Church possesses. 'The princes of the sea' are leading cognitions, 1482, 2089, 5044; and 'casting away robes and embroidered clothes' means removing truths as they exist on the level of factual knowledge, 9688. Since such truths are meant by 'Tyre', Tyre is called 'one inhabited in the seas' and 'a city powerful in the sea'.

[7] In Jeremiah,

The sea has come up over Babel, she has been covered with the multitude of its waves; her cities have been reduced to a desolation. Jeremiah 51:42-43.

'Babel' stands for worship which to outward appearances is holy but inwardly is unholy, 1182, 1326. 'The sea' spread over Babel is falsity rising up from factual knowledge; 'its waves' are reasonings that consist of that knowledge, and the resulting denials; 'cities' which were turned into a desolation are matters of doctrine.

[8] Something similar occurs in the Book of Revelation,

Every shipmaster, and everyone on board ships, and sailors, and all who trade on the sea, stood at a distance [and were crying out] as they saw the smoke of Babylon's burning, saying, Woe, woe, the great city, in which all who have ships on the sea have been made rich by her wealth. ³ Then an angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying, Thus with vehemence will Babylon be thrown down. Revelation 18:17-21.

'Ships' are teachings drawn from the Word, 6385, and from this it is evident what 'shipmaster' means, and 'sailor', also 'the sea', and 'those who trade on it'. 'A stone like a millstone' is truth through which faith develops; 'being thrown into the sea' means being consigned to the falsity of factual knowledge. In the next life seas appear, and also ships on them; I have often been allowed to see such ships and seas. The seas there are in a bad sense a sign of the falsities of factual knowledge, and people on ships a sign of those who traffic in and supply such falsities.

[9] In Jeremiah,

Thus said Jehovah who gives the sun for light by day and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for light by night, who stirs up the sea that its waves may roar, ... Jeremiah 31:35.

'The sun for light by day' is the good of love from which light comes to truths. 'The ordinances of the moon and of the stars for light by night' are forms of the good of faith and of cognitions from which truth has light in darkness. 'Stirring up the sea that its waves may roar' means dispelling the falsities of factual knowledge on which mere reasonings about truths are based.

[10] In Isaiah,

Has My hand been altogether shortened, that it cannot redeem? Or is there no power in Me to deliver? Lo, by My rebuke I dry up the sea, I make the rivers a desert. Their fish will putrify because there is no water and they die of thirst. Isaiah 50:2.

'Drying up the sea' stands for doing away with the good and truth of factual knowledge, 'making the rivers a desert' for laying actual truths waste. 'The fish' which will putrify means the factual knowledge that the natural man possesses, 40, 991; 'because there is no water' means the non-existence of truth, 2702, 3058, 3424, 4976, 5668, 8568; 'dying of thirst' means owing to the lack of truth, 8568.

[11] Something similar occurs elsewhere in the same prophet,

The waters will fail from the sea, and the river will be parched and dry; and the streams will recede, the rivers of Egypt will diminish and dry up. Isaiah 19:5-6.

'The waters will fail from the sea' stands for the departure of truths in the place where they are gathered together; 'the rivers of Egypt' which are going to dry up are factual knowledge. In the same prophet,

The earth is full of the knowledge of Jehovah as the waters cover the sea. Isaiah 11:9.

'The waters' stands for truths, 'the sea' for a gathering together of them, that is, for knowledge of them, which is why it speaks of the earth's being full of 'the knowledge of Jehovah'.

[12] In John,

The second angel sounded, and so to speak a great mountain burning with fire was thrown into the sea. And a third part of the sea became blood resulting in the death of a third part of the creatures which had their being in the sea. ⁴ And a third part of the ships was destroyed. Revelation 8:8-9.

'A great mountain burning with fire' is self-love; 'the sea' into which it was thrown is factual knowledge in general; 'blood' which it became is truth that has been falsified and made profane, 4735, 4978, 7317, 7326; and 'the creatures' which died as a result are those in possession of teachings which present the truth.

[13] Something similar occurs elsewhere in the same book,

The second angel poured out his bowl into the sea, and it became like the blood of one dead, from which every living soul died in the sea. Revelation 16:3-4.

Factual knowledge serving evils in the destruction of truths and in the substantiation of falsities is meant here by 'the sea'. In the same book,

... a beast coming up out of the sea, speaking blasphemies. Revelation 13:1ff.

'A beast out of the sea' is factual knowledge destroying the truths of faith. From all this it becomes clear that 'the sea' means a place where factual knowledge is gathered together and is the resource which reasoning about the truths of faith makes use of.

[14] Since 'the sea' has this meaning Zebulun is spoken of as dwelling at the shore of the seas and at the haven of ships, Genesis 49:13, and in another place as one who 'will suck the plentifulness of the sea, and the hidden treasures of the sand, Deuteronomy 33:19. Zebulun is used in the representative sense to mean those who make use of factual knowledge to arrive at conclusions about the truths of faith; this is why it says that he was going to dwell 'at the shore of the seas'.

[15] In the contrary sense however 'the sea' means factual knowledge which has the world as the end in view; in this case its 'waves' are reasonings that are the product of worldly notions about Divine matters. Consequently 'being immersed in the sea' means being immersed so thoroughly in factual knowledge which is the product of worldly and earthly notions that there is no belief whatever in God's truth, as in Matthew,

Whoever causes one of the little ones believing in Me to stumble, it would be better for him if an ass's millstone ⁵ were hung onto his neck and he were plunged into the depth of the sea. Matthew 18:6.

'A millstone' is truth which is of service to faith, 4335, 7780, 'an ass' is the natural because it is a servant, 2781, 5741, 5958, 6389, 8078, so that 'an ass's millstone' is natural and worldly knowledge. 'The neck' means the joining of interior things to exterior ones, 3542; 'being hung on it' means a blocking and cutting off of good and truth, 3542, 3603; 'being plunged into the depth of the sea' means sinking into what is merely worldly and bodily, thus into hell. These words, like all others spoken by the Lord, are accordingly such as carry a spiritual meaning.

[16] But [the nature of] the factual knowledge meant by 'the sea' depends altogether on the density and blackness of its waters, or conversely on the clearness and transparency of them. So it is that factual knowledge looking towards heaven, which is the spiritual dimension within the natural man, is called the glassy sea in Revelation 15:1-2. A time when no one will use factual knowledge to reason about the truths of faith, but truths will be imprinted on people's hearts is meant by the sea will be no more in Revelation 21:1.

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2781. 'And saddled [his] ass' means the natural man which He prepared. This is clear from the meaning of 'an ass', dealt with below. In man there are things of the will and there are those of the understanding; with the former go those things which spring from good, with the latter those which spring from truth. There are various kinds of animals, by which things of the will springing from good are meant, such as lambs, sheep, goats, she-goats, young bulls, and oxen, see 1823, 2179, 2180; and there are also those by which are meant things of the understanding springing from truth, namely horses, mules, wild asses, camels, and asses, in addition to birds. 'A horse' means the understanding part of the mind, as has been shown above in 2761, 2762; 'a wild ass' means rational truth separated from good, see 1949; and 'a camel' means factual knowledge in general, and 'an ass' factual knowledge in particular, see 1486.

[2] There are two elements which constitute the natural degree of man's mind, or what amounts to the same, the natural man - natural good and natural truth. Natural good is the delight that flows forth from charity and faith, natural truth is knowledge of these. That natural truth is what is meant by 'an ass', and rational truth by 'a mule', becomes clear from the following places:In Isaiah,

A prophecy of the beasts of the south. In the land of distress and repression are the lion and the tiger, and from them come the viper and the flying fiery-serpent. They will bear their riches on the shoulders of young asses, and their treasures on the humps of camels - on a people [who] will not be any use [to them]; for the Egyptians will help in vain and to no advantage. Isaiah 30:6-7.

The expression 'the beasts of the south' is used of those who possess cognitions of good and truth but who make them matters of knowledge, not of life. In reference to those beasts it is said that those people 'bear their riches on the shoulders of young asses, and their treasures on the humps of camels', for the reason that 'young asses' means facts in particular, and 'camels' facts in general. 'The Egyptians', of whom it is said that they will help in vain and to no advantage, means knowledge, see 1164, 1165, 1186. It is evident to anyone that this prophecy has an internal sense and that without this it is understood by nobody, for without the internal sense no one can know what 'the prophecy of the beasts of the south' is, or what 'the lion and the tiger', or what 'the viper and the flying fiery-serpent', or what is meant by the words that 'those beasts were to bear their riches on the shoulders of young asses, and their treasures on the humps of camels', or why the assertion immediately follows that 'the Egyptians will help in vain and to no advantage'. 'Ass' is used with a like meaning in Israel's prophecy concerning Issachar, in Moses,

Issachar is a bony ass lying down between burdens. Genesis 49:14.

[3] In Zechariah,

This will be the plague with which Jehovah will smite all the peoples that wage war against Jerusalem. It will be a plague of the horse, the mule, the camel, and the ass, and every beast. Zechariah 14:12, 15.

'The horse, the mule, the camel, and the ass' means things of the understanding residing in man which will suffer from the plague. This is clear from every single detail before and after those verses, for the subject there is the plagues which are to precede the Last Judgement or. Close of the Age and to which John makes much reference in Revelation, as do the rest of the Prophets in various places. Those who are going to wage war at that time against Jerusalem, that is, against the Lord's spiritual Church and its truths, are meant by those animals. It will be the things of the understanding that will suffer from such plagues

[4] In Isaiah,

Blessed are you who sow beside all waters, who send forth the foot of the ox and the ass. Isaiah 32:20.

'Sowing beside all waters' stands for those who allow themselves to be taught spiritual things - 'waters' meaning spiritual things and so things that constitute an understanding of truth, see 680, 739, 2702. 'Who send forth the foot of the ox and the ass' stands for natural things that are to be of service, 'ox' meaning the natural as regards good, 2180, 2566, 'ass' the natural as regards truth.

[5] In Moses,

Binding his young ass to the vine and the foal ¹ of his she-ass to the choice vine. He washes his vesture in wine and his cloak in the blood of grapes. Genesis 49:11.

This is the prophecy of Jacob, by then Israel, concerning the Lord. 'The vine' and 'the choice vine' stand for the spiritual Church, external and internal, 1069. 'Young ass' stands for natural truth, 'the foal of a she-ass' for rational truth. The reason 'the foal of a she-ass' means rational truth is that 'a she ass' means the affection for natural truth, 1486, while her foal means rational truth, see 1895, 1896, 1902, 1910.

[6] In former times a judge used to ride on a she-ass and his sons on young asses, the reason being that judges represented the goods of the Church and their sons truths derived from those goods. A king however used to ride on a she-mule and his sons on mules, the reason being that kings and their sons represented the truths of the Church, see 1672, 1728, 2015, 2069. The fact that a judge rode on a she-ass is clear in the Book of Judges,

My heart goes out to the law-givers of Israel offering themselves willingly among the people. Bless Jehovah, you who ride on white she-asses, you who sit on Middin. ² Judges 5:9-10.

The fact that judges' sons rode on young asses,

Jair the judge over Israel had thirty sons who rode on thirty young asses. Judges 10:3-4.

And elsewhere in the same book,

Abdon the judge of Israel had forty sons and thirty grandsons who rode on seventy young asses. Judges 12:14.

David said to them, Take with you the servants of your lord and cause Solomon my son to ride on the she-mule which is mine. And they caused Solomon to ride on King David's she-mule. And Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anointed him king in Gihon. 1 Kings 1:33, 38, 44-45.

The fact that the king's sons rode on mules,

All King David's sons arose, and they rode each on his mule and fled because of Absalom. 2 Samuel 13:29.

[7] From all this it is evident that riding on a she-ass indicated the judge, and riding on a she-mule the king; riding on a young ass indicated the judge's sons, and doing so on a mule the king's sons. They indicated these personages because, as has been stated, 'a she-ass' represented and meant the affection for natural good and truth, 'a she-mule' the affection for rational truth, 'an ass or young ass' natural truth itself, and 'a mule' as well as 'the foal of a she-ass' rational truth. This shows what is meant by the prophetical words that refer to the Lord, in Zechariah,

Exult, O daughter of Zion! Rejoice, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King will come to you. He is just and having salvation, humble and riding on an ass, and on a young ass, the foal of she-asses. His dominion will be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth. Zechariah 9:9-10.

The fact that the Lord wished to ride on these when He was about to enter Jerusalem is well known from the Gospels. The event is referred to in Matthew as follows,

Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a she-ass tied, and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to Me. This took place to fulfil what was spoken by the prophet saying, Tell the daughter of Zion, Behold, your King is coming to you, meek seated on a she-ass, and on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden. And they brought the she-ass and the colt and laid their garments on them and set Him on them. Matthew 21:2, 4-5, 7.

[8] 'Riding on an ass' served to indicate that the natural was subordinate, and 'riding on a colt, the foal of a she-ass' that the rational was so; for 'the foal of a she-ass' is similar in meaning to 'a mule', as has been shown above, where Genesis 49:11 is referred to. ³ From this - the spiritual meaning of these animals - and because it was the right of the supreme judge and of the king to ride on them, and at the same time so that He might fulfil the representatives of the Church, the Lord was pleased to ride in this way. His doing so is described in John as follows,

The next day a great crowd who had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, took branches of palm trees, and went to meet Him, and cried, Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel! Jesus found a young ass and sat on it, as it is written, Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your King is coming, sitting on a she-ass's colt! These things however His disciples had not understood at first, but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written of Him, and that they had done these things for Him. John 12:12-16; Mark 11:1-12; Luke 19:28-41.

[9] From an this it may now be clear that every single thing in the Church of that period was representative of the Lord, and consequently of the celestial and spiritual things that are in His kingdom; even the she-ass and the colt of the she-ass were so, which represented the natural man as regards good and truth. The reason for the representation was that the natural man ought to serve the rational, and the rational to serve the spiritual; but the spiritual ought to serve the celestial, and the celestial to serve the Lord. This is the order in which one is subordinated to another.

[10] Because 'an ox and an ass' meant the natural man as regards good and truth many laws were therefore laid down in which oxen and asses are mentioned. At first glance these laws do not seem to be worthy of mention in the Divine Word, but when they are interpreted as to their internal sense, that which is spiritual and of great importance is seen within these laws, such as the following laws in Moses,

If anyone opens a pit, or if anyone digs a pit and does not cover it, and an ox or an ass falls into it, the owner of the pit shall recompense its owner with silver, and the dead animal shall be his. Exodus 21:33-34.

If you meet your enemy's ox or his ass going astray you shall certainly lead it back to him. If you see the ass of one who hates you lying under its burden, and you are disinclined to remove it, you shall certainly help to remove it from it. Exodus 23:4-5; Deuteronomy 22:1, 3.

You shall not see your brother's ass or ox falling down in the road and hide yourself from them; you shall certainly help to lift them. Deuteronomy 22:4.

You shall not plough with an ox and an ass together. You shall not wear mingled material made of wool and linen together. Deuteronomy 22:10-11.

Six days you shall do your works, and on the seventh day you shall rest, in order that your ox and your ass may rest, and the son of your woman servant, and the settler. Exodus 23:12.

Here 'ox and ass' in the spiritual sense means nothing other than natural good and truth.

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