899. Blessed are the dead that die in the Lord from henceforth, signifies the resurrection into eternal life of those who have lived heretofore a life of charity, and will so live henceforth. This is evident from the signification of "the dead in the Lord," as being those who rise into eternal life (of which presently), also from the signification of "the dead and those that die from henceforth," as being the resurrection of those who have heretofore lived and who henceforth live a life of charity, for this is said of those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus; and these are such as live according to the Lord's commandments in the Word and acknowledge His Divine, thus who live a life of charity from the Lord (See above, n. 894, 895).

[2] It is said "from henceforth," because those are meant who have heretofore lived and who henceforth live that life. Those who have lived that life heretofore were kept by the Lord below the heavens and protected from infestation by the hells until the Last Judgment; and when this was accomplished they were raised up from their places, and elevated into heaven. This was not done before because before that the hells prevailed, and there was a preponderance on their part; but after this the heavens prevailed, and thus there was a preponderance on their part; for by the Last Judgment all things, both in the hells and in the heavens, were reduced to order. If, therefore, these had been elevated before, they could not have resisted the power with which the hells prevailed over the heavens. That they were elevated it was granted me to see; for I saw troops of them arising and being lifted up from the lower earth, where they had been kept by the Lord, and transferred to the heavenly societies. This took place after that Last Judgment that is treated of in the work on The Last Judgment. The same was done after a former judgment that was accomplished by the Lord when He was in the world, which is treated of in the same work. This mystery is what is meant by the resurrection of those who had heretofore lived a life of charity. This is meant also by these words in John:

Now is the judgment of this world; now shall the prince of this world be cast out. But I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all unto Myself (John 12:31, 32);

and this was represented by:

Many of the saints who slept were raised up; and coming forth out of their tombs after the Lord's resurrection they entered into the holy city, and appeared unto many (Matthew 27:52, 53).

But on this more will be said where the first and second resurrection or death are treated of in what follows in Revelation.

[3] "The dead that are blessed," and "those that die," mean also those that are to rise again into life hereafter, who are such as live a life of charity, as is evident from the expressions "from henceforth," and "the dead," and "those that die," "from henceforth," referring not only to those who are such since the Last Judgment, but also to those who were such before, and who have been treated of above. "Death" signifies resurrection, and thus "the dead" signify those who rise again into eternal life, because "death" signifies hell, and thus evils and falsities; and these must die that man may receive spiritual life; for until these are dead and extinct man has no spiritual life, which is the life that is meant in the Word by "life," "eternal life," and "resurrection;" therefore "to die" means here and elsewhere in the Word the extinction of the life that is man's own, which regarded in itself consists solely of evils and falsities from them. And because when that life has been extinguished spiritual life enters in its place, so "the dead in the Lord" signify those who have been made spiritual by the Lord.

[4] Moreover, "to die" can mean in the spiritual sense resurrection, because the angels, who are in the spiritual sense of the Word, know nothing about natural death, by which man is taken out of this world; but they know only about spiritual death, which comes to those who are being regenerated by the Lord by means of temptations, and with whom evils and falsities therefrom are being subdued and put to death. Again, natural death is nothing but resurrection, for the reason that when the body dies man rises again as to his spirit, and thus death is simply a continuation of his life; for through death man passes from a life in the natural world into a life in the spiritual world, with the difference only that the life in the natural world is a more external and imperfect life, and the life in the spiritual world is a more internal and perfect life; and yet the two are alike in appearance, as can be seen from things heard and seen that are related in the work on Heaven and Hell.

[5] From all this it can be seen that "death" signifies both spiritual death, which is damnation, and resurrection into life, which is salvation. That "death" signifies damnation can be seen above (n. 186, 383, 427, 694). That "death" signifies resurrection to eternal life, and salvation, can be seen from the following passages. In John:

Jesus said, I am the resurrection and the life; he that believeth in Me, though he die yet shall he live; and everyone that liveth shall not die forever (John 11:25, 26).

"I am the resurrection and the life" signifies that resurrection and life are from Him and not from another; "he that believeth in Me" signifies, he that believes in the Lord's Divine and believes that He is the omnipotent and only God; and as no one can believe this except he that lives a life of charity, therefore a life of charity, is also meant by "believing in Him;" "though he die yet shall he live" signifies that though one die naturally, still he shall rise again into life; "and everyone that liveth and believeth in Me shall not die forever" signifies that he who has been reformed shall not die spiritually, that is, be condemned, but shall rise again into eternal life. This makes clear that "to die" does not mean to die, but to rise again to life.

[6] In the same:

Your fathers did eat manna in the desert, and they are dead. This is the bread which cometh down out of heaven, that one may eat thereof and not die (John 6:49, 50, 58).

The "manna" that the sons of Jacob ate in the desert means in reference to them natural food, because they were natural; but "the bread that cometh down out of heaven" means spiritual food, which is from the Lord alone; and because it is from Him alone, in the highest sense "bread" means Himself; and therefore He says, "I am the Bread of life." For Divine good united with Divine truth proceeding from the Lord, is that from which both angels and men have spiritual life. Consequently these words mean in the spiritual sense that those who nourish themselves from the Word in a natural way only are dead, that is, condemned, as were the sons of Jacob; and this was signified by their all dying in the desert; but those who nourish themselves spiritually from the Word will not be subject to condemnation, which is meant by "they shall not die," which evidently does not mean not to die, but resurrection into life; for if death is not death it is life.

[7] In the same:

If a man keep My word he shall never see death (John 8:51, 52).

"To keep the Lord's words" signifies to live according to the Lord's commandments; "not to see death" signifies not to see condemnation but life, into which man rises and enters by death. In the same:

Jesus said, Verily I say unto you, that he that heareth My word and believeth on Him that sent Me hath eternal life, and cometh not into judgment but passeth from death into life (John 5:24).

"To hear the word of the Lord and believe on Him that sent Him" has a like meaning as above, for by "the Father" the Lord meant the Divine that was in Him from conception, thus Himself. "Not to come into judgment" signifies not to be condemned; "to pass from death into life" signifies resurrection and life in heaven, "from death" signifying not only from natural death into eternal life, thus a resurrection, but also from spiritual death, which is condemnation, into eternal life; thus also resurrection; for the Word contains both a natural and a spiritual sense.

[8] In the same:

Jesus said, As the Father raiseth up the dead and vivifieth them, even so the Son vivifieth whom He will (John 5:21).

"To raise up the dead and vivify them" means resurrection into life, not only by natural death but also by spiritual death; resurrection into life is effected by reformation and regeneration, and these by the removal and separation of evils, which condemn man, and which are spiritual death. In the same:

Jesus said, Verily I say unto you, that the hour is coming when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and they that hear shall live (John 5:25).

"The dead" signify here those who have been in evils and in falsities therefrom, but have been delivered from them by reformation; that they shall rise again is meant by these words, for they are no longer dead but alive, for they are "those that hear the voice of the Son of God," that is, those who live according to His commandments. Likewise it is said in Luke:

That such shall be recompensed in the resurrection of the dead ¹ (Luke 14:14).

"The resurrection of the dead" means not only the resurrection of those who die naturally, for these rise again immediately after death, but also the resurrection of those who die spiritually and are vivified by the Lord.

[9] In John:

Jesus said, The hour shall come, in which all that are in the tombs shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and shall come forth, they that have done goods unto the resurrection of life, but they that have done evils unto the resurrection of judgment (John 5:28, 29).

This does not mean that the tombs shall be opened and all shall go forth at the day of the Last Judgment; but the "tombs" that shall be opened mean the places in the lower earth where those who had previously lived a life of charity and had acknowledged the Lord's Divine were kept and guarded by the Lord, and in the day of the Last Judgment and after it were raised up into heaven, as has been said above in this article. These places are signified in the spiritual sense by "tombs." This does not mean that the tombs in the earth are to be opened, and that they shall come forth from them at the day of the Last Judgment, as is clearly evident from the fact that all men come into the spiritual world immediately after death, and live there in a human form in like manner as in the natural world, therefore that everyone's resurrection takes place immediately after death, resurrection to life for those who have done goods, and resurrection to judgment for those who have done evils; as is evident from the things heard and seen that are related in the work on Heaven and Hell.

[10] The same was represented by:

The tombs were opened, and many bodies of the saints that slept were raised up, and coming forth out of their tombs after the Lord's resurrection entered into the holy city and appeared unto many (Matthew 27:52, 53).

That the tombs were then opened and the saints who had previously died came forth and entered into the holy city and appeared to many, represented the resurrection of those who had been kept by the Lord in places under heaven until His coming into the world, and who after His resurrection were taken therefrom and raised up into heaven. This took place and was seen by those who were in Jerusalem; nevertheless it was representative of the resurrection of those here and before described. For as all things of the Lord's passion were representative, also that the veil of the temple was rent in twain, the earth quaked, and the rocks were rent (Matthew 27:51), so was this, that they came forth from the opened tombs; therefore it is added that "they entered into the holy city and appeared there;" for "Zion," which is here meant by "the holy city," still represented heaven where the Lord reigns by His Divine truth (on this signification of "Zion" see above, n. 850); and that city, together with Jerusalem, was at that time profane rather than holy, so that it was even called "Egypt and Sodom" in Revelation (Revelation 11:8). But it is called "holy" on account of its representation and consequent signification in the Word.

[11] Resurrection from the dead, both in the natural and in the spiritual sense, was represented and thus was signified by the dead whom the Lord raised:

As by the raising of Lazarus (John 11:11-44);

By the raising of the young man of Nain (Luke 7:11-18);

And by the raising of the daughter of the ruler of the synagogue (Mark 5:21-43 to the end).

For all the miracles wrought by the Lord, and all the miracles described in the Word, included in them and thus signified the holy things of heaven and the church; and for this reason those miracles were Divine, and they were distinguished from miracles not Divine. The like is signified by this:

That it was granted to the disciples to raise the dead (Matthew 10:8).

[12] Regeneration, which also is a resurrection from the dead, was represented by the vivification of the bones in Ezekiel (Ezekiel 37:1-14). That this represented regeneration is plainly evident from verses 11-14, where it is said:

These bones are the whole house of Israel; therefore prophesy and say unto them, Behold I will open your graves, O My people, and I will bring you upon the land of Israel, that ye may know that I will put My spirit in you, that ye may live.

Here again it is said that "the graves shall be opened," which signifies resurrection into life. (That "to be buried" and "burial" signify resurrection, likewise regeneration, being the rejection of things unclean, may be seen above, n. 659)

[13] That natural death, which is a rejection of the unclean things of the body, and spiritual death, which is a removal of the unclean things of the spirit, signify resurrection, can be seen also from the following passages in Revelation, where the first and the second death are treated of, which also are called the first and the second resurrection ² (Revelation 2:11; 21:8). Also in David:

Precious in the eyes of Jehovah is the death of His saints (Psalms 116:15).

Evidently "the death of the saints" does not signify damnation, but the separation and removal of the unclean things of their spirit, thus regeneration and resurrection. So also in John:

Jesus said, Except a grain of wheat fall into the earth and die it abideth alone; but if it die it beareth much fruit (John 12:24).

The same is true of man, who, that he may rise again, must die both as to the body and as to what is his own [proprium], which is in itself infernal; for unless both of these die he does not have the life of heaven.

[14] As men rise again after death, therefore the Lord willed to undergo death and to rise again the third day, but to the end that He might put off everything human that He had from the mother and might put on the Divine Human; for everything human that the Lord took from the mother He rejected from Himself by temptations, and finally by death; and by putting on a Human from the Divine Itself that was in Him He glorified Himself, that is, made His Human Divine; therefore in heaven His death and burial do not mean death and burial, but the purification of His Human, and glorification. That this is so the Lord taught by this comparison with wheat falling into the earth, which must die that it may bear fruit. The same is involved in what the Lord said to Mary Magdalene:

Touch Me not, for I am not yet ascended unto My Father (John 20:17).

"To ascend to His Father" means the uniting of His Human with His Divine, the human from the mother being fully rejected.

Poznámky pod čarou:

659. And shall not suffer [their bodies] to be placed in sepulchers, signifies the rejection and damnation of such. This is evident from the signification of "not to be placed in sepulchers or not to be buried," as being eternal damnation; for "to be buried" signifies in the Word awakening into life and resurrection, because when a man dies and is buried he is awakened or rises again into eternal life. For after death a man continues to live equally as in the world, but he lays aside the earthly or material body, which served him for use in the natural world, and continues his life in a spiritual body. Burial, therefore, is only the rejection, as it were, of the exuviae that he carried about in the natural world. Burial signifies awakening into eternal life or resurrection, because the angels do not know what the death of a man is nor what his burial is, since with them there is no death and therefore no burial, but they perceive all things spiritually; when, therefore, the death of a man is mentioned in the Word, instead of death they perceive his passing over from one world into another; and where burial is mentioned they perceive his resurrection into life. It follows from this that "not to be buried" signifies resurrection not into life, but into damnation, which means spiritual death. Every man, indeed, after his departure out of the world is awakened and rises again, but some to life and some to damnation, and as "to be buried" signifies resurrection to life, so "not to be buried" signifies damnation, but here of those who reject the goods of love and the truths of doctrine, which are signified by "the two witnesses;" consequently "not to be placed in sepulchers" (or not to be buried) does not mean damnation except in the idea of those who condemn such goods and truths. Therefore what "sepulchers" signify in the Word, as also "to be buried" and "not to be buried," can be seen from the following passages.

[2] That "sepulchers," because of the dead bodies and bones in them, signify things unclean, and thus things infernal, can be seen from many passages in the Word. As in Isaiah:

A people that provoke Me to anger continually before My faces; that burn incense upon bricks, that sit in sepulchers and lodge in waste places, that eat swine's flesh (Isaiah 65:3, 4).

"To provoke Jehovah to anger before His faces" signifies to sin against the truths and goods of the Word, and to fall away from the worship therein commanded, "the faces of Jehovah" meaning the things revealed in the Word; "to burn incense upon bricks" signifies worship from falsities of doctrine, "bricks" meaning the falsities of doctrine, and "to burn incense" meaning worship from them; "to sit in sepulchers" signifies to be in filthy loves; "to lodge in waste places" signifies to remain and to live in falsities, "waste places" meaning where there are no truths; "to eat swine's flesh" signifies to make infernal evils one's own.

[3] In Moses:

Whosoever shall touch one upon the surface of the field that is slain by a sword, or a dead body, or the bone of a man, or a sepulcher, shall be unclean seven days, and afterwards he shall be purified (Numbers 19:16, 18).

"To touch" signifies in the Word to communicate; therefore that falsities and evils be not communicated and thus appropriated it was forbidden to touch things unclean, here "one slain by a sword," a "dead body," "the bone of a man," or a "sepulcher;" since "one slain by a sword" signifies one who has been destroyed by falsities, and has thence been condemned to hell; and a "dead body" signifies one who has been destroyed by evils; "the bone of a man" signifies infernal falsity, and a "sepulcher" infernal evil.

[4] In Ezekiel:

Wail over the multitude of Egypt, and cast her down with them that go down into the pit. They shall fall in the midst of them that are slain by the sword. Asshur is there and all his assembly, his sepulchers are round about him, all the slain who have fallen by the sword, to whom sepulchers were given in the sides of the pit, and his assembly is round about his sepulcher. Elam and all his multitude is round about his sepulcher, all the uncircumcised slain by the sword (Ezekiel 32:18, 20, 22-24).

"The multitude of Egypt" signifies the knowledges [scientifica] of the natural man, which are dead because they do not come down and take form as effects, conclusions, and confirmations, from the truths of the spiritual man; "Asshur" signifies reasonings from such knowledges; therefore "Wail over the multitude of Egypt, and cast her down with them that go down into the pit," signifies grief because of the damnation of those who are in these knowledges, the "pit" signifying the hell where such dead knowledges have rule, that is, knowledges separated from truths, because employed to confirm falsities of doctrine and evils of life; "those slain by the sword," here as above, signify those who are condemned to the hells on account of falsities; "Asshur is there and all his assembly" signifies reasonings from those falsities; the "sepulchers" that are round about Asshur and in the sides of the pit, where Elam is, and "all the uncircumcised slain by the sword" signify the hells where these falsities are, that is, those who are in such falsities.

[5] It is to be known that falsities and evils of every kind correspond to unclean and loathsome things in the natural world, and the more direful falsities and evils to things pertaining to dead bodies and to fetid excrementitious things, and the milder falsities and evils to things pertaining to swamps; consequently the dwelling-places in the hells of those who are in such falsities and evils appear like pits and sepulchers; and if you will believe it, such evil genii and spirits also have their abode in the sepulchers, privies, and swamps that are in our world, although they do not know it; this is so because they correspond, and the things that correspond conjoin. The same conclusion may be drawn from this, that to those who have been assassins and poisoners, and to those who have perceived delight in violating women, there is nothing more delightful than the odor of a corpse; and to those who have been eaten up with the love of ruling, and to those who have taken delight in adulteries, and no delight in marriages, there is nothing more delightful than the odor of excrement; and to those who have confirmed themselves in falsities, and have extinguished in themselves the affection of truth, there is nothing more delightful than the odor of a swamp and of urinous places. This is why the hells in which they dwell appear according to the corresponding delights, some like pits and some like sepulchers.

[6] From this it appears why it was:

That those that were obsessed by demons were in sepulchers and came out therefrom (Matthew 8:28 seq.; Mark 5:2, 3, 5; Luke 8:27);

namely, because those that were obsessed while they lived in the world were in falsities from evil, or in knowledges from the Word, which they made dead by employing them to confirm evils and also to destroy the genuine truths of the church, especially the truths respecting the Lord, the Word, and the life after death; these dead knowledges are called in the Word "traditions." This is why those that were obsessed by such, when they had become demons:

Were in sepulchers, and the demons themselves were afterwards cast out into swine, that cast themselves headlong into the sea (Matthew 8:31-33).

They were "cast into swine" [because while they lived in the world they had been in sordid avarice], ¹ and this is what "swine" correspond to and thence signify; they "cast themselves headlong into the sea" because the "sea" here signifies hell.

[7] In David:

I have been reckoned with them that go down into the pit. I am become as a man that hath no strength; neglected among the dead, like the slain that lie in the sepulcher, whom Thou rememberest no more, and who are cut off from Thy hand. Thou hast laid me in the pit of the lower parts, in dark places, in the depths. Shall Thy mercy be declared in the sepulcher, Thy truth in destruction? (Psalms 88:4-6, 11)

This treats of temptations, in the highest sense of the Lord's temptations; this describes of what nature these were, namely, that He seemed to Himself to be in hell among the damned, so fierce and enormous were the temptations the Lord endured; therefore "I have been reckoned with them that go down into the pit" signifies that He seemed to Himself to be in hell, "the pit" meaning hell; "I am become as a man that hath no strength" signifies that He then seemed to Himself to be without power, for temptations plunge a man into falsities and evils, in which there is no power; "neglected among the dead" signifies among those who have nothing of truth and good, and who are therefore rejected; "as the slain that lie down in the sepulcher" signifies like those who are in falsities from evil, "the slain" signifying those who perish by falsities, and "the sepulcher" hell, because those that are in hell are spiritually dead; "whom Thou rememberest no more, and who are cut off from Thy hand," signifies who are deprived of all truth and good; "Thou hast laid me in the pit of the lower parts" signifies in the places of hell where such are; "in dark places" signifies as it were in falsities; "in the depths" signifies as it were in evils.

[8] There is now added a prayer from grief that he may be delivered from temptations, and for this among other reasons, "Shall Thy mercy be declared in the sepulcher, and Thy truth in destruction?" which signifies that in hell, where and from which are evils and falsities, Divine good and Divine truth cannot be proclaimed, "mercy" meaning the Divine good of the Divine love, and "truth" the Divine truth of the Divine wisdom, "sepulcher" meaning the hell where and from which are evils, and "destruction" the hell where and from which are falsities. From this it appears that "sepulcher" means hell, because they who are in hell are spiritually dead.

[9] In Isaiah:

That He might give the wicked to their sepulcher, and the rich in their deaths (Isaiah 53:9).

This also is said of the Lord, of whom the whole of this chapter treats, but here of His victories over the hells. "The wicked given to the sepulcher" mean the evil who will be cast down into hell; here "sepulcher" plainly stands for hell, which is called a sepulcher because of the spiritually dead who are in it; "the rich given in their deaths" mean those of the church who are in falsities from evils, who are called "rich" by reason of the knowledges of truth and good which they have from the Word; falsities from evil are signified by "deaths," because those who are in them are spiritually dead.

[10] Those who think evil about God and the neighbor but speak well, and those who think insanely about truths of faith and goods of love but speak sanely, such inwardly are sepulchers whited without, according to these words of the Lord:

Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for ye are like unto whited sepulchers, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of the bones of the dead and of all uncleanness (Matthew 23:27, 29; Luke 11:47, 48).

[11] And in David:

There is nothing right in the mouth of anyone, their midst is perditions; their throat is an open sepulcher, they flatter with their tongue (Psalms 5:9).

"In the mouth" signifies outwardly, the "midst" inwardly; that there is hell within is signified by "their throat is an open sepulcher;" and that outwardly there is hypocrisy and seeming sanity is signified by "they flatter with their tongue." These and other passages in the Word make evident what "sepulcher" signifies.

[12] So when those who are in falsities from evil are treated of, by "their sepulcher" the hell from which and in which there is such falsity is meant; but when those who are in truths from good are treated of, "sepulcher" means the removal and rejection of falsity from evil, and "burial" means awakening and resurrection into life, as also regeneration. For with a man who is in truths from good, falsity from evil is removed and rejected into hell, and the man himself, in respect to his interiors, which belong to his spirit, rises again and enters into the life of truth from good, which is the spiritual life. In this sense "burial" is to be understood in the following passages.

[13] In John:

Marvel not, for the hour cometh in which all that are in the sepulchers shall hear the voice of the Son of man, and shall come forth; they that have done goods unto the resurrection of life, but they that have done evils unto the resurrection of judgment (John 5:28, 29).

This does not mean that those who are in sepulchers or tombs shall hear the voice of the Lord and come forth, for all after death, equally as in this world, live as men, with the difference only that after death they live in a spiritual body, and not in a material body; therefore "to go forth out of the sepulchers" signifies out of the material body; and this going forth first takes place with everyone immediately after death, and afterwards when the Last Judgment is wrought, for at that time the exteriors are removed and the interiors are opened with all with whom this had not previously been done; then those whose interiors are heavenly are raised up unto life, but those with whom the interiors are infernal are raised up unto death, and this is what is signified by "they that have done goods shall go forth unto the resurrection of life, but they that have done evils unto the resurrection of judgment."

[14] That this is meant by "going forth out of the tombs or out of the sepulchers" is still more evidently manifest in Ezekiel:

Behold I will open your sepulchers and will cause you to come up out of your sepulchers, O My people, and will bring you upon the land of Israel, that ye may know that I am Jehovah, when I shall have opened your sepulchers and have caused you to come up out of your sepulchers, O My people, and have given My Spirit in you that ye may live, and have placed you upon your own land (Ezekiel 37:12-14).

This treats of the dry bones seen by the prophet upon the faces of the valley; upon these sinews appeared to be stretched and flesh came up, and skin covered them; and when the Spirit of God came into them they lived again and stood upon their feet. That by these bones the whole house of Israel was meant is openly declared in these words:

Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel; behold they say, Our bones are dried up, our hope is perished; as for us we are cut off (Ezekiel 37:11).

This house was likened to "dry bones" because they were in falsities and evils, which have no life because of their non-correspondence with heaven in respect to sinews, flesh, and skin, for "bones" signify truths in the ultimate of order, upon which spiritual truths are based, and "dry bones" signify falsities from evil; this makes clear that "to open the sepulchers and to cause the people to come up out of the sepulchers" signifies to raise up out of falsities from evil, thus from the dead, and to impart truths from good, thus life, which life is "the Spirit of God," from which they lived again; this is what is meant, therefore, by "causing the people to come up out of the sepulchers." The church that is to be formed out of these is signified by "the land of Israel" upon which they shall be placed.

[15] It is related in Matthew:

That after the passion of the Lord the tombs were opened, and many bodies of those that slept coming out of their tombs went into the holy city, and appeared to many (Matthew 27:52, 53).

That "the tombs were opened, and many bodies of them that slept appeared," has a similar signification as above in Ezekiel, where it is said that "Jehovah was to open the sepulchers and cause them to come up out of the sepulchers," namely, the regeneration and resurrection of the faithful unto life; not that the bodies themselves that lay in the tombs rose again, but that there was this appearance, that regeneration and resurrection to life from the Lord might be signified. Furthermore, these same words mean those who in the Word are said "to be bound in the pit," whom the Lord delivered when He had finished the whole work of redemption. For many of the faithful could not be saved until the Lord had come into the world and subjugated the hells; in the meanwhile they were detained in the places called "pits" until the Lord came, but were delivered by the Lord immediately after His coming. These pits were represented also by the "tombs" that were opened, and those who were in them by those that "slept," who after the Lord's resurrection, as it is said, "appeared to many in the holy city;" "the holy city" was Zion and Jerusalem, but by them heaven is meant, to which they were raised up by the Lord, for both Zion and Jerusalem were profane rather than holy. This makes evident what that miracle and that appearance represented and signified.

[16] Since "the land of Canaan" signifies both the church and heaven, and "burial" signifies resurrection into life, so:

Abraham bought of Ephron a field in which was the cave of Machpelah which was before Mamre (Genesis 23:1);

And there Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, with their wives, were buried (Genesis 23:1; 25:9, 10; 35:29; 49:1; 50:1).

The particulars related concerning that cave, namely, that it was "in the field of Ephron, which was before Mamre," and many others, were significative of resurrection unto life (as may be seen explained in the Arcana Coelestia). For this reason Joseph also commanded:

That his bones should be brought up into the land of Canaan (Genesis 50:24-26);

And this was done (Exodus 13:19; Joshua 24:32);

and for the reason that "the land of Canaan," as has been said, signified the heavenly Canaan, which is heaven. Because of the representation of resurrection into heaven by burial:

David and the kings after him were buried in Zion (1 Kings 2:10; 11:43; 14:17, 18; 15:8, 24; 22:50; 2 Kings 8:24; 12:21; 14:20; 15:7, 38; 16:20).

This was because "Zion" signified the celestial church and heaven, where the Lord is.

[17] That "burial" signifies resurrection can also be seen from this, that the dead are frequently said to have been "gathered to their fathers," and "to their peoples;" "to their fathers" in Genesis:

Jehovah said to Abraham, Thou shalt come to thy fathers in peace, and shalt be buried in a good old age (Genesis 15:15).

And in the second book of Kings:

Jehovah said of Josiah, king of Judah, Behold I gather thee to thy fathers, and thou shalt be gathered into thy sepulcher in peace (2 Kings 22:20).

Also "to their people" in Genesis:

Abraham expired and died in a good old age, an old man and full of years, and was gathered to his peoples (Genesis 25:8);

Isaac expired and died, and was gathered to his peoples, an old man and full of days (Genesis 35:29);

Jacob expired and was gathered to his peoples (Genesis 49:33).

"To their fathers" and "to their peoples" mean to their own, that is, to their like in the other life, for everyone after death comes to his like with whom he is to live forever. It cannot mean that they were gathered to their fathers and to their peoples in the sepulcher, for it is also said of Abraham when he died, that he "was gathered to his fathers" and that he was "gathered to his peoples," yet he was buried in a new tomb, where none of his fathers or of his peoples were before him, except Sarah his wife.

[18] In Job:

Thou shalt know that thy tent is peace, and thy children as the herb of the land, thou shalt come in old age unto the sepulcher like the coming up of a heap of corn in its season (Job 5:24-26).

A "tent" signifies in the Word the holiness of worship and the good of love, because Divine worship in most ancient times was performed in tents; and because their worship was from the good of celestial love, a "tent" signifies also that good; and since there is genuine peace in celestial good therefore it is said, "Thou shalt know that thy tent is peace." Truths from that good and their increase are signified by "the children which shall be as the herb of the land," for "sons" and "children" and likewise "the herb of the land" signify truths from good; that when wisdom has been imbibed one shall come into heaven is signified by "thou shalt come in old age into the sepulcher," "old age" signifying wisdom, and "to come into the sepulcher" or "to be buried" signifying resurrection; and as this is the meaning it is added, "like the coming up of a heap of corn in its season. "

[19] From these few passages it may appear that "sepulchers," by reason of the dead bodies and inanimate bones therein, signify things infernal, but that "burial" signifies the rejection of these and consequently resurrection; for when a man rejects or puts off his material body he puts on a spiritual body, with which he rises again. For this reason the very death of man signifies in the spiritual sense the continuation of his life, but in an evil sense it signifies damnation, which is spiritual death. As in respect to man "burial" signifies resurrection and also regeneration, therefore in respect to the Lord it signified the glorification of His Human; for the Lord glorified, that is, made Divine, His entire Human, consequently on the third day He rose again with the Human glorified, that is, made Divine. Unless this had been done, no man could have risen again to life; for man has resurrection unto life solely from the Lord, and indeed from His having united the Divine with His Human, and from this union, or strictly speaking, glorification, man has salvation; this is involved in:

What the Lord said of the woman who poured balsamic ointment upon His head, that she did it unto His burial (Matthew 26:7, 12; Mark 14:8; John 12:7);

for "anointing" signifies that glorification; because from it man has salvation it is said of this woman:

Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached in the whole world, that also which this woman hath done shall be spoken of for a memorial of her (Matthew 26:13).

This, too, was represented by:

The man that was cast into the sepulcher of Elisha, who revived when he touched his bones (2 Kings 13:20, 21).

For "Elisha" represented the Lord in relation to Divine truth, and this constitutes the life of heaven into which man is raised up.

[20] Since "to be buried" and "burial" signify both resuscitation into life and regeneration; so "not to be buried" and "to be dragged out of the tombs" signifies no resurrection to heaven nor regeneration, but resurrection to hell, and accordingly damnation, as in the following passages. In Isaiah:

Thou art cast out of thy sepulcher like an abominable shoot, the vesture of those that are slain, of those thrust through with the sword, that go down to the stones of the pit, like a carcass trodden down; thou shalt not be united with them in the sepulcher, for thou hast destroyed thy land, thou hast slain thy people; the seed of the wicked shall not be named forever (Isaiah 14:19, 20).

This is said of the king of Babylon, by whom the profanation of Divine truth is signified; therefore "thou art cast out of thy sepulcher" signifies damnation to hell; "like an abominable shoot, the vesture of those that are slain, of those thrust through with the sword," signifies the falsification of truth and its profanation; "an abominable shoot" means truth falsified, and "the vesture of those that are slain, of those thrust through with the sword," means truth adulterated and utterly destroyed by direful falsities; "that go down to the stones of the pit, like a carcass trodden down," signifies to the hell where the falsities of evil are, "a carcass trodden down" signifying an infernal spirit, with whom everything is spiritually dead because of the total destruction of good; "thou shalt not be united with them in the sepulcher" signifies no consociation with those who rise again to life, for "to be in the sepulcher or to be buried" signifies that resurrection, and on the other hand, "to be cast out of the sepulcher" signifies damnation; "thou hast destroyed thy land, thou hast slain thy people," signifies that the church and those therein who are in truths from good have been destroyed by the falsities of evil; "the seed of the wicked shall not be named forever" signifies eternal dissociation and separation.

[21] In Jeremiah:

Jehovah hath said concerning the sons and concerning the daughters that are born in this place, and concerning their mothers that shall bear them, and concerning their fathers that shall beget them in this land, They shall die of grievous deaths, that they may not be lamented, neither buried; they shall be for dung upon the faces of the earth, or they shall be consumed by the sword or by famine, that their carcass may be for food to the birds of the heavens and to the beast of the earth (Jeremiah 16:3, 4).

This is said of the church vastated in respect to all good and truth; "sons and daughters, and mothers and fathers" do not mean in the spiritual sense sons and daughters, mothers and fathers, but the truths and goods of the church both exterior and interior, "sons and daughters" meaning exterior truths and goods, "mothers and fathers" interior truths and goods; these are called "mothers and fathers" because they beget and bring forth the exterior; "they shall die of grievous deaths, that they may not be lamented, neither buried," signifies condemnation to hell because of direful falsities; "they shall be for dung upon the faces of the earth" signifies infernal filth which is the evil that defiles the good and truth of the church; "to be consumed by the sword or by famine" signifies to be destroyed by falsities and evils; "that their carcass may be for food to the birds of the heavens and to the beast of the earth" signifies consumed and to be yet further consumed by the cupidities of the love of falsity and evil.

[22] In the same:

A tumult cometh even to the end of the earth, for Jehovah hath a controversy against the nations; He shall enter judgment with all flesh, He shall give the wicked to the sword; the slain of Jehovah shall be in that day from the end of the earth even unto the end of the earth, they shall not be lamented nor gathered nor buried, they shall be as dung upon the faces of the earth (Jeremiah 25:31, 33).

This describes the devastation of the church at its end when the Last Judgment takes place. "A tumult even to the end of the earth, for Jehovah hath a controversy against the nations," signifies the dismay of all who are of the church when they are visited and their evils are disclosed, the "earth" meaning the church, "nations" those who are in evils, and in an abstract sense evils, and "the controversy of Jehovah" against them visitation and disclosure.

"He shall enter judgment with all flesh" signifies the universal judgment that takes place at the end of the church; "He shall give the wicked to the sword" signifies that the unfaithful will perish by their falsities; "the slain of Jehovah shall be in that day from the end of the earth even unto the end of the earth" signifies those who perish by falsities of every kind, the "slain of Jehovah" meaning those who perish by falsities, and "from the end of the earth even unto the end of the earth" meaning from first things to last of the church, thus falsities of every kind; "they shall not be lamented nor gathered nor buried" signifies that there will be no more any restoration and salvation, but condemnation, "lamentation" signifying grief because such is the state of man, and "no lamentation" signifying no grief because man is such that there is no restoration; "they shall be for dung upon the faces of the earth" signifies mere falsity and evil with no reception of life from heaven; for if a man receives no life through the truths of faith and the goods of charity he is wholly dead, since he is in mere falsities of evil and evils of falsity, and such are "a carcass and dung upon the faces of the earth."

[23] In the same:

Against prophets that prophesy a lie in the name of Jehovah: The people to whom they prophesy shall be cast in the streets of Jerusalem, because of famine and the sword, and there shall be none to bury them, themselves, their wives, and their sons and their daughters (Jeremiah 14:15, 16).

Here, too, "not to be buried" means not to rise again to life but to damnation the rest may be seen explained above, n. 652. In the same:

In that time they shall bring out the bones of the kings of Judah and 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, from their sepulchers, and they shall spread them to the sun and the moon and all the host of the heavens, which they have loved and which they have served, and after which they have walked, and which they have sought and to which they have bowed themselves down; they shall not be gathered nor be buried, they shall be as dung upon the faces of the land (Jeremiah 8:1, 2).

"To bring out the bones from the sepulchers" signifies to separate from the peoples, that is from communion with those who are in heaven, to cast out among the damned without, as takes place when the evil enter the societies of the good, and afterwards when discovered are cast out; for those that are buried are said "to be gathered to their peoples" as above of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; therefore "to be brought out of the sepulchers" means to be cast out from them. All who are of the church as well as all things of the church are signified by the "kings, princes, priests, prophets, and inhabitants of Jerusalem," "kings" signifying the truths themselves of the church in the whole complex, "princes" the chief truths, "priests" the goods of doctrine, "prophets" the truths of doctrine, and "the inhabitants of Jerusalem" all things of the church depending thereon.

[24] Here the "bones of those that are to be brought out" signify the falsities and evils which have nothing in common with truths and goods; "to spread them out to the sun, the moon, and all the host of the heavens," signifies to give them over to diabolic loves, and thus to evils and falsities which are from hell; for the "sun" signifies love in both senses, the "moon" faith in both senses derived from that love, and "the host of the heavens" falsities and evils of every kind; so here "to spread out the bones" to these means to wholly give them over to such things, that they may be nothing but loves and cupidities of evil and falsity; "which they have loved, which they have served, after which they have walked, which they have sought and to which they have bowed themselves down," signifies an exterior and interior affection and proneness for such things, and worship therefrom; "they shall not be gathered nor be buried" signifies that they are never to return to the societies of heaven, but will remain with those who are in hell; "they shall be as dung upon the faces of the land" signifies what is dead and unclean, such as is cast out and trodden down.

From this may appear what is signified by the following:

That Josiah the king took the bones out of the sepulchers and burned them upon the altar (2 Kings 23:16);

That the dogs in the field ate Jezebel, and there was none to bury her (2 Kings 9:10);

That Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, ² king of Judah, was buried with the burial of an ass, drawn and cast forth beyond the gates of Jerusalem (Jeremiah 22:19).

[25] "To be buried in Topheth," and "in the valley of Hinnom" has a like signification in Jeremiah:

Behold the days come that it shall no more be said Topheth, or the valley of the son of Hinnom, but the valley of slaughter; and they shall bury in Topheth till there is no place, and the carcass of this people shall be for food to the bird of the heavens and to the beast of the earth, and none shall frighten them away (Jeremiah 7:32, 33);

and in the same:

I will break this people and this city as the vessel of a potter is broken, which cannot be repaired anymore; and they shall bury in Topheth, because there will be no place for burying, and I will make this city as Topheth (Jeremiah 19:11, 12).

"Topheth" and "the valley of Hinnom" signify the hells, "Topheth" the hell at the back, which is called "the devil," and the "valley of Hinnom" the hell in front, which is called "Satan;" for in the city of Jerusalem and outside of it all places corresponded to places in the spiritual world; for in that world the dwelling places are according to Divine order; in the middle are those who are in the greatest light or wisdom, in the borders those who are in the least, to the east and west those who are in love, to the south and north those who are in intelligence; such is the arrangement of the whole heaven, and such it is in every society there, such in every city, and likewise also in every house, and this because the lesser forms in the heavens are all likenesses of the greatest form; and as "Jerusalem" signified heaven and the church in respect to doctrine, therefore also the places there were representative according to their quarters and distances from the temple and from Zion. This is why "Topheth" and "the valley of Hinnom," being most unclean and abominably idolatrous places, represented and thence signified the hells. Thence it appears what "burying in Topheth" and "in the valley of Hinnom" signifies.

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