6426. From thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel. That this signifies that from this is all good and truth in the spiritual kingdom, is evident from the signification of a “shepherd,” as being one who leads to the good of charity by means of the truth of faith (see n. 344, 3795, 6044); here in the supreme sense, because the Lord is treated of, it signifies good and truth itself; from the signification of “stone,” as being truth (see n. 1298, 3720, 3769, 3771, 3773, 3789, 3798); and from the representation of Israel, as being the spiritual church (see n. 3305, 4286); for “Israel” is spiritual good, or the good of truth (n. 4286, 4598, 5801, 5803, 5806, 5812, 5817, 5819, 5826, 5833); and as the good of truth is the very essential of the spiritual church, therefore by “Israel” the spiritual church is signified, and in a higher sense the Lord’s spiritual kingdom.

[2] From all this it is evident that by “from thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel” is signified that from this is all the good and truth of the Lord’s spiritual kingdom. That in the highest sense the “stone of Israel” denotes the Lord in respect to the truth that is in His spiritual kingdom, is because by “stone” in general is signified the temple, and specifically its foundation, and by the “temple” is signified the Lord’s Divine Human (as is evident in John 2:19, 21), and also by its foundation (Matthew 21:42, 44; and Isaiah 28:16). That in the highest sense a “stone” denotes the Lord as to the Divine truth that is of His spiritual kingdom, is evident in David:

The stone which the architects rejected, is become the head of the corner. This was done from Jehovah: it is marvelous in our eyes (Psalms 118:22-23).

That the “stone” here is the Lord, is evident in Luke:

It is written, The stone which the architects rejected, the same is become the head of the whosoever shall fall upon this stone shall be broken; but upon whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder (Luke 20:17-18).

These words the Lord speaks concerning Himself. And in Isaiah:

Let Him be your fear, and let Him be your dread; for He shall be for a sanctuary, although a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense, to the two houses of Israel; many among them shall stumble, and fall, and be broken (Isaiah 8:13-15); where the subject treated of is the Lord. Again:

Thus said the Lord Jehovih, Behold I will lay for a foundation in Zion a stone, a tried stone, of a precious corner, of a sure foundation; he that believeth shall not hurry (Isaiah 28:16).

In Zechariah:

Jehovah Zebaoth shall visit His flock, the house of Judah, and shall make them as a horse of glory in war; from Him is the corner stone, from Him the nail, from Him the war bow (Zech. 10:3-4).

[3] In Daniel:

Thou sawest even until a stone was cut out which was not done with hands, and it smote the image upon its feet, that were iron and clay, and brake them in pieces. The stone that smote the image became a great rock, and filled the whole earth. The God of the heavens shall make a kingdom rise up that shall not be destroyed forever, nor shall His kingdom be left to another people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, but itself shall stand forever. Forasmuch as thou sawest that a stone was cut out of the rock, which was not done with hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold (Daniel 2:34-35, 44-45);

here by a “stone” in the highest sense is meant the Lord, and in the relative sense His spiritual kingdom; that the stone was “cut out of a rock” signifies that it was from the truth of faith, for this is signified in the Word by a “rock;” and as the truth of faith is signified by “stone” and “rock,” it is the Lord’s spiritual kingdom that is also signified, for this is in the truth of faith, and from this in good.

[4] By the “stone” also upon which Jacob slept, and which he afterward set for a pillar, the like is signified, of which it is written:

Jacob awoke out of his sleep, and he said, Surely Jehovah is in this place, and I knew it not; and he feared, and said, How terrible is this place! this is nothing but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven. And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had set for his pillows, and set it for a pillar, and poured oil upon the head of it; and he said, This stone which I have set for a pillar shall be God’s house (Genesis 28:16-18, 22).

That in the highest sense the ancients understood the Lord by a “stone,” and in the representative sense His spiritual kingdom, is also clear in Joshua:

Joshua set up a stone under the oak that was in the sanctuary of Jehovah. And Joshua said unto the universal people, Behold, this stone shall be to us for a witness; for it hath heard all the discourses of Jehovah, which He spake to us; and it shall be for a witness against you, lest ye deny your God (Josh. 24:26-27).

3813. As regards “flesh,” in the supreme sense it signifies the own of the Lord’s Divine Human, which is Divine good, and in the relative sense it signifies the own of man’s will made alive by the own of the Divine Human, that is, by His Divine good. This own is what is called the heavenly own, which in itself is the Lord’s alone appropriated to those who are in good, and thence in truth. Such an own have the angels who are in the heavens, and men who as to their interiors or as to the spirit are in the Lord’s kingdom. But in the opposite sense, “flesh” signifies the own of man’s will, which in itself is nothing but evil, and not being vivified by the Lord is called “dead,” and thus the man himself is said to be dead.

[2] That in the supreme sense “flesh” is the own of the Lord’s Divine Human, thus His Divine good, is evident from the Lord’s words in John:

Jesus said, I am the living bread which came down from heaven; if anyone eat of this bread he shall live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world. The Jews therefore strove one with another, saying, How can this man give us his flesh to eat ? Jesus therefore said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink His blood, ye have no life in you; he that eateth My flesh, and drinketh My blood, hath eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day; for My flesh is meat indeed, and My blood is drink indeed; he that eateth My flesh, and drinketh My blood, dwelleth in Me, and I in him. This is the bread which came down from heaven (John 6:51-56, 58).

That here “flesh” is the own of the Lord’s Divine Human, thus the Divine good, is very evident; and this is what in the Holy Supper is called the “body.” That in the Holy Supper the “body” or “flesh” signifies the Divine good; and the “blood” the Divine truth, may be seen above (n. 1798, 2165, 2177, 3464, 3735); and because “bread and wine” signify the same as “flesh and blood,” namely, “bread,” the Lord’s Divine good, and “wine,” His Divine truth, therefore the latter were enjoined instead of the former. This is the reason why the Lord said, “I am the living bread; the bread which I shall give is My flesh; he that eateth My flesh, and drinketh My blood, abideth in Me, and I in him; this is the bread which came down from heaven.” (That “to eat” signifies to be communicated, to be conjoined, and to be appropriated, see above, n. 2187, 2343, 3168, 3513, 3596)

[3] The same was represented in the Jewish Church by the ordinance that Aaron, his sons, and they who sacrificed, and others who were clean, might eat the flesh of the sacrifices, and that this was holy (Exodus 12:7-9; 29:30-34; Leviticus 7:15-21; 8:31; Deuteronomy 12:27; 16:4). If therefore an unclean person ate of that flesh, he was to be cut off from his people (Leviticus 7:21). (That these sacrifices were called “bread,” may be seen above, n. 2165.) That “flesh” was called the “flesh of holiness” (Jeremiah 11:15; Haggai 2:12), and the “flesh of the offering which was on the tables in the Lord’s kingdom,” see Ezekiel 40:43, where the new temple is described, by which there is evidently signified the worship of the Lord in His kingdom.

[4] That in the relative sense “flesh” signifies the own of man’s will made alive by the Lord’s Divine good, is evident also from the following passages.

In Ezekiel:

I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit in the midst of you; and I will remove the heart of stone out of their flesh, and will give them a heart of flesh (Ezekiel 11:19; 36:26); where the “heart of stone out of their flesh” denotes the will and the own not vivified; and the “heart of flesh,” the will and the own vivified. (That the “heart” is a representative of the good of the will, may be seen above, n. 2930, 3313, 3635) In David:

O God Thou art my God; in the morning I seek Thee; my-soul thirsteth for Thee, my flesh longeth for Thee in a dry land; and I am weary without waters (Psalms 63:1).

Again:

My soul longeth for the courts of Jehovah; my heart and my flesh cry out for joy unto the living God (Psalms 84:2).

[5] In Job:

I have known my Redeemer, He liveth, and at the last He shall rise upon the dust; and afterwards these things shall be encompassed with my skin, and from my flesh I shall see God; whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold; and not another (Job 19:25-27);

to be “encompassed with skin” denotes with the natural, such as man has with him after death (n. 3539); “from the flesh to see God” denotes the own vivified; therefore he says, “whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another.” As it was known to the ancient ¹ churches that flesh signified man’s own, and as the book of Job is a book of the Ancient Church (see n. 3540), he therefore spoke concerning these things from what is significative, as concerning many other things, in accordance with the custom of that time; so that those who deduce from this passage that the dead body itself shall be collected from the four winds, and shall rise again, are not acquainted with the internal sense of the Word. They who know the internal sense, know that they shall come into the other life with a body, but a purer one; for in the other life there are purer bodies; for they see each other, converse together, and enjoy every sense as in the present body, but in a more exquisite degree. The body which man carries about here on earth is for uses on earth, and therefore consists of bones and flesh; and the body which the spirit carries about in the other life is designed for uses in that life, and does not consist of bones and flesh, but of things which correspond to them (n. 3726).

[6] That in the opposite sense “flesh” signifies the own of man’s will, which in itself is nothing but evil, is evident from the following passages.

In Isaiah:

They shall eat every man the flesh of his own arm (Isaiah 9:20).

I will feed their oppressors with their own flesh; and they shall be drunken with their own blood, as with new wine (Isaiah 49:26).

In Jeremiah:

I will feed them with the flesh of their sons, and the flesh of their daughters, and they shall eat everyone the flesh of his companion (Jeremiah 19:9).

In Zechariah:

Let those who are left eat everyone the flesh of another (Zech. 11:9).

In Moses:

I will chastise you seven ² times for your sins; and ye shall eat the flesh of your sons; and the flesh of your daughters shall ye eat (Leviticus 26:28-29).

The own of man’s will, that is, the nature of man, is thus described, for this is nothing else than evil and the derivative falsity; thus is hatred against truths and goods, which is signified by “eating the flesh of his arm, the flesh of sons and daughters, and the flesh of a companion.”

[7] In John:

I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a great voice, saying to all the birds that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together to the supper of the great God, that ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses and of them that sit thereon, and the flesh of all both free and bond, both small and great (Revelation 19:17-18Ezekiel 39:17-20).

That here by the “flesh of kings, of captains, of mighty men, of horses and of those that sit upon them, of all, both free and bond,” are not signified such things as these, must be evident to everyone; thus that by “flesh” are signified other things which have hitherto been unknown. That evils which are from falsities, and evils from which are falsities, both from the own of man’s will, are signified, is manifest from the several expressions.

[8] As in the internal sense the falsity which results from the own of man’s understanding is “blood”; and as the evil which results from the own of his will is “flesh,” therefore the Lord speaks as follows concerning the man who is to be regenerated:

As many as received, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe in His name; who were born, not of bloods, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God (John 1:12-13).

Hence it is that by “flesh” in general is meant every man (see n. 574, 1050); for whether you say man, or man’s own, it is the same thing.

[9] That by “flesh” in the supreme sense is signified the Lord’s Divine Human is manifest from the passage above quoted, and also from this in John:

The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we held His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father (John 1:14).

From this “flesh” all flesh is vivified, that is to say, every man is vivified from the Lord’s Divine Human by the appropriation of His love, which appropriation is signified by “eating the flesh of the Son of man” (John 6:51-58), and by “eating the bread” in the Holy Supper; for the “bread” is the “body” or “flesh” (Matthew 26:26-27).

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