7571. 'And on every plant of the field in the land of Egypt' means every truth of the Church in the natural mind. This is clear from the meaning of 'plant' as truth, dealt with below; from the meaning of 'the field' as the Church, dealt with above in 7557; and from the meaning of 'the land of Egypt' as the natural mind, also dealt with above, in 7569. The reason why 'plant' means truth is that 'the land' means the Church, as also does 'the field'; and all that they produce means either the truth of faith or the good of charity, since these are products of the Church. 'Plant of the field' is used to mean everything in general that is grown in the field, as is evident from the Lord's parable in Matthew,

The kingdom of heaven may be likened to a person sowing good seed in his field. When the plant sprouted and bore fruit, then the tares appeared. Matthew 13:24, 26.

Here it is evident that 'the plant', a term used for what the field produces, means the Church's truth, and 'the tares' falsity. The parable is, it is true, a comparison; but all comparisons in the Word are based on things that have a spiritual meaning, 3579. In David,

He causes the grass to grow for the beast, and the plant for man's service, that he may bring forth bread from the earth. Psalms 104:14.

'The plant', a term used here also for what the field produces, in the internal sense means truth.

[2] In the same author,

He will make me lie down in pastures of the plant; ¹ He will lead me to still waters; He will restore my soul. Psalms 23:2-3.

'Pastures of the plant' stands for spiritual nourishment, nourishment of the soul. That is why it says 'He will restore my soul'. In Isaiah,

The waters of Nimrim will be desolations, for the reason that the grass has withered away, the plant has been consumed, there is nothing green. [Isaiah 15:6.

In the same prophet,

The inhabitants became plants of the field and edible grass, hay on the rooftops, and scorched earth before standing corn.] Isaiah 37:17.

In the same prophet,

I will lay waste mountains and hills, and dry up every plant on them; and I will make streams into islands. And I will lead the blind in a way they do not know. Isaiah 42:15-16.

In Jeremiah,

How long will the land mourn and the plant of every field wither, on account of the wickedness of those who dwell in it? The beasts and the birds will be devoured. Jeremiah 12:4.

In the same prophet,

The hind in the field calved but left because there was no plant; and the wild asses stood on the hills, they gulped the wind like sea-monsters, for the reason that there was no plant. Jeremiah 14:5-6.

In Joel,

Fear not, you beasts of My fields, for the dwelling-places of the wilderness have become abounding in plants; for the tree will bear its fruit, the fig tree and the vine will give their full yield. Joel 1:12.

In Amos,

When the locust had finished eating the plant of the land, I said, O Lord Jehovih, Pardon, I beg You. How will Jacob stand? for he is small. Amos 7:2.

[3] In Zechariah,

Ask rain from Jehovah in the time of the latter rain. ² Jehovah will make rain-clouds, and will give them rain in showers, to everyone plants in his field. ³ Zechariah 10:1.

In John,

The fifth angel sounded and it was declared that they should not harm the grass of the earth, or any green thing, or any tree. Revelation 9:4.

Anyone may see that in these places 'grass' is not meant, nor 'plant', but instead the kinds of things that belong to the Church; 'the plant of the land' and 'plant of the field' are, it is plain, used to mean the truth of faith. Without such a spiritual sense no one would ever know what is meant in John by their declaring, when the fifth angel sounded, that they should not harm the grass of the earth, or any green thing. Nor would anyone know what is meant in Jeremiah when it says that 'the hind in the field calved and left because there was no plant; and the wild asses gulped the wind like sea-monsters, for the reason that there was no plant'. And in very many other places no one would know what is meant. This shows how little understanding there is of the Word, and how earthly a person's conception of very many things in it must be unless he knows what their spiritual meaning is, or at least knows that in every detail the Word is holy.

Poznámky pod čarou:

9936. 'And it shall be on Aaron's forehead' means from the Lord's Divine Love. This is clear from the representation of 'Aaron' as the Lord in respect of Divine Good, which is the Good of His Divine Love, dealt with in 9806; and from the meaning of 'forehead', when the Lord is the subject, as His Divine Love. 'The Lord's face', which is the same as 'Jehovah's face', means all attributes of Divine Love, such as mercy, peace, goodness, or wisdom, 222, 223, 5585, 6848, 6849, 9306, 9545, 9546. These are meant by 'Jehovah's face' or 'the Lord's face' because in general 'the face' means a person's interiors, that is, a person's affections and consequent thoughts, thus the things which constitute his love and faith, see the places referred to in 9546. These are meant by 'the face' because they shine from the face, as if seen in their imprint or image, which also is why the face is called the image of the mind. So it is that when 'face' is mentioned in connection with Jehovah or the Lord the attributes of His Divine Love are meant. 'Forehead' in particular means Divine Love itself, because interiors have been allotted their own provinces in the face. The interiors that belong to love reside in the province of the forehead, those belonging to wisdom and intelligence in the province of the eyes, those belonging to perception in the province of the nose, and those belonging to utterance in the province of the mouth.

[2] From all this it is evident why 'forehead' - when the Lord, represented by Aaron, is the subject - means Divine Love. Since someone's forehead corresponds to his love those governed by celestial love, that is, by love to the Lord derived from the Lord, are said 'to have a sign on their foreheads', meaning that they are under the Lord's protection because they abide in His Love, as in Ezekiel,

Jehovah said, Go through the middle of Jerusalem and make a sign on the foreheads of the men (vir) who groan and sigh over all the abominations done in the midst of it, and strike; do not let your eye spare. But against any man (vir) on whom there is a sign do not go near. Ezekiel 9:4-6.

In John, in the Book of Revelation,

Behold, a Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with Him a hundred and forty-four thousand, having His Father's name written on their foreheads. Revelation 14:1.

In the same book,

They will see the face of God and of the Lamb, and His name will be on their foreheads. Revelation 22:4.

In the same book,

It was declared that they should not harm the grass of the earth, or any green thing, or any tree, but only the people who did not have God's sign on their foreheads. Revelation 9:4.

[3] 'Having God's sign on their foreheads' and 'having God and the Lamb's name on them' stand for their being kept safe from molestation by evils from hell, because they abide in the Lord through love. 'The grass' and 'any green thing', which were not to be harmed, stand for true factual knowledge by means of which the truth of faith develops, 7571, 7691; and 'any tree', which too was not to be harmed, stands for the perception of truth springing from good, 103, 2163, 2722, 2972, 4552, 7692.

[4] In Moses,

You shall love Jehovah your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength. You shall bind these words as a sign onto your hand, and let them be as frontlets between your eyes. Deuteronomy 6:4-5, 8.

'As frontlets' stands for as a sign of love to Jehovah God. The words 'between your eyes' are used because intelligence and wisdom which are born from that love are meant by 'eyes'; and wisdom born from that love consists in having God constantly before one's eyes. This is self-evidently so because the subject is love to Jehovah God. The declaration that they should love Him with all their heart, with all their soul, and with all their strength, means that they should do so with all their human powers. 'With the heart' means with the will where the good of love resides, 7542, 9050, 9300, 9495; and 'with the soul' means with the understanding where the truth of faith resides, and so with faith, 9050. These two powers belong to the internal man. 'With all their strength' means with those powers of will and understanding as they exist in the external man. The strength and power of the love of both, of the external man and of the internal, are meant by 'hands', 4931-4937, 7518; and this is why it says that those words were to be bound 'as a sign on the hand'.

[5] Since 'the forehead' by virtue of its correspondence means celestial or heavenly love with those who are good, with those who are bad it accordingly means hellish love, which is the opposite of heavenly. The forehead of the latter is called a bronze forehead in Isaiah 48:4, and an obstinate forehead in Ezekiel 3:7-8. And in reference to those ruled by hellish love it is said that they had the mark of the beast on their foreheads, Revelation 13:16; 14:9; 20:4, and also the name of Babylon on their foreheads, Revelation 17:5.