The Internal Sense of the Word

[NCBSP Editor's Note: This is an excerpt from a preface to "The Dictionary of Bible Imagery" (1973), by Alice Spiers Sechrist, a leading scholar of Swedenborgian theology and a skilled Latinist. It's a good introduction to the underpinnings of Swedenborg's Bible exposition.]

The method of biblical interpretation set forth in the theological writings of Emanuel Swedenborg (1688-1772), Swedish scientist and seer — in itself an unusual coupling of interests — is as unique a system as its author was a philosopher. However, he disclaimed possession of it as an original invention, saying that it was well-known among the most ancient peoples, being the law that attests the unity and homogeneous nature of all creation, conjoining man’s inner world of the spirit — and its celestial wisdom — with his outer world of nature and science, and making possible communication between the human and the Divine, even to the point of conjoining human affection and thought with the divine love and wisdom, through what is good and true (Arcana Coelestia 911:2, 978:2, 1476).

Swedenborg called this symbolic system correspondence, using also the terms representative and significative. “Man does not comprehend naked spiritual truths,” he says, “and so they are presented in the Word by corresponding natural things.” Also: “Between the spiritual and the natural there is correspondence, and the things in nature that exist from spiritual things are representatives.” Persons in the Word, however, do not correspond to spiritual things, but represent something in the Lord, or in man’s acceptance or rejection of Him, and it is their functions or acts which are thus representative. Historical events recorded in the Bible also represent the spiritual states of man, either at some era in history, or in the course of an individual’s regeneration (Arcana Coelestia 1409, 6948; Apocalypse Revealed 768).

In illustration, Swedenborg cites the relationship between mind and body, the former representing man's spiritual world, and the latter his natural, or the world of nature. In one who has not been taught to dissemble, the expression of the face and the gestures of the body correspond to the affections and thoughts of the mind; or, in words often employed by Swedenborg, to the will and the understanding. The “forms” existing in the mind are effigied in the face, and in physical acts, but in the mind they are celestial and spiritual, while they are natural in the body. In brief, the natural things which appear in the outer man represent his internal self, and the particulars which agree with his internal, correspond to it (Arcana Coelestia 2987-2991; Heaven and Hell 97-99).

Swedenborg goes on to say that the three kingdoms of nature — animal, vegetable, and mineral — correspond to or represent the spiritual world, down to their smallest particulars; for the causes of all that is in the world are from spiritual things, while their uses are from celestial things. “Blessed is he who is in correspondence, that is, whose external man corresponds to his internal” (Arcana Coelestia 2994).

CORRESPONDENCE IN SCRIPTURE

The Bible speaks of sun, moon, and stars, of times and seasons, of animals of all kinds — wild or domestic, in water, on land, or in the air; of lands and their valleys and mountains; of floods and rivers; of stones, common and precious; of metals — gold, silver, copper, iron; of storms and earthquakes; also of things directly produced by man: food, clothing, dwellings and temples, roads, ships, and cities; of the parts and organs of the human body; and of historical people and events. The realities of all these symbols mentioned in the Word are in man. Both the kingdom of heaven and the kingdom of hell are in him, and in the Word also is pictured the warfare man undergoes to overcome the one and to yield to the other; and there are symbolic promises made “to him who overcometh.”

It is in this way that our Creator communicates with His creature. If you and I talk together, we do not reach each other in truth unless we communicate mind to mind and soul to soul: bodies do not communicate without their inner realities. So it is with the Lord’s Word: unless we address the spirit within the letter, and permit it to address us in return, we have ears that hear not, and eyes that do not see (Heaven and Hell 99-114).

Does Scripture Itself Suggest an Inner Content?

There is much in the Word itself to support Swedenborg’s thesis. In his Apocalypse Explained he states that in its ultimate or lowest form, that is, in the languages of earth, it is like a man clothed, but with hands and feet bare, or all that is essential to salvation openly expressed in the letter. Where it is thus bare, its goods and truths appear as they are in heaven, or with the spiritual sense evident in the literal sense. He compares the outer meaning to the garments of the Lord, while the inner is likened to His body. From still another viewpoint, the Word is like the garments mentioned in the crucifixion story in John: the outer garment was divided among four soldiers, but the inner vesture or tunic, being without seam, was assigned by lot to one only. This signifies the dispersal and falsification of the external truths of the Law and the Prophets by the church of that era — which was only a representative of a church; but that the internal sense could not be falsified, as it was protected by the letter (Arcana Coelestia 9035; Apocalypse Explained 644, 776; True Christian Religion 130).

For some supporting literal statements in the Word, consider the following:

1. As the Word made flesh, the Lord said:

“It is the spirit that gives life... The words I speak to you are spirit and life” (John 6:63).

Also:

“He said nothing to them without a parable” (Matthew 13:34).

2. In Psalm 78:2, we read: “I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings of old.” Then follows a poem telling the history of the Sons of Israel and the trials they endured in leaving their state of servitude in Egypt and journeying to the Promised Land. Does this not suggest that they represent Everyman in his efforts to free himself from the dominion of external things, the “fleshpots of Egypt,” and to win the peace and security of the regenerate life? The land of Canaan represents a state of love to the Lord and the neighbor, or heaven. As a people the Israelites never fully reached that state, although probably some individuals did; so the land merely represented the state as an ideal, but did not correspond to it (Arcana Coelestia 1025:4, 1093, 1413).

3. There are many other situations and incidents in the Word of both Old and New Testaments which are obviously symbolic. Such is the creation story in the first chapters of Genesis: in Swedenborg’s system it describes, not the forming of our physical earth, but the re-forming or regeneration of man’s inner self. Here let us remind ourselves that only twice did our Lord in His Incarnation employ a word which is translated must, as absolutely binding upon his followers. These occasions are both in the Gospel of John:

"You MUST be born again” (John 3:7);

and:

“Those who worship Him MUST worship Him in spirit and in truth” (John 4:24).

This is profoundly significant. In another internal sense (for there are layers within layers, or “Wheels within wheels” as Ezekiel puts it), the first two chapters of Genesis depict the building of the first Church among men, meaning by "church” not an ecclesiastical institution, but a certain type of celestial or spiritual life in a country, or in an epoch.

4. Then there is the account of the benedictions or maledictions pronounced upon his sons and their descendants by Jacob in Genesis 49, and also a number of contradictory statements in the letter of Scripture. For an example, we are given the Commandment: “Honor thy father and thy mother”; yet Jesus says in Luke 14:26, that unless a man “hate his father and mother ... he cannot be my disciple.” Swedenborg points out, in explaining such contradictions, that every correspondence or representative has both a positive and genuine significance, or a negative and opposite one. In the last quotation, it is the negative father and mother who are meant, the ruthless self-love and its mate, false thinking, which generate an evil life — the same parentage which is referred to when Eli’s sons, for instance, are called “sons of Belial.” It could not mean that Eli was Belial (Arcana Coelestia 6333).

Now if these accounts are not only true history, or even if they are fabrications, but also apply to the spiritual development and history of an individual or a race, why may not all of Scripture do the same? The primary object of the Word is to teach man about his spiritual nature, the life that leads to heaven, His Maker’s perfect love and wisdom, and how he may respond to Him; so does it matter that the accounts are not always literally true? Our Heavenly Father has no need to inspire a Word to teach His children things they may learn by their own investigations. We do not denounce Aesop’s Fables because they cannot be taken literally, but are designed to point a moral (Arcana Coelestia 6948; Heaven and Hell 89; Apocalypse Explained 985:4).

Swedenborg's Exegesis

Swedenborg analyzed three scriptural books according to this law: in the Old Testament, Genesis and Exodus, and in the New Testament, the book of Revelation. However, scattered through all of his works, other passages are interpreted, particularly in his "Apocalypse Explained". On the other hand, many were not considered at all. Yet it is believed that the student will find here some help upon almost any verse in those books which Swedenborg accepted as being the Word. Certain books were excluded by him, and for a reason: in the Old Testament, Ruth, Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Solomon were unacceptable because they do not have that inmost sense which refers to the Lord alone. Of Job, he says that it was consciously written in correspondences for the people of an ancient church among whom the laws were known, a people later called “wise men of the east.” He also states that the Song of Solomon was produced in imitation of such writings (Arcana Coelestia 1756:2; Doctrine Regarding the Sacred Scripture 20).

In the New Testament only the four Gospels and Revelation are accepted by Swedenborg as belonging to the Word. He spoke of Paul as “inspired,” but says his inspiration did not go so far as to reach the inmost or celestial sense, which treats solely of the Lord Jesus Christ, the temptations to which His maternal humanity was subjected, His eventual Glorification and union with the Father, and his kingdom (Arcana Coelestia 3540; Apocalypse Explained 422, 543, 740:16).

[...] To man’s spirit, and to the angels, ideas are more important than words, and the same word may have different connotations in different passages. Several degrees of significance — discrete degrees, or separate but homogeneous frames of reference — exist in all scriptural symbols, for there are several interior senses, one within another.

Swedenborg especially mentions four degrees:

1. The inmost or celestial sense, that of the Celestial Heaven, the third or highest. As has been said, it treats of the Lord alone, and is that Scripture "concerning Himself” (Luke 24:27 which he unfolded, at least partially, after His resurrection to the two disciples whom He accompanied on the way to Emmaus, and whose "hearts burned within them” at the unfolding. Of course, no one on earth can enter that degree to the height of the celestial angels, hut we may view it from afar (Arcana Coelestia 1963, 1965, 8943, 9407; Doctrine Regarding the Sacred Scripture 39, 40, 80; Heaven and Hell 95).

2. The spiritual sense, for the regenerated men and women (angels) of the Spiritual, or middle, Heaven, and for regenerating people on earth who know that they must be born again. It concerns especially love of the neighbor, and shunning evils as sins against God. It also tells the history of man’s spiritual development, his backslidings and his progressions, or his reception or rejection of the truths of the church universal. While the celestial sense deals primarily with the divine love, the spiritual treats of man’s relation to the divine truth (Doctrine Regarding the Sacred Scripture 39).

3. The celestial-natural and the spiritual-natural of the First or lowest Heaven, sometimes called by Swedenborg the Natural or Ultimate Heaven. In terms, this sense is about the same as the spiritual, or even the celestial; and there is much in Swedenborg to suggest that when he speaks in general of the inner meaning of the Word he means the spiritual-natural or the celestial-natural; for it is of something taught, something for us to learn and hold in the memory, as they seem to do in the Ultimate Heaven; whereas in the Spiritual and Celestial Heavens there is no need for external teaching: the angels come spontaneously into the form of the Word adapted to their states, and live in it (Doctrine Regarding the Sacred Scripture 5, 26, 39; Apocalypse Explained 375:2, 449, 629:6, 832:6; Heaven and Hell 414; Apocalypse Revealed 325).

4. Finally, there is the “proximate” sense, that nearest to the letter. This concerns the moral history of the Sons of Israel and their descendants; and also other nations or even historical individuals in the scripture stories. Swedenborg only occasionally touches upon this; but sometimes, rather disconcertingly, he will apply it to several verses when he has been explaining the previous passages on more internal levels. Similarly, now and then he will suddenly switch from the celestial to the spiritual, or vice versa, without explanation (Arcana Coelestia 4690).

In closing, I can do no better than to quote a passage from the hand of the Reverend William F. Wunsch, Swedenborgian minister and scholar, in which he gives expression to one of the principal teachings of Swedenborg, namely, that in thus opening the inner meaning of Scripture, the Lord is making His Second Coming in the “clouds of heaven,” i.e. the “cloudy” literal sense, so opened that the power and glory of the inner contents are revealed, and may appear to the clouded minds of men on earth.

629. Rise, measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein, signifies that he should explore the church, what is its quality in respect to the reception of Divine truth and Divine good, and thence in respect to the worship of the Lord. This is evident from the signification of "to measure," as being to explore what the quality of a thing is (of which presently); from the signification of "temple," as being in the highest sense the Lord's Divine Human in relation to Divine truth, and in a relative sense heaven and the church in respect to Divine truth proceeding from the Lord (of which above, n. 220); from the signification of "altar," as being in the highest sense the Lord's Divine Human in relation to divine good, and in a relative sense heaven and the church in respect to Divine good proceeding from the Lord (of which also above, n. 391, 490, 496); and from the signification of "them that worship," as being worship. "They that worship" signifies the worship of the Lord, because worship consists in the adoration of the Lord, and because in the spiritual sense nothing of person is meant, but only the thing abstracted from persons (of which see above, n. 99, 100, 270, 325, 625); this is why "they that worship" signifies adoration and worship. From this it can be seen that "Rise, measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein," signifies to explore the church, what is its quality in respect to the reception of Divine truth and Divine good proceeding from the Lord, and thence in respect to worship.

[2] Evidently "to measure" in the spiritual sense does not mean to measure, for it was commanded to measure not only the temple and the altar, but also them that worship therein; therefore "to measure the temple and the altar" must involve that which is signified by their measures, thus that which is signified by the "length," the "breadth," and the "height," for the expression "to measure them that worship in the temple," cannot be used unless "to measure [trientali]" signifies to explore the quality of the persons or of the thing.

[3] That "to measure" signifies to explore the quality of a thing, and to designate it, can be seen from the passages in the Word where "to measure" and "measures" are mentioned, as in the following in Ezekiel:

The man that had the line of flax and the measuring reed in his hand measured the building, likewise the threshold of the gate, the porch of the gate in the house, the porch of the gate from the house, the door of the gate, the gate from the roof of the bedchamber, and many other things which he measured as to breadth, length, and height (Ezekiel 40:3, 5, 6, 8, 11, 13, 17, et seq.);

and afterwards:

He measured the temple, the lintel over the door, the wall of the house, and the house itself, as to breadth and length (Ezekiel 41:1-5, 13, 14, 22);

again:

He measured the inner court, and the things of that court (Ezekiel 42);

finally:

He measured the altar and the things of the altar (Ezekiel 43:13, et seq.).

Moreover, the measures were designated in numbers, that is, how many reeds, how many cubits, and how many palms; which shows that "to measure" these does not mean to measure but to designate the quality of the thing, and this is designated by the several things measured, namely, the "building," the "gate," the "porch," the "temple," the "upper lintel," the "wall," the "court," and the "altar." "The building, the house, and the temple," signify the church; "the door and the gate" signify truth that introduces; and "the porch and court" signify all things that are without the church and yet look to it, and these are all things with the man of the church that are in his natural man; for the church itself with man is in the internal or spiritual man or mind, thus inwardly with him; while all things that are in the external or natural man or mind, thus that reside without, correspond to the things that are of the church itself, which, as was said, are in the internal or spiritual man or mind. These external things are what are signified by the "porch" without the house, and by "the court." What the qualities of these things were to be is here designated by measures and numbers; for these chapters treat of the Lord's church that was to come, and that is called the internal church, and this is thus described. Anyone can see that such measurements would be of no account unless each measurement signified something; but what each signifies can be seen from the signification of the thing measured, and its quality from the signification of the measure as expressed in number.

[4] There are only three things that are measured, namely, breadth, length, and height; and "breadth" signifies the truth of the church, "length" the good of the church, and "height" both of these as to degrees; the degrees of truth and good are the quality of truth and good as interior or higher and as exterior or lower. Such is the signification of these three dimensions, because breadth is predicated of heaven from south to north, and length from east to west, and height from the third heaven which is in things highest to the first heaven which is in things lowest. And as those in heaven who dwell from south to north are in the truths of doctrine, so "breadth" signifies the truth of heaven or of the church; and as those who dwell in heaven from east to west are in the good of love, so "length" signifies the good of heaven or of the church; and as those who dwell in the third heaven, who are the most wise, are in things highest, while those who dwell in the first heaven, who are relatively simple, are in things lowest, so "height" signifies wisdom and intelligence as to their degrees. These things therefore are what are designated by measurements in general.

[5] In the same:

Son of man, show the house to the house of Israel, that they may be ashamed of their iniquities, and may measure the form when they have been ashamed of all things that they have done; the form of the house and the arrangement thereof, and the goings out thereof and the comings in thereof, and all the forms thereof, also teach them all the statutes thereof, and all the arrangements thereof, and all the laws thereof, and write them before their eyes, that they may keep all the form thereof and all the statutes thereof, and do them (Ezekiel 43:10, 11).

That "to measure the temple" or "house" signifies to investigate and explore what is the quality of the church in respect to truth and good, can be seen from its being said "that they may measure the form of the house, the goings out and the comings in thereof;" also "that they may keep all the form thereof;" which cannot mean the form of the temple merely in respect to form, but in respect to those things that are signified by the temple; for it is added "that they may be ashamed of their iniquities that they have done," which signifies shame for departing from the laws and statutes of the church; therefore it is added, "that he may teach them all the statutes thereof, all the descriptions, ¹ and all the laws thereof;" which shows that the "temple" signifies the church with its truths and goods, for these are the things that are to be kept, and this is signified by "keeping all the form of the house" or "temple." The "temple" signifies in the Word the church in respect to truth, and "the house of God" the church in respect to good; for the temple was of stone, but the house of God in ancient times was of wood; and "stones" signify truths, and "wood" signifies good.

[6] In Zechariah:

I lifted up mine eyes and saw, and behold a man in whose hand was a measuring line; and I said, Whither goest thou? And he said unto me, To measure Jerusalem, to see how great is the breadth thereof, and how great is the length thereof; and he said Jerusalem shall inhabit the suburbs by reason of the multitude of men and beasts in the midst of it (Zechariah 2:1, 2, 4).

This is said of the Lord's coming and of the establishment of a New Church by Him, as can be seen from verses 10 and 11 of the same chapter. "Jerusalem" signifies that New Church, and "to measure" it signifies to explore and thus to know what and how great it will be; "breadth" signifies the truth of its doctrine, and "length" the good of its love (as just above); therefore it is said "To measure Jerusalem, to see how great is the breadth thereof, and how great is the length thereof." Evidently "Jerusalem" here means the church, and not the city Jerusalem, for about the time of the Lord's coming Jerusalem was not so great and such as is here described, that is, that "Jerusalem should inhabit the suburbs by reason of the multitude of men and beasts in the midst of it;" but this means the multitude of the nations that will be added to the church, "Jerusalem, in the midst of it," signifying the church consisting of those who will receive interiorly the Divine proceeding from the Lord, and "suburbs" the church consisting of those who will receive it exteriorly. For the church of the Lord is internal and external; in the internal church are those who are in intelligence and wisdom, and thus in the higher heavens, but in the external church are those who are in knowledges and cognitions of truth and good from the Word, and in no interior intelligence and wisdom, and who are therefore in the lower heavens; the former are called spiritual, the latter spiritual-natural, and the spiritual are meant by those who are "in the midst of Jerusalem," and the spiritual-natural by those who are "in the suburbs." "Men and beasts" mean those who are in intelligence and thence in the good of life, "men" those who are in intelligence, and "beasts" those who are in the natural affection of good, and thus in the good of life.

[7] Like things are signified by these words in Revelation:

The angel who talked with me had a golden reed, to measure the city the New Jerusalem, the gates thereof and the wall thereof; and he measured the wall, a hundred and forty-four cubits, which is the measure of a man, that is, of an angel (Revelation 21:15, 17).

Here, too, "the New Jerusalem" means a New Church, and the "city" its doctrine, "its wall" signifies Divine truth defending, the number "one hundred and forty-four" signifies all truths and goods in the complex; this number is said to be "the measure of a man, that is, of an angel," which could not be said unless "measure" signified quality. But this will be explained in its proper place hereafter.

[8] In Ezekiel:

When the man went out toward the east, in whose hand was the line, he measured a thousand by the cubit, then he made me to pass through the waters, the waters were to the ankles; again he measured a thousand and made me to pass through the waters, waters to the knees; and he measured a thousand and made me to pass through the waters, waters to the loins; again he measured a thousand, it was a river that I could not pass through because the waters were high, waters of swimming, a river that was not passed through. And behold, on the bank of the river were many trees on this side and on that side; and every living soul that creepeth, and whithersoever the river cometh, shall live; whence there is much fish (Ezekiel 47:3-5, 7, 9).

This describes how intelligence, which those have who are of the church, increases by the reception of Divine truth proceeding from the Lord. Divine truth proceeding from the Lord is signified by "the waters issuing from under the threshold of the house towards the east, and going down from the right side of the house from the south of the altar," as is said in verse 1 of this chapter; the "east" signifies love to the Lord, since the east in heaven is where the Lord appears as a sun; and thence the "right side" is where Divine truth is received in the greatest light, and that side is called the south; therefore it is added "from the south of the altar." How intelligence increases by the reception of Divine truth proceeding from the Lord is described by the "waters" which the prophet passed through, which first reached "to the ankles," afterwards "to the knees," then "to the loins," and at length were so high that they "could not be passed through;" "the waters to the ankles" signify such intelligence as the sensual and natural man has, for "ankles" signify what is sensual and natural; "the waters to the knees" signify such intelligence as the spiritual-natural man has, for "knees" signify what is spiritual-natural; "the waters to the loins" signify such intelligence as the spiritual man has, for the "loins" signify the marriage of truth and good, which is spiritual; "the waters that could not be passed through" signify celestial intelligence, which is called wisdom, such as the celestial man or an angel of the third heaven has; and because this is ineffable, it is said to be "a river that could not be passed through," and because it is far above the natural man, these waters are called "waters of swimming."

The "river" which is from these waters signifies intelligence and wisdom; the cognitions of truth and good and also perceptions are signified by "many trees on the bank of the river on this side and on that side," "trees" signifying cognitions and perceptions; life therefrom to all things in the natural man, both cognitions and knowledges, is signified by "every living soul that creepeth shall live," and by "there shall be much fish," "the soul that creepeth" and "the fish" signifying the things that are in the natural man, which are called cognitions from the Word, also natural knowledges [scientiae] whereby spiritual things are confirmed, and "to live" signifying the influx of the Lord into these cognitions and knowledges through the spiritual man and his intelligence. (That "waters" signify the truths of doctrine from the Word, through which comes intelligence, see above, n. 71, 483, 518.)

[9] In Habakkuk:

He stood and measured the earth; He saw and drove asunder the nations; for the mountains of eternity were scattered, the hills of the age did bow, His goings are of an age (Habakkuk 3:6).

This is said of visitation and the Last Judgment by the Lord when He should come into the world. "He stood and measured the earth" means exploring at that time of what quality the church is, "to measure" signifying to explore, and "the earth" the church; "He saw and drove asunder the nations" signifies the casting down into hell of all who are in evils and in falsities therefrom, "to drive asunder" signifying to cast into hell, and "nations" those who are in evils and in falsities therefrom; "the mountains of eternity were scattered" signifies that the celestial church, such as was with the most ancient people, who were in love to the Lord, had perished, "the mountains of eternity" signifying that church and that love; "the hills of the age did bow" signifies that the spiritual church perished, such as was with the ancient people after the flood, who were in love towards the neighbor, "the hills of the age" signifying that church and that love; "His goings are of an age" signifies according to the state of the church at that time, which was a perverted state.

[10] In Isaiah:

Behold the Lord Jehovih cometh in strength, and His arm shall rule for Him. Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, and meted out the heavens with a span, and embraced the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in a scale, and the hills in a balance? (Isaiah 40:10, 12)

This, too, is said of the Lord and of Divine truth, from which are heaven and the church, and from which is wisdom. The Lord's coming, and the arrangement of all things in the heavens by Him from His own power at that time, is signified by "Behold the Lord Jehovih cometh in strength, and His arm shall rule for Him," "His arm that shall rule" signifying His own power. The arrangement of all things in the heavens by His own power by means of Divine truth, is signified by "Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, and meted out the heavens with a span, and embraced the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in a scale, and the hills in a balance?" "To measure waters" signifies to define Divine truths; "to mete out the heavens with a span" signifies thence to arrange the heavens; "to embrace the dust of the earth in a measure [trientali]" signifies to arrange lower things; "the hollow of the hand," "the span," and "the measure" have a similar signification as "measures" and also the "hand," namely, the quality of a thing and one's own power; "to weigh the mountains in a scale and the hills in a balance" signifies to subordinate and equilibrate all things, "scale and balance" signifying right equilibration, and "mountains and hills" the higher heavens, "mountains" meaning those heavens which are in love to the Lord, and "hills" those which are in charity towards the neighbor (as above).

[11] In Job:

Where wast thou when I founded the earth? Declare, if thou knowest understanding. Who determined the measures thereof? if thou knowest; and who stretched out the line upon it? upon what are its bases sunk? who laid the cornerstone thereof? (Job 38:4-6)

The "earth" here means the church; "to found it" and "to determine its measures" signify to establish it and to define its quality, "measure" meaning the quality of a thing; "to stretch out the line upon it" signifies to maintain it in its quality; "upon what are its bases sunk? and who laid the cornerstone thereof?" signifies to found it upon those things that are in the natural man, the "cornerstone" meaning the truth of the natural man, which is called true knowledge [scientificum], upon which the truth of the spiritual man or spiritual truth is founded.

[12] In Jeremiah:

If these statutes shall depart from before Me, the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before Me all the days. If the heavens shall be measured upwards, and the foundations be searched out downwards, I also will reject all the seed of Israel because of all that they have done (Jeremiah 31:36, 37).

"Statutes" signify here all the things of the church that were commanded to the sons of Israel, thus all things of worship; if they do not keep these there will be no church among them, is what is signified by "If these statutes shall depart from before Me the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before Me all the days," "Israel" signifying the church, and "the seed of Israel" the truth of the church; and that although a new heaven and a New Church will come into existence, yet there will be nothing of heaven and the church with that nation, is signified by "If the heavens shall be measured upwards, and the foundations shall be searched out downwards, I also will reject all the seed of Israel because of all that they have done."

[13] "To mete" and "to measure" signifies to define and determine what a thing is, also to explore it, because "measure" signifies what a thing is, or quality. That this is the signification of "measure" can be seen from the following passages. In Revelation:

The angel measured the wall of the city New Jerusalem, a hundred and forty-four cubits, which is the measure of a man, that is, of an angel (Revelation 21:17).

It is clearly evident that here "measure" signifies the quality of the thing that is meant by "the wall of the city New Jerusalem;" for what else could be meant by "the measure of the wall, a hundred and forty-four cubits, being the measure of a man, that is, of an angel"? In Matthew:

Judge not that ye be not condemned ² for with what judgment ye judge ye shall be judged, and with what measure ye measure it shall be measured to you (Matthew 7:1, 2).

In Luke:

Judge not that ye be not judged; condemn not that ye be not condemned; remit and it shall be remitted to you; give and it shall be given to you, good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, shall they give into your bosom; for with what measure ye measure they shall measure to you again (Luke 6:37, 38). This may be seen explained in the work Heaven and Hell 349.

And in Mark:

With what measure ye measure it shall be measured to you again; and to you that hear, more shall be added. Whosoever hath, to him shall be given; but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he hath (Mark 4:24, 25).

[14] Thus charity towards the neighbor, or the spiritual affection of truth and good, is described, namely, that in the measure and after the manner that anyone is in such charity or in such affection in the world, so he comes into it after death. That we should not think evil of good and truth is meant by the words, "Judge not that ye be not judged, and condemn not that ye be not condemned;" to think evil of what is evil and false is permitted to everyone, but not of good and truth, for these in the spiritual sense are the neighbor. Because it is charity toward the neighbor that is meant it is added, "Remit and it shall be remitted to you, give and it shall be given unto you." That the spiritual affection, which is called charity, will continue after death according to its measure and quality, is meant by "With what measure ye measure it shall be measured to you again;" and that this measure and quality will be infilled to eternity is meant by "to you that hear a measure shall be added," also by "good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, shall be given into your bosom," "measure" here meaning the measure and quality of affection or charity, which will be increased to eternity within or according to its degree in the world (See as above in the work Heaven and Hell 349).

That this will come to pass with those who practice charity is meant by "to you that hear more shall be added," "those that hear" signifying those who obey and do. That "to love the neighbor" is to love what is true and good, likewise what is sincere and just, may be seen in the New Jerusalem and Its Heavenly Doctrine (n. 84-106). That no other thought or judgment is here meant than concerning the spiritual life of another can be seen from this, that it is permissible to everyone to think about the moral and civil life of another, and to judge of it; without such thought and judgment concerning others no civil society could subsist; therefore "not to judge and condemn" signifies not to think evil of the neighbor spiritually understood, that is, of his faith and love, which belong to man's spiritual life, for these lie concealed in his interiors, and therefore are unknown to anyone except the Lord alone.

[15] In John:

He whom the Father hath sent speaketh the words of God, for not by measure hath God given the spirit unto Him (John 3:24).

The "spirit" that God giveth signifies Divine truth, and intelligence and wisdom therefrom; "not by measure" signifies above every measure and quality of men, therefore infinitely, for the infinity that belongs to the Lord is without measure or quality, for measure and quality are properties of the finite, since measure and quality determine what is finite and set limits to it, but what is without limit is infinite. From this it follows that "measure" also here signifies quality, since "not by measure" signifies not predicating what a thing is, or its quality.

[16] In David:

Make known to me, Jehovah, my end, and the measure of my days what it is, that I may know how transitory I am; behold Thou hast given my days as handbreadths, and my time is as nothing before Thee (Psalms 39:4, 5).

It appears as if by these words times of life only are meant, the limit of which he wishes to know, and that these times pass away quickly; but in the spiritual sense times are not meant, but states of life instead; so "Make known to me, Jehovah, my end, the measure of my days what it is," signifies that he might know the state of his life and its quality, thus what kind of life he would continue in. "Behold Thou hast given my days as handbreadths" signifies that it is of very little consequence what the state of one's life is; "and my time is as nothing before Thee" signifies that the state of one's life is of no value; for "time and day" signify states of life in respect to truth and good, and thence in respect to intelligence and wisdom; so it is here meant that all these, so far as they are from oneself, are of no value. That there is such a meaning in these words cannot be seen by those who think only naturally, because natural thought cannot be separated from the idea of time. But spiritual thought, like that of angels, has nothing in common with time or space or with person.

[17] As "measures" signify the quality of a thing, it is clear what is signified:

By the house of measures (Jeremiah 22:14);

By the portion of measures (Jeremiah 13:25);

Also by men of measures (Isaiah 45:14);

where "measures" signify quality in the whole complex. In Moses:

Ye shall not act perversely in judgment, in measure, in weight, or in dimension; balances of justice, stones of justice, an ephah of justice, and a hin of justice, shall ye have (Leviticus 19:35, 36).

In the same:

Thou shalt not have in thy bag divers stones, great and small; thou shalt not have in thy house divers ephahs, great and small; a perfect and a just stone shalt thou have, a perfect and a just ephah shalt thou have (Deuteronomy 25:13-15).

And in Ezekiel:

Ye shall have balances of justice, and an ephah of justice, and a bath of justice (Ezekiel 45:10).

That these measures and these weights signify the estimation of a thing according to the quality of truth and good may be seen above n. 373.

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