3147. 'And water to wash his feet' means purification there. This is clear from the meaning of 'water to wash' or 'washing with water' as purifying, dealt with below, and from the meaning of 'feet' as natural things, or what amounts to the same, those things that are in the natural man, dealt with in 2162. In the representative Church washing feet with water was a ceremonial act which meant washing away the filth of the natural man. The filth of the natural man is composed of all the things that belong to self-love and love of the world, and when such filth has been washed away goods and truths flow in, for that filth alone is what hinders the influx of good and truth from the Lord.

[2] For good is flowing in constantly from the Lord, but when by way of the internal or spiritual man it reaches the external or natural man it is either perverted there, or turned away, or stifled. But when indeed the things that belong to self-love and love of the world are removed, good is received there, and bears fruit there, since the person now performs the works of charity. This may become clear from many considerations, such as this: When the things that belong to the external or natural man are quiescent - as they are in times of ill-fortune, wretchedness, and sickness - a person instantly starts to become spiritually-minded and to will what is good, and also to perform acts of devotion insofar as he is able. But when that state alters, these things are altered too.

[3] In the Ancient Church 'washings' were signs meaning these things, and in the Jewish Church the same were representations. The reason why in the Ancient Church they were meaningful signs but in the Jewish Church representations was that members of the Ancient Church regarded that custom as some external act of worship. Nor did they believe that they were purified by that kind of washing but by a washing away of the filth of the natural man, which, as has been stated, is composed of the things that belong to self-love and love of the world. But the member of the Jewish Church did believe that he was purified by such washing, for he did not know, and did not wish to know, that the purifying of a person's interior self was meant.

[4] That 'washing' means the washing away of that filth is clear in Isaiah,

Wash yourselves; purify yourselves; remove the evil of your doings from before My eyes; cease to do evil. Isaiah 1:16.

Here it is evident that 'washing themselves' means purifying themselves and removing evils. In the same prophet,

When the Lord will have washed the excrement of the daughters of Zion and washed away the blood of Jerusalem from its midst in a spirit of judgement and in a spirit of purging. Isaiah 4:4.

Here 'washing the excrement of the daughters of Zion and washing away the blood of Jerusalem' stands for purifying from evils and falsities. In Jeremiah,

Wash your heart from wickedness, O Jerusalem, that you may be saved. How long will your iniquitous thoughts lodge within you? Jeremiah 4:14.

[5] In Ezekiel,

I washed you with water, and washed away the blood from upon you, and anointed you with oil. Ezekiel 16:9.

This refers to Jerusalem, which is used here to mean the Ancient Church. 'Washing with water' stands for purifying from falsities, 'washing away the blood' for purging from evils, 'anointing with oil' for filling with good at that time. In David,

Wash me from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. You will purge me with hyssop and I shall be clean; You will wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Psalms 51:2, 7.

'Being washed' plainly stands for being purified from evils and derivative falsities.

[6] These were the things that were meant by 'washing' in the Representative Church. For the sake of the representation, when they had been made unclean and needed to be cleansed, people were commanded in that Church to wash the skin, hands, feet, and also their garments. All these meant things that belong to the natural man. Also for the sake of the representation, lavers made of bronze were placed outside the Temple - that is to say, 'the bronze sea and the ten bronze lavers' mentioned in 1 Kings 7:23-29; there was also the bronze laver from which Aaron and his sons were to wash themselves, placed between the Tent of Meeting and the Altar, and so outside the Tent of Meeting, Exodus 30:18-19, 21 - the meaning of which was that only external or natural things needed to be purified. And unless they have been purified, that is, unless things belonging to self-love and love of the world have been removed from them, internal things which belong to love to the Lord and towards the neighbour cannot possibly flow in, as stated above.

[7] To enable these matters to be understood more easily, that is to say, regarding the need for external things to be purified, let good works - or what amounts to the same, the goods of charity, which are at the present day called the fruits of faith, and which, since they are actions, are external - serve to exemplify and illustrate the point: Good works are bad works unless the things belonging to self-love and love of the world are removed. For until these have been removed works, when performed, are good to outward appearance but are inwardly bad. They are inwardly bad because they are done either for the sake of reputation, or for financial gain, or for improvement of one's position, or for reward. They are accordingly either merit-seeking or hypocritical, for the things that belong to self-love and love of the world cause those works to be such. But when indeed these evils are removed, works become good, and are the goods of charity. That is to say, they are done regardless of self, the world, reputation, or reward, and so are not merit-seeking or hypocritical, because in that case celestial love and spiritual love flow from the Lord into those works and cause them to be love and charity in action. And at the same time the Lord also purifies the natural or external man by means of those things and orders it so that that man receives correspondingly the celestial and spiritual things that flow in.

[8] This becomes quite clear from what the Lord taught when He washed the disciples' feet: In John,

He came to Simon Peter, who said to Him, Lord, do You wash my feet? Jesus answered and said to him, What I am doing you do not know now, but you will know afterwards. Peter said to Him, You will never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me. Simon Peter said to Him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and head! Jesus said to him, He who is washed has no need except that his feet be washed, but is clean all over. Now you are clean, but not all of you. John 13:4-17.

'He who is washed has no need except that his feet be washed' means that anyone who has been reformed needs to be cleansed only in regard to natural things, that is, to have evils and falsities removed from them. For when that happens all is ordered by the influx of spiritual things from the Lord. Furthermore 'feet-washing' was an act of charity, meaning that one ought not to dwell on the evils of another person. It was also an act of humility, meaning the cleansing of another from evils, like filth from the body, as also becomes clear from the Lord's words in verses 12-17 of that chapter in John, and also in Luke 7:37-38, 44, 46; John 11:2; 1 Samuel 25:41.

[9] Anyone may see that washing himself does not purify a person from evils and falsities, only from the filth that clings to him. Yet because it belonged among the religious observances commanded in the Church it follows that it embodies some special idea, namely spiritual washing, which is purification from the filth that clings to man inwardly. Members of that Church therefore who knew these things and thought of purification of the heart, that is, the removal of the evils of self-love and love of the world from the natural man, and tried to achieve it with utmost zeal, practiced ritual washing as an external act of worship, as commanded. But among those who did not know and did not wish to know those things but who supposed that the mere ritual act of washing garments, skin, hands, and feet would purify them, and who supposed that provided they performed such rituals they would be allowed to continue leading lives of avarice, hatred, revenge, mercilessness, and cruelty - all of which constitute spiritual filth - the performance of the ritual was idolatrous. Nevertheless by means of that ritual they were still able to represent, and by means of the representation to display, some vestige of a Church, by means of which heaven was in a way joined to mankind prior to the Lord's Coming. But that conjunction was such that heaven had little or no influence at all on the member of that Church.

[10] The Jews and Israelites were such that they did not think at all of the internal man, nor did they wish to know anything about the same. Thus they knew absolutely nothing about the celestial and spiritual things which belong to the life after death. Nevertheless to prevent the end of all communication with heaven and so with the Lord, they were bound to the performance of external observances by which internal things were meant. All their captivities and plagues were in general to the end that external observances might be duly carried out for the sake of the representation. It was for this reason that the following laws were given:

Moses was to wash Aaron and his sons with water at the tent door, to sanctify them. Exodus 29:4; 40:12; Leviticus 8:6.

Aaron and his sons were to wash their hands and feet before entering the Tent of Meeting and approaching the Altar to minister, lest they died. This was to them a statute for ever. Exodus 30:18-21; 40:30-31.

Before putting on his vestments Aaron was to wash his flesh. Leviticus 16:4, 24.

Levites were to be purified by sprinkling the water of expiation over them, passing a razor over their flesh, and washing their clothes - then they were pure. Numbers 8:6-7.

Anyone who ate the carcass of a clean animal, ¹ or that which had been torn to pieces, was to wash his clothes and bathe himself with water, and if he did not wash himself and bathe his flesh he would bear his iniquity. Leviticus 17:15-16.

Anyone who touched the bed of a person who had a discharge, or sat on a vessel on which that person had sat, and anyone who touched that person's flesh was to wash his clothes and to bathe himself with water, and be unclean until the evening. Leviticus 15:5-7, 10-12 and following verses.

The person who sent the goat away to Azazel was to wash his flesh. Leviticus 16:26.

When a leper was to be cleansed he was to wash his clothes, shave off all his hair, wash himself in water, and then he would be clean. Leviticus 14:8-9.

Even vessels themselves which had become unclean through contact with unclean persons were made to go through water and be unclean until the evening. Leviticus 11:32.

From all these laws it may be seen that nobody was made clean or pure internally through ritual washing, but that such a person merely represented him who was pure or spiritually clean, for the reason stated above. The Lord teaches the same quite explicitly in Matthew 15:1-20; Mark 7:1-23.

Poznámky pod čarou:

1462. 'Egypt' means, in reference to the Lord, knowledge comprised of cognitions, but in reference to all others, knowledge in general. This becomes clear from the meaning of that country in the Word, dealt with already in several places, and specifically in 1164, 1165. Indeed the Ancient Church existed in Egypt, as it did in many other places, 1238, and while the Church was in that region all kinds of knowledge flourished there more than anything else; and this explains why 'Egypt' came to mean knowledge. But after those people desired to penetrate the mysteries of faith by means of all this knowledge, and so to inquire into the truth of Divine arcana from their own power, Egypt became a place of magic, and so came to mean factual knowledge which perverts, and which gives rise to falsities and derivative evils, as is clear in Isaiah 19:11.

[2] That 'Egypt' means all kinds of knowledge that serve a use, thus at this point knowledge comprised of cognitions which is able to serve as vessels for celestial and spiritual things, becomes clear from the following places in the Word: In Isaiah,

They have led Egypt astray, the corner-stone of the tribes. Isaiah 19:13.

Here it is called 'the corner-stone of the tribes', which was to serve as the base on which the things of faith meant by 'the tribes' were to rest. In the same prophet,

On that day there will be five cities in the land of Egypt which speak in the lip of Canaan and swear to Jehovah Zebaoth. Each will be called Ir Heres. On that day there will be an altar to Jehovah in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar at its border to Jehovah; and it will be a sign and a witness to Jehovah Zebaoth in the land of Egypt, for they will cry to Jehovah because of the oppressors, and He will send a savior and a prince to them, and he will deliver them. And Jehovah will make Himself known to Egypt, and the Egyptians will know Jehovah on that day and will offer sacrifice and minchah, and will make vows to Jehovah and perform them. And Jehovah will smite Egypt, smiting and healing, and they will return to Jehovah; and He will be entreated by them, and He will heal them. Isaiah 19:18-22.

Used in a good sense here, 'Egypt' stands for people who possess facts, or natural truths, which are the vessels for spiritual truths.

[3] In the same prophet,

On that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Asshur, and Asshur will come into Egypt and Egypt into Asshur, and the Egyptians will serve Asshur. ¹ On that day Israel will be the third with Egypt and Asshur, a blessing in the midst of the earth, whom Jehovah Zebaoth will bless, saying, Blessed be Egypt My people, and Asshur the work of My hands, and Israel My heritage. Isaiah 19:23-25.

Here 'Egypt' means knowledge consisting of natural truths, 'Asshur' reason or rational things, and 'Israel' spiritual things, which follow one another in that order. Hence the statement that 'on that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Asshur, and Israel will be the third with Egypt and Asshur'.

[4] In Ezekiel,

Fine linen with embroidered work from Egypt was your sail, that it might be to you an ensign. Ezekiel 27:7.

This refers to Tyre, which means the possession of cognitions. 'Fine linen with embroidered work' stands for the truths contained in all kinds of knowledge which are of service; belonging as they do to the external man facts ought to be of service to the internal man. In the same prophet,

Thus said the Lord Jehovih, At the end of forty years I will gather Egypt from the peoples among whom they were scattered, and I will bring back the captivity of Egypt. Ezekiel 29:13-14.

Here also 'Egypt' has much the same meaning, as is also said of Judah and Israel in many other places that they were to be gathered from the peoples and brought back from captivity. In Zechariah,

And it will be that whoever of the families of the earth does not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, Jehovah Zebaoth, there will be no rain upon them And if the family of Egypt does not go up, and does not come . . . Zechariah 14:17-18.

Here also 'Egypt' is used in a good sense to have a similar meaning.

[5] That knowledge or human wisdom is meant by 'Egypt' becomes clear also in Daniel 11:43 where knowledge of celestial and of spiritual things is called 'the secret hoards of gold and silver' and also 'the precious things of Egypt'. And of Solomon it is said that his wisdom surpassed the wisdom of all the sons of the east and all the wisdom of the Egyptians, 1 Kings 4:30. And the house built by Solomon for Pharaoh's daughter had no other representation, 1 Kings 7:8 and following verses.

[6] The Lord's being taken into Egypt when He was an infant had no other meaning than that which here is meant by Abram, though He was also taken there so that He might fulfill all things that had taken place and were representative of Himself. The passage of Jacob and his sons down into Egypt represented in the inmost sense nothing other than the Lord's initial instruction in cognitions from the Word, as is also evident from what follows. In reference to the Lord the following is said in Matthew,

The angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, Rise, take the boy and His mother, and flee into Egypt, and be there until I tell you. He rose and took the boy and His mother by night, and departed into Egypt, and was there until the death of Herod, so that what had been said by the prophet might be fulfilled, when he said, Out of Egypt have I called My son. Matthew 2:13-15, 19-21.

This promise is stated in Hosea as follows,

When Israel was a boy I loved him, and out of Egypt I called My son. Hosea 11:1.

From this it is clear that 'the boy Israel' is used to mean the Lord, His instruction when a boy being expressed by the words, 'Out of Egypt have I called My son'.

[7] In the same prophet,

By a prophet Jehovah brought Israel up out of Egypt and by a prophet he was preserved. Hosea 12:12-13.

Here similarly 'Israel' is used to mean the Lord. 'A prophet' means one who teaches, thus teaching consisting of cognitions. In David,

Turn us back, O God Zebaoth, cause Your face ² to shine and we shall be saved. You caused a vine to set out from Egypt, You drove out the nations and planted it. Psalms 80:7-8.

This too refers to the Lord, who is called 'the vine out of Egypt' as regards the cognitions in which He was receiving instruction.

Poznámky pod čarou: