717. And upon his heads seven diadems, signifies Divine truths in the ultimate of order, which are the truths of the sense of the letter of the Word, here these truths adulterated and profaned. This is evident from the signification of "heads of the dragon," as being the true knowledges [scientifica] of the Word, which have been adulterated and profaned; that these "heads" signify insanity in spiritual things and yet craftiness in deceiving and leading astray may be seen above n. 714. Also from the signification of "diadems" (or precious stones), as being Divine truths in the ultimate of order, which are the truths of the sense of the letter of the Word (of which presently); also from the signification of "seven," which means all things, and is predicated of things holy, and in the contrary sense of things profane (of which above, n. 715, here it is predicated of things profane, because of truths of the Word adulterated and thus profaned.

Thence it is clear that "the seven diadems upon the heads of the dragon" signify Divine truths in the ultimate of order, here these truths adulterated and profaned.

[2] "Precious stones," which are "diadems," signify Divine truths in the ultimate of order, which are the truths of the sense of the letter of the Word, because a "stone" signifies truth, therefore "precious stones" signify Divine truths. They mean Divine truths in the ultimate of order, which are the truths of the sense of the letter of the Word, because these are transparent, having in them a spiritual sense, and in that sense there is the light of heaven, which makes all things of the sense of the letter of the Word to be pellucid, and to be variegated also according to the series of things in the spiritual sense from which arise modifications of heavenly light, that present such colors as appear in the heavens, and thence in precious stones of various kinds.

[3] Diadems were seen upon the seven heads of the dragon, because the truths of the sense of the letter of the Word shine wherever they are, as well with the evil as with the good, for the spiritual light that is in them is not extinguished by their being with the evil, for heaven still flows into those truths. But the evil adulterate them, and thence see nothing of the light of heaven in them, but yet believe them to be holy because they apply them to confirm the falsities of their religion, so from the faith they have in their holiness the truths still shine before them; and since this is so, and since they acquire for themselves by means of these truths communication with the heavens they are finally deprived of them, and left to their falsities in which there is no light; this is done when they are let down into hell.

[4] That the truths of the sense of the letter of the Word appear as diadems is evident from the diadems in the spiritual world. In the palaces of angels in heaven there are many things that shine with precious stones. Sometimes precious stones are also let down into the lower parts, and are presented as a gift to those who have done some good thing; they are even sold there as in the world, especially by the Jews, who also there trade in them. It is granted and permitted to the Jews to trade in precious stones in the spiritual as in the natural world, because they regard the sense of the letter of the Word as holy.

For the same reason also noble women below the heavens adorn themselves with diadems as in the world. When it is asked where those diadems in heaven and thence in the lower parts are from, it is said that they are from the Lord, and from the spiritual light that is from Him, and that they are ultimates of that light, which are called effects; also that they are representative forms of the affections of truth from good, thus that they are Divine truths in the ultimate of order, such as the truths of the sense of the letter of the Word are. As this is the origin of precious stones, there are some in the world of spirits who are allowed to make diadems by inserting together truths from the sense of the letter of the Word, but these diadems are not genuine, and are not hard like crystals, because they are artificial.

[5] From this it can now be seen what "diadems or precious stones" signify in the following passages. In Isaiah:

O thou afflicted and tossed with tempests and not comforted, behold, I lay thy stones with stibium, and thy foundations in sapphires, and I will make thy suns a carbuncle, and thy gates into stones of ruby, and all thy border into stones of desire, and all thy sons shall be taught of Jehovah (Isaiah 54:11-13).

This is said of "the barren who did not bear," who should have many sons, by whom the Gentiles that had no Divine truths because they did not have the Word are signified; therefore they are called "afflicted and tossed with tempests and not comforted," "to be afflicted and tossed with tempests" is predicated of falsities by which they are infested and carried hither and thither. That when the Lord comes He will reveal to them Divine truths and instruct them, is signified by "I will lay thy stones with stibium, and thy foundations in sapphires, and I will make thy suns into a carbuncle, and thy gates into stones of rubies, and thy borders into stones of desire." It is evident that the "precious stones" here mentioned mean Divine truths in the ultimate of order, like the truths of the sense of the letter of the Word, in which are internal truths, which are such truths as are in the spiritual sense of the Word; for the "foundations, gates, and borders," which were to be laid with these precious stones, signify ultimates; consequently here "stones" in general, and "sapphires," "carbuncles," and "stones of ruby," signify such truths as are in the sense of the letter of the Word, which are ultimate truths because they are for the natural and sensual man. Because the instruction of the Gentiles in Divine truths is meant by these words it is added, "and all thy sons shall be taught of Jehovah." But what "sapphire," "carbuncle," and "ruby" signify in particular need not be told here, only that "precious stones" signify in general ultimate truths.

[6] Because "the city of the New Jerusalem" signifies the doctrine of the New Church, and "the foundations of its wall" signify ultimate Divine truths, and "gates" introductory Divine truths, therefore the foundations are described by twelve precious stones, and the gates by pearls, in Revelation:

The foundations of the wall of the city the New Jerusalem were adorned with every precious stone; the first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald, the fifth sardonyx, the sixth sardius, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh hyacinth, the twelfth amethyst. The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate was [one] pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass (Revelation 21:19-21).

These "twelve precious stones" constituting the foundations, and "the twelve pearls" constituting the gates signify ultimate Divine truths, which are the truths of the sense of the letter of the Word, upon which the doctrine of that church is founded, and by which man is introduced as by gates. The foundations are said to be "of precious stones," and the gates "of pearls," because the sense of the letter of the Word contains in it the spiritual sense, thus the light of heaven, which makes the sense of the letter of the Word to be pellucid, as those stones are from light and from fire. But of this more hereafter, when the particulars are explained.

[7] The precious stones of which the breastplate of judgment called Urim and Thummim was made, which was upon the ephod of Aaron, and also those that were set upon the shoulders of the ephod have a similar signification, in Moses:

They shall make the ephod of gold, hyacinthine, purple, scarlet double-dyed, and fine twined linen, the work of the designer. Thou shalt take two onyx stones, and grave on them the names of the sons of Israel, the work of an artificer in stone; with the engravings of a seal shalt thou engrave upon the two stones the names of the sons of Israel; thou shalt make them to be encompassed with settings of gold; and thou shalt put the two stones upon the shoulders of the ephod. And thou shalt make the breastplate of judgment with the work of a designer, as the work of the ephod shalt thou make it; and thou shalt fill it with a filling of stones, there shall be four rows of stones. The first row a ruby, a topaz, a carbuncle; the second row a chrysoprase, a sapphire, and a diamond; the third row a cyanus, an agate, and an amethyst; and the fourth row a tharshish, an onyx, and a jasper. The stones shall be upon the names of the sons of Israel, twelve upon their names, the engravings of a seal for every one upon his name, they shall be for the twelve tribes. This was the breastplate of judgment, the Urim and Thummim (Exodus 28:6-30).

What these things involve no one can know unless he knows what Aaron represented, and thus what his garments signified, and the ephod in particular (for it was because his garments were significative that they were called "the garments of holiness"); also what the "breastplate" upon the ephod, which was called "the breastplate of judgment, the Urim and Thummim," signified; also what "the twelve tribes of Israel," and "the twelve stones upon their names" signified. As to Aaron himself, he represented the Lord in relation to the priesthood, which is the Lord's celestial kingdom; while "his garments" in general represented the spiritual kingdom, for this in the heavens invests the celestial kingdom. For there are two kingdoms into which the heavens are divided, the celestial kingdom and the spiritual kingdom. That is called the celestial kingdom where the Divine good proceeding from the Lord is received, and that is called the spiritual kingdom where Divine truth is received; therefore Divine truth is signified by "the garments of Aaron" in general, and Divine truth in ultimates by the "ephod," since this was the outmost vestment. That "garments" in general signify truths, and "the Lord's garments," which appeared bright white as the light when He was transfigured before the three disciples, signified the Divine truth proceeding from Him, and likewise "the Lord's garment divided by the soldiers," may be seen above (n. 64, 65, 195, 271, 395, 475, 476, 637). This shows that "the twelve stones in the breastplate of the ephod" signified Divine truths in ultimates, like as "the twelve sons of Israel" and "the twelve tribes;" that both of these signify in the Word the truths of the church in the whole complex may be seen above (n. 431, 657).

[8] This breastplate was composed of precious stones, under which were the names of the twelve sons of Israel, that by means of it they might receive answers from heaven, which were exhibited in the breastplate and from it by variegations of the colors shining forth from those stones, which were in accord with the representations of Divine truths in the heavens, where the Divine truths that flow down from the Lord through the heavens towards the lower parts are exhibited by variegations of colors; which shows that these "precious stones" signified Divine truths in ultimates. (But this may be seen more fully explained in the Arcana Coelestia 9856-9909; also respecting the two onyx stones that were upon the shoulders of the ephod, n. 9831-9855. That the "ephod" signified the external of the spiritual kingdom, which is Divine truth in ultimates, n. Arcana Coelestia 9824. But what is signified in particular by the "ruby," the "topaz," and the "carbuncle," see n. 9865; what by the "chrysoprase," the "sapphire," and the "diamond," n. 9868; what by the "cyanus," the "agate," and the "amethyst," n. 9870; and what by the "tharshish," the "onyx," and the "jasper," n. 9872)

[9] The "precious stones" by which the knowledge [scientia] of the cognitions of truth and good, and thus the intelligence of the king of Tyre are described, have a similar signification in Ezekiel:

King of Tyre, thou art full of wisdom and perfect in beauty; thou hast been in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the ruby, the topaz, and the diamond, the tharshish, the sardonyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the chrysoprase, and the emerald, and gold. Thou wast the cherub, the spreading out of him that covereth, and I have set thee, thou hast been in the mountain of the holiness of God, thou hast walked in the midst of the stones of fire (Ezekiel 28:12-14).

Because "the king of Tyre" signifies the knowledges of the truth of the church from the Word, and indeed from its literal sense, therefore it is said that "he has been in Eden the garden of God," "Eden the garden of God" signifying intelligence from the Lord through the Word, for "Eden" as the "east," means the Lord, and "the garden of God" is intelligence from Him; and because true intelligence is acquired, that is, given, solely through the knowledges of truth and good from the Word understood according to its genuine sense, therefore it is said "every precious stone was thy covering," "every precious stone" signifying the knowledges of truth and good, and "covering" signifying the external of the Word that covers its internal; the external of the Word is the sense of its letter covering the internal, which is its spiritual sense. Because man has wisdom and intelligence from this, it is said "King of Tyre, thou art full of wisdom and perfect in beauty;" "beauty" signifying intelligence, because all beauty in the heavens is according to intelligence. The sense of the letter of the Word is also meant by "the cherub, the spreading out of him that covereth," for "cherubim" signify a guard that the Lord be not approached except through the good of love, and the sense of the letter of the Word is what guards, because it covers its interiors. "The mountain of holiness" signifies the church in respect to the doctrine of love and charity; and "the stones of fire," in the midst of which he walked, signify truths from the good of love, according to which is the life. That "precious stones" here signify truths pellucid from the light of heaven, which is Divine truth, can be clearly seen from this, that "Tyre" signifies in the Word the knowledges of truth and good, which knowledges are ultimate truths, such as belong to the sense of the letter of the Word. (That "Tyre" signifies the knowledges of truth and good, may be seen above, n. 514 .)

[10] In the same:

Syria was thy trader by reason of the multitude of thy works, they gave chrysoprase for thy wares, purple, and broidered work, and fine linen, and coral, and ruby. The traders of Sheba and Raamah, these were thy traders by the chief of all spices, and by every precious stone and gold (Ezekiel 27:16, 22).

This, too, is said of Tyre, which signifies the knowledges of truth and good in the church from the Word (as above). Because "Syria and Sheba and Raamah" likewise signify the knowledges of truth and good, and "tradings" the acquisition of these, those regions are said to have given "precious stones in their tradings." The knowledges of truth and good are truths in ultimates such as the truths of the sense of the letter and the literal sense of the Word.

[11] In Job:

The stones thereof are the place of sapphire, and it hath dust of gold. Where shall wisdom be found, and where is the place of understanding? Gold is not given for it, neither is silver weighed for the price of it; it cannot be valued with the gold of Ophir, the precious onyx and the sapphire; gold and the diamond cannot vie with it; coral and crystal shall not be mentioned with it, and the choice of wisdom is above pearls; the topaz of Ethiopia shall not vie with it. Behold, the fear of the Lord is wisdom, and to depart from evil is intelligence (Job 28:6, 12, 13, 15, 16-19, 28).

Because all wisdom and understanding comes through ultimate Divine truths spiritually understood, and because these truths are signified by the precious stones here named, as "the onyx, the sapphire, the diamond, the topaz, and pearls," and because these stones being of earthly materials, although they are accounted precious in the world, are as nothing in respect to intelligence and wisdom, it is said that they are not to be valued as equal with intelligence and wisdom, nor are gold and silver. Comparisons are made with these because they are significative; otherwise they are comparatively of no account.

[12] In David:

Thou, Jehovah, shalt arise and have compassion upon Zion, for Thy servants desire the stones thereof (Psalms 102:13, 14).

"The stones of Zion" which the servants of Jehovah desire mean Divine truths, for "Zion" upon which Jehovah will have mercy, means the church that is in celestial love.

[13] In Zechariah:

Behold the stone that I have set before Joshua, the high priest, upon one stone are seven eyes; behold, I engrave the engraving of it. In that day ye shall call every man to his companion, under the vine and under the fig tree (Zechariah 3:9, 10).

This is said of the Lord's coming; and "the stone set before Joshua the priest" signifies Divine truth, which is the Word; "seven eyes in one stone" signify Divine wisdom and intelligence, which are of Divine truth, thus of the Word; seven is predicated of the holy things of the Word and of the church, and "eyes" signify intelligence and wisdom; "to engrave an engraving" signifies a representative and significative of it; "the vine and fig tree" under which they shall come signify the church and doctrine from internal and external truths; internal truths are those that are called spiritual, and external truths are those that are called natural, and the former are signified by the "vine," and the latter by the "fig tree."

[14] In Moses:

They saw the God of Israel, and under His feet as it were a work of sapphire stone, as the substance of heaven for cleanness (Exodus 24:10).

"The God of Israel" means the Lord; "a work of sapphire stone under His feet" means Divine truth in ultimates, such as the Word is in the letter, for "the sole of the foot" signifies the ultimate, which is all that the Jewish nation could see, for they were in the externals of the Word, of the church, and of worship, and not in internals; the "sapphire" signifies transparent from internal truths; "as the substance of heaven for cleanness" signifies the transparency of the angelic heaven. (But these things are explained in Arcana Coelestia 9406-9408.) Because a "precious stone" signifies Divine truth in ultimates transparent from interior truths, the luminary of the city New Jerusalem is described in Revelation as:

Like unto a precious stone, as it were a jasper stone, bright like crystal (Revelation 21:11)

Again, since "the white horse" there signifies the understanding of the Word, and "He that sat upon the horse" the Lord in relation to the Word:

There were seen upon the head of Him who sat upon the white horse many diadems, and His name is called the Word of God (Revelation 19:12, 13).

[15] Thus much respecting precious stones with those who are in Divine truths; something will now be said about precious stones with those who are in infernal falsities. To them precious stones are also given while they live in the world, since they, equally, possess the knowledges of truth and good from the natural sense of the Word, which is the sense of the letter; therefore precious stones or diadems are equally ascribed to them, as here to "the dragon," upon whose heads were seen "seven diadems," for the reason that with the evil the same as with the good the Word is still the Word and its truths are truths in themselves; and when the evil pervert and falsify the truths of the Word it yet does not change their essence. For this reason, in what follows in Revelation like things were seen upon the woman sitting on the scarlet colored beast, by whom Babylon is described, of whom it is said:

A woman sat upon the scarlet colored beast full of the names of blasphemy, and it had seven heads and ten horns; she was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, and upon her forehead a name written, Babylon the great (Revelation 17:3-5).

But more about this in what follows. So again elsewhere in Revelation:

The merchants of the earth shall weep and lament over Babylon the great, for no one buyeth her merchandise anymore, the merchandise of gold and silver and precious stone and pearl, and fine linen and purple and silk and scarlet. And the merchants shall say, Woe, woe, the great city! she that was arrayed in fine linen and purple and scarlet, decked with gold, precious stone, and pearls (Revelation 18:11-12, 18:15, 18:16).

[16] Because "precious stones, also purple and fine linen" signify the knowledges of truth and good from the Word, therefore it is said of the rich man:

At whose gate Lazarus was laid, that he was clothed in purple and fine linen (Luke 16:19, 20).

"The rich man" means the Jewish nation; and because it had the Word in which are Divine truths, it is said "to be clothed in purple and fine linen," and "Lazarus the pauper" means the Gentiles that did not have the Word, and thus had no truths; this evidently is why the rich man, although he was evil and was afterwards cast into hell, had "garments of purple and fine linen. "

[17] Like things are also said about the king of the north, who made war against the king of the south, in Daniel:

The king of the north, as a god he shall honor the fortresses upon his station, a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honor with gold, silver, and precious stones, and desirable things; he shall make strongholds of fortresses with a strange god; whoso shall acknowledge him shall have great honor (Daniel 11:38, 39).

This chapter treats of the war of the king of the north with the king of the south; and "the king of the north" means those who are in knowledge [scientia] from the Word, but not in life, thus who are in so-called faith alone, but yet not in charity, since they reject charity as not contributing to salvation. But "the king of the south" means those who are in intelligence from the Word, because they are in charity; such are "the king of the south," or pertain to "the king of the south," because "the south" means light, and "light" signifies intelligence, and those who are in charity, which is the life of faith, have the light of intelligence from the Word. But "the king of the north," or those who belong to "the king of the north" are such as are described above, because the "north" means night, and also a cold light, such as is the light of winter, from which, because there is no heat in it, there is no fructification; for spiritual heat is charity, and all germination is from heat through light. The war between these kings is described because the last time of the church is treated of when everything of salvation is placed in knowledge [scientia] from the Word, and nothing in the life, and with the Jewish nation, in the traditions by which they falsified the Word; the truths of the Word become traditions when there is no life of charity, and the truths of the Word likewise become falsities when faith is separated from charity. From this it can be seen that "the king of the north" also means those who are in faith alone, that is, in faith without charity.

[18] The same are meant in Daniel by "the he-goat" that fought with the ram; the same also are meant by "the dragon" in this chapter, with the difference, that "the dragon" means properly the learned who have confirmed themselves by doctrine and life in faith separated from charity, for these have poison like dragons that destroys charity. For this reason the angel Michael is also mentioned in Daniel 12:1. That those who place everything of the church in the knowledge [scientia] of cognitions from the Word, and nothing in life, pervert and falsify the truths of the Word is meant by "the king of the north shall honor a strange god whom their fathers knew not," and "shall honor him with gold, silver, precious stone, and pearls;" ¹ "his god" meaning the truths of the Word falsified, since "God" when mentioned in the Word means the Lord in relation to Divine truth, thus the Divine truth proceeding from the Lord, and when "Jehovah" is mentioned, the Lord in relation to Divine good, thus the Divine good proceeding from the Lord is meant; therefore "a strange god whom his fathers knew not" means the truths of the Word falsified, which in themselves are falsities, and are not acknowledged by those who were previously of the church. Those truths and goods of the Word themselves, though falsified, are signified by "precious stones and desirable things," as also by "silver and gold," for the truths of the Word do not change their essence when they are with the evil. "Fortresses upon the station," and "strongholds of fortresses" signify the things of self-intelligence confirmed by the sense of the letter of the Word, which is such that when it is not interiorly understood it may be so drawn as to confirm any heresies whatever. From this the signification of "the seven diadems upon the heads of the dragon" can now be seen.

Poznámky pod čarou:

3021. 'Put now your hand under my thigh' means being bound, as regards its power, to the good of conjugial love. This is clear from the meaning of 'the hand' as power, dealt with in 878, and from the meaning of 'the thigh' as the good of conjugial love, dealt with in what follows. A binding of this good to that power is indeed the meaning, as is clear from the consideration that those who were bound by an obligation to carry out some matter connected with conjugial love put their hand, according to ancient custom, under the thigh of the one to whom they were so bound, and in so doing swore by him. This was done because 'the thigh' meant conjugial love, and 'the hand' power, or the full extent of whatever one's capability might be. For all parts of the human body correspond to spiritual and celestial things in the Grand Man, which is heaven, as shown in 2996, 2998, and will in the Lord's Divine mercy be shown more extensively later on. The thighs themselves, together with the loins, correspond to conjugial love. Those things were well known to the most ancient people, and for that reason so many customs came down from them, including that of putting their hands under the thigh when being bound by an obligation to carry out something connected with the good of conjugial love. Their knowledge of such things, which was valued most highly by the ancients, and belonged among the chief things that constituted their knowledge and intelligence, is totally lost today, so much so that not even the existence of any such correspondence is known, and for this reason people will probably be astounded that such things are meant by that custom. Here, because the subject is the betrothal of Isaac his son to another member of Abraham's family, and the oldest servant was called on to perform that task, this custom was therefore followed.

[2] It has been stated that 'the thigh', because of its correspondence, means conjugial love, and this may also be seen from other places in the Word, for example, from the procedure to be followed when a woman was accused by her husband of adultery, in Moses,

The priest shall make the woman take the oath of a curse, and the priest shall say to the woman, Jehovah will make you a curse and an oath in the midst of your people, when Jehovah makes your thigh fall away and your belly swell. When he has made her drink the water, then it will happen, if she has defiled herself and committed a trespass against her husband, that the water causing the curse will enter into her and become bitter, and her belly will swell, and her thigh will fall away; and the woman will be a curse in the midst of her people. Numbers 5:21, 27.

'The falling away of the thigh' means the evil of conjugial love, which is adultery. Every other detail in the same procedure had some specific meaning, so that not even the smallest detail fails to embody something, though anyone reading the Word who has no concept of its sacredness will wonder why such things are included there. It is because 'the thigh' means the good of conjugial love that the expression 'those coming out of the thigh' is used frequently, as in a reference to Jacob,

Be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations will be from you, and kings will go out from your thighs. Genesis 35:11.

And elsewhere in the same author,

Every soul coming with Jacob to Egypt, who came out of his thigh. Genesis 46:26; Exodus 1:5.

And in a reference to Gideon, Gideon had seventy sons, who came out of his thigh. Judges 8:30.

[3] Since 'the thigh' and 'the loins' mean the things that belong to conjugial love they also mean those that belong to love and charity, the reason being that conjugial love underlies every other kind of love, see 686, 2733, 2737-2739. These all have the same source - the heavenly marriage - which is a marriage of good and truth, regarding which see 2727-2759. For 'the thigh' means the good of celestial love and the good of spiritual love, as may be seen from the following places: In John,

He who sat on the white horse had on His robe and on His thigh the name written, King of kings, and Lord of lords. Revelation 19:16.

'He who sat on the white horse' is the Word, and so the Lord, who is the Word, see 2760-2762. 'Robe' means Divine Truth, 2576, and for that reason He is called 'King of kings', 3009. From this it is evident what 'the thigh' means, namely the Divine Good which flows from His love, on account of which He is also named 'Lord of lords', 3004-3011. And this being the Lord's essential nature, it is said that He had a name written on His robe and on His thigh, for 'name' means essential nature, 1896, 2009, 2724, 3006.

[4] In David,

Gird Your sword on Your thigh, O Mighty One, in Your glory and honour! Psalms 45:3.

This refers to the Lord. 'Sword' stands for truth engaged in conflict, 2799, 'thigh' for the good of love. 'Girding the sword on the thigh' means that the truth which He was to use in the fight was allied to the good of love. In Isaiah,

Righteousness will be the girdle of His loins, and truth the girdle of His thighs. Isaiah 11:5.

This too refers to the Lord. Because 'righteousness' has reference to the good that flows from love, 2235, it is called 'the girdle of His loins', while 'truth' because it comes from good, is called 'the girdle of His thighs'. Thus 'loins' is used in reference to the love within good, and 'thighs' to the love within truth.

[5] In the same prophet'

None will be weary, and none will stumble in Him. He will not slumber nor sleep. Nor has the girdle of His thighs been loosed, nor the thong of His shoes torn away. Isaiah 5:27.

This refers to the Lord. 'The girdle of His thighs' stands, as above, for the love within truth. In Jeremiah Jehovah told the prophet to buy a linen girdle and put it over his loins but not dip it in water. He was then told to go away to the Euphrates and hide it in a cleft of the rock. When he went back at a later time to retrieve it from that place it was spoiled, Jeremiah 13:1-7. 'A linen girdle' stands for truth, but the placing of it over his loins was representative of the fact that truth was the outward expression of good. Anyone may see that these actions are representative. Their meaning however cannot be known except from correspondences, which will in the Lord's Divine mercy be dealt with at the ends of certain chapters further on.

[6] It is similar with the meaning of the things seen by Ezekiel, Daniel, and Nebuchadnezzar: Ezekiel saw,

Above the firmament that was above the heads of the cherubim, in appearance like a sapphire stone, there was the likeness of a throne, and above the likeness of a throne, there was a likeness, as the appearance of a Man (Homo) upon it above. And I saw as it were the shape of fiery coals, as the shape of fire, within it round about. From the appearance of His loins and upwards, and from the appearance of His loins and downwards, I saw as it were the appearance of fire, whose brightness was round about it like the appearance of the rainbow which is in the cloud on the day of rain; so was the appearance of the brightness round about, thus was the appearance of the likeness of the Glory of Jehovah. Ezekiel 1:26-28.

This scene was clearly representative of the Lord and His kingdom. 'The appearance of His loins upwards and the appearance, of His loins downwards' is descriptive of His love, as is evident from the meaning of 'fire' as love, 934, and from the meaning of 'brightness' and of 'the rainbow' as wisdom and intelligence from that love, 1042, 1043, 1053.

[7] Daniel saw,

A man clothed in linen whose loins were girded with gold of Uphaz, and whose body was like tarshish, ¹ and whose face was like the appearance of lightning and whose eyes were like fiery torches, and whose arms and feet were like the shine of burnished bronze. Daniel 10:5-6.

What each of these expressions means - the loins, the body, the face, the eyes, the arms, and the feet - does not become clear to anyone except from representations and correspondences involved in these. From these it is evident that in what Daniel saw the Lord's heavenly kingdom was represented, in which Divine Love constitutes the loins, and 'the gold of Uphaz' with which He was girded, the good resulting from wisdom that is grounded in love, 113, 1551, 1552.

[8] In Daniel: Nebuchadnezzar saw a statue whose head was fine gold, breast and arms silver, belly and thighs bronze, feet partly iron, partly clay, Daniel 2:32-33. This statue represented consecutive states of the Church. The head of gold represented the first state, which was celestial because it was a state of love to the Lord; the breast and arms of silver represented the second state, which was spiritual because it was a state of charity towards the neighbour; the belly and thighs of bronze represented the third state, which was a state of natural good meant by 'bronze', 425, 1551 - natural good being love or charity towards the neighbour as this exists on a lower level than spiritual good - while the feet of iron and clay were the fourth state, which was a state of natural truth meant by 'iron', 425, 426, and also a state involving complete lack of cohesion with good, which is meant by 'clay'.

From all this one may see what is meant by the thighs and loins, namely conjugial love primarily, and from this love every genuine kind of love, as is evident from the places quoted and also from Genesis 32:25, 31-32; Isaiah 20:2-4; Nahum 2:1; Psalms 69:23; Exodus 12:11; Luke 12:35-36. The thighs and loins also mean in the contrary sense those loves that are the reverse of conjugial love and all genuine loves, namely self-love and love of the world, 1 Kings 2:5-6; Isaiah 32:10-11; Jeremiah 30:6; 48:37; Ezekiel 29:7; Amos 8:10.

Poznámky pod čarou: