THE EXPLANATION of Isaiah Chapter 17

(Note: Rev. Smithson's translation of the Isaiah text is appended below the explanation)

1. THE burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is rejected, so as to be no city; and it is become a heap of ruins.

Verse 1. Behold, Damascus is rejected, so as to be no city, etc. - By "Aram" or Syria [of which Damascus was the capital], are signified the knowledges of Good. The same appears also from Ezekiel:

"Aram was your merchant, in the multitude of your works: they occupied in your fairs with emeralds, purple, and broidered work, and fine linen, and coral, and agate"; (Ezekiel 27:16) speaking of "Tyre", or the possession of knowledges; where "works, emeralds, purple, broidered work, fine linen, coral, and agate", signify nothing else but the knowledges of Good. So in Hosea:

"Jacob fled into the country of Aram and Israel served for a wife, and for a wife he kept sheep; and by a prophet Jehovah brought up Israel out of Egypt, and by a prophet was he preserved; Ephraim provoked Him to anger with bitterness"; (Hosea 12:12-14),

where "Jacob" signifies the external church, and "Israel" the spiritual internal church; "Aram" denotes the knowledges of Good; "Egypt" denotes perverted science; and "Ephraim", perverted intelligence; - the signification of which names could never appear from the literal sense, but only from the internal sense, in which names signify things relating to the church, as has been already observed.

So in Isaiah :

"Behold, Damascus is rejected, so as to be no city; and it is become a heap of ruins: and the fortress shall cease from Ephraim, and the kingdom from Damascus; and the remnant of Aram [or Syria] shall be as the glory of the sons of Israel"; (Isaiah 17:1, 3),

where the "remnant of Aram" signifies the knowledges of Good, which are called "the glory of the sons of Israel"; "Aram", or Syria, signifies also, in an opposite sense, the knowledges of Good perverted, according to what is usual in the Word, where the same expression is frequently applied in a two-fold signification.

That "Aram" is thus used in the opposite sense, may be seen in Isaiah 7:4-6; 9:12; Deuteronomy 26:5. Arcana Coelestia 1232.

See above, as to "Syria", Isaiah 7:4, the Exposition.

How important it is to acquire the knowledges of Truth and Good [signified by "Syria" from the Word, may appear from the following considerations:

That by truths cometh love to the Lord,

- by truths we receive love to our neighbour,

- by truths we have heavenly intelligence and wisdom,

- by truths regeneration is effected,

- by truths man has power against evils and falsities, and consequently against hell,

- by truths there is purification from evils and falsities,

- by truths the church exists;

- by truths heaven exists;

- by truths is the innocence of wisdom;

- by truths a man has conscience;

- by truths order is established;

- by truths cometh the beauty of angels, and also of men with respect to the interiors of their spirits,

- and that by virtue of truths man is a man.

But by all this is meant truths grounded in good, and not by truths without good, and by good from the Lord. Hence everyone can see the great importance of acquiring the knowledges of Truth and Goodness. Apocalypse Revealed 161.

2. The cities of Aroer are deserted: they shall be for the flocks, and they shall lie down, and none shall make them afraid.

Verse 2. [" Aroer" was the plain of Syria, and its "cities" or towns, as subordinate to Damascus, signified various doctrinals of Truth and Goodness, which when thus "deserted and devastated", become the possession of those who can make a proper use of them, denoted by "the flocks that shall lie down, and by none making them afraid", of whom, as the "remnant of Syria", (verse 3.) a New Church can be formed. It does not appear that Swedenborg has quoted this verse. See above, Chapter 5:17, note, where a similar passage occurs. The "glory of the sons of Israel", are the knowledges of Truth and Good applied to the life for the purposes of salvation.]

3. And the fortress shall cease from Ephraim, and the kingdom from Damascus; and the remnant of Syria shall be as the glory of the sons of Israel, says Jehovah of Hosts

Verse 3. As to the meaning of "Ephraim", see above, Chapter 7:2, the Exposition.

4. And it shall be in that day, the glory Jacob shall be made thin, and the fatness of his flesh shall be made lean.

Verse 4. To be "made thin" or slender, is to be deprived of the truths of faith; "the fatness of his flesh shall be made lean", signifies to be deprived of the good of charity. Arcana Coelestia 5200, 5204. b

[As to the theological leanness which prevails in the church at this day, from the want of the knowledges of Truth, see True Christian Religion 391.]

5. And it shall be as when one gathers the standing harvest, and his arm reaps the ears; or as when one gleans ears in the valley of Rephaim.

Verses 5, 6, 11. The subject treated of in this chapter is concerning the knowledges of Truth and Good appertaining to the church, has being destroyed. Those knowledges are siguified by "Damascus", which is here treated of, and by Aroer"; their being destroyed is described by gleanings being left in it, as in the shaking of the olive-tree; two [orJ three berrles on the head of the uppermost bough, four [orJ five on the fruitful branches; likewise by "the harvest being a heap in the day of possession", namely, that there shall be no more than one heap, wherefore it is also called "desperate sorrow." Hence it is evident that by "harvest" is here signified the last state of the church; that state is also signified by "morning", for when the last state of the church is at hand, it is then morning to those who will be of the New Church, and evening and night to those who are of the Old; that this is here understood by "morning", appears from the last verse of the chapter, where it is said "At the time of evening, behold terror! before the morning, it [terror] is no more." (Isaiah 17:14) "Terror" signifies destruction. Apocalypse Explained 911.

6. There shall be left gleanings in it, as in the shaking of the olive-tree; two [or] three berries on the head of the uppermost bough; four [orJ five on the fruitful branches, says Jehovah the God of Israel.

Verse 6. The devastation of the church is here treated of and this is said of the remaining few who are in Good and Truth. A comparison is made with "the shaking of the olive-tree", because by the "olive-tree" is signified the church as to the good of love and its "branches" the truths thence derived. "Two, three" signify the few 'who are in good, and thence in truths; "two" signify good, and "three" truths; and "four, five" signify the few who are in good; "four" those who are in good, and "five" a few; and because "four, five" signify the few who are in good, therefore it is said "Four, five on the fruitful branches"; for the "fruit-bearing olive-tree" signifies those in the church who are in good as to life. As these things are signified by those numbers, therefore it is said "two, three" and "four, five", and not "two and three" and "four and five." Apocalypse Explained 332. -

7. In that day shall a man regard his Maker; and his eyes shall look towards the Holy One of Israel:

8. And he shall not regard the altars, the work of his hands; and what his fingers have made, he shall not respect; nor the groves, nor the solar statues.

9. In that day shall the cities of his refuge be as a forsaken bough, and an uppermost branch, which they left before the sons of Israel: and there shall be desolation.

Verses 7, 8. 10. The subject here treated of is concerning the establishment of a New Church by the Lord. That they shall then be led into goods of life, and informed in truths of doctrine, is understood by "a man in that day having regard to his; Maker, and his eyes looking towards the Holy One of Israel"; the Lord is called "Maker", by reason that He leads into goods of life, for these make a man: and He is called the "Holy One of Israel", by reason that He teaches truths of doctrine, wherefore it is also said- "In that day shall a man regard his Maker, and his eyes shall look towards the Holy One of Israel"; man being called "man" [homo] , from the good of life, and "eyes" being predicated of the understanding of truth, thus of the truths of doctrine. That in such a case there will be no worship from self-love, in which evils of life originate, nor from self-derived intelligence, in which originate falsos of doctrine, is understood by his "not having regard to the altars, the work of his hands, and not having respect to what his fingers have made." By "the altars, the work of his hands", is understood worship grounded in self-love, from which evils of life are derived; and by "what his fingers have made", is understood worship grounded in self-derived intelligence, from which are derived falsities of doctrine; by "the groves and solar statues of the groves" is signiiled the religious principle grounded in falsities and thence in evils; by "groves", the religious principle grounded in falsities, and by "solar statues", such as is grounded in the evils of the false. Apocalypse Explained 391.

Hence by these words is understood that the all of doctrine should be from the Lord, and not from the proprium of man, which is the case when a man is in the spiritual affection of Truth, that is, when he loves Truth itself, because it is Truth, and not principally because thereby he can acquire fame and a name. Apocalypse Explained 585.

10. Because you have forgotten the God of your salvation, and have not remembered the Rock of your strength, therefore shalt you plant plants of delights, and shalt set it with strange slips: .

11. In the day when you shalt have made your plants to grow, and in the morning when you shalt have made your seed to flourish; even in the day of possession shall the harvest be a heap, and there shall be desperate sorrow.

Verse 10. The Rock of your strength, etc. - See above, Chapter 16:1, the Exposition.

Verses 10, 11. Because you have forgotten the God of your salvation, therefore shalt you plant plants of delights, and set stranqe slips, etc. That to "sow" the land or the field, signifies, in the Word, to teach and to learn the truths and goods of faith, which are of the church; and that the "increase of the field" are the goods and truths thence derived, is evident from many passages in the Word, as in Isaiah 17:10, 11; here such things as grow upon the earth are mentioned, and that the things of the church are understood thereby is evident, namely.by "planting plants of delights", as said of those who have " forgotten, the God of their salvation", are understood such things as favour the affections [of the merely natural man]; and that by "setting the earth with strange slips", is to teach truths which are not genuine, [the end of which will, be "desperate sorrow."] Arcana Coelestia 9272.

12. Woe to the tumult of many peoples, who make a noise like the noise of the seas; and to the roaring of the nations, who make a roaring like the roaring of many waters!

Verse 12. Woe to the tumult, etc. - As to "what is meant by the denunciation "Woe!" see above, Chapter 1:4, the Exposition.

[" The tumult of many peoples, the noise of the seas, and the roaring of the nations", etc., signify, by correspondence, the tumultuous collisions and reasonings which take place at the time of judgment, when the external or natural mind is laid open, and its falsities and evils exposed and dispersed, as "chaff and stubble", by the power of divine Truth. See Apocalypse Explained 706.]

13. Like the roaring of many waters do the nations roar; but He shall rebuke them, and they shall flee far away; and they shall be driven like the chaff of the mountains before the wind, and like the stubble before the whirlwind.

Verse 13. And they shall be driven like the chaff of the mountains before the wind, and like the stubble before the whirlwind. - In the spiritual world, as well as in the natural world, there exist strong winds and storms; but the storms in the spiritual world exist from the influx of the Divine [Principle] into the lower parts of that world, where they are who are in evils and falsities. That influx, as it descends -out of the heavens towards the earths, which are below, becomes more dense, and appears as clouds, and with the evil, dense and opaque, according to the quantity and quality of their evil; these clouds are appearances of the false from evil, arising from the spheres of their life; every angel and spirit being encompassed by such a sphere. When therefore the Divine [Principle] is sent forth powerfully from the Lord as a sun, and flows in into these dense and opaque clouds, there arises a storm, which is perceived by the spirits there, in like manner as storms are perceived by men in the world. It has been given me sometimes to perceive these storms, and also the "east wind", by which the evil were dissipated and cast into the hells, when the last Judgment was performed. From these considerations it may appear what "storms", "tempests", and "impetuous winds" signify in the following passages. Thus in Isaiah :

"You shalt disperse them, and the wind shall carry them away, and the storm shall dissipate them." (Isaiah 41:16)

And in Jeremiah:

"From the storm of Jehovah anger went forth, and a whirlwind threatening to rush in; upon the head of the wicked it shall rush." (Jeremiah 23:19; 30:23)

And in David:

"I would hasten my escape from the windy storm and tempest." (Psalmlv. 8.) Apocalypse Explained 419.

Like the chaff and the stubble, etc. - "Wheat" denotes the goods of love and charity; "chaff" signifies what contains nothing of good.. Arcana Coelestia 3941.

14. At the time of evening, behold terror! before the morning, it is no more. This is the portion of those that spoil us, and the lot of those that plunder us.

Verse 14. "Evening" signifies the last time of the church, when there is nothing but evils and falsities, which are called "terror", because they are hell; but the "morning " signifies the first time of the church, when evils and falsities are not; wherefore it is said, "Before the morning, terror is no more." Apocalypse Explained 677.

5. And the throne shall be established in mercy: and in truth shall He sit thereon, in the tabernacle of David, a Judge, searching out judgment, and despatching justice.

Verse 5. These things are said of the Lord. Heaven, which was established by Him, and the church thence derived, are signified by "the throne established in mercy"; that the Lord there reigns by Divine Truth from Divine Good, is signified by " sitting upon it in truth, in the tabernacle of David"; by "David" is meant the Lord as to His royalty, which is Divine Truth; find by his "tabernacle" is signified the Divine Good; by "judgment" is signified the truth of doctrine, because all judgment is from that truth; and by "justice" is signified the good of love, both from the Lord with those who are in heaven and in the church. Apocalypse Explained 799.

6. We have heard of the pride of Moab: he is very proud; of his haughtiness, and his pride, and his anger: vain are his lies.

Verse 6. By "pride" is understood the love of self, and the love and faith of what is false with those who are of the church. Apocalypse Explained 653, 675.

Vain are his lies. - "Lies" are the falsities of faith, because "Moab" signifies those who are in the evil of self-love, and who thence falsify Truths. Arcana Coelestia 8908.

7. Therefore shall Moab howl; for Moab shall everyone howl: for the foundations of Kir-hare-seth shall you moan; surely they are stricken.

8. For the fields of Heshbon are withered; [as to] the vine of Sibmah, the lords of the nations have broken down the branches thereof; they reached unto Jazer; they strayed through the desert; her branches are plucked up; they passed over the sea.

Verses 7-9. For Moab shall everyone howl; for the foundations of Kir-hareseth shall you make a moan, etc. - Very many of the prophecies, as the above, are of such a nature that, if they had not an internal sense, they would be of no use; whereas it is necessary that, as the Word is divine, it should contain within itself the laws of the heavenly kingdom into which man is about to come. Arcana Coelestia 2608.

9. Wherefore I will weep, as with the weeping of Jazer, for the vine of Sibmah: I will water you with my tears, O Heshbon and Elealeh! for upon your summer fruits, and upon your vintage, the shout [of war] has fallen.

Verse 9. By "harvest" here also is signified the last state of the church, for by "shouting" is signified the end, when upon finishing the vintage and gathering in the harvest, they were wont to triumph and make a shouting, but in the present case to lament, because it is said "it has fallen." By "Jazer", the "vine of Sibmah", and by "Heshbon and Elealeh", are signified the men of the external church, who explain the Word to favour the loves of the world, for those places were given for an inheritance to the tribes of Reuben and Gad, by whom, inasmuch as they dwelt on the outside of Jordan, the external church was represented; the "vine of Sibmah" signifies their church; their destruction, when the Lord should come and accomplish judgment, is also described in this chapter. Apocalypse Explained 911.

10. And joy and gladness are taken away from Carmel; and in the vineyards they shall not sing, they shall not shout: in the vats the treader shall not tread out the wine; I have made the shouting to cease.

11. Wherefore my bowels for Moab like a harp shall sound; and mine inward parts for Kir-haresh.

Verse 10. In these words is described the taking away of celestial delight originating in Good, and the truths thence derived, in consequence of the deprivation of genuine Good and Truth. The Good of the church is understood by "Carmel", · and the Truth thence derived by "vineyards", and by the "treading of the wine in the wine-press"; the delights thereof, which are taken away, are signified by "joy, exultation, singing, and vintage-shouting"; for it was a custom to sing in the vineyards, and in the wine-presses, when the grapes were trodden into wine, on account of the representation of the delights derived from truths, which were signified by ", vine." Apocalypse Explained 376. See also Arcana Coelestia 1071; Apocalypse Revealed 316.

12. And it shall be, when Moab shall see that he has wearied himself out on the high place, that he shall enter his sanctuary to pray; but he shall not prevail.

13. This is the Word which Jehovah spake concerning Moab at that time :

Verse 12. He shall enter his sanctuary to pray, but he shall not prevail. - [These words imply that those represented by Moab who, at the period of Judgment, are in external worship without an internal principle of love to the Lord and their neighbour, will have recourse to their "sanctuary", or to externals of worship, in order to avoid the impending destruction, but "will not prevail"; as all prayers and all external acts of worship and piety, which have not an internal principle, will be of no avail to salvation. See below, Chapter 18:7, the Exposition, where the true nature of Saving Worship and Piety are shown; see also above, Chapter 1:11-19, the Exposition.]

14. But now has Jehovah spoken, saying, Within three years, as the years of a hireling, the glory of Moab shall be reviled, in all his great multitude; and the remnant shall be few, small, and without strength.

Verse 14. By "Moab" are here understood those who are in falsities from evil; by his" glory", and by his "great multitude", are understood those falsities; by "the three years after which his glory shall be reviled", is signified what is complete and consummated; wherefore it is said that "the remnant shall be few, small, and without strength", by which is signified that it shall be no more. "Three years" are mentioned, whereby is understood consummation, thus, from beginning to end. It is to be observed that the same is signified by "three years" as by "three months, "three weeks, "three days", and "three hours", inasmuch as "times", in the spiritual sense, signify states, and "three times", whether greater or less, a full state. Apocalypse Explained 532.

Of a hireling. - They who learn and imbibe truths from the Word, or from the doctrine of the church, or from any other sources whatsoever, even from themselves by conclusions, for the sake of gain, that is, that they may gain honours or wealth, or likewise, that they may merit heaven, - these are they who, in the internal sense, are meant by "hirelings." To the man of the church, gains ought to be in the last place, not in the first; when they are in the last place, they are then servants; but if in the first place, they are lords. He who respects gains in the first place, is an inverted man, and also is represented as inverted in the other life, with his head in hell; but he who respects charity and faith in the first place, thus the Lord and his neighbour, he is an erect man, and also is presented erect in the other life, with his head in heaven. Arcana Coelestia 9180.

Within three years, as the years of a hireling, etc. - [These words involve the idea, by correspondence, that at the period of judgment, when the states of those in the church signified by Moab are consummated, as denoted by "three years", all such will be reduced to a merely hireling and mercenary condition, that is, they will study and embrace the truths of the Word from merely selfish motives, relating to honour and gain; when this is the case, the end is come and judgment ensues.]

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Isaiah Chapter 17

1. THE burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is rejected, so as to be no city; and it is become a heap of ruins.

2. The cities of Aroer are deserted: they shall be for the flocks, and they shall lie down, and none shall make them afraid.

3. And the fortress shall cease from Ephraim, and the kingdom from Damascus; and the remnant of Syria shall be as the glory of the sons of Israel, says Jehovah of Hosts

4. And it shall be in that day, the glory Jacob shall be made thin, and the fatness of his flesh shall be made lean.

5. And it shall be as when one gathers the standing harvest, and his arm reaps the ears; or as when one gleans ears in the valley of Rephaim.

6. There shall be left gleanings in it, as in the shaking of the olive-tree; two [or] three berries on the head of the uppermost bough; four [orJ five on the fruitful branches, says Jehovah the God of Israel.

7. In that day shall a man regard his Maker; and his eyes shall look towards the Holy One of Israel:

8. And he shall not regard the altars, the work of his hands; and what his fingers have made, he shall not respect; nor the groves, nor the solar statues.

9. In that day shall the cities of his refuge be as a forsaken bough, and an uppermost branch, which they left before the sons of Israel: and there shall be desolation.

10. Because you have forgotten the God of your salvation, and have not remembered the Rock of your strength, therefore shalt you plant plants of delights, and shalt set it with strange slips: .

11. In the day when you shalt have made your plants to grow, and in the morning when you shalt have made your seed to flourish; even in the day of possession shall the harvest be a heap, and there shall be desperate sorrow.

12. Woe to the tumult of many peoples, who make a noise like the noise of the seas; and to the roaring of the nations, who make a roaring like the roaring of many waters!

13. Like the roaring of many waters do the nations roar; but He shall rebuke them, and they shall flee far away; and they shall be driven like the chaff of the mountains before the wind, and like the stubble before the whirlwind.

14. At the time of evening, behold terror! before the morning, it is no more. This is the portion of those that spoil us, and the lot of those that plunder us.

911. Send Thy sickle and reap, for the hour for Thee to reap is come, for the harvest of the earth is dried up, signifies that it is the time for collecting the good and separating them from the evil, because this is the end of the church. This is evident from the signification of "sending the sickle," as being to collect the good and separate them from the evil (of which presently); also from the signification of "the hour to reap is come," as being the time for doing this; also from the signification of "for the harvest of the earth is dried up," as being the last state or the end of the church, for "harvest" signifies the last state or the end, and "the earth" signifies the church. From this it is clear that "Send Thy sickle and reap, for the hour to reap is come, for the harvest of the earth is dried up," signifies that it is the time for collecting the good and separating them from the evil, because this is the end of the church. "To send the sickle and reap" means to collect the good and to separate them from the evil, because "the harvest of the earth" signifies the last state of the church, when the Last Judgment takes place and the evil are cast into hell and the good raised up into heaven, and thus they are separated.

[2] That the collecting, separation, and Last Judgment do not take place before can be seen in the work on The Last Judgment, and will be more fully explained in the appendix to this book. This is briefly set forth in the Lord's words in Matthew:

Jesus spake this parable: The kingdom of the heavens is like unto a man that sowed good seed in his field; but while men slept his enemy came and sowed tares, and went away. But when the blade sprang up and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also. The servants of the father of the family came and said unto him, Lord, didst thou not sow good seed in thy field? whence then hath it tares? And he said unto them, An enemy hath done this. But the servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that going we collect them? But he said, Nay, lest haply while ye collect the tares ye root up at the same time the wheat with them. Rather let both grow together until the harvest; and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Collect first the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn. And His disciples came unto Him, saying, Explain unto us the parable of the tares of the field. He answering said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man; the field is the world; and the seed are the sons of the kingdom; but the tares are the sons of the evil one; and the enemy that soweth them is the devil; while the harvest is the consummation of the age; and the reapers are angels. As then the tares are collected and burned in the fire, so shall it be in the consummation of the age. The Son of man shall send forth His angels, and they shall collect out of His kingdom all things that cause stumbling and them that do iniquity, and shall send them into a furnace of fire; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then shall the just shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of the Father (Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43).

The Lord by this parable illustrates all that is said in this chapter of Revelation (in verses 14 to 19) respecting the Son of man having a sickle in His hand and reaping, and that the earth was reaped by Him and the angels. For this parable teaches that the "sower" means the Lord, who is here called "the Son of man;" that the "reapers," or "those that reap," mean the angels; also that "the tares shall be cast into a furnace of fire and the good seed gathered into the barn;" and that this could not be done until "the consummation of the age" (which signifies the last state of the church), "lest the wheat should be rooted up at the same time with the tares."

[3] As this parable of the Lord contains arcana respecting the separation of the evil from the good, and the Last Judgment, it is important that its particulars should be explained. "The kingdom of the heavens" signifies the Lord's church in the heavens and on earth; for the church is in both. "The man who sowed good seed in his field" means the Lord as to the Divine truth, which is the Word, in the church; "the man," who is called in the following verses "the Son of man," is the Lord as to the Word; "good seed" is Divine truth; and "field" the church where the Word is. "While men slept his enemy came and sowed tares, and went away," signifies that while men are living a natural life, or the life of the world, evils from hell secretly, or while they are unconscious of it, introduce and implant falsities, "to sleep" signifying to live a natural life or the life of the world, since such a life is sleep as compared with spiritual life, which is wakefulness. The "enemy" signifies evils from hell, which influence that life when it is separated from spiritual life; "to sow tares" signifies to insinuate and implant falsities; "and went away" signifies that it was done secretly and when they were unconscious of it. "But when the blade sprang up and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also," signifies that when truth increased and brought forth good, falsities from evil were mingled with it; "the blade springing up" signifying truth such as it is when it is first received, "fruit" signifying good, and "tares" falsities from evil, here these mingled with truths.

[4] "The servants of the father of the family came and said unto him, Lord, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? whence then hath it tares?" signifies those who are in truths from good perceiving that falsities from evil have been mingled with them, and complaining, "the Lord's servants" signifying those who are in truths from good, "the father of the family" signifying the Lord as to truths from good ("father" the Lord as to good, and "family" the Lord as to truths); the "good seed," the "field," and the "tares," having the same signification as above. "And he said unto them, An enemy hath done this," signifies that such falsities were from evil in the natural man. "But the servants said to him, Lord, wilt thou then that going we collect the tares?" signifies the separation and casting out of falsities from evil before truths from good are received and increase. "But he said, Nay, lest haply while ye collect the tares ye root up at the same time the wheat with them," signifies that thus truth from good and its increase would also perish; for truths are mingled with falsities with the men of the church, and these cannot be separated and the falsities cast out until they are reformed.

[5] "Rather let both grow together until the harvest; and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, Collect first the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn," signifies that the separation and casting out of falsities from evil cannot be effected until it is the last state of the church; since it is then that the falsities of evil are separated from the truths of good, and the falsities of evil are delivered up to hell, and the truths of good are conjoined with heaven, or what is the same, the men who are in them. This takes place in the spiritual world, where all who are of the church from its beginning to its end are in this way separated and judged. The "harvest" signifies the end or the last state of the church; "to bind into bundles" signifies to conjoin together particular kinds of falsities from evil; "to burn" signifies to deliver up to hell; and "to gather into the barn" signifies to conjoin with heaven.

[6] "He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man" signifies the Divine truth from the Lord. "The field is the world" signifies the church everywhere. "The seed are the sons of the kingdom" signifies that the Divine truth is with those who are of the church. "The tares are the sons of the evil one" signifies falsities with those who are in evil. "The enemy that soweth them is the devil" signifies that their falsities are from evil, which is from hell. "The harvest is the consummation of the age" signifies the last time and state of the church. "The reapers are angels" signifies that the Divine truth from the Lord is what separates. "The Son of man shall send forth angels, and they shall collect out of His kingdom all things that cause stumbling," signifies that the Divine truth from the Lord will remove those things that hinder the separation. "They that work iniquity" signifies those who live wickedly. "And shall send them into a furnace of fire" signifies into the hell where those are who are in love of self and in hatred and revenge. "There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth" signifies where there is what is direful from evils and falsities. "Then shall the just shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of the Father" signifies that those who have done the Lord's commandments shall live in heaven in heavenly loves and their joys; those are called "just" who acknowledge the Lord and do His commandments. Such was to be the state of the angels after the Last Judgment, because the superior power which had before been on the side of hell was then restored to heaven, which was a source of joy to the angels with unceasing increase.

[7] It remains to give some explanation of the Lord's words respecting the separation of the evil from the good, namely, "Rather let both grow together until the harvest; and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, Collect first the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn." This signifies the separation of the evil from the good when the Last Judgment is at hand. Why they were not separated before may be seen in the work on The Last Judgment 59, 70), to which I will here add, that it is according to Divine order for things that must in the end be separated to grow in connection; and that when the end is reached separation is easily and as it were spontaneously effected. This might be illustrated by a thousand lessons of experience in both worlds, and also from correspondences in the animal and vegetable kingdom; from which it can be seen as in a general mirror why the evil were not separated from the good until near the time of the Last Judgment; and this is the signification of the things in Revelation here explained, that the angel said to Him that sat upon the cloud, "Reap, for the hour for Thee to reap is come, for the harvest of the earth is dried up."

[8] Also in the following passages the "harvest" signifies the last state of the church, when the old church has been laid waste, that is, when there is no longer any truth or good left in it that has not been falsified or cast aside. In Joel:

At the valley of Jehoshaphat will I sit to judge all the nations round about. Send forth the sickle, for the harvest is ripe; come, get ye down, for the wine-press is full, the vats overflow, for their wickedness is great (Joel 3:12, 13).

This chapter treats of the falsification of the truth in the Word, and the devastation of the church by it; and this verse treats of the last state of the church, when judgment takes place; and this state is described, as in Revelation, by "sending forth the sickle, for the harvest is ripe," the "harvest" being that last state; also by "the wine-press is full and the vats overflow," as in this chapter of Revelation, Revelation 14:19-20. That judgment then takes place is plainly declared, "the valley of Jehoshaphat," where judgment is executed, signifying the falsification of the Word.

[9] In Jeremiah:

Cut off him that soweth in Babylon and him that handleth the sickle in the time of harvest (Jeremiah 50:16).

And in the same:

The daughter of Babylon is like a threshing-floor; it is time to thresh her; yet a little while and the time of her harvest shall come (Jeremiah 51:33).

Here, too, "the time of harvest" means the last state of the church, when there is no longer any good or any truth; its devastation is described by "cutting off him that soweth and him that handleth the sickle in the time of harvest;" also by "threshing as on a threshing-floor," "Babylon" meaning those who seek dominion by means of the holy things of the church.

[10] In Isaiah:

I will bewail for Jazar, the vine of Sibmah; I will water thee with my tears, O Heshbon and Elealeh; for upon thy vintage and upon thy harvest the battle shout hath fallen (Isaiah 16:9).

Here again, "harvest" signifies the last state of the church, for "the battle shout" signifies the end, because it was a custom to exult and call out when the vintage was finished and the harvest was gathered in; but here it signifies to lament, because it is said to have fallen. "Jazar, the vine of Sibmah," and "Heshbon and Elealeh," signify men of the external church who explain the Word to favor worldly loves, for these places had been given for an inheritance to the tribes of Reuben and Gad, and these, because they dwelt beyond the Jordan, represented the external church. "The vine of Sibmah" signifies the church of such; and their destruction when the Lord should come and accomplish judgment is also described in that chapter.

[11] In Jeremiah:

The harvest is past, the autumn is ended, and we have not been saved; because of the bruising of my daughter I am bruised (Jeremiah 8:20, 21).

Here again the "harvest" signifies the last state of the church. "Because of the bruising I am bruised" signifies grief that there is no longer any good and truth, "daughter" signifying the affection of truth, and thus the church, for that affection is of the church and the church is from it.

[12] In Isaiah:

It shall come to pass when the harvest, the standing corn, is gathered, and his arm reapeth ears, and there shall be left in it gleanings, as in the shaking of an olive tree, three berries in the top of the bough, four or five in the branches of the fruit-bearing one. In the day shalt thou make thy plant to grow, and in the morning shalt thou make thy seed to blossom; the harvest shall be a heap in the day of possession, and desperate sorrow (Isaiah 17:5, 6, 11).

This chapter treats of the knowledges of truth and good belonging to the church, and of their destruction. These are here signified by "Damascus," of which this chapter treats, and by "Aroer." Their destruction is described by "there shall be left in it gleanings, as in the shaking of an olive tree, three berries in the top of the bough, four or five in the head ¹ of the fruit bearing one," also by "the harvest shall be a heap in the day of possession," that is, that there shall be no more than a single heap; therefore it is added, "and desperate sorrow." This makes clear that "harvest" signifies here the last state of the church. That state is signified also by "morning," for when the last state of the church is at hand it is morning to those who are to be of the New Church, and evening and night to those who are of the old church. That this is what "morning" here means is evident from the last verse of this chapter, where it is said:

About the time of evening behold terror; before the morning it is not (Isaiah 17:14).

"Terror" signifies destruction.

[13] In Joel:

The husbandmen were ashamed, the vine-dressers howled for the wheat and for the barley, because the harvest of the field hath perished (Joel 1:11).

The devastation of the church as to good and truth is here meant by "the harvest of the field hath perished;" "husbandmen" mean those who are in the good of the church, and "vine-dressers" those who are in its truths; "wheat and barley" mean good itself and truth itself; grief on account of devastation is signified by "they were ashamed and howled."

[14] "Harvest" signifies the last state of the church, because "corn," which is the harvest, signifies the good of the church and truth from good, and "field" the church itself. That all things pertaining to natural nourishment, such as wheat, barley, oil, wine, and the like, signify such things as pertain to spiritual nourishment has been shown above in many places; and the things that pertain to spiritual nourishment have reference in general to good and truth and knowledges of them, thus to doctrine and to a life according to these knowledges. Therefore it is said in Jeremiah:

A nation from afar shall eat up thy harvest and thy bread, it shall eat up thy sons and thy daughters, it shall eat up thy flock and thy herd, it shall eat up thy vine and thy fig-tree; it shall impoverish thy fortified cities, in which thou dost trust, with the sword (Jeremiah 5:17).

"A nation from afar" means the falsity of evil destroying; "from afar" signifying what is far away from good and truth. "Harvest" and "bread" signify nourishing truths and goods of the church; "sons and daughters" goods and truths generating; "flock and herd" goods and truths spiritual and natural, "vine and fig-tree" the internal spiritual church, and the external natural church; the "fortified cities in which they trust" signify doctrinals from self-intelligence; "to be impoverished with the sword" signifies to be destroyed by falsities of evil.

[15] As "harvest" signifies all things that spiritually nourish man, and these have reference to the truths of doctrine and the goods of life, so "harvest" signifies the church in general and in particular; in general, in these words in the Gospels:

Jesus said to His disciples, The harvest is plenteous but the laborers are few; pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest that He send laborers into His harvest (Matthew 9:37, 38; Luke 10:2).

The "harvest" here means all with whom the church was to be established by the Lord, thus also the church in general; and "laborers" mean all who will teach from the Lord.

[16] Likewise in John:

Jesus said to the disciples, Say ye not there are yet four months and then cometh the harvest? Behold I say unto you, Lift up your eyes and look on the fields that they are white already for harvest. And he that reapeth receiveth reward and gathereth fruit unto life eternal. For herein is the saying true, that there is one who soweth and another who reapeth. I sent you to reap that whereon ye have not labored; others have labored, but ye have entered into their labor (John 4:35-38).

This was said by the Lord of a New Church to be established by Him. That the establishment of that church was then at hand is meant by "Lift up your eyes and look on the fields that they are white already for harvest." To teach those who were to be of that church, or as the Lord says elsewhere, "to collect and gather into the barn," is signified by "reaping." That it is the Lord who teaches, thus who collects and gathers, and not themselves (for it was the Lord, by means of the angels, that is, by means of Divine truths from the Word, who prepared for reception those whom the disciples converted to the church), is meant by "there is one who soweth and another who reapeth; I sent you to reap that whereon ye have not labored; others have labored, but ye have entered into their labor."

[17] The increase of the church with man in particular, and with men in general by the Lord, is also described by "harvest" in Mark:

Jesus said, So is the kingdom of God as if a man should cast seed upon the earth, and should then sleep and rise night and day, and the seed should spring up and grow up he knoweth not how. For the earth beareth fruit of herself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full corn in the ear. But when the fruit hath come forth straightway he putteth forth the sickle, because the harvest is ready (Mark 4:26-29).

"The kingdom of God" means the church of the Lord in the heavens and on the earth; and the implantation of it with all who receive truths and goods from the Lord, not from self, is described by these words, every particular of which corresponds to spiritual things and signifies them; as that "a man casts seed upon the earth, that he then sleeps, and rises night and day, that the seed springs up and grows up he knows not how;" for "seed" signifies the Divine truth, "to cast seed into the earth" signifies the work of man, "to rise day and night" and finally "to put in the sickle" signifies in every state. The rest signifies the Lord's work; and the "harvest" the implantation of the church in particular and in general. For it is to be known, that, although the Lord works all things, and man nothing from self, yet He wills that man should work as if from self in all that comes to his perception. For without man's cooperation as if from self there can be no reception of truth and good, thus no implantation and regeneration. For to will is the Lord's gift to man; and because the appearance to man is that this is from self, He gives him to will as if from self.

[18] Such being the signification of "harvest" two feasts were instituted with the sons of Israel, one of which was called the feast of seven weeks, which was that of the harvest of firstfruits; and the other the feast of tabernacles, which was the feast of ingathering of the fruits of the earth. Of these the first signified the implantation of truth in good, and the other the bringing forth of good, thus regeneration. But the feast of unleavened bread, or the Passover, which preceded, signified deliverance from the falsities of evil, which is the first thing of regeneration.

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