965. Verse 3. And the second angel poured out his vial into the sea, signifies the state of the church manifested as to the knowledges of truth in the natural man. This is evident from the signification of "the angel pouring out the vial," as being the state of the church manifested (See above, n. 960, 961); also from the signification of the "sea," as being the generals of truth in the natural man (See n. 275, 342, 511, 876, 931, 934), here from the Word, the generals of truth from which are knowledges; therefore the "sea" signifies the natural man as to the knowledges of truth from the Word, also the knowledges of good therefrom, for the knowledges of good are also the knowledges of truth; for it is a truth to know that a thing is good, and that it is such a good; also to see by the understanding various goods and their differences, and their opposites which are called evils; these so far as they are knowledges are truths; nor are these essentially goods until they are felt as delightful or not delightful, that is, when they are perceived by some sense or from some love.

(Continuation: The Third Commandment)

[2] Now follows the third commandment, which is, to keep the sabbath holy.

The third and fourth commandments of the Decalogue contain things that must be done, namely, that the sabbath must be kept holy, and that parents must be honored. The other commandments contain things that are not to be done, namely, that other gods must not be worshiped; that the name of God must not be profaned; that one must not steal, must not commit adultery, must not bear false witness, must not covet the goods of others. These two commandments are commandments to be done, because the sanctification of the rest of the commandments depends upon these, for the "sabbath" signifies the union in the Lord of the Divine Itself and the Divine Human, also His conjunction with heaven and the church, and thus the marriage of good and truth with the man who is being regenerated. This being the signification of the sabbath, it was the chief representative of all things of worship in the Israelitish Church, as is evident in Jeremiah (Jeremiah 17:20-27), and elsewhere. It was the chief representative of all things of worship, because the first thing in all things of worship is the acknowledgment of the Divine in the Lord's Human, for without that acknowledgment man can believe and do only from self, and to believe from self is to believe falsities, and to do from self is to do evils, as is also evident from the Lord's words in John:

To those asking, What shall we do that we might work the works of God? Jesus said, This is the work of God, that ye believe in Him whom God hath sent (John 6:28, 29).

And in the same:

He that abideth in Me and I in him, the same beareth much fruit; for without Me ye can do nothing (John 15:5).

[3] That the sabbath represented that union and the holy acknowledgment of it, has been shown in many places in the Arcana Coelestia, namely, that the "sabbath" signified in the highest sense the union of the Divine Itself and the Divine Human in the Lord, in the internal sense the conjunction of the Lord's Human with heaven and with the church, in general the conjunction of good and truth, thus the heavenly marriage (n. 8495, 10356, 10730). Therefore the rest on the sabbath day signified the state of that union, because the Lord then has rest; also through that union there is peace and salvation in the heavens and on the earth. In a relative sense it signified the conjunction of man with the Lord, because man then has peace and salvation (n. 8494, 8510, 10360, 10367, 10370, 10374, 10668, 10730). The six days preceding the sabbath signified the labors and combats that precede union and conjunction (n. 8510, 8888, 9431, 10360, 10667).

[4] The man who is being regenerated is in two states, the first when he is in truths and by means of truths is being led to good and into good, the other when he is in good. When man is in the first state he is in combats or temptations; but when he is in the second state he is in the tranquility of peace. The former state is signified by the six days of labor that precede the sabbath; and the latter state is signified by the rest on the sabbath day (n. 9274, 9431, 10360). The Lord also was in two states; the first when He was Divine truth and from it fought against the hells and subjugated them, the other when He was made Divine good by union with the very Divine in Himself. The former state was signified in the highest sense by the six days of labor, and the latter by the sabbath (n. 10360). Because such things were represented by the sabbath it was the chief representative of worship, and the holiest of all (n. 10357, 10372). "To do work on the sabbath day" signified to be led not by the Lord but by self, thus to be disjoined (n. 7893, 8495, 10360, 10362, 10365). The sabbath day is not now representative, but is a day of instruction (n. 10360 at the end).

665. That establishing a covenant' means that he would be regenerated becomes quite clear from the fact that the only kind of covenant that can exist between the Lord and man is conjunction by virtue of love and faith. And so a covenant means conjunction; indeed it is the heavenly marriage that is the supreme covenant of all. The heavenly marriage or conjunction does not show itself however except with people who are being regenerated. Regeneration itself therefore in the broadest sense is meant by a covenant. The Lord enters into a covenant with man when He regenerates him, and consequently among men of old a covenant had no other representation. From the sense of the letter no other impression is gained than that the covenant made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and so often with their descendants, concerned just those personages. But those people were by nature such as to be incapable of being regenerated, for they focused worship exclusively on things that were external, and imagined external things to be sacred without things that are internal allied to them. Consequently the covenants made with them were no more than representations of regeneration, as were all their religious ceremonies, and as were Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob themselves who represented the things of love and faith. In a similar way priests or high priests, whatever their character, including infamous ones, could represent the heavenly and most holy priesthood. In representations no attention is paid to the person who represents but to that which is represented by him. Thus all the kings of Israel and Judah, including the worst of them, represented the Lord's kingship, and so indeed did the Pharaoh who promoted Joseph over the land of Egypt. These and many other considerations which in the Lord's Divine mercy will be dealt with later on show that the covenants made so often with the sons of Jacob were nothing more than religious ceremonies which were representative.