9052. 'Tooth for tooth' means if anything [is injured] in the outer part of the understanding. This is clear from the meaning of 'tooth' as the outer part of the understanding, and therefore as natural truth since this composes the life of that part of the understanding. The reason why 'the teeth' have this meaning is that like a mill they grind and so prepare the food which will serve as nourishment for the body, at this point the food which will serve as nourishment for the soul. The food that nourishes the soul is intelligence and wisdom; this food is first received, ground, and prepared by cognitions or knowledge of truth and good in the natural - intelligence and wisdom being what spiritual and celestial food is called, see 56-58, 680, 1480, 4792, 5147, 5293, 5340, 5342, 5576, 5579, 5915, 8562, 9003. From this one may see why it is that 'the teeth' means the outer part of the understanding. What this outer area is becomes clear from what has been shown immediately above in 9051 regarding the inner area of the understanding.

[2] 'The teeth' means natural truth, which belongs to the outer part of the understanding, and in the contrary sense falsity destroying that truth, as is clear from the following places in the Word Natural truth is meant in Moses,

His eyes will be redder than wine, and his teeth whiter than milk. Genesis 49:12.

These words too mention both eyes and teeth together. They refer to Judah, by whom the Lord's Divine Celestial is meant, 6363. 'His eyes' means the Lord's Divine Intellect, 6379, and 'his teeth' the Lord's Divine Natural, 6380, thus also Divine Truth in His Natural.

[3] In Amos,

I gave you emptiness of teeth in all your cities, and lack of bread in all your places. Amos 4:6

'Emptiness of teeth' stands for scarcity of truth, and 'lack of bread' for scarcity of good.

All this makes plain what the gnashing of teeth is among those in hell, Matthew 8:12; 13:42, 50; 22:13; 25:30; Luke 13:28. It is the clash of falsities with the truths of faith, 4424 (end); for as has been stated, 'the teeth' in the contrary sense means falsity destroying truth, as in David,

Rise up, O Jehovah; save me, O my God! For You will strike all my enemies on the jaw, You will break the teeth of the wicked. Psalms 3:7.

'Breaking the teeth of the wicked' stands for breaking the falsities that the wicked use to destroy truths. In the same author,

As to my soul, I lie in the midst of lions; their teeth are a spear and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword. Psalms 57:4.

'The teeth of lions' stands for falsities destructive of truths, 'lions' being falsities arising from evil in their power, 6367, 6369.

[4] In the same author,

O God, destroy their teeth in their mouth; tear out ¹ the molars of the young lions. Psalms 58:6.

A nation has come up over My land, strong and innumerable; its teeth are the teeth of a lion, and it has the molars of a fierce lion. It has turned My vine into a waste, and My fig tree into froth. Joel 1:6-7.

'Teeth' and 'molars' stand for falsities destructive of the Church's truths. 'Vine' is the spiritual Church, 1069, 5113, 6376, and 'fig tree' is its natural good, 217, 4231, 5113. The fact that 'teeth' has that meaning is also evident from their being attributed to a nation which will lay waste. In John,

The shapes of the locusts were like horses prepared for war. They had hair like women's hair, and their teeth were like lions'. Revelation 9:7-8.

'The locusts' are those who are steeped in external falsities, 7643, from which it is evident that again 'teeth' are falsities destructive of truths.

Poznámky pod čarou:

6344. 'And the beginning of my strength' means that through that faith comes the initial power which truth possesses. This is clear from the meaning of 'the beginning of strength' as initial power; and since 'strength' is used with reference to truth, the initial power that truth possesses is what is meant. A similar usage occurs in Isaiah,

Jehovah imparts might to the weary, and to him who has no strength He gives greater power. Isaiah 40:29.

Here 'might' is used with reference to good and 'strength' to truth, 'power' with reference to both.

A brief statement will be made about how one should understand the explanation that through faith comes the power which good possesses, and the initial power which truth possesses, meant by 'Reuben my firstborn, you are my might and the beginning of my strength'. In the spiritual world all power comes from good through truth; without good truth has no power at all. For truth is so to speak the body, and good so to speak the soul of that body, and to accomplish anything the soul must act through the body. From this it is evident that truth without good has no power at all, even as the body without the soul has none at all. A body without its soul is a corpse; so too is truth without good.

[2] As soon as good effects the birth of faith that is composed of truth, power reveals itself in truth. This power is what is called the initial power that truth possesses through faith and is what is meant by 'the beginning of strength', as in other places in the Word where the condition of the firstborn is referred to, for example in David,

He smote all the firstborn in Egypt, the beginning of strength in the tents of Ham. Psalms 78:51.

And in another place,

He smote all the firstborn in their land, the beginning of all their strength. Psalms 105:36.

Also in Deuteronomy,

He must acknowledge the firstborn son of her that is hated, to give him two parts of all that will be found for him, in that he is the beginning of his strength; the right of the first born is his. Deuteronomy 21:17.

[3] The genuine meaning of 'the firstborn' is the good of charity, though the apparent meaning is the truth of faith, 3325, 4925, 4926, 4928, 4930. And because both that good and this truth are the fundamental qualities of the Church, the ancients spoke of the firstborn as his 'father's might and the beginning of his strength'. The fact that those fundamental qualities were meant by 'the firstborn' is quite evident from the considerations that everything which was a firstborn was Jehovah's or the Lord's and that the tribe of Levi was taken instead of all the firstborn and became the priesthood.

[4] Scarcely anyone in the world can know what the power possessed by truth coming from good is; but it is known to those in the next life, and so can be known through revelation from there. People in possession of truth that comes from good, that is, of faith derived from charity, possess power that comes through truth from good. All angels possess that power, which also is why in the Word angels are called 'powers'. For they have the power to restrain evil spirits; even one angel can restrain a thousand together. Their power they use most especially among men; sometimes they protect a person from numerous hells, in thousands of ways.

[5] This power that angels possess comes to them through the truth of faith derived from the good of charity. But because the faith they have comes from the Lord, the Lord alone is the power that resides with them. This power which comes from the Lord through faith is meant by the Lord's words to Peter,

On this rock I will build My Church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Matthew 16:18-19.

These words were addressed to Peter because he represented faith, see Preface to Genesis 22, as well as 3750, 4738, 6000, 6073 (end). Also wherever 'rock', ¹ as Peter is called here, occurs in the Word, faith is meant in its internal sense, and the Lord in respect of faith in its highest sense.

Poznámky pod čarou: