526. And the third part of them was darkened.- That this signifies that all those things were changed into falsities of evil, and into the evils of falsity, is evident from the signification of darkness which denotes falsities, and hence of being darkened which denotes to be changed into falsities. The reason why it denotes to be changed into the falsities of evil and the evils of falsity is, that it is said the third part of the sun was darkened, the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars; and the sun signifies the good of love, the moon, the good and truth of faith, and the stars, the cognitions of good and truth. Therefore the third part of the sun being darkened, signifies that the good of love was changed into evil, and the falsity thence, which is the falsity of evil. For good is changed into evil, and thence falsity, but the truth of faith, signified by the moon, is changed into falsity, and thence evil, which is the evil of falsity. The evil of falsity is the falsity of doctrine, from which proceeds evil of life, and the falsity of evil is evil of life, from which proceeds falsity of doctrine.

[2] The reason why darkness signifies falsity, is, that light signifies truth, and falsity is the opposite of truth, as darkness is of light. Moreover, when a man does not possess the light of life, which is the Divine Truth, the shadow of death is then in him, which is falsity. For man, from his proprium, is in every evil, and the falsity therefrom, and he can be removed from them only by means of the truths of the church; where therefore there are no truths, there the falsities of evil are. That truths are the only means by which man can be removed from evils, purified and reformed, may be seen in the Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 24).

[3] That darkness in the Word, signifies falsities of various kinds, is evident from the following passages.

In Joel:

"The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of Jehovah come" (2:31).

By the sun being turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, is signified the same as by the third part of the sun and the third part of the moon being darkened, namely, that at the end of the church the falsity of evil will be in the place of the good of love, and the evil of falsity in the place of the truth of faith. Similar things are signified elsewhere also in the Word, where mention is made of the darkening of the sun and moon.

[4] Thus in Isaiah:

"For the stars of the heavens, and the constellations thereof, shall not give their light; the sun shall be darkened in his rising, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine" (13:10; 24:21, 23).

In Ezekiel:

"When I shall extinguish thee, I will cover the heavens; and make the stars thereof dark; I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not make her light to shine. All the luminaries of light in the heavens will I make dark over thee, and set darkness upon thy land" (32:7, 8).

Again, in Joel:

"The day of Jehovah is near in the valley cut off. The sun and the moon are darkened, and the stars have withdrawn their shining" (3:14, 15).

In the same:

"The day of Jehovah cometh, a day of darkness and thick darkness, a day of cloud, and obscurity, the earth quaketh before him, the sun and moon are darkened, and the stars have withdrawn their shining" (2:1, 2, 10).

And in the Evangelists:

"Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven" (Matthew 24:29; Mark 13:24, 25).

These things are said concerning the last time of the church, when there are no longer any spiritual good and truth, or good and truth of heaven and the church, but only evil and falsity. That the goods and truths of the church, which are called the goods of love and the truths of faith, are changed into evils and falsities, is signified by the sun and moon being obscured and darkened, and the stars not giving their light. The last judgment, which then follows, is signified by the day of Jehovah great and terrible; and because this takes place when the church is in darkness and thick darkness, therefore it is also called a day of darkness, and of thick darkness, and also a day of cloud and obscurity, as also in the following passages.

[5] In Amos:

"Woe unto you that desire the day of Jehovah! what to you is the day of Jehovah? It is a day of darkness and not light. Shall not the day of Jehovah be darkness, and not light? even thick darkness, and no brightness in it?" (5:18, 20).

And in Zephaniah:

"The day of Jehovah, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and thick darkness, a day of clouds and gloominess" (1:14, 15).

And in Isaiah:

"In that day he shall look into the land, which behold is darkness and sorrow, and the light becomes darkened in the ruins thereof" (5:30).

And again:

"He shall look unto the earth; and, behold, distress and thick darkness, the gloom of straitness; and driven with thick darkness" (8:22).

And again:

"Behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the people" (60:2).

So in Jeremiah:

"Give glory to Jehovah your God, before he cause darkness, and before your feet stumble upon the mountains of twilight, then shall we look for light, but he will turn it into the shadow of death, and make it thick darkness" (13:16).

These passages also relate to the last time of the church, when the Lord shall come into the world, and judgment be accomplished; because at that time there is no longer any good of love, or truth of faith, but evil of falsity, and the falsity of evil, that day is therefore called a day of darkness and of thick darkness.

[6] The same is signified by the darkness over all the land from the sixth hour to the ninth, when the Lord was crucified (Matthew 27:45; Mark 15:33; Luke 23:44-49). By the darkness over all the land was represented, that in the entire church there was nothing but evil and the falsity thence and the falsity and the evil thence. The three hours also signify what is full and absolute; for all the details related in the Evangelists concerning the passion of the Lord, contain in them interior things of heaven, and signify celestial Divine things, and these can be made evident only by means of the internal spiritual sense.

[7] That falsity is signified by darkness, is still further evident from the following passages.

Thus in Isaiah:

"Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness" (5:20).

To put darkness for light, and light for darkness, signifies to call falsity truth, and truth falsity; that darkness denotes falsity and light truth, is clear, for good and evil are first mentioned, afterwards therefore, truth and falsity.

[8] So in John:

"And this is the judgment, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, for their works were evil" (3:19).

The Lord here calls Himself the light because He was the Divine Truth itself when in the world; therefore light signifies the Lord as to Divine Truth, and also Divine Truth from the Lord; and because darkness is opposed to light, therefore the darkness which men loved rather than the light, signifies the infernal falsity, which is the falsity of evil. That the falsity of evil is here meant by darkness, is evident from the words, for their works were evil. The falsity of evil exists from evil works or evils of the life; for as good conjoins to itself truth, so evil conjoins to itself falsity, the one is from the other.

[9] Similar things are signified by light and by darkness in the following passages in John:

"In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in the darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not" (1:4, 5).

Again:

Jesus said, "I am the light of the world; he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life" (8:12).

And again:

Jesus said, "Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you; for he that walketh in the darkness knoweth not whither he goeth. I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me may not abide in darkness" (12:35, 46).

In these passages darkness signifies infernal falsity. For light of which darkness is the opposite, signifies Divine truth. Light signifies Divine Truth, because light in the heavens in its essence, is the Divine Truth proceeding from the Lord; see in the Heaven and Hell 126-140). Since the Divine Truth is the light in the heavens, it follows that the falsity of evil, which is the falsity in the hells, is darkness; it does not indeed appear as darkness to those who are in the hells, for they do see one another, but the light (lumen) by which they see is like that from ignited charcoal, and such light, when the light of heaven flows into it, becomes complete darkness. For this reason the caverns and dens in which [the infernals] are, appear, to those who are in the heavens, like gloomy caves.

[10] From these considerations it is evident why darkness signifies the falsities of evil, and why the Lord said that those who are cast into hell should be cast into outer darkness (Matthew 8:12; 22:13; 25:30).

So in David:

"The enemy persecuteth my soul; he hath smitten my life down to the ground; he hath made me to sit in darkness, as the dead of the world" (Psalm 143:3).

Here, by the enemy who persecuteth his soul, is signified, in the spiritual sense, evil; therefore his being made to sit in darkness, signifies to be in falsities.

[11] So in Isaiah:

"Therefore is judgment far from us, neither doth justice overtake us; we look for light, but, behold darkness; for brightness, but we walk in thick darkness" (59:9).

By judgment is far from us, is signified that there is no understanding of truth; neither doth justice overtake us, signifies that there is no good of life; we look for light, but, behold, darkness, signifies expectation of truth, but behold falsity; and for brightness, but we walk in thick darkness, signifies the expectation of goods by truths, but behold the life of falsity from evils. For brightness signifies the goods of truth, because light signifies truth, and truth is resplendent from good; thick darkness signifies the falsities of evil, and to walk signifies to live.

[12] So in Luke:

"But this is your hour, and the power of darkness" (22:53).

This the Lord said to the chief priests, the rulers of the temple, and the elders who took Him by means of Judas. The power to do this wickedness the Lord calls the power of darkness, because they were in the falsities of evil, in falsities concerning the Lord, and in evils against Him; by darkness is here also meant hell, because such falsities of evil are there.

[13] So again:

The lamp of the body is the eye; if therefore thine eye is clear, thy whole body also shall be full of light; but if thine eye is evil, thy body also is full of darkness. Take heed, therefore, that the light which is in thee be not darkness. If thy whole body therefore be full of light, having no part dark, the whole shall be full of light, as when the bright shining of a lamp doth give thee light" (11:34, 35, 36; Matthew 6:22, 23).

The eye here signifies the understanding, and the pure or single eye, the understanding of truth from good; but the evil eye signifies the understanding of falsity from evil; the body which is said to be either full of light or darkness, signifies the whole man. It may then be concluded that the signification of these words in their series, is, that the whole man is of such a nature as the quality of his understanding from the will. For every man is his own good and his own truth, because he is his own love or his own affection, therefore his nature is entirely such as that of his understanding from the will. For all truth is of the understanding, and all good of the will; the body being only obedience, because it is the effect from an efficient cause, and the efficient cause is the understanding from the will; the quality therefore of the one is according to the quality of the other, since every effect derives all that it has from the efficient cause. That care must be taken, lest truth once perceived in the understanding and received into the will, be turned into falsity, which is done from evil, is meant by, "Take heed, therefore, that the light which is in thee be not darkness," for falsities consequently become worse; therefore it is said in Matthew in the passage already quoted, "If, therefore, the light which is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness."

[14] Darkness also signifies the falsities of evil in the prophet Isaiah:

"Sit thou silent, and enter into darkness, O daughter of the Chaldeans; for they shall call thee no more the mistress of kingdoms" (47:5).

Here, the daughter of the Chaldeans signifies the falsification of truth, and hence darkness signifies the falsities of evil, since evil falsifies truth. The falsity of evil was also signified by the thick darkness, which was over all the land of Egypt, during three days, while the children of Israel had light in their dwellings (Exodus 10:21, 22, 23); also by the darkness in Genesis 15:12, 17, and in many other passages.

[15] It has been shown so far, that darkness, in the Word, signifies the falsities of evil; that darkness also signifies falsities not of evil, such as were the falsities of religion with the upright Gentiles, originating in ignorance of the truth [shall now be shown]. That these falsities are also called darkness, is clear from the following passages:

In Isaiah:

"The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light; they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined" (9:2).

And in Matthew:

"The people which sat in darkness saw great light; to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up" (4:16).

And in Luke:

The dayspring from on high hath appeared "to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death" (1:78, 79).

Again, in Isaiah:

"And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul then shall thy light rise in darkness, and thy thick darkness be as the noon day (58:10).

Again:

"He shall say to the bound, Go forth; to them that are in darkness, Show yourselves" (49:9).

Again, in the same prophet:

"And in that day shall the deaf hear the words of the book, and the eyes of the blind shall see out of thick darkness and out of darkness" (29:18).

And again:

"And I will bring the blind by a way that they have not known; I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight (42:16).

And in Micah:

"When I sit in darkness, Jehovah shall be a light unto me" (7:8).

In these passages, darkness signifies the falsities of ignorance, such as formerly existed, and at this day exist, with the upright Gentiles. These falsities are altogether distinct from the falsities of evil, for the latter contain in themselves evil, because they are from evil, while the former contain in themselves good, for they have good for an end. Those therefore who are in those falsities can be instructed in truths, and also when instructed they receive truths in the heart, because the good, which is in their falsities, loves the truth, and also conjoins itself with the truth when it is heard. The case is different with the falsities of evil; these are averse to, and reject all truth, because it is truth, and does not therefore agree with evil.

[16] In the Word, darkness also signifies mere ignorance arising from the deprivation of truth; as in David (Psalm 18:29; Psalm 139:11, 12). Darkness also signifies natural light (lumen naturale), for this, in comparison with spiritual light, is like darkness; wherefore also the angels, when they look down into the natural light of man, such as is in the natural cognition of men, regard it as darkness, and the things which are in it, as in darkness; this light (lumen), is signified by the darkness mentioned in Genesis (Micah 1:2-5). And because the sense of the letter of the Word is natural, therefore this also in the Word is called a cloud, and also darkness, in comparison with the internal sense, which is the light of heaven, and is called glory.

532. As all numbers in the Word signify things and states, and the composite numbers derive their signification from the simple numbers of which they are composed, and the simple numbers are chiefly two, three, five, and seven, it is important to show what these numbers signify in the Word, and here what "three" signifies because it is said, "Woe, woe, woe, from the voices of the trumpet of the three angels who are about to sound!"

(That all numbers in the Word signify somewhat of thing and state may be above, n. 203, 429; and that the greater and composite numbers have a similar signification as the simple numbers from which they arise by multiplication, and that the simple numbers are two, three, five, and seven, may also be seen above, n. 430.)

[2] That "three" signifies in the Word what is full and complete, and thence an entire period, greater or less, from beginning to end, can be seen from the following passages. In Isaiah:

Within three years, as the years of an hireling, the glory of Moab shall grow vile with all that great multitude; and the remnant shall be very small and not strong (Isaiah 16:14).

"Moab" means those who are in falsities from evil; "his glory" and "his great multitude" mean such falsities; the "three years within which his glory shall grow vile" signify what is complete and finished; therefore it is said, "then the remnant shall be very small," which signifies that it shall be no more; "three years" are mentioned, by which is meant what is finished, thus from beginning to end. It is to be known that "three years" has a similar signification as "three months," "three weeks," "three days," and "three hours," since in the spiritual sense, times signify states, and "three times," whether greater or less, a full state.

[3] In the same:

Like as my servant Isaiah hath gone naked and barefoot three years, a sign and wonder upon Egypt and upon Cush, so shall the king of Assyria lead the captivity of Egypt and the crowd of Cush that is to be carried away, boys and old men, naked and barefoot (Isaiah 20:3, 4).

By "Egypt" and "Cush," Egypt and Cush are not meant, but "Egypt" means the external or natural in respect to knowledge, and "Cush" the external or natural in respect to worship, and when this natural has no internal spiritual, it also has no truth or good, for all the truth and all the good belonging to the natural or external man is from influx through the spiritual man from the Lord; and when the natural or external man has no truth or good it is like, in respect to the things in it, a man "naked and barefoot." That there will then be only reasonings from falsities, and that these will destroy, is signified by "the king of Assyria shall lead the captivity of Egypt and the crowd of Cush that is to be carried away, naked and barefoot." That all innocence and all wisdom will perish is signified by "the boys and old men whom the king of Assyria shall lead away;" their total and complete destruction was represented by the prophet's going "three years naked and barefoot," "three years" signifying an entire period from beginning to end, consequently total destruction.

[4] In Hosea:

Jehovah after two days will revive us; on the third day He will raise us up (Hosea 6:2).

"To revive after two days, and to raise up on the third day," signifies to reform and restore the church; "on the third day" signifying full reformation and restoration, therefore it is said that then "He will raise up." Evidently neither two days nor the third day is meant.

[5] As the number three signified what is complete even to the end, that number was adopted and employed in the representative church, whenever something complete was to be represented, as can be seen from these things in the Word:

They were to go a journey of three days and sacrifice (Exodus 3:18; 5:3).

In the third month after going out from Egypt they came to Mount Sinai (Exodus 19:1).

They were commanded to be ready against the third day, for on the third day Jehovah would come down upon Mount Sinai (Exodus 19:11, 15, 16, 18).

For three days there was darkness in the land of Egypt (Exodus 10:22, 23).

For three years the fruits of the trees planted in the land of Canaan should be uncircumcised (Leviticus 19:23-25).

No part of the flesh of the sacrifice should be left to the third day (Leviticus 7:16-18; 19:6, 7).

The water of separation should be sprinkled upon the unclean on the third day and on the seventh day (Numbers 19:11-22).

They who touched any slain should be purified on the third day and on the seventh day (Numbers 31:19-25).

Joshua commanded the people that within three days they should pass over Jordan (Joshua 1:11; 3:2).

Jehovah called Samuel three times, and three times Samuel ran to Eli; and the third time Eli perceived that Jehovah had called Samuel (1 Samuel 3:1-8).

Jonathan said to David that he should hide himself in a field unto the third evening, and afterwards Jonathan should shoot three arrows to the side of the stone, and after that David bowed himself three times to the earth before Jonathan (1 Samuel 20:5, 12, 19, 20, 35, 36, 41).

Three things were offered to David, of which he should choose one, that a famine of seven years should come, or that he should flee three months before his foes, or that a pestilence should be in the land three days (2 Samuel 24:11-13).

Elijah measured himself upon the son of the widow three times (1 Kings 17:21).

Elijah told them to pour water upon the burnt offering and upon the wood three times, and they poured it three times (1 Kings 18:34).

Jonah was in the belly of the whale three days and three nights (Jon. Jonah 1:17; Matthew 12:40).

Daniel was mourning three weeks (Daniel 10:2-4).

The third year was the year of tithing (Deuteronomy 26:12).

The Lord said of the man who planted a vineyard, that he sent his servants three times, and afterwards his son (Mark 12:2, 4-6; Luke 20:12, 13).

The Lord said to Peter that before the cock crowed twice he would deny Him thrice (Matthew 26:34, 26:69-75 to the end; Luke 22:34, 57-61; John 13:38).

The Lord said three times to Peter, Lovest thou Me, and Feed My lambs and My sheep; and the third time Peter was grieved (John 21:15-17).

The Lord said that the kingdom of the heavens is like unto leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal, till it was all leavened (Matthew 13:33; Luke 13:21).

The Lord said, I perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I am perfected ¹ (Luke 13:32, 33).

The Lord said that He would be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights (Matthew 12:40).

He said that He would be raised up the third day (Matthew 16:21; 17:22, 23; 20:18, 19; Luke 18:32, 33; 24:46).

He said that he would destroy the temple of God, and build it in three days (Matthew 26:61; 27:40; John 2:19, 20).

Jesus in Gethsemane prayed three times (Matthew 26:39, 42, 44).

Jesus was crucified at the third hour (Mark 15:25).

Then there was darkness over all the land three hours, from the sixth hour to the ninth, when He said, It is finished, and expired (Matthew 27:15; Mark 15:33, 37; John 19:30).

The Lord rose again on the third day (Matthew 28:1; Mark 16:2; Luke 24:1; John 20:1).

[6] From this it can be seen that the number "three" signifies what is finished or complete to the end, consequently an entire period, greater or less, from beginning to end. From this simple number many composite numbers derive their significations, as 6, 9, 12, 60, 72, which, from three, signify all truths and goods in the complex; in like manner the numbers 30, 300, 3000; for, as said above in this article, the composite numbers derive their significations from the simple numbers of which they are composed. Moreover, it is to be known that in the Word the number "three" is predicated of truths, and "two" and "four" of goods; for the reason that "two" and "four" signify conjunction, while "three" signifies fullness, and spiritual conjunction is love, and all good is of love; while spiritual fullness is formed by truths. One who does not know that all numbers in the Word are significative, when the numbers "two and three" or "three and four" are mentioned in the Word, has no other thought or belief than that two or three, or a few, are meant, instead of all who are in good and truth, as in the following passages.

[7] In Isaiah:

There shall be left in it gleanings, as in the shaking of an olive-tree, two three berries in the top of the bough, four five in the branches of the fruitful one (Isaiah 17:6).

This treats of the vastation of the church, and is said of the few remaining who are in good and truth; comparison is made with the shaking of an olive-tree, because an "olive-tree" signifies the church in respect to the good of love, and "branches" the truths therefrom; "two three" signifies the few that are in good and in truths therefrom, "two" meaning good, and "three" truths; and "four five" signifies the few who are in good, "four" meaning those who are good, and "five" a few. Because "four five" signifies the few who are in good, it is said, "four five in the branches of the fruitful one," "a fruitful olive" signifying those in the church who are in good in respect to life. Because of this signification of these numbers, therefore it is said "two three," "four five," and not two and three, four and five.

[8] In Amos:

Two three cities wandered unto one city to drink waters, yet they were not satisfied (Amos 4:8).

This treats of the lack of truth at the end of the church, when those who desire truth from spiritual affection will not find any truth in the doctrines, wherever they may search, and therefore it is said, "two three cities wandered unto one city to drink waters, yet they were not satisfied;" "two three cities" signifying those who are in the affection of truth from good, "city" signifying the truth of doctrine; "to draw waters" signifies to learn truths; "to wander" signifies to search; and "not to be satisfied" signifies not to find truth which in itself is truth; it is said "two three cities," because "two three" signifies those who are in good and in truths therefrom.

[9] In Zechariah:

It shall come to pass in all the land, two parts therein shall be cut off, shall expire, but the third shall remain therein. Yet I will lead the third part through the fire, and will prove them (Zechariah 13:8, 9).

This, in like manner, treats of the vastation of the church in respect to good; that every good will perish is meant by "in all the land two parts therein shall be cut off and shall expire," "in all the land" meaning in all the church, and "two parts" signifying every good. That something of truth would remain, but scarcely any genuine truth, is signified by "the third part shall be left therein; yet I will lead the third part through the fire and will prove them," "the third part" signifying the remaining truths; these must be proved whether they be genuine, which is signified by "they shall be led through the fire;" "to prove by fire" means by affection which is of love; if truth is not in accord with this it is not genuine truth, "fire" in the Word signifying love. When the good of love perishes in the church, truth becomes not truth, because all truth derives its essence from good.

[10] This makes evident what is signified by the Lord's words in Matthew:

Where two and three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst of them (Matthew 18:20).

Here two and three are not meant, but those who are in good and in truths therefrom; neither does the Lord's "name" mean His name, but all the good of love and truth of faith by which He is worshiped (See above, n. 102, 135).

[11] This makes clear what is signified by the Lord's words in Luke:

From henceforth there shall be five in one house divided, three against two, and two against three (Luke 12:52).

This means that after the Lord's coming, when He has become known, and the interiors of the Word have been revealed by Him and with Him, both in the church in general and in the man of the church in particular, there will be dissension between good and truth and between truth and good; this is meant by "there shall be five in one house divided, three against two, and two against three;" "house" meaning the church in general, and in particular with the man of the church, "three" meaning truths, and "two" goods; its being said that "five shall be divided" signifies that there will be such dissension with those who are reformed, consequently it is added:

The father shall be divided against the son and the son against the father, the mother against the daughter and the daughter against the mother (Luke 12:53).

"Father" signifies the good of the church, "son" the truth of the church, "mother" the truth of the church, and "daughter" the good of the church. Who cannot see that the numbers five, two, and three, would not have been used here unless they had been significative? In the Word, when "two" and "three" follow, "five" signifies all such; but when "ten" or "twenty" precedes or follows, "five" signifies some and few.

[12] Like things are meant in the commandment of the Decalogue by:

The third and fourth generation (or sons, thirds and fourths) upon whom God is to visit the iniquity of the parents (Exodus 20:5; Numbers 14:18; Deuteronomy 5:9, 10).

"The third and fourth generation" signifies all who are in falsities from evil, "the third generation" those who are in the falsities of evil and "the fourth generation" those who are in the evils of falsity; "three" in the contrary sense signifying falsities, and "four" evils. Who does not see that it would be contrary to the Divine justice to visit the iniquity of the parents upon the sons even to the third and fourth generation? For the Lord teaches:

The soul that sinneth, it shall die; the son shall not bear the iniquity of the parent, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son; the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him (Ezekiel 18:20; Deuteronomy 24:16; 2 Kings 14:6).

This makes evident that "the third and fourth generation" does not mean the third and fourth generation, but that which these numbers signify. Like things are signified by "three and four transgressions" in Amos (Amos 1:3, 6, 9, 11, 13; 2:1, 4, 6). From this it can be seen how great arcana lie hidden in the Word merely in its numbers, which no one can know without the internal spiritual sense.

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