THE EXPLANATION of Isaiah Chapter 37

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

1. AND it came to pass, that when the king Hezekiah heard it, he rent his clothes, and covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the house of Jehovah.

2. And he sent Eliakim, who was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and the elders of the priests, covered with sackcloth, to Isaiah, the son of Amoz, the prophet.

VERSES 1, 2. This was done because by the "king of Assyria" is here signified the rational principle perverted, or the rational principle which perverts the Truths and Goods of the church, and destroys them by falsities; all "the words of Tartan [Rabshakeh], the captain of the king of Assyria, involving such things: and because the church was seen to be in imminent danger of desolation and devastation, therefore, to testify mourning and grief on account thereof, "they rent their clothes, and covered themselves with sackcloth." From this and from other passages, (see 2 Samuel 3:31; Daniel 9:3; Jonah 3:5, 6, 8) it is evident that grief was represented in the Jewish and Israelitish church by "the putting on of sackcloth"; and this because grief of mind and sorrow of heart, which are interior things, were at that time represented by external things, which, on account of their correspondence with spiritual things, were thus significative. That a representative of grief by "the putting on of sackcloth", signified specifically grief on account of the desolation of Truth and of the devastation of Good in the church, and, in particular, repentance and then grief of heart on account of evils might be proved from many passages. Apocalypse Explained 637. See above, Chapter 3:18-25; 15:3; 22:12, the Exposition.

3. And they said unto him, Thus says Hezekiah, This day is a day of distress, and of rebuke, and of contumely: for the sons are come to the birth, and there is not strength to bring forth.

4. Perhaps Jehovah your God will hear the words of Rabshakeh, whom his lord the king of Assyria has sent to blaspheme the living God, and will reprove the words which Jehovah your God has heard: and do you offer up prayer for the remnant which is found.

5. And the servants of king Hezekiah came to Isaiah.

Verse 3. That Truths from the Word may be heard and known, and yet reformation not be effected thereby, is signified by the "sons are come to the birth, and there is not strength to bring forth", to "bring forth" signifies to make Truths fruitful by doing them, whence comes reformation. That this was a grief of heart and of mind, and disgraceful to the church, is signified by "a day of distress, and of rebuke, and of contumely." Apocalypse Explained 721.

6. And Isaiah said unto them, Thus shall you say to your lord, Thus says Jehovah, Be not afraid because of the words which you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed Me.

Verses 6, 7, 37, 38. Because the rational mind is that which both acknowledges and denies the Divine [Being], and when it denies, it seizes upon everything false in the place of Truth, and thus perishes; wherefore this representative existed, namely, that "the king of Assyria, because he blasphemed Jehovah, was slain with the sword by his own sons, in the house of Nisroch his god", as we read in Isaiah 37:37, 38. Apocalypse Explained 131.

Verses 6, 17, 23, 24. Thus says Jehovah, Be not afraid because of the words which you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed Me, etc.

- From these words it is evident that "blasphemy" is predicated of false speaking against God, for by the "king of Assyria", who then was Sennacherib, is signified the rational principle, but perverted, which speaks against Divine Truth, and treats it opprobriously, and perverts it by falsities, which also is to falsify it, The falsities which he spake against Divine Truth are signified by the things mentioned in verses 10, 11, 12, 13, 24, 25; all of which were not only blasphemies against God, but also falsifications of Divine Truth. Apocalypse Explained 778.

The "blasphemies" which they spake were against God, and against the king and Jerusalem, thus against Divine Truth, as is more clearly evident from the internal sense; hence, from grief, they "tore their garments." Arcana Coelestia 4763.

To "blaspheme" and "blasphemy" signifies to deny the Divinity of the Lord, as the Socinians do, and to deny the Word; for they who deny the Divinity of the Lord cannot enter into heaven, for the Divine of the Lord is the all in all of heaven; and he who denies the Word, denies all things of religion. Apocalypse Revealed 571.

7. Behold, I will infuse a spirit into him; and he shall hear a report, and return to his own land; and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land.

8. And Rabshakeh returned, and found the king of Assyria fighting against Libnah: for he heard that he had departed from Lachish.

Verse 7. The term "spirit" has various significations in the Word. Since the life of man varies according to his state, therefore by the term "spirit" is also signified the peculiar affection of his life. As:

1) a life of wisdom; as "Bezaleel was filled with the spirit of wisdom"; etc. (Exodus 31:3; see also Deuteronomy 34:9; Dan. 5:12)

2) the excitement of life; as "Jehovah has raised up the spirit of the kings of the Medes." (Jeremiah 51:11) "Behold, I will infuse [or give] a spirit into the king of Assyria, and he shall hear a report", etc. (Isaiah 37:7)

The term "spirit" also signifies

3) liberty of life. (Ezekiel 1:20)

4) Life in fear, pain, and. anger. (Ezekiel 21:7; Psalm 143:4, 7; Daniel 7:15; Genesis 41:8)

5) a life of various evil affections; as "the spirit of whoredoms has caused them to err." (Hosea 4:12; 5:4) "The spirit of jealousy", etc. (Numbers 4:14)

6) infernal life; as "I will cause the unclean spririt to pass out of the land." (Zechariah 13:2)

7) The term "spirit" further signifies the infernal spirits themselves, by whom mankind are troubled, as in Matthew 8:16, and in many other passages. Doctrine of the Lord 48.

9. And he heard concerning Tirhakah, king of Cush, saying, He is come forth to make war with you. And when he heard it, he sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying,

10. Thus shall you speak to Hezekiah, king of Judah, saying, Let not your God, in whom you confide, deceive you, saying, That Jerusalem shall not: be given up into the hand of the king of Assyria.

11. Behold, you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands, by destroying them utterly; and shalt you be delivered?

Verse 9. King of Ethiopia, or Cush. - See above, Chapter 18:1, 2, the Exposition.

To make war with you. - As to the "wars" mentioned in the Word, see Chapter 7:1, the Exposition.

12. Have the gods of the nations delivered those which my fathers have destroyed? Gozan, and Haran, and Rezeph; and the sons of Eden which were in Telassar?

13. Where is the king of Hamath, and the king of Arpad, and the king of the city of Sepharvaim, of Henah, and of Ivah?

Verses 12, 13. See the Exposition of Isaiah Chapter 36:19.

14. And Hezekiah received the letters from the hand of the messengers, and read them; and he went up to the house of Jehovah: and Hezekiah spread them before the face of Jehovah.

15. And Hezekiah prayed to Jehovah, saying,

Verses 14, 15 And Hezekiah spread the letters before the face of Jehovah, and prayed, etc. - [To "spread the letters full of blasphemy before Jehovah in the temple", was an act which, by correspondence, signifies the acknowledgement and confession, before the Lord, of the evils to which the church is exposed; and it also shows, on the part of the church, full confidence in Him as the only Protector and Saviour against the evils which would destroy it. It may here be observed that this act of "showing the blasphemous letters to Jehovah is the direct opposite to that of "showing to the messengers from Babylon all the precious things, silver, gold, spices, etc. in his dominion"; (see Chapter 39:2) which act signified the exposure of all the Truths, Goods, and Sanctities of the Word and of the church to the influence of Babylon, which is that of adulteration and profanation. (See Chapters 13 and 14, the Exposition.) For which act of Hezekiah the prophet Isaiah was sent to declare that "everything of the church would be taken captive to Babylon", that is, would be adulterated and profaned.]

And Hezekiah prayed, etc.

- As to the true nature of "prayer" see Chapter 1:11-19; 18:7, the Exposition.

16. O Jehovah of Hosts, You God of Israel, who art seated on the Cherubim! You art the God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth! You have made the heavens and the earth!

17. Incline, O Jehovah, Thine ear, and hear; open, O Jehovah, Thine eyes, and see: and hear all the words of Sennacherib, which he has sent to blaspheme the living God.

18. In truth, O Jehovah, the kings of Assyria have laid waste all the nations, and their lands;

Verse 16. The Lord is "seated or dwells on the Cherubim " as to the state of Providence, lest any one should be let in to the holy things of love and of faith except he is prepared by the Lord. That the Cherubim were upon the curtains of the Tabernacle, upon the Veil, upon the walls, of the temple, and upon the doors there, was to signify the Lord's guardian care, lest the Holy Divine should be approached but by the good of love. There were also Cherubim on the Ark, to signify that the Lord Himself cannot be approached but by that good. On this account also it was that the Cherubim were made of solid gold, and in the Temple at Jerusalem of olive-wood, or wood of oil; for by "gold" and by "oil" is signified the good of love. Arcana Coelestia 3384. See also 9509.

19. And have cast their gods into the fire: for they were not gods, but the work of the hands of man, wood and stone; therefore they have destroyed them.

20. And now, O Jehovah, our God, save us from his hand; that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You alone art Jehovah!

21. Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent unto Hezekiah, saying, Thus says Jehovah the God of Israel, Whereas you have prayed to Me against Sennacherib, king of Assyria:

Verse 19. By "the gods of the kings of Assyria" are here signified reasonings from falsities and evils, which agree with the proprium of man, wherefore they are also called "the work of the hands of man, wood and stone", or idols of wood and of stone, which signify the evils and falsities of religion and of doctrine originating in the proprium, Apocalypse Explained 686.

22. This is the word which Jehovah has spoken concerning him: The virgin, daughter of Zion, despises you, she laughs at you; the daughter of Jerusalem shakes her head at you.

23. Whom have you blasphemed and reviled; and against whom, have you exalted your voice? and have lifted up thine eyes on high? Even against the Holy One of Israel.

Verse 22. There are two affections which constitute the church, - one, or the affection of Good, constitutes the celestial church, and is called in the Word "the virgin, the daughter of Zion, and the other, or the affection of Truth, constitutes the spiritual church, and is called in the Word "the daughter of Jerusalem." Arcana Coelestia 2362. See the Exposition of Isaiah Chapter 16:2.

24. By the hand of your servants have you blasphemed the Lord, and have said, By the multitude of my chariots will I ascend the height of the mountains, the sides of Lebanon; and I will cut down the tall cedars thereof, and the choice fir-trees thereof: and I will enter into the height of his border, and the forest of his fruitful field.

Verse 24: By these words, in the internal sense, is described the haughtiness of those who, by ratiocinations from falsities, are desirous to destroy the Goods and Truths of the church. The "king of Assyria" is the rational Principle perverted; "the multitude of his chariots" signifies ratiocinations from falsities of doctrine. To ascend the height of the mountains, the sides of Lebanon", and to "cut down the tall cedars and the choice fir-trees thereof", signifies the endeavour to destroy the Goods and Truths of the church, as well internal as external; the mountains denote the Goods of the church, the "sides of Lebanon" where the Goods are conjoined with Truths; "Lebanon" denoting the spiritual church, the "cedars" the Internal Truths thereof, which are from Good, and the "fir-trees" the external Truths thereof, also from Good. Such is the signification of these words in the spiritual sense in which they are understood in heaven. Apocalypse Explained 405. See also 654.

25. I have digged, and I have drunk waters; and I have dried up with the sole of my steps all the streams of Egypt.

Verse 25. The "king of Assyria", or the rational principle perverted, destroying all the knowledges and apperceptions of Truth, is signified by "drying up with the sole of his steps all the streams of Egypt." The reason why the "streams of Egypt" signify the knowledges and apperceptions of Truth is, because "Egypt" is the natural man as to scientifics, knowledges, and apperceptions which belong to the natural man, as intelligence does to the spiritual man. Apocalypse Explained 518. See Chapter 19, the Exposition.

26. Hast you not heard, from of old, that I have done it? and, from the days of antiquity, that I have formed it? now have I brought it to pass, that you should be to lay waste fortified cities into ruinous heaps.

Verse 26. These words refer to the antediluvian time denoted by "of old" and "the days of antiquity." Arcana Coelestia 274.

To "lay waste fortified cities into ruinous heaps", as said of the king of Assyria, is to destroy, by false reasonings, the truths and doctrinals of the church and of the Word. See the Exposition of Isaiah Chapter 23:13.

27. Therefore were their inhabitants of small strength; they were dismayed and confounded: they were as the grass of the field, and as the green herb; the grass of the house-top; and as the corn blasted before it is grown up.

28. But your sitting down, and your going out, and your coming in, and your rage against Me I have known:

Verse 27. "Inhabitants of small strength [or, literally, short in hand]", signifies of no power. Arcana Coelestia 878.

As the grass of the field, - as the corn blasted, etc. - See Chapter 15:6, Exposition.

Verse 28. It was a common form of speech among the ancients to say that they knew the "entering in" and the "going. out" of a person, to indicate that they knew all, the state of his life; and as this form of speech derived its origin from correspondences in the other life, wherefore, in the Word, similar things are said and. signified thereby, as in Samuel:

"Achish called David, and said unto him, You have been upright, and your going out and your coming in with me in the camp has been good in my eyes; for I have not found evil in you." (1 Samuel 29:6) "His going out and his entering in being good in his eyes", signifies that all the state of his life had been well pleasing to him.

Again,

"You know Abner, that he came to persuade you, and to know your going out and your coming in, and to know all that you doest. (2 Samuel 3:25)

To know his "going out" and his "coming in" is to know all the thoughts and acts of his life; wherefore it is said, "that he might know all that you doest."

Again,

"Your sitting down, your going out, your coming in, and your rage against Me I have known"; (Isaiah 37:28),

speaking of Sennacherib the king of Assyria. To know his "going out" and his " coming in", is to know all things of his counsel. Arcana Coelestia 9927.

29. Because your rage against Me, and your insolence, is come up into Mine ears, therefore will I put My hook into your nose, and My bridle into your lips; and I will turn you back by the way in which you earnest.

Verse 29. These things are said concerning the "king of Assyria", by whom is signified ratiocination from falsities; for, in the good sense, by "Assyria" is signified the rational principle.

Because that king then besieged Jerusalem, and blasphemed God, it was said to him that "a hook should be put into his nose", whereby is signified that stupidity and foolishness should possess him; for the "nose" signifies perception, and the "hook" the extracting thereof, properly, immersion into the corporeal sensual principle, which, when separated from the rational, is stupid.

It is likewise said that "a bridle should be put into his lips", whereby is signified "insanity as to the understanding of Truth; for the "lips" signify thought from the understanding, and the "bridle" the retraction thereof.

To "turn him back by the way in which he came", signifies into the falsities by which he was about to perish; wherefore his "army", by which those falsities were signified, perished by a great slaughter. Apocalypse Explained 923.

30. And this shall be a sign unto you: Eat this year that which springs up of itself; and the second year, that which grows up of its own accord: and in the third year, sow you, and reap; and plant vineyards, and eat the fruit thereof.

Verse 30. This was said to Hezekiah the king, when Sennacherib, king of Assyria, made war against him, and spake proudly of himself, and contumeliously of God and of Israel, wherefore also one hundred and eighty-five thousand were smitten in the camp, and himself was slain by his sons.

The reason why this was done, was, because by "Assyria" is signified the rational [principle], and the same by the "king of Assyria", and by "Judea" the celestial [principle] of the church, and the spiritual [principle] by the "king" thereof; but, in this case, by the "king of Assyria" is signified the rational [principle] perverted, which, by false reasonings, destroys all the celestial and spiritual things of the church, which are the Goods and Truths thereof; and inasmuch as by "Judea" and by the "king" thereof is signified the celestial and spiritual principle of the church, which should be from the Lord when He came into the world, therefore such things are said, by which is described the regeneration of those who should be of that church.

Wherefore by "the sign, that they should eat in the first year that which springs up of itself [or spontaneously]", is signified celestial Good which shall be implanted in them from the Lord; by "that which grows up of its own accord in the second year", is signified the Truth of that Good which shall thence be derived; by "sowing, reaping, planting vineyards, and eating the fruit thereof", are signified all the Goods and Truths which thence flow forth; by "sowing and reaping" is signified the implantation of Good and the reception thereof; by "planting vineyards", the implantation of Truth and the reception thereof; and by "eating the fruits of them", the fruition of Goods, and satisfaction thence derived, appertaining to the regenerate man.

These things are called a "sign", because they are testifications concerning the celestial church with those who are understood in the spiritual sense by "Judah", whose regeneration is effected from the Lord by the implantation of celestial Good, afterwards by the implantation of spiritual Good, which, in its essence, is the Truth of celestial Good; and lastly, by multiplication and fructification in the natural man. Apocalypse Explained 700.

31. And again shall the escaped, the remnant of the house of Judah, strike root downwards, and bear fruit upwards.

32. For from Jerusalem shall go forth a remnant; and the escaped from Mount Zion: the zeal of Jehovah of Hosts shall do this.

33. Therefore thus says Jehovah concerning the king of Assyria, He shall not enter into this city; nor shall he shoot an arrow into it; nor shall he come before it with a shield; nor shall he cast up a mound against it.

34. By the way in which he came, by the same shall he return; and into this city shall he not come, says Jehovah.

Verses 31, 32. Again shall the escaped, the remnant of the house of Judah, strike root downwards, and bear fruit upwards, etc. - As to the meaning of the "remnant" and the "escaped", see Chapter 1:9; 4:2, 3, the Exposition.

[The "remnant of the house of Judah" is said to "strike root downwards", to denote that truths from a celestial origin will then be implanted in the natural man; and to "bear fruits upwards", that goods of life will be of a celestial and spiritual origin, or from the "internal man.]

35. And I will defend this city to save it, for Mine own sake, and for the sake of David My servant.

Verse 35. These words are said of the Assyrians, in whose camp one hundred and eighty-five thousand were slain. "David" stands for the Lord, who was to come, and who, as to His Humanity, is called a "Servant." That " David", in the Word, signifies the Lord, may be seen, Arcana Coelestia 1880.

Whilst the Lord was in a state of humiliation, when He had with Him the infirm Human, He worshipped Jehovah as another separate from Himself, and indeed as a Servant, for the Human is respectively nothing else; wherefore, in the Word, a "servant" is predicated of that Human, as in Isaiah 37:35; 42:1, 19. Arcana Coelestia 2159.

36. And the angel of Jehovah went forth, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians a hundred and fourscore and five thousand: and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses.

Verse 36. A "camp" and an "encampment" signify, in a good sense, heaven. The reason is, because an " army" signifies Truths and Goods, which are arranged by the Lord according to heavenly order. Hence arrangement according to order is the encampinq of an army, and the heavenly order itself, which is heaven, is the "camp." This "camp", or this order, is such that it cannot possibly be broken into by hell, although hell is in a continual endeavour to break into it. Hence it is that "the camp of God", in Genesis 32:2, signifies heaven, This essential order is what was represented by the "encampments" of the sons of Israel in the wilderness, thus heaven itself was represented. The dwelling together therein, according to the tribes, was called a "camp"; the "tabernacle" which was in the midst, and about which they encamped, represented the Lord Himself. As many expressions in the Word have an opposite sense, so also has a "camp", and according to such sense it signifies evils and falsities, consequently hell, as in David:

"Though a host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear." [Psalm 27:3)

Neither is anything else but hell meant by "the camp of Assyria, in which the angel of Jehovah smote a hundred and eighty and five thousand; (Isaiah 37:36)

In like manner also by "the camp of the Egyptians." (Exodus 14:20, 28) Arcana Coelestia 4236.

[The destruction of the Assyrian army was effected by the opening of a hell, and by a powerful influx thence proceeding, which corresponded to the evil and the false signified by the opposition of "the Assyrian army", and its determination to destroy "Jerusalem", which represented heaven and the church. A similar thing is described in the Revelation 20:9:

"Gog and Magog went up on the breadth of the earth and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city; and, fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them." 'But this happened in the world of spirits, whereas the destruction of the Assyrian army took place in the natural world, on account of the representatives which then prevailed In the representative or typical church of the Jews. In the one case it is said that "an angel from Jehovah effected the destruction of the Assyrian army", and in the other that a fire from God out of heaven devoured the enemies of the camp of the saints and the beloved city." But that the destruction was effected either by "the angel of Jehovah" or by " fire from God out of heaven" is an appearance; the real truth is, that they were destroyed by their own evils and falsities, (Apocalypse Revealed 863) which, at the period of Judgment, are brought out, and which then overwhelm the wicked with perdition. The Lord never comes to destroy, but to save, and when the good are separated from the wicked, the latter are left to their own evil states and sink down into their respective hells.]

37. Then Sennacherib, king of Assyria, decamped, and departed, and returned, and dwelt at Nineveh.

38. And it came to pass, that as he was bowing himself down in the house of Nisroch his god, Adrammelech and Sharezer, his sons, smote him with the sword; and they escaped, into the land of Ararat: and Esar-haddon his son reigned in his stead.

Verses 37, 38. That "Nineveh" signifies what is false, or false doctrines arising from the fallacies of the senses, and from the obscurity of the understanding not illustrated, and from ignorance, is evident from Jonah, who was sent to Nineveh, which city was pardoned because they were of such a quality. In Isaiah things both historical and prophetical are mentioned, which involve and represent such arcana in like manner as all other historical things mentioned in the Word. In Isaiah we read respecting the king of Assyria, that "he dwelt at Nineveh, and that when he was bowing himself down in the house of Nisroch his god, he was slain by his sons with the sword." (Isaiah 37:37, 38)

Although these things are historical, they are nevertheless prophetical, involving and representing similar arcana. By "Nineveh" here is signified external worship in which are falsities, and as this worship was idolatrous, "he was slain by his sons with the sword." His "sons" are falsities, and the "sword" is the punishment of the false. Arcana Coelestia 1188.

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Isaiah Chapter 37

1. AND it came to pass, that when the king Hezekiah heard it, he rent his clothes, and covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the house of Jehovah.

2. And he sent Eliakim, who was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and the elders of the priests, covered with sackcloth, to Isaiah, the son of Amoz, the prophet.

3. And they said unto him, Thus says Hezekiah, This day is a day of distress, and of rebuke, and of contumely: for the sons are come to the birth, and there is not strength to bring forth.

4. Perhaps Jehovah your God will hear the words of Rabshakeh, whom his lord the king of Assyria has sent to blaspheme the living God, and will reprove the words which Jehovah your God has heard: and do you offer up prayer for the remnant which is found.

5. And the servants of king Hezekiah came to Isaiah.

6. And Isaiah said unto them, Thus shall you say to your lord, Thus says Jehovah, Be not afraid because of the words which you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed Me.

7. Behold, I will infuse a spirit into him; and he shall hear a report, and return to his own land; and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land.

8. And Rabshakeh returned, and found the king of Assyria fighting against Libnah: for he heard that he had departed from Lachish.

9. And he heard concerning Tirhakah, king of Cush, saying, He is come forth to make war with you. And when he heard it, he sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying,

10. Thus shall you speak to Hezekiah, king of Judah, saying, Let not your God, in whom you confide, deceive you, saying, That Jerusalem shall not: be given up into the hand of the king of Assyria.

11. Behold, you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands, by destroying them utterly; and shalt you be delivered?

12. Have the gods of the nations delivered those which my fathers have destroyed? Gozan, and Haran, and Rezeph; and the sons of Eden which were in Telassar?

13. Where is the king of Hamath, and the king of Arpad, and the king of the city of Sepharvaim, of Henah, and of Ivah?

14. And Hezekiah received the letters from the hand of the messengers, and read them; and he went up to the house of Jehovah: and Hezekiah spread them before the face of Jehovah.

15. And Hezekiah prayed to Jehovah, saying,

16. O Jehovah of Hosts, You God of Israel, who art seated on the Cherubim! You art the God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth! You have made the heavens and the earth!

17. Incline, O Jehovah, Thine ear, and hear; open, O Jehovah, Thine eyes, and see: and hear all the words of Sennacherib, which he has sent to blaspheme the living God.

18. In truth, O Jehovah, the kings of Assyria have laid waste all the nations, and their lands;

19. And have cast their gods into the fire: for they were not gods, but the work of the hands of man, wood and stone; therefore they have destroyed them.

20. And now, O Jehovah, our God, save us from his hand; that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You alone art Jehovah!

21. Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent unto Hezekiah, saying, Thus says Jehovah the God of Israel, Whereas you have prayed to Me against Sennacherib, king of Assyria:

22. This is the word which Jehovah has spoken concerning him: The virgin, daughter of Zion, despises you, she laughs at you; the daughter of Jerusalem shakes her head at you.

23. Whom have you blasphemed and reviled; and against whom, have you exalted your voice? and have lifted up thine eyes on high? Even against the Holy One of Israel.

24. By the hand of your servants have you blasphemed, the Lord, and have said, By the multitude of my chariots will I ascend the height of the mountains, the sides of Lebanon; and I will cut down the tall cedars thereof, and the choice fir-trees thereof: and I will enter into the height of his border, and the forest of his fruitful field.

25. I have digged, and I have drunk waters; and I have dried up with the sole of my steps all the streams of Egypt.

26. Hast you not heard, from of old, that I have done it? and, from the days of antiquity, that I have formed it? now have I brought it to pass, that you should be to lay waste fortified cities into ruinous heaps.

27. Therefore were their inhabitants of small strength; they were dismayed and confounded: they were as the grass of the field, and as the green herb; the grass of the house-top; and as the corn blasted before it is grown up.

28. But your sitting down, and your going out, and your coming in, and your rage against Me I have known:

29. Because your rage against Me, and your insolence, is come up into Mine ears, therefore will I put My hook into your nose, and My bridle into your lips; and I will turn you back by the way in which you earnest.

30. And this shall be a sign unto you: Eat this year that which springs up of itself; and the second year, that which grows up of its own accord: and in the third year, sow you, and reap; and plant vineyards, and eat the fruit thereof.

31. And again shall the escaped, the remnant of the house of Judah, strike root downwards, and bear fruit upwards.

32. For from Jerusalem shall go forth a remnant; and the escaped from Mount Zion: the zeal of Jehovah of Hosts shall do this.

33. Therefore thus says Jehovah concerning the king of Assyria, He shall not enter into this city; nor shall he shoot an arrow into it; nor shall he come before it with a shield; nor shall he cast up a mound against it.

34. By the way in which he came, by the same shall he return; and into this city shall he not come, says Jehovah.

35. And I will defend this city to save it, for Mine own sake, and for the sake of David My servant.

36. And the angel of Jehovah went forth, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians a hundred and fourscore and five thousand: and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses.

37. Then Sennacherib, king of Assyria, decamped, and departed, and returned, and dwelt at Nineveh.

38. And it came to pass, that as he was bowing himself down in the house of Nisroch his god, Adrammelech and Sharezer, his sons, smote him with the sword; and they escaped, into the land of Ararat: and Esar-haddon his son reigned in his stead.

304. Verse 3. And no one was able, in heaven nor upon the earth, nor under the earth, to open the book, neither to look thereon, signifies manifestation that no one knows and perceives of himself anything whatever of the state of life of all in general, and of each one in particular. This is evident from the signification of "And no one was able to open the book, neither to look thereon," as being that no one of himself knows and perceives the states of the life of all in general and of each one in particular (of which see just above, n. 303); also from the signification of "in heaven nor upon the earth nor under the earth," being that no one anywhere has such knowledge, not even in the slightest degree; for "in heaven, upon the earth, and under the earth," means the three heavens; and by all who are there heaven in its entire complex is meant. And as heaven is heaven from the Divine truth that flows in from the Lord and is received by the angels, and not at all from any self-intelligence of the angels, for this is no intelligence, so the same words signify that no one has any knowledge or perception whatever from himself. That angels in heaven as well as men in the world have a selfhood [proprium], which regarded in itself is nothing but evil, see in the work on Heaven and Hell 592), and as evil receives nothing of intelligence and wisdom, it follows that angels equally with men understand nothing at all of truth from themselves, but solely from the Lord. Angels are such for the reason that all angels are from the human race, and every man retains after death what is his own [suum proprium], and angels are withheld from the evils that pertain to what is their own [proprii eorum] and are kept in goods by the Lord. (That all angels are from the human race, and not one is created such from the beginning, see in the small work on The Last Judgment 14-22; and that they are all withheld from evil, and kept in good by the Lord, see in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 166.)

[2] "In heaven," "upon the earth," and "under the earth," signify the three heavens, because the angels that are in the third or highest heaven dwell upon mountains; and those that are in the second or middle, upon hills; and those that are in the first or lowest, in plains and valleys below these. For in the spiritual world, where the spirits and angels are, it is just as it is in the natural world where men are, that is, there are lands, hills, and mountains; and in appearance the resemblance is such that there is no difference at all; therefore men after death scarcely know otherwise than that they are still living on the earth, and when the privilege is granted them to look into our world, they see nothing dissimilar. Moreover, the angels who are in the lowest heaven call that heaven where the angels of the third heaven dwell, because it is high above them, and where they themselves dwell they call earth; moreover, the third or highest heaven, which is upon the mountains, does not appear, to those who are below or upon that earth, otherwise than as the highest region of the atmosphere covered with a thin bright cloud appears before us, thus as the sky appears to us. From this it can be seen what is here meant, specifically, by "in heaven," "upon the earth," and "under the earth." (But more can be seen on this subject in the work on Heaven and Hell, where Appearances in Heaven are treated of, n 170-176; and The Habitations and Dwelling Places of Angels, n. 183-189)

[3] As men have not known that there is a like surface of the earth in both worlds, the natural and the spiritual, therefore they have not perceived otherwise when they have read the Word than that "heaven" and "earth" there mean the heaven visible before our eyes, and the earth inhabited by men; from this arose the belief in the destruction of heaven and earth, and the creation of a new heaven and a new earth at the day of the Last Judgment; when yet "heaven" and "earth" there mean the heaven and the earth where spirits and angels dwell, and in the spiritual sense the church with angels and with men (for there is a church with angels equally as with men, as may be seen in the work on Heaven and Hell 221-227). It is said, in the spiritual sense, for an angel is not an angel, nor is a man a man, from the human form, which both have, but because of heaven and the church with them. This is why "heaven" and "earth," where angels and men dwell, signify the church; "heaven" the internal church and also the church with angels, and "earth" the external church and also the church with men. But since it can only with difficulty be believed that "earth" in the Word means the church, because it is not yet known that in every particular of the Word there is a spiritual sense, whence a material idea adheres and keeps the thought fixed in the nearest meaning of the expression, I wish to illustrate and confirm it by a number of quotations.

[4] In Isaiah:

Behold, Jehovah maketh the earth empty and maketh it void, and He shall disfigure the faces thereof; in emptying the earth shall be emptied, and in spoiling it shall be spoiled; the habitable earth shall mourn and be confounded; the world shall be confounded; the earth shall be profaned under its inhabitants; therefore a malediction shall devour the earth, and the inhabitants of the earth shall be burnt up, and a man shall be rare. A shout over the wine in the streets; the gladness of the earth shall be banished; it shall be in the midst of the earth as the shaking of an olive tree, as the gleanings when the vintage is ended. From the uttermost part of the earth we have heard songs, Glory to the righteous. The floodgates from on high are opened, and the foundations of the earth quake; in breaking the earth is broken, in rending the earth is rent asunder, in moving the earth is moved; in tottering the earth shall totter as one drunken; and it shall be moved to and fro as a veil; but it shall be in that day that Jehovah will visit upon the host of the height in the height, and upon the kings of the earth who are upon the earth (Isaiah 24:1, 3-6, 11, 13, 16, 18-21).

Here it is very clear that "earth" does not mean the earth, but the church. Let the particulars be run over and considered. One who is in a spiritual idea does not think, when "earth" is mentioned, of the earth itself, but of the people on it and their quality; still more is this true of those who are in heaven; who, since they are spiritual, perceive that the church is meant. Here the church destroyed is treated of; its destruction in respect to the good of love and the truth of faith, which constitute it, is described by "Jehovah maketh the earth empty and maketh it void," "in emptying the earth shall be emptied, in spoiling it shall be spoiled," "it shall mourn and be confounded," "it shall be profaned," and "a malediction shall devour it;" "the floodgates from on high are opened, and the foundations of it quake;" "it is broken," "it is rent asunder," "it is moved," "it shall totter as one drunken." These things can be said neither of the earth, nor of any nation, but only of the church.

[5] In the same:

Behold, the day of Jehovah cometh, to lay the earth waste; and He shall destroy the sinners out of it. For the stars of the heavens and the constellations thereof do not cause their light to shine, the sun hath been darkened in its rising, and the moon maketh not bright her light. I will make a man more rare than fine gold; wherefore I will cause the heavens to tremble and the earth shall quake out of its place (Isaiah 13:9-10, 12-13).

It is clear from the particulars understood in the spiritual sense, that "earth" here means the church. The end of the church is here treated of, when truth and good, or faith and charity, are no more. For "the stars and constellations that do not cause their light to shine," signify the knowledges of truth and good; the "sun that has been darkened in its rising," signifies love; the "moon that maketh not bright her light," signifies faith; a "man made more rare than fine gold," signifies intelligence and wisdom: this makes clear what is signified by "Behold, the day of Jehovah cometh to lay the earth waste. I will cause the heavens to tremble and the earth shall quake out of its place;" "the day of Jehovah" is the last end of the church, when there is the judgment; the "earth" is the church. It can be seen that the earth itself does not quake out of its place, but that the church is removed when love and faith are not. "To quake out of its place" signifies to be removed from its former state.

[6] In the same:

Behold, the Lord, as a deluge of hail, a storm of slaughter, as a deluge of mighty waters. He shall cast down to the earth with the hand. A consummation and decision I have heard from the Lord Jehovih of hosts upon the whole earth (Isaiah 28:2, 22).

This is said of the day of judgment upon those who are of the church. The day of judgment, when the church is at an end is meant by "a consummation and decision I have heard from the Lord Jehovih of Hosts upon the whole earth;" it is therefore said "as a deluge of hail, a storm of slaughter, as a deluge of mighty waters. He shall cast down to the earth with the hand;" by "hail" and "a deluge of it" falsities that destroy the truths of the church are signified; by "slaughter," and "a storm of it," evils that destroy the goods of the church are signified; by "mighty waters" falsities of evil are signified. (That a "deluge" or "flood" signifies immersion into evils and falsities, and the consequent destruction of the church) see Arcana Coelestia (Arcana Coelestia 660, 705, 739, 756, 790, 5725, 6853 the like is meant by "casting down to the earth," or a violent rain.

[7] In the same:

The land shall become burning pitch; from generation to generation it shall be desolate (Isaiah 34:9-10).

"Burning pitch" signifies every evil springing from love of self, through which the church entirely perishes and is desolated; it is therefore said, "the land shall become burning pitch; from generation to generation it shall be desolate." Who does not see that such things are not said of the land itself?

[8] In the same:

The land mourneth and languisheth; Lebanon blusheth, and hath withered away (Isaiah 33:9).

Here also the "land" means the church, which is said "to mourn" and "to languish" when falsities begin to be accepted and acknowledged in place of truths; it is therefore said, "Lebanon blusheth and hath withered away;" "Lebanon" signifying the like as "cedar," namely, the truth of the church.

[9] In Jeremiah:

The lion is gone up from his thicket, and the destroyer of the nations hath gone forth from his place to make thy land a waste; thy cities shall be destroyed. I saw the earth, when lo, it was void and empty; and towards the heavens, and lo, they had no light. I saw the mountains, and lo, they quaked and all the hills are overturned. Jehovah said, The whole earth shall be a waste. For this shall the land mourn, and the heavens above be black (Jeremiah 4:7, 4:23-24, 27-28).

Here also the vastation of the church is treated of, which takes place when there are no longer truth and good, but falsity and evil in place of them. This vastation is described by "the lion going up from his thicket, and the destroyer of the nations going forth from his place;" "the lion" and "the destroyer of the nations" signifying falsity and evil, laying waste. The "mountains that quake," and the "hills that are overturned," signify love to the Lord and charity towards the neighbor. This is the signification of "mountains" and "hills," because those who are in love to the Lord dwell upon mountains in heaven, and those who are in charity towards the neighbor, upon hills (See what has been said above, also in the work on Heaven and Hell, 188, and in the notes there, letter c, original edition). "The heavens where there was no light, and that were black" signify the interiors of the men of the church, which, when closed by evils and falsities, do not admit light from heaven, but darkness from hell instead. From this it can be seen what is signified by "the lion and the destroyer of the nations making the land a waste;" so likewise by "I saw the earth, and lo, it was void and empty;" also by "the whole earth shall be a waste; for this shall the land mourn," namely, that the earth is not meant, but the church.

[10] In the same:

How long shall the land mourn, and the herb of every field [wither]? for the evil of them that dwell therein the beasts shall be carried off, and the fowl. The whole land is made waste because no man layeth it to heart. Wasters are come upon all the bare heights in the wilderness; for the sword of Jehovah devoureth from one end of the land even to the other end of the land. They have sown wheat and have reaped thorns (Jeremiah 12:4, 11-13).

That the "land" here signifies the church is evident, from its being said that "the land shall mourn, and the herb of every field [wither]," and that "the beasts and the birds shall be carried off for the evil of them that dwell therein, and because no man layeth it to heart." "The herb of every field" signifies every truth and good of the church, and the "beasts and the fowl" signify the affections of good and truth; and since the church is signified by the "land," and it is here treated of as being vastated, it is said "wasters are come upon all the bare heights in the wilderness; for the sword of Jehovah devoureth from one end of the land even to the other end of the land. They have sown wheat, and have reaped thorns." "The bare heights in the wilderness upon which the wasters came" signify the things that are of charity, "wilderness" meaning where there is no good because no truth; "the sword of Jehovah" signifies falsity destroying truth; "from one end of the land to the other end of the land" signifies all things of the church; "to sow wheat and reap thorns" signifies to take from the Word the truths of good and to turn them into the falsities of evil, "wheat" meaning the truths of good, and "thorns" the falsities of evil.

[11] In Isaiah:

Upon the ground of my people shall come up the thorn and briar; the palace shall be deserted; the multitude of the city shall be forsaken (Isaiah 32:13-14).

The "thorn and briar that shall come up upon the ground" signify falsity and evil; the "palace that shall be deserted" signifies where good dwells; and the "multitude of the city that shall be forsaken" signifies where there are truths; for "city" signifies the doctrine of truth.

[12] In the same:

All the land shall be a place of briars and brambles; but as to all the mountains that shall be hoed with the hoe, there shall not come thither the fear of the briar and bramble; but there shall be the sending-forth of the ox and the trampling of the sheep (Isaiah 7:24-25).

"Briars and brambles" signify falsity and evil; which makes evident what is signified by "all the land shall be a place of briars and brambles." "The mountains that shall be hoed with the hoe" signify those who from the love of good do goods, that with them there shall be no falsity and evil, but good, natural as well as spiritual, is signified by "there shall not come thither the fear of the briar and bramble, but there shall be the sending forth of the ox, and the trampling of sheep;" that is, thither shall oxen be sent, and there the sheep shall trample, "ox" signifying natural good, and "sheep" spiritual good.

[13] In Ezekiel:

Thy mother is a lioness; she couched among lions; one of her whelps went up; he desolated the cities; the land and the fullness thereof was made waste by the voice of his roaring (Ezekiel 19:2-3, 7).

"Mother" signifies the church; a "lioness" and "lions" signify the power of evil and falsity against good and truth; the "roaring of the lion" signifies the lust of destroying and desolating; the "cities that he desolated" signify doctrine with its truths, which makes evident what is signified by "the land and the fullness thereof was laid waste," namely, the whole church.

[14] In the same:

They shall eat their bread with carefulness, and drink their waters with astonishment, that the land may be laid waste from the fullness thereof, because of the violence of all them that dwell therein; and the cities that are inhabited shall be desolated, and the land shall be a waste (Ezekiel 12:19-20).

Here "the land and the cities that shall be desolated and shall be a waste" have the same signification as above, namely, "the land" signifies the church, and "cities" doctrine with its truths; it is therefore said, "because of the violence of all them that dwell therein." Since this is what is meant, it is first said that "they shall eat their bread with carefulness, and drink their waters with astonishment," "bread" and "water" in the Word signifying all the good of love and truth of faith (See Arcana Coelestia 9323), and "eating" and "drinking" signifying instruction and appropriation (n. 3168, 3513, 3832, 9412).

[15] In David:

I called upon Jehovah, and cried unto my God. Then the earth tottered and quaked, and the foundations of the mountains trembled and tottered when He was wroth (Psalms 18:6-7).

Here the "earth" stands for the church, which is said to "totter and quake" when it is perverted by the falsification of truths; and then "the foundations of the mountains" are said "to tremble and totter," for the goods of love, which are founded upon the truths of faith, vanish; "mountains" meaning the goods of love (as above), and their "foundations" the truths of faith; which also shows that the "earth" is the church.

[16] In the same:

The earth is Jehovah's and the fullness thereof, the world and they that dwell therein; and He hath founded it upon the seas, He hath established it upon the rivers (Psalms 24:1, 2).

The "earth" and the "world" stand for the church, and "fullness" for all things thereof; the "seas upon which He hath founded it," mean the knowledges of truth in general; the "rivers" doctrinals; because the church is founded on both of these, it is said that "He hath founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the rivers." That this cannot be said of the earth and the world is clear to anyone.

[17] In the same:

We will not fear, when the earth shall be changed, and when the mountains shall be moved in the heart of the seas, when the waters thereof are in tumult and do foam. The nations are in tumult, the kingdoms are moved, when He giveth forth His voice the earth shall dissolve (Psalms 46:2-3, 6).

The "earth" evidently means the church, since it is said "to be changed" and "to dissolve," also that "the mountains shall be moved in the heart of the seas, and the waters thereof shall be in tumult," and "the nations are in tumult and the kingdoms are moved." "Mountains" signify (as above) the goods of love, which are said "to be moved in the heart of the seas" when the essential knowledges of truth are perverted; "waters" signify the truths of the church, which are said "to foam" when they are falsified; "nations" signify the goods of the church, and in a contrary sense, its evils; and "kingdoms" the truths of the church, and in a contrary sense, its falsities; and also those who are in the one and the other."

[18] In the same:

O God, Thou hast cast us off; Thou hast been angry; bring back rest to us. Thou hast made the earth to quake, Thou hast broken it up; heal the breaches thereof, for it is moved (Psalms 60:1-2).

It can be seen that these things are said of the church, and not of the earth, for it is said, "Thou hast made the earth to quake, Thou hast broken it up; heal the breaches thereof, for it is moved;" and as "the earth" signifies the church, and here the church vastated, it is said, "O God, Thou hast cast us off, Thou hast been angry; bring back rest to us."

[19] In the same:

When I shall receive the set time, I shall judge with uprightness. The earth and all the inhabitants thereof shall be dissolved; I will make firm the pillars of it (Psalms 75:2-3).

Here, likewise, the "earth" stands for the church, which is said to "dissolve" when the truths by which there is good fail; truths, because they support the church, are called its "pillars," which God will make firm; it is not the pillars of the earth evidently that are made firm. As the restoration of the church is here described, it is said, "When I shall receive the set time, I shall judge with uprightness." The truths of the church, here called the "pillars of the earth," are also called the "bases of the earth" (1 Samuel 2:8); and the "foundations of the earth," in Isaiah:

Do ye not understand the foundations of the earth? It is He that dwelleth upon the circle of the earth, that bringeth the princes to nothing; and maketh the judges of the earth as emptiness (Isaiah 40:21-23).

The "princes who will be brought to nothing," and the "judges of the earth, whom He will make as emptiness," signify the things that are from self-intelligence and from one's own judgment.

[20] In Jeremiah:

A tumult cometh even to the end of the earth. Thus said Jehovah, Behold, evil shall go forth from nation to nation, and a great tempest shall be stirred up from the sides of the earth. And the slain of Jehovah shall be in that day from the end of the earth even unto the end thereof (Jeremiah 25:31-33).

The "end of the earth" and the "sides of the earth" signify where the ultimates of the church are, and where evils and falsities begin; and "from the end of the earth to the end thereof" signifies all things of the church; from this it can be known what is signified by "a tumult shall come to the end of the earth," and "a great tempest shall be stirred up from the sides of the earth," also by "the slain of Jehovah in that day shall be from the end of the earth to the end thereof." The "slain" signify those in whom the truths and goods of the church are extinguished (See Arcana Coelestia 4503[1-11]).

[21] In Isaiah:

The isles saw, they feared; the ends of the earth trembled, they drew near, and came. I will make the wilderness into a pool of waters, and the dry land into a spring of waters (Isaiah 41:5, 18).

The establishment of the church among the Gentiles is thus described; they are signified by the "isles" and the "ends of the earth;" for "isles" and "the ends of the earth" in the Word signify those who are far removed from the truths and goods of the church because they do not have the Word, and consequently, are in ignorance. That a church is to be established with such is signified by "I will make the wilderness into a pool of waters, and the dry land into a spring of waters." That is called a "wilderness" where there is not yet good because there is not yet truth, and for the same reason it is called "dry land;" a "pool of waters" and a "spring of waters" signify good, because they signify truth; for all spiritual good, which is the good of the church, is acquired by means of truths.

[22] In the same:

Woe to the land shadowed with wings, which is beyond the rivers of Cush. Go, ye messengers, to a nation trodden down, whose land the rivers have despoiled (Isaiah 18:1-2).

No one knows what is meant by "a land shadowed with wings," and "a land that the rivers have despoiled," unless he knows that "land" means the church, and "rivers" falsities; "a land shadowed with wings" is a church that is in thick darkness in respect to Divine truths (that these are signified by "wings," see above, n. 283; "beyond the rivers of Cush" signifies in respect to the knowledges themselves from the sense of the letter of the Word, which have been falsified; "a nation trodden down, to which the messengers should go, whose land the rivers have despoiled," signifies those out of the church who are in falsities from ignorance; "rivers" meaning the truths of doctrine, and in a contrary sense falsities; that "the messengers should go to them" signifies that they should be invited to receive the church.

[23] In the same:

In the fury of Jehovah of Hosts the land is obscured (Isaiah 9:19).

A "land obscured" signifies the things of the church in thick darkness, that is, in falsities; for the falsities of evil are said to be in thick darkness, but truths in light.

[24] In the same:

Jehovah shall remove man, and forsaken places shall be multiplied in the midst of the land (Isaiah 6:12);

"man whom Jehovah shall remove," signifying him who is wise, and abstractly, wisdom (as may be seen above, n. 280; "forsaken places multiplied in the midst of the land" signifying that there shall be no good at all, because no truth; "the midst of the land" meaning where truth is in the highest light; consequently when there is no light there, thick darkness pervades the whole; thus there is nowhere any truth at all.

[25] In the same:

Jehovah shall smite the earth with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips shall He put to death the wicked (Isaiah 11:4).

"The rod of Jehovah's mouth which shall smite the earth," signifies truth in ultimates, which is the truth of the sense of the letter of the Word; "the breath of the lips which shall put to death the wicked," signifies truth in the spiritual sense of the Word; these truths are said "to smite the earth," and "to put to death the wicked," when such are condemned by truths; for by truths everyone is judged and is condemned.

[26] In the same:

The earth is at rest, and is quiet. Hell hath stirred up the Rephaim because of thee, all the powerful of the earth. They that see thee shall say, Is this the man that maketh the earth to tremble, that maketh the kingdoms to quake; that hath made the world as a wilderness and threw down the cities thereof? Thou hast destroyed thy land, thou hast slain thy people. Prepare slaughter for his sons, that they rise not up and possess the land, and the faces of the world be filled with cities. I will break the Assyrian in My land, and upon My mountains I will tread him down (Isaiah 14:7, 9, 16-17, 20-21, 25).

These things are said of the king of Babylon, by whom is signified the destruction of truth by the love of ruling over heaven and earth; which love the truths of the Word or of the church are made to serve as means; here their damnation is treated of. The "Rephaim whom hell stirred up," mean those who are in the direful persuasion of what is false, who are therefore called the powerful of the earth; "to make the earth to tremble," "to make the kingdoms quake," "to make the world as a wilderness," and "to throw down the cities thereof," signifies to pervert all things of the church; "earth" and "world" mean the church, "kingdoms" the truths that constitute it; and "cities" all things of doctrine. From this it is clear what is signified by, "Thou hast destroyed thy land, thou hast slain thy people." The "Assyrian who shall be broken in the land and trodden down upon the mountains," signifies the reasonings from falsities against truths; "to be broken" means to be dispersed, and "to be trodden down" means to be wholly destroyed; "mountains upon which this is done," signify where the good of love and charity reigns, for there, or with such, all reasoning from falsities is dispersed or destroyed.

[27] In the same:

Howl, ye ships of Tarshish; from the land of Chittim it shall manifestly come to them. Pass through thy land as a river, O daughter of Tarshish; the girdle is no more. Behold the land of the Chaldean; Assyria hath founded it into heaps. Jehovah will visit Tyre, that she may return to the hire of whoredom and commit whoredom with all the kingdoms of the earth upon the faces of the ground (Isaiah 23:1, 10, 23:13, 17).

Neither ships of Tarshish, nor Tyre, nor the land of Chittim, nor the land of the Chaldeans, nor Assyria, are here meant, as can be seen from the particulars in this chapter; but "the ships of Tarshish" mean the knowledges of truth and good, "Tyre" the like; "the land of Chittim" what is idolatrous; "the land of the Chaldeans" the profanation and destruction of truth, and "Assyria" reasoning from falsities. From this it is clear that, "Howl, ye ships of Tarshish, for Tyre is desolated" signifies that there were no longer any knowledges of truth; "from the land of Chittim it shall manifestly come to them" signifies idolatry therefrom; "the girdle is no more" signifies that there is no longer any coherence of truth with good; "behold the land of the Chaldeans" signifies that thus there is profanation and destruction of truth; "Assyria hath founded it into heaps" signifies that reasonings from falsities have destroyed it; "to return to the hire of whoredom" and "to commit whoredom with all kingdoms upon the faces of the ground" signifies the falsification of all truths of the whole church.

[28] In the same:

The king of Assyria shall pass on through Judah, he shall overflow and pass through, he shall reach even to the neck; and the flappings of his wings ¹ shall be the fullness of the breadth of thy land, O Immanuel (Isaiah 8:8).

Here, too, "the king of Assyria" signifies the reasoning from falsities against truths; "he shall pass on through Judah, he shall overflow and pass through" signifies that this shall destroy the good of the church (to "overflow" is predicated of falsities, because they are signified by "waters"); "he shall reach even to the neck" signifies that thus there shall be no longer any communication of good and truth; and "the flappings of his wings shall be the fullness of the breadth of thy land, O Immanuel" signifies that falsities shall be opposed to all the truths of the Lord's church; "the breadth of the land" signifies the truths of the church (See Heaven and Hell 197), consequently, in a contrary sense, falsities; therefore the "flappings of his wings" signify reasonings from falsities against truths; "fullness" signifies all; thus "the fullness of the breadth of the land" signifies all the truths of the church.

[29] In the same:

In that day shall the bud of Jehovah be for adornment and glory, and the fruit of the earth for magnificence and splendor to those left of Israel (Isaiah 4:2).

The "bud of Jehovah," that shall be for adornment and glory, signifies the truth of the church; and the "fruit of the earth," that shall be for magnificence and splendor, signifies the good of the church; "Israel" signifies the spiritual church. Evidently it is the truth and good of the church, and not the bud and the fruit of the earth, that shall be for adornment, glory, magnificence, and splendor. When it is said the truth and good of the church, the truth of faith and the good of love are meant, for all truth is of faith, and all good is of love.

[30] In the same:

Thou hast added to the nation, O Jehovah; Thou hast been glorified; Thou hast removed all the ends of the earth (Isaiah 26:15).

The "nation to which Jehovah has added" signifies those who are in the good of love, whom He has claimed to Himself; "the ends of the earth which He has removed" signify the falsities and evils that infest the church, from which He has purified them.

[31] In the same:

Thine eyes shall behold the king in his beauty, they shall behold a land of far distances (Isaiah 33:17).

"To see the king in his beauty," means to see genuine truth, which is from the Lord alone; "to behold a land of far distances" signifies to behold the extension of intelligence and wisdom.

[32] In the same:

I have given thee for a covenant to the people, to restore the earth. Sing aloud O heavens, and exult O earth, and break forth O mountains with a song (Isaiah 49:8, 13).

This treats of the Lord and His coming; the establishment of the church by Him is described by "I have given thee for a covenant of the people, to restore the earth," to "restore the earth" being to reestablish the church; it is known that the Lord did not restore the earth to the Jewish people, but that He established a church among the Gentiles; the joy in consequence is described by, "Sing aloud O heavens, and exult O earth, and break forth O mountains with a song," "the heavens" being the heavens where angels are who are in the interior truths of the church, "the earth" the church among men, and "the mountains" those who are in the good of love to the Lord.

[33] In Jeremiah:

The land is full of adulterers; for because of malediction the land mourneth; the pastures of the wilderness are dried up (Jeremiah 23:10).

"Adulterers" signify those who adulterate the goods of the church; therefore it is said, "the land is full of adulterers, and because of the malediction the land mourneth;" the "pastures of the wilderness that are dried up" signify no spiritual nourishment in such a church; that is called "wilderness" where there is no truth.

[34] In the same:

A drought is upon her waters, so that they shall become dry; for it is a land of graven images (Jeremiah 50:38).

"A drought upon the waters, so that they shall become dry" signifies that there are no more truths, "waters" being truths; "for it is a land of graven images" signifies the church destroyed by falsities which are from self-intelligence, which they call truths, "graven images" signifying those falsities.

[35] In Ezekiel:

The end hath come upon the four quarters of the earth; the earth is full of the judgment of bloods, and the city is full of violence (Ezekiel 7:2, 23).

"The end hath come upon the four quarters of the earth" signifies the last time and the last state of the church, when its end is, the four quarters being all truths and goods of the church, and in a contrary sense, all its falsities and evils, thus all things of the church; "the earth full of the judgment of bloods" signifies that it is filled with evils of every kind, "bloods" being the evils that offer violence to the goods of love and charity and wholly destroy them; "the city full of violence" signifies the doctrine of that church likewise offering violence.

[36] In the same:

All the luminaries of light in heaven will I make black over thee, and will set darkness upon thy land (Ezekiel 32:8).

"The luminaries of light in the heavens" mean the sun, moon, and stars; the "sun" signifying love, the "moon" faith therefrom, and the "stars" the knowledges of good and truth; from this it is clear what is signified by "I will make them black over thee," namely, that these no longer exist; thence also it is clear what is signified by "I will set darkness upon thy land," namely, that there will be falsities in the church," "darkness" meaning falsities, and "land" the church.

[37] In the same:

Prophesy concerning the land of Israel, and say unto the mountains and to the hills and to the watercourses and to the valleys, Behold, I am for you, and I will turn unto you that ye may be tilled and sown (Ezekiel 36:6, 9).

"The land of Israel" means the church; "mountains, hills, watercourses, and valleys" signify all things of the church from the first to the last things thereof, "mountains" are the goods of love to the Lord, "hills" the goods of charity towards the neighbor-these are the first things of the church; "watercourses and valleys" are truths and goods that are the last things of the church. That this is the meaning can be seen from what was said at the beginning of this article, namely, that those in heaven who are in the good of love to the Lord dwell upon mountains, those who are in charity towards the neighbor upon hills, and those who are in goods and truths in the lowest heaven in plains and valleys; "watercourses" are the truths of doctrine there; to implant these is signified by "I will turn unto you that ye may be tilled and sown. "

[38] In Hosea:

In that day I will hear the heavens, and they shall hear the earth; and the earth shall hear the corn and the new wine and the oil, and these shall hear Jezreel, ² and I will sow her unto me in the earth (Hosea 2:21-23).

Evidently these things are to be understood spiritually, and not naturally according to the sense of the letter, for it is said that "these shall hear Jezreel; and I will sow her unto me in the earth;" therefore the "heavens" mean the heavens where the Lord is; and the "earth" the church where also the Lord is; "corn, new wine, and oil" signify all the things of spiritual nourishment, which are the goods of love and charity and the truths of faith.

[39] In Malachi:

He shall not destroy for you the fruit of the ground, neither shall the vine in the field be barren to you; all nations shall proclaim you happy, and ye shall be a land of good pleasure (Malachi 3:11-12).

These things are said of those with whom is the church; and because "the fruit of the ground," and "the vine in the field" signify the goods and truths of the church ("fruit" goods, and "the vine" its truths), therefore they are called "a land of good pleasure."

[40] In David:

Let thy good spirit lead me into the land of uprightness; vivify me, O Jehovah, for Thy name's sake (Psalms 143:10-11).

"The land of uprightness" stands for the church in which is the right and the true; and because "the spirit of Jehovah" signifies Divine truth, and everyone receives spiritual life through that, therefore it is said, "Let Thy good spirit lead me," and "vivify me, O Jehovah."

[41] As the "earth" signifies the church, and where the church is there is heaven, therefore heaven is called "the land of the living," and "the land of life;" "the land of the living" in Isaiah:

I said, I shall not see Jah in the land of the living (Isaiah 38:11);

and in Ezekiel:

Who caused terror in the land of the living (Ezekiel 32:23-27).

"The land of life," in David:

Unless I had believed to see good in the land of life (Psalms 27:13).

[42] In Moses:

The stone shall be entire and just, the ephah shall be entire and just, that thy days may be prolonged upon the earth (Deuteronomy 25:15).

"Days to be prolonged upon the earth" does not mean a lengthening of life in the world, but the state of life in the church, thus in heaven; for "to be prolonged" is predicated of good and its increase, and "day" signifies the state of life; and as "a stone entire and just," which was a weight, and "an ephah entire and just," which was a measure, signify truth and good and their quality, and both together signify justice, "stone" signifying truth, and "measure" good, and as not to deceive by weight and measure is to be just, therefore such shall have the life of the church and afterwards life in heaven, which is meant by "their days upon the earth shall be prolonged."

[43] The like is signified by this precept in the Decalogue:

Honor thy father and thy mother, that thy days may be prolonged upon the earth (Exodus 20:12).

Those who honor father and mother have heaven and the happiness there, because in heaven no other father but the Lord is known, for all there have been generated anew from Him; and in heaven by "mother" the church is meant, and in general, the kingdom of the Lord. It is clear that those who worship the Lord and seek his kingdom will have life in heaven, also that many of those who honor father and mother in the world do not live there long.

[44] In Matthew:

Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth (Matthew 5:5).

"Inheriting the earth" signifies not possession of the earth, but possession of heaven and blessedness there; the "meek" mean those who are in the good of charity.

[45] In Isaiah:

Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a Son, and shall call His name God-With-Us: butter and honey shall He eat, that He may know to reject the evil and to choose the good; for before the Lad knoweth to reject the evil and to choose the good, the land which thou abhorrest shall be forsaken of its two kings. It shall come to pass in that day, by reason of the abundance of milk they yield, He shall eat butter; for butter and honey shall everyone eat that is left in the midst of the land (Isaiah 7:14-16, 21-22).

It is known that these things were said respecting the Lord and His coming; "butter and honey," which He shall eat, signify the goods of love; "butter" the good of celestial and spiritual love, "honey" the good of natural love; this means that He would appropriate the Divine to Himself even in respect to the Human; "to eat" signifying to appropriate. That "the land shall be forsaken before He knoweth to reject the evil and to choose the good" signifies that when He should be born there would not be anything of the church remaining in the whole world; and because those where the church was, rejected every Divine truth and perverted all things of the Word, and explained it in favor of self, it is said of the land, that is, the church, "which thou abhorrest from the presence of its two kings; "king" signifying the truths of heaven and of the church; "two kings" the truth of the Word in the internal or spiritual sense, and the truth of the Word in the external or natural sense. "Milk" signifies truth through which good comes, and as "butter" signifies the good therefrom, "by reason of the abundance of yielding milk, butter shall everyone eat that is left in the midst of the land" signifies that every truth shall be from good.

[46] In Matthew:

In the consummation of the age, all the tribes of the earth shall lament (Matthew 24:30).

"The consummation of the age" which is treated of in that chapter, is the last time of the church, when judgment takes place; "all the tribes of the earth" signify all truths and goods of the church, which are said "to lament" when they are no more.

[47] In Luke:

Then shall there be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, the sea and the waves roaring; men expiring for fear and for expectation of the things coming upon the whole earth; for the powers of the heavens shall be shaken. That day as a snare shall come upon all that dwell upon the face of the whole earth (Luke 21:25-26, 35).

Here also the last time of the church is treated of, when judgment takes place, and the "earth" and the "world" here mean the church. "The distress of nations upon the earth," "the fear and expectation of the things coming upon the earth, and upon all who dwell upon the face of the whole earth" signifies upon those who are in the spiritual world, not upon those who are in the countries in the natural world. (That there are lands in the spiritual world also, see what is said at the beginning of this article; and that the Last Judgment was accomplished there, see in the small work on The Last Judgment.) It has been told before what "sun," "moon," and "stars" signify, in which are signs, namely, that "sun" signifies love, "moon" faith therefrom, and "stars" the knowledges of good and truth; the "sea and waves roaring" signify the reasonings and assaults of truth from the sense of the letter of the Word, wrongly and perversely applied. The "powers of the heavens that shall be shaken" signify the Word in the sense of the letter, since this sense is the foundation of the spiritual truths that are in the heavens. (See Heaven and Hell, in the article that treats of The Conjunction of Heaven with Man by the Word, n.303-310.)

[48] In Isaiah:

Sing aloud ye heavens; shout, ye lower parts of the earth; break forth with singing, ye mountains, O forest and every tree therein; for Jehovah hath redeemed Jacob. I am Jehovah, that maketh all things; that stretchest forth the heavens alone; that spreadeth abroad the earth by Myself (Isaiah 44:23-24).

"Sing aloud, ye heavens; shout, ye lower parts of the earth; break forth with singing, ye mountains, O forest and every tree therein" signifies all things of heaven and of the church, both internal and external, all of which have reference to good and to truth. Things internal are signified by "the heavens," things external by "the lower parts of the earth;" "mountains" mean the good of love, the "forest" means natural truth, and the "trees" therein mean the knowledges of truth. Because such things are signified, it is said, "for Jehovah hath redeemed Jacob," "Jacob" in the Word signifying the external church, and "Israel" the internal church; "to stretch forth the heavens," and "to spread abroad the earth" signifies the church on all sides, which is spread forth and extended by the multiplication of truth and the fructification of good, with those who are of the church.

[49] In Zechariah:

Jehovah stretcheth out the heavens, and foundeth the earth, and formeth the spirit of man in the midst of him (Zechariah 12:1).

Here, too, in like manner "heavens" and "earth" signify the church everywhere, thus in respect to its interiors and as to its exteriors; therefore it is also said, "He formeth the spirit of man in the midst of him."

[50] In Jeremiah:

The gods that have not made the heaven and the earth, let them perish from the earth and from under the heavens. Jehovah maketh the earth by His power, prepareth the world by His wisdom, and stretcheth out the heavens by His intelligence. At the voice which He giveth forth there is a multitude of waters in the heavens, and He causeth the vapors to ascend from the end of the earth (Jeremiah 10:11-13; 51:15-16).

Because the "heavens" and the "earth" signify the church (as above), it is said, "Jehovah maketh the earth by His power, prepareth the world by His wisdom, and stretcheth out the heavens by His intelligence;" and therefore also it is said, "At the voice which He giveth forth there is a multitude of waters in the heavens, and He causeth the vapors to ascend from the end of the earth;" "the voice that Jehovah giveth forth" signifies Divine truth proceeding from Him; the "multitude of waters in the heavens" signifies truth in abundance, for "waters" signify truths; and "the vapors that He causeth to ascend from the end of the earth" signify the ultimate truths of the church, "vapors" are those truths; and "the end of the earth" is the ultimate of the church; and as "gods" signify the falsities of doctrine and of worship, which destroy the church, it is said, "The gods that have not made the heaven and the earth, let them perish from the earth and from under the heavens."

[51] In David:

Jehovah, who by intelligence maketh the heavens, and spreadeth out the earth above the waters (Psalms 136:5-6).

Because "heaven" and "earth" signify the church, and the church is formed by truths, and the truths of the church constitute intelligence, it is said, "Jehovah maketh the heavens by intelligence, and spreadeth out the earth above the waters," "waters" meaning the truths of the church.

[52] In Isaiah:

Thus saith Jehovah God, that createth the heavens, and stretcheth them out, that spreadeth forth the earth and the products thereof, that giveth breath to the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein (Isaiah 42:5).

"To create the heavens" and "to spread forth the earth and the products thereof" signifies to form the church and to reform those who are in it, "products" meaning all things of the church; therefore it is said, "that giveth breath to the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein." That "to create" is to reform, see above n. 294.

[53] In the same:

Drop down, ye heavens, from above, and let the [higher] clouds flow down with righteousness; let the earth open, and bring forth the fruit of salvation. I have made the earth, and created man upon it. Thus said Jehovah who created the heavens; God Himself who formeth the earth and maketh it and prepareth it: I have not spoken in secret, in a place of the land of darkness (Isaiah 45:8, 12, 18-19).

"Heavens" and "earth" here plainly mean all things of the church, both its internals and externals; for it is said, "Drop down, ye heavens, and let the [higher] clouds flow down with righteousness; let the earth open, and bring forth the fruit of salvation." "Heavens" signify the interiors of the church, because the interiors that are of man's spiritual mind are the heavens with him. (That with the man with whom the church is there is a heaven, see in the work on Heaven and Hell 30-57.) "To create the heavens and to form the earth, and make and prepare it," signifies to fully establish the church.

[54] In the same:

Behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former shall not be remembered (Isaiah 65:17).

"To create new heavens and a new earth" signifies to establish a new church in respect to its interiors and exteriors, both in the heavens and on earth (as above).

[55] In the same:

Who hath heard a thing like this? shall the earth bring forth in one day? shall a nation be begotten at one time? For as the new heavens and the new earth which I am about to make shall stand before Me, so shall your seed and your name stand (Isaiah 66:8, 22).

Because the "earth" signifies the church, it is said, "shall the earth bring forth in one day? shall a nation be begotten at one time?" "To bring forth," and "birth," and "to beget," and "begetting," in the Word, signify spiritual birth and begetting, which are of faith and love, thus reformation and regeneration. What the "new heavens" and the "new earth" signify has been told above.

[56] In Jeremiah:

I have made the earth, man and beast that are upon the faces of the earth, and I give it to him who is right in My eyes (Jeremiah 27:5).

"Man and beast that are upon the faces of the earth" signify the affections of truth and good in the spiritual and the natural man (See n. 280; and Arcana Coelestia 7424, 7523, 7872); and since these affections with men constitute the church in them it is said, "I have made the earth, man and beast that are upon the faces of the earth, and I give it to him who is right in My eyes." Everyone knows that God gives the earth not alone to those who are right in His eyes, but also to those who are not right, while the church He gives to those only who are right; "right" signifying truth and its affection.

[57] In Isaiah:

The heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall wax old like a garment, and the dwellers therein shall die in like manner (Isaiah 51:6).

The "heavens that shall vanish away," and the "earth that shall wax old like a garment" signify the church; this step by step falls, and at length is desolated; but not so the visible heaven and the habitable earth; therefore it is said, "and the dwellers therein shall die in like manner," "to die" signifying to die spiritually:

The heavens and earth shall pass away (Matthew 24:35; Mark 13:31; Luke 16:17);

has a like signification.

[58] In Revelation:

Four angels standing upon the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow upon the earth (Revelation 7:1).

"The four corners of the earth," and "the four winds of the earth" signify all truths and goods of the church in the complex; for they have the like signification as the four quarters of heaven (that these have this signification, see Heaven and Hell, On the Four Quarters in Heaven, n141-153). To "hold the four winds" signifies that truths and goods do not flow in because they are not received; therefore it is said that "the wind should not blow upon the earth." "The earth" signifies the church elsewhere in Revelation (as Revelation 10:2, 5-6, 8; 12:16; 13:13; 16:2, 14; 20:8-9, 11; 21:1), as well as in many other places in the Word, too numerous to be cited.

[59] As the church was signified by the "earth" and especially by the "land of Canaan," because the church was there, and as the church which was there was a representative church, so all things there were representative, and all that was said to them by the Lord signified the spiritual or interior things of the church, and this even to the land itself and its products; as in these words in Moses:

If thou wilt keep the commandments, Jehovah will lead thee into a good land, into a land of brooks of waters, of fountains, of depths coming forth out of valley and mountain; a land of wheat, of barley, of vine, of fig, of pomegranate; a land of the olive, of oil, of honey; a land where thou shalt eat bread without scarceness; it shall lack nothing; a land where the stones are iron and out of the mountains is digged copper; and thou shalt eat, and shalt be satisfied in this good land (Deuteronomy 8:6-10).

This is a description of all things of the church, both its interiors and its exteriors; but to explain what the particulars signify would be tedious and not to the present purpose.

[60] Because the "land" signifies the church it was among the blessings, that if they lived according to the commandments:

The land would yield its increase, evil beasts would cease out of the land, nor would the sword pass through the land (Leviticus 26:3-4, 6).

That "the land would yield its increase" signifies that there would be good and truth in the church; that "evil beasts would cease" signifies that there would not be evil affections and lusts, which destroy the church; that "the sword would not pass through the land" signifies that falsity would not cast out truth.

[61] Again, as the "land" signifies the church, it was also decreed that:

The seventh year should be a sabbath of the land, and that there should be no labor upon it (Leviticus 25:1-8).

It is therefore said also that:

The land was defiled on account of their evils, and would vomit them out because of their abominations (Leviticus 18:25-28).

Because the "land" [or ground] signified the church:

The Lord spat on the earth, and made clay of the spittle, and anointed the eyes of the blind man, and said, Go wash thee in the pool of Siloam (John 9:6-7, 11, 15);

So the Lord, when the Scribes and Pharisees questioned Him respecting the woman taken in adultery, stooping down, wrote twice on the earth (John 8:6, 8);

which signified that the church was full of adulteries, that is, full of the adulteration of good and the falsification of truth; therefore the Lord said to them:

He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her; but they went out one by one, beginning from the elders, even unto the last (John 8:7, 9).

[62] As most things in the Word have also a contrary sense, so has the "earth," which in that sense signifies the church vastated; it is vastated when the good of love and the truth of faith are no more, but instead thereof evil and falsity; as these damn man, the "earth" in that sense signifies damnation, as in the following places: Isaiah 14:12; 21:9; 25:12; 26:19, 21; 29:4; 47:1; 63:6; Lamentations 2:2, 10; Ezekiel 26:20; 32:24; Numbers 16:29-33; 26:10; and elsewhere.

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