831. 19:17 "또 내가 보니 한 천사가 해에 서서 공중에 나는 모든 새를 향하여 큰 음성으로 외쳐 가로되 와서 하나님의 큰 잔치에 모여"

"또 내가 보니 한 천사가 해에 서서 공중에 나는 모든 새를 향하여 큰 음성으로 외쳐 가르되 와서 하나님의 큰 잔치에 모여" 신성한 사랑과 신성한 열의로부터 진리에 대한 영적 애정 안에 있으며 천국을 생각하는 모든 사람은 새교회로 또 당신 자신과의 결합에로 또 이에 따라서 영생에로 부르시고 또 부르시는 주를 뜻한다.

"해에 선 한 천사"는 신성한 사랑 안에 있는 주를 뜻하며, "그 천사"는 주를, "해"는 당신의 신성한 사랑을 뜻한다. "큰 음성으로 외치는 것"은 신성한 열의로부터를 뜻한다. 왜냐하면, 주의 신성한 사랑에서 나온 음성이나 입류는 신성한 열의에서 나오기 때문이다. 열의는 사랑에 속하기 때문이다. "공중에 나는 모든 새"는 진리에 대한 영적 애정 안에 있으며 이로써 천국에 대하여 생각하는 모든 사람을 뜻한다. "하나님의 큰 잔치에 와서 모이는 것"은 새교회와 주와 결합토록 부르심을 받고 또 부르심을 받는 것을 뜻한다. 또 영생은 주와의 결합으로부터 있기 때문에 이 부르심은 영생을 얻도록 하는 것도 뜻한다. 오라고 외치시는 것은 부르시는 것을 뜻하고, "(다같이) 모여"는 함께 부르시는 것을 뜻한다.

"한 천사"가 말씀 안에서도 주를 뜻하는 것은 위(5, 170, 258, 344, 465, 649, 657, 718)를 보면 알 수 있을 것이다. 그밖에도 여기서는 당신께서 해에 서 계시는 것이 보였기 때문이요, 또 어떠한 천사도 해에 나타나지 않기 때문이다. 왜냐하면, 주는 영계의 해님이시오, 따라서 주님이 그곳에 계시기 때문이다. "해"가 주께 대하여 말하고 있으면 신성한 사랑을 뜻하는 것은 위(53, 414)를 보시면 알 수 있을 것이다. "큰 음성으로 외치는 것"은 신성한 사랑 안에 있는 주께 대하여 말할 때는 신성한 열의에서 말씀하시거나 입류하시는 것을 뜻하는 것이 분명하다 신성한 열의는 신성한 사랑에 속하고, 여기서는 인간 구원을 위하기 때문이다. "새들"이 이해성에 속하고 여기서 또 나온 사상에 속하는 것과 같은 것을 뜻하는 것은 위 757을 보시기 바란다. 여기서는 진리에 대한 영적 애정 안에 있으며 천국에 대하여 생각하는 사람들을 뜻한다.(245, 415) "공중에 나는 모든 새"라 말하였으며, "공중을 난다"는 것은 관찰하고, 유의하고, 생각하는 것을 뜻하는 것은 그들의 잔치를 "어린 양의 혼인잔치"라 말하여 있는816을 보시기 바란다.

2039. 'Every male [among you] is to be circumcised' means purity. This is clear from the representation and consequently the meaning of 'circumcising' in the internal sense. Circumcision or cutting off the foreskin meant nothing else than the removal and rejection of those elements which stand in the way of and defile heavenly love, namely evil desires, especially those of self-love, and falsities resulting from those desires. The reason why this is the meaning is that the genital organs of both sexes represent heavenly love. There are three kinds of love which constitute the heavenly things of the Lord's kingdom - conjugial love, the love of infants, and social or mutual love. Conjugial love is the chief love of all because it has within it the end of serving the greatest use, namely the propagating of the human race, and therefore of the Lord's kingdom for which it is the seminary. Next to conjugial love, and deriving from it, comes the love of infants, and after that social or mutual love. Whatever covers over, obstructs, and defiles those loves is meant by the foreskin, the cutting away of which, or circumcision, therefore became representative. Indeed to the extent evil desires and resulting falsities are removed, a person is purified and heavenly love can show itself. How contrary self-love is to heavenly love, and how filthy, has been stated and shown in 760, 1307, 1308, 1321, 1594, 2045, 2057. From these considerations it is plain that circumcision in the internal sense means purity.

[2] That circumcision is no more than the sign of a covenant or of conjunction becomes quite clear from the fact that circumcising the foreskin counts for absolutely nothing if unaccompanied by circumcision of the heart; and that purification from those filthy loves is what circumcision of the heart means is quite evident from the following places in the Word: In Moses,

Jehovah God will circumcise your heart, and the heart of your seed, so that you will love Jehovah your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live. Deuteronomy 30:6.

From these words it is clear that 'circumcising the heart' means being purified from filthy loves in order that Jehovah God or the Lord may be loved with all the heart and all the soul.

[3] In Jeremiah,

Break up your fallow ground, and do not sow among thorns. Circumcise yourselves to Jehovah, and remove the foreskin of your heart, O men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem. Jeremiah 4:3-4.

'Circumcising oneself to Jehovah and removing the foreskin of the heart' is nothing other than removing such things as stand in the way of heavenly love. From this it is also clear that circumcision of the heart is something more interior that is meant by circumcision of the foreskin. In Moses,

You shall circumcise the foreskin of your heart, and you shall be stiff-necked no longer. [Jehovah] executes judgement for the orphan and the widow, and loves the sojourner, giving him bread and clothing. Deuteronomy 10:16, 18.

Here also it is plain that 'circumcising the foreskin of the heart' means being purified from the evils that accompany filthy loves and from resulting falsities. The heavenly things of love are described as charitable works, namely 'executing judgement for the orphan and widow', and 'loving the sojourner to give him bread and clothing'.

[4] In Jeremiah,

Behold, the days are coming in which I will visit every one circumcised in the foreskin - Egypt, and Judah, and Edom, and the children of Ammon, and Moab, and all that have the corners [of their hair] cut and who dwell in the wilderness, for all these nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel is uncircumcised in heart. Jeremiah 9:25-26.

This too shows that circumcision was a sign meaning purification. Although they are called 'circumcised in the foreskin', these nations - the Jews included along with the rest - are considered to be 'uncircumcised nations', and Israel to be 'uncircumcised in heart'. In Moses,

If at that time their uncircumcised heart is humbled. Leviticus 26:41.

Here the meaning is similar.

[5] That the foreskin and being uncircumcised means that which is unclean is clear in Isaiah,

Awake, awake, put on your strength, O Zion, put on your beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city, for there will no more come into you the uncircumcised and the unclean. Isaiah 52:1.

'Zion' is used to mean the celestial Church and 'Jerusalem' the spiritual Church into which the uncircumcised, which means the unclean, will not enter.

[6] That circumcision is 'a sign of the covenant' or token of conjunction is quite clear from the fact that the same was represented by the requirement to circumcise the fruits of trees also, spoken of in Moses as follows,

When you come into the land and plant any kind of tree for food you shall circumcise its foreskin, its fruit. For three years it shall be to you uncircumcised; it shall not be eaten. And in the fourth all its fruit shall be holy. to the praises of Jehovah. Leviticus 19:23-24.

'Fruit' similarly represents and means charity, as becomes clear from many places in the Word. Their 'foreskin' accordingly means the uncleanness that obstructs and pollutes charity.

[7] Here is a marvel: When angels in heaven conceive the idea of purification from natural things that are filthy, something akin to circumcision is represented very speedily in the world of spirits, for in the world of spirits angelic ideas come over as representatives. In the Jewish Church there were some representative religious ceremonies which had those same origins and there were others which did not. The spirits with whom that swift circumcision was represented in the world of spirits were people who wished to be allowed into heaven, but before they were allowed in this representation took place. This explains why Joshua was commanded to circumcise the people after they had crossed the Jordan and were about to enter the land of Canaan. The people's entry into the land of Canaan represented nothing else than the admission into heaven of those who have had faith.

[8] This is why circumcision was commanded a second time, described in Joshua as follows,

Jehovah said to Joshua, Make swords of flint for yourself; circumcise the children of Israel a second time. And Joshua made swords of flint for himself, and circumcised the children of Israel on the hill of foreskins. And Jehovah said to Joshua, This day I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you. And he called the name of that place Gilgal (rolling away). Joshua 5:2-3, 9.

'Swords of flint' means the truths which they were to be provided with to enable them to correct and cut back filthy loves, for without cognitions of truth no purification is possible. That 'stone' or 'flirt' means truths has been shown already, in 643, 1298, and that 'a sword' has reference to truths by which evils may be corrected is clear from the Word.