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Arcana Coelestia # 7418
7418. 'And strike the dust of the land' means that he should remove those things in the natural which are damned. This is clear from the meaning of 'striking' as removing; from the meaning of 'the dust' as that which is damned, dealt with below; and from the meaning of 'the land', at this point the land of Egypt, as the natural mind, dealt with above in 7409. The reason why 'the dust' means that which is damned is that the places on the fringes below the soles of the feet, where evil spirits are, look like a land. They look like an uncultivated and dry land, to be exact, below which there are certain kinds of hells. That land is what is called the damned land, and the dust there serves to mean that which is damned. I have been allowed on several occasions to see evil spirits shaking off the dust there from their feet when they wished to consign someone to damnation. I saw them doing this in a position on the right slightly in front of me, on the borders of the hell of magicians, where spirits who during their life in the world have possessed a knowledge of matters of belief, but have nevertheless led a life of evil, are cast down into the hell that is theirs. This then is why 'the dust' means that which is damned, and 'shaking off the dust' damnation.
[2] Since it had that meaning the Lord commanded the disciples to shake off the dust on their feet if they were not well received. What He said about this appears in Matthew as follows,
If anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, as you leave that house or city, shake off the dust on your feet. Truly I say to you, It will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgement than for that city. Matthew 10:14-15; Mark 6:11; Luke 9:5; 10:10-12.
Here the disciples are not meant by the disciples but all aspects of the Church, thus all aspects of faith and charity, 2089, 2129 (end), 2130 (end), 3354, 3858, 3913, 6397. 'Not receiving' and 'not listening to' mean rejecting the truths of faith and forms of the good of charity, while 'shaking off the dust on their feet' means damnation. And the reason why 'it will be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah than that city' is that 'Sodom and Gomorrah' is used to mean those who lead a life of evil but have known nothing about the Lord and the Word, and so could not be receptive. From this it may become clear that a house or a city unreceptive of the disciples is not meant, but those who though they are within the Church do not lead the life of faith. Anyone may see that an entire city could not be damned for not receiving the disciples and instantly accepting the new teaching proclaimed by them.
[3] That which is damned is also meant by 'the dust' which people in former times placed on their heads in grief or when penitent, as in Jeremiah,
The elders of the daughter of Zion sit on the ground, they are silent; they have caused dust to come up over their heads, they have girded themselves with sackcloth; the virgins of Jerusalem have caused their heads to come down to the ground. Lamentations 2:10.
In Ezekiel,
They will cry out bitterly, and will cause dust to come up over their heads; they roll themselves in ashes. Ezekiel 27:30.
In Micah,
Do not weep at all in the house of Aphrah; roll yourself in the dust. Micah 1:10.
In John,
They threw dust onto their heads, and cried out, weeping and wailing. Revelation 18:19.
The same actions are referred to throughout the historical narratives of the Word. Casting dust over the head, prostrating body and head on the ground, and rolling over in the dust on it, represented self-abasement, which - when it is genuine - is such that the person acknowledges and perceives that he is damned, yet is rescued from damnation by the Lord, see 1327, 3994, 4347, 5420, 5957.
[4] The dust' into which the golden calf which they made in the wilderness was crushed and ground down likewise means that which is damned. This is spoken of in Moses as follows,
I took your sin which you had made, the calf, and I burnt it in the fire, and crushed it by grinding it right down until it was as fine as dust; and I threw its dust into the brook descending out of the mountain. Deuteronomy 9:11.
'Dust' again means that which is damned in the following places: In Genesis,
Jehovah God said to the serpent, On your belly you will go, and dust will you eat all the days of your life. Genesis 3:14.
In Micah,
Shepherd Your people as in the days of eternity. The nations will see and be ashamed at all their power; they will lick the dust like a serpent. Micah 7:14, 16-17.
In Isaiah,
For the serpent, dust will be his bread. Isaiah 65:25.
In the same prophet,
Come down and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babel. Isaiah 47:1.
In David,
Our soul was bowed down to the dust, our belly clung to the earth. Psalms 44:25.
In the same author,
My soul clings to the dust; vivify me. Psalms 119:25.
In the Word 'dust' in addition means the grave, as well as that which is lowly, and that which is numerous too.
Ezekiel 27
1
The word of Yahweh came again to me, saying,
2
You, son of man, take up a lamentation over Tyre;
3
and tell Tyre, you who dwell at the entry of the sea, who are the merchant of the peoples to many islands, thus says the Lord Yahweh: You, Tyre, have said, I am perfect in beauty.
4
Your borders are in the heart of the seas; your builders have perfected your beauty.
5
They have made all your planks of fir trees from Senir; they have taken a cedar from Lebanon to make a mast for you.
6
Of the oaks of Bashan have they made your oars; they have made your benches of ivory inlaid in boxwood, from the islands of Kittim.
7
Of fine linen with embroidered work from Egypt was your sail, that it might be to you for a banner; blue and purple from the islands of Elishah was your awning.
8
The inhabitants of Sidon and Arvad were your rowers: your wise men, Tyre, were in you, they were your pilots.
9
The old men of Gebal and the wise men of it were in you your repairers of ship seams: all the ships of the sea with their mariners were in you to deal in your merchandise.
10
Persia and Lud and Put were in your army, your men of war: they hanged the shield and helmet in you; they set forth your comeliness.
11
The men of Arvad with your army were on your walls all around, and valorous men were in your towers; they hanged their shields on your walls all around; they have perfected your beauty.
12
Tarshish was your merchant by reason of the multitude of all kinds of riches; with silver, iron, tin, and lead, they traded for your wares.
13
Javan, Tubal, and Meshech, they were your traffickers; they traded the persons of men and vessels of brass for your merchandise.
14
They of the house of Togarmah traded for your wares with horses and war horses and mules.
15
The men of Dedan were your traffickers; many islands were the market of your hand: they brought you in exchange horns of ivory and ebony.
16
Syria was your merchant by reason of the multitude of your handiworks: they traded for your wares with emeralds, purple, and embroidered work, and fine linen, and coral, and rubies.
17
Judah, and the land of Israel, they were your traffickers: they traded for your merchandise wheat of Minnith, and confections, and honey, and oil, and balm.
18
Damascus was your merchant for the multitude of your handiworks, by reason of the multitude of all kinds of riches, with the wine of Helbon, and white wool.
19
Vedan and Javan traded with yarn for your wares: bright iron, cassia, and calamus, were among your merchandise.
20
Dedan was your trafficker in precious cloths for riding.
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Arabia, and all the princes of Kedar, they were the merchants of your hand; in lambs, and rams, and goats, in these were they your merchants.
22
The traffickers of Sheba and Raamah, they were your traffickers; they traded for your wares with the chief of all spices, and with all precious stones, and gold.
23
Haran and Canneh and Eden, the traffickers of Sheba, Asshur [and] Chilmad, were your traffickers.
24
These were your traffickers in choice wares, in wrappings of blue and embroidered work, and in chests of rich clothing, bound with cords and made of cedar, among your merchandise.
25
The ships of Tarshish were your caravans for your merchandise: and you were replenished, and made very glorious in the heart of the seas.
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Your rowers have brought you into great waters: the east wind has broken you in the heart of the seas.
27
Your riches, and your wares, your merchandise, your mariners, and your pilots, your repairers of ship seams, and the dealers in your merchandise, and all your men of war, who are in you, with all your company which is in the midst of you, shall fall into the heart of the seas in the day of your ruin.
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At the sound of the cry of your pilots the suburbs shall shake.
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All who handled the oar, the mariners, [and] all the pilots of the sea, shall come down from their ships; they shall stand on the land,
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and shall cause their voice to be heard over you, and shall cry bitterly, and shall cast up dust on their heads, they shall wallow themselves in the ashes:
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and they shall make themselves bald for you, and clothe them with sackcloth, and they shall weep for you in bitterness of soul with bitter mourning.
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In their wailing they shall take up a lamentation for you, and lament over you, [saying], Who is there like Tyre, like her who is brought to silence in the midst of the sea?
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When your wares went forth out of the seas, you filled many peoples; you did enrich the kings of the earth with the multitude of your riches and of your merchandise.
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In the time that you were broken by the seas in the depths of the waters, your merchandise and all your company did fall in the midst of you.
35
All the inhabitants of the islands are astonished at you, and their kings are horribly afraid; they are troubled in their face.
36
The merchants among the peoples hiss at you; you are become a terror, and you shall nevermore have any being.
