410. Hid themselves in caves and in the rocks of the mountains, signifies truths and goods destroyed by evils of life and falsities therefrom. This is evident from the signification of "hiding themselves," as meaning that they were lost, namely, internal and external goods and truths, or those in the natural and in the spiritual man, which are signified by "the kings of the earth," "the great ones," "the rich," "the commanders of thousands," "the mighty," and by "every servant and every freeman," as has been shown above. From this it follows that "they hid themselves" signifies that these were lost, the things lost being also in a hidden place. It is evident also from the signification of "caves," as meaning evils of life (of which presently); and from the signification of "the rocks of the mountains," as meaning the falsities therefrom; for "rocks" signify the truths of faith, and in the contrary sense the falsities of faith, here the falsities from evils, for "mountains" signify evils springing from the loves of self and of the world (as was shown just above, n. 405). But on the signification of "rocks" see in the article immediately following; here the signification of "caves" will be treated of.

[2] It was said above that in the spiritual world there are mountains, hills, rocks, valleys, and lands, as on our globe, and that angels and spirits dwell on them; but yet in the spiritual world they have a different appearance; upon the mountains those dwell who are in the greatest light, below these on the same mountain those dwell who are in less light, and beneath these those who are in still less, and in the lowest parts those dwell who are in darkness and thick darkness as compared to the light the higher ones have; accordingly the heavens are in the higher part of the mountains, and the hells are in the lowest parts, thus the expanses of the mountains succeed each other as strata. This is so in order that the lower may be governed by the Lord through the higher; for the Lord flows in immediately from Himself into all things of the spiritual world, and mediately through the higher heavens into the lower, and through these into the hells. The reason for this arrangement is that all may be held in connection by influx; such a coordinate and subordinate arrangement exists through the whole spiritual world. Into the hells, which are under the mountains and in the rocks, entrances lie open either in the lowest parts of their sides or through caverns from the valleys; and the entrances in the lower parts of the sides appear like entrances into caves where there are wild beasts, altogether dark; these are opened when infernal spirits are let in, but are shut when they have been let in. These entrances are called in the Word "the gates of hell." But among the rocks these entrances appear like clefts in a cliff, and in some places like holes with various openings. The darkness in these gates or doors appears densely dark to good spirits and angels, but as if luminous to evil spirits; the reason is that there is no light of heaven there, but a fatuous lumen, which is natural lumen apart from the spiritual. The light of those there is not like the light [luminosum] of the world in the daytime, but like the nocturnal light that is suitable for owls, moles, birds of night, and bats, which see nothing in the light of day, and therefore the light of day is thick darkness to them, while the darkness of the night is their light. Their sight is such because it is formed of falsities and evils, which in themselves are darkness and thick darkness; for this reason "darkness" in the Word signifies falsities of every kind, and "thick darkness" the falsities of evil. From this it can be seen what is signified by "they hid themselves in caves," that is, in evils of life, the goods in them having been destroyed. Evils of life are signified by "caves" for the same reason that "mountains" signify the goods of life, namely, because those who are in them are such; for the spiritual sense is concerned solely with evils or with goods regarded apart from places and persons, that is, with the kinds of evils or goods in the places and in the persons, as has also been several times said above.

[3] From this it can be seen what is signified in the Word by "caves," "caverns," "hollows," "holes," "clefts," and "chinks of rocks and mountains," in the following passages. In Isaiah:

Enter into the rock, and hide thee in the dust, for the dread of Jehovah and for the glory of His magnificence. For there shall be a day of Jehovah of Hosts upon everyone that is proud and exalted, and upon everyone that is lifted up, and that is brought low; and upon all the cedars of Lebanon that are exalted and lifted up, and upon all the oaks of Bashan, and upon all the exalted mountains, and upon all the hills that are lifted up, and upon every lofty tower, and upon every fenced wall, and upon all the ships of Tarshish, and upon all images of desire; that the haughtiness of man [hominis] may be bowed down, and the loftiness of men [virorum] be brought low, and Jehovah alone be exalted in that day. And the idols shall go away into smoke. And they shall enter into the caves of the rocks, and into the clefts of the dust, for dread of Jehovah and for the glory of His magnificence when He shall arise to terrify the earth. In that day a man shall cast away his idols of silver and his idols of gold which they made for themselves to bow down to the moles and to the bats, to go into the rents of the rocks and into the clefts of the cliffs (Isaiah 2:10-21).

No one can understand all these things except from the internal sense, and unless he knows what the appearance of things is in the spiritual world; for without the internal sense who can know what is meant by "there shall be a day of Jehovah upon the cedars of Lebanon and the oaks of Bashan, upon mountains and hills, upon the tower and the wall, upon the ships of Tarshish and the images of desire;" and what is meant by "bowing down to moles and bats?" And unless the appearance of things in the spiritual world is known, who can know what is meant by "their entering into the rock and hiding themselves in the dust," "entering into the caves of the rocks and into the clefts of the dust," also "into the rents of the rocks and the clefts of the cliffs?" But from the internal sense it is known that all these things describe the state of those who are in the love of self and of the world, and thus in evils and falsities at the time of the Last Judgment.

It is therefore said "there shall be a day of Jehovah upon everyone that is proud and exalted, and upon everyone that is lifted up and that is brought low;" "day of Jehovah" meaning the Last Judgment; "everyone that is proud and exalted" meaning those who are in the love of self and the world, and "everyone that is lifted up and that is brought low" meaning those who are in the love of self-intelligence. This is further described by "there shall be a day of Jehovah upon all the cedars that are exalted and lifted up, and upon all the oaks of Bashan, and upon all the exalted mountains and hills that are lifted up, upon every lofty tower and fenced wall, and upon all the ships of Tarshish and the images of desire;" "the cedars of Lebanon" and "the oaks of Bashan" signify the pride of self-intelligence, "the cedars of Lebanon," interior pride, and "the oaks of Bashan" exterior pride; "mountains and hills" signify the loves of self and of the world, and the evils and falsities springing from them (as was shown above, n. 405); "tower" and "wall" signify the falsities of doctrine confirmed, "the ships of Tarshish" and "the images of desire" signify the knowledges and perceptions of falsity from evil; their worship from evils and falsities is signified by "the idols which they made for themselves, to bow down to the moles and the bats;" worship from such things as are from self-intelligence is signified by "the idols which they made for themselves to bow down unto;" the evils and falsities of doctrine from which such worship springs are signified by "moles and bats," because these have sight in the dark and shun the light; judgment upon such is described by "they shall enter into the caves of the rocks and into the clefts of the dust," also "into the rents of the rocks and into the clefts of the cliffs;" "to enter into the caves of the rocks and into the clefts of the dust" signifies the damnation of those who are in evils and falsities from the loves of self and of the world, and from the pride of self-intelligence; for the hells of such appear as caves in rocks, and the entrances into them as rents in rocks and clefts in cliffs; "rocks" and "cliffs" signifying the falsities of faith and doctrine, and "dust" signifying what is damned.

[4] In Jeremiah:

Thy horror hath deceived thee, the presumption of thine heart, O thou that dwellest in the holes of the cliff, that holdest the height of the hill; if thou shouldst make thy nest as high as the eagle, thence would I cast thee down (Jeremiah 49:16).

This is said of Esau and Edom; and "Esau" here signifies the love of self and the evil therefrom destroying the church, and "Edom" the pride of self-intelligence and the falsity therefrom destroying the church. That the love of self and such pride are meant is evident from its being said "the presumption of thine heart hath deceived thee; if thou shouldst make thy nest as high as the eagle, thence would I cast thee down." Those who are in falsities from self-intelligence dwell in rocks below, and the ways of approach to them appear like holes therein. These have also been seen by me. Within, however, there are rooms hollowed out and arched chambers where they sit in their fantasies. But before they are cast into these they are seen on mountains and hills, for they raise themselves into high places by fantasies, and as they are not in truths they think they are there bodily, and yet bodily they are in the caves of the rocks; this, therefore, is what is meant by "dwelling in the holes of the rocks, and holding the height of the hill." This makes clear the nature of the Word, namely, that in many places it conforms to the aspects and appearances in the spiritual world, which are unknown to man but known to spirits and angels; from which it is evident that the Word is written for them also.

[5] In Obadiah:

The presumption of thy heart hath deceived thee, thou that dwellest in the clefts of the cliff, in the height of thy seat; that saith in his heart, Who shall bring me down to the earth? Though thou shalt mount on high like the eagle, and though thou set thy nest among the stars, I will bring thee down from thence (Obadiah 1:3-4).

This, too, is said of Edom, who signifies here the pride of learning which is from self-intelligence, and falsity therefrom destroying the church. As almost similar things are said here as above, so the signification is similar; "the clefts of the rock" signify the falsities of faith and of doctrine, because those dwell there who are in such falsities; these are compared to an eagle because the eagle from its lofty flights signifies the pride of self-intelligence; so, too, "a nest for habitation" is mentioned, and "to set it among the stars" signifies in the heights where those dwell who are in the knowledges of truth, for the knowledges of truth are signified by "stars."

In Job:

To dwell in the clefts of the valleys, in the holes of the earth, and in the rocks (Job 30:6).

Here, too, "clefts of the valleys," "holes of the earth," and "rocks" signify the falsities of evil, for the falsities of evil are here treated of.

[6] In Isaiah:

It shall come to pass in that day, Jehovah shall hiss for the fly that is in the uttermost part of the rivers of Egypt, and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria, which shall come and shall rest, all of them, in the brooks of desolations, and in the clefts of the cliffs, and in all thickets, and in all courses (Isaiah 7:18-19).

This describes the church laid waste by knowledges [scientifica] falsely applied, and by reasonings therefrom, by which the very knowledges of truth from the Word are perverted; "the fly that is in the uttermost part of the rivers of Egypt" signifies the falsity in the outermost parts of the natural man; the outermost parts of the natural man are what are called sensual things, for the natural man is interior, middle, and exterior; the interior communicates with the spiritual man through the rational, the exterior with the world through the bodily senses, and the middle conjoins the two; the exterior is what is called the sensual, because it depends upon the bodily senses, and draws therefrom what belongs to it. The falsities that are in this and from it are signified by "the flies in the uttermost part of the rivers of Egypt;" but "the bee in the land of Assyria" signifies false reasonings therefrom, for "Assyria" signifies the rational, and "Egypt" the knowing faculty of the natural man; and because the rational derives all it has from the knowledges [scientifica] of the natural man, its reasonings are signified by "bees," for as bees suck out and derive their store from flowers, so the rational does from the knowledges [scientifica] of the natural man. Here, however, "bees" signify false reasonings, because the rational gathers what belongs to it from knowledges [scientifica] falsely applied. It is from correspondences that these are likened to flies and bees; for in the spiritual world flying things of various kinds appear, but they are appearances from the ideas of the thoughts of spirits, and the noxious flying things among them are flies and bees of such a kind; "the flies in the uttermost part of the rivers of Egypt" have their correspondence from their springing out of the filth of rivers. It is said "which shall come and shall rest in the brooks of desolations and in the clefts of the cliffs," which signifies that the falsities of knowledges [scientifica] and of reasonings therefrom have their seats where there are no truths and where there is the faith of falsity, "the brooks of desolations" meaning where there are no truths, and "the clefts of the cliffs" where there is the faith of falsity; "in all thickets and in all courses" signifies that the knowledges and perceptions of truth are falsified by such things; "thickets" meaning the knowledges of truth, and "courses" the perceptions, and these are falsified by the above-mentioned falsities when they flow in. No one can see and know that these arcana are contained in these words except from the internal sense, and at the same time from the spiritual world.

[7] In the same:

The palace shall be abandoned, the multitude of the city forsaken, the height and the watch-tower shall be over the caves even forever, a joy of wild asses and a pasture for droves (Isaiah 32:14).

This describes the total vastation of the church, where there is no longer any good of life or truth of doctrine; yet no one can know what is involved in it unless he knows the state of things in the spiritual world, and at the same time the internal sense. The devastation of the whole church is meant by "the palace shall be abandoned, and the multitude of the city forsaken;" "palace" signifying the whole church in respect to truths from good, and "abandoned" where there is no good because there is no truth; therefore "the palace shall be abandoned" signifies the church devastated; "the multitude of the city" signifies all truths of doctrine, for "city" means doctrine, and "multitude" is predicated of truths, which are said to be "forsaken" when they cease to be; "the height and the watch-tower shall be over the caves even forever" signifies that a church shall no longer exist with them, because there is nothing but the evil of life and the falsity of doctrine; "caves" signifying such things because such persons dwell in caves, as was said above; and because such persons dwell in deep places in the spiritual world, and are covered over by heights and watch-towers, thus hidden from those who abide on the lands there, therefore it is said not only that "the height and the watch-tower shall be over the caves," but also that they shall be "a joy of wild asses and a pasture for droves." Moreover, in that world there are many hells in deep places wholly hidden by the lands, rocks, and hills above, or by the heights and watch-towers, where there is grass like a pasture for flocks; for which reason these hells are unknown to those who dwell there upon the land. "A joy of wild asses" signifies also the affection or love of falsities; and "a pasture for droves" the nourishing of evils from falsities; and both of these signify the devastation of truth by falsities. From this it can be seen what an arcanum lies hidden in these words.

[8] In Jeremiah:

Is this house, upon which My name is named, become a den of robbers? (Jer. 7:11).

"A den of robbers" signifies the evil of life from the falsities of doctrine; and "the house upon which My name is named" signifies the church where there is worship from the goods of life by truths of doctrine; "house" meaning the church, and "the name of Jehovah" everything by which He is worshiped, thus good and truth, truth of doctrine and good of life. The church where there is evil of life from falsities of doctrine is called "a den of robbers" because "den" signifies that evil, and those are called "robbers" who steal truths from the Word and pervert them, and apply them to falsities and evils, and thus extinguish them. All this makes clear what is meant by the Lord's words in the Gospels:

It is written, My house shall be called a house of prayers; but ye have made it a den of robbers (Matt. 21:13; Mark 11:17; Luke 19:46).

"House" here, in the universal sense, signifies the church; and because worship was performed in the temple at Jerusalem, it is called "a house of prayers." (That the temple signifies the church, see Arcana Coelestia, n. 3720; that "prayers" signify worship, see above, n. 325; that "to be called" has a similar signification as "to name My name upon them," see above, Arcana Coelestia, n. 3421.)

[9] In Isaiah:

The suckling shall play on the hole of the adder, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the basilisk's den (Isaiah 11:8).

Neither can this be understood unless, from the things that appear in the spiritual world, it is known what is meant by "the hole of the adder" and by "the basilisk's den." It was said above that the entrances to the hells appear like holes in the rocks and like gaps opening into caves, such as wild beasts in the forests have; those who dwell in these, when they are looked at in the light of heaven appear like monsters of various kinds and like wild beasts. Those who are in the hells where those dwell who act craftily against innocence appear like adders, and those who act craftily against the good of love appear like basilisks; and as "suckling" or "sucking infant" signifies the good of innocence it is said "the suckling shall play on the hole of the adder;" and as "a weaned child," or an infant that has stopped sucking, signifies the good of love, it, is said, "and the weaned child shall put his hand on the basilisk's den," and this signifies that those who are in the good of innocence and in the good of love to the Lord have no fear whatever of evils and falsities which are from hell, because they are protected by the Lord. (That "infants," in the Word, and also "sucklings," signify the good of innocence, see Arcana Coelestia 430, 3183; and what "adders" and other poisonous serpents signify, n. 9013)

[10] In Jeremiah:

Take the girdle that thou hast bought for thyself, which is upon thy loins, and arise and go to Euphrates, and hide it in a cleft of the cliff. This he also did; and afterwards at the end of many days he went there and took it again, and behold the girdle was marred and was not profitable for anything (Jeremiah 13:4-7).

This represented the quality of the Jewish Church, namely, that it was destitute of all the good of life and the truth of doctrine. For "the girdle" upon the loins of the prophet signified the conjunction of the Lord with the church by means of the Word; "Euphrates" signifies everything of the church in respect to good, here in respect to evil; and "the cliff" everything of the church in respect to truth, here in respect to falsity, for it is said "a cleft of the cliff;" that "the girdle was marred so as not to be profitable for anything" signified that there was no conjunction whatever of the church with the Lord, consequently that there was no church.

[11] "Cave" has a like significance in the histories of the Word as in the prophesies of the Word; for the histories of the Word, the same as the prophesies of the Word, contain an internal sense. Thus it is related of Lot, that after the burning of Sodom and Gomorrah:

He dwelt in a cave of the mountain with his two daughters, who made him drunk and lay with him; whence were born Moab and Ammon (Genesis 19:30-33).

The representation and signification of this occurrence is similar to that of Moab and Ammon in the Word, for "Moab" signifies the adulteration of the good of the church, and "Ammon" the falsification of the truth of the church (See Arcana Coelestia 2468, 8315); and "adulteries" and "whoredoms" signify in general the adulterations of good and the falsifications of truth (See above, n. 141, 161); and the various kinds of adulteries and whoredoms (such as are enumerated in Leviticus 18:6-30), signify the various kinds of adulterations and falsifications of good and truth; and this is why Lot is here said to have "dwelt in a cave;" such an abomination being signified here by "the cave of the mountain." In the book of Judges it is said:

That the sons of Israel did evil in the eyes of Jehovah, and therefore were given into the hand of Midian; and because of Midian they made for themselves caves in the mountains and dens and strongholds (Judges 6:1-2).

The "evil" which the sons of Israel did means the perversion of good and truth, as can be seen from what follows there, and also from the signification of "Midian" (See Arcana Coelestia 3242), on account of whom they made for themselves caves in the mountains and dens; for the sons of Israel were possessed by the evil signified by "Midian;" "because of Midian" signifying on account of that evil. It was similar when the sons of Israel fled on account of the Philistines (1 Samuel 13:6).

10182. 'Its horns shall be of one piece with it' means the powers of truth derived from the good of love and charity. This is clear from the meaning of 'horns' as the powers of truth, dealt with in 2832, 9719-9721. The reason why derived from the good of love and charity is meant is that all the power which truth possesses comes from that good. Therefore also the horns continued from the altar itself or were of one piece with it; for this altar was representative of the Lord, of His hearing and receiving everything of worship that springs from love and charity, 10177.

[2] The statement that all the power which truth possesses comes from the good of love is unintelligible to those who have only a material idea of power, and therefore the nature of that power must be described. In the heavens all power is derived from Divine Truth emanating from the Lord's Divine Good. This is the source of the power angels possess, for angels are recipients of Divine Truth from the Lord, 1752, 4295, 8192. By means of the power which they receive from that source they protect a person by removing the hells from him; for a single angel is stronger than a thousand who come from hell. This power is what Peter's keys serve to mean, though Peter, who in the same place is referred to as a rock, means the Lord in respect of the truth of faith springing from the good of love, see Preface to Genesis 22, and 3750, 4738, 6000, 6073(end), 6344(end), 10087, 'the Rock' being the Lord in respect of the truth of faith, 8581.

[3] The power that Divine Truth possesses is also meant by 'the voice of Jehovah' in David,

The voice of Jehovah is upon the waters; the voice of Jehovah is powerful; the voice of Jehovah breaks the cedars; the voice of Jehovah strikes a flame of fire; the voice of Jehovah causes the wilderness to shake; the voice of Jehovah strips the forests bare; Jehovah gives strength to His people. Psalms 29:3-5, 7-9, 11.

'The voice of Jehovah' is the Divine Truth emanating from His Divine Good, see 9926.

[4] The power that Divine Truth possesses is also meant by 'the Word' in John,

All things were made through the Word, and without Him nothing was made that was made. John 1:3.

'The Word' is the Divine Truth emanating from Divine Good, see 9987. Therefore also the Lord, when He was in the world, first made Himself Divine Truth, which is also meant in John 1:14 by the Word became flesh. The Lord made Himself Divine Truth then to the end that He might fight against all the hells and overcome them, and in so doing might restore all things to order there, and at the same time in the heavens, 9715, 9809, 10019, 10152.

[5] The fact that truths springing from good possess all power, while on the other hand falsities arising from evil have no power, is very well known in the next life. For this reason the evil who come there from the world have their belief, which is no more than persuasion, and also their knowledge of any truth, taken away from them. This then leaves them with the falsities belonging to their evil.

[6] The statement that truths springing from good possess such power is unintelligible to those who have the idea that truth or a belief in truth is no more than mental activity, when yet a person's mental activity, under the control of his will, constitutes all the strength which the body has; and if the Lord were to instill it through His Divine Truth into that body the person would possess the strength of Samson. But yet it is the Lord's good pleasure to impart strength to a person through faith springing from love in the things that belong to his spirit and that contribute to eternal life.

[7] From all this one may see what should be understood by the power of truth springing from good, the power meant by 'the horns' of both the altar of burnt offering and the altar of incense. That this power is meant by 'the horns' is clear from places in the Word where 'horns' are mentioned, as in Ezekiel,

On that day I will make a horn grow up for the house of Israel. Ezekiel 29:21.

In Amos,

Have we not by our own strength taken horns for ourselves? Amos 6:13.

In the first Book of Samuel,

Jehovah will give strength to His king, and exalt the horn of His anointed. 1 Samuel 2:10.

In David,

Jehovah has exalted the horn of His people. Psalms 148:14.

In the same author,

All the horns of the wicked I will cut off; the horns of the righteous will be exalted. Psalms 75:10.

In Jeremiah,

The Lord has cut down in His very fierce anger ¹ the whole horn of Israel. And He has exalted the horn of your foes. Lamentations 2:3, 17.

In Ezekiel,

You push with side and shoulder, and butt with your horns all the weak sheep, until you have scattered them abroad. Ezekiel 34:21.

In Zechariah,

I saw four horns. The angel said, These are the horns which have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem. The smiths have come to cast down the horns of the nations lifting up their horn against the land of Judah. Zechariah 1:18-21.

In Moses,

His horns are unicorn horns ² . With these he will strike the peoples together to the ends of the earth. Deuteronomy 33:17.

In these places it is self-evident that power is meant by 'horns', and indeed power in both senses, that is to say, of truth directed against falsity and of falsity directed against truth; for the state of the Church is the subject in the internal sense of every one of these places.

[8] Something similar occurs in Amos,

On that day I will visit the altars of Bethel, and the horns of the altar will be cut away and fall to the ground. Amos 3:14.

'The altars of Bethel' and 'the horns of the altar' mean the evils and falsities destroying the Church's goodness and truth, regarding which it says that they 'will be cut away'.

[9] From all this one may see what should be understood by 'the horns' mentioned so frequently by Daniel, and by John in the Book of Revelation. Daniel describes the beast which had ten horns and also a horn speaking, Daniel 7:8, 11, 20; and he says that the horn was making war with the saints and prevailing, until the Ancient of Days ³ came, Daniel 7:11, 21-22, 24. He also speaks about the horns of the ram and the horns of the he-goat, which they used to make war against each other, Daniel 8:3-21. And John mentions that the dragon had ten horns, Revelation 12:3, as did the beast coming up out of the sea, Revelation 13:1, and also the scarlet beast, Revelation 17:12. In this verse it is also stated that the ten horns are ten kings; and the same words occur in Daniel 7:24. By 'kings' in the Word truths are meant, and in the contrary sense falsities, see 1672, 2015, 2069, 3009, 4575, 4581, 4966, 5044, 5068, 6148.

[10] It is because 'horn' means truth in its power, or in the contrary sense falsity destroying truth, that speech is attributed to a horn in Revelation 9:13; Daniel 7:8; Psalms 22:21.

[11] The anointing of kings with oil from a horn, 1 Samuel 16:1, 13; 1 Kings 1:39, represented truth springing from good, in its power; for truths in their power are meant by 'horns', good by 'oil', and those who are guided by truths springing from good by 'kings'. For the meaning of 'oil' as good, see 886, 9780; and for that of 'kings' as those who are guided by truths springing from good, thus - in the abstract sense - as truths springing from good, 6148. So it is also that in Psalms 132:17 a horn is said to bud, because all spiritual budding is that of truth springing from good. Therefore also in former times they made [imitations of] budding horns.

All power belongs to good and is exercised through truth, or what amounts to the same thing, belongs to truth springing from good, see the places referred to in 10019.

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