514. And the third part of the ships perished.- That this signifies also all cognitions from the Word, and from doctrines thence, is evident from the signification of the third part, as denoting everything (omne), in this case all (omnes), because it is said of the cognitions of truth and good; and from the signification of ships, as denoting the cognitions of truth and good, also doctrinals. Ships have this signification, because they carry wealth over the sea for merchandize; and wealth, in the Word, signifies the cognitions of truth and good, which are also doctrinals. Ships in a strict sense, in which a containant is meant, signify the Word, and doctrine from the Word, because the Word and thence doctrine contain the cognitions of truth and good, as ships contain wealth. And to trade, which is chiefly done by means of ships, signifies to procure for oneself cognitions, and to communicate them to others; but when the things contained are understood instead of the thing which contains, then ships signify cognitions from the Word, and from doctrine from the Word. That ships signify such things is evident from the passages where they are mentioned in the Word.

[2] Thus in Ezekiel:

O Tyre "thy borders are in the heart of the sea, thy builders have perfected thy beauty. They have made all thy planks of fir trees of Senir; they have taken the cedar from Lebanon to make a mast for thee. Of the oaks of Bashan have they made thine oars; they have made thy planks of ivory, a daughter of steps from the isles of Chittim. The inhabitants of Zidon and Arvad were thy rowers; thy wise men, O Tyre, were in thee, they were thy pilots. The elders of Gebal and the wise men thereof were in thee stopping thy fissure; all the ships of the sea and their mariners were in thee to trade thy trading. The ships of Tarshish, thy troops in thy market; whence thou wast replenished, and greatly honoured in the heart of the seas" (27:4-6, 8, 9, 25).

The subject treated of in this chapter is Tyre. And because Tyre signifies the cognitions of truth and good, therefore also her trading is treated of, and the different kinds of wares by which she was enriched; for her trading with different kinds of wares with which she was enriched signify the acquisition of those cognitions, and thence spiritual wealth. Here therefore a ship is described with all its equipment, planks, oars, mast, pilots, rowers, and sailors, and in the preceding and following verses, the wares. But the signification of every detail in the spiritual sense it would be tedious here to describe; it will be sufficient to observe, that it is evident that a ship signifies doctrine from the Word, and that its planks, oars, and mast, signify the various things from which doctrine is; and, that those who teach, lead, and rule, are meant by the pilot, the shipmasters, the rowers, and sailors, and the doctrinals themselves by its wares, the acquisition of wealth and spiritual riches, which are the cognitions of truth and good; and the means by which wisdom is obtained, are meant by trading; it is therefore said,

"Thy wise men, O Tyre, were in thee, they were thy pilots."

[3] And in the following chapter, where also Tyre is treated of:

"Behold, thou art wiser than Daniel; there is no secret that they have hidden from thee; in thy wisdom and in thine understanding thou hast gotten thee riches, and hast gotten gold and silver into thy treasuries; by the multitude of thy wisdom in thy trading hast thou increased thy riches" (Ezekiel 28:3-5).

It is evident from these words, that Tyre and her tradings mean the cognitions of truth and good by which wisdom is procured. What purpose would it serve to say so much about her wares and her merchandize, if spiritual things were not meant? That Tyre means the church as to the cognitions of truth and good, consequently the cognitions of truth and good pertaining to the church, may be seen in the Arcana Coelestia 1201).

[4] The vastation of the Church, as to the cognitions of good and truth, is afterwards treated of in the same chapter, and is described in these words:

"The suburbs shall shake at the sound of the cry of thy pilots; and all that handle the oar, all the pilots of the sea, shall come down from their ships, they shall cry bitterly over thee" (Ezekiel 27:28, 29, 30).

Pilots signify those who are wise by means of cognitions from the Word; by them that handle the oar, are signified the intelligent; the vastation of wisdom and intelligence is signified by the sound of the cry of the pilots, and by those who handle the oar descending from the ships.

[5] That in the Word the cognitions of truth and good and also doctrinals from the Word are meant by ships, when they signify wealth, that is when the contents are put for that which contains, is still further evident from the following places.

In Isaiah:

"Howl, ye ships of Tarshish; for Tyre is laid waste. The inhabitants of the island are silent, the merchant of Zidon who passes over the sea, has replenished thee. Howl, ye ships of Tarshish; for your stronghold is laid waste" (23:1, 2, 14).

The ships of Tarshish mean doctrinals from the Word; for those ships carried gold and silver, by which are signified goods and truths, and the cognitions of them, from the Word; and because Tyre signifies the church as to the cognitions of truth and good, in the present case, that church vastated, hence it is said, "Howl, ye ships of Tarshish, for Tyre is laid waste." The inhabitants of the isle mean those who are in goods of life according to their doctrinals; the merchants of Zidon signify those who are in truths from the Word, of whom it is said, "They have replenished thee." Your stronghold signifies doctrine from the Word defending, and its being laid waste signifies that there is no perception of it, and thence that it is not true; for similar doctrinals from the Word, apart from spiritual perception, are not true, because falsified by incorrect ideas concerning them.

[6] In the same prophet:

"The isles shall trust to me, and the ships of Tarshish in the beginning, to bring thy sons from far, their silver and their gold with them" (60:9).

By the ships of Tarshish, in the beginning, are meant the cognitions of truth and good, such as those who are reformed first possess, as may be seen above (n. 406:11), where those things have been explained. For the ships of Tarshish, in the beginning, brought gold and silver in great abundance, which signify the goods of life and truths of doctrine.

[7] Concerning the ships of Tarshish it is written in the first Book of Kings:

"Solomon made a ship in Ezion-geber, which is beside Eloth, on the shore of the Sea Suph (Red Sea), in the land of Edom. And Hiram sent his servants, shipmen that had knowledge of the sea, with the servants of Solomon; they came to Ophir, and fetched gold, four hundred and twenty talents, and brought it to king Solomon" (9:26-28).

And again:

"For the king had at sea ships of Tarshish with the ships of Hiram; once in three years came the ships of Tarshish, bringing gold, and silver, ivory, and apes, and peacocks" (10:22).

And again, in the same book, king "Jehoshaphat made ships of Tarshish to go to Ophir for gold, but they went not; for the ships were broken at Ezion-geber" (22:48).

Although these things are matters of history, they nevertheless contain a spiritual sense, equally as the prophetical parts. That ships were made in Ezion-geber, at the shore of the Sea Suph (Red Sea), in the land of Edom, signified the knowledges (scientiae) of the natural man, for these contain in themselves, and as it were carry spiritual wealth, just as ships carry worldly wealth. For the Sea Suph (Red Sea) and the land of Edom, where Ezion-geber was, formed the farthest boundary of the land of Canaan, and the farthest boundaries of the land of Canaan signify the ultimates of the church which are the knowledges that embrace the cognitions of truth and good. Gold and silver signify the goods and truths of the internal church; ivory, apes, and peacocks signify the truths and goods of the external church. Knowledges (scientiae) here mean such knowledges as the ancients possessed, namely, the knowledges (scientiae) of correspondences, of representations, and influxes, and concerning heaven and hell; these especially embraced the cognitions of the truth and good of the church, and were serviceable to them. By Hiram are signified the nations who are outside the church, with whom also there are cognitions of good and truth; and the ships under king Jehoshaphat being broken, signify the devastation of the church as to its truths and goods.

[8] What is specifically signified by the ships of Tarshish, in the passages already cited, is evident from the above considerations; and also in David:

"Thou breakest the ships of Tarshish with the east wind" (Psalm 48:7).

The east wind signifies devastation and desolation; for the wind which comes from the east in the spiritual world, overturns the abodes of the evil from their foundations, and they themselves, with the treasures on which they had fixed their hearts, are cast out into the hells; concerning this wind see the Last Judgment 61). The ships of Tarshish here signify false doctrinals.

[9] And in Isaiah:

"The day of Jehovah Zebaoth upon all the cedars of Lebanon, that are high and lifted up, and upon all the oaks of Bashan, and upon all the high 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 the images of desire, in order that the pride of man (homo) may be destroyed, and the haughtiness of men (vir) may be humbled; and that Jehovah alone may be exalted in that day" (2:12-17).

The day of Jehovah means the coming of the Lord, when a last judgment was accomplished by Him. That this was accomplished by the Lord, when He was in the world, may be seen in the Last Judgment 46). In this passage, those within the church upon whom judgment was executed, are referred to. The cedars of Lebanon, high and lifted up, signify those who are proud of [their] own intelligence; and the oaks of Bashan, those [who are proud] of their knowledge (scientia); for cedars in the Word refer to the rational man, and oaks to the natural man; and intelligence belongs to the rational man and knowledge (scientia) to the natural man. The high mountains and the hills that are lifted up, signify those who are in the love of self and in the love of the world, as may be seen above (n. 405:35). The lofty tower and the fenced wall, signify confirmed principles of falsity, consequently all those who are in them. By the ships of Tarshish, and by the images of desire, are signified false doctrinals favouring the delights of earthly loves; the destruction of pride, from [man's] own intelligence, and knowledge (scientia), is meant by the words "that the pride of man (homo) may be destroyed, and the haughtiness of men (vir) [be humbled]." That all intelligence and knowledge (scientia) are from the Lord, is signified by "that Jehovah alone may be exalted in that day." It is supposed that knowledge (scientia) is from man; but knowledge so far as it is serviceable for intelligence, wherein is the perception of truth, is from the Lord alone.

[10] In Isaiah:

In Zion and in Jerusalem, "Jehovah magnificent unto us, a place of rivers, of a stream, of breadth of spaces; a ship of oar shall not go therein, nor magnificent ship pass through it" (33:21).

Zion and Jerusalem mean the church of the Lord; Zion, the church where the good of love rules; and Jerusalem, where the truth of doctrine [rules]. Jehovah is there called magnificent when the men of the church are of such a quality that they become recipients of Divine Good and Truth from the Lord. Zion and Jerusalem are called a place of rivers, of a stream, and of breadth of spaces, when all their intelligence and wisdom, and their good and truth, are from the Lord; rivers denoting wisdom; stream, intelligence; and the breadth of spaces, truths from good in multitude and extension. A ship of oar shall not go therein, nor magnificent ship pass through, signifies that in the church there shall be no intelligence and wisdom from the proprium. A ship of oar signifies intelligence from the proprium, because it is moved by men by means of oars; and a magnificent ship signifies wisdom from the proprium, because man, from that, is arrogant, and proud; for a ship when it is passing along, and going through the sea, being then in its course and carrying its wealth, signifies intelligence and wisdom. That a ship is not here meant is evident, for this is spoken of Zion and Jerusalem.

[11] In David:

"O Jehovah, how manifold are thy works! This sea great and wide in spaces, wherein are things creeping innumerable, animals both small and great; there go the ships; there is that leviathan, whom thou hast made to play therein; all things wait for thee, that thou mayest give them their food in its season" (Psalm 104:24-27).

Here the sea, creeping things, animals, the leviathan or sea monster, and ships are not meant, but such things as are with the men of the church, for these wait upon Jehovah. The sea great and wide signifies the external or natural man, which receives goods and truths scientifically; great is said of the good therein, and broad, of the truth. By creeping things are signified living scientifics; by animals great and small, the cognitions higher and lower, of good and truth of every kind, also in general and in particular, as shown in the preceding article (n. 513). Ships mean doctrinals. The leviathan or sea monster means all things of the natural man in the aggregate, who is said to sport in the sea, from the delight of knowing and thence of becoming wise. Because man is moved by these things with the desire to know and understand, it is therefore said, "All things wait for thee, that thou mayest give them their meat in its season." To wait for signifies to desire, and food signifies knowledge (scientia) and intelligence; for man from himself does not desire these, but from those which he has from the Lord; these things therefore [are the source of desire] in man, although it appears as though man [desires] from himself.

[12] So again:

"They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in many waters; these have seen the works of Jehovah, and his wonders in the deep" (Psalm 107:23, 24).

They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in many waters, signify those who attentively study the doctrine of truth from the Word. These have seen the works of Jehovah, and His wonders in the deep, signifies that they understand the truths and goods of heaven and the church, and the hidden things thereof; the works of Jehovah denote all things of the Word which perfect man, all of which have reference to good and truth; and the wonders in the deep denote the hidden things of intelligence and wisdom.

[13] In Isaiah:

"Thus saith Jehovah, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; For your sakes I have sent to Babel, and I will cast down all the bars, and the Chaldeans, in whose ships there is a cry" (43:14).

The subject here is the liberation of the faithful from the oppression of those who vastate the church; those who vastate it are meant by Babel, and they vastate by withholding everyone from the cognitions of truth and good, declaring that they alone possess knowledge, and are to be believed, when yet they know nothing of truth; and so they keep both themselves and others in dense ignorance and turn them away from the worship of the Lord, in order that they themselves may be worshipped. To cast down their bars signifies to destroy their principles of falsity and the falsities which devastate truths, bars signifying principles of falsity. By the Chaldeans are meant those who devastate by means of falsities; for by Babel, in the Word, are signified those who by evils destroy goods, and by the Chaldeans, those who by means of falsities destroy truths. In whose ships there is a cry, denotes the destruction of their doctrinals.

[14] This destruction is thus described in the Apocalypse by ships:

"In one hour so great riches is made desolate. And every pilot, and every one engaged in ships, and sailors, and all who trade by sea, stood afar off. And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas, that great city," Babylon "wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of their costliness, for in one hour is she made desolate" (Revelation 18:17-19).

But this passage may be seen further explained in the following pages.

In Daniel:

"At length at the time of the end shall the king of the south struggle with him; therefore the king of the north shall rush against him like a whirlwind, with chariot and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall come upon the land, and shall overflow and penetrate" (11:40).

The time of the end signifies the last time of the church, when there is no truth, because there is no good. By the king of the south is meant truth in the light, which is truth from good. The king of the north means that there is no truth because no good, and therefore falsity; for where there is no truth there is falsity, for then man turns himself from heaven to the world, and from the Lord to self; and when there is nothing, out of heaven from the Lord, then only falsity from evil flows in from self and the world. The combats between good from truth and between falsity from evil, in the last times of the church, are described in that chapter by the combats between the king of the south and the king of the north. That falsities will then rush in, and destroy truths, is meant by the king of the north rushing against the king of the south, with chariots, with horsemen, and with many ships. Chariots denote the doctrine of falsity, horsemen, reasonings therefrom, and ships, falsities of every kind and falsifications of truth. His coming upon the land, and overflowing and penetrating, signifies that falsities would destroy all things of the church, both exterior and interior.

[15] In Moses:

"Jehovah shall bring thee again into Egypt in ships by the way whereof I spake unto thee; thou shalt see it no more again; where ye shall be sold unto your enemies for bondsmen and bondswomen, nor yet a buyer" (Deuteronomy 28:68).

Here the subject is the desolation of the church as to truth, if they do not live according to the precepts of the Lord in the Word. The sons of Israel, to whom these things were said, represented, and thence signified the church in which are the Word, and thence the truths of doctrine, thus spiritual men; but the Egyptians merely natural men. Jehovah shall bring them again into Egypt in ships, signifies that they would become merely natural by doctrinals of falsity, ships denoting doctrinals of falsity. By the way whereof I spake unto thee; thou shalt see it no more again, signifies from the spiritual into the merely natural man; for the man of the church, from natural, becomes spiritual, but when he does not live according to the precepts of the Word, he, from a spiritual, becomes a merely natural man. Where ye shall be sold to your enemies for bondsmen and bondswomen, signifies that falsities and evils shall rule; nor yet a buyer, signifies altogether vile.

[16] In Job:

"My days were swifter than a runner; they fled away, they did not see good. They are passed away with the ships of desire; as the eagle that swoopeth on the prey" (9:25, 26).

The ships of desire with which the days fled away signify natural affections and delights of every kind, which are only of the body and the world; and because these are eagerly desired and imbibed in preference to things spiritual, it is said, "as the eagle that swoopeth on the prey."

[17] In Moses:

"Zebulun shall dwell at the haven of the seas; and he shall be for a haven of ships; and his border shall be unto Zidon" (Genesis 49:13).

Zebulun signifies the conjunction of good and truth; he shall dwell at the haven of the seas, signifies the life of truth; and he shall be for a haven of ships, signifies according to doctrinals from the Word; and his border shall be unto Zidon, signifies extension on one part to the cognitions of good. These things may be seen explained in the Arcana Coelestia 6382-6386).

[18] So again: "Then there shall be ships from the coasts of Chittim, and shall afflict Ashur, and shall afflict Eber; but he also shall come to destruction" (Num. 24:24).

This is in the prophecy of Balaam. Ships from the coasts of Chittim signify the cognitions of truth and good, which they possessed who were of the Ancient Church; Ashur, whom they shall afflict, signifies reasonings from falsities; and Eber, whom they shall also afflict, signifies the externals of worship, such as they were with the sons of Jacob; their vastation as to truth and good is signified by "he also shall come to destruction."

[19] In the book of Judges:

"Gilead, why dwellest thou in the passing of Jordan; and why shall Dan fear ships?" (5:17).

Gilead means the same as Manasseh, and Manasseh signifies the good of the natural man; and because the tribe of Manasseh did not fight with Deborah and Barak against the enemy, it is said, "Gilead, why dwellest thou in the passing of Jordan?" which signifies why livest thou only in externals, which are of the natural man? The external of the church was signified by the regions beyond Jordan, and its internal by the regions within Jordan. The external of the church is with those who are more natural than spiritual. And because the tribe of Dan was not present with Deborah and Barak in the battle with the enemy, it is said of Dan, "why shall Dan fear ships?" This signifies, why did he not repel falsities and doctrinals of falsity?

[20] As all things in the Old Testament contain in themselves a spiritual sense, so also do all those things in the New Testament, which are contained in the Evangelists, and in the Apocalypse. Also all the words of the Lord, also His deeds and miracles, signify celestial Divine things, because the Lord spake from the Divine, and performed His works and miracles from the Divine, thus from primaries by means of ultimates, and so in fulness. It is therefore evident that the Lord teaching from ships was significative, and also His calling certain disciples from their ships while they were fishing, as well as His walking on the sea to the ship in which His disciples were, and thence His calming the wind.

Concerning the Lord teaching from a ship it is said in the Evangelists,

"Jesus sat by the sea. And great multitudes were gathered together unto him, so that he went into a ship and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore. And he spake many things unto them in parables" (Matthew 13:1, 2 and following verses; Mark 4:1, 2 and following verses).

And again:

"[It came to pass that] Jesus stood by the lake of Gennesaret, and saw two ships standing by the lake, then he entered into one of the ships, which was Simon's, and prayed him that he would thrust out a little from the land. And he sat down, and taught the people out of the ship" (Luke 5:1-3).

Here in every detail there is a spiritual sense, both in His sitting by the sea, and [standing] by the lake of Gennesaret, and also in entering into Simon's ship, and teaching many things therefrom. This was done, because the sea, and the lake of Gennesaret, when the Lord is [treated of], signify the knowledges of good and truth in their whole compass, while the ship of Simon signifies the doctrinals of faith; therefore teaching from a ship signified to teach from doctrine.

[21] Concerning the fact of the Lord walking on the sea to the ship in which the disciples were, it is thus written in the Evangelists:

"The ship" (in which the Lord's disciples were), "was in the midst of the sea driven by the wind; in the fourth watch of the night, Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea. And Peter said, Bid me come unto thee on the water. And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship he walked on the waters to go to Jesus. But beginning to sink, he was afraid. Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou, of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt? And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased. Then they that were in the ship worshipped him, saying, Of a truth thou art the Son of God" (Matthew 14:24-33; Mark 6:48-52).

And again:

"When even was come, his disciples went down unto the sea, and entered into a ship, and went over the sea toward Capernaum. And it was now dark, and Jesus was not come to them. And the sea arose by reason of a great wind that blew. When they had rowed about five-and-twenty or thirty furlongs, they see Jesus walking on the sea, and drawing nigh unto the ship; and therefore they were afraid. But he saith, It is I; be not afraid. Then they were willing to receive" Jesus "into the ship; but immediately the ship was at the land whither they were going" (John 6:16-21 and following verses).

All the details here also signify Divine spiritual things, which nevertheless, do not appear in the letter; as the sea, the Lord walking upon it, the fourth watch in which He came to the disciples, the ship, Jesus entering into it, and thence rebuking the wind and the waves of the sea, with other particulars. But it is not necessary to explain what the spiritual things here separately signify, except to state that the sea signifies the ultimate of heaven and of the church, because in the ultimate borders of the heavens there are seas. The walking of the Lord upon the sea, signified the presence and influx of the Lord into them also, and thence life from the Divine with those who are in the ultimates of heaven; the life of these from the Divine was represented by the Lord walking upon the sea. Their obscure and wavering faith was represented by Peter walking upon the sea, and beginning to sink, but being caught by the Lord he was saved. To walk, also, in the Word, signifies to live. This taking place in the fourth watch, signified the first state of the church, when it is daybreak and the morning is at hand, for then good begins to act by means of truth, and then the coming of the Lord takes place; the sea being in the meantime in commotion from the wind, and the Lord calming it, signifies the preceding natural state of the life, which state is turbulent, and, as it were, tempestuous; but when the state is next to the morning, which is the first state of the church with man, there is tranquillity of mind because the Lord is then present in the good of love.

[22] The signification of the Lord's calming the wind and the waves of the sea, as also recorded in the Evangelists, is similar.

"Jesus having entered into a ship, his disciples followed him. But, behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the ship was covered with the waves; but he was asleep. And his disciples came to him, and awoke him, saying, Lord, save us; we perish. Then he arose, and rebuked the wind and the sea; and there was a great calm" (Matthew 8:23-26; Mark 4:36-40; Luke 8:23, 24).

This represented the state of the men of the church, when in a natural, and not yet in a spiritual [state], in which state the natural affections, which are various desires, that spring from the loves of self and of the world, rise up, and cause various disturbances of the mind. In this state the Lord appears to be absent, and this apparent absence is signified by the Lord being asleep; but when they come out of a natural into a spiritual state, then those disturbances cease, and tranquillity of mind succeeds. For the tempestuous passions of the natural man are calmed by the Lord, when the spiritual mind is opened, and the Lord flows through that into the natural.

Since the affections which are of the love of self and of the world and thence the thoughts and reasonings, are from hell, for they are lusts (concupiscentiae) of every kind which thence rise up into the natural man, therefore these also are signified by the wind and the waves of the sea; and hell itself is signified in the spiritual sense by the sea.

[23] This also is evident from its being said that "the Lord rebuked the wind." And in Mark, "Jesus arose (expergefactus) and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm" (4:39). This would not have been said to the wind and to the sea, unless hell were meant by those things, whence arise tempestuous disturbances of the mind from various desires. That the hells are also signified by seas, may be seen above (n. 342:10).

342.(5:13) And every created thing which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying. That this signifies the acknowledgment and thence the glorification of the Lord by the angels who are in the lowest parts of heaven, is clear from the signification of every created thing, as denoting all who are reformed. That to be created signifies to be reformed and regenerated, may be seen above, n. 294. Hence created thing signifies what is reformed and regenerated; but with respect to the angels, concerning whom these things are said, it signifies those who were reformed in the world, that is, created anew, for all such are in heaven. By created thing is meant the same as by creature in Mark:

Jesus said to the disciples, "Going into all the world, preach ye the gospel to every creature" (16:15).

Here by every creature are meant all those who receive the gospel, and can thereby be reformed; the rest are not meant by creatures, because they do not receive, but hear and reject.

[2] From these considerations it is evident what the quality of the Word is in the sense of the letter, namely, that it is said creature, and that it is said every created thing, which is in heaven and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them. He who does not know that the sense of the letter is composed of such things as appear before the eyes, and that by these things spiritual [things] are meant, may easily be led to believe, that by every created thing which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, are meant the birds that fly in the heaven, the beasts that walk upon the earth, and the fishes that are in the sea; and the more so, because in various passages elsewhere in the Word, similar things are said of the birds of the heaven, the beasts of the earth, and also whales and fishes (as Ezekiel 39:17; Psalms 148:7; Job. 12:7, 8; Rev. 19:17; and elsewhere). But still those whose minds can be somewhat elevated above the sense of the letter, instantly perceive by interior sight that by those things are meant the angels and spirits who are in heaven and under heaven, and that these are those whom John heard when he was in the spirit; for it is said, "Heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb, for ever and ever"; from which it is evident that the angels in the lowest parts of heaven are those who are meant by everything created which is in them. This indeed follows from the consideration, that in the verses which precede, the subject treated of is the angels of the higher heavens and the angels of the lower heavens, that they acknowledged and glorified the Lord (see above, n. 322, 355).

[3] It shall now be explained who are meant by those in heaven, who by those on the earth, and under the earth, and who by those in the sea; by all of whom are meant those who are in the ultimates of heaven, the higher there by those who are in heaven, the lower there by those who are on the earth and under the earth, and the lowest there by those who are in the sea. There are three heavens, and each heaven is divided into three degrees, and similarly the angels who are in them; therefore in each heaven there are higher, middle, and lower [angels]; these three degrees of the ultimate heaven are meant by those who are in heaven, who are on the earth, and such as are in the sea. (Concerning which distinction of the heavens and of each heaven, see the Arcana Coelestia 4938, 4939, 9992, 10005, 10017, 10068; and concerning the ultimate degree, n. 3293, 3294, 3793, 4570, 5118, 5126, 5497, 5649, 9216; and in the work concerning Heaven and Hell 29-40.) It ought to be known, that in the spiritual world, where spirits and angels are, the appearance of all things is similar to that of the natural world where men are, namely, that there are mountains, hills, earths, and seas (see above, n. 304). Upon the mountains dwell the angels who are in the third or inmost heaven, upon the hills there those who are in the second or middle heaven, and upon the earth, and under the earth, and in the seas, those who are in the first or ultimate heaven. But the seas in which the inhabitants of the lowest heaven dwell, are not as the seas in which the evil dwell; they differ in the waves. The waves of the seas of the lowest heaven in which are the well-disposed, are light and pure; but the waves of the seas in which the evil are, are gross and impure; thus the seas are altogether different.

[4] I have been sometimes granted to see those seas, and also to converse with those who are in them; and it was found that those were there who had been merely sensual in the world, but yet well-disposed; and because they were sensual, they could not understand what the Spiritual is, but only what the Natural is, nor could they perceive the Word, and the doctrine of the church from the Word, otherwise than sensually. All these appear to be as in a sea; but those who are there do not seem to themselves to be in a sea, but, as it were, in an atmosphere of a kind similar to that in which they lived when in the world; that they are in the sea appears only before those who are above them. At this day there is an immense number there, because so many at this day are sensual. This ultimate part of heaven corresponds to the soles of the feet. On this account it is, that seas are so often mentioned in the Word, and also the fishes therein; and by the seas there are signified the general things of truth which belong to the natural man, and by the fishes sensual scientifics, which are the lowest things of the natural man, consequently, those are signified who are of such a quality, or those who are in them [i.e. sensual scientifics]. (What sensual things, and what sensual men are, and that they are both good and evil, see the Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 50.) From these considerations it can now be known what is meant by every created thing which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and which are in the sea, and all that are in them.

[5] Similar things are signified by seas and by the things that are therein, which are called fishes and whales, in the following passages. In David:

"Let the heaven and the earth praise" Jehovah, "the seas, and everything that creepeth therein. For God will save Zion, and will build the cities of Judah" (Psalms 69:34, 35).

It is said also everything that creepeth therein, and those who are sensual are meant. By Zion which God shall save, and by the cities of Judah which He shall build, are meant the celestial church and its doctrine, - by Zion that church, and by cities the doctrine thereof. The same are meant by these words in David:

"Praise Jehovah from the earth, ye whales and all deeps" (Psalms 148:7).

The same are meant by whales. Hence also it is that Egypt is called a whale (Ezekiel 29:3); for by Egypt is signified the scientific part in the natural man, and by a whale the Scientific in general.

[6] Similar things are also signified elsewhere by those expressions. In the same:

"Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet; the flock and all herds; and also the beasts of the field; the bird of the heaven, and the fishes of the sea" (Psalms 8:6-8).

Here the subject treated of is the Lord, and His Divine power over heaven and earth; and by the flock and the herds, the beasts of the field, the bird of the heaven, and the fishes of the sea, are meant men, spirits, and angels, as to their spiritual and natural [qualities]; and by the fishes of the sea those who are in the ultimates of heaven, as shown above.

In Job:

"Ask the beasts now, and they shall teach thee; or the birds of the heaven, and they shall tell thee; or the shoot of the earth, and it shall teach thee; and the fishes of the sea shall declare unto thee. Who knoweth not from all these that the hand of Jehovah hath wrought this?" (Job 12:7-9).

[7] In Ezekiel:

"The angel brought me again unto the door of the house; where, behold, waters issued out from under the threshold of the house towards the east. Then he said unto me, These waters issue out toward the eastern border, and descend into the plain, and come towards the sea; they are sent out into the sea that the waters may be healed; whence it comes to pass, every living soul that creepeth, whithersoever the rivers come, shall live; whence it cometh that there is exceeding many fish, because these waters shall come thither; and they are healed, that everything may live whither the river cometh. According to their kind shall the fish be, as the fish of the great sea, exceeding many. The miry places thereof and the marshes thereof are not healed; they go away into salt" (47:1, 8-11).

By the waters issuing from under the threshold of the house towards the east, are signified truths from a heavenly origin, the waters denoting truths; the east denoting the good of heavenly love, and the house denoting heaven and the church. The plain into which the waters descend, and the sea into which they come, signify the ultimates of heaven and the church, consequently, those who are in ultimates, concerning whom we have spoken above, namely, those who are in knowledges of truth only from the ultimate sense of the Word, and apprehend them naturally and sensually. These, when they are in simple good, receive influx out of the higher heavens, whence it is that they also receive the spiritual in their knowledges, and thence some spiritual life. This is meant by "the waters are sent out into the sea, that the waters may be healed; whence it comes to pass that every living soul which creepeth, whithersoever the rivers come, shall live." Likewise by these words: "Whence it cometh that there is exceeding many fish, because these waters come hither, and are healed." But those who are of such a nature, and not good, are meant by these words: "The miry places thereof, and the marshes thereof are not healed; they go away into salt." To go away into salt signifies not to receive spiritual life, but to remain in a life merely natural, which, separated from spiritual life, is defiled with falsities and evils, which miry places and marshes denote.

[8] Similar things are signified by the sea, and by the fishes of the sea, in Isaiah:

"Behold, at my rebuke I dry up the sea, I make the rivers into a wilderness; their fish stinketh, because there is no water, and dieth for thirst" (50:3).

By rebuke is signified the desolation of all truth; by the sea is signified where truth is in its ultimate; by water is signified truth from a spiritual origin; by dying for thirst is signified desolation from a lack of that truth; by the fishes of the sea are signified those who are in the ultimates of truth, in whom there is no life from a spiritual origin.

[9] Similar things are signified by the fishes of the sea in Ezekiel:

"In my zeal, in the fire of mine indignation I will speak; that the fishes of the sea may tremble before me, and the bird of the heavens, and the beast of the field, and every reptile that creepeth upon the earth" (Ezekiel [38]:19 ¹ , 20).

In Hosea:

"They rob on the highway, and bloods touch bloods; therefore the earth shall mourn, and everyone who dwelleth therein shall pine away, as to the beast of the field, and as to the bird of the heavens, and also the fishes of the sea they shall be gathered together" (4:2, 3).

And in Zephaniah:

"In consuming I will consume all things from upon the faces of the earth; I will consume man and beast; I will consume the bird of the heavens, and the fishes of the sea" (1:2, 3).

By man and beast when they are mentioned together, are signified the interior and exterior affections of good (see n. 7424, 7523, 7872). And by the fowls of the heaven and the fishes of the sea, are signified the affections of truth, and thoughts spiritual and natural, but, in the passages adduced, that they are about to perish.

[10] The reason that the sea and fishes signify such things is from the appearance in the spiritual world. All the societies there appear surrounded with an atmosphere corresponding with their affections and thoughts. Those in the third heaven, appear in an atmosphere pure as the ethereal [atmosphere]; those in the second heaven, appear in an atmosphere less pure, according to the nature of the air; the societies, however, in the ultimate heaven, appear surrounded with an atmosphere watery, as it were; but those who are in the hells appear surrounded with gross and impure atmospheres, some of them as in black waters, and others differently. It is the affections and the thoughts thence that produce those things around them; for spheres are exhaled from all, and these spheres are changed into such appearances. (Concerning those spheres, see the Arcana Coelestia 2489, 4464, 5179, 7454, 8630.) That those, however, who are in spiritual affection and the thought therefrom are signified by birds of the heaven, and those who are in natural affection and the thought therefrom, by fishes, is also from the appearance in the spiritual world; for there appear there both birds and fishes, over the earths birds, and in the seas fishes. It is the affections and the thoughts therefrom of those who are there that so appear. All know this who are in that world, and both the birds and the fishes have been often seen by me; that appearance is from correspondence. From these considerations it is evident why it is, that seas signify general things of truth, and whales and fishes the affections and thoughts of those who are in the generals of truth. That seas signify the general things of truth, may be seen in what was shown above, n. 275.

[11] The quality of those in the spiritual world who dwell in that watery atmosphere meant by seas, I wish to illustrate by one example only. Such, when they read these words in David,

"Everything that Jehovah willeth, he doeth in heaven and earth, in the seas and all deeps" (Psalms 135:6),

suppose that by heaven is meant the heaven visible before our eyes, and by the earth the habitable earth, and by the seas and deeps the seas and deeps, and thus that Jehovah does in them whatsoever He wills; and they cannot be led to believe that by heaven is meant the angelic heaven; by earth there, those who are below; and that by seas and by depths those there who are in ultimates. These things being spiritual, and above the sense of the letter, they are not willing, and scarcely are able, to perceive, because they see all things naturally and sensually.

[12] Hence also it is that by these words in the Apocalypse,

"I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away" (21:1),

it has been hitherto understood that the visible heaven and the habitable earth would perish, and that a new heaven and a new earth would appear; that by heaven here is meant the heaven where the angels are, and by the earth here is meant the church where men are. That they will become new, those who think merely naturally and sensually are unwilling [to admit], and, consequently, do not understand. For they do not suffer the mind to be raised out of merely natural light into spiritual light; for with them this is difficult, so much so that they can scarcely bear the Word to be understood otherwise than as the letter declares in its own sense, and as the natural man apprehends it. These persons are not unlike those birds that see and sing in obscure places, and in the light of day blink with the eyes and see little. The good among them are like those birds, and also like flying fishes; but the evil of that sort are like owls and horned-owls, which altogether shun the light of day, and they are like fishes which cannot be taken into the air without being deprived of life. The reason is, because with the good of that class, the internal spiritual man receives for a time spiritual influx from heaven, and hence some perception that it is so, although they do not see. With the evil, however, of that class the internal spiritual man is altogether shut; for every one has an internal and an external man, or both a spiritual and a natural; the internal or spiritual man sees from the light of heaven, but the external or natural man sees from the light of the world.

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