734. And there was war in heaven.- That this signifies combat of falsity against truth, and of truth against falsity, is evident from the signification [of war as denoting spiritual war, that is,] of falsity against truth and of truth against falsity, of which we shall speak presently. The falsity here meant is falsity from evil, while the truth is truth from good; for many kinds of falsities exist, but those only which are from evil fight against truths from good, since evil is opposed to good, and all truth is of good. All those are in the falsities of evil who in their life have given no thought to heaven and the Lord, but have thought only of themselves and the world. To think of heaven and the Lord in the life, is to think that one ought to act in such or such a manner, because the Word so teaches and commands; those who do this, since they live from the Word, live from the Lord and heaven. But to think only of oneself and the world, is to think that one ought to act in this or that manner because of the laws of the country, and for the sake of reputation, honours and gain. Such persons do not live for the Lord and heaven, but for themselves and the world; these are in evil as to life, and from evils in falsities; and those who are in falsities from this source fight against truths. But these do not fight against the Word, for they call it holy and Divine, but they fight against the genuine truths of the Word; they confirm their falsities by the Word, but by the sense of its letter only, which in some passages is of such a nature that it may be interpreted to confirm the most heretical principles, for the reason that the Word in that sense is adapted to the apprehension of children and the simple minded; these for the most part are sensual, and the sensual receive only those things that they see. And because the Word is such in the letter, therefore those who are in falsities from evil of life confirm their falsities by the Word, and thus falsify the Word. In fact those who separate faith from charity, so falsify the Word that wherever mention is made of acting or of deeds and works, they explain such passages - of which there are thousands - so as to make it appear that not the doing of deeds or works is meant, but only believing and faith; and so in other cases. These things have been said in order that the reader may know who are meant by those who are in falsities from evil, and who made war with Michael and his angels, as treated of in the following article.

[2] That war, in the Word, signifies spiritual war, which is that of falsity from evil against truth from good, and of truth from good against falsity from evil, or what is the same thing, that which is waged by those who are in falsities from evil against those who are in truths from good, is evident from a number of passages in the Word, of which we shall cite only the following.

In Isaiah:

"Many peoples shall go and say, Come and let us go up to the mountain of Jehovah, to the house of the God of Jacob, who will teach us of his ways, that we may go in his paths; for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the Word of Jehovah from Jerusalem; that he may judge among the nations, and rebuke peoples, who shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks; nation shall not lift up the sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. O house of Jacob, come ye, and we will go in the light of Jehovah" (2:3-5; Micah 4:3).

This treats of the Lord's coming, and of the fact that those who will be of His New Church are to be instructed in truths, by which they will be led to heaven. The mountain of Jehovah and the house of Jacob signify the church in which there are love to the Lord and worship from that love. The call to that church, and thus to the Lord, is signified by Many peoples shall go and say, Come, and let us go up to that mountain. That they are to be instructed in the truths by which they will be led, is signified by the words He will teach us of His ways, that we may go in His paths, - ways denoting truths, and paths precepts of life. That they will be taught by means of the doctrine of the good of love, and the doctrine of truth from that good, which are for the church out of heaven from the Lord, is signified by Out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the Word from Jerusalem, - the law denoting the doctrine of the good of love, and the Word, truth from that good. That evils of life and falsities of doctrine will then be dissipated is signified by He will judge among the nations and rebuke peoples, - nations signifying those who are in evils, and peoples those who are in falsities, thus, in an abstract sense, evils of life and falsities of doctrine.

[3] That, by common consent, combats will then cease is signified by They shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks, - swords and spears denoting falsities from evil fighting against truths from good, and truths from good against falsities from evil, ploughshares denoting the goods of the church cultivated by means of truths. For a field that is tilled by the ploughshare denotes the church as to the good of life, and pruning-hooks denote truths of doctrine, because trees in gardens signify perceptions and cognitions of truth. The signification of Nation shall not lift the sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more is similar, war signifying combats in their whole extent. Come ye, and we will go in the light of Jehovah, signifies that such will live a life of wisdom, the light of Jehovah denoting the Divine Truth, and to go in it denoting to live according to it, thus a life of wisdom. That war here signifies spiritual war, which is that of falsities against truths and goods, and conversely, and that swords and spears, which are arms of war, signify such things as are used in spiritual combats, is manifestly evident, for the Lord, the church to be established by Him, and also the doctrine for that church, is the subject dealt with here, therefore it is said, "He shall teach us of his ways, that we may go in his paths;" also,

"Come ye, and we will go in the light of Jehovah."

[4] In Hosea:

"In that day I will make for them a covenant with the wild beast of the field, and with the bird of the heavens, and with the creeping thing of the earth; and the bow, and the sword, and the war, will I break off from the earth, and I will cause them to lie down securely" (2:18).

The signification of the wild beast of the field, the bird of the heavens, and the creeping thing of the earth, with which Jehovah in that day will make a covenant, may be seen above (n. 388:27, 701:20), where it is also shown that by breaking the bow, the sword, and the war, is signified to cease from all combat between falsity and truth, therefore it is added, "And I will cause them to lie down securely," which means security from the infestations of evils and falsities from hell.

[5] In Zechariah:

"I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem, and the bow of war shall be cut off; and he will speak peace to the nations" (9:10).

These words also have been explained above (n. 355:5, 357:1), and from them it is evident that the bow of war signifies doctrine of truth fighting against falsities, for this is said of the Lord.

In David:

Jehovah "who setteth desolations in the earth, who maketh wars to cease even to the end of the earth, who breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder, who burneth the chariots with fire" (Psalm 46:8, 9).

Here also, Jehovah making wars to cease to the end of the earth signifies that He causes combats understood in the spiritual sense, to cease, which are combats of falsities against the truths and goods of the church, as may be seen above (n. 357:28).

[6] In the same:

God "breaketh the flashings (scintillas) of the bow, the shield, and the sword, and the war" (Psalm 76:3).

This has a similar signification, as may be seen above (n. 357:29, 365:38).

In Isaiah:

"Before the swords shall they wander, before the drawn sword and before the bended bow, because of the grievousness of war " (21:15).

The signification of these words may be seen above (n. 131:5, 357:8); also that grievousness of war signifies because of the strong assault of falsities against the knowledges of good, here signified by Arabia or Kedar.

In David:

Jehovah "who teacheth my hands war, so that a bow of brass may be let down upon my arms" (Psalm 18:34).

To teach the hands war does not mean war against enemies in this world, but against enemies in hell, which is carried on by combats of truth against falsities and against evils. The appearance is that such a war is here meant as David waged against his enemies, and thus that Jehovah taught him such war, and how to let down a bow of brass upon the arms; nevertheless spiritual war is meant, and also a spiritual bow, which is the doctrine of truth, and a bow of brass means the doctrine of the good of life, and this because the Word, regarded in its essence, is spiritual; but concerning these words also, see above (n. 357:4).

[7] In David:

"Strive, O Jehovah, with them that strive with me, fight against them that fight against me, take hold of shield and buckler and rise up for mine help, draw out the spear, and stop the way against my pursuers; say unto my soul, I am thy salvation" (Psalm 35:1-3).

Here to fight, to take hold of shield and buckler, and to draw out the spear, does not mean to use those arms of war, since this is said of Jehovah, but it is so said, because all arms of war signify such things as pertain to spiritual war. A shield, because it protects the head, signifies protection against falsities which destroy the understanding of truth; a buckler, because it protects the breast, signifies protection against the falsities which destroy charity, which is the will of good; while a spear, as it protects all parts of the body, signifies protection in general. Because such things are signified, it is therefore added, "Say to my soul, I am thy salvation."

[8] Since Jehovah, that is, the Lord, protects man from the hells, that is, from the evils and falsities which continually arise therefrom, therefore he is called Jehovah Zebaoth, that is Jehovah of armies (or hosts), and armies signify the truths and goods of heaven, and thus of the church in their whole extent, by means of which the Lord removes the hells in general, and with each one individually. This is why it is attributed to Jehovah that He fights and carries on war as a hero and man of war in battles, as is evident from the following passages.

In Isaiah:

"Jehovah Zebaoth shall come down to fight upon Mount Zion, and upon the hill thereof" (31:4).

In Zechariah:

"Jehovah shall go forth and fight against the nations, as on the day of his fighting in the day of battle" (14:3).

In Isaiah:

"Jehovah shall go forth as a hero; as a man of war he shall stir up zeal, he shall prevail over his enemies" (42:13).

In Moses:

"War of Jehovah against Amalek from generation to generation" (Exodus 17:16).

This is said because by Amalek are signified those falsities of evil which continually infest the truths and goods of the church.

[9] Moreover, the wars described in the historical parts of the Word, both those which are related in the books of Moses, and those in the books of Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and the Kings, signify spiritual wars; as for example, the wars against the Assyrians, Syrians, Egyptians, Philistines, and, in the beginning, those against the idolatrous nations in the land of Canaan beyond and on this side Jordan. But the signification of those wars becomes plain when it is known what kind of evil and falsity is signified by the Assyrians, the Babylonians, and Chaldeans, also by the Egyptians, Syrians, Philistines, and the rest. For all the nations and peoples who waged war with the sons of Israel represented the hells, which wished to do violence to the church represented by the sons of Israel. Those wars nevertheless actually took place as they are described, still they represented, and thus signified, spiritual wars, since nothing is said in the Word that is not interiorly spiritual, for the Word is Divine, and what proceeds from the Divine is spiritual, and is terminated in what is natural.

[10] That the ancients also possessed a Word both prophetical and historical, now lost, is evident in Moses (Numbers 21), where its prophecies are mentioned, which are there called Enunciations, and also its historical parts, which are called the Wars of Jehovah (verses 14 and 27). Those historical parts are called the Wars of Jehovah, because they signify the wars of the Lord with the hells, as is the case also with the wars in the historical parts of our Word. This, then, is why enemies, foes, assailants, pursuers, those that rise up, and moreover all arms of war, such as the spear, the buckler, the shield, the sword, the bow, arrows and the chariot, signify in the Word such things as pertain to combat and protection against the hells.

[11] In Moses:

"When thou goest out to war against the enemy, and seest the horse and the chariot, a people more than thou, thou shalt not be afraid of them, because Jehovah thy God is with thee." The priest shall say to them, when they draw near to the battle, "Ye draw near this day to the battle against your enemies, let not your heart soften, neither fear ye, nor tremble, nor be dismayed before them, for Jehovah your God goeth with you, to fight for you against your enemies, and to save you" (Deuteronomy 20:1-4).

He who does not know that there is a spiritual sense in every particular of the Word may suppose that nothing more interior is meant here than that which appears in the letter; and yet war, as elsewhere, signifies spiritual war, and therefore horse, chariot, and much people, signify the falsities of religion in which they trust, and from which they fight against the truths of the church, horse denoting the falsities of the understanding and reasonings therefrom, chariot, falsities of doctrine, and much people, falsities in general. Whether you say falsities, or those who are in falsities, it amounts to the same. They were not to be afraid of these or tremble, because they are in the truths of the church from the Lord. And because the Lord is in these truths with man, and thus from them fights for man against the hells, which are meant by enemies in the spiritual sense, therefore it is said, because Jehovah God is with thee, and goeth with thee to fight for you with your enemies, and to keep you. These two senses, the natural and the spiritual, make one by the correspondences which exist between all things of the world and all things of heaven, consequently there is a conjunction of heaven with man through the Word. But the spiritual sense which lies hidden in the historical parts of the Word is less easily seen than that in the prophetical parts, because the historical facts keep the mind fixed in themselves, and thus withdraw it from thinking of any other sense than that which appears in the letter; yet all the historical parts of the Word are representative of heavenly things, and the words, are significative.

[12] That all those who were in truths of doctrine, and thus had become men of the church, and not those that had not so become, were to fight, is signified by the following words in the same chapter:

"Afterwards the governors shall speak to the people, saying, What man is there that hath built a new house, and hath not dedicated it? let him go and return unto his house, lest peradventure he die in the war, and another man dedicate it. Or what man is there that hath planted a vineyard, and hath not completed and gathered the fruits of it? let him go and return unto his house, lest peradventure he die in the war, and another man complete and gather the fruits of it. Or what man is there that hath betrothed a wife, and hath not taken her? let him go and return unto his house, lest he die in the war, and another man take her. What man is timid and faint in heart? let him go and return unto his house, lest the heart of his brethren melt as his heart" (Deuteronomy 20:5-8).

That those that had built new houses, and had not yet dedicated them, and those that had planted vineyards, and not yet gathered the fruits of them, and those that had betrothed wives, and not yet taken them, should remain at home, lest they should die in the war, and other men should dedicate their houses, gather the fruits of their vineyards, and take their wives, was commanded and sanctioned from causes in the spiritual world; and these no one can understand, except he knows the signification of building a house, planting a vineyard, and taking a wife, and also of dying in war. To build a house signifies to establish the church, and the same is meant by planting a vineyard; but a house signifies the church as to good, and a vineyard the church as to truth, for both good and truth must be implanted in man, in order that the church may be in him. The conjunction of these two, namely, of good and truth, is signified by betrothing and taking a wife; and war signifies spiritual war, which is a combat against evils and falsities from hell; while to die in the war, signifies to yield, before the church is implanted by means of those things, this also being effected by means of temptations, which are also signified in the Word by wars.

[13] From these things it may be understood what is signified by those statutes in the spiritual sense, namely, that the men of the church, that is, men in whom is the church, who are signified by the sons of Israel going out to the war, are those who are to fight against enemies, which are the hells, that is to say, those in whom is the church, and not those who have not yet become men of the church; therefore it is said that those that have built houses, and not yet dedicated them, also those that have planted vineyards, and not yet gathered the fruits of them, also those that have betrothed wives, and have not yet taken them, shall not go out to the war; for all these signify those in whom the church has not yet been implanted, that is those who have not yet become men of the church. And it is said that they should go and return to their houses, lest they should die in the war, which means that such will not prevail over their enemies, but their enemies over them, since those alone prevail over their spiritual enemies who are in truths from good, or with whom truth is conjoined with good. It is said also, lest another man dedicate the house, gather the fruit of the vineyard, and take the wife, which signifies lest falsities and evils conjoin themselves with good, or truth of another kind with the affection for good; for another man signifies falsity, also other truth, thus truth that is not concordant. That the timid and faint in heart should also return home signifies those who were not yet in the goods and truths of the church and by means of these in confidence in the Lord, for such fear the evil, and also cause others to fear them, and this is signified by Lest the heart of his brethren melt. These now are the interior reasons, or reasons from the spiritual world, why these things were commanded.

[14] That war signifies spiritual war, which is war against infernal things, is manifestly evident from this, that the offices and ministries of the Levites in connection with the tent of meeting were called military service, as is plain from these things in Moses:

"It was commanded Moses that the Levites should be numbered, from a son of thirty years to a son of fifty years, to do military service, to do the work in the tent of the assembly" (Numbers 4:23, 35, 39, 43, 47).

And in another place:

"This is the office of the Levites; from a son of twenty-five years and upwards he shall come to do military service in the ministry of the tent of meeting, but from a son of fifty years he shall cease from the military service of the ministry, neither shall he minister any more" (Numbers 8:24, 25).

The labours and ministry of the Levites in connection with the tent of meeting are called military service, because the Levites represented the truths of the church, and Aaron, to whom the Levites were given and assigned for service, represented the Lord as to the good of love, and as to the work of salvation. And as the Lord from the good of love by means of truths from the Word regenerates and saves men, and also removes evils and falsities which are from hell, against which He continually fights, therefore the offices and ministries of the Levites were called a military service. The same thing is further evident from this that their ministries were called a military service, although they did not go out to war against the enemies of the land. This shows that the priesthood is a military service, but a military service against evils and falsities. It is for this reason that the church at this day is called a church militant.

[15] In Isaiah:

"The voice of a multitude in the mountains, like that of a great people, a tumultuous noise of the kingdoms of the nations gathered together; Jehovah Zebaoth numbereth the host of war" (13:4).

These words have been explained above (n. 453:6). To number the host of war signifies to arrange truths from good against the falsities from evil, which are signified by the kingdoms of the nations gathered together.

In the same:

"In that day Jehovah [Zebaoth] shall be for a spirit of judgment to him that sitteth in judgment, and for strength to those who repel war from the gate" (28:5, 6).

This is said of those who are in the pride of [their] own intelligence, and who are meant in the first verse by the crown of pride, the drunkards of Ephraim. That those who are not in that pride shall have intelligence from the Lord, is signified by Jehovah shall be for a spirit of judgment to him that sitteth in judgment, judgment denoting the understanding of truth, thus intelligence. Jehovah shall be for strength to those who repel war from the gate, signifies that the Lord gives power to those who defend the Word and doctrine from the Word, and who endeavour to prevent them from suffering violence, a city denoting doctrine, and the gate which gives entrance to it denoting natural truths. This was the reason why the elders sat in the gates of the city to judge.

[16] And in Jeremiah:

"Sanctify ye the war" against the daughter of Zion; "arise and let us go up at noon, arise and let us go up in the night, and destroy her palaces. Cast up a mound against Jerusalem. Behold a people cometh from the land of the north, a cruel people, and they have no mercy; their voice resoundeth like the sea, they ride upon horses prepared as a man for war, against thee, O daughter of Zion" (6:3-6, 22, 23).

The subject there treated of is the falsification of the Word by those who are in [their] own intelligence, and who are meant by the people coming from the land of the north, for such persons in the spiritual world dwell in the north, because they are in falsifications from which truths cannot be seen; but a church which is in genuine truths is meant by the daughter of Zion. The attack upon truth and the destruction of the church by such is signified by Sanctify ye the war against the daughter of Zion, and cast up a mound against Jerusalem, - Jerusalem denoting the church as to doctrine, and thus the doctrine of the church. The effort to destroy truths openly is signified by Arise, let us go up at noon; and the effort to destroy them secretly is signified by Arise, let us go up in the night. The effort to destroy the understanding of truth is signified by Let us destroy her palaces; that they are wholly destitute of the love of truth, and have a love of falsity, is signified by A cruel people, and they have no mercy. That they reason from knowledges (scientia), and from [their] own intelligence, is signified by Their voice resoundeth like the sea, they ride upon horses; that they fight against truth is signified by their being prepared as a man for war.

[17] In David:

"Deliver me from the evil man, and save me from the man of violences, who think evils in the heart; all the day they gather together for war, they have sharpened their tongue like serpents" (Psalm 140:1-3).

The evil man and the man of violences signify those who pervert the truths of the Word; he is called a man of violences who from wicked intention offers violence to the truths of the Word, by perverting them; such wicked intention is further described by thinking evils in the heart, while the perversion of the truths of the Word is meant by gathering themselves together all the day for war; the reasonings by which they prevail are signified by wars, therefore it is also added, "They have sharpened their tongue like serpents."

[18] In Zechariah:

"They shall be as mighty men treading under foot the mire of the streets in the war, and they shall engage in battle, because Jehovah is with them, and they that ride upon horses shall be ashamed" (10:5).

This treats of the Lord's coming, and of those who are in truths from good from Him; of these it is said, that They shall be as mighty men treading under the foot the mire of the streets in the war, - which signifies that they will dissipate and utterly destroy falsities of doctrine, the mire of the streets denoting that falsity, because a city signifies doctrine, the streets of a city its truths, and the mire in them falsity from truth falsified. And they shall fight because Jehovah is with them, signifies that they will attack and overcome those falsities by power from the Lord; and they that ride upon horses shall be ashamed, signifies that everything of [their] own intelligence shall succumb; to be made ashamed denotes to succumb, because it is said of those who are conquered, while to ride upon horses denotes to trust in [their] own intelligence.

[19] In Hosea:

"I will have mercy on the house of Judah, and will save them by Jehovah their God; and I will not save them by the bow, nor by the sword, nor by warrior by horses, nor by horsemen" (1:7).

The house of Judah signifies the celestial church; to have compassion and to save them by Jehovah their God signifies salvation from the Lord. I will not save them by the bow, nor by the sword, nor by the war, nor by horses, nor by horsemen, signifies not by such things as belong to [man's] own intelligence. The signification of bow, sword, horses and horsemen, has been shown above in various places; war signifies combat from such things.

[20] In Ezekiel:

"Ye have not gone up into the breaches, neither made up the fence for the house of Israel, that ye might stand in the war in the day of Jehovah" (13:5).

This was said of the foolish prophets, who signify falsities of doctrine from the Word when it is falsified. That they were not able to correct the apostacies of the church, or amend anything of it is signified by Ye have not gone up into the breaches, neither made up the fence for the house of Israel, - the breaches of the house of Israel denoting the falling away of the church, and its fence that which prevents the invasion of falsity, and thus produces amendment. Not to stand in the war in the day of Jehovah, signifies not to fight against falsities of evil, which are from hell, in the day of a last judgment.

[21] And in Jeremiah:

"How is the city of glory not forsaken, the city of my joy? Therefore her young men shall fall in her streets, and all the men of war shall be cut off in that day" (49:25, 26; 50:30).

The doctrine of truth from the Word is meant by the city of glory, and by the city of the joy of Jehovah; that this is changed into a doctrine of falsity by falsifications of truth is signified by being forsaken or deserted. That all understanding of truth, and thus all intelligence, would perish, is signified by Therefore her young men shall fall in her streets, - young men denoting the understanding of truth, and the streets, of that city falsities of doctrine. That there will no longer remain any truths fighting against falsities is signified by All the men of war shall be cut off, - men of war denoting those who are in truths, and who fight from them against falsities, and, in an abstract sense, truths themselves fighting against falsities.

[22] In Isaiah:

"Thy slain (confossi) are not slain with the sword, neither killed in war" (22:2).

This is said of the valley of vision, which signifies the sensual man, which looks at everything from the fallacies of the bodily senses; because it does not understand truths, and seizes upon falsities in the place of them, it is therefore said Thy slain are not slain with the sword, neither killed in war, - which signifies that truths have not been destroyed by reasonings from falsities, nor by any combats of falsity against truths, but from themselves, because from fallacies, in consequence of which truths are not seen.

[23] In the same:

"I will mingle Egypt against Egypt, that a man shall fight against his brother, and a man against his companion, city against city, kingdom against kingdom" (19:2).

This is said of the natural separated from the spiritual man, which is signified by Egypt. The crowd of falsities in the natural man reasoning and fighting against the truths and goods of the spiritual man is signified by I will mingle Egypt against Egypt, and a man shall fight against his brother, and a man against his companion, - a man and a brother signifying truth and good, and, in the opposite sense, falsity and evil, and a man and his companion truths among themselves, and, in the opposite sense, falsities among themselves. This division, and combat, take place when falsities rule, since falsities continually contend with falsities, but truths do not contend with truths. That there will be similar contentions of doctrines among themselves, or of churches among themselves, is signified by City shall fight against city, and kingdom against kingdom, - city denoting doctrine, and kingdom the church therefrom.

[24] From these things it is evident what is signified by the Lord's words in the Evangelists;

"Many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ, and shall lead many astray. But ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars; see that ye be not troubled; for nation shall rise up against nation and kingdom against kingdom, and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes" (Matthew 24:5-7; Mark 13:6-8; Luke 21:8-11).

This was said by the Lord to the disciples concerning the consummation of the age, which signifies the state of the church at its end, which is described in those chapters, therefore it also means the successive perversion and falsification of the truth and good of the Word, until nothing remains but falsity and evil therefrom. Those who shall come in His name and call themselves Christ, and shall lead many astray, signify that those shall come who will say that this is Divine Truth, when nevertheless it is truth falsified, which in itself is falsity; for by Christ is meant the Lord as to Divine Truth, but here, in the opposite sense, truth falsified. That they shall hear of wars and rumours of wars, signifies that there will be discussions and contentions about truths, and consequent falsifications. Nation shall rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, signifies that evil will fight against evil, and falsity against falsity, for evils never agree among themselves, nor falsities among themselves; this is why churches are divided, and why so many heresies have arisen; nation signifies those who are in evils, and kingdom those who are in falsities, and of these the church consists. There shall be famines and pestilences and earthquakes, signifies that there will no longer be any knowledges of truth and good, and the state of the church will be changed by the falsities that will corrupt it, famine denoting a lack of the knowledges of truth and good, pestilences, corruptions by falsities, and earthquakes, the changes in the church.

[25] Since wars signify, in the Word, spiritual wars which are combats of falsity against truth, and of truth against falsity, therefore such combats are described by the war between the king of the north and the king of the south, and by the battle of the he-goat against the ram, in Daniel, - the war between the king of the north and the king of the south in chapter eleven, and the combat of the he-goat against the ram in chapter eight. And there the king of the north means those who are in falsities, and the king of the south those who are in truths. The he-goat signifies those who are in falsities of doctrine, because they are in evil of life, and the ram those who are in truths of doctrine, because they are in good of life.

[26] It is evident, from these things what is signified by war in other passages of the Apocalypse, as in the following:

When the witnesses "shall have finished their testimony, the beast coming up out of the abyss shall make war with them, and conquer them, and kill them" (11:7).

Again,

"The spirits of demons doing signs to go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them together to the war of that great day of God Almighty" (16:14):

And again,

"Satan shall go forth to lead the nations astray, Gog and Magog, that he may gather them together to war" (20:8).

In these passages also, war signifies spiritual war, which is that of falsity against truth and of truth against falsity. It is called a war of falsity against truth and of truth against falsity, but it must be understood that those who are in falsities fight against truths, but those who are in truths do not fight against falsities, for it is always those who are in falsities that attack while those who are in truths only defend, and in reference to the Lord, He does not even resist, but only protects truths. But we shall speak further upon this subject elsewhere.

5897. 'To establish for you a remnant on the earth' means the middle and inmost part of the Church. This is clear from the meaning of 'a remnant' as forms of good coupled with truths and inwardly stored away by the Lord in a person, dealt with in 468, 530, 560, 561, 660, 1050, 1906, 2284, 5135, 5342; in this case the middle and inmost part of the Church is meant. The description 'middle and inmost part' is used because what is inmost in a person occupies the middle of the natural, where inmost things and relatively internal ones coexist. In general, where there is a series of things following one another consecutively, and another series in which they spread out and coexist, as they do in the natural, the inmost of that series are one and the same as those in the middle or centre of the second series. Such is the way that inmost things arrange themselves within more external ones. 'To establish for you a remnant on the earth 'implies that an inmost part of the Church will exist among the sons of Jacob. Not that they themselves were to be in that inmost part but that a representative of the Church, to all outward appearance a real Church, was to be established among them, where also the Word was to exist. These are the things that are meant by 'a remnant' when the expression refers to the Church understood separately from the nation.

[2] Reference is made in various places in the Word to 'the remnant', and also to 'the ones who are left'; but so far these two expressions have been taken in a purely literal way to mean a remnant or those that are left of a people or nation. The fact that forms of good and truth stored away by the Lord in the interior man are meant in the spiritual sense has remained totally unknown till now. Examples of this meaning occur in the following places:

In Isaiah,

On that day the branch of Jehovah will be honour and glory, and the fruit of the land will be magnificence and an adornment for the escape of Israel. And it will happen, that he who remains in Zion, and he who is left in Jerusalem, will be called holy, everyone who has been written for life in Jerusalem. Isaiah 4:2-3.

Those who remained in Zion and those who were left in Jerusalem were never made holy, nor were they 'written for life' any more than anyone else. Plainly therefore 'those who remained' and 'those who were left' mean things that are holy and that have been 'written for life'; and these things are forms of good joined to truths that have been stored away by the Lord in the interior man.

[3] In the same prophet,

On that day, the remnant of Israel and those of the house of Jacob that escaped will no more lean on him that smote them; but they will lean on Jehovah, the Holy One of Israel, in truth. A remnant will return, the remnant of Jacob, to the God of power. Isaiah 10:20-22.

'The remnant' is not used to mean the remnant of any people or nation, as may be recognized from the fact that in the Word, especially the prophetical part, 'Israel' has not been used to mean Israel, or 'Jacob' to mean Jacob; both are used to mean the Church and what constitutes the Church. This being so, 'the remnant' is not used to mean a remnant of Israel and Jacob but the truths and forms of good that constitute the Church. When the expressions 'remnant of the people' and 'those left of the nation' are used they do not mean a remnant of any people or those that are left of any nation, for 'people' in the internal sense means truths, 1259, 1260, 3295, 3581, and 'nation' forms of good, 1259, 1260, 1416. The reason why this has remained unknown and seems strange - that 'a remnant' means truths and forms of good - is that the literal sense, especially where it takes the form of history, draws the mind away and powerfully withholds it from contemplating such ideas.

[4] In the same prophet,

Then there will be a highway for the remnant of the people, which will be left from Asshur, as there was for Israel through the sea when they came up out of the land of Egypt.

In a similar way 'those left from Asshur' are people who have not been corrupted by means of perverted reasonings; for 'Asshur' means such reasonings, see 1186. In the same prophet,

On that day Jehovah Zebaoth will be a crown of adornment and a tiara of beauty for the remnant of His people. Isaiah 18:5.

In the same prophet,

Moreover, those that are left of the house of Judah and who escape will take root downwards and bear fruit upwards. For out of Jerusalem will go a remnant, and those who escape from Mount Zion. Isaiah 37:31-32.

In the same prophet,

He will eat butter and honey, everyone that is left in the midst of the land. Isaiah 7:22.

In Jeremiah,

I will gather the remnant of My flock from all lands where I have scattered them, and I will bring them back to their fold to give birth and to multiply. Jeremiah 23:3.

In the same prophet,

The people which were left from the sword found grace in the wilderness, when He went to give rest to him, to Israel. Jeremiah 31:2.

'The people which were left from the sword in the wilderness' were those who were called the young children - those who were led into the land of Canaan after all the rest had died. These 'young children' were those who were left', by whom were meant forms of good embodying innocence; and the leading of those people into Canaan represented incorporation into the Lord's kingdom.

[5] In Ezekiel,

I will cause some to be left, in that you will have some who will have escaped the sword among the nations when you are dispersed in the earth Then those of that escape will remember Me among the nations where they will be captives. Ezekiel 6:8-9.

The reason why the forms of good and the truths stored away by the Lord in a person interiorly were represented by the ones who were left or were a remnant among the nations where they were dispersed and made captives is that a person is constantly among evils and falsities, held in, captivity by them; for evils and falsities are what is meant by 'the nations'. When separated from the internal man the external man is altogether among them, and unless the Lord gathered forms of good and truth together, which are instilled into a person at various stages during the course of his life, he could not possibly be saved. Without remnants salvation comes to none.

[6] In Joel,

It will happen, that everyone who calls on the name of Jehovah will escape. For on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be an escape, as Jehovah has said, and among those that are left whom Jehovah is calling. Joel 2:32.

In Micah,

The remnant of Jacob will be among the nations, in the midst of many peoples, like a lion among the beasts of the forest. Micah 5:8.

In Zephaniah,

The remnant of Israel will not do iniquity or speak any lie; nor will a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth. They will feed and rest, with none making them afraid. Zephaniah 3:13.

These words describe the character of the remnant, a character which the people who were called Israel never possessed, as is well known. From this also it is evident that 'the remnant' has some other meaning, and this, it is plain, is forms of good and truth since these are what 'do not do iniquity, do not speak any lie, and no deceitful tongue is found in their mouth'.

[7] In Zechariah,

The streets of the city will be full of boys and girls playing in its streets. This will be a marvel in the eyes of the remnant of My people. Now I will not be as in former days to the remnant of this people. For this will be the seed of peace; the vine will give its fruit, and the land will give its increase, and the heavens will give their dew. I will make the remnant of this people the heirs of all those things. Zechariah 8:5-6, 11-12.

'The remnant' here is called 'the seed of peace' and they are ones in possession of truths derived from good, the fruitfulness of which truths is described by the statement that the vine will give its fruit, the land its increase, and the heavens their dew.

[8] The remnants that are meant in the spiritual sense become so sealed off through evil living and false convictions that they cease to be seen any longer. And they are destroyed when from affection truth has first been accepted and then from affection afterwards denied; for when this happens truth and falsity become mixed together, and this is called profanation. Such remnants are referred to in the Word in the following places: In Isaiah,

He will remove man (homo); and the wilderness will be multiplied in the midst of the land. Scarcely any longer will there be a tenth part in it; it will be however an uprooting. Isaiah 6:12-13.

'Ten' means remnants, see 576, 1906, 2284. In the same prophet,

I will kill your root with famine, and it will kill the ones of you who are left. Isaiah 14:30.

'This refers to the Philistines, meaning those who have a knowledge of cognitions but do not live in accordance with them, 1197, 1198, 3412, 3413. The ones who are left are called a 'root' because forms of good and truth which make man truly human spring from remnants as their root. Therefore 'He will remove man', as stated in the quotation from Isaiah immediately above, means a destroying of remnants.

[9] In Jeremiah,

The young men will die by the sword; their sons and their daughters will die by famine, and they will not have any remnant. Jeremiah 11:22-23.

This has to do with the men of Anathoth. In the same prophet,

I will take the remnant of Judah, who have set their faces to go into the land of Egypt, to sojourn there, so that all are consumed; and none will escape, nor will any of the remnant of Judah be left, who have gone to dwell in the land of Egypt. Jeremiah 44:12, 14, 28.

The reason why people from Judah could not sojourn in Egypt or reside there, and why they were so strictly forbidden to do so, was that the tribe of Judah represented the Lord's celestial Church, and celestial people have no desire at all to know facts meant by 'Egypt'. For everything they know grows out of celestial good present with them and that good would perish if they were to resort to factual knowledge. Indeed since celestial good is present with members of the Lord's celestial kingdom, and celestial truth is charity whereas spiritual truth is faith, they refuse even to speak of faith, for fear that they may come down from good and look back, see, 202, 337, 2715, 3246, 4448. These matters are also what is meant by the prohibition,

He who is on the housetop must not go down to take anything out of his house, and he who is in the field must not turn back to take his clothes. Matthew 24:17, 18.

See just above in 5895. Those same matters are likewise meant by the words in Luke 17:32, 'Remember Lot's wife' - she looked back and became a pillar of salt. About looking and turning back, see 2454, 3652.

[10] The utter destruction of nations with not a single person left represented the condition among them when iniquity was so complete that no goodness or truth at all, nor thus any remnant, was surviving, as in Moses,

They struck down Og the king of Bashan, and all his sons, and all his people, until they did not leave him any remainder. Numbers 21:35; Deuteronomy 3:3.

[11] In the same author,

They took all Sihon's cities, and utterly destroyed every inhabited city, and the women, and the young children; they did not leave any remainder. Deuteronomy 2:34.

And there are other places where one reads about the utter destruction of nations.

The situation with remnants - or forms of good and truth stored away by the Lord in a person interiorly - is this: Goodness and truth are implanted in a person when he seeks them with affection and so in freedom. When this happens angels from heaven draw nearer and link themselves to that person. Their link with him is what causes the forms of good coupled with truths to come to exist in the person interiorly. But when external interests occupy the person's attention, as when he is engaged in worldly and bodily pursuits, the angels depart; and once they have departed not a trace of those forms of good and truth is apparent. Nevertheless because such a link has been effected once, this person now has the capability of being linked to angels and so to the goodness and truth residing with them. But this linking does not take place any more often or fully than the Lord pleases, who controls the situation as is entirely best for that person's life.