3654. That in the internal sense of the Word “Judea” does not signify Judea; nor in like manner “Jerusalem,” Jerusalem, may be seen from many passages in the Word. “Judea” is not so frequently mentioned in the Word as is the “land of Judah,” and by the “land of Judah,” as well as by the “land of Canaan,” is signified the Lord’s kingdom (consequently also the church, for the church is the Lord’s kingdom on earth), and this for the reason that the Lord’s celestial kingdom was represented by Judah, or by the Jewish nation, and His spiritual kingdom by Israel, or the Israelitish people; and inasmuch as it was so represented, therefore also when mention is made in the Word of that nation and people, in the internal sense there is nothing else signified thereby.

[2] That this is the case will appear from what of the Lord’s Divine mercy will be said hereafter concerning Judah and the land of Judah; and in the meantime from the following few passages in the Prophets.

In Isaiah:

My beloved had a vineyard in the horn of a son of oil; and he made a hedge about it, and gathered out the stones thereof, and planted it with a noble vine, and built a tower in the midst of it, and also hewed out a winepress therein; and he looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes. And now O inhabitant of Jerusalem, and man of Judah, judge I pray you between Me and My vineyard. I will make it a desolation. For the vineyard of Jehovah Zebaoth is the house of Israel, and the man of Judah is the plant of His delights; and He looked for judgment, but behold a festering; for righteousness, but behold a cry (Isaiah 5:1-3, 6-7).

In this passage, in the sense of the letter, the perverted state of the Israelites and Jews is treated of, but in the internal sense the perverted state of the church as represented by Israel and Judah. The “inhabitant of Jerusalem” is the good of the church (that “inhabitant” signifies good, or what is the same, those who are in good, may be seen above, n. 2268, 2451, 2712, 3613; and that “Jerusalem” signifies the church, see n. 402, 2117). The signification of the “house of Israel” is similar (that “house” signifies good may be seen above, n. 710, 1708, 2233, 2234, 3142, 3538; and that “Israel” signifies the church, n. 3305); in like manner the “man of Judah,” for by “man” is signified truth (n. 265, 749, 1007, 3134, 3310, 3459), and by “Judah” good, but with the difference that the “man of Judah” signifies truth from the good of love to the Lord (which is called celestial truth), that is, those who are in such truth.

[3] In the same:

And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four wings of the earth. The envy also of Ephraim shall depart, and the enemies of Judah shall be cut off. Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not straiten Ephraim. Jehovah shall accurse the tongue of the Egyptian sea, and with the vehemence of His breath shall shake His hand over the river. And there shall be a highway for the remains of His people, which shall be left from Asshur (Isaiah 11:12-13, 15-16).

The subject here treated of in the sense of the letter is the bringing back of the Israelites and Jews from captivity, but in the internal sense it is concerning a new church in general and with every individual in particular who is being regenerated or is becoming a church. The “outcasts of Israel” denote the truths of such persons; the “dispersed of Judah,” their goods; “Ephraim,” their intellectual part in that it will no longer be resistant; “Egypt,” memory-knowledges; and “Asshur,” the derivative reasoning, which they have perverted; the “outcasts,” the “dispersed,” the “remains,” and “those who are left,” denote the truths and goods which survive. (That “Ephraim” denotes the intellectual part, will be made manifest elsewhere; and that “Egypt” is memory-knowledge, n. 1164-1165, 1186, 1462, 2588, 3325; that “Asshur” is reasoning, n. 119, 1186; and that “remains” are goods and truths from the Lord stored up in the interior man, n. 468, 530, 560, 561, 660, 661, 798, 1050, 1738, 1906, 2284.)

[4] In the same:

Hear ye this, O house of Jacob, called by the name of Israel, and they have come forth out of the waters of Judah. For they call themselves of the holy city, and stay themselves upon the God of Israel (Isaiah 48:1-2); where the “waters of Judah” denote the truths which are from the good of love to the Lord; the truths thence derived are the very goods of charity, which are called spiritual goods, and constitute the spiritual church, the internal of which is “Israel,” and the external the “house of Jacob;” hence it is manifest what is signified by the “house of Jacob called by the name of Israel,” and by their “coming forth out of the waters of Judah.”

[5] In the same:

I will bring forth a seed out of Jacob, and out of Judah an inheritor of My mountains; and Mine elect shall possess it, and My servants shall dwell there (Isaiah 65:9);

“out of Judah an inheritor of mountains” in the supreme sense denotes the Lord, and in the representative sense those who are in love to Him, thus in the good of love to the Lord and of love to the neighbor. (That “mountains” signify these goods was shown above, n. 3652)

[6] So in Moses:

Judah is a lion’s whelp; from the prey my son thou art gone up; he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up? (Genesis 49:9); where it is clearly manifest that in the supreme sense by “Judah” is meant the Lord, and in the representative sense those who are in the good of love to Him. So in David:

When Israel went forth out of Egypt, the house of Jacob from a barbarous people, Judah became His sanctuary, Israel His dominion (Psalms 114:1-2);

in this passage also “Judah” denotes celestial good, which is the good of love to the Lord; and “Israel,” celestial truth, or spiritual good.

[7] So in Jeremiah:

Behold the days come, saith Jehovah, that I will raise unto David a righteous offshoot, and He shall reign as king, and prosper, and shall execute judgment and righteousness in the earth.

In His days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell securely; and this is His name whereby He shall be called: JEHOVAH OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS (Jeremiah 23:5-6; 33:15-16); where the Lord’s advent is treated of, “Judah” denoting those who are in the good of love to the Lord; “Israel,” those who are in the truth of this good. That by “Judah” is not meant Judah, nor by “Israel” Israel, is evident from the fact that neither Judah nor Israel was saved. In like manner in the same:

I will cause the captivity of Judah and the captivity of Israel to return, and will build them as at the first (Jeremiah 33:7).

In the same:

In those days, and in that time, saith Jehovah, the sons of Israel shall come, they and the sons of Judah together; going and weeping shall they go, and shall seek Jehovah their God; and they shall seek Zion in the way with their faces thitherward (Jeremiah 50:4-5

Again:

At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of Jehovah; and all the nations shall be gathered unto it, for the name of Jehovah, to Jerusalem; neither shall they walk any more after the stubbornness of their evil heart. In those days the house of Judah shall walk to the house of Israel, and they shall come together out of the land of the north upon the land (Jeremiah 3:17-18).

[8] Again:

Behold the days come, saith Jehovah, that I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man, and with the seed of beast. And I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah; this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days; I will put My law in the midst of them, and will write it on their heart (Jeremiah 31:27, 31, 33).

That Israel or the house of Israel is not here meant, is very evident, because they were dispersed among the Gentiles, and were never brought back out of captivity; consequently neither was Judah nor the house of Judah meant, but thereby were signified, in the internal sense, those who are of the Lord’s spiritual and celestial kingdom. With these is made a new covenant, and on their heart is the law written; a “new covenant” denoting conjunction with the Lord by means of good (see n. 665, 666, 1023, 1038, 1864, 1996, 2003, 2021, 2037); the “law written on their heart,” denoting the consequent perception of good and of truth, and also conscience.

[9] So in Joel:

And it shall come to pass in that day that the mountains shall drop new wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the streams of Judah shall flow with waters; and a fountain shall go forth out of the house of Jehovah, and shall water the stream of Shittim. Egypt shall be a waste, and Edom shall be for a wilderness of a waste for the violence done to the sons of Judah, because they have shed innocent blood in their land. But Judah shall abide forever, and Jerusalem to generation and generation (Joel 3:18, 20);

from all the particulars in this passage also it is manifest that by “Judah” is not meant Judah, nor by “Jerusalem,” Jerusalem, but those who are in the holy of love and of charity; for these “shall abide forever, and to generation and generation.”

[10] So in Malachi:

Behold I send Mine angel who shall prepare the way before Me; and the Lord whom ye seek shall suddenly come to His temple, even the angel of the covenant whom ye desire. Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto Jehovah, as in the days of eternity, and as in former years (Malachi 3:1, 4); where the Lord’s advent is treated of. That at that time the offering of Judah and Jerusalem was not pleasant unto Jehovah, is evident; and from this it is manifest that by “Judah and Jerusalem” are signified such things as are of the Lord’s church. The case is the same everywhere in the Word where mention is made of “Judah,” of “Israel,” and of “Jerusalem.” From all this then it is evident what is signified by “Judah” in Matthew, namely, the Lord’s church, in the present case vastated.

3310. That “a man of the field” signifies the good of life from doctrinal things, is evident from the signification of “field.” In the Word frequent mention is made of “earth” or “land,” of “ground,” and of “field;” and by “earth” or “land,” when used in a good sense, is signified the Lord’s kingdom in the heavens and on earth, thus the church, which is His kingdom on earth. The like is signified by “ground,” but in a more restricted sense (n. 566, 662, 1066-1068, 1262, 1413, 1733, 1850, 2117, 2118, 2928). The same is signified also by “field,” but in a sense still more restricted (n. 368, 2971); and as the church is not the church from doctrinal things except insofar as these have respect to the good of life as their end; or what is the same, unless these doctrinal things are conjoined with the good of life, therefore by “field” is principally signified the good of life; and in order that this may be of the church, there must be doctrinal things from the Word which have been implanted in this good. Without doctrinal things there is indeed good of life, but not as yet the good of the church, thus not as yet good truly spiritual, except only in the capacity of becoming so; as is the case with the good of life among the Gentiles who have not the Word, and therefore are ignorant of the Lord.

[2] That a “field” is the good of life in which are to be implanted the things which are of faith, that is, spiritual truths which are of the church, is very evident from the Lord’s parable in Matthew:

The sower went forth to sow, and as he sowed, some fell upon the hard way, and the birds came and devoured them; and others fell upon stony places where they had not much earth, and straightway they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth; and when the sun was risen, they were scorched, and because they had no root, they withered away; and others fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them; but others fell upon the good ground and yielded fruit, some a hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold: he that hath an ear to hear, let him hear (Matthew 13:3-9; Mark 4:3-9; Luke 8:5-8).

Here four kinds of earth or ground in a field-that is, in the church-are treated of. That the “seed” is the Word of the Lord, thus truth, which is said to be of faith, and that the “good ground” is the good which is of charity, is evident, for it is the good in man that receives the Word; the “hard way” is falsity; a “stony place” is truth that has no root in good; “thorns” are evils.

[3] As regards the good of life from doctrinal things, which is signified by “a man of the field,” the case is this: They who are being regenerated, at first do what is good from doctrinal things, for of themselves they do not know what is good, but learn it from the doctrinal things of love and charity; from these they know who the Lord is; who is the neighbor; what love is, and what charity; thus what good is. When they are in this state they are in the affection of truth, and are called “men [viri] of the field;” but afterwards when they have been regenerated, they do not do what is good from doctrinal things, but from love and charity, for they are then in the good itself which they have learned through doctrinal things, and then are called “men [homines] of the field.” The case herein is as with one who by nature inclines to adulteries, thefts, and murders, but who learns from the commandments of the Decalogue that such things are of hell, and so abstains from them. In this state he is affected by the commandments because he is afraid of hell, and from these and likewise from many things in the Word he learns how he ought to direct his life; and in this case when he does what is good, he does it from the commandments. But when he is in good, he begins to be averse to the adulteries, thefts, and murders to which before he had been inclined; and when he is in this state, he no longer does what is good from the commandments, but from good, which then is in him. In the former state he learns good from truth; in the latter state he teaches truth from good.

[4] The same is the case also with spiritual truths, which are called doctrinal things, and are still more interior commandments; for doctrinal things are the interior truths that belong to the natural man. The first truths are of sense, the next are of memory-knowledge, the interior ones are of doctrine. These doctrinal truths are founded upon truths of memory-knowledge, for man can form and retain no idea, notion, or conception of them except from memory-knowledges. But truths of memory-knowledge are founded upon truths of the senses, for without sensuous things no memory-knowledges can be comprehended by man. These truths, namely, those of memory-knowledge and of sense, are what are signified by “a man skillful in hunting;” but doctrinal truths are those which are signified by a “man of the field.” In this way do these truths follow in succession with man; and therefore until he is of adult age, and through truths of sense and of memory-knowledge is in doctrinal truths, no man is able to be regenerated, for he cannot be confirmed in the truths of doctrine, except by means of ideas derived from the things of memory-knowledge and of sense. For nothing is possible in man’s thought, even as to the deepest arcanum of faith, that is not attended with a natural and sensuous idea, although the man is for the most part ignorant of the nature of it; but in the other life, if he desires it, it is presented to view before his understanding, and even, if he so wishes, before his sight; for however incredible it may appear, in the other life such things can be presented to the sight.