10540. 'And now, take off your finery' means the nature of their external which is such that it is without anything Divine. This is clear from the meaning of 'finery', when the Church is the subject, as holy truth or that which is Divine in external things, dealt with above in 10536; and from the meaning of 'taking it off' as shedding it, thus being without it. The fact that that which is Divine in external things or holy truth is meant by 'finery' is clear from the following places: In Ezekiel,

I clothed you with embroidered cloth, and shod you with badger; and I swathed you in fine linen and covered you with silk. And I adorned you with finery, and put bracelets onto your hands and a chain onto your neck. And I put a jewel onto your nose, and earrings on your ears, and a crown of glory onto your head. Thus were you adorned with gold and silver; and your garments were fine linen, and silk, and embroidered cloth. You ate fine flour, [honey,] and oil; therefore you became extremely beautiful, and attained to a kingdom. For this reason your fame ¹ went out among the nations, regarding your beauty; for this was made perfect by My finery which I had put on you. Ezekiel 16:10-14.

[2] This refers to Jerusalem and means the Church which had been established by the Lord after the Flood and was succeeded by the Israelite and Jewish Church. The character of the latter is also described in the same chapter; but the character of that previous Ancient Church is described in the verses just quoted, its holy truths being described by the adornments spoken of there. Anyone may see that things such as have to do with the Church are meant by those specifically mentioned, and that each one means something particular. What other purpose does such a description of Jerusalem serve?

[3] Yet which aspect of the Church is meant by each one becomes clear solely from the internal sense. For this sense shows what exactly in the spiritual world corresponds to each item in the description. The following is made clear by that sense,

'Embroidered cloth' means true factual knowledge, 9688.

'Fine linen' means intellectual truth from the Divine, 5319, 9469, 9596, 9744.

'Bracelets' means the power of truths, 3103, 3105.

'A neck-chain' means the flowing in of truth derived from good, and the consequent joining together of interior things and exterior ones, 5320.

'A nose-jewel' means the perception of truth, and 'earrings' obedience to truths, 4551, 10402.

'A crown of glory' means spiritual good, or the good of truth, good being meant by 'a crown', 9930, and that which is spiritual by 'glory', 9815.

'Gold and silver' means goodness and truth in general, 113, 1551, 1552, 5658, 6914, 6917, 9874.

'Fine flour, honey, and oil' means truths and forms of good, external and internal ones, truth from good being meant by 'fine flour', 9995, external good by 'honey', 10530, and internal good by 'oil', 886, 4582, 4638, 9474, 9780, 10254, 10261.

'Beauty' means the outward form taken by truth derived from good, 3080, 3821, 4985, 5199.

And 'Jerusalem', about which those things are said, means the Church, see 402, 2117, 3654. From all this it is evident what 'finery' means, namely holy truth in its entirety.

[4] All the finery of the daughters of Zion which is itemized in Isaiah has a like meaning,

On that day the Lord will take away the finery of the anklets, and of the networks, and of the crescents, and of the perfume containers ² , and of the chainlets, and of the bracts ³ , and the tiaras, and the garters, and the sashes, and the perfume boxes ⁴ , and the charms; the rings, and the nose-jewels, the changes of clothes, and the robes, and the veils, and the pin-cases, the mirrors, and the muslin, and the turbans, and the linen garments. And it will happen, that instead of fragrance there will be rottenness, and instead of a girdle, a falling apart, and instead of well-set hair ⁵ , baldness, and instead of a robe, a girding of sackcloth, burning instead of beauty. Your people will fall by the sword, and [so will] your strength in war. Isaiah 3:18-25.

Those who confine themselves to the literal sense inevitably think that all these items with which the daughters of Zion are said to be adorned must be understood literally, and that it was because of that finery and the pride and arrogance it would create that the people of that kingdom would perish, since it says, your people will fall by the sword, and your strength in war. But those who raise their minds to some extent above the literal statement can see that such things should not be understood literally.

[5] From various places in the Word they can see that 'the daughters of Zion' should not be taken to mean the daughters of Zion but such things as are aspects of the Church, which are also meant by the daughters of Jerusalem, the daughters of Israel, the daughters of Judah, and many other daughters. Regarding 'daughters', that they mean the Church and aspects of the Church, see 6729, 9055(end). Since therefore the Church and aspects of the Church are meant by 'the daughters of Zion' it follows that all their finery itemized in this chapter of Isaiah mean the Church's truths and forms of good, and that each item means some specific truth or form of good. For nothing that appears in the Word, not even one small expression, is devoid of meaning.

[6] And because that Church will be bereaved of its truths and forms of good, meant by all that finery, the prophecy goes on to say that instead of fragrance there will be rottenness, instead of a girdle a falling apart, instead of well-set hair baldness, instead of a robe a girding of sackcloth, burning instead of beauty, and also that the people will fall by the sword, as will [their] strength in war. For 'fragrance' or 'spice' means the perception of Divine Truth, 10199, 10291, and 'rottenness' the deprivation of it; 'a girdle' means a bond holding truths and forms of good in connection with one another, 9341(end), 9828, 9837, 'a falling apart instead of it' the disintegration and diffusion of them; 'well-set hair' means true factual knowledge, 2831 ⁶ , 'baldness' being deprived of an intelligent understanding of truth and of a wise discernment of good, 9960; 'burning' means the destruction of these by the evils of self-love, 1297, 2446, 7852, 9055, 9141, 'beauty' the outward form that truth springing from good takes within the Church, thus the perfection of it, 3080, 3821, 4985, 5199; and 'the sword' by which the people will fall means falsity destroying truth and good, 2799, 4499, 6353, 7102, 8294. Having no 'strength in war' means having no resistance to evil and falsity, for 'war' is spiritual conflict, and temptation, 1659, 1664, 2686, 8273, 8295, 10455.

From all this it is now evident that 'finery' in general means the Divine Truth which the Church possesses.

[7] The like is meant by 'finery' in the second Book of Samuel,

O daughters of Israel, weep over Saul, who clothed you in twice-dyed pleasantly ⁷ , who put gold finery on your clothing. 2 Samuel 1:24.

These words appear in David's lamentation over Saul, which he entitled in verse 18 of that chapter, To teach the children of Judah the bow. 'The bow' in this verse means doctrine consisting of truth engaged in conflict against falsities of evil, 2686, 2709, 6422. This being so, 'daughters of Israel' means the Church's affections for truth, 2362, 3963, 6729, 6775, 6788, 8994; 'being clothed in twice-dyed pleasantly' means being endued with the Church's interior truths, which spring from good, 4922, 9468; 'putting gold finery on clothing' means giving truths that spring from good a beautiful appearance, good being meant by 'gold', see in the places referred to in 9874, and truth in general by 'clothing' or 'garment', in the places referred to above in 10536(end). The reason why David's lamentation over Saul has to do with doctrine consisting of truth, meant by 'the bow', engaged in conflict against falsity of evil is that 'the king' or the royal office held by Saul means Divine Truth in respect of protection and of judgement, 1672, 2015, 2069, 3009, 4575, 4581, 4966, 5044, 5068, 6148.

[8] The like is meant by 'finery' in other places: In David,

Give to Jehovah the glory of His name; bow down to Jehovah in the finery of holiness. Psalms 29:2.

'In the finery of holiness' means with the authentic truths of the Church. Similarly in Isaiah,

Your sons will make haste. Lift up your eyes round about, and see; they all gather together. I am the Living One, said Jehovah; you will put them all on as finery, and gird them round yourself like a bride. Isaiah 49:17-18.

These words too refer to Zion, by which the celestial Church is meant, 'sons' who 'will make haste' meaning this Church's truths. (For the meaning of 'sons' as truths, see 489, 491, 2623, 2803, 2813, 3373, 3704, 4257, 9807.) This explains why it says that Zion will put them all on as finery and gird them round herself like a bride; such can be said of the Church's truths, but not of the sons of Zion.

[9] Since almost everything in the Word also has a contrary meaning, so do those objects constituting finery. In the contrary sense they mean truths that have been falsified, as in Jeremiah,

You who have been laid waste, what will you do? If you clothe yourself in twice-dyed, if you adorn yourself with gold finery, if you widen your eyes with stibium ⁸ , in vain will you make yourself beautiful. Jeremiah 4:29, 30.

And in Hosea,

I will visit on her ⁹ the days of the baals to whom she burned incense, and put on her nose-jewel and her finery, and went after her lovers and forgot Me. Hosea 2:13.

And in other places.

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6377. 'He washes his clothing in wine' means that His Natural consists in Divine Truth from His Divine Good. This is clear from the meaning of 'washing' as purifying, dealt with in 3147; from the meaning of 'wine' as the good of love towards the neighbour and the good of faith, and in the highest sense as Divine Truth from the Lord's Divine Good, dealt with below; and from the meaning of 'clothing' as the exterior which covers the interior, dealt with in 5248, thus the natural since this is exterior and covers the rational, which is interior. Therefore 'clothing' also means truth since this is exterior and covers good, which is interior, 2576, 4545, 4763, 5319, 5954.

[2] The fact that 'wine' means love towards the neighbour and the good of faith may be recognized from what has been shown regarding the bread and wine in the Holy Supper, in 2165, 2177, 3464, 4581, 5915. These paragraphs show that 'bread' is the good of celestial love, and that 'wine' is the good of spiritual love. The same may also be recognized from the minchah and the drink-offering in sacrifices. The minchah in them meant the good of love, and the drink-offering the good of faith. The minchah consisted of the kinds of things that meant the good of love, while the drink-offering consisted of wine that meant the good of faith. The sacrifices themselves were also called 'bread', 2165. For the use in sacrifices of a drink-offering consisting of wine, see Exodus 29:40; Leviticus 23:12-13, 18-19; Numbers 15:2-15; 28:6-7, 18-end; 29:1-7 and following verses.

[3] The meaning that 'wine' has of love towards the neighbour and the good of faith is also evident in Isaiah,

Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! And come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Isaiah 55:1.

No one can fail to see that they did not have to buy wine and milk, but that they were to acquire what is meant by 'wine and milk', which is love towards the neighbour and faith. These gifts come from the Lord 'without money and without price'.

[4] In Hosea,

Threshing-floor and winepress will not feed them, and new wine will be deceptive to her. ¹ Ephraim will return to Egypt, and in Assyria they will eat what is unclean. They will not pour libations of wine to Jehovah, their sacrifices will not be pleasing to Him. Hosea 9:1-4.

Here also in the internal sense reference is made to the good of love and the good of faith, to the demise of them. The good of love is meant by 'threshing-floor' by virtue of the grain there and the bread made from it, while the good of faith is meant by 'winepress', 'new wine', and 'libation of wine'. 'Ephraim will return to Egypt' stands for the fact that the understanding would resort to factual knowledge for advice concerning the arcana of faith; 'in Assyria they will eat what is unclean' stands for that which is the outcome of consequent false reasoning - 'Ephraim' being the area of understanding in the Church, see 5754, 6112, 6238, 6267; 'Egypt' the area of factual knowledge, 1164, 1165, 1186, 1462, 5702; and 'Assyria' that of reasoning, 1186. The line of thought in this passage also shows that the words used here contain something more than what one sees in the letter. For everything hangs together in the internal sense, but not so in the external sense, for example when it says that 'threshing-floor and winepress will not feed them, and new wine will be deceptive to her', immediately followed by 'Ephraim will return to Egypt, and in Assyria they will eat what is unclean'. Moreover, without the internal sense what meaning would Ephraim's return to Egypt and their eating in Assyria what is unclean have?

[5] 'Winepress' and 'wine' are also used in Jeremiah to describe the demise of mutual love and the good of faith,

He who lays waste has fallen on your vintage, therefore joy and gladness have been plucked from Carmel, and from the land of Moab, for I have made the wine cease from the winepresses; none will tread the headed. ² Jeremiah 48:32-33.

[6] The fact that 'wine' means the good of mutual love and of faith is also evident in John,

I heard a voice from the midst of the four living creatures, saying, Do no harm to oil and wine. Revelation 6:6.

[7] 'Oil' stands for the good of celestial love, and 'wine' for the good of spiritual love.

'Oil' and 'wine' have a similar meaning in the Lord's parable of the Good Samaritan in Luke,

A certain Samaritan was journeying, and seeing him who had been wounded by the robbers was moved with compassion for him; going therefore to him, he bandaged his wounds, and poured on oil and wine. Luke 10:33-34.

'He poured on oil and wine' means that he performed the works of love and charity, 'oil' being the good of love, see 886, 3728. A like meaning was involved in the practice of the ancients, who poured oil and wine onto a pillar when they consecrated it, Genesis 35:14, 4581, 4582.

[8] The fact that 'wine' means the good of love and faith is evident from the words the Lord used when He instituted the Holy Supper. He said then regarding the wine,

I tell you that I shall not drink from now on of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father's kingdom. Matthew 26:29; Luke 22:17-18.

Anyone can see that He was not about to drink wine in that kingdom, but that the good of love and faith is meant, which He was about to impart to those who belonged to His kingdom. Much the same is meant by 'wine' in Isaiah 24:9, 11; Lamentations 2:11-12; Hosea 14:7; Amos 9:13-14; Zechariah 9:15-16; Luke 5:37-39.

[9] Since 'wine' means the good of love and faith, Divine Truth from the Lord's Divine Good is therefore meant in the highest sense, for that Truth, when it flows into a person and is accepted by him, brings him the good of love and faith.

[10] Since most things in the Word also have a contrary meaning, so too does 'wine', the contrary meaning of which is falsity from evil, as in Isaiah,

Woe to those who rise in the morning around dawn, and then follow strong drink, who continue into dusk, so that wine may inflame them! Woe to heroes at drinking wine, and to valiant men in mixing strong drink! Isaiah 5:11, 22

In the same prophet,

Also these err through wine, and go astray through strong drink. The priest and the prophet err through strong drink. They are swallowed up by wine, they go astray through strong drink. They err among the seers, they are tottery in judgement. Isaiah 28:7.

In the same prophet,

The shepherds know no understanding, they all look to their own way. Come, I will get wine, and we will be drunken from strong drink; and let there be tomorrow, as there is this day, great abundance. Isaiah 56:11-12.

In addition to these places 'wine' is used with the contrary meaning in Jeremiah 13:12; Hosea 4:11; 7:5; Amos 2:8; Micah 2:11; Psalms 75:8; Deuteronomy 32:33.

Falsity from evil is also meant by the cup of the wine of wrath in Jeremiah 25:15-16; Revelation 14:8, 10; 16:19; the winepress of the wrath of God's anger, Revelation 19:15; and the wine of whoredom, Revelation 17:2; 18:3.

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