5215. 'And scorched by an east wind' means full of evil desires. This is clear from the meaning of 'being scorched by an east wind' as being consumed by the fire of evil desires. For an east wind' and the east' in the genuine sense mean love to the Lord and love towards the neighbour, lot, 1250, 3249, 3708, 3762, and therefore in the contrary sense self-love and love of the world, and so cravings and evil desires since these spring from those loves. The word 'fire' is used to refer to such desires for the reason dealt with in 5071, and therefore 'being scorched' is used also.

[2] There are two sources of heat, as there are also two sources of light, the one source of heat being the sun of this world, the other source of heat being the sun of heaven, which is the Lord. It is a well known fact that the sun of this world pours out heat into its own world and onto everything there, but it is a less well known fact that the sun of heaven pours out heat into the whole of heaven. Yet this too may become an equally well known fact if one reflects merely on the heat which exists intrinsically in the human being but which has nothing in common with the heat of the world, that is, if one reflects on what is called vital heat. From this one could know that this heat is of a different nature from the world's heat. That is to say, the former is a living heat but the latter is not at all a living one; also the former, being a living one, fires a person interiorly, namely his will and understanding, imparting to him desires and loves, and affections too. This also explains why desires, loves and affections are spiritual forms of heat, and are also called such. The fact that they are forms of heat is quite evident, for heat is radiated from all parts of the bodies of live persons, even where it is intensely cold. More than that, when desires and affections, that is, when loves, increase, the body grows correspondingly warmer. This kind of heat is what is meant in the Word by 'heat', 'fire', and 'flame'; in the genuine sense celestial and spiritual love is meant, in the contrary sense bodily and earthly love. From this it becomes clear that here 'being scorched by an east wind' means being consumed by the fire of evil desires, and that when used in reference to known facts meant by 'heads' that are 'thin', facts full of evil desires are meant.

[3] 'The east wind' means the blasts of evil desires and of derivative false notions, as is clear from places in the Word where that wind is mentioned, for example, in David,

He caused an east wind to blow ¹ in the heavens, and by His power He brought forth the south wind; and He caused flesh to rain onto them like the dust, winged birds like the sand of the sea. Psalms 78:26-27.

'The flesh' which that wind brought meant cravings, and 'winged birds' resulting false notions, as is evident in Numbers 11:31-35, where it is said that the name of the place where the people were struck down for eating flesh was called 'the graves of craving, for there they buried the people who had the craving'.

[4] In Ezekiel,

Behold, the vine that was planted, will it thrive? When the east wind strikes it, will it not wither completely? It will wither on the small spaces where it began to grow. Ezekiel 17:10.

And in the same prophet,

The vine has been plucked up in anger, it has been cast down onto the ground, and the east wind has dried its fruit. They have been plucked out and have withered, each rod of its strength; fire has consumed each one. For fire has gone out from a rod of its branches and has consumed its fruit, so that there is no rod of strength in it, a sceptre for dominion. Ezekiel 19:12, 14.

Here 'the east wind' stands for the blasts of evil desires. In Isaiah,

He gave thought to His rough wind, on the day of the east wind. Isaiah 17:8.

[5] In Hosea,

An east wind will come, Jehovah's wind rising up from the desert, and his spring will become dry, and his fountain dried up. It will strip his treasury of every precious vessel. Hosea 13:15.

Here also 'an east wind' stands for blasts of evil desires. Similarly in Jeremiah,

Like an east wind I will scatter them before the enemy. Jeremiah 18:17.

[6] In David,

By means of an east wind You will shatter the ships of Tarshish. Psalms 48:7.

In Isaiah,

You have forsaken Your people, the house of Jacob, because they have been filled from the east wind, and they are diviners like the Philistines. Isaiah 2:6.

In Hosea,

Ephraim feeds the wind, and pursues the east wind. All the day long he multiplies lies and devastation. Hosea 11:1.

'The wind' here stands for false notions, and 'the east wind' for evil desires. Something similar is also meant in the internal sense by 'an east wind' by means of which 'locusts were brought forth' and by means of which 'the locusts were cast into the sea', ² Exodus 10:13, 19, and also by means of which 'the waters of the sea Suph' were divided, Exodus 14:21.

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7571. 'And on every plant of the field in the land of Egypt' means every truth of the Church in the natural mind. This is clear from the meaning of 'plant' as truth, dealt with below; from the meaning of 'the field' as the Church, dealt with above in 7557; and from the meaning of 'the land of Egypt' as the natural mind, also dealt with above, in 7569. The reason why 'plant' means truth is that 'the land' means the Church, as also does 'the field'; and all that they produce means either the truth of faith or the good of charity, since these are products of the Church. 'Plant of the field' is used to mean everything in general that is grown in the field, as is evident from the Lord's parable in Matthew,

The kingdom of heaven may be likened to a person sowing good seed in his field. When the plant sprouted and bore fruit, then the tares appeared. Matthew 13:24, 26.

Here it is evident that 'the plant', a term used for what the field produces, means the Church's truth, and 'the tares' falsity. The parable is, it is true, a comparison; but all comparisons in the Word are based on things that have a spiritual meaning, 3579. In David,

He causes the grass to grow for the beast, and the plant for man's service, that he may bring forth bread from the earth. Psalms 104:14.

'The plant', a term used here also for what the field produces, in the internal sense means truth.

[2] In the same author,

He will make me lie down in pastures of the plant; ¹ He will lead me to still waters; He will restore my soul. Psalms 23:2-3.

'Pastures of the plant' stands for spiritual nourishment, nourishment of the soul. That is why it says 'He will restore my soul'. In Isaiah,

The waters of Nimrim will be desolations, for the reason that the grass has withered away, the plant has been consumed, there is nothing green. [Isaiah 15:6.

In the same prophet,

The inhabitants became plants of the field and edible grass, hay on the rooftops, and scorched earth before standing corn.] Isaiah 37:17.

In the same prophet,

I will lay waste mountains and hills, and dry up every plant on them; and I will make streams into islands. And I will lead the blind in a way they do not know. Isaiah 42:15-16.

In Jeremiah,

How long will the land mourn and the plant of every field wither, on account of the wickedness of those who dwell in it? The beasts and the birds will be devoured. Jeremiah 12:4.

In the same prophet,

The hind in the field calved but left because there was no plant; and the wild asses stood on the hills, they gulped the wind like sea-monsters, for the reason that there was no plant. Jeremiah 14:5-6.

In Joel,

Fear not, you beasts of My fields, for the dwelling-places of the wilderness have become abounding in plants; for the tree will bear its fruit, the fig tree and the vine will give their full yield. Joel 1:12.

In Amos,

When the locust had finished eating the plant of the land, I said, O Lord Jehovih, Pardon, I beg You. How will Jacob stand? for he is small. Amos 7:2.

[3] In Zechariah,

Ask rain from Jehovah in the time of the latter rain. ² Jehovah will make rain-clouds, and will give them rain in showers, to everyone plants in his field. ³ Zechariah 10:1.

In John,

The fifth angel sounded and it was declared that they should not harm the grass of the earth, or any green thing, or any tree. Revelation 9:4.

Anyone may see that in these places 'grass' is not meant, nor 'plant', but instead the kinds of things that belong to the Church; 'the plant of the land' and 'plant of the field' are, it is plain, used to mean the truth of faith. Without such a spiritual sense no one would ever know what is meant in John by their declaring, when the fifth angel sounded, that they should not harm the grass of the earth, or any green thing. Nor would anyone know what is meant in Jeremiah when it says that 'the hind in the field calved and left because there was no plant; and the wild asses gulped the wind like sea-monsters, for the reason that there was no plant'. And in very many other places no one would know what is meant. This shows how little understanding there is of the Word, and how earthly a person's conception of very many things in it must be unless he knows what their spiritual meaning is, or at least knows that in every detail the Word is holy.

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