328. For thou wast slain, and didst redeem us to God in Thy blood, signifies the separation of all from the Divine, and the conjunction with the Divine by the acknowledgment of the Lord, and by the reception of Divine truth from Him. This is evident from the signification of "being slain," as being, in reference to the Lord, the separation of all from the Divine, for "to be slain" signifies in the Word to be spiritually slain, that is, to perish by evils and falsities (See above, n. 315); and because the Lord with such is not, for He is denied, therefore "being slain" signifies, in reference to the Lord, not acknowledged (as above, n. 315 and also denied; and when the Lord is denied He is as it were slain with such as deny, and by the denial they are separated from the Divine; for such as deny the Lord, that is, His Divine, separate themselves altogether from the Divine. For the Lord is the God of the universe, and He is one with the Father, and the Father is in Him and He in the Father, and no one cometh to the Father but by Him, as the Lord Himself teaches; consequently those in the church who do not acknowledge His Divine, and still more those who in heart deny it, are altogether separated from the Divine.

[2] Denying the Divine is here meant by slaying Him with themselves. In the internal sense of the Word the same is meant by "crucifying the Lord" (See above, n. 83, 195); for the Jews, with whom the church then was, denied that he was the Christ, and thereby separated themselves from the Divine and therefore they gave Him up to death, or crucified Him. Moreover, at this day those who deny His Divine do the same; it is therefore frequently said by preachers that those who lead an evil life and blaspheme the Lord crucify Him with themselves. This, therefore, is what is here signified by "Thou wast slain." This is evident also from the signification of "thou didst redeem us to God in Thy blood," as being that He conjoined us to the Divine by the acknowledgment of Him, and by the reception of Divine truth from Him; for "to redeem" signifies to liberate from hell, and thereby to appropriate men to Himself, and thus conjoin them to the Divine, as will be seen from the passages in the Word in which "to redeem" and "redemption" are mentioned, which will be quoted below. The "blood of the Lord" signifies Divine truth proceeding from Him; and because man by the reception of Divine truth from the Lord is liberated from hell and conjoined to Him, therefore "Thou didst redeem us to God in Thy blood" signifies conjunction with the Divine by the reception of the Divine truth from the Lord.

[3] That this sense lies hidden in these words no one can see who abides in the mere sense of the letter, for in that sense nothing else can be seen except that "Thou wast slain" means that He was crucified and "Thou didst redeem us in Thy blood" means that He has reconciled us to His Father by the passion of the cross. Because this meaning is the meaning of the letter, and because it has hitherto been unknown that in the particulars of the Word there is an internal sense which is spiritual, from that sense, namely, the sense of the letter, it has been made a doctrine of the church that the Divine Itself which they call the Father cast away from Him the whole human race, and that the Lord by the passion of the cross made reconciliation, and that thus those for whom He intercedes are saved. Who that has any illumination of understanding cannot see that this doctrinal is contrary to the Divine Itself? For the Divine Itself never casts away any man from Him for He loves all, and therefore desires the salvation of all. It is also contrary to the Divine Itself to be reconciled by the shedding of blood, and to be brought back to mercy by beholding the passion of the cross which His own Son sustained, and from this to have mercy, and not from Himself. Although this doctrine is so contrary to the Divine essence, yet to believe this is called essential faith or justifying faith.

[4] Again, who can think from enlightened reason that the sins of the whole world were transferred to the Lord, and that the sins of anyone who merely has that faith are thereby taken away? But although this is the doctrine of those who never think beyond the sense of the letter, yet the angels who are with men have no perception of these things according to that sense, but according to the spiritual sense, for they are spiritual and therefore think spiritually and not naturally. To angels, "redeeming man in His blood" means liberating man from hell, and thus claiming and conjoining man to Himself by the acknowledgment of Him, and by the reception of Divine truth from Him. Moreover, the church may know that this is so; for it may know that no one is conjoined to the Divine by blood, but by the reception of the Divine truth, and the application of it to the life.

[5] Liberation from hell by the Lord was accomplished by His assuming the Human, and through it subjugating the hells, and reducing to order all things in the heavens, which could have been done in no way except by the Human; for the Divine operates from firsts through ultimates, thus from Himself through the things that are from Himself in ultimates, which are in the Human. This is the operation of Divine power in heaven and in the world. (On this see some things above, n. 41; also in Heaven and Hell 315; and in Arcana Coelestia 5897, 6239, 6451, 6465, 8603, 9215, 9216, 9824, 9828, 9836, 10044, 10099, 10329, 10335, 10548.) Liberation from hell by the Lord was also accomplished by His glorifying His Human, that is, making it Divine; for thus and not otherwise could He hold the hells in subjection forever; and as the subjugation of the hells and the glorification of His Human was accomplished by means of temptations admitted into his Human, His passion of the cross was His last temptation and complete victory. That "He bore the sins of all" signifies that He admitted into Himself all the hells when He was tempted, for from the hells all sins or evils ascend, and enter into man and are in him; therefore the Lord's "bearing sins" signifies that He admitted the hells into Himself when tempted; and His "taking away sins" means that He subjugated the hells, in order that evils may no more rise up from them, with those who acknowledge the Lord and receive Him, that is, who receive in faith and life the Divine truth proceeding from Him, and who are thus conjoined to the Lord.

It was said that "Thou didst redeem us to God in Thy blood" signifies conjunction with the Divine by the acknowledgment of the Lord, and the reception of Divine truth from Him; and as the church is founded on this, I will state briefly how conjunction is thereby effected.

[6] The primary thing is to acknowledge the Lord, to acknowledge His Divine in the Human, and His omnipotence to save the human race; for by that acknowledgment man is conjoined to the Divine, since there is no Divine except in Him; for the Father is there; for the Father is in Him, and He in the Father, as the Lord Himself teaches; consequently they who look to another Divine near Him, or at His side, as those are wont to do who pray to the Father to have mercy for the sake of the Son, turn aside from the way and worship a Divine elsewhere than in Him. Moreover, they then give no thought to the Divine of the Lord, but only to the Human, when yet these cannot be separated; for the Divine and the Human are not two, but a single person, conjoined like soul and body, according to the doctrine received by the churches from the Athanasian Creed. Therefore to acknowledge the Divine in the Lord's Human, or the Divine Human, is the primary thing of the church, by which there is conjunction; and because it is the primary it is also the first thing of the church. It is because this is the first thing of the church, that the Lord, when He was in the world, so often said to those whom He healed, "Believest thou that I can do this?" and when they answered that they believed, He said, "Be it done according to thy faith." This He so often said that they might believe, in the first place, that from His Divine Human He had Divine omnipotence, for without that belief the church could not be begun, and without that belief they could not have been conjoined with the Divine, but must have been separated from it, and thus would not have been able to receive anything good from him.

[7] Afterwards the Lord taught how they were to be saved, namely, by receiving Divine truth from Him; and truth is received when it is applied to the life and implanted in it by doing it; therefore the Lord so often said that they should do His words. From this it can be seen that these two things, namely, believing in the Lord and doing His words, make one, and can by no means be separated; for he who does not do the Lord's words does not believe in Him; so also he who thinks that he believes in Him and does not do His words does not believe in Him, for the Lord is in His words, that is, in His truths, and by them He gives faith to man. From these few things it can be known that conjunction with the Divine is effected through the acknowledgment of the Lord and the reception of Divine truth from Him. This, therefore, is what is signified by "the Lamb redeeming us to God in His blood." That "the Lamb" signifies the Lord in respect to the Divine Human, see above n. 314. (On this more may be seen in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 293-297, and in the quotations from Arcana Coelestia, n 300-306, as also at the end of that work, where the Lord is particularly treated of.)

That "blood" signifies the Divine truth proceeding from the Lord, and "salvation by His blood" signifies by the reception of Divine truth from Him, will be explained in the following article.

[8] That "to redeem" signifies to deliver and to make free, and, in reference to the Lord, to deliver and free from hell, and thus to set apart and conjoin to Himself, can be seen from the following passages. In Isaiah:

Who is this that cometh from Edom, walking in the multitude of his power? I that speak in righteousness, great to save. For the day of vengeance is in My heart, and the year of My redeemed hath come. In all their straitness He was in straitness and the angel of His faces saved them; because of His love and His pity He redeemed them; and He took them up and carried them all the days of eternity (Isaiah 63:1, 4, 9).

This treats of the Lord and His temptation-combats, by which He subjugated the hells. "Edom from which He cometh" signifies His Human, so also does "the angel of His faces." His Divine power from which He fought is signified by "walking in the multitude of His power;" the casting down into hell of those who rose up against Him and the elevation of the good into heaven is meant by "righteousness," thus by these words, "I that speak in righteousness, great to save. For the day of vengeance is in my heart, and the year of my redeemed hath come." His Divine love from which He did these things is described by "In all their straitness He was in straitness, and the angel of His faces saved them; because of His love and His pity He redeemed them; and He took them up and carried them all the days of eternity." From this it is clear that "the redeemed" and "those whom He redeemed" signify those whom He rescued from the fury of those who are from hell, and whom he saved.

[9] In the same:

Thus hath said Jehovah thy Creator, O Jacob, and thy Former, O Israel; for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art Mine (Isaiah 43:1).

That "to redeem" signifies to free from hell, and to set apart and conjoin to Himself so that they may be His, is clear, for it is said, "I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art Mine;" because this is effected through reformation and regeneration by the Lord, therefore it is said, "Jehovah thy Creator, O Jacob, and thy Former, O Israel." He is called Creator because "to create" in the Word signifies to regenerate (See above, n. 294). "Jacob" and "Israel" signify those who are of the church, and are in truths from good.

[10] In the same:

Say ye to the daughter of Zion, Behold, thy salvation cometh; behold, His reward is with Him, and the wages of His work are before Him. And they shall call them a people of holiness, the redeemed of Jehovah (Isaiah 62:11-12).

This also treats of the Lord's coming, and the establishment of a church by Him. "Daughter of Zion" signifies the church which is in love to the Lord; His coming is meant by "Behold, thy salvation cometh; behold, His reward is with Him, and the wages of His work are before Him;" those who are reformed and regenerated by Him are meant by "the redeemed of Jehovah."

[11] These are called the "redeemed" because they have been freed from evils by regeneration, and are set apart by the Lord and are conjoined to Him. In the same:

No lion shall be there, and the ravenous of the wild beasts shall not be found therein; but the redeemed shall go; and the ransomed of Jehovah shall return, and come to Zion with singing, and the gladness of eternity shall be upon their head (Isaiah 35:9-10).

This also treats of the Lord's coming, and the salvation of those who suffer themselves to be regenerated by the Lord. That with such there shall not be falsity destroying truth nor evil destroying good, is signified by "No lion shall be there, and the ravenous of the wild beasts shall not be found therein;" that such are delivered from evils and freed from falsities is signified by "the redeemed shall go; so shall the ransomed of Jehovah return;" their eternal happiness is signified by "they shall come to Zion with singing, and the gladness of eternity shall be upon their head," "Zion" meaning the church. What "singing" signifies see just above (n. 326). There are two, words in the original by which "to redeem" is expressed, one signifying deliverance from evils, the other liberation from falsities; these two words are used here; thus it is said, "the redeemed shall go," and "the ransomed of Jehovah shall return." (These two words are also used in Hosea 13:14; and in David, Psalms 69:18; 107:2)

[12] "To redeem" signifies to deliver from evils and to free from falsities, and also to deliver and free from hell, because all evils and falsities with man arise out of hell; and since the Lord removes these by reformation and regeneration, reformation and regeneration also are signified by "to redeem" or "redemption," as in the following passages.

[13] In David:

Rise up as a help to us, and ransom us for Thy mercy's sake (Psalms 44:26);

to "ransom" here meaning to free and to reform. In the same:

God hath ransomed my soul from the hand of hell; and He will accept me (Psalms 49:15).

"To ransom from the hand of hell" means to free; "to accept me" means to set apart and to conjoin to Himself, or to make His own, as servants sold and redeemed. In Hosea:

Out of the hand of hell will I ransom them; I will redeem them from death (Hosea 13:14).

"To redeem" meaning to deliver and free from damnation.

In David:

Bless Jehovah, O my soul, who hath redeemed thy life from the pit (Psalms 103:1, 4).

"To redeem from the pit" means to free from damnation; "the pit" meaning damnation. In the same:

Draw nigh unto my soul, redeem it, and because of my enemies ransom me (Psalms 69:18).

"To draw nigh to the soul" signifies to conjoin it to Himself; "to redeem it" signifies to deliver from evils; "because of my enemies ransom me" signifies to free from falsities, "enemies" meaning falsities. In the same:

Let the redeemed of Jehovah say, whom He hath redeemed out of the hand of the distressing enemy (Psalms 107:2).

"The redeemed of Jehovah" means those who are delivered from evil; "whom He hath redeemed out of the hand of the distressing enemy" means those whom He has freed from falsities. In Jeremiah:

I am with thee, to save thee and to rescue thee; and I will rescue thee out of the hand of the evil, and I will ransom thee out of the hand of the violent (Jeremiah 15:20-21).

"To ransom out of the hand of the violent" means to free from falsities that offer violence to the good of charity; the "violent" signifying such falsities, consequently those also who are in them.

[14] In David:

Let Israel hope in Jehovah, for with Jehovah there is mercy, and in Him is much ransom, and He shall ransom Israel out of all his iniquities (Psalms 130:7-8).

"Ransom" means liberation; "Israel" the church; and to reform those who are of the church and free them from falsities is signified by "He shall ransom Israel out of all his iniquities."

In the same:

Let integrity and uprightness preserve me; for I have waited for thee. Ransom Israel, O God, out of all his distresses (Psalms 25:21-22).

"To ransom Israel out of distresses" means here also to free those who are of the church from falsities, which straiten.

In Isaiah:

Is My hand shortened, that there is no ransoming? or is there no power in Me to rescue? (Isaiah 50:2).

That "ransoming" means liberation is evident, for it is said also, "Is My hand shortened, or is there no power in Me to rescue." In David:

God shall hear my voice; He shall ransom my soul in peace (Psalms 55:17-18);

"to ransom" here means to free.

In the same:

Unto Thee will I sing psalms with the harp, Thou Holy One of Israel. My lips shall praise; and my soul, which Thou hast ransomed (Psalms 71:22-23).

"To ransom the soul" means to free from falsities; for "soul" in the Word signifies the life of faith, and "heart" the life of love; therefore "to ransom the soul" signifies to free from falsities and to give the life of faith.

[15] In the same:

Ransom me from the oppression of man, that I may keep Thy precepts (Psalms 119:134).

"To ransom from the oppression of man" signifies to free from the falsities of evil, for "man" signifies the spiritual affection of truth and wisdom therefrom, and in the contrary sense, as here, the lust of falsity and insanity therefrom; the "oppression of man" signifies the destruction of truth by falsities.

In the same:

Into Thine hand I will commend my spirit; Thou hast ransomed me, O Jehovah, God of truth (Psalms 31:5);

"to ransom" means to free from falsities and to reform by means of truths; and because this is signified by "ransom" it is said, "O Jehovah, God of truth." In the same:

Crime is in the hands of sinners, and their right hand is full of a bribe. But as for me, I walk in mine integrity; ransom me, and be merciful unto me (Psalms 26:10-11);

"to ransom" meaning to free from falsities and to reform. In the same:

He shall redeem their soul from fraud and violence; and precious shall their blood be in His eyes. And he shall live, and to him shall He give of the gold of Sheba; and He shall pray for him continually; all the day shall He bless them (Psalms 72:14-15).

The "needy" are here treated of, by whom those are signified who desire truths from spiritual affection; of these it is said that "He shall redeem their soul from fraud and violence," which signifies liberation from falsities and evils that destroy the goods of love and the truths of faith; the reception of Divine truth by them is signified by "precious shall their blood be in His eyes;" their reformation is described "he shall live, and to him shall He give of the gold of Sheba; and He shall pray for him continually; all the day shall He bless him;" "the gold of Sheba" is the good of charity; "to pray for him continually" signifies that they shall constantly be withheld from falsities and kept in truths; and "all the day shall He bless him" signifies that they shall constantly be in the good of charity and faith, for this is a Divine benediction; while to withhold from falsities and to keep in truths is "to pray for him continually."

[16] In Isaiah:

Thus said Jehovah, For nought ye have been sold, and not by silver shall ye be redeemed. My people went down into Egypt to sojourn there, but Assyria oppressed them for nought (Isaiah 52:3-4).

This treats of the desolation of truths by knowledges and by the reasonings of the natural man from them; for "My people went down into Egypt to sojourn there" signifies the instruction of the natural man in knowledges and cognitions of truth; "Egypt" signifies knowledges and also cognitions, but such as are from the sense of the letter of the Word; and "to sojourn" signifies to be instructed; "Assyria oppressed them for nought" signifies the falsification of knowledges by the reasonings of the natural man; "Assyria" signifying reasonings, and "to oppress for nought" falsifications, for falsities are nought because there is nothing of truth in them. Knowledges are thus falsified when the natural man separate from the spiritual forms conclusions; this is why it is said, "For nought ye have been sold, and not by silver shall ye be redeemed;" "for nought to be sold" signifies from self or from the selfhood to alienate oneself from falsities and renounce them; and "not by silver to be redeemed" signifies that one cannot be delivered by means of truth from the falsities of evil; "silver" signifying truth, and "to be redeemed" signifying to be delivered from the falsities of evil and to be reformed.

[17] In Zechariah:

I will bring them together, because I will ransom them; and then shall they be multiplied; I will sow them among the peoples; and I will bring them back out of the land, and will bring them together out of Assyria; and I will lead them to the land of Gilead and to Lebanon (Zechariah 10:8-10).

This treats of the restoration of the church, and reformation by means of truth from good; and "I will bring them together, because I will ransom them" signifies the dispersion of falsities and reformation by means of truths; therefore it is said, "they shall be multiplied, and I will sow them among the peoples," which signifies the multiplication and insemination of truth from good; "to bring them back out of the land of Egypt, and to bring them together out of Assyria" signifies (as above) to withdraw them from the falsifying of truth that they are in by their reasonings from knowledges; "to lead them to the land of Gilead and to Lebanon" signifies to the good of the church, which is the good of charity, and to the good and truth of faith; the former is "the land of Gilead" and the latter "Lebanon. "

[18] From this it can be seen what is signified in the spiritual sense by Jehovah's "leading the people out of Egypt" and "ransoming them," as in Moses:

I will rescue you from bondage, and I will redeem you with a stretched-out arm, and with great judgments (Exodus 6:6).

I led you out of Egypt with a stretched-out arm, and I ransomed you out of the house of bondmen (Deuteronomy 7:8; 9:26-29; 13:5; 15:15; 24:18).

Thou in Thy mercy hast led Thy people whom Thou hast redeemed; Thou hast guided them in the strength of Thy hand to the habitation of Thy holiness (Exodus 15:13).

And in Micah:

I made thee to go up out of the land of Egypt, and ransomed thee out of the house of bondage (Micah 6:4).

This means in the sense of the letter that they were led by the Divine power out of Egypt, where they had been made bondmen; but in the internal or spiritual sense no such thing is meant, but it means that those who are of the church, that is, those that are reformed by the Lord by means of truths and a life according to them, are delivered and freed from evils and from the falsities thence, for these are the things that make man a bondsman; this is the spiritual sense of these words, and in this sense are the angels when man is in the sense of the letter.

[19] Moreover, by "redemption" the angels understand deliverance from evils and liberation from falsities in the following passages. In Moses:

I will put a ransom between My people and Pharaoh's people (Exodus 8:23).

In David:

He hath sent a ransom unto His people; He hath commanded His covenant for ever; holy and fearful is His name (Psalms 111:9).

In Matthew:

What is a man profited if he shall gain the whole world, but shall cause the loss of his soul? or what price shall a man give sufficient for the redemption of his soul? (Matthew 16:26; Mark 8:36-37);

"redemption" here meaning deliverance from damnation.

[20] From this it can be seen what the Lord's redeeming mankind signifies, namely, that He delivered and freed them from hell and from the evils and falsities that continually rise up therefrom and bring man into condemnation, and that He continually delivers them and frees them. This deliverance and liberation was effected by His subjugating the hells; and the continual deliverance and liberation by His glorifying His Human, that is, making it Divine, for thereby He keeps the hells continually subjugated; this, therefore is what is signified by His redeeming man, and by His being called in the Word "Redeemer," as in the following passages. In Isaiah:

Fear not, thou worm of Jacob, and ye mortals of Israel; I am He that helpeth thee, and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel (Isaiah 41:14).

Thus said Jehovah, the Redeemer of Israel, His Holy One, because of Jehovah who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel, who hath chosen thee (Isaiah 49:7).

Our Redeemer is Jehovah of Hosts, His name the Holy One of Israel (Isaiah 47:4).

Thus said Jehovah your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel (Isaiah 43:14).

That all flesh may know that I Jehovah am thy Savior and thy Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob (Isaiah 49:26).

That thou mayest know that I Jehovah am thy Savior and thy Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob (Isaiah 60:16).

By the "Holy One of Israel," and the "Mighty One of Jacob," who is here called "Redeemer," is meant the Lord in respect to the Divine Human, and by "Jehovah" is meant His Divine Itself. The Lord in respect to His Divine Human is called "the Holy One of Israel," and "the Mighty One of Jacob," and the "Strong One of Jacob," because "Israel" and "Jacob" signify the church, thus those who are regenerated and reformed, that is, redeemed by the Lord, for these alone are of the church, that is, constitute the church of the Lord.

[21] That the Lord's Divine Human is what is called "the Holy One" is evident in Luke:

The angel said unto Mary, The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee, and the power of the Most High shall overshadow thee; therefore the Holy Thing born of thee shall be called the Son of God (Luke 1:35).

And that the Lord in respect to the Divine Human is "the Strong One of Jacob," and the "Mighty One of Jacob;" in the same:

The angel said unto Mary, Behold, thou shalt conceive in the womb, and bring forth a Son. He shall be great, and He shall reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there shall be no end (Luke 1:30-33).

"The house of Jacob" evidently means the Lord's church, not the Jewish nation.

[22] Because the Lord's Human was equally Divine with His Divine Itself that took on the Human, Jehovah is called "the Redeemer" in the following passages.

In Isaiah:

Thus said Jehovah thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, I am Jehovah thy God (Isaiah 48:17).

Jehovah of Hosts is His name; and thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel the God of the whole earth shall He be called (Isaiah 54:5).

In David:

O Jehovah, my ¹ Rock and my Redeemer (Psalms 19:14).

In Jeremiah:

Their Redeemer is strong; Jehovah of Hosts is His name (Jeremiah 50:34).

In Isaiah:

Thou, O Jehovah, art our Father, our Redeemer; from everlasting is Thy ² name (Isaiah 63:16).

From this it can now be seen how this saying of the Lord is to be understood:

The Son of man came to give His soul a redemption for many (Matthew 20:28; Mark 10:45);

namely, that they might be delivered and freed from hell; for the passion of the cross was the last combat and complete victory by which He subjugated the hells, and by which He glorified His Human (See The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 293-297, 300-306).

9166. 'An oath of Jehovah shall be between them both' means enquiry made through truths from the Word regarding every single aspect of these things. This is clear from the meaning of 'an oath' as confirming through truths, dealt with in 2842, 3037, 3375, so that 'an oath of Jehovah' means doing so through truths from the Word, for the Word contains Jehovah's truths, that is, God's truths; and from the meaning of 'them both' as in every single aspect, for in the internal sense 'between both' does not mean between two but in every single aspect. 'Two' means things joined together to make a single whole, 1686, 3519, 5194, 8423, thus all that composes the whole, or every single aspect of it. This is what those in heaven perceive 'two' to be; and the reason why they do so is that when a discussion takes place among angels regarding two truths at variance with each other, a scene in which two spirits are arguing with each other presents itself on the level below. And since these spirits are the subordinates of a number of communities, every single aspect of one truth appears with one spirit, and every single aspect of the other truth with the other spirit. From this the angels perceive how the two are able to be linked together. I have been allowed to know from experience that this is what happens. So it is that when the words 'them both' are used in reference to truths they mean in every single aspect. This also is the reason why 'two' means something complete, 9103.

[2] The reason why it was permissible among the Israelite and Jewish nation to swear by Jehovah was that they were not internal, only external people, and when they engaged in the worship of God they did so on an external and not an internal level. The fact that they were like this, see 4281, 4293, 4429, 4433, 4680, 4844, 4847, 4865, 4903, 6304, 8588, 8788, 8806. When the confirmation of a truth comes down into the external man separated from the internal, it is effected by means of an oath; but not so when it comes down into the external by way of the internal. For in the internal man truth appears in its own light, but in the external without the internal truth appears in darkness. This explains why the celestial angels, who inhabit the inmost or third heaven, being in the highest degree of light do not even confirm truths by the use of reasons. Still less do they engage in argument and reasoning about truths; they simply say Yes or No, which they do by virtue of an ability received from the Lord to perceive and see them.

[3] This explains why the Lord has said the following regarding oaths,

You have heard that it was said, You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord your oaths. But I say to you, You shall not swear at all, neither by heaven, for it is God's throne, nor by the earth, for it is His footstool, nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. Nor shall you swear by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. But let your words be, Yes, yes; No, no; anything beyond this is from evil. ¹ Matthew 5:33-37.

These words imply that confirmation of God's truths should come from the Lord and not from man, which it does when people are internal and not external. For people who are external confirm truths by means of oaths, but those who are internal do so by means of reasons, while those who are even more internal do not confirm them at all but simply say It is so, or It isn't so. Those who are external are called natural people, those who are internal are called spiritual people, and those even more internal are called celestial people. The last of these - celestial people - have the ability, received from the Lord, to perceive intuitively whether something is true or not, see 2708, 2715, 2718, 3246, 4448, 7877. All this shows what was implied when the Lord said, You shall not swear at all, and also Let your words be Yes, yes; No, no. But why He also said that they were not to swear by heaven, by the earth, by Jerusalem, or by their head, and that any words beyond 'Yes, yes; No, no' are from evil, must be explained.

[4] Swearing by heaven means doing so by Divine Truth, thus by the Lord there. Heaven is heaven not by virtue of the angels regarded in themselves but by virtue of the Divine Truth emanating from the Lord, thus by virtue of the Lord Himself, within them; for the Divine within them is what enables them to be angels of heaven and be called angels of heaven. This explains why those in heaven are said to be 'in the Lord', why the Lord is the All in every single thing of heaven, and also why angels are God's truths, being recipients of God's truth emanating from the Lord.

Heaven is heaven and is called heaven by virtue of what is Divine and the Lord's there, see 552, 3038, 3700. Angels are God's truths, 4295, 4402, 7268, 7873, 8301. Something of the Lord is meant by an angel in the Word, 1925, 2821, 3039, 4085, 4295, 6280.

Since heaven is the Lord in respect of Divine Truth, it says 'you shall not swear by heaven, for it is God's throne'. 'God's throne' is Divine Truth which emanates from the Lord, 5313, 6397, 9039.

[5] Swearing by the earth however is doing so by the Church, thus by Divine Truth there. For just as heaven is the Lord by virtue of Divine Truth that emanates from Him, so too is the Church, the Church being the Lord's heaven or His kingdom on earth. For the meaning of 'earth' in the Word as the Church, see 662, 1066, 1262, 1733, 1850, 2117, 2118 (end), 2928, 3355, 4447, 4535, 5577, 8011, 8732. And since 'the earth' is the Church, the place where what is Divine and the Lord's below heaven exists, it says 'you shall not swear by the earth, for it is God's footstool'. 'Footstool' means God's truth below heaven, which is truth as it exists in the literal sense of the Word; for on this sense God's truth in heaven, which is the Word in the internal sense, rests and so to speak stands. Truth as it exists in the literal sense is meant by 'footstool' in David, in Psalms 99:5; 132:7; in Isaiah 60:13; and in Jeremiah, in Lamentations 2:1.

[6] Swearing by Jerusalem however is doing so by teachings that present truth drawn from the Word. For in a broad sense 'Jerusalem' is the Church, 2117, 3654; but when the words 'the earth', meaning the Church, are used, followed by 'Jerusalem', 'Jerusalem' then means the Church's teachings, consequently teachings that present God's truth drawn from the Word. This is why it is called 'the city of the great [King, who is] God', for 'city' in the internal sense of the Word means teachings that present the truth, see 402, 2449, 2943, 3216, 4478, 4492, 4493.

[7] Swearing by his head however means a person's doing so by the truth which he himself believes to be the truth and makes part of his faith; for this as it resides with him constitutes 'his head', and it is also what is meant by 'the head' in Isaiah 15:2; 29:10; in Ezekiel 7:18; 13:18; 16:12; 29:18; in Matthew 6:17; and elsewhere. Therefore it also says, 'for you cannot make one hair white or black'. 'Hair' means truth belonging to the external or natural man, 3301, the kind that exists with those who believe the truth not because they perceive it to be the truth but because the teachings of the Church declare it to be so. And since they know the truth on no other grounds than this it says that they are not to swear by it because they cannot make a hair white or black. 'Making a hair white' means declaring on one's own authority that truth is truth, and 'making a hair black' declaring on one's own authority that falsity is falsity. For 'white' is said in reference to truth, 3301, 3993, 4007, 5319, and therefore 'black' in reference to falsity.

[8] From all this one may now see what is meant by the command not to swear at all, not by heaven, nor by the earth, nor by Jerusalem, nor by one's head, namely that a person should not use what is his own to confirm God's truth but what is the Lord's with him. Therefore it also says finally, Your words shall be Yes, yes; No, no; anything beyond this is from evil. Those who have the ability, which comes from the Lord, to perceive and see truth confirm it in this way alone, even as angels of the inmost or third heaven do, the ones who are called celestial angels, spoken about above. The reason why any words beyond 'Yes, yes; No, no' are from evil is that anything beyond them does not come from the Lord but from a person's proprium or self, thus from evil, since a person's proprium is nothing but evil, see 210, 215, 874-876, 987, 1023, 1044, 1047, 3812 (end), 4328, 5660, 8941, 8944. All this again shows in what way the Lord spoke, that is to say, in such a way that every single word contained an inner meaning, since He spoke from the Divine. Thus He spoke for the benefit of angels at the same time as for men; for angels perceive the Word according to its inner meaning.

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