373. And he that sat thereon had a balance in his hand. That this signifies the estimation of truth from the Word in that state of the church, is clear from the signification of him that sat on the horse, as denoting the Word (see above, n. 355, 356, 365); and from the signification of the balance in his hand, as denoting the estimation of truth thence. For all measures and weights mentioned in the Word, signify the estimation of the thing treated of as to good and as to truth, the numbers adjoined determining the estimation as to the quality and quantity thereof; as in the present case, a measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny, which we shall explain presently. There were several measures in the representative church, as the omer, the homer, the ephah, the bath, the hin (concerning which see the Arcana Coelestia 10262); and besides there were balances and scales, by which weighings and balancings were effected, and by these specifically are signified estimations of anything as to truth. On this account the weights of the scales were stones, or made of stone, for by stones in the Word are signified truths. That the weights were stones, or of stone, appears from Leviticus 19:36; Deuteronomy 25:13; 2 Sam. 14:26; Isaiah 34:11; Zech. 4:10. That stones in the Word signify truths, may be seen, n. 643, 3720, 6426, 8609, 10376. Here, therefore, by the balance in the hand of him that sat on the black horse, is signified the estimation of truth from the Word.

[2] That he who sat upon the horses, not only upon the white horse, but upon the red, the black, and the pale horses, signifies, the Word, and by the horses, according to their colours, is signified the understanding thereof - by the red horse the understanding of the Word destroyed as to good, and by the black horse the understanding of the Word destroyed as to truth has been shown above. But because it cannot easily be comprehended that he who sat on the horses signifies the Word, in consequence of the red and the black horses signifying the understanding of the Word destroyed as to good and as to truth, therefore it shall be explained how the case is. The Word in itself is the Divine truth itself, but the understanding thereof is according to the state of the man who reads it; the man who is not in good perceives nothing of the good therein, and the man who is not in truths sees nothing of the truth therein; the reason of this, therefore, is not in the Word, but in him who reads it. Hence it is evident that he who sat on the horses still signifies the Word, although the horses themselves signify the understanding of the Word destroyed as to good and as to truth. That he who sat upon the white horse signifies the Word, plainly appears in the Apocalypse (19:13), where it is said:

"The name of him who sat upon that horse is called the Word of God."

[3] That by a balance or scales is signified estimation, and also just arrangement, which is effected by truths, is clear in Daniel:

The writing appeared upon the wall before Belshazzar the king of Babylon when he was drinking out of the vessels of gold and silver belonging to the temple of Jerusalem, "Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin," that is, numbered, numbered, weighed, divided. "This is the interpretation of these words: Mene; God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished it. Tekel; Thou art weighed in the balance, and art found wanting. Upharsin; the kingdom is divided, and given to the Mede and Persian" (5:5, 25-28).

By this matter of history, in the internal sense, is described the profanation of good and truth, which is signified by Babylon; for Belshazzar was king in Babylon, and by a king in the Word is signified the same as by the nation or kingdom itself over which he reigns. The profanation of the good and truth of the church is signified by his drinking out of the vessels of gold and silver belonging to the temple of Jerusalem, and at the same time praising the gods of gold, silver, brass, iron, wood, and stone (as mentioned in verse 4). By the golden and silver vessels of the temple of Jerusalem the good and truth of heaven and the church are signified; by gold good, and by silver truth; and by praising the gods of gold, silver, brass, iron, wood, and stone, is signified idolatrous worship of every kind, thus external worship without any internal, such as exists with those who are understood by Babylon. That there is no church at all with such persons, because there is nothing of the good and nothing of the truth of the church in them, is signified by the writing from heaven; for by, numbered, numbered, is signified exploration as to good and truth; and by being weighed in the balance, is signified, estimation according to their quality, and judgment; and by being divided, is signified dispersion, extermination, and separation from the good and truth of the church; and by kingdom is signified the church; hence it is evident, that by being weighed in the scale or balance, is signified estimation according to quality thereof. (That to divide signifies to disperse, to exterminate, and to separate from good and truth, may be seen, n. 4424, 6360, 6361, 9093.) The reason why a kingdom denotes the church, is because the Lord's kingdom is where the church is, therefore those who belong to the church are called "the sons of the kingdom" (Matthew 8:12; 13:38).

[4] In Isaiah:

"Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and measured the heavens with a span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a tierce, and weighed the mountains in a scale, and the hills in balances?" (40:12).

By the measures here are described the just arrangement and estimation of all things in heaven and in the church, according to the quality of good and truth. The measures here are, the hollow of the hand, the span, the tierce, the scale, and balances; by waters are signified truths; by the heavens, interior or spiritual truths and goods; by the dust of the earth, exterior or natural truths and goods, both of heaven and the church; by mountains, the goods of love; by hills, the goods of charity; and by weighing them, to estimate and arrange according to their quality. That these things are signified by those words, no one can see except from the knowledge of correspondences.

[5] Because the just estimation and exploration of good and truth are signified in the Word by measures, therefore it was commanded that the measures should be just, and not fraudulent, in Moses:

"Ye shall not deal perversely in judgment, in meteyard, in weight, or in measure. Just balances, just stones, a just ephah, and a just hin shall ye have" (Leviticus 19:35, 36);

and therefore also justice, where there is meant thereby the estimation and exploration of men according to the quality of the good and truth with them, is everywhere in the Word expressed by scales, balances, and by ephahs, omers, homers, seas, hins (as in Job 6:2; 31:6); and injustice is expressed by scales and balances of fraud and deceit (as in Hosea 12:7; Amos 8:5; Micah 6:11).

10262. 'A hin' means how far things are joined together. This is clear from the meaning of 'a hin' - which was a liquid measure, at this point a measure of oil - as the extent to which things are joined together. 'Oil' means the Lord's celestial Divine Good, which is the essential power that binds all things together in heaven; consequently the measure of the oil means how far things are joined together, and the fullness of their being joined together. The reason why the Lord's celestial Divine Good is the essential power that binds all things together is that it is the essential being (ipsum esse) of the life that all things have. For that Divine Good imparts life to all things through the Divine Truth emanating from itself; and it imparts life in accordance with the specific character of whatever receives it. Angels are recipients; so too are people in the world. The truths and forms of good they have form their specific character, and this conditions the reception that takes place within them, and so conditions any joining together.

[2] Two measures which were used for sacred purposes are mentioned in the Word; one was for liquids, which was called the hin, the other was for dry substances, which was called the ephah. The hin served to measure oil and wine, and the ephah to measure flour and fine flour. The hin, used for oil and wine, was divided into four, whereas the ephah was divided into ten. The reason why the hin was divided into four was in order that it might mean that which binds things together; for 'four' means a joining together. But the reason why the ephah was divided into ten was in order that it might mean reception, the nature of which was indicated by the numbers; for 'ten' means much, all, and what is complete.

'Four' means a joining together, see 8877, 9601, 9674, 10136, 10137.

'Ten' means much, all, and what is complete, as 'a hundred' does, 1988, 3107, 4400, 4638, 8468, 8540, 9745, 10253.

[3] The fact that the hin was used for the oil and wine in the sacrifices, and was divided into four, whereas the ephah was used for the flour and fine flour, which were for the minchah in the sacrifices, and that it was divided into ten, becomes clear in Exodus 29:40; Leviticus 5:11; 23:13; Numbers 15:3-10; 28:5, 7, 14. From these verses it is evident that 'a hin' means the extent to which things are joined together, and 'an ephah' the amount of reception. Furthermore the oil served to bind the fine flour together, and the fine flour to receive the oil; for a minchah consisted of oil and fine flour.

[4] In addition there were other measures that were used for ordinary purposes, both for dry substances and for liquids. The measures for dry substances were called the homer and the omer, and the measures for liquids the cor and the bath. A homer contained ten ephahs, and an ephah ten omers, whereas a cor contained ten baths, and a bath ten smaller parts; regarding all these, see Exodus 16:36; Ezekiel 45:11, 13, 24.

[5] But where the new temple is dealt with in Ezekiel a different division of the ephah and the bath occurs. There the ephah and the bath are divided not into ten but into six, and the hin corresponds to the ephah, as is evident in the same prophet, in Ezekiel 45:13-14, 24; 46:5, 7, 11, 14. The reason for this is that in those places the subject is not celestial good and its ability to bind things together, but spiritual good and its ability to do so; and the numbers 'twelve', 'six', and 'three' have their correspondence in the spiritual kingdom, because they mean all and, when used in reference to truths and forms of good, mean all aspects of truth and good in their entirety. The fact that these are meant by 'twelve', see 3272, 3858, 3913, 7973, also by 'six', 3960(end), 7973, 8148, 10217; and in like manner 'three', by which from beginning to end, thus what is complete, is meant, and - in respect of real things - all, 2788, 4495, 5159, 7715, 9825, 10127. The reason why these numbers imply similar things is that larger numbers are similar in meaning to the simple ones which when multiplied produce them, 5291, 5335, 5708, 7973.

[6] Since 'a hin' also means how far something is joined to spiritual truth, a third part of a hin of oil was taken for the minchah in the sacrifices of a ram, and a third part of wine for the drink offering, Numbers 15:6-7; for spiritual good is meant by 'a ram', 2830, 9991. From all this it is again plainly evident that numbers are used in the Word to mean real things. What other reason could there be for the numbers used so often in Moses, Ezekiel, and elsewhere to specify amounts and measures?