622. And when I had eaten it, my belly was made bitter.- That this signifies that it was examined and perceived that the Word was interiorly undelightful from the adulterated truth of the sense of its letter, is evident from the things explained above (n. 617, 618), where similar words occur. The reason why the belly here signifies the interiors of the Word, which are called spiritual, is, that exploration was represented by the devouring or eating up of the little book, which means the Word, and by its taste, which means perception. Hence the first perception is signified by the taste in the mouth, where the little book was sweet as honey. The first perception of the Word is the perception of the quality of the sense of its letter, thus of the exterior quality of the Word. But the other perception is signified by its taste when it came into the belly which is said to have been made bitter; and this other perception of the Word is the perception of the quality of its spiritual sense, or of the interior quality of the Word. Hence it is, that as the exterior is signified by the mouth, therefore here the interior is signified by the belly, because interiorly received and explored. The reason why the belly signifies interior things, is, that the belly inwardly stores up the food, and food signifies every thing that nourishes the soul, and because the belly, as well as the rest of the viscera, is within, or in the midst of the body, therefore, in the Word, the belly, and also the bowels (viscera), signify interior things.

[2] That the belly and the bowels signify interior things, is evident from the following places.

Thus in Ezekiel:

"Son of man, feed thy belly, and fill thy bowels with this roll" (3:1, 3).

Similar things are signified by these words as by those just explained in the Apocalypse, that is, that he took the little book and ate it up. For the roll, like the little book, signifies the Word, and by feeding the belly, and filling the bowels with the roll, is signified, to explore as to how the Word is understood in the church, which is done by the reading and perception of it.

[3] Again, in David:

"Fill their belly with thy treasure; the sons are fed to the full, and they leave their residue to their infants" (Psalm 17:14).

The treasure here mentioned signifies the truth of the Word, the belly, the interior understanding; therefore, by filling their belly with treasure is signified to instruct their interior understanding in the truths of the Word. That those therefore who are affected with truths are fully instructed, is signified by, the sons are fed to the full, sons denoting those who are in the affection for truth, and the sons' infants, truths springing up; of these it is said that they leave their residue to their infants. It is here said, the interior understanding, for man has an exterior understanding and an interior; the exterior understanding pertains to the natural mind, and the interior understanding to the spiritual mind; the interior understanding is signified by the belly.

[4] Again, in John,

Jesus said, "If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture saith, out of his belly shall flow streams of living water. This spake he of the Spirit, which they who believe on him should receive" (7:37-39).

The Lord thus describes the Divine Truth interiorly perceived by those who are in the spiritual affection for truth; these are meant by those who thirst, and come to the Lord and drink. That such have understanding of Divine Truth, is signified by, out of his belly shall flow streams of living water, streams out of the belly denoting, the interior understanding or intelligence, and living water Divine Truth from the Lord. And because the Holy Spirit signifies the Divine Truth proceeding from the Lord, it is therefore added, "this spake he of the Spirit, which they who believe on him should receive."

[5] Again, in Mark:

"Whatsoever thing from without entereth into the man cannot defile him, because it entereth not into his heart, but into the belly, and is cast out into the draught, purging all foods; but that which goeth out of the man, that defileth the man, for it goeth from within out of the heart of man" (7:18-21; Matthew 15:17-20).

These words are to be understood as follows: that those things, whether falsities or evils, which, either from the sight or hearing, flow into the thought of the understanding, and not into the affection of its will, do not affect or influence the man, because the thought of the understanding of a man, so far as it does not proceed from the affection of his will, is not in the man, but outside of him, therefore it is not appropriated to him. The case is similar in regard to truth and good. These things the Lord teaches by correspondences, when He says, that that which enters by the mouth into the belly does not render a man unclean, because it enters not into the heart, for that which enters into the belly is cast out into the draught; and this means that what enters the thought of the understanding of man from without or from the outside, whether from objects of the sight, speech, or memory, does not render him unclean, but that so far as it is not of his affection or will, it is separated and cast out, just as that which is taken into the belly is cast out into the draught.

These spiritual things the Lord expounded by means of natural things, because the foods that are taken into the mouth, and thus passed into the belly, signify those things that man spiritually receives, and with which he nourishes his soul, and therefore the belly corresponds to the thought of the understanding, and also signifies it. That the heart signifies the affection of the will of man was shown above; likewise, that that alone is appropriated to man which becomes a part of his affection or will. That spiritual things, and not natural things, are meant, is evident, for the Lord declares that out of the heart of men proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. Since the falsities and evils which enter from without into the thoughts, enter from the hells, and if not received by man in the affection of the will are cast back into the hells, it is therefore said that they are cast out into the draught. For the draught signifies hell, because all things are unclean in the hells, and those who have been cast there out of heaven (e coelo), which, being in form as a man, is therefore called the Grand Man (Maximus Homo), and also corresponds to all things of man; whereas the hells correspond to the ejections from the belly of the Grand Man or of heaven, for this reason hell in the spiritual sense is meant by the draught. The belly is said to purge all foods, because the belly signifies the thought of the understanding, as stated above, and foods signify every kind of spiritual nourishment, and the thought of the understanding is that which separates the unclean from the clean, and thus purges.

[6] Again, in Jeremiah:

Jehovah God said, "Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon hath disturbed me, he hath made me an empty vessel, he hath swallowed me up as a sea monster (cetus), he hath filled his belly with my delicacies, he hath driven me away" (51:34).

Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon signifies the profanation of Divine Truth; and because those who profane it drink it in more than others and use it for the purpose of filthy loves, especially the love of ruling, even to the transferring of all Divine power to themselves, this is signified by the words, "he hath swallowed me up as a sea monster, he hath filled his belly with my delicacies," the sea monster signifying the ultimate Natural, in which those are who are in the love of self, while delicacies denote cognitions of truth and good from the Word, and to fill the belly with them signifies here to imbibe and profane them.

[7] Again, in David:

"Have mercy upon me, O Jehovah, for I am in distress; mine eye wasteth away with indignation, my soul and my belly" (Psalm 31:9).

The eye, the soul, and the belly, here signify the understanding, and thence the thought of truth, interior and exterior; thus by the belly are signified the interiors of the understanding, which are said to waste away with indignation when they perish through falsities.

[8] Again:

"Our soul is bowed down to the dust; our belly cleaveth unto the earth" (Psalms 44:25).

The soul and the belly in the spiritual sense here also signify the thought of the understanding, and being bowed down to the dust, and cleaving to the earth, signifies to be imbued with falsities, for dust and earth here signify what is infernal and accursed. Infernal and accursed are also signified by going upon the belly and by eating dust, as was said to the serpent:

"Be thou cursed above all beasts, and above every wild beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life" (Genesis 3:14).

For the same reason it was altogether forbidden to eat whatsoever goeth upon the belly, for it was an abomination (Leviticus 11:42). The reason why dust, and the cleaving of the belly to the earth, signify infernal and accursed falsity, is, that the hells are under the lands (sub terris) in the spiritual world, and through the lands in that world falsities of evil are exhaled from the hells. And because the belly from correspondence signifies the interiors of the understanding and thought, infected and imbued with the falsities of evil if they adhere to those earths, therefore also in the spiritual world no one lies with the belly upon the earth. Moreover to walk there upon the earth with the feet, denotes to touch and drink in exhalations from the hells with the corporeal Natural, which corresponds to the soles of the feet, and this Natural has no communication with the thoughts of the understanding, except with those who are in evils as to life and falsities as to doctrine.

[9] Again, in Job:

"The belly prepareth deceit" (15:35).

And again, in the same:

"For I am full of words, the spirit of my belly constraineth me; and, my belly, as wine, is not opened" (32:18, 19).

By these words is meant that he could not open the thoughts of his understanding.

Again, in Jeremiah:

"O Jerusalem, wash thy heart from wickedness, that thou mayest be saved. How long shall thoughts of iniquity abide in thy belly?" (4:14).

In these words thoughts are clearly attributed to the belly, for it is said, "How long shall thoughts of iniquity abide in thy belly?" wickedness also is attributed to the heart, because the heart corresponds to the will, where wickedness resides.

And in David:

"For there is nothing certain in the mouth of any one; their belly is perditions; their throat is an open sepulchre, with their tongue they speak smoothly" (Psalm 5:9).

Here also perditions, that is, evil thoughts, are attributed to the belly.

Again:

"The belly of man (vir) and the heart are deep" (Psalm 64:6).

The belly of a man signifies thoughts of falsity, and the heart, the affections of evil, the latter pertaining to the will, the former to the understanding.

So in Habakkuk:

"My belly trembled; my lips quivered at the voice" (3:16).

By the belly trembling is signified grief of thought, wherefore it is also said, "My lips quivered at the voice," denoting a stammering thence of the speech. The belly (viscera) of the sea monster (ceti), in which Jonah was three days and three nights (Jonah 1:17), signifies the hells where the direst falsities are, with which he was encompassed, consequently grievous temptations, as is evident from the prophecy of Jonah in the same chapter, where it is said:

Out of the belly of hell cried I, and thou heardest my voice (2:2).

[10] That the bowels (viscera) have a similar signification to the belly (venter) is clear from the following passages.

In Isaiah:

"My bowels are moved like a harp for Moab, and my inward part for Kir-heres" (16:11).

In David:

"Bless Jehovah, O my soul; and all my bowels the name of his holiness" (Psalm 103:1).

And again:

"I have desired to do thy will, O my God, and thy law is in my bowels" (Psalm 40:8).

In Ezekiel:

"Their silver and their gold shall not be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of Jehovah; they shall not satisfy their soul, neither fill their bowels" (7:19).

Their silver and gold signify the falsities and evils of the religion which is from their own intelligence and their own will; that no spiritual nourishment or intelligence, and affection for good comes from these, is signified by, they shall not satisfy their soul, neither fill their bowels. Because the bowels signify the interiors of thought, and because these are affected with grief, therefore such grief is expressed in the Word by "the moving of the bowels"; as in Isaiah 63:15; Jeremiah 31:20; Lamentations 1:20; Matthew 9:36; Mark 6:34; 8:2; Luke 1:78; 7:12, 13; 10:33, 34; 15:20.

[11] Since the belly signifies the interiors of the thought or of the understanding, therefore by the fruit of the belly in the spiritual sense, are signified the goods of the understanding, and by sons its truths.

Thus in David:

"Lo, sons are the heritage of Jehovah, the fruit of the belly the reward" (Psalm 127:3).

And in Isaiah:

"They shall have no pity on the fruit of the belly; their eye shall not spare the sons" (13:18).

And in Job:

"Pitying I mourn for the sons of my belly" (19:17).

And in Moses:

"He will bless the fruit of the belly, and the fruit of the land" (Deuteronomy 7:13).

And in Hosea:

"Yea when they have brought forth, I will slay the desires of their belly" (9:11, 16).

The fruit of the belly and the desires of the belly, signify, in the sense of the letter, natural offspring, but in the spiritual sense spiritual offspring, which is knowledge (scientia), intelligence, and wisdom, for into these man is re-born when he is regenerated. For this reason births, sons and daughters, and other names referring to nativity, signify such things as pertain to spiritual nativity or regeneration. For the angels, who perceive the Word spiritually, are unacquainted with any other birth or fruit of the belly.

[12] Therefore the womb and the belly signify similar things in the following passages.

Thus in Isaiah:

"O that thou hadst hearkened to my commandments! Thy seed had then been as the sand, and the offspring of thy bowels like the small stones thereof" (48:18, 19).

And in David:

"I was cast upon thee from my mother's belly, thou art my God" (Psalms 22:10).

And again:

"For thou hast possessed my reins; thou hast covered me in my mother's belly" (Psalms 139:13).

And again:

"The wicked are estranged from the womb; they go astray from the belly, speaking a lie" (Psalms 58:3), and in other places.

[13] The belly or the bowels signify the interiors of the thought or of the understanding, because there are two lives with man, the life of the understanding, and the life of the will. All things of the body correspond to these two fountains of life, and are therefore acted upon and act at their direction to such a degree that whatever part of the body does not suffer itself to be acted upon by them is not alive; consequently the whole body is subject to the government of those two lives. For all things in the body that are moved by the respiration of the lungs, and in the measure that they are so moved, are under the government of the life of the understanding, and all things in the body that are acted upon by the pulsation of the heart, and in the measure that they are so acted upon, are under the government of the life of the will. For this reason mention is frequently made in the Word of the soul and the heart, and the soul signifies the life of the understanding, and also the life of faith, for the term soul is used in reference to respiration, while the heart signifies the life of the will, and also the life of the love. Therefore also the belly and the bowels are spoken of in reference to thought which is of the understanding, while the heart refers to affection which is of the will.

619. But it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey.- That this signifies exterior delight, is evident from the signification of the mouth, as denoting what is exterior, for the subject here treated of is the little book, and the eating of it up; by the little book is signified the Word, and by eating it up are signified perception and exploration, whence by the mouth, which first receives, is meant the external of the Word; and from the signification of "sweet as honey," as denoting the delight of natural good. The reason why the external of the Word was sweet as honey, that is, thus delightful, was, that it is of such a nature as to be capable of application to any love whatever, and to any principle thence conceived; and these can be confirmed by it. The reason why the external of the Word, which is the sense of the letter is such, is that many things therein are written according to appearances with the natural man, and many appearances, if not interiorly understood, are fallacies, like the fallacies of the senses. Those therefore who love to live for the body and the world, use the external of the Word by means of those appearances to confirm evils of life and falsities of faith.

[2] This was especially the case with the sons of Jacob, who applied all things of the Word to themselves, and from the sense of the letter maintained that belief, which they also retain to this day, that they were chosen in preference to others, and were therefore a holy nation; they believed that their Jerusalem, and its temple, the ark, the altar, the sacrifices, with innumerable other things, were of themselves holy, not knowing or being willing to know, that the holiness of all those things consisted solely in the fact that they represented Divine things proceeding from the Lord, which are called celestial and spiritual, and are the holy things of heaven and the church, and that to think them to be holy of themselves, and not from the Divine things which they represented, was to falsify and adulterate the Word by applying it to themselves and to their own loves. The case was similar in regard to their faith concerning the Messiah, which was, that He would be king of the world, and raise them above all the nations and peoples in the whole world; not to mention other things which they gathered from the mere sense of the letter of the Word, which were to them as sweet as honey in the mouth. For this reason those things that are in the spiritual sense of the Word are undelightful, for in that sense are truths themselves, and these are not according to appearances; as for example, that that nation was not holy, but worse than every other nation, consequently that it was not a chosen nation; that the city of Jerusalem merely signifies the church of the Lord, and doctrine concerning Him and concerning the holy things of heaven and the church; and that the temple, the ark, the altar, and the sacrifices, represented the Lord and the holy things proceeding from Him, and that their holiness was from this and no other source. These are the truths stored up interiorly in the sense of the letter of the Word, that is, in its internal spiritual sense. These truths they deny, because, as stated, they falsified and adulterated the Word in the sense of the letter, and therefore they are undelightful to them like food that is bitter in the belly.

[3] It is said that the little book should be in the mouth sweet as honey, because honey signifies the delight of natural good. That honey signifies that delight is evident from the following passages.

Thus, in Ezekiel:

It was said to the prophet, "Open thy mouth, and eat that I give thee. And I looked, and behold, a hand was sent unto me; and lo, a roll of a book was therein. And when he had spread it before me, it was written before and behind; and there were written thereon lamentations, and mourning, and woe. Then he said unto me, Son of man, eat this roll, and go speak unto the house of Israel. And he said unto me, Cause thy belly to eat, and fill thy bowels with this roll that I give thee. And when I ate it, it was in my mouth as honey for sweetness. And then he said unto me, Go unto the house of Israel, and speak my words unto them" (2:8-10; 3:1-4).

These words involve things similar to those in the Apocalypse. The command given to the prophet Ezekiel to eat the roll of the book, involves the same thing as the command to John to eat the little book, that is to say, exploration as to how the Divine Truth which is in the Word is as yet received, perceived, and appropriated by those who are of the church. For as the prophet Ezekiel and John represented the doctrine of truth and the Word, exploration was therefore made with them. The reason why this was done by eating a book is, that to eat signifies to perceive and thus to appropriate to oneself, as shown above; and when exploration was made as to the manner in which the Word was as yet perceived, it is then said to the prophet Ezekiel, that, he should go unto the house of Israel and speak the words of God unto them, also to the prophet John, that he must prophesy, that is, as yet teach the Word in the church; and this because in his mouth the book was perceived to be as sweet as honey, that is, because the Word as to the sense of the letter, is yet delightful, though only so for the reason that this sense can be used in favour of any principle of falsity whatever, and of any loves of evil whatever, and thus serve to confirm the delights of the natural life separated from the delights of the spiritual life, which, when separated, are merely delights of the loves of the body and of the world, whence arise principles of falsity from fallacies.

[4] Again, in Isaiah:

"A virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name God with us. Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good" (7:14, 15).

That these words are spoken of the Lord may be seen proved in Matthew (1:23). Any one may see that butter and honey there mentioned do not mean butter and honey, but something Divine corresponding [to them], for it follows, "that he may know to refuse the evil and choose the good," and this is not known by eating butter and honey. But by butter is signified the delight of spiritual good, and by honey, the delight of natural good, consequently the spiritual Divine and the natural Divine of the Lord are signified by these, thus His interior and exterior Human. That the Lord's Human is what is meant is evident from its being said that a virgin shall conceive and bear a son; and that it is Divine, is evident from the words, "and shall call his name God with us," to call a name denoting quality, here Divine quality, for he was to be called God with us.

[5] Butter and honey also signify the delight of spiritual and natural good in these words in the same chapter:

"Butter and honey shall every one eat that is left in the land" (ver. 22).

Those left in the land mean those who are interiorly and also exteriorly good from the Lord, consequently those who receive good proceeding from the Lord in truths; the blessedness therefore of the internal or spiritual man, and also of the external or natural, is signified by butter and honey.

[6] Thus also in Job:

"He shall suck the poison of asps; the viper's tongue shall slay him. He shall not see the brooks, the flowings of the torrents of honey and butter" (20:16, 17).

These things are said concerning hypocrites, who speak well and smoothly concerning God, their neighbour, and also heaven and the church, when nevertheless they think quite differently; and because they can thus cunningly devise how to captivate the minds of others, although in their heart they cherish what is infernal, it is said, "He shall suck the poison of asps, the viper's tongue shall slay him." That these have no delight in natural good or spiritual good, is meant by, He shall not see the brooks, the flowings of the torrents of honey and butter, rivers denoting those things that pertain to intelligence, and the flowings of the torrents of honey and butter, those that pertain thence to the affection and love, which are the very delights of heavenly life. All the delight of life which remains to eternity is the delight of spiritual good and truth, and thence of natural good and truth, whereas hypocritical delight is a natural delight separated from spiritual delight, but this delight, in another life, is turned into what is direfully infernal. That butter and honey in this passage also do not mean butter and honey, is evident, for where in the world are flowings of torrents of honey and butter found?

[7] The signification of butter and honey is similar to that of milk and honey. And since milk signifies the delight of spiritual good, and honey, the delight of natural good, and these delights are enjoyed by those who are of the church of the Lord, therefore the land of Canaan, which signifies the church, was called "a land flowing with milk and honey" (Exodus 3:8, 17; Leviticus 20:24; Num. 13:27; 14:8; Deuteronomy 6:3; 11:9; 26:9, 15; 27:3; 31:20; Joshua 5:6; Jeremiah 11:5; 32:22; Ezekiel 20:6). That the land of Canaan in the Word means the church was shown above (n. 29, 304:59, 431:9). And the church is with those only who are in spiritual good and at the same time in natural good; the church is formed in these by the Lord. For the church is in man, and not outside of him, consequently, not with those who do not possess those goods; these goods with their delights are signified by milk and honey.

[8] That in the land of Canaan there was also much honey at that period, because the church of the Lord was there then, is evident from the First Book of Samuel, where it is said, that they came into a wood where were honey upon the faces of the ground, and a stream of honey, and that the eyes of Jonathan were opened from tasting of the honey (14:25-27, 29). The reason why Jonathan's eyes were opened by his tasting of the honey was, that honey corresponds to natural good and its delight, and this good imparts intelligence and enlightens, consequently Jonathan knew that he had done evil; as is said in Isaiah, that he shall eat butter and honey, that he may know to refuse the evil and choose the good. For correspondences at that time manifested their effect, since all things of the Israelitish church existed from correspondences, by which things celestial and spiritual were represented and signified.

[9] The signification of butter and honey is similar to that of oil and honey in the following passages.

Thus in Moses:

"He made him to ride on the high places of the earth, and fed him with the increase of the fields; he made him to suck honey out of the rock, and oil out of the stone of the rock" (Deuteronomy 32:13).

These words occur in the song of Moses, in which the subject treated of is the church in its beginning and afterwards in its progression, and at length at its end. Those who formed the Ancient Church are described by these words, but not those who constituted the Israelitish Church, for the latter were evil from the beginning even to the end, as is evident from their fathers in Egypt, and afterwards in the wilderness. But the Ancient Church, the men of which are meant by their fathers, was that which the Lord caused to ride upon the high places of the earth, and fed with the increase of the fields. That the good of natural love and the good of spiritual love, with their delights, were imparted to them by means of truths, from which their intelligence was derived, and according to which was their life, is signified by, he made him to suck honey out of the rock, and oil out of the stone of the rock, honey denoting the delight of natural love, oil the delight of spiritual love, and the rock, and the stone of the rock, truth from the Lord. That oil signifies the good of love and of charity, may be seen above (n. 375), and that rock and stone signify truth from the Lord (n. 411, 443).

[10] So in David:

"I fed them with the fat of wheat, and with honey out of the rock I satisfied them" (Psalm 81:16).

The fat of wheat also signifies the delight of spiritual good, and honey out of the rock, the delight of natural good by means of truths from the Lord, as above. It must be observed, that natural good is not good, unless it be also spiritual good. For all good inflows through the spiritual man or mind into the natural man or mind, and so far as the natural man or mind receives the good of the spiritual man or mind, so far he receives good. There must be both, or both sides, in order to constitute good; wherefore natural good separated from spiritual good is in itself evil, which nevertheless is perceived by man as good. Since there must be both therefore in the passages quoted, and in those still to be quoted, mention is made of butter and honey, milk and honey, fat and honey, and also of oil and honey; and butter, milk, fat and oil, signify the good of spiritual love, and honey, the good of natural love, together with their delights.

[11] Again, in Ezekiel:

"Thus wast thou decked with gold and silver; and thy raiment was of fine linen and silk, and needlework; thou didst eat fine flour, and honey, and oil; whence thou wast exceeding beautiful, and thou didst prosper into a kingdom. But my bread which I gave thee, fine flour, and oil, and honey, wherewith I fed thee, thou hast even set before idols for an odour of rest" (16:13, 19).

These things are said concerning Jerusalem, by which is signified the church, first the Ancient Church, and afterwards the Israelitish Church. It is said of the Ancient Church, that she was decked with gold and silver, which signifies, the love of good and truth with the men of the church. The raiment of fine linen, silk, and needlework, signifies the cognitions of celestial, spiritual, and natural truth; fine linen signifies truth from a celestial origin, silk, truth from a spiritual origin, and needlework, truth from a natural origin, which is called scientific [truth]. By eating fine flour, honey, and oil, are signified the perception of truth and good natural and spiritual, and the appropriation of them; to eat denoting to be appropriated, fine flour denoting truth, honey, natural good, and oil spiritual good, which were appropriated to them by a life according to the truths above mentioned. By becoming exceedingly beautiful and prospering into a kingdom, is signified to become intelligent and wise, so as to constitute a church from these, beauty denoting intelligence and wisdom, and a kingdom signifying a church. But concerning the Israelitish Church, which was merely in externals without internals, whence the men of that church were idolatrous, it is said, that they placed the fine flour, honey, and oil, before images of a male, or of idols, for an odour of rest, that is, that they turned the truths and goods of the church into falsities and evils, and thus profaned them.

[12] Again, in the same prophet:

"Judah, and the land of Israel, they were thy traders; they traded in the wheat of Minnith, and pannag, and honey, and oil, and balm" (27:17).

This is spoken of Tyre, which signifies the church as to the cognitions of truth and good, therefore also by Tyre are signified the cognitions of truth and good pertaining to the church; by oil and honey are signified things similar to those above. The meaning in the spiritual sense of Judah, and the land of Israel, also of wheat of Minnith and pannag, and balsam, also of the trading of Tyre, may be seen explained above (n. 433:22).

[13] Again, in Moses:

"A land of brooks of water, of fountains and depths that spring out of the valley and mountain; a land of wheat and barley, and the vine, and the fig-tree, and pomegranate; a land of oil, olive, and honey" (Deuteronomy 8:7, 8).

These things are said concerning the land of Canaan, by which is understood the church which is in celestial, spiritual, and natural good, and thence in truths; but the details of this verse are explained above (n. 374:7, 403:11), where it is shown, that oil and honey signify the good of love in the internal or spiritual man and in the external or natural man.

[14] So in David:

"The judgments of Jehovah are truth, they are just altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and the droppings of the honeycomb" (Psalm 19:9, 10).

In the same,

"I have not departed from thy judgments, for thou hast taught me. How sweet are thy words to my palate! [Sweeter] than honey to my mouth" (Psalm 119:102, 103).

The judgments of Jehovah signify the truths and goods of worship; therefore it is said, "the judgments of Jehovah are truth, they are just altogether"; just being used in reference to the good of life and worship therefrom. And as good is also signified by gold and fine gold, it is therefore said, that they are more desirable than gold and than much fine gold, gold denoting celestial good, fine gold, spiritual good, while desirable denotes what is of affection and love. Since the goods with which a man is affected are also delightful, therefore it is said, that they are sweeter than honey and the droppings of the honeycomb, and that the words of the Lord are sweet to the palate and [sweeter] than honey to the mouth, sweet denoting what is delightful, honey, natural good, the droppings of the honeycomb, natural truth, and because honey signifies natural good, and the mouth the external, therefore it is said [sweeter] than honey to my mouth; as in the Apocalypse, that the little book was sweet as honey in the mouth.

[15] So in Luke:

Jesus said to His disciples, when they believed that they saw a spirit, "Behold, my hands and my feet, that it is I myself; handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have. Then he said unto them, Have ye here any meat? And they gave him a piece of a broiled fish, and of a honeycomb. And he took it, and did eat it before them" (24:39, 41-43).

From this series of words regarded in their spiritual sense it is evident, that honeycomb and honey signify natural good, for the Lord showed His disciples that He had glorified or made Divine His whole Human, even as to its Natural and Sensual. This is signified by the hands and feet, and by the flesh and bones, which they saw and felt; the hands and feet, signify the ultimate of man, called the Natural, the flesh signifies its good, and the bones signify its truth. For everything in the human body corresponds to spiritual things, the flesh to the good of the natural man, and the bones to its truths. More may be seen concerning this correspondence in Heaven and Hell 87-102). The Lord also proved this by eating of the broiled fish and also of the honeycomb in the presence of His disciples, the broiled fish signifying the truth of the good of the natural and sensual man, and the honeycomb, the good of truth of the same, therefore the Lord by being touched (palpationem) showed and proved that His whole Human, even to its ultimates, was glorified, that is, was made Divine; and [this He showed too] by eating, in that He ate in their presence a piece of a broiled fish and of an honeycomb.

[16] Since honey signifies the good of the natural man, therefore also John the Baptist

"had his raiment of camel's hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his meat was locusts and wild honey" (Matthew 3:4; Mark 1:6).

The reason of this was, that John the Baptist represented the same as Elias, therefore also it was said, that Elias should come, by whom was meant John. Elias represented the Lord as to the Word, or the Word which is from the Lord; and similarly John. And because the Word teaches that the Messiah or the Lord was about to come, therefore John was sent before to preach concerning the coming of the Lord, according to the predictions of the Word. And because John represented the Word, therefore the ultimates of the Word, which are natural, were represented by John, by his clothing, and also by his food, that is, by having his raiment of camel's hair, and the leathern girdle about his loins. For camel's hair signifies the ultimates of the natural man, such as are the exteriors of the Word, and the leathern girdle about his loins, their external bond and connection with the interior things of the Word, which are spiritual. Similar things are signified by locust and wild honey; by locust, is signified the truth of the natural man, and by wild honey, its good. Whether we speak of the truth and good of the natural man, or of natural truth and good, such as the Word is in its ultimate sense, called the sense of the letter, or natural sense, it is the same thing, for John represented this by his clothing and food.

[17] The reason why neither leaven, nor honey, was used in the offerings made by fire to Jehovah (Leviticus 2:11), was, that leaven signifies the falsity of the natural man, and honey, the delight of the good of the natural man, and, in the opposite sense, the delight of his evil, which also is like leaven when it is mingled with those things that signify things of a holy interior nature. For natural delight derives its all from the delights of the love of self and the love of the world. And because the Israelitish nation was in those delights more than other nations, therefore it was forbidden them to use honey in their sacrifices. More may be seen concerning the signification of honey, as denoting the delight of the good of the natural man, in the Arcana Coelestia 5620, 6857, 8056, 10137, 10530).

[18] It is recorded of Samson, that, after he had rent the young lion, and taken a wife from the nation of the Philistines, he found "a swarm of bees and honey in the carcase of the lion" (Judges 14:8). This circumstance signified the dissipation of faith separated from charity, which the Philistine nation represented. It was on this account that the Philistines were called the uncircumcised, and this name signifies that they were without spiritual love and charity, and were only in natural love, which is the love of self and of the world. Such faith, because it destroys the good of charity, was represented by the young lion, which attacked Samson with intent to tear him in pieces; but Samson, because he was a Nazarite, and by his Nazariteship represented the Lord as to His ultimate Natural, rent the lion in pieces, and afterwards found in his carcase a swarm of bees and honey, which signified, that after such faith is dissipated, the good of charity succeeds in its place. Similar things were represented and signified by the rest of the acts related of Samson in the Book of Judges. For nothing is written in the Word which does not represent and signify such things as pertain to heaven and the church, and these can be understood only from the knowledge (scientia) of correspondences, and thence from the spiritual sense of the Word.