918. Saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the vintage of the clusters of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe. That this signifies that the collecting and separation of the good from the evil may take place, because there are no longer any truths of faith, since there is no spiritual good, which is charity, is evident from the signification of thrusting in the sharp sickle and gathering the vintage, as denoting to collect the good and to separate them from the evil (concerning which see above, n. 911). The same is here signified by gathering the vintage as above by reaping. But gathering the vintage is spoken of, because it relates to clusters and grapes; and reaping is spoken of because it relates to the harvest; and by each is signified to devastate and make an end of the church, which is signified both by the harvest and vintage. And when the church is devastated, and thereby brought to its end, then the good are collected and separated from the evil. What is further signified by gathering the vintage, will be seen in what follows; and from the signification of clusters, as denoting the goods of faith and the truths therefrom, of which we shall speak presently; and from the signification of, for her grapes are fully ripe, as denoting, because there are no longer any goods of charity, thus because it is the end of the church. From these things it is evident that by, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vintage of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe, is signified that the collecting and separation of the good from the evil may take place, because there are no longer any goods and truths of faith, since there is no spiritual good, which is charity. The reason why there are no truths of faith is that there is no good of charity, and that truth is not possible without good; for truth derives its essence or its life from good. Whence it follows that truths and the faith thereof have no existence, if there is no good or charity.

[2] What charity is, which is the same as spiritual good, shall be briefly explained. Charity, or spiritual good, consists in doing good because it is truth; that is, it is to do truth. And to do truth is to do those things which the Lord has commanded in His Word. It is evident, therefore, that charity is spiritual good. And when a man does good because it is truth, or does truth, then charity becomes moral good, which, in the external form, is like the good that is done at this day with every man who is a moral and civil man. But there is this difference, that genuine moral good is good from the spiritual good from which it proceeds. For spiritual good is from the Lord, but moral good is from man. Therefore, unless the good from man is from the Lord, that is, through man from the Lord, it is not good. The end for the sake of which [a thing is done], declares its quality. Moral good separated from spiritual good, regards man, his honour, profit, and pleasure, as the end for which it is done. But moral good from spiritual good has regard to the Lord, heaven, and eternal life, as the end. These things are said, in order that it may be known, why it is that there is no truth of faith where there is no good of charity; consequently, that where these two do not exist, the church is devastated; this is the subject treated of here and in what now follows in the Apocalypse. That there is no faith where there is no charity, may be seen also in the small work concerning the Last Judgment 33-39).

[3] That clusters and grapes signify the good of charity, is evident from the passages in the Word where they are mentioned, as in the following.

In Jeremiah:

"Consuming I will consume them; there shall be no grapes on the vine, neither figs on the fig-tree, and the leaf shall fall off; and I will give them to those who pass by over them" (8:13).

No grapes on the vine, signifies that there is no spiritual good in man. No figs on the fig-tree, signifies that there is no natural good in him. The vine and the fig-tree signify man as to the church, thus the church with him. But these may be seen further explained above (n. 403).

[4] In Isaiah:

"My beloved had a vineyard in the horn of a son of oil, which he fenced about, and gathered out the stones thereof; and he planted it with a noble vine, and built a tower in the midst of it; also he hewed out a wine-press in it, and he waited for it to bring forth grapes, but it brought forth wild grapes" (5:1, 2, 4).

By the vineyard of the beloved, is signified the spiritual church, which was instituted with the sons of Israel. In the horn of a son of oil, signifies, which had truths from the good of charity. Which he fenced about, and gathered out the stones, signifies the guarding it from falsities and evils. He planted it with a noble vine, signifies that it was gifted with genuine truths. He built a tower in the midst of it, signifies the interior things, which receive influx, and by which there is communication with heaven. Also he hewed out a wine-press in it, signifies the production of truth from good. And he waited for it to bring forth grapes, but it brought forth wild grapes, signifies the hope of the fructification of those things from the good of charity; but in vain, because there was iniquity in the place of good.

[5] In Micah:

"Woe is me, I am become as the gatherings of the summer, as the gleanings of the vintage; not a cluster to eat; my soul desireth the first-fruits. The holy one has perished from the earth, and the upright one amongst men; all lie in wait for bloods" (7:1, 2).

Grief because of the vastation of good and the truth therefrom in the church, is meant and described by, Woe is me, I am become as the gatherings of the summer, as the gleanings of the vintage. That there is no longer any spiritual good, nor natural good, from which the Lord is worshipped, is signified by, there is no cluster to eat, my soul desireth the first-fruits. That there is no longer spiritual or natural truth, is signified by the holy one has perished, and the upright one amongst men. That the truths and goods of the Word, and thence of the Church, are destroyed by falsities and evils, is signified by, all lie in wait for bloods.

[6] In Hosea:

"I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness: as the first-fruit on the fig-tree in the beginning. I saw your fathers" (9:10).

These things are said concerning the Ancient Church, and its establishment. That church is here meant by Israel; its first state by, in the wilderness, and in the beginning; and the spiritual good with them, by grapes; and the good therefrom arising in the natural man, by the first-fruit in the fig-tree. That the men of the Ancient Church are there meant by Israel in the wilderness, and by their fathers in the beginning, and not the sons of Jacob, is evident in Moses:

[7] "Their vine is of the vine of Sodom, and of the fields of Gomorrah; their grapes are grapes of gall, clusters of bitterness to them" (Deuteronomy 32:32).

Here the sons of Jacob are described, such as they were in the wilderness. That religion with them was infernal, because they worshipped the gods and idols of the nations, is signified by their vine being of the vine of Sodom, and of the fields of Gomorrah. That instead of the goods of charity, they were given to hatred and to the falsities breaking forth therefrom, instead of truths. This is signified by, their grapes are grapes of gall, clusters of bitterness to them.

[8] In Moses:

"He tieth to the vine his ass, and to the choice vine the son of his she-ass; he washeth his garment in wine, and his covering in the blood of grapes" (Genesis 49:11).

These form the last address of the father of Israel to his sons, here [spoken] to Judah, by whom, in the highest sense, is meant the Lord as to the celestial church, and the Word. And by the blood of grapes is signified the Divine truth from His Divine good; and, in a relative sense, the good of charity. But this and the rest may be seen explained in Arcana Coelestia 6375-6379).

[9] By the blood of the grapes is also signified truth from spiritual good, the same as by wine (also Deuteronomy 22:14). The reason why grapes signify the good of charity is, that by a vineyard is signified the spiritual church, and by a vine the man of that church. Therefore, by clusters or bunches, and by grapes, which are the fruits, are signified the goods which constitute that church; these are called spiritual goods, and also goods of charity. And because all truth is from good, as all wine is from grapes, therefore by wine, in the Word, is signified truth from good. Concerning this signification of wine see above (n. 219, 376). But by clusters or bunches are properly signified the variations of the state of spiritual good, or of the good of charity, because in them many grapes cohere in series. But what is meant by variations of the state of good will be explained elsewhere.

[10] Because the land of Canaan represented and thence signified the church, and the church being a church from spiritual good - for this is the mark of the church, therefore

those who went to explore that land brought from it a cluster of grapes of a remarkable size, which was carried on a staff by two (Numbers 13:23, 24).

This was a representative sign of the church signified by the land of Canaan. The reason why the church is a church from the good of charity is, that this good, strictly considered, is the good of life arising from love to the Lord; consequently, it is the effect of that love. By the good of charity is meant justice, sincerity, and uprightness in every work and in every function, from the love of justice, sincerity, and uprightness; this love comes solely from the Lord.

[11] Because it has been hitherto unknown, what was represented by the Nazarite, and what was signified by his abstaining from grapes and from wine, and by making the hair of his head to grow, it is permitted here to make it known. Concerning his abstinence from grapes and from wine it is thus written:

"He shall abstain from wine and strong drink, vinegar of wine and vinegar of strong drink he shall not drink, yea, he shall not drink any bruising of grapes; the grapes also either fresh or dry he shall not eat. All the days of his Nazariteship, he shall not eat anything that is made of the grape of the vine, from the kernels even to the skin" (Numbers 6:3, 4).

This law was for the Nazarite before he fulfilled the days of his Nazariteship, because he then represented the Lord as to His first state. The Lord, like every man, passed through a first state which was sensual. For every man is first sensual; afterwards he is made natural and rational, then, spiritual; and lastly, if the third degree is opened in him, he becomes celestial, such as an angel of the third heaven becomes. The Sensual of man is signified by the hair of the head (concerning which see above, n. 66, 555). And because the Sensual is the most external of man's life, where all power resides, therefore the Nazarites had such great strength. That all power resides in the extremes or ultimates, consequently, in the ultimate sense of the Word, this being the sense of the letter, which also corresponds to and signifies hair, may be seen above (n. 346, 417, 567, 666, 726). Such power pertained to the Lord in His childhood, by which He overcame and subjugated the most direful hells, where all are sensual.

This state of the Lord was represented by the days of fulfilment with the Nazarites, which being fulfilled, the Lord entered from the sensual and natural into the spiritual and celestial Divine. Now because that state, together with its good and truth, is signified by grapes and wine, therefore it was not lawful for the Nazarite to eat grapes and drink wine, before he had fulfilled those days.

[12] That afterwards it was lawful for him is evident from the twentieth verse of that chapter, where it is said,

"And after that the Nazarite may drink wine."

That at the end of the days of fulfilment,

he should shave his head, and put the hair of his head upon the fire, which was under the sacrifice of the peace offerings (ver. 18),

represented the sensual, then new, from the celestial Divine; for new hair grew afterwards upon the Nazarite. This also represented that the Lord from ultimate Divine truth, which is the sense of the letter, entered into interior Divine truth, which is the Word in the internal sense, even to the highest there. For the Lord, while He was in the world, was the Word, because He was the Divine truth, and that more interiorly by degrees, as He grew up, even to the highest, which is purely Divine, entirely above the perceptions of the angels.

It must be known that the Lord, during His abode in the world, from infancy to the last day there, successively advanced to union with the very Divine that was in Him from conception (concerning this successive progression see the Arcana Coelestia 1864, 2033, 2632, 3141, 4585, 7014, 10076). From these considerations it is evident, what was represented by its not being granted to the Nazarite to eat anything of the grape, nor to drink anything of wine, before the fulfilment of the days of his Nazariteship.

403. As a fig-tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken by a mighty wind. That this signifies, which the natural man has laid waste by his reasonings, is plain from the signification of a fig-tree, as denoting the natural man, of which we shall speak presently; from the signification of its untimely figs, as denoting those things that are in the natural man, these being especially the knowledges implanted in the natural man from infancy, and are not yet mature, having been merely heard and thence received; and from the signification of, shaken by a mighty wind, as denoting, which the natural man has laid waste by reasonings. To be shaken by a mighty wind here signifies reasonings from the falsities of evil; for mighty in the Word is said of good and evil; wind, of truth and falsity; and to be shaken thereby, of reasoning thence. The reason why such things are signified by these words, although they are said comparatively, is, that all comparisons in the Word are significative, just as other things, for they are equally correspondences. With respect to these things, the case is this: every man is born natural from his parents, but becomes spiritual from the Lord; this is called to be born again, or regenerated. And because he is born natural, therefore the knowledges he imbibes from infancy, before he becomes spiritual, are implanted in his natural memory. But as he advances in years, and begins to view rationally the knowledges of good and truth he has imbibed from the Word or from preaching, if he then leads an evil life, he seizes upon and examines the falsities that are the opposite of and contrary to these knowledges; then as he is gifted with a talent for reasoning, he reasons from falsities against the knowledges of his infancy and childhood, and as a result these are cast out, and falsities succeed in their place. This, therefore, is what is signified by, "The stars shall fall to the earth, as a fig-tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken by the wind."

[2] That the fig-tree signifies the natural man is from correspondence; for in heaven gardens and paradises appear, where there are trees of every kind, and every tree signifies something of the Divine, which is communicated to angels from the Lord. In general, the olive signifies the celestial which is of the good of love; the vine, the spiritual which is of the truth from that good; and the fig-tree, the natural, which is derived from the spiritual or the celestial. And because those trees signify such things, therefore they also signify the angel or man with whom such things exist; but in a general sense they signify a whole society, because every society in the heavens is formed so as to present the image of one man. But in the spiritual sense those trees signify the church; the olive, the celestial church; the vine, the spiritual church; and the fig-tree, the natural church, which is the external church corresponding to the internal. From these considerations it is evident why it is that the fig-tree is said to signify the natural man, that is, the Natural in man.

[3] That the fig-tree signifies this, and, in general, the external church, is also clear from other passages in the Word, where it is mentioned, as from the following. In Isaiah:

"All the host of the heavens shall be consumed, and the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll; and all the host thereof shall fall down, as the leaf falleth off from the vine, and as that which falleth from the fig-tree" (34:4).

These things are said concerning the day of the Last Judgment, which was about to come, and also came. For the Last Judgment predicted by the prophets of the Old Testament, was accomplished by the Lord when He was in the world; and because similar things then took place as in the Last Judgment, which was predicted in the Apocalypse, and which has at this day been accomplished by the Lord, therefore nearly similar things are said. As in the prophet Isaiah, that, all the host of the heavens shall fall down, as the leaf falleth off from the vine, and as that which falleth from the fig-tree, also that the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll. In the Apocalypse, that the stars shall fall unto the earth, as a fig-tree casteth her untimely figs, and that the heaven shall depart as a scroll rolled together. That all the host of the heavens shall be consumed, signifies that all the goods and truths of love and faith have been corrupted; for by the host of the heavens are meant all the goods and truths of love and faith; the sun, moon, and stars, by which those things are signified, being called the host of the heavens. The heavens being rolled together as a scroll, signifies their dissipation; that all the host shall fall down as the leaf from the vine, and as that which falleth from the fig-tree, signifies the laying waste from the falsities of evil.

[4] In Jeremiah:

"In consuming I will consume them; there shall be no grapes on the vine, nor figs on the fig-tree, and the leaf shall fade" (8:13).

There being no grapes on the vine signifies that there is no spiritual good; for the vine signifies the spiritual man, and the grape, because it is its fruit, signifies the good of that [man], which is called spiritual good; nor figs on the fig-tree, signifies that there is no natural good, for the fig-tree signifies the natural man, and the fruit of the fig-tree signifies the good of that [man], which is called natural good. That the vine does not signify the vine, nor the fig-tree the fig-tree, is evident, for it is said, "In consuming I will consume them, there shall be no grapes on the vine, nor figs on the fig-tree," for they will not on that account be consumed. The vastation of the church is also treated of, as clearly appears from what precedes and follows there.

[5] In Hosea:

"I will also make all her joy to cease, her feast, her new moon, her sabbath. And I will devastate her vine and her fig-tree, whereof she hath said, These are the rewards of my whoredom; and I will make her a forest, and the wild beast of the field shall devour" (2:11, 12).

The churches are here treated of, and the falsification of truth therein. That it is said concerning the church, is clear from the second verse of this chapter, where it is said, contend with your mother; for she is not my wife, and I am not her husband. By a mother and by a wife is signified the church; the holy things of the church also, from which worship is performed, and the worship itself, are signified by the feast, the new moon, and the sabbath, which shall cease; therefore by, "I will devastate her vine and her fig-tree," is signified that both spiritual good and natural good would perish. That they shall be made a forest, and the wild beast of the field shall devour, signifies that both shall be merely natural, and that the spiritual shall be consumed by falsities and lusts; the forest signifying the merely natural, and the wild beast of the field, falsities and lusts. And inasmuch as falsities in the church are especially falsified truths, and these are treated of in this chapter, therefore it is said, "whereof she hath said, These are the rewards of my whoredom," the rewards of whoredom signifying falsification.

[6] In Joel:

"A nation shall come up upon my land, strong, and without number; its teeth are the teeth of a lion, and it hath the great grinding teeth of a lion. It hath reduced my vine to a waste, and my fig-tree to froth; the branches thereof are made white. The vine is dried up, and the fig-tree languisheth; the pomegranate-tree, and also the palm-tree, and the apple-tree, all the trees of the field are withered" (1:6, 7, 12).

In this whole chapter the devastated church is treated of; and by the nation, which comes up upon the land, which is strong and without number, which has the teeth of a lion, and the great grinding teeth of a lion, is not signified any nation of such a kind, but direful evil and the falsity thence. By the land upon which it comes up, is signified the church; by the teeth of a lion are signified the falsities of that evil; and because these destroy all the goods and truths of the church, they are called the great grinding teeth of a lion; a lion signifying that which destroys. Hence by, "He hath reduced my vine to a waste, and my fig-tree to froth," is signified that the church internal and external is thereby vastated; for the vine signifies the internal church, and the fig-tree the external; froth signifies where there is inwardly no truth; and by, "in making it bare he has made it bare, and cast it away," is signified that there is no longer any good or truth which is not destroyed; to make bare, namely, of fruits and leaves, denotes to deprive of goods and truths; and to cast away denotes entirely to destroy. By, "the branches thereof are made white," is signified, that there is no longer anything spiritual. By the pomegranate, the palm, and the apple, and all the trees of the field which are withered, are signified species of goods and truths of the church, and the knowledges thereof, which are consummated by evils and falsities; the trees of the field, in general, signifying the knowledges of good and truth.

[7] In the same:

"Be not afraid, ye beasts of my fields; for the dwelling-places of the wilderness are made grassy, for the tree beareth her fruit, the fig-tree and the vine shall yield their strength" (2:22).

The establishment of the church is here treated of; therefore by the beasts of the field are not meant beasts of the field, but the affections of good in the natural man, consequently, those with whom such affections are. Who does not see that they are not beasts to whom it is said, "Be not afraid, ye beasts of my fields?" By, "the dwelling-places of the wilderness are made grassy," is signified that with such there will be knowledges of truth where there were none before; the dwelling-places of the wilderness denoting the interiors of the mind of those in whom they did not exist before; grassy signifies the increase and multiplication thereof; "for the tree beareth her fruit, the fig-tree and the vine shall yield their strength," signifies that they have natural good and spiritual good, for strength here denotes the production of fruit.

[8] In Amos:

"Your many gardens, and your vineyards, and your fig-trees, and your olive-trees, the canker-worm hath devoured; yet have ye not returned unto me" (4:9).

By gardens are signified all things of the church that constitute intelligence and wisdom; by vineyards, spiritual goods and truths; by fig-trees, natural goods and truths; by olive-trees, celestial goods and truths; the canker-worm denotes the falsity which destroys; the fig-tree, the vine, and the olive, properly signify the church, and the man of the church; but because the church is a church and a man is a man from goods and truths, therefore these also are signified by those trees, the goods by their fruits, and the truths by their branches and leaves.

[9] In Haggai:

"Set your heart from this day and henceforwards. Is there not yet seed in the barn, and even to the vine and fig-tree, and the pomegranate, and the olive-tree?" (2:18, 19).

By these words, in the spiritual sense, is meant that goods and truths are yet remaining; all goods and truths from primaries to ultimates are meant by the vine, the fig-tree, the pomegranate, and the olive-tree; by the vine, spiritual good and truth; by the fig-tree, natural good and truth; by the pomegranate, the knowing and perceptive faculty in general, and specifically the knowledges and perceptions of good and truth; and by the olive-tree, the perception of celestial good and truth; the barn signifies where those things are, either the church, or the man in whom the church is, or the mind of man, which is the subject.

[10] In Habakkuk:

"The fig-tree shall not blossom, neither shall increase be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall deceive, and the fields shall yield no food" (3:17).

The fig-tree shall not blossom, signifies that there shall be no natural good; neither shall increase be in the vines, signifies that there shall be no spiritual good; the labour of the olive shall deceive signifies that there shall be no celestial good; the fields shall yield no food, signifies that there shall be no spiritual nourishment.

[11] In Moses:

"Jehovah God leadeth thee to a good land, a land of rivers of water, of fountains and depths that go out of valley and mountain; a land of wheat and barley, and of the vine and fig-tree and pomegranate; a land of oil olive, and honey" (Deuteronomy 8:7, 8).

By the good land to which they shall be led, is meant the land of Canaan, by which is signified the church, therefore here the same things are signified by the vine, the fig-tree, the pomegranate, and the olive, as now [explained] above. The other things may be seen explained before in n. 374. Because by the land of Canaan is signified the church, and by the vine, the fig-tree, and the pomegranate, are signified the internal and external things of the church, therefore it came to pass that the explorers of that land brought such things thence; concerning this it is thus written in Moses:

The explorers of the land of Canaan "came to the river Eshcol, and cut down from thence a branch with one cluster of grapes, which they bare between two upon a pole; [they brought] also of the pomegranate, and of the figs" (Num. 13:23).

[12] Because the vine and the fig-tree signify such things, therefore it is said in the Word of those who are in the goods and truths of the church, and thence in safety from evils and falsities, that they shall sit under their own vine, and under their own fig-tree in security, and none shall make them afraid; as in the first book of Kings:

"Judah and Israel dwelt safely, every man under his vine and under his fig-tree, from Dan even to Beersheba, all the days of Solomon" (4:25).

In Zechariah:

"I will remove the iniquity of this land in one day. In that day, ye shall call every man to his neighbour, to the vine and to the fig-tree" (3:9, 10).

And in Micah:

"In the end of the days the mountain of the house of Jehovah shall be established on the top of the mountains; and nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig-tree; neither shall any make them afraid" (4:1, 3, 4).

These things are said of the Lord's kingdom, which is with those in the heavens, and on earth, who are in love to Him. The Lord's kingdom is signified by the mountain of Jehovah, which is established on the top of the mountains, for the mountain of Jehovah signifies the Lord's kingdom of those who are in love to Him; and because these dwell above the others in the heavens, it is said of that mountain, that it shall be established on the top of the mountains (see the work concerning Heaven and Hell 188). And because these have truths inscribed upon their hearts, and, therefore, do not debate concerning them, it is said that "nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more," by which is signified, that in that kingdom there shall be no dispute about truths (as may be seen in the same work, n. Heaven and Hell 25, 26, 270, 271). That by the truths and goods which they possess, they shall be safe from evils and falsities, is signified by, they shall sit under their own vine and under their own fig-tree, none making them afraid.

[13] In Jeremiah:

"Lo, I will bring upon you a nation from afar, which shall eat up thine harvest, and thy bread; it shall eat up thy sons and thy daughters; it shall eat up thy flock and thine herd; it shall eat up thy vine and thy fig-tree" (5:15, 17).

By a nation from afar is signified the evil opposed to celestial good; by from afar is signified distant and remote from goods and truths, also opposed; "which shall eat up thine harvest, and thy bread," signifies that it shall destroy all truths and goods by means of which there is spiritual nourishment; "it shall eat up thy sons and thy daughters," signifies all the spiritual affections of truth and good; "it shall eat up thy flock and thine herd," signifies truths and goods internal and external; "it shall eat up thy vine and thy fig-tree," signifies, thus the internal and external of the church.

[14] In Hosea:

"I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness; I saw your fathers as the first-ripe in the fig-tree in its first season" (9:10).

By Israel and the fathers here are not meant the fathers of the tribes from the sons of Jacob, but those who belonged to the Ancient Church, because they were in good (as may be seen in the Arcana Coelestia 6050, 6075, 6846, 6876, 6884, 7648, 8055); because they were in good, but at the beginning in ignorance of the truth, by which, however, good is [formed], it is said, "I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness; I saw your fathers as the first-ripe in the fig-tree in its first season"; grapes signifying spiritual good, wilderness signifying ignorance of the truth; and the first-ripe in the fig-tree signifying natural good from spiritual good in infancy.

[15] In Luke:

"And when all these things begin to come to pass, look up, and lift up your heads. And he spake a parable; Behold the fig-tree, and all the trees; when they now have shot forth, ye see and shall know of your own selves that summer is now near. So also ye, when ye shall see these things, know that the kingdom of God is nigh" (21:28-31; Matthew 24:32; Mark 13:28, 29).

The subject here treated of is the consummation of the age, which is the Last Judgment, and the signs that precede are enumerated; these are meant by, "when all these things begin to come to pass." That a new church will then commence, which will be external in the beginning, is signified by, "Behold the fig-tree, and all the trees, when they have shot forth." This parable or similitude was related, because the fig-tree signifies the external church, and the trees signify the knowledges of truth and good. The kingdom of God, which then is near, signifies the Lord's New Church; for at the time of the Last Judgment, the old church perishes, and a new commences.

[16] In Luke:

"Every tree is known by his own fruit; for of thorns [men] do not gather figs, nor of a bramble-bush gather they the grape" (6:44).

As by fruit is signified the good of life, and the good of life is external good from internal, or natural good from spiritual, and as man is known from this good, therefore the Lord says, "Every tree is known by his own fruit; of thorns [men] do not gather figs, nor of a bramble-bush gather they the grape," the fig here denoting the good of the external or natural man, and the grape denoting the good of the internal or spiritual man; the thorns and the bramble-bush denote the evils opposed to them.

[17] Because the kings of Judah and Israel represented the Lord as to Divine truth, and Divine truth is, as it were, tortured, and labours with man, when there is not a life according to it, and it does not become the good of life; but only when it becomes of the life, it lives; this was signified by the following:

That by command of Jehovah to Hezekiah king of Judah, when he was sick, they should bring a lump of figs, and lay it for a plaster, upon the boil, and so should he live (2 Kings 20:7; Isaiah 38:21).

From these things it is evident that the fig-tree, in the genuine sense, signifies the natural man as to good and truth, the fig itself as a tree, the natural man; the fig as a fruit, the good of the natural man; and its leaf, the truth of that good.

[18] But that the fig-tree in an opposite sense signifies the natural man as to evil and falsity, the fig as a tree, the natural man himself, the figs of it as fruit, the evil of that natural man; and its leaf, the falsity of that evil, is plain from the following passages.

In Jeremiah:

"Jehovah shewed me, and, behold, two baskets of figs were set before the temple of Jehovah. One basket [held] very good figs, as of fig-trees bearing the first-fruits; and the other basket [held] exceeding bad figs, which could not be eaten for badness. Jehovah said, As these figs are good, so will I acknowledge the migration of Judah into the land of the Chaldeans for good; and I will set mine eye upon them for good, and I will bring them back upon this land; and I will build them, and I will plant them. And like the figs that are bad; so will I give them that are left in this land, to commotion, and to evil in all nations; and I will send upon them the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, that they may be consumed" (24:1-10).

By the captivity of the Jews in the land of the Chaldeans, is signified the same as by the spiritual captivity, or the removal of the good from the evil in the spiritual world (according to what has been recorded above, n. 391, 392, 394, 397); namely, that the inwardly evil, who could nevertheless lead a moral life, like the spiritual life in externals, remained upon the earth in the spiritual world, and made themselves habitations there upon the higher places; and that the inwardly good were removed from them, and concealed by the Lord in the lower earth. This was represented by the carrying away of the Jews into the land of the Chaldeans, and by the continuance of the rest in the land; therefore it is said concerning those who suffered themselves to be carried away into the land of the Chaldeans, "I acknowledge the migration of Judah into the land of the Chaldeans for good; and I will set mine eye upon them for good, and I will bring them back upon this land; and I will build them, and I will plant them"; whereas, concerning those who remained, it is said, "I will give them that are left in this land, to commotion, and to evil in all nations; and I will send upon them the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, that they may be consumed." That these were the things represented, is plain also from this fact, that the temple of Solomon was destroyed before they were carried away, and that a new [temple] was built when they returned. By the temple is signified Divine worship; and by the new temple, that [worship] restored.

[19] From these things it is evident what is signified by the two baskets of figs set before the temple of Jehovah, in one of which were figs that were very good, as of fig-trees bearing the firstfruits, and in the other were figs exceeding bad, which could not be eaten for badness; namely, that those who are inwardly good, from whom a new heaven is to be formed, are meant by the basket of good figs, and those who are inwardly evil, who are to be cast down into hell, are meant by the basket of bad figs. Therefore it is said concerning the latter, that they could not be eaten for badness; by which is signified that they were inwardly evil; and concerning the former that they were as fig-trees bearing the first-fruits, by which is signified that they were inwardly good, so that a new heaven could be formed from them; for the fig, as a fruit, signifies the good of life in the internal, and at the same time in the external form, and, in an opposite sense, it signifies the good of life solely in the external form, which is evil of life, because it is inwardly evil; for every external derives its quality from the internal, for it is the effect of it. The reason why, with such persons, evil appears in the externals as good, is, because they feign what is good for the sake of the evil that is within, in order to obtain some end, to which apparent good serves as a means. The same is said of those who remained in the land of Canaan elsewhere in the same [prophet]:

"Thus said Jehovah of the king, and all the people that dwell in this city, that are not gone forth with you into captivity; Behold, I will send upon them the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, and I will make them like harsh figs, that cannot be eaten for badness" (29:16, 17).

[20] That the fig as a tree, in the opposite sense, signifies the merely natural man, and the church from such, or those with whom there is no natural good, because there is no inward good, is plain in Luke:

Jesus "spake this parable: A certain man had a fig-tree planted in his vineyard; he therefore came seeking fruit thereon, but found none. He said unto the vine-dresser, Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig-tree, but find none, cut it down, for wherefore also maketh it the ground unfruitful? But he answering said, Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it, and dung it: if only it bear fruit, [well]; if not at all, after that thou shalt cut it down" (13:6-9).

By the vineyard, in which the fig-tree was, is signified the church, where also those are who are in externals; for there is both an internal and an external in the Lord's church; the internal of the church consists of charity and the faith thence, but the external of the church consists of the good of life. Because the works of charity and faith, which constitute the good of life, pertain to the natural man, and charity itself and the faith thence to the spiritual man, hence by the vineyard is signified the internal of the church, and by the fig-tree its external. With the Jewish nation there was only the external of the church, because it was in external representative worship; therefore by the fig-tree is meant the church with that nation; but because they were in external and in no internal worship, for they were inwardly evil, and since external worship without internal is no worship, and with the evil is evil worship, therefore with them there was nothing of natural good. Hence it is said, that for three years he had not found fruit on the fig-tree, and that he commanded the vinedresser to cut it down; by which is signified, that from beginning to end there was not any natural good with that nation; for by three years is signified a whole period, or a time from beginning to end; and by the fruit of the fig-tree is signified natural good; by natural good is meant spiritual-natural good, or good in the natural from the spiritual. And because a church composed of such as are not in natural good, as was the Jewish nation, is not a church, therefore it is also said of the fig-tree, "wherefore also maketh it the ground unfruitful?" the earth denoting the church. That the vine-dresser begged that it should still be left, and that he would dig about it, signifies that [the nation] should remain, and that hereafter they should be instructed by the Christians, in the midst of whom they would be; but because no answer was made to this, it is meant that the fig-tree would still produce no fruit; that is, that the Jewish nation would do no good that proceeds from anything spiritual.

[21] This is signified by the fig-tree which withered away on account of the Lord's finding no fruit thereon.

In Matthew:

"In the morning, Jesus returning into the city, hungered. And seeing a fig-tree in the way, he came to it, but found nothing thereon but leaves, therefore he said unto it, Let nothing grow on thee henceforward for ever; whence the fig-tree from that time withered away" (21:18, 19; Mark 11:12-14).

By the fig-tree is here also meant the church with the Jewish nation. That with that nation there was no natural good, but only truth falsified, which is in itself falsity, is signified by, the Lord came to the fig-tree, but found nothing thereon but leaves; the fruit, which He did not find, signifies natural good such as was described above; and the leaf signifies truth falsified, which in itself is falsity; for leaf, in the Word, signifies truth, but the leaf of a tree which is without fruit signifies falsity, and with that nation, truth falsified, because they had the Word, in which truths are, but which they falsified by application to themselves, whence [arose] their traditions. That that nation would never do any natural good from a spiritual origin called spiritual natural [good], is signified by the words which the Lord spoke concerning it, "Let nothing grow on thee henceforward for ever," whence from that time it withered away; to wither away signifies that there were no longer good and truth. The reason why the Lord saw [the fig-tree] and said this, when He was returning into the city, and hungered, is, because by the city of Jerusalem is signified the church; and by hungering, when said of the Lord, is signified to desire good in the church (as may be seen above, n. 386). He who does not know what the fig-tree signifies, and that by that fig-tree was meant the church with that nation, can think no otherwise than that this was done by the Lord from indignation, because He hungered; whereas it was not done on this account, but that the quality of the Jewish nation might be thereby signified. For all the Lord's miracles involve and signify such things as belong to heaven and the church, whence those miracles were Divine (as may be seen, n. 7337, 8364, 9031 at the end).

[22] The perverted church, or the perverted man of the church as to his natural or external man, is also signified by the fig-tree, in David:

"He gave them hail for rain, a fire of flames in their land and he smote their vines and their fig-trees; he brake the tree of their border" (Psalms 105:32, 33).

These things are said concerning Egypt, by which is signified the natural man who is in falsities and evils; and by the vine, the fig-tree, and the tree of the border, are signified all things of the church; by the vine, the internal or spiritual things thereof; by the fig-tree, the external or natural things thereof; and by the tree of the border, every thing of the cognitive and perceptive faculty; the border signifying the ultimate in which interior things terminate, and in which they are together, and the trees [signifying] knowledges and perceptions. Because all these things were perverted and therefore damned, it is said that they were smitten and broken, by which is signified destruction and damnation. That [this was] from the falsities of evil that originate in the love of the world, is signified by, "hail for rain, a fire of flames in their land"; rain as hail signifies the falsities of evil, and a fire of flames signifies the love of the world.

[23] In Nahum:

All thy strongholds [shall be] like fig-trees with the first ripe figs if they are shaken, they fall upon the mouth of the eater (3:12).

This is said of the city of bloods, by which is signified doctrine in which truths are falsified and goods adulterated. This is compared to fig-trees with their first-fruits, which, if they be shaken, fall upon the mouth of the eater, and by this is signified that the goods therein are not goods, however much they appear as goods; and that they are not received, and if they are received, they are received only in the memory and not in the heart. That they fall when they are shaken, signifies that they are not goods although they appear as goods, because they are the first-fruits; and upon the mouth of the eater signifies non-reception, not even in the memory. That the mouth of the eater signifies not to receive, is plain from appearances in the spiritual world; for those who commit any thing to the memory appear to receive with the mouth; therefore to fall upon the mouth signifies, not to receive even in the memory, but only to hear, and also if they do receive, that it is only in the memory, and not in the heart. By fig-trees with their first-fruits can also be understood genuine goods, with which the same is accomplished with those who are in falsities of evil.