9514. 'And the cherubs shall be spreading out their wings upwards' means a raising accomplished by the truth of faith. This is clear from the meaning of 'wings' as the truths of faith, dealt with below; and from the meaning of 'spreading out the wings upwards' as being raised, for in the spreading out of the wings upwards the endeavour to raise oneself is present, the fulfillment of the endeavour being the actual raising up. From all this it is evident that 'the wings of the cherubs, outspread upwards' means a raising of good in the Lord's direction by means of the truths of faith; for access to Him through good is meant by 'the cherubs'. Something brief must be stated here to show what a raising of good by means of the truths of faith implies. There are two realities with which everything in heaven and also everything in the world have connection - good and truth. Good without truth is not good, and truth without good is not truth; for without truth good lacks any specific quality, and without good truth is devoid of anything to give it being. Indeed truth is the actual outward form taken by good, and the form must exist to give it specific quality; but the good is the essential being, the manifestation of which is the truth.

[2] The relationship of good to truth is altogether like that of the will to the understanding, in that the will is dedicated to the reception of good and the understanding to the reception of truth. The will receives specific quality from the understanding, and the understanding its essential being from the will. For the will is formed within the understanding and thereby clothes itself with a specific quality. The relationship of good to truth is also like that of the body to the arms and feet, or to the wings in the case of birds. A body without arms and feet or without wings cannot move itself; but with the use of them it does move. Furthermore in the Word the body corresponds to good, and its arms or wings to truths and also to the powers good possesses in and exercises through truths. From these comparisons which are also correspondences one may see what is implied by a raising of good by means of the truths of faith, which in general are called spiritual truths. As regards the meaning of 'wings' as the truths of faith, see what has been shown in 8764.

395. 'Anyone killing Cain, vengeance will be taken on him sevenfold' means that to violate faith thus separated was utterly forbidden. This is clear from the meaning of 'Cain' as separated faith, and from the meaning of 'seven' as utterly inviolable. As is well known, the number seven was considered holy on account of the six days of creation and of the seventh, which is the celestial man in whom peace, rest, and the Sabbath exist. This is the reason why the number seven occurs so many times in the religious ceremonies of the Jewish Church, in every instance standing for that which is holy. It is also the reason why periods of time, long as well as short, were divided into seven, and were called weeks, as in the case of the long time intervals leading up to the time when the Messiah was to come, Daniel 9:24-25. A period of seven years is also called a week by Laban and Jacob, Genesis 29:27-28. Consequently wherever the number seven occurs it stands either for something holy or else for something utterly inviolable, as in David,

Seven times in the day I praise You. Psalms 119:164.

In Isaiah,

The light of the moon will be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun will be sevenfold, as the light of seven days. Isaiah 30:26.

Here 'the sun' is love, and 'the moon' faith deriving from love, a faith which is to be as love.

[2] Just as the periods of man's regeneration divide into six before he reaches the seventh, which is the celestial man, so also do the periods of vastation even until nothing celestial is left. This was represented by the many captivities of the Jews, and by the last of them, the Babylonian, which was a captivity of seven decades, that is, seventy years. And it was several times stated that the land had to rest during its Sabbaths. It was also represented by Nebuchadnezzar, of whom it is said in Daniel,

His heart will be changed from man, and the heart of a beast given him until seven times will pass over him. Daniel 4:16, 25, 32.

In reference to the vastation of the last times it is recorded in John,

I saw another sign in heaven, great and wonderful - seven angels holding the seven Revelation 15:1, 6-7.

They will trample over the holy city for forty-two months (that is, six times seven). Revelation 11:2.

In the same book,

I saw a book [written] within and on the back, sealed with seven seals. Revelation 5:1.

Severe and increased penalties were for the same reason expressed by the number seven, as in Moses,

If you will not obey Me in this matter, I will chastise you seven times worse for your sins. Leviticus 26:18, 21, 24, 28.

In David,

Return to our neighbours sevenfold into their bosom. Psalms 79:12.

So then, it is because it was utterly forbidden to violate faith - since it had a use to serve, as has been stated - that the statement is made about 'vengeance being taken sevenfold on him who killed Cain'.