146. To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna. That this signifies that to those who conquer in temptations will be given the delight of heavenly love from the Divine Human of the Lord is evident from the signification of him that overcometh, as being those who conquer in temptations; for such are treated of in what is written to the angel of this church (as may be seen above, n. 130); also from the signification of I will give to eat, as being to be appropriated and conjoined by love and charity (concerning which see Arcana Coelestia 2187, 2343, 3168, 3513, 5643), and because it is said concerning the hidden manna, by which is meant the Lord as to the Divine Human; by eating thereof, is here signified the delight of heavenly love, for this is appropriated from the Divine Human of the Lord by those who receive Him in love and faith; and from the signification of the hidden manna, as being the Lord as to the Divine Human.

That this is what is meant by manna is evident from the words of the Lord Himself in John:

"Our fathers did eat manna in the desert, as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat. The bread of God is he who cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world. I am the bread of life. Your fathers did eat manna in the desert and are dead. This is that bread which cometh down from heaven, that he that eateth of it may not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven, if any man eat of this bread he shall live for ever. The bread that I will give is my flesh" (6:31-58).

That it is the Lord Himself who is meant by manna and by bread, He plainly teaches, for He says, "I am the bread of life that came down from heaven." That it is the Lord as to the Divine Human, He also teaches when He says, "The bread which I will give is my flesh."

[2] The Lord taught the same when He instituted the holy supper:

"Jesus took bread, and blessed, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat, this is my body" (Matthew 26:26; Mark 14:22; Luke 22:19).

To eat of this bread is to be conjoined to Him by love, for to eat signifies to appropriate and be conjoined, as said above; and love is spiritual conjunction. The same thing is signified by eating in the kingdom of God, in Luke:

"Blessed is he that eateth bread in the kingdom of God" (14:15).

Again:

"Ye shall eat and drink at my table in the kingdom of God" (22:30).

In Matthew:

"Many shall come from the east and west, and shall recline with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom" of God (8:11).

(That by Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, is meant the Lord, may be seen, Arcana Coelestia 1893, 4615, 6098, 6185, 6276, 6804, 6847.)

And in John:

"Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man will give unto you" (6:27).

[3] (That the Son of man is the Lord as to the Divine Human, may be seen above, n. 63.) The reason why it is called hidden manna is, because the delight of heavenly love, which those receive who are conjoined to the Lord by love is quite unknown to those who are not in heavenly love; and this delight no one can receive but he who acknowledges the Divine Human of the Lord; for it proceeds from this. Because this delight was unknown to the sons of Israel in the desert, they therefore called it manna, as is evident in Moses:

"Jehovah said unto Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you. And in the morning the dew lay round about the camp. And when the dew that lay was gone up, behold, upon the face of the desert there lay a small round thing; and when they saw it, they said, It is manna (What is this?). Moses said unto them, This is the bread which Jehovah hath given you to eat. And the house of Israel called the name thereof manna" (Exodus 16:3 to the end).

"Jehovah fed thee with manna which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of Jehovah doth man live" (Deuteronomy 8:3).

The reason why this delight, which is meant by manna, was unknown to the sons of Israel was, that they were in bodily delight more than other nations; and those who are in this delight cannot know anything at all of heavenly delight. (That the sons of Israel were of such a character may be seen in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 248.) It is called delight, and by this is meant the delight of love; for all the delight of life is from love.

[4] Because it is the delight of heavenly love that is signified by eating of the hidden manna, it is therefore called the bread of the heavens in David:

"Jehovah commanded the clouds from above, and opened the doors of the heavens; and rained down manna upon them to eat, and gave them of the corn of the heavens" (Psalm 78:23, 24).

And in another place:

"Jehovah satisfied them with the bread of the heavens" (Psalm 105:40).

It is called the bread of the heavens because it rained down from heaven with the dew, but in the spiritual sense it is called the bread of the heavens because it flows down from the Lord through the angelic heaven; in this sense, no other heaven is meant, and no other bread than that which nourishes the soul of man. That bread is here meant in this sense is evident from the words of the Lord himself in John, where He says, that

He is the manna or bread which came down from heaven (John 6:31-58).

And in Moses, where it is said

that Jehovah fed them with manna that He might teach that man doth not live by bread alone, but by every utterance of the mouth of Jehovah (Deuteronomy 8:3).

The utterance of the mouth of Jehovah is everything that proceeds from the Lord, and this, specifically, is Divine truth united with Divine good (as may be seen in the work, Heaven and Hell 13, 133, 139, 140, 284-290).

[5] This delight is also described by correspondences in Moses:

The manna was "like coriander seed, white, and the taste of it was like a cake made with honey" (Exodus 16:31).

And in another place:

"They made cakes of it; and the taste of it was as of the juice of oil" (Numbers 11:7, 8).

The reason why the manna had such an appearance and taste was, that the white seed of coriander signifies truth from a celestial origin, a cake the good of celestial love, honey its external delight, oil that love itself, and its juice, whence was the taste, its internal delight, and the rain with the dew, in which the manna was, the influx of Divine truth in which that delight is contained. (That seed signifies truth from a heavenly origin, may be seen, Arcana Coelestia 3038, 3373, 10248, 10249: that white is said of that truth, n. 3301, 3993, 4007, 5319; that cake signifies the good of heavenly love, n. 7978, 9992, 9993; that oil signifies that love itself, n. 886, 3728, 9780, 9954, 10261, 10269; hence its juice signifies its delight, because the taste is therefrom and the taste is the delight and pleasantness, see n. 3502, 4791-4805. But more may be seen concerning these things in the explanation of chapter 16 of Exodus in Arcana Coelestia.) The reason why the delight of celestial love is signified by eating of the hidden manna, although by the hidden manna the Lord as to the Divine Human is signified, is that it is the same thing whether we say the Divine Human of the Lord, or the Divine love, for the Lord is Divine love itself, and what proceeds from Him is Divine good united to Divine truth; both belong to love, and are also the Lord in heaven. Therefore to eat of Him is to be conjoined to Him, and this is effected by love from Him. (But these things may be better understood from what is said and shown in the work, Heaven and Hell 13-19, 116-125, 126-140; and also in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 210-222 and 307.)

3993. 'Removing from it every speckled and spotted member of the flock' means that everything good and true that is meant by 'Laban' and which - when mingled with evil, meant by 'speckled', or mingled with falsity, meant by 'spotted' - will be separated. This is clear from the meaning of 'removing' as separating, and from the meaning of 'member of the flock', in this case she-goats and lambs, as goods and truths, dealt with in 1824, 3519. The fact that these details and those that follow in this chapter hold arcana within them may be recognized from the consideration that for the most part they would not be worth mentioning in the Divine Word if they did not include any deeper arcana than those to be seen in the letter, such as the following: For his wages Jacob asked for the speckled and the spotted among the she-goats and for the black among the lambs; and after this, in the runners he placed rods - which he had peeled down to the white and which were of hazel and of plane - in front of Laban's flocks when these came on heat, and in the case of the lambs he set the faces of the flock towards the variegated and the black in Laban's flock, thereby making himself rich not by the use of a good skill but of an evil one. These details do not seem to hold anything Divine within them, and yet the Word is Divine in every single part, even to the smallest part of a letter. And what is more, knowing all these details does not contribute one tiny bit to a person's salvation, yet being Divine the Word does not contain within itself anything else than such things as lead to salvation and eternal life.

[2] From these details and others like them elsewhere anyone may come to the conclusion that some arcanum is concealed within them, and that although in the literal sense they are the kind of facts that are not worth mentioning, those details - every single one - are pregnant with ideas much more Divine. But what exactly these ideas may be cannot possibly be seen by anyone except from the internal sense, that is, unless he knows the way in which angels perceive these matters; for they perceive the spiritual sense when man sees the historical natural sense. How remote these two senses seem to be from each other when in fact they are closely linked to one another may become quite evident from the historical details explained above and from all other such details. The actual arcanum present within the details here and in those after them in this chapter may, it is true, be known to some extent from what has been stated already about Laban and Jacob - about 'Laban' meaning the kind of good by means of which genuine goods and truths are able to be introduced, while 'Jacob' means the good of truth. Yet few know what natural good corresponding to spiritual good is, even fewer what spiritual good is and that a correspondence ought to exist between the two, and fewer still that a type of good which merely looks like good is the means for introducing genuine goods and truths. This being so, the arcana which describe these matters cannot be explained easily and intelligibly since they fall within the poorly lit parts of the understanding. It is rather like someone talking in a foreign language, in that no matter how clearly the thing is explained in that language the hearer does not understand. Even so, because what is concealed in the internal sense of the Word is to be made known, the actual arcanum within the details here has to be discussed.

[3] In the highest sense the subject at this point is how the Lord made His own Natural Divine, and in the representative sense how the Lord regenerates the natural as it exists with man and brings it into correspondence with his interior man, that is, with that which is going to live after the death of the body. At that point it is called man's spirit which, when released from the body, takes with it every part of the external man except the flesh and bones. If the correspondence of the internal man with the external has not been effected in the temporal state, that is, during a person's life in the body, it is not effected after that. The Lord's joining of the two together through regeneration is the subject in the internal sense here.

[4] Previous sections have dealt with the general truths which a person ought to receive and acknowledge before he can be regenerated, those truths being meant by Jacob's ten sons by Leah and the servant-girls; then they deal - after he has received and acknowledged them - with the joining of the external man to the interior, that is, of the natural man to the spiritual, which was meant by 'Joseph'. Now in the sequence of ideas the subject is the fruitfulness of good and the multiplication of truth which begin to occur once the rational man has been joined to the spiritual, and in the measure that they are so joined. These are the considerations meant by the flock which Jacob acquired to himself by means of Laban's flock. 'Flock' here means good and truth, as it does many times elsewhere in the Word. 'Laban's flock' means the good that is represented by 'Laban', the nature of which has been stated above; 'Jacob's flock' means the genuine good and truth which is acquired by means of that good represented by Laban.

[5] It is the way in which genuine goods and truths are acquired that is described here. Yet this cannot by any means be comprehended unless one knows what is meant in the internal sense by 'speckled', 'spotted', 'black' and 'white', and therefore these must first be dealt with here. That which is speckled or that which is spotted consists of black and of white. In general 'black' means that which is evil, in particular man's proprium since this is nothing but evil. 'Dark' however means that which is false, and in particular false assumptions. 'White' in the internal sense means truth; strictly speaking it means the Lord's Righteousness and Merit, and from this the Lord's righteousness and merit as these exist with man. This whiteness is called bright because it shines from the light that radiates from the Lord. But 'white' in the contrary sense means self-righteousness or one's own merit. Indeed truth devoid of good has such merit within it, for when any good action performed by a person does not stem from the good of truth that person always desires something in return since he acts for the sake of himself. But when good lies behind the truth that a person carries into effect, that truth is enlightened by the light which radiates from the Lord. From this one may see what is meant by 'spotted', namely truth with which falsity has been mingled, and what by 'speckled', namely good with which evil has been mingled.

[6] Actually visible in the next life are colours so beautiful and bright that they defy description, 1053, 1624. They are the product of the variegation of light and shade within white and black. But although it appears before the eyes as light, the light there is unlike the light in the world. The light in heaven includes intelligence and wisdom, for Divine Intelligence and Wisdom from the Lord manifest themselves there as light and also light up the whole of heaven, 2776, 3138, 3167, 3190, 3195, 3222, 3223, 3225, 3339-3341, 3485, 3636, 3643, 3862. Shade likewise in the next life, although it appears as shade, is unlike shade in the world, since the shade in that life is the absence of light and as a consequence the lack of intelligence and wisdom. So because the white and the black are in the next life a product of light which has intelligence and wisdom within it, and a product of the shade which is the lack of these, it is evident that white and black mean such things as have been stated above. Consequently, since colours are the modifications of light and shade within surfaces consisting of white and black, it is the variegations produced by those modifications that are called colours, 1042, 1043, 1053.

[7] From all this one may see what is meant by speckled, or marked and dotted with black and white specks, namely good with which evil has been mingled, and also what is meant by spotted, namely truth with which falsity has been mingled. These are the things that were taken from 'Laban good' to serve in the introducing of genuine goods and truths. But in what way they are able to serve is an arcanum which can indeed be presented clearly to those who see in the light of heaven because this light, as has been stated, holds intelligence within it, but not to those who see in the light of the world unless their light of the world is lit up by the light of heaven, as it is with those who are regenerate. For every regenerate person sees goods and truths within his own natural light from the light of heaven, because the light of heaven brings sight to his understanding even as the inferior light of the world gives him natural sight.

[8] But all this needs to be taken a little further. No pure good, or good with which evil is not mingled, exists with anyone. Neither does any pure truth, or truth with which falsity is not mingled, exist with him. This is because man's will is nothing but evil, from which falsity is constantly passing into his understanding; for as is well known, he possesses by inheritance the evil that has been accumulated consecutively by his forefathers. From this inheritance he brings out evil into his own actions and makes it his own, adding further evil from himself to the inheritance. But the evils residing with man are of various kinds. There are evils with which goods cannot be mingled and there are evils with which they can. And the same applies to falsities. If this were not so nobody could ever have been regenerated. The evils and falsities with which goods and truths cannot be mingled are ones that are contrary to love to God and love towards the neighbour - forms of hatred, revenge, and cruelty, and consequent contempt for others in comparison with oneself, and also consequent false persuasions. But the evils and falsities with which goods and truths can be mingled are ones that are not contrary to love to God and love towards the neighbour.

[9] Take for example anyone who loves himself more than others and because of that love strives to excel others in private life and in public life, to excel them in knowledge and doctrine, and to be promoted to positions of greater importance than others, and also to greater affluence than others. If at the same time he acknowledges and adores the Lord, from the heart performs acts of kindness to the neighbour, and from conscience behaves justly and fairly, the evil that belongs to his self-love is such that good and truth can be mingled with it. For this is an evil which belongs to a person as his own and into which he is born by heredity. And to take that away from him suddenly would be to put out the fire of life that burns in him at first. But in the case of someone who loves himself more than others and because of that love despises others in comparison with himself, hates those who do not hold him in esteem and so to speak adore him, and therefore enjoys the feelings of hatred that are present in revenge and cruelty, the evil of that love is such that good and truth cannot be mingled with it because they are contraries.

[10] Take as another example anyone who believes that he is pure from sins, and so is cleansed like somebody from whom dirt has been washed away by means of much water, once he has repented and carried out the prescribed penances, or after he has made his confession and heard the confessor declare him free from sins, or after he has been to the Holy Supper. If he leads a new life, being stirred by an affection for good and truth, that falsity is such that good can be mingled with it. But if he goes on leading a carnal and worldly life as before, it is in that case a falsity with which good cannot be mingled. Also, with anyone who believes that man is saved by virtue of believing what is good and not of willing it, and yet who does will what is good and therefore does it, that falsity is such that good and truth can be attached to it. But not so if he does not will what is good and therefore does not do it.

[11] Take yet another example. If anyone does not know that man rises again after death and consequently does not believe in the resurrection, or else if anyone who does know but nevertheless doubts or practically denies it, and yet each one leads a life of truth and goodness, good and truth can be mingled with that falsity also. But if a person leads a life of falsity and evil they cannot be mingled with that same falsity because they are contraries. The falsity destroys the truth, and the evil destroys the good.

[12] And still another example. Pretence and shrewdness which have a good end in view, whether the good of the neighbour, or of one's country, or of the Church, constitute prudence. The evils that are mixed up with them can be mingled with good by reason of and for the sake of the end in view. But presence and shrewdness which have an evil end in view do not constitute prudence but trickery and deceit. Good cannot possibly be joined to these, for deceit which goes with an evil end in view brings what is of hell into every single part of a person, sets evil in the middle, and casts good away to the circumferences. This order is the order itself of hell. And so with countless other examples that could be taken.

[13] The fact that there are some evils and falsities to which goods and truths can be attached may be seen merely from the consideration that so many different dogmas and teachings exist, many of them totally heretical, and yet subscribing to each one there are people who are saved. The same may also be seen from the consideration that among gentiles outside of the Church there is another Church that is the Lord's, and that those are saved who lead charitable lives, even though falsities exist with them, 2589 2604. This could by no means be the case if there were no evils with which goods can be mingled, and no falsities with which truths can be mingled. For the evils with which goods are mingled, and the falsities with which truths are mingled, are wonderfully arranged into order by the Lord. For they are not combined with one another, still less are they made into one, but lie adjacent to and touch one another, so that in fact the goods together with the truths occupy the middle, at the central point so to speak, while the evils and falsities occupy positions radiating outwards to the surrounding areas or circumferences. Consequently the evils and falsities receive light from the goods and truths, and are variegated like patches of white and black created by light radiating from the middle or centre. This constitutes heavenly order. These are the things meant in the internal sense by 'speckled' and 'spotted'.