9994. 'And unleavened wafers anointed with oil' means what is celestial in the external man. This is clear from the meaning of 'wafers' as what is celestial in the external man, dealt with below; from the meaning of 'unleavened' as what has been purified, dealt with above in 9992; and from the meaning of 'oil' as the good of love, dealt with in 886, 4582, 4638. From these meanings it is evident that 'unleavened wafers anointed with oil' means what is celestial in the external man, which proceeds in order from the first two. The wafers are said to be 'anointed with oil' but the cakes 'mixed with oil' because the wafers are third in order and the cakes second, as stated immediately above in 9993. What is second in order proceeds directly from the inmost and consequently has the inmost celestial within it, meant by 'oil'; and what is third in order proceeds indirectly from the inmost, that is to say, through what is second in order, and does not consequently have the inmost within it in quite the same way as that second in order. So it is that the cakes, since they mean the celestial that is second in order, are said to be 'mixed with oil', whereas the wafers, since they mean the celestial that is third in order, are said to be 'anointed with oil'. But these matters are hardly intelligible to anyone unless he knows something about the way things come into existence in succession; this has the same relation as end, cause, and effect. What is inmost constitutes the end, what is in the middle constitutes the cause, and what stands last constitutes the effect. The end must be within the cause if this is to be the cause belonging to that end, and the cause must be within the effect if this is to be the effect belonging to that cause. The end is not apparent within the effect as it is within the cause, because the effect lies further away from the end than the cause does. All this may enlighten the mind to recognize the nature of the inmost, middle, and external following one another in successive order.

254. The seed of the serpent' is used to mean all faithlessness. This is clear from the meaning of 'a serpent' as evil of every kind. Seed is something which brings forth and is brought forth, or which begets and is begotten. And because the subject here is the Church, 'seed' means faithlessness. When in Isaiah the subject is the corrupted Jewish Church it is called 'the seed of evil ones', 'the seed of the adulterer', 'the seed of deceit',

Woe to a sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evil ones, perverted sons! They have forsaken Jehovah, they have challenged the Holy One of Israel, they have turned away backwards. Isaiah 1:4.

Also,

Draw nearer, sons of the sorceress, seed of the adulterer. Are you not those born of transgression, the seed of deceit? Isaiah 57:3-4.

And,

You are cast out from your sepulchre like an abominable branch, for you have corrupted your land, slain your people. The seed of the evil ones will not be named forever. Isaiah 14:19-20.

This refers to the serpent or dragon, which in this chapter is called Lucifer. ¹

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