731. Where she hath a place prepared by God, signifies the state of the church that in the meantime provision may be made for it among more. This is evident from the signification of "place," as being state (of which presently); also from the signification of "prepared by God," as being to be provided by the Lord, for what is done by man is prepared, but what is done by the Lord is provided. Moreover, to be provided is predicated of the state that is signified by "place," while "to be prepared" is predicated of "place." It signifies that the state in the meantime may be provided among more, because the woman's fleeing into the wilderness signifies that the church is as yet among few, because with those who are not in good and consequently not in truths (See the preceding article, n. 730; therefore it follows that these words, namely, "where the woman hath a place prepared by God" signify the state of the church, that in the meantime provision may be made for it among more; and what next follows, namely, "that they may nourish her a thousand two hundred and sixty days," signifies until it grows to fullness (See below, n. 732. But this state of the church that is meant by "the place of the woman in the wilderness" is more fully treated of in what follows in this chapter, for it is said that "there were given to the woman two wings of a great eagle that she might fly into the wilderness to her place, where she would be nourished a time and times and half a time from the face of the dragon," with many other things.

[2] "Place" signifies state because spaces, places, and distances, in the spiritual world, are in their origin states of life. These, indeed, appear there just the same as in this world, and yet they are different in this respect, that the quality of everyone is known from the place where he dwells, and where he dwells is known from what he is; thus it is in general in respect to the places of all according to quarters, and also in particular in respect to places in societies, and more particularly in respect to places in the houses, and even in the rooms. From this it is clear that place and quality of state act as one, and this for the reason that all things in the spiritual world that appear before the eyes, even to the lands, are correspondences of things spiritual; this is why "place" signifies state. (That spaces, places, and distances, are in their origin states, and thence in the Word signify states, see (Heaven and Hell 191-199) in the work on Heaven and Hell 191-199, in the article on Space in Heaven. ) For the same reason it is customary in our world to designate state by place, as to have a high place, an eminent place, and a distinguished place, for a high, eminent or distinguished state.

[3] From this it may appear what is meant by the Lord's words to His disciples:

That in His Father's house there are many mansions, and that He would go to prepare a place for them; and if He should go and prepare a place for them that He would come and take them to Himself (John 14:2, 3).

"To prepare a place for them" signifies to provide heaven for everyone according to the state of his life, for "the disciples" mean all who are to be of His church. And in Luke:

When the unclean spirit goeth out of a man he wandereth through dry places seeking rest (Luke 11:24).

"The unclean spirit going out of a man" signifies the removal of evils and the consequent falsities from man when he is repentant; the "dry places through which he wanders seeking rest" signify the states of evil and falsity that belong to his life. So elsewhere in the Word where place and places are mentioned.

705. THE INTERNAL SENSE

Here the subject in particular is the Flood, which means not only the temptations that the member of the Church called Noah had to undergo before he could be regenerated, but also the desolation of those who were incapable of being regenerated. In the Word both temptations and desolations are compared to floods or deluges of waters, and are actually called such.

TEMPTATIONS

In Isaiah,

For a brief moment I forsook you, and with great compassion I will regather you. In a deluge of wrath I hid My face ¹ from you for a moment, but with everlasting mercy I will have mercy on you, said Jehovah your Redeemer, for this is the waters of Noah to Me, to whom I swore that the waters of Noah should go no more over the earth. Thus have I sworn that I will not be angry with you and rebuke you. O afflicted one and storm-tossed, and receiving no comfort! Isaiah 54:7, 9, 11.

This refers to the Church that is to be regenerated, and to temptations which are called 'the waters of Noah'.

[2] Besides this the Lord Himself calls temptations 'a deluge', in Luke,

Jesus said, Every one who comes to Me, and hears My words and does them, is like a man building a house, who dug and went down deep, and laid the foundations upon rock; and when a deluge came, a stream broke against that house but was not strong enough to move it because it had been founded upon the rock. Luke 6:47-48.

The fact that 'a deluge' here is used to mean temptations may be clear to anyone.

DESOLATIONS

In Isaiah,

The Lord is causing to rise up over them the waters of the river, mighty and many, the king of Asshur and all his glory; and it is rising over all its channels, and will go over all its banks, and it will go through Judah, it will deluge it and pass through and will reach even to the neck. Isaiah 8:7-8.

Here 'the king of Asshur' stands for the delusions, false assumptions, and reasonings based on these, which desolate a person and which desolated the people before the Flood.

[3] In Jeremiah,

Thus said Jehovah, Behold, waters rising out of the north, they will be a deluging stream, and they will deluge the land and all that fills it, the city and those who dwell in it. Jeremiah 47:2-3.

This refers to the Philistines who represent people who adopt false assumptions and from them engage in reasonings about spiritual matters, which reasonings overwhelm a person as they did the people before the Flood.

The reason why in the Word both temptations and desolations are compared to floods or deluges of waters, and are actually called such, is that there is a similarity between the two, it being evil spirits who flow in with their persuasions and false assumptions which dwell with them and who activate the things of a like nature in man. With someone who is being regenerated they are temptations, but with someone who is not they are desolations.

Poznámky pod čarou: