694. And thine anger is come, and the time of the dead to be judged.- That this signifies the last judgment upon those who interiorly possess in themselves nothing of good and truth, is evident from the signification of anger, as meaning in reference to the Lord, a last judgment (concerning which see above n. 413); that this is signified here by anger is clear, for the words, "and the time of the dead, to be judged" follow; and from the signification of the dead, as denoting those who interiorly possess in themselves nothing of good and truth. Such are called dead, because the very life of man is his spiritual life, for through this he is a man, and is distinguished from the beasts, which have only a natural life. In man the natural life without the spiritual life is dead, since it has not heaven in itself, which is called life and also eternal life, but hell, which is spiritually called death. That those who live a natural life merely, and not at the same time a spiritual life, are meant by the dead in the Word, may be seen above (n. 78). That death, when spoken of man, means a lack of ability to understand truth and perceive good, may also be seen above (n. 550); and this defect exists when the internal spiritual man has not been formed, for this is formed by means of truths from good. In this internal man resides the faculty of understanding truth and of perceiving good, for this man is in heaven and in the light thereof, and he who is in the light of heaven is a living man. But when the natural man only has been formed, and not at the same time the spiritual, then there is no faculty of understanding and perceiving the truths and goods of heaven and of the church, because such a man has no light from heaven; for this reason such a man is called dead. That those who do not interiorly possess in themselves anything of good and truth are here meant by the dead who are to be judged, is evident also from what has been said before about the separation of the evil from the good before the Last Judgment, and from this, that the evil, when they have been separated, come into their interiors, which abound in mere evils and falsities; this makes it clear, that interiorly they were dead, although in the external form they appeared to be living.

1788. That 'a shield' means protection against evils and falsities which is able to be trusted is clear without explanation, for repeated usage has made the saying familiar that 'Jehovah is a shield and buckler'. But what is meant specifically by 'a shield' becomes clear from the Word, namely that in reference to the Lord it means protection, and in reference to man trust in the Lord's protection. As 'war' means temptations, as shown in 1664, so every implement of war means some specific aspect of temptation and of defence against evils and falsities, that is, against the devil's crew who bring temptation about and do the tempting. Consequently 'shield' means one thing, 'buckler' another, 'target' another, 'helmet' another, 'spear' and also 'javelin' another, 'sword' another, 'bow and arrows' another, and 'breastplate' another. In the Lord's Divine mercy these will be dealt with individually later on.

[2] The reason why in reference to the Lord 'a shield' means protection against evils and falsities, and in reference to man trust in the Lord, is that it was a means of protection to the breast, and 'the breast' meant good and truth - good because the heart is within it, and truth because the lungs are within it. That 'a shield' has this meaning is clear in David,

Blessed be Jehovah my rock who trains my hands for battle and my fingers for war; my mercy, and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield and He in whom I trust. Psalms 144:1-2.

Here 'battle' and 'war' are the battle and war of temptations, and in the internal sense, of the Lord's temptations. 'A shield' in reference to Jehovah is protection, and in reference to man trust, as is quite evident.

[3] In the same author,

O Israel, trust in Jehovah! He is their help and their shield. O house of Aaron, trust in Jehovah! He is their help and their shield. You who fear Jehovah, trust in Jehovah! He is their help and their shield. Psalms 115:9-11.

Here the meaning is similar. In the same author,

Jehovah is my fortress, my God in whom I will trust. He will cover you with His wing, and under His wings will you put your trust. His truth is a buckler and target. Psalms 91:2, 4.

Here 'buckler and target' stands for protection against falsities.

[4] In the same author,

Jehovah is my rock (petra) and my fortress, and my deliverer, my God, my rock (rupee) in whom I trust, my shield and the horn of my salvation. Jehovah is a shield for all who trust in Him. Psalms 18:2, 30.

Here the meaning is similar. In the same author,

You who test the heart ¹ and reins, a righteous God; my shield is with God who saves the upright in heart. Isaiah 7:9, 10.

'Shield' stands for trust. In the same author,

You have given me the shield of Your salvation, and Your right hand will support me. Psalms 18:35.

'Shield' stands for trust.

[5] In the same author,

The shields of the earth belong to God; He is highly exalted. Psalms 47:9.

'Shields' stands for trust. In the same author,

Jehovah God is a sun and shield; grace and glory will Jehovah give; no good thing will be withheld from those walking blamelessly. Psalms 84:11.

'Shield' stands for protection. In Moses,

Your blessings, O Israel! Who is like you, a people saved in Jehovah, the shield of your help, and One who is the sword of your excellency! Your enemies will be mistaken in regard to you. Deuteronomy 33:29.

'Shield' stands for protection.

[6] Even as weapons of war are attributed to those engaged in conflicts brought about by temptations, so also are the same weapons attributed to the enemies assailing and tempting. When attributed to the latter, the contrary meanings held by those weapons is being expressed; for example, 'a shield' in this case means the evils and falsities from which those enemies fight, and which they defend, and in which they put their trust, as in Jeremiah,

Prepare shield and buckler, and advance for battle. Harness the horses, and mount, O horsemen! Take up your stations in your helmets, polish your lances, put on your breastplates. Jeremiah 46:3-4.

There are many more examples besides these.

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