863. For they are virgins, signifies for the reason that they are in the affection of truth for the sake of truth. This is evident from the signification of "virgins," as being affections of truth, which are called spiritual affections of truth. For there are natural affections of truth which exist in almost everyone, especially during childhood and youth. But natural affections of truth have reward as an end, at first reputation, and afterwards honor and gain. These are not the affections here meant by "virgins," but spiritual affections of truth are meant, which are such as have for their end eternal life and the uses of that life. Those who are in such affections love truths because they are truths, thus apart from the world's glory, honors, and gains; and those who love truths apart from such considerations love the Lord; for the Lord is with man in the truths that are from good. For that which proceeds from the Lord as a Sun is the Divine truth, and that which proceeds from the Lord is the Lord; consequently he that receives truth from spiritual love because it is truth receives the Lord. Therefore of such it is said "these are they that follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth." Moreover, such are meant by the Lord in these words in Matthew:

The kingdom of the heavens is like unto a treasure hidden in a field, which a man having found hideth, and in his joy goeth and selleth all things whatsoever he hath, and buyeth the field. Again, the kingdom of the heavens is like unto a man, a merchant, seeking beautiful pearls, who, when he had found one precious pearl, went and sold all that he had, and bought it (Matthew 13:44-46).

"The treasure hidden in a field" and "the pearls" signify the truths of heaven and the church; and the "one precious pearl" signifies the acknowledgment of the Lord. The affection of truths because they are truths is meant by "the man went in his joy and sold all that he had, and bought the field" in which the treasure was hidden, also by "the merchant's going and selling all that he had, and buying the precious pearl."

[2] Those who are in the spiritual affection of truth are called "virgins" from the marriage of good and truth from which is conjugial love; for a "wife" is the affection of good, and a "husband" the understanding of truth; moreover, females and males are born such. Now because virgins love to be conjoined to men with whom is the understanding of truth, therefore they signify the affections of truth. (But on this see more fully in the work on Heaven and Hell 366-386, where "Marriages in the Spiritual World" are treated of.) This makes clear what "virgins" signify in the following passages in the Word.

In Lamentations:

The ways of Zion do mourn because they come not to the feast; all her gates are devastated, her priests moan, her virgins are sad, and she herself is in bitterness. The Lord hath cast down all my mighty in the midst of me; He hath proclaimed against me an appointed time for breaking my youths. The Lord hath trodden the wine-press for the virgin daughter of Zion. ¹ Hear, I pray, all ye people, and behold my grief; my virgins and my youths have gone into captivity (Lamentations 1:4, 15, 18).

This describes the devastation of Divine truth in the church, "Zion" of which this is said signifying the church, where the Lord reigns by the Divine truth. "The ways of Zion do mourn" signifies that Divine truths are no longer sought; "no one comes to the feast" signifies that there is at that time no worship; "all her gates are desolated" signifies that there is no approach to truths; "her priests moan, her virgins are sad," signifies that affections of good and affections of truth are destroyed; "He hath cast down all my mighty in the midst of me" signifies that all power of truth against falsities has perished; "He hath proclaimed against me an appointed time" signifies its last state, when the Lord is about to come; "for breaking my youths" signifies when there is no longer any understanding of truth; "the Lord hath trodden the wine-press for the virgin daughter of Zion" ¹ signifies when all the truths of the Word are falsified; "my virgins and my youths have gone into captivity" signifies when all the affection of truth and the understanding of truth have perished by falsities.

[3] In the same:

The elders of the daughter of Zion sit on the earth; they keep silence; they have cast up dust upon their head; they have girded themselves with sackcloth; the virgins of Jerusalem have made their head to go down to the earth. What shall I testify unto thee, to what shall I liken thee, O virgin daughter of Zion? They have lain in the streets, the boy and the old man; my virgins and my youths have fallen by the sword (Lamentations 2:10, 13, 21).

These words, too, describe the devastation of Divine truth in the church, "the daughter of Zion" being the church in which the Lord reigns by Divine truth; grief on account of its devastation is described by "sitting on the earth," "the elders being silent," "casting up dust upon the head," "girding themselves with sackcloth," and "making the head to go down to the earth." "The elders of the daughter of Zion" signify those who have been in Divine truths; "the virgins of Jerusalem" signify those who have taught truths from the affection of truth; "they have lain in the streets, the boy and the old man," signifies that innocence and wisdom have been destroyed, together with Divine truths; "my virgins and my youths have fallen by the sword" signifies that all the affection of truth and all the understanding of truth have perished by falsities, "virgin" being the affection of truth, "youth" the understanding of truth, and "to fall by the sword" is to perish through falsities.

[4] In the same:

Our skins are become black like an oven because of the tempests of famine; the women in Zion have been ravished, the virgins in the cities of Judah; the princes have been hanged up by their hand; the faces of the elders have not been honored (Lamentations 5:10-12).

In this like things are involved. What is signified by "the women in Zion," "the virgins in the cities of Judah," and "the princes and old men," has been explained above (n. 540, 555, 655).

In Amos:

Behold the days shall come in which I will send a famine in the land, not a famine for bread nor a thirst for waters, but for hearing the words of Jehovah. In that day shall the beautiful virgins and the youths faint for thirst (Amos 8:11, 13).

This describes the lack of Divine truth. That lack is meant by "famine" and by "thirst;" therefore it is said, "not a famine for bread nor a thirst for waters, but for hearing the words of Jehovah." That the affection of truth and the understanding of truth will cease because of this lack is signified by "in that day shall the beautiful virgins and the youths faint for thirst."

[5] In Isaiah:

Blush, O Zidon, the sea hath said, the stronghold of the sea, saying, I have not travailed, neither brought forth; I have not trained up youths, I have not brought up virgins (Isaiah 23:4).

"Zidon and Tyre" mean the church as to the knowledges of good and truth; and the "sea" and "the stronghold of the sea" mean the natural where such knowledges are. That none are reformed by those knowledges is signified by "I have not travailed, neither brought forth;" and that consequently there is no understanding of truth and no affection of truth is signified by "I have not trained up youths, I have not brought up virgins."

[6] In David:

God shut up His people to the sword, and was wroth with His inheritance. The fire hath devoured her youths, and her virgins are not wedded. Her priests have fallen by the sword (Psalms 78:62-64).

This, too, treats of the devastation of the church by falsities and evils. "God shut up His people to the sword, and was wroth with His inheritance," signifies that the church perished through falsities and evils, the "sword" signifies the destruction of truth by falsities, "to be wroth" destruction by evils, the "people" those of the church who are in truths, and "inheritance" those who are in goods, but here those who are in falsities and evils. "The fire hath devoured her youths" signifies that the love of self and thence the pride of self-intelligence have destroyed the understanding of truth; "her virgins are not wedded" signifies that the affections of truth have perished through non-understanding of truth; "her priests have fallen by the sword" signifies that the goods of the church, which are the goods of works, of charity, and of life, have been destroyed by falsities.

[7] In Moses:

Without shall the sword bereave, and from the chambers terror, both the youth and the virgin, the suckling with the old man (Deuteronomy 32:25).

"Without shall the sword bereave, and from the chambers terror," signifies that falsity and evil, which are from within, shall devastate both the natural and the rational man; "the youth and the virgin" signify the understanding of truth and the affection of it; "the suckling with the old man" signifies innocence and wisdom.

[8] In Jeremiah:

By thee I will scatter nations, and by thee I will destroy kingdoms; by thee I will scatter the horse and his rider; by thee I will scatter the chariot and him that is carried therein; by thee I will scatter the old man and the boy; by thee I will scatter the youth and the virgin; by thee I will scatter the shepherd and his flock; by thee I will scatter the husbandman and his team; by thee I will scatter the governors and the leaders (Jeremiah 51:20-23).

This is said of Jacob and Israel, by whom is meant in the highest sense the Lord, who was to destroy the evils and falsities that bore rule in the church about the time of His coming; the "nations" and "kingdoms" that He will scatter signify evils and falsities in general; "the horse and his rider" signify reasonings from falsities against truths; "the chariot and him who is carried therein" signify falsities of doctrine; "the old man and the boy" signify falsities confirmed and not confirmed; "the youth and the virgin" signify the understanding of falsity and the affection of it; "the shepherd and his flock" signify those who teach and those who learn; "the husbandman and his team" have a like signification; "governors and leaders" signify the principles of falsity and evil.

[9] In Ezekiel:

Jehovah said, Go through the midst of the city, and through the midst of Jerusalem. Slay to destruction the old man, the youth and the virgin, and the infant and the women; but come not against any man upon whom is the sign (Ezekiel 9:4, 6).

This describes the devastation of all things pertaining to the church; "Jerusalem" signifies the church; "the old man, youth, virgin, infant, and women," signify all things of the church, the "old man" wisdom, the "youth" intelligence, the "virgin" the affection of truth, the "infant" innocence, "women" good conjoined to truths; "to slay to destruction" signifies to destroy utterly. That these things did not happen, but were merely seen by the prophet when he was in the spirit, is evident from the preceding verses, in which the abominations of the house of Israel and Judah are set forth under various forms and objects; and as these things did not happen, but were merely seen, it is clearly evident that "old man, youth, virgin, infant, and women," have this signification. What is signified by "come not against any man upon whom is the sign" may be seen above n. 427.

[10] In Joel:

They have cast lots upon my people, and they have given a boy for a harlot, and have sold a girl for wine which they drank (Joel 3:3).

"To cast lots upon the people" signifies to disperse the truths of the church by falsities; "to give a boy for a harlot" signifies to falsify the truths of the Word; "to sell a girl for wine" signifies to falsify the goods of the Word; "which they drank" signifies becoming imbued with falsity.

[11] In Zechariah:

The streets of the city were filled with boys and girls playing in its ² streets (Zechariah 8:5).

"Boys and girls" signify the truths and goods of innocence, such as are the truths and goods of the Word, which essentially constitute the church; "streets of the city" signify doctrinals, for which reason the ancients taught in the streets; and "to play in the streets" signifies to be glad and rejoice from doctrinals.

[12] In Jeremiah:

Again will I build thee, O virgin Israel; then shall the virgin be glad in her dance, and the young men and old men together (Jeremiah 31:4, 13).

"The virgin Israel" signifies the church from the affection of truth; "then shall the virgin be glad in the dance" signifies the gladness of heart of those who are in the spiritual affection of truth, since all spiritual gladness is from the affection of truth; and this is why the expressions "to play," "to dance," "to sing," and the like, are used in the Word in reference to virgins and girls.

[13] Because the church is a church from the spiritual affection of truth, which is the love of truth for the sake of truth, the following expressions are frequently used in the Word:

The virgin of Israel (Jeremiah 18:13; 31:4, 21; Amos 5:2);

The virgin daughter of Zion (2 Kings 19:21; Isaiah 37:22; Lamentations 1:4; 2:13);

The virgin daughter of my people (Jeremiah 14:17);

The virgin daughter of Zidon (Isaiah 23:12);

The virgin daughter of Egypt (Jeremiah 46:11);

Also the virgin daughter of Babylon (Isaiah 47:1).

In David:

They have seen thy goings, O God, the goings of my God, my King, in the sanctuary. The singers went before, the minstrels after, in the midst of virgins playing on timbrels (Psalms 68:24, 25).

This is said of the Lord, who is here meant by "my God" and "my King," and His coming is meant by "His goings in the sanctuary," "the singers, minstrels, and players on timbrels," signify all who are of the Lord's spiritual and celestial kingdom, "the virgins singing," those who are of His spiritual kingdom, and "the minstrels and players on timbrels" those who are of His celestial kingdom; they are called "virgins" from the affection of truth and good; and "to sing, to play on instruments and on timbrels" describes the gladness and joy of their heart, for instruments played by beating and by blowing depict the joy of those who are of the celestial kingdom; while stringed instruments and singing depict the gladness of those who are of the spiritual kingdom.

[14] In the same:

King's daughters are among thy precious ones; on thy right hand standeth the queen in the best gold of Ophir. Hear, O daughter and see, incline thine ear. Then shall the king delight in thy beauty; for he is thy lord, therefore bow thyself down to him. The daughter of Tyre also with an offering, the rich of the people shall entreat thy faces. The king's daughter is all precious within, her clothing is inwrought with gold; she shall be brought unto the king in broidered work; the virgins that follow her, her companions, shall be brought unto him; with joy and exultation they shall be brought, they shall come into the king's palace (Psalms 45:9-15).

It is evident from the verses that precede (Psalms 45:2-8), and from those that follow (Psalms 45:16, 17), that this is said of the Lord. "King's daughters" signify the affections of Divine truth; "the queen that was at his right hand in the best gold of Ophir" signifies heaven and the church, which are in Divine truths from Divine good; "to hear, to see, and to incline the ear," which is said of the king's daughter, signifies to hearken, to perceive, and to obey, thus to understand, to do, and to be wise, from the Lord. That she will then be acceptable to the Lord is signified by "then shall the king delight in thy beauty," "beauty" is predicated of the affection of truth, for this is what constitutes the beauty of angels; "therefore bow thyself down to him" signifies worship from a humble heart. "And the daughter of Tyre shall send an offering" signifies worship by those who are in the knowledges of truth; "the rich of the people shall entreat thy faces" signifies adoration by those who are in intelligence from these knowledges; "the king's daughter is all glorious within" signifies the spiritual affection of truth, which is called "glorious" from abundance of truth, while "within" signifies what is spiritual; "her clothing is inwrought with gold" signifies investing truths formed from the good of love; "she shall be brought unto the king in broidered work" signifies the appearances of truth, such as are in the sense of the letter of the Word; "the virgins that follow her, her companions," signify the spiritual-natural affections of truth which serve; "with joy and exultation they shall be brought, they shall come into the king's palace," signifies with heavenly joy into heaven, where the Lord is.

[15] Because "king's daughters" signified the spiritual affections of truth, and their "garments" signified truths in the ultimate of order, such as the truths of the Word are in the sense of its letter, therefore:

The king's daughters that were virgins were formerly clothed in robes of diverse colors, as is said of Tamar the daughter of David (2 Samuel 13:18).

In Zechariah:

How great is His goodness, and how great is His beauty! Corn maketh the young men to grow, and new wine the virgins (Zechariah 9:17).

This, too, is said of the Lord; and "His goodness and beauty" mean the Divine good and the Divine truth. "Corn maketh the young men to grow, and new wine the virgins," signifies that the understanding of truth and the affection of truth are formed by good and truth from Him. It is evident from these passages that "virgins" signify in the Word the affections of truth, likewise from other passages (as Isaiah 62:5; Jeremiah 2:32; Joel 1:7, 8; Psalms 148:12; Judges 5:30).

[16] Because a "virgin" signified the affection of the genuine truth of the church, which is wholly in accord with the good of love, it was commanded:

That the high priest should not take to wife a widow, or one divorced, or one polluted, a harlot, but a virgin of his own people, lest he profane his seed (Leviticus 21:13-15; also Ezekiel 44:22).

The particulars of this may be seen explained above n. 768. It was because "virgin" signifies the affection of genuine truth, and her defilement signifies falsification of Divine truth, that to commit whoredom was so severely forbidden, that:

If anyone should entice a virgin and lie with her he should pay her a dowry to be a wife for himself; but if her father should refuse to give her he should weigh him silver according to the dowry of virgins (Exodus 22:16, 17; Deuteronomy 22:28, 29).

This may be seen explained in the Arcana Coelestia 9181-9186.

[17] Because the affection of truth and the understanding of truth constitute a marriage, like that of a virgin espoused and married to a man, and these afterwards make one, like will and understanding, or affection and thought, or good and truth, in every man, and because diverse affections cannot be conjoined to one and the same thought, or diverse wills to one and the same understanding, or diverse truths of the church to one and the same good of love, without causing falsifications and dispersions of truth, so lying with a virgin who was betrothed was made a crime punishable with death, according to this command in Moses:

If a man lie in a city with a damsel that is a virgin betrothed to a man, both shall be stoned; but if in the field the man alone shall die, to the damsel there is no crime of death (Deuteronomy 22:23-27).

"Lying together in the city" signifies the adulteration of the good and truth of doctrine from the Word, for a "city" means doctrine, and "stoning" was a punishment for harm done to the truth of doctrine. But "lying together in the field" signifies the falsification of the truth of the church before it has been accepted as a doctrinal; and this is not the adulteration of its good, since a "field" means the church, in which truth at first is implanted and afterwards grows and at length becomes a matter of doctrine; and for this reason the man only should die. From this it can also be seen that "virginity" signifies the undefiled affection of truth (as in Leviticus 21:13; Deuteronomy 22:13-21; Ezekiel 23:3, 8.

Poznámky pod čarou:

183. These things saith He that hath the seven spirits of God, signifies the Lord from whom are all the truths of heaven and of the church. This may appear from the fact that it is the Lord who is meant, because it is the Son of man who said these things, as well as those said to the angels of the other churches; and the Son of man is the Lord in respect to the Divine Human (See n. 63, 151). By "the seven spirits of God" all the truths of heaven and of the church are meant, because "the Spirit of God" in the Word signifies Divine truth proceeding from the Lord. "Spirit" is mentioned in many passages in the Word, and "spirit," when used in reference to man, signifies Divine truth received in the life, thus it signifies man's spiritual life; but in reference to the Lord, by "spirit" is meant the Divine that proceeds from Him, which is called by the general term Divine truth. But since few at this day know what is meant by "spirit" in the Word, I will first show by passages from the Word that "spirit," in reference to man, signifies Divine truth received in the life, thus man's spiritual life. But because there are two things that constitute man's spiritual life, namely, the good of love and the truth of faith, in many passages in the Word mention is made of "heart and spirit," and also of "heart and soul;" and by "heart" the good of love is signified, and by "spirit" the truth of faith; the latter is also signified by "soul," for this means in the Word man's spirit.

[2] That "spirit," in reference to man, signifies truth received in the life, is clear from the following passages. In Ezekiel:

Make you a new heart and a new spirit; why will ye die, O house of Israel (Ezekiel 18:31).

In the same:

A new heart will I give you, and a new spirit will I give in the midst of you (Ezekiel 36:26).

And in David:

Create for me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit in the midst of me. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart God doth not despise (Psalms 51:10, 17).

In these passages "heart" signifies the good of love, and "spirit" the truth of faith, from which man has spiritual life; for there are two things that make all of man's life, namely, good and truth; these two when united in man make his spiritual life.

[3] As "heart" signifies good, and "spirit" truth, both received in the life, so "heart," in the contrary sense, signifies evil, and "spirit" falsity; for most expressions in the Word have also a contrary sense. In this sense "heart" and "spirit" are mentioned, in David:

A generation that doth not set its heart aright, neither is its spirit steadfast with God (Psalms 78:8).

And in Ezekiel:

Every heart shall melt, and every spirit shall faint (Ezekiel 21:7).

In Moses:

Jehovah hardened the spirit of the king of Heshbon, and confirmed his heart (Deuteronomy 2:30).

In Isaiah:

Conceive chaff, bring forth stubble; your spirit fire shall devour (Isaiah 33:11).

In Ezekiel:

Woe unto the foolish prophets that go away after their own spirit (Ezekiel 13:3).

In the same:

That which ascendeth upon your spirit shall never come to pass (Ezekiel 20:32).

[4] From this it is clear that the whole of man's life is meant by "heart and spirit;" and as his whole life refers itself to these two, namely, to good and truth, and in a spiritual sense to love and faith, so these two lives of man are meant by "heart and spirit." From this also it is that "heart and spirit" signify the will and the understanding of man; since these two faculties in man make all his life; nowhere else than in these has man life; and for the reason that the will is the receptacle of good and its love, or of evil and its love; and the understanding is the receptacle of truth and ¹ its faith, or of falsity and its faith; and as has been said, all things with man refer themselves to good and truth, or to evil and falsity, and in a spiritual sense to love and faith (See The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 28-35). In reference to man, "spirit" signifies truth or falsity, and man's life from one or the other; because by "spirit" is meant especially the spirit that is in man and that thinks, and it thinks ² either from truths or from falsities. But as was said just above, there are two things that make the life of man, understanding and will; the life of the understanding is to think either from truths or from falsities, and the life of the will is to affect or inflame with love those things that the understanding thinks. These two lives of man correspond to the two lives of his body, which are the life of the respiration of the lungs, and the life of the pulse of the heart; it is by this correspondence that spirit and body with man are united (See above, n. 167); and in the work on Heaven and Hell 446-447).

[5] Because of this correspondence the word that means spirit in the Hebrew, as well as in many other languages, means wind or breath; so also to expire [to breathe out] is expressed by the term "to give up the spirit [breath, or ghost];" and this also in the Word; as in David:

I gathered in ³ their spirit, he expired (Psalms 104:29).

In Ezekiel:

The Lord Jehovih said to the dry bones, Behold I bring spirit into you, that ye may live; and the Lord Jehovih said, From the four winds come, O spirit, and breathe into these slain; and the spirit came into them, and they revived (Ezekiel 37:5, 9-10).

In Revelation:

The two witnesses were slain by the beast that cometh up out of the abyss; but after the three days and a half the spirit of life from God entered into them, so that they stood upon their feet (Revelation 11:7, 11).

In Luke:

Jesus, taking the hand of the dead girl, called, saying, Maiden, arise. Therefore her spirit came again, and she rose up immediately (Luke 8:54-55).

[6] When these passages are understood it can be seen what "spirit" signifies, when predicated of man, in many places in the Word, of which I will cite only these. In John:

Except one be born of water and of the spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but knowest not whence it cometh and whither it goeth; so is everyone that is born of the spirit (John 3:5, 8).

The Lord breathed on the disciples, and said, Receive ye the Holy Spirit (John 20:22).

And in the book of Genesis:

Jehovah breathed into man's nostrils the breath of lives (Genesis 2:7);

besides other places.

[7] That "spirit," in the spiritual sense, signifies truth, and man's life therefrom, which is intelligence, is clear from the following passages. In John:

The hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth (John 4:23).

In Daniel:

In him was an excellent spirit of knowledge and understanding. I have heard of thee that the spirit of God is in thee, and that light and understanding and excellent wisdom is found in thee (Daniel 5:12, 14).

In Moses:

Thou shalt speak to all the wise in heart, whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom (Exodus 28:3).

In Luke:

John grew, and waxed strong in spirit (Luke 1:80).

And concerning the Lord:

The child Jesus grew, and waxed strong in spirit, and was filled with wisdom (Luke 2:40).

[8] When it is known what "spirit," in reference to man, signifies, it can be known what it signifies when predicated of Jehovah or the Lord, to whom are attributed all things that a man has, as face, eyes, ears, arms, hands, as also heart and soul, and so also a spirit, which in the Word is called "the Spirit of God," "the Spirit of Jehovah," "the Spirit of His nostrils," "the Spirit of His mouth," "the Spirit of truth," "the Spirit of holiness," and "the Holy Spirit." That "spirit" means Divine truth proceeding from the Lord is plain from many passages in the Word. Divine truth proceeding from the Lord is "the Spirit of God," because from it men have all their life; and those who receive that Divine truth in faith and life have heavenly life. That this is "the Spirit of God" the Lord Himself teaches. In John:

The words that I speak unto you are spirit and are life (John 6:63).

In Isaiah:

There went forth ⁴ a shoot out of the stock of Jesse; the spirit of Jehovah shall rest upon Him, the spirit of wisdom and intelligence, the spirit of counsel and of might (Isaiah 11:1, 2). In the same:

I have given My spirit unto Him: He shall bring forth judgment to the nations (Isaiah 42:1).

In the same:

He shall come like a flood; the spirit of Jehovah shall lift up a standard against Him (Isaiah 59:19).

In the same:

The spirit of the Lord Jehovih is upon me, therefore Jehovah hath anointed me to preach good tidings to the poor (Isaiah 61:1). In John:

He whom the Father hath sent speaketh the words of God, for not by measure hath God given the spirit (John 3:34).

These things are said of the Lord.

[9] That the Holy Spirit is Divine truth proceeding from the Lord can be seen in John:

I tell you the truth; it is expedient for you that I go away; for if I go not away the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I go away I will send Him unto you. When He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He shall guide you into all truth; He shall not speak from Himself, but He shall take of Mine, and shall declare it unto you (John 16:7, 13, 14).

That "the Comforter (Paraclete)" here is Divine truth proceeding from the Lord is plainly evident, for it is said that the Lord Himself spoke to them the "truth," and that, when He should go away, He would send the Comforter, the "Spirit of truth," who should "guide them into all truth," and that He would "not speak from Himself," but from the Lord. It is said "He shall take of Mine," because Divine truth proceeds from the Lord, and what proceeds is called "Mine;" for the Lord Himself is Divine love; and what proceeds from Him is Divine truth, thus it is His (See in the work on Heaven and Hell 139, 140, and the preceding numbers; and in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 307). "Being sent" and "sending" mean proceeding and going forth (See Arcana Coelestia., n. 2397, 4710, 6831, 10561); the same is meant here by "I will send Him to you." That "the Comforter" is the Holy Spirit is evident in John:

The Comforter, the Holy Spirit, He shall teach you all things (John 14:26).

[10] In the same:

Jesus cried with a great voice, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto Me, and drink. He that believeth on Me, as the Scripture saith, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. This He saith of the spirit which they that believe on Him were to receive; the Holy Spirit was not yet, because Jesus was not yet glorified (John 7:37-39).

It is clear from this that the Holy Spirit is Divine truth, proceeding from the Lord, which flows in with man, both immediately from the Lord Himself and mediately through angels and spirits; for the Lord says first, that "he who believes on Him, out of His belly shall flow rivers of living water," and then that "He spake this of the spirit which they were to receive;" for "water" in the spiritual sense, signifies truth, and "rivers of living water," Divine truth from the Lord in abundance; the like is therefore meant by "the spirit which they were to receive." (That "water" signifies truth," and "living water" Divine truth," see above, n. 71.) And as Divine truth proceeds from the glorified Human of the Lord and not immediately from the Divine Itself, for this was glorified in Itself from eternity, so it is here said, "the Holy Spirit was not yet, because Jesus was not yet glorified." That to "glorify" is to make Divine, and that the Lord fully glorified His Human, that is, made it Divine by His last temptation and victory on the cross, see The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 293-295, 300-306).

[11] It is greatly wondered at in heaven that the man of the church does not know that the Holy Spirit, which is Divine truth, proceeds from the Lord's Human, and not immediately from His Divine, when yet the doctrine received in the whole Christian world teaches that:

As is the Father so also is the Son, uncreate, infinite, eternal, omnipotent, God, Lord; neither of them first or last, nor greatest or least. Christ is God and man: God from the nature of the Father, and man from the nature of the mother; but although He is God and man, yet they are not two, but one Christ; He is one, but not by changing the Divine into the Human but the Divine took the Human to Itself. He is altogether one, not by a mingling of two natures, but He is a single person, because as body and soul are one man, so God and man is one Christ. (This from the Creed of Athanasius).

Now as the Divine and the Human of the Lord are not two, but a single person, and are united as soul and body, it may be known that the Divine which is called the Holy Spirit goes out and proceeds from His Divine through the Human, thus from the Divine Human; for nothing whatever can go forth from the body except from the soul through the body, since all the life of the body is from its soul. And since "As is the Father so is the Son, uncreate, infinite, eternal, omnipotent, God and Lord, and neither of them is first or last, nor greatest nor least," it follows that the proceeding Divine, which is called the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Divine Itself of the Lord through His Human, and not from another Divine that is called the Father; for the Lord teaches that the Father and He are one, and that the Father is in Him and He in the Father (See below, n. 200. But the reason why most of those in the Christian world think otherwise in their hearts, and thence believe otherwise, is, the angels said, because they think of the Lord's Human as separate from His Divine, although this is contrary to the doctrine which teaches that the Divine and the Human of the Lord are not two persons, but a single person, united as soul and body. That this should be the doctrine of the whole Christian world was provided by the Lord, because it is the essential of the church, and the essential of the salvation of all. But they have divided the Divine and the Human of the Lord into two natures, and have said that the Lord is God from the nature of the Father, and man from the nature of the mother, because they do not know that when the Lord fully glorified His Human He put off the human from the mother, and put on a Human from the Father (according to what is shown in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 295. That this distinction was made in a certain council by those who were there, for the pope's sake, that he might be acknowledged as the Lord's vicar, see Arcana Coelestia 4738).

[12] That the "Spirit of God" is Divine truth, and thence spiritual life to the man who receives it, is further evident from these passages. In Micah:

I am full of power with the spirit of Jehovah and of judgment (Micah 3:8).

And in Isaiah:

I will pour out waters upon him that is thirsty, and streams upon the dry ground, and My spirit upon thy seed (Isaiah 44:3).

In that day shall Jehovah Zebaoth be for a spirit of judgment to him that sitteth in judgment, and for might to them (Isaiah 28:5-6.

In Ezekiel:

And ye shall know that I will put my spirit in you that ye may live (Ezekiel 37:14).

In Joel:

I will pour out My spirit upon all flesh, and upon the menservants and upon the maidservants (Joel 2:28).

In Revelation:

The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy (Revelation 19:10).

Since the "Spirit of God" signifies Divine truth, it is called:

The spirit of the mouth of Jehovah (Psalms 33:6);

The spirit of His lips (Isaiah 11:4);

The breath of God and the spirit of His nostrils (Lamentations 4:20; Psalms 18:16; Job 4:9).

In Matthew:

John said, I baptize you with water unto repentance; but He that cometh after me, He shall baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire (Matthew 3:11).

In the spiritual sense, "to baptize" signifies to regenerate; the "Holy Spirit" is Divine truth, and "fire" Divine good. (That to "baptize" signifies to regenerate, see above, n. 71; and that "fire" signifies the good of love, n. 68)

[13] From this it can now be seen what is meant by the words of the Lord to His disciples:

Go ye, baptize into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19).

Here "the Father" is the Divine Itself, "the Son" is the Divine Human, and "the Holy Spirit" is the proceeding Divine which is Divine truth; thus there is one Divine, and yet there is a trine. That this is so the Lord teaches in John:

Henceforth ye know the Father, and have seen Him. He that seeth Me seeth the Father. I am in the Father, and the Father in Me (John 14:7, 9-10).

[14] Since the proceeding Divine, which is Divine truth, flows in with men immediately, as well as mediately through angels and spirits, it is believed that the Holy Spirit is a third person, distinct from the two called Father and Son. But I can affirm that no one in heaven knows any other Holy Divine than the Divine truth proceeding from the Lord. And since Divine truth is also communicated to men mediately through angels, it is said in David:

Jehovah God maketh His angels spirits (Psalms 104:1, 4).

These passages have been cited that it may be known that "the seven spirits" signify all the truths of heaven and of the church from the Lord. It is made still more manifest that "the seven spirits" are all the truths of heaven and of the church, from these passages in Revelation:

The seven lamps of fire burning before the throne are the seven spirits of God (Revelation 4:5).

And further:

In the midst of the elders a Lamb standing, having seven horns, and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent forth into all the earth (Revelation 5:6).

It is plain that the spirits here are not spirits, from the fact that the "lamps" and the "eyes of the Lamb" are called spirits. "Lamps" signify Divine truths, and "eyes" the understanding of truth; and when predicated of the Lord, His Divine wisdom and intelligence (See above, n. 152).

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