659. And shall not suffer [their bodies] to be placed in sepulchers, signifies the rejection and damnation of such. This is evident from the signification of "not to be placed in sepulchers or not to be buried," as being eternal damnation; for "to be buried" signifies in the Word awakening into life and resurrection, because when a man dies and is buried he is awakened or rises again into eternal life. For after death a man continues to live equally as in the world, but he lays aside the earthly or material body, which served him for use in the natural world, and continues his life in a spiritual body. Burial, therefore, is only the rejection, as it were, of the exuviae that he carried about in the natural world. Burial signifies awakening into eternal life or resurrection, because the angels do not know what the death of a man is nor what his burial is, since with them there is no death and therefore no burial, but they perceive all things spiritually; when, therefore, the death of a man is mentioned in the Word, instead of death they perceive his passing over from one world into another; and where burial is mentioned they perceive his resurrection into life. It follows from this that "not to be buried" signifies resurrection not into life, but into damnation, which means spiritual death. Every man, indeed, after his departure out of the world is awakened and rises again, but some to life and some to damnation, and as "to be buried" signifies resurrection to life, so "not to be buried" signifies damnation, but here of those who reject the goods of love and the truths of doctrine, which are signified by "the two witnesses;" consequently "not to be placed in sepulchers" (or not to be buried) does not mean damnation except in the idea of those who condemn such goods and truths. Therefore what "sepulchers" signify in the Word, as also "to be buried" and "not to be buried," can be seen from the following passages.

[2] That "sepulchers," because of the dead bodies and bones in them, signify things unclean, and thus things infernal, can be seen from many passages in the Word. As in Isaiah:

A people that provoke Me to anger continually before My faces; that burn incense upon bricks, that sit in sepulchers and lodge in waste places, that eat swine's flesh (Isaiah 65:3, 4).

"To provoke Jehovah to anger before His faces" signifies to sin against the truths and goods of the Word, and to fall away from the worship therein commanded, "the faces of Jehovah" meaning the things revealed in the Word; "to burn incense upon bricks" signifies worship from falsities of doctrine, "bricks" meaning the falsities of doctrine, and "to burn incense" meaning worship from them; "to sit in sepulchers" signifies to be in filthy loves; "to lodge in waste places" signifies to remain and to live in falsities, "waste places" meaning where there are no truths; "to eat swine's flesh" signifies to make infernal evils one's own.

[3] In Moses:

Whosoever shall touch one upon the surface of the field that is slain by a sword, or a dead body, or the bone of a man, or a sepulcher, shall be unclean seven days, and afterwards he shall be purified (Numbers 19:16, 18).

"To touch" signifies in the Word to communicate; therefore that falsities and evils be not communicated and thus appropriated it was forbidden to touch things unclean, here "one slain by a sword," a "dead body," "the bone of a man," or a "sepulcher;" since "one slain by a sword" signifies one who has been destroyed by falsities, and has thence been condemned to hell; and a "dead body" signifies one who has been destroyed by evils; "the bone of a man" signifies infernal falsity, and a "sepulcher" infernal evil.

[4] In Ezekiel:

Wail over the multitude of Egypt, and cast her down with them that go down into the pit. They shall fall in the midst of them that are slain by the sword. Asshur is there and all his assembly, his sepulchers are round about him, all the slain who have fallen by the sword, to whom sepulchers were given in the sides of the pit, and his assembly is round about his sepulcher. Elam and all his multitude is round about his sepulcher, all the uncircumcised slain by the sword (Ezekiel 32:18, 20, 22-24).

"The multitude of Egypt" signifies the knowledges [scientifica] of the natural man, which are dead because they do not come down and take form as effects, conclusions, and confirmations, from the truths of the spiritual man; "Asshur" signifies reasonings from such knowledges; therefore "Wail over the multitude of Egypt, and cast her down with them that go down into the pit," signifies grief because of the damnation of those who are in these knowledges, the "pit" signifying the hell where such dead knowledges have rule, that is, knowledges separated from truths, because employed to confirm falsities of doctrine and evils of life; "those slain by the sword," here as above, signify those who are condemned to the hells on account of falsities; "Asshur is there and all his assembly" signifies reasonings from those falsities; the "sepulchers" that are round about Asshur and in the sides of the pit, where Elam is, and "all the uncircumcised slain by the sword" signify the hells where these falsities are, that is, those who are in such falsities.

[5] It is to be known that falsities and evils of every kind correspond to unclean and loathsome things in the natural world, and the more direful falsities and evils to things pertaining to dead bodies and to fetid excrementitious things, and the milder falsities and evils to things pertaining to swamps; consequently the dwelling-places in the hells of those who are in such falsities and evils appear like pits and sepulchers; and if you will believe it, such evil genii and spirits also have their abode in the sepulchers, privies, and swamps that are in our world, although they do not know it; this is so because they correspond, and the things that correspond conjoin. The same conclusion may be drawn from this, that to those who have been assassins and poisoners, and to those who have perceived delight in violating women, there is nothing more delightful than the odor of a corpse; and to those who have been eaten up with the love of ruling, and to those who have taken delight in adulteries, and no delight in marriages, there is nothing more delightful than the odor of excrement; and to those who have confirmed themselves in falsities, and have extinguished in themselves the affection of truth, there is nothing more delightful than the odor of a swamp and of urinous places. This is why the hells in which they dwell appear according to the corresponding delights, some like pits and some like sepulchers.

[6] From this it appears why it was:

That those that were obsessed by demons were in sepulchers and came out therefrom (Matthew 8:28 seq.; Mark 5:2, 3, 5; Luke 8:27);

namely, because those that were obsessed while they lived in the world were in falsities from evil, or in knowledges from the Word, which they made dead by employing them to confirm evils and also to destroy the genuine truths of the church, especially the truths respecting the Lord, the Word, and the life after death; these dead knowledges are called in the Word "traditions." This is why those that were obsessed by such, when they had become demons:

Were in sepulchers, and the demons themselves were afterwards cast out into swine, that cast themselves headlong into the sea (Matthew 8:31-33).

They were "cast into swine" [because while they lived in the world they had been in sordid avarice], ¹ and this is what "swine" correspond to and thence signify; they "cast themselves headlong into the sea" because the "sea" here signifies hell.

[7] In David:

I have been reckoned with them that go down into the pit. I am become as a man that hath no strength; neglected among the dead, like the slain that lie in the sepulcher, whom Thou rememberest no more, and who are cut off from Thy hand. Thou hast laid me in the pit of the lower parts, in dark places, in the depths. Shall Thy mercy be declared in the sepulcher, Thy truth in destruction? (Psalms 88:4-6, 11)

This treats of temptations, in the highest sense of the Lord's temptations; this describes of what nature these were, namely, that He seemed to Himself to be in hell among the damned, so fierce and enormous were the temptations the Lord endured; therefore "I have been reckoned with them that go down into the pit" signifies that He seemed to Himself to be in hell, "the pit" meaning hell; "I am become as a man that hath no strength" signifies that He then seemed to Himself to be without power, for temptations plunge a man into falsities and evils, in which there is no power; "neglected among the dead" signifies among those who have nothing of truth and good, and who are therefore rejected; "as the slain that lie down in the sepulcher" signifies like those who are in falsities from evil, "the slain" signifying those who perish by falsities, and "the sepulcher" hell, because those that are in hell are spiritually dead; "whom Thou rememberest no more, and who are cut off from Thy hand," signifies who are deprived of all truth and good; "Thou hast laid me in the pit of the lower parts" signifies in the places of hell where such are; "in dark places" signifies as it were in falsities; "in the depths" signifies as it were in evils.

[8] There is now added a prayer from grief that he may be delivered from temptations, and for this among other reasons, "Shall Thy mercy be declared in the sepulcher, and Thy truth in destruction?" which signifies that in hell, where and from which are evils and falsities, Divine good and Divine truth cannot be proclaimed, "mercy" meaning the Divine good of the Divine love, and "truth" the Divine truth of the Divine wisdom, "sepulcher" meaning the hell where and from which are evils, and "destruction" the hell where and from which are falsities. From this it appears that "sepulcher" means hell, because they who are in hell are spiritually dead.

[9] In Isaiah:

That He might give the wicked to their sepulcher, and the rich in their deaths (Isaiah 53:9).

This also is said of the Lord, of whom the whole of this chapter treats, but here of His victories over the hells. "The wicked given to the sepulcher" mean the evil who will be cast down into hell; here "sepulcher" plainly stands for hell, which is called a sepulcher because of the spiritually dead who are in it; "the rich given in their deaths" mean those of the church who are in falsities from evils, who are called "rich" by reason of the knowledges of truth and good which they have from the Word; falsities from evil are signified by "deaths," because those who are in them are spiritually dead.

[10] Those who think evil about God and the neighbor but speak well, and those who think insanely about truths of faith and goods of love but speak sanely, such inwardly are sepulchers whited without, according to these words of the Lord:

Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for ye are like unto whited sepulchers, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of the bones of the dead and of all uncleanness (Matthew 23:27, 29; Luke 11:47, 48).

[11] And in David:

There is nothing right in the mouth of anyone, their midst is perditions; their throat is an open sepulcher, they flatter with their tongue (Psalms 5:9).

"In the mouth" signifies outwardly, the "midst" inwardly; that there is hell within is signified by "their throat is an open sepulcher;" and that outwardly there is hypocrisy and seeming sanity is signified by "they flatter with their tongue." These and other passages in the Word make evident what "sepulcher" signifies.

[12] So when those who are in falsities from evil are treated of, by "their sepulcher" the hell from which and in which there is such falsity is meant; but when those who are in truths from good are treated of, "sepulcher" means the removal and rejection of falsity from evil, and "burial" means awakening and resurrection into life, as also regeneration. For with a man who is in truths from good, falsity from evil is removed and rejected into hell, and the man himself, in respect to his interiors, which belong to his spirit, rises again and enters into the life of truth from good, which is the spiritual life. In this sense "burial" is to be understood in the following passages.

[13] In John:

Marvel not, for the hour cometh in which all that are in the sepulchers shall hear the voice of the Son of man, and shall come forth; they that have done goods unto the resurrection of life, but they that have done evils unto the resurrection of judgment (John 5:28, 29).

This does not mean that those who are in sepulchers or tombs shall hear the voice of the Lord and come forth, for all after death, equally as in this world, live as men, with the difference only that after death they live in a spiritual body, and not in a material body; therefore "to go forth out of the sepulchers" signifies out of the material body; and this going forth first takes place with everyone immediately after death, and afterwards when the Last Judgment is wrought, for at that time the exteriors are removed and the interiors are opened with all with whom this had not previously been done; then those whose interiors are heavenly are raised up unto life, but those with whom the interiors are infernal are raised up unto death, and this is what is signified by "they that have done goods shall go forth unto the resurrection of life, but they that have done evils unto the resurrection of judgment."

[14] That this is meant by "going forth out of the tombs or out of the sepulchers" is still more evidently manifest in Ezekiel:

Behold I will open your sepulchers and will cause you to come up out of your sepulchers, O My people, and will bring you upon the land of Israel, that ye may know that I am Jehovah, when I shall have opened your sepulchers and have caused you to come up out of your sepulchers, O My people, and have given My Spirit in you that ye may live, and have placed you upon your own land (Ezekiel 37:12-14).

This treats of the dry bones seen by the prophet upon the faces of the valley; upon these sinews appeared to be stretched and flesh came up, and skin covered them; and when the Spirit of God came into them they lived again and stood upon their feet. That by these bones the whole house of Israel was meant is openly declared in these words:

Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel; behold they say, Our bones are dried up, our hope is perished; as for us we are cut off (Ezekiel 37:11).

This house was likened to "dry bones" because they were in falsities and evils, which have no life because of their non-correspondence with heaven in respect to sinews, flesh, and skin, for "bones" signify truths in the ultimate of order, upon which spiritual truths are based, and "dry bones" signify falsities from evil; this makes clear that "to open the sepulchers and to cause the people to come up out of the sepulchers" signifies to raise up out of falsities from evil, thus from the dead, and to impart truths from good, thus life, which life is "the Spirit of God," from which they lived again; this is what is meant, therefore, by "causing the people to come up out of the sepulchers." The church that is to be formed out of these is signified by "the land of Israel" upon which they shall be placed.

[15] It is related in Matthew:

That after the passion of the Lord the tombs were opened, and many bodies of those that slept coming out of their tombs went into the holy city, and appeared to many (Matthew 27:52, 53).

That "the tombs were opened, and many bodies of them that slept appeared," has a similar signification as above in Ezekiel, where it is said that "Jehovah was to open the sepulchers and cause them to come up out of the sepulchers," namely, the regeneration and resurrection of the faithful unto life; not that the bodies themselves that lay in the tombs rose again, but that there was this appearance, that regeneration and resurrection to life from the Lord might be signified. Furthermore, these same words mean those who in the Word are said "to be bound in the pit," whom the Lord delivered when He had finished the whole work of redemption. For many of the faithful could not be saved until the Lord had come into the world and subjugated the hells; in the meanwhile they were detained in the places called "pits" until the Lord came, but were delivered by the Lord immediately after His coming. These pits were represented also by the "tombs" that were opened, and those who were in them by those that "slept," who after the Lord's resurrection, as it is said, "appeared to many in the holy city;" "the holy city" was Zion and Jerusalem, but by them heaven is meant, to which they were raised up by the Lord, for both Zion and Jerusalem were profane rather than holy. This makes evident what that miracle and that appearance represented and signified.

[16] Since "the land of Canaan" signifies both the church and heaven, and "burial" signifies resurrection into life, so:

Abraham bought of Ephron a field in which was the cave of Machpelah which was before Mamre (Genesis 23:1);

And there Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, with their wives, were buried (Genesis 23:1; 25:9, 10; 35:29; 49:1; 50:1).

The particulars related concerning that cave, namely, that it was "in the field of Ephron, which was before Mamre," and many others, were significative of resurrection unto life (as may be seen explained in the Arcana Coelestia). For this reason Joseph also commanded:

That his bones should be brought up into the land of Canaan (Genesis 50:24-26);

And this was done (Exodus 13:19; Joshua 24:32);

and for the reason that "the land of Canaan," as has been said, signified the heavenly Canaan, which is heaven. Because of the representation of resurrection into heaven by burial:

David and the kings after him were buried in Zion (1 Kings 2:10; 11:43; 14:17, 18; 15:8, 24; 22:50; 2 Kings 8:24; 12:21; 14:20; 15:7, 38; 16:20).

This was because "Zion" signified the celestial church and heaven, where the Lord is.

[17] That "burial" signifies resurrection can also be seen from this, that the dead are frequently said to have been "gathered to their fathers," and "to their peoples;" "to their fathers" in Genesis:

Jehovah said to Abraham, Thou shalt come to thy fathers in peace, and shalt be buried in a good old age (Genesis 15:15).

And in the second book of Kings:

Jehovah said of Josiah, king of Judah, Behold I gather thee to thy fathers, and thou shalt be gathered into thy sepulcher in peace (2 Kings 22:20).

Also "to their people" in Genesis:

Abraham expired and died in a good old age, an old man and full of years, and was gathered to his peoples (Genesis 25:8);

Isaac expired and died, and was gathered to his peoples, an old man and full of days (Genesis 35:29);

Jacob expired and was gathered to his peoples (Genesis 49:33).

"To their fathers" and "to their peoples" mean to their own, that is, to their like in the other life, for everyone after death comes to his like with whom he is to live forever. It cannot mean that they were gathered to their fathers and to their peoples in the sepulcher, for it is also said of Abraham when he died, that he "was gathered to his fathers" and that he was "gathered to his peoples," yet he was buried in a new tomb, where none of his fathers or of his peoples were before him, except Sarah his wife.

[18] In Job:

Thou shalt know that thy tent is peace, and thy children as the herb of the land, thou shalt come in old age unto the sepulcher like the coming up of a heap of corn in its season (Job 5:24-26).

A "tent" signifies in the Word the holiness of worship and the good of love, because Divine worship in most ancient times was performed in tents; and because their worship was from the good of celestial love, a "tent" signifies also that good; and since there is genuine peace in celestial good therefore it is said, "Thou shalt know that thy tent is peace." Truths from that good and their increase are signified by "the children which shall be as the herb of the land," for "sons" and "children" and likewise "the herb of the land" signify truths from good; that when wisdom has been imbibed one shall come into heaven is signified by "thou shalt come in old age into the sepulcher," "old age" signifying wisdom, and "to come into the sepulcher" or "to be buried" signifying resurrection; and as this is the meaning it is added, "like the coming up of a heap of corn in its season. "

[19] From these few passages it may appear that "sepulchers," by reason of the dead bodies and inanimate bones therein, signify things infernal, but that "burial" signifies the rejection of these and consequently resurrection; for when a man rejects or puts off his material body he puts on a spiritual body, with which he rises again. For this reason the very death of man signifies in the spiritual sense the continuation of his life, but in an evil sense it signifies damnation, which is spiritual death. As in respect to man "burial" signifies resurrection and also regeneration, therefore in respect to the Lord it signified the glorification of His Human; for the Lord glorified, that is, made Divine, His entire Human, consequently on the third day He rose again with the Human glorified, that is, made Divine. Unless this had been done, no man could have risen again to life; for man has resurrection unto life solely from the Lord, and indeed from His having united the Divine with His Human, and from this union, or strictly speaking, glorification, man has salvation; this is involved in:

What the Lord said of the woman who poured balsamic ointment upon His head, that she did it unto His burial (Matthew 26:7, 12; Mark 14:8; John 12:7);

for "anointing" signifies that glorification; because from it man has salvation it is said of this woman:

Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached in the whole world, that also which this woman hath done shall be spoken of for a memorial of her (Matthew 26:13).

This, too, was represented by:

The man that was cast into the sepulcher of Elisha, who revived when he touched his bones (2 Kings 13:20, 21).

For "Elisha" represented the Lord in relation to Divine truth, and this constitutes the life of heaven into which man is raised up.

[20] Since "to be buried" and "burial" signify both resuscitation into life and regeneration; so "not to be buried" and "to be dragged out of the tombs" signifies no resurrection to heaven nor regeneration, but resurrection to hell, and accordingly damnation, as in the following passages. In Isaiah:

Thou art cast out of thy sepulcher like an abominable shoot, the vesture of those that are slain, of those thrust through with the sword, that go down to the stones of the pit, like a carcass trodden down; thou shalt not be united with them in the sepulcher, for thou hast destroyed thy land, thou hast slain thy people; the seed of the wicked shall not be named forever (Isaiah 14:19, 20).

This is said of the king of Babylon, by whom the profanation of Divine truth is signified; therefore "thou art cast out of thy sepulcher" signifies damnation to hell; "like an abominable shoot, the vesture of those that are slain, of those thrust through with the sword," signifies the falsification of truth and its profanation; "an abominable shoot" means truth falsified, and "the vesture of those that are slain, of those thrust through with the sword," means truth adulterated and utterly destroyed by direful falsities; "that go down to the stones of the pit, like a carcass trodden down," signifies to the hell where the falsities of evil are, "a carcass trodden down" signifying an infernal spirit, with whom everything is spiritually dead because of the total destruction of good; "thou shalt not be united with them in the sepulcher" signifies no consociation with those who rise again to life, for "to be in the sepulcher or to be buried" signifies that resurrection, and on the other hand, "to be cast out of the sepulcher" signifies damnation; "thou hast destroyed thy land, thou hast slain thy people," signifies that the church and those therein who are in truths from good have been destroyed by the falsities of evil; "the seed of the wicked shall not be named forever" signifies eternal dissociation and separation.

[21] In Jeremiah:

Jehovah hath said concerning the sons and concerning the daughters that are born in this place, and concerning their mothers that shall bear them, and concerning their fathers that shall beget them in this land, They shall die of grievous deaths, that they may not be lamented, neither buried; they shall be for dung upon the faces of the earth, or they shall be consumed by the sword or by famine, that their carcass may be for food to the birds of the heavens and to the beast of the earth (Jeremiah 16:3, 4).

This is said of the church vastated in respect to all good and truth; "sons and daughters, and mothers and fathers" do not mean in the spiritual sense sons and daughters, mothers and fathers, but the truths and goods of the church both exterior and interior, "sons and daughters" meaning exterior truths and goods, "mothers and fathers" interior truths and goods; these are called "mothers and fathers" because they beget and bring forth the exterior; "they shall die of grievous deaths, that they may not be lamented, neither buried," signifies condemnation to hell because of direful falsities; "they shall be for dung upon the faces of the earth" signifies infernal filth which is the evil that defiles the good and truth of the church; "to be consumed by the sword or by famine" signifies to be destroyed by falsities and evils; "that their carcass may be for food to the birds of the heavens and to the beast of the earth" signifies consumed and to be yet further consumed by the cupidities of the love of falsity and evil.

[22] In the same:

A tumult cometh even to the end of the earth, for Jehovah hath a controversy against the nations; He shall enter judgment with all flesh, He shall give the wicked to the sword; the slain of Jehovah shall be in that day from the end of the earth even unto the end of the earth, they shall not be lamented nor gathered nor buried, they shall be as dung upon the faces of the earth (Jeremiah 25:31, 33).

This describes the devastation of the church at its end when the Last Judgment takes place. "A tumult even to the end of the earth, for Jehovah hath a controversy against the nations," signifies the dismay of all who are of the church when they are visited and their evils are disclosed, the "earth" meaning the church, "nations" those who are in evils, and in an abstract sense evils, and "the controversy of Jehovah" against them visitation and disclosure.

"He shall enter judgment with all flesh" signifies the universal judgment that takes place at the end of the church; "He shall give the wicked to the sword" signifies that the unfaithful will perish by their falsities; "the slain of Jehovah shall be in that day from the end of the earth even unto the end of the earth" signifies those who perish by falsities of every kind, the "slain of Jehovah" meaning those who perish by falsities, and "from the end of the earth even unto the end of the earth" meaning from first things to last of the church, thus falsities of every kind; "they shall not be lamented nor gathered nor buried" signifies that there will be no more any restoration and salvation, but condemnation, "lamentation" signifying grief because such is the state of man, and "no lamentation" signifying no grief because man is such that there is no restoration; "they shall be for dung upon the faces of the earth" signifies mere falsity and evil with no reception of life from heaven; for if a man receives no life through the truths of faith and the goods of charity he is wholly dead, since he is in mere falsities of evil and evils of falsity, and such are "a carcass and dung upon the faces of the earth."

[23] In the same:

Against prophets that prophesy a lie in the name of Jehovah: The people to whom they prophesy shall be cast in the streets of Jerusalem, because of famine and the sword, and there shall be none to bury them, themselves, their wives, and their sons and their daughters (Jeremiah 14:15, 16).

Here, too, "not to be buried" means not to rise again to life but to damnation the rest may be seen explained above, n. 652. In the same:

In that time they shall bring out the bones of the kings of Judah and the bones of his princes, and the bones of his priests and the bones of his prophets, and the bones of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, from their sepulchers, and they shall spread them to the sun and the moon and all the host of the heavens, which they have loved and which they have served, and after which they have walked, and which they have sought and to which they have bowed themselves down; they shall not be gathered nor be buried, they shall be as dung upon the faces of the land (Jeremiah 8:1, 2).

"To bring out the bones from the sepulchers" signifies to separate from the peoples, that is from communion with those who are in heaven, to cast out among the damned without, as takes place when the evil enter the societies of the good, and afterwards when discovered are cast out; for those that are buried are said "to be gathered to their peoples" as above of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; therefore "to be brought out of the sepulchers" means to be cast out from them. All who are of the church as well as all things of the church are signified by the "kings, princes, priests, prophets, and inhabitants of Jerusalem," "kings" signifying the truths themselves of the church in the whole complex, "princes" the chief truths, "priests" the goods of doctrine, "prophets" the truths of doctrine, and "the inhabitants of Jerusalem" all things of the church depending thereon.

[24] Here the "bones of those that are to be brought out" signify the falsities and evils which have nothing in common with truths and goods; "to spread them out to the sun, the moon, and all the host of the heavens," signifies to give them over to diabolic loves, and thus to evils and falsities which are from hell; for the "sun" signifies love in both senses, the "moon" faith in both senses derived from that love, and "the host of the heavens" falsities and evils of every kind; so here "to spread out the bones" to these means to wholly give them over to such things, that they may be nothing but loves and cupidities of evil and falsity; "which they have loved, which they have served, after which they have walked, which they have sought and to which they have bowed themselves down," signifies an exterior and interior affection and proneness for such things, and worship therefrom; "they shall not be gathered nor be buried" signifies that they are never to return to the societies of heaven, but will remain with those who are in hell; "they shall be as dung upon the faces of the land" signifies what is dead and unclean, such as is cast out and trodden down.

From this may appear what is signified by the following:

That Josiah the king took the bones out of the sepulchers and burned them upon the altar (2 Kings 23:16);

That the dogs in the field ate Jezebel, and there was none to bury her (2 Kings 9:10);

That Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, ² king of Judah, was buried with the burial of an ass, drawn and cast forth beyond the gates of Jerusalem (Jeremiah 22:19).

[25] "To be buried in Topheth," and "in the valley of Hinnom" has a like signification in Jeremiah:

Behold the days come that it shall no more be said Topheth, or the valley of the son of Hinnom, but the valley of slaughter; and they shall bury in Topheth till there is no place, and the carcass of this people shall be for food to the bird of the heavens and to the beast of the earth, and none shall frighten them away (Jeremiah 7:32, 33);

and in the same:

I will break this people and this city as the vessel of a potter is broken, which cannot be repaired anymore; and they shall bury in Topheth, because there will be no place for burying, and I will make this city as Topheth (Jeremiah 19:11, 12).

"Topheth" and "the valley of Hinnom" signify the hells, "Topheth" the hell at the back, which is called "the devil," and the "valley of Hinnom" the hell in front, which is called "Satan;" for in the city of Jerusalem and outside of it all places corresponded to places in the spiritual world; for in that world the dwelling places are according to Divine order; in the middle are those who are in the greatest light or wisdom, in the borders those who are in the least, to the east and west those who are in love, to the south and north those who are in intelligence; such is the arrangement of the whole heaven, and such it is in every society there, such in every city, and likewise also in every house, and this because the lesser forms in the heavens are all likenesses of the greatest form; and as "Jerusalem" signified heaven and the church in respect to doctrine, therefore also the places there were representative according to their quarters and distances from the temple and from Zion. This is why "Topheth" and "the valley of Hinnom," being most unclean and abominably idolatrous places, represented and thence signified the hells. Thence it appears what "burying in Topheth" and "in the valley of Hinnom" signifies.

Poznámky pod čarou:

653. Which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, signifies through the evils of the love of self and the falsities therefrom. This is evident from the signification of "Sodom," as being the love of self and evils of every kind therefrom (of which presently); also from the signification of "Egypt," as being the natural man separated from the spiritual, and falsity of evil of every kind therefrom (of which also presently). Evidently "Sodom and Egypt" mean Jerusalem, and thus the church, in which the goods of love are adulterated and the truths of doctrine are falsified, for it is next said "where also our Lord was crucified;" for the evils of the love of self and the falsities of doctrine are what crucify the Lord, therefore He was crucified by the Jews, because they were in those evils and falsities; but of this more hereafter.

[2] First let it be shown here that "Sodom" signifies in the Word the love of self, and thence every evil; for evils of every kind flow forth from the love of self; since he who loves himself only loves what is his own [proprium], and therefore immerses all things of his will and his understanding in what is his own [proprium], even so that it is impossible for him to be elevated from it to heaven and to the Lord; consequently he sees nothing from the light of heaven, but solely from the light of the world, which light, separated from the light of heaven, is mere darkness in spiritual things, which are the things of heaven and the church; and for this reason also the more a man loves himself the more he despises, yea, denies spiritual things. In consequence also of this the internal spiritual mind, by which man is in the light of heaven, is closed up, and this causes the man to be merely natural, and the merely natural man is inclined to evils of every kind. For the evils into which man is born have their seat in the natural man, and these are removed from him only to the extent in which his interior mind, which receives the light of heaven, is opened; moreover, what is man's own [proprium] has its seat in the natural man, and what is man's own [proprium] is nothing but evil.

[3] That "Sodom" therefore signifies the love of self, and thus evils of every kind, can be seen from the passages in the Word where "Sodom" is mentioned; as in the following. In Ezekiel:

Thy elder sister is Samaria, she and her daughters dwelling at thy left hand; but thy younger sister, dwelling at thy right hand, is Sodom and her daughters; thou hast corrupted thyself more than they in all thy ways; Sodom thy sister hath not done, she and her daughters, as thou hast done and thy daughters. Behold, this was the iniquity of Sodom, pride, satiety of bread, and tranquillity of quiet was hers and her daughters, and she strengthened not the hand of the afflicted and needy; therefore they became lofty, and committed abomination before Me (Ezekiel 16:46-50).

This treats of the abominations of Jerusalem, which were chiefly that they adulterated the goods and truths of the Word and of the church; "Samaria," where the Israelites were, signifies the spiritual church, in which spiritual good, which is the good of charity towards the neighbor, is the essential; but "Jerusalem," where the Jews were, signifies the celestial church, in which celestial good, which is the good of love to the Lord, is the essential. For there are two kingdoms into which heaven and thence the church is divided, the spiritual kingdom and the celestial kingdom (respecting these kingdoms see in the work on Heaven and Hell 20-28). These kingdoms were represented by the Israelites whose metropolis was Samaria, and by the Jews whose metropolis was Jerusalem.

[4] Spiritual good, which is the good of charity toward the neighbor, is the opposite of infernal evil, which is the evil of the love of the world; and celestial good is the opposite of diabolical evil, which is the evil of the love of self. From the love of self flow forth evils of all kinds, and much worse than those from love of the world (See the New Jerusalem and Its Heavenly Doctrine, n. 65-83). This is why more direful and abominable things are related of Jerusalem than of Samaria; and this is why Jerusalem is not only called "Sodom," but it is said that she did worse things than Sodom, as it is here said "Sodom hath not done as thou hast done and thy daughters." That the evil of the love of self was the evil of Sodom, is thus declared, "This was the iniquity of Sodom, pride, satiety of bread, tranquillity of quiet, and she strengthened not the hand of the afflicted and needy," "pride" meaning the love of self, "satiety of bread," the contempt of all good and truth of heaven and the church, even to loathing of them, "tranquillity of quiet," security and no anxiety on account of any evil; and "not strengthening the hands of the afflicted and needy" signifies unmercifulness. Because the love of self was the love of Sodom it is said that her daughters "became lofty and committed abomination before Jehovah," the "daughters" that became lofty signifying the cupidities of that love, and the "abomination before Jehovah" signifying every evil against the Divine Itself.

[5] Because the "Chaldeans" signify the profanation and adulteration of the truth of doctrine from the Word, and "the inhabitants of Babylon" the profanation and adulteration of the good of love, therefore the overthrow of these is also compared to the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah. In Jeremiah:

A sword against the Chaldeans, and against the inhabitants of Babylon, according to God's overthrowing Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighboring cities thereof, not a man shall dwell there, nor shall a son of man sojourn therein (Jeremiah 50:35, 40).

And in Isaiah:

So shall Babylon, the ornament of kingdoms, the splendor of the magnificence of the Chaldeans, be as God's overthrowing Sodom and Gomorrah (Isaiah 13:19).

"Sodom" signifies the evil of the love of self, and "Gomorrah" the falsity of that love; and as the love of self does not acknowledge any truth of the church, it is said, "not a man shall dwell there, nor shall a son of man sojourn therein," "man" signifying intelligence, and "son of man," the truth of the church.

[6] Because "Edom" signifies the natural man, who is in falsities from the love of self, and therefore adulterates the goods of the church, her vastation is compared to the overthrowing of Sodom and Gomorrah. In Jeremiah:

Edom shall be a desolation, as the overthrowing of Sodom and Gomorrah, no man [vir] shall dwell there, neither shall a son of man sojourn therein (Jeremiah 49:17, 18).

In Zephaniah:

Moab shall be as Sodom, and the sons of Ammon as Gomorrah, a place abandoned to nettles, and a pit of salt, a waste forever (Zephaniah 2:9).

"Moab," as has been said, means the natural man, who from the love of self adulterates the goods of the church, and "the sons of Ammon" mean those who falsify the truths of the church; and as thence is the devastation of all good and truth it is said, "a place abandoned to nettles, and a pit of salt, a waste forever;" the devastation of all good is signified by "a place of nettles," and the devastation of all truth, by "a pit of salt;" like things are signified by "Sodom and Gomorrah."

[7] Because "Judah" signifies celestial love, which is love to the Lord, from which is all good, and in the contrary sense diabolical love, which is the love of self, from which is all evil, the devastation of the church, which is signified by "Judah and Jerusalem," is also compared to the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah. In Isaiah:

Jerusalem hath stumbled, and Judah hath fallen; the hardening of their faces doth witness against them, and their sin is as Sodom's (Isaiah 3:8, 9).

Hear the word of Jehovah, ye princes of Sodom; give ear to the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah (Isaiah 1:10). "The Word of Jehovah" means Divine good, and "the law of God" Divine truth, for where good is treated of the name "Jehovah" is used, but where truth is treated of the name "God" is used; and as Divine good, to those who are in the love of self, is evil, it is said "their sin is as Sodom's," and "hear the Word of Jehovah, ye princes of Sodom;" and as Divine truth to those who are in the evil of the love of self is falsity, it is said, "give ear to the law of God, ye people of Gomorrah."

[8] In Moses:

Their vine is of the vine of Sodom, and their grapes are of the field of Gomorrah, grapes of gall, their clusters are of bitterness (Deuteronomy 32:32).

This is said of the direful falsities that exist with the posterity of Jacob, springing from the evils of the love of self. But this is explained above n. 519. In Lamentations:

They that did eat delicacies are laid waste in the streets, they that were brought up in crimson have embraced dunghills; the iniquity of My people is become greater than the sin of Sodom, that was overturned as in a moment (Lamentations 4:5, 6).

This is said of those who are of the Lord's celestial kingdom and church when they are changed into the opposite, for it is celestial love that is turned into the love of self, which is a diabolical love; of those who have been so changed the above is said. What is signified by "eating delicacies," "brought up in crimson," "laid waste in the streets," and "embracing dung-hills," has been explained in the article above n. 652. It is said that their iniquity "is become greater than the sin of Sodom," because they had the Word, from which they could know the truths and goods of heaven and the church, or of doctrine and life, and adulterated them, and this the inhabitants of Sodom could not do; for he who knows the will of the Lord and does it not, sins more than he who does not know it. Moreover, all those with whom the love of self is dominant despise the holy things of heaven and the church, and deny the Divine of the Lord; and to confirm the evils flowing forth from that love they either adulterate the Word or reject it as a writing that is holy only from having been so accepted. Those, therefore, who do this from the love of self are compared to Sodom and Gomorrah.

[9] That those who are taught by the Lord respecting the truths and goods of the church, and yet reject and deny them, do worse than those in Sodom, is evident from the Lord's words respecting Capernaum, in Matthew:

Thou Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down unto hell; for if the mighty works had been done in Sodom which were done in thee it would have remained until this day; I say unto thee ¹ that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for thee ¹ (Matthew 11:23, 24).

For the Lord after He left Nazareth abode in Capernaum (Matthew 4:13).

And there did miracles (Matthew 8:5-14; 4:46-54 to the end).

Like things were said by the Lord of the cities in which the disciples preached His coming or the Gospel and were not received. As in these words in Matthew:

Whosoever shall not receive you nor hear your words, when ye go forth out of that house or city shake off the dust of your feet; verily I say unto you it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city (Matthew 10:14, 15; Mark 6:11; Luke 10:10-12).

For no one rejects the holy things of the church and denies the Divine of the Lord more interiorly than those do who are in the love of self; those who are in the love of the world and in the evils therefrom may reject the holy things of the church, but not so interiorly, that is, from the confirmation of the heart.

[10] Like things are said of the prophets and the people who adulterate the truths and goods of the Word to confirm evils and falsities. In Jeremiah:

In the prophets of Jerusalem I have seen a horrible stubbornness, in adulterating and walking in a lie, while they have strengthened the hands of the evil that no man doth return from his wickedness; they are become to Me as Sodom, and the inhabitants thereof as Gomorrah (Jeremiah 23:14).

By "prophets" here those are meant who teach the truths and goods of doctrine, and in an abstract sense, which is the genuine spiritual sense, doctrine from the Word is meant, thus also the Word in respect to doctrine, therefore "a horrible stubbornness" signifies confirmation of heart against the truths and goods of the Word; "to adulterate and walk in a lie" signifies to pervert the goods and truths of the Word; "to adulterate" signifies to pervert the goods of the Word by evils and falsities, a "lie" means falsity, and "to walk in a lie" means to live in falsities. "To strengthen the hands of the evil" signifies to confirm evils and thence their power over goods; and "no man doth return from his wickedness" signifies to persist in the evils and falsities of doctrine; therefore it is said "they are become as Sodom, and the inhabitants thereof as Gomorrah," "as Sodom" signifying to be in evils springing from the love of self, and "the inhabitants thereof as Gomorrah" signifying an evil life from the falsities of doctrine.

[11] The evil that destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah is described as follows in Moses:

That they wished to offer violence to the angels, and were therefore smitten with blindness, so that they could not find the door where the angels were; and that therefore Jehovah caused brimstone and fire to rain upon Sodom and Gomorrah, and overthrew those cities and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which sprang up from the ground (Genesis 19:1-28).

"Their wishing to offer violence to the angels" means to Divine good and Divine truth, for these are signified by "angels;" the "blindness" with which they were smitten so that they could not find the door signified the complete rejection and denial of the Divine and of the holy things of heaven and the church, even so far as to be unable to see and acknowledge anything of heaven or the church, which is signified by "not finding the door" where the angels were; "brimstone" signifies the lust of destroying the goods and truths of the church by falsities, and "fire" signifies the love of self and every evil that destroys, here the destruction of goods and truths.

[12] That "Sodom and Gomorrah" mean all evils and falsities flowing forth from the love of self has been told me from heaven; for when they who are in evils from that love perish, which occurred at the time of the Last Judgment, there was an appearance of brimstone and fire raining down from heaven; this I also witnessed. That this would occur at the time of the Last Judgment was also predicted by the Lord in Luke:

Likewise even as it came to pass in the days of Lot, on the day that he went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all; after the same manner shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed (Luke 17:28-30).

[13] Because those who from the love of self confirm themselves by means of falsities in evils against the truths and goods of heaven and the church, completely root out with themselves every truth of doctrine and of the Word and every good of spiritual and celestial love, there takes place in them a total vastation, which is thus described in Moses:

The whole land shall be brimstone and salt, a burning; it shall not be sown, neither shall it spring forth, nor shall any herb come up thereon, according to the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah, of Admah and Zeboiim (Deuteronomy 29:23).

"Brimstone" signifies the vastation of all good by lusts from evils; "salt" signifies the vastation of all truth by falsities from those lusts; "the burning of the whole land" signifies the devastation of the church by the love of self; "it shall not be sown, neither spring forth, nor shall any herb come up thereon," signifies that there will be no capacity whatever to receive the truth of the church, "herb" signifying the truth of the church when it first springs forth. And because such is the devastation of good and truth from the love of self it is said, "like the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah, of Admah and Zeboiim," "Admah and Zeboiim" signifying the knowledges of evil and falsity. That such things are to occur at the time of the Last Judgment is what is signified by "in the day when the Son of man is revealed."

Poznámky pod čarou:

324. And golden bowls full of incense, signifies confession from spiritual goods. This is evident from the signification of "golden bowls," which are also called "censers," and "incense pans," as being truths from good; for "bowls," like all containing vessels, signify truths, and "gold," of which they were made, signifies good, therefore "golden bowls" are truths from good. (That "vessels" signify truths, because truths serve good as recipient and containing vessels, see Arcana Coelestia 3068, 3079, 3316, 3318; also "the vessels of the altars," "of burnt offering," and "of incense," n. 9723, 9724; and that "gold" signifies good, above, n. 242 It is evident also from the signification of "incense," as being those things of worship that are done from spiritual good, or from the good of charity, and are therefore gratefully perceived. Such things are signified by "incense," because all things that are instituted in the Israelitish nation were representative of celestial and spiritual things; so also were the things relating to odor; things of pleasant odor represented pleasant perception, but those of unpleasant odor unpleasant perception. On this account incense was made of fragrant spices, myrrh, onycha, galbanum, and frankincense. Moreover, there is a correspondence between odor and perception, as can be seen from this, that in the spiritual world, where all things perceived by the senses correspond, the perceptive of good and truth is made sensible as fragrance from pleasant odors, and vice versa (respecting this see what is shown from experience, Arcana Coelestia 1514, 1517-1519, 1631, 4626, 4628, 4630, 4631, 5711-5717). From this it is that also in the common language of men, to smell means to perceive; for such expressions, like many others, have come into human discourse from correspondence; for the spirit of man is actually in the spiritual world, although man is not conscious of it. Moreover, the faculty of perception that man has, is what produces in his body the sense of smell, and this too from correspondence. But this is an arcanum that can with difficulty be credited, because it has been hitherto unknown. It is to be noted that this sweet smell or fragrance is produced by the good of love and charity, but by means of truth, not by good itself without truth, still less by means of the truth that is called truth of faith without good; for good without truth has nothing perceptive, neither has truth without good.

[2] "Incense" signifies those things of worship that are done from spiritual good, because spiritual good has its origin and existence from celestial good, which good is the good of love to the Lord from the Lord, and is therefore the very good of heaven, for that good is immediately from the Lord, and the Lord is with angels in that good as in what is His. This is even so far true that whether you say that the Lord is in them and they in the Lord, or that the Lord is with them in that good and they are in the Lord when in that good, it is the same. Spiritual good, which has its origin and existence from celestial good, is the good of charity towards the neighbor; worship from this good is what is signified by "incense." As all worship of the Lord comes from good, although through truths, and as there are two universal goods that make the heavens and distinguish them into two kingdoms, namely, celestial good, which is the good of love to the Lord, and spiritual good, which is the good of charity towards the neighbor, therefore with the sons of Israel there were two altars, one for burnt offerings, the other for incense-offerings; the altar of burnt offering signifying worship from the good of celestial love, and the altar of incense worship from the good of spiritual love; thence it is clear what was represented by "incense."

[3] That this is so can be seen from passages in the Word where the two are mentioned. As in Moses:

Thou shalt make an altar to burn incense upon; and thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, and thou shalt put it before the veil that is over the ark of the Testimony, before the mercy-seat. And Aaron shall burn thereon incense of spices every morning, when dressing the lamps he shall burn it, and in making the lamps to ascend between the evenings he shall burn it, a perpetual incense before Jehovah in your generations. Ye shall make no strange incense to ascend thereon, nor burnt-sacrifice, nor meal-offering, nor drink-offering (Exodus 30:1-10).

That this "altar," and the "burning incense" upon it, signified worship from spiritual good, is evident from its having been placed in the tent of meeting without the veil, where also were the lamps; and the tent signified the Lord's spiritual kingdom; while that part of the tent that was within the veil signified the Lord's celestial kingdom, as can be seen from what is shown in Arcana Coelestia 9457, 9481, 9485) respecting the tent, in which was the table for the bread of faces, and in which was the altar of incense and the lampstand, also respecting the ark, in which was the Testimony, and upon which was the mercy-seat (n. 9457, 9481, 9485, 10545). It is there shown that the things that were in the tent without the veil, namely, the lamp stand, the altar of incense, and the table for the bread, signified such things as are of the spiritual kingdom, all of which have reference to spiritual good and its truth. The "table, upon which was the bread of faces," signified the reception of celestial good in spiritual good (See n. 9527); the "lampstand" with the "lamps" signified the spiritual itself of that kingdom (n. 9548, 9551, 9556, 9561, 9572, 9783); the "altar of incense" signified worship from spiritual good; and because worship from spiritual good was signified by burning incense upon that altar, and the spiritual itself by the "lampstand," it was commanded that Aaron should burn incense upon it every morning and evening, when he dressed the lamps. (But these things are more fully explained in Arcana Coelestia 10176-10213, where these particulars are treated of.)

[4] And because spiritual good has its origin and existence from celestial good (as was said above), not only was that altar placed near the veil that was over the ark, but it was also commanded that when Aaron should make atonement for himself and for his house, he should bring the incense within the veil, which signified the influx, communication, and conjunction of celestial good and spiritual good. Of this it is written in Moses:

When Aaron shall make an atonement for himself and for his house he shall kill the bullock of the sin-offering; and he shall take a censer full of burning coals of fire from off the altar before Jehovah, and his hands full of the incense of spices, and he shall bring it within the veil, that he may put the incense upon the fire before Jehovah; and the cloud of the incense shall cover the mercy-seat that is upon the Testimony, that he die not (Leviticus 16:11-13).

That "he should take fire from off the altar of burnt-offering," and "should put incense upon the fire," signified that spiritual good, which is the good of charity, has existence and proceeds from celestial good, which is the good of love to the Lord (that the "fire of the altar" signified that good, see Arcana Coelestia 4489, 6314, 6832, 9714, and elsewhere). This is why the fire for burning incense was not taken from anywhere else than from the altar of burnt-offering. When Aaron made atonement for himself and his house he was to burn the incense within the veil because Aaron as chief priest represented the Lord in respect to the good of love, and by his functions he represented the things that proceed from that good, all of which relate to spiritual good; spiritual good, unless it is from celestial good, is not good; except for this Aaron's function could not have been from the Divine, or could not have represented anything of the Divine; and this is why Aaron was threatened with death unless he did as he was commanded.

[5] For the same reason also Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, were consumed by fire from heaven because they burnt incense from other fire than the fire of the altar of burnt-offering, which is offering worship from a love other than love to the Lord; respecting which it is thus written in Moses:

Nadab and Abihu, sons of Aaron, took each of them his censer and put strange fire therein, and laid incense thereon. Therefore fire went out from before Jehovah and devoured them, and they died, afterwards they were carried without the camp (Leviticus 10:1-5).

"They were carried without the camp" signified that their worship was not from heaven, because not from love to the Lord; for "the camp of the sons of Israel" represented heaven and the (See Arcana Coelestia 4236, 10038).

[6] Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, with their company, were swallowed up by the earth, although they took fire from the altar and burnt incense, because "their murmuring against Moses and Aaron" signified the profanation of the good of celestial love; for "Moses" and "Aaron" represented the Lord and "to murmur" (that is, to rebel) against the Lord and at the same time to perform holy offices, is profanation; but as they took the fire from the altar, that fire was cast out, and their censers were made into a covering for the altar; respecting which it is thus written in Moses:

Moses said to them that they should take fire and put it into their censers which was also done; but they were swallowed up (Numbers 16).

But afterwards it was commanded:

That they should gather up the censers, and scatter the fire hitherwards; and of the censers, which were of brass, they should make broad plates, a covering to the altar, because they had been sanctified (Numbers 16:37-38).

The censers had been sanctified by the "fire of the altar," which signified Divine celestial love.

[7] Because spiritual good, which is the good of charity towards the neighbor, derives its essence and soul from celestial good, which is the good of love to the Lord, therefore also "frankincense," which signifies spiritual good, was put upon the "bread of faces," which signified celestial good; as can be seen from these words in Moses:

And frankincense shall be put upon the bread of faces which is upon the table in the tent of meeting, that the bread may be for a memorial (Leviticus 24:7).

"That the bread may be for a memorial" signifies that the Lord may receive and give heed; for all worship of the Lord which is truly worship comes from celestial good through spiritual good; for spiritual good, which is charity towards the neighbor, is an effect of celestial good, for charity towards the neighbor is the performance of uses, and living a moral life from a heavenly origin (respecting which see Heaven and Hell 390, 484, 529, 530-535; and The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 84-107), this, therefore, is spiritual good; while celestial good is looking to the Lord and acknowledging that every good and truth is from Him, and that from man, or from what is man's own, there is nothing but evil.

[8] That the incense was to be burned from no other fire than the fire of the altar of burnt-offering, which signified celestial good, which is the good of love to the Lord, is also evident from other passages, as in Moses:

When the congregation murmured against Moses and Aaron, and were attacked by the plague, then Aaron took fire from the altar, and put it in a censer, and placed incense on it, and he ran into the midst of them; and the plague was stayed (Numbers 16:41, 46-48, and also in Revelation 8:3-5).

[9] That "incense" and "frankincense" signify spiritual good, and "burning incense" worship acceptable because of that good, and therefore hearing and reception by the Lord, can be seen from the following.

In Isaiah:

A troop of camels shall cover thee, the dromedaries of Midian and of Ephah; all they from Sheba shall come; they shall bring gold and frankincense; and they shall proclaim the praises of Jehovah (Isaiah 60:6).

Here the Lord's coming is treated of; the "troop of camels" and the "dromedaries of Midian and Ephah" signify the knowledges of truth and good in abundance; "all they from Sheba shall come" signifies from the knowledges of genuine truth and good (that "Sheba" signified such knowledges, see Arcana Coelestia 1171, 3240); "gold and frankincense," which they shall bring, signify worship from spiritual good that is from celestial good; "gold" signifying celestial good, and "frankincense" spiritual good. Because worship from these is signified it is said, "and they shall proclaim the praises of Jehovah;" "proclaiming the praises of Jehovah" signifying the proclamation of good tidings respecting the Lord, and worship of Him.

[10] In Matthew:

The wise men from the east opened their treasures, and offered gifts to the newborn Lord, gold, frankincense, and myrrh (Matthew 2:11).

"The wise men from the east" also signified those who are in the knowledges of truth and good; the worship of such from celestial good, spiritual good, and natural good is signified by "they offered gold, frankincense, and myrrh;" for "gold" signifies celestial good, "frankincense" spiritual good, and "myrrh" natural good. That these had such a signification was still known to many in the east, therefore they were also called "sons of the east," by whom in the Word those who are in the knowledges of truth and good are meant (See Arcana Coelestia 3249, 3762), for the knowledge of correspondences had remained among them; therefore that they might testify their joy of heart they offered such things as signified every good from first to last; and this is what was predicted in Isaiah, that they "were to come from Sheba, and bring gold and frankincense, and proclaim the praises of Jehovah" (of which just above).

[11] In Malachi:

From the rising of the sun even unto its going down My name shall be great among the nations; and in every place incense shall be offered unto My name, and a clean meal offering (Malachi 1:11).

"From the rising of the sun even unto its going down My name shall be great among the nations" signifies that the church and worship of the Lord shall be everywhere with those who are in good; "from the rising of the sun to its going down" signifying every place where there is good; "My name shall be great" signifying the acknowledgment and worship of the Lord; and "nations" signifying those who are in good; "incense shall be offered unto My name, and a clean meal offering" signifies the worship of the Lord from spiritual good, which is the good of charity towards the neighbor, and from celestial good, which is the good of love to the Lord; worship from spiritual good is signified by "incense offering," and from celestial good by "meal offering." (That a "meal offering" signifies that good, see Arcana Coelestia 4581, 10079, 10137)

[12] "Incense" and "meal-offering" have a like signification in David:

Give ear unto my voice when I call unto Thee. Let my prayers be accepted as incense before Thee; the lifting up of my hands as the evening meal-offering (Psalms 141:1, 2).

And in Isaiah:

Thou hast brought to Me the small cattle of thy burnt-offerings, and thou hast not honored Me with thy sacrifices. I have not made thee to serve by a meal-offering, nor wearied thee by frankincense (Isaiah 43:23).

As all worship of the Lord comes from spiritual good that is from celestial good, therefore the two, "meal-offering" and "frankincense" are mentioned separately in the letter, yet in the internal or spiritual sense they are to be understood conjointly, but the one from the other.

[13] So in Jeremiah:

They shall come from the cities of Judah, and from the circuits of Jerusalem, bringing burnt-offering and sacrifice, and meal-offering and frankincense (Jeremiah 17:26).

Here "Judah" and "Jerusalem" do not mean Judah and Jerusalem, but the Lord's church, which is in the good of love and in the doctrine of charity therefrom; worship from these is signified by "burnt-offering and sacrifice," also by "meal-offering and frankincense."

[14] Because "meal-offering" signified the good of celestial love, and "frankincense" the good of spiritual love, upon the meal-offering of fine flour were put oil and frankincense, as appears in Moses:

When a soul would offer the offering of a meal-offering unto Jehovah, fine flour shall be his offering, upon which he shall pour oil, and shall put upon it frankincense; and the priest shall take out of it his handful of the fine flour and of the oil thereof, with all the frankincense thereof, and he shall burn it for a memorial upon the altar (Leviticus 2:1-2).

This meal-offering was instituted because "fine flour" signifies genuine truth (See Arcana Coelestia 9995); and since this truth is from good, namely, from celestial good, and from consequent spiritual good, "oil and frankincense" were put upon it; "oil" signifying the good of celestial love, and "frankincense" the good of spiritual love; in the internal sense, the one from the other. There were also other kinds of meal-offerings that were prepared with oil that had a like signification.

[15] In Ezekiel:

Thou hast taken the garments of thy embroidery, and hast covered the images of the male, with which thou didst commit whoredom; and didst set My oil and My incense before them (Ezekiel 16:18-19).

This is said of Jerusalem, which signifies the church in respect to doctrine, here doctrine altogether perverted. The "images of the male," which "she covered with the garments of her embroidery, and with which she committed whoredom," signify the falsities that they made, by perverse interpretations, to appear as truths, thus they signify falsified truths, "garments of embroidery" meaning the knowledges of truth from the Word, and "to commit whoredom" meaning to falsify; to set My oil and My incense before them" signifies to adulterate both the good of celestial love and the good of spiritual love; and these are adulterated when the Word is applied to the loves of self and of the world.

[16] In Moses:

They shall teach Jacob Thy judgments, and Israel Thy law; they shall put incense in Thy nostrils, and a burnt-offering upon Thine altar (Deuteronomy 33:10).

This is the prophecy of Moses respecting Levi, by whom the priesthood is signified, and because the priesthood was representative of the Lord in respect to the good of love, both celestial and spiritual, therefore it is said, "they shall put incense in Thy nostrils, and a burnt-offering upon Thine altar;" "incense" signifying worship from spiritual good, and "burnt offering upon the altar" worship from celestial good; "in the nostrils" signifying to the perception.

[17] In David:

I will go into Thy house with burnt-offerings; I will pay my vows unto Thee. I will offer unto Thee burnt-offerings of fatlings, rams with incense (Psalms 66:13, 15).

"To offer burnt-offerings of fatlings" signifies worship from the good of celestial love; "to offer rams with incense" signifies worship from the good of spiritual love; "incense" and "ram" signifying that good.

[18] In Revelation:

Another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he might offer it with the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar that was before the throne. And the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, went up out of the angel's hand before God. Afterwards the angel took the censer and filled it with the fire of the altar and cast it into the earth (Revelation 8:3-5).

What this means will be told in the explanation of these words in what follows; here it need merely be said that "incense" signifies worship from spiritual good, which is the good of charity toward the neighbor. Such worship is signified also by "the prayers of the saints;" it is therefore said "that there was given unto him much incense, that he might offer it with prayers of the saints;" and then that "the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, went up before God." That the "prayers of the saints" signify worship from spiritual good will be seen in the next paragraph, so also what is meant by worship from spiritual good, or from the good of charity.

[19] In Isaiah:

A people that provoke Me to anger continually before My faces; that sacrifice in gardens, and burn incense upon bricks (Isaiah 65:3).

Here "sacrificing" and "burning incense" have the contrary signification, namely, worship from the falsities of doctrine that are from self-intelligence; "gardens" signify intelligence, here self-intelligence, and "bricks" falsities therefrom; "to sacrifice" and "to burn incense" signify worship. (That the ancients held Divine worship in gardens and groves in accordance with the significations of the trees therein, but that this was forbidden among the Israelitish nation, lest they should frame to themselves a worship from the selfhood [ex proprio], see n. 2722, 4552)

[20] In Hosea:

They sacrifice upon the tops of the mountains, and burn incense upon the hills, under the oak, and the poplar, and the terebinth, because the shadow thereof is good, therefore your daughters commit whoredom, and your daughters-in-law commit adultery Hosea 4:13).

This describes worship from the love of self and from the love of the world, and from the falsities of doctrine therefrom; worship from the love of self is meant by "sacrificing upon the tops of the mountains;" worship from the love of the world, by "burning incense upon the hills;" and worship from the falsities of doctrine, by "sacrificing and burning incense under the oak, the poplar, and the terebinth;" the "top of the mountains" signifying celestial love, here the love of self; "hills" spiritual love, here, the love of the world; for the love of self is the contrary of celestial love, and the love of the world is the contrary of spiritual love; "the oak, the poplar, and the terebinth," signify the lowest goods of truth and truths of good of the natural man, here the evils of falsity and the falsities of its evil; "because the shadow thereof is good" signifies complacence; the falsifications of spiritual good therefrom are signified by "therefore your daughters commit whoredom," and the adulteration of celestial good by "your daughters-in-law commit adultery."

[21] In Jeremiah:

[According to] the number of thy cities were thy gods, O Judah; and according to the number [of the streets] of Jerusalem have ye set up altars, altars to burn incense unto Baal (Jeremiah 11:13, 17).

"Cities" here do not mean cities, nor "gods" gods, nor the "streets of Jerusalem" streets there; but "cities" signify the doctrinals of falsity; "gods" the falsities themselves; and the streets of Jerusalem the falsities of the doctrine of the church. "To set up altars, altars to burn incense unto Baal," signifies worship from the love of self and from the love of the world (as above). This nation did set up altars and burn incense to Baal; but as all things of their worship were representative, the things that were done according to the statutes were representative of things celestial and spiritual; consequently the things that were done contrary to the statutes were representative of things infernal; therefore by "altars set up to the gods," and by "incense offered to Baal," these contrary things are signified.

[22] In the same:

I will speak with them judgments upon all their evil, in that they have forsaken Me and have burned incense to other gods, and have bowed themselves down to the works of their own hands (Jeremiah 1:16).

"To burn incense to other gods," and "to bow themselves down to the works of their own hands," signifies worship from the falsities that are from self-intelligence; "other gods" meaning falsities, and the "works of their own hands" what is from self-intelligence.

[23] The like is signified by:

Burning incense to gods (Jeremiah 11:12; 44:3, 5, 8, 15, 18);

Likewise burning incense to graven images (Hosea 11:2);

And burning incense to vanity (Jeremiah 18:15);

The like as above is signified by burning incense to Baal (Jeremiah 7:9; Hosea 2:13);

Likewise by burning incense to Melecheth, or the queen of the heavens (Jeremiah 44:17-19, 21, 25).

"Melecheth of the heavens" signifies falsities in the whole complex.

[24] Moreover, "burning incense" signifies those things of worship that are perceived as grateful, and "incense" signifies spiritual good, because all things that were instituted in the Israelitish nation were representative of things celestial and spiritual; for the church with them was not as the church at this day, which is internal, but it was external; and the externals represented and thus signified the internal things of the church, such as were disclosed by the Lord in the Word of the New Testament; for this reason their church was called a representative church. The externals of that church consisted of such things in the world of nature as corresponded to the affections of good and truth in the spiritual world; consequently when those who were of that church were in externals in respect to worship, those who were in the spiritual world, that is, in heaven, were in the internals, and conjoined themselves with those who were in externals; it was in this way that heaven at that time made one with the men on the earth.

[25] From this it can be seen why there was a table for the bread in the tent of meeting, and why there was a lampstand with lamps, and an altar for incense. For "bread" represented and thence signified the good of love proceeding from the Lord, or celestial good; the "lampstand with lamps" represented and thence signified spiritual good and truth; and "incense" represented and thence signified worship; and because all Divine worship that is perceived as grateful is from spiritual good, therefore that good was signified by "incense." In order that this gratification might be represented the incense was made from fragrant spices, and this also from correspondence; for fragrant odors correspond to the pleasantnesses and delights that are in the thoughts and perceptions from the joy of spiritual love. For this reason incense corresponded to such things as are received as grateful by the Lord and perceived as grateful by angels. This gratification is solely from spiritual good, or from the good of charity towards the neighbor; for this good is celestial good, which is the good of love to the Lord in effect; for celestial good, which is the good of love to the Lord, is brought into effect solely through spiritual good, which is the good of charity toward the neighbor; consequently to be in this good and to exercise it is to love and worship the Lord. (What charity toward the neighbor is, and what it is to exercise it, see in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 84-107.)

[26] As the "oil" by which anointings were made signified celestial good or the good of love to the Lord, and "incense" signified spiritual good, or the good of charity towards the neighbor, and as the latter is from the former (as was said above), therefore in Exodus (chapter 30) the preparation of the anointing oil is first treated of, and immediately afterwards the preparation of the incense; the preparation of the anointing oil from verse 23 to 33, and the preparation of the incense from verse 34 to 38. And as the incense-offering is here treated of I will quote what is there commanded regarding the preparation of incense, namely:

Take unto thee fragrant spices, stacte, onycha, and galbanum; fragrant spices and pure frankincense, like quantity with like quantity shall it be. And thou shalt make it an incense, a perfume the work of the perfumer, salted, pure, holy; and thou shalt beat some of it very small, and put of it before the Testimony of the Tent of meeting, where I will meet thee; it shall be unto you the holy of holies. And the incense that thou makest ye shall not make in its quality for yourselves; it shall be unto thee holy to Jehovah. The man who shall make like unto it to smell thereof shall be cut off from his peoples (Exodus 30:34-38).

(But what these particulars signify, see Arcana Coelestia 10289-10310, where they are explained consecutively.) Here it may be said merely that frankincense was the primary ingredient, and the other three were added for the sake of their odor; therefore it is said of the frankincense, that "a like quantity with a like quantity it shall be," or as much of one as of the other; in like manner as with the anointing oil, in which the oil of the olive was the primary ingredient, and the other things in it were significative (Exodus 30:23-33). From this it is clear why frankincense has the same signification as incense when compounded, namely spiritual good.

[27] As the fragrances pertaining to odor correspond to spiritual pleasantnesses, or to the pleasantnesses arising from spiritual good, so also what is received by the Lord as most grateful is called an:

Odor of rest (Exodus 29:18, 25, 41; Leviticus 1:9, 13, 17; 2:2, 9, 12; 3:5; 4:31; 6:15, 21; 8:28; 23:8, 13, 18; Numbers 15:3; 28:6, 8, 13; 29:2, 6, 8, 13, 36).

In Ezekiel:

By the odor of rest I will be pleased with you (Ezekiel 20:41).

In Moses:

If ye will not walk in My precepts, but will go contrary to Me, I will not smell the odor of your rest (Leviticus 26:27, 31).

And in Hosea:

His branches shall spread, and he shall be as the honor of the olive, and his odor as that of Lebanon (Hosea 14:6).

This is said of Israel; "the honor of the olive" signifies celestial good, and "the odor of Lebanon" spiritual good, from its gratefulness. (That "honor" is predicated of celestial good, see above, n. 288; that the "olive" also signifies that good, see Arcana Coelestia 9277, 10261; that "odor" signifies what is perceived as grateful according to the quality of love and faith, n. 1514-1519, 3577, 4624-4634, 4748, 5621, 10292; that the "odor of rest" signifies the perceptive of peace, n. 925, 10054; what this is see in the work on Heaven and Hell 284-290.)