9372. And He said unto Moses. That this signifies that which concerns the Word in general, is evident from the representation of Moses, as being the Word (of which below); and from the signification of “He said,” as involving those things which follow in this chapter, thus those which concern the Word (see n. 9370). (That Moses represents the Word, can be seen from what has been often shown before about Moses, as from the preface to Genesis 18; and n. 4859, 5922, 6723, 6752, 6771, 6827, 7010, 7014, 7089, 7382, 8601, 8760, 8787, 8805.) Here Moses represents the Word in general, because it is said of him in what follows, that he alone should come near unto Jehovah (verse 2); and also that, being called unto out of the midst of the cloud, he entered into it, and went up the mount (verses 16-18).

[2] In the Word there are many who represent the Lord in respect to truth Divine, or in respect to the Word; but chief among them are Moses, Elijah, Elisha, and John the Baptist. That Moses does so, can be seen in the explications just cited above; that so do Elijah and Elisha, can be seen in the preface to Genesis 18; and n. 2762, 5247; and that John the Baptist does so is evident from the fact that he was “Elias who was to come.” He who does not know that John the Baptist represented the Lord as to the Word, cannot know what all those things infold and signify which are said about him in the New Testament; and therefore in order that this secret may stand open, and that at the same time it may appear that Elias, and also Moses, who were seen when the Lord was transfigured, signified the Word, some things may here be quoted which are spoken about John the Baptist; as in Matthew:

After the messengers of John had departed, Jesus began to speak concerning John, saying, What went ye out into the wilderness to see? a reed shaken by the wind? But what went ye out to see? a man clothed in soft raiment? Behold, they that wear soft things are in kings’ houses. But what went ye out to see? a prophet? Yea, I say unto you, even more than a prophet. This is he of whom it is written, Behold I send Mine angel before Thy face, who shall prepare Thy way before Thee. Verily I say unto you, Among those who are born of women there hath not arisen a greater than John the Baptist; nevertheless he that is less in the kingdom of the heavens is greater than he. All the prophets and the law prophesied until John. And if ye are willing to believe, he is Elias who was to come. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear (Matthew 11:7-15; and also Luke 7:24-28).

No one can know how these things are to be understood, unless he knows that this John represented the Lord as to the Word, and unless he also knows from the internal sense what is signified by “the wilderness” in which he was, also what by “a reed shaken by the wind,” and likewise by “soft raiment in kings’ houses;” and further what is signified by his being “more than a prophet,” and by “none among those who are born of women being greater than he, and nevertheless he that is less in the kingdom of the heavens is greater than he,” and lastly by his being “Elias.” For without a deeper sense, all these words are uttered merely from some comparison, and not from anything of weight.

[3] But it is very different when by John is understood the Lord as to the Word, or the Word representatively. Then by “the wilderness of Judea in which John was” is signified the state in which the Word was at the time when the Lord came into the world, namely, that it was “in the wilderness,” that is, it was in obscurity so great that the Lord was not at all acknowledged, neither was anything known about His heavenly kingdom; when yet all the prophets prophesied about Him, and about His kingdom, that it was to endure forever. (That “a wilderness” denotes such obscurity, see n. 2708, 4736, 7313.) For this reason the Word is compared to “a reed shaken by the wind” when it is explained at pleasure; for in the internal sense “a reed” denotes truth in the ultimate, such as is the Word in the letter.

[4] That the Word in the ultimate, or in the letter, is crude and obscure in the sight of men; but that in the internal sense it is soft and shining, is signified by their “not seeing a man clothed in soft raiment, for behold those who wear soft things are in kings’ houses.” That such things are signified by these words, is plain from the signification of “raiment,” or “garments,” as being truths (n. 2132, 2576, 4545, 4763, 5248, 6914, 6918, 9093); and for this reason the angels appear clothed in garments soft and shining according to the truths from good with them (n. 5248, 5319, 5954, 9212, 9216). The same is evident from the signification of “kings’ houses,” as being the abodes of the angels, and in the universal sense, the heavens; for “houses” are so called from good (n. 2233, 2234, 3128, 3652, 3720, 4622, 4982, 7836, 7891, 7996, 7997); and “kings,” from truth (n. 1672, 2015, 2069, 3009, 4575, 4581, 4966, 5044, 6148). Therefore by virtue of their reception of truth from the Lord, the angels are called “sons of the kingdom,” “sons of the king,” and also “kings.”

[5] That the Word is more than any doctrine in the world, and more than any truth in the world, is signified by “what went ye out to see? a prophet? Yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet;” and by, “there hath not arisen among those who are born of women a greater than John the Baptist;” for in the internal sense “a prophet” denotes doctrine (n. 2534, 7269); and “those who are born,” or are the sons, “of women” denote truths (n. 489, 491, 533, 1147, 2623, 2803, 2813, 3704, 4257).

[6] That in the internal sense, or such as it is in heaven, the Word is in a degree above the Word in the external sense, or such as it is in the world, and such as John the Baptist taught, is signified by, “he that is less in the kingdom of the heavens is greater than he;” for as perceived in heaven the Word is of wisdom so great that it transcends all human apprehension. That the prophecies about the Lord and His coming, and that the representatives of the Lord and of His kingdom, ceased when the Lord came into the world, is signified by, “all the prophets and the law prophesied until John.” That the Word was represented by John, as by Elijah, is signified by his being “Elias who is to come.”

[7] The same is signified by these words in Matthew:

The disciples asked Jesus, Why say the scribes that Elias must first come? He answered and said, Elias must needs first come, and restore all things. But I say unto you, that Elias hath come already, and they knew him not, but did unto him whatsoever they wished. Even so shall the Son of man also suffer of them. And they understood that He spoke to them of John the Baptist (Matthew 17:10-13).

That “Elias hath come, and they knew him not, but did unto him whatsoever they wished” signifies that the Word has indeed taught them that the Lord is to come, but that still they did not wish to comprehend, interpreting it in favor of the rule of self, and thus extinguishing what is Divine in it. That they would do the same with the truth Divine itself, is signified by “even so shall the Son of man also suffer of them.” (That “the Son of man” denotes the Lord as to truth Divine, see n. 2803, 2813, 3704)

[8] From all this it is now evident what is meant by the prophecy about John in Malachi:

Behold I send you Elijah the prophet before the great and terrible day of Jehovah cometh (Malachi 4:5).

Moreover, the Word in the ultimate, or such as it is in the external form in which it appears before man in the world, is described by the “clothing” and “food” of John the Baptist, in Matthew:

John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, had His clothing of camel’s hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his food was locusts and wild honey (Matthew 3:1, 4).

In like manner it is described by Elijah in the second book of Kings:

He was a hairy man, and girt with a girdle of leather about his loins (2 Kings 1:8).

By “clothing,” or a “garment,” when said of the Word, is signified truth Divine there in the ultimate form; by “camel’s hair” are signified memory-truths such as appear there before a man in the world; by the “leathern girdle” is signified the external bond connecting and keeping in order all the interior things; by “food” is signified spiritual nourishment from the knowledges of truth and of good out of the Word; by “locusts” are signified ultimate or most general truths; and by “wild honey” their pleasantness.

[9] That such things are signified by “clothing” and “food” has its origin in the representatives of the other life, where all appear clothed according to truths from good, and where food also is represented according to the desires of acquiring knowledge and growing wise. From this it is that “clothing,” or a “garment,” denotes truth (as may be seen from the citations above; and that “food” or “meat” denotes spiritual nourishment, n. 3114, 4459, 4792, 5147, 5293, 5340, 5342, 5576, 5579, 5915, 8562, 9003; that “a girdle” denotes a bond which gathers up and holds together interior things, n. 9341; that “leather” denotes what is external, n. 3540; and thus “a leathern girdle” denotes an external bond; that “hairs” denote ultimate or most general truths, n. 3301, 5569-5573; that “a camel” denotes memory-knowledge in general, n. 3048, 3071, 3143, 3145, 4156; that “a locust” denotes nourishing truth in the extremes, n. 7643; and that “honey” denotes the pleasantness thereof, n. 5620, 6857, 8056). It is called “wild honey,” or “honey of the field,” because by “a field” is signified the church (n. 2971, 3317, 3766, 7502, 7571, 9139, 9295). He who does not know that such things are signified, cannot possibly know why Elijah and John were so clothed. And yet that these things signified something peculiar to these prophets, can be thought by everyone who thinks well about the Word.

[10] Because John the Baptist represented the Lord as to the Word, therefore also when he spoke of the Lord, who was the Word itself, he said of himself that he was “not Elias, nor the prophet,” and that he was “not worthy to loose the latchet of the Lord’s shoe,” as in John:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and God was the Word. And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory. The Jews from Jerusalem, priests and Levites, asked John who he was. And he confessed, and denied not, I am not the Christ. Therefore they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias? But he said, I am not. Art thou the prophet? He answered, No. They said therefore unto him, Who art thou? He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said Isaiah the prophet. They said therefore, Why then baptizest thou, if thou art not the Christ, nor Elias, nor the prophet? He answered, I baptize with water; in the midst of you standeth one whom ye know not; He it is who is to come after me, who was before me, the latchet of whose shoe I am not worthy to unloose. When he saw Jesus, he said, Behold the Lamb of God, who taketh away the sin of the world! This is He of whom I said, After me cometh a man who was before me; for he was before me (John 1:1, 14, 19-30).

From these words it is plain that when John spoke about the Lord Himself, who was Truth Divine itself, or the Word, he said that he himself was not anything, because the shadow disappears when the light itself appears, that is, the representative disappears when the original itself makes its appearance. (That the representatives had in view holy things, and the Lord Himself, and not at all the person that represented, see n. 665, 1097, 1361, 3147, 3881, 4208, 4281, 4288, 4292, 4307, 4444, 4500, 6304, 7048, 7439, 8588, 8788, 8806.) One who does not know that representatives vanish like shadows at the presence of light, cannot know why John denied that he was Elias and the prophet.

[11] From all this it can now be seen what is signified by Moses and Elias, who were seen in glory, and who spoke with the Lord when transfigured, of His departure which He should accomplish at Jerusalem (Luke 9:29-31); namely, that they signified the Word (“Moses” the historic Word, and “Elias” the prophetic Word), which in the internal sense throughout treats of the Lord, of His coming into the world, and of His departure out of the world; and therefore it is said that “Moses and Elias were seen in glory,” for “glory” denotes the internal sense of the Word, and the “cloud” its external sense (see the preface to Genesis 18, and n. 5922, 8427).

392. The souls of them that were slain for the Word of God, and for the testimony which they held. That this signifies those who were rejected and hidden on account of the Divine truth, and their confession of the Lord, is plain from the signification of the slain, as denoting such as are rejected by the evil, and concealed by the Lord, of whom we shall treat presently; and from the signification of the Word of God, as denoting the Divine truth. What the Lord speaks is called the Word of God, and this is Divine truth. The Word or Sacred Scripture is nothing else; for all Divine truth is contained therein, but the truth itself does not there appear in its glory except before the angels, because the interior things of the Word, which are spiritual and celestial, come within their perception, and also constitute their wisdom. Therefore by the Word of God, in the genuine sense, is signified Divine truth, and in the highest sense, the Lord Himself, who spoke it, for He spoke from Himself, or from His Divine, and what proceeds from Him is also Himself.

[2] That the Divine proceeding is Himself, may be illustrated by this circumstance. Around every angel there is a sphere called the sphere of his life; this puts itself forth to a great distance from him. This sphere flows out, or proceeds from the life of his affection or love, therefore it is an extension of the life, such as it is in him, outside of him. This extension is effected in the middle atmosphere or spiritual aura, which is the aura of heaven. By that sphere an angel is perceived at a distance by others according to the quality of his affection; this it has also been granted me sometimes to perceive. But about the Lord there is a Divine sphere, which near Him appears as a Sun, which is His Divine love, from which that sphere proceeds into the whole heaven and fills it, and constitutes the light there; this sphere is the Divine proceeding from the Lord, which in its essence is Divine truth. A comparison is here made with the angels for the sake of illustration, in order that it may be known that the Divine proceeding from the Lord is the Lord Himself, because it is the proceeding of His love, and the proceeding is Himself outside of Himself; and from the signification of testimony, as denoting confession of the Lord, and the Lord Himself, of which we shall speak presently.

[3] That by the slain are here meant those who were rejected by wicked spirits, and concealed by the Lord, or removed from the eyes of others, and reserved to the day of the Last Judgment, is evident from what was said in the article above, and also from what follows in the two verses that treat solely of them. In the article above it was observed, that the former heaven which passed away, consisted of those who lived morally in externals, but yet were not spiritual, but merely natural, or who lived as it were a spiritual life, only from the affection or love of fame, honour, glory, and gain, thus for the sake of appearance. These, although they were inwardly evil, were still tolerated, and constituted societies in the higher places in the spiritual world; these societies, taken together, were called heaven, but the former heaven which afterwards passed away. Hence it came to pass, that all those who were spiritual, that is, who were not only outwardly but also inwardly good, could not be together with such, but withdrew from them, either of their own accord or from compulsion, and were subjected, where found, to persecutions; therefore they were concealed by the Lord, and reserved in their places to the day of Judgment, in order that they might constitute a new heaven; these, therefore, are those who are meant by the souls of the slain seen under the altar. Hence it is evident that by the slain are signified those who were rejected and hidden, for they were hated by the others on account of Divine truth and the confession of the Lord; and those who are hated are called the slain, for to hate is spiritually to kill. That they are meant by the souls of the slain, is evident also from what follows in the two verses where it is thus said concerning them:

"And they cried with a great voice, saying, How long, O Lord, who art holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? And white robes were given unto every one; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet a little time, until both their fellow-servants and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled."

That those here spoken of are meant by the slain, no one can know except he to whom it has been revealed; for who, except from revelation, could know of whom the former heaven, mentioned in theApocalypse 21:1, consisted, and of whom the new heaven was formed; and that those of whom the new heaven was to be formed, were in the meantime concealed and reserved by the Lord? And unless these things had been revealed to some one, all the things contained in the Apocalypse in the internal sense must have remained hidden, because they principally treat of such things as were to take place in the spiritual world before the Last Judgment, also of those things that occurred during it, and after it.

[4] That by testimony is signified confession of the Lord, and the Lord Himself, is evident from the passages in the Word which follow. This signification thus derives its origin because the Word, in all things in general and particular, testifies concerning the Lord; for, in its inmost sense, it treats of the Lord alone, and in the internal sense, of the celestial and spiritual things that proceed from the Lord, and in the particular sense the Lord testifies concerning Himself with every one who is in the life of love and charity. For the Lord flows into the heart and life of such, and teaches them, especially concerning His Divine Human, for He gives to those who are in a life of love, to think of God under a human form, and God under a human form is the Lord. Thus do the simple think in the Christian world; and thus also do the Gentiles think, who live in charity according to their religious persuasion. Both of these are astonished when they hear the learned speak of God as not to be perceived under any human form, knowing that, in such case, they would see no God in their thought, and hence that they would have but little faith in the existence of a God, because the faith which is a faith of charity desires to comprehend in some way what is believed, for faith pertains to the thought, and to think what is incomprehensible is not to think, but only to know and thence to speak without any idea. The angels, even the wisest, do not think of God except as in the human form. To think otherwise is impossible to them, because their perceptions flow according to the form of heaven, which is the human form from the Lord's Divine Human (on which subject see the work concerning Heaven and Hell 59-86); also because the affections from which their thoughts come are from influx, and influx is from the Lord. These observations are made, in order that it may be known why it is that testimony signifies the Lord, namely, because the Lord testifies concerning Himself with all who receive His testification, and they are such as live a life of love to the Lord, and a life of charity towards the neighbour. The reason why these receive the testification and confess Him, is, that the life of love and charity opens the interior mind by the influx of light from heaven; for the life of love and charity is the Divine Life itself, for the Lord loves every one, and does good to every one from love; therefore, where that life is received, there the Lord is present, and is conjoined to him, consequently, He flows into his higher mind, which is called the spiritual mind, and by light from Himself opens it.

[5] That testimony signifies the Lord, and with man confession of the Lord from the heart, and specifically the acknowledgment of the Lord's Divine in His Human, is evident from this fact, that the law which was prescribed on Mount Sinai, and written upon two tables, and afterwards deposited in the ark, is called the Testimony; whence the ark also was called the ark of the testimony, and the tables also were called the tables of the testimony. And because this was most holy, therefore, the mercy-seat was placed over the ark, and over the mercy-seat were sculptured two cherubim, between which Jehovah, that is, the Lord, spoke with Moses and Aaron. Hence it is clear that the testimony signifies the Lord Himself; otherwise the mercy-seat would not have been placed over the ark, nor would the Lord have spoken with Moses and Aaron between the cherubim which was over the mercy-seat. When Aaron also entered within the veil, which he did once every year, he was first sanctified, and afterwards he burnt incense till the smoke of it covered the mercy-seat, which unless he had done, it is said that he would have died. From these things it plainly appears, that the testimony which was in the ark, and which was the law promulgated on Mount Sinai, and written on two tables of stone, signified the Lord Himself.

[6] That that law is called the testimony, is plain in Moses:

"Thou shalt put into the ark the testimony which I shall give thee" (Exodus 25:16).

"He put the testimony into the ark" (Exodus 40:20).

"The mercy-seat that is upon the testimony" (Leviticus 16:13).

"Leave the rods of the tribes before the testimony" (Num. 17:4).

That the tables and the ark were thence called the tables and the ark "of the testimony" (Exodus 25:22; 31:7, 18; 32:15). That the mercy-seat was placed over it, and over the mercy-seat two sculptured cherubim (Exodus 25:17-23; 26:34). That the Lord spoke with Moses and with Aaron between the two cherubim (Exodus 25:16, 21, 22; Numbers 17:4, and elsewhere). That they sanctified themselves before they entered thither, and that the smoke of the incense covered the mercy-seat lest they should die (Leviticus 16).

[7] That the testimony signifies the Lord, is also plain from this fact, that what was over the ark was called the mercy-seat; and the Lord is the Propitiator. The ark also, from the testimony in it, was the Holy of Holies, both in the tabernacle and in the temple, and hence the tabernacle was holy, and also the temple. The tabernacle and also the temple, represented heaven, and heaven is heaven from the Lord's Divine Human; whence it follows that by the testimony is signified the Lord as to His Divine Human. (That the tent of assembly represented heaven, may be seen, n. 9457, 9481, 9485, 10545. That the temple signified the same, may be seen above, n. 220; and that heaven is heaven from the Lord's Divine Human, in the work concerning Heaven and Hell 59-86.) The reason why the law promulgated from mount Sinai is called the testimony, is because that law, in a broad sense, signifies the whole Word, both historical and prophetical; and the Word is the Lord, according to these words in John:

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God; and the Word was made flesh" (1:1, 14).

The reason why the Word is the Lord is, that the Word signifies Divine truth, and all Divine truth proceeds from the Lord, for it is the light which in heaven enlightens the minds of the angels and also the minds of men, and gives them wisdom; this light in its essence is the Divine truth proceeding from the Lord as a Sun concerning which light see the work on Heaven and Hell 126-140). Hence it is that, after it is said that the Word was with God, and the Word was God, it is also said in John:

"In him was life; and the life was the light of men. That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world" (verses 4, 9, in that chapter).

[8] From these things it is also evident that the Lord is meant by the testimony; for the law written on two tables, which was called the testimony, signifies the Word in its whole extent, and the Lord is the Word. That the law, in a broad sense, signifies the Word in its whole extent, in a sense less broad the historical Word, and in a strict sense the ten precepts of the Decalogue, may be seen, n. 6762. This law was also called a covenant, and hence the tables on which it was written, were called the tables of the covenant, and the ark also was called the ark of the covenant (see Exodus 34:28; Num. 14:44; Deuteronomy 9:9, 15; Apoc. 11:19, and elsewhere); the reason of this was, that a covenant signifies conjunction, and the Word, or the Divine truth, is that which conjoins man with the Lord, otherwise no conjunction is possible. That a covenant signifies conjunction, may be seen, n. 665, 666, 1023, 1038, 1864, 1996, 2003, 2021, 6864, 8767, 8778, 9396, 10632. The reason why that law is called both a covenant and a testimony, is, because when it is called a covenant, the Word is meant, by means of which there is conjunction; and when it is called a testimony, the Lord Himself who conjoins is meant; also on the part of man, confession of the Lord, and acknowledgment of His Divine in His Human, which conjoin. From these things it can be seen why it is that, in the church, the Word is called a covenant; the Word which was before the Lord's Advent, the old covenant, and that which was after His Advent, the new covenant; it is called also the Old and New Testament, but it should be called Testimony.

[9] That by testimony is signified the Lord, and, on the part of man, confession of the Lord, and acknowledgment of His Divine in His Human, is plain also from these passages in the Word. In the Apocalypse:

"They overcame" the dragon "by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of the testimony. And the wrathful dragon went to make war with the remnant of her seed, who keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ" (12:11, 17).

And elsewhere:

"I am thy fellow-servant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus. The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy" (19:10).

By the testimony of Jesus being the spirit of prophecy is signified, that confession of the Lord, and the acknowledgment of His Divine in His Human, are the life of all truth, both in the Word, and in doctrine from the Word.

[10] And in another place:

"The souls of them that were slain with the axe for the testimony of Jesus, and for the word of God, have not received the mark upon their forehead and upon their hand" (20:4).

But this will be explained in what follows.

In David:

"Jerusalem is builded as a city that is compact together: and thither the tribes go up, the tribes of Jah, unto the testimony of Israel, to confess the name of Jehovah. For there the thrones for judgment are set" (Psalms 122:3-5).

By Jerusalem is signified the church as to doctrine, which is called builded, when established by the Lord; "as a city that is compact together," signifies doctrine in which all things are in order, a city denoting doctrine. Thither the tribes go up, the tribes of Jah, signifies that therein are all truths and goods in the aggregate. Unto the testimony of Israel, to confess the name of Jehovah, signifies confession and acknowledgment of the Lord there; for there the thrones for judgment are set, signifies that there is Divine truth according to which judgment is executed. That thrones signify this, see above, n. 253.

[11] In the same:

"Jehovah hath set up a testimony in Jacob, and a law in Israel" (Psalms 78:5).

By Jacob and Israel is signified the church; by Jacob the external church, and by Israel the internal church; and by the testimony and the law is signified the Word; by the testimony that which therein teaches the goods of life; and by the law that which therein teaches the truths of doctrine. Because those who are in the external church are in the good of life according to the truths of doctrine, and those who are in the internal church are in the truths of doctrine according to which the life [is formed], therefore, the testimony is said of Jacob; and the law, of Israel.

[12] In the same:

"If thy sons will keep my covenant, and the testimony that I shall teach them, thy sons shall also sit upon thy throne for evermore" (Psalms 132:12).

These things are said of David, but by David is there meant the Lord; by his sons are meant those who do the Lord's precepts; of them it is said: "If thy sons will keep my covenant" and My testimony; by covenant the same is meant as above by the law, namely, the truth of doctrine; and by testimony the same as above by testimony, namely, the good of life according to the truths of doctrine. Similar things are signified by covenant and testimonies in David (Psalms 25:10).

[13] Testimonies are mentioned in many passages in the Word and at the same time the law, precepts, commandments, statutes, and judgments; and by testimonies and commandments are there signified those things that teach life; by the law and precepts, those that teach doctrine; by statutes and judgments, those that teach rituals; as in the following passages in David:

"The law of Jehovah is perfect, recreating the soul; the testimony of Jehovah is sure, making wise the simple; the commandments of Jehovah are right, rejoicing the heart; the precept of Jehovah is pure, enlightening the eyes; the judgments of Jehovah are the truth, they are altogether just" (Psalms 14:7-9).

And in the same:

"Blessed are the sincere in the way, who walk in the law of Jehovah. Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, and that seek him with the whole heart. Thou hast taught thy commandments to be strictly kept. O that my ways were directed to keep thy statutes! Then shall I not be ashamed, when I have respect unto all thy precepts. I will confess to thee with uprightness of heart, when I shall have learned the judgments of thy justice" (119:1-7; similarly in verses 12-15, 88, 89, 151-156; and elsewhere).

2588. Abraham’s wife. That this signifies in order that spiritual truth might be conjoined with celestial good, is evident from the representation of Sarah as a wife, as being spiritual truth conjoined with celestial good (see n. 1468, 1901, 2063, 2065, 2172, 2173, 2198, 2507); and from the representation of Abraham, as being celestial good conjoined with spiritual truth (see n. 2011, 2172, 2198, 2501). Whether we say “spiritual truth and celestial good,” or “the Lord,” it is the same; because the Lord is truth itself and good itself, and is the very marriage itself of truth and good, and of good and truth. How the case herein is can indeed be seen from the explication; but as these matters are among those which are obscure at this day, we may so far as possible illustrate them. The subject here treated of is the doctrine of faith, concerning which the Lord thought in His childhood, namely, whether it was allowable to enter into it by means of rational things, and thus form for one’s self ideas concerning it. His so thinking came from His love and consideration for the human race, who are such as not to believe what they do not comprehend in a rational manner. But He perceived from the Divine that this ought not to be done; and He therefore revealed the doctrine to Himself from the Divine, and thereby at the same time all things in the universe that are subordinate, namely, all things of the rational and of the natural.

[2] How the case is with the doctrinal things of faith among men has been stated above (n. 2568), namely, that there are two principles from which they think, a negative and an affirmative; and that those think from the negative principle, who believe nothing unless they are convinced by what is of reason and memory-knowledge; nay, by what is of sense; but those think from the affirmative who believe that things are true because the Lord has said so in the Word, thus who have faith in the Lord. They who are in the negative in regard to a thing being true because it is in the Word, say at heart that they will believe when they are persuaded by things rational and memory-knowledges. But the fact is that they never believe; and indeed they would not believe if they were to be convinced by the bodily senses of sight, hearing, and touch; for they would always form new reasonings against such things, and would thus end by completely extinguishing all faith, and at the same time turning the light of the rational into darkness, because into falsities. But those who are in the affirmative, that is, who believe that things are true because the Lord has said so, are continually being confirmed, and their ideas enlightened and strengthened, by what is of reason and memory-knowledge, and even by what is of sense; for man has light from no other source than by means of the things of reason and memory, and such is the way with everyone. With these the doctrine thus “living lives;” and of them it is said, that they “are healed,” and “bring forth;” whereas with those who are in the negative the doctrine “dying dies;” and it is said of them that “the womb closing is closed.” All this shows what it is to enter into the doctrine of faith by means of rational things, and what to enter into rational things by means of the doctrine of faith; but let this be illustrated by examples.

[3] It is from the doctrine of the Word, that the first and principal thing of doctrine is love to the Lord and charity toward the neighbor. They who are in the affirmative in regard to this can enter into whatever things of reason and of memory, and even of sense, they please, everyone according to his gift, his knowledge, and his experience. Nay, the more they enter in, the more they are confirmed; for universal nature is full of confirmation. But they who deny this first and principal thing of doctrine, and who desire to be first convinced of anything true by means of the things of reason and memory, never suffer themselves to be convinced, because at heart they deny, and all the time take their stand in favor of some other principle which they believe to be essential; and finally, by confirmations of their principle they so blind themselves that they cannot even know what love to the Lord and love to the neighbor are. And as they confirm themselves in what is contrary, they at length confirm themselves in the notion that no other love is possible that has any delight in it except the love of self and of the world; and this to such a degree (if not in doctrine, yet in life) that they embrace infernal love in place of heavenly love. But with those who are not in the negative nor as yet in the affirmative, but are in doubt before they deny or affirm, the case is as above stated (n. 2568), namely that they who incline to a life of evil fall into the negative, but they who incline to a life of good are brought into the affirmative.

[4] Take another example: It is among the primary things of the doctrine of faith that all good is from the Lord, and all evil from man, that is, from one’s self. They who are in the affirmative that it is so, can confirm themselves by many things of reason and of memory-knowledge, such as that no good can possibly flow in except from good itself, that is, from the Fountain of Good, thus from the Lord; and that the beginning or principle of good can be from no other source; finding illustration in all things that are truly good, in themselves, in others, in the community, and also in the created universe. But they who are in the negative confirm themselves in what is contrary by everything they think of, insomuch that at last they do not know what good is; and dispute among themselves as to what is the highest good, being deeply ignorant of the fact that it is the celestial and spiritual good from the Lord, by which all lower good is made alive, and that the delight therefrom is truly delight. Some also think that unless good is from themselves, it cannot possibly come from any other source.

[5] Take as another example the truth that they who are in love to the Lord and charity toward the neighbor can receive the truths of doctrine and have faith in the Word, but not they who are in the life of the love of self and the world; or what is the same, that they who are in good can believe, but not they who are in evil. They who are in the affirmative can confirm this by numberless things of reason and memory. From reason they can confirm it on the ground that truth and good agree, but not truth and evil; and that as all falsity is in evil, so it is from evil; and that if any who are in evil nevertheless have truth, it is on the lips, and not in the heart; and from their memory-knowledge they can confirm by many things that truths shun evils, and that evils spew out truths. But they who are in the negative confirm themselves by alleging that everyone, of whatever character, is able to believe just as well as others, even though he lives in continual hatred, in the delights of revenge, and in deceit; and this even while they themselves altogether reject from their doctrine the good of life, after the rejection of which they do not believe anything.

[6] That it may be still more manifest how the case herein is, let us take this example: They who are in the affirmative that the Word has been so written as to possess an internal sense which does not appear in the letter, can confirm themselves therein by many rational considerations; as that by the Word man has connection with heaven; that there are correspondences of natural things with spiritual, in which the spiritual are not seen; that the ideas of interior thought are altogether different from the material ideas which fall into the words of language; that man, being born for both lives, can, while in the world, be also in heaven, by means of the Word which is for both worlds; that with some persons a certain Divine light flows into the things of the understanding, and also into the affections, when the Word is read; that it is of necessity that there should be something written that has come down from heaven, and that therefore the Word cannot be such in its origin as it is in the letter; and that it can be holy only from a certain holiness that it has within it. He can also confirm himself by means of memory-knowledges; as that men were formerly in representatives, and that the writings of the Ancient Church were of this nature; also that the writings of many among the Gentiles had this origin; and that it is on this account that in the churches such a style has been revered as holy, and among the Gentiles as learned, as examples of which the books of many authors might be mentioned. But they who are in the negative, if they do not deny all these things, still do not believe them, and persuade themselves that the Word is such as it is in the letter, appearing indeed worldly, while yet being spiritual (as to where the spiritual is hidden within it they care little, but for manifold reasons are willing to let it be so), and this they can confirm by many things.

[7] In order to present the subject to the apprehension of the simple, take as an example the following matter of knowledge. They who are in the affirmative that sight is not of the eye, but of the spirit, which sees the things that are in the world through the eye as an organ of its body, can confirm themselves by many things; as from our hearing things said by others; in that they refer themselves to a certain interior sight, into which they are changed; which would be impossible unless there were an interior sight; also that whatever is thought of is seen by an interior sight, by some more clearly, by others more obscurely; and again, that things we imagine present themselves not unlike objects of sight; and also that unless it were the spirit within the body that saw the objects which fall within the ken of the eye as the organ of sight, the spirit could see nothing in the other life, when yet it cannot but be that it will see innumerable and amazing things that cannot possibly be seen with the bodily eye. Then again we may reflect that in dreams, especially those of the prophets, many things have been seen although not with the eyes. And finally, should anyone be skilled in philosophy, he may confirm himself by considering that outer things cannot enter into inner things, just as compounds cannot into simples; and therefore that things of the body cannot enter into those of the spirit, but only the reverse; not to mention a host of other proofs, until at last the man is persuaded that the spirit has sight, and not the eye, except from the spirit. But they who are in the negative call every consideration of this kind either a matter of nature or one of fancy, and when they are told that a spirit possesses and enjoys much more perfect sight than a man in the body, they ridicule the idea, and reject it as an idle tale, believing that if deprived of the sight of the bodily eye they would live in the dark; although the very opposite is the truth, for they are then in the light.

[8] From these examples we may see what it is to enter into the things of reason and memory-knowledge from truths, and what it is to enter into truths from the things of reason and memory-knowledge; and that the former is according to order, but the latter contrary to order; and that when we do that which is according to order we are enlightened; but when we do that which is contrary to order, we are made blind. All of which shows of how great concern it is that truths should be known and believed; for man is enlightened by truths, but is made blind by falsities. By truths there is opened to the rational an immense and almost unbounded field; but by falsities comparatively none at all, although this does not appear to be so. It is because the angels are in truths that they enjoy wisdom so great; for truth is the very light of heaven.

[9] They who have blinded themselves by not being willing to believe anything which they do not apprehend by the senses, until at length they have come to believe nothing, were in old times called “serpents of the tree of knowledge;” for such reasoned much from sensuous things and their fallacies, which easily fall into man’s apprehension and belief, and thereby they seduced many (see n. 195, 196). In the other life such are readily distinguished from other spirits by the fact that in regard to all things of faith they reason whether it be so; and if they are shown a thousand and a thousand times that it is so, still they advance negative doubts against every proof that is offered; and this they would go on doing to all eternity. So blind are they on this account that they have not common sense, that is, they cannot comprehend what good and truth are; and yet every one of them thinks himself wiser than all in the universe; making wisdom to consist in being able to invalidate what is Divine, and deduce it from what is natural. Many who in this world have been esteemed wise, are preeminently of this character; for the more anyone is endowed with talent and knowledge, and is in the negative, the more insane he is, beyond all others; whereas the more anyone is endowed with talent and knowledge, and is in the affirmative, the wiser he is able to be. It is by no means denied man to cultivate the rational faculty by means of memory-knowledges; but that which is forbidden is to harden ourselves against the truths of faith which belong to the Word.

[10] These things are much treated of in the internal sense of the Word, especially in that of the prophetic Word, where Asshur (or Assyria) and Egypt are treated of; for reasoning is signified by “Asshur” (n. 119, 1186); and memory-knowledge by “Egypt” (n. 1164, 1165, 1186, 1462). Concerning those who desire to enter into doctrinal and Divine things by means of memory-knowledges and rational things, we read in Isaiah:

I will confound Egypt in Egypt, and they shall fight every man against his brother, and every man against his companion, city against city, and kingdom against kingdom; and the spirit of Egypt shall be made void in the midst of it, and I will swallow up the counsel thereof; the waters shall fail from the sea, and the river shall be dried up and shall become totally dry; and the streams shall vanish, the rivers of Egypt shall be diminished and dried up; the reed and the flag shall wither away; and all the seed of the river shall become dry. Jehovah hath mingled a spirit of perversities in the midst of her, and they have caused Egypt to go astray in every work thereof, as a drunken man strayeth in his vomit (Isaiah 19:2-3; 19:5-7, 14).

Woe to the rebellious sons, who walk to go down into Egypt, but have not asked at My mouth, to strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh, and to trust in the shadow of Egypt. And the strength of Pharaoh shall be unto you for a shame, and the trust in the shadow of Egypt for a reproach (Isaiah 30:1-3).

Woe to them that go down into Egypt for help, and stay upon horses, and trust in chariots, because they are many; but they look not unto the Holy One of Israel, and seek not Jehovah. And when Jehovah shall stretch out His hand, he that helpeth shall stumble, and he that is helped shall fall, and they shall all be consumed together. And Asshur shall fall by the sword not of man, and the sword not of man shall devour him (Isaiah 31:1, 3, 8).

In Jeremiah:

My people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, to hew them out pits, broken pits, which can hold no water. Is Israel a servant? If he was born of the house, why is he become a prey? Dost thou not do this unto thyself, in that thou hast forsaken Jehovah thy God in the time when He led thee in the way? And now what hast thou to do with the way to Egypt to drink the waters of Shihor? Or what hast thou to do with the way of Asshur to drink the waters of the river? O generation, see ye the Word of Jehovah: have I been a wilderness unto Israel, a land of darkness? Wherefore said My people, We will rule, we will come no more unto Thee? Why goest thou away so much to change thy way? Thou shalt be ashamed from Egypt also, as thou wast ashamed from Asshur (Jeremiah 2:13-14, 17-18, 31, 36).

Hear ye the word of Jehovah, O remnant of Judah; thus saith Jehovah Zebaoth the God of Israel, If setting ye set your faces to come into Egypt, and ye come to sojourn there, then it shall come to pass that the sword which ye were fearing for yourselves shall overtake you there in the land of Egypt, and the famine whereof ye were afraid shall cleave unto you there in Egypt, that ye die there. So shall it be with all the men who set their faces to come into Egypt, to sojourn there; they shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence; and none of them shall remain or escape from the evil that I will bring upon you (Jeremiah 42:15-17, etc .).

In Ezekiel:

And all the inhabitants of Egypt shall know that I am Jehovah; because they have been a staff of reed to the house of Israel; in their taking thee by thy hand thou didst break, and didst rend for them every shoulder, and in their leaning upon thee thou breakest, and makest all their loins to be at a stand; therefore thus said the Lord Jehovih, Behold I will bring a sword upon thee, and will cut off from thee man and beast, and the land of Egypt shall be a desolation and a waste, and they shall know that I am Jehovah; because he hath said, The river is mine, and I have made it (Ezekiel 29:6-9, etc.).

In Hosea:

Ephraim was like a silly dove; they called unto Egypt, they went unto Asshur; when they shall go, I will spread out My net upon them; woe unto them because they have wandered away from Me (Hos. 7:11-13).

Ephraim feedeth on wind, and followeth after the east wind; every day he multiplieth a lie and a waste, and they make a covenant with Asshur, and oil is carried down into Egypt (Hos. 12:1).

Israel hath committed whoredom under her God; thou hast loved hire upon all the corn floors; Ephraim shall return into Egypt, and they shall eat what is unclean in Asshur; for lo they are gone away from devastation, Egypt shall gather them up, Moph shall bury them, the thorn shall possess their desirable things of silver, the thistle shall be in their tents. Ephraim is smitten, their root is dried up, they shall bear no fruit; yea, though they bring forth yet will I slay the desired fruit of their womb; my God will cast them out, because they did not hearken unto Him, and they shall be wanderers among the nations (Hos. 9:1, 3, 6, 16-17).

In Isaiah:

Woe to Asshur, the rod of Mine anger, and he is the staff in their hand of Mine indignation; he thinketh not right, neither doth his heart meditate right; for it is in his heart to destroy and to cut off nations not a few; for he saith, Are not my princes all of them kings? I will visit upon the fruit of the elation of heart of the king of Asshur, for he hath said, In the strength of my hand I have done it, and in my wisdom, for I am intelligent; and I will remove the bounds of the peoples, and will plunder their treasures, and will cast down as a mighty one the inhabitants. Therefore shall the Lord of lords Zebaoth send among his fat ones leanness; and instead of his glory, kindling there shall be kindled a burning of fire (Isaiah 10:5, 7-8, 12-13, 16).

[11] In all these passages, by “Asshur” as before shown is signified reasoning; by “Egypt” and “Pharaoh” memory-knowledge; by “Ephraim” the intellectual; and there is described in these and in many other places of what quality man’s rational becomes when it reasons concerning the truths of faith from the negative principle. The like is involved in Isaiah (chapters 36 and 37), where we read that when Rabshakeh, sent by the king of Asshur, spoke against Jerusalem and king Hezekiah, the Angel of Jehovah smote a hundred and eighty-five thousand in the camp of the king of Asshur; by which is signified what an overthrow of man’s reasonings takes place when he reasons against Divine things, however much the man may then appear to himself to be wise.

[12] This reasoning is also in various places called “whoredom with the sons of Egypt and with the sons of Asshur.” As in Ezekiel:

Thou hast committed whoredom with the sons of Egypt, thy neighbors, great of flesh, and hast multiplied thy whoredom and hast committed whoredom with the sons of Asshur, and yet thou wast not satisfied (Ezekiel 16:26, 28; 23:3, 5-21; see n. 2466).

[13] Concerning those who enter into rational things and memory-knowledges from the doctrine of faith, and thence are wise.

In Isaiah:

In that day shall there be an altar to Jehovah in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar at the border thereof to Jehovah; and it shall be for a sign and for a witness unto Jehovah Zebaoth in the land of Egypt; for they shall cry unto Jehovah because of the oppressors, and He shall send them a Saviour and a Prince, and He shall deliver them; and Jehovah shall be known to Egypt, and the Egyptians shall know Jehovah in that day; and they shall offer sacrifice and meat-offering, and shall vow a vow unto Jehovah, and shall perform it (Isaiah 19:19-21).

In the same:

In that day there shall be a highway from Egypt to Asshur, and Asshur shall come into Egypt, and the Egyptians shall serve Asshur. In that day shall Israel be the third with Egypt and with Asshur, a blessing in the midst of the land, which Jehovah Zebaoth shall bless, saying, Blessed be Egypt My people, and Asshur the work of My hands, and Israel Mine inheritance (Isaiah 19:23-25); where the spiritual church is treated of, of which the spiritual is “Israel,” the rational is “Asshur,” and the faculty of knowing is “Egypt;” which three constitute the intellectual things of that church, which thus follow in order; on which account it is said, “In that day shall Israel be the third with Egypt and with Asshur,” and “Blessed be Egypt My people, and Asshur the work of My hands, and Israel Mine inheritance.”

[14] In the same:

It shall come to pass in that day that the great trumpet shall be blown, and they shall come which were ready to perish in the land of Asshur, and they that were outcasts in the land of Egypt, and they shall bow themselves down to Jehovah in the mountain of holiness at Jerusalem (Isaiah 27:13).

In the same:

Thus saith Jehovah, The labor of Egypt, and the merchandise of Cush and of the Sabeans, men of stature, shall come over unto thee, and they shall be thine; they shall go after thee, and shall bow themselves down to thee, they shall make supplication unto thee. In thee only is God, and there is no God else besides (Isaiah 45:14);

“Cush and the Sabeans” are knowledges (n. 117, 1171).

In Zechariah:

Egypt shall go up to Jerusalem, to worship the King Jehovah Zebaoth (Zech. 14:17-18).

In Micah:

I look unto Jehovah, I wait for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me; a day for building thy walls, in this day, and they shall come even unto thee thence from Asshur, and the cities of Egypt, and thence from Egypt even to the river (Micah 7:7, 11-12).

[15] In Ezekiel:

Thus saith the Lord Jehovih, At the end of forty years will I gather Egypt from the peoples whither they were scattered, and I will bring again the captivity of Egypt (Ezekiel 29:13-14).

In the same:

Behold, Asshur was a cedar in Lebanon with fair branches and a shadowing forest, and lofty in height, and its branch was among the tangled boughs; the waters made it grow, going with her streams round about her plantation, and she sent out her canals unto all the trees of the field; therefore its height was exalted above all the trees of the field, and its boughs were multiplied, and its branches became long by reason of many waters; all the birds of the heavens made their nests in its boughs, and under its branches all the beasts of the field brought forth, and under its shadow dwelt all great nations. And it became fair in its greatness, in the length of its branches, for its root was by many waters; the cedars in the garden of God did not hide it, the firs were not like its boughs, nor was any tree in the garden of God like unto it in its beauty. I made it fair by the multitude of its branches, and all the trees of Eden that were in the garden of God, envied it (Ezekiel 31:3-8).

The Most Ancient Church, which was celestial, is here described in regard to the quality of its rational, and thereby its wisdom and intelligence, because that church looked at things below from Divine things, thus at truths from goods themselves, and thence at things that are subordinate. “Asshur” and the “cedar” are the rational; the “tangled boughs among which were its branches” are memory-knowledges; the “rivers and waters” are spiritual goods, among which was its root; the “height and length of its branches” are its extension; the “garden of God” is the spiritual church; the “trees of Eden” are perceptions. From this and from all that goes before we can see what is the quality of man’s rational, and what is the quality of his faculty of knowing, when they are subordinated to Divine truths, and serve them by confirming them.

[16] That rational things and memory-knowledges are of service to those who are in the affirmative as means of being wise, was represented and signified by its being commanded the sons of Israel to borrow from the Egyptians vessels of gold, and vessels of silver, and garments (Exodus 3:22; 11:2; 12:35-36). The like is meant by its being said in various passages of the Word that they should possess the goods, houses, vineyards, and oliveyards, and other things, of the nations; and also that the very gold and silver taken from the nations should become holy. As in Isaiah:

Jehovah will visit Tyre, and she shall return to her harlot hire, and shall commit whoredom with all the kingdoms of the earth upon the face of the ground, and her merchandise and her harlot hire shall be holiness to Jehovah; it shall not be stored up nor laid away, for to them that dwell before Jehovah her merchandise shall be for eating till satisfied, and for an ancient covering (Isaiah 23:17-18);

“the merchandise of Tyre” denotes knowledges (n. 1201), which to those who are in the negative are as harlot hire; but to those who are in the affirmative are as what is holy. The like is also meant by the Lord’s words:

Make to yourselves friends by means of the mammon of unrighteousness, that when ye fail they may receive you into eternal habitations; if ye have not become faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will intrust you with the true? (Luke 16:9, 11).