8286. And with the wind of Thy nostrils the waters were heaped up. That this signifies that falsities were gathered together into a one through the presence of heaven, is evident from the signification of “the wind of Thy nostrils,” as being heaven (of which in what follows); from the signification of “to be heaped up,” as being to be gathered together into a one; and from the signification of “waters,” as being falsities (see n. 7307, 8137, 8138). (That damnation and casting into hell is a gathering together of all falsities derived from evil and an environment by them, see n. 8146, 8210, 8232; and that this is effected by the mere presence of the Lord, n. 8265.) That “the wind of the nostrils of Jehovah,” or of the Lord, denotes heaven, is because by it is meant the breath of life, thus the Divine life, and as this makes the life of heaven, by “the wind of the nostrils of Jehovah” is signified heaven; hence also it is that the same word in the original tongue means both “wind” and “spirit.”

[2] That by “the wind of Jehovah,” or “His breath,” is signified the life that belongs to heaven, and that belongs to the man who is in heaven, that is, to one who is regenerate, is evident in David:

By the Word of Jehovah were the heavens made, and all the army of them by the breath [wind] of His mouth (Psalms 33:6).

Thou gatherest their breath, they expire, and return to their dust; Thou sendest forth Thy spirit [wind], they are created (Psalms 104:29-30).

Jehovah said unto me, Will these bones live? Then said He, Prophesy upon the breath, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus said the Lord Jehovih, Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe into these slain, that they may live; and the breath came into them, and they revived (Ezekiel 37:3, 9-10).

I saw four angels standing upon the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow upon the earth, nor upon the sea, nor upon any tree (Revelation 7:1);

“the wind” here denotes the life of heaven, that is, Divine life, as also in Job:

The spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of Shaddai hath vivified me (33:4).

[3] As “wind” signifies life, therefore, when the Lord teaches about the regeneration of man, He also says:

The spirit (or wind) bloweth where it willeth, and thou hearest the voice thereof, yet knowest not whence it cometh, or whither it goeth; so is everyone that is begotten of the spirit (John 3:8).

And because by the “wind of Jehovah,” or “His breath,” was signified life from the Divine, therefore where the new life of Adam is treated of, it is said:

Jehovah breathed into his nostrils the breath of lives, and man became a living soul (Genesis 2:7);

it is said “through the nostrils,” because through them respiration is effected, and through respiration, life, as in Isaiah:

Cease ye from man, in whose nose is breath (Isaiah 2:22).

The breath of our nostrils, the anointed of Jehovah, was taken in their pits; of whom we had said, In his shadow we shall live among the nations (Lam. 4:20);

“the anointed of Jehovah” denotes the Lord; “the breath of our nostrils,” life from Him.

In Job:

As long as my breath (anima) is in me, and the wind of God is in my nose (27:3).

[4] As, then, by “the wind of the nostrils of Jehovah” is signified the life which is from the Lord, and thus in the universal sense, heaven; and as by the presence of the Lord, or by the presence of heaven where the Lord is, evils and falsities are cast into hell (n. 8265); therefore also this effect is signified by “the wind of the nostrils of Jehovah” in David:

The channels of the sea appeared, the foundations of the world were revealed, at the rebuke of Jehovah, at the blast of the breath of His nose (Psalms 18:8, 15; 2 Samuel 22:16).

The blast of Jehovah, like a stream of sulphur, doth kindle it (Isaiah 30:33).

Nay, they are not planted; nay, they are not sown; nay, their trunk is not rooted in the earth; and He even bloweth on them, and they wither, that the whirlwind may take them away like stubble (Isaiah 40:24).

He sendeth His word, and melteth them; He causeth His wind to blow, the waters flow (Psalms 147:18).

Hence also it is, that by “the nose,” when predicated of Jehovah or the Lord, is also signified wrath, thus the punishment, vastation, and damnation of those who are in evils and falsities (as in Numbers 25:4; Deuteronomy 7:4; Judges 2:14Isaiah 9:21; Jeremiah 4:8; Hosea 14:4; Psalms 6:1; 86:15; 103:8; 145:8; and in many other passages); and also by “blowing with the nostrils,” or “breathing,” is signified to be angry (Deuteronomy 4:21; Isaiah 12:1; Psalms 2:12 6:1; 60:3; 79:5; 85:5).

8265. The horse and his rider hath He cast into the sea. That this signifies that by His mere presence the falsities from evil were damned and cast into hell, is evident from the signification of a “horse,” as being falsities from a perverted understanding (that a “horse” denotes the understanding, see n. 2761, 2762, 3217, 5321; and in the opposite sense a perverted understanding, and as this is no understanding, in this sense by a “horse” is signified falsity, and by “the horse of Pharaoh,” false memory-knowledge, n. 6125, 8146, 8148); from the signification of a “rider” or “horseman,” as being the consequent reasonings (n. 8146, 8148); and from the signification of “casting into the sea,” as being to damn and cast into hell. That “the sea,” here the sea Suph, denotes the hell where are the falsities from evil of those who being of the church have been in faith separate and in a life of evil, see n. 8099, 8137, 8148; hence it is that they are called falsities “from evil.” That these falsities were damned and cast into hell by the mere presence of the Lord, was shown in the preceding chapter. For the evil can by no means endure and support the Divine presence, because by the Divine presence they are tortured, tormented, and as it were deprived of life, and comport themselves like those who are in the death agony. The reason is that in the Divine there is omnipotence, which destroys and extinguishes that which is opposed, thus what is false and evil; consequently the life of those who are in falsity and evil is distressed by the Divine presence, and hence feels hell in itself according to the degree of the presence. But lest they who are in falsities and evils should be tortured until they are utterly destroyed, they are veiled over by their falsities and evils as by thick mists, which are of such a nature as to mitigate the influx of the Divine, or to repel or to stifle it, as earthly mists or clouds do the rays of the sun.

[2] These things are meant by the words in John:

They shall say to the mountains and to the rocks, Fall upon us, and hide us from the face of Him that sitteth on the throne, and from the anger of the Lamb; because the great day of His anger is come; who therefore shall be able to stand? (6:16-17);

by “the mountains and rocks to which they shall say, Fall upon us and hide us” are signified evils and falsities; by “the anger of the Lamb” is signified torment, for it appears as if the Divine tormented from anger, when yet it is the falsities and evils themselves. In like manner in Isaiah 2:10; and in Hosea 10:8; andin Luke 23:30. That damnation is from the mere presence of the Lord, is also signified by what follows in this Song:

Thou sendest forth Thy wrath, it devoureth them as stubble; and with the wind of Thy nostrils the waters were heaped up, the floods stood together like a heap; Thou didst blow with Thy wind, the sea covered them; they sought the deep; Thou stretchedst out Thy right hand, the earth swallowed them (verses 7-8, 10, 12).

In like manner in many other passages in the Word.