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).

566. To this I will append the following accounts:

An argument arose among some spirits as to whether it is possible for someone to see a doctrinal, theological truth in the Word without doing so from the Lord. They all agreed that no one could without doing so from God, because "a person can obtain nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven" (John 3:27). Thus they were arguing over whether anyone could do so without directly approaching the Lord. Spirits on one side said that the Lord must be approached directly because He embodies the Word. Spirits on the other side said that doctrinal truth may be seen when one approaches God the Father directly. The argument therefore came down to this primarily, whether any Christian might approach God the Father directly and so climb up above the Lord, or whether this would be an improper and reckless act of arrogance and audacity, because the Lord says that no one comes to the Father except through Him (John 14:6).

They left this point, however, and said that a person could see doctrinal truth in the Word by the use of his own natural sight. But this point, too, was rejected. Therefore they insisted that those people could see it who pray to God the Father. Something from the Word was accordingly read to them, and then kneeling they prayed for God the Father to enlighten them. And in response to the words read to them from the Word, they said that such and such was the truth in them, though what they said was false. This experiment was repeated several times until they tired of it. Finally they confessed that it was not possible. Meanwhile the spirits on the other side, who approached the Lord directly, kept seeing the truths and informing them of them.

[2] After this argument thus came to an end, some spirits rose up from a pit who looked at first like locusts, but afterward as human. They were people who in the world had prayed to the Father and convinced themselves of justification by faith alone. They said that they saw with a clear sight and also from the Word that a person is justified by faith alone apart from works of the Law. They were asked what faith that was. They replied, "Faith in God the Father." But after they had been examined, they were told from heaven that they did not know even one doctrinal truth from the Word. At that they retorted that still they saw it clearly. They were then told that they saw it in an illusory light.

"What is an illusory light?" they asked.

They were informed that an illusory light is the light of a defense of falsity, and that that light corresponded to the kind of light had by owls and bats, for which darkness is light, and light darkness. They had this confirmed for them by the fact that when they looked upward to heaven, where real light is found, they saw darkness, and when they looked downward into the pit from where they had come, they saw light.

[3] Incensed at this confirmation, the spirits said that light and dark are therefore not something real, but are only conditions of the eye that cause people to say that light is light and that dark is dark.

They were shown, however, that theirs was an illusory light, namely, the light of a defense of falsity, and that their light was only an activity of their minds arising from the fire of their lusts, not unlike the light of cats, whose eyes in storerooms at night look like candles because of their burning appetite for rats and mice.

Hearing this, the spirits angrily said that they were not cats, or even like cats, because they could see if they wished. But because they were afraid to be asked why they did not wish to, they left and descended into their pit and into their own light.

The inhabitants there and others like them are also called owls and bats.

[4] When those spirits reached their fellows in the pit and told them that angels had said that they did not know any doctrinal truth, not even one, and that they had therefore called them bats and owls, a tumult arose there. And their fellows said, "We will pray to the Lord to be allowed to ascend, and we will clearly show that we have many doctrinal truths, which even archangels will acknowledge."

Then, because they prayed to the Lord, they were given permission, and as many as three hundred of them ascended. And on emerging above ground they said, "In the world we were celebrated and renowned, because we knew and taught the mysteries of justification by faith alone, and from our proofs we gained not only a clear sight, but also as it were brilliant flashes of light, as we continue to do currently in our chambers. And yet we have been told by our comrades who were in your company that this light is not light but darkness, because, as you said, we do not have any doctrinal truth from the Word.

"We know that every one of the Word's truths shines, and we have believed that our flashes of light come from them when we are deeply pondering our mysteries. We will show, therefore that we possess a great abundance of truths from the Word."

So they said, "Have we not this truth, that there is a Trinity of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, and that people must believe in the Trinity?

"Have we not this truth, that Christ is our Redeemer and Savior?

"Have we not this truth, that Christ alone is righteousness, and that He alone possess merit, and that any person who wishes to ascribe any of His merit and righteousness to himself is unrighteous and impious?

"Have we not this truth, that no mortal can do any spiritual good of himself, but that all good that is good in itself comes from God?

"Have we not this truth, that there is such a thing as merit-seeking good and also hypocritical good, and that these goods are evil?

"Have we not this truth, that no one can, by his own power, contribute anything to his salvation?

"Have we not this truth, that works of charity must still be done?

"Have we not this truth, that there is such a thing as faith, that people must believe, and that everyone has life in the measure of his belief? And so, too, many other truths from the Word.

"Who of you can deny any of these truths? And yet you have said that in our deliberations we do not have any truth, not even one. Have you not cast such accusations at us undeservedly?"

[5] But they were told in reply then, "Everything that you have cited is, in itself, true, but you have falsified those truths by using them to support a false principle, and therefore with you and in you they are truths falsified - truths which derive from the false principle the character of being themselves false.

"We will also demonstrate the reality of this visibly. Not far from here there is a place where light flows in directly from heaven. At the center of it is a table. When a piece of paper is placed on it on which a truth from the Word has been written, the piece of paper shines like a star because of the truth written on it. Write, therefore, your truths on a piece of paper and have it placed on the table, and you will see."

They did so and gave the piece of paper to a guard, who placed it on the table and said to them, "Move back and keep your eyes on the table."

So they moved back and watched, and lo, the piece of paper shone like a star.

Then the guard said, "You see that the things you wrote on the piece of paper are true. But come nearer and fix your gaze on the piece of paper."

They did so, and suddenly then the light disappeared and the piece of paper turned black, as though covered with the soot of a furnace.

And speaking again the guard said, "Touch the paper with your hands, but be careful not to touch the writing."

And when they did as bidden, a flame erupted and consumed the paper.

On seeing this the spirits fled away. And they were told, "If you had touched the writing, you would have heard a sharp report and burned your fingers."

Some bystanders then told them from behind, "You have seen now that the truths you abused to support the mysteries of your idea of justification are true in themselves, but in you are truths falsified.

The spirits then looked up, and the sky appeared to them as though blood-red, and after that as black. Moreover, they themselves appeared to the eyes of angelic spirits, some as bats, some as barn owls, some as moles, and some as eagle owls. And they fled away into their darkness, which to their eyes shone with an illusory light.

[6] The angelic spirits who were present were astonished, because they had not known anything about that place and table before. And then a voice spoke to them from the southern zone, saying, "Come over here, and you will see something even more marvelous."

So they went, and entered into a room whose walls shone as though with gold, and they saw a table there also, on which lay a copy of the Word, surrounded with precious stones in a heavenly pattern.

An angelic guard then said, "When the Word is opened, a beam of light radiates from it, of indescribable brilliance, and at the same time then a rainbow emanating from the precious stones appears above and around the Word. When an angel from the third heaven comes here and views the open Word, a multicolored rainbow appears above and around the Word against a red background. When an angel from the second heaven comes here and views it, the rainbow appears against a blue background. When an angel from the lowest heaven comes and views it, the rainbow appears against a white background. And when a good spirit comes and views it, a variegated light appears as though of marble."

The reality of this was also visibly shown to them.

The angelic guard said further, "If someone comes here who has falsified the Word, then first the radiance vanishes, and if he draws near and fixes his eyes on the Word, it becomes surrounded as though by blood, and he is warned to leave because he is in danger."

[7] One of the spirits, however, who in the world had been a leading authority on the doctrine of faith alone, boldly came forward and said, "When I was in the world I did not falsify the Word. Along with faith I also extolled charity, and I taught that a person is renewed, regenerated and sanctified in a state of faith in which he practices charity and its works. I said, too, that faith is not possible by itself, that is, without good works, as a tree is not possible without its fruit, the sun without its light, or fire without its warmth. Moreover, I also faulted those who said that good works are not necessary, and I stressed as well the importance of the Ten Commandments and also repentance. Thus in a marvelous way I applied everything in the Word to our article on faith, which I even so determined and showed to be alone saving."

Trusting in his assertion that he had not falsified the Word, the spirit went over to the table, and despite the angel's warning, touched the Word. And suddenly then fire and smoke poured from the Word, and there was an explosion and loud crash, which hurled the spirit to a corner of the room, and he lay there for a time as though dead.

The angelic spirits were surprised at this, but they were told that although that notable more than others had extolled the goods of charity as emanating from faith, still he meant only public works called moral and civic, which have to be done for the sake of the world and success in it, but not any of the works that must be done for God's sake and for the sake of salvation. Moreover they were told that he also substituted for those works the invisible works of the Holy Spirit of which a person is not at all aware, which are engendered in the act of faith in a state of faith.

[8] The angelic spirits then talked together about falsification of the Word, and they agreed that to falsify the Word is to take truths from it and use them to support falsities, which is to take them out of the Word and away from it and slay them. As for example, if someone takes this truth from the Word, that the neighbor is to be loved, and that good must be done to him out of a love for him for God's sake and for the sake of eternal life, and if he then establishes that it must be done, but not for the sake of salvation, because every good done by man is not good, then he takes that truth out of the Word and away from it and butchers it. For the Lord in His Word enjoins on everyone who wishes to be saved to do good to the neighbor as though of himself, and yet to believe that it comes from the Lord.

5620. A little resin and a little honey. That this signifies the truths of good of the exterior natural and its delight, is evident from the signification of “resin,” as being the truth of good or truth from good (see n. 4748). The reason why “resin” has this signification is that it ranks among unguents, and also among aromatics. “Aromatics” signify such things as are of truth from good, especially if they are of an unctuous nature, and so partake of oil; for “oil” signifies good (n. 886, 3728, 4582). That this resin was aromatic, may be seen in Genesis 37:25; and for this reason also the same word in the original means balsam. That it was like an ointment or thick oil, is evident. This then is the reason why by “resin” is signified the truth of good which is in the natural, here in the exterior, because “resin” is put first and joined with “honey,” which is the delight therein. That “honey” denotes delight is because it is sweet, and everything sweet in the natural world corresponds to what is delightful and pleasant in the spiritual world. The reason why it is called its delight, that is, the delight of truth from good in the exterior natural, is that every truth and especially every truth of good has its own delight; but a delight from the affection of these, and from the derivative use.

[2] That “honey” is delight is evident also from other passages in the Word, as in Isaiah:

A virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call His name Immanuel [God with us]. Butter and honey shall He eat, that He may know to refuse the evil and choose the good (Isaiah 7:14-15);

speaking of the Lord; “butter” denotes the celestial; “honey,” that which is from the celestial.

[3] In the same:

It shall come to pass for the multitude of milk that they shall yield, he shall eat butter; and butter and honey shall everyone eat that is left in the midst of the land (Isaiah 7:22);

speaking of the Lord’s kingdom; “milk” denotes spiritual good; “butter,” celestial good; and “honey,” that which is from them, thus what is happy, pleasant, and delightful.

[4] In Ezekiel:

Thus wast thou adorned with gold and silver; and thy garments were of fine linen and silk and broidered work. Thou didst eat fine flour and honey and oil; so thou becamest beautiful very exceedingly, and thou didst prosper even unto a kingdom. With fine flour and oil and honey I fed thee; but thou didst set it before them for an odor of rest (Ezekiel 16:13, 19);

speaking of Jerusalem, by which is meant the spiritual church, the quality of which is described as it was with the ancients, and as it afterward became. Her being “adorned with gold and silver” denotes with celestial and spiritual good and truth; her “garments of fine linen, silk, and broidered work” denotes truths in the rational and in each natural; “fine flour” denotes the spiritual; “honey,” its pleasantness; and “oil,” its good. That such things as belong to heaven are signified by these particulars can be seen by anyone.

[5] In the same:

Judah and the land of Israel were thy traders, in wheat of Minnith, and pannag, and honey, and oil, and balm (Ezekiel 27:17);

speaking of Tyre, by which is signified the spiritual church such as it was in the beginning and such as it afterward became, but in respect to the knowledges of good and truth (n. 1201). “Honey” here also denotes the pleasantness and delight from the affections of knowing and learning celestial and spiritual goods and truths.

[6] In Moses:

Thou makest him ride on the high places of the earth, and he eats the produce of the fields. He maketh him suck honey out of the rock, and oil out of the flint of the rock (Deuteronomy 32:13);

here also treating of the Ancient spiritual Church; “to suck honey out of the rock” denotes delight from truths of memory-knowledge.

[7] In David:

I feed them with the fat of wheat, and with honey out of the rock I sate them (Psalms 81:16);

“to sate with honey out of the rock” denotes to fill with delight from the truths of faith.

[8] In Deuteronomy:

Jehovah bringeth me unto a good land, a land of rivers of water, of fountains and of deeps that go out from the valley, and from the mountain; a land of wheat and barley, and of vine and of fig and of pomegranate; a land of oil olive and of honey (Deuteronomy 8:7-8);

speaking of the land of Canaan; in the internal sense, of the Lord’s kingdom in the heavens. A “land of oil olive and of honey” denotes spiritual good and its pleasantness.

[9] Hence also the land of Canaan was called:

A land flowing with milk and honey (Numbers 13:27; 14:8; Deuteronomy 26:9, 15; 27:3; Jeremiah 11:5; 32:22; Ezekiel 20:6).

In the internal sense of these passages by the “land of Canaan” is meant, as before said, the Lord’s kingdom; “flowing with milk” denotes an abundance of celestial spiritual things; and “with honey,” an abundance of derivative happiness and delights.

[10] In David:

The judgments of Jehovah are truth, righteous are they together; more to be desired are they than gold and much fine gold, sweeter also than honey and the dropping of the honeycombs (Psalms 19:9-10).

The “judgments of Jehovah” denote truth Divine; “sweeter than honey and the dropping of the honeycombs” denotes delights from good and pleasantnesses from truth. Again:

Sweet are Thy words to my palate, sweeter than honey to my mouth (Psalms 119:103); where the meaning is similar.

[11] The manna that Jacob’s posterity had for bread in the wilderness is thus described in Moses:

The manna was like coriander seed, white; and the taste of it was like a cake kneaded with honey (Exodus 16:31);

as the manna signified the truth Divine that descends through heaven from the Lord, it consequently signified the Lord Himself as to the Divine Human, as He Himself teaches in John 6:51, 58; for it is the Lord’s Divine Human from which all truth Divine comes, yea, of which all truth Divine treats; and this being so, the manna is described in respect to delight and pleasantness by the taste, that it was “like a cake kneaded with honey.” (That the taste denotes the delight of good and the pleasantness of truth may be seen above, n. 3502)

[12] As John the Baptist represented the Lord as to the Word, which is the Divine truth on earth, in like manner as Elijah (n. 2762, 5247), he was therefore the “Elijah who was to come” before the Lord (Malachi 4:5; Matthew 17:10-12; Mark 9:11-13; Luke 1:17); wherefore his clothing and food were significative, of which we read in Matthew:

John had his clothing of camel’s hair, and a leathern girdle about his loin; and his meat was locusts and wild honey (Matthew 3:4; Mark 1:6).

The “clothing of camel’s hair” signified that the Word, such as is its literal sense as to truth (which sense is a clothing for the internal sense), is natural; for what is natural is signified by “hair,” and also by “camels;” and the “meat being of locusts and wild honey” signified the Word such as is its literal sense as to good; the delight of this is signified by “wild honey.”

[13] The delight of truth Divine in respect to the external sense is also described by “honey” in Ezekiel:

He said unto me, Son of man, feed thy belly and fill thy bowels with this roll that I give thee. And when I ate it, it was in my mouth as honey for sweetness (Ezekiel 3:3).

And in John:

The angel said unto me, Take the little book and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey. So I took the little book out of the angel’s hand and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey; but when I had eaten it my belly was made bitter. Then he said unto me, Thou must prophesy again over many peoples and nations and tongues and kings (Revelation 10:9-11).

The “roll” in Ezekiel, and the “little book” in John, denote truth Divine. That in the external form this appears delightful, is signified by the flavor being “sweet as honey;” for truth Divine, like the Word, is delightful in the external form or in the literal sense because this admits of being unfolded by interpretations in everyone’s favor. But not so the internal sense, which is therefore signified by the “bitter” taste; for this sense discloses man’s interiors. The reason why the external sense is delightful, is as before said that the things in it can be unfolded favorably; for they are only general truths, and general truths are susceptible of this before they are qualified by particulars, and these by singulars. It is delightful also because it is natural, and what is spiritual conceals itself within. Moreover, it must be delightful in order that man may receive it, that is, be introduced into it, and not be deterred at the very threshold.

[14] The “honeycomb and broiled fish” that the Lord ate with the disciples after His resurrection, also signified the external sense of the Word (the “fish” as to its truth and the “honeycomb” as to its pleasantness), in regard to which we read in Luke:

Jesus said, Have ye here anything to eat? They gave Him a piece of a broiled fish, and of a honeycomb, and He took them and did eat before them (Luke 24:41-43).

And because these things are signified, the Lord therefore said to them:

These are the words which I spoke unto you while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled which are written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the Psalms, concerning Me (Luke 24:44).

It appears as if such things were not signified, because their having a piece of broiled fish and a honeycomb seems as if fortuitous; nevertheless it was of providence, and not only this, but also all other, even the least, of the things that occur in the Word. As such things were signified, therefore the Lord said of the Word that in it were written the things concerning Himself. Yet the things written of the Lord in the literal sense of the Old Testament are few; but those in its internal sense are all so written, for from this is the holiness of the Word. This is what is meant by His saying that “all things must be fulfilled which are written in the Law of Moses, and in the Prophets, and in the Psalms, concerning Him.”

[15] From all this it may now be seen that by “honey” is signified the delight that is from good and truth, or from the affection of them, and that there is specifically signified external delight, thus the delight of the exterior natural. As this delight is of such a nature as to be from the world through the things of the senses, and thereby contains within it many things from the love of the world, the use of honey in the meat-offerings was therefore forbidden, as in Leviticus:

No meat-offering which ye shall bring unto Jehovah shall be made with leaven; for there shall be no leaven, nor any honey, from what ye burn with fire to Jehovah (Leviticus 2:11); where “honey” denotes such external delight, which, because it contains in it what partakes of the love of the world, was also like leaven, and was on this account forbidden. (What “leaven” or “leavened” means may be seen above, n. 2342)