THE EXPLANATION of Isaiah Chapter 29

(Note: Rev. Smithson's translation of the Isaiah text is appended below the explanation)

1. WOE to Ariel, to Ariel, the city where David dwelt! add year to year; let the festivals go round.

VERSES 1-4. [The term "Ariel", in Hebrew, signifies the lion of God, and is an appellation given to the city Jerusalem to signify the Lord in His Divine Human, and also the doctrine of celestial Truth, The "city" itself signifies the doctrine of spiritual Truth, but when called "Ariel" it denotes as above. The doctrine of celestial Truth is the doctrine of love to God and of charity to the neighbour, whereas the doctrine of spiritual Truth is the doctrine of Faith. The subject, therefore, treated of in these verses, is specifically the destruction of the celestial doctrine of the church, and the judgment upon those who have perverted it. This perversion consists chiefly in removing love and goodness, embodied in good works, from the church as the essential means of salvation, as is done by the doctrine of Justification by Faith only, or of Faith separate from Charity. It is also perverted by reducing the good of the church to what is merely moral, and thus depriving it of a spiritual principle, derived from love and charity, as the means of salvation. The doctrine of celestial Truth is also perverted by these who assume what is good in the external, as a means of promoting the merely selfish interests of the natural man, and not for the sake of securing the eternal interests of the soul. A "woe" is consequently pronounced upon all such as pervert and destroy this most holy doctrine, which is called the "Lion of God" because of its great power, signified by a "Lion", in removing, when properly applied, everything evil and false from the church, and from the human mind. The Lord, as "the Lion of the tribe of Juda, opens the seals of the book", [Revelation 5:5) and executes Judgment, which is effected by this celestial doctrine of His Divine Truth. See above, Chapter 21:8, the Exposition.]

Verse 1. Add year to year, let the festivals go round. - [This celestial doctrine will perish successively, not all at once, and it will perish although external worship (the festivals) continues to be observed at the appointed times. It is entirely destroyed when external worship is separated from internal, as was the case with the Pharisees, described in Matthew 23, and with those of the church at this day who are in external good, without internal or spiritual good, See Chapter 1:11-19, the Exposition.]

2. Yet will I distress Ariel; and there shall be mourning and sorrow: and it shall be unto Me as Ariel.

3. And I will encamp against you round about; and I will lay siege against you with a mound; and I will erect forts against you.

Verses 2, 3. [It does not appear that Swedenborg has quoted these verses and explained them; but from correspondences their meaning may be easily seen. "Ariel" thus perverted, or rather those who have perverted this celestial doctrine, will be besieged and destroyed, at the period of Judgment, by every species of falsity from evil, denoted by "encamping", by "laying siege with a mound", and by "erecting forts against her." See the Exposition of Isaiah Chapter 1:8.]

4. And you shalt be brought low; you shalt speak out of the earth: and out of the dust shall your speech feebly sound; and your voice shall come out of the ground, like as of one that has a familiar spirit: and out of the dust shall your speech mutter.

Verse 4. [That to "speak out of the dust, and the voice coming out of the ground, like as of one that has a familiar spirit", signifies communication with the hells, and influx thence, may be seen above, Isaiah 8:19, 20, the Exposition.]

5. But the multitude of your strangers shall be like the small dust; and the multitude of the terrible ones like the chaff that passes away: yea, it shall be suddenly, in a moment.

Verse 5. [The dispersion of false principles of doctrine, denoted by "strangers", and of the falsities of evil, signified by the "terrible ones", is here described. See the Exposition of Isaiah Chapter 1:7.]

6. From Jehovah of Hosts you shalt be visited with thunder, and with earthquake, and with a great voice; with storm, and with tempest, and with the flame of devouring fire.

Verso 6. "Devouring fire" is the fire of cupidities which arises from the love of self and of the world, because it is this fire which consumes man and devastates the church. This also was represented by "the fire from before Jehovah" which consumed the sons of Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, because they had "put strange fire into their censers." (Leviticus 10:1, 2)

To "put strange fire into their censers", is to perform worship from some other love than from that which is heavenly. That such "strange fire" is the love of self and of the world, and the cupidities hence arising, may be seen in Arcana Coelestia 1297, 1861, 5071. Arcana Coelestia 9434.

As to the meaning of "storms" and "tempests", by which the wicked, at the time of Judgment, are taken away, see above, Chapter 17:13, the Exposition.

7. And as a dream, a vision of the night shall be the multitude of all the nations that fight against Ariel; even all that fight against her and her ramparts, and they that distress her.

8. It shall be as when a hungry man dreameth, and lo! he eats: but he awaketh, and his soul is empty: and as when a thirsty man dreameth, and lo! he drinketh; but he awaketh, and lo! he is faint, and his soul craveth: thus shall it be with the multitude of all the nations which fight against Mount Zion. "

Verses 7, 8. [These words imply that, in this perverted state of the church, at the period of its judgment, what is false will appear as true, and that there will be no spiritual nourishment for the soul.]

Verse 8. These things are said concerning those who are in falsities from evil, and yet suppose them to be truths from good. The false from evil combating against the goods of the church, are signified by "The multitude of all the nations which fight against Mount Zion; "multitude" being predicated of truths; "nations" signifying evils; and "Mount Zion", the church as to the good of love. The belief that evils are good, when notwithstanding they are evils of the false, is signified by "It shall be as when a hungry man dreameth, and lo! he eats; but he awaketh, and his soul is fasting"; the "hungry dreaming as if he were eating", signifies the opinion and erroneous faith conerning good; to "dream" denoting such opinion and erroneous faith, and to be "hungry, and as if he were eating", denoting, as it were, desire for good, and to be nourished thereby; but when "he awaketh", signifies when it is discovered what good is; "his soul is fasting", signifies that there is no understanding of good. Similar things are said concerning truth, which are signified by "When the thirsty man dreameth, and lo! he drinketh; but he awaketh, and lo! he is faint, and his soul craveth"; to be "thirsty, and as If he were drinking whilst he dreameth", signifying the opinion and faith, as it were, of Truth; but when "he awaketh, and lo! he is faint, and his soul craveth", signifies that still it is not Truth but the false; the "soul" there signifying the faith of the false, by reason of Truth not being understood, for both evil and the false, as well as Good and Truth, are predicated of faith and understanding, when they are of the thought alone; for man can think so as it were to understand, and thence believe that evil is good, as well as that the false is true. Such are all those who are in falsities of doctrine, and have faith only in their teachers and books, and never think whether what they are taught may not be falsities and evils, but believe them to be truths and goods, because they can be confirmed; not knowing that the false and evil may be equally confirmed as Truth and Good. Apocalypse Explained 750.

9. Stand you amazed, and wonder; be you astonished, and cry out! they are drunken, but not with wine; they stagger, but not with strong drink.

10. For Jehovah has poured out upon you a spirit of deep sleep: and He has closed up your eyes, the prophets; and your heads, the seers has He covered,

Verses 9, 10. Speaking of those who see nothing at all of the Truth when they hear and read it from the Word. Such persons are said to be "drunken, but not with wine; and to stagger, but not with strong drink"; "wine" signifying specifically the Truth of the spiritual and hence of the rational man; and "strong drink", the Truth of the natural man thence derived. Because such are understood, it is therefore said, "Jehovah has poured out" upon you the spirit of deep sleep; and He has closed up your eyes; the "spirit of deep sleep" denoting no perception, and the "eyes closed" denoting no understanding of Truth. "The prophets, and your heads, the seers has He covered", signifies those who were in the doctrine of Truth, and thence wise and intelligent; "prophets" signifying those who are in the doctrine of Truth, and, abstractedly, doctrine itself; the "heads", the wise, and, abstractedly, wisdom; and the "seer", the intelligent, and, abstractedly, intelligence. Wonder at the greatness of their stupidity is described by "Stand you amazed, and wonder; be you astonished"; and lamentation on all account thereof, by a "cry out!" Such are they who are in a life of evil, and at the same tirne in principles of the false, howsoever learned they are supposed to be; for a life of evil shuts out the perception of Good, from which the life and light of thought is derived, and principles of the false shut out the understanding of Truth, whence they see only from the sensual man, and nothing from the spiritual. Apocalypse Explained 376.

Prophets are here called "eyes", and seers are called "heads", because by eyes is signified the understanding of Truth as to doctrine, and by "seers" intelligence, the same as by "heads." Apocalypse Explained 577.

Verses 10, 11. By "prophets" are meant those who teach Truth and by them that see, or the "seers", are meant those who see Truth who are said to be "covered" when they know nothing of Truth, and see nothing of Truth. Inasmuch as in old times they were called prophets who taught, therefore also they were called "seeing" [or seers], because to "see" signifies to understand, see Arcana Coelestia 2150, 2325.

That they were called "seeing" [or seers], may be seen, 1 Samuel 9:9; 2 Samuel 24:11; they were also called "men of God", from the signification of man [vir], see Arcana Coelestia 158, 265; that they were called "men of God", may be seen, 2 Kings 1:9-16.

That by "prophets", in an Internal sense, are signified those who teach, appears from Jeremiah 23, throughout, and from Ezekiel 13 throughout, where the subject particularly treated of is concerning "prophets".

The same appears also from many other places where mention is made of "prophets." Hence also by "false prophets" are signified those who teach what is false as in Matthew;

"In the consummation of the age, many false prophets shall arise, and shall seduce many; false Christs shall arise, and false prophets shall glve great signs, and shall deceive, if possible, even the elect; (Matthew 24:11, 24)

where, by "false prophets", are meant those who teach what is false. The same is understood by the "false prophet" in the Revelation. (Revelation 16:13; 19:20; 20:10)

Hence also it may appear how much the internal sense of the Word is obscured by the ideas which are conceived from the representatives of the Jewish church; for wheresoever "prophet" is mentioned in the Word there instantly occurs the idea of prophets such as existed at that time, which idea is a great hindrance to the perception of what is signified by them. But in proportion to man's increase in wisdom, the Idea conceived from those representatives is more easily removed as for example, where mention is made of "temple", they who think from a deeper ground of wisdom do not perceive the temple which was at Jerusalem, but the temple of the Lord; so in the case of the "mountain of Zion", or of "Zion" itself, they have no perception of that which was at Jerusalem, but of the Lord's kingdom, and where "Jerusalem" occurs, they do not think of that city which was in the tribe of Benjamin and Judah, but of the holy and heavenly Jerusalem. Arcana Coelestia 2534.

11. So that all the vision is to you as the words of a sealed book; which, if it is given to one that knows letters, saying, Read this, I pray you: he says, I cannot; for it is sealed.

12. Or should the book be given to one that knows not letters, saying, Read this, I pray you: he says, I know not letters.

Verses 11, 12. [The "Book" or the Word is sealed, when its genuine doctrines and its interior truths are not understood by the church. To "know letters", or to be learned, is to know the science of correspondences, according to which the Word is inspired and written, which science constituted. the learning of ancient times. Unless this science is understood, the Word is, for the most part, as a "sealed book"; but it is opened by this science, as by the "key of knowledge". The intelligence of the church as to everything spiritual and heavenly can thus be immensely increased, and genuine truths can be seen in clear light by the rational mind. The blessings to the Church of the New Jerusalem, arising from the discovery of the spritual sense of the Word, will be great indeed!]

13. Wherefore Jehovah says, Forasmuch as this people draw near [to Me] with their mouth, and honour Me with their lips but have removed their heart far from Me; and their fear of Me is taught by the precept of men:

14. Therefore, behold, I will again deal with this people", in a manner so wonderful astonishing, that the wisdom of their wise shall perish, and the understanding of their intelligent shall be hid.

15. Woe unto them that deeply conceal their counsel from Jehovah; whose works are in the dark, and who say, Who seeth us? and who knows us?

Verse 13. In respect to external worship when sopnrato from internal, see above, Chapter 1:11-19, the Exposition.

Their fear of me, etc. - As to what understood in the Word by "fearing God", see above, Chapter 11:3, Exposition.

16. Your perverseness is as if the potter should be esteemed as the clay. Shall the work say of the maker of it, He has not made me? and shall the thing formed say of the former of it, He has no understanding?

Verse 16. That a "potter's vessel" signifies, in a good sense, what is true and in a bad sense, what is false, may be proved from the Word. When a man himself forms the "vessel", it signifies what is false; but when the Lord forms it in man, it signifies Truth. Hence it is that in the Word a "potter's vessel" signifies either what is false or what is true, and the "potter" is the former. The Lord Himself, from the formation of man by truths, is called in the Word a "Potter", as in Isaiah:

"O Jehovah, Our Father! we are the clay, and You our Potter; and all we are the work of Thine hands." (Isaiah 64:8; and Isaiah 29:16)

In a bad sense, as in Psalm 2:9:

"As a potter's vessel shalt You break them in pieces."

By the "potter's vessel is signified what is false from man's own or self-intelligence, and not from the Word. (See also Isaiah 30:10-14; 45:9) Apocalypse Explained 177.

17. Shall it not be but a very little while, and Lebanon shall be turned into a fruitful field, and the fruitful field shall be esteemed as a forest?

Verse 17. "Lebanon" [as a forest] signifies the truths of the church in the natural man, consequently the church as to the rational understanding of Good and Truth. (Apocalypse Explained 654, 730.)

As a "fruitful field", it signifies the Good and Truth of faith. (Apocalypse Explained 328)

The "cedars" and "firs of Lebanon" signify the internal and the external truths of the spiritual church. Apocalypse Explained 405.

18. And in that day shall the deaf hear the words of the book; and the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity; and out of darkness.

Verse 18. The restoration of the church is here treated of. By "the deaf who will hear the words of the book", are understood those who will obey truths and hence lead a good life; and by "the blind whose eyes will see out of obscurity and darkness", are understood those who are not in the understanding of Truth, because in ignorance, who will then understand. That the deaf and the blind [in a literal sense] are not understood, is evident. Apocalypse Explained 239.

To "open the eyes of the blind", is to instruct those who as yet are ignorant of truths, and nevertheless desire them, who are signified by the Gentiles. Apocalypse Explained 152.

19. The miserable shall increase their joy in Jehovah, and the needy amongst men shall exult in the Holy One of Israel.

Verse 19. By the "miserable" and "needy" are here also signified those with whom there is a defect of Truth and Good, and who nevertheless are in the desire of those principles. Concerning these it is said that "they shall increase their joy in Jehovah, and shall exult in the Holy One of Israel", and not concerning those who are miserable and needy as to worldly wealth. Apocalypse Explained 238.

The needy amongst men shall exult in the Holy One of Israel. In this and in other passages where "the Holy One of Israel" is mentioned, the Lord with respect to His Divine Humanity is signified. True Christian Religion 93.

20. For the terrible one ceases, the scoffer is consumed, and all that watch for iniquity are cut off:

21. Who cause a man to offend in a word, and lay snares for him that reproveth in the gate, and with emptiness turns aside the just.

Verses 20, 21. That "the terrible [or violent] one" is he who offers violence to charity, is signified by "causing a man to offend [or to sin] in a word", and by "laying snares for him that pleads in the gate", etc. Arcana Coelestia 6353.

22. Therefore thus says Jehovah to the house of Jacob, who redeemed Abraham: Jacob shall not now be ashamed; his face shall not now turn pale.

Verse 22. Jacob shall not now be ashamed; his face shall not now turn pale. - By "Jacob" are understood those who are of the church: and by "his face not turning pale" is signified that they shall not be in evils and falsities, but in Goods and Truths. That "paleness" signifies the absence and deprivation of spiritual life, which is when there is no Good and Truth, but evil and the false, is grounded in this circumstance, that when a man is deprived of vital heat, he then becomes pale and an image of death, as is the case in extreme terror, and in like manner when he dies; but when a man is spiritually dead, then his face either becomes red like a coal fire, or pale like a corpse. In such a manner do the infernals appear, when viewed in the light of heaven. Apocalypse Explained 381.

23. But when he seeth his children, the work of Mine hands, in the midst of him, they shall sanctify My name, and they shall sanctify the Holy One of Jacob, and shall fear the God of Israel.

Verse 23. "The Holy One of Jacob and the God of Israel" is the Lord. "His children" signify the regenerate, who will have the intelligence of Good and of Truth, as is explained in verse 24. Arcana Coelestia 489.

24. They also that erred in spirit shall know intelligence, and they that murmured shall learn doctrine.

Verse 24. By "spirit" is signified the understanding, and by " heart" the will. "Spirit" is literally the breath, for spirit, breath, and wind are expressed by one term in Hebrew, Hence by "loving God with all the heart and with all the soul", is meant with all the love and with all the understanding. That the term "spirit" signifies the understanding or Intelligence, may be seen from many passages, as from this, "They that erred in spirit shall know intelligence." Divine Love and Wisdom 383.

---

Isaiah Chapter 29

1. WOE to Ariel, to Ariel, the city where David dwelt! add year to year; let the festivals go round.

2. Yet will I distress Ariel; and there shall be mourning and sorrow: and it shall be unto Me as Ariel.

3. And I will encamp against you round about; and I will lay siege against you with a mound; and I will erect forts against you.

4. And you shalt be brought low; you shalt speak out of the earth: and out of the dust shall your speech feebly sound; and your voice shall come out of the ground, like as of one that has a familiar spirit: and out of the dust shall your speech mutter.

5. But the multitude of your strangers shall be like the small dust; and the multitude of the terrible ones like the chaff that passes away: yea, it shall be suddenly, in a moment.

6. From Jehovah of Hosts you shalt be visited with thunder, and with earthquake, and with a great voice; with storm, and with tempest, and with the flame of devouring fire.

7. And as a dream, a vision of the night shall be the multitude of all the nations that fight against Ariel; even all that fight against her and her ramparts, and they that distress her.

8. It shall be as when a hungry man dreameth, and lo! he eats: but he awaketh, and his soul is empty: and as when a thirsty man dreameth, and lo! he drinketh; but he awaketh, and lo! he is faint, and his soul craveth: thus shall it be with the multitude of all the nations which fight against Mount Zion. "

9. Stand you amazed, and wonder; be you astonished, and cry out! they are drunken, but not with wine; they stagger, but not with strong drink.

10. For Jehovah has poured out upon you a spirit of deep sleep: and He has closed up your eyes, the prophets; and your heads, the seers has He covered,

11. So that all the vision is to you as the words of a sealed book; which, if it is given to one that knows letters, saying, Read this, I pray you: he says, I cannot; for it is sealed.

12. Or should the book be given to one that knows not letters, saying, Read this, I pray you: he says, I know not letters.

13. Wherefore Jehovah says, Forasmuch as this people draw near [to Me] with their mouth, and honour Me with their lips but have removed their heart far from Me; and their fear of Me is taught by the precept of men:

14. Therefore, behold, I will again deal with this people", in a manner so wonderful astonishing, that the wisdom of their wise shall perish, and the understanding of their intelligent shall be hid.

15. Woe unto them that deeply conceal their counsel from Jehovah; whose works are in the dark, and who say, Who seeth us? and who knows us?

16. Your perverseness is as if the potter should be esteemed as the clay. Shall the work say of the maker of it, He has not made me? and shall the thing formed say of the former of it, He has no understanding?

17. Shall it not be but a very little while, and Lebanon shall be turned into a fruitful field, and the fruitful field shall be esteemed as a forest?

18. And in that day shall the deaf hear the words of the book; and the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity; and out of darkness.

19. The miserable shall increase their joy in Jehovah, and the needy amongst men shall exult in the Holy One of Israel.

20. For the terrible one ceases, the scoffer is consumed, and all that watch for iniquity are cut off:

21. Who cause a man to offend in a word, and lay snares for him that reproveth in the gate, and with emptiness turns aside the just.

22. Therefore thus says Jehovah to the house of Jacob, who redeemed Abraham: Jacob shall not now be ashamed; his face shall not now turn pale.

23. But when he seeth his children, the work of Mine hands, in the midst of him, they shall sanctify My name, and they shall sanctify the Holy One of Jacob, and shall fear the God of Israel.

24. They also that erred in spirit shall know intelligence, and they that murmured shall learn doctrine.

175. I will give him power over the nations, signifies over the evils within him, which will then be scattered by the Lord. This is evident from the signification of "nations," as being evils (of which presently); and from the signification of "giving power over them," as being that these (the evils) will then be dispersed by the Lord. "To have power," in reference to "over the nations," means to scatter in reference to evils; thus there is an adaptation of words to their subjects. It is said that evils will be scattered by the Lord, for the Lord scatters evils by means of truths. He first discovers them to man by means of truths, and when man acknowledges the evils, the Lord scatters them. (That the Lord alone does this, see The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 200.) "Nations and peoples" are often mentioned in the Word, and those who know nothing of the spiritual or internal sense of the Word, believe that peoples and nations are to be understood. But "peoples" mean those who are in truths, or in the contrary sense those who are in falsities, and "nations" those who are in goods, or in the contrary sense, those who are in evils. And as such are meant by "peoples" and by "nations," so abstractly from persons "peoples" mean truths or falsities, and "nations" goods and evils; for the true spiritual sense is abstracted from persons, spaces, times, and like things, that are proper to nature.

[2] With these the natural sense of the Word, which is the sense of its letter, is at one; and the sense that is at one with these serves as a basis to the sense that is apart from them. For all things that are in nature are ultimates of Divine order, and the Divine does not rest in the middle, but flows down even to its ultimates, and there subsists. From this it is that the Word in the letter is such as it is, and unless it were such it would not serve as a basis for the wisdom of angels who are spiritual. It can be seen from this how mistaken those are who despise the Word on account of its style. "Nations" signify those who are in good, and in the abstract, goods, because men who lived in ancient times were divided into nations, families, and houses; and they then loved each other mutually; and the father of a nation loved the whole nation which was from him; thus the good of love reigned among them. For this reason "nations" signified goods. But when men came into the opposite state, which took place in the following ages when empires were established, then "nations" signified evils. (See further on this subject in the small work on The Earths in the Universe 49, 90, 173, 174.)

[3] That "nations" in the Word signify either goods or evils, and "people" either truths or falsities, can be seen from the following passages. In Isaiah:

Nations shall walk to Thy light, and kings to the brightness of Thy rising. Then shalt Thou see and flow together, and Thine heart shall be enlarged, because the multitude of the sea is converted unto Thee, the army of the nations come unto Thee; Thy gates shall be opened continually, they shall not be shut by day and by night, that men may bring unto Thee the army of the nations, and their kings shall be brought; for the nation or kingdom that will not serve Thee shall perish; and the nations by wasting shall be wasted. Thou shalt suck the milk of nations, even the breasts of kings shalt Thou suck. The little one shall become a thousand, and the few a numerous nation (Isaiah 60:3, 5, 11-12, 16, 22).

Here the Lord is treated of; and by "nations" all who are in the good of love to Him are meant, and by "kings" all who are in the truths of faith in Him. From this it is manifest who are meant by the "nations" that "shall walk to Thy light;" and by "the army of the nations that shall be brought;" also, who are meant by "the kings" that "shall walk to the brightness of Thy rising;" and by "the kings of the nations" that "shall be brought;" also, what is meant by "Thou shalt suck the milk of nations and the breasts of kings" ("milk" is the delight of the good of love, likewise "breasts," for milk is from them). The multiplication of truth and the fructification of good are described by the "little one shall become a thousand, and the few a numerous nation." But by "the nations that shall be wasted" are meant all that are in evils, and also the evils themselves.

[4] In the same:

Behold I will lift up My hand towards the nations, and set up Mine ensign towards the peoples, that they may bring thy sons in the bosom, and carry thy daughters upon the shoulder; and kings shall be thy nourishers and the chief women thy sucklers; with the face to the earth shall they bow down to thee (Isaiah 49:22, 23).

Here also the Lord is treated of, and those who shall worship and adore Him. To "lift up His hand towards the nations, and His ensign towards the peoples, " ¹ is to join to Himself all who are in the goods of love and in truths therefrom; of these it is said that "they shall bring thy sons in the bosom, and carry thy daughters upon the shoulder;" "sons" are the affections of truth, and "daughters" the affections of good (See above, n. 166). And of these it is said that their "kings shall be thy nourishers, and the chief women thy sucklers." "Kings" are truths themselves, "chief women" are the goods thereof; and as man is regenerated by both of these, and also nourished, it is said that they shall be "nourishers" and "sucklers." (That man is regenerated by means of truths and a life according to them, see in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 23, 24, 27, 186.) This is the internal sense of these words; without that sense who could understand them?

[5] In the same:

Jehovah said, Behold I spread out upon Jerusalem peace as a river, and as a torrent the glory of the nations, that ye may suck. He will come to gather all nations and tongues, that they may come and see My glory. They shall declare My glory among the nations; then shall they bring your brethren out of all nations, as a gift to Jehovah, upon horses and upon the chariot, to the mountain of My holiness (Isaiah 66:12, 18-20).

Here "Jerusalem" is the Lord's church in the heavens and on the earth; it is said the church in the heavens, for the church is there also (See in the work on Heaven and Hell 221-227). By "nations and tongues" all who are in the goods of love and in truths therefrom are meant. It is said that "they shall bring out of all nations a gift to Jehovah, upon horses and upon the chariot;" "a gift to Jehovah" is worship from the good of love; "horses and chariots" are intellectuals and doctrinals, for these are the source and foundation of worship. (That this is what "horses and chariots" signify, see The White Horse 1-5.)

[6] In the same:

It shall be in that day that a Root of Jesse, which shall stand for a sign of the people, the nations shall seek (Isaiah 11:10). "The root of Jesse" is the Lord; "to stand for a sign of the people" means that it may be seen by those who are in truths; "the nations which shall seek," are those who are in the good of love. It is believed that "nations" here mean the nations that are to approach and acknowledge the Lord, from which is to be the church that is called the church of the Gentiles; but these are not meant by "nation" but all who are in love to the Lord and faith in Him, whether within the church or out of it (See in the work on Heaven and Hell 308, 318-328).

[7] In the same:

A strong people shall honor Thee, the city of the powerful nations shall fear thee (Isaiah 25:3).

In the same:

Open ye the gates, that the righteous nation may enter in. Thou hast increased the nation, O Jehovah, Thou hast increased the nation, Thou art glorified (Isaiah 26:2, 15).

In the same:

Come near, ye nations, to hear; and hearken, ye peoples (Isaiah 34:1).

In the same:

I, Jehovah, have called thee in righteousness, for a covenant to the people, for a light of the nations (Isaiah 42:6).

In Jeremiah:

The nations shall bless themselves in Him, and in Him shall they glory (Jeremiah 4:2).

In the same:

Who will not fear Thee, O king of nations? and in all their kingdom there is none like unto Thee (Jeremiah 10:7).

In Daniel:

I was seeing in the night visions, and behold with the clouds of heaven One like the Son of man. And there was given Him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom; and all peoples, nations, and tongues shall worship Him (Daniel 7:13, 14).

In David:

The peoples shall give thanks unto Thee, O God; all the peoples shall give thanks unto Thee. Let the nations be glad and sing for joy; for Thou shalt judge the peoples with equity, and shalt lead the nations upon the earth (Psalms 67:3, 4).

In the same:

That I may see the good of Thy chosen, and be glad in the joy of Thy nations (Psalms 106:5).

In Revelation:

The glory and honor of the nations shall be brought into the New Jerusalem (Revelation 21:26).

In Isaiah:

Ye shall be called priests of Jehovah; ministers of your ² God, it shall be said to you. Ye shall eat the wealth of the nations, and in their glory shall ye glory (Isaiah 61:6).

In the Lamentations:

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 (Lamentations 4:20).

In these passages, by "nations" all who are in love to the Lord, whether within the church where the Word is or outside it, are meant.

[8] That by "nations" in a contrary sense those who are in evils are meant, and in the abstract, evils themselves, can be seen from the following passages. In Jeremiah:

I will bring a nation upon you from far, it is a mighty nation; it is a nation of an age, a nation whose tongue thou shalt not know. It shall eat up thy harvest and thy bread; it shall eat up thy sons and thy daughters; it shall eat up thy vine and thy fig-tree; it shall impoverish the cities with the sword (Jeremiah 5:15, 17).

The vastation of the church is here treated of; and by "nation" is meant the evil that will consummate it; it is therefore said, that "it shall eat up the harvest and the bread," "the sons and daughters," "the vine and the fig-tree," and "shall impoverish the cities with the sword;" by which all the goods of love and the truths of faith are signified; by "harvest" a state of the reception of truth from good (See Arcana Coelestia 9295); by "bread" the good of love (See in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 218); by "sons and daughters" the affections of truth and good (See above, n. 166); by "vine" the internal church, thus the internal things of the church (See Arcana Coelestia 1069, 5113, 6376, 9277); by "fig-tree" the external church, thus the external things of the church (Arcana Coelestia 5113); by "cities" doctrines (Arcana Coelestia 402, 2449, 2712, 2943, 3216, 4492, 4493); by "sword" falsity destroying (See above, n. 73, 131). From this it can be seen that by "nations" is signified the evil that destroys all these.

[9] In the same:

Behold I lay stumbling-blocks before this people, that they may stumble upon them, the fathers and the sons together. Behold, a people cometh from the land of the north, and a great nation from the sides of the earth. They have no compassion, their voice roareth like the sea, and they ride upon horses (Jeremiah 6:21-23).

Here also "nation" means evil, and "peoples" falsities, "the stumbling-blocks upon which the fathers and the sons stumble" are the perversions of good and truth ("fathers" are goods, and "sons" truths therefrom). It is said, "a people from the land of the north, and a nation from the sides of the earth," for the "north" signifies falsity from evil, and "the sides of the earth" signify what is outside of the church, thus evils remote from the goods of the church. "To roar like the sea, and to ride upon horses," is to persuade by fallacies of the senses, and by reasonings therefrom.

[10] In Ezekiel:

The land is full of the judgment of bloods, and the city is full of violence, wherefore I will bring the worst of the nations, that they may occupy their houses; the king shall mourn, and the prince shall be clothed with stupor (Ezekiel 7:23-24, 27).

The "land" is the church; "full of the judgment of bloods" is to be in falsities that destroy goods; "city" is doctrine; "full of violence" is to use force against the good of charity; "the worst of the nations" are direful falsities from evil; "to occupy their houses" is to possess their minds; "the king who shall mourn" is the truth of the church; "the prince who shall be clothed with stupor," is subservient truth. (That the "land" is the church, see Arcana Coelestia 662, 1066, 1068, 1262, 1413, 1607, 2928, 3355, 4447, 4535, 5577, 8011, 9325, 9643; that "bloods" are falsities destroying good, n. 374, 1005, 4735, 5476, 9127; that "city" is doctrine, n. 2268, 2449, 2451, 2712, 2943, 3216, 4492, 4493; that "violence" is using force against the good of charity, n. 6353; that "houses" are the things of man that belong to his mind, n. 710, 2231, 2233, 2559, 3128, 3538, 4973, 5023, 6690, 7353, 7848, 7910, 7929, 9150; that "the king who shall mourn" is the truth of the church, see above n. 31.)

[11] In David:

Jehovah bringeth the counsel of the nations to naught, He overthroweth the thoughts of the peoples (Psalms 33:10).

"Nations" mean those who are in evils, and "peoples" those who are in falsities; and because both are signified, it is said that "Jehovah bringeth the counsel of the nations to naught, and overthroweth the thoughts of the peoples," which are two expressions, as it were, of one thing, yet they are distinct in the internal sense, in which "nations" signify one thing, and "peoples" another.

[12] In Luke:

Then they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led captive among all nations, and at length Jerusalem shall be trodden down by the nations, until the time of the nations be fulfilled. Then there shall be signs in sun, moon, and stars, and upon the earth anguish of nations, the sea and the waves roaring (Luke 21:24-25).

The consummation of the age is here treated of, which is the last time of the church, when there is no longer any faith because there is no charity, or no truth because there is no good. This is here described by correspondences: "to fall by the edge of the sword" is to be destroyed by falsities; "to be led captive among all nations" is to be possessed by evils of every kind; "Jerusalem, which shall be trodden down," is the church; the "sun" is love to the Lord; the "moon" faith in Him; the "stars" the knowledges of good and truth; the "signs" in them mean that these are to perish; "the sea and the waves that shall roar" are fallacies and reasonings therefrom.

[13] In Matthew:

Nation shall rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. And they shall deliver you unto affliction, and ye shall be hated of all the nations for My name's sake (Matthew 24:7, 9; Luke 21:10, 11).

These things also were said by the Lord respecting the last time of the church; and by "nation shall rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom" is signified that there will be conflicts of evils and falsities among themselves; by "famines and pestilences" are signified the failure and wasting of truths; by "earthquakes" the perversion of the church; by "being hated of all nations" is signified to be hated by all who are in evil; "the name of the Lord," for the sake of which they shall be hated, signifies all things of love and faith whereby the Lord is worshiped (See above, n. 102, 135).

[14] In Ezekiel:

Behold Asshur a cedar in Lebanon. He has become high, and his branches have been multiplied. In his branches have all the fowl of the heavens built their nests, and under his branches all the beasts of the field have brought forth, and in his shade have dwelt all great nations. But his heart is lifted up in his height; therefore I will give him into the hand of the strong one of the nations, strangers shall cut him off, the violent of the nations, and they shall cast him down; whence all peoples of the earth have gone down from his shadow, and have abandoned him (Ezekiel 31:3, 5, 6, 10-12).

These things no one can understand unless he has a knowledge of the spiritual or internal sense of the Word. He will believe them to be mere comparisons, in which there is no spiritual signification; when yet all the particulars therein signify things of heaven and the church; therefore they shall be explained briefly. "Asshur" is the rational of the man of the church which is illustrated; this is called "a cedar in Lebanon," because a "cedar" has the same signification as "Asshur," specifically truth from good in the rational; and "Lebanon" is the mind where the rational resides, because there were cedars in Lebanon.

By "his branches that were multiplied" are meant truths therefrom; "the fowl of the heavens that built their nests in his branches" are the affections of truth; and "the beasts of the field that brought forth under his branches" are the affections of good; the "great nations that dwelt in his shade" are the goods of love; "his heart lifted up in his height" is the love of self; "to be given into the hands of the strong one of the nations," and "to be cast down by the violent of the nations," means that evils from that love will destroy goods and truths; "the peoples of the earth that went down from his shadow and abandoned him" are all truths of the church. From this it is manifest that "nations" signify goods, and in the contrary sense evils; by "the nations that dwelt in his shade," goods; and by "the nations that cut him off, and cast him down," evils. (See, moreover, what is said and shown about nations and their signification in Arcana Coelestia, namely, that by "nations" in the Word are meant those who are in good, and consequently goods themselves, n. 1059, 1159, 1258, 1260, 1416, 1849, 6005; "the assembly of the nations," truths and goods, n. 4574, 7830; "the holy nation," the spiritual kingdom, n. 9255, 9256; when it is said "nation and people," by "nation" those who are in celestial good are meant, and by "people" those who are in spiritual good, n. 10288. That by "nations," especially the nations of the land of Canaan, evils and falsities of every kind are meant, n. 1059, 1205, 1868, 6306, 8054, 8317, 9320, 9327).

Notas a pie de página: