141. To eat idol-sacrifices and to commit whoredom, signifies that they may be imbued with evils and with falsities therefrom. This is evident from the signification of "eating," as being to appropriate to themselves, and to be consociated with (See Arcana Coelestia 2187, 2343, 3168, 3513, 5643, 8001); so also to be imbued with; and from the signification of "idol-sacrifices," which are things consecrated to idols, as being evils of every kind (of which more in what follows); and from the signification of "committing whoredom," as being to falsify truths (of which also more presently). That Balaam counseled Balak to invite the sons of Israel to the sacrifices of his gods appears from what was shown in the preceding article, and from these words of Moses:

Israel abode in Shittim, where the people began to commit whoredom with the daughters of Moab; for he called ¹ the people unto the sacrifices of their gods; and the people did eat, and bowed down to their gods. Especially did the people join themselves to Baal-peor; therefore the anger of Jehovah was kindled against Israel. And those that were slain were four and twenty thousand (Numbers 25:1-3, 9).

It was among the statutes where sacrifices were instituted that some part of the sacrifices, especially of the thank-offerings, should be burnt from the altar, and some part eaten in the holy place. The "sacrifices" themselves signified worship from love and faith, and the "eating" of them signified appropriation of the good thereof. (That "sacrifices" signified all things of worship from the good of love and faith, see Arcana Coelestia, n. 923, 6905, 8680, 8936, 10042; and "eating" the appropriation of goods, 10109.) As the eating of things sanctified to Jehovah signified the appropriation of good, so the eating of the sacrifices offered to the gods of the nations, and which were called "idol-sacrifices," signified the appropriation of evil.

[2] That to "commit whoredom," in the spiritual sense, signifies to become imbued with falsities, so also to falsify truths, can be seen from many passages in the Word. The same was signified by the whoredoms of the sons of Israel with the daughters of Moab; for all historical parts of the Word involve spiritual things and signify them (as can be seen from the explanations of Genesis and Exodus, called Arcana Coelestia). And as the eating of idol-sacrifices by the sons of Israel and their whoredoms with the daughters of Moab involved such things (for what things signify they involve), therefore it was commanded that the heads of the people should be hung up to Jehovah before the sun; and for the same reason Phinehas the son of Eleazar thrust through a man of Israel and a Midianitish woman in the place of their lust, and for doing that he also was blessed; and for the same reason there were slain of Israel twenty and four thousand (as may be seen, Numbers 25 to the end). Such punishments and such plagues merely because of the eating of idol-sacrifices, and committing whoredom with the women of another nation, would never have been commanded to be done, unless they had involved heinous offenses against heaven and the church, which do not appear in the literal sense of the Word, but only in its spiritual sense. The heinous offenses involved were the profanation at once of the goods and of the truths of the church, and this, as has been said above, was the appropriation of evil and falsity.

[3] That adulteries and whoredoms involve such things is evident from numerous passages in the Word, where they are recounted, which show clearly that they signify the adulterations of good and the falsifications of truth, as in the following. In Ezekiel:

Jerusalem, thou hast trusted in thy beauty, and hast committed whoredom because of thy renown, so that thou hast poured out thy whoredoms on everyone that passed by. Thou has committed whoredom with the sons of Egypt thy neighbors, great of flesh, and hast multiplied thy whoredom. Thou hast committed whoredom with the sons of Asshur, when there was no satiety to thee, with whom thou committedst whoredom. Thou hast multiplied thy whoredom even to Chaldea, the land of traffic. An adulterous woman receiveth strangers instead of her husband. All give reward to their harlots, ² but thou hast given reward to all thy lovers, and hast rewarded them that they may come unto thee on every side in thy whoredoms. Wherefore, O harlot! hear the word of Jehovah (Ezekiel 16:15, 26, 28-29, 32-33, 35.).

Who cannot see that by "whoredoms" here are not meant whoredoms in the usual natural sense? For the church in which all the truths of the Word have been falsified is treated of; this is what is meant by "whoredoms;" for "whoredoms" in the spiritual sense, or spiritual whoredoms, are no other than falsifications of truth. "Jerusalem" here is the church; the "sons of Egypt," with whom she committed whoredom, are scientifics and knowledges of every kind, perversely applied to confirm falsities; the "sons of Asshur" are reasonings from falsities; "Chaldea," the land of traffic, is the profanation of truth; the "rewards" that she gave to her lovers are the vendings of falsities; and because of the adulteration of good by the falsifications of truth, that church is called a "woman adulterous while subject to her husband."

[4] In the same:

Two women, the daughters of one mother, committed whoredoms in Egypt; they committed whoredoms in their youth. One committed whoredom while subject to me, and chose for lovers the Assyrians her neighbors; she bestowed her whoredoms upon them yet she hath not left her whoredoms in Egypt. The other hath corrupted her love more than she, and her whoredoms above the whoredoms of her sister; she increased her whoredoms, she loved the Chaldeans; the sons of Babel came to her to the bed of loves, and they defiled her with their whoredom (Ezekiel 23:2-3, 5-8, 11, 14, 16-17).

Here also by "whoredoms" are in like manner meant spiritual whoredoms, as is evident from every particular. "Two women, the daughters of one mother, are the two churches, the Israelitish and the Jewish; "whoredoms" with "the Egyptians," "the Assyrians," "the Chaldeans," signify the like as above; "the bed of loves with the sons of Babel" is the profanation of good.

[5] In Jeremiah:

Thou hast committed whoredoms with many companions, thou hast profaned the land with thy whoredoms, and with thine evil. Hast thou seen that which backsliding Israel hath done? She hath gone away upon every high mountain, and under every green tree, and there committeth whoredom. Perfidious Judah also hath gone away and committed whoredom, so that by the voice of her whoredom she hath profaned the land; she hath committed adultery with stone and with wood (Jeremiah 3:1-2, 6, 8-9).

"Israel" is the church that is in truth, "Judah" the church that is in good, for they represented these two churches. The falsifications of truth are signified by the "whoredoms of Israel," and the adulterations of good by "the whoredoms of Judah." "To go away upon every high mountain and under every green tree and to commit whoredom" is to seek after all the knowledges of good and truth, even from the Word, and to falsify them; "to commit adultery with stone and wood" is to pervert and profane all truth and good; "stone" signifying truth, and "wood" signifying good.

[6] In the same:

Run ye to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, and seek in the broad places thereof, if ye can find a man [vir], if there be any doing judgment, seeking truth. When I fed them to the full they committed whoredom and came by troops to the house of the harlot (Jeremiah 5:1, 7).

To "run to and fro through the streets, and to seek in the broad places of Jerusalem," is to see and explore the doctrinals of that church; for "Jerusalem" is the church, and "streets" and "broad places" are doctrinals. "If ye have found a man, if there be any doing judgment, seeking truth," means whether there be any truth in the church. "When I fed them to the full they committed whoredom," means that when truths were revealed to them they falsified them. Such a church, in respect to doctrine, is the "house of the harlot," into which they "came by troops."

[7] In the same:

Thine adulteries, and thy neighings, the lewdness of thy whoredom, thine abominations on the hills in the field have I seen. Woe unto thee, O Jerusalem! thou wilt not be made clean (Jeremiah 13:27).

"Neighings" are profanations of truth, because a "horse" signifies the intellectual where there is truth; "the hills in the field" are goods of truth in the church, which have been perverted.

[8] In the same:

In the prophets of Jerusalem I have seen a horrible stubbornness in adulterating and in walking in a lie (Jeremiah 23:14).

They have wrought folly in Israel, and have committed adultery with their companions' wives, and have spoken My ³ word in My name falsely (Jeremiah 29:23).

To "adulterate" and to "commit adultery" here clearly mean to pervert truths; "the prophets" signifying those who teach truths from the Word; for it is said "in adulterating and walking in a lie," and "they have spoken My word falsely." A "lie" in the Word signifies falsity.

[9] In Moses:

Your sons shall be shepherds in the wilderness forty years, and shall bear your ⁴ whoredoms even till their carcasses are consumed in the wilderness (Numbers 14:33).

The sons of Israel did not bear whoredoms and were not for that reason consumed in the wilderness, but because they spurned heavenly truths, as is evident from this, that it was so said to them because they wished not to enter into the land of Canaan, but to return to Egypt; "the land of Canaan" signifies heaven and the church, with the truths thereof; and "Egypt" signifies the same falsified and turned into magic.

[10] In Micah:

All her graven images shall be beaten to pieces, and all the rewards of whoredom shall be burned up with fire; and all her idols will I lay waste, for she hath gathered them from the hire of an harlot, therefore even to the hire of an harlot shall they return (Micah 1:7).

"Graven images" and "idols" signify falsities that are from self-intelligence; "the rewards of whoredom" are the knowledges of truth and good that they have applied to falsities and evils and have thus perverted.

[11] In Hosea:

Jehovah said to the prophet, Take unto thee a wife of whoredoms and children of whoredoms, for whoring the land doth commit whoredom in departing from Jehovah (Hosea 1:2).

By this was represented what the quality of the church was, namely, that it was wholly in falsities.

[12] In the same:

They sinned against Me; I will change their glory into disgrace. They committed whoredom; because they have forsaken Jehovah. Whoredom, wine, and new wine, have occupied the heart. Your daughters commit whoredom, and your daughters-in-law commit adultery (Hosea 4:7, 10-11, 13).

"Whoredom, wine, and new wine," are falsified truths; "whoredom" falsification itself; "wine" interior falsity; "new wine" exterior falsity; "daughters who commit whoredom" are the goods of truth perverted; "daughters-in-law who commit adultery" are evils conjoined with falsities therefrom.

[13] In Isaiah:

It shall come to pass after the end of seventy years that Jehovah will visit Tyre, that she may return to her meretricious hire, and commit whoredom with all the kingdoms of the earth upon the faces of the world; at length her merchandise [and her meretricious hire] shall be holiness to Jehovah (Isaiah 23:17, 18).

"Tyre," in the Word, is the church in respect to the knowledges of truth and good; "meretricious hire" the same knowledges applied, by perverting them, to evils and falsities; "her merchandise" the vending of these. "To commit whoredom with all the kingdoms of the earth," is with all and every truth of the church. "Her merchandise and her meretricious hire shall be holiness to Jehovah" because these signify the knowledges of truth and good applied by them to falsities and evils; and by means of the knowledges themselves regarded in themselves, a man can gain wisdom; for knowledges are means of becoming wise, and they are also means of becoming insane. They are the means of becoming insane when they are falsified by being applied to evils and falsities. The like is signified where it is said that:

They should make to themselves friends of the unrighteous mammon (Luke 16:9);

and where it is commanded that:

They should borrow from the Egyptians gold, silver, and raiment, and take them away from them (Exodus 3:22; 12:35-36).

By the "Egyptians" are signified scientifics of every kind which they used to falsify truths.

[14] In Moses:

I will cut off the soul that looketh unto them that have familiar spirits and unto wizards, to go a-whoring after them (Leviticus 20:5, 6).

In Isaiah:

He entereth into peace, he walketh in uprightness. But draw ye near, ye sons of the enchantress, the seed of the adulterer and the harlot (Isaiah 57:2-3).

In Nahum:

Woe to the city of bloods, all in a lie, the horseman ascendeth, and the flaming of the sword, and the flashing of the spear, a multitude of the slain; for the multitude of the whoredoms of the harlot, of the mistress of sorceries, selling the nations through her whoredoms (Nahum 3:1, 3-4).

In Moses:

A covenant must not be made with the inhabitants of the land, lest the sons and daughters go a-whoring after their gods (Exodus 34:15-16).

In the same:

That ye may remember all the commandments of Jehovah, and do them; and that ye spy not after your own heart and your own eyes, after which ye are wont to go a-whoring (Numbers 15:39).

In Revelation:

Babylon hath made all nations to drink of the wine of the wrath of her whoredom (Revelation 14:8);

The angel said, I will show thee the judgment of the great harlot that sitteth upon many waters; with whom the kings of the earth have committed whoredom (Revelation 17:1-2);

Babylon hath made all nations to drink of the wine of the wrath of her whoredom, and the kings of the earth have committed whoredom with her (Revelation 18:3);

He hath judged the great harlot, which did corrupt the earth with her whoredom (Revelation 19:2).

It is manifest that in these passages by "whoredoms" are meant the falsifications of truth.

[15] As such things are signified by "whoredoms" and "adulteries," and as these have the same signification in heaven, therefore in the Israelitish church, which was a representative church, in which all things were significative, the following commands were given:

That there should be no harlot nor whoremonger in Israel (Deuteronomy 23:17);

That the man that committed adultery with the wife of a man, and the man that committed adultery with the wife of his companion should be put to death (Leviticus 20:10);

That the hire of a harlot should not be brought into the house of Jehovah for any vow (Deuteronomy 23:18);

That the sons of Aaron should not take a harlot to wife, nor a woman put away by her husband. That the high priest should take a virgin to wife. That the daughter of a priest, if she profaned herself by committing whoredom, should be burned with fire (Leviticus 21:7, 9, 13-14). (Besides many other passages.)

[16] That "whoredoms" and "adulteries" involve such things has been testified to me from much experience in the other life. The spheres from spirits who have been of such character have made these things evident; from the presence of spirits who have confirmed falsities in themselves, and have applied truths from the sense of the letter of the Word to confirm them, there exhales an abominable sphere of whoredom. Such spheres correspond to all the prohibited degrees (of which, see Lev. 20:11-21) with a difference according to the application of truths to falsities and the conjunction of falsities with evils, especially with evils that gush out of the love of self (of which more may be seen in the work on Heaven and Hell 384-386).

Notas a pie de página:

513. Verse 9. And there died the third part of the creatures in the sea having souls, signifies that in consequence every living knowledge [scientificum] in the natural man perished. This is evident from the signification of "dying," as being to perish spiritually, that is, in respect to the life of heaven; also from the signification of the "third part," as being all (See above, n. 506); also from the signification of the "creatures in the sea" (or fishes), as being knowledges [scientifica] (of which presently); also from the signification of "having souls," as being to be alive; consequently "there died the third part of the creatures in the sea having souls" signifies that in consequence every living knowledge perished. A living knowledge means a knowledge that derives life from spiritual affection; for that affection gives life to truths, and thus gives life to knowledges, for knowledges are containants of spiritual truths (See above, n. 506, 507, 511).

[2] "The creatures of the sea" (or fishes) signify knowledges, because the "sea" signifies the natural man, and thus "fishes in the sea" signify the knowledges themselves that are in the natural man. This signification of "fishes" also is from correspondence, for the spirits that are not in spiritual truths, but only in natural truths, which are knowledges, appear in the spiritual world in seas, and when viewed by those who are above, as fishes; for the thoughts that spring from the knowledges with such present that appearance. For all the ideas of the thought of angels and spirits are turned into various representatives outside of them; when turned into such things as are of the vegetable kingdom they are turned into trees and shrubs of various kinds; and when into such things as are of the animal kingdom they are turned into land animals and flying things of various kinds; when the ideas of the angels of heaven are turned into land animals they are turned into lambs, sheep, goats, bullocks, horses, mules, and other like animals; but when into flying things they are turned into turtle doves, pigeons, and various kinds of beautiful birds. But the ideas of thought of those who are natural and who think from mere knowledges are turned into the forms of fishes. Consequently in the seas various kinds of fishes appear, and this it has often been granted me to see.

[3] It is from this that in the Word "fishes" signify knowledges, as in the following passages. In Isaiah:

At My rebuke I dry up the sea, I make the rivers into a wilderness; their fish shall rot because there is no water, and shall die of thirst (Isaiah 50:2).

"The rebuke of Jehovah" means the ruin of the church, which takes place when there is no knowledge of truth and good, that is, no living knowledge, because there is no perception; "dry up the sea" signifies to deprive the natural man of true knowledges [scientifica], and thus of natural life from the spiritual; "to make the rivers into a wilderness" signifies a similar deprivation in the rational man whence there is no intelligence; "their fish shall rot because there is no water, and shall die of thirst," signifies that there is no longer any living knowledge [scientificum], because there is no truth, "fish" meaning knowledge, "water" truth, and "to rot" meaning to perish in respect to spiritual life.

[4] The like that is here said of the sea, that "a third part of it became blood, and thence the third part of the creatures in it died," is said also of Egypt, that its river and all its waters became blood, and consequently the fish died, in Moses:

Moses said to Pharaoh that the waters of the river should be turned into blood, and that consequently the fish should die, and the river should stink, and that the Egyptians would loathe to drink the waters of the river; and this was also done in respect to all the water in Egypt (Exodus 7:17-25).

It is said of this in David:

He turned their waters into blood, and slew their fish (Psalms 105:29).

The like was done in Egypt, because "Egypt" signifies the natural man in respect to its knowledge [scientificum], or the knowledge belonging to the natural man; "the river of Egypt" signifies intelligence acquired by means of knowledges; "the river becoming blood" signifies intelligence from mere falsities; "the fish dying" signifies that true knowledges were destroyed by falsities, for knowledges live by truths but are destroyed by falsities, for the reason that all spiritual truth is living, and from it is all the life, or as it were the soul, in the knowledges; therefore without spiritual truth knowledge is dead.

[5] In Ezekiel:

I am against thee, Pharaoh, king of Egypt, the great whale that lieth in the midst of his rivers, that hath said, My river is mine own, and I have made myself. Therefore I will put hooks in thy jaws, and I will cause the fish of thy rivers to stick unto thy scales, and I will bring thee up out of the midst of thy rivers, that all the fish of thy rivers may stick unto thy scales. And I will abandon thee in the wilderness, thee and all the fish of thy rivers (2 Ezekiel 29:3-5).

"Pharaoh" has a similar signification as "Egypt," for the king and the people have a similar signification, namely, the natural man and knowledge therein; therefore he is called "a great whale;" "whale (or sea-monster)" signifying knowledge in general; therefore it is said that "he shall be drawn out of the river," and that then "the fish shall stick to his scales," which signifies that all intelligence is to perish, and that knowledge (scientia) which will take its place will be in the sensual man without life. In the sensual man, which is the lowest natural, standing out nearest to the world, there are fallacies and falsities therefrom, and this is signified by "the fish sticking to the scales" of the whale. That the natural man and the knowledge therein will be without life from any intelligence is signified by "I will abandon thee in the wilderness, thee and all the fish of thy rivers." That such things would come to pass because the natural man attributes all intelligence to itself, is signified by "that hath said, My river is mine own, I have made myself," "river" meaning intelligence.

[6] In Moses:

The sons of Israel said in the wilderness, We remember the fish that we did eat in Egypt freely, and the cucumbers and the melons, and the leeks and the onions and the garlic; now our soul is dried up; there is nothing at all except this manna before our eyes. Afterwards there went forth a wind from Jehovah, and snatched quails from the sea, and let them fall over the camp. But because of this lust Jehovah smote the people with a very great plague; consequently the name of that place was called the Graves of Lust (Numbers 11:5, 6, 31, 33, 34).

This signified that the sons of Israel were averse from things spiritual and hungered after natural things; indeed, they were not spiritual but merely natural, only representing a spiritual church by external things. That they were averse from spiritual things is signified by "our soul is dried up, there is nothing at all except this manna before our eyes," "manna" signifying spiritual food, which is knowledge (scientia), intelligence, and wisdom. That they hungered after natural things is signified by "their lusting after the fish in Egypt, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic," all which signify such things as belong to the lowest natural, that is, the sensual-corporeal man; and because they rejected things spiritual, and coveted merely natural things instead, "they were smitten with a great plague, and the name given to the place was the Graves of Lust."

[7] In Ezekiel:

He said to me, These waters go forth toward the eastern boundary, and go down into the plain and come towards the sea, being sent forth into the sea that the waters may be healed; whence it comes to pass that every living soul that creeps, whithersoever the brooks come, shall live; whence there is exceeding much fish. Therefore it shall come to pass that the fishers shall stand upon it from En-gedi even unto En-eglaim; with the spreading of nets are they there; their fish shall be according to their kind, as the fish of the great sea, exceeding many. But the miry places and the marshes thereof which are not healed shall be given to salt (Ezekiel 47:8-11).

This treats of the house of God, which signifies heaven and the church; and "the waters that go forth out of the house of God towards the east" signify Divine truth reforming and regenerating; the "plain" and the "sea" into which the waters go down, signify the ultimate things of heaven and the church, which with the men of the church are the things that belong to the natural and sensual man, the "plain" signifying the interior things thereof, and the "sea" the exterior things thereof; that both cognitions from the Word and confirming knowledges [scientifica] receive spiritual life through this Divine truth is signified by "the waters of the sea are healed thereby," and by "every soul that creepeth shall live," and by "there shall be exceeding much fish;" that there are in consequence true and living knowledges of every kind is signified by "their fish shall be according to their kind, as the fish of the great sea, exceeding many." Those who are reformed, and thence become intelligent, are meant by "the fishers from En-gedi even to En-eglaim." Those who cannot be reformed because they are in the falsities of evil are signified by "the miry places and marshes that are not healed, but are given to salt." Everyone can see that this does not mean that fishes are multiplied by the waters going forth out of the house of God, but that "fishes" mean such things in man as can be reformed, since "the house of God" means heaven and the church, and the "waters going forth therefrom" mean Divine truth reforming.

[8] In the Word here and there mention is made of "the beast of the earth," "the fowl of heaven," and "the fish of the sea," and he who does not know that the "beast of the earth" (or of the field) means man's voluntary faculty, "the fowl of heaven" his intellectual faculty, and "the fish of the sea" his knowing faculty, cannot know at all the meaning of these passages, as in the following. In Hosea:

Jehovah hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land. Therefore the land shall mourn, and everyone that dwelleth therein shall languish, among the beasts of the field, and among the fowl of the heavens; and also the fishes of the sea shall be gathered up (Hosea 4:1, 3).

In Zephaniah:

I will consume man and beast, I will consume the fowl of the heavens, and the fishes of the sea, and the stumbling blocks with the wicked (Zephaniah 1:3).

In Ezekiel:

In the day that Gog shall come upon the land of Israel, there shall be a great earthquake over the land of Israel, and the fishes of the sea, and the fowl of the heavens, and the beast of the field, shall quake before Me (Ezekiel 38:18-20).

In Job:

Ask the beasts and they shall teach thee, or the fowl of heaven and they shall tell thee, or the shrub of the earth and it shall teach thee, and the fishes of the sea shall declare unto thee. Who doth not know by all these things that the hand of Jehovah doeth this? (Job 12:7-9).

In these passages "the beast of the field" means man's voluntary faculty, "the fowl of heaven" his intellectual faculty, and "the fish of the sea" his knowing faculty; otherwise how could it be said "the beasts shall teach thee, the fowl of heaven shall tell thee, and the fishes of the sea shall declare unto thee, that the hand of Jehovah doeth this"? Also it is said, "Who doth not know by all these things?"

[9] Likewise in David:

Thou madest him to rule over the works of Thy hands; Thou hast put all things under his feet, the flock and all herds, the beasts of the fields, the fowl of heaven, and the fish of the sea, whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas (Psalms 8:6-8).

This is said of the Lord and His dominion. That He has dominion over angels in the heavens and over men on the earth is known from the Word, for He says that unto Him "all power in heaven and in earth has been given" (Matthew 28:18); but that dominion was given to Him over animals, fowl, and fishes, is not a matter of sufficient importance to be mentioned in the Word, where each and every thing has reference to heaven and the church. It is therefore evident that "flock and herds, the beasts of the fields, the fowl of heaven, and the fish of the sea," mean such things as belong to heaven with angels and to the church with man, "the flock and the herds" signifying, in general, things spiritual and natural, the "flock" things spiritual, and "herds" things natural that are with man, or that belong to the spiritual mind and to the natural mind with him. "The beasts of the fields" signify things voluntary, which belong to the affections; "the fowl of heaven" signify things intellectual, which belong to the thoughts; and "the fishes of the sea" signify knowledges (scientifica) which belong to the natural man.

[10] Like things are signified by these words in the first chapter of Genesis:

And God said, We will make man in Our image, after Our likeness; that he may have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of heaven, and over every animal that creepeth upon the earth (verses 26, 28).

This chapter treats in the internal spiritual sense of the establishment of the Most Ancient Church, thus of the new creation or regeneration of the men of that church. That it was given to them to perceive all things of their affection which belong to the will, and to see all things of their thought which belong to the understanding, and to so rule over them as not to wander away into the lusts of evil and into falsities, is meant by "that he may have dominion over the fish of the sea, and the fowl of heaven, and every animal of the earth;" and man has dominion over these things when the Lord has dominion over man, for man of himself does not have dominion over anything in himself. "The fish of the sea, the fowl of heaven, and the beast of the field," have this signification because of their correspondence. The correspondences of the interior things of man with these things stand forth so as to be clearly seen in the spiritual world; for there beasts of every kind, and birds, and fishes in the seas, are seen, which nevertheless are nothing else than the ideas of thought that flow forth from affections, and these are presented under such forms because they are correspondences.

[11] Because "fishes" signify the knowledges and cognitions belonging to the natural man that serve the spiritual man as means for becoming wise, so "fishers" mean in the Word those who are merely in knowledges, also those who are acquiring knowledges for themselves, also those who teach others and by means of knowledges reform them. The works of such are meant by "the casting and spreading of nets," as in the following passages. In Isaiah:

The fishers shall moan, and all they that cast the hook into the river shall mourn, and they that spread the net upon the faces of the waters shall languish (Isaiah 19:8).

"The fishers that cast the hook into the river and they that spread the net" mean those who wish to acquire for themselves knowledges and through these intelligence, here that they are unable to do this because there are no knowledges of truth anywhere.

[12] In Jeremiah:

I will bring back the sons of Israel again upon their land; I will send to many fishers who shall fish them; then I will send to many hunters, who shall hunt them from upon every mountain and from upon every hill, and out of the clefts of the cliffs (Jeremiah 16:15, 16).

"To send to fishers who shall fish them, and to hunters who shall hunt them," means to call together and establish the church with those who are in natural good and in spiritual good, as may be seen above n. 405.

[13] In Habakkuk:

Wherefore dost Thou make man as the fishes of the sea, as the creeping thing that hath no ruler? Let him draw up all with the hook, and gather him into his net. Shall he therefore empty his net, and not pity to slay the nations continually? (Mark 1:14, 15, 17).

This was said of the Chaldean nation wasting and destroying the church; and the Chaldean nation signifies the profanation of truth, and the vastation of the church. "To make men as the fishes of the sea, and as the creeping thing that hath no ruler," signifies to make man so natural that his knowledges (scientifica) are devoid of spiritual truth, and his delights are devoid of spiritual good; for in the natural man there are knowledges by which come thoughts, and delights by which come affections; and if the spiritual is not dominant over these, both thoughts and affections are wandering, and thus man is destitute of the intelligence that should lead and rule. That then every falsity and every evil has power to draw them over to their side, and thus wholly destroy them, is signified by "Let him draw out all with the hook, and gather into his net, and afterwards slay," "to draw out" meaning out of truth and good, "into his net" meaning into falsity and evil, and "to slay" meaning to destroy.

[14] In Amos:

The days will come in which they shall draw you out with hooks, and your posterity with fish hooks (Amos 4:2).

This signifies leading away and alienating from truths by means of acute reasonings from falsities and fallacies; it is said of those who abound in knowledges because they have the Word and the prophets; such are here meant by "the kine of Bashan in the mountain of Samaria."

[15] From this the meaning of "fishermen," "fishes" and "nets," so often mentioned in the New Testament, can be seen, as in the following passages:

Jesus saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishers. And He said unto them, Come ye after Me, and I will make you fishers of men (Matthew 4:18, 19: Mark 1:16, 17).

Jesus entered into Simon's boat and was teaching the multitude. After that He told Simon to let out his nets for a draught, and they inclosed a great multitude of fishes, so that the boats were filled, and in danger of sinking. And amazement seized them all, because of the draught of fishes; and He said unto Simon, Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men (Luke 5:3-10).

In this also there is a spiritual sense, like that in the rest of the Word; the Lord's choosing these fishermen and saying that "they should become fishers of men," signified that they should gather to the church; "the nets which they let out, and in which they inclosed a great multitude of fishes, so that the ships were in danger of sinking," signified the reformation of the church through them, for "fishes" here signify the knowledges of truth and good by means of which reformation is effected, likewise the multitude of men who are to be reformed.

[16] The draught of fishes by the disciples after the Lord's resurrection has a like signification; it is thus described in John:

When Jesus manifested Himself to the disciples, who were fishing, He told them to cast the net on the right side of the boat. And they took so many that they were not able to draw the net for the multitude of fishes. When they descended upon the land they saw a fire built, and a little fish lying thereon, and bread. And Jesus gave them the bread, and the little fish likewise (John 21:2-13).

The Lord manifested Himself while they were fishing, because "to fish" signified to teach the knowledges of truth and good, and thus to reform. His commanding them "to cast the net on the right side of the boat" signified that all things should be from the good of love and charity, "the right side" signifying that good from which all things should come, for so far as knowledges are derived from good, so far they live and are multiplied. They said that "they had labored all the night and had taken nothing," which signified that from self or from one's own (proprium) nothing comes, but that all things are from the Lord; and the like was signified by the "fire" on which was the little fish, and by the "bread;" for the "bread" signified the Lord and the good of love from Him, and "the fish on the fire" the knowledge of truth from good, the "fish" the knowledge of truth, and the "fire" good. At that time there were no spiritual men, because the church was wholly vastated, but all were natural, and their reformation was represented by this fishing, and also by the fish on the fire. He who believes that the fish on the fire and the bread that were given to the disciples to eat were not significative of something higher is very much mistaken, for the least things done by the Lord and said by Him were significative of Divine celestial things, which become evident only through the spiritual sense. That this "fire of coals" and "fire" mean the good of love, and that "bread" means the Lord in relation to that good, has been shown above; and that a "fish" means the knowledge of truth and the knowing faculty of the natural man is clear from what has been said and shown in this article.

[17] It is also said by the Lord that:

The kingdom of the heavens is like unto a net cast into the sea bringing together every kind of fish, which when it was full they drew upon the beach, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away. So shall it be in the consummation of the age (Matthew 13:47-49).

The separation of the good and the evil is here likened to "a net cast into the sea bringing together every kind of fish," for the reason that "fishes" signify natural men in respect to knowledges and cognitions, and in "the consummation of the age," or at the time of the Last Judgment, such are separated from one another; for there are good natural men and bad natural men; and the separation of these in the spiritual world has the appearance of a net or drag-net cast into the sea, bringing together the fish, and drawing them to the shore, and this appearance is also from correspondence. This is why the Lord likens the kingdom of the heavens to "a net bringing together the fish." That the separation of the good from the evil presents this appearance it has been granted me to see.

[18] That natural men are signified by "fish" is clear from this miracle of the Lord:

Those who received the half-shekel came. Jesus said to Simon, The kings of the earth, from whom do they receive tribute or toll? from their sons or from strangers? Peter said unto Him, From strangers. Jesus said unto him, Therefore are the sons free. But lest we cause them to stumble, go thou to the sea and cast a hook, and take up the fish that first cometh up, and open its mouth and thou shalt find a shekel; that take and give unto them for Me and thee (Matthew 17:24-27).

"To pay tribute and toll," signified to be subject and to serve, therefore tribute was imposed on strangers, who were not of the sons of Israel, as is evident from the histories of the Word. "The sons of Israel," with whom was the church, signified the spiritual, and "strangers" the natural; and what is natural is subject to what is spiritual and serves it, for the spiritual man is like a lord, and the natural man like a servant; and as the natural are servants, and are therefore meant by those who pay tribute, so it was brought about that neither the Lord nor Peter, but the "fish," which signified the natural man, should furnish the tribute.

[19] The Lord's glorification of His Human, even to its ultimate, which is called natural and sensual, is signified by the following:

Jesus, having appeared to the disciples, said, See My hands and My feet, that it is I myself; feel of Me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones as ye behold Me having. And He showed them the hands and feet. And He said unto them, Have ye here anything to eat? They gave Him a piece of a broiled fish and of a honeycomb. And He took it and did eat before them (Luke 24:38-43).

That the Lord glorified His Human even to its ultimate, which is called the natural and sensual, He made manifest by showing the hands and feet, and by the disciples feeling them, and by His saying that "a spirit hath not flesh and bones as He had;" and by His eating of the broiled fish and honeycomb. "Hands and feet" signify the ultimates of man, likewise "flesh and bones;" and "broiled fish" signifies the natural in respect to truth from good, and "honey" the natural in respect to the good from which is truth. Because these corresponded to the natural man, and thence signified it, they were eaten in the presence of the disciples; for a "fish," as has been shown in this article, signifies from correspondence the natural in respect to knowing [scientificum]; wherefore also "a fish" signifies in the Word knowledge and the knowing faculty [scientificum et cognitivum] which belong to the natural man, and a "broiled fish" signifies knowledge that is from natural good; but with the Lord it signifies the Divine natural in respect to truth from good (that "honey" signifies natural good may be seen in Arcana Coelestia, n. 5620, 6857, 10137, 10530). One who does not know that in each particular of the Word there is a spiritual sense, and that the sense of the letter, which is the natural sense, consists of correspondences with things spiritual, cannot know this arcanum, namely, why the Lord ate of the broiled fish and honeycomb in the presence of His disciples, nor why, as here, He gave broiled fish and bread to His disciples; and yet each and every thing that the Lord said and did was Divine, and these Divine things lie hidden in each thing written in the Word.

[20] From this the signification of "there died the third part of the creatures in the sea having souls" can now be seen, namely, that every living knowledge in the natural man perished; or, what is the same, that the natural man in respect to knowledges therein died. The natural man is said to be dead when it is not made alive from the spiritual man, that is, by influx out of heaven from the Lord through the spiritual man, for the Lord flows in through the spiritual man into the natural. When, therefore, no truth of heaven is any longer acknowledged, and no good of heaven affects man, the spiritual mind, which is called the spiritual man, is closed up, and the natural mind receives mere falsities from evil, and falsities from evil are spiritually dead, since truths from good are what are spiritually alive.

[21] It is said "the third part of the creatures," because "creatures" and "animals" signified in the Word the affections and thoughts therefrom in man; consequently they mean men themselves in respect to affections and thoughts. Such is the signification of "creatures" in Mark:

Jesus said to the disciples, Going into all the world, preach ye the Gospel to every creature (Mark 16:15).

Also above in Revelation:

And every creature that is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth, and those that are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Unto Him that sitteth upon the throne and unto the Lamb be the blessing, and the honor, and the glory, and the strength, unto the ages of the ages (Revelation 5:13).

It is evident that here "every creature" means both angels and men, for it is said that "he heard them saying." (See above, n. 342-346, where this is explained.)