387. And with death, signifies the consequent extinction of spiritual life. This is evident from the signification of "death," as being the extinction of spiritual life (See above, n. 78, 186). That this is what "death" here signifies is evident from the series of things in the internal sense; for it is said that "there was given unto them power to kill with sword, with famine, and with death;" and "sword" signifies falsity destroying truth, "famine" the deprivation of the knowledges of truth and good; thence "death" signifies the extinction of spiritual life; for where falsity reigns, and where there are no knowledges of truth and good, there is no spiritual life, for spiritual life is acquired by means of the knowledges of truth and good applied to the uses of life. For man is born into all evil and falsity from evil; he is therefore born also into an entire ignorance of all spiritual knowledges; therefore in order that he may be led away from the evils and consequent falsities into which he is born, and be led into the life of heaven and be saved, he must needs acquire the knowledges of truth and good, by means of which he can be led into spiritual life and become spiritual. From this series of things in the internal sense it is evident that "death" here signifies the extinction of spiritual life; this is meant, too, by spiritual death.

78. As dead, signifies failure of self-life. This is evident from the signification of "as dead," in reference to the Divine presence with man, as meaning the failure of self-life; for man's self-life is that into which he is born, which is in itself nothing but evil, for it is altogether inverted, for it has regard to itself and the world only, and therefore turns itself back away from God and from heaven. The life that is not man's self-life is that into which he is led when he is being regenerated by the Lord; and when he comes into that life he regards God and heaven in the first place, and self and the world in the second. That life flows in with man when the Lord is present; consequently so far as that life flows in, so far there is effected a turning of the life. This turning, when effected suddenly, causes man to appear to himself as dead; thence it is that by "as dead" is here signified the failure of self-life. But these two states of life cannot be so described as to be apprehended. Moreover, they are not the same with a man and with a spirit, and they are wholly different with the evil and with the good. Man cannot live with the body in the presence of the Divine; those who do live are encompassed by an angelic column, which moderates the Divine influx; for the body of every man is nonreceptive of the Divine, consequently it dies and is cast off. That man cannot live with the body in the presence of the Divine can be seen from the words of the Lord to Moses:

Thou canst not see My faces; for man shall not see Me and live (Exodus 33:20);

Moses, therefore, because he desired to see, was placed in a cleft of a rock and was covered until the Lord had passed by. Furthermore, it was known to the ancients that man cannot see God and live, as is evident from the book of Judges:

Manoah said unto his wife, Dying we shall die, because we have seen God (Judges 13:22);

and this was also attested to the sons of Israel, when the Lord was seen from Mount Sinai, of which it is thus written in Moses:

Be ready against the third day; for the third day Jehovah will come down in the eyes of all the people, upon Mount Sinai. And thou shalt set bounds unto the people round about, saying, Take heed to yourselves, that ye go not up into the mount, or touch the extremity of it; whosoever toucheth the mount dying he shall die. And because terror seized upon them, they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us and we will hear; but let not God speak with us lest perchance we die (Exodus 19:11-12; 20:19).

(That by "Mount Sinai" is signified heaven, where the Lord is, and that by "touching" is signified to communicate, to transfer, and to receive, and for this reason it was forbidden to touch the extremity of that mountain, see in the (Arcana Coelestia 8785, 8797, 8818) explanation of those chapters in the Arcana Coelestia.) Jehovah has been seen by many, as recorded in the Word, but this was because they were encompassed at the time by a column of spirits, and thus were preserved, as was said above. In this way the Lord has also been seen at different times by me. But the state of spirits in the Divine presence is different from the state of men; spirits cannot die, consequently if they are evil they die a spiritual death in the Divine presence, the nature of which will be spoken of presently; but those who are good are conveyed into societies, where the sphere of the Divine presence is tempered and accommodated to reception. On account of this there are three heavens, and in each heaven many societies, and those who are in the higher heavens are nearer to the Lord, and those who are in the lower are more remote from Him (See the work on Heaven and Hell 20-28, 29-40, 41-50, 206-209). What the spiritual death is that evil spirits die in the Divine presence, shall be briefly stated. Spiritual death is a turning away and removal from the Lord. When evil spirits, however, who have not yet been vastated, that is, have not yet become fixed in their ruling love, enter any angelic society, then because the Divine of the Lord is there present they are direfully tormented, and not only turn away but even cast themselves down into the depths, where no light from heaven enters; some into dark caverns of rocks; in a word, into the hells (See what is shown in the work on Heaven and Hell 54, 400, 410, 510, 525, 527). This turning away and removal from the Lord is what is called spiritual death; and with such the spiritual of heaven is dead.