10283. Upon the flesh of man shall it not be poured. That this signifies that which is not communicative to what is man’s own, is evident from the signification of “the flesh of man,” as being that which is his own (of which below); and from the signification of “pouring,” as being to communicate; for the like is signified by “pouring” as by “touching,” but “pouring” is said of liquids, as of oil, wine, and water, and “pouring forth” of things Divine, celestial, and spiritual; while “touching” is said of things dry and bodily (that “to touch” denotes to communicate, see n. 10130). Hence it follows that by the oil of anointing not being poured on the flesh of man is signified that the Divine good of the Lord’s Divine love is not communicative to that which is man’s own, because that which is man’s own is nothing but evil, and the Lord’s Divine good cannot be communicated to what is evil. (That what is man’s own is nothing but evil, see n. 210, 215, 731, 874-876, 987, 1023, 1024, 1047, 5660, 5786, 8480)

[2] Man has that which is his own in both the will and the understanding; the former is evil, and the latter is the falsity thence derived; that is to say, the former is signified by “the flesh of man,” and the latter by the “blood” of this flesh. That this is so is evident from the following passages, in Matthew:

Jesus said, Blessed art thou, Simon, for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but My Father who is in the heavens (Matthew 16:17).

That “flesh” here, and also “blood,” denote that which is man’s own, is very evident.

[3] In John:

As many as received Him, to them gave He power to be the sons of God, who were born, not of bloods, nor of the will of the flesh, but of God (John 1:12-13).

By “bloods” are here signified the falsities which come forth from that which is man’s own in his understanding; and by “the will of the flesh” are signified the evils which come forth from that which is his own in his will. (That “bloods” denote falsity from evil, thus what is man’s own in the understanding derived from what is his own in the will, see n. 4735, 9127)

[4] In Isaiah:

I will feed thine oppressors with their own flesh; and they shall be drunken with their own blood as with new wine (Isaiah 49:26); where to “feed them with their own flesh, and make them drunken with their own blood,” denotes to fill them with evil and the falsity of evil, thus with that which is their own; for both evil and falsity are from this.

[5] In Jeremiah:

Cursed is the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm (Jeremiah 17:5).

“To trust in man, and make flesh his arm,” denotes to trust in himself and in what is his own.

[6] In Isaiah:

The people is become like food for the fire; if one shall cut down on the right hand, he shall be hungry; and if he shall eat on the left hand, they shall not be satisfied; they shall eat every man the flesh of his own arm: Manasseh, Ephraim; and Ephraim, Manasseh (Isaiah 9:19-20).

By “food for the fire” is signified the appropriation of evils, or the cupidities of the love of self and the world; by “being hungry and not being satisfied” is signified not to receive the good and truth of faith; by “the flesh of the arm” is signified what is man’s own of both kinds; by “Manasseh,” the evil of the will; by “Ephraim,” the falsity of the understanding; and by “eating,” to make one’s own. (That “fires” denote the evils or cupidities of the love of self and the world, see n. 5071, 5215, 6314, 6832, 7324, 7575, 9141; and that “to be hungry and not satisfied” denotes not to receive the good and truth of faith, is because by “hunger and thirst” is signified the desolation of good and truth, n. 5360, 5376, 6110, 7102, 8568; that the “right hand” denotes the good from which is truth, and the “left hand” the truth through which is good, see n. 10061.) Hence “to be hungry if he cut down on the right hand, and not to be satisfied if he ate on the left hand,” signifies that however much they are instructed concerning good and truth, they will nevertheless not receive them.

[7] “Manasseh” denotes the good of the will (see n. 5348, 5351, 5353, 6222, 6234, 6238, 6267); and “Ephraim” denotes the truth of the understanding (n. 3969, 5354, 6222, 6234, 6238, 6267); hence in the opposite sense “Manasseh” denotes the evil of the will, and “Ephraim” the falsity of the understanding, for almost all things in the Word have also an opposite sense. “To eat” denotes to appropriate (n. 3168, 3513, 3596, 4745); hence it is plain what is meant by “eating the flesh of his own arm,” namely, appropriating to themselves evil and falsity from what is their own. It is said “the flesh of the arm” because by the “arm,” as by the “hand,” is signified that which belongs to man, and in which he trusts (see at the places cited in n. 10019).

[8] In Zechariah:

I said, I will not feed you; he that dieth let him die; let those who remain eat everyone the flesh of another (Zech. 11:9).

“Not to feed” denotes not to instruct and reform; “to die” denotes to perish as to spiritual life; “to eat the flesh of another” denotes to appropriate to themselves the evils which are from that which is another’s.

[9] In Ezekiel:

Jerusalem, thou hast committed whoredom with the sons of Egypt thy neighbors, great in flesh (Ezekiel 16:26).

“Jerusalem” denotes the perverted church; “to commit whoredom with the sons of Egypt great in flesh” denotes to falsify the truths of the church by means of memory-knowledges which are from the natural man alone, thus by means of sensuous memory-knowledges. (That “Jerusalem” denotes the church, see n. 402, 2117, 3654, here the perverted church; that “to commit whoredom” denotes to falsify truths, n. 2466, 2729, 8904; that “sons” denote truths and also falsities, n. 1147, 3373, 4257, 9807; that “Egypt” denotes memory-knowledge in both senses, see the places cited in n. 9340; and that it denotes the natural, n. 9391.) Hence those are called “great in flesh” who from the things of sense reason and draw conclusions about the truths of the church. They who do this, seize on falsities instead of truths, for to reason and draw conclusions from the things of sense is to do so from the fallacies of the bodily senses; wherefore it is sensuous men who are meant by “great in flesh,” because they think from that which is their own in the body.

[10] In Isaiah:

Egypt is a man, and not God; and his horses are flesh, and not spirit (Isaiah 31:3).

Here also “Egypt” denotes memory-knowledge; his “horses” denote the understanding thence derived; this is called “flesh not spirit,” when they draw conclusions from what is their own, and not from the Divine (that “horses” denote the understanding, see n. 2761, 2762, 3217, 5321, 6534; and that the “horses of Egypt” denote memory-knowledges in conformity with a perverted understanding, n. 6125, 8146, 8148).

[11] That by “flesh” is signified that which is man’s own, or what is the same, the evil of his will, is evident from Moses where the subject treated of is the desire of the Israelitish people to eat flesh, of which it is thus written:

The rabble that was in the midst of the people lusted a lust, and said, Who shall feed us with flesh? Jehovah said, Tomorrow ye shall eat flesh; ye shall not eat it one day, nor two days, nor five days, nor ten days, nor twenty days, but even for a month of days. And there went forth a wind from Jehovah, and carried off the quails from the sea, and let them fall over the camp, as it were two ells upon the faces of the earth. The people rose up all the day and all the night, and all the next day, and gathered and spread them round about the camp. While the flesh was yet between their teeth, before it was swallowed, the anger of Jehovah burned against the people, and Jehovah smote the people with a very great plague; whence he called the name of that place, The graves of lust (Numbers 11:4, 18-20, 31 11:31-33).

[12] That “flesh” signified what belonged to that nation, can be seen from the details in this passage; for had it not been so, what evil could there have been in desiring flesh, especially as flesh had previously been promised them (Exodus 16:12)? But as it signified that which was their own, thus the evil of the will, in which that nation was more than other nations, therefore it is said when they desired flesh, that they “lusted a lust;” and therefore they were smitten with a great plague, and the name of the place where they were buried was called “the graves of lusts [concupiscentiarum].” Whether you say evil of the will, or concupiscence, it is the same, for the evil of the will is concupiscence, because man’s own desires nothing but its own, and not anything of the neighbor, or anything of God, except for the sake of itself.

Because that nation was of this character, it is said that “they should eat flesh, not one day, nor two, nor five, nor ten, nor twenty, but even for a month of days,” by which is signified that that nation would be such forever; for “a month of days” means forever, and therefore it is said that “the flesh being yet between the teeth, before it was swallowed, they were smitten with a great plague;” for by “teeth” is signified the bodily (or corporeal) own, which is the lowest of man (n. 4424, 5565-5568, 9062). (That that nation was of such a character, see the places cited in n. 9380; and also in the song of Moses in Deuteronomy, 32:20-28, 32-34.)

[13] In the Word, “spirit” is opposed to “flesh,” because by “spirit” is signified life from the Lord, and by “flesh” life from man, as in John:

It is the spirit that quickeneth, the flesh profiteth nothing; the words that I speak unto you are spirit and are life (John 6:63).

From this it is evident that “spirit” denotes life from the Lord, which is the life of love and faith to Him from Him; and that “flesh” denotes life from man, thus what is his own; hence it is said, “the flesh profiteth nothing.” In like manner in John:

That which is born of the flesh is flesh; but that which is born of the spirit is spirit (John 3:6).

God remembered that they were flesh, a wind [spirit] that goeth away, and cometh not again (Psalms 78:39).

[14] As by “flesh,” when said of man, is signified that which is his own, which is the evil of the love of self and the world, it is plain what is signified by “flesh” when said of the Lord, namely, that which is His own, which is the Divine good of the Divine love. This is signified by the “flesh” of the Lord in John:

The bread that I will give is My flesh. Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink His blood, ye have no life in you; he that eateth My flesh, and drinketh My blood, hath eternal life; for My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed (John 6:51, 53-55).

(That by the Lord’s “flesh” is signified the Divine good of His Divine love, and by His “blood” the Divine truth proceeding from this Divine good, thus the like as by the bread and the wine in the Holy Supper, and that these are His own in His Divine Human, see n. 1001, 3813, (3813) 4735, 4976, 6978, 7317, 7326, 7850, 9127, 9393, 10026, 10033, 10152; and that the sacrifices represented the goods which are from the Lord, and that on this account their “flesh” signified goods, see n. 10040, 10079). Moreover, in the Word throughout mention is made of “all flesh,” and by it is meant every man (as Genesis 6:12-13, 17, 19; Isaiah 40:5-6; 49:26 66:16, 23-24; Jeremiah 25:31; 32:27; 45:5; Ezekiel 20:48; 21:4-5).

5313. Only in the throne will I be greater than thou. That this signifies that nevertheless it will appear as if from the natural, because from the celestial of the spiritual through the natural, is manifest from the signification of “being greater than another,” as here being to be greater in appearance or to the sight; and from the signification of a “throne,” as here being the natural. For the natural is meant by a “throne” when the celestial of the spiritual is meant by “him that sitteth upon it;” for the natural is like a throne for the spiritual, here the celestial of the spiritual. In general that which is lower is like a throne for the higher; for the higher is and acts therein, and indeed through the lower, and what is done appears as if done by the lower, because, as just said, it is done through it. This is what is meant by Pharaoh saying to Joseph, “Only in the throne will I be greater than thou.”

[2] A “throne” is often mentioned in the Word where the subject treated of is Divine truth and judgment therefrom; and by “throne” in the internal sense is signified that which belongs to the Divine royalty, and by “him that sitteth upon it,” the Lord Himself as King or Judge. But the signification of “throne,” like that of many other things, is according to the application. When the Divine Itself and the Lord’s Divine Human are meant by “him that sitteth on the throne,” then the Divine truth which proceeds from Him is meant by the “throne;” but when the Divine truth that proceeds from the Lord is meant by “him that sitteth on the throne,” then the universal heaven filled with Divine truth is meant by the “throne;” but when the Lord as to the Divine truth in the higher heavens is meant by “him that sitteth on the throne,” then the Divine truth in the lowest heaven and also in the church, is meant by the “throne.” Thus the significations of “throne” are relative. That by a “throne” is signified that which belongs to Divine truth, is because truth is signified in the Word by a “king,” and also by a “kingdom.” (That truth is signified by a “king” may be seen above, n. 1672, 1728, 2015, 2069, 3009, 3670, 4581, 4966, 5044, 5068; and by a “kingdom,” n. 1672, 2547, 4691)

[3] But what is specifically meant in the Word by a “throne” is plain from the connection in which it is spoken of, as in Matthew:

I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven, for it is God’s throne; nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King (Matthew 5:34-35).

Again in another place:

He that shall swear by heaven, sweareth by the throne of God, and by Him that sitteth thereon (Matthew 23:22).

Here it is expressly said that heaven is “God’s throne;” and by the “earth,” called His “footstool,” is signified that which is below heaven, thus the church. (That the “earth” is the church may be seen above, n. 566, 662, 1066, 1068, 1262, 1413, 1607, 1733, 1850, 2117, 2118, 2928, 3355, 4447, 4535) Likewise in Isaiah:

Thus saith Jehovah, The heavens are My throne, and the earth is My footstool (Isaiah 66:1);

and in David:

Jehovah hath made firm His throne in the heavens (Psalms 103:19).

In Matthew:

When the Son of man shall come in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then shall He sit upon the throne of His glory (Matthew 25:31);

speaking of the Last Judgment, and He that sitteth on the throne is called the “King” (Matthew 25:34, 40). Here the “throne of glory” in the internal sense is the Divine truth that is from the Divine good in heaven; “He that sitteth on that throne” is the Lord, who, being the Judge from Divine truth, is here called the “King.”

[4] In Luke:

He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give unto Him the throne of His father David (Luke 1:32);

said by the angel to Mary. Everyone can see that the throne of David here is not the kingdom David had, or a kingdom on earth, but a kingdom in heaven; and therefore by “David” is not meant David, but the Lord’s Divine royalty; and by “throne” is signified the Divine truth that goes forth and makes the Lord’s kingdom.

In Revelation:

I was in the spirit; and behold a throne was set in heaven, and on the throne was one sitting. And He that sat was to look upon like a jasper stone and a sardius; and there was a rainbow round about the throne in look like an emerald. And round about the throne were four and twenty thrones, and upon the thrones I saw four and twenty elders sitting. And out of the throne went forth lightnings and thunderings and voices. And there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne that are the seven spirits of God. And before the throne there was a glassy sea like unto crystal; and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, four animals full of eyes before and behind. And when the animals have given glory and honor and thanks to Him that sitteth upon the throne, who liveth forever and ever, the four and twenty elders shall fall down before Him that sitteth upon the throne, and shall worship Him that liveth forever and ever, and shall cast their crowns before the throne (Revelation 4:2-10).

[5] In these verses is representatively described the throne of the Lord’s glory, and thereby the Divine truth proceeding from Him, but if the signification of these representatives is not known, scarcely anything can be known of the meaning of these prophetic words, and they will be supposed to be devoid of anything more deeply Divine than the sense of the letter; in which case the heavenly kingdom will be thought of as if it were an earthly kingdom. And yet by a “throne set in heaven” is signified the Divine truth there, thus heaven as to Divine truth; and by “Him that sat upon the throne” is meant the Lord. That “to look upon He appeared like a jasper stone and a sardius” is because by these stones, as by all the precious stones spoken of in the Word, is signified Divine truth (see n. 114, 3858, 3862); and by “stones” in general the truths of faith (n. 643, 1298, 3720, 3769, 3771, 3773, 3789, 3798).

[6] By the “rainbow round about the throne” are signified truths pellucid from good; and this because colors in the other life are from the light of heaven, and the light of heaven is Divine truth (in regard to rainbows in the other life see what is said above, n. 1042, 1043, 1053, 1623-1625; and also in regard to colors, n. 1053, 1624, 3993, 4530, 4677, 4741, 4742, 4922). By the “twenty-four thrones round about the throne” are signified all things of truth in one complex, the like as is signified by “twelve.” (That “twelve” denotes all things of truth in a complex may be seen above, n. 577, 2089, 2129, 2130, 3272, 3858, 3913.) The “lightnings, thunderings, and voices that proceeded out of the throne” signify the terrors caused by the Divine truth with those who are not in good. The “seven lamps of fire burning” are affections of truth from good, which do hurt to those who are not in good, and therefore are called the “seven spirits of God who do hurt,” as is plain from the following verses.

[7] The “glassy sea before the throne” is all the truth in the natural, thus knowledges (that these things are the “sea” may be seen above, n. 28, 2850). The “four animals in the midst of the throne and round about the throne full of eyes before and behind” are things of the understanding from the Divine in the heavens, “four” signifying their conjunction with the things of the will. For truths are of the intellectual part and goods are of the will part, whence it is said that they were “full of eyes before and behind,” because “eyes” signify things of the understanding, and hence in a higher sense the things of faith (see n. 2701, 3820, 4403-4421, 4523-4534). (That “four” denotes conjunction, the same as “two,” may be seen above, n. 1686, 3519, 5194.) The holiness of the Divine truth proceeding from the Lord is described in the rest of the passage.

[8] As by the “twenty-four thrones and the twenty-four elders” are signified all things of truth or all things of faith in one complex, and the like by “twelve,” it is evident that all things of truth, from which and according to which Judgment is effected, are what is meant in the internal sense by the “twelve thrones on which the twelve apostles were to sit,” of which we read thus in Matthew:

Jesus said to the disciples, Verily I say unto you, that ye who have followed Me, in the regeneration, when the Son of man shall sit upon the throne of His glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel (Matthew 19:28);

and in Luke:

I appoint unto you a kingdom, as the Father hath appointed unto Me; that ye may eat and drink upon My table in My kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel (Matthew 22:29-30).

That the “twelve apostles” denote all things of truth may be seen above (n. 2129, 2553, 3354, 3488, 3858); and also the “twelve sons of Jacob,” and hence the “twelve tribes of Israel” (n. 3858, 3913, 3926, 3939, 4060, 4603); and that the apostles cannot judge even one person (n. 2129, 2553).

[9] Likewise in Revelation:

I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them (Revelation 20:4); where also by “thrones” are signified all things of truth, from which and according to which Judgment is effected. The like is also meant by the “angels with whom the Lord is to come to judgment” (Matthew 25:31); that by “angels” in the Word something in the Lord is signified may be seen above (n. 1705, 1925, 2319, 2821, 3039, 4085), in this instance they signify truths from the Divine, which truths in the Word are also called “judgments” (n. 2235).

[10] In very many other places also a “throne” is attributed to Jehovah or the Lord, and this because there is in thrones what is representative of a kingdom. When there is discourse in a higher heaven about Divine truth and Judgment, a throne appears in the ultimate heaven. This is the reason why a “throne” is representative, and is so often spoken of in the prophetic Word, and why from most ancient times thrones became the mark of kings, and as such a mark signify royalty, as in the following passages.

In Moses:

Moses built an altar, and called the name of it Jehovah-nissi, and he said, Because a hand is upon the throne of Jah, there shall be the war of Jehovah against Amalek from generation to generation (Exodus 17:15-16).

What is meant by a “hand upon the throne of Jah,” and by the “war of Jehovah against Amalek from generation to generation,” no one can know except from the internal sense, and unless he knows what is meant by a “throne,” and what by “Amalek.” By “Amalek” in the Word are signified the falsities that assail truths (n. 1679), and by a “throne” the Divine truth itself that is assailed.

[11] In David:

Jehovah, Thou hast maintained my judgment and my cause; Thou hast sat upon the throne, the Judge of justice. Jehovah shall remain to eternity, He hath prepared His throne for judgment (Psalms 9:4, 7).

Again:

Thy throne, O God, is forever and to eternity, a scepter of rectitude is the scepter of Thy kingdom (Psalms 45:6).

Again:

Clouds and thick darkness are round about Him; justice and judgment are the support of His throne (Psalms 97:2).

In Jeremiah:

In that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of Jehovah; and all the nations shall be gathered unto it (Jeremiah 3:17);

“Jerusalem” denotes the Lord’s spiritual kingdom.

[12] This kingdom is meant also by the “new Jerusalem” in Ezekiel, and by the “holy Jerusalem coming down from heaven” in Revelation. The Lord’s spiritual kingdom is where Divine truth in which is good is the chief thing, and the celestial kingdom is where the chief thing is Divine good from which as Divine truth, and this shows why Jerusalem is called the “throne of Jehovah;” and why it is said in David:

In Jerusalem are set thrones for judgment (Psalms 122:5).

But Zion is called the “throne of the glory of Jehovah” in Jeremiah:

Hast Thou utterly renounced Judah? Hath Thy soul loathed Zion? Despise it not for Thy name’s sake, defile not the throne of Thy glory (Jeremiah 14:19, 21); where by “Zion” is meant the Lord’s celestial kingdom.

[13] The manner in which the Lord in respect to judgment is represented in heaven, where things such as are occasionally related in the prophets are visibly presented to the sight, is seen in Daniel:

I beheld till the throne were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit; His garment was white as snow, and the hair of His head like clean wool; His throne was a flame of fire, and the wheels thereof burning fire; a stream of fire issued and went forth before Him; thousand thousands ministered unto Him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him; the judgment was set, and the books were opened (Daniel 7:9-10).

Such things are constantly seen in heaven, all being representative, and they appear from the discourse of the angels in the higher heavens, which on descending presents such objects to the sight. Angelic spirits to whom perception is given by the Lord know what these things signify, as for instance the “Ancient of days,” the “garment white as snow,” the “hair like clean wool,” the “throne like a flame of fire,” the “wheels a burning fire,” the “stream of fire issuing from him.” By the “flame of fire” and the “stream of fire” is there represented the good of Divine love (see n. 934, 1906 [4906], 5071, 5215).

[14] So in Ezekiel:

Above the expanse that was over the head of the cherubim was the likeness of a throne, as the look of a sapphire stone; and upon the likeness of the throne was a likeness as the look of a man upon it above (Ezekiel 1:26; 10:1).

And also in the first book of Kings:

I saw, said Micaiah the prophet, Jehovah sitting on His throne, and the universal army of the heavens standing by Him on His right hand and on His left (1 Kings 22:19).

One who is not aware what these terms represent, and thence signify, must believe that the Lord has a throne like kings on earth, and that there are such things as are here mentioned; yet there are not such things in the heavens, but they are so presented to view before those who are in the ultimate heaven, and from them as from pictures they see Divine arcana.

[15] The Lord’s royalty, by which is signified the Divine truth that proceeds from Him, was represented also by the throne constructed by Solomon, regarding which it is thus written in the first book of Kings:

Solomon made a great throne of ivory, and overlaid it with the finest gold. There were six steps to the throne, and the top of the throne was round behind; and there were hands on either side by the place of the seat, and two lions standing beside the hands, and twelve lions stood there on the one side and on the other upon the six steps (1 Kings 10:18-21).

Thus was represented the “throne of glory,” the “lions” being Divine truths fighting and conquering, and the “twelve lions” all these truths in one complex.

[16] As almost all the things in the Word have also an opposite sense, so too has a “throne,” and in this sense it signifies the kingdom of falsity, as in Revelation:

To the angel of the church in Pergamos: I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, even where Satan’s throne is (Revelation 2:12-13).

The dragon gave the beast that came up out of the sea his power, and his throne, and great authority (Revelation 13:2).

The fifth angel poured out his vial upon the throne of the beast; and his kingdom was darkened (Revelation 16:10).

And in Isaiah:

Thou hast said in thy heart, I will ascend into the heavens, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God (Isaiah 14:13);

speaking of Babylon.