79. And he laid his right hand upon me. That this signifies life from Him, is evident from the signification of right hand, when said of the Lord, as being life from Him (concerning this see above, n. 72). The reason why this signifies life from the Lord, is, that it follows immediately after the words, "I fell at his feet as dead." And, moreover, by touching with the hand, is signified to communicate and transfer to another that which belongs to oneself, and also to receive from another and to communicate and transfer to another what belongs to oneself, when said of the Lord, as in this passage, denotes life, such as is communicated to those who are in a state of enlightenment, and see and hear such things as are in heaven. This also was the case with John; for he was in such a state of enlightenment when he saw and heard the things described in the Apocalypse.

[2] The reason why to touch with the hand denotes to communicate, and to transfer to another, is, because all the power of man is transferred from the body into the hands; therefore, what the mind wills that the body should do, the arms and hands perform accordingly. Hence it is that by arms and hands in the Word is signified power (as may be seen, Arcana Coelestia 878, 3091, 4931-4937. 7673, 10019); this power, however, is natural power, and communication thereby is the exertion of the forces of the body; but spiritual power is to will the good of another, and, as much as possible, to be willing to transfer to another what belongs to oneself. This power is signified by hand in the spiritual sense, and its communication and translation by touching with the hand.

From these considerations it is evident that, by the Lord, who is there called the Son of man, laying His right hand upon John, when he lay as dead, is signified, that He communicated and transferred to him life from Himself (concerning which, see above).

[3] To touch, and to touch with the hand, has a similar signification in many passages in the Word, as in the following. In Daniel:

The Lord, who there appeared to him as a man clothed in linen, whose aspect was as the appearance of lightning, and His eyes as torches of fire, and His feet as the brightness of polished brass, touched him; restored him to his station; set him upon his knees; touched his lips, and opened his mouth; and again touched him, and strengthened him (10:4 to the end).

In Jeremiah:

"Jehovah put forth his hand and touched my mouth, and said, I give my words into thy mouth" (1:9).

And in Matthew:

Jesus put forth His and to the leper "and touched him, saying, I will, be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed" (8:3).

In the same:

Jesus saw Peter's wife's mother sick of a fever "and he touched her hand, and the fever left her" (8:14, 15).

In the same:

Jesus touched the eyes of two blind men and their eyes were opened (9:29).

In the same:

"While Peter was speaking, behold a bright cloud overshadowed the disciples, and behold a voice out of the cloud which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him. And when the disciples heard it, they fell upon their face, and were sore afraid. Then Jesus came near and touched them, and said, Arise, be not afraid" (17:5-7).

In Luke:

Jesus came and touched the bier of the dead man, and said, "Young man, I say unto thee, Arise. Then he that was dead sat up, and began to speak" (7:14, 15).

In the same:

Jesus touched the ear of the deaf man, and healed him (22:51).

In Mark:

"They brought young children to him, that he should touch them. And he took them up in his arms, put his hands upon them, and blessed them" (10:13, 16).

In the same:

They brought unto Jesus those that were sick "that they might touch the hem of his garment; and as many as touched were made whole" (Matthew 14:35, 36).

In Luke:

"A woman having an issue of blood, touched the border of Jesus' garment; and immediately her issue of blood stanched. Jesus said, Some one hath touched me, for I perceive that virtue is gone out of me" (8:43, 44, 46).

[4] Because by the touching and laying on of hands, is signified to communicate and transfer to another what is one's own, therefore from ancient times it has been customary in the churches to lay hands upon the heads of those who were inaugurated and blessed, as Moses was commanded to do in the case of Joshua (Numbers 27:18-23; Deuteronomy 34:9). Since all things among the sons of Israel were representative and significative of spiritual things, so also was the touch; therefore those were sanctified who touched what was holy, and those were polluted who touched what was unclean, for the touch signified communication and transference from one to another, and reception from one by another; as is evident from the following passages in Moses: whosoever shall touch the tent of the assembly, the ark of the testimony, the table and all its vessels, the lampstand and its vessels, the altar of incense, the altar of burnt offering and all its vessels, and the laver and its foot, shall be holy (Exodus 30:26-29). Whatsoever touched the altar should be holy (Exodus 29:37). Every thing which touched the remainder of the meat-offering, and the remainder of the flesh from the sacrifices, should be holy (Leviticus 6:11-20).

"Whosoever touched a dead body, and purified not himself, defiled the tabernacle of Jehovah; therefore that soul should be cut off from Israel. Whosoever touched one that was slain with a sword in the open fields, or a bone of a man, or a grave, should be unclean seven days. He that toucheth the waters of separation, shall be unclean until even. Whatsoever the unclean person toucheth shall be unclean until even" (Numbers 19:11, 13, 16, 21, 22).

He who toucheth unclean beasts, and unclean creeping things, shall be unclean; everything upon which they shall fall shall be unclean, whether a vessel of wood, raiment, water, an earthen vessel, food, drink, an oven, except a fountain, pit, a receptacle of waters, shall be unclean (Leviticus 11:31-36). Besides other places, as Leviticus 5:2, 3; 7:21; 11:37, 38; 15:1 to the end; 22:4; Numbers 16:26; Isaiah 52:11; Lamentations 4:14, 15; Hosea 4:2, 3; Haggai 2:12, 13, 14.

10061. 'And put it on the tip of Aaron's right ear and on the tip of the right ear of his sons' means all the ability to perceive Divine Truth emanating from the Lord's Divine Good in the heavens. This is clear from the meaning of 'the blood' which was put on the tip of the ear as Divine Truth which is present in the heavens and in the Church and emanates from the Lord's Divine Good, dealt with immediately above in 10060; from the meaning of 'the ear' as the power of perception, dealt with in 9397, at this point the ability to perceive Divine Truth in the heavens and in the Church since all the power of perception there is used to perceive that Truth (in particular that power of perception in the celestial heaven is meant here, for those there perceive truth springing from good, see the places referred to in 9277); from the meaning of 'the tip' of the ear, which is the outermost part of it, as the whole or all, for even as what is first or highest means the whole or all, so does what is last or outermost, see above in 10044; and from the meaning of 'the right ear' as the ability to perceive truth emanating from good. The reason why 'the right ear' has this meaning is that parts on the right side of a human being correspond to the good from which truths spring, while those on the left side correspond to the truths through which comes good, 9604, 9736. It is likewise so with the brain, the face and sensory organs there, the breast, the loins, and the feet.

[2] Without knowledge of this arcanum no one can possibly know why it was commanded that the blood should be put on the tip of the right ear, on the thumb of the right hand, and on the big toe of the right foot of Aaron and his sons, or why it was commanded that the right flank of this second ram together with the fat should be burned on the altar (spoken of below, in verses 22, 25 of the present chapter). Nor likewise can anyone know why it was commanded that the blood of the sacrifice should be put on the tip of the right ear of the one to be cleansed from leprosy, and on the thumb of his right hand and the big toe of his right foot, and that the priest should pour oil from a log ¹ over his own left palm and dip his right finger in the oil that was on his left palm and sprinkle it with his right finger seven times before Jehovah, Leviticus 14:14-18, 25-28. Nor can people know the meaning where it says that the Lord told the disciples when they were fishing to cast their net on the right side of the boat, and that when they did so their catch was so great that they were not strong enough, because of the very great number of fish, to draw the net in, John 21:6. This represented the reality that when good is the side on which people act or teach they net countless items of truth; but not the reverse. Those also who possess truths and are governed by good are meant by the sheep on the right, but those who possess truths and are not governed by good are meant by the goats on the left, Matthew 25:32.

[3] 'The right hand' is also used to mean those who dwell in the light of truth emanating from good, in David,

The heavens are Yours, and the earth is Yours. The world and the fullness of it You have founded; the north and the right hand ² You have created. Psalms 89:11-12.

'The heavens', 'the earth', and 'the world' mean the Church, 9325. 'The fullness' means all truth and goodness which constitute the Church, 'the north' being those there who dwell in a state of obscurity so far as truth is concerned, 3708, and 'the right hand' those who dwell in the light of truth emanating from good, so that much the same is meant by 'the right hand' as by 'midday' or 'the south', 9642. From this it becomes clear what 'sitting at God's right hand' means when used in reference to the Lord in Psalms 110:1, 5; Matthew 26:63-64; Mark 12:36; 14:61-62; Luke 20:42-43, namely Divine Power exercised through the Lord's Divine Truth emanating from His Divine Good, 3387, 4592, 4933, 7518, 8281, 9133.

[4] Since most things in the Word also have a contrary meaning, so too do 'the right' and 'the left'. In the contrary sense 'the right' means evil from which falsity arises, and 'the left' falsity through which comes evil, as in Zechariah,

Woe to the worthless shepherd deserting the flock! The sword will fall upon his arm and upon his right eye. His arm will become wholly withered, and his right eye will be utterly darkened. Zechariah 11:17.

'Arm' here stands for the power of truth when used to justify evil; and because this power is 'worthless' it says that it 'will become wholly withered'. 'Right eye' is the knowledge of good when used to substantiate falsity; and because this knowledge is 'worthless' it says that it 'will be utterly darkened'. 'Shepherd' is one who teaches truths and leads by means of them towards good, 343, 3795, 6044, so that 'the worthless shepherd' is one who teaches and leads towards evil. 'Arm' means the power that truth springing from good possesses, 4931-4937, 7205, but 'the arm of a worthless shepherd' is the lack of power. 'Eye' is the understanding and perception of truth, 4403-4421, 4523-4534, 9051, but 'the right eye of a worthless shepherd' is a knowledge of good devoid of any understanding or perception of it because it is made to serve falsity. 'Utter (or thick) darkness' is falsity arising from evil, 7711.

[5] In Matthew,

Jesus said, If your right eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out and throw it away from you. And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away from you; it will be better for you that one of your members perish, than that your whole body be cast into gehenna. Matthew 5:29-30.

'Right eye' means an understanding of and belief in falsity arising from evil, and 'right hand' falsity itself arising from evil. Anyone may recognize that 'eye' is not used here to mean the eye nor 'right hand' to mean the right hand, and that the eye causing a person to stumble should not be plucked out, nor should the right hand causing him to stumble be cut off, for that would contribute nothing to the person's well-being. In John,

The beast placed on them all a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads. Revelation 13:16.

'Right hand' here is falsity arising from evil, and 'forehead' is the love of evil from which falsity arises. 'Forehead' means heavenly love and therefore in the contrary sense hellish love, see 9936.

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