9992. And bread of unleavened things. That this signifies the purification of the celestial in the inmost of man, is evident from the signification of “bread,” as being what is celestial (see n. 2165, 2177, 3478, 9545); and from the signification of “unleavened,” as being what has been purified (of which below). That it denotes the inmost of man, is because the celestial is the good of love, and the good of love is inmost. There are three things with man which follow on in successive order. These three are called “the celestial,” “the spiritual,” and “the natural.” The celestial is the good of love to the Lord; the spiritual is the good of charity toward the neighbor; and the natural thence derived is the good of faith, which, being from the spiritual, is called “the spiritual natural.” For the case with man is similar to what it is in the heavens. In the inmost heaven, which is also called the third, is the celestial; in the second or middle heaven is the spiritual; and in the first or ultimate heaven is the natural thence derived, or the spiritual natural. That the case with man is similar to what it is in the heavens, is because a man who is in good is a heaven in the least form (see the places cited in n. 9279). Concerning the threefold division of heaven or of the heavenly kingdom, more will be told below when treating of the cakes and wafers of fine flour of wheat.

[2] That “unleavened” signifies purified, is because “fermented” signifies falsity from evil (n. 2342, 7906); hence “unleavened” or “unfermented” signifies pure, or without this falsity. That “fermented” signifies falsity from evil, is because this falsity defiles good, and also truth, and also because it excites fighting; for on the approach of this falsity to good a burning heat is excited, and on its approach to truth, collision. For this reason a meat-offering of unleavened bread was employed in the burnt-offerings and in the sacrifices. Therefore it was ordered that “no meat-offering which they should bring to Jehovah should be made leavened” (Leviticus 2:11); that they “should not sacrifice the blood of the sacrifice upon what was leavened” (Exodus 23:18); and that on the feast of the passover, they “should eat nothing leavened,” and that he who did eat “should be cut off from Israel” (Exodus 12:15, 18-20). That he was to be cut off from Israel who ate what was leavened on the feast of the passover, was because the feast of the passover signified liberation from damnation, and specifically liberation from falsities from evil, with those who suffer themselves to be regenerated by the Lord (see n. 7093, 9286-9292); hence also this feast was called “the feast of unleavened things.”

680. That goods and truths are the genuine foods of man must be evident to everyone, for he who is destitute of them has no life, but is dead. When a man is spiritually dead the foods with which his soul is fed are delights from evils and pleasantnesses from falsities-which are foods of death-and are also those which come from bodily, worldly, and natural things, which also have nothing of life in them. Moreover, such a man does not know what spiritual and celestial food is, insomuch that whenever “food” or “bread” is mentioned in the Word he supposes the food of the body to be meant; as in the Lord’s prayer, the words “Give us our daily bread” he supposes to mean only sustenance for the body; and those who extend their ideas further say it includes also other necessaries of the body, such as clothing, property, and the like. They even sharply deny that any other food is meant; when yet they see plainly that the words preceding and following involve only celestial and spiritual things, and that the Lord’s kingdom is spoken of; and besides, they might know that the Word of the Lord is celestial and spiritual.

[2] From this and other similar examples it must be sufficiently evident how corporeal is man at the present day; and that, like the Jews, he is disposed to take everything that is said in the Word in the most gross and material sense. The Lord Himself clearly teaches what is meant in His Word by “food” and “bread.” Concerning “food” He thus speaks in John:

Jesus said, Labor not for the meat [or food] which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto eternal life, which the Son of man shall give unto you (John 6:27).

And concerning “bread” He says, in the same chapter:

Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the Bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof and not die. I am the living Bread which came down from heaven; if any man eat of this Bread he shall live eternally (John 6:49-51, 58).

But at the present day there are men like those who heard these words and said: “This is a hard saying; who can hear it?” and who “went back and walked no more with Him” (John 6:60, 66), to whom the Lord said: “The words that I speak unto you they are spirit and they are life” (John 6:63).

[3] And so with respect to “water” which signifies the spiritual things of faith, and concerning which the Lord thus speaks in John:

Jesus said, Everyone that drinketh of this water shall thirst again; but whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall become in him a fountain of water springing up unto eternal life (John 4:13-14).

But at the present day there are those who are like the woman with whom the Lord spoke at the well, and who answered, “Lord, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw” (John 4:15).

[4] That in the Word “food” means no other than spiritual and celestial food, which is faith in the Lord, and love, is evident from many passages in the Word, as in Jeremiah:

The enemy hath spread out his hand upon all the desirable things of Jerusalem; for she hath seen that the nations are entered into her sanctuary, concerning whom Thou didst command that they should not enter into Thy congregation. All the people groan, they seek bread; they have given their desirable things for food to refresh the soul (Lamentations 1:10-11).

No other than spiritual bread and food are here meant, for the subject is the sanctuary. Again:

I have cried out for my lovers, they have deceived me; my priests and mine elders in the city expired, for they sought food for themselves, to refresh their soul (Lamentations 1:19),

with the same meaning.

In David:

These wait all upon Thee, that Thou mayest give them their food in its season; Thou givest them, they gather; Thou openest thine hand, they are satisfied with good (Psalms 104:27-28).

Here likewise spiritual and celestial food is meant.

[5] In Isaiah:

Ho, everyone that thirsteth, come ye to the waters; and he that hath no silver; come ye, buy and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without silver, and without price (Isaiah 55:1),

where “wine” and “milk” denote spiritual and celestial drink. Again:

A virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and thou shalt call His name Immanuel; butter and honey shall He eat, that He may know to refuse the evil and choose the good; and it shall come to pass that for the abundance of milk that they shall give they shall eat butter; for butter and honey shall everyone eat that is left in the midst of the land (Isaiah 7:1, 4-15, 22).

Here to “eat honey and butter” is to appropriate what is celestial-spiritual; “they that are left” denote remains, concerning whom also in Malachi:

Bring ye all the tithes into the treasure house, that there may be food in My house (Malachi 3:10).

“Tithes” denote remains. (Concerning the signification of “food” see above, n. 56-58, 276.)