8409. As “flesh” signifies one’s own in both senses, in the supreme sense the Lord’s Divine own, which is His Divine Human, thus the good of His love toward the universal human race; therefore “flesh” in the sense which has reference to man denotes one’s own made alive by the Lord’s own, that is, it denotes the Lord’s own with man, thus the good of love to Him. (On the signification of “flesh” in this sense, see n. 3813, 7850.) But in the opposite sense, “flesh” denotes man’s own, thus the evil of the love of self, and from this the cupidities or concupiscences of this love (n. 999, 3813). (That man’s own is nothing but evil, see n. 210, 215, 694, 874-876, 987, 1023, 1044, 1047, 3812, 5660, 5786) That “flesh” denotes man’s own, thus evil of every kind, is further evident from the following passages in Isaiah:

I will feed thine oppressors with their flesh, and they shall be drunken with their blood, as with new wine (49:26);

“to feed with flesh” denotes to be gorged with their own evil.

[2] In Jeremiah:

Cursed is the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, but his heart departeth from Jehovah (17:5);

“to make flesh his arm” denotes to trust in his own power; and therefore in Isaiah 9:20, “to eat the flesh of his arm” denotes to trust in himself. Again in Isaiah:

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

“the horses of Egypt” denote memory-knowledges from a perverted understanding (n. 6125); “flesh” denotes what is dead; “spirit,” what is alive; therefore the sons of Egypt are said to be “great in flesh” (Ezekiel 16:26). What is “dead” is so called from evil, for spiritual death is from evil; and what is alive is so called from good, for spiritual life is from good.

[3] Hence it is that “flesh” and “spirit” in the Word are opposed to each other, as in John:

That which is born from the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the spirit is spirit (John 3:6).

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

Jehovah said, My Spirit shall not reprove man forever, for that he is flesh (Genesis 6:3);

here “flesh” denotes man’s own. In like manner in Matthew:

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

As many as received, to them gave He power to be sons of God, to them that believe on His name; who were born, not of bloods, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God (1:12-13);

“the will of the flesh” denotes one’s own of the will; “the will of man,” one’s own of the understanding; “sons of God” denote the regenerate, and they who are being regenerated are all made alive from the Lord’s own, which is “the flesh and body of the Lord,” and is the Divine good itself.

[4] As “flesh” in the opposite sense denotes man’s own, thus evil, it also denotes concupiscence, for the life of the flesh, which is the body’s own life, is nothing but the pleasure of the senses, the delight of the appetites, and concupiscence. That “flesh” denotes concupiscence, is evident from these words in Moses:

The rabble that was in the midst of the people lusted a lust, whence the sons of Israel wept again, and said, Who shall feed us with flesh? our soul is now dry, our eyes have nothing to turn to but the manna: and Jehovah said unto Moses, Say thou unto the people, Sanctify yourselves for the morrow, that ye may eat flesh, for ye have wept in the ears of Jehovah, saying, who shall feed us with flesh? for it was better with us in Egypt; Jehovah will give you flesh to eat, for a month of days, even until it come out from your nose, and it shall be a loathing to you. The flesh was yet between their teeth, before it was swallowed, when the anger of Jehovah was kindled 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,” because there they buried the people that lusted (Numbers 11:4, 6, 16, 18, 20, 33-34).

From all this it is now evident what is signified by “sitting by the flesh-pot in the land of Egypt,” namely, a life according to what they like and as they had desired, thus a life of their own.

1043. That the “cloud” signifies the obscure light in which is the spiritual man as compared with the celestial man, is evident from what has just been said about the “bow;” for the bow, or the color of the bow, has no existence except in the cloud. As before said, it is the darkness of the cloud, through which the sun’s rays shine, that is turned into colors; and thus the color is such as is the darkness which is touched by the brightness of the rays. The case is the same with the spiritual man. With him, the darkness which is here called a “cloud” is falsity, which is the same as the Own of his understanding. When innocence, charity, and mercy are insinuated into this Own by the Lord, then this cloud appears no longer as falsity, but as an appearance of truth, together with truth from the Lord. Hence there is the likeness of a colored bow. There is a certain spiritual modification which can by no means be described, and unless it be perceived by man by means of colors and their origin, I do not know how it can be set forth to his apprehension.

[2] The nature of this “cloud” with the regenerate man may be seen from his state before regeneration. Man is regenerated through what he supposes to be truths of faith. Everyone supposes his own dogma to be true, and from this he acquires a conscience, for which reason after he has acquired a conscience, to act contrary to what has been impressed upon him as truths of faith, is to him contrary to conscience. Such is every regenerated man. For many are regenerated by the Lord in every dogma, and when they have been regenerated they do not receive any immediate revelation, but only what is insinuated into them through the Word and the preaching of the Word. But because they receive charity, the Lord works through charity upon their cloud, from which there springs light, as when the sun strikes a cloud, which then becomes more luminous and is variegated with colors. Thus also there arises in the cloud the likeness of a bow. The thinner the cloud, that is, the more numerous are the intermingled truths of faith of which it consists, the more beautiful is the bow. But the denser the cloud, that is, the fewer the truths of faith of which it consists, the less beautiful is the bow. Innocence adds much to its beauty, giving as it were a living brightness to the colors.

[3] All appearances of truth are clouds in which man is when he is in the sense of the letter of the Word, for the language of the Word is according to appearances. But when he believes the Word with simplicity, and has charity, even though he remains in appearances, this cloud is comparatively thin. It is in this cloud that conscience is formed by the Lord with a man who is within the church. All ignorances of truth are also clouds, in which man is when he does not know what the truth of faith is; in general, when he does not know what the Word is, and still more when he has not heard about the Lord. In this cloud conscience is formed by the Lord with a man who is outside the church; for in his very ignorance there may be innocence, and thus charity. All falsities also are clouds; but these clouds are darkness, and are either with those who have a false conscience-described elsewhere-or with those who have none. These are, in general, the qualities of clouds. As regards their mass, there are with man clouds so great and so dense that if he knew of them, he would wonder that rays of light could ever shine through from the Lord, and that man could be regenerated. He who supposes himself to have the least cloud, has sometimes a very great one; and he who believes that he has very much cloud, has less.

[4] There are such clouds with the spiritual man, but not so great with the celestial, because he has love to the Lord implanted in his will part, and therefore receives from the Lord, not conscience, as does the spiritual man, but perception of good and thence of truth. When man’s will part is such that it can receive the rays of celestial flame, then his intellectual part is enlightened thereby, and from love he knows and perceives all things that are truths of faith. His will part is then like a little sun, from which rays shine into his intellectual part. Such was the man of the Most Ancient Church. But when man’s will part is wholly corrupt and infernal, and therefore a new will, which is conscience, is formed in his intellectual part (as was the case with the man of the Ancient Church, and is so with every regenerated man of the spiritual church), then his cloud is dense, for he needs to learn what is good and true, and has no perception whether it is so. Then also falsity continually flows in (which is the darkness of cloud) from his black will part, that is, through it from hell. This is the reason why the intellectual part can never be enlightened in the spiritual man as it is in the celestial. Hence it is that the “cloud” here signifies the obscure light in which the spiritual man is in comparison with the celestial.