237. And knowest not that thou art wretched. That this signifies that they do not know that their falsities have no coherence with truths is evident from the signification of wretchedness, as denoting the breaking down of truth by falsities, and also no coherence; it is therefore plain what is meant by wretched. The reason why they are thus wretched is that their doctrine is founded upon two false principles, which are faith alone, and justification thereby; therefore falsities flow thence in a continuous series, and the truths which they adduce to confirm them from the letter of the Word are broken down and falsified; and falsified truths are essentially falsities. This is described in many passages in the Word, and is meant by the vanities which the prophets are said to see, and the lies which they are said to speak. The same is also described by the breaches made in walls and in houses, so that they fall; similarly, by the idols and graven images which the artificer is said to make and connect by chains that they may cohere; for by idols and graven images are signified falsities of doctrine. The same is also meant by breaches made in walls and in houses, and by the prophets seeing vanities and speaking lies; for by prophets are meant doctrines; by vanities, such things as are of no account; and by lies, falsities.

But as these things are mentioned in too many passages in the Word to be here adduced in full, we shall only quote some wherein mention is made of wretchedness, and of a wall, in order that it may be known that they signify the breaking down of truths by falsities, and thus no coherence.

[2] In Isaiah:

"Thy wisdom and thy knowledge, it hath seduced thee; when thou saidst in thine heart, I, and none else beside me. Therefore shall wretchedness fall upon thee, and desolation shall come upon thee suddenly" (47:10, 11).

Here also are described those who believe that they know all things, and suppose themselves to be intelligent above all others, when yet they neither know nor understand anything of truth; therefore it follows that the understanding of truth is taken away from them. Their belief that they are more intelligent than all others is meant by Thy wisdom and thy knowledge, it hath seduced thee; when thou saidst in thine heart, I, and none else beside me; and the loss of all understanding of truth is meant by wretchedness shall fall upon thee, desolation shall come upon thee suddenly.

[3] In Ezekiel:

"Wretchedness shall come upon wretchedness; therefore shall they seek a vision from the prophets; but the law hath perished from the priest, and counsel from the elders; the king shall mourn, and the prince shall be clothed with amazement" (7:26, 27).

The vastation of the church is here treated of, which takes place when there is none but falsified truth; falsity from falsity is meant by wretchedness upon wretchedness; a vision from the prophet denotes doctrine, and here, doctrine of falsity; the law hath perished from the priest, denotes that the Word is not understood; for the law signifies the Word, and the priest him that teaches it: counsel hath perished from the elders, denotes that what is right shall perish from the intelligent; counsel denoting what is right, and elders signifying the intelligent: the king shall mourn, and the prince shall be clothed with amazement, denotes that there is no longer any truth; king signifying truth, and the prince truths primarily subservient.

[4] In David:

"What is right is not in their mouth; wretchedness is in the midst of them" (Psalms 5:9);

where wretchedness also signifies falsities not cohering with any truth. Similarly in Jeremiah:

"Howl! and wander among the walls; for their king goeth away into captivity, his priests and princes together" (49:3).

Here by wandering among the walls is meant amongst truths destroyed by falsities; by the king who goeth away into captivity is signified truth; and by his priests and princes together are denoted the goods and truths of life and doctrine, as above.

[5] In Ezekiel:

"When they build a wall [maceries], lo, they daub it with untempered [mortar]. Say unto them that daub with untempered [mortar] that the wall [paries] shall fall. Shall it not be said unto you, Where is the daubing wherewith ye have daubed?" (13:10-12).

The wall which they daubed with untempered [mortar] signifies the falsity which is assumed as a principle, and which, by application of the Word from the sense of the letter, they make to appear as truth. Daubing denotes application, and thence apparent confirmation; untempered [mortar] denotes what is falsified; and because the truth of the Word is thus destroyed, and confirmatory things become truths falsified, which in themselves are falsities, and these perish together with the false principle, therefore it is said, "Behold the wall shall fall; shall it not be said unto you, Where is the daubing with which ye have daubed?"

[6] In Hosea:

"Behold I hedge up thy way with thorns, and I will encompass wall with wall, that she shall not find thy paths" (2:6).

To hedge up the way with thorns is to obstruct all thoughts by falsities of evil, lest they should see truths; falsities of evil are signified by thorns. To encompass wall with wall is to heap falsities upon falsities; that she shall not find thy paths, denotes that nothing of truth can be seen. This comes to pass because truths can no more co-exist with falsities of evil than heaven can with hell, for truths are from heaven and falsities of evil from hell; therefore, when the latter have rule, communication with heaven is taken away, in which case the former cannot be seen, and if others utter them they are rejected. Hence it is, that those who are in false principles, as, for example, those who are in the principles of faith alone and justification thereby, cannot be in any truths, as may be seen above (n. 235, 236).

[7] But we shall now illustrate this subject by examples. When those who embrace faith alone and justification thereby as a principle of religion, read the Word, and see that the Lord teaches that man shall be rewarded according to his deeds and works, and that he who has done good shall enter heaven, and that he who has done evil shall be cast into hell, they then call the good which they do the fruit of faith, not knowing, or not being willing to know, that the goods which they call fruits of faith are all from charity, and none of them from faith separated from charity, which is called faith alone; for all good belongs to charity, and truth to faith therefrom. From this it is clear that they pervert the Word. But they do this because they cannot otherwise apply the truth to their principle, still believing that they may thus agree together; but truth perishes in consequence, and becomes falsity, and not only becomes falsity but also evil.

[8] That falsities thence follow in a continuous series is also clear; for they teach that the good works which man performs are merit-seeking, not being willing to understand that as faith and its truths are from the Lord, and thus not merit-seeking, so also are charity and its goods. They also teach that as soon as a man receives faith he is reconciled to God the Father by the Son, and that the evils which he afterwards does are not imputed, nor yet the evils which he had done before; for they say that all are saved, however they have lived, if they only receive faith, even in the hours before death. But these and many other things, which are derivations from a false principle, do not agree with truths from the Word, but destroy them, and truths destroyed are falsities, and such falsities as have a bad odour; a grievous smell is perceived from them in the other life, which is such that it cannot be sustained by any good spirit; it is like a stench from diseased lungs. Many other examples might be adduced, of which there is an abundance; for whatsoever is concluded from a false principle derives falsity therefrom, because therein is beheld the principle to which it adheres, because it flows therefrom, and is applied to it.

[9] The true quality of the religion of faith alone, and of justification thereby, may be concluded from this fact alone, that all those who have confirmed those tenets in themselves by doctrine and life, in the other life diffuse from themselves a sphere of abominable adultery, which is that of a mother, or a mother-in-law, with a son; this abominable adultery corresponds to them, and is also perceived from them wherever they go; I have a thousand times known their presence from that sphere. The reason why such a sphere flows forth from them is that they adulterate the goods of charity and of the Word; and adulteries correspond to the adulterations of good, and whoredoms to the falsifications of truth (as may be seen, Arcana Coelestia 2466, 2729, 3399, 4865, 6348, 8904, 10648).

[10] The same is meant by Reuben's lying with Bilhah, of whom his father begat Dan and Naphthali (Genesis 35:22), therefore also he was accursed (Genesis 49:4); and because he polluted the couch of his father, the primogeniture was taken away from him and given to Joseph (1 Chron. 5:1); for by Reuben, in the Word, is meant faith, and in this case faith alone (see Arcana Coelestia 3325, 3861, 3866, 3870, 4601, 4605, 4731, 4734, 4761, 6342, 6350), and by Joseph is meant the good of that faith (see Arcana Coelestia 3969, 3971, 4669, 6417).

[11] That such things would take place at the end of the church is predicted in Daniel, where the statue which Nebuchadnezzar saw in a dream is treated of, in these words:

"Whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves by the seed of man; but they shall not cohere one with the other, even as iron is not mingled with clay" (2:43).

By iron is meant truth without good; by miry clay, the falsity which is from man's own intelligence; by the seed of man, the Word of the Lord (see Matthew 13:24, 37). Their not cleaving one to another is meant by its being said, they shall not cohere, even as iron is not mingled with clay.

4581. 'And he poured out a drink-offering onto it' means the Divine Good of Truth. This is clear from the meaning of 'a drink-offering' as the Divine Good of Truth, dealt with below. But first one must say what the good of truth is. The good of truth is that which elsewhere has been called the good of faith, which is love towards the neighbour, or charity. There are two universal kinds of good, the first being that which is called the good of faith, the second that which is referred to as the good of love. The good of faith is the kind of good meant by 'a drink-offering', and the good of love the kind meant by 'oil'. The good of love exists with those whom the Lord brings to what is good by an internal way, while the good of faith exists with those He brings to it by an external way. The good of love exists with members of the celestial Church, and likewise with angels of the inmost or third heaven, but the good of faith with members of the spiritual Church, and likewise with angels of the middle or second heaven. Consequently the first kind of good is called celestial good, whereas the second kind is called spiritual good. The difference between the two is, on the one hand, willing what is good out of a will for good and, on the other, willing what is good out of an understanding of it. The second kind of good therefore - spiritual good or the good of faith, which is the good of truth - is meant by 'a drink-offering'; but the first - celestial good or the good of love - is meant in the internal sense by 'oil'.

[2] Nobody, it is true, can see that such things as these were meant by 'oil' and 'a drink-offering' unless he does so from the internal sense. Yet anyone may see that things of a holy nature were represented by them, for unless those holy things were represented by them what else would pouring out a drink-offering or pouring oil onto a stone pillar be but some ridiculous and idolatrous action? It is like the coronation of a king. What else would the ceremonies performed on that occasion be if they did not mean and imply things of a holy nature - placing the crown on his head; anointing him with oil from a horn, on his forehead and on his wrists; placing a sceptre in his hand, as well as a sword and keys; investing him with a purple robe, and then seating him on a silver throne; and after that, his riding in his regalia on a horse, and later still his being served at table by men of distinction, besides many other ceremonies? Unless these represented things of a holy nature and were themselves holy by virtue of their correspondence with the things of heaven and consequently of the Church, they would be no more than the kind of games that young children play, though on a grander scale, or else like plays that are performed on the stage.

[3] But all those ceremonies trace their origin back to most ancient times when ceremonies were holy by virtue of their representation of things that were holy and of their correspondence with holy things in heaven and consequently in the Church. Even today they are considered holy, though not because people know their spiritual representation and correspondence but through the interpretation so to speak they put on symbols in common use. If however people did know what the crown, oil, horn, sceptre, sword, keys, purple robe, silver throne, riding on a white horse, and eating while men of distinction act as the servers, all represented and to what holy thing each corresponded, they would conceive of those things in an even holier way. But they do not know, and surprisingly do not wish to know; indeed that lack of knowledge is so great that the representatives and the meaningful signs included within such ceremonies and within every part of the Word have been obliterated from people's minds at the present day.

[4] The fact that 'a drink-offering' means the good of truth, or spiritual good, may be seen from the sacrifices in which drink-offerings were used. When sacrifices were offered they were made either from the herd or from the flock, and they were representative of internal worship of the Lord, 922, 923, 1823, 2180, 2805, 2807, 2830, 3519. To these the minchah and the drink-offering were added. The minchah, which consisted of fine flour mixed with oil, meant celestial good, or what amounted to the same, the good of love - 'the oil' meaning love to the Lord and 'the fine flour' charity towards the neighbour. But the drink-offering, which consisted of wine, meant spiritual good, or what amounted to the same, the good of faith. Both these therefore, the minchah and the drink-offering, have the same meaning as the bread and wine in the Holy Supper.

[5] The addition of a minchah and a drink-offering to a burnt offering or to a sacrifice is clear in Moses,

You shall offer two lambs in their first year, each day continually. One lamb you shall offer in the morning, and the second you shall offer between the evenings; and a tenth of fine flour mixed with beaten oil, a quarter of a hin, and a drink-offering of a quarter of a hin of wine, for the first lamb; and so also for the second lamb. Exodus 29:38-41.

In the same author,

You shall offer on the day when you wave the sheaf of the firstfruits of the harvest a lamb without blemish in its first year as a burnt offering to Jehovah, its minchah being two tenths of fine flour mixed with oil, and its drink-offering wine, a quarter of a hin. Leviticus 23:12-13, 18.

In the same author,

On the day when the days of Naziriteship are completed he is to offer his gift to Jehovah, sacrifices and also a basket of unleavened [loaves] of fine flour, cakes mingled with oil, and unleavened wafers anointed with oil, together with their minchah and their drink-offerings. Numbers 6:13-17.

In the same author,

Upon the burnt offering they shall offer a minchah of a tenth [of an ephah] of fine flour mixed with a quarter of a hin of oil, and wine as the drink-offering, a quarter of a hin - in one way upon the burnt offering of a ram, and in another upon that of a bull. Numbers 15:3-11.

In the same author,

With the continual burnt offering you shall offer a drink-offering, a quarter of a hin for a lamb; in the holy place pour out a drink-offering of wine to Jehovah. Numbers 28:6-7.

Further references to minchahs and drink-offerings in the different kinds of sacrifices are continued in Numbers 28:7-end; 29:1-end.

[6] The meaning that 'minchah and drink-offering' had may be seen in addition from the considerations that love and faith constitute the whole of worship, and that in the Holy Supper 'the bread' - described in the quotations above as fine flour mixed with oil - and 'the wine' mean love and faith, and so the whole of worship, dealt with in 1798, 2165, 2177, 2187, 2343, 2359, 3464, 3735, 3813, 4211, 4217.

[7] But when people fell away from the genuine representative kind of worship of the Lord and turned to other gods and poured out drink-offerings to these, 'drink-offerings' came to mean things that were the reverse of charity and faith, namely the evils and falsities that go with the love of the world; as in Isaiah,

You inflamed yourselves among the gods under every green tree. You have also poured out a drink-offering to them, you have brought a minchah. Isaiah 57:5-6.

'Inflaming oneself among the gods' stands for cravings for falsity - 'gods' meaning falsities, 4402 (end), 4544. 'Under every green tree' stands for the trust in all falsities which leads to those cravings, 2722, 4552. 'Pouring out a drink-offering to them' and 'bringing a minchah' stand for the worship of those falsities. In the same prophet,

You who forsake Jehovah, who forget My holy mountain, who set a table for Gad, and fill a drink-offering for Meni. Isaiah 65:11.

In Jeremiah,

The sons gather pieces of wood, and the fathers kindle fire, and the women knead dough to make cakes for the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink-offerings to other gods. Jeremiah 7:18.

[8] In the same prophet,

We will surely do every word that has gone out of our mouth, to burn incense to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink-offerings to her, as we did, we and our fathers, and our princes in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. Jeremiah 44:17-19.

'The queen of heaven' stands for all falsities, for 'the hosts of heaven' in the genuine sense means truths, and in the contrary sense falsities, and so in the same way do 'king' and 'queen'. 'Queen' accordingly stands for all [falsities] and 'pouring out drink-offerings to her' means worshipping them.

[9] In the same prophet,

The Chaldeans will burn the city, and the houses upon whose roofs they have burned incense to Baal and poured out drink-offerings to other gods. Jeremiah 32:29.

'The Chaldeans' stands for people whose worship involves falsity. 'Burning the city' stands for destroying and laying waste those whose doctrines teach falsity. Upon the roofs of the houses burning incense to Baal' stands for the worship of what is evil, 'pouring out drink-offerings to other gods' for the worship of what is false.

[10] In Hosea,

They will not dwell in Jehovah's land, but Ephraim will return to Egypt, and in Assyria they will eat what is unclean. They will not pour libations of wine to Jehovah. Hosea 9:3-4.

'Not dwelling in Jehovah's land' stands for not abiding in the good of love. 'Ephraim will return to Egypt' stands for the Church when its understanding will come to be no more than factual and sensory knowledge. 'In Assyria they will eat what is unclean' stands for impure and profane desires that are the product of reasoning. 'They will not pour libations of wine to Jehovah' stands for no worship based on truth.

[11] In Moses,

It will be said, Where are their gods, the rock in which they trusted, who ate the fat of the sacrifices, [who] drank the wine of their drink-offering? Let them rise up and help them! Deuteronomy 32:37-38.

'Gods' stands for falsities, as above. 'Who ate the fat of the sacrifices' stands for their destruction of the good belonging to worship, '[who] drank the wine of their drink-offering' for their destruction of the truth belonging to it. A reference to 'drink-offerings of blood' also occurs in David,

They will multiply their pains; they have hastened to another, lest I pour out their drink-offerings of blood, and take up their names upon My lips. Psalms 16:4.

By these 'drink-offerings' are meant profanations of truth, for in this case 'blood' means violence done to charity, 374, 1005, and profanation, 1003.