THE EXPLANATION of Isaiah Chapter 17

(Note: Rev. Smithson's translation of the Isaiah text is appended below the explanation)

1. THE burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is rejected, so as to be no city; and it is become a heap of ruins.

Verse 1. Behold, Damascus is rejected, so as to be no city, etc. - By "Aram" or Syria [of which Damascus was the capital], are signified the knowledges of Good. The same appears also from Ezekiel:

"Aram was your merchant, in the multitude of your works: they occupied in your fairs with emeralds, purple, and broidered work, and fine linen, and coral, and agate"; (Ezekiel 27:16) speaking of "Tyre", or the possession of knowledges; where "works, emeralds, purple, broidered work, fine linen, coral, and agate", signify nothing else but the knowledges of Good. So in Hosea:

"Jacob fled into the country of Aram and Israel served for a wife, and for a wife he kept sheep; and by a prophet Jehovah brought up Israel out of Egypt, and by a prophet was he preserved; Ephraim provoked Him to anger with bitterness"; (Hosea 12:12-14),

where "Jacob" signifies the external church, and "Israel" the spiritual internal church; "Aram" denotes the knowledges of Good; "Egypt" denotes perverted science; and "Ephraim", perverted intelligence; - the signification of which names could never appear from the literal sense, but only from the internal sense, in which names signify things relating to the church, as has been already observed.

So in Isaiah :

"Behold, Damascus is rejected, so as to be no city; and it is become a heap of ruins: and the fortress shall cease from Ephraim, and the kingdom from Damascus; and the remnant of Aram [or Syria] shall be as the glory of the sons of Israel"; (Isaiah 17:1, 3),

where the "remnant of Aram" signifies the knowledges of Good, which are called "the glory of the sons of Israel"; "Aram", or Syria, signifies also, in an opposite sense, the knowledges of Good perverted, according to what is usual in the Word, where the same expression is frequently applied in a two-fold signification.

That "Aram" is thus used in the opposite sense, may be seen in Isaiah 7:4-6; 9:12; Deuteronomy 26:5. Arcana Coelestia 1232.

See above, as to "Syria", Isaiah 7:4, the Exposition.

How important it is to acquire the knowledges of Truth and Good [signified by "Syria" from the Word, may appear from the following considerations:

That by truths cometh love to the Lord,

- by truths we receive love to our neighbour,

- by truths we have heavenly intelligence and wisdom,

- by truths regeneration is effected,

- by truths man has power against evils and falsities, and consequently against hell,

- by truths there is purification from evils and falsities,

- by truths the church exists;

- by truths heaven exists;

- by truths is the innocence of wisdom;

- by truths a man has conscience;

- by truths order is established;

- by truths cometh the beauty of angels, and also of men with respect to the interiors of their spirits,

- and that by virtue of truths man is a man.

But by all this is meant truths grounded in good, and not by truths without good, and by good from the Lord. Hence everyone can see the great importance of acquiring the knowledges of Truth and Goodness. Apocalypse Revealed 161.

2. The cities of Aroer are deserted: they shall be for the flocks, and they shall lie down, and none shall make them afraid.

Verse 2. [" Aroer" was the plain of Syria, and its "cities" or towns, as subordinate to Damascus, signified various doctrinals of Truth and Goodness, which when thus "deserted and devastated", become the possession of those who can make a proper use of them, denoted by "the flocks that shall lie down, and by none making them afraid", of whom, as the "remnant of Syria", (verse 3.) a New Church can be formed. It does not appear that Swedenborg has quoted this verse. See above, Chapter 5:17, note, where a similar passage occurs. The "glory of the sons of Israel", are the knowledges of Truth and Good applied to the life for the purposes of salvation.]

3. And the fortress shall cease from Ephraim, and the kingdom from Damascus; and the remnant of Syria shall be as the glory of the sons of Israel, says Jehovah of Hosts

Verse 3. As to the meaning of "Ephraim", see above, Chapter 7:2, the Exposition.

4. And it shall be in that day, the glory Jacob shall be made thin, and the fatness of his flesh shall be made lean.

Verse 4. To be "made thin" or slender, is to be deprived of the truths of faith; "the fatness of his flesh shall be made lean", signifies to be deprived of the good of charity. Arcana Coelestia 5200, 5204. b

[As to the theological leanness which prevails in the church at this day, from the want of the knowledges of Truth, see True Christian Religion 391.]

5. And it shall be as when one gathers the standing harvest, and his arm reaps the ears; or as when one gleans ears in the valley of Rephaim.

Verses 5, 6, 11. The subject treated of in this chapter is concerning the knowledges of Truth and Good appertaining to the church, has being destroyed. Those knowledges are siguified by "Damascus", which is here treated of, and by Aroer"; their being destroyed is described by gleanings being left in it, as in the shaking of the olive-tree; two [orJ three berrles on the head of the uppermost bough, four [orJ five on the fruitful branches; likewise by "the harvest being a heap in the day of possession", namely, that there shall be no more than one heap, wherefore it is also called "desperate sorrow." Hence it is evident that by "harvest" is here signified the last state of the church; that state is also signified by "morning", for when the last state of the church is at hand, it is then morning to those who will be of the New Church, and evening and night to those who are of the Old; that this is here understood by "morning", appears from the last verse of the chapter, where it is said "At the time of evening, behold terror! before the morning, it [terror] is no more." (Isaiah 17:14) "Terror" signifies destruction. Apocalypse Explained 911.

6. There shall be left gleanings in it, as in the shaking of the olive-tree; two [or] three berries on the head of the uppermost bough; four [orJ five on the fruitful branches, says Jehovah the God of Israel.

Verse 6. The devastation of the church is here treated of and this is said of the remaining few who are in Good and Truth. A comparison is made with "the shaking of the olive-tree", because by the "olive-tree" is signified the church as to the good of love and its "branches" the truths thence derived. "Two, three" signify the few 'who are in good, and thence in truths; "two" signify good, and "three" truths; and "four, five" signify the few who are in good; "four" those who are in good, and "five" a few; and because "four, five" signify the few who are in good, therefore it is said "Four, five on the fruitful branches"; for the "fruit-bearing olive-tree" signifies those in the church who are in good as to life. As these things are signified by those numbers, therefore it is said "two, three" and "four, five", and not "two and three" and "four and five." Apocalypse Explained 332. -

7. In that day shall a man regard his Maker; and his eyes shall look towards the Holy One of Israel:

8. And he shall not regard the altars, the work of his hands; and what his fingers have made, he shall not respect; nor the groves, nor the solar statues.

9. In that day shall the cities of his refuge be as a forsaken bough, and an uppermost branch, which they left before the sons of Israel: and there shall be desolation.

Verses 7, 8. 10. The subject here treated of is concerning the establishment of a New Church by the Lord. That they shall then be led into goods of life, and informed in truths of doctrine, is understood by "a man in that day having regard to his; Maker, and his eyes looking towards the Holy One of Israel"; the Lord is called "Maker", by reason that He leads into goods of life, for these make a man: and He is called the "Holy One of Israel", by reason that He teaches truths of doctrine, wherefore it is also said- "In that day shall a man regard his Maker, and his eyes shall look towards the Holy One of Israel"; man being called "man" [homo] , from the good of life, and "eyes" being predicated of the understanding of truth, thus of the truths of doctrine. That in such a case there will be no worship from self-love, in which evils of life originate, nor from self-derived intelligence, in which originate falsos of doctrine, is understood by his "not having regard to the altars, the work of his hands, and not having respect to what his fingers have made." By "the altars, the work of his hands", is understood worship grounded in self-love, from which evils of life are derived; and by "what his fingers have made", is understood worship grounded in self-derived intelligence, from which are derived falsities of doctrine; by "the groves and solar statues of the groves" is signiiled the religious principle grounded in falsities and thence in evils; by "groves", the religious principle grounded in falsities, and by "solar statues", such as is grounded in the evils of the false. Apocalypse Explained 391.

Hence by these words is understood that the all of doctrine should be from the Lord, and not from the proprium of man, which is the case when a man is in the spiritual affection of Truth, that is, when he loves Truth itself, because it is Truth, and not principally because thereby he can acquire fame and a name. Apocalypse Explained 585.

10. Because you have forgotten the God of your salvation, and have not remembered the Rock of your strength, therefore shalt you plant plants of delights, and shalt set it with strange slips: .

11. In the day when you shalt have made your plants to grow, and in the morning when you shalt have made your seed to flourish; even in the day of possession shall the harvest be a heap, and there shall be desperate sorrow.

Verse 10. The Rock of your strength, etc. - See above, Chapter 16:1, the Exposition.

Verses 10, 11. Because you have forgotten the God of your salvation, therefore shalt you plant plants of delights, and set stranqe slips, etc. That to "sow" the land or the field, signifies, in the Word, to teach and to learn the truths and goods of faith, which are of the church; and that the "increase of the field" are the goods and truths thence derived, is evident from many passages in the Word, as in Isaiah 17:10, 11; here such things as grow upon the earth are mentioned, and that the things of the church are understood thereby is evident, namely.by "planting plants of delights", as said of those who have " forgotten, the God of their salvation", are understood such things as favour the affections [of the merely natural man]; and that by "setting the earth with strange slips", is to teach truths which are not genuine, [the end of which will, be "desperate sorrow."] Arcana Coelestia 9272.

12. Woe to the tumult of many peoples, who make a noise like the noise of the seas; and to the roaring of the nations, who make a roaring like the roaring of many waters!

Verse 12. Woe to the tumult, etc. - As to "what is meant by the denunciation "Woe!" see above, Chapter 1:4, the Exposition.

[" The tumult of many peoples, the noise of the seas, and the roaring of the nations", etc., signify, by correspondence, the tumultuous collisions and reasonings which take place at the time of judgment, when the external or natural mind is laid open, and its falsities and evils exposed and dispersed, as "chaff and stubble", by the power of divine Truth. See Apocalypse Explained 706.]

13. Like the roaring of many waters do the nations roar; but He shall rebuke them, and they shall flee far away; and they shall be driven like the chaff of the mountains before the wind, and like the stubble before the whirlwind.

Verse 13. And they shall be driven like the chaff of the mountains before the wind, and like the stubble before the whirlwind. - In the spiritual world, as well as in the natural world, there exist strong winds and storms; but the storms in the spiritual world exist from the influx of the Divine [Principle] into the lower parts of that world, where they are who are in evils and falsities. That influx, as it descends -out of the heavens towards the earths, which are below, becomes more dense, and appears as clouds, and with the evil, dense and opaque, according to the quantity and quality of their evil; these clouds are appearances of the false from evil, arising from the spheres of their life; every angel and spirit being encompassed by such a sphere. When therefore the Divine [Principle] is sent forth powerfully from the Lord as a sun, and flows in into these dense and opaque clouds, there arises a storm, which is perceived by the spirits there, in like manner as storms are perceived by men in the world. It has been given me sometimes to perceive these storms, and also the "east wind", by which the evil were dissipated and cast into the hells, when the last Judgment was performed. From these considerations it may appear what "storms", "tempests", and "impetuous winds" signify in the following passages. Thus in Isaiah :

"You shalt disperse them, and the wind shall carry them away, and the storm shall dissipate them." (Isaiah 41:16)

And in Jeremiah:

"From the storm of Jehovah anger went forth, and a whirlwind threatening to rush in; upon the head of the wicked it shall rush." (Jeremiah 23:19; 30:23)

And in David:

"I would hasten my escape from the windy storm and tempest." (Psalmlv. 8.) Apocalypse Explained 419.

Like the chaff and the stubble, etc. - "Wheat" denotes the goods of love and charity; "chaff" signifies what contains nothing of good.. Arcana Coelestia 3941.

14. At the time of evening, behold terror! before the morning, it is no more. This is the portion of those that spoil us, and the lot of those that plunder us.

Verse 14. "Evening" signifies the last time of the church, when there is nothing but evils and falsities, which are called "terror", because they are hell; but the "morning " signifies the first time of the church, when evils and falsities are not; wherefore it is said, "Before the morning, terror is no more." Apocalypse Explained 677.

5. And the throne shall be established in mercy: and in truth shall He sit thereon, in the tabernacle of David, a Judge, searching out judgment, and despatching justice.

Verse 5. These things are said of the Lord. Heaven, which was established by Him, and the church thence derived, are signified by "the throne established in mercy"; that the Lord there reigns by Divine Truth from Divine Good, is signified by " sitting upon it in truth, in the tabernacle of David"; by "David" is meant the Lord as to His royalty, which is Divine Truth; find by his "tabernacle" is signified the Divine Good; by "judgment" is signified the truth of doctrine, because all judgment is from that truth; and by "justice" is signified the good of love, both from the Lord with those who are in heaven and in the church. Apocalypse Explained 799.

6. We have heard of the pride of Moab: he is very proud; of his haughtiness, and his pride, and his anger: vain are his lies.

Verse 6. By "pride" is understood the love of self, and the love and faith of what is false with those who are of the church. Apocalypse Explained 653, 675.

Vain are his lies. - "Lies" are the falsities of faith, because "Moab" signifies those who are in the evil of self-love, and who thence falsify Truths. Arcana Coelestia 8908.

7. Therefore shall Moab howl; for Moab shall everyone howl: for the foundations of Kir-hare-seth shall you moan; surely they are stricken.

8. For the fields of Heshbon are withered; [as to] the vine of Sibmah, the lords of the nations have broken down the branches thereof; they reached unto Jazer; they strayed through the desert; her branches are plucked up; they passed over the sea.

Verses 7-9. For Moab shall everyone howl; for the foundations of Kir-hareseth shall you make a moan, etc. - Very many of the prophecies, as the above, are of such a nature that, if they had not an internal sense, they would be of no use; whereas it is necessary that, as the Word is divine, it should contain within itself the laws of the heavenly kingdom into which man is about to come. Arcana Coelestia 2608.

9. Wherefore I will weep, as with the weeping of Jazer, for the vine of Sibmah: I will water you with my tears, O Heshbon and Elealeh! for upon your summer fruits, and upon your vintage, the shout [of war] has fallen.

Verse 9. By "harvest" here also is signified the last state of the church, for by "shouting" is signified the end, when upon finishing the vintage and gathering in the harvest, they were wont to triumph and make a shouting, but in the present case to lament, because it is said "it has fallen." By "Jazer", the "vine of Sibmah", and by "Heshbon and Elealeh", are signified the men of the external church, who explain the Word to favour the loves of the world, for those places were given for an inheritance to the tribes of Reuben and Gad, by whom, inasmuch as they dwelt on the outside of Jordan, the external church was represented; the "vine of Sibmah" signifies their church; their destruction, when the Lord should come and accomplish judgment, is also described in this chapter. Apocalypse Explained 911.

10. And joy and gladness are taken away from Carmel; and in the vineyards they shall not sing, they shall not shout: in the vats the treader shall not tread out the wine; I have made the shouting to cease.

11. Wherefore my bowels for Moab like a harp shall sound; and mine inward parts for Kir-haresh.

Verse 10. In these words is described the taking away of celestial delight originating in Good, and the truths thence derived, in consequence of the deprivation of genuine Good and Truth. The Good of the church is understood by "Carmel", · and the Truth thence derived by "vineyards", and by the "treading of the wine in the wine-press"; the delights thereof, which are taken away, are signified by "joy, exultation, singing, and vintage-shouting"; for it was a custom to sing in the vineyards, and in the wine-presses, when the grapes were trodden into wine, on account of the representation of the delights derived from truths, which were signified by ", vine." Apocalypse Explained 376. See also Arcana Coelestia 1071; Apocalypse Revealed 316.

12. And it shall be, when Moab shall see that he has wearied himself out on the high place, that he shall enter his sanctuary to pray; but he shall not prevail.

13. This is the Word which Jehovah spake concerning Moab at that time :

Verse 12. He shall enter his sanctuary to pray, but he shall not prevail. - [These words imply that those represented by Moab who, at the period of Judgment, are in external worship without an internal principle of love to the Lord and their neighbour, will have recourse to their "sanctuary", or to externals of worship, in order to avoid the impending destruction, but "will not prevail"; as all prayers and all external acts of worship and piety, which have not an internal principle, will be of no avail to salvation. See below, Chapter 18:7, the Exposition, where the true nature of Saving Worship and Piety are shown; see also above, Chapter 1:11-19, the Exposition.]

14. But now has Jehovah spoken, saying, Within three years, as the years of a hireling, the glory of Moab shall be reviled, in all his great multitude; and the remnant shall be few, small, and without strength.

Verse 14. By "Moab" are here understood those who are in falsities from evil; by his" glory", and by his "great multitude", are understood those falsities; by "the three years after which his glory shall be reviled", is signified what is complete and consummated; wherefore it is said that "the remnant shall be few, small, and without strength", by which is signified that it shall be no more. "Three years" are mentioned, whereby is understood consummation, thus, from beginning to end. It is to be observed that the same is signified by "three years" as by "three months, "three weeks, "three days", and "three hours", inasmuch as "times", in the spiritual sense, signify states, and "three times", whether greater or less, a full state. Apocalypse Explained 532.

Of a hireling. - They who learn and imbibe truths from the Word, or from the doctrine of the church, or from any other sources whatsoever, even from themselves by conclusions, for the sake of gain, that is, that they may gain honours or wealth, or likewise, that they may merit heaven, - these are they who, in the internal sense, are meant by "hirelings." To the man of the church, gains ought to be in the last place, not in the first; when they are in the last place, they are then servants; but if in the first place, they are lords. He who respects gains in the first place, is an inverted man, and also is represented as inverted in the other life, with his head in hell; but he who respects charity and faith in the first place, thus the Lord and his neighbour, he is an erect man, and also is presented erect in the other life, with his head in heaven. Arcana Coelestia 9180.

Within three years, as the years of a hireling, etc. - [These words involve the idea, by correspondence, that at the period of judgment, when the states of those in the church signified by Moab are consummated, as denoted by "three years", all such will be reduced to a merely hireling and mercenary condition, that is, they will study and embrace the truths of the Word from merely selfish motives, relating to honour and gain; when this is the case, the end is come and judgment ensues.]

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Isaiah Chapter 17

1. THE burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is rejected, so as to be no city; and it is become a heap of ruins.

2. The cities of Aroer are deserted: they shall be for the flocks, and they shall lie down, and none shall make them afraid.

3. And the fortress shall cease from Ephraim, and the kingdom from Damascus; and the remnant of Syria shall be as the glory of the sons of Israel, says Jehovah of Hosts

4. And it shall be in that day, the glory Jacob shall be made thin, and the fatness of his flesh shall be made lean.

5. And it shall be as when one gathers the standing harvest, and his arm reaps the ears; or as when one gleans ears in the valley of Rephaim.

6. There shall be left gleanings in it, as in the shaking of the olive-tree; two [or] three berries on the head of the uppermost bough; four [orJ five on the fruitful branches, says Jehovah the God of Israel.

7. In that day shall a man regard his Maker; and his eyes shall look towards the Holy One of Israel:

8. And he shall not regard the altars, the work of his hands; and what his fingers have made, he shall not respect; nor the groves, nor the solar statues.

9. In that day shall the cities of his refuge be as a forsaken bough, and an uppermost branch, which they left before the sons of Israel: and there shall be desolation.

10. Because you have forgotten the God of your salvation, and have not remembered the Rock of your strength, therefore shalt you plant plants of delights, and shalt set it with strange slips: .

11. In the day when you shalt have made your plants to grow, and in the morning when you shalt have made your seed to flourish; even in the day of possession shall the harvest be a heap, and there shall be desperate sorrow.

12. Woe to the tumult of many peoples, who make a noise like the noise of the seas; and to the roaring of the nations, who make a roaring like the roaring of many waters!

13. Like the roaring of many waters do the nations roar; but He shall rebuke them, and they shall flee far away; and they shall be driven like the chaff of the mountains before the wind, and like the stubble before the whirlwind.

14. At the time of evening, behold terror! before the morning, it is no more. This is the portion of those that spoil us, and the lot of those that plunder us.

376. It has thus far been shown that "oil" signifies celestial good, which is the good of love to the Lord; it shall now be shown that "wine" signifies spiritual good, which is the good of charity towards the neighbor and the good of faith; and as this good in its essence is truth, it is said in the general explanation that "the oil and the wine hurt not," which signifies that there must no harm be done to the internal or spiritual sense of the Word in respect either to good or to truth, or what is the same, that there must no harm be done to the goods and truths which are in the internal or spiritual sense of the Word. The good of charity and the good of faith in their essence are truth, because that good is implanted by the Lord in man's intellectual part by means of the truths that are called the truths of faith, and when man lives according to these truths they become goods; for by means of truths a new will is formed in that part, and whatever proceeds from the will is called good. This will, moreover, is the same as conscience, and conscience is a conscience of truth, for it is formed by truths of every kind from the doctrine of the church, and from the sense of the letter of the Word (but on this subject see further in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 130-138; and the extracts from the Arcana Coelestia 139-141). From this now it is that "wine" signifies truth.

[2] Furthermore, there are goods and truths internal and external; internal goods and truths are signified by "the oil and the wine" that must not be hurt; but external goods and truths are signified by "wheat and barley." External goods and truths are those that are in the sense of the letter of the Word, while internal goods and truths are those that are in the internal or spiritual sense of the Word; or external goods and truths are such as are in the lower heavens with the angels there, that is, in the ultimates of heaven, while internal goods and truths are such as are in the higher heavens with the angels there, that is, in the third and second heavens. These goods and truths are genuine goods and truths themselves, but the former are truths and goods because they correspond, thus are correspondences; internal goods and truths have immediate communication with the angels of heaven, while external goods and truths have not an immediate but a mediate communication through correspondences. This is why the Jews, because they were only in the sense of the letter and had no knowledge of the signification of things in the spiritual sense, were unable to do harm to the spiritual sense in respect either to good or to truth, and consequently were unable to do harm to genuine goods and truths. So the Christian Church at this day is unable to do harm to the genuine goods and truths which are in the spiritual sense of the Word, for it has been ignorant of that sense, and at the same time ignorant of genuine goods and truths.

[3] The spiritual sense of the Word was not disclosed to Christians, because genuine goods and truths, such as are in the higher heavens, lie concealed in the spiritual sense of the Word; and so long as these goods and truths were unperceived and unknown that sense could not be opened, since these goods and truths could not be seen. In the Christian churches genuine goods and truths have not been perceived and known for the reason that those churches have been divided, in general, into the Papal and the Evangelical; and those in the Papal Church are utterly ignorant of truths, because they do not depend upon the Word, thus upon the Lord who is the Word, that is, Divine truth, but upon the pope, from whose mouth scarcely anything proceeds except what is from the love of ruling, and that love is from hell; therefore with them scarcely a single truth of the church exists; while in the Evangelical churches faith alone has been assumed as the essential means of salvation, and as a consequence the good of love and charity has been rejected as nonessential, and where good is rejected no truth which is truth in itself can exist, since all truth is from good; for the Lord flows into man's good, and by means of good illustrates him and gives him the light to perceive truths, therefore without that light, which is man's very spiritual life, there is no truth, however much it may sound like truth because it is from the Word; it is truth falsified by the ideas that are held in respect to it; for from faith separate from charity, or from truths without good, no other result can follow. This is why the spiritual sense of the Word could not be disclosed to the Christian churches, for if it had been disclosed, they would have falsified and perverted it by ideas from fallacies, and thus would have profaned it. This also is why no one will ever hereafter be admitted into the spiritual sense of the Word unless he is in genuine truths from good, and no one can be in genuine truths from good unless in heart he acknowledges the Lord alone as the God of heaven and earth, for from Him is every good and thence every truth. The spiritual sense of the Word is at this day opened, and therewith also genuine truths and goods are disclosed, because the Last Judgment has been accomplished by the Lord, and thus all things in the heavens and in the hells have been reduced to order; and for this reason it can be provided by the Lord that no harm can be done to genuine truths and goods, which are in the spiritual sense of the Word, and this could not have been provided before (See in the small work on The Last Judgment 73).

[4] That "wine" signifies spiritual good, or the good of charity and the good of faith, which in its essence is truth, can be seen from the following passages in the Word. In Isaiah:

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

Anyone can see that this does not mean that wine and milk may be bought without silver, "wine and milk" therefore signify things spiritual, namely, "wine" spiritual good, which in its essence is truth, as was said above, but "milk" the good of that truth. That these are given by the Lord freely to those who are ignorant of truth and good, and yet in a desire for these, is signified by "he that hath no silver, come ye, buy and eat; buy without silver;" "to buy" signifies to acquire for oneself, and "to eat" signifies to make one's own, which is done by application as from oneself. Those who are ignorant of truth and good, and yet are in a desire for them, are evidently meant, for it is said, "Ho, everyone that thirsteth, come ye to the waters," "to thirst" signifying to desire, and "waters" signifying truths, here the Word where truths are.

[5] In Joel:

It shall come to pass in that day, the mountains shall drop down sweet wine, and the hills shall flow with milk; all the water-courses of Judah shall flow with waters (Joel 3:18).

This treats of the Lord's coming, and of the new heaven and the new church from Him. It is well known that the mountains in the land of Canaan, or in Judea, did not then drop down sweet wine, nor the hills flow with milk, nor the water-courses of Judah flow with waters more than before, therefore these words must mean something else than new wine, milk, and waters, or than mountains, hills, and water-courses, namely, "that the mountains shall drop down sweet wine" [mustum] or wine [vinum], means that from the good of love to the Lord there shall be genuine truth; "the hills shall flow with milk" means that from the good of charity towards the neighbor there shall be spiritual life; and "all the water-courses of Judah shall flow with waters" means that from the particulars of the Word there shall be truths. (For "Judah" signifies the Lord's celestial kingdom, and also the Word, see Arcana Coelestia 3881[1-11], 6363; therefore "its water-courses" signify the particulars of the Word; that "mountains" signify the good of love to the Lord, n. Arcana Coelestia 795, 4210, 6435, 8327, 8758, 10438, 10608; and "hills" the good of charity towards the neighbor, n. 6435, 10438; and this because in heaven those who are in the good of love to the Lord dwell upon mountains, and those who are in the good of charity towards the neighbor dwell upon hills, n. Arcana Coelestia 10438, and Heaven and Hell, n. 188.)

[6] In Amos:

Behold the days come, that the ploughman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him that draweth forth seed; and the mountains shall drop down sweet wine, and all the hills shall dissolve. I will bring back the captivity of My people Israel, and they shall build the waste cities; and they shall inhabit them, and they shall plant vineyards and drink the wine thereof, and they shall make gardens and eat the fruit of them. Then will I plant them upon their ground (Amos 9:13-15).

This chapter treats first of the vastation of the church, and then of its restoration by the Lord; and "the people Israel" do not mean that people, but those with whom the church was to be established; and "the ploughman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him that draweth forth the seed," signifies that he who receives good and truth shall also perform uses, or bear fruit, thus that with the man of the church the two shall be present at the same time; "the mountains shall drop down sweet wine, and all the hills shall dissolve," signifies, as just above, that from the good of love to the Lord and from the good of charity towards the neighbor there shall be truths in abundance, "sweet wine" here, or "wine," meaning truth; that "the captivity of the people Israel shall be brought back" signifies the restoration of the church among the Gentiles, for "captivity" means spiritual captivity, in which those are who are remote from goods and truths, and yet in a desire for them (See Arcana Coelestia 9164). "The waste cities that they shall build" signify the doctrinals of truth and good from the Word, before destroyed and at that time to be restored; "the vineyards which they shall plant," and "the wine of which they shall drink," signify all things of the church from which there is intelligence, "a vineyard" signifies the spiritual church, and therefore "vineyards" signify all things of the church; "wine" signifies the truth of the church in general, and "to drink it" signifies to be instructed and become intelligent, thus intelligence; and "the gardens which they shall make, and the fruit of which they shall eat," signifies wisdom, "gardens" meaning all things of intelligence, and their "fruit" signifying the goods of life, thus "to eat their fruit" signifies the appropriation of good, thus wisdom, for wisdom comes when truths are committed to the life; and because this is what is meant, therefore it is said of Israel, "I will plant them upon their ground."

[7] In Moses:

He bindeth his foal to the vine, the son of his she-ass unto the noble vine; he washeth his vesture in wine, and his covering in the blood of the grapes. His eyes are red with wine, and his teeth white with milk (Genesis 49:1, 12).

This is in the prophecy of Israel the father respecting Judah, by whom here Judah is not meant, but the Lord in relation to the celestial kingdom; and "wine" and the "blood of grapes" mean the Divine truth. (What the rest signifies, and that "wine" signifies Divine truth, because this has reference to the Lord, see Arcana Coelestia 6375-6381.)

[8] In the same:

Jacob brought of his venison to his father Isaac, and he did eat; and he brought him wine, and he drank. And Isaac blessed him, saying, God give thee of the dew of heaven, and of the fatnesses of the earth, and plenty of corn and new wine (Genesis 27:25, 27-28, 37).

Those who do not know that the Word is spiritual in its particulars may suppose that by "Isaac" here is meant Isaac, and by "Jacob" Jacob, and therefore that by "the fatnesses of the earth," and "the corn and new wine," no other and deeper things are meant; but "Isaac" here represents the Lord, and "Jacob" the church; thence the "fatnesses of the earth" mean the celestial things that are of the good of love; and "corn and new wine" every good and truth of the church. (But these words may also be seen explained in Arcana Coelestia n. 3570, 3579, 3580.)

[9] In the same:

If ye shall harken to My commandments, I will give rain to your land in its time, the former rain and the latter rain; and thou shall gather in thy corn, and thy new wine, and thy fresh oil (Deuteronomy 11:13-14).

These blessings of the earth were promised to the sons of Israel if they would hear and do the commandments of Jehovah, and the blessings followed because with them the church was representative, and the things that were said and commanded by Jehovah corresponded to things spiritual, thus these blessings of the earth to the blessings of heaven. The blessings of heaven, to which the blessings of the earth correspond, all have reference to the things that are of the good of love and the truth of faith; these blessings therefore are signified by "the former rain and the latter rain," for "rain" in particular signifies Divine truth flowing in out of heaven, from which all things of the church and heaven with man are born, grow, and are brought forth; therefore "the corn, new wine, and oil, which they should gather in," signify every good and truth of the external and internal man.

[10] In the same:

Thus Israel dwelt securely, alone by the fountain of Jacob, in a land of corn and new wine; yea, his heavens shall drop down dew (Deuteronomy 33:28).

This was the conclusion of the blessings of the sons of Israel by Moses, which were all prophetical, and every son or every tribe of Israel signified something of the church (as in Genesis 49); and here "Israel" signifies the church itself; and "to dwell securely, alone by the fountain of Jacob," signifies to live without infestation from evils and falsities, and to be led by the Lord alone through Divine truth, the "fountain of Jacob" meaning Divine truth and the Word; and "to live in a land of corn and new wine" signifies in every good and truth of the church; and "yea, his heavens shall drop down dew," signifies influx out of heaven.

[11] In the same:

He made him ride upon the high places of the earth, and gave him butter of the herd, and milk of the flock, with the fat of lambs, and of rams, the sons of Bashan, and of he-goats, with the fat of the kidneys of wheat; and thou drinkest the blood of the grape, unmixed wine (Deuteronomy 32:13-14).

These things are said of the Ancient Church, which was the church previous to the Israelitish Church, and was in the good of charity and in truths of faith. The goods of every kind, in which it was, are meant by these things, namely, the "butter of the herd," the "milk of the flock," "the fat of lambs," "the fat of rams," "the fat of goats," "the fat of the kidneys of wheat;" and spiritual truths are meant by "the blood of the grape" and "unmixed wine."

[12] In Jeremiah:

They shall come and sing aloud in the height of Zion, and shall flow together unto the good of Jehovah, to the corn, and to the new wine, and to the fresh oil, and to the sons of the flock and of the herd (Jeremiah 31:12).

"Corn," "new wine," and "fresh oil," signify goods and truth of every kind (what these mean in particular, see above, n. 374). In Isaiah:

Jehovah hath sworn by His right hand, and by the arm of His strength, Surely I will no longer give thy corn to be food for thine enemies, and the sons of the alien shall not drink thy new wine for which thou hast labored; but they that gather it shall eat it and praise Jehovah, and they that bring it together shall drink it in the courts of holiness (Isaiah 62:8-9).

This is said of Jerusalem, which signifies the church in relation to doctrine; therefore "the corn that shall no longer be given as food for the enemies, and the new wine that the sons of the alien shall not drink" signify in general the good and truth of the church, which shall no longer be consumed by evils and falsities; "enemies" here meaning evils, and "the sons of the alien" falsities, and "to eat," or "to have food given them," and "to drink," mean to consume. That goods and truths will remain with those who receive them, and thence make use of them, is signified by "they that gather it shall eat it," and "they that bring it together shall drink it;" worship from these is signified by "praising Jehovah," and "drinking in the courts of holiness."

[13] In the same:

Gladness is taken away, and exultation from Carmel; and in the vineyards there is no singing aloud, no shouting for joy; the treader treadeth not out the wine in the wine-vats; I have made the vintage-shouting to cease (Isaiah 16:10).

This describes the taking away of the heavenly enjoyment that is from good and its truths, because good and truth itself is taken away; the good of the church is meant by "Carmel," and its truths by "vineyards" and by "treading out the wine in the wine-vats;" the enjoyments thereof that are taken away are meant by "gladness," "exultation," "singing aloud," "shouting," and "vintage-shouting," for it was a custom to sing in the vineyards, and in the winepresses when the grape was trodden into wine, that enjoyments from truths, which were signified by "wine," might be represented.

[14] In Jeremiah:

With more than the weeping of Jazer I will weep for thee, O vine of Sibmah; thy shoots are passed over the sea, they reach even to the sea of Jazer; upon thy autumn fruits, and upon thy vintage the devastator is fallen. Whence gladness and exultation is gathered out of Carmel, and out of the land of Moab; and I have caused the wine to cease in the wine-vats; none shall tread with shouting; their shouting shall be no shouting (Jeremiah 48:32-33).

This also treats of the taking away of the heavenly enjoyment that is from the good of love and the truths thence, for all heavenly enjoyment is in these and from these. Lamentation over it is meant by "weeping" [flere fletum]; deprivation of it is meant by "gladness and exultation is gathered out of Carmel," likewise by "the devastator falling upon it," "the wine failing," and "the shouting being no shouting;" the good that was taken away, for which there was lamentation, is meant by "the autumn fruits;" and the truths of good that were taken away are meant by "the vintage," and by "the wine in the wine-vats." That truths were banished, and that they perished through knowledges [scientifica] is meant by "the vine of Sibmah," and by its "shoots that have gone over the sea, even to the sea of Jazer," "sea" signifying the knowing faculty [scientificum].

[15] In Lamentations:

The infant and the suckling faint in the broad places of the city. They say to their mothers, Where is the corn and the wine? when they faint as one pierced in the broad places of the city, when their soul is poured out upon their mother's bosom (Lam. 2:11-12).

These words contain a lamentation over the Jewish Church, that every good and truth thereof has perished; and the lamentation is described by "the infant and the suckling who faint in the broad places of the city, and say to their mothers, Where is the corn and the wine?" The "infant and the suckling" signify those who are in the good of innocence, and in an abstract sense, the good of innocence itself; by this good every good of the church is meant, since it is the essential of all its goods (See in the work on Heaven and Hell, n. 276-283, 285, 288, 341, 382). "The broad places of the city" signify the truths of doctrine; "mothers" all things of the church; "corn and wine" all the good and truth of the church in general. It is said that "they faint as one pierced in the broad places of the city, when their soul is poured out upon their mother's bosom," because "one pierced" signifies those who perish spiritually from the deprivation of truth, and "soul" signifies spiritual life. (That "the broad places of the city, in which they faint," signify the truths of doctrine, see Arcana Coelestia, n. 2336; and that "the mother, into whose bosom the soul is poured out," signifies the church, n. 2691, 2717, 3703, 4257, 5581, 8897)

[16] In Zephaniah:

Their wealth shall be for plunder, and their houses for a waste, that they may build houses but not inhabit them, and plant vineyards but not drink the wine thereof (Zephaniah 1:13).

The "wealth that shall be for plunder" signifies spiritual wealth, which is the knowledges of good and truth; "the houses that shall be for devastation" signify the things of the church in man; that from these when devastated one profits nothing and receives nothing, even though he listens to them, and sees them in the Word, is signified by "building and not inhabiting, and planting vineyards and not drinking the wine thereof," "houses" meaning the goods of the church, and "vineyards" with "wine" its truths.

[17] Like things are meant in Micah:

Thou shalt sow but shalt not reap; thou shalt tread the olive but shalt not anoint thee with oil, and the new wine but shall not drink wine (Micah 6:15).

In Amos:

Vineyards of desire shall ye plant, but ye shall not drink the wine of them (Amos 5:11).

And in Hosea:

The threshing-floor and the wine-vat shall not feed them, and the new wine shall dissemble unto them. They shall not pour forth wine to Jehovah, and these shall not be agreeable unto Him (Hosea 9:2, 4).

The "threshing-floor and the wine-vat" signify the same as "corn and wine," because corn and wine are there collected; that they will not profit by what they hear is signified by "they shall not feed them, and the new wine shall dissemble unto them;" and that thence their worship is not accepted is signified by "they shall not pour forth wine to Jehovah, and these (that is, the offerings) shall not be agreeable unto Him."

[18] In Joel:

Awake, ye drunkards, and weep; and howl, all ye drinkers of wine, because of the sweet wine which is cut off from your mouth. The field is devastated, the ground mourned, for the corn was devastated, the new wine was dried up, the fresh oil languisheth; the husbandmen were ashamed; the vine-dressers howled (Joel 1:5, 10-11).

What these words signify in the spiritual sense, may be seen above n. 374, where they are explained; "wine" and "sweet wine" meaning the truth of the church, and "vine-dressers" those who are in truths and teach them. This treats of a devastated church, in which goods and truths have perished.

[19] In Ezekiel:

Damascus was thy trader in the multitude of thy works, in the multitude of all riches, in the wine of Heshbon ¹ and the wool of Zachar (Ezekiel 27:18).

This is said of Tyre, which signifies the church in relation to the knowledges of good and truth; and "Damascus," which was a city in Syria, signifies the concordant knowing faculty [scientificum]; and the "tradings" referred to in this chapter signify the acquisition and communication and also the use of these. Because "Damascus" signifies the concordant knowing faculty, it is called a "trader in the multitude of all works and riches," "works" by which uses are effected, signifying the knowledges of good, and "riches" the knowledges of truth; and as the knowledges of truth and good are in the natural man, for therein is everything pertaining to cognition and knowing that is perceptible, therefore it is said "in the wine of Heshbon and the wool of Zachar," the "wine of Heshbon" signifying natural truth, and the "wool of Zachar" natural good.

[20] In Isaiah:

A malediction shall devour the earth; the new wine shall mourn, the vine shall languish, all the glad of heart shall sigh. They shall not drink wine with a song; strong drink shall be bitter to them that drink it. The city of voidness shall be broken down; every house shall be shut, that no one come in (Isaiah 24:6-7, 9-10).

These words describe the perversion of the church, which takes place when falsity rules in place of truth, whence there is no longer any good; for man has good by means of truths. "The earth that the malediction will devour" signifies the church, "malediction" meaning its perversion; the "new wine that will mourn," and the "vine that will languish," signify all truth of the church, "to mourn" and "to languish" signifying deprivation of it; that there shall no longer be any heavenly enjoyment and blessedness is signified by "all the glad of heart shall sigh, they shall not drink wine with a song;" that they shall turn away from all things that agree with truths is signified by "strong drink shall be bitter to them that drink it," "strong drink" signifying the things that are from truths and agree with them. But that the doctrine of falsity shall be destroyed is signified by "the city of voidness shall be broken down," "city" meaning doctrine, and "a void" falsity; and that there shall no longer be any good or wisdom with man is signified by "every house shall be shut, that no one come in," which takes place when there is no truth, but only falsity.

[21] In Amos:

Who drink out of bowls of wine, and anoint themselves with the firstfruits of the oils; but they are not grieved for the breach of Joseph (Amos 6:6).

This and what precedes in that chapter describes those who are in external worship without internal, such as the Jews were formerly and still are; the "bowls of wine out of which they drink" are the externals of truth from which is worship; and the "firstfruits of the oils with which they anoint themselves" are the externals of good, from which also is worship; "Joseph" signifies the internal of the church or its spiritual; not being affected because this perishes is signified by "they are not grieved for his breach." (That external worship without internal is no worship, see Arcana Coelestia 1094, 1175, 7724; that the Jews were formerly and still are in external worship without internal, n. 1200, 3147, 3479, 8871; that "Joseph" signifies the spiritual church, thus also the spiritual of the church, n. 3969, 3971, 4669, 6417)

[22] In Zechariah:

I will render the house of Judah mighty and I will save the house of Joseph; on this account they shall be as the mighty Ephraim, and their heart shall be glad as if with wine (Zechariah 10:6-7).

"The house of Judah" signifies the Lord's celestial church, and the "house of Joseph" the Lord's spiritual church; and "to render mighty their houses" signifies to multiply with them truths from good, for all might is of truth from good; therefore it is said, "they shall be as the mighty Ephraim;" "Ephraim" signifying the understanding of truth from good, which is called mighty from its multiplication; heavenly enjoyment therefrom is signified by "their heart shall be glad as if with wine," "wine" meaning truth from good from which that enjoyment comes. (That truths have all power from good, see in the work o n Heaven and Hell 228-233; and also above, n. 209, 333; that "Judah" in the Word signifies the Lord's celestial kingdom, Arcana Coelestia 3881[1-11], 6363; and "Ephraim" the intellectual of the church, n. 3969, 5354, 6222, 6234, 6238, 6267, 6296.)

[23] In Daniel:

Belshazzar king of Babylon, and his magnates, and his wives, and his concubines, drank wine out of vessels of the temple of Jerusalem, and praised the gods of silver, brass, iron, wood, and stone. Therefore there was written on the wall, Numbered, weighed, and divided. And then he [Nebuchadnezzar] was driven out from the sons of man, and his dwelling was with the wild asses (Daniel 5:2-5, 21).

In the internal sense this describes the profanation of good and truth, which also is meant by "Babel" or "Babylon;" for "to drink wine out of the vessels of the temple of Jerusalem" signifies to draw the truths of the church from the Word, "to drink wine" meaning to draw truths, and "the vessels of the temple of Jerusalem" meaning the truths that belong to the doctrine of the church from the Word; and "to praise the gods of gold, silver, brass, iron, wood, and stone" signifies worship from the love of self and the world; for these gods signify idolatrous worship of every kind, and profanation; that it was therefore written on the wall, "numbered, weighed, divided" signifies separation from all things of heaven and the church. That afterwards "the king was driven out from the sons of man, and his dwelling was with the wild asses" signifies separation from all truth, and the allotment of his life with the infernals, "sons of man" meaning the truths of the church, "wild asses" those who are in dire falsities like those in the hells, and "dwelling" meaning the allotment of the life.

[24] In Joel:

They have cast a lot upon My people; for they have given a boy for a harlot, and sold a girl for wine, which they drank (Joel 3:3).

"To cast lots upon the people" signifies to dissipate the truths of the church, "to cast a lot" signifying to dissipate, and "people" signifying the church in relation to truths, thus also the truths of the church; "to give a boy for a harlot" signifies to falsify truth, "boy" meaning the truth of the church, and "harlot" falsity; and "to sell a girl for wine, which they drank" signifies to pervert the good of the church by truth falsified, "girl" meaning the good of the church, and "wine" truth falsified.

[25] Because "wine" signified the truth of the church that is from good, it was commanded that, with the sacrifices upon the altar, a meal-offering and a drink-offering should be offered, and the meal-offering was bread, and the drink-offering wine; these signified worship of the Lord from the good of love, and from the truths therefrom; for all worship is from these. (On the drink-offerings, the portions of wine with them at the different sacrifices, see Exodus 29:40, 41; Leviticus 23:13, 18; Numbers 6:1-4, 15, 17; 15:4-7, 10, 24; 28:7-10, 24, 31; 29:6, 11, 16, 19, 22, 25, 27, 28, 31, 34, 38, 39; and besides Genesis 35:14) This makes clear what is signified in Joel:

The meal-offering and the drink-offering was cut off from the house of Jehovah; the priests, the ministers (of the altar), mourned (Joel 1:9);

namely, that worship from the good of love, and from the truths therefrom, had perished. Who cannot see that the meal-offering and the drink-offering, which were bread and wine, were not pleasing to Jehovah in worship, unless they had signified such things as are of heaven and the church?

[26] From this it can now be seen what the bread and wine in the Holy Supper involve, namely, the bread, the good of love to the Lord from the Lord, and the wine, the good of faith, which in its essence is truth. (But on the Holy Supper and the bread and wine of it, see The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 210-222.) Because "wine" signifies the good of faith, which in its essence is truth, when the Lord instituted the sacrament of the supper, He said:

I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this product of the vine until that day when I will drink it with you new in My Father's kingdom (Matthew 26:29).

I say unto you, I will not drink of the product of the vine until the kingdom of God shall come (Luke 22:18).

"The product of the vine," that is, "wine," which the Lord "would drink with them new in His Father's kingdom," or "when the kingdom of God should come," means that all Divine truth in heaven and the church would then be from His Divine Human; He therefore calls it "new," and also He calls it "the new testament in his blood" (Luke 22:20); for "the Lord's blood" has a like signification as "wine" (See above, n. 30, 328, 329). And as everything Divine, since the Lord has risen, proceeds from Him, He says that He will drink it with them when the kingdom of God shall come, and it came when He reduced all things to order in the heavens and in the hells. That the kingdom of God came at the same time with the Lord and that it is from Him can be seen from Matthew 3:2; 4:8; 10:7; 12:28; 16:28; Mark 1:14, 15; 9:1; Luke 1:32, 33; 9:11, 27, 60; 10:11; 16:16; 17:20, 21; 23:42, 51; John 18:36. Now, because "bread" signifies the good of love, and "wine" the good of faith, which in its essence is the truth from that good, and in the highest sense, "bread" signifies the Lord in respect to Divine good, and "wine" the Lord in respect to Divine truth, and because there is a correspondence between spiritual things and natural, (and such a correspondence that when "bread" and "wine" are in man's thought, the good of love and the good of faith are in the angels' thoughts), and because all things of heaven and the church have reference to the good of love and the good of faith, therefore the Lord instituted the Holy Supper in order that by means of it there might be a conjunction of the angels of heaven with the men of the church.

[27] Because such things are meant by "bread and wine" in heaven, therefore:

Melchizedek, king of Salem, going out to meet Abram, brought out bread and wine; and he was a priest to God Most High. And he blessed Abram (Genesis 14:18-19).

"Melchizedek" here represents the Lord in relation to Divine good and in relation to Divine truth, as priest in relation to Divine good, and as king to Divine truth; therefore he "brought out bread and wine," "bread" signifying Divine good, and "wine" Divine truth; or when applied to man, "bread" signifying the good of love to the Lord, and "wine" the good of faith, which is from the reception of Divine truth.

[28] The "wine" spoken of by the Lord in the following passages has a like signification:

They do not put new wine into old wine-skins, else the skins burst, and the wine is spilled; but they put [new] wine into fresh wine-skins, and both are preserved (Matthew 9:17).

And no man having drunk old wine straightway desireth new; for he saith, The old is more useful (Luke 5:39).

This comparison, like all others in the Word, is from correspondences, "wine" signifying truth, "old wine" the truth of the old or Jewish Church, and "wine-skins" things that contain, "old wine-skins" the statutes and judgments of the Jewish Church, and "fresh wine-skins" the precepts and commandments of the Lord. That the statutes and judgments of the Jewish Church, which related especially to sacrifices and representative worship, are not in agreement with the truths of the Christian Church is meant by "they do not put new wine into old wine-skins, else the wine-skins burst and the wine is spilled; but they put [new] wine into fresh wine-skins, and both are preserved together." That those who have been born and educated in the externals of the Jewish Church cannot be brought immediately into the internals belonging to the Christian Church is signified by "no man having drunk old wine straightway desireth new; for he saith, "The old is more useful."

[29] The same is signified by "the water turned into wine at Cana of Galilee," thus described in John:

At the wedding in Cana of Galilee, when the wine failed, there were six water-pots of stone set there, according to the cleansing of the Jews. Jesus said, Fill the water-pots; and they filled them to the brim. Then he said unto them Draw out now, and bear unto the ruler of the feast; and they bare it. While the ruler of the feast tasted the water that was made wine, he calleth the bridegroom, and saith unto him, Every man setteth on first the good wine; and when they have had enough, the inferior; thou hast kept the good wine until now (John 2:1-10).

It should be known that all the miracles done by the Lord, as well as all the miracles by Him spoken of in the Old Testament, signified, that is, contained within them, such things as belong to heaven and the church, and that thence His miracles were Divine (See Arcana Coelestia 7337, 8364, 9051). So with this miracle; here, as elsewhere in the Word, "a wedding" signifies the church; "in Cana of Galilee" means among the Gentiles; "water" the truth of the external church, such as was the truth of the Jewish Church from the sense of the letter of the Word, and "wine" the truth of the internal church, such as is the truth of the Christian Church; therefore the Lord's "making the water wine" signifies that of the truths of the external church He will make truths of the internal church by opening the internal things that have lain concealed in them. "The six water-pots of stone, set there according to the cleansing of the Jews," signify all these truths in the Word, and thence in the Jewish Church and its worship; these were all representative and significative of things Divine in the Lord and from the Lord, which contained things eternal. For this reason there were "six water-pots of stone, set for the cleansing of the Jews;" the number "six" signifies all, and is predicated of truths; "stone" signifies truth, and "the cleansing of the Jews" purification from sins; thus all things of the Jewish Church are signified, since that church regards purification from sins as its all, for so far as anyone is purified from sins, so far he becomes a church. "The ruler of the feast" means those who are in the knowledges of truth; his saying to the bridegroom, "every man setteth on first the good wine; and when men have had enough, the inferior; thou hast kept the good wine until now," signifies that every church has its beginning in truths from good, but falls away into truths not of good, but that now, at the end of the church, truth from good, or genuine truth, is granted, namely by the Lord.

[30] It is because "wine" signifies the truth of the church, and "oil" the good of the church, that the Lord says, in the parable of the man who was wounded by thieves:

That the Samaritan poured oil and wine into his wounds (Luke 10:33-34);

where "the man wounded by thieves" means those who are infested and have their conscience hurt by evil men, who are "robbers;" and "the Samaritan" means the Gentiles that are in the good of charity; therefore "his pouring into his wounds oil and wine" signifies the spiritual things that heal a man thus injured, "oil" meaning the good of love, and "wine" the good of faith, or truth. What the rest signifies, namely, "that he set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and told them to take care of him," may be seen above (n. 375[8]), where they are explained. That "wine" signifies the truth of the church can be seen not only from the passages cited, but also from others in the Word (as Isaiah 1:21, 22; 25:6; 36:17; Hosea 7:4, 5, 14; 14:5-7; Amos 2:8; Zechariah 9:15, 17; Psalms 104:14-16).

[31] As most things in the Word have also a contrary sense, so, too, has "wine," and in that sense it signifies truth falsified, and also falsity, as in the following passages. In Isaiah:

Woe to the crown of pride, to the drunkards of Ephraim, to the flower of his fading adornment, which is on the head of the valley of the fat ones frenzied with wine; the crown of pride, the drunkards of Ephraim, they shall be trampled under the feet; these go astray through wine, and through strong drink they err; the priest and the prophet go astray through strong drink, they are swallowed up of wine, they err through wine, ² they go astray among the seeing, they waver in judgment (Isaiah 28:1, 3, 7).

This is said of those who are insane in things spiritual because they believe themselves to be intelligent of themselves, and glory in it; the state of such is here described by pure correspondences; those who are insane in things spiritual or in truths are meant by "the drunkards," and those who thence believe themselves intelligent by "Ephraim," and hence glorying in intelligence or learning is meant by the "crown of pride;" for those who are in falsities of doctrine and have confirmed themselves in them, when they are illustrated and see truths, in the other life become like drunkards. The learned who have confirmed themselves in falsities become such, and to confirm oneself in falsities is to confirm from oneself and not from the Lord. This makes clear what is signified by "woe to the crown of pride, to the drunkards of Ephraim;" "the flower of the fading adornment that is on the head of the valley of the fat ones frenzied with wine" signifies the truth of the church destroyed even as it is born by the glorying of the self-intelligence that is of the natural man separated from the spiritual, when falsity is seen instead of truth, "the flower of the adornment" meaning truth as it is born declining or perished; "the head of the valley of the fat ones" means the intelligence of the natural man; "frenzied with wine" means those who see falsity in place of truth; "the crown of pride, the drunkards of Ephraim, they shall be trampled under the feet," signifies that this intelligence shall utterly perish; "these go astray through wine, and through strong drink they err," signifies through falsities and through such things as are from falsities; "the priest and the prophet go astray through strong drink, they are swallowed up of wine, they are gone astray through strong drink," signifies that such are those who ought to be in the doctrine of good and truth, and in a sense abstracted from persons that such is their doctrine itself; "they go astray among the seeing, they waver in judgment," signifies that they do not see the truths of intelligence. That these words have such a signification no one can see except from the spiritual sense; without that it could not be known that "crown" and "head" signify intelligence, that "drunkards" signify those who are insane in things spiritual, that "Ephraim" signifies here man's own understanding, or that which is from himself, that "valley" signifies the lower things of the mind, which are natural and sensual, and that "priest and prophet" signify the doctrine of good and truth.

[32] In the same:

Linger ye, wonder, be astounded, and cry out; they are drunken, but not with wine; they stagger, but not with strong drink; for Jehovah hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep, and hath closed up your eyes; the prophets and your heads, the seers hath He covered (Isaiah 29:9-10).

This is said of those who can see nothing of truth when they hear or read it from the Word; those who are such are called "drunken but not with wine," and "they stagger, but not with strong drink," "wine" signifying in particular the truth of the spiritual and thus of the rational man, and "strong drink" the truth of the natural man therefrom. Because such are meant it is said, "Jehovah hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep, and hath closed up your eyes," "the spirit of deep sleep" meaning no perception, and the "eyes closed up" no understanding. "The prophets and your heads [the seers] hath He covered," signifies those who are in the doctrine of truth and were wise and intelligent thence; "prophets" signify those who are in the doctrine of truth, and in an abstract sense, doctrine itself, "heads" signify the wise, and in an abstract sense, wisdom, and "seers" signify the intelligent, and in an abstract sense, intelligence. Wonder at such gross stupidity is described by "Linger ye, wonder, be astounded," and lamentation over it by "cry out." Such are those who are in a life of evil, and at the same time in the principles of falsity, however learned they are believed to be; for a life of evil shuts out the perception of good by which thought has life and light, and the principles of falsity shut out the understanding of truth, on which account they see from the sensual man only, and not at all from the spiritual.

[33] In the same:

The dogs are strong of soul, they know not satiety; and they are shepherds who know not intelligence. Come, I will take wine and we will be drunk with strong drink (Isaiah 56:11-12).

This is said of those who care for nothing but worldly and earthly things, which close the internal spiritual man. These, from having no perception of good and no understanding of truth, are called "dogs strong of soul, they know not satiety," that is, they are unable to receive good, "to know" here signifies to be able, and "satiety" reception of good, for satiety is predicated of food, by which spiritual nourishment is signified. That they have no understanding of truth is meant by "they are shepherds who know not intelligence;" those are called "shepherds" who believe themselves able to instruct others, for "to feed" means to instruct; and because such persons love falsities and things falsified, it is added, "Come, I will take wine, and we will be drunk with strong drink."

[34] In Jeremiah:

Thus said Jehovah, God of Israel, Every bottle shall be filled with wine. Behold I fill all the inhabitants of this land, and the kings sitting for David upon his throne, and the priests and the prophets, all the inhabitants of Jerusalem with drunkenness (Jeremiah 13:12-13).

Here, too, "wine" signifies falsity, and "every bottle that shall be filled with wine" signifies the mind of man, since the mind is a recipient of truth or of falsity, as a bottle is of wine; "the kings sitting for David upon his throne" signify those who would otherwise be in Divine truths, "priests" those who would be in Divine goods, "prophets," those who would be in doctrine, "the inhabitants of Jerusalem" all who are of the church; and "the drunkenness with which they shall be filled" signifies insanity in spiritual things.

[35] In the same:

I am become like a drunkard, and like a man into whom wine hath passed, because of Jehovah, and because of the words of His Holiness. For the land is full of adulterers (Jeremiah 23:9-10).

This is a lamentation over the adulteration of good and falsification of truth in the church, which is signified by "the land is full of adulterers;" these are meant by "adulteries," and the church by "land." Insanity in spiritual things through reasonings from evils against Divine goods and from falsities against Divine truth is signified by, "I am become like a drunkard, and like a man into whom wine has passed, because of Jehovah, and because of the words of His Holiness;" "to become like a drunkard and like a man into whom wine hath passed" signifies confusion of mind and insanity by reasoning from evils and falsities; "because of Jehovah" signifies because of Divine goods, and "because of the words of his holiness" signifies because of Divine truths.

[36] In Isaiah:

Hear now this, thou afflicted, and drunken but not with wine (Isaiah 51:21).

The "drunken but not with wine," mean here those who are in falsities from ignorance of truth. That:

Noah drank of the wine and was drunken, and therefore lay naked in the midst of his tent (Genesis 9:21);

means in the spiritual sense, something entirely different from the meaning in the letter; likewise:

Lot's being made drunken by his daughters, and their then lying with him (Genesis 19:32-34).

What is meant by the drunkenness of Noah in the spiritual sense may be seen in Arcana Coelestia 1070-1081); and what by the drunkenness of Lot (n. 2465 end). "Drunkenness" also elsewhere in the Word signifies insanity in spiritual things, and lapsing into errors (Isaiah 19:11, 12, 14; Jeremiah 25:27; Joel 1:5-7; Jeremiah 51:7; Leviticus 10:8, 9).

[37] That "wine" in a contrary sense signifies falsity, is also evident from Isaiah:

Woe unto them that rise early in the morning, that follow strong drink; to them that delay until twilight till wine inflames them. But they do not look upon the work of Jehovah, and they see not the working of His hands. Woe to the wise in their own eyes, and the intelligent before their own faces. Woe unto the mighty in drinking wine, and to men of strength to mingle strong drink (Isaiah 5:11-12, 21-22).

This is said of those who frame for themselves doctrinals from self-intelligence not from the Lord, or from Him out of the Word, which consequently are mere falsities. "Woe unto them who rise early in the morning, who follow strong drink, to them who delay until twilight till wine inflame them; but they do not look upon the work of Jehovah, and they see not the working of His hands" signifies therefore the perverted states of those who believe that they are illustrated of themselves, whence they are in falsities of doctrine, and care not for the Word, from which they might know goods and truths of life and of doctrine. "To rise early in the morning," and "to delay until twilight" signifies to be illustrated; and "to follow strong drink," and "to be inflamed with wine" signifies to hatch out doctrinals of themselves; "not to look upon the work of Jehovah," and "not to see the working of His hands" signifies not to care for the Word, or the goods of life and the truths of doctrine there disclosed; "the work of Jehovah" is predicated of the goods of life, and "the working of His hands" of the truths of doctrine, both from the Word; because such persons are meant, therefore it is said, "Woe to the wise in their own eyes, and the intelligent before their own faces;" "the wise in their own eyes" signifying those who are wise from their own intelligence, and "the intelligent before their own faces" signifying those who are intelligent from their own affection, "eyes" signifying the understanding, and "face" affection. And "woe unto the mighty in drinking wine, and to men of strength to mingle strong drink," signifies unto such as aspire after great things, and are ingenious in confirming the falsities that favor the loves of self and their own principles; "the mighty" are those who aspire to great things; "men of strength" those who are ingenious, and seem to themselves to be intelligent; "to drink wine" means to imbibe falsities, and "to mingle strong drink" means to confirm them. Such are all those who are in the love of self, and who seek after the reputation for learning, for such are in what is their own, and cannot be elevated above it; therefore their own thought is in the corporeal sensual, by which no truth is seen, and no spiritual good is perceived. But those who are not in the love of self, and who seek intelligence for the sake of the uses of life, are elevated by the Lord from what is their own into the light of heaven, and though not themselves aware of it, are illustrated.

[38] In Hosea:

Whoredom and new wine have taken up the heart. My people ask the wood, and their rod answereth them; for the spirit of whoredom hath led them astray, and they have committed whoredom under their God. Ephraim is joined to idols; their wine is gone; in whoring they commit whoredom (Hosea 4:11-12, 17-18).

This treats of those who falsify truths; the falsification of truth is signified by "whoredom," and the falsity therefrom by "new wine." This makes clear what is signified by "whoredom and new wine have taken up the heart; the spirit of whoredoms hath seduced them, they have committed whoredom under their God, and the wine hath departed, in whoring they commit whoredom," namely, that such falsify Divine truths, and consequently have no truth at all, "to commit whoredom under their God" signifies to falsify Divine truths, and "the wine hath departed" signifies that consequently they have no truth at all; "Ephraim, who is joined to idols" signifies those who are in self-intelligence, and the "idols to which he is joined" signify the falsities of religion. "My people ask the wood, and their rod answereth them" signifies that they consult their self-love, and favor it from self-intelligence; for "wood" or an idol of wood, which they ask, signifies self-love, and "the rod that answers" signifies power from what is one's own, thus intelligence.

[39] In Revelation:

Babylon is fallen is fallen, the great city, because of the wine of the wrath of her whoredom she hath made all nations to drink. If anyone worshipeth the beast he shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which hath been mingled unmixed in the cup of the anger [of God]; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone (Revelation 14:8-10);

I will show thee the judgment of the great harlot that sitteth upon many waters, with whom the kings of the earth committed whoredom, and they that dwell in the earth were made drunk from the wine of her whoredom (Revelation 17:1-2).

For of the wine of the wrath of her whoredom have all nations drunk, and the kings of the earth have committed whoredom with her (Revelation 18:3).

"The wine of the anger of God" signifies the falsity of evil, and "the wine of whoredom" signifies truth falsified; what the rest means will appear in the explanation of it, likewise what these words mean in Revelation:

Babylon the great was remembered before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the wrath of God's anger (Revelation 16:19);

"The wine of God's anger" having the same meaning as "the chalice, or cup, of God's anger."

[40] In Jeremiah:

Babylon hath been a cup of gold in the hand of Jehovah, making the whole earth drunken; the nations have drunk of her wine, therefore the nations are mad (Jeremiah 51:7).

And in David:

There is a cup in the hand of Jehovah, and He hath mingled the wine, hath filled it with mixture, and hath poured out; but the lees of it all the wicked of the earth shall suck out and drink (Psalms 75:8).

As the "meal-offering" and the "drink-offering," which were bread and wine, signify worship from the good of love and the truths of faith, so in a contrary sense, the "meal-offering" and "drink-offering" signify worship from the evils that are of the love of evil, and from the falsities of faith; this was signified by the "meal-offering" and "drink-offering" that were offered to idols and to the gods (Isaiah 57:6; 65:11; Jeremiah 7:18; 44:17-19; Ezekiel 20:28; Deuteronomy 32:38). From the signification of "wine" it can be seen what "vineyard," "vine," its "branches," and "grapes" signify in the Word, namely, that "a vineyard" signifies the spiritual church, that is, the church that is in the truths and goods of doctrine from the Lord, "a vine" the doctrine itself, its "branches" truths from which doctrine is formed, and "the grapes" which are the fruit of vineyards and of vines, the goods of charity and the goods of faith (but of these elsewhere).

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