1988. Abram was a son of ninety years and nine years. That this signifies the time before the Lord had fully conjoined the internal man with the rational, is evident from the signification of “nine” when regarded as coming before ten; or what is the same, of “ninety-nine” before a hundred, for Abram was a hundred years old when Isaac was born to him. The nature of the internal sense of the Word may be seen in an especial manner from the numbers, as well as from the names, that occur in the Word; for the numbers therein, whatever they may be, signify actual things, as do the names also; for there is absolutely nothing in the Word that has not what is Divine within it, or that does not possess an internal sense; and how remote this is from the sense of the letter is especially manifest from the numbers and the names; for in heaven no attention is given to these, but to the things that are signified by them. For example, whenever the number “seven” occurs, instead of seven there at once comes to the angels what is holy, for “seven” signifies what is holy, and this from the fact that the celestial man is the “seventh day,” or “Sabbath,” and thus the Lord’s “rest” (n. 84-87, 395, 433, 716, 881). The case is similar with the other numbers, as for example with twelve. Whenever “twelve” occurs, there comes to the angels the idea of all things that belong to faith, for the reason that these were signified by the “twelve tribes” (n. 577). That in the Word numbers signify actual things, may be seen demonstrated in Part First (n. 482, 487, 488, 493, 575, 647, 648, 755, 813, 893).

[2] The case is the same with the number “ninety-nine;” and that this number signifies the time before the Lord had fully conjoined the internal man with the rational, is evident from the signification of a “hundred years,” which was Abram’s age when Isaac was born to him; for by Isaac is represented and signified the Lord’s rational man that is conjoined with His internal man, that is, with the Divine. In the Word, a “hundred” signifies the same as “ten,” for it is formed by the multiplication of ten into ten and “ten” signifies remains (as shown in Part First, n. 576). What the remains in man are, may be seen above (n. 468, 530, 561, 660, 1050), also what the remains in the Lord were (n. 1906). These arcana cannot be set forth further, but everyone may form a conclusion on the subject after he has first made himself acquainted with what remains are (for what they are is at this day unknown), provided it be known that in the Lord’s case remains mean the Divine goods that He procured for Himself by His own power, and by means of which He united the Human Essence to the Divine Essence.

[3] From all this we may see what is signified by “ninety-nine,” for this number, because it precedes a hundred, signifies the time before the Lord had fully conjoined the internal man with the rational. In the Lord’s case, the first rational was represented by Ishmael; and the nature of this rational has been sufficiently shown above (in the preceding chapter 16). But by Isaac is represented the Lord’s Divine rational, as will appear in what follows. From Abram’s staying so long in the land of Canaan (now twenty-four years, that is, ten years before Ishmael was born, and thirteen years after that) without his as yet having a son by his wife Sarai, and from the promise of a son being first given when he was ninety-nine years old, everyone can see that some arcanum is involved. The arcanum was, that he might thereby represent the union of the Lord’s Divine Essence with His Human Essence; and in fact the union of His internal man, which is Jehovah, with His rational.

494. That he “died” signifies that there was no longer such perception, is evident from the signification of the word “die” which is, that a thing ceases to be such as it has been. Thus in John:

Unto the angel of the church in Sardis write, These things saith He that hath the seven spirits, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou art said to live, but art dead; be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die; for I have not found thy works perfect before God (Revelation 3:1-2).

In Jeremiah:

I will cast out thy mother that bare thee, into another country where ye were not begotten, and there shall ye die (Jeremiah 22:26),

where “mother” signifies the church. For as we have said, the case with the church is that it decreases and degenerates, and loses its pristine integrity, chiefly by reason of the increase of hereditary evil, for every succeeding parent adds new evil to that which he has inherited. All the actual evil in the parents puts on a kind of nature, and when it often recurs, becomes natural to them, and is added to their hereditary evil, and is transmitted into their children, and so to posterity. In this way the hereditary evil is immensely increased in the descendants. That this is so is evident from the fact that the evil dispositions of children are exactly like those of their progenitors. Quite false is the opinion of those who think that there is no hereditary evil except that which they allege to have been implanted in us from Adam (see n. 313). The truth is that everyone makes hereditary evil by his own actual sins, and adds it to the evils that he has inherited, and in this way it accumulates, and remains in all the descendants, nor is it abated except in those who are being regenerated by the Lord. In every church this is the principal cause of degeneration, and it was so in the Most Ancient Church.