252. And will sup with him, and he with me. That this signifies communicating to them the happiness of heaven is evident from the signification of supping, as being to communicate the goods of heaven. The reason why supping denotes to communicate those goods is, that by banquets, feasts, dinners and suppers in the Word are signified association by love, and hence the communication of the delights of love; for all delights spring from love. Those things derive their signification from bread and wine, which signify the good of love celestial and spiritual; and from eating together, which signifies communication and appropriation. This was formerly signified by the paschal supper, and is at this day signified by the Holy Supper (as may be seen above, n. 146; and in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 210-222). The reason why mention is made of supping is, that marriages were celebrated at supper-time; and by marriage is signified the conjunction of good and truth, and thence communication of delights; hence it is said in the Apocalypse:

"Blessed are they that are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb" (19:9);

and afterwards,

"Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God" (ver. 17).

[2] Because suppers signify association by love, and the communication of delights thence, therefore the Lord compared the church and heaven to a supper, and also to a marriage; to a supper, in Luke:

A man made a great supper, and bade many; but they all with one consent began to make excuse. Therefore the master of the house, being angry, ordered to bring in the poor, the maimed, the halt, and the blind, saying of the first that none of those men should taste the supper (14:16-24).

(Nearly similar to the above is what is signified by the marriage to which certain were invited, as recorded in Matthew 22:1-15.) By the supper is there meant heaven and the church. By those who were invited and excused themselves are meant the Jews, with whom the church then was; for the church specifically is where the Word is, and where the Lord is known by the Word. By the poor, the maimed, the halt and the blind, are meant those who are spiritually such, and who were then out of the church. The reason why heaven and the church are there likened to a supper and a marriage is, that heaven is the conjunction of the angels with the Lord by love, and their association amongst themselves by charity, and the communication thence of every kind of delight and happiness; similarly the church, because the church is the Lord's heaven on the earth. (That heaven is the conjunction of the angels with the Lord by love, and also their mutual association by charity, may be seen in the work, Heaven and Hell 13-19, and that thence there is a communication of every kind of delight and happiness, n. 396-400.)

[3] In the Word throughout it is said, that those who are admitted into heaven are to eat together, by which, in the spiritual sense, is meant the fruition of blessedness and felicity. Thus the same is signified by eating there as by supping, as in Luke:

"They shall come from the east and from the west, and from the north and from the south, and shall recline in the kingdom of God" (13:29).

And in Matthew:

"Many shall come from the east and west, and shall recline with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven" (8:11).

Those who shall come from the east and the west, the north and the south, are all those who are in the good of love, and thence in the truths of faith. (That the four quarters, in the Word, have such a signification, may be seen in the work, Heaven and Hell 141-153; and that by Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the Lord is meant as to the Divine Itself, and the Divine Human, in Arcana Coelestia 1893, 4615, 6098, 6185, 6276, 6804, 6847. Hence to recline with them denotes to be conjoined with the Lord, and to associate together by love, and by such conjunction and association, to enjoy eternal blessedness and felicity, and this from the Lord alone.)

[4] In Luke:

Jesus said, "Let your loins be girded about, and your lights shining, and ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their lord, when he will return from the wedding; that when he cometh and knocketh, they may open unto him immediately. Blessed are those servants whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching; verily, I say unto you that he will gird himself, and make them recline, and will come forth and serve them" (12:35, and following verses).

By the loins being girded is meant the good of love (see Arcana Coelestia 3021, 4280, 9961). By lights shining are signified the truths of faith from the good of love (see Arcana Coelestia 9548, 9551, 9783). By girding himself, making them to recline, and serving them, is signified to impart to them every kind of good.

[5] Again:

"Ye are they that have continued with me in my temptations. I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my Father hath appointed unto me; that ye may eat and drink at my table in the kingdom" (22:28-30).

To eat and drink at the table of the Lord in His kingdom, is to be conjoined with Him by love and faith, and to enjoy heavenly blessedness.

[6] In Matthew:

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

These words were spoken by the Lord after He instituted the Holy Supper. By the product of the vine is signified Divine truth from Divine good, and blessedness and felicity therefrom.

[7] Similar to this is the signification of a feast, in the Word, as in Isaiah:

"In this mountain shall Jehovah of hosts make unto all peoples a feast of fat things, a feast of lees" (25:6).

Here the subject treated of is the Lord's advent, and by a feast of fat things is signified the appropriation and communication of goods, and by a feast of lees, or of the best wine, the appropriation of truths. (That fat things signify the goods of love, may be seen, Arcana Coelestia 353, 5943, 10033, and also the delights of love, n. 6409; and that wine signifies the good of charity, which in its essence is truth, n. 1071, 1798, 6377.)

[8] The like is signified by the marriage to which the ten virgins were invited, of whom it is thus written in Matthew:

"The kingdom of heaven is likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps and went forth to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were wise, and five were foolish. They that were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them; but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. But while the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him. Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out. And the wise answered, saying, Lest perchance there be not enough for us and you; but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. While therefore they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage; and the door was shut. Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. But he answered and said, Verily, I say unto you, I know you not" (25:1-12).

The subject here treated of is conjunction with the Lord by love and faith; the marriage also signifies that conjunction; oil signifies the good of love, and lamps the truth of faith. In order that it may be clear that in everything that the Lord spoke there is a spiritual sense, I wish to unfold this parable more particularly, according to that sense. The kingdom of heaven, which is likened to the ten virgins, signifies heaven and the church; the ten virgins signify all those who belong to the church, ten denoting all, and virgins those who are in the affection of spiritual truth and good, which constitutes the church. This is why Zion and Jerusalem, by which the church is signified, in the Word are called virgins, as the virgin of Zion, and the virgin of Jerusalem, and that it is said in the Apocalypse that the virgins follow the Lamb. By the lamps which they took when they went forth to meet the bridegroom are signified the truths of faith; by the bridegroom is meant the Lord as to conjunction with heaven and the church by love and faith, because a marriage is treated of, by which is signified that conjunction. The five wise virgins, and the five that were foolish signify those of the church who are in faith from love, and those who are in faith without love, just as the wise and foolish mentioned in Matthew 7:24, 26. By midnight, when the cry was made, is signified the Last Judgment, and in general the last state of the life of man, when he must be adjudged either to heaven or to hell. By the foolish virgins then saying to the wise, "Give us of your oil," and the wise answering them that they should go to them who sell is signified the state of all after death, that those who have not the good of love in their faith, or the truth of faith from the good of love, are then desirous to procure it for themselves, but in vain, because according to the quality of a man's life in the world such does he remain. It is now evident therefore what is signified by the wise virgins going in to the marriage, and by the foolish who said, "Lord, Lord, open to us," receiving for answer, "Verily, I say unto you, I know you not." By not knowing them is signified that the Lord was not conjoined to them, for spiritual love, and not faith without love, conjoins; for the Lord abides with those who are in love, and thence in faith and these He knows, because He Himself is therein.

9407. 'There was so to speak a work of sapphire [stone]' means that it is translucent with inner truths on that level, and that all things in it are translucent from the Lord. This is clear from the meaning of 'a work of sapphire' as the character of the literal sense of the Word when the internal sense is discerned within it, that is, when Divine Truth emanating from the Lord, as it is in heaven, shines through it. For the Word is Divine Truth emanating from the Lord. In origin it is Divine, but as it passes through the heavens it is celestial in the inmost heaven, spiritual in the second or middle heaven, spiritual-natural in the first or lowest heaven, and natural and worldly in the world; this last is its character in the sense of the letter intended for people there. From this it is evident that the sense of the letter, which is the lowest in order, contains a spiritual and a celestial level of meaning, and inmostly the Divine Himself. And since these inner levels are contained in the lowest or literal sense and are seen by those who understand the Word in a spiritual manner, that sense is represented by 'a work of sapphire', which lets rays of heavenly light through, that is, which is translucent.

[2] To give some idea of that translucence, let human speech serve to illustrate it. Such speech has its origin in the end a person has in view which he wishes to make known through speech. This end is his love; for a person has what he loves as his end in view. From that end arises the person's thought, and finally his speech. Anyone who stops to think properly about this can see and discern the truth of it. The fact that the end is the primary component of speech is clear from the general rule that all intelligence has an end within it, and devoid of the end it is not intelligence. And everyone knows that thought is a secondary component arising from the first, for nobody can speak without thinking or think without having an end in view. The fact that spoken words ensue from this, and that these are the final component, which is properly called speech, is also well known. All this being so, when a person pays attention to what another utters he pays attention not to the words the speaker uses but to the meaning conveyed by them which is present in the speaker's thought. And one who is wise pays attention to the end in view that has given rise to the thought expressed in speech, that is, he pays attention to what the speaker's aims are and what it is he loves. These three components are present in human speech, in which the spoken words serve as the outward form.

[3] This comparison enables one to gain some idea regarding the Word in the letter. For those in heaven pay attention to the Word in the letter and perceive things there in exactly the same way as anyone is accustomed to perceive a person's thought as it presents itself in spoken words, or in the inmost heaven as anyone is accustomed to perceive a person's aims or end in view. But the difference is that when someone reads the sense of the letter of the Word this is not heard or understood in heaven, only the internal sense, because in heaven they perceive solely the spiritual and celestial levels of the Word, not the natural level of it. The one sense accordingly passes over into the other, for they correspond to each other and only things which have a correspondence have been used in the writing of the Word. All this shows what to understand when reference is made to the translucent nature of the Word, meant by 'a work of sapphire'.

[4] But a person who is unable to think on a higher level of understanding, that is, on a level altogether above material things, cannot grasp any of this, not even the idea that it is possible for a sense to exist in the Word other than the one perceived in the letter. If that person is told that the letter holds within itself a spiritual sense which has to do with truth, and that this in turn holds within itself a celestial sense which has to do with good, and also that these senses shine through the literal sense, he will be taken aback at first, then dismiss the idea as nonsense, and finally ridicule it. Actual experience has shown me that this is what people are like in the Christian world at the present day, especially the learned, and that those who reason against that truth boast of being wiser than those who uphold it. Yet the learning in earliest times, which were called golden and silver ages, had consisted in speaking and in writing in ways in which no attention was be paid to the literal meaning other than to enable hidden wisdom to shine through it, as becomes perfectly clear from the oldest books, including those by gentile authors, as well as from fragments in their languages. For their knowledge was primarily the knowledge of correspondences and the knowledge of representations, which forms of knowledge at the present day are some of those which have been lost.

[5] The reason why there appeared under the Lord's feet 'so to speak a work of sapphire' and why this means the translucence of the Word in the sense of the letter is that 'stone' in general means truth, and 'precious stone' truth shining through from what is Divine and the Lord's. For the meaning of 'stone' in general as truth, see 643, 1298, 3720, 3769, 3771, 3773, 3789, 3798, 6426, 8609, 8940-8942. As for 'precious stone' being truth shining through from what is Divine and the Lord's, this was meant by the twelve precious stones in Aaron's breastplate, which was called the Urim and Thummim, 3862, 6335, 6640.

[6] Something similar occurs in Ezekiel,

Full of wisdom and perfect in beauty, you were in Eden, the garden of God. Every precious stone was your covering - ruby, topaz, diamond, tarshish, shoham, and jasper, sapphire, chrysoprase, emerald, and gold. The workmanship of your timbrels and your pipes was within you; on the day you were created they were prepared. You were perfect in your ways on the day you were created. Ezekiel 28:12-13, 15.

This refers to Tyre, by which the Church in respect of interior cognitions or knowledge of truth and good is meant, 1201. Its intelligence and wisdom as these had been in its infancy or earliest period are described by those precious stones. 'The day you were created' means the first state when they were regenerated, for 'creation' in the Word means the regeneration or new creation of a person, 16, 88.

[7] Similar things are meant by 'the precious stones' in John,

The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald, the fifth sardonyx, the sixth sardius, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, the twelfth amethyst. Revelation 21:19-20.

This refers to the holy Jerusalem coming down from heaven, by which a new Church among gentile nations is meant, after the present-day Church in our European world has been laid waste. 'The precious stones that are its foundations' are God's truths shining through on the lowest level of order.

[8] God's truth shining through on the lowest level of order, which is the Word in the letter, is meant by 'sapphire' in particular, as in Isaiah,

O afflicted one and storm-tossed, and receiving no comfort! Behold, I am arranging your stones with antimony, and will lay your foundations in sapphires. Isaiah 54:11.

This too refers to the Church which will take the place of the former one, meant in verse 1 of that chapter by 'her that is desolate who is going to have more sons than the previously married one'. 'Arranging stones' stands for the Church's truths, 'foundations in sapphires' for truths shining through on lowest levels.

[9] 'Sapphire' is used with a similar meaning in Jeremiah,

Her Nazirites were brighter than snow, they were whiter than milk. Their bones ¹ were ruddier than pearls, ² polished like sapphire. ³ Lamentations 4:7.

'Nazirites' in the representative sense meant the Lord in respect of the Divine Natural, 3301, 6437, and therefore also Divine Truth emanating from Him as it exists on its lowest levels, that is, the Word in the sense of the letter. For 'the hair', which is implied by 'Nazirites' here, and is said to be 'brighter than snow and whiter than milk', means truth on its lowest levels, 3301, 5247, 5570, 'brightness' and 'whiteness' having reference to truth, 3301, 5319. 'Bones that were ruddy' means factual knowledge of truth, or truth on its lowest level, which acts as servant to all other levels, 6592, 8005, 'ruddiness' having reference to the good of love present in truths, 3300. From all this it is evident that 'sapphire' means truth on the lowest levels which is translucent with inner truths.

[10] In Ezekiel,

Above the expanse that was above the heads of the cherubs, in appearance like a sapphire stone, there was the likeness of a throne, and above the likeness of a throne there was the appearance of a man (homo) sitting upon it. Ezekiel 1:26; 10:1.

'The cherubs' are the Lord's protection and providence, guarding against access to Him except through good, 9277 (end). 'A throne over which there was the appearance of a man' is Divine Truth emanating from the Lord's Divine Good, 5313, 6397, 9039. From this it is evident that 'a sapphire stone' means truth translucent with inner truths; that is to say, 'a stone' means truth, and 'sapphire' translucence.

[11] The reason why all things of the Word are translucent with the Lord is that Divine Truth emanating from the Lord is the one and only source of everything there. For what is primary is the one and only vital element present in the things which follow and are derived from it, because they have their being in it and come into being from it; and the Divine Truth is the Lord. Here also lies the reason why the subject in the highest sense of the Word is the Lord alone, His love, providence, kingdom in heaven and on earth, and especially the glorification of His Human.

[12] The fact that the Divine Truth is the Lord Himself is evident from the consideration that whatever emanates from someone is the someone himself. What emanates for instance from a person when he speaks or acts originates in his will and understanding; and will and understanding constitute a person's life, thus the person himself. For the human being is not a human being by virtue of the shape of face and body but by virtue of an understanding that sees what is true and a will that intends what is good. From this it becomes clear that what emanates from the Lord is the Lord; and the fact that this is Divine Truth has been shown often in what has gone before.

[13] But anyone unacquainted with the arcana of heaven may suppose that the nature of Divine Truth which emanates from the Lord is no different from that of spoken words emanating from a human being. It is not spoken words however; rather It is the Divine filling the heavens, like light and heat from the sun filling the world. This may be illustrated by means of the spheres which emanate from the angels in heaven, dealt with in 1048, 1053, 1316, 1504-1520, 1695, 2401, 4464, 5179, 6206 (end), 6598-6613, 7454, 8063, 8630, 8794, 8797. In these places it has been shown and may be seen that they are spheres of the truth of faith and the good of love received from the Lord. But the Divine sphere which emanates from the Lord and is called Divine Truth spreads everywhere; as has been stated, it fills the whole of heaven and composes all of the life there. It appears before the eyes there as light, which enlightens not only angels' sight but also their minds. That same light is in addition what composes a person's understanding in the world. This is the meaning in John,

In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. He was the true light which enlightens every person coming into the world. And the world was made by Him. John 1:4, 9-10.

These words refer to Divine Truth, which in this chapter is called 'the Word'; and Divine Truth or 'the Word' - it says - is the Lord Himself.

[14] That light, which is Divine Truth emanating from the Lord, was described by the ancients as radiating rings of golden hue around the head and body of God represented as a human being. For the ancients had no thought of God except of Him in human form.

[15] When a person is governed by good, and because of good is guided by truths, this person is raised to that Divine light, and - according to the amount and essential nature of the good - to interior light. This provides him with a general enlightenment in which the Lord enables him to see countless truths and to perceive them from good. At this time that person is led by the Lord to discern and absorb those which are suitable to him. He is led to do so as regards the most specific things, in keeping with order, so far as it contributes to his eternal life. The words 'as regards the most specific things' are used because the Lord's providence reigns universally, and it does so because it is present in the most specific things. For specific things are at the same called what is universal, 1919 (end), 6159, 6338, 6482, 6483, 8864, 8865.

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