768. And went away (abivit) to make war with the rest of her seed.- That this signifies, And thence a determined effort, springing from a life of evil, to attack the truths of the doctrine of that church, is plain from the signification of going away, as denoting a determined effort springing from a life of evil (concerning which we shall speak presently); from the signification of making war, as denoting to attack and to desire to destroy (concerning which see above, n. 573, 734); and from the signification of her seed, as denoting the truths of the doctrine of the church (concerning which we shall also speak presently). It is said the rest of her seed, because those who are in those truths, are meant, and in an abstract sense the truths of that church, which they believe themselves able to assault and destroy. To go away (abire) signifies here a determined effort from a life of evil, because to go (ire) in the spiritual sense signifies to live, therefore in the Word, the expressions "to go (ire) with the Lord," and "to walk with Him" and "after Him," are used, and they signify to live from the Lord; but when "to go" (ire) is said of the dragon, whose life is a life of evil, it signifies to make an effort from that life, and because that effort is an effort from hatred, which is signified by his anger (see above, n. 754, 758), therefore a determined effort is signified, because he who makes an effort from hatred makes a determined effort.

[2] Since the hatred of those meant by the dragon is a hatred against those who are in the truths of the doctrine of the church which is the New Jerusalem, therefore it is a hatred against the truths of doctrine which such possess. For those who love any one, also those who cherish hatred against any one, indeed love or hate the person in whom those things are which they love or hate, and these things are truths of doctrine in them, therefore truths of doctrine are signified by "the rest of her seed." It is therefore evident that, in the spiritual sense of the Word, person is not regarded, but something considered apart from personality, as in the present case, that which is in the person. This may be further illustrated in this way. It is said in the Word, that the neighbour should be loved as a man loves himself, but in the spiritual sense it does not mean that the neighbour should be loved as to the person, but that those things should be loved which are in the person from the Lord. For a person is not actually loved because he is a person or man, but on account of his character, and thus a person is loved for his qualities; this then is meant by neighbour; and it is the spiritual neighbour, or the neighbour in the spiritual sense, who is to be loved. This quality or neighbour with those who are of the church of the Lord is everything that proceeds from the Lord, which in general has reference to all good, spiritual, moral, and civil, therefore those who are in these goods love those who are in the same; this then is to love the neighbour as oneself.

[3] From these things it is evident that the rest of her seed, namely, of the woman, who signifies the church, mean those who are in the truths of the doctrine of that church, and in a sense apart from personality - which is the true spiritual sense - the truths of the doctrine of that church; similarly in other passages of the Word, as in the following in Moses:

"I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed. He shall tread upon thine head, and thou shalt wound his heel" (Genesis 3:15).

This is a prophecy concerning the Lord. The serpent there signifies man's Sensual, where his proprium resides, which in itself is nothing but evil, while the woman signifies the spiritual church, or the church which is in Divine truths. And because the Sensual of man has been destroyed, and the man of the church becomes spiritual when he is raised up out of the Sensual, it is therefore said, there shall be enmity between thee and the woman. The seed of the serpent signifies all falsity from evil, and the seed of the woman all truth from good, and in the highest degree, Divine Truth; and as all Divine Truth is from the Lord, and as the Lord by its means destroyed falsity from evil, it is therefore said, "He shall tread upon thy head;" "He" signifies the Lord, and head all falsity from evil. That the Sensual would still do injury to Divine Truth in its ultimates, which is the Word in the sense of the letter, is signified by "thou shalt wound his heel," the heel signifying that ultimate and that sense. That these have suffered and do still suffer injury from the Sensual, is evident from this single example, that the Roman Catholics understand the woman here to mean Mary and the worship of her, therefore in their Bibles the reading is not "He" (ille), but "it" (illud) and she (illa).

[4] So also in a thousand other passages.

In Jeremiah:

"Behold, the days shall come in which I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man and with the seed of beast" (31:27).

This is said of the Lord, and of a new church from Him; His coming is signified by "Behold the days shall come." To sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah, signifies to reform those who will be of that church, the house of Israel signifying the spiritual church, and the house of Judah the celestial church. And as reformation takes place by means of spiritual truths and by means of natural truths therefrom, it is said, "with the seed of man and the seed of beast," the seed of man signifying spiritual truth, from which man has intelligence, and the seed of beast natural truth, from which man has knowledge (scientia), also a life according to it, both of these from the affection for good. That man signifies affection for spiritual truth and good, may be seen above (n. 280); and that beast signifies natural affection (n. 650); thus the seed of man and the seed of beast signify the truths of those affections.

In Malachi:

"There is not one who doeth [this] who hath the spirit; is there one that seeketh the seed of God?" (2:15).

Is there one that seeketh the seed of God? signifies that no one seeks Divine Truth; the seed of God here evidently signifies Divine Truth; so "the born of God" mean those who are regenerated by the Lord by means of Divine Truth, and a life according to it.

[5] In Isaiah:

"Jehovah willed to bruise him, he hath weakened [him]; if thou shalt make his soul a guilt offering, he shall see seed, he shall prolong days, and the will of Jehovah shall prosper by his hand" (53:10).

This is said of the Lord. The whole of this chapter treats of His temptations, by means of which He subjugated the hells. The increasing severity of His temptations is described by Jehovah willed to bruise Him, and weaken Him; and the severest temptation, which was the passion of the cross, is signified by, "If thou shalt make His soul a guilt offering, - to make His soul a guilt offering signifying the last temptation, by which He completely subjugated the hells, and fully glorified His Human, through which comes redemption. The Divine Truth that afterwards proceeded from His Divine Human, and the salvation of all those who receive Divine Truth from Him, is signified by, He shall see seed; that this will continue for ever is signified by, He shall prolong days, to prolong, when said of the Lord, signifying to continue for ever, and days signifying states of light, which are the states of the enlightenment of all by means of Divine Truth. That this is from His Divine for the salvation of mankind is signified by The will of Jehovah shall prosper by His hand.

[6] In the same:

"Fear not, for I am with thee; I will bring thy seed from the east, and I will gather thee from the west; I will say to the north, Give up, and to the south, Keep not back, bring my sons from afar, my daughters from the end of the earth" (43:5, 6).

It is supposed that these words have reference to the bringing back of the sons of Israel into the land of Canaan; this, however, is not there meant, but the salvation by the Lord of all those who receive Divine Truth from Him, and of whom a new church is formed. This is the signification of His seed which shall be brought from the east and gathered from the west, and which the north shall give up and the south shall not keep back. Therefore, the words follow, "Bring my sons from afar, and my daughters from the end of the earth," sons denoting those who are in the truths of the church, and daughters those who are in its goods. But these words may be seen explained above (n. 422:5, 724:20).

[7] In the same:

"Thou shalt break forth to the right and to the left, and thy seed shall inherit the nations, and make the desolate cities to be inhabited" (54:3).

This is said of a church from the Lord with the Gentiles, and this church is here meant by the barren woman that did not bare, and who should have many sons (ver. 1). The seed that shall inherit the nations, signifies the Divine Truth that shall be given to the nations. To break forth to the right hand and to the left, signifies extension and multiplication, the right hand signifying truth in light, and the left hand truth in shade. The reason of this signification is, that in the spiritual world, to the right hand is the south, where those are who are in the clear light of truth, and to the left is the north, where those are who are in an obscure light of truth. To make the desolate cities to be inhabited, signifies their life according to Divine truths, which before this had been destroyed, cities denoting the truths of doctrine from the Word, to be inhabited signifying to live according to truths, and desolate cities those truths previously destroyed, that is, with the Jewish nation.

[8] In the same:

"Their seed shall become known in the nations, and their offspring in the midst of the peoples; all that see them shall acknowledge them, that they are the seed that Jehovah hath blessed" (Isaiah 61:9).

This also is said of the church to be established by the Lord. The seed that shall become known in the nations, signifies Divine Truth that will be received by those who are in the good of life; and the offspring in the midst of the peoples, signifies life according to Divine truth. Those that see them shall acknowledge that they are the seed, signifies enlightenment that it is the real truth that they receive; that Jehovah hath blessed, signifies that it is from the Lord. Such is the signification of these words in a sense apart from personality, but in a strict sense those who will receive Divine Truth from the Lord are meant.

[9] In the same:

"They are the seed of the blessed of Jehovah, and their offspring with them" (65:23).

This also is said of a church from the Lord. By the seed of the blessed of Jehovah are meant those who will receive Divine Truth from the Lord; and by their offspring are meant those who live according to it, but in a sense apart from personality, which is the true spiritual sense, seed means Divine Truth, and offspring a life according to it, as shown above. By offspring are meant those who live according to Divine Truth, and in an abstract sense, life according to it, because the word in the original, rendered offspring, is from a word which means to go forth and to proceed, and that which goes forth and proceeds from the Divine Truth received is a life according to it.

[10] In the same:

"As new heavens and a new earth, which I will make, shall stand before me, so shall your seed and your name stand" (Isaiah 66:22).

This also treats of the Lord, and the salvation of the faithful by Him. A new church from Him is meant by new heavens and a new earth, by new heavens the internal church, and by a new earth, the external church. That Divine Truth and its quality shall continue is signified by "your seed and your name shall stand," seed signifying Divine Truth, which also is truth of doctrine from the Word, and name its quality. That name signifies the quality of a thing and of a state, may be seen above (n. 148).

[11] In David:

"Thou hast founded the earth, and the heavens are the work of thy hands. They shall perish, and thou shalt continue; they shall all wax old like garments, like a garment shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed. But thou art the same, and thy years shall have no end; the sons of thy servants shall abide, and their seed shall be established before thee" (Psalm 102:25-28).

The earth which God hath formed, and the heavens the work of His hands, which shall perish, have a similar signification to that of the former heaven and former earth which have passed away (see Apoc. 21:1).

And because the face of the earth and of the heavens in the spiritual world will be entirely changed at the day of the Last Judgment, and there will be a new earth and new heavens in the place of the former, it is therefore said, that "they shall all wax old like garments, like a garment shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed;" they are compared to garments, because garments signify external truths, such as those had who were in the former heaven (caelo) and former earth, which heaven and earth do not endure, because not in internal truths. The state of Divine Truth that shall endure from the Lord to eternity is signified by "thou shalt continue, and thou art the same, and thy years shall have no end," the years of God signifying states of Divine Truth. The sons of Thy servants shall abide, and their seed shall be established before Thee, signifies that angels and men who are recipents of Divine Truth shall have eternal life, and that truths of doctrine with them shall endure to eternity, sons of the servants of God denoting angels and men who are recipients of Divine Truth, and their seed denoting the truths of doctrine.

[12] In the same:

"The seed that shall serve him shall be numbered to the Lord for a generation" (Psalm 22:30).

This also is said of the Lord. The seed that shall serve Him, means those who are in truths of doctrine from the Word; while it shall be numbered to the Lord for a generation, signifies that they shall be His to eternity, to be counted signifying to be arranged and disposed in order, here to be added to, thus to be His.

[13] In many passages in the Word mention is made of the seed of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, also of the seed of Israel, and this in the historical sense of the letter means their posterity; but, in the spiritual sense, Divine Truth and the truth of doctrine from the Word are meant, because Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Israel, in this sense, mean the Lord, as can be seen from passages in the Word, where they are mentioned. For example, where it is said, that they shall come from the east and from the west, and shall recline (accumbo) ¹ with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of the heavens (Matthew 8:11), which means the enjoyment of celestial good from the Lord. So in other passages. And as the Lord is meant by them in the internal sense, therefore their seed signifies the Divine Truth which is from the Lord, and thus also truth of doctrine from the Word, as in the following passages.

In Moses:

Jehovah said to Abraham, "All the land which thou seest will I give to thee and to thy seed for ever; and I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth" (Genesis 13:15, 16):

"Look up towards the heavens and number the stars, so shall thy seed be" (Genesis 15:5).

"In thy seed shall all nations be blessed" (Genesis 22:18).

To Isaac,

"To thee and to thy seed will I give all these lands, and I will multiply thy seed as the stars of heaven; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed" (Genesis 26:3-5).

To Jacob,

"Unto thy seed after thee will I give this land" (Genesis 35:12).

The land "given to Abraham, to Isaac, and Jacob, and to their seed after them" (Deuteronomy 1:8):

"The seed of your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob" (Deuteronomy 4:37; chap. 10:15; chap. 11:9).

Since by Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as stated, the Lord is meant, by Abraham the Lord as to the celestial Divine of the church, by Isaac as to the spiritual Divine of the church, and by, Jacob as to the natural Divine of the church; therefore their seed signifies the Divine Truth proceeding from the Lord, the seed of Abraham signifying celestial Divine Truth, the seed of Isaac spiritual Divine Truth, and the seed of Jacob natural Divine Truth; consequently those are meant who are in Divine Truth from the Lord. But the land which the Lord will give to them means the church, which is in Divine Truth from Him; it can therefore be understood what is signified by all nations being blessed in their seed; for they could not be blessed in their posterity, that is, in the Jewish and Israelitish nation, but in the Lord and from the Lord by the reception of Divine Truth from Him.

[14] That the Jews are not meant by the seed of Abraham, is plain from the words of the Lord in John:

The Jews answered, "We are Abraham's seed, and have never been in bondage to any man. Jesus answered, I know that ye are Abraham's seed, yet ye seek to kill me, because my word hath no place in you; ye are of your father the devil" (John 8:33, 34, 37, 44).

It is evident from these words that the Jews are not meant by the seed of Abraham, but that Abraham means the Lord, and the seed of Abraham Divine Truth from the Lord, which is the Word; for it is said, "I know that ye are Abraham's seed, yet ye seek to kill me, because my word hath no place in you." By the Lord saying, "I know that ye are Abraham's seed," is signified that He knew that the truth of the church, which is the Word, was with them; "but that they nevertheless rejected the Lord is signified by "ye seek to kill me." That they were not in Divine Truths from the Lord is signified by "because my word hath no place in you" and that there was in them nothing but evil and falsity therefrom, is signified by "ye are of your father the devil, and the truth is not in him"; and afterwards, "when he speaketh a lie, he speaketh from his own," where a lie signifies Divine Truth or the Word adulterated. The Lord said, "I know that ye are Abraham's seed," also for the reason that Judah signifies the Lord as to the Word, as may be seen above (n. 119, 433).

[15] In David,

"He will make them to fall in the wilderness, and will make their seed to fall among the nations, and will scatter them in the lands" (Psalm 106:26, 27).

To make their seed fall among the nations, and to scatter them in the lands, signifies that Divine Truth would perish with them through evils and falsities.

The seed of Israel has a similar signification in these passages:

"Thou Israel my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham my friend, whom I have taken from the ends of the earth" (Isaiah 41:8, 9).

"I will pour out my Spirit upon" the seed of Israel and Jacob, "and my blessing upon their offspring" (Isaiah 44:3).

"In Jehovah all the seed of Israel shall be justified, and shall glory" (Isaiah 45:25).

"Jehovah, who brought up and who led the seed of the house of Israel out of the land towards the north, and out of all the lands whither I have driven them, that they may dwell upon their own land" (Jeremiah 23:8).

Israel, in the highest sense, means the Lord as to the internal of the church, therefore his seed also signifies the Divine Truth which is with those who are of the church signified by Israel. Israel means the church with those who are interiorly natural, and have truths therein from a spiritual source. Therefore Israel signifies a spiritual natural church.

[16] Since David, in the Word, means the Lord as to royalty, and the royalty of the Lord signifies Divine Truth in the church, therefore also his seed means those who are in the truths of the church from the Word, and these are also called sons of the king, and sons of the kingdom; it means also that Divine Truth is in them, as in the following passages:

"As the host (exercitus) of the heavens cannot be numbered, or the sand of the sea be measured, so will I multiply the seed of David and the Levites my ministers" (Jeremiah 33:22).

"I have made a covenant with my chosen, I have sworn to David my servant, even to eternity will I establish thy seed, and I will build up thy throne to generation and generation. I will set his seed for ever, and his throne as the days of the heavens. His seed shall be to eternity and his throne as the sun before me" (Psalm 89:3, 4, 29, 36).

That David, in the Word, means the Lord as to royalty, which is Divine Truth in the Lord's spiritual kingdom, may be seen above (n. 205); therefore his seed signifies that Divine Truth with those who are in truths from good, thus also those who are in truths of doctrine from the Word. For truths of doctrine from the Word, or truths of the Word, are all from good; and as such are meant by the seed of David, therefore, in an abstract sense, the truth of the Word, or the truth of doctrine from the Word, is also meant by it. That the seed of David does not mean his posterity can be seen by any one, for it is said that his seed shall be multiplied as the host of the heavens and the sand of the sea, and that it shall be established and set to eternity, also that his throne shall be built up to generation and generation, and shall be as the days of the heavens and as the sun. Such things can in no way be said about the seed of David, that is, about his posterity, and his throne, for where now are these to be found? But all those things harmonize, when it is seen that by David the Lord is meant, by his throne, heaven and the church, and by his seed, the truth of heaven and of the church.

[17] In Jeremiah:

"If I shall not have fixed my covenant of day and night, the ordinances of heaven and of the earth, I will cast away also the seed of Jacob and of David my servant, that I will not take of his seed to rule over the seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; and I will cause their captivity to return, and will have mercy on them" (33:25, 26).

In the same:

"Jehovah said, who giveth the sun for a light by day, the ordinances of the moon and the stars for a light by night; If these ordinances shall depart from before me, the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me for ever" (31:35, 36).

In these passages the seed of Jacob and of David, also the seed of Israel, mean also those who are in Divine truths, but the seed of Jacob mean those who are in natural Divine Truth, David means those who are in spiritual Divine Truth, and Israel means those who are in Divine Truth spiritual-natural, which is mediate between natural Divine Truth and spiritual Divine Truth. For there are degrees of Divine Truth as there are degrees of its reception by the angels in the three heavens, and in the church. The covenant of day and night, and the ordinances of heaven and earth, signify the conjunction of the Lord with those who are in Divine truths in the heavens, and who are in Divine truths on earth. Covenant signifies conjunction; statutes the laws of conjunction, which are also the laws of order, and the laws of order are Divine truths; day signifies the light of truth such as it is with the angels in the heavens; and night the light of truth such as it is with men on earth, and also such as it is with those, both in the heavens and on earth, who are under the Lord as a moon; therefore it is also said, "Who giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night." But the seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, here mean all those who are of the Lord's church in every degree; of these, and of the seed of Jacob and David it is said that if they acknowledge not the Lord, and do not receive Divine Truth from Him, the Lord will not reign over them.

[18] In the same:

"No one of his seed shall prosper who sitteth upon the throne of David, and ruleth any more in Judah" (22:30).

This is said of Coniah, king of Judah, who is there called a despised and worthless idol; and it is said of him that "he and his seed shall be taken away and cast unto the earth" (verse 28 of the same chapter). This king has a signification similar to that of Satan, and his seed signifies infernal falsity; that this shall not rule in the Lord's church in which is celestial Divine Truth, is signified by No one of his seed shall sit upon the throne of David, nor rule any more in Judah, Judah here denoting the celestial church in which the Lord reigns.

[19] As David represented the royalty of the Lord, so Aaron represented His priesthood, therefore the seed of Aaron means those who are in affection for real truth which is from celestial good. Because of this representation the following statute was given for Aaron:

"The high priest shall not take to wife a widow, or a divorced woman, or one polluted, a harlot, but he shall take a virgin of his own people to wife, lest he profane his seed amongst his people; I Jehovah do sanctify him" (Leviticus 21:14, 15).

As man (vir) and wife (uxor), in the Word, in its spiritual sense, signify the understanding of truth and the will of good, and as thought belongs to the understanding and affection to the will, therefore man and wife also signify the thought of truth and affection for good, also truth and good. It is consequently evident what a widow, one divorced, and one polluted, a harlot, signify; a widow signifies good without truth, because left by truth, which is the man; a woman divorced signifies good rejected by truth, thus discordant good; and one polluted, a harlot, signifies good adulterated by falsities, which is no longer good but evil. Because of this signification of these women, the high priest was forbidden to take any of them to wife, because he represented the Lord as to the priesthood, which signified the Divine Good. And as a virgin signifies the will or affection for genuine truth, and since genuine truth makes one with and is in agreement with Divine Good, and these two are conjoined in heaven and in the church, and their conjunction is called the heavenly marriage, therefore it was enacted that the high priest should take a virgin to wife. And as truth of doctrine is a result of this marriage, but from a marriage with such as are signified by a widow, a divorced woman, and one polluted, a harlot, falsity of doctrine is produced, it is therefore said, "Lest he profane his seed among his people." Seed signifies genuine truth of doctrine, and thus also the doctrine of genuine truth from the good of celestial love; and his people signify those who are of the church in which is the doctrine of genuine truth from the Word. And as this was representative of the heavenly marriage, which is the marriage of the Lord with the church, it is therefore said, "I Jehovah do sanctify him."

[20] Because the high priest represented the Lord as to Divine Good, and his seed signified Divine Truth, which is the same as genuine truth of doctrine, it was therefore also made a statute, that a man a stranger, who was not of the seed of Aaron, should not come near to burn incense before Jehovah (Numbers 16:40). A man a stranger signifies falsity of doctrine, and to burn incense signifies worship from spiritual good, which, in its essence, is genuine truth; while the seed of the high priest signifies Divine Truth from a celestial origin; for this reason a law was made that no stranger, who was not of the seed of Aaron, should offer incense in the tent of meeting before Jehovah.

[21] When it is known what feature of heaven and the church was represented by other persons also mentioned in the Word, the signification of their seed will be understood, as in the case of the seed of Noah, Ephraim, and Caleb, in the following passages.

Concerning Noah, "I will establish my covenant with you, and with your seed after you" (Genesis 9:9).

Israel said of Ephraim, "His seed shall be the fulness of the earth" (Genesis 48:19).

And Jehovah said of Caleb, "His seed shall inherit the earth (Numbers 14:24).

What Noah and Ephraim represented and signified has been explained in the Arcana Coelestia. Caleb represented those who were to be introduced into the church, therefore by their seed is signified the truth of doctrine of the church.

[22] The signification of the seed of man is also similar to that of the seed of the field, because a field equally as man signifies the church; therefore, in some passages, the terms seed and sowing are applied to the people of the earth, just as they are applied to a field; as in the following.

In Jeremiah:

"I had planted thee a noble vine, a seed of truth; how art thou turned into branches of a strange vine unto me" (2:21).

In David:

"Their fruit will I destroy from the earth, and their seed from the sons of man" (Psalm 21:10).

In Hosea:

"I will sow" Israel "unto me in the earth" (2:23).

In Zechariah:

"I will sow" Judah and Joseph "among the peoples, and in remote places they shall remember me" (10:9).

In Ezekiel:

"I will look again to you, that ye may be tilled and sown; then will I multiply man upon you, all the house of Israel, the whole of it" (36:9, 10).

In Jeremiah:

"Behold, the days come in which I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man, and the seed of beast" (Jeremiah 31:27).

In Matthew:

"The seed sown are the sons of the kingdom" (Matthew 13:38).

But it is not necessary to show here that the seed of the field has a signification similar to that of the seed of man, for we have here only to explain the signification of the seed of the woman, and to confirm it from the Word.

[23] Because seed signifies truth of doctrine from the Word, and, in the highest sense, Divine Truth, therefore, in the opposite sense, seed signifies falsity of doctrine, and infernal falsity.

As in Isaiah:

"Draw near hither, ye sons of the sorceress, seed of an adulterer, and ye that have committed whoredom. Against whom do ye sport yourselves, against whom do ye make wide the mouth and draw out the tongue? Are ye not the children of transgression, the seed of falsehood" (57:3, 4).

By sons of a sorceress and seed of an adulterer, are signified falsities from the Word when it has been falsified and adulterated, by the sons of the sorceress, falsities from the Word falsified, and by the seed of an adulterer, falsities from the Word adulterated. The Word is said to be falsified when truths are perverted, and to be adulterated when its goods are similarly perverted, also when its truths are applied to the loves of self. Children of transgression and the seed of falsehood, signify falsities flowing from such former falsities. To sport themselves, signifies to take delight in things falsified; to make wide the mouth, signifies the delight in thought therefrom, and to draw out the tongue, signifies delight in teaching and propagating such falsities.

[24] In Isaiah:

"Woe to the sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evil doers, sons that are corrupters; they have forsaken Jehovah, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel, they have gone away backwards" (1:4).

The sinful nation signifies those who are in evils, and a people laden with iniquity, those who are in falsities therefrom; for nation is used in the Word, in reference to evils, and people in reference to falsities, as may be seen above (n. 175, 331, 625). The falsity of those who are in evils is signified by the seed of evil doers, and the falsities of those who are in the falsities from that evil are signified by the sons who are corrupters. That sons signify those who are in truths, and, in the opposite sense, those who are in falsities, and in an abstract sense, truths and falsities, may be seen above (n. 724). They have forsaken Jehovah and provoked the Holy One of Israel, signifies that they have rejected Divine Good and Divine Truth, Jehovah denoting the Lord as to Divine Good, and the Holy One of Israel the Lord as to Divine Truth. Their going away backwards, signifies that they utterly departed from good and truth, and went away to infernal evil and falsity; for those in the spiritual world who are in evils and falsities turn themselves backwards from the Lord, as may be seen in Heaven and Hell 123).

In the same:

"Thou shalt not be united with them in the sepulchre, for thou hast destroyed thy land, thou hast slain thy people; the seed of the wicked shall not be named for ever" (Isaiah 14:20).

This is said of Lucifer, by whom Babylon is meant. The seed of the wicked which shall not be named for ever, signifies the direful falsity of evil from hell; the rest may be seen explained above (n. 589, 659:20, 697).

[25] In Moses:

"He who hath given his seed to Molech shall surely die, the people of the land shall stone him with stones. I will set My faces against that man, and I will cut him off from the midst of his people, because he hath given of his seed to Molech, to defile my sanctuary, and to profane the name of my holiness" (Leviticus 20:3; 18:21).

To give of his seed to Molech, signifies to destroy the truth of the Word, and thus of the doctrine of the church therefrom, by application to the vile loves of the body, as to murders, hatreds, revenges, adulteries, and similar things, which leads to the acceptance of infernal falsities instead of Divine things; such falsities are signified by the seed given to Molech. Molech was the god of the sons of Ammon (1 Kings 11:7), and was set up in the valley of Hinnom, which was called Topheth, where they burnt their sons and daughters in the fire (2 Kings 23:10); the loves mentioned above are signified by that fire. And as the seed given to Molech signifies such infernal falsity, and stoning was a punishment of death for injury done to and for destruction of the truth of the Word, and of doctrine therefrom, it is therefore said, that the man "who hath given of his seed to Molech shall surely die, and the people of the land shall stone him with stones." That stoning was the punishment for doing injury to or for destroying truth, may be seen above (n. 655). That such falsity is destructive of all the good of the Word and of the church is signified by, "I will set my faces against that man, and I will cut him off from the midst of his people, because he hath polluted my sanctuary, and profaned the name of my holiness," sanctuary signifying the truth of heaven and of the church, and the name of holiness all its quality. From the passages quoted, it is now evident that seed, in the highest sense, means Divine Truth from the Lord, and it consequently means the truth of the Word and of the doctrine of the church which is from the Word, while in the bad sense it means, infernal falsity which is the opposite of that truth.

脚注:

275. (Verse 6) And before the throne there was a glassy sea like unto crystal. That this signifies the appearance of truth in ultimates, in which are the general things thereof, translucent from the influx of Divine truth united to Divine good in primaries, is evident from the signification of before the throne, as being appearance; and from the signification of the sea as being the general things of truth, which will be explained in what follows; also from the signification of a sea of glass, as being translucence. It is said like unto crystal, in order to express translucence from the influx of Divine truth united to Divine good in primaries, which is signified by the seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, as shown just above (n. 274). In the preceding passages, and in this passage, the state of the whole heaven arranged in order for judgment, and its ultimate, is described by a glassy sea like unto crystal. The reason why the truth of the ultimate heaven is signified by a glassy sea is that sea signifies the general things of truth, such as truth is in the ultimates of heaven and pertaining to man in his natural state, which is called scientific truth (verum scientificum.)

[2] The reason why sea has such a signification is that in the sea there is a gathering together of waters; and waters signify truths, as may be seen above (n. 71).

That the sea has such a signification is evident from many passages in the Word, of which some shall be here adduced. In Isaiah:

"I will shut up the Egyptians into the hand of a cruel lord; and a fierce king shall rule over them; then the waters shall fail from the sea, and the river shall be wasted and dried up" (19:4, 5).

By the Egyptians are signified the knowledges (scientiae) belonging to the natural man; by the cruel lord into whose hands they should be shut up is signified the evil of the love of self; by a fierce king is signified the falsity therefrom; by the waters of the sea failing is signified that notwithstanding the abundance of knowledges, there were no truths therefrom; and by the river being wasted and dried up, is signified that there was no doctrine of truth and consequently no intelligence.

[3] Again:

"Jehovah will visit with his sword, hard, great and strong, upon leviathan, the stretched out serpent, and upon leviathan the crooked serpent, and will slay the whales which are in the sea" (27:1).

These things also are said concerning Egypt, by which are signified the knowledges (scientiae) of the natural man; by leviathan the stretched out serpent are signified those who reject every thing which they do not see with their natural eyes; thus the merely sensual, who are without faith, because they do not comprehend. By leviathan the crooked serpent are signified those who, for the same reason, do not believe, and yet say that they do believe. By a sword, hard, great and strong, with which they shall be visited, is signified the extinction of all truth; for sword signifies falsity destroying truth. By the whales in the sea which shall be slain, are signified scientifics (scientifica) in general. (That a whale has such a signification may be seen in Arcana Coelestia 7293.)

[4] In the same:

"The inhabitants of the isles are silent; the merchant of Zidon passing over the sea, they have filled thee. Blush O Zidon, because the sea hath said, The fortification of the sea, saying, I have not travailed, and I have not brought forth; I have not brought up young men, nor made the virgins to grow up; as with the report of Egypt, they shall be seized with pains at the report of Tyre" (23:2-5).

By Zidon and Tyre are signified the knowledges (cognitiones) of good and truth, therefore reference is made to the merchant of Zidon passing over the sea, a merchant denoting one who procures to himself those knowledges, and imparts them. That they procured to themselves nothing of good and truth thereby, is signified by the sea, saying, "I have not travailed and brought forth, I have not brought up young men, nor made the virgins to grow up." To travail, and to bring forth, is to produce something from knowledges; young men signify truths, and virgins goods. That consequently the use of knowledges and of sciences (scientiae) would perish, is signified by, as with the report of Egypt, they shall be seized with pains at the report of Tyre.

[5] In Ezekiel:

"All the princes of the sea shall descend from upon their thrones, and shall cast away their robes, and put off their vestments of embroidery; they shall be clothed with terrors. They shall take up a lamentation over thee, and shall say, How hast thou perished, thou that wast inhabited by seas, the renowned city which was strong in the sea; wherefore the islands in the sea shall be troubled at thy destruction" (Ezekiel 26:16-18).

These things are said of Tyre, by which are signified the knowledges of truth, the neglect and loss of which are thus described. By the princes of the sea who shall come down from their thrones, are meant primary knowledges (cognitiones); that they shall be left together with scientifics is signified by their casting away their robes, and putting off their vestments of embroidery; the embroidery is the Scientific (Scientificum); the renowned city strong in the sea signifies the full power of knowing; the seas signify collections of scientifics (scientifica); the islands in the sea signify the nations more remote from truths which desire knowledges, concerning which it is said, "the isles that are in the sea shall be troubled at thy destruction."

[6] In Isaiah:

"They shall not do evil, nor corrupt themselves, in all the mountain of my holiness; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of Jehovah, as the waters cover the sea" (11:9).

Here the subject treated of is a new heaven and a new church, which are meant by the mountain of holiness in which they shall not do evil nor corrupt themselves; their understanding of truth from the Lord is described by the earth being full of the knowledge (scientia) of Jehovah; and because waters signify truths, and the sea fulness of them, it is therefore said, "as the waters cover the sea."

[7] In the same:

"At my rebuke I dry up the sea, I make the rivers a wilderness; their fish shall be putrid, because there is no water, and shall die of thirst" (50:2).

To dry up the sea signifies an entire lack of the general knowledges (cognitiones) of truth; to make the rivers a wilderness signifies the deprivation of all truth, and consequently of intelligence; the fish becoming putrid signifies that the scientifics of the natural man shall be without any spiritual life, which takes place when they are applied to confirm falsities against the truths of the church; because there is no water signifies because there is not any truth; to die of thirst signifies the extinction of truth. (That rivers signify those things that pertain to intelligence may be seen in Arcana Coelestia 108, 2702, 3051: that desert signifies where there is no good because no truth, n. 2708, 4736, 7055; that fish signifies the Scientific of the natural man, n. 40, 991; that water signifies truth, n. 2702, 3424, 5668, 8568, and that to die of thirst signifies the deprivation of spiritual life from defect of truth, n. 8568, end.)

[8] In David:

"Jehovah, thou rulest the raging of the sea, when the waves thereof arise" (Psalms 89:9).

By sea is here signified the natural man, because in the natural man are the general things of truth; by the rising of its waves is signified its exalting itself against the Divine, denying the things of the church.

[9] Again:

"Jehovah hath founded" the world upon the seas, "and established it upon the rivers" (Psalms 24:2).

By the world is signified the church; by the seas the knowledges (cognitiones) in general which are in the natural man; and by rivers the truths of faith: upon both these the church is founded.

[10] In Amos:

Jehovah "who buildeth his steps in the heavens, and calleth the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the faces of the earth" (9:6).

By the steps which Jehovah buildeth in the heavens are signified interior truths, which are called spiritual; by the waters of the sea are signified exterior truths, which are natural because they are in the natural man; by pouring them out upon the faces of the earth, is signified upon the men of the church, for earth denotes the church.

[11] In David:

"By the Word of Jehovah were the heavens made, and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth. He gathereth the waters of the sea together as an heap; he giveth the depths for treasures" (Psalms 33:6, 7).

The Word of Jehovah by which the heavens were made, and the breath of His mouth by which all the host of them is made, signifies the Divine truth proceeding from the Lord; the host of the heavens denoting all things of love and faith. The waters of the sea which He gathered together as an heap signify the knowledges of truth, and truths in general, which are together in the natural man; the depths which He gives for treasures signify sensual scientifics (scientifica sensualia), which are the most general, and the ultimate of the natural man, and in which at the same time are interior or higher truths, whence they are called treasures.

[12] Again:

Jehovah "hath founded the earth upon its foundations that it be not removed to eternity and for ever. Thou hast covered it with the deep as with a garment" (Psalms 104:5, 6).

By earth is here signified the church; the foundations on which Jehovah founded it for ever, are the knowledges (cognitiones) of truth and good. The deep which covered it as with a garment signifies the sensual Scientific, which is the ultimate of the natural man, and because it is such, Jehovah is said to have covered it as with a garment.

[13] Again:

Jehovah "thy way is in the sea, and thy path in many waters, yet thy footsteps are not known" (Psalms 77:19).

In Isaiah:

"Thus saith Jehovah, I have made a way in the sea, and a path in the mighty waters" (43:16).

That by sea in this passage is not meant the sea, nor by waters are meant waters is evident, because it is said that therein are the way and the path of Jehovah. Therefore, by the sea and by waters are meant those things in which Jehovah or the Lord is, these being the knowledges of truth in general from the Word, and truths therein. The sea denotes those knowledges, and the waters truths. Knowledges (cognitiones) and truths differ in this, that the former are of the natural man, and the latter of the spiritual man.

[14] In Jeremiah:

"I will plead thy cause, and will avenge thy avenging: and I will dry up the sea" of Babel, "and will make dry the springs thereof; the sea shall come up upon Babel, she shall be covered with the multitude of its waves" (51:36, 42).

By Babel are meant those who profane goods; the sea of Babel signifies their traditions, which are adulterations of good from the Word; the waves are the falsities thereof; their destruction at the Last Judgment is described by these things.

[15] In the same:

"A people coming from the north, and a great nation, and many kings shall be stirred up from the sides of the earth. Their voice maketh a tumult like the sea, and they ride upon horses" (50:41, 42).

The people coming from the north denote those who are falsities from evil; the great nation denotes evils, and many kings denote falsities; the sides of the earth denote the things of the church, and also those not of the church, for the earth denotes the church; their voice making a tumult like the sea, denotes falsity from the natural man exalting itself against the truth of the church; the horses upon which they ride, are reasonings from the fallacies of the senses.

[16] Again:

"Jehovah, who giveth the sun for a light of the day, the statutes of the moon and of the stars for a light of the night, stirring up the sea so that the waves thereof are tumultuous" (31:35).

By the sun from which is the light of the day, is signified the good of celestial love, from which comes the perception of truth; by the ordinances of the moon and the stars, from which comes the light of the night, are signified truths from spiritual good and from knowledges, from which comes intelligence; by the sea which is stirred up, and by the waves which are tumultuous, are signified the generals of truth in the natural man, and scientifics.

[17] In Isaiah.

"The wicked are like the troubled sea when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt" (57:20).

By the troubled sea, which is said of the wicked, are signified reasonings from falsities; by the waters which cast up mire and dirt are signified the falsities themselves, from which come evils of life and falsities of doctrine.

[18] In Ezekiel:

"I will stretch out mine hand upon the Philistines, and I will cut off the Cherethites, and destroy the remnant of the sea coasts" (25:16).

By the Philistines are signified those who are in the doctrine of faith alone; and by the remnant of the sea coasts, which shall be destroyed, are signified all things pertaining to truth.

[19] In Hosea:

"I will not return to destroy Ephraim. They shall go after Jehovah; and with honour the sons shall draw near from the sea, with honour shall they come as a bird out of Egypt, and as a dove out of the land of Assyria" (Hosea 11:9-11).

By Ephraim is here signified the church as to the understanding of truth; by the sons from the sea who shall draw near are signified truths from their common fount, which is the Word; by a bird out of Egypt is signified the Scientific in agreement therewith; and by a dove out of the land of Assyria is signified the Rational.

[20] In Zechariah:

"In that day living waters shall go out from Jerusalem, part of them to the eastern sea, and part of them to the hinder sea" (14:8).

By living waters going out from Jerusalem are signified truths from a spiritual origin in the church, which are the truths received by man when he is enlightened from the Lord while reading the Word; Jerusalem signifies the church as to doctrine. By the sea is signified the natural man into which those things descend that are in the spiritual man; by the eastern sea is signified the natural man as to good, and by the hinder sea the same as to truth; and because the natural man is in the general things of truth, therefore by sea are also signified things of truth.

[21] Those who are ignorant of what is meant by the spiritual man, and by the truths and goods therein, may suppose that the truths that are in the natural man, and are called knowledges and scientifics, are not merely the generals of truth, but that they are all things of truth pertaining to man. But be it known that the truths that are in the spiritual man, and from which those that are in the natural are derived, exceed them enormously. Those, however, that are in the spiritual man do not come within the perception of the natural man until he enters the spiritual world, which is after death; for then man puts off the natural, and puts on the spiritual. That this is the case is evident from this fact only, that the angels are in intelligence and wisdom ineffable in comparison with man, and yet the angels are all from the human race. (That the angels are from the human race may be seen in the small work, The Last Judgment 14-22, and 23-27.) Because the sea signifies the generals of truth, therefore the great vessel, which was for washing in common, was called the brazen sea (1 Kings 7:23-26). For washing represented purifications from falsities and evils, and waters signify truths, by which purifications are effected. And because all truths are from good, therefore the whole vessel was made of brass; therefore it was called the brazen sea, for brass signifies good. Spiritual purification, which is purification from falsities and evils, is there fully described by the measurements of that vessel, and by the bases thereof, understood in the spiritual sense. From the considerations now adduced, it is evident that by sea are signified the generals of truth, or the knowledges of truth together and collectively. But what is further signified by the sea will be shown in the explanation of the following part of this book. For the sea is mentioned in various senses; as in chap. 5:13; 7:1-3; 8:8, 9; 10:2, 8; 12:12; 13:1; 14:7; 15:2; 16:3; 18:17, 19, 21; 20:13; 21:1.