700. And there was seen in his temple the ark of His Covenant, signifies Divine truth, by which there is conjunction with the Lord. This is evident from the signification of "the ark of the Covenant," as being Divine truth proceeding from the Lord (of which presently). "The ark of the Covenant" was seen, because "the temple" appeared, and the ark was in the midst of the temple at Jerusalem, and in it were placed the two tables of the law, which signify in a universal sense Divine truth proceeding from the Lord, thus the Lord Himself, who is Divine truth in the heavens; for which reason the Lord is called the Word, in John 1:1, 2, 14. This is the signification of "the ark," because the Tent of meeting represented the three heavens, its court the lowest or first heaven; the tent itself as far as the veil, wherein were the tables for the loaves, the altar of incense, and the lampstand, represented the middle or second heaven; and the ark, which was within the veil, upon which was the mercy-seat with the cherubim, represented the inmost or third heaven; and the law itself which was in the ark, represented the Lord in relation to Divine truth or the Word; and because there is conjunction with the Lord by means of the Word, that ark was called "the ark of the Covenant," "covenant" signifying conjunction. (That the tent or tabernacle represented the form of heaven, and, together with the court, represented the three heavens, and that the holy of holies, which was the inmost, where the ark was, within which were the tables of the law, represented the third or inmost heaven, and that the law or testimony represented the Lord Himself, may be seen in the Arcana Coelestia 3478, 9457, 9481, 9485. And that in the highest sense "the tabernacle," the same as "the temple," signifies the Lord, and in a relative sense heaven and the church, and thence the holiness of worship, n. 9457, 9481, 10242, 10245, 10304, 10545. That in the Word "covenant" signifies conjunction, and that all things of the church, both internal and external, are signs of the covenant, and that they are called covenant because conjunction is effected by means of them, n. 665, 666, 1023, 1038, 1864, 1996, 2003, 2021, 2037, 6804, 8767, 8778, 9396, 9416, 10632. Consequently that the law promulgated on Mount Sinai was called a "covenant," and the ark containing the law "the ark of the Covenant," n. 6804, 9416.)

[2] That the ark with the covenant or testimony inclosed, signifies the Lord in respect to the celestial Divine which is Divine truth in the inmost or third heaven, can be seen from what is said of the ark in the Word. As in Moses:

They shall make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell in the midst of them, according to all that I have shown thee, the form of the habitation. First, they shall make an ark of shittim wood; and thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, within and without shalt thou overlay it; and thou shalt make for it a border of gold; four rings of gold for the staves. And thou shalt put into the ark the testimony that I will give thee. And thou shalt make a mercy-seat of pure gold; and thou shalt make two cherubim of gold, solid shalt thou make them out of the mercy-seat that the cherubim may spread out their wings, and cover the mercy-seat with their wings; and their faces shall be towards the mercy-seat. And thou shalt put the testimony into the ark; and there I will meet with thee, and I will speak with thee from above the mercy-seat, from between the two cherubim which are upon the ark of the Testimony, of all things which I shall command thee unto the sons of Israel (Exodus 25:8-22).

Thou shalt make a veil of hyacinthine and purple, and scarlet double dyed, and fine twined linen, with cherubim. Thou shalt put it upon four pillars of shittim overlaid with gold; and thou shalt place the veil under the clasps; and thou shalt bring in thither within the veil the ark of the Testimony; so that the veil shall divide unto you between the holy place and the holy of holies; and thou shalt put the veil before the ark in the holy of holies (Exodus 26:31-34).

It was said above that the tent where there were the ark, the lampstand, the table for the loaves, and the altar for incense, together with the court, represented the three heavens, and that the place within the veil where the ark was that contained the law or testimony, represented the third heaven. That place represented that heaven, because the law was there, and the "law" means the Lord in relation to Divine truth or the Word, for this in a broad sense is what that "law" signifies, and it is Divine truth proceeding from the Lord that forms the heavens. This is received in the greatest purity by the angels of the third heaven, because they are in conjunction with the Lord through love to Him, since all angels in that heaven are in love to the Lord; consequently they see Divine truth in themselves, like something implanted, although it flows in continually from the Lord. For this reason that heaven more than the other heavens which are below it, is said to be in the Lord, because it is in the Divine that proceeds from Him.

[3] It was that heaven that was represented by the ark that contained the law, that is, the Lord. This is why the ark was overlaid with gold within and without, and the mercy-seat was over the ark, and over the mercy-seat and out of it were the two cherubim which were of pure gold; for gold signifies from correspondence the good of love, in which are the angels of the third heaven. The "mercy-seat" signified the hearing and reception of all things of the worship that is from the good of love from the Lord; and the "cherubim" signified the Lord's providence and guard that He be not approached except through the good of love. That heaven with its angels is a guard against anything being elevated to the Lord Himself except what proceeds from the good of love to Him and from Him. For all worship of God passes through the heavens even to the Lord, and is purified in the way, until it is elevated to the third heaven, and there it reaches ¹ the Lord and is received by Him; everything else, being impure, is removed on the way. This is why cherubim of gold were placed over the mercy-seat, which was over the ark; also why that place was called a sanctuary, and also the holy of holies, and was divided from the outer part of the tabernacle by the veil.

[4] That the tent with the court represented the three heavens is evident also from this, that all things instituted among the sons of Israel were representatives of heavenly things; for the church itself was a representative church; thus especially the tabernacle with the altar was the most holy thing of worship; for worship was celebrated upon the altar by burnt-offerings and sacrifices, and in the tabernacle by incense offerings, and by the lamps that were lighted every day, and by the loaves that were placed in order daily upon the table. All these represented all worship in heaven and in the church, and the tent itself with the ark represented the heavens themselves. For this reason that tabernacle was called "the dwelling place of Jehovah God," as heaven itself is called. That the heavens were represented by the tabernacle is evident also from this, that the form of it was shown to Moses by the Lord upon Mount Sinai, and what is shown in form by the Lord must represent either heaven or the things belonging to heaven. That the form of the tabernacle was shown to Moses upon Mount Sinai, can be seen from what was said to Moses:

Let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell In the midst of them, according to all that I have shown thee, the form of the habitation; [and afterwards,] See and make them in their form which thou wast made to see in the mount (Exodus 25:8, 9, 40).

That is why it is called "a sanctuary," and it is said "that I may dwell in the midst of them." In respect to the ark in particular, that is, what it signifies, also "the mercy-seat over it," and "the cherubim over the mercy-seat," as also "the border of gold round about the ark," and also "the four rings for the staves," also "the veil," "the clasps," and the other things, all this may be seen explained in the Arcana Coelestia 9484-9577, 9670-9680).

[5] The holiness itself of the whole tabernacle was from the testimony, that is, from the two tables of stone on which the law was written, because "the law" signified the Lord in relation to Divine truth, and thus in relation to the Word, for that is Divine truth. That the Lord is the Word is evident from what is said in John:

The Word was with God, and God was the Word, and the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us (John 1:1, 2, 14).

That the law, which is called both "the testimony" and "the covenant," was placed in the ark, likewise the book written by Moses, can be seen from these words in Moses:

Thou shalt put into the ark the testimony that I shall give thee (Exodus 25:16; 40:20).

I put the tables of the law in the ark that I had made, that they might be there, even as Jehovah commanded me (Deuteronomy 10:5).

And of the book of the law written by Moses:

When Moses had made an end of writing the words of this law upon the book, even when he had finished them, Moses commanded the Levites that bare the ark to take the book of the law, and put it by the side of the ark of the Covenant, that it might be there for a witness (Deuteronomy 31:24-26).

This shows that there was nothing inside of the ark except the two tables of stone on which the law was written, and that the book of Moses was by the side of it. That there was nothing in the ark except the two tables of the covenant is evident from the first book of Kings:

There was nothing in the ark save the two tables of stone, which Moses put there at Horeb, the covenant which Jehovah made with the sons of Israel (1 Kings 8:9).

That the book of Moses which was laid by the side of the ark was afterwards taken out and preserved in the temple is shown by the fact:

That Hilkiah the high priest found the book of the law in the house of Jehovah and gave it to Shaphan, who told it unto the king, and read it before the king (2 Kings 22:8-11).

[6] That the ark represented the Lord in relation to Divine truth, and consequently signified Divine truth from the Lord, thus the Word, is shown by the fact that from it the Lord spoke with Moses, for it is said:

Thou shalt put the testimony into the ark; and there I will meet thee, and I will speak with thee from between the two cherubim which are upon the ark of the Testimony, of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the sons of Israel (Exodus 25:21, 22);

and elsewhere:

When Moses went into the Tent of meeting to speak with Him he heard the voice of one speaking unto him from above the mercy-seat that was upon the ark of the Testimony, from between the two cherubim; thus He spake unto him (Numbers 7:89).

The Lord spoke to Moses therefrom because the law was there, and that law signifies in a broad sense the Lord in relation to the Word, and from the Word the Lord speaks with man; it was "from above the mercy-seat between the two cherubim," because "the mercy-seat" signifies the removal of falsities that are from evil loves, and at the same time reception and hearing, and "the cherubim" signify a guard that there be no approach except through the good of love.

[7] Because the Lord in heaven and in the church is Divine truth or the Word, which is meant by the law inclosed in the ark, and because the Lord is present in the law or the Word, so where the ark was, there was Jehovah or the Lord, as can be seen from these words in Moses:

Moses said to Jehovah, ² Leave us not, I pray; forasmuch as thou knowest how we must encamp in the wilderness, therefore thou wilt be to us instead of eyes; and it shall be when thou shalt go with us, yea, it shall be that the good that Jehovah shall do unto us, the same good we will do unto thee. And they journeyed from the mount of Jehovah a way of three days, and the ark of the Covenant of Jehovah journeyed before them a way of three days to search out a resting place for them; and the cloud of Jehovah was over them by day, when they journeyed from the camp. When the ark journeyed Moses said, Arise, O Jehovah, let Thine enemies be scattered, and let them that hate Thee flee from before Thy faces; and when it rested he said, Return, O Jehovah, to the myriads of the thousands of Israel (Numbers 10:31-36).

It is clear from these particulars that Jehovah or the Lord is here meant by "the ark" because of His presence in the law that was in the ark, thus because of His presence in the Word. Since the Lord is here meant by the law, and thus by the ark, "Moses said, Arise, O Jehovah, that Thine enemies be scattered, and let them that hate Thee flee from before Thy faces; and when it rested he said, Return, O Jehovah, to the myriads of the thousands of Israel." But still more interior things are involved in these words, namely, that the Lord by His Divine truth leads men and defends them against falsities and evils, which are from hell, especially in temptations, which are signified in particular by the journeyings of the sons of Israel in the wilderness forty years. That the Lord leads men continually by His Divine truth is signified by "the ark of the Covenant of Jehovah journeyed before them a way of three days to search out a resting place for them," "the ark of Jehovah" meaning the Lord in relation to Divine truth, "journeying a way of three days" meaning His auspices and leading from beginning to end, and "searching out" signifying salvation, which is the end.

[8] Moreover, protection from falsities and evils which are from hell is signified by "the cloud of Jehovah over them by day," as well as by the words of Moses when the ark journeyed, "Arise, O Jehovah, let Thine enemies be scattered, and let them that hate Thee flee from before Thy faces;" "the cloud of Jehovah by day" signifies also protection by Divine truth in ultimates, such as the Word is in the sense of the letter, for by such truth the Lord can be approached even by the evil, and by it He defends the interior things of the Word, which are celestial and spiritual. (That this sense of the Word is signified by a "cloud" may be seen above, n. 594.) "Enemies" and "them that hate" signify falsities and evils that are from hell, "enemies" falsities, and "them that hate" evils, thus they signify the hells in respect to falsities and evils. Truths from good, which are implanted in man after temptations, are signified by "when the ark rested Moses said, Return, O Jehovah, to the myriads of the thousands of Israel;" "the resting of the ark" signifies the state after temptations, when evils and falsities have been removed; "to return" signifies the Lord's presence at that time, for in temptations the Lord appears to be absent; "the myriads of the thousands of Israel" signify the truths from good implanted, which constitute the church. (That "myriads" are predicated of truths, and "thousands" of goods, see above, n. 336.)

[9] There is a like significance in these words in David:

Lo, we have heard of Him in Ephrathah, we have found Him in the fields of the forest; we will come into His habitations, we will bow ourselves down at His footstool. Arise, O Jehovah, to Thy resting place, Thou and the ark of Thy strength. Let Thy priests be clothed with righteousness and let Thy saints shout for joy (Psalms 132:6-9).

Evidently this Psalm treats of the Lord, who is here meant by "David," as can be seen from its being said, "We have found Him in Ephrathah and in the fields of the forest," also that "they bowed themselves down at His footstool;" "Ephrathah" meaning Bethlehem where the Lord was born, and signifying the Word in respect to its natural sense, while "Bethlehem" signifies the Word in respect to its spiritual sense; and there He chose to be born because the Lord is the Word; "the fields of the forest" signify the things of the natural sense of the Word, thus of the sense of the letter; while "His habitations" signify the spiritual sense of the Word, also heaven, since heaven is in that sense. The "footstool" to which they shall bow themselves down signifies the natural sense of the Word, and thence also the church on earth, since the church is in that sense. (That the "footstool" of the Lord means the church on earth, see above, n. 606.)

[10] The "resting place" to which Jehovah should arise signifies the union of the Divine and the Human in the Lord, and His conjunction with heaven and the church; and because the Lord, and also those who are in heaven and in the church, have rest and peace when He has subjugated the hells and has brought all things there and in the heavens into order, it is said, "Arise, Thou and the ark of Thy strength," "Thou" meaning the Lord Himself, and "the ark of Thy strength" Divine truth proceeding from Him, for through this the Lord has Divine power. The "priests who shall be clothed with righteousness" and the "saints who shall shout for joy," have a similar signification as "the thousands and myriads of Israel," "priests" meaning those who are in good, and "saints" those who are in truths, thus in an abstract sense the goods and truths of heaven and the church. (That "priests" in an abstract sense signify the goods of the church may be seen above, n. 31 at the end, and that "saints" in that sense signify the truths of the church, n. 204, 325.) More about this Psalm may be seen above n. 684.

[11] Because the ark, from the law that was in it, signified the Lord in relation to Divine truth, and the Lord has omnipotence from Divine good through Divine truth, therefore by means of the ark miracles were wrought. Thus by means of it the waters of Jordan were divided, so that the sons of Israel passed over on dry ground; the wall of the city of Jericho was overthrown; Dagon, the god of the Ashdodites, fell down before it; the Ashdodites, the Gittites, the Ekronites, and the Bethshemites, were smitten with plagues on account of it; Uzzah died because he touched it; Obed-edom, into whose house it was brought, was blessed. As these historical facts involve arcana that can be opened only by the spiritual sense I also will explain them, that it may be known what the ark signifies in a strict sense and in a broad sense. First, respecting the division of the waters of Jordan that the sons of Israel might pass through on dry ground, in Joshua:

Joshua and all the sons of Israel came to Jordan; and at the end of three days Joshua commanded, saying, When ye shall see the ark of the Covenant of Jehovah, and the priests, the Levites, bearing it, ye shall journey from your place and shall go after it; yet there shall be a space between you and it, about two thousand cubits; ye shall not draw near unto it. And the priests lifted up the ark of the Covenant and went before the people. And Joshua said, When ye shall come to the brink of the waters of Jordan, ye shall stand still in Jordan. And he said unto the people, Behold, the ark of the Covenant of the Lord of the whole earth passing over before you into Jordan; and take ye twelve men of the tribes of Israel; and when the soles of the feet of the priests that bear the ark of Jehovah the Lord of the whole earth shall rest in the waters of Jordan, the waters of Jordan shall be cut off, even the waters that come down from above shall stand in one heap. And it came to pass when the priests came unto Jordan, and the feet of the priests that bear the ark were dipped in the brink of the waters, and Jordan was full, as it was wont to be all the days of harvest, the waters that came down from above stood in one heap, stretching out very far from the city Adam; and those that came down upon the sea of the plain, the sea of salt, were completely cut off, so that the people could pass over towards Jericho. And the priests stood on the dry ground in the midst of Jordan; and all the people passed over on dry ground. Afterwards Jehovah said unto Joshua, Take to you twelve men, one of a tribe; and lift up out of the midst of Jordan, from where the priests' feet stood, twelve stones, which ye shall bring over with you, and leave in the place where ye pass the night. And the sons of Israel did so; and they lifted up twelve stones out of the midst of Jordan, according to the numbers of the tribes of Israel, and they carried them over unto the place where they passed the night. Then after that all the people had finished passing over, the ark of Jehovah passed over, and the priests. And it came to pass when the priests were come up and the soles of their feet were plucked out, the waters of Jordan returned into their place. And the twelve stones which they took out of Jordan did Joshua set up in Gilgal (Joshua 3:1-17; 4:1-20).

All the historicals of the Word, as well as its prophetical parts, contain a spiritual sense that treats, not of the sons of Israel and of nations and peoples, but of the church and its establishment and progress, for this is the spiritual of the Word, while the history is the natural that contains the spiritual. Therefore also all the miracles described in the Word, as the miracles done in Egypt and afterwards in the land of Canaan, involve such things as belong to heaven and the church, and for this reason also these miracles are Divine.

[12] The miracle described above signifies the introduction of the faithful into the church, and through the church into heaven. "The sons of Israel" mean here in the spiritual sense the faithful, who after enduring temptations, which are signified by their wanderings in the wilderness, are brought into the church; for "the land of Canaan," into which the sons of Israel were brought, signifies the church, and "Jordan" signifies the first entrance into it; and "the waters of Jordan" signify truths that introduce into it, which are such as those of the literal sense of the Word, for those are what first introduce. But here "Jordan" and its waters signify the falsities of evil which conduct towards hell, since the land of Canaan was then filled with idolatrous nations, which signify evils and falsities of every kind, which constitute hell; for this reason these were to be driven out, that there might be a place for establishing the church. Because "the waters of Jordan" then signified the falsities of evil, they were parted and removed, to give a passage to the sons of Israel, who were to represent the church.

[13] Now as the Lord alone removes and scatters the falsities of evil that are from hell, and by His Divine truths introduces the faithful into the church and into heaven, and as the ark and the law inclosed in it represented the Lord in relation to Divine truth, it was commanded that the ark should go before the people and thus lead them. This is why it came to pass that as soon as the priests bearing the ark dipped their feet in the waters of Jordan those waters were divided and went down, and the people passed over on dry land, and after this was done the waters returned. Then these same waters signified truths that introduce; for Jordan was the first boundary of the land of Canaan, and that land, when the sons of Israel had entered into it, represented the church, and that river introduction into it.

[14] As the waters of Jordan signified truths that introduce they were commanded to take up out of the midst of it twelve stones, and carry them over to the first place where they passed the night, and this because "stones" signify truths, and "twelve stones according to the number of the tribes of Israel" signified the truths of the church. Joshua set up those stones in Gilgal to the east of Jericho, because "Gilgal" signified the doctrine of natural truth, which is serviceable for introduction into the church. From these few things it is clear what things of heaven and the church were represented by this miracle, also that the "ark," because of the law in it, signified the Lord in relation to Divine truth, therefore it is called "the ark of the Covenant of the Lord of the whole earth," as meaning conjunction with the Lord through Divine truth, since conjunction, which is signified by "covenant," is effected through Divine truth, and that is what constitutes heaven and the church, which are signified in particular by "the whole earth;" in fact, through Divine truth all things were made and created, according to the Lord's words (in John 1:1-3, 10; and in David, Psalms 33:6), "the Word" there meaning Divine truth.

[15] The second miracle done by means of the ark was the overthrow of the wall of Jericho, which is thus described in Joshua:

The city of Jericho was shut up; and Jehovah said unto Joshua, I have given into thy hand Jericho and the king thereof, and the mighty in valor. Ye shall compass the city, all the men of war, once a day for six days. And seven priests shall bear seven trumpets of jubilee before the ark; but the seventh day ye shall compass the city seven times, and the priests shall sound with the trumpets, and then the people shall shout with a great shout, and the wall of the city shall fall down from beneath itself; and the people shall go up. Then Joshua made them go round the city once the first day, as it had been said; after which circuit they returned into the camp, and passed the night in the camp; in like manner the day after. And the seven priests bearing the seven trumpets of jubilee before the ark of Jehovah went on, going, and sounded the trumpets, before whom went the men of war, and the rear marching after the ark, going and sounding the trumpets. And so they did six days; and the seventh day they compassed the city seven times; and the seventh time the people shouted. And when the people heard this, then the wall of the city fell down beneath itself, and the people went up into the city, and gave to the curse all things which were in the city, from man even to woman, and from the boy to the old man. And they burned up the city with fire, and all things that were in it; only the silver and gold, and the vessels of brass and iron they put into the treasury of the house of Jehovah. And Joshua adjured them, saying, Cursed be the man before Jehovah that shall rise up and build this city; with his firstborn he shall lay the foundations of it, and with the youngest he shall set up its folding doors (Joshua 6:1-26).

No one can know the Divine meaning contained in this miracle, unless he knows what is signified by "the city of Jericho" in the land of Canaan, which was burned up, by "its wall" which fell, by the "inhabitants" who were given to the curse, by "the gold and silver, and the vessels of brass and iron," that were put into the treasury of the house of Jehovah, also by "sounding the trumpets and shouting," and by "compassing it six days, and seven times on the seventh day." The "city of Jericho" signifies instruction in the knowledges of good and truth, by which man is introduced into the church; for Jericho was a city not far from the Jordan, and that river signified introduction into the church (as has been said above). For all places in the land of Canaan were significative of things celestial and spiritual belonging to the church, and this from the most ancient times; and as the sons of Israel were to represent the church, and among them the Word was written, in which those places were to be mentioned signifying such things as are of heaven and the church, therefore the sons of Israel were introduced into it, and their introduction was signified by "the river Jordan," and their instruction by "Jericho." And as "Jericho" signified instruction it signified also the good of life, because unless one is in the good of life he cannot be instructed in the truths of doctrine. But when the land of Canaan was held by idolatrous nations the signification of the places and cities in that land was changed into the opposite, Jericho then signifying the profanation of truth and good. From this it follows that the "city" itself signified the doctrine of falsity and evil, which perverted and profaned the truths and goods of the church, its "wall" signifying falsities of evil defending that doctrine, and the "inhabitants" those who are profane; and as all profaneness is from infernal love after the acknowledgment of truth and good, therefore the city was burned with fire, the inhabitants given to the curse, and its wall fell down, "fire" signifying infernal love, "curse" a total blotting out, and "the falling down of the wall" exposure to every evil and falsity.

[16] The sounding of the trumpets by the priests signified the proclamation of Divine truth from Divine good; the shouting and acclamation of the people signified consent and confirmation; compassing the city signified a survey of falsity and evil and their dispersion by the influx of Divine truth from the Lord; this influx was signified by carrying the ark about it. The priests were seven in number, and the city was compassed seven days, and seven times on the seventh day, to signify what is holy, and the holy proclamation of Divine truth, "seven" signifying holiness, and in the contrary sense profaneness, and as there was holiness on the one part and profaneness on the other, there were seven priests with seven trumpets, and the city was compassed seven times.

[17] The gold, the silver, and the vessels of brass and iron, were put into the treasury of the house of Jehovah, because these signified the knowledges of spiritual and natural truth and good, "gold and silver" the knowledges of spiritual truth and good, and "the vessels of brass and iron" knowledges of natural truth and good, which with those who profane are changed into direful falsities and evils; but as they continue to be knowledges, although applied to evils, they are serviceable to use with the good by application to what is good, and therefore these things were put into the treasury of the house of Jehovah. This also is what is meant by the "pounds" [minae] that were taken away from the evil and given to the good; likewise by the "unrighteous mammon;" also by "the gold, silver, and raiment," that the sons of Israel took away from the Egyptians and afterwards devoted to the tabernacle; and also by "the gold and silver" that David gathered from the spoils of enemies, and left to Solomon for building the temple.

[18] That he who rebuilt Jericho would be cursed, and that "he would lay the foundation of it with his firstborn, and set up its folding-doors with his youngest," signified the profanation of Divine truth from its first to its last, if instruction in it should be represented elsewhere than in Jerusalem, by which the church was signified in respect to the doctrine of truth and good, and in respect to instruction from the Word. That this profanation took place under King Ahab by Hiel the Bethelite is recorded in 1 Kings 16:34; and Ahab is said to have done evil in the eyes of Jehovah above all the kings of Israel (verses 1 Kings 16:30, 33). From this miracle done by means of the ark it can be seen that the ark, because of the law in it, represented the Lord in relation to Divine truth, and thence signified the Divine truth proceeding from the Lord.

[19] The third miracle, that Dagon, the god of the Ashdodites, fell down before the ark, and the Ashdodites, Gittites, Ekronites, and Bethshemites were smitten with plagues because of it, is thus described in the first book of Samuel:

Israel went out against the Philistines to war. And Israel was beaten before the Philistines about four thousand men. Therefore the elders said, Let us take unto us out of Shiloh the ark of the Covenant of Jehovah, and let it come into the midst of us, and deliver us out of the hand of the enemy. And they brought from thence the ark of the Covenant of Jehovah of Hosts sitting above the cherubim, and with the ark the two sons of Eli. And it came to pass when the ark came to the camp, all Israel shouted with a great shout; the Philistines heard, and knew that the ark of Jehovah was come to the camp, and they feared for themselves, saying, God is come to the camp; woe unto us! who shall deliver us out of the hands of these mighty gods? These are the gods that smote the Egyptians with every plague. But be strong and be men, O ye Philistines, that ye may not serve the Hebrews. And the Philistines fought, and Israel was beaten with a great slaughter, about thirty thousand footmen; and the ark of God was taken, and both the sons of Eli died. And the Philistines took the ark, and brought it down to Ashdod, into the house of Dagon, and they set it beside Dagon. When they of Ashdod rose in the morning, behold, Dagon lay upon his faces on the earth before the ark of Jehovah; and they put back Dagon again. But when they arose in the morning, Dagon lay upon his faces on the earth before the ark, and both the head of Dagon and the two palms of his hands lay cut off upon the threshold. And the hand of Jehovah was heavy upon them of Ashdod, and He smote them with emerods, Ashdod and the borders thereof. Then the men of Ashdod said, The ark of Israel shall not abide with us. Therefore the lords of the Philistines said, Let the ark of the God of Israel be carried over unto Gath. And they carried it over unto Gath. But the hand of Jehovah was against the city, and smote the men of the city from the least to the greatest, and emerods brake out upon them. So they sent the ark of God to Ekron. But the Ekronites cried out that they should be slain. And the men that died not were smitten with emerods. Therefore the lords said that they would send back the ark into its place. When the ark had remained in the field of the Philistines seven months, the Philistines called the priests and diviners, saying, What shall we do with the ark of Jehovah; how shall we send it back to its place? And they said, Send it not empty, but send it back with a guilt-offering, then shall ye be healed, namely, according to the number of the lords of the Philistines, five emerods of gold and five mice of gold, for one plague is upon you all and upon your lords; ye shall make images of your emerods, and images of your mice, that have laid waste the land; and make a new cart, and two milch kine upon which there hath come no yoke, and tie the kine to the cart, and bring back their calves from them to the house, and put the ark of Jehovah upon the cart, and the vessels of gold put into a coffer at the side thereof; and see if it goeth up the way of the border to Bethshemesh. And they did so. Then the kine went straightway upon the way to Bethshemesh in the one highway, and they lowed; and the lords of the Philistines went after them. And the cart came into the field of Joshua the Bethshemite, and stood there, where there was a great stone. Then they clave the wood of the cart, and offered the kine for a burnt-offering to Jehovah. And the Levites set down the ark of Jehovah, and the coffer in which were the vessels of gold, upon that great stone; and the men of Bethshemesh offered burnt-offerings, and sacrificed sacrifices to Jehovah. But the Bethshemites were smitten because they saw the ark of Jehovah, about fifty thousand and seventy men. But the men of Kiriath-jearim caused the ark of Jehovah to come up, and brought it into the house of Abinadab in Gibeah, and it remained there twenty years. Then Samuel said, If with the whole heart ye will return to Jehovah, put ye away the gods of the alien and Ashtaroth, and prepare your heart towards Jehovah, and serve Him only, then will He deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines (1 Samuel 4:1-11; 5:1-12; 6:1-21; 7:1-3).

What is signified by all this-that the ark was taken by the Philistines, and the Philistines were smitten with emerods on account of the ark in Ashdod, Gath, and Ekron, also that mice laid waste their land, and that so many died there and in Bethshemesh-cannot be known unless it is known what the Philistines, and in particular the Ashdodites, Gittites, Ekronites, and Bethshemites, represented and thence signified; also what is signified by "emerods" and by "mice," and by "the golden images" of these, and besides by the "new cart" and "the milch kine." Evidently these are representatives of such things as belong to the church, for otherwise why should the Philistines have been smitten with such plagues, and the ark have been so brought back?

[20] The Philistines represented, and thence signified, those who make no account of the good of love and charity, and thus no account of the good of life; placing everything of religion in knowledge and cognition; therefore they were like those at the present day who make faith alone, that is, faith separated from charity, the essential of the church and the essential of salvation. This is why they were called "the uncircumcised," for to be uncircumcised signifies to be destitute of spiritual love, thus of good; and because they had reference to those within the church they were not spiritual, but merely natural, since he who makes no account of the good of charity and of life becomes merely natural, and even sensual, loving only worldly things, and is unable to understand any truths spiritually, and the truths he apprehends naturally he either falsifies or defiles. Such are they who are meant in the Word by the "Philistines." Thence it is evident why the Philistines so frequently fought with the sons of Israel, and that sometimes the Philistines conquered, and sometimes the sons of Israel. The Philistines conquered when the sons of Israel departed from the statutes and precepts in not doing them; but when the sons of Israel lived according to these they conquered. To live according to the precepts and statutes was their good of love and good of life. At this time the sons of Israel were conquered by the Philistines because they had departed from the worship of Jehovah to the worship of other gods, especially to the worship of Ashtaroth, as can be seen from what Samuel said to them (1 Samuel 7:3). For the same reason also the ark had been taken by the Philistines.

[21] When it is known that the Philistines represented and thence signified those who make no account of the good of love, charity, and life, it can be known why because of the ark they were smitten with emerods and died in consequence; also why mice laid waste the land; for "emerods" signify truth defiled by such evil of life as is with those who are destitute of good; since "blood" signifies truth, and the corrupted blood from emerods truth defiled; and the hinder part, where the emerods were, signifies natural love, which with those not spiritual is the love of the world, while "mice" signify the falsities of the sensual man, which eat up and consume all things of the church, as mice lay waste fields and crops, and also the vegetables underground. Such were their plagues, because they were such, since those who are without good defile truths and also lay waste all things of the church. This was done on account of the ark, because the "ark" signified the Divine truth that proceeds from the Lord, and this cannot be genuine truth but with those who are in the good of love, and thence in the good of life; and when Divine truth flows in with those who are not in good it produces effects that correspond to their falsities of doctrine and evils of life, just as in the spiritual world, when Divine truth flows into such, the defilement of truth and devastation of good are manifested in a likeness of emerods and mice.

[22] Dagon the god of the Ashdodites, because of the nearness and presence of the ark, was cast down to the earth, and afterwards his head and the palms of his hands were cast upon the threshold of his temple, because "Dagon" signified their religion, which was wholly without intelligence and without power, because it was without spiritual good, "head" signifying intelligence, and "palms of the hands" power. It is similar in the spiritual world, when Divine truth inflows out of heaven with such persons, for they then appear as if they were without a head and without palms of the hands because they are without intelligence or power.

[23] By the advice of their priests and diviners they made golden images of the emerods and mice, and set them at the side of the ark upon a new cart, to which they tied two milch kine on which no yoke had come, because "gold" signifies the good of love, which heals and purifies from falsities and evils, which are signified by the "emerods and mice," also because a "cart" signifies the doctrine of natural truth, and a "new cart" that doctrine untouched and unpolluted by the falsities of their evil, and the "milch kine" on which no yoke had come signify natural good not yet defiled by falsities, for to bear a yoke signifies to serve, here to serve falsities which defile good; and as such good agrees with the Divine truth, which was signified by the "ark," therefore these representatives were adapted and applied; and afterwards the Levites offered the kine as a burnt-offering, which they burned with the wood of the cart.

[24] The ark with the gifts was put on a great stone, near which the kine stood still, because a "stone" signifies Divine truth in the ultimate of order. The priests and diviners of the Philistines recommended this to be done because a knowledge of correspondences and representations was a common knowledge at that time, since it was their theology, known to the priests and diviners, who were their wise men. But because men at that time had become for the most part merely natural, they regarded these things in an idolatrous way, worshiping the externals, and giving no thought to the internals that the externals represented. From this it can be seen what the particulars here cited from the book of Samuel signify in series, also that the "ark," because of the law in it, signifies Divine truth proceeding from the Lord.

[25] Fourth, the two miracles wrought by means of the ark, the death of Uzzah and the blessing of Obed-edom, are thus described in the second book of Samuel:

David arose and went, and all the people that were with him, from Baal-Judah, to bring up from thence the ark of God, whose name is called upon, the name of Jehovah of Hosts that sitteth upon the cherubim. And they caused the ark of God to be carried upon a new cart, and they brought it up out of the house of Abinadab, which was in Gibeah; and Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, were leading the cart. And David and all the house of Israel were playing before Jehovah, upon instruments of fir-wood of every kind, and upon harps, and with psalteries, and with timbrels, and with sistra, and with cymbals. And when they came to the threshing floor of Nachon, Uzzah put forth unto the ark and seized upon it, because the oxen stumbled; and the anger of Jehovah glowed against Uzzah, and God smote him for his error, so that he died there by the ark of God. And David was grieved at it, and David feared Jehovah that day, and he said, How shall the ark of Jehovah come unto me? And David would not remove the ark of Jehovah unto him in the city of David, but he turned it aside into the house of Obed-edom the Gittite. And the ark of Jehovah remained in his house three months, and Jehovah blessed Obed-edom and all his house; and it was told to King David; and David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-edom into the city of David with joy; and when they that bare the ark of Jehovah had gone six paces, he sacrificed an ox and a fatling; and David danced with all his strength before Jehovah, girt with a linen ephod. And David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of Jehovah with a shout and with the sound of a trumpet; and they brought the ark of Jehovah into the city of David, which is Zion, and set it up in its place within the tent that David had stretched out for it (2 Samuel 6:1-17).

These historical facts in the internal or spiritual sense involve many things that cannot come into view in the sense of the letter, which is the historical sense; as what is involved in the fact that the ark was brought from the house of Abinadab into the house of Obed-edom, and at length into the city of David, which is Zion; in the fact that when it was brought they played and sounded all kinds of musical instruments, and David himself danced; that the ark was brought upon a new cart, to which oxen were tied; also that Uzzah, the son of Abinadab, died, and Obed-edom with his house was blessed. All these things, although historical, have concealed in their bosom such things as pertain to heaven and the church, in like manner as the ark itself, which, on account of the law in it, represented the Lord as to the Divine truth; therefore it is called "the ark of God whose name is called upon, the name of Jehovah of hosts that sitteth upon the cherubim." That the ark was now brought out of the house of Abinadab, first into the house of Obed-edom and at length into the city of David, which is Zion, involves arcana that no one can know unless he knows what was signified by "Gibeah" and by "Baal-Judah" there, where Abinadab was, and by "Gath" where Obed-edom was, and finally by "Zion" where David was. All the regions and the cities in them in the land of Canaan were representative, as it is in the spiritual world with the regions there and their cities. In the spiritual world in every region and also in every city those who are in the good of love dwell toward the east and the west, those who are in a bright good of love toward the east, and those who are in an obscure good of love toward the west; while toward the south and the north there those dwell who are in the light of truth; those who are in a bright light of truth toward the south and those who are in an obscure light of truth toward the north. The like is true of the land of Canaan and its regions and the cities of those regions; in reference to their quarters these corresponded to the regions of the spiritual world and to the cities of those regions; but with this difference, that on earth it is impossible so to arrange men in their quarters in respect to the good of love and the light of truth, as the spirits and angels are arranged in the spiritual world; consequently in the land of Canaan and its cities the places themselves represented, and not the persons. That this was so can be seen from the partition of the land of Canaan into inheritances, which fell by lot to the tribes according to their representation of the church; also from the representation of the church itself by Jerusalem and Zion, Jerusalem representing the church in respect to the truth of doctrine and Zion the church in respect to the good of love. When, therefore, it is known what pertaining to heaven and the church is signified by "Gibeah," and by "Baal-Judah" there, where Abinadab was, and what by "Gath" where Obed-edom was, it can be known what is signified by bringing the ark from Abinadab to Obed-edom, and at length into Zion.

[26] From the signification of these cities it can be seen that the transference of the ark represented the progress of the church with man, from its ultimate to its inmost, as from one heaven into another, even to the highest, which is the third heaven. "Baal-Judah," where Abinadab was, signified the ultimate of the church, which is called its natural, for this was represented by "Gibeah," where "Baal-Judah" was. But "Gath," where Obed-edom was, who was therefore called a Gittite, signified the spiritual of the church; and this signification it took on after the sons of Israel had taken from the Philistines the cities from Ekron even to Gath (1 Samuel 7:13-15); while "Zion," where David was, signified the inmost of the church, which is called its celestial.

[27] From this it is evident that the transference of the ark signified the progress of the church with man from its ultimate to its inmost; and this because such progressions are effected by means of Divine truth, which was signified by the ark; for the man of the church progresses from the natural to the spiritual, and through that to the celestial, and this continually from the Lord by means of His Divine truth; the natural is the good of life, the spiritual is the good of charity toward the neighbor, and the celestial is the good of love to the Lord. As the goods of the three heavens have a like progression, so the ascent through them in their order is also represented.

[28] Their playing and sounding all kinds of musical instruments, and David's dancing when the ark was brought up, represented the gladness and joy that result from the affection of truth and good from the Lord through the influx of Divine truth, which was signified by the "ark;" the instruments mentioned, on which they played in the first journey from the house of Abinadab to the house of Obed-edom, represented gladness of mind from a natural and spiritual affection of truth; and the dancing of David, also the shouting and sound of the trumpet represented joy of heart from the affection of spiritual and celestial good. Harmonies of musical sound are from the spiritual world, and signify the affections with their gladnesses and joys (as may be seen above, n. 323, 326). "Zion" signifies the third heaven, and thence the inmost of the church (See also above, n. 405.

[29] "The ark" brought on a new cart to which oxen were tied represented and thence signified the doctrine of truth from the good of love, "cart" signifying the doctrine of truth, and "oxen" the good of love, both in the natural man; for Divine truth, which is signified by the "ark," rests and is founded upon the doctrine of natural truth which is from good; this is why the ark was set upon a cart before which were oxen. (That a "chariot" [or cart] signifies the doctrine of truth, see above, n. 355); that an "ox" signifies the natural good, see Arcana Coelestia 2180, 2566.)

[30] Uzzah the son of Abinadab died because he seized upon the ark with his hand, because "to touch with the hand" signifies communication, and communication with the Lord is effected through the good of love, and yet Uzzah was not anointed, as the priests and Levites were, to whom the representation of the good of love was given by anointing (that this was given by anointing, see n. 375. Moreover, the cherubim that were over the mercy-seat which was upon the ark, signified the guard that the Lord be not approached except through the good of love. That this was also done that David might not bring the ark into Zion before the progression which was being represented was finished (of which above) can be seen from this, that David grieved at the death of Uzzah, and feared to bring the ark into his city, which was Zion (verses 8-10).

[31] Obed-edom was blessed, and his house, on account of the ark, because a blessing from the good things of the world signifies blessing from the good things of heaven, which proceed solely from the Lord by the reception of the Divine truth represented by the ark, and these good things those have who are in spiritual good, which Obed-edom in Gath represented, as has been said above.

[32] Finally, bringing the ark into Zion and into the tent that David had stretched out for it, signified the ascent into the third heaven, and the conjunction of the Divine truth with the good of love, for "Zion" represented the inmost of the church, and thence the inmost of the heavens, which is the highest or third heaven, in which the angels are in the good of love to the Lord, and where there is a guard that the Lord be not approached except through the good of love, which guard was represented by the cherubim over the ark.

[33] Bringing the ark into the inmost part of the temple built by Solomon has a like signification; this is thus described in the first book of Kings:

Solomon prepared an adytum in the midst of the house, to set there the ark of the covenant of Jehovah; and in the adytum he made two cherubim of wood of oil, and he set the cherubim in the midst of the inner house, so that their wings were spread forth to the wall on each side, and their wings touched one another in the midst of the house; and he overlaid the cherubim with gold. And Solomon brought up the ark of the covenant of Jehovah out of the city of David, which is Zion. And all the elders of Israel came, and the priests lifted up the ark, and brought up the ark of Jehovah, and the tent of meeting, and all the vessels of holiness that were in the tent; and Solomon and all the congregation with him before the ark. And the priests brought the ark of the covenant of Jehovah into its place, into the adytum of the house, into the holy of holies, even under the wings of the cherubim; for the cherubim spread forth their wings over the place of the ark, so that the cherubim covered the ark and the staves thereof from above, and the heads of the staves were seen from the holy place, toward the faces of the adytum, but they were not seen without. And Solomon said, There have I set a place for the ark, wherein is the covenant of Jehovah, which He made with our fathers when He brought them forth out of the land of Egypt (1 Kings 6:19, 23, 27, 28; 8:1-8, 21).

As the ark in the tent of meeting represented the third heaven where the Lord is, and the tent itself without the veil the second heaven, and the court the first heaven, so was it with the temple; for the temple with its courts represented the three heavens, therefore there was nothing in the temple or outside of the temple within the courts, that did not represent something of heaven, and this for the reason that the Lord at that time was present in representatives; for the churches before the Lord's coming were representative churches, and finally such as the church was that was instituted with the sons of Israel. But when the Lord came into the world, the externals that represented were abolished, for it was the Lord Himself that the representatives of the church shadowed forth and signified; and as these were external things, and as it were veilings, within which was the Lord, so when He came these veilings were taken away, and He was manifested, with heaven and the church, in which the Lord is the all in all. The primary representatives of the Lord, and thence of heaven and the church, were the tent of meeting with the table, the lamp stand, the altar of incense, and the ark there, also the altar with the burnt offerings and sacrifices, and afterwards the temple; the temple having a similar representation as the tent of meeting, with the difference that the tent of meeting was a more holy representative of the Lord, of heaven, and of the church, than the temple.

[34] From this it can be seen that the adytum in the temple, where, like as in the tent of meeting, the ark was, represented the Lord in relation to the Divine truth, and thence the third heaven, where angels are conjoined to the Lord by love to Him, and consequently have Divine truth inscribed on their hearts. But what was signified by "the cherubim" in the temple, and their "wings," and the "staves" which are also mentioned, shall be told in a few words. "The cherubim" signified a guard that the Lord be not approached except through the good of love, consequently they were made of the "wood of oil," which wood signified the good of love (See above, n. 375; "the wings of the cherubim" signify the spiritual Divine, which descends from the celestial Divine, in which is the third heaven, into the second heaven, and is there received; this is why the wings "touched one another in the midst of the house," and were thence "stretched forth to the wall on each side." But the "staves" by which the ark was carried, signified Divine power, the same as "arms." From this and what precedes the signification of "the ark of the Covenant" in the Word can be seen.

[35] By the "ark," moreover, the same as by "the continual sacrifice" in Daniel, which was to cease at the Lord's coming into the world, a representative of the church in general is meant, in Jeremiah:

I will give you shepherds according to My heart, that they may feed you with knowledge and intelligence; and it shall come to pass when ye shall be multiplied and bear fruit in the land, in those days they shall say no more, The ark of the covenant of Jehovah, neither shall it come up upon the heart, neither shall they make mention of it, neither shall they miss it, neither shall it be renewed anymore (Jeremiah 3:15, 16).

This is said of the Lord's coming, and of the abolition of the representative rites of the Jewish Church at that time. That the interior things of the church that had been veiled over by external representative rites would then be manifested and there would then be interior or spiritual men, is signified by "shepherds would be given according to the heart of the Lord, and they shall feed them with knowledge and intelligence," "shepherds" meaning those who teach good and lead to it by means of truths; the multiplication of truth and fructification of good are signified by "Then it shall come to pass when ye shall be multiplied and bear fruit in the land in those days;" that there will then be conjunction with the Lord through the interiors of the Word and not through its exteriors, which merely represented and signified things interior, is signified by, "they shall say no more, The ark of the Covenant of Jehovah;" "the ark of the Covenant of Jehovah" here signifying the externals of worship that were then to be abolished, the same as "the continual sacrifice" that was to cease (See Daniel 8:13; 11:31; 12:11). That worship was to be no longer external but internal is signified by, "it shall not come up upon the heart, neither shall they make mention of it, neither shall they miss it, neither shall it be renewed anymore." From this, too, it can be seen that "the ark of the Covenant" seen by John in the temple of God, which is the vision here treated of, was an appearing of the Divine truth, by which there is a conjunction of the new heaven and the New Church with the Lord, and that this was so seen that the Word in the letter might be similar throughout, consisting of things that were externals of worship and represented internals; the like as above (Daniel 8:3, 4), where "the altar" and "incense offerings" were seen "before the throne;" for the Word in the letter consists of pure correspondences, such as existed in the representative churches, and were taken therefrom for use in the Word, and in these the interior things of heaven and the church, which are spiritual and celestial, are contained.

脚注:

650. The beast that cometh up out of the abyss shall make war with them, signifies assault from infernal love. This is evident from the signification of "beast," as being the affection of the natural man in both senses (of which presently; also from the signification of "the abyss," as being hell (of which above, n. 538; also from the signification of "to make war," as being to assault, for by "wars," in the Word, such wars as are in our world are not meant, but such as are in the spiritual world, all of which are combats of falsities from evil against truths from good; that such is the signification of "wars" in the Word will appear in what follows, where wars are again mentioned. From this it can be seen that "the beast that cometh up out of the abyss shall make war with them," that is, the witnesses, signifies that infernal love from the falsities of evil shall assault the truths of good.

[2] It has been shown before that a "beast" signifies a love or affection of the natural man; let something now be said about assault. Infernal love is especially the love of self, for the love of self is the love of what is man's own [proprium], and what is man's own is nothing but evil; consequently so far as a man is in that love he is against the Lord, and thus against the good of love and charity, and against the truth of doctrine and faith, thus against these "two witnesses;" for this reason, the hells where the love of self reigns are more direful and malignant than others, and are directly opposed to the Lord, and thence unceasingly assault the goods of love and faith, because these are from the Lord alone, and are the Lord with man and angel. That these hells are more direful than the others can be seen from this, that they continually breathe forth the destruction of those who confess the Divine of the Lord, therefore of those who are in the good of love and the good of faith in the Lord from the Lord.

[3] These hells are more malignant than the rest because so far as man is in the love of self, and at the same time in the love of self-intelligence, his natural lumen is in a kind of brightness, as it were, for the love of self is like a fire that kindles that lumen; it is from this that men can ingeniously think and reason against the Divine and against all things of heaven and the church. I have sometimes been astonished when I have listened to such, and have thought that they above all others were capable of being led to receive faith, but I perceived that this was impossible, for so far as they were enlightened in corporeal, worldly, and natural things they were in thick darkness in respect to celestial and spiritual things. This thick darkness was seen to be exceedingly dusky, with something fiery intermixed. This I could confirm by much experience, if this were the place for describing experiences. The love of self is what is here meant in particular by "the beast coming up out of the abyss," which made war with the two witnesses and killed them.

[4] That a "beast" signifies the love and affection of the natural man in both senses can be seen from very many passages in the Word; and this has heretofore been unknown, and as it may seem strange that "beasts" should signify the love or affection of the natural man, it is necessary to confirm this from the Word. Natural affections are signified by "beasts" because these affections are altogether similar to the affections of beasts, consequently a man who ¹ is not imbued with spiritual affections through the goods and truths of heaven differs little from beasts. For man has above the beasts the superadded faculty to think and thence to will spiritually, which gives him the eminent faculty to see and perceive abstract things; but if this spiritual faculty is not vivified by the knowledges of truth and good, and afterwards by faith and the life of faith, he is no better than the beasts, except merely that by virtue of that higher faculty he is able to think and speak.

[5] Because the affections of the natural man are signified by "beasts," when those affections are presented to be seen in the spiritual world in forms like those animals, they appear altogether as the forms of various beasts; as for instance, lambs, sheep, she-goats, kids, he-goats, young cattle, oxen, cows; also as camels, horses, mules, asses; and also as bears, tigers, leopards, lions; likewise as dogs and serpents of various kinds. But such things are only appearances of the affections that are with spirits; and when these are made apparent it is also known there not only that the appearances are from these affections, but also from whom they are; but as soon as the affections with such cease, these appearances also cease. From this it can also be seen why "beasts" are so often mentioned in the Word.

[6] But let us proceed to the confirmations from the Word. In David:

Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of Thy hands. Thou hast put all things under His feet, the flock and herds, yea, the beasts of the fields, the bird of heaven, and the fishes of the sea (Psalms 8:6-8).

This whole psalm treats of the Lord and His dominion over all things of heaven and the church; the things of heaven and the church are meant here and elsewhere in the Word by "the works of the hands of Jehovah;" and as it is over these things that the Lord has dominion, and as spiritual things in the Word are expressed by natural things, for the Word in its bosom is spiritual, so by "flock," "herds," "the beasts of the field," "the birds of heaven," and "the fishes of the sea," these are not meant, but the spiritual things of heaven and the church. "Flock and herds" signify spiritual things and natural things that are from a spiritual origin, a "flock," that is, lambs, kids, she-goats, sheep, and rams, signifying spiritual things, and "herds," which are bullocks, oxen, cows, and camels, natural things from spiritual things; "beasts of the field" signify the affections of the natural man, "birds of the heavens" thoughts therefrom, and "fishes of the sea," the knowledges [scientifica] of the sensual-natural man. Except for this meaning, why should the Lord's dominion over these be described?

[7] In the same:

O God, Thou makest the rain of good will to drop down; Thou shalt strengthen Thine inheritance when it is weary; Thy wild beast (Thy congregation) shall dwell in it (Psalms 68:9, 10).

Here evidently "wild beast" stands for a people that receives the influx of Divine truth from the Lord, for of God's "inheritance," which signifies the church, it is said, "Thy wild beast (Thy congregation) shall dwell in it;" "the rain of good will" signifies the influx of Divine truth from Divine clemency.

[8] In the same:

Jehovah, who sendeth forth springs into the brooks; they run between the mountains, they give drink to every wild beast; the wild asses quench their thirst, by them the bird of the heavens dwells, from among the boughs they give forth their voice; who causeth the grass to spring forth for the beast, and the herb for the service of man, that he may bring forth bread out of the earth. Thou appointest the darkness that there may be night, in which every wild beast of the forest goeth forth. The sea great and wide in spaces, wherein is the creeping thing without number, the wild beasts, the small with the great (Psalms 104:10-12, 14, 20, 25).

This, too, is said of the Lord, and these words describe the establishment of the church among the nations; therefore "wild beasts," "beasts," and "birds" signify such things as are with the man of the church.

[9] It is to be known that in many passages sometimes it is said "beast," and sometimes "wild beast," also that the term "wild beast" is not to be understood as it is commonly understood, for in the Hebrew "wild beast" [fera] is derived from a word that means life, therefore in some passages "animal" would be a better rendering than "wild beast," as can be seen from this, that the four animals that were seen as cherubim and that signify Divine Providence and protection in Ezekiel (chaps. 1, and 10) are called "animals" [ferae]; likewise the cherubim are meant by "the four animals about the throne" which are described by John in Revelation. Nevertheless, in the Word "beast" and "wild beast" are carefully distinguished, "beasts" signifying the affections of the natural man that belong to man's will, and "wild beasts" the affections of the natural man that belong to man's understanding. As in the Hebrew "wild beast" is derived from a word that means life, Eve the wife of Adam had her name from the same word. This is said that it may be known what "wild beast" and "beast" signify in the proper sense.

[10] What is signified by "Jehovah sendeth forth springs into the brooks, to run between the mountains, and give drink to every wild beast of the fields, the wild asses quench their thirst, and by them the bird of the heavens dwells," has been explained above n. 483. "Jehovah causeth the grass to spring forth for the beast, and the herb for the service of man, that he may bring forth bread out of the earth," signifies the instruction and nourishment of the natural and spiritual man by truths from the Word, that he may have thereby the good of love and charity; "grass" signifies the truth of the natural man, which is true knowledge (See above, n. 507; "beast" signifies affection for it which wishes to be instructed and spiritually nourished; "herb" signifies the truth of the spiritual man; "man" signifies intelligence therefrom and "bread" signifies the good of love and charity, which is nourished by truths. As "darkness" and "night" signify the lumen of the natural man, which compared to the light of the spiritual man is like night, "the wild beast of the forest" signifies the affection of knowledges [scientifica], "the sea great and wide in spaces" the natural itself, "the creeping thing without number" knowledge [scientifica] therein, and "the wild beasts great and small" the various affections, it is evident what is signified by "Thou appointest the darkness that there may be night, in which every wild beast of the forest goeth forth; the sea great and wide in its spaces, wherein is the creeping thing without number, wild beasts the small with the great."

[11] In the same:

They shall sow fields and plant vineyards, and make fruit of increase, and He shall bless them so that they may be multiplied exceedingly; and He shall not diminish their beast; yet are they diminished and bowed down because of the vehemence of wickedness and grief (Psalms 107:37-39).

This entire psalm treats of the Lord's coming and of redemption by Him; that they will then have truths, by which the church will be implanted in them, is signified by "They shall sow fields and plant vineyards;" that in consequence they will have the goods of the church, and thence truths will increase, is signified by "shall make fruit of increase," and by "Jehovah shall bless them so that they shall be multiplied exceedingly;" that then every good affection of the natural man will remain with them is signified by "He shall not diminish their beast;" that otherwise these affections would not be destroyed by evils is signified by "they are diminished and bowed down because of the vehemence of wickedness and grief."

[12] In the same:

Praise Jehovah, ye whales and all deeps, wild beast and every beast, creeping thing and every bird of wing (Psalms 148:7, 10).

In this psalm very many things in the world that have no life, but that shall praise Jehovah, are enumerated, as "fire," "hail," "snow," "vapor," "the wind of tempest," "mountains," "hills," "trees," "fruits," "cedars," as also here, "wild beasts," "beasts," "creeping things," and "birds," which nevertheless cannot praise Jehovah. Who cannot see that the enumeration of such things in the Divine Word would be wholly unmeaning unless they signified something with man that can praise, that is, worship Jehovah? From a knowledge of correspondences it is known that "whales" signify the knowledges of the natural man in general, "deeps" and "seas" the natural itself where the knowledges are, "wild beast" and "beasts," the affections of the natural man as well those which belong to his understanding as those of his will, "the creeping things" the sensual, which is the ultimate of the natural man, and "birds of wing" the thinking faculty therefrom.

[13] In the same:

Jehovah who prepareth rain for the earth, who maketh grass to spring forth upon the mountains, who giveth to the beast his food, to the sons of the raven which call (Psalms 147:8, 9).

These particulars too, signify the spiritual things belonging to heaven and the church. Why else should the Word (which is given solely to teach man the way to heaven, by teaching him the truths of faith and the goods of love), speak of Jehovah as "preparing rain for the earth, making grass to spring forth upon the mountains, giving to the beast his food, and to the sons of the raven which call upon Him?" These things, however, are worthy of the Divine Word, when by "rain" the influx of Divine truth is meant, by "mountains" the good of love, by "making grass to spring forth" the instruction of the natural man by the knowledges from the Word, by "beasts" the affections of the natural man, which desire to be thus nourished. "To give food" signifies nourishment; and since "the sons of the raven" signify natural men who are in an obscure lumen from fallacies respecting Divine truths, as were many of the nations, it is said "He giveth to the sons of the raven which call," for such can call upon Jehovah, but not the sons of a raven.

[14] In the same:

Every wild beast of the forest is Mine, the beasts upon a thousand mountains. I know every bird of the mountains, and the wild beast of My fields is with Me (Psalms 50:10, 11).

This is said of sacrifices, that the Lord does not delight in them, but in the confession of heart and calling upon Him; yet "the wild beast of the forest," "the beasts upon the mountains," and "the bird of the mountains," and "the wild beast of the fields," have a similar signification as above, namely, things pertaining to the man of the church.

[15] In the same:

Thy righteousness is like the mountains of God, Thy judgments are a great deep; O Jehovah, Thou preservest man and beast (Psalms 36:6).

"Man and beast" signify interior affection, which is spiritual, from which is intelligence, and exterior affection, which is natural, from which is knowledge [scientia] corresponding to intelligence.

[16] "Man and beast" have a like signification in the following passages.

In Jeremiah:

The God of Israel said, I have made the earth, the man and the beast that are upon the faces of the earth, by My great power (Jeremiah 27:5; 36:29).

In the same:

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

In the same:

Yet again in this place, concerning which ye say, It is devastated so that there is no man nor beast, and in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem that are devastated, so that there is no man, and no inhabitant, and no beast, there shall be heard the voice of joy and the voice of gladness (Jeremiah 33:10-12).

In the same:

The whole land shall be a desolation, so that there shall not be man or beast (Jeremiah 32:43).

In the same:

I will smite the inhabitants of this city, both man and beast; they shall die of a great pestilence (Jeremiah 21:6).

In the same:

A nation from the north cometh up against Babylon; this shall make her land a desolation, so that none shall dwell therein; from man even to beast they are dispersed, they have gone away (Jeremiah 50:3).

In the same:

My anger and My wrath is poured out upon this place, upon man and upon beast (Jeremiah 7:20).

In Ezekiel:

When the land shall sin against Me, I will break its staff of bread and I will send into it famine, and I will cut off from it man and beast (Ezekiel 14:13, 17, 19).

In the same:

I will stretch out My hand over Edom and will cut off from it man and beast (Ezekiel 25:13).

In the same:

I will destroy every beast of Egypt over many waters, so that the foot of man shall trouble them no more, nor shall the hoof of beast trouble them (Ezekiel 32:13).

In the same:

I will multiply upon you man and beast, that they may increase and be fruitful (Ezekiel 36:11).

In Zephaniah:

In consuming I will consume all things from upon the faces of the land. I will consume man and beast, I will consume the bird of the heavens and the fishes of the sea, and the stumbling-blocks with the wicked, and I will cut off man from the faces of the earth (Zephaniah 1:2, 3).

In Zechariah:

The angel who came to measure Jerusalem said, Run, speak, saying, Jerusalem shall inhabit the suburbs, by reason of the multitude of man and of the beast in the midst of it (Zechariah 2:3, 4).

Let your hands be strong, for the temple shall be built; for before those days there was no price for man nor any price for beast, for to him that went out and to him that came in there was no peace from the enemy (Zechariah 8:9, 10).

[17] In these passages "man and beast" ² signifies what is interior or spiritual, and "beast" what is exterior or natural; and therefore "man" signifies the spiritual affection of truth, from which is all intelligence, and "beast" the natural affection corresponding to the spiritual. What is exterior or natural is signified by "beast," because man, in respect to his external or natural man is nothing but a beast; for he enjoys like desires and also pleasures, appetites and senses, so that in these respects man is entirely similar to the beast; therefore the natural man may be called the animal man. But what is internal or spiritual is signified by "man," because it is in respect to his internal or spiritual that man is man; this enjoys the affections of good and truth such as are with the angels of heaven, also because by means of this with him man rules his natural or animal man, which is a beast.

[18] Because the spiritual man and the natural man are signified by "man and beast" in the history of creation (Genesis 1), it is related that the beasts and also man were created on the same day, namely, the sixth; and afterwards, that to man was given dominion over the beasts. Of the creation of the beasts and man on the same day, and of man's dominion over the beasts, we thus read in Genesis:

God said, Let the earth bring forth the living soul according to its kind, and what moveth itself, and the wild beast of the earth according to its kind; and it was so. And God made the wild beast of the earth according to its kind, and the beast according to its kind, and everything that creepeth upon the ground according to its kind. And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and they shall have dominion over the fishes of the sea, and over the bird of the heavens, and over the beast, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. And there was evening and there was morning, the third ³ day (Genesis 1:24-31).

In the spiritual sense of this chapter, by "the creation of heaven and earth" the new creation or regeneration of the man of the Most Ancient Church is described; for this reason "beast" here signifies the external or natural man, and "man" the internal spiritual, and "dominion over the beasts" here means the dominion of the spiritual man over the natural.

[19] That it was granted to the man of that church to know all the affections of the natural man, in order that he might have dominion over them, is signified by these words in Genesis:

Out of the ground Jehovah God formed every beast of the field, and every bird of the heavens, and brought unto the man, to see what he would call it; and whatsoever man called it, the living soul, that was its name; and the man called the names to every beast, and to the bird of the heavens, and to every wild beast of the field (Genesis 2:19, 20).

"To call the name" signifies in the spiritual sense to know the quality of a thing, or what it is, so here to know the qualities of all the affections, desires, pleasures, appetites, also the thoughts and inclinations of the natural man, and how they agree and correspond to the affections and perceptions of the spiritual man. For it was granted to the spiritual man from creation to see all things of the natural man, and at the same time to perceive its agreement or disagreement with the spiritual, in order that he might rule the natural and accept such things as agree and reject those that disagree, and thus might become spiritual even as to effects, which are wrought by means of the natural man. (But this may be seen more fully explained in Arcana Coelestia 142-146.)

[20] Because "man" in the Word signifies properly the internal or spiritual man, and "beast" the external or natural man, by command of God all beasts and birds were brought into the ark with Noah; of which it is thus written in Genesis:

Jehovah said to Noah, Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee seven and seven, male and female; and of the beast that is not clean two, male and female. And he took of the beast that was clean, and of the beast not clean, and of the bird, and of everything that creepeth upon the earth; two and two entered unto Noah into the ark, male and female (Genesis 7:1-9).

"Noah's flood" describes in the spiritual sense the destruction of the Most Ancient Church, and also the Last Judgment upon the men of that church; and by "Noah and his sons" in the same sense, the church that followed is meant and described, which is called the Ancient Church. From this it follows that the "beasts" brought into the ark with Noah mean the affections of the natural man, corresponding to spiritual affection, which the men of that church had (but these things may be seen explained in Arcana Coelestia).

[21] Since "man" signifies the internal spiritual man, and "beast" signifies the external or natural, and "Egypt" signifies the natural man separated from the spiritual, which has altogether perished and is no longer a man but a beast, so where the destruction of Egypt is treated of it is related that:

Jehovah made hail to rain with which fire was mingled, and smote everything that was in the fields, from man even to beast (Exodus 9:22-25).

(See respecting this also in Arcana Coelestia.) For the purpose of representing and thus signifying the same thing it is also written that:

Jehovah smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from man even to beast (Exodus 12:12, 29).

But on the other hand, the sons of Israel, by whom the church was represented, were commanded:

To sacrifice to Jehovah all the firstborn of man and of beast (Numbers 18:15).

Because such things were represented and thus signified by "man and beast," from a holy rite received in the Ancient Church:

The king of Nineveh proclaimed a fast, and commanded that neither man nor beast should taste or drink anything, and that man and beast should be covered with sackcloth (Jonah 3:7, 8).

[22] Because "beasts" signify the affections in both senses it was forbidden to make the figure of any beast; of which it is thus written in Moses:

Ye shall not make to you the figure of any beast that is on the earth, the figure of any winged bird that flieth under heaven, the figure of anything that creepeth on the ground, the figure of any fish that is in the waters under the earth (Deuteronomy 4:17, 18).

This was because the posterity of Jacob, who were called, because of the representation of the church with them, "the sons of Israel," were in externals without an internal, that is, were for the most part merely natural; if, therefore, they had made to themselves the figure of any beast or bird, which signified the affections and the like, they would have made idols for themselves, and would have worshiped them. This, too, was why the Egyptians, who had more knowledge of representatives than any other people, made for themselves figures of beasts, as of calves, serpents, and many other kinds; yet at first not with reference to worship, but on account of their signification; but their posterity, who from internal became external, and thus merely natural, did not look upon these as representative and significative, but as holy things of the church, and thus they offered to them idolatrous worship. It was for this reason that the posterity of Jacob, who were altogether external men, and thence in heart idolatrous, were forbidden to make to themselves any figure of these things.

[23] As for example: they worshiped calves in Egypt, and afterwards in the wilderness, because a "calf" signifies the first affections of the natural man, together with its good of innocence. The Gentiles here and there worshiped serpents because a "serpent" signifies the sensual, which is the ultimate of the natural man and its prudence, and so with the rest.

[24] Because "beasts" signified the various things of the natural man it was also sometimes commanded when cities or regions were given to the curse that the beasts also should be slaughtered, for the reason that "the beasts" represented the evil and profane things with the men who were given to the curse. Because all kinds of beasts signify the various things pertaining to the men of the church, laws were enacted respecting beasts, which ones might be eaten and which might not be eaten (Leviticus 11). Those that might be eaten signified goods, and those that might not be eaten signified evils; for the church at that time was a representative church, and therefore every particular prescribed for them was representative and significative, especially the beasts; of this we thus read in Moses:

Ye shall distinguish between the clean beast and the unclean, and between the unclean bird and the clean, that ye may not make your souls abominable by beast or by bird; and ye shall be holy unto Me (Leviticus 20:25, 26).

[25] From this it can now be seen why sacrifices of beasts of various kinds were permitted, as of lambs, sheep, kids, goats, bullocks, oxen, also of pigeons and turtledoves; namely, because they signified things spiritual, and things natural from a spiritual origin; as "lambs" innocence, "sheep" charity, "bullocks and oxen" the affections of the natural man corresponding to the affections of the spiritual man. It was on this account that the beasts for the sacrifices varied according to the reasons for which they were offered; this would not have been unless each particular sacrifice of beasts had signified something belonging to the church.

[26] As the man of the church at the present day can hardly be led to believe that "beasts" and "wild beasts" signify in the Word the affections of good and truth which belong to the man of the church, and this because it seems so strange that anything belonging to beasts should signify anything belonging to man, I will here cite more passages from the Word in the way of confirmation.

In Ezekiel:

Speak unto the king of Egypt and to his multitude, Whom art thou like in thy stature? Behold Asshur, a cedar in Lebanon, beautiful in branch and with shady foliage; his stature was higher than all the trees of the field, and his branches were multiplied because of many waters; in his branches all the birds of the heavens built their nests; and under his branches every wild beast of the field has brought forth, and in his shade have dwelt all great nations; he was beautiful in his greatness. But because thou art lifted up in height he should be cut down; upon his ruin every bird of the heavens shall dwell, and every wild beast of the field shall be upon his branches (Ezekiel 31:2, 3, 5-7, 10, 12, 13).

"The king of Egypt and his multitude" signify the natural man with the knowledges [scientifica] therein; "Asshur, the cedar in Lebanon," signifies the rational which is formed by knowledges [scientifica] on the one part and by the influx of spiritual truth on the other; "beautiful in branch and with shady foliage" signifies intelligence through rational truths by means of knowledges [scientifica].

[27] "His stature was higher than all the trees of the field" signifies elevation even to the interior rational which is from the spiritual; "branches multiplied because of many waters" signify abundance through spiritual truths which are from the cognitions of truth from the Word; "the fowl of the heavens that built their nests in his branches" signify spiritual thoughts in things rational, for the rational is the medium between the internal spiritual man and the external natural; "every wild beast of the field that brought forth under his branches" signifies the affections of knowledges [scientifica] rationally perceived.

[28] "The great nations" that dwelt in his shade signify the goods of the affections in the natural man; "beautiful in greatness" signifies intelligence; while "the bird of the heavens and the wild beast of the field that shall dwell upon his ruin and in his branches" signify the falsities of thoughts, and the evils of desires which one has because he is "lifted up in height," that is, has become proud from the love of self-intelligence. Thoughts of truth and affections for it are signified evidently by "birds of the heavens and the wild beasts of the field," for it is said that "great nations dwelt in his shade."

[29] In Daniel:

Behold a tree in the midst of the earth, and the height thereof was great; it reached even to heaven, and the sight thereof unto the end of the earth; the leaf thereof was fair, and the flower thereof much, and in it was food for all; the beast of the field had shadow under it, and the birds of heaven dwelt in its branches; and all flesh was nourished from it. A watcher and holy one came down from heaven, crying, Hew down the tree and cut off his branches, shake off his leaf, scatter his flower; let the beast flee from under him, and the birds from his branches; but leave the stump of his roots in the earth, even with a band of iron and brass, with the herbage of the field; and let him be wet with the dew of the heavens, and let his portion be with the beast in the grass of the earth; they shall change his heart from man's and the heart of a beast shall be given to him (Daniel 4:10-16).

This was the dream of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, and it describes the establishment of the celestial church and its increase even to its culmination, and afterwards its overthrow because of its domination even over the holy things of the church, and its claiming to itself a right over heaven.

[30] "The tree in the midst of the earth" signifies that church; its "height" signifies the extension of perception and thus of wisdom; "its sight unto the end of the earth" signifies its extension even to the ultimates of the church; "the leaf thereof was fair, and the flower thereof much," signifies the knowledges and affections of truth and good, and intelligence therefrom; "in it was food for all" signifies heavenly nourishment which is from good and from truths thence; "the beast of the field had shadow under it, and the birds of the heavens dwelt in its branches," signifies the affections of good and the consequent thoughts and perceptions of truth; and as these pertain to spiritual food it is said that "all flesh was nourished from it."

[31] But because of its domination, from the love of self, over the holy things of heaven and the church, which the Babylonians at length claimed control of, a description of its overthrow follows: "A watcher and holy one came down from heaven, crying, Hew down the tree and cut off his branches, shake off the leaf, scatter the flower; let the beast flee from under him and the birds from his branches;" for the love of self and the consequent elation of mind increases with such even to their claiming a right over the holy things of the church, yea, over heaven itself; and when this is done everything of the church perishes, even all perception and the knowledge of good and truth; for the internal of the mind where the spiritual resides is closed up, and the external where the natural resides has dominion, and thus man becomes sensual, until he differs but little from the beasts.

[32] The "stump of the roots which should be left in the earth" signifies the Word, only the letter of which is understood, and which is merely something known, held in the memory and going forth therefrom into speech; "bands of iron and brass" signify the interior truths and goods closed up and held bound in ultimates, "iron" meaning truth in ultimates, and "brass" good in ultimates, and these when separated from the interiors are falsities and evils. And as the man of the church then becomes almost like a beast in respect to the understanding and to the will, since the evils of the affections and the falsities of the thoughts have rule, it is said that "his portion shall be with the beast in the grass of the earth, and his heart shall be changed from man's, and the heart of a beast shall be given him." That this change and inversion took place on account of their claiming the right over the holy things of the church, and at length over heaven, is evident from verses 30-32 of this chapter, where are these words:

The king said, Is not this the great Babylon which I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power and for the glory of mine honor? While the word was in the king's mouth there fell a voice from the heavens, saying, The kingdom shall pass away from thee, and they shall drive thee from man, and thy dwelling shall be with the beast of the field; they shall make thee to eat the herb as oxen, until thou dost know that the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of man, and giveth it to whomsoever He will.

[33] That "Nebuchadnezzar," as king of Babylon, signifies in the beginning a celestial church and its increase even to the pinnacle of wisdom, is evident also from Daniel, where treating of the statue seen by Nebuchadnezzar in a dream it is said:

The God of the heavens hath given into thine hand the sons of man, the beast of the field, and the bird of the heavens, and hath made thee to rule over all; thou art the head of the statue which is of gold (Daniel 2:37, 38).

"The head of the statue, which was of gold," signifies the celestial church, which is the first of all. That church is signified by "the king of Babylon" at first, because the church that finally becomes Babylon or Babylonia begins with the worship of the Lord and from love to Him, and there then prevails with it a zeal for extending and perfecting the church by means of the holy goods and truths of heaven, but this from a motive as yet hidden, namely, a love of exercising dominion, which however breaks forth only by degrees. But more will be said about this when Babylon is treated of.

[34] In Hosea:

In that day will I make a covenant for them with the wild beast of the field and with the bird of the heavens and with the creeping thing of the earth, and I will break the bow and the sword and the war from the earth, and I will make them to lie down securely; and I will betroth thee to Me forever (Hosea 2:18, 19).

This is said of the establishment of a new church by the Lord, which is here treated of. Evidently Jehovah, that is, the Lord, will then make a covenant, not with the wild beast of the field, the bird of the heavens, and the creeping thing of the earth, but with the men in whom the church will be established. These things, therefore, signify such things as are with man, namely, the "wild beast of the field" the affection of the knowledges of truth, the "bird of the heavens" rational thought from what is spiritual, the "creeping thing of the earth" the knowledge [scientificum] of the natural man, in particular sensual knowledge. That He will then "break the bow and the sword from the earth" signifies that He will destroy the falsities that fight against the truths of doctrine; and that there will be no longer any contention between truths and falsities and goods and evils is signified by "I will betroth thee to Me forever."

[35] In Isaiah:

The wild beast of the field shall honor Me, the dragons and the daughters of the owl; because I will give waters in the wilderness and rivers in the desert, to give drink to My people, My chosen (Isaiah 43:20).

Evidently "the wild beast of the field," "the dragons," and "the daughters of the owl," do not mean here a wild beast of the field, dragons and owls, for these cannot honor Jehovah. That the men of the church are meant is clear from what follows, since it is said, "to give drink to My people, My chosen." "The wild beast of the field" signifies therefore the affections of the knowledges of truth, "dragons" natural ideas, and "daughters of the owl" sensual affections; for the sensual is affected by truths and sees them in the darkness as owls see objects at night.

[36] This being the signification, it is evident that the Gentiles with whom a new church was to be established are meant, for before they were reformed these were in such obscure affection and natural thought. "To give waters in the wilderness and rivers in the desert" signifies to imbue with truths and thence with intelligence those who before were in ignorance, "waters" meaning truths, "rivers" intelligence, and "wilderness and desert" ignorance; "to give drink to the people of Jehovah and to His chosen" signifies to instruct those who are in the truths of faith and in the good of charity; those who are in the truths of faith are called "people," and those who are in the good of charity are called "chosen. "

[37] In Joel:

Is not the food cut off before our eyes from the house of our God, gladness and joy? The beast groaneth, the droves of cattle are perplexed, because they have no pasture; also the droves of the flock are made desolate. The beast of the field panteth after thee, because the channels of waters are dried up, and fire hath devoured the habitations of the wilderness (Joel 1:16, 18, 20).

This describes the state of the church when there are no longer in it any truths of doctrine or good of life. "The food cut off from the house of God" signifies spiritual nourishment, which is from truths that are from good, "the house of God" signifying the church; "the beast groaneth, the droves of cattle are perplexed" signifies the lack of the affections of truth and thence of knowledges in the natural man, and grief on that account, "droves of cattle" signifying the things of the natural man in the whole complex.

[38] That there is "no pasture" signifies no instruction; "the droves of the flock are made desolate" signifies the lack of spiritual truth and good which are of faith and charity; "the beast of the field panteth after thee" signifies the grief of those who are in natural affection, and consequently in a longing for the knowledges of truth and good; "the channels of waters are dried up" signifies the truths of doctrine dissipated by natural love; "fire hath devoured the habitations of the wilderness" signifies that love and thence the destruction of the knowledges of truth, "the habitations of the wilderness" meaning the things of the understanding and the will in such a man, which would otherwise receive the truths and goods of the church.

[39] In the same:

Fear, ⁴ O earth, rejoice and be glad, for Jehovah hath done great things; fear not, ye beasts of My fields, for the habitations of the wilderness are made full of herbs, for the tree shall bear her fruit, the fig tree and the vine shall yield their strength. Sons of Zion, rejoice and be glad in Jehovah (Joel 2:21-23).

This is said of the establishment of the church by the Lord; and the "earth which will fear, but rejoice and be glad" signifies the church and its delight; its establishment by the Lord is signified by "Jehovah hath done great things;" therefore "the beasts of His fields" mean those who are in the affections of good and long for instruction from the Word, "beasts" meaning those who are in the affections of good belonging to the natural man, and "fields" the doctrinals from the Word.

[40] "The habitations of the wilderness are made full of herbs" signifies that there will be the knowledges of truth and good with those with whom there were none before; "the tree shall bear her fruit" signifies the bringing forth of the good of life through these knowledges, for a "tree" signifies the man of the church, and in particular a mind imbued with knowledges, and "fruit" signifies the good of life; "the fig tree and the vine shall yield their strength" signifies the bringing forth of the effect from natural good and spiritual good together. Because "beasts of the fields," "tree," "fig tree," and "vine," signify such things as are with the man of the church it is said, "Sons of Zion, rejoice and be glad in Jehovah," "sons of Zion" meaning those who are of the celestial church, while "to rejoice" is predicated of the delight of good; and "to be glad" of the pleasantness of truth.

[41] In Ezekiel:

In that day Gog shall come upon the land of Israel; and then shall be a great earthquake upon the land of Israel; and the fishes of the sea, and the bird of the heavens, and the wild beast of the field, and every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth, and every man who is upon the faces of the earth, shall tremble before Me (Ezekiel 38:18-20).

"Gog" signifies external holiness without internal holiness, thus those who are in such holiness; an "earthquake" signifies a change of the state of the church; "the fishes of the sea, and the bird of the heavens, the wild beast of the field, the creeping thing of the earth, and every man, shall tremble" signifies that all things of man, in respect to what belongs to the church with him, shall be changed; "the fishes of the sea" meaning the knowledges [scientifica], "the birds of the heavens" thoughts therefrom, "the wild beasts of the field" the affections therefrom, "the creeping thing of the earth" the thoughts and affections in the corporeal-sensual, and "man" all these from first to last. Why otherwise should these be said to tremble before Jehovah?

[42] In Zechariah:

There shall be in that day a great tumult, Judah shall fight against Jerusalem and so shall be the plague of the horse, of the mule, of the camel, and of the ass, and of every beast that shall be in those camps; afterwards everyone remaining shall go up to Jerusalem (Zechariah 14:13-15).

This describes the last state of the old church, and the beginning of the new. The last state of the old church is described by "a great tumult, when Judah shall fight against Jerusalem," which means the change at that time, and the fight of the love of evil against the truths of the doctrine of the church; "the plague of the horse, of the mule, of the camel, of the ass, and of every beast" signify such things as hurt and destroy the church and the spiritual life of the men of the church, "horses, mules, camels, and asses" signifying the things of their understanding and of their will, thus the things of their knowledges and affections. But what is signified in particular by "horse, mule, camel, and ass," has been told elsewhere; here it is stated merely that "beast" signifies the affection of the natural man, and "the plague of beast" the hurting and destroying of that affection.

[43] In Jeremiah:

How long shall the land mourn, and the herb of every field dry up? For the wickedness of them that rule ⁵ therein the beasts and the bird shall be consumed (Jeremiah 12:4).

The "land" means the church; "the herb of the field" signifies the truth of the church that has sprung up and that is springing up; "to mourn and to dry up" signifies to perish and to be dissipated by lusts; "the beasts and the bird that shall be consumed" signify the affections of good and the thoughts of truth therefrom. The result is that these will perish by reason of the evils in the church; therefore it is said, "for the wickedness of them that dwell in the land."

[44] In Isaiah:

The bird of the mountains and the beast of the earth shall be left together; ⁶ but the bird shall loathe it, and every beast of the earth shall despise it (Isaiah 18:6).

This is said of "the land shadowed with wings," by which the church is meant which, because of the obscurity it is in, catches at imaginary things for spiritual truths, and thus from ignorance comes into a denial of these truths. "Bird and beast" signify here the thoughts of truth and the affections of good, both rational and natural, which are said "to loathe and despise." Evidently it is not the bird and every beast that will loathe and despise, but the affections of good and the thoughts of truth, that is, those who are in these.

[45] In Hosea:

They commit robbery, bloods touch bloods, and everyone that dwelleth therein shall languish, even to the wild beast of the field and the bird of the heavens, yea, the fishes of the sea shall be gathered up (Hosea 4:2, 3).

Here again "the wild beast of the field," "the bird of the heavens," and "the fishes of the sea," have a similar signification as above.

[46] In Ezekiel:

Thou son of man, say to every bird of every wing, and to every wild beast of the field, Gather yourselves together and come, gather yourselves from every side to My sacrifice that I sacrifice for you, a great sacrifice upon the mountains of Israel, that ye may eat flesh and drink blood; ye shall eat the flesh of the mighty, and drink the blood of the princes of the earth, rams, lambs, and kids, ⁷ the bullocks, all of them fatlings of Bashan; ye shall eat fat to satiety, and drink blood to drunkenness, of My sacrifice which I sacrifice for you; and ye shall be satiated at My table with horse and chariot, with the mighty, and with every man of war; so will I give My glory among the nations (Ezekiel 39:17-21).

This is said of the calling together of the Gentiles to the church, and the reception by them of the truth of doctrine in the good of love, which is the good of life, and of their consequent intelligence in spiritual things. Therefore "the bird of every wing and every wild beast of the field" which shall be gathered from every side to the great sacrifice upon the mountains of Israel, mean all in whatever state they may be in respect to the perception of truth and the affection of good, "the bird of every wing" meaning all in whatever kind of perception of truth they may be, and "every wild beast of the field" all in whatever kind of affection of good they may be; "to gather together from every side" signifies those outside the church from every quarter.

[47] "The great sacrifice" signifies the worship of the Lord from faith and love, for that is what "sacrifices" in general represented; and "the mountains of Israel" signify the goods of spiritual love. "To eat flesh and drink blood" signifies to appropriate to oneself the good of love and the truth of that good; "to eat the flesh of the mighty and drink the blood of the princes of the earth" signifies such appropriation, "the mighty" (or oxen) signifying the affections of the natural man, and "the princes of the earth" the chief truths of the church; "rams, lambs, kids, ⁷ bullocks, fatlings of Bashan" signify all things of innocence, love, charity, and good, "the fatlings of Bashan" meaning the goods of the natural man from a spiritual origin.

[48] From this it is clear what is signified by "eating flesh to satiety, and drinking blood to drunkenness," namely, to be filled with every good of love and truth of faith; "to be satiated at the table of the Lord with horse and chariot, with the mighty, and with every man of war" signifies to be fully instructed from the Word, "horse" signifying the understanding of truth, "chariot" the doctrine of truth, "the mighty and the man of war" the truth of good fighting against the falsity of evil, and destroying it. Because this is said of the calling together of the Gentiles to the church of the Lord, it is added, "so will I give my glory among the nations," "glory" signifying the Divine truth in light.

[49] That such is the signification of "bird of every wing and beast of the field" can be seen from passages before explained, also from these words in Isaiah:

The saying of the Lord Jehovih, who gathereth the outcasts of Israel, I will yet gather them to his gathered ones; every wild beast of My fields, come ye to devour, every wild beast in the forest (Isaiah 56:8, 9).

"The outcasts of Israel," whom the Lord will gather, signify all in the church who are in truths from good separated from those therein who are in falsities from evil; these are meant also by "the wild beasts of the fields of the Lord Jehovih," "fields" signifying the church in reference to the implantation of the truth of doctrine; but the Gentiles that are without the church are signified by "the wild beast in the forest," the "forest" signifying the natural and sensual man, and "the wild beast" its knowledge [scientia] and obscure intelligence therefrom. This evidently is the signification of "the wild beast of the field" and "the wild beast in the forest," for it is said, "Come ye to devour, every wild beast of My fields and every wild beast in the forest," "to devour" signifying instruction and appropriation.

[50] As most things in the Word have also a contrary sense, so also have "beast" and "wild beast," in which sense "beasts" signify evil affections, which are the cupidities of adulterating and destroying the goods of the church, and "wild beasts" the cupidities of falsifying and thus destroying the truths of the church.

[51] In this sense "beasts" and "wild beasts" are mentioned in the following passages. In Ezekiel:

I will raise up over them one shepherd, who shall feed them, My servant David; he shall be to them for a shepherd; then I will make with them a covenant of peace, and will cause the evil wild beast to cease out of the land, that they may dwell trustingly in the wilderness and sleep in the forest; they shall be no more a prey to the nations, and the wild beast of the earth shall not devour them, but they shall dwell trustingly, and none shall make afraid (Ezekiel 34:23, 25, 28).

This is said of the Lord's coming and of the blessed state of heaven and of those of the church who will come into the new heaven. "The servant David, the shepherd whom Jehovah will raise up," means the Lord, who is called a "servant" from serving and ministering, that is, performing uses (See above, n. 409; "to make with them a covenant of peace" signifies conjunction with the Lord through the Divine things proceeding from Him, which are the goods of love and the truths of doctrine from the Word, thus through the Word; "to cause the evil wild beast to cease out of the land" signifies that evil cupidities and lusts will no more invade and destroy them.

[52] "To dwell trustingly in the wilderness and to sleep in the forests" signifies that they will be safe from infestation by cupidities and lusts, although they are in them and among them, "wilderness" and "forest" meaning where such things and such persons are (these having a similar meaning as in Isaiah 11:7-9). Because the man of the church is destroyed by the cupidities of evil and falsity it is said "they shall no more be a prey to the nations, and the evil wild beast shall not devour them," "nations" signifying the cupidities of evil, and "wild beasts of the earth" the cupidities of falsity.

[53] In Jeremiah:

Mine heritage is become as a lion in the forest, she hath given forth her voice against Me, therefore I have hated her; the bird Zabuah is Mine heritage, about it is the bird; gather together every wild beast of the field, come ye to devour; many shepherds have destroyed My vineyard (Jeremiah 12:8-10).

This is said of the vastation of the church by the falsities of evil. "Heritage" signifies the church; "the lion out of the forest which hath given forth his voice against God" signifies the falsity of evil in the whole complex; "the bird Zabuah" signifies reasonings from falsities; "the wild beast of the field which shall be gathered to devour" signifies the cupidities of destroying the truths of the church by falsities; and because the church that is so destroyed is meant it is said, "many shepherds have destroyed My vineyard," "vineyard" signifying the spiritual church, or the church in reference to the affection of truth; and as a "vineyard" signifies the church it follows that "a wild beast of the field" signifies the cupidity of falsifying and thus destroying the truths of the church.

[54] In Isaiah:

No lion shall be there, the ravenous of the wild beast shall not go up thereon, it shall not be found there (Isaiah 35:9).

This treats of the Lord's coming and of His kingdom in the heavens and on the earths; and the "lion" and "the ravenous of the wild beasts" have a similar signification as above. It must be clear to everyone that "wild beast" here does not mean a wild beast.

[55] In Hosea:

I will encounter them as a bear that is bereaved, and I will rend the caul of their heart, and I will devour them like a huge lion; the wild beast of the field shall tear them (Hosea 13:8).

Here again, "lion" and "the wild beast of the field" have a similar signification as above.

[56] In Zephaniah:

Jehovah will stretch out His hand over the north and will destroy Assyria, and will make Nineveh a waste, a dry place like the wilderness; and the droves shall lie down in the midst of her, every wild beast of the nation; both the pelican and the bittern shall lodge nightly in her chapiters; a voice shall sing in the window, a drought shall be in the threshold, because the cedar thereof shall be made bare; such is the rejoicing city that dwelleth securely, saying in her heart, I and none other besides me. How is she become a waste, a place for the wild beast to lie down in; everyone that passeth over her hisseth and moveth his hand (Zephaniah 2:13-15).

This describes the vastation of the church by the falsities of doctrine which are from self-intelligence. The "north over which Jehovah will stretch out His hand" signifies the church that is in falsities; "Assyria which Jehovah will destroy" signifies the reasonings from falsities; "Nineveh which He shall make a waste, a dry place like the wilderness" signifies the falsities of doctrine; "droves," "the wild beast of the nation," the "pelican," and the "bittern," signify the affections of falsities, and falsities themselves interior and exterior.

[57] The "chapiters in which these shall rest" signify the knowledges of truth from the Word falsified; "the voice in the window" signifies the proclamation of falsity; "the drought in the threshold" signifies the total desolation of truth; the "cedar which is made bare" signifies the rational destroyed; "the rejoicing city dwelling securely" signifies the doctrine of falsity, with which they are delighted and in which they rest; "saying in her heart, I and none other besides me" signifies the pride of self-intelligence; "the place for the wild beast to lie down in" signifies the state of the church vastated in respect to truths; "everyone that passeth over her hisseth and moveth his hand" signifies contempt for such and rejection of them by those who are in truths and goods of doctrine.

[58] In Moses:

I will give peace in the land, so that ye may lie down securely and none make afraid, and I will cause the evil wild beast to cease out of the land, and the sword shall not pass through your land (Leviticus 26:6).

"Peace in the land, so that they may lie down securely and none make afraid" signifies protection by trust in the Lord from the breaking in of falsity into the church; "to cause the evil wild beast to cease out of the land" signifies freedom from the affection and cupidity of falsity; and "the sword shall not pass through the land" signifies that falsity shall no longer destroy truth.

[59] In the same:

I will send the hornet before thee, and it shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, the Hittite before thee; I will not drive him out from before thee in one year, lest the land be a solitude, and the wild beast of the field be multiplied upon thee; by little and little will I drive him out from before thee, until thou be fruitful and inherit the land (Exodus 23:28-30.)

"I will send the hornet before thee" signifies the dread of those who are in falsities from evil; "and it shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite" signifies the flight of falsities that are from evils; "I will not drive him out from before thee in one year" signifies a hasty flight or removal of these; "lest the land be desolate" signifies lest there be a lack of spiritual life or but little of it; "and the wild beast of the field be multiplied upon thee" signifies a flowing in of falsities from the delights of the love of self and of the world; "by little and little will I drive him out from before thee" signifies removal by degrees according to order; "until thou be fruitful" signifies according to the increase of good; "and inherit the land" signifies when one is in good and is regenerated. (But these things may be seen further explained in Arcana Coelestia 9331-9338.)

[60] There is a like signification in these words in Moses:

Jehovah God will drive out these nations from before thee by little and little; thou canst not destroy them at once, lest the wild beast of the field be multiplied against thee (Deuteronomy 7:22).

The "nations" driven out and to be driven out of the land of Canaan by the sons of Israel signify evils and falsities of every kind, "the land of Canaan" signifying the church, and "the sons of Israel" the men of the church; therefore "the wild beast of the field" which would be multiplied against them signify the cupidities of falsity from evil; for a man who is reformed and regenerated to the extent that the church may be in him is reformed and regenerated by little and little; for he is conceived anew, is born, and is educated, and this is done so far as the evils and their falsities that are in him from birth and hereditarily are removed, which is not effected in a moment, but through a considerable course of life. This makes clear what is signified in the spiritual sense by "the nations shall not be driven out in one year, but by little and little, lest the wild beast of the field be multiplied against thee;" for if evils and the falsities thence were removed all at once man would have scarcely any life, since the life into which he is born is a life of evil and consequent falsity from cupidities, which are removed only so far as goods and truths enter, for by these they are removed.

[61] Because "wild beast" signifies ⁸ in the spiritual sense the cupidities of falsity from evil, and "birds" signify thoughts and reasonings from them, and because through these the man of the church spiritually perishes, so here and there in the Word, where the vastation of the church is treated of, it is said that "they were given to the wild beasts and the birds to be devoured," as in the following passages. In David:

The boar in the forest treadeth under foot the vine, and the wild beast of the fields doth feed on it (Psalms 80:13).

In Hosea:

I will lay waste her vine and her fig tree, and I will make them a forest, and the wild beast of the field shall devour them (Hosea 2:12).

In Ezekiel:

I will send upon you famine and the evil wild beast, and they shall make thee bereaved (Ezekiel 5:17).

This is said of Jerusalem, by which the church is meant. In the same:

I will give him to the wild beast to be devoured (Ezekiel 33:27).

In the same:

The sheep were scattered, without a shepherd, and were for food for every wild beast of the field (Ezekiel 34:5, 8).

In the same:

I have given thee for food to the wild beast of the land and to the bird of the heavens (Ezekiel 29:5).

In the same:

I will cast thee forth upon the faces of the field, and I will cause every bird of the heavens to dwell upon thee, and with thee I will satisfy the wild beast of all the earth (Ezekiel 32:4).

In Jeremiah:

Their carcass shall be for food to the bird of the heavens and to the beast of the earth (Jeremiah 16:4; 19:7; 34:20).

In Ezekiel:

I have given thee for food to the swift bird of every wing, and to the wild beast of the field (Ezekiel 39:4).

In David:

The dead body of Thy servant have they given to the bird of the heavens, the flesh of Thy saint to the wild beast of the earth (Psalms 79:2).

In Jeremiah:

I will visit upon them with four kinds, with the sword to kill, and with dogs to drag about, and with birds of the heavens and with the beasts of the earth to devour and to destroy (Jeremiah 15:3).

[62] In these passages, "wild beasts and birds" signify falsities from the cupidity of evil and from reasoning. And as the "nations" in the land of Canaan signify the evils and falsities of religion and of worship, the sons of Jacob did not bury the dead bodies of the nations which they slew in war, but left them to be devoured by birds and wild beasts; but this was not by Divine command, but from the inborn cruelty of that people, thus by permission, in order that such things might be represented.

[63] In David:

The enemy hath reproached Jehovah, and a foolish people hath contemned Thy name. Give not the soul of Thy turtledove unto the beast; forget not the life of Thine afflicted ones perpetually (Psalms 74:18, 19).

The "enemy" who reproached Jehovah signifies hell and evil therefrom; the "foolish people" who contemned His name signify the falsities which are opposed to the truths of doctrine; those who are in truths are called a "people," and in the contrary sense those who are in falsities, and these are a "foolish people;" the "name of Jehovah" signifies every truth of doctrine and of the church; "give not the soul of Thy turtledove to the beast" signifies not to give spiritual good to those who are in the cupidities of evil; "the life of Thine afflicted ones" signifies spiritual life oppressed by evils and falsities.

[64] In Habakkuk:

The violence of Lebanon hath covered thee, and the devastation of the beasts shall dismay them, because of the blood of men and the violence of the land, of the city, and of all that dwell therein (Habakkuk 2:17).

The "violence of Lebanon" signifies the violence done to the truths perceived by the rational man from the Word, for "Lebanon" signifies the church in respect to the perception of truth from the rational man; "the devastation of the beasts" which shall dismay them signifies the destruction of truths by the cupidities of evil; "bloods" signify the violence offered to the truths of the Word by evils; and "violence of the land, of the city, and of all that dwell therein" signifies violence done to the truths and goods of the church and to its doctrine from the Word by falsities.

[65] In Moses:

The tooth of beasts I will send upon them, with the poison of the creeping things of the earth (Deuteronomy 32:24).

"The tooth of beasts" signifies the sensual in respect to the cupidities of evil, for "tooth" corresponds to the ultimate of man's life, which is the sensual; "the poison of the creeping things of the earth" signifies the falsities therefrom, which cunningly pervert truths by means of the fallacies of the sensual man.

[66] In Ezekiel:

When I went in and I saw an abomination, and behold every form of creeping thing and of beast, and all the idols of the house of Israel painted upon the wall round about (Ezekiel 8:10).

These and many other things that were shown to the prophet signify the direful cupidities and falsities in which the Israelites were, because they were in externals and not at all in internals; and those who were such turned all representatives into things idolatrous; this was the source of their idolatries and also of the idolatries of many other nations; and then the "beasts and creeping things," images of which they made for themselves because these signified the affections of good and of prudence, became the representatives of the direful cupidities of evil and falsity. This is what takes place when the natural man separated from the spiritual looks upon things holy; this is why these are called the "idols of the house of Israel." "The wall round about" upon which they were seen painted signifies the interiors everywhere in the natural man, for the "roof" signifies the inmost, the "floor" or "pavement" the outmost, the "walls" the interiors, and the "house" the man himself in respect to the things of his mind. The natural man is interior and exterior, and the interior natural is where the filthy things of man reside and these the exterior does not divulge but puts on the semblance of things good, just, and sincere.

[67] As "wild beasts" and "beasts" signify the goods of the understanding and the goods of the will which are of the affections, and as the ancients who knew correspondences made representative and significative figures of these, which at first they did not worship, but their posterity, who from internal became merely external, worshiped them as divine in themselves, so wild beasts and beasts became idols. This is evident in Isaiah:

Bel bowed down, Nebo stooped, their idols are to the wild beast and to the beast (Isaiah 46:1).

In Isaiah there is a prophecy respecting:

The beasts of the south (Isaiah 30:6, et seq.);

which signify the adulterations of good and the falsifications of truth, from which arise evils and falsities of every kind with those of the church who are merely in externals; they are called "the beasts of the south" because they are with those who have the Word, from which they are able to be in the light of truth from the Word, and this is the "south."

[68] In Daniel:

He saw in vision, when it was night, four beasts coming up out of the sea; the first was like a lion but had eagle's wings, the second like a bear, the third like a leopard which had four wings, and the fourth was dreadful and terrible (Daniel 7:2-7).

"The beast out of the sea" here signifies the love of dominion, which the holy things of the Word and the church are made to serve as means; and "the four beasts" signify the gradual increase of the love of dominion, therefore the last beast is called "dreadful and terrible." (But this may be seen explained in part above, n. 316, 556.)

[69] Nearly the like things are signified in Revelation by:

The beast coming up out of the sea (Revelation 13:1-10);

The beast coming up out of the earth (Revelation 13:11-18);

The scarlet beast (Revelation 17:3);

The beast out of the abyss (Revelation 17:8).

(Respecting these beasts more is said in Revelation 19:19, 20, and Revelation 20:10.)

But what cupidities of evil and falsity each beast signifies will be seen below, where these beasts are treated of.

[70] From this it will now appear what is meant by these words in Mark:

The spirit urging Jesus caused Him to go into the wilderness, and He was in the wilderness forty days; and He was with the beasts, and angels ministered unto Him (Mark 1:12, 13).

The Lord's being in the wilderness forty days represented the duration of all those most direful temptations which He, above all others in the whole world, endured and withstood; for "forty days" signify the entire period and duration of temptations, thus not that He was tempted at that time only, but from childhood even to the end of His life in the world; His last temptation was in Gethsemane. For by temptations He subjugated all the hells and also glorified His Human (but respecting the Lord's temptations seeThe Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 302). Because temptations arise through evil spirits and genii who are from hell, thus through the hells, from which evils and falsities and their cupidities and lusts arise, so the "beasts" here, with which the Lord was, do not mean beasts, but the hells and the evils that rise out of them; and the "angels" who ministered unto Him do not mean angels, but Divine truths, through which from His own power He overcame and subjugated the hells. (That "angels" signify in the Word Divine truth, see above, n. 130, 200, 302, 593)

脚注: