"And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to Myself. (John 12:32)

A promise from the Lord - He can and will lift us up. He will take our hands and draw us out of the frustrations and pains of selfish life. He will be with us and raise us up into joy and happiness beyond our belief.

That is, of course, as we let Him. For we have genuine freedom. We can forget about Him, relegating formal religion to the nooks and crannies of our life, becoming swamped with the incessant demands of this natural world. But we can also make room for Him, allowing Him to draw us towards Him.

For the Lord's love for us is an infinite constant. And His inmost desire is to have us return His love - to have us become images and likenesses of Himself, to become one with Him. Everything He does, all His providential leading, has this as its purpose - to make us eternally happy with Him. As the Writings note: "He wills to save everyone and by His mighty power to draw all towards heaven, that is, towards Himself" (AC 1038). "And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to Myself."

His love has an inherent power of attraction. He does not sit back passively, watching our silly antics, wishing us well but hesitating to intervene. His existence is intervention. Not openly seen, He is a constant force attracting us to what is good. So we are taught: "There is actually a sphere proceeding continually from the Lord and filling the entire spiritual and natural worlds which raises all towards heaven. It is like a strong current in the ocean which unseen draws a vessel. All who believe in the Lord and live according to His precepts enter that sphere or current and are elevated" (True Christian Religion 652:3).

His providence - an expression of His love - flows out to all and draws all to Himself. Silently, surely, His current moves us along. This is the underlying reality. Although ignored, His presence is never avoided. He lifts up our thoughts and affections. Raising whatever of worth we have, we are drawn to His throne. The doctrines declare that "the life which is from the Lord has a power of attracting, because it is from love, since it wills to be conjoined, so as to be a one. When therefore a person is in good, and from good in truth, he is drawn by the Lord, and is conjoined with Him" (Arcana Coelestia 8604:3).

The Lord attracts all to Himself because His love yearns for the closeness, the return, of all good, all truth. Everything of love we have comes from Him. It is His gift to us, for us to enjoy and share. All our happiness comes from this Source. And His love becomes perpetual and increasing in us when it circles back - building upon itself.

How do we feel when we do a favor for someone, and they neither thank us nor seem to appreciate what we have done? Do we help again? Probably not. (Or at least with a little bit more self compulsion!). Our helping hand is drawn back if it does not elicit a good response. Love requires love. It is drawn to it. It is when we help others and they become happy, sharing their joy with us and others, that we are encouraged to continue.

Within all good is an attractive power. For all good, all love, is one. When we receive it His current is a powerful force that lifts us up to the Source of all good, all love. It is why the Lord said He would draw all people to Him. Whatever of love we have raises us to Him, joining us to His life, His way.

A vivid example of this was provided to Emmanuel Swedenborg, revelator for the New Church, when he was allowed to experience the process of resuscitation - being raised from the dead. For perhaps at no other time will we sense the direct intervention and caring of the Lord as when we put off our natural bodies. Swedenborg noted that "especially was I permitted to see and feel that there was an attraction and as it were a drawing forth of the interiors of my mind, thus of my spirit, from the body; and I was told that this is from the Lord, and that the resurrection is thus effected" (Heaven and Hell 449e). The process of awakening in the spiritual world is the actual elevation of our spirits. We are drawn out of our bodies, raised up into eternal life. His love attracts us to Him. "And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to Myself."

The attractive power of good can also be seen in our selection of friends and spouse. Why do we form friendships? Certainly there must be common interests which enable friendship to grow. But why it is we can have much in common with some people we find distasteful, and appear to have little in common with others who we feel close to? In the same vein, why is it that we can feel friendly to many of the opposite sex, but love and want to marry only one special person? Why that particular person? There is no way to predict who will be a friend or who we will marry. For what creates both deep friendship and an eternal marriage is the attraction of love. Friends and spouse are selected by similar loves drawing them together like the current of the ocean. We are drawn to find friends and a spouse by spiritual qualities resonating within each other. This is why our close friends seem to be one with us, and to always have been there. It is also why there can be proposal and consent to an everlasting relationship. It is as if one's own loves have found their home, their completion. It is love attracting good together. It is the Lord lifting up all good, all love, to Himself.

This power of attraction that good has is seen in innumerable areas. The Arcana Coelestia states: "what is good and true, just and fair, and also what is honest, have a strong hidden power of attracting minds" (Arcana Coelestia 6655e). Are we not drawn to those who seem to be honest and fair? Are we not repelled by those who appear to be dishonest? The issue of fairness is active from a very early age. Children know what fairness is, and are most upset when they sense injustice or inequality. Even while the varied population of this country disagree about many things, all want the government to be fair and honest. Without fairness, honesty, there can be no trust, no confidence. We are attracted to these things because they are expressions of spiritual good. It is that good which draws us near, encouraging us to come into the sphere of natural justice, fairness, and honesty.

And, perversely, were it not for this power of attraction of good, evil would never be able to succeed (see Arcana Coelestia 5464:2). This sounds strange, contradictory, but it is not. For who would willingly choose evil if he could see the hell of it? Who would become selfish if he could see the result of a devil cut off from others, fearing the plots of fellow devils yet confident that he is more sly than they? Or who would be overly concerned with money if he could see the hells where their only delight is in touching coins, counting bills? If the end result of any evil were openly seen, no one would ever sin, or let hell grow up within.

So why are we drawn to evil? Because it cloaks itself in the appearance of good, and we are drawn to that good. We know the Lord wants us to feel good, so what feels good must be good, right? Revenge is sweet - hellish, but sweet. The Lord wants our natural surroundings to reflect our inner states (as actually occurs in the other world), so we can justify acquiring unlimited amounts of luxuries without thought for others or the Lord. Selfishness can seem good because we are meant to care for ourselves. The positive value of caring for ourselves can be used to justify all manner of self-centeredness.

Evil in itself is horrible and disgusting. We are not drawn to it. But when it puts on the appearance of good, and excuses itself with some half truths, our desire for delight can carry us along, if we allow it.

But that is not the purpose of good, and evil cannot long hide behind it. We will be forced to see some of the hell in evil and make conscious choices. For the attraction of good uplifts us. Hell drags us down. When we sense a conflict we have an opportunity to discover if the attraction is for genuine good or not.

For we do not always find the best choices or allow ourselves to be elevated. While the current is strong, we can grab on to overhanging branches, or paddle furiously against it. The Lord recognizes that we can only take so much at a time. His love is infinite, "but as angels and people on earth are finite they can follow the current of the attraction only according to their measure, although the force of the attraction persists to eternity" (True Christian Religion 350). We alternate between the highs and lows (see Arcana Coelestia 6315, 2119e). When we must concentrate on earthly life, we do not feel especially uplifted. When we are selfish, we are being dragged down. But the Lord never stops reaching out to us so that there might be times when we are raised above selfishness and worldliness.

Whenever we are on the path of regeneration, we are periodically gifted with glorious moments when we feel the Lord's presence and the attraction of His love. Perhaps it's in saying and reflecting upon the Lord's prayer, or holding a tender infant, or singing a favorite tune. Wherever it may be, we sense the Divine and know we are drawn to it.

But it may also be the case that we do not often feel His attraction in this life. We can lead a fundamentally good life, shunning evils as they appear, trying not to get into any trouble, and still not see and feel any special elevation to heaven. The Heavenly Doctrines note that "so long as a person lives in the world he does not know that he is raised up above his proprium, because he does not feel it. And yet there is an elevation or as it were an attraction of the person's interior understanding and interior will towards the Lord, and thus a turning of the person's face as to his spirit towards the Lord. After death this is made clear to a good person, for then there is a constant turning of his face to the Lord, and as it were an attraction to Him as to a common center" (Apocalypse Explained 646:3).

This is what the attraction of good means - placing the Lord in the center of our lives. Perhaps not openly speaking of Him in every sentence, but being certain of His inner presence, and willing Him to grasp our hands and ever lead us to a higher place. For as we acquire a love of what is good we are attracted to Him, and drawn up to His heaven. "And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to Myself."

(参照: True Christian Religion 652)

357. That a bow signifies doctrine fighting, or doctrine from which evils and falsities are fought against, and that arrows, javelins, and darts signify the truths of doctrine which fight, is evident from the following passages. In Zechariah:

"I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem, and the bow of war shall be cut off. On the contrary, he shall speak peace to the nations. Return to the stronghold, ye prisoners of hope, and I will bend Judah to me, and with the bow I will fill Ephraim, and I will stir up thy sons, O Zion, for Jehovah shall appear over them, and his dart shall go forth as the lightning; and the Lord Jehovih shall blow with the trumpet, and he shall go in the whirlwinds of the south" (9:10, 12-14).

The vastation of the Jewish church is here treated of, and the establishment of the church among the gentiles. The vastation of the Jewish church is described by, I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem, and the bow of war shall be cut off; by which is signified that truth in doctrine would be no more, nor the understanding of truth, and thence no combat or resistance against falsity. By the chariot is signified the doctrine of truth; by the horse, the understanding thereof; by the bow of war, combat from doctrine against falsity. It is said the bow of war, because doctrine fighting is meant. By Ephraim is signified the church as to the understanding of truth, and by Jerusalem [the same] as to doctrine. And the establishment of the church among the nations, is described by these words, "On the contrary, he shall speak peace to the nations. Return to the stronghold, ye prisoners of hope; and I will bend Judah to me, and with the bow I will fill Ephraim, and I will stir up thy sons, O Zion." By which is signified, that the church shall be established among those who are in the good of love to the Lord, and in truths thence. By peace is signified that good; by Judah those who are in that good; and by Ephraim those who are in the understanding of truth thence; therefore it is said concerning Ephraim, "with the bow he will fill him," that is, with the doctrine of truth. Their enlightenment in truths is described by these words, "His dart shall go forth as the lightning; and the Lord Jehovih shall blow with the trumpet, and he shall go in the whirlwinds of the south." The dart which shall go forth as lightning, signifies truth enlightened, thus truth from the good of love; He shall blow with the trumpet signifies the plain perception of good; and the whirlwinds of the south signify the plain understanding of truth, the south denoting the light of truth; the subject here treated of is the Lord, thus that those things are from the Lord.

[2] In Moses:

"The son of a fruitful one is Joseph, the son of a fruitful one near a fountain; the daughters, as he walketh upon the wall, shall embitter him, and shall shoot at him, the archers shall hate him; and he shall sit in the firmness of his bow, and the arms of his hands shall be strengthened by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob; thence is he the shepherd, the stone of Israel" (Genesis 49:22-24).

By Joseph, in the highest sense, is signified the Lord as to the spiritual kingdom. There are two kingdoms of heaven; one is called the celestial kingdom, and the other the spiritual kingdom; the celestial kingdom is described in the prophetic declaration concerning Judah, and the spiritual kingdom in this concerning Joseph. Those who are in the Lord's celestial kingdom are in the good of love to Him, which is called celestial good; and those who are in the Lord's spiritual kingdom are in the good of love towards the neighbour, and thence in truths; and because all truths proceed from the Lord through the spiritual kingdom, it is thence that Joseph is called the son of a fruitful one, the son of a fruitful one near a fountain. By a fruitful one is signified spiritual good, which is the good of charity; by son is signified truth from that good; and by a fountain is signified the Word; combat against evils and falsities is described by "the daughters shall embitter him, and shoot at him, and the archers shall hate him," daughters signify those who are in evils, and who by falsities are desirous of destroying goods. Those who assault by evils are signified by, they shall shoot, and those who [assault] by falsities of evil by the archers who shall hate him. The Lord's victory over them is described by these words: "And he shall sit in the firmness of his bow, and the arms of his hands shall be strengthened by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob, thence is he the shepherd, the stone of Israel." By sitting in the firmness of the bow is signified in the doctrine of genuine truth, and by the arms of his hands shall be strengthened by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob, is signified the power [given] to them from the Lord; the arms of the hands denoting power, and the Mighty One of Jacob the Lord, who also is called the shepherd, the stone of Israel, from the doctrine of charity and of the faith thence which is from Him. That Joseph, in the highest sense, signifies the Lord as to the Divine Spiritual, and, in the internal sense, His spiritual kingdom, may be seen, n. 3969, 3971, 4669, 6417; and what [he signifies] besides, n. 4286, 4592, 4963, 5086, 5087, 5106, 5249, 5307, 5869, 5877, 6224, 6526).

[3] In the second book of Samuel:

"David lamented over Saul and over Jonathan his son; and wrote, For teaching the sons of Judah the bow" (1:17, 18).

In that lamentation the fighting of truth from good against falsity from evil is treated of; for by Saul as a king is there signified truth from good, for such truth is meant by a king in the Word (see above, n. 31); and by Jonathan, as the son of a king, is signified the truth of doctrine; therefore he wrote the lamentation, For teaching the sons of Judah the bow, by which is signified to teach them the doctrine of truth which is from good. The fighting of that truth against falsities and evils is described in that lamentation by these words:

"Without the blood of the slain, without the fat of the mighty, the bow of Jonathan returned not back, and the sword of Saul returned not empty" (verse 22).

The blood of the slain signifies falsities conquered and dispersed; similarly the fat of the mighty signifies evils. That these are conquered and dispersed by the doctrine of truth which is from good, is signified by, "The bow of Jonathan returned not back, and the sword of Saul returned not empty," the bow of Jonathan denoting doctrine, and the sword of Saul denoting truth from good.

[4] In David:

"God teacheth my hands war, and placeth a bow of brass in mine arms" (Psalm 18:34).

By war here is signified war in the spiritual sense, which is that against evils and falsities; this war God teaches; and by the bow of brass is signified the doctrine of charity, God places this in the arms, that is, that it may prevail.

[5] In Isaiah:

"Who raised up one from the east, whom in justice he called to his train, gave the nations before him, and made him rule over kings? He gave them as the dust to his sword, and as driven stubble to his bow" (41:2).

These things are said concerning the Lord, and concerning His dominion over evils and falsities. By the nations which He gave before him are signified evils; and by the kings over whom he made Him to rule, are signified falsities. That he disperses the latter and the former as nothing by means of His Divine truth, and the doctrine thence, is signified by, "He gave them as dust to his sword, and as driven stubble to his bow," his sword denoting Divine truth, and his bow denoting doctrine. That evils and falsities are dispersed as nothing, is signified by, "As the dust, and as driven stubble"; it is said that evils and falsities are so dispersed, and it is meant that those who are in evils and thence in falsities are so [dealt with] in the other life.

[6] In Zechariah:

"Jehovah shall visit his flock, the house of Judah, and shall place them as the horse of his glory in the battle. Out of him [shall come forth] the corner, out of him the nail, out of him the bow of war" (10:3, 4).

This may be seen explained in the article immediately preceding, where the signification of the horse is treated of"; by the bow of war is signified the truth fighting from doctrine.

[7] In Habakkuk:

"Was Jehovah displeased with the rivers? was thine anger against the rivers? was thy wrath against the sea, that thou ridest upon thy horses, thy chariots salvation? With bareness shall thy bow be made bare" (3:8, 9).

This was also explained in the preceding article; by, "Thy bow shall be made bare," is signified that the doctrine of truth shall be opened.

[8] In Isaiah:

"Before the swords shall they wander, before the drawn sword, and before the bended bow; and for the grievousness of the war all the glory of Kedar shall be consumed, and the remains of the number of the bow of the strong sons of Kedar shall be few" (21:15-17).

The subject here treated of, in the spiritual sense, is that the knowledges of good would perish, and that few would remain; by Kedar or Arabia are signified those who are in the knowledges of good, and abstractedly those knowledges themselves. That the knowledges of truth would perish by falsities and by the doctrine of falsity, is signified by, "Before the swords shall they wander, before the drawn sword, and before the bended bow." The sword denotes falsity combating and destroying, and the bow denotes the doctrine of falsity. That the knowledges of good would perish, is signified by these words, "for the grievousness of the war all the glory of Kedar shall be consumed," the grievousness of war denoting the state of assault, and all the glory of Kedar shall be consumed, denoting vastation. And that few knowledges of good would remain, is described by the remains of the number of the bow of the strong sons of Kedar shall be few. The bow of the mighty, denoting the doctrine of truth from the knowledges which prevail against falsities.

[9] In the same:

"He hath made my mouth like a sharp sword; he hath made me a polished dart; in his quiver hath he hid me" (49:2).

The Lord is treated of here also; and by the sharp sword is signified truth dispersing falsity; by the polished dart truth dispersing evil; and by the quiver the Word. Hence it is manifest what is signified by, "He hath made my mouth as a sharp sword, and he hath made me a polished dart, and in his quiver hath he hid me," namely, that in Him and from Him is Divine truth, by which falsities and evils are dispersed, and that in Him and from Him is the Word, where and whence those truths are.

[10] In David:

"Lo, sons are the heritage of Jehovah; the fruit of the womb is his reward. As darts in the hand of a mighty man, so are the sons of youth. Blessed is the man that hath his quiver full of them; they shall not be ashamed, when they speak with the enemies in the gate" (Psalms 127:3-5).

By the sons who are the heritage of Jehovah, are signified truths, whence is intelligence; by the fruit of the womb which is His reward, are signified goods, whence is happiness; by the sons of youth which are as darts in the hand of a mighty man, are signified the truths of the good of innocence; because nothing evil or false can resist those truths, therefore, it is said "they are as darts in the hand of a mighty man." The good of innocence is the good of love to the Lord; because those truths have such power, it is therefore said, "Blessed is the man that hath his quiver full of them"; by quiver here is signified the same as by bow, namely, doctrine from the Word. "They shall not be ashamed, when they speak with the enemies in the gate," signifies, that they shall be in no fear of evils from the hells; enemies denoting evils, and the gate denoting hell (as may be seen in the work concerning Heaven and Hell 428, 429, 583, 584, 585).

[11] In the same:

"The sons of Ephraim, who were armed, shooters of the bow, turned back in the day of battle. They kept not the covenant of God" (Psalms 78:9, 10).

By Ephraim here, as above, is signified the understanding of truth, and by his sons the truths themselves; therefore they are also called shooters of the bow, that is, combatants against evils and falsities. That in this case they did not resist these, because they were not conjoined with the Lord, is signified by, "they turned back in the day of battle, because they did not keep the covenant of God." Covenant denotes conjunction, and not to keep it, is not to live according to the truths and goods that conjoin. From the passages adduced it is evident, that by a bow is signified the doctrine of truth fighting against falsities and evils, and dispersing them.

[12] That this is signified by bow is still further evident from the opposite sense of it, in which bow signifies the doctrine of falsity fighting against truths and goods, and destroying them; and by darts and arrows the falsities themselves. The bow is mentioned in this sense in the following passages: In David:

"Lo, the wicked bend the bow, they make ready their arrow upon the string, that they may shoot in darkness at the upright in heart" (Psalms 11:2).

The wicked bending the bow, signifies that they frame doctrine; their making ready the arrow upon the string, signifies that they apply to it falsities that appear as truths; to shoot in darkness at the upright in heart, signifies to deceive those who are in truths from good. Bow here denotes the doctrine of falsity; arrow denotes falsity itself; to shoot denotes to deceive; and the darkness denotes appearances, for they reason from appearances in the world and from fallacies, by applying also the sense of the letter of the Word.

[13] In the same:

"The wicked uncover the sword, and bend their bow, to cast down the miserable and needy. Their sword shall enter their own heart, and their bows shall be broken" (Psalms 37:14, 15).

By the sword is signified falsity fighting against truth, and by the bow is signified the doctrine of falsity. To cast down the miserable and the needy, signifies to pervert those who are in ignorance of truth and good. Their sword shall enter into their own heart, signifies that they shall perish from their own falsity; and their bows shall be broken, signifies that their doctrine of falsity shall be dissipated, which also is done after their departure out of the world; then their falsities destroy them, and their doctrine, so far as it concerns truths adjoined to falsities, is dissipated.

[14] In the same:

"Who whet their tongue like a sword, and bend their arrows with a bitter word; that they may shoot in the hiding places at the perfect (Psalms 64:3, 4).

Because a sword signifies falsity fighting against truth, therefore, it is said they sharpen their tongue like a sword; and because an arrow signifies falsity of doctrine, therefore it is said "they bend their bow with a bitter word; to shoot in the hiding places at the perfect," signifies the same as above to shoot in darkness at the upright in heart, namely, to deceive those who are in truths from good.

[15] In Jeremiah:

"They are all adulterers, an assembly of treacherous men, who bend their tongue, their bow is a lie; neither in the truth have they prevailed in the earth; for they proceed from evil to evil, neither have they known me" (9:2, 3).

By adulterers, an assembly of treacherous men, are meant those who falsify the knowledges of truth and good; adulterers denote those who falsify the knowledges of truth, and the treacherous those who [falsify] the knowledges of good; concerning, such it is said that they bend the tongue, and that their bow is a lie, the bow denoting doctrine whence come the principles of falsity, and a lie denoting falsity; and hence it is also said, "in the truth they have not prevailed in the earth," that is, in the church, where genuine truths are; that those are of such a quality who are in a life of evil, and do not acknowledge the Lord, is signified by, "for they proceed from evil to evil, neither have they known me."

[16] In Jeremiah:

"Behold, I cause to come up against Babel an assembly of great nations from the land of the north; their darts as of a mighty one, none shall return vain; set yourselves in array against Babel round about, all ye that bend the bow shoot against her, spare not the arrows; make the shooters heard against Babel, all that bend the bow encamp against her round about, let there be no escape for her" (50:9, 14, 29, 42; 51:3).

By these words is described the total devastation of truth with those meant by Babel; these arrogate to themselves the Divine power, and indeed acknowledge the Lord, but deprive Him of all power of salvation, and thence profane Divine truths. And because the Lord very carefully provides that genuine truths may not be profaned, therefore, those [truths] are entirely taken away from them, and they are imbued with absolute falsities instead. By the assembly of great nations from the land of the north, are signified direful evils rising up from hell; the great nations denoting direful evils, and the land of the north denoting hell, where there is nothing but falsity; by their darts as of a mighty man, none shall return vain, is signified that thence they shall be imbued with absolute falsities. By "Put yourselves in array against Babel round about; all ye that bend the bow, shoot against her, spare not the arrows," is signified also as to all doctrinals; the total devastation of truth with them is signified by "all ye that bend the bow, camp against her round about; let there be no escape for her."

[17] In Isaiah:

"I stir up against them the Medes, who will not esteem the silver, and in the gold they will not delight, whose bows will dash in pieces the young men, and the fruit of the belly they will not pity; so shall Babel be as the overthrowing of God, Sodom and Gomorrah" (13:17-19).

These things also are said of Babel and of the devastation of all things of the church with those who are meant by Babylon, concerning which we have spoken just above. By the Medes are signified those who regard the truths and goods of heaven and the church as nothing; therefore it is said concerning them, "who will not esteem the silver, and in the gold they will not delight"; silver signifying truth, and gold good, both of the church. By their bows which shall dash in pieces the young men, and by the fruit of the belly which they shall not pity, are signified the doctrinals that destroy all truth and all the good thence; the young men signifying truths, and the fruit of the belly goods; and because all evil with them is from the love of self, and all falsity is from that evil, and because that evil and the falsity thence are condemned to hell, therefore it is said, "so shall Babel be as the overthrowing of God, Sodom and Gomorrah"; God's overthrowing signifying damnation to hell, and Sodom and Gomorrah signifying the evils from the love of self and the falsities thence. (That these things are signified by Sodom and Gomorrah, may be seen in the Arcana Coelestia 2220, 2246, 2322.)

[18] In the same:

"In that day, every place where there were a thousand vines for a thousand of silver, shall even be for thorn-brake and bramble-bush. With arrow and with bow shall he come thither; because the whole land shall be thorn-brake and bramble-bush" (7:23, 24).

The church devastated as to all truth and good is thus described; the quality of the church before, when genuine truths, which are truths from good, were there in abundance, [is described] by there being a thousand vines for a thousand of silver; a thousand vines denoting truths from good in abundance, a thousand of silver denoting that they are most highly esteemed because they are genuine; silver denoting truth, and a thousand many, thus, in abundance. But what the quality of the church became when vastated as to all truth and good, is described by these words, "with arrow and with bow shall he come thither; because the whole land shall be thorn-brake and bramble-bush." Arrow denotes falsity destroying truth, and the bow denotes the doctrine of falsity. A thorn-brake signifies falsity from evil, and a bramble-bush evil from falsity; the land denotes the church.

[19] In Jeremiah:

"Behold, a people cometh from the land of the north, and a great nation shall be stirred from the sides of the earth. They lay hold on bow and spear; they are cruel, and have no mercy; their voice resoundeth like the sea; and they ride upon horses, equipped as a man for war against thee, O daughter of Zion" (6:22, 23).

The devastation of the church by the falsities of evil is described here also; what a people from the land of the north signifies, and a great nation from the sides of the earth, also what their voice signifies which resoundeth as the sea, and their riding upon horses, was explained in the article just preceding. That they lay hold on bow and spear signifies falsity of doctrine destroying truth, and a spear the falsity of evil destroying good; the daughter of Zion denotes the church.

[20] In the same:

"The whole land is a desolation, for the voice of the horseman and of the archers the whole city fleeth; they have entered the clouds, they have ascended into the rocks, the whole city is deserted, no one dwelling therein" (4:27, 29).

This also may be seen explained in the article immediately preceding. The voice of the horseman and of the archers signifies reasonings from falsities, and assaults of the truth; the archers or those who bend the bow, denoting those who assault truths from falsities of doctrine; hence it is said the whole city fleeth, the whole city is deserted, city signifying the doctrine of the church.

[21] In Isaiah:

Jehovah "hath lifted up an ensign to the nations from far, and behold the swift one shall come quickly, his arrows are sharp, and all his bows bent; the hoofs of his horses are counted as rocks, and his wheels as the whirlwind" (5:26, 28).

By his arrows are sharp, and all his bows bent, are signified falsities of doctrine prepared to destroy truths; what is signified by the nations from far, and by the hoofs of the horses are counted like rocks, and by the wheels which are like a whirlwind, may be seen in the article just above, where they are explained.

[22] In Amos:

"He that handleth the bow shall not stand, neither the swift with his feet deliver himself; neither shall he that rideth the horse deliver his own soul. But the strong in his heart among the heroes shall flee naked in that day" (2:15, 16).

Man's own intelligence is here described, and confidence therefrom that he can reason from falsities against truths. By, "he that handleth the bow shall not stand, and the swift with the feet shall not deliver himself," is signified that he who knows how to reason readily and skilfully from the doctrine and the memory which belong to the natural man, cannot provide anything for his own salvation, or stand in the day of judgment. The same is signified by, he that rideth the horse shall not deliver his own soul. By the strong in heart who shall flee in that day, is signified that he who therefrom trusts in himself that he can reason from falsities, shall then be deprived of all truth; by the strong in heart is meant one who trusts in himself on that account, and by naked, is signified, deprived of all truth.

[23] In David:

"God is a just judge, God, who is angry all the day; if [the evil] will not return, he hath sharpened his sword, he hath bent his bow, and directed it, and hath prepared for him the instruments of death, he maketh his arrows burning" (Psalms 7:11-13).

It is here attributed to God, that He is angry with the wicked, that He sharpens His sword, that He bends and directs His bow, prepares instruments of death, and makes His arrows burning; but the spiritual sense means that man acts thus to himself. Those things are attributed to God in the sense of the letter, because that sense is natural, and for the natural man who believes that God is to be feared on account thereof; and fear with him operates as love does afterwards, when he becomes spiritual. It is therefore evident what is here signified by those words, namely, that the wicked man is angry with God, that he sharpens the sword against himself, and bends the bow and directs it, prepares the instruments of death, and makes his arrows burning. By, he sharpeneth the sword, is signified that he procures to himself falsity by which he fights against truths; by, he bended the bow and directs it, is signified that from falsities he makes for himself doctrine against truths; and by he prepareth the instruments of death, and maketh his arrows burning, is signified that from infernal love he makes for himself principles of falsity, by which he destroys good and its truths.

[24] In Lamentations:

The Lord "hath bent his bow like an enemy; he stood with his right hand as an adversary, he slew all the desirable things of the eyes" (2:4).

Here also similar things are attributed to the Lord, for a similar reason, as explained above. That He bends His bow like an enemy, and stands with His right hand like an adversary, signifies that the evil man does so to himself, that is, he defends evil against good, and falsity against its truths, from the doctrine which he has framed to himself from his own intelligence, and confirmed by the sense of the letter of the Word. For in the Lamentations the vastation of all good and all truth with the Jewish nation, on account of the application of the sense of the letter of the Word to favour their own loves, is treated of; the bow there denotes the doctrine of falsity thence; the enemy denotes evil, and the adversary falsity. That, consequently, all understanding of truth and good perished, is signified by the Lord shall slay all the desirable things of the eyes, the desirable things of the eyes denoting all things belonging to intelligence and wisdom.

[25] In Moses:

"A fire is kindled in mine anger, and shall consume the earth with her produce, and set on fire the foundations of the mountains. I will empty out evils upon them; I will spend mine arrows upon them" (32:22, 23).

These words are in the song of Moses, in which the Israelitish and Jewish nation is treated of, and what they were in their heart is described, namely, that they had nothing of the church because there was absolute falsity from evil. By the earth and her produce which should be consumed, is signified the church, and all its truth and good; by the earth is signified the church, and by the produce, all its truth and good. By the foundations of the mountains which shall be set on fire, are signified truths upon which the goods of love are founded; specifically the truths of the sense of the letter of the Word, because those are the foundations. By the evils that shall be emptied out upon them, and by the arrows which shall be spent upon them, is signified that they shall be imbued with all evils and falsities. What was the character of that nation from the beginning, and also what it is at this day, may be seen in the Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 248.

[26] In the first book of Samuel:

"The bows of the mighty are broken, and they who were smitten were girded with strength" (2:4).

This is a prophetic declaration of Hannah the mother of Samuel, in which the deprivation of truth with those who belonged to the church is treated of, because they had no spiritual affection of truth; also concerning the reception and enlightenment of those who were outside the church, because they had a spiritual affection of truth. That the doctrines of falsities in which those were who belonged to the church are as nothing, is signified by, the bows of the mighty are broken; and the reception and enlightenment of those who were outside the church, are signified by, they who were smitten were girded with strength; those are called smitten, who are bound by the falsities of ignorance; and strength is predicated of power and abundance of truth from good.

[27] In Jeremiah:

"Behold, I break the bow of Elam, the beginning of his power" (49:35).

By Elam is meant the knowledge (scientia) of the natural man, and confidence therefrom; by his bow is signified knowledge from which he fights as from doctrine; and by the beginning of his power is signified confidence; for knowledge avails nothing if it does not serve the rational and spiritual man. That by Elam is meant the knowledge which belongs to the natural man, is evident from those places where it is named in the Word (as Genesis 10:22; Isaiah 21:2; Jeremiah 25:24-26; 49:34-39; Ezekiel 32:24).

[28] In David:

Jehovah "maketh wars to cease even to the end of the earth; he breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear asunder; he burneth the chariots with fire" (Psalms 46:10).

Because by wars are signified spiritual combats, which are here those of falsity against the truth and against the good which belong to the church, it is hence evident what is signified by, Jehovah shall make wars to cease even to the end of the earth, namely, that all combat, and all disagreement [should cease] from the first to the last of the truth of the church, the end of the earth signifying its last. That there shall be no combat of doctrine against doctrine, is signified by, He shall break the bow; that there shall be no combat from any falsity of evil, is signified by, He shall cut the spear asunder; and that everything of the doctrine of falsity shall be destroyed, by, He shall burn the chariots with fire.

[29] In the same:

"In Salem is the tabernacle" of Jehovah, "and his dwelling place in Zion. There brake he the strings of the bow, the shield, and the sword, and the battle" (Psalms 76:1-3).

The cessation of all combat and all dissension in the Lord's kingdom is here also treated of. By Salem where Jehovah's tabernacle is, and by Zion where His dwelling place is, are signified His spiritual kingdom, and His celestial kingdom; by Salem, the spiritual kingdom, where genuine truth is; and by Zion, the celestial kingdom, where genuine good is; and by, He shall break the strings of the bow, the shield, the sword, and the battle, is signified the dispersion of all combat of the falsities of doctrine against good and truth; the strings of the bow denoting the principal things of doctrine.

[30] In Hosea:

"In that day will I make a covenant for them with the beast of the field, and with the bird of the heavens, and with the creeping thing of the ground; and I will break the bow and the sword and the battle from off the earth, and I will make to lie down safely" (2:18).

The Lord's advent is here treated of, and then His conjunction with all those who are in truths from good. By the covenant with the beast of the field, with the bird of the heavens, and with the creeping thing of the ground, is signified conjunction with their affection of good, with their affection of truth, and with their affection for the knowledges of the truth and good that belong to the church; for the beast of the field signifies the affection of good; the bird of the heavens, the affection of truth; and the creeping thing of the ground, the affection for the knowledges of truth and good. That no beast, or bird, or reptile of the earth is here meant, every one sees; for how can any covenant be made with them? By, I will break the bow and the sword and the battle from off the earth, is signified that from conjunction with the Lord there shall exist no combat of falsity against truth; the bow here denotes doctrine, the sword denotes falsity, and the battle denotes combat.

[31] In Ezekiel:

"This is the day whereof I have spoken, then the inhabitants of the cities of Israel shall go forth, and they shall set on fire and burn the arms, and the shield and the buckler, with the bow and with the arrows, and with the handstaff, and with the spear, and they shall kindle a fire with them seven years" (39:8, 9).

Gog is here treated of, by whom are meant those who are in external worship and not in internal; these, because they are opposed to the spiritual affection of truth, which is to love truths because they are truths, and hence are in falsities as to doctrine, and in evils as to life; for no one can be reformed, that is, withdrawn from falsities and evils, but by truths. This is the reason why it is said, that the inhabitants of the cities of Israel shall go forth, and they shall burn the arms, and the shield and the buckler, with the bow and with the arrows, and with the handstaff, and with the spear. By the inhabitants of the cities of Israel are meant those who are in the affection of truth from good, that is, in the spiritual affection of truth, and thence in the doctrine of genuine truth; by burning the arms is signified to extirpate falsities of every kind; by the shield, falsity destroying good; by the buckler, falsity destroying truth; by the bow with the arrows, doctrine with its falsities; by the handstaff and the spear are signified one's own power and confidence. Such are those who place everything of the church, and thence of salvation, in external worship. That they should kindle a fire with them seven years, signifies that those falsities and evils shall be altogether extinguished; seven years signifying all things, what is full, and altogether (as may be seen above, n. 257, 299).