1056. And they that dwell on the earth shall wonder. That this signifies those of that religious persuasion who reject the Word, is evident from the signification of them that dwell on the earth, as denoting those who are of that religious persuasion. For by the earth is signified the church; but, in this case, that religious persuasion, because the church is not there. For the church is only where the Lord is worshipped and the Word is read.

That those who reject the Word are meant is evident from what follows; that is, that they are those whose names are not written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world; and that they are those who saw the beast, which was, and is not, but yet is. For by the beast is signified the Word, as was said above. Therefore their wonder is, that the Word still is, although it was, and is not.

Concerning the second kind of Profanation:-

[2] The love of ruling by the holy things of the church as a means, entirely closes the interiors of the human mind from inmost to outmost, according to the quality and quantity of that love. But in order that it may be known how they are closed, something shall first be said concerning the interiors of the human mind.

Man has a spiritual mind, a rational mind, a natural mind, and a sensual mind. By the spiritual mind he is in heaven, and is a heaven in its least form. By the natural mind he is in the world, and is a world in its least form. Heaven with man communicates with the world in him through the rational mind; and with the body through the sensual mind. After man's birth the sensual mind is first opened; afterwards the natural mind; and, as he studies to become intelligent, the rational mind; and, as he studies to become wise, the spiritual mind. But afterwards, as he becomes wise, the spiritual mind becomes with him as the head, and the natural mind as the body, to which the rational mind serves for conjunction, as the neck to the head, and then the sensual mind is like the sole of the foot.

[3] All these minds with infants are so disposed by the Lord, through an influx of innocence from heaven, that they may be opened. But with those who, from their youth, begin to be inflamed with the lust of ruling by the holy things of the church, as means, the spiritual mind is entirely closed, and also the rational mind; lastly, the natural mind, down to the sensual mind, as it is said in heaven, even to the nose. And thus they become merely sensual men; these are the most stupid of all in spiritual things, and thence in rational things; and the most cunning of all in worldly matters and those of a civil kind. That they are so stupid in spiritual things, they themselves do not know, because in heart they do not believe those things, and because they believe cunning to be prudence, and malice to be wisdom.

All of this kind, however, differ according to the quality and quantity of the lust of ruling and of its exercise also, according to the quality and quantity of persuasion that they are holy; and according to the quality of the good and truth from the Word, which they profane.

9277. 'In like manner you shall do with your vineyard, with your olive grove' means that this is to be so with spiritual good and with celestial good. This is clear from the meaning of 'vineyard' as the spiritual Church, dealt with in 1069, 9139, and so spiritual good, which is the good of charity towards the neighbour, since this good constitutes the spiritual Church; and from the meaning of 'olive grove' as the celestial Church, and so celestial good, which is the good of love to the Lord, since this good constitutes the celestial Church. What the spiritual Church and its good are, and what the celestial Church and its good are, and also what the difference is, see 2046, 2227, 2669, 2708 (end), 2715, 2718, 2935, 2937, 2954, 3166, 3235, 3236, 3240, 3246, 3374, 3833, 3887, 3969, 4138, 4286, 4493, 4585, 4938, 5113, 5150, 5922, 6289, 6296, 6366, 6427, 6435, 6500, 6647, 6648, 7091, 7233, 7474, 7977, 7992, 8042, 8152, 8234, 8521.

[2] The fact that 'olive grove' means the celestial Church and so celestial good is clear from places in the Word in which 'the olive tree' is mentioned, such as in Moses,

You will plant and dress vineyards, but you will not drink wine or gather [the fruit], for the worm will devour it. You will have olive trees within all your borders, but you will not anoint yourself with oil, because your olive tree will be shaken bare. Deuteronomy 28:39-40.

This describes the curse if other gods were worshipped and if statutes and judgements were not kept. 'Olive trees within all the borders' are forms of the good of celestial love within the whole Church, which come from the Lord through the Word. 'Not being anointed with oil' stands for nevertheless remaining untouched by that good. 'The olive tree will be shaken bare' stands for a warning that this good will perish. Something similar occurs in Micah,

You will tread olives but not anoint yourself with oil, and tread the new wine but not drink wine. Micah 6:15.

[3] In Amos,

I struck you with blight and mildew; your very many gardens, and your vineyards, and your fig trees, and your olive trees the caterpillar devoured. Yet you did not return to Me. Amos 4:9.

'Vineyards' stands for forms of the good of faith, 'olive trees' for forms of the good of love. Being punished for not welcoming those forms of good is meant by the caterpillar devouring the olive trees. In Habakkuk,

The fig tree will not blossom, neither will there be any produce on the vines; the olive crop will fail, ¹ and the field will not produce food. Habakkuk 3:17.

'The fig tree' stands for natural good, 'the vine' for spiritual good, 'the olive' for celestial good, and 'the field' for the Church. In Zechariah,

Two olive trees are beside the lampstand, one on the right of the bowl and one on the left of it. These are the two sons of pure oil, standing beside the Lord of the whole earth. Zechariah 4:3, 11, 14.

'Two olive trees beside the lampstand' stands for celestial and spiritual good, which are to the right and to the left of the Lord. 'The lampstand' means the Lord in respect of Divine Truth.

[4] In the Book of Judges,

Jotham said to the citizens of Shechem who made Abimelech king, The trees went out to anoint a king over them; and they said to the olive tree, Reign over us. But the olive tree said to them, Shall I stop producing my oil ² which God and men honour in me, and go to sway ³ over the trees? And the trees said to the fig tree, You come [and] reign over us. But the fig tree said to them, Shall I stop producing ⁴ my sweetness and my good fruit, and go to sway ³ over the trees? Then the trees said to the vine, You come [and] reign over us. But the vine said to them, Shall I stop producing ⁴ my new wine, cheering God and men, and go to sway ³ over the trees? And all the trees said to the thornbush, You come [and] reign over us. And the thornbush said to the trees, If you are in truth anointing me as king over you, come and take refuge ⁵ in my shade. But if not, let fire come out of the thornbush and devour the cedars of Lebanon. Judges 9:7-16.

None can know what is implied specifically by the things said here unless they know what 'the olive tree', 'the fig tree', 'the vine', and 'the thornbush' mean. 'The olive tree' means the internal good of the celestial Church, 'the fig tree' the external good of that Church, 4231, 5113, 'the vine' the good of the spiritual Church, but 'the thornbush' spurious good. The things that are said therefore imply that the people, who are 'the trees' here, did not want celestial good or spiritual good to 'reign over them', but spurious good, and that the people chose the spurious in preference to celestial or spiritual good. The 'fire' coming out of the spurious good is the harmfulness of evil cravings, 'the cedars of Lebanon' which it would devour being the truths of good.

[5] Since 'the olive tree' was a sign of the good of love received from the Lord and offered to the Lord, the cherubs in the middle of the house or temple were made of olive wood, as were the doors to the sanctuary, 1 Kings 6:23-33. For 'the cherubs', and also 'the doors of the sanctuary', were signs of the Lord's protection and providence, guarding against access to Him except through the good of celestial love. This was why they were made of olive wood. All this shows why it was that the tabernacle and the altar were anointed with oil, also the priests, and at a later time the kings, and why it was that olive oil was used in lamps. For 'oil' was a sign of the good of love from the Lord, see 886, 3728, 4582, 4638, and 'anointing' was a sign that they should accordingly represent the Lord.

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