THE EXPLANATION of Isaiah Chapter 46

(Note: Rev. Smithson's translation of the Isaiah text is appended below the explanation.)

1. HEARKEN unto Me, you that pursue justice, you that seek Jehovah: look unto the rock whence you were hewn, and to the excavation of the pit, whence you were digged.

VERSE 1. By the "rock." is understood the Lord as to Divine Truth; and by the "pit" is here signified the Word, as also in other places. To be "hewn out of the rock, and digged out of the pit", signifies to be regenerated from divine Truths and divine Goods, thus by Truths from Good from the Lord; for "stones" which are cut out of a rock signify Truths from the Lord, and "ground" which is dug out of the pit signifies Good from the Lord, wherefore it is called "the excavation [effossio] out of the pit." Apocalypse Explained 411.

Verses 1-3. Look unto the rock whence you were hewn, and to the excavation of the pit whence you were digged; etc. - These things are said concerning the Lord, and concerning the New Church from Him. The Lord as to Divine Truth, and as to the doctrine of Truth, is understood by "the rock whence you were hewn", and by "the pit whence you were digged", see above, n.411; but the Lord as to the Divine, from which comes reformation, is understood by "Abraham, to whom they should look", and by "Sarah, who bare them;'' for by "Abraham", "Isaac", and "Jacob", in the Word, are not understood those persons, but the Lord as to His Divine Itself, and the Divine Human, as may be seen in the Arcana Coelestia 1893, 2833, 3245. But the heavenly marriage, which is of Divine Good and Divine Truth, from which comes all reformation, and. thence the church, is signified by "Abraham" and, "Sarah, who bare them."

Inasmuch as the Lord is understood by "Abraham", therefore it is said, "I called, him alone [or when he was but one], and, I blessed him, and I multiplied him"; and afterwards that "Jehovah will comfort Zion, and all her waste places"; "Zion" signifying the New Church, "waste places" Truths destroyed, and "comfort" or "consolation" the restoration of the church. That they who will be of that church will acknowledge the Lord, and receive love to Him, and thence wisdom, is signified by "He shall make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of Jehovah"; "Eden" denoting love to the Lord, and the "garden of Jehovah" wisdom thence derived. Apocalypse Explained 721.

That the Lord, and the Divine Truth, as well as a true faith, is signified by a "Rock", see Chapter 16:1, : Exposition;

2. Look unto Abraham your father, and unto Sarah who bare you: for I called him alone, and I blessed him, and I multiplied him.

Verse 2. The Lord, as to Divine Truth, is called a "rock" and a "pit", and as to Divine Good, "Abraham the father"; and because the marriage of Goodness and Truth is represented by "Abraham and Sarah", as may be seen Arcana Coelestia 1468, 1901, Abraham is called "father", and of Sarah it is said; "she bare you.'" That "Abraham", as father, signifies the Lord as to Divine Good, may be seen in John 8:38, 39; Matthew 3:9, 10; Luke 16:19-31. Arcana Coelestia 3703 Arcana Coelestia 3703[1-23].

3. For Jehovah will comfort Zion: He will comfort all her waste places; and He will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of Jehovah; joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of singing.

Verse 3. Speaking of the advent of the Lord, and of the establishment of the church, which at that time was devastated or destroyed. By "Zion" is signified the church where the Lord is to be worshipped; by her "waste places" are signified the defect of Truth and Good from a want of knowledge.

By "making her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of Jehovah", is signified that they shall have Truth and Good in abundance; "wilderness" is predicated of the want of Good, and "desert" of the want of Truth :

"Eden" signifies Good in abundance, and the "garden of Jehovah" Truth in abundance. Inasmuch as a "song" and "singing" signify thanksgiving [confession] from joy of heart, therefore it is said, "Joy and gladuess shall be found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of singing"; the "voice of singing"; denoting the same as a "song." Apocalypse Explained 326.

As to "thanksgiving" (or confession), see Chapter 12:1, the Exposition.

He shall make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of Jehovah, etc. - The spiritual meaning of a "garden" is grounded in the nature of representations in the spiritual world, in which world gardens and paradises appear where dwell the angels who excel in intelligence and wisdom. The intelligence and wisdom which they receive from the Lord form themselves into such representations around them, and this takes place from correspondence; all things that exist in the spiritual world being correspondences. True Christian Religion 467.

Hence it is that man is so often compared to a "tree", and the church to a "garden", as in Isaiah 51:3; 58:11; Jeremiah 31:12. Coronis 27.

4. Attend unto Me, O My people; and give ear unto Me, O My nation: for the law shall proceed from Me, and My judgment will I cause to break forth for a light to the peoples.

5. My justice is near; My salvation is gone forth; and Mine arms shall judge the peoples: the islands shall hope in Me, and on Mine arm shall they trust.

Verses 4, 5. These things are also said concerning the Lord. "Attend unto Me, O My people, and give ear unto Me, O My nation", signifies all of the church who are in Truths and Goods; "people" those who are In Truths, and "nation" those who are in Goods; it is said "attend you" and "give ear" in the plural number, because all are understood. "The law shall proceed from Me, and My judgment will I cause to break forth for a light to the peoples, "signifies that from Him is Divine Good and Divine Truth, from which is illustration; "law" signifies the Divine Good of the Word, and "judgment" the Divine Truth of the Word; and "for a light to the peoples" denotes illustration. "My justice is near, My salvation is gone forth", signifies judgment, when they are saved who are in the Good of love, and who are in Truths thence derived; "justice" is predicated of the salvation of those who are in Good at the day of judgment, and "salvation" of the salvation of those who are in Truths. "Mine arms shall judge the peoples", signifies judgment upon those of the church who are in falsities; "peoples" here being taken in an opposite sense. "The islands shall hope in Me, and on Mine arm shall they trust" signifies the access of those to the church who are remote from the Truths of the church, and their trust in the Lord; "islands" denoting those who are remote from the Truths of the church, because they are in natural light, and not yet in spiritual light from the Word; and to "trust in His arm" signifying confidence in the Lord, who has all power, - "arm", when predicated of the Lord, denoting Omnipotence. Apocalypse Explained 406. See also Arcana Coelestia 9857.

6. Lift up unto the heavens your eyes, and look unto the earth beneath: for the heavens shall vanish away like smoke; and the earth shall wax old like a garment, and its inhabitants shall die in like manner: but My salvation shall be for ever, and My justice shall not be broken.

Verse 6. The heavens shall vanish away like smoke, etc. - By "the heavens which shall vanish away, and the earth which shall wax old like a garment", is understood the church, which successively falls away, and at length is desolated, but not the visible heaven and the habitable earth; wherefore it is said, "and its inhabitants shall die in like manner", - to "die" signifying spiritually to die. Apocalypse Explained 304.

By "smoke" is signified what is false, by which those in the former heaven would perish; and by "a garment waxing old" is signified Truth destroyed by the falsities of evil. A comparison is made between "smoke vanishing away" and "a garment waxing old", because comparisons in the Word are also correspondences, and equally signify. Apocalypse Explained 539.

7. Hearken unto Me, you that know justice; the people in whose heart is My law: fear you not the reproach of men, neither be you dismayed by their revilings.

8. For the moth shall eat them up like a garment, and the worm shall eat them up like wool: but My justice shall be for ever, and My salvation from generation to generation.

Verses 7, 8. Fear you not the reproach of men, neither be you dismayed by their revilings; for the moth shall eat them up like a garment, and the worm shall eat them up like wool, etc. - The "moth" stands for falsities in the extremes of man, and the "worm" for evils therein; for "a garment which the moth eats" signifies inferior or exterior Truths, which are of the sensual man; (see Arcana Coelestia 2576, 5248) and "the wool which the worm eats" signifies inferior or exterior Goods, which are of the sensual man, as is evident from many passages, and also from the signification of a "sheep", from which wool is derived, and which signifies the Good of charity, n. 4169. Arcana Coelestia 9331.

9. Awake, awake, clothe yourself with strength, O arm of Jehovah! awake, as in the days of antiquity, in the generations of old. Art you not the same that smote Rahab, that wounded the dragon?

Verses 9, 10. The "arm of Jehovah "is the Lord as to the Divine Human. The "days of antiquity" [or of eternity] signify the state of the most ancient church; "eternity" is predicated of that church, because it was in the Good of love to the Lord, of which Good, because immediately from the Lord, "eternity" is predicated; the "generations of old" [or eternities] signify Goods in the ancient church hence derived. "The waters of the great deep and the depths of the sea" is the hell, where those are who are in faith separate from charity, and in a life of evil; "the waters of the sea", under which they are, signify falsities; for falsities, in the other life, appear as dense and dark clouds, and as inundations of waters; "the redeemed, who pass over", are those who are liberated by the Lord. Arcana Coelestia 8099. See also 6239, 9789.

Verse 9. Art you not the same that smote Rahab, etc. - See above, as to "Rahab", Chapter 30:7, note; and as to the "dragon", see Chapter 27:1, the Exposition.

10. Art you not the same that dried up the sea, the waters of the great deep? that made the depths of the sea a path for the redeemed to pass over?

Verses 10, 15. By "the sons of Israel, before whom the Red Sea [Suph] was dried up, so that they passed through safe", are understood all who are in Truths from Good, whom the Lord, defends, lest the falsities of evil which ascend continually from the hells should injure them. This is what is understood by "drying up the sea, the waters of the great deep", and by "making the depths thereof into a path for the redeemed to pass over"; likewise by "leading them through the abysses or depths"; for the falsities exhaled from the hells continually cling to man, consequently the hells; for, whether we speak of falsities from the hells, or of the hells themselves, it is the same thing; but the Lord continually dissipates them with those who are in Truths originating in Good from Himself. This, then, is what is signified by "drying up the sea, and leading them through the abysses." They who are in Truths grounded in Good from the Lord; are understood by the "redeemed." Apocalypse Explained 538.

11. Thus shall the ransomed of Jehovah return, and come to Zion with singing; and everlasting joy shall be upon their heads: joy and gladness shall they obtain, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

Verse 11. Joy and gladness shall they obtain, etc. - It is said "joy and gladness" on account of the marriage of what is Good and True; for "joy" is predicated of what is Good, because from love, as it is properly of the heart and of the will; and "gladness" is predicated of Truth, because of the love thereof, for it is properly of the mind [animi] and of its thoughts; wherefore it is said, "joy of heart and gladness of mind." There are everywhere in the Word two expressions, of which one relates to what is Good and the other to what is True and this because the conjunction of what is Good and True makes heaven and the church; hence both heaven and the church are compared to a "marriage", and the Lord is said to be "the Bridegroom and the Husband", and heaven and the church "the bride and wife"; Wherefore every one who is not in that marriage is not an angel of heaven or a man of the church. The reason is, because no Good can be given with anyone except it is formed by Truths, nor can Truth be given with anyone except it live from Good; for all Truth is the form of Good, and all Good is the esse of Truth; and because one cannot be given without the other, it follows that the marriage of what is Good and True must necessarily exist with the man of the church as with an angel of heaven. All intelligence and wisdom come from this marriage, for from it there constantly spring forth Goods and Truths from which the intellect and the will are formed. Apocalypse Explained 660.

12. I, even I, am He that comforts you: who art you, that you should fear man that shall die, and the son of man that shall become as the grass?

Verse 12. By these words is signified that all things are from the Lord, and nothing from self-derived intelligence and wisdom. "Man" signifies man as to wisdom, and the "son of man" the same as to intelligence; that this latter is only science is understood by "becoming as grass." Apocalypse Explained 507.

13. And forgets Jehovah your Maker, who stretched out the heavens, and founded the earth; and fears continually every day because of the fury of the oppressor, as if he were ready to destroy? but where is the fury of the oppressor?

Verse 13. Here by the "heavens" and the "earth" is signified the church as to its internal or spiritual things, and as to its external or natural things; and by "stretching out" and "laying at the foundation thereof", is signified to establish them. Apocalypse Explained 1057.

14. He that leads out shall hasten to open; and [the captive] shall not die in the pit, and his bread shall not fail.

Verse 14. Treating concerning the Lord. His advent is understood by "He that leads out shall hasten." Liberation from the falsities of ignorance is signified by "not dying in the pit"; wherefore the same is here understood by "pit", as by the "'pit" mentioned above, (Chapter 24:22) in which were the bound, Supply of spiritual instruction and nourishment is signified by "his bread not failing"; for by "bread", is understood all spiritual food, and by spiritual "food" is meant instruction in Truths and Goods, whence come intelligence and wisdom. Apocalypse Explained 537.

15. For I am Jehovah your God, who rebukes the sea, when the waves thereof roar: Jehovah of Hosts is His name,

Verse 15. Who rebukes the sea, etc. - To "rebuke the sea" is to dissipate falsities; the "waves roaring" are noisy ratiocinations from falsities against the Truths of the Word. Apocalypse Explained 304.

16. I have put My words in your mouth: and with the shadow of My hand have I covered you: to plant the heavens, and to found the earth; and to say unto Zion, You art My people.

Verses 16, 17. Here by "planting the heavens, and founding the earth", is manifestly meant to establish the church; for this is said unto the prophet" that "the Word should be put into his mouth, and that he should be covered with the shadow of the hand, to plant the heavens, and to found or to lay the foundation of the earth", whereas the foundation of the earth cannot be laid by a prophet, but that of the church may; wherefore also it is added, "to say unto Zion, You art My people"; likewise, "Awake, awake; arise, O Jerusalem" for by "Zion" and by "Jerusalem", in the Word, is understood the church. Apocalypse Explained 1057.

17. Arouse yourself, arouse yourself; arise, O Jerusalem! who have drunk from the hand of Jehovah the cup of His fury: the dregs of the cup of trembling have you drunk, you have sucked them out.

18. There is none to lead her, of all the sons she has brought forth; neither is there any to take her by the hand, of all the sons she has brought up.

Verses 17, 18. The restoration of the church which was fallen into mere falsities of evil, is signified by "Arouse, or stir up yourself; arise, O Jerusalem I who have drunk from the hand of Jehovah the cup of His fury: the dregs of the cup of trembling have you drunk, you have sucked them out." "Jerusalem" denotes the church as to doctrine; to "awake or stir up" and to "arise" denotes the restoration thereof; to "drink the cup of fury" denotes the false, and "the dregs of the cup" mere falsities, from which are evils; and to attract them is signified by "drinking and sucking them out." "There is none to lead her, of all the sons she has brought forth; neither is there any to take her by the hand, of all the sons she has brought up", signifies that no Truths of the Word which she has learned and imbibed withdraw her from falsities; "sons" here denoting Truths. Apocalypse Explained 724.

19. These two things have befallen you; who shall bemoan you? desolation, and destruction; the famine, and the sword: by whom shall I comfort you ?

Verse 19. By "famine" is here understood the deprivation of the knowledges of Good, even until Good is no more; and by the "sword", the deprivation of the knowledges of Truth, until Truth is no more; therefore mention is also made of "devastation" and "breaking up" [confractio], the former having relation to Good being no more, and the latter to Truth being no more. Apocalypse Explained 386. See also A. O. 2799.

20. Your sons have fainted; they lie at the head of all the streets, like a wild bull in a net: they are full of the fury of Jehovah, the rebuke of your God.

Verse 20. Speaking of "Jerusalem", that is, of the church, devastated as to doctrine. By "sons" are meant those who are in Truths of doctrine; to "faint" and to "lie at the head of all the streets", signifies to be deprived of all Truth; the "head" or beginning of the streets denoting the entrance to Truth, consequently. all Truth.Apocalypse Explained 652.

As to "streets", etc., see Chapter 24:10-12; 35:8, the Exposition.

Your sons have fainted, etc. - These words signify that Truths are dissipated by falsities of every kind. Inasmuch as "sons" denote Truths, by "fainting" is signified to be dissipated; and by" lying at the head of all the streets", is signified by falsities of every kind; for the "streets" of a city signify doctrinal Truths, but here doctrinal falsities. Apocalypse Explained 724.

Like a wild bull in a net. - [The antelope or some wild animal is meant, which, being caught in a net, struggles to emancipate itself, but is not able; in like manner Truths in bondage to the natural man struggle, as it were, to come forth and to make him spiritual and free, but, in the perverse state of the church and of the unregenerate mind here depicted, are not able. Swedenborg has quoted the sentence in Apocalypse Explained 652, but has not. explained it.]

21. Wherefore hear now this, O you afflicted, and drunken, but not with wine:

22. Thus says your Lord, Jehovah, and your God, who pleads for His people, Behold, I will take from your hand the cup of trembling, the dregs of the cup of My fury; you shalt drink of it no more:

23. But I will put it into the hand of them that afflicted you; who have said to your soul, Bow down, that we may pass over: and you didst lay down your back, as the ground; and as the street, to them that passed over.

Verse 21. By "the drunken, but not with wine", are here understood those who are in falsities from ignorance of Truth. Apocalypse Explained 376 Apocalypse Explained 376[1-40].

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Isaiah Chapter 51.

1. HEARKEN unto Me, you that pursue justice, you that seek Jehovah: look unto the rock whence you were hewn, and to the excavation of the pit, whence you were digged.

2. Look unto Abraham your father, and unto Sarah who bare you: for I called him alone, and I blessed him, and I multiplied him.

3. For Jehovah will comfort Zion: He will comfort all her waste places; and He will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of Jehovah; joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of singing.

4. Attend unto Me, O My people; and give ear unto Me, O My nation: for the law shall proceed from Me, and My judgment will I cause to break forth for a light to the peoples.

5. My justice is near; My salvation is gone forth; and Mine arms shall judge the peoples: the islands shall hope in Me, and on Mine arm shall they trust.

6. Lift up unto the heavens your eyes, and look unto the earth beneath: for the heavens shall vanish away like smoke; and the earth shall wax old like a garment, and its inhabitants shall die in like manner: but My salvation shall be for ever, and My justice shall not be broken.

7. Hearken unto Me, you that know justice; the people in whose heart is My law: fear you not the reproach of men, neither be you dismayed by their revilings.

8. For the moth shall eat them up like a garment, and the worm shall eat them up like wool: but My justice shall be for ever, and My salvation from generation to generation.

9. Awake, awake, clothe yourself with strength, O arm of Jehovah! awake, as in the days of antiquity, in the generations of old. Art you not the same that smote Rahab, that wounded the dragon?

10. Art you not the same that dried up the sea, the waters of the great deep? that made the depths of the sea a path for the redeemed to pass over?

11. Thus shall the ransomed of Jehovah return, and come to Zion with singing; and everlasting joy shall be upon their heads: joy and gladness shall they obtain, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

12. I, even I, am He that comforts you: who art you, that you should fear man that shall die, and the son of man that shall become as the grass?

13. And forgets Jehovah your Maker, who stretched out the heavens, and founded the earth; and fears continually every day because of the fury of the oppressor, as if he were ready to destroy? but where is the fury of the oppressor?

14. He that leads out shall hasten to open; and [the captive] shall not die in the pit, and his bread shall not fail.

15. For I am Jehovah your God, who rebukes the sea, when the waves thereof roar: Jehovah of Hosts is His name,

16. I have put My words in your mouth: and with the shadow of My hand have I covered you: to plant the heavens, and to found the earth; and to say unto Zion, You art My people.

17. Arouse yourself, arouse yourself; arise, O Jerusalem! who have drunk from the hand of Jehovah the cup of His fury: the dregs of the cup of trembling have you drunk, you have sucked them out.

18. There is none to lead her, of all the sons she has brought forth; neither is there any to take her by the hand, of all the sons she has brought up.

19. These two things have befallen you; who shall bemoan you? desolation, and destruction; the famine, and the sword: by whom shall I comfort you ?

20. Your sons have fainted; they lie at the head of all the streets, like a wild bull in a net: they are full of the fury of Jehovah, the rebuke of your God.

21. Wherefore hear now this, O you afflicted, and drunken, but not with wine:

22. Thus says your Lord, Jehovah, and your God, who pleads for His people, Behold, I will take from your hand the cup of trembling, the dregs of the cup of My fury; you shalt drink of it no more:

23. But I will put it into the hand of them that afflicted you; who have said to your soul, Bow down, that we may pass over: and you didst lay down your back, as the ground; and as the street, to them that passed over.

2576. 'Behold, it is for you a covering of the eyes for all who are with you' means that rational truths are like a covering or garment for spiritual truths. This is clear from the meaning of 'a covering', to be dealt with immediately below, and from the meaning of 'the eyes' as things of the understanding, as is evident from very many places in the Word, and also from the meaning of 'seeing' as understanding, 2150, 2325. Anyone may see that each detail in this verse holds arcana within it which cannot be brought to light except by some interior sense - such as the detail that it is said 'he gave a thousand pieces of silver to her brother' not 'to her husband'; or the details that it was 'a covering of the eyes', and that it was 'for her and all who were with her', also 'with all'; or the detail 'so she was vindicated'. Many historical inferences might indeed be drawn from the sense of the letter, but none of these would have anything spiritual in them, still less anything Divine. Such is the nature of the Word.

[2] As regards rational truths being like a covering or garment for spiritual truths, the position is that the inmost parts of man's being belong to his soul, while the more exterior belong to his body. Man's inmost parts consist in goods and truths from which the soul has its life, or else the soul would not be a soul. Those which are more exterior however derive their life from the soul, and each one of them is like a body, or what amounts to the same, a covering or garment. This becomes clear in particular from the things that are seen in the next life, for example, from angels when these are presented to view. The interior parts of their beings shine from their faces, while the exterior are represented both in their bodies and in the clothes they are wearing, so completely that anyone there may recognize the character of those angels simply from the clothes they are wearing; for every angel consists of real substance and so is an essence given outward form. It is similar in the case of angels who have been seen and whose faces and clothing are described in the Word, such as those seen in the Lord's tomb, Matthew 28:3; Mark 16:5; and the twenty-four elders around the throne, Revelation 4:4; and others. Nor does this apply only to angels but also to everything else, even inanimate objects, mentioned in the Word. Their exteriors are a covering or garment as with the Ark of the Covenant and the tent surrounding it. 'The Ark' there, which was inmost, represented the Lord Himself, for the Testimony belonged there, while 'the tent' outside of it represented the Lord's kingdom. Every single one of 'the coverings' there, that is, the veils and screens, represented the exterior celestial and spiritual things within the Lord's kingdom, that is to say, within the three heavens. This becomes clear from the plan of it that was shown to Moses on Mount Sinai, Exodus 25:9; 26:30. It was this that gave it its holiness, not the gold and silver and the carvings that were in it.

[3] Since the matter of rational truths being like a covering or garment to spiritual truths is being discussed here, and since in Moses a description of the Tent is given - of its coverings or of its screens, and also of its veils in front of places of entry - let an explanation be given, for the sake of illustration, of what specifically was meant by the veils. (But what was meant by the enveloping covers will in the Lord's Divine mercy be stated elsewhere.) The Tabernacle had three veils, the first, which made a division between the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies; the second, which is called a screen serving as a door into the tent; the third, which is called a screen serving as a gate into the court.

[4] The first of these, the veil itself, which was a screen in front of the Ark, is referred to in Moses,

You shall make a veil of violet and purple and twice-dyed scarlet and fine-twined linen. The work of a designer, ¹ you shall make it with cherubs on it. And you shall hang it on four pillars of shittim, overlaid with gold, and their hooks shall be of gold; [they shall stand] on four bases of silver. And you shall hang the veil under the clasps. And you shall bring in, within the veil, the Ark of the Testimony, and the veil shall divide for you the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies. Exodus 26:31-34; 36:35-36.

This veil represented the most immediate and inmost appearances of rational good and truth, which occur among the angels of the third heaven. These appearances are described by the violet, purple, twice-dyed scarlet, and fine-twined linen, the red of which represented the goods that belong to love, and the white its truths. Also, the gold and silver with which the pillars were overlaid, and of which the hooks and bases were made had a similar representation. As regards colours being representative, see 1042, 1043, 1053, 1624; and as regards 'gold' meaning the good of love, 113, 1551, 1552, and 'silver' truth, 1551, 2048.

[5] This shows what is meant by the veil of the temple being torn in two, Matthew 27:51; Mark 15:38; Luke 23:45 - namely that once all appearances had been dispelled the Lord entered into the Divine Itself, and at the same time He opened a means of access to the Divine Itself through His Human that had been made Divine.

[6] The second veil, or screen serving as a door to the tent, is referred to in Moses as follows,

You shall make a screen for a door of the tent, of violet and purple and twice-dyed scarlet and fine-twined linen, the work of an embroiderer. And you shall make for the screen five pillars of shittim and overlay them with gold, and their hooks shall be of gold; and you shall cast for them five bases of bronze. Exodus 26:36-37; 36:37-38

This screen represented the appearances of good and truth which are lower and more exterior than those mentioned already; that is, they are the middle appearances that belong to the rational, which occur among the angels of the second heaven. The description given to these appearances is virtually the same, the difference being that this screen had five pillars and five bases, by which number is meant something relatively small, for these appearances are not so unified or heavenly as the appearances belonging to the inmost or third heaven. Regarding the number 'five' meaning that which is small, see 649, 1686. And because these appearances look to natural things, it was commanded that the bases should be cast of bronze; for bronze represented and meant natural good, 425, 1551.

[7] The third veil, or screen serving as a gate into the court, is referred to in Moses as follows,

The screen for a gate of the court shall be twenty cubits [long], of violet and purple and twice-dyed scarlet and fine-twined linen, the work of an embroiderer; the pillars of it shall be four and the bases of these four. All the pillars of the surrounding court shall be fastened with silver; their hooks shall be of silver but their bases of bronze. Exodus 27:16-17; 38:18-19

This screen represented the still lower and more exterior appearances of good and truth, which are the lowest appearances belonging to the rational, and which occur among the angels of the first heaven. Because these appearances correspond to those that are more interior the description given to them is also much the same, the differences being that the pillars were not overlaid with gold but were fastened together with silver, while the hooks were made of silver - all of which mean rational truths such as have their origin immediately in factual knowledge - and the bases were made of bronze which mean natural goods. All these considerations show that there was nothing in the Tent which was not representative of the celestial and spiritual things of the Lord's kingdom; that is, they show that all those things were made so as to provide every type or imprint of the celestial and spiritual things that exist in the three heavens. And they also show that the coverings or screens meant things which, like a body or clothing, surround or are outside of that which is inmost.

[8] In addition to all this, the fact that coverings, screens, and a garment or clothes mean relatively lower truths becomes clear from many places in the Word, as in Ezekiel,

Fine linen with embroidered work from Egypt was your sail, violet and purple from the islands of Elishah was your covering. ² Ezekiel 27:7.

This refers to 'Tyre', which means interior cognitions of celestial and spiritual things, and therefore those who possess those cognitions, 1201. 'Embroidered work from Egypt' stands for factual knowledge - 'Egypt' meaning factual knowledge, 1164, 1165, 1186, 1462. 'Violet and purple from the islands of Elishah as a covering' stands for forms of ritual corresponding to internal worship, 1156.

[9] In the same prophet,

All the princes of the sea will step down from upon their thrones, and will remove their robes and will strip off their embroidered clothes. They will clothe themselves with tremblings; they will sit on the ground. Ezekiel 26:16.

This too refers to 'Tyre'. 'Robes' and 'embroidered clothes' stand for cognitions formed out of factual knowledge, and so stand for lower truths.

[10] In the same prophet,

I clothed you with embroidered cloth and shod you with badger, and I swathed you in fine linen and covered you with silk, and I adorned you with adornments and put bracelets on your hands and a chain on your neck. You took some of your garments and made for yourself gaily-decked high places and committed whoredom on them. You took your embroidered clothes and covered them. Ezekiel 16:10-11, 16, 18.

This describes 'Jerusalem', which is the spiritual Church, as it had been in early times and as it was subsequently when perverted. Its lower spiritual things and its matters of doctrine are the embroidered clothes, fine linen, and silk.

[11] In Isaiah,

The Lord, Jehovah Zebaoth, is taking away from Jerusalem and from Judah the whole staff of bread and staff of water. At that time a man will take hold of his brother, of his father's house, [saying,] You have clothing, you will be leader for us. On that day he will speak out, saying, I will not be a binder up; and in my house there is neither bread nor clothing. You shall not make me leader of the people. The Lord will smite with a scab the crown of the head of the daughters of Zion. And on that day the Lord will take away the finery of the anklets, and of the networks, and of the crescents, and of the necklaces, and of the chainlets, and of the bracts; ³ and the tiaras, and the garters, and the sashes, and the perfume boxes, ⁴ and the earrings; the rings, and the nose-jewels, the changes of clothes, and the robes, and the veils, and the pin-cases, and the mirrors, and the muslin, and the turbans, and the mantles. Isaiah 3:1, 6-7, 17-24.

'Jerusalem' stands for the spiritual Church, 'Judah' for the celestial Church, 'the staff of bread and the staff of water which will be taken away' for good and truth. 'The clothing which the leader will have' stands for the truths that make up doctrine. The various articles of clothing and adornments that are listed belonging to the daughters of Zion mean every single genus and species of good and truth which were to be taken away from them. Unless each item that is mentioned meant some specific detail of the Church they would not be part of the Word, every expression of which has what is Divine within it. 'The daughters of Zion' who are said to possess all these articles means those things that constitute the Church; see 2362.

[12] In the same prophet,

Awake, awake, put on your strength, O Zion, put on your beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city; no more may there come in to you the uncircumcised and the unclean. Isaiah 52:1-2.

'Zion' stands for the celestial Church, 'Jerusalem' for the spiritual, 'beautiful garments' for the sacred things of faith. In the same prophet,

Their webs do not become clothing, neither are they covered in their works. Their works are works of iniquity. Isaiah 59:6.

'Webs' stands for made-up truths which do not become clothing. 'Clothing' stands for exterior truths of doctrine and worship, hence the statement 'neither are they covered in their works'.

[13] In the same prophet,

I will greatly rejoice in Jehovah, my soul will exult in my God, for He will clothe me with the clothes of salvation, with the robe of righteousness has He covered me. Isaiah 61:10.

'The clothes of salvation' stands for truths of faith, 'the robe of righteousness' for the good that flows from charity. In John,

You have a few names also in Sardis, who have not soiled their garments, and they will walk with Me in white, for they are worthy. He who conquers will be clad in white garments. Revelation 3:4-5.

In the same book,

Blessed is he who is awake and keeps his garments, so that he may not walk naked. Revelation 16:15.

In the same book,

On the thrones I saw twenty-four elders seated, clad in white garments. Revelation 4:4.

Here it is evident that 'garments' do not mean garments but spiritual things, which are forms of truth.

[14] The same may be seen in what the Lord said when speaking about the close of the age. When He said that people were not to turn back and fetch their garments, Matthew 24:18; Mark 13:16, truths were meant by 'garments', see 2454, as they also are in His reference to the man who was not wearing a wedding garment, Matthew 22:11-12, and in His reference to John,

What did you go out to see. A man clad in fine garments? Those who wear fine garments are in kings' houses. Matthew 11:8; Luke 7:25.

This means that they did not care about the external things of doctrine and worship but about the internal, and this is why He adds,

What did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. Matthew 11:9.

'A prophet' here stands for the external things of doctrine and worship.

[15] As 'clothes' meant truths of every kind the children of Israel were commanded when leaving Egypt to ask from their neighbour for gold and silver, and for clothes, and to place them on their children, Exodus 3:22; 12:35-36.

[16] They were also commanded not to wear clothes made from different kinds of stuff, or to wear mixed ones, Leviticus 19:19; Deuteronomy 22:11; and were commanded to make tassels for the hems of their clothes, to put a violet cord there, and when they saw it were to recollect the commandments and carry them out, Numbers 15:38-40. In former times they also rent their clothes, as is evident in Joshua 7:6; Judges 11:35; 1 Samuel 4:12; 2 Samuel 1:2, 11-12; 3:31; 13:30-31; 15:32; 1 Kings 21:27; 2 Kings 5:7-8; 6:30; 22:11, 14, 19; Isaiah 36:22; 37:1. This action meant a zealous regard for doctrine and truth which had in a similar way been torn to shreds, and also a humble recognition that nothing existed with them, which is meant by the adornment of clothing.

[17] That veils, screens, garments, or clothes mean such things is also evident with the prophecy of Jacob, who by now was Israel,

He will bind his colt to the vine, and the foal of his ass to a choice vine. He will wash his clothing in wine, and his garment in the blood of grapes. Genesis 49:11.

What these words mean nobody can know except from the internal sense, that is to say, what is meant by 'a vine', 'a choice vine', 'a colt', 'the foal of an ass', 'wine', 'the blood of grapes', 'clothing', and 'garment'. That it is a reference to the Lord who in that prophecy is called 'Shiloh' is self-evident. The reference at this point is to Judah who represents the Lord's Divine celestial. 'The clothing he was to wash in wine' and 'the garment in the blood of grapes' mean His Rational and Natural which He was to make Divine.

[18] Similarly in Isaiah,

Who is this coming from Edom, with dyed clothes from Bozra, he that is glorious in his apparel, marching in the vast numbers of his strength? Why are you red as to your clothing, and your clothes like his that treads the winepress? And I have trodden the winepress alone, and from the peoples no one was with me. Their victory has been sprinkled on my clothes, and I have stained all my raiment. Isaiah 63:1-3.

Here also 'clothes' and 'raiment' stand for the Lord's Human which, by means of the conflicts brought about by temptations and by means of victories, He made Divine by His own power; hence the statement, 'I have trodden the winepress alone, and from the peoples no one was with me'. The reference to 'Isaac smelling the smell of Esau's clothes, and so blessing him' implies much the same, Genesis 27:27.

[19] The Holiness itself of the Lord's Divine Human was also a garment which was seen as light and as something dazzling white when He was transfigured, described in Matthew as follows,

When Jesus was transfigured His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became [white] as the light. Matthew 17:2.

In Luke,

When Jesus was praying the appearance of His face was altered; His clothing became dazzling white. Luke 9:29.

And in Mark,

When Jesus was transfigured His clothes became glistening, intensely white like snow, as no fuller on earth could bleach them. Mark 9:3.

The sacred vestments worn by Aaron when he went inside the veil, which were made of linen, were similarly representative, Leviticus 16:2, 4, and so were the sacred vestments 'for glory and adornment' when he ministered, which are described in Exodus 28:2-end; 39:1-end. Not a detail of those vestments failed to be representative.

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