THE EXPLANATION of Isaiah Chapter 35

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

1. THE wilderness and the parched place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom like the rose:

VERSES 1, 2. The subject here treated of is concerning the illumination of the nations. Their ignorance of Truth and Good is signified by the "wilderness" and the "parched places"; their joy, in consequence of instruction in Truths and of illumination therein, is signified by "being glad, rejoicing, and flourishing"; "the glory of Lebanon which shall be given unto it", signifies divine Truth; and "the honour of Carmel and of Sharon", the divine Good which they receive. Hence it is that it is also said "These shall behold the "glory of Jehovuh, the honour of our God." Apocalypse Explained 288.

2. It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing: the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the honour of Carmel and of Sharon: these shall behold the glory of Jehovah, the honour of our God.

Verse 2. The honour of Carmel, etc. - By giving to the Lord "glory and honour", nothing else is signified ill the Word than to acknowledge and confess that all Truth and Good are from Him, thus, that He is the only God; for "glory" is given to Him from divine Truth, and "honour" from divine Good, as might be shown from many passages in the Word. (Isaiah 35:2; Psalm 96:6, 7; 104:1; 111:2, 3) Apocalypse Revealed 249.

As to "Sharon", see Chapter 33:9, the Exposition and note.

3. Strengthen you the feeble hands, and confirm you the tottering knees.

Verses 3, 4. These are words of consolation to those who were in the fear of damnation, for it is intimated that "their hands were feeble", and that "their knees were tottering." (Swedenborg's

Notes on Isaiah, p. 94.) .

4. Say you to the faint- hearted, Be you strong; fear you not: behold, your God will come to vengeance, to the retribution of God: He Himself will come, and will save you.

5. Then shall the eyes of the blind be opened; and the ears of the deaf unstopped.

Verses 4-6. Behold, your God will come to vengeance, etc. - These things are said concerning the advent of the Lord, to teach that at that time they will be saved who believe in Him. That they who are not in the understanding of Truth shall then understand, is signified by "the eyes of the blind shall be opened"; and that they who are not in the perception and will of Good, shall then obey and live in Good, is signified by "the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped." It is therefore said, "In the wilderness shall break forth Waters, and strrains in the desert"; "desert" signifies where there is not Good, because there is not Truth:

"waters" signify truths, and " streams " intelligence derived from truths. Apocalypse Explained 239. See also Arcana Coelestia 2702.

6. Then shall the lame leap like the hart; and the tongue of the dumb shall sing: for in the wilderness shall break forth waters, and streams in the desert:

Verse 6. These things are said concerning the advent of the Lord. By the "lame" are signified those who are in Good, but not genuine, because in ignorance of Truth by which Good has its quality; to "leap like a hart", signifies to have joy from perception of Truth, By the "dumb" are signified those who, on account of their ignorance of Truth, cannot confess the Lord, nor the genuine truths of the church; by their "singing" is denoted joy from the intelligence of Truth. By "waters breaking out in the wilderness", is meant that truths shall be opened where they were not before; and "streams in the desert" signify intelligence there; for "waters" are truths, and "streams" intelligence. From these observations it may appear what is signified, in the. spiritulal sense, by "the deaf man whom the Lord healed, who had an impediment in his speech, concerning which see Mark 7:32-35. Apocalypse Explained 455. See also Arcana Coelestia 8508.

The tongue of the dumb shall sing, etc. - "The tongue of the dumb shall sing", signifies that they shall confess the Lord, and the things which are of faith in Him. "In the wilderness shall break forth waters, and streams in the desert", denotes that they will then have the knowledges of Truth and of Good. the "desert" is a state of no knowledges, from ignorance. By the "dumb" who were healed by the Lord, are also signified the nations who, by His advent into the world, were delivered from falsities and the evils thence derived. Arcana Coelestia 6988.

7. And the parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water: and in the habitation of dragons , where each lay, [shall be] grass, instead of the reed and the bulrush.

Verse 7. Speaking of the establishment of the church by the Lord. That then they with whom there was not any intelligence before, shall now have intelligence by divine Truth spiritual, is signified by "the parched ground becoming a pool"; and that then there shall be scIence by divine Truth natural for those with whom before there was only sensual truth, is signified by "grass instead of the reed and the bulrush"; "grass" denoting science from a spiritual origin, or by which spiritual Truth is confirmed, and "reed" and "bulrush" science from a sensual origin, or by which the fallacies of the senses are confirmed. This latter science, considered in itself, is only the lowest natural science, properly called material and corporeal, in which there is little or nothing of life. Apocalypse Explained 627.

8. And a highway shall be there, and a way; and it shall be called the Way of Holiness; the unclean shall not pass through it: but it shall be for them; he that walks in the way, and fools shall not err therein.

Verse 8. That "way" denotes Truth, is grounded in appearance in the spiritual world, where also ways and paths, and, in the cities, streets and lanes appear; and spirits go in no other direction than to those with whom they are consociated by love. Hence It IS that the quality of the spirits there, in regard to Truth, is known from the way which they go; for all Truth leads to its Love, inasmuch as that is called Truth which confirms what is loved; hence it is that "way" also, in common discourse, denotes Truth, for the speech of man has derived this, like several other expressions, from the spiritual world. From this ground now it is that, In the Word, by "way", "path", "by-path", "orbit", "street", and "lane", are signified Truths, and, in the opposite sense, falsities, as is evident from the following passages:

"Stand you near the ways, and see; inquire concerning the ways of an age which way is the best." (Jeremiah 6:16)

Again,

"Make good your ways and your works; trust not in yourselves on the words of a lie." (Jeremiah 7:3-5)

Again,

"Learn not the way of the nations." (Jeremiah 10:2)

Again,

"I will give to every one, according to his ways, according to the fruit of his works. (Jeremiah 17:10)

Again,

"They have made them to stumble in their ways, the by-path of an age, that they might go away into paths, a way not paved. (Jeremiah 18:15)

Again,

"I will give them one heart, and one way. (Jeremiah 32:39)

And In David:

"Your ways, O Jehovah, make known to me; Your paths teach me. Lead me in Your Truth", (Psalm 25:4, 5)

In these passages, and in many others, by a "Way" is signified Truth! and, in the opposite sense, the false. Arcana Coelestia 10422.

9. No lion shall be there; nor shall any ravenous beast come up thither: neither shall it be found there; but the redeemed shall walk there.

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

Verse 9. Treating of the advent of the Lord, and of the state of those who are in His kingdom. That" no lion shall be there", signifies that there shall be no false principle destroying Truth; and that "no ravenous beast shall come up thither", denotes that there shall be no lust of destroying. Inasmuch as this lust is from hell. It is therefore said, "It shall not come up thither." A. E, 388.

Verses 9, 10. Also treating concerning the advent of the Lord, and concerning the salvation of those who suffer themselves to be regenerated by the Lord. That there shall not be with them the false destroying Truth, nor evil destroying Good is signified by "no lion shall be there; nor shall any ravenous beast come up thither, neither shall it be found there." That they are vindicated from evils and liberated from falsities, is signified by "the redeemed shall walk there", and by "the ransomed of Jehovah shall return." The eternal felicity which they shall have, is signified by "they shall come to Zion with singing, and with everlasting joy upon their heads"; "Zion" denotes the church; what is signified by "singing", see Chapter 12:2, the Exposition. There are two words in the original tongue by which redemption is expressed, one signifies vindication from evils, the other liberation from falsities; and hence it is said "The redeemed shall walk, and the ransomed of Jehovah shall return:" In like manner those two expressions in Hosea 13:14; and in David, Psalm 69:18, 107:6.

That to "redeem" signifies to vindicate from evils and to liberate from falsities, and also to vindicate and liberate from hell is because all the evils and falsities with man rise up from hell; which inasmuch as they are removed by reformation and regeneration from the Lord, therefore reformation and regeneration are also signified by "redeeming" or by "redemption", as in the following passages in David:

"Arise for help unto us, and redeem us for Your mercies' sake" (Psalm 44:26),

where to "redeem" denotes to liberate and reform.

Again,

"God has redeemed my soul out of the hand of hell, and He will accept me." (Psalm 49:15)

To "redeem out of the hand of hell", denotes to liberate; and to "accept me", is to claim and conjoin to Himself, or to cause to be His, as servants sold and redeemed. Apocalypse Explained 328.

And sorrow and sighing shall flee away. - These words involve a total cessation of all temptation. See above, Chapter 25:8, the Exposition.

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Isaiah Chapter 35

1. THE wilderness and the parched place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom like the rose:

2. It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing: the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the honour of Carmel and of Sharon: these shall behold the glory of Jehovah, the honour of our God.

3. Strengthen you the feeble hands, and confirm you the tottering knees.

4. Say you to the faint- hearted, Be you strong; fear you not: behold, your God will come to vengeance, to the retribution of God: He Himself will come, and will save you.

5. Then shall the eyes of the blind be opened; and the ears of the deaf unstopped.

6. Then shall the lame leap like the hart; and the tongue of the dumb shall sing: for in the wilderness shall break forth waters, and streams in the desert:

7. And the parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water: and in the habitation of dragons , where each lay, [shall be] grass, instead of the reed and the bulrush.

8. And a highway shall be there, and a way; and it shall be called the Way of Holiness; the unclean shall not pass through it: but it shall be for them; he that walks in the way, and fools shall not err therein.

9. No lion shall be there; nor shall any ravenous beast come up thither: neither shall it be found there; but the redeemed shall walk there.

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

364. Verse 4. And there went forth another horse that was red, signifies the understanding of the Word destroyed in respect to good. This is evident from the signification of "horse," as being the intellect (of which above, n. 355. Here because the states of those who are of the church where the Word is are treated of, "horse" signifies the intellect of the men of the church in relation to the Word. It is also evident from the signification of "red" [ruber] or "reddish" [rufus], as being of what nature a thing is in relation to good, so here, of what quality the understanding of the Word is in relation to good. That "reddish" [rufus] here signifies this understanding destroyed in respect to good, can be seen from what immediately follows in this verse, for it is said, "to him that sat thereon it was given to take peace from the earth, that they should slay one another, and to him was given a great sword," which signifies a consequent extinction of all truth. Since the horses that John saw were distinguished by colors, for the first appeared "white," the second "red," the third "black," and the fourth "pale," and colors signify the quality of a thing, let something first be said here about colors.

In the heavens colors of every kind appear, and they draw their origin from the light there; and as that light immensely excels in brightness and splendor the light of the world, so also do the colors there; and as the light there is from the sun of heaven, which is the Lord, and is the Divine Proceeding, and as consequently that light is spiritual, so all colors signify things spiritual. And as the Divine Proceeding is Divine good united to Divine truth, and as Divine good in heaven is presented to view by a flamy light, and Divine truth by a bright white light, so there are two colors that are the fundamentals of all colors there, namely, the red color and the white color; the red color has its origin from the flamy light that goes forth from Divine good, and the white color from the bright white light that goes forth from Divine truth; consequently so far as colors are derived from red they signify good, and so far as they are derived from white they signify truth. (But these things can be seen better from what is told about colors, from experience, in the Arcana Coelestia, namely, that most beautiful colors are seen in the heavens, n. 1053, 1624; colors in the heavens are from the light there, and are modifications and variations of light, n. 1042, 1043, 1053, 1624, 3993, 4530, 4742, 4922; thus they are the appearances of truth and good, and signify such things as are of intelligence and wisdom, n. 4530, 4677, 4922, 9466; consequently the precious stones that were of various colors in the breastplate of the ephod, or in the Urim and Thummim, signified all things of truth from good in heaven and in the church, and therefore the breastplate in general signified Divine truth shining forth from the Divine good, n. 9823, 9865, 9868, 9905; and responses were thence given by variegations and resplendences of light, and at the same time by tacit perception, or by a living voice out of heaven, n. 3862, [9905]; colors so far as they are derived from red signify good, and so far as they are from bright white signify truth, n. Arcana Coelestia 9467. Of the Light of Heaven, whence and what it is, see in the work on Heaven and Hell 126-140, 275.)

[2] It is to be known, moreover, that "red" color not only signifies what the quality of a thing is in relation to good, but also what the quality of a thing is in relation to evil; for that color not only exists from the flamy light that is from the sun of heaven, as was said above, but it also exists from something flamy in hell, which is from the fire there, which fire is like a coal fire. Therefore the red in heaven is a wholly different red from the red in hell; the red in heaven is shining and living, while the red in hell is horribly obscure and dead; moreover, the red of heaven gives life, while the red of hell brings death; the reason is that the fire from which red is derived is in its origin love; heavenly fire is from heavenly love, and infernal fire from infernal love; consequently "fire" in the Word signifies love in both senses (See Arcana Coelestia 4906, 5071, 5215, 6314, 6832, 7575, 10747; and in the work on Heaven and Hell n. 134, 566-575); therefore the "red" existing thence signifies the quality of the love in both senses. Moreover, this red, that is, the "red" of this horse is, in the original Greek, from a word that means fire. All this, together with the description of this horse in this verse, makes clear why it is that a "red horse" signifies the understanding of the Word destroyed in respect to good.

That "horse" signifies something connected with the subject can be clearly seen from this, that horses were seen when "the seals were opened," and it was said that "they went forth," for horses could not go forth out of a book, but those things could be manifested which are signified by "horses." That "horse" signifies the intellect, and "color" its quality, has been made familiar to me from experience; for spirits who were meditating from the understanding upon some subject have several times been seen by me to be riding upon horses, and when I asked them whether they were riding, they said that they were not, but that they stood meditating upon some subject; which made clear that riding upon a horse is an appearance representing the operation of their understanding.

[3] There is also a place called the assembly of the intelligent and wise, to which very many resort for meditation, and when anyone is coming to it horses of various colors and variously caparisoned, and also chariots, with some riding and others sitting in the chariots, appear to him; and then also when they are asked whether they are riding upon horses, or are carried in chariots, they say that they are not, but that they are going along meditating; from this also it was clear what is signified by "horses" and by "chariots." (But about this see more in the small work on The White Horse.) From this it can now be seen why John saw horses when the seals of the book were opened, and also what they signify. These horses were seen, because all the spiritual things of the Word are presented in the sense of its letter by means of such things as correspond, that is, as represent and thence signify; and this in order that the Divine may be there in ultimates and consequently in fullness, as has been several times said above.

[4] That "reddish" [rufus] or "red" [ruber] signifies the quality of a thing in relation to good, can be seen also from the following passages in the Word. In Moses:

Who washeth his vesture in wine, and his covering in the blood of the grapes. His eyes are redder than wine, and his teeth whiter than milk (Genesis 49:11-12).

These words are in the prophecy of Israel the father respecting Judah, and "Judah" here means the Lord in relation to the good of love, and in a relative sense the Lord's celestial kingdom. What the particulars here signify in the spiritual sense may be seen in the Arcana Coelestia, where they are explained. Divine wisdom which is from Divine good is signified by "his eyes are redder than wine;" and Divine intelligence which is from Divine truth by "his teeth are whiter than milk."

[5] In Lamentations:

The Nazarites were whiter than snow, they were brighter than milk, their bones were more ruddy than pearls (Lamentations 4:7).

The Nazarites represented the Lord in respect to the Divine Human (See above, n. 66, 196, at the end), therefore they signified also, in a relative sense, the good of celestial love, because this good immediately proceeds from the Lord's Divine Human. The representative of this in the church is thus described, the truth of that good is signified by "they were whiter than snow, and brighter than milk," and the good of truth by "their bones were more ruddy than pearls;" for "bones" signify truths in their ultimate, thus truths in the whole complex, for in ultimates all things are together and in fullness; that these truths are from good, and also are goods, is signified by their being "ruddy."

[6] In Zechariah:

I saw four chariots coming out from between mountains of copper. In the first chariot were red horses; in the second chariot black horses; in the third chariot white horses; and in the fourth chariot grisled horses, stout (Zechariah 6:1-3).

That here, too, "red horses" signify the quality of the understanding in the beginning in relation to good, "black horses" the quality of the understanding in the beginning in relation to truth, "white horses" the quality of the understanding afterwards in relation to truth, "grisled horses" what is the quality of the understanding afterwards in relation to truth and good, and "stout" what it is consequently in respect to the power to resist falsities and evils, may be seen above (n. 355b), where the signification of "horse" is treated of. Nearly the like is meant in the same prophet by:

The red horse, upon which a man rode, standing among the myrtle-trees (Zechariah 1:8).

Because "red" [ruber] or "reddish" [rufus] signifies the quality of a thing in relation to good:

Red rams' skins were used for a covering over the tent (Exodus 25:5; 26:14; 35:7).

And therefore also:

The water of separation, used in cleansing, was made from a red heifer burned (Numbers 19:1-10);

"red heifer" signifying the good of the natural man, and the "water of separation" made from it when burned signifying the truth of the natural man; and this was commanded because all cleansing is effected by means of truths; moreover, the particulars of the process of slaying the heifer, and of preparing the water for cleansing by it, involve spiritual things.

[7] Because "red" signifies the quality of a thing in relation to good, those names also and the things that derive their names from this same word in the original tongue signify the good from which they are. The word red in the original is adam, from which is the name Adam, and also the name Edom; from this also man is called adam, the ground adama, and the ruby odam; thus these names and things are from red. "Adam" signifies the Most Ancient Church, a church that was in the good of love; "Man" has a like signification, also "ground" in the spiritual sense when celestial good is treated of. That "Edom" was named from red, see Genesis 25:30; and for this reason it signifies the truth of the good of the natural man. That the ruby is also named from red may be seen in Exodus 28:17; 39:10; Ezekiel 28:13; for this reason "ruby" signifies the truth of celestial good. (That "Adam" signifies the Most Ancient Church, which was a celestial church, or a church in the good of love to the Lord, see Arcana Coelestia 478, 479; that "Man" signifies the church in respect to good, n. 4287, 7424, 7523; that "ground" also has a like signification, n. 566, 10570; that "Edom," because he was named from red, signifies the truth of good of the natural man, n. 3300, 3322; and that "ruby" signifies the truth of celestial good, n. 9865) As "red" signifies the quality of a thing in relation to good, so in a contrary sense it signifies the quality of a thing in relation to evil, which is the opposite to good, consequently good destroyed. In this sense "red" is mentioned in the following passages. In Isaiah:

Although your sins have been as scarlet, they shall become white like snow; although they have been red as purple, they shall be as wool (Isaiah 1:18).

And in Nahum:

The shield of his mighty ones is made red, the men of valor are in crimson; in a fire of torches are his chariots. The chariots raged in the streets, they ran to and fro in the broad ways; the appearance of them ¹ is like torches (Nahum 2:3-4).

In this sense also the dragon is called red (Revelation 12:3, of which in what follows).

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