52. 24. (The Lord is described as to the Word, appearing above the expanse of the cherubim (Ezekiel 1:26-28); and is called Lord Jehovih (2:4; 3:11, 27; 4:14; 5:5, 7-8, 11; 6:3, 11; 7:2, 5; 8:1 seq.; also the God of Israel (8:4).) (That they may want bread and water; and a man and his brother be desolated; and fade away on account of their iniquity (Ezekiel 4:17).

In all your habitations the cities shall be devastated, also the high places (Ezekiel 6:6).

The end is come, the end upon the four corners of the land; I will send My anger upon thee, and I will judge thee according to thy ways. The end is come, the end is come, the mourning is come upon thee, O inhabitant of the earth, the time is come, the day of tumult is near (Ezekiel 7:2-12).

(They shall eat their bread with solicitude, and drink their waters with astonishment, that her land may be devastated from the fullness thereof; the cities that are inhabited shall be devastated, and the land shall be a desolation (Ezekiel 12:19-20).)

The vision which the prophet seeth after many days, and prophesying it in times that are far off (Ezekiel 12:27).

That [he is against] the pillows under the hands, through lies, etc. (Ezekiel 13:20-23).

Let the land of Egypt be a solitude and a waste; it shall be made an utter waste and desolation; a solitude in the midst of desolate lands, and its cities shall be a solitude in the midst of cities that have been devastated (Ezekiel 29:9-10, 12, concerning Egypt).

(They shall be devastated in the midst of the lands that are devastated, and her cities in the midst of the cities that are desolate; I will lay waste the land and the fullness thereof (Ezekiel 30:7, 12).)

(When I shall extinguish thee I will cover the heavens, and will make the stars thereof black; I will cover the sun with a cloud; I will make black all the luminaries of light in the heavens above thee, and will set darkness upon the land (Ezekiel 32:7-8).)

(The violent of the nations shall devastate the pride of Egypt, so that all the multitude thereof may be destroyed. I will make the land of Egypt a waste, so that it is a land desolated of that whereof it was full (Ezekiel 32:12, 15).)

886. That 'olive' means the good that stems from charity is clear not only from the meaning of 'olive' but also from the meaning of 'oil' in the Word. Olive oil in addition to spices was used to anoint priests and kings, and it was also used in the lamps. Concerning the former, see Exodus 30:24, and the latter, Exodus 27:20. The reason olive oil was used in anointing and in lamps was that it represented everything celestial and so everything good that stems from love and charity. Oil is in fact the essential element of the tree, its soul so to speak, as the celestial or the good that stems from love and charity is the essential element or soul itself of faith. This is the origin of its representation. That 'oil' means that which is celestial or the good that stems from love and charity may be confirmed from many places in the Word, but since the olive itself is referred to here, let some that confirm the meaning solely of the olive be quoted. In Jeremiah,

Jehovah called your name, Green Olive Tree, fair with shapely fruit. Jeremiah 11:16.

The name given here applies to the Most Ancient or celestial Church, which was the basis of the Jewish Church. Consequently all the representatives of the Jewish Church had regard to celestial things, and through the latter to the Lord.

[2] In Hosea,

His branches will go out and his beauty will be like the olive, and his smell like that of Lebanon. Hosea 14:6.

This refers to the Church that is to be established. Its beauty is 'the olive', that is, the good that stems from love and charity, while 'the smell like that of Lebanon' is resulting affection for the truth of faith. 'Lebanon' stands for its cedars, which meant spiritual things, or the truths of faith.

In Zechariah,

Two olive trees 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.

Here 'the two olive trees' stands for the celestial and the spiritual, and so for love which belongs to the celestial Church and for charity which belongs to the spiritual Church. These stand to the right and to the left of the Lord. 'The lampstand' here means the Lord, just as it used to represent Him in the Jewish Church. 'The lamps' are celestial things from which spiritual things radiate like rays of light, or light itself, from a flame. In David,

Your wife will be like a fruitful vine on the sides of your house, your sons will be like olive shoots. Psalms 128:3.

Here 'a wife like a vine' stands for the spiritual Church, and 'sons' stands for the truths of faith which are called 'olive shoots' because they stem from the goods of charity. In Isaiah,

Gleanings will be left in it, as the shaking of an olive tree, two or three berries on the top of the [highest] branch. Isaiah 17:6.

This refers to the remnants residing with a person. 'Olives' stands for celestial remnants. In Micah,

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

And in Moses,

You will plant and dress vineyards but not drink wine. You will have olive trees within all your borders but not anoint yourself with oil. Deuteronomy 28:39-40.

The subject here is the abundance of doctrinal detail concerning the goods and truths of faith which they rejected because of the kind of people they were. From these quotations it becomes clear that 'a leaf' means the truth of faith and 'olive' the good that stems from charity. And similar things are meant by 'the olive leaf which the dove was carrying in its mouth', that is, a small measure of the truth of faith deriving from the good that stems from charity was now showing itself with the member of the Ancient Church.