69. (Verse 15) And his feet like unto burnished brass, as if they burned in a furnace. That this signifies the ultimate of Divine order which is the Natural, full of Divine love, is evident from the signification of feet, as being the Natural (concerning which seeArcana Coelestia 2162, 3147, 3761, 3986, 4280, 4938-4952); when therefore it is said of the Lord, it denotes the ultimate of Divine order, because that is the Natural. It is also evident from the signification of burnished brass, or polished brass, as denoting natural good, concerning which we shall speak presently; and from the signification of burning, when said of the Lord, as denoting that it is from the Divine love (concerning which see n. 10055). It is said, as if they burned in a furnace, in order that the Divine love may be expressed in the greatest degree, and in its fullness; for the Divine is in its fulness when it is in its ultimate, and the ultimate is the Natural (as may be seen above, n. 66). It is clear then, that by His feet like fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace, is signified the ultimate of Divine order, which is the Natural, full of Divine love. These things, as also those that precede, are spoken comparatively; as that His head and His hairs were white as white wool, as snow, and that His feet were like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; but it is to be observed, that all comparisons in the Word are significative, because in the same way as the things themselves, they are from correspondences (as may be seen, Arcana Coelestia 3579, 4599, 8989).

[2] The reason why feet, when said of the Lord, signify the ultimate of Divine order, and that this is the Natural, is, that heaven is heaven from the Divine Human of the Lord, and that therefore heaven in the aggregate has reference to one Man. And, because there are three heavens, that the highest heaven has reference to the head, the middle heaven to the body, and the ultimate heaven to the feet. The Divine which constitutes the highest heaven is called the celestial Divine; that which constitutes the middle heaven is called the spiritual Divine, and that which constitutes the ultimate heaven is called the natural Divine from the spiritual and celestial. It is therefore clear why the Lord is in this place described as to His Divine Human, which is the Son of man, seen in the midst of the lampstands, not only as to His garments, but also as to His head, His chest and feet. (That the Son of man is the Lord as to the Divine Human, may be seen above, n. 63; and that the lampstands denote heaven, may be seen n. 62. But as these things are arcana hitherto unknown in the world, and nevertheless ought to be understood in order that the internal sense of this and the following parts of this prophetical book may be comprehended, they are therefore particularly and specifically described in the work, Heaven and Hell; as, that the Divine Human of the Lord constitutes heaven, n. 7-12, 78-86; that hence heaven in the aggregate has reference to one Man, n. 59-77; that there are three heavens, and that the highest refers to the head, the middle to the body, and the ultimate to the feet, n. 29-40.)

When these things are understood, it will be evident that by the feet of Jehovah, or of the Lord, in the Word, is signified the ultimate of Divine order, or the Natural; and because the external of the church, of worship, and of the Word, is the ultimate of Divine order in the church, and is the Natural, therefore this is specifically signified by the feet of Jehovah, or of the Lord.

[3] It was for this reason that, when the Lord was seen as an angel by the prophets, in other places, He was seen by them also in a similar manner. Thus by Daniel:

"I lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a man clothed in linen, whose loins were girded with gold of Uphaz; his body also was like the beryl, and his eyes as torches of fire; his arms and his feet as the brightness of polished brass" (10:5, 6).

Similarly, the cherubs, which mean the Lord as to providence and protection (see Arcana Coelestia 9277, 9509, 9673), were seen by Ezekiel:

"Their feet sparkled as the brightness of polished brass" (1:7).

So also the Lord was afterwards seen as an angel, in the Apocalypse:

"I saw an angel coming down from heaven, clothed with a cloud; and a rainbow was about his head, and his face was as the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire" (10:1).

Because the Lord was thus seen as to the feet, therefore under the feet was seen, by some of the sons of Israel,

"as it were a work of sapphire stone, and as the substance of heaven in purity" (Exodus 24:10).

The reason why the Lord was not seen by them as to the feet, but under the feet, was, that they were not in the external of the church, of worship, and of the Word, but under it (as may be seen in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 248). Since the feet of Jehovah, or the Lord, signify the ultimate of Divine order, and this is specifically the external of the church, of worship, and of the Word, therefore this is called His footstool in the Word, as in Isaiah:

"The glory of Lebanon shall come unto thee, to beautify the place of my sanctuary; I will make the place of my feet honourable. And they shall bow themselves down at the soles of thy feet" (60:13, 14).

Again:

"Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool" (66:1).

In Jeremiah:

God "doth not remember his footstool in the day of anger" (Lamentations 2:1).

And in David:

"Adore ye Jehovah, towards his footstool" (Psalms 99:5).

Again:

"We will go into his habitation; we will bow ourselves at his footstool" (Psalms 132:7).

And in Nahum:

"The clouds of Jehovah are the dust of his feet" (Nahum 1:3).

That cloud denotes the external of the Word, or the Word as to the letter, may be seen above, n. 36; and because cloud denotes the external of the Word, it also denotes the external of the church and of worship, for the church and worship are from the Word. It is said the dust of His feet, because those things which are in the sense of the letter of the Word, which sense is natural, appear scattered.

7439. 'Send My people away and let them serve Me' means that they should leave those who belong to the spiritual Church, in order that these may worship their God in freedom. This is clear from the meaning of 'sending away' as leaving; from the representation of the children of Israel, to whom 'My people' refers here, as those who belong to the spiritual Church, dealt with in 6426, 6637, 6862, 6868, 7075, 7062, 7198, 7201, 7215, 7223; and from the meaning of 'serving Jehovah' as worshipping. That they should worship in freedom is evident from what follows in verses 21-23, and also from the consideration that all worship which is truly worship must take place in freedom.

[2] The children of Israel are called Jehovah's people not because they were any better than other nations but because they represented Jehovah's people, that is, those who belonged to the Lord's spiritual kingdom. The fact that they were no better than other nations is evident from their life in the wilderness, where they did not believe at all in Jehovah. Instead they believed in their hearts in the gods of the Egyptians, as is clear from the golden calf which they made for themselves and which they called their gods who had led them out of the land of Egypt, Exodus 32:8. The same fact is also evident from their life subsequently in the land of Canaan, dealt with in the historical sections of the Word; and the things said about them in the prophetical parts and finally by the Lord make it evident too.

[3] This also explains why few of them are in heaven; for the destiny they have met in the next life has been determined by the way they lived. Refuse to believe therefore that they have been chosen for heaven ahead of others. Those who believe that these people have been chosen for heaven ahead of others do not believe that each one's life remains with him. Nor do they believe that a person has to be made ready for heaven throughout his entire life in the world, and that although this is accomplished by the Lord's mercy, people are not admitted into heaven by mercy alone regardless of the life they have led in the world. The kind of notion they have of heaven and the Lord's mercy is the result of teachings about faith alone and salvation by it without good works; for such people are unconcerned about life. Hence they also believe that evils can be purged away like dirt with water, and so believe that a person can be brought in an instant into leading a life of goodness and consequently be admitted into heaven. Such people do not know that if the evil were deprived of their life of evil they would have no life whatever, and also that if those who lead an evil life were admitted into heaven it would feel like hell to them, and the further they went into heaven the worse would that feeling become.

[4] All this now makes it clear that the Israelites and Jews had not by any means been chosen; they were simply accepted in order that they might represent the things of heaven. And this they had to do in the land of Canaan because the Lord's Church had existed there since most ancient times and all places there had consequently become representative of heavenly and Divine realities. Then also the Word could be written, in which the names would serve to mean such things as belong to the Lord and His kingdom.