5492. And they lifted their produce upon their asses. That this signifies that truths were gathered into memory-knowledges, is evident from the signification of “produce,” as being truth (see n. 5276, 5280, 5292, 5402); and from the signification of an “ass,” as being memory-knowledge (n. 2781). Hence it follows that by their “lifting their produce upon their asses,” is signified that truths were gathered into memory-knowledges. That this is the signification of these words seems strange to him who keeps his mind in the historic sense of the letter, especially if he believes that there is no other internal sense than that which proximately shines forth from the letter; for he says to himself, How can lifting produce upon their asses signify truths gathered into memory-knowledges? But let him know that the literal sense of the Word passes into such a spiritual sense when it passes from man to the angels, or into heaven, and even into a still more remote sense when it passes into the inmost heaven, where all and each of the things of the Word pass into affections which are of love and charity, to which sense the internal sense serves as a plane.

[2] That the historicals of the Word pass into another sense when they are elevated into heaven, may be seen by the man who concludes from reason, and who knows anything about the natural and the spiritual. He can see that to lift produce upon their asses is a purely natural act, and that there is nothing spiritual in it whatever; and he can also see that the angels who are in heaven, or they who are in the spiritual world, cannot apprehend these words otherwise than spiritually, and that they are apprehended spiritually when in their place are understood their correspondences, namely, the truth of the church in place of “produce,” and the memory-knowledges that are in the natural in place of “asses.” That by “asses” in the Word are signified things that serve, and thus memory-knowledges (for these are things that serve relatively to things spiritual and also to things rational), may be seen explained at n. 2781. Hence also it is plain what angelic thought and speech are relatively to man’s thought and speech-that angelic thought and speech are spiritual, but man’s natural; and that the former falls into the latter when it descends, and that the latter is turned into the former when it ascends. Unless this were so, there would be no communication whatever of man with angels, or of the world with heaven.

5292. In the seven years of abundance of produce. That this signifies that had been instilled at the times when truths with goods were multiplied, is evident from the signification of “years,” as being states, and hence also times (of which in what follows); and from the signification of “abundance of produce,” as being the multiplication of truth, or truth multiplied (of which above, n. 5276, 5278, 5280); here therefore are signified truths with goods multiplied, because truths are nothing without goods, and no truths are stored up in the inner man (of which just above, n. 5291), except such as are conjoined with goods. That “years” signify not only states, but also times, is because in the internal sense “years” signify entire states, that is, entire periods from the beginning of a state to the end. These periods cannot be expressed otherwise than by times, nor can they be apprehended as anything else by those who are in time. (That “years” and “days” are both states and times, may be seen above, n. 23, 487, 488, 493, 893, 2906)