10134. The one lamb thou shalt offer in the morning. That this signifies the removal of evils through the good of innocence from the Lord in a state of love and of the consequent light in the internal man, is evident from the signification of “offering a lamb,” or sacrificing it, as being the removal of evils through the good of innocence from the Lord (of which below); and from the signification of “morning,” as being a state of love and of the consequent light in the internal man (of which also below). By “offering,” or “sacrificing, a lamb” is signified the removal of evils through the good of innocence from the Lord, because by burnt-offerings and sacrifices was signified purification from evils and the derivative falsities, or what is the same, their removal, and the implantation of good and truth, and their conjunction by the the Lord, (n. 9990, 9991, 10022, 10042, 10053). (That purification from evils is their removal, see the places cited in n. 10057; and that a “lamb” denotes the good of innocence, n. 10132)

[2] That the removal of evils, and the implantation of good and truth, and their conjunction, are effected through the good of innocence by the Lord, is because in all good there must be innocence in order that it be good, and because without innocence good is not good. For innocence is not only the plane in which truths are sown, but is also the very essence of good; so far therefore as a man is in innocence, so far good becomes good, and truth lives from good; consequently so far the man becomes alive, and so far the evils with him are removed; and insofar as they are removed, goods and truths are implanted and conjoined by the Lord. This is the reason why the continual burnt-offering was made by means of lambs. (That all the good of heaven and the church has innocence in it, and that without innocence good is not good, see n. 2736, 2780, 6013, 7840, 7887, 9262; also what innocence is, n. 3994, 4001, 4797, 5236, 6107, 6765, 7902, 9262, 9936)

[3] That “morning” denotes a state of love and of the consequent light in the internal man, is because in the heavens the states with the angels vary as to love and the faith thence derived, as in the world with men times vary as to heat and its attendant light. These times, as is well known, are morning, noon, evening, and night; hence in the Word by “morning” is signified a state of love; by “noon,” a state of light in clearness; by “evening,” a state of light in obscurity; and by “night,” or “twilight,” a state of love in obscurity. (That there are such variations of states in the heavens, see n. 5672, 5962, 6110, 7218, 8426; and that morning there is a state of peace and innocence, thus a state of love to the Lord, n. 2405, 2780, 8426, 8812, 10114; that noon is a state of light in clearness, n. 3708, 5672, 9642; evening a state of light in obscurity, n. 3056, 3833, 6110; and that there is no night in heaven, but twilight, n. 6110, by which is signified a state of love in obscurity.)

[4] That by “morning” is signified a state of love and of the consequent light in the internal man, is because when an angel is in a state of love and light, he is then in his internal man; but when he is in a state of light and love in obscurity, he is then in the external man. For the angels have an internal and an external, and when they are in the internal, the external is almost quiescent; but when they are in the external, they are in a more gross and obscure state. Consequently when they are in a state of love and light, they are in their internal, thus in their morning; and when they are in a state of light and love in obscurity, they are in the external, thus in their evening; from which it is plain that variations of states are made by elevations toward more interior things, thus into a higher sphere of heavenly light and heat, consequently nearer to the Lord; and by lowerings toward more exterior things, into a lower sphere of heavenly light and heat, and thus more remote from the Lord.

[5] Be it known that interior things are higher, thus nearer to the Lord; and that exterior things are lower, thus more remote from the Lord; and that light in the heavens is the Divine truth which is of faith, and heat in the heavens is the Divine good which is of love, both proceeding from the Lord. For the Lord in heaven is a Sun, from which the angels have everything of life, and from it man has everything of spiritual and heavenly life (see the p laces cited in n. 9548, 9684; also that interior things are higher, thus nearer to the Lord, n. 2148, 3084, 4599, 5146, 8325).

[6] The man who is being regenerated, and likewise the man who has been regenerated, also undergo variations of state as to love and as to faith, by means of elevations toward more interior things, and by lowerings toward more exterior things; but there are few who are able to reflect upon this, because they do not know what it is to think and to will in the internal man, and in the external; nor indeed what the internal man is, and what the external. To think and to will in the internal man is to think and to will in heaven, for the internal man is there; but to think and to will in the external man is to think and to will in the world, for the external man is there; and therefore when a man is in love to God and in the consequent faith, he is in the internal man, because in heaven; but when he is in obscurity as to love and the consequent faith, he is in the external man, because in the world. These states also are meant by “morning,” “noon,” “evening,” and “night” or “twilight” in the Word.

[7] It is similar with the states of the church, the first state of which is also called “morning” in the Word, the second “noon,” the third “evening,” and the fourth or last, “night.” But when the church is in its night, in which it is when no longer in love to God and in faith, then from the twilight morning begins with another nation, where a new church is set up.

[8] For it is with the church in general as with man in particular; his first state is a state of innocence, thus also of love toward his parents, nurse, and infant companions; his second is a state of light, for when the infant becomes a child, he learns things that belong to light, that is, the truths of faith, and believes them; the third state is when he begins to love the world and to love himself, which takes place when he becomes a youth and when he thinks from himself, and in proportion as these loves increase, faith decreases, and with faith charity toward the neighbor and love to God; the fourth and last state is when he does not care for these things, and still more when he denies them.

[9] Such also are the states of every church from its beginning to its end. Its first state is likewise a state of infancy, thus also of innocence, consequently of love to the Lord, which state is called “morning;” the second state is a state of light; the third is a state of light in obscurity, which is its “evening;” and the fourth is a state of no love and hence of no light, which is its “night.” This is so because evils increase day by day, and insofar as they increase, one person infects another like a contagion; especially parents their children, besides that hereditary evils are successively condensed, and so transmitted.

[10] That “morning” signifies the first state of the church, and also a state of love, is evident from Daniel:

A holy one said, How long shall be the vision, the continual sacrifice, and the wasting transgressions? And he said to me, Until evening and morning two thousand three hundred; then shall the holy thing be justified (Daniel 8:13-14).

The subject here treated of is the coming of the Lord; “evening” denotes the state of the church before his coming, while “morning” denotes the first state of the church after His coming, and in the supreme sense it denotes the Lord Himself. That in the supreme sense the Lord is the “morning” is because He is the Sun of heaven, and the Sun of heaven never sets, but is always rising; hence also the Lord is called the “east,” consequently also the “morning” (n. 2405, 2780, 9668).

[11] And in Isaiah:

One crieth unto me out of Seir, Watchman, what of the night? what of the night? The watchman said, The morning cometh, and also the night (Isaiah 21:11-12);

by the “watchman” in the internal sense is meant one who observes the states of the church and its changes, thus every prophet; by “night” is meant the last state of the church; by “morning” its first state; by “Seir,” from which the watchman crieth, is signified the enlightening of the nations which are in darkness (that “Seir” has this meaning, see n. 4240; and that “night” denotes the last state of the church, n. 6000); “the morning cometh, and also the night,” signifies that though there is enlightening to those who are of the new church, yet there is night to those who are in the old. The like is signified by “morning” in David:

In the evening weeping may pass the night, but in the morning shall be singing (Psalms 30:5).

About the time of evening behold terror; before the morning he is not (Isaiah 17:14).

[12] As in the supreme sense “morning” signifies the Lord, and from this, love from Him to Him, therefore the manna, which was heavenly bread, “rained down every morning” (Exodus 16:8, 12-13, 21). (That the Lord is the bread which comes down from heaven, thus the manna, see John 6:33, 35, 48, 50; and that “bread” denotes celestial love, which is love from the Lord to the Lord, n. 2165, 2177, 3464, 4217, 4735, 5405, 5915, 9545.) And as the Lord is “the east,” and “the morning,” and as all celestial love is from Him, therefore also He rose “in the morning on the day of the Sabbath” (Mark 16:9); and therefore also the day before the feast of the passover was called “the evening;” for by the feast of the passover was signified the presence of the Lord and the liberation of the faithful by Him from damnation (n. 7867, 9286-9292).

[13] He who is acquainted with the internal sense of the Word, is able to know what is involved in Peter’s thrice denying the Lord before the cock crew twice (Matthew 26:34, 74-75; Mark 14:30, 68, 72; Luke 22:34, 60-61; John 18:27); for by Peter was represented the faith of the church, or what is the same, the church as to faith; by the time when the cock crew was signified the last state of the church, which time was also called “cockcrowing;” by the denial three times was signified full and complete denial of the Lord in the end of the church. That Peter represented the faith of the church, thus the church as to faith, see the preface to Genesis 18 and Genesis 22, and also n. 3750, 4738; and that these words to Peter signified the denial of the Lord in the church at the time of its end (n. 6000, 6073, 10087); for the Lord is denied when there is no longer any faith, and there is no faith when there is no longer any charity. That “three” signifies what is full and complete, see n. 2788, 4495, 7715, 8347, 9198, 9488, 9489; and from this it was said that he would deny three times. That this was done in twilight, when morning was about to come, is evident in John 18:28; and that cock crowing and twilight are the same, is evident in Mark:

Watch ye, for ye know not when the lord of the house will come; at even, or at midnight, or at cock crowing, or in the morning (Mark 13:35).

From all this it can now be seen what is signified by “morning.”

3994. And every black one among the lambs. That this signifies an own that is innocent that belongs to the good signified by “Laban,” is evident from the signification of “black,” as being what is man’s own (concerning which just above, n. 3993); and from the signification of a “lamb,” as being innocence (concerning which below). As regards an own that is innocent, signified by the “black among the lambs,” the case is this. In all good there must be innocence in order that it may be good. Charity without innocence is not charity; and still less is love to the Lord possible without innocence. For this reason innocence is the very essential of love and charity, consequently of good. An own that is innocent is to know, acknowledge, and believe, not with the mouth but with the heart, that nothing but evil is from one’s self, and that all good is from the Lord; and therefore that what is man’s own is nothing but blackness; that is to say, not only the own of his will, which is evil, but also the own of his understanding, which is falsity. When man is in this confession and belief from the heart, the Lord flows in with good and truth, and insinuates into him a heavenly own, which is white and lustrous. No one can ever be in true humility unless he is in this acknowledgment and belief from the heart; for he is then in annihilation of self, nay, in the loathing of self, and thus in absence from self; and in this manner he is then in a state capable of receiving the Divine of the Lord. It is by this means that the Lord flows in with good into a humble and contrite heart.

[2] Such is the own that is innocent, which is here signified by the “black among the lambs” that Jacob chose for himself; but the white among the lambs is the self-merit that is placed in goods. (That “white” is merit has been shown above, n. 3993.) This Jacob did not choose, because it is contrary to innocence; for he who places self-merit in goods, acknowledges and believes that all good is from himself; because in the goods he does he has regard to himself, and not to the Lord, and accordingly demands recompense on account of his merit. Such a one therefore despises others in comparison with himself, and even condemns them, and consequently in the same proportion recedes from heavenly order, that is, from good and truth. From all this it is now evident that charity toward the neighbor and love to the Lord are impossible unless there is innocence within them; consequently that no one can come into heaven unless there is something of innocence in him; according to the Lord’s words:

Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein (Mark 10:15; Luke 18:17);

by a “little child” here and elsewhere in the Word is signified innocence. (See what has been said before on this subject, namely, That infancy is not innocence, but that innocence dwells in wisdom, n. 2305, 3494: What the innocence of infancy is, and what the innocence of wisdom, n. 2306, 3183: also, What man’s own is when vivified by the Lord with innocence and charity, n. 154: That innocence causes good to be good, n. 2526, 2780)

[3] That “lambs” signify innocence may be seen from many passages in the Word, of which the following may be adduced in confirmation.

In Isaiah:

The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them (Isaiah 11:6); where the subject treated of is the Lord’s kingdom, and the state of peace and innocence therein. The “wolf” denotes those who are against innocence; and the “lamb,” those who are in innocence. Again in the same Prophet:

The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the ox, and dust shall be the serpent’s bread. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all the mountain of My holiness (Isaiah 65:25); where the “wolf” as above denotes those who are against innocence; and the “lamb,” those who are in innocence. As the “wolf” and the “lamb” are opposites, the Lord also said to the seventy whom He sent forth:

Behold I send you forth as lambs in the midst of wolves (Luke 10:3).

In Moses:

He maketh him to suck honey out of the rock, and oil out of the flinty rock; butter of the herd, and milk of the flock, with the fat of lambs and of rams, the sons of Bashan (Deuteronomy 32:13-14);

here in the internal sense the celestial things of the Ancient Church are treated of, and the “fat of lambs” denotes the charity of innocence.

[4] In the original language “lambs” are expressed by various names, by which are signified the different degrees of innocence; for as before said, in all good there must be innocence to make it good; consequently there must be the same in truth. “Lambs” are here expressed by the same word that is used for “sheep” (as in Leviticus 1:10; 3:7 5:6; 17:3; 22:19; Numbers 18:17); and it is the innocence of the faith of charity that is signified. Elsewhere they are expressed by other words, as in Isaiah:

Send ye the lamb of the ruler of the land from the rock toward the wilderness, unto the mount of the daughter of Zion (Isaiah 16:1).

By still another word in the same prophet:

The Lord Jehovih cometh in strength, and his arm shall rule for him; he shall feed his flock like a shepherd, he shall gather the lambs in his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that give suck (Isaiah 40:10-11); where to “gather the lambs in his arm, and carry them in his bosom,” denotes those who are in charity in which there is innocence.

[5] In John:

When Jesus showed Himself to the disciples, He said to Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou Me more than these? He saith unto Him, Yea, Lord, Thou knowest that I love Thee. He saith unto him, Feed My lambs. He saith to him a second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou Me? He saith unto Him, Yea, Lord, Thou knowest that I love Thee. He saith unto him, Feed My sheep (John 21:15-16).

“By Peter” here and elsewhere is signified faith (see the preface to Genesis 18, and the preface to chapter 22, and n. 3750); and as faith is not faith unless it is from charity toward the neighbor, and thus from love to the Lord; and as charity and love are not charity and love unless they are from innocence, for this reason the Lord first asks Peter whether he loves Him, that is, whether there is love in the faith, and then says, “Feed My lambs,” that is, those who are in innocence. And then, after the same question, He says, “Feed My sheep,” that is, those who are in charity.

[6] As the Lord is the innocence itself which is in His kingdom, the all of innocence being from Him, He is called the “Lamb”; as in John:

The next day John the Baptist seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world (John 1:29, 36).

And in the Revelation:

These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them; for He is Lord of lords and King of kings; and they that are with Him are called, and chosen (Revelation 17:14, and elsewhere, in Revelation 5:6; 6:1, 16; 7:9, 14, 17; 12:11; 13:8; 14:1, 4; 19:7, 9; 21:22-23, 26-27; 22:1, 3).

That in the supreme sense the paschal lamb is the Lord is well known; for the passover signified the Lord’s glorification, that is, the putting on of the Divine in respect to the Human; and in the representative sense it signifies man’s regeneration; and the paschal lamb signifies that which is the essential of regeneration, namely, innocence; for no one can be regenerated except by means of the charity in which there is innocence.

[7] As innocence is the primary thing in the Lord’s kingdom, and is the celestial itself there, and as the sacrifices and burnt-offerings represented the spiritual and celestial things of the Lord’s kingdom, therefore the very essential of the Lord’s kingdom, which is innocence, was represented by lambs. For this reason a perpetual or daily burnt-offering was made of lambs, one in the morning, and another in the evening (Exodus 29:37-39; Numbers 28:3-4), and a double one on the sabbath days (Numbers 28:9-10), and of still more lambs on stated festivals (Leviticus 23:12; Numbers 28:11, 14, 19, 27; 29:1 to the end). The reason why a woman who had given birth, after the days of her cleansing were accomplished, was to offer a lamb for a burnt-offering, and the young of a pigeon or a turtle-dove (Leviticus 12:6), was that the effect of conjugial love might be signified (for that conjugial love is innocence may be seen above, n. 2736); and also because innocence is signified by “infants.”