77. And I fell at His feet, signifies adoration from humiliation of heart in presence of the Divine. This is evident from the signification of "falling at the feet," as being adoration from humiliation. Humiliation of heart is meant, because humiliation that springs from the heart in presence of the Divine produces that prostration. All affections, whatsoever they are, have corresponding gestures in the body. Into these gestures the body is borne and falls as of itself, when man is interiorly in the affection. Humiliation before a man produces a bowing down, according to the estimation of him; but in presence of the Divine it produces total prostration, especially when man thinks that the Divine in respect to power and wisdom is everything, and man in comparison is nothing, or that from the Divine is all good and from man nothing but evil.

When man is in this acknowledgment from the heart he comes as it were out of himself, and thence falls upon his face, and when he is thus out of himself he also is removed from the proprium [what is his own], which in itself is wholly evil; when this is removed, the Divine fills him and raises him up; not that the Divine desires such humiliation on its account, but because evil is then removed, and so far as evil is removed with man so far the Divine flows in; for evil alone stands in the way. (An example of such humiliation may be seen in the little work on the Earths in the Universe 91 .) Man's state when the Divine presence with him removes proprium [what is his own], and afterwards infills him, is thus described in this verse: "When I saw Him I fell at His feet as dead; and He laid His right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not." This state is more fully described in Daniel:

I lifted up mine eyes and looked, and behold a Man clothed in linen, His face as the appearance of lightning, and His eyes as lamps of fire, and His feet like the splendor of burnished brass. I alone saw the vision; but the men that were with me saw it not; but great fear fell upon them, and they fled. And there remained no strength in me; and I came into a deep sleep, and my face upon the ground. But lo, a hand touched me, and set me upon my knees and upon the palms of my hands, and He said, Fear not (Daniel 10:5-12).

This state is also described in Ezekiel, when he saw the cherubs, by which is signified the Lord in respect to Providence:

When I saw the glory of Jehovah, I fell upon my face, and I heard a voice of One that spoke. And He said unto me, son of man, stand upon thy feet, that I may speak to thee. And the spirit entered into me when He spoke unto me, and set me upon my feet, and I heard Him that spake unto me (Ezekiel 1:28; 2:1-2; 3:24).

Likewise also, when Jesus was transfigured before Peter, James, and John, of which it is thus written in Matthew:

While Peter was yet speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and behold, a voice out of the cloud saying, This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye Him. And when the disciples heard these things they fell on their face, and were sore afraid. And Jesus came and touched them, and said, Arise, be not afraid. And when they had lifted up their eyes they saw no one save Jesus only (Matthew 17:5-8).

From this it is apparent of what nature is the presence of the Divine Human of the Lord with man, when man is in a state of humiliation of heart, namely, that he falls upon his face, and by the touch of the Lord's hand is raised upon his feet. It was plainly the presence of the Lord in respect to the Divine Human; since it was the "Son of man" who was in the midst of the lampstands that appeared in this way before John; and the "Son of man" is the Lord as to the Divine Human, see above n. 63. It was similar with the disciples when the Lord was transfigured; it is therefore also said that "when they lifted up their eyes they saw no one save Jesus only." That it was also the Lord as to the Divine Human who was seen by Daniel and Ezekiel, is evident from the words of the Lord himself, that:

No one hath heard the Father's voice at any time, nor seen His form (John 5:37; see also John 1:18).

Moreover, that men worshiped the Lord when He was in the world, by falling upon the face at His feet, may be seen in Matthew 28:9; and in Mark 7:25-26; Luke 8:41; 17:15-16, 18; and in John 11:32.

3900. Then if anyone says to you, Behold, here is the Christ! or There! do not believe it means a warning to beware of what they teach. 'The Christ' refers to the Lord as regards Divine Truth, and therefore to the Word and to doctrine from the Word. But here the contrary is clearly meant - Divine Truth falsified, or doctrine that teaches what is false. For 'Jesus' means Divine Good and 'Christ' Divine Truth, see 3004, 3005, 3008, 3009.

[2] For false Christs and false prophets will arise means the falsities taught by that doctrine. 'False Christs' means matters of doctrine from the Word that have been falsified, that is, truths that are not Divine, as is evident from what has been stated immediately above; see also 3010, 3732 (end). And 'false prophets' means those who teach those falsities, 2534. In the Christian world those who teach falsities are in particular those who have self-aggrandizement and also worldly wealth as their end in view. Indeed they twist the truths of the Word to suit themselves. For when self-love and love of the world is the end in view, nothing else is contemplated. These are the 'false Christs and false prophets'.

[3] And they will show great signs and wonders means proofs and convincing reasons that are based on outward appearances and on illusions by which the simple allow themselves to be led astray. The meaning of 'signs and wonders' will in the Lord's Divine mercy be shown elsewhere.

[4] So as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect means those who lead lives that are good and true and who therefore abide in the Lord. These are the ones who in the Word are called 'the elect'. They are rarely present in a group of those who cloak worship that is profane with outward reverence; or if they are present there they go unrecognized because the Lord hides them and so protects them. Until they have been made strong by Him, they easily allow themselves to be led astray by external practices expressing reverence; but once they have been made strong they are not deceived. For though they are not aware of it, they are kept by the Lord in the company of angels, when it is impossible for them to be led astray by that unspeakable crew.

[5] Behold, I have told you beforehand means an exhortation to be shrewd, that is, to be on their guard, since they are among false prophets who appear in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves, Matthew 7:15. Those false prophets are the sons of the age who are more shrewd, that is, more cunning, in their own generation than the sons of light, referred to in Luke 16:8. For this reason the Lord warns them as follows,

Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and simple as doves. Matthew 10:16.

[6] If therefore they say to you, Behold, He is in the wilderness! do not go out; Behold, He is in the inner rooms! do not believe it means that what they say about the truth, what they say about good, and many other things, are not to be believed. Nobody can see that this is the meaning of these words except one who is acquainted with the internal sense. They contain an arcanum within them, as one may see from the fact that the Lord spoke them and that without some other sense concealed within them interiorly they would not amount to anything. That is to say, the injunctions not to go out if they said that Christ was in the wilderness and not to believe it if they said that He was in the inner rooms would not amount to anything. But truth that has undergone vastation is what 'the wilderness' means, and good that has undergone vastation, what 'the inner rooms' or inward parts means. The reason why truth that has undergone vastation is meant by a wilderness is that when the Church has undergone vastation, that is, when there is no Divine truth there any longer because no good exists there any longer, that is, no love to the Lord or charity towards the neighbour, it is called a wilderness or said to be in the wilderness. For the word wilderness is used to mean everything that is uncultivated or uninhabited, 2708, and also to mean that which has little life to it, 1927, as is the case at that time with truth in the Church. From this it is evident that 'the wilderness' here means a Church in which truth does not exist.

[7] 'The inner rooms' or inward parts however in the internal sense means the Church as regards good, and also simply that which is good. A Church in which good is present is called 'the House of God', 'the inner rooms' in this case being forms of good, as also are the contents of that house. For 'the House of God' means Divine good, and 'a house' in general means good that flows from love and charity, see 2233, 2234, 2559, 3142, 3652, 3720. The reason why what they say about truth and what they say about good is not to be believed is that they call falsity the truth and evil good. Indeed people whose end in view is self and the world do not understand anything else by truth and good than that they themselves should be adored and they themselves should receive benefits. And if they give the impression that they are devout it is so that they may be seen dressed in sheep's clothing.

[8] What is more, the Word which the Lord has spoken contains more in it than anyone can calculate, and 'the wilderness' is an expression that has a wide range of spiritual meanings. As everything uncultivated or uninhabited is called 'the wilderness' and all things that are interior are called 'the inner rooms', therefore 'the wilderness' also means the Old Testament Word since this is considered to be superseded, while 'the inner rooms' means the New Testament Word since this teaches about interior things, that is, it is concerned with the internal man. The Word as a whole is likewise referred to as 'the wilderness' when it no longer serves to supply matters of doctrine, and 'inner rooms' is the name given to human practices which, being departures from the commands and ordinances of the Word, turn the Word into a wilderness. This is also well known in the Christian world, for people whose worship is outwardly holy but inwardly profane owing to the introduction of novelties which have as their end in view pre-eminence over all others and becoming wealthier than all others set aside the Word. Indeed they go so far as not to allow others to read it. And even in the case of those whose worship is not profane as just described and who do regard the Word to be holy and do allow it a place among ordinary people, they nevertheless bend and explain everything in accordance with their own teachings. And this turns the rest of the Word which does not accord with their own teachings into a wilderness, as becomes quite clear from those who focus salvation on faith alone and show contempt for the works of charity. They turn so to speak into a wilderness everything which the Lord Himself has stated in the New Testament, and so many times in the Old, about love and charity. And everything to do with faith without works is turned so to speak into inner rooms. From this it is evident what is meant by, If they say to you, Behold, He is in the wilderness! do not go out; Behold, He is in the inner rooms! do not believe it.

[9] For as the lightning comes from the east and is seen as far as the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be means that internal worship of the Lord will be like lightning which is instantly dispersed. For 'lightning' means that which is a manifestation of heavenly light and thus that which has reference to love and faith since these are the components of heavenly light. 'East' in the highest sense means the Lord, in the internal sense good that flows from love, charity, and faith received from the Lord, see 101, 1250, 3249. 'West' in the internal sense however means that which has gone down or ceased to be, and so means the non-acknowledgement of the Lord or of good that flows from love, charity, and faith. Accordingly 'the lightning which comes from the east and is seen as far as the west' means dispersal. The Lord's coming does not consist, as the letter has it, in His appearing once again in the world, but in His presence within everyone. He is present there as often as the gospel is preached and that which is holy is contemplated.

[10] For wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together means that confirmations of falsity by means of reasonings will be multiplied in the Church that has undergone vastation. When the Church is devoid of good and as a consequence devoid of the truth of faith, that is, when it has undergone vastation, it is called dead, since good and truth are the source of its life. And so when it is dead it is compared to 'the carcass'. Reasonings to the effect that goods and truths are nothing except insofar as they can be grasped mentally, and confirmations of evil and falsity by means of those reasonings, are meant by 'the eagles', as may be seen from what follows immediately below. The fact that 'the carcass' here means the Church when devoid of the life of charity and faith is evident from the Lord's words where the close of the age is the subject, in Luke,

The disciples said (referring to the close of the age or the Last Judgement), Where, Lord? Jesus said to them, Where the body is, there the eagles will be gathered together. Luke 17:37.

'The body' is used here instead of the carcass, it being a dead body that is understood in this case, which means the Church. For it is clear from many references in the Word that the House of God - that is, the Church - is where the Judgement begins. These then are the details meant in the internal sense by the Lord's words which have been introduced and explained above. The most wonderful flow of ideas, though barely visible at all in the sense of the letter, may be seen by anyone who thinks about them in the connected sequence explained above.