THE EXPLANATION of Isaiah Chapter 59

(Note: Rev. Smithson's translation of the Isaiah text is appended below the explanation.)

1. BEHOLD, the hand of Jehovah is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither is His ear heavy, that it cannot hear:

VERSE 1. As to the meaning of "hand" and "arm", see Chapter 5:25; and what is meant by being "short of hand", see Chapter 25:11, the Exposition.

2. But your iniquities have separated between you and your God; and your sins have hidden His faces from you, that He doth not hear.

Verse 2. Your sins have hidden His faces front you, etc. - For what is involved in these words, see Chap. 8:17; 54:8, the Exposition.

3. For your hands are polluted with blood, and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken falsehood, and your tongue has meditated perverseness.

Verses 3, 7. "The hands polluted with blood, and the fingers with iniquity", signifies that in everything belonging to them there is the false and the evil of the false; the "hands" and the "fingers" signify power, and hence all things appertaining to them wherein there is any ability.

Inasmuch as these things are signified, therefore, it is also said, "Your lips have spoken falsehood, and your tongue has meditated perverseness"; "falsehood" [or lies] denoting falsities, and "perverseness" the evil of the false.

By "their feet hastening to shed innocent blood", is signified to destroy the Good of love and of charity, this being meant by "shedding innocent blood"; the Good of innocence is that from which is derived every Good and Truth of heaven and the church, as may be seen in the work concerning Heaven and Hell 276-283.

From these considerations it may appear what is signified, in the general sense, by "bloods" in the plural, namely, violence offered as well to the Truths of the Word and of the church as to the Goods thereof. Inasmuch as by "shedding innocent blood" is signified to destroy the Good of love and of charity, therefore every precaution was taken that "innocent blood" might not be shed", and if it was shed, that "the land might be expiated; " (see Deuteronomy 19:10, 13; 21:1-9) for the "land" signifies the church. Apocalypse Explained 329. That the "land", or the "earth", signifies the church, see above, Chapter 24, the Exposition.

4. No one calls in justice, and no one pleads in truth: trusting in vanity, and speaking lies; conceiving mischief; and bringing forth iniquity.

Verse 4. Trusting in vanity, etc. - "Vanity" signifies the falsity of doctrine and of religion, as may appear from the following passages:

"There shall be no more any vision of vanity, nor flattering divination in the midst of the house of Israel"; (Ezekiel 12:24) a "vision of vanity" means a false revelation, See also Ezekiel 13:6-9. Arcana Coelestia 9248.

5. They hatch the eggs of the asp, and weave the web of the spider: he that eats of their eggs dieth; and when it is pressed, a viper breaks forth.

Verse 5. Speaking of evil men, who by treachery and craft seduce in things spiritual. The clandestine evils to which they craftily allure, are meant by "the eggs of the asp which they hatch"; the treacherous falsities are understood by "the web of the spider which they weave." The deadly hurt which they cause if they are received, is signified by "he that eats of their eggs dieth; and when it is pressed, a viper breaks forth." Inasmuch as the Pharisees were of such a quality, therefore they are called by the Lord, "serpents, a generation of vipers." (Matthew 23:33)

That the subtlety and malice of such could do no hurt to those whom the Lord protects, is signified by "The suckling shall play upon the hole of the viper; and upon the den of the basilisk shall the weaned child lay his hand." (Isaiah 11:8) Apocalypse Explained 581. See also Chapter 14:29, 30, the Exposition.

6. Their webs shall not become garments, neither shall they cover themselves with their works: their works are works of iniquity, and the deed of violence is in their hands.

7. Their feet run to evil, and they hasten to shed innocent blood: their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity; devastation and destruction are in their paths.

Verses 6, 7. Their works are works of iniquity, and the deed of violence is in their hands; their feet run to evil, and they hasten to shed innocent blood, etc. - "Violence" means violence against charity, as may appear from many passages; the same is also signified by "shedding innocent blood." See Chapter 60:17, 18, the Exposition.

8. The Way of peace they know not; neither is there any judgment in their goings: they have perverted to themselves their paths; one that goes therein shall not know peace.

Verse 8. In this and in many other passages "peace" signifies, in the supreme sense, the Lord; in the representative sense, His kingdom and Good from the Lord therein, thus the Divine Principle which flows into Good, or into the affections of Good, and which causes, from an inmost principle, joys and happiness. Arcana Coelestia 3780.

As to "peace", see above, Chapter 9:6; 48:18, 22, the Exposition.

9. Therefore is judgment far from us, neither doth justice overtake us: we look for light, but behold darkness! for brightness, but we walk in thick darkness.

Verse 9. "Judgment is far from us", signifies that there is no understanding of Truth; "justice doth not overtake us", means that there is no Good of life; "we look for light, but behold darkness", signifies expectation of Truth, but behold the false; and "for brightness, but we walk in thick darkness", denotes the expectation of Goods by Truths, but behold the life of the false from evils; for "brightness" or "splendours " signify the Goods of Truth, because "light" signifies Truth, and Truth is resplendent from Good; "thick darkness" denotes the falsities of evil, and to "walk" signifies to live. Apocalypse Explained 526.

Verses 9, 10. We look for light, but behold darkness! for brightness, but we walk in thick darkness. We grope for the wall like the blind; we stumble at mid-day as in the twilight, etc. - In the Word "darkness" [tenebrae] and "thick darkness" [caligo] are named together. That "darkness" signifies the deprivation of Truth, and "thick darkness" the deprivation both of Truth and of Good, is evident from Isaiah 59:9, 10. "Judgment is far from us, neither doth justice overtake us", signifies that there is neither Truth nor Good; that "judgment" is predicated of Truth, and "justice" of Good, may be seen, Arcana Coelestia 2235. To "look for light" means Truth, and "for brightness or splendours" means the Good of Truth; for the splendour of "light" [or Truth] is from Good. That "darkness" is there opposed to "light", and to "judgment", thus to Truth; and "thick darkness" to "brightness" and to "justice", thus to Good, is evident; wherefore "darkness" is the deprivation of Truth, and "thick darkness" is the deprivation both of Truth and of Good. (See also Amos 5:20; Joel 2:2) Arcana Coelestia 7111.

Here the "blind" denote those who are not in the understanding of Truths; "darkness" and "thick darkness" mean falsities. To "stumble at mid-day, as in the twilight", denotes to err in falsities, although they may be in the light from the Word. Apocalypse Explained 239.

10. We grope for the wall like the blind, and we grope as those that have no eyes: we stumble at mid-day as in the twilight; we are among the living as dead.

11. We groan all of us like bears; and like doves we make a constant moan: we look judgment, but there is none; for salvation, but it is far from us.

12. For our transgressions are multiplied before You; and our sins testify against us: for our transgressions are with us, and our iniquities we acknowledge;

13. By transgressing and lying against Jehovah, and by turning backward from our God; by speaking oppression and revolt, and by conceiving and meditating from the heart words of falsehood.

Verses 10-12. "We grope for the wall like the blind, and we grope as those that have no eyes", signifies that there is not any understanding of Truth; "we stumble at mid-day as in the twilight", signifies the lapsing into errors, although they are in the church where the Word is, from which they might come into the light of Truth; "we are among the living as dead", denotes that they might be in spiritual life by the Word, and yet are not, because they are in falsities. "We groan all of us like bears, and like doves we make a constant moan", signifies the grief of the natural man, and thence of the spiritual man; "we look for judgment, but there is none; for salvation, but it is far from us", denotes the hope of illustration of the understanding, and thence of salvation, but in vain. "For our transgressions are multiplied before You; and our sins testify against us", signifies by reason of falsities from evil. Apocalypse Explained 781.

14. And judgment is turned away backwards, and justice stands afar off: for truth has stumbled in the street, and rectitude cannot enter.

15. And truth is taken away; and he that shuns evil is accounted mad: and Jehovah saw it, and it was evil in His eyes that there was no judgment.

Verse 14. By "judgment" and "justice", in the Word, are meant Truth and Good. That these no longer exist, is signified by "judgment being turned away backwards, and justice standing afar off." The wandering from the Truths of doctrine, and there being thence no Truth in the life, which is Good of life, is understood by Truth has stumbled in the street, and rectitude cannot enter"; for all the Good of life is procured by Truths of doctrine, as man thereby learns how he ought to live; whereas "street" signifies where Truth leads, therefore it is said "Truth stumbles in the street." Apocalypse Explained 652.

Verses 14-16. Truth has stumbled in the street, and rectitude cannot enter, etc. - "No man" manifestly means no one intelligent, thus, in the universal sense, for no Truth; for this passage treats of the last time of the church, when there is no longer anything of Truth; wherefore it is said, "Truth has stumbled in the street; rectitude cannot enter; and Truth is taken away. That "street" is also predicated of the Truth, may be seen, Arcana Coelestia 2336; in like manner "judgment", Arcana Coelestia 2335. Arcana Coelestia 3134. See also above, Chapter 41:28, the Exposition; and Arcana Coelestia 8273.

16. And He saw that there was no man; and He wondered that there was no intercessor: therefore His own arm wrought salvation for Him; and His justice, it sustained Him.

Verse 16. That the Lord made His Human Divine from His own proper power, thus without the aid of any one, is evident from this, that because He was conceived of Jehovah, the Divine was in Him, and thus that the Divine was His; wherefore, when He was in the world, and made the Human in Himself Divine. He did it out of His own Divine, or out of Himself, which is described in the above words in Isaiah. The "arm" which wrought salvation for Him, is His own proper power, by which He subjugated the hells. Arcana Coelestia 5005, 9715.

How the Lord, when He was in the world, bore the iniquities of the human race, that is, fought with the hells and subjugated them, and thus acquired to Himself the Divine Power of removing them with all who are in Good, and that He thus became Merit and Justice, is described in Isaiah 59:10-20. Arcana Coelestia 9937.

He saw that there was no man. - See the Exposition of Isaiah Chapter 41:28.

There was no intercessor. - As to the meaning of "intercession", see Chapter 53:12, the Exposition.

17. And He put on justice as a breast-plate, and a helmet of salvation upon His head: and He put on the garments of vengeance for His clothing; and He clad Himself with zeal as with a mantle.

Verse 17. These words treat of the subjugation of the hells by the Lord. By "righteousness [or justice] as a breast-plate", is denoted His zeal of delivering the faithful from hell, and His divine love of saving the human race; and because it was zeal from Divine Love, and hence the power from which Ho fought and conquered, therefore justice is called a "breast-plate"; but by the "helmet of salvation" is signified Divine Truth from Divine Good, by which is salvation, for a "helmet" has a similar signification to the "head" with which it is clothed; and the "head", when said of the Lord, signifies the Divine Truth and the Divine Wisdom. Apocalypse Explained 557.

These things are said of the Lord, and of His combats with the hells; for when He was in the world He reduced all things in the hells and in the heavens to order, and this by Divine Truth from Divine Love. The "garments of vengeance" signify the Truths by which He fought; "zeal as a mantle" is the Divine Love from which He fought. Hence it may appear why the "mantle" is mentioned, namely, to signify the Lord's combating by Divine Truths from Divine Love. The "cloak of the ephod, with which Aaron was clothed, upon the borders whereof were pomegranates and bells", mentioned in Exodus 28:31-35, and in Leviticus 8:7-13, had a similar signification, as may be seen in the Arcana Coelestia 9911-9929. Apocalypse Explained 395.

18. According to their deserts, accordingly will He repay: fury to His adversaries, recompense to His enemies; to the islands a recompense will He repay.

Verse 18. To the islands a recompense will He repay. - Concerning the signification of "islands", both in a good and in a bad sense, see Chapter 42:15, the Exposition.

19. And they from the west shall fear the name of Jehovah; and they from the rising of the sun, His glory: when he [the adversary] cometh in like a rushing river, the Spirit of Jehovah shall raise up a standard against him,

Verse 19. In this passage, "from the rising and from the setting of the sun" signifies all who are in the Goods and Truths of heaven and the church. Apocalypse Explained 422.

What is signified by a "name", see Chapter 4:1; 26:8, the Exposition.

That the Lord is the "Sun" of heaven, see Chapter 30:26, the Exposition.

When he [the adversary] cometh in like a rushing river, the Spirit of Jehovah shall raise up a standard against him. - The Divine Truth which was in the Lord when He was in the world, and which then was Himself, is "the Spirit of Jehovah." Arcana Coelestia 9818.

20. And the Redeemer shall come to Zion, and to them that turn away from transgression in Jacob; says Jehovah.

Verse 20. By "Zion" is understood heaven and the church, in which the Lord rules by His Divine Truth. Apocalypse Explained 850

21. And as for Me, this is My covenant with them, says Jehovah: My spirit, which is upon you, and My words, which I have put in your mouth; they shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your seed, nor from the mouth of your seed's seed, says Jehovah; from this time forth for ever.

Verse 21. As to "covenant", see Chapter 42:6, the Exposition.

My spirit, which is upon you. - As to "the Spirit of Jehovah", see Chapter 11:2, the Exposition.

My words, which I have put in your mouth; shall not depart out of your mouth, etc. - See Chapter 51:16, 17, the Exposition.

---

Isaiah Chapter 59.

1. BEHOLD, the hand of Jehovah is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither is His ear heavy, that it cannot hear:

2. But your iniquities have separated between you and your God; and your sins have hidden His faces from you, that He doth not hear.

3. For your hands are polluted with blood, and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken falsehood, and your tongue has meditated perverseness.

4. No one calls in justice, and no one pleads in truth: trusting in vanity, and speaking lies; conceiving mischief; and bringing forth iniquity.

5. They hatch the eggs of the asp, and weave the web of the spider: he that eats of their eggs dieth; and when it is pressed, a viper breaks forth.

6. Their webs shall not become garments, neither shall they cover themselves with their works: their works are works of iniquity, and the deed of violence is in their hands.

7. Their feet run to evil, and they hasten to shed. innocent blood: their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity; devastation and destruction are in their paths.

8. The Way of peace they know not; neither is there any judgment in their goings: they have perverted to themselves their paths; one that goes therein shall not know peace.

9. Therefore is judgment far from us, neither doth justice overtake us: we look for light, but behold darkness! for brightness, but we walk in thick darkness.

10. We grope for the wall like the blind, and we grope as those that have no eyes: we stumble at mid-day as in the twilight; we are among the living as dead.

11. We groan all of us like bears; and like doves we make a constant moan: we look judgment, but there is none; for salvation, but it is far from us.

12. For our transgressions are multiplied before You; and our sins testify against us: for our transgressions are with us, and our iniquities we acknowledge;

13. By transgressing and lying against Jehovah, and by turning backward from our God; by speaking oppression and revolt, and by conceiving and meditating from the heart words of falsehood.

14. And judgment is turned away backwards, and justice stands afar off: for truth has stumbled in the street, and rectitude cannot enter.

15. And truth is taken away; and he that shuns evil is accounted mad: and Jehovah saw it, and it was evil in His eyes that there was no judgment.

16. And He saw that there was no man; and He wondered that there was no intercessor: therefore His own arm wrought salvation for Him; and His justice, it sustained Him.

17. And He put on justice as a breast-plate, and a helmet of salvation upon His head: and He put on the garments of vengeance for His clothing; and He clad Himself with zeal as with a mantle.

18. According to their deserts, accordingly will He repay: fury to His adversaries, recompense to His enemies; to the islands a recompense will He repay.

19. And they from the west shall fear the name of Jehovah; and they from the rising of the sun, His glory: when he [the adversary] cometh in like a rushing river, the Spirit of Jehovah shall raise up a standard against him,

20. And the Redeemer shall come to Zion, and to them that turn away from transgression in Jacob; says Jehovah.

21. And as for Me, this is My covenant with them, says Jehovah: My spirit, which is upon you, and My words, which I have put in your mouth; they shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your seed, nor from the mouth of your seed's seed, says Jehovah; from this time forth for ever.

850. And behold a Lamb standing on the Mount Zion, signifies the presence of the Lord in heaven and in the church for separating the good from the evil and for executing judgment. This is evident from the signification of "Lamb," as being the Lord as to the Divine Human (See above, n. 297, 314, 343, 460, 482); also from the signification of "standing," as meaning to be present and to be conjoined (of which presently); also from the signification of "the Mount Zion," as being heaven and the church, where the Lord reigns by His Divine truth, as can be seen from the passages in the Word where "Mount Zion" is mentioned. But first something shall be said about the Lord's presence in heaven and in the church, for separating the good from the evil and for executing judgment. The presence of the Lord is perpetual in the whole heaven and in the whole church; for heaven is not heaven from what is the angels' own [proprium] in it, nor is the church a church from what is men's own [proprium] in it, but from the Divine of the Lord with them. For an angel's own [proprium] cannot make heaven, nor a man's own [proprium] the church, since the own [proprium], both of angels and of men, is not good. Consequently it is the Divine that goes forth from the Lord, as received by them, that makes heaven and the church in particular with each one, and thus makes heaven and the church in general in all in whom heaven and the church exist. Thence it is evident that the presence of the Lord is perpetual with all who are in heaven and in the church; but it is a presence that is peaceful, tranquil, preserving, and sustaining, by which all things in the heavens and on the earth are held constantly in their order and connection, or are reduced to that order; so, too, in the hells. But the presence that is meant here by "standing upon the Mount Zion" is the unusually active presence of the Lord, for the purpose of effecting an inflow of His Divine through the heavens into the lower parts, that the good there may be separated from the evil, and the evil be cast down from their places where they had formed for themselves a semblance of heavens. But this presence and conjunction of the Lord with the heavens and His consequent influx into the lower parts to effect the judgment has been treated of above (n. 413, 418, 419, 426, 489, 493, 702, 704). It is this presence that is signified elsewhere by "standing," when attributed to the Lord (as in Isaiah 3:13). From all this it can be seen that "behold a Lamb standing on the Mount Zion" signifies the presence of the Lord in heaven and in the church, for separating the good from the evil and for executing judgment.

[2] "Mount Zion" signifies heaven and the church where the Lord reigns by His Divine truth, for the reason that Zion was a city built by David, and in which he afterwards dwelt, and was therefore called "the city of David," and as "David" represented the Lord in respect to His royalty, which is the Divine truth, "Zion" signifies in the Word heaven and the church, where the Lord reigns by His Divine truth. For the same reason the ark of Jehovah, in which the law was deposited, was carried into that city by David; for that law also signifies in a broad sense Divine truth going forth from the Lord. And for the same reason Jerusalem, which lay below that mountain, signifies the church in respect to doctrine; for every doctrine of the church is from the Divine truth that goes forth from the Lord, consequently is from the Word. That city was built upon a mountain for the reason that at that time mountains, because of their height, represented the heavens, and thence also in the Word signify the heavens. The ground of this representation and consequent signification is that the highest heavens, in which are the angels of the third degree, appear at a height above the rest, and before the eyes of others like mountains; and as the highest heavens appear like mountains, and the angels who are upon them are in love to the Lord, so "mountains," and especially "Mount Zion," signify in the Word love to the Lord. (That a "mountain" signifies love see above, n. 405, 510.)

[3] That "Zion" signifies heaven and the church, in which the Lord reigns by His Divine truth, can be seen from the following passages. In David:

I have anointed My king upon Zion, the mountain of My holiness. I will declare the decree, Jehovah hath said unto Me, Thou art My Son, this day have I begotten Thee. I will give the nations for Thine inheritance, and the ends of the earth for Thy possession. Kiss the Son, lest He be angry and ye perish in the way, for His anger will shortly burn forth. Happy are all they that trust in Him (Psalms 2:6-8, 12).

This evidently was not said of David, but of the Lord, for it is said, "Thou art My Son, this day have I begotten Thee. I will give the nations for Thine inheritance, and the ends of the earth for Thy possession;" also "Kiss the Son, lest He be angry and ye perish in the way; Happy are all they that trust in Him;" nothing of which can be said of David. Therefore "to anoint a king upon Zion, the mountain of holiness," signifies the Lord's rule in heaven and in the church by means of Divine truth. (What "to be anointed" and "one anointed" signify, in reference to the Lord, may be seen above, n. 375.) "King" signifies the Lord in respect to Divine truth, "Zion" heaven and the church, and "to declare the decree" His coming; "Thou art, My Son, this day have I begotten Thee," signifies the Divine Human, which also is the Son of God; that He has all power in the heavens and on earth is meant by "I will give the nations for Thine inheritance, and the ends of the earth for Thy possession;" that there must be conjunction with Him by love that there may be salvation is signified by "Kiss the Son, lest He be angry and ye perish in the way." The Last Judgment by Him is signified by "His anger will shortly burn forth;" that those who have faith in Him will then be saved is signified by "Happy are all they that trust in Him." All this makes evident that "Zion" means heaven and the church, where the Lord reigns by means of His Divine truth.

[4] Likewise in Zechariah:

Exult greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem; behold thy king cometh unto thee; He is just and a Deliverer; meek and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the son of an ass (Zechariah 9:9).

That this was said of the Lord and of His kingdom in the heavens and on earth, which kingdom is meant by "Zion" and by "Jerusalem," is evident in the Gospels, where this, when it is fulfilled, is related:

Jesus sent two disciples that they might bring to Him an ass and her colt. This was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, Tell ye the daughter of Zion, Behold thy King cometh to thee, meek, sitting upon an ass, and upon a colt, the son of a beast of burden (Matthew 21:1, 2, 4, 5; John 12:14, 15).

That "riding upon an ass and upon a foal of an ass" was a sign of royalty, and therefore the Lord so rode when He entered Jerusalem, and He was therefore called King by the multitude crying aloud, and branches of palm trees and garments were strewn upon the way before Him (verses 7-9), may be seen above n. 31, and as the Lord thus entered Jerusalem as a King it is evident that "Zion" means heaven and the church, in which the Lord reigns by means of His Divine truth. That the kings of Judah and Israel represented the Lord as to the Divine truth, and that consequently "kings" mean those who are in truths from good from the Lord can be seen above (n. 31, 553, 625); and that especially David represented in the Word the Lord as to royalty, which is the Divine truth (n. 205).

[5] In Isaiah:

O Zion, proclaimer of good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, proclaimer of good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God! behold the Lord Jehovih cometh in strength (Isaiah 40:9, 10).

As this is said of the Lord and of His Kingdom, and this is signified by "Zion and Jerusalem," it is said that "Zion and Jerusalem should proclaim it as good tidings," Zion from good of love, and Jerusalem from truths of doctrine. To proclaim good tidings from good of love is meant by "getting up into a high mountain;" and proclaiming good tidings from truths of doctrine is meant by "lifting up the voice with strength;" "the cities of Judah" signify the doctrine of love to the Lord and love towards the neighbor in the whole complex. The Lord as to the Divine truth and the Divine good, who was to come and execute judgment, is meant by, "Behold your God! behold the Lord Jehovih cometh in strength;" for the Lord is called "God" in the Word from Divine truth, and "Jehovah," and also "Lord Jehovih," from Divine good; and "to come in strength" is to execute judgment, and thus to subjugate the hells.

[6] In Micah:

In the end of the days it shall be that the mountain of the house of Jehovah shall be established in the head of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and peoples shall flow unto it. And many nations shall come and say, Come and let us go up to the mountain of Jehovah, to the house of the God of Jacob, that He may teach us of His ways and that we may go in His paths; for from Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of Jehovah from Jerusalem. Then shall He judge among many nations, and shall reprove numerous nations, even afar off. Jehovah shall rule in Mount Zion from henceforth even forever. Thou, O tower of the flock, O hillside of the daughter of Zion, unto thee shall come and shall return the former kingdom, the kingdom of the daughter of Jerusalem (Micah 4:1-3, 7, 8).

Anyone can see that the coming of the Lord and of His kingdom in the heavens and in the earth are here described; therefore His kingdom, which is heaven and the church, is meant by "the mountain of the house of Jehovah" that will then be established in the head of the mountains. And as "Zion" means heaven and the church in which the Lord is to reign by His Divine truth, while "Jerusalem" means heaven and the church as to doctrine from that Divine truth, it is said, "from Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of Jehovah from Jerusalem." The instruction of all from the Lord is described by what then follows.

[7] In Isaiah:

Cry out and sing for joy, O inhabitant of Zion, for great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee (Isaiah 12:6).

In the same:

The redeemed of Jehovah shall return to Zion with singing, and the joy of eternity shall be upon their head (3 Isaiah 35:10).

In Zephaniah:

Sing for joy, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel; be glad and exult with all the heart, O daughter of Jerusalem; Jehovah hath taken away thy judgments; He hath overturned thine adversary. Jehovah is in the midst of thee (Zephaniah 3:14, 15).

In Zechariah:

Sing for joy and be glad, O daughter of Zion; for lo, I come that I may dwell in the midst of thee; and many nations in that day shall cleave to Jehovah. I will dwell in thee (Zechariah 2:10, 11).

In the same:

I will return to Zion, and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem; whence Jerusalem shall be called the city of truth, and the mountain of Jehovah, the mountain of holiness (Zechariah 8:3).

In David:

Who shall give in Zion the salvation of Israel? When Jehovah shall bring back the captivity of his people Jacob shall exult and Israel shall be glad (Psalms 14:7; 53:6).

In Isaiah:

The Lord Jehovih shall lay in Zion for a foundation a tried stone, a precious corner stone of a well-founded foundation; he that believeth shall not make haste. Then I will set judgment for a rule and justice for a plummet; your covenant with death shall be abolished, and your vision with hell shall not stand (Isaiah 28:16-18).

In the same:

In that day a present unto Jehovah of Hosts shall be brought, a people distracted and plundered, from a terrible people, to the place of the name of Jehovah of Hosts, to Mount Zion (Isaiah 18:7).

In the same:

I have made near My justice, it is not far off, and My salvation shall not tarry; I will place salvation in Zion, My adornment for Israel (Isaiah 46:13).

In the same:

Then a Redeemer shall come to Zion (Isaiah 59:20).

These passages treat of the Lord's coming and of His kingdom in the heavens and on the earth, and as that kingdom is meant by "Zion and Jerusalem" it is said that they shall come thither, and that Jehovah the Holy One and the King of Israel shall dwell there; "Jehovah the Holy One and the King of Israel" meaning the Lord as to Divine truth. This makes clear that "Zion" means heaven and the church, in which the Lord reigns by Divine truth, and "Jerusalem" heaven and the church as to doctrine from that Divine truth. Who does not see that Zion and Jerusalem, to which the nations should be brought back, and where the Lord should dwell, do not mean Zion and Jerusalem where the Jewish nation was?

[8] It can also be seen from the following passages that "Zion" means heaven and the church, in which the Lord reigns by Divine truth. In Isaiah:

Zion shall be redeemed with judgment, and those of her that are brought back in justice (Isaiah 1:27).

In the same:

He that is left in Zion and he that remaineth in Jerusalem shall be called holy to Him, everyone that is written unto life in Jerusalem. Jehovah will create over every dwelling of Mount Zion, and over her assemblies, a cloud by day and a smoke and the shining of a flame of fire by night (Isaiah 4:3, 5).

In the same:

Jehovah of Hosts shall reign in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, and before His elders shall be glory (Isaiah 24:23).

In the same:

Jehovah, who hath His fireplace in Zion, and His oven in Jerusalem (Isaiah 31:9).

In the same:

Jehovah is exalted, for He dwelleth on high; He hath filled Zion with judgment and justice. Look upon Zion, the city of our set feast; let thine eyes see Jerusalem, a quiet habitation, a tabernacle that shall not be destroyed (Isaiah 33:5, 20).

In the same:

The virgin daughter of Zion hath despised thee; she hath laughed thee to scorn; the daughter of Jerusalem hath shaken her head after thee, because thou hast blasphemed and reviled the Holy One of Israel (Isaiah 37:22, 23).

In David:

That I may recount all Thy praises in the gates of the daughter of Zion (Psalms 9:14).

The sides of the north, the city of the great King; God is known in her streets (Psalms 48:2, 3).

In the same:

Encompass ye Zion, and encircle her, number her towers, set your heart to her bulwarks, examine her palaces; and ye shall tell to the generation following that this God is our God forever and ever; He will lead us (Psalms 48:11-14).

In the same:

In Salem is the tabernacle of God, and his dwelling place in Zion (Psalms 76:2).

In the same:

The Lord hath chosen the tribe of Judah, the mountain of Zion which He hath loved (Psalms 78:68).

In the same:

Jehovah loveth the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob. Glorious things are to be spoken in thee, O city of God; Jehovah shall count when He describeth the peoples, This one was born there. All my fountains are in thee (Psalms 87:2, 3, 6, 7).

In the same:

When Jehovah shall bring back the captivity of Zion, then shall our mouth be filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing (Psalms 126:1, 2).

In the same:

Jehovah shall bless thee out of Zion, that thou mayest see the good of Jerusalem all the days of my ¹ life; that thou mayest see the sons of thy sons, peace upon Israel (Psalms 128:5, 6).

In the same:

Jehovah hath chosen Zion, He hath desired it for a seat for Himself; this is My rest forever, here will I dwell, for I have desired it (Psalms 132:13, 14).

In the same:

Jehovah shall bless thee out of Zion (Psalms 134:3).

In the same:

Blessed be Jehovah out of Zion, who dwelleth in Jerusalem (Psalms 135:21).

In the same:

Jehovah shall reign forever thy God, O Zion, in generation and generation (Psalms 146:10).

In the same:

Let the sons of Zion exalt in their king; let them praise His name in the dance; let them sing psalms with timbrel and harp (Psalms 149:2, 3).

These passages respecting Zion are quoted that everyone may see that in the Word "Zion" does not mean Zion, but heaven and the church where the Lord reigns by means of His Divine truth. Most of these are also prophetic of the Lord, that when He came He would love Zion and dwell there forever; and yet He did not love that city nor Jerusalem, as is evident from His words respecting them; but He loved heaven and the church, where He is received through His Divine truth. This is why Zion is called "His rest," "His dwelling place," "the mountain of Jehovah," "the city of God," "the city of the great King," "the city of truth," and it is said that His kingdom shall be there "to eternity," "forever," and "to generation and generation;" none of which things could by any means be said of the Zion of David, or be meant by it.

[9] As the Lord came into the world to execute judgment, and thereby reduce all things in the hells and in the heavens to order; and as judgment is effected by Divine truth, since this, according to reception, is what makes man spiritual, and according to its laws, which are the Divine commandments in the Word, all judgments are effected in the spiritual world, so the Lord assumed the Human, and during His life in the world made it Divine truth, to the end that He might execute judgment, as has been said. That the Lord made His Human Divine truth is meant in John by:

The Word that was with God, and that was God, and by which all things were made that were made, and by which the world was created (1 :1, seq.).

"The Word" means Divine truth. That the Lord became Divine truth as to His Human is clearly stated as follows:

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only-begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth (John 1:14).

The Lord as to Divine truth is also meant by "the Son of man," as the Lord frequently calls Himself in the Gospels; of whom He also says that judgment is to be wrought by Him. Since, then, the Lord executed judgment by His Divine truth, and since "Zion" means heaven and the church, in which the Lord reigns by His Divine truth, it is said in this chapter of Revelation, which treats of the separation of the good from the evil before the Last Judgment, that "a Lamb was seen standing upon the Mount Zion," which signifies the presence of the Lord in heaven and in the church for separating the good from the evil and for executing judgment, as has been said above.

[10] Because "the mount of Zion" has the same signification elsewhere in the Word, it is said that the Lord will fight from Mount Zion for the church against the evil, and will destroy them; as in the following passages. In Isaiah:

Jehovah of Hosts shall come down to fight upon the mount of Zion and upon the hill thereof (Isaiah 31:4).

This, too, treats of the coming of the Lord and of the redemption or deliverance of the faithful; therefore "to fight upon the mount of Zion and upon the hill thereof" signifies to execute judgment by Divine truth, by which judgment is executed because all are judged according to their reception of it; since Divine truth, or the Word and doctrine therefrom, teach life, and everyone is judged according to the life.

[11] In David:

Jehovah will send help for thee out of the sanctuary, and will sustain thee out of Zion. We will sing of thy salvation, and in the name of our God we will set up our banners. I know that Jehovah saveth His anointed; He answereth him from the heaven of His holiness with the might of the salvation of His right hand (Psalms 20:2, 5, 6).

This, too, was said of the Lord and of His victory over the hells, and the consequent salvation of men. Combats and victories are meant by "answering His anointed from the heaven of His holiness with the might of the salvation of His right hand," and the salvation of the faithful thereby is meant by "His sustaining us out of Zion," and by "singing of His salvation. "

[12] In the same:

Jehovah shall speak, and shall call the earth from the rising of the sun even unto its going down. Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God shall shine forth, our God shall come. He shall cry out to heaven above and to the earth to judge His people. Gather My saints together unto Me (Psalms 50:1-5).

This plainly treats of judgment upon all from Zion, that is, from the Lord by the Divine truth. The separation of the good from the evil is meant by "He shall call the earth from the rising of the sun to its going down." Judgment upon all is meant by "He shall cry out to heaven above and to the earth to judge the people." The gathering together of the good and their salvation is meant by "gather My saints together unto Me." Divine truth, in which the Lord is in His glory, is meant by "Out of Zion the perfection of beauty God shall shine forth."

[13] In the same:

The saying of Jehovah to my lord, Sit thou at My right hand, until I make thine enemies a stool for thy feet. Jehovah shall send to thee the staff of thy strength out of Zion; rule thou in the midst of thine enemies (Psalms 110:1, 2).

The words of the Lord Himself in Matthew (Matthew 22:44) show that this was said of the Lord. "To sit at the right hand" signifies the Lord's Divine omnipotence; "to make his enemies a stool for his feet" signifies the complete subjugation and surrender of the hells; "the staff of strength out of Zion" signifies Divine truth, which is omnipotent, "Zion" meaning heaven, where the Lord reigns by His Divine truth. His rule over the hells by means of it is signified by "rule thou in the midst of thine enemies." That omnipotence belongs to the Lord alone, and this He has by His Divine truth, may be seen above n. 726. That truths have all power from good, and that good and truth therefrom are from the Lord, may also be seen above (n. 209, 338, 716, 776, 783).

[14] In Isaiah:

Awake, awake, put on thy strength, O Zion; put on the garments of thy beauty, O Jerusalem, the city of holiness (Isaiah 52:1).

As "Zion" signifies heaven, where the Lord reigns by His Divine truth, and as Divine truth has all power, it is said, "Awake, awake, put on thy strength, O Zion." Doctrine therefrom is signified by the "garments of beauty" that Jerusalem will put on.

[15] In Joel:

Jehovah shall roar out of Zion, and shall utter His voice from Jerusalem, that the heavens and the earth may shake. Then shall ye know that I am Jehovah, dwelling in Zion the mountain of My holiness, and that Jerusalem is holiness; no strangers shall pass through her any more (Joel 3:16, 17, 21).

In Amos:

Jehovah shall roar out of Zion, and utter His voice from Jerusalem (Amos 1:2).

"To roar," and the "roaring of a lion," when predicated of Jehovah, signify an ardent zeal for protecting heaven and the church, and for saving those who are therein by the Divine truth and its power, which is done by destroying the evils and falsities that rise up out of hell (See above, n. 601), and as "Zion" signifies heaven where the Lord reigns by the Divine truth, and "Jerusalem" signifies doctrine therefrom, it is clear what is signified by "Jehovah shall roar out of Zion, and shall utter His voice from Jerusalem." That the Lord is present where He reigns by His Divine truth, both with the angels of heaven and with the men of the church, is signified by "ye shall know that I am Jehovah, dwelling in Zion, the mountain of My holiness." That there shall be no falsities of evil there is signified by "no strangers shall pass through her," "strangers" being the falsities of evil.

[16] In Isaiah:

The day of vengeance of Jehovah, the year of retribution for the controversy of Zion (Isaiah 34:8).

"The day of vengeance of Jehovah and the year of retribution" signifies the Last Judgment, and the condemnation of those who through falsities and evils have laid waste all the truths of the church; which is what is meant by the words "for the controversy of Zion." In David:

Jehovah is great out of Zion, and He is high above all the peoples, the king's strength (Psalms 99:2, 4).

Here Zion is called "the king's strength" from the Divine truth which has power itself.

[17] In the same:

O Jehovah, Thou shalt arise and have mercy upon Zion, for it is time to pity her, for the set time is come; for Thy servants desire the stones thereof, and pity the dust thereof, that the nations may fear the name of Jehovah, and all the kings of the earth Thy glory; because Jehovah hath built up Zion, and hath appeared in His glory. The name of Jehovah shall be declared in Zion, and His praise in Jerusalem, when the peoples shall be gathered together, and the kingdoms, to serve Jehovah (Psalms 102:13-16, 21, 22).

This treats of the Lord's coming and of the redemption of the faithful by Him. His coming is signified by "the time to pity her," and by "the set time;" truths that are to be restored and truths that have been restored are signified by the "stones" which the servants desire; the establishment of the church and the worship of the Lord from Divine truths is described by what follows.

[18] The devastation of the church by the Jewish nation, by this that they had falsified every Divine truth, is also described throughout the Word by the vastation of Zion. As in Isaiah:

The cities of Thy holiness are become a wilderness; Zion is become a wilderness, and Jerusalem a waste (Isaiah 64:10).

In Lamentations:

The precious sons of Zion, esteemed equal to pure gold, how are they reputed as earthenware bottles, the work of the hands of the potter (Lamentations 4:2-22 to the end; likewise in Isaiah 3:16-26; Jeremiah 6:2; Micah 3:10, 12 here).

"The virgin" and "the daughter of Zion" are mentioned in many places, as in the following: 2 Kings 19:21; Isaiah 1:8; 3:16, 17; 4:4; 10:32; 16:1; 37:22; 52:2; 62:11; Jeremiah 4:31; 6:2, 23; Lamentations 1:6; 2:1, 4, 8, 10, 13, 18; 4:22; Micah 1:13; 4:8, 10, 13; Zephaniah 3:14; Zechariah 2:10; 9:9; Psalms 9:15; Matthew 21:5; John 12:15 and elsewhere. "The daughter of Zion" signifies the spiritual affection for the Divine truth, which is the love of truth for the sake of truth, and the desire for it for the sake of the uses of eternal life. From all this it is now evident what is signified by "the Lamb was seen standing upon the Mount Zion," namely, that in what here follows the separation of the good from the evil for the execution of judgment is treated of.

Фусноти: