768. And went away (abivit) to make war with the rest of her seed.- That this signifies, And thence a determined effort, springing from a life of evil, to attack the truths of the doctrine of that church, is plain from the signification of going away, as denoting a determined effort springing from a life of evil (concerning which we shall speak presently); from the signification of making war, as denoting to attack and to desire to destroy (concerning which see above, n. 573, 734); and from the signification of her seed, as denoting the truths of the doctrine of the church (concerning which we shall also speak presently). It is said the rest of her seed, because those who are in those truths, are meant, and in an abstract sense the truths of that church, which they believe themselves able to assault and destroy. To go away (abire) signifies here a determined effort from a life of evil, because to go (ire) in the spiritual sense signifies to live, therefore in the Word, the expressions "to go (ire) with the Lord," and "to walk with Him" and "after Him," are used, and they signify to live from the Lord; but when "to go" (ire) is said of the dragon, whose life is a life of evil, it signifies to make an effort from that life, and because that effort is an effort from hatred, which is signified by his anger (see above, n. 754, 758), therefore a determined effort is signified, because he who makes an effort from hatred makes a determined effort.

[2] Since the hatred of those meant by the dragon is a hatred against those who are in the truths of the doctrine of the church which is the New Jerusalem, therefore it is a hatred against the truths of doctrine which such possess. For those who love any one, also those who cherish hatred against any one, indeed love or hate the person in whom those things are which they love or hate, and these things are truths of doctrine in them, therefore truths of doctrine are signified by "the rest of her seed." It is therefore evident that, in the spiritual sense of the Word, person is not regarded, but something considered apart from personality, as in the present case, that which is in the person. This may be further illustrated in this way. It is said in the Word, that the neighbour should be loved as a man loves himself, but in the spiritual sense it does not mean that the neighbour should be loved as to the person, but that those things should be loved which are in the person from the Lord. For a person is not actually loved because he is a person or man, but on account of his character, and thus a person is loved for his qualities; this then is meant by neighbour; and it is the spiritual neighbour, or the neighbour in the spiritual sense, who is to be loved. This quality or neighbour with those who are of the church of the Lord is everything that proceeds from the Lord, which in general has reference to all good, spiritual, moral, and civil, therefore those who are in these goods love those who are in the same; this then is to love the neighbour as oneself.

[3] From these things it is evident that the rest of her seed, namely, of the woman, who signifies the church, mean those who are in the truths of the doctrine of that church, and in a sense apart from personality - which is the true spiritual sense - the truths of the doctrine of that church; similarly in other passages of the Word, as in the following in Moses:

"I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed. He shall tread upon thine head, and thou shalt wound his heel" (Genesis 3:15).

This is a prophecy concerning the Lord. The serpent there signifies man's Sensual, where his proprium resides, which in itself is nothing but evil, while the woman signifies the spiritual church, or the church which is in Divine truths. And because the Sensual of man has been destroyed, and the man of the church becomes spiritual when he is raised up out of the Sensual, it is therefore said, there shall be enmity between thee and the woman. The seed of the serpent signifies all falsity from evil, and the seed of the woman all truth from good, and in the highest degree, Divine Truth; and as all Divine Truth is from the Lord, and as the Lord by its means destroyed falsity from evil, it is therefore said, "He shall tread upon thy head;" "He" signifies the Lord, and head all falsity from evil. That the Sensual would still do injury to Divine Truth in its ultimates, which is the Word in the sense of the letter, is signified by "thou shalt wound his heel," the heel signifying that ultimate and that sense. That these have suffered and do still suffer injury from the Sensual, is evident from this single example, that the Roman Catholics understand the woman here to mean Mary and the worship of her, therefore in their Bibles the reading is not "He" (ille), but "it" (illud) and she (illa).

[4] So also in a thousand other passages.

In Jeremiah:

"Behold, the days shall come in which I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man and with the seed of beast" (31:27).

This is said of the Lord, and of a new church from Him; His coming is signified by "Behold the days shall come." To sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah, signifies to reform those who will be of that church, the house of Israel signifying the spiritual church, and the house of Judah the celestial church. And as reformation takes place by means of spiritual truths and by means of natural truths therefrom, it is said, "with the seed of man and the seed of beast," the seed of man signifying spiritual truth, from which man has intelligence, and the seed of beast natural truth, from which man has knowledge (scientia), also a life according to it, both of these from the affection for good. That man signifies affection for spiritual truth and good, may be seen above (n. 280); and that beast signifies natural affection (n. 650); thus the seed of man and the seed of beast signify the truths of those affections.

In Malachi:

"There is not one who doeth [this] who hath the spirit; is there one that seeketh the seed of God?" (2:15).

Is there one that seeketh the seed of God? signifies that no one seeks Divine Truth; the seed of God here evidently signifies Divine Truth; so "the born of God" mean those who are regenerated by the Lord by means of Divine Truth, and a life according to it.

[5] In Isaiah:

"Jehovah willed to bruise him, he hath weakened [him]; if thou shalt make his soul a guilt offering, he shall see seed, he shall prolong days, and the will of Jehovah shall prosper by his hand" (53:10).

This is said of the Lord. The whole of this chapter treats of His temptations, by means of which He subjugated the hells. The increasing severity of His temptations is described by Jehovah willed to bruise Him, and weaken Him; and the severest temptation, which was the passion of the cross, is signified by, "If thou shalt make His soul a guilt offering, - to make His soul a guilt offering signifying the last temptation, by which He completely subjugated the hells, and fully glorified His Human, through which comes redemption. The Divine Truth that afterwards proceeded from His Divine Human, and the salvation of all those who receive Divine Truth from Him, is signified by, He shall see seed; that this will continue for ever is signified by, He shall prolong days, to prolong, when said of the Lord, signifying to continue for ever, and days signifying states of light, which are the states of the enlightenment of all by means of Divine Truth. That this is from His Divine for the salvation of mankind is signified by The will of Jehovah shall prosper by His hand.

[6] In the same:

"Fear not, for I am with thee; I will bring thy seed from the east, and I will gather thee from the west; I will say to the north, Give up, and to the south, Keep not back, bring my sons from afar, my daughters from the end of the earth" (43:5, 6).

It is supposed that these words have reference to the bringing back of the sons of Israel into the land of Canaan; this, however, is not there meant, but the salvation by the Lord of all those who receive Divine Truth from Him, and of whom a new church is formed. This is the signification of His seed which shall be brought from the east and gathered from the west, and which the north shall give up and the south shall not keep back. Therefore, the words follow, "Bring my sons from afar, and my daughters from the end of the earth," sons denoting those who are in the truths of the church, and daughters those who are in its goods. But these words may be seen explained above (n. 422:5, 724:20).

[7] In the same:

"Thou shalt break forth to the right and to the left, and thy seed shall inherit the nations, and make the desolate cities to be inhabited" (54:3).

This is said of a church from the Lord with the Gentiles, and this church is here meant by the barren woman that did not bare, and who should have many sons (ver. 1). The seed that shall inherit the nations, signifies the Divine Truth that shall be given to the nations. To break forth to the right hand and to the left, signifies extension and multiplication, the right hand signifying truth in light, and the left hand truth in shade. The reason of this signification is, that in the spiritual world, to the right hand is the south, where those are who are in the clear light of truth, and to the left is the north, where those are who are in an obscure light of truth. To make the desolate cities to be inhabited, signifies their life according to Divine truths, which before this had been destroyed, cities denoting the truths of doctrine from the Word, to be inhabited signifying to live according to truths, and desolate cities those truths previously destroyed, that is, with the Jewish nation.

[8] In the same:

"Their seed shall become known in the nations, and their offspring in the midst of the peoples; all that see them shall acknowledge them, that they are the seed that Jehovah hath blessed" (Isaiah 61:9).

This also is said of the church to be established by the Lord. The seed that shall become known in the nations, signifies Divine Truth that will be received by those who are in the good of life; and the offspring in the midst of the peoples, signifies life according to Divine truth. Those that see them shall acknowledge that they are the seed, signifies enlightenment that it is the real truth that they receive; that Jehovah hath blessed, signifies that it is from the Lord. Such is the signification of these words in a sense apart from personality, but in a strict sense those who will receive Divine Truth from the Lord are meant.

[9] In the same:

"They are the seed of the blessed of Jehovah, and their offspring with them" (65:23).

This also is said of a church from the Lord. By the seed of the blessed of Jehovah are meant those who will receive Divine Truth from the Lord; and by their offspring are meant those who live according to it, but in a sense apart from personality, which is the true spiritual sense, seed means Divine Truth, and offspring a life according to it, as shown above. By offspring are meant those who live according to Divine Truth, and in an abstract sense, life according to it, because the word in the original, rendered offspring, is from a word which means to go forth and to proceed, and that which goes forth and proceeds from the Divine Truth received is a life according to it.

[10] In the same:

"As new heavens and a new earth, which I will make, shall stand before me, so shall your seed and your name stand" (Isaiah 66:22).

This also treats of the Lord, and the salvation of the faithful by Him. A new church from Him is meant by new heavens and a new earth, by new heavens the internal church, and by a new earth, the external church. That Divine Truth and its quality shall continue is signified by "your seed and your name shall stand," seed signifying Divine Truth, which also is truth of doctrine from the Word, and name its quality. That name signifies the quality of a thing and of a state, may be seen above (n. 148).

[11] In David:

"Thou hast founded the earth, and the heavens are the work of thy hands. They shall perish, and thou shalt continue; they shall all wax old like garments, like a garment shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed. But thou art the same, and thy years shall have no end; the sons of thy servants shall abide, and their seed shall be established before thee" (Psalm 102:25-28).

The earth which God hath formed, and the heavens the work of His hands, which shall perish, have a similar signification to that of the former heaven and former earth which have passed away (see Apoc. 21:1).

And because the face of the earth and of the heavens in the spiritual world will be entirely changed at the day of the Last Judgment, and there will be a new earth and new heavens in the place of the former, it is therefore said, that "they shall all wax old like garments, like a garment shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed;" they are compared to garments, because garments signify external truths, such as those had who were in the former heaven (caelo) and former earth, which heaven and earth do not endure, because not in internal truths. The state of Divine Truth that shall endure from the Lord to eternity is signified by "thou shalt continue, and thou art the same, and thy years shall have no end," the years of God signifying states of Divine Truth. The sons of Thy servants shall abide, and their seed shall be established before Thee, signifies that angels and men who are recipents of Divine Truth shall have eternal life, and that truths of doctrine with them shall endure to eternity, sons of the servants of God denoting angels and men who are recipients of Divine Truth, and their seed denoting the truths of doctrine.

[12] In the same:

"The seed that shall serve him shall be numbered to the Lord for a generation" (Psalm 22:30).

This also is said of the Lord. The seed that shall serve Him, means those who are in truths of doctrine from the Word; while it shall be numbered to the Lord for a generation, signifies that they shall be His to eternity, to be counted signifying to be arranged and disposed in order, here to be added to, thus to be His.

[13] In many passages in the Word mention is made of the seed of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, also of the seed of Israel, and this in the historical sense of the letter means their posterity; but, in the spiritual sense, Divine Truth and the truth of doctrine from the Word are meant, because Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Israel, in this sense, mean the Lord, as can be seen from passages in the Word, where they are mentioned. For example, where it is said, that they shall come from the east and from the west, and shall recline (accumbo) ¹ with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of the heavens (Matthew 8:11), which means the enjoyment of celestial good from the Lord. So in other passages. And as the Lord is meant by them in the internal sense, therefore their seed signifies the Divine Truth which is from the Lord, and thus also truth of doctrine from the Word, as in the following passages.

In Moses:

Jehovah said to Abraham, "All the land which thou seest will I give to thee and to thy seed for ever; and I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth" (Genesis 13:15, 16):

"Look up towards the heavens and number the stars, so shall thy seed be" (Genesis 15:5).

"In thy seed shall all nations be blessed" (Genesis 22:18).

To Isaac,

"To thee and to thy seed will I give all these lands, and I will multiply thy seed as the stars of heaven; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed" (Genesis 26:3-5).

To Jacob,

"Unto thy seed after thee will I give this land" (Genesis 35:12).

The land "given to Abraham, to Isaac, and Jacob, and to their seed after them" (Deuteronomy 1:8):

"The seed of your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob" (Deuteronomy 4:37; chap. 10:15; chap. 11:9).

Since by Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as stated, the Lord is meant, by Abraham the Lord as to the celestial Divine of the church, by Isaac as to the spiritual Divine of the church, and by, Jacob as to the natural Divine of the church; therefore their seed signifies the Divine Truth proceeding from the Lord, the seed of Abraham signifying celestial Divine Truth, the seed of Isaac spiritual Divine Truth, and the seed of Jacob natural Divine Truth; consequently those are meant who are in Divine Truth from the Lord. But the land which the Lord will give to them means the church, which is in Divine Truth from Him; it can therefore be understood what is signified by all nations being blessed in their seed; for they could not be blessed in their posterity, that is, in the Jewish and Israelitish nation, but in the Lord and from the Lord by the reception of Divine Truth from Him.

[14] That the Jews are not meant by the seed of Abraham, is plain from the words of the Lord in John:

The Jews answered, "We are Abraham's seed, and have never been in bondage to any man. Jesus answered, I know that ye are Abraham's seed, yet ye seek to kill me, because my word hath no place in you; ye are of your father the devil" (John 8:33, 34, 37, 44).

It is evident from these words that the Jews are not meant by the seed of Abraham, but that Abraham means the Lord, and the seed of Abraham Divine Truth from the Lord, which is the Word; for it is said, "I know that ye are Abraham's seed, yet ye seek to kill me, because my word hath no place in you." By the Lord saying, "I know that ye are Abraham's seed," is signified that He knew that the truth of the church, which is the Word, was with them; "but that they nevertheless rejected the Lord is signified by "ye seek to kill me." That they were not in Divine Truths from the Lord is signified by "because my word hath no place in you" and that there was in them nothing but evil and falsity therefrom, is signified by "ye are of your father the devil, and the truth is not in him"; and afterwards, "when he speaketh a lie, he speaketh from his own," where a lie signifies Divine Truth or the Word adulterated. The Lord said, "I know that ye are Abraham's seed," also for the reason that Judah signifies the Lord as to the Word, as may be seen above (n. 119, 433).

[15] In David,

"He will make them to fall in the wilderness, and will make their seed to fall among the nations, and will scatter them in the lands" (Psalm 106:26, 27).

To make their seed fall among the nations, and to scatter them in the lands, signifies that Divine Truth would perish with them through evils and falsities.

The seed of Israel has a similar signification in these passages:

"Thou Israel my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham my friend, whom I have taken from the ends of the earth" (Isaiah 41:8, 9).

"I will pour out my Spirit upon" the seed of Israel and Jacob, "and my blessing upon their offspring" (Isaiah 44:3).

"In Jehovah all the seed of Israel shall be justified, and shall glory" (Isaiah 45:25).

"Jehovah, who brought up and who led the seed of the house of Israel out of the land towards the north, and out of all the lands whither I have driven them, that they may dwell upon their own land" (Jeremiah 23:8).

Israel, in the highest sense, means the Lord as to the internal of the church, therefore his seed also signifies the Divine Truth which is with those who are of the church signified by Israel. Israel means the church with those who are interiorly natural, and have truths therein from a spiritual source. Therefore Israel signifies a spiritual natural church.

[16] Since David, in the Word, means the Lord as to royalty, and the royalty of the Lord signifies Divine Truth in the church, therefore also his seed means those who are in the truths of the church from the Word, and these are also called sons of the king, and sons of the kingdom; it means also that Divine Truth is in them, as in the following passages:

"As the host (exercitus) of the heavens cannot be numbered, or the sand of the sea be measured, so will I multiply the seed of David and the Levites my ministers" (Jeremiah 33:22).

"I have made a covenant with my chosen, I have sworn to David my servant, even to eternity will I establish thy seed, and I will build up thy throne to generation and generation. I will set his seed for ever, and his throne as the days of the heavens. His seed shall be to eternity and his throne as the sun before me" (Psalm 89:3, 4, 29, 36).

That David, in the Word, means the Lord as to royalty, which is Divine Truth in the Lord's spiritual kingdom, may be seen above (n. 205); therefore his seed signifies that Divine Truth with those who are in truths from good, thus also those who are in truths of doctrine from the Word. For truths of doctrine from the Word, or truths of the Word, are all from good; and as such are meant by the seed of David, therefore, in an abstract sense, the truth of the Word, or the truth of doctrine from the Word, is also meant by it. That the seed of David does not mean his posterity can be seen by any one, for it is said that his seed shall be multiplied as the host of the heavens and the sand of the sea, and that it shall be established and set to eternity, also that his throne shall be built up to generation and generation, and shall be as the days of the heavens and as the sun. Such things can in no way be said about the seed of David, that is, about his posterity, and his throne, for where now are these to be found? But all those things harmonize, when it is seen that by David the Lord is meant, by his throne, heaven and the church, and by his seed, the truth of heaven and of the church.

[17] In Jeremiah:

"If I shall not have fixed my covenant of day and night, the ordinances of heaven and of the earth, I will cast away also the seed of Jacob and of David my servant, that I will not take of his seed to rule over the seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; and I will cause their captivity to return, and will have mercy on them" (33:25, 26).

In the same:

"Jehovah said, who giveth the sun for a light by day, the ordinances of the moon and the stars for a light by night; If these ordinances shall depart from before me, the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me for ever" (31:35, 36).

In these passages the seed of Jacob and of David, also the seed of Israel, mean also those who are in Divine truths, but the seed of Jacob mean those who are in natural Divine Truth, David means those who are in spiritual Divine Truth, and Israel means those who are in Divine Truth spiritual-natural, which is mediate between natural Divine Truth and spiritual Divine Truth. For there are degrees of Divine Truth as there are degrees of its reception by the angels in the three heavens, and in the church. The covenant of day and night, and the ordinances of heaven and earth, signify the conjunction of the Lord with those who are in Divine truths in the heavens, and who are in Divine truths on earth. Covenant signifies conjunction; statutes the laws of conjunction, which are also the laws of order, and the laws of order are Divine truths; day signifies the light of truth such as it is with the angels in the heavens; and night the light of truth such as it is with men on earth, and also such as it is with those, both in the heavens and on earth, who are under the Lord as a moon; therefore it is also said, "Who giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night." But the seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, here mean all those who are of the Lord's church in every degree; of these, and of the seed of Jacob and David it is said that if they acknowledge not the Lord, and do not receive Divine Truth from Him, the Lord will not reign over them.

[18] In the same:

"No one of his seed shall prosper who sitteth upon the throne of David, and ruleth any more in Judah" (22:30).

This is said of Coniah, king of Judah, who is there called a despised and worthless idol; and it is said of him that "he and his seed shall be taken away and cast unto the earth" (verse 28 of the same chapter). This king has a signification similar to that of Satan, and his seed signifies infernal falsity; that this shall not rule in the Lord's church in which is celestial Divine Truth, is signified by No one of his seed shall sit upon the throne of David, nor rule any more in Judah, Judah here denoting the celestial church in which the Lord reigns.

[19] As David represented the royalty of the Lord, so Aaron represented His priesthood, therefore the seed of Aaron means those who are in affection for real truth which is from celestial good. Because of this representation the following statute was given for Aaron:

"The high priest shall not take to wife a widow, or a divorced woman, or one polluted, a harlot, but he shall take a virgin of his own people to wife, lest he profane his seed amongst his people; I Jehovah do sanctify him" (Leviticus 21:14, 15).

As man (vir) and wife (uxor), in the Word, in its spiritual sense, signify the understanding of truth and the will of good, and as thought belongs to the understanding and affection to the will, therefore man and wife also signify the thought of truth and affection for good, also truth and good. It is consequently evident what a widow, one divorced, and one polluted, a harlot, signify; a widow signifies good without truth, because left by truth, which is the man; a woman divorced signifies good rejected by truth, thus discordant good; and one polluted, a harlot, signifies good adulterated by falsities, which is no longer good but evil. Because of this signification of these women, the high priest was forbidden to take any of them to wife, because he represented the Lord as to the priesthood, which signified the Divine Good. And as a virgin signifies the will or affection for genuine truth, and since genuine truth makes one with and is in agreement with Divine Good, and these two are conjoined in heaven and in the church, and their conjunction is called the heavenly marriage, therefore it was enacted that the high priest should take a virgin to wife. And as truth of doctrine is a result of this marriage, but from a marriage with such as are signified by a widow, a divorced woman, and one polluted, a harlot, falsity of doctrine is produced, it is therefore said, "Lest he profane his seed among his people." Seed signifies genuine truth of doctrine, and thus also the doctrine of genuine truth from the good of celestial love; and his people signify those who are of the church in which is the doctrine of genuine truth from the Word. And as this was representative of the heavenly marriage, which is the marriage of the Lord with the church, it is therefore said, "I Jehovah do sanctify him."

[20] Because the high priest represented the Lord as to Divine Good, and his seed signified Divine Truth, which is the same as genuine truth of doctrine, it was therefore also made a statute, that a man a stranger, who was not of the seed of Aaron, should not come near to burn incense before Jehovah (Numbers 16:40). A man a stranger signifies falsity of doctrine, and to burn incense signifies worship from spiritual good, which, in its essence, is genuine truth; while the seed of the high priest signifies Divine Truth from a celestial origin; for this reason a law was made that no stranger, who was not of the seed of Aaron, should offer incense in the tent of meeting before Jehovah.

[21] When it is known what feature of heaven and the church was represented by other persons also mentioned in the Word, the signification of their seed will be understood, as in the case of the seed of Noah, Ephraim, and Caleb, in the following passages.

Concerning Noah, "I will establish my covenant with you, and with your seed after you" (Genesis 9:9).

Israel said of Ephraim, "His seed shall be the fulness of the earth" (Genesis 48:19).

And Jehovah said of Caleb, "His seed shall inherit the earth (Numbers 14:24).

What Noah and Ephraim represented and signified has been explained in the Arcana Coelestia. Caleb represented those who were to be introduced into the church, therefore by their seed is signified the truth of doctrine of the church.

[22] The signification of the seed of man is also similar to that of the seed of the field, because a field equally as man signifies the church; therefore, in some passages, the terms seed and sowing are applied to the people of the earth, just as they are applied to a field; as in the following.

In Jeremiah:

"I had planted thee a noble vine, a seed of truth; how art thou turned into branches of a strange vine unto me" (2:21).

In David:

"Their fruit will I destroy from the earth, and their seed from the sons of man" (Psalm 21:10).

In Hosea:

"I will sow" Israel "unto me in the earth" (2:23).

In Zechariah:

"I will sow" Judah and Joseph "among the peoples, and in remote places they shall remember me" (10:9).

In Ezekiel:

"I will look again to you, that ye may be tilled and sown; then will I multiply man upon you, all the house of Israel, the whole of it" (36:9, 10).

In Jeremiah:

"Behold, the days come in which I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man, and the seed of beast" (Jeremiah 31:27).

In Matthew:

"The seed sown are the sons of the kingdom" (Matthew 13:38).

But it is not necessary to show here that the seed of the field has a signification similar to that of the seed of man, for we have here only to explain the signification of the seed of the woman, and to confirm it from the Word.

[23] Because seed signifies truth of doctrine from the Word, and, in the highest sense, Divine Truth, therefore, in the opposite sense, seed signifies falsity of doctrine, and infernal falsity.

As in Isaiah:

"Draw near hither, ye sons of the sorceress, seed of an adulterer, and ye that have committed whoredom. Against whom do ye sport yourselves, against whom do ye make wide the mouth and draw out the tongue? Are ye not the children of transgression, the seed of falsehood" (57:3, 4).

By sons of a sorceress and seed of an adulterer, are signified falsities from the Word when it has been falsified and adulterated, by the sons of the sorceress, falsities from the Word falsified, and by the seed of an adulterer, falsities from the Word adulterated. The Word is said to be falsified when truths are perverted, and to be adulterated when its goods are similarly perverted, also when its truths are applied to the loves of self. Children of transgression and the seed of falsehood, signify falsities flowing from such former falsities. To sport themselves, signifies to take delight in things falsified; to make wide the mouth, signifies the delight in thought therefrom, and to draw out the tongue, signifies delight in teaching and propagating such falsities.

[24] In Isaiah:

"Woe to the sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evil doers, sons that are corrupters; they have forsaken Jehovah, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel, they have gone away backwards" (1:4).

The sinful nation signifies those who are in evils, and a people laden with iniquity, those who are in falsities therefrom; for nation is used in the Word, in reference to evils, and people in reference to falsities, as may be seen above (n. 175, 331, 625). The falsity of those who are in evils is signified by the seed of evil doers, and the falsities of those who are in the falsities from that evil are signified by the sons who are corrupters. That sons signify those who are in truths, and, in the opposite sense, those who are in falsities, and in an abstract sense, truths and falsities, may be seen above (n. 724). They have forsaken Jehovah and provoked the Holy One of Israel, signifies that they have rejected Divine Good and Divine Truth, Jehovah denoting the Lord as to Divine Good, and the Holy One of Israel the Lord as to Divine Truth. Their going away backwards, signifies that they utterly departed from good and truth, and went away to infernal evil and falsity; for those in the spiritual world who are in evils and falsities turn themselves backwards from the Lord, as may be seen in Heaven and Hell 123).

In the same:

"Thou shalt not be united with them in the sepulchre, for thou hast destroyed thy land, thou hast slain thy people; the seed of the wicked shall not be named for ever" (Isaiah 14:20).

This is said of Lucifer, by whom Babylon is meant. The seed of the wicked which shall not be named for ever, signifies the direful falsity of evil from hell; the rest may be seen explained above (n. 589, 659:20, 697).

[25] In Moses:

"He who hath given his seed to Molech shall surely die, the people of the land shall stone him with stones. I will set My faces against that man, and I will cut him off from the midst of his people, because he hath given of his seed to Molech, to defile my sanctuary, and to profane the name of my holiness" (Leviticus 20:3; 18:21).

To give of his seed to Molech, signifies to destroy the truth of the Word, and thus of the doctrine of the church therefrom, by application to the vile loves of the body, as to murders, hatreds, revenges, adulteries, and similar things, which leads to the acceptance of infernal falsities instead of Divine things; such falsities are signified by the seed given to Molech. Molech was the god of the sons of Ammon (1 Kings 11:7), and was set up in the valley of Hinnom, which was called Topheth, where they burnt their sons and daughters in the fire (2 Kings 23:10); the loves mentioned above are signified by that fire. And as the seed given to Molech signifies such infernal falsity, and stoning was a punishment of death for injury done to and for destruction of the truth of the Word, and of doctrine therefrom, it is therefore said, that the man "who hath given of his seed to Molech shall surely die, and the people of the land shall stone him with stones." That stoning was the punishment for doing injury to or for destroying truth, may be seen above (n. 655). That such falsity is destructive of all the good of the Word and of the church is signified by, "I will set my faces against that man, and I will cut him off from the midst of his people, because he hath polluted my sanctuary, and profaned the name of my holiness," sanctuary signifying the truth of heaven and of the church, and the name of holiness all its quality. From the passages quoted, it is now evident that seed, in the highest sense, means Divine Truth from the Lord, and it consequently means the truth of the Word and of the doctrine of the church which is from the Word, while in the bad sense it means, infernal falsity which is the opposite of that truth.

അടിക്കുറിപ്പുകൾ:

417. Four angels standing on the four corners of the earth. That this signifies the Divine proceeding from the Lord in the whole spiritual world, is plain from the signification of angels, for they denote the Divine which proceeds from the Lord; concerning which see above, n. 130, 200, 302; and from the signification of the four corners of the earth, which denote the whole spiritual world. By four corners is signified the spiritual world, because there are lands there just as on our globe; for in that world, as is the case on our earth, there are mountains, hills, rocks, plains, valleys, and many other things. This has been often stated above. And as the Last Judgment upon all in the spiritual world is treated of in the Apocalypse, and in this place the separation of the good from the evil, therefore that world is meant by the earth. The reason why the earth also signifies the church, as frequently stated before, is, that the appearance of the land (terra) in the spiritual world is exactly in agreement with the state of the church with spirits and angels there. The appearance is the most beautiful where the angels of the superior heavens dwell, and beautiful also where the angels of the lower heavens dwell, but it is totally wanting in beauty where evil spirits dwell. For where the angels dwell, are gardens, fruit gardens, flower-beds, palaces, and everything in heavenly form and harmony, whence pleasantnesses issue forth, imparting inmost delight to the mind; but where evil spirits are, every place is marshy, stony, and barren, and they live in huts of a vile appearance, and also in caverns and dens.

[2] These things are mentioned to show that "the earth," in the proximate sense, means the spiritual world; nor could any other earth (terra) appear to John, for it was seen by him when he was in the spirit. Man also, when in the spirit, cannot see any thing on our Earth (tellus), but only what is in the spiritual world. Therefore John saw four angels, and they were standing on the four corners of that earth. Four angels were seen, because by their standing on four corners is signified the Divine which proceeds from the Lord in the whole spiritual world, for that entire world has four quarters; these are the eastern, western, southern, and northern, that world being thus divided. Those who are in the good of love to the Lord dwell in the eastern quarter, and also in the western, but the former in the clear good of love because they are in the interior [good of love]; the latter, in the obscure good of love, because they are in the exterior [good of love]; in the southern quarter dwell those who are in the clear light of truth, and in the northern those who are in an obscure light of truth. Concerning these quarters see Heaven and Hell 141-153, where they are treated of. And since all things have reference to the good of love, and to the truth from that good, or generally to good and truth, therefore by those four quarters are also meant all things of heaven and the church. Those quarters are also meant in the Word by the four winds, here also by the four corners. It is therefore evident, that the angels were not seen standing on the four corners of the earth, but in the four quarters. They are called the four corners, because corners signify the extremes, and the extremes signify all things, because they include all.

[3] That corners signify quarters is evident from these passages in the Word, where quarters are described by corners, as in the following:

In Moses:

"For the tabernacle thou shalt make twenty boards for the south corner southwards. And for the second side of the tabernacle, towards the north corner, twenty boards," and so forth (Exodus 26:18, 20; 27:9, 11; 36:21, 23, 25).

Here the south corner denotes the southern quarter, and towards the north corner, the northern quarter, for there were twenty boards for each side.

So in Ezekiel:

"By the border of Dan, from the east corner unto the west corner, Asher one. And thence by the border of Asher, from the east corner even unto the corner towards the west," and company (48:1-8).

In the same prophet:

"These the measures; the north corner four thousand and five hundred, and the south corner as many, and the east corner as many, and the west corner as many, by the boundary to the east corner towards the west, and so forth" (48:16, 17, 23-25, 26, 27, 28, 33, 34; also 47:17-20).

Again, in Moses:

"Ye shall measure from without the city the corner towards the east two thousand cubits, and the south corner as many, and the west corner as many, and the north corner as many" (Num. 35:5; also in Joshua 15:5; 18:12, 14, 15, 20).

In these passages, by the east, the south, the west, and the north corners are meant the sides facing the eastern, southern, western, and northern quarters; from which it is evident, that by the four angels standing upon the four corners of the earth, is not meant upon its four corners, but in its four quarters. Similarly in another passage in the Apocalypse, it is said:

Satan "shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth" (20:8).

[4] The reason why four corners are mentioned, and not the four quarters, is that corners signify all things, since they are the extremes; for the extremes embrace all things from the centre to the ultimate circumferences; for they are the ultimate boundaries. It was for this reason that horns were placed upon the four corners of the altar, and that blood was poured on them, and thus the whole altar expiated; as is evident from Exodus 27:2; 29:12; 30:2, 3, 10; 38:2; Leviticus 4:7, 18, 25, 30, 34; 16:18, 19; Ezekiel 41:22; 43:20.

[5] That corners signify all things, because they signify the extremes, for the reason stated above, that the extremes include and embrace all things, is clearly evident from certain statutes given to the sons of Israel; as for instance, that they should not round off or shave the corner of their head (Leviticus 19:27). That they should not cut off the corner of their beards (Leviticus 19:27; 21:5).

Again:

And when they reaped the harvest of their land, they should not wholly reap the corner of the field (19:9; 23:22).

Why such statutes were given them cannot be understood, unless it be known what the hair of the head, the beard, a field, and also a corner mean. The hair of the head, and the beard, signify the ultimate of the life of man, which is called the Corporeal Sensual; a field signifies the Church; and reaping, the truth of doctrine. Wherefore, by these [statutes], it was represented that the extremes should be preserved, because they signify all things; for unless there are extremes, intermediates cannot be held together, but are dissipated, just as the interiors of man would be scattered unless they were enclosed by the skin. The same is the case in every thing and therefore also in regard to the signification of the hair of the head, the beard, and the harvest of the field. That the hair of the head signifies the extreme of the life of man, which is called the Corporeal Sensual, may be seen above (n. 66), and that the same is signified by the beard, see the Arcana Coelestia 9660); that extremes or ultimates, signify all things in the aggregate, thus the whole (n. 10044, 10329, 10335). Now since a field signifies the church, and harvest the truths of the church, therefore by their not wholly reaping the corner of the field when they reaped the harvest, is meant the preservation of all those things which are signified by the harvests of the field.

[6] That corners signify all things because they are extremes, is also evident from the following passages in Moses:

"I will cast them into the farthest corners, I will make the remembrance of them cease from among men" (Deuteronomy 32:26).

To cast into the farthest corners signifies to deprive of all good and truth; therefore it is also said, "I will make the remembrance of them to cease from among men," which signifies, that they no longer possess any thing of spiritual life, which comes to pass when man remains only in the ultimates of life, called the Corporeal Sensual; in this condition are very many, who have not attained to anything of spiritual life. Such persons then become not unlike beasts, which have no other life, with this difference, that a man, because he is born a man, can speak and reason, but he does this from the fallacies of the senses, or of the outermost things of nature, the world, and the body. This is what is meant here by being cast into the farthest corners.

[7] In Jeremiah:

"And their camels shall be a prey, and the multitude of their cattle a spoil; and I will scatter them into every wind into the cut off of the corner; and I will bring their destruction from all the passages thereof, saith Jehovah" (49:32).

These things are said concerning the devastation of Arabia and Hazor by the king of Babylon, and by Arabia and Hazor are signified the knowledges of good and truth, and by the king of Babylon evil and falsity vastating. The vastation of all confirmatory scientifics and of the knowledges of good and truth, is signified by their camels being a prey, and the multitude of their cattle a spoil; for camels denote confirmatory scientifics, and cattle the knowledges of good and truth. The vastation of all things pertaining to good and truth, until none remains, is signified by, "I will scatter them into every wind into the cut off of the corner;" the cut off of the corner denoting the extremes where good and truth no longer exist. That evils and falsities will then break in on every side, is signified by, "I will bring their destruction from all the passages thereof." For in the spiritual world, where the evil are, ways from the hells lie open on all sides, and through these, evils and falsities therefrom break in; and all who are in similar evils and falsities pass through the same ways, and associate with them. These things are said in order that it may be known what is meant by "I will bring their destruction from all the passages." By their becoming a prey and a spoil, as well as by being scattered and destroyed, is signified devastation.

[8] In the same prophet:

"Behold, the days come, in which I will punish all them which are circumcised in their uncircumcision; Egypt, and Judah, and Edom, and the sons of Ammon, and Moab, and all the utmost of the corner, that dwell in the wilderness; for all these nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised in the heart" (9:25, 26).

Here, by "all the utmost of the corner," are signified those who are in the ultimates of the church separated from interior things, interior things being spiritual, therefore, those who are in sensual things only, which are the ultimates of the natural man. Concerning the nature and quality of those who are merely sensual, see the Doctrine of the New Jerusalem. (n. 50).

These are signified by the cut off of the corner, because corners signify the quarters of the spiritual world, and those quarters signify all the goods and truths of heaven and the church, as previously stated. The dwellings of spirits and angels in that world, are so arranged, that those who possess the greatest wisdom and intelligence dwell in the midst, and those who are successively in less and less, from the midst even to the outmost boundaries, and this gradation proceeds accurately according to distances from the centre. In the outermost parts are those who have no wisdom and intelligence, and beyond these those who are in evils and the falsities thence. The latter are those denoted by the cut off of the corner; and because there are deserts there they are said to dwell in the wilderness. Concerning these gradations in the spiritual world, see Heaven and Hell 43, 50, 189). The same are signified by the uncircumcised nations, and by the house of Israel uncircumcised in heart; for the uncircumcised signify those who, being without love and charity, and therefore without good, are consequently in the loves of self and of the world; and those who are in these loves are in the ultimates of the natural man, which are altogether separated from spiritual things; they are therefore "the cut off of the corner that dwell in the wilderness." By Egypt, Judah, Edom, the sons of Ammon and Moab, are meant all those who by means of those loves have separated themselves from the goods and truths of the church; therefore they are beyond the influence of these truths, and are thus the cut off of the corner. The same is signified by the cut off of the corner in Jeremiah (25:23).

[9] Again, in Moses:

"There shall come a star out of Jacob, and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel, and shall break in pieces the corners of Moab" (Num. 24:17).

By the corners of Moab are meant all things signified by Moab. By Moab are signified those who are in the ultimates of the Word, of the church, and of worship; and in the opposite sense, those who adulterate such things by looking to themselves, and regarding their own honour in every one of these things. The corners of Moab, therefore, mean adulterations of the Word, and consequently of the church and worship, as they exist with those who are of such a character. Similar things are signified by the corner of Moab in Jeremiah (48:45).

[10] In Zephaniah:

"A day of the trumpet and alarm against the fenced cities, and against the high corners" (1:16).

Here, "a day of the trumpet and alarm," signifies spiritual combat against evils and falsities. The fenced cities signify confirmatory false doctrinals, and the high corners those things which favour their loves. Hence the signification of "a day of the trumpet and alarm against the fenced cities, and against the high corners" is evident.

Again:

"I will cut off the nations; their corners shall be laid waste; I will make desolate their streets, that none passeth by; and I will lay waste their cities, so that there is no inhabitant" (3:6).

The destruction of all the goods of the church, is signified by "I will cut off the nations" and "their corners shall be laid waste." Nations mean the goods of the church, and corners, being the extremes (as above), all things belonging to it. By "I will make desolate their streets," and by "their cities shall be laid waste," is signified the destruction of the truths of doctrine; streets denoting truths and cities doctrinals; the total destruction, until no good and truth remain, is signified by there being no inhabitant, none to pass by; for to pass by is used in the Word of truths, and to inhabit of goods.

[11] In the book of Judges:

"Then all the sons of Israel went out, and the congregation was gathered together as one man, from Dan even to Beersheba, and the corners of all the people, even all the tribes of Israel, stood together in the assembly of the people of God" (20:1, 2).

That "the corners of all the people stood together in the assembly of the people of God," signifies all from every side, or from every quarter, is evident from its being said, that all the sons and all the tribes of Israel went out, and that the congregation was gathered together from Dan even to Beersheba. But in the spiritual sense, by "the corners of all the people" are meant all the goods and truths of the church; and similarly also by all the tribes of Israel from Dan even to Beersheba, are signified those things from ultimates to primaries (prima), and by the assembly of the people of God, is signified consultation concerning the things of the church. For in the historical parts of the Word, equally as in the prophetical, there is everywhere a spiritual sense. Therefore in the historical sense, by corners are signified quarters, such as are in the spiritual world; but in the spiritual sense, for the reason stated above, they signify all the truths and goods of the church.

[12] From these considerations the signification of corner stone in the following passages is evident:-

In Isaiah:

"He will lay in Zion a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone of sure foundation" (28:16).

In Jeremiah:

"And they shall not take of thee a stone for a corner, nor a stone of foundations" (51:26).

In Zechariah:

Out of Judah, "the corner, out of him the nail, out of him the battle bow" (10:4).

In David:

"The stone which they rejected is become the head of the corner" (Psalm 118:22). Matthew 21:42; Mark 12:10, 11; Luke 20:17, 18.

Corner stone signifies all Divine Truth upon which heaven and the church are founded, thus every foundation; and, because the foundation is the basis upon which a house or temple rests, it therefore signifies all things. Because by corner stone are signified all things upon which the church is founded, it is therefore said, "He will lay in Zion a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone of sure foundation." It is also called a stone for a corner and a stone of foundations; and because corner stone signifies all Divine Truth upon which the church is founded, it therefore also signifies the Lord as to the Divine Human because from That all Divine Truth proceeds. The builders, or architects, who rejected that stone, as we read in the Evangelists, mean those who are of the church, in this case, of the Jewish church, which rejected the Lord, and together with Him all Divine Truth; for there remained with them nothing but vain traditions from the sense of the letter of the Word, in which the very truths of the Word were falsified, and its goods adulterated. That ultimates signify all things, and the reason of this signification, may be seen in the Arcana Coelestia 634, 5897, 6239, 6451, 6465, 9216, 9824, 9828, 9836, 9905, 10044, 10099, 10329, 10335, 10548).