9807. 'And his sons' means Divine Truth emanating from Divine Good. This is clear from the meaning of 'sons' as truths, dealt with in 489, 491, 533, 1147, 2623, 2803, 2813, 3373, 3704, at this point Divine Truth emanating from the Lord's Divine Good, since they were Aaron's sons and Aaron as the high priest represented the Lord in respect of Divine Good, as shown immediately above. Truths are meant by 'sons' because everything in the internal sense of the Word is spiritual, and 'sons' in the spiritual sense are those who are born anew from the Lord, thus are in possession of truths springing from good, so that in the abstract sense - when the persons are not envisaged - 'sons' are the actual truths which spring from good. These truths therefore are what should be understood in the Word by 'the sons of God', 'the king's sons', and 'the sons of the kingdom'. They are also the sons of new birth or regeneration. Furthermore the truths and forms of good present with the person who has been regenerated or born anew from the Lord are exactly like families in wide and long lines of descent from the one same father. There are those which resemble sons and daughters, those which resemble grandsons and granddaughters, those which resemble sons-in-law and daughters-in-law, and so relationships belonging to many degrees, thus to many kinds. Truths and forms of good arranged like this are what sons, daughters, grandsons, granddaughters, sons-in-law, daughters-in-law, in short, relatives belonging to different degrees and therefore different kinds, denote in the spiritual sense. I have been shown by actual experience that spiritual generations follow one another in that kind of order. And at the same time I have been told that this being so the truths and forms of good with a person who has been regenerated follow in that kind of order, since the angelic communities in heaven are arranged in that way and the truths and forms of good present with a person correspond to those communities. Therefore also the person whose truths and forms of good possess that kind of correspondence is heaven in the smallest form it takes, 9279.

[2] Anyone who knows that truths are meant by 'sons' and forms of good by 'daughters' can see many arcana in the Word, especially the prophetical part, which would otherwise lie hidden from view. For example he can see what is meant specifically by the Son of Man, which the Lord often calls Himself in the Word, namely Divine Truth emanating from His Divine Human, as is clear from the places where that title appears. Let these be quoted, in order that at the same time it may be established that 'the Son' means truth, as in John,

The crowd said to Jesus, Why do you say, The Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man? Jesus answered them, The light is with you for a brief while longer. Walk, as long as you have the light, lest the darkness overtakes you. As long as you have the light believe in the light, that you may be sons of the light. John 12:34-36.

From these words it is evident that 'the Son of Man' has the same meaning as 'the light'; for when the crowd asked, 'Who is this Son of Man?' the Lord answered that He was 'the light' in which they should believe. 'The light' means Divine Truth, see the places referred to in 9548, 9684, and so therefore does 'the Son of Man'.

[3] In Luke,

Blessed are you when people will hate you on account of the Son of Man. Luke 6:22.

'On account of the Son of Man' is on account of Divine Truth, which emanates from the Lord. Divine Truth constitutes the all of faith in and love to the Lord; and 'being hated' on account of these is blessedness. In the same gospel,

The days will come when you will desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man, but you will not see. Then they will say to you, Behold here! or Behold there! Do not go away or go in search. Luke 17:22-23.

'Desiring to see one of the days of the Son of Man' means desiring to see one of the states of truth that is authentically God's. The subject here is the end of the Church, when no faith exists any longer because there is no charity, at which time every truth that is genuinely God's is going to perish. And since God's truth is meant by 'the Son of Man' it says, 'Then they will say, Behold here! or Behold there! Do not go in search', which may be said of God's truth emanating from the Lord, but not of the Lord Himself.

[4] In the same gospel,

When the Son of Man comes will He find faith on the earth? Luke 18:8.

That is, when God's truth is revealed from heaven there will be no belief in it. Here also 'the Son of Man' is the Lord in respect of God's truth, or God's truth emanating from the Lord, the Lord's coming being the revelation of God's truth at the end of the Church.

[5] In Matthew,

As the lightning comes from the east and is seen as far as the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be. Then the sign will appear, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn; and they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and glory. Matthew 24:27, 30.

'The coming of the Son of Man' stands for the revelation of God's truth at the close of the age, that is, at the end of the Church. 'All the tribes of the earth' who will mourn then are all the truths and forms of the good of faith and love in their entirety that are derived from the Lord and so are offered to the Lord. 'The clouds of heaven' in which He is going to come are the literal sense of the Word, 'power and glory' being the internal sense, the subject of which at its inmost level is the Lord alone. For further explanation of these matters, see 4060.

[6] Something similar occurs elsewhere in the same gospel,

I say to you, Hereafter you will see the Son of Man seated on the right hand of power, and coming on the clouds of heaven. Matthew 26:64.

And in Luke,

Hereafter the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the power of God. Luke 22:69.

'The Son of Man' stands for Divine Truth emanating from the Lord. 'Sitting at the right hand of power' stands for the reality that in Him there is almighty power; for Divine Good exercises its almighty power through Divine Truth. The declaration that 'hereafter they would see this' means that Divine Truth would be in its almighty power, when the Lord in the world had overcome the hells and restored to order everything there and in the heavens, as a result of which those who received Him in faith and love could be saved, see 9715.

'Sitting at the right hand' means almighty power, see 3387, 4592, 4933 (end), 7518, 8281, 9133.

All the power good possesses is exercised through truth, 6344, 6423, 8304, 9327, 9410, 9639, 9643.

Actual Divine power consists in Divine Truth, 6948.

'The clouds' in which the Son of Man, that is, Divine Truth, will come are the Word in the letter, Preface to Genesis 18, and 4060, 4391, 5922, 6343, 6752, 8443, 8781; and 'the glory' is Divine Truth itself as it exists in the internal sense of the Word, Preface to Genesis 18, and 4809, 5922, 8267, 9429.

[7] All this now makes clear what the following words in the Book of Revelation mean,

I saw, and behold, a white cloud, and on the cloud one was sitting, like the Son of Man, having on His head a crown of gold. Revelation 14:14.

And in Daniel,

I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of the heavens One like the Son of Man came. Daniel 7:13.

In John,

The Father has given Him [authority] to execute judgement also, because He is the Son of Man. John 5:27.

The basis on which all judgement is executed is truth, and this explains why it says that [authority] to execute judgement has been given to the Lord because He is the Son of Man. 'The Son of Man', as has been stated, is Divine Truth; 'the Father' from whom that Truth springs is Divine Good, 2803, 3704, 7499, 8328, 8897. The fact that 'executing judgement' rests with Divine Truth explains why it says that when the Son of Man comes He will sit on the throne of His glory, Matthew 19:28; 25:31, and that the Son of Man will repay everyone according to his deeds, Matthew 16:27.

[8] In Matthew,

He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man, the field is the world, the seed are the sons of the kingdom, the tares are the sons of the evil one. Matthew 13:37-38.

'The good seed' is God's truth, therefore it says that 'the Son of Man' sows it. 'The sons of the kingdom' are God's truths in heaven and in the Church. For 'son' means truth, 489, 491, 533, 1147, 2623, and in the contrary sense falsity, which is also meant by 'son of the evil one'; and 'the kingdom' means heaven, and also the Church.

[9] In John,

No one has gone up into heaven except Him who came down from heaven, the Son of Man who is in the heavens. John 3:13.

From these words it is evident that 'the Son of Man' means Divine Truth present in the heavens. This Truth comes down from there and then goes up, for no one can go up into heaven unless Divine Truth has come down into Him from heaven; the flow starts from God, not from the opposite direction. And since the Lord is that Truth He calls Himself 'the Son of Man who is in the heavens'. In Matthew,

The Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head. Matthew 8:20.

'The Son of Man' stands for Divine Truth; 'having nowhere to lay His head' stands for the fact that at that time there was no place for Him anywhere, that is, with any person.

[10] The declarations that the Son of Man is about to suffer and will be killed, in Matthew 17:12, 22; 20:18; 26:2, 24, 45; Mark 8:31; 9:12, 31; and elsewhere, imply that this was how Divine Truth was treated, and therefore how the Lord was treated since He was Divine Truth itself, as He also says in John, I am the way, and the truth, and the life. John 14:6.

In Jeremiah,

No man (vir) will dwell there, nor will any son of man stay in it. Jeremiah 49:18, 33.

And in the same prophet,

Not a man (vir) will dwell in the cities, nor will any son of man pass through them. Jeremiah 51:43.

Anyone who has no knowledge of the spiritual sense of the Word will suppose that 'the cities' here is used to mean cities, and 'a man' and 'son of man' to mean a man and a son, and that the cities would be made so desolate that no one would be there. But it is the state of the Church so far as the teaching of truth is concerned that is being described. For 'cities' are the doctrinal teachings of the Church, see 402, 2449, 3216, 4492, 4493; 'a man' is the Church's truth itself joined to good, 3134, 7716, 9007, 'son of man' accordingly meaning truth.

[11] Since 'son of man' meant Divine Truth emanating from the Lord, the prophets too through whom it was revealed were called sons of man, as Daniel and Ezekiel were - Daniel 8:17; Ezekiel 2:1, 3, 6, 8; 3:1, 3-4, 10, 17, 25; 4:1, 16; 8:5-6, 8, 12, 15; 12:2-3, 9, 18, 22, 27; and in many other places.

[12] The majority of expressions in the Word have also a contrary sense, and this applies equally to the meaning of the expression son of man, which in that contrary sense is falsity opposed to truth, as in Isaiah,

What are you that you are afraid of man (homo), [who] dies, and of the son of man, [who] is given grass? Isaiah 51:12.

'Grass given to the son of man' is factual knowledge that gives rise to falsity. In David,

Do not put your trust in princes, in the son of man who has no salvation. Psalms 146:3.

'Princes' are primary truths, 2089, 5044, and so in the contrary sense primary falsities, while 'the son of man' is falsity itself.

2788. That 'on the third day' means that which has been completed, and the beginning of sanctification, is clear from the meaning of 'the third day'. 'Day' in the Word means state, 23, 487, 488, 493, 893, as also does 'year', and as in general do all periods of time - an hour, day, week, month, year, or age; also morning, midday, evening, and night; and spring, summer, autumn, and winter. And when 'the third' is added to any of these the end of that state, and at the same time the beginning of the next, are meant. Here, the subject being the sanctification of the Lord which was effected by means of temptations, 'the third day' means that which has been completed and at the same time the beginning of sanctification, as also follows from what has been said previously to this. The reason for this meaning is that when He had fulfilled everything the Lord was to rise again on the third day, for the things that were done by the Lord while He lived in the world, that is, the things that were yet to be done by Him, were embodied within the representatives of the Church as though they had already been done. This was as it is with the internal sense of the Word, for with God that which is yet to come to pass and that which already is are one and the same; indeed to Him the whole of eternity is here and now.

[2] This is why the number three was representative not only in the Ancient Church and in the Jewish but also among various gentile nations; see what has been stated about this number in 720, 901, 1825. That such was the origin of the meaning of 'three' is clear in Hosea,

We will return to Jehovah, for He has wounded and will heal us; He has stricken and will bind us up; He will revive us after two days, on the third day He will raise us up that we may live before Him. Hosea 6:1-2.

Here 'the third day' stands for the coming of the Lord and His resurrection. The same is clear from Jonah, in that he was in the stomach of the fish three days and three nights, Jonah 1:17, to which the Lord refers in Matthew as follows,

As Jonah was in the belly of the whale three days and three nights, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. Matthew 12:40.

[3] It should be realized that in the internal sense of the Word 'three days' and 'the third day' have the same meaning, as also do 'three' and 'third' in the following places: In John,

Jesus said to the Jews, Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up. He was speaking of the temple of His body. John 2:19-21; Matthew 26:61; Mark 14:58; 15:29.

It is a well known fact that the Lord rose again on the third day.

[4] For the same reason the Lord also distinguished three periods in His life: in Luke,

Go and tell that fox, Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, but on the third day I reach completion. Luke 13:32.

Also, the Lord underwent the final temptation, which was that of the Cross, at the third hour of the day, Mark 15:25. Three hours later, that is, at the sixth hour, darkness fell over the whole land, ¹ Luke 23:44. And three hours after that, at the ninth hour, the end came, Mark 15:33-34, 37. But in the morning of the third day He rose again, Mark 16:1-4; Luke 24:7. See also Matthew 16:21; 17:22-23; 20:18-19; Mark 8:31; 9:31; 10:33-34; Luke 18:33; 24:46. From all this, and especially from the Lord's resurrection on the third day, the number three was representative and possessed a spiritual meaning. This fact becomes clear from the following places in the Word:

When Jehovah came down upon Mount Sinai He told Moses that he was to sanctify the people today and tomorrow and they were to wash their garments and be ready on the third day, for on the third day Jehovah would come down. Exodus 19:10-11, 15-16.

When they travelled from the mountain of Jehovah on a three days' journey, the Ark of Jehovah travelled before them on the three days' journey to search out rest for them. Numbers 10:33.

There was thick darkness for three days in all the land of Egypt, and nobody could see his brother for three days, but the children of Israel had light. Exodus 10:22-23.

[5] The flesh of a sacrifice made as a vow-offering or as a freewill-offering was to be eaten on the first and the second day; nothing was to be kept until the third day but was to be burned, because it was an abomination. So too with the flesh of a sacrifice made as a 'eucharistic' offering; if this was eaten on the third day the one offering the sacrifice would not be accepted and that soul would bear his iniquity. Leviticus 7:16-18; 19:6-7.

Anyone who touched a dead body was to purify himself on the third day, and on the seventh day he would be clean. If he did not do so that soul would be cut off from Israel. And one that was clean was to sprinkle water over the unclean person on the third day and on the seventh day. Numbers 19:12-13, 19.

Those who had killed someone in battle and had touched one who had been slain were to purify themselves on the third day and on the seventh day. Numbers 31:19.

[6] When they came into the land of Canaan the fruit of a tree was to be uncircumcised for three years and not eaten. Leviticus 19:23.

At the end of three years they were to bring every tenth part of their produce in that year and deposit it within their gates so that the Levite, the sojourner, the orphan, and the widow might eat. Deuteronomy 14:28-29; 26:12.

Three times a year they were to keep a feast to Jehovah. And three times a year every male person was to appear before the face of the Lord Jehovah. Exodus 23:14, 17; Deuteronomy 16:16.

Joshua told the people that in three days they would be crossing the Jordan and inheriting the land. Joshua 1:11; 3:2.

Jehovah called to Samuel three times and the third time he answered Him. 1 Samuel 3:8.

[7] When Saul wished to kill David, David hid in the field until the third evening. Jonathan told David, I will sound out my father on the third day from now. Jonathan said that he would shoot three arrows to the side of the stone. And David fell face to the ground, before Jonathan and bowed down three times.12, 19, 20, 35, 36, 41.

David was to choose one of these three things - either seven years of famine in the land, or his own flight before his enemies for three months, or pestilence in the land for three days. 2 Samuel 24:12-13.

[8] There was a famine in the days of David for three years, year after year. 2 Samuel 21:1.

Elijah stretched himself over the dead boy three times and revived him. 1 Kings 17:21.

When he had built the altar to Jehovah, Elijah told them to pour water over the burnt offering and over the wood three times. 1 Kings 18:34.

Fire consumed the captains of fifty sent on two occasions to Elijah, but not the one sent on the third occasion. 2 Kings 1:13-14.

It was a sign to King Hezekiah that they were to eat in that year what had grown of itself, and in the second year further growth from the same; but in the third year they were to sow, reap, plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of these. 2 Kings 19:29.

[9] Daniel went into his house and had the windows open in his [upper] chamber towards Jerusalem, where three times a day he gave thanks on his knees and prayed. Daniel 6:10, 13.

Daniel was mourning for three whole weeks, not eating pleasant bread, nor drinking wine, nor anointing himself, until the three whole weeks were completed. Daniel 10:2-3.

Isaiah went naked and barefoot three years as a sign and a portent against Egypt and against Cush. Isaiah 20:3.

Out of the Lampstand went three branches on either side, and three almond-shaped cups on each branch. Exodus 25:32-33.

In the Urim and Thummim there were three precious stones in each row. Exodus 28:17-20.

[10] In the New Temple there were to be three chambers on this side of the gate and three on that, and all three were to measure the same. And the breadth of the gate to the vestibule of the house was to be three cubits this way and three cubits that. Ezekiel 40:10, 21, 48.

In the New Jerusalem there were to be three gates to the north, three to the east, three to the south, and three to the west. Ezekiel 48:31-34; Revelation 21:13.

The same may be seen in the following places:

Peter denied Jesus three times. Matthew 26:34, 69 and following verses.

The Lord said to Peter three times, Do you love Me? John 21:17.

Also, in the parable about the man who planted a vineyard, he sent servants three times, and at length his own son. Luke 20:12; Mark 12:2, 4-6.

The labourers in the vineyard were hired at the third hour, the sixth hour, the ninth hour, and the eleventh hour. Matthew 20:1-17.

And concerning the fig tree which, because it bore no fruit for three years, was to be cut down. Luke 13:6-7.

[11] Just as a group of three and a third one were representative, so also was a third part, as in the following:

Minchahs consisted of two tenths of fine flour mixed with a third part of a hin of oil, and the wine for the drink-offering was a third of a hin. Numbers 15:6-7; Ezekiel 46:14.

In Ezekiel it is said that he was to run a razor over his head and over his beard, and then to divide his hair, burning a third part in the fire, striking a third around the city with his sword, and scattering a third to the wind. Ezekiel 5:1-2, 11.

In Zechariah it is said that in the whole land, two parts were to be cut off, and the third would be left. Yet this third would be led through fire and tested. Zechariah 13:8-9.

[12] In John it is said that when the first angel sounded there came hail, and fire mixed with blood; and it fell on to the earth so that a third part of the trees were burned. The second angel sounded and so to speak a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea. And a third part of the sea became blood resulting in the death of a third part of the creatures who had their being in the sea. And a third part of the ships was destroyed. The third angel sounded and there fell from the sky a great star burning like a torch and it fell upon a third part of the rivers. The name of the star is Wormwood. The fourth angel sounded and a third part of the sun was struck, and a third part of the moon, and a third part of the stars, so that a third part of these was blacked out, and the day had no light for a third part of it, nor likewise the night. Revelation 8:7-12.

[13] The four angels were released to kill a third part of mankind. Revelation 9:15.

A third part of mankind was killed by these three, fire, smoke, and brimstone, which went forth out of the mouths of the horses. Revelation 9:18.

The dragon drew with his tail a third part of the stars of heaven and cast them down to the earth. Revelation 12:4.

'A third part' however means something which is not yet finished, whereas 'a third' and 'a group of three' mean that which has been finished - evil in the case of the evil, good in the case of the good.

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