Chapter twelve picks up the thread of events outlined in chapters ten and eleven, but it marks a major change in the sequence of the chapters. The two preceding chapters deal with the onset of temptation after repentance—and describe in great detail the course of that temptation, until, finally, the king of the North is destroyed. This destruction marks a victory over temptation.

As in all victories, however, there are certain "mopping up" operations to be done, which are described in the first three verses of this chapter. It is important to notice that the opening verses are a continuation of the angel speaking to Daniel. This reminds us that this final temptation took place after repentance.

VERSES 1-4

The victory in temptation brings with it a judgement over previous states. We have already been introduced to the concept of spiritual judgement in chapter seven, when Daniel saw a vision of the Ancient of Days seated on a fiery throne. That chapter describes a judgement on our external behaviours (remember the vision took place in the reign of Belshazzar). It was largely on the basis of that personal evaluation of our lives that the next series of events took place. Once we see our selves as prone to evil, we see where it comes from and the effect it has, we can be led into an even greater judgement. This judgement is described in the repentance sequence in chapter nine, for true repentance is a judgement of our states of life with a commitment to rejecting and overcoming it.

Judgement always involves a struggle, especially when two sides or aspects of our personalities are involved. The events of that struggle are described in the temptations of chapters ten and eleven. When, however, the conscience gains the upper hand, we come into the final states of our spiritual development, the separating out of residual evil, and falsity from the increasingly strong states of goodness from the Lord.

The means of the judgement in this chapter is Michael, the great prince who stands watch over the sons of your people. We first met Michael in the tenth chapter, when the angel speaking to Daniel notes that Michael has been sent to help him. Michael is always mentioned in terms of protection, as in this chapter he "stands watch over the sons of your people" and in Revelation he protects the Woman clothed with the sun.

In the verse, Michael is referred to as "the great Prince," a fitting title, for a prince, the son of a king, is a chief in the land, a leader.

Spiritual defence is combat against evil and falsity, and, as the state now described is one of victory over temptation, we can assume that Michael was at our side throughout the process, only when we are in a state of temptation, we are not always conscious of or aware of, the truths with us. Temptation dims our perception of the truth, for in temptation we feel an equal pull towards and away from truth. Often we do not recognise truth for what it is, which makes it possible for us to decline into states of evil.

When we come out of temptation, however, we see truth quite clearly. Thus Michael shall "stand up" as if he hadn't been there before. This represents a new clarity, for with our propensity to selfishness beaten we can see truth in its glory. "Standing" represents the truths which directed us through our various temptations becoming the central and unquestioned centre of our minds. Note that Michael will "stand watch over the sons of your people," and here again the emphasis is on truth. As we have noted before "sons" denote the truth in our minds.

The principle being developed in this final chapter then, is that while the conscience may take a battering during the process of our temptations, should we emerge victorious, that conscience becomes the major force in our post-temptation state. Michael standing up to watch over the sons of our people describe this development, for the fighting and protecting truth, having guided us in the valley of the shadow of death, now guides us into the light of wisdom.

The sight of truth leads into new states. As we examine our lives in its light we will still find many things opposite to, and interfering with our new perception of truth and its corresponding desire to do good things, both spiritually and naturally. The result is "trouble, such as never was since there was a nation, even to that time".

The "trouble" is different. Before victory our spiritual troubles were temptations, or conflicts between good and evil. We were torn in two. The clarity of victory doesn't bring this kind of trouble however, for once a temptation has been overcome, the evil or falsity prompting it looses its power over us. What remains is to separate out the residual things

Most of these take the form of habitual feelings, thoughts and actions, which, because they have been practised for so long, remain with us even thought they are no longer connected with their underlying source. The effect of victory is to take notice of these and to reject them from our lives.

Notice the angel's words to Daniel: "And at that time your people shall be delivered, every one who is found written in the book." The promise it that in the final separating out of evil thoughts and feelings in the wake of victory, the states related to Daniel, or the conscience, shall be gathered together and preserved.

The promise of deliverance is crucial to the development of the theme of victory. If we did not believe that our temptations would eventually subside we would never manage the spiritual energy to fight against them. Life would seem both pointless and hopeless. The whole book of Daniel, however, points to ultimate deliverance, and the idea follows like a thread through both the historical and prophetic sections. Remember how Daniel was taken captive from Jerusalem? His deliverance came when he found favour, first with the master of the eunuchs, and then with Nebuchadnezzar. In the second chapter he is delivered from death by being able to interpret the kings dream. In the third chapter his friends are saved in the fiery furnace. Again he is rescued in the lion's den, and so on. In the prophetic sections the theme continues in the alternating states of temptation and peace. Each state of peace is a deliverance.

Delivery from evil is liberation from damnation (Arcana Coelestia 8018). When our selfish side runs amok in our lives, as Nebuchadnezzar and the others run wild, we are in spiritual danger. Selfishness pulls us into hell like a current pulling a ship out to sea. Unless a person finds the means to resist that pull, we will find ourselves in the depths of spiritual destruction. The Lord delivers us from this fate by giving us a conscience—the Daniel in our minds.

In history the Lord saved the human race when He came into the world and made it possible for Divine truths, the Logos, to come down to a level at which it could interact with human evil. The Lord interacted with evil spirits, He endured temptation, and even allowed Himself to be crucified. This makes it possible for His truth to continue to penetrate down to our level. We are capable of learning that truth and of having it form the basis not only of our thoughts, but also of our motivations, and our actions. Thus we can be delivered. Deliverance is the ultimate act of mercy on the part of the Lord.

Not all our states can be delivered, however. Our selfishness, greed, arrogance and pride that were taken on in the throes of temptation cannot be purified and lifted up to heaven. They must be jettisoned completely as an impediment to our spiritual life. On the things we do in accordance with the Lord, which up to this point are the things of repentance and reformation, can be lifted up. Thus the angel said to Daniel, “and at that time your people shall be delivered, every one who is found written in the book.”

Our 'book of life' is the record, in our memories, of all we have done during our lives in this world—and salvation is the Lord's remembering or noticing of these deeds (Arcana Coelestia 8620). If our deeds were those of unrepentance, a wallowing in states of selfishness, then our book of life would reflect this, and the Lord, on seeing us would be reminded of our selfishness. However, if, as is the case in this chapter, our life has been one of a progressive development of the conscience, accompanied by a sight of our motivating evils and a constant battle against them, then our book of life will reflect a growing spirit.

The result will be the gradual perfection of life. One should not think that once we have been victorious in temptation our lives level off to spiritual stagnation. Angels are continually being perfected to eternity—only from their developed state they do not undergo temptations as we do. For them it is a much easier matter to reject the imperfections within themselves and embrace the higher, ....more spiritual things planted in their spirits by the Lord Himself.

So Daniel is told that after deliverance, “Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.”

The meaning of this verse is fairly clear in the light of what has been said before. "Those who sleep in the dust of the earth" describe our various states, our thoughts and feelings, our habitual ways of looking at things which are "asleep" because they are buried in our unawareness. "To be asleep" generally means to be in states of obscurity, as we have seen many times before.

The "dust of the earth" is reminiscent of the creation story in Genesis, where God formed a mail from "the dust of the ground, and he breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul" (Genesis 2:7). Thus we are carried back to the imagery of the perfect being, formed by God to live in the Garden of Eden.

However, before we attain that state, we still have to be perfected in this spiritual development Note everything in us can be lifted up, and so some of our states awaken "to everlasting life, some to shame and everlasting contempt."

The same is true with our ideas. In another image carrying us back to the earlier parts of Genesis, Daniel gives symbols of the firmament and the stars. Both of these were created by God in the Genesis account, and both represent the perfection of the regenerating mind. However, once again there is a purification process, for "those who are wise shall shine," and those "who turn to righteousness like stars forever and ever."

The states after temptation, therefore, are states of increasing spiritual development and peace. The book of Daniel does not develop these ideas in any further detail, but from other places in the Word we are shown how this peace takes form in our minds. Once selfishness is subdued, rooted out with all its terrible effects from our lives, we are open to the wonder of heaven. An inkling of that state is given to us in the Heavenly Doctrines: “Such people feel pleasure in worshipping God for God's sake and in performing services for the neighbour for his sake, and so in doing good for good's sake and in speaking truth for truth's sake. They are unwilling to acquire merit by any charitable act or point of faith, they flee from and loathe evils, enmity for example, or hatred, revenge, or adultery, and even thinking about such things with the intention of doing them (The New Jerusalem and its Heavenly Doctrine 167).

Even the most casual consideration of this passage shows us how different this state is from the selfish states represented by Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar, how far removed it is from the viciousness of the beast arising from the sea, or the pomposity of the he-goat's little horn. Repentance and temptation breaks the power of these things over our minds, and the Lord, in His infinite mercy, forgives us our trespasses and graces us with peace.

So the book of Daniel draws to its conclusion. When the angel had finished describing these things to Daniel.. he gives him a final warning: “But you, Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book until the time of the end; many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall cease.”

These words mark the end of the angel's speech to Daniel. They raise the obvious question of why Daniel should "shut up the words and seal the book". While the Writings do not give any indication of what these words may mean, they could be interpreted.

To shut up, the words and seal the book indicates hiding the promise somewhat from view (Apocalypse Revealed 257), not permanently but "until the time of the end." Time, as we have seen before, indicates a state. At the time that Daniel saw this vision the temptations were not yet finished. Remember that the vision took place in the first year of Darius the Mede (chapter 11). Darius describes the external spiritual state, the state in which temptations take place.

Chapters eleven and twelve, therefore, are a promise of states that will come, both states of temptation and victory. But the victory is not there yet. We need to know that if we have trust and faith in the Lord, and if we are tenacious in our spiritual life, we will be victorious—not from our power, but from the Lord's. Yet that knowledge in temptation is intellectual only. If we knew for certain the outcome of our temptations the temptation would be meaningless. If we knew that we would lose in temptation, then there would be no point in trying, and, if we knew we would win, again there would be no point in trying. So the outcome has to be kept from us. The promise of victory and its peace is there, but true peace can only be revealed to us when we are ready for it.

This does, not mean that we should repose in a state of ignorance. The thrust of Daniel is to chart the rise of temptations, the origins of our evils and how, through temptations we overcome them. The angel points out to Daniel that "many shall run to and fro", indicating once again the alternations in our spiritual states. We have to pass through one state after another, yet, each time we face a temptation and overcome it, we move closer to the final states of peace the angel promises in this chapter.

So he concludes, "knowledge shall increase". Knowledge is vital to our spiritual growth. We need to know what evil is, where it comes from, and how to overcome it.. Equally importantly, We need to learn to recognise the states of peace and tranquillity the Lord gives us in the midst of our temptations. Only then can we learn to rise above our selfishness and truly shine in the brightness of the Lord's firmament.

VERSES 5-13

As the angel's words to Daniel drew to a close, so we are taken back to Daniel himself. Suddenly, so to speak, we are back where we were before the vision started. To refresh our memories, we need to turn back to the beginning of chapter 11, "in the first year of Darius the Mede." Taken historically this vision must have taken place soon after Belshazzar was "weighed in the balances and found wanting". If we cast our minds back to chapters five and six, we are reminded both of Belshazzar's blasphemy and Darius' foolishness. Those states serve as a good point to tie in the final stages of our regeneration, for while the reign of Darius marks a new spiritual beginning and a clean break from Belshazzar, our spiritual work is not yet done.

People regenerate when they leave selfish or evil states behind them and embrace new states of goodness As is very clear across the drama of Daniel, this only takes place through the process of repentance and reformation Yet we need to have a vision that such change can in fact happen. We can abandon our Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar states and come to the point at which the king of the North, along with his lackeys, can be banished from our minds.

Daniel's vision shows us this ideal, and, hopefully, raises hope in our lives. We can repent, we can over come and, as the Lord promises in the book of Revelation: “To him who overcomes, I will give to eat the tree of life which is in the midst of the paradise of God... He that overcomes shall not be hurt by the second death...” (Revelation 2:7, 11. For further promises, consult Revelation 2:17, 2:26, 3:5, 3:12, 3:21.)

Coming back to Daniel brings us back to our own lives somewhat with a jolt. Watching the picture of the fierce battle between the kings of the north and south unfold almost makes it look as though our spiritual, progression happens on autopilot. Nothing could be further from the truth. Temptations are fought and won, or lost, because of the input from us. If we hope to win, then our conscience must take the lead. This doesn't negate the need for an ideal, for our conscience cannot lead us in a vacuum, it has to know where to lead us. But still it must lead.

The conscience, represented by Daniel in the "first year of the reign of Darius the Mede" stands at the outset of our spiritual life. We know what to expect from beginning to end. Each vision lays down a new path for us, challenging us to see the origin of our false thoughts and evil intentions. Each state of judgment stands before us, calling us to choose one way or another. The alternating times of peace and temptation remind us that not all regeneration will be hard work—there will be times of rest and peace as the spiritual advances we make begin to affect our minds. And we will grow in strength—our temptations may become fiercer, may seem recurring, yet with each step we will be fitter to face and overcome them This whole process, however, requires the active participation of our Daniel And so, the final verses of the book bring us back to him and has last vision.

Having been told to "shut up the words and seal the book", Daniel found himself on watching two angels, one on each side of a riverbank Unlike Michael, these two angels are not identified by name—their distinguishing factors are that they are on either side of a riverbank, and one of them is "clothed in linen."

The significance of this vision lies in three main areas, each part of the final preparation for the conscience to begin the work of leading us into regeneration The first is the fact that there are two angels. In the spiritual world things in duality represent love and wisdom, and this in turn is described by the two side of a person's mind, the will, or ability to love, and the understanding, or the ability to grow wise. These two abilities from the very basis of the human mind and thus the foundation of our spiritual life.

The will and understanding are held in connection with the spiritual world by means, of angels and spirits. Since there are angels and spirits who are primarily in love and those primarily in truth, it follows that each person has two angels, one for the will and one for the understanding with him or her at all times—without them we would lose connection with the spiritual world and die.

Daniel saw this duality of presence in his vision of the two angels alongside the river, and, one could say, joined by the presence of the river between them; for a river, as we have seen before, represents the stream of truth; for a river represents a person's intelligence (Arcana Coelestia 7323). The last river we saw in Daniel was the Tigris mentioned in chapter 10, which because it was an east-flowing river depicted the understanding, or intelligence, of truth leading us towards the Lord. In essence this is the work of conscience, so we could say that Daniel’s vision of two angels, one on each riverbank, is an image of the conscience, binding both the will and understanding together in an ideal striving for regeneration. Certainly regeneration cannot take place without these three components in our minds; our will and understanding must work in harmony with our conscience, and together they lead us.

Yet notice the distinction between the angels. One is "clothed in linen," and this factor becomes the distinguishing feature between the two angels. Daniel had once before seen an angel clothed in linen, also at the river bank of the Tigris. In chapter ten we read: “I looked, and behold, a certain man clothed in linen, whose loins were girded with the fine gold of Uphaz.”

As we saw in the explanation of that verse, linen "represents the pure and genuine truths from the Word" (Arcana Coelestia 9872, Apocalypse Revealed 691, Apocalypse Explained 951). One can assume, then, that this angel describes the understanding, for that is formed from truths from the Word, acting as a leader or guide to the will. It comes as no surprise that this is the angel consulted by the other, who by default must represent the will. It also is characteristic that the desire of the will formed from the combination of knowledge of truth and victory over evil in temptation to long for a completion of the process of regeneration.

When we are in the process of regeneration it often seems as though we will never finish and often during our lifetime in this world we don't Yet as a new will is formed as a result of the regenerative process, so a keenness develops for completion. Just as the old will, infected with selfishness as it was, wanted freedom to act out its lusts, so the new will wants the freedom to express itself unhindered by selfishness. At times we may sense this inner desire as an impatience to get the states of temptation over and done with.

The result is the question, from the will of "How long shall the fulfilment of these wonders be?" When shall we be finished? When shall we be perfected and recreated into the image and likeness of God, with the beasts destroyed and the king of the North's power at an end?

The answer can only come from truth, for if truth guides and directs our intentions, then in time the truth will overcome the obstacles imposed by selfishness. The longing for spiritual life, therefore, has to be subordinated to the truths we know. Thus the man clothed in linen answers At first Daniel describes him as being on the riverbank, but then he describes him as "being above the waters" in both verses six and seven.

This positioning "above the waters" brings to mind the second day of creation described in Genesis, where the "waters" were separated above and below the firmament. Several times so far, we have noted that "water" is a symbol for truth, and the division of waters above and below the firmament describes how, as a person regenerates, he or she early becomes aware of the distinction between the private, spiritual, inner self, and the public, worldly outer self (Arcana Coelestia 24). There is a parallel between the creation story and the state the person is going through at this point in Daniel. For now, after the revelatory visions given to Daniel, we are able to see, to have a concept of the work that still has to be done in our spiritual lives before we can relax into the peace of heaven. For this reason the "man clothed in linen," our conscience, speaks from the higher, more interior concepts in our minds.

As he speaks he matches his words to gestures, lifting up his right and left hands towards heaven. Again the symbolism is familiar, for a hand represents a person's power, and, in this case the dual, matching powers of our relationship to truth. Truth only has power to deliver us from self if we match our affection or delight in the truth with an understanding of it. The right hand depicts our affection for truth, while the left our understanding (Cf. Arcana Coelestia 2701), and these together are lifted up in an acknowledgement that the power of regeneration comes from the Lord alone.

There is, then, the intellectual recognition that we need to undergo the states of temptation, and victory, in order to reach the full freedom of deliverance There can be no short cuts, or half measure, which is described in those mystical words "that it shall be for a time, times and half a time."

Fewer phrases in the Word have been invested with as much mystical meaning as these, and yet few are simpler when understood both in their proper context and according to the inner sense. As we have seen over and again in this study "time" in the Word describes a state. We will not find true peace until we have gone through all the states of regeneration.

The angel describes the progression of states here as "time, times and half a time" We could paraphrase that to say, "a state, multiples states and fractions of states." In other words, no part can be left out. Each detail of the entire book of Daniel shows what these states are, following and developing them in a steady progression from start to finish. We need to deal with those states. We cannot be regenerated if Nebuchadnezzar is running amok in our intentions, or if Belshazzar controls a blasphemous external. Nor will we find peace if, like Darius we are puffed up with our own importance. We need to take hold of the beasts arising from the murky depths of our own minds, and cast them out. We need to let the truth judge us, and stand in awe of what we see not only in ourselves, but in the Lord's absolute mercy in giving us the spiritual wherewithal to overcome it. If we short cut any of these stages, we leave alive in us a flame, no matter how small, that can and will erupt into a larger fire at the slightest chance. We cannot hurry regeneration, we must pass through the states—all of them.

As we pass through the stages of regeneration the Lord reorders our lives. Things that had once been in disorder are rearranged. This happens on every level of our being from our feelings, our thoughts, and our actions. This reordering is described in the angels words that the end would come "when the power of the holy people has been completely shattered".

As these words stand they make if sound as if "the holy people" in us is shattered, which seems to imply that evil wins. However, this is not the case. What is described here is better translated in the Apocalypse Explained (1968: Swedenborg Foundation) where it says "and then they are to make an end of dispersing [the power] of the people of holiness." Temptation becomes when "they" — word omitted in the English — is taken to mean the forces of selfishness. The object of se1fishness, as has been shown from one end to the other in Daniel, is to turn all things to itself. To achieve this there is the continual effort to put conscience to flight, as Daniel on two occasions was put in physical danger, and how the he-goat put the ram to flight. Victory in temptation, however, stops this, putting an end to the "dispersing of the power of the people of holiness," for in victory the holy states with us are consolidated and brought together. Order is created from the disorder of selfishness. When this happens, then regeneration can be said to be finished.

Daniel the prophet heard only the cryptic words of the angel clothed in linen. He could not understand, just as we cannot: fully understand, the extent of the regenerative process in our lives. It is only possible for us to see a tiny fragment of the evils in our lives, for to see them in entirety would completely overwhelm us. It is not surprising then that Daniel was confused. The process can seem to go on and on, and we may get the feeling that our regenerative process will never be completed.

The angel’s response, however, is one of comfort. "The words," he said, "are closed up and sealed till the time of the end" Similar words were expounded earlier in t1 chapter, where we saw that to "close and seal" means to hide from view. Our work in the process of regeneration is to look ahead to the time of final deliverance, but to do so with the recognition that the Lord, working through His Divine Providence, will lead us to that point. There is never a time when we can say "all I've got left to do is such and such, and then I'll be finished." In very real sense the process never stops, for even as angels we are perfected to eternity.

However, we do have to keep in mind that the process of self-judgment and rejection of evil and falsity is ongoing. "Many shall be purified, made white and refined, but the wicked shall do wickedly." These words give a wonderful picture of the back and forth pendulous swing of our progress. The truth is that we cannot reject our evil states until they are clear to us, until we can see their origin, the progress of their destructive course in our lives; and then, willingly reject them.

Even though the process may take forever, it will draw to a close. In verse 11, the angel puts a time limit on our decline into evil (assuming we exercise our conscience to reject the evil and come out of it), saying, “And from the time that the daily sacrifice is taken away, and the abomination of desolation is set up, there shall be one thousand, two hundred and ninety days.”

The description of the daily sacrifice being taken away is in Chapter eight The process begins with the little horn growing out of the male goat. It represents the false thoughts we have as a direct result of evil — in other words, the effect of selfishness, greed, arrogance and pride in our minds. This kind of falsity is devastating, for is not the kind of false thought that makes evil activity possible, but the thoughts which come because we are actually in evil. As Daniel watched, this little horn spread, indicating the poisonous influence of this kind of evil in our minds. Ultimately it took away the ability to worship the Lord in humility. The daily sacrifice on our part is that humble worship of the Lord, and when we cease to practice it, our spiritual life is in jeopardy. We can come back from the brink of that disaster, but only through the battles of temptation.

The "abomination of desolation" is the state in which there is no love nor charity left in a person because it has been overcome by evil (Arcana Coelestia 2454). This happens because the person is in a state in which “the Lord is no longer acknowledged; consequently when there is no love and no faith in Him; also when there is no longer any charity toward the neighbour; and consequently when there is not any faith of good and truth” (Arcana Coelestia 3652).

The decline into evil, then, is one thousand two hundred and ninety days. This decline makes it possible for us to see the evil in ourselves, to recognise its spiritually destructive power, and to reject it.

Every number in the Word has a special significance, which can be seen by analysing the individual parts of the number.

One thousand - A thousand indicates "innumerable things because it is made up of "tens" and "ten" represents "many things" or even "all" (Arcana Coelestia 2575). It is interesting that a fixed number can mean, uncountable things. In this case, the thousand represents the many, man states of evil which grow out of our falsities and evil and which lead to spiritual destruction.

Two hundred - As we have seen before, two involves the concept of joining things together, and hundred, like thousand, is an image of "many things". It also has the image of conflict, for when two things are joined together there is always some aspect of conflict in the conjunction.

Ninety - Ninety, however, is a different family of numbers, for it is made up of a multiple of three, and three represents fullness or completeness—carrying with it the concept of the end of one state and the beginning of a new state.

This time frame, then, of one thousand, two hundred and ninety days, is less dramatic in the internal sense than in the hands of some biblical prophecy interpreter trying to determine the end of the world. It signifies the fullness and completion of a state. Once we reach the point in our path of spiritual decline, our states have to run their course. The joining together and its conflict is implied in the "two hundred" is the joining of false thoughts with evil actions, so that our minds become an epitome of evil, while the "three" in "ninety" describes that that state must eventually come to an end.

Left unchecked our spiritual lives will dwindle down into the "abomination of desolation" where goodness, charity, altruistic love and inner peace will be totally absent. We cannot serve God and mammon.

Yet there is always hope. and the angel’s closing words give that hope for the future: "Blessed is he who waits." The English in this verse somehow implies a passive waiting, much as we would wait a bus stop. However, as the book of Daniel shows us, our spiritual development is anything but passive and in the doctrines we are told that a person “greatly errs who believes that he or she is incapable of doing anything for his or her own salvation because the light to see truths and the affection of doing them, as well as the freedom to think and will them, are from the Lord, and nothing of these from the person. ... If one lets one's hands hang down and waits for influx he receives nothing, and can have no reciprocal conjunction with the Lord, thus he is not in the covenant” (Apocalypse Explained 701:3).

The idea of "waiting" contains far more than modern English allows for. In the original language "to wait" included the aspect of longing for something (Brown-Driver-Briggs #2442). In Latin the word used to translate this concept is "expect". These two amplifications of the idea open up considerably the field of interpretation. It is inconceivable that the angel speaking to Daniel had any expectation that he should simply "wait" and hope for blessedness.

Yet to long for and expect the happiness of blessing is a different matter all together. This really is the essential glue that holds the entire process together. If we had no hope, no expectation that the difficult states of self analysis and temptation were not going to achieve anything, then there would be no point at all to the entire exercise. It is only if we expect that things will get better, that we will be liberated from selfishness, that it is possible to make sense out of human life in this world.

Unmentioned in Daniel, but closely related to "waiting" is the idea of confidence in the Lord. We need to be confident that the power to resist and reject the evil side of ourselves comes from the Lord, and equally we need to be confident that should we exercise that power in our lives, the Lord will bring us into a state of tranquillity and peace.

The angel's words, then, are words of hope. He points out to Daniel that it is possible for our evil natures to carry us into hell, for the "daily sacrifice" can be carried away, and we can reach the "abomination of desolation". The force that resists that is our expectation of the Lord, our confidence that He will give us the power, in fact that we already have the power to overcome our evils, if only we could use it freely and courageously in our daily lives.

Should we do that, we will come into a completely different state, for as the angel said, “Blessed is he who waits, and comes to the one thousand three hundred and thirty-five days.”

Once again our final state is described in a series of numbers, although this is a different number, just as hell is a different state from heaven.

The analysis of this number is very similar to the one in the previous verse, sharing in common thousands and hundreds. However, the two figures are different in other respects, the former having two hundred and ninety days, the latter three hundred and thirty five days.

Three hundred - As we have seen many times before, the number three represents the completion of one state and the beginning of another. Hundred, being multiples of ten, also contains the idea of completeness or fullness.

Thirty - Thirty has much the same meaning as the number three hundred, both being multiples of three and ten.

Five - The number five generally carries the idea of a "few" (e.g. Arcana Coelestia 1686, 2267, 2575). However, the number five can represent the states of goodness and truth the Lord instils in a person during the regenerative process (Arcana Coelestia 6156). However; five can also be seen as half of ten, and, as we are told, "half or twice any number when used in the Word holds the same meaning as the number itself" (Arcana Coelestia 5291).

When we take these aspects of the number one thousand, three hundred and thirty five in to account, the picture emerges of the state of completion of the regenerative process. In this state the goodness and perspectives that one has striven for throughout the events described in the book of Daniel, have been accomplished—the process is finished and the person free to live a life of continued development possible only after the selfishness has been banished.

It is interesting to note that the role of the number "three" in this penultimate verse, for there are three hundred and thirty five years. It ties in with the beginning of the book, for in the first verse it says: "In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim, king of Judea." Thus one sees the cycle of life, the original state, the lust for falsities and the aversion to truth, represented by Jehoiakim, initiate a cycle of selfish violence in our lives. This in turn can only be overcome by the conscience, which leads and directs us through the paths of temptation until eventually we are liberated.

Regeneration is a long process, and it cannot be hurried. However, we do need to know that the battles we face in our daily lives, the often excruciating inner conflicts between selfishness and conscience, serve a purpose: they lead us to the states of heaven This makes the book of Daniel a little like a road map, guiding us through the course of life for we need to know where we are going in order to retain the commitment to that spiritual journey.

When we look inwards to see the rampant Nebuchadnezzar states of selfishness, or the profane Belshazzar states of behaviour, when we see our slide into evil and the power that it has over our lives, then we need to be reassured that we can repent. We have the ability to fight against these things from the power given to us by the angels surrounding us, Gabriel and Michael, and all they represent are real forces in our lives. We can overcome and be set free.

But it takes time, dedication and patience. The angel's final words to Daniel must have been words of immeasurable comfort to an old man, torn from his native land and placed at the heart of the greatest empire in the world at that time. Similarly they are words of promise to each of us as we battle to overcome the evils of selfishness, as we are caught in the vortex of temptation. They are words of the promise of peace and hope for the future: “But you, go your way till the end; for you shall find rest, and will arise to your inheritance at the end of the days.”

242. To buy of Me gold tried by fire, that thou mayest be enriched, signifies that they should acquire for themselves from the Lord genuine good, that they may be able to receive the truths of faith. This is evident from the signification of "buying," as being to acquire and appropriate to oneself (See Arcana Coelestia 4397, 5374, 5397, 5406, 5410, 5426); also from the signification of "gold tried by fire," as being genuine good, thus good from the Lord (of which presently); also from the signification of "that thou mayest be enriched," as being to be enabled to receive the truths of faith. This is the signification of being "enriched," because "riches" and "wealth" signify the knowledges of truth and good, and "the rich" are those who are in intelligence by means of knowledges, here, those who are in faith by means of them, since those who are in the doctrine of faith alone are here treated of. From this it is clear that "to buy of Me gold tried by fire, that thou mayest be enriched," signifies that they must acquire for themselves genuine good from the Lord so that they may receive the truths of faith.

[2] It shall first be told how this is to be understood. It has often been said before, that there is no truth which is truth in itself unless it be from good, thus no faith that is faith in itself unless it be from charity: for there is no truth that is truth in itself unless there is spiritual life within it, and spiritual life is within it when it is formed out of the good of charity; for truth is the form of good, and good is the esse of truth, thus also its life; and good is from no other source than from the Lord. When there is good from the Lord, the truth that is from the good looks primarily to the Lord and also to the neighbor and his good, for the Lord flows in with good and by it forms truth, which is the truth of faith, and causes man's spiritual sight to look to him and to the neighbor. (That this is so, may be seen in the work on Heaven and Hell 145, 251, namely, that the Lord looks at angels and men in the forehead, and these look to the Lord through the eyes; for the reason that the forehead corresponds to the good of love, and the eyes to the understanding illustrated thereby, consequently to the truths of faith. Also in the same work, n. Heaven and Hell 17, 123, 124, 142-144, 510, it is shown that in the spiritual world all are turned to their own loves, and those who have acknowledged the Lord and believed in Him are turned to Him, and thereby have good, and through good, illustration in respect to truths.) From this it can be seen what the genuine good is that is signified by "gold tried by fire," namely, that it is good from the Lord alone.

[3] As what is written to the angel of this church treats of those who live according to the doctrine of faith alone, and as those who had confirmed themselves in that doctrine, and were on that account called learned in the world, were able to join falsities with truths and make the doctrine appear as if it were true, therefore, it was granted me to talk with some of them in the other life; and as the things that were then said on either side may serve for illustration I will present them. These learned ones, from their belief while in the world, supposed that there might be faith without charity, and that man may be justified by that alone. Their talk was very ingenious; they said that there is faith without charity, because it is prior to charity, and because by it man is in good. "Who," they said, "is not able to believe that there is a God, that the Word is Divine, and other like truths, which unless believed could not be received and thought of by man?"

From this they concluded that as faith precedes, or is prior to, charity, there can be faith without charity; and if there can be, that it must be saving, since man cannot do good from himself; unless, therefore, that faith were saving all would perish: moreover, without faith there could be no presence of God with man; and without the presence of God evil would reign, and no one would have any good. This, they said, is what is meant by justification by faith alone. But it was shown them that there could not be faith unless there was at the same time charity; and that what they called faith was nothing but the knowledges that are first with every man; for example, that there is a God, that the Word is Divine, and the like, and that these knowledges are not in the man before they are in his will, but are in the entrance to him, which is his memory; but so far as they are in his will so far they are in the man himself, for the will is the man himself; and so far as they are in the will so far they are in his sight, which is faith. The knowledges themselves that precede, and that appear to the natural sight as if believed, do not until then come to be of faith; consequently this seeing the knowledges, that is thought to be of faith, recedes step by step from man as he begins from willing evil to think evil, and also recedes from him after death when man becomes a spirit, if the knowledges have not been rooted in his life, that is, in his will or love.

[4] This may be illustrated by a comparison with the stomachs of birds and beasts of the earth that are called ruminating stomachs. Into these they first collect their food, and afterwards by degrees take it out and eat it, and thus nourish the blood; food thus becomes a part of their life. With man the memory corresponds to these stomachs; and man is endowed with memory instead of these because he is spiritual; into this he first gathers spiritual foods, which are knowledges, and afterwards he takes them out by a sort of ruminating, that is, by thinking and willing, and appropriates them, and thus makes them a part of his life.

From this comparison, although trifling, it can be seen that knowledges, unless implanted in the life by thinking and willing them and then doing them, are like food that remains unconsumed in ruminating stomachs, where it either becomes putrid or is vomited out. Moreover, the circle of man's life is to know, ¹ to understand, to will, and to do; for man's spiritual life begins with knowing, passes next to understanding, then to willing, and finally to doing. From this it is clear that so long as knowledges are in the memory they are merely in the entrance to the life, and that they are not fully in man until they are in acts, and the more fully they are in acts the more fully they are in the understanding and will.

[5] It was further shown that the faith of knowledges before it becomes the faith of life is historical faith, the nature of which is well known, namely, that it is believed because another has said it; until this has been made man's own it is an alien thing, or something with ourself belonging to someone else. Historical faith, moreover, is like a belief in things unknown, for it is said that things must be believed though not understood, yea, that they must not be searched into by the understanding; and yet spiritual faith is such that in it truths themselves are seen and are consequently believed. In heaven no one believes any truth unless he sees it or has seen it; for they say, "Who can believe that a thing is so unless he sees it? It may possibly be false." And only the evil can believe what is false; for the evil from evil see falsities, but the good from good see truths; and as good is from the Lord, so also seeing truth from good is from the Lord. Angels see truths because the light of heaven, in which they are, is Divine truth proceeding from the Lord; all, therefore, even those in the world, who are in that light are able to see truth. (Of the light of heaven, and that it is such, see in the work on Heaven and Hell 126-140.)

[6] It was then shown that charity and faith act as one and enter together into man, thus that man is so far in faith as he is in charity, since faith as to its essence is charity, just as truth as to its essence is good; for good, when it exists in shape or in form is truth; in like manner charity is faith, for good is of charity and truth is of faith; moreover, the one loves the other and conjoins itself to the other, therefore one is not given unless the other be with it. This was illustrated by man's thought, which is of his understanding, and his affection, which is of his will; to think apart from affection is impossible, for the very essence of thought is affection or love. Man is able, to be sure, to think all things that he knows from the doctrine of the church, but only from a natural affection, which is the affection or love of glory, fame, honor or gain; but such an affection does not make thought to be spiritual; this requires charity, which is spiritual affection itself. When this is conjoined with knowledges there is faith, and then so far as man is in that affection he sees in thought the things that are of his faith, which are called truths, and acknowledges them, because they are from his very spirit, thus from his very spiritual life. This also is what is called illustration; and this is why no one can be illustrated from the Word unless he is in the spiritual affection of truth. Something like illustration there is, indeed, with those who have confirmed themselves in such things as are of the doctrine of faith alone and justification by faith; but that illustration is a fatuous illustration, since falsities as well as truths can be confirmed, like all those heresies that prevail both among the Jews and among Papists. With those who are called naturalists, and who deny God, the Divinity of the Word, and all other things belonging to the church, there is a similar light after confirmations; like that with those who have confirmed themselves in faith alone and justification by faith. (That the light of confirmation is natural, not spiritual, and exists also with the evil, see Arcana Coelestia 8780.)

[7] But let us return to the faith that in its essence is charity. That faith is continually perfected by such things as confirm; for from spiritual light more truths are constantly being seen, and all these join themselves to the good of charity, and perfect it. From this man has intelligence and wisdom, which at length become angelic. Moreover, those who are merely in the knowledges of faith, and not in a life according to them, believe that man can easily receive faith, if not in the world yet in another life, saying within themselves, "When I hear and see that a thing is so can I not believe it?" But they are greatly mistaken; for those who have not received spiritual faith in the world can never afterwards receive it, even if they were to hear of it and see it a thousand times; and for the reason that such a faith is not in man, but outside of him. That this is so can be clearly seen from this, that all who come from the world are first received by angels and good spirits, and instructed in every way, yea, many things are shown them to the life and before their very eyes, and yet they do not receive; thus they alienate themselves from angels and good spirits, and join those who are in no faith.

[8] Again, it was also told them, that if faith could be received by merely knowing and thinking it would be received by all, ² the evil and the good alike, and thus no one would be damned. That charity, which is spiritual affection, can never be given to anyone unless he knows truths, examines himself by means of them, accepts them, and leads a new life in accordance with them, may be seen above n. 239. From this it follows that charity is the life of faith, and that there is nothing of life in faith except in the measure of the charity that is in it; and also that in the measure that charity is in faith man is led by the Lord, but in the measure that charity is not in faith man is led by himself; and he who is led by himself and not by the Lord is unable to think of good, still less to will and do good which is good in itself; for from what is man's own [ex proprio] nothing proceeds except evil; for when a man thinks of good, and wills and does good and ³ what is his own [ex propio], it is only for his own sake and for the sake of the world, which are the ends of what he does, and the ends are the loves that lead him; and man cannot be withdrawn from his selfhood [a suo proprio] or elevated unless he looks to the Lord in regard to the things that are of life; by this looking he is conjoined with heaven, and from heaven a spiritual affection is given him by the Lord. When this had been said, it was granted to those with whom I was talking on this subject to be in spiritual light, which light is such that in it truths can be seen as clearly as objects in the world are seen in its light; and then those who were in the doctrine of faith alone and justification by faith could not but affirm that this was true; but as soon as that light was taken away from them, and they were let back into their own light, which was natural, they were unable to see otherwise than that the sight of knowledges is saving faith, and therefore that the falsities that they had made part of their faith were truths. Falsities come to be of the faith when evils are of the life.

[9] But to return to the explanation of the words of this passage, "I counsel thee to buy of Me gold tried by fire, that thou mayest be enriched," which signifies that they should acquire for themselves from the Lord genuine good, that they may be able to receive truths. It now remains to be shown that "gold" in the Word signifies the good of love. This can be seen from the following passages.

In Malachi:

Behold, I send My angel [messenger] who shall prepare the way before Me; and the Lord whom ye seek shall suddenly come to His temple, even the angel [messenger] of the covenant whom ye desire; He shall sit refining and purifying silver, and shall purify the sons of Levi, and shall purge them as gold and silver, that they may bring to Jehovah an offering in righteousness (Malachi 3:1-3).

These things are said of the Lord's coming. It is said that Jehovah is to send a messenger [an angel] who will prepare the way before Him; and the messenger [angel] meant is John the Baptist, as is known. "Before Me," or before Jehovah, means before the Lord's Divine Itself; "the temple to which He is to come" means His Divine Human; this is also called "the messenger [angel] of the covenant," because through it there is a conjunction of men and angels with the Divine Itself, for covenant means conjunction. "The silver that He shall sit refining and purifying" means truth from good; "the sons of Levi" mean all those who are in the good of charity and in the truths of faith therefrom; it is therefore said, "He shall purge them as gold and silver." This is said because "gold" signifies good, and "silver" the truth therefrom. "Bringing to Jehovah an offering in righteousness" means worship of the Lord from the good of charity. (That "temple" signifies the Lord's Divine Human, see above, n. 220; that "covenant" signifies conjunction, see Arcana Coelestia 665, 666, 1023, 1038, 1864, 1996, 2003, 2021, 6804, 8767, 8778, 9396, 10632; that "silver" signifies truth from good, n. 1551, 1552, 2954, 5658; that "an offering" signifies the good of love and charity, n. 4581, 9992-9994, 10079, 10137; that "righteousness" is predicated of good, n. 2235, 9857.) Therefore "to bring an offering in righteousness" signifies worship from the good of love.

[10] In Zechariah:

Two parts in all the land shall be cut off, shall expire, but the third shall be left therein. Yet I will lead the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and I will try them as gold is tried. (Zechariah 13:8-9)

"All the land" does not mean all the land, but the whole church; nor does "the third part" mean a third part, but some in the church. "To lead it through the fire, and refine as silver is refined, and to try as gold is tried," signifies to so purify them from falsities and evils that good and truth may be implanted. (That "earth" [land] in the Word signifies the church, see Arcana Coelestia 662, 1066, 1068, 1262, 1413, 1607, 2928, 3355, 4447, 4535, 5577, 6516, 9325, 9643; that "a third part" signifies some, n. 2788.) In these passages there are comparisons of "silver" and "gold" with truth and good; but in the Word all things that serve as comparisons also correspond, and thence signify (See Arcana Coelestia 3579, 8989). Because "gold tried by fire" signifies the good of love purified from evils, it was commanded:

That the gold and silver taken from the Midianites should be passed through the fire, and thus be purified (Numbers 31:22-23).

[11] That "gold" signifies the good of love and of charity is shown further in the following passages.

In Hosea:

Israel hath forsaken good; the enemy pursueth him; they have made their silver and their gold into idols for themselves (Hosea 8:3-4).

"Making their silver and their gold into idols for themselves" signifies that they have turned truth and good into falsities and evils, as is evident from its being said, "Israel hath forsaken good, and the enemy pursueth him;" "the enemy" is falsity from evil, and evil from falsity.

[12] In Joel:

What are ye to Me, O Tyre and Zidon? My silver and My gold ye have taken, and the desirable things of My goods have ye brought into your temples, and the sons of Judah, and the sons of Jerusalem ye have sold to the sons of the Grecians, that ye might remove them far from their borders (Joel 3:4-6).

"Tyre and Zidon" mean those within the church who are in the knowledges of truth and good; here those who have perverted these, and applied them to falsities and to the evils of falsities; this is signified by "Ye have taken My silver and My gold, and the desirable things of My goods have ye brought into your temples;" "silver" signifying truth, "gold" good, and "the desirable things of goods" signifying derived truths and goods, which are knowledges from the sense of the letter of the Word; "to bring them into their temples" signifies to turn them into profane worship; that "they sold the sons of Judah and the sons of Jerusalem to the sons of the Grecians" means that they changed all the truths of good into the falsities of evil; "removing them far from their borders" means far from truths themselves. (That "Tyre and Zidon" mean those within the church who are in the knowledges of truth and good, see Arcana Coelestia 1201; that "sons of Judah and sons of Jerusalem" mean all truths of good, because "sons" signify truths, n. 1729, 1733, 2159, 2623, 2803, 2813, 3373, 3704, 7499, 8897, 9807; "Judah" the celestial church, n. 3654, 6364; "Jerusalem" the church where there is genuine doctrine, n. 3654, 9166; that "sons of the Grecians" mean falsities, because "Grecians" signify the nations that are in falsities, see above, n. 50.)

[13] In Ezekiel:

The traders of Sheba and Raamah, by the chief of all spices, and by every precious stone and gold, they gave for thy tradings (Ezekiel 27:22).

In the same:

In thy wisdom and thine intelligence thou hadst made to thyself wealth, and hast gotten gold and silver in thy treasures. Thou wast in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, and gold (Ezekiel 28:4, 13).

In these two passages also Tyre is treated of, and by it, as was said above, those within the church who are in the knowledges of truth and good are meant. (By "her tradings" those knowledges themselves are meant. "Sheba and Raamah" also mean those who are in these knowledges, see Arcana Coelestia 1171, 3240; "spices" signify truths which are pleasing because from good, see n. 4748, 5621, 9474, 9475, 10199, 10254; "precious stones" signify truths, which are beautiful because from good, n. 9863, 9865, 9868, 9873, 9905; "the garden of Eden" signifies intelligence and wisdom therefrom, n. 100, 108, 1588, 2702, 3220.) Now because these things signify the knowledges of truth and of good, and "gold and silver" the goods and truths themselves, and because through these all intelligence and wisdom are acquired, it is said, "In thine intelligence and thy wisdom thou hast gotten gold and silver in thy treasures."

[14] In Lamentations:

How is the gold become dim! How is the most pure gold changed! The stones of holiness are poured out at the head of every street. The sons of Zion are esteemed equal to pure gold; how are they reputed as earthen bottles, the work of the hands of the potter! (Lamentations 4:1-2).

Here the vastation of the church is treated of; "the gold that is become dim, and the most pure gold that is changed," signify the goods of the church; "the stones of holiness that are poured out at the head of every street," signify the truths therefrom that are falsified; "the sons of Zion, who were esteemed equal to pure gold," signify the truths of the former church; "earthen bottles, the work of the hands of the potter," signify evils of life from falsities of doctrine, which are from self-intelligence.

[15] In Ezekiel:

I decked thee with ornaments, and I gave bracelets upon thy hands, and a chain on thy neck. Thus wast thou decked with gold and silver; and thy garments of fine linen and silk and broidered work. Thou didst also take the vessels of thine adorning of My gold and My silver, which I had given thee, and madest for thee images with which thou couldst commit whoredom (Ezekiel 16:11, 13, 17-18).

Here Jerusalem is treated of, which signifies the church in respect to doctrine (as above). "The ornaments with which she was decked" signify in general all truths from good and intelligence therefrom (Arcana Coelestia 10536, 10540); "bracelets upon the hands" signify in particular, truths from good (3103, 3105); "the chain upon the neck" signifies the conjunction of interior truths and goods with exterior, or things spiritual with things natural (5320); "fine linen" signifies genuine truth, and "silk" the same, resplendent from interior good (5319, 9469); "broidered work" signifies knowledge [scientificum] pertaining to the natural man (n. 9688); "the images with which she committed whoredom" are the fallacies of the senses, that appear as truths to those who are in falsities; "to commit whoredom with them" is to establish falsities by fallacies (that "to commit whoredom" signifies to imbue with falsities, see above, n. 141. From this it is clear that the contents of this chapter describe the church as it was when first established by the Lord, and as it afterwards became.

[16] In Isaiah:

Behold, I stir up against them the Medes, who shall not value silver, and shall not delight in gold; their bows shall dash to pieces the young men, their eye shall not spare the sons (Isaiah 13:17-18).

The "Medes" mean those who are against the truths and goods of the church; it is therefore said of them, "they shall not value silver nor delight in gold;" "silver" is the truth of the church, and "gold" its good. Their "bows" signify the doctrinals of falsity fighting against truths and goods (Arcana Coelestia 2686, 2709); "the young men whom they shall dash to pieces" signify those who are intelligent from truths (n. 7668); "the sons whom they shall not spare" signify the truths themselves.

[17] In the same:

The troop of camels shall cover thee; they all shall come from Sheba; they shall bring gold and frankincense; and they shall proclaim the praises of Jehovah. The isles hope in Me, and the ships of Tarshish, to bring thy sons from far, their silver and their gold with them (Isaiah 60:6, 9).

Here the coming of the Lord is treated of, and "the troop of camels" means all who are in the knowledges of truth and good (Arcana Coelestia 3048, 3071, 3143, 3145); "Sheba, from which they shall come," means where those knowledges themselves are (n. 1171, 3240); "the gold and frankincense which they shall bring" mean goods and truths from good, which are therefore pleasing, "gold" is goods, and "frankincense" truths (n. 9993, 10177, 10296); "the isles which shall hope" mean the nations that are in Divine worship, but more remote from the truths of the church (n. 1158); "the ships of Tarshish" mean the general knowledges of truth and good, which contain many knowledges in particular (n. 1977, 6385); "the sons whom they shall bring from far" mean truths more remote, "sons" meaning truths (as above), and "from far" those more remote (n. 1613, 9487); "their silver and gold with them" signify the knowledges of truth and good with them.

Like things are signified by the wise men who came from the East to the place where Christ was born, offering gifts, gold, frankincense, and myrrh (Matthew 2:11).

They offered these because these signified goods and truths, interior and exterior, which are gifts pleasing to God.

[18] In David:

All kings shall bow themselves before Him; and all nations shall serve Him. He shall save the souls of the needy. And they shall live, and He shall give them of the gold of Sheba (Psalms 72:11, 13, 15).

Here also the coming of the Lord is treated of; by "kings that shall bow themselves before Him," and "nations that shall serve Him," all who are in truths from good are meant (that "kings" signify those who are in truths, see above, n. 31; and that "nations" signify those who are in good, see also above, n. 175; "the needy whom He shall save" mean those who are not in the knowledges of good and truth but yet long for them (See also above, n. 238; "the gold of Sheba, of which He shall give them," means the good of love into which the Lord shall lead them by means of knowledges (what "Sheba" signifies see just above).

[19] In Haggai:

I will stir up all nations, that they may come, the choice of all nations, and I will fill this house with glory. The silver is Mine, and the gold. The glory of this latter house shall be greater than that of the former (Haggai 2:7-9).

This also treats of the coming of the Lord; by "nations" those who are in good and in truths therefrom are meant; by "house" the church (Arcana Coelestia 3720); "the glory with which it shall be filled" means Divine truth (n. 4809, 5922, 8267, 8427, 9429). "The silver is Mine, and the gold," means that truth and good are from the Lord alone.

[20] In Zechariah:

The wealth of all nations round about shall be gathered together, gold, silver, and garments in great abundance (Zechariah 14:14).

"The wealth of all nations" means knowledges, wheresoever they are, even with the evil; "gold, silver, and garments, in great abundance," mean goods and truths, spiritual and natural. The like was signified by the gold, silver, and garments that the sons of Israel borrowed from the Egyptians, when they went away from them (Exodus 3:22; 11:2, 3; 12:35-36).

Why this was done, and what it involves, may be seen in The Arcana Coelestia 6914, 6917, namely, to represent that the things the evil have shall be taken away from them and given to the good (according to the Lord's words in Matthew 25:28, 29; and in Luke 19:24, 26); and that they should make to themselves friends by the unrighteous mammon (according to the words of the Lord in Luke 16:9). "The unrighteous mammon" means the knowledges of truth and good with those who do not possess them justly, who are those that do not apply them to life.

[21] In David:

Kings' daughters are among thy precious ones; at Thy right hand stood the queen in the best gold of Ophir. The king's daughter is all glorious within; her vesture is inwrought with gold (Psalms 45:9, 13).

This treats of the Lord; and "a king's daughter" means the church that is in the affection of truth, which is described by "kings' daughters are among His precious ones," which means the affections of truths themselves; "at His right hand doth stand the queen in the best gold of Ophir" means the Lord's celestial kingdom, which is in the good of love; "her vesture is inwrought with gold" means that its truths are from good.

[22] In Matthew:

Jesus said to His disciples whom He sent forth to preach the gospel, that they should possess no gold, nor silver, nor brass in their purses (Matthew 10:9);

by this was represented that they should have nothing of good and truth from themselves, but only from the Lord, and that all things would be given them freely. Because "gold" signified the good of love:

The table on which the shewbread was placed was overlaid with gold (Exodus 25:23-24);

Likewise the altar of incense, which was thence called the golden altar (Exodus 30:3);

For the same reason the lampstand was made of pure gold (Exodus 25:31, 38);

Also the cherubim (Exodus 25:18);

And for the same reason the ark was overlaid within and without with gold (Exodus 25:11);

Likewise many things in the temple at Jerusalem.

For the tabernacle, in which were the ark, the cherubim, the table on which was the shewbread, the altar of incense, and the lampstand, represented heaven, and so did the temple; therefore the gold therein signified the good of love, and the silver truth from good.

[23] As what is most holy in heaven was represented by the gold in the temple:

When Belshazzar drank wine out of the vessels of gold brought out of that temple, and at the same time praised the gods of gold, silver, brass, iron, wood, and stone, there appeared written on the wall: Numbered, weighed, divided; and in that night he was slain (Daniel 5:2); for thereby was signified the profanation of good.

[24] Moreover "gold" in the Word in a contrary sense signifies the evil of self-love, and "silver" the falsity therefrom. As in Moses:

The silver and gold of the nations they shall not covet, for they are abominations, nor bring them into their houses, but they shall be accursed, because they are to be abhorred and abominated (Deuteronomy 7:25-26).

But this signification of "gold" and "silver" shall be spoken of further on.

Footnotes: