608. And sware by him that liveth unto the ages of the ages.- That this signifies truth from His own Divine, is evident from the signification of swearing, as denoting asseveration and confirmation, and when stated of the Lord, as denoting truth, of which we shall speak presently; and from the signification of, "him that liveth unto the ages of the ages," as denoting the Divine from eternity, which alone lives, and which is the source of life to all in the universe, both to angels and men. That this is the signification of him that liveth unto the ages of the ages, may be seen above (n.289, 291, 349). That to swear signifies asseveration and confirmation, but, in the present case, truth, because from the angel, by whom the Lord is meant, is evident from this fact, that to swear is to assert and confirm the truth of a statement, and when done by the Lord, means Divine verity. For oaths are taken only by those who are not interiorly in truth itself, that is, by those who are not interior but only exterior men; therefore they are never taken by angels, and much less therefore by the Lord. But the reason why He is said to swear in the Word, and why the sons of Israel were allowed to swear by God, is, that they were merely exterior men, and because when the asseveration and confirmation of the internal man, comes into the external, it takes the form of an oath. And in the Israelitish church all things were external, and these represented and signified things internal. The case is similar also in regard to the Word in the sense of the letter. It is therefore evident that by the angel swearing by Him that liveth unto the ages of the ages, is not meant that he thus sware, but that he said in himself that it was the truth, and that this falling into the natural sphere, became, according to correspondences, changed into the form of an oath.

[2] Now because to swear is only an external act corresponding to the confirmation of the mind of the internal man, and consequently signifies it, therefore in the Word of the Old Testament it is said to be lawful to swear by God, and even God Himself is said to take an oath. That this signifies confirmation, asseveration, and the absolute truth, or that a thing is true, is evident from the following passages.

Thus in Isaiah:

"Jehovah hath sworn by his right hand, and by the arm of his strength" (62:8).

And in Jeremiah:

"Jehovah of hosts hath sworn by his soul" (51:14; Amos 6:8).

And again, in Amos:

"The Lord Jehovih hath sworn by his holiness" (4:2).

And again, in the same prophet:

"The Lord Jehovah hath sworn by the excellency of Jacob" (8:7).

And in Jeremiah:

"Behold, I have sworn by my great name" (44:26).

Jehovah swearing by His right hand, by His soul, by His holiness, and by His name, signifies by the Divine Truth; for the right hand of Jehovah, the arm of His strength, His holiness, His name, and His soul, mean the Lord as to Divine Truth, thus Divine Truth proceeding from the Lord. The signification of the excellency of Jacob is similar, for the mighty one of Jacob means the Lord as to Divine Truth.

[3] That to swear, when stated of Jehovah, signifies confirmation from Himself, or from His Divine, is evident in Isaiah:

"By myself have I sworn, the word has gone out of my mouth, and shall not be recalled" (45:23).

And in Jeremiah:

"I swear by myself, saith Jehovah, that this house shall become a desolation" (22:5).

Because swearing, when stated of Jehovah, signifies Divine Truth, therefore it is said in David,

"Jehovah hath sworn in truth unto David; He will not turn from it" (Psalm 132:11).

[4] Jehovah God, or the Lord, never swears, for it does not belong to God Himself, or the Divine Truth, to swear; but when God, or the Divine Truth, wills to have anything confirmed before men, then that confirmation, passing into the natural sphere, becomes an oath or takes the solemn formula of an oath in the world. It is therefore evident, that although God never swears, yet in the sense of the letter of the Word, which is the natural sense, it may be said that He swears. This therefore is the signification of swearing when stated of Jehovah or the Lord in the preceding passages, and also in the following.

Thus in Isaiah:

"Jehovah of hosts hath sworn, saying, Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass" (14:24).

And in David:

"I have made a covenant with my chosen, I have sworn unto David my servant. O Lord, thou swearest unto David in truth" (Psalm 89:3, 35, 49).

And again:

"Jehovah hath sworn, and will not repent" (Psalm 110:4).

And in Ezekiel:

"I sware unto thee, and entered into a covenant with thee, and thou becamest mine" (16:8).

And in David:

"Unto whom I sware in my anger" (Psalm 95:11).

And in Isaiah:

"I have sworn that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth" (54:9).

And in Luke:

"To remember his holy covenant; the oath which he sware to our father Abraham" (1:72, 73).

And in David:

"He was mindful of his covenant which he made with Abraham, and his oath with Isaac" (Psalm 105:8, 9).

And in Jeremiah:

"That I may establish the oath which I have sworn unto your fathers" (11:5 32:22).

"The land which I sware to give to your fathers" (Deuteronomy 1:35 10:11; 11:9, 21; 26:3, 15; 31:20; 34:4).

[5] From these things it is evident what is meant by the angel lifting up his hand to heaven, and swearing by Him that liveth unto the ages of the ages.

Similarly in Daniel:

"I heard the man (vir) clothed in linen, when he held up his right hand and his left hand unto the heavens, and sware by him that liveth unto the ages of the ages" (12:7).

This signifies affirmation before the angels concerning the state of the church, that what follows is Divine Truth.

[6] Since the church instituted with the sons of Israel was a representative church, in which all things that were commanded were natural things, representing and consequently signifying spiritual things, therefore the sons of Israel, with whom the church was, were allowed to swear by Jehovah, and by His name, also by the holy things of the church, and this represented, and therefore signified, internal confirmation, and also truth. This will be evident from the following passages.

Thus in Isaiah:

"He who blesseth himself in the earth let him bless himself in the God of truth; and he that sweareth in the earth let him swear by the God of truth" (65:16).

And in Jeremiah:

"Swear by the living Jehovah, in truth, in judgment, and in justice" (4:2).

And in Moses:

"Thou shalt fear Jehovah thy God, and serve him, and shalt swear in his name" (Deuteronomy 6:13; 10:20).

And in Isaiah:

"In that day shall five cities in the land of Egypt swear to Jehovah of hosts" (19:18).

And in Jeremiah:

"If in learning they will learn the ways of my people, to swear by my name, Jehovah liveth" (12:16).

And in David:

"Every one that sweareth by" God "shall glory, but the mouth of them that speak a lie shall be stopped" (Psalm 63:11).

To swear by God, signifies to speak truth, for it follows, "but the mouth of them that speak a lie shall be stopped." That they swore by God, see also Genesis 21:23, 24, 31; Joshua 2:12; 9:20; Judges 21:7; 1 Kings 1:17.

[7] Since the ancients were allowed to swear by Jehovah God, it therefore follows that it is a most serious evil to swear falsely or to lie; as is evident from these passages.

Thus in Malachi:

"I will be a witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against false swearers" (3:5).

And in Moses:

"Thou shall not swear a lie by my name, so that thou profane the name of thy God," and "thou shalt not take the name of thy God in vain" (Deuteronomy 5:11; Leviticus 19:12; Zech. 5:4).

And in Jeremiah:

"Run ye to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, and see if there be those that say, By the living Jehovah; surely they swear falsely. Thy sons have destroyed me, and sworn by no god" (5:1, 2, 7).

And in Hosea:

"Israel, swear not, Jehovah liveth" (4:15).

And in Zephaniah:

"And I will cut off them that swear by Jehovah, and that swear by their king; and them that are turned back from Jehovah" (1:4, 5, 6).

And in Zechariah:

"Love not the oath of a lie" (8:17).

And in Isaiah:

"Hear ye this, O house of Jacob, which swear by the name of Jehovah, not in truth, nor in justice" (48:1).

And in David:

"He that hath clean hands and a pure heart, who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully" (Psalm 24:4).

[8] From these passages it is clear, that the ancients, who were in the representatives and significatives of the church, were allowed to swear by Jehovah God, in order to testify truth, and by that oath it was signified that they thought what was true, and willed what was good. But it was more especially permitted to the sons of Jacob, since they were altogether natural and external men, and not internal and spiritual; and mere external or natural men desire to have the truth attested and confirmed by oaths, whereas internal or spiritual men do not desire it, yea, are averse from oaths, and account them horrible, especially those in which God and the holy things of heaven and the church are appealed to, and they are satisfied with saying and with having it said, that a thing is true, or that it is so.

[9] Since swearing is not of the internal or spiritual man, and since the Lord, when He came into the world, taught men to be internal or spiritual, and to that end afterwards abrogated the external things of the church, and opened the internal things of it, therefore he also forbad swearing by God and by the holy things of heaven and the church. This is clear from his own words in Matthew:

"Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shall not swear, but shall perform unto the Lord thine oaths; I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God's throne; neither by the earth; for it is his footstool; neither by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black" (5:33-36).

In this passage those holy things which must not be made use of in taking oaths are mentioned, namely, heaven and earth, Jerusalem and the head. And heaven means the angelic heaven, wherefore it is called the throne of God (that by the throne of God is meant that heaven, may be seen above, n. 253, 462, 477); the earth means the church (see above, n. 29, 304, 413, 417), it is therefore called the footstool of God's feet (that the footstool of God's feet means the church, see above, n. 606); Jerusalem means the doctrine of the church, it is therefore called the city of the great God (Dei) (that a city denotes doctrine, may be seen above, n. 223); and the head means intelligence therefrom (see above, n. 553, 577); it is therefore said, "thou canst not make one hair white or black," which signifies, that man can understand nothing of himself.

[10] Again, in the same Evangelist:

"Woe unto you, ye blind guides, because ye say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor! Ye fools and blind; for whether is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifieth the gold? And whosoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing but whosoever sweareth by the gift that is upon it, he is guilty. Ye fools and blind; for whether is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifieth the gift? Whosoever therefore shall swear by the altar, sweareth by it, and by all things thereon. And whosoever shall swear by the temple, sweareth by it, and by Him that dwelleth therein. And he that sweareth by heaven, sweareth by the throne of God, and by Him that sitteth thereon" (23:16-22).

The reason why they were not to swear by the temple and by the altar, is, that to swear by them, was to swear by the Lord, by heaven, and by the church. For the temple, in the highest sense, means the Lord as to Divine Truth, and, in the respective sense, heaven and the church as to the same, also all worship from Divine Truth (see above, n. 220). And the altar signifies the Lord as to Divine Good, and, in the respective sense, heaven and the church as to that good, also all worship from Divine Good (see above, n. 391). And because by the Lord are meant all Divine things which proceed from Him, for He Himself is in them, and they are of Him, therefore he who swears by Him, swears by all things that are of Him. Similarly, he who swears by heaven and by the church, swears by all the holy things which pertain to them, for heaven embraces and contains them; and similarly the church; it is therefore said, that the temple is greater than the gold of the temple, because the temple sanctifies the gold, and that the altar is greater than the gift which is upon it, because the altar sanctifies the gift.

10570. 'And I and Your people will be made more distinguished than all the people who are on the face of the ground' means the consequent pre-eminence over all throughout the whole world where the Church exists. This is clear from the meaning of 'being made more distinguished than all the people who are on the face of the ground' as pre-eminence over all throughout the whole world. The reason why where the Church exists is also meant is that 'the ground' means the Church, which is dealt with below.

[2] It was this end in view - that they should be made more distinguished than all throughout the whole world - that caused the Israelite nation to worship Jehovah and enabled them to be outwardly holy. This is clear from what has been shown previously regarding that nation. The fact that such people are able to be outwardly holy and to seem to others to be worshippers of God is clear from the idolaters spoken of in the historical narratives of the Word, who were able in like manner to do the outward things. But anyone may see and deduce that those idolaters possessed no inner holiness from the consideration that the Divine Truths which have been revealed in the Word are what make worship internal, when people know them and lead a life in keeping with them. For if a person were able to worship God in a holy way without those Truths there would be no need for any of the Church's teachings, nor for any preaching.

[3] Since that nation was such that their end in view - to be pre-eminent over others - enabled them to be outwardly holy, and since among people such as these the things that are representative of celestial and spiritual realities, which the outward things of their worship were, can be conveyed to angels and a link with heaven can thereby be established, that nation was accepted. But anyone who supposes that this made them worshippers of God is very much mistaken; for they were worshippers of self and the world, and idolaters at heart. And because they were such, neither was any revelation given them of the interior things of worship, which have to do with faith in the Lord and love to Him. This is evident from the books in the Old Testament, and also from the fact that they did not acknowledge the Lord when He came into the world, and indeed still do not acknowledge Him; and if presented with teachings about the Lord contained in the prophetical parts, even then they do not accept them. They desire a Messiah who will exalt them above all throughout the whole world, not a Messiah whose kingdom is in heaven and who looks from there to the salvation also of all on earth. From all this it becomes clear what that nation has been like since the earliest ages, and why it is that it says here that by Jehovah's going with them they would be made more distinguished than all the people who are on the face of the ground.

[4] By the words 'on the face of the ground' wherever the Church exists should be understood; for 'the ground' has the same meaning as 'the earth', namely the Church (for the meaning of 'the earth', or 'the land', as the Church, see in the places referred to in 9325). But 'the ground' means the Church for the same reason as 'the field' does, that is, because it receives various kinds of seeds, which then grow into plants and bear fruit, by which the truths and forms of the good of faith and love are meant. For the human being is a recipient of these just as the ground is of seeds. The earth is called a Church however on account of the people inhabiting it, with whom the Church exists. But since the ground implies that which extends spatially just as the earth or the land does, translators use the word 'earth' instead of 'ground'. Here they say 'on the face of the earth' instead of 'on the face of the ground', as they do in other places. And yet in the original language the term that denotes the ground is derived from an entirely different root from the one that the term denoting the earth springs from.

[5] The fact that 'the ground' means the Church, just as 'the earth' or 'the land' does, is clear from various places in the Word, of which let only some be quoted, such as this in Jeremiah,

The nobles sent their inferiors for water, they came to the pits, and they found no water; their vessels returned empty, because the ground was broken up in pieces, no rain had come to be on the land. Jeremiah 14:3-4.

Here 'the ground' means the Church, and so does 'the land', for the subject in the internal sense is the lack of truth and resulting ruination of the Church. 'Water' means truths; 'pits' where those truths, thus religious teachings, are stored; 'vessels' recipients of them; and 'rain' the influx of them from heaven. 'The land' is where the Church is situated, and 'the ground' the actual Church, which is said to be 'broken up in pieces' owing to drought, that is, to the lack of truth from heaven.

[6] In Isaiah,

It will happen at the end of seventy years, that Jehovah will visit Tyre, and she will return to her harlot's reward and commit whoredom with all the kingdoms of the earth on the face of the ground. At length her merchandise and her harlot's reward will be holy to Jehovah. Isaiah 23:17-18.

'Tyre' means the Church in respect of its cognitions or knowledge of truth and good, and so in the abstract sense means those cognitions. These are called 'a harlot's reward' when they are taught for the sake of gain, position, and reputation for knowing them, thus when they are put on sale so to speak, and are not taught for truth's own sake. In the Word this is called harlotry and whoredom. 'Committing whoredom with all the kingdoms of the earth' means doing so with all the truths of the Church; 'on the face of the ground' means wherever the Church is situated. Since cognitions of truth and good continue to be cognitions of truth and good and so continue to be Divine, even when they are used for gain by a person who teaches and puts them up for sale, and they are consequently 'a harlot's reward', it says that 'her merchandise and her harlot's reward will be holy to Jehovah'. Everyone whose thought extends beyond the sense of the letter can see that a harlot's reward should not be understood in these verses, nor whoredom committed with all the kingdoms of the earth, nor that such a thing will be holy to Jehovah.

[7] In David,

You send forth Your spirit, they are created, and You renew the face of the ground. Psalms 104:30.

'Jehovah's spirit' means the Divine Truth emanating from the Lord, 9818; 'being created' means being created anew, that is, being regenerated, 10373; 'renewing the face of the ground' reforming and establishing the Church, 'the face of the ground' meaning wherever anything of the Church can be received. The like is meant in other places where the expression 'the face of the ground' occurs, such as Genesis 7:4; 8:8, 13; Exodus 32:12; Numbers 12:3; Deuteronomy 6:15; 7:6; 1 Samuel 20:15; 2 Samuel 14:7.