30. Unto Him that loveth us, and washeth us from our sins in His blood, signifies His love, and regeneration by truths that are from Him. This is evident from the signification of "washing from sins," as meaning to regenerate (See The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 202-209); and from the signification of "in His blood," as meaning by truths that are from Him (See in the same Doctrine, n. 210-213; and in the extracts from the Arcana Coelestia there, n. 217, 219, 222). That the Lord's "blood" signifies truths from good, thus truths from the Lord, can with difficulty be seen and believed by a man who knows nothing of the internal sense of the Word; moreover, it seems far-fetched to understand truths from the Lord in place of His blood; and yet in heaven nothing else is understood by the Lord's blood. This is because the Lord there is Divine truth united to Divine good, consequently no one there thinks of His flesh and blood. Thought concerning these they call material thought, of which there is none with them. They say, moreover, that they are not aware that flesh and blood are mentioned in the Word; for with them the things belonging to the literal sense of the Word, are changed into spiritual ideas, since they themselves are spiritual and not natural; thus "flesh" when ascribed to the Lord, is changed into Divine good, and "blood" into Divine truth, each proceeding from the Lord.

[2] "Flesh" and "blood" are mentioned in the literal sense of the Word, in order that corresponding spiritual things may be perceived in heaven; for all spiritual things terminate in natural things; in them they have their outmost plane, therefore the Divine passing through the heavens terminates in that plane, and thereon subsists, comparatively like a house on its foundation, and is then in its fullness. This is why the Word is such as it is in the letter, and why "flesh" and "blood" are there mentioned; the angels, however, are astonished that the man of the church, who might also be made spiritual from the Word, does not allow himself to be elevated above the sense of the letter, and thinks not spiritually but materially of the Lord, and of His flesh and blood. But because they so wondered, and it was told them that many, especially the simple, do think spiritually about these things, they explored whether it was so; and they discovered that many, and almost all the simple, when they come to the holy supper do not think at all about flesh and blood, but only of that which is holy which they then have from the Lord. The angels perceived that this is continually provided by the Lord, in order that the man of the church may then be in a spiritual and not in a material idea.

[3] The reason why material eating is understood and adopted in doctrines, is because men have thought of the Human of the Lord as of the human of another man, and have not then thought at the same time of the Divine in His Human, rejecting the expression, "Divine Human;" and they that so thought of the Lord's Human could not think otherwise than materially of His flesh and blood. It would have been different if they had thought of the Lord according to the universal doctrine of the church, which is, that His Divine and Human is one person, the two being united as soul and body (See above, n. 10, 26). Moreover, "blood" is mentioned in many places in the Word, as also elsewhere in Revelation (as in Revelation 6:12; 7:14; 8:7-8; 11:6; 12:11; 14:20; 16:3-4, 6; 18:24; 19:2, 13). I purpose, therefore, in the following pages, to confirm fully that by "blood" is signified truth from the Lord, and in an opposite sense falsity that offers violence to that truth.

5248. 'And changed his clothes' means the change made so far as coverings of the interior natural were concerned, by the putting on of what was rightly suited to this. This is clear from the meaning of 'changing as removing and casting aside, and from the meaning of 'clothes' as the coverings of the interior natural, dealt with below. The putting on of what was rightly suited, meant by 'new clothes', follows on from this. Frequent reference is made in the Word to clothes, by which are meant lower or outward things which, being such, serve to cover higher or inward ones. 'Clothes' consequently means the external part of man and therefore what is natural, since this covers the internal and the spiritual part of him. In particular 'clothes' means truths that are matters of faith since these cover forms of good that are embodiments of charity. This meaning of 'clothes' has its origin in the clothes that spirits and angels are seen to be wearing. Spirits are seen dressed in clothes that have no brightness, whereas angels are seen dressed in clothes full of brightness and so to speak made of brightness. For the actual brightness that surrounds them looks like a robe, much like the Lord's garments when He was transfigured, which were 'as the light', Matthew 17:2, and 'glistening white', Luke 9:29. From the clothes they wear one can also tell what kinds of spirits and angels they are so far as truths of faith are concerned since these are represented by their clothes, though only truths of faith such as exist within the natural. The truths of faith such as exist within the rational are revealed in the face and in the beauty it possesses. The brightness of their garments has its origin in the good of love and charity, for that good shines through and is the producer of the brightness. From all this one may see what is represented in the spiritual world by clothes and as a consequence what is meant in the spiritual sense by 'clothes'.

[2] But the clothes which Joseph changed - that is, cast aside - were those of the pit or prison-clothing, which mean the delusions and false ideas that are stirred up by evil genii and spirits in a state involving temptations. Consequently the expression 'he changed his clothes' means a casting aside and a change made in the coverings of the interior natural. And the clothes which he put on were ones such as were properly suitable, so that the putting on of what was rightly suited is meant. See what has been stated and shown already regarding clothes,

Celestial things are unclothed, but not so spiritual and natural ones, 297.

'Clothes' are truths, which are of a lower nature when they are compared with what they cover, 1073, 2576.

'Changing one's garments' was representative of the need to put on holy truths, and therefore 'changes of garments' had the same meaning, 4545.

'Rending one's clothes' was representative of mourning on account of the loss of truth, 4763.

What is meant by someone entering who was not wearing a wedding garment, 2132.