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耶利米書 44

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1 有臨到耶利米,論及一切埃及的猶大人,就是在密奪、答比匿、挪弗、巴忒羅境內的猶大人,說:

2 萬軍之耶和華以色列的如此:我所降與耶路撒冷猶大各城的一切災禍你們都見了。那些城邑今日荒涼,無人居住

3 這是因居民所行的惡,去燒香事奉別,就是他們和你們,並你們列祖所不認識的,惹我發怒。

4 我從起來差遣我的僕人先知去說,你們切不要行我所厭惡這可憎之事。

5 他們卻不從,不側耳而,不離惡事,仍向別燒香。

6 因此,我的怒氣和忿怒都倒出來,在猶大城邑中和耶路撒冷的街上,如火著起,以致都荒廢淒涼,正如今日一樣。

7 現在耶和華─萬軍之以色列的如此:你們為何作這惡自害己命,使你們的男人、婦女、嬰孩,和吃奶的都從猶大中剪除、不留一呢?

8 就是因你們所做的,在所去寄居的埃及向別燒香惹我發怒,使你們被剪除,在天下萬國中令人咒詛羞辱。

9 你們列祖的惡行,猶大和他們后妃的惡行,你們自己和你們妻子的惡行,就是在猶大耶路撒冷街上所行的,你們都忘了麼?

10 到如今還沒有懊悔,沒有懼,沒有遵行我在你們和你們列祖面前所設立的法度律例。

11 所以萬軍之耶和華以色列的如此:我必向你們變臉降災,以致剪除猶大眾人。

12 那定意進入埃及、在那裡寄居的,就是所剩下的猶大人,我必使他們盡都滅絕,必在埃及仆倒,必因刀饑荒滅絕;從最小的到至的都必遭刀饑荒而,以致令人辱罵、驚駭、咒詛、羞辱。

13 我怎樣用刀、饑荒、瘟疫刑罰耶路撒冷,也必照樣刑罰那些埃及的猶大人;

14 甚至那進入埃及寄居的,就是所剩下的猶大人,都不得逃脫,也不得存留歸回猶大。他們心中甚想歸回居住;除了逃脫的以外,一個都不能歸回。

15 那些埃及巴忒羅知道自己妻子向別燒香的,與旁邊站立的眾婦女,聚集成群,回答耶利米

16 論到你奉耶和華的名向我們我們必不從。

17 我們定要成就我們中所出的一切,向后燒香、澆奠祭,按著我們我們列祖、君、首領在猶大的城邑中和耶路撒冷的街上素常所行的一樣;因為那時我們吃飽飯、享福樂,並不見災禍。

18 自從我們停止向后燒香、澆奠祭,我們倒缺乏一切,又因刀饑荒滅絕。

19 婦女:我們向后燒香、澆奠祭,做后像的餅供奉他,向他澆奠祭,是外乎我們的丈夫麼?

20 耶利米對一切那樣回答他的男人婦女

21 你們與你們列祖、君、首領,並國內的百姓,在猶大城邑中和耶路撒冷上所燒的香,耶和華豈不記念,中豈不思想麼?

22 耶和華因你們所作的惡、所行可憎的事,不能再容忍,所以你們的荒涼,令人驚駭咒詛,無人居住,正如今日一樣。

23 你們燒香,得罪耶和華,沒有聽從他的話,沒有遵行他的律法、條例、法度,所以你們遭遇這災禍,正如今日一樣。

24 耶利米又對眾民和眾婦女:你們在埃及的一切猶大人當耶和華的

25 萬軍之耶和華以色列的如此:你們和你們的妻都裡做,我們定要償還所許的願,向后燒香、澆奠祭。現在你們只管堅定所許的願而償還罷!

26 所以你們埃及的一切猶大耶和華的耶和華:我指著我的名起誓,在埃及,我的名不再被猶大一個稱呼:我指著─永生的耶和華起誓。

27 我向他們留意降禍不降福;在埃及的一切猶大必因刀、饑荒所滅,直到滅盡。

28 脫離刀、從埃及歸回猶大的人數很少;那進入埃及要在那裡寄居的,就是所剩下的猶大人,必知道是誰的立得住,是我的呢?是他們的呢?

29 耶和華:我在這地方刑罰你們,必有預兆,使你們知道我降禍與你們的必要立得住。

30 耶和華如此:我必將埃及王法老合弗拉交在他仇敵和尋索其命的人中,像我將猶大王西底家交在他仇敵和尋索其命的巴比倫王尼布甲尼撒中一樣。

   

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Apocalypse Explained #376

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376. Hitherto it has been shown that oil signifies celestial good, which is the good of love to the Lord. It shall now also be shown that wine signifies spiritual good, which is the good of charity towards the neighbour, and the good of faith; and because this good in its essence is truth, therefore it is said in the general explanation, "See thou hurt not the oil and the wine," which signifies that hurt should not be done to the internal or spiritual sense of the Word, either as to good or as to truth, or what is the same, that injury should not be offered to the goods and truths of the internal or spiritual sense of the Word. The reason why the good of charity and the good of faith are in their essence truth, is because that good is implanted by the Lord in man's intellectual part by means of truths which are called the truths of faith, and when man lives according to them, then those truths become goods; for by truths a new will is formed in that part, and whatever proceeds from the will is called good. This will also is the same as conscience, and conscience is a conscience of truth, for it is formed by means of truths of every kind from the doctrine of the church, and from the sense of the letter of the Word. But on this subject see more in the Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 130-138; and the extracts therein from the Arcana Coelestia, n. 139-141.) This now is why by wine is signified truth.

[2] Moreover, there are goods and truths internal and external; the internal goods and truths are signified by the oil and the wine which are not to be injured; but the external goods and truths are signified by the wheat and barley; external goods and truths are those in the sense of the letter of the Word, but internal goods and truths are those in the internal or spiritual sense of the Word; or, external goods and truths are such as are in the lower heavens, with the angels there, namely, in the ultimates of heaven, but internal goods and truths are such as are in the higher heavens, namely, in the third and second, with the angels there. The latter goods and truths are themselves genuine goods and truths, but the former are truths and goods which correspond, thus are correspondences; the former have immediate communication with the angels of heaven, whereas the latter have not an immediate but a mediate communication by correspondences. Hence it is that the Jews, because they were only in the sense of the letter, and not in the knowledge of the signification of things in the spiritual sense, could not injure the spiritual sense thereof either as to good or as to truth, consequently, they could not injure genuine goods and truths. This also is the case with the Christian Church at this day, which cannot injure the genuine goods and truths of the spiritual sense of the Word, for it is in ignorance of that sense, and, consequently, also ignorant of genuine goods and truths.

[3] The reason why the spiritual sense of the Word has not been made known to Christians, is, because the genuine goods and truths, such as are in the higher heavens, lie concealed in the spiritual sense of the Word; and so long as those goods and truths were not perceived and known, that sense could not be opened, for they could not be seen. The reason why genuine goods and truths have not been perceived and known in the Christian churches, is, because those churches have, in general, been divided into the papal and the evangelical; and in the papal church they are altogether ignorant of truths, because those who are therein do not depend upon the Word, thus upon the Lord, who is the Word, that is, the Divine truth, but upon the Pope, from whose mouth scarcely anything proceeds but what is from the love of ruling, and this love is from hell. Therefore, scarcely a single truth pertaining to the church exists with them; but in the evangelical churches faith alone has been assumed for the essential means of salvation, and thereby the good of love and charity has been rejected as not essential, and where good is rejected there no truth that is really truth can exist, all truth being from good. For the Lord flows into man's good, and by means of good enlightens him, and gives him light to perceive truths, therefore, without that light, which is the very spiritual life of man, there can be no truth. However it may sound like truth, because from the Word, it is truth falsified by the ideas which a man holds concerning it; for from faith separated from charity, or from truths without good, no other result can follow.

Hence then it is, that the spiritual sense of the Word could not be opened to the Christian churches; for if it had been opened, they would have falsified and perverted it by ideas from fallacies, and so would have profaned it. For this reason also no one will hereafter be admitted into the spiritual sense of the Word unless he is in genuine truths from good; and no one can be in genuine truths from good unless in his heart he acknowledges the Lord alone as the God of heaven and earth, for from Him is every good and truth therefrom. The reason why the spiritual sense of the Word is, at this day, opened, and therewith also genuine truths and goods disclosed, is, because the Last Judgment has been accomplished by the Lord, and thus all things in the heavens and in the hells are reduced to order. And as a result it can be provided by the Lord that the genuine truths and goods, in the spiritual sense of the Word, shall not be injured, which could not have been provided for before (see the small work concerning the Last Judgment 73).

[4] That wine signifies spiritual good, or the good of charity and the good of faith, which in its essence is truth, is evident from the following passages in the Word. In Isaiah:

"Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money, come ye, buy and eat; buy wine and milk without money and without price" (55:1).

Every one can see that it is not wine and milk, which they would buy without money; therefore by wine and milk are signified spiritual things, namely, by wine spiritual good, which in its essence is truth, as was said above, and by milk the good of that truth. That these are freely given by the Lord to such as are ignorant of truth and good, and yet desire them, is signified by "he that hath no money, come ye, buy, and eat, buy without money." To buy signifies to procure to oneself; and to eat to appropriate to oneself, which is done by application as of oneself. That those who are ignorant of truth and good, and yet desire them, are meant, is evident, for it is said, "Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters"; to thirst signifying to desire, and waters signifying truths, here the Word wherein they are contained.

[5] In Joel:

"It shall come to pass in that day, that the mountains shall drop down new wine, and the hills shall flow with milk; all the rivers of Judah shall flow with waters" (3:18).

Here the Lord's coming, and a new heaven and a new church from Him, are treated of. That the mountains in the land of Canaan, or in Judea, did not then drop down new wine, nor the hills flow with milk, and that neither did the rivers of Judah flow with waters more than formerly, is known, therefore, by those words are meant something other than new wine, milk, and waters, also than mountains, hills, rivers, namely, that by the mountains dropping down new wine (mustum) or wine (vinum), is meant every genuine truth from the good of love to the Lord. By the hills flowing with milk, is meant spiritual life from the good of charity towards the neighbour; and by all the rivers of Judah flowing with waters, are meant truths from the particulars of the Word. For by Judah is signified the Lord's celestial kingdom, and also the Word (as may be seen, n. 3881, 6363). Hence by its rivers are signified the particulars thereof. (That by mountains is signified the good of love to the Lord, n. 795, 4210, 6435, 8327, 8758, 10438, 10608; and by hills the good of charity towards the neighbour, n. 6435, 10438; and this because in heaven those dwell on mountains who are in the good of love to the Lord, and, upon hills those who are in the good of charity towards the neighbour, n. 10438; and in the work concerning Heaven and Hell 188.)

[6] In Amos:

"Behold, the days come, that the ploughman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him that soweth seed; and the mountains shall drop new wine, and all the hills shall melt. I will bring back the captivity of my people Israel, and they shall build the waste cities; and they shall sit and plant vineyards, and drink the wine thereof; they shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit of them. Then will I plant them upon their land" (9:13-15).

In this chapter the vastation of the church is first treated of; and afterwards its restoration by the Lord. By the people Israel also is not meant that people, but those with whom the church was to be established. By the ploughman overtaking the reaper, and the treader of grapes him that soweth the seed, is signified that he who receives good and truth shall also perform uses, or bear fruit, thus that they will be together with the member of the church. By the mountains dropping down new wine, and all the hills melting, is signified as just above, that from the good of love to the Lord, and from the good of charity towards the neighbour, there would be truths in abundance, new wine here or wine denoting truth. By the captivity of the people Israel, which should be brought back, is signified the restoration of the church among the Gentiles, for by captivity is meant spiritual captivity, in which those are who are remote from goods and truths, and yet desire them (see n. 9164). By the waste cities, which they shall build, are signified the doctrinals of truth and good from the Word hitherto destroyed, and afterwards to be restored; by the vineyards which they shall plant, and of which they shall drink the wine, are signified all things of the church from which is intelligence, a vineyard signifying the spiritual church, whence by vineyards are signified all things of the church. By wine is signified the truth thereof in general; and by drinking it is signified to be instructed and become intelligent, thus intelligence; and by the gardens which they shall make, and of which they shall eat the fruit, is signified wisdom, gardens denoting all things of intelligence, and the fruit of them signifying goods of life; thus by eating their fruit is signified the appropriation of good, thus wisdom, for wisdom is formed when truths are committed to the life; and because these things are meant, it is therefore said of Israel, I will plant them upon their land.

[7] In Moses:

"He bindeth his ass's-colt to the vine, the son of his she-ass unto the choice vine; he washeth his raiment in wine, and his covering in the blood of grapes; his eyes are red with wine, and his teeth white with milk" (Genesis 49:11, 12).

This occurs in the prophecy of Israel the father concerning Judah, by whom is not here meant Judah, but the Lord as to the celestial kingdom; and by wine and the blood of grapes is meant the Divine truth. (What the other things signify, and that wine signifies Divine truth, because it relates to the Lord, may be seen in the Arcana Coelestia 6375-6381.)

[8] In the same:

"Jacob brought of his venison to his father Isaac, and he did eat; and he brought him wine, and he drank. And Isaac blessed him, saying, God give thee of the dew of heaven, and of the fatnesses of the earth, and plenty of corn and new wine" (Genesis 27:25-28, 37).

Those who do not know that the Word is spiritual in every particular, may suppose that by Isaac here is meant Isaac, and by Jacob, Jacob; and hence that by the fatnesses of the earth, and by the corn and new wine, no higher are meant; whereas by Isaac here was represented the Lord, and by Jacob the church; hence by the fatnesses of the earth, celestial things of the good of love; and by corn and new wine, all the good and truth of the church. (But these words may also be seen explained in the Arcana Coelestia 3570, 3579, 3580.)

[9] In the same:

If ye shall hearken unto my precepts, I will give rain to your land in its season, the former rain and the latter rain, and thou shalt gather in thy corn, and thy new wine, and thine oil" (Deuteronomy 11:13, 14).

These blessings of the earth were promised to the sons of Israel if they would hear and do Jehovah's precepts, which also attended them, because with them the church was representative, and the things that were said and commanded by Jehovah corresponded to spiritual things, thus the blessings of the earth to the blessings of heaven. The blessings of heaven, to which the blessings of the earth correspond, have all reference to such things as belong to the good of love and the truth of faith; such blessings, therefore, are signified by the former and the latter rain, for rain specifically signifies the Divine truth flowing in out of heaven, from which all things of the church and heaven with man are born, grow, and are brought forth; wherefore by the corn, new wine, and oil, which they should gather, are signified every good and truth of the external and internal man.

[10] In the same:

"Thus Israel dwelt securely, solitary at the fountain of Jacob, in a land of corn and new wine; his heavens also dropped down dew" (Deuteronomy 33:28).

This was the conclusion of the blessings of the children of Israel by Moses, which were all prophetical; and every son and every tribe of Israel signified something of the church, as in Genesis 44. Here Israel signifies the church itself; and by dwelling securely and solitary at the fountain of Jacob, is signified to live without infestation from evils and falsities, and to be led by the Lord alone by means of Divine truth; the fountain of Jacob denoting Divine truth and the Word. And by living in a land of corn and new wine, is signified in all the good and truth of the church; and by his heavens also shall drop down dew, is signified influx out of heaven.

[11] In the same:

"He made him ride upon the high places of the earth, and gave him butter of the herd, and milk of the flock, with the fat of lambs, and of rams of the sons of Bashan, and of goats, with the fat of kidneys of wheat; and thou didst drink the blood of the grape, pure wine" (Deuteronomy 32:13, 14).

These things are said of the Ancient Church, which was that before the Israelitish Church, and was in the good of charity and in the truths of faith. The goods of every kind, in which it was, are meant by those things, namely, by butter of the herd, milk of the flock, the fat of lambs, the fat of rams, the fat of goats, the fat of kidneys of wheat; and the spiritual truths by the blood of the grape and pure wine (merum).

[12] In Jeremiah:

"They shall come and sing in the height of Zion, and shall flow together to the goodness of Jehovah, to the wheat, and to the new wine, and to the oil, and to the sons of the flock and of the herd" (31:12).

By wheat, new wine, and oil, are signified goods and truths of every kind (what they mean specifically may be seen above, n. 374).

In Isaiah:

"Jehovah hath sworn by his right hand, and by the arm of his strength, Surely I will no longer give thy corn to be food for thine enemies; and the sons of the stranger shall no more drink thy new wine (mustum), for which thou hast laboured; but they who gather it, shall eat it, and praise Jehovah; and they who bring it together, shall drink it in the courts of holiness" (62:8, 9).

These things are said concerning Jerusalem, by which is signified the church as to doctrine. By the corn, therefore, which shall no longer be given as food for the enemies, and by the new wine, which the sons of the stranger shall not drink, are signified in general the good and truth of the church, which shall no longer be consumed by evils and falsities; enemies here denoting evils; and the sons of the stranger, falsities; and eating or food, to be given unto them; and drinking denoting to consume. That goods and truths shall abide with those who receive them, and thence make use of them, is signified by, "they who gather it, shall eat it; and they who bring it together, shall drink it." The worship from these is signified by praising Jehovah, and drinking in the courts of holiness.

[13] In the same:

"Joy is taken away, and exultation from Carmel; and in the vineyards there is no singing, there is no shouting for joy; the treader treadeth not out the wine in the wine-press; I have made the vintage shouting to cease" (16:10).

The taking away of heavenly delight from good and the truths thence, because good and truth itself, is thus described. The good of the church is meant by Carmel, and the truths thence by vineyards and by treading out the wine in the wine-presses; the delights thereof, which are taken away, by joy, exultation, singing, shouting, and vintage shouting; for it was customary to sing in the vineyards, and in the wine-presses, when the grape was trodden into wine, on account of the representation of the delights from truths, which were signified by wine.

[14] In Jeremiah:

"O vine of Sibmah, I will weep for thee above the weeping of Jazer; thy plants are gone over the sea, they reach even to the sea of Jazer; the spoiler is fallen upon thy fruits of autumn, and upon thy vintage. Whence is collected joy and gladness out of Carmel, and from the land of Moab; and I have caused the wine to fall in the wine-presses; none shall tread with shouting; their shouting shall be no shouting" (48:32, 33).

Here also the removal of heavenly delight, from the good of love and the truths thence, is treated of, for all heavenly delight is in these and from these. Lamentation over it is meant by grievous weeping; the deprivation thereof, by which joy and gladness is collected out of Carmel, also by the spoiler falling upon them, by [the wine] failing, and the shouting being no shouting; the good which was taken away, for which there was lamentation, is meant by the fruits of autumn; and the truths of good which were taken away, by the vintage and by the wine in the wine-presses. That truths were banished, and that they perished by scientifics, is meant by the wine of Sibmah, and by the plants thereof having gone over the sea, even to the sea of Jazer, the sea signifying the scientific part.

[15] In Lamentations:

"The infant and the suckling faint in the streets of the city. They say to their mothers, Where is the corn and the wine? when they faint as one that is slain in the streets of the city, when their soul is poured out upon the bosom of their mothers" (2:11, 12).

These words contain a lamentation over the Jewish Church, that all the good and truth thereof have perished, and the lamentation is described by the infant and the suckling who faint in the streets of the city, and say to their mothers, Where is the corn and the wine? the infant and the suckling signify those who are in the good of innocence, and in the abstract, the good of innocence itself, by which good is meant every good of the church, because it is the essential of all the goods of it (see the work concerning Heaven and Hell 276-283, 285, 288, 341, 382). By the streets of the city are signified truths of doctrine; by mothers are signified all things of the church; and by corn and wine are signified all the good and truth thereof in general. The reason why it is said that they faint as one slain in the streets of the city, when their soul is poured out upon the bosom of their mothers, is, because one that is slain signifies those who perish spiritually through deprivation of truth, and by the soul is signified spiritual life. (That the streets of the city in which they faint signify truths of doctrine, may be seen, n. 2336; and that the mother, into whose bosom the soul is poured out, signifies the church, n. 2691, 2717, 3703, 4257, 5581, 8897.)

[16] In Zephaniah:

"Their wealth shall be a prey, and their houses a waste: they shall also build houses, but not inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, but not drink the wine thereof" (1:13).

By the wealth that shall be for a prey, is signified spiritual wealth, which is the knowledges of good and truth; by the houses becoming a waste are signified those things in man that pertain to the church; from which, when they are devastated, [men] then profit and receive nothing, although they hear them and see them in the Word, is signified by, building and not inhabiting, and planting vineyards, and not drinking the wine thereof; houses denoting the goods of the church, and vineyards together with wine denoting the truths thereof.

[17] Similar things are meant in Micah:

"Thou shalt sow, but thou shalt not reap; thou shalt tread the olive, but thou shalt not anoint thee with oil and new wine, but shalt not drink wine" (6:15).

In Amos:

"Vineyards of desire shall ye plant, but ye shall not drink the wine of them" (5:11).

And in Hosea:

"The corn-floor and the wine-press shall not feed them, and the new wine shall deceive them. They shall not make wine-offerings to Jehovah, and they shall not be pleasing unto him" (9:2, 4).

By the corn-floor and the wine-press are signified the same as by corn and wine, because in these places they are brought together; that they shall not profit from the things heard, is signified by, they "shall not feed them, and the new wine shall deceive them"; and hence their worship was not accepted, is signified by, "they shall not make wine-offerings to Jehovah, and they shall not be pleasing," namely, the libations, unto Him.

[18] In Joel:

"Awake ye drunkards, and weep; and howl, all ye drinkers of wine, because of the new wine, which is cut off from your mouth. The field is wasted, the land mourned, for the corn is wasted, the new wine is dried up, the oil languisheth; the husbandmen were ashamed; the vinedressers howled" (1:5, 10, 11).

What is signified by these words, in the spiritual sense, may be seen above (n. 374), where they are explained; and that by wine and new wine is meant the truth of the church, and by vinedressers those who are in truths and teach them; the subject here treated of being the devastated church, in which goods and truths have perished.

[19] In Ezekiel:

"Damascus was thy trader by the multitude of thy works, by the multitude of all riches; in the wine of Helbon, and the wool of Zachar" (27:18).

This is said of Tyre, by which is signified the church as to the knowledges of good and truth; and by Damascus, which was a city of Syria, is signified the scientific part concordant; and by the tradings, which are treated of in that chapter, are signified the acquisition and communication, and also the use, of them. Because Damascus signifies the scientific part concordant, it is therefore said, it was a trader by the multitude of all works and riches; and by works, from which uses are effected, are signified the knowledges of good, and by riches the knowledges of truth; and because the knowledges of truth and good are in the natural man, for therein is everything cognizable, perceptible, and knowable, it is therefore said, in the wine of Helbon, and the wool of Zachar; the wine of Helbon signifying natural truth, and the wool of Zachar natural good.

[20] In Isaiah:

"A curse shall devour the earth. The new wine shall mourn, the vine shall languish, all the merry-hearted shall sigh. They shall not drink wine with a song; strong drink shall be bitter to them that drink it. The city of emptiness shall be broken; every house shall be shut up, that no man come in" (24:6, 7, 9, 10).

By these words is described the perversion of the church, which is when falsity rules in the place of truth, whence there is no longer any good, for man has good by means of truths. By the earth which the curse shall devour, is signified the church; the curse denoting the perversion thereof; by the new wine mourning, and the vine languishing, is signified all the truth of the church, to mourn and to languish signifying its deprivation; that there shall no longer be any heavenly delight and blessing, is signified by, all the merry-hearted shall sigh, they shall not drink wine with a song; that they shall turn away from all things which agree with truths, is signified by, strong drink shall be bitter to them that drink it, strong drink signifying the things that are from truths and agree with them; but that the doctrine of falsity shall be destroyed, is signified by, the city of emptiness shall be broken, a city denoting doctrine, and emptiness denoting falsity; and that good and wisdom shall be no longer with man, is signified by, every house shall be shut up, that no man come in, which takes place when there is no truth, but falsity only.

[21] In Amos:

"Who drink out of bowls of wine, and anoint themselves with the first-fruits of the oils; but they are not grieved for the breaking of Joseph" (6:6).

In this, and the preceding part of the chapter, those are described who are in external worship without internal, such as the Jews were formerly, and are at the present day. The bowls of wine, out of which they drink, denote the externals of truth from which is their worship; and the first-fruits of the oils, with which they anoint themselves, denote the externals of good, from which also their worship comes. Joseph signifies the internal of the church, or its spiritual; and their not being affected because it perished, is signified by, they are not grieved for his breaking. (That external worship without internal, is no worship, may be seen, n. 1094, 1175, 7724; that the Jews were formerly and are at the present time in external worship without internal, n. 1200, 3147, 3479, 8871; that Joseph signifies the spiritual church, and hence also the spiritual of the church, n. 3969, 3971, 4669, 6417.)

[22] In Zechariah:

"I will render powerful the house of Judah, and I will keep the house of Joseph; hence they shall be as the powerful Ephraim, and their heart shall be glad as if with wine" (10:6, 7).

By the house of Judah is signified the Lord's celestial church, and by the house of Joseph the Lord's spiritual church; and by rendering powerful their houses, is signified to multiply with them truths from good, for all power is of truth from good; hence it is said, that they shall be as the powerful Ephraim; by Ephraim is signified the understanding of truth from good, [which] is thus called powerful from its multiplication; heavenly delight thence is signified by, their heart shall be glad as if with wine, wine denoting truth from good, from which that delight comes. (That all power belongs to truths from good, may be seen in the work concerning Heaven and Hell 228-233; and also above, n. 209, 333; that Judah in the Word signifies the Lord's celestial kingdom, in the Arcana Coelestia 3881, 6363; and Ephraim, the Intellectual of the church, n. 3969, 5354, 6222, 6234, 6238, 6267, 6296.)

[23] In Daniel:

"Belshazzar king of Babylon, and his princes, and his wives, and his concubines, drank wine out of the vessels of the temple of Jerusalem, and they praised the gods [of gold,] silver, brass, iron, wood, and stone. Therefore there was written on the wall, numbered, weighed, divided. And he 1 was afterwards driven out from the sons of man, and his dwelling was with the wild asses" (5:2-5, 21).

In the internal sense the profanation of good and truth is here described, which also Babel or Babylon denotes; for by drinking wine out of the vessels of the temple of Jerusalem, is signified to imbibe the truths of the church from the Word, to drink wine denoting to imbibe truths, and the vessels of the temple of Jerusalem denoting those things that pertain to the doctrine of the church from the Word; and to praise the gods of gold, silver, brass, iron, wood, and stone, signifies worship from the love of self and of the world; for by those gods is signified idolatrous worship of every kind, and profanation; that therefore it was written on the wall, numbered, weighed, divided, signifies separation from all things of heaven and the church. That he 1 was afterwards driven out from the sons of man, and had his dwelling with the wild asses, signifies separated from all truth, and the allotment of his life with the infernals; the sons of man denoting the truths of the church; wild asses denoting those who are in dire falsities, such as are in the hells; and dwelling denoting the lot which is of the life.

[24] In Joel:

"They have cast lots over my people; for they have given a boy for a harlot, and sold a girl for wine, which they drank" (3:3).

By casting lots over the people, is signified to dissipate the truths of the church, to cast lots signifying to dissipate, and the people signifying the church as to truths, thus also the truths of the church; by giving a boy for a harlot, is signified to falsify truth, for a boy denotes the truth of the church, and a harlot denotes falsity; and by selling a girl for wine which they drank, is signified to pervert the good of the church by truth falsified, a girl denoting the good of the church, and wine denoting truth falsified.

[25] Because wine signified the truth of the church which is from good, therefore it was commanded that, with the sacrifices upon the altar, they should also offer a meat-offering and a drink-offering, and the meat-offering was bread, and the drink-offering wine, by which was signified the worship of the Lord from the good of love, and from the truths thence, all worship being from these. (Concerning the drink-offerings and the different portions of wine in them at the different sacrifices, see Exodus 29:40, 41; Leviticus 23:13, 18; Num. 6:1-4, 15, 17; 15:4-7, 10, 24; 28:7-10, 24, 31; 29:6, 11, 19, 22, 25, 27, 28, 31, 34, 38, 39; and in addition Genesis 35:14). Hence it is evident what is signified in Joel:

"The meat-offering and the drink-offering is cut off from the house of Jehovah, the priests, the ministers of Jehovah, mourned" (1:9).

This means, that worship from the good of love, and the truths thence, had perished. Who cannot see that the meat-offering and drink-offering, which were bread and wine, could not be pleasing to Jehovah in worship, unless they had signified such things as pertain to heaven and the church?

[26] From these considerations it is now evident what the bread and wine in the Holy Supper involve, namely, bread the good of love from the Lord to the Lord, and wine the good of faith which in its essence is truth. (But concerning the Holy Supper, and concerning the bread and wine therein, see the Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 210-222.)

Because wine signifies the good of faith, which in its essence is truth, therefore, the Lord, when He instituted the sacrament of the Supper, said,

"I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom" (Matthew 26:29).

"I say unto you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine, until the kingdom of God shall come" (Luke 22:18).

By the fruit of the vine, or the wine, which the Lord would drink new with them in His Father's kingdom, or when the kingdom of God should come, is meant that all Divine truth in heaven and the church would then proceed from His Divine Human; therefore He calls it new, and He calls it also the New Testament in His blood (verse 20); for the Lord's blood signifies the same as wine (see above, n. 30, 328, 329). And because, after the Lord rose again, all the Divine proceeds from Him, therefore He says that He will drink it with them when the kingdom of God shall come, and it came when He reduced all things to order in the heavens and in the hells. That the kingdom of God came with the Lord, and is from Him, is evident from

Matthew 3:2; 4:17; 10:7; 12:28; 16:28; Mark 1:14, 15; 9:1; Luke 1:32, 33; 9:11, 27, 60; 10:11; 16:16; 17:20, 21; 23:42, 51; John 18:36.

Because, now, as bread signifies the good of love, and wine the good of faith, which in its essence is truth from that good, and, in the highest sense, bread the Lord as to the Divine good, and wine the Lord as to the Divine truth; and because there is a correspondence between spiritual things and natural, and there is such a correspondence, so that, when man thinks of bread and wine, the angels think of the good of love and the good of faith; and because all things of heaven and the church have reference to the good of love and the good of faith, therefore, the Holy Supper was instituted by the Lord, that by it there might be a conjunction of the angels of heaven with the men of the church.

[27] Such things being meant by bread and wine in heaven, therefore

"Melchizedek king of Salem" going out to meet Abram, "brought forth bread and wine; and he was the priest of the most high God." And he blessed Abram (Genesis 14:18,19).

By Melchizedek is here represented the Lord as to the Divine good and Divine truth; by him as a priest the Divine good, and by him as a king the Divine truth; therefore he brought forth bread and wine, because by bread is signified the Divine good, and by wine is signified the Divine truth; or, applied to man, by bread is signified the good of love to the Lord, and by wine the good of faith, which is from the reception of Divine truth.

The same is signified by the Lord by wine in the following.

[28] In Matthew:

"They do not put new wine into old bottles; else the bottles break, and the wine runneth out; but they put [new] wine into new bottles, and both are preserved" (9:17).

In Luke:

"And no man having drunk old wine straightway desireth new; for he saith the old is better" (5:39).

Because all comparisons in the Word are from correspondences, so also is this comparison; and by wine is signified truth, by old wine, the truth of the old or Jewish Church; and by bottles are signified those things that contain; by old bottles, the statutes and judgments of the Jewish Church, and by new bottles, the Lord's precepts and commandments. That the statutes and judgments of the Jewish Church, which especially concerned the sacrifices and representative worship, are not in agreement with the truths of the Christian Church, is meant by, "they do not put new wine into old bottles, else the bottles break and the wine runneth out, but they put [new] wine into new bottles, and both are preserved together." That those who were born and educated in the externals of the Jewish Church could not be led immediately into the internals of the Christian Church, is signified by, "no man having drunk old wine straightway desireth new; for be saith the old is better."

[29] The same is signified by the water turned into wine in Cana of Galilee, concerning which it is thus written in John:

In the marriage in Cana of Galilee, when the wine failed, "there were set there six water-pots of stone, according to the purifying of the Jews. Jesus said, Fill the water-pots, which they filled to the brim. Then he said unto them, Draw out now, and bear unto the ruler of the feast. And they bare it. When the ruler of the feast tasted the water that was made wine, he called the bridegroom, and saith unto him, Every man at the beginning doth set forth good wine; and when they have had enough, that which is worse; thou hast kept the good wine until now" (2:1-10).

It should be known that all the miracles performed by the Lord, as well as all the miracles of Him recorded in the Old Testament, signified such things as pertain to heaven and the church, that is, that they contained such things within them, and that hence His miracles were Divine (see the Arcana Coelestia 7337, 8364, 9051), this miracle similarly. By a marriage here, as elsewhere in the Word throughout, is signified the church; in Cana of Galilee that amongst the Gentiles; and by water is signified the truth of the external church, such as was the truth of the Jewish Church from the sense of the letter of the Word; and by wine is signified the truth of the internal church, such as is the truth of the Christian Church. Hence the Lord's making the water wine, signifies that He would make the truths of the external church truths of the internal church, by opening the internal things that lay concealed in them. By the six water-pots of stone, set after the manner of the purifying of the Jews, are signified all those things in the Word, and thence in the Jewish Church and its worship, all of which were representative and significative of things Divine in the Lord, and from the Lord, which contained things internal. Therefore also, there were six of stone, set for the purifying of the Jews, the number six signifying all, and being said of truths, stone signifies truth, and the purification of the Jews purification from sins, thus all things of the Jewish Church. For the church regards purification from sins as its all, for in proportion as any one is purified therefrom, in the same proportion he becomes a church. By the ruler of the feast are meant those who are in the knowledges of truth; his saying to the bridegroom, "Every man at the beginning doth set forth good wine; and when men have had enough, that which is worse; thou hast kept the good wine until now," signifies that every church commences by truths from good, but afterwards ends in truths not from good, and that still, at the end of the church, truth from good, or genuine truth, is given from the Lord.

[30] Because wine signifies the truth of the church, and oil the good thereof, therefore, the Lord says, in the parable of the man who was wounded by thieves,

That the Samaritan poured oil and wine into his wounds (Luke 10:33, 34).

Here by the man wounded by thieves are meant those who are infested and wounded as to their conscience by evil men, who are robbers; and by the Samaritan are meant the Gentiles, who are in the good of charity; hence by pouring into his wounds oil and wine are signified the spiritual things that heal a man thus injured, oil denoting the good of love and wine the good of faith or truth. What the other particulars signify, namely, that he set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and bade them take care of him, may be seen above (n. 375), where they are explained. That wine signifies the truth of the church is evident, not only from the passages adduced, but also from others in the Word (as Isaiah 1:21, 22; 25:6; 36:17; Hos. 7:4, 5, 14; 14:5, 7; Amos. 2:8; Zech. 9:15, 17; Psalms 104:15).

[31] Because most things in the Word have also an opposite sense, so also has wine, and in that sense it signifies truth falsified, and also falsity, as in the following passages. In Isaiah:

"Woe to the crown of pride, to the drunkards of Ephraim, to the flower of his decaying glory, which is upon the head of the valley of the fat ones confused with wine; the crown of pride, the drunkards of Ephraim, shall be trodden under the feet; these stray through wine, and through strong drink they wander from the way; the priests and the prophets stray through strong drink, they are swallowed up of wine, they wander from the way through wine, they stray among the seeing, they totter in judgment" (28:1, 3, 7).

These things are said of those who are insane in spiritual things, because they believe themselves to be intelligent from themselves, and, consequently, glory in it; the state of such is here described by pure correspondences. Those who are insane in spiritual things or in truths, are meant by drunkards, and those who thence believe themselves intelligent, by Ephraim; and the vaunting of their intelligence or erudition thence, by the crown of pride; for those who are in falsities of doctrine, and have confirmed themselves therein, when they are enlightened and see truths in the other life, become, as it were, drunkards. Such the learned become, who have confirmed themselves in falsities, and to confirm oneself in falsities is to do so from oneself and not from the Lord. Hence it is clear what is signified by, "Woe to the crown of pride, to the drunkards of Ephraim." By "the flower of decaying glory which is on the head of the valley of the fat ones confused with wine," is signified the truth of the church destroyed in its birth from the vaunting of man's own intelligence, which pertains to the natural man separated from the spiritual, who then sees falsity instead of truth. The flower of glory denotes truth in its birth falling or perishing, the head of the valley of the fat ones denotes the intelligence of the natural man; confused with wine denotes those who see falsity instead of truth; "the crown of pride, the drunkards of Ephraim, shall be trodden under the feet," signifies that that intelligence shall entirely perish; "these stray through wine, and through strong drink they wander from the way," signifies by falsities and by such things as are therefrom; "the priest and the prophet stray through strong drink, they are swallowed up of wine, they wander from the way through wine," signifies that those who ought to be in the doctrine of good and truth are of such a quality, and apart from persons, that their doctrine itself is of such a quality; "they stray among the seeing, they totter in judgment," signifies that they do not see the truths of intelligence. That such things are signified by these words no one can see except from the spiritual sense, without which it could not be known that the crown and the head signify intelligence; that drunkards signify those who are insane in things spiritual; that Ephraim signifies the understanding, here man's own or from himself; that valley signifies the lower things of the mind, which are natural and sensual, and that a priest and prophet signify the doctrine of good and truth.

[32] In the same:

"Pause, wonder, be astonished, and make a cry; they are drunken, and not with wine; they stagger, and not with strong drink. For Jehovah hath poured out upon you the spirit of sleep, and hath closed your eyes; the prophets and your heads, the seers hath he covered" (29:9, 10).

These things are said of those who can see nothing of truth when they hear and read it from the Word; those who are such are called drunken, not with wine, and they stagger, and not with strong drink; wine signifying specifically the truth of the spiritual, and hence of the rational man, and strong drink the truth of the natural man thence. Because such are meant, it is, therefore, said, Jehovah hath poured out upon you the spirit of sleep, and hath closed your eyes; the spirit of sleep denoting no perception, and the closed eyes denoting no understanding. "The prophets and your heads hath he covered," signifies those who were in the doctrine of truth, and thence wise and intelligent; prophets signifying those who are in the doctrine of truth, and abstractedly the doctrine itself; the heads signifying the wise, and in the abstract wisdom; and the seers signifying the intelligent, and in the abstract intelligence. Wonder at the greatness of their stupidity, is described by, "Pause, wonder, be astonished," and lamentation over them by, "make a cry." Such are those who are in a life of evil, and are at the same time in principles of falsity, however learned they may be supposed to be; for by a life of evil the perception of good is shut out, from which thought has life and light, and by principles of falsity the understanding of truth is shut out, whence they see only from the sensual man, and not at all from the spiritual.

[33] In the same:

"Dogs obdurate in soul, they know not satiety; the same are the shepherds, they know not to understand; Come, I will take wine, and we will be drunk with strong drink" (Isaiah 56:10-12).

These [words] are said of those who care for nothing but worldly and terrestrial things, by which the internal spiritual man is closed. From having no perception of good and no understanding of truth, they are called dogs obdurate in soul, which know not satiety, that is, who cannot receive good; to know here signifies to be able, and satiety the reception of good, for satiety is predicated of food, by which spiritual nourishment is signified. That neither have they any understanding of truth, is meant by, "the same are the shepherds, they know not to understand"; those being called shepherds who believe themselves able to instruct others, for to feed denotes to instruct; and because such love falsities and things falsified, it is therefore added, "Come, I will take wine, and we will be drunk with strong drink."

[34] In Jeremiah:

"Thus said Jehovah, God of Israel, Every bottle shall be filled with wine. Behold, I fill all the inhabitants of this land, and the kings thereof that sit upon David's throne, and the priests, and the prophets, all the inhabitants of Jerusalem with drunkenness" (13:12, 13).

Here also by wine is signified falsity, and by every bottle which shall be filled with wine is signified the mind [mens] of man, because that is a recipient of truth or falsity, as a bottle is of wine. By the kings thereof that sit upon the throne of David, are signified those who should otherwise be in Divine truths; by the priests, those who should be in Divine goods; by prophets, those who are in doctrine; by the inhabitants of Jerusalem, all who belong to the church; and by the drunkenness with which they shall be filled is signified insanity in spiritual things.

[35] In the same:

"I am become as a drunkard, and as a man whom wine hath entered, because of Jehovah, and because of the word of his holiness. For the land is full of adulterers" (23:9, 10).

This is a lamentation over the adulteration of good, and the falsification of truth in the church, which is signified by the land being full of adulterers; those things are signified by adulteries, and the church, by the land. Insanity in spiritual things through reasonings from evils against Divine goods, and from falsities against Divine truths, is signified by, I am become as a drunkard, and as a man whom wine hath entered, because of Jehovah, and because of the word of His holiness. To become as a drunkard and as a man whom wine hath entered, signifies perturbation of mind, and insanity from reasonings from evils and falsities; because of Jehovah, signifies because of Divine goods, and because of the word of His holiness, signifies because of Divine truths.

[36] In Isaiah:

"Hear this, thou afflicted and drunken, but not with wine" (51:21).

By the drunken but not with wine, are here meant those who are in falsities from ignorance of the truth.

Noah drank of the wine, and was drunken, and hence lay naked in the midst of his tent (Genesis 9:21).

In the spiritual sense something altogether different is meant from what appears in the sense of the letter; similarly by,

Lot was made drunken by his daughters, and they then lay with him (Genesis 19:32-34).

What is meant by the drunkenness of Noah, in the spiritual sense, may be seen in the Arcana Coelestia 1070-1081; and what by the drunkenness of Lot, n. 2465 at the end. By drunkenness also elsewhere in the Word is signified insanity in spiritual things, also falling into errors (as Isaiah 19:11, 12, 14; Jeremiah 25:27; 51:7; Joel 1:5, 6, 7; Leviticus 10:8, 9).

[37] That by wine, in an opposite sense, is signified falsity, also appears in Isaiah:

"Woe unto them that rise early in the morning, that they may follow strong drink; that continue unto twilight, till wine inflames them. But they regard not the work of Jehovah, and see not the work of his hands. Woe to the wise in their own eyes, and the intelligent before their own faces. Woe unto the heroes to drink wine, and the men of strength to mingle strong drink" (5:11, 12, 21, 22).

These things are said of those who frame for themselves doctrinals from their own intelligence, and not from the Lord, or out of the Word from Him, whence they are mere falsities; therefore by, "Woe to them who, rising early in the morning, follow strong drink, to them that linger unto twilight, till wine inflames them. But they regard not the work of Jehovah, and see not the work of his hands," are signified the perverted states of those who believe themselves to be enlightened from themselves, whence they are in falsities of doctrine, and care not for the Word, from which they may know goods and truths of life and of doctrine. To rise early in the morning, and continue till twilight, signifies to be enlightened; and to follow strong drink, and to be inflamed with wine, signify to pour forth doctrinals from themselves; not to regard the work of Jehovah, and not to see the work of His hands, signifies not to care for the Word, and the goods of life and truths of doctrine there discovered; the work of Jehovah being said of goods of life, and the work of His hands of the truths of doctrine, both from the Word. Because such persons are meant, therefore, it is said, "Woe to the wise in their own eyes, and the intelligent before their own faces!" and by the wise in their own eyes are signified those who are so from their own intelligence; and by the intelligent before their own faces are signified those who are so from their own affection; the eyes signifying understanding, and the face, affection. And by, "Woe unto the heroes to drink wine, and the men of strength to mingle strong drink," are signified to such as aspire after great things, and are ingenious in confirming the falsities that favour the loves of self and their own principles; heroes denoting those who aspire to great things; men of strength, those who are ingenious, and seem to themselves to be intelligent. To drink wine denotes to imbibe falsities, and to mingle strong drink denotes to confirm them; such are all those who are in the love of self, and who seek after the fame of learning, for such are in their proprium, and cannot be raised above it; therefore their thought is in the corporeal Sensual, to which no truth appears, and by which no spiritual good is perceived; whereas those who are not in the love of self, and who seek intelligence for the sake of the uses of life, are raised by the Lord from the proprium into the light of heaven - they themselves not knowing - and are thereby enlightened.

[38] In Hosea:

"Whoredom and new wine have possessed the heart. My people interrogate wood, and their staff answereth them; for the spirit of whoredoms hath seduced them, and they have committed whoredom under their God. Ephraim is joined to idols; their wine hath departed; they commit whoredom continually" (4:11, 12, 17, 18).

It is here treated of those who falsify truths, the falsification of truth being signified by whoredom, and the falsity thence by new wine; hence it is evident what is signified by, "whoredom and new wine have possessed the heart; the spirit of whoredoms hath seduced them, they have committed whoredom under their God, and the wine hath departed, they commit whoredom continually," namely, that they falsify Divine truths, and that, consequently, they have not any truth; to commit whoredom under their God, signifies to falsify Divine truths, and the wine hath departed, signifies that, consequently, they have not any truth. By Ephraim being joined to idols, are signified those who are in their own intelligence, and by the idols to which he is joined are signified the falsities of their religion. By, "My people interrogate wood, and their staff answereth them," is signified that they consult their self-love, and cherish it from their own intelligence; for wood, or an idol of wood, which they interrogate signifies self-love, and the staff which answers, signifies power, thus intelligence from the proprium.

[39] In the Apocalypse:

"Babylon is fallen, is fallen; that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication. If any one worship the beast, he shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, mixed pure in the cup of the wrath of God; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone" (14:8-10).

In another place:

"I will show unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters, with whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication; and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication" (17:1, 2).

And again:

"For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her" (18:3).

By the wine of the wrath of God is signified the falsity of evil, and by the wine of fornication is signified truth falsified; what is meant by the other expressions will be seen in the explanation of them, likewise what by these words in the Apocalypse:

"Babylon the great came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of God's wrath" (16:19).

What is signified by the wine of God's wrath is also signified by the chalice or cup of God's wrath.

[40] In Jeremiah:

"Babylon hath been a cup of gold in the hand of Jehovah, making the whole earth drunken; the nations have drunk of her wine; therefore the nations are mad" (Jeremiah 51:7).

And in David:

"There is a cup in the hand of Jehovah, and he hath mixed wine in it; he hath filled it with mixture; and he hath poured it out; but the dregs thereof, all the wicked of the earth shall suck out and drink" (Psalms 75:8).

Because by the meat-offering and the drink-offering, which were bread and wine, are signified worship from the good of love and the truths of faith, hence in an opposite sense, by the meat- and drink-offering is signified worship from the evils of the love of evil, and from the falsities of faith; this was signified by the meat-offering and drink-offering that were offered to idols and other gods (Isaiah 65:11; 57:6; Jeremiah 7:18; 44:17-19; Ezekiel 20:28; Deuteronomy 32:38; and elsewhere). From the signification of wine it is evident what is signified in the Word by a vineyard, by a vine, by the branches thereof, and by the grapes; namely, that by a vineyard is signified the spiritual church, or the church that is in the truths and goods of doctrine from the Word; by the vine, the doctrine itself; by its branches the truths from which the doctrine is formed; and by the grapes, which are the fruit of the vineyards and vines, the goods of charity and the goods of faith; but of these it shall be treated elsewhere.

Footnotes:

1. Nebuchadnezzar.

  
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Translation by Isaiah Tansley. Many thanks to the Swedenborg Society for the permission to use this translation.

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #3704

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3704. 'And the God of Isaac' means the Lord's Divine Human. This is clear from the representation of 'Isaac' as the Lord's Divine Rational; and since it is in the Rational that the Human has its beginnings, 2194, and so is that from which and through which the Human has its being, 'the God of Isaac' therefore means here the Lord's Divine Human. Since every single thing in heaven, every single thing with man, and indeed every single thing in the whole natural order has reference to good and truth the Lord's Divine too is therefore distinguished into Divine Good and Divine Truth - the Lord's Divine Good being called 'the Father', and His Divine Truth 'the Son'. Yet the Lord's Divine is nothing else than Good, indeed it is Good itself; but Divine Truth is the Lord's Divine Good as it presents itself visually in heaven, that is, to angels. In this it is like the sun. Essentially the sun is nothing else than fire; but the light which one sees coming from it is not in the sun but flowing from it. For the Lord as regards Divine Good is represented by the sun, and also in the next life He is the Sun for the whole of heaven, see 1053, 1521, 1529-1531, 2495, 3636, 3643, and the Lord as regards Divine Truth is represented by the light, and also in the next life He is the Light for the whole of heaven, 1053, 1521, 1529, 1530, 2776, 3138, 3195, 3222, 3223, 3339, 3341, 3636, 3643.

[2] So essentially the Lord is nothing else than Divine Good, and this applies to both essentials - to the Divine itself and to the Divine Human. Divine Truth however does not exist within Divine Good but flows from it, for as stated above, Divine Truth is the Divine Good presenting itself visually in heaven. Now because Divine Good presents itself as Divine Truth, therefore the Lord's Divine is distinguished, to enable man to grasp it mentally, into Divine Good and Divine Truth, Divine Good being called in the Word 'the Father' and Divine Truth 'the Son'. This is the arcanum that lies behind the Lord Himself on so many occasions speaking of His Father as though He were separate from and so to speak One other than Himself, and yet at other times speaking of His being one with Himself. The fact that in the internal sense 'father' means good, and in the highest sense the Lord as regards Divine Good, has been shown just above in 3703, and the fact that 'son' means truth while 'the Son of God' and 'the Son of Man' mean the Lord as regards Divine Truth, in 1729, 1733, 2159, 2803, 2813. The matter is also clear from all those places where the Lord uses the name Father and calls Himself the Son.

[3] Not only in the Old Testament Word is the Lord called Jehovah - see 1343, 1736, 2921 - but He is also referred to there as 'Father', as is clear from the following places: In Isaiah,

To us a Boy is born, to us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder, and His name will be called, Wonderful, Counsellor, God, Hero, Father of Eternity, Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6.

From this it is quite evident that 'the Boy born to us and me Son given to us' is the Lord, and so it is He who is called 'the Father of Eternity'. In Jeremiah,

I will be a Father to Israel, and Ephraim will be my firstborn. Jeremiah 31:9.

This refers to the Lord, who, being the God of Israel and me Holy One of Israel, see 3305, is here 'a Father to Israel'. In Malachi,

Have we not all one Father? Has not one God created us? Malachi 2:10.

'Creating' here in the internal sense stands for regenerating, as it also does elsewhere in the Word, see 16, 88, 472. And since me Lord alone is Regenerator and Redeemer it is He who is here called 'Father' and 'God', as also in Isaiah,

You are our Father, for Abraham does not know us and Israel does not acknowledge us. You, O Jehovah, are our Father, our Redeemer; from eternity is Your name. Isaiah 63:16.

[4] In the same prophet,

I will clothe him with your robe and strengthen him with your girdle, and will commit your dominion into his hand, so that he may be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to the house of Judah. And I will place the key of the house of David on his shoulder; and he will open and none will shut, and he will shut and none will open. And I will fasten him like a peg in a sure place, so that he may be the throne of his father's glory, and on him they may hang all the glory of his father's house, of sons and grandsons, every small vessel - from the vessels of bowls even to all the vessels of stringed instruments. Isaiah 22:21-24.

From this it is quite evident that it is the Lord who in the internal sense here is represented and meant, and who is called 'a father to me inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah'. For He is the one 'on whose shoulder the key of the house of David is placed, who opens and none shuts, and who shuts and none opens' - see the Preface to Chapter 22. And to Him belongs 'the throne of His Father's glory', and on Him all holy things are based and from Him they are derived. Those holy things are here called 'vessels' celestial ones being called 'vessels of bowls', and spiritual ones 'vessels of stringed instruments'.

[5] Since kings and priests represented the Lord - 'kings' through their kingship representing the Lord as regards Divine Truth, and 'priests' the Lord as regards Divine Good, 3670 - priests were therefore called 'fathers', as may be seen in the Book of Judges,

Micah said to the Levite, Stay with me, and be to me a father and a priest. Judges 17:10.

The children of Dan spoke to the same man in a similar way,

Keep quiet, put your hand over your mouth, and come with us, and be to us a father and a priest. Judges 18:19.

Even kings called them the same, in the second Book of Kings,

The king of Israel said to Elisha, My father, shall I smite them? He said, You shall not smite them. 2 Kings 6:21-22.

And King Joash's words to Elisha when the latter was dying,

King Joash wept before him and said, My father, my father! The chariot of Israel and its riders! 2 Kings 13:14.

Kings called a priest 'father' because 'kings' represented the Lord as regards Divine Truth, 'priests' as regards Divine Good, and also because truth in relationship to good is as son to father, for truth stems from good.

[6] This matter is very well known in the next life, and for this reason those in heaven call no one other than the Lord 'Father', and by 'Father' mentioned in the Gospels they perceive no one other than Him, see 15, 1729. All young children there, when being introduced to the good that flows from love and to the truth partnering that love, are taught to acknowledge the Lord alone as Father. And newcomers to heaven also are taught with utmost care that God is one; and if they have been from within the Church they are taught that the whole of the Trinity resides in the Lord - for almost everybody from the Christian world possesses the idea of three Gods, even though with the lips they used to declare that there is only one God. For once the idea of three has entered in, and each one of these is called God and is also distinguished from the other so far as attributes and functions are concerned, and are even worshipped individually, it is no longer humanly possible to think of one God. Consequently there is in the heart a worship of three Gods but on the lips that of only one.

[7] The truth that the whole of the Trinity resides in the Lord is well known in the Christian world, and yet among Christians in the next life little thought takes place regarding the Lord. Indeed His Humanity is to many people a stumbling-block, for they distinguish the Human from the Divine and do not believe that it is Divine. A person will declare himself to be righteous and so made pure and almost sanctified; but to the idea that the Lord has been glorified, that is, His Human has been made Divine, they do not give any thought. But in fact He was conceived from Jehovah Himself, and in any case nobody can be made righteous, let alone be sanctified, except from the Divine, and especially from the Lord's Divine Human, which is represented and meant in the Holy Supper, where it is explicitly stated that the bread is His body and the wine His blood.

[8] The truth that the Lord is one with the Father and that He has existed from eternity, rules over all, and so is Divine Good itself and Divine Truth itself, is quite clear from the Word:

The Lord is One with the Father In John,

Nobody has ever seen God; the only begotten Son who is in the bosom of the Father, [He has made Him known.] John 1:18.

In the same gospel,

The Jews sought to kill Jesus because He had called God His Father, making Himself equal to God. Jesus answered and said, Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son cannot do anything by Himself except what He will have seen the Father doing, for that which He does the Son also does likewise. For as the Father raises the dead and quickens them, so also does the Son quicken whom He will. For the Father does not judge anyone, but has given all judgement to the Son, so that all may honour the Son even as they honour the Father. He who does not honour the Son does not honour the Father who sent Him. As the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son also to have life in Himself. The Father who sent Me has Himself borne witness to Me. You have never heard His voice nor seen His shape. Search the Scriptures; it is they that bear witness to Me. John 5:18-39.

'The Father' is used here, as has been stated, to mean the Divine Good and 'the Son' the Divine Truth, both being within the Lord. From Divine Good, which is 'the Father', nothing but what is Divine is able to proceed or come forth, and that which proceeds or comes forth is Divine Truth, which is 'the Son'.

[9] In the same gospel,

Everyone who has heard from the Father and has learned comes to Me. No one has seen the Father except Him who is with the Father, He has seen the Father. John 6:44-48.

In the same gospel,

They said to Him, Where is your Father? Jesus answered, You know neither Me nor My Father; if you knew Me you would know My Father also. John 8:18-19.

In the same gospel,

I and the Father are one. Even though you do not believe Me, believe the works, that you may know and believe that the Father is in Me, and I in the Father. John 10:30, 38.

In the same gospel,

Jesus said, He who believes in Me believes not in Me but in Him who sent Me; and he who sees Me sees Him who sent Me. I have come as light into the world in order that everyone who believes in Me may not remain in darkness. John 12:44-46.

'The Father sent Him' means in the internal sense that He proceeds from the Father. This is so in this and other places where the Lord says that the Father sent Him. 'Light' means Divine Truth, see above.

[10] In the same gospel,

I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but by Me. If you know Me you know My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him. Philip said to Him, Lord, show us the Father. Jesus said, Have I been with you so long, and yet you do not know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father. So why do you say, Show us the Father? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak from Myself, the Father who dwells in Me, He does the works. Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me. Whatever you ask in My name I will do it, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. John 14:6-11, 13.

In the same gospel,

He who has My commandments and does them, he it is who loves Me; but he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will manifest Myself to him. If anyone loves Me he will keep My word, and My father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. John 14:21, 23.

[11] Those governed by Divine Truth are meant by the ones who 'have His commandments and do them', while those governed by Divine Good are meant by the ones who 'love Him'. This is why it is said that 'he will be loved by the Father', and 'We will come to him and make Our home with him', that is to say, Divine Good and Divine Truth will come and dwell in him. It is also the reason why the following is said in the same chapter,

On that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me. John 14:20.

And elsewhere in the same gospel,

Holy Father, keep them in Your name, that they may be one as We are one. John 17:11.

From these places it is clear that the Lord talks of the Father by virtue of the Divine Good that is His, and of the Son by virtue of the Divine Truth which springs from the Divine Good. And so they are not two but one. The Lord spoke in this fashion however in order that the Word might be received both on earth and in heaven, and also because prior to His glorification the Lord was Divine truth that sprang from Divine Good, but once He had been glorified He was as to both Essences Divine Good itself in which all Divine Good and Divine Truth have their origin.

[12] The Lord has existed from Eternity

This becomes clear from the fact that it was the Lord who spoke through the prophets, and that both for this reason and the fact that Divine Truth came from Him He was called the Word, which is spoken of in John,

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the Only Begotten from the Father. John 1:1-4, 14.

'The Word' stands for all truth in heaven and on earth which comes from the Divine.

[13] His existence from eternity is explicitly taught by Him elsewhere in John,

John said, This was He who though coming after me was before me, for He was before me. Among you stands one whom you do not know. He it is who is to come after me, who was before me. John 1:15, 26-27, 30.

In the same gospel,

What if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where He was before? John 6:62.

In the same gospel,

Jesus said, Truly, truly, I say to you, Before Abraham was, I am. John 8:58.

In the same gospel,

He knew that He had come from God and was going to God. John 13:3.

In the same gospel,

The Father Himself loves you because you have loved Me and have believed that I came from God. I came from the Father and have come into the world; again I am leaving the world and am going to the Father. John 16:27-28.

In the same gospel,

I have glorified You on earth; I have accomplished the work which You gave Me to do. Now therefore, Father, glorify Me in Your Own Self with the glory I had with You before the world was, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me, because You loved Me before the foundation of the world. John 17:4-5, 24.

In Isaiah,

To us a Boy is born, to us a Son is given; and His name will be called Wonderful Counsellor, God, Hero, Father of Eternity, Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6.

[14] The Lord rules over All

This is clear in Matthew,

All things have been delivered to Me by My Father. Matthew 11:27.

In the same gospel, Jesus said to the disciples, All power in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Matthew 28:18.

In John,

The Father has given all things into the hand of the Son. He who believes in the Son has eternal life. John 3:35-36.

The Father does not judge anyone, but has given all judgement to the Son. John 5:22.

In the same gospel,

Jesus knew that the Father had given all things into His hands. John 13:3.

In the same gospel, All that the Father has is Mine. John 16:15.

In the same gospel,

Jesus said, Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You, as You have given Him power over all flesh. John 17:1-2.

In the same gospel,

All Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine, and I am glorified in them. I am no longer in the world, for I am coming to You. John 17:10-11.

In Luke,

All things have been delivered to Me by My Father. Luke 10:22.

[15] From all these places it is clear that it is Divine Good which is called 'the Father' and Divine Truth 'the Son', and that the Lord governs every single thing in all creation from Divine Good by means of Divine Truth. This being so, manifestly so from the Word, it is astounding that people in the Christian world know and teach that the whole of the Trinity resides in the Lord, and yet they do not, as those in heaven do, acknowledge and adore the Lord alone, and so one God. The truth that the Holy Spirit, who also is worshipped as God distinct and separate from Father and Son, is the holiness of the spirit - or the holiness that proceeds from the Lord through spirits or angels, that is, from His Divine Good through the Divine Truth - will in the Lord's Divine mercy be made plain elsewhere.

  
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Thanks to the Swedenborg Society for the permission to use this translation.