577. And the heads of the horses as the heads of lions.- That this signifies knowledge (scientia), and thought therefrom, destructive of truth, is evident from the signification of the heads of the horses, as denoting knowledge (scientia) and thought therefrom, as will be seen presently; and from the signification of the heads of lions, as denoting thence the destruction of truth. The heads of lions here signify the destruction of truth, because a lion, in the highest sense, signifies the Divine Truth as to power, and, in the opposite sense, falsity destroying truth, consequently, the destruction of truth; and the head of a lion signifies the powers of the mind by means of which it destroys, and which are reasonings from falsities. That a lion signifies the Divine Truth as to power, and, in the opposite sense, falsity destroying it, may be seen above (n.278). The reason why the heads of the horses signify knowledge (scientia) and thought therefrom, is, that head signifies intelligence, and horse, the understanding. But as the subjects here treated of are the sensual man and his reasonings from falsities, and as the sensual man who reasons from falsities has no intelligence, but only knowledge (scientia) and thought therefrom, therefore these are here signified by the heads of the horses. That those who are in falsities have no intelligence, but instead of intelligence, only knowledge (scientia), may be seen in the Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 33). The head signifies intelligence, because the understanding and will of man reside in the interior parts of his head, and therefore the senses of sight, hearing, smell, and taste, into which the understanding and will flow from the interior, vivifying them, and also causing them to enjoy their sensations, are in the front part of the head which is the face.

[2] For this reason head, in the Word, signifies intelligence. But because those who receive influx from heaven are alone intelligent, for all intelligence and wisdom flow in out of heaven from the Lord, it follows, that those who are in falsities of evil have no intelligence. For with such the higher and spiritual mind is closed, and only the lower mind, called the natural mind, is open; and this mind, when the higher is closed, receives nothing of truth and good, consequently no intelligence from heaven, but only from the world, therefore such persons, instead of intelligence, have merely knowledge (scientia), and from this thought, from which proceeds reasoning, and by means of this confirmation of falsity and evil against truth and good.

[3] That the head, in the Word, signifies intelligence and wisdom, and, in the opposite sense, knowledge (scientia), and thence illusory thought, is evident from the following passages in the Word.

Thus in Ezekiel:

"I put a jewel on thy nose, and earrings in thine ears, and a crown of ornament upon thy head" (16:12).

These things are said concerning Jerusalem, which signifies the church, here its quality at the beginning. The jewel put on the nose signifies the perception of truth from good, earrings in the ears signify hearing and obedience, and a crown upon the head signifies wisdom, for intelligence which is from Divine Truth becomes wisdom from the good of love, signified by a crown of gold.

[4] So in the Apocalypse:

"A woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars" (12:1).

That the head upon which was a crown of twelve stars, signifies intelligence, will be seen in the explanation in the following pages. The Jews placing a crown of thorns upon the head of the Lord, and smiting His head (Matthew 27:29, 30; Mark 15:17, 19; John 19:2), signified that with such ignominy did they treat the Divine Truth itself, and the Divine Wisdom. For they falsified the Word, which is Divine Truth, and contains Divine Wisdom, and adulterated it by their traditions, and by applying it to themselves, thus wishing for a king who should place them above all [the nations] in the whole world. And because the kingdom of the Lord was not earthly but heavenly, therefore they perverted all those things in the Word which referred to Him, and ridiculed the prophecies relating to Him. This was represented by their placing a crown of thorns upon His head, and by their smiting Him on the head.

[5] It is also said in Daniel, where the subject is the statue of Nebuchadnezzar seen in a dream, that its head was of pure gold, its breast and arms of silver, and its thighs of brass, its legs of iron, its feet part of iron and part of clay (2:32, 33). That statue represented the successive states of the church. The head of gold represented and signified the Most Ancient Church, which was in celestial wisdom, and thence in intelligence above [all the churches] that followed; its wisdom and intelligence are meant by the head of gold. That the other parts of the statue signify the states of the churches which followed, may be seen above (n. 176, 411:5).

And in David:

"Thou broughtest us into the net; thou hast laid affliction upon [our] loins. Thou hast caused a man to ride over our head" (Psalm 66:11 12).

Causing men to ride over our head signifies that there was no intelligence, as may be seen above (355:35), where those things are more fully explained.

[6] And in Moses:

These blessings "shall come on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the Nazarite of his brethren" (Genesis 49:26; Deuteronomy 33:13-16).

By blessings coming on the head of Joseph, is signified, that all those things previously mentioned, and which are the blessings of heaven, should be experienced in the interiors of his mind, which are the lives of the understanding and will, for these are the interiors of the mind. By their coming on the crown of the Nazarite of his brethren, is signified, that they should also be experienced in the exteriors of his natural mind, for the Nazariteship signifies the exteriors of the natural mind, since it signifies hairs, or the hair of the head. But these words are more fully explained above (n. 448:7); and in the Arcana Coelestia 6437, 6438).

Again:

"Give you wise men, and intelligent, and I will appoint them for your heads" (Deuteronomy 1:13).

It is said, "for heads," because wisdom and intelligence are meant, in which they excel the rest, hence it is said, "Give you wise men and intelligent."

[7] So in Isaiah:

"Jehovah hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep, and hath closed your eyes, the prophets; and your heads, the seers, hath he covered" (29:10).

Prophets signify those who teach truths, and are intelligent, and in an abstract sense, the doctrine of truth, and intelligence; therefore it is said, "Jehovah hath closed your eyes, the prophets; and your heads, the seers," where the prophets are called eyes, and the seers, heads, because the eyes signify the understanding of truth as to doctrine, and by seers, as by the head are signified, intelligence.

[8] Again:

"[Jehovah] will cut off from Israel head and tail, branch and rush. The old man and honourable, will make the head, but the prophet that teacheth lies, the tail" (9:14, 15).

And again:

"Neither shall there be any work for Egypt, which will make the head and tail, branch and rush" (19:15).

That He would cut off from Israel head and tail, and that there should not be for Egypt head and tail, signifies that all their intelligence and knowledge of truth would perish, as may be seen above (n. 559:4), where those subjects are more fully explained.

Again, in the same:

"In that day shall the Lord shave with a razor that is hired, in the passages of the river, by the king of Assyria, the head, and the hair of the feet; and shall also consume the beard" (7:20).

These words signify that reasonings from falsities would deprive the men of the church of all wisdom and spiritual intelligence, as may be seen above (n. 569:17), where they are explained in detail. It is said, in the passages of the river, because the river Euphrates signifies reasonings from falsities; here therefore invasion thence into the truths of the church, which are destroyed by reasonings from falsities, is signified.

[9] And in Ezekiel:

"Thou son of man take thee a sharp sword, take thee a barber's razor, and cause it to pass upon thy head and upon thy beard. Thou shalt burn with fire a third part, and thou shalt smite a third part with the sword, and a third part thou shalt scatter to the wind" (5:1, 2).

Here also by causing a razor to pass over the head, is signified, to deprive of all intelligence of truth. The reason is, that intelligence perishes unless the ultimates of intelligence exist, signified by the hair of the head, which he was to shave with a razor, by causing it to pass over the head. For to take away the ultimates is like removing the base from a column, or the foundation from a house. Hence it is that in the Jewish church, which was a representative church, it was unlawful to shave the hair of the head, and cause baldness, and similarly with regard to the beard. Therefore also those who are without intelligence appear bald in the spiritual world.

[10] From these things the signification of a bald head, or baldness, in the following passages is evident.

Thus in Isaiah:

"On all their heads shall be baldness, and every beard cut off"

(15:2).

These words denote that there was no intelligence. And in Ezekiel:

"Shame upon all faces, and baldness upon all heads" (7:18).

And again, in the same:

"Every head shall be made bald, and every shoulder deprived of hair" (29:18).

These words have a similar meaning. Hence also Aaron and his sons were forbidden to shave their heads and the corner of the beard, concerning which it is said in Moses that Aaron and his sons should not shave their heads, nor rend their garments, lest they should die, and the wrath of Jehovah fall upon the whole congregation (Leviticus 10:6).

And again:

"The sons of Aaron "shall not make baldness upon their head, neither shall they shave off the corner of the beard" (21:5).

The beard signifies the ultimate of the rational man, and not shaving the beard, signifies not to deprive themselves of what is rational, by taking away its ultimate; for, as said above, when the ultimate is taken away, the interior also perishes. What is meant by the woman taken captive from the enemy, shaving her head and paring her nails, if she should be desired for a wife, is explained above (n. 555:16).

[11] Because shame was represented by the hands upon the head, it is therefore said in Jeremiah:

"Thou also shalt be ashamed of Egypt, as thou wast ashamed of Assyria. Yea, thou shalt go forth from her, and thy hands upon thy head" (2:36, 37).

Again, in the same prophet:

"They were ashamed and confounded, and covered their heads" (14:3).

Because [covering the head with the hands] was representative of shame, therefore Tamar, after she had been disgraced by her brother Ammon, "laid her hand on her head, and went her way crying" (2 Sam. 13:19); by putting her hand on her head was signified that there remained no longer any intelligence. Grief also for sin in having acted insanely and foolishly, was represented by sprinkling dust upon the head; and bowing down the head even to the earth also signified cursing; as in Ezekiel:

"They shall cast up dust upon thine head, they shall roll thee in ashes" (27:30).

And in Lamentations:

"The elders of the daughter of Zion sit upon the ground, and keep silence; they have cast up dust upon their heads; they have girded themselves with sackcloth; the virgins of Jerusalem have hung down their heads to the ground" (2:10).

[12] But by the head, in the opposite sense, is signified the craftiness pertaining to those who are in the love of ruling; this is meant by the head in Moses, by the seed of the woman bruising the serpent's head, and the serpent bruising his heel (Genesis 3:15).

And in David:

"The Lord at thy right hand hath smitten through kings in the day of his wrath. He hath judged among the nations, he hath filled the earth with their dead bodies; he hath smitten the head over much country. He shall drink of the stream in the way; therefore shall he lift up the head" (Psalm 110:5-7).

This passage is explained above (n. 518:24).

And again:

"God shall bruise the head of his enemies, the crown of the hair to them that walk in guiltiness" (Psalm 68:21).

That the craftiness by which they intend and contrive evil for others returns upon themselves, is signified by, "recompensing their way upon their own head" (Ezekiel 9:10; 11:21; 16:43; 17:19; 22:31; Joel 3:4, 7). But the signification of the seven heads, in the Apocalypse, upon which were seven diadems (12:3; 13:1, 3; 17:3, 7, 9), will be seen in the following pages. Moreover, the head, being the highest and chief part in man, also signifies various other things, as the summit of a mountain, the top of any thing, what is primary, the beginning of a way, of a street, of a month, and similar things.

10249. 'For him and his seed, [throughout] their generations' means all who receive the things which emanate from the Lord, thus who are being regenerated by Him. This is clear from the representation of 'Aaron' as the Lord in respect of Divine Good, dealt with in 9806, 9946; from the meaning of 'seed' as those who are being born from the Lord, thus who are being regenerated (for those who are being regenerated are called those who have been born from God, and also His children), though in the abstract sense, in which actual persons are not envisaged, 'Aaron's seed' means those things which emanate from the Lord, thus by which a person is being regenerated, namely forms of the good of love, and truths of faith; and from the meaning of 'generations' as other forms of good and truths which emanate from them as their parents, and descendants of these other ones. For in the internal sense of the Word 'generations' is used to mean spiritual generations, which are those of love and faith, see the places referred to in 10204.

[2] Since the Lord is meant in the representative sense by Aaron, 'Aaron's seed' is used to mean in particular those who are in the Lord's celestial kingdom, and 'generations' those who are in His spiritual kingdom; for the forms of good and the truths of love and faith in the heavens arise and emanate from the Lord as those generations from Aaron did. The fact that 'seed', 'those who have been born', and 'generations' are used to mean those who love the Lord and believe in Him, and in the abstract sense forms of the good of love and the truths of faith, is clear from very many places in the Word, of which let just the following be quoted: In Isaiah,

From the east I will bring your seed, and from the west I will gather you. Isaiah 43:5.

These words refer to Jacob and Israel, by whom in the internal sense is meant the Church, external and internal, whose seed is the truth of faith and the good of charity.

[3] In the same prophet,

I will pour out My Spirit upon your seed, and My blessing upon those who have been born from you ¹ . Isaiah 44:3.

'Upon the seed' and 'upon those who have been born' mean upon those who belong to the Church, thus upon those things which are the Church's, namely forms of good and truths, or charity and faith, since these constitute the Church with a person. In the same prophet,

In Jehovah all the seed of Israel will glory. Isaiah 45:25.

Here the meaning is similar. In the same prophet,

If He makes His soul guilt, He will see His seed. Isaiah 53:10.

This refers to the Lord, whose seed is what those who have been born from Him, thus who have been regenerated, are called. In the same prophet,

You will break out to the right and to the left, and your seed will inherit the nations. Isaiah 54:3.

Here the meaning is similar.

[4] In Jeremiah,

Behold, the days are coming in which I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man and the seed of beast. Jeremiah 31:27.

This verse will be unintelligible to people unless they know what 'the house of Israel and the house of Judah' means, and also what 'the seed of man and the seed of beast' means. Those whose thought does not go beyond the sense of the letter will suppose the meaning to be that man and beast were going to be multiplied in Israel and Judah; but such a meaning implies nothing at all that is holy and the Church's. Rather, 'the house of Israel' is used in that verse to mean the spiritual Church, and 'the house of Judah' to mean the celestial Church, 'the seed of man' being those Churches' internal good, and 'the seed of beast' their external good. 'Beast' means the affection for good, see in the places referred to in 9280; and when the expression 'man and beast' is used, internal and external good is meant, 7523.

[5] In Jeremiah,

As the host of heaven will be unnumbered, and the sand of the sea is immeasurable, so I will multiply the seed of David. Jeremiah 33:22.

And in David,

I have made a covenant with My chosen one, I have sworn to David, Forever ² I will establish your seed, and build your throne from generation to generation. Psalms 89:3-4.

It is not persons descended from David as their father who should be understood by 'the seed of David', for they were not multiplied to so great an extent, nor were they of such great importance that they should be multiplied as the host of heaven or the sand of the sea. On the contrary in these places as in others elsewhere the Lord in respect of Divine Truth should be understood by 'David'. So 'his seed' means those who have been regenerated by or born from the Lord, and in the abstract sense the things which those people have from the Lord, namely the truths of faith and forms of the good of charity. As regards the Lord's being meant by 'David', see 1888, 9954.

[6] In David,

A seed which will serve Jehovah will be recounted ³ to the Lord to the [next] generation. Psalms 22:30.

In Isaiah,

Their seed will become known among the nations, and those born from them ⁴ in the midst of the peoples. Isaiah 61:9.

'Seed' stands for those who have been regenerated, thus for those belonging to the Church who have the Church within them. Thus in the abstract sense, in which actual persons are not envisaged, those things which compose one who has been regenerated, or which compose the Church as it exists with the person, are meant, namely faith and charity from the Lord.

[7] And in John,

The dragon was angry with the woman, and went off to make war with the rest of her seed, who kept the commandments of God and bear testimony to Jesus Christ. Revelation 12:17.

'The dragon' is used to mean those who are about to try to destroy the Lord's Church, which is to be established after this, 'the woman' to mean that Church, and those who belong to 'her seed' to mean those who have a love of and belief in the Lord, which they have received from Him.

In the contrary sense however 'seed' means those who are set against the things which the Church possesses, thus who are immersed in evil and consequent falsities, and in the abstract sense it means evils and falsities, as in Isaiah,

Woe to a sinful nation, a seed of evil ones! Isaiah 1:4.

In the same prophet,

Sons of the sorceress, seed of the adulterer, are you not those born of transgression, the seed of deceit? Isaiah 57:3-4.

And in the same prophet,

The seed of evil-doers will never be named. Isaiah 14:20.

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