242. To buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be enriched. That this signifies to procure to themselves genuine good from the Lord that they may receive the truths of faith, is evident from the signification of buying, as denoting to procure and appropriate to themselves (concerning which see Arcana Coelestia 4397, 5374, 5397, 5406, 5410, 5426); and from the signification of gold tried in the fire, as denoting genuine good, thus good from the Lord, which will be explained in what follows; also from the signification of that thou mayest be enriched as denoting to be enabled to receive the truths of faith. The reason why this is signified by being rich is, that riches and wealth signify the knowledges of truth and good, and the rich those who are in intelligence therefrom; in the present case, those who are in faith, because the subject here treated of is those who hold the doctrine of faith alone. Hence it is clear that by to buy of me gold tried in the fire that thou mayest be rich, is signified to procure to themselves genuine good from the Lord that they may receive the truths of faith.

[2] We shall first explain how this is to be understood. That truth which in itself is truth is not possible, except from good, thus that faith which is faith in itself is not possible, except from charity, has been frequently stated above; for truth, which is truth in itself, is not possible, except spiritual life be in it, and spiritual life is in it only when it is formed from the good of charity; for truth is the form of good, and good is the being (esse) of truth; thus also good is the life of truth, and good is from no other source than the Lord. And when good is from the Lord, then truth, which is from good, looks primarily to the Lord, and also to the neighbour and his good; for the Lord flows in with good, and from good forms truth, which is the truth of faith, and causes the spiritual sight of man to look to Him and to the neighbour. (That this is the case, may be seen in the work, Heaven and Hell 145, 251; namely, that the Lord beholds angels and men in the forehead, and they behold the Lord through the eyes; the reason is, that the forehead corresponds to the good of love, and the eye to the understanding thence enlightened, consequently to the truths of faith. And also in the same work, n. 17, 123, 124, 142-144, 510, it is shown, that in the spiritual world all are turned to their own loves; and those who have acknowledged the Lord and believed in Him, are turned to Him, and hence they receive good from Him, and by good, enlightenment as to truths.) From these considerations it is plain that the genuine good signified by gold tried in the fire is from the Lord alone.

[3] Because in what is written to the angel of this church, the subject treated of is those who live according to the doctrine of faith alone; and because those who have confirmed themselves in that doctrine, and were, in the world, thence called learned, could connect falsities with truths, and induce an appearance that the doctrine was true, it was therefore granted me to converse with some of them in the other life; and because that conversation may serve for illustration, I wish to adduce it. Those learned ones, from the opinion which they held in the world, supposed that faith without charity was possible, and that man is justified by that faith alone. Their discourse was very ingenious; they said that faith was possible without charity, because it is prior to charity, and that by means of it man is in good. "Who," said they, "cannot believe that God is, that the Word is divine, and things of a similar kind, which, unless they were believed, could not be accepted and thought of by man?" They therefore concluded that faith is possible without charity, because it precedes, or is prior to it; and, such being the case, that it is saving, because a man cannot do good of himself; therefore, unless that faith saved, all men would perish. Nor was the presence of God with man possible without faith, and if it were not possible, evil would reign, and no one would possess any good; these things, they said, were meant by justification by faith alone.

But it was shown them that there could be no faith unless it existed with charity; and that what they called faith was only the knowledges first acquired by every man, as that God is, and that the Word is divine, and so on; and that those knowledges are not in man, but in the medium of access to him, which is his memory, until they are in his will; but that, in proportion as they are in his will, in the same proportion they are in the man himself; for the will is the man himself; and in proportion as they are in the will, in the same proportion they are in his sight, which is faith. The knowledges themselves, which precede, and, to the natural sight, appear to be believed, do not previously become knowledges of faith. This is why the seeing of knowledges, which is supposed to be faith, recedes from man successively as he begins to think evil from willing evil, and also recedes from him after death, when he becomes a spirit, if the knowledges have not been implanted in his life, that is, in his will or love.

[4] This may be illustrated by a comparison with those stomachs of birds and terrestrial animals, which are called ruminant stomachs; into these they first collect their food, and afterwards by degrees take it out thence and eat it, and so nourish the blood, whence it becomes incorporated into their life. To those stomachs man's memory corresponds, which he enjoys in the place of them, because he is spiritual. Into this he first collects spiritual foods, which consist of knowledges, and afterwards takes them out, as it were, by ruminating, that is, by thinking and willing, and appropriates them to himself, and thus makes them part of his life. From this comparison, trifling as it may appear, it is obvious that, unless knowledges are implanted in the life, by thinking and willing them, and thence by doing them, they are like foods which remain unmasticated in the ruminant stomachs, where they either become putrid, or are vomited out. Moreover, the circle of man's life is to know, to understand, to will, and to do; for the spiritual life of man commences from knowing, thence it is continued into understanding, afterwards into willing, and lastly into doing. From this it is also evident, that knowledges in the memory are only in the entrance to the life, and that they are not fully in the man until they are in his deeds; also, that they are more fully in his deeds the more fully they are in his understanding and will.

[5] It was further shown that the faith of knowledges before it becomes the faith of life, is merely historical faith, the quality of which is well known to be this, that a thing is believed because another has said it; this, before it becomes the man's, is an alien faith, or the faith of another with him. Another quality of such faith is that it is a belief in things unknown; for it is said that such things are to be believed, although they are not understood, indeed that they are not to be looked into by the understanding, although such is the nature of spiritual faith that truths themselves are seen in it, and so are believed. In heaven, no one believes any truth unless he sees or has seen it; for there they say, "Who can believe that a thing is so unless he sees it? Perhaps it may be false"; and none but the evil can believe what is false, for the evil, from evil, see falsities, whereas the good, from good, see truths; and because good is from the Lord, the seeing of truth from good is also from the Lord. The reason why the angels see truths is because the light of heaven, in which they are, is the Divine truth proceeding from the Lord; hence all in the world also, who have that light, enjoy the sight of truth (concerning the light of heaven, and that such is its nature and quality, see in the work, Heaven and Hell 126-140).

[6] It was afterwards shown that charity and faith act as one, and enter together into man, so that in proportion as man is in charity in the same proportion he is in faith, because faith as to its essence is charity, just as truth as to its essence is good; for good, when it exists in visible manifestation, or in form, is truth; thus charity is faith, for good belongs to charity, and truth to faith. The one also loves the other, and conjoins itself to it, therefore one is not possible unless together with the other. This was illustrated by the thought of man, which belongs to his understanding, and by the affection, which belongs to his will. To think without affection is impossible, for the very essence of thought is affection or love. A man may indeed think all those things that he knows from the doctrine of the church, but from a natural affection, which is the affection or love of glory, fame, honour or gain; but this affection does not cause the thought to be spiritual, this being effected only by charity, which is spiritual affection itself. This affection, when it conjoins itself with knowledges, becomes faith, and afterwards, in proportion as man is in that affection, in the same proportion he sees in thought the things which belong to his faith, which are called truths, and acknowledges them because they are from his spirit itself, thus from his spiritual life itself: this also is what is called enlightenment. This is why no one can be enlightened from the Word unless he has the spiritual affection of truth. There is indeed something like enlightenment given to those who have confirmed themselves in such things as pertain to the doctrine of faith alone, and justification thereby; but it is a fatuous enlightenment, because they can confirm falsities equally with truths, as is the case with all heresies, both with those which prevail amongst the Jews and with those with the Papists. A similar light is also given, after such confirmations, to those who are called naturalists, who deny God, the divinity of the Word, and everything belonging to the church. The case is the same with those who have confirmed themselves in faith alone, and justification thereby. (That the light of confirmation is natural and not spiritual light, which is possible also with the evil, may be seen, Arcana Coelestia 8780.)

[7] But let us return to the faith which, as to essence, is charity. That faith is continually perfected by those things that confirm; for from spiritual light more truths are always seen, and these all conjoin themselves with the good of charity, and perfect it; hence a man has intelligence and wisdom, which at length becomes angelic. Moreover, those who are only in the knowledges of faith, and not in a life according to them, believe that a man can easily receive faith, if not in this world, yet in the other, saying to themselves, "When I hear and see that a thing is so, cannot I then believe it?" But they are greatly deceived; for those who have not received spiritual faith in the world, if they should afterwards hear of it, and see it a thousand times, can never receive it. The reason is, that this faith is not in the man, but out of him. That this is the case, is clearly evident from this, that all those who come from the world are first received by angels and good spirits, and are instructed by every means; indeed, many things are shown them even to the life and to the sight, but still they do not receive them; therefore they withdraw themselves from the angels and good spirits, and go to those who are destitute of faith. It was, moreover, told them that, if faith could be received by knowing and thinking only, it would be received by all, by the evil and the good alike, and thus no one would be condemned. (That charity, which is spiritual affection, can never be imparted to any one unless he knows truths, explores himself according to them, receives them, and lives a new life agreeably to them, may be seen above, n.239.)

[8] It therefore follows that the life of faith is charity, and that there is nothing of life in faith, except in proportion as charity is therein; and also that in proportion as charity is in faith, in the same proportion man is led by the Lord; but that in proportion as charity is not in faith, in the same proportion man is led of himself; and he who is led of himself, and not by the Lord, cannot think what is good, still less can he will and do good which is good in itself. For from man's proprium nothing but evil proceeds; for when he thinks what is good, and wills and does good from proprium, it is only for the sake of himself and for the sake of the world, which are the ends for which he acts, and the ends are the loves which lead him; and man cannot be withdrawn or raised up from his proprium, unless he looks to the Lord as to the things of his life; by this he is conjoined with heaven, and spiritual affection is thence imparted to him by the Lord.

When these observations had been made, it was given to those with whom I discoursed on this subject to be in spiritual light, this light being such that truths can be seen in it as clearly as objects in the world are seen in its light; and then those who were in the doctrine of faith alone and justification thereby, could not but declare that the case was so. But as soon as that light was taken away from them and they were brought back into their own natural light, they could see only that the sight of knowledges is saving faith, and hence that the falsities which they had made of their faith were truths. Falsities become matters of the faith when evils are of the life.

[9] But to return to the explanation of the words of this passage, which are, “I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be enriched." By these words is signified that they should procure to themselves from the Lord genuine good, in order that they may receive truths; it now remains to be shown that gold in the Word signifies the good of love. This is evident from the following passages. In Malachi:

"Behold, I send my angel, who shall prepare the way before me; and the Lord whom ye seek shall suddenly come to his temple, and the angel of the covenant whom ye desire; he shall sit refining and purifying silver, and shall purify the sons of Levi; he shall refine them as gold and silver, that they may bring to Jehovah a meat-offering in justice" (3:1-3).

These things are spoken of the Lord's advent. It is here said that Jehovah would send His angel who should prepare the way before Him; and by the angel is meant John the Baptist, as is well known. By before me, or before Jehovah is meant the Lord's Divine Itself; by the temple to which He should come is meant His Divine Human. This is also called the angel of the covenant, because the conjunction of men and angels with the Divine Itself is by means of it; for covenant denotes conjunction. By the silver which he shall sit refining and purifying is meant truth from good. By the sons of Levi are meant all who are in the good of charity and thence in the truth of faith; it is therefore said that He should refine them as gold and silver; this is because gold signifies good, and silver truth therefrom. By offering unto Jehovah an offering in justice is meant the worship of the Lord from the good of charity. (That temple signifies the Divine Human of the Lord, may be seen above, n. 220: that covenant signifies conjunction, may be seen in Arcana Coelestia 665, 666, 1023, 1038, 1864, 1996, 2003, 2021, 6804, 8767, 8778, 9396, 10632; that silver signifies truth from good, n. 1551, 1552, 2954, 5658; that a meat-offering signifies the good of love and charity, n. 4581, 9992, 9993, 9994, 10079, 10137; that justice is said of good, n. 2235, 9857.) Hence to bring an offering in justice signifies worship from the good of love.

[10] In Zechariah:

"Two parts in all the land shall be cut off, they shall expire, but the third shall be left in it; nevertheless I will bring the third through the fire, and I will refine them as silver is refined, and I will try them as gold is tried" (13:8, 9).

Here, by all the land is not meant all the land, but the whole church; nor by the third part is a third part meant, but some who are therein. By its being brought through the fire, and refined as silver is refined, and tried as gold is tried, is signified their being purified from evils and falsities in order that good and truth may be implanted. (That land in the Word signifies the church, may be seen, Arcana Coelestia 662, 1066, 1068, 1262, 1413, 1607, 2928, 3355, 4447, 4535, 5577, 6516, 9325, 9643; that a third part signifies some, n. 2788.) There are in the above passages comparisons of silver and gold with truth and good; but in the Word all things serving for comparisons also correspond, and thence signify, as may be seen, n. 3579, 8989. Because gold tried in the fire signifies the good of love purified from evils, it was therefore commanded

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

[11] That gold signifies the good of love and charity is more fully evident from the following passages. In Hosea:

"Israel hath forsaken good: the enemy pursueth him: of their silver and their gold they have made to themselves idols" (8:3, 4).

By making to themselves idols of their silver and their gold is signified that they turned truth and good into falsities and evils, as is evident from its being said, "Israel hath forsaken good: the enemy pursueth him." The enemy denotes falsity from evil and evil from falsity.

[12] In Joel:

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

Here by Tyre and Zidon are meant those within the church who are in the knowledges of truth and good, and, in this case, those who have perverted them and applied them to falsities and to the evils thereof. This is signified by, ye have taken My silver and My gold, and have carried into your temples the desirable things of My goods. Silver signifies truth, gold good, and the desirable things of my goods signify derived truths and goods, which are knowledges from the Word in the sense of the letter. To carry these into their temples signifies to turn them into profane worship. By their selling the sons of Judah and the sons of Jerusalem to the Grecians is meant that they changed all the truths of good into falsities of evil. By removing them far from their borders is meant far from truths themselves. (That by Tyre and Zidon are meant those within the church who have the knowledges of truth and good, may be seen in Arcana, Coelestia, n. 1201; that by the sons of Judah and sons of Jerusalem are meant all the truths of good, because by sons are signified truths, n. 1729, 1733, 2159, 2623, 2803, 2813, 3373, 3704, 7499, 8897, 9807; by Judah, the celestial church, n. 3654, 6364; by Jerusalem, the church where there is genuine doctrine, n. 3654, 9166. That by the Grecians are meant falsities, because the Grecians signify the nations that are in falsities, may be seen above, n. 50.)

[13] In Ezekiel:

"The traders of Sheba and Raamah, by the chief of all spices, and by every precious stone and gold they have carried on their tradings" (27:22).

And again:

"In thy wisdom and thy intelligence thou hast made to thyself wealth, and hast made gold and silver in thy treasuries. Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, and gold" (28:4, 13).

The subject treated in these two passages is also Tyre, by which, as was said above, are meant those within the church who are in the knowledges (cognitiones) of truth and good. By her tradings are meant those knowledges themselves. By Sheba and Raamah also are meant those who possess those knowledges, see Arcana Coelestia 1171, 3240. By spices are signified truths that are grateful because derived from good, see n. 4748, 5621, 9474, 9475, 10199, 10254. By precious stones are signified truths that are beautiful because from good, see n. 9863, 9865, 9868, 9873, 9905. And by the garden of Eden is signified intelligence and wisdom therefrom, see n. 100, 108, 1588, 2702, 3220. Because, now, by those things are signified the knowledges of truth and of good, and because by gold and silver are signified the goods and truths themselves, and because all intelligence and wisdom are procured by means of these, therefore it is said, "In thy wisdom and thy intelligence thou hast made to thyself wealth, gold and silver in thy treasuries."

[14] In Lamentations:

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

The vastation of the church is here treated of. The gold which is become dim, and the best fine gold which is changed, signify the goods of the church; the stones of holiness which are poured out at the top of every street, signify that the truths thence derived are falsified; the sons of Zion who were estimated equal to fine gold, signify the truths of the former church; bottles of earthenware, the work of the hands of the potter, signify evils of life derived from falsities of doctrine, which are from man's own intelligence.

[15] In Ezekiel:

"I decked thee also with ornaments, and I put bracelets upon thy hands, and a necklace on thy neck. Thus wast thou decked with gold and silver; and thy raiment was of fine linen, and silk, and broidered work. Thou hast also taken the vessels of thine adorning from my gold and from my silver which I gave to thee, and hast made thee images with which thou hast committed whoredom" (16:11, 13, 17).

The subject here treated of is Jerusalem, which signifies the church as to doctrine, as said above. The ornaments with which she was decked signify, in general, all truths from good and intelligence therefrom (see Arcana Coelestia 10536, 10540). Bracelets upon the hands signify specifically truths from good (see n. 3103, 3105); a necklace upon the neck signifies the conjunction of interior goods and truths with exterior goods and truths, or of those which are spiritual with those which are natural (see n. 5320); fine linen signifies genuine truth, and silk the same resplendent from interior goods (see n. 5319, 9469); broidered work signifies the Scientific (Scientificum) of the natural man (see n. 9688); the images with which she committed whoredom are the fallacies of the senses, which to those who are in falsities appear like truths; to commit whoredom with them is to draw false conclusions by means of them. (That to commit whoredom signifies to imbue with falsities, may be seen above, n. 141.) From these considerations it is clear that the subject treated of in this chapter is the church, as to its quality when it was first established by the Lord, and what its quality became afterwards.

[16] In Isaiah:

"Behold, I stir up against them the Medes, who shall not regard silver, and shall not delight in gold, whose bows shall strike the young men, their eye shall not spare the sons" (13:17, 18).

By the Medes are meant those who are against the goods and truths of the church; therefore it is said of them, they shall not regard silver, nor delight in gold. Silver denotes the truth of the church, and gold its good. Their bows signify the doctrinals of falsity fighting against truths and goods (see Arcana Coelestia 2686, 2709): the young men whom they shall strike signify those who are intelligent from truths (see n. 7668); the sons whom they shall not spare signify truths themselves.

[17] In the same:

"The troop of camels shall cover thee; all they from Sheba shall come; they shall bring gold and incense; and they shall show forth the praises of Jehovah. The isles shall trust in me, and the ships of Tarshish, to bring thy sons from afar, their silver and their gold with them" (60:6, 9).

The subject here treated of is the Lord's Advent, and by a troop of camels are meant all those who are in the knowledges of truth and good (see Arcana Coelestia, 3048, 3071, 3143, 3145). By Sheba, whence they shall come, is meant where those very knowledges are (see n. 1171, 3240); by the gold and incense which they shall bring are meant goods and truths derived from good, which are thence grateful; by gold the goods, and by incense those truths (see n. 9993, 10177, 10296); by the isles which shall trust in Him are meant the nations which are in Divine worship, but more remote from the truths of the church (see n. 1158); by ships of Tarshish are meant general knowledges (cognitiones) of truth and good in which are contained many particular ones (n. 1977, 6385); by the sons whom they shall bring from far are meant truths more remote; sons denote truths, as above, and from far denotes which are more remote (see in. 1613, 9487); by their silver and gold with them are signified the knowledges of truth and good with them.

The like is signified by

the wise men who came from the east to the place where Christ was born, who offered "gifts, gold, frankincense, and myrrh" (Matthew 2:11).

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

[18] In David:

"All kings shall bow down before him; all nations shall serve him. He shall preserve the souls of the poor, and they shall live; and he shall give them of the gold of Sheba" (72:11, 13, 15).

Here also the Lord's Advent is treated of. By the kings who shall bow down before Him, and by the nations who shall serve Him, are meant all who are in truths from good; (that kings signify those who are in truths, may be seen above, n.31; and that nations signify those who are in good, may be seen also above, n. 175); by the poor whom he shall preserve are meant those who are not in the knowledges of good and truth, but yet desire them (as may be seen also above, n. 238). By the gold of Sheba, of which He shall give them, is signified the good of love into which the Lord shall lead them by means of knowledges; (what is signified by Sheba may be seen just above).

[19] In Haggai:

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

These things also are said concerning the Lord's advent. By nations are meant those who are in good and thence in truths; by house is meant the church (see Arcana Coelestia 3720); by the glory with which it shall be filled is meant Divine truth (see n. 4809, 5922, 8267, 8427, 9429); by the silver is mine, and the gold is mine, is meant truth and good, which are from the Lord alone.

[20] In Zechariah:

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

By the wealth of all nations are meant knowledges, wherever they are, even with the evil; by gold, silver and apparel in great abundance are meant goods and truths, both spiritual and natural. The same was signified by the

gold, silver and raiment which the Israelites borrowed of the Egyptians, when they departed from them (Exodus 3:22; 11:2, 3; 12:35, 36).

The reason why such a thing took place, and what it involves, may be seen in Arcana Coelestia 6914, 6917), where it is shown that it was in order that it might be represented that from the evil are taken away the things which they have, and that they are given to the good, according to the Lord's words in Matthew 25:28, 29; and in Luke 19:24, 26; and that they should make to themselves friends of the unrighteous mammon, according to the Lord's words in Luke 16:9. By the unrighteous mammon are meant the knowledges of truth and good with those who do not rightly possess them, these being those who do not apply them to the uses of life.

[21] In David:

"Kings' daughters are among thy precious ones; on thy right hand doth stand the queen in the best gold of Ophir: the king's daughter is all glorious within; her clothing is embroidered with gold" (45:9, 13).

This passage treats of the Lord. By the king's daughter is meant the church which is in the affection of truth, and which is described by kings' daughters being among her precious ones: by whom are meant the affections of truths themselves. By the queen standing at his right hand in the best gold of Ophir is meant the Lord's celestial kingdom, which is in the good of love; by her clothing being embroidered with gold is meant that truths are from good.

[22] In Matthew:

Jesus said to the disciples whom He sent forth to preach the gospel, that they should not provide gold, or silver, or brass in their purses (10:9);

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

Therefore the table upon which was placed the showbread was overlaid with gold (Exodus 25:23, 24).

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

And on the same account the candlestick was made of pure gold (Exodus 25:31-38).

As were also the cherubim (Exodus 25:18);

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

The same was the case with many other things in the temple of Jerusalem; for the tent in which were the ark, the cherubim, the table upon which was the showbread, the altar of incense, and the candlestick represented heaven, and so did the temple; and hence the gold therein signified the good of love, and the silver truth from good.

[23] Because the most holy thing of heaven was represented by the gold in the temple,

Therefore, when Belshazzar drank wine out of the vessels of gold brought out of that temple, and at the same time praised the gods of gold, of silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and stone, there appeared written on the wall, Numbered, weighed, divided; and in that night he was slain (Dan. 5:2, and following, verses);

for by this the profanation of good was signified.

[24] Moreover by gold, in an opposite sense, in the Word is signified the evil of the love of self, and by silver the falsity therefrom, as in Moses:

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

But concerning this signification of gold and silver we shall speak hereafter.

141. To eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication. That this signifies that they may acquire evils and thence falsities is evident from the signification of to eat, as denoting to appropriate to themselves, and to consociate (concerning which see n. 2187, 2343, 3168, 3513, 5643, 8001); thus also to acquire; and from the signification of things sacrificed to idols, which are things sanctified to idols, as denoting evils of every kind (concerning which more will be said in what follows); and from the signification of committing fornication, as denoting to falsify truths (concerning which also more will be said presently). That Balaam consulted with Balak that he might invite the sons of Israel to the sacrifices of his gods is evident from what was shown in the preceding article, and from these words of Moses:

"Israel abode in Shittim, where the people began to commit whoredom with the daughters of Moab. For they called the people unto the sacrifices of their gods: and the people did eat, and bowed down to their gods. Especially did he join himself to Baal-peor; therefore the anger of Jehovah was kindled against Israel, and twenty and four thousand were slain" (Numbers 25:1-3, 9).

It was among the statutes when sacrifices were instituted, that some part of the sacrifices, especially the eucharistic, should be burnt upon the altar, and some part should be eaten in the holy place. The sacrifices themselves signified worship grounded in love and faith, and the eating of them together, signified appropriations of that good. (That sacrifices signified all things of worship from the good of love and faith, may be seen, n. 923, 6905, 8680, 8936, 10042; and that eating together signified the appropriation of good, n. 10109.) Because the eating together of things sanctified to Jehovah signified the appropriation of good, therefore the eating together of the sacrifices which were for the gods of the Gentiles, and which were called things sacrificed to idols, signified the appropriation of evil.

[2] That to commit whoredom, in the spiritual sense, signifies to acquire falsities and also to falsify truths is evident from several passages in the Word. The same was signified by the whoredoms of the sons of Israel with the daughters of Moab; for all the historicals of the Word involve and signify spiritual things (as is evident from the explanations of Genesis and Exodus, which are called Arcana Coelestia). And because the sons of Israel eating of things sacrificed to idols, and their whoredoms with the daughters of Moab, involved also such things (for what they signify they also involve), therefore it was commanded that the heads of the people should be hung up to Jehovah before the sun; and therefore also Phinehas the son of Eleazar thrust through a man of Israel and a Midianitish woman in a tent, on account of which he was also blessed; and for the same reason there were slain of Israel twenty and four thousand, as may be seen, Numbers 25:1 to the end. Such punishments and plagues would by no means have been commanded solely because of their eating of the idolatrous sacrifices, and committing whoredom with the women of another nation, unless these things involved things unlawful against heaven and the church, which are not evident in the literal sense of the Word, but only in its spiritual sense. The unlawful things involved were the profanation at the same time of the goods and truths of the church, which, as said above, was the appropriation of evil and falsity.

[3] That adulteries and whoredoms involve such things is evident from numerous passages in the Word, where they are referred to, from which it is clear that by them are signified the adulterations of good and the falsifications of truth. In Ezekiel:

Jerusalem, "thou hast trusted in thy beauty, and hast played the harlot because of thy renown, so that thou hast poured out thy fornications on every one that passed by. Thou hast committed fornication with the sons of Egypt thy neighbours, great of flesh, and hast multiplied thy whoredoms. Thou hast played the whore with the sons of Asshur, when there was no satiety to thee, with whom thou committedst whoredom. Thou hast multiplied thy fornication even to Chaldea, the land of merchandise. An adulterous woman receiveth strangers under her own husband. All others give reward to their harlots, but thou hast given reward to all thy lovers, and hast rewarded them that they may come unto thee on every side in thy whoredoms. Wherefore, O harlot! hear the word of Jehovah" (16:15, 26, 28, 29, 32, 33, 35, and following verses).

Who cannot see, that by the whoredoms here mentioned are not meant whoredoms in an ordinary natural sense? For the church in which all the truths of the Word are falsified is here treated of; these things are what are meant by whoredoms; for whoredoms, in the spiritual sense, or spiritual whoredoms, are nothing but falsifications of truth. Jerusalem, there, is the church; the sons of Egypt with whom she committed whoredom, are scientifics (scientifica) and knowledges (cognitiones) of every kind, perversely applied to confirm falsities. The sons of Asshur, are fallacious reasonings therefrom; Chaldea, the land of merchandize, signifies the profanation of truth; the rewards which she gave to her lovers, signify the selling of falsities. From the adulteration of good by means of the falsification of truth, that church is called a woman adulterous under her own husband.

[4] In the same:

"Two women, the daughters of one mother, have committed whoredoms in Egypt; they committed whoredoms in their youth." One "committed whoredom under me, and chose for lovers the Assyrians her neighbours: she gave her whoredoms upon them, nevertheless she hath not deserted her whoredoms in Egypt." The other "hath corrupted her love more than she, and her whoredoms above the whoredoms of her sister: she added to her whoredoms, she loved the Chaldeans the sons of Babel came to her to the bed of loves, and they defiled her with their whoredom" (23:2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 11, 14, 16, 17, and following verses).

That by whoredoms are here also meant spiritual whoredoms, is evident from the particulars mentioned. The two women, daughters of one mother, are the two churches, the Israelitish and the Jewish; their whoredoms with the Egyptians, the Assyrians and Chaldeans signify things similar to what were explained above; the bed of loves with the sons of Babel is the profanation of good.

[5] In Jeremiah:

"Thou hast played the harlot with many companions, thou hast profaned the land with thy whoredoms, and with thy wickedness. Hast thou seen that which backsliding Israel hath done? Going away upon every high mountain and under every green tree, and there hast thou played the harlot: perfidious Judah also hath gone away and played the harlot, so that by the voice of her whoredom she hath profaned the land; she hath committed adultery with stone and with wood" (3:1, 2, 6, 8, 9).

Israel is the church which is in truth, Judah is the church which is in good, for they represented these two churches; the falsifications of truth are signified by the whoredoms of Israel, and the adulterations of good by the whoredoms of Judah. To go away upon every high mountain and under every green tree, and commit whoredom, is to inquire into all the knowledges of good and truth, even from the Word, and to falsify them; to commit adultery with stone and wood, is to pervert and profane all truth and good; stone signifies truth, and wood signifies good.

[6] In the same:

"Run ye through the streets of Jerusalem, and seek in the broad ways thereof, if ye can find a man (vir), if there be any that executeth judgment, that seeketh the truth. When I fed them to the full, they committed whoredom and came by troops to the house of the harlot" (5:1, 7).

To run through the streets, and to seek in the broad ways of Jerusalem is, to see and examine the doctrinals of that church; for Jerusalem is the church, and streets and broad ways are doctrinals. If thou canst find a man (vir), if there be any that executeth judgment, that seeketh the truth denotes whether there be any truth in the church. When I had fed them to the full they committed whoredom denotes, that when truths were revealed to them they falsified them; such a church, as to doctrine, is the house of the harlot, into which they came by troops.

[7] In the same:

"Thine adulteries, and thy neighings, the crime of thy whoredom, and thine abominations on the hills in the field have I seen. Woe unto thee, O Jerusalem! thou wilt not be made clean" (13:27).

Neighings denote profanations of truth, because a horse signifies the Intellectual where truth dwells; the hills in the field signify the goods of truth in the church, which are perverted.

[8] In the same:

"I have seen in the prophets of Jerusalem an horrible obstinacy, in committing adultery and going in a lie" (Jeremiah 23:14).

In the same:

"They have done foolishness in Israel, and have committed adultery with the wives of their companions, and have spoken my word in my name lyingly" (29:23).

To adulterate and to commit adultery here clearly denote to pervert truths; the prophets signify those who teach truths from the Word; for it is said, in committing adultery and going in a lie, and they have spoken my word lyingly. A lie, in the Word, signifies what is false.

[9] In Moses::

"Your sons were feeding in the desert forty years; and they bore your whoredoms even till their bodies were consumed in the desert" (Numbers 14:33).

That the sons of Israel were not consumed in the wilderness because they bore whoredoms, but because they rejected heavenly truths is evident from the fact that this was said to them because they were not willing to enter into the land of Canaan, but wished to return into Egypt. For by the land of Canaan is signified heaven and the church, with its truths; and by Egypt are signified those things falsified, and turned into magic.

[10] In Micah:

"All the graven images thereof shall be beaten to pieces, and all the rewards of whoredom shall be burned in the fire; and all the idols thereof will I lay desolate, for she hath gathered them from the hire of an harlot, and they shall return to the hire of an harlot" (1:7).

Graven images and idols signify the falsities which are from man's own intelligence; the hire of a harlot denotes the knowledges of truth and good which they applied to falsities and evils, and thus perverted.

[11] And in Hosea:

Jehovah said to the prophet, "Take unto thee a wife of whoredoms and children of whoredoms, for the land doth commit great whoredom in departing from Jehovah" (1:2).

By this was represented that the quality of the church was such that it was wholly immersed in falsities.

[12] In the same:

"They sinned against me; I will change their glory into shame; they committed whoredom, because they have quite forsaken Jehovah. Whoredom, wine and new wine, occupied the heart. Your daughters commit whoredom, and your daughters-in-law commit adultery" (4:7, 10, 11, 13).

Whoredom, wine and new wine, are falsified truths. Whoredom is the falsification itself, wine is interior falsity, new wine is exterior falsity; the daughters who commit whoredom are the goods of truth perverted; the daughters-in-law who commit adultery are evils conjoined with falsities therefrom.

[13] In Isaiah:

"It shall come to pass after the end of seventy years that Jehovah will visit Tyre, that she may return to her meretricious hire, and commit fornication with all the kings of the earth upon the faces of the world; at length her merchandize shall be holy to Jehovah" (23:17, 18).

Tyre, in the Word, signifies the church with respect to the knowledges (cognitiones) of truth and good; the meretricious hire spoken of denotes the same knowledges applied to evils and falsities by perversion; her merchandize is the selling thereof. To commit fornication with all the kings of the earth, denotes with everyone of the truths of the church. The reason why it is said that her merchandize and her meretricious hire shall be holy to Jehovah, is, that by these are signified knowledges of truth and good applied by them to falsities and evils. And a man, by definite knowledges, may become wise; for they are the means of becoming wise; they are also a means of becoming insane when they are falsified by application to evils and falsities.

The same is signified where it is said that

they should make to themselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness (Luke 16:9);

and where it is commanded that

the sons of Israel should borrow from the Egyptians gold, silver and raiment, and take them away with them (Exodus 3:22; 12:35, 36);

for by the Egyptians are signified scientifics (scientifica) of every kind, which they applied to falsify truths.

[14] In Moses::

"I will cut off the soul which looketh back to such as have familiar spirits, and to wizards, to go a whoring after them" (Leviticus 20:5).

In Isaiah:

"He entereth into peace, he walketh in uprightness. But draw near hither, ye sons of the sorceress, the seed of the adulterer and the whore" (57:2, 3).

In Nahum:

"Woe to the city of bloods, full of lies; the horseman ascendeth, and the glitter of the sword, and the sheen of the spear, the multitude of the slain, above the multitude of the whoredoms of the harlot, of the mistress of sorceries, selling the nations by her whoredoms" (3:1, 3, 4).

In Moses:

A covenant was not to be made with the inhabitants of the land, lest their sons and their daughters go a whoring after their gods (Exodus 34:15).

In the same:

"That ye may remember all the commandments of Jehovah, and do them: and that ye seek not after your own heart and your own eyes, after which ye used to go a whoring" (Numbers 15:39).

In the Apocalypse:

Babylon "hath made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication" (14:8).

The angel said: "I will show the judgment of the great harlot that sitteth upon many waters: with whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication" (17:1, 2).

Babylon "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).

"He hath judged the great harlot, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication" (19:2).

[15] That in these passages by whoredoms are meant falsifications of truth, is evident. Because such things are signified by whoredoms and adulteries, and as they have the same signification in heaven, therefore, in the Israelitish church, which was a representative church in which all things were significative, the following commands were given:

That there should not be a whore nor a whoremonger in Israel (Deuteronomy 23:17).

That the man who committed adultery with the wife of a man, and he who committed adultery with the wife of his companion, should be put to death (Leviticus 20:10).

That the gift of a whore should not be brought into the house of Jehovah with any vow (Deuteronomy 23:18).

That the sons of Aaron should not take a harlot to wife, nor a woman put away by her husband. That the high priest should take a virgin to wife. That the daughter of a priest, if she profaned herself by committing whoredom, should be burned with fire (Leviticus 21:7, 9, 13, 14), besides many other passages.

[16] That whoredoms and adulteries involve such things, has been testified to me from much experience in the other life. The spheres of spirits who have been of such a quality, manifest those things. From the presence of spirits who have confirmed in themselves falsities, and applied truth from the sense of the letter of the Word to confirm them, there goes forth an abominable sphere of whoredom; such spheres correspond to all the prohibited degrees (concerning which see Leviticus 20:11-21), with differences according to the application of truths to falsities, and according to the conjunction of falsities with evils, especially with the evils flowing from the love of self (concerning which more may be seen in the work, Heaven and Hell 384, 385, 386).