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.

4844. 'Remain a widow in your father's house' means the alienation of this Church from the Jewish Church. This becomes clear from the fact that Judah's wish was that by doing this she would go away and not return to him any more. He did, it is true, say that she should remain there until Shelah his son was grown up; nevertheless he had it in mind not to give her to Shelah his son, for he said to himself, 'In case he also dies, like his brothers'. He gave further proof of his intentions by his actions, as is evident from verse 14 - 'Tamar saw that Shelah had grown up, and she had not been given to him as a wife'. From all this it is evident that the words used here mean that he alienated her from himself. That is, the meaning in the internal sense is that he alienated the Church representative of spiritual and celestial things - the Church represented by 'Tamar', 4811, 4831 - from the Jewish Church represented by 'Judah'. The two could not be in agreement with each other because Judaism was not a representative Church, only a representative of the Church, 4307, 4500; for it acknowledged what was external but not that which was internal.

[2] 'A widow' also means the truth of the Church without its good; for in the representative sense 'a wife' means truth and 'a husband' good, 4823, 4843, and therefore 'a wife without a husband' means the truth of the Church without its good. This being so, when it is said in reference to Tamar that she should remain in the house of her father, the meaning is that the truth of the Church would be alienated, and also that it would not find acceptance in his house, even as the Jewish nation could not accept it because not good but evil was present among that nation.

[3] A widow is referred to many times in the Word; but anyone unacquainted with the internal sense inevitably thinks that 'a widow' means a widow. In the internal sense 'a widow' means the truth of the Church without good, that is, people who have truth that is without good but who nevertheless have a desire for good, who consequently love to be led by good; for 'a husband' means good which ought to take the lead. In the Ancient Church people like these were meant in the good sense by 'the widowed', whether they were women or men. For the Ancient Church distinguished the neighbour to whom charity was to be performed into many separate classes. Some were called the poor, some the wretched and afflicted, some the bound and in prison, some the blind and the lame, and others strangers, orphans, and widows. It performed different charitable works, whichever were appropriate to the character each class possessed. The teachings of that Church showed them what those works were, for that Church had no other teachings than these. Therefore whenever those living in those times either taught or wrote, they did so in conformity with these teachings, so that when they spoke of 'widows' they meant none but the kind of persons among whom truth existed without good but who nevertheless had a desire to be led to good.

[4] From this it is also evident that the teachings of the Ancient Church were ones that had to do with charity and the neighbour, and that all its religious knowledge and factual knowledge existed to enable people to know what was meant spiritually by external things. For the Church was representative of spiritual and celestial things, and therefore it was these spiritual and celestial things, represented and meant by that Church, that people came to know about through the Church's teachings and through its factual knowledge. But those teachings and factual knowledge have become at the present day completely wiped out, so completely indeed that there is no knowledge of their having existed. For their place has been taken by teachings to do with faith which, if widowed and separated from those to do with charity, have virtually nothing to teach. For teachings to do with charity show what good is, but those to do with faith show what truth is. Teaching what truth is without what good is amounts to walking like someone blind, it being good that is the teacher and leader, truth the one that is taught and led. Between the two kinds of teaching there is a vast difference, as great as that between light and darkness. If the darkness is not lightened by means of the light, that is, if truth is not lightened by good, or faith by charity, it is nothing but darkness. For this reason no one knows intuitively, nor consequently by perception, whether truth is the truth; he knows it only from what he was taught and what he absorbed in childhood and substantiated in adult years. This also explains why Churches are so much at variance with one another, one giving the name truth to that which another calls falsity, and are never in agreement.

[5] The meaning in the good sense of 'widows' as people who have truth existing without good but who nevertheless have a desire to be led by good may be seen from places in the Word where widows are mentioned, as in David,

Jehovah who executes judgement for the oppressed, who gives bread to the starving, Jehovah who sets the bound free; Jehovah who opens the blind [eyes]; Jehovah who lifts up the bowed down; Jehovah who loves the righteous; Jehovah who guards sojourners, upholds the orphan and the widow. Psalms 146:7-9.

This refers, in the internal sense, to those whom the Lord furnishes with truths and leads to good. But some of them are called the oppressed, some the starving, while others are called the bound, the blind, the bowed down, sojourners, orphans and widows, each name appropriate to the character of the ones to whom it is applied. No one however can know what each particular nature is except from the internal sense; but the teachings of the Ancient Church showed what any particular nature was. Here, as in many other places, sojourner, orphan, and widow are referred to jointly because 'a sojourner' means those who wish to be furnished with the truths of faith, 1463, 4444, 'an orphan' those with whom good exists without truth but who have a desire to be led to good by means of truth, and 'a widow' those with whom truth exists without good and who have a desire to be led to truth by means of good. These three are referred to jointly here and elsewhere in the Word because in the internal sense they form a single group, for all three together mean those who wish to be taught and to be led to good and truth.

[6] In the same author,

A father of the orphans, and a judge of the widows, is God in the habitation of His holiness. Psalms 68:5.

'The orphans' stands for those with whom, like young children, the good that goes with innocence is present but no truth as yet. The Lord is said to be 'a father' of these because He leads them like a father; He leads them by means of truth into good, that is to say, into the good constituting life or wisdom. 'The widows' stands for those who as adults know the truth but are not as yet doing good. The Lord is said to be 'a judge' of these because He leads them; He leads them by means of good into truth, that is to say, into the truth constituting intelligence. For by 'a judge' a leader is meant. Good without truth, meant by 'an orphan', is made into good filled with wisdom by means of teaching about truth; and truth without good, meant by 'a widow', is made into truth filled with intelligence by means of a life of good.

[7] In Isaiah,

Woe to those decreeing decrees of iniquity, to turn aside the poor from judgement and to carry off into judgement the wretched of My people, so that widows may be their spoil and so that they may make orphans their prey. Isaiah 10:1-2.

Here 'the poor', 'the wretched', 'widows', and 'orphans' do not mean those who are literally so but those who are spiritually such. Now because in the Jewish Church, as in the Ancient, everything was representative, so also was doing good to orphans and widows, for doing good to these represented in heaven charity towards those who are orphans and widows in the spiritual sense.

[8] In Jeremiah,

Do judgement and righteousness, and deliver the plundered out of the hand of the oppressor; and do not defraud the sojourner, the orphan, and the widow, and do not use force, and do not shed innocent blood in this place. Jeremiah 22:3.

Here also 'the sojourner, the orphan, and the widow' means those who are spiritually such. In the spiritual world or heaven they do not know who a sojourner, orphan, or widow is, for the condition of such persons there is not the same as what it had been in the world. When therefore these words are read by man, angels perceive the spiritual or internal meaning they possess.

[9] Similarly in Ezekiel,

Behold, the princes of Israel, each according to his power, ¹ have in you been intent on shedding blood; in you they have treated father and mother with contempt; in you they have dealt with the sojourner by means of oppression; in you they have defrauded the orphan and the widow. Ezekiel 22:6-7.

Also in Malachi,

I will draw near to you to judgement, and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against those who swear falsely, and against oppressors of the hireling in his wages, of the widow and the orphan, and [against] those who turn aside the sojourner, and do not fear Me. Malachi 3:5.

Similarly in Moses,

You shall not press down a sojourner or oppress him. You shall not afflict any widow or orphan. If you do indeed afflict him, and if he indeed cries out to Me, I will surely hear his cry, and My anger will burn, and I will kill you with the sword, so that your wives become widows, and your children orphans. Exodus 22:21-24.

[10] This, like every other commandment, judgement, and statute in the Jewish Church, was representative. Also, members of that Church were tied down to things of an external nature so that they would observe that command, and by means of their observance of it they represented the inner spirit of charity, even though they themselves had no charity, that is, they did not act from any inner affection. An inner spirit flowed from an affection to furnish with truths those who were without knowledge, and to lead those people to good by means of truths. If they had done this, members of the Jewish Church would have been doing good, in a spiritual sense, to the sojourner, orphan, and widow. But so that what was external might be kept going for the sake of what it represented, the curses declared on Mount Ebal included 'turning aside the judgement of the sojourner, the orphan, and the widow', Deuteronomy 27:19. 'Turning aside the judgement of these' stands for doing the reverse, that is, leading through teaching and life to falsity and evil. Also, because taking goods and truths away from others, and then making them one's own so as to enhance one's own position and gain, was included among curses, the Lord therefore said,

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees! for you devour widows' houses, and for a presence you make long prayers; on account of this you will receive greater condemnation. ² Matthew 23:14; Luke 20:47.

'Devouring widows' houses' stands for taking truths away from those who have a desire for them, and teaching them falsities.

[11] To leave for the sojourner, orphan, and widow that which remained in fields, olivegroves, and vineyards, Deuteronomy 24:19-22, was likewise representative. So too was the command that when they had finished paying the tithes of their produce in the third year, the people should give to the sojourner, orphan, and widow, so that they ate within their gates and were satisfied, Deuteronomy 26:12-13. It being the Lord alone who teaches a person and leads him to good and truth, it is said in Jeremiah,

Leave your orphans, I will keep them alive; and the widows will trust in Me. Jeremiah 49:10-11.

And in Moses,

Jehovah executes judgement for the orphan and the widow, and loves the sojourner, giving him bread and clothing. Deuteronomy 10:18.

'Bread' stands for the good of love, 2165, 2177, 3478, 3735, 3813, 4211, 4217, 4735, and 'clothing' for the truth of faith, 4545, 4763.

[12] It is recorded in 1 Kings 17:1-17 that Elijah was sent, when there was a famine because there was no rain in the land, to a widow in Zarephath. He asked her for a little cake, which she had to make for him first and give it to him; after that she was to make one for herself and her son. When she did so her jar of meal was not used up and her cruse of oil did not run dry. All this was representative, like everything else recorded about Elijah, and in general throughout the Word. 'A famine in the land because there was no rain' represented truth laid waste within the Church, 1460, 3364; 'a widow in Zarephath' those outside the Church who have a desire for truth; 'a cake which she had to make for him first' the good of love to the Lord, 2177, whom, from the very little she had, she was to love above herself and her son. 'The jar of meal' means truth derived from good, 2177, and 'the cruse of oil' charity and love, 886, 3728, 4582. 'Elijah' represents the Word, by means of which such things are effected, 2762.

[13] The same is also meant, in the internal sense, by the Lord's words in Luke,

No prophet is accepted in his own country. In truth, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, while there was a great famine over the whole land; yet Elijah was sent to none of them, except to a woman - a widow - in Zarephath of Sidon. Luke 4:24-26.

That is, he was sent to those outside the Church who had a desire for truth. But 'widows' within the Church that had been laid waste, to whom Elijah was not sent, are those with whom no truth exists because no good does so; for where there is no good neither is there any truth. However much among those people truth seems to outward appearance like truth it is nothing more so to speak than a shell without any nut in it.

[14] Those among whom this kind of truth exists, also those among whom falsity exists, are meant by 'widows' in the contrary sense, as in Isaiah,

Jehovah will cut off from Israel head and tail, the branch and the bulrush in one day. The old and the honourable in face is the head, and the prophet, the teacher of a lie, the tail. Therefore the Lord will not rejoice over its young men, and He will not have compassion on its orphans and its widows. Isaiah 9:14-15, 17.

In Jeremiah,

I will winnow them with a winnowing-fork in the gates of the land; I will bereave, I will destroy My people; they have not turned from their ways. Their widows are increased to Me more than the sand of the seas. I will bring to them, against the mother of the young men, one who lays waste at midday. She who bore seven languishes; she has breathed her last. Her sun is going down while it is still day. Jeremiah 15:7-9.

In the same prophet,

Our inheritance has been turned over to aliens, our houses to foreigners. We have become orphans with no father; our mothers are widows. Lamentations 5:2-3.

[15] Because 'widows' meant those with whom no truth existed because no good did so, it was therefore shameful for Churches to be called widows, even those Churches governed by falsities springing from evil, as in John,

In her heart she said, A queen I sit, and I am no widow, and shall not see mourning. On account of this in one day will her plagues come, death and mourning and famine, and she will be burned with fire. Revelation 18:7-8.

This refers to Babel. A similar reference to Babel occurs in Isaiah,

Hear this, you lover of pleasures, sitting securely, saying in her heart, I am, and there is no one else like me; a widow I shall not sit, nor shall I know loss of children. But these two things will come to you in a moment in one day - loss of children and widowhood. Isaiah 47:8-9.

[16] From these quotations one may now see what is meant by 'a widow' in the internal sense of the Word. One may see that since 'a widow' represented and consequently meant the truth of the Church without its good - for 'a wife' meant truth and 'a husband' good - priests in the Ancient Churches, in which every single thing was representative, were therefore forbidden to marry any widow who was not a priest's widow, as the following in Moses declares,

The high priest shall take a wife in her virginity; a widow or a woman that has been put away or one defiled or a prostitute, these he shall not take, but a virgin of his own people shall he take as his wife. Leviticus 21:13-15.

And in the references to a new temple and a new priesthood in Ezekiel,

Priests the Levites shall not take as wives for themselves a widow or a woman that has been put away, but virgins from the seed of the house of Israel; but a widow who is the widow of a priest may they take. Ezekiel 44:22.

For 'the virgins' whom they were to marry represented and consequently meant the affection for truth, and 'the widow of a priest' the affection for truth from good, since 'a priest' in the representative sense is the good of the Church. For this reason also any widow [who was the daughter] of a priest and who had no children was allowed to eat some of the offerings or holy things, Leviticus 22:12-13.

[17] Those who belonged to the Ancient Church knew this meaning of 'a widow' from the teachings of the Church, for among them these teachings had to do with love and charity, which included countless matters which at the present day have become completely wiped out. From them they knew which particular kind of charitable act they were required to perform - that is, which service they ought to render towards the neighbour - for those who were called 'widows', for those who were called 'orphans', for those who were called 'sojourners', and so on. From their religious knowledge of truth and from factual knowledge they had a discernment and a knowledge of what the ritual observances of their Church represented and meant. The learned among them knew what it was that things on earth and in this world represented, for they recognized that the whole natural creation was a theatre representative of the heavenly kingdom, 2758, 2989, 2999, 3483. Such knowledge raised their minds up to heavenly things, and the teachings of their Church led the way to life. But after the Church turned aside from charity to faith, more so after it separated faith from charity, and made faith without charity and the works of charity the bringer of salvation, their minds could no longer be raised up by means of religious knowledge to heavenly things, nor be led by any means of the teachings of the Church to life. Indeed the decline has been so great that in the end scarcely anyone believes in a life after death, and scarcely anyone knows anything about heaven. Also, there is no belief at all in the existence of a spiritual sense of the Word which is not visible in the letter. In this way people's minds have become closed.

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