9182. 'When a man persuades a virgin who is not betrothed' means good that has not been joined to truth. This is clear from the meaning of 'persuading', when said in reference to a man and a virgin, as his enticing her to be joined to him; from the meaning of 'a man' as truth, dealt with in 3134, 7716, 9007; from the meaning of 'a virgin' as the Church in respect of good, dealt with in 3081, 4638, thus the good which the Church is; and from the meaning of 'being betrothed' as being joined to. Something brief must be stated here about the law regarding a wrongful joining together, which is the subject at present - about where the cause and origin of that law lie. The cause of all the laws laid down for the children of Israel lies in heaven; and the laws of order there are the origin from which they spring. The laws of order in heaven all spring from Divine Truth and Goodness which emanate from the Lord, and therefore are laws concerning the good of love and the truth of faith. Goodness and truth joined together in heaven is called the heavenly marriage; and this marriage is represented in marriages on earth. It is also meant in the Word by marriages. From this one can see what is implied by wrongful joinings together, and also by cases of whoredom or adultery. The present two verses deal with a wrongful joining together which later on is either made rightful or else dissolved. A wrongful joining together which later on is made rightful is the subject in the present verse, and a wrongful joining together which later on is dissolved is the subject in the next.

[2] A wrongful joining together is one that takes place not as a result of a desire for marriage, but as a result of some other desire, such as an interest in good looks, monetary gain, or personal status, or else it is one that takes place as a result of sexual lust. Any such joining together is wrongful initially; it is wrongful because they are external attractions that draw the two people together and not at the same time internal ones. Nevertheless those external attractions may subsequently serve as the means towards a rightful joining together, which takes place when the two people are of one mind. They may also be the means of preventing a subsequent joining together from taking place if the two people are not of one mind. This is a matter commonly known in the world.

[3] A rightful joining together, which is a joining of minds, takes place when similar goodness and similar truth exist with both persons; for goodness and truth constitute a person's life, goodness and truth on the level of private and public behaviour constituting the life of the external man, and goodness and truth on a spiritual level constituting the life of the internal man. It should be recognized that a person's life springs from no other source than goodness and truth; for everything the person loves is called good, and everything the person believes is called truth. Or what amounts to the same thing, everything the person wills is called good, and everything the person understands is called truth. From this it is evident that a rightful joining together takes place when truth exists with one person in a marriage and the good which complements that truth exists in the other person. For when this is their relationship the heavenly marriage, which is a marriage of goodness and truth, is represented in the two of them. So it is that conjugial love descends from that marriage, see 2727-2759, 2803, 3132, 4434, 4835.

[4] From all this, mentioned by way of introduction, anyone may recognize the nature of the joinings together dealt with in the present verse and the one following. Betrothal before marriage has been a custom since ancient times; it represented a first joining together, which is that of the internal man without the external. The actual marriage following it represented a second joining together, which is that of the internal man together with the external. For when a person is being regenerated by forms of the good and the truths of faith, the internal man is regenerated first and the external man afterwards, since the external man is regenerated from the internal, 3286, 3321, 3493, 3882, 8746.

[5] This shows what is meant in the Word by 'betrothal' and 'being betrothed', and also what is meant by 'bridegroom' and 'bride'. It shows that 'betrothal' means the joining together of truth and good in the internal man, and that where the Lord and the Church are the subject 'bridegroom' means good and 'bride' truth, as in the following places: In Jeremiah,

I have remembered for you the mercy of your youth, the love of your betrothals, when you went out after Me in the wilderness, in a land not sown. Jeremiah 2:2.

This refers to the Ancient Church and its establishment by the Lord. 'The love of betrothals' is the affection belonging to spiritual life that is received from the truths of faith and the good of love. A state of desire, when they were still without knowledge of those truths and lacked that good, is meant by 'going out after Me in the wilderness' and 'in a land not sown'.

[6] In Hosea,

I will make for them a covenant on that day with the wild animals of the field, and with the birds of the air, and the creeping things of the earth. And I will abolish ¹ the bow, and the sword, and war from the land. And I will betroth you to Me in righteousness and in judgement, and in mercy and in compassion. ² Hosea 2:18-19.

This refers to the establishment of a new Church. 'Making a covenant with the wild animals of the field, with the birds, and with the creeping things of the earth' means a joining together which the Lord accomplishes by means of the goodness and truth, internal and external, present with a person.

'A covenant' is a joining together, 665, 666, 1023, 1038, 1864, 1996, 2003, 2021, 6804, 8767, 8778. 'The wild animals of the field' are the life derived from good, 841, 908. 'The birds' are the life of truth, 40, 745, 776, 991, 3219, 5149, 7441. 'The creeping things of the earth' are the forms of good and the truths among the sensory perceptions of the external man, 746, 909.

'Abolishing the bow, the sword, and war' means destroying the teachings and powers of falsity.

'The bow' is teachings that present falsity, 2686, 2709.

'The sword' is falsity engaged in conflict against truth, 2799, 4499, 6353,

7102.

'War' is the conflict itself, or spiritual conflict, 1664, 2686, 8273.

'Abolishing' these means destroying them.

[7] 'Betrothing in righteousness and in judgement' means being joined to the Lord in goodness and truth - 'betrothing' is joining to oneself, and 'righteousness' has reference to good, 'judgement' to truth, 2235. 'Betrothing in mercy and in compassion' means doing so out of love towards those governed by good, and in love towards those guided by truths - the Lord's 'mercy' has reference to His love towards those who lack good but nevertheless desire it, and His 'compassion' to His love towards those who have no knowledge of truth but nevertheless desire it. From all this it is evident that 'betrothal' means the joining together by the Lord of goodness and truth present with a person. Anyone can see that matters such as these are meant in those verses in Hosea, for when their contents are looked at in nothing brighter than natural light it is evident that Jehovah does not make a covenant with the wild animals of the field, the birds, and the creeping things of the earth, but with those possessing the goodness and truth of faith, thus with the goodness and truth present with a person, and therefore that such matters lie within this prophetic utterance.

[8] In Malachi,

Judah has acted faithlessly, for he has profaned the holiness of Jehovah, for he loved and betrothed to himself the daughter of a foreign god. Malachi 2:11.

'Betrothing the daughter of a foreign god' means being joined to the evil of falsity, 'a foreign god' being falsity, 4402 (end), 4544, 7873.

[9] As regards the meaning of 'bridegroom' as good, where the Lord and the Church are the subject, and of 'bride' as truth, this may be seen in Isaiah,

Jehovah has clothed me with the garments of salvation, with the robe of righteousness has He covered me, as a bridegroom puts on his priestly tiara, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. ³ Isaiah 61:10.

In John,

I saw the Holy City, New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. Revelation 21:1-2.

In the same book,

The angel said, Come, I will show you the bride, the Lamb's wife. Revelation 21:9; 22:17.

Here 'bride' stands for the Church.

[10] In Matthew,

Jesus said to John's disciples, Can the sons of the wedding mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast. Matthew 9:15; Luke 5:34-35.

The expression 'the sons of the wedding' refers to those who adhere to the truths of the Church and receive good, good which comes from the Lord being 'the bridegroom'. 'The sons of the wedding do not mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them' implies that they are in a state of bliss and happiness, and so are with the Lord, when they adhere to the truths joined to their good. 'They will fast when the bridegroom is taken away from them' implies that they are in a state of unhappiness when good is no longer joined to the truths. The latter state is the final state of the Church, whereas the former is the first state.

[11] Something similar is meant in Matthew 25:1-12 by the bridegroom, whom the ten virgins went out to meet. For the virgins who had oil in their lamps are people who have good within their truths; but the virgins who did not have oil in their lamps are people who do not have good within their truths, see 4638, 'oil' being the good of love, 886, 3722, 4582.

[12] In John,

John said, I am not the Christ, but I have been sent before Him. He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears Him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom's voice. John 3:28-29.

'The bride' stands for the truth that composes the Church's faith, and 'the bridegroom' for the good that composes the Church's love, both of which come from the Lord, and so stand for a member of the Church with whom good has been joined to truths. 'The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears' stands for faith consisting of truth, and 'who rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom's voice' stands for an affection for the truth composing faith. All this also shows what is meant in the internal sense by the joy and voice of the bridegroom and the bride in Isaiah 62:5; Jeremiah 7:34; 16:9; 25:10; 33:11; Revelation 18:23, namely heaven and the happiness that result from the joining together of goodness and truth present with man and angel.

Footnotes:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[4] In the same prophet,

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Lord is One with the Father In John,

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

In the same gospel,

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

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

[9] In the same gospel,

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

In the same gospel,

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

In the same gospel,

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

In the same gospel,

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

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

[10] In the same gospel,

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

In the same gospel,

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

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

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

And elsewhere in the same gospel,

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

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

[12] The Lord has existed from Eternity

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

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

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

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

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

In the same gospel,

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

In the same gospel,

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

In the same gospel,

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

In the same gospel,

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

In the same gospel,

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

In Isaiah,

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

[14] The Lord rules over All

This is clear in Matthew,

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

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

In John,

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

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

In the same gospel,

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

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

In the same gospel,

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

In the same gospel,

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

In Luke,

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

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