Explanation of Isaiah 6
By Rev. John H. Smithson
THE EXPLANATION of Isaiah Chapter 6
(Note: Rev. Smithson's translation of the Isaiah text is appended below the explanation)
1. In the year in which Uzziah the king died I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lofty; and His skirts filled the temple.
VERSE 1. By a "throne high and lofty" upon which Adonai was seen to sit, is signified the Lord as to Divine Truth in the supreme heavens, but by the "skirts or borders of His garments" is signified His Divine Truth in the church; the "skirts of the garments", when predicated of the Lord, signify His Divine Truth in the ultimates. Apocalypse Explained 220.
"His skirts filling the temple" signifies that the Divine Proceeding filled the ultimate of heaven, and also the church; for by "the skirts of the Lord" is signified, in general, the Divine Proceeding, and specifically the Divine Truth" which is in the extremes of heaven and the church. - Apocalypse Explained 253.
That the "skirts" or borders of the robe denote the extremes where the natural principle is, is manifest from the passages in the Word, where "skirts" are named, as in Isaiah, "I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne high and lofty, and the skirts thereof filled the temple", (Isaiah 6:1) where, by the "throne" on which the Lord sat, is signified heaven, Arcana Coelestia 5313, 8625; by "skirts" are there signified divine Truths in ultimates, or in extremes, such as are the truths of the Word in the sense of the letter, which are said to "fill the temple" when they fill the church. The like is signified by the "skirts filling the temple", as by the "smoke and the cloud filling the tabernacle, and also the "temple", as occasionally spoken of in the Word, That by "smoke" is there signified divine Truths in ultimates, such as is the sense of the letter of the Word, see8910; and also by a "cloud", 4060. That the woman labouring with an issue of blood, when she "touched the border of the Lord's garment", was healed; (Matthew 9:20, 22) and in general, that as many as "touched the border of His garment", were healed, (Matthew 14:36;Mark 6:56) signified that from the Divine in the extremes or ultimates health went forth; for that in the ultimates of good and truth, which are from the Divine, there is strength and power, see 9836, and also that responses are there, 9905. And in Matthew, - Jesus said of the Scribes and Pharisees, that "they do all their works to be seen of men, that they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the skirts or borders of their robes." (Matthew 23:5)
In this passage it is very manifest that "skirts" of a robe denote external things which are extant to view, and that to "enlarge" them denotes to do works in externals, that they may appear or be seen.
And in Jeremiah,
"Jerusalem has sinned a sin, her uncleanness in her skirts or borders." (Lamentations 1:8, 9)
"Uncleanness in the skirts" denotes in deeds and words, thus in the extremes; for the extremes derive their essence from the interiors, wherefore when the interiors are unclean, the extremes are also unclean, although the uncleanness does not appear before men, by reason that men look at the external form., and thus do not see the interiors; nevertheless the uncleanness, which is in the interiors, appears before the angels; and is also detected with everyone in the other life, for externals are there removed; hence it is made evident what has been the quality of works in their essence.
And in Nahum:
"I will uncover your skirts upon your faces, and will show your nakedness to the nations." (Nahum 3:5)
To "uncover the skirts upon the faces" denotes to remove externals, that internals may appear; for the externals, which are of the natural man, by various methods conceal the internals, which are hypocrisies, deceits, lies, hatreds, revenges, adulteries, and other like things, wherefore when externals are taken away, internals appear in their uncleanness and filthiness. And in Jeremiah, "If you shalt say in thine heart, Wherefore have these things happened unto me? For the multitude of thine iniquity your skirts were discovered, your heels were violated. I will make bare your skirts upon your faces, that thine ignominies may be seen, thine adulteries"; (Jeremiah 13:22, 26) speaking of the abominations of Jerusalem.
To "discover the skirts", and to "make them bare", denotes to take away external things, which cover and hide, that the interiors may be seen; for man learns to feign what is good, what is honest and sincere, for the sake of reputation, of honour, and of gain, when yet inwardly he has evils and falsities of various kinds stored up; inasmuch as by "skirts" are signified external things, therefore also mention is made of the "heels", because the "heels" denote the lowest things of the natural principle, see Arcana Coelestia 259, 4938. From these considerations it is now manifest, that by the "skirts of the robe" are signified goods and truths in ultimates or extremes, which are in the natural world. Arcana Coelestia 9917.
Filled the temple. - That "temple", in the Word, signifies the Divine Human of the Lord, and in a respective sense heaven and the church, consequently also the Divine Truth, may appear from the following passages :
"The Jews said to Jesus, What sign do You show to us that You do this? Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and I will raise it up again in three days; but He spoke of the temple of His Body."
That "temple" signifies the Divine Human of the Lord is here expressly said; for by the "dissolution of the temple", and its being "raised up again after three days", is understood His death, burial, and resurrection.
And in Malachi,
"Behold, I send Mine angel, who shall prepare the way before Me; and suddenly shall come to His temple the Lord, and the angel of the covenant whom you seek." (Malachi 3:1)
In this passage also by "temple" is meant the Divine Human of the Lord; for the subject there treated of is concerning the Lord's advent, wherefore by "coming to His temple", is signified to His Human. And in the Apocalypse, "I saw not a temple in the New Jerusalem, for the Lord God Omnipotent is its Temple, and the Lamb." (Revelation 21:22)
The subject here treated of is concerning the new heaven and the new earth, when they shall be in internals and not in externals; hence it is said that "there shall not be a temple, but the Lord God Omnipotent and the Lamb", "the Lord God Omnipotent" is the essential Divine of the Lord, and the "Lamb" is His Divine Human; whence also it is evident that His Divine Human in the heavens is understood by "temple."
And in Isaiah,
"I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up; and the skirts or borders of His garments filled the temple"; (Isaiah 6:1),
where, by a "throne high and lifted up", on which the Lord was seen to sit, is signified the Lord as to Divine Truth in the superior heavens; but by "the skirts or borders of His garments" is signified His Divine Truth in the church. That the "skirts or borders of the garments", when predicated of the Lord, signify His Divine Truth in ultimates, may be seen, Arcana Coelestia 9917.
That "the veil of the temple was rent into two parts from the top to the bottom", after the Lord had suffered, (Matthew 27:51) signified the union of the Divine Human of the Lord with His Divine itself may be seen, n. 9671 of the same work. By" temple" is signified the Divine Human of the Lord, and at the same time heaven and the church, in the following passages :
"I will bow myself towards the temple of Your holiness, and will confess to Your name." (Psalm 138:2)
And, in Jonah,
"I said, I am expelled from before Thine eyes, but yet I will again look back to the temple of Your holiness; and my prayer came to You to the temple of Your holiness." (Jonah 2:5, 8)
And in Habakkuk,
"Jehovah is in the temple of His holiness." (Habakkuk 2:20)
And in Matthew,
"Woe to you, blind guides, who say Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing: but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, is guilty. You fools and blind; for whether is greater, the gold, or the temple which sanctifies the gold?" (Matthew 23:16, 17)
And in John,
"Jesus said to them who sold in the temple, 'Take these things hence; make not the house of My Father a house of merchandise.'" (John 2:16, 17)
Apocalypse Explained 220. See also Arcana Coelestia 6426, 9714, 10528.
2. Above Him stood Seraphims: each one of them had six wings; with two of them he covered his face, with two of them he covered his feet, and with two of them he did fly.
Verse 2. That "wings" denote spiritual truths, or the truths of faith, which has power from good, is manifest from other passages in the Word; wherefore, when "wings" are attributed to the Divine [Being], by them is signified the Divine Truth which has Omnipotence, as where they are ascribed to the cherubs, by which is signified the Providence of the Lord. Arcana Coelestia 8764.
By the "Seraphims" here mentioned are signified similar things as by the cherubs; and by the "throne high and lofty" is meant the Divine Proceeding, from which is heaven. By the "wings with which the Seraphim covered the faces and the feet, and with which he did fly", is signified the Divine Spiritual [Principle] in first principles and in ultimates, and the extension thereof on every side, thus the Omnipresence of the Lord.
By "holy, holy, holy", is signified Most Holy. That this is the Divine Truth which fills all things, is signified by "the fulness of the whole earth with His glory; and that the Lord is alone holy, and that holiness is predicated of the Divine Truth which proceeds from Him. Apocalypse Explained 285.
By "the wings with which he covered his face" is signified the spiritual affection of truth; by "the wings with which he covered his feet "the natural affection of truth thence derived; and by the wings, with which he did fly", circumspection and presence; in this case Omnipresence, because the "Seraphims signify the same as the Cherubims, that is, the Divine Providence as to guard. The reason why by "flying", when predicated of men, is signified circumspection, and at the same time presence, is because the sight is present with the object which it sees; that it appears afar off or distant is owing to intermediates, which appear at the same time, and can be measured as to spaces. This may be fully confirmed from the things which exist in the spiritual world. In that world spaces themselves are appearances arising from the diversity of affections and of thoughts thence derived; wherefore when any persons or things appear afar off, and an angel or spirit wills from intense affection to be with those who are there, or to view those things which are there, immediately he is there present. Similar is the case with the thought, which is the internal or spiritual sight of man; this sees those things which he saw in himself, without space, thus altogether as present; hence it is that "to fly" is predicated of the understanding and its intelligence, and that thereby is signified circumspection and presence. Apocalypse Explained 282.
The "glory of Jehovah", when predicated of the Word, denotes its internal sense. The reason why the interiors of the Word are called "glory" is because the Divine Truth proceeding from the Lord as a sun is the light in heaven which gives sight to the angels there, and at the same time intelligence and wisdom: from that Divine light is all glory in heaven, which is such as to exceed all human apprehension. Hence it is evident from what ground it is that the internal sense is called "glory", for the internal sense of the Word is the Divine Truth proceeding from the Lord in heaven; thus the light from which all glory exists. Arcana Coelestia 9429.
That the term Lord [Adonai] is used, when Good is treated of, is evident from the Word of the Old Testament, where Jehovah is sometimes called Jehovah, sometimes God, sometimes Lord [Adonai], sometimes Jehovah God, sometimes the Lord Jehovih, sometimes Jehovah Zebaoth, and this from a mysterious ground, which can be known only from the internal sense. In general, when the subject treated of is concerning the celestial things of love, or concerning Good, then He is called Jehovah; but when the subject treated of is concerning the spiritual things of faith, or concerning Truth, then He is called God; but when concerning both together, then He is called Jehovah God; and when concerning the divine power of Good, or Omnipotence; then He is called Jehovah Zebaoth, or Jehovah of Hosts, and also Lord, so that Jehovah Zebaoth and Lord are of the same signification, hence, that is, from the power of Good. Also men and angels are called lords, and in an opposite sense they are servants, who have either no power, or only a power derived from their lords. Arcana Coelestia 2921.
3. And, one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is Jehovah of Hosts! the fulness of the whole earth is His glory!
4. And the pillars of the thresholds were shaken with the voice of him that cried; and the house was filled with smoke.
Verse 3. The whole earth is filled with His glory. "Glory", in the supreme sense, is the Lord as to Divine Truth, thus it is the Divine Truth which proceeds from the Lord; but "glory", in the representative sense, is the good of love towards the neighbour, or charity, which is the external good of the celestial kingdom, and the internal of the Lord's spiritual kingdom; for this good, in the genuine sense, is the Divine Truth in heaven. Arcana Coelestia 5922.
5. And I said, Woe is to me! I am cut off: for I am a man of unclean lips; and in the midst of a people of unclean lips do I dwell: for mine eyes have seen the King, Jehovah of Hosts.
Verses 5-7. By "lips" are denoted the interiors of man, consequently internal worship wherein is grounded adoration, which was here represented in the person of the prophet; everyone may see that the "touching of his lips, and the removal of his iniquity thereby, and the expiation of his sin was a representation of the interiors, which are signified by ""lips", and which are things appertaining to charity and the doctrine-thereof. (Arcana Coelestia 1286)
6. And one of the Seraphims came flying unto me, and in his hand was a burning coal, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar:
7. And he caused it to touch my mouth, and said, Lo! this has touched your lips; and thine iniquity is removed, and your sin is expiated.
Verses 6, 7. What these words signify in their series may be seen when it is known that the "altar" signifies the Lord as to the Divine Human [Principle]; the "fire upon it", the Divine Good of His Divine Love; the "mouth and lips of the prophet", the doctrine of Good and Truth; likewise that "to touch" signifies to communicate; the "iniquity" which departed, signifies the false, and the "sin", evil; for iniquity is predicated of the life of the false, or of a life contrary to Truth; and sin is predicated of the life of evil, or of a life contrary to Good. Apocalypse Explained 391.
[As to the specific meaning of "transgressions", "iniquities", and "sins", see above, Chapter 1:28, the Exposition.] , '
By "one of the Seraphims touching the mouth and lips of the prophet with a coal from the altar" is signified the interior purification, which is of the understanding and will, and thence inauguration into the gift of teaching; by the "coal from the altar" is signified the Divine Love, from which is all purification; and by the "mouth and lips", the thought and affection, or what amounts to the same, the understanding and will, by which a man is purified from iniquity and sin; wherefore it is said, "Therefore thine iniquity has departed and your sin is expiated"; that iniquity does not depart by the application of a coal to the mouth and lips may appear to everyone. Apocalypse Explained 580.
8. And I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send; and who will go for us? And I said, Behold, here am I; send me.
9. And He said. Go, and say you to this people, And hear you indeed, but understand not; see you indeed, but perceive not.
10. Make fat the heart of this people; make their ears heavy, and besmear their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and be converted, and be healed.
Verses 9, 10. Hear you indeed, but understand not; see you indeed, but perceive not: make fat the heart of this people, make their ears heavy, and besmear their eyes, etc. - "To besmear the eyes, lest peradventure they see with their eyes", is to darken their understanding, lest they should understand. Apocalypse Explained 152.
Man acquires a life to himself according to the persuasions which be embraces, that is, the things which he acknowledges and believes; whatever is not received by persuasion, or what he does not acknowledge and believe, does not at all affect his mind; and therefore no one can profane holy things unless he be so persuaded, as to acknowledge them, and still deny them; they who do not. acknowledge such things, may indeed know them, but then they are as if they did not know them, or as those who know things that are of no consequence. Such were the Jews about the time of the Lord's advent, and being such, they are said in the Word to be vastated, by which expression is implied that they have no longer any faith. In this case it does a people no injury to have the interior things of the Word unfolded to them, for then they are as persons seeing, who do not see; and as hearing, who do not hear; and who have an hardened encrusted heart, thus described by the Lord in Isaiah. - "Go and tell this people, Hear you indeed, but understand not; and see you indeed, but perceive not. Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and besmear their eyes", etc. Arcana Coelestia 303.
"Make their ears heavy and besmear their eyes", etc., denotes that it would be better they should be in falsities than in truths, because they were in the evil of life; in which case, supposing them to be instructed in truths, they would not only falsify them, but would also defile them with evils; truth therefore was concealed from the Jews, and this for the same reason that the men of Sodom were smitten with blindnesses, that is, because their doctrinals were full of falsities. Inasmuch as "blindness" signified what is false, therefore in the representative Jewish church it was forbidden to sacrifice anything blind. Arcana Coelestia 2383.
That by "seeing and not knowing" is signified to understand what is true and still not to acknowledge it, is evident; and that by "besmearing the eyes, lest they should see" is signified to deprive them of the understanding of truth; and that faith in the Lord is what is here signified by seeing, is plain from the Lord's words in Matthew 13:13, 14. Arcana Coelestia 3863.
The Divine Providence operates invisibly and incomprehensibly, to the intent that man from a free principle may ascribe it either to Providence or to chance; for if Providence acted visibly and comprehensibly, there would be danger lest man, from what is visible and comprehensible, should believe that it is of Providence, and afterwards should fall into a contrary belief; thus what is true and what is false would be joined together in the interior man, and the true would be profaned, which brings with it eternal damnation; therefore such a man is kept rather in unbelief, than admitted to a state of faith from which he would afterwards recede. This is what is meant in Isaiah 6:9, 10. Arcana Coelestia 5508.
11. And I said, How long, O Lord? And He said, Until the cities be laid waste, so that there be no inhabitant; and houses, so that there be no man, and the land be left utterly desolate:
12. Until Jehovah remove man far away; and there be a great desertion in the midst of the land.
Verse 11. Until the cities be laid waste, etc. - The total vastation of the church is here treated of; "cities" are truths of doctrine, "houses" are the goods thereof, the "land" is the church. Apocalypse Explained 223.
Verses 11, 12. And l said, How long, O Lord? And He said, until the cities be laid waste, so that there be no inhabitant; and houses, so that there be no man, and the land be left utterly desolate; until Jehovah remove man far away, and there be a great desertion in the midst of the land. - These things are not said concerning the vastation of the earth, that there should be no more any cities or houses therein, and that these should be without an inhabitant, and without a man; but they are said concerning the vastation of Good and Truth in the church.
By "cities" are there signified the truths of doctrine; by "inhabitant", the good of doctrine; by the "houses" are signified the interior things of man which appertain to his mind: and by a "man", the spiritual affection of truth, and thence wisdom; this is signified by the "houses being devastated, and without a man in them"; by the "land" which shall be reduced to a wilderness is signified the church. Hence it is evident what is signified by "removing man", and by "a great desertion [or desolation] in the midst of the land"; a "desert" signifies where there is no Good because there is no Truth. Apocalypse Explained 280.
That the mysteries of faith are not laid open before a people are reduced to a state of vastation, in which they have no longer any faith; by reason lest they should profane them, the Lord also plainly declares in the subsequent verses in the same prophet, "Then said I, How long, O Lord? And He answered, Until the cities be laid waste, so that there be no inhabitant; and houses, so that there be no man, and the land be left utterly desolate: and until the Lord have removed man far away." By" man" is meant he who is wise or acknowledges and believes. Apocalypse Explained 303.
the "man" whom Jehovah shall remove signifies him that is wise, and abstractedly wisdom; the "great desertion in the midst of the land" signifies that there shall be nothing of good, because nothing of truth; the "midst of the land" denoting where truth is in the greatest light; wherefore when the light is not there, darkness pervades the whole, thus there is nowhere any truth. Apocalypse Explained 304.
13. But yet in it shall be a tenth, which shall return and again be consumed; yet, as the terebinth and the oak, though cut down, has its stock remaining : so a holy seed shall be the stock thereof.
Verse 13. Yet in it shall be a tenth part, which shall return, etc. - The remnant, or remains of man or the church, were also represented by the "tenths" or "tithes", which were holy. Hence also the number ten was holy, on which account it is predicated of a remnant, or remains, as in Isaiah 6:13, where the remnant is called "a holy seed." Arcana Coelestia 468.
The "midst of the land" signifies the internal man; a "tenth part", the smallness of the remains. Arcana Coelestia 576.
"A holy seed shall be the stock thereof", signifying remains, which are holy, because from the Lord. Arcana Coelestia 1025.
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Isaiah Chapter 6
1. In the year in which Uzziah the king died I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lofty; and His skirts filled the temple.
2. Above Him stood Seraphims: each one of them had six wings; with two of them he covered his face, with two of them he covered his feet, and with two of them he did fly.
3. And, one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is Jehovah of Hosts! the fulness of the whole earth is His glory!
4. And the pillars of the thresholds were shaken with the voice of him that cried; and the house was filled with smoke.
5. And I said, Woe is to me! I am cut off: for I am a man of unclean lips; and in the midst of a people of unclean lips do I dwell: for mine eyes have seen the King, Jehovah of Hosts.
6. And one of the Seraphims came flying unto me, and in his hand was a burning coal, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar:
7. And he caused it to touch my mouth, and said, Lo! this has touched your lips; and thine iniquity is removed, and your sin is expiated.
8. And I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send; and who will go for us? And I said, Behold, here am I; send me.
9. And He said. Go, and say you to this people, And hear you indeed, but understand not; see you indeed, but perceive not.
10. Make fat the heart of this people; make their ears heavy, and besmear their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and be converted, and be healed.
11. And I said, How long, O Lord? And He said, Until the cities be laid waste, so that there be no inhabitant; and houses, so that there be no man, and the Iand be left utterly desolate:
12. Until Jehovah remove man far away; and there be a great desertion in the midst of the land.
13. But yet in it shall be a tenth, which shall return and again be consumed; yet, as the terebinth and the oak, though cut down, has its stock remaining : so a holy seed shall be the stock thereof.
The New Jerusalem and its Heavenly Teachings #1
1. The New Heaven and the New Earth, and What Is Meant by "the New Jerusalem"
It says in the Book of Revelation,
I saw a new heaven and a new earth, because the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. And I saw the holy city, the New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. The city had a great and high wall with twelve gates, and on the gates were twelve angels, and names written that are the names of the twelve tribes of Israel.
And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
The city was laid out as a square; its length was as great as its breadth.
And [the angel who talked with me] measured the city with a reed: twelve thousand stadia. 1 Its length, breadth, and height were equal.
Then he measured its wall: one hundred and forty-four cubits, 2 which is the measure of a human being, that is, of an angel. 3
Its wall was made of jasper; and the city was pure gold, like clear glass. 4 The foundations of the wall of the city were made of precious stones of every kind.
The twelve gates were twelve pearls. And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass.
The glory of God illuminated it, and the Lamb was its light.
The nations of those who are saved will walk in its light, and the monarchs of the earth will bring their glory and honor into it. (Revelation 21:1, 2, 12-24)
When people read this, they understand it only in literal terms. 5 They think that the visible heavens are going to be destroyed along with the earth and that new heavens are going to come into being and come down onto the new earth in the form of a holy city, a Jerusalem with the dimensions given in the description.
[2] Angels understand it in a completely different way, though. They understand in a spiritual way the details that we understand in an earthly way, 6 and they understand what those details really mean. This is the inner or spiritual meaning of the Word. 7 In the deeper or spiritual meaning that angels are engaged in, a new heaven and a new earth mean a new church both in heaven and on earth (both will be discussed later [§§2-5]). The holy city coming down from God out of heaven means its heavenly teachings. Its length, breadth, and height, which were equal, mean everything in those teachings that is good and true, all gathered together. Its wall means the truths that protect it. The measure of the wall, being one hundred and forty-four cubits, which is the measure of a human being, that is, of an angel means all those protective truths gathered together, as well as the nature of those truths. The twelve gates, which were pearls, mean introductory truths, as do the twelve angels on the gates. The foundations of the wall, which were made of precious stones of every kind, mean the knowledge on which the teachings are based. The twelve tribes of Israel mean all elements of the church in general and in particular, as do the twelve apostles. The gold like clear glass that the city and streets were made of means good actions done out of love, 8 which cause the teachings and their truths to shine. The nations of those who are saved and the monarchs of the earth who will bring their glory and honor into it mean everyone in the church who is devoted to what is good and true. 9 God and the Lamb mean the Lord's 10 divine nature itself and his divine-human nature. 11
[3] This is what the spiritual meaning of the Word is like; the earthly or literal meaning serves as its foundation. All the same, these two meanings, the spiritual and the earthly, are bound together by their correspondence. 12 I will not take the time here to show that this kind of spiritual meaning is present throughout because that is not my current task, but the reader may see what is presented in the following passages of Secrets of Heaven. 13
On earth in the Word as meaning the church, especially where earth means the land of Canaan: Secrets of Heaven §§662, 1066, 1067, 1262, 1413, 1607, 2928, 3355, 4447, 4535, 5577, 8011, 9325, 9643. This is because earth, spiritually understood, means the people who live there and their worship: 1262. The people of the earth [or the land] mean those who are part of the spiritual church: 2928. The new heaven and the new earth mean whatever is new in the heavens and on earth in terms of what is good and true, which means in matters of the church in both realms: 1733, 1850, 2117, 2118, 3355, 4535, 10373. On the meaning of the first heaven and the first earth that had passed away, see the booklet The Last Judgment and Babylon Destroyed 14 from beginning to end, especially §§65-72.
[4] On Jerusalem meaning the church in regard to its teachings, see Secrets of Heaven 402, 3654, 9166. On cities meaning the teachings that are part of a church and a religion, see 402, 2451, 2712, 2943, 3216, 4492, 4493. On the wall of the city meaning the protective truth of the teachings, see 6419. On the gates of the city meaning truths that lead us to a body of teaching and through that teaching into the church, see 2943, 4477, 4492, 4493. On the twelve tribes of Israel as representing and therefore symbolizing 15 everything good and true in the church both in general and in particular, and therefore all aspects of faith and love, see 3858, 3926, 6335, 6640. The meaning of the twelve apostles of the Lord is much the same: 2129, 3272, 3354, 3488, 3858, 6397. When it says that the apostles will sit on twelve thrones and will judge the twelve tribes of Israel [Matthew 19:28; Luke 22:30], it means that everyone will be judged according to the true and good principles of the church and therefore by the Lord who is their source: 2129, 6397. Twelve means everything taken together: 577, 2089, 2129, 2130, 3272, 3858, 3913.
[5] The same holds true for one hundred and forty-four because this is twelve times twelve: 7973. It holds true also for twelve thousand: 7973. All the numbers in the Word have definable meanings: 482, 487, 647, 648, 755, 813, 1963, 1988, 2075, 2252, 3252, 4264, 6175, 9488, 9659, 10217, 10253. Multiples mean much the same as the individual factors that are multiplied to produce them: 5291, 5335, 5708, 7973. The measure means what a given thing is like in regard to its truth and goodness: 3104, 9603, 10262. The foundations of the wall mean the knowledge of truth on which elements of the teachings are based: 9643. Square means complete: 9717, 9861. Length means goodness and its extent, and breadth means truth and its extent: 1613, 9861. Precious stones mean true perceptions that arise from what is good: 114, 9863, 9865. On the precious stones in the Urim and Thummim, 16 both in general and specifically, see 3862, 9864, 9866, 9891, 9905. On the jasper of which the wall was made, see 9872.
[6] The street of the city means the truth of the teachings that arises from what is good: 2336. Gold means good actions that come from love: 113, 1551, 1552, 5658, 6914, 6917, 9510, 9874, 9881. Glory means divine truth as it exists in heaven and the intelligence and wisdom that result from it: 4809, 5922, 8267, 8427, 9429, 10574. Nations mean the people in the church who are committed to what is good, and in an abstract sense the good actions that are taught by the church: 1159, 1258, 1260, 1285, 1416, 1849, 4574, 7830, 9255, 9256. Monarchs mean the people in the church who are committed to what is true, and in an abstract sense the truths that are taught by the church: 1672, 2015, 2069, 4575, 5044. The rituals involved in royal coronations have to do with matters of divine truth, but nowadays awareness of this symbolism has vanished: 4581, 4966 (which contain further discussion about divine truth).
Footnotes:
1. A stadium ("stadia" is the plural) was an ancient Greek unit of distance. It was always equal to 600 feet in the local measuring units, but since that local value varied, the value of the stadium itself cannot be stated definitively. By one common estimate, it can be taken to equal about 607 (United States customary) feet, or 185 meters. A distance of twelve thousand stadia would then be approximately 1380 miles, or 2220 kilometers. See the Oxford Classical Dictionary, under "measures"; for examples of the variation in this unit in just one ancient Greek author, see the article cited there, Bauslaugh 1979, 5-6, with note 6 in New Jerusalem 2. [SS, JSR]
2. A cubit is the length from the tip of the middle finger to the elbow, approximately seventeen to eighteen inches (43. 18 to 45. 72 centimeters). The extent in question is presumably the height of the wall surrounding the city (which is far less than the height of the entire city), though some interpreters hold that the measurement refers to the thickness of the walls. In any case, the measurement would equate with approximately 204 to 216 feet (62. 18 to 65. 8 meters). [GFD, RS, SS]
3. The statement in Revelation 21:17 that "one hundred and forty-four cubits" is "the measure of a human being, that is, of an angel" is somewhat obscure. Given the reference to a measuring rod used by the angel in the preceding verses (Revelation 21:15-16), the natural inclination is to interpret this passage about the measurement of the wall as indicating that a cubit is the human standard of measurement that the particular angel in question was using, as many modern translations do; see, for example, the New Revised Standard Version, the New International Version, and the International Standard Version. However, Swedenborg interprets the wording nonidiomatically as indicating that both a human and an angel have the same measure; and since according to Swedenborg the inner meaning of "measure" is the quality of a thing (in the case of a person, the quality of her or his goodness and truth), the statement, he says, indicates that humans and angels have the same spiritual quality. See, for example, Secrets of Heaven 8988[4], 9603:2, 10217:9; Heaven and Hell 73; Revelation Unveiled 910; Revelation Explained (= Swedenborg 1994-1997a) §430:4. In the last cited section especially, Swedenborg states that the words in this verse mean specifically that one hundred and forty-four cubits (which has its own inner meaning), and not just a single cubit, is the measurement of a human being and also of an angel. In several of the passages cited he also says that this verse is unintelligible if the New Jerusalem is understood as a literal city. See also the similar line of argument in New Jerusalem 6. [LSW]
4. The literal meaning of the phrase "pure gold, like clear glass" in the biblical text here (Revelation 21:18), like the meaning of "pure gold, like transparent glass" in a later verse (Revelation 21:21), is not certain, but it probably is meant to suggest an idealized gold so free of opaque impurities as to take on the transparent qualities of crystalline glass. Compare 1 Kings 6:20-22, 28, 30, 32, in which the interior of Solomon's temple is said to be covered with pure gold. [SS]
5. Literal interpretations of the Book of Revelation are more common than allegorical or esoteric interpretations of the text. One of the earliest attestations of a literal interpretation can be found in the writings of the church father Justin Martyr (around 100-around 165 C. E.): "A man among us, named John, one of Christ's apostles, received a revelation and foretold that the followers of Christ would dwell in Jerusalem for a thousand years, and that afterward the universal and, in short, everlasting resurrection and judgment would take place" (Justin Martyr Dialogue with Trypho, §81 [= Justin Martyr 2003, 127]). Whether literal or otherwise, interpretations of Revelation have been broadly grouped into three categories: the eschatological, which see the text as dealing explicitly with the end times; the historical, which see it as reflecting current events at the time of the work's composition in the late first century of the Christian era; and the mythological, which view it as a compendium of earlier legendary material (McGinn 1979, 13). Swedenborg's interpretation does not fall into any of these categories. For more discussion, see the introduction, pages 70-72. [RS]
6. The Latin word here translated "in an earthly way" is naturaliter, traditionally translated "naturally. " In Swedenborg's terminology, the concept of "the natural" denotes a range of things from what is purely physical and material to what is earthly in the minds or preoccupations of angels and spirits, who are themselves nonmaterial beings. (On angels and spirits in Swedenborg's works, see note 2 in New Jerusalem 25.) [JSR]
7. By "the Word" Swedenborg generally means the Bible-a terminology that was prominent in the world of his Lutheran upbringing. However, though he does at times use the term in that general sense, especially in his later theological works, his predominant use of it refers to a biblical canon that is a subset of the Protestant canon. His canon is defined and listed in three parallel passages in his earlier theological works: Secrets of Heaven 10325, New Jerusalem266, and White Horse 16. In these passages Swedenborg defines "the Word" as those books of the Bible "that have an inner meaning" (more on this below), and provides a list of the books that qualify. In New Jerusalem 266 the relevant passage reads: "In the Old Testament, the books of the Word are the following: the five books of Moses, the Book of Joshua, the Book of Judges, the two books of Samuel, the two books of Kings, the Psalms of David, and the prophets-Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi. In the New Testament: the four Gospels-Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John-and the Book of Revelation. " The books in the Protestant and Catholic canons of the Bible that are not on this list-namely, Ruth, 1 and 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Songs (Song of Solomon) in the Old Testament; all the books now included in the Apocrypha; and Acts and the Epistles in the New Testament-are not part of "the Word" as Swedenborg most commonly uses the term. However, in his last theological works and manuscripts, which seem to be addressed more specifically to a traditional Christian audience, he often uses the term "the Word" to refer to the more familiar Protestant canon of Scripture, including Acts and the Epistles; see, for example, True Christianity 158, 176, 601, 675:2, 730:1; Draft for "Coda to True Christianity" (= Swedenborg 1996a) §§2:3, 23:2; Draft Invitation to the New Church (= Swedenborg 1996c) §Draft Invitation to the New Church 47. In one of these passages, for example, he cites a phrase that is "frequently mentioned in the Word of the New Testament, both in the Gospels and in the Acts of the Apostles and their Epistles" ( True Christianity 158). In two other passages, he apparently refers to Acts and the Epistles as "the Apostolic Word" (Draft for "Coda True Christianity" 1, 59:5; compare True Christianity 730:1). By contrast, he never overtly quotes or cites Acts or the Epistles in his earlier works, such as Secrets of Heaven and the works of 1758, although there are allusions to them. The first explicit reference to Acts or the Epistles in his published theological writings occurs in his 1764 work Divine Providence 115, in which he quotes Romans 3:28 and Romans 3:31. However, in his earlier works there are scattered explicit references to several books in the Protestant canon of the Old Testament that are not included in Swedenborg's canon: 1 and 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Job, and Song of Solomon. References to the Book of Job, in particular, are occasionally included in lists of references to passages from "the Word" (see, for example, Secrets of Heaven 46, 737, 3901, 9125, 9818), indicating that even in his earlier works Swedenborg sometimes uses that term in its more generally accepted meaning. Still, he is careful to point out that although Job and the Song of Solomon, in particular, are ancient books containing deeper meanings, they do not have the same kind of inner meaning that is contained in the books he defines more specifically as "the Word" (see, for example, Secrets of Heaven 1756:2, 3540:4, 9942:5; Sacred Scripture 20). The inner meaning of the books he includes in his canon of Scripture, he says, is characterized by a "vertical" series of layers of meaning that extend inward and upward all the way to the Lord, and whose subject is the Lord, his kingdom, and the church, which is the Lord's kingdom on earth (see Secrets of Heaven 1-4, 2343:2, 4442:2, 5275:2, 7417). He also describes that inner meaning as being "horizontally" continuous in the sense of extending seamlessly from one word, verse, and chapter to the next, without break or interruption (see Secrets of Heaven 1659:1-2, 2102:2, 4987, 7933:3, 9022). Without this type of "vertical" and "horizontal" series and continuity of deeper meaning, Swedenborg says, a book is not a book of "the Word" in the fullest and most proper sense of the term-which is the sense in which he most commonly uses that term in his theological writings. [JSR, LSW]
8. The Latin words here translated "good actions done out of love" are bonum amoris, literally, "the good of love," or "the good that arises from love. " The Latin word bonum (literally, "good thing"), as used by Swedenborg, very often has the sense of "goodness, or a good, that arises specifically out of an action performed," or "a good action," or "a good thing done. " See Chadwick and Rose 2008, under bonum, definition 4, and under bonus, definition 6. This use of the word is much in keeping with Swedenborg's focus on the importance of "doing" truth, goodness, and love rather than merely knowing or acknowledging the importance of those things. See, for example, Secrets of Heaven 4538:4-5, 5595:1, 9282; New Jerusalem 23:1 and note 1 in New Jerusalem 23 there. [SS]
9. "What is good" (Latin bonum) and "what is true" (Latin verum) and their respective equivalents "goodness," "good," or "the good," and "truth" are the most frequently occurring terms in Swedenborg's theological works. Echoing ancient philosophical and ethical traditions, in Swedenborg's theology these concepts stand in a complementary relationship to all things: that is, absolutely everything, whether physical, psychological, or spiritual, relates to goodness or truth or to a "marriage" of both (or to their opposites, evil and falsity). Their complementarity is so all-encompassing that in the relevant chapter in this work (New Jerusalem 11-19, with further references to Secrets of Heaven in §§20-27), Swedenborg defines them only in terms of each other. In Swedenborg's system, goodness encompasses affective qualities such as love, affection, desire, and caring, and corresponds to physical heat, while truth encompasses cognitive qualities such as wisdom, thought, perception, and faith, and corresponds to physical light (on "caring," see note 3 in New Jerusalem 2; on "correspondences," see note 12 in New Jerusalem 1). Swedenborg uses these terms almost algebraically to stand in for things ranging from the sublimely abstract to the utterly concrete. [JSR]
10. In Swedenborg's works, "the Lord" (Latin Dominus) generally refers to Jesus Christ as God, though sometimes to God previous to the Incarnation. A core concept in Swedenborg's theology is that there are not three persons in the Trinity; there is one person, whose soul is the unknowable Divine, whose human manifestation is Jesus Christ, and whose operative influence is the Holy Spirit. Of the many names and terms from philosophical and biblical backgrounds that Swedenborg uses to denote God (the Divine Being, the Divine, the Divine-Human One, the One, the Infinite, the First, the Creator, the Redeemer, the Savior, Jehovah, God Shaddai, and many more), "the Lord" is the most frequently met with. It is a title rather than a name, meaning "the one in charge," and referring to Jesus Christ as the manifestation of the one and only God. For Swedenborg's brief explanation of his reasons for using "the Lord," see Secrets of Heaven 14. See also chapter 2 of True Christianity. [JSR]
11. The Latin here translated "divine-human nature" is Divinum Humanum, in which two adjectives are put together to form a noun, meaning "that which is both divine and human. " The Latin is a term of neuter grammatical gender. Swedenborg also uses a parallel phrase made up of two nouns, Deus Homo, "God-Human. " In Swedenborg's theology, the divine-human nature generally refers to God existing and appearing in human form, and more specifically to the Lord (Jesus Christ) when fully "glorified" (see note 113) or made divine. For more on the divine-human nature as compared to the divine nature itself, see New Jerusalem 282-297; Secrets of Heaven 3061, 6280, 6880, 10579; True Christianity 82-84, 92-94, 101-102. See also the extensive references to Secrets of Heaven in New Jerusalem 298-306. [GFD, LSW]
12. The concept of correspondence is briefly defined in Divine Love and Wisdom 71as "the mutual relationship between spiritual and earthly things. " In its full formulation, it holds that there are two separate "universes" or worlds, one spiritual and one material, that are related to each other through similarity but not through any shared matter or direct continuity. The material world is caused by God through the spiritual world and therefore reflects that constantly changing world; physical phenomena and events offer images of-that is, are "responsive to" or "correspond to"-spiritual phenomena and events. Swedenborg sees his canon of "the Word" (see note 7 in New Jerusalem 1) as "written in pure correspondences" (Heaven and Hell 114), and so understands the earthly circumstances, characters, and events it describes as reflections or images of spiritual ones. [JSR, SS, GFD]
13. Secrets of Heaven was published by Swedenborg in London in eight volumes between 1749 and 1756. [Editors]
14. In this edition, the work Swedenborg mentions here is referred to by the short title Last Judgment. It was published by Swedenborg in London in 1758. [Editors]
15. The Latin word here translated "representing" is a form of the verb repraesentare; the Latin word translated "symbolizing" is a form of the verb significare. These terms are heavily used in Swedenborg's theology, and they have related but distinguishable meanings. Both indicate the presence of an inner meaning in an object, person, name, or action, but symbolism directs our attention to the meaning itself (especially as communicated by words), whereas representation generally directs our attention to the living enactment of that meaning (especially by persons). A typical example occurs in Secrets of Heaven 3131, which expounds a phrase in Genesis 24:29, "And Laban ran to the man outside at the spring. " Swedenborg describes this as symbolizing the predisposition that goodness has toward truth; running symbolizes predisposition, and a man symbolizes truth, as does a spring, but Laban represents a desire for what is good. These distinctions apply only where Swedenborg is using the word symbolize in a technical sense. Often he uses it much more broadly. For more on these distinctions in inner meaning in relation to various modes of biblical writing, see Secrets of Heaven 66. On representations in general, see Secrets of Heaven 4044. [LHC, GHO]
16. "Urim" and "Thummim" are transliterations of two plural Hebrew words, אוּרִים ('ûrîm) and תּוּמִּים (tummîm), meaning "the lights" and "the perfections," respectively. (Swedenborg adds that Thummim means "radiance" in the language of angels; see True Christianity 218.) The Urim and Thummim were associated with the breastplate of the high priest of the Israelites (Exodus 28:30; Leviticus 8:8). Their exact nature and function are unknown. Swedenborg equates them with the breastplate itself (as seems to be the case here), and also with the stones in it (see Secrets of Heaven 3858:9, 3862, 6335:2, 9905; True Christianity 218; Revelation Explained [= Swedenborg 1994-1997a] §431:3, 15). The Jewish historian Flavius Josephus (37 or 38-after 93 C. E.) states: "God declared beforehand, by those twelve stones which the high priest bare on his breast, and which were inserted into his breastplate, when [the Israelites] should be victorious in battle; for so great a splendor shone forth from [the stones] before the army began to march, that all the people were sensible of God's being present for their assistance" (Flavius Josephus Antiquities of the Jews 3. 8. 9 = Josephus 1997, 105). Hence the common view that the Urim and Thummim were themselves the twelve stones and grew bright or dimmed in response to questions. This view is reflected in Swedenborg's discussions of them, as seen in the references above, and in Secrets of Heaven 6640:2. A comprehensive recent study (Van Dam 1997) does conclude that "Urim and Thummim" should be translated as "perfect light" and that they were believed to authenticate inspired prophecy. According to Van Dam's reconstruction of Jewish belief about their usage, military or political questions with existential significance for the kingdom of Israel would be ritually posed to the high priest; the high priest would then respond in the form of an ecstatic or prophetic utterance, and the Urim and Thummim on his breastplate would shine with "perfect light" if his words had been sent by Jehovah. Nevertheless, 1 Samuel 14:41-42, the most specific description of their use, suggests that they were a kind of lot. Other references in the Hebrew Bible give little indication of what they were or how they were used: Numbers 27:21; Deuteronomy 33:8; 1 Samuel 28:6; Ezra 2:63; Nehemiah 7:65. [LHC, RS, JSR, DNG, LSW]
