652. Verse 8. And their bodies shall be upon the street of the great city, signifies their extinction by the evils and falsities of doctrine. This is evident from the signification of "bodies" as being that the good of love and the truth of doctrine signified by "the two witnesses" have been extinguished; for "to be killed" signifies to be extinguished, here spiritually, because it refers to those who have wholly destroyed these things in themselves. In like manner the Lord is said "to have been slain" and "to be dead," to signify that the Divine proceeding from Him, which is Divine good and Divine truth, has been rejected, that is, the Lord has been slain and is dead with those by whom that has been rejected (See above, n. 83). This is evident also from the signification of "the street of the great city," as being the truth and good of doctrine, and in the contrary sense the falsity and evil of doctrine; for "street" signifies truth leading, and in the contrary sense falsity leading (of which presently); and "city" signifies doctrine (of which above, n. 223. It is said "great city," because "great" is predicated of good, and in the contrary sense of evil, as "many" is predicated of truth, and in the contrary sense of falsity (See above, n. 223, 336, 337). This now makes clear that "the bodies of the two witnesses upon the street of the great city" signifies the extinction of the good of love and charity and of the truth of doctrine and faith by the falsities and evils of doctrine. As the evils and falsities of doctrine are signified, it is next said "which great city is spiritually called Sodom and Egypt," "Sodom" signifying the evils of the love, and "Egypt" the falsities therefrom, each pertaining to doctrine, by which the church at its end is destroyed (concerning which in the following articles).

[2] "Street" signifies the truth of doctrine, and in the contrary sense the falsity of doctrine, because in the spiritual sense a "way" signifies truth leading to good, and in the contrary sense falsity leading to evil (See above, n. 97); and streets are ways in a city, and as a "city" signifies doctrine, so a "street" signifies the truth and the falsity of doctrine. Moreover, in the spiritual world there are cities, and streets in them, as in the cities of the world; and what each one is in respect to the affection of truth and intelligence therefrom is known there merely from the place where he dwells and from the streets in which he walks. Those who are in a clear perception of truth dwell in the southern quarter of the city and also walk there; those who are in a clear affection of the good of love dwell in the eastern quarter and also walk there; those who are in an obscure affection of the good of love dwell in the western quarter and also walk there; and those who are in an obscure perception of truth dwell in the northern quarter and also walk there. But in the cities where those live who are in the persuasion of falsity from evil the reverse is true. This makes clear why it is that a "street" signifies truth or falsity leading.

[3] That "streets" have this signification can be seen from the following passages. In Jeremiah:

Run ye to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, and see, I pray, and know, and seek in the open places thereof if ye can find a man [vir] that doeth judgment, that seeketh truth; then will I pardon her (Jeremiah 5:1).

Because "the streets of Jerusalem and the open places thereof" signify the truths of doctrine, according to the states of affection and perception of those who are of the church, and because "Jerusalem" signifies the church in respect to doctrine it is said, "Run ye to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, and see and know, and seek in the open places thereof;" and because "judgment" is predicated of truths, since all judgment comes from laws and precepts, which are truths, and because "truth" signifies the truth of doctrine and of faith it is said, "if ye can find a man [vir] that doeth judgment and that seeketh truth."

The "open places" mean particularly the corners of the city, thus the quarters where the dwelling places are; and as each one in the cities in the spiritual world has his dwelling place in accordance with his affection of good and his perception of truth, clear or obscure, therefore "open places" signify truths and goods according to each one's affection and perception.

[4] In Isaiah:

Judgment hath been rejected backward, and justice hath stood afar off; for truth hath stumbled in the street, and rectitude cannot enter (Isaiah 59:14).

"Judgment and justice" signify in the Word truth and good; that these no longer exist is signified by "judgment hath been rejected backward, and justice has stood afar off;" that they have wandered away from the truths of doctrine, and consequently there is no truth in the life, which is the good of life, is signified by "truth hath stumbled in the street, and rectitude cannot enter," for all good of life is acquired by means of the truths of doctrine, for it is by them that a man learns how he ought to live. Because "street" signifies where truth leads, it is said "truth hath stumbled in the street."

[5] In Nahum:

The chariots raged in the street, they ran to and fro in the open places (Nahum 2:4).

Because "chariots" signify the doctrinals of truth, and "streets" and "open places" what is in accord with each one's affection and perception, as above, it is said "the chariots raged in the streets, they ran to and fro in the open places," "to rage" signifying to call falsities truths, and "to run to and fro" signifying to wander off.

[6] In the book of Judges:

In the days of Jael the ways ceased, they that go in footpaths went in crooked paths, they ceased, the open places ceased in Israel (Judges 5:6, 7).

This is in the Song of Deborah and Barak, which treats of the desolation of truth in the church, and afterwards of its restoration; the desolation is described by "the ways ceased, they that go in footpaths went in crooked paths, they ceased, the open places ceased in Israel;" "ways and paths" having the same signification as "streets and open places," namely, truths of doctrine leading, and "to go in crooked ways" signifies to wander away from truths.

[7] In Isaiah:

The city of emptiness shall be broken down, every house shall be shut that no one may enter; a cry over the wine in the streets; every joy shall be mixed, the gladness of the earth shall be banished (Isaiah 24:10, 11).

"The city of emptiness" signifies doctrine in which there is falsity and no truth; "house" signifies the good of the will and thus of the life; thence is evident what is signified by "the city of emptiness shall be broken down, every house shall be shut that no one may enter;" "a cry over the wine in the streets" signifies lamentation on account of the lack of truth and the mingling of truth with falsity, "wine" signifying the truth of the church from the Word; therefore it is said "in the streets," because "street" too signifies truth, and where truth is sought. "Joy and gladness" are mentioned, because "joy" is predicated of the delight that is from the affection of good, and "gladness" of the delight that is from the affection of truth; that these delights will cease is signified by "every joy shall be mixed, the gladness of the earth shall be banished," the earth signifying the church.

[8] In Jeremiah:

How is the city of glory forsaken, the city of my joy! Therefore her young men shall fall in the streets, and all the men of war shall be cut off (Jeremiah 49:25, 26; 50:30).

"The city of glory" signifies the doctrine of Divine truth, and "the city of joy" signifies the delight from the affection of good and truth therein; "young men" signify those who are made intelligent by means of truths; and that the understanding of truth would perish is signified by "the young men shall fall in the streets;" "men of war" signify truths combating against falsities; that there will be no defense of truth against falsities is signified by "all the men of war shall be cut off."

[9] In Ezekiel:

You have multiplied your slain in this city, so that you have filled the streets thereof with the slain (Ezekiel 11:6).

The "slain" mean in the Word those who are destroyed by falsities; for the "sword," by which they are slain, signifies falsity destroying truth; "city" signifies here, as above, the doctrine of truth; thence appears what is signified by "the slain in the city;" "to fill the streets with the slain" signifies to lay waste the truth by falsities.

[10] In Lamentations:

They that did eat delicacies are laid waste in the streets; and they that were brought up in crimson have embraced dunghills. The form of the Nazirites is darker than blackness, they are not recognized in the streets. They have wandered about blind in the streets, they are polluted with blood. They have hunted our steps so that we cannot go in the streets (Lamentations 4:5, 8, 14, 18).

Here, too, "streets" signify the truths of doctrine leading to the good of life, or truths according to which one must live. This treats of the church where the Word is, and its devastation in respect to truths; therefore "they that did eat delicacies are laid waste in the streets" signifies that those who have imbibed genuine truths from the Word have no longer any truths, "delicacies" meaning genuine truths from the Word; "they that were brought up in crimson have embraced dunghills" signifies that those who had imbibed genuine goods from the Word have nothing but the falsities of evil, "crimson" signifying the genuine good of the Word, in particular the celestial love of truth, and "dunghills" signifying the falsities of evil; "the form of the Nazirites is darker than blackness, they are not recognized in the streets," signifies that Divine truth is in such obscurity that it is apparent to no one; "the Nazirites" represent the Lord in relation to Divine truth, and therefore signify Divine truth from the Lord; "they have wandered about blind in the streets, they are polluted with blood," signifies that the truths of the Word are no longer seen because they have been falsified, "the blind" signifying those who do not see truths. "They have hunted our steps, so that we cannot go in the streets," signifies leading astray, so that it is not known how to live, "to hunt the steps" signifying to lead astray by falsities, and "to go" signifying to live, therefore "to go in the streets" signifies to live according to truths.

[11] In Zephaniah:

I will cut off the nations, their corners shall be laid waste; I will make desolate their streets, that none may pass through; their cities shall be laid waste, that there may be no man nor inhabitant (Zephaniah 3:6).

The "nations that shall be cut off," signify the goods of the church; the "corners that shall be laid waste" signify the truths and goods of the church in the whole complex (that this is the signification of "corners" see above, n. 417; the "streets that shall be made desolate, that no one may pass through," signify the truths of doctrine; for the "cities that shall be laid waste, that there may be no man nor inhabitant," signify doctrinals, "man" and "inhabitants" meaning in the Word in the spiritual sense all who are in truths and goods, thus in an abstract sense, truths and goods.

[12] In Zechariah:

I will return to Zion, and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem, whence Jerusalem shall be called the city of truth. There shall yet old men and women dwell in the streets of Jerusalem, and the streets shall be full of boys and girls playing in the streets thereof (Zechariah 8:3-5).

This is said of the Lord's coming, and of the New Church to be established by Him; "Zion" means the church in respect to the good of love, and "Jerusalem" the church in respect to the truths of doctrine, therefore Jerusalem is called "the city of truth;" "the old men and women who shall dwell in the streets of Jerusalem" mean those that are intelligent and wise through the truths of doctrine; "the boys and girls playing in the streets, of whom the streets of the city shall be full," signify the affections of truth and good and their delights, in which those shall abound who live in the truths of doctrine.

[13] In Jeremiah:

According to the number of thy cities were thy gods, O Judah; and according to the number of the streets of Jerusalem have ye set up altars to shame, altars to burn incense to Baal (Jeremiah 11:13).

"According to the number of thy cities were thy gods, O Judah," signifies that there were as many falsities as doctrinals, "cities" signifying doctrinals, and "gods" falsities of religion; "according to the number of the streets of Jerusalem have ye set up altars to shame" signifies that there were as many kinds of worship as there were falsities of doctrine, "streets" here signifying the falsities of doctrine, and "altars" worship; worship from falsities is what is meant, because the altars meant were altars of incense, for it is said, "altars to burn incense to Baal," and "incense" signifies spiritual good, which in its essence is truth from good, and in the contrary sense falsity from evil.

(That this is the signification of "incense" and its "altar," see above, n. 324, 491, 492, 567.)

[14] In the same:

Seest thou not what they do in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? The sons gather wood and the fathers kindle the fire, the women knead dough to make cakes to the queen of the heavens, and to pour out drink-offerings to other gods; I will make to cease in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem the voice of joy and the voice of gladness (Jeremiah 7:17, 18, 34).

What these words signify in the spiritual sense may be seen fully explained above n. 555; also that "the cities of Judah" signify the doctrinals of the church, and "the streets of Jerusalem" its truths of doctrine.

[15] In the same:

Have ye forgotten the evils which they did in the land of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? (Jeremiah 44:9)

"The land of Judah" signifies the church in respect to good, but here in respect to evil; and "the streets of Jerusalem" signify the truths of doctrine, but here its falsities of doctrine.

[16] In Ezekiel:

With the hoofs of his horses Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon shall trample down all thy streets; he shall slay thy people with the sword, and he shall bring down the pillars of strength to the earth; they shall make a spoil of thy wealth (Ezekiel 26:11, 12).

"Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon" signifies the profanation of truth and its consequent destruction; "to trample down all thy streets with the hoofs of his horses" signifies that all the truths of the church will be destroyed by the fallacies of the sensual man; "he shall slay the people with the sword" signifies that truths will be destroyed by falsities; that thus also all worship from truths will be destroyed is signified by "he shall bring down the pillars of strength to the earth," for "pillars" signify holy worship from truths, and because all power is of truth from good they are called "pillars of strength;" that knowledges of truth will also be destroyed is signified by "they shall make a spoil of thy wealth." (That "wealth" and "riches" mean the knowledges of truth, see above, n. 236.)

[17] In the same:

Thou hast built thee an eminent place and hast made thee an exalted place in every street, upon every head of the way thou hast made thee thy eminent place, and thou hast made thy beauty abominable (Ezekiel 16:24, 25, 31).

"Eminent place" and "exalted place" with the ancients signified heaven; from this came the practice of sacrificing upon high mountains, or in place of these upon places built up high, therefore worship from evils and from the falsities of doctrine is signified by "making an eminent and an exalted place in every street, and upon every head of the way;" and as that worship became idolatrous it is said that "they made their beauty abominable," "beauty" meaning truth and intelligence therefrom; for everyone in the spiritual world is beautiful according to truths from good, and intelligence therefrom.

[18] In Amos:

Lamentations shall be in all the streets, and they shall say in all the open places, Alas, alas! and they shall call the husbandman to mourning (Amos 5:16).

"Lamentations shall be in all the streets, and they shall say in all the open places, Alas, alas!" signifies grief because truth and good are everywhere laid waste; "and they shall call the husbandman to mourning" signifies the grief of the men of the church on this account, "husbandman" signifying the man of the church, because a "field" signifies the church in respect to the implantation of truth.

[19] In David:

Our garners are full, affording food on food; our flocks are thousands and ten thousands in our streets; our oxen are laden, there is no breach nor fleeing away, nor outcry in our open places (Psalms 144:13, 14).

"Garners which are full of food" signify the doctrinals from the Word, thus the Word itself, wherein are all truths of doctrine which furnish instruction and spiritual nourishment; "flocks are thousands and ten thousands in the streets" signifies spiritual goods and truths, "thousands of flocks" goods, and "ten thousands" truths; "oxen laden" signify natural goods and their affections; "no breach" signifies their coherence; "no fleeing away" signifies no loss of any of these; "no outcry in the open places" signifies no lamentation anywhere over the lack of these.

[20] In Job:

God, who giveth rain upon the faces of the earth, and who sendeth waters upon the faces of the streets (Job 5:10).

"To give rain upon the faces of the earth" signifies the influx of Divine truth into all things with those who are of the church; and "to send waters upon the faces of the streets" signifies Divine influx into the truths of doctrine, that man may be rendered spiritual thereby.

[21] In Isaiah:

In its streets they have girded themselves with sackcloth, upon its roofs and in its streets he shall howl, flowing down in weeping (Isaiah 15:3).

This is said of the city Ar in the land of Moab, which signifies the doctrine of those who are in truths from the natural man; grief over their falsities of doctrine, from the first to the last, is signified by "they have girded themselves with sackcloth, upon its roofs and in its streets he shall howl," "roofs" meaning interior things, and "streets" exterior things with such. In Jeremiah:

Upon all the roofs of Moab and in its streets, lamentation everywhere (Jeremiah 48:38).

The signification here is similar, as above.

[22] In Daniel:

Know and perceive that from the going forth of the Word even to the restoration and building of Jerusalem, even to Messiah the prince; after sixty and two weeks it shall be restored and built, street and ditch, but in straitness of times (Daniel 9:25).

He who knows not the spiritual sense of the Word may think that by "Jerusalem" here Jerusalem is meant, and that it is to be restored and built; also that "the street and ditch" which it is said will be restored and built mean a street and ditch of that city; but "Jerusalem" means the church that is to be established by the Lord, and "street and ditch" mean the truth of doctrine; "street" truth, and "ditch" doctrine. What is there signified by the number of weeks is not to be explained in this place.

[23] This makes evident that "the street of the New Jerusalem" has a like signification in the following passages in Revelation:

The twelve gates were twelve pearls and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass (Revelation 21:21).

And afterwards:

He showed me a pure river of water of life, bright as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb; in the midst of the street thereof and of the river on either side was the tree of life, bearing twelve fruits (Revelation 22:1, 2).

But these passages will be explained hereafter.

[24] In Isaiah:

Thy sons have fainted, they lay at the head of all the streets, as an antelope in a net (Isaiah 51:20).

This, too, is said of Jerusalem, that is, the church vastated in respect to doctrine, "sons" meaning those who are in the truths of doctrine; "to faint and to lie at the head of all the streets" signifies to be deprived of all truth, "head or beginning of the streets" signifying entrance to truth, thus all truth.

[25] In Lamentations:

The infant and the suckling faint in the streets of the city. Lift up thy hands to the Lord respecting the souls of thine infants, who have fainted from famine at the head of all the streets (Lamentations 2:11, 19).

"Infant and suckling" signify innocence, and also the goods and truths that are first born and made alive by knowledges from the Word with men who are regenerating, and which, being the first, are faultless and blameless; entire lack of these is signified by "they have fainted in the streets of the city, and at the head of all the streets;" it is said "from famine," because "famine" signifies loss, lack, and ignorance of knowledges, and at the same time desire for them (See above, n. 386).

[26] In Nahum:

Her infants were dashed in pieces at the head of all the streets, and over her honorable ones they cast a lot, and all her great ones were bound with chains (Nahum 3:10).

Here also "infants" mean the truths that are firstborn and vivified, and "to be dashed in pieces at the head of all the streets" signifies to be scattered and to perish; "honorable ones" signify the goods of love; "to cast a lot over them" signifies dispersion of these; "great ones" signify the truths of good; and "to be bound with chains" signifies to be tied by falsities so that truth cannot come forth. This is said of "the city of bloods" which signifies the doctrine in which the truths of the Word are falsified.

[27] In Jeremiah:

Death cometh up through our windows, it cometh into our palaces, to cut off the infant from the street, the young men from the open places (Jeremiah 9:21).

"Death" means here spiritual death, which takes place when falsity is believed to be truth and truth to be falsity, and the life is in accordance therewith; "windows" signify the thoughts from the understanding, "palaces" the interior and thus the more sublime things of the human mind; this makes clear what is signified by "death cometh up through the windows and cometh into our palaces;" "infant" signifies here as above the truths that are firstborn through knowledges from the Word; "young men" signify truths acquired, from which comes intelligence; and "streets and open places" signify the truths of doctrine and the truths of life which lead to intelligence and wisdom; this makes clear what is signified by "cutting off the infant from the street, the young men from the open places."

[28] In the same:

I am full of the anger of Jehovah, I am weary with holding in; pour out upon the infant in the street, and upon the assembly of young men; for even the man with the woman shall be taken, the old man with him that is full of days (Jeremiah 6:11).

Here "the infant in the street" and "the young men" have a similar signification as above; "man [vir] and woman" signify truth conjoined to good and intelligence therefrom; and "old man" and "one full of days" signify wisdom.

[29] As "street" signifies the truth of doctrine leading, and in the contrary sense falsity, "the clay of the streets," "the mire," and "dung" signify the falsity of the love of evil, in the following passages. In Isaiah:

Their carcass has become as the dung of the streets (Isaiah 5:25).

He shall make him to be trodden down like the clay of the streets (Isaiah 10:6).

In Micah:

She shall be trodden down like the mire of the streets (Mic. Micah 7:10).

In David:

I will beat them small as the dust before the faces of the wind, I will spread them out as the mire of the streets (Psalms 18:42).

All this, too, is from the appearances in the spiritual world; in the cities there in which falsities from evil reign the streets appear full of dung, mire and clay. This makes evident what is signified by:

The Lord's commanding the seventy whom He sent out to preach the Gospel, Into whatever city ye enter and they receive you not, go out into the streets thereof and say, Even the dust of your city that cleaveth unto us do we shake off from us ¹ (Luke 10:10, 11).

[30] Because "the streets of a city" signify the truths of doctrine, according to which one should live, it was customary to teach and to pray in the streets. Thus in the second book of Samuel:

Tell it not in Gath, publish it not in the streets of Ashkelon, lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice (2 Samuel 1:20).

In Matthew:

When thou doest alms sound not a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the open places that they may have glory of men. And when thou prayest thou shalt not be as the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets where they may be seen of men (Matthew 6:2, 5).

And in Luke:

Then shall ye begin to say, We did eat before Thee and drink, and Thou didst teach in our streets; but He shall say, I tell you I know you not whence ye are (Luke 13:26, 27).

[31] Furthermore, from the signification of "street," as meaning the truth of doctrine, it is also evident why the Lord said in the parable that:

The master of the house commanded his servants to go out quickly into the streets and open places of the city and bring in the poor, the maimed, the lame, and the blind (Luke 14:21).

"The poor, the maimed, the lame, and the blind," do not mean such in a natural sense, but such in a spiritual sense, that is, such as had not the Word, and were therefore in ignorance of truth and in lack of good, but still desired truths by means of which they might obtain good; such were the Gentiles with whom the church of the Lord was afterwards established.

[32] Because "the street of a city" signified either truth or falsity teaching and leading, therefore:

The angels that came to Sodom said that they would lodge all night in the street (Genesis 19:2).

And for the same reason it was commanded that:

If the sons of Israel observed that those in any city served other gods they should smite the inhabitants of the city with the sword, utterly destroying the city, and they should bring all the spoil of it into the midst of the street, and burn the city and all the spoil with fire (Deuteronomy 13:14, 16, 17).

"Other gods" signify the falsities of worship, "the sword" the destruction of falsities by truths; "spoil" the falsification of truth; and "fire" the punishment of the love of evil and its destruction.

[33] From these passages cited from the Word it can be seen what is signified by "the bodies of the two witnesses were cast forth upon the street of the great city which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt," and afterwards that "they were not suffered to be placed in sepulchers;" for it was a custom with the Jewish and Israelitish nation to cast out the slain that were enemies into the ways and streets, and not to bury them, as a sign of their hatred of such; but still this represented that by such enemies infernal evils and falsities that could not be raised again to life were meant, that is, those who were in infernal evils and falsities.

[34] This is evident in Jeremiah:

The prophets prophesy, saying, Sword and famine shall not be in this land; by sword and by famine shall these prophets be consumed, and the people to whom they prophesy shall be cast out into the streets of Jerusalem, and there shall be no one to bury them (Jeremiah 14:15, 16).

A "prophet" means the doctrine of truth, here the doctrine of falsity, because they prophesied falsities; and as "streets" signified where falsities are, it is said that "they were to be cast out into the streets of Jerusalem."

Footnotes:

9960. 'To cover their naked flesh' means to prevent inner desires of that love from appearing when they are foul and hellish. This is clear from the meaning of 'covering' as preventing them from appearing; and from the meaning of the genital organs and loins, which 'naked flesh' is used to mean here, as inner desires of conjugial love. For when 'undergarment' means things composing the external level of that love, 9959, 'flesh' which they cover means those on its internal levels. Conjugial love is meant by 'the loins', see 3021, 4280, 4575, also by 'the genital organs', 4462, 5050-5062, and the good of love by 'flesh', 3813, 7850, 9127; but since most things in the Word can also have a contrary meaning, so can the loins, genital organs, and flesh. In that contrary sense they mean evil, foul, and hellish desires of that love, 3813, 5059. The fact that here they mean evil, foul, and hellish desires is evident from the consideration that the words 'to cover their naked flesh' are used, 'naked flesh' here being that which is the opposite of the good of conjugial love, namely delight that is adulterous and for that reason hellish, which will be spoken of below.

[2] As regards 'nakedness', it derives its meaning from the parts of the body that appear naked, just as garments derive theirs from the parts of the body they clothe, 9827. 'Nakedness' has one meaning therefore when it applies to the head, which is baldness; another meaning when it applies to the whole body; and yet another when it applies to the loins and genital organs. When nakedness applies to the head, which is baldness, it means the deprivation of an intelligent understanding of truth and of a wise discernment of good; when it applies to the whole body it means the deprivation of truths that belong to faith; but when it applies to the loins and genital organs it means the deprivation of the good of love.

[3] 1. When nakedness applies to the head, which is baldness, it means the deprivation of an intelligent understanding of truth and of a wise discernment of good This is clear in Isaiah,

On that day the Lord by means of the king of Asshur will shave the head and the hair of the feet, and will consume the beard. Isaiah 7:20.

'Shaving the head' stands for depriving of the internal truths of the Church, 'shaving the hair of the feet and consuming the beard' for depriving of its external truths, and 'by means of the king of Asshur' for by means of reasonings based on falsities. It is evident to anyone that no head, hairs of the feet, or beard was going to be shaved by means of the king of Asshur, and that those words must have some other meaning. 'The head' means more internal things that belong to wisdom and intelligence, see 6292, 6436, 9166, 9656; 'the king of Asshur' means reasoning, 119, 1186; 'hair' means the external truth of the Church, 3301, 5247, 5569-5573; 'the feet' too means external or natural things, 2162, 3147, 3986, 4280, 4938-4952, 9406; and 'the beard' means items of knowledge on sensory levels, that is, truths on last and lowest levels, as is clear from places in the Word mentioning 'the beard'.

[4] In the same prophet,

On all heads there is baldness; every beard is shaved off. Isaiah 15:2.

Here the meaning is similar. In Jeremiah,

Baldness will come upon Gaza. How long will you cut yourself? Jeremiah 47:5.

In Ezekiel,

On all faces there will be shame, and on all heads baldness. They will throw their silver into the streets, and their gold will become an abomination. Ezekiel 7:18-19.

'On all heads baldness' stands for the deprivation of an intelligent understanding of truth and of a wise discernment of good. Since this is meant it also says 'they will throw their silver into the streets, and their gold will become an abomination'; for 'silver' means truth that belongs to intelligence, and 'gold' good that belongs to wisdom, 1551, 5658, 6914, 6917, 8932. The fact that baldness on all heads should not be understood literally, that they would not literally throw silver into the streets, and that gold would not literally become an abomination, is self-evident.

[5] In Moses,

Moses said to Aaron, and to Eleazar and Ithamar his sons, You shall not shave your heads and you shall not rip apart the seams of your garments, lest you die and He is angry with the whole congregation. Leviticus 10:6.

And in Ezekiel,

The priests, the Levites, shall not shave their head and shall not let their hair grow long. Ezekiel 44:20.

Since Aaron and his sons represented the Lord in respect of Divine Good and in respect of Divine Truth, 9806, 9807, and since 'a shaved head' and 'garments ripped apart at the seams' meant the deprivation of that Good and Truth, they were forbidden to shave their heads or so rip apart their garments. It also says 'lest you die and He is angry with the whole congregation', meaning that as a consequence what was representative of the Lord in respect of Divine Good and in respect of Divine Truth, and so what was representative of the Church, would be destroyed.

[6] Since mourning represented spiritual mourning, which is mourning because of the deprivation of the Church's truth and good, those in mourning made themselves bald, as in Jeremiah,

They will not lament for them, nor will they make themselves bald ¹ because of them. Jeremiah 16:6.

In Amos,

I will turn your feasts into mourning, and cause baldness to come up over every head; and I will make it as the mourning for an only-begotten son. Amos 8:10.

And in Micah,

Make yourself bald, ² and shave your head for the sons of your delight; extend your baldness like an eagle, for they have departed from you. Micah 1:16.

'The sons of delight' are God's truths, and their 'departure' is the deprivation of them, 'sons' meaning truths, see 9807.

[7] 2. When nakedness applies to the whole body it means the deprivation of the truths of faith

This is clear in John,

To the angel of the Church of the Laodiceans write, Because you say, I am rich and in need of nothing - when you do not know that you are wretched and miserable, and needy, and blind, and naked - I counsel you to buy from Me gold purified in fire, and white garments that you may put on, that the shame of your nakedness may not be manifested. Revelation 3:14, 17-18.

'The angel of the Church' is God's truth there. 'Saying it is rich' means that it is in possession of cognitions or knowledge of truth and good. 'Wretched, needy, blind, and naked' means being nevertheless devoid of truths implanted in life, thus being devoid of good. 'Buying gold purified in fire' means acquiring good to itself, 'white garments' authentic truths of faith springing from good. From this it is evident what 'that the shame of nakedness may not be manifested' means.

[8] In the same book,

Behold, I am coming like a thief; blessed is he who is awake and keeps his garments, so that he may not walk naked and they see his shame. Revelation 16:15.

Here the meaning is similar. In the same book,

They will hate the prostitute, and make her devastated and naked. Revelation 17:16.

'The prostitute' stands for those who falsify God's truths. 'Making her naked' plainly stands for depriving of those truths; for the words 'devastated' and 'naked' are used, and 'devastating' means depriving of truths.

[9] Nakedness also means having no knowledge of truth and putting on clothes being taught it, in Isaiah,

When you see the naked and cover him, your light will break forth like the dawn. Isaiah 58:7-8.

And in Matthew,

The King will say to those who are on the right, I was naked and you clothed Me. And He said to those on the left, I was naked and you did not clothe Me. Matthew 25:36, 38, 43-44.

'Naked' here stands for those who have no truths and still desire truths, also those who acknowledge that no good or truth at all exists within them, see 4956, 4958.

[10] 3. When nakedness applies to the loins and genital organs it means the deprivation of the good of love

This is clear in Isaiah,

O virgin daughter of Babel, take a mill and grind flour, uncover your hair, bare your feet, uncover your thigh, pass through the rivers. Let your nakedness be uncovered, also let your reproach be seen. Isaiah 47:1-3.

'Daughter of Babel' means the Church or semblance of the Church, where holiness resides outwardly but profanity inwardly. The profanity residing inwardly is such that people have themselves and the world in mind, thus domination and abundant riches as their end in view, holy things being regarded as means to that end. 'Taking a mill and grinding flour' means producing teachings out of such matters as will serve as means to the end, 7780. 'Uncovering the hair, baring the feet, and uncovering the thigh' means prostituting without any shame or fear things that are outwardly and inwardly holy, so that 'uncovering nakedness' means causing foul and hellish things, which are the ends, to appear.

[11] In Jeremiah,

Jerusalem sinned grievously; those who honoured her despise her, because they see her nakedness, her uncleanness in her skirts. Lamentations 1:8-9.

'Jerusalem' stands for the Church, in this instance for a Church that is steeped in falsities arising from evil. 'Seeing her nakedness' stands for beholding foul and hellish loves; 'uncleanness in her skirts' stands for such loves on most external levels, 'skirts' or 'hem' meaning most external levels, see 9917. In Nahum,

I will uncover your skirts upon your face, ³ and I will show the nations your nakedness and the kingdoms your shame. Nahum 3:5.

'Uncovering skirts' stands for taking away outward things in order that more internal ones may appear. 'Nakedness' which will be shown to the nations and 'shame' to the kingdoms mean hellish kinds of love, which are self-love and love of the world, which defile the more internal things.

[12] In Ezekiel,

You reached full beauty, your breasts were formed and your hair had grown; [but] you were naked and bare. With all your abominations and your acts of whoredom you did not remember the days of your youth, when you were naked and bare, and were downtrodden in your blood. Your nakedness has been uncovered through your whoredoms with your lovers. Ezekiel 16:7, 22, 36.

In the same prophet,

I will give you into the hand [of those] whom you hate, that they may deal with you out of hatred; and let them leave you naked and bare, and let the nakedness of your whoredoms be uncovered. Ezekiel 23:28-29.

In Hosea,

Contend with your mother, that she may remove her whoredoms from her sight, ⁴ and her adulteries from between her breasts, lest perhaps I strip her naked, and present her as on the day she was born, and make her like a wilderness, and set her like a dry land, and slay her with thirst. I will return and take back My grain, My new wine, My wool, and My flax, which [I gave her] to cover her nakedness; and I will uncover her foulness in the eyes of her lovers. Hosea 2:2-3, 9-10.

[13] The words in the preceding as well as in this present quotation refer to Jerusalem, which is also called 'mother'; and by it the Church is meant. Its perversity is described by 'the whoredoms', 'the adulteries', and 'the uncovering of nakedness', which are nothing other than the foul and hellish kinds of love - that is, self-love and love of the world, when they are ends in view - from which all evils and derivative falsities gush out. Falsifications of truth therefore and adulterations of good are described in the Word by acts of whoredom and adultery, and are also actually called whoredoms and adulteries there, see 8904. And from this it is evident what 'nakedness' and 'uncovering of nakedness' are used to mean. Since reference is being made to the Church's truths when falsified and to its forms of good when adulterated, the verses quoted declare 'I will make her like a wilderness, and set her like a dry land, and slay her with thirst'. 'A wilderness' is that which is devoid of forms of good, 'a dry land' that which is devoid of truths, and 'thirst' the deprivation of all matters of faith.

[14] It also declares that [the Lord] would take back His grain, His new wine, His wool, and His flax, with which He had covered her nakedness, because 'grain' means the spiritual Church's more internal good, 'new wine' its more internal truth, 'wool' its more external good, and 'flax' its more external truth. All who read these things with a power of reason that is to some degree enlightened, who believe that no expression used in the Word is meaningless, and that the Word is altogether holy in every part because it is Divine, can see that flax, wool, new wine, and grain are not meant literally.

[15] In Jeremiah,

O daughter of Edom, to you also the cup will pass, you will be made drunk and naked. Lamentations 4:21.

In Habakkuk,

Woe to him who gives drink to his companion, ⁵ making him drunk, and looking on their nakedness! You will be sated with shame rather than glory. Drink, you also - that your foreskin may be revealed. Habakkuk 2:15-16.

And in Ezekiel,

They have shed blood in you; they have uncovered their father's nakedness in you. Ezekiel 22:9-10.

What these statements mean no one can know unless he knows what the meaning is of 'the cup', 'drinking', 'being made drunk', 'being made naked', 'looking on their nakedness, and uncovering them', and also 'foreskin'. All these, it is self-evident, should be understood spiritually. 'Drinking' understood spiritually is receiving instruction in truths, or in the contrary sense in falsities, that is, absorbing them, 3069, 3168, 3772, 8562, 9412; and from this it is clear what 'the cup' that is drunk from means, 5120. 'Being made drunk' means becoming insane as a result, and 'being made naked' becoming completely destitute of them. 'Uncovering nakedness' means uncovering the evils of self-love and love of the world, which are hellish evils. 'Uncovering their father's nakedness' means uncovering those evils when they have a hereditary origin and are present in the will. 'Revealing the foreskin' means defiling them, 'the foreskin' meaning the defilement of heavenly forms of good by those two kinds of love, see 2056, 3412, 4462, 7045. 'Circumcision' therefore means purification from them, 2039, 2632.

[16] All this makes clear what the meaning is of Noah's drunkenness and the consequent uncovering of his nakedness, described as follows in Genesis,

Noah drank of the wine, and was drunk, and was uncovered in the middle of his tent. And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw his father's nakedness and pointed it out to his two brothers. And Shem and Japheth took a garment and both of them put it on a shoulder, and went backwards and covered their father's nakedness; and their faces were backwards, and they did not see their father's nakedness. Genesis 9:21-23.

This describes members of the Ancient Church, whom Noah represents. 'The wine' which he drank and which made him drunk is the falsity which that Church was at the start imbued with. His lying as a result 'uncovered in the middle of the tent' means evils owing to the lack of truth in worship. 'The garment' with which Shem and Japheth covered his nakedness is the truth of faith, by means of which those evils were covered and corrected. An implanting of the truth and good of faith in the understanding part of the mind is described by their putting a garment on a shoulder, going backwards, and turning their faces away backwards; for this is exactly how it is with the truths and forms of the good of faith present with a member of the spiritual Church. 'Shem and Japheth' means those belonging to the spiritual Church, who received the truths of faith within good, which is charity; but 'Canaan' means those who did not receive the truths of faith in good or charity.

[17] Noah represents members of the Ancient Church at the start, who were such as has been described, see 736, 773, 788, 1126.

Shem is those belonging to the internal spiritual Church, and Japheth those belonging to the external, 1062, 1127, 1140, 1141, 1150.

Canaan represented those whose faith was separated from charity, or what amounts to the same thing, whose worship was external separated from anything internal, so that in particular he represented the Jewish nation, 1093, 1140, 1141, 1167.

With members of the spiritual Church the truth and good of faith are implanted in the understanding part of the mind, 9596.

'The wine' that made Noah drunk means falsity, 6377.

'The tent' in which he lay uncovered means the holiness of worship, 2145, 2152, 3312, 4128, 4391.

'The garment' with which they covered their father's nakedness means the truth of faith, 5954, 9212, 9216.

His actual nakedness means the evil occupying the will part of his mind. That evil is covered by means of the truths of faith, and when it is being covered truths look away backwards.

The presence of such arcana, embodied in these details of the story, is evident from the internal sense. And the fact that these arcana are arcana which have to do with the Church may be seen from the consideration that Shem and Japheth simply because they covered their father's nakedness were blessed, and all their descendants too, and that Canaan was cursed and all his descendants simply because their father had pointed it out to his brothers.

[18] Because the interiors of the Jewish and Israelite nation were foul, for they were steeped in self-love and love of the world more than all the other nations, and since conjugial love is meant by 'the genital organs and loins' and this love is fundamental to and so embraces all celestial and spiritual forms of love, precautions had to be taken to prevent the nakedness of those parts of Aaron's or his sons' bodies from being in any way visible when they were engaged in holy worship. This is the reason for its being said that linen undergarments should be made for them to cover their naked flesh, from the loins even to the thighs; and in another place for the declaration that they were not to go up by steps to the altar, in order that their nakedness should not be revealed on it, Exodus 20:26.

The interiors of the Jewish and Israelite nation were foul, and when they were engaged in worship those interiors were closed off, see the places referred to in 9320 (end), 9380.

Conjugial love is meant by 'the genital organs and loins', 3021, 4280, 4462, 4575, 5050-5062.

Conjugial love is fundamental to all celestial and spiritual forms of love, and therefore these forms of love are understood as well by it, 686, 2739, 3021, 4280, 5054.

From all this it is now clear what 'nakedness' means, in particular nakedness of the bodily parts devoted to procreation, when people's interiors are foul.

[19] But when the interiors are chaste 'nakedness' means innocence. It does so because conjugial love is meant, and innocence is the indispensable element of truly conjugial love.

Truly conjugial love belongs to innocence, see 2736.

Therefore 'nakedness' in that sense means innocence, 165, 8375.

For the same reason angels of the inmost heaven, who are called celestial angels, appear naked, 165, 2306, 2736.

Since the Most Ancient Church, described in the opening chapters of Genesis and meant in the internal sense by Man or Adam and his wife, was a celestial Church, it says in Genesis 2:25 that both were naked, and they were not ashamed. But when that Church fell, which came about through eating from the tree of knowledge, by which reasoning about Divine matters that was based on factual knowledge was meant, it says that they knew that they were naked, and sewed fig leaves together for themselves and made themselves girdles, thus that they covered their nakedness. It also says that when Jehovah called to him the man said that he was afraid because he was naked, and further on that Jehovah God made for them tunics of skin and clothed them, Genesis 3:6-11, 21.

[20] By 'fig leaves' from which they made themselves girdles, and also by 'tunics of skin' truths and forms of good belonging to the external man should be understood. The reason why their state after the fall is so described is that from being internal people they became external. Their internal is meant by 'paradise', for paradise is the intelligence and wisdom of the internal man, and the closing of their internal by being cast out of paradise.

'Leaf' means natural truth, which is factual knowledge, see 885. 'Fig' means natural good or the external man's good, 217, 4231, 5113. 'Tunic of skin' too means the external man's truth and good, 294-296. 'Skin' means what is external, 3540.