395. (Verse 11) And white robes were given unto every one. That this signifies Divine truth from the Lord with them, and protection, is plain from the signification of a white robe, as denoting Divine truth from the Lord; for a robe signifies truth in general, because it is the general covering; and white is said of truths from the Lord, for whiteness is characteristic of light, and the light proceeding from the Lord as a Sun is in its essence Divine truth. That by the white robes given to every one, is also signified protection, will be explained below. First, however, it shall be explained why a white robe signifies Divine truth from the Lord. All spirits and angels are clothed according to their intelligence, or according to the reception of truth in the life, for this is intelligence, and the light of their intelligence is formed into garments, which, when they are thence formed, not only appear as garments, but also are garments. For all things that exist in the spiritual world, and appear before their eyes, exist from the light and heat that proceed from the Lord as a Sun. From this origin not only are all things in the spiritual world created and formed, but also all things in the natural world; for the natural world exists and subsists from the Lord through the spiritual world. Hence it is evident that appearances in heaven before the angels, are altogether real; similarly also the garments. Because spirits and angels are clothed according to intelligence, and all intelligence belongs to truth, and angelic intelligence is from Divine truth, therefore they are clothed according to truths. On this account garments signify truths; garments that are next to the body, and thence interior, signify interior truths; and the garments that are around and enclose the former, signify exterior truths; whence a robe, a gown, and a cloak, which are general coverings, signify truths in general, and the white robe which they have from the Lord, the Divine truth in general. (But see what has been shown concerning the garments with which the angels are clothed, in the work concerning Heaven and Hell 177-182; and what has been said above concerning the signification of garments, n. 64, 65, 195, 271.)

[2] The white robes given to those who were under the altar, also signify protection by the Lord, because the white robes given to them, represented the Lord's presence with the Divine truth around them; and the Lord by means of Divine truth protects His own, for He surrounds them with a sphere of light, from which they have white robes; and when they are thus encompassed, they can no longer be infested by evil spirits; for, as said above, they were infested by them, and, therefore, were hidden by the Lord. This also takes place with those who are raised by the Lord into heaven. They are then clothed with white robes, which is an indication that they are in Divine truth, and thus in safety. But concerning those who are clothed in white robes, more will be seen in the explanation of the chapter which follows, at verses 9, 13-17.

[3] That a robe, a gown, and a cloak, signify Divine truth in general is evident also from the following passages. In Zechariah:

"The prophets shall be ashamed every one on account of his vision, when he hath prophesied; neither shall they wear a mantle of hair to deceive" (13:4).

By prophets are signified those who teach truths from the Word, and in an abstract sense, truths of doctrine from the Word, and because these things were signified by prophets, therefore, these were clothed with a mantle of hair; for by a mantle of hair was signified Divine truth in ultimates, which is Divine truth in general, for the ultimate contains all things interior, hair also signifies the ultimate. Hence it was, that Elijah from his mantle was also called a hairy man (2 Kings 1:7, 8); and that John the Baptist, who was like Elias, by reason of a similar representation, had a garment of camel's hair (Matthew 3:4). From these things it is evident what is signified by the prophets not wearing a mantle of hair to deceive, namely, that they shall not declare truths to be falsities, and falsities to be truths, this being signified by deceiving.

[4] Because Elijah represented the Lord as to the Word, which is the very doctrine of truth, and Elisha continued the representation; and because a mantle signified Divine truth in general, which is the Word in ultimates, therefore, the mantle of Elijah passed to Elisha; and by Elijah's mantle also the waters of Jordan were divided, according, to these statements in the books of the Kings:

When Elijah found Elisha "he cast his mantle upon him" (1 Kings 19:19).

"Elijah took his mantle, and wrapped it together, and smote the waters" of Jordan, "which were divided hither and thither, and they two went over on dry ground."

Elisha seeing "when Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven," took up the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and went back, and stood by the bank of Jordan; and he took the mantle and smote the waters, which parted hither and thither; and he went over" (2 Kings 2:8, 11-14).

That Elijah cast his mantle upon Elisha, signified that he transferred to Elisha the representation of the Lord as to the Word; and the mantle falling from Elijah, when he was taken away, and being taken up by Elisha, signified that that representation was transferred to Elisha, for Elijah and Elisha represented the Lord as to the Word, and were clothed according to what they represented; the mantle signifying the Word in ultimates, which is Divine truth in general, or Divine truth in its whole extent. The waters of Jordan being divided by Elijah's mantle, first by Elijah and afterwards by Elisha, signified the power of Divine truth in ultimates. The waters of Jordan also signified the first truths which introduce into the church, and these first [truths] are those in the ultimates of the Word. Hence also it is evident that a mantle and robe signify Divine Truth in general. (That Elijah represented the Lord as to the Word, and similarly Elisha, may be seen, n. 2762, 5247. That the ultimate contains the interior things, and thence signifies all things in general, n. 634, 6239, 6465, 9215, 9216, 9828; that hence strength and power are in ultimates, n. 9836; that Jordan signifies entrance into the church, and that hence the waters of Jordan signify the first truths by which there is entrance, n. 1585, 4255; and that waters denote truths, see above, n. 71.) The first truths are also ultimate truths, such as are those in the sense of the letter of the Word; for by these entrance is effected, for they are first learnt, and in them are all the interior things that constitute the internal sense of the Word.

[5] He who does not know what a robe or mantle signifies, does not know what a cloak signifies; for a cloak, the same as a mantle, was a general garment, because it encompassed the waistcoat, or inner garment, whence it has also the same signification; consequently, neither does he know what was signified by Saul's rending the skirt of Samuel's cloak; by David's cutting off the skirt of Saul's cloak; by Jonathan's giving David his cloak and garments; and by the daughters of a king, being arrayed in cloaks of divers colours, and many other cases in which cloaks are mentioned in the Word. Concerning Saul's rending the skirt of Samuel's cloak, we read thus:

"Samuel turned about to go away, but he laid hold upon the skirt of his cloak, and it rent. And Samuel said, Jehovah hath rent the kingdom of Israel from thee this day, and hath given it to thy companion, who is better than thou" (1 Sam. 15:27, 28).

From the words of Samuel it is evident that the rending of the skirt of the cloak signified the rending of the kingdom from Saul, for he said, after it was done, "Jehovah hath rent the kingdom of Israel from thee this day." For by a king and his kingdom is signified the Divine truth of the church; and by the skirt of his cloak is signified Divine truth in ultimates, or all [Divine truth] in general; for the kings over the sons of Israel represented the Lord as to Divine truth, and their kingdom signified the church as to this; therefore by that historical circumstance is signified that king Saul was become such that he could no longer represent the Lord, and that otherwise the representative of the church would perish. (That kings represented the Lord as to Divine truth, and that a kingdom thence signified the church as to that, may be seen above, n. 29, 31.)

[6] The same is signified by David's cutting off the skirt of Saul's cloak, concerning which we read thus:

David entered into the cave where Saul was, and cut off the skirt of Saul's cloak, and when thereafter he showed it to Saul, Saul said, "Now I know that thou shalt reign, and the kingdom of Israel shall be established in thy hand" (1 Sam. 24:4, 6, 12, 21).

This was done by David of the Divine Providence, that the same thing might be represented as above, for by the skirt of the cloak, and by king Saul and his kingdom, similar things are signified.

[7] The same is also signified by Jonathan, the son of Saul, stripping himself of his cloak and his garments, and giving them to David, concerning which we read thus:

"Jonathan stripped himself of the cloak that was upon him, and gave it to David, and his garments, and even to his sword and to his bow and to his girdle" (1 Sam. 18:4).

By this was signified, that Jonathan, the heir of the kingdom, transferred all his right to David; for all the things that Jonathan gave to David were representative of the kingdom, that is of the Divine truth of the church, which Saul represented; for, as said above, all the kings who reigned over the sons of Israel represented the Lord as to Divine truth, and their kingdom, the church as to that [truth].

[8] Because cloaks and mantles signified Divine truth in general, therefore:

"Virgins, the king's daughters, were apparelled with mantles of divers colours" (2 Sam. 13:18).

Virgins, the king's daughters, signified the affections of truth, and thence the church, as is evident from a thousand passages in the Word where a king's daughter, the daughter of Zion, and the daughter of Jerusalem, and also the virgin Zion, and the virgin Jerusalem, are mentioned; therefore the king's daughters also represented the truths of that affection by garments, and in general by mantles, which thence were variegated with divers colours. So also truths from good, or truths from affection, are represented by the garments of virgins in heaven; which truths are more fully described by the garments of the king's daughters, in David (Psalms 45:8, 9, 13, 14).

[9] Because mourning in the ancient churches signified spiritual mourning, which is on account of the deprivation of truth, therefore, this was then represented in mourning, by their rending their mantles or cloaks, as is clear in Job:

When Job had lost everything, "then he arose, rent his mantle, and said, Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return" (1:20, 21).

And in another place:

Job's three friends, when they saw him, wept "and rent their cloaks" (2:12).

(That to rend the garments was representative of mourning on account of truth being injured or destroyed, may be seen, n. 4763.)

And again, in Ezekiel:

"All the princes of the sea shall come down from their thrones, and shall cast away their cloaks, and put off their embroidered garments; they shall be clothed with terrors; they shall sit upon the ground" (26:16).

These things are said of Tyre, by which is signified the church as to the knowledges (cognitions) of truth and good; in this passage the church where these are destroyed. That they have no longer any truths by which the church is formed, is signified by, all the princes of the sea shall come down from their thrones, the princes of the sea denoting primary scientific truths, to come down from the thrones, signifying that they were destroyed, and, consequently, that there is no intelligence. The same is signified by their casting away their cloaks, and putting off their embroidered garments, robes denoting truths in general, and embroidered garments the knowledges (cognitions) of truth. Condemnation thence is signified by, "they shall be clothed with terrors; they shall sit upon the ground."

[10] In Micah:

"My people have accounted every one as an enemy to them for the sake of a garment, ye draw off the mantle from them that pass securely, that are returning from the war" (2:8).

By these words is not signified that the sons of Israel have accounted any for an enemy for the sake of a garment, and that they drew off the mantle of those that passed by securely; but that they held as enemies those who spoke truths, and deprived of all truth those who lived well, and shook off falsities; garment denoting truth; robe denoting all truth, because denoting truth in general. To pass by securely, denotes to live well; men returning from war, denote those who have shaken off falsities, war denoting the combat of truth against falsity. Who cannot see that such is the spiritual meaning of the Word; and that the people of Israel did not account any one as an enemy for a garment, or draw off the mantle from those who passed by?

[11] In Matthew:

The scribes and Pharisees "do all their works that they may be seen of men; they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments" (23:5).

These things the scribes and Pharisees did, but still, thereby was represented and signified that they spoke many things from the ultimates of the Word, and applied them to life, and to their traditions, in order that they might appear holy and learned. By their phylacteries, which they make broad, are signified goods in the outward form, for the phylacteries were worn upon the hands, and by the hands are signified actions, because the hands are employed to act. By the borders of their garments which they enlarge, are signified external truths, external truths are those in the ultimate sense of the letter; mantles denoting truths in general, and borders their ultimates. (That the borders of the mantles signify such truths, may be seen in the Arcana Coelestia 9917.)

[12] In Isaiah:

"I will greatly rejoice in Jehovah, my soul shall exult in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation; he hath covered me with a cloak of justice" (61:10).

To rejoice in Jehovah, signifies to rejoice in Divine good; to exult in God, signifies, in the Divine truth; for the Lord is called Jehovah from Divine good, and God from Divine truth; and all spiritual joy is from them. To clothe with the garments of salvation, signifies to instruct and gift with truths; and to cover with a cloak of justice, signifies to fill with every truth from good, a cloak denoting all truth because it denotes truth in general, justice being said of good.

[13] In the same:

"He put on the garments of vengeance, and clothed himself with zeal as a cloak" (59:17).

These things are said of the Lord, and of His combat with the hells; for when He was in the world He reduced all things in the hells and in the heavens to order, and this by Divine truth from the Divine love. The garments of vengeance signify the truths by which [He fought]; zeal, as a cloak, signifies the Divine love from which [He fought]; a cloak is mentioned, because it is signified by Divine truths from the Divine love. (But what the cloak of the ephod signifies, with which Aaron was wrapped around, and upon the borders of which were pomegranates and bells, of which [mention is made] in Exodus 27:31-35; Leviticus 8:7, may be seen in the Arcana Coelestia 9910-9928.)

10261. 'And olive oil' means the Lord's celestial Divine Good. This is clear from the meaning of 'oil' as good, both celestial and spiritual, dealt with in 886, 4582, 9780; and from the meaning of 'olive' as celestial love, dealt with below, so that 'olive oil' means the good of celestial love, or what amounts to the same thing, celestial good. The expression 'the Lord's celestial Divine Good' is used because the origin of all good that really is good and exists in the heavens lies in what is Divine and the Lord's.

[2] But it should be remembered that in itself the Lord's Divine Good is a single whole; for it is infinite and contains infinite characteristics. What is infinite is a single whole, because the infinite characteristics it contains make one. But the distinguishing of that Good into celestial and spiritual is due to the different ways in which angels in heaven and people on earth receive it. That received by angels and people belonging to the Lord's celestial kingdom is called celestial Divine Good, whereas that received by angels and people belonging to the Lord's spiritual kingdom is called spiritual Divine Good. For all angels in heaven and people on earth receive the Lord's Good, which is a single whole, in various or dissimilar ways. This may be compared to the heat and light from the sun in the world. Though these regarded in themselves are a single whole, they nevertheless vary according to the seasons of the year and times of the day, and are also different in each region of the planet. Such variations of heat and light are due not to the sun but to the changing conditions on the planet brought about by variations as it orbits round the sun and revolves on its axis, so that again the reception is the determining factor. The variations of the one same light as it falls on individual objects, producing different colours, is also attributable to the ways in which it is received. From all this it may now be recognized why it is that the Lord's Divine Good, which is a single whole because it is infinite, is called celestial and spiritual.

[3] The meaning of 'oil' as good, both celestial and spiritual, is clear in the places referred to above. But the fact that 'olive' means celestial love, and 'olive tree' the perception and affection belonging to that love, is clear from the places in the Word where 'olive tree' and 'olive' are mentioned, as in the following: In Zechariah,

The prophet saw a lampstand all of gold. It had seven lamps on it, [and had] two olive trees beside it, one on the right of the bowl, and one on the left of it. He said to the angel, What are these two olive trees, and what are the two olive berries which are in the spouts ¹ of the two tubes of gold? He said, These are the two sons of olives, standing beside the Lord of the whole earth. Zechariah 4:2-3, 11-12, 14.

[4] What these prophetic utterances imply none can know unless they know from the internal sense what 'a lampstand' means and what 'an olive tree' means. 'A lampstand' means the spiritual heaven, and its 'lamps' the holy truths there, see 9548, 9551, 9555, 9558, 9561, 9684. From these meanings it is clear that 'an olive tree' means the celestial kingdom born from the perception of and affection for good, and 'olive berries' the holy forms of good there, their truths being meant by 'the sons of olives'. 'Two' means the internal and the external parts of that kingdom, and a joining together.

[5] 'Oil' and 'lampstand' are used with similar meanings in John,

I will give [power] to My two witnesses, that they may prophesy one thousand two hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth. These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands standing before the God of the earth. Revelation 11:3-4.

In Isaiah,

I will plant ² in the wilderness the cedar of shittah, and the myrtle, and olive wood ³ . Isaiah 41:19.

'The cedar' and 'olive wood' are mentioned because 'the cedar' means spiritual good and 'olive wood' celestial good, spiritual good being charity towards the neighbour and celestial good being love to the Lord. 'Planting them in the wilderness' means doing so in lands outside the Church, thus among gentile nations.

[6] In Hosea,

His branches will go out and his beauty will be like that of the olive, and his smell like Lebanon. Hosea 14:6.

Here also 'the olive' means celestial good, and 'Lebanon' means spiritual good, so that 'Lebanon' is similar in meaning to 'the cedar'; for Lebanon was a forest consisting of cedars.

[7] In Isaiah,

Thus will it be in the midst of the earth, in the midst of the peoples, like the stripping of the olive tree, like the gleaning of grapes when the harvesting of them has finished. Isaiah 24:13.

Also Isaiah 17:6. Comparison is made with 'the stripping of the olive tree' and 'the gleaning of grapes after the harvesting has finished' because 'the olive tree' means a Church that is governed by celestial good, and 'the vine' a Church that is governed by spiritual good. For in the Word wherever good is the subject, truth is also, on account of the marriage of them. In like manner wherever the celestial is the subject, the spiritual is also. Furthermore the term 'celestial' is used in reference to good, and 'spiritual' to truth, see in the places referred to in 9263, 9314; therefore the terms are also used in reference to the vine and the olive tree. As regards 'the vine', that it means the spiritual Church, and its goodness and truth, see 1069, 5113, 6376, 9277.

[8] Here also is the reason why elsewhere the vine and the olive tree are spoken of together, as in David,

[Your] wife will be like a fruitful vine on the sides of your house, your sons will be like olive shoots, round about your table. Psalms 128:3-4.

In Habakkuk,

The fig tree will not blossom, neither will there be any produce on the vines; the olive crop will fail ⁴ . Habakkuk 3:17.

In Amos,

Your very many gardens, and your vineyards, and your fig trees, and your olive trees the caterpillar devoured. Amos 4:9.

The fig tree as well is mentioned, because 'the fig' means the external Church's good, 5113, whereas 'the vine' means the good of the internal spiritual Church, and 'the olive tree' the good of the internal celestial Church. Similar instances occur elsewhere.

[9] Since 'olive wood' meant the good of celestial love the two cherubs which were in the sanctuary in the temple were made from pieces of olive wood, as were the double doors, lintel, and posts, 1 Kings 6:23, 31-32. For the sanctuary in the temple represented the inmost heaven, where celestial good is present, and therefore everything in the sanctuary was a sign of something celestial. The ark there, for the sake of which the sanctuary existed, was a sign of the inmost heaven, where the Lord is, see 9485.

[10] 'The Mount of Olives', which was opposite the temple, had a similar meaning to 'the olive tree', just as 'Lebanon' had to 'the cedar'. Therefore in order that all the things the Lord did when He was in the world, especially Divine celestial ones, might be represented in the heavens, the Lord was very often on the Mount of Olives when He was in Jerusalem, as is clear in Luke,

By day Jesus was teaching in the temple, but by night He went out and spent the night on the mountain which is called Olivet ⁵ . Luke 21:37.

And elsewhere,

Jesus came out and went away, as was His custom ⁶ , to the Mount of Olives. Luke 22:39.

Regarding this mountain, that it was opposite the temple, see Mark 13:3; Matthew 24:3.

[11] The fact that 'the Mount of Olives' was a sign of celestial Divine Good is clear in Zechariah, where it is stated,

Jehovah's feet will stand upon the Mount of Olives, which faces ⁷ Jerusalem; and there He will fight against the nations. And the mountain will be split, part towards the east and towards the sea ⁸ , with a large valley; and part of it will move away towards the north, and part towards the south. Zechariah 14:3-4.

This is a description of the state of heaven and the Church when the Lord was in the world, fighting against the hells, conquering them, and at the same time restoring the heavens to order. 'The nations' there which He fought against are the evils coming from hell; 'the Mount of Olives' on which His feet stood is the Divine Good of Divine Love, for by this Good He fought and conquered. 'The splitting of the mountain with a large valley, towards the east and towards the sea' means the separation of heaven and hell; and the like is meant by 'its moving away towards the north and the south'. Those living in the light of truth are said to be in the south, and those in the love of good to be in the east, whereas those immersed in evils are said to be towards the sea, and those in falsities towards the north.

Footnotes: