724. And she brought forth a male child.- That this signifies the doctrine of truth, which is for the New Church, which is called the New Jerusalem, is plain from the signification of a son, as denoting truth, and of a male (masculus) child, as denoting the genuine truth of the church, consequently its doctrine, for the truth of the church from the Word is its doctrine, since doctrine contains the truths that are for the church. But the genuine doctrine of the church is the doctrine of good, that is the doctrine of life, which is that of love to the Lord and of charity towards the neighbour; still it is doctrine of truth, for doctrine teaches life, love, and charity, and so far as it teaches these it is truth. For when a man knows and understands what good is, what life is, what love is, and what charity is, he then knows and understands those things as truths, since he knows and understands what good is, how he ought to live, what love and charity are, and what kind of man he is who is in the life of love and charity. And as long as these things are matters of knowledge (scientia) and of the understanding, they are merely truths, and thus doctrines; but as soon as they, from being knowledge and understanding, pass over into the will, and thus into act, they are then no longer truths but goods, for interiorly man wills nothing but what he loves, and that which he loves is to him good.

From these things it is evident, that every doctrine of the church is a doctrine of truth, and that the truth of doctrine becomes good, and becomes that of love and charity, when from doctrine it passes into life.

[2] This doctrine, signified here by a male child, is especially the doctrine of love to the Lord, and of charity towards the neighbour, thus it is the doctrine of the good of life, but which is yet the doctrine of truth. That the doctrine of the good of love, and thence of life, is here signified by a male child, is evident from this, that the woman, who brought forth the son, was seen encompassed with the sun, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars. And the sun signifies love to the Lord, and the crown of twelve stars signifies the knowledges of good and truth; and from such a woman and mother, nothing could be born except what pertains to love and good, thus doctrine concerning them. This therefore is the male (masculus) child.

[3] That doctrine is for the New Church, which is called the New Jerusalem, because the woman treated of in this chapter is the one that is called the bride, the Lamb's wife, which was the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God (21:9, 10). This is why she was seen encompassed with the sun, for the sun means the Lord as to Divine Love, as may be seen above (n. 401, 525, 527, 708). The male child also signifies the doctrine of the church, because a son, in the Word, signifies truth, and the doctrine of the church is truth in its whole extent.

That a son, in the Word, signifies truth, is evident from what has been said before concerning the woman, the womb, and bringing forth, namely, that woman signifies the church, womb the inmost of love and the reception of truth from good, while to bring forth signifies the production and fructification of these. See above concerning woman (n. 707); the womb (n. 710); and bringing forth (n. 721). From this it follows that sons and daughters, since they are births, signify the truths and goods of the church, sons its truths, and daughters its goods; in a word, that all terms relating to marriage and thus to procreation on earth, signify such things as belong to the marriage of good and truth, thus father, mother, sons, daughters, sons-in-law, daughters-in-law, grandsons, and several other terms, signify goods and truths procreating, and goods and truths procreated, and in fact derivative goods and truths in their order.

[4] But it must be understood that goods and truths procreating are in the spiritual man, and those which are procreated are in the natural man; and that those which are in the spiritual man are like the father and mother, and those which are from these in the natural man are like brothers and sisters; and again that the truths and goods that are further procreated as if from sons married within marriageable limits, and from daughters married also within the same, are in the natural man, after these, as parents, have been raised up into the spiritual man. For all conception, and all travail or gestation in the womb take place in the spiritual man, but birth itself takes place in the natural man. The spiritual man is therefore continually enriched by the elevation into it out of the natural man, of truths and goods, which, like parents, will procreate anew; therein also all things are associated like the societies of heaven, according to the affections for truth and good, and their relationships and affinities. It is therefore clear that those spiritual procreations, like the natural procreations from a father and mother, are multiplied like families and houses on earth, and are made fruitful like trees from seeds, from which arise in the spiritual man gardens, called paradises, but groves and orchards in the natural, and shady forests in the sensual man.

[5] But because sons are mentioned in many places in the Word, and since it has not yet been known that they signify the truths of the church and of doctrine, out of many passages I will cite only the following for the purpose of proof.

In the Evangelists:

Jesus said, "He who leaveth houses, brethren, sisters, father, mother, wife, children, lands, for my name's sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and shall obtain the inheritance of life eternal" (Matthew 19:29; Mark 10:29, 30).

"Every one who cometh to me, and hateth not his father, mother, wife, children, brethren, and sisters, yea, his own soul, is not my disciple" (Luke 14:26).

Who cannot see that father, mother, wife, children, brethren, and sisters, also houses and lands, are not here meant, but such things as belong to man himself, and are called his own? For these things a man must leave and hate, if he desires to worship the Lord, to be His disciple, to receive a hundredfold, and to obtain the inheritance of life eternal. The things that are a man's own are those that are of his love, and thus of his life into which he is born, consequently they are evils and falsities of every kind; and because these are of his love and life, it is therefore said that he must also hate his own soul. These evils and falsities are signified by father and mother, wife, children, brethren, and sisters; for all those things, which belong to the love and life of man, or to the affection and the thought therefrom, or to the will and thus to the understanding, are formed and conjoined like generations, descending from one father and one mother, and are also distinguished as into families and houses. The love of self and consequent love of the world are their father and mother, and the desires arising therefrom, and their evils and falsities are the children, which are brethren and sisters. That this is the meaning is clearly evident from this, that the Lord could not desire that any one should hate his father and mother, or wife or children, or brethren or sisters, since this would be contrary to the spiritual love implanted in every one from heaven, which is that of parents for their children, of children for their parents, and also contrary to conjugial love, which is that of the husband for his wife, and of the wife for her husband, also contrary to mutual love, which is that of brothers and sisters for one another; in fact, the Lord even teaches that enemies must not be hated, but loved. It is evident from these things that the terms denoting consanguinities, affinities, and relationships in the Word, mean consanguinities, affinities, and relationships in a spiritual sense.

[6] In the same:

Jesus said to His disciples, "The brother shall deliver the brother to death, the father the son, and children shall rise up against their parents, and shall deliver them to death" (Matthew 10:21; Mark 13:12).

"The father shall be divided against the son, and the son against the father, the mother against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother, the mother-in-law against the daughter-in-law, and the daughter-in-law against the mother-in-law" (Luke 12:53).

That these things are not to be understood according to the letter is clear from what precedes, where Jesus says that He came not to give peace upon the earth, but division; and that "there shall be five in one house divided, three against two, and two against three," which signifies that falsities and evils will fight against truths and goods, and truths and goods against falsities and evils - which is the case when man comes into temptations and is being reformed; this combat is signified by division and rising up. That "the father shall be divided against the son, and the son against the father," signifies that evil will fight against truth, and truth against evil, the father there denoting the evil, which is man's proprium, and the son the truth which man has from the Lord. That the desire for falsity will fight against affection for truth, and affection for truth against the desire for falsity, is signified by "the mother shall be divided against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother," mother here denoting the desire for falsity, and daughter affection for truth; and so on. That this is the meaning is also evident from the words of the Lord elsewhere, where He says, that in Him "they shall have peace," thus not division (John 14:27; 16:33).

[7] In Luke, the angel said to Zechariah concerning John,

"He shall go before" the Lord "in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the sons" (1:17).

And in Malachi:

"I will send to you Elijah the prophet, before the great and terrible day of Jehovah cometh, that he may turn the heart of the fathers to the sons, and the heart of the sons to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse" (4:5, 6).

John the Baptist was sent before to prepare the people for the reception of the Lord by baptism, for baptism represented and signified purification from evils and falsities, and also regeneration through the Word by the Lord. Unless this representation had preceded, the Lord could not have manifested Himself and taught and lived in Judea and Jerusalem, since He was God of heaven and God of earth under a human form, and could not have been in the midst of a nation which was in mere falsities as to doctrine, and in mere evils as to life. Unless therefore that nation had been prepared for the reception of the Lord by a representative of purification from falsities and evils by baptism, it would have been destroyed by diseases of every kind at the presence of the Divine Itself. This then is the signification of the words, "Lest I come and smite the earth with a curse." That this would have been the case is well known in the spiritual world, for there those who are in falsities and evils are direfully tormented and spiritually die at the presence of the Lord.

[8] The baptism of John was able to produce such an effect, because the Jewish church was a representative church, and with them all conjunction of heaven was effected by representatives, as is also evident from the washings commanded therein. As for example all who became unclean had to wash themselves and their garments, and were then regarded as clean; similarly the priests and Levites washed themselves before they entered the tent of assembly and afterwards the temple, to perform their sacred duties; also Naaman was cleansed from leprosy by washing in Jordan. Washing and baptism did not themselves purify them from falsities and evils, but they only represented, and thus signified, purification from these; nevertheless this was received in heaven, as though they themselves had been purified. It was in this way that heaven was conjoined with the people of that church through the baptism of John; and when heaven was thus conjoined to them, the Lord, who was the God of heaven, could manifest Himself to them, teach them, and dwell among them. That Jerusalem and all Judea, and all the region about Jordan went out to John, and were baptized by him in Jordan, confessing their sins, is evident in Matthew (chap. 3:5, 6), and that he said to them,

"O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come" (Luke 3:7).

That the Jews and Israelites were conjoined to heaven by means of representatives may be seen in the Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 248).

This now was the reason why John was sent before to prepare the way of the Lord, and to prepare the people for Him. It may be concluded from these things what is signified by turning the heart of the fathers to the sons, and the heart of the sons to the fathers, namely, that it means to induce a representation of the conjunction of spiritual goods with truths, and of truths with goods, thus of regeneration by the Lord by means of the Word. For regeneration is the conjunction of goods with truths, and of truths with goods, and it is the Lord who regenerates, and the Word which teaches.

[9] It was said of this John that he should go before the Lord in the spirit and power of Elijah, and that he was Elijah, because John, like Elijah, represented the Lord as to the Word, and thus signified the Word, which is from the Lord; and as there is Divine Wisdom and Divine Power in the Word, these are meant by the spirit and power of Elijah. That the Word is of such a nature may be seen in Heaven and Hell 303-310), and in the small work on the White Horse.

[10] That sons signify truths from the Word, is also evident from the following passages.

In David:

"Lo, sons are a heritage of Jehovah, the fruit of the belly a reward; as darts in the hand of a mighty man, so are sons of youth; happy is the man who hath his quiver full of them, they shall not be ashamed when they speak with enemies in the gate" (Psalm 127:3-5).

Sons who are a heritage of Jehovah, and the fruit of the belly which is a reward, mean the truths and goods of the church; sons mean truths, and the fruit of the belly means goods, for both of these are a reward and a heritage of Jehovah, that is, heaven, which is from truths and goods, namely, from the reception of them. Sons of youth, who are as darts in the hands of a mighty man, signify the truths of the Ancient Church, which were natural truths from a spiritual source; this church is meant by youth. And because these truths have all power against evils and falsities, it is therefore said, "As darts in the hand of a mighty man," darts signifying truths destroying falsities. Doctrine from truths is signified by quiver because it is also signified by bow; and as those who are in doctrine from those truths fear nothing from falsities, it is said, "Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them; they shall not be ashamed when they speak with enemies in the gate;" not to be ashamed denoting not to be conquered, and enemies in the gate the falsities of evil which are from hell.

[11] In the same:

"Deliver me out of the hand of the sons of the stranger, whose mouth speaketh vanity, and their right hand is the right hand of a lie; for our sons are as plants, become great in their youth, and our daughters as cornerstones hewn out in the model of a palace" (Psalm 144:11, 12).

That the sons of the stranger here mean falsities is plain, for it is said, "Whose mouth speaketh vanity, and their right hand is the right hand of a lie;" and that our sons signify truths is also plain, for it is said, "They are as plants, become [great] in their youth," plants also denoting truths, and youth denoting here, as above, the Ancient Church, which possessed genuine truths. Our daughters signify the affections for truth, which are therefore compared to cornerstones hewn out in the model of a palace, because a palace is a representative of the understanding in which truths are in a beautiful form, and they are in a beautiful form when they are from affection for truth.

[12] In Micah:

"Make thee bald and poll thee, because of the sons of thy delights; enlarge thy baldness as the eagle, for they have gone away from thee" (1:16).

Mourning because the truths of the church are destroyed is described by making bald, and by polling themselves, for the hair signifies truths in ultimates, and those who are without truths in ultimates are also without internal truths; for this reason those in the spiritual world who have no truths from good appear bald. That truths are destroyed is signified by "the sons of thy delights have gone away from thee"; they are called sons of delights from the love of truths and consequent delights.

[13] In Zechariah:

"He saw two olive trees at the right hand of the lampstand and at the left, and he said, These are the two sons of the olive standing by the Lord of the whole earth" (4:11, 14).

The two olive trees signify the two churches, the celestial church and the spiritual church, the former at the right hand of the lampstand, and the latter at the left; the sons of the olive signify the truths of those churches, which are doctrinals.

[14] In the same:

"I will bend Judah for me, I will fill Ephraim with the bow, and I will stir up thy sons, O Zion, with thy sons, O Javan; and I will set thee as the sword of a mighty man" (9:13).

The sons of Zion and the sons of Javan signify the internal and external truths of the Word, the sons of Zion internal truths, and the sons of Javan external truths. The signification of the rest of the passage may be seen above (n. 357:1, 433:8), where it is explained. Because sons signify truths, it is said, that they shall be set as the sword of a mighty man, the sword of a mighty man signifying truth effectually destroying falsity.

[15] In Isaiah:

"I will raise up against them the Medes, whose bows shall dash in pieces the young men, and they will have no pity on the fruit of the belly, their eye will not spare the sons" (13:17, 18).

Because the Medes mean those who make no account of the truths and goods of the church, it is also therefore, said, "Their eye will not spare the sons," for sons denote the truths of the Word and of the church; but these things may be seen explained above (n. 710:24).

[16] In Jeremiah:

"My tent is laid waste, and all my cords plucked away; my sons have departed from me, and they are not" (10:20).

The tent which is laid waste, signifies the church as to the good of love and worship from it, for all worship in ancient times was performed in tents, and afterwards in the tent of assembly, in memory of which the feast of tents or tabernacles was instituted. All my cords are plucked away, signifies that there is no conjunction of truth with good, or of truths with each other, which thus fall apart; and consequently no conjunction of heaven with the church. My sons have departed from me, and they are not, signifies that the truths of the church from the Word have been dissipated, and that man has thus removed himself from the Lord.

[17] In the same:

"Behold, I bring back the captivity of the tents of Jacob, and I will have pity on his dwelling-places, that the city may be built upon her own heap, and the palace shall be inhabited after its own manner, and his sons shall be as aforetime, and his congregation shall be established before me" (30:18, 20).

The tents of Jacob and his dwelling-places, signify all things of the church and its doctrine; tents signify its goods, and dwelling-places its truths; their captivity signifies spiritual captivity which exists when the truths and goods of the Word cannot be perceived, because of the dominion of falsities. To shake off falsities and to teach truths is signified by bringing back the captivity. That the city may be built upon its own heap, signifies doctrine from truths, which has become a ruin through falsities, city meaning doctrine; and the palace shall be inhabited after its manner, signifies the spiritual understanding of truths, as was the case with the ancients, palace denoting the understanding of spiritual truths; for in the understanding there are spiritual truths in their own forms, which appear like palaces when they are presented to the sight. His sons shall be as aforetime, and his congregation shall be established before Me, signifies that the truths of the church shall be as they were with the ancients, and that their forms shall remain as they did with them in a restored conjunction, sons here denoting truths, and congregation their conjunction and arrangement into forms, such as exists in the understanding of the man of the church, from which he has intelligence; after its manner and aforetime, mean as with the ancients.

[18] In Lamentations:

"Mine eye runneth down with waters, because the counsellor who refresheth my soul is far from me; my sons are made desolate, because the enemy hath prevailed" (1:16).

Mourning because the church is devastated is meant by Mine eye runneth down with waters; its devastation as to truths is signified by My sons are made desolate; that this is done by the falsities of evil, is signified by The enemy hath prevailed, - the enemy denoting falsity of evil and the hell from which it springs.

[19] In Isaiah:

"Awake, awake, rise up, O Jerusalem, who hast drunk out of the hand of Jehovah the cup of his anger; thou hast sucked out the dregs of the cup of trembling; there is none to lead her of all the sons whom she hath brought forth, nor any to take her by the hand of all the sons whom she hath brought up. Thy sons have fainted, they lie at the head of all the streets" (51:17, 18, 20).

The restoration of the church, which had fallen into mere falsities of evil, is signified by Awake, awake, rise up, O Jerusalem, who hast drunk out of the hand of Jehovah the cup of His anger, thou hast sucked out the dregs of the cup of trembling. Jerusalem denotes the church as to doctrine, to awake and rise up denotes its restoration, to drink the cup of anger denotes falsity, and the dregs of the cup mere falsities from which are evils, and to attract these is signified by drinking and sucking. There is none to lead her of all the sons whom she hath brought forth, nor any to take her by the hand of all the sons whom she hath brought up, signifies that none of the truths of the Word which she has learned and imbibed will lead her away from falsities, sons here meaning truths. Thy sons have fainted, they lie at the head of all the streets, signifies that truths are dispersed by falsities of every kind; because sons denote truths, fainting signifies to be dissipated, and to lie at the head of all the streets signifies by means of falsities of every kind, for the streets of a city signify true doctrinals, here false doctrinals.

[20] In the same:

"Fear not, Jacob, I will bring thy seed from the east, and I will gather thee from the west; I will say to the north, Give up, and to the south, Keep not back, bring my sons from afar, my daughters from the end of the earth" (43:5-6).

This is not said of the posterity of Jacob, but of the Gentiles, of whom the church is to be formed. Jacob and his seed mean those who will be of that church. That it must be formed of those who are in falsities from ignorance, and thus in obscurity as to truths, is signified by I will gather thee from the west, and I will say to the north, Give up; and that these must not be repelled but accepted by those who are in the good of love and in the truths of doctrine in their lucidity, is signified by I will bring thy seed from the east, and I will say to the south, Keep not back; for the east signifies the good of love in lucidity, the south the truth of doctrine in lucidity, the west the good of love in obscurity, and the north the truth of doctrine in obscurity, such as those are in who, from ignorance of truth, are in falsities, and yet desire truths. Those quarters have such significations, because, in the spiritual world, all dwell distinctly in those quarters according to the light of truth and the affection for good in which they are. These things have a similar signification in Matthew, where it is said that the elect are to be gathered together "from the four winds, from the ends of the heavens, even to the ends of them" (24:31). That all those who are in falsities from ignorance, and yet in the desire for truth, are to be brought into that church, is signified by Bring my sons from afar, and my daughters from the end of the earth; sons denoting those who are in truths, and daughters those who are in affection for truths; thus also, in a sense removed from persons, they signify truths and their affections; and afar off and the end of the earth signify removal from the light of truth, because they are in falsities from ignorance, through not possessing the Word, and having no understanding of its meaning.

[21] In the same prophet:

"They shall hasten thy sons; thy destroyers and they that lay thee waste shall go out from thee; behold, I will lift up my hand towards the nations, and towards the peoples will I raise up my sign, that they may bring thy sons in the bosom, and carry thy daughters upon the shoulder" (Isaiah 49:17, 22).

This also treats of the establishment of a new church by the Lord. The sons whom they shall hasten, and whom they shall bring in the bosom, and the daughters whom they shall carry upon the shoulder, mean all those who are in truths and in affection for them, and in a sense removed from persons, truths themselves and affections for them with those who will be of the new church; destroyers and they that lay waste signify falsities of evil; that these must be removed is signified by They shall go out from thee.

[22] In the same:

"The isles shall trust in me, and the ships of Tarshish in the beginning, to bring thy sons from afar, their silver and their gold with them" (60:9).

This also is said of the church of the Gentiles; and the sons who shall be brought, signify those who will receive truths. The rest of the passage may be seen explained above (n. 50, 406:10, 514:5).

In Hosea:

"I will not destroy Ephraim, they shall go after Jehovah, like a lion he shall roar, because he shall roar, and with honour shall sons approach from the sea; with honour they shall come, as a bird from Egypt, and as a dove from the land of Assyria, and I will cause them to dwell in their own houses" (11:9-11).

Sons from the sea, signify truths scientific (vera scientifica) and rational truths; it is therefore said that "they shall come as a bird from Egypt, and as a dove from the land of Assyria"; Egypt signifying the Natural, and Assyria the Rational, both of them as to truths; but these things have also been explained above (n. 275:19, 601:7, 654:22).

[23] And in David:

"Hear this, all ye peoples, perceive in the ear, all ye inhabitants of the age, both the sons of man (homo) and the sons of man (vir), the rich and the poor together; my mouth shall speak wisdoms, and the meditation of my heart intelligences" (Psalm 49:1-3).

The sons of man (homo), signify spiritual truths which are from the Lord through the Word, and these are doctrinals, while the sons of man (vir), signify rational and natural truths, which are from the understanding, thus they signify the understanding of the Word; the rich and the poor, signify those who are wise from these in many things, and those who are wise in few things.

[24] In the same:

Jehovah, "return, look down from the heavens, and see and visit this vine, and the shoot which thy right hand hath planted, and upon the son whom thou hast made strong for thyself; let thy hand be for the man (vir) of thy right hand, for the son of man (homo) whom thou hast made strong for thyself" (Psalm 80:14, 15, 17).

This David said of the church and of himself, which is the sense of the letter, for by the shoot and by the son he meant himself; but in the spiritual sense, the vine and the shoot which Jehovah planted signify the spiritual church, represented by the sons of Israel. The son whom He made strong for Himself, signifies the truth of doctrine from the Word; the man of the right hand, for whom is the hand, and the son of man, whom He had made strong for Himself, signify the truth of the Word in the natural sense, which is the sense of the letter, and the truth of the Word in the spiritual sense, which is the internal sense.

[25] In Ezekiel:

"Behold, I will profane my sanctuary, the greatness of my strength, the desire of your eyes, and the fondness of your soul; and your sons and your daughters, whom ye have left, shall fall by the sword" (24:21, 25).

This describes the devastation of all truth which those have who are of the church. The sanctuary which He will profane signifies the Word from which is the church, for this is the sanctuary itself, since it is Divine Truth; from its power against falsities and evils, which are from hell, it is called The greatness of the strength of Jehovah; from intelligence and heavenly life therefrom, it is called The desire of your eyes, and the fondness of your soul. That all truths with affection for them will perish through falsities is signified by Your sons and your daughters shall fall by the sword, - sons denoting truths, daughters, affections for truth, and the sword, falsity destroying the truth.

[26] In Moses:

"When the Most High gave the nations an inheritance, when he separated the sons of man, he set the bounds of the people, according to the number of the sons of Israel" (Deuteronomy 32:8).

This is said of the ancient churches which preceded the Israelitish, and of the establishment of these by the Lord; the nations mean those who were in the good of love, and the sons of man those who were in truths of doctrine from that good; that these had all truths and goods is signified by He set the bounds of the people, according to the number of the sons of Israel. That the twelve sons of Israel, or the twelve tribes, represented and thus signified the church as to all truths and goods, may be seen above (n. 39, 430, 657).

[27] In Jeremiah:

"Shame hath devoured the labour of our fathers from our childhood, their flocks and their herds, their sons and their daughters; we lie down in our shame, and our reproach doth cover us" (3:24, 25).

In the same:

"Behold, I bring upon you a nation from afar, O house of Israel, which shall devour thy harvest and thy bread; it shall devour thy sons and thy daughters, it shall devour thy flock and thy herd, it shall devour thy vine and thy fig tree, it shall impoverish thy fortified [cities] in which thou trustest, with the sword" (5:15, 17).

These words in the spiritual sense, describe the devastation of all things of the church with the Israelites. The nation from afar, signifies the falsity of evil, which is the falsity of the sensual man, destroying truths; harvest, bread, sons, daughters, flock, herd, vine, and fig-tree, which that nation will devour, signify all things of the church; harvest and bread, its truths and goods in regard to nourishment; sons and daughters, its truths and goods in regard to generation; flock and herd, spiritual and natural truths and goods; vine and fig-tree, the internal and external spiritual church therefrom.

[28] In Ezekiel:

"Though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in the midst of it, as I live, if they delivered their sons or their daughters, they only shall be delivered, and the land shall become a desolation; I will bring a sword upon the land, and I will cut off from it man and beast" (14:14, 16-18, 20).

By these words the devastation of the church is also described as to all the truths of good and the goods of truth, except with those who are reformed by means of truths from the Word, and by temptations; these are signified by Noah, Daniel, and Job. That with the rest all the truths of good and goods of truth will perish is signified by They should not deliver their sons or their daughters, but they only would be delivered; the devastation of the church by falsities is signified by The land shall become a desolation, and I will bring a sword upon the land, - land denoting the church, and sword falsity destroying truth. That all spiritual and natural truth will be destroyed, and that all intelligence and knowledge (scientia) of truth will consequently perish, is signified by I will cut off from it man and beast.

[29] In the same:

"The fathers shall eat the sons in the midst of thee, and the sons shall eat their fathers; I will execute judgments in thee, and all thy remnant I will scatter unto every wind" (5:10).

In Moses:

"[It was said] among the curses, that they should eat the flesh of their sons and of their daughters" (Leviticus 26:29).

The fathers shall eat the sons, and the sons the fathers, signifies that evils will destroy truths, and falsities goods, fathers denoting evils and goods, and sons falsities and truths; and because everything of spiritual life with man thus perishes, it is said that judgments will be executed, and the remnant scattered unto every wind, the remnant denoting the truths and goods stored up by the Lord in man from his infancy and childhood.

[30] We read also, that they led away their sons to idols to be devoured, and for food, and through the fire; as in the following passages.

In Ezekiel:

"Thou hast taken thy sons [and thy daughters] whom thou hast brought forth to me, and these thou hast sacrificed unto them to be devoured. Is this of thy whoredoms a small matter? Thou hast slaughtered my sons, and hast delivered them up, when thou madest them to pass through unto them. Thou art thy mother's daughter, and the sister of thy sisters, they loathed their husbands and their sons" (16:20, 21, 45).

These things are said of the abominations of Jerusalem. And by sacrificing their sons and daughters to idols to be devoured is signified to destroy and consume all the truths and goods of the church; to do this to truths from the Word, is signified by slaughtering the sons, and making them to pass through unto them; that the truths and goods of the Word are destroyed by falsifications and adulterations, is signified by whoredoms here and elsewhere in that chapter.

[31] In the same:

"I will pollute them with their gifts, in that they led through [the fire] every opening of the womb, that I might make them desolate. Wherefore ye offer gifts, when ye led your sons through the fire ye are polluted by all your idols" (20:26, 31).

To destroy truths by the evils of the love of self, and by desires from the proprium, is signified by leading the sons through the fire and [to destroy them] by falsities, is signified by being polluted with idols. That idols signify falsities of doctrine, and worship from [man's] own intelligence, may be seen above (n. 587).

[32] In the same:

Oholah and Oholibah "committed whoredom, and blood was in their hands, and with their idols they committed whoredom; their sons also whom they begat to me they led through unto them for food" (Ezekiel 23:37).

Oholah and Oholibah mean Samaria and Jerusalem, Samaria means the spiritual church, and Jerusalem the celestial, each as to doctrine. Falsifications and adulterations of the Word are signified by their committing whoredom, and by blood being in their hands; the falsities which thence spring up from [their] own intelligence are signified by their idols with which they committed whoredom; the signification of leading their sons through [the fire] to the idols for food, namely, that they destroyed the truths of the Word by falsities is therefore evident.

[33] As sons signify truths, therefore "the seeds which fell into the good ground" are called by the Lord "sons of the kingdom; " and "the tares" which denote falsities, sons of the evil (Matthew 13:38). Also those who are in truths are called "sons of light" (John 12:36); those who are in the marriage of truth and good from the Lord, are called "sons of the nuptials" (Mark 2:19); and those who are regenerated, "sons of God" (John 1:11-13). Because stones, in the Word, signify truths, John the Baptist said, "God is able of these stones to raise up sons unto Abraham" (Luke 3:8). That stones signify the truths upon which interior truths are based may be seen in the Arcana Coelestia 643, 1298, 3720, 6426, 8609, 10376).

[34] As sons signify truths, so in the opposite sense they also signify falsities, as in some of the passages quoted above, also in these words of Isaiah:

"Prepare the slaughter for her sons, for the iniquity of their fathers; that they may not rise and possess the land, and the faces of the earth be filled with cities. I will rise against them, and I will cut off from Babel the name and the residue, and the son and the grandson; and I will make her a heritage for the bittern, and pools of waters, and I will sweep her with the besom of destruction" (14:21-23).

This is said of Babel, which signifies adulteration of the Word and profanation. Here the total vastation of truth with those who are meant by Babel is treated of. That truths with them were utterly destroyed through adulteration of the Word is signified by Prepare the slaughter for her sons, that they may not rise and possess the land, and the faces of the earth be filled with cities; the land means the church in which there are truths, and cities mean doctrinals from mere falsities. That all truths from primaries to ultimates would perish, is signified by cutting off from Babel the name and the residue, the son and the grandson; that nothing whatever of truth would remain, is signified by she shall be swept with the besom of destruction.

[35] It must be understood that sons, in the passages above quoted, signify those who are in truths, or those who are in falsities. But because the spiritual sense of the Word has nothing in common with persons, therefore in that sense sons signify truths or falsities apart from the idea of personality. The spiritual sense is of such a nature, because the idea of person limits thought and its extension into heaven in every direction; for all thought that proceeds from affection for truth extends through heaven on all sides, nor has it any termination except like light into shade; but when a person is at the same time thought of, then the idea together with intelligence has its termination, where the person is; this is why sons, in the spiritual sense, signify truths or falsities considered apart from personality.

710. And she being with child.- That this signifies nascent doctrine from the good of celestial love, is evident from the signification of being with child (or bearing in the womb), when stated of the church, which is signified by the woman, as denoting nascent doctrine of truth from the good of celestial love. For the womb signifies inmost conjugial love, and thus celestial love in its whole extent, and the embryo in the womb, truth of doctrine from the good of celestial love, for it has the same signification as the male child which the woman brought forth, which is described in the fifth verse and which signifies doctrine of truth from the good of love, with this difference, that the embryo, being yet in the womb, derives more from the good of innocence than after birth, therefore by embryo is signified the doctrine of truth equally as by son; but the latter signifies the doctrine itself, while the former signifies nascent doctrine. From these things it is evident that to be with child (or to bear in the womb) signifies nascent doctrine of truth from the good of celestial love.

[2] The womb signifies the inmost good of love, because all the organs whose function is generation, both with males and females, signify conjugial love, and the womb, the inmost thereof, because there the foetus is conceived, and developed until birth; it is also the inmost of the genital organs, and from it also the maternal love called storge is derived. Since a man who is being regenerated is also conceived, and carried as it were in the womb and born, and since regeneration is effected by means of truths from the good of love, therefore to bear in the womb, in the spiritual sense, signifies the doctrine of truth from the good of love. There is also a correspondence of the womb with the inmost good of love; for the whole heaven corresponds to all things with man, concerning which correspondence see Heaven and Hell 87-102); this is also the case with the organs whose function is generation, these correspond there to celestial love. There is also all influx of this love out of heaven into mothers during the time of gestation, and also into embryos; and from this springs the love of their infants with mothers, and innocence with infants. From these things it is evident why the womb signifies the inmost good of love, and to bear in the womb signifies nascent doctrine of truth from the good of love.

[3] That this is the signification of the womb, and of bearing in the womb, is evident from the following passages in the Word.

In Isaiah:

"Attend unto me, O house of Jacob, and all the remains of the house of Israel carried from the womb, borne from the matrix, even unto old age I am the same, and even to hoariness I will carry; I have made, I will carry, and I will bear and deliver" (46:3, 4).

This is said of the reformation of the church, and of the regeneration of the men of the church by the Lord. The church is signified by the house of Jacob and by the house of Israel, the external church by the house of Jacob, and the internal by the house of Israel. Those carried from the womb signify those who are being regenerated by the Lord, and those borne from the matrix (vulva) signify those who are regenerated. Because the man who is being regenerated is first conceived by the Lord, and is afterwards born, and lastly educated and perfected, and because regeneration is similar in this respect to the natural generation of man, therefore to be carried from the womb signifies the state of the man who is to be regenerated from conception to birth. Birth itself, and afterwards education and perfection, are signified by to be borne from the matrix; even unto old age I am the same, and even, to hoariness I will carry. I have made, I will carry, and I will bear and deliver, has a similar signification, the former meaning regeneration by means of the goods of love and of charity, and the latter regeneration by means of truths from those goods. To deliver means to take away and remove evils and falsities which are from hell.

[4] In Hosea:

"Ephraim, his glory shall fly away as a bird, and from the birth, and from the belly, and from conception; yea, though they have brought up their sons, yet will I make them bereaved of man. Give to them, O Jehovah, a miscarrying matrix and dry breasts. Ephraim is smitten, their root is dried up, they shall not bear fruit; even when they have begotten I will slay the desires of their belly" (9:11, 12, 14, 16).

Ephraim means the church as to the understanding of truth and good. That there would be no longer any understanding of Divine Truth in the church is signified by "Ephraim, his glory shall fly away as a bird," glory signifying Divine Truth, and to fly away signifying to be scattered. The expression to fly away is used because it is said of a bird, and mention is made of a bird because a bird signifies such things as belong to the understanding and to thought therefrom. From the birth, and from the belly, and from conception, signifies the dispersion of all truth from its ultimates to primaries, birth signifying its ultimates, because it signifies what has been born; from the belly and from conception signifies what is before birth, thus all things from ultimates to primaries, for when ultimates perish, things prior also successively fall away. Though they have brought up their sons, yet I will make them bereaved of man, signifies although they have procured for themselves truths, nevertheless they will be without intelligence, sons denoting the truths of the church, and man intelligence; therefore to make them bereaved of man signifies that still they have no intelligence.

[5] Give them, O Jehovah, a miscarrying matrix and dry breasts, signifies that they have no longer truths from any good, but falsities from evil, a miscarrying matrix signifying falsities from evil in the place of truth from good, dry breasts have a similar signification, but matrix signifies truths from the good of love, and breasts truths from the good of charity, here falsities from evil contrary to truths. Ephraim is smitten, their root is dried up, signifies that there was no more any understanding of truth even from primaries, Ephraim here, as above, meaning the understanding of the truth of the church, and root its primary. They shall not bear fruit, signifies not any good, for where there are no truths good does not exist. Even when they have begotten, I will slay the desires of their belly, signifies though they have procured for themselves truths that yet they will perish, the desires of the belly signifying truths procured. It is said the belly instead of the womb, because the belly has the appearance of distention in those who are with child, but yet the term belly is used where truths are treated of, and the womb where good is treated of.

[6] In David:

"For thou art he who took me out of the womb, giving me trust from my mother's breasts; upon thee I was cast from my mother's belly, thou art my God" (Psalm 22:9, 10).

Here also the spiritual regeneration of man is described by such things as belong to natural generation from the mother; therefore Thou art He who took me out of the womb signifies to be regenerated by the Lord, and made a man of the church. Thou givest me trust from my mother's breasts, signifies to be afterwards led and spiritually educated, the mother's breasts signifying spiritual nourishment in such things as belong to the church, mother meaning the church. I was cast upon thee from the womb, signifies that the Lord has done all things from the good of love; and from my mother's belly Thou art my God, signifies that He has done all things by means of truths. For, as said above, where the subject treated of is the good of love, the term womb (uterus) is used, and where truths from that good are treated of, the term belly is used; it is therefore said, "Thou art my God," for where the good of love is treated of, the Lord is called Jehovah, and where truths are treated of, He is called God.

[7] In the Evangelists:

"Woe to them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days" (Matthew 24:19; Mark 13:17; Luke 21:23).

The subject treated of in those chapters is the consummation of the age, which means the end of the church when a last judgment takes place, therefore by those that are with child (or bear in the womb), and those that give suck in those days, over whom lamentation is made, are meant those who then receive the goods of love and the truths of that good. Those that bear in the womb denote those who receive the good of love, and those that give suck denote those who receive the truths of that good, for milk, the means of suckling, signifies truth from the good of love. It is said, Woe unto them - because they are not able to keep the goods and truths which they receive, for then hell prevails, and takes them away, and thus profanation arises. Hell then prevails, because at the end of the church the falsities of evil reign, and take away the truths of good; for man is held in the midst between heaven and hell, and, before a last judgment, that which arises out of hell prevails over that which descends from heaven. Upon this subject see Heaven and Hell 538, 540, 541, 546, 589-596); and the small work concerning The Last Judgment (73, 74).

[8] In Luke:

"Behold, the days shall come, in which they shall say, Blessed are the barren, and the bellies which have not borne, and the breasts which have not given suck" (23:29).

These words have a similar signification, they are also spoken of the last time of the church; the barren, and the bellies that have not borne, signify those who have not received genuine truths, that is, truths from the good of love, and the breasts that have not given suck signify those who have not received genuine truths from the good of charity. For all truths are from good; and goods are of a twofold kind, celestial good, which is the good of love to the Lord, and spiritual good, which is the good of charity towards the neighbour, and breasts have a similar signification to that of milk, namely, truth from good.

[9] In the same:

"A woman lifting up her voice from the people said" concerning Jesus, "Blessed is the belly which bare thee, and the breasts which thou hast sucked; but 'Jesus' said, Yea, rather, blessed are they that hear the Word of God and keep it" (11:27, 28).

Since to bear in the belly, and to give suck with the breast, signify the regeneration of man, as said above, therefore the Lord answered, Blessed are they who hear the Word of God and keep it, which describes the regeneration effected by means of truths from the Word, and by a life according to them; to hear the Word of God signifies to learn truths from the Word, and to keep it signifies to live according to them.

[10] In John:

"Nicodemus said, How can a man be born when he is old? he cannot enter into his mother's womb a second time? Jesus answered, Verily, I say unto you, except a man be born of water and of the spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of the heavens. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, but that which is born of the spirit is spirit" (3:4-6).

That Nicodemus was thinking of natural instead of spiritual generation, concerning which the Lord spoke, is evident, therefore the Lord teaches him concerning regeneration, that it is effected by means of truths from the Word, and by a life according to them, and this is signified by being born of water and of the spirit; for water, in the spiritual sense, is truth from the Word, and the spirit is life according to it. That man is born natural, and becomes spiritual by a life according to truths from the Word, is signified by "that which is born of the flesh is flesh, but that which is born of the spirit is spirit"; that the natural man, unless he becomes spiritual, cannot be saved, is meant by the words, "except a man be born of water and of the spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of the heavens."

[11] Since the Lord alone reforms and regenerates man, therefore in the Word He is called the Former from the womb; as in Isaiah:

"Jehovah, thy Maker and Former from the womb, helpeth thee" (44:2, 24).

In the same:

"Jehovah hath called me from the womb, from the bowels of my mother he hath remembered my name. Thus saith Jehovah, my Former from the womb, to be his servant, to bring back Jacob unto him," and Israel shall be gathered to Him (49:1, 5).

In many passages of the Word the Lord is called Creator, Maker, and Former from the womb, and also Redeemer, for the reason that He creates man anew, reforms, regenerates, and redeems. It may be supposed that the Lord is so called because He created man and forms him in the womb, but still it is a spiritual creation and formation which is there meant. For the Word is not only natural, but also spiritual; it is natural for men, who are natural, and spiritual for angels, who are spiritual, as also is evident from this, that the things here said are said of Israel, and, in the highest sense, of the Lord. Israel means the church, thus every man of the church; and because the Lord knows what every one is as to the good of love and truth of faith, therefore it is said, "Jehovah hath called me from the womb, from the bowels of my mother he hath remembered my name"; to call and to know the name of any one signifies to know what he is; from the womb denotes as to the good of love, and from the bowels of my mother, as to truths from that good. Jacob who shall be brought back unto Him, and Israel who shall be gathered to Him, signify the church; Jacob signifies the external church, and Israel the internal church, the latter being in the spiritual, the former in the natural man.

[12] In Jeremiah:

"Before I formed thee in the womb I knew thee, and before thou camest forth from the womb I sanctified thee; I will give thee as a prophet unto the nations" (1:5).

This is said of the prophet Jeremiah, but a prophet, in the spiritual sense, means one that teaches truth, and, in the abstract sense, doctrine of truth; therefore to form in the womb, and to know him before he came forth from the womb, signify the foreseeing that one may be in truths from good by regeneration, thus that one may be able to receive and teach the Word. To sanctify and to give as a prophet to the nations have the same meaning, the nations denoting those who are in good, and who from good receive truths.

[13] In David:

"I have been laid upon thee from the womb; thou art he that brought me forth from my mother's bowels" (Psalm 71:6).

This has a similar meaning.

In the same:

"Lo, sons are the heritage of Jehovah, the fruit of the belly a reward" (Psalm 127:3).

Here sons mean those who are in truths from good, as also elsewhere in the Word; and the fruit of the belly means those who are in good by means of truths, and these have heaven, which is a heritage and also a reward.

[14] In Isaiah:

"Can a woman forget her sucking child and not have compassion on the son of her belly? yea, though these forget, yet will not I forget thee" (49:15).

This is said, because in the spiritual sense regeneration is meant, therefore a comparison is made with a woman, and her love towards her sucking child; the case is similar with one who is regenerated by the Lord.

[15] In David:

"Jehovah hath sworn unto David in truth, Of the fruit of thy belly will I set upon thy throne" (Psalm 132:11).

David here, as also elsewhere, means the Lord as to the spiritual kingdom, which is His royalty, therefore to set the fruit of His belly upon the throne means one who is being regenerated by Him; such a man is called the fruit of His belly, because he is in truths and in a life according to them; the throne which he shall have means heaven. This is the signification of the above words in their spiritual sense, but in the highest sense the Lord and His glorification are meant.

In the same:

"Thou possessest my reins, thou hast covered me in my mother's belly" (Psalm 139:13).

[16] To possess the reins signifies to purify truths from falsities, as may be seen above (n. 167), and to cover in the mother's belly signifies to defend from the falsities of evil which are from hell, and this from the beginning of regeneration and continually afterwards.

[17] In the same:

"The wicked are estranged from the womb, they go astray from the belly, speaking a lie" (Psalm 58:3).

This does not mean that the wicked are estranged from the womb, and that they go astray from the belly, that is, from birth, for no one from birth is estranged from God and goes astray; but to be estranged from the womb signifies that they go back from good to evil from the first day when one could be reformed, and to go astray from the belly signifies to go back in a similar manner from truths to falsities; to speak a lie also signifies to believe falsities. Such are said to go back from the first day when they could be reformed, because the Lord strives to reform all, whoever they may be, beginning from childhood and continuing through boyhood to youth; but those who do not suffer themselves to be reformed, at once turn back.

[18] In Hosea:

"The iniquity of Ephraim is bound up, his sin is hidden, the pains of a travailing woman shall come upon him; he is a son not wise, because he doth not continue his time in the womb of sons" (13:12, 13).

Ephraim signifies the understanding of truth, here the understanding perverted, which is that of falsity instead of truth; its falsity is signified by iniquity, and the evil of falsity by his sin; he is therefore called a son not wise; his not accepting reformation is signified by "the pains of a travailing woman shall come upon him"; "he doth not continue his time in the womb of sons," signifies that he doth not remain in a state of reformation.

[19] In Isaiah:

"I knew that, in dealing treacherously, thou wouldest deal treacherously, and thou wast called by the name of a transgressor from the womb" (48:8).

This is said of the house of Jacob, which signifies the church perverted; to deal treacherously, signifies to act contrary to revealed truths; and to be called by the name of a transgressor from the womb, signifies to turn back from truths from the first time when reformation might be effected; to be called by a name, signifies one's quality as to truths.

[20] In Hosea:

Jacob "supplanted his brother in the womb, and in his strength he fought powerfully with God" (12:3).

No one can know what these words mean, in the internal sense, unless it be known that Jacob and his posterity, even from their fathers downwards, were merely natural, and consequently opposed to the good of heaven and of the church. For he who is natural, and not at the same time spiritual, is opposed to that good, this being procured solely by the conjunction of truth and good, first in the spiritual, and afterwards in the natural man; but Esau signifies natural good in the spiritual man. Now, because Jacob and his posterity were of such a nature, and because they rejected all such good, and this from the very first, it is therefore said of Jacob that he supplanted his brother in the womb. Moreover, the combat of Jacob with the angel, described in Genesis (32:24-31), depicts the tenacity with which they insisted upon possessing the land of Canaan, which means that a church should be instituted among them; this tenacity is depicted by that combat, and also by what is said in the following verse in Hosea:

"And he fought powerfully with the angel; he wept and entreated him" (12:4).

But that they would nevertheless be destitute of any good of celestial and spiritual love is meant by the angel touching the hollow of Jacob's thigh, and by its being put out of joint in wrestling with the angel (Genesis 32:24-31). For the thigh signifies the conjunction of good and truth, and its being put out of joint signifies that with Jacob and his posterity there was no conjunction of truth with good; this is meant by the words "Jacob fought powerfully with God." But see on this subject Arcana Coelestia 4281). That the Israelitish and Jewish nation was not chosen, but was accepted in order to represent a church, because of the stubbornness with which their fathers and Moses persisted, may be seen in the same work (n. 4290, 4293, 7051, 7439, 10430, 10535, 10632).

[21] In Moses:

The sons strove with each other in the belly of Rebecca; and "Jehovah said, Two nations are in thy womb, and two peoples shall be separated from thy bowels, and people shall prevail over people, and the elder shall serve the younger. And the days were fulfilled to bring forth, and, lo, twins were in her womb; and the first came forth red all over, like a hairy garment, and they called his name Esau; and afterwards his brother came forth, and his hand had hold of the heel of Esau, and he called his name Jacob" (Genesis 25:20-26).

These historical statements involve what has just been said above concerning Jacob and his posterity, - that they were merely natural, and thus not in any natural good from what is spiritual, which is signified by Esau. That Jacob's posterity had not that good is signified by Jacob, as he came forth out of his mother's womb taking hold of the heel of Esau, the heel signifying the ultimate Natural. But these things are also explained in the Arcana Coelestia.

[22] In the same:

"From the God of thy father, and he will help thee, and with the Almighty (Schaddai), and he will bless thee, with the blessings of heaven from above, with the blessings of the abyss lying beneath, with the blessings of the breasts and of the womb" (Genesis 49:25).

This is the blessing of Joseph by his father Israel, which is also explained in the Arcana Coelestia, (n. 6428-6434), where it is shown that the blessings of the breasts signify the affections for good and truth, and the blessings of the womb the conjunction of good and truth, thus regeneration.

[23] In the same:

"That" Jehovah "may love thee, and bless thee, and multiply thee, that he may bless the fruit of thy belly, and the fruit of thy ground, thy corn, and thy new wine, thy oil, the young of thine oxen, and the rams of thy flock" (Deuteronomy 7:13).

And in another place:

"Blessed be the fruit of thy belly, and the fruit of thy ground, the young of thine oxen, and of the sheep of thy flock" (Deuteronomy 28:4).

These words were spoken to the sons of Jacob, who understood them only naturally, that is, according to the sense of the letter, because they were completely natural, and not in the least degree spiritual. But those blessings signify spiritual blessings, which pertain to heaven, and thus to eternal life - the fruit of the belly signifying the good of love and the truth of that good; the fruit of the ground, everything pertaining to the church; the corn and new wine (mustum), all good and truth in the natural man; the young of oxen, and of the sheep of the flock, their affections, exterior and interior. In general all those things signify the fructification and multiplication of truth and good.

[24] In Isaiah:

"Behold, I stir up against them the Medes, who will not esteem silver, and in gold they will not take delight, whose bows shall dash in pieces the young men, and they shall have no pity on the fruit of the belly; their eye shall not spare the sons" (13:17, 18).

The Medes mean those who make no account of the truth and good of the church, and who destroy those things of the understanding and love that are therefrom - the silver, which they will not esteem, and the gold, in which they will not take delight, signifying the truth and good of heaven and of the church, silver their truth, and gold their good. Their bows shall dash in pieces the young men, and they shall have no pity on the fruit of the belly, signifies that falsities of doctrine will destroy all the understanding of truth and all the good of love; bow signifying falsity of doctrine, young men the understanding of truth, and the fruit of the belly the good of love. Their eye shall not spare the sons, signifies that their perverted understanding and their insanity will lay waste all the truth of the church, sons denoting truths, and the eye the understanding perverted, which is insanity. It must be observed that the Medes do not mean the Medes, but those persons and things in the church that lay it waste.

[25] In Matthew:

The Pharisees said, "Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause? Jesus answering, said, Have ye not read, that he who made them from the beginning made them male, and female, and said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife, and they two shall be one flesh? Therefore they are no more two but one flesh; what therefore God hath joined together, no man shall put asunder. Moses, for the hardness of your heart, suffered you to put away your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, except for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery, and whosoever marrieth her that is put away, committeth adultery. The disciples said, If the case of a man with his wife be so, it is not expedient to marry. But Jesus said, All do not receive this word, but those to whom it is given; for there are eunuchs who are so born from their mother's womb, and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of God. He who is able to receive, let him receive" (19:3-12).

That there are interior arcana contained in these words is evident from the Lord's saying, that all do not receive these words, but those to whom it is given. Men have scarcely any understanding of the interior arcanum contained in the above words spoken by the Lord, but all the angels in heaven understand it, because they perceive the words of the Lord spiritually, and the arcana contained therein are spiritual, namely, that there are marriages in the heavens equally as on earth, but in the heavens marriages are of like with like. For man is born to act from the understanding, but woman from affection, and the understanding with men is the understanding of truth and good, and affection with women is the affection for truth and good; and as all understanding derives its life from affection, therefore the two there are conjoined just as affection which is of the will is conjoined with a correspondent thought belonging to the understanding. For the understanding is different with every one just as the truths from which the understanding is formed are different.

In general there are celestial truths, spiritual truths, moral truths, civil truths, and in fact natural truths, and of every kind of truth there are species and varieties innumerable. And in consequence of this the understanding of one person is never like the understanding of another, or the affection of one like that of another; still, in order that understanding and affection may act unitedly, they are so conjoined in heaven that the correspondent affection of the woman is conjoined with the correspondent understanding of the man. This is the reason why the life of each, from correspondence, is full of love. Now, because two different affections cannot correspond to one understanding, a man never has and never can have more than one wife in heaven.

[26] From these things what is spiritually meant by the above words of the Lord can be seen and inferred; for example by "a man shall leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife, and they shall be one flesh," is meant that a man will leave the evil and falsity which he has from his religion and which defile his understanding, thus that which he has from father and mother, and that his understanding, being separated from these, will be conjoined with the correspondent affection of the wife; by this means the two become one affection for truth and good. This is meant by the one flesh, in which the two will be; for flesh, in the spiritual sense, signifies the good which belongs to love or affection. Therefore, they are no more two but one flesh, signifies that thus the understanding of truth and good, and the affection for good and truth, are not two, but one, just as the understanding and the will, being indeed two, are nevertheless one; and as truth and good, and faith and charity, being two are nevertheless one; that is to say, when truth is of good, and good is of truth, also when faith is of charity, and charity is of faith; this also is the source of love conjugial.

[27] Moses for the hardness of their hearts suffered them to put away a wife for every cause, because the Israelites and Jews were natural and not spiritual, and those who are completely natural are also hard in heart, because they are not in conjugial love, but in lascivious love, such as is that of adultery. It is said that whosoever shall put away a wife, except for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery, because fornication signifies falsity, and with a woman the affection for evil and falsity, thus all affection which does not at all agree with the understanding of truth and good; and on account of that discordance, conjugial love, which is of truth and good, and thus is heaven and the church with man, entirely perishes; for when there is no interior conjunction, which is that of minds and dispositions, the marriage is dissolved. He who marries her that is put away also commits adultery, because she that is put away on account of fornication means an affection for evil and falsity, as said above, which must not be conjoined with any understanding of truth and good, for by such means the understanding is perverted, and also becomes an understanding of falsity and evil; and the conjunction of falsity and evil is spiritual adultery, as the conjunction of truth and good is spiritual marriage.

[28] The reason why the Lord afterwards spoke concerning eunuchs, was that the disciples said, "If the case of a man with his wife be so, it is not expedient to marry;" and since marriages among the Jewish nation, which was a nation hard in heart because in falsities from evil, were not marriages, but, understood in a spiritual sense, were adulteries, therefore also that nation was called by the Lord an adulterous generation. This is why the Lord spoke concerning eunuchs, who mean those who do not desire to enter into marriage, that is, to be conjoined with affection for evil, because by that means the understanding of truth and good would be perverted and dissipated. Thus eunuchs mean both the married and the unmarried, in whom the understanding of truth and good is conjoined with affection for truth and good. They are called eunuchs, because they have no lasciviousness such as those have, who, from hardness of heart, in which the Jews were, have married more than one wife, and divorced them for every cause.

[29] It must be first observed that the marriage of the understanding of truth and good with affection for truth and good has, in general, a threefold origin, and thus is in a threefold degree. In the highest degree there is the marriage of those who are called celestial, in a lower degree, of those who are spiritual, and in the lowest degree, of those who are natural; for there are three degrees of man's interiors, and thus there are three heavens; those who are in the highest heaven are called celestial, those in the lower, spiritual, and those in the lowest, natural.

The marriage of the understanding of truth and good with the affection for truth and good in the Celestial is meant by the eunuchs who are born eunuchs from their mother's womb, because, when such are being regenerated, they receive truths immediately in the life, through the love of truths; for this reason they know truths from truths themselves; and their regeneration from the Lord through love to Him is signified by being made eunuchs in the womb, thus being free from the lasciviousness of adultery.

[30] But the marriage of the understanding of truth and good with the affection for truth and good with the spiritual, is meant by eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men, for these are not regenerated in the womb, that is, through love, but by means of truths first received in the memory, afterwards intelligently in the thought, and so finally in the life through a certain spiritual affection. These are said to be made eunuchs by men, because they are reformed from the memory through the understanding; and man signifies that understanding, as also above, where man and wife are mentioned. But the marriage of the understanding of truth and good with the affection for truth and good with the natural, is meant by the eunuchs who make themselves eunuchs; for the natural, by means of cognitions and knowledges (scientiae), get to themselves a natural light (lumen), and by means of the good of life according to these they acquire affection, and thus conscience. And as these know no otherwise than that they themselves do this - for the natural man does not enjoy the intelligence of the spiritual man, or the perception of the celestial man - therefore they are meant by those who make themselves eunuchs, but this is so said from appearance, and from their obscure faith. This, therefore, is the meaning of becoming eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of God. And because few apprehend these things, the Lord says, He who is able to receive, let him receive. But for the illustration of this subject see what is said in Heaven and Hell concerning the two kingdoms into which the heavens are distinguished, and concerning the three heavens according to the three degrees of the interiors of man (n. 20-40), and concerning marriages in heaven (n. 366-386).

[31] It is said of John the Baptist, that he was filled with the Holy Spirit in his mother's womb; and that [the babe] leaped in the womb at the salutation of Mary (Luke 1:15, 41, 44). This signified that he was about to represent the Lord as to the Word, as Elijah represented Him; for in the Word, which is Divine Truth, there is everywhere the marriage of Divine Good and Divine Truth, and Divine Good united with Divine Truth is the Divine proceeding from the Lord, which is called the Holy Spirit. The leaping in the womb at the salutation of Mary represented the joy arising from the love of the conjunction of good and truth, thus the joy of heavenly conjugial love, which is in every particular of the Word. That John the Baptist, like Elijah, represented the Lord as to the Word may be seen in the Arcana Coelestia 7643, 9372).

[32] The signification of the male that first opened the womb shall also be stated. Of this it is said in Moses:

"When Jehovah hath brought thee into the land of Canaan, thou shalt cause to pass over to Jehovah every one that shall open the womb, and every firstling that cometh of a beast, as many males as thou hast shall be Jehovah's. But every first born among thy sons thou shalt redeem. And it shall come to pass that if thy son shall ask thee in time to come, saying, What is this? thou shalt say unto him, By might of hand Jehovah brought us out of Egypt, out of the house of servants, when he slew all the first-born in the land, from the first-born of man even to the first-born of beast; therefore I sacrifice to Jehovah every one that shall open the womb, males; and all the first-born of my sons I redeem" (Exodus 13:11, 15; 34:19, 20).

That the Levites were accepted in the place of these, also in the same:

"Behold, I have accepted the Levites out of the midst of the sons of Israel, instead of all the first-born that openeth the womb among the sons of Israel, that the Levites may be mine; because every first-born is mine, in the day when I smote all the first-born in the land of Egypt, I sanctified to me all the first-born in Israel; from man even to beast they shall be mine" (Numbers 3:12, 13; 8:16, 17).

The spiritual meaning that lies concealed in this statute does not appear, until it is known that natural generations and nativities signify spiritual generations and nativities; also, that all the organs of generation correspond to celestial love and its productions, which are uses, and are called the truths of that love. Because this is the case, and because marriage in the spiritual sense signifies the marriage of good and truth, as stated above, therefore the signification, in the same sense, of him that openeth the womb, or the first-born male is evident. By him that openeth the womb, or the first-born male is signified that which is first born from celestial love, and from the perception of good and truth; and this is evidently truth from good, which serves as a beginning to what follows; this in its essence is spiritual good, for such good, in its form, is truth from good, or, what is the same, truth from good, in its essence, is spiritual good. This is signified by him that openeth the womb, the first-born male, because the womb corresponds to inmost conjugial love, which in its essence is celestial love; and from this love spiritual good is produced, which in its form is truth from good, and specifically, that truth from good which serves as a beginning to what follows. That which serves as a beginning is everything, as regards their essential, in the things which succeed, because it is that which rules in them. As this is the signification of him that openeth the womb, or the first-born male, therefore it was sanctified to Jehovah, and by it all the subsequent offspring were also sanctified.

[33] It must be understood that the goods of heaven and of the church are of three degrees; the good of the inmost degree, thus also of the inmost heaven, is called the good of celestial love; the good of the lower degree, which is also the good of the middle heaven, is called the good of spiritual love; and the good of the lowest degree, which is also the good of the ultimate heaven, is called natural good. These goods, as they follow in order, so are also born in order. The good of natural love is born from the good of spiritual love, and the good of spiritual love is born from the good of celestial love. This is the reason that by him that openeth the womb, the first-born male, is signified the good of spiritual love born from the good of celestial love.

[34] Since beasts signify affections, beasts of the herd exterior affections, and beasts of the flock interior affections, therefore also the first-born of these were sanctified. That this is the case is also evident from this, that the Levites were received in the place of all the first-born. For Levi - and thus the Levite - signifies spiritual good from celestial good; consequently the priesthood, which signifies celestial good, was given to Aaron and his sons, and the ministry of that good, which signifies truth from good, was given to the Levites. That this was the signification of the tribe of Levi, may be seen above (n. 444). The reason the statute concerning the first-born was given to the sons of Israel because all the first-born in Egypt were slain, was that the first-born in Egypt there signify falsities from evil contrary to or opposed to truths from good, thus infernal evil contrary to or opposed to spiritual good; and that when those falsities from evil in man are slain, that is, removed, truths from good, that is, spiritual good, then begin to flow in from the Lord, and to be received by man. From these things it is evident what was represented and signified by that statute in the spiritual sense. What was signified by God's closing up every womb of the house of Abimelech on account of Sarah, Abraham's wife, and by God's healing Abimelech, his wife, and their maid-servants, so that they brought forth after Abraham had prayed for them (Genesis 20:17, 18), may be seen in the Arcana Coelestia, where the passage is explained.