594. Encompassed with a cloud, signifies the ultimate of the Word. This is evident from the signification of "encompassed," as being by what is outside of one, for that which is round about is also without, for it is more remote in the circumference; so here it means the ultimate. Also from the signification of a "cloud," as being Divine truth in ultimates, consequently the Word in the sense of the letter. This signification of "cloud" is evident from appearances in the spiritual world; also from the Word wherever "clouds" are mentioned. From appearances in the spiritual world, as follows: the universal angelic heaven consists solely of the Divine truth that proceeds from the Lord; the reception of this constitutes angels. In the highest heaven this truth appears like a pure aura which is called ether; in the next lower heaven as less pure, almost like the atmosphere that is called air; in the lowest heaven it appears like something thinly aqueous over which is a vapor like a cloud; such is the appearance of Divine truth according to degrees in its descent. There is a like appearance when angels of the higher heavens speak about Divine truths; what they say is then presented to the view of those who are in the lowest heaven under the appearance of a cloud that floats hither and thither; the more intelligent of them know from its movement and brightness and form what the angels of the higher heavens are speaking about with each other. This makes evident why a "cloud" signifies Divine truth in ultimates. As most things in the Word were taken from the appearances in the spiritual world, and thence have a like significance as they have there, so is it with "clouds."

[2] That a "cloud" signifies in the Word the sense of the letter, which is Divine truth in ultimates, can be seen from the following passages. In the Gospels:

Jesus took Peter, James, and John into a high mountain; and He was transfigured before them; and His face did shine as the sun, and His garments became as the light. And behold, there appeared Moses and Elijah speaking with Him. While Peter was yet speaking, behold a bright cloud overshadowed them; and behold a voice out of the cloud, saying, This is My beloved Son, hear ye Him (Matthew 17:1-10; Mark 9:1-11).

And in Luke:

While Peter thus spake there came a cloud and overshadowed them; hence they feared as they entered into the cloud. But there came a voice out of the cloud, saying, This is My beloved Son; hear ye Him (Luke 9:34, 35).

In this transfiguration the Lord represented Divine truth, which is the Word; for the Lord, when He was in the world, made His Human Divine truth, and when He went out of the world He made His Human Divine good by uniting it with the Divine Itself, that was in Him from conception. (That the Lord made His Human Divine truth when He was in the world, and afterwards Divine good, may be seen in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 303-306; and that the Lord is the Word, n. 263.) Consequently the particular things that were seen when He was transfigured signify the proceeding of Divine truth from the Lord's Divine good. The Divine good of Divine love which was in Him, and from which He had Divine truth in His Human, was represented by "His face did shine as the sun;" for the "face" represents the interiors, since these shine forth through the face; and the "sun" signifies the Divine love (See above, n. 401, 412). The Divine truth was represented by the "garments" which became as the light; "garments" in the Word signify truths, and "the Lord's garments" Divine truth (See also above, n. 64, 271, 395); this is why they appeared "as the light;" for Divine truth makes the light in the angelic heaven, and is therefore signified by "light" in the Word (respecting which see in the work on Heaven and Hell 126-140). Because it was the Word, which is Divine truth, that was represented, therefore "there appeared Moses and Elijah speaking with Him;" "Moses and Elijah" signifying the Word; "Moses" the historical Word, and "Elijah" the prophetical Word. The Word in the letter was represented by the "cloud that overshadowed the disciples, and into which they entered;" for the "disciples" represented in the Word the church, which at that time and afterwards was only in truths from the sense of the letter; and because, as has been said in the article above, revelations and responses are made by Divine truth in ultimates, and because this truth is such as is the truth of the sense of the letter of the Word, it came to pass that "a voice was heard out of the cloud, saying, This is My beloved Son, hear ye Him," meaning that He is Divine truth, or the Word.

[3] He who does not know that a "cloud" in the spiritual sense of the Word means the Word in the letter, cannot know what arcanum is involved in this:

That in the consummation of the age they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and glory (Matthew 24:30; Mark 13:26; 14:61, 62; Luke 21:27).

And in Revelation:

Behold, Jesus Christ cometh with the clouds and every eye shall see Him (Genesis 1:7).

And again:

I saw, and behold a white cloud, and on the cloud One sat like unto the Son of man (Numbers 14:14).

And in Daniel:

I was seeing in the night visions, and behold, there was coming with the clouds of the heavens one like the Son of man (Daniel 7:13).

He who is ignorant that "the clouds of heaven" signify the truths of the Word in the sense of the letter, cannot know otherwise than that in the consummation of the age, that is, in the end of the church, the Lord is to come in the clouds of heaven, and manifest Himself to the world; but it is well known that since the Word was given, the Lord manifests Himself through that only, for the Word, which is Divine truth, is the Lord Himself in heaven and in the church. From this it can now be seen that the manifestation here predicted signifies His manifestation in the Word; and His manifestation in the Word was effected through His opening and revealing the internal or spiritual sense of the Word, for in that sense is the Divine truth itself, such as it is in heaven, and the Divine truth in heaven is the Lord Himself there. This makes clear that "the Lord's coming in the clouds of heaven with glory" signifies the revelation of Him in the sense of the letter of the Word from its spiritual sense. "The clouds of heaven" signify the things belonging to the sense of the letter, and "glory" signifies those belonging to the spiritual sense (See in the work on Heaven and Hell 1), also the revelation itself of the spiritual sense (in the small work on The White Horse); "Son of man" also signifies the Lord in relation to Divine truth (as may be seen above, n. 63, 151).

[4] That a "cloud" signifies Divine truth in ultimates, consequently the Word in the sense of the letter, can be seen further from the following passages. In Isaiah:

Behold, Jehovah rideth upon a light cloud, and cometh into Egypt, and the idols of Egypt are moved before Him, and the heart of the Egyptian melteth in the midst of him (Isaiah 19:1).

"Egypt" here does not mean Egypt, but the natural man when separated from the spiritual, which is then in falsities and evils, and through these perverts all the truths and goods of the church; that the natural man is destroyed by these falsities and evils when truth from good flows in from the Lord is described by these words of the prophet understood in the internal sense. Jehovah is said "to ride upon a light cloud" to signify that the Lord enlightens the understanding with truths; "to ride" in reference to Jehovah or the Lord, signifying to enlighten the understanding, and "a light cloud" signifying truth; that then "the idols of Egypt are moved, and the heart of the Egyptian melteth," signifies that the evils and falsities of the natural man, separated from the spiritual, then destroy the natural man; "idols" meaning falsities, the "heart" evils, and "Egypt" the natural man.

[5] In Moses:

There is none like unto the God of Jeshurun, who rideth in heaven and in His magnificence upon the clouds, the abode of the God of antiquity, and underneath are the arms of the world (Deuteronomy 33:26, 27).

Here, too, "riding in heaven upon the clouds" signifies to enlighten the understanding by the influx of spiritual truth into natural truth, which is the truth of the sense of the letter of the Word. Because Divine truth in the heavens is spiritual, and Divine truth on the earth is natural, and the latter is enlightened by the former, therefore it is said, "and in His magnificence upon the clouds;" "the abode of the God of antiquity" means Divine truth with the angels, and "the arms of the world," mean Divine truths with men; the truths of the sense of the letter of the Word are what are meant by "the arms of the world," for that sense is the very strength of Divine truth, "arms" signifying strength. (That the strength of Divine truth is in the sense of the letter can be seen in the article just above.)

[6] In David:

God rode upon a cherub and did fly, and was borne upon the wings of the wind. He made darkness His hiding place; His tent round about Him the darkness of waters, the clouds of the heavens. At the brightness before Him the clouds passed (Psalms 18:10-12).

This, too, describes the enlightenment of the Word, and thus of the church; enlightenment by the influx of Divine truth from the heavens is signified by "God rode upon a cherub and did fly;" Divine truth in ultimates which is enlightened is signified by "the wings of the wind," "the darkness of waters," and "the clouds of the heavens," these signifying the various degrees of the understanding receiving enlightenment; that the obscurities of the ultimate sense are thereby dissipated is meant by "at the brightness before Him the clouds passed."

[7] In the same:

Sing unto God, praise His name; extol Him that rideth upon the clouds (Psalms 68:4).

Here, too, "Him that rideth upon the clouds" means the Lord as to enlightenment; "clouds" meaning truths in ultimates, which are enlightened, and these are enlightened by the influx of light, which is Divine truth, from the spiritual world or heaven.

[8] In Nahum:

Jehovah hath His way in the storm and in the tempest, and the clouds are the dust of His feet (Nahum 1:3).

Truth in ultimates, which is the truth of the sense of the letter of the Word, is called "clouds, the dust of the feet of Jehovah," because it is the natural and lowest truth, into which Divine truth in heaven, which is spiritual, closes, and upon which it subsists. Divine truth in ultimates, because it is but little understood unless there is enlightenment from heaven, is a subject of discussion and controversy, and this is meant by "storm and tempest in which Jehovah hath His way," spiritual "storm and tempest" meaning discussion concerning the genuine sense, which nevertheless, with those who desire truth, the Lord enlightens by means of influx.

[9] In David:

His seed shall be to eternity, and His throne as the sun before Thee. ¹ It shall be established as the moon to eternity, and as a faithful witness in the clouds (Psalms 89:36, 37).

This is said of the Lord, and the "seed that shall be to eternity" signifies Divine truth which is from Him. The "throne that shall be as the sun and as the moon" signifies heaven and the church as to the good of love and as to the truth of faith; "throne" signifying heaven and the church; "as the sun" in respect to the good of love, and "as the moon" in respect to the truth of faith. "A faithful witness in the clouds" signifies that He is Divine truth, for "witness" in reference to the Lord, signifies that which proceeds from Him, and as that is His, it witnesses respecting Him.

[10] In the same:

Jehovah layeth the beams of His chambers in the waters; He maketh the cloud ² His chariot; He walketh upon the wings of the wind (Psalms 104:3).

These few words describe heaven and the church, and at the same time doctrine from the Word. "He layeth the beams of His chambers in the waters" signifies that the Lord forms the heavens and the church from Divine truths; "waters" signify Divine truths; "Jehovah's chambers" signify the heavens and the church, and "to lay beams" signifies to form. "He maketh the clouds His chariot" signifies doctrine from ultimate Divine truths; "clouds" meaning ultimate Divine truths, such as are in the sense of the letter of the Word, and a "chariot" doctrine; this is said because every doctrine of the church is to be formed from and confirmed by the sense of the letter of the Word. "He walketh upon the wings of the wind" signifies the life which doctrine has from spiritual influx; "to walk" signifying to live, and in reference to the Lord life itself; "the wings of the wind" mean the spiritual things of the Word. (That "waters" signify truths, see above, n. 71, 483, 518, 537, 538.)

[11] In Isaiah:

I will lay waste My vineyard, I will even command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it (Isaiah 5:6).

This means that the church shall have no understanding of Divine truth or of the Word; "vineyard" signifying the church, "clouds" the Word in the letter, and "their raining no rain," that there shall be no understanding of Divine truth from the Word.

[12] In David:

Jehovah who covereth the heavens with clouds, who prepareth rain for the earth, who maketh grass to grow upon the mountains (Psalms 147:8).

"To cover the heavens with clouds" signifies to defend and preserve the spiritual things of the Word which are in the heavens, by means of natural truths such as are in the sense of the letter of the Word; "who prepareth rain for the earth" signifies instruction therefrom for the church; "who maketh grass to grow upon the mountains" signifies nourishment thereby for those who are in the good of love.

[13] The like is signified by the following words in Isaiah:

Drop down, ye heavens, from above, and let the clouds stream down with righteousness; let the earth open and bring forth the fruit of salvation (Isaiah 45:8).

And in Judges:

Jehovah, when Thou didst go forth out of Seir, when Thou didst march out of the field of Edom, the earth trembled, the heavens also dropped, yea, the clouds dropped waters (Judges 5:4).

"To go forth out of Seir, and to march out of the field of Edom," signifies, in reference to Jehovah, the enlightenment of the Gentiles by the Lord when He assumed the Human; "the earth trembling" signifies the state of the church then changed; "the heavens dropped, and the clouds dropped waters," signifies instruction, influx, and perception of Divine truth; "to drop" signifying instruction and influx; "waters" truths; "the heavens" the interior things of truth, and "clouds," the exterior, such as are in the sense of the letter of the Word.

[14] In David:

The clouds poured out waters; the skies gave forth a voice, and Thine arrows went forth (Psalms 77:17).

"The clouds poured out waters" signifies that there are genuine truths from the sense of the letter of the Word; "the skies gave forth a voice" signifies influx from the heavens; "Thine arrows went forth" signifies Divine truths therefrom. In Job:

God bindeth up the waters in His clouds, and the cloud is not rent under them. He spreadeth His cloud upon His throne (Job 26:8, 9).

Here, too, "clouds" stand for truths ultimate in order, and because these contain in themselves and enclose spiritual truths that they may not be dispersed, this is described and signified by "God bindeth up the waters in His clouds, and the cloud is not rent;" because exterior truths, which are called natural, also encompass and enclose interior truths, which are called spiritual, and are proper to the angels of the heavens, this is described and signified by "He spreadeth His cloud upon His throne."

[15] In Isaiah:

Jehovah said, I will be quiet, and I will behold in My dwelling place like clear heat upon light, and like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest (Isaiah 18:4);

a "cloud of dew" signifying truth bringing forth fruit from good. In the same:

Jehovah will create over every dwelling place of Mount Zion and upon her convocations a cloud by day, and a smoke and the brightness of a flame of fire by night; for over all the glory shall be a covering (Isaiah 4:5).

"The dwelling place of Mount Zion" signifies the good of the celestial church, and "her convocations" signify the truths of that good; protection lest it should be hurt by too much light or too much shade is signified by "a cloud by day and a smoke, and the brightness of a flame of fire by night," and as every spiritual good and truth is preserved from harm by natural good and truth, it is said that "upon all the glory shall be a covering," "glory" meaning spiritual good and truth.

[16] The same is signified by:

The cloud that was upon the tabernacle by day, and the fire by night (Exodus 40:36-38; Numbers 9:15-23to the end;Numbers 10:11, 12, 34;14:14;Deuteronomy 1:33).

Jehovah went before them by day in a pillar of cloud, and by night in a pillar of fire (Exodus 13:21).

The pillar of the cloud stood between the camp of the sons of Israel and the camp of the Egyptians (Exodus 14:19-21).

In David:

God led them in the daytime in a cloud, and all the night in the light of fire (Psalms 78:14).

And elsewhere in the same:

Egypt was glad when they went forth, for the dread of them had fallen upon them. He spread out a cloud for a covering, and fire to make light the night (Psalms 105:38, 39).

"There was a cloud upon the tabernacle by day, and a fire by night," because the "tabernacle" represented heaven and the church, the "cloud" the Lord's presence through Divine truth, and the "fire" His presence through Divine good, which is called the good of faith, each ultimate in order; therefore they were as coverings over the tabernacle; for this reason it is said in the passages cited above from Isaiah and David, "over all the glory shall be a covering," and "He spread out a cloud for a covering."

The like is signified by:

The cloud that covered Mount Horeb, into which cloud Moses entered (Exodus 24:15-18).

And the like by:

The cloud in which Jehovah came down upon Mount Sinai (Exodus 19:16, 18; 34:5).

And the like by:

The pillar of cloud that stood at the door of Moses' tent (Exodus 33:9, 10).

[17] So again of the "cloud" in Ezekiel:

I looked, and behold a wind of a tempest came out of the north, a great cloud, and a fire infolding itself in itself, and a brightness round about it (Ezekiel 1:4).

And in the same:

The cherubim stood on the right side of the house when the man entered in; and the cloud filled the inner court; and the glory of Jehovah mounted up from above the cherub upon the threshold of the house; and the house was filled with the cloud, and the court was full of the brightness of Jehovah's glory (Ezekiel 10:3, 4).

The "cherubim" signify the Lord in respect to guarding, that there be no approach except through the good of love; so, too, the "cherubim" signify the heavens, in particular the inmost or third heaven, because the angels who are there receive Divine truth in the good of love, therefore it is Divine truth, which is in its essence the good of love, that guards. This Divine truth, as it comes down out of the inmost heaven into the lower heavens, and at length into the world where men are, from being pure becomes thus by degrees more dense, consequently in the lowest degree it appears like a cloud; this is why it signifies Divine truth accommodated to the apprehension of the angels who are in the lowest heaven, who are spiritual-natural, and finally to the apprehension of men in the natural world. Moreover, as Divine truth in this degree is similar to the Divine truth in the sense of the letter of the Word, "cloud" signifies the Word as to the sense of the letter. It was this Divine truth that filled the court like a cloud, and at length the house, at the right side of which stood the cherubim; and as this Divine truth is inwardly the spiritual that shines from heavenly light, therefore it is called "glory," and it is said that "the court was full of the brightness of Jehovah's glory." Also in Job:

When God maketh the light of His cloud to be bright (Job 37:15).

[18] Because the higher heavens appear before the eyes of those who are in the lower heavens as covered by a light and bright cloud (for the reason that the lower angels are unable to see the higher or interior Divine otherwise than in accordance with their own quality), therefore also Divine truth in the higher heavens, or what is the same thing, the higher heavens themselves, are meant in some passages in the Word by "clouds;" for whether you say Divine truth or the heavens it is the same, since the heavens are heavens from Divine truth, and the angels there are angels from the reception of Divine truth. It is in this sense that "clouds" are mentioned in Isaiah:

Lucifer, thou hast said in thy heart, I will ascend above the heights of the cloud; I will become like the Most High (Isaiah 14:13, 14).

In Jeremiah:

Forsake Babylon, and let us go everyone into his own land; for her judgment hath reached even unto the heavens, and it hath lifted up itself even to the clouds (Jeremiah 51:9).

And in David:

Give ye strength unto God; His excellency is over Israel, and His strength is above the clouds (Psalms 68:34).

The same is here signified by "clouds" as:

By the waters above the expanse (Genesis 1:7).

And by the waters above the heavens (Psalms 148:4);

for clouds consist of water. That "waters" signify Divine truths may be seen above (n. 71, 483, 518).

[19] As there are clouds that are lighter and brighter, also clouds that are denser and blacker, and lighter and brighter clouds appear beneath the heavens, but dense and black clouds are seen about many of the hells, it is evident that "clouds" in the contrary sense signify the falsities of evil which are contrary to truths from good, as in the following passages. In Ezekiel:

Egypt a cloud shall cover her, and her daughters shall go into captivity (Ezekiel 30:18).

He shall ascend like a cloud to cover the land (Ezekiel 38:9).

Sheep scattered in the day of cloud and thick darkness (Ezekiel 34:12).

So the Last Judgment, when those who are in the falsities of evil are to perish, is called:

A day of cloud and of obscurity (Joel 2:2; Zephaniah 1:15).

The like is signified by:

The clouds and thick darkness that appeared to the sons of Israel when the law was given from Mount Sinai (Deuteronomy 4:11, 12, 15; 5:22-26);

for although Jehovah, that is, the Lord, came down upon that mountain in a bright cloud, yet it appeared before the eyes of the people, who were in the falsities of evil, as a thick dark cloud (See Arcana Coelestia 1861, 6832, 8814, 8819, 9434, 10551).

Footnotes:

9348. 'For it will be a snare to you' means owing to evils that are enticing and deceptive. This is clear from the meaning of 'a snare', when it has reference to evils, as enticement and deception. The reason why evils are enticing and deceptive is that all evils spring from self-love and love of the world, 9335, and self-love and love of the world are born together within a person. These are the source of what the person feels as the delight of his life right from when he is first born; indeed the life that is his comes from them. Those loves therefore, like the hidden currents in a river, are constantly drawing the person's thought and will away from the Lord to self, and away from heaven to the world, thus away from the truths and forms of the good of faith to falsities and evils. At this time reasonings based on the illusions of the senses are especially predominant, and also the literal sense of the Word wrongly explained and used.

[2] These two things are what 'snares', 'traps', 'pits', 'nets', 'ropes', 'fetters', and also 'pretences' and 'deceits' are used to mean in the spiritual sense of the Word, as in Isaiah,

Terror and the pit and the snare are upon you, O inhabitant of the earth. Consequently it will happen, that he who is fleeing from the sound of terror will fall into the pit, and he who is climbing out of the pit will be caught in the snare, for the floodgates from on high have been opened, and the foundations of the earth have been shaken. Isaiah 24:17-19.

And in Jeremiah,

Fear, the pit, and the snare are upon you, O inhabitant of Moab. He who flees from the fear will fall into the pit, and he who climbs out of the pit will be caught in the snare. Jeremiah 48:43-44.

'Terror' and 'fear' are the disturbance and commotion in the mind when it is held fast between evils and forms of good, and consequently between falsities and truths. 'The pit' is falsity created by reasonings based on the illusions of the senses to lend support to delights that are attributable to self-love and love of the world; 'the snare' is the enticement and deception of evil that results from it.

[3] In Isaiah,

They will go and stumble ¹ backwards, and be broken, and snared, and caught. Isaiah 28:13.

'Falling backwards' stands for turning oneself away from goodness and truth; 'being broken' stands for dispensing with truths and forms of good; 'being snared' stands for being enticed by the evils of self-love and love of the world; and 'being caught' stands for being carried away by them.

[4] In Ezekiel,

The mother of the princes of Israel is a lioness. One of her cubs learned to seize prey; he devoured men (homo). The nations heard about him; he was caught in their pit, and they led him away with hooks to the land of Egypt. Later on he ravished widows ² and devastated cities; the land and its fullness was desolated by the sound of his roaring. Therefore the nations from the provinces round about lay in ambush against him, and spread their net over him; he was caught in their pit. They put him in a cage with hooks, and led him to the king of Babel; [they led him away] in nets, that his voice should no longer be heard on the mountains of Israel. Ezekiel 19:2-4, 7-9.

This describes the profanation of truth in successive stages by the enticements of falsities arising from evils. 'The mother of the princes of Israel' is the Church where primary truths are, 'the mother' being the Church, see 289, 2691, 2717, 4257, 5581, 8897, and 'the princes of Israel' primary truths, 1482, 2089, 5044. 'A lioness' is falsity that arises from evil and that perverts the Church's truths; 'a lion's cub' is evil in its power, 6367. 'Seizing prey' and 'devouring men' mean destroying truths and forms of good, for 'man' is the Church's good, 4287, 7424, 7523. 'The nations' are evils, 1259, 1260, 1849, 2588 (end), 4444, 6306. 'A pit', in which the nations caught him, is falsity arising from evil, 4728, 4744, 5038, 9086. 'The land of Egypt', to which he was led away with hooks, is factual knowledge through which falsity comes, 9340. 'Ravishing widows' means perverting forms of good which have the desire for truth, for 'ravishing' means perverting, 2466, 2729, 4865, 8904, and 'widows' forms of good that have the desire for truth, 9198, 9200. 'Devastating cities' means destroying the Church's teachings that present the truth, 402, 2268, 2449, 2943, 3216, 4478, 4492, 4493. 'Desolating the land and its fullness' means destroying all things of the Church, 9325. 'The sound of the lion's roaring' is falsity. 'Spreading a net over him' means enticing by means of delights belonging to earthly kinds of love and by means of reasonings attributable to them. 'Leading away to the king of Babel' is the profaning of truth, 1182, 1283, 1295, 1304, 1307, 1308, 1321, 1322, 1326.

[5] The fact that such things do not happen when a person does not love self and the world above all things is described in the following manner in Amos,

Will a lion roar in the forest when he has no prey? Will a bird fall into a snare on the earth if there is no trap for it? Will a snare spring up from the earth if it has certainly not caught [anything]? Amos 3:4-5.

[6] It is evident to anyone that 'a snare' in the spiritual sense means enticement and deception effected by means of the delights of self-love and love of the world, thus the enticement and deception of evils, which operate through reasonings that are based on the illusions of the senses and lend support to those delights. For the ensnarement and capturing of people is brought about by nothing else. When the devil's crew makes its attack on a person it concentrates on his loves, which they charm in every way until they have captivated him; and when he has been captivated that person reasons from falsities against truths, and from evils against forms of good. Yet he does not remain content to do that; he also takes delight in snaring others and enticing them towards falsities and evils. The reason why he also takes delight in doing this is that he too is now one of the devil's crew.

[7] Since 'a snare', 'a trap', and 'a net' mean such things they also mean the destruction and so annihilation of spiritual life; for the delights belonging to those loves are what destroy it and annihilate it, since those loves, as stated above, are the source from which all evils spring. From self-love springs disdain for others in comparison with self, then mockery and denigration of them, followed by enmity if they disagree with oneself, and finally by the delight that goes with hatred, vengeance, and so with inhumanity, indeed barbarity. This love in the next life rises to such a height that unless the Lord shows such people favour and grants them dominion over others, they are not only disdainful of Him but also mock the Word which speaks of Him. At length they are stirred by hatred and vengeance to act against Him; and insofar as they are unable to do so they carry out their hatred and vengeance with inhumanity and barbarity against everyone who confesses Him. All this shows where the essential nature of the devil's crew springs from, namely from self-love. Therefore since 'a snare' means the delight of selfish and worldly love, it means the destruction and annihilation of spiritual life; for the whole of love and faith to the Lord, and the whole of love towards the neighbour are destroyed by the delight of selfish and worldly love where it reigns supreme; see the places referred to in 9335.

[8] The fact that those loves are the origins of all evils, that hell arises from them and lies within them, and that those loves are the fires of hell is not known in the world at the present day. Yet people could have known this from the consideration that those loves are the opposites of love towards the neighbour and love to God, and the opposites of humility of heart, and from the consideration that from those loves alone spring all disdain, all hatred, all vengeance, and all inhumanity and barbarity, as anyone may realize who gives any thought to the matter.

[9] The fact that 'a snare' therefore means the destruction and annihilation of spiritual life is evident from the following places: In David,

Jehovah will rain on the wicked, snares, fire and brimstone. Psalms 11:6.

'Fire and brimstone' are the evils of selfish and worldly love. For this meaning of 'fire', see 1297, 1861, 5071, 5215, 6314, 6832, 7324, 7575, 9144, and for 'brimstone', 2446, from which it is evident what 'snares' mean. In Luke,

... lest that day comes on you suddenly, ³ for it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth. Luke 21:34-35.

This refers to the last phase of the Church, when there is no faith because there is no charity, since self-love and love of the world will reign. This is followed by annihilation, which is meant by 'a snare'. In Jeremiah,

Among My people are found wicked ones. They keep watch, like fowlers laying [snares]; they set a gin to catch human beings. Jeremiah 5:26.

In David,

Those seeking my life ⁴ lay snares, and those seeking my hurt speak of ways to annihilate, and contemplate deceits all the day. Psalms 38:12.

In the same author,

Keep me from the hands of the trap they have set for me, and from the snares of the workers of iniquity. Let them fall into their own nets, ⁵ the wicked together, until I pass by. Psalms 141:9-10.

In Isaiah,

He will be as a sanctuary, though He will be as a stone to strike against and as a rock to stumble over, ⁶ for both houses of Israel; He will be as a snare and as a trap for the inhabitants of Jerusalem. Many among them will trip, and fall, and be broken to pieces, and be snared and caught. Isaiah 8:14-15.

This refers to the Lord. 'A stone to strike against' and 'a rock to stumble over' stand for stumbling blocks that are laid; and 'a snare' and 'a trap' for the annihilation accomplished by those who attack and try to destroy truths and forms of the good of faith in the Lord by means of falsities that lend support to self-love and love of the world. For to all proud people the very fact that the Divine appeared in a human form, and that He did so not in royal majesty but in a guise that was despised, is not only a stumbling block but also a snare.

From all this it is now evident that 'it will be a snare' means the enticement and deception of evils, and consequent annihilation, as in other places in Moses,

... lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land onto which you will come, lest it becomes a snare in your midst. Exodus 34:12.

In the same author,

You shall not serve their gods, for that will be a snare to you. Deuteronomy 7:16.

In the same author,

Beware lest perhaps you are ensnared to follow ⁷ the nations, and lest perhaps you inquire after their gods. Deuteronomy 12:30.

'The nations' are evils and the falsities arising from them.

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