Arcana Coelestia #10238
10238. 'And put water in it' means the truths of faith by means of which purification in the natural is accomplished. This is clear from the meaning of 'water' as the truths of faith, dealt with in 28, 739, 2702, 3058, 3424, 4976, 5668, 8568, 9323; and from the meaning of 'the laver' as the natural, dealt with above in 10235. Anyone who does not know that 'water' means the truths of faith will fail to grasp the meaning of very many statements in the Word, such as unless a person is born of water and the spirit he cannot enter the kingdom of God, John 3:5. Those who take water here to mean nothing other than water think that the water of baptism is the means by which a person is regenerated. But in fact the water does nothing towards regeneration, only the truth of faith and the good of love do so; for water washes away solely dirt that is on the body and by no means evils present in the heart.
[2] Anyone who does not know that 'water' means the truths of faith cannot know what baptism means, either. He thinks that the external act saves a person, when in fact the external act does not accomplish anything, only the inner reality meant by it, namely regeneration by means of the truths of faith. Baptism makes people belonging to the Church different from everyone else throughout the world, because unlike those outside the Church they are able to be regenerated by means of the truths of faith. For the Word, which contains the truths of faith, exists within the Church.
[3] Nor can anyone who does not know that 'water' means the truths of faith know what is meant in Genesis 1:6-10 by the waters above the expanse and the waters under the expanse. Truths of faith within the internal man are meant by 'the waters above the expanse', and truths of faith in the external by 'the waters under the expanse'; for the subject in that chapter is the new creation, thus the regeneration, of members of the Most Ancient Church.
[4] Nor can anyone who does not know that 'water' means the truths of faith know what is meant by 'water' in John,
He who drinks of the water that I shall give will never thirst. But the water that I shall give will become in him a spring of water welling up into eternal life. John 4:13-14.
And in Isaiah,
The poor and the needy are seeking water, but there is none; their tongue is parched with thirst. I will open streams on the sloping heights, and I will place springs in the midst of valleys; I will make the wilderness into a pool of water, and the dry land into wellsprings of water. Isaiah 41:17-18.
And again in the same prophet,
They will not thirst. He will make water flow for them from the rock; and He will cleave the rock so that water flows out. Isaiah 48:20-21.
And in very many other places. But see what has been stated and shown previously on these matters,
Purification from evils and falsities is accomplished by means of the truths of faith, 2799, 5954(end), 7044, 7918, 9089, 10229.
So too is regeneration, see the places referred to in 9959.
'Baptism' means regeneration by means of the truths of faith, 4255, 5120(end), 9089.
Purification is accomplished within the natural, 3147, 9572.
And so is regeneration, see the places referred to in 9325.
Isaiah 58
1
Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins.
2
Yet they seek me daily, and delight to know my ways, as a nation that did righteousness, and forsook not the ordinance of their God: they ask of me the ordinances of justice; they take delight in approaching to God.
3
Wherefore have we fasted, say they, and thou seest not? wherefore have we afflicted our soul, and thou takest no knowledge? Behold, in the day of your fast ye find pleasure, and exact all your labours.
4
Behold, ye fast for strife and debate, and to smite with the fist of wickedness: ye shall not fast as ye do this day, to make your voice to be heard on high.
5
Is it such a fast that I have chosen? a day for a man to afflict his soul? is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the LORD?
6
Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?
7
Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?
8
Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the LORD shall be thy reward.
9
Then shalt thou call, and the LORD shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity;
10
And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noonday:
11
And the LORD shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.
12
And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in.
13
If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words:
14
Then shalt thou delight thyself in the LORD; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.
