Explanation of Isaiah 1
By Rev. John H. Smithson
THE EXPLANATION
[Editor's Note: The text of the Isaiah 1, from the translation used by Rev. Smithson, is appended below this explanation].
1. The vision of Isaiah the son of Amos, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Ussiah, Jotham, Ahaz, Hezekiah, kings of Judah.
Verse 1. To see in "vision" denotes to see such things as exist with the angels of heaven, which are representative, and thence significative of things spiritual. These spiritual things, when they appear to Man, do not appear before the sight of his body, but before the sight of his spirit, for the spirit of man has eyes equally as the body; but the eyes of his spirit see those things which are in the spiritual world, by reason that all things which appear there are from a spiritual origin, and the spiritual man, with the understanding sees spiritual things, and with the eyes the same, in a form like the natural. But the eyes of the body see those things which are in the material world by reason that all things which appear there are from a natural origin; and the material man sees with the understanding, natural things, and with the eyes the same, in a material form; wherefore when the eyes of their spirit were opened with the prophets, they saw such things as represented, and thence signified the divine, celestial, and spiritual things of the church, and likewise sometimes such things as represented, and thence signified what was to take place in future in the churches. (Apocalypse Explained 1037). See also Arcana Coelestia 1786.
The visions of the prophets were nothing else than the opening of their interior sight, as when John saw "golden candlesticks", (Revelation 1:12, 13) and the "Holy City as pure gold, and its Luminary like to a stone most precious"; (Revelation 21:2, 10, 11) besides many other things recorded in the Prophets, from which it may be known that the angels live in the greatest light, and that there are indefinite things there, which no one [upon earth] could ever believe. Arcana Coelestia 1532.
The prophets were in vision when they saw objects, as above, in the spiritual world, but not when they spake the Word, for then they were not in the spirit but in the body, and heard the words which they wrote down from Jehovah Himself, that is, from the Lord. These two states of the prophets ought carefully to he distinguished; moreover, the prophets themselves carefully distinguish them, for they say everywhere, when they wrote the Word from Jehovah, that Jehovah spake with them and to them, and very often "Jehovah said", "Jehovah says", etc. But when they were in the other state, they say that they were in the spirit in vision, as may appear from the following passages.
Ezekiel says,
"The Spirit lifted me up, and brought me into Chaldea, to the captivity, ill a vision of God; for the vision that I saw went up over me." (Ezekiel 3:12, 14; 11:1, 24)
See also many other passages to the same effect in the same prophet, and in Zechariah, Daniel, and John. Apocalypse Revealed 945.
Concerning Judah and Jerusalem. - That Judah or Judea and also Jerusalem, do not signify Judea nor Jerusalem, is evident from many passages. In the Word indeed it is not so often called Judea as the "land of Judah" and by it, as by the "land of Canaan", is signified the Lord's kingdom, consequently also the church, for this is the Lord's kingdom upon earth; and this because that by "Judah", or by the Jewish nation, was represented the Lord's celestial kingdom, and by " Israel", or by the Israelitish people, His spiritual kingdom; And as they thus represented, therefore, when mentioned in the Word, they have, in the internal sense, no other signification [than that of the Lord's kingdom and church]. This will appear evident from numerous passages in which "Judah" and the "land of Judah" are mentioned. Arcana Coelestia 3654.
By "Jerusalem" is understood the church with respect to doctrine, inasmuch as at Jerusalem in the land of Canaan, and in no other place, there was the temple, the altar, the sacrifices, and consequently all divine worship. Wherefore three festivals were likewise celebrated there every year, to which every male throughout the land was commanded to go. This then is the reason why by "Jerusalem", in the spiritual sense, is signified the church with respect to worship, or what is the same thing, with respect to doctrine; for worship is prescribed by doctrine" and is performed according to it. The New Jerusalem and its Heavenly Doctrine 6.
Kings of Judah. "Kings", when mentioned in the Word, represented the Lord as to His Divine Truth, and "priests" represented Him as to His Divine Good. All the laws of order by which the Lord governs the universe as a King, are Truths; but all the laws by which He governs the universe as a Priest, and by which He also rules truths themselves, are Goods; for rule grounded in truths alone would condemn every one to hell; but rule grounded in good raises up out of hell, and elevates into heaven. Arcana Coelestia 2015.
The "kings of Judah and Israel", both good and bad, represented the Lord's royalty, and the "high priests", both good and bad, represented the Lord's priesthood, and the things belonging thereto. This royalty and this priesthood they represented, when, in the external form, they performed their office according to the statutes and the precepts. In order, therefore, that the type or representative of a church might exist amongst them, such statutes and laws were given to them, by manifest revelation, as were entirely representative of the kingly and the priestly office. Wherefore, so long as they were in these statutes and precepts, and strictly observed them, so long they were types or representatives; but when they declined from these, and went over to the statutes and precepts of other nations, and especially to the worship of another god, they then deprived themselves of the faculty of representing. Hence it was that by external means, such as captivities, slaughters, threatenings, and miracles, they were compelled to observe the truly representative laws and statutes; but not by internal means, like those who have an internal worship in their external. Arcana Coelestia 4281.
2. hearken, O you heavens! and give ear, O earth! for Jehovah speaks: I have nourished sons, and I have brought them up; but they have transgressed against Me.
Verse 2. By the "heavens" are signified the heavens [where angels dwell], and also the internals of the church. The internals of the church are also the "heavens" with men, and by the "earth" is signified the external of the church. Both the heavens and the earth are said to be "expanded" and "extended" (Isaiah 42:5) when truths from good are multiplied therein. Apocalypse Explained 294.
There are three heavens; [2 Corinthians 12:2] the third, or inmost, where the angels dwell who are in celestial love; the second, or middle, where the angels dwell who are in spiritual love; and the first, or ultimate, where those angels dwell who are in spiritual-natural love. Apocalypse Explained 322, 708.
By "earth", when mentioned in the Word, is not meant the universal globe, but the church, and specifically that region where the church is, as formerly the land of Canaan, when the Jewish church was there, and in Europe, where the Christian church now is. Arcana Coelestia 566, 662.
Jehovah speaks, - "Jehovah" [in Hebrew] signifies I AM and TO BE. As GOD alone is the I AM and the ESSE or JEHOVAH, therefore nothing exists. in the created universe but what derives its being (esse) from Him. Jehovah God is essential Love and essential Wisdom, or essential Good and essential Truth. He is the One God the Lord and Saviour JESUS CHRIST, in whom is the Divine Trinity. Thus Jehovah Himself assumed the Humanity to redeem and save mankind; He is a MAN, as in first principles, so also in ultimates. By reason of the marriage of Divine Good and of Divine Truth in every part of the Word, the expression "JEHOVAH GOD" so frequently occurs.
By "JEHOVAH" is signified Divine Love or Divine Good; and by "GOD", Divine Wisdom or Divine Truth. True Christian Religion 3, 19, 82, 102, 159, 253.
I have nourished sons, and have brought them up. - To "nourish sons and bring them up", signifies instruction in divine truths, education, regeneration, and preparation for heaven, God is in the perpetual endeavour to regenerate and to save mankind; He cannot, however, spiritually regenerate any man, but in proportion as man, agreeably to His laws, regenerates himself, or cooperates with God. The work of regeneration is successive, answering, in its several stages, to man's conception, his formation in the womb, his birth, and his education. Everyone becomes regenerate, or a son of God, in proportion as he abstains from the evils of sin and shuns them. A regenerate man is in communion with the angels of heaven, and an unregenerate man is in communion with the spirits of hell. True Christian Religion 71, 73, 583-586, 607.
3. The ox knows his owner, and the ass the crib of his master; Israel doth not know; My people do not understand.
Verse 3. The ox knows his owner, etc. - [Although these words are said by way of comparison, showing that animals live according to the order of their creation, but that man, if he rebels against God, does not live according to the order for which he is created, yet they are also correspondences, and imply that the natural man, both as to what is good, or what he conceives to be good, signified by the ox, and as to what is true, or what he considers to be true, signified by the ass, knows what is conducive to his natural states; and to the obtainment of his ends and objects in this life, according to what the Lord says, "The children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light." (Luke 16:8)
But as to the Lord and the spiritual things of His kingdom; they, that is, merely natural men, neither know nor consider and understand them.]
4. Woe to the sinful nation! a people heavy with iniquity; a seed of evil doers; sons that are corrupters: they have forsaken Jehovah; they have provoked the Holy One of Israel; they have gone astray backward.
Verse 4. "Woe" signifies lamentation over aversion from Goodness and Truth, and consequent damnation; also lamentation over calamity, danger, misery, destruction, or over evils and falsities which devastate the church. Apocalypse Explained 531, 564, 680.
By the "sinful nation" are signified those who are in evils, and by a "people heavy with iniquity", those who are in falsities thence derived; for "nation", in the Word, when used in a bad sense, is predicated of evils, and "people" of falsities; the false of those who are principled in evils is signified by the "seed of evil doers"; and the false principles of those who are in the falsities from that evil, are signified by the "sons who are corrupters." That "sons" signify those who, in a good sense, are in truths, and in the opposite sense, those who are in falsities, and, abstractedly, truths and falsities.
By "they have forsaken Jehovah, and despised the Holy One of Israel", is signified that they have rejected divine Good and divine Truth; "Jehovah" denoting the Lord as to Divine Good, and the "Holy One of Israel", the Lord as to Divine Truth.
By "their going astray backward", is signified that they altogether receded from them, and went away to infernal evil and the false thence derived; for they who are in evils and falsities in the spiritual world, turn themselves backwards from the Lord. Arcana Coelestia 768. Heaven and Hell 123.
In this as in other passages, "nation" and a "seed of evil doers" denote evils which are of the will or lusts; "people" and "sons that are corrupters" denote the falsities which are of the understanding, or persuasions. Arcana Coelestia 622.
By "seed", or those who are born, and by "generations", are meant [in a good sense] those who are in love and faith to the Lord; and, in the abstract sense, the goods of love and the truths of faith; but in the opposite sense, "seed" signifies those who are against the things of the church, thus those who are in evil and the false thence derived, and in the abstract sense, evils and falsities, as in Isaiah 1:4, "Woe to the sinful nation! a seed of evil doers." Arcana Coelestia 10249.
Thus the "seed of the serpent", in Genesis 3:15, signifies everything false derived from evil. Apocalypse Explained 768.
5. Why should you be smitten any more? You will continue to revolt: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint.
6. From the sole of the foot even to the head there is no soundness therein; it is wound, and bruise, and running sore: they have not been pressed, neither bound up, nor softened with oil.
7. Your country is desolate; your cities are burnt up with fire; your land before you, strangers devour it; and it is a desolation, as overthrown by strangers.
Verses 6, 7. By these words is described there being no good and thence no truth in the church, but evil and the false thence derived. "From the sole of the foot even to the head there is no soundness", signifies that both natural things and spiritual, which are the interiors of man and of his will, are destroyed; "wound, and bruise, and running sore", signify evils of the will, and falsities of the thought thence derived and continually abounding: evils of the will are also evil works; "not bound up, nor softened with oil", signifies not amended by repentance, nor tempered by good. "Your country is desolate, your cities are burnt with fire", signifies the church being devastated as to all truths, and the doctrinals thereof destroyed by a life according to cupidities arising from evil love. Apocalypse Explained 962.
"Wound" is predicated of destroyed good or charity; and "bruise" of destroyed truth or faith; and "running [or fresh] sore" of each. Arcana Coelestia 9056. See also Apocalypse Explained 431.
Charity and faith constitute spiritual life, which life sickens when the false takes place of the truth which is of faith, and evil takes place of the good which is of charity, for these things [the false and the evil] bring that life to death, which is called spiritual death, and is damnation, as diseases bring the natural life to its death: hence it is that by "diseases", in the internal sense, is signified evil. By all the "diseases" here named, are signified spiritual diseases, which are evils destroying the life of the will of good, and falsities destroying the life of the understanding of truth, - in a word, destroying the spiritual life which is of faith and charity. Natural diseases, also correspond to such, for every disease in the human race is from this source because from sin. Every disease also corresponds to its evil; the reason is, because the all of the life of man is from the spiritual world; wherefore if his spiritual life sickens, evil is also thence derived in to the natural, and becomes a disease there. See what has been said from experience concerning the correspondence of diseases with evils, Arcana Coelestia 5711-5727. Arcana Coelestia 8364.
Verse 7. By "land" is meant the church, in like manner by " ground"; and by "cities" the truths of the church, which are called doctrinals, and which are said to be "burned with fire", when they are consumed by the evils of the loves of self and of the world. Hence it is evident what is signified by "strangers devouring the ground", etc., that is, evils and the falsities of evil destroying the church. Arcana Coelestia 10287.
8. And the daughter of Zion is left us a shed in a vineyard, as a lodge in a garden of cucumbers, as a besieged city.
Verse 8. By "Zion", in the Word, is not understood Zion, but heaven and the church, where the Lord reigns by His Divine Truth. This is evident from many passages in which there are prophetic declarations concerning the Lord, as that "when He shall come, He will love Zion, and dwell there for ever"; whereas He did not love either that city or Jerusalem, as is evident from His own words concerning them, but He loved heaven and the church, where He is received by His Divine Truth. Hence it is that Zion is called His "rest", His "habitation", the "mountain of Jehovah", the "city of God", the "city of the great King", the "city of Truth", and that His "kingdom will be there to eternity, from generation to generation"; - all which things could by no means be said of the [literal] Zion of David. Apocalypse Explained 850.
"Daughters" and "virgins" signify those who are of the church, or those who are in the spiritual affection of Truth and Good, which makes the church. The "five wise virgins" signify the genuine members of the church, and the "five foolish", the spurious or wicked members. Apocalypse Explained 212, 252, 675.
By the "cucumbers", etc., are meant such things as belong to the lowest natural principle of man, or such things as belong to his sensual corporeal principle, (See Numbers 11:5)
[Hence it is that a "garden of cucumbers" signifies the church reduced to a merely sensual state.] Apocalypse Explained 513.
[A besieged city, is the church as to doctrine, invested and destroyed by false principles of every kind.]
9. Unless Jehovah of Hosts had left unto us a small remnant; we had become as Sodom, we had been like unto Gomorrah.
Verses 9, 24. Jehovah of Hosts. - In the Word, frequent mention is made of "armies" or "hosts", and the Lord is called " Jehovah of Hosts", or Zebaoth; and by "hosts" or armies, are there signified truths from good, combating against falsities from evil: and in the opposite sense, falsities from evil, combating against truths from good. The reason why such things are signified in the Word by "armies", is, because by the "wars" mentioned in the Word, both in its historical and prophetical parts, in the, internal sense, are signified spiritual wars, which exist against hell, and against the diabolic crew there; and these wars have relation to truths and goods against falsities and evils, whence it is that "armies" signify all truths from good, and in the opposite sense, all falsities from evil. That they signify all truths from good, may appear from this circumstance - that the sun, the moon, and the stars, also the angels, are called the "armies" of Jehovah, by reason of their signifying all truths from good. in the complex; also the sons of Israel, by reason of their signifying the truths and goods of the church, are called "armies." And in as much as all truths and goods are from the Lord, and the Lord alone combats for all in heaven and for all in the church, against falsities and evils which are from hell, therefore He is called JEHOVAH ZEBAOTH, that is, "Jehovah of Hosts" or Armies. Apocalypse Explained 573.
Verse 9. A small remnant. - That the true church decreases and remains at length with a few, is evident from the succession of churches. Those who remain are, in the Word, called "remains", and a "remnant", and these are also said to be "in the midst of the land." In the universal it is the same as in the particular; or as in the church at large, so in the individual man in particular. Unless remains are preserved by the Lord with every man, he must needs perish in eternal death, for in remains is spiritual and eternal life.
It is the same in the general or universal church: unless there were some in whom the church or true faith remains, or is preserved, the human race would perish. For the "city", (Genesis 20, 21) as is known, is preserved for the sake of some. It is in this respect, as with the heart in man; so long as the heart is sound, the surrounding viscera can live, but when the heart languishes, disease sets in upon all things, and the man dies. These ultimate remains were signified by Noah, for otherwise, as it is said in Genesis 6:12, the "whole earth would have been corrupted."
The prophets frequently speak of remains with each man, and in the church, as in Isaiah,
"And it shall come to pass that the left: in Zion, and the remnant in Jerusalem, shall be called holy?"(Isaiah 4:3)
In this passage what is holy is predicated of the "left and the remnant in Zion", which could not be holy on that account, but because they signified remains [of what is Good and True] in a church, and also in the man of the church. Arcana Coelestia 408.
In respect to remains which are with a man in particular, the fewer these remains are, the less can his rational and scientific principles be illustrated. For the light of Goodness and Truth flows in from the Lord, from or through the remains. If there were no remains with man, he would not be a man, but much viler than a brute. The more scanty remains are with a man, the less he is a man; and the more abundant they are, the more he is a man. Remains may be considered as a star in the heavens, the smaller it is, the less light there is from it; but the greater it is, the more light it gives. Arcana Coelestia 530.
Sodom and Gomorrah: - That by "Sodom and Gomorrah" are meant all evils and falsities flowing from the love of self, has been told me from heaven; for when they who are in evils grounded in that love, perish, as was the case in the day of the Last Judgment, there appeared, as it were, brimstone and fire raining from heave, which was also seen by me. That such would be the case also in the day of the Last Judgment, is predicted by the Lord in Luke,
"In the day that Lot departed out of Sodom, it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all." (Luke 17:29, 30). Apocalypse Explained 653.
"Sodom" denotes the evil of self-love, and "Gomorrah" the false thence derived. Arcana Coelestia 2220.
10. Hear you the Word of Jehovah, O you princes of Sodom! hearken to the law of our God, O you people of Gomorrah!
Verse 10. By the "Word of Jehovah" is understood the Divine Good, and by the "law of our God" the Divine Truth, for when Good is treated of the term Jehovah is used, but when Truth is treated of the term God is employed; and whereas the Divine Good, to those who are in the love of self, is evil, it is said, their "sin is as Sodom"; likewise, - "Hear the Word of Jehovah, O you princes of Sodom !" And whereas the Divine Truth, to those who are in the false of the love of self is false, it is said - "Hearken to the law of our God, O you people of Gomorrah!" Apocalypse Explained 653.
11. What to Me is the multitude of your sacrifices? says Jehovah: I am satiated with the burnt-offerings of rams, and with the fat of fed beasts; and in the blood of bullocks, and of lambs, and of he-goats, I have no delight.
Verse 11. "Burnt offerings" and "sacrifices" were nothing else but the representatives of internal worship, and when separated from internal worship they became idolatrous. Sacrifices were indeed commanded by Moses to the children of Israel; but the people of the most ancient church, which was before the flood, were altogether unacquainted with sacrifices, nor did it ever enter their minds to worship the Lord by the slaying of animals. The ancient church, which was after the flood, was likewise unacquainted with sacrifices. That church was indeed in representative worship, but not in that of sacrifice. Sacrifices were first instituted in the. succeeding church, which was called, the Hebrew church, and thence spread among the Gentiles; thence also such worship descended to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and thus to their posterity. That the posterity of Jacob were principled in sacrificial worship before they departed from Egypt, thus before sacrifices were enjoined by Moses on Mount Sinai, may appear from Exodus 5:3; 10:25, 26; 18:12; 24:4, 5; and especially from their idolatrous worship of the "golden calf." (Exodus 32:5, 6)
This was done before the command was given to them concerning the altar and sacrifices; which command, therefore, was given because sacrificial worship with them, as with the Gentiles, had become idolatrous. From that worship they could not be withdrawn, because they esteemed it to be of especial sanctity, and because what is once implanted from infancy with all idea of sanctity, particularly if it be implanted into children by their parents, and thereby rooted in them, the Lord never breaks, but bends, unless it be contrary to essential order.
Hence appears the reason why it was prescribed that sacrifices should be under such particular rites and regulations, as written in the law of Moses. That "sacrifices" were never acceptable to Jehovah, but were only permitted and tolerated for the reason just mentioned, plainly appears in the prophets, as in Jeremiah 7:21-23, etc. Arcana Coelestia 922, 2180.
"Burnt-offerings" and "sacrifices" signify all worship; the former worship from love, and the latter worship from faith proceeding from Love. Arcana Coelestia 916, 924.
12. When you come to appear before My face, who has required this at your hands - to tread My courts?
13. Bring no more a vain oblation; as for incense, it is an abomination unto Me; the new moon, and the Sabbath, and the calling of the assembly, I cannot endure; it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting.
14. Your new moons and your stated feasts My soul hates: they are a burden upon Me; I am weary of bearing them.
Verses 11, 12. Inasmuch as by the "faces of Jehovah" or the Lord, is signified the Divine Good united with the Divine Truth, going forth and proceeding from His Divine Love, therefore by the "faces of Jehovah" are also signified the interior things of the church, of the Word, and of worship; for the Divine Good united. to the Divine Truth is in the interiors of those things. The exterior things of the church, of the Word, and of worship, being only the effects and works thence derived, the interior things of the church, of the Word, and of worship, are signified by "seeing, seeking, and beseeching the faces of Jehovah", as in Isaiah, - "What to Me is the multitude of your sacrifices?" etc. Apocalypse Explained 412.
Verses 11-19. - By "sacrifices, oblations, new moons, and feasts", and also by "prayer"; "spreading out of the hands", etc., are understood all things of worship: that such external acts of worship, unless the internal or heart is purified, are entirely evil, yea, abominable, is understood by the above words. The purification of the internal is understood by "wash you, make you clean; remove the evil of your doings from before Mine eyes", etc. When the internal is thus cleansed, then all things both in life and worship become good, which is understood by the following words:
"Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow", etc. The interior of man, or his heart, is no otherwise purified than by abstaining from, and shunning evils, according to the precepts of the Decalogue. Those evils, so long as a man does not abstain from them, and shuns and hates them as sins against God, constitute his Internal, and are like a veil or covering interposed [between him and the Lord], and, appear in heaven like an eclipse, by which the sun is obscured and the light intercepted, and it is also like a fountain of pitch or black water, from which nothing but what is impure can emanate. That which proceeds from this unregenerate internal, and which before the world appears as good, is nevertheless not good, because it is defiled with the evils from within; it is consequently a Pharisaic or hypocritical good; this good is from man, and is also meritorious good. The Lord says - "You blind Pharisee, cleanse first the inside of the cup, that the outside may appear clean also." (Matthew 23:26) Apocalypse Explained 939.
These words describe a life of external piety separate from internal vital religion, which is charity. This life is a species of profanation. External worship consists in frequenting churches, hearkening devoutly to sermons, attending the sacrament of the Supper, and to other things of worship as appointed, by reading the Word at home, and sometimes books of devotion, and praying customarily morning and evening; and yet to make no account of the precepts of life which are in the Word, and especially of those in the Decalogue, - by acting insincerely and unjustly in trade, and in judgments for the sake of gain or friendship, - committing whoredom and adultery when lust enkindles, and opportunity serves, - burning with hatred and revenge against those who do not indulge their honour or gain, lying or speaking evil of the good, or good of the evil, and so on. When a man is in these things, and not yet purified from them by aversion and detestation, and still worships God devoutly, as was said above, then he commits profanation, for he mixes his internals which are impure with the externals which are pious, and so defiles the latter. For there can be nothing external which does not proceed and exist from the internals; for man cannot speak except from thought, nor act except from the will, when the life of the thought and of the will is imbued with cunning, in malice, and violence, it cannot be otherwise than that those things, as interior sources of life, will flow into the speech and actions, which are of worship and piety, and defile them, as waters are defiled with mire. This worship is what is understood by "Gog and Magog", (Revelation 20:8) and is described in Isaiah,
"What to Me is the multitude of your sacrifices, meat offerings", etc., "when your hands are full of bloods?" etc. (Isaiah 1:11-19) Apocalypse Explained 1061.
15. And when you spread forth your hands, I will hide Mine eyes from you: even when you multiply prayers, I will not hear; your hands are full of bloods.
16. Wash you, make you clean; remove you the evil of your doings from before Mine eyes; cease to do evil;
17. Learn to do good; seek judgment; relieve the oppressed; judge the fatherless; plead for the widow,
Verses 16, 17. That by "washing" is signified to purify from falsities and evils, appears manifestly from the above words, inasmuch as "to wash" signifies to remove falsities and evils, therefore it is also said, "Remove the evil of your doings; cease to do evil." In ancient times, when all the externals of the church were representative and significative of things spiritual and celestial, washings were in use; and by them were represented purifications from falsities and evils: the ground and reason of this signification of washings, was, because "waters" signified truths, and "filth", falsities and evils, and all purification from falsities and evils is effected by truths; that "waters" signify truths, may be seen above, Apocalypse Explained 71.
Hence it is that washings were instituted with the people of Israel by command; for with them was a representative church, all things whereof signified things spiritual, and the "washings", purifications from falsities and evils, and thence regeneration. To this end, "a brazen laver was placed at the door of the tent of assembly" (Exodus 30:18-20), and also, "lavers of brass were set without the temple; one great laver, which was called the brazen sea, and ten lesser ones."(1 Kings 7:23-39)
On account of such signification of washings, when Aaron and his sons were inaugurated into the priesthood, it was commanded Moses to "wash them with water at the door of the tent, and so to sanctify them." (Exodus 29:4; 40:12; Leviticus 8:6)
For the priests represented the Lord as to Divine Good, as the kings did as to Divine Truth, consequently the priests represented the divine sanctity, which is pure without blemish. This representation was induced upon Aaron and his sons by Moses washing them: wherefore it is said, that "so they should be sanctified", although they acquired no sanctity by the mere washing. Apocalypse Explained 475.
18. Come now, and let us reason together, says Jehovah: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be like wool.
Verse 18. The Lord wills not only that man should think and speak of things divine, but also reason concerning them, to the end that he may see that they are so or not so; and such thought, discourse, or reasoning, provided that it has for its end that he may see the truth, may be said to be from the Lord in him, but it is from the man until he sees truth and acknowledges it. In the meantime it is from the Lord alone that man is capable of thinking, speaking, and reasoning; for this he can do by virtue of his two faculties called liberty and rationality, which he possesses from the Lord alone. Divine Providence 219.
Though your sins be as scarlet, etc. - Inasmuch as by "scarlet" is signified truth, in like manner by "snow"; and by "crimson" is signified good, in like manner by "wool"; and by" scarlet" and "crimson", in the opposite sense, is signified what is false and evil, therefore, because falsity and truth, and evil and good; have an opposite correspondence to each other, it is said, - "Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow; and though they be red as crimson, they shall be as wool:" Apocalypse Explained 1042.
19. If you be willing and hearken; you shall eat the good of the land:
Verse 19. By "eating good" is signified spiritual good, wherefore it is said, - "If you be willing and hearken", [or obey] that is, if you do; for spiritual food is given, conjoined, and appropriated to man, by willing and thence doing it. Apocalypse Explained 617.
20. But if you refuse and rebel, you shall be devoured by the sword: for the mouth of Jehovah has spoken it.
Verse 20. - That a "sword", in the Word, signifies truth combating against the false, and, in the opposite sense, the false against the truth, and hence dispersion of falsities and also spiritual temptation, may appear from many passages therein, of which a few shall be adduced by way of confirmation, as in Matthew, Jesus said that, "He was not come to send peace on earth, but a sword"; (Matthew 10:34) where by "sword" is understood the combat of temptation. The reason that it was thus said, was, because men at that time were in false principles, and the Lord manifested interior truths; and falsities cannot be ejected unless by combats from those truths.
Again in Luke:
"Jesus said, He that has not a sword, let him sell his garment and buy one." (Luke 22:36)
Many other passages might also be adduced. Apocalypse Explained 131.
21. How is the faithful metropolis become a harlot! she that was full of judgment; justice dwelled in her; but now murderers,
22. Your silver is become dross; your wine is mixed with waters:
Verse 21. - A "harlot" signifies what is false, and "whoredoms" signify falsifications of truths. The ground and reason why a "harlot" denotes the false, is, because marriage represents the heavenly marriage, which is that of Good and Truth, - the husband [in the celestial sense] the Good, and the wife the Truth; and hence Sons represent truths, and daughters goods, and the several affinities, according to their degrees, represent those things which are of the heavenly marriage. Therefore, "adulteries and whoredoms", inasmuch as they are opposite, signify what is evil and false, and also, in reality, they are opposite; for those who spend their lives in adultery and fornication, have no concern at all about what is Good and True. The reason is, because genuine conjugial love descends from the heavenly marriage, that is, from the marriage of Good and Truth; but adulteries and fornications from the conjunction of what is evil with what is false, which is from hell; see Arcana Coelestia 2727-2759. Arcana Coelestia 4865.
[When therefore a doctrine, which is signified by a city, is false, it is called a "harlot", and all its teachings are nothing but falsifications of Truth, which falsifications are, in the Word, called "fornications" or "whoredoms", as might be proved from very many passages.]
Verses 21, 22. By "harlot", everywhere in the Word, is signified falsified truth, as may be seen above, Apocalypse Explained 141, 161; and by "city" is signified doctrine; hence by he "faithful city becoming a harlot", is signified that doctrine which before was the doctrine of genuine Truth, is become the doctrine of falsified truth.
"Full of judgment, justice lodged in her", signifies where the truth of doctrine and the good of love was in abundance, for "judgment", in the Word, is predicated of the truth of doctrine and of the understanding, and justice of the good of love and of the will.
"But now murderers", signifies that falsification has extinguished the understanding of truth and the perception of good; that these things are signified by "murderers", may be seen above, Apocalypse Explained 859.
"Your silver is become dross", signifies that genuine truth was converted into the false.
"[T]hy wine is mixed with waters", signifies truth made vile and destroyed by falsifications. Apocalypse Explained 887.
23. Your princes are rebellious, and companions of robbers: everyone of them loves a gift, and pursues rewards; they judge not the fatherless, and the cause of the widow cometh not unto them.
Verse 23. "Princes", in the Word, are predicated of truths; and, abstractedly from persons, "princes" signify primary truths, and in the opposite sense; as in this passage, falsities. Arcana Coelestia 1482, 2089, 5044.
[To be "rebellious", when said of princes, means to teach things contrary to pure Truth.]
Companions of robbers. - A thief or "robber" is one who, by falsities, destroys the goods of faith. Arcana Coelestia 9125.
A "robber" also denotes the evil of merit, for he who takes from the Lord what is His, and claims it to himself, is called a thief or a robber. This evil, inasmuch as it closes the way, and prevents Good and Truth from the Lord flowing in, is said to "kill and destroy." (John 10:10) Arcana Coelestia 5135.
Thus all who do not enter into the sheepfold by the Lord, who is the "Door", that is, by going to Him, by acknowledging Him, believing in Him, and by loving Him, as He Himself teaches, (John 10:1-10) are "thieves and robbers." Apocalypse Explained 208.
They judge not the fatherless, and the cause of the widow cometh. not unto them.
- The "fatherless", or orphans, in a spiritual sense, signify those who are in truth, and not yet in good, and yet desire to be in good; by a "widow" is signified [in the spiritual sense] good without truth, because left by truth, which is the man [or husband]. Arcana Coelestia 9199. Apocalypse Explained 768.
[Thus to "judge and protect the fatherless", and to "plead the cause of the widow", is to lead a life of charity by uniting Truth with Good, or faith with charity.]
24. Wherefore says the Lord, Jehovah of Hosts, the Mighty One of Israel: Ah! I will be relieved of Mine adversaries; and I will be avenged of Mine enemies:
Verse 24. - To act, or to be "avenged", as an enemy to enemies, and as an adversary to adversaries, when predicated of the Lord, signifies that He averts all evils, which are enemies, and from which falsities are derived, and all falsities, which are adversaries, derived from evils. For these things are" enemies" and "adversaries" in the spiritual sense, because they continually infest, assault, and endeavour to destroy truths derived from good, for they are opposites.
The reason why to act as an enemy and as an adversary, when said concerning Jehovah or the Lord, denotes to avert, namely evils [enemies], from which falsities are derived, and falsities [adversaries] derived from evil, is, because the Lord in no case acts as an "enemy" or an "adversary"; for He is Mercy itself and Goodness itself, and with Mercy itself and Goodness itself what is adverse cannot act [cadere], not even against what is false and evil; but what is false and evil acts as an enemy and adversary against what is Good and True, that is, they who are in falsity and evil are against those who are in Truth and Good; and because the former destroy themselves, when they attempt to destroy the latter, hence it is that it appears as if the Lord acted as an adversary and an enemy [against the wicked], when yet He only places His own in security. From these considerations it is evident in what manner it is to be understood that by acting as an "enemy" and as an "adversary", when said concerning the Lord, is signified to avert falsities derived from evil. How the case is with this arcanum, see what was shown above, Arcana Coelestia 4299, 7643, 7679, 8266, 8946. Arcana Coelestia 9313, 9314.
25. And I will bring Mine hand over you, and will purge, as with potash, your dross; and I will remove all your tin.
Verse 25. "Dross" and "alloy", [also "tin", ] signify false doctrinal principles called "traditions", (Matthew 15:3) which the Jews and Israelites compacted from the literal sense of the Word, which they applied to themselves and to their own loves only.
Such doctrines are called the "dross of silver", because" silver" signifies the truth of the Word, and "dross", nothing of truth, or what is abstracted from truth, which is rejected.
The things which are of the literal sense of the Word, are signified by "brass, iron, tin, and lead", because these things signify the goods and truths of the natural man, for whom the literal sense of the Word is given; and whereas from this sense they concocted false doctrines, which were traditions, it is said in Ezekiel 22:18-22, that "they should [at the period of judgment] be melted down together in the furnace." Apocalypse Explained 549.
26. And I will restore your judges as at the first, and your counsellors as at the beginning: and after this your name shall be called, The CITY OF JUSTICE, The FAITHFUL METROPOLIS.
Verse 26. I will restore your judges and your counsellors, etc. - In the representative church, the priests were at the same time judges; as "priests" they represented divine Good, and as "judges" divine Truth. The "Judge of the whole earth" (Genesis 18:25) includes both, and signifies Good itself, from which Truth proceeds. Arcana Coelestia 2258. See also 6148.
["Judges", therefore, in this passage, signify all truths from good, and "counsellors" all genuine truths of faith. These are said to be restored at the restoration and establishment of a New Church.]
27. Zion shall be redeemed in judgment, and her converts in justice.
Verse 27. - "Judgment", in the Word, is predicated of Divine Truth and of intelligence thence derived, also of the Truth of doctrine and of the understanding thence derived; and "Justice" is predicated of Good, or of the good of love and of the will. Apocalypse Explained 405, 519, 627, 652. [It is by the reception and love of these things that "Zion is redeemed", or the true church of the Lord established.]
28. And the destruction of the transgressors and of the sinners shall be together; and they that forsake Jehovah shall be consumed.
Verse 28. In the Word, evils are sometimes called "sins", sometimes "iniquities", and sometimes "transgressions"; but what is meant specifically by the latter and the former, is only made evident from the internal sense: those evils are called transgressions, which are done contrary to the truths of faith; those are called iniquities, which are done contrary to the goods of faith; and those sins, "which are done contrary to the goods of charity and love. The two former proceed from a perverted understanding, but the latter from a depraved will; as in David,
"Wash me from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin; for I acknowledge my transgressions, and my sins are continually before me." (Psalm 51:2, 3)
"Iniquity" denotes evil against the goods of faith, "sin" denotes evil against the goods of charity and love, and "transgression" denotes evil against the truths of faith; inasmuch as this latter is evil proceeding from a perverse understanding, and is thus known from the truths of faith, it is therefore said "I acknowledge my transgressions.
Again, -
"Remember Your mercies, Jehovah, and Your compassions; remember not the sins of my youth, and my transgressions"; (Psalm 25:6, 7)
where "sins" denote evils derived from a depraved will, and "transgressions" denote evils derived from a perverse understanding. Arcana Coelestia 9156.
29. For they shall be ashamed of the oaks which you have desired; and you shall blush for the gardens which you have chosen.
Verse 29. - There are with man things intellectual, things rational, and things scientific; the inmost parts of his mind are things intellectual; his interiors are things rational, and his exteriors are things scientific. These altogether are called his spiritual things, and they exist in the above order. The intellectual things of the celestial man are compared to a garden consisting of all kinds of trees; the things rational are compared to a forest consisting of cedars and trees of that nature, such as flourished in Lebanon; but things scientific are compared to plantations of oaks, on account of the twisted branches which distinguish the oak. By the "trees" themselves are signified perceptions, us by the "trees of the garden of Eden on the east", were signified inmost perceptions, or the perception of things intellectual. By the "trees of the forest of Lebanon", were signified interior perceptions, or the perceptions of things rational; whereas by the "trees of an oak grove", were signified exterior perceptions, or the perceptions of things scientific which appertain to the external man. Arcana Coelestia 1443.
30. For you shall be as an oak casting its leaves; and as a garden wherein are no waters.
31. And the strong shall become as tow, and his work as a spark; and they shall both burn together, and none shall quench them.
Verses 30, 31. - By "oak" is signified the natural man, and by its "leaves", the scientifics and knowledges of truth therein; by "garden" is signified the rational man; hence 'by being as "an oak casting its leaves, and as a garden wherein are no waters", is signified the deprivation of scientific truth, and of rational truth.
By "the strong, and his work", is signified what is produced from self-derived intelligence: he is sometimes called "strong" in the Word, who trusts in himself and his own intelligence, for he supposes himself, and the work which he thence produces, to be strong, and forasmuch as the proprium of man imbibes all that is evil and false, and thereby destroys all good and truth, therefore it is said, - "The strong shall become as tow, and his work as a spark; and they shall both burn together"; to be "burned" donating to perish by falsities originating in evil. Apocalypse Explained 504.
The Chapter Text:
1. The vision of Isaiah the son of Amos, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Ussiah, Jotham, Ahaz, Hezekiah, kings of Judah.
2. hearken, O you heavens! and give ear, O earth! for Jehovah speaks: I have nourished sons, and I have brought them up; but they have transgressed against Me.
3. The ox knows his owner, and the ass the crib of his master; Israel doth not know; My people do not understand.
4. Woe to the sinful nation! a people heavy with iniquity; a seed of evil doers; sons that are corrupters: they have forsaken Jehovah; they have provoked the Holy One of Israel; they have gone astray backward.
5. Why should you be smitten any more? You will continue to revolt: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint.
6. From the sole of the foot even to the head there is no soundness therein; it is wound, and bruise, and running sore: they have not been pressed, neither bound up, nor softened with oil.
7. Your country is desolate; your cities are burnt up with fire; your land before you, strangers devour it; and it is a desolation, as overthrown by strangers.
8. And the daughter of Zion is left us a shed in a vineyard, as a lodge in a garden of cucumbers, as a besieged city.
9. Unless Jehovah of Hosts had left unto us a small remnant; we had become as Sodom, we had been like unto Gomorrah.
10. Hear you the Word of Jehovah, O you princes of Sodom! hearken to the law of our God, O you people of Gomorrah!
11. What to Me is the multitude of your sacrifices? says Jehovah: I am satiated with the burnt-offerings of rams, and with the fat of fed beasts; and in the blood of bullocks, and of lambs, and of he-goats, I have no delight.
12. When you come to appear before My face, who has required this at your hands - to tread My courts?
13. Bring no more a vain oblation; as for incense, it is an abomination unto Me; the new moon, and the Sabbath, and the calling of the assembly, I cannot endure; it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting.
14. Your new moons and your stated feasts My soul hates: they are a burden upon Me; I am weary of bearing them.
15. And when you spread forth your hands, I will hide Mine eyes from you: even when you multiply prayers, I will not hear; your hands are full of bloods.
16. Wash you, make you clean; remove you the evil of your doings from before Mine eyes; cease to do evil;
17. Learn to do good; seek judgment; relieve the oppressed; judge the fatherless; plead for the widow,
18. Come now, and let us reason together, says Jehovah: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be like wool.
19. If you be willing and hearken; you shall eat the good of the land:
20. But if you refuse and rebel, you shall be devoured by the sword: for the mouth of Jehovah has spoken it.
21. How is the faithful metropolis become a harlot! she that was full of judgment; justice dwelled in her; but now murderers,
22. Your silver is become dross; your wine is mixed with waters:
23. Your princes are rebellious, and companions of robbers: everyone of them loves a gift, and pursues rewards; they judge not the fatherless, and the cause of the widow cometh not unto them.
24. Wherefore says the Lord, Jehovah of Hosts, the Mighty One of Israel: Ah! I will be relieved of Mine adversaries; and I will be avenged of Mine enemies:
25. And I will bring Mine hand over you, and will purge, as with potash, your dross; and I will remove all your tin.
26. And I will restore your judges as at the first, and your counsellors as at the beginning: and after this your name shall be called, The CITY OF JUSTICE, The FAITHFUL METROPOLIS.
27. Zion shall be redeemed in judgment, and her converts in justice.
28. And the destruction of the transgressors and of the sinners shall be together; and they that forsake Jehovah shall be consumed.
29. For they shall be ashamed of the oaks which you have desired; and you shall blush for the gardens which you have chosen.
30. For you shall be as an oak casting its leaves; and as a garden wherein are no waters.
31. And the strong shall become as tow, and his work as a spark; and they shall both burn together, and none shall quench them.
Apocalypse Explained #721
721. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to bring forth, signifies the hatred of those who are meant by "the dragon" against the church with those who will be in the doctrine, and thence in the light of love and charity from the Lord. This is evident from the signification of the "dragon," as being those who have a knowledge [scientia] of the cognitions of truth from the sense of the letter of the Word, and are not in a life according to it (See above, n. 714); and from the signification of "the woman," as being the church that is in the doctrine and thence in the life of love to the Lord and charity towards the neighbor (See above, n. 707). The hatred of those who are signified by "the dragon" against that church and its doctrine, is meant by "standing before the woman about to bring forth and wishing to devour the offspring." Also from the signification of "bringing forth," as being to bring forth such things as pertain to the church, which are doctrinals, here respecting love to the Lord and charity towards the neighbor, for "the son, a male" that the woman brought forth signifies the doctrine of that church. Such things are signified by "bringing forth," because generations, births, and nativities mean in the Word spiritual generations, births, and nativities, which are effected by truths and a life according to them.
[2] For this reason where spiritual generation, which is called regeneration, is treated of in the Word it is described by natural generation and birth. As in John:
Jesus said to Nicodemus, Except one be begotten anew he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus said, How can a man be begotten when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be begotten? Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except one be begotten of water and of the spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, but that which is begotten of the spirit isspirit. (John 3:3-6).
As Nicodemus did not understand the spiritual sense of the Lord's words "that a man must be begotten anew," the Lord explained that "to be begotten" means "to be begotten of water and of the spirit," thus to be regenerated, that is, by means of truths from the Word and a life according to them, for "water" signifies truths, and "spirit" a life according to them. But elsewhere in the Word, where "to travail," "to bring forth," "to produce," and "to beget" are mentioned, there is no explanation, and yet spiritual travail, birth, nativity, and generation are meant, since the Word in the letter is natural, but in its bosom is spiritual. "To bring forth" signifies to bring forth spiritually, because when a man is regenerating he is likewise as it were conceived, carried in the womb, born, and educated, as a man is conceived of his father, carried in the womb and born of his mother, and afterwards educated.
[3] To confirm that births and nativities signify in the Word spiritual births and nativities, some passages shall be cited from it. In Isaiah:
Be ashamed, O Zidon, the sea hath said, the stronghold of the sea, saying, I have not travailed, neither brought forth, I have not trained up young men, I have not brought up virgins; when the report comes from Egypt they shall be seized with pain as at the report respecting Tyre (Isaiah 23:4, 5).
"Zidon" and "Tyre" signify the knowledges of good and truth from the Word; that the church has not acquired through these anything of intelligence and wisdom, and has not done any uses, is signified by "not travailing," "not bringing forth," "not training up young men," "not bringing up virgins," "young men" meaning the truths of the church, and "virgins" its goods. (But this may be seen explained above, n. 275.)
[4] In the same:
Thy chastening is upon them, as a woman with child that draweth near to her delivery; she crieth out in her pangs; so have we done 1 before Thee, O Jehovah; we have conceived, we have travailed, we have as it were brought forth wind; we have not wrought salvation to the earth, neither have the inhabitants of the world fallen; thy dead shall live (Isaiah 26:16-19).
This is said of the last times of the church, when falsities and evils so far increase that there can be no reformation and regeneration; this state is meant by "the chastening of Jehovah upon them;" that it will then be difficult to perceive and acquire any truth is signified by "as a woman with child that draweth near to her delivery; she crieth out in her pangs;" that in the place of truths they imbibe vanities in which there are no truths is signified by "we have conceived, we have travailed, we have as it were brought forth wind," "wind" signifying such vanities; that from these no uses of life come is signified by "we have not wrought salvation" to Jehovah; 2 that still, when the Lord shall come into the world they are to be taught and regenerated by truths from Him is signified by "thy dead shall live," and by the words that follow.
[5] In the same:
Sing aloud O barren, thou that didst not bear, break forth into singing and cry aloud, thou that didst not travail, for more are the sons of the desolate than the sons of the married one (Isaiah 54:1).
This treats of the Lord's coming and of the New Church to be established by Him with the Gentiles; these are signified by "the barren that did not bear," and by "the desolate" who shall have many sons; they are called "barren" because they did not know the Lord, and did not have the Word where truths are, and therefore could not be regenerated, "sons" meaning truths from the Lord through the Word. The church that has the Word, from which the Lord is known, is meant by "the married one" that has no sons; the joy of those who are of the New Church that before had no truths, is signified by "break forth into singing and cry aloud, thou that didst not travail," "to travail" meaning to bear in the womb.
[6] In the first book of Samuel:
They who have been driven away have been girded with strength; they that are sated, have hired themselves for bread, and they that are hungry have ceased, even until the barren hath borne seven, and she that hath many sons languisheth (1 Samuel 2:4, 5).
This is the prophetic song of Hannah, the mother of Samuel. "Those driven away that are to be girded with strength" mean the Gentiles with whom the church is to be, who are called "driven away" from a lack of the knowledges of truth, and who are therefore rejected by those of the church, at that time the Jewish church; "to be girded with strength" signifies that such have truth from good, and thence power; "they that are sated, who have hired themselves for bread;" and "they that are hungry who have ceased," mean those who were of the Jewish Church, who are said to be "sated" because they had truths in abundance, and "to be hired for bread" because they could only be led to learn truths and do them as hirelings; that they did not desire to know them is signified by "they that are hungry have ceased." The same church is also meant by "she that hath many sons languisheth." But the Gentiles that are to acknowledge the Lord and receive the Word, and thus suffer themselves to be regenerated into the church, are meant by "the barren that shall bear seven;" "seven" signifies all and many, and is predicated of the holy things of the church.
[7] In Jeremiah:
She that hath borne seven shall languish, she shall breathe out her soul; her sun shall go down while it is yet day (Jeremiah 15:9).
This signifies that a church that has all truths because it has the Word shall perish, even so that nothing of truth and good will remain; "to bear seven" signifies to be gifted with all truths from the Word; "to languish, and to have the sun go down," signifies to perish successively and at length wholly; "to breathe out the soul" signifies to perish in respect to all truths, and "the sun going down" signifies to perish in respect to all the goods of love; "while it is as yet day" signifies while the Word is still acknowledged.
[8] In Isaiah:
Before she travailed she brought forth; before her pangs came she was delivered of a male child. Who hath heard a thing like this? Who hath seen a thing like this? Hath the earth travailed in one day? Shall a nation be begotten at once? As soon as Zion travailed she brought forth her sons. Shall I break and not bring forth, saith Jehovah, shall I that cause to bring forth restrain? Rejoice with Jerusalem, exult in her, all ye that love her, that ye may suck and be satisfied from the breast of her consolations (Isaiah 66:7-11).
This, too, treats of the Lord's coming and of the establishment of a church with the Gentiles. Their reformation and regeneration are described by "travailing," "bringing forth," "being delivered of a male child," and by "breaking the matrix" and "begetting;" for, as has been said above, a man who is begotten anew is likewise as it were conceived, carried in the womb, born, educated, and grows up, as from a father and mother.
"Zion" and "Jerusalem" mean the church and its doctrine; and "to suck and be satisfied with the breast of her consolations" signifies to be fully instructed in truths from good from the delight of love according to desire; the "one day" in which these things shall take place signifies the Lord's coming.
[9] In David:
From before the Lord thou art in travail, O earth, from before the God of Israel 3 (Psalms 114:7).
"Thou art in travail, O earth," signifies the establishment of the church, or the reformation of those who will be of the church, "to travail" meaning to receive truths and be reformed, and "the earth" meaning the church. It is said "from before the Lord" and "from before the God of Jacob," because reformation in respect to good and truth is meant, for the Lord is called "Lord" from good, and "God" from truth.
[10] In Jeremiah:
Behold, I bring them from the land of the north, and I will gather them together from the sides of the earth; among them the blind and the lame, the woman with child, and she that is bringing forth together, a great assembly shall they return hither (Jeremiah 31:8).
This, again, treats of the restoration of the church with the Gentiles by the Lord. The Gentiles who are in falsities and in the appearances of truth such as the truths of the Word are in the sense of its letter, are meant by "the land of the north" and by "the sides of the earth," the "north" signifying falsities, and "the sides of the earth" such ultimate truths; therefore it is also said, "among them the blind and the lame, the woman with child and she that is bringing forth," the "blind" meaning those who are not in truths, and the "lame" those who are not in goods, "the woman with child" those who receive truths, and "she who is bringing forth" those who do them. That from such the church will be established is signified by "Behold, I bring them, I will gather them together and a great assembly shall they return hither."
[11] In Isaiah:
Look unto the rock out of which ye were hewn, and to the digging out of the pit out of which ye were digged; look unto Abraham, your father, and unto Sarah that bare you; for I called him alone, and I will bless him and will multiply him; for Jehovah will comfort Zion, He will comfort all her waste places, and He will make her wilderness like Eden, and her solitude like the garden of Jehovah (Isaiah 51:1-3).
This, too, is said of the Lord, and of the New Church from Him. The Lord in relation to Divine truth and in relation to the doctrine of truth is meant by "the rock out of which they were hewn and the pit out of which they were digged" (See above, n. 411). But the Lord in relation to the Divine, from which is reformation, is meant by "Abraham" to whom they shall look, and by "Sarah" that bare them; for by "Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob," in the Word, those persons are not meant, but the Lord in relation to the Divine Itself and the Divine Human, as may be seen in the Arcana Coelestia 1893, 2833, 2836, 3245, 3251, 3305, 3439, 3703, 4615, 6098, 6095, 6185, 6276, 6804, 6847); but the heavenly marriage which is that of Divine good and Divine truth, from which is all reformation and thus the church, is signified by "Abraham" and by "Sarah that bare them." Because the Lord is meant by "Abraham" it is said, "I called him alone, and I will bless him and will multiply him," and afterwards that "Jehovah will comfort Zion, He will comfort all her waste places," "Zion" meaning the New Church, "waste places" truths destroyed, and "to comfort" to restore the church. That those who will be of that church will acknowledge the Lord, and will receive love to Him and thence wisdom, is signified by "her wilderness shall be made like Eden, and her solitude like the garden of Jehovah," "Eden" signifying love to the Lord, and "the garden of Jehovah" wisdom therefrom.
[12] In Micah:
O height of the daughter of Zion, unto thee shall come and shall return the kingdom, the kingdom of the daughter of Jerusalem. Now why dost thou shout in shouting? Is there no king in thee; hath thy counselor perished, that pangs take hold of thee as a woman in travail? Be in travail and bring forth, O daughter of Zion, for now thou shalt go out from the city and shalt dwell in the field (Micah 4:8-10).
This treats of the spiritual captivity in which the faithful are when they remain in a church in which there is no more truth and good; their lamentation that they are in that church is signified by "why dost thou shout in shouting?" Also by "that pangs take hold of thee as a woman in travail;" when yet they have truths of doctrine and also the understanding of them, which is signified by "Is there no king in thee; hath thy counselor perished?" "king" signifying the truth of doctrine from the Word, and "counselor" the understanding of it. That with those who are in the good of charity and thence in the truths of doctrine there will be a church is signified by "the daughter of Zion to whom the kingdom shall come," and by "the daughter of Jerusalem," "kingdom" also signifying the church. The establishment of the church and reformation of those who are of the church is meant by "be in travail, bring forth, O daughter of Zion;" "for now thou shalt go out from the city and shalt dwell in the field" signifies that they will withdraw from a doctrine in which there is no longer any truth or good, and will abide where these abound; "city" meaning the doctrine from which they will withdraw; "field" meaning where truths and goods abound, and "to go out" meaning to withdraw, namely, from that doctrine, and to be thus delivered from spiritual captivity.
[13] In David:
Jehovah raiseth the crushed out of the dust, He lifteth up the needy from the dunghill, to place him with princes, with the princes of His people; He maketh the barren to dwell in a house, to be a glad mother of sons (Psalms 113:7-9).
That those who are in falsities from ignorance, and thus are not in goods, are to be instructed by the Lord in truths, is signified by "Jehovah raiseth the crushed out of the dust, He lifteth up the needy from the dunghill," "the crushed" and "the needy" meaning those who are in falsities from ignorance, and thus not in goods. The primary truths of the church in which they must be instructed are signified by "the princes, the princes of the people," with whom they are to be placed. That those who did not before have life from the marriage of truth and good will have it is signified by "making the barren to dwell in a house, to be a glad mother of sons;" "to dwell" signifying to live; "the house of the barren" signifying where there is no marriage of truth and good, and "a glad mother of sons" the church where there are nascent truths from good.
[14] In Hosea:
As to Ephraim, as a bird shall his glory fly away, from the birth and from the belly and from conception (Hosea 9:11).
That this signifies that all understanding of truth from ultimates to firsts will perish, may be seen above n. 710, where it is explained. In Luke:
Woe to them that are with child and to them that give suck in those days; for there shall be great anguish and anger upon this people (Luke 21:23).
And in the same:
Behold the days shall come in which they shall say, Blessed are the barren and the bellies that have not borne, and the breasts that have not given suck (Luke 23:29; also in Matthew 24:19; Mark 13:17).
That this is said of those who live at the end of the church, when there are no genuine truths to be received that are not falsified, may be seen above n. 710.
[15] In Jeremiah:
The partridge gathereth but bringeth not forth; he that maketh riches but not with judgment, in the midst of his days he forsaketh them, and in his latter end he shall become foolish (Jeremiah 17:11).
A "partridge" means such as learn many things from the Word and from the doctrines of the church, but not for the sake of the uses of life, "to bring forth" means to perform uses, that is, to live and thus to be reformed; the "riches" that he maketh not with judgment signify spiritual riches, which are the knowledges of truth and good; to acquire these not for the sake of uses of life is "to make riches not with judgment;" that such knowledges as are not made to be of the life perish is signified by "in the midst of his days he shall forsake them;" that finally they will have no knowledges of truth that are not falsified is signified by "in his latter end he shall become foolish."
[16] Since a "mother" signifies the church, and "sons and daughters" its truths and goods, and in the ancient churches, and afterwards in the Jewish church, all things were representative and thence significative, it was a reproach and disgrace for women to be barren, therefore:
Rachel was angry with Jacob that she bare no children, and when she brought forth Joseph she said, God hath gathered up my reproach (Genesis 30:1, 23).
For the same reason, when Elizabeth had conceived she said:
Thus hath the Lord done unto me, in the days wherein He looked upon me to take away my reproach among men (Luke 1:24, 25).
Thus it is evident that "to travail," "to bring forth," and "to beget," signify the procreation of such things as pertain to the church.
[17] In Isaiah:
Woe to him that saith unto the father, What begettest thou? or to the woman, With what travailest thou? (Isaiah 45:10)
This is said of man's reformation, that it is from the Lord and not from man. In the same:
King Hezekiah said, when he heard the words of Rabshakeh, This day is a day of distress, and of reproving, and of reproach, and the sons are come to the mouth of the matrix and there is not strength to bring forth (Isaiah 37:3).
That truths from the Word will be heard and known, and yet reformation will not be effected by them, is signified by "the sons are come to the matrix and there is not strength to bring forth," "to bring forth" signifying to make truths fruitful by doing them, from which comes reformation. That this was a grief of heart and mind, and a reproach to the church, is signified by "a day of distress, of reproving and of reproach."
[18] In Ezekiel:
I will pour out my wrath upon Sin, the strength of Egypt, and will cut off the multitude of No; I will set a fire in Egypt; Sin shall travail, and there shall not be 4 for the breaking through (Ezekiel 30:15, 16).
"Egypt," "Sin," and "No," signify the knowledges and fallacies of the natural man, which hinder the reformation of man by means of truths from the Word; that truths will be known and yet will not be received in the life, and thus there can be no reformation, is signified by "Sin in travailing shall travail, but there shall not be for the breaking through," that is, of the matrix. Since "to travail" signifies to receive the truths of the Word by hearing or reading, and "to bring forth" signifies to make them fruitful and bring them forth in act, which is to live according to them, and thus be reformed, so when these things are done with distress and difficulty because of the falsities and evils that rule in the church, and that hinder and which pervert its truths and goods, then it is said that "they are seized with pangs as of a woman in travail;" and as this takes place at the end of the church, therefore it is said in the Word of those who live at that time, as in this chapter of Revelation:
That a woman being with child, cried out, travailing, and pained to be delivered (verse 2); which signifies that spiritual truths and goods, which are from the Word, can be received only with the greatest difficulty and with distress, because of the opposing evils and falsities that then exist in the church and occupy the minds of those who are devoted to religion.
[19] This is signified by "the pangs as of a woman in travail" in Jeremiah:
I have heard a voice as of one sick, as of one in travail with her first born, the voice of the daughter of Zion; she sigheth, she spreadeth forth her hands. Woe to me now, for my soul is made desolate by the slayers (Jeremiah 4:31).
"The daughter of Zion" means the church that is in the truths of doctrine from the good of love; this is said "to sigh and to spread forth the hands, because her soul is made desolate by the slayers," "slayers" meaning those who destroy man's spiritual life by falsities and evils; and because on this account spiritual truths and goods can be received only with distress and difficulty, there is said to be lamentation "as of one sick and in travail with her firstborn," "firstborn" signifying the first thing of the church, from which the rest flow as from their beginning.
[20] In the same:
We have heard the fame of a people coming from the land of the north, our hands are slackened, distress has taken hold of us, pangs as of one in travail; go not forth into the field, and go not in the way, for there is the sword of the adversary, terror on every side (Jeremiah 6:24, 25).
"A people coming from the land of the north" means those who are in the falsities of evil, and in an abstract sense the falsities of evil that are in the church at that time vastated. That truths will then be received in faith and in love with the greatest difficulty, because of the opposing falsities of evil, and that there will be in consequence torment and pain of mind and heart, is signified by "the hands are slackened, distress has taken hold of them, and pangs as of one in travail;" that at such a time the things of the church and of its doctrine will not be considered, in taking thought for oneself, is signified by "Go not forth into the field, go not in the way," "field" meaning the church, and "way" doctrine; and this for the reason that falsity from hell rushes in, by which truth is falsified and extinguished, which is signified by "the sword of the adversary, terror on every side," "sword" meaning falsity destroying truth, "adversary" hell, and "terror" spiritual death.
[21] From this it is evident what is meant by the Lord's words in Matthew:
Then let him that is on the house not come down to take anything out of the house, and let him that is in the field not return back. Woe to them that bear in the womb and to them that give suck in those days. Then shall be great affliction, such as hath not been from the beginning of the world until now (Matthew 24:17-19, 21).
This, too, is said of the state of the church near its end, when falsities of evil and evils of falsity have rule, and the truths of the Word are not received except when falsified and adulterated; this is meant by "Woe to them that bear in the womb and to them that give suck in those days," and also by "great affliction." (But this with the rest of that chapter may be seen explained consecutively in Arcana Coelestia.)
[22] In Jeremiah:
Ask and see whether a male doth bring forth. Wherefore do I see every man with his hands on his loins as a woman in travail, and all faces are turned into paleness? For that day is great, so that none is like it (Jeremiah 30:6, 7).
This also is said of the last state of the church, when the Last Judgment takes place; "the great day" is the Lord's coming and judgment by Him at that time; "ask and see whether a male doth bring forth" signifies whether the truth of the Word without the good of life can bring forth anything of the church, since everything of the church is brought forth by the marriage of good and truth, "the male" signifying the truth of the church, and "the wife" the good of the church; "wherefore do I see every man with his hands on his loins as a woman in travail?" signifies why is it thought that truth without good will bring forth such things as belong to the church? "Loins" signify marriage, in the spiritual sense the marriage of truth and good, but "the loins of a man as of a woman in travail" signify, as if there could be a marriage of truth alone without good; "all faces are turned into paleness" signifies that there is nothing of good because there is nothing of love and charity; the "face" means the affections that are of the love of good, therefore "paleness" signifies those affections extinguished.
[23] In Isaiah:
My loins are filled with great pain, pains seize upon me as the pains of a woman in travail (Isaiah 21:3).
This, too, is said of the last state of the church, when its truths and goods can be received only with the most painful effort, because of the evils and falsities that then oppose; "the loins that are said to be filled with pain," signify the marriage of good and truth from which is heaven and the church, and these are said to be "filled with pain" when truth cannot be conjoined with good; therefore this is the signification of "the pains as of a woman in travail," that seize.
[24] "Pain as of a woman in travail" is also said of those who are unable anymore to receive truths because of the falsities conjoined with evils of life, and yet they wish to receive them when destruction threatens, especially in the spiritual world, when the Last Judgment is at hand, but with a fruitless endeavor and effort; this is signified by "the pains of a woman in travail" in the following passages. In Isaiah:
Howl ye, for the day of Jehovah is nigh. Therefore all hands are slackened, and every heart of man doth melt, and they are dismayed; throes and pangs seize upon them, they are in travail like a woman bringing forth, a man is amazed at his companion, their faces are faces of flames (Isaiah 13:6-8).
"The day of Jehovah" that is near signifies the Last Judgment which the Lord accomplished when He was in the world; their terror at that time on account of threatening destruction is signified by "all hands are slackened, and every heart of man doth melt, and they are about to perish;" 5 that their ability to receive the truths and goods of heaven and the church is then in vain because of the falsities of evil in which they have been and then are in, is signified by "throes and pangs seize upon them, they are in travail like a woman bringing forth;" that they are in the evils of hatred and anger is signified by "their faces are faces of flames."
[25] In Jeremiah:
She that dwelleth in Lebanon, having her nest in the cedars, what grace wilt thou find when pangs come upon thee, pain as of a woman in travail? I will give thee into the hand of them that seek thy soul (Jeremiah 22:23, 25).
This treats of those that have the Word, and thus truths and the understanding of them, who are said "to dwell in Lebanon and to have a nest in the cedars;" their destruction at the Last Judgment, and their effort then to receive truths, but in vain, because of the opposing falsities of evil, is signified by "what grace wilt thou find when pangs come upon thee, pain as of a woman in travail;" that they will then be carried away by the falsities of evil from hell is signified by "I will give thee into the hand of them that seek thy soul."
[26] In the same:
Damascus is become feeble, she hath turned herself to flee, and horror hath taken hold of her, distress and pangs have seized her as of a woman in travail (Jeremiah 49:24).
The king of Babylon heard the fame of the people coming from the north; thence his hands are relaxed, distress hath taken hold of him, pain as of a woman in travail (Jeremiah 50:43).
In Moses:
The peoples heard, the pain of a travailing woman hath seized upon the inhabitants of Philistia (Exodus 15:14).
"The pains of a woman in travail" have a similar signification as in the passages above. In Hosea:
The pangs of a woman in travail shall come upon Ephraim, he is a son not wise, for he doth not stay his time in the womb of sons (Hosea 13:13).
This may be seen explained above n. 710. In Moses:
Jehovah God said to the woman, In multiplying I will multiply thy pain and thy conception; in pain shalt thou bring forth sons; and thy obedience shall be to thy man, and he shall rule over thee (Genesis 3:16).
This does not mean that women are to bring forth sons in pain, but "the woman" means the church that from celestial has become natural; "eating of the tree of knowledge" signifies this. That the man of the church cannot easily be regenerated by means of truths and a life according to them, and that he must endure temptations that truths may be implanted and conjoined to good, is signified by "pain and conception shall be multiplied," and by "she shall bring forth sons in pain," "conception" signifying the reception of truth that is from good, and "to bring forth sons" signifying to bring forth truths from the marriage of truth and good. Because the natural man is full of lusts from the love of self and of the world, and these can be removed only by means of truths, therefore it is said "thy obedience shall be to thy man, and he shall rule over thee," "man" signifying here as elsewhere in the Word the truth of the church. That man is reformed and regenerated by means of truths and a life according to them has been shown above. From this it can now be seen that conceptions, births, nativities, and generations signify in the Word spiritual conceptions, births, nativities, and generations.
Footnotes:
1. The Hebrew has "so were we."
2. The text itself just before has "to the earth," as found in the Hebrew and 741.
3. The Hebrew has "Jacob," as we find below in the explanation.
4. The Hebrew has "No shall be," as found in Arcana Coelestia 8398 and True Christian Religion 583.
5. The Hebrew has "they are dismayed," as just above in the text.
