THE EXPLANATION of Isaiah Chapter 59

(Note: Rev. Smithson's translation of the Isaiah text is appended below the explanation.)

1. BEHOLD, the hand of Jehovah is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither is His ear heavy, that it cannot hear:

VERSE 1. As to the meaning of "hand" and "arm", see Chapter 5:25; and what is meant by being "short of hand", see Chapter 25:11, the Exposition.

2. But your iniquities have separated between you and your God; and your sins have hidden His faces from you, that He doth not hear.

Verse 2. Your sins have hidden His faces front you, etc. - For what is involved in these words, see Chap. 8:17; 54:8, the Exposition.

3. For your hands are polluted with blood, and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken falsehood, and your tongue has meditated perverseness.

Verses 3, 7. "The hands polluted with blood, and the fingers with iniquity", signifies that in everything belonging to them there is the false and the evil of the false; the "hands" and the "fingers" signify power, and hence all things appertaining to them wherein there is any ability.

Inasmuch as these things are signified, therefore, it is also said, "Your lips have spoken falsehood, and your tongue has meditated perverseness"; "falsehood" [or lies] denoting falsities, and "perverseness" the evil of the false.

By "their feet hastening to shed innocent blood", is signified to destroy the Good of love and of charity, this being meant by "shedding innocent blood"; the Good of innocence is that from which is derived every Good and Truth of heaven and the church, as may be seen in the work concerning Heaven and Hell 276-283.

From these considerations it may appear what is signified, in the general sense, by "bloods" in the plural, namely, violence offered as well to the Truths of the Word and of the church as to the Goods thereof. Inasmuch as by "shedding innocent blood" is signified to destroy the Good of love and of charity, therefore every precaution was taken that "innocent blood" might not be shed", and if it was shed, that "the land might be expiated; " (see Deuteronomy 19:10, 13; 21:1-9) for the "land" signifies the church. Apocalypse Explained 329. That the "land", or the "earth", signifies the church, see above, Chapter 24, the Exposition.

4. No one calls in justice, and no one pleads in truth: trusting in vanity, and speaking lies; conceiving mischief; and bringing forth iniquity.

Verse 4. Trusting in vanity, etc. - "Vanity" signifies the falsity of doctrine and of religion, as may appear from the following passages:

"There shall be no more any vision of vanity, nor flattering divination in the midst of the house of Israel"; (Ezekiel 12:24) a "vision of vanity" means a false revelation, See also Ezekiel 13:6-9. Arcana Coelestia 9248.

5. They hatch the eggs of the asp, and weave the web of the spider: he that eats of their eggs dieth; and when it is pressed, a viper breaks forth.

Verse 5. Speaking of evil men, who by treachery and craft seduce in things spiritual. The clandestine evils to which they craftily allure, are meant by "the eggs of the asp which they hatch"; the treacherous falsities are understood by "the web of the spider which they weave." The deadly hurt which they cause if they are received, is signified by "he that eats of their eggs dieth; and when it is pressed, a viper breaks forth." Inasmuch as the Pharisees were of such a quality, therefore they are called by the Lord, "serpents, a generation of vipers." (Matthew 23:33)

That the subtlety and malice of such could do no hurt to those whom the Lord protects, is signified by "The suckling shall play upon the hole of the viper; and upon the den of the basilisk shall the weaned child lay his hand." (Isaiah 11:8) Apocalypse Explained 581. See also Chapter 14:29, 30, the Exposition.

6. Their webs shall not become garments, neither shall they cover themselves with their works: their works are works of iniquity, and the deed of violence is in their hands.

7. Their feet run to evil, and they hasten to shed innocent blood: their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity; devastation and destruction are in their paths.

Verses 6, 7. Their works are works of iniquity, and the deed of violence is in their hands; their feet run to evil, and they hasten to shed innocent blood, etc. - "Violence" means violence against charity, as may appear from many passages; the same is also signified by "shedding innocent blood." See Chapter 60:17, 18, the Exposition.

8. The Way of peace they know not; neither is there any judgment in their goings: they have perverted to themselves their paths; one that goes therein shall not know peace.

Verse 8. In this and in many other passages "peace" signifies, in the supreme sense, the Lord; in the representative sense, His kingdom and Good from the Lord therein, thus the Divine Principle which flows into Good, or into the affections of Good, and which causes, from an inmost principle, joys and happiness. Arcana Coelestia 3780.

As to "peace", see above, Chapter 9:6; 48:18, 22, the Exposition.

9. Therefore is judgment far from us, neither doth justice overtake us: we look for light, but behold darkness! for brightness, but we walk in thick darkness.

Verse 9. "Judgment is far from us", signifies that there is no understanding of Truth; "justice doth not overtake us", means that there is no Good of life; "we look for light, but behold darkness", signifies expectation of Truth, but behold the false; and "for brightness, but we walk in thick darkness", denotes the expectation of Goods by Truths, but behold the life of the false from evils; for "brightness" or "splendours " signify the Goods of Truth, because "light" signifies Truth, and Truth is resplendent from Good; "thick darkness" denotes the falsities of evil, and to "walk" signifies to live. Apocalypse Explained 526.

Verses 9, 10. We look for light, but behold darkness! for brightness, but we walk in thick darkness. We grope for the wall like the blind; we stumble at mid-day as in the twilight, etc. - In the Word "darkness" [tenebrae] and "thick darkness" [caligo] are named together. That "darkness" signifies the deprivation of Truth, and "thick darkness" the deprivation both of Truth and of Good, is evident from Isaiah 59:9, 10. "Judgment is far from us, neither doth justice overtake us", signifies that there is neither Truth nor Good; that "judgment" is predicated of Truth, and "justice" of Good, may be seen, Arcana Coelestia 2235. To "look for light" means Truth, and "for brightness or splendours" means the Good of Truth; for the splendour of "light" [or Truth] is from Good. That "darkness" is there opposed to "light", and to "judgment", thus to Truth; and "thick darkness" to "brightness" and to "justice", thus to Good, is evident; wherefore "darkness" is the deprivation of Truth, and "thick darkness" is the deprivation both of Truth and of Good. (See also Amos 5:20; Joel 2:2) Arcana Coelestia 7111.

Here the "blind" denote those who are not in the understanding of Truths; "darkness" and "thick darkness" mean falsities. To "stumble at mid-day, as in the twilight", denotes to err in falsities, although they may be in the light from the Word. Apocalypse Explained 239.

10. We grope for the wall like the blind, and we grope as those that have no eyes: we stumble at mid-day as in the twilight; we are among the living as dead.

11. We groan all of us like bears; and like doves we make a constant moan: we look judgment, but there is none; for salvation, but it is far from us.

12. For our transgressions are multiplied before You; and our sins testify against us: for our transgressions are with us, and our iniquities we acknowledge;

13. By transgressing and lying against Jehovah, and by turning backward from our God; by speaking oppression and revolt, and by conceiving and meditating from the heart words of falsehood.

Verses 10-12. "We grope for the wall like the blind, and we grope as those that have no eyes", signifies that there is not any understanding of Truth; "we stumble at mid-day as in the twilight", signifies the lapsing into errors, although they are in the church where the Word is, from which they might come into the light of Truth; "we are among the living as dead", denotes that they might be in spiritual life by the Word, and yet are not, because they are in falsities. "We groan all of us like bears, and like doves we make a constant moan", signifies the grief of the natural man, and thence of the spiritual man; "we look for judgment, but there is none; for salvation, but it is far from us", denotes the hope of illustration of the understanding, and thence of salvation, but in vain. "For our transgressions are multiplied before You; and our sins testify against us", signifies by reason of falsities from evil. Apocalypse Explained 781.

14. And judgment is turned away backwards, and justice stands afar off: for truth has stumbled in the street, and rectitude cannot enter.

15. And truth is taken away; and he that shuns evil is accounted mad: and Jehovah saw it, and it was evil in His eyes that there was no judgment.

Verse 14. By "judgment" and "justice", in the Word, are meant Truth and Good. That these no longer exist, is signified by "judgment being turned away backwards, and justice standing afar off." The wandering from the Truths of doctrine, and there being thence no Truth in the life, which is Good of life, is understood by Truth has stumbled in the street, and rectitude cannot enter"; for all the Good of life is procured by Truths of doctrine, as man thereby learns how he ought to live; whereas "street" signifies where Truth leads, therefore it is said "Truth stumbles in the street." Apocalypse Explained 652.

Verses 14-16. Truth has stumbled in the street, and rectitude cannot enter, etc. - "No man" manifestly means no one intelligent, thus, in the universal sense, for no Truth; for this passage treats of the last time of the church, when there is no longer anything of Truth; wherefore it is said, "Truth has stumbled in the street; rectitude cannot enter; and Truth is taken away. That "street" is also predicated of the Truth, may be seen, Arcana Coelestia 2336; in like manner "judgment", Arcana Coelestia 2335. Arcana Coelestia 3134. See also above, Chapter 41:28, the Exposition; and Arcana Coelestia 8273.

16. And He saw that there was no man; and He wondered that there was no intercessor: therefore His own arm wrought salvation for Him; and His justice, it sustained Him.

Verse 16. That the Lord made His Human Divine from His own proper power, thus without the aid of any one, is evident from this, that because He was conceived of Jehovah, the Divine was in Him, and thus that the Divine was His; wherefore, when He was in the world, and made the Human in Himself Divine. He did it out of His own Divine, or out of Himself, which is described in the above words in Isaiah. The "arm" which wrought salvation for Him, is His own proper power, by which He subjugated the hells. Arcana Coelestia 5005, 9715.

How the Lord, when He was in the world, bore the iniquities of the human race, that is, fought with the hells and subjugated them, and thus acquired to Himself the Divine Power of removing them with all who are in Good, and that He thus became Merit and Justice, is described in Isaiah 59:10-20. Arcana Coelestia 9937.

He saw that there was no man. - See the Exposition of Isaiah Chapter 41:28.

There was no intercessor. - As to the meaning of "intercession", see Chapter 53:12, the Exposition.

17. And He put on justice as a breast-plate, and a helmet of salvation upon His head: and He put on the garments of vengeance for His clothing; and He clad Himself with zeal as with a mantle.

Verse 17. These words treat of the subjugation of the hells by the Lord. By "righteousness [or justice] as a breast-plate", is denoted His zeal of delivering the faithful from hell, and His divine love of saving the human race; and because it was zeal from Divine Love, and hence the power from which Ho fought and conquered, therefore justice is called a "breast-plate"; but by the "helmet of salvation" is signified Divine Truth from Divine Good, by which is salvation, for a "helmet" has a similar signification to the "head" with which it is clothed; and the "head", when said of the Lord, signifies the Divine Truth and the Divine Wisdom. Apocalypse Explained 557.

These things are said of the Lord, and of His combats with the hells; for when He was in the world He reduced all things in the hells and in the heavens to order, and this by Divine Truth from Divine Love. The "garments of vengeance" signify the Truths by which He fought; "zeal as a mantle" is the Divine Love from which He fought. Hence it may appear why the "mantle" is mentioned, namely, to signify the Lord's combating by Divine Truths from Divine Love. The "cloak of the ephod, with which Aaron was clothed, upon the borders whereof were pomegranates and bells", mentioned in Exodus 28:31-35, and in Leviticus 8:7-13, had a similar signification, as may be seen in the Arcana Coelestia 9911-9929. Apocalypse Explained 395.

18. According to their deserts, accordingly will He repay: fury to His adversaries, recompense to His enemies; to the islands a recompense will He repay.

Verse 18. To the islands a recompense will He repay. - Concerning the signification of "islands", both in a good and in a bad sense, see Chapter 42:15, the Exposition.

19. And they from the west shall fear the name of Jehovah; and they from the rising of the sun, His glory: when he [the adversary] cometh in like a rushing river, the Spirit of Jehovah shall raise up a standard against him,

Verse 19. In this passage, "from the rising and from the setting of the sun" signifies all who are in the Goods and Truths of heaven and the church. Apocalypse Explained 422.

What is signified by a "name", see Chapter 4:1; 26:8, the Exposition.

That the Lord is the "Sun" of heaven, see Chapter 30:26, the Exposition.

When he [the adversary] cometh in like a rushing river, the Spirit of Jehovah shall raise up a standard against him. - The Divine Truth which was in the Lord when He was in the world, and which then was Himself, is "the Spirit of Jehovah." Arcana Coelestia 9818.

20. And the Redeemer shall come to Zion, and to them that turn away from transgression in Jacob; says Jehovah.

Verse 20. By "Zion" is understood heaven and the church, in which the Lord rules by His Divine Truth. Apocalypse Explained 850

21. And as for Me, this is My covenant with them, says Jehovah: My spirit, which is upon you, and My words, which I have put in your mouth; they shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your seed, nor from the mouth of your seed's seed, says Jehovah; from this time forth for ever.

Verse 21. As to "covenant", see Chapter 42:6, the Exposition.

My spirit, which is upon you. - As to "the Spirit of Jehovah", see Chapter 11:2, the Exposition.

My words, which I have put in your mouth; shall not depart out of your mouth, etc. - See Chapter 51:16, 17, the Exposition.

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Isaiah Chapter 59.

1. BEHOLD, the hand of Jehovah is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither is His ear heavy, that it cannot hear:

2. But your iniquities have separated between you and your God; and your sins have hidden His faces from you, that He doth not hear.

3. For your hands are polluted with blood, and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken falsehood, and your tongue has meditated perverseness.

4. No one calls in justice, and no one pleads in truth: trusting in vanity, and speaking lies; conceiving mischief; and bringing forth iniquity.

5. They hatch the eggs of the asp, and weave the web of the spider: he that eats of their eggs dieth; and when it is pressed, a viper breaks forth.

6. Their webs shall not become garments, neither shall they cover themselves with their works: their works are works of iniquity, and the deed of violence is in their hands.

7. Their feet run to evil, and they hasten to shed. innocent blood: their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity; devastation and destruction are in their paths.

8. The Way of peace they know not; neither is there any judgment in their goings: they have perverted to themselves their paths; one that goes therein shall not know peace.

9. Therefore is judgment far from us, neither doth justice overtake us: we look for light, but behold darkness! for brightness, but we walk in thick darkness.

10. We grope for the wall like the blind, and we grope as those that have no eyes: we stumble at mid-day as in the twilight; we are among the living as dead.

11. We groan all of us like bears; and like doves we make a constant moan: we look judgment, but there is none; for salvation, but it is far from us.

12. For our transgressions are multiplied before You; and our sins testify against us: for our transgressions are with us, and our iniquities we acknowledge;

13. By transgressing and lying against Jehovah, and by turning backward from our God; by speaking oppression and revolt, and by conceiving and meditating from the heart words of falsehood.

14. And judgment is turned away backwards, and justice stands afar off: for truth has stumbled in the street, and rectitude cannot enter.

15. And truth is taken away; and he that shuns evil is accounted mad: and Jehovah saw it, and it was evil in His eyes that there was no judgment.

16. And He saw that there was no man; and He wondered that there was no intercessor: therefore His own arm wrought salvation for Him; and His justice, it sustained Him.

17. And He put on justice as a breast-plate, and a helmet of salvation upon His head: and He put on the garments of vengeance for His clothing; and He clad Himself with zeal as with a mantle.

18. According to their deserts, accordingly will He repay: fury to His adversaries, recompense to His enemies; to the islands a recompense will He repay.

19. And they from the west shall fear the name of Jehovah; and they from the rising of the sun, His glory: when he [the adversary] cometh in like a rushing river, the Spirit of Jehovah shall raise up a standard against him,

20. And the Redeemer shall come to Zion, and to them that turn away from transgression in Jacob; says Jehovah.

21. And as for Me, this is My covenant with them, says Jehovah: My spirit, which is upon you, and My words, which I have put in your mouth; they shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your seed, nor from the mouth of your seed's seed, says Jehovah; from this time forth for ever.

315. As if slain, signifies as yet acknowledged by few. This is evident from the signification of "slain," as being, in reference to the Lord, that He has not been acknowledged; here that few have acknowledged His Human to be Divine, for it is said "a Lamb standing as if slain," a "lamb" signifying the Lord in respect to the Divine Human (as was shown just above, n. 314. The meaning here is similar to what was said of the Lord (Revelation 1:18), "and I became dead," which signifies that He was rejected (See above, n. 83). In the spiritual or internal sense, "slain" does not mean slain in respect to the body, but in respect to the soul; and man is slain in respect to the soul when he is no longer in any good of faith, for he then has no spiritual life, but death instead, which is called spiritual death. But this is not what the term "slain" signifies when applied to the Lord, since the Lord is life itself, and gives spiritual life to everyone; but it signifies either that He is rejected or that He is not acknowledged; for with those who do not acknowledge, and still more with those who deny, He is as nothing. The Lord Himself, to be sure, and also His Divine, is acknowledged in the church, but in respect to the Human as a mere man and not as God; thus it is that His Divine Human is not acknowledged; this, therefore, is what is meant by "a Lamb standing as if slain." But that the Lord is God also as to the Human, can be seen in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 280-310), and will be seen at the end of this work, where it will be plainly shown.

[2] Those who think solely from the sense of the letter of the Word, and not at the same time from the doctrine of genuine truth, know no otherwise than that "slain" in the Word means slain in respect to the body; but that it means slain in respect to the soul will be seen from the passages to be quoted presently. For it is acknowledged that the Word in its inmost is spiritual, although in the sense of the letter it is natural; and to be slain spiritually is to perish in respect to the soul, as is the case with those who do not receive the life of heaven, which is called "life eternal," and also simply "life," and who thus in place of this have death, which is damnation. And because this is acknowledged, it follows that "to be slain" means in the Word to perish by falsities and evils. But spiritually the Lord is said "to be slain" when the truth from Him is denied and the good from Him is rejected; with these the Lord is also not acknowledged, for he who denies and rejects what is from Him, denies and rejects Him also, for the Lord is with man in his truths and goods.

[3] But here His Divine Human is treated of; that this is not acknowledged as yet, is known. I will state the reasons: One is, that the popish body has transferred to its own primate all Divine power that the Lord has, also that in respect to His Human, and are unwilling to hear that it is Divine, since it is from His Human. The other reason is, that those who are not of that body have made faith alone the sole means of salvation, and not the life of charity; and those who do this are unable to perceive the Lord's Human as differing from the human of another man; they therefore abide blindly in the doctrine of the Trinity from the creed of Athanasius, and cannot be illustrated.

[4] That "to be slain" in the Word signifies to be slain spiritually, can be seen from the following passages. In Isaiah:

Thou, like an abominable shoot, the raiment of those that are slain, thrust through with the sword: for thou hast destroyed thy land, thou hast slain thy people. Prepare slaughter for His sons (Isaiah 14:19-21).

This is said of Babylon, which signifies the profanation of good and truth, and the consequent destruction of the church. It is compared to "the raiment of those that are slain, who are thrust through with the sword," because "the raiment of those that are slain" signifies abominable falsity, defiling and destroying the things of the church; they are therefore said "to be thrust through with the sword," because "sword" signifies falsity destroying truth. Therefore it is said, "thou hast destroyed thy land, thou hast slain thy people," "land" means the church, and "people" those therein who are in truths; to "slay" these is to destroy by falsities. "Prepare slaughter for his sons" signifies that their falsities are to be destroyed, "his sons" meaning falsities.

[5] In Jeremiah:

The slain of Jehovah shall be at that day from the end of the earth unto the end of the earth (Jeremiah 25:33).

"The slain of Jehovah from the end of the earth unto the end of the earth" signify those with whom all the truths of the church have been destroyed by falsities; "the slain of Jehovah" signifying those with whom they have been destroyed, and "from the end of the earth unto the end of the earth" signifying all things of the church.

[6] In the same:

Therefore give their sons to the famine, and make them flow down upon the hands of the sword, that men may become rare, ¹ slain with death, their young men smitten with the sword in war (Jeremiah 18:21).

"To give the sons to the famine, and to make them flow down upon the hands of the sword," signifies to extinguish the truths of the church through failure of the knowledges of truth and through falsities, "sons" are truths, "famine" is a failure of knowledges, and "sword" falsity destroying truth; "that men may become rare, slain with death," signifies that there is no affection of truth or wisdom therefrom, "men" signifying the affection of truth and wisdom therefrom (See above, n. 280; "their young men smitten with the sword in war" signifies because truths have been destroyed by the assaults of falsity, "young men" meaning truths, "sword" falsity destroying, and "war" the assault of falsity.

[7] In Ezekiel:

Pass ye through Jerusalem, and smite; neither let your eye spare; slay ye to destruction the old man, the young man, and the virgin, and the infant; but come not near against any man upon whom is the sign (Ezekiel 9:5-6).

This was said by "the man clothed in linen," or by the angel, to other angels, and was heard by the prophet. It does not mean that they should pass through Jerusalem, and should smite and slay to destruction old men, young men, virgins, and infants; but "Jerusalem" means the church in respect to doctrine, and it is meant that the church is altogether vastated in respect to all the goods and truths that constitute it; "old man" means wisdom which is of good; "young man" intelligence which is of truth; "virgin" the affection of these; and "infant" every good and truth in its birth, in a special sense the good of innocence, by which all things of the church with man are begotten; "the man [vir] upon whom was the sign and to whom they should not come near," signifies truth from good.

[8] In the same:

That they may stone them with a stone, may cleave them with swords, may slay their sons and their daughters, and burn up their houses with fire (Ezekiel 23:47).

This was said of Samaria and Jerusalem, which are here called Oholah and Oholibah; by which are signified the two churches, namely, the spiritual and the celestial, here those churches devastated by falsities and evils. "To stone with a stone, and to cleave with swords," signifies the destruction of truth by falsities, for "stoning" signified punishment and death because of violence offered to Divine truth; "cleaving by swords" has a like signification. "To slay sons and daughters" signifies to destroy all truths and goods, "sons" meaning truths and "daughters" goods; and "to burn up the houses with fire" signifies to destroy all things that are of love and charity by the evils of the love of self and the world, "houses" mean man's interiors, thus the things that are of his love, here that these are destroyed; "fire" meaning love in both senses.

[9] In Jeremiah:

They have lain on the earth, lad and old man in the streets; my virgins and my young men have fallen by the sword; Thou hast slain in the day of Thine anger, Thou hast not pitied (Lamentations 2:21).

Here, too, the church devastated is treated of. "To lie on the earth and in the streets" signifies to be destroyed by evils and falsities; "lad and old man, virgins and young men have fallen by the sword," signifies here, as above, all goods and truths with intelligence and wisdom; "thou hast slain in the day of Thine anger, Thou hast not pitied," signifies their extinction, "the day of anger" signifying the last state of the church, when judgment takes place. Slaying, that is, extinguishing these things, is attributed to Jehovah; but it is man himself, the sense of the letter being such as to attribute to Jehovah what belongs to the man himself (See Arcana Coelestia 2447, 5798, 6071, 6991, 6997, 7533, 7632, 7643, 7679, 7710, 7877, 7926, 8227, 8282, 8483, 8632, 9010, 9128, 9306, 10431).

[10] In Amos:

I will cut off the judge out of the midst of Moab, and will slay all the princes thereof with him (Amos. Amos 2:3).

"Moab" in the Word, means those who adulterate the goods of the church; the "judge who will be cut off," and the "princes who will be slain," signify the good which is adulterated, and the truths which are thereby falsified, "judge" meaning good, and "prince" truth.

[11] In Zechariah:

A voice of the howling of the shepherds, that their magnificence is devastated. Thus said Jehovah my God, Feed the sheep of the slaughter, which their possessors slay. I have fed the sheep of the slaughter for your sakes, O miserable of the flock (Zechariah 11:3-5, 7).

"The sheep of the slaughter which their possessors slay," signify those who are in good, and are led astray by the falsities of doctrine; those are called "sheep" who are in the good of charity; "shepherds" are those who teach truths, and by means of these lead to good.

[12] In David:

We are slain every day; we are reckoned as a flock for slaughter. Awake, O Lord, cast us not off always (Psalms 44:22-23).

"We are slain every day" signifies that of ourselves we are constantly falling into falsities, and are being led astray by them, especially in a time when falsities reign; this makes clear what a "flock for slaughter" signifies; that we may be elevated out of falsities by the Lord is signified by "Awake, O Lord, cast us not off always."

[13] In Ezekiel:

They shall draw forth the swords upon the beauty of thy wisdom, and they shall profane thy radiance. They shall bring thee down into the pit, and thou shalt die the death of the slain (Ezekiel 28:7-8).

This is said of the prince of Tyre, by whom is signified the intelligence that is from the knowledges of truth, here that intelligence extinguished by falsities. "To draw forth swords upon the beauty of thy wisdom" signifies its extinction by falsities; "to bring down into the pit" signifies immersion in falsities; and "to die the death of the slain" signifies destruction and damnation, the "slain" signifying those with whom all truth is extinguished (Arcana Coelestia 4503[1-11], 9262), and "death" signifying damnation.

[14] In Isaiah:

Hath he smitten him according to the stroke of him that smiteth him? Hath he been slain according to the slaughter of his slain? (Isaiah 27:7).

This treats of Jacob and Israel, by whom the church is signified, "Jacob" the external church, and "Israel" the internal. The temptations of those who are of the church are thus described, which are signified by "Hath he smitten him according to the stroke of him that smiteth him?" And that they should not succumb in temptations and thus perish is signified by "Is he slain according to the slaughter of the slain?" "the slaughter of the slain" signifying perdition by falsities.

[15] "Slaughter" signifies perdition and damnation in other places in the same prophet:

In the day of the great slaughter the towers shall fall (Isaiah 30:25).

"The day of the great slaughter" signifies the Last Judgment, when the wicked are condemned and perish, "towers" signifying the doctrines of falsity.

[16] In the same:

I will kill thy root with famine, and he shall slay thy remnant (Isaiah 14:30).

This was said respecting Philistia, by which is signified truth without good, or faith without charity. "To kill the root with famine" signifies to perish utterly from having no good, "root" meaning everything from which a thing lives; therefore it is also said, "he shall slay thy remnant," "remnant" signifying all the remains of the church.

[17] In Jeremiah:

I have heard the voice of the daughter of Zion; she sobbeth and spreadeth her hands, for my soul is wearied by the slayers (Jeremiah 4:31).

Thus is described the grief of a church that is falling from truths into falsities. "The daughter of Zion" is the church; "she sobbeth and spreadeth her hands" signifies grief; "for my soul is wearied by the slayers" signifies by falsities that extinguish spiritual life," "slayers" meaning such falsities.

[18] In Isaiah:

Behold, Jehovah going forth out of His place to visit the iniquity of the earth; then shall the earth reveal her bloods, and shall no longer hide her slain (Isaiah 26:21).

This is said of the day of visitation or judgment, when the iniquities of all shall be uncovered, which is meant by "then the earth shall reveal her bloods, and shall no longer hide her slain;" the "earth" signifies the church, here the evil men in the church; "bloods" are the evils that have destroyed the goods of the church; and the "slain" the falsities that have destroyed its truths; whether it be said that the "slain" signify falsities or those who are in falsities, it is the same, for they are in the falsities and the falsities in them, and the falsities in them are what destroy. The like is signified by the "slain" elsewhere in Isaiah:

What will ye do in the day of visitation and of devastation? They shall fall beneath the slain (Isaiah 10:3-4).

Likewise in Revelation:

In Babylon was found the blood of the prophets and of the saints, and of all that have been slain upon the earth (Revelation 18:24).

What is here signified will be seen in what comes after.

[19] In Isaiah:

I will visit evil upon the world. Everyone that is found shall be thrust through; and everyone gathered together shall fall by the sword (Isaiah 13:11, 15).

This also is said of Babylon. That "everyone that is found shall be thrust through" signifies that they shall perish by evil; and that "everyone gathered together shall fall by the sword" signifies that they shall perish by falsity.

[20] In Matthew:

In the end of the age they shall deliver you up unto tribulation and shall slay you (Matthew 24:9).

In John:

They shall put you out of the synagogues; yea, the hour cometh that everyone who killeth you will think that he offereth sacred worship to God (John 16:2).

This was said to the disciples; and by "disciples," in the spiritual representative sense, are meant all truths and goods of the church; whence it is clear what is meant in that sense by "they shall kill them," namely, that the truths and goods of the church shall then be destroyed.

[21] In Mark:

In the consummation of the age, brother shall deliver up brother to death, the father the children; children shall rise up against parents, and shall cause them to be put to death (Mark 13:12).

The consummation of the age is the last time of the church, when falsities shall destroy truths and evils shall destroy goods. "Brother," "father," and "children," do not mean here brother, father, and children, but falsity and truth, and good and evil. "Brother shall deliver up brother to death" signifies that falsity shall destroy good; especially that faith alone shall destroy charity, for faith in the Word is called the brother to charity; "the father shall deliver up the children to death" signifies that the good of the church shall perish by the falsities of evil, "father" meaning the good of the church, and "children" the falsities of evil; "children shall rise up against their parents, and shall cause them to be put to death," signifies that the falsities of evil shall assault the goods and truths of the church and destroy them.

[22] In Luke:

The man who planted a vineyard sent a servant that they should give him of the fruit of the vineyard; but the husbandmen beat him, and sent him away empty. Again he sent another servant; and beating him also, they sent him away empty. Again he sent a third, and wounding him, they cast him out. Then said the lord of the vineyard, What shall I do? I will send my beloved son. But they said, This is the heir; come, let us kill him; and casting him out of the vineyard they killed him (Luke 20:10-16; Mark 12:2-9).

This is said respecting the church instituted among the Jews, and it describes the perversion and falsification by traditions and by applications to self of every truth they had from the Word. All the particulars here contain a spiritual sense; for whatever the Lord spoke, He spoke also spiritually, because from the Divine. The "vineyard which the man planted," signifies the church that is in truths; the "servants whom he sent thrice," mean the Word given them through Moses and the prophets; there is mention of three times, because "three" signifies what is full and complete; "their beating them, wounding them, and sending them away empty out of the vineyard," signifies that they falsified and perverted the truths contained in the Word; "to send away empty out of the vineyard" signifies that they deprived the Word of its goods and truths. "The beloved son" means the Lord in respect to Divine truth, who is therefore called also the Word; "they cast him out of the vineyard and killed him" signifies killing not only the Lord, but also all Divine truth from Him (See also above, n. 83.

[23] In Daniel:

After sixty and two weeks the Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself (Daniel 9:26).

"The Messiah" also means the Lord in respect to Divine truth (See Arcana Coelestia 3008, 3009); "He shall be cut off" means not only Himself, but also all Divine truth with that people; "but not for Himself" signifies that with those who are in a new church Divine truth will live again, like as before in the first chapter of Revelation:

I am the Living One, and I became dead; and behold I am alive unto the ages of the ages (Revelation 1:18).

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