Explaining the Inner Meaning of John 21

Verses 21:1, 2. That after his resurrection, the Lord manifested himself in common or general principles to those who were principled in good and truth.

Verse 21:3. And this at a time, when they were teaching the knowledges of truth and good for the reformation of mankind, but whereas they taught from themselves, and not from the Lord, therefore their teaching was fruitless.

Verses 21:4, 5, 6. On which account they are gifted with interior light, yet faint, from the Lord, instructing them that they ought to do all things from the good of love and charity, and that thus natural men might be converted to the truth.

Verses 21:7, 8. Which instruction is perceived to be from the Lord by those who are principled in the good of life, and also by those who are in the good of faith, therefore these latter are more and more confirmed in truth, though as yet it was in common or general principles, whilst the former, by the truth of doctrine, seek to lead natural men to the good of life.

Verses 21:9, 10, 11. Therefore they are made sensible of the divine presence in the truth of good, and in the good of love, and obeying the divine command, they acknowledge the fruitfulness and multiplication of good and truth, in all their fullness in the church, and in their coherence, to be of the Lord.

Verses 21:12, 13, 14. Yet it is granted them of the divine mercy to appropriate to themselves that fruitfulness and multiplication, by incorporating into their own minds and lives both good and truth from the Lord, whereby all doubt is removed concerning the divine presence, and they are fully convinced of the glorification of the Lord's Humanity.

Verses 21:15, 16, 17. On which occasion exploration is made concerning the conjunction of truth and good in the church, and divine admonition given, that it is the office of truth, or of those who are principled in truth, to instruct all who are in innocence, likewise all who are in the good of charity, and lastly, all who are in the good of faith.

Verses 21:18, 19. Divine warning is also given at the same time concerning the separation of truth, or faith, from good, or charity, teaching that the faith of the church in its rise is in the good of innocence, but when it is in its setting, it would no longer be in that good, nor in the good of charity, but would be led by evils and falsities.

Verses 21:20, 21, 22, 23. But still the good of charity would remain with those who are of the Lord, even to the end of the church, and when there is a new church, and not with those who are in truth separate from good.

Verses 21:24, 25. For they, who are principled in the good of charity, bear faithful witness to the truth, being convinced of the truth by its light in their own minds, yet they cannot unfold the whole of the divine operation, because the church is not in a state to receive it.

5215. 'And scorched by an east wind' means full of evil desires. This is clear from the meaning of 'being scorched by an east wind' as being consumed by the fire of evil desires. For an east wind' and the east' in the genuine sense mean love to the Lord and love towards the neighbour, lot, 1250, 3249, 3708, 3762, and therefore in the contrary sense self-love and love of the world, and so cravings and evil desires since these spring from those loves. The word 'fire' is used to refer to such desires for the reason dealt with in 5071, and therefore 'being scorched' is used also.

[2] There are two sources of heat, as there are also two sources of light, the one source of heat being the sun of this world, the other source of heat being the sun of heaven, which is the Lord. It is a well known fact that the sun of this world pours out heat into its own world and onto everything there, but it is a less well known fact that the sun of heaven pours out heat into the whole of heaven. Yet this too may become an equally well known fact if one reflects merely on the heat which exists intrinsically in the human being but which has nothing in common with the heat of the world, that is, if one reflects on what is called vital heat. From this one could know that this heat is of a different nature from the world's heat. That is to say, the former is a living heat but the latter is not at all a living one; also the former, being a living one, fires a person interiorly, namely his will and understanding, imparting to him desires and loves, and affections too. This also explains why desires, loves and affections are spiritual forms of heat, and are also called such. The fact that they are forms of heat is quite evident, for heat is radiated from all parts of the bodies of live persons, even where it is intensely cold. More than that, when desires and affections, that is, when loves, increase, the body grows correspondingly warmer. This kind of heat is what is meant in the Word by 'heat', 'fire', and 'flame'; in the genuine sense celestial and spiritual love is meant, in the contrary sense bodily and earthly love. From this it becomes clear that here 'being scorched by an east wind' means being consumed by the fire of evil desires, and that when used in reference to known facts meant by 'heads' that are 'thin', facts full of evil desires are meant.

[3] 'The east wind' means the blasts of evil desires and of derivative false notions, as is clear from places in the Word where that wind is mentioned, for example, in David,

He caused an east wind to blow ¹ in the heavens, and by His power He brought forth the south wind; and He caused flesh to rain onto them like the dust, winged birds like the sand of the sea. Psalms 78:26-27.

'The flesh' which that wind brought meant cravings, and 'winged birds' resulting false notions, as is evident in Numbers 11:31-35, where it is said that the name of the place where the people were struck down for eating flesh was called 'the graves of craving, for there they buried the people who had the craving'.

[4] In Ezekiel,

Behold, the vine that was planted, will it thrive? When the east wind strikes it, will it not wither completely? It will wither on the small spaces where it began to grow. Ezekiel 17:10.

And in the same prophet,

The vine has been plucked up in anger, it has been cast down onto the ground, and the east wind has dried its fruit. They have been plucked out and have withered, each rod of its strength; fire has consumed each one. For fire has gone out from a rod of its branches and has consumed its fruit, so that there is no rod of strength in it, a sceptre for dominion. Ezekiel 19:12, 14.

Here 'the east wind' stands for the blasts of evil desires. In Isaiah,

He gave thought to His rough wind, on the day of the east wind. Isaiah 17:8.

[5] In Hosea,

An east wind will come, Jehovah's wind rising up from the desert, and his spring will become dry, and his fountain dried up. It will strip his treasury of every precious vessel. Hosea 13:15.

Here also 'an east wind' stands for blasts of evil desires. Similarly in Jeremiah,

Like an east wind I will scatter them before the enemy. Jeremiah 18:17.

[6] In David,

By means of an east wind You will shatter the ships of Tarshish. Psalms 48:7.

In Isaiah,

You have forsaken Your people, the house of Jacob, because they have been filled from the east wind, and they are diviners like the Philistines. Isaiah 2:6.

In Hosea,

Ephraim feeds the wind, and pursues the east wind. All the day long he multiplies lies and devastation. Hosea 11:1.

'The wind' here stands for false notions, and 'the east wind' for evil desires. Something similar is also meant in the internal sense by 'an east wind' by means of which 'locusts were brought forth' and by means of which 'the locusts were cast into the sea', ² Exodus 10:13, 19, and also by means of which 'the waters of the sea Suph' were divided, Exodus 14:21.

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