274. And there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven spirits of God. That this signifies Divine truth itself united to the Divine good proceeding from the Divine love of the Lord is evident from the signification of seven as denoting, all things in the aggregate; and from the signification of lamps of fire burning before the throne as denoting Divine truth united to Divine good proceeding from the Divine love of the Lord. For lamps signify truths; hence seven lamps signify all truth in the aggregate, which is Divine truth; and fire signifies the good of love. And because the lamps were seen burning before the throne upon which the Lord was, it is signified that the good or love was from the Lord. Because the seven spirits of God signify all the truths of heaven and the church from the Lord, as may be seen above (n. 183), it is therefore said, "which are the seven spirits of God." (That seven signify all, may be seen above, n. 256; that fire signifies the good of love may be seen in Arcana Coelestia 934, 4906, 5215, 6314, 6832, 10055.)

[2] That lamps signify truths, which are called truths of faith, is evident from the following passages in the Word, as in David:

"Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path" (Psalms 119:105).

The Word is said to be a lamp, because it is Divine truth. Again:

"Thou lightest my lamp; Jehovah God maketh my darkness resplendent" (Psalms 18:28).

To light a lamp signifies to enlighten the understanding by Divine truth; and to make the darkness resplendent signifies to dissipate the falsities of ignorance by the light of truth. In Luke:

"Let your loins be girded about, and your lamps shining" (12:35).

The loins being girded signifies the good of love (see Arcana Coelestia 3021, 4280, 4462, 5050-5052, 9961); and the lamps shining signifies the truths of faith from the good of love.

[3] In Matthew:

"The lamp of the body is the eye; if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness" (6:22, 23).

The eye is here called a lamp, because it signifies the understanding of truth, and hence also the truth of faith; and because the understanding derives its all from the will - for the quality of the former is according to that of the latter, just as the truth of faith derives its all from the good of love, - when therefore, the understanding of truth is from the good of the will, then the whole man is spiritual, which is signified by the words, "If therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light." But the contrary is the case when the understanding is formed from evil of the will; that it is then in mere falsities is signified by the words, "if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!" (That the eye signifies the understanding may be seen above, n. 152, and that darkness signifies falsities, in Arcana Coelestia 1839, 1860, 3340, 4418, 4531, 7688, 7711, 7712). He who does not know that the eye signifies the understanding cannot by any means comprehend the meaning of these words.

[4] In Jeremiah:

"I will take from them the voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the voice of the millstones and the light of the lamp" (25:10).

To take away the voice of joy and the voice of gladness signifies to remove the interior happiness derived from the good of love and the truths of faith. To take away the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride signifies to remove all the conjunction of good and truth, which constitutes heaven and the church with man. To take away the voice of the millstones and the light of the lamp signifies to deprive them of the doctrine of charity and faith. (What is signified by a millstone, and by grinding, may be seen in Arcana Coelestia 4335, 7780, 9995, 10303). Similarly in the Apocalypse:

"And the light of a lamp shall shine no more in" Babylon; "and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more" there (18:23).

In Isaiah:

"Let your salvation burn as a lamp" (62:1),

signifying that the truth of faith should be from the good of love.

In Matthew:

"The kingdom of heaven shall be likened unto ten virgins, who took their lamps and went forth to meet the bridegroom. The five foolish took their lamps, but no oil: but the five wise took oil also." Wherefore when the bridegroom came the wise went in to the marriage, but the foolish were not admitted (25:1-12).

By lamps are here signified the truths of faith, and by oil is signified the good of love. (What the rest of this parable signifies may be seen above, n. 252, where it is particularly explained.)

10303. 'And you shall beat some of it very fine' means the arrangement of truths into their own series. This is clear from the meaning of 'beating very small' - when it refers to the frankincense and spices, by which levels of truth are meant - as the arrangement of truths into their own series; for much the same is meant by 'beating' as by 'grinding', though 'grinding' is used in reference to wheat, barley, and spelt, whereas 'beating' is used in reference to oil, frankincense, and spices.

[2] What is meant specifically by 'beating' and 'grinding' no one can know without knowledge of what a person is like when the different kinds of good and truth meant by wheat, barley, flour, fine flour, oil, frankincense, and spices have been arranged into order for the uses they are to serve. For 'grinding' and 'beating' mean arranging them so that they may serve a use. When 'grinding' has reference to different kinds of good, which are meant by 'wheat' or 'barley', it means the way that good is arranged and brought forward in the form of truths, and its application in this form to one use or another. Good furthermore never presents itself within useful services except through truths; for good is arranged into order in the form of truths and in this way acquires specific quality. Unless it has been arranged in the form of truths good has no specific quality; and when it is arranged in the form of truths it is arranged into series, depending on the item under discussion, in accord with the use that item serves. The good enters those items as an affection belonging to love, and this gives rise to what is enjoyable, lovely, and pleasing. Something similar is meant here by 'beating very fine', for 'pure frankincense' means spiritual good, 10296, and the kinds of truth that are arranged into order by the good are the spices stacte, onycha, and galbanum, 10292-10294.

[3] What being arranged into series is must also be stated briefly. Truths are said to have been arranged into series when they have been arranged in accordance with the form of heaven, which consists of angelic communities. The character of that form is clear from the correspondence of all the members, internal organs, and other organs of the human being with the Grand Man, which is heaven. Regarding that correspondence, see in the places referred to in 10030(end). Within those members and organs all the individual parts are arranged into series and into series of series. Fibres and vessels form them, as is well known to those who are acquainted from anatomy with the weavings and interweavings of the more internal constituents of the body. The truths from good present in a person are arranged into similar series.

[4] So it is that a person who has been regenerated is heaven in its smallest form, corresponding to the Grand Man; and that the person's truth and good make him wholly and completely what he is.

A person who has been regenerated is heaven in its smallest form, see in the places referred to 9279.

His truth and his good constitute a person, 10298 above.

The truths with regenerate people have been arranged into series in accord with the arrangement in which angelic communities exist, 5339, 5343, 5530.

The series into which the truths with those who are good have been arranged, and the series into which the falsities with those who are evil have been arranged are meant in the Word by 'sheafs' and 'bundles', as in Leviticus 23:9-15; Psalms 126:6; 129:7; Amos 2:13; Micah 4:12; Jeremiah 9:22; Zechariah 12:6; Matthew 13:30.

[5] When therefore it is evident what 'beating' and 'grinding' mean one can know the meaning in the internal sense of the description stating that the children of Israel ground the manna in mills or beat it in mortars, and made it into cakes, Numbers 11:8. 'The manna' was a sign of celestial and spiritual good, 8464, and 'grinding' and 'beating' arranging it to serve useful purposes; for whatever is mentioned in the Word is a sign of the kinds of realities that exist in heaven and in the Church. Every detail there has an inner meaning. One can also know the meaning when it says that they should not take as a pledge the mill or the milling stone, for anyone who does so takes the [person's] soul as a pledge, Deuteronomy 24:6. 'The mill' and 'the milling stone' mean that which prepares good so that it may be applicable to one use or another. 'Barley' too and 'wheat' mean good, and 'flour' and 'fine flour' truths; and its own truths are the means by which good is applied to any such use, as stated above.

[6] From all this it may be seen what 'mill', 'millstone', and 'sitting at the mill' mean in the following places: In Matthew,

At that time two women will be grinding; one will be taken, the other left. Matthew 24:41.

In the same gospel,

Whoever causes one of these little ones believing in Me to stumble, it would be better for him if an ass's millstone ¹ were hung onto his neck and he were plunged into the depth of the sea. Matthew 18:6; Mark 9:42.

In the Book of Revelation,

A mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus will Babylon be thrown down with violence; no sound of a mill will be heard in it any more. Revelation 18:21-22.

In Jeremiah,

I will take away from them the voice of joy, the sound of mills, and the light of the lamp. Jeremiah 25:10.

And in Isaiah,

O daughter of Babel, sit on the ground; without a throne, O daughter of the Chaldeans. Take a mill and grind flour. Isaiah 47:1-2.

Even as 'mill' and 'grinding' in the good sense mean application to good purposes, so in the contrary sense they mean application to evil ones. Consequently when Babel and Chaldea are the subject they mean the application [of what is good and true] in favour of their own loves, which are self-love and love of the world; for with them 'barley' and 'wheat' mean adulterated good, and 'flour' the resulting falsified truth. The profanation of goodness and truth through applying them to those loves is also meant by the action of Moses when he ground up the golden calf into tiny pieces, sprinkled them on the water coming down from Mount Sinai, and made the children of Israel drink it, Exodus 32:20; Deuteronomy 9:21.

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