652. And their bodies [are] upon the street of the great city.- That this signifies their extinction by evils and falsities of doctrine, is evident from the signification of bodies, as denoting that the good of love and the truth of doctrine, signified by the two witnesses, were extinguished; for to be killed signifies to be extinguished, in this case spiritually, because with those who have altogether destroyed those things in themselves. Similarly it is said concerning the Lord that He is slain and dead, which signifies that the Divine proceeding from Him, which is the Divine Good and Divine Truth, is rejected; thus the Lord, with those by whom it is rejected, is slain and dead, as may be seen above (n. 83); and from the signification of the street of the great city, as denoting the truth and good of doctrine, and, in the opposite sense, the falsity and evil of doctrine. For by street is signified, in a good sense, truth leading and, in the opposite sense, falsity leading, of which we shall speak presently, and by city is signified doctrine, concerning which see above (n. 223). It is said "the great city," because great is said of good, and, in the opposite sense, of evil; and many is said of truth, and, in the opposite sense, of falsity, as may be seen above (n. 223, [336], 337). From these things it is now evident that by the bodies of the two witnesses upon the street of the great city is signified the extinction of the good of love and of charity, and of the truth of doctrine and of faith, by falsities and evils of doctrine. Because evils and falsities of doctrine are signified, these words follow, "which great city is spiritually called Sodom and Egypt," and by Sodom are signified evils of the love, and by Egypt falsities thence, each of these pertaining to doctrine, which destroy the church at its end, concerning which we shall speak further in the articles that follow.

[2] The reason why street signifies the truth of doctrine, and, in the opposite sense, its falsity, is, that way in the spiritual sense signifies truth leading to good, and, in the opposite sense, falsity leading to evil, as may be seen above (n. 97); and streets are ways in a city. And because city signifies doctrine, therefore by street is signified the truth and falsity of doctrine. In the spiritual world also there are cities, and streets in them as in the cities of the world; and the quality of every one as to the affection for truth and thence intelligence is known merely from the places where they dwell, and also from the streets in which they walk. Those who are in a clear perception of truth dwell in the southern quarter of the city, and also walk there; those who are in a clear affection for the good of love dwell in the eastern quarter, and also walk there; those who are in an obscure affection for the good of love dwell in the western quarter, and also walk there; and those who are in an obscure perception of truth dwell in the northern quarter, and also walk there; but it is the contrary in the cities where those have their abode who are in the persuasion of falsity from evil. From these things it is evident whence it is that street signifies truth or falsity leading.

[3] That such things are signified by streets is evident from the following passages.

In Jeremiah:

"Run ye through the streets of Jerusalem, and see, I pray, and know, and seek in the broad places thereof, if ye can find a man that doeth judgment, seeking truth; then will I pardon her" (5:1).

Since the streets in Jerusalem, and the broad places thereof, signify truths of doctrine, according to the states of the affection and perception of those who are of the church, and as by Jerusalem is signified the church as to doctrine, therefore it is said, "Run ye through the streets of Jerusalem, and see and know, and seek in the broad places thereof." And since judgment is said of truths, because all judgment is effected from laws and precepts, which are truths, and because by truth is signified the truth of doctrine and of faith, therefore it is said, "If ye can find a man that doeth judgment and that seeketh truth." The broad places specifically signify the corners of the city, thus the quarters where they dwell; and because every one dwells in the cities in the spiritual world according to clear and obscure affection for good and perception of truth, therefore by broad places are signified truths and goods according to every one's affection and perception.

[4] In Isaiah:

"Judgment hath been driven back, and justice stood afar off; for truth hath stumbled in the street, and rectitude cannot enter" (59:14).

By judgment and justice, in the Word, are signified truth and good; that these are no longer is signified by judgment being driven back and justice standing afar off, that they wandered from the truths of doctrine, and that thence there was no truth in the life, which is good of life, is signified by, truth hath stumbled in the street, and rectitude cannot enter. For all of the good of life is procured by means of truths of doctrine, as man learns from these how he ought to live. Because street signifies where truth leads, therefore it is said, truth hath stumbled in the street.

[5] In Nahum:

The chariots raged in the streets, they ran in the broad places (2:4).

Because chariots signify doctrinals of truth, and streets and broad places, according to every one's affection and perception, as above, therefore it is said, "The chariots raged in the streets, they ran in the broad places"; to rage signifies, to call falsities truths, and to run signifies to wander.

[6] In the book of Judges:

"In the days of Jael the ways ceased, they that go in paths went crooked ways, they ceased, the broad places in Israel ceased" (5:6, 7).

These words are in the song of Deborah and Barak, in which the desolation of truth in the church is treated of, and afterwards its restitution; the desolation is described by the words, "The ways ceased, they that go in paths went crooked ways, the broad places in Israel ceased." Ways and paths have a similar signification to streets and broad places, namely, truths of doctrine leading; and to go crooked ways signifies wandering from truths.

[7] In Isaiah:

"The city of emptiness shall be broken down, every house shall be shut that no one may enter; there shall be a cry over wine in the streets, all joy shall be mingled together; the gladness of the earth shall be banished" (24:10, 11).

By the city of emptiness is signified doctrine in which there is no truth but falsity; by house is signified good of the will and thence of the life. It is therefore evident what is signified by the city of emptiness shall be broken down, every house shall be shut that no one may enter. By a cry over wine in the streets is signified lamentation on account of the defect of truth and of the intermingling of it with falsity, wine signifying the truth of the church from the Word; therefore it is said, "in the streets," because a street also signifies truth, and where truth is sought. Joy and gladness are named, because joy is said of delight from the affection for good, and gladness of the delight from the affection for truth; that those delights will cease is signified by, all joy shall be mingled together, the gladness of the earth shall be banished, earth denoting the church.

[8] Again in Jeremiah:

"How is the city of glory [not] forsaken, the city of my joy wherefore the young men shall fall in the streets, and all the men of war shall be cut off" (49:25, 26; 50:30.).

The city of glory signifies the doctrine of Divine Truth, and the city of joy signifies delight from affection for good and truth therein; by the young men are signified those that have become intelligent through truths and that the understanding of truth would perish is signified by, the young men shall fall in the streets. By the men of war are signified truths combating against falsities; and that there would be no defence of truth against falsities is signified by, all the men of war shall be cut off.

[9] Again in Ezekiel:

"Ye have multiplied your slain in this city, so that you have filled the streets thereof with the slain" (11:6).

The slain, in the Word, mean those who perish by falsities, for the sword with which they are slain signifies falsity destroying truth; the city signifies here, as above, the doctrine of truth; the signification of the slain in the city is therefore evident. By filling the streets with the slain is signified the devastation of truth by falsities.

[10] In Lamentations:

"They that did eat delicacies are devastated in the streets; and they that were brought up in crimson (purpura) have embraced dunghills. The form" of the Nazarites "is darker than blackness, they are not known in the streets. They have wandered as blind men in the streets, they are polluted with blood. They have hunted our steps so that we cannot go in the streets" (4:5, 8, 14, 18).

Streets here also signify truths of doctrine leading to the good of life, or truths according to which the life is to be formed. This treats of the church where the Word is, and its devastation as to truths; therefore they that did eat delicacies are devastated in the streets signifies that those who have imbibed genuine truths from the Word have no longer any truths, delicacies denoting genuine truths from the Word. By they that were brought up in crimson have embraced dunghills is signified that those who received genuine goods from the Word have nothing but falsities of evil, crimson denoting the genuine good of the Word, specifically the celestial love for truth, and dunghills signifying falsities of evil. By the form of the Nazarites is darker than blackness, they are not known in the streets, is signified that Divine Truth is in such obscurity that it does not appear to any one; for the Nazarites represented the Lord as to Divine Truth, therefore they signify Divine Truth from the Lord. By they wandered as blind men in the streets, they are polluted with blood, is signified that the truths of the Word are no more seen, because they are falsified, the blind signifying those who do not see truths. By they have hunted our steps, so that we cannot go in the streets, is signified to lead astray, so that it is not known how to live, to hunt the steps denoting to lead astray by means of falsities, and to go denoting to live, therefore to go in the streets signifies to live according to truths.

[11] In Zephaniah:

"I will cut off the nations; their corners shall be devastated; I will lay waste their streets, that none shall pass through; their cities shall be devastated, that there shall be no man (vir), and no inhabitant" (3:6).

The nations which shall be cut off signify the goods of the church; the corners which shall be devastated signify its truths and goods in their whole compass; that these are signified by corners, may be seen above (n. 417). The streets which shall be desolate, that no one shall pass through, signify truths of doctrine; for the cities which shall be devastated, that there shall be no man and no inhabitant, signify doctrinals, while man and inhabitants, in the spiritual sense of the Word, mean all who are in truths and in goods, thus, in an abstract sense, truths and goods.

[12] In Zechariah:

"I will return to Zion, and I will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem, whence Jerusalem shall be called the city of truth; old men and women shall yet dwell in the streets of Jerusalem, and the streets shall be full of boys and girls playing in the streets thereof" (8:3-5).

These things are said concerning the coming of the Lord, and concerning a new church to be established by Him. Zion means the church as to the good of love, and Jerusalem the church as to the truths of doctrine, therefore Jerusalem is called the city of truth. By the old men and women who shall dwell in the streets of Jerusalem are meant those that are intelligent and wise by means of truths of doctrine; by the boys and girls playing in the streets, with whom the streets of the city shall be filled, are signified affections for truth and good and their delights, in which those shall abound who live in truths of doctrine.

[13] In Jeremiah:

"According to the number of thy cities were thy gods, O Judah; and according to the number of the streets of Jerusalem have ye set up altars to shame, altars to burn incense to Baal" (11:13).

According to the number of thy cities were thy gods, O Judah, signifies that there were as many falsities as doctrinals, cities denoting doctrinals, and gods the falsities of religion. According to the number of the streets of Jerusalem have ye set up altars to shame, signifies as many kinds of worship as falsities of doctrine, streets here signifying falsities of doctrine, and altars worship. Worship from falsities is here understood, because by altars are meant altars of incense, for it is said, altars to burn incense to Baal, for incense signifies spiritual good, which, in its essence, is truth from good, and in the opposite sense, falsity from evil. That incense and altar signify these things may be seen above (n. 324, 491, 492, 567).

[14] In the same:

"Seest thou not what they do in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? the sons gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, the women knead the mass to make cakes to the queen of the heavens, at the same time to pour out drink-offerings to other gods; I will cause to cease in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem the voice of joy and the voice of gladness" (7:17, 18, 34).

The signification of these words in the spiritual sense may be seen fully explained above (n. 555:17); and that the cities of Judah signify the doctrinals of the church, and the streets of Jerusalem the truths of its doctrine.

[15] Again:

"Have ye forgotten the evils which they did in the land of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem?" (44:9).

The land of Judah signifies the church as to good, here as to evil; and the streets of Jerusalem signify the truths of doctrine, here the falsities of its doctrine.

[16] In Ezekiel:

"With the hoofs of his horses shall" Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babel, "tread down all thy streets; he shall slay thy people with the sword, and he shall bring down the statues of strength to the earth; they shall plunder thy wealth" (26:11, 12).

Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babel, signifies the profanation of truth and its consequent destruction. With the hoofs of his horses he shall tread down all thy streets signifies that he will destroy all the truths of the church by the fallacies of the sensual man; he will slay the people with the sword signifies that he will destroy truths by falsities; that so also he will destroy all worship from truths, is signified by, he shall bring down the statues of strength to the earth, for statues signify holy worship from truths, and because all power belongs to truth from good, they are called statues of strength; that knowledges of truth also would be destroyed is signified by, they shall plunder thy wealth. That wealth and riches denote knowledges of truth may be seen (n. 236).

[17] In the same:

"Thou hast built thee a lofty place, and thou hast made thee a high place in every street; upon every head of the way thou hast made thee thy lofty place, and thou hast made thy beauty abominable" (16:24, 25, 31).

High and lofty places, with the ancients, signified heaven, whence came the rite of sacrificing upon high mountains, and instead of these upon lofty structures, therefore worship from evils and falsities of doctrine is signified by making a lofty and high place in every street, and upon every head of the way. And because that worship became idolatrous, it is said that they made their beauty abominable; by beauty is meant truth and intelligence thence, for every one in the spiritual world is beautiful according to truths from good, and intelligence thence.

[18] In Amos:

"In all the streets shall be wailing and in all the broad places they shall say, Alas, alas! and they shall call the husbandman to mourning" (5:16).

In all the streets mourning, and in all the broad places they shall say, Alas, alas! signifies grief on account of truth and good everywhere devastated; and they shall call the husbandman to mourning signifies the grief of the men of the church on account thereof, husbandman signifies the man of the church, because a field signifies the church as to the implantation of truth.

[19] Again in David:

"Our garners are full, yielding from food to food, our flocks are thousands and ten thousands in our streets; our oxen are laden, no breach or fleeing away, or outcry in our broad places" (Psalm 144:13, 14).

The garners full of food signify doctrinals from the Word, thus the Word where are all the truths of doctrine from which are instruction and spiritual nourishment. By the flocks being thousands and ten thousands in the streets are signified spiritual goods and truths; by thousands of flocks goods, and by ten thousands truths; by oxen laden are signified natural goods and their affections; by no breach is signified their coherence. By none fleeing away is signified no loss of any; by no outcry in the broad places is signified no lamentation anywhere over the want of them.

[20] In Job:

God "who giveth rain upon the faces of the earth, and who sendeth waters upon the faces of the streets" (5:10).

To give rain upon the faces of the earth signifies the influx of Divine Truth into all things with those who are of the church; and to send waters upon the faces of the streets signifies the Divine influx into truths of doctrine in order to render man spiritual by means of them.

[21] In Isaiah:

"In her streets they have girded themselves with sackcloth, upon her roofs and in her streets he shall howl, going down into weeping" (15:3).

The things are said of the city of Ar in the land of Moab, by which is signified the doctrine of those who are in truths from the natural man; grief over the falsities of their doctrine, from primaries to ultimates, is signified by girding on sackcloth, and by howling upon the roofs and in the streets, roofs denoting interior things, and streets exterior things with them.

[22] In Jeremiah:

"Upon all the roofs of Moab, and in the streets thereof, a general lamentation" (48:38).

Similar things are here signified as by those above.

In Daniel:

"Know and perceive from the going forth of the word even to restoring and building of Jerusalem, unto Messiah the Prince, [seven weeks]; after sixty and two weeks the street and ditch shall be restored and built, but in straitness of times" (9:25).

He who is not acquainted with the spiritual sense of the Word may suppose that by Jerusalem is here signified Jerusalem, and that this is to be restored and built; also that by the street and ditch, of which it is likewise said that it shall be restored and built, is understood the street and ditch of that city. But by Jerusalem is meant the church which will be established by the Lord, and by the street and ditch is meant the truth of doctrine; by street truth, and by ditch doctrine. This is not the place to explain the signification of the number of weeks.

[23] From these considerations it is now evident that the signification of the street of the New Jerusalem in the following passages in the Apocalypse is similar:

"The twelve gates were twelve pearls, and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass" (21:21);

and afterwards:

"He shewed me a pure river of water of life, bright as crystal, going forth out of the throne of God and of the Lamb; in the midst of the street thereof and of the river, on either side, was the tree of life, bearing twelve fruits" (22:1, 2):

but these passages will be explained hereafter.

[24] In Isaiah:

"Thy sons have fainted, they have lain at the head of all the streets, as an antelope in a net" (51:20).

These things also are said of Jerusalem, that is, of the church vastated as to doctrine. Sons mean those who are in truths of doctrine; to faint and to lie at the head of all the streets signifies to be deprived of all truth, the head or beginning of the streets denoting the entrance to truth, consequently all truth.

[25] In Lamentations:

"The infant and suckling faint in the streets of the city; lift up thy hands to" the Lord "over the souls of thine infants, who have fainted through hunger at the head of all the streets" (2:11, 19).

The infant and the suckling signify innocence, and also the goods and truths which are first born and vivified by knowledges from the Word with men who are being regenerated, and which, being the first, are also guiltless and harmless; the complete defect of them is signified by, they have fainted in the streets of the city, and at the head of all the streets. It is said through hunger because hunger signifies deprivation, defect, ignorance, and at the same time the desire for knowledges (see above, n. 386).

[26] In Nahum:

"Her infants were dashed in pieces at the head of all the streets, and over her honourable ones they cast lots, and all her great men were bound in chains" (3:10).

Infants, here also mean truths which are first born and vivified; and by being dashed in pieces at the head of all the streets is signified to be dispersed and to perish. By the honourable ones are signified the goods of love; by casting lots over them is signified to be dissipated; by great men are signified the truths of good; and by being bound in chains is signified to be bound by falsities, so that truths cannot come forth. These things are said concerning the city of bloods, which signifies doctrine in which the truths of the Word are falsified.

[27] In Jeremiah:

"Death is come up through our windows, it is come into our palaces, to cut off the infant from the street, the young men from the broad places" (9:21).

Death here means spiritual death, which takes place when falsity is believed to be truth, and the truth to be falsity; and the life is according to such belief. Windows signify thoughts from the understanding; palaces the interior and thence more sublime things of the human mind (mens); the signification of death ascending through the windows and coming into the palaces is therefore evident. Infant signifies here, as above, the truths which are first born through knowledges from the Word; the young men signify truths acquired, from which comes intelligence; while streets and broad places signify truths of doctrine and truths of life, which lead to intelligence and wisdom. The signification therefore of cutting off the infant from the street, the young men from the broad places, is evident.

[28] In the same:

"I am full of the anger of Jehovah, I am weary with holding in; pour out upon the infant in the street, and upon the assembly of young men; for even the man (vir) with the woman shall be taken, the old man with him that is full of days" (6:11).

Here by the infant in the street and by the young men similar things to those above are signified. Man and woman signify truth conjoined to good and thence intelligence, and by the old man and him that is full of days is signified wisdom.

[29] Since street signifies the truth of doctrine leading, and, in the opposite sense, falsity, therefore in the following passages mire of the streets, dirt and dung, signify falsity of the love of evil.

In Isaiah:

"Their carcase has become dung of the streets" (5:25).

In the same:

"He shall make him a treading down like the mire of the streets" (10:6).

In Micah:

"She shall be for a treading down like the mire of the streets" (7:10).

In David:

"I will beat them small as the dust before the faces of the wind, like the dirt of the streets I will spread them out" (Psalm 18:42).

These things are also from appearances in the spiritual world; in the cities there in which falsities from evil reign, the streets appear full of dung, dirt, and mire. It is evident from these things what is signified by "The Lord commanding the seventy, whom he sent to preach the Gospel, into whatever city ye enter, and they receive you not, go out into the streets thereof, and say, Even the dust of your city, that cleaveth unto us, do we shake off against you" (Luke 10:10, 11).

[30] Because the streets of a city signify truths of doctrine, according to which man should live, therefore it was customary to teach and to pray in the streets.

Thus in the Second Book of Samuel:

"Tell it not in Gath, publish it not in the streets of Askelon, lest peradventure the daughters of the Philistines rejoice" (1:20).

In Matthew:

"When thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do, in the synagogues and in the broad places, that they may have glory of men. And if thou pray thou shalt not be as the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues, and in the corners of the streets, where they may be seen of men" (6:2, 5).

And in Luke:

"Then shall ye begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets; but he shall say, I tell you, I know you not whence ye are" (13:26, 27).

[31] From the signification of street, as denoting the truth of doctrine, it is also clear why the Lord said in the parable that the householder commanded his servants, that they should go quickly into the streets and broad places of the city, and bring in the poor, the maimed, the lame, and the blind (Luke 14:21).

The poor, the maimed, the lame, and the blind, do not mean such in a natural sense, but such in a spiritual sense, namely, those who, not having the Word, were in ignorance of truth, and therefore in want of good, but who still desired truths by means of which they might attain to good; such were the nations of whom the church of the Lord was afterwards established.

[32] Since the street of a city signified truth as well as falsity teaching and leading, therefore the angels who came to Sodom, said that they would tarry all night in the street (Genesis 19:2). And therefore, also, it was commanded that if the sons of Israel observed that those in any city served other gods, they should smite the inhabitants of the city with the sword, utterly destroying the city, and that they should bring all the spoil of it into the midst of the street, and burn the city and all the spoil with fire (Deuteronomy 13:14, 16, 17). By other gods are signified the falsities of worship; by the sword, the destruction of falsity by truths; by the spoil, the falsification of truth; and by fire, the punishment of the love of evil and its destruction.

[33] From these passages cited from the Word it is evident what is signified by the bodies of the two witnesses being cast upon the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, and afterwards by their not being permitted to be laid in the tombs. For it was a custom with the Jewish and Israelitish nation to cast out their enemies that were slain into the ways and streets, and not to bury them, as a sign of their hatred; but this represented that they were infernal evils and falsities which could not be raised again to life, that is, those who were in evils and falsities.

[34] This is also evident in Jeremiah:

The prophets prophesy, saying, "Sword and famine shall not be in this land; by the sword and famine shall these prophets be consumed, and the people to whom they prophesy shall be cast out into the streets of Jerusalem, and there shall be none to bury them" (14:15, 16).

A prophet means the doctrine of truth, but here the doctrine of falsity, because they prophesied falsities and because streets signified where falsities are, therefore it is said that they shall be cast out into the streets of Jerusalem.

3147. 'And water to wash his feet' means purification there. This is clear from the meaning of 'water to wash' or 'washing with water' as purifying, dealt with below, and from the meaning of 'feet' as natural things, or what amounts to the same, those things that are in the natural man, dealt with in 2162. In the representative Church washing feet with water was a ceremonial act which meant washing away the filth of the natural man. The filth of the natural man is composed of all the things that belong to self-love and love of the world, and when such filth has been washed away goods and truths flow in, for that filth alone is what hinders the influx of good and truth from the Lord.

[2] For good is flowing in constantly from the Lord, but when by way of the internal or spiritual man it reaches the external or natural man it is either perverted there, or turned away, or stifled. But when indeed the things that belong to self-love and love of the world are removed, good is received there, and bears fruit there, since the person now performs the works of charity. This may become clear from many considerations, such as this: When the things that belong to the external or natural man are quiescent - as they are in times of ill-fortune, wretchedness, and sickness - a person instantly starts to become spiritually-minded and to will what is good, and also to perform acts of devotion insofar as he is able. But when that state alters, these things are altered too.

[3] In the Ancient Church 'washings' were signs meaning these things, and in the Jewish Church the same were representations. The reason why in the Ancient Church they were meaningful signs but in the Jewish Church representations was that members of the Ancient Church regarded that custom as some external act of worship. Nor did they believe that they were purified by that kind of washing but by a washing away of the filth of the natural man, which, as has been stated, is composed of the things that belong to self-love and love of the world. But the member of the Jewish Church did believe that he was purified by such washing, for he did not know, and did not wish to know, that the purifying of a person's interior self was meant.

[4] That 'washing' means the washing away of that filth is clear in Isaiah,

Wash yourselves; purify yourselves; remove the evil of your doings from before My eyes; cease to do evil. Isaiah 1:16.

Here it is evident that 'washing themselves' means purifying themselves and removing evils. In the same prophet,

When the Lord will have washed the excrement of the daughters of Zion and washed away the blood of Jerusalem from its midst in a spirit of judgement and in a spirit of purging. Isaiah 4:4.

Here 'washing the excrement of the daughters of Zion and washing away the blood of Jerusalem' stands for purifying from evils and falsities. In Jeremiah,

Wash your heart from wickedness, O Jerusalem, that you may be saved. How long will your iniquitous thoughts lodge within you? Jeremiah 4:14.

[5] In Ezekiel,

I washed you with water, and washed away the blood from upon you, and anointed you with oil. Ezekiel 16:9.

This refers to Jerusalem, which is used here to mean the Ancient Church. 'Washing with water' stands for purifying from falsities, 'washing away the blood' for purging from evils, 'anointing with oil' for filling with good at that time. In David,

Wash me from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. You will purge me with hyssop and I shall be clean; You will wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Psalms 51:2, 7.

'Being washed' plainly stands for being purified from evils and derivative falsities.

[6] These were the things that were meant by 'washing' in the Representative Church. For the sake of the representation, when they had been made unclean and needed to be cleansed, people were commanded in that Church to wash the skin, hands, feet, and also their garments. All these meant things that belong to the natural man. Also for the sake of the representation, lavers made of bronze were placed outside the Temple - that is to say, 'the bronze sea and the ten bronze lavers' mentioned in 1 Kings 7:23-29; there was also the bronze laver from which Aaron and his sons were to wash themselves, placed between the Tent of Meeting and the Altar, and so outside the Tent of Meeting, Exodus 30:18-19, 21 - the meaning of which was that only external or natural things needed to be purified. And unless they have been purified, that is, unless things belonging to self-love and love of the world have been removed from them, internal things which belong to love to the Lord and towards the neighbour cannot possibly flow in, as stated above.

[7] To enable these matters to be understood more easily, that is to say, regarding the need for external things to be purified, let good works - or what amounts to the same, the goods of charity, which are at the present day called the fruits of faith, and which, since they are actions, are external - serve to exemplify and illustrate the point: Good works are bad works unless the things belonging to self-love and love of the world are removed. For until these have been removed works, when performed, are good to outward appearance but are inwardly bad. They are inwardly bad because they are done either for the sake of reputation, or for financial gain, or for improvement of one's position, or for reward. They are accordingly either merit-seeking or hypocritical, for the things that belong to self-love and love of the world cause those works to be such. But when indeed these evils are removed, works become good, and are the goods of charity. That is to say, they are done regardless of self, the world, reputation, or reward, and so are not merit-seeking or hypocritical, because in that case celestial love and spiritual love flow from the Lord into those works and cause them to be love and charity in action. And at the same time the Lord also purifies the natural or external man by means of those things and orders it so that that man receives correspondingly the celestial and spiritual things that flow in.

[8] This becomes quite clear from what the Lord taught when He washed the disciples' feet: In John,

He came to Simon Peter, who said to Him, Lord, do You wash my feet? Jesus answered and said to him, What I am doing you do not know now, but you will know afterwards. Peter said to Him, You will never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me. Simon Peter said to Him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and head! Jesus said to him, He who is washed has no need except that his feet be washed, but is clean all over. Now you are clean, but not all of you. John 13:4-17.

'He who is washed has no need except that his feet be washed' means that anyone who has been reformed needs to be cleansed only in regard to natural things, that is, to have evils and falsities removed from them. For when that happens all is ordered by the influx of spiritual things from the Lord. Furthermore 'feet-washing' was an act of charity, meaning that one ought not to dwell on the evils of another person. It was also an act of humility, meaning the cleansing of another from evils, like filth from the body, as also becomes clear from the Lord's words in verses 12-17 of that chapter in John, and also in Luke 7:37-38, 44, 46; John 11:2; 1 Samuel 25:41.

[9] Anyone may see that washing himself does not purify a person from evils and falsities, only from the filth that clings to him. Yet because it belonged among the religious observances commanded in the Church it follows that it embodies some special idea, namely spiritual washing, which is purification from the filth that clings to man inwardly. Members of that Church therefore who knew these things and thought of purification of the heart, that is, the removal of the evils of self-love and love of the world from the natural man, and tried to achieve it with utmost zeal, practiced ritual washing as an external act of worship, as commanded. But among those who did not know and did not wish to know those things but who supposed that the mere ritual act of washing garments, skin, hands, and feet would purify them, and who supposed that provided they performed such rituals they would be allowed to continue leading lives of avarice, hatred, revenge, mercilessness, and cruelty - all of which constitute spiritual filth - the performance of the ritual was idolatrous. Nevertheless by means of that ritual they were still able to represent, and by means of the representation to display, some vestige of a Church, by means of which heaven was in a way joined to mankind prior to the Lord's Coming. But that conjunction was such that heaven had little or no influence at all on the member of that Church.

[10] The Jews and Israelites were such that they did not think at all of the internal man, nor did they wish to know anything about the same. Thus they knew absolutely nothing about the celestial and spiritual things which belong to the life after death. Nevertheless to prevent the end of all communication with heaven and so with the Lord, they were bound to the performance of external observances by which internal things were meant. All their captivities and plagues were in general to the end that external observances might be duly carried out for the sake of the representation. It was for this reason that the following laws were given:

Moses was to wash Aaron and his sons with water at the tent door, to sanctify them. Exodus 29:4; 40:12; Leviticus 8:6.

Aaron and his sons were to wash their hands and feet before entering the Tent of Meeting and approaching the Altar to minister, lest they died. This was to them a statute for ever. Exodus 30:18-21; 40:30-31.

Before putting on his vestments Aaron was to wash his flesh. Leviticus 16:4, 24.

Levites were to be purified by sprinkling the water of expiation over them, passing a razor over their flesh, and washing their clothes - then they were pure. Numbers 8:6-7.

Anyone who ate the carcass of a clean animal, ¹ or that which had been torn to pieces, was to wash his clothes and bathe himself with water, and if he did not wash himself and bathe his flesh he would bear his iniquity. Leviticus 17:15-16.

Anyone who touched the bed of a person who had a discharge, or sat on a vessel on which that person had sat, and anyone who touched that person's flesh was to wash his clothes and to bathe himself with water, and be unclean until the evening. Leviticus 15:5-7, 10-12 and following verses.

The person who sent the goat away to Azazel was to wash his flesh. Leviticus 16:26.

When a leper was to be cleansed he was to wash his clothes, shave off all his hair, wash himself in water, and then he would be clean. Leviticus 14:8-9.

Even vessels themselves which had become unclean through contact with unclean persons were made to go through water and be unclean until the evening. Leviticus 11:32.

From all these laws it may be seen that nobody was made clean or pure internally through ritual washing, but that such a person merely represented him who was pure or spiritually clean, for the reason stated above. The Lord teaches the same quite explicitly in Matthew 15:1-20; Mark 7:1-23.

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