376. Hitherto it has been shown that oil signifies celestial good, which is the good of love to the Lord. It shall now also be shown that wine signifies spiritual good, which is the good of charity towards the neighbour, and the good of faith; and because this good in its essence is truth, therefore it is said in the general explanation, "See thou hurt not the oil and the wine," which signifies that hurt should not be done to the internal or spiritual sense of the Word, either as to good or as to truth, or what is the same, that injury should not be offered to the goods and truths of the internal or spiritual sense of the Word. The reason why the good of charity and the good of faith are in their essence truth, is because that good is implanted by the Lord in man's intellectual part by means of truths which are called the truths of faith, and when man lives according to them, then those truths become goods; for by truths a new will is formed in that part, and whatever proceeds from the will is called good. This will also is the same as conscience, and conscience is a conscience of truth, for it is formed by means of truths of every kind from the doctrine of the church, and from the sense of the letter of the Word. But on this subject see more in the Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 130-138; and the extracts therein from the Arcana Coelestia, n. 139-141.) This now is why by wine is signified truth.

[2] Moreover, there are goods and truths internal and external; the internal goods and truths are signified by the oil and the wine which are not to be injured; but the external goods and truths are signified by the wheat and barley; external goods and truths are those in the sense of the letter of the Word, but internal goods and truths are those in the internal or spiritual sense of the Word; or, external goods and truths are such as are in the lower heavens, with the angels there, namely, in the ultimates of heaven, but internal goods and truths are such as are in the higher heavens, namely, in the third and second, with the angels there. The latter goods and truths are themselves genuine goods and truths, but the former are truths and goods which correspond, thus are correspondences; the former have immediate communication with the angels of heaven, whereas the latter have not an immediate but a mediate communication by correspondences. Hence it is that the Jews, because they were only in the sense of the letter, and not in the knowledge of the signification of things in the spiritual sense, could not injure the spiritual sense thereof either as to good or as to truth, consequently, they could not injure genuine goods and truths. This also is the case with the Christian Church at this day, which cannot injure the genuine goods and truths of the spiritual sense of the Word, for it is in ignorance of that sense, and, consequently, also ignorant of genuine goods and truths.

[3] The reason why the spiritual sense of the Word has not been made known to Christians, is, because the genuine goods and truths, such as are in the higher heavens, lie concealed in the spiritual sense of the Word; and so long as those goods and truths were not perceived and known, that sense could not be opened, for they could not be seen. The reason why genuine goods and truths have not been perceived and known in the Christian churches, is, because those churches have, in general, been divided into the papal and the evangelical; and in the papal church they are altogether ignorant of truths, because those who are therein do not depend upon the Word, thus upon the Lord, who is the Word, that is, the Divine truth, but upon the Pope, from whose mouth scarcely anything proceeds but what is from the love of ruling, and this love is from hell. Therefore, scarcely a single truth pertaining to the church exists with them; but in the evangelical churches faith alone has been assumed for the essential means of salvation, and thereby the good of love and charity has been rejected as not essential, and where good is rejected there no truth that is really truth can exist, all truth being from good. For the Lord flows into man's good, and by means of good enlightens him, and gives him light to perceive truths, therefore, without that light, which is the very spiritual life of man, there can be no truth. However it may sound like truth, because from the Word, it is truth falsified by the ideas which a man holds concerning it; for from faith separated from charity, or from truths without good, no other result can follow.

Hence then it is, that the spiritual sense of the Word could not be opened to the Christian churches; for if it had been opened, they would have falsified and perverted it by ideas from fallacies, and so would have profaned it. For this reason also no one will hereafter be admitted into the spiritual sense of the Word unless he is in genuine truths from good; and no one can be in genuine truths from good unless in his heart he acknowledges the Lord alone as the God of heaven and earth, for from Him is every good and truth therefrom. The reason why the spiritual sense of the Word is, at this day, opened, and therewith also genuine truths and goods disclosed, is, because the Last Judgment has been accomplished by the Lord, and thus all things in the heavens and in the hells are reduced to order. And as a result it can be provided by the Lord that the genuine truths and goods, in the spiritual sense of the Word, shall not be injured, which could not have been provided for before (see the small work concerning the Last Judgment 73).

[4] That wine signifies spiritual good, or the good of charity and the good of faith, which in its essence is truth, is evident from the following passages in the Word. In Isaiah:

"Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money, come ye, buy and eat; buy wine and milk without money and without price" (55:1).

Every one can see that it is not wine and milk, which they would buy without money; therefore by wine and milk are signified spiritual things, namely, by wine spiritual good, which in its essence is truth, as was said above, and by milk the good of that truth. That these are freely given by the Lord to such as are ignorant of truth and good, and yet desire them, is signified by "he that hath no money, come ye, buy, and eat, buy without money." To buy signifies to procure to oneself; and to eat to appropriate to oneself, which is done by application as of oneself. That those who are ignorant of truth and good, and yet desire them, are meant, is evident, for it is said, "Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters"; to thirst signifying to desire, and waters signifying truths, here the Word wherein they are contained.

[5] In Joel:

"It shall come to pass in that day, that the mountains shall drop down new wine, and the hills shall flow with milk; all the rivers of Judah shall flow with waters" (3:18).

Here the Lord's coming, and a new heaven and a new church from Him, are treated of. That the mountains in the land of Canaan, or in Judea, did not then drop down new wine, nor the hills flow with milk, and that neither did the rivers of Judah flow with waters more than formerly, is known, therefore, by those words are meant something other than new wine, milk, and waters, also than mountains, hills, rivers, namely, that by the mountains dropping down new wine (mustum) or wine (vinum), is meant every genuine truth from the good of love to the Lord. By the hills flowing with milk, is meant spiritual life from the good of charity towards the neighbour; and by all the rivers of Judah flowing with waters, are meant truths from the particulars of the Word. For by Judah is signified the Lord's celestial kingdom, and also the Word (as may be seen, n. 3881, 6363). Hence by its rivers are signified the particulars thereof. (That by mountains is signified the good of love to the Lord, n. 795, 4210, 6435, 8327, 8758, 10438, 10608; and by hills the good of charity towards the neighbour, n. 6435, 10438; and this because in heaven those dwell on mountains who are in the good of love to the Lord, and, upon hills those who are in the good of charity towards the neighbour, n. 10438; and in the work concerning Heaven and Hell 188.)

[6] In Amos:

"Behold, the days come, that the ploughman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him that soweth seed; and the mountains shall drop new wine, and all the hills shall melt. I will bring back the captivity of my people Israel, and they shall build the waste cities; and they shall sit and plant vineyards, and drink the wine thereof; they shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit of them. Then will I plant them upon their land" (9:13-15).

In this chapter the vastation of the church is first treated of; and afterwards its restoration by the Lord. By the people Israel also is not meant that people, but those with whom the church was to be established. By the ploughman overtaking the reaper, and the treader of grapes him that soweth the seed, is signified that he who receives good and truth shall also perform uses, or bear fruit, thus that they will be together with the member of the church. By the mountains dropping down new wine, and all the hills melting, is signified as just above, that from the good of love to the Lord, and from the good of charity towards the neighbour, there would be truths in abundance, new wine here or wine denoting truth. By the captivity of the people Israel, which should be brought back, is signified the restoration of the church among the Gentiles, for by captivity is meant spiritual captivity, in which those are who are remote from goods and truths, and yet desire them (see n. 9164). By the waste cities, which they shall build, are signified the doctrinals of truth and good from the Word hitherto destroyed, and afterwards to be restored; by the vineyards which they shall plant, and of which they shall drink the wine, are signified all things of the church from which is intelligence, a vineyard signifying the spiritual church, whence by vineyards are signified all things of the church. By wine is signified the truth thereof in general; and by drinking it is signified to be instructed and become intelligent, thus intelligence; and by the gardens which they shall make, and of which they shall eat the fruit, is signified wisdom, gardens denoting all things of intelligence, and the fruit of them signifying goods of life; thus by eating their fruit is signified the appropriation of good, thus wisdom, for wisdom is formed when truths are committed to the life; and because these things are meant, it is therefore said of Israel, I will plant them upon their land.

[7] In Moses:

"He bindeth his ass's-colt to the vine, the son of his she-ass unto the choice vine; he washeth his raiment in wine, and his covering in the blood of grapes; his eyes are red with wine, and his teeth white with milk" (Genesis 49:11, 12).

This occurs in the prophecy of Israel the father concerning Judah, by whom is not here meant Judah, but the Lord as to the celestial kingdom; and by wine and the blood of grapes is meant the Divine truth. (What the other things signify, and that wine signifies Divine truth, because it relates to the Lord, may be seen in the Arcana Coelestia 6375-6381.)

[8] In the same:

"Jacob brought of his venison to his father Isaac, and he did eat; and he brought him wine, and he drank. And Isaac blessed him, saying, God give thee of the dew of heaven, and of the fatnesses of the earth, and plenty of corn and new wine" (Genesis 27:25-28, 37).

Those who do not know that the Word is spiritual in every particular, may suppose that by Isaac here is meant Isaac, and by Jacob, Jacob; and hence that by the fatnesses of the earth, and by the corn and new wine, no higher are meant; whereas by Isaac here was represented the Lord, and by Jacob the church; hence by the fatnesses of the earth, celestial things of the good of love; and by corn and new wine, all the good and truth of the church. (But these words may also be seen explained in the Arcana Coelestia 3570, 3579, 3580.)

[9] In the same:

If ye shall hearken unto my precepts, I will give rain to your land in its season, the former rain and the latter rain, and thou shalt gather in thy corn, and thy new wine, and thine oil" (Deuteronomy 11:13, 14).

These blessings of the earth were promised to the sons of Israel if they would hear and do Jehovah's precepts, which also attended them, because with them the church was representative, and the things that were said and commanded by Jehovah corresponded to spiritual things, thus the blessings of the earth to the blessings of heaven. The blessings of heaven, to which the blessings of the earth correspond, have all reference to such things as belong to the good of love and the truth of faith; such blessings, therefore, are signified by the former and the latter rain, for rain specifically signifies the Divine truth flowing in out of heaven, from which all things of the church and heaven with man are born, grow, and are brought forth; wherefore by the corn, new wine, and oil, which they should gather, are signified every good and truth of the external and internal man.

[10] In the same:

"Thus Israel dwelt securely, solitary at the fountain of Jacob, in a land of corn and new wine; his heavens also dropped down dew" (Deuteronomy 33:28).

This was the conclusion of the blessings of the children of Israel by Moses, which were all prophetical; and every son and every tribe of Israel signified something of the church, as in Genesis 44. Here Israel signifies the church itself; and by dwelling securely and solitary at the fountain of Jacob, is signified to live without infestation from evils and falsities, and to be led by the Lord alone by means of Divine truth; the fountain of Jacob denoting Divine truth and the Word. And by living in a land of corn and new wine, is signified in all the good and truth of the church; and by his heavens also shall drop down dew, is signified influx out of heaven.

[11] In the same:

"He made him ride upon the high places of the earth, and gave him butter of the herd, and milk of the flock, with the fat of lambs, and of rams of the sons of Bashan, and of goats, with the fat of kidneys of wheat; and thou didst drink the blood of the grape, pure wine" (Deuteronomy 32:13, 14).

These things are said of the Ancient Church, which was that before the Israelitish Church, and was in the good of charity and in the truths of faith. The goods of every kind, in which it was, are meant by those things, namely, by butter of the herd, milk of the flock, the fat of lambs, the fat of rams, the fat of goats, the fat of kidneys of wheat; and the spiritual truths by the blood of the grape and pure wine (merum).

[12] In Jeremiah:

"They shall come and sing in the height of Zion, and shall flow together to the goodness of Jehovah, to the wheat, and to the new wine, and to the oil, and to the sons of the flock and of the herd" (31:12).

By wheat, new wine, and oil, are signified goods and truths of every kind (what they mean specifically may be seen above, n. 374).

In Isaiah:

"Jehovah hath sworn by his right hand, and by the arm of his strength, Surely I will no longer give thy corn to be food for thine enemies; and the sons of the stranger shall no more drink thy new wine (mustum), for which thou hast laboured; but they who gather it, shall eat it, and praise Jehovah; and they who bring it together, shall drink it in the courts of holiness" (62:8, 9).

These things are said concerning Jerusalem, by which is signified the church as to doctrine. By the corn, therefore, which shall no longer be given as food for the enemies, and by the new wine, which the sons of the stranger shall not drink, are signified in general the good and truth of the church, which shall no longer be consumed by evils and falsities; enemies here denoting evils; and the sons of the stranger, falsities; and eating or food, to be given unto them; and drinking denoting to consume. That goods and truths shall abide with those who receive them, and thence make use of them, is signified by, "they who gather it, shall eat it; and they who bring it together, shall drink it." The worship from these is signified by praising Jehovah, and drinking in the courts of holiness.

[13] In the same:

"Joy is taken away, and exultation from Carmel; and in the vineyards there is no singing, there is no shouting for joy; the treader treadeth not out the wine in the wine-press; I have made the vintage shouting to cease" (16:10).

The taking away of heavenly delight from good and the truths thence, because good and truth itself, is thus described. The good of the church is meant by Carmel, and the truths thence by vineyards and by treading out the wine in the wine-presses; the delights thereof, which are taken away, by joy, exultation, singing, shouting, and vintage shouting; for it was customary to sing in the vineyards, and in the wine-presses, when the grape was trodden into wine, on account of the representation of the delights from truths, which were signified by wine.

[14] In Jeremiah:

"O vine of Sibmah, I will weep for thee above the weeping of Jazer; thy plants are gone over the sea, they reach even to the sea of Jazer; the spoiler is fallen upon thy fruits of autumn, and upon thy vintage. Whence is collected joy and gladness out of Carmel, and from the land of Moab; and I have caused the wine to fall in the wine-presses; none shall tread with shouting; their shouting shall be no shouting" (48:32, 33).

Here also the removal of heavenly delight, from the good of love and the truths thence, is treated of, for all heavenly delight is in these and from these. Lamentation over it is meant by grievous weeping; the deprivation thereof, by which joy and gladness is collected out of Carmel, also by the spoiler falling upon them, by [the wine] failing, and the shouting being no shouting; the good which was taken away, for which there was lamentation, is meant by the fruits of autumn; and the truths of good which were taken away, by the vintage and by the wine in the wine-presses. That truths were banished, and that they perished by scientifics, is meant by the wine of Sibmah, and by the plants thereof having gone over the sea, even to the sea of Jazer, the sea signifying the scientific part.

[15] In Lamentations:

"The infant and the suckling faint in the streets of the city. They say to their mothers, Where is the corn and the wine? when they faint as one that is slain in the streets of the city, when their soul is poured out upon the bosom of their mothers" (2:11, 12).

These words contain a lamentation over the Jewish Church, that all the good and truth thereof have perished, and the lamentation is described by the infant and the suckling who faint in the streets of the city, and say to their mothers, Where is the corn and the wine? the infant and the suckling signify those who are in the good of innocence, and in the abstract, the good of innocence itself, by which good is meant every good of the church, because it is the essential of all the goods of it (see the work concerning Heaven and Hell 276-283, 285, 288, 341, 382). By the streets of the city are signified truths of doctrine; by mothers are signified all things of the church; and by corn and wine are signified all the good and truth thereof in general. The reason why it is said that they faint as one slain in the streets of the city, when their soul is poured out upon the bosom of their mothers, is, because one that is slain signifies those who perish spiritually through deprivation of truth, and by the soul is signified spiritual life. (That the streets of the city in which they faint signify truths of doctrine, may be seen, n. 2336; and that the mother, into whose bosom the soul is poured out, signifies the church, n. 2691, 2717, 3703, 4257, 5581, 8897.)

[16] In Zephaniah:

"Their wealth shall be a prey, and their houses a waste: they shall also build houses, but not inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, but not drink the wine thereof" (1:13).

By the wealth that shall be for a prey, is signified spiritual wealth, which is the knowledges of good and truth; by the houses becoming a waste are signified those things in man that pertain to the church; from which, when they are devastated, [men] then profit and receive nothing, although they hear them and see them in the Word, is signified by, building and not inhabiting, and planting vineyards, and not drinking the wine thereof; houses denoting the goods of the church, and vineyards together with wine denoting the truths thereof.

[17] Similar things are meant in Micah:

"Thou shalt sow, but thou shalt not reap; thou shalt tread the olive, but thou shalt not anoint thee with oil and new wine, but shalt not drink wine" (6:15).

In Amos:

"Vineyards of desire shall ye plant, but ye shall not drink the wine of them" (5:11).

And in Hosea:

"The corn-floor and the wine-press shall not feed them, and the new wine shall deceive them. They shall not make wine-offerings to Jehovah, and they shall not be pleasing unto him" (9:2, 4).

By the corn-floor and the wine-press are signified the same as by corn and wine, because in these places they are brought together; that they shall not profit from the things heard, is signified by, they "shall not feed them, and the new wine shall deceive them"; and hence their worship was not accepted, is signified by, "they shall not make wine-offerings to Jehovah, and they shall not be pleasing," namely, the libations, unto Him.

[18] In Joel:

"Awake ye drunkards, and weep; and howl, all ye drinkers of wine, because of the new wine, which is cut off from your mouth. The field is wasted, the land mourned, for the corn is wasted, the new wine is dried up, the oil languisheth; the husbandmen were ashamed; the vinedressers howled" (1:5, 10, 11).

What is signified by these words, in the spiritual sense, may be seen above (n. 374), where they are explained; and that by wine and new wine is meant the truth of the church, and by vinedressers those who are in truths and teach them; the subject here treated of being the devastated church, in which goods and truths have perished.

[19] In Ezekiel:

"Damascus was thy trader by the multitude of thy works, by the multitude of all riches; in the wine of Helbon, and the wool of Zachar" (27:18).

This is said of Tyre, by which is signified the church as to the knowledges of good and truth; and by Damascus, which was a city of Syria, is signified the scientific part concordant; and by the tradings, which are treated of in that chapter, are signified the acquisition and communication, and also the use, of them. Because Damascus signifies the scientific part concordant, it is therefore said, it was a trader by the multitude of all works and riches; and by works, from which uses are effected, are signified the knowledges of good, and by riches the knowledges of truth; and because the knowledges of truth and good are in the natural man, for therein is everything cognizable, perceptible, and knowable, it is therefore said, in the wine of Helbon, and the wool of Zachar; the wine of Helbon signifying natural truth, and the wool of Zachar natural good.

[20] In Isaiah:

"A curse shall devour the earth. The new wine shall mourn, the vine shall languish, all the merry-hearted shall sigh. They shall not drink wine with a song; strong drink shall be bitter to them that drink it. The city of emptiness shall be broken; every house shall be shut up, that no man come in" (24:6, 7, 9, 10).

By these words is described the perversion of the church, which is when falsity rules in the place of truth, whence there is no longer any good, for man has good by means of truths. By the earth which the curse shall devour, is signified the church; the curse denoting the perversion thereof; by the new wine mourning, and the vine languishing, is signified all the truth of the church, to mourn and to languish signifying its deprivation; that there shall no longer be any heavenly delight and blessing, is signified by, all the merry-hearted shall sigh, they shall not drink wine with a song; that they shall turn away from all things which agree with truths, is signified by, strong drink shall be bitter to them that drink it, strong drink signifying the things that are from truths and agree with them; but that the doctrine of falsity shall be destroyed, is signified by, the city of emptiness shall be broken, a city denoting doctrine, and emptiness denoting falsity; and that good and wisdom shall be no longer with man, is signified by, every house shall be shut up, that no man come in, which takes place when there is no truth, but falsity only.

[21] In Amos:

"Who drink out of bowls of wine, and anoint themselves with the first-fruits of the oils; but they are not grieved for the breaking of Joseph" (6:6).

In this, and the preceding part of the chapter, those are described who are in external worship without internal, such as the Jews were formerly, and are at the present day. The bowls of wine, out of which they drink, denote the externals of truth from which is their worship; and the first-fruits of the oils, with which they anoint themselves, denote the externals of good, from which also their worship comes. Joseph signifies the internal of the church, or its spiritual; and their not being affected because it perished, is signified by, they are not grieved for his breaking. (That external worship without internal, is no worship, may be seen, n. 1094, 1175, 7724; that the Jews were formerly and are at the present time in external worship without internal, n. 1200, 3147, 3479, 8871; that Joseph signifies the spiritual church, and hence also the spiritual of the church, n. 3969, 3971, 4669, 6417.)

[22] In Zechariah:

"I will render powerful the house of Judah, and I will keep the house of Joseph; hence they shall be as the powerful Ephraim, and their heart shall be glad as if with wine" (10:6, 7).

By the house of Judah is signified the Lord's celestial church, and by the house of Joseph the Lord's spiritual church; and by rendering powerful their houses, is signified to multiply with them truths from good, for all power is of truth from good; hence it is said, that they shall be as the powerful Ephraim; by Ephraim is signified the understanding of truth from good, [which] is thus called powerful from its multiplication; heavenly delight thence is signified by, their heart shall be glad as if with wine, wine denoting truth from good, from which that delight comes. (That all power belongs to truths from good, may be seen in the work concerning Heaven and Hell 228-233; and also above, n. 209, 333; that Judah in the Word signifies the Lord's celestial kingdom, in the Arcana Coelestia 3881, 6363; and Ephraim, the Intellectual of the church, n. 3969, 5354, 6222, 6234, 6238, 6267, 6296.)

[23] In Daniel:

"Belshazzar king of Babylon, and his princes, and his wives, and his concubines, drank wine out of the vessels of the temple of Jerusalem, and they praised the gods [of gold,] silver, brass, iron, wood, and stone. Therefore there was written on the wall, numbered, weighed, divided. And he ¹ was afterwards driven out from the sons of man, and his dwelling was with the wild asses" (5:2-5, 21).

In the internal sense the profanation of good and truth is here described, which also Babel or Babylon denotes; for by drinking wine out of the vessels of the temple of Jerusalem, is signified to imbibe the truths of the church from the Word, to drink wine denoting to imbibe truths, and the vessels of the temple of Jerusalem denoting those things that pertain to the doctrine of the church from the Word; and to praise the gods of gold, silver, brass, iron, wood, and stone, signifies worship from the love of self and of the world; for by those gods is signified idolatrous worship of every kind, and profanation; that therefore it was written on the wall, numbered, weighed, divided, signifies separation from all things of heaven and the church. That he ¹ was afterwards driven out from the sons of man, and had his dwelling with the wild asses, signifies separated from all truth, and the allotment of his life with the infernals; the sons of man denoting the truths of the church; wild asses denoting those who are in dire falsities, such as are in the hells; and dwelling denoting the lot which is of the life.

[24] In Joel:

"They have cast lots over my people; for they have given a boy for a harlot, and sold a girl for wine, which they drank" (3:3).

By casting lots over the people, is signified to dissipate the truths of the church, to cast lots signifying to dissipate, and the people signifying the church as to truths, thus also the truths of the church; by giving a boy for a harlot, is signified to falsify truth, for a boy denotes the truth of the church, and a harlot denotes falsity; and by selling a girl for wine which they drank, is signified to pervert the good of the church by truth falsified, a girl denoting the good of the church, and wine denoting truth falsified.

[25] Because wine signified the truth of the church which is from good, therefore it was commanded that, with the sacrifices upon the altar, they should also offer a meat-offering and a drink-offering, and the meat-offering was bread, and the drink-offering wine, by which was signified the worship of the Lord from the good of love, and from the truths thence, all worship being from these. (Concerning the drink-offerings and the different portions of wine in them at the different sacrifices, see Exodus 29:40, 41; Leviticus 23:13, 18; Num. 6:1-4, 15, 17; 15:4-7, 10, 24; 28:7-10, 24, 31; 29:6, 11, 19, 22, 25, 27, 28, 31, 34, 38, 39; and in addition Genesis 35:14). Hence it is evident what is signified in Joel:

"The meat-offering and the drink-offering is cut off from the house of Jehovah, the priests, the ministers of Jehovah, mourned" (1:9).

This means, that worship from the good of love, and the truths thence, had perished. Who cannot see that the meat-offering and drink-offering, which were bread and wine, could not be pleasing to Jehovah in worship, unless they had signified such things as pertain to heaven and the church?

[26] From these considerations it is now evident what the bread and wine in the Holy Supper involve, namely, bread the good of love from the Lord to the Lord, and wine the good of faith which in its essence is truth. (But concerning the Holy Supper, and concerning the bread and wine therein, see the Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 210-222.)

Because wine signifies the good of faith, which in its essence is truth, therefore, the Lord, when He instituted the sacrament of the Supper, said,

"I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom" (Matthew 26:29).

"I say unto you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine, until the kingdom of God shall come" (Luke 22:18).

By the fruit of the vine, or the wine, which the Lord would drink new with them in His Father's kingdom, or when the kingdom of God should come, is meant that all Divine truth in heaven and the church would then proceed from His Divine Human; therefore He calls it new, and He calls it also the New Testament in His blood (verse 20); for the Lord's blood signifies the same as wine (see above, n. 30, 328, 329). And because, after the Lord rose again, all the Divine proceeds from Him, therefore He says that He will drink it with them when the kingdom of God shall come, and it came when He reduced all things to order in the heavens and in the hells. That the kingdom of God came with the Lord, and is from Him, is evident from

Matthew 3:2; 4:17; 10:7; 12:28; 16:28; Mark 1:14, 15; 9:1; Luke 1:32, 33; 9:11, 27, 60; 10:11; 16:16; 17:20, 21; 23:42, 51; John 18:36.

Because, now, as bread signifies the good of love, and wine the good of faith, which in its essence is truth from that good, and, in the highest sense, bread the Lord as to the Divine good, and wine the Lord as to the Divine truth; and because there is a correspondence between spiritual things and natural, and there is such a correspondence, so that, when man thinks of bread and wine, the angels think of the good of love and the good of faith; and because all things of heaven and the church have reference to the good of love and the good of faith, therefore, the Holy Supper was instituted by the Lord, that by it there might be a conjunction of the angels of heaven with the men of the church.

[27] Such things being meant by bread and wine in heaven, therefore

"Melchizedek king of Salem" going out to meet Abram, "brought forth bread and wine; and he was the priest of the most high God." And he blessed Abram (Genesis 14:18,19).

By Melchizedek is here represented the Lord as to the Divine good and Divine truth; by him as a priest the Divine good, and by him as a king the Divine truth; therefore he brought forth bread and wine, because by bread is signified the Divine good, and by wine is signified the Divine truth; or, applied to man, by bread is signified the good of love to the Lord, and by wine the good of faith, which is from the reception of Divine truth.

The same is signified by the Lord by wine in the following.

[28] In Matthew:

"They do not put new wine into old bottles; else the bottles break, and the wine runneth out; but they put [new] wine into new bottles, and both are preserved" (9:17).

In Luke:

"And no man having drunk old wine straightway desireth new; for he saith the old is better" (5:39).

Because all comparisons in the Word are from correspondences, so also is this comparison; and by wine is signified truth, by old wine, the truth of the old or Jewish Church; and by bottles are signified those things that contain; by old bottles, the statutes and judgments of the Jewish Church, and by new bottles, the Lord's precepts and commandments. That the statutes and judgments of the Jewish Church, which especially concerned the sacrifices and representative worship, are not in agreement with the truths of the Christian Church, is meant by, "they do not put new wine into old bottles, else the bottles break and the wine runneth out, but they put [new] wine into new bottles, and both are preserved together." That those who were born and educated in the externals of the Jewish Church could not be led immediately into the internals of the Christian Church, is signified by, "no man having drunk old wine straightway desireth new; for be saith the old is better."

[29] The same is signified by the water turned into wine in Cana of Galilee, concerning which it is thus written in John:

In the marriage in Cana of Galilee, when the wine failed, "there were set there six water-pots of stone, according to the purifying of the Jews. Jesus said, Fill the water-pots, which they filled to the brim. Then he said unto them, Draw out now, and bear unto the ruler of the feast. And they bare it. When the ruler of the feast tasted the water that was made wine, he called the bridegroom, and saith unto him, Every man at the beginning doth set forth good wine; and when they have had enough, that which is worse; thou hast kept the good wine until now" (2:1-10).

It should be known that all the miracles performed by the Lord, as well as all the miracles of Him recorded in the Old Testament, signified such things as pertain to heaven and the church, that is, that they contained such things within them, and that hence His miracles were Divine (see the Arcana Coelestia 7337, 8364, 9051), this miracle similarly. By a marriage here, as elsewhere in the Word throughout, is signified the church; in Cana of Galilee that amongst the Gentiles; and by water is signified the truth of the external church, such as was the truth of the Jewish Church from the sense of the letter of the Word; and by wine is signified the truth of the internal church, such as is the truth of the Christian Church. Hence the Lord's making the water wine, signifies that He would make the truths of the external church truths of the internal church, by opening the internal things that lay concealed in them. By the six water-pots of stone, set after the manner of the purifying of the Jews, are signified all those things in the Word, and thence in the Jewish Church and its worship, all of which were representative and significative of things Divine in the Lord, and from the Lord, which contained things internal. Therefore also, there were six of stone, set for the purifying of the Jews, the number six signifying all, and being said of truths, stone signifies truth, and the purification of the Jews purification from sins, thus all things of the Jewish Church. For the church regards purification from sins as its all, for in proportion as any one is purified therefrom, in the same proportion he becomes a church. By the ruler of the feast are meant those who are in the knowledges of truth; his saying to the bridegroom, "Every man at the beginning doth set forth good wine; and when men have had enough, that which is worse; thou hast kept the good wine until now," signifies that every church commences by truths from good, but afterwards ends in truths not from good, and that still, at the end of the church, truth from good, or genuine truth, is given from the Lord.

[30] Because wine signifies the truth of the church, and oil the good thereof, therefore, the Lord says, in the parable of the man who was wounded by thieves,

That the Samaritan poured oil and wine into his wounds (Luke 10:33, 34).

Here by the man wounded by thieves are meant those who are infested and wounded as to their conscience by evil men, who are robbers; and by the Samaritan are meant the Gentiles, who are in the good of charity; hence by pouring into his wounds oil and wine are signified the spiritual things that heal a man thus injured, oil denoting the good of love and wine the good of faith or truth. What the other particulars signify, namely, that he set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and bade them take care of him, may be seen above (n. 375), where they are explained. That wine signifies the truth of the church is evident, not only from the passages adduced, but also from others in the Word (as Isaiah 1:21, 22; 25:6; 36:17; Hos. 7:4, 5, 14; 14:5, 7; Amos. 2:8; Zech. 9:15, 17; Psalms 104:15).

[31] Because most things in the Word have also an opposite sense, so also has wine, and in that sense it signifies truth falsified, and also falsity, as in the following passages. In Isaiah:

"Woe to the crown of pride, to the drunkards of Ephraim, to the flower of his decaying glory, which is upon the head of the valley of the fat ones confused with wine; the crown of pride, the drunkards of Ephraim, shall be trodden under the feet; these stray through wine, and through strong drink they wander from the way; the priests and the prophets stray through strong drink, they are swallowed up of wine, they wander from the way through wine, they stray among the seeing, they totter in judgment" (28:1, 3, 7).

These things are said of those who are insane in spiritual things, because they believe themselves to be intelligent from themselves, and, consequently, glory in it; the state of such is here described by pure correspondences. Those who are insane in spiritual things or in truths, are meant by drunkards, and those who thence believe themselves intelligent, by Ephraim; and the vaunting of their intelligence or erudition thence, by the crown of pride; for those who are in falsities of doctrine, and have confirmed themselves therein, when they are enlightened and see truths in the other life, become, as it were, drunkards. Such the learned become, who have confirmed themselves in falsities, and to confirm oneself in falsities is to do so from oneself and not from the Lord. Hence it is clear what is signified by, "Woe to the crown of pride, to the drunkards of Ephraim." By "the flower of decaying glory which is on the head of the valley of the fat ones confused with wine," is signified the truth of the church destroyed in its birth from the vaunting of man's own intelligence, which pertains to the natural man separated from the spiritual, who then sees falsity instead of truth. The flower of glory denotes truth in its birth falling or perishing, the head of the valley of the fat ones denotes the intelligence of the natural man; confused with wine denotes those who see falsity instead of truth; "the crown of pride, the drunkards of Ephraim, shall be trodden under the feet," signifies that that intelligence shall entirely perish; "these stray through wine, and through strong drink they wander from the way," signifies by falsities and by such things as are therefrom; "the priest and the prophet stray through strong drink, they are swallowed up of wine, they wander from the way through wine," signifies that those who ought to be in the doctrine of good and truth are of such a quality, and apart from persons, that their doctrine itself is of such a quality; "they stray among the seeing, they totter in judgment," signifies that they do not see the truths of intelligence. That such things are signified by these words no one can see except from the spiritual sense, without which it could not be known that the crown and the head signify intelligence; that drunkards signify those who are insane in things spiritual; that Ephraim signifies the understanding, here man's own or from himself; that valley signifies the lower things of the mind, which are natural and sensual, and that a priest and prophet signify the doctrine of good and truth.

[32] In the same:

"Pause, wonder, be astonished, and make a cry; they are drunken, and not with wine; they stagger, and not with strong drink. For Jehovah hath poured out upon you the spirit of sleep, and hath closed your eyes; the prophets and your heads, the seers hath he covered" (29:9, 10).

These things are said of those who can see nothing of truth when they hear and read it from the Word; those who are such are called drunken, not with wine, and they stagger, and not with strong drink; wine signifying specifically the truth of the spiritual, and hence of the rational man, and strong drink the truth of the natural man thence. Because such are meant, it is, therefore, said, Jehovah hath poured out upon you the spirit of sleep, and hath closed your eyes; the spirit of sleep denoting no perception, and the closed eyes denoting no understanding. "The prophets and your heads hath he covered," signifies those who were in the doctrine of truth, and thence wise and intelligent; prophets signifying those who are in the doctrine of truth, and abstractedly the doctrine itself; the heads signifying the wise, and in the abstract wisdom; and the seers signifying the intelligent, and in the abstract intelligence. Wonder at the greatness of their stupidity, is described by, "Pause, wonder, be astonished," and lamentation over them by, "make a cry." Such are those who are in a life of evil, and are at the same time in principles of falsity, however learned they may be supposed to be; for by a life of evil the perception of good is shut out, from which thought has life and light, and by principles of falsity the understanding of truth is shut out, whence they see only from the sensual man, and not at all from the spiritual.

[33] In the same:

"Dogs obdurate in soul, they know not satiety; the same are the shepherds, they know not to understand; Come, I will take wine, and we will be drunk with strong drink" (Isaiah 56:10-12).

These [words] are said of those who care for nothing but worldly and terrestrial things, by which the internal spiritual man is closed. From having no perception of good and no understanding of truth, they are called dogs obdurate in soul, which know not satiety, that is, who cannot receive good; to know here signifies to be able, and satiety the reception of good, for satiety is predicated of food, by which spiritual nourishment is signified. That neither have they any understanding of truth, is meant by, "the same are the shepherds, they know not to understand"; those being called shepherds who believe themselves able to instruct others, for to feed denotes to instruct; and because such love falsities and things falsified, it is therefore added, "Come, I will take wine, and we will be drunk with strong drink."

[34] In Jeremiah:

"Thus said Jehovah, God of Israel, Every bottle shall be filled with wine. Behold, I fill all the inhabitants of this land, and the kings thereof that sit upon David's throne, and the priests, and the prophets, all the inhabitants of Jerusalem with drunkenness" (13:12, 13).

Here also by wine is signified falsity, and by every bottle which shall be filled with wine is signified the mind [mens] of man, because that is a recipient of truth or falsity, as a bottle is of wine. By the kings thereof that sit upon the throne of David, are signified those who should otherwise be in Divine truths; by the priests, those who should be in Divine goods; by prophets, those who are in doctrine; by the inhabitants of Jerusalem, all who belong to the church; and by the drunkenness with which they shall be filled is signified insanity in spiritual things.

[35] In the same:

"I am become as a drunkard, and as a man whom wine hath entered, because of Jehovah, and because of the word of his holiness. For the land is full of adulterers" (23:9, 10).

This is a lamentation over the adulteration of good, and the falsification of truth in the church, which is signified by the land being full of adulterers; those things are signified by adulteries, and the church, by the land. Insanity in spiritual things through reasonings from evils against Divine goods, and from falsities against Divine truths, is signified by, I am become as a drunkard, and as a man whom wine hath entered, because of Jehovah, and because of the word of His holiness. To become as a drunkard and as a man whom wine hath entered, signifies perturbation of mind, and insanity from reasonings from evils and falsities; because of Jehovah, signifies because of Divine goods, and because of the word of His holiness, signifies because of Divine truths.

[36] In Isaiah:

"Hear this, thou afflicted and drunken, but not with wine" (51:21).

By the drunken but not with wine, are here meant those who are in falsities from ignorance of the truth.

Noah drank of the wine, and was drunken, and hence lay naked in the midst of his tent (Genesis 9:21).

In the spiritual sense something altogether different is meant from what appears in the sense of the letter; similarly by,

Lot was made drunken by his daughters, and they then lay with him (Genesis 19:32-34).

What is meant by the drunkenness of Noah, in the spiritual sense, may be seen in the Arcana Coelestia 1070-1081; and what by the drunkenness of Lot, n. 2465 at the end. By drunkenness also elsewhere in the Word is signified insanity in spiritual things, also falling into errors (as Isaiah 19:11, 12, 14; Jeremiah 25:27; 51:7; Joel 1:5, 6, 7; Leviticus 10:8, 9).

[37] That by wine, in an opposite sense, is signified falsity, also appears in Isaiah:

"Woe unto them that rise early in the morning, that they may follow strong drink; that continue unto twilight, till wine inflames them. But they regard not the work of Jehovah, and see not the work of his hands. Woe to the wise in their own eyes, and the intelligent before their own faces. Woe unto the heroes to drink wine, and the men of strength to mingle strong drink" (5:11, 12, 21, 22).

These things are said of those who frame for themselves doctrinals from their own intelligence, and not from the Lord, or out of the Word from Him, whence they are mere falsities; therefore by, "Woe to them who, rising early in the morning, follow strong drink, to them that linger unto twilight, till wine inflames them. But they regard not the work of Jehovah, and see not the work of his hands," are signified the perverted states of those who believe themselves to be enlightened from themselves, whence they are in falsities of doctrine, and care not for the Word, from which they may know goods and truths of life and of doctrine. To rise early in the morning, and continue till twilight, signifies to be enlightened; and to follow strong drink, and to be inflamed with wine, signify to pour forth doctrinals from themselves; not to regard the work of Jehovah, and not to see the work of His hands, signifies not to care for the Word, and the goods of life and truths of doctrine there discovered; the work of Jehovah being said of goods of life, and the work of His hands of the truths of doctrine, both from the Word. Because such persons are meant, therefore, it is said, "Woe to the wise in their own eyes, and the intelligent before their own faces!" and by the wise in their own eyes are signified those who are so from their own intelligence; and by the intelligent before their own faces are signified those who are so from their own affection; the eyes signifying understanding, and the face, affection. And by, "Woe unto the heroes to drink wine, and the men of strength to mingle strong drink," are signified to such as aspire after great things, and are ingenious in confirming the falsities that favour the loves of self and their own principles; heroes denoting those who aspire to great things; men of strength, those who are ingenious, and seem to themselves to be intelligent. To drink wine denotes to imbibe falsities, and to mingle strong drink denotes to confirm them; such are all those who are in the love of self, and who seek after the fame of learning, for such are in their proprium, and cannot be raised above it; therefore their thought is in the corporeal Sensual, to which no truth appears, and by which no spiritual good is perceived; whereas those who are not in the love of self, and who seek intelligence for the sake of the uses of life, are raised by the Lord from the proprium into the light of heaven - they themselves not knowing - and are thereby enlightened.

[38] In Hosea:

"Whoredom and new wine have possessed the heart. My people interrogate wood, and their staff answereth them; for the spirit of whoredoms hath seduced them, and they have committed whoredom under their God. Ephraim is joined to idols; their wine hath departed; they commit whoredom continually" (4:11, 12, 17, 18).

It is here treated of those who falsify truths, the falsification of truth being signified by whoredom, and the falsity thence by new wine; hence it is evident what is signified by, "whoredom and new wine have possessed the heart; the spirit of whoredoms hath seduced them, they have committed whoredom under their God, and the wine hath departed, they commit whoredom continually," namely, that they falsify Divine truths, and that, consequently, they have not any truth; to commit whoredom under their God, signifies to falsify Divine truths, and the wine hath departed, signifies that, consequently, they have not any truth. By Ephraim being joined to idols, are signified those who are in their own intelligence, and by the idols to which he is joined are signified the falsities of their religion. By, "My people interrogate wood, and their staff answereth them," is signified that they consult their self-love, and cherish it from their own intelligence; for wood, or an idol of wood, which they interrogate signifies self-love, and the staff which answers, signifies power, thus intelligence from the proprium.

[39] In the Apocalypse:

"Babylon is fallen, is fallen; that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication. If any one worship the beast, he shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, mixed pure in the cup of the wrath of God; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone" (14:8-10).

In another place:

"I will show unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters, with whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication; and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication" (17:1, 2).

And again:

"For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her" (18:3).

By the wine of the wrath of God is signified the falsity of evil, and by the wine of fornication is signified truth falsified; what is meant by the other expressions will be seen in the explanation of them, likewise what by these words in the Apocalypse:

"Babylon the great came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of God's wrath" (16:19).

What is signified by the wine of God's wrath is also signified by the chalice or cup of God's wrath.

[40] In Jeremiah:

"Babylon hath been a cup of gold in the hand of Jehovah, making the whole earth drunken; the nations have drunk of her wine; therefore the nations are mad" (Jeremiah 51:7).

And in David:

"There is a cup in the hand of Jehovah, and he hath mixed wine in it; he hath filled it with mixture; and he hath poured it out; but the dregs thereof, all the wicked of the earth shall suck out and drink" (Psalms 75:8).

Because by the meat-offering and the drink-offering, which were bread and wine, are signified worship from the good of love and the truths of faith, hence in an opposite sense, by the meat- and drink-offering is signified worship from the evils of the love of evil, and from the falsities of faith; this was signified by the meat-offering and drink-offering that were offered to idols and other gods (Isaiah 65:11; 57:6; Jeremiah 7:18; 44:17-19; Ezekiel 20:28; Deuteronomy 32:38; and elsewhere). From the signification of wine it is evident what is signified in the Word by a vineyard, by a vine, by the branches thereof, and by the grapes; namely, that by a vineyard is signified the spiritual church, or the church that is in the truths and goods of doctrine from the Word; by the vine, the doctrine itself; by its branches the truths from which the doctrine is formed; and by the grapes, which are the fruit of the vineyards and vines, the goods of charity and the goods of faith; but of these it shall be treated elsewhere.

Footnotes:

304. (5:3) And no one in heaven, neither upon the earth, nor under the earth, was able to open the book, or to look thereon. That this signifies manifestation, that no one knows and perceives, of himself, anything concerning the state of the life of all in general and of each in particular, is evident from the signification of, "And no one was able to open the book, neither to look thereon," as denoting that no one knows and perceives of himself the states of the life of all in general and of each in particular (concerning which see just above, n. 303): and from the signification of, in heaven, neither upon the earth, nor under the earth, as denoting not only that there is no one anywhere, but also that there is not anything [of such knowledge and perception]; for by, in heaven, upon the earth, and under the earth, are meant the three heavens; and by all therein heaven in the aggregate is meant; and because heaven is heaven from the Divine truth, that flows in from the Lord, and is received by the angels, and not at all from any intelligence proper to the angels, for this is not intelligence, therefore the same words signify that no one has any [knowledge or perception] whatever from himself. (That the angels in heaven, just as men in the world, have a proprium, which viewed in itself is nothing but evil, may be seen in the work concerning Heaven and Hell 592.) And because evil does not receive anything of intelligence and wisdom, it follows, that angels just as men understand nothing at all of truth from themselves, but solely from the Lord. The reason why the angels are of such a quality, is, that all angels are from the human race, and that every man retains his proprium after death; and they are withheld from the evils of their proprium, and are kept in goods by the Lord. (That all the angels are from the human race, and none created such from the beginning, may be seen in the small work concerning the Last Judgment 14-22; and that all are withheld from evil, and kept in good by the Lord, in the Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 166.)

[2] The reason why in heaven, upon the earth, and under the earth, signifies the three heavens, is because the angels, who are in the third or highest heaven, dwell upon mountains; and those who are in the second or middle, upon hills; and those who are in the first or ultimate heaven, in plains and valleys under them. For in the spiritual world, where spirits and angels dwell, there are earths, hills, and mountains, just as in the natural world where men are. As to appearance there is such a similitude that they do not at all differ. Therefore men after death scarcely know but that they are yet living upon earth, and when they are permitted to look into our earth, they see nothing dissimilar. Besides the angels who are in the ultimate heaven, call that heaven, where the angels of the third heaven dwell, because it is high above them, but where they themselves dwell, they call earth. The third or highest heaven also, which is upon mountains, appears to those who are below, or upon the earth, only as the highest region of the atmosphere does before us, covered with a light and shining cloud, thus as heaven appears before us. Hence it may be seen what is specifically meant in this place, by, in heaven, upon the earth, and under the earth. (But more may be seen concerning these things in the work concerning Heaven and Hell, where appearances in heaven are treated of, n. 170-176: and concerning the habitations and mansions of the angels, n. 183-189.)

[3] Because men have not known that there are similar appearances of earth in both worlds, the natural and the spiritual, therefore, when they have read the Word, they have simply perceived that by the heaven and the earth there, are meant the heaven visible before our eyes, and the earth inhabited by men; hence has arisen an opinion concerning the destruction of heaven and earth, and concerning the creation of a new heaven and a new earth, at the day of the Last Judgment; when, yet, by the heaven and the earth are there meant the heaven and the earth where spirits and angels are, and, in the spiritual sense, the church with angels and with men; for the church is equally with angels as with men, as may be seen in the work concerning Heaven and Hell 221-227). It is said, in the spiritual sense, because an angel is not an angel, nor is a man a man, from the human which both have, but from heaven and the church with them. Hence it is that by the heaven and by the earth, where angels and men dwell, the church is signified; by heaven the internal church, and also the church with the angels and by earth the external church, and also the church with men. But it can hardly be believed, that by the earth in the Word is meant the church, because it is not yet known that in the particulars of the Word there is a spiritual sense. As a result of this a material idea adheres to, and keeps the thought fixed on the most obvious meaning of a word, I therefore wish by some passages thence to illustrate and confirm it.

[4] In Isaiah:

"Behold, Jehovah maketh the earth empty, and maketh it void, and he shall overturn the faces thereof; in emptying, the earth shall be emptied, and in spoiling it shall be spoiled: the habitable earth shall mourn and be confounded, the world shall be confounded; the earth shall be profaned under its inhabitants, wherefore a curse shall devour the earth, and the inhabitants of the earth shall be burnt up, and few men left. A shout over the wine in the streets, the gladness of the earth shall be banished; there shall be in the midst of the earth as the shaking of the olive, as the gleanings when the vintage is done. From the end of the earth we have heard songs, Glory to the just. The floodgates from on high are opened, and the foundations of the earth are moved; in breaking the earth is broken, in rending the earth is rent asunder, in moving the earth is moved; in tottering the earth shall totter as a drunkard; and it shall be moved to and fro as a veil; but it shall be in that day, Jehovah shall visit upon the host of the height in the height, and upon the kings of the earth who are upon the earth" (24:1, 2 [3], 4-6, 11, 13, 16, [18], 19-21, 23).

Here it is quite evident, that by the earth is not meant the earth but the church. The particulars shall be gone through and considered. He who is in a spiritual idea does not think of the earth itself when the earth is named, but of the people there, and of their quality; much more so those in heaven: who, because they are spiritual, have a perception of the church. The subject treated of in this passage is the church destroyed. Its destruction as to the good of love and the truth of faith, which constitute it, is described by Jehovah emptying the earth and making it void, by the earth in emptying being emptied, in spoiling being spoiled, by mourning and being confounded, by being profaned and a curse devouring it, by the flood-gates from on high being opened and the foundations thereof being moved, by being broken, rent asunder, and put in motion, by staggering as a drunkard. These things can be said neither of the earth, nor of any nation, but of the church.

[5] In the same:

"Behold, the day of Jehovah cometh to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners out of it. I will put the heaven in commotion, for the stars of the heavens and the constellations thereof shall not shine with their light, the sun shall be darkened in its rising, and the moon shall not make her light to shine. I will make a man more rare than pure gold; wherefore I will move the heavens, and the earth shall be shaken out of its place" (13:9, 10, 12, 13).

That the earth here denotes the church is evident from each particular understood in the spiritual sense. The subject here treated of is its end, when truth and good, or faith and charity, are no more. For by the stars and constellations which shall not give their light, are signified the knowledges of truth and good; by the sun being darkened in its rising, is signified love; by the moon not causing her light to shine, is signified faith; by a man being made more rare than pure gold, is signified intelligence and wisdom: hence it is plain what is signified by, "Behold, the day of Jehovah cometh to lay the land desolate. I will move the heavens, and the earth shall be shaken out of its place." The day of Jehovah denotes the final end of the church, when judgment takes place. The earth denotes the church. It is evident that the earth itself is not shaken out of its place, but that the church is removed where love and faith are not. To be shaken out of its place, signifies to be removed from a former state.

[6] In the same:

"Behold, the Lord, as an inundation of hail, a storm of slaughter, as an inundation of mighty waters, shall cast down to the earth with the hand; I have heard a consummation and decision from the Lord Jehovih Zebaoth upon the whole earth" (28:2, 22).

These words were spoken of the day of judgment upon those who were from the church. The day of judgment, when there is an end of the church, is meant by, "I have heard a consummation and decision from the Lord Jehovih Zebaoth upon the whole earth": wherefore it is said, that, "as an inundation of hail, a storm of slaughter, as an inundation of mighty waters he shall cast down to the earth with the hand." By hail and an inundation of it falsities are signified which destroy the truths of the church: by slaughter, and a storm of it, evils are signified, which destroy the goods of the church; by the mighty waters the falsities of evil are signified. That an inundation or flood signifies immersion into evils and falsities, and hence the destruction of the church, may be seen, Arcana Coelestia 660, 705, 739, 756, 790, 5725, 6853; the same, by casting down to the earth or a violent pouring down of rain.

[7] In the same:

"The earth shall be [turned] into burning pitch; from generation to generation it shall be waste" (34:9, 10).

By burning pitch is signified every evil springing from the love of self, by which the church entirely perishes and is vastated; therefore it is said, the earth shall be [turned] into burning pitch; from generation to generation it shall be waste. Who cannot see that such things are not said of the earth itself?

[8] In the same:

"The earth mourneth and languisheth; Lebanon hath blushed and faded away" (33:9).

Here also the earth denotes the church, which is said to mourn and to languish when falsities begin to be seized upon and acknowledged as truths; therefore it is said, Lebanon hath blushed and faded away. Lebanon signifies the same as the cedar, that is, the truth of the church.

[9] In Jeremiah:

"The lion is come out of his thicket, and the destroyer of the nations is gone forth from his place to lay waste thy land; thy cities shall be destroyed. I beheld the earth, when, lo, it is empty and void; and towards the heavens, when, lo, they have no light. I beheld the mountains, when, lo, they are moved, and all the hills are overturned. Jehovah said, The whole land shall be a waste. For this shall the earth mourn, and the heavens above be black" (4:7, 23, 24, 27, 28).

Here also the vastation of the church is treated of; this takes place when truth and good are no longer, but in their place falsity and evil. This vastation is described by the lion coming out of his thicket, and the destroyer of the nations going forth from his place; the lion and the destroyer of the nations signifying falsity and evil vastating. The mountains that are moved, and the hills that are overturned, signify love to the Lord and charity towards the neighbour. The reason that these are signified by mountains and hills is, that those who are in love to the Lord dwell upon mountains in heaven, and those who are in charity towards the neighbour, upon hills, as may be seen in what has been stated above, and also in the work concerning Heaven and Hell 188, and the notes there, letter c. By the heavens where no light was, which were black, are signified the interiors of the men of the church, which, when they, are closed by evils and falsities, do not admit the light from heaven, but instead thereof darkness from hell. From these considerations it is evident what is signified by the lion and the destroyer of the nations reducing the earth to desolation: also by, "I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was empty and void"; as also by "the whole land shall be a waste; for this shall the earth mourn," namely, that the earth is not understood, but the church.

[10] In the same:

"How long shall the earth mourn, and the herb of every field [wither], for the wickedness of them that dwell therein? the beasts are consumed, and the birds. The whole earth is made desolate, because no man layeth it to heart. The spoilers are come upon all the hills in the desert; for the sword of Jehovah is devouring from the end of the earth even to the end of the earth. They have sown wheat, and have reaped thorns" (12:4, 11-13).

That the earth here signifies the church is evident, from its being said that the earth shall mourn, and the herb of every field [shall wither], and that the beasts and the birds are consumed for the wickedness of them that dwell therein, and because no man layeth it to heart. By the herb of every field is signified every truth and good of the church, and by the beasts and birds are signified the affections of good and truth; and because the church is signified by the earth, and it is here treated of as vastated, it is therefore said, "the spoilers are come upon all the hills in the desert; for the sword of Jehovah is devouring from the end of the earth to the end of the earth; they have sown wheat, and have reaped thorns." By the hills in the wilderness upon which the spoilers came, are signified the things of charity; the desert denotes where there is no good, because there is no truth; by the sword of Jehovah is signified falsity destroying truth; from the end of the earth to the end of the earth, signifies all things of the church; by sowing wheat and reaping thorns, is signified to take from the Word the truths of good, and to turn them into falsities of evil; wheat denoting the truths of good, and thorns denoting the falsities of evil.

[11] In Isaiah:

"Upon the land of my people shall come up the thorn and briar: the palace shall be deserted; the multitude of the city shall be forsaken" (32:13, 14).

The thorn and the briar which shall come upon the earth, signify falsity and evil; the palace that shall be deserted, signifies where good dwells; and the multitude of the city which shall be forsaken, signifies where there are truths; for a city signifies the doctrine of truth.

[12] In the same:

"All the earth shall become a place of briars and thorns: on the other hand, all the mountains which shall be weeded with the hoe, there shall not come thither the fear of briars and thorns; but there shall be the sending forth of the ox, and the treading of the sheep" (7:24, 25).

Briars and thorns signify falsity and evil; hence it is evident what is signified by all the earth shall become a place of briars and thorns. By the mountains which shall be weeded with the hoe, are signified those who do goods from the love of good; that falsity and evil shall not be with them, but both spiritual and natural good, is signified by the fear of briars and thorns not coming thither, but there shall be the sending forth of the ox, and the treading of the sheep; or thither shall the oxen be sent, and there the sheep shall tread; the ox signifying natural good, and the sheep spiritual good.

[13] In Ezekiel:

"Thy mother is a lioness; she lay down among lions; one of her whelps rose up, he has devastated the cities; the earth is desolated and the fulness thereof, by the voice of his roaring" (19:2, 3, 7).

By mother is signified the church; by a lioness and lions, the power of evil and of falsity against good and truth; by the roaring of the lion is signified the lust of destroying and desolating; by the cities which he laid waste, is signified doctrine with its truths; hence it is evident what is signified by, the earth was desolated, and the fulness thereof, namely, the whole church.

[14] In the same:

"They shall eat their bread with carefulness, and drink their waters with astonishment, that the earth may be devastated from its fulness, for the violence of all them that dwell therein; and the inhabited cities shall be laid waste, and the earth shall be a desolation" (12:19, 20).

Things similar to those above are here signified by the earth and by the cities that shall be laid waste and shall become a desolation; that is, by the earth is signified the church, and by cities doctrine with its truths; therefore it is said, for the violence of all them that dwell therein. Because those things are signified it is premised that they shall eat their bread with carefulness, and drink their waters with astonishment. Bread and water in the Word signify every good of love and truth of faith (see Arcana Coelestia 9329). And by eating and drinking are signified instruction and appropriation (n. 3168, 3513, 3832, 9412).

[15] In David:

"I called upon Jehovah, and cried unto my God. Wherefore the earth shook and trembled, and the foundations of the mountains quaked and shook when he was wroth" (Psalms 18:6, 7).

Here the earth is for the church, which is said to shake and tremble when it is perverted by the falsification of truths; and in this case the foundations of the mountains are said to quake and to be moved, for the goods of love, which are founded upon the truths of faith, vanish. For mountains denote the goods of love (as above), and their foundations denote the truths of faith; hence also, it is evident that the earth denotes the church.

[16] In the same:

"The earth is Jehovah's and the fulness thereof, the world and they that dwell therein; and he hath founded it upon the seas, he hath established it upon the rivers" (Psalms 24:1, 2).

The earth and the world stand for the church, and fulness stands for all things thereof; the seas upon which He hath founded it, denote the knowledges of truth in general; the rivers denote doctrinals. Because upon the former and the latter the church is founded, it is therefore said, that He would found it upon the seas, and establish it upon the rivers. That this cannot be predicated of the earth and the world, is evident to any one.

[17] In the same:

"Shall we not fear, when the earth shall be moved, and when the mountains shall be shaken in the heart of the seas; when the waters thereof shall roar and be troubled? Let the nations rage, let the kingdoms be moved; when he uttereth his voice, the earth melteth away" (Psalms 46:2, 3, 6).

It is evident that by the earth is meant the church, because it is said to be removed and to melt, also that the mountains shall be shaken in the heart of the seas; the waters thereof also shall be troubled, and let the nations rage, and the kingdoms be moved. By mountains are signified (as above) the goods of love, which are said to be shaken in the heart of the seas, when the essential knowledges of truth are perverted; by waters are signified the truths of the church, which are said to be troubled when they are falsified; by nations are signified the goods of the church, and, in an opposite sense, the evils thereof; and by kingdoms, the truths of the church, and, in an opposite sense, its falsities; also those who are in the former and the latter.

[18] In the same

"O God, thou hast forsaken us, thou hast been angry; restore rest to us. Thou hast made the earth to tremble, thou hast broken it in pieces; heal the breaches thereof, for it shaketh" (Psalms 60:1, 2).

That these things are said of the church and not of the earth is evident; for it is said, "Thou hast made the earth to tremble, thou hast broken it in pieces: heal the breaches thereof, for it shaketh"; and because the earth signifies the church, here the church vastated, therefore it is said, "O God, thou hast forsaken us, thou hast been angry; restore rest to us."

[19] In the same:

"When I take the appointed time, I will judge uprightly. The earth and all the inhabitants thereof are dissolved; I will bear up the pillars of it" (Psalms 75:2, 3).

Here, also, the earth is for the church, which is said to be dissolved when truths fail, through which there is good. Because truths support the church, they are called its pillars, which God will bear up: that the pillars of the earth are not borne up is evident. Because the restoration of the church is here described, it is therefore said, "When I take the appointed time, I will judge uprightly." The truths of the church, which are here called the pillars of the earth, are also called the bases of the earth (1 Sam. 2:8); and the foundations of the earth, in Isaiah:

"Do ye not understand the foundations of the earth? It is he that dwelleth upon the circle of the earth, that bringeth the princes to nothing; and maketh the judges of the earth as vanity" (40:21-23).

By the princes who are brought to nothing, and by the judges of the earth whom He maketh as vanity, are signified the things that are from one's own intelligence, and from one's own judgment.

[20] In Jeremiah:

"A tumult cometh even to the end of the earth. Thus said Jehovah, Behold, evil shall go forth from nation to nation, and a great wind shall be stirred up from the sides of the earth. And the slain of Jehovah shall be in that day from the end of the earth even unto the end thereof" (25:31-33).

By the end of the earth, and by the sides of the earth, are signified where the ultimates of the church are, and where evils and falsities begin; and from the end of the earth to the end thereof, signifies all things of the church. Hence it may be known what is signified by a tumult shall come to the end of the earth, and a great wind shall be stirred up from the sides of the earth, and by the slain of Jehovah shall be in that day from the end of the earth unto the end thereof. By the slain are signified those with whom the truths and goods of the church are extinguished; as may be seen, n. 4503.

[21] In Isaiah:

"The isles saw, they feared; the ends of the earth trembled, they drew near, and came. I will make the desert a pool of waters, and the dry land a spring of waters" (41:5, 18).

The establishment of the church amongst the Gentiles is so described, they being signified by the isles and the ends of the earth; for islands and the ends of the earth in the Word signify those who are farther apart from the truths and goods of the church, because they have not the Word, and consequently they are in ignorance. That the church shall be established among them, is signified by, "I will make the desert a pool of waters, and the dry land a spring of waters." It is called a desert where there is not yet good, because there is not truth, from which it is also called the dry land. A pool of waters, and a spring of waters, signify good, because they signify truth; for all spiritual good, which is the good of the church, is procured by truths.

[22] In the same:

"Woe to the land shadowed with wings, which is beyond the rivers of Cush. Go, ye ambassadors, to a nation trodden down, whose land the rivers have spoiled" (18:1, 2).

What the land shadowed with wings, and the land which the rivers have spoiled, signify, no one can know, unless he knows that the earth denotes the church, and that rivers denote falsities; the land shadowed with wings is the church that is in thick darkness as to Divine truths (that these are signified by wings may be seen above, n. 283). Beyond the rivers of Cush signifies, as to knowledges themselves from the sense of the letter of the Word, which are falsified; the nation trodden down, to which the ambassadors should go, whose land the rivers have spoiled, signifies those out of the church who are in falsities from ignorance; rivers denoting truths of doctrine, and, in an opposite sense, falsities; that the ambassadors should go to them, signifies that they should be invited, in order that the church may be with them.

[23] In the same:

"In the wrath of Jehovah Zebaoth the earth is darkened" (9:19).

The earth darkened signifies the things of the church in thick darkness or in falsities; for the falsities of evil are said to be in thick darkness, but truths in the light.

[24] In the same:

"Jehovah shall remove man, and deserts shall be multiplied in the midst of the earth" (6:12).

Man whom Jehovah shall remove, signifies a wise man, and abstractedly wisdom (as may be seen above, n. 280). Deserts shall be multiplied in the midst of the earth, signifies, that there is nothing altogether good, because there is nothing true; the midst of the earth denoting where truth is in the greatest light; therefore when the light is not there, thick darkness pervades the whole; then, there is nowhere any truth.

[25] In the same:

Jehovah "shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the impious" (11:4).

The rod of the mouth of Jehovah which shall smite the earth, signifies truth in ultimates, which is the truth of the sense of the letter of the Word; and the breath of the lips with which He shall slay the impious, signifies the truth in the spiritual sense of the Word. These are said to smite the earth, and to slay the impious, when they are condemned thereby; for every one is judged by truths, and is condemned by them.

[26] In the same:

"The earth is at rest, and is quiet. Hell hath stirred up on thy account the Rephaim, all the powerful of the earth. They that see thee shall say, Is this the man that moveth the earth, that maketh the kingdoms to tremble; he hath made the world into a desert, and destroyed the cities thereof? Thou hast destroyed thy land; thou hast slain thy people. Prepare slaughter for his sons, that they may not rise again and possess the earth, and the faces of the earth be filled with cities. I shall break Asshur in my land, and upon my mountains shall I tread him under foot" (14:7, 9, 16, 17, 20, 21, 25)

These things are said concerning the king of Babel, by whom is signified the destruction of truth through the love of ruling over heaven and earth, to which the truths of the Word, or the things of the church, serve as means. In this place it is treated concerning their damnation. The dead (Rephaim) whom hell has stirred up, are those who are in the direful persuasion of falsity, and who are thence called the powerful of the earth: to move the earth, to make the kingdoms tremble, to make the world into a desert, and to destroy the cities thereof, signifies to pervert all things of the church. The earth and the world denote the church; the kingdoms denote the truths which constitute it; and the cities denote all things of doctrine. Hence it is evident what is signified by, thou hast destroyed thy land, thou hast slain thy people. By Asshur who shall be broken in the earth, and be trodden under foot upon the mountains, is signified reasoning from falsities against truths; to be broken is to be dissipated; and to be trodden under foot is to be altogether destroyed. The mountains upon which [this is said to be done], signify where the good of love and charity reigns, for there, or with those [who are there], all reasoning from falsities is dissipated or destroyed.

[27] In the same:

"Howl, ye ships of Tarshish; from the land of Kittim it shall come plainly to them. Pass through thy land as a river, O daughter of Tarshish; the girdle is no more. Behold the land of the Chaldeans; Asshur hath founded it into heaps. Jehovah will visit Tyre, that she may return to the hire of whoredom, and commit fornication with all the kingdoms of the earth upon the faces of the world" (23:1, 10, 13, 17).

That neither the ships of Tarshish, Tyre, the land of Kittim, the land of the Chaldeans, nor Asshur, are here meant, is evident from the particulars in this chapter; but by the ships of Tarshish are meant the knowledges (cognitiones) of truth and good, also by Tyre; by the land of Kittim, what is idolatrous; by the land of the Chaldeans, the profanation and destruction of truth; and by Asshur, reasoning from falsities. Hence it is evident that, howl, ye ships of Tarshish, because Tyre is devastated, signifies that there are no longer any knowledges of truth; it shall come plainly to them from the land of Kittim, signifies what is idolatrous thence; the girdle is no more, signifies that there is no longer a coherence of truth with good. Behold the land of the Chaldeans, signifies that thus there is profanation and destruction of truth; Asshur hath founded it into heaps, signifies that reasoning from falsities has destroyed it; to return to the hire of whoredom, and to commit fornication with all the kingdoms upon the faces of the world, signifies falsification of all the truths of the whole church.

[28] In the same:

The king of Asshur "shall go through Judah; he shall overflow and pass over, he shall reach even to the neck; and the shakings of his wings shall be the fulness of the breadth of thy land, O Immanuel" (8:8).

Here, also, the king of Asshur signifies reasoning from falsities against truths. "He shall go through Judah, he shall overflow and pass over," signifies that it shall destroy the good of the church. To overflow is said of falsities, because they are signified by waters. "He shall reach even to the neck," signifies that thus there shall be no longer a communication of good and truth; and "the shakings of his wings shall be the fulness of the breadth of thy land, O Immanuel," signifies that falsities shall be against all the truths of the Lord's church. That the breadth of the earth signifies the truths of the church, may be seen in the work concerning Heaven and Hell 197, and that hence, in an opposite sense, it signifies falsities; therefore the shakings of his wings signify reasonings from falsities against truths. Fulness signifies all; thus, the fulness of the breadth of the earth all the truths of the church.

[29] In the same:

"In that day shall the shoot of Jehovah be for gracefulness and glory, and the fruit of the earth for magnificence and an ornament to the remains of Israel" (4:2).

The shoot of Jehovah which shall be for gracefulness and glory, signifies the truth of the church; and the fruit of the earth which shall be for magnificence and for an ornament, signifies the good of the church; Israel signifies the spiritual church; that the shoot and the fruit of the earth shall not be for gracefulness, glory, magnificence, and ornament, is evident; but the truth and good of the church shall be. When it is said the truth and good of the church, the truth of faith and the good of love are meant; for all truth is of faith, and all good is of love.

[30] In the same:

"Thou hast added to the nation, O Jehovah; thou art glorified, thou hast removed all the ends of the earth" (26:15).

The nation to which Jehovah has added, signifies those who are in the good of love, whom He has adjudged to Himself; the ends of the earth which He has removed, signify the falsities and evils that infest the church, and from which He has purified them.

[31] In the same:

"Thine eyes shall see the king in his beauty, they shall behold the land of remotenesses" (33:17).

To see the king in his beauty, denotes genuine truth, which is from the Lord alone; to behold the land of remotenesses, signifies the extension of intelligence and wisdom.

[32] In the same:

"I have given thee for a covenant of the people, to restore the earth. Sing, O heavens, and exult, O earth; and resound, ye mountains, with a song" (49:8, 13).

The Lord and His Advent are here treated of; the establishment of the church by Him is described by, "I have given thee for a covenant of the people, to restore the earth," to restore the earth denoting to re-establish the church; that the Lord did not restore the earth to the Jewish people is known, but that He established the church among the Gentiles. The joy in consequence is described by, "Sing, O heavens, exult, O earth, and resound, ye mountains, with a song." By the heavens are meant the heavens where are angels who are in the interior truths of the church; by the earth is meant the church among men; and by the mountains, those who are in the good of love to the Lord.

[33] In Jeremiah:

"The land is full of adulterers; because of the curse the earth mourneth, the pastures of the desert are dried up" (23:10).

Adulterers signify those who adulterate the goods of the church: therefore it is said, "The land is full of adulterers, and because of the curse the earth mourneth"; the pastures of the desert which are dried up signify no spiritual nourishment in such a church; desert being predicated where there is no good, because no truth.

[34] In the same:

"A drought is upon her waters, that they may be dried up; for it is a land of graven things" (50:38).

A drought upon the waters, that they may be dried up, signifies that truths no longer [exist], waters denoting truths, "for it is a land of graven things," signifies the church destroyed by falsities which are from man's own intelligence, which they call truths; graven things signify those falsities.

[35] In Ezekiel:

"The end cometh upon the four quarters of the earth; the earth is full of the judgment of bloods, and the city is full of violence" (7:2, 23).

"The end cometh upon the four quarters of the earth," signifies the last time and the last state of the church, when its end is; the four quarters denote all the truths and goods thereof, and, in an opposite sense, all the falsities and evils thereof, thus all things of the church. "The earth is full of the judgment of bloods," signifies that it is filled with evils of every kind; bloods denote the evils which offer violence to the goods of love and charity, and entirely destroy them. "The city full of violence," signifies the doctrine of that church acting in a similar way.

[36] In the same:

"All the luminaries of light in heaven will I make dark over thee, and will set darkness upon thy earth" (33:8).

By the luminaries of light in the heavens are meant the sun, moon, and stars; and by the sun is signified love, by the moon faith thence, and by the stars the knowledges of good and truth: hence it is evident what is signified by, "I will make them dark over thee"; namely, that they should no longer exist; hence, also, it is evident what is signified by, "I will set darkness upon thy earth"; namely, that there are falsities in the church, darkness denoting falsities, and earth denoting the church.

[37] In the same

"Prophesy concerning the land of Israel, and say unto the mountains and hills and rivers and valleys, Behold, I am with you, and I will look back unto you, that ye may be tilled and sown" (36:6, 9).

By the land of Israel is meant the church; the mountains, hills, rivers, and valleys, signify all things of the church, from the first to the last things thereof; mountains denote the goods of love to the Lord; hills denote the goods of charity towards the neighbour; these are the first things of the church. The rivers and valleys denote the truths and goods which are the last things of the church. That these things are signified is evident from what has been stated in this article; namely, that those dwell upon mountains in heaven who are in the good of love to the Lord, those upon hills who are in charity towards the neighbour, and those in plains and valleys who are in goods and truths, in the ultimate heaven; rivers denote the truths of doctrine there; to inseminate them, is signified by, "I will look back unto you, that ye may be tilled and sown."

[38] In Hosea:

"In that day, I will hear the heavens, and they shall hear the earth; and the earth shall hear the corn and the new wine and the oil, and they shall hear Jezreel; and I will sow him unto me in the earth" (2:21-23).

That these things are to be spiritually understood, and not naturally according to the sense of the letter, is evident; for it is said, that these shall hear Jezreel; and I will sow him unto me in the earth; wherefore by the heavens are meant the heavens where the Lord is; and by the earth, the church where, also the Lord is; by the corn, new wine, and oil, are signified all things of spiritual nourishment, which are the goods of love and charity, and the truths of faith.

[39] In Malachi:

"He shall not destroy for you the fruit of the earth, neither shall the vine in the field be barren for you; all nations shall proclaim you blessed, and ye shall be a land of well-pleasing" (3:11, 12).

These things are said of those with whom and in whom the church exists; and because by the fruit of the earth and the vine in the field, are signified the goods and truths of the church - by the fruit the goods, and by the vine the truths thereof - therefore they are called a land of well-pleasing.

[40] In David:

"Let thy good Spirit lead me into the land of uprightness. Make me to live, O Jehovah, for thy name's sake" (Psalms 143:10, 11).

The land of uprightness stands for the church in which is what is right and true; and because the spirit of Jehovah signifies the Divine truth, and every one thereby receives spiritual life, it is therefore said, "Let thy good Spirit lead me," and, "O Jehovah; make me to live."

[41] Because the earth signifies the church, and where the church is there is heaven, it is therefore called the land of the living and the land of life. The land of the living in Isaiah:

"I said, I shall not see Jah in the land of the living" (38:11).

And in Ezekiel:

"Who caused terror in the land of the living" (32:23-27).

The land of life in David:

"Unless I had believed to see good in the land of life" (Psalms 27:13).

[42] In Moses:

"It shall be an entire and just stone, the ephah shall be entire and just, that thy days may be prolonged upon the earth" (Deuteronomy 25:15).

The prolongation of days upon the earth does not signify the long duration of life in the world, but the state of life in the church, thus in heaven; for to prolong is said of good and its increase, and day signifies the state of the life; and because a stone entire and just, which was a weight, and an ephah entire and just, which was a measure, signify truth and good and their quality, and both together signify justice - the stone truth, and the measure good - and because not to deceive by weight and measure is to be just, therefore the life of the church shall be theirs, and afterwards life in heaven, which is meant by their days upon the earth being lengthened.

[43] The same is signified by this precept of the Decalogue:

"Honour thy father and thy mother, that thy days may be prolonged upon the earth" (Exodus 20:12).

The reason why they have heaven and the happiness there, who honour father and mother, is, because in heaven no other father is known but the Lord, for by Him all there have been regenerated. And in heaven by mother is meant the church, and in general, the kingdom of the Lord. That those who worship the Lord and seek His kingdom, will have life in heaven, is evident; also that many of those who honour father and mother in the world, do not live there long.

[44] In Matthew:

"Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth" (5:5).

The inheritance of the earth does not signify the possession of the earth, but the possession of heaven and blessedness there; the meek signify those who are in the good of charity.

[45] In Isaiah:

"Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a Son, and shall call his name God-with-us; butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil and to choose the good; for before the child shall know to refuse the evil and to choose the good, the land shall be deserted which thou scornest before her two kings. It shall come to pass in that day, by reason of the abundance of giving milk, he shall eat butter; for butter and honey shall every one eat that is left in the midst of the land" (7:14-16, [21], 22).

That these things are spoken of the Lord and His Advent is known; the butter and honey which He shall eat, signify the goods of love; butter, the good of celestial and spiritual love; honey, the good of natural love; by these it is meant that He would appropriate to Himself the Divine even as to the Human, to eat signifying to appropriate. That the earth shall be deserted before He knows to refuse the evil and to choose the good, signifies, that there would not be anything of the church remaining in the whole world when He would be born; and because those, where the church was, rejected every Divine truth, and perverted all things of the Word, and explained it in favour of self, it is therefore said concerning the earth, that is, the church, "which thou scornest before her two kings." Kings signify the truths of heaven and of the church; two kings, the truth of the Word in the internal or spiritual sense, and the truth of the Word in the external or natural sense. Milk signifies the truth through which good comes; and because butter signifies the good thence, therefore by reason of the abundance of giving milk, butter shall every one eat that is left in the midst of the land, signifies that every truth shall be of good.

[46] In Matthew:

"In the consummation of the age, all the tribes of the earth shall mourn" (24:30).

The consummation of the age which is treated of in that chapter, is the last time of the church, when the judgment takes place; all the tribes of the earth signify all the truths and goods of the church, which are said to mourn when they are no more.

[47] In Luke:

"And then shall there be signs in the sun, moon, and stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, the sea and the waves roaring; men expiring for fear, and for expectation of those things that are coming upon the whole earth; for the powers of the heavens shall be shaken." That day "as a snare shall come upon all who sit upon the face of the whole earth" (21:25, 26, 35).

It is also treated there concerning the last time of the church, when the judgment takes place, and by the earth and the world there are meant the church. The distress of nations upon the earth, the fear and expectation of those things coming upon the earth, also upon all who sit upon the face of the whole earth, does not signify upon those who are in the earths in the natural world, but upon those who are in the spiritual world. That there are earths also there, may be seen in what was premised to this article; and that the Last Judgment was accomplished there, may be seen in the small work concerning the Last Judgment. What is signified by the sun, moon, and stars, in which the signs are, was mentioned above, namely, that the sun signifies love, the moon faith thence, and the stars the knowledges of good and truth; the sea and waves roaring, signifies the reasonings and fightings of truth from the sense of the letter of the Word, wrongly and perversely applied. The powers of the heavens, which shall be shaken, signify the Word in the sense of the letter, because this sense is the foundation of the spiritual truths which are in the heavens. (As may be seen in the work concerning Heaven and Hell, in the article which treats of the Conjunction of Heaven with Man by means of the Word, n. 303-310.)

[48] In Isaiah:

"Sing, ye heavens; shout, ye lower parts of the earth; resound with singing, ye mountains, O forest and every tree therein; for Jehovah hath redeemed Jacob. I am Jehovah that maketh all things; that stretcheth forth the heavens alone; that spreadeth abroad the earth by myself" (44:23, 24).

"Sing, ye heavens: shout, ye lower parts of the earth; resound with singing, ye mountains, O forest and every tree therein," signify all things of heaven and of the church, as well the internal as the external, which all have reference to good and truth. Things internal are signified by the heavens, things external by the lower parts of the earth; mountains denote the goods of love, the forest denotes natural truth, and the trees therein denote the knowledges of truth. Because such things are signified it is said, "For Jehovah hath redeemed Jacob"; by Jacob in the Word is signified the external church, and by Israel the internal church. To stretch forth the heavens and to spread abroad the earth, signifies the church on all sides, which is stretched forth and spread abroad by the multiplication of truth and the fructification of good, with those who belong to the church.

[49] In Zechariah:

"Jehovah, who spreadeth abroad the heavens, and foundeth the earth, and formeth the spirit of man in the midst of him" (12:1).

Here also by the heavens and by the earth is signified the church on all sides, thus as to its interiors and exteriors; therefore also it is said, "formeth the spirit of man in the midst of him."

[50] In Jeremiah:

"The gods that have not made the heaven and the earth, let them perish from the earth and from under the heavens." Jehovah "that maketh the earth by his power, that prepareth the world by his wisdom, and that spreadeth abroad the heavens by his intelligence. At the voice which he giveth forth a multitude of waters in the heavens, and he causeth the vapours to ascend from the end of the earth" (10:11-13:51:15, 16).

Because the heavens and the earth signify the church (as above), therefore it is said, "Jehovah that maketh the earth by his power, that prepareth the world by his wisdom, and spreadeth abroad the heavens by his intelligence"; and therefore it is also said, "At the voice which he giveth forth a multitude of waters in the heavens, and he causeth the vapours to ascend from the end of the earth." By the voice which Jehovah gives forth, is signified Divine truth proceeding from Him; by the multitude of waters in the heavens are signified truths in abundance, for waters signify truths; and by the vapours which He causeth to ascend from the end of the earth, are signified the last truths of the church; vapours denote those truths, and the end of the earth is the last of the church. And because gods signify the falsities of doctrine and of worship, which destroy the church, it is therefore said, The gods that have not made the heaven and the earth, let them perish from the earth and from under the heavens."

[51] In David:

"Jehovah who by intelligence, maketh the heavens. Stretcheth forth the earth above the waters" (Psalms 136:5, 6).

Because heaven and earth signify the church, and the church is formed by truths, and the truths of the church constitute intelligence, it is therefore said, "Jehovah maketh the heavens by intelligence, and stretcheth forth the earth above the waters," waters denoting the truths of the church.

[52] In Isaiah:

"Thus saith Jehovah God, that createth the heavens, and stretcheth them out, that spreadeth forth the earth and the products thereof, that giveth life to the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein" (42:5).

By creating the heavens and spreading forth the earth and the products thereof, is signified to form the church and to reform those who are in it, the products denoting all things of the church; therefore it is said, that giveth life to the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein. That to create denotes to reform, may be seen above, n. 294.

[53] In the same:

"Drop down, ye heavens, from above, and let the clouds flow down with justice; let the earth open itself, and fructify salvation. I have made the earth, and created man upon it. Thus said Jehovah who createth the heavens; God himself who formeth the earth and maketh it and prepareth it; not in secret have I spoken, in a place of darkness of the earth" (45:8, 12, 18, 19).

That by the heavens and the earth are here meant all things of the church, the internals as well as the externals thereof, is evident; for it is said, "Drop down, ye heavens, and let the clouds flow down with justice; let the earth open itself, and fructify salvation." The reason why the heavens signify the interior things of the church, is, that the interior things of the mind of the spiritual man, are the heavens with him. (That heaven is with the man, with whom the church is, may be seen in the work concerning Heaven and Hell 30-57.) By creating the heavens, and forming the earth, and making and preparing it, is signified fully to establish the church.

[54] In the same:

"Behold, I that create new heavens and a new earth, neither shall the former be remembered" (65:17).

By creating new heavens and a new earth, is signified to establish a new church as to its interiors and exteriors, both in the heavens and on the earths (as was said above).

[55] In the same:

"Who hath heard such a thing? shall the earth bring forth in one day? shall a nation be born at once? For as the new heavens and the new earth which I shall make, shall stand before me, so shall your seed and your name stand" (66:8, 22).

Because the earth signifies the church, therefore, it is said, shall the earth bring forth in one day? shall a nation be born at once? By bringing forth and birth, and by generating and generation in the Word, are signified spiritual birth and generation, which are of faith and love, thus reformation and regeneration; what the new heavens and new earth signify has been mentioned above.

[56] In Jeremiah:

"I have made the earth, man and the beast that are upon the faces of the earth, and I give it to him who is right in my eyes" (27:5).

By man and the beast which are upon the faces of the earth, are signified the affections of truth and good in the spiritual and the natural man (see n. 280: and in the Arcana Coelestia, n. 7424, 7523, 7872); and because those affections with men constitute the church in them, it is therefore said "I have made the earth, man and the beast that are upon the faces of the earth, and I give it to him who is right in my eyes." That God does not give the earth solely to those who are right in His eyes, but also to those who are not right, is known; not the church, however, except to those who are right; right signifies truth and the affection thereof.

[57] In Isaiah:

"The heavens shall vanish like smoke, and the earth shall wax old as a garment, and the dwellers therein shall die in like manner" (51:6).

The heavens which shall vanish away, and the earth which shall wax old like a garment, signify the church; this successively falls away and at length is desolated, but not so the visible heaven and the habitable earth; wherefore it is said, "and the dwellers therein shall die in like manner," to die signifying to die spiritually. The same is signified by

"The heavens and earth shall pass away" (Matthew 24:35; Mark 13:31; Luke 16:17).

[58] In the Apocalypse:

"Four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the winds should not blow on the earth" (7:1).

By the four corners of the earth, and the four winds of the earth, are signified all the truths and goods of the church in the aggregate; for the same things are signified by them as the four quarters of heaven. (That these signify those things may be seen in the work concerning Heaven and Hell, "On the Four Quarters in Heaven," n. 141-153.) To hold them [the four winds], signifies that they [that is, truths and goods], may not flow-in because they are not received; wherefore it is said, that the wind shall not blow upon the earth. The earth also signifies the church in other parts of the Apocalypse (as 10:2, 5, 6, 8; 12:16; 13:13; 16:2, 14; 20:8, 9, 11; 21:1), besides many other places in the Word, too numerous to be adduced.

[59] As the earth signified the church, and especially the land of Canaan, because the church was there, and because the church which was there was a representative church, therefore all things that were there were representative, and all that was said to them by the Lord signified the spiritual or interior things of the church, and this even in regard to the land itself and its products; as in these words in Moses:

If thou keep the precepts, "Jehovah will lead thee into a good land, into a land of rivers of water, of fountains, of depths springing out of valley and mountain; a land of wheat, of barley, of the vine, of the fig, of the pomegranate; a land of the olive, of oil, of honey; a land where thou shalt eat bread without scarceness; it shall lack nothing; a land where the stones are iron, and from the mountains shall be digged copper, and thou shalt eat, and shalt be satisfied in this good land" (Deuteronomy 8:1, 7-10).

By these are described all things of the church, both interior and exterior; but to expound what each particular signifies, would be tedious, and does not belong to this place.

[60] On account of the land signifying the church, it was therefore among the blessings, that if they lived according to the precepts, the earth should give its produce, the evil beasts should cease out of the earth, nor should the sword pass through the land (Leviticus 26:3, 4, 6). That the earth should give its produce, signifies that in the church there should be good and truth; that the evil beasts should cease, signifies that the evil affections and lusts, which destroy it, should no longer exist; that the sword should not pass through the land, signifies that falsity should not cast out truth.

[61] Because the earth signified the church, it was also appointed that

The seventh year should be kept as the Sabbath of the earth,

and that there should be no labour upon it (Leviticus 25:1-8). And therefore it is also said that

The land was polluted on account of the evils, and that on account of the abominations it would spew them forth (Leviticus 18:1-28).

And because the land signified the church, the Lord therefore spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and anointed the eyes of the blind man, and said,

"Go wash thee in the pool of Siloam" (John 9:6, 7, 11, 15).

And therefore the Lord, when the Scribes and Pharisees asked Him concerning the woman taken in adultery, stooped down, and wrote twice on the ground (John 8:6, 8), signifying that the church was full of adulteries, that is, full of the adulteration of good and the falsification of truth; therefore also the Lord said to them,

"He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her; but they went out one by one, beginning from the elders, even unto the last" (vers. 7, 9).

[62] Because most things in the Word have also an opposite sense, so also has the earth, which, in that sense, signifies the church vastated, which takes place when the good of love and the truth of faith no longer exist, but instead thereof evil and falsity; and because these condemn man, by the earth in that sense is also signified damnation, as in the following places (Isaiah 14:12; 21:9; 25:12; 26:19, 21; 29:4; 47:1; 63:6; Lamentations 2:2, 10; Ezekiel 26:20; 32:24; Num. 16:29-33; 26:10), and elsewhere.