585. And repented not of the works of their hands.- That this signifies those who have not actually turned themselves away from such things as are from the proprium, is evident from the signification of repenting as denoting to actually turn away from evil, of which in what follows; and from the signification of the works of their hands, as denoting those things that man thinks, wills, and does, from the proprium. That those things are signified by the works of the hands, will be clear from the passages in the Word that follow; also from this fact, that works are of the will, and thence of the understanding, or of the love and thence of the faith, as may be seen above (n. 98), and that hands signify power, and their hands [their] own proper power, thus also whatever proceeds from the proprium of man.

[2] In regard to the proprium of man, it must be observed, that it is nothing but evil, and the falsity therefrom. The voluntary proprium is evil, and the intellectual proprium thence is falsity; and this proprium man derives principally from parents, grandfathers, and ancestors, in a long series back, so that at length the hereditary [nature], which is his proprium, is nothing but evil successively accumulated and rendered compact. For every man is born into two diabolical loves, the love of self, and the love of the world, and from these loves all evils and falsities proceed, as from their own fountains; and because man is born into those loves, he is also born into evils of every kind. More may be seen concerning this in the Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 65-83).

[3] Because the proprium of man is of such a nature, therefore the Lord, from His Divine mercy, has provided the means by which he may be withdrawn from his proprium; these means are furnished in the Word, and when man acts in accordance with them, that is, when he thinks and speaks, wills and acts, from the Divine Word, then he is kept by the Lord in things Divine, and thus is withheld from his proprium. And as he perseveres in this course, as it were, a new proprium as well voluntary as intellectual, which is altogether separated from his own proprium, is formed in him by the Lord; thus man becomes as it were created anew. This is called his reformation and regeneration by truths from the Word, and by a life according to them. On this subject more may be seen in the Doctrine of the New Jerusalem, in the articles concerning Remission of sins (n. 159-172) and concerning Regeneration (n. 173-186). To repent is actually to turn oneself away from evils, because the quality of every man is according to his life, and the life of man principally consists in willing and thence in acting. It follows from this, that repentance, which is of the thought alone, and thence of the lips, and not at the same time of the will and thence of action, is not repentance, for in such case the life remains of the same quality afterwards as it was before. It is therefore evident, that to repent is actually to turn oneself away from evils, and to enter upon a new life, as may be seen in the Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 159-172).

[4] That the works of the hands signify those things that a man thinks, wills, and does, from the proprium, is evident from the following passages in the Word:

"Provoke me not to anger with the works of your hands, that I may not do evil to you. Yet ye have not hearkened unto me, that ye might provoke me to anger with the works of your hands for evil to you. Many nations and great kings shall make them to serve; and I will recompense them according to their work, and according to the deed of their hands" (Jeremiah 25:6, 7, 14).

"Work" and "deed of the hands" mean, in the external sense, their molten images and idols, but in the spiritual sense, the work of their hands signifies all the evil and falsity that proceed from [their] own love and [their] own intelligence. Molten images and idols, which are called the works of their hands, signify similar things, as will be seen in what follows, when the signification of idols is explained. Because the proprium of man is nothing but evil, thus in opposition to the Divine, therefore it is said, "provoke me not to anger with the works of your hands; that I may not do evil to you." To provoke God to anger signifies to be in opposition to Him, whence man has evil; and since all evils and falsities are from man's proprium, therefore it is said, "Many nations and great kings shall make them to serve," by which is signified, that evils from which are falsities, and falsities from which are evils, shall take possession of them, many nations denoting the evils from which falsities arise, and great kings falsities from which evils spring.

[5] Again, in the same prophet:

"The sons of Israel provoke me to anger with the work of their own hands" (32:30).

And again:

"Ye provoke me to anger with the works of your own hands, burning incense unto other gods in the land of Egypt" (44:8).

The works of their hands, in the spiritual sense, here mean worship from falsities of doctrine, which are from [man's] own intelligence, such worship being signified by burning incense to other gods in the land of Egypt, for to burn incense denotes worship, other gods denote falsities of doctrine, and the land of Egypt denotes the Natural, in which the proprium of man resides, and consequently whence [man's] own intelligence proceeds. This passage of the Word is thus understood in heaven.

[6] And again:

"I will utter my judgments with them touching their wickedness because they have forsaken me, and have burned incense unto other gods, and bowed themselves to the works of their own hands" (1:16).

By burning incense unto other gods, is here also signified worship from falsities of doctrine; and by bowing themselves to the works of their own hands, is signified worship from those things that are from [man's] own intelligence; and that they are from the proprium, and not from the Divine, is signified by that they have forsaken me.

[7] Thus also in Isaiah:

"In that day a man shall have respect unto his Maker, and his eyes shall look unto the Holy One of Israel. And he shall not have respect unto the altars, the work of his hands, neither shall regard that which his fingers have made" (17:7, 8).

This is spoken of the coming of the Lord, and a new church at that time. His Maker, to whom it is said a man shall at that day have respect, means the Lord as to Divine Good, and the Holy One of Israel, to whom his eyes shall look, means the Lord as to Divine Truth. The altars, the work of his hands and which his fingers have made, unto which a man shall not have respect, nor shall regard them, signifies worship from evils, and thence from falsities of doctrine originating in [man's] own intelligence. These words therefore mean that everything of doctrine will be from the Lord, and not from man's proprium, which is the case when man is in the spiritual affection for truth, that is, when he loves truth because it is truth, and not chiefly for the sake of his own reputation and name.

[8] Again, in the same prophet:

Jehovah "gave the gods" of the kings of Assyria "to the fire; for they were no gods, but the work of man's hands, wood and stone" (37:19).

The gods of the kings of Assyria signify reasonings from falsities and evils, which are in agreement with man's proprium, and are therefore also called the work of the hands of man. Wood and stone, or idols of wood and stone, signify the evils and falsities of religion and of doctrine originating in the proprium.

[9] Again:

"In that day every man shall cast away the idols of his silver, and the idols of his gold, which your own hands have made unto you for a sin; and then shall the Assyrian fall" (31:7, 8).

This refers to the restoration of the church; and by the idols of silver, and the idols of gold, which they shall in that day cast away, are signified the falsities and evils of religion and of worship, which they call truths and goods. And since the falsities and evils of religion and of worship are from [man's] own intelligence, therefore it is said, which your hands have made unto you. That there shall then be no reasonings from such things, is signified by, then shall the Assyrian fall.

[10] Again, in Jeremiah:

"Silver spread into plates is brought from Tarshish, and gold from Uphaz, the work of the workman, and of the hands of the founder; purple (hyacinthinum) and crimson (purpura) is their clothing, all the work of wise men" (10:9).

These describe the falsity and evil of religion and of worship which are confirmed from the sense of the letter of the Word. Silver spread into plates from Tarshish, signifies the truths of the Word in that sense, and gold from Uphaz, signifies the good of the Word in that sense. And because those falsities and evils are from [man's] own intelligence, therefore they are called the work of the workman, and of the hands of the founder. Also the truth of good, and the good of truth, from the sense of the letter of the Word, by which they confirm, and as it were invest, the falsities of evil and the evils of falsity, which are from [man's] own intelligence, are signified by the purple and crimson of the raiment, all the work of wise men.

[11] Moreover, the work of the workman, the artificer, and the smith, in the Word, also signifies such [part] of doctrine, religion, and worship, as originates in [man's] own intelligence; hence it was, that the altar, and also the temple, were, by command, built of whole stones, and not hewn by any workman or artificer. Of the altar it is written as follows in Moses:

"If thou make me an altar of stone, thou shalt not build it of hewn stones; for if thou lift up thy tool upon it, thou wilt profane it" (Exodus 20:25).

And in Joshua:

"Joshua built an altar unto the God of Israel in Mount Ebal, an altar of whole stones, over which no man had moved iron" (8:30, 31).

Again, concerning the temple it is said in the First book of Kings:

"The temple at Jerusalem was built of stone, whole as it was brought away; for there was neither hammer, axe, nor any tool of iron heard in the house while it was building" (6:7).

The altar, and afterwards the temple, were in an especial manner representative of the Lord as to Divine Good and Divine Truth, therefore the stones of which they were built, signified the truths of doctrine, of religion, and of worship, stones in the Word also denoting truths. That nothing of [man's] own intelligence should be added to the truths of doctrine and worship therefrom, and consequently be therein, was represented by the stones of which they were built being whole and not hewn, for the work of the workman, and of the artificer, signified such things. Also the tool, the hammer and the axe, and iron in general, signify truth in its ultimate, and this is especially falsified by man's proprium; for this truth is the same as the truth of the sense of the letter of the Word.

[12] These things are said concerning the signification of the works of the hands of man; but where works of the hands, in the Word, are ascribed to Jehovah, that is, to the Lord, they signify the reformed or regenerated man, also the church, and, specifically, the doctrine of truth and good pertaining to the church. These things are signified by works of the hands in the following passages.

Thus in David:

The works of the hands of Jehovah "are truth and judgment" (Psalm 111:7).

Again:

"Jehovah will perfect for me; thy mercy, O Jehovah, endureth for ever; forsake not the works of thine own hands" (Psalm 138:8).

And in Isaiah:

"Thy people are all just; they shall possess the land for ever, the shoots of my plants, the work of my hands, that I may be glorified" (60:21).

Again, in the same prophet:

"O Jehovah, thou art our father; we are the clay, but thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hands" (64:8).

And again:

"Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker! Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth. Shall the clay say to him that fashioneth it, What makest thou? or thy work, He hath no hands? Thus saith Jehovah, the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker, They asked me signs upon my sons, and upon the work of my hands they command Me" (45:9, 11).

That here Jehovah, the Holy One of Israel, the Maker, means the Lord, is evident from what follows in verse 13, and the work of his hands means the man who is regenerated by Him, thus the man of the church.

[13] And again:

"Jehovah of hosts shall bless, saying, Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel mine inheritance" (19:25).

Egypt here signifies the Natural, Assyria the Rational, and Israel the Spiritual; and Assyria is called the work of the hands of Jehovah, because it is this that is reformed in man, for the Rational is that which receives truths and goods, and from this the Natural. The Spiritual, that is to say, the Lord by spiritual influx is that which regenerates. In a word, the Rational is the medium between the Spiritual and the Natural; and the Spiritual, which regenerates, flows in by means of the Rational into the Natural, and thus the latter is regenerated.

Again, in Moses:

"Bless, Jehovah, his strength, and accept the work of his hands " (Deuteronomy 33:11).

This is said of Levi, who signifies the good of charity, and, in the highest sense, the Lord as to that good; reformation thereby is meant by the work of his hands.

98. (Verse 2) I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy endurance. That this signifies all things that they will, think and do, thus all things of love and faith in the spiritual and in the natural man, is evident from the signification of works, as being the things of the will and love (concerning which more will be said in what follows); and from the signification of labour, as being the things of the thought and faith (concerning which also more will be said in what follows); and from the signification of endurance, as being the things thence effected, or which they do. But that such things are signified by these words can hardly be comprehended unless it be known that all things done by man flow from the interiors of his mind, and that the mind is all in all things which man performs, and that the body is only a subservient agent which exhibits in a visible form what the mind wills and thinks. This is why by those external things which are here called works, labour and endurance, are signified to will, to think, and thence to do, or, what is the same, to love, believe, and thence to show forth in act. But still these things cannot be comprehended unless it be also known that man possesses two faculties, which are called will and understanding, and that these two faculties are, under one expression, called the mind; also that man has an internal and an external, the internal being in the light of the spiritual world, and the external in the light of the natural world. (These are treated of in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem, concerning the will and the understanding, n. 28-35; and concerning the internal and the external man, n. 36-52.) These things being understood, it can be known that, by works, in the spiritual sense, is meant whatever a man wills and loves, by labour whatever a man thinks or believes, and by endurance whatever he thence brings forth into act.

[2] But let us pass by these things, as being perhaps too little known, and consequently too obscure, to be clearly perceived, and attend to this only, that by works, in the spiritual sense, are meant all things of the will or love of man, and this because, in what follows, where the seven churches are treated of, it is first said of each, "I know thy works:" as

"Unto the angel of the church of the Smyraeans write; these things, saith the first and the last, I know thy works, and affliction, and poverty" (verses 8, 9);

"Unto the angel of the church in Pergamos write, These things said he that hath the sharp two-edged sword, I know thy works, and where thou dwellest" (vers. 12, 13);

"Unto the angel of the church in Thyatira write, These things saith the Son of God, I know thy works and charity" (vers. 18, 19);

"Unto the angel of the church in Sardis write, These things saith he that hath the seven spirits of God, I know thy works, that thou art said to live" (3:1);

"Unto the angel of the church in Philadelphia write, These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, I know thy works" (verses 7, 8); and

"Unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, I know thy works" (vers. 14, 15).

[3] Because it was there said of each, "I know thy works," it is clear that by works are signified in general all things of the church; and because all things of the church have reference to love and faith, therefore these are meant by works in the spiritual sense. The reason why such things are meant by works in the spiritual sense, is, that every work, or every deed, or every act, which is apparently done from the body, is not done from the body, but by the body from the will and thought of man; for not one particle of the body is moved, but from the will and thought. This is why works signify those things, but not the things which are manifested in the external form. That this is the case, is known to every one who reflects. Who is there that is wise that regards a man from his deeds alone, and not from his will? If he wills well, he loves his deeds; but if he wills evil, he does not love his deeds: the latter he also sees and explains according to the intention of his will. He who is spiritual attends still less to the deeds, and explores the will. The reason is, as has been said, that deeds are nothing in themselves, but they derive their character entirely from the will; for deeds are the will in act. It is said the will, but, in the spiritual sense, is meant the love, because a man wills what he loves, and what he loves that he wills. The will of man is only a receptacle of his love (as may be seen from what is said and shown in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem, concerning that faculty of man, n.28-35; and in the work, Heaven and Hell 358, 470-484).

[4] Because works or deeds in the Word signify specifically those things that proceed from a man's love or will, therefore it is often said in the Word that man shall be judged and rewarded according to his works, where works such as they are in the external form are not meant, but in the internal, as in the following passages:

"The Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels, and then he shall reward every man according to his works" (Matthew 16:27)

"Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord, Yea, saith the spirit, that they may rest from their labours; their works do follow them" (Apoc. 14:13).

"I will give unto every one of you according to his works" (Apoc. 2:23).

"I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God; and the books were opened: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. The sea gave up the dead that were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead that were in them; and they were judged every man according to their works" (Apoc. 20:12, 13).

"Behold I come, and my reward is with me, to give every man according to his works" (Apoc. 22:12).

And in Jeremiah:

"I will recompense them, according to their works, and according to the doing (factum) of their hands" (25:14).

O Jehovah, "whose eyes are open upon all the ways of men, to give to every one according to his ways and according to the fruit of his works" (32:19).

"I will punish them for their ways, and reward them for their works" (Hosea 4:9).

"According to our ways and according to our works, so Jehovah hath dealt with us" (Zechariah 1:6).

When the Lord foretells concerning the Last Judgment, He makes mention only of works, and declares that those who have done good works shall enter into life eternal, and those who have done evil works into condemnation (Matthew 25:32-46).

[5] That works signify the things of love and faith, the Lord also shows in these words:

"They said unto Jesus, What shall we do, that we may work the works of God? He answered, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom" the Father "hath sent" (John 6:28, 29).

And in another place:

"The night shall come when no man can work" (John 9:4).

Night signifies the last time of the church, when there is no faith, because no charity. (That night signifies time see Arcana Coelestia 2353, 6000.) The reason why works are so often mentioned, is, that the sense of the letter of the Word consists only of things external, which are in nature, and are seen by the eyes in order that the spiritual sense may be in each of the expressions, as the soul is in the body; for otherwise the Word would not be a means of communication with the angels, but would be like a house without a foundation (see what was said above, n. 8, 16). This is why the angels, because they are spiritual, do not understand works, when works are named, but the things from which works proceed, which are, as was said above, the will or love, and thence the thought belonging to faith. (But this circumstance may be seen more clearly set forth in the work, Heaven and Hell 470-483, where it is shown that a man after death is such as his life was in the world.) The reason why by labour in the spiritual sense is meant everything that a man thinks, is, that to labour spiritually is to think; and the reason why endurance signifies every thing that a man does is, that to endure in this case is to be assiduous, and to remove the obstacles which are in the natural man, which continually rise up and cause hindrance.