22
θαρσειτε κτηνη του πεδιου οτι βεβλαστηκεν πεδια της ερημου οτι ξυλον ηνεγκεν τον καρπον αυτου αμπελος και συκη εδωκαν την ισχυν αυτων
Joel 2:22
Arcana Coelestia #9330
9330. 'And I will make all your enemies turn their necks towards you' means the flight of falsities and their damnation. This is clear from the meaning of 'enemies' as falsities arising from evil, dealt with in 9313, 9314; and from the meaning of 'turning the neck' as flight. The reason why damnation is also meant is that when those steeped in falsities arising from evil flee on account of truths springing from good they throw themselves into hell, that is, into damnation.
[2] The implications of all this are that initially in the next life those steeped in falsities arising from evil fight against those guided by truths springing from good. They are allowed to fight for the reason that good can come out of it. The good that comes out of it is that by that experience those guided by truths springing from good are made stronger in truths against falsities, whereas those steeped in falsities arising from evil are made stronger in falsities and so bring about their own ruin. For in the next life falsities are taken away from those guided by truths springing from good, and truths are taken away from those steeped in falsities arising from evil. Accordingly, those guided by truths springing from good are raised to heaven, and those steeped in falsities arising from evil sink down into hell. And when they are in hell they are terrified and filled with dismay on account of the truths springing from good which angels possess from the Lord.
[3] The fact that such a state awaits those steeped in falsities arising from evil, and those guided by truths springing from good, is taught by the Lord in Matthew,
To him who has, it will be given, so that he may have more abundantly; but from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away. Matthew 13:12.
And in Luke,
Take the mina from him, and give to him who has ten minas. They said, Sir, he has ten minas. I say to you, that to everyone who has, it will be given; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. Luke 19:24-26.
Arcana Coelestia #893
893. Verse 13 And it happened in the six hundred and first year, at the beginning, on the first of the month, that the waters dried up from over the earth, and Noah removed the covering of the ark, and saw out, and behold, the face 1 of the ground was dry.
'It happened in the six hundred and first year' means a finishing point. 'At the beginning, on the first of the month' means a starting point. 'The waters dried up from over the earth' means that falsities were not at that time apparent. 'And Noah removed the covering of the ark, and saw out' means the light, once falsities had been removed, shed by the truths of faith, which he acknowledged and in which he had faith. 'And behold, the face 1 of the ground was dry' means regeneration.
Footnotes:
1. literally, the faces
[893a] 1
That 'it happened in the six hundred and first year means a finishing point is clear from the meaning of the number six hundred, dealt with at Chapter 7:6, in 737, as a beginning, and in particular in that verse as the beginning of temptation. The end of it is specified by the same number, with a whole year having now passed by. It took place therefore at the end of a year, and this also is why the words are added 'at the beginning, on the first of the month', meaning a starting point. In the Word any complete period is specified either by a day, or a week, or a month, or a year, and even by a hundred or a thousand years - for example, 'the days' mentioned in Genesis 1, which meant stages in the regeneration of the member of the Most Ancient Church. For in the internal sense day and year mean nothing else than a period of time; and meaning a period of time they also mean a state. Consequently a year stands in the Word for a period of time and for a state, as in Isaiah,
To proclaim the year of Jehovah's good pleasure, and the day of vengeance for our God; to comfort all who mourn. Isaiah 61:2.
This refers to the Lord's Coming. In the same prophet,
The day of vengeance was in My heart, and the year of My redeemed had come. Isaiah 63:4.
Here too 'day' and 'year' stand for a period of time and for a state. In Habakkuk,
Your work, O Jehovah, in the midst of the years make it live, in the midst of the years do You make it known. Habakkuk 3:2.
Here 'years' stands for a period of time and for a state. In David,
'You are God Himself, and Your years have no end. Psalms 102:27.
This statement, in which 'years' stands for periods of time, means that time does not exist with God. The same applies in the present verse where 'the year' of the flood in no way means any one particular year but a period of time that is not determined by a specific number of years. At the same time it means a state. See what has been said already about 'years' in 482, 487, 488, 493.
1. This paragraph is not numbered in the Latin.
