730. And the woman fled into the wilderness.- That this signifies the church among a few, because with those who are not in good, and therefore not in truths, appears from the signification of the woman, as denoting the church (concerning which see above, n. 707); from the signification of the wilderness, as denoting where there are no truths because there is no good, of which we shall speak presently; and from the signification of fleeing thither, as denoting to tarry among those who are not in truths, because not in good; and as, at the end of the church, there are few who are in truths from good, therefore it signifies among a few. It is evident from this what these words involve, namely, that a New Church, which is called the Holy Jerusalem, and is signified by the woman, can as yet be instituted only with a few, because the former church is become a wilderness; and the church is called a wilderness (desertum) when there is no longer any good; and where there is no good there are no truths. When the church is such, then evils and falsities reign, which hinder the reception of its doctrine, which is the doctrine of love to the Lord and of charity towards the neighbour, with its truths; and when doctrine is not received, there is no church, for the church is from doctrine.

[2] Something shall first be said concerning the fact that there are no truths where there is no good. By good is meant the good of a life according to truths of doctrine from the Word. The reason is, that the Lord never flows immediately into truths with man, but mediately through his good; for good is of his will, and the will is the man himself; from the will the understanding is brought forth and formed. For the understanding is so connected with the will, that what the will loves the understanding sees and also brings forth into the light; if therefore the will is not in good, but in evil, then the influx of truth from the Lord into the understanding produces no effect, for it is dissipated, because it is not loved; in fact, it is perverted, and the truth is falsified. It is evident from this why the Lord does not flow immediately into man's understanding except so far as the will is in good. The Lord can enlighten the understanding with every man, and thus flow in with Divine truths, since every man has the ability to understand truth, and this for the sake of his reformation; nevertheless the Lord does not flow in, because truths remain only so far as the will has been reformed. Moreover, it would be dangerous to so enlighten the understanding in truths as to produce belief, except so far as the will acts as one with it, for man would then be able to pervert, adulterate, and profane truths, and this would be most damnatory. Besides, so far as truths are known and understood, and are not at the same time lived, they are nothing but lifeless truths, and lifeless truths are like statues which are without life. From these things it is evident why there are no truths where there is good not in essence, but only in form.

[3] The quality of the man of the church is such at its end because he then loves the things of the body and of the world above all things, and when these are loved supremely, then those which pertain to the Lord and heaven are not loved; for no one can at the same time so serve two masters as to love the one and hate the other, since they are opposites. For from the love of the body, which is the love of self, and from the love of the world, which is the love of riches - when these are loved above all things - evils of every kind flow forth, and falsities from evils, and these are the opposites of goods and truths, which come from love to the Lord, and from charity towards the neighbour. It is evident from these few observations why the woman is said to have fled into the wilderness, that is, among a few, because with those who are not in good, and thus not in truths.

[4] In many places in the Word mention is made of wilderness (desertum), and also of desert (solitudo) and waste, and these signify the state of the church when there is no longer any truth therein because there is no good. This state of the church is called a wilderness (desertum), because the place in the spiritual world, where those dwell who are not in truths because not in good, is like a wilderness (desertum), where there is no verdure in the plains, no harvest in the fields, no fruit trees in the gardens, - a barren land, parched and dry. Moreover wilderness, in the Word, signifies the state of the church with the nations who are in ignorance of truth, and yet in the good of life according to their religion, from which they have a desire for truths. Wilderness also signifies in the Word the state of those who are in temptations, because in temptations goods and truths are shut in by the evils and falsities that come forth and are presented to the mind. That wilderness has these significations in the Word is evident from the passages therein where mention is made of wilderness (desertum).

[5] (1). A wilderness (desertum) means the state of the church, when there is no longer any truth therein, because there is no good, as is evident from the following passages.

In Isaiah:

"Is this the man that moveth the earth, that maketh kingdoms tremble, that hath made the world a wilderness (desertum), and destroyed the cities thereof" (14:16, 17).

This is said of Lucifer, by whom Babel is meant; and to move the earth, make kingdoms tremble, and make the world a wilderness, signifies to destroy all the truths and goods of the church, earth denoting the church, kingdoms its truths, world its goods, and wilderness where these are no longer. To destroy its cities signifies its doctrinals, a city denoting doctrine. The adulteration of the Word, by which doctrine and thus the church are destroyed, is here signified by Babel.

[6] In the same:

"Upon the land of my people shall come up the thorn of the briar, because upon all the houses of gladness in the joyous city; for the palace shall be a wilderness (desertum), the multitude of the city left behind. The hill and the watch-tower shall be over the caves for ever, a joy of wild asses, a pasture for flocks" (32:13, 14).

Upon the land of my people shall come up the thorn of the briar, signifies falsity of evil in the church, the thorn of the briar denoting falsity of evil, and land (terra) denoting the church. Upon all the houses of gladness in the joyous city, signifies where the goods and truths of doctrine from the Word have been received with affection. What is signified by "The palace shall be a wilderness, the multitude of the city left behind. The hill and the watch-tower shall be over the caves, a joy of wild asses, a pasture for flocks," may be seen above (n. 410:7), where they are explained.

[7] In the same:

"By my rebuke I dry up the sea, I make the rivers into a wilderness (desertum), the fish thereof shall stink, because there is no water, and shall die with thirst" (50:2).

To make the rivers into a wilderness signifies to deprive the understanding of truths, consequently to deprive man of intelligence; the rest of the passage may be seen explained above (n. 342:8).

In Jeremiah:

"I beheld, when lo! Carmel was a wilderness (desertum), and all the cities were desolated before Jehovah; the whole land shall be a waste" (4:26, 27).

Carmel signifies the spiritual church, which is in truths from good; that this was a wilderness, signifies that there were in it no truths from good; the cities which are desolated signify doctrinals without truths; the whole land being a waste signifies the church destitute of good and consequently of truths.

[8] In the same:

"Many shepherds have destroyed my vineyard, they have trodden my field under foot, they have made the field of my desire a wilderness (desertum) of solitude, upon all the hills in the wilderness spoilers have come, because the sword of Jehovah devoureth from the end of the land to the end thereof" (12:10, 12).

The truths and goods of the church being completely destroyed by falsities from evil, is signified by They have destroyed the vineyard, trodden the field under foot, made the field of desire a wilderness of solitude, and the spoilers have come upon all the hills in the wilderness, because the sword of Jehovah devoureth; - vineyard and the field signify the church as to truth and good, the field of desire the church as to doctrine, while a wilderness of solitude signifies where these are not; the spoilers in the wilderness signify evils from the absence of truths; the sword of Jehovah devouring signifies falsity destroying; from the end of the earth to the end of the earth, signifies all things of the church.

[9] In Lamentations:

"With the peril of our souls we get our bread, because of the sword of the wilderness (desertum)" (5:9).

To get bread with the peril of their souls, signifies the difficulty and danger of procuring for themselves truths of life from the Word; because of the sword of the wilderness, signifies because the falsity of evil prevails in the church and falsifies truths, and thus destroys them.

[10] In Ezekiel:

"The vine is now planted in the wilderness (desertum), in a land of drought and thirst" (19:13).

Vine signifies the church, which in the beginning of the chapter is called a mother who became a lioness; it is said to be planted in the wilderness when there is no longer any truth therein, because no good; a land of drought means where there is no good but evil instead of it, and a land of thirst means where there is no truth, but falsity instead of it.

[11] In Hosea:

"Contend with your mother, that she may put away her whoredoms from her faces, lest peradventure I strip her naked and set her as in the day of her birth, and make her as a wilderness (desertum), and set her as a land of drought, and slay her with thirst" (2:2, 3).

This treats of the church that has falsified the truths of the Word; mother denotes the church, and her whoredoms the falsifications of truth. To deprive the church of all truth, as it was before it was reformed, is signified by stripping her naked, and setting her as in the day of her birth; wilderness and land of drought signifies the church without good. To slay with thirst signifies the deprivation of truth; thirst is said of truths, because water, for which one thirsts, signifies truth, while drought has reference to the want of good, because it is a result of being scorched.

[12] In the same:

"He is fierce among the brethren; an east wind, the wind of Jehovah, shall come, coming up from the wilderness (desertum), and his spring shall become dry, and his fountain shall be dried up" (13:15).

This is said of Ephraim, by whom is meant the understanding of the Word, which is called fierce among the brethren when it eagerly defends falsities, and fights for them against truths. An east wind, the wind of Jehovah, signifies the ardour of desire arising from a love for and a pride in destroying truths; this is said to come up from the wilderness, when it is from an understanding in which there are no truths from good but only falsities from evil; such an understanding is a wilderness because it is empty and void. That such ardour and pride destroys everything of doctrine and of the Word, is signified by "his spring shall become dry, and his fountain shall be dried up," a spring signifying doctrine, and a fountain the Word.

[13] In Joel:

"Unto thee, O Jehovah, do I cry, because the fire hath consumed the dwellings of the wilderness and the flame hath burned up all the trees of the field; because the beasts of the field hath panted after thee, because the brooks of waters are dried up, and the fire hath consumed the dwellings of the wilderness (desertum)" (1:19, 20).

The fire hath consumed the dwellings of the wilderness and the flame hath burned up all the trees of the field, signifies that the love of self and the pride of their own intelligence have consumed all perception of good, and all understanding of the truth of doctrine from the sense of the letter of the Word; fire signifies the love of self, and flame the pride of their own intelligence; the dwellings of the wilderness signify the goods of doctrine from the sense of the letter of the Word, and the trees of the field the cognitions of its truth; the sense of the letter of the Word is called a wilderness when it is understood only naturally, thus according to appearances, and not at the same time spiritually, or according to the genuine sense. The beasts of the field pant after Thee, signifies the lamentations of those who are natural, and yet desire truths. That beasts signify the affections of the natural man may be seen above (n. 650). Because the brooks of waters are dried up, and the fire hath consumed the dwellings of the wilderness, signifies that there are consequently no longer any truths and goods of life.

[14] In the same:

"The day of Jehovah cometh; a fire devoureth before him, and behind him a flame burneth; the land is as the garden of Eden before him, but behind him a wilderness (desertum) of wasteness, and nothing escaped him" (2:1, 3).

The day of Jehovah means the end of the church, which is called the consummation of the age, and the Lord's coming at that time. That at the end of the church the love of self, and consequently the pride of [man's] own intelligence, consumes all the goods and truths of the church is signified by a fire devoureth before him, and behind him a flame burneth, fire signifying the love of self, and flame the pride of [man's] own intelligence (as above). The land before him is as the garden of Eden, but behind him a wilderness of wasteness, signifies that in the beginning, when that church was established with the ancients, there was the understanding of truth from good, but at its end falsity from evil; the garden of Eden denoting the understanding of truth from good, and wisdom therefrom, and a wilderness of wasteness denoting no understanding of truth from good, and thus insanity from falsities that are from evil; by nothing escaping him is signified that there is nothing whatever of truth from good.

[15] In Isaiah:

"The land (terra) mourneth and languisheth, Lebanon is ashamed and is withered, Sharon is become as a wilderness (desertum), Bashan is shaken, and Carmel" (33:9).

These words also describe the devastation of good and the desolation of truth in the church. Lebanon signifies the church as to the rational understanding of good and truth. Sharon, Bashan, and Carmel, signify these as to the knowledges of good and truth from the natural sense of the Word, the devastation and desolation of these being signified by mourning, languishing, and withering, and becoming like a wilderness, wilderness meaning where there is no truth, because no good.

[16] In Jeremiah:

"Because the land (terra) is full of adulteries, because the land mourneth on account of the curse, the pastures of the wilderness (desertum) have become dry" (23:10).

The land full of adulteries signifies the church in which the goods and truths thereof from the Word are adulterated; the curse, on account of which the land mourneth, signifies all evil of the life and falsity of doctrine; while by the pastures of the wilderness, which have become dry, are signified the knowledges of good and truth from the Word, pastures denoting those knowledges because they nourish the mind, and wilderness, the Word when it is adulterated.

[17] In David:

Jehovah "turneth rivers into a wilderness (desertum), and the springing forth of water into dry ground, a land of fruit into saltness, for the wickedness of them that dwell therein" (Psalm 107:33, 34).

The rivers which are turned into a wilderness signify intelligence from the understanding of truth and of the Word in its interior sense - which has been devastated by falsities from evils; rivers denoting such things as belong to intelligence, and a wilderness, where these things are absent and falsities from evil in their place. The springing forth of waters that are turned into dry ground, signify that the ultimate things of the understanding, called the knowledges (cognitiones) of truth and good, have no light of truth and no spiritual affection for truth, waters signifying truths, dry ground, lack of these from the absence of light and affection, and springing forth, the ultimates of truths such as are the truths of the sense of the letter of the Word. The land of fruit which shall be turned into saltness, signifies the good of love and of life profoundly vastated by falsities, saltness denoting the devastation of truth by falsities; and as all devastation by falsities comes from evil of life, it is therefore added, "for the wickedness of them that dwell therein."

[18] In Jeremiah:

"Lift up thine eyes unto the hills, and see where thou hast been defiled; upon the ways hast thou sat as an Arab in the wilderness (desertum), whence thou hast profaned the land with thy whoredoms and thy wickedness" (3:2).

These words also describe the adulteration and falsification of the Word, which are signified by being defiled and committing whoredom. Lift up thine eyes to the hills and see where thou hast been defiled, signifies to observe that the knowledges of truth and good in the Word have been adulterated; to lift up the eyes signifies to observe, hills signify those knowledges because the trees and groves which are upon them signify knowledges; hills also signify the goods of charity which are thus destroyed. Upon the ways hast thou sat as an Arab in the wilderness, signifies to lie in wait lest any truth should come forth and be received, ways denoting the truths of the church, to sit in them denoting to lie in wait; and an Arab in the wilderness means one who, like a robber in the wilderness, kills and plunders. Thou hast profaned the land with thy whoredoms and wickedness, signifies the falsification of the truths of the Word by evils which have come to be ends of the life.

[19] In the same:

"O generation, see ye the Word of Jehovah; have I been a wilderness (desertum) to Israel, have I been a land of darkness?" (2:31).

That all good of life and truth of doctrine is taught in the Word, and not evil of life and falsity of doctrine, is meant by See ye the Word of Jehovah, have I been a wilderness to Israel, have I been a land of darkness?

[20] In Joel:

"Egypt shall be a wasteness, and Edom a wilderness (desertum) of wasteness, for the violence of the sons of Judah, whose innocent blood they have shed in their land" (3:19).

Egypt and Edom signify the natural man, which has perverted the truths and goods of the Word that it must be so destroyed, as to see only such things as serve for purposes of confirmation, is signified by Egypt shall be a wasteness, and Edom a wilderness of wasteness; that this will be on account of the adulteration of all good and truth in the Word is signified by For the violence of the sons of Judah, whose innocent blood they have shed, - the violence of the sons of Judah signifying the adulteration of the Word as to good, and the shedding of innocent blood the adulteration of the Word as to its truths. That Judah signifies a celestial church, and also the Word, may be seen above (n. 211, 433); and that to shed innocent blood signifies to do violence to Divine Truth, thus to adulterate the truth of the Word, may also be seen above (n. 329). The adulteration of the Word is affected by the knowledges (scientifica) of the natural man, when these are applied to confirm falsities and evils, and the natural man becomes a wasteness and a wilderness when its knowledges are used to confirm falsity and evil, Egypt signifying those knowledges, and Edom the pride that falsifies by means of these.

[21] In Malachi:

"Esau I hated, and I made his mountains a waste, and gave his heritage to the dragons of the wilderness (desertum)" (1:3).

Esau signifies the love of the natural man; his mountains signify evils from that love, and his heritage signifies falsities from those evils, while the dragons of the wilderness signify mere falsifications from which these come.

Since all things of the Word had been adulterated with the Jewish nation, and there was no longer any truth because there was no good, therefore John the Baptist was in the wilderness, which represented the state of that church, about which it is thus written in the Evangelists:

John the Baptist "was in the wilderness, until the days of his appearing unto Israel" (Luke 1:80); and "he preached in the wilderness of Judea (Matthew 3:1-3; Mark 1:2-4; Luke 3:2, 4, 5);

and in Isaiah,

"The voice of one crying in the wilderness (desertum), Prepare the way of Jehovah, make plain in the desert (solitudo) a path for our God" (40:3).

[22] Therefore also the Lord says concerning Jerusalem, which means the church as to doctrine,

"Your house shall be left deserted" (Luke 13:35).

A house deserted signifies the church without truths because without good.

In Matthew:

"If they say to you, Lo," Christ is "in the wilderness (desertum), go not forth; if in the secret chambers, believe not " (Matthew 24:26).

These words may be seen explained in the Arcana Coelestia 3900); for by Christ is meant the Lord as to Divine Truth, consequently as to the Word and as to doctrine from the Word; and false Christs, concerning whom those things are said, signify falsities of doctrine from falsified truths of the Word. From the passages now quoted from the Word it is evident that a wilderness means a church in which there are no truths because no good, consequently where there is falsity because there is evil; for where truth and good do not exist, there falsity and evil are; both cannot exist together, which is meant by the words of the Lord, that no man can serve two masters.

[23] (2) A wilderness (desertum) also signifies the state of the church with the nations who were in ignorance of truth, and yet in good of life according to their religion, from which they desired truths, as is also evident from the passages in the Word, where the church to be established among the nations is treated of.

In Isaiah:

"The spirit shall be poured out upon you from on high, then the wilderness (desertum) shall be a fruitful field, and the fruitful field shall be counted for a forest; judgment shall dwell in the wilderness, and justice shall abide in the fruitful field" (32:15, 16).

This is said of those who are in natural good, and are being reformed. Influx out of heaven into such is signified by The spirit shall be poured out upon you from on high. That truth from a spiritual origin shall then be implanted in them, is signified by The wilderness shall be a fruitful field, - a wilderness denoting the natural man destitute of truths, and the fruitful field, or land of harvest, denoting the natural man made fruitful in truths; that as a result it will possess the knowledge (scientia) of the cognitions of truth and good, is signified by The fruitful field shall be counted for a forest; forest is said in reference to the natural man as a garden is to the spiritual, therefore a forest signifies knowledge (scientia), and a garden intelligence. That in it there will consequently be what is right and just is signified by Judgment shall dwell in the wilderness, and justice shall abide in the fruitful field; judgment and justice, in the spiritual sense, signify truth and good, but in the natural sense, what is right and just.

[24] In the same:

"I will open rivers upon the heights, and set fountains in the midst of the valleys; I will turn the wilderness (desertum) into a pool of waters, and the dry land into springs of waters; I will give in the wilderness the cedar of shittah, the myrtle and the oil tree; I will set in the desert (solitudo) the fir, the pine, and the box" (41:18, 19).

This also treats of the reformation and enlightenment of the nations. To open rivers upon the heights, and to set fountains in the midst of the valleys, signifies to give intelligence from spiritual truths and from natural truths, rivers upon the heights signifying intelligence from spiritual truths, and fountains in the midst of the valleys intelligence from natural truths. To turn the wilderness into a pool of waters, and the dry land into springs of waters, signifies to fill the spiritual and the natural man with truths, where before there were no truths; the spiritual man in which there were no truths is meant by a wilderness, since truth was not previously there, and the natural man in which there was no truth, is meant by dry land, since into it there had previously been no spiritual influx. Truths in abundance for the spiritual man are meant by the pool of waters, and truths in abundance for the natural man are meant by the springs of waters. To set in the wilderness the cedar of shittah, the myrtle, and the oil tree, signifies to give rational truths and the perception of them; and to set in the desert the fir, the pine, and the box, signifies similarly, natural truths, which are knowledges (scientifica) and cognitions, with the understanding of them; the cedar denoting higher rational truth, the myrtle, lower rational truth, and the oil tree, the perception of good, and thus of truth; the fir denotes higher natural truth; the pine, lower natural truth; and the box, the understanding of good and truth in the natural man.

[25] In David:

"He turneth the wilderness (desertum) into a pool of waters, and the dry land into the springing forth of waters; and there he maketh the hungry to dwell, that they may build a city of habitation" (Psalm 107:35, 36).

This is also said of the enlightenment of the nations. To turn the wilderness into a pool of waters has a signification similar to that above; and there he maketh the hungry to dwell, signifies for those who desire truths, these being meant in the Word by the hungry and thirsty. That they may build a city of habitation, signifies that out of those truths they may formulate for themselves doctrine of life, a city denoting doctrine, and to inhabit denoting to live.

[26] In Isaiah:

"Behold, I do a new thing, now it shall spring forth, I will also make a way in the wilderness (desertum), rivers in the desert (solitudo); the wild beasts of the field shall honour me, the dragons and the daughters of the owl, because I will give waters in the wilderness, rivers in the desert, to give drink to my people, my chosen" (43:19, 20).

This also is said of the new church to be established by the Lord among the nations. By wilderness is signified the state of the church with those who are ignorant of truth, and yet desire to know it. But the signification of the details of this passage in the spiritual sense may be seen explained above (n. 518).

[27] In the same:

"Jehovah will comfort Zion, he will comfort all her waste places, and he will make her wilderness (desertum) like Eden, and her desert (solitudo) like the garden of Jehovah; gladness and joy shall be found in her, confession and the voice of singing" (51:3).

This also is said of a new church among the nations who will acknowledge the Lord; such church is meant by Zion, and its establishment and the reformation of the nations by being comforted. The wilderness, that shall be made like Eden, and the desert like the garden of Jehovah, signify wisdom and intelligence from love to the Lord, which those have who before had no understanding of truth, and no perception of good. But these things have been explained above (n. 721).

[28] In David:

"The habitations of the wilderness (desertum) drop, and the hills gird themselves with exultation; the meadows are clothed with flocks, and the valleys are covered with corn" (Psalm 65:12, 13).

This also is said of the church among the nations. By "the habitations of the wilderness drop (stillant)" is signified that their minds, which before were in ignorance of truth, acknowledge and receive truths, to drop being said of the influx, acknowledgment, and reception of truth; habitations denote the interiors of man's mind, and wilderness denotes a state of ignorance of truth. The hills gird themselves with exultation, signifies that goods with them receive truths with joy of heart; the meadows are clothed with flocks, and the valleys covered with corn, signifies that both the spiritual mind and the natural mind receive truths suitable to themselves, meadows signifying those things that belong to the spiritual mind, and thus to the rational, and valleys those which belong to the natural mind, while a flock signifies spiritual truth, and corn signifies natural truth.

[29] In Isaiah:

"Let them sing praise, the end of the earth, those that go down to the sea, and the fulness thereof, the islands and the inhabitants thereof; let the wilderness (desertum) and the cities thereof lift up the voice, the villages which Arabia doth inhabit; let the inhabitants of the rock sing, let them cry out from the top of the mountains" (42:10, 11).

This is said of the church with those who have been removed from the truths of the church because they were natural and sensual; their state of ignorance is meant by the wilderness, and the joy which they feel from the proclamation of the truth and from its knowledges is meant by singing praise and lifting up the voice. The rest has been explained above (n. 406:5).

[30] Since the state of ignorance of truth, in which the nations were, is signified by a wilderness, a desire for truth by hunger, and instruction from the Lord by feeding, therefore, it came to pass that the Lord departed into a wilderness (desertum), taught the multitude there which sought Him, and afterwards fed them. That this took place in a wilderness can be seen in Matthew 14:13-22; 15:32-38; Mark 6:31-43; 8:1-9; Luke 9:12-17; for all things which the Lord did, and all things connected with Him, were representative, because they were correspondences, so also were these things. From these passages, and those cited above, it is evident that a wilderness (desertum) signifies such a state with man as is uncultivated and uninhabited, thus a state not yet vitalized by what is spiritual; consequently, in reference to the church, it signifies a state unvivified by truths; thus it signifies the religion of the nations, which was almost empty and void, because they did not possess the Word wherein are truths, and thus did not know the Lord, who teaches them. And because they did not possess truths, therefore their good did not differ from their truth; for good is like its truth, because the one belongs to the other. From these things it is evident what a wilderness signifies, where the nations are treated of, namely that they have no truth, and yet that they desire it in order that their good may be vivified.

[31] (3) A wilderness also signifies the state of those who are in temptations, because in them truths and goods are shut in by the falsities and evils that rise up and come before the mind, as is evident from the wandering of the sons of Israel in the wilderness forty years; for this represented every state of the temptations into which those come who are being regenerated, and of whom a church is about to be formed. Every man is born natural, and so lives, until he becomes rational, and when he has become rational, then he can be led by the Lord, and become spiritual; and this is effected by the implantation of the knowledges of truth from the Word, and, at the same time, by the opening of the spiritual mind, which receives the things of heaven, and by the calling forth and raising up of those knowledges out of the natural man, and by the conjunction of them with the spiritual affection for truth. This opening and conjunction is possible only through temptations, because in these man interiorly fights against the falsities and evils which are in the natural man; in a word, man is brought into the church, and becomes a church, by means of temptations. These things were represented by the wandering of the sons of Israel, and by their being led about in the wilderness. The state of the natural man before he is regenerated was represented by their dwelling in the land of Egypt, for the land of Egypt signified the natural man, with its knowledges (scientifica) and cognitions, together with the desires and appetites, which reside in it, as is evident from what has been said and shown above concerning Egypt (n. 654). But the spiritual state, which is the state of the church in man, was represented by the introduction of the sons of Israel into the land of Canaan; for the land of Canaan signified the church with its truths and goods, together with its affections and delights, which reside in the spiritual man, while the reformation and regeneration of man, before he from natural becomes spiritual, and thus a church, was represented by their wanderings and journeyings in the wilderness forty years.

[32] That this is the case, and that a wilderness signified a state of temptations, is evident from the following passages in Moses:

"Thou shalt remember all the way which Jehovah thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness (desertum), that he might afflict thee, and try thee, and know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments or not; and he afflicted thee and caused thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither have thy fathers known, that he might teach thee that man doth not live by bread alone, but by every word (enuntiatum) of the mouth of Jehovah doth man live; thy raiment waxed not old upon thee, neither did thy foot swell, these forty years" (Deuteronomy 8:2, 3, 4):

"In the wilderness (desertum) which thou sawest, Jehovah thy God bore thee, as a man doth bare his son, he went before you in the way to seek you out a place, in which ye might encamp, in fire by night to show you the way, and in a cloud by day" (Deuteronomy 1:31, 33).

Jehovah, "who led thee through the great and terrible wilderness (desertum) of the serpent, of the fiery serpent, and of the scorpion, and of drought, where there were no waters; who brought thee forth waters out of the rock of flint, and fed thee with manna in the wilderness, that he might afflict and try thee, to do thee good in thy latter end" (Deuteronomy 8:15, 16).

Again:

Jehovah found Jacob "in a land of wilderness (desertum), in emptiness, in howling, in a desert (solitudo); he led him about, he instructed him, he guarded him as the pupil of the eye" (Deuteronomy 32:10).

All these particulars, and all the details related in the book of Exodus concerning the journeyings of the sons of Israel in the wilderness, from their going forth from Egypt to their entrance into the land of Canaan, depict the temptations in which the faithful are, before they become spiritual, that is, before the goods of love and of charity and their truths, constituting the church in man, are implanted.

[33] He who knows what spiritual temptations are, knows that when a man is in them, he is so infested by evils and falsities that he scarcely knows but that he is in hell. He knows too that the Lord fights in man against temptations from within; also that He sustains him in the meantime with spiritual food and drink, which are the goods and truths of heaven; that the natural man loathes these things; that the natural man with its lusts is nevertheless thus subdued, and as it were dies; and that thus it is brought into subjection to the spiritual man; and that a man is thus reformed, and regenerated, and introduced into the church. All this is involved in what is related concerning the sons of Israel in the wilderness. But in order to make it clear that this is meant, it will be well to explain in detail some of the passages here quoted.

[34] 1. . That man in temptations is so infested by evils and falsities, that he scarcely knows but that he is in hell, is meant by "Jehovah led thee through the great and terrible wilderness of the serpent, of the fiery serpent, of the scorpion, and of drought, where there were no waters." The great and terrible wilderness signifies grievous temptations; the serpent, the fiery serpent, and the scorpion, signify evils and falsities with their persuasions proceeding from the sensual and natural man, serpents denoting evils therefrom, fiery serpents falsities therefrom, and scorpions persuasions; drought, where there were no waters, signifies a want of truth, and the interception of it. These things are also meant by the words, "that Jehovah might afflict thee, and try thee, and know what was in thine heart."

[35] 2. . That the Lord fights in man against evils and falsities from hell, is signified by Jehovah found Jacob in a wilderness, in emptiness, in howling, in a desert, He guarded him as the pupil of His eye; also by He bore him as a man doth bare his son; and by His going before them in fire by night and in a cloud by day.

3. . That the Lord sustains man in the meantime with spiritual meat and drink, which are the goods and truths of heaven, is signified by feeding them with manna, bringing forth waters for them out of the rock of flint, and by leading and instructing them, manna meaning the good of celestial love, and waters out of the rock of flint the truths of that good from the Lord.

4. . That in temptations the natural man loathes these things, is meant by the sons of Israel complaining so often of the manna, and longing for the foods of Egypt; wherefore it is here said, "Jehovah afflicted thee and caused thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna."

[36] 5. . That nevertheless the natural man with his lusts is subdued, and as it were dies, and is subject to the spiritual man, was represented by the death in the wilderness of all those who went forth out of Egypt, and desired to return thither, being unwilling to enter the land of Canaan; and by their children being introduced into that land. That such was the representation and signification of those circumstances, can be known and seen only from the spiritual sense.

6. . That man after temptations becomes spiritual, and is introduced into the church, and through the church into heaven, was represented by their being brought into the land of Canaan, for the land of Canaan signified the church, and also heaven; and this is signified by these words: "That Jehovah might afflict thee, and try thee, to do thee good in thy latter end." Their spiritual life is described by Jehovah's teaching them that man doth not live by bread alone, but by every word of the mouth of Jehovah. That their raiment waxed not old, and neither did their foot swell, signified that the natural man is not hurt by these afflictions, for garments signify the truths of the natural man, and the foot the natural man itself. Moreover forty, whether years or days, signifies the entire duration of temptations; as may be seen above (n. 633).

[37] Similar things are involved in these words in David:

"They wandered in the wilderness (desertum) in a solitary way, they found not a city of habitation, hungry and thirsty; when their soul fainted in the way, they cried out to Jehovah, he led them that they might go to a city of habitation" (Psalms 107:4-7).

This is said in general of those who have been redeemed, in particular of the sons of Israel in the wilderness; and the above words describe the temptations of such as are being regenerated by the Lord. The city of habitation which they found not, signifies the doctrine of life which constitutes the church in man; and as the church is formed in man by a life according to doctrine, when temptations have been passed through, it is said that Jehovah led them in a straight way, that they might go to a city of habitation; the want of truth even to despair, and yet desire for it, is signified by their being hungry and thirsty, and their soul fainting in the way.

[38] In Jeremiah:

"I remembered thy youth, the love of thine espousals, when thou wentest after me in the wilderness (desertum). They said not, Where is Jehovah, who caused us to come up out of the land of Egypt, who led us in the wilderness, in the land of the desert (solitudo) and of the pit, in a land of drought and of dense shade, in a land through which no man (vir) passed; and where no man (homo) dwelt; and I led you into a land of corn, to eat the fruit thereof and the good thereof" (2:2, 6, 7).

The youth and love of espousals which Jehovah remembered, signify the state of man's reformation and regeneration when from natural he becomes spiritual; since man is by this means conjoined to the Lord, and as it were espoused to Him, it is this that is meant by the love of espousals; and because this is effected by temptations, it is said, "When thou wentest after me in the wilderness" He led me in the wilderness, in the land of the desert and the pit, in a land of drought and dense shade, describes a state of temptations, a wilderness signifying that state, the land of the desert and the pit signifying that state as to the evils and falsities that come forth, while a land of drought and dense shade signifies the perception of good and the understanding of truth obscured. I led you into a land of corn, that ye might eat the fruit thereof and the good thereof, describes the state of man after temptations, which signifies introduction into the church in which there are truths of doctrine, by means of which there is an appropriation of the good of love and of charity, land signifying the church; land of corn denotes the church as to truths of doctrine, while to eat signifies to appropriate, fruit the good of love, and good the good of charity and of life.

[39] In Ezekiel:

"I will lead you out from the peoples, and will gather you from the lands, and I will lead you into the wilderness (desertum) of the peoples, and I will plead with you there face to face, even as I pleaded with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt; then will I cause you to pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant" (20:34-37).

Here also a wilderness denotes a state of temptations, which state is called the wilderness of the peoples and also the wilderness of the land of Egypt, because the state of the natural man before regeneration is meant, which, because there are then no goods and truths in it, but only evils and falsities, is a wilderness and a desert (solitudo), but when falsities and evils have been driven out therefrom, and truths and goods implanted in their place, then from being a wilderness he becomes Lebanon and a garden. To plead with them in the wilderness face to face, signifies to show them to the life and to acknowledgment of what quality they are; for in temptations the evils and falsities of man come forth and appear; face to face means to the life and to acknowledgment. That after man has endured hard things, conjunction with the Lord, which is reformation, is effected, is signified by Then will I cause you to pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bonds of the covenant, - to cause you to pass under the rod denoting to suffer hard things, and the bond of the covenant denoting conjunction with the Lord.

[40] In Hosea:

"I will visit upon her the days of the Baalim, in which she went after her lovers; therefore behold I will bring you into the wilderness (desertum), and afterwards I will speak upon her heart, and I will give her her vineyards thence, and the valley of Achor for a door of hope, and she shall answer there according to the days of her youth, and according to the days of her coming up out of the land of Egypt; and in that day thou shalt call me my husband, and shalt no more call me my Baal" (2:13-16).

The Baalim and lovers, after whom she went, signify such things as pertain to the natural man, and are loved, namely, desires and the falsities therefrom; that these must be removed by means of temptations is signified by I will bring you into the wilderness. That afterwards there will be consolation is signified by Afterwards I will speak upon her heart; that then they will have spiritual and natural truths is signified by I will give her her vineyards thence, and the valley of Achor. That afterwards they will have influx of good from heaven and consequent joy such as those had who were of the Ancient Churches, and who from natural became spiritual, is signified by She shall answer or sing there according to the days of her youth, and according to the days of her coming up out of the land of Egypt, - the days of youth signifying the times of the Ancient Church, and according to the days of her coming up out of the land of Egypt, signifying when from natural they have become spiritual. Conjunction with the Lord at that time through the affections for truth when the desires from the natural man have been rejected, is signified by In that day thou shalt call me my husband, and shalt no more call me my Baal.

[41] Since a wilderness signifies a state of temptations, and forty, whether years or days, the whole duration thereof from beginning to end, therefore the temptations of the Lord, which were the most dreadful of all, and which He sustained from childhood to the passion of the cross, are meant by the temptations of forty days in the wilderness, concerning which it is written as follows in the Evangelist:

"Jesus was led by the spirit into the wilderness (desertum), that he might be tempted of the devil; and when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he afterwards hungered; and the tempter drew near unto him" (Matthew 4:1-3; Luke 4:1-3):

"The spirit urging" Jesus "caused him to go out into the wilderness (desertum), and he was in the wilderness forty days, tempted, and was with the beasts" (Mark 1:12, 13).

This does not mean that the Lord was tempted by the devil only forty days, and at the end of these, but that he was tempted throughout his whole life even to the last moment, when he suffered cruel anguish of heart in Gethsemane, and afterwards in the terrible passion of the cross; for by means of temptations admitted into the Human which He had from the mother, the Lord subjugated all the hells, and at the same time glorified His Human. But concerning these temptations of the Lord, see what is related in the Arcana Coelestia, and in the quotations brought together from that work in the Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 201). All these temptations of the Lord are signified by the temptations in the wilderness during forty days and forty nights, because wilderness signifies a state of temptations, and forty days and forty nights their whole duration. No more is recorded of these by the Evangelists, because thus much only was revealed concerning them; still in the prophets, and especially in the Psalms of David, they are described at length. The beasts with which the Lord is said to have been, signify infernal societies; and fasting here signifies affliction, such as exists in the combats of temptations.

[42] (4) A wilderness also signifies hell, because that is called a wilderness where there is no harvest or habitation, also where there are wild beasts, serpents, and dragons, which signify where there is no truth of doctrine, or good of life, consequently where there are desires (concupiscentiae) arising from evil loves, and thence falsities of every kind. And as these exist in hell, and the former in a wilderness, therefore a wilderness also signifies hell from correspondence. Moreover, the natural man in every one, so long as it is separated from the spiritual - as is the case before regeneration - is hell, because all the hereditary evil into which man is born resides in his natural man, and is cast out from it, that is, removed, only by means of the influx of Divine Truth through heaven from the Lord. And this influx into the natural man can come only through the spiritual, for the natural man is in the world, and the spiritual man in heaven, therefore the spiritual man must first be opened before the Lord out of heaven can remove the hell which is in the spiritual man.

[43] How this is removed was represented by the he-goat, called Azazel, which was cast out into the wilderness; for the he-goat from correspondence signifies the natural man, as to its affections and knowledges, and in the opposite sense, as to its desires and falsities. Of this he-goat it is written in Moses, that Aaron should take two he-goats, and cast lots upon them, one for the he-goat to be sacrificed, the other for Azazel; and after he had atoned for the tent of meeting and the altar with the blood of the sacrificed bullock and of the sacrificed he-goat, he should lay his hands upon the head of the he-goat Azazel, and confess upon it the iniquities and sins of the sons of Israel, which he should put upon the head of the he-goat, and afterwards should send him into the wilderness (desertum) by the hand of a man appointed.

"So the he-goat shall bear upon himself all the iniquities" of the sons of Israel "into a land cut off and into the wilderness; and also the skin, the flesh, and the dung of the bullock and of the sacrificed he-goat should be burned in the wilderness; thus should they be atoned for and cleansed from all their sins" (Leviticus 16:5-34).

These things were commanded in order that expiation might thereby be represented, that is, purification from evils and falsities. Two he-goats were taken to represent this, because a he-goat signified from correspondence the natural man, the he-goat that was to be sacrificed the natural man as to the part purified, and the he-goat that was to be sent into the wilderness the unpurified natural man. And this latter abounds with disorderly desires and impurities of every kind, as said above, therefore the he-goat was sent out of the camp into a land cut off and into the wilderness, that he might bear away the iniquities and sins of all in that church. A land cut off and the wilderness signify hell; Aaron's laying his hands upon its head, and confessing sins, represented communication and translation; for this comes to pass when man is purified or expiated from sins, for sins are then sent back to hell, and affections for good and truth are implanted in their place. These were represented in part by the fat from the bullock and from the other he-goat offered in sacrifice, also by their blood, and especially by the burnt-offering from the ram - concerning which see verses 5-24 in the same chapter; for the ram from correspondence signifies the natural man as to the good of charity. It must, however, be understood that the Israelitish people were not in the least purified from their sins by these things, but that simply the purification of the natural man, while he is being regenerated, was represented. All things pertaining to man's regeneration were represented by such external things, especially by sacrifices, and this was done for the sake of the conjunction of heaven with that church by means of those externals of worship, the internals which the externals represented being seen in the heavens. Who cannot see that the sins of a whole assembly could not be transferred to the he-goat, and borne by him to hell? From these details the signification of wilderness in its various senses is evident.

433. Of the tribe of Judah were sealed twelve thousand. That this signifies love to the Lord, and that all who are in that love are in heaven, and come into heaven, is evident from the representation and consequent signification of Judah and his tribe, as denoting love to the Lord, concerning which we shall speak presently; from the signification of twelve thousand, as denoting all and all things, see above (n. 430); here, all who are in that love; and from the signification of the sealed, as denoting those who are distinguished and separated from those who are in evil, consequently those who are in good; also see above (n. 427). That they denote those who are in heaven, and come into heaven, follows as a consequence, for they were sealed in their foreheads, that is, were separated from the evil; for they are those of whom it is said in the Apocalypse,

"A Lamb standing on the mount Zion, and with him a hundred and forty and four thousand, having his Father's name written in their foreheads. These are they who were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These were bought from among men, the first-fruits unto God and to the Lamb" (14:1, 3, 4).

Here by the mount Zion is signified heaven, where there is love to the Lord. For all who are signified by the twelve thousand out of every tribe, or by the hundred and forty and four thousand sealed in their foreheads, are they who acknowledge the Lord and love Him; therefore the first tribe named is the tribe of Judah, and by that tribe is signified love to the Lord. For, as was stated above (n. 431), the representation of heaven is according to the order in which the tribes are named, and from the first name, or the first tribe mentioned, flow the determinations and significations of those that follow, with variety.

[2] Moreover, no one is admitted into heaven but by the Lord, for the whole heaven is His, therefore no one can be there, or come there, unless he acknowledge Him and love Him. To love Him is not merely to love Him as to person, but to live according to His precepts. This the Lord teaches in unmistakable words:

"At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you. He that hath my commandments and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me. If a man love me, he will keep my word; and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings" (John 14:20-24).

It is said that they love the Lord, who do and observe His commandments and words, because His commandments and words signify Divine truths, and all Divine Truth proceeds from Him, and that which proceeds from Him is Himself; wherefore, when man lives the Divine Truth, then the Lord is in him, and he in the Lord; it is therefore said, "ye in me and I in you," and that He will come and make His abode with him. This, then, is to love the Lord. To love is also to be conjoined, for love is spiritual conjunction, and conjunction is effected by the reception of Divine Truth in doctrine and in life.

[3] Before it is shown from the Word that Judah, or the tribe named from Judah, signifies love to the Lord, the signification of Judah in the Word in every sense shall be explained. In the highest sense, Judah signifies the Lord as to celestial love; in the internal sense, the celestial kingdom of the Lord, and the Word; and in the external sense, doctrine from the Word such as relates to the celestial kingdom. And because in the highest sense the Lord as to celestial love is signified, and in the internal sense the celestial kingdom, therefore love to the Lord is also signified, for this love with man is reciprocal and reigns in the Lord's celestial kingdom. There are two kingdoms into which the whole heaven is distinguished, the celestial kingdom and the spiritual kingdom. The celestial kingdom consists of those who are in love to the Lord, and the spiritual kingdom, of those who are in love towards the neighbour. It is therefore evident, what is meant by celestial love, and spiritual love. Concerning these kingdoms, see Heaven and Hell 20-28). The Jews and Israelites represented these two kingdoms, the Jews, the celestial kingdom, and the Israelites, the spiritual kingdom. Judah also signifies the Word, because the Lord is the Word, and He assumed the Human in that tribe, in order that He might be the Word as to the Human also. In agreement with this fact it is said in John,

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us" (1:1, 14).

The Word signifies the Lord as to Divine Truth proceeding from His Divine Love. Those, therefore, are in the love of the Lord, who love the Divine Truth in the Word, by doing it.

[4] That the Lord, as to celestial love, is signified by Judah, also love to the Lord, and similarly the Word, is clear from the following passages.

In Moses:

"Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise; thy hand shall be on the neck of thine enemies; thy father's sons shall bow down before thee. Judah is a lion's whelp; from the prey, my son, thou art gone up; he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up? The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a law-giver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall be the obedience of the people. He binds his foal unto the vine, and his ass's colt unto the choice vine; he washeth his garment in wine, and his vesture in the blood of the grapes: his eyes shall be red with wine, and his teeth white with milk" (Genesis 49:8-12).

By Judah are here described, in the spiritual sense, the celestial kingdom of the Lord, and the Lord Himself as to celestial love. Celestial love is the love of the Lord received in the celestial kingdom, and spiritual love is the love of the Lord received in the spiritual kingdom. The signification of the above words is as follows: Thy brethren shall praise thee, signifies that the celestial church surpasses the rest; for the brethren or tribes named from the sons of Jacob, who were his brethren, signify the church. Thy hand shall be on the neck of thine enemies, signifies that the infernal and diabolical throng shall be expelled and kept back, enemies denoting those who are from hell. Thy father's sons shall bow down before thee, signifies the submission of all the truths of the church; to bow down is to submit themselves, the father's sons denoting all truths of the church, for all the truths of the church are implanted in those who are in love to the Lord, and are therefore in the celestial kingdom. Judah is a lion's whelp, signifies innocence with innate powers; for love to the Lord, considered in itself, is innocence, signified by whelp; innate powers are signified by a lion. From the prey, my son, thou art gone up, signifies the liberation of many from hell. He stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion, signifies the good of love, and truth thence in its power; for to stoop down, when stated of a lion, is to put himself into a powerful attitude. Who shall rouse him up? signifies that he is safe wherever he is, and that he cannot be moved by the hells. The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, signifies that power shall not depart from the good of celestial love; nor a law-giver from between his feet, signifies that the truths of the Word shall not [depart] from its ultimate sense; until Shiloh come, signifies the coming of the Lord, and tranquillity of peace at that time. And unto him shall be the obedience of the people, signifies truths from Him, and conjunction by means of them. He binds his foal unto the vine signifies the external church, and the truths thereof from the Lord; and his ass's colt unto the choice vine, signifies the internal church, and truths thereof from the Lord. He washeth his garment in wine, signifies the external or natural Human of the Lord, which is Divine Truth from His Divine Love; and his vesture in the blood of the grapes, signifies the Lord's internal or rational Human which is Divine Good from His Divine Love. His eyes shall be red with wine, signifies that the internal or rational Human is nothing but good; and his teeth white with milk, signifies that the external or natural Human is nothing but the good of truth. From the particulars in this description, it is evident that Judah does not mean Judah, but something eminently celestial, as described above. But these things are explained more in detail in the Arcana Coelestia 6363-6381).

[5] In Ezekiel:

"Thou son of man, take thee one stick, and write upon it, For Judah and for the sons of Israel his companions; then take one stick and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and of all the house of Israel. And afterwards join them one to another into one stick, that they may both be one in mine hand. Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and of the tribes of Israel his companions, and will put it, even with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick. I will take the sons of Israel from among the nations, whither they be gone, and will gather them from every side, and bring them into their own land; and will make them into one nation upon the land in the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all; and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all. David my servant shall be king over them, and shall be as one shepherd to them all; they shall also walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes, and do them. Then they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, they, and their sons, and their sons' sons for ever; and my servant David shall be their prince for ever. Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them; and I will place them, and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore. My tabernacle also shall be with them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people" (Ezekiel 37:16-27).

No one can know what these words signify, unless he know the signification of Judah and Israel, and of Joseph and Ephraim. That Judah and Israel are not meant, nor Joseph and Ephraim, is evident; for it is said that the tribes of Israel dispersed among the nations shall be gathered together and brought into the land of Canaan, and that David shall be their king and prince for ever, and that he shall dwell with them for ever. Who does not know that the tribes of Israel cannot be gathered together, and that David will not be king over them any more? Therefore it must be known what is signified in the spiritual sense by Judah, by the sons of Israel, also by Joseph and Ephraim, by David, and by the land of Canaan. By Judah, in the spiritual sense, is signified the Lord's celestial kingdom; by the sons of Israel, the Lord's spiritual kingdom; by Joseph and Ephraim, and by the tribes of Israel that are dispersed and are to be gathered together, are meant those who are beneath those kingdoms, because they are neither celestial nor spiritual, but natural, and yet are in the good of life according to their religion.

[6] These also are meant by the Lord where He says in John,

"And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one flock, and one shepherd" (10:16).

For these were not in heaven before the Lord's coming, but were taken there by Him after He had glorified His Human; the reason of this was, that the proceeding Divine could not previously reach them. When this is known, and also that David means the Lord as to Divine Truth proceeding from His Divine Human, the signification of the details in a series in the previous passage may be known. The reason why these things were written upon two pieces of wood, and the two pieces afterwards joined into one, was, that wood signifies the good of life, and all conjunction in heaven is brought about by means of good, and according to it. That wood signifies the good of life, may be seen in the Arcana Coelestia 643, 2784, 3720, 8354).

[7] In Isaiah,

when the Lord "shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah, from the four corners of the earth, then the envy also of Ephraim shall depart, and the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off; Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim. But they shall fly upon the shoulder of the Philistines towards the sea" (11:12-14).

These things were said concerning the salvation of the nations, which are also signified by the outcasts of Israel, and the dispersed of Judah, for it is said that the Lord shall set up an ensign for the nations. By the outcasts of Israel are meant those who are not in truths, but yet in the desire of learning them; and by the dispersed of Judah are meant those who are in the good of life, and by means of that in love to the Lord, for those who love to do good, love the Lord, the Lord being in that good, because it is from Him. Ephraim means the Intellectual, in this case, in harmony with the good of love; and that they shall no longer be at enmity with each other, is meant by, "At that time the envy also of Ephraim shall depart; Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim." That they shall be separated from those who are in faith apart from charity, is signified by, "They shall fly upon the shoulder of the Philistines towards the sea." The Philistines towards the sea denote those who separate faith from charity or from the good of life, the sea signifying the ultimate of heaven where it ceases (desinit); and to fly upon the shoulder denotes to reject, and to separate themselves.

[8] In Zechariah:

"Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem; behold, thy King cometh unto thee; he is just and faithful. I will bend Judah for me, I will fill the bow Ephraim, and I will raise up thy sons, O Zion" (9:9, 13).

These things are said concerning the coming of the Lord and the establishment of a church by Him with those who are in the good of love and in the truths of doctrine thence. The daughter of Zion, and the daughter of Jerusalem, signify the church with them. Thy King who cometh just and faithful, is the Lord, from whom are the good of love and the truth of doctrine. I will bend Judah for me, I will fill the bow Ephraim, signifies that the church is to be established with those who are in the good of love to the Lord, and in the truths of doctrine thence. Judah here means those who are in the good of love to the Lord; and Ephraim, truths of doctrine; for Ephraim signifies the Intellectual of the church, and a bow, the doctrine of truth. That a bow signifies doctrine may be seen above (n. 357:1), where these things are also explained. Such are denoted by the sons of Zion. That the Jewish nation is not here meant by Judah, nor Ephraim by Ephraim, is evident; for the Lord's church was not established with the Jewish nation, for it was not received by them, and the tribe of Ephraim did not then exist.

[9] In the same:

"Jehovah of hosts will visit his flock, the house of Judah, and will make them as the horse of his glory in the battle. Out of him the corner, out of him the nail, out of him the bow of war. And I will strengthen the house of Judah, and I will save the house of Joseph, and I will cause them to dwell. And they of Ephraim shall be like a mighty man, and their heart shall rejoice as with wine" (Zech. 10:3-7).

By the house of Judah is here also meant the Lord's celestial kingdom, which consists of those who are in love to Him, and by Ephraim are meant those who are in the truths of doctrine thence. For all those who are in His celestial kingdom are in truths of doctrine, because they have truths, as it were, implanted in and inscribed on their hearts, as may be seen in Heaven and Hell 25, 26). The remainder of this passage is explained above (n. 355:28, 376:22).

[10] In the same:

"Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion; for, lo, I come, and I will dwell in the midst of thee. And many nations shall be joined to Jehovah in that day, and shall be my people. Jehovah shall make Judah a heritage for himself, his portion in the holy land, and shall choose Jerusalem again" (2:10-12).

That the Jewish nation is not meant here by Judah, nor Jerusalem by Jerusalem, is also very evident; for the subject is the coming of the Lord, at which time that nation altogether fell away, and Jerusalem was afterwards destroyed. And yet it is said, that "Jehovah shall make Judah a heritage for himself, his portion in the holy land, and shall choose Jerusalem again." Judah therefore means those who are in love to the Lord, and Jerusalem the church as to doctrine with them.

[11] So in Nahum:

"Behold, upon the mountains the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that proclaimeth peace! Keep thy feasts, O Judah, perform thy vows; for the wicked shall no more pass through thee; every one shall be utterly cut off" (1:15).

These words also refer to the Lord. His coming is meant by, "Behold, upon the mountains the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace!" By keeping their feasts, and performing their vows, is signified to rejoice at His coming, and to worship Him; by the wicked no more passing through Judah, and every one being utterly cut off, is signified that evil shall not be with them, because they are in the Lord. These things could not have been said of the Jewish nation, but they are said of those who are in love to the Lord. It is therefore evident that such are meant by Judah.

[12] In Malachi:

"Behold, I send my messenger, who shall prepare the way before me; and the Lord shall suddenly come to his temple. Then shall the meat-offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant to Jehovah, according to the days of an age, and according to the former years" (3:1, 4).

That these words relate to the coming of the Lord, and that by the messenger who should be sent to prepare the way before Him is meant John the Baptist, is known in the church. That the meat offering of Judah and Jerusalem shall then be pleasant to Jehovah, signifies that then there shall be acceptable worship from the good of love to the Lord. The meat-offering of Judah signifies that worship. That the worship of the Jewish nation and of Jerusalem was not acceptable is plain, for they did not acknowledge the Lord, but rejected Him altogether. According to the days of an age, and according to the former years, signifies according to the worship in the ancient churches. The Most Ancient Church which was before the flood, and was in love to the Lord, is signified by "the days of an age," or of eternity, and the Ancient Church which existed after the flood, and was a spiritual church, is meant by "the former years."

[13] In Joel:

"And it shall come to pass in that day, that the mountains shall drop down new wine (mustum), and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the rivers of Judah shall flow with waters, and a fountain shall come forth out of the house of Jehovah, and shall water the stream of Shittim. Egypt shall be a desolation, and Edom shall be a desolate wilderness, for the violence of the sons of Judah, whose innocent blood they have shed in their land. But Judah shall dwell for ever, and Jerusalem unto generation and generation" (3:18-20).

Here also the subject is the coming of the Lord, and the new heaven and the new earth at that time. The mountains shall drop down new wine (mustum), signifies that all truth shall be from the good of love. That mountains signify the good of love, see above (n. 405); and that wine (vinum) and new wine (mustum) signify truth, see also above (n. 376). The hills shall flow with milk, signifies spiritual life from the good of charity towards the neighbour. All the rivers of Judah shall flow with waters, signifies that from the particulars of the Word there shall be truths productive of intelligence. A fountain shall come forth from the house of Jehovah, and water the river of Shittim, signifies that out of heaven from the Lord shall come the truth of doctrine, which will enlighten those who are in cognitions and knowledges. Egypt shall be a desolation, and Edom shall be a desolate wilderness, signifies that false principles, and the evils of the love of self, both of them from the natural man, shall be destroyed. For the violence of the sons of Judah, whose innocent blood they have shed in their land, signifies on account of the falsified truths, and adulterated goods of the Word, which they have corrupted and destroyed. Judah shall dwell for ever, and Jerusalem unto generation and generation, signifies that the Word, and the doctrine of genuine truth thence, shall remain to eternity with those who are in love to the Lord. It is therefore evident also, that Judah is not meant there by Judah, nor Jerusalem by Jerusalem.

[14] In the same prophet:

"O Tyre, and Zidon, and all the coasts of the Philistines, speedily will I return your recompense upon your own head; because ye have taken my silver and my gold, and have carried into your temples my goodly pleasant things. The sons also of Judah, and the sons of Jerusalem, have ye sold unto the sons of the Grecians, that ye might remove them far from their borders" (Joel 3:4-6).

Tyre and Zidon, and the Philistines, mean those who have falsified the truths and goods of the Word; my silver and my gold, signify those truths and goods, and to carry them into their temples, signifies to falsify and profane them; to sell the sons of Judah, and the sons of Jerusalem to the sons of the Grecians, signifies to pervert and falsify all the truths and goods of the Word; the sons of Judah denote the goods of the Word, the sons of Jerusalem, its truths, and the sons of the Grecians, falsities; to remove them far from their borders, signifies far from truths themselves. He who does not know the spiritual sense of the Word, may suppose that those who were in Tyre and Zidon, and in Philistia, sold the sons of Judah and Jerusalem to the Grecians, but this is a prophecy in which the nations indicated signify things of the church.

[15] In Jeremiah:

"In those days the house of Judah shall walk with the house of Israel, and they shall come together out of the land of the north to the land that I gave for an inheritance unto your fathers" (3:18).

The subject of this passage is also the coming of the Lord, and the new church from Him. His coming is meant by the words "in those days," and the new church, by the house of Judah, and the house of Israel. The church formed of those who are in love to the Lord, is signified by the house of Judah, and the church formed of those who are in charity towards the neighbour, and called the spiritual church, by the house of Israel. They shall come together out of the land of the north to the land which I gave for an inheritance to their fathers, signifies that they shall come out of the ignorance and the falsities, in which they then were, into the cognitions and light of the truth of the church. The land of the north signifies a state of ignorance, and what is false in religion, and the land given for an inheritance to their fathers signifies the church which is in the cognitions and light of truth. These things are said concerning the Gentiles, out of whom a new church was to be formed; because it is well known that the house of Judah and the house of Israel did not come out of the land of the north when the Lord was in the world; for the Jews were in the land of Canaan at that time, and the Israelites had been scattered abroad.

[16] In the same prophet:

"Behold, the days come, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign a king and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. In his days shall Judah be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, Jehovah our Justice" (Jeremiah 23:5, 6; 33:15, 16).

The subject here is clearly the Lord, the Branch of David who shall reign a king and shall be called Jehovah our justice. In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely, signifies that those will be saved who are in love to Him, and in charity towards the neighbour, as stated above. It is evident that Judah was not saved, and that Israel was neither recalled, nor could be recalled, so as to dwell safely, that is, without infestation from evils and falsities.

[17] In the same prophet it is said:

"And I will bring Israel again to his habitation, that he may feed on Carmel and Bashan, and his soul shall be satisfied upon Mount Ephraim and Gilead. In those days, and in that time, the iniquity of Israel shall be sought for, and the sins of Judah, and they shall not be found" (Jeremiah 50:19, 20). Here, also, the subject is the establishment of the church among the Gentiles by the Lord, and these are meant by Israel, who shall be brought again to his habitation, and also by Judah, whose sins, it is said, shall not be found. That they shall be led by the Lord, and instructed in the good of charity, is meant by the words, And they shall feed on Carmel and Bashan, and on Mount Ephraim and Gilead.

[18] Again, in Zechariah:

"In that day, saith Jehovah, I will smite every horse with astonishment, and his rider with madness; and I will open mine eye upon the house of Judah. In that day will I make the governors of Judah like a furnace of fire among wood, and like a torch of fire in a sheaf; and they shall devour all the peoples round about, on the right hand and on the left; and Jerusalem shall dwell again in her own place, even in Jerusalem. Jehovah also shall save the tents of Judah first" (12:4, 6, 7).

The subject here is the devastation of the former church; and the establishment of a new church by the Lord. The devastation of the former church is described by the words, in that day, saith Jehovah, I will smite every horse with astonishment, and his rider with madness. For horse signifies the understanding of truth with man, and a rider, intelligence, as may be seen above (n. 355). The house of Judah signifies the church with those who are in the good of love to the Lord; concerning this it is said that the Lord shall open His eye upon it. That evils from hell shall be dispersed by them and with them, and also falsities, is signified by the words, in that day will I make the governors of Judah like a furnace of fire among wood, and like a torch of fire in a sheaf; and they shall devour all the peoples round about, on the right hand and on the left. That that church shall be safe from the infestation of evils and falsities, is signified by, "and Jerusalem shall dwell again in her own place, even in Jerusalem;" and that the Lord shall utterly save those who are in love to Him, is signified by, Jehovah shall save the tents of Judah first.

[19] Again, in Isaiah:

"The word" of Jehovah "concerning Judah and Jerusalem. And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of Jehovah shall be established at the head of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and we will go up to the mountain of Jehovah, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and let us walk in his paths" (2:1-3).

These things also are said of the new church to be established by the Lord. By the mountain of Jehovah, which shall then be established at the head of the mountains, is meant Zion, and it signifies the celestial church, and love to the Lord, which they possess who belong to that church. That this is the chief thing of the church, and that it shall increase and gain strength, is signified by its being at the head of the mountains, and exalted above the hills. That those who are in good shall acknowledge the Lord, and enter the church, is signified by all nations flowing to that mountain, for nations signify those who are in celestial good, which is the good of love to the Lord, and peoples, those who are in spiritual good, which is the good of charity towards the neighbour. Of the latter it is said, And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of Jehovah, to the house of the God of Jacob. That nations signify those who are in celestial good, and people, those who are in spiritual good, see above (n. 331).

[20] Again, in the same prophet:

"Jehovah, thy Redeemer, and thy Former from the womb, that confirmeth the word of his servant, and performeth the counsel of his messengers; that saith to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be inhabited; and to the cities of Judah, Ye shall be built, and I will raise up the waste places thereof" (Isaiah 44:24, 26).

Here again the subject is the coming of the Lord, who is "Jehovah thy Redeemer and thy Former from the womb." He is called Redeemer from the fact of His liberating from hell; and He is called the Former from the womb because He is the regenerator of man. The prediction of the prophets concerning Him, and concerning the salvation of man, is meant by the words He confirmeth the word of his servant, and performeth the counsel of his messengers. That those who are of His church are to be saved and to be instructed in the truths of heavenly doctrine, is meant by the words, That saith to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be inhabited, and to the cities of Judah, Ye shall be built. Jerusalem denotes the church, and the cities of Judah, the truths of heavenly doctrine. That the falsities, which destroy the church, shall be shaken off, is meant by, I will raise up the waste places thereof. It is a well-known fact that the Lord did not say Jerusalem should be inhabited and that the cities of Judah should be built, but that Jerusalem should be destroyed, and this actually came to pass.

[21] Again, in the same prophet:

"I will bring forth a seed out of Jacob, and out of Judah an inheritor of my mountains; in order that mine elect may possess it, and my servants may dwell there" (Isaiah 65:9).

Here Jacob and Judah, do not mean a people from Jacob, and a nation from Judah, but the church to be established by the Lord. By Jacob is meant the church which is in the good of life; and by Judah, the church which is in the good of love to the Lord, therefore Jacob means the external church, and Judah, the internal church. By seed are meant charity and faith, and by mountains the goods of love. Those who are in charity are called the elect, and those who are in truths from the good of love are called servants, it is therefore said, "In order that mine elect may possess it, and my servants may dwell there."

[22] Again, in Ezekiel:

"Judah, and the land of Israel, they were thy traders; they traded in the wheat of Minnith and pannag, and honey, and oil, and balm" (Ezekiel 27:17).

These words were spoken of Tyre, which signifies the church as to the cognitions of truth and good, and, therefore, the cognitions of truth and good of the church are signified by Tyre. Its merchandize and tradings are here treated of, and they describe how those cognitions are procured, in the present case, those which are procured from Judah and from the land of Israel. And because by Judah is signified the good of love, and by Israel, truth from that good, therefore its tradings are said to be wheat of Minnith and pannag, and honey, and oil, and balm, because by wheat of Minnith and pannag, are signified the truths and goods of the church of every kind. Honey signifies the good of love in the natural man; oil, the good of love in the spiritual man; and balm, the truths that are grateful from good. See above (n. 375:35), where these words are more fully explained. What the various nations mentioned in that chapter signify is evident from the commodities named therein when understood in the spiritual sense, and therefore, also what is meant by Judah, and Israel, for the commodities there named indicate it.

[23] That Judah does not mean the Jewish nation is also evident in Ezekiel (chapter 48), where the subject is the new land to be distributed among the twelve tribes of Israel, for they also are named there, and the precise portion of the land each should possess. Much is there said concerning the tribe of Judah, and it is said that the sanctuary should be in the midst of it (verses 8-22). From this it is perfectly clear that the tribes there named do not mean those tribes, for eleven of them were dispersed, and became Gentiles (gentes) from whom they could not be distinguished, for they were led away into perpetual exile. It is also evident that by the land there mentioned is not meant land, but the church, and consequently by the tribes there named are meant such things as pertain to the church, while Judah means the celestial church, or the church which is in love to the Lord, in which, therefore, is the sanctuary.

[24] Judah and Israel have a similar signification in David:

"Judah became his sanctuary, and Israel his dominion" (Psalm 114:2).

Sanctuary signifies, in the highest sense, the Lord Himself, and in a relative (respectivus) sense, the worship of Him from the good of love. Israel signifies the truth of the church from that good; and because all power belong to truths from good, or to good by means of truths, therefore it is said that Israel became His dominion. Since Judah signifies the celestial kingdom of the Lord, and Israel His spiritual kingdom, as stated above, and since the celestial kingdom constitutes the priesthood of the Lord in heaven, and the spiritual kingdom the royalty of the Lord, as may be seen in Heaven and Hell 24, 226), therefore the Lord in the Word is called a King, and in the evangelists, the King of the Jews (Matthew 2:2; John 18:33-37; 19:19). And by the Lord, as King of the Jews, is meant the Lord as to Divine Truth, proceeding from the Divine Good of His Divine Love. Kings therefore in the Word signify truths from good, see above (n. 31).

[25] In Jeremiah:

"Behold, the days are coming, in which I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man, and with the seed of beast; and in which I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah. This is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days; I will give my law in the midst of them, and write it upon their heart, and will be their God, and they shall be my people" (31:27, 31, 33).

Here also by the days are coming is meant the coming of the Lord. It is not therefore meant that a new covenant will then be made with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, but with a new church to be established by the Lord, meant by the house of Israel, and by the house of Judah, in whose midst the law was to be given, and written on their heart. That this did not take place with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah, is well known, for they entirely rejected the Lord's covenant, as they do at this day. A covenant signifies conjunction with the Lord by means of love to Him, and they have the law or Divine Truth in them from this conjunction, both in doctrine and in life, and this is meant by the law in their midst, and written on their heart. To sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man, and with the seed of beast, signifies to reform those who are of a new church, by means of the truths and goods of intelligence and affection; for seed denotes truth, man, intelligence, and beast the good of affection. That beast has this signification, will be shown in what follows.

[26] In Zechariah:

"Many peoples and numerous nations shall come to seek Jehovah of hosts in Jerusalem, and to pray before Jehovah. In those days ten men out of all the languages of the nations shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you; for we have heard that God is with you" (8:22, 23).

He who does not know that a Jew means those who are in love to the Lord and thence in truths of doctrine, may be easily led to believe that these things were said concerning the Jews, and their introduction into the land of Canaan, and that all others who wish to be saved will then take hold of the skirt of their raiment, praying to be allowed to go with them. But when it is seen that these things are not said concerning any introduction into the land of Canaan and to Jerusalem there, and that a Jew does not mean those who are of that nation, but that Jerusalem means a new church to be established by the Lord, and a Jew, every one who is in the good of love to the Lord, and the skirt of a Jew, truth from that good, then the signification of all the details related in that chapter, and of these words in particular, may be apprehended. For the subject is the gathering together of the Gentiles and their coming to the church, a Jew meaning those who acknowledge the Lord and love Him, while taking hold of his skirt signifies the desire of knowing truth from Him; ten men out of all the languages of the nations mean all of any religion whatsoever, ten men signifying all, and the languages of the nations, their religious principles.

[27] From these things it is clear, how far removed those are from the truth who believe that in the end of the times the Jews will be converted to the Lord and taken to the land of Canaan. These also believe that by land, Jerusalem, Israel, and Judah, in the Word, are meant the land of Canaan, the city of Jerusalem, the Israelitish people, and the Jewish nation. But those who have hitherto held such a belief are to be excused, because they have known nothing of the spiritual sense of the Word, and have therefore been ignorant of the fact that the land of Canaan signifies the church, Jerusalem, the church as to doctrine, Israel, those who are of the spiritual church, and Judah, those who are of the celestial church. Also that when their introduction into the land of Canaan is spoken of by the prophets, the introduction of the faithful into heaven and into the church is meant. This introduction also took place, when the Lord came into the world, for then all those who had lived in the good of charity, and worshipped God under a human form, were taken to heaven. These were retained under heaven until the coming of the Lord, and were taken to heaven after the Lord had glorified His Human. These are they who are meant in many passages in the prophetic Word, where the captivity of the sons of Israel and Judah, and their return to their land, are spoken of. Those also are meant here who, after His coming, were to be introduced into the church, and thence into heaven, from the earth, not only where the Christian religion is received, but also everywhere else. Both the former and the latter are meant by Israel, Judah, and Jerusalem, where introduction into the land of Canaan is spoken of, as in the following passages: Isaiah 10:21, 22; 11:11, 12; 43:5, 6; 49:10-26; 56:8; 60:4; 61:1, 5, 9; Jeremiah 3:12-20; 16:15, 16; 23:7, 8; 30:2-11; 31:1-14, 23-40; 33:6-18; Ezekiel 16:60-62; 20:40-42; 34:11-16; 37:21-28; 39:21-29; Hosea 3:5; Joel 2:18-27; 2:32; Amos 9:12-15; and elsewhere.

[28] Let the two following passages serve as examples of those by which the Jews persuade themselves, and from which also Christians believe, that the Jewish nation will return to the land of Canaan, and be saved in a special manner.

Thus in Isaiah:

"Then they shall bring all your brethren out of all nations an offering unto Jehovah upon horses, and on chariots, and covered wagons, and upon mules, and upon swift beasts, to Jerusalem, the mountain of my holiness. For as the new heavens and the new earth which I will make, shall stand before me, so shall your seed and your name stand" (66:20, 22).

What these words particularly signify, may be seen above (n. 355:15, 405:26), where they are explained. The new heaven and new earth mean the heaven and the church of those who should be saved by the Lord after the glorification of His Human, as stated above.

[29] In the same prophet:

"I will lift up my hand towards the nations, and set up my standard towards the peoples; and they shall bring thy sons in their bosom, and thy daughters shall be carried upon the shoulder. And kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and their princes thy nursing mothers; they shall bow their faces towards the earth before thee, and lick up the dust of thy feet" (49:22, 23).

The subject throughout the whole of this chapter is the coming of the Lord, and also the salvation of those who receive Him, as is evident from verses 6-9. The salvation of the Jews is therefore not the subject, much less their restoration to the land of Canaan. That the Jewish nation is not meant in the passages here quoted, is also evident from this fact, that it was a very bad nation, and idolatrous in heart, and that they were not introduced into the land of Canaan on account of goodness and uprightness of heart, but because of the promise made to their fathers; and further, that they possessed no truths and goods of the church, but only falsities and evils, and that they were therefore cast out and expelled from the land of Canaan; this is evident from all those passages in the Word, in which that nation is referred to.

[30] What kind of nation that was, and that it was about to become a very bad nation, is described by Moses in his song, in these words:

"I will hide my faces from them, I will see what their posterity shall be; for they are a generation of perverseness, sons in whom is no faithfulness. I said, I would scatter them into the outermost corners, I would make the remembrance of them to cease from man. For they are a nation void of counsel, neither is there any understanding in them. For their vine is of the vine of Sodom, and of the fields of Gomorrah; their grapes are grapes of gall, their clusters are bitter. Their wine is the poison of dragons, and the cruel venom of asps. Is not this laid up in store with me, and sealed up among my treasures? To me belong vengeance, and retribution" (Deuteronomy 32:20-35).

The quality of the church among the Jews is described in these words, namely that it was in abominable falsities from evil. The quality of the church with them is meant by their vine being of the vine of Sodom and of the fields of Gomorrah, a vine signifying the church. The falsities from evil which existed among them, are meant by their grapes being grapes of gall, their clusters bitter, their wine the poison of dragons and the cruel venom of asps; for grapes signify the goods of the church, but grapes of gall and clusters of bitterness signify evils from abominable falsities. Their falsities themselves are meant by their wine being the poison of dragons and cruel venom of asps; for wine (vinum) signifies truth from the Word, but the poison of dragons and the venom of asps signify the monstrous falsity which exists from the falsified truths of the Word. That nation is similarly described in other parts of the Word, as in Deuteronomy, the book of Judges, the Prophets, and in Jeremiah 5:20-31; 7:8-34; 9:2-26; 11:6-17; 13:9-27; 19:1-15; 32:30-35; 44:2-24. That the Jewish nation was idolatrous in heart, is evident from the passages quoted above, and also from many others, as in Jeremiah:

"According to the number of thy cities were thy gods, O Judah; and according to the number of the streets of Jerusalem, have ye set up altars to burn incense unto Baal" (2:28, and 11:13).

[31] That they were not introduced into the land of Canaan because of any goodness and uprightness of heart, but because of the promise made to their fathers, is clear in Moses:

"Not for thy justice, or for the uprightness of thine heart, dost thou go to possess their land; but that he may establish the word which Jehovah sware unto thy fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Know, therefore, that Jehovah, thy God, giveth thee not this good land to possess it for thy justice; for thou art a stiff-necked people" (Deuteronomy 9:5, 6).

[32] That they possessed no truths and goods of the church but falsities and evils, is evident from the Word, where their whoredoms and adulteries are treated of; as in Jeremiah 3:1 to the end; Ezekiel 23:1 to the end. Whoredoms and adulteries, in the Word, mean the falsifications of truth, and the adulterations of good (n. 141, 161); therefore they were called by the Lord an adulterous generation (Matthew 12:39; Mark 8:38); and He also said that they were full of hypocrisy, iniquity, and impurity (Matthew 23:27, 28); and that they had falsified the Word by their traditions (Matthew 15:1-6; Mark 7:1-14). And in plain terms in John:

"Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father it is your will to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own, for he is a liar, and the father of it" (8:44).

A lie means falsity from evil; the devil, the extinction of all good; a murderer, the extinction of all truth. Father means both those who are of hell and those of that generation who had previously lived, even from the earliest times. To speak of his own, is to speak from what is innate.

[33] That thus everything of the church among them was destroyed, and that they were therefore rejected, is evident in Isaiah:

"The Lord Jehovah of hosts doth take away from Jerusalem and from Judah the staff and the stay, the whole staff of bread, and the whole stay of water, the mighty man, and the man of war, the judge, and the prophet, and the diviner, and the old man. For Jerusalem hath stumbled, and Judah is fallen; because their tongue and their doings are against Jehovah, to rebel against the eyes of his glory" (3:1, 2, 8).

By taking away the whole staff of bread, and the whole stay of water, is signified all the good of love, and the truth of faith, from which spiritual life exists; for bread denotes the good of love, and water, the truth of faith, and a staff and a stay denote powers, and thence everything pertaining to spiritual life. To take away the mighty man and the man of war, signifies all resistance against evils and falsities; to remove the judge and the prophet, signifies all the good and truth of doctrine; to remove the diviner and the old man, signifies all intelligence and wisdom. Their tongue and their doings are against Jehovah, to rebel against the eyes of his glory, signifies that everything in their doctrine and their life is altogether contrary to Divine Truth. Tongue denotes doctrine, doings denote the life, and the eyes of the glory of Jehovah, the Divine Truth; to rebel is to be against it.

[34] In the same prophet:

"What could have been done more to my vineyard? Judge between me and my vineyard. What could have been done more to my vineyard that I have not done in it? Wherefore I looked that it should bring forth grapes, but it brought forth wild grapes; and I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard; I will take away the hedge thereof, and it shall be eaten up; and break down the wall thereof, and it shall be trodden down; and I will lay it waste; it shall not be pruned or digged but there shall come up briars and thorns; I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it" (Isaiah 5:3-6).

The vineyard here means the church with the Jewish nation. I looked that it should bring forth grapes, but it brought forth wild grapes, signifies, that instead of the goods of truth pertaining to the church with them there were evils of falsity. By taking away the hedge thereof that it may be eaten up, and breaking down the wall, that it may be trodden down, are signified its destruction as to goods and truths, so that evils and falsities break in, which are the thorns and briars that should come up. I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it, signifies that they are no longer receptive of truth and good, through the Word out of heaven.

[35] The destruction of the church with that nation, is also treated of in Isaiah (7:17-19), and following verses; in Jeremiah (1:15); and in many other places. That nation was also cast out of the land of Canaan because of these things, first the Israelitish nation, and afterwards the Jewish nation; and for the reason that the land of Canaan signifies the heavenly Canaan, which is heaven and the church. The character of each of those nations is fully unfolded in the internal sense in Exodus (32 and 33), where the golden calf, which they made for themselves, is described, and on this account Jehovah threatened to consume them, and raise up from Moses another generation. All these things are explained in the Arcana Coelestia 10393-10512, and n. 10523-10557).

[36] The character of the Jewish nation is also described in the internal sense in Genesis [Genesis 38], where the subject is their origin from a Canaanitish woman, and from whoredom with a daughter-in-law. For there were three stocks of that nation, one from the Canaanitish woman whom Judah took to himself for a wife, and two from Tamar, who was the daughter-in-law of Judah, with whom he lay as with a harlot. These things are also explained in the Arcana Coelestia 4813-4930).

[37] Their character is also portrayed in Judas Iscariot, for he represented the Jewish nation, as to the church. For the twelve disciples of the Lord represented the church of the Lord in general, and each one of them some universal essential of it, Judas Iscariot representing it as it was with the Jews.

[38] In addition to the above, the following particulars concerning this nation may be seen in the Arcana Coelestia. A representative church was instituted with the Jewish nation, but there was no church in that nation itself (n. 4899, 4912, 6304). Therefore, as to the nation itself, there was a representative of a church, but not a real church (n. 4281, 4288, 4311, 4500, 6304, 7048, 9320, 10396, 10526, 10531, 10698). The Israelitish and Jewish nation was not elected, but received, in order to represent a church, because of the obstinacy with which their fathers and Moses persisted in desiring it (n. 4290, 4293, 7051, 7439, 10430, 10535, 10632). Their worship was merely external, void of all internal worship (n. 1200, 3147, 3479, 8871). They knew nothing of the internal things of worship, neither were willing to know (n. 301-303, 3479, 4429, 4433, 4680, 4844, 4847, 10396, 10401, 10407, 10694, 10701, 10707). In what way they regard the internal things of worship, of the church, and of the Word (n. 4865). Their interiors, which pertain to thought and affection, were filthy, full of the love of self and of the world, and of avarice (n. 3480, 9962, 10454-10457, 10462-10466, 10575). Therefore, the interior things of the church were not disclosed to them, for they would have profaned them (n. 2520, 3398, 3479, 4289). The Word was entirely closed to them, and still remains so (n. 3769). They see the Word from without, and not from within (n. 10549-10551). When, therefore, they were in worship their internal was closed (n. 8788, 8806, 9320, 9380, 9377, 9962, 10396, 10401, 10407, 10492, 10498, 10500, 10575, 10629, 10694). Yet that nation, above all others was of such a character that it could be in a holy external, while the internal was closed (n. 4293, 4311, 4903, 9373, 9377, 9380). Their state at such a time (n. 4311). They were preserved on account of the Word in the original tongue and because they could be kept in such a state (n. 3479). Their holy external was miraculously elevated into heaven by the Lord, and thus the interior things of worship, of the church, and of the Word, were there perceived (n. 3480, 4307, 4311, 6304, 8588, 10493 [10499], 10500, 10602). In order to effect this, they were constrained by external means to observe strictly the rituals and statutes in external form (n. 3147, 4281, 10149). Because they could be in a holy external apart from the internal, therefore the holy things of heaven and the church could be represented by them (n. 3479, 3881, 4208, 6306, 6589, 9377, 10430, 10500, 10570). They themselves were not affected by the holy things which they represented (n. 3479); for it matters not what the quality of the person is who represents, because representation regards the thing represented, and not the person representing, (n. 665, 1097, 1361, 3147, 3881, 4208, 4281, 4288, 4292, 4307, 4444, 4500, 6304, 7408, 7439, 8588, 8788, 8806). That that nation was worse than other nations; their character described from the Word of both Testaments (n. 4314, 4316, 4317, 4444, 4503, 4750, 4751, 4815, 4820, 4832, 5057, 5998, 7248, 8819, 9320, 10454-10457, 10462-10466). The tribe of Judah went more astray than the rest of the tribes (n. 4815). How cruelly they treated the nations from delight (n. 5057, 7248, 9320). That nation was idolatrous in heart, and above all others worshipped other gods (n. 3732, 4208, 4444, 4825, 5998, 6877, 7401, 8301, 8871, 8882). Their worship, viewed with respect to that nation itself, was also idolatrous, being external without any internal (n. 4281, 4825, 8871, 8882). They worshipped Jehovah only as to the name (n. 6877, 10559-10561, 10566); and solely on account of the miracles (n. 4299). They think erroneously who believe that the Jews are to be converted at the end of the church, and brought back into the land of Canaan (n. 4847, 7051, 8301). Many passages adduced from the Word concerning this fact, which are to be understood according to the internal sense, thus differently from what appears in the letter (n. 7051). The Word as to the external sense, was changed on account of that nation, but not as to the internal sense (n. 10453, 10461, 10603, 10604). Jehovah appeared to them from Mount Sinai, according to their quality, in a consuming fire, in a thick cloud, and in smoke, as of a furnace (n. 1861, 6832, 8814, 8819, 9434). The Lord appears to every one according to his quality, as a vivifying and recreating fire to those who are in good, and as a consuming fire to those who are in evil (n.934, 1861, 6832, 8814, 8819, 9434, 10551). One origin of this nation was from a Canaanitess, and the two other origins from whoredom with a daughter-in-law (n. 1167, 4818, 4820, [4825], 4874, 4899, 4913). That such origins signified the nature of their conjunction with the church, namely, that it was as with a Canaanitess, and with whoredom with a daughter-in-law (n. 4868, 4874, 4899, 4911, 4913). Concerning their state in another life (n. 939, 940, 5057). Because that nation, although of such a nature and character, represented the church, and because the Word was written amongst that nation, and concerning it, therefore Divine celestial things were signified by their names, as by Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Ephraim, Joseph, and the rest. Judah in the internal sense signifies the Lord as to celestial love, and His celestial kingdom (n. 3654, 3881, 5583, 5603, 5782, 6363). The prophecy of Israel concerning Judah (Genesis 49:8-12), in which the Lord is treated of, explained (n. 6362-6381). The tribe of Judah and Judea, signify the celestial church (no. 3654, 6364). The twelve tribes represented, and thence signified, all things of love and faith in the aggregate (n. 3858, 3926, 4060, 6335); therefore also heaven and the church (n. 6337, 6637, 7836, 7891). Their signification is according to the order in which they are named (n. 3862, 3926, 3939, 4603, and following numbers, also n. 6337, 6640). The twelve tribes were divided into two kingdoms, that the Jews might represent the celestial kingdom, and the Israelites the spiritual kingdom (n. 8770, 9320). The seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, signify the goods and truths of the church (n. 3373, 10445).