3542. 'And on the smooth of his neck' means so that truth which disjoined was not apparent. This is clear from 'smooth' or 'the smooth' having reference to truth, dealt with in 3527, and from the meaning of 'the neck' as that which joins together, dealt with below. Here therefore, since the appearance was 'on the smooth of his neck' it means so that truth which disjoins was not apparent. The implications of all this may be seen from what has been stated and shown above in 3539, to the effect that the good and the truths which flow from the understanding but not at the same time from the will are neither good nor truths, no matter how much they seem to be so to outward appearance. And if the will is bent on evil, good and truths are disjoined and do not join together. But if the will is in some measure desirous of good, they do not in that case disjoin but join together, even though the order in which they stand is the reverse of proper order; for it is by means of such good and truths that a person is regenerated. And because such good and truths standing thus serve first in the regeneration of man it is said that truth which disjoined would not be apparent. But more of this in what follows below.

[2] The reason why 'the neck' means that which joins together is that higher things with man which belong to the head communicate with lower that belong to the body by means of the neck between. Consequently both influx and communication, and therefore conjunction, are meant by that which lies between. This will be seen far more clearly from the correspondences of the Grand Man with the parts of the human body, to be dealt with at the ends of chapters. The same is consequently meant in the Word by 'the neck', as in Isaiah,

His spirit, like an overflowing stream, will divide even at the neck. Isaiah 30:28.

Here 'an overflowing stream' stands for falsity flowing over in this fashion. 'Dividing at the neck' stands for blocking and cutting off the communication and consequent joining together of higher things with lower ones, which are blocked and cut off when spiritual good and truth are not being received.

[3] In Habakkuk,

You crushed the head from the house of the wicked, laying bare the foundation even at the neck. Habakkuk 3:13.

'Crushing the head from the house of the wicked' stands for destroying false assumptions. 'Laying bare the foundation even at the neck' stands for preventing thereby any joining together. In Jeremiah,

Entangled transgressions have risen up above my neck. He has struck at my strength; the Lord has given me into [their] hands; I am unable to rise up again. Lamentations 1:14.

'Entangled transgressions have risen up above my neck' stands for falsities coming up towards interior or rational things.

[4] Because 'the neck' meant that communication and joining together, 'bands around the neck' therefore meant the cutting off and so the destruction of truth, which occurs when spiritual things that are flowing in constantly from the Lord are no longer allowed to pass into the rational part of a person's mind, nor as a consequence into the natural part. It is this cutting off or destruction that is represented by Jeremiah's being told to make bands and bars for himself and put them on his neck; to send them to different peoples and say that they would be serving Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babel; and to say that those who did not place their necks under his yoke would be visited by sword, famine, and pestilence; but those who did bring their necks under it would be left in the land, Jeremiah 27:2-3, 8, 11. 'Placing the neck under the yoke of the king of Babel and serving him' stands for being made desolate as regards truth and vastated as regards good. For 'Babel' means one who lays waste, see 1327 (end); and people undergo vastation to prevent holy things from being profaned, 301-303, 1327, 1328, 2426, 3398, 3399, 3402. And since evil and falsity come to be served once the influx of good and truth has been cut off, 'placing the neck under the yoke' also means serving. In the same prophet,

Jehovah said, I will break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babel from over the neck of all nations within two years. Jeremiah 28:11.

This stands for their being delivered from vastation. In Isaiah,

Shake yourself from the dust, arise, sit, O Jerusalem; loose the bonds from your neck, O captive daughter of Zion. Isaiah 52:2.

'Loosing the bonds from the neck' stands for letting in and receiving good and truth In Micah,

Behold, against this family I am devising this evil from which you will not remove your necks nor go erect, for that will be a time of evil. Micah 2:3.

'Not removing necks from evil' stands for not letting truth in. 'Not going erect' stands for not looking up to higher things, that is, to those of heaven, 248.

3398. 'One of the people might easily have lain with your wife, and you would have brought guilt on us' means that it could have been adulterated and so profaned. This is clear from the meaning of 'lying wish' as being perverted or adulterated; from the meaning of 'one of the people' as one who belongs to the Church, that is to say, to the spiritual Church, dealt with in 2928; from the meaning of 'wife' - who is Rebekah here - as Divine Truth, dealt with above; and from the meaning of 'guilt' as blame for the profanation of truth. From this it is evident that 'one of the people might easily have lain with your wife, and you would have brought guilt on us' means that Divine Truth could easily have been adulterated by someone within the Church and so he would have made himself culpable of the profanation of truth. It has been stated above in 3386 that the reason why Abraham on two occasions spoke of Sarah his wife as his sister - first of all in Egypt, and then, when dwelling with Abimelech, in Gerar - and why Isaac in a similar way spoke of Rebekah his wife as his sister, when he too was dwelling with Abimelech, and why those three occasions are mentioned in the Word, is a very deep arcanum. The actual arcanum contained in these words is evident in the internal sense, and it is this: 'A sister' means rational truth, and 'a wife' Divine Truth; and rational truth is called this - that is, 'a sister' - to prevent Divine Truth, which is 'a wife' (Rebekah in this case) from being adulterated and so perverted.

[2] With regard to the profanation of truth the position is that Divine Truth cannot possibly be profaned except by those who have already acknowledged it. For these people have first of all, through acknowledgement and faith, come to the truth, and so have been introduced into it. If after this they depart from that truth there remains within them a permanent imprint of it, which is recalled together with falsity and evil whenever these are recalled. And being attached to falsity and evil that truth is consequently made profane. People therefore with whom this happens have within them permanently that which is condemning, and so the hell which is their own. Indeed when those in hell draw near a sphere where good and truth are present they instantly experience their own hell, for they run into that which they hate, and as a consequence into torment. People therefore who have profaned truth dwell permanently with that which torments them - the intensity of torment depending on the degree of profanation. This being so, the Lord makes the greatest provision to prevent Divine Good and Truth being made profane. He does so especially with anyone who is such that he cannot help profaning them, by keeping him as far back as possible from acknowledgement of and faith in truth and good. For as has been stated, no one is able to profane them except him who has already acknowledged and come to believe them.

[3] This was the reason why internal truths were not disclosed to the descendants of Jacob - to the Israelites and Jews. Not even the existence of anything internal within man, nor thus any kind of internal worship was openly declared to them, and scarcely anything about life after death, or about the heavenly kingdom of the Lord or the Messiah whom they awaited. The reason why these truths were not declared was, as foreseen, that if they had been disclosed to them, the Jews and Israelites were such as could not help profaning them; for they had no desire for anything other than what was earthly. And because those descendants were such, and are so still, they are still allowed to remain without any belief at all in internal truths. For if at one point they had given their assent to them and then had withdrawn it they would inevitably have ended up in the worst hell of all.

[4] This was also the reason why the Lord did not come into the world and reveal the internal features of the Word until the time when no good at all, not even natural good, remained with them. For at that point they were no longer capable of receiving any truth and acknowledging it internally - for good is what receives - and so were no longer capable of profaning it. It is this state that is meant by the fulness of time, and by the close of the age, and also by the last day, spoken of many times in the Prophets.

[5] It is for the same reason also that at the present time the arcana belonging to the internal sense of the Word are being revealed, for today scarcely any faith exists because charity is non-existent, so that the close of the age is here. When these conditions prevail these arcana can be revealed without any risk of profanation since they are not acknowledged interiorly. It is for the sake of this arcanum that in the Word mention is made of Abraham and of Isaac, of how, when dwelling in Gerar with Abimelech, each called his wife his sister. See in addition what has been stated and shown already on the same subject, to the effect that those who acknowledge are able to profane, but not those who do not acknowledge, still less those who do not even know, 593, 1008, 1010, 1059. How much danger lies in profaning sacred things and the Word, see 571, 582. People inside the Church are able to profane sacred things, but not those outside, 2051. The Lord provides against the occurrence of profanation, 1001, 2426. Worship may become external to prevent the profaning of internal worship, 1327, 1328. People are kept in ignorance to prevent the truths of faith being made profane, 301-303.