419. That the wind should not blow. - That this signifies lest the good should be hurt, and the evil rejected before the day, is evident from the signification of wind as denoting the proceeding Divine, which is the Divine Good united with the Divine Truth; therefore, that "the wind should not blow," signifies that it might flow in softly and gently. "That that wind should not blow upon the earth" signifies that the good should not be injured, and the evil rejected before the day, for the reason that separations of the good from the evil, and castings out of the evil, in the spiritual world, are effected by various degrees of modification and of intensity of the Divine which proceeds from the Lord as the Sun. When this flows in gently, then the good are separated from the evil; and when powerfully, the evil are rejected. The reason for this is that when the Divine from the Lord flows in gently, there is everywhere a state of calm and serenity, in which every one appears such as he is as to the state of his good, for then every one stands forth in the light; wherefore, those who are in good from a spiritual origin are then separated from those who are in good from a natural origin only; for the Lord looks upon those who are in spiritual good, leads them, and thus separates them. Those who are in good from a spiritual origin, are they of whom it is afterwards said, that they are sealed upon their foreheads, for they are spiritual, and angels of heaven; but those who are in good from a natural origin only, are not good, because they are not spiritual, for the good which they seem to have is evil, because it regards itself and the world as an end. They do good in an external form for their own glory, honour, and gain, and not for their neighbour's good; and, therefore, they do good only to gain the respect of men. The merely natural are those who are not sealed, and who are afterwards rejected. But when the Divine from the Lord flows in powerfully, then the goods which the evil have are dissipated, because in themselves they are not goods, but evils, and evils cannot sustain the influx of the Divine; therefore it comes to pass, that their exteriors are closed, and this being the case, their interiors are opened, in which there is nothing but evils and the falsities thence; and so they come into grief, anguish, and torment, and, on account of these, cast themselves down into the hells, where there are similar evils and falsities.

[2] When the influx of the Divine is intensified, which is the case when the evil are to be removed, then lower down in the spiritual world there arises a strong wind, like a storm or tempest; this wind is what is called in the Word the east wind, which we shall also speak of presently. Hence also the casting down of the evil is described in the Word by strong and impetuous winds, by storms and tempests. By the wind of Jehovah is signified the same as by the spirit of Jehovah, for the wind of respiration is meant, which is also called breath; therefore in the Hebrew tongue, and in many other languages, spirit and wind are expressed by the same word. This is the reason why the greater part of men have no other idea of spirit and of spirits, than as of wind, such as the wind of respiration; and so the opinion prevails in the learned world also that spirits and angels are like wind, possessing only the power of thought. This also is the reason why few suffer themselves to be convinced that spirits and angels are men, possessing a body, face, and organs of sensation, like men in this world. The reason why by wind and breath, when used in reference to man, is signified the life of truth, or a life according to the truths or precepts of the Lord, is that respiration, which is the function of the lungs, corresponds to that life, while the heart and its motion correspond to the life of good; for there are two lives, which make one in man, the life of truth, and the life of good. The life of truth is the life of his understanding, but the life of good is the life of his will; for truths reside in the understanding, because they constitute the understanding, but goods reside in the will, because they constitute the will. The same is signified in the Word by the soul and heart, when they are mentioned together.

[3] From these considerations it is evident that the wind and spirit of Jehovah mean the Divine Truth; and the four winds, the Divine Truth united with Divine Good. Since wind means the wind or breath of respiration, which signifies Divine Truth and spiritual life in those who receive it, therefore that wind is also called the breath of the nostrils of Jehovah, the breath of his mouth, and respiration, as is evident from the following passages.

In Ezekiel:

"I beheld, and sinews and flesh came up" upon the dry bones, "and the skin covered them above, but there was no breath in them. Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the spirit, prophesy, son of man, and say to the spirit, Thus saith the Lord Jehovih; Come from the four winds, O spirit, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live" (37:8, 9).

It was shewn in the preceding article, that dry bones here denote those in whom there is no spiritual life, or in whom there is not any life by means of the Divine Truth. The inbreathing of it by the Lord, is signified by, "Prophesy unto the spirit, and say to the spirit, Come from the four winds, O spirit, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live." It is evident that by the spirit here named is meant the spirit of respiration, for there were nerves, flesh, and skin, but as yet there was no respiration; therefore it is said, "Say unto the spirit, Breathe upon these." Hence it is evident that spirit or wind signifies spiritual life. That common respiration is not meant, is plain from the fact that it is said, that those dry bones were the house of Israel, that is, that it was destitute of spiritual life; and from its being afterwards said of them, "I will put my spirit in you, that ye may live, and I will place you in your own land" (Ezekiel 37:14); which signifies that they were to be regenerated in order that a church might be formed from them. Regeneration is effected by a life according to Divine Truth, from which there is spiritual life; and to be placed in their own land, signifies to become a church, the land of Canaan signifying the church.

[4] In Moses:

Jehovah "breathed into his nostrils the breath of lives, and man became a living soul" (Genesis 2:7).

Here also, in the sense of the letter, is meant the wind of respiration, since it is said he breathed into his nostrils; but that spiritual life is meant, which is the life of intelligence and wisdom by means of Divine Truth, is evident from its being said that He breathed the breath of lives, and that man thus became a living soul. The breath of lives and living soul denote spiritual life; for, without this soul man is called dead, although he lives so far as the body and the senses are concerned. It is therefore plain that soul, spirit, and wind, in the Word, mean spiritual life.

[5] In John:

Jesus said to the disciples, "Peace be unto you; as the Father hath sent me, even so send I you. And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Spirit" (20:21, 22).

By the Lord's breathing and saying to them, "Receive ye the Holy Spirit," is signified the same as by Jehovah breathing into Adam's nostrils the breath of lives, which means spiritual life; for the Holy Spirit signifies Divine Truth proceeding from the Lord, from which arises spiritual life. That they should teach this from the Lord, is signified by these words: "As the Father hath sent me, even so send I you." For the Lord when in the world was the Divine Truth itself, which He taught from His Divine Good which was in Him from conception. This Divine is what the Lord here and in other places calls the Father; and because, when He went out of the world, He united Divine Truth with Divine Good, in order that they might be one in Himself, and as the Divine Truth then proceeded from Him, He therefore said, "As the Father hath sent me, even so send I you." That the wind of respiration signifies spiritual life, and this from correspondence, may be seen in Arcana Coelestia 3883-3896). All who are in the spiritual world also are known as to their quality from their respiration alone. Those who are in the life of the respiration of heaven, are amongst the angels; but those who are not in that respiration, cannot breathe if they come into heaven, and so they suffer pain as though from suffocation. Concerning this fact, see Arcana Coelestia 1119, 3887, 3889, 3892, 3893). It is in agreement with this correspondence that the term inspiration is used, that the prophets are said to be inspired, and the Word divinely inspired.

[6] From these observations the signification of these words of the Lord in John is evident:

"Except a man be born of water and of the spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. Ye must be born again. The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the voice thereof, but knowest not whence it cometh, and whither it goeth; so is every one that is born of the spirit" (John 3:5, 7, 8).

To be born again means to be regenerated; and because man is regenerated by a life according to Divine Truth, and all Divine Truth by which he is regenerated proceeds from the Lord, and flows into man without his knowledge, it is therefore said, "The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the voice thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh or whither it goeth." Thus is described the life of the spirit of man, which he has by regeneration; wind denoting the Divine Truth, by which that life is acquired. Man during his abode in the world, does not at all know how this flows in from the Lord, for he then thinks from his natural man, and has a faint perception only of anything which flows from the spiritual man into the natural, therefore this is what is meant by "Thou hearest the voice thereof, but knowest not whence it cometh, and whither it goeth." The water of which man is born signifies truth from the Word, and the spirit a life according to it.

[7] That water signifies truth, may be seen above (n. 71).

In Lamentations:

"The breath of our nostrils, the anointed of Jehovah, was taken in their pits, of whom we said, Under his shadow we shall live among the nations" (4:20).

By the anointed of Jehovah is here meant the Lord as the Divine Truth, for the anointed of Jehovah signifies the same as king. That a king in the highest sense signifies the Lord as to Divine Truth, may be seen above (n. 31), and that the anointed of Jehovah signifies the same, see above (n. 375). Hence it is said, "the breath of our nostrils, of whom we said, Under his shadow we shall live;" for breath and wind of the nostrils, in the highest sense, signify the Divine Truth, as said above. That the Divine Truth perished by means of the falsities of evil, is signified by being taken in their pits, pits denoting the falsities of evil.

[8] Again, in Lamentations:

"Thou hast heard my voice," Jehovah "hide not thine ear at my breathing, at my cry" (3:56).

"To hide thine ear at my breathing, at my cry," signifies, in regard to worship, confession, and prayers, which are from truths and goods, for all worship, confession, and prayer must be from both truths and goods, in order to be heard. If from truths alone, they are not heard, because there is no life in them, for the life of truth is from good. Breathing is there spoken of truths, and cry, of goods. That cry is spoken of goods will be seen elsewhere.

[9] Again, in Moses:

"All in whose nostrils was the breath of the spirit of lives, of all that was upon the dry land, died" (Genesis 7:22).

Every one can see that these words in the sense of the letter mean, that every thing upon the earth was destroyed by the flood, thus all men, except Noah and his sons; but what they signify in the spiritual sense, may be seen in the Arcana Coelestia 805, 806), where it is shewn that by the breath of the spirit of lives in the nostrils is meant spiritual life, such as the men of the Most Ancient Church had; for the flood signifies the end of that church and a last judgment, which took place at the time when everything of the church had become extinct.

So in David:

"They have ears, but they hear not; yea, there is no breath in their mouth" (Psalm 135:17).

No breath in their mouth, signifies that there was no truth in their thought, for mouth signifies thought.

[10] Again, in Jeremiah:

"And the wild asses breathed out the wind like whales; their eyes are consumed because there is no herb" (14:5, 6).

To breathe out the wind like whales, signifies, that no truth was granted them; and "because there is no herb," denotes that there was no truth in the church. Since the evil are cast down by a more vehement influx of Divine Truth and Good, proceeding from the Lord as the Sun, as stated above, therefore, also, the casting down of those who are in the falsities of evil is described by the breath of the nostrils of Jehovah; as in Isaiah:

"For Tophet is prepared of old; the pile thereof is fire and much wood; the breath of Jehovah like a stream of brimstone doth kindle them" (30:33).

In David:

"The channels of waters were seen, and the foundations of the world were laid bare at the rebuke of Jehovah, at the blast of the breath of thy nostrils" (Psalm 18:15).

In Moses:

"And with the blast of thy nostrils the waters were heaped up together. Thou didst blow with thy wind, the sea covered them" (Exodus 15:8, 10).

And in Job:

"They that plough iniquity, by the blast of God they perish, and by the breath of his nostrils are they consumed" (Job 4:8, 9).

By the blast, breath, and breathing of the nostrils of Jehovah, is meant the proceeding Divine, by which the evil are dispersed and cast down, when it flows in strongly and with intensity. But this influx will be spoken of in what follows, where storms, tempests, and the east wind, are treated of.

[11] That the wind of the earth signifies the proceeding Divine, arises also from correspondence with the winds in the spiritual world. For winds also exist in the spiritual world, arising from the direction of the influx of the Divine, and they extend to the lower parts of the earth there. In the heavens rarely any but gentle winds are perceived; but they are frequently perceived with those who dwell below upon the lands (terroe), for they increase in proportion to descent. Their directions are from the quarters into which the Divine flows, especially from the north; and because the winds there have a spiritual origin, they therefore also signify spiritual things, in general the Divine Truth, from which they exist. Thus, in David:

Jehovah "layeth his chambers in the waters; he maketh the clouds his chariot; he walketh upon the wings of the wind; he maketh his angels winds; his ministers a flaming fire" (Psalm 104:3, 4).

By waters, clouds, and wings of the wind, is signified Divine Truth in ultimates, which is the truth of the sense of the letter of the Word; because this is in ultimates it is said, "He layeth his chambers in the waters; he maketh the clouds his chariot; he walketh upon the wings of the wind;" waters denoting truth in ultimates, and similarly clouds and wings of the wind; chariot signifies truth of doctrine. "He maketh his angels winds, his ministers a flaming fire," signifies that He makes them recipients of Divine Truth and Divine Good. By angels are meant those who are in the spiritual kingdom of the Lord, and because they are recipients of Divine Truth, it is said, He maketh them winds. By ministers are meant those who are in the celestial kingdom of the Lord, and because they are recipients of the Divine Good, it is said, He maketh them a flaming fire, a flaming fire denoting the good of love and thence truth. That those who are in the spiritual kingdom of the Lord are recipients of the Divine truth, and those who are in the celestial kingdom recipients of the Divine Good, may be seen in the Heaven and Hell 20-28). That angels are called angels from the reception of Divine Truth, may be seen above (n. 130:2, 412:7), and that ministers are called ministers from the reception of Divine Good, may also be seen above (n. 155); and that fire signifies the good of love (n. 68).

[12] Again, in David:

Jehovah "Bowed the heavens, and came down; and thick darkness was under his feet. And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly; yea, he was borne upon the wings of the wind" (Psalm 18:9, 10).

By Jehovah bowing to the heavens and coming down, is signified the visitation, which precedes a last judgment; by the thick darkness under His feet, are signified falsities of evil in the lower parts; by His riding upon a cherub, His flying, and being carried upon the wings of the wind is signified Omnipresence with the Divine, and the wings of the wind denote Divine Truth in ultimates, as above.

[13] Again, in Jeremiah:

"He hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the world by his wisdom, and hath stretched out the heavens by his understanding. When he uttereth his voice, there is a multitude of waters in the heavens, and he causeth the vapours to ascend from the end of the earth; he maketh lightnings for the rain, and bringeth forth the wind out of his treasuries" (10:12, 13; 51:15, 16).

And again, in David:

"He causeth the vapours to ascend from the ends of the earth; he maketh lightnings for the rain; he bringeth the wind out of his treasuries" (Psalm 135:7).

These things in the spiritual sense, describe the reformation of man, and the establishment of the church. From this reformation and this establishment the Lord is called the Maker of the earth, and elsewhere the Former and Creator; earth denoting the church. The Divine Good by means of which reformation is effected, is signified by His establishing the world by His wisdom; world denotes the church, and has reference to good. The Divine Truth by means of which this is also effected, is signified by, the voice which he uttereth, a multitude of waters in the heavens. The voice which he uttereth, signifies the influx of the Divine Truth; the multitude of waters in the heavens, signifies reception, waters denoting truths. Ultimate truths, which are knowledges from the sense of the letter of the Word, are signified by vapours from the end of the earth; spiritual things thence are signified by lightnings for the rain, lightnings having reference to the light of heaven, and rain to influx; reformation thence by means of Divine Truth from the Lord, is signified by, "He bringeth forth the wind out of his treasuries." All these things are in this way understood in the heavens.

[14] Again, in David:

"He casteth forth his hail like morsels: who can stand before his cold? He sendeth out his Word, and melteth them: he causeth his wind to blow, and the waters flow. He declareth his Word unto Jacob, his statutes and his judgments unto Israel" (Psalm 147:17-19).

By these words also, reformation is described, but in regard to the natural man; the scientifics therein, and the knowledges which a man possesses before reformation are signified by, "Hail like morsels; who can stand before his cold?" For man previous to reformation is altogether cold, and that cold is also distinctly felt when the Divine flows in out of heaven; and because such cold is dissipated when the Divine Good and the Divine Truth are received, that is when reformation takes place, it is therefore said, "He sendeth out his Word, and melteth them; he causeth his wind to blow, and the waters flow." By the Word is signified the Divine Good united with the Divine Truth; by the wind is signified Divine Truth, and by the waters flowing, the reception of truth; and because this is the signification of the above words, it is therefore added, "He declareth his Word unto Jacob, his statutes and his judgments unto Israel." Jacob and Israel signify the church, the former, the church which is in good, the latter, the church which is in truths. Statutes and judgments denote external and internal truths from good.

[15] So again:

"Praise Jehovah; fire, and hail; snow, and vapour; stormy wind fulfilling his Word" (Psalm 148:7, 8).

It is evident that fire and hail, snow and vapour, and wind signify things different from these; for what purpose could be served in the Divine Word by saying that they should praise Jehovah? But by fire and hail, snow and vapours, are signified the delights of the loves of the natural man, and his scientifics and knowledges; for these, before man is reformed and made spiritual, are fire, and hail, and snow and vapour; and the sphere of their life, when it flows forth from them causes similar things to appear in the spiritual world. To worship the Lord from those things, is signified by their praising Jehovah, for to praise is to worship. But by the stormy wind is signified the Divine Truth as to reception; wherefore it is also said, stormy wind fulfilling his Word. To fulfil His Word signifies to receive in the life the things pertaining to doctrine.

[16] Because everything in the Word has also an opposite sense, so also has wind, and in that sense it signifies falsity, as in the following passages.

In Isaiah:

"Behold they are all iniquity, their works are naught; their molten images are wind and emptiness" (41:29).

Wind and emptiness denote the falsities of evil, and the evils of falsity; wind denotes the falsities of evil, and emptiness, the evils of falsity; for where there is emptiness and vacuity, or, in other words, where there is neither good nor truth, there are evil and falsity. That falsities are there signified by wind is plain, from the fact that it is said, "They are all iniquity, their works are naught"; and also because it is said, "their molten images are wind and emptiness"; for molten images signify the things which man brings forth from his own intelligence, all of which are evils and falsities.

In Jeremiah:

"The prophets shall become wind, and the Word is not in them" (5:13).

Prophets signify those who teach truths, and in the abstract, truths of doctrine, but in this case falsities of doctrine which are signified by wind; therefore it is also said, "the Word is not in them," the Word signifying the Divine Truth.

[17] Again:

"I will scatter them as the stubble that passeth away unto the wind of the desert" (13:24).

The wind of the desert signifies where there is no truth, consequently, where there is only falsity; for desert in the Word signifies where there is no good, because there is no truth.

Again in the same prophet:

"The wind shall feed all thy shepherds, and thy lovers shall go into captivity" (22:22).

Shepherds in the Word signify those who teach the good of life and lead to it, this being accomplished by means of truths, but in this case, by shepherds are meant those who do not teach the good of life, still less lead to it, because they are in falsities; this is meant by, "the wind shall feed all thy shepherds," wind denoting the falsity which they seize upon and love. The lovers who shall go into captivity signify the delights of the love of self and the love of the world, and therefore the delights of the evil; lovers denote those delights, and captivity denotes detention in the hells.

[18] Again in Hosea:

"Ephraim feedeth on wind, and followeth after the east wind; he daily multiplieth lies and desolation; and they make a covenant with the Assyrian, and oil is carried into Egypt" (12:1).

Ephraim signifies the Intellectual of the church; the Assyrian, reasoning; and Egypt, the Scientific; therefore by, "Ephraim feedeth on wind, and followeth after the east wind," is signified that those in the church who are intelligent take up with falsities by means of which truths are completely driven out, for wind denotes what is false, and the east wind falsity withering and dissipating truths. Because of this signification of wind and the east wind, it is also said, "he daily multiplieth lies and desolation," a lie denoting falsity, and desolation the dissipation of truth. By their making a covenant with the Assyrian, and by oil being carried into Egypt, is signified, that by reasoning from scientifics falsely applied, they pervert the truths and goods of the church. To make a covenant with the Assyrian, signifies to reason from falsities and to destroy truths, and to carry oil into Egypt, signifies to destroy the good of the church by means of scientifics. For he who is in principles of falsity applies to them the scientifics which he has received from childhood, for his understanding sees nothing else, since the understanding is formed from either truths or falsities; if from truths, then a man sees truths, if from falsities, then he sees falsities, and these he sees in the natural man, in whose memory scientifics reside, from which he selects such as favour his ideas, and those which do not favour them are either perverted or rejected.

[19] Again, in the same prophet:

"Ephraim is joined to idols. Their wine is gone; they have committed whoredom continually; they have loved; they have added shame to her shield. The wind hath bound her up in its wings, and they shall be ashamed because of their sacrifices" (Hosea 4:17-19).

Ephraim signifies the church in regard to the understanding of truth; but in the present case, the understanding of that which is not true but false, falsities of the church being meant by idols; the signification of "Ephraim is joined to idols," is therefore evident. By the wind in its wings is signified reasoning from fallacies, from which falsities arise. The signification of the rest is explained above (n. 283:16 and 376:38). The same is signified in Zechariah by the wind in the wings (5:9).

So in Jeremiah:

"And their camels shall be a booty, and the multitude of their cattle a spoil; and I will scatter them unto every wind, the cut off of the corner" (49:32).

By dispersing them into every wind is signified into every kind of falsity and evil, truths and goods having been dissipated. The rest of the prophecy is explained above (n. 417:7).

[20] Again, in Ezekiel:

"And a third part thou shalt scatter to the wind, and I will draw out a sword after them" (5:2, 12).

This is said concerning the hair of the head and of the beard, which the prophet was commanded to shave with a razor; and hair signifies the ultimate of truth in the church, for the entire heaven and the entire church in the sight of the Lord are as one man, and therefore all things of heaven and the church correspond to all things of man, both those without and those within him. See Heaven and Hell 87-102). The hair of the head and the hair of the beard being the ultimates of man, correspond to the ultimates of truth and good. The ultimates of truth and good are of such a quality as the ultimate truths of the sense of the letter of the Word. That these ultimates were perverted, falsified, and adulterated by the Jews, is signified by what is stated here concerning the hair of the head and of the beard of the prophet. A third part of the hair being scattered into every wind signifies the dissipation of all truth; when this is the case mere falsities are seized upon, and it is therefore said, "I will draw out a sword after them," a sword signifying the destruction of truth by falsity. See above (n. 131). Without the knowledge of this signification of the hair, who could understand what is involved in the command given to the prophet, that he should shave off the hair of his head and of his beard, burn a third part of it with fire in the midst of the city, take a third part and smite about it with a sword, and scatter a third part into every wind, and draw out a sword after them?

[21] That the falsification of truth by the Jews is signified by these things is very evident from what follows in the same chapter, where, among other things, it is said, "This is Jerusalem. And she hath changed my judgments into wickedness more than the nations, and my statutes more than the countries that are round about her" (Ezekiel 5:5, 6).

In the same:

"And I will scatter to every wind all his hands; and I will draw out the sword after them" (Ezekiel 12:14).

These words have a similar meaning.

In Matthew:

"And the rain descended, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not; for it was founded upon a rock" (Matthew 7:25).

Here, by the rain descending, and the winds blowing, are signified temptations, and consequently also falsities rushing in; for as spiritual temptations are nothing else but infestations of the mind by falsities and evils, therefore winds also here signify falsities. The rest is explained above (n. 411).

[22] It has been before stated, that in the spiritual world, just as in the natural world, strong winds and storms exist; but the storms in the spiritual world exist from the influx of the Divine into the lower parts where those are who are in evils and falsities. That influx, as it descends out of the heavens towards the lands (terroe), which are below, becomes denser and has the appearance of clouds which with the evil are dense and opaque, according to the degree and quality of their evil. These clouds are appearances of falsity from evil, and arise from the spheres of their life, for every angel and every spirit is encompassed by the sphere of his life. When the Divine goes forth powerfully from the Lord as the Sun, and flows into these dense and opaque clouds, a storm arises which is seen by the spirits there just as storms are seen by men on the earth. I was sometimes permitted to have experience of these storms, and also of the east wind, by which the evil were dispersed and cast into the hells, at the time when the Last Judgment was taking place. It is clear from these considerations what storms, tempests, and impetuous winds signify in the following passages.

In Isaiah:

"Thou shalt scatter them, and the wind shall carry them away, and the whirlwind shall disperse them" (Isaiah 41:16).

And in Jeremiah:

"Behold, the tempest of Jehovah, his fury has gone forth, even a grievous whirlwind; it shall burst upon the head of the wicked" (Jeremiah 23:19; 30:23).

And in David:

"I will hasten my escape from the stormy wind and tempest" (Psalm 55:8).

Again:

"O my God, pursue them with thy tempest, and terrify them with thy storm" (Psalm 83:13, 15).

And in Ezekiel:

"I will make the storm-winds to burst through in my fury; and there shall be an overflowing shower, in mine anger, for a consummation" (Ezekiel 13:13).

And in Jeremiah:

"Evil shall go forth from nation to nation, and a great tempest shall be raised up from the sides of the earth" (Jeremiah 25:32).

Again in Isaiah:

"Thou shalt be visited by Jehovah of hosts with storm and tempest, and the flame of devouring fire" (Isaiah 29:6).

And in Amos:

"I will kindle a fire in the wall of Rahab, and it shall devour the palaces thereof, with a tempest in the day of the storm" (Amos 1:14).

And in Zechariah:

"The Lord Jehovih shall blow the trumpet, and shall go with the tempests of the south" (Zechariah 9:14).

In Nahum:

"Jehovah hath his way in the tempest and in the storm" (Nahum 1:3).

In David:

"Upon the wicked, the wind of the tempests, the portion of the cup of the wicked" (Psalm 11:6).

Again:

"God shall come and shall not keep silence; and it shall be very tempestuous round about him" (Psalm 50:3).

And in Hosea:

"They sow the wind, and they shall reap the tempest" (Hosea 8:7).

In these passages storms and tempests signify the dispersion of falsities and evils, because those who are in falsities of evil are cast down into hell by a stormy wind.

[23] In David:

"They who go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters. For he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, and lifteth up the waves thereof. He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still" (Psalm 107:23, 25, 29).

These things refer to temptations and liberation from them; the stormy wind, and the lifting up of the waves of the sea signify temptations, because spiritual temptations are caused by falsities rushing into the thoughts, from which arise pains of conscience and grief of mind and soul, and these are signified by "He raiseth the stormy wind and lifteth up the waves thereof." Liberation from them is signified by, "He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still."

[24] The same is signified by these words in Mark:

"And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full. And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow; and they awoke him, and say unto him, Carest thou not that we perish? And he awoke, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm" (Mark 4:37-39).

Also in Luke:

"As they sailed he fell asleep; and there came down a storm of wind on the lake, and they were filled with water and were in jeopardy. And they came to him and awoke him, saying Master, Master, we perish. Then he awoke and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water; and they ceased, and there was a calm" (Luke 8:23, 24).

This, like all the miracles of the Lord, contains arcana of heaven, and interior things of the church. Divine miracles differ from those that are not divine in this, that Divine miracles also signify Divine things, because the Divine is in them, but miracles not divine have no signification, because there is nothing of the Divine in them. And, moreover, in the description of the Divine miracles in the Word, and in every detail of it, there is a spiritual sense. The above miracle refers to spiritual temptations. The great storm of wind that caused the waves to beat into the ship, so that it was full, signifies those temptations; and deliverance from these is signified by Jesus awakening when they were in great fear, rebuking the wind, and saying to the sea, "Peace, be still;" and by the ceasing of the wind, and the great calm. Every word contains a spiritual sense. We shall not here however explain it in detail, but merely say that a whirlwind and a tempest signify temptations, which are irruptions of falsities, or inundations of the mind by falsities. This is also evident from the fact that the wind and the waves were rebuked, and from the Lord's words to the sea, "Peace, be still," as being said to those things, or to those who induce temptations.

[25] Moreover the winds in the spiritual world, appear to arise from different quarters, some from the south, some from the north, and some from the east. Those which come from the south disperse truths with those who are in falsities, and those which come from the east disperse goods with those who are in evils. The reason why winds disperse these, is, that winds exist from a strong and powerful influx of the Divine through the heavens into the lower parts, [of the world of spirits], and where the influx reaches, it fills truths and goods, that is the minds and souls of those who are in truths and goods, with the Divine. Therefore those whose minds and souls are merely falsities and evils as to the interiors, and truths mingled with falsities, and goods with evils as to the exteriors, cannot sustain such influx from the Divine, and consequently they betake themselves to their own falsities and evils which they actually love, and reject the truths and goods which they love merely for the sake of themselves and of appearances.

[26] The effect produced by the wind coming from the east, called the east wind, is evident from what we have stated, for it disperses all the goods and truths of which the evil had made an external display before the world, and talked about for the sake of appearance, therefore withering and drying up are ascribed to this wind. "Withered" signifies a state in which there is no good, and "dried up" a state in which there is no truth. This is evident from those passages of the Word, where this wind is mentioned.

Thus, in Ezekiel:

Behold the planted vine. "Shall it not utterly wither, when the east wind toucheth it?" (Ezekiel 17:10).

Again, in the same:

The vine "was plucked up in fury, she was cast down to the ground, and the east wind dried up her fruit; the rods of her strength were broken and withered" (Ezekiel 19:12).

And in Hosea:

Ephraim, "fruitful among his brethren, an east wind shall come, the wind of Jehovah shall come up from the wilderness, and his spring shall become dry, and his fountain shall be dried up; it shall spoil the treasure of every vessel of desire" (Hosea 13:15).

And in Jonah:

"And it came to pass when the sun arose, that God prepared a withering east wind" (Jonah 4:8).

[27] That the east wind also destroys everything where the evil are, their lands (terroe), their dwellings, and their treasures, may be seen in the small work on The Last Judgment 61). The reason why this destruction takes place is that lands, dwellings, and treasures, in the spiritual world, are correspondences, therefore, when these perish, the things which correspond perish also, and consequently when the land where the evil dwell in that world is destroyed, the face of a new land appears for the good. Because the east wind in the spiritual world has such power, therefore, on account of its correspondence an east wind arose which divided the Sea Suph (Red Sea) (Exodus 14:21); which brought the locust (Exodus 10:13). It is called a rough wind (Isaiah 27:8) breaking the ships of Tarshish (Psalm 48:7); breaking in the heart of the seas (Ezekiel 27:26); and scattering enemies (Jeremiah 18:17).

412. And hide us from the face of him that sitteth upon the throne, and from the anger of the Lamb. That this signifies, lest they should suffer direful things from the influx of Divine good united to the Divine truth proceeding from the Lord, is plain from the signification of, "hide us," when it is said by those in whom the goods and truths of the church are destroyed by evils of life and the falsities thence, as denoting, lest they should suffer direful things, concerning which we shall speak presently; from the signification of, "from the face of Him that sitteth upon the throne," as denoting the Lord as to Divine good in heaven; that face, when said of the Lord, denotes the Divine love, from which the Divine good in heaven is, will be plain from the passages in the Word to be adduced presently, and that, "Him that sitteth upon the throne" denotes the Lord as to Divine good in heaven, may be seen above (n. 297, 343); and from the signification of, "the anger of the Lamb," as denoting the casting into hell by the influx of Divine truth proceeding from the Lord. That the anger of Jehovah or the Lord signifies this, is evident from the passages in the Word to be adduced in the following article. Moreover, that the Lord alone is meant by Him that sitteth upon the throne, and by the Lamb; the Lord as to Divine good by Him that sitteth upon the throne, and the Lord as to Divine truth by the Lamb, may be seen above (n. 297, 343). That the anger of the Lamb is mentioned, is not that the Lord, who is meant by Him that sitteth on the throne and by the Lamb, is angry, for He is the Divine good itself, and this cannot be angry, for anger can have no place in essential good; but it is thus said in the sense of the letter of the Word for reasons which we shall explain elsewhere; here it shall only be shown that the face of Jehovah or of the Lord signifies the Divine love, and thence the Divine good in heaven and in the church; and, in the opposite sense, by setting His face against any one, and by concealing and hiding His face, is meant the same as by wrath and anger; also, that by the face, when said of man, are meant the interiors of his mind, and affection in both senses.

[2] That the face, when said of Jehovah or the Lord, signifies the Divine love, and thence the Divine good, is plain from the following passages.

In David:

"Make thy faces to shine upon thy servant; save me for thy mercy's sake" (Psalms 31:16).

To make the faces shine, signifies to enlighten Divine truth from Divine love; that this is signified by, to make the faces shine, is because the Divine truth, which proceeds from the Lord as a Sun in the angelic heaven, communicates all the light there, and also enlightens the minds of the angels, and fills them with wisdom; therefore the faces of the Lord, in the proper sense, is the Sun of the angelic heaven; for the Lord appears to the angels of the interior heavens as a Sun, and this from His Divine love, for love in the heavens, when it is presented before the eyes, appears as fire, but the Divine love, as a Sun; from that Sun proceed both heat and light, and that heat is the Divine good, and that light is the Divine truth. From these things it is evident that by making Thy faces shine upon Thy servant, is signified to enlighten the Divine truth from the Divine good; therefore also it is added, "save me for thy mercy's sake"; mercy being of the Divine good. (But concerning the sun in the angelic heaven, and concerning the heat and light thence, see the work concerning Heaven and Hell - concerning the Sun there, n.116-125, and concerning the heat and light thence, n. 126-140.)

[3] In the same:

"Many say, Who will shew us good? lift up upon us the light of thy faces, O Jehovah" (Psalms 4:6).

In the same:

"They shall walk, O Jehovah, in the light of thy faces" (Psalms 89:15).

In the same:

"Bring us back, O God, and cause thy faces to shine, that we may be saved" (Psalms 80:3, 7, 19).

And in the same:

"God be merciful unto us, and bless us; and cause his faces to shine upon us" (Psalms 67:1).

By the light of the faces of Jehovah or of the Lord, is meant the Divine truth from the Divine love, as said above, and thence intelligence and wisdom, for from the Divine truth, or the Divine light in the heavens, are all the intelligence and wisdom, both of angels and men; hence by making Thy faces to shine upon us, by lifting up upon us the light of Thy faces, and by causing Thy faces to shine, is signified to enlighten in Divine, truth, and to gift with intelligence and wisdom.

[4] The same is signified in the blessing of the sons of Israel, in Moses:

"Jehovah bless thee, and keep thee; Jehovah make his faces shine upon thee, and be merciful unto thee; Jehovah lift up his faces upon thee, and give thee peace" (Num. 6:24-26).

By, making His faces shine, and being merciful, is signified to enlighten in Divine truth, and to impart intelligence and wisdom; and by lifting up His faces, and giving peace is signified to fill with Divine good, and to gift with love. Both are necessary to make man wise; for all those who are in the spiritual world are enlightened by the light which [proceeds] from the Lord as a Sun, but still they alone become intelligent and wise, who are at the same time in love, because the good of love receives truth, for they are conjoined since they mutually agree with and love each other. They only, therefore, see the Sun in heaven who are in love; others [see] only the light. To be merciful, which is said of the enlightenment of the faces, is also said of truth in the Word, and peace, which is said of the lifting up of the faces, is said of good.

[5] Because the Lord's Divine love appears as a Sun in heaven, and thence proceeds the light there, therefore:

"When the Lord was transfigured before Peter, James, and John, his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment became as the light" (Matthew 17:1, 2).

And also when He appeared to John:

His countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength (Apoc. 1:16).

By His raiment, which became as the light, is signified Divine truth; for raiment in the Word signifies truth, and this because all the angels are clothed by the Lord according to their reception of Divine truth; their garments also are from the light of heaven, consequently shining, and bright, and the light of heaven, as was said, is Divine truth. Hence it is plain why the Lord's raiment when He was transfigured became as the light (but concerning these things more may be seen in the work concerning Heaven and Hell 177-182; also above, n. 64, 195, 271, 395).

[6] In Matthew:

Jesus said of the boy whom he had placed in the midst of his disciples, "Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; I say unto you, That their angels in the heavens do always behold the face of my Father who is in the heavens" (18:10).

Here it is said that their angels behold, because there are spirits and angels with every man, and according to the quality of the man, such are the spirits and angels. With infant boys there are angels from the inmost heaven, who see the Lord as a Sun; for they are in love to Him, and in innocence; this is meant in a proximate sense by, their angels behold the face of His Father. By the face of the Father is meant the Divine love which was in the Lord, consequently, the essential Divine, which is Jehovah, for the Father was in Him, and He in the Father, and they were one, as He Himself teaches. But these same words in the purely spiritual sense signify, that the Lord, as to His Divine good, is in the good of innocence, for this is signified by an infant boy in the spiritual sense, and by the face of the Father [is signified] the Lord's Divine good. The same thing is taught in the Apocalypse concerning the Lord's servants, by whom are meant those who are in Divine truths, from their being in the good of love and charity:

"The throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in the New Jerusalem; and his servants shall serve him; and they shall see his face" (22:3, 4).

But concerning these words see the explanation in the following chapters.

[7] In Isaiah:

"In all their straitness he was straitened, and the angel of his faces delivered them; for his love and his pity he redeemed them; and he took them, and carried them all the days of eternity" (63:9).

The Lord is here treated of, who is called the angel of the faces of Jehovah from the Divine truth which is from His Divine love; for by an angel in the Word is signified Divine truth, whence angels are also called gods (as may be seen above, n. 130, 200, 302); and by the faces of Jehovah is meant the Divine love which is in the Lord, whence it is also said, "for his love and his pity he redeemed them; and he took them, and carried them all the days of eternity," these things being of the Divine love. The Lord, as to His Human, was the Divine truth, from which He fought with the hells, and by which He subjugated them. Hence it is that He is called an angel, that is as to His Divine Human. The Lord is evidently treated of in that chapter, and His combats with the hells, and the subjugation of them.

[8] In David:

"Thou hidest them in the secret of thy faces from the loftiness of man; thou concealest them in thy pavilion from the strife of tongues" (Psalms 31:20).

To hide them in the secret of Thy faces, denotes, in the Divine good not appearing before others; and to conceal in Thy pavilion, denotes [to be kept] in the Divine truth. The loftiness of man, and the strife of tongues, denote the evils of falsity, and the falsities of evil; for loftiness is said of evils because they are of self-love; and man signifies truth and falsity; the strife of tongues denotes the falsity of evil. (What the evil of falsity and the falsity of evil are, may be seen in the Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 21.)

[9] In the same:

"Thou hast set our iniquities before thee, our secret in the light of thy faces" (Psalms 90:8).

"The light of thy faces," denotes the light of heaven from the Lord as the Sun there. Because this light is the very Divine truth from which are all intelligence and wisdom, therefore the quality of whatever comes into this light is manifested as in clear day; hence it is, that when the evil come into this light, they appear entirely according to their quality, deformed and monstrous according to the evils concealed in them. From these things it is evident what is meant by, "Thou hast set our iniquities before thee, and our secret in the light of thy faces."

[10] In Jeremiah:

"Proclaim these words toward the north, and say, Return, thou backsliding Israel, [and] I will not cause my faces to fall upon you; for I am merciful" (3:12).

By my faces here also is signified the Divine love, or every good which is of love; and by not causing the faces to fall is signified not to let fall and to cease, for when the countenance falls, it then ceases to regard; hence it is evident what is signified by, "I will not cause my faces to fall upon you." Therefore also it is said, "for I am merciful," mercy being the Divine love towards the wretched. By, proclaim towards the north, is signified, to those who are in falsities and thence in evils; therefore it is also said, return, O backsliding Israel. The reason why the north signifies those is, because those who are in falsities and thence in evils, dwell in the northern quarter in the spiritual world. (Concerning falsities and the evils thence, see the Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 21.) The reason why the bread upon the table in the tabernacle was called the bread of faces, and the table itself the table of faces (Exodus 25:30; Num. 4:7), was, because by bread there, just as by the faces of Jehovah, was signified the Divine good of the Divine love (as may be seen in the Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 212, 213, 218).

[11] Because by the faces of Jehovah or the Lord, is signified the Divine good united with the Divine truth, going forth and proceeding from His Divine love, therefore by the faces of Jehovah are also signified the interior things of the church, of the Word, and of worship, for that [Divine good] is in the interiors of those things; the exterior things of the church, of the Word, and of worship, being only the effects and works thence. The interior things of the church, of the Word, and of worship, are signified by seeing, seeking, and beseeching the faces of Jehovah, Isaiah:

"What is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me? when ye come to see the faces of Jehovah" (1:11, 12).

In Zechariah:

"The inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, In going let us go to beseech the faces of Jehovah, and to seek Jehovah of hosts; thus many peoples and numerous nations shall come to seek Jehovah of hosts in Jerusalem, and supplicate the faces of Jehovah" (8:21, 22).

In David:

Unto thee my heart hath said, Seek my faces; thy faces, O Jehovah, I do seek" (Psalms 27:8).

In the same:

"Let us make a joyful noise unto the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before his faces with confession" (Psalms 95:1,2).

In Malachi:

"Beseech the faces of God, that he may be merciful unto us" (1:9).

In David:

"My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God; when shall I come that I may behold the faces of God? Wait thou for God; for I shall yet confess to him; his faces are salvation" (42:2, 6).

In these passages, by the faces of Jehovah and God, or the Lord, are meant the interior things of the church, of the Word, and of worship; because Divine good, and Divine truth, thus the Lord Himself, are in them, and from them in externals, but not in the externals, namely, of the church, of the Word, and of worship, without them.

[12] Because all those who went to the feast at Jerusalem were bound to carry with them such things as pertained to worship, and all worship is from the interior things of the heart and the faith, and these are signified by the gifts that were offered to the Lord, it was therefore commanded that every one should offer some gift, which is meant by,

"They shall not see my faces empty" (Exodus 23:15).

The interior things of the church, of the Word, and of worship, are also signified by these words in Moses:

Jehovah spake unto Moses, "My faces shall go, until I give thee rest." Then Moses said, "If thy faces go not, make us not go up hence" (Exodus 33:14, 15).

This was spoken to Moses, because with that nation the Word was to be written, and also respecting that nation in the historical parts of the Word, because a church was to be instituted among them, which would be a representative church consisting of external things that corresponded to things internal; on this account it was said, "My faces shall go" (concerning which more may be seen in the Arcana Coelestia 10567, 10568, where they are explained).

[13] But because that nation was only in the externals of the Word, of the church, and of worship, and not at all in the internals, therefore it was not granted to Moses to see the Lord's face, but the back only, according to these words in Moses:

"Moses said, I beseech thee, shew me thy glory; to whom he said, I will make all my goodness to pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of Jehovah before thee; thou canst not see my faces; for there shall no man see me and live. I will put thee in a cleft of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by; and when I take away my hand, thou shalt see my back parts; but my faces shall not be seen" (Exodus 23:18-23).

Here Moses represented that nation with respect to their quality as to the understanding of the Word, and as to the church and worship thence, namely, that [it was] only in externals without internals, the externals being represented and signified by the back parts of Jehovah which were seen by Moses, and the internals by the front parts and the face. That the internals that were in the externals of the Word, of the church, and of worship, were not seen, neither could be seen, by that nation, was represented and signified by Moses being placed in the cleft of a rock, and being covered with the hand of Jehovah whilst He passed by. But these things are more fully explained in the Arcana Coelestia 10573-10584).

[14] Moreover, the faces of Jehovah or the Lord, because they denote the internals of the Word, of the church, and of worship, are especially external things in which are internal things, because internals make themselves to be seen in externals, as the internals of man do in his face and look. But the Jewish people were of such a nature that they beheld externals only, and not at all the internals; and to behold externals and not at the same time internals, or externals without internals, is as it were to behold the image of a man which is without life; but to behold externals, and at the same time internals, or externals from internals, is as it were to behold a living man; this, therefore, is, in the proper sense, to see the face of Jehovah, or to beseech His faces, in the passages adduced above.

[15] Because the internals of the Word, of the church, and of worship, appear in externals, or cause themselves to be seen in externals, comparatively as the internals of man do in the face, it is evident what is signified, in the internal sense, by seeing Jehovah or the Lord face to face, in the following passages.

In Moses:

"I have seen God face to face, and yet my soul is preserved" (Genesis 32:30).

Jacob said these words after he had wrestled with God, who had appeared to him as an angel. In the book of Judges:

"Gideon said, I have seen the angel of Jehovah face to face. And Jehovah said unto him, Peace be unto thee; fear not; thou shalt not die" (6:22, 23).

In the same manner Manoah and his wife (Judg. 13:22, 23). And concerning the Israelitish people:

"Jehovah spake with you face to face from the mount, out of the midst of the fire" (Deuteronomy 5:4);

concerning which circumstance it is thus said more fully:

"Jehovah hath caused [us] to see his glory and his greatness, and we have heard his voice out of the midst of the fire; we have seen this day that God doth talk with man, and he continueth to live" (Deuteronomy 5:24).

And concerning Moses:

"Jehovah spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh to his companion" (Exodus 33:11; Deuteronomy 34:10).

[16] It should, however, be known, that no man, nor even any angel, can see the Lord's face, because it is Divine love, and no one can bear the Divine love, such as it is in itself; for to see the Lord's face would be like letting the eye into the very fire of the sun, in which case it would instantly perish; such also is the Divine love viewed in itself; therefore the Lord appears to those in the interior heavens as a Sun, and that Sun is encompassed with many radiant circles, which form coverings one above another, in order that the Divine love may proceed tempered and moderated to the angels in heaven, and that the angels may thereby bear it; the Lord therefore appears as a Sun only to the angels of the higher heavens, but to the angels of the lower heavens He appears only as light, and to the rest as a moon. Still, however, the Lord does appear to the angels in heaven, but then it is under an angelic form; for He fills an angel with His own aspect, and thus with His presence afar off, and this in various places, but everywhere accommodated to the good of love and faith with those to whom He appears; thus the Lord was seen by Gideon, also by Manoah and his wife, likewise by Moses, and by the Israelitish people. This therefore is what is meant by their seeing Jehovah face to face, and by their seeing Jehovah and not dying. That the face itself, as to the interiors of His Divine love, was not seen, is plainly evident from what was said to Moses, namely,

"That no one can see Jehovah's face and live" (Exodus 33:20)

and yet it is said that they saw Jehovah face to face; from which it is plainly evident, that to see Jehovah's faces, in the passages adduced above, signifies to see Him in the interior things of the Word, of the church, and of worship, which yet is to see Him in externals from internals. That the Jewish nation was in the externals of the Word, of the church, and of worship without internals, may be seen in the Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 248. (What the external is without the internal; and what the external is in which is the internal, in n. 47 of the same work.)

[17] That the Jewish nation was of such a quality, was represented and signified by,

"They covered the Lord's face, beat him, and spat upon him" (Matthew 26:67; Mark 14:65; Luke 22:64).

For all things related concerning the Lord's passion represent and signify arcana of heaven and the church, and specifically the quality of the Jews as to the Word, the church, and worship. That it is so, may be seen above (n. 64, 83, 195 at the end).

[18] From the passages that have been already explained, it may be known what the face of Jehovah or the Lord signifies, namely, the Divine love, and all the good in heaven and in the church thence. From this also it may be known what is signified by hiding or covering the faces, where it is said of Jehovah or the Lord, namely, that it is to leave man in his proprium, and thence in the evils and falsities that flow from his proprium; for man viewed in himself is nothing but evil and the falsity thence, and he is withheld from these by the Lord, that he may be in good, which is effected by an elevation from his proprium. Hence it is evident that by hiding and covering the faces, when said of the Lord, is signified to leave in evils and falsities; as in the following passages. In Jeremiah:

"For all their perverseness I have hid my faces from this city" (33:5).

In Isaiah:

"Your sins have hid God's faces from you, that he will not hear" (59:2).

In Ezekiel:

"My faces will I turn from them, that they may profane my secret [place]; and the violent may enter into it, and defile it" (7:22).

In the same:

"The nations shall know that for their iniquity the sons of Israel went into captivity; and therefore will I hide my faces from them" (39:23).

In Lamentations:

"The face of Jehovah hath divided them; he will no more regard them" (4:16).

In Micah:

"Jehovah will hide his faces from them, even as they have made their works evil" (3:4).

In David:

"Thou hast hid thy faces, I was troubled" (Psalms 30:7).

In the same:

"Wherefore hidest thou thy faces, [and] forgettest our wretchedness and our oppression?" (Psalms 44:25).

In the same:

"Thou hidest thy faces, they are troubled; thou takest away their breath, they die, and return to their dust” (Psalms 104:29).

In Moses:

"My anger shall be kindled against the people in that day, and I will forsake them, and will hide my faces from them. In hiding I will hide my faces in that day, for all the evil which they have wrought" (Deuteronomy 31:17, 18).

In the same:

"I will hide my faces from them; they are a generation of perversions" (Deuteronomy 32:20).

In Isaiah:

"I will wait upon Jehovah, though he hideth his faces from the house of Jacob" (8:17).

In David:

"How long wilt Thou forget me, O Jehovah? how long wilt thou hide thy faces from me?" (Psalms 13:1).

In the same:

"Hide not thy faces from me; reject not thy servant in anger" (Psalms 27:9).

In the same:

"Hide not thy faces from thy servant, for I am in trouble; answer me speedily" (Psalms 69:17).

In the same:

"O Jehovah, wherefore forsakest thou my soul? wherefore hidest thou thy faces from me?" (Psalms 88:14).

In the same:

"Hide not thy faces from me in the day when I am in distress" (Psalms 102:2).

In the same:

"Answer me, O Jehovah; hide not thy faces from me, lest I become like them that go down into the pit" (Psalms 143:7).

In Ezekiel:

"When I shall gather together the sons of Israel upon their own land, then will I no longer hide my faces from them, for I will pour out my spirit upon the sons of Israel" (Ezekiel 39:27-29).

In David:

"He hath not despised nor turned away from the affliction of Israel; neither hath he hid his faces from him; but when he cried unto him, he heard" (Psalms 22:24).

[19] In these passages it is said that Jehovah, that is, the Lord, covers and hides His faces on account of iniquities and sins; He is also entreated not to hide or cover [them], when nevertheless He never hides or covers [what they signify], namely, His Divine good and His Divine truth, for the Lord is Divine love itself, and mercy itself, and desires the salvation of all; wherefore He is present with all and each, even with those who are in iniquities and sins, and by this presence He gifts them with the liberty of receiving Him, that is, the truth and good from Him, therefore they receive if in freedom thy desire it. The reason why [reception must be] in freedom is, in order that goods and truths may remain with man, and be with him as his own; for what a man does in freedom he does from affection, for all freedom is of the affection, the affection also is his will, therefore what is received in freedom, or from man's affection, enters his will, and remains. The reason why it then remains is, because the will is the man himself, for therein his life primarily resides, but secondarily in the thought or the understanding. This, therefore, is the reason that man ought to receive the Divine good and the Divine truth, with which the Lord is always present.

[20] This also is meant by:

"Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if any one hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in unto him, and will sup with him" (Apoc. 3:20).

But when man in freedom chooses evil, then he shuts the door against himself, and thus does not admit the good and truth which are from the Lord; therefore the Lord then appears as absent, and it is from this appearance that it is said that Jehovah covers and hides His faces, although He does not cover and hide [them]. Moreover, man, then, as to his spirit, turns himself away from the Lord, and, consequently, does not perceive the good or see the truth which are from the Lord; hence also it appears as if the Lord did not see him, when nevertheless He sees all and everything pertaining to him. From this appearance also it is that He is said to cover and hide His faces, indeed, that He is said to set (ponere et dare) His faces against them, also that He beholds them in the back of the neck (cervice), and not in the faces, as in the following passages.

In Jeremiah:

"I have set my faces against this city for evil, and not for good" (21:10).

In the same:

"I set my faces against you for evil, to cut off all Judah" (44:11).

In Ezekiel:

"I will set my faces against that man, and I will lay him waste, and I will cut him off from the midst of my people" (14:8).

In the same:

"I will set my faces against them; they shall go out from a fire, and a fire shall devour them; when I shall have set my faces against them" (15:7).

In Moses:

"He that shall eat any blood, I will set my faces against that soul, and I will cut him off" (Leviticus 17:10).

In Jeremiah:

"As an east wind will I scatter them before the enemy; I will look at them in the back of the neck, and not in the face" (18:17).

That it is man who sets (ponit et dat) his face against the Lord, and who turns himself away from the Lord, whence evil overtakes him, is plain also from the Word. As in Jeremiah:

"They have turned unto me the back of the neck, and not the faces" (32:33).

In the same:

"They have made their faces harder than a rock; they have refused to return" (5:3).

In the same:

"They have gone away in their own counsels, in the hardening of their evil heart, they are become turned backwards and not turned forwards" (7:24).

And in Isaiah:

"Your sins have hid God's faces from you" (Isaiah 59:2).

[21] That the wicked turn away the face from the Lord, is not done as to the bodily face, but the face of their spirit. Man can turn his face whichever way he pleases, because he is in a state of freedom to turn himself either towards heaven or towards hell, and also a man's face has been taught to counterfeit before the world; but when man becomes a spirit, which he does immediately after death, then he who had lived in evils, turns away the face entirely from the Lord (as is evident from what has been said and shown in the work concerning Heaven and Hell 17, 123, 142, 144, 145, 151, 153, 251, 272, 511, 552, 561). This, therefore, is meant by, "they have turned unto me the back of the neck, and not the face," and by, "they are become turned backwards, and not turned forwards." Now because such persons [expose themselves] to the evil of punishment, and to hell, it is, therefore, supposed by those who turn themselves away, that this [proceeds] from the Lord, and that He regards them with a stern countenance, and casts them down into hell, and punishes them, just as a man who is in anger; whereas the Lord never regards any one but from love and mercy. It is from that appearance that the following expressions are used in the Word. In Isaiah:

"When thou shalt do terrible [things, which] we look not for, the mountains shall flow down at thy presence" (64:3). ¹

In David:

"It is burned with fire, it is cut down; they have perished at the rebuke of thy faces" (Psalms 80:16).

In the same:

"The faces of Jehovah are against them that do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth" (Psalms 34:16).

In Moses:

"Behold I send an angel before thee. Take heed of his faces; for he will not bear your prevarication" (Exodus 23:20, 21).

In Ezekiel:

"I will bring you into the wilderness of the peoples, and I will judge with you face to face" (20:35).

In Moses:

"When the ark set forward, Moses said, Arise, O Jehovah, let thine enemies be scattered; and let them that hate thee flee before thy faces" (Num. 10:35).

In the Apocalypse:

"I saw a throne high and great, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away" (20:11).

[22] These things are now said respecting the signification of the face, when said of Jehovah or the Lord; but the face, where it is said of man, signifies his mind and affection, consequently, the interiors of his mind, and this because the mind and its affections, or the interiors of the man's mind, become visible in the face, whence it is that the face is called the index of the mind. The face also is an effigy of the interiors of man, for it represents them, and the countenance corresponds to them. That by the faces, when said of man, are signified affections of various kinds, is evident from the following passages. In Isaiah:

"They say, Retire from the way, turn aside from the path, cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from our faces" (30:11).

Cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from our faces, signifies, [to remove] the Lord from the thought and affection, thus everything of the church, the Holy One of Israel denoting the Lord; to recede from the truth and good of the church, which is from the Lord, and in which the Lord is, is signified by "Retire from the way, turn aside from the path," the way and the path denoting the truth and good of the church.

[23] In Lamentations:

"They have not accepted the faces of the priests, and they have not had pity upon the old" (Lamentations 4:16).

And elsewhere:

"Princes were hanged up by their hand; the faces of the old were not honoured" (Lamentations 5:12).

Not to accept the faces of the priests, signifies to esteem as nothing the goods of the church, which are [those] of love and faith; for the priests represented the Lord as to Divine good, and thence signified the good of the church, and faces all things thereof, which have reference to love and faith. Not to honour the faces of the old, signifies to account as nothing all things of wisdom, the old signifying wisdom, and their faces all things thereof, because interior. The princes hanged up by their hand, signify that all intelligence was rejected, princes denoting the primary truths, from which there is intelligence.

[24] In Moses:

"Jacob said concerning Esau, I will appease his faces with a present, that goeth before me, and afterward I will see his faces; peradventure he will accept my faces" (Genesis 32:20).

To appease his faces, signifies to engage his mind; afterward to see his faces, signifies to know the quality of his mind; peradventure he will accept my faces, signifies, peradventure he shall receive me with a favourable mind, to accept the faces denoting to will good to any one from affection. In the same:

"Thou shalt not wrest judgment; thou shalt not regard faces, neither take a gift" (Deuteronomy 16:19).

Not to regard faces, signifies [not] to be of a mind disposed towards superiors, the rich, and friends, more than towards inferiors, the poor, and enemies, because justice and rectitude are to be regarded without any respect to person.

[25] In Malachi:

"I have made you contemptible and base before all the people, according as ye keep not my ways, and receive faces in the law" (2:9).

To receive faces in the law, here signifies the same thing as above, to regard faces in judgment; namely, to be disposed to favour superiors, the rich, and friends, rather than inferiors, the poor, and enemies.

In Isaiah:

"What mean ye, that ye beat the people, and grind the faces of the poor?" (3:15).

To grind the faces of the poor, signifies to destroy the affections of knowing truth with those who are in ignorance of truths, and yet desire to be instructed, to grind signifying to destroy; faces signifying the affections of knowing truths, and the poor, those who are in ignorance of truth and desire to be instructed, for these are those who are spiritually poor.

[26] In David:

"The daughter of Tyre shall bring a gift; the rich among the people shall intreat thy faces. The king's daughter is all glorious within; her clothing is of interwoven [materials] of gold" (Psalms 45:12, 13).

By the king's daughter is signified the spiritual affection of truth, the daughter of Tyre signifying the affection of the knowledges (cognitions) of truth and good; to be enriched with these is signified by bringing a gift; by the rich among the people are signified the intelligent, and in the abstract, the intelligence of truth and good; to be gifted with these is signified by intreating his faces; for all things of intelligence dwell in the spiritual affection of truth, which therefore is signified by the faces. The remainder [of this passage] may be seen explained above (n. 195).

[27] In the same:

"Yet do I trust in him, the salvations of my faces, and my God" (Psalms 42:11; 43:5).

The salvations of my faces, signify all things that are within, thus those of the mind and affections, consequently, those of love and faith, which, because they save, are called salvations. Evil affections, which are lusts, are also expressed by faces, because they appear in the faces, for the face is the external or natural form of the interiors of the internal and external mind (animi et mentis); and in the spiritual world they make one; for there it is not permitted to counterfeit other faces than those of the affections, thus which correspond to the interiors of the mind; hence it is, that the angels of heaven are lustrous and comely in face, whereas infernal spirits are dark and deformed in face.

[28] That these things are also meant by faces, is evident from the following passages. In Isaiah:

"Pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them, as a travailing woman they bring forth; they shall be amazed [every] man towards his companion; their faces [are] faces of flames" (13:8).

The Last Judgment is here treated of, when the evil are let into their interiors. The interiors of those who are in the love of self and the world, and thence in hatred and revenges, are meant by their faces are as faces of flames; such also do they appear; their torment from the influx of Divine good and Divine truth is signified by, "Pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them, as a travailing woman they bring forth. Their torments are like the pangs and sorrows of travailing women for the same reason as [is given] in Genesis (3:16); for evils and falsities are then conjoined, and until this take place, sorrows take hold when the Divine good and truth flow in.

[29] In Ezekiel:

"Say to the forest of the south, The flame of a grievous flame shall not be quenched, whence all faces shall be burned therein from the south even to the north" (20:47).

By the forest of the south is meant falsity within the church, consequently, those therein who are in falsities. The church is signified by the south because it may be in the light of truth from the Word, and falsity from evil is signified by the forest; the vastation and destruction of the church by the love of falsity from evil, are signified by, "The flame of a grievous flame, whence all faces shall be burned"; all faces denote all the interiors of the men of the church as to the affections of truth and good, and the thoughts thence; from the south even to the north, signifies all things of the church from primaries to ultimates, or the interiors and exteriors; the south denotes the interior or first things of the church, and the north denotes the exterior or ultimate things of the church. The reason why such things are signified by the south and the north is, that those who are in the light of truth from the Lord are in the southern quarter of the spiritual world, and, in the hells under them there, are those who are in natural light, by which they have confirmed themselves in falsities; and in the northern quarter are those who are in an obscure [state] of truth from the Lord, and in the hells under them there, those who are in falsities, but not in any natural light by which they have confirmed their falsities.

[30] In Joel:

"Before him the peoples tremble; all faces have gathered blackness" (2:6).

The evils and falsities devastating the church are here treated of; also the judgment upon those who are in them; those who are in falsities, are signified by the peoples who tremble; their interiors, which are in the falsities of evil, are signified by the faces that have gathered blackness, faces denoting the interiors, and blackness denoting the falsity of evil; the infernals also who are in the falsity of evil appear black in the light of heaven.

[31] In Daniel:

"In the end of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king hard in faces shall rise up" (8:23).

These things are said of the four horns of the he-goat, by which are here meant four kingdoms, but by kingdoms here are not meant kingdoms, but states of the church, for, by a he-goat of the she-goats is meant faith separated from charity, which is called faith alone. The end of their kingdom signifies the end of the church, when there is no faith because no charity. "When the transgressors are come to the full," signifies when there are no longer truth and good, but evil and falsity; the same is signified by these words as by, when iniquity is consummated and filled (concerning which see above, n. 397). "A king hard in faces," signifies [that there was] no truth in their interiors, but falsity; for a king signifies truth, and, in the opposite sense, falsity, faces signifying the interiors, and hard in faces, such things without good; for where there is no good, there truth is hard, whereas truth from good is mild, because living; and that truth [without good] is even falsity in their interiors or in their thought, because they do not think concerning it spiritually but materially, because from corporeal and worldly things, and thence from fallacies of the senses.

[32] In Ezekiel:

"Sons hard in their faces, and hardened in heart" (2:4).

By sons hard in their faces are signified those who are in truths without good, and abstractedly truths without good, which in themselves are falsities, as said above; and by, hardened in heart, are signified those who do not admit good, consequently, who are in evil, for evil enters where good cannot. The heart, in the Word, also signifies the good of love, and a hardened heart signifies the same as a stony heart, namely, where the good of love is not admitted; but a heart of flesh signifies, where it is admitted.

[33] In Isaiah:

"Their tongue and their doings are against Jehovah, to rebel against the eyes of his glory. The hardness of their faces doth witness against them" (3:8, 9).

By their tongue and their doings which are against Jehovah, are signified the thought and affection; by the tongue, the thought, because the tongue utters what the man thinks; and by the doings, affection, because a man does what is of his affection. These are against Jehovah, and rebel against the eyes of His glory, when they are against the Divine good, and against the Divine truth, for by Jehovah in the Word is meant the Lord as to the Divine good proceeding from His Divine love, and by His glory is meant the Divine truth; to be against this is signified by rebelling against the eyes of His glory. The hardness of their faces, which witnesses against them, signifies the refusal and non-admission of the Divine truth and the Divine good into their thoughts and affections, which are their interiors.

[34] In Ezekiel

"Behold, I have made thy faces hard against their faces, and thy forehead hard against their foreheads" (Ezekiel 3:8).

These words are spoken to the prophet, by whom is signified the doctrine of truth and good fighting against falsities and evils; therefore by his faces being hard against their faces is signified the rejection of falsities by truths, and by his forehead being hard against their foreheads is signified the rejection of evil by good; for faces signify the affections of truth and the affections of falsity, and the forehead signifies the affection of good and the affection of evil. The affection of truth and good hardens and becomes hard outwardly from zeal, when it combats against falsity and evil, otherwise it could not repulse them; not however inwardly. Hence it is evident how those words are to be understood. Because by the faces are signified the interiors of man, or the things of his thought and affection, hence also, in the Hebrew tongue, interiorly is expressed by the same word as face.

[35] As various observations are made in [these] explanations concerning faces, which perhaps, without further exposition, can scarcely be understood, therefore I desire to add what has been said and shown concerning faces in the Arcana Coelestia, namely, that the face is formed to a correspondence with a man's interiors, n. 4791-4805, 5695; concerning the correspondence of the face and countenance with the affections of the mind, n. 1568, 2988, 2989, 3631, 4796, 4797, 4800, 5165, 5168, 9306. That hence the interiors shine forth from the face, n. 3527, 4066, 4796. That with the ancients the face made one with the interiors, n. 3573, 4326, 5695. That they also make one with the angels in heaven, and with sincere men in the world, n. 4796, 4797, 4799, 5695, 8250. That the faces of all in the other life become of such a quality as their interiors, n. 4798, 5695. Experiences of the changes of the face according to the interiors, n. 4796, 6604. Concerning the influx of the interiors of the mind, or of the understanding and will into the face and its muscles, n. 3631, 4800. That the face does not act as one with the interiors of flatterers, counterfeiters, hypocrites, and deceitful men, n. 4799, 8250; that with such the face is taught to counterfeit what is sincere, honest, and pious, n. 4326. How the influx from the brains into the face became changed in process of time, and therewith the face itself as to correspondence with the interiors, n. 4326, 8250. That the natural part of man is as an interior face to the spiritual mind and its sight, n. 5165, 5168. See also what has been said and shown concerning faces, in the work on Heaven and Hell 46-48, 142-144, 457-459, 553.

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