175. I will give him power over the nations, signifies over the evils within him, which will then be scattered by the Lord. This is evident from the signification of "nations," as being evils (of which presently); and from the signification of "giving power over them," as being that these (the evils) will then be dispersed by the Lord. "To have power," in reference to "over the nations," means to scatter in reference to evils; thus there is an adaptation of words to their subjects. It is said that evils will be scattered by the Lord, for the Lord scatters evils by means of truths. He first discovers them to man by means of truths, and when man acknowledges the evils, the Lord scatters them. (That the Lord alone does this, see The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 200.) "Nations and peoples" are often mentioned in the Word, and those who know nothing of the spiritual or internal sense of the Word, believe that peoples and nations are to be understood. But "peoples" mean those who are in truths, or in the contrary sense those who are in falsities, and "nations" those who are in goods, or in the contrary sense, those who are in evils. And as such are meant by "peoples" and by "nations," so abstractly from persons "peoples" mean truths or falsities, and "nations" goods and evils; for the true spiritual sense is abstracted from persons, spaces, times, and like things, that are proper to nature.

[2] With these the natural sense of the Word, which is the sense of its letter, is at one; and the sense that is at one with these serves as a basis to the sense that is apart from them. For all things that are in nature are ultimates of Divine order, and the Divine does not rest in the middle, but flows down even to its ultimates, and there subsists. From this it is that the Word in the letter is such as it is, and unless it were such it would not serve as a basis for the wisdom of angels who are spiritual. It can be seen from this how mistaken those are who despise the Word on account of its style. "Nations" signify those who are in good, and in the abstract, goods, because men who lived in ancient times were divided into nations, families, and houses; and they then loved each other mutually; and the father of a nation loved the whole nation which was from him; thus the good of love reigned among them. For this reason "nations" signified goods. But when men came into the opposite state, which took place in the following ages when empires were established, then "nations" signified evils. (See further on this subject in the small work on The Earths in the Universe 49, 90, 173, 174.)

[3] That "nations" in the Word signify either goods or evils, and "people" either truths or falsities, can be seen from the following passages. In Isaiah:

Nations shall walk to Thy light, and kings to the brightness of Thy rising. Then shalt Thou see and flow together, and Thine heart shall be enlarged, because the multitude of the sea is converted unto Thee, the army of the nations come unto Thee; Thy gates shall be opened continually, they shall not be shut by day and by night, that men may bring unto Thee the army of the nations, and their kings shall be brought; for the nation or kingdom that will not serve Thee shall perish; and the nations by wasting shall be wasted. Thou shalt suck the milk of nations, even the breasts of kings shalt Thou suck. The little one shall become a thousand, and the few a numerous nation (Isaiah 60:3, 5, 11-12, 16, 22).

Here the Lord is treated of; and by "nations" all who are in the good of love to Him are meant, and by "kings" all who are in the truths of faith in Him. From this it is manifest who are meant by the "nations" that "shall walk to Thy light;" and by "the army of the nations that shall be brought;" also, who are meant by "the kings" that "shall walk to the brightness of Thy rising;" and by "the kings of the nations" that "shall be brought;" also, what is meant by "Thou shalt suck the milk of nations and the breasts of kings" ("milk" is the delight of the good of love, likewise "breasts," for milk is from them). The multiplication of truth and the fructification of good are described by the "little one shall become a thousand, and the few a numerous nation." But by "the nations that shall be wasted" are meant all that are in evils, and also the evils themselves.

[4] In the same:

Behold I will lift up My hand towards the nations, and set up Mine ensign towards the peoples, that they may bring thy sons in the bosom, and carry thy daughters upon the shoulder; and kings shall be thy nourishers and the chief women thy sucklers; with the face to the earth shall they bow down to thee (Isaiah 49:22, 23).

Here also the Lord is treated of, and those who shall worship and adore Him. To "lift up His hand towards the nations, and His ensign towards the peoples, " ¹ is to join to Himself all who are in the goods of love and in truths therefrom; of these it is said that "they shall bring thy sons in the bosom, and carry thy daughters upon the shoulder;" "sons" are the affections of truth, and "daughters" the affections of good (See above, n. 166). And of these it is said that their "kings shall be thy nourishers, and the chief women thy sucklers." "Kings" are truths themselves, "chief women" are the goods thereof; and as man is regenerated by both of these, and also nourished, it is said that they shall be "nourishers" and "sucklers." (That man is regenerated by means of truths and a life according to them, see in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 23, 24, 27, 186.) This is the internal sense of these words; without that sense who could understand them?

[5] In the same:

Jehovah said, Behold I spread out upon Jerusalem peace as a river, and as a torrent the glory of the nations, that ye may suck. He will come to gather all nations and tongues, that they may come and see My glory. They shall declare My glory among the nations; then shall they bring your brethren out of all nations, as a gift to Jehovah, upon horses and upon the chariot, to the mountain of My holiness (Isaiah 66:12, 18-20).

Here "Jerusalem" is the Lord's church in the heavens and on the earth; it is said the church in the heavens, for the church is there also (See in the work on Heaven and Hell 221-227). By "nations and tongues" all who are in the goods of love and in truths therefrom are meant. It is said that "they shall bring out of all nations a gift to Jehovah, upon horses and upon the chariot;" "a gift to Jehovah" is worship from the good of love; "horses and chariots" are intellectuals and doctrinals, for these are the source and foundation of worship. (That this is what "horses and chariots" signify, see The White Horse 1-5.)

[6] In the same:

It shall be in that day that a Root of Jesse, which shall stand for a sign of the people, the nations shall seek (Isaiah 11:10). "The root of Jesse" is the Lord; "to stand for a sign of the people" means that it may be seen by those who are in truths; "the nations which shall seek," are those who are in the good of love. It is believed that "nations" here mean the nations that are to approach and acknowledge the Lord, from which is to be the church that is called the church of the Gentiles; but these are not meant by "nation" but all who are in love to the Lord and faith in Him, whether within the church or out of it (See in the work on Heaven and Hell 308, 318-328).

[7] In the same:

A strong people shall honor Thee, the city of the powerful nations shall fear thee (Isaiah 25:3).

In the same:

Open ye the gates, that the righteous nation may enter in. Thou hast increased the nation, O Jehovah, Thou hast increased the nation, Thou art glorified (Isaiah 26:2, 15).

In the same:

Come near, ye nations, to hear; and hearken, ye peoples (Isaiah 34:1).

In the same:

I, Jehovah, have called thee in righteousness, for a covenant to the people, for a light of the nations (Isaiah 42:6).

In Jeremiah:

The nations shall bless themselves in Him, and in Him shall they glory (Jeremiah 4:2).

In the same:

Who will not fear Thee, O king of nations? and in all their kingdom there is none like unto Thee (Jeremiah 10:7).

In Daniel:

I was seeing in the night visions, and behold with the clouds of heaven One like the Son of man. And there was given Him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom; and all peoples, nations, and tongues shall worship Him (Daniel 7:13, 14).

In David:

The peoples shall give thanks unto Thee, O God; all the peoples shall give thanks unto Thee. Let the nations be glad and sing for joy; for Thou shalt judge the peoples with equity, and shalt lead the nations upon the earth (Psalms 67:3, 4).

In the same:

That I may see the good of Thy chosen, and be glad in the joy of Thy nations (Psalms 106:5).

In Revelation:

The glory and honor of the nations shall be brought into the New Jerusalem (Revelation 21:26).

In Isaiah:

Ye shall be called priests of Jehovah; ministers of your ² God, it shall be said to you. Ye shall eat the wealth of the nations, and in their glory shall ye glory (Isaiah 61:6).

In the Lamentations:

The breath of our nostrils, the Anointed of Jehovah, was taken in their pits; of whom we had said, In His shadow we shall live among the nations (Lamentations 4:20).

In these passages, by "nations" all who are in love to the Lord, whether within the church where the Word is or outside it, are meant.

[8] That by "nations" in a contrary sense those who are in evils are meant, and in the abstract, evils themselves, can be seen from the following passages. In Jeremiah:

I will bring a nation upon you from far, it is a mighty nation; it is a nation of an age, a nation whose tongue thou shalt not know. It shall eat up thy harvest and thy bread; it shall eat up thy sons and thy daughters; it shall eat up thy vine and thy fig-tree; it shall impoverish the cities with the sword (Jeremiah 5:15, 17).

The vastation of the church is here treated of; and by "nation" is meant the evil that will consummate it; it is therefore said, that "it shall eat up the harvest and the bread," "the sons and daughters," "the vine and the fig-tree," and "shall impoverish the cities with the sword;" by which all the goods of love and the truths of faith are signified; by "harvest" a state of the reception of truth from good (See Arcana Coelestia 9295); by "bread" the good of love (See in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 218); by "sons and daughters" the affections of truth and good (See above, n. 166); by "vine" the internal church, thus the internal things of the church (See Arcana Coelestia 1069, 5113, 6376, 9277); by "fig-tree" the external church, thus the external things of the church (Arcana Coelestia 5113); by "cities" doctrines (Arcana Coelestia 402, 2449, 2712, 2943, 3216, 4492, 4493); by "sword" falsity destroying (See above, n. 73, 131). From this it can be seen that by "nations" is signified the evil that destroys all these.

[9] In the same:

Behold I lay stumbling-blocks before this people, that they may stumble upon them, the fathers and the sons together. Behold, a people cometh from the land of the north, and a great nation from the sides of the earth. They have no compassion, their voice roareth like the sea, and they ride upon horses (Jeremiah 6:21-23).

Here also "nation" means evil, and "peoples" falsities, "the stumbling-blocks upon which the fathers and the sons stumble" are the perversions of good and truth ("fathers" are goods, and "sons" truths therefrom). It is said, "a people from the land of the north, and a nation from the sides of the earth," for the "north" signifies falsity from evil, and "the sides of the earth" signify what is outside of the church, thus evils remote from the goods of the church. "To roar like the sea, and to ride upon horses," is to persuade by fallacies of the senses, and by reasonings therefrom.

[10] In Ezekiel:

The land is full of the judgment of bloods, and the city is full of violence, wherefore I will bring the worst of the nations, that they may occupy their houses; the king shall mourn, and the prince shall be clothed with stupor (Ezekiel 7:23-24, 27).

The "land" is the church; "full of the judgment of bloods" is to be in falsities that destroy goods; "city" is doctrine; "full of violence" is to use force against the good of charity; "the worst of the nations" are direful falsities from evil; "to occupy their houses" is to possess their minds; "the king who shall mourn" is the truth of the church; "the prince who shall be clothed with stupor," is subservient truth. (That the "land" is the church, see Arcana Coelestia 662, 1066, 1068, 1262, 1413, 1607, 2928, 3355, 4447, 4535, 5577, 8011, 9325, 9643; that "bloods" are falsities destroying good, n. 374, 1005, 4735, 5476, 9127; that "city" is doctrine, n. 2268, 2449, 2451, 2712, 2943, 3216, 4492, 4493; that "violence" is using force against the good of charity, n. 6353; that "houses" are the things of man that belong to his mind, n. 710, 2231, 2233, 2559, 3128, 3538, 4973, 5023, 6690, 7353, 7848, 7910, 7929, 9150; that "the king who shall mourn" is the truth of the church, see above n. 31.)

[11] In David:

Jehovah bringeth the counsel of the nations to naught, He overthroweth the thoughts of the peoples (Psalms 33:10).

"Nations" mean those who are in evils, and "peoples" those who are in falsities; and because both are signified, it is said that "Jehovah bringeth the counsel of the nations to naught, and overthroweth the thoughts of the peoples," which are two expressions, as it were, of one thing, yet they are distinct in the internal sense, in which "nations" signify one thing, and "peoples" another.

[12] In Luke:

Then they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led captive among all nations, and at length Jerusalem shall be trodden down by the nations, until the time of the nations be fulfilled. Then there shall be signs in sun, moon, and stars, and upon the earth anguish of nations, the sea and the waves roaring (Luke 21:24-25).

The consummation of the age is here treated of, which is the last time of the church, when there is no longer any faith because there is no charity, or no truth because there is no good. This is here described by correspondences: "to fall by the edge of the sword" is to be destroyed by falsities; "to be led captive among all nations" is to be possessed by evils of every kind; "Jerusalem, which shall be trodden down," is the church; the "sun" is love to the Lord; the "moon" faith in Him; the "stars" the knowledges of good and truth; the "signs" in them mean that these are to perish; "the sea and the waves that shall roar" are fallacies and reasonings therefrom.

[13] In Matthew:

Nation shall rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. And they shall deliver you unto affliction, and ye shall be hated of all the nations for My name's sake (Matthew 24:7, 9; Luke 21:10, 11).

These things also were said by the Lord respecting the last time of the church; and by "nation shall rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom" is signified that there will be conflicts of evils and falsities among themselves; by "famines and pestilences" are signified the failure and wasting of truths; by "earthquakes" the perversion of the church; by "being hated of all nations" is signified to be hated by all who are in evil; "the name of the Lord," for the sake of which they shall be hated, signifies all things of love and faith whereby the Lord is worshiped (See above, n. 102, 135).

[14] In Ezekiel:

Behold Asshur a cedar in Lebanon. He has become high, and his branches have been multiplied. In his branches have all the fowl of the heavens built their nests, and under his branches all the beasts of the field have brought forth, and in his shade have dwelt all great nations. But his heart is lifted up in his height; therefore I will give him into the hand of the strong one of the nations, strangers shall cut him off, the violent of the nations, and they shall cast him down; whence all peoples of the earth have gone down from his shadow, and have abandoned him (Ezekiel 31:3, 5, 6, 10-12).

These things no one can understand unless he has a knowledge of the spiritual or internal sense of the Word. He will believe them to be mere comparisons, in which there is no spiritual signification; when yet all the particulars therein signify things of heaven and the church; therefore they shall be explained briefly. "Asshur" is the rational of the man of the church which is illustrated; this is called "a cedar in Lebanon," because a "cedar" has the same signification as "Asshur," specifically truth from good in the rational; and "Lebanon" is the mind where the rational resides, because there were cedars in Lebanon.

By "his branches that were multiplied" are meant truths therefrom; "the fowl of the heavens that built their nests in his branches" are the affections of truth; and "the beasts of the field that brought forth under his branches" are the affections of good; the "great nations that dwelt in his shade" are the goods of love; "his heart lifted up in his height" is the love of self; "to be given into the hands of the strong one of the nations," and "to be cast down by the violent of the nations," means that evils from that love will destroy goods and truths; "the peoples of the earth that went down from his shadow and abandoned him" are all truths of the church. From this it is manifest that "nations" signify goods, and in the contrary sense evils; by "the nations that dwelt in his shade," goods; and by "the nations that cut him off, and cast him down," evils. (See, moreover, what is said and shown about nations and their signification in Arcana Coelestia, namely, that by "nations" in the Word are meant those who are in good, and consequently goods themselves, n. 1059, 1159, 1258, 1260, 1416, 1849, 6005; "the assembly of the nations," truths and goods, n. 4574, 7830; "the holy nation," the spiritual kingdom, n. 9255, 9256; when it is said "nation and people," by "nation" those who are in celestial good are meant, and by "people" those who are in spiritual good, n. 10288. That by "nations," especially the nations of the land of Canaan, evils and falsities of every kind are meant, n. 1059, 1205, 1868, 6306, 8054, 8317, 9320, 9327).

Footnotes:

10252. 'The best myrrh' means the perception of truth on the level of the senses. This is clear from the meaning of 'odour-bearing myrrh' as the perception of truth on the level of the senses; for its 'odour' means perception, as immediately above, and 'myrrh' truth on the level of the senses. The subject in the verses that come now is the anointing oil, by which celestial good, which is the Divine Good of the Lord's Divine Love in the inmost heaven, is meant. The nature of that good is described by the fragrant substances from which it was made. These were the best myrrh, sweet-smelling cinnamon, sweet-smelling calamus, cassia, and olive oil, which mean celestial truths and forms of good in their proper order, that is to say, ranging from those which are last and lowest in order to those which are first, or from those which are outermost to those which are inmost, the last or outermost being meant by 'myrrh'. The reason why celestial good, or the good of the inmost heaven, is described in this manner is that the truths meant by those spices are the means by which such good comes into being and is also kept in being.

[2] But since this matter demands to be investigated more deeply, the whole nature of it must be explained more fully. In order that the birth of celestial good, which is inmost good, may take place in a person, which is accomplished through being regenerated by the Lord, truths must be acquired from the Word, or from the teachings of the Church which are drawn from the Word. These truths first find ¹ their seat in the memory within the natural or external man. From there they are summoned by the Lord into the internal man, which happens when the person leads a life in keeping with them. And so far as the person has an affection for them, that is, loves them, they are raised by the Lord to an even higher or more internal level, where they are transformed into celestial good.

[3] Celestial good is the good of the love which desires to put truths from the Word into practice for the sake of good, thus for the Lord's sake since the Lord is the source of good and therefore is such good. This is how that good comes to be born, from which it is evident that such good is brought into being by means of truths from the Word, first by their presence on the most external level in a person, which is that of the senses, then by their being raised to an internal level, and finally to the inmost one itself, where those truths are transformed into celestial good. And since that good is brought into being in this way by means of truths in their own order, so subsequently is it kept in being in similar order by means of those very truths; for continuance in being is a perpetual coming into being. When good is kept in being in that manner, the same as it had been brought into being, it is complete. For now higher things descending in order have lower ones to depend on as an infrastructure for their continued existence, for a resting-place, and for a plane of support.

[4] And they have outermost or last and lowest ones, which are truths present within knowledge on the level of the senses, as a foundation. These truths are described in John, in the Book of Revelation, by the precious stones forming the foundations of the wall of the Holy Jerusalem coming down out of heaven, Revelation 21:19-20. By 'precious stones' God's truths received within good are meant, see 9476, 9863, 9873, 9905.

The fact that 'odour-bearing myrrh' means truth on the level of the senses is also clear in David,

You have loved righteousness; therefore God, Your God, has anointed You with the oil of gladness more than Your companions. With myrrh, aloes, and kessia ² [He has anointed] all Your garments. Psalms 45:7-8.

These words refer to the Lord, who alone is Jehovah's Anointed, because the Divine Good of Divine Love, meant by 'anointing oil', was within Him, 9954. By 'His garments', which are said to have been anointed with myrrh, aloes, and kessia, Divine Truths springing from His Divine Good, present in the natural degree, are meant, 5954, 9212, 9216, 9814, so that 'myrrh' means Divine Truth on the level of the senses since it is mentioned first.

[5] In Matthew,

Opening their treasures the wise men from the east offered gifts to the new-born Lord - gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Matthew 2:11.

'Gold' here means good, 'frankincense' internal truth, and 'myrrh' external truth; both kinds of truth spring from good. In this instance 'gold' is the first to be mentioned because it means good, which is inmost; 'frankincense' is the second because it means internal truth springing from good; and 'myrrh' is the third or last to be mentioned because it means external truth springing from good. For the meaning of 'gold' as good, see in the places referred to in 9874, 9881; and for that of 'frankincense' as internal truth springing from good, see below at verse 34 of the present chapter.

[6] The wise men from the east offered those gifts to the Lord born at that time to indicate His Divinity within His Humanity; for having a knowledge of correspondences and representations they knew what gold, frankincense, and myrrh each served to mean. That knowledge was the chief kind that existed in those times among Arabs, Ethiopians, and others in the east, which also explains why in the Word those who possess cognitions or knowledge of heavenly things are meant in the internal sense by Arabia, Ethiopia, and 'the sons of the east', 1171, 3240, 3242, 3762. But such knowledge during that time perished, for when the good of life passed away the knowledge was turned into magic. First it was erased among the Israelite nation, and subsequently among all the rest. At the present day it has been erased to such an extent that people do not even know of its existence; indeed it is so completely absent from the Christian world that if anyone tells them that all things in the literal sense of the Word serve by virtue of their correspondence to mean heavenly realities, and that these constitute its internal sense, they do not know what to make of it.

[7] Because myrrh served to mean the most external truth, which is truth on the level of the senses, and perception of that truth, the bodies of those who had died were anointed in former times with myrrh and aloes. That anointing served to mean the preservation of all of a person's truths and forms of good, and also to mean resurrection. Therefore also such [spices] were used as served to mean the last and lowest level of a person's life, called the life of the senses. The Lord's body was anointed with such, and together with them was wrapped in a linen cloth; and this was the custom among the Jews, see John 19:39-40, and also Luke 23:55-56. But it should be remembered that things said in the Word about the Lord Himself are to be understood in a pre-eminent sense. Consequently the spices mentioned in those verses mean His Divine life on the level of the senses, which is the life proper to the body, and also the resurrection of this with Him. As is well known, unlike anyone else the Lord rose again with the whole body He had in the world, for He left nothing in the tomb. Therefore also, when the disciples beheld the Lord and thought that they were seeing a spirit, He said to them,

Why are you troubled? See My hands and My feet; handle Me, see; for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see Me have. Luke 24:38-39.

Footnotes: