538. The "abyss" signifies the hells where and from which are falsities, because those hells where the falsities of evil have rule appear like seas, in the depths of which is the infernal crew, which is in the falsities of evil. These hells appear like seas because falsities continually flow out from them, and falsities appear like waters; this is why "waters" in the Word also signify falsities. Moreover, from the waters themselves the quality of the falsity there is known, for falsities are of many kinds, as many as there are evils. Falsities that are from grievous evils appear over those hells like dense and black waters, and falsities from the evil of the love of self like ruddy waters, the density and color making evident the kind of falsity. It must be remembered that in the spiritual world truths also appear like waters, but like limpid and pure waters. This is because there are three degrees of man's life, as there are three heavens. Those in whom the third degree is opened are in an atmosphere pure like ether; those who are in the third or inmost heaven are in such an atmosphere; those in whom only the second degree is opened are in an atmosphere as it were aerial; those who are in the second or middle heaven are in such an atmosphere: but those in whom the first degree only is opened are in a kind of watery, rare, and pure atmosphere; those who are in the first or ultimate heaven are in such an atmosphere. This is because interior perceptions and thoughts, as being more perfect, correspond to a purity of atmosphere like that in which they are, for they pour themselves forth from every angel and still more from every angelic society, and present a corresponding sphere, which sphere is manifested in a purity like that of the perceptions and thoughts of the angels, that is, of their intelligence and wisdom. This sphere appears, as has been said, like an atmosphere, like an ethereal atmosphere in the inmost heaven, like an aerial atmosphere in the middle heaven, and like a rare watery atmosphere in the ultimate heaven. This makes evident that a kind of watery atmosphere corresponds to natural thought and perception, but a rare watery atmosphere corresponds to spiritual-natural thought and perception in which are the angels of the ultimate heaven; but a dense watery atmosphere, approaching either to black or ruddy, corresponds to natural thought in which there is nothing spiritual, and natural thought in which there is nothing spiritual those have who are in the hells where falsities prevail, for all who are there are merely natural and sensual. (That man has three degrees of life, like the three heavens, and that they differ in purity, see in the work on Heaven and Hell 33, 34, 208, 209, 211.) This makes evident why such hells are called in the Word "seas" and "abysses," "seas" because they appear like seas, and "abysses" from their depth.

[2] That "seas," "depths," and "abysses" signify the hells where and from which are the falsities of evil, can be seen in the following passages of the Word. In Moses:

Pharaoh's chariots and his army hath He cast into the sea. The abysses have covered them; they went down into the depths like a stone. From the wind of Thy nostrils the waters were piled up, the floods stood upright as a heap, and the abysses were congealed in the heart of the sea (Exodus 15:4, 5, 8).

This is from the song of Moses respecting Pharaoh and his army after they were drowned in the Sea Suph. "Pharaoh and his army" signifying those who are in falsities from evil, and the "Sea Suph" the hell where those falsities are; from which it is evident that "the abysses covered them" signifies that the hells covered them. (What the rest signifies in the spiritual sense, see Arcana Coelestia 8272-8279, and 8286-8289, where it is explained.)

[3] These things have a like signification in David:

He rebuked the Sea Suph that it might be dried up, and He led them through the abysses as in the wilderness. The waters covered his ¹ adversaries (Psalms 106:9, 11).

In Isaiah:

Art Thou not He who dried up the sea, the waters of the great abyss; who made the depths of the sea for a way that the redeemed might pass over? (Isaiah 51:10, 15).

Who divided the waters before them, who led them through the abysses like a horse in the wilderness; they stumbled not (Isaiah 63:12, 13).

The "sons of Israel" before whom the Sea Suph was dried up, and through which, when dried up, they passed safely, mean all who are in truths from good, whom the Lord protects, lest the falsities of evil that continually rise up from the hells should harm them; this is the meaning of "He dried up the sea, the waters of the great abyss," and of "He made its depths for way that the redeemed might pass over," also of "He led them through the abysses;" for falsities that are exhaled from the hells, consequently the hells, continually surround man (for it is the same whether you say falsities from the hells, or the hells), but the Lord continually disperses them with those who are in truths from good from Him; so this is what is signified by "drying up the sea," and "leading them through the abysses." Those who are in truths from good from the Lord are meant by the "redeemed."

[4] "To dry up the abyss" and "to make dry the rivers" have the same signification in Isaiah:

Jehovah saith to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be inhabited; and to the cities of Judah, Ye shall be built, and I will raise up the waste places thereof; saying to the abyss, Be dry; and I will make dry thy rivers (Isaiah 44:26, 27).

"Jerusalem" signifies the Lord's church, and "the cities of Judah" signify the goods and truths of doctrine; the restoration of the church and of doctrine is signified by "to be inhabited" and "to be built;" the dispersion of evils and falsities that are from the hells and protection from them, are signified by "drying up the abyss and making dry the rivers" (as above).

[5] The same is signified in Zechariah:

Israel shall pass through the sea of distress, and shall smite the waves in the sea, and all the depths of the river shall be dried up; and the pride of Assyria shall be cast down, and the staff of Egypt shall depart (Zechariah 10:11).

That those who are protected by the Lord in truths from good shall live, although falsities from the hells encompass them, is signified by "Israel shall pass through the sea and shall smite the waves in the sea, and all the depths of the river shall be dried up," for "Israel" means those who are in truths from good; the "sea" signifies hell and all falsity therefrom; the "waves of the sea" signify reasonings from falsities against truths; "to dry up all the depths of the river" signifies to disperse all the falsities of evil, even the deeper, the "river Nile" signifying false knowledge [scientificum]; therefore it follows "the pride of Assyria shall be cast down, and the staff of Egypt shall depart," "Assyria" signifying reasoning from falsities against truths, and "Egypt" knowledge [scientificum] applied to confirm falsities; "the pride of Assyria which shall be cast down" signifies self-intelligence from which comes reasoning; and "the staff of Egypt which shall depart" signifies the power that is added to reasoning by knowledges that are applied for confirmation.

[6] In Ezekiel:

In the day when he shall go down into hell, I will cause to mourn, I will cover the abyss over him (Ezekiel 31:15).

This is said of Pharaoh and Assyria; and "Pharaoh" has a similar signification as "Egypt," namely, knowledge destroying the truth of the church by application to falsities, and "Assyria" signifies reasoning from falsities; that those who are such are cast down into hell, where such falsities and reasonings from falsities are, is signified by "he shall go down into hell, and shall be covered with the abyss;" from which it is evident that the "abyss" means the hell where and from which are the falsities of evil.

[7] In Micah:

God will turn back, He will have compassion upon us, He will subdue our iniquities, and He will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea (Micah 7:19).

Because "the depths of the sea," the same as "abysses," mean the hells where and from which are evils and falsities, it is said, "He will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea."

[8] In Ezekiel:

When I shall make thee a desolate city like the cities that are not inhabited; when I shall make the abyss to come up against thee, and many waters shall cover thee; then will I make thee to go down with them that go down into the pit, to the people of an age, and I will make thee to dwell in the land of the lower parts, in the desolations from an age, with them that go down into the pit, that thou have no habitation (Ezekiel 26:19, 20).

This is said of Tyre, which signifies the church in respect to the knowledges of truth and good, or in respect to the truths of the natural man, for the truths of the natural man are the knowledges of truth and good; this treats of the vastation of the church in respect to these; to make Tyre "a desolate city, like the cities that are not inhabited," signifies its doctrine without truths, and like the doctrines that are without good, for the truths of doctrine without good are not truths, since all truths are of good; "to make the abyss to come up against Tyre, that many waters may cover her," signifies immersion in falsities from hell in great abundance, the "abyss" meaning hell, and "many waters" falsities in great abundance; "with them that go down into the pit, to the people of an age," signifies to those in hell who were there from the most ancient church just before the flood; these are called "the people of an age, because they were from ancient time, and were, above others, in direful falsities. This shows what is signified by "making to dwell in the land of the lower parts, in the desolations from an age, with them that go down into the pit, that thou have no habitation," "to have no habitation" signifying here not to be in any truths, because not in good, for such do not dwell in houses but in pits.

[9] Like things are signified in Zechariah:

Behold, Jehovah ² will impoverish Tyre, and smite her wealth in the sea; and she herself shall be devoured by fire (Zechariah 9:4).

"To smite her wealth in the sea" signifies to cast falsities into hell, "the sea" meaning the hell in which are the falsities of evil, and "wealth" meaning the falsities themselves.

[10] In Ezekiel:

Those that despise thee have brought thee into many waters; the east wind hath broken thee in the heart of the seas. Thy riches, thy tradings, thy merchandise, thy mariners, and thy pilots, they that caulked thy chinks, and they who trade thy trading, and all thy men of war that are in thee, and in all thine assembly which is in the midst of thee, shall fall into the heart of the seas in the day of thy fall (Ezekiel 27:26, 27).

This treats of Tyre, and is said of her ships, which signify the knowledges of good and truth, or the truths of the natural man that they acquire and trade in, but here they mean falsities; "the heart of the seas in which the east wind hath broken her, and into which they shall fall in the day of her fall," has a similar signification as the "abyss," namely, the hell from which are the falsities of doctrine; "the east wind" meaning influx out of heaven, and the "day of her fall" the Last Judgment. "Riches" signify falsities; "tradings and merchandise" the acquisition and communication of falsities; "mariners" signify those who minister, and "pilots" the religious leaders who lead and teach; "men of war" those who defend, and "the assembly" false doctrinals.

[11] In Jonah:

Out of the belly of hell have I cried; Thou hast heard my voice. Thou hadst cast me into the depth, even into the heart of the seas; and the river was round about me; all Thy billows and Thy waves passed over me. The waters enclosed me about even to the soul; the abyss encompassed me round about, the sedge was wrapped about my head. I went down to the cuttings off of the mountains; the bars of the earth are upon me forever; yet Thou hast made my life to come up out of the pit (Jonah 2:2, 3, 5, 6).

The Lord teaches in Matthew (Matthew 12:39, 40; 16:4; Luke 11:29, 30), that Jonah's being in the whale three days and three nights represented that the Lord would thus be in the heart of the earth; and these words of Jonah describe the Lord's direful temptations. And because it is by the overflow of evils and falsities that come up out of hell, and as it were overwhelm, that temptations exist, it is said that "out of the belly of hell he cried," and that "he was cast into the depth, even into the heart of the seas," which signifies hell; "the river and the waters that enclosed him," and "the billows and waves that passed over," signify the evils and falsities from hell; "the abyss that encompassed round about," signifies the hells where and from which are the falsities; "the cuttings off of the mountains to which he went down," signify the hells where and from which are evils; that the Lord was as it were bound by these is signified by "the sedge wrapped about the head," and "the bars of the earth that were upon him," "wrapped by sedge" signifying to be bound as it were by falsities, and "the bars of the earth" signifying to be bound as it were by evils; victory over these from His own power is signified by "yet hast Thou made my life to come up out of the pit." It is said, "Thou hast made to come up," but in reference to the Lord this means that He made Himself to come up by His Divine, that is, by His own power.

[12] The following passages in David have a like signification:

Abyss calleth unto abyss at the voice of Thy waterspouts; all Thy breakers and Thy waves have passed over me (Psalms 42:7).

The waters are come even to my soul. I have sunk in mire of depths, there is no standing; I have come into depths of waters, and the billow overwhelms me. Deliver me out of the mire, and let me not sink; let me be delivered from them that hate me, and out of the depths of waters. Let not the flood of waters overwhelm me, and let not the pit shut her mouth upon me (Psalms 69:1, 2, 14, 15).

In the same:

Return, quicken me; return and make me to come up out of the depths of the earth (Psalms 71:20).

In the same:

I have been counted with them that go down into the pit; neglected among the dead, like the slain that lie down in the grave, whom Thou rememberest no more; and from Thy hand they are cut off. Thou hast laid me in the pit of the lower parts, in dark places, in the depths (Psalms 88:4-6).

These passages in David describe the Lord's temptations when He was in the world, by which He subjugated the hells and glorified His Human; "waves" and "billows" signify evils and falsities; and "abysses" and "depths of the sea," likewise "the pit" signify the hells where and from which are evils and falsities; for as was said above, temptations are like immersions in the hells and obsessions by evils and falsities. This is signified by the lamentations in David in many places, and also in the Prophets; for in the spiritual sense of the Word there is much that treats of the Lord's temptations by which He subjugated the hells and arranged all things in order in the heavens and in the hells, and by which He glorified His Human; these things are especially meant in Luke (Luke 24:44) by the things predicted "in the Prophets and in the Psalms of David," respecting the Lord, and fulfilled by Him.

[13] "The abyss" and "the sea" and "its depths" also signify the hells in the following passages. In Jeremiah:

Flee ye, they have turned themselves away, they have cast themselves down into the deep, the inhabitants of Dedan, and of Hazor (Jeremiah 49:8, 30).

In the same:

The sea has come up upon Babylon; she is covered with the multitude of the waves thereof (Jeremiah 51:42).

In Amos:

The Lord Jehovih hath made me to see; and behold, the Lord Jehovih calleth to devour ³ by fire; it hath devoured the great abyss (Amos 7:4).

In David:

The waters saw Thee, O God, the waters saw Thee, they were afraid; the abysses also trembled (Psalms 77:16).

In the same:

We will not fear when the earth shall be changed, and when the mountains shall be moved in the heart of the sea; the waters thereof shall be in tumult, shall be made turbid (Psalms 46:2, 3).

In Moses:

On the same day were all the fountains of the great abyss broken up, and the floodgates of heaven were opened (Genesis 7:11).

And again:

The fountains also of the abyss and the flood gates of heaven were stopped (Genesis 8:2).

In Job:

Where shall wisdom be found? and where is the place of intelligence? Man knoweth not the price thereof. The abyss saith, It is not in me; and the sea saith, It is not with me (Job 28:12-14).

In the same:

Hast thou entered into the weepings of the sea, and hast thou walked in search of the abyss? Have the gates of death been revealed unto thee, and hast thou seen the gates of the shadow of death? (Job 38:16, 17).

In the Gospels:

Whoso shall cause one of these little ones that believe in Me to stumble, it is profitable for him that an ass-millstone be hanged about his neck, and that he be sunk in the depths of the sea (Matthew 18:6; Mark 9:42; Luke 17:2).

The demons that had possession of the man besought Jesus that He would not command them to depart into the abyss, therefore He suffered them to enter into the swine (Luke 8:31, 33; Matthew 8:31, 32).

And in the following passages of Revelation:

The beast that came up out of the abyss and made war (Revelation 11:7).

The beast that thou sawest was and is not, and is about to come up out of the abyss (Revelation 17:8).

I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key of the abyss, and a great chain upon his hand. And he bound the dragon a thousand years, and cast him into the abyss (Revelation 20:1-3).

In these passages, also, "the abyss" and "the depth of the sea" signify the hell where and from which are the falsities of evil; for the reason that the evil spirits who are there, and who while they lived as men in the world were in the falsities of evil, seem to dwell as it were in the bottom of the seas, and this the more deeply according to the grievousness of the evil from which was their falsity.

[14] As "abysses" signify the hells, where and from which are falsities, so "abysses" signify also the ultimates of heaven, where and from which are the knowledges of truth, which are the truths of the natural man. This is because the ultimates of heaven appear to be in waters, but such as are limpid and clear; for, as was said above, the atmosphere of the highest heaven is like an ethereal atmosphere, that of the middle heaven like an aerial atmosphere, and that of the lowest heaven like a watery atmosphere; this is like a watery atmosphere because the truths with those who are in it are truths of the natural man, and the atmosphere of the natural man is as it were watery. This is what gives rise to the appearances of rivers, lakes, and seas, in the spiritual world; consequently "seas" signify also cognitions and knowledges [cognitiones et scientifica] in general, or in the whole complex (See above, n. 275, 342).

[15] "Abysses" also have a like signification in the following passages. In Moses:

Jehovah thy God bringeth thee to a good land, a land of rivers of waters, of fountains and abysses going forth from valley and mountain (Deuteronomy 8:7).

(This may be seen explained above, n. 518.) In the same:

God will bless Joseph with the blessings of heaven from above, with the blessings of the abyss that coucheth below (Genesis 49:25; Deuteronomy 33:13). (This, too, is explained above, n. 448.)

In David:

By the word of Jehovah were the heavens made; and all the hosts ⁴ of them by the breath of His mouth. He gathered the waters of the sea together as a heap; He giveth the abysses in storehouses (Psalms 33:6, 7). (See above, n. 275), where this is explained.)

In the same:

Thou hast covered the earth with the abyss as with a garment (Psalms 104:6). (See above, n. 275.)

In the same:

Praise Jehovah from the earth, ye whales and all abysses (Psalms 148:7).

"Abysses" in these passages signify the ultimates of heaven, in which are spiritual-natural angels.

In Ezekiel:

The waters made thee ⁵ to grow, the abyss made it high (Ezekiel 31:4). (See also above, n. 518.)

[16] Furthermore "abysses" signify Divine truths in abundance and the arcana of Divine wisdom. Thus in David:

He clave the rock in the desert, and made them to drink out of great abysses (Psalms 78:15).

In the same:

Jehovah, Thy righteousness is like a great abyss (Psalms 36:6; also elsewhere).

Footnotes:

739. Verse 9. (Revelation 12:9) And that great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, signifies that those who were in evils of life and who had thence become sensual, and had perverted all things of the Word and thus of the church, were separated from heaven and were cast down into hell. This is evident from the signification of "to be cast out," as being, in reference to the dragon, to be separated from heaven and to be cast down into hell. That these had been conjoined to heaven but were afterwards separated may be seen in a preceding article (n. 737). That they were cast down and condemned to hell is meant by "he was cast out into the earth" (of which presently). Also from the signification of "the great dragon," as being those who are in evils of life, and yet with the mouth confess God and the Lord, and call the Word holy, and speak in favor of the church. (That such are meant by "the dragon," see above, n. 714-716, 718, 737.) This is why he is called "the great dragon," for "great" is predicated in the Word of good, and in the contrary sense, as here, of evil; while their falsities are signified by "his angels" (of which presently). Also from the signification of "the old serpent," as being those who are sensual, here that those who had perverted all things of the Word and of the church had thence become sensual. That "serpent" signifies the sensual may be seen above (n. 581, 715 at the end). The serpent is called "old," because in olden times there were those who perverted all things of the Word and the church. According to the historical sense of the letter "the old serpent" means the serpent that seduced Eve and Adam in paradise, but both by that serpent and by this all such are meant as seduce the whole world, as can be seen from what follows in this paragraph. From this it is clear that "that great dragon was cast out, that old serpent," signifies that those who were in evils of life, and who had perverted all things of the Word, and thus of the church, were separated from heaven and were cast down into hell.

[2] That all who are in evils of life become sensual, and that those who thus become sensual pervert all things of the church, can be seen from this, that there are with men three degrees of life, an inmost, a middle, and an ultimate, and that these degrees with man are opened successively as he becomes wise. Every man at his birth is altogether sensual, so that even the five senses of his body must be opened by use; he next becomes sensual in thought, since he thinks from the objects that have entered through his bodily senses; afterwards he becomes more interiorly sensual; but so far as by visual experiences, by knowledges [scientiae], and especially by the practices of moral life, he acquires for himself natural light [lumen], he becomes interiorly natural. This is the first or ultimate degree of man's life.

[3] And as at this time from parents, masters, and preachers, and from reading the Word and books thence, he imbibes knowledges of spiritual truth and good, and stores them up in his memory like other knowledges [scientifica], he lays the foundations of the church with himself; and yet if he goes no further he continues natural. But if he goes on further, namely if he lives according to these knowledges from the Word, the interior degree is opened in him and he becomes spiritual, but only so far as he is affected by truths, understands them, wills them, and does them; and for the reason that evils and the falsities thence which by heredity have their seat in the natural and sensual man, are removed and as it were scattered in this and in no other way. For the spiritual man is in heaven and the natural in the world, and so far as heaven, that is, the Lord through heaven, can flow in through the spiritual man into the natural, so far evils and the falsities thence, which, as was said, have their seat in the natural man, are removed; for the Lord removes them, as he removes hell from heaven. The interior degree with man can be opened in no other way, because the evils and falsities that are in the natural man keep it closed up; for the spiritual degree, that is, the spiritual mind, contracts itself against evil and the falsity of evil of every kind as a fibril of the body does at the touch of a sharp point; for like as the fibers of the body contract themselves at every harsh touch, so does man's interior mind, which is called the spiritual mind, at the touch or breath of evil or the falsity thence. But on the other hand, when things homogeneous, which are Divine truths from the Word that derive their essence from good, approach that mind, it opens itself; yet the opening is effected not otherwise than by the reception of the good of love flowing in through heaven from the Lord, and by its conjunction with the truths that man has stored up in his memory, and this conjunction is only effected by a life according to Divine truths in the Word, for when these truths come to be of the life they are called goods. Thence it may be clear how the second or middle degree is opened.

[4] The third or inmost degree is opened with those who apply Divine truths at once to life, and do not reason about them from the memory, and thus bring them into doubt. This is called the celestial degree. As there are these three degrees of life with every man, which yet are opened in diverse ways, thence there are three heavens. In the third or inmost heaven are those with whom the third degree is opened; in the second or middle heaven those with whom the second degree only is opened; and in the first or lowest heaven those with whom the interior natural man, which is also called the rational man, is opened; for this man, if truly rational, receives influx from the Lord through heaven. All these come into heaven. But those who have received Divine truths in the memory only, and not at the same time in the life, continue natural and even become sensual; and for the reason that the evils into which man is born have their seat, as was said above, in the natural and sensual man; and in such these evils have not been removed and as it were dispersed by the influx of good from the Lord and its reception by man; consequently with such the loves of the body rule, which in general are the love of self and the love of the world, and the consequent love and pride of self-intelligence. These loves, and the evils and their falsities that flow from them, fill the interiors of their natural mind, although these are covered without by things respectable and becoming which pertain to moral life, that are put on for the sake of the world and the laws enacted for the external man. Such although they may have filled their memory with knowledges from the Word, from the dogmas of their several religions and from the sciences, are yet natural and even sensual; for the interiors of their natural mind, which are nearest to the spiritual mind, are closed up by confirmations, even from the Word, against the spiritual life, which is a life according to Divine truths and is called charity towards the neighbor. These because they are sensual, are "the dragon," and are called "serpents," for "serpent" signifies the sensual, because the sensual is the lowest part of man's life, and as it were creeps upon the ground and licks the dust like a serpent.

[5] To illustrate this I will quote what is related in Genesis respecting "the old serpent" that seduced Eve and Adam, and will explain what it signifies in the spiritual sense:

Out of the ground Jehovah God made to grow forth every tree that is desirable to the sight and good for food, and the tree of lives in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. And Jehovah God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden eating thou mayest eat, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil thou mayest not eat, because in the day thou shalt eat of it dying thou shalt die. And the serpent was more crafty than any wild beast of the field which Jehovah God made; and he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent, Of the fruit of the tree of the garden we may eat, but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said, Dying ye shall not die; for God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened and ye shall be as God, knowing good and evil. And the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to give intelligence, and she took of the fruit thereof and did eat, and she gave also to her husband with her and he did eat. And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig-leaves together and made themselves girdles. And Jehovah said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, cursed art thou above every beast and above every wild beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life. And I will put enmity between thee and the woman and between thy seed and her seed; he shall trample on thy head, ¹ and thou shalt wound his heel. And Jehovah God sent forth the man from the garden of Eden and made to dwell from the east of the garden of Eden cherubim, and the flame of a sword turning itself to guard the way of the tree of lives (Genesis 2:8, 9, 16, 17; 3:1-7, 14, 15, 16, 23, 24).

How the historical narratives of the creation of heaven and earth that are contained in the first chapters of Genesis down to the story of the Flood, are to be understood, no one can know except from the spiritual sense that is within every particular of the sense of the letter of the Word. For these historical narratives of the creation of heaven and earth, and of the garden in Eden, and of the posterity of Adam even to the Flood, are composed historicals; and yet they are most holy, because every particular idea and every particular expression therein are correspondences, and thence signify spiritual things. Anyone of clear intelligence might discover this from the history of the creation in the first chapter, which began with light when the sun did not yet exist, and from various other things there; also from the creation of Eve the wife of Adam out of one of his ribs; also from the two trees in paradise, and from the prohibition to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and yet, although they were the wisest of all they were seduced by the serpent and did eat; and that Jehovah should place such trees in the midst of the garden and suffer them to be seduced by the serpent to eat of the forbidden tree, which yet He might have averted; and finally that the whole human race was condemned to eternal death merely because they ate of that tree. Who cannot see that these things, with other like things which an obscure understanding might believe in simplicity, would be contrary to the Divine love and contrary to the Divine Providence and foresight? And yet there is no harm while children and the simple believe these things according to the historical letter, since they serve, as well as the rest of the Word, to conjoin human minds to angelic minds, for angels are in the spiritual sense when men are in the natural sense. But what is involved in these historicals in the spiritual sense shall be told in a few words.

[6] The first chapter treats of the new creation or establishment of a church, which was the Most Ancient Church on this globe, as well as the most excellent of all, for it was a celestial church, because it was in love to the Lord; and consequently the men of that church were most wise, having almost immediate communication with the angels of heaven, through whom they received wisdom from the Lord. Because they were in love to the Lord, and had revelations from heaven, and because they at once applied to life the Divine truths revealed to them, they were in a similar state as the angels of the third heaven; consequently that heaven consists chiefly of the men of that church. That church is meant by "Adam and his wife." But "the garden in Eden" signifies their intelligence and wisdom, and this is also described by all that is told about that garden understood in the spiritual sense. Also how wisdom was lost in their posterity is described by "eating of the tree of knowledge." For the two trees placed in the midst of the garden mean perception from the Lord and perception from the world; "the tree of lives" perception from the Lord, and "the tree of knowledge of good and evil" perception from the world, which yet in itself is mere cognition and knowledge. But "the serpent" that seduced them signifies the sensual of man, which communicates immediately with the world, therefore their seduction by the "serpent" means their seduction by the sensual, which derives all it has from the world and nothing from heaven. For the men of the celestial church are such that they perceive all the truths and goods of heaven from the Lord by influx into their interiors, whence they see truths and goods inwardly in themselves as if they were innate, and they do not need to acquire them by a posterior way, and to enrich the memory with them. So neither do they reason about truths whether they are so or not; for those who see truths in themselves do not reason, since reasoning implies a doubt whether a thing is true. For the same reason they never make mention of faith, for faith implies something unknown which must be believed although it is not seen. That the men of the Most Ancient Church were such has been revealed to me from heaven, for it has been granted me to speak with them and to be informed, as can be seen from the various things related concerning the men of that church in the Arcana Coelestia.

[7] But it is to be known that they were never forbidden to acquire for themselves the knowledges of good and evil from heaven, for by these their intelligence and wisdom was perfected; neither were they forbidden to acquire for themselves the knowledges of good and evil from the world, for from this source their natural man had its knowledge [scientia]. But they were forbidden to view these knowledges by a posterior way, because it was granted them to see all things that appeared before their eyes in the world by a prior way. To view the world and the things in it and to deduce knowledges from it by a prior way is to view them from the light of heaven, and to know in that way their quality. Therefore they were also able by knowledges from the world to confirm heavenly things, and thus to strengthen their wisdom. But they were forbidden to view knowledges from the world by a posterior way, which is done when conclusions are drawn from them respecting heavenly things, which is an inverted order that is called by the learned the order of physical or natural influx, and of this there is none in things heavenly. Such did the men of the Most Ancient Church become when they began to love things worldly more than things heavenly, and to exalt themselves and to boast of their own wisdom; from this their posterity became sensual, and then their sensual, which is meant by "the serpent," seduced them; and the sensual is not willing to advance by any other than a posterior way. This, therefore, is the signification of "the tree of the knowledge of good and evil," of which they were forbidden to eat.

[8] That they were permitted to acquire knowledges from the world and to view them by a prior way is signified by "out of the ground Jehovah God made to grow every tree that is desirable to the sight and good for food;" for "trees" signify knowledges and perceptions; "desirable to the sight" signifies what the understanding desires; and "good for food" signifies what conduces to the nourishment of the mind. The knowledges of good and evil from the Lord from which is wisdom, and the knowledges of good and evil from the world from which is science, were represented by "the tree of lives" and by "the tree of the knowledge of good and evil" in the midst of the garden. That they were permitted to appropriate to themselves knowledges from every source, not only from heaven but also from the world, provided they did not proceed in the inverted order, by reasoning about heavenly things from worldly knowledges, instead of thinking about worldly things from heavenly things, is signified by "Jehovah God commanded them to eat of every tree of the garden, but not of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil;" that if they did, heavenly wisdom and the church would perish with them is signified by "in the day that thou shalt eat of it dying thou shalt die," "to eat" signifying in the spiritual sense to appropriate to oneself.

[9] That they were seduced by the sensual, because it stands next to the world and thus is sensitive to every pleasure and delight from the world, and from these is in fallacies and is ignorant of and also rejects heavenly things, is signified by "the serpent;" "the serpent" means the sensual, and no other sensual than the sensual of such. The serpent is "the devil and Satan," because the sensual communicates with hell and makes one with it, for in it resides all the evil of man in the complex. And because man from the sensual reasons from fallacies and from the delights of the loves of the world and of the body, and indeed skillfully and cunningly, therefore it is said that "the serpent was more subtle than any wild beast of the field which Jehovah God had made;" "the wild beast of the field" signifying in the spiritual sense the affection of the natural man.

[10] As the sensual supposes that wisdom is acquired by means of knowledges from the world and by natural knowledges [scientiae], and not by any influx out of heaven from the Lord, therefore from such ignorance and fallacy the serpent said to the woman, "Ye shall not die; for God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof then your eyes shall be opened and ye shall be as God, knowing good and evil;" for the sensual man believes that he knows all things, and that nothing is concealed from him; but not so the celestial man, who knows that he knows nothing from himself but only from the Lord, and that what he does know is so little as to be scarcely anything as compared with what he does not know. In fact, their posterity believed themselves to be gods, and that they knew all good and all evil; but from evil they were not capable of knowing heavenly good, but only worldly and corporeal good, and this in itself is not good; yet from heavenly good man is able to know what is evil.

[11] That the affection of the natural man persuaded by its sensual supposed that intelligence in the things of heaven and the church may be acquired through knowledge [scientia] of cognitions from the world is signified by, "the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to give intelligence;" "woman" here signifying the affection of the natural man, which draws its desires from the sensual, and that affection is such. That that affection seduced also the rational is signified by "the woman took of the fruit of the tree and did eat, and gave to her husband with her and he did eat," "the husband of the woman" signifying the rational. That they then saw themselves to be without truths and goods is signified by "then the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked;" the "nakedness that is ashamed" signifying the deprivation of heavenly love, and thence of good and truth. That they then clothed themselves with natural truths, that they might not appear to be deprived of heavenly truths, is signified by "they sewed fig-leaves together and made themselves girdles;" the "fig-tree" signifying the natural man, and "its leaf" true knowledge [scientificum].

[12] Afterwards what their sensual became, namely, that it turned itself entirely away from heaven and turned itself to the world, and thus received nothing Divine, is described by the curse of the serpent; for the sensual with man cannot be reformed, consequently when man is reformed it is simply removed, since it clings to the body and stands out before the world, and thus enjoyments from it, it calls goods, as it feels them to be. For this reason it is said that "the seed of the woman shall crush its head, and that it shall hurt His heel;" "the seed of the woman" meaning the Lord; "the head of the serpent" all evil; and "the Lord's heel" Divine truth in ultimates which with us is the sense of the letter of the Word; this the sensual man, or the sensual of man, perverts and falsifies and thus hurts. That the sense of the letter is a guard that the Lord be not approached except through the appearances of truth, and not through genuine truths, by those who are in evils, is signified by "the cherubim" which with the flame of a sword turning itself were placed at the garden of Eden to guard the way of the tree of lives. (But this and the rest of these chapters may be seen explained in the Arcana Coelestia.)

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