5321. 'And he made him ride in the second chariot' means an outward sign that the celestial of the spiritual was the source of all the teaching about goodness and truth. This is clear from the meaning of 'the chariot' as teaching which has reference to goodness and truth, dealt with below, so that 'making him ride in the chariot' is a sign denoting that the celestial of the spiritual was the source of that teaching. This particular matter is connected with what Pharaoh has stated previously, in verse 40,

You shall be over my house, and all my people shall kiss you on the mouth; only in the throne will I be great, more than you.

The reason why teaching that has reference to goodness and truth is meant by 'Joseph' is that 'Joseph' represents the Lord's Divine Spiritual, 3971, 4669, and so Divine Truth going forth from the Lord's Divine Human, 4723, 4727, the celestial of the spiritual being an extension of that Divine Truth. The reason why all the teaching about goodness and truth is derived from the celestial of the spiritual is that in a real sense the Lord is that teaching since every detail of it comes forth from Him and every detail of it has reference to Him. For all that teaching has reference to the good of love and the truth of faith; and since the Lord is the source of these, He is not merely present within them but in a real sense is both of them. From this it is clear that teaching which has reference to goodness and truth has reference to the Lord alone, and that such goes forth from His Divine Human.

[2] No doctrine at all can possibly go forth from the Divine itself except through the Divine Human, that is, through the Word, which in the highest sense is Divine Truth coming from the Lord's Divine Human. That which goes forth directly from the Divine itself cannot be understood even by angels in the inmost heaven. The reason for this is that it is infinite and so surpasses all understanding, even that of angels. But that which goes forth from the Lord's Divine Human is capable of being understood, for such truth refers to God as Divine Man, of whom some idea can be formed from His Human. No matter what kind of idea has been formed about that Human, it is an acceptable one if only the good of innocence has been inspired into it and the good of charity is present within it. This is the meaning of the Lord's words in John,

Nobody has ever seen God; the only begotten Son who is in the bosom of the Father, He has made Him known. John 1:18.

In the same gospel,

You have never heard the Father's voice nor seen His shape. John 5:37.

And in Matthew,

No one knows the Father except the Son, and he to whom the Son wishes to reveal Him. Matthew 11:27.

[3] Chariots are mentioned in very many places in the Word, yet scarcely anyone knows that matters of doctrine concerning goodness and truth, and also factual knowledge attached to those matters of doctrine, are meant by 'chariots'. The reason for such lack of knowledge is that nothing spiritual, only what is natural and historical, enters their thinking when 'a chariot' is mentioned, or similarly when the horses in front of a chariot are mentioned. But in the Word the powers of the understanding are meant by 'horses', 2760-2762, 3117, and therefore 'a chariot' means matters of doctrine and associated factual knowledge.

[4] It has become clear to me from the chariots which I have seen so many times in the next life that 'chariots' means the matters of doctrine and also the factual knowledge which the Church possesses. There is also a place over on the right, around the lower earth, where chariots and horses, together with rows of stables, appear. In that place people who in the world were considered learned, and who thought that life was the end in view of learning, stroll and converse with one another. The origin of such chariots and horses seen by them lies with the angels in higher heavens; when these angels' conversation turns to intellectual concepts, and to matters of doctrine and to known facts, those chariots and horses are seen by the spirits around the lower earth.

[5] The fact that such things are meant by 'chariots and horses' is perfectly plain from the occasion when Elijah was seen riding into heaven in a chariot of fire with horses of fire, and from what both he and Elisha were called - 'the chariot of Israel and its horsemen'. The two of them are spoken of in the second Book of Kings as follows,

Behold, a chariot of fire and horses of fire came between them, and Elijah went up in a whirlwind into heaven; Elisha saw this and cried out, My father, my father, the chariot of Israel and its horsemen. 2 Kings 2:11-12.

And in a reference to Elisha in the same book,

When Elisha was sick with the illness from which he died, Joash the king of Israel came down to him and wept before his face and said, My father, my father, the chariot of Israel and its horsemen. 2 Kings 13:14.

The reason they were called this is that both of them - Elijah and Elisha - represented the Lord as to the Word, see Preface to Genesis 18, and 2762, 5247 (end). The Word itself is primarily doctrinal teaching about what is good and true, for the Word is the source of all doctrinal teaching. It was for the same reason that Elisha's servant, whose eyes had been opened by Jehovah, saw around Elisha,

A mountain full of horses and chariots of fire. 2 Kings 6:17.

[6] The fact that 'chariot' means matters of doctrine and 'horse' intellectual concepts is also clear from other places in the Word, as in Ezekiel,

You will be filled at My table with horse and chariot, with mighty man and every man of war. Thus will I bring My glory to the nations. Ezekiel 39:20, 11; Revelation 19:18.

This refers to the Lord's Coming. Anyone can see that here 'horse and chariot' does not mean horse and chariot, for people are not going to be filled with these at the Lord's table but with such things as are meant spiritually by 'horse and chariot', which are intellectual concepts and matters of doctrine regarding what is good and true.

[7] Much the same is meant by 'horses' and 'chariots' in the following places: In David,

The chariots of God are myriad on myriad, ¹ thousands of peacemakers; the Lord is within them, Sinai is within the sanctuary. Psalms 68:17.

In the same author,

Jehovah covers Himself with light as with a garment; He stretches out the heavens like a curtain, laying the beams for His upper chambers ² on the waters; He makes the clouds His chariots; He walks on the wings of the wind. Psalms 104:2-3.

In Isaiah,

The prophecy of the wilderness of the sea. Thus said the Lord to me, Set a watchman; let him announce what he sees. He therefore saw a chariot, a pair of horsemen, a chariot of asses, a chariot of camels, and he listened diligently, with great care. For a lion cried out on the watchtower, O Lord, I am standing continually during the daytime, and at my post I have been set every night. Now behold, a chariot of men, a pair of horsemen. And he said, Fallen, fallen has Babylon. Isaiah 21:1, 6-9.

[8] In the same prophet,

At that time they will bring all your brothers in all nations as an offering to Jehovah, on horses, and in chariots, and in covered waggons, and on mules, and on fast runners, to My holy mountain, Jerusalem. Isaiah 66:20.

In the same prophet,

Behold, Jehovah will come in fire, and His chariots will be like a whirlwind. Isaiah 66:15.

In Habakkuk,

Has Jehovah been displeased with the rivers? Has Your anger turned against the rivers, has Your wrath turned against the sea, that You ride on Your horses, Your chariots being salvation? Habakkuk 3:8.

In Zechariah,

I lifted up my eyes and saw, and behold, four chariots coming out from between two mountains; but the mountains were mountains of bronze. The horses coupled to the first chariot were reddish, the horses coupled to the second chariot were black, the horses coupled to the third chariot were white, and the horses coupled to the fourth chariot were mottled. Zechariah 6:1-3.

[9] And in Jeremiah,

There will enter through the gates of this city kings and princes seated on the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they and their princes, the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And this city will be inhabited for ever. Jeremiah 17:25; 12:4.

'The city that will be inhabited for ever' is not Jerusalem but the Lord's Church meant by 'Jerusalem', 402, 2117, 3654. The kings who will enter through the gates of that city are not kings but truths known to the Church, 1672, 1728, 2015, 2069, 3009, 3670, 4575, 4581, 4966, 5044, 5068. Thus 'princes' are not princes but the first and foremost aspects of truth, 1482, 2089, 5044. Those 'seated on the throne of David' are Divine Truths which go forth from the Lord, 5313; and those 'riding in chariots and on horses' are consequently intellectual concepts and matters of doctrine. Chariots are also mentioned many times in historical descriptions in the Word; and since historical events are representative of, and the words used to describe them mean, the kinds of things that exist in the Lord's kingdom and in the Church, 'chariots' have a similar meaning there also.

[10] Since most things in the Word also have a contrary meaning, so too does 'chariots'. In that contrary sense matters of doctrine maintaining what is evil and false, also factual knowledge used to lend support to these, are meant by 'chariots', as in the following places: In Isaiah,

Woe to those who go down into Egypt for help and rely on horses and trust in chariots because they are many, and on horsemen because they are extremely strong, but do not look to the Holy One of Israel. Isaiah 31:1.

In the same prophet,

By the hand of your ³ servants you have spoken ill of the Lord and have said, By the multitude of my chariots I have gone up [to] the height of the mountains, the sides of Lebanon, where I will cut down the tallness of its cedars, the choice of its fir trees. Isaiah 37:24.

This is a prophecy delivered in response to the haughty words spoken by the Rabshakeh, a leader serving the king of Assyria. In Jeremiah,

Behold, waters rising out of the north which will become a deluging stream, and they will deluge the land and all that fills it, the city and those who dwell in it. And every inhabitant of the land will wail at the sound of the beat of the hoofs of the horses his mighty ones, at the noise of his chariot, the rumble of its wheels. Jeremiah 47:2-3.

[11] In Ezekiel,

By reason of the abundance of his horses their dust will cover you; by reason of the noise of horsemen, and wheels, and chariots, your walls will be shaken, when he comes into your gates, like the entry into a city that has been breached. By means of the hoofs of his horses he will trample all your streets. Ezekiel 26:10-11.

In Haggai,

I will overthrow the throne of kingdoms, and I will destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the nations. I will also overthrow the chariots and those riding in them; the horses and their riders will come down. Haggai 2:22.

In Zechariah,

I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem, I will cut off the battle bow. On the other hand He will speak peace to the nations. Zechariah 9:10.

In Jeremiah,

Egypt comes up like the river, like the rivers his waters are tossed about. For he said, I will go up, I will cover the earth, I will destroy the city and those who dwell in it. Go up, O horses; rage, O chariots. Jeremiah 46:8-9.

[12] The horses and chariots with which the Egyptians pursued the children of Israel and with which Pharaoh entered the Sea Suph, when the wheels of the chariots were made to come off, and much else regarding the horses and chariots which forms the major part of the description - Exodus 14:6-7, 9, 17, 23, 25-26; 15:4, 19 - mean intellectual concepts, matters of doctrine, and known facts which maintain what is false. They also mean therefore reasonings which pervert and destroy the truths known to the Church. The destruction and death of such reasonings is described there.

Footnotes:

2015. That 'kings will come out of you' means that all truth comes from Him is clear from the meaning of 'a king' as truth in both the historical and the prophetical sections of the Word, as stated in 1672 but not yet shown to be so. From the meaning of 'nations' as goods, and from the meaning of 'kings' as truths, the nature of the internal sense of the Word becomes clear, and also how remote it is from the sense of the letter. No one reading the Word, especially the historical section, believes anything other than that 'nations' referred to there means nations, or that 'kings' there means kings, and therefore that the nations mentioned there, or the kings, are the real subject of the very Word itself. But when the idea of nations and also of kings reaches angels it perishes altogether, and good and truth take their place instead. This is bound to seem strange and indeed a paradox, but it is nevertheless the truth. The matter may also become clear to anyone from the fact that if nations were meant in the Word by 'nations' and kings by 'kings', the Word of the Lord would hardly embody anything more than some historical or other piece of writing and so would be something of a worldly nature, when in fact everything in the Word is Divine and so is celestial and spiritual.

[2] Take merely the statement in the present verse about Abraham's being made fruitful, nations being made of him, and kings coming out of him. What else is this but something purely worldly and nothing at all heavenly? Indeed these assertions entail no more than the glory of this world, a glory which is absolutely nothing in heaven. But if this is the Word of the Lord then its glory must be that of heaven, not that of the world. This also is why the sense of the letter is completely erased and disappears when it passes into heaven, and is purified in such a way that nothing worldly at all is intermingled. For 'Abraham' is not used to mean Abraham but the Lord; nor is 'being fruitful' used to mean his descendants who would increase more and more but the endless growth of good belonging to the Lord's Human Essence. 'Nations' do not mean nations but goods, and 'kings' do not mean kings but truths. Nevertheless the narrative in the sense of the letter remains historically true, for Abraham was indeed spoken to in this way; and he was indeed made fruitful in this way, with nations as well as kings descending from him.

[3] That 'kings' means truths becomes clear from the following places: In Isaiah,

The sons of the foreigner will build up your walls, and their kings will minister to you. You will suck the milk of nations, and the breast of kings will you suck. Isaiah 60:10, 16.

What 'sucking the milk of nations and the breast of kings' means is not at all evident from the letter but from the internal sense, in which being endowed with goods and instructed in truths is meant. In Jeremiah,

There will enter through the gates of this city kings and princes seated on the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses. Jeremiah 17:25; 22:4.

'Riding in chariots and on horses' is a prophecy meaning the abundance of things of the understanding, as becomes clear from very many places in the Prophets. Thus the prophecy that 'kings will enter through the gates of the city' means in the internal sense that they were to be endowed with truths of faith. This sense of the Word is the heavenly sense into which the worldly sense of the letter passes.

[4] In the same prophet,

Jehovah has spurned in His fierce indignation king and priest. The gates of Zion have sunk into the ground, He has destroyed and broken in pieces her bars. King and princes are among the nations; the law is no more. Lamentations 2:6, 9.

Here 'king' stands for the truth of faith, 'priest' for the good of charity, 'Zion' for the Church, which is destroyed and its bars broken in pieces. Consequently 'king and princes among the nations', that is, truth and what belongs to truth, will be so completely banished that 'the law is no more', that is, nothing of the doctrine of faith will exist any more. In Isaiah,

Before the boy knows to refuse evil and to choose good, the ground will be abandoned which you loathe in the presence of its two kings. Isaiah 7:16.

This refers to the Lord's Coming. 'The land that will be abandoned' stands for faith which at that time would not exist. 'The kings' are the truths of faith which would be loathed.

[5] In the same prophet,

I will lift up My hand to the nations and raise My ensign to the peoples; and they will bring your sons in their bosom, and your daughters will be carried on their shoulder. Kings will be your foster fathers and their queens your wet-nurses. Isaiah 49:22-23.

'Nations' and 'daughters' stand for goods, 'peoples' and 'sons' for truths, as shown in Volume One. That 'nations' stands for goods, 1259, 1260, 1416, 1849, as does 'daughters', 489-491, while 'peoples' stands for truths, 1259, 1260, as does 'sons', 489, 491, 533, 1147. 'Kings' therefore stands for truths, in general by which they will be nourished, and 'queens' for goods by which they will be suckled. Whether you speak of goods and truths or of those who are governed by goods and truths it amounts to the same.

[6] In the same prophet,

He will spatter many nations, kings will shut their mouths because of him, ¹ for that which has [not] been told them they have seen, and that which they have not heard they have understood. Isaiah 52:15.

This refers to the Lord's Coming. 'Nations' stands for those who are stirred by an affection for goods, 'kings' those who are stirred by an affection for truths. In David,

Now, O kings, be intelligent; be instructed, O judges of the earth. Serve Jehovah with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son lest He perhaps be angry and you perish in the way. Psalms 2:10-12.

'Kings' stands for people who are governed by truths, and who by virtue of truths are also in many places called 'king's sons'. 'The Son' here stands for the Lord, and he is called the Son here because he is Truth itself, and the source of all truth.

[7] In John,

They will sing a new song, You are worthy to take the Book and to open its seals. You have made us kings and priests to our God so that we shall reign on the earth. Revelation 5:9-10.

Here people who are governed by truths are called 'kings'. The Lord also calls them 'the sons of the kingdom' in Matthew,

He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man, the field is the world, the seed are the sons of the kingdom, and the tares are the sons of the evil one. Matthew 13:37-38.

In John,

The sixth angel poured out his bowl over the great river Euphrates and its water was dried up to prepare the way of the kings who were from the east. Revelation 16:12.

'Euphrates' clearly does not mean the Euphrates, nor does 'kings from the east' mean kings from that quarter. What 'Euphrates' does mean may be seen in 120, 1585, 1866, from which it is evident that 'the way of the kings who were from the cast' means truths of faith that derive from goods of love.

[8] In the same book,

The nations that are saved will walk in its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory and honour into it. Revelation 21:24.

Here 'nations' stands for people who are governed by goods, 'kings of the earth' for those who are governed by truths, which is also evident from the fact that the details here are prophetical, not historical. In the same book,

With the great harlot seated on many waters the kings of the earth have committed whoredom and have become drunk with the wine of her whoredom. Revelation 17:2.

And elsewhere in the same book,

Babylon has given all nations drink from the wine of the fury of her whoredom; and the kings of the earth have committed whoredom with her. Revelation 18:1, 3, 9.

Here similarly it is clear that 'the kings of the earth' does not mean kings, for the subject is the falsification and adulteration of the doctrine of faith, that is, of truth, which are 'whoredom'. 'Kings of the earth' stands for truths that have been falsified and adulterated.

[9] In the same book,

The ten horns that you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom but are receiving authority as kings for one hour, together with the beast. These will be of one mind, and they will hand over power and authority to the beast. Revelation 17:12-13.

That 'kings' here does not mean kings may also be evident to anyone. If kings were meant, then 'ten kings receiving authority as kings for one hour' would be quite unintelligible, as similarly with the following words in the same book,

I saw the beast and the kings of the earth, and their armies gathered to make war with Him who was sitting on the horse, and with His army. Revelation 19:19

In verse 13 of the same chapter it is stated explicitly that the One who was sitting on the horse was The Word of God, against which the kings of the earth are said to have been gathered. 'The beast' stands for goods of love that have been profaned, 'kings' for truths of faith that have been adulterated; these are called 'kings of the earth' because they exist within the Church - 'earth' meaning the Church, see 662, 1066, 1067, 1262. 'The white horse' stands for the understanding of truth, 'He who was sitting on the horse' for the Word. This matter is plainer still in Daniel 11, describing the war between the king of the south and the king of the north, by which is meant the conflict of truths with falsities. Here such conflicts are described as a war that took place in history.

[10] Since 'a king' means truth, what is meant in the internal sense when the Lord is called King, and also a Priest, is made clear; and what essential quality of the Lord was represented by kings, and what by priests, is also made clear. 'Kings' represented His Divine Truth, and 'priests' His Divine Good. All the laws of order by which the Lord governs the universe as King are truths, while all the laws by which He governs the universe as Priest and by which He rules even over truths themselves are goods. For government from truths alone condemns everyone to hell, but government from goods lifts them out of that place and raises them up into heaven; see 1728. Because, in the Lord's case, these two - truths and goods - are joined together, they were also represented in ancient times by kingship and priesthood combined, as with Melchizedek who was at one and the same time king of Salem and priest to God Most High, Genesis 14:18. And at a later time among the Jews where the representative Church was established in a form of its own He was represented by judges and priests, and after that by kings.

[11] But because 'kings' represented truths which ought not to be paramount for the reason, already stated, that they condemn, the very idea was so objectionable that the Jews were reproached for it. The nature of truth regarded in itself has been described in 1 Samuel 8:11-18, as the rights of a king; and previous to that, in Moses, in Deuteronomy 17:14-18, they had been commanded through Moses to choose genuine truth deriving from good, not spurious truth, and not to pollute it with reasonings and factual knowledge. These are the considerations which the directive concerning a king given in the place in Moses referred to above embodies within itself. No one can possibly see this from the sense of the letter, but it is nevertheless evident from the details within the internal sense. This shows why 'a king' and 'kingship' represented and meant nothing other than truth.

Footnotes: