The love of ruling over others, will, at first, induce some of the leaders in the church to learn, and to teach, the good and true principles of the church, from the Divine Word, in order to build up a church. But such leaders will gradually decline in intelligence and knowledge, until they teach literal rules instead of spiritual truths; and until, finally, all the good and truth of the church shall be adulterated with evil and falsity, and the church shall be brought to an end; and then the Lord shall come, to establish a new church. These things refer to the general church, on the earth, and also to the particular churches in the individual minds of men on earth.

BABYLON.

Babel, or Babylon, represents the love of ruling over others, from self-love, which would subject everything to its dominion, using even the holy things of the church to rule the souls of men, and thus to dominate the whole world. The king of Babylon represents this lust of dominion. Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, had conquered many nations; and he was ambitions to rule the whole world. And while in this state of mind, he had the significant dream which is narrated in our text. The dream was a revelation from the Lord, as to the future conditions of the church.

But, to place the subject upon a level of thought which the king, or any other natural-minded man, could understand, the prophet Daniel was led to interpret the dream as if relating to a series of earthly kingdoms. But the important meaning of everything in the Word of the Lord relates to man's spiritual life; and to earthly things only as they embody and illustrate spiritual principles. And so, in reaching the spiritual meaning of the dream, Daniel's interpretation of it needs as much explanation as does the dream, itself. Thus, the dream may be interpreted in several aspects.

THE CHURCHES.

There have existed on the earth four general churches, or four general conditions of the Lord's church among men, the celestial church, of Adam; the spiritual church, of Noah; the natural church, of the Israelites; and the spiritual-natural church, the First Christian Church. Among the ancients, who understood something of the correspondence between natural and spiritual things, the wise men referred to these different ages, or churches, of human progress, by the names of different metals, of greater and less value, as "The Golden Age," "The Silver Age," "The Brazen Age," "The Iron Age," etc., because, in these different ages, different principles dominated men on earth.

THE METALS.

Gold, as the most valuable among common metals, and the least subject to corrosion, has always represented the most excellent principle in human life, the love-principle, especially as directed to man's unselfish love of the Lord. This is called the celestial principle, which actuates those who dwell in the celestial heaven, the third heaven, which is the highest condition of heaven. This is the "gold, tried in the fire," which makes men spiritually rich in character. Silver represents a lower grade of principle, but still a heavenly element of human life, the love of the neighbor, the spiritual principle, called charity. This is lower than love to the Lord, because love to the Lord is the love of goodness, itself, while the love of the neighbor is, fundamentally, the love of truth, and the love of the good which comes by means of doing the truth. This is the characteristic love of the angels who dwell in the second heaven, the middle heaven, called the spiritual heaven. Brass, or copper, represents natural good, good as it comes to a man who obeys the laws of the Lord, in his natural life, in order that he may do good. Iron represents natural truth, the truth of law, or rule, which controls the conduct. These are the qualities of good and of truth which exist with those who are in the natural heaven, the lowest general form of heavenly life.

Thus, there is a correspondence between the comparative values, and the qualities, of these metals, and those of the different Churches, or different aspects of the general Church, among men on earth.

THE HUMAN BODY.

And there is also a correspondence between these different degrees of human life, and the different parts of the human body. When the man stands erect, his head towers above the rest of his body. And his head is of the greatest importance and value. And it corresponds, comparatively, to the golden principle of love to the Lord, the highest element of human life, which is the head of all things in man. Next below the head come the breast and arms, which are of great value, and which correspond to the silver principle of love to the neighbor, the spiritual principle of regenerate life, Next below, come the abdomen and thighs, which here represent natural good, to which brass, or copper, corresponds. And below this, Come the lower legs and the feet, which represent the life of natural truth, the Iron of the mind. All these different elements are necessary to a good and fully developed manhood.

And there is a similar relation between the different elements of life, in the heavens, the higher and the lower. Thus, these comparisons and correspondences relate to human life in all its different aspects, whether in the different churches which have existed on the earth, or the different conditions of the church in the heavens, or the relative conditions of principles in men's individual minds.

THE IMAGE.

And these are the things represented by the great image, seen by Nebuchadnezzar. And we can easily see that this image was a reflex of the image erected in the king's own mind, by his ambitious thoughts, while he reflected upon his own greatness, the splendor of his kingdom, the extent of his power, and his desire to govern the whole world.

But the dream reveals to men (to each as he is able to see and to understand the case) the inevitable final result of the love of dominion, working in a human mind, and in general human history; because the love of rule is based on the love of self; and, finally, it will look to self alone, and will depart from the Lord; and it will thus necessarily perish, spiritually, by self-destruction, in the love of evil and in the life of sin.

The head of the image was of gold, representing celestial love, love to the Lord. The upper body was of silver, representing spiritual love, love to the neighbor. The lower body was of brass, representing natural goodness. The legs were of iron, representing natural truth. All these were good and necessary to a right manhood. And if the feet, also, had been of good iron, only, the image would have represented a noble manhood, in which the different principles bear similar relations to each other. But the weakness of the image was in its feet, because they "were part of iron, and part of clay." And the iron and clay would not make a firm and strong joining; and so the image could not stand firmly. The clay, which would not join with iron, represents a state of natural evil, which would not unite with natural truth, and which would not furnish a firm basis in a good natural life.

HUMAN HISTORY.

And now we have the full history of the principle of the love of ruling over others, and its inevitable final self-destruction. This great image had its head of gold; i. e., in its beginning, and in the highest states of the mind, there was some love to the Lord; and the ruler supposed that he loved to rule for the sake of doing celestial good to those whom he ruled, because they were the Lord's children, brought under the king's care.

But the operation of the dominant love of ruling, gradually dragged down the mind, below this celestial love, and brought a new mental condition; i.e., a forgetting of the Lord's claims, and a love of ruling the neighbor because the ruler wished well, spiritually, to those whom he ruled. This was a descent to the breast and arms of silver, and a departure from the head of gold.

But, as the fundamental self-love, hidden in the love of ruling, gradually increased its force, even the spiritual element of love was forgotten; and the ruler persuaded himself that he ruled others for their external and natural good. This was descending to the bowels and thighs of brass. And again, the gradual descent brought about another new state of mind, a forgetfulness of goodness, even on the natural plane, and a descent to the legs of iron, the hard laws of natural truth, by which the ruler persuaded himself that it was right for him to rule others, and that they ought to see it to be right.

But the descent did not stop, even at this stage; but the mind of the ruler set aside all ideas of either spiritual or natural goodness or truth; and he tried to stand upon feet partly of iron and partly of clay; i.e., he operated from selfish motives, but tried to put on an appearance of following the law. But the iron of natural truth and law, would not cohere with his miry clay of evil; and so the whole image lost its secure standing.

THE DESTRUCTION.

When the great image stood upon the low plane, a stone from an adjacent mountain rolled out upon the image, and broke it to pieces. The stone struck the weak feet, and threw down the-image, and ground its whole form to dust, like mere "chaff of the summer threshing-floors." The clay, the iron, the brass, the silver and the gold, were all destroyed.

The "stone," which crushed the image, was the Truth of the Lord, revealed to men, and coming out from the great mountain of the Lord's love. The Lord, Himself, was in His truth. And, as the truth passed along, in human minds, it grew, and "became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth;" i.e., it filled the church, and the minds of men, with the love of the Lord. This stone was not taken from the mountain by human hands, but it came out, as of itself; representing that the truth which disperses false and evil things, is not any man-made creed, but the spirit of the Divine Truth, itself.

These things explain both the dream and Daniel's interpretation of it. But, when Daniel said to the king, "Thou art this head of gold," it is not meant that either the king, or Babylon, was in a celestial state of mind.

But Babylon was the degenerate remnant of what was once a celestial church, in which the rulers once ruled in the name of the Lord, and for the good of the people. In every church, we can trace the gradual decline in its characteristic quality, until its end. In every stage of progress, as long as something of a church could be maintained, existing institutions have been permitted to continue. When men became sensuous, and lost all spirituality of character, they could still be kept in some kind of order, externally, by means of external churches. But when a church could no longer serve for any good, it has come to its end.

THE CHURCHES.

The Most Ancient Church possessed great spiritual intelligence. But its members began to degenerate, by wrongly eating of the tree of knowledge; i.e., by appropriating to themselves, as their own, the truths revealed to them by the Lord. And thus they fell into the pride of self-intelligence, in which they were destroyed, as represented by the allegory of the deluge. The destruction of the Ancient Church is represented by the casting out of the people of Canaan, by the Israelites. The end of the Jewish Church is represented by the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem, and by the carrying away of the Jews, into captivity; and by the coming of Christ. The end of the First Christian Church is minutely and graphically pictured in the Scriptures, especially in the Book of The Revelation. And, at the end of the First Christian Church, the Lord came again, not physically, but spiritually, in a fuller outpouring of light and of life, to those "who have ears to hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches" (Revelation 2:29).

Every church which finally has been brought to an end, has degenerated by its inversion of the image of God, in man; and its attempt to stand the heavenly gold and silver upon feet of iron, mixed with clay; an attempt to uphold the principles of heaven upon a life of selfish evil.

PRACTICAL LESSONS.

The image seen by the king stands before us, as a striking picture of the final end of every unregenerate mind. We may seek to cover our selfishness with pretended virtues; and we may even deceive ourselves as to the evil of our real motives; but we cannot thus stop the downward trend of our character, nor its final self-destruction. Nothing but actual regeneration can break the course of degeneration.

And, to meet this case, the last part of our text was given: "And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed." This is the spiritual kingdom of the Lord, Himself, especially in His Second Coming, in the Spirit, to build His kingdom in the hearts of those who love Him. This kingdom shall be built up by means of the Divine Word, especially in its inward and spiritual meaning. And this kingdom "shall stand forever." "The grass withereth, the flower fadeth, but the Word of our God shall stand forever" (Isaiah 40:8).

The First Christian Church, as a dispensation, passed through all the states represented in our text, from the gold of its early state, down to silver, brass, iron, and even clay, until it was brought to an end, at the Second Coming of the Lord. And now, in the rising progress of the church, the case is inverted; for the individual man and the general church, must now work up, again, from lower to higher things. And the promise comes to the New Jerusalem, at this day, that our Lord will lead us back over the lost ground, that we may regain our spiritual inheritance. "For brass I will bring gold, and for iron I will bring silver, and for wood, brass, and for stones, iron" (Isaiah 60:17).

To the man of the New Jerusalem, every good principle, loved, understood, and built into the daily life, will open itself in its higher phases, and will elevate the mind to higher things, that the man may return nearer and nearer to his Lord.

PRESENT CONDITIONS.

Often, we wonder why the New Jerusalem does not descend from heaven more rapidly. The great stone of the doctrine of the Lord, the great truth of the Divinity of the Lord, Jesus Christ, as the one God of heaven and of earth, has struck upon the weak feet of the great image. But we are living in the age when the great crushing of the image is still going on. The good that is now in the sects of Christendom, is largely natural good, rather than spiritual good. And much that is called good, is mixed with the clay of man's natural evils.

Look about you, in all phases of human life, and ask yourself what foundation is ready for the New Jerusalem to stand upon. These are times of wide-spread disorder, of colossal schemes for selfish purposes, of impatience against all legal restraint, even by right and truth. These are times of bold self-assertion and insolent self-seeking. Crime abounds; a great many men are not faithful to their trusts, nor loyal to their obligations. Immorality stalks through the land, with brazen face. All kinds of irrational isms seek to supplant genuine Christianity. Coarse, rude and vulgar evils laugh at refinement. These are not conditions which prepare foundations for the holy city to descend upon. But, in spite of the times, those individuals who are willing to climb to higher spiritual conditions, will find the way open to them, and the right path revealed. Therefore, "Seek good, and not evil, that ye may live" (Amos 5:14).

577. And the heads of the horses as the heads of lions, signifies knowledge (scientia) and thought therefrom destructive of truth. This is evident from the signification of "the heads of horses," as being knowledge [scientia] and thought therefrom (of which presently); and from the signification of "the heads of lions," as being the consequent destruction of truth. "The heads of lions" signify here the destruction of truth, because a "lion" in the highest sense signifies Divine truth in respect to power, and in the contrary sense falsity destroying truth, consequently the destruction of truth, and "the head of a lion" signifies the powers of the mind through which it destroys, which are reasonings from falsities. (That a "lion" signifies Divine truth in respect to power, and in the contrary sense falsity destroying truth, may be seen above, n. 278.) The "heads of horses" signify knowledge [scientia] and thought therefrom, because "head" signifies intelligence, and "the horse" the understanding; and as the sensual man and here his reasoning from falsities are treated of, and the sensual man who reasons from falsities has no intelligence, but only knowledge [scientia] and thought therefrom, therefore these are here signified by "the heads of the horses." (That those who are in falsities have no intelligence, but instead of intelligence only knowledge, may be seen in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 33.)

[2] The "head" signifies intelligence, because the understanding and the will of man have their seat in the interiors of his head; consequently in the front part of the head, which is the face, are the senses of sight, hearing, smell, and taste, into which the understanding and the will flow from the interior and vivify them, and also cause them to enjoy their sensations; this is why the "head" signifies in the Word intelligence. But as those only who receive influx from heaven are intelligent, for all intelligence and wisdom flow in out of heaven from the Lord, it follows that they who are in the falsities of evil have no intelligence; for in them the higher and spiritual mind is closed, and only the lower mind, which is called the natural mind, is opened; and when the higher mind is closed the lower receives nothing of truth and good, consequently no intelligence from heaven, but only from the world. Such, therefore, in place of intelligence have mere knowledge [scientia] and thought from it, and from this proceeds reasoning, and by means of it the confirmation of falsity and evil against truth and good.

[3] That the "head" signifies in the Word intelligence and wisdom, and in the contrary sense knowledge [scientia] and fatuous thought therefrom, can be seen from the following passages in the Word. In Ezekiel:

I put a jewel upon thy nose, and ear-rings in thine ears, and a crown of adorning upon thy head (Ezekiel 16:12).

This is said of Jerusalem, which signifies the church, here such as it was in the beginning; "a jewel upon the nose" signifies the perception of truth from good; "the ear-rings in the ears" signify hearkening and obedience, and "a crown upon the head" signifies wisdom; for intelligence, which is from Divine truth, becomes wisdom from the good of love, and this is signified by "a crown of gold."

[4] In Revelation:

A woman encompassed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars (Revelation 12:1).

The "head" upon which was a crown of twelve stars, signifies intelligence, as will be seen in the explanation hereafter.

That the Jews placed a crown of thorns upon the Lord's head, and that they smote His head (Matthew 27:29, 30; Mark 15:17, 19; John 19:2);

signifies that they treated with such contumely Divine truth itself and Divine wisdom; for they falsified the Word, which is Divine truth and in which is Divine wisdom, and adulterated it by their traditions and by applying it to themselves; thus they desired a king who would exalt them over all in the whole earth. And as the Lord's kingdom was not earthly but heavenly, they perverted everything that was said respecting Him in the Word, and mocked at what was foretold of Him. This is what was represented by "their placing a crown of thorns upon His head, and smiting His head."

[5] Where the statue of Nebuchadnezzar seen in a dream is described, it is said in Daniel:

Its head was of pure gold, its breast and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of brass, its legs of iron, its feet part of iron and part of clay (Daniel 2:32, 33).

That statue represented the successive states of the church; "the head of gold" represented and signified the Most Ancient Church, which was in celestial wisdom, and thus in intelligence above the churches that followed; this wisdom and its intelligence are meant by the "head of gold." That the other parts of that statue signified the states of subsequent churches may be seen above (176, 411).

In David:

Thou hast brought us into the net; thou hast laid oppressions ¹ upon our loins. Thou hast caused man to ride over our head (Psalms 66:11, 12).

"To cause man to ride over our head" signifies that there is no intelligence (See above, n. 355), where this is more fully explained).

[6] In Moses:

These blessings shall come upon the head of Joseph, and upon the crown of the head of the Nazirite of his brethren (Genesis 49:26; Deuteronomy 33:13-16).

That "blessings shall come upon the head of Joseph" signifies that all the things that had just been mentioned, that are blessings of heaven, should take place in the interiors of his mind, which are the lives of the understanding and will, for these are the interiors of the mind. That they shall come upon "the crown of the head of the Nazirite of his brethren" signifies that they should also take place in the exteriors of his natural mind, for the "Naziriteship" signifies the exteriors of the natural mind, since it means the hairs, or the hair of the head. (But these words may be seen further explained above, n. 448; and in (Arcana Coelestia 6437, 6435) the Arcana Coelestia 6437, 6438.) In the same:

Take you wise men and intelligent, and I will put them as your heads (Deuteronomy 1:13).

It is said "as your heads" because wisdom and intelligence, in which they should excel all others, are meant; therefore it is said, "Take you wise men and intelligent."

[7] In Isaiah:

Jehovah hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep, and hath closed your eyes, the prophets; and your heads, the seers, hath He covered (Isaiah 29:10).

"Prophets" signify those who teach truths and are intelligent, and in an abstract sense, the doctrine of truth and intelligence; therefore it is said, "Jehovah hath closed your eyes, the prophets, and your heads, the seers," where the prophets are called "eyes," and the seers "heads," because "eyes" signify the understanding of truth in respect to doctrine, and "seers" like as "heads" signify intelligence.

[8] In the same:

Jehovah will cut off from Israel ² head and tail, branch and rush. The old man and the honorable will make the head, and the prophet, the teacher of lies the tail (Isaiah 9:14, 15).

In the same:

Neither shall there be for Egypt any work which will make the head or tail, branch or rush (19 Isaiah 19:15).

"He will cut off from Israel head and tail," and "neither shall there be for Egypt head or tail," signify that all the intelligence and knowledge [scientia] of truth they have shall perish (as may be seen above, n. 559, where these passages are more fully explained). In the same:

In that day shall the Lord shave with a razor that is hired in the crossings of the river, by the king of Assyria, the head and the hairs of the feet; and shall also consume the beard (Isaiah 7:20).

That this signifies that reasonings from falsities will deprive the men of the church of all wisdom and spiritual intelligence, may be seen above n. 569, where this is explained in particular; it is said "in the crossings of the river," because "the river Euphrates" signifies the reasonings from falsities, therefore here attack by these upon the truths of the church which are destroyed by reasoning from falsities.

[9] In Ezekiel:

Son of man, take thee a sharp sword, a barber's razor, and cause it to pass over ³ the head and over the beard; a third part thou shalt burn with fire, a third part thou shalt smite with the sword, and a third part thou shalt disperse in the wind (Ezekiel 5:1, 2).

Here also "to cause a razor to pass over the head" signifies to deprive of all intelligence of truth; for the reason that intelligence perishes when there are no ultimates of intelligence, which are signified by "the hairs of the head, which should be shaved with a razor by causing it to pass over the head;" for when ultimates are taken away it is as when the base is taken away from a column, or the foundation from a house. This is why it was unlawful in the Jewish Church, which was a representative church, to shave the hairs of the head and induce baldness, in like manner the beard; so also those who are without intelligence appear bald in the spiritual world.

[10] From all this the signification of "a bald head" and "baldness" in the following passages can be seen. In Isaiah:

On all their heads is baldness, every beard is cut off (Isaiah 15:2);

in other words, there is no intelligence. In Ezekiel:

Shame shall be upon all faces, and baldness upon all heads (7 Ezekiel 7:18).

In the same:

Every head was made bald, and every shoulder was peeled (2 Ezekiel 29:18).

These words have a similar meaning. So Aaron and his sons were forbidden to shave their heads and the corner of the beard, of which it is said in Moses:

That Aaron and his sons shall not shave their heads nor rend their clothes, lest they die, and lest Jehovah be angry in consequence with the whole congregation (Leviticus 10:6).

And in the same:

That the sons of Aaron should not make baldness upon their head, nor shave the corner of the beard (Leviticus 21:5).

The "beard" signifies the ultimate of the rational man, and "not shaving the beard" signifies not to be deprived of the rational, by taking away its ultimate; for, as was said above, when the ultimate is taken away the interior also perishes. What is meant by:

When a woman taken captive from the enemy is desired for a wife she must shave her head and pare her nails (Deuteronomy 21:11, 12);

may be seen explained above n. 555.

[11] Because shame was represented by the hands upon the head, it is said in Jeremiah:

Thou shalt be ashamed of Egypt also, as thou wast ashamed of Assyria. From her also thou shalt go forth with thy hands upon thy head (Jeremiah 2:36, 37).

And in the same:

They were ashamed and put to confusion and covered their heads (Jeremiah 14:3-4).

Because this was a representative of shame:

Tamar, after she had been ravished by her brother Amnon, put her hand on her head, and went weeping ⁴ and crying (2 Samuel 13:19).

To "put the hand upon the head" signified that no intelligence remained. Also grief for sin in having acted insanely and foolishly was represented by sprinkling dust upon the head, and by bowing the head down even to the earth; and by this cursing also was signified. As in Ezekiel:

They shall cast up dust upon thy head, they shall roll thee in ashes (Ezekiel 27:30).

In Lamentations:

The elders of the daughter of Zion sit on the earth, they keep silence; they have cast up dust upon their head; they have girded themselves with sackcloth; the virgins of Jerusalem have made their head to hang down to the ground (Lamentations 2:10).

[12] But in the contrary sense the "head" signifies the craftiness that those have who are in the love of ruling. This is meant by the "head" in Moses:

The seed of the woman shall trample upon the head of the serpent, and the serpent shall hurt the heel (Genesis 3:15).

In David:

The Lord at thy right hand hath stricken through kings in the day of His anger; He hath judged among the nations; He hath filled with dead bodies; He hath stricken through the head over many a land; He shall drink out of the brook in the way; therefore shall He exalt the head (Psalms 110:5-7).

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

God shall strike through the head of His enemies, the hairy scalp of such as go on in guilt (Psalms 68:21).

That the craftiness by which they purpose and contrive evil against others returns upon themselves is signified by:

Bringing their way upon their own head (Ezekiel 9:10; 11:21; 16:43; 17:19; 22:31; Joel 3:4, 7).

What is signified in Revelation by:

The seven heads upon which were seven diadems (Revelation 12:3; 13:1, 3; 17:3, 7, 9);

will be seen hereafter. Moreover, the "head," as what is highest and primary in man, has also many other meanings; as the peak of a mountain, the top of anything, what is primary, the beginning of a way, of a street, of a month, and the like.

Footnotes: