624. And he said unto me, Thou must prophesy again.- That this signifies the Divine command that the Word may yet be taught, is evident from the signification of saying, when ascribed to an angel, by whom in this chapter the Lord is represented as to the Word, as denoting command, for what the Lord says, is also a command; and from the signification of prophesying as denoting to teach the Word, of which we shall speak presently. It is said that he must as yet teach the Word, because the quality of the understanding of the Word still remaining in the church was explored, and it was found that the Word was delightful as to the sense of the letter, for this is signified by the little book being in the mouth sweet as honey, the little book denoting the Word. It was commanded that the Word should be yet taught in the church, because its end was not yet come, for the end of the church is described by the sounding of the seventh angel. But here the state of the church immediately before the end, is described by the sounding of the sixth angel, and this state is the subject now treated of. And, before the end is come, the Word when taught is still delightful to some, but not so in the last state or end of the church, for then the Lord opens the interior things of the Word, which are undelightful, as was said above in treating of the belly made bitter, and of the little book that was eaten up.
[2] Why the Word must still be taught, although its interior truths are undelightful, and why a last judgment does not take place before there is a consummation, that is to say, when there is no longer any good and truth remaining with the men of the church, is entirely unknown in the world, but is known in heaven. The reason is that there are two kinds of men upon whom judgment takes place; one kind consists of those who are well disposed (probi), and the other of those who are not. The well disposed are angels in the ultimate heaven, the chief part of whom are simple, because they have cultivated their understanding, not with interior truths, but only with exterior truths from the sense of the letter of the Word, in agreement with which they had lived. For this reason their spiritual mind, which is the interior mind, was not indeed closed, nor was it opened, as with those who had received interior truths in doctrine and life, therefore in regard to spiritual things they became simple, and are called the well disposed. But the ill disposed are those who have lived outwardly as Christians, but interiorly admitted evils of every kind into the thought and into the will, so that in external form they have appeared like angels, although in the internal form they have been devils. When these come into the other life, they are, for the most part, consociated with the well disposed, or the simple good who are in the ultimate heaven. For consociation takes place by means of the exteriors, and the simple good are such that they believe everything to be good which appears as good in the external form, their thought not penetrating farther. But these ill disposed must be separated from the well disposed or simple good, before and after a last judgment takes place; and they can be separated only successively. This is the reason why before the time of the Last judgment the Word must still be taught, although interiorly it is undelightful, that is, as to its interior things; and because the interior things are undelightful, they do not receive them, but only such things from the sense of the letter of the Word as favour their own loves, and the principles conceived therefrom, on account of which the Word, as to the sense of the letter, is still delightful to them. By such means, therefore, are the well disposed separated from the ill disposed.
[3] That for this reason the time is protracted after a last judgment before a new church is fully established, is an interior truth (arcanum) from heaven which at this day can enter the understanding of only a few; yet this is the teaching of the Lord in the following passages in Matthew:
"So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field; whence then hath it tares? and they said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up? But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest; and at the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them; but gather the wheat into my barn. He that sowed the good seed is the Son of Man; the field is the world; the good seed are the sons of the kingdom; the harvest is the consummation of the age. As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so shall it be in the consummation of this age" (13:27-30, 37-43).
The consummation of the age, signifies the last time of the church. That before this, the well disposed are not to be separated from the ill disposed, because they are consociated by means of the exteriors, is meant by not gathering up the tares lest the wheat be rooted up with them. Concerning this circumstance see also what is said in the small work on The Last Judgment 70:2).
[4] To prophesy signifies to teach the Word, because a prophet, in the highest sense, means the Lord as to the Word, and in the respective sense one who teaches the Word, but in the abstract sense the Word itself, and also doctrine from the Word are signified. These things are signified by a prophet, therefore by prophesying is signified to teach the Word, and also doctrine from the Word. This signification is evident from those passages in the Word, understood in the spiritual sense, where prophets and prophesying are mentioned, as in the following.
In Matthew:
"Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied by thy name? and by thy name have cast out demons? and in thy name done many virtuous things? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you; depart from me, ye that work iniquity" (7:22, 23).
The subject here is salvation, which means that no one is saved by knowing the Word and teaching it, but by doing it; for in the preceding verse, it is said, that those only shall enter the kingdom of the heavens who do the will of God (verse 21); and in the subsequent verses, that he who heareth the words of the Lord and doeth them is a wise man, but he who heareth and doeth them not is a foolish man (verses 24-27). The meaning of the above words is therefore plain, namely, that the worship of the Lord by prayers, and by words of the mouth only is meant by, many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord; to teach the Word, and doctrinals from the Word, is meant by have we not prophesied in thy name, name denoting according to doctrine from the Word, and to prophesy denoting to teach. By casting out demons, is signified to liberate from falsities of religion, demons denoting falsities of religion. By doing many virtuous things, is signified, to convert many. But because they did these things not for the Lord's sake and for the sake of truth and good, nor for the sake of the salvation of souls, but for the sake of themselves and the world, that is, that they might appear [to be such] only in the external form, therefore so far as they themselves were concerned, they did not do good but evil; this is meant by the Lord's saying to them, "I never knew you, ye that work iniquity." It may seem as though they could not work iniquity by doing such things, but nevertheless everything which a man does only for the sake of himself and the world, is iniquity, because there is no love of the Lord and of the neighbour therein, but only the love of self and the world, and his own love remains with every one after death.
[5] Again,
In the consummation of the age, "many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. For there shall arise false Christs and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; so as, if possible, to lead into error the very elect" (Matthew 24:11, 24; Mark 13:22).
False prophets and false Christs do not mean prophets, in the ordinary meaning of the word prophets, but all those who pervert the Word and teach falsities; these are also false Christs, for Christ signifies the Lord as to Divine Truth, therefore false Christs signify Divine truths falsified. To show great signs and wonders, signifies the effect and power of falsities by means of confirmations from the sense of the letter of the Word, signs and wonders are also produced by means of this in the spiritual world, for the sense of the letter of the Word, however falsified, possesses power, concerning which fact many wonderful things might be related. By the elect are signified those who are in spiritual good, that is, who are in the good of charity.
[6] Again:
"He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet, shall receive a prophet's reward; and he that receiveth a just man in the name of a just man, shall receive a just man's reward. And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones [a cup] of cold [water] only in the name of a disciple, verily, I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward" (Matthew 10:41, 42).
No one can understand these words unless the signification of a prophet, a just man, a disciple, and the little ones be known, and also the meaning of receiving them in their own name. A prophet, in the abstract sense, signifies the truth of doctrine, a disciple, the good of doctrine, a just man, the good of life, while by receiving them in their own name is signified to receive those things from the love of them. Then by receiving a prophet in the name of a prophet, is signified, to love the truth of doctrine because it is truth, or to receive truth for its own sake; by receiving a just man in the name of a just man, is signified to love good, and to do it because it is good, that is, to receive it from the Lord out of love or affection of the heart. For he who loves truth and good for their own sakes, loves them from themselves, thus, from the Lord, from whom they proceed; and as he does not love them for the sake of himself and the world, he loves them spiritually, and all spiritual love remains with man after death, and gives eternal life. To receive a reward signifies to carry that love with him, and consequently receive the blessing of heaven; to give one of the little ones [a cup] of cold [water] to drink only in the name of a disciple, signifies, from innocence [to love] innocence, and from that to love good and truth from the Word and teach them, to give [a cup] of cold [water] to drink, signifying to love and teach from a little innocence, little ones signifying the innocent and, abstractedly innocence; to give to drink [a cup] of cold [water] signifying to teach from a little innocence, while a disciple signifies the good of doctrine from the Lord. By giving water to the little ones to drink is therefore signified to teach truth from spiritual innocence, and also to instruct the innocent in truths. This is the spiritual interpretation of the above words, and unless this be known, who can understand the signification of receiving a prophet, and a just man in the name of a prophet and of a just man, and of receiving the reward of a prophet and of a just man. Reward signifies love with its delights enduring to eternity.
[7] In the same:
"Many prophets and just men have desired to see those things which ye see, but have not seen them; and to hear the things which ye hear, but have not heard them" (Matthew 13:17).
Prophets and just men in the spiritual sense, mean all those who are in truths of doctrine and in the good of life according to them; and seeing and hearing signify to understand and perceive, in this case, the interior truths proceeding from the Lord, for the understanding and perception of these reform a man, when he also lives according to them. Interior truths proceeding from the Lord are here meant, because the Lord, when He was in the world, opened those truths. In the sense of the letter, to see and hear the Lord are meant, but because the Lord is the Divine Truth itself in heaven and in the church, consequently since all Divine truths are from the Lord, and the Lord Himself taught them and continually teaches them by means of the Word, therefore the understanding and perception of them are signified by seeing and hearing the Lord.
[8] So in Joel:
"I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh, that your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions" (2:28).
These things are said concerning the coming of the Lord and the perception of Divine Truth by those who receive the Lord and believe in Him. By the spirit that shall be poured out upon all flesh, is signified the Divine Truth proceeding from the Lord, for this is meant in the Word by the Holy Spirit. Prophesying signifies to understand and to teach the truths of doctrine. By dreaming dreams is signified to receive revelation, and by seeing visions is signified to perceive revelation; by sons and daughters are signified those who are in the spiritual affection for truth and good; old men signify those who are in wisdom, and young men, those who are in intelligence.
[9] So in Amos:
"The Lord Jehovih doeth not a word without revealing his secret unto his servants the prophets. The lion roareth, who will not fear? The Lord Jehovih hath spoken, who will not prophesy?" (3:7, 8).
Here also prophesying signifies to receive Divine Truth and to teach it; but this passage may be seen explained above (n. 601:8).
Similar things are signified by prophesying, and by prophets, in the following passages in the Apocalypse:
"I will give unto my two prophets to prophesy a thousand two hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth" (11:3).
And again:
"The time to judge the dead is come, and to give the reward unto his servants the prophets" (11:18).
Again:
"The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy" (19:10).
And again:
"Rejoice, O heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets, for God hath judged [their] judgment" (18:20).
That in these passages prophets mean those who are in truths of doctrine, and in the abstract sense, truths of doctrine, and that prophesying means to receive and teach them, especially to teach about the Lord Himself, will be seen hereafter.
[10] Again in Amos:
"Amos said to Amaziah, Jehovah took me as I followed the flock, and Jehovah said, Go, prophesy against my people Israel, and thou sayest, Prophesy not against Israel, and drop not a word against the house of Isaac. Thy wife shall be a harlot in the city, and thy sons and thy daughters shall fall by the sword, and thy land shall be divided by line" (7:14-17).
By prophesying against Israel, and dropping a word against the house of Isaac, is signified, to refute those of the church who are in the falsities of evil, to prophesy denoting to teach and refute, and Israel and the house of Isaac denoting the church. Because falsities of evil are what must be refuted, this is said to Amaziah, who represented the perverted church. That his wife shall be a harlot, signifies the falsification and adulteration of the Word; that his sons and daughters shall fall by the sword, signifies, that the truths and goods of the church shall perish by means of the falsities of evil; and that the land shall be divided by line, signifies, that the church, and every thing belonging to it, shall be dissipated.
[11] So in Hosea:
"By a prophet Jehovah caused Israel to come up out of Egypt, and by a prophet was he guarded. Ephraim provoked him to anger with bitternesses; therefore shall he leave his bloods upon him" (12:13, 14).
The prophet, in the proximate sense, here means Moses, by whom Israel was led out of Egypt, and subsequently watched over, but, in the spiritual sense, by prophet is meant the Lord as to the Word, and by Israel are meant all those of the church who are in truths from good, while Egypt means the natural man, which when separated from the spiritual man, is damned. By Jehovah therefore causing Israel to come up out of Egypt by means of a prophet, is signified that the Lord leads out of damnation those who are in truths from good by means of the Divine Truth in the Word, and that by means of this He guards them. By Ephraim provoking Him to anger with bitternesses, is signified that they perverted the Word as to the understanding of it, Ephraim denoting the understanding of the Word, while bitternesses denote the perversions and the consequent falsities from which proceeds that which is undelightful. Therefore shall he leave his bloods upon him, signifies damnation, because of the adulteration of the truth which is in the Word.
[12] Again, in the same prophet:
"The days of visitation are come, the days of retribution are come; Israel, the foolish prophet, and the man insane in spirit, shall know; this is because of the multitude of iniquity, and the great hatred. Ephraim is a watchman with my God, the prophet is a snare of a fowler in all his ways, hatred in the house of his God" (9:7, 8).
The days of visitation and retribution, signify the days of a last judgment, when the evil suffer punishment, which is signified by retribution, and is always preceded by visitation. By Israel, the prophet, and the man [insane in] spirit, are not meant Israel, the prophet, and a man [insane in] spirit, but all those of the church who are in falsities of evil, and in evils of falsity, and who teach and confirm these from the sense of the letter of the Word. The falsities of evil are signified by the multitude of iniquity, and the evils of falsity by great hatred. Ephraim, who is called a watchman with God, signifies the understanding of the Word, and is therefore called a watchman with God; but because those who are in falsities of evil, and in evils of falsity pervert the understanding of the Word, and thus craftily lead astray, therefore it is said, "the prophet is a snare of a fowler, and hatred in the house of his God."
[13] So in Ezekiel:
"Prophesy against the prophets of Israel that prophesy, and say thou unto them that prophesy out of their own heart, Hear ye the word of Jehovah; Thus saith the Lord Jehovih, Woe unto the foolish prophets who go away after their own spirit, and have seen not that which is near! My hand shall be against the prophets that see vanity, and that divine a lie" (13:2, 3, 9).
The prophets mentioned here and in other parts of the Word, in the proximate sense mean prophets such as those of the Old Testament, through whom the Lord spoke; in the spiritual sense, however, those prophets are not meant, but all those whom the Lord leads; the Lord also flows in with them, and reveals to them the interior things (arcana) of the Word, whether they teach them or not; these therefore are signified by prophets in the spiritual sense. But prophets who prophesy out of their own heart, and go after their own spirit, and see vanity and divine a lie, mean all who are not taught and led by the Lord, but by themselves, whence they have insanity instead of intelligence and folly instead of wisdom; for they have the love of self instead of love to God, and the love of the world instead of love towards the neighbour, and from these, falsities continually flow. The connected signification of the above words is evident from these things.
[14] So in Micah:
"Night shall be unto you for vision, and darkness shall arise unto you for divination; and the sun shall go down upon the prophets, and the day shall grow black upon them" (3:6).
Here, by night shall be unto you for vision, is signified their having the understanding of falsity, instead of the understanding of truth. Darkness for divination, signifies falsities instead of revealed truths; the sun shall go down on the prophets, and the day grow black upon them, signifies, that there shall be no longer any light from the Lord, flowing-in out of heaven and imparting enlightenment, but thick darkness from the hells darkening the understanding.
[15] Since prophets are mentioned in many passages, and no one has any other idea concerning them than that the prophets of the Old Testament, by whom the Lord spoke unto the people, and dictated the Word are meant; and because the Word, in every detail, has also a spiritual sense, therefore, in this sense, prophets mean all those whom the Lord teaches, thus all those who are in the spiritual affection for truth, that is, who love truth because it is truth. For the Lord teaches these, flows into their understanding, and enlightens them, and this more than with the prophets of the Old Testament, for they were not enlightened as to the understanding, but received the words which they were to utter or write only by the hearing; indeed they did not understand the interior meaning of the words, much less the spiritual. From these things it is evident that prophets, in the spiritual sense, mean all those who are wise from the Lord, whether they also teach or not. And because all truly spiritual meaning is removed from the idea of persons, places, and times, therefore by a prophet is also signified, in the highest sense, the Lord as to the Word, and as to doctrine from the Word, and also the Word and doctrine; and in the opposite sense prophets signify perversions and falsifications of the Word, and falsities of doctrine.
Such then being the signification of prophets in both senses, I will refer to a few passages only where they are mentioned, and in which they mean all who receive and teach the Word and doctrine, and, in a sense apart from persons, the Word and doctrine; and, in the opposite sense, those who pervert the Word, and teach falsities of doctrine, and, in the abstract, the perversion of the Word and falsity of doctrine.
[16] Thus in Isaiah:
"Jehovah will cut off from Israel head and tail. The old man and honourable he is the head; but the prophet the teacher of a lie, he is the tail" (9:14, 15).
Again, in the same prophet:
"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" (29:10).
And in Jeremiah:
"They denied Jehovah, when they said, He is not, neither shall evil come upon us; neither shall we see sword or famine; but the prophets shall become wind, and the word is not in them" (5:12, 13).
And again:
"I have sent unto you all my servants the prophets, daily rising up early and sending them" (7:25).
And again, in the same prophet:
"Therefore thus saith Jehovah of hosts against the prophets; Behold, I will feed them with wormwood, and make them drink the water of gall; for from the prophets of Jerusalem is hypocrisy gone forth into all the land. Hearken not unto the words of the prophets that prophesy unto you; they make you vain; they speak a vision of their own heart, and not out of the mouth of Jehovah" (23:15, 16).
And again:
"The prophets that have been before me and before thee from an age prophesied both against many countries, and against great kingdoms, of war, and of evil, and of pestilence. The prophet which prophesieth of peace, when the word of the prophet shall come to pass, the prophet shall be known, that God hath sent him" (28:8, 9).
So in Matthew:
"Woe unto you," hypocrites and Pharisees! "because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the just, and say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets. Wherefore ye be witnesses against yourselves, that ye are the sons of them who killed the prophets. I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes; and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; that upon you may come all the just blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of Abel the just unto the blood of Zacharias, son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar. O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee" (23:29-37; Luke 11:47-51).
In these passages it appears as though the prophets mean simply the prophets through whom Jehovah, that is, the Lord, spoke, consequently that the Lord by "killing the prophets" meant only their death; but yet at the same time He meant the killing and extinction of Divine Truth, as a result of the falsification and adulteration of the Word. For by a person and his function, in the spiritual sense, is meant the thing itself which the person does and says, and thus by a prophet are meant Divine Truth or the Word, and doctrine therefrom. And because the function of a person makes one in act with the person, therefore the particular thing, which a prophet teaches, is meant by him. The shedding of blood also means to adulterate the truths of the Word; and because this was done by the Jewish nation, therefore it is said, "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee." These words, in the spiritual sense, mean that they extinguish all Divine Truth which they have from the Word.
[17] Because a prophet means the Divine Truth, which is the Word, and from the Word in the church, and because this cannot be extinguished except by those who have Divine Truth or the Word, therefore the Lord said, "that it is not fitting that a prophet perish out of Jerusalem" (Luke 13:33); for by Jerusalem is meant the church as to the doctrine of truth. In the Word also frequent mention is made of priest and prophet, and by priest is there meant one who leads to a life according to Divine Truth, and by prophet, one who teaches it. In this sense priest and prophet are mentioned in the following passages of the Word.
Thus in Jeremiah:
"For the law shall not perish from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the Word from the prophet" (18:18).
Again, in the same prophet:
"In that day the heart of the king shall perish, and the heart of the princes; and the priests shall be astonished, and the prophets shall wonder" (4:9).
So in Ezekiel:
"They shall seek a vision from the prophet; but the law shall perish from the priest, and counsel from the elders. The king shall mourn, and the prince shall be clothed with astonishment" (7:26, 27).
By a vision from the prophet is meant the understanding of the Word; by the law from the priest are meant the precepts of life; by counsel from the elders is meant wisdom therefrom; the king and the princes mean intelligence by means of truths from good; such is the spiritual meaning of these words.
[18] And in Isaiah:
"The priest and the prophet have erred through strong drink, they are swallowed up of wine, they are gone out of the way through strong drink; they err in vision, they stumble in judgment" (28:7).
Again, in Jeremiah:
"A wonderful and horrible thing is committed in the land; the prophets prophesy a lie, and the priests bear rule by their hands; and my people love to have it so" (5:30, 31).
Again:
"From the prophet even unto the priest every one maketh a lie" (8:10).
And again, in the same prophet:
"When the prophet, or the priest, shall ask thee, saying, What is the prophetic saying of Jehovah? thou shalt then say unto them, I have forsaken you, both the prophet, and the priest" (23:33, 34).
And in Zephaniah:
"Her prophets are very fickle, men of treacheries; their priests profane what is holy, they do violence to the law" (3:4).
Again, in Jeremiah:
"The priests said not, Where is Jehovah? and they that handle the law have not acknowledged Me; and the prophets have prophesied by Baal, and walked after those that do not profit. The houses of Israel are ashamed; they, their kings, their princes, and their priests, and their prophets" (2:8, 26).
In addition to the above there are many other passages, where prophets and priests are mentioned together, and by priests are therein meant those who teach life, and lead to good, and by prophets, those who teach truths by which men are to be led. But, in the abstract sense, priests, and the priesthood, mean the good of love, consequently also the good of life, and prophets mean the truth of doctrine, and therefore, the truth which leads to good of life. In a word, prophets must teach, and priests must lead.
[19] Again, in Zechariah:
"In that day, I will cut off the names of the idols out of the land, that they may no more be remembered; and also I will cause the prophets and the unclean spirit to pass out of the land. And it shall come to pass, that when any man hath prophesied, his father and his mother that begat him shall say unto him, Thou shalt not live; nay, his father and his mother that begat him shall thrust him through. It shall come to pass in that day, that the prophets shall be ashamed a man of his vision, when he hath prophesied; neither shall they put on a coat of hair that they may lie. And he shall say, I am no prophet, I am a man (vir) that tilleth the earth, for a man (homo) sold me from my boyhood" (Zechariah 13:2-5).
The subjects here treated of are the coming of the Lord into the world, and the abolition of representative worship, and also of the falsities with which the doctrine of the church then abounded. For the Jewish nation, with which that church was, placed all worship in externals, and nothing in internals, that is to say, in sacrifices and things external, and nothing in charity and faith, which are internal things, consequently their worship and doctrine consisted of mere falsities, and the nation itself, regarded in itself, was idolatrous. The abolition of such things by the Lord is described by the above words of the prophet. Therefore by, I will cut off the names of the idols out of the land, and they shall no more be remembered, is signified the abolition of idolatrous worship, that is, of worship merely external apart from internal. By, I will cause the prophets and the unclean spirit to pass out of the land, is signified the abolition of the falsities of doctrine. When any man hath prophesied, then his father and his mother that begat him shall say unto him, Thou shalt not live, signifies, that the church to be instituted by the Lord, and which will be an internal church, will altogether extinguish falsities of doctrines, if any one shall teach them. Prophesying signifies to teach falsities of doctrine; father and mother signify the church as to good and as to truth; father signifies the church as to good, and mother, the church as to truth. By, thou shalt not live, is signified to extinguish; this is also signified by, his father and his mother that begat him shall thrust him through. The abolition of falsities of doctrine is also meant by, the prophets shall be ashamed a man of his vision; neither shall they put on a coat of hair that they may lie. The prophets and their vision also here denote falsities of doctrine, and wearing a coat of hair, to lie, denotes to pervert the external things of the Word, such as are those in the sense of its letter; the coat of hair with the prophets represented the ultimate sense of the Word, like the clothing of John the Baptist, which was of camel's hair. By his saying, "I am a man (vir) that tilleth the earth, for a man sold me from boyhood," is signified, that this was the case with those of the Jewish church, which was merely external, and not internal, because they were born in it, and were therefore attached to it.
[20] In Daniel:
"Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy city of holiness, to consummate the transgression, and to seal up sins, and to expiate iniquity, and to bring in the justice of the ages, and to seal up the vision and the prophet, and to anoint the holy of holies" (9:24).
These words refer to the coming of the Lord, when iniquity is consummated, or when good and truth no longer remain in the church. Upon thy people and upon thy city of holiness, signifies, upon the church and its doctrine, which are then altogether vastated and extinguished. To consummate the transgression, and to seal up sins, signifies, when all those who are in the church are in falsities of doctrine, and in evils of life; for, as shown in the beginning of this article, the Lord's coming and the last judgment therewith, do not take place until there is no longer any truth of doctrine or good of life remaining in the church, in order that, as above mentioned, the well disposed may be separated from the ill disposed. To bring in the justice of the ages, signifies the last judgment, when every one is rewarded according to his deeds. To seal up the vision and the prophet, signifies the end of the former church, and the beginning of a new church, or the end of the external church, which was representative of spiritual things, and the beginning of the internal church, which is spiritual, the vision and the prophet denoting falsities of doctrine. The same words also signify, that the Lord would fulfil all things prophesied of Him in the Word. To anoint the holy of holies, signifies the glorification of the Lord's Human by union with the Divine Itself; it signifies also all worship afterwards from love to Him.
[21] Thus also in Moses:
"Jehovah said unto Moses, I have made thee a god to Pharaoh; and Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet" (Exodus 7:1).
The reason why the Lord said to Moses, that He had made him "a god to Pharaoh," was, that Moses represented the Law, by which is meant the Divine Truth, and this is also signified by god in the spiritual sense. For Moses received from the mouth of the Lord the words which he was to speak unto Pharaoh, and he who receives these is called a god; for this reason also the angels are also called gods, and therefore they also signify Divine truths. That Aaron should be his prophet, signifies, that he should teach the truth received by Moses and declare it to Pharaoh; for a prophet, as said above, signifies one that teaches truth, and in the abstract the doctrine of truth. These things are more fully explained in the Arcana Coelestia 7268, 7269).
[22] For this reason the prophets of the Old Testament represented the Lord as to the doctrine of Divine Truth, and the chief of them represented the Lord as to the Word itself from which the doctrine of Divine Truth is derived, as Moses, Elijah, Elisha, and John the Baptist; and because the Lord is the Word, that is, the Divine Truth, therefore He Himself, in the highest sense [of the Word], is called a prophet.
Since Moses, Elijah, and John the Baptist represented the Lord as to the Word, therefore Moses and Elijah were seen speaking with the Lord, when He was transfigured (Matthew 17:3, 4; Mark 9:4, 5; Luke 9:30). Moses and Elijah there mean the Word both historical and prophetical; Moses means the historical Word, and Elijah, the prophetical, because the Lord, when transfigured, presented Himself in the form in which the Divine Truth is in heaven. That Elijah represented the Lord as to the Word is evident from the miracles wrought through him, all of which also signified those things that pertain to Divine Truth or the Word. And because John the Baptist similarly represented the Lord as to the Word, therefore he was called Elijah; as is plain in Malachi:
"Behold, I send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of Jehovah; and he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the sons, and the heart of the sons to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse" (4:5, 6).
And also it is plainly declared that John was the Elijah here spoken of (Matthew 11:14; 17:10, 12; Mark 9:11, 13); not that he was Elijah, but that he represented the Word just as Elijah did. And because the Word teaches that the Lord would come into the world, and, even to the most minute details, everywhere treats of Him in the inmost sense, therefore John was sent before Him to teach them that the Lord would come, as may be seen (Matthew 11:9, 10; Luke 1:76; 7:26).
[23] From these things it is plain that the Lord was called a prophet because He Himself was the Word, or the Divine Truth itself, as is evident from John 1:1, 2, 14. That the Lord is called a prophet because He was the Word, is evident in Moses:
"Jehovah thy God will raise up unto thee a prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken. I will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto you everything that I command him. The man (vir) who will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, of him I will require it" (Deuteronomy 18:15-19).
It is said that Jehovah would raise up a prophet like unto Moses, because Moses represented the Lord as to the law, that is, as to the Word, as said above, therefore it is also said of Moses, that Jehovah spake with him mouth to mouth, and not as with other prophets by visions, dreams, and dark sayings (Num. 12:1-8); by which also the representation of the Lord by Moses is described. For the Lord spoke with himself from Jehovah, that is, from the Divine itself which was in Him from conception, and this is meant by the passage, "I will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto you everything that I command him," and this was also represented by Jehovah speaking with Moses mouth to mouth, and not as with other prophets. This is the reason, therefore, why the Lord is called a prophet also in Matthew 21:11; Luke 7:16; John 7:40, 41; 9:17.
