8478. 'Let no one leave any of it until the morning' means that they must not be anxious to acquire it of themselves. This is clear from the fact that the manna was given every morning and that worms bred in what was left over, meaning that the Lord provides people's requirements every day and that for this reason they ought not to be anxious to acquire them of themselves. The same thing is meant by daily bread in the Lord's Prayer and also by the Lord's words in Matthew,

Do not be anxious for your soul, what you are going to eat or what you are going to drink, nor for your body, what you are going to put on. Why be anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they do not toil, nor do they spin. Do not therefore be anxious, so that you say, What shall we eat? or What shall we drink? or What shall we wear? For all these things the gentiles seek. Does not your heavenly Father know that you have need of all these things? Seek first the kingdom of God ¹ and its righteousness, then all these things will be added to you. Do not therefore be anxious about the morrow; for the morrow will take care of the things that belong to it. Matthew 6:25-end.

Similar words occur in Luke 12:11-12, 22-31.

[2] The present verse and the one that follows refer in the internal sense to concern for the morrow, a concern which was not only forbidden but also condemned. The forbiddance of it is meant by their being told not to leave any of the manna till the morning, and the condemnation of it is meant by worms breeding in any they did leave and its becoming putrid. Anyone who does not view the matter from anywhere beyond the sense of the letter may think that all concern for the morrow is to be avoided, which being so, people should then await their requirements every day from heaven. But a person who views it from a position deeper than the literal meaning, that is, who views it from the internal sense, may recognize what concern for the morrow is used to mean - not concern to obtain food and clothing for oneself, and also resources for the future; for it is not contrary to order to make provision for oneself and one's dependents. But people are concerned about the morrow when they are not content with their lot, do not trust in God but in themselves, and have solely worldly and earthly things in view, not heavenly ones. These people are ruled completely by anxiety over the future, and by the desire to possess all things and exercise control over all other people. That desire is kindled and grows greater and greater, till at length it is beyond all measure. They grieve if they do not realize the objects of their desires, and they are distressed at the loss of them. Nor can they find consolation, for in times of loss they are angry with the Divine. They reject Him together with all belief, and curse themselves. This is what those concerned for the morrow are like.

[3] Those who trust in the Divine are altogether different. Though concerned about the morrow, yet are they unconcerned, in that they are not anxious, let alone worried, when they give thought to the morrow. They remain even-tempered whether or not they realize desires, and they do not grieve over loss; they are content with their lot. If they become wealthy they do not become infatuated with wealth; if they are promoted to important positions they do not consider themselves worthier than others. If they become poor they are not made miserable either; if lowly in status they do not feel downcast. They know that for those who trust in the Divine all things are moving towards an everlasting state of happiness, and that no matter what happens at any time to them, it contributes to that state.

[4] It should be recognized that Divine providence is overall, that is, it is present within the smallest details of all, and that people in the stream of providence are being carried along constantly towards happier things, whatever appearance the means may present. Those in the stream of providence are people who trust in the Divine and ascribe everything to Him. But those not in the stream of providence are people who trust in themselves alone and attribute everything to themselves; theirs is a contrary outlook, for they take providence away from the Divine and claim it as their own. It should be recognized also that to the extent that anyone is in the stream of providence he is in a state of peace; and to the extent that anyone is in a state of peace by virtue of the good of faith, he is in Divine providence. These alone know and believe that the Lord's Divine providence resides within every single thing, indeed within the smallest details of all, as has also been shown in 1919 (end), 4329, 5122 (end), 5894 (end), 6058, 6481-6486, 6490, 7004, 7007, as well as that Divine providence has what is eternal in view, 6491.

[5] Those with the contrary outlook are scarcely willing to allow any mention of providence. Instead they put every single thing down to prudence; and what they do not put down to prudence they put down to fortune or to chance. Some put it down to fate, which they do not ascribe to the Divine but to natural forces. They call those people simple who do not attribute all things to themselves or to natural forces. From all this one may again see what those people are like who are concerned for the morrow, and what those are like who are not concerned for the morrow.

Footnotes:

3900. Then if anyone says to you, Behold, here is the Christ! or There! do not believe it means a warning to beware of what they teach. 'The Christ' refers to the Lord as regards Divine Truth, and therefore to the Word and to doctrine from the Word. But here the contrary is clearly meant - Divine Truth falsified, or doctrine that teaches what is false. For 'Jesus' means Divine Good and 'Christ' Divine Truth, see 3004, 3005, 3008, 3009.

[2] For false Christs and false prophets will arise means the falsities taught by that doctrine. 'False Christs' means matters of doctrine from the Word that have been falsified, that is, truths that are not Divine, as is evident from what has been stated immediately above; see also 3010, 3732 (end). And 'false prophets' means those who teach those falsities, 2534. In the Christian world those who teach falsities are in particular those who have self-aggrandizement and also worldly wealth as their end in view. Indeed they twist the truths of the Word to suit themselves. For when self-love and love of the world is the end in view, nothing else is contemplated. These are the 'false Christs and false prophets'.

[3] And they will show great signs and wonders means proofs and convincing reasons that are based on outward appearances and on illusions by which the simple allow themselves to be led astray. The meaning of 'signs and wonders' will in the Lord's Divine mercy be shown elsewhere.

[4] So as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect means those who lead lives that are good and true and who therefore abide in the Lord. These are the ones who in the Word are called 'the elect'. They are rarely present in a group of those who cloak worship that is profane with outward reverence; or if they are present there they go unrecognized because the Lord hides them and so protects them. Until they have been made strong by Him, they easily allow themselves to be led astray by external practices expressing reverence; but once they have been made strong they are not deceived. For though they are not aware of it, they are kept by the Lord in the company of angels, when it is impossible for them to be led astray by that unspeakable crew.

[5] Behold, I have told you beforehand means an exhortation to be shrewd, that is, to be on their guard, since they are among false prophets who appear in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves, Matthew 7:15. Those false prophets are the sons of the age who are more shrewd, that is, more cunning, in their own generation than the sons of light, referred to in Luke 16:8. For this reason the Lord warns them as follows,

Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and simple as doves. Matthew 10:16.

[6] If therefore they say to you, Behold, He is in the wilderness! do not go out; Behold, He is in the inner rooms! do not believe it means that what they say about the truth, what they say about good, and many other things, are not to be believed. Nobody can see that this is the meaning of these words except one who is acquainted with the internal sense. They contain an arcanum within them, as one may see from the fact that the Lord spoke them and that without some other sense concealed within them interiorly they would not amount to anything. That is to say, the injunctions not to go out if they said that Christ was in the wilderness and not to believe it if they said that He was in the inner rooms would not amount to anything. But truth that has undergone vastation is what 'the wilderness' means, and good that has undergone vastation, what 'the inner rooms' or inward parts means. The reason why truth that has undergone vastation is meant by a wilderness is that when the Church has undergone vastation, that is, when there is no Divine truth there any longer because no good exists there any longer, that is, no love to the Lord or charity towards the neighbour, it is called a wilderness or said to be in the wilderness. For the word wilderness is used to mean everything that is uncultivated or uninhabited, 2708, and also to mean that which has little life to it, 1927, as is the case at that time with truth in the Church. From this it is evident that 'the wilderness' here means a Church in which truth does not exist.

[7] 'The inner rooms' or inward parts however in the internal sense means the Church as regards good, and also simply that which is good. A Church in which good is present is called 'the House of God', 'the inner rooms' in this case being forms of good, as also are the contents of that house. For 'the House of God' means Divine good, and 'a house' in general means good that flows from love and charity, see 2233, 2234, 2559, 3142, 3652, 3720. The reason why what they say about truth and what they say about good is not to be believed is that they call falsity the truth and evil good. Indeed people whose end in view is self and the world do not understand anything else by truth and good than that they themselves should be adored and they themselves should receive benefits. And if they give the impression that they are devout it is so that they may be seen dressed in sheep's clothing.

[8] What is more, the Word which the Lord has spoken contains more in it than anyone can calculate, and 'the wilderness' is an expression that has a wide range of spiritual meanings. As everything uncultivated or uninhabited is called 'the wilderness' and all things that are interior are called 'the inner rooms', therefore 'the wilderness' also means the Old Testament Word since this is considered to be superseded, while 'the inner rooms' means the New Testament Word since this teaches about interior things, that is, it is concerned with the internal man. The Word as a whole is likewise referred to as 'the wilderness' when it no longer serves to supply matters of doctrine, and 'inner rooms' is the name given to human practices which, being departures from the commands and ordinances of the Word, turn the Word into a wilderness. This is also well known in the Christian world, for people whose worship is outwardly holy but inwardly profane owing to the introduction of novelties which have as their end in view pre-eminence over all others and becoming wealthier than all others set aside the Word. Indeed they go so far as not to allow others to read it. And even in the case of those whose worship is not profane as just described and who do regard the Word to be holy and do allow it a place among ordinary people, they nevertheless bend and explain everything in accordance with their own teachings. And this turns the rest of the Word which does not accord with their own teachings into a wilderness, as becomes quite clear from those who focus salvation on faith alone and show contempt for the works of charity. They turn so to speak into a wilderness everything which the Lord Himself has stated in the New Testament, and so many times in the Old, about love and charity. And everything to do with faith without works is turned so to speak into inner rooms. From this it is evident what is meant by, If they say to you, Behold, He is in the wilderness! do not go out; Behold, He is in the inner rooms! do not believe it.

[9] For as the lightning comes from the east and is seen as far as the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be means that internal worship of the Lord will be like lightning which is instantly dispersed. For 'lightning' means that which is a manifestation of heavenly light and thus that which has reference to love and faith since these are the components of heavenly light. 'East' in the highest sense means the Lord, in the internal sense good that flows from love, charity, and faith received from the Lord, see 101, 1250, 3249. 'West' in the internal sense however means that which has gone down or ceased to be, and so means the non-acknowledgement of the Lord or of good that flows from love, charity, and faith. Accordingly 'the lightning which comes from the east and is seen as far as the west' means dispersal. The Lord's coming does not consist, as the letter has it, in His appearing once again in the world, but in His presence within everyone. He is present there as often as the gospel is preached and that which is holy is contemplated.

[10] For wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together means that confirmations of falsity by means of reasonings will be multiplied in the Church that has undergone vastation. When the Church is devoid of good and as a consequence devoid of the truth of faith, that is, when it has undergone vastation, it is called dead, since good and truth are the source of its life. And so when it is dead it is compared to 'the carcass'. Reasonings to the effect that goods and truths are nothing except insofar as they can be grasped mentally, and confirmations of evil and falsity by means of those reasonings, are meant by 'the eagles', as may be seen from what follows immediately below. The fact that 'the carcass' here means the Church when devoid of the life of charity and faith is evident from the Lord's words where the close of the age is the subject, in Luke,

The disciples said (referring to the close of the age or the Last Judgement), Where, Lord? Jesus said to them, Where the body is, there the eagles will be gathered together. Luke 17:37.

'The body' is used here instead of the carcass, it being a dead body that is understood in this case, which means the Church. For it is clear from many references in the Word that the House of God - that is, the Church - is where the Judgement begins. These then are the details meant in the internal sense by the Lord's words which have been introduced and explained above. The most wonderful flow of ideas, though barely visible at all in the sense of the letter, may be seen by anyone who thinks about them in the connected sequence explained above.