3301. That a “hairy garment” [tunica] signifies the truth of the natural, is evident from the signification of a “garment” [tunica] as being that which invests something else, and here therefore it signifies truth, because this invests good; for truth is as a vesture (n. 1073, 2576); or what is nearly the same, truth is a vessel receiving good (n. 1469, 1496, 1832, 1900, 2063, 2261, 2269); and also from the signification of “hairy,” as being the natural in respect to truth. “Hair,” or the “hair of the head,” is frequently mentioned in the Word, and there signifies the natural; the reason is that hair is an excrescence in the outermost parts of man, just as is the natural also relatively to his rational and to the interior things thereof. It appears to man, while he lives in the body, that the natural is his all, but this is so far from being true that the natural is rather an excrescence from his internals, as hair is from the things of the body. The two also proceed from the internals in almost the same way. Hence it is that men who in the life of the body have been merely natural, in the other life, when presented to view in accordance with that state, appear as if covered with hair over almost the whole face. Moreover man’s natural is represented by the hair of the head; when it is from good, it is represented by becoming and carefully arranged hair; but when not from good, by unbecoming and disheveled hair.

[2] It is from this representative that in the Word “hair” signifies the natural, especially as to truth; as in Zechariah:

And it shall come to pass in that day that the prophets shall be ashamed, a man by reason of his vision, when he hath prophesied, neither shall they wear a hairy tunic to deceive (Zech. 13:4).

“Prophets” denote those who teach truths, here those who teach falsities (n. 2534); “vision” denotes truths, here falsities; a “hairy tunic” denotes the natural as to truth; and because there was no truth, but rather falsity, it is said, “to deceive.” Prophets were clothed with such raiment in order to represent that truth, because it is external. Therefore also Elijah the Tishbite from such clothing is called a “hairy man” (2 Kings 1:8); and John, who was the last of the prophets, had “raiment of camel’s hair” (Matthew 3:4). (That “camels” are memory-knowledges in the natural man, may be seen above, n. 3048, 3071, 3143, 3145; and also that memory-knowledges are the truths of the natural, n. 3293)

[3] That the “hair of the head” signified the natural as to truth is plainly evident from the Nazirites, to whom it was commanded that during all the days of their Naziriteship no razor should pass upon their head, until the days were fulfilled during which they separated themselves to Jehovah, and then they should let down the locks of their head, and that then they should shave the head of their Naziriteship at the door of the tent of meeting, and should put the hair upon the fire which was under the eucharistic sacrifice (Numbers 6:5, 18). The Nazirites represented the Lord as to the Divine Human; and thence the man of the celestial church, who is a likeness of the the Lord, (n. 51); and the natural of this man is represented by the hair; and therefore, when the Nazirites were sanctified they were to put off their old or former natural man, into which they were born, and were to put on a new man; which was signified by the command that when the days had been fulfilled during which they were to separate themselves to Jehovah, they were to let down the locks of their head, and put them upon the fire under the sacrifice. For the state of the celestial man is such that he is in good, and from good knows all truths, and never thinks and speaks from truths about good, still less does he think and speak about good from memory-knowledges (see n. 202, 337, 2715, 2718, 3246). Moreover celestial men are such that before they put off that state they are in a natural so strong as to truth that they are able to battle with the hells; for it is truth that fights, and never good, as the hells cannot make even a distant approach to good. (That such is the case with truth and good may be seen above, n. 1950, 1951.)

[4] From this it is evident whence Samson had strength from his hair; concerning whom it is said:

The angel of Jehovah appeared to the woman saying, Behold thou shalt conceive, and bear a son, and no razor shall come upon his head; for the child shall be a Nazirite unto God from the womb (Judg. 13:3, 5);

and afterwards it is related that he told Delilah that if he should be shaven, his strength would depart from him, and he would be rendered weak; and after he had been shaven his strength departed, and the Philistines seized him; and afterwards, when the hair of his head began to grow again after he was shaven, his strength returned, so that he pulled down the pillars of the house (Judges 16). Who does not see that in these things there is a heavenly arcanum, which no one knows unless he has been instructed concerning representatives; namely, that the Nazirite represents the celestial man, and that so long as he had hair he represented the natural of this man, which as before said is in truth thus powerful and strong. And as at that time all representatives that were commanded by the Lord had such force and effect, this was the source of Samson’s strength. But Samson was not a sanctified Nazirite like those described above, namely, as having put on a state of good instead of truth. The effect of his strength by reason of his hair was principally from his representing the Lord, who from the natural man as to truth fought with the hells and subdued them, and this before he put on the Divine good and truth even as to the natural man.

[5] From this also it is evident why it was commanded that the high priest, upon whose head was poured the oil of anointing, and whose hand was consecrated to put on the garments, should not shave his head, nor rend his clothes (Leviticus 21:10); and similarly that the priests the Levites (where the new temple is treated of) were not to shave their heads, nor let down their hair (Ezekiel 44:20); namely, that they might represent the Lord’s Divine natural as to the truth which is from good, and which is called the truth of good. That “hair,” or a “head of hair” signifies the natural as to truth is evident also from the prophecies of the Word, as in Ezekiel:

I set thee as the bud of the field, whence thou didst grow, and didst grow up into beauties of beauties; the breasts have become firm, and thine hair was grown (Ezekiel 16:7); where Jerusalem is treated of, which here signifies the Ancient Church, which in process of time had become perverted. The “breasts become firm” denote natural good; the “hair that was grown,” natural truth.

[6] In Daniel:

I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of Days did sit. His raiment was white as snow, and the hair of His head like the pure wool; His throne was fiery flames (Daniel 7:9).

And in John:

In the midst of the lampstands one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about at the paps with a golden girdle. And His head and His hair were white as white wool, as snow; and His eyes were as a flame of fire (Revelation 1:13-14);

“hair white like pure wool” denotes the Divine natural as to truth. In the Word, and in the rituals of the Jewish Church, truth itself was represented by white, which being from good, is called “pure wool.” The reason why the representation of truth is by white, and the representation of good by red, is that truth is of light, and good is of the fire from which the light proceeds.

[7] Like other expressions in the Word, “hair” has also an opposite sense, and signifies the natural as to truth perverted, as in Isaiah:

In that day shall the Lord shave with a razor that is hired, in the passages of the river, with the King of Assyria, the head and the hair of the feet; and it shall also consume the beard (Isaiah 7:20).

In Ezekiel:

Son of man, take thee a sharp sword, a barber’s razor shalt thou take unto thee, and shalt cause it to pass upon thine head, and upon thy beard; and take thee balances to weigh, and divide the hairs. A third part shalt thou burn with fire in the midst of the city; thou shalt take a third part and smite with the sword round about the city; and a third part thou shalt scatter to the wind; and thou shalt take thereof a few in number, and bind them in thy skirts; and of these again shalt thou take, and cast them into the midst of the fire, and burn them in the fire; therefrom shall a fire come forth unto all the house of Israel (Ezekiel 5:1-4).

In this manner it is representatively described that there is no longer any interior and exterior natural truth, which is signified by the “hair” and the “beard.” That lusts have destroyed it is signified by its being “burned with fire”; that reasonings have destroyed it is signified by “smiting with the sword round about the city”; that false principles have destroyed it, is signified by “scattering it to the wind.” The meaning of this passage is similar to what the Lord teaches in Matthew, that of the seed, which is truth, some fell among thorns, some on the rock, and some upon the way (Matthew 13:1-9).

[8] That the “hair of the head” signifies the unclean truths and falsities which are of the natural man, was represented also by the command that when a woman that had been taken captive from the enemy was to be married, she was to be brought into the house, the hair of her head was to be shaved, her nails were to be pared, and the raiment of her captivity was to be put off (Deuteronomy 21:12-13); also that when the Levites were consecrated, the water of expiation was to be sprinkled upon them, they were to cause a razor to pass over all their flesh, and their clothes were to be washed, and thus they were to be cleansed (Numbers 8:7); and also that Nebuchadnezzar was driven out from men to eat grass like oxen, and his body to be wet with the dew of heaven, until his hair grew like eagles’ feathers, and his nails like birds’ claws (Daniel 4:33). That in leprosy the colors of the hair and beard were to be observed, as to whether they were white, reddish, yellow, black, and also those of the garments; and that he who was cleansed from leprosy should shave off all the hair of the head, beard, and eyebrows (Leviticus 13,14:8-9), signified unclean falsities from what is profane, which in the internal sense is “leprosy.”

[9] “Baldness” however signified the natural in which there was nothing of truth, as in Isaiah:

He is gone up to Bayith, and to Dibon, to the high places, to weep over Nebo, and Moab shall howl over Medeba; on all their heads is baldness, every beard is shaved (Isaiah 15:2).

In the same:

It shall come to pass that instead of braided work there shall be baldness, and branding instead of beauty (Isaiah 3:24).

That the children who said to Elisha, “Go up, thou bald-head; go up, thou bald-head,” were torn in pieces by bears from the wood (2 Kings 2:23-24) represented those who blaspheme the Word, speaking as if there were no truth in it; for Elisha represented the Lord as to the Word (n. 2762). From this it is now manifest how much power there was at that time in representatives.

865. These were redeemed from among men, being the first-fruits unto God and unto the Lamb. That this signifies those in the New Church who are received by the Lord, is evident from the signification of those who are redeemed by the Lord, as denoting those who receive instruction from the Word, especially respecting the Lord, and who live according to it; respecting which see above (n. 860). These are also called the redeemed of the Lord; and these are the redeemed who are regenerated by the Lord; and these are they who follow the Lord, that is, are led by Him, of whom we have just treated above. And the same appears from the signification of the first-fruits of God and the Lamb, as denoting those who have given themselves to the Lord, and are adopted by Him. That these are those who belong to the New Church, is evident from this consideration, that they are called the first-fruits to God and to the Lamb. For those who are received therein, acknowledge the Lord's Divine Human, and live according to His precepts. No others, are received in the New Church, called the New Jerusalem, because those who do not believe it, and so live, are not in agreement with the life of heaven, neither with the light there, nor with the heat; for the light there is Divine truth, from which come all intelligence and wisdom; and the heat there is Divine good, from which come all love and charity. All man's affection and thought therefrom is not only within him, and constitutes his life, but is also external to him, and constitutes the sphere of his life. This is why heaven is divided into societies according to the varieties of affections and thoughts therefrom. Unless therefore the affections and the thoughts therefrom are spiritual, and are formed solely from the acknowledgment of the Lord, and from a life according to His precepts, they cannot be admitted into any society of heaven, for they are repugnant thereto. This is the reason that those who do not acknowledge the Lord's Divine Human, and do not live according to His precepts in the Word, cannot be in association with the angels of heaven. That this is the case, has been made plain to me from much experience. There were some who had thought of the Lord only as of another man, and had lived in the faith of the present day, which is a faith of the thought merely, without any good of life. But because they believed that nothing more was necessary to life eternal than to be admitted into heaven, therefore, according to their wish, they were admitted into some society; but as soon as the light of heaven struck their eyes with its lustre, their sight and also their understanding began to be entirely obscured and became stupefied. And when the heat of heaven came upon them, they began to be tormented in a direful manner, and as to the head and limbs to writhe like serpents. Therefore they cast themselves downwards, swearing that to enter heaven was hell to them, unless they were in the light and heat of heaven; and that they did not know that every one has heaven from love and thence faith, or from a life according to the Lord's precepts in the Word, and from faith in the Lord, and not in any way from faith without the life of faith, which is charity.

[2] It shall now be stated in a few words what first-fruits in the Word signify. They signify the same as the first-begotten; but the latter term is used of animals, and first-fruits of vegetables. Thus the first-begotten are what are born first, and first-fruits are from the first things produced; and both signify the spiritual good first formed, which is essentially truth from good from the Lord. The origin of this is as follows. There are two minds in man, natural and spiritual. From the natural mind alone nothing but evil is produced, and the falsity therefrom; but as soon as the spiritual mind is opened, then good is produced, and the truth therefrom; this which is first produced is meant by the first-begotten and by the first-fruits. Now because nothing born and produced from the spiritual mind is from man but from the Lord, therefore those things were sanctified to Jehovah, that is, to the Lord, because they were His, and consequently holy. And because that which is born or produced first, signifies all the things that follow in a series - as a leader the people, and a shepherd the flock - therefore by the first-begotten and the first-fruits being given to the Lord was signified that all other things were also His.

[3] But in order that this may be more clearly understood, it must be known, that the merely natural mind is formed according to the idea or image of the world, but the spiritual mind according to the idea or image of heaven; and that the spiritual mind is opened to no one, except by the acknowledgment of the Divine of the Lord, and by a life according to His precepts; and that previous to this, no good and truth are produced. But as soon as the spiritual mind is opened, then they are produced therefrom from the Lord. Therefore the first that is produced is called holy, and signifies that all things afterwards produced are also holy. From these things, it is evident that the opening of the womb or matrix signifies the opening of the spiritual mind. That this is the signification is seen also from correspondence; for the womb corresponds to the good of celestial love; concerning which correspondence see above (n. 710), and in the Arcana Coelestia 4918, 5050-5062).

[4] Since the things now mentioned were signified by the first-fruits; and since the things of harvest, as wheat, barley, and the rest, signified the goods and truths of heaven and the church; also wool, and the clean and useful beasts, therefore, of the latter the first-begotten were given to the Lord, and of the former the first-fruits. And because the high priest represented the Lord as to His priesthood, which is the good of love, therefore they were given to that priest. And consequently everything produced from corn, wine, and oil was sanctified.

But concerning those first-fruits, see the statutes for the sons of Israel in the law of Moses; as, for example, the first of the fruits of all the corn, oil, wine, and the fruit of the tree; also of the fleece, and the first-begotten of the flock and the herd; and that they were given as holy to Jehovah, and by Jehovah to Aaron, and after him to the high priest.

(Exodus 22:29; Numbers 13:20; 15:17-22; 18:8-20; Deuteronomy 18:4; 26:1, to the end).

And concerning the feast of the first-fruits of harvest, and of the first-fruits of bread

(Exodus 23:14, 15, 16, 19, 26; Leviticus 23:9-15, 20-25 Numbers 28:26, to the end; and elsewhere).

From these things it is now evident, that by first-fruits to God and to the Lamb are meant those who will belong to the New Church, called the New Jerusalem, who acknowledge the Lord's Divine Human, and live a life of love, that is, a life according to the Lord's precepts in the Word. For in the case of these and no others is the spiritual mind opened; no others, therefore, are led of the Lord, or follow Him whithersoever He goeth.

That by God and the Lamb in the Apocalypse, is meant the Lord as to the Divine itself, and at the same time as to the Divine Human, may be seen above (n. 297, 314, 343, 460, 482).