4737. But lay no hand upon him. That this signifies that they should not do violence to it, is evident without explication.

9139. When a man shall desolate a field, or a vineyard. That this signifies the deprivation of the good and the truth of the church through cupidities, is evident from the signification of “to desolate,” as being to deprive through cupidities (see n. 9141); from the signification of “a field,” as being the church as to good (n. 2791, 3766, 4982, 7502), thus the good of the church; and from the signification of “a vineyard,” as being the church as to truth, thus the truth of the church. That “a field” denotes the church as to good, is because the things of a field, such as wheat and barley, signify internal and external goods of the church (n. 3941, 7602, 7605); and that “a vineyard” denotes the church as to truth, is because “wine,” which belongs to a vineyard, signifies the truth of good (n. 1071, 6377).

[2] That “field” and “vineyard” have this signification has its origin from the representatives in the spiritual world. For fields full of wheat and barley appear before spirits when the angels in a heaven above them are conversing about an assemblage of those who are in good; and there appear vineyards full of grapes, with winepresses, when the angels are conversing about an assemblage of those who are in the truth of good. These representatives are not from the fact that there are such things upon earth; but from the correspondences, in that wheat and barley, or the bread made therefrom, nourish the body, as the good of love and of charity nourishes the soul; and in that wine, as drink, acts in like manner. From this it is that in the Word the goods of love and the truths of faith are called “meats and drinks;” in this sense also they are heavenly meats and drinks (see n. 56-58, 680, 681, 1973, 1974, 4459, 4792, 5147, 5293, 5576, 5579, 5915, 8562).

[3] That a “vineyard” denotes the church as to the good and the truth of faith, which church is called the spiritual church, is evident from the passages in the Word where a “vineyard” is mentioned; as in Jeremiah:

Many shepherds have destroyed My vineyard, they have trodden under foot My field, they have made My field of desire into a desert of solitude; he has made it [the vineyard] into a solitude (Jeremiah 12:10-11); where “vineyard” and “field” manifestly denote the church; and as the church is the church from the truth and good of faith and of charity, it is clear that the “vineyard” here denotes the church as to truth, and the “field,” the church as to good.

In Isaiah:

Jehovah cometh into judgment with the elders of His people, and the princes thereof; ye have set on fire the vineyard (Isaiah 3:14);

here also “the vineyard” plainly denotes the church in respect to the good and truth of faith; for “the elders with whom Jehovah will come into judgment,” denote the goods of the church (see n. 6524, 6525); and “the princes,” its truths (n. 5044).

[4] Again:

I will sing to my beloved a song of my friend touching His vineyard. My beloved had a vineyard in a horn of the son of oil; and he enclosed it, and planted it with a noble vine (Isaiah 5:1-2

this is said of the Lord, who is the “beloved” and the “friend;” the “vineyard” denotes His spiritual church; a “noble vine” denotes the good of faith of this church; and a “horn of the son of oil,” the good of the faith of that church from the good of love. He who knows nothing of the internal sense of the Word, cannot possibly know what is signified by “a vineyard in a horn of the son of oil.” Yet in these words there lies hidden a secret that cannot be expressed in words. By these words is fully described the conjunction of the Lord’s spiritual kingdom with His celestial kingdom; that is, the conjunction of the second heaven with the third; consequently the conjunction of the good of faith in the Lord, which is of the spiritual kingdom, with the good of love to the Lord, which is of the celestial kingdom. The “vineyard” denotes the spiritual kingdom; “in a horn” denotes in power, thus in this kingdom; and “the son of oil” denotes the external good of love of the celestial kingdom. The celestial kingdom, which is the inmost heaven of the Lord, is called an “olive-tree” or an “olive-yard,” because “oil” denotes the good of celestial love (n. 886, 4582, 4638). Be it known that the kingdom of the Lord on earth is the church. (That there are two kingdoms, the celestial kingdom and the spiritual kingdom, and that the spiritual kingdom constitutes the second heaven, and the celestial kingdom the third heaven, see n. 3887, 4138, 4279, 4286; of the conjunction of these, see n. 6435

[5] Again:

In that day a vineyard of pure wine, answer ye to it; I Jehovah do keep it; I will water it every moment (Isaiah 27:2-3); where “a vineyard of pure wine” [merum] denotes the spiritual church.

In Amos:

In all vineyards shall be wailing; I will pass through thee. Woe unto you that desire the day of Jehovah! What to you is the day of Jehovah? It is of darkness and not of light (Amos 5:17-18);

this is said of the last time of the church, when there is no longer any good and truth of faith, which time is “the day of Jehovah, a day of darkness and not of light;” whence it is said, “in all vineyards shall be wailing.”

In John in Revelation:

The angel put forth His sickle into the earth, and vintaged the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great Winepress of the wrath of God (Revelation 14:19);

“to vintage the vine of the earth” denotes to consume the truth and good of the church; “the earth” here being the church. From all this it can be seen why the Lord so often likened the kingdom of the heavens to a “vineyard” (as in Matthew 20:1, and the following verses; 21:28-29, 33-41; Mark 12:1-12); and why the Lord called Himself “the vine,” in John:

As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; so neither can ye, except ye abide in Me. I am the vine, ye are the branches. Without Me ye can do nothing (John 15:4-6);

“the vine” denotes faith in the Lord, consequently the Lord as to faith; for the Lord is faith, because faith is from Him; for no faith is faith save that which is from Him. Hence also “the vine” denotes the faith which is directed to Him.

680. That goods and truths are the genuine foods of man must be evident to everyone, for he who is destitute of them has no life, but is dead. When a man is spiritually dead the foods with which his soul is fed are delights from evils and pleasantnesses from falsities-which are foods of death-and are also those which come from bodily, worldly, and natural things, which also have nothing of life in them. Moreover, such a man does not know what spiritual and celestial food is, insomuch that whenever “food” or “bread” is mentioned in the Word he supposes the food of the body to be meant; as in the Lord’s prayer, the words “Give us our daily bread” he supposes to mean only sustenance for the body; and those who extend their ideas further say it includes also other necessaries of the body, such as clothing, property, and the like. They even sharply deny that any other food is meant; when yet they see plainly that the words preceding and following involve only celestial and spiritual things, and that the Lord’s kingdom is spoken of; and besides, they might know that the Word of the Lord is celestial and spiritual.

[2] From this and other similar examples it must be sufficiently evident how corporeal is man at the present day; and that, like the Jews, he is disposed to take everything that is said in the Word in the most gross and material sense. The Lord Himself clearly teaches what is meant in His Word by “food” and “bread.” Concerning “food” He thus speaks in John:

Jesus said, Labor not for the meat [or food] which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto eternal life, which the Son of man shall give unto you (John 6:27).

And concerning “bread” He says, in the same chapter:

Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the Bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof and not die. I am the living Bread which came down from heaven; if any man eat of this Bread he shall live eternally (John 6:49-51, 58).

But at the present day there are men like those who heard these words and said: “This is a hard saying; who can hear it?” and who “went back and walked no more with Him” (John 6:60, 66), to whom the Lord said: “The words that I speak unto you they are spirit and they are life” (John 6:63).

[3] And so with respect to “water” which signifies the spiritual things of faith, and concerning which the Lord thus speaks in John:

Jesus said, Everyone that drinketh of this water shall thirst again; but whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall become in him a fountain of water springing up unto eternal life (John 4:13-14).

But at the present day there are those who are like the woman with whom the Lord spoke at the well, and who answered, “Lord, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw” (John 4:15).

[4] That in the Word “food” means no other than spiritual and celestial food, which is faith in the Lord, and love, is evident from many passages in the Word, as in Jeremiah:

The enemy hath spread out his hand upon all the desirable things of Jerusalem; for she hath seen that the nations are entered into her sanctuary, concerning whom Thou didst command that they should not enter into Thy congregation. All the people groan, they seek bread; they have given their desirable things for food to refresh the soul (Lamentations 1:10-11).

No other than spiritual bread and food are here meant, for the subject is the sanctuary. Again:

I have cried out for my lovers, they have deceived me; my priests and mine elders in the city expired, for they sought food for themselves, to refresh their soul (Lamentations 1:19),

with the same meaning.

In David:

These wait all upon Thee, that Thou mayest give them their food in its season; Thou givest them, they gather; Thou openest thine hand, they are satisfied with good (Psalms 104:27-28).

Here likewise spiritual and celestial food is meant.

[5] In Isaiah:

Ho, everyone that thirsteth, come ye to the waters; and he that hath no silver; come ye, buy and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without silver, and without price (Isaiah 55:1),

where “wine” and “milk” denote spiritual and celestial drink. Again:

A virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and thou shalt call His name Immanuel; butter and honey shall He eat, that He may know to refuse the evil and choose the good; and it shall come to pass that for the abundance of milk that they shall give they shall eat butter; for butter and honey shall everyone eat that is left in the midst of the land (Isaiah 7:1, 4-15, 22).

Here to “eat honey and butter” is to appropriate what is celestial-spiritual; “they that are left” denote remains, concerning whom also in Malachi:

Bring ye all the tithes into the treasure house, that there may be food in My house (Malachi 3:10).

“Tithes” denote remains. (Concerning the signification of “food” see above, n. 56-58, 276.)