6048. And will say, What are your works? That this signifies, and to know your goods, is evident from the signification of “works,” as being goods. That “works” are goods is because they are from the will, and things from the will are good or evil, but things from the understanding, such as discourse, are true or false. The works of the sons of Jacob, and also the works of their fathers, were to pasture cattle, thus to act as shepherds. These works also signify goods, specifically goods from truths. That they have this signification is from correspondences, for lambs, sheep, kids, and goats, which are of the flock, correspond to the goods of charity; in like manner bullocks and oxen, which are of the herd. That they correspond is evident from the fact that when from heavenly affection the angels are conversing together about the goods of charity, there appear in some places in the world of spirits, and also in the first or ultimate heaven, flocks and herds-flocks, when they are speaking of the interior goods of charity; and herds when of the exterior goods (n. 3218-3220). For this reason it is that in the Word such things are signified by “flocks and herds.” In general be it known that every significative in the Word derives its origin from representatives in the other life, and these from correspondences. The reason is that the natural world is from the spiritual world as an effect from its cause, to the end that the spiritual world may flow into the natural world and there act as the causes. In this way also all things of this world are held together in their tenor and in order. (That universal nature is a theater representative of the Lord’s kingdom, that is, of the spiritual and heavenly things therein, may be seen, n. 2758, 2987-3002, 4939, 5116)

5116. Its blossom went up. That this signifies the state near regeneration, is evident from the signification of the “blossom” that buds forth from the tree before the fruit, as being the state before regeneration. As just said (n. 5115), the budding and fruiting of a tree represent the rebirth of man-its becoming green from the leaves represents the first state; the blossoming the second, which is the next before regeneration; and the fruiting the third, which is the very state of the regenerate. It is from this that “leaves” signify the things of intelligence, or the truths of faith (n. 885), for these are the first things of the rebirth or regeneration; while “blossoms” signify the things of wisdom, or the goods of faith, because these immediately precede the rebirth or regeneration; and “fruits” signify those things which are of life, or the works of charity, because these follow and constitute the very state of the regenerate.

[2] That such things exist in the vegetable kingdom is owing to the influx of the spiritual world. This, however, cannot be believed by those who attribute all things to nature, and nothing to the Divine; whereas they who attribute all things to the Divine, and nothing to nature, are permitted to see not only that everything is from the Divine, but also that everything has a correspondence, and is therefore representative; and finally they are permitted to see that universal nature is a theater representative of the Lord’s kingdom; thus that the Divine is in every particular of nature, insomuch that nature is a representation of the eternal and the infinite-of the eternal from propagation even to eternity, of the infinite from the multiplication of seeds to infinity. Such endeavors could never have existed in everything in the vegetable kingdom unless the Divine continually flowed in; for from influx comes endeavor, from endeavor energy, and from energy effect.

[3] They who attribute all things to nature say that such things were imparted to fruits and seeds at their first creation, and that from the energy thence received they are afterward impelled of themselves to such activities; but they do not consider that subsistence is a perpetual coming into existence, or what is similar, that propagation is perpetual creation; neither do they consider that the effect is the continuation of the cause, and that when the cause ceases, the effect also ceases, and consequently that without a continual influx of the cause, every effect instantly perishes; nor do they consider that what is unconnected with a first of all things, consequently with the Divine, is instantly annihilated, because the prior must be continually in the posterior in order that the posterior may exist.

[4] If they who attribute all things to nature and little or nothing to the Divine, considered these things, they too could acknowledge that each and all things in nature represent such things as are in the spiritual world, consequently such as are in the Lord’s kingdom, where the Divine of the Lord is most nearly represented. For this reason it was said that the influx is from the spiritual world; but it is meant that the influx is through the spiritual world from the Lord’s Divine. The reason why natural men do not consider such things is that they are not willing to acknowledge them; for they are in earthly and bodily things, and hence in a life of the love of self and of the world, and therefore are in inverted order relatively to those things which are of the spiritual world or of heaven, and from an inverted state it is impossible to see such things; for they see the things which are below as if they were above, and the things which are above as if they were below; and therefore when in the other life such persons are seen in the light of heaven, they appear with the head downward and the feet upward.

[5] Who among them is there that sees trees and other plants in blossom, and deems that this is as it were their gladness because they are now producing fruits or seeds? They see that blossoms precede, and that they last until they have in their bosoms the beginnings of the fruit or seed, and thereby convey into these beginnings their sap; and if they knew anything about the rebirth or regeneration of man (or rather, if they desired to know), they would from this likeness see in the flowers a representative of the state of man before regeneration, namely, that man then blossoms in like manner from the good of intelligence and wisdom, that is, is in interior gladness and beauty, because he is then in the effort to implant in the life the goods of intelligence and wisdom, that is, to produce fruits. That this state is of such a nature cannot even be known, because the nature of the interior gladness and beauty which are thus represented is utterly unknown to those who are solely in the gladness of the love of the world and the delights of the love of self. This gladness and these delights cause those which are interior to appear to such persons so utterly joyless and undelightful that they hold them in aversion; and the result of this is that they reject them as trivial, or of no value, and therefore deny them, and at the same time deny that what is spiritual and celestial is anything. From this comes the insanity of the present age, which is believed to be wisdom.