6693. Saying, Every son that is born, ye shall cast him forth into the river. That this signifies that they should immerse in falsities all truths which appear, is evident from the signification of “son,” as being truth (see n. 489, 491, 533, 1147, 2623, 3373); and from the signification of “river,” as being things that belong to intelligence (n. 108, 109, 2702, 3051), here in the opposite sense, things contrary, thus falsities. That “to cast forth” denotes to immerse is manifest.

[2] That the “river of Egypt” denotes what is contrary to intelligence, thus falsity, is evident also in Isaiah:

The rivers shall recede; the rivers of Egypt shall diminish and be dried up; the papyri beside the river, beside the mouth of the river, and all the seed of the river, shall become dry, shall be driven forward; and therefore the fishers shall mourn, and all they that cast a hook into the river shall be sad, and they that spread a net upon the faces of the waters shall languish (Isaiah 19:6-8).

That here by the “river of Egypt” no river is meant, nor by “fishers” fishers, but that other things are meant, which do not appear unless it is known what is meant by “Egypt,” by the “river” there, and by “fishers,” is also evident; if these things are known, the sense is manifest. That by the “river of Egypt” is signified falsity, is plain from the particulars here.

[3] In Jeremiah:

Who is this that riseth up like the river, whose waters are tossed like the rivers? Egypt riseth up like the river, and his waters are tossed as the rivers; for he hath said, I will go up, I will cover the earth, I will destroy the city, and them that dwell therein (Jeremiah 46:7-8);

here also the “river of Egypt” denotes falsities; to “go up and cover the earth” denotes to do so to the church; to “destroy the city,” denotes to destroy the doctrine of the church; “and them that dwell therein,” denotes the goods thence derived. (That the “earth” is the church may be seen above, n. 6649; and the “city,” the doctrine of the church, n. 402, 2449, 3216, 4492, 4493; and “inhabitants,” the goods therein, n. 2268, 2451, 2712)

[4] In Ezekiel:

Behold I am against thee, Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great whale that liest in the midst of his rivers; who hath said, The river is mine, and I have made myself. Therefore I will put hooks in thy jaws, and I will make the fish of thy rivers to stick unto thy scales, and I will make thee go up out of the midst of thy rivers, and every fish of thy rivers shall stick in thy scales. I will leave thee in the wilderness, and every fish of thy rivers (Ezekiel 29:3-5, 9-10);

what these things signify no one can know without the internal sense (that Egypt is not meant, is evident), thus unless it is known what is meant by “Pharaoh,” and what by a “river,” a “whale,” a “fish,” and “scales.” (That “Pharaoh” is the natural where memory-knowledge is, may be seen above, n. 5160, 5799, 6015; and that “whales” are the generals of memory-knowledges in the natural, n. 42; and “fishes” memory-knowledges under the general, n. 40, 991.) “Scales” denote those things which are manifestly external, thus sensuous, to which memory-knowledges which are falsities adhere. When these things are known, it is evident what is meant in the above passage by the “river of Egypt” namely, falsity.

[5] Again:

In that day when Pharaoh shall go down into hell I will make a mourning; I will cover the abyss over him, and I will curb his rivers, and the great waters shall be dammed up (Ezekiel 31:15).

Shall not the earth be shaken for this, and everyone mourn that dwelleth therein, so that it shall go up all of it like a brook, and be driven out, and overwhelmed as by the river of Egypt? In that day I will make the sun to set at noon, and I will darken the earth in the day of light (Amos 8:8-9; 9:5).

The “earth” which shall be “shaken” denotes the church (n. 6649); “to be overwhelmed as by the river of Egypt” denotes to perish by falsities; and because falsities are signified, it is said that “the sun shall set at noon,” and that “the earth shall be darkened in the day of light.” By “the sun setting at noon” is signified that the good of celestial love would recede, and by “the earth being darkened in the day of light,” that falsities would take possession of the church. (That the “sun” is the good of celestial love, may be seen above, n. 1529, 1530, 2441, 2495, 3636, 3643, 4060, 4696; also that “darkness” is falsity, n. 1839, 1860, 4418, 4531; and that the “earth” is the church, n. 82, 662, 1066, 1067, 1262, 1411, 1413, 1607, 1733, 1850, 2117, 2118, 2928, 2355, 4447, 4535, 5577.) Everyone can see that other things are signified here than what appear in the letter, as that “the earth shall be shaken,” and that “everyone that dwelleth therein shall mourn,” that “the sun shall set at noon,” and “the earth be darkened in the day of light.” Unless the church is understood by the “earth,” falsity by the “river,” and celestial love by the “sun,” no sense which can be unfolded is found there.

[6] As the “river of Egypt” signifies falsity, therefore Moses was commanded to smite with his staff upon the waters of that river, and they were consequently turned into blood, and every fish died in the river, and the river stank (Exodus 7:17-21); and Aaron also was commanded to stretch out his hand with the rod over the rivers, over the streams, and over the pools, whereupon frogs came up over the land of Egypt (Exodus 8:1-2). That “waters” in the opposite sense signify falsities (see n. 790 d as the waters are those of the river, the “river” relatively denotes falsity in general.

5798. And let not thine anger be kindled against thy servant. That this signifies lest he turn away, is evident from the signification of “anger,” as being a turning away (see n. 5034), because one who is angry with another turns away, for in that state he does not think like him, but against him. That “anger” is a turning away is plain from many passages in the Word, especially from those where anger and wrath are ascribed to Jehovah or the Lord, by which is signified a turning away-not that Jehovah or the Lord ever turns away, but that man does so; and when he turns away it seems to him as if the Lord did so, for he is not heard. The Word so speaks in accordance with the appearance. And because “anger” is a turning away, it is also an assault on good and truth on the part of those who have turned away; while on the part of those who have not turned away, there is no assault, but repugnance on account of aversion to what is evil and false.

[2] That “anger” is an assault has been shown above (n. 3614); that it is also a turning away, and likewise the penalty when truth and good are assailed, is plain from the following passages.

In Isaiah:

Woe to them that decree decrees of iniquity. They shall fall under the bound, and under the slain. For all this His anger is not turned away. Woe to Asshur, the rod of Mine anger. I will send him against a hypocritical nation, and against the people of wrath will I give him a charge. He thinketh not right, and his heart doth not meditate right (Isaiah 10:1, 4-7);

“anger” and “wrath” denote a turning away and opposition on man’s part, and the attendant punishing and not hearing appear like anger; and as it is on man’s part, it is said, “Woe to them that decree decrees of iniquity. He thinketh not right, and his heart doth not meditate right.”

[3] In the same:

Jehovah, with the vessels of His anger, [comes] to destroy the whole land. Behold, the day of Jehovah cometh, cruel, with indignation, wrath and anger, to make the earth a waste, that He may destroy the sinners thereof out of it. I will shake the heaven, and the earth shall be shaken out of her place in the indignation of Jehovah Zebaoth, and in the day of the wrath of His anger (Isaiah 13:5, 9 (Isaiah 13:9), 13).

The “heaven” and the “earth” here denote the church, which having turned away from truth and good, its vastation and destruction are described by the “indignation, anger, and wrath” of Jehovah; when in fact it is quite the contrary, namely, that the man who is in evil is indignant, angry, and wroth, and sets himself in opposition to good and truth. The penalty which is from the evil is attributed to Jehovah on account of the appearance. Elsewhere occasionally in the Word the last time of the church and its destruction are called the “day of the anger of Jehovah.”

[4] Again:

Jehovah hath broken the staff of the wicked, the rod of the rulers. Thou wilt smite the peoples in fury, with an incurable stroke, ruling the nations with anger (Isaiah 14:5-6); where the meaning is similar. This is as with a culprit who is punished by the law, and who ascribes the evil of the penalty to the king or judge; not to himself. Again:

Jacob and Israel because they would not walk in the ways of Jehovah, neither heard they His law; He poured upon him the wrath of anger, and the violence of war (Isaiah 42:24-25).

In Jeremiah:

I will fight against you in an outstretched hand and a strong arm, and in anger, and in wrath, and in great heat. Lest my fury go forth like fire, and burn and be not quenched, because of the wickedness of your works (Jeremiah 21:5, 12);

in this passage “fury,” “anger,” and “great heat” are nothing else than the evils of penalty because of the turning away from what is good and true, and an assault thereon.

[5] By Divine law all evil is attended with the penalty, and wonderful to say, in the other life the evil and the penalty cleave together; for as soon as an infernal spirit does evil more than usual, punishing spirits are at hand, and punish him, and this without advertence. That evil of penalty because of turning away is meant, is plain, for it is said, “because of the wickedness of your works.”

In David:

He sent upon them the wrath of His anger, indignation and fury, and distress, and an inroad of evil angels. He leveled a path for His anger, He spared not their soul from death (Psalms 78:49-50). See also Isaiah 30:27, 30; 34:2; 54:8; 57:17; 63:3, 6; 66:15; Jeremiah 4:8; 7:20; 15:14; 33:5; Ezekiel 5:13, 15; Deuteronomy 9:19-20; 29:20, 22-23; Revelation 14:9-10; 15:7.

[6] “Wrath,” “anger,” “indignation,” “fury,” in these passages also denote a turning away, assault, and consequent penalty. That the penalty for turning away and assault is ascribed to Jehovah or the Lord, and is called “anger,” “wrath,” and “fury in Him,” is because the race sprung from Jacob had to be kept in the representatives of a church, which are merely external; and they could not have been kept in them except through fear and dread of Jehovah, and unless they had believed that He would do them evil from anger and wrath. They who are in externals without an internal cannot otherwise be brought to do external things; for there is nothing interior that binds them. Moreover the simple within the church, from the appearance apprehend no otherwise than that God is angry when anyone does evil. Yet everyone who reflects can see that there is nothing of anger, still less of fury, with Jehovah or the Lord; for He is mercy itself and good itself, and is infinitely above willing evil to anyone. Nor does the man who is in charity toward the neighbor do evil to anyone. All the angels in heaven are such; and how much more the Lord Himself!

[7] But in the other life the case is this. When the Lord reduces heaven and its societies into order, which is continually being done on account of new comers, and gives them bliss and happiness, and when this flows into the societies which are in the opposite (for in the other life all the societies of heaven have opposed to them societies in hell, whence there is equilibrium), and these feel a change owing to the presence of heaven, they are then angry and wrathful, and burst forth into evil, and at the same time rush into the evil of the penalty. Moreover when evil spirits or genii approach the light of heaven, they begin to be in anguish and torment (see n. 4225, 4226), which they attribute to heaven, and consequently to the Lord; when in fact it is they themselves that bring the torment upon themselves; for evil is tortured when it comes near to good. Hence it is evident that nothing but good is from the Lord, and that all evil is from those who turn away, who are in the opposite, and who attack. From this arcanum it is evident how the matter stands.