9371. THE INTERNAL SENSE.

Verses 1-2. And He said unto Moses, Come up unto Jehovah, thou and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel; and bow yourselves afar off; and Moses, he alone, shall come near unto Jehovah; and they shall not come near; and the people shall not come up with him. “And He said unto Moses,” signifies that which concerns the Word in general; “come up unto Jehovah,” signifies conjunction with the Lord; “thou and Aaron,” signifies the Word in the internal sense and the external sense; “Nadab and Abihu,” signifies doctrine from both senses; “and seventy of the elders of Israel,” signifies the chief truths of the church which are of the Word, or of doctrine, and which agree with good; “and bow yourselves afar off,” signifies humiliation and adoration from the heart, and then the influx of the Lord; “and Moses, he alone, shall come near unto Jehovah,” signifies the conjunction and presence of the Lord through the Word in general; “and they shall not come near,” signifies no separate conjunction and presence; “and the people shall not come up with him,” signifies no conjunction whatever with the external apart from the internal.

3652. According to the internal sense, the signification is as now follows.

When therefore ye shall see the abomination of desolation;

(Matthew 24:15) signifies the devastation of the church, which occurs when the Lord is no longer acknowledged; consequently when there is no love and no faith in Him; also when there is no longer any charity toward the neighbor; and consequently when there is not any faith of good and truth. When this is the case in the church, or rather in the region where the Word is in existence-that is, when men are such in the thoughts of the heart, even if not in the doctrine of their lips-then there is “desolation,” and the things just mentioned are its “abomination;” so that the words “when ye shall see the abomination of desolation” signify when anyone observes such things; and what is to be done in such a case is told in what now follows in verses 16 to 18.

[2] Which was told of by Daniel the prophet;

(Matthew 24:15) in the internal sense signifies by the prophets; for where any prophet is mentioned by name in the Word, it is not the prophet that is meant, but the prophetic Word itself; because names never penetrate into heaven (see n. 1876, 1888); and yet the same is not signified by one prophet as by another. What is signified by “Moses,” “Elias,” and “Elisha,” may be seen in the preface to chapter 18 and in n. 2762; but by “Daniel” is signified everything prophetic concerning the Lord’s advent, and concerning the state of the church; in the present case concerning its last state. The subject of devastation is largely treated of in the Prophets, and by it in the sense of the letter is signified the devastation of the Jewish and Israelitish Church, but in the internal sense there is signified the devastation of the church in general, thus also the devastation which is now at hand.

[3] Standing in the holy place;

(Matthew 24:15) signifies devastation as to all things which are of good and truth; the “holy place” is a state of love and faith (that “place” in the internal sense is state, see above, n. 2625, 2837, 3356, 3387); the holy of this state is the good which is of love, and the derivative truth which is of faith; and nothing else than these is meant by “holy” in the Word, because these things are from the Lord, who is the Holy itself, or the Sanctuary.

Let him that readeth understand;

(Matthew 24:15) signifies that these things are to be well observed by those who are in the church, especially by those who are in love and faith; who now come to be treated of.

[4] Then let them that are in Judea flee into the mountains;

(Matthew 24:16) signifies that they who are of the church will not look elsewhere than to the Lord, thus to love to Him, and to charity toward the neighbor (that by “Judea” is signified the church, will be shown below; that by a “mountain” is signified the Lord Himself, but by “mountains” love to Him, and charity toward the neighbor, may be seen above, n. 795, 796, 1430, 2722). According to the sense of the letter the meaning would be that when Jerusalem was besieged, as it came to be by the Romans, then they should not betake themselves thither, but to the mountains, according to what is written in Luke:

When ye see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that her devastation is at hand. Then let them that are in Judea flee upon the mountains; and let them that are in the midst of her depart out; and let not them that are in the regions enter therein (Luke 21:20-21);

[5] but in this passage the case is the same with Jerusalem, namely, that in the sense of the letter it is Jerusalem which is understood, while in the internal sense it is the Lord’s church (see n. 402, 2117); for each and all of the things recorded in the Word concerning the Jewish and Israelitish people are representative of the Lord’s kingdom in the heavens, and of His kingdom on earth; that is, of the church, as has been often shown. Hence it is that by “Jerusalem” in the internal sense is nowhere meant Jerusalem, nor by “Judea,” Judea. But these matters were of such a nature as to be capable of representing the celestial and spiritual things of the Lord’s kingdom, and the events took place for the sake of the representation. In this way the Word could be so written as to be adapted to the apprehension of the man who should read it, and also to the understanding of the angels who are with the man. This likewise was the reason why the Lord spoke in the same manner; for had He spoken otherwise, His Word would not have been adapted to the understanding of those who read it, especially at that time; nor to the understanding of the angels; thus it would neither have been received by man, nor understood by the angels.

[6] Let him that is upon the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house;

(Matthew 24:17) signifies that such as are in the good of charity should not betake themselves to those things which belong to doctrinal matters of faith. In the Word the “housetop” signifies the higher state of man, thus his state as to good; but those things which are below it signify the lower state of man, thus his state as to truth (n. 710, 1708, 2233, 2234, 3142, 3538). As regards the state of a man of the church, the case is this: While he is being regenerated he learns truths for the sake of good, for he has the affection of truth on this account; but after he has been regenerated he acts from truth and good. After the man has arrived at this state he ought not to betake himself to his former state, for if he should do this he would reason from truth concerning the good in which he is, and would thereby pervert his state, for all reasoning ceases, and ought to cease, when a man is in a state to will what is true and good; for he then thinks and acts from the will, consequently from conscience, and not as before from the understanding; and if he should again think and act from this, he would fall into temptations in which he would succumb. This then is what is signified by “Let him that is upon the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house.”

[7] And let him that is in the field not return back to take his garment; (that is, his tunic), [Matthew 24:18], signifies that such as are in the good of truth should not betake themselves from the good thereof to what is doctrinal of truth. In the Word a “field” signifies this state of man in respect to good (what is meant by “field” may be seen above, n. 368, 2971, 3196, 3310, 3317, 3500, 3508); and a “garment” or “tunic” signifies that which clothes good, that is, what is doctrinal of truth, for this is as clothing to good (that a “garment” has this signification may be seen above, n. 297, 1073, 2576, 3301). Everyone can see that in these words deeper things are hidden than those which appear in the letter, for they were spoken by the Lord Himself.

211. Who say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie. That this signifies who believe themselves to be in truths when nevertheless they are in falsities is evident from the signification of Judah, which, in the highest sense, is the Lord as to celestial love, in the internal sense, the celestial kingdom of the Lord, and the Word, and, in the external sense, the doctrine from the Word which is of the celestial church (concerning which see above, n. 119). Hence it is, that by their saying they are Jews is signified that they believe themselves to be in genuine doctrine, thus in essential truths. Also from the signification of do lie, as being to be in falsities; for by a lie in the Word is signified falsity of doctrine (concerning which see Arcana Coelestia 8908, 9248). Those who are in faith alone, and not in charity, do not know that they are in falsities, because they believe that they are in truths, when, notwithstanding, from the false principle that faith alone saves falsities flow in a continual series; for the principle assumed draws everything to its own side, because they must be connected with it. This is why they are in such great ignorance with respect to the things of heaven and the church. That these are in such ignorance is evident from the circumstance that they do not know what celestial love is, which is love to the Lord; what spiritual love is, which is charity to the neighbour; what is meant by neighbour, by good, and by the conjunction of good and truth, by spiritual life, and what spiritual affection, what conscience, free-will, or regeneration are, what spiritual temptation, baptism and the holy supper are, and why they are commanded; what the spiritual sense of the Word is, what the nature of heaven and hell, and that both the one and the other are from the human race; besides many other things of which they are ignorant. It is from such ignorance that falsities flow when they think of these things, because they think without enlightenment; for, as said above, they can neither think interiorly, nor have they any internal sight respecting anything spiritual. (See, moreover, what is said and shown concerning this in Arcana Coelestia, viz., that faith separated from charity is no faith, n. 654, 724, 1162, 1176, 2049, 2116, 2343, 2349, 3849, 3868, 6348, 7039, 7822, 9783; that such faith perishes in the other life, n. 2228, 5820: that when faith alone is established as a principle, truths are contaminated by the false principle, n. 2435; that such persons will not suffer themselves to be persuaded, because it is against their principle, n. 2385; that doctrinals of faith alone destroy charity, n. 6353, 8094; that those who are in faith separated from charity, are inwardly in the falsities of their own evil, although they are ignorant of this, n. 7790, 7950; that therefore good cannot be conjoined to them, n. 8981, 8983; that faith separated from love and charity, is as the light of winter, when all things on the earth become torpid, and when there is no production of corn, of fruits, and flowers; but that faith from love or charity is as the light of spring and summer, in which all things flourish and are productive, n. 2231, 3146, 3412, 3413. That the light of winter, which is that of faith separated from charity, is turned into dense darkness when light flows in out of heaven; and that those who are then in such faith become blind and stupid, n. 3412, 3413; that those who separate faith from charity in doctrine and life are in darkness, thus in ignorance of truth, and in falsities, n. 9186; that they cast themselves into falsities, and thence into evils, n. 3325, 8094; the errors and falsities into which they cast themselves, n. 4721, 4730, 4776, 4783, 4925, 7779, 8313, 8765, 9224; that the Word is closed to them, n. 3773, 4783, 8780; that they do not see and attend to the things which the Lord so often spoke concerning love and charity, and concerning fruits and good works, n. 1017, 3416; that they do not know what good is, nor consequently what celestial love is, nor what charity is, n. 2417, 3603, 4126, 9995; that the simple in heart, who still are wise, nevertheless know what the good of life is, and consequently what charity is, and not what faith separated from charity is, n. 4741, 4754.)