9372. And He said unto Moses. That this signifies that which concerns the Word in general, is evident from the representation of Moses, as being the Word (of which below); and from the signification of “He said,” as involving those things which follow in this chapter, thus those which concern the Word (see n. 9370). (That Moses represents the Word, can be seen from what has been often shown before about Moses, as from the preface to Genesis 18; and n. 4859, 5922, 6723, 6752, 6771, 6827, 7010, 7014, 7089, 7382, 8601, 8760, 8787, 8805.) Here Moses represents the Word in general, because it is said of him in what follows, that he alone should come near unto Jehovah (verse 2); and also that, being called unto out of the midst of the cloud, he entered into it, and went up the mount (verses 16-18).

[2] In the Word there are many who represent the Lord in respect to truth Divine, or in respect to the Word; but chief among them are Moses, Elijah, Elisha, and John the Baptist. That Moses does so, can be seen in the explications just cited above; that so do Elijah and Elisha, can be seen in the preface to Genesis 18; and n. 2762, 5247; and that John the Baptist does so is evident from the fact that he was “Elias who was to come.” He who does not know that John the Baptist represented the Lord as to the Word, cannot know what all those things infold and signify which are said about him in the New Testament; and therefore in order that this secret may stand open, and that at the same time it may appear that Elias, and also Moses, who were seen when the Lord was transfigured, signified the Word, some things may here be quoted which are spoken about John the Baptist; as in Matthew:

After the messengers of John had departed, Jesus began to speak concerning John, saying, What went ye out into the wilderness to see? a reed shaken by the wind? But what went ye out to see? a man clothed in soft raiment? Behold, they that wear soft things are in kings’ houses. But what went ye out to see? a prophet? Yea, I say unto you, even more than a prophet. This is he of whom it is written, Behold I send Mine angel before Thy face, who shall prepare Thy way before Thee. Verily I say unto you, Among those who are born of women there hath not arisen a greater than John the Baptist; nevertheless he that is less in the kingdom of the heavens is greater than he. All the prophets and the law prophesied until John. And if ye are willing to believe, he is Elias who was to come. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear (Matthew 11:7-15; and also Luke 7:24-28).

No one can know how these things are to be understood, unless he knows that this John represented the Lord as to the Word, and unless he also knows from the internal sense what is signified by “the wilderness” in which he was, also what by “a reed shaken by the wind,” and likewise by “soft raiment in kings’ houses;” and further what is signified by his being “more than a prophet,” and by “none among those who are born of women being greater than he, and nevertheless he that is less in the kingdom of the heavens is greater than he,” and lastly by his being “Elias.” For without a deeper sense, all these words are uttered merely from some comparison, and not from anything of weight.

[3] But it is very different when by John is understood the Lord as to the Word, or the Word representatively. Then by “the wilderness of Judea in which John was” is signified the state in which the Word was at the time when the Lord came into the world, namely, that it was “in the wilderness,” that is, it was in obscurity so great that the Lord was not at all acknowledged, neither was anything known about His heavenly kingdom; when yet all the prophets prophesied about Him, and about His kingdom, that it was to endure forever. (That “a wilderness” denotes such obscurity, see n. 2708, 4736, 7313.) For this reason the Word is compared to “a reed shaken by the wind” when it is explained at pleasure; for in the internal sense “a reed” denotes truth in the ultimate, such as is the Word in the letter.

[4] That the Word in the ultimate, or in the letter, is crude and obscure in the sight of men; but that in the internal sense it is soft and shining, is signified by their “not seeing a man clothed in soft raiment, for behold those who wear soft things are in kings’ houses.” That such things are signified by these words, is plain from the signification of “raiment,” or “garments,” as being truths (n. 2132, 2576, 4545, 4763, 5248, 6914, 6918, 9093); and for this reason the angels appear clothed in garments soft and shining according to the truths from good with them (n. 5248, 5319, 5954, 9212, 9216). The same is evident from the signification of “kings’ houses,” as being the abodes of the angels, and in the universal sense, the heavens; for “houses” are so called from good (n. 2233, 2234, 3128, 3652, 3720, 4622, 4982, 7836, 7891, 7996, 7997); and “kings,” from truth (n. 1672, 2015, 2069, 3009, 4575, 4581, 4966, 5044, 6148). Therefore by virtue of their reception of truth from the Lord, the angels are called “sons of the kingdom,” “sons of the king,” and also “kings.”

[5] That the Word is more than any doctrine in the world, and more than any truth in the world, is signified by “what went ye out to see? a prophet? Yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet;” and by, “there hath not arisen among those who are born of women a greater than John the Baptist;” for in the internal sense “a prophet” denotes doctrine (n. 2534, 7269); and “those who are born,” or are the sons, “of women” denote truths (n. 489, 491, 533, 1147, 2623, 2803, 2813, 3704, 4257).

[6] That in the internal sense, or such as it is in heaven, the Word is in a degree above the Word in the external sense, or such as it is in the world, and such as John the Baptist taught, is signified by, “he that is less in the kingdom of the heavens is greater than he;” for as perceived in heaven the Word is of wisdom so great that it transcends all human apprehension. That the prophecies about the Lord and His coming, and that the representatives of the Lord and of His kingdom, ceased when the Lord came into the world, is signified by, “all the prophets and the law prophesied until John.” That the Word was represented by John, as by Elijah, is signified by his being “Elias who is to come.”

[7] The same is signified by these words in Matthew:

The disciples asked Jesus, Why say the scribes that Elias must first come? He answered and said, Elias must needs first come, and restore all things. But I say unto you, that Elias hath come already, and they knew him not, but did unto him whatsoever they wished. Even so shall the Son of man also suffer of them. And they understood that He spoke to them of John the Baptist (Matthew 17:10-13).

That “Elias hath come, and they knew him not, but did unto him whatsoever they wished” signifies that the Word has indeed taught them that the Lord is to come, but that still they did not wish to comprehend, interpreting it in favor of the rule of self, and thus extinguishing what is Divine in it. That they would do the same with the truth Divine itself, is signified by “even so shall the Son of man also suffer of them.” (That “the Son of man” denotes the Lord as to truth Divine, see n. 2803, 2813, 3704)

[8] From all this it is now evident what is meant by the prophecy about John in Malachi:

Behold I send you Elijah the prophet before the great and terrible day of Jehovah cometh (Malachi 4:5).

Moreover, the Word in the ultimate, or such as it is in the external form in which it appears before man in the world, is described by the “clothing” and “food” of John the Baptist, in Matthew:

John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, had His clothing of camel’s hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his food was locusts and wild honey (Matthew 3:1, 4).

In like manner it is described by Elijah in the second book of Kings:

He was a hairy man, and girt with a girdle of leather about his loins (2 Kings 1:8).

By “clothing,” or a “garment,” when said of the Word, is signified truth Divine there in the ultimate form; by “camel’s hair” are signified memory-truths such as appear there before a man in the world; by the “leathern girdle” is signified the external bond connecting and keeping in order all the interior things; by “food” is signified spiritual nourishment from the knowledges of truth and of good out of the Word; by “locusts” are signified ultimate or most general truths; and by “wild honey” their pleasantness.

[9] That such things are signified by “clothing” and “food” has its origin in the representatives of the other life, where all appear clothed according to truths from good, and where food also is represented according to the desires of acquiring knowledge and growing wise. From this it is that “clothing,” or a “garment,” denotes truth (as may be seen from the citations above; and that “food” or “meat” denotes spiritual nourishment, n. 3114, 4459, 4792, 5147, 5293, 5340, 5342, 5576, 5579, 5915, 8562, 9003; that “a girdle” denotes a bond which gathers up and holds together interior things, n. 9341; that “leather” denotes what is external, n. 3540; and thus “a leathern girdle” denotes an external bond; that “hairs” denote ultimate or most general truths, n. 3301, 5569-5573; that “a camel” denotes memory-knowledge in general, n. 3048, 3071, 3143, 3145, 4156; that “a locust” denotes nourishing truth in the extremes, n. 7643; and that “honey” denotes the pleasantness thereof, n. 5620, 6857, 8056). It is called “wild honey,” or “honey of the field,” because by “a field” is signified the church (n. 2971, 3317, 3766, 7502, 7571, 9139, 9295). He who does not know that such things are signified, cannot possibly know why Elijah and John were so clothed. And yet that these things signified something peculiar to these prophets, can be thought by everyone who thinks well about the Word.

[10] Because John the Baptist represented the Lord as to the Word, therefore also when he spoke of the Lord, who was the Word itself, he said of himself that he was “not Elias, nor the prophet,” and that he was “not worthy to loose the latchet of the Lord’s shoe,” as in John:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and God was the Word. And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory. The Jews from Jerusalem, priests and Levites, asked John who he was. And he confessed, and denied not, I am not the Christ. Therefore they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias? But he said, I am not. Art thou the prophet? He answered, No. They said therefore unto him, Who art thou? He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said Isaiah the prophet. They said therefore, Why then baptizest thou, if thou art not the Christ, nor Elias, nor the prophet? He answered, I baptize with water; in the midst of you standeth one whom ye know not; He it is who is to come after me, who was before me, the latchet of whose shoe I am not worthy to unloose. When he saw Jesus, he said, Behold the Lamb of God, who taketh away the sin of the world! This is He of whom I said, After me cometh a man who was before me; for he was before me (John 1:1, 14, 19-30).

From these words it is plain that when John spoke about the Lord Himself, who was Truth Divine itself, or the Word, he said that he himself was not anything, because the shadow disappears when the light itself appears, that is, the representative disappears when the original itself makes its appearance. (That the representatives had in view holy things, and the Lord Himself, and not at all the person that represented, see n. 665, 1097, 1361, 3147, 3881, 4208, 4281, 4288, 4292, 4307, 4444, 4500, 6304, 7048, 7439, 8588, 8788, 8806.) One who does not know that representatives vanish like shadows at the presence of light, cannot know why John denied that he was Elias and the prophet.

[11] From all this it can now be seen what is signified by Moses and Elias, who were seen in glory, and who spoke with the Lord when transfigured, of His departure which He should accomplish at Jerusalem (Luke 9:29-31); namely, that they signified the Word (“Moses” the historic Word, and “Elias” the prophetic Word), which in the internal sense throughout treats of the Lord, of His coming into the world, and of His departure out of the world; and therefore it is said that “Moses and Elias were seen in glory,” for “glory” denotes the internal sense of the Word, and the “cloud” its external sense (see the preface to Genesis 18, and n. 5922, 8427).

Generally, when the Bible describes something as "pleasant" or "desirable," it is talking about true ideas and concepts, things of the intellect. A good example is in Genesis 49:15, where Jacob is prophesying about his son Issachar: "And he saw that rest was good, and the land that it was pleasant..." Here "rest was good" refers to celestial things, or things led by love of the Lord; "the land that it was pleasant" refers to spiritual things, or things led by the understanding of what is true.

(References: Apocalypse Explained 375 [26], 433 [12]; Arcana Coelestia 102, 1201 [2], 6392, 8869 [5], 9272 [3]; The Apocalypse Explained 242 [12], 357 [24], 504 [25], 654 [29], 739 [7], 750 [12], 799 [14], [17])

455. And peoples and tongues, signifies all who are in falsities from ignorance and from various religions. This is evident from the signification of "peoples," as being those who are in the truths of doctrine, and in a contrary sense those who are in the falsities of doctrine (of which above, n. 175; but here, those who are in the falsities of doctrine from ignorance; for here are treated of those who are saved, although from the doctrine of their religion they have been in falsities. All those who are in the good of life in accordance with the dogmas of their religion, which they have believed to be true although they are not true, are saved, for falsity is not imputed to anyone who lives well according to the dogmas of his religion, because it is not his fault that he is ignorant of truths. For the good of life in accordance with a religion contains within itself the affection of knowing truths, and these truths are learned and accepted when such persons come into the other life, for every affection remains with man after death, and especially the affection of knowing truths, because this is a spiritual affection; and when man becomes a spirit, he is his affection; consequently the truths that are then desired are imbibed and thus received deeply in the heart. (That when a man lives well falsities of religion are accepted by the Lord as truths, see above, n. 452.) The above is evident from the signification of "tongues," as meaning their confessions from religion, for "tongues" mean speech, and "speech" signifies confession and religion, because the tongue utters and confesses the things that pertain to religion.

[2] There is frequent mention in the Word of the "lip," the "mouth," and the "tongue;" and the "lip" signifies doctrine, the "mouth" thought, and the "tongue" confession. "Lip," "mouth," and "tongue," have this signification because these are the externals of man, by means of which things internal find expression, and it is things internal that are signified in the internal or spiritual sense. For the Word in the letter consists of external things that are manifest before the eyes and are perceived by the senses, therefore the Word in the letter is natural, and this in order that the Divine truth that it contains may be there in what is ultimate and thus in fullness. But these external things, which are natural, include in themselves things internal that are spiritual, and these therefore are the things that are signified.

[3] That "tongues" signify confessions from religion, and according to the dogmas of religion, can be seen from the following passages. In Isaiah:

The time shall come for bringing together all nations and tongues, that they may come and see My glory (Isaiah 66:18).

This is said of the Lord's coming; "nations and tongues" signify all who are in the good of life according to their religions; "tongues" signify religions from confessions; it is therefore said "that they may come and see My glory," "glory" signifying Divine truth, by which the church exists.

[4] In Daniel:

Behold, with the clouds of the heavens one like the Son of man. And there was given Him dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, tongues, and nations might worship Him (Daniel 7:13, 14).

"The Son of man who was to come in the clouds of the heavens," evidently means the Lord, and "the clouds of the heavens" mean the Word in the letter, in which it is said that the Lord is to come, for the Word treats of Him, and in the inmost sense of Him alone. Therefore it is said "Son of man," because the Lord is called "the Son of man" from Divine truth, which is the Word. But respecting this see more above n. 36 where these words are explained:

Behold, He cometh with the clouds; and every eye shall see Him (Revelation 1:7).

The Lord's power from Divine good is meant by "dominion," and from Divine truth by "glory," and heaven and the church are meant by "kingdom." "Peoples, tongues, and nations," signify all those who are in doctrine and in a life according to their religions; those who are in doctrine are called "peoples," those who are in life "nations," and "tongues" mean religions.

[5] In Zechariah:

In those days ten men out of all tongues of the nations shall take hold of the skirt of a man that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you, for we have heard that God is with you (Zechariah 8:23).

The spiritual sense of these words may be seen above n. 433; namely, that a "Jew" means those who are in love to the Lord and in the truths of doctrine from Him; and that "all tongues of the nations" mean those who are of various religions.

[6] "Tongues" have a like signification in the following passages.

In Moses:

From these were the islands of the nations separated in their lands, every man according to his tongue, according to their families, in their nations. The habitations of the sons of Shem, according to their families, after their tongues, in their lands, after their nations (Genesis 10:5, 31).

In Revelation:

Thou must prophesy again over many peoples and nations and tongues and kings (Revelation 10:11).

Again:

And they of the peoples and tribes and tongues and nations shall see their bodies three days and a half (Revelation 11:9).

Again:

And it was given unto the beast to make war with the saints and to overcome them; and there was given him power over every tribe and tongue and nation (Revelation 13:7).

Again:

I saw an angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting Gospel to proclaim unto those that dwell on the earth, and unto every nation and tribe and tongue and people (Revelation 14:6).

And again:

The waters which thou sawest, where the harlot sitteth, are peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues (Revelation 17:15).

"Waters" here signify the truths of the Word, for "waters" in the Word signify truths, and in the contrary sense falsities; therefore here "peoples, multitudes, nations, and tongues," mean those who are in truths falsified, which in themselves are falsities, and are consequently in evils of life.

[7] In Luke:

The rich man said to Abraham, Have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and may cool my tongue, for I am tortured in this flame (Luke 16:24).

In this parable, as in others, the Lord spake by correspondences, as can be seen by this, that the "rich man" does not mean the rich, nor does "Abraham" mean Abraham, nor by "the water with which Lazarus might cool the tongue" are water and tongue meant, nor does the "flame" mean flame, for in hell no one is tortured by flames; but a "rich man" means those who are of the church where the Word is, from which they have spiritual riches, which are truths of doctrine; so the "rich man" here means the Jews, with whom was the Word at that time; "Abraham" means the Lord; the "water into which Lazarus might dip the tip of his finger" signifies truth from the Word; and "tongue" signifies a thirst and eagerness to pervert the truths that are in the Word; and the "flame" the punishment of that eagerness, which is various and manifold. This makes evident what these things signify in the series, and that "to cool the tongue with water" signifies to allay the thirst and the eagerness to pervert truths, and to confirm falsities thereby. Who cannot see that it does not mean that Lazarus should dip the tip of his finger in water to cool the tongue?

[8] In Zechariah:

This shall be the plague wherewith Jehovah will strike all the peoples that shall fight against Jerusalem; his flesh shall waste away as he stands upon his feet, and his eyes shall waste away in their sockets and his tongue shall waste away in his mouth (Zechariah 14:12).

This is said of those who endeavor to destroy the truths of doctrine by means of falsities; and this is signified by "fighting against Jerusalem," "Jerusalem" signifying the church in respect to doctrine, and thence the truths of the doctrine of the church; "the flesh shall waste away" signifies that all good of love and of life will perish, for this is what "flesh" signifies; "standing upon his feet" means upon bones without flesh, which signifies that they will be wholly corporeal-natural, "feet" signifying the things that belong to the natural man, here its lowest things; "his eyes shall waste away in their sockets" signifies that all the understanding of truth will perish, "eyes" signifying the understanding; "his tongue shall waste away in his mouth" signifies that all the perception of truth and all the affection of good will perish; "tongue" signifying also the perception of truth and the affection of good, the perception of truth from its speaking, and the affection of good from its power of tasting, for "taste" signifies appetite, desire, and affection.

[9] In the book of Judges:

Jehovah said unto Gideon, Everyone that lappeth the waters with his tongue as a dog lappeth, him shalt thou set by himself; and everyone that boweth down upon his knees to drink. And the number of them that lapped in their hand were three hundred men; and these were led against Midian and smote him (Judges 7:5-7).

"Midian" here means those who do not care for truth, because they are merely natural and external; therefore Midian was smitten by those who "lapped the waters in the hand with the tongue like a dog;" these mean such as have an appetite for truths, thus they who from some natural affection seek to know truths, a "dog" signifying appetite and eagerness, "waters" truths, and "lapping them with the tongue" to have an appetite for and eagerly seek. So it was by these that Midian was smitten. Anyone can see that such things would not have been commanded unless they had been significative.

[10] In David:

Thou hidest them in the hiding place of Thy faces from the pride of man; Thou concealest them in a pavilion from the strife of tongues (Psalms 31:20).

"A hiding place of faces in which Jehovah hides them," signifies the Divine good of the Divine love, for "the face of Jehovah" signifies the good of love, and "the hiding place" signifies inwardly in man; "the pride of man" signifies the pride of self-intelligence; the "pavilion in which He hides them" signifies Divine truth; and "the strife of tongues" signifies the falsity of religion from which they reason against truths. This makes clear what these things signify in series.

[11] In Jeremiah:

Lo, I will bring upon you a nation, a nation whose tongue thou shalt not know nor shall thou understand what they speak. It shall eat up thy harvest and thy bread (Jeremiah 5:15, 17).

This does not mean that a nation of an unknown tongue or of an unintelligible speech should be brought; but an evil nation of an utterly different religion is meant, whose dogmas they shall not know nor understand the reasonings therefrom; and in an abstract sense the falsities of evil which are altogether contrary to the truths of good are signified; for "nation" in an abstract sense means evil, and "tongue" here means the falsity of religion, and "to speak" means to reason therefrom; therefore it is added, "it shall eat up thy harvest and thy bread," for "harvest" signifies truths by which there is good, "bread" the good therefrom, and "to eat up" to consume and deprive.

[12] In Ezekiel:

Thou art not sent to a people of deep lip and heavy of tongue, but to the house of Israel; not to great peoples of deep lip and heavy of tongue, whose words thou shalt not hear. If I should send thee to them, will they not hearken unto thee? (Ezekiel 3:5, 6).

"Peoples of deep lip and heavy of tongue, whose words are not heard," signify those who are in an unintelligible doctrine, and thus in an abstruse religion, whose dogmas cannot be comprehended, "lip" signifying doctrine, "tongue" religion, and "words" its dogmas; therefore these peoples mean the nations that do not have the Word, by which Jehovah, that is, the Lord, is known. That these will receive Divine truths when they are instructed is signified by "these would hearken if he should be sent unto them."

[13] In Isaiah:

Thou wilt not see an obstinate people, a people of depths of lip that thou canst not hear; barbarous in tongue, without intelligence (Isaiah 33:19).

"A people of depths of lip and barbarous in tongue" has a similar signification here as "peoples of deep lip and heavy of tongue" above. Evidently a people with a speech that cannot be understood is not meant; for it is added, "barbarous in tongue, without intelligence," for there may be intelligence in the tongue or speech of such, but not in their religion.

[14] In the same:

I have sworn that unto Me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear (Isaiah 45:23).

This is said of the coming of the Lord; and "every knee shall bow" signifies that all who are in natural good from spiritual good will worship Him, the "knee" signifying the conjunction of natural good with spiritual. This shows that bending the knees signifies acknowledgment, thanksgiving, and adoration from spiritual good and delight in the natural; "every tongue shall swear" signifies that all will confess the Lord who are in good from religion, "to swear" signifying to confess, and "tongue" religion according to which one lives.

[15] In David:

And my tongue shall meditate of Thy righteousness and of Thy praise all the day (Psalms 35:28).

Here, too, "tongue" signifies confession from the doctrine of the church, for it is said "to meditate of;" "righteousness" is predicated of the good of the church, and "praise" of its truth, as also elsewhere in the Word. So again in the same:

My tongue shall meditate of Thy righteousness all the day (Psalms 71:24).

[16] In the same:

With gall the wicked compass me, the mischief of their lips doth cover them; burning coals overwhelm them; with fire let them be cast into pits, that they rise not again; a man of tongue shall not be established in the earth (Psalms 140:9-11).

"Gall" signifies truth falsified, which in itself is falsity; "the mischief of their lips" signifies the falsity of doctrine therefrom, for "lips" signify doctrine; "burning coal by which they are overwhelmed," and the "fire with which they are to be cast into pits," signify the pride from self-intelligence and the love of self, through which they fall into mere falsities, "burning coals" signifying the pride of self-intelligence, "fire" the love of self, and "pits" falsities. Moreover all falsities of doctrine in the church and all falsifications of the Word spring from the pride of self-intelligence and from the love of self. This makes evident what is signified by "a man of tongue shall not be established in the earth," namely, a false religion.

[17] In the same:

My soul, I lie in the midst of lions, the sons of man are set on fire, their teeth are spear and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword (Psalms 57:4).

"Lions" signify those who plunder the church of truths, and thus destroy it; the "sons of man who are set on fire," signify those who are in the truths of the church, and in an abstract sense the truths themselves, which are said to be "set on fire" by the pride of self-intelligence, whence come falsities; "their teeth are spear and arrows" signifies reasonings from external sensuals and thus from the fallacies and falsities of religion, by which truths are destroyed, "teeth" signifying the ultimates of man's life, which are external sensual things, and here reasoning from these, and "tongue" signifying the falsities of religion; therefore it is said "their tongue a sharp sword," "sword" signifying the destruction of truth by falsities.

[18] In Job:

Wilt thou draw out leviathan with a fish-hook, and overwhelm his tongue with a cord? (Job 41:1)

In this and the preceding chapter the Behemoth and the leviathan are treated of, and both signify the natural man, the "Behemoth" the natural man in respect to goods which are called the delights of natural love, and the "leviathan" the natural man in respect to truths which are called knowledges and cognitions, from which is natural light. These are both described by pure correspondences according to the ancient style. That reasoning from the light of nature by means of knowledges [scientifica] can be restrained by God only, is described in that chapter and the subsequent one by the "leviathan," and also by these words, "Wilt thou draw out leviathan with a fish-hook, and overwhelm his tongue with a cord?;" "tongue" signifying reasoning from knowledges [scientifica]. That the "leviathan" signifies the natural man as regards knowledges [scientifica] can be seen from other passages where it is mentioned (as Isaiah 27:1; Psalms 74:14; Psalms 104:26). Also from the fact that the "whale," by which the leviathan is meant, signifies the natural man in regard to knowledges [scientifica].

[19] In Isaiah:

The heart of the hasty shall have intelligence for knowing, and the tongue of the stammerers shall be swift to speak (Isaiah 32:4).

The "hasty" mean those who readily seize upon and believe whatever is said, thus also falsities; of such it is said that "they shall be intelligent and know," that is, receive truths; "stammerers" mean those who are hardly able to apprehend the truths of the church; that they will confess them from affection is meant by "their tongue shall be swift to speak," "swiftness" is predicated of affection.

[20] In the same:

Then shall the lame leap as a hart, and the tongue of the dumb shall sing aloud; for waters shall break out in the wilderness, and brooks in the plain of the desert (Isaiah 35:6).

This is said of the coming of the Lord; the "lame" signifies those who are in good but not genuine good, because they are in ignorance of truth through which good comes; "to leap as a hart" signifies to have joy from the perception of truth; the "dumb" signifies those who on account of ignorance of truth are unable to confess the Lord and the genuine truths of the church; "he shall sing" signifies joy from the understanding of truth; "waters shall break out in the wilderness" signifies that truths shall be opened where they were not before; and "brooks in the plain of the desert" signify intelligence there, for "waters" signify truths, and "brooks" intelligence.

[21] This makes clear what is signified in the spiritual sense by "the deaf man that had an impediment in his speech" whom the Lord healed, which is thus described in Mark:

Jesus took aside the deaf man who had an impediment in his speech, and put His fingers into his ears, and spitting, touched his tongue; and looking up into heaven, He said to him, Ephphatha, that is, Be opened; and straightway his ears were opened, and the bond of his tongue was loosed, and he spake aright (Mark 7:32-35).

The Lord's miracles, because they are Divine, all involved and signified such things as pertain to heaven and the church, therefore they were healings of the diseases which signified the various healings of the spiritual life, as may be seen in the Arcana Coelestia 7337, 8364, 9031). The "deaf man" signifies those who are without the understanding of truth, and thence in no obedience; "his difficulty in speaking" signifies the difficulty of such in confessing the Lord and the truth of the church; the "ears" opened by the Lord signify the perception of truth and obedience; and the "tongue" whose bond was loosed by the Lord signifies the confession of the Lord and of the truths of the church.

[22] Again, that the apostles and others after the Lord's resurrection spoke with new tongues signifies also the confession of the Lord and of the truths of the new church. This is thus referred to in Mark:

Jesus said, These signs shall follow them that believe; in My name shall they cast out demons, and they shall speak with new tongues (Mark 16:17).

"To cast out demons" signifies to remove and reject the falsities of evil; and "to speak with new tongues" signifies to confess the Lord and the truths of the church from Him. So:

To the apostles there appeared divided tongues like as of fire, which sat on them. And being filled with the Holy Spirit they began to speak with other tongues (Acts of the Apostles 2:3, 4).

The "fire" signified the love of truth, and "filled with the Holy Spirit" signified the reception of Divine truth from the Lord; and "new tongues" signified confessions from the love of truth or zeal; for, as was said above, all Divine miracles, consequently all miracles mentioned in the Word, involved and signified things spiritual and celestial, that is, such things that pertain to heaven and the church: by this Divine miracles are distinguished from miracles not Divine. It is unnecessary to quote more passages from the Word to show that "tongues" do not mean speech in the ordinary sense, but confessions from the truths of the church, and in the contrary sense confessions from the falsities of any religion.