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).

538. It was said that the abyss signifies the hells where and whence falsities are. The reason of this signification is, that those hells, where the falsities of evil reign, appear like seas, in the depths of which are the infernal crew, who are in the falsities of evil. They appear like seas, because falsities continually flow out from them and falsities appear like waters, wherefore waters in the Word also signify falsities. The quality of the falsity is also known from the waters themselves. For falsities are of many kinds, as many as there are evils; the falsities which are from grievous evils appear over those hells like gross and black waters, and falsities from the evil of the love of self, like red waters, the quality of the kind of the falsity being distinguishable from the grossness and colour. It must be remembered that in the spiritual world, truths also appear like waters, but like waters of a limpid and pure quality; the reason is, that there are three degrees of the life of man, as there are three heavens. Those in whom the third degree is opened are in an atmosphere pure like the ether; in such an atmosphere are those who dwell in the third or inmost heaven; but those in whom the second degree only is opened, are in an atmosphere like air; in this are those of the second or middle heaven. But those in whom the first degree only is opened, are in an atmosphere, watery as it were, yet limpid and pure; in such are those in the first or ultimate heaven. The reason of this is, that interior perceptions and thoughts, because they are more perfect, correspond to a similar purity of the atmosphere, in which they are; for they diffuse themselves from every angel, and still more from every angelic society, and present a corresponding sphere, and this sphere appears in a purity similar to that in which the perceptions and thoughts of the angels, or their intelligence and wisdom are. This sphere appears as an atmosphere, as an etherial atmosphere in the inmost heaven, as an aerial atmosphere in the middle heaven, and as a limpid watery atmosphere in the ultimate heaven, as stated above. It is therefore evident that an atmosphere of a watery appearance corresponds to natural thought and perception, but that an atmosphere which is as it were thinly watery, corresponds to spiritual natural thought and perception, in which are the angels of the ultimate heaven; but one which is of a grossly watery nature, verging either to black or to red, corresponds to natural thought in which there is nothing spiritual; and natural thought in which there is nothing spiritual pertains to those who are in the hells where falsities reign; for all those who are there are merely natural and sensual. That man has three degrees of life as the three heavens, and that they differ in purity, may be seen in the work concerningHeaven and Hell 33, 34, 208, 209, 211). It is evident from these facts why those hells are in the Word called seas and abysses; seas, because they appear like seas, and abysses from their depth.

[2] That seas, depths, and abysses, signify the hells where and whence the falsities of evil are, is clear from the following passages of the Word.

In Moses:

"Pharaoh's chariots and his host hath he cast into the sea; the depths covered them; they went down into the depths like a stone. With the blast of thy nostrils the waters were heaped up, the floods stood upright as a heap, and the abysses were congealed in the heart of the sea" (Exodus 15:4, 5, 8).

These words form part of the song of Moses concerning Pharaoh and his host after they were drowned in the Sea Suph (Red Sea). Pharaoh and his host signify those who are in falsities from evil, and the Sea Suph (Red Sea) signifies the hell where those falsities are. It is therefore evident that by the depths which covered them are signified the hells. What the rest signifies in the spiritual sense, may be seen in the Arcana Coelestia 8272-8279, an. 8286-8289), where it is explained.

[3] The signification of the following in David is similar:

"He rebuked the Sea Suph (Red Sea), so that it was dried up; and he led them through the abysses as in a wilderness, and the waters covered their adversaries" (Psalm 106:9, 11).

And in Isaiah:

"Art thou not he who dried up the sea, the waters of the great abyss; that hath made the depths of the sea a way for the redeemed to pass over?" (51:10, 15).

Again, in the same prophet:

"Who divided the waters before them, who led them through the abysses as a horse in the wilderness; they stumbled not" (63:12-13).

The sons of Israel, before whom the Sea Suph (Red Sea) was dried up that they might pass safely through, mean all those who are in truths from good, whom the Lord defends, lest the falsities of evil which ascend continually from the hells should injure them. This is what is meant by drying up the sea, the waters of the great abyss, and by making the depths thereof a way for the redeemed to pass over; also by leading them through the abysses. For the falsities breathed out from the hells continually cling to man, consequently the hells, for whether we speak of falsities from the hells, or of the hells themselves, it is the same thing; but the Lord continually disperses them with those who are in truths from good from Himself. This, then, is the signification of drying up the sea, and leading them through the abysses. Those who are in truths from good from the Lord, are meant by the redeemed.

[4] The same is signified by drying up the abyss and making dry the rivers in Isaiah:

Jehovah "saith to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be inhabited; and to the cities of Judah, Ye shall be built, and I will raise up the waste places thereof; that saith to the abyss, Be dry, and I will dry up thy rivers" (44:26, 27).

Jerusalem signifies the church of the Lord, and the cities of Judah signify the goods and truths of doctrine; the restoration of the church and of doctrine is signified by being inhabited and built; the dissipation of evils and falsities from the hells, and protection from them, are signified by drying up the abyss and making dry the rivers, as may be seen above.

[5] The same thing is signified by these words in Zechariah:

"Israel shall pass through the sea of affliction, and shall smite the waves in the sea, and all the depths of the river shall be dried up; and the pride of Assyria shall be cast down, and the staff of Egypt shall depart away" (10:11).

That those who live in truths from good are defended by the Lord, although falsities from the hells encompass them, is signified by Israel passing through the sea, and smiting the waves in the sea, and all the depths of the river being dried up. For by Israel are meant those who are in truths from good; by the sea is signified hell and all the falsity thence; by the waves of the sea are signified reasonings from falsities against truths; by drying up all the depths of the river is signified to scatter all the falsities of evil, even the more profound. The river Nile denotes the false scientific; wherefore it follows, that "the pride of Assyria shall be cast down, and the staff of Egypt shall depart away." Assyria signifies reasoning from falsities against truths, and Egypt, the scientific applied to confirm falsities; the pride of Assyria which shall be cast down, signifies [man's] own intelligence from which reasoning proceeds, and the staff of Egypt, which shall depart away, signifies the power which comes to reasoning through scientifics applied for the purpose of confirmation.

[6] In Ezekiel:

"In the day when he shall descend into hell, ¹ I will make him mourn, I will cover upon him the abyss" (31:15).

This is said of Pharaoh and Assyria; and Pharaoh signifies the same as Egypt, namely, the scientific destroying the truth of the church by application to falsities; and reasoning from them is signified by Assyria. That such are cast down into hell, where those falsities and reasonings from them are, is signified by his going down into hell, and being covered with the abyss. It is therefore evident that the abyss denotes the hell where and whence are the falsities of evil.

[7] In Micah:

God "will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and he will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea" (7:19).

Because the depths of the sea equally as abysses denote the hells where and whence are evils and falsities, therefore it is said that He will cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.

[8] In Ezekiel:

"When I shall make thee a desolated city like the cities that are not inhabited; when I shall bring up the abyss against thee, and many waters shall cover thee; and I will bring thee down with them that descend into the pit, to the people of an age, and will make thee to dwell in the land of the lower [parts] in the desolations from of old, with them that go down to the pit, that thou have no habitation" (26:19, 20).

This is said of Tyre, which signifies the church as to the cognitions of truth and good, or as to the truths of the natural man, for the truths of the natural man are the cognitions of truth and good. The vastation of the church as to these things is here treated of; to make Tyre a desolated city, as cities that are not inhabited, signifies its doctrine without truths, and as doctrines that are without good, for truths of doctrine without good are not truths, because all truths are of good. By bringing up the abyss against Tyre, and causing many waters to cover her, is signified immersion in falsities from hell in much abundance, the abyss denoting hell, and many waters denoting falsities in much abundance. With them that descend into the pit, to the people of an age, signifies unto those in hell who were there from the Most Ancient church just before the deluge, and who are called the people of an age, because they were from ancient time, and were, above all others, in falsities of a direful nature. Hence it is evident what is signified by making to dwell in the land of the lower [parts] in the desolations from an age, with them that descend into the pit, that thou have no habitation. Not to have a habitation denotes here not to be in any truths, because not in good. Such also do not dwell in houses but in pits.

[9] Similar things are signified in Zechariah:

"Behold, Jehovah shall impoverish Tyre, and shall shake out her riches into the sea; and she herself shall be devoured with fire" (9:4).

By shaking out her riches into the sea, is signified to cast falsities into hell, the sea denoting the hell where the falsities of evil are, and her riches those falsities themselves.

[10] So again, in Ezekiel:

"They who contemn thee have brought thee into many waters; the east wind hath broken thee in the heart of the seas. Thy riches, and thy tradings, thy merchandise, thy mariners, and thy pilots, thy calkers, and they who trade thy tradings, and all thy men of war that are in thee, and in all thy company which is in the midst of thee, shall fall into the heart of the seas in the day of thy fall" (27:26, 27).

These things are also said concerning Tyre and her ships, which signify the cognitions of good and truth, or the truths of the natural man, which they procure for themselves, and sell, but here they denote falsities. The heart of the seas, in which it is said the east wind hath broken her, and into which she shall fall in the day of her fall, signifies the same as the abyss or the hell, whence falsities of doctrine are. The east wind denotes influx out of heaven, and the day of her fall, a last judgment. Her riches signify falsities; tradings and merchandise, the acquisitions and communications thereof; mariners, signify ministers, and pilots, the leaders who lead and teach. The men of war, denote those who defend, and the company, false doctrinals.

[11] So in Jonah:

"Out of the belly of hell ¹ cried I, and thou heardest my voice. For thou didst cast me into the deep, even into the heart of the seas; and the stream compassed me about; all thy billows and thy waves passed over me. The waters compassed me about, even to the soul; the abyss closed me round about, the weeds were wrapped about my head. I went down to the cuttings off of the mountains; the bars of the earth upon me for ever; yet hast thou made my life to ascend out of the pit" (2:2, 3, 5, 6).

Jonah in the whale three days and three nights, represented that the Lord would be in like manner in the heart of the earth, as He Himself teaches in Matthew (12:39, 40; 16:4; Luke 11:29, 30). And the dire temptations of the Lord are described by these words of Jonah; because temptations are the result of inundations of evils and falsities, which ascend from hell, and as it were overwhelm, it is said, that he cried out from the belly of hell and that he was cast into the deep, even into the heart of the seas, which also signifies hell. The stream, and the waters which compassed him about, and the waves and billows which passed over him, signify evils and falsities thence. The abyss which closed him round about signifies the hells where and whence falsities are. The cuttings off of the mountains to which he went down, signify the hells where and whence evils are; that he was as it were bound by them is signified by the weed wrapped about the head, and by the bars of the earth being upon him, weeds denoting being bound by falsities, and the bars of the earth being bound by evils; victory over them from His own power, is signified by, Yet hast thou made my life to ascend out of the pit. It is said, Thou hast made "to ascend"; but by this, when stated of the Lord, is meant that He Himself from His own Divine, thus by His own power, caused Himself to ascend.

[12] Similar things are signified by the following passages in David:

"Abyss calleth unto abyss at the noise of thy water-spouts; all thy waves and thy billows are gone over me" (Psalm 42:7).

So again:

"The waters are come in unto my soul. I sink in mire of the deep where there is no standing; I am come into the depths of waters, and the floods overflow me. Deliver me out of the mire, and let me not sink; let me be delivered from them that hate me, and out of the depths of waters. Let not the water-floods overflow me, neither let the pit shut her mouth upon me" (Psalm 69:1, 2, 14, 15).

Again:

"Return, quicken me, return, and bring me up again from the abyss of the earth" (Psalm 71:20).

And again:

"I am counted with them that go down into the pit; neglected among the dead, like the slain that lie in the grave, whom thou rememberest no more, and they are cut off from thy hand. Thou hast laid me in the pit of the lower [parts] in dark places, in the deeps" (Psalm 88:4, 5, 6).

In these passages in David also the temptations of the Lord, by which He subjugated the hells, and glorified His Human, while in the world, are described. Waves and billows, signify evils and falsities, and abysses and depths of the sea, and also the pit, signify the hells where and whence those evils and falsities are; for as we said above, temptations are as it were immersions into the hells, and obsessions by evils and falsities. These things are signified by lamentations in many places in David, and also in the prophets. For in the spiritual sense of the Word, the temptations of the Lord are much treated of by which He subjugated the hells, and reduced all things to order in the heavens and in the hells, and by which He glorified His Human; they are especially meant by the things predicted in the prophets and Psalms concerning the Lord, and fulfilled by Him, as stated in Luke (24:44).

[13] The abyss, and the sea and the depths thereof, also signify the hells, in the following passages; as in Jeremiah:

"Flee ye, they have turned themselves away, they have cast themselves down into the deep, the inhabitants of Dedan, and Hazor" (49:8, 30).

And again:

"The sea is come up upon Babylon; she is covered with the multitude of the waves thereof" (Jeremiah 51:42).

And in Amos:

"The Lord Jehovih made me to see, and behold calling to contend by fire, he hath devoured the great abyss" (7:4).

And in David:

"The waters saw thee, O God, the waters saw thee; they were afraid; the abysses also were troubled" (Psalm 77:16).

And again:

"We will not fear, when the earth shall be changed and though the mountains shake in the heart of the seas; though the waters thereof shall roar and be troubled" (Psalm 46:2, 3).

And in Moses:

"On the same day were all the fountains of the great abyss broken up, and the flood gates of heaven were opened" (Genesis 7:11).

And again:

"The fountains also of the abyss, and the flood gates of heaven were stopped" (Genesis 8:2).

So in Job:

"Where shall wisdom be found? and where is the place of understanding? Man knoweth not the price thereof. The abyss saith, It is not in me; and the sea saith, It is not with me" (28:12, 13, 14).

And again:

"Hast thou entered into the weepings of the sea? or hast thou walked in search of the abyss? Have the gates of death been opened unto thee? or hast thou seen the doors of the shadow of death?" (38:16, 17).

So in the Evangelists:

"Whoso shall cause one of these little ones who believe in me to stumble, it were better for him that an ass-millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were sunk in the depth of the sea" (Matthew 18:6; Mark 9:42; Luke 17:2).

And again, we read, that the demons who obsessed the man, entreated Jesus that He would not command them to go into the abyss, therefore He suffered them to enter into the swine (Luke 8:31, 33; Matthew 8:31, 32).

And also in the following passages in the Apocalypse:

"The beast that ascendeth out of the abyss and made war" (11:7).

"The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the abyss" (17:8).

"I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand. And he bound the dragon a thousand years; and cast him into the abyss" (20:1, 2, 3).

In these passages also, by the abyss, and by the depth of the sea, is signified the hell where and whence the falsities of evil are. The reason of this is, that the spirits who are there, and who, whilst they lived as men in the world, were in the falsities of evil, appear to dwell as it were in the bottom of seas, and this the more deeply according to the grievousness of the evil from which the falsity was derived.

[14] As abysses signify the hells, where and whence falsities are, so they also signify the ultimates of heaven, where and whence are the cognitions of truth, which are the truths of the natural man. The reason is, that the ultimates of heaven also appear to be as it were in waters, but such as are limpid and clear; for, as was said above, the atmosphere of the highest heaven is as it were ethereal, the atmosphere of the middle heaven as it were aerial, and the atmosphere of the ultimate heaven as it were watery. The reason why this latter atmosphere appears to be watery is, because the truths pertaining to those who are in it, are truths of the natural man, and the atmosphere of the natural man is, as it were, watery; hence also are the appearances of rivers, lakes, and seas, in the spiritual world. Therefore seas also signify cognitions and scientifics in general, or in their whole compass; that these things are signified by seas may be seen above (n. 275, 342).

[15] The signification of abysses in the following passages is similar; as in Moses:

"Jehovah, thy God, bringeth thee into a good land, a land of rivers of water, of fountains and abysses springing out of the valley and out of the mountain" (Deuteronomy 8:7),

this passage may be seen explained above (n. 518:8).

So again:

God shall bless Joseph "with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the abyss that lieth under" (Genesis 49:25; Deuteronomy 33:13), (see also above, n. 448:7).

So in David:

"By the word of Jehovah were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth. He gathereth the waters of the sea together as a heap, putting the abysses in storehouses" (Psalm 33:6, 7), (see also above, n. 275).

Again:

"Thou coveredst the earth with the abyss as with a garment" (Psalm 104:6), (see also above, n. 275).

Again:

"Praise Jehovah from the earth, ye sea monsters and all abysses" (Psalm 148:7).

Abysses in these passages signify the ultimates of heaven, in which are the spiritual-natural angels.

So again, in Ezekiel:

"The waters made it to grow, the abyss made it high" (31:4), (see above, n. 518:15).

[16] Moreover abysses also signify Divine truths in abundance, and the interior things of Divine wisdom.

Thus in David:

"He clave the rocks in the wilderness, and made [them] drink great abysses" (Psalm 78:15).

And again: Jehovah, "thy justice is a great abyss" (36:6); and in other places.

Footnotes:

2576. Behold it is unto thee a covering of the eyes to all that are with thee. That this signifies that rational truths are like a covering or clothing to spiritual truths, is evident from the signification of a “covering” (concerning which presently); and from the signification of the “eyes,” as being things intellectual (as is evident from very many passages in the Word); and also from the signification of “seeing,” as being to understand (n. 2150, 2325). Everyone can see that in everything in this verse there are arcana which cannot be revealed except by some interior sense; such as the statement that he gave a thousand of silver, and that this is said to have been given, not to her husband, but to her brother; that it was a covering of the eyes both to her and to all that were with her, and also with all; and that thereby she was vindicated. Many historical conjectures might possibly be drawn from the sense of the letter, but without having anything spiritual in them, still less anything Divine; and yet this is what the Word is.

[2] As regards rational truths being like a covering or clothing to spiritual truths, the case is this: Man’s inmost things are those of his soul, and his outer things are those of his body; the former are goods and truths, from which the soul has its life, for otherwise the soul would not be a soul: the latter draw their life therefrom, and are all like a body, or what is the same, a covering or clothing. This is especially evident from the things that appear in the other life; as from angels when presented to view; for their interiors shine forth from their faces; their exteriors being represented in both their bodies and their dress; and this so fully that everyone there can know their quality from their garments alone; for these are real substances, and thus essences in form. The same is the case with the angels seen and described in respect to their faces and dress in the Word, such as those seen in the Lord’s sepulcher (Matthew 28:3; Mark 16:5); and the four and twenty elders around the throne (Revelation 4:4); and others. Nor is this the case with the angels only, but also with all other things that are mentioned in the Word, even those which are inanimate; in all cases their exteriors are a covering or clothing; as for example the ark of the covenant and the tent that was round about it; the ark, being the inmost, represented the Lord Himself, for therein was the Testimony; and the tent outside of it represented the Lord’s kingdom. The clothing, that is, the veils and coverings, each and all represented the more exterior celestial and spiritual things in His kingdom, that is, in the three heavens; as is evident from the fact that the form of the Tent was shown to Moses on Mount Sinai (Exodus 25:9; 26:30). From this it had its holiness, and not from the gold, the silver, and the carvings, that were in it.

[3] Since rational truths are now treated of, as being a kind of veil or clothing to spiritual truths, and as the tent is described in Moses in respect to its clothing or coverings, and also in respect to its veils which were before the entrance, for the sake of illustration we may explain what was specifically signified by the veils; but what was signified by the encompassing coverings will of the Lord’s Divine mercy be told elsewhere. The veils of the tent were three: the first, which made the division between the holy and the holy of holies; the second, which is called the hanging for the door of the tent; and the third, which was the hanging for the gate of the court.

[4] Concerning the veil itself, which was the first, before the ark, we read in Moses:

Thou shalt make a veil of hyacinthine, and bright crimson, and double-dyed scarlet, and fine twined linen, the work of a designer, thou shall make it with cherubim; and thou shalt hang it upon four pillars of shittim wood, overlaid with gold, and their hooks of gold; upon four bases of silver; and thou shalt hang the veil under the clasps; and thou shalt bring in thither, within the veil, the Ark of the Testimony; and the veil shall divide unto you between the Holy and the Holy of Holies (Exodus 26:31-34; 36:35-36).

This veil represented the nearest and inmost appearances of rational good and truth, in which are the angels of the third heaven; which appearances are described by the hyacinthine, the bright crimson, the double-dyed scarlet, and the fine twined linen; in which the red color represented the goods of love, and the white its truths. The same is true also of the gold and silver with which the pillars were overlaid, and of which the hooks and the bases were made. (That colors are representative may be seen above, n. 1042, 1043, 1053, 1624; that “gold” is the good of love, n. 113, 1551, 1552; and that “silver” is truth, n. 1551, 2048)

[5] From this we can see what is signified by the veil of the temple being rent in twain (Matthew 27:51; Mark 15:38; Luke 23:45), namely, that the Lord entered into the Divine Itself by dispersing all appearances; and that He at the same time opened the way to His Divine Itself through His Human made Divine.

[6] Concerning the second veil, or the hanging for the door of the tent, we read in Moses:

Thou shalt make a hanging for the door of the tent, of hyacinthine, and bright crimson, and double-dyed scarlet, and fine-twined linen, the work of the embroiderer; and thou shalt make for the hanging five pillars of shittim wood, and overlay them with gold, and their hooks shall be of gold; and thou shalt cast for them five bases of brass (Exodus 26:36-37; 36:37-38).

By this hanging were represented appearances of good and truth that are lower or more external than the former, that is, the middle ones of the rational, in which are the angels of the second heaven; which appearances are described almost in the same manner as the first, with the difference however that for this hanging there were five pillars and five bases, by which number is signified what is comparatively but little; for these appearances do not so cohere together, or are not so heavenly, as are the appearances of the inmost or third heaven. (Concerning the number five as meaning a little, see above, n. 649, 1686.) And because these appearances look to natural things, it was commanded that the bases should be cast of brass; for by brass was represented and signified natural good (n. 425, 1551).

[7] Concerning the third veil, or the hanging for the gate of the court, we read in Moses:

For the gate of the court shall be a hanging of twenty cubits, of hyacinthine, and bright crimson, and double-dyed scarlet, and fine-twined linen, the work of the embroiderer; their pillars four, and their bases four; all the pillars of the court round about shall be filleted with silver, their hooks of silver, but their bases of brass (Exodus 27:16-17; 38:18-19).

By this hanging were represented still lower or more external appearances of good and truth, which are the lowest ones of the rational, in which are the angels of the first heaven. As these appearances correspond to interior things, they are described in a similar manner, yet with the difference that these pillars were not overlaid with gold, but filleted with silver, and that the hooks were of silver, by which are signified rational truths that derive their origin immediately from memory-knowledges; and the bases were of brass, by which are signified natural goods. All this shows that there was nothing in the Tent that was not representative of the celestial and spiritual things of the Lord’s kingdom, or that all things were made according to the type of celestial and spiritual things in the three heavens; also that the veilings or coverings signified the things that are like a body or dress around or without the inmost.

[8] Moreover that “veilings,” “coverings,” “clothing,” or “garments” signify relatively lower truths, is evident from many passages in the Word, as in Ezekiel:

Fine linen with broidered work from Egypt was thy spread of sail; hyacinthine and bright crimson from the isles of Elishah was thy covering (Ezekiel 27:7); where Tyre is treated of, by which are signified interior knowledges of celestial and spiritual things, and consequently those who are in them (n. 1201); “broidered work from Egypt” denotes what is of memory-knowledge (that “Egypt” denotes this may be seen above, n. 1164, 1165, 1186, 1462); “hyacinthine and bright crimson from the isles of Elishah, which was the covering,” denote the rituals that correspond to internal worship ( n. 1156).

[9] In the same:

All the princes of the sea shall come down from their thrones, and lay aside their robes, and put off their broidered garments; they shall be clothed with tremblings, they shall sit upon the earth (Ezekiel 26:16);

also speaking of Tyre “robes” and “broidered garments” denote knowledges derived from the contents of the memory [cognitionibus ex scientificis], and thus lower truths.

[10] In the same:

I clothed thee with broidered work, and shod thee with badger, and girded thee about with fine linen, and covered thee with silk; I decked thee also with ornaments, and put bracelets upon thy hands, and a necklace upon thy throat. Thou didst take of thy garments, and madest for thee high places with divers colors, and didst commit whoredom upon them; thou tookest thy broidered garments, and coveredst them (Ezekiel 16:10-11, 16, 18);

speaking of Jerusalem, which is the spiritual church, described as it was of old, and such as it was afterwards, when perverted: its lower spiritual things and its doctrinal matters are the “garments of broidered work, fine linen, and silk.”

[11] In Isaiah:

The Lord Jehovih Zebaoth doth take away from Jerusalem the whole staff of bread and the staff of water. Then shall a man take hold of his brother, of the house of his father-Thou hast a garment, be thou our prince. In that day he shall lift up his voice, saying, I will not be a binder up, and in my house there is neither bread, nor garment; ye shall not make me a prince of the people. The Lord will smite with a scab the crown of the head of the daughters of Zion; and in that day the Lord will take away the bravery of their anklets, and their network, and crescents, and their collars, and chains, and plates; and the headtires, and the ankle chains, and the sashes, and the soul houses, and the ear-drops; the rings, and the nose jewels, the festival garments, and the mantles, and the robes, and the satchels, the mirrors, and the fine linen, and the turbans, and the cloaks (Isaiah 3:1, 6-7, 17-24).

“Jerusalem” denotes the spiritual church; “Judah” the celestial church; the “staff of bread and the staff of water, which will be removed,” denote good and truth; the “garment which the prince should have,” the truths which are of doctrine; the clothing and various ornaments of the daughters of Zion, which are enumerated, all and each, the kinds and varieties of good and truth, of which they would be deprived. Unless everything here mentioned signified something peculiar to the church, they would not be of the Word, in every expression of which there is what is Divine; but they are predicated of the daughters of Zion, and by these are signified the things of the church, as may be seen above (n. 2362).

[12] In the same:

Awake! awake! put on thy strength, O Zion; put on the garments of thy beauty, O Jerusalem, the city of holiness; for henceforth there shall no more come into thee the uncircumcised and the unclean (Isaiah 52:1-2);

“Zion” denotes the celestial church; “Jerusalem” the spiritual church; and “garments of beauty” the holy things of faith. In the same:

Their webs shall not become a garment, neither shall they cover themselves with their works; their works are works of iniquity (Isaiah 59:6);

“webs” denote fictitious truths that do not become a garment; a “garment” denotes the exterior truths of doctrine and of worship; hence it is said, “neither shall they cover themselves with their works.”

[13] In the same:

Rejoicing I will rejoice in Jehovah, my soul shall exult in my God; for He hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, He hath covered me with the robe of righteousness (Isaiah 61:10).

The “garments of salvation” denote the truths of faith; and the “robe of righteousness” the good of charity.

In John:

Thou hast a few names even in Sardis that have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with Me in white, for they are worthy; he that overcometh shall be clothed in white raiment (Revelation 3:4-5).

Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked (Revelation 16:15).

In the same:

Upon the thrones I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white garments (Revelation 4:4); where it is manifest that the “garments” are not garments, but the spiritual things of truth.

[14] So where the Lord said in reference to the consummation of the age that they should not return back to take their garments (Matthew 24:18; Mark 13:16), where that “garments” are truths may be seen above (n. 2454). Also in regard to the one not clothed in a wedding garment (Matthew 22:11-12). And concerning John:

What went ye out to see? a man clothed in bright ¹ garments? Behold they that wear bright ¹ garments are in kings’ houses (Matthew 11:8; Luke 7:25);

meaning that they were not in the externals of doctrine and worship, but in the internals; on which account He adds:

What went ye out to see? a prophet? yea, I say unto you and more than a prophet (Matthew 11:9);

a “prophet” denotes the externals of doctrine and of worship.

[15] As “garments” signified truths of every kind, it was commanded that the sons of Israel on going out of Egypt should borrow gold and silver, and garments, and put them upon their sons (Exodus 3:22; 12:35-36); also that garments of various kinds, or mixed garments, should not be worn (Leviticus 19:19; Deuteronomy 22:11); and that they should make for themselves fringes on the borders of their garments, and should put a blue thread there, and that when they saw it they should call to mind the commandments, and do them (Numbers 15:38-40).

[16] Formerly also they rent their garments (as is seen in Josh. 7:6; Judges 11:35; 1 Samuel 4:12; 2 Samuel 1:2, 11-12; 3:31; 13:30-31; 15:32; 1 Kings 21:27; 2 Kings 5:7-8; 6:30; 22:11, 14, 19; Isaiah 36:22; 37:1); by which was signified zeal for doctrine and truth, which was thus torn to pieces; and also humiliation, because there was nothing appertaining to them that is signified by the adornment of garments.

[17] That such things are signified by “veilings,” “coverings,” “clothing,” or “garments” is also manifest from the prophecy of Jacob, then Israel:

He shall bind his foal to the vine, and his ass’s colt unto the choice vine; he shall wash his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes (Genesis 49:11);

what these words signify can be known to none except from the internal sense; namely a “vine,” a “choice vine,” a “foal,” an “ass’s colt,” “wine,” the “blood of grapes,” “garments,” and “clothes”; but it is evident that they are predicated of the Lord, who is here called “Shiloh.” The subject spoken of is Judah, by whom is represented the Lord’s Divine celestial; and by the “garments he should wash in wine,” and “the vesture he should wash in the blood of grapes” are signified the Lord’s rational and natural, which He should make Divine.

[18] In like manner in Isaiah:

Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah; this that is glorious in his apparel, marching in the multitude of his strength? Wherefore art thou red in thine apparel, and thy garment like him that treadeth in the wine vat? I have trodden the winepress alone, and of the peoples there was none with me; their victory is sprinkled upon my garments, and I have stained all my raiment (Isaiah 63:1-3); where also “garments” and “raiment” denote the Lord’s Human which of His own power He made Divine by combats of temptations and by victories; on which account it is said, “I have trodden the winepress alone, and of the peoples there was none with me.” Isaac’s smelling the smell of Esau’s garments, and so blessing him (Genesis 27:27), involved the same.

[19] The Holy itself of the Lord’s Divine Human was also a garment which appeared as the light, and as white and glistening, when He was transfigured, concerning which we read in Matthew:

When Jesus was transfigured, His face did shine as the sun, and His garments became as the light (Matthew 17:2).

In Luke:

When Jesus prayed, the appearance of His countenance was changed, and His raiment became white and glistening (Luke 9:29).

And in Mark:

When Jesus was transfigured, His garments became shining, exceeding white like snow, so as no fuller on earth can white them (Mark 9:3).

The garments of holiness with which Aaron was clothed when he entered within the veil, and which were of linen, had a similar representation (Leviticus 16:2, 4): likewise the garments of holiness that were for glory and for beauty; and those of his ministry (Exodus 28:2 to the end}, and 39:1 to the end): for in these there was not one whit that was not representative.

Footnotes: