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Arcana Coelestia #9372

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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).

  
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Apocalypse Explained #543

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543. And out of the smoke came forth locusts upon the earth. That this signifies that from infernal falsities they became corporeal sensual in the church, is plain from the signification of smoke, which denotes infernal falsity, concerning which see above (n. 539), where it is shewn, that by the well of the abyss, out of which the smoke ascended, is signified the hell where and whence are the falsities of evil which falsify the truths of the Word; consequently, smoke here signifies infernal falsity; and from the signification of locusts, which denote the ultimate Sensual of man which is in the falsity of evil, concerning which we shall speak presently; and from the signification of coming forth upon the earth, as denoting upon the church, for the earth signifies the church. The things also, which are contained in the Apocalypse are predicted concerning the church and its state.

[2] That the locust signifies the ultimate Sensual of man, which is in the falsity of evil, is evident from all the details in this chapter as far as verse 12; and it is evident from the explanation of these that nothing else is meant by locusts. But here it shall first be explained what is meant by the ultimate Sensual of man. It is not the Sensual of sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch, that is here meant, for these things are proper to the body, but it is the ultimate of thought and affection, which is first opened with infants, and which is of such a nature that they think of nothing else, and are influenced by no other objects than those which make one with the senses above mentioned. For infants learn to think by means of the senses, and to be affected by objects according to the things which have pleased the senses; wherefore, the first Internal that is opened in them is the Sensual, which is called the ultimate Sensual of man, and also the corporeal Sensual. But afterwards, as the infant grows older and reaches boyhood, the more interior Sensual is opened, from which he thinks naturally, and is also affected naturally. At length, when he becomes a youth and young man, the Sensual still more interior is opened, from which he thinks rationally, and, if he is in the good of charity and faith, spiritually; and also he is rationally and spiritually affected. This thought and affection is called the rational and spiritual man, while the former is called the natural man, and the first the sensual man.

[3] With every man, the interiors of his thought and affection, are successively opened, and this by continual influx out of heaven from the Lord; by this influx the Sensual is first formed which is nearest to the body, whence man becomes sensual; afterwards the Natural whence he becomes natural; and after this the Rational and with that the Spiritual, whence he becomes a rational and spiritual man. But this is formed and perfected only in proportion as man thinks concerning God, and Divine things from God, and in proportion as he is affected with them, that is, in proportion as he wills and lives according to them. For if this does not take place, then the spiritual man is opened in a general way, but is not formed, much less perfected. By the opening of the spiritual man in a general way, man has the faculty of thinking, and from thought of speaking rationally, for this is the common effect of the influx of heaven with every man. Hence it is clear, that man has thoughts and affections both spiritual, natural, as well as sensual, and that those have spiritual thoughts and affections who think from God concerning God and Divine things; but that those only have natural thoughts and affections who do not think from God concerning God and Divine things, but only from themselves, or from the world concerning themselves or the world. But it must be understood, that to think from self or from the world is not to think from these but from hell, for he who does not think from God thinks from hell, it being impossible for any one to think from both at the same time.

But those who deny God, and thence the Divine things of heaven and the church, and confirm themselves against them, all become sensual men more or less, according to confirmations. When their minds are engaged upon spiritual things they think only about falsities, and are affected with evils; and if they think about any truths, whether they be spiritual, moral, or civil, it is only from the knowledge (scientia) of such things as are in the memory, and they see nothing beyond causes the most obvious, and which they are also able to confirm; and if they are influenced by goods, it is merely from a delight which is for the sake of themselves, or of the world, thus from some desire pertaining to the love of self, or to the love of the world. The thought of the sensual man is called material thought, and his affection is called corporeal affection, which is cupidity.

[4] Moreover, it is to be observed that all the evils derived by man from his parents, which are called hereditary evils, reside in his natural and sensual man, but not in the spiritual; hence it is that the natural man, and particularly the sensual man is opposed to the spiritual. For the spiritual man from infancy is closed, and it is opened and formed only by Divine Truths received in the understanding and will; and in proportion as the spiritual man is opened and formed, and according to the quality thereof, in the same proportion are the evils of the natural and sensual man removed, and goods implanted in their place. Since all evils reside in the natural and sensual man, it follows that falsities reside there also, because all falsities are of evil; for while man desires, and wills from evil, he thinks and speaks from falsity; for the evil of the will, when it forms itself in the thought, so that its quality is clear to others, or to himself, is called falsity, wherefore falsity is the form of evil, as truth is the form of good.

From these considerations the nature and quality of the man who is called a sensual man is evident, and that a man becomes sensual when he acts out the evils into which he is born and adds more to them from himself. So far as he does this, and confirms himself therein, so far the spiritual man is kept closed; in which case the natural and sensual man denies Divine things which pertain to heaven and the church, and acknowledges only such things as pertain to the world and Nature; in fact, the sensual man, is then so blind as to believe nothing but what he sees with his eyes, and touches with his hands. In this state are many of the learned, however wise and intelligent they may be supposed to be from their ability to speak from the knowledges (scientiae) that are in the memory, and this apparently like rational men; because their spiritual mind is opened in a general way, as is the case with every man, as shown above.

[5] Because in that which follows in this chapter much is said concerning the locust, and as the locust signifies the Sensual, which is the ultimate or extreme of the natural man, it is important that the nature and quality of this Sensual should be fully known, and therefore also who and what the sensual man is. I shall, therefore, quote here what has been stated and shown in the Arcana Coelestia on this subject as follows. The Sensual is the ultimate of the life of man, inhering and adhering to his Corporeal (n. 5077, 5767, 9212, 9216, 9331, 9730). He is called a sensual man, who judges all things from the bodily senses, and who, believes nothing but what he can see with his eyes and touch with his hands, saying that this is something, and rejecting everything else (n. 5094, 7693). Such a man thinks in things outermost, and not interiorly from any spiritual light (n. 5089, 5094, 6564, 7693). The interiors of the mind, which sees from the light of heaven, are closed, so that a man sees therein nothing of the truth pertaining to heaven and the church (n. 6564, 6844, 6845). In a word, he is in a gross natural light, and thus perceives nothing that is from the light of heaven (n. 6201, 6310, 6564, 6844, 6845, 6598, 6612, 6614, 6622, 6624). Hence he is interiorly opposed to the things of heaven and the church (n. 6201, 6317, 6844, 6845, 6948, 6949). The learned, who have confirmed themselves against the truths of the church, are sensual (n. 6316). Sensual men reason with acuteness and readiness, because their thought lies near their speech, so as to be almost in it, and because they place all intelligence in discoursing from the memory alone (n. 195, 196, 5700, 10236); but they reason from the fallacies of the senses, with which the vulgar are captivated (n. 5084, 6948, 6949, 7693). Sensual men are crafty and malicious above all others (n. 7693, 10236). The covetous, adulterers, the voluptuous, and the deceitful, are especially sensual (n. 6310); their interiors are unclean and filthy (n. 6201); thereby they communicate with the hells (n. 6311). They who are in the hells are sensual, and the more so the deeper their hells (n. 4623, 6311). The sphere of infernal spirits conjoins itself with the Sensual of man from behind (n. 6312). Those who reasoned from the Sensual, and thence against the genuine truths of faith, were called by the ancients serpents of the tree of knowledge (n. 195, 196, 197, 6398, 6949, 10313). The Sensual of man, and the sensual man, are further described (n. 10236); and the extension of the Sensual in man (n. 9731). Sensual things ought to be in the last place and not in the first, and with a wise and intelligent man, they are in the last place, and subject to interior things, but with an unwise man, they are in the first place, and govern, and these are they who are properly called sensual (n. 5077, 5125, 5128, 7645). If sensual things are in the last place, a way is opened by them to the understanding, and truths are perfected by a mode of extraction (n. 5580). The sensual things of man are proximately extant to the world, and admit the things which flow to them from the world, and as it were sift them (n. 9726). The external or natural man communicates by means of those things with the world, but by rational things with heaven (n. 4009). Sensuals thus minister such things as are serviceable to the interiors of the mind (n. 5077, 5081). There are sensual things which minister to the intellectual part, and others which minister to the will part (n. 5077). Unless the thought be elevated from sensual things, man can attain but little wisdom (n. 5089). A wise man thinks above the Sensual (n. 5089, 5094). Man, when his thought is elevated above sensual things, comes into a clearer light, and at length into heavenly light (n. 6183, 6313, 6315, 9407, 9730, 9922). Elevation above things sensual, and withdrawal from them, were known to the ancients (n. 6313). Man in his spirit might see things that are in the spiritual world, if he could be drawn away from the sensual things of the body, and be elevated into the light of heaven by the Lord (n. 4622); the reason of this is, that it is not the body which thinks, but the spirit of man in the body in proportion as he thinks in the body, in the same proportion he thinks grossly obscurely, thus in darkness, but in proportion as he thinks not in the body, he thinks clearly in the light 4622, 6614, 6622). The ultimate of the understanding is the Scientific Sensual, and the ultimate of the will is sensual delight (n. 9996). What the difference is between the sensual things which are in common with the beasts, and those which are not common with them (n. 10236). There are sensual persons who are not evil, because their interiors are not shut, in the manner [above described]; concerning their state in the other life see n. 6311.

[6] That the locust signifies nothing else but the Sensual of man just described, is evident also from other passages in the Word where the locust is mentioned.

Thus in Moses:

"Moses stretched forth his rod over the land of Egypt, and Jehovah brought an east wind upon the land all that day, and all that night; and when it was morning the east wind brought the locust. And the locust went up over all the land of Egypt, and rested in all the border of Egypt, very grievous, before it there was no such locust, neither after it shall there be such. And they covered the face of the whole earth, so that the land was darkened; and they did eat every herb of the land, and all the fruit of the tree which the hail had left; and there remained not any green thing on the trees, or in the herb of the field, through all the land of Egypt." And the locust filled the house of Pharaoh, and the house of all his servants, and the house of all the Egyptians (Exodus 10:4, 6, 13-15).

All the miracles in Egypt, as well as all the other miracles recorded in the Word, involve and signify spiritual things pertaining to heaven and the church, consequently the plagues of Egypt signify spiritual plagues. This plague of the locusts denotes the destruction of the whole natural man by the rushing in of evil and falsity from the Sensual. Egypt signifies the natural man as to the Scientific and what is pleasurable therein, and "locust" the falsity and evil of the sensual man vastating the natural man, that is, expelling thence and destroying all the truth and good of the church; therefore it is said, "The locust went up over all the land of Egypt, and rested in all the border of it." The land of Egypt signifies the Natural of the men of the church, and by the border of Egypt is signified their Sensual. For the Sensual is the ultimate or outermost of the Natural, wherefore it is its boundary; the locust is the falsity and evil therein.

Because the falsity and the evil of the sensual man are the most grievous, being corporeal and earthly, therefore it is said that the locust was very grievous, that there was none like it before, nor would there be any such after it. The reason of this was, that the Egyptians had the knowledge (scientia) of correspondences, and from it they had a knowledge of spiritual things pertaining to heaven, but these they turned into what was magical. Because the falsity and evil [of the sensual man] when they break into the natural man, lay it altogether waste, by destroying every truth and every good therein, it is therefore said that the locust "covered the face of the whole earth, so that the land was darkened, and they did eat every herb of the land, and all the fruit of the trees"; the land of Egypt, denoting the Natural of the men of the church, the herb of the land denoting the truth, and the fruit of the tree the good therein. The same is also meant by the locust filling the houses of Pharaoh, and the houses of his servants, and of all the Egyptians, for the house of Pharaoh, and the houses of his servants and all the Egyptians signify the natural mind in its whole extent. For house in the Word signifies the interior things of man which belong to his inner and to his outer mind, and in this case those things which are of his natural mind.

[7] It is said that here by the locust going up over all the land of Egypt, is signified the irruption of falsity and evil out of the sensual man into the natural, when yet the natural man is interior and the sensual exterior, and irruption or influx proceeds not from the exterior into the interior, but from the interior into the exterior. It must be known therefore that the irruption or influx of the sensual man into the natural means the closing up of the natural man until it becomes like the sensual, whence, the extension of the evil and falsity is greater, and both in like manner become corporeal and earthly. Otherwise, however man, from his infancy, learns to separate the sensual man from the natural, by speaking truth and doing good, although from the sensual man he thinks falsity, and wills evil, and he does this until they are altogether separated, which takes place when man is reformed and regenerated by the Lord; but if they are not separated, man cannot do otherwise than think and will insanely, and therefore speak and act insanely.

[8] Because the locust signifies the Sensual as to falsity and evil, or, what is the same thing, the falsity and evil of the sensual man, therefore the signification of the locust and the grasshopper is similar, as in David:

"He sent a swarm among them, which devoured them; and frogs which destroyed them. He gave also their increase unto the grasshopper, and their labour unto the locust" (Psalm 78:45, 46).

And again:

"He spake, and the locust came, and the grasshopper, and that without number, which devoured all the herb in the land, and devoured the fruit of their ground" (Psalm 105:34, 35).

But here by locust is signified the falsity pertaining to the sensual man, and by the grasshopper (bruchus) the evil of the same, or the falsity and evil which are in and from the sensual man. This evil is signified by the grasshopper, and this falsity by the locust because the grasshopper also is a locust, which is evident from this fact, that those things were said by David concerning the locusts in Egypt, and yet in Moses the locust only is mentioned, and not the grasshopper.

[9] Similar things are signified by the locust and the grasshopper in Joel:

"That which the palmerworm hath left hath the locust eaten; and that which the locust hath left hath the cankerworm eaten; and that which the cankerworm hath left hath the grasshopper eaten. Awake, ye drunkards, and weep; and howl, all ye drinkers of wine, because of the new wine (mustum); for it is cut off from your mouth" (1:4, 5).

So again, in the same prophet:

"And the floors shall be full of pure wheat, and the presses shall overflow with new wine (mustum) and oil. And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the grasshopper, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among you" (2:24, 25).

That these injurious creatures signify falsities and evils vastating or consuming the truths and goods of the man of the church, is evident, since it is said, that "all drinkers of wine (vinum) should howl for the new wine (mustum) which is cut off from your mouth," and by wine and new wine is signified the truth of the church; and also since it is said that their floors should be full of wheat, and their presses should overflow with new wine and oil, for by the floor is signified the doctrine of the church, by the wheat and the oil are signified its goods, and by the new wine (mustum), its truths.

[10] So in Nahum:

"The fire shall devour thee; the sword shall cut thee off, it shall devour thee as the grasshopper; multiply thyself as the grasshopper; multiply thyself as the locust. Thou hast multiplied thy merchants above the stars of the heavens; the grasshopper spread itself abroad, and fled away. Thy crowned are as the locust, and thy captains as the locust of locusts which sit in the fences in the day of cold, the sun ariseth, they flee away, and their place is not known where they are" (3:15, 17).

These things are said concerning the "city of bloods," which signifies doctrine fashioned from falsified truths, thus from falsities. The destruction of those who are in a faith and life according to that doctrine, is signified by the fire shall devour thee; the sword shall cut thee off. The fire which shall devour, signifies evil destroying good, and the sword, falsity destroying the truth; and since the evil and falsity from the sensual man are meant, it is therefore said, "The grasshopper shall devour thee; multiply thyself as the grasshopper; multiply thyself as the locust. Thou has multiplied thy merchants above the stars of heaven." This multiplication is said to be like that of the grasshopper and the locust, because the Word is very extensively falsified by those who are sensual, thus by the sensual man, for the sensual man is signified by the grasshopper and locust, as was stated above.

The reason why the sensual man falsifies the Word more than others, is, that the ultimate sense of the Word, which is the sense of the letter, is for the natural and sensual man, but the interior sense, for the spiritual man. It is for this reason that a man when he is not a spiritual, but a natural and sensual man, and is in evil, and thence in falsities, does not see the goods and truths which are in the Word, but applies its ultimate sense to confirm his falsities and evils. Merchants signify those who falsify, communicate, and sell. Thy crowned are as the locusts, and thy captains as the locust of locusts, signifies that the primary and chief things of doctrine, which is the "city of bloods," are falsities of evil, and that also those falsities of evil proceed from them. Which sit in the fences in the day of cold, signifies in the truths of the Word, which do not appear as truths, because they are falsified, and are from evil, fences denoting truths that are not apparent, because falsified, and the day of cold denoting the state of the love of evil. The sun ariseth, they flee away, and their place is not known where they are, signifies that they consume all truth and good, so that none remains. The expression "multiplying as the locust" has a similar signification in Jeremiah (46:20, 22, 23), also in the book of Judges (6:5; 7:12).

[11] Falsity in the extremes, or the densest falsity, is also signified by the locust in Moses:

"Thou shalt carry much seed into the field, but shall gather little in; for the locust shall consume it" (Deuteronomy 28:38).

This was one of the curses if they did not observe and do the commandments of Jehovah. By the seed of the field is meant the Word, and by the locust, the dense falsity from the sensual man, which consumes and destroys. The same is signified by "locust" in Amos (7:1, 2); Isaiah (33:3, 4); and in David, (Psalm 109:22, 23).

[12] Since the Sensual of man is the ultimate and lowest of the life of man's thought and affection, as stated above, and as that which is lowest is small, when viewed from those things that are in a higher and more exalted place, it is therefore compared to locusts, as in Isaiah:

Jehovah "who sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as locusts" (40:22).

These words signify that men, as to intelligence, are in the lowest things, and the Lord in the highest.

[13] Similarly, men, viewed by those who regard themselves as superior to others, are compared to locusts, in Moses:

The explorers of the land of Canaan said: "We saw the Nephilim; the sons of Anak, which come of the Nephilim; and we were in our own sight as locusts, and so we were in their eyes" (Num. 13:33).

That Nephilim and the Anakim in the Word signify those who are fully convinced of their own superiority and wisdom above others, and, in the abstract sense, dire persuasions, may be seen in the Arcana Coelestia 311, 567, 581, 1268, 1270, 1271, 1673, 3686, 7686). That they were seen, and also appeared to themselves, as locusts, is agreeable to appearances in the spiritual world, for there, when those who are persuaded of their own superiority look at others, they see them as little and vile, and these also then appear such to themselves.

[14] Since the locust signifies the Sensual, which is the ultimate of the life of man's thought, or the ultimate in which the understanding closes, and upon which it rests, therefore this ultimate is, as it were, the basis and foundation upon which stand the interior or higher things, pertaining to the understanding and will of man; similarly the interior and higher things, called in the Word spiritual and celestial. And since everything must have a foundation in order to endure and subsist, therefore the sense of the letter of the Word, which is the ultimate [sense] and the basis, is natural and sensual, and is also meant, in a good sense, by the locust, consequently also its truth and good; for this reason John the Baptist ate locusts, and the sons of Israel were allowed to eat them. It is said of John the Baptist that he had raiment of camel's hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins, and ate locusts and wild honey (Matthew 3:4; Mark 1:6). John the Baptist was thus clothed because, like Elias, he represented the Word; and by raiment of camel's hair, by a leathern girdle, and by eating locusts and wild honey, he represented its ultimate sense, which, as was said is natural-sensual, because it is for the natural-sensual man. Raiment signifies truth which clothes good; camel's hair signifies the ultimate of the natural man, which is sensual; locusts and wild honey also signify the ultimate in regard to appropriation, or the Sensual; the locust signifies the Sensual as to truth; wild honey, the Sensual as to good; and eating, the appropriation thereof.

It is to be observed, that in ancient times, when churches were representative churches, all who were in ministries were clothed according to their representations, and also ate in agreement with the same.

[15] That the children of Israel were allowed to eat the locust, is evident from these words in Moses:

"Every winged creeping thing that goes upon four feet, shall be an abomination. But what goeth upon four, which hath legs above its feet, to leap withal upon the earth, ye may eat," among which the locust also is named (Leviticus 11:20, 21, 22).

They were allowed to eat locusts because locusts have legs above their feet to leap with, for legs signify natural good conjoined to spiritual good, and feet, natural truth from that good; and all truth which is from good ought to be appropriated and conjoined to man, but not the truth which is not from good, for this truth is conjoined with some evil; wherefore it is said that the winged creeping thing going upon four which hath no legs above its feet was an abomination. It is said also to leap upon the earth, because leaping, when stated of birds, signifies to live, equally as walking when used in reference to the animals of the earth; and spiritual life is from truths from good, which are signified by leaping with the feet above which are legs; but spiritual death is from truths conjoined to evil, which is signified by going upon four feet above which are no legs, wherefore to eat such things, is said to be an abomination.

[16] Because a horse signifies the Intellectual, and a locust the Sensual which is the ultimate of the Intellectual, and the intellect lives whilst it is in its ultimate, therefore the ancients spoke of horses leaping and jumping like the locust.

Thus in Job:

"Dost thou give the horse strength? dost thou clothe his neck with shaking? Dost thou make him to leap as the locust? the glory of his nostril is terror" (39:19, 20).

The quality of the understanding is here described by a horse, as being robust, moving and curving its neck, and walking by leaps; and because the ultimate of the understanding is the Sensual, which is signified by the locust, and the life of the understanding in this ultimate is signified by jumping and walking by leaps, therefore it is said that the horse leaps like the locust. The most ancient books, amongst which is the book of Job, were written by pure correspondences; for the knowledge (scientia) of correspondences was then the knowledge of knowledges (scientia scientiarum), and those who could write books abounding in the more significant correspondences, were esteemed above others. The book of Job is of this kind. But the spiritual sense from the correspondences brought together therein does not treat of the holy things of heaven and the church, like the spiritual sense in the prophets, therefore that book is not amongst the books of the Word; nevertheless passages are quoted from it on account of the correspondences in which it abounds.

  
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Translation by Isaiah Tansley. Many thanks to the Swedenborg Society for the permission to use this translation.

The Bible

 

Revelation 9:3-11

Study

      

3 And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power.

4 And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads.

5 And to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months: and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man.

6 And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them.

7 And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle; and on their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men.

8 And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions.

9 And they had breastplates, as it were breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle.

10 And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power was to hurt men five months.

11 And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon.