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).

1145. And all thyine wood, signifies all good conjoined to truth in the natural man. This is evident from the signification of "wood," as being the good of the natural man (of which presently); but "thyine wood" signifies good conjoined to truth in the natural man, for the word thyine in the Greek is derived from the word that means two; and "two" signifies such conjunction. That "thyine wood" signifies good conjoined to truth is evident also from what precedes and from what follows; from what precedes the things that signify celestial goods and truths and the things that signify spiritual goods and truths are enumerated, which are "fine linen, purple, silk, and scarlet;" and from what follows, the things that signify natural goods and truths are enumerated, which are "vessel of ivory, and vessel of precious wood, of brass, iron, and marble." This makes clear that "thyine wood" signifies good conjoined to truth in the natural man, arising from those goods and truths that are mentioned above. For there are three degrees of life in man, which viewed in their order are called celestial, spiritual, and natural; in this verse such things as signify goods and truths according to their degrees are mentioned in this order. But as the things mentioned above signify truths and goods profaned, which in themselves are falsities and evils, so good conjoined to truth, which is "thyine wood," means such good profaned, which is evil conjoined to falsity. And because such good is of the natural man, it is especially profaned by venerations of bones and sepulchers, by sanctifications of many things used in worship, by many things relating to processions, and in general by all things idolatrous that are delightful to the natural man, and are consequently felt to be good and are called true.

[2] "Wood" signifies good, because it is from a tree from which are fruits; also because wood can be burned and be useful in keeping the body warm, and in building houses and making various articles of convenience and use; also because an oil, which signifies the good of love, may be expressed from wood; it also contains in it that which gives heat. "Stone" on the other hand signifies here the truth of the natural man, because it is cold and cannot be burned. Because "wood" signifies good, with the most ancient people who were in the good of love the temples were of wood, which were not called temples but houses of God; and with many their tabernacles were used for this purpose, in which they not only dwelt but also had Divine worship. For the same reason the angels of the third heaven dwell in houses of wood, and this because they are in the good of love to the Lord, to which "wood" corresponds. Moreover, their different kinds of wood have a correspondence according to the trees from which they are; for a tree signifies man, and its fruit the good of man. This is why woods from various kinds of trees are mentioned in the Word, as the olive, the vine, the cedar, the poplar, the oak; and the wood of the olive signifies celestial good, of the vine spiritual good, of the cedar rational good, of the poplar natural good, and of the oak sensual good.

[3] Now as all things in the world are correspondences, and wood corresponds to good, and in the contrary sense to evil, so "wood" here signifies good, and in the contrary sense evil, as can be seen from the following passages. In Lamentations:

We drink our waters for silver, and our wood comes at a price (Lamentations 5:4).

The lack of the knowledges of truth and good is thus described; the lack of the knowledges of truth by "drinking waters for silver," and the lack of the knowledges of good by "wood coming at a price." In Ezekiel:

They shall pillage thy riches, and make a prey of thy merchandise; they shall break down thy walls, and overthrow the houses of thy desire; thy stones, thy woods, and thy dust shall they place in the midst of the sea (Ezekiel 26:12).

This describes the devastation of all things of truth and good of the church by evils and falsities. The "riches" which they pillage are the knowledges of truth; the "merchandise" of which they shall make a prey are the knowledges of good; the "walls" which they shall break down are doctrinals; "the houses of desire" which they shall overthrow are the things of the mind, thus of the understanding and will, for there man dwells; the "stones, woods, and dust, which they shall place in the midst of the sea," are the truths and goods of the natural man, "stones" its truths, "woods" its goods, and "dust" the lowest things, which are of the sensual man.

[4] In the same:

Son of man, take thee one stick and write upon it, For Judah and the sons of Israel his companions; then take one stick and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and of the tribes ¹ of Israel his companions; then join them to thee one with the other into one stick, that the two may be one in My hand, and I will make them into one stick (Ezekiel 37:16-17, 19-20).

This represents the conjunction of the celestial and spiritual kingdoms of the Lord by the good of love. "Judah and the sons of Israel his companions" signify the Lord's celestial kingdom; "Judah" that kingdom as to good, and "the sons of Israel his companions" as to truth; but "Joseph and the tribes of Israel his companions" signify the Lord's spiritual kingdom, "Joseph" that kingdom as to good, and the "tribes of Israel his companions" as to truth. "Ephraim" signifies the understanding of truth; and as those who are in the understanding of truth from spiritual good are in the Lord's spiritual kingdom, the stick is called Ephraim's. That the Lord conjoins these two kingdoms into one by the good of love to Him and by the good of charity towards the neighbor is meant by the Lord's "joining them one with the other into one stick, that the two may be one in the hand of Jehovah, and be made one stick." That things derived from falsities are corrected by means of good was represented and signified by:

The bitter waters in Marah were made sweet by the wood cast into them (Exodus 15:25).

"Bitter waters" mean the things that are apparently true but are derived from falsities; "wood" means the good of the natural man. Because "wood" from correspondence signifies the good of love, the tables of stone on which the law was inscribed were placed in an ark made of shittim wood; and for the same reason other things of the tabernacle were made of the same wood, and the temple of Jerusalem was covered with wood.

[5] Now as most things in the Word have also a contrary sense, so does wood, and in that sense it signifies evil, because evil is opposite to good. This is signified by:

Serving wood and stone (Deuteronomy 4:23-28; Isaiah 37:19; Jeremiah 3:9; Ezekiel 20:32).

In Isaiah:

He chooseth wood that will not rot, he seeketh for himself a wise artificer to prepare a graven image that shall not be moved (Isaiah 40:20).

"Wood" here signifies evil which is adored as good, for a "graven image" means the evil of worship; "to choose wood that will not rot" signifies some good from the Word that is becoming adulterated and thus evil; this is chosen because that which is from the Word persuades, and thus does not perish in the mind, which is the case with evil and falsity confirmed by the Word. "He seeks a wise artificer" signifies to seek one who from self intelligence has a gift for confirming and falsifying.

[6] In Jeremiah:

The statutes of the nations are vanity; since one cutteth wood from the forest, the labor of the hands of the workman with the axe. They are stupid and foolish, the wood is a doctrine of vanities (Jeremiah 10:3, 8).

"The statutes of the nations, which are vanity," signify all things of worship of those who are in evil; "the wood cut from the forest and the labor of the hands of the workman with the axe" signify evil from which is worship that has been fashioned by falsities from self-intelligence, "wood" being the evil of the worship that is meant by a graven image, "the labor of the hands of the workman" being what is from self-intelligence, and the "axe" the falsity that destroys good and confirms evil.

[7] In the same:

The voice shall go like that of a serpent, and they came with axes like hewers of wood (Jeremiah 46:22).

"The voice of a serpent" means craft and deceit; "with axes" signifies with falsities destroying good; "like hewers of wood" signifies as if willing to extirpate evil, and yet they extirpate good. In Moses:

If one should kill his companion by error, as in coming with a companion into a forest, and the axe slip from the wood upon his companion, he shall flee to a city of refuge (Deuteronomy 19:5).

That one who sins by error is permitted to flee to a city of refuge is here illustrated by an example that rarely happens, but it is cited to show what is meant by slaying by error; this example is cited because wood and axe and forest are significative, "wood" being good, "axe" falsity, and "forest" the natural man; therefore these words signify that if one who is in natural good should bring destruction upon another's soul by falsity which he does not know to be falsity, it would be done by error, because it is not done from evil.

[8] In Habakkuk:

The stone crieth out of the wall, and the beam from the wood answereth (Habakkuk 2:11).

This means that evil confirms and incites falsity; the "wall out of which the stone crieth" signifies man devoid of truths, and thus wishing to be taught falsity; "the beam that answereth from the wood" signifies man destitute of good, "wood" signifying the evil that confirms falsity and agrees with it. In Jeremiah:

Saying to the wood, Thou art my father, and to the stone, Thou hast begotten me; for they have turned the neck to Me and not the face (Jeremiah 2:27).

"Saying to the wood, Thou art my father," signifies to be conceived from evil; and "saying to the stone, Thou hast begotten me," signifies to be born from falsity of evil; "to turn the neck and not the face" signifies to turn away from all good and truth. "Fire and wood" are mentioned in Zechariah (Zechariah 12:6), and in Isaiah (Isaiah 30:33), because "fire" signifies evil love, and "wood" evils therefrom.

[9] As "swords" signify falsities destroying truths, and "woods" signify evils destroying good, so by command of the chief priests:

A multitude went out with Judas Iscariot against Jesus, with swords and staves (Matthew 26:47; Mark 14:43, 48; Luke 22:52).

This was done because all things relating to the Lord's passion were representative of the destruction by the Jews of all things of good and truth. With the sons of Israel there were two general punishments, stoning and hanging upon wood, stoning for injuring or destroying truth, and hanging upon wood for injuring or destroying good. For this reason:

Hanging upon wood was a curse (Deuteronomy 21:22-23).

All this makes clear that "wood" signifies good, specifically the good of the natural man, and in the contrary sense its evil.

(Continuation respecting the Athanasian Faith)

[10] In the world there are angel-men and devil-men; heaven is constituted of angel-men, and hell of devil-men. With an angel-man all the degrees of his life are open to the Lord; but with a devil-man only the lowest degree is open, and the higher degrees are closed. An angel-man is led by the Lord both from within and from without; but a devil-man is led by himself from within, and by the Lord from without. An angel-man is led by the Lord according to order, from within from order, and from without to order; but a devil-man is led by the Lord to order from without, but by himself against order from within. An angel-man is continually led away from evil by the Lord, and led to good; a devil-man also is continually led away from evil by the Lord, but from a more to a less grievous evil, for he cannot be led to good. An angel-man is continually led away from hell by the Lord, and is led into heaven more and more interiorly; a devil-man is also continually led away from hell, but from a more grievous to a milder hell, for he cannot be led into heaven.

[11] Because an angel-man is led by the Lord he is led by civil law, by moral law, and by spiritual law, for the sake of the Divine in them; a devil-man is led by the same laws, but for the sake of himself [suum] in them. An angel-man from the Lord loves the goods of the church, which are the goods of heaven, because they are goods, also its truths because they are truths; but he loves from self the goods of the body and of the world because they are for use and because they are for pleasure, likewise the truths that belong to the sciences; but although he loves all these in appearance from self, in reality he loves them from the Lord. A devil-man also loves from self the goods of the body and of the world, because they are for use and because they are for pleasure, likewise the truths that belong to the sciences; but although he loves all these in appearance from self, in reality he loves them from hell. An angel-man is in freedom and in the delight of his heart when he is doing good from good, and when he is not doing evil; but a devil-man is in freedom and in the delight of his heart when he is doing good from evil, and when he is doing evil. An angel-man and a devil-man in externals appear alike, but in internals they are wholly unlike; therefore when external things are laid aside by death they are manifestly unlike. The one is taken up into heaven, and the other is taken down into hell.

Footnotes: