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).

543. Verse 3. And out of the smoke there went forth locusts upon the earth, signifies that from infernal falsities they became corporeal-sensual in the church. This is evident from the signification of "smoke," as being infernal falsity (See above, n. 539). Infernal falsity is what is here signified by "smoke," because it has just been said that this smoke "went up out of the pit of the abyss," and "the pit of the abyss" signifies the hell where and from which are the falsities of evil that falsify the truths of the Word. The above is evident also from the signification of "locusts," as being man's ultimate sensual, which is in the falsity of evil (of which presently); also from the signification of "to go forth upon the earth," as being upon the church, for the "earth" signifies the church; moreover, the things contained in Revelation are predictions respecting the church and its state.

[2] That "locusts" signify man's ultimate sensual which is in the falsity of evil, can be seen from each and all the particulars related in this chapter to verse 12, in the explanation of which it is shown that "locusts" have no other meaning. But here it shall first be told what is meant by man's ultimate sensual. It does not mean the sensual of sight, of hearing, of smell, of taste, and of touch, for these things are proper to the body, but the ultimate of thought and affection, which is the first to be opened with infants, and which is such that they think of nothing else and are affected by no other objects than what make one with the senses just named. For infants learn to think by means of the senses, and to be affected by objects that are in accord with the things that are pleasing to the senses; consequently the first internal that is opened with them is the sensual that is called man's ultimate sensual, or the corporeal-sensual. But afterwards, as the infant grows older and becomes a boy, a more interior sensual is opened, from which he thinks naturally, and is also affected naturally. Later, in youth and early manhood, a still more interior sensual is opened, from which he thinks rationally, and if he is in the good of charity and faith, he thinks spiritually, and is also affected rationally and spiritually. This thought and affection is what 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 that are of his thought and affection are opened successively, and this by a continuous influx out of heaven from the Lord. By this influx the sensual that most nearly adheres to the body is first formed, and from this man becomes sensual; afterwards the natural from which he becomes natural; and after this the rational and with it the spiritual, from which he becomes a rational and spiritual man; but this he becomes only so far as he thinks about God and about the Divine things that are from God, and this is formed and perfected so far as he is affected by these things, that is, so far as he wills and lives according to them. If he does not do this the spiritual man is opened in a general way, but is not formed, still less perfected. By the general opening of his spiritual man, man has the faculty of thinking, and from thought of speaking rationally; this is the general effect of the influx of heaven with every man. This makes clear that man's thoughts and affections may be spiritual, or natural, or also sensual; and that spiritual thoughts and affections are with those who think from God respecting God and Divine things; while there are only natural thoughts and affections with those who do not think from God respecting God and Divine things, but think only from themselves or from the world respecting themselves or the world. But it should be known that to think from self or from the world is to think not from these but from hell; for whoever does not think from God thinks from hell; no one can 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 these, all become sensual men more or less, according to confirmations; when they are thinking about spiritual things they think falsities only, and are affected by evils; and if they think any truths, whether spiritual, moral, or civil, it is only from the knowledge (scientia) of such things as are in the memory; and they see nothing beyond the nearest causes which they also are able to prove; and if they are affected by goods, it is only from a delight for the sake of self or the world, thus from a cupidity belonging to the love of self or the love of the world. The thought of the sensual man is what is called material thought, and its affection is what is called corporeal affection, which is cupidity.

[4] Furthermore, it is to be known that all the evils that man derives from his parents, which are called hereditary evils, have their seat in his natural and sensual man, but not in the spiritual; consequently the natural man, and especially the sensual man, is the opposite of the spiritual. For the spiritual man from infancy is closed, and is opened and formed only by Divine truths received by the understanding and will; and so far in extent and quality as the spiritual man is opened and formed, the evils of the natural and sensual man are removed, and goods are implanted in place of them. As all evils have their seat in the natural and sensual man it follows that falsities do also, because all falsities are of evil; for when man lusts and wills from evil he thinks and speaks from falsity. For the evil of the will, when it so forms itself in thought that it is manifest to others or to oneself as to its quality, is called falsity; thus falsity is the form of evil, as truth is the form of good. From this it can be seen who and of what quality the man is who is called a sensual man; also that a man becomes sensual when he follows out in act the evils into which he is born, and adds more to them from himself. So far as he does this and confirms himself in these evils, so far the spiritual man is kept closed; and when it is closed the natural and sensual man denies the Divine things that belong to heaven and the church, and acknowledges such things only as belong to the world and nature; and indeed, the sensual man is then so blind as to believe nothing but what he sees with his eyes and touches with his hands. Such are many of the learned, however intelligent and wise they may be thought to be from their ability of speaking from the knowledges [scientia] that are in the memory, and this apparently as the rational man speaks, since the spiritual mind is opened with them, as it is in every man in a general way, as has been said above.

[5] Because in what now follows in this chapter the locust is much treated of, and by it the sensual, which is the ultimate or extreme of the natural man, is signified, it is important that what the sensual is and what its quality is should be fully known, and thus who and what the sensual man is. I will therefore present here what is said and shown respecting it in the Arcana Coelestia, as follows: The sensual is the ultimate of man's life, adhering to and inhering in his corporeal, n. 5077, 5767, 9212, 9216, 9331, 9730. He is called a sensual man who judges all things from the senses of the body, 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 what is ultimate, and not interiorly from any spiritual light, n. 5089, 5094, 6564, 7693.

The interiors of his mind, which sees from the light of heaven, are closed, so that he sees there nothing of the truth of 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. Thence interiorly he is against 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 acutely and readily, because their thought is so near their speech as to be almost in it, and because they place all intelligence in speaking merely from the memory, n. 195, 196, 5700, 10236. But they reason from the fallacies of the senses, by which the common herd are captivated, n. 5084, 6948, 6949, 7693. Sensual men are more crafty and malicious than others, n. 7693, 10236. The covetous, adulterers, the voluptuous, and the deceitful, are especially sensual, n. Arcana Coelestia 6310. Their interiors are foul and filthy, n. Arcana Coelestia 6201. Through their interiors they communicate with the hells, n. 6311. Those who are in the hells are sensual, and this in proportion to the depth of 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 [scientia]," n. 195, 196, 197, 6398, 6949, 10313. The sensual of man and the sensual man are further described, n. Arcana Coelestia 10236; and the extension of the sensual principle 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 are subject to things interior, but with an unwise man they are in the first place, and are dominant, and these are such as are properly called sensual, n. 5077, 5125, 5128, 7645. If sensual things are in the last place, through them a way is opened to the understanding, and truths are disengaged by a kind of extraction, n. Arcana Coelestia 5580. These sensual things of man stand next to the world, and admit the things that flow from the world, and as it were sift them, n. 9726.

Through these the external or natural man communicates with the world, and through rational things with heaven, n . 4009. Sensual things thus supply such things as are serviceable to the interiors belonging to the mind, n. 5077, 5081. There are sensual things that minister to the intellectual part, and others that minister to the will part, n. 5077. Unless the thought is elevated from sensual things, man has but little wisdom, n. 5089. A wise man thinks above the sensual, n. 5089, 5094. When a man's thought is elevated above sensual things he comes into a clearer light, and at length into heavenly light, n. 6183, 6313, 6315, 9407, 9730, 9922. Elevation above sensual things and withdrawal from them were known to the ancients, n. 6313. Man in his spirit is able to see things that are in the spiritual world if he can be withdrawn from the sensual things which are from the body and be elevated into the light of heaven by the Lord, n. 4622. The reason is that it is not the body that thinks, but the spirit of man in the body, and so far as man thinks in the body so far he thinks grossly and obscurely, thus in darkness, but so far as he does not think in the body he thinks clearly and in light, n. 4622, 6614, 6622. The ultimate of the understanding is sensual knowledge, and the ultimate of the will is sensual delight, concerning which see n. 9996. The difference between the sensual things that man has in common with the beasts and those not in common with them, n. 10236. There are sensual persons not evil because their interiors are not shut in the manner above referred to; the state of such in the other life, n. 6311.

[6] That the "locust" signifies nothing else but this sensual of man that has now been described can be seen also from other passages in the Word where the locust is mentioned. As in Moses:

Moses stretched forth his staff over the land of Egypt, and Jehovah brought along an east wind all the day, and all the 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, nor after it shall there be such. And they covered the surface 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 which the hail had left remaining; so that there remained not any green thing in the tree or in the herb of the field, in all Egypt. And the locust filled the house of Pharaoh, and the house of all his servants, and the house of all the Egyptians (Exodus 10:13-15, 6).

All the miracles in Egypt, like all other miracles recorded in the Word, involve and signify spiritual things pertaining to heaven and the church, thus the Egyptian plagues signify spiritual plagues; this plague of the locusts signifies the destruction of the whole natural man by the breaking in of evil and falsity from the sensual; "Egypt" signifies the natural man in respect to knowledge [scientificum] and to what is pleasurable in it, and "the locust" the falsity and evil of the sensual man laying waste the natural man, that is, driving out from it or destroying there all the truth and good of the church; it is therefore said, "and the locust went up over all the land of Egypt, and rested in all its border," "the land of Egypt" signifying the natural with the men of the church, and "its border" the sensual with them, for the sensual is the ultimate or most external of the natural, consequently its border; the "locust" means falsity and evil there. Because the falsity and the evil of the sensual man are the most grievous, for they are corporeal and earthly, it is said that the locust was "very grievous, and that before it there was no such locust, nor after it shall there be such;" and this for the reason that the Egyptians had a knowledge of correspondences, and from that a knowledge of the spiritual things which belong to heaven; but these they turned into magic. Because the falsity and the evil of the sensual man, when they break into the natural man, entirely lay it waste by destroying every truth and every good therein, it is said that "the locust covered the whole surface of the earth so that the land was darkened, and did eat every herb of the land, ¹ and all the fruit of the tree," "the land of Egypt" meaning the natural with the men of the church, "the herb of the land" the truth there, and "the fruit of the tree" the good there. "The locust filling the house of Pharaoh, and of his servants, and of all the Egyptians," has a similar meaning, for "the house of Pharaoh, of his servants, and of all the Egyptians," signifies the natural mind in its whole extent, "house" in the Word signifying the interiors of man which belong to his mind and disposition, here the things of his natural mind.

[7] It is said that here "the locust going up over all the land of Egypt" signifies the breaking in of falsity and evil out of the sensual man into the natural; and yet the natural man is interior and the sensual exterior, and there is no breaking in or influx from the exterior into the interior, but only from the interior into the exterior. It should be known, therefore, that the breaking in or influx of the sensual man into the natural means the blocking up of the natural man until it becomes like the sensual, whereby evil and falsity become more widely extended, and the natural and the sensual become alike corporeal and earthly. In other cases, man learns from infancy to separate the sensual man from the natural, by speaking truth and doing good, even while his thoughts from the sensual man are false, and his will is evil; and this he continues to do until they are entirely separated, which is done when man is reformed and regenerated by the Lord. But if these are not separated man can think and will no otherwise than insanely, and thus speak ² and act insanely.

[8] Because the "locust" here signifies the sensual in respect to falsity and evil, or, what is the same, the falsity and evil of the sensual man, the "locust" and the "caterpillar" have the same signification in David:

He sent among them a swarm that devoured them, and the frog that destroyed them. He also gave their increase unto the caterpillar, and their labor unto the locust (Psalms 78:45, 46).

And in the same:

He spake, and the locust came, and the caterpillar without number, which did eat up every herb in the land, and did eat up the fruit of their land (Psalms 105:34, 35).

But here the "locust" signifies the falsity of the sensual man, and the "caterpillar" its evil, or the falsity and evil in the sensual man and from it. The latter is signified by "caterpillar," and the former by "locust," because the caterpillar is also a locust, as is evident from this fact that this was said by David respecting the locusts in Egypt, and yet in Moses the locust only is mentioned, and not the caterpillar.

[9] The "locust" and the "caterpillar" have a similar signification 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 caterpillar eaten. Awake, ye drunkards, and weep; and howl, all ye drinkers of wine, because of the new wine which has been cut off from your mouth (Joel 1:4, 5).

And elsewhere in the same:

The floors shall be full of pure grain, and the vats shall overflow with new wine and oil. And I will recompense to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpillar, and the palmerworm, My great army which I sent among you (Joel 2:24, 25).

Evidently these noxious little animals signify falsities and evils devastating or consuming truths and goods with the man of the church, since it is said that "all drinkers of wine should howl because of the new wine which is cut off from your mouth," "wine" and "new wine" signifying the truth of the church; likewise because it is said that "the floors shall be full of grain, and the presses shall overflow with new wine and oil," the "floor" signifying the doctrine of the church, "grain" and "oil" its goods, and "new wine" its truths.

[10] So in Nahum:

The fire shall devour thee; the sword shall cut thee off, it shall devour thee like the caterpillar; make thyself many as the caterpillar; make thyself many as the locust. Thou hast multiplied thy merchants above the stars of the heavens; the caterpillar spreadeth itself abroad and flieth away. Thy crowned are as the locusts, and thy commanders as the locust of locusts, which encamp in the walls in the day of cold; when the sun ariseth they fly away, and their place is not known where they are (Nahum 3:15-17).

This is said of "the city of bloods," which signifies doctrine fabricated out of falsified truths, thus out of 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 that shall devour" signifying evil destroying good, and "the sword" falsity destroying truth; and because evil and falsity from the sensual man are meant it is said, "the caterpillar shall devour thee; make thyself many as the caterpillar; make thyself many as the locust; thou hast multiplied thy merchants above the stars of the heavens." Multiplication like that of the caterpillar and of the locust is mentioned because falsifications of the Word are made in the greatest abundance by those who are sensual, thus by the sensual man, for the sensual man is signified here by the "caterpillar and locust" as has been said above. The sensual man falsifies the Word more than others, because the ultimate sense of the Word, which is the sense of its letter, is for the natural and sensual man, while the interior sense is for the spiritual man; consequently when man is not a spiritual man, but is natural and sensual, and is in evil and in falsities therefrom, he does not see the truths and goods in the Word, but applies its ultimate sense to confirm his falsities and evils. "Merchants" signify those who falsify and who communicate and who offer for sale. "Thy crowned are as the locust, and thy commanders as the locust of locusts," signifies that the primary and chief things of doctrine, that is, "a city of bloods," are the falsities of evil, and from these again come the falsities of evil; "which sit in the walls in the day of cold" signifies in the truths of the Word that do not appear to be truths, because they have become falsified, and are from evil, "walls" meaning truths that do not appear because they are falsified, and "the day of cold" meaning a state of the love of evil; "the sun ariseth, they fly away, and their place is not known where they are," signifies that they consume every truth and good, so that there is nothing left. "Multiplying as the locust" has a similar signification in Jeremiah 46:20, 22, 23; also in the (Judges 6:5) book (Judges 7:12) of Judges 6:5; 7:12.

[11] The "locust" signifies also falsity in the most external things, or the densest falsity, in Moses:

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

which is one of the curses if they did not keep and do the commandments of Jehovah. "The seed of the field" means the truth of the Word, and the "locust" dense falsity from the sensual man that consumes and destroys it. "Locust" has a similar signification in Amos 7:1, 2; Isaiah 33:3, 4; and in David Psalms 109:22, 23.

[12] Because the sensual of man is the ultimate and lowest of the life of man's thought and affection (as has been said above) and because the lowest, when viewed by those who are in a higher or more eminent place, is little, for this reason it is compared to locusts. As in Isaiah:

Jehovah who dwelleth above the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as locusts (Isaiah 40:22).

This signifies that men in respect to intelligence are in things lowest, and the Lord in things highest.

[13] In like manner, men viewed by those who are in the persuasion of their superiority over others are compared to locusts, in Moses:

The spies 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 eyes as locusts, and so we were in their eyes (Numbers 13:33).

The "Nephilim" and the "Anakim" signify in the Word those who are in the strongest persuasion of their being more eminent and wise than others; and in the abstract sense they signify direful persuasions (See Arcana Coelestia 311, 567, 581, 1268, 1270, 1271, 1673, 3686, 7686). That the spies appeared to these and also to themselves like locusts, is in agreement with the appearances in the spiritual world, for there, when those who are in a persuasion of their own superiority look at others, they see them as little and vile, and these then also appear such to themselves.

[14] As 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, so this ultimate is like a base and foundation upon which interior or higher things stand, which belong to man's understanding and will, likewise the interior and higher things in the Word that are called spiritual and celestial. And as all things, to continue and to subsist, must have a foundation, so the sense of the letter of the Word, which is its ultimate and base, is natural and sensual; and this in a good sense, and, consequently, its truth and good, are meant by the "locust." This is why John the Baptist ate locusts, and why the sons of Israel were allowed to eat them. Of John the Baptist it is said:

That he had his raiment of camel's hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and he did eat locusts and wild honey (Matthew 3:4; Mark 1:6).

John the Baptist was so clothed because like Elijah he represented the Word; and by "his raiment of camel's hair, and leathern girdle, and eating locusts and wild honey," he represented the ultimate sense of the Word, which, as was said, is sensual-natural, because it is for the sensual-natural man. "Raiment" signifies truth clothing good; "camel's hair" the ultimate of the natural man, which is the sensual; the "locusts and wild honey" also signify that ultimate or the sensual as regards appropriation; the "locust" the sensual in respect to truth, "wild honey" the sensual in respect to good, and "eating" appropriation. It is to be known that in ancient times, when the churches were representative churches, all who were in ministries were clothed and also ate according to what they represented.

[15] That the sons of Israel were permitted to eat locusts is evident from these words in Moses:

Every winged thing that creeps, that walks on four feet, shall be an abomination unto you, but that which walks upon four, which has legs above its feet to leap withal upon the earth, ye shall eat; and among these the locust is mentioned (Leviticus 11:20-22).

To eat locusts was permitted on account of their having legs above the feet to leap with, because "legs" signify natural good conjoined to spiritual good, and "feet" natural truth from that good; and every truth that is from good ought to be appropriated and conjoined to man, but not truth that is not from good, for such truth is conjoined with some evil; therefore it is said that "every winged thing that creeps, that walks upon four, that had no legs above its feet, shall be an abomination." It is said also "to leap upon the earth," because "leaping," in reference to flying things, signifies to live, the same as "walking" in reference to the animals of the earth; and spiritual living comes from truths that are from good, which are signified by "leaping with the feet, above which are legs;" but spiritual dying comes from truths conjoined to evil, which is signified by "walking upon four feet, above which are no legs;" therefore to eat such is said to be "an abomination. "

[16] As a "horse" signifies the intellectual, and a "locust" the sensual, which is the ultimate of the intellectual, and the intellect lives when it is in its ultimate, the ancients spoke of horses as leaping and jumping like locusts. Thus in Job:

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

The understanding is here described by a horse, namely, that like a horse it is mighty, it shakes and curves the neck, and leaps as it goes; and as the ultimate of the understanding is the sensual, and this is signified by the "locust," and the life of the understanding in this ultimate is signified by "jumping and leaping as it goes," therefore the horse is said "to leap as a locust." The most ancient books, among which is Job, were written by pure correspondences; for a knowledge [scientia] of correspondences was then the knowledge of knowledges; and those writers were held in highest esteem who were able to compose books abounding in the most numerous and significant correspondences. Such is the book of Job; but the spiritual sense therein collected from correspondences does not treat of the holy things of heaven and the church, as the spiritual sense in the Prophets does; consequently that book is not among the books of the Word; but yet passages are quoted from it on account of the correspondences of which it is full.

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