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).

1672. And the kings that were with him. That this signifies the apparent truth which is of that good, is evident from the signification of “kings” in the Word. “Kings,” “kingdoms,” and “peoples,” in the historical and the prophetical parts of the Word, signify truths and the things which are of truths, as may be abundantly confirmed. In the Word an accurate distinction is made between a “people” and a “nation;” by a “people” are signified truths, and by a “nation” goods, as before shown (n. 1259, 1260). “Kings” are predicated of peoples, but not so much of nations. Before the sons of Israel sought for kings, they were a nation, and represented good, or the celestial; but after they desired a king, and received one, they became a people, and did not represent good or the celestial, but truth or the spiritual; which was the reason why this was imputed to them as a fault (see 1 Samuel 8:7-22, concerning which subject, of the Lord’s Divine mercy elsewhere). As Chedorlaomer is named here, and it is added, “the kings that were with him,” both good and truth are signified; by “Chedorlaomer,” good, and by “the kings,” truth. But what was the quality of the good and truth at the beginning of the Lord’s temptations has already been stated.

1107. Come out of her, my people.- That this signifies to leave them, and have no communication with them, is evident from the signification of coming out of Babylon, as denoting to leave those meant by Babylon, and also to have no communication with them; and from the signification of my people, as denoting those who are in truths, and by truths in the good of life - that "people" signifies those who are in truths from good, may be seen above (n. 175, 331, 625). These are the subjects of the exhortation, that is meant by the voice out of heaven. The exhortation is to leave those [meant by Babylon], and to have no communication with them, because communication with them is dangerous, especially in the spiritual world, where, just as in the natural world, they send out emissaries, who in various ways, and by promises, persuade and induce people to accept their religions belief. For, as the ruling love of every man remains with him, he acts after his departure out of the world just as he acted in the world; and their desire is to convert the world to their religious belief, the end in view being the extension of the bounds of their empire, for the sake of the infernal delight of the love of self and the infernal delight of love of the world. For the sake of those delights, too, the devil, as it is said, goes about to seduce men, as is evident also from what the Evangelists relate concerning the temptation of the Lord by the devil, where the love of self, in which he is, is described by his desiring to be worshipped, and the love of the world by his showing to Him from a mountain all the kingdoms of the world as his own. Since a similar love remains with every one after death, therefore when those of the Roman Catholics who have exercised dominion from the delight of those loves come into the spiritual world, they learn arts unknown in the natural world, and by means of these they fascinate men-spirits, and draw them over to their side; therefore, as the Last Judgment has been accomplished upon them, they are strictly prohibited from sending any one into those societies where the Reformed are, or to the Gentiles; and if any one is sent, they are examined and punished. Since the subject here treated of is the state of these after the Last Judgment, especially their state in the spiritual world, therefore the things that are said here and in the following pages concerning Babylon must be understood as being said chiefly for them. For in regard to Babylon in the natural world, that is, on our earth, those meant by Babylon there are not in a similar state to those who are in the spiritual world, nevertheless, the exhortation is meant for them also, in order that they may take heed to themselves.

[2] Continuation concerning the Athanasian Creed.- We shall now deal with the question of the agreement of everything in the Athanasian doctrine with the truth that God, in whom is a trine (trinum), is one both in essence and in person; and in order to establish and prove this agreement, I shall proceed in the following order.

The Athanasian doctrine first teaches the following:

"The Catholic faith is this, that we worship one God in trinity, and trinity in unity; neither commingling the persons nor dividing the essence."

When instead of three persons one person in whom is a trine is understood, these words are in themselves true, and are apprehended under a clear idea as follows:-

The Christian faith is this, that we worship one God, in whom is a trine, and a trine in one God, and that the God, in whom is a trine, is one person, and that the trine in God is one essence; thus there is one God in trinity, and trinity in unity, neither are the persons commingled, nor is the essence divided. That the persons are not commingled, nor is the essence divided, will be seen more clearly from what now follows.

The Athanasian doctrine further teaches,

"Since there is one person of the Father, another of the Son, another of the Holy Spirit; but the Divinity of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, is one and the same, the glory equal."

In this case, also, when instead of three persons, one person in whom is a trine, is understood, the words are in themselves true, and are apprehended under a clear idea as follows:-

The trine in the Lord, as in one person, is the Divine called the Father, the Divine Human called the Son, and the proceeding Divine called the Holy Spirit; but the Divinity or Divine essence of the three is one, the glory equal.

Again:

"Such as the Father is, such is the Son, and such is the Holy Spirit."

These words are in this case apprehended thus:- Such as is the Divine called the Father, such is the Divine called the Son, and such is the Divine called the Holy Spirit.

[3] And further:

"The Father is uncreate, the Son is uncreate, and the Holy Spirit is uncreate; the Father is infinite, the Son is infinite, and the Holy Spirit is infinite; the Father is eternal, the Son is eternal, and the Holy Spirit is eternal; nevertheless, there are not three eternals, but one eternal; and there are not three infinites, but one infinite; neither are there three uncreates, but one uncreate. As the Father is almighty, so the Son is almighty, and the Holy Spirit almighty, and yet there are not three almighties, but one almighty."

When, instead of three persons, one person, in whom is a trine, is understood, then also these words are in themselves true, and under a clear idea are seen as follows:

As the Divine in the Lord, called the Father, is uncreate, infinite, and omnipotent, so the Divine Human called the Son, is uncreate, infinite, and omnipotent; and so the Divine called the Holy Spirit, is uncreate, infinite, and omnipotent; but these three are one, because the Lord, in whom is a trine, is one God both in essence and in person.

In the Athanasian doctrine are also the following words:-

"As the Father is God, so the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God; nevertheless there are not three Gods, but one God. Although the Father is Lord, the Son is Lord, and the Holy Spirit is Lord, yet there are not three Lords, but one Lord."

In this case also, when, instead of three persons, one person in whom is a trine is understood, the words are seen under a clear idea as follows:-

That the Lord, from His Divine called the Father, from His Divine Human called the Son, and from His proceeding Divine called the Holy Spirit, is one God and one Lord, since the three Divines called by the names of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, are in the Lord one in essence and in person.

[4] Further:

"Forasmuch as we are compelled by the Christian verity to acknowledge every person by himself to be God and Lord, yet we are forbidden by the Catholic religion to say there are three Gods or three Lords."

In other copies this reads:

"As we are bound by the Christian verity to acknowledge every person to be God or Lord, so we cannot in the Christian faith make mention of three Gods or three Lords."

These words cannot be understood in any other way, than that according to Christian verity we must acknowledge and think that there are three Gods and three Lords, but that still we may not, according to the Christian faith and religion, speak of and name three Gods or three Lords. This is done however; for most men think of three Gods who are co-ordinate, and hence they call them a co-ordinate trine (trinum), but still they are bound to speak of one God. But as there are not three persons, but one person, then, instead of the above words, which ought to be removed from the Athanasian doctrine, the following would be used:-

When we acknowledge a trine (trinum) in the Lord, then it is from the truth, and thus from the Christian faith and religion, that we acknowledge one God and one Lord both with the lips and with the heart. For if it were allowable to acknowledge and think of three, it would be allowable also to believe in three, for belief or faith belongs to thought and acknowledgment, and consequently to speech, and not to speech apart from thought and acknowledgment.

[5] Afterwards these words follow:-

"The Father was made of none, neither created nor born; the Son is of the Father alone, neither made, nor created, but born; the Holy Spirit is of the Father and of the Son, neither made, created, nor born, but proceeding. Thus there is one Father, not three Fathers; one Son, not three Sons; one Holy Spirit, not three Holy Spirits."

These words are in complete agreement with the truth, provided that instead of the Father we understand the Divine of the Lord which is called the Father, instead of the Son, His Divine Human, and instead of the Holy Spirit, His proceeding Divine. For from the Divine called the Father the Divine Human called the Son was born, and from both of these the Divine called the Holy Spirit proceeds. But we shall speak more specifically of the Divine Human born from the Father in what follows.

It is now evident from these considerations, that the Athanasian doctrine agrees with the above truth, that God is one both in essence and in person, provided that instead of three persons one person is understood, in whom is the trine (trinum), called Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. In the following article, a similar agreement concerning the unity of person in the Lord will be proved.