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).

2015. Kings shall go forth from thee. That this signifies that all truth is from Him, is evident from the signification of a “king,” in both the historical and the prophetic Word, as being truth (stated above, n. 1672, but not yet fully shown). From the signification of “nations” as being goods, and from the signification of “kings” as being truths, we can see the nature of the internal sense of the Word, and also how remote it is from the sense of the letter. He who reads the Word, especially the historical portion, has no other belief than that the nations there are nations, and kings, and thus that nations and kings are treated of in the very Word itself. But the idea of nations, as well as that of kings, altogether perishes when it is received by the angels, and in their place there succeed good and truth. This cannot but appear as strange and indeed as a paradox, but still it is really so, and the truth of it may appear to everyone from considering that if, in the Word, nations were signified by “nations,” and kings by “kings,” then the Word of the Lord would involve scarcely anything more than any other history, or any other writing, and thus would be a merely worldly affair, when yet there is nothing in the Word that is not Divine, and therefore celestial and spiritual.

[2] Take as a single instance what is said in this verse, that Abraham should be made fruitful and should be made nations, and that kings should go forth from him-what is this but a merely worldly matter, and in no respect heavenly? For in these things there is only the glory of the world, which is nothing at all in heaven; but if this is the Word of the Lord, there must be in it the glory of heaven, and none of the world’s glory. Therefore the sense of the letter is altogether obliterated and vanishes when it passes into heaven; and it is so purified that nothing that is worldly is intermingled. For by “Abraham” is not meant Abraham, but the Lord; by his being “made fruitful” is not meant that his posterity should increase exceedingly, but that the good of the Lord’s Human Essence should increase to infinitude; by the “nations” are not meant nations, but goods; and by the “kings,” not kings but truths. Still the history according to the sense of the letter remains true; for it is true that it was so said to Abraham; also that he was made fruitful, and that nations and kings came from him.

[3] That “kings” signify truths, may be seen from the following passages.

In Isaiah:

The sons of strangers shall build up thy walls, and their kings shall minister unto thee; thou shalt suck the milk of the nations, and the breast of kings shalt thou suck (Isaiah 60:10, 16);

what it is to “suck the milk of nations” and “the breast of kings,” is by no means plain from the letter, but it is from the internal sense, in which it signifies to be gifted with goods, and instructed in truths.

In Jeremiah:

There shall enter in by the gates of this city kings and princes sitting upon the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses (Jeremiah 17:25; 22:4);

to “ride in chariots and on horses” is a prophetical saying which signifies an abundance of intellectual things, as may appear from very many passages in the Prophets; and thus by “kings entering in by the gates of the city” is signified in the internal sense that they should be imbued with truths of faith. This is the heavenly sense of the Word, into which the worldly literal sense passes.

[4] Again, in the same Prophet:

Jehovah hath despised in the indignation of His anger the king and the priest; the gates of Zion have sunk into the earth; He hath destroyed and broken her bars; her king and her princes are among the nations; the law is not (Lamentations 2:6, 9);

“the king” here denotes the truth of faith; “the priest” the good of charity; “Zion” the church which is being destroyed, and whose bars are being broken; hence “the king and the princes are among the nations,” that is, truth and the things which are of truth will be banished to such an extent that there will be no “law,” that is, nothing of the doctrine of faith.

In Isaiah:

Before the child shall know to refuse the evil and choose the good, the ground shall be forsaken, which thou loathest in the presence of her two kings (Isaiah 7:16); where the Lord’s coming is treated of; the “ground which shall be forsaken” denotes faith, of which there would then be none, and the truths of which are the “kings that would be loathed.”

[5] In the same Prophet:

I will lift up My hand to the nations, and raise up My ensign to the peoples; and they shall bring thy sons in their bosom, and thy daughters shall be carried upon the shoulder; and kings shall be thy nourishers, and their queens those that give thee suck (Isaiah 49:22-23);

“the nations” and “the daughters” denote goods; and “the peoples” and “the sons” truths (as shown in Part First, where it may be seen that “nations” denote goods, n. 1259, 1260, 1416, 1849; and that “daughters” have a similar signification, n. 489-491; also that “peoples” denote truths, n. 1259, 1260; and “sons” likewise, n. 489, 491, 533, 1147). “Kings” therefore denote truths in general, by which they will be nourished, and their “queens” the goods from which they will be “suckled.” Whether you say goods and truths, or those who are in goods and truths, it is the same.

[6] Again in the same Prophet:

He shall sprinkle many nations, upon him kings shall shut their mouth-for that which was [not] told them have they seen; and that which they did not hear have they understood (Isaiah 52:15),

where the Lord’s coming is spoken of; the “nations” denote those who are affected by goods, and “kings” those who are affected by truths.

In David:

Now, O ye kings, be intelligent; be instructed, ye judges of the earth; serve Jehovah with fear, and exult with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, and ye perish in the way (Psalms 2:10-12).

“Kings” denote those who are in truths; who also from their truths are often called “king’s sons;” “the Son” here denotes the Lord, who is here called “the Son” because He is the truth itself, and because all truth is from Him.

[7] In John:

They shall sing a new song, Worthy art Thou who takest the book, and openest the seals thereof; Thou hast made us unto our God kings and priests, that we may reign upon the earth (Revelation 5:9-10); where they who are in truths are called “kings.”

The Lord also calls such persons “the sons of the kingdom,” in Matthew:

He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man; the field is the world; the seed is the sons of the kingdom, and the tares are the sons of the evil one (Matthew 13:37-38).

In John:

The sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the Kings that are from the sun rising might be prepared (Revelation 16:12).

That by the “Euphrates” is not meant the Euphrates, nor by “the kings from the sun-rising” any kings therefrom, is evident (what is meant by the “Euphrates” may be seen above, n. 120, 1585, 1866); so that “the way of the kings that are from the sun-rising” means the truths of faith that are from the goods of love.

[8] In the same:

The nations that are saved shall walk in the light of it, and the kings of the earth shall bring their glory and honor into it (Revelation 21:24); where “the nations” denote those who are in goods, and “the kings of the earth” those who are in truths, as may be inferred from the fact that these words are prophetic, and not historical.

In the same:

With the great harlot that sitteth upon many waters the kings of the earth have committed whoredom, and have been made drunken with the wine of her whoredom (Revelation 17:1-2).

And again:

Babylon hath made all the nations drink of the wine of her whoredom, and the kings of the earth have committed whoredom with her (Revelation 18:3, 9); where in like manner it is evident that kings are not meant by “the kings of the earth;” for the falsification and adulteration of the doctrine of faith, that is, of truth, is treated of, and this is the “whoredom;” “the kings of the earth” denote the truths that are falsified and adulterated.

[9] In the same:

The ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, that have received no kingdom as yet, but they receive authority [potestas] as kings with the beast for one hour. These shall have one mind, and shall give their power and authority to the beast (Revelation 17:12-13).

That these “kings” are not kings, is evident to everyone; for if so it would be wholly unintelligible that the ten kings should receive authority as kings one hour. So too in another passage:

I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered together to make war with him that sat upon the horse, and with his army (Revelation 19:19).

That “he that sat upon the horse” is “the Word of God,” is openly stated in verse 13; and it is against this that the kings of the earth are said to have been gathered together. “The beast” denotes the goods of love, profaned; and “the kings” denote the truths of faith, adulterated; these are called “the kings of the earth,” because they are within the church. (That “the earth” is the church may be seen above, n. 662, 1066, 1067, 1262.) The “white horse” denotes the understanding of truth; and “he that sat upon the horse,” the Word. This meaning is still more manifest in Daniel (chapter 11), where the war between “the king of the south” and “the king of the north” is treated of; by which terms are signified the truths and falsities that had fought, the combats being described here also in an historical manner by this “war.”

[10] As “a king” signifies truth, it may be seen what is meant in the internal sense when the Lord is called a King and also a Priest; and also what it was in the Lord that was represented by kings, and what by priests. Kings represented His Divine truth, and priests His Divine good. All the laws of order by which the Lord governs the universe as King, are truths; but all the laws by which He governs the universe as Priest, and by which also He rules truths themselves, are goods; for government from truths alone would condemn everyone to hell; but government from goods lifts everyone out thence and uplifts him into heaven (see n. 1728). Because in the Lord’s case these two are conjoined, they were anciently represented by kingship conjoined with priesthood; as with Melchizedek, who was king of Salem and at the same time priest to God Most High (Genesis 14:18); and afterwards with the Jews, among whom the representative church was instituted in its own form, by judges and priests, and afterwards by kings.

[11] But as the kings represented truths, which ought not to have command, for the reason, as before said, that they condemn, therefore the desire to have kings was so displeasing as to call for rebuke, and the nature of truth as regarded in itself was described by the rights [jus] of the king (1 Samuel 8:11-18); and at an earlier day it was commanded by Moses (Deuteronomy 17:14-18) that they should choose genuine truth which is from good, and not spurious; and that they should not defile it by reasonings and memory-knowledges [scientifica]. This is what is involved in the directions concerning a king, given in Moses in the place just cited; which no one can possibly see from the sense of the letter, but yet is evident from the several points contained in the internal sense; so that “king” and “kingship” evidently represented and signified nothing else than truth.

275. (Verse 6) And before the throne there was a glassy sea like unto crystal. That this signifies the appearance of truth in ultimates, in which are the general things thereof, translucent from the influx of Divine truth united to Divine good in primaries, is evident from the signification of before the throne, as being appearance; and from the signification of the sea as being the general things of truth, which will be explained in what follows; also from the signification of a sea of glass, as being translucence. It is said like unto crystal, in order to express translucence from the influx of Divine truth united to Divine good in primaries, which is signified by the seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, as shown just above (n. 274). In the preceding passages, and in this passage, the state of the whole heaven arranged in order for judgment, and its ultimate, is described by a glassy sea like unto crystal. The reason why the truth of the ultimate heaven is signified by a glassy sea is that sea signifies the general things of truth, such as truth is in the ultimates of heaven and pertaining to man in his natural state, which is called scientific truth (verum scientificum.)

[2] The reason why sea has such a signification is that in the sea there is a gathering together of waters; and waters signify truths, as may be seen above (n. 71).

That the sea has such a signification is evident from many passages in the Word, of which some shall be here adduced. In Isaiah:

"I will shut up the Egyptians into the hand of a cruel lord; and a fierce king shall rule over them; then the waters shall fail from the sea, and the river shall be wasted and dried up" (19:4, 5).

By the Egyptians are signified the knowledges (scientiae) belonging to the natural man; by the cruel lord into whose hands they should be shut up is signified the evil of the love of self; by a fierce king is signified the falsity therefrom; by the waters of the sea failing is signified that notwithstanding the abundance of knowledges, there were no truths therefrom; and by the river being wasted and dried up, is signified that there was no doctrine of truth and consequently no intelligence.

[3] Again:

"Jehovah will visit with his sword, hard, great and strong, upon leviathan, the stretched out serpent, and upon leviathan the crooked serpent, and will slay the whales which are in the sea" (27:1).

These things also are said concerning Egypt, by which are signified the knowledges (scientiae) of the natural man; by leviathan the stretched out serpent are signified those who reject every thing which they do not see with their natural eyes; thus the merely sensual, who are without faith, because they do not comprehend. By leviathan the crooked serpent are signified those who, for the same reason, do not believe, and yet say that they do believe. By a sword, hard, great and strong, with which they shall be visited, is signified the extinction of all truth; for sword signifies falsity destroying truth. By the whales in the sea which shall be slain, are signified scientifics (scientifica) in general. (That a whale has such a signification may be seen in Arcana Coelestia 7293.)

[4] In the same:

"The inhabitants of the isles are silent; the merchant of Zidon passing over the sea, they have filled thee. Blush O Zidon, because the sea hath said, The fortification of the sea, saying, I have not travailed, and I have not brought forth; I have not brought up young men, nor made the virgins to grow up; as with the report of Egypt, they shall be seized with pains at the report of Tyre" (23:2-5).

By Zidon and Tyre are signified the knowledges (cognitiones) of good and truth, therefore reference is made to the merchant of Zidon passing over the sea, a merchant denoting one who procures to himself those knowledges, and imparts them. That they procured to themselves nothing of good and truth thereby, is signified by the sea, saying, "I have not travailed and brought forth, I have not brought up young men, nor made the virgins to grow up." To travail, and to bring forth, is to produce something from knowledges; young men signify truths, and virgins goods. That consequently the use of knowledges and of sciences (scientiae) would perish, is signified by, as with the report of Egypt, they shall be seized with pains at the report of Tyre.

[5] In Ezekiel:

"All the princes of the sea shall descend from upon their thrones, and shall cast away their robes, and put off their vestments of embroidery; they shall be clothed with terrors. They shall take up a lamentation over thee, and shall say, How hast thou perished, thou that wast inhabited by seas, the renowned city which was strong in the sea; wherefore the islands in the sea shall be troubled at thy destruction" (Ezekiel 26:16-18).

These things are said of Tyre, by which are signified the knowledges of truth, the neglect and loss of which are thus described. By the princes of the sea who shall come down from their thrones, are meant primary knowledges (cognitiones); that they shall be left together with scientifics is signified by their casting away their robes, and putting off their vestments of embroidery; the embroidery is the Scientific (Scientificum); the renowned city strong in the sea signifies the full power of knowing; the seas signify collections of scientifics (scientifica); the islands in the sea signify the nations more remote from truths which desire knowledges, concerning which it is said, "the isles that are in the sea shall be troubled at thy destruction."

[6] In Isaiah:

"They shall not do evil, nor corrupt themselves, in all the mountain of my holiness; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of Jehovah, as the waters cover the sea" (11:9).

Here the subject treated of is a new heaven and a new church, which are meant by the mountain of holiness in which they shall not do evil nor corrupt themselves; their understanding of truth from the Lord is described by the earth being full of the knowledge (scientia) of Jehovah; and because waters signify truths, and the sea fulness of them, it is therefore said, "as the waters cover the sea."

[7] In the same:

"At my rebuke I dry up the sea, I make the rivers a wilderness; their fish shall be putrid, because there is no water, and shall die of thirst" (50:2).

To dry up the sea signifies an entire lack of the general knowledges (cognitiones) of truth; to make the rivers a wilderness signifies the deprivation of all truth, and consequently of intelligence; the fish becoming putrid signifies that the scientifics of the natural man shall be without any spiritual life, which takes place when they are applied to confirm falsities against the truths of the church; because there is no water signifies because there is not any truth; to die of thirst signifies the extinction of truth. (That rivers signify those things that pertain to intelligence may be seen in Arcana Coelestia 108, 2702, 3051: that desert signifies where there is no good because no truth, n. 2708, 4736, 7055; that fish signifies the Scientific of the natural man, n. 40, 991; that water signifies truth, n. 2702, 3424, 5668, 8568, and that to die of thirst signifies the deprivation of spiritual life from defect of truth, n. 8568, end.)

[8] In David:

"Jehovah, thou rulest the raging of the sea, when the waves thereof arise" (Psalms 89:9).

By sea is here signified the natural man, because in the natural man are the general things of truth; by the rising of its waves is signified its exalting itself against the Divine, denying the things of the church.

[9] Again:

"Jehovah hath founded" the world upon the seas, "and established it upon the rivers" (Psalms 24:2).

By the world is signified the church; by the seas the knowledges (cognitiones) in general which are in the natural man; and by rivers the truths of faith: upon both these the church is founded.

[10] In Amos:

Jehovah "who buildeth his steps in the heavens, and calleth the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the faces of the earth" (9:6).

By the steps which Jehovah buildeth in the heavens are signified interior truths, which are called spiritual; by the waters of the sea are signified exterior truths, which are natural because they are in the natural man; by pouring them out upon the faces of the earth, is signified upon the men of the church, for earth denotes the church.

[11] In David:

"By the Word of Jehovah were the heavens made, and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth. He gathereth the waters of the sea together as an heap; he giveth the depths for treasures" (Psalms 33:6, 7).

The Word of Jehovah by which the heavens were made, and the breath of His mouth by which all the host of them is made, signifies the Divine truth proceeding from the Lord; the host of the heavens denoting all things of love and faith. The waters of the sea which He gathered together as an heap signify the knowledges of truth, and truths in general, which are together in the natural man; the depths which He gives for treasures signify sensual scientifics (scientifica sensualia), which are the most general, and the ultimate of the natural man, and in which at the same time are interior or higher truths, whence they are called treasures.

[12] Again:

Jehovah "hath founded the earth upon its foundations that it be not removed to eternity and for ever. Thou hast covered it with the deep as with a garment" (Psalms 104:5, 6).

By earth is here signified the church; the foundations on which Jehovah founded it for ever, are the knowledges (cognitiones) of truth and good. The deep which covered it as with a garment signifies the sensual Scientific, which is the ultimate of the natural man, and because it is such, Jehovah is said to have covered it as with a garment.

[13] Again:

Jehovah "thy way is in the sea, and thy path in many waters, yet thy footsteps are not known" (Psalms 77:19).

In Isaiah:

"Thus saith Jehovah, I have made a way in the sea, and a path in the mighty waters" (43:16).

That by sea in this passage is not meant the sea, nor by waters are meant waters is evident, because it is said that therein are the way and the path of Jehovah. Therefore, by the sea and by waters are meant those things in which Jehovah or the Lord is, these being the knowledges of truth in general from the Word, and truths therein. The sea denotes those knowledges, and the waters truths. Knowledges (cognitiones) and truths differ in this, that the former are of the natural man, and the latter of the spiritual man.

[14] In Jeremiah:

"I will plead thy cause, and will avenge thy avenging: and I will dry up the sea" of Babel, "and will make dry the springs thereof; the sea shall come up upon Babel, she shall be covered with the multitude of its waves" (51:36, 42).

By Babel are meant those who profane goods; the sea of Babel signifies their traditions, which are adulterations of good from the Word; the waves are the falsities thereof; their destruction at the Last Judgment is described by these things.

[15] In the same:

"A people coming from the north, and a great nation, and many kings shall be stirred up from the sides of the earth. Their voice maketh a tumult like the sea, and they ride upon horses" (50:41, 42).

The people coming from the north denote those who are falsities from evil; the great nation denotes evils, and many kings denote falsities; the sides of the earth denote the things of the church, and also those not of the church, for the earth denotes the church; their voice making a tumult like the sea, denotes falsity from the natural man exalting itself against the truth of the church; the horses upon which they ride, are reasonings from the fallacies of the senses.

[16] Again:

"Jehovah, who giveth the sun for a light of the day, the statutes of the moon and of the stars for a light of the night, stirring up the sea so that the waves thereof are tumultuous" (31:35).

By the sun from which is the light of the day, is signified the good of celestial love, from which comes the perception of truth; by the ordinances of the moon and the stars, from which comes the light of the night, are signified truths from spiritual good and from knowledges, from which comes intelligence; by the sea which is stirred up, and by the waves which are tumultuous, are signified the generals of truth in the natural man, and scientifics.

[17] In Isaiah.

"The wicked are like the troubled sea when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt" (57:20).

By the troubled sea, which is said of the wicked, are signified reasonings from falsities; by the waters which cast up mire and dirt are signified the falsities themselves, from which come evils of life and falsities of doctrine.

[18] In Ezekiel:

"I will stretch out mine hand upon the Philistines, and I will cut off the Cherethites, and destroy the remnant of the sea coasts" (25:16).

By the Philistines are signified those who are in the doctrine of faith alone; and by the remnant of the sea coasts, which shall be destroyed, are signified all things pertaining to truth.

[19] In Hosea:

"I will not return to destroy Ephraim. They shall go after Jehovah; and with honour the sons shall draw near from the sea, with honour shall they come as a bird out of Egypt, and as a dove out of the land of Assyria" (Hosea 11:9-11).

By Ephraim is here signified the church as to the understanding of truth; by the sons from the sea who shall draw near are signified truths from their common fount, which is the Word; by a bird out of Egypt is signified the Scientific in agreement therewith; and by a dove out of the land of Assyria is signified the Rational.

[20] In Zechariah:

"In that day living waters shall go out from Jerusalem, part of them to the eastern sea, and part of them to the hinder sea" (14:8).

By living waters going out from Jerusalem are signified truths from a spiritual origin in the church, which are the truths received by man when he is enlightened from the Lord while reading the Word; Jerusalem signifies the church as to doctrine. By the sea is signified the natural man into which those things descend that are in the spiritual man; by the eastern sea is signified the natural man as to good, and by the hinder sea the same as to truth; and because the natural man is in the general things of truth, therefore by sea are also signified things of truth.

[21] Those who are ignorant of what is meant by the spiritual man, and by the truths and goods therein, may suppose that the truths that are in the natural man, and are called knowledges and scientifics, are not merely the generals of truth, but that they are all things of truth pertaining to man. But be it known that the truths that are in the spiritual man, and from which those that are in the natural are derived, exceed them enormously. Those, however, that are in the spiritual man do not come within the perception of the natural man until he enters the spiritual world, which is after death; for then man puts off the natural, and puts on the spiritual. That this is the case is evident from this fact only, that the angels are in intelligence and wisdom ineffable in comparison with man, and yet the angels are all from the human race. (That the angels are from the human race may be seen in the small work, The Last Judgment 14-22, and 23-27.) Because the sea signifies the generals of truth, therefore the great vessel, which was for washing in common, was called the brazen sea (1 Kings 7:23-26). For washing represented purifications from falsities and evils, and waters signify truths, by which purifications are effected. And because all truths are from good, therefore the whole vessel was made of brass; therefore it was called the brazen sea, for brass signifies good. Spiritual purification, which is purification from falsities and evils, is there fully described by the measurements of that vessel, and by the bases thereof, understood in the spiritual sense. From the considerations now adduced, it is evident that by sea are signified the generals of truth, or the knowledges of truth together and collectively. But what is further signified by the sea will be shown in the explanation of the following part of this book. For the sea is mentioned in various senses; as in chap. 5:13; 7:1-3; 8:8, 9; 10:2, 8; 12:12; 13:1; 14:7; 15:2; 16:3; 18:17, 19, 21; 20:13; 21:1.