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Arcana Coelestia #9372

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9372. And He said unto Moses. That this signifies that which concerns the Word in general, is evident from the representation of Moses, as being the Word (of which below); and from the signification of “He said,” as involving those things which follow in this chapter, thus those which concern the Word (see n. 9370). (That Moses represents the Word, can be seen from what has been often shown before about Moses, as from the preface to Genesis 18; and n. 4859, 5922, 6723, 6752, 6771, 6827, 7010, 7014, 7089, 7382, 8601, 8760, 8787, 8805.) Here Moses represents the Word in general, because it is said of him in what follows, that he alone should come near unto Jehovah (verse 2); and also that, being called unto out of the midst of the cloud, he entered into it, and went up the mount (verses 16-18).

[2] In the Word there are many who represent the Lord in respect to truth Divine, or in respect to the Word; but chief among them are Moses, Elijah, Elisha, and John the Baptist. That Moses does so, can be seen in the explications just cited above; that so do Elijah and Elisha, can be seen in the preface to Genesis 18; and n. 2762, 5247; and that John the Baptist does so is evident from the fact that he was “Elias who was to come.” He who does not know that John the Baptist represented the Lord as to the Word, cannot know what all those things infold and signify which are said about him in the New Testament; and therefore in order that this secret may stand open, and that at the same time it may appear that Elias, and also Moses, who were seen when the Lord was transfigured, signified the Word, some things may here be quoted which are spoken about John the Baptist; as in Matthew:

After the messengers of John had departed, Jesus began to speak concerning John, saying, What went ye out into the wilderness to see? a reed shaken by the wind? But what went ye out to see? a man clothed in soft raiment? Behold, they that wear soft things are in kings’ houses. But what went ye out to see? a prophet? Yea, I say unto you, even more than a prophet. This is he of whom it is written, Behold I send Mine angel before Thy face, who shall prepare Thy way before Thee. Verily I say unto you, Among those who are born of women there hath not arisen a greater than John the Baptist; nevertheless he that is less in the kingdom of the heavens is greater than he. All the prophets and the law prophesied until John. And if ye are willing to believe, he is Elias who was to come. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear (Matthew 11:7-15; and also Luke 7:24-28).

No one can know how these things are to be understood, unless he knows that this John represented the Lord as to the Word, and unless he also knows from the internal sense what is signified by “the wilderness” in which he was, also what by “a reed shaken by the wind,” and likewise by “soft raiment in kings’ houses;” and further what is signified by his being “more than a prophet,” and by “none among those who are born of women being greater than he, and nevertheless he that is less in the kingdom of the heavens is greater than he,” and lastly by his being “Elias.” For without a deeper sense, all these words are uttered merely from some comparison, and not from anything of weight.

[3] But it is very different when by John is understood the Lord as to the Word, or the Word representatively. Then by “the wilderness of Judea in which John was” is signified the state in which the Word was at the time when the Lord came into the world, namely, that it was “in the wilderness,” that is, it was in obscurity so great that the Lord was not at all acknowledged, neither was anything known about His heavenly kingdom; when yet all the prophets prophesied about Him, and about His kingdom, that it was to endure forever. (That “a wilderness” denotes such obscurity, see n. 2708, 4736, 7313.) For this reason the Word is compared to “a reed shaken by the wind” when it is explained at pleasure; for in the internal sense “a reed” denotes truth in the ultimate, such as is the Word in the letter.

[4] That the Word in the ultimate, or in the letter, is crude and obscure in the sight of men; but that in the internal sense it is soft and shining, is signified by their “not seeing a man clothed in soft raiment, for behold those who wear soft things are in kings’ houses.” That such things are signified by these words, is plain from the signification of “raiment,” or “garments,” as being truths (n. 2132, 2576, 4545, 4763, 5248, 6914, 6918, 9093); and for this reason the angels appear clothed in garments soft and shining according to the truths from good with them (n. 5248, 5319, 5954, 9212, 9216). The same is evident from the signification of “kings’ houses,” as being the abodes of the angels, and in the universal sense, the heavens; for “houses” are so called from good (n. 2233, 2234, 3128, 3652, 3720, 4622, 4982, 7836, 7891, 7996, 7997); and “kings,” from truth (n. 1672, 2015, 2069, 3009, 4575, 4581, 4966, 5044, 6148). Therefore by virtue of their reception of truth from the Lord, the angels are called “sons of the kingdom,” “sons of the king,” and also “kings.”

[5] That the Word is more than any doctrine in the world, and more than any truth in the world, is signified by “what went ye out to see? a prophet? Yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet;” and by, “there hath not arisen among those who are born of women a greater than John the Baptist;” for in the internal sense “a prophet” denotes doctrine (n. 2534, 7269); and “those who are born,” or are the sons, “of women” denote truths (n. 489, 491, 533, 1147, 2623, 2803, 2813, 3704, 4257).

[6] That in the internal sense, or such as it is in heaven, the Word is in a degree above the Word in the external sense, or such as it is in the world, and such as John the Baptist taught, is signified by, “he that is less in the kingdom of the heavens is greater than he;” for as perceived in heaven the Word is of wisdom so great that it transcends all human apprehension. That the prophecies about the Lord and His coming, and that the representatives of the Lord and of His kingdom, ceased when the Lord came into the world, is signified by, “all the prophets and the law prophesied until John.” That the Word was represented by John, as by Elijah, is signified by his being “Elias who is to come.”

[7] The same is signified by these words in Matthew:

The disciples asked Jesus, Why say the scribes that Elias must first come? He answered and said, Elias must needs first come, and restore all things. But I say unto you, that Elias hath come already, and they knew him not, but did unto him whatsoever they wished. Even so shall the Son of man also suffer of them. And they understood that He spoke to them of John the Baptist (Matthew 17:10-13).

That “Elias hath come, and they knew him not, but did unto him whatsoever they wished” signifies that the Word has indeed taught them that the Lord is to come, but that still they did not wish to comprehend, interpreting it in favor of the rule of self, and thus extinguishing what is Divine in it. That they would do the same with the truth Divine itself, is signified by “even so shall the Son of man also suffer of them.” (That “the Son of man” denotes the Lord as to truth Divine, see n. 2803, 2813, 3704)

[8] From all this it is now evident what is meant by the prophecy about John in Malachi:

Behold I send you Elijah the prophet before the great and terrible day of Jehovah cometh (Malachi 4:5).

Moreover, the Word in the ultimate, or such as it is in the external form in which it appears before man in the world, is described by the “clothing” and “food” of John the Baptist, in Matthew:

John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, had His clothing of camel’s hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his food was locusts and wild honey (Matthew 3:1, 4).

In like manner it is described by Elijah in the second book of Kings:

He was a hairy man, and girt with a girdle of leather about his loins (2 Kings 1:8).

By “clothing,” or a “garment,” when said of the Word, is signified truth Divine there in the ultimate form; by “camel’s hair” are signified memory-truths such as appear there before a man in the world; by the “leathern girdle” is signified the external bond connecting and keeping in order all the interior things; by “food” is signified spiritual nourishment from the knowledges of truth and of good out of the Word; by “locusts” are signified ultimate or most general truths; and by “wild honey” their pleasantness.

[9] That such things are signified by “clothing” and “food” has its origin in the representatives of the other life, where all appear clothed according to truths from good, and where food also is represented according to the desires of acquiring knowledge and growing wise. From this it is that “clothing,” or a “garment,” denotes truth (as may be seen from the citations above; and that “food” or “meat” denotes spiritual nourishment, n. 3114, 4459, 4792, 5147, 5293, 5340, 5342, 5576, 5579, 5915, 8562, 9003; that “a girdle” denotes a bond which gathers up and holds together interior things, n. 9341; that “leather” denotes what is external, n. 3540; and thus “a leathern girdle” denotes an external bond; that “hairs” denote ultimate or most general truths, n. 3301, 5569-5573; that “a camel” denotes memory-knowledge in general, n. 3048, 3071, 3143, 3145, 4156; that “a locust” denotes nourishing truth in the extremes, n. 7643; and that “honey” denotes the pleasantness thereof, n. 5620, 6857, 8056). It is called “wild honey,” or “honey of the field,” because by “a field” is signified the church (n. 2971, 3317, 3766, 7502, 7571, 9139, 9295). He who does not know that such things are signified, cannot possibly know why Elijah and John were so clothed. And yet that these things signified something peculiar to these prophets, can be thought by everyone who thinks well about the Word.

[10] Because John the Baptist represented the Lord as to the Word, therefore also when he spoke of the Lord, who was the Word itself, he said of himself that he was “not Elias, nor the prophet,” and that he was “not worthy to loose the latchet of the Lord’s shoe,” as in John:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and God was the Word. And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory. The Jews from Jerusalem, priests and Levites, asked John who he was. And he confessed, and denied not, I am not the Christ. Therefore they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias? But he said, I am not. Art thou the prophet? He answered, No. They said therefore unto him, Who art thou? He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said Isaiah the prophet. They said therefore, Why then baptizest thou, if thou art not the Christ, nor Elias, nor the prophet? He answered, I baptize with water; in the midst of you standeth one whom ye know not; He it is who is to come after me, who was before me, the latchet of whose shoe I am not worthy to unloose. When he saw Jesus, he said, Behold the Lamb of God, who taketh away the sin of the world! This is He of whom I said, After me cometh a man who was before me; for he was before me (John 1:1, 14, 19-30).

From these words it is plain that when John spoke about the Lord Himself, who was Truth Divine itself, or the Word, he said that he himself was not anything, because the shadow disappears when the light itself appears, that is, the representative disappears when the original itself makes its appearance. (That the representatives had in view holy things, and the Lord Himself, and not at all the person that represented, see n. 665, 1097, 1361, 3147, 3881, 4208, 4281, 4288, 4292, 4307, 4444, 4500, 6304, 7048, 7439, 8588, 8788, 8806.) One who does not know that representatives vanish like shadows at the presence of light, cannot know why John denied that he was Elias and the prophet.

[11] From all this it can now be seen what is signified by Moses and Elias, who were seen in glory, and who spoke with the Lord when transfigured, of His departure which He should accomplish at Jerusalem (Luke 9:29-31); namely, that they signified the Word (“Moses” the historic Word, and “Elias” the prophetic Word), which in the internal sense throughout treats of the Lord, of His coming into the world, and of His departure out of the world; and therefore it is said that “Moses and Elias were seen in glory,” for “glory” denotes the internal sense of the Word, and the “cloud” its external sense (see the preface to Genesis 18, and n. 5922, 8427).

  
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Arcana Coelestia #6857

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6857. Flowing with milk and honey. That this signifies the pleasantness and delight thence, is evident from the signification of “milk,” as being the celestial spiritual, or the truth of good (see n. 2184); and as it denotes the truth of good, it denotes also the pleasantness thereof, for these are conjoined; and from the signification of “honey,” as being delight (n. 5620). From what was shown above (n. 6854) it can be seen what is meant by “making to come up out of that land to a land good and broad, flowing with milk and honey,” namely, that they who had been detained in the lower earth in pits there until the Lord’s coming, should then be raised to heaven where are the good of charity and the truth of faith and the derivative pleasantness and delight. These things are specifically signified by these words; but in general are signified all of the spiritual church who are in temptation and are liberated from it.

  
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Arcana Coelestia #6854

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6854. And I am come down to liberate them out of the hand of the Egyptians. That this signifies that He would let Himself down to them, to set them free from the power of the false memory-knowledges which endeavor to destroy the truths of the church, is evident from the signification of “coming down,” as being to let Himself down (of which below); from the signification of “to liberate,” as being to set free, for he who sets free from falsities, liberates; from the signification of “hand,” as being power (n. 878, 3387, 3563, 4931-4937, 5544); and from the signification of the “Egyptians,” as being false memory-knowledges which are contrary to the truths of the church (see n. 6651, 6679, 6683), thus which endeavor to destroy them. As regards the fact that the Lord comes down, the case is this. The Lord is said to “come down,” or to “let Himself down,” when He comes to Judgment (n. 1311); and also when He comes to lower regions, here to those who are of the spiritual church, who are signified by the “sons of Israel;” for these are treated of in the internal sense, how they are infested by falsities, and then endure temptations, and afterward are liberated, that they may be introduced into heaven.

[2] But in the contents of this and the following verses, in the internal sense, there is a still greater mystery, which is not yet known in the church, and therefore is to be made known. They who are called “the spiritual” (who are such as can be regenerated only as to the intellectual part, but not as to the will part, and in whose intellectual part therefore a new will is implanted by the Lord, which will is according to the doctrinal things of faith pertaining to their church); these, namely such spiritual men, were saved only by the Lord’s coming into the world. The reason is that the Divine passing through heaven, which was the Divine Human before the Lord’s coming, could not reach them, because the doctrinal things of their church were for the most part not true, and consequently the good which is of the will was not good (see n. 6427). As these could be saved only by the coming of the Lord, and thus could not before be raised into heaven, therefore they were meanwhile kept in the lower earth, in places there which in the Word are called “pits;” which earth was beset about by the hells where are falsities, by which they were then much infested, and yet were guarded by the Lord. But after the Lord came into the world, and made the Human in Himself Divine, then He delivered those who were there in “pits,” and raised them to heaven; and out of them He also formed the spiritual heaven, which is the second heaven. This is meant by the descent of the Lord to the lower regions, and by the deliverance of those who were bound.

[3] This is the mystery which in the internal sense is also described in this and the following verses. See what was shown above about these spiritual men, namely: That the spiritual are in obscurity as to the truth and good of faith (n. 2708, 2715, 2718, 2831, 2849, 2935, 2937, 3241, 3833, 6289): That their obscurity is illumined by the Lord’s Divine Human (n. 2716, 4402): That as they are in obscurity as to the truth and good of faith, they are very much assaulted by the hells, but that the Lord continually protects them (n. 6419): That the spiritual cannot be regenerated as to the will part, but only as to the intellectual part, and a new will is there formed by the the Lord, (n. 863, 875, 895, 927, 928, 1023, 1043, 1044, 2256, 4328, 4493, 5113): That the spiritual were saved by the coming of the Lord into the world (n. 2833, 2834, 3969).

[4] In the prophetic Word occasional mention is made of the “bound,” and of the “bound in the pit,” and that they were delivered by the Lord; by whom are specifically meant those who are here spoken of, as in Isaiah:

I Jehovah have called Thee in righteousness, and will hold Thy hand, because I will keep Thee, and give Thee for a covenant to the people, for a light of the nations, to open the blind eyes, to bring out the bound from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house (Isaiah 42:6-7).

I kept Thee, and gave Thee for a covenant of the people, to restore the land, to divide the wasted heritages; to say to the bound, Go forth, to them that are in darkness, Be ye revealed. They shall feed upon the ways, and on all hillsides is their pasture (Isaiah 49:8-9).

This is manifestly said of the Lord. Specifically “the bound” denote those who were detained in the lower earth until the Lord’s coming, and who were then raised into heaven; and in general all those who are in good, and are kept by falsities as it were bound, from which they nevertheless desire to work their way out.

[5] In Zechariah:

By the blood of Thy covenant I will send forth Thy bound out of the pit (Zech. 9:11).

Gathering they shall be gathered together, the bound in the pit, and shall be shut up in the prison; after a multitude of days they shall be visited (Isaiah 24:22);

“the bound in the pit” denote the same.

Jehovah hath anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; He hath sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted, to preach liberty to the captives, to the bound, to the blind, 1 to proclaim the year of Jehovah’s good pleasure (Isaiah 61:1).

The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; they that dwelt the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined (Isaiah 9:2).

Footnotes:

1. Oculis capto, literally, “to him that is taken as to his eyes.” See n. 2906. [Reviser.]

  
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