9373. Come up unto Jehovah. That this signifies conjunction with the Lord, is evident from the signification of “coming up,” as being to be raised toward interior things (see n. 3084, 4539, 4969, 5406, 5817, 6007), consequently also to be conjoined (n. 8760). That it denotes conjunction with the Lord, is because by “Jehovah” in the Word is meant the the Lord, (n. 1343, 1736, 1793, 2004, 2005, 2018, 2025, 2921, 3023, 3035, 5663, 6280, 6303, 6905, 8274, 8864, 9315). A secret which also lies hidden in the internal sense of these words, is that the sons of Jacob, over whom Moses was the head, were not called and chosen; but they themselves insisted that Divine worship should be instituted among them (according to wh at has been said in n. 4290, 4293); and therefore it is here said, “and He said unto Moses, Come up unto Jehovah,” as if not Jehovah, but another, had said that he should come up. For the same reason in what follows it is said that “the people should not go up” (verse 2); and that “Jehovah sent not His hand unto the sons of Israel who were set apart” (verse 11); and that “the appearance of the glory of Jehovah was like devouring fire on the top of the mountain in the eyes of the sons of Israel” (verse 17); and lastly that Moses, being called the seventh day, “entered into the midst of the cloud.” For by “the cloud” is meant the Word in the letter (n. 5922, 6343, 6752, 6832, 8106, 8443, 8781); and with the sons of Jacob the Word was separated from its internal sense, because they were in external worship without internal, as can be clearly seen from the fact that now, as before, they said, “all the words which Jehovah hath spoken we will do” (verse 3); and yet scarcely forty days afterward they worshiped a golden calf instead of Jehovah; which shows that this was hidden in their hearts while they were saying with their lips that they would serve Jehovah alone. But nevertheless those who are meant by “the called and the chosen” are those who are in internal worship, and who from internal worship are in external; that is, those who are in love to and faith in the Lord, and from this in love toward the neighbor.

3128. And told her mother’s house according to these words. That this signifies toward natural good of every kind whithersoever enlightenment could reach, is evident from the signification of the “mother’s house,” as being the good of the external man, that is, natural good. (That a “house” denotes good may be seen above, n. 2233, 2234, 2559; also that man’s external or natural is from the mother, but the internal from the father, n. 1815.) The good with man is compared in the Word to a “house,” and on this account a man who is in good is called a “house of God;” but internal good is called the “father’s house,” and the good that is in the same degree is called the “house of the brethren;” but external good, which is the same as natural good, is called the “mother’s house.” Moreover all good and truth are born in this manner, namely, by the influx of internal good as of a father into external good as of a mother.

[2] As this verse treats of the origin of the truth which is to be conjoined with good in the rational, it is therefore said that Rebekah (by whom this truth is represented) ran to the house of her mother, for that was the origin of this truth. For as before said and shown, all good flows in by an internal way (that is, by the way of the soul) into man’s rational, and through this into his faculty of knowing, even into that which is of the senses; and by enlightenment there it causes truths to be seen. Truths are called forth thence, and are divested of their natural form, and are conjoined with good in the midway, that is, in the rational, and at the same time they make the man rational, and at last spiritual. But how these things are accomplished is utterly unknown to man; because at this day it is scarcely known what good is, and that it is distinct from truth; still less that man is reformed by means of the influx of good into truth, and by the conjunction of the two; neither is it known that the rational is distinct from the natural. And when these things, which are most general, are not known, it cannot possibly be known how the initiation of truth into good, and the conjunction of the two, is effected-which are the subjects treated of in this chapter in its internal sense. But whereas these arcana have been revealed, and are manifest to those who are in good, that is, who are angelic minds, therefore however obscure they may appear to others, they nevertheless are to be set forth, because they are in the internal sense.

[3] Concerning the enlightenment from good through truth in the natural man, which is here called the “mother’s house,” the case is this: Divine good with man inflows into his rational, and through the rational into his natural, and indeed into its memory-knowledges, that is, into the knowledges and doctrinal things therein, as before said; and there by a fitting of itself in, it forms truths for itself, through which it then enlightens all things that are in the natural man. But if the life of the natural man is such that it does not receive the Divine good, but either repels it, or perverts it, or suffocates it, then the Divine good cannot be fitted in, thus it cannot form for itself truths; and consequently the natural can no longer be enlightened; for enlightenment in the natural man is effected from good through truths; and when there is no longer enlightenment, there can be no reformation. This is the reason why in the internal sense the natural man also is much treated of in regard to its quality; thus whence truth is, namely, that it is from good there.

1012. (Verse 17) And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air. That this signifies the state of the church manifested as to all things of thought, is evident from the signification of the angel pouring out the vial, as denoting the state of the church manifested, as above; and from the signification of the air, as denoting thought, in this case everything of thought, because it is the last state of the church that is here described; therefore on the manifestation of that state, it is said, "It is done, that is, consummated."

The reason why the air signifies thought is, that respiration, which takes place by means of the air, corresponds to the thought of the understanding, as the motion of the heart corresponds to the affection of the will. That the respiration of the lungs corresponds to thought is quite clear from the fact that their operation is simultaneous and synchronous. For as a man thinks so he breathes. If he thinks tacitly he also breathes tacitly, and, on the contrary, if he thinks forcibly. If he thinks intensely and interiorly in himself, he then by degrees checks respiration, and also suspends it. Thus a man varies the state of his respiration in accommodation to every state of his thought. The reason is, that a man has two lives - the life of the understanding and the life of the will; and all the things of the body correspond to those two lives of the mind. Thus, in general, the life of the respiration corresponds to the life of the understanding and of the thought therefrom; and the life of the motion of the heart corresponds to the life of the will and of the love therefrom. These two lives are also meant by soul and heart in the Word, where it is said, with the whole soul and the whole heart, which signifies with the whole understanding and the whole will; or, with every thought of faith, and every affection of love. These things are said, in order that it may be known, that by the air is signified thought, because breathing takes place by its means.

[2] The reason why the vial was, lastly, poured out into the air is, that everything in a man closes in his thoughts. For such as a man is as to the church and the goods and truths of the church, also as to love; in a word, such as he is as to his spiritual, moral, and civil life, such is he as to thought. And this may especially be observed in the spiritual world; for when any angel comes out of his own society into one not his own, his breathing then labours, because he does not think from a similar affection. This also is why an infernal spirit when he ascends into an angelic society experiences difficulty and pain in breathing, and comes into fancifulness and blindness of thought. From these things it is evident that such as a man is, such is his thought.

[3] In what follows some things shall now be related concerning the Seventh Precept, which is, "Thou shalt not kill."

All the precepts of the Decalogue, like everything in the Word, involve two internal senses, besides the highest, which is the third; one which is proximate, and is called the spiritual-moral sense; another which is more remote, and is called the celestial-spiritual sense. The proximate sense of this precept, "Thou shalt not kill," which is the spiritual-moral sense, is, that thou shalt not hate thy brother or thy neighbour, and thence not treat him with contempt and ignominy; for thus thou dost damage and destroy his good name and honour, from which is his life amongst his brethren, called civil life. Consequently, he will afterwards live in society as dead, being numbered amongst the vile and wicked, with whom no one will hold any intercourse. This, when done from enmity, hatred, or revenge, is murder. This proceeds, and is estimated by many in the world, in a way similar to that of the life of the body. He, therefore, who does this, is as guilty before the angels in the heavens as if he had killed his brother. For enmity, hatred, and revenge breathe out murder, and would do this unless restrained and held in by the fear of the law, of resistance, and of reputation. Still these three are efforts to murder; and every effort is as an act, for it goes forth into act when fear is removed. These things the Lord teaches in Matthew:

"Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill, and whoso shall kill shall be liable to judgment. But I say unto you, that whoso is angry with his brother rashly, shall be liable to judgment; and whoso shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be liable to the council; but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be liable to the gehenna of fire" (5:21-26).

This may be seen explained above (n. 693, 746).

[4] But the more remote sense of this precept, "Thou shalt not kill," which is called the celestial-spiritual sense, is, Thou shalt not take away from a man the faith and love of God, and thus his spiritual life, this being murder itself. For from this life a man is a man, the life of the body serving thereto as the instrumental cause to its principal cause.

From this spiritual murder comes moral murder. Therefore he who is in the one is also in the other; for he who desires to take away man's spiritual life hates him if he cannot take it away; for he hates his faith and love, and thus the man himself.

These three, namely, spiritual murder, which is that of faith and love; moral murder, which is that of good name and honour; and natural murder, which is that of the body, follow in a series, one from the other, as cause and effect.