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.

9139. When a man shall desolate a field, or a vineyard. That this signifies the deprivation of the good and the truth of the church through cupidities, is evident from the signification of “to desolate,” as being to deprive through cupidities (see n. 9141); from the signification of “a field,” as being the church as to good (n. 2791, 3766, 4982, 7502), thus the good of the church; and from the signification of “a vineyard,” as being the church as to truth, thus the truth of the church. That “a field” denotes the church as to good, is because the things of a field, such as wheat and barley, signify internal and external goods of the church (n. 3941, 7602, 7605); and that “a vineyard” denotes the church as to truth, is because “wine,” which belongs to a vineyard, signifies the truth of good (n. 1071, 6377).

[2] That “field” and “vineyard” have this signification has its origin from the representatives in the spiritual world. For fields full of wheat and barley appear before spirits when the angels in a heaven above them are conversing about an assemblage of those who are in good; and there appear vineyards full of grapes, with winepresses, when the angels are conversing about an assemblage of those who are in the truth of good. These representatives are not from the fact that there are such things upon earth; but from the correspondences, in that wheat and barley, or the bread made therefrom, nourish the body, as the good of love and of charity nourishes the soul; and in that wine, as drink, acts in like manner. From this it is that in the Word the goods of love and the truths of faith are called “meats and drinks;” in this sense also they are heavenly meats and drinks (see n. 56-58, 680, 681, 1973, 1974, 4459, 4792, 5147, 5293, 5576, 5579, 5915, 8562).

[3] That a “vineyard” denotes the church as to the good and the truth of faith, which church is called the spiritual church, is evident from the passages in the Word where a “vineyard” is mentioned; as in Jeremiah:

Many shepherds have destroyed My vineyard, they have trodden under foot My field, they have made My field of desire into a desert of solitude; he has made it [the vineyard] into a solitude (Jeremiah 12:10-11); where “vineyard” and “field” manifestly denote the church; and as the church is the church from the truth and good of faith and of charity, it is clear that the “vineyard” here denotes the church as to truth, and the “field,” the church as to good.

In Isaiah:

Jehovah cometh into judgment with the elders of His people, and the princes thereof; ye have set on fire the vineyard (Isaiah 3:14);

here also “the vineyard” plainly denotes the church in respect to the good and truth of faith; for “the elders with whom Jehovah will come into judgment,” denote the goods of the church (see n. 6524, 6525); and “the princes,” its truths (n. 5044).

[4] Again:

I will sing to my beloved a song of my friend touching His vineyard. My beloved had a vineyard in a horn of the son of oil; and he enclosed it, and planted it with a noble vine (Isaiah 5:1-2

this is said of the Lord, who is the “beloved” and the “friend;” the “vineyard” denotes His spiritual church; a “noble vine” denotes the good of faith of this church; and a “horn of the son of oil,” the good of the faith of that church from the good of love. He who knows nothing of the internal sense of the Word, cannot possibly know what is signified by “a vineyard in a horn of the son of oil.” Yet in these words there lies hidden a secret that cannot be expressed in words. By these words is fully described the conjunction of the Lord’s spiritual kingdom with His celestial kingdom; that is, the conjunction of the second heaven with the third; consequently the conjunction of the good of faith in the Lord, which is of the spiritual kingdom, with the good of love to the Lord, which is of the celestial kingdom. The “vineyard” denotes the spiritual kingdom; “in a horn” denotes in power, thus in this kingdom; and “the son of oil” denotes the external good of love of the celestial kingdom. The celestial kingdom, which is the inmost heaven of the Lord, is called an “olive-tree” or an “olive-yard,” because “oil” denotes the good of celestial love (n. 886, 4582, 4638). Be it known that the kingdom of the Lord on earth is the church. (That there are two kingdoms, the celestial kingdom and the spiritual kingdom, and that the spiritual kingdom constitutes the second heaven, and the celestial kingdom the third heaven, see n. 3887, 4138, 4279, 4286; of the conjunction of these, see n. 6435

[5] Again:

In that day a vineyard of pure wine, answer ye to it; I Jehovah do keep it; I will water it every moment (Isaiah 27:2-3); where “a vineyard of pure wine” [merum] denotes the spiritual church.

In Amos:

In all vineyards shall be wailing; I will pass through thee. Woe unto you that desire the day of Jehovah! What to you is the day of Jehovah? It is of darkness and not of light (Amos 5:17-18);

this is said of the last time of the church, when there is no longer any good and truth of faith, which time is “the day of Jehovah, a day of darkness and not of light;” whence it is said, “in all vineyards shall be wailing.”

In John in Revelation:

The angel put forth His sickle into the earth, and vintaged the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great Winepress of the wrath of God (Revelation 14:19);

“to vintage the vine of the earth” denotes to consume the truth and good of the church; “the earth” here being the church. From all this it can be seen why the Lord so often likened the kingdom of the heavens to a “vineyard” (as in Matthew 20:1, and the following verses; 21:28-29, 33-41; Mark 12:1-12); and why the Lord called Himself “the vine,” in John:

As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; so neither can ye, except ye abide in Me. I am the vine, ye are the branches. Without Me ye can do nothing (John 15:4-6);

“the vine” denotes faith in the Lord, consequently the Lord as to faith; for the Lord is faith, because faith is from Him; for no faith is faith save that which is from Him. Hence also “the vine” denotes the faith which is directed to Him.

130. Verse 12. And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write, signifies for remembrance to those within the church who are in temptations. This is evident from the signification of "writing," as being for remembrance (See Arcana Coelestia 8620); and from the signification of "angel," as being a recipient of Divine truth, and in the highest sense Divine truth itself proceeding from the Lord (of which more in what follows); and from the signification of the "church in Pergamum," as being those within the church who are in temptations.

That these are meant by the "church in Pergamum" is clear from the things written to that church, which follow. From no other source can it be known what is signified by each of the seven churches. For as was shown before, what is meant is not any church in Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, or Laodicea, but all who are of the Lord's church, and by each of these churches something that constitutes the church with man is meant. And as the first things of the church are the knowledges of truth and good, and the affections of spiritual truth, these are first treated of, namely, in what is written to the angel of the Ephesian church and of the Smyrnean church; of the knowledges of truth and good to the angel of the Ephesian church, and of the spiritual affection of truth to the angel of the Smyrnean church. And as no one can be imbued with the knowledges of truth and good in respect to life, and be steadfast in the spiritual affection of truth, unless he undergoes temptations, so temptations are now treated of in what is written to the angel of the church in Pergamum. From this it appears in what order the things follow that are taught under the names of the seven churches.

[2] It is said "To the angel of the church, write," and not, To the church, because by "angel" is signified Divine truth, which makes the church; for Divine truth teaches how man is to live that he may become a church. That "angel" in the Word, in its spiritual sense, does not mean any angel, but in the highest sense, Divine truth proceeding from the Lord, and in a respective sense, he that receives it, can be seen from this, that all the angels are recipients of Divine truth from the Lord, and no angel is of himself an angel; but he is so far an angel as he receives Divine truth; for angels more than men know and perceive that all the good of love and all the truth of faith are from the Lord, not from themselves, and as the good of love and the truth of faith constitute their wisdom and intelligence, and as these constitute the whole angel, they know and say that they are merely recipients of the Divine proceeding from the Lord, and thus are angels in the degree in which they receive it. On this account they desire that the term "angel" should be understood spiritually, that is, in a sense abstracted from persons, and as meaning Divine truths. By Divine truth is meant at the same time Divine good, because these proceed from the Lord united (See in the work on Heaven and Hell, n.

[133-140] ¹ .

[3] And as Divine truth proceeding from the Lord constitutes the angel, by "angel" in the Word in the highest sense is meant the Lord Himself, as in Isaiah:

The angel of the faces of Jehovah delivered them, in His love and His pity He redeemed them, and took them up, and carried them all the days of eternity (Isaiah 63:9).

In Moses:

The angel who hath redeemed me from all evil, bless them (Genesis 48:16).

In the same:

I send an angel before thee to keep thee in the way; take ye heed of His faces, for my name is in the midst of Him (Exodus 23:20-23).

[4] As the Lord in respect to Divine truth is called an "angel," so also Divine truths are meant by "angels" in the spiritual sense, as in the following passages:

The Son of man shall send His angels, and they shall gather out of His kingdom all things that cause stumbling. In the consummation of the age the angels shall come forth and sever the wicked out of the midst of the just (Matthew 13:41, 49).

In the consummation of the age the Son of man shall send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and shall gather together the elect from the four winds (Matt. 24:3, 31).

When the Son of man shall come in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then shall He sit upon the throne of His glory (Matthew 25:31).

Jesus said, After this ye shall see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man (John 1:51).

In these passages, in the spiritual sense, by "angels" Divine truths and not angels are meant. So when it is here said that, in the consummation of the age, "the angels are to gather out all things that cause stumbling," "are to sever the wicked from the midst of the just," "are to gather together the elect from the four winds with a great sound of a trumpet," and that "the Son of man with the angels is to sit upon a throne of glory," it is not meant that angels, together with the Lord, are to do these things, but that the Lord alone will do them by means of His Divine truths; for angels have no power of themselves, but all power is the Lord's through His Divine truth (See in the work on Heaven and Hell 230-233). That "ye shall see the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man," means the like, namely, that Divine truths should be in Him and from Him.

[5] Moreover, in other places also "angels" mean Divine truths from the Lord, consequently the Lord in respect to Divine truths, as:

To the seven angels were given seven trumpets, and the angels sounded on the trumpets (Revelation 8:2, 6-8, 10, 12, 13; 9:1, 13, 14).

It is said that to the angels were given trumpets, and that they sounded thereon, because "trumpets" and their "sound" signify Divine truth to be revealed (See above, n. 55). Similar things are also meant:

By the angel warring against the dragon (Revelation 12:7, 9);

By the angel flying in the mid-heaven, having the eternal

gospel (Revelation 14:6);

By the seven angels pouring out the seven bowls (Rev. 16:1-4, 8, 10, 12);

By the twelve angels upon the twelve gates of the New Jerusalem (Revelation 21:12).

That this is so will also be seen in what follows.

[6] That by "angels" are meant Divine truths which are from the Lord is clearly manifest in David:

Jehovah maketh His angels winds, and His ministers a flaming fire (Psalms 104:4);

by which words are signified Divine truth and Divine good; for the "wind" of Jehovah in the Word signifies Divine truth, and His "fire" Divine good (as can be seen from what is shown in the Arcana Coelestia, as that the "wind of the nostrils" of Jehovah is Divine truth, n.8286; that the "four winds" are all things of truth and good, n. 3708, 9642, 9668; consequently "to breathe" in the Word signifies the state of the life of faith, n. 9281; from which it is evident what is signified by Jehovah's "breathing" into the nostrils of Adam (Genesis 2:7); by the Lord's "breathing" upon His disciples (John 20:22); and by these words, "The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the voice thereof, but knowest not whence it cometh" (John 3:8); concerning which see n. 96, 97, 9229, 9281 also n. 1119, 3886, 3887, 3889, 3892, 3893; that "flaming fire" is Divine love, and therefore Divine good, see in the work on Heaven and Hell 133-140, 566-568; and above, n. 68).

[7] That "angel" signifies Divine truth proceeding from the Lord is clearly manifest from these words in Revelation:

He measured the wall of the New Jerusalem, a hundred and forty-four cubits, the measure of a man, which is that of an angel (Revelation 21:17).

That the wall of the New Jerusalem is not the measure of an angel anyone can see, but that all protecting truths are there meant by an "angel" is evident from the signification of the "wall of Jerusalem," and of the number "one hundred and forty-four." (That the "wall" signifies all protecting truths, see Arcana Coelestia 6419; that the number "one hundred and forty-four" signifies all things of truth in the complex, n. 7973; that "measure" signifies the quality of a thing in respect to truth and good, n. 3104, 9603, 10262. These things may also be found explained as to the spiritual sense, in The small work on The New Jerusalem and its Doctrine 1.)

[8] Because by "angels" in the Word Divine truths are signified, therefore the men through whom Divine truths are made known are sometimes called "angels" in the Word, as in Malachi:

The priest's lips ought to guard knowledge, and they shall seek the law at his mouth, because he is the angel of Jehovah (Malachi 2:7).

He is said to be the "angel of Jehovah," because he teaches Divine truth; not that he is the angel of Jehovah, but the Divine truth that he teaches is. Moreover, it is known in the church that no one has Divine truth from himself. "Lips" also here signify the doctrine of truth, and "law" Divine truth itself. (That "lips" signify the doctrine of truth, see Arcana Coelestia 1286, 1288; and that "law" signifies Divine truth itself, see n. 3382, 7463)

[9] From this it is that John the Baptist also is called an angel:

Jesus said, This is he of whom it is written, Behold, I send Mine angel before Thy face, who shall prepare Thy way before Thee (Luke 7:27).

John is called an "angel," because by him, in the spiritual sense, is signified the Word, which is Divine truth, in like manner as by Elias (See Arcana Coelestia 7643, 9372, and what is signified; this is what is meant by the persons mentioned in the Word, see n. 665, 1097, 1361, 3147, 3670, 3881, 4208, 4281, 4288, 4292, 4307, 4500, 6304, 7048, 7439, 8588, 8788, 8806, 9229).

[10] It is said that by "angels" in the Word, in its spiritual sense, Divine truths proceeding from the Lord are meant, because these constitute the angels; when angels utter these truths, they speak not from themselves, but from the Lord. The angels not only know that this is so, but they also perceive it. The man who believes that nothing of faith is from himself, but that all faith is from God, also knows this, indeed, but he does not perceive it. That nothing of faith is from man, but all faith is from God, is the same as saying that nothing of truth that has life is from man, but all truth is from God, for truth is of faith and faith is of truth.