The Prophetical Books:

1. Internal Meaning of Isaiah, Chapter 1 (1)

1-8 The church has been vastated by evil of life, (3)

9 so that there is little of a residue. (3)

10-15 Therefore their external worship is of no avail. (3)

16-19 Exhortation that they should repent of the evil of life, and thus they will receive good. (3)

20-23They falsify the Word. (3)

24-27 The Lord when He comes will destroy them, and will establish the church with others; (1, 11)

28-31 This when nothing of the church remains with them. (3)

'Washing of the hands' was an ancient declaration of innocence, and signifies purification from evils and falsities, as in Psalms 73:13 and Matthew 27:24.

(References: Apocalypse Explained 475)

181. First the inner self and then the outer is regenerated by the Lord; and the outer is regenerated by means of the inner. The inner self is regenerated by thinking about what is involved in faith and caring, and the outer is regenerated by a life in accord with this.

That is the meaning of the Lord's words: "Unless you have been born of water and the spirit you cannot enter the kingdom of God" (John 3:5). "Water," spiritually understood, is the truth that belongs to religious faith, and "the spirit" is a life according to that truth.