6377. He washes his clothing in wine. That this signifies that His natural is Divine truth from His Divine good, is evident from the signification of “washing,” as being to purify (see n. 3147); from the signification of “wine,” as being the good of love toward the neighbor, and the good of faith, and in the supreme sense Divine truth from the Divine good of the Lord (of which presently); and from the signification of “clothing,” as being what is exterior, which covers what is interior (n. 5248); thus the natural, for this is exterior, and covers the rational which is interior; hence also “clothing” denotes truth, because truth is exterior, and covers good which is interior (n. 2576, 4545, 4763, 5319, 5954).

[2] That “wine” denotes love toward the neighbor and the good of faith, may be seen from what has been shown in respect to the bread and wine in the Holy Supper (n. 2165, 2177, 3464, 4581, 5915), namely, that the “bread” is the good of celestial love, and that the “wine” is the good of spiritual love. This may be seen also from the meat-offering and the drink-offering in the sacrifices, in which the “meat-offering” signified the good of love, and the “drink-offering” the good of faith, the meat-offering consisting of such things as signified the good of love, and the drink-offering of wine which signified the good of faith; moreover the very sacrifices were called “bread” (n. 2165). That a drink-offering of wine was employed in the sacrifices may be seen in Exodus 29:40; Leviticus 23:1 2, 13, 18, 19; Numbers 15:2-15; 28:6-7, 18 end; 29:1-7.

[3] That “wine” signifies love toward the neighbor and the good of faith, is plain also from Isaiah:

Everyone that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no silver; come ye, buy and eat; yea come, buy wine and milk without silver and without price (Isaiah 55:1);

everyone must know that they were not to buy wine and milk, but that which is signified by wine and milk, that is, love toward the neighbor and faith; these are given by the Lord without silver and without price.

[4] And in Hosea:

The threshing-floor and the winepress shall not feed them, and the new wine shall deceive them. Ephraim shall return into Egypt, and they shall eat what is unclean in Assyria. They shall not pour out wine to Jehovah; and their sacrifices shall not be pleasing unto Him (Hos. 9:2-4);

here also in the internal sense are meant the good of love and the good of faith, that they ceased; the good of love is the “threshing-floor,” from the grain there and the bread that comes from it; and the good of faith is the “wine press,” the “new wine,” and the “libation of wine:” that “Ephraim shall return into Egypt” denotes that the intellectual should consult memory-knowledges with respect to the secrets of faith; “they shall eat what is unclean in Assyria” denotes that which results from the consequent reasoning. (That “Ephraim” is the intellectual of the church, may be seen, n. 5354, 6222, 6238, 6267; also that “Egypt” is memory-knowledge, n. 1164, 1165, 1186, 1462, 5702; and “Assyria” reasoning, n. 1186.) Moreover the very connection shows that there is more in the words than appears in the letter; for in the internal sense there is coherence, but not in the external; as when it is said that “the threshing-floor and the winepress shall not feed them,” and that “the new wine shall deceive them,” and presently that “Ephraim shall return into Egypt, and they shall eat what is unclean in Assyria;” and moreover without the internal sense what could be meant by “Ephraim returning into Egypt,” and by their “eating what is unclean in Assyria?”

[5] The cessation of mutual love and of the good of faith is also described by a “winepress” and “wine” in Jeremiah:

Upon thy vintage hath the waster fallen; whence gladness was gathered, and joy from Carmel, and from the land of Moab, for I have caused wine to cease from the winepresses; he will not tread hedad ¹ (Jeremiah 48:32-33).

[6] That “wine” signifies the good of mutual love and of faith, is plain also in John:

I heard a voice out of the midst of the four animals saying, Hurt not the oil and the wine (Revelation 6:6); where “oil” is the good of celestial love; and “wine,” the good of spiritual love.

[7] The like is meant by “oil and wine” in the Lord’s parable about the Samaritan, in Luke:

A certain Samaritan as he journeyed, and seeing him who had been wounded by thieves, was moved with compassion, wherefore coming to him he bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine (Luke 10:33-34); where “pouring in oil and wine” signifies that he performed the works of love and of charity. (That “oil” denotes the good of love may be seen above, n. 886, 3728) The like was meant by the ancients pouring oil and wine upon a pillar when they sanctified it (Genesis 35:14; n. 4581, 4582).

[8] That “wine” denotes the good of love and of faith, is plain from the Lord’s words which He said of wine when He instituted the Holy Supper:

I say to you that I will not drink henceforth of this product of the vine until that day when I shall drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom (Matthew 26:29; Luke 22:17-18);

everyone can see that He would not drink wine there, but that there is signified the good of love and of faith, which He would give to those who are of His kingdom. The like is signified by “wine” in Isaiah 24:9, 11; Lam. 2:11-12; Hos. 14:7; Amos 9:13-14; Zech. 9:15, 17; Luke 5:37-39.

[9] As “wine” signifies the good of love and of faith, therefore in the supreme sense it signifies the Divine truth from the Divine good of the Lord, for from this by influx the man who receives it has the good of love and of faith.

[10] As most expressions in the Word have also a contrary sense, so also has “wine,” in which sense “wine” signifies falsity from evil, as in Isaiah:

Woe unto them that rise up in the morning under the dawn, and follow strong drink; that tarry into the twilight, that wine may inflame them! Woe to the heroes to drink wine, and to men of strength to mingle strong drink! (Isaiah 5:11, 22).

Again:

These also err through wine, and through strong drink go astray; the priest and the prophet err through strong drink, they are swallowed up of wine, they go astray through strong drink; they err among the seer, they stumble in judgment (Isaiah 28:7).

The shepherds know not to understand, they all look back to their own way. Come ye, I will take wine, and we will be drunken with strong drink; and let there be, on the morrow, as on this day, a great abundance (Isaiah 56:11-12).

And further (in Jeremiah 13:12; Hos. 4:11; 7:5; Amos 2:8; Mic. 2:11 Psalms 75:8; Deuteronomy 32:33). Falsity from evil is also signified by the “cup of the wine of anger” (Jeremiah 25:15-16; Revelation 14:8, 10; 16:19); and by the “wine press of the wine of the fury of the anger of God” (Revelation 19:15); and by the “wine of whoredom” (Revelation 17:2; 18:3).

Voetnoten:

2177. That the “meal of fine flour” denotes the spiritual and the celestial which were then with the Lord, and that “cakes” denote the same when both are conjoined, is very evident from the sacrifices of the Representative Church, and from the meat-offering then made use of, which consisted of fine flour mingled with oil and made into cakes. The chief part of representative worship consisted in burnt-offerings and sacrifices. What these represented has already been stated, where bread is treated of (n. 2165), namely, the celestial things of the Lord’s kingdom in the heavens and of the Lord’s kingdom on the earth (that is, in the church), and also those of the Lord’s kingdom or church with each person; and in general all the things of love and charity, because these are celestial. All these offerings and sacrifices were at that time called “bread,” and to them was adjoined the meat-offering also, which, as already said, consisted of fine flour mingled with oil, to which frankincense was likewise added, as well as a libation of wine.

[2] What these represented is also evident, namely, similar things as the sacrifices, but in a less degree, thus the things which are of the spiritual church, and likewise those of the external church. Everyone can see that such things would never have been commanded unless they had represented Divine things, and also that each one represents something special and peculiar, for unless they had represented Divine things, they would not have differed from similar things in use among the Gentiles, among whom also there were sacrifices—meat-offerings, libations, frankincense, perpetual fires, and many other things, derived to them from the Ancient Church, and especially from the Hebrew Church. But as internal things (that is, the Divine things that were represented) were separated from these Gentile rites, they were merely idolatrous, as also they became with the Jews, who for this reason fell into all kinds of idolatry. From what has been said everyone can see that there were heavenly arcana in every rite, especially in the sacrifices and all their particulars.

[3] As regards the meat-offering, the nature of it and how it was to be prepared into cakes, is described in a whole chapter in Moses (Leviticus 2; also in Numbers 15, and elsewhere). The law of the meat-offering is described in Leviticus in these words:

Fire shall be kept burning upon the altar continually, it shall not go out. And this is the law of the meat-offering: the sons of Aaron shall bring it before Jehovah to the faces of the altar; and he shall take therefrom his handful of the fine flour of the meat-offering, and of the oil thereof, and all the frankincense which is upon the meat-offering, and shall burn it upon the altar, an odor of rest, for a memorial unto Jehovah; and the residue thereof Aaron and his sons shall eat; unleavened shall they be eaten in a holy place; in the court of the tent of meeting shall they eat it. It shall not be baked leavened; I have given it as their portion of My offerings made by fire; it is a holy of holies (Leviticus 6:13-17).

[4] The fire which must be kept burning upon the altar continually, represented the love, that is, the mercy of the Lord, perpetual and eternal. That in the Word “fire” signifies love, see n. 934; hence “offerings made by fire for an odor of rest” signify the Lord’s pleasure in the things which are of love and charity. (That “odor” denotes what is well-pleasing, that is, what is grateful, see n. 925, 1519.) Their “taking a handful” represented that they should love with all the strength, or with all the soul; for the hand, or the palm of the hand, signifies power (as shown n. 878), from which “handful” also signifies power. The fine flour, with the oil and the frankincense, represented all things of charity-the fine flour the spiritual, and the oil the celestial of charity, the frankincense what was in this manner grateful. (That fine flour represents what is spiritual, is evident from what has just been said, and from what follows; that oil represents what is celestial, or the good of charity, may be seen above, n. 886; and also that frankincense, from its odor, represents what is grateful and acceptable, n. 925.)

[5] Its being “unleavened,” or not fermented, signifies that it should be sincere, and thus from a sincere heart, and free from uncleanness. That Aaron and his sons should eat the residue, represented man’s reciprocality and his appropriation, thus conjunction through love and charity; on which account it was commanded that they should eat it in a holy place. Hence it is called a “holy of holies.” These were the things that were represented by the meat-offering; and the representatives themselves were so perceived in heaven; and when the man of the church so apprehended them, he was then in an idea similar to the perception of the angels, thus he was in the Lord’s kingdom itself in the heavens although he was on earth.

[6] The meat-offering is further treated of, as regards what it ought to be in connection with each kind of sacrifice, and how it should be baked into cakes, also what kind should be offered by those who were being cleansed, and what on other occasions; to mention and explain all of which would be too tedious; but concerning all these matters see Exodus 29:39-41; Leviticus 5:11-13; 6:14-23; 10:12-13; 23:10-13, 23:16-17; Numbers 5:15, etc.; 6:15-17, 19-20, 7:1-89, in several places; 28:5, 7, 9, 12-13, 20-21, 28-29; 29:3-4, 9-10, 14-15, 18, 21, 24, 27, 30, 33, 37.

[7] Fine flour made into cakes in general represented the same as bread, namely, the celestial of love, and meal the spiritual of it, as is evident from the passages cited above. The “breads” [or loaves] that were called the “bread of faces,” or the “show bread” [panis propositionis], were made of fine flour, which was prepared in cakes and placed upon the table, for a perpetual representation of the love, that is, the mercy, of the Lord toward the universal human race, and the reciprocality of man. Concerning these loaves we read as follows in Moses:

Thou shalt take fine flour and shalt bake it into twelve cakes; of two tenths shall one cake be; and thou shalt set them in two rows, six in a row, upon the clean table, before Jehovah; and thou shalt put pure frankincense upon each row, and it shall be to the breads for a memorial, an offering made by fire unto Jehovah. On every Sabbath day he shall set it in order before Jehovah continually, from the sons of Israel in a covenant of eternity. And it shall be for Aaron and his sons, and they shall eat it in a holy place, for it is a holy of holies unto him, of the offerings made by fire unto Jehovah by a statute of eternity (Leviticus 24:5-9).

Every particular in this description and all the smallest details represented the holy of love and of charity, the “fine flour” the same as the “meal of fine flour,” namely, the celestial and its spiritual, and the “cake” the two conjoined.

[8] Hence it is evident what is the holiness of the Word to those who are in heavenly ideas, nay, what holiness there was in this very representative rite, on account of which it is called a holiness of holinesses; and on the contrary, how void of holiness it is to those who suppose that there is nothing heavenly in these things, and who abide solely in the externals; as do they who perceive the meal here merely as meal, the fine flour as fine flour, and the cake as a cake, and who suppose these things to have been stated without each particular involving something of the Divine. These do in like manner as do those who think the bread and wine of the Holy Supper to be nothing but a certain rite, containing nothing holy within; whereas there is such holiness that human minds are by that Supper conjoined with heavenly minds, when from internal affection they are thinking that the bread and wine signify the Lord’s love and the reciprocality of man, and are thus in holiness from interior thought and feeling.

[9] The like was involved in that the sons of Israel on their coming into the land of Canaan were to offer a cake of the first of their dough, as a heave-offering unto Jehovah (Numbers 15:20). That such things are signified is also evident in the Prophets, from which we may at present adduce only this from Ezekiel:

Thou wast decked with gold and silver; and thy raiment was fine linen and silk, and broidered work; thou didst eat fine flour, honey, and oil, and thou wast become beautiful very exceedingly, and thou wast prospered unto a kingdom (Ezekiel 16:13); where the subject treated of is Jerusalem, by which is signified the church, that was so decked in its earliest time-that is, the Ancient Church-and which is described by the garments and other ornaments; as also its affections of truth and good by the fine flour, honey, and oil. Everyone can see that all these things have a very different meaning in the internal sense from that in the sense of the letter. And so have these words which Abraham said to Sarah: “Make ready quickly three measures of the meal of fine flour, knead, and make cakes.” (That “three” signifies holy things has been shown before, n. 720, 901)