9467. 'And purple' means the celestial love of good. This is clear from the meaning of 'purple' as the celestial love of good, the reason why this love is meant by 'purple' being that by the colour red the good of celestial love is meant. For there are two basic colours from which all others are derived, the colour red and the colour white. The colour red means good which belongs to love, while the colour white means truth which belongs to faith. The reason why red means good belonging to love is that this colour exists before all else as fire, and fire means the good of love; and the reason why white means truth belonging to faith is that before all else that colour is light, and light means the truth of faith.

'Fire' means the good of love, see 5215, 6314, 6832, 6834, 6849, 7324, 9434.

'Light' means the truth of faith, 2776, 3195, 3636, 3643, 3993, 4302, 4413, 4415, 5400, 8644, 8707, 8861, 9399, 9407.

'Red' means the good of love, 3300.

'White' means the truth of faith, 3993, 4007, 5319.

[2] From all this it is evident what all other colours mean; for in the measure that they are derived from red they mean good belonging to love, and in the measure that they are derived from white they mean truth belonging to faith. All the colours that appear in heaven are modifications of heavenly light and flame, on those two levels. For heavenly light is real light; and essentially it is Divine Truth emanating from the Lord's Divine Good. Therefore modifications of that light and flame are different variations of truth and good, and so of intelligence and wisdom.

[3] All this now shows how it came about that the veils and curtains of the tent, and also Aaron's garments, were to be woven out of violet, purple, twice-dyed scarlet, and linen thread, Exodus 25:4; 26:31, 36; 27:16; 28:6, 15, namely in order that celestial realities belonging to good and spiritual realities belonging to truth, which are the subject in what follows below, might be represented by them.

[4] Good from a celestial origin is again meant by 'purple' in Ezekiel,

Fine linen with embroidered work from Egypt was your sail; violet and purple from the islands of Elishah was your covering. Ezekiel 27:7.

This refers to Tyre, by which cognitions or knowledge of truth and good are meant. 'Violet and purple covering' stands for cognitions of truth and good from a heavenly origin.

[5] Similar things are meant by 'purple and fine linen' in Luke,

There was a certain rich man (homo) who was clothed in purple and fine linen and indulged in delicacies splendidly every day. Luke 16:19.

'A rich man' is used to mean in the internal sense the Jewish nation, and the Church there, which was said to be 'rich' because of the cognitions or knowledge of good and truth from the Word which existed there. Garments of 'purple and fine linen' are those cognitions, 'of purple' meaning cognitions of good, and 'of fine linen' cognitions of truth, both from a heavenly origin because they come from the Divine. 'Purple' also has a similar meaning in the Book of Revelation,

The woman sitting on a scarlet beast was clothed in purple and scarlet. Revelation 17:3-4.

This refers to Babylon, which means the Church where the holy things of the Word are put to unholy ends, that is, to exercising control in heaven and on earth, and so to ends that spring from hellish self-love and love of the world.

2709. 'And was an archer' means the member of the spiritual Church. This is clear from the meaning of 'darts, arrows, or shafts' as truth, and from the meaning of 'a bow' as doctrine, dealt with above in 2686. The member of the spiritual Church was in former times called 'an archer' because such a member uses truths to defend himself, and discusses truths, unlike the member of the celestial Church who is protected by good and does not discuss truths, see above in 2708. The truths which the member of the spiritual Church uses to defend himself and which he discusses are derived from the doctrine he acknowledges.

[2] The fact that the spiritual man was in former times called 'an archer' and 'a bowman', and that doctrine was called a bow and a quiver, and the truths of doctrine, or rather matters of doctrine, were called arrows, darts, and shafts, is further clear in David,

The children of Ephraim who were armed (they were archers) turned back on the day of battle. Psalms 78:9.

'Ephraim' stands for the intellectual side of the Church. In the Book of Judges,

You who ride white she-asses, you who sit on Middin, ¹ and you who walk along the way, may you ponder. From the voice of the bowmen among those drawing water, there they will discuss the righteous acts of Jehovah, the righteous acts of His village in Israel. Judges 5:10-11.

In Isaiah.

Jehovah called me from the womb, from my mother's body ² He made mention of my name and set my mouth like a sharp sword. In the shadow of His hand He hid me and turned me into a polished arrow; in His quiver He hid me, and He said to me, You are My servant Israel, for I will be glorified in you. Isaiah 49:1-3.

'Israel' stands for the spiritual Church.

[3] In David,

Like arrows in the hand of a powerful man so are the children of the days of one's youth. Blessed is the man who has filled his quiver with them. Psalms 127:4-5.

'A quiver' stands for the doctrine of good and truth. In Habakkuk,

The sun, the moon, stood still in their place. At the light of Your arrows they will go, at the flash of Your glittering spear. Habakkuk 3:11.

In the reference to Joash king of Israel who at Elisha's command shot the arrow from the bow through the window, with Elisha saying as he shot it, Jehovah's arrow of salvation, Jehovah's arrow of salvation against the Syrian, 2 Kings 13:16-18, arcana to do with the doctrine of good and truth are meant.

[4] Since most things in the Word also possess a contrary sense, darts, arrows, shafts, bows, and archers accordingly possess such. In that contrary sense they mean falsities, doctrine that teaches what is false, and those who are under the influence of falsity, as in Moses,

The son of a fruitful one is Joseph, the son of a fruitful one beside a spring, O daughters, ³ he trails over the wall; and they bitterly grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him did the archers. Genesis 49:22-23.

In Jeremiah,

They shot with their tongue, their bow is a bow of lies and not used for truth. Their tongue is a shaft extended; it speaks deceit. Jeremiah 9:3, 8.

In David,

They sharpened their tongue like a sword, they aimed their shaft, a bitter word, to shoot in secret places at the upright; they will shoot suddenly and will not fear him. They will make strong for themselves an evil matter; they will tell of laying snares secretly. Psalms 64:3-5.

In the same author,

Behold, the evil bend the bow, they make ready their shaft upon the string, to shoot in thick darkness itself at the upright in heart. Psalms 11:2.

In the same author,

His truth is a shield and buckler; you will not be afraid of the terror of the night, of the shaft that flies by day. Psalms 91:4-5.

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