1025. Dat met ‘met uw zaad na u’ degenen worden aangeduid, die opnieuw geschapen worden, blijkt uit de betekenis van het zaad en uit hetgeen volgt. Uit de betekenis van het zaad: in de letterlijke zin betekent het zaad het nageslacht, maar in de innerlijke zin het geloof, en omdat er, zoals reeds vaak gezegd is, geen geloof is dan daar waar naastenliefde is, is het de naastenliefde zelf, welke in de innerlijke zin onder het zaad wordt verstaan. Uit hetgeen volgt blijkt, dat er niet alleen sprake is van de mens, die in de Kerk is, maar ook van de mens, die buiten de Kerk is, dus van het gehele menselijke geslacht. Overal waar naastenliefde is, ook bij de het verst van de Kerk verwijderde heidenen, daar is zaad, want het hemelse zaad is de naastenliefde; immers, geen enkel mens kan iets goeds uit zichzelf doen, maar al het goede komt van de Heer; het goede, dat de heidenen doen, komt ook van de Heer; waarover, door de Goddelijke barmhartigheid van de Heer, in hetgeen volgt. Dat het zaad Gods het geloof is, is eerder in nr. 255 aangetoond; onder het geloof wordt hier en elders de naastenliefde verstaan, waaruit het geloof voortspruit, want er bestaat geen ander geloof, dat werkelijk geloof is, dan het geloof van de naastenliefde. Evenzo wordt ook elders in het Woord, waar het zaad genoemd wordt, zoals het zaad van Abraham, of van Izaäk, of van Jakob, de liefde of de naastenliefde aangeduid; want Abraham beeldde de hemelse liefde uit, Izaäk de geestelijke liefde, en Jakob beeldde hetzelfde uit, maar dan behorende tot de uiterlijke mens; dit niet alleen in de profetische, maar ook in de historische gedeelten. In de hemel wordt het historische van het Woord niet waargenomen, maar alleen wat door het historische wordt aangeduid; het Woord is niet alleen geschreven voor de mens, maar ook voor de engelen. Wanneer de mens het Woord leest, en daaruit geen andere zin dan de letterlijke vat, begrijpen de engelen niet de letterlijke zin maar de innerlijke; de stoffelijke, wereldse en lichamelijke voorstellingen, welke de mens heeft bij het lezen van het Woord, worden bij de engelen geestelijke en hemelse voorstellingen; wanneer bijvoorbeeld de mens van Abraham, Izaäk en Jakob leest, denken de engelen nooit aan Abraham, Izaäk en Jakob, maar aan de dingen welke zij uitbeelden en dus betekenen. Evenzo weten de engelen, wanneer er van Noach, Sem, Cham en Jafet sprake is, van deze personen niets en zien niets anders dan de Oude Kerk, en de innerlijke engelen zelfs niet eens de Kerk, maar het geloof van die Kerk, en al naar het verband, de staat van de dingen waarvan sprake is. Dit is ook het geval, wanneer in het Woord van zaad wordt gesproken, zoals hier, maar met betrekking tot Noach wordt gezegd, dat een verbond met hen en met hun zaad na hen zou worden opgericht; de engelen zien dan niet hun nageslacht - want een Noach heeft er nooit bestaan, het was alleen de Oude Kerk, die zo genoemd werd - maar onder het zaad verstaan zij de naastenliefde, welke het eigenlijke wezen van het geloof van die Kerk uitmaakte. Op dezelfde wijze verstaan de engelen, wanneer in de historische verhalen over Abraham, Izaäk en Jakob, van hun zaad wordt gesproken, geenszins hun eigenlijke nageslacht, maar allen in de gehele wereld, zowel binnen als buiten de Kerk, bij wie hemels zaad of naastenliefde is, ja, de innerlijke engelen zien in dit woord de liefde zelf, welke hemels zaad is, geheel abstract genomen. Dat door het zaad de liefde wordt aangeduid en voorts eenieder die liefde heeft, blijkt uit de volgende plaatsen; met betrekking tot Abram:

‘Jehovah zei: Aan uw zaad zal Ik dit land geven’, (Genesis 12:7);

verder:

‘Al het land, dat gij ziet, zal Ik u geven, en aan uw zaad tot in eeuwigheid, en Ik zal uw zaad stellen als het stof van de aarde’, (Genesis 13:15, 16). Zij, die in de letterlijke zin zijn, lezen er niets anders uit, dan dat onder het zaad het nageslacht van Abram wordt verstaan, en onder het land, heers 23. En Jehovah God zond hem uit de hof van Eden, om de aardbodem te bebouwen, waaruit hij genomen was. Uit de hof van Eden verdreven worden, betekent, van alle inzicht en wijsheid beroofd worden; de aardbodem bebouwen, waaruit hij genomen was, betekent lichamelijk worden, zoals hij voor de wedergeboorte was geweest. Dat uit de hof van Eden verdreven worden betekent, beroofd zijn van alle inzicht en wijsheid, blijkt uit de betekenis van de hof, en van Eden, waarover reeds eerder. Want hof betekent inzicht en verstand van het ware; en Eden, daar het de liefde is, betekent wijsheid, of de wil van het goede. Dat de aardbodem bebouwen, waaruit hij genomen is, betekent lichamelijk worden, zoals hij voor de wedergeboorte was, is eerder aangetoond bij vers 19, waar overeenkomstige uitdrukkingen zijn gebruikt.

702. And there were lightnings, voices, and thunders, signifies that at that time in the lower parts where the evil are there were conflicts and disturbances of the thoughts, and reasonings from evils and falsities respecting goods and truths. This is evident from the signification of "lightnings, voices, and thunders," as being enlightenment, thoughts, and perceptions (of which above, n. 273; and in the contrary sense, as here, conflicts and disturbances of the thoughts, and reasoning from evils and falsities respecting the goods and truths of the church (of which above, n. 498. In a strict sense "lightnings" signify the darkenings of the understanding, "voices" reasonings, and "thunders" conclusions respecting falsity from evil, and because from these, according to the state of the interiors with them there then arise conflicts and disturbances of the affections and thoughts, and consequent reasonings from evils and falsities respecting the goods and truths of the church, therefore from logical connection with what precedes, this is what these words signify. It was evident that "the lightnings, voices, and thunders," also "the earthquake and great hail" occurred in the lower parts, since it was in the higher parts that the "temple" and "the ark of the Covenant in the temple" were seen, which signify the appearing of a new heaven where there is worship of the Lord, and a representation of Divine truth through which there is conjunction, as can be seen from the explanation above; and from this it follows that these things occurred in the lower parts through influx from the higher heavens. That such things occurred in the lower parts through influx out of the higher heavens has already been made clear. But since these are such things as do not fall into anyone's understanding except through living revelation and consequent knowledge respecting the influx of higher things into lower in the spiritual world, so as these things have been revealed to me, and have thus been made known to me, I will briefly explain this arcanum.

[2] In the spiritual world, by which are meant both the heavens and the hells, the arrangement is such that the heavens are like expanses one above another, and under the heavens is the world of spirits, and under this are the hells, one below another. Influx from the Lord takes place according to this consecutive arrangement, thus through the inmost heaven into the middle, and through this into the lowest, and from these in their order into the hells which lie beneath. The world of spirits is between, and receives influx both from the heavens and from the hells, each one there according to the state of his life.

[3] But this arrangement of the heavens and of the hells underwent changes from one judgment to another, for the reason that the men who arrived from the earth, of whom the heavens and the hells are constituted, had various affections, some more or less spiritual or internal, and some more or less natural or external. And as the Lord does evil to no one, but good to all, He permitted those who had lived a moral and as it were spiritual life in externals from custom and habit in the world, however interiorly they were conjoined with hell, to form for themselves in the world of spirits a similitude of heaven in various places; and then the heavens above them and the hells below them were so arranged that their interiors through which they were conjoined with hell might be as far as possible kept closed, while their exteriors through which they were conjoined with the lowest heaven were kept open. And then it was provided that the higher heavens should not flow in immediately, because by immediate influx their interiors which were infernal would be opened, and their exteriors which were as it were spiritual would be closed; for the influx of the higher heavens is into the interiors, which are properly the spirits' own, and not into the exteriors, which are not properly their own.

[4] But when such seeming heavens had so greatly increased that the influx from the hells had thereby begun to prevail over the influx from the heavens, and thereby the lowest heaven, which was conjoined with them, began to be weakened, then the Last Judgment was at hand, and by turns a separation was effected of the evil from the good in those new seeming heavens, and this by immediate influx from the higher heavens; and by this influx their interiors which were infernal were opened, and their exteriors which were seemingly spiritual were closed, as has been said above. From this then it is clear why it was that the "temple" appeared, and "the ark in the temple," which signifies the Divine truth by which the higher heavens were enlightened from which influx might come into the lower parts where the evil were. From this influx it came to pass that, in the lower parts where the evil were, lightnings were seen, and voices and thunders were heard, also there was an earthquake, and hail fell. The influx out of the heavens, that is, through the heavens from the Lord, is nothing else than an influx of the love of good and the affection of truth, but with the evil this is turned into such things as correspond to their evils and to the falsities therefrom, thus that correspond to their love of evil and affection of falsity; and as conflicts and disturbances of the thoughts and reasonings from the evils and falsities respecting the goods and truths of the church in which they were correspond to lightnings, voices, and thunders, therefore they are signified by these; for the state of heaven, what it was to be immediately before the Last Judgment, is what is here treated of. The conflicts and disturbances of the thoughts and the reasonings from evils and falsities respecting the goods and truths of the church that arise with those who are inwardly evil but who outwardly appear good, when their interiors have been opened and their exteriors closed, are from the conflict of their interiors with their exteriors in the first stage of separation; but as soon as the exteriors have been wholly closed and they have been left to their own interiors the conflict ceases, for then they are completely in the love of their own evil and in the affection of their own falsity, and thus in the delight of their life. Therefore they then cast themselves down into hell to their like, which takes place at the day of the Last Judgment.

9207. 'And your sons orphans' means that at the same time truths will do so, that is to say, will perish. This is clear from the meaning of 'orphans' as those who possess truth but not as yet good, and still have a desire for good, dealt with in 9199, at this point those who have truth but no desire for good, thus those with whom truths perish; for it is speaking about evil people whose sons will become orphans. The fact that truths perish with those who have no desire for good is evident from what has been stated immediately above in 9206 regarding goodness and truth when joined together. But something further must be stated regarding that joining together. Truths that have been joined to good always hold within them a desire to do good, and at the same time to be joined more closely to good by doing it. Or what amounts to the same thing, those who possess truths always have a desire to do good and to join it thereby to their truths. People therefore who think that they are in possession of truths but who have no desire to do good do not in fact possess truths; that is, they have no belief in them, however much they imagine they do have.

[2] Their condition is portrayed by the Lord when He speaks of 'salt', in Matthew,

You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt is tasteless, by what will it be made salty? It no longer has any use, except to be thrown outdoors and trodden down by people. Matthew 5:13-14.

The Lord says these things to the disciples and to the people. By 'the salt of the earth' He means the Church's truth that has a desire for good, and by 'tasteless salt' He means truth devoid of any desire for good. The fact that such truth is worthless is portrayed by the idea of salt which has become tasteless and no longer has any use, except to be thrown outdoors and trodden down by people. Having a desire for good means having a desire to do good and thereby be joined to good.

[3] In Mark,

Everyone will be salted with fire, and every sacrifice will be salted with salt. Salt is good; but if the salt becomes tasteless, how will you season it? Have salt in yourselves, and seek ¹ peace with one another. Mark 9:49-50.

'Being salted with fire' means good that has a desire for truth, and 'being salted with salt' truth that has a desire for good. 'Tasteless salt' is truth devoid of any desire for good; 'having salt in oneself' means possessing that desire.

[4] In Luke,

Any of you who does not renounce all his possessions cannot be My disciple. Salt is good; but if the salt is made tasteless, by what will it be seasoned? It is fit neither for the land nor for the dunghill; people throw it outdoors. Luke 14:33-35.

Here 'salt' in a similar way stands for truth that has a desire for good, and 'tasteless salt' for truth that is devoid of any desire for good, 'unfit for the land or for the dunghill' standing for its total inability to serve any use, good or bad. People possessing such truth are called the lukewarm, as is evident from the words immediately before, stating that a person cannot be the Lord's disciple if he does not renounce all his possessions, that is, if he does not love the Lord above all things. For those loving the Lord and also themselves equally are the ones who are called the lukewarm and who are unfit to serve any use, good or bad.

[5] In Moses,

Every offering of your minchah shall be salted with salt; you shall not leave the salt of the covenant of your God off your minchah. ² On all your offerings you shall offer salt. Leviticus 2:13.

Salt in every offering was a sign that truth's desire for good and good's desire for truth should be present in all worship. This also explains why this salt is called 'the salt of God's covenant'; for 'a covenant' is a joining together, 665, 666, 1023, 1038, 1864, 1996, 2003, 2021, 2037, 6804, 8767, 8778, and 'salt' is the desire for the joining together.

[6] When each desires to be joined to the other, that is, good to truth and truth to good, they look towards each other. But when truth tears itself away from good, they turn away from each other and look backwards or behind themselves. This is what is meant in Luke by Lot's wife who had become a pillar of salt,

Whoever will be on the housetop with his vessels in the house, let him not come down to take them away; and whoever is in the field likewise, let him not return to the things behind him. Remember Lot's wife. Luke 17:31-32.

This means looking behind oneself or backwards, see 3652, 5895 (end), 5897, 7857, 7923, 8505, 8506, 8510, 8516.

[7] One reason why 'salt' means the desire truth possesses is that salt renders land fertile and makes food tasteful, and another reason is that salt contains a fiery property and at the same time a conjunctive power, even as truth contains a burning desire for good and at the same time a conjunctive power. 'A pillar of salt' is a separation from truth, for 'salt' in the contrary sense means truth that has been destroyed and laid waste, as in Zephaniah 2:9; Ezekiel 47:11; Jeremiah 17:6; Psalms 107:33-34; Deuteronomy 29:23; Judges 9:45; 2 Kings 2:19-22.

These matters have been introduced so that people may know what truth's desire for good is, and what good's desire for truth is, meant by 'orphan' and 'widow'.

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