329. Since it is said, "thou didst redeem us to God in thy blood," and since this is understood within the church entirely according to the sense of the letter, and not according to any spiritual sense, I will also show that "blood" does not mean blood, or the Lord's suffering on the cross, but Divine truth proceeding from the Lord, and the reception of it by man; thus that "thou didst redeem us in Thy blood" means that He has delivered and freed from hell those who acknowledge Him, and receive Divine truth from Him (as was said above, n. 328. In illustration of this matter I will cite the following. Because all things that were commanded in the Israelitish Church were representative of things celestial and spiritual, and not the least thing was not so, it was also commanded, when the paschal supper was first instituted:

That they shall take of the blood, and put it on the two side posts and on the lintel upon the houses wherein they shall eat [the paschal lamb]; and the blood shall be for you for a sign upon the houses where ye are; and when I see the blood I will pass over you, nor shall there be a plague upon you from the destroyer when I shall smite the land of Egypt. And further: Ye shall take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and shall touch the lintel and the two side posts with the blood that is in the basin; and not a man of you shall go out of the entrance of his house until the morning. And Jehovah will pass through to smite Egypt; and when he shall see the blood upon the lintel and upon the two side posts, Jehovah will pass over the door, and will not suffer the smiter to come into your houses to strike you (Exodus 12:7, 13, 22-23).

He who does not know that there is a spiritual sense in the Word believes that "blood" here signifies the Lord's blood upon the cross; but this is not at all the meaning in heaven; but to the angels there the paschal supper here described has a like meaning as the holy supper instituted by the Lord, in which, in place of the paschal lamb, there are the bread and the wine; and the Lord then said that the bread was His flesh and the wine was His blood; and everyone knows, or may know, that bread and wine are what nourish the body, bread as food and wine as drink, and that in the Word, which in its bosom is spiritual, these things also must be spiritually understood, "bread" standing for all spiritual food, and "wine" for all spiritual drink.

[2] Spiritual food is all the good that is communicated and given to man by the Lord, and spiritual drink is all the truth that is communicated and given to man by the Lord. These two, namely, good and truth, or love and faith, make man spiritual; it is said, or love and faith, because all good is of love, and all truth is of faith. From this it can be seen that "bread" means the Divine good of the Lord's Divine love, and in reference to man, this good received by him; also that "wine" means the Divine truth that proceeds from the Divine good of the Lord's Divine love, and in reference to man, this truth received by him. Since the Lord says that His flesh is bread, and His blood is wine, it can be seen that "the Lord's flesh" means the Divine good of His Divine love, and "to eat" it means to receive it, and make it one's own, and thus to be conjoined to the Lord; and that "the Lord's blood" means the Divine truth that proceeds from the Divine good of His Divine love, and that "drinking" it means to receive that truth and make it one's own, and thus be conjoined to the Lord.

[3] Again, spiritual nourishment is from the good and truth that proceed from the Lord, as all nourishment of the body is from food and drink; their correspondence also is from this, which is such that where anything of food, or that serves for food, is mentioned in the Word, good is meant, and where anything of drink, or that serves for drink, is mentioned, truth is meant. From this it can be seen that the "blood" from the Paschal Lamb, which the sons of Israel were commanded to put upon the two side posts and upon the lintel of their houses, means Divine truth proceeding from the Lord; this, when received in faith and life, protects man against the evils that rise up out of hell; for in His Divine truth the Lord is with man, for this is the Lord's own with man, yea, it is Himself with man. Who that thinks from sound reason cannot see that the Lord is with a man not in His blood, but in His Divine, which is the good of love and the good of faith received by man. (But what the particulars here signify, namely, "the two side posts" and "the lintel," "the destroyer" and "smiter," and "Egypt," and many other things in this chapter, can be seen in Arcana Coelestia, where they are explained.)

[4] From what has now been said, without further explanation, the significance of the Lord's words when He instituted the Holy Supper is evident:

As they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed, broke, and gave to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is My body. And He took the cup, and having given thanks, He gave to them, saying, Drink of it, all of you; for this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many. I say unto you that I will not drink henceforth of this product of the vine until that day when I shall drink it with you in the kingdom of God (Matthew 26:26-29; Mark 14:22-25; Luke 22:15-20).

As "wine" means Divine truth nourishing the spiritual life, therefore the Lord says to them, "I say unto you that I will not drink henceforth of this product of the vine until that day when I shall drink it with you new in the kingdom of God," which shows clearly that something spiritual is meant, for He says that "He is to drink with them," and "in the kingdom of God," or in heaven, and also that "He is to eat" with them of the Paschal Lamb there (Luke 22:16).

[5] What has now been said also makes clear what is signified by these words of the Lord:

The bread that I will give is My flesh. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink His blood, ye have not life in you. He that eateth My flesh and drinketh My blood hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. For My flesh is truly food, and My blood is truly drink. He that eateth My flesh and drinketh My blood abideth in Me, and I in him. This is the bread that cometh down out of heaven (John 6:51-58).

That the Lord's "flesh" is Divine good, and His "blood" Divine truth, both of them from Him, can be seen from this, that these are what nourish the soul; it is therefore said, "My flesh is truly food, and My blood is truly drink." And as a man is conjoined to the Lord by Divine good and truth, therefore it is further said, "He that eateth My flesh and drinketh My blood shall have eternal life, and he abideth in Me and I in him." The Lord spoke in this way, namely, saying His "flesh" and His "blood," and not His Divine good and His Divine truth, in order that the sense of the letter of the Word might be made up of such things as correspond to things spiritual, in which the angels are; thus and in no other way could there be, by means of the Word, a conjunction of the men of the church with the angels (See The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 252, 258-262; and Heaven and Hell 303-310).

[6] Since "blood" signifies the Divine truth proceeding from the Lord, and conjunction with the Lord is effected by man's reception of it, therefore blood is called "the blood of the covenant," for "covenant" signifies conjunction. Blood is called "the blood of the covenant" by the Lord when He instituted the Holy Supper, for He said:

Drink of it, all of you; for this is My blood of the new covenant [or testament] (Matthew 26:27, 28; Mark 14:24; Luke 22:20).

It is also called "the blood of the covenant" in Moses, where is the following:

Moses came from Mount Sinai, and told the people all the words of Jehovah, and all the judgments. And Moses wrote all the words of Jehovah, and rose up early in the morning, and built an altar under the mount. And he sent young men of the sons of Israel, and they offered up burnt-offerings, and sacrificed bullocks as peace-offerings unto Jehovah. And Moses took half of the blood and put it in basins; and half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar. And he took the book of the covenant, and read in the ears of the people; and they said, All that Jehovah hath spoken will we do and hear. And he took the blood and sprinkled it on the people, and said, Behold the blood of the covenant that Jehovah hath concluded with you upon all these words. And they saw the God of Israel, and under His feet as it were a work of sapphire stone, and as the substance of the heavens for purity (Exodus 24:3-11).

That "blood" here signifies Divine truth proceeding from the Lord and received by man, and conjunction therefrom, is evident, for half of it was sprinkled on the altar and half on the people; for the "altar" signified all worship that is from the good of love, and the "people" those who offer worship and receive the good of love by means of truths; for all reception of Divine good is effected by truths made truths of life, and consequent conjunction is by means of the good in such truths. That there is conjunction by means of the good in such truths, that is, by means of truths made truths of life, and that "blood" was a representative thereof, is very clear from the words there, for this was done when Moses descended from Mount Sinai, from which the law was promulgated, and also the statutes and judgments that were to be observed; and it is said that "Moses wrote all these words of Jehovah, and read them in the ears of the people," who said, "All that Jehovah hath spoken will we do and hear," which words they said twice (See verses 3 and 7).

[7] Words or truths become truths of life by doing; and as Moses wrote these words, he called them, "The Book of the Covenant," which signifies that there is conjunction by means of them. The law promulgated by Jehovah from Mount Sinai, and the statutes and judgments that were also commanded at that time, signified all Divine truth, or the Divine truth in its whole complex. This is why they are called "the Book of the Covenant," and why the ark in which was that book is called "The Ark of the Covenant," "covenant" signifying conjunction. Because Divine truth, by which there is conjunction, proceeds from the Lord, the Lord appeared to the people "under the feet as it were a work of sapphire stone;" that He so appeared "under the feet" signifying that Divine truth is such in ultimates. Divine truth in ultimates is Divine truth in the sense of the letter of the Word; "work of sapphire stone" signifies the translucence of this sense from Divine truth in the internal or spiritual sense; "the God of Israel" is the Lord. (That "sapphire stone" signifies translucence from internal truths, see Arcana Coelestia 9407; and that "the God of Israel" is the Lord in respect to the Divine Human, see above, n. 328.) From this it is now clear that a "covenant" or conjunction is effected by means of Divine truth, and that the blood sprinkled on the altar and half of it on the people was a representative of it, since "blood" signifies Divine truth proceeding from the Lord and received by man, as was said above.

(That "covenant" signifies conjunction, see Arcana Coelestia 665, 666, 1023, 1038, 1864, 1996, 2003, 2021, 6804, 8767, 8778, 9396, 10632.

That the law in a strict sense means the ten commandments of the Decalogue, and in a broad sense, the whole Word, thus all Divine truth, n. 2606, 3382, 6752, 7463, 9417.

That from this "Mount Sinai" signifies heaven where the Lord is, from whom is Divine truth, or from whom is the law, both in the strict and the broad sense, n. 8399, 8753, 8793, 8805, 9420; and that the altar was the principal representative of the Lord, and of the worship from the good of love, n. 921, 2777, 2811, 4489, 4541, 8935, 8940, 9388-9389, 9714, 9963-9964, 10123, 10151, 10242, 10245, 10642.)

[8] Since "blood" signifies Divine truth proceeding from the Lord and received by man, from which is conjunction, therefore all things that were representative of things Divine proceeding from the Lord which are called celestial and spiritual were inaugurated by oil and by blood, and were then called holy. They were inaugurated by oil and blood that they might be representative, because "oil" signified the Divine good of the Divine love, and "blood" the Divine truth proceeding therefrom, for truth proceeds from good. That inaugurations and sanctifications were made by means of oil will be seen in what follows, where they are treated of in their paragraph. Here let some things in which blood was used be mentioned, as:

When Aaron and his sons were to be sanctified, blood was sprinkled upon the horns of the altar, and round about the altar, and upon Aaron and his sons, and upon their garments (Exodus 29:12, 16, 20-21; Leviticus 8:24).

Blood was sprinkled seven times before the veil that was over the ark, and upon the horns of the altar of incense (Leviticus 4:6-7, 17-18).

Before Aaron entered within the veil to the mercy-seat, he should sacrifice and burn incense, and should sprinkle the blood with the finger seven times upon the mercy-seat eastward (Leviticus 16:12-15).

The blood of the burnt-offering and of the sacrifice should be sprinkled upon the altar, around the altar, and at the base of the altar (Leviticus 1:5, 1:11, 15; 3:2, 8, 13; 4:25, 30, 34; 5:9; 8:15, 24; 17:6; Numbers 18:17; Deuteronomy 12:27).

The blood should be sprinkled upon the horns of the altar and thus expiation should be made for the altar (Exodus 30:10; Leviticus 16:18-19).

Blood from the burnt-offerings and sacrifices was sprinkled and poured out upon the altar, around the altar, or at its base, because the altar with the burnt-offerings and sacrifices upon it represented and thence signified all worship from the good of love and the truths therefrom; and as truths proceed from good, therefore the blood was sprinkled on and poured out around the altar, for "around" signifies proceeding.

[9] (But these things can be better seen from what has been shown respecting burnt offerings and sacrifices in the Arcana Coelestia, as follows: "burnt-offerings" and "sacrifices" signified all things of worship from the good of love, and the truths therefrom, n. 923, 6905, 8680, 8936, 10042. Therefore burnt-offerings and sacrifices were called bread, n. 2165, because "bread" signifies everything that nourishes the spiritual life, n. 2165, 3478, 4976, 5147, 5915, 6118, 8410, 8418, 9323, 10686. Burnt-offerings and sacrifices signified celestial Divine and spiritual Divine things, which are the internals of the church, from which are all things of worship, n. 2180, 2805, 2807, 2830, 3519; with a difference according to the differences of worship, n. 2805, 6905, 8936. Therefore there were many kinds of burnt-offerings and sacrifices, and in them various processes and consisting also of various animals, n. 2830, 9391, 9990. The various things they specially signified can be known from the particulars of the procedure unfolded by the internal sense, n. Arcana Coelestia 10042. The rituals and procedures of the sacrifices contain arcana of heaven, n. Arcana Coelestia 10057. In general they contain the arcana of the glorification of the Lord's Human, and in a relative sense, the arcana of man's regeneration and his purification from evils and falsities, n. 9990, 10022, 10042, 10053, 10057. What was signified by the "meal-offerings," which were bread and cakes, which were also sacrificed, n. Arcana Coelestia 10079; what by the "drink-offering," which was wine, n. 4581, 10137)

[10] When these things are understood it can be known that "the blood of the sacrifice" in other places also in the Word signifies Divine truth, as in Ezekiel:

Say to the bird of every wing and to the beast of the field, Come together and come; gather yourselves from round about to My sacrifice that I do sacrifice for you, a great sacrifice upon the mountains of Israel; that ye may eat flesh and drink blood. Ye shall eat the flesh of the mighty and drink the blood of the princes of the earth. And ye shall eat fat to satiety, and drink blood to drunkenness, of My sacrifice which I sacrifice for you. And ye shall be satiated at My table with horse, with chariot, with every man of war. So will I give My glory among the nations (Ezekiel 39:17-21).

This treats of the restoration of the church; and "Israel" and "Jacob" mean all who are of the church, respecting whom these things therefore are said; "a great sacrifice upon the mountains of Israel" signifies all things of their worship; "flesh" and "fat" signify the good of love, and "blood" the truth from that good; worship is from these; an abundance of both is described by their "eating flesh and fat to satiety," and "drinking blood to drunkenness," and this "of the sacrifice;" it is therefore further said, "Ye shall be satiated at My table with horse, chariot, and every man of war," for "horse" signifies the understanding of truth, "chariot" doctrine, and the "man of war" truth fighting against falsity and destroying it. Who cannot see that "blood" here does not mean blood, as that they "should drink the blood of the princes of the earth," and "drink blood even to drunkenness, of the sacrifice?" "The princes of the earth" signify the principal truths of the church; therefore their "blood" signifies spiritual nourishment from those truths. Because such things are signified, therefore it is also said, at the end of this chapter, respecting Israel, by whom the church is signified:

Then will I not hide My faces any more from them; for I will pour out My spirit upon Israel (Ezekiel 39:29).

It is said, "Say to the bird of every wing and to the beast of the field," because "bird of every wing" signifies spiritual truth in the whole complex, and "beast of the field" the affection of good. (That "birds" in the Word signify things spiritual, n. 745, 776, 866, 988, 991, 3219, 5149, 7441; likewise "wings," n. 8764, 9514; that "beasts" signify affections, and "beasts of the field" the affections of good, n. 2180, 3218, 3519, 5198, 9090, 9280, 10609; and that both birds and beasts were for this reason used in sacrifices, n. 1823, 3519, 7523, 9280)

[11] In confirmation that the "beast of the field" and "bird" signify such things, I will quote here one passage only from the Word:

In that day I will make a covenant for them with the beast of the field, and with the bird of the heavens, and with the creeping thing of the earth; and I will break the bow and the sword and war from the earth. And I will betroth thee unto Me for ever; and I will betroth thee unto Me in justice and in judgment, and in mercy and in compassions, and I will betroth thee unto Me in truth (Hosea 2:18-20).

"To make a covenant with the beast of the field and with the bird of the heavens" signifies with the affections of good and with spiritual truths, for with these the Lord is conjoined to man, since the Lord is in these with man; therefore it is called "a covenant" with them, "covenant" meaning conjunction. That "beasts" signify the affections of good, and "birds" things spiritual, will be fully shown in their paragraphs in what follows.

[12] Because "fat" in sacrifices signified Divine good, and "blood" Divine truth, both from the Lord, and because by both when received by man conjunction was effected, therefore the posterity of Jacob, that is, the Jews and Israelites, were forbidden to eat any fat or any blood (See Leviticus 3:17; 7:23-27; 17:11-14; Deut. 12:17, 12:23-25; 15:23). This was because that nation was not in any good of love, nor in any truth of good, but in the falsities of evil; and "to eat fat and blood" signified with them the mingling of truth from good with the falsity from evil, which is profanation; from which also it can be seen that "blood" signifies Divine truth. (That "fat" or "fatness" in the Word signifies the good of love, see Arcana Coelestia 353, 5943, 6409, 10033; and that the Jews and Israelites were solely in things external and not in things internal, and consequently not in spiritual truths and good, but in the falsities of evil; and that all things of their worship were external separated from what is internal, and that still by things external they could represent the internal things of worship, see in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 248 .)

[13] Because "blood" in the sacrifices signified Divine truth, therefore also:

They were forbidden to sacrifice the blood of the sacrifice upon what was leavened (Exodus 23:18; 34:25);

for "leaven" signifies falsity, and "what was leavened" truth falsified (See Arcana Coelestia 2342, 7906, 8051, 9992).

[14] The Lord's "flesh" signifies the Divine good of the Divine love, and His "blood" signifies the Divine truth proceeding from that good, because there are two things that proceed from the Lord's Divine Human, namely, Divine good and Divine truth, the latter is His blood, and the former His flesh. That which proceeds is the celestial Divine and the spiritual Divine; and these constitute the heavens in general and in particular. (But this can be seen better from what has been shown in the work on Heaven and Hell, under the following heads. The Divine of the Lord makes Heaven, n. 7-12; the Divine of the Lord in Heaven is Love to Him and Charity towards the Neighbor, n. 13-19; The Whole Heaven, therefore, as a Whole and in Its Parts, answers to One Man, n 59-77; This is from the Lord's Divine Human, n 78-87 and further from what is said of The Sun in Heaven, and Light and Heat therefrom, and that Heat is the Divine Good, and Light Divine Truth, both proceeding from the Lord, n 116-140) From this it can in some measure be comprehended why the Divine proceeding is meant by the "flesh and blood," that is, the Divine good by "flesh," and the Divine truth by "blood."

[15] With man also there are two things that constitute his spiritual life, namely the good of love and the truth of faith. With him the will is the receptacle of the good of love, and the understanding is the receptacle of the truth of faith. All things belonging to the mind, that is, belonging to the will and understanding, have a correspondence with all things belonging to the body, consequently the latter are moved at the nod of the former. In general, the correspondence of the will is with the flesh, and the correspondence of the understanding with the blood; consequently the voluntary that is man's own [proprium voluntarium] is meant in the Word by "flesh," and the intellectual that is his own [proprium intellectuale] by "blood," as in Matthew:

Jesus said to Simon, blessed art thou, for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee (Matthew 16:17).

These things are mentioned that it may be known that in the Word things voluntary and intellectual, that is, spiritual things, are meant by "flesh and blood" when man is referred to, and things Divine when the Lord is referred to. But these things are for those whose minds can be elevated above natural ideas and can see causes.

[16] This also is what is signified by the "blood and water" that issued out of the Lord's breast; which is described as follows in John:

One of the soldiers pierced His side, and straightway there came out blood and water. And he that saw beareth witness, and his witness is true; he knoweth that he saith true things, that ye also may believe (John 19:34-35).

These things were done to signify the Lord's conjunction with the human race through Divine truth proceeding from the Divine good of His love; "breast" signifies Divine love; "blood and water" signify Divine truth proceeding, "blood" the Divine truth that is for the spiritual man, and "water" the Divine truth that is for the natural man; for all things that are related in the Word respecting the Lord's passion are also significative (See above, n. 83, 195). And because these things signify His love, and man's salvation by means of Divine truth proceeding from Him, therefore the evangelist adds, "He that saw beareth witness, and his witness is true; he knoweth that he saith true things, that ye also may believe."

[17] To what has already been mentioned I will add the following from the Word.

In Zechariah:

Exult exceedingly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem; behold, thy King cometh. And He shall speak peace unto the Gentiles; and His dominion shall be from sea even to sea, and from the river even to the uttermost parts of the earth. As for thee also, by the blood of thy covenant I will send forth thy bound ones out of the pit wherein is no water (Zechariah 9:9-11).

This is said of the Lord, and of the establishment of the church by Him among the nations; "the blood of the covenant" here meaning Divine truth, by means of which there is conjunction of the Lord with those who are to be of His church (as above); it is therefore further said, "I will send forth thy bound ones out of the pit wherein is no water," for by these the nations that are in falsities from ignorance are signified; "the pit wherein is no water" signifying where there is no truth, and "sending them forth" signifying to free them from falsities. That "water" signifies the truth of the church, see above (n. 71); and that "the bound in the pit" signifies those who are in falsities from ignorance, and yet in a desire to know truths, see Arcana Coelestia 4728[1-8], 4744, 5038, 6854, 7950).

[18] In David:

God shall save the souls of the needy; He shall redeem their soul from fraud and violence; and precious shall their blood be in His eyes. And he shall live, and to him shall He give of the gold of Sheba, and shall pray for him continually; all the day shall He bless him. Upon the top of the mountains his fruit shall be shaken (Psalms 72:13-16);

this treats of the "needy," by whom those who desire truths from spiritual affection are signified; of these it is said, that "He shall redeem their soul from fraud and violence," which signifies their liberation from evils and falsities, which destroy the goods of love and the truths of faith. The reception of Divine truth by them as being acceptable and grateful, is signified by "precious shall their blood be in His eyes," "blood" here meaning Divine truth received. Their reformation is described by "he shall live, and to him shall He give of the gold of Sheba, and shall pray for him continually; all the day shall He bless him;" the "gold of Sheba" meaning the good of charity; "to pray for him continually" signifying that they shall be continually withheld from falsities and kept in truths, and "He shall bless him" signifying that they shall be continually in the good of charity and faith; it is therefore said further, "upon the top of the mountains his fruit shall be shaken;" the "top of the mountains" signifying heaven, from which they have the good of love from the Lord, which is "fruit."

[19] In Moses:

The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; who shall bind to the vine his ass's foal, and to the noble vine the son of his she-ass, whilst he shall wash his vesture in wine, and his covering in the blood of grapes (Genesis 49:10-11).

This prophecy treats of the Lord, of whom it is said, "he shall bind to the vine his ass's foal, and to the noble vine the son of his she-ass," and "he shall wash his vesture in wine, and his covering in the blood of grapes;" "vine" signifying the church, and "wine" and the "blood of grapes" Divine truth. (For what the other things signify, see the explanation of these words in Arcana Coelestia 6371-6377.) The like is meant by the "blood of grapes" in Deuteronomy (Deuteronomy 32:14); where the ancient church reformed by Divine truth is treated of.

[20] From what has been shown in this and the preceding article it can be seen by those who acknowledge the spiritual sense of the Word that "Thou didst redeem us to God in Thy blood" means conjunction with the Divine by the acknowledgment of the Lord, and by the reception of Divine truth from Him; also that the like is meant by "blood" in the twelfth chapter of this prophetic book, where it is said:

That Michael and his angels overcame the dragon by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their ³ testimony (Revelation 12:11).

It is said, "the blood of the Lamb" and "the word of testimony," because "the blood of the Lamb" signifies the reception of Divine truth from the Lord, and "the word of testimony" the acknowledgment of His Divine Human.

[21] That "blood" signifies Divine truth is still further evident from its contrary sense, in which "blood" signifies violence offered to Divine truth by the falsities of evil, and its destruction by these; and as what is signified in the genuine sense is also manifested by these contrary meanings, I will cite some passages in which "blood" and "bloods" have that significance. It is to be known that most things in the Word have also a contrary sense, and that from that sense it can be known what is signified in the genuine sense. The following will serve for illustration. In Revelation:

The second angel poured out his bowl into the sea, and it became as the blood of one dead, and every living animal in the sea died. And the third angel poured out his bowl into the rivers and into the fountains of the waters, and they became blood (Revelation 16:3-4).

And elsewhere:

The two witnesses have power over the waters to turn them into blood (Revelation 11:6).

In Isaiah:

The waters of Nimrim shall be desolations; and the waters of Dimon are full of blood (Isaiah 15:6, 9).

In David:

He sent darkness and made it dark. He turned their waters into blood, and made their fish to die (Psalms 105:28-29).

It is clear from these passages what "blood" signifies in the contrary sense; for blood in the genuine sense signifies Divine truth, and with those who receive it truth from good; so in the contrary sense it signifies violence offered to Divine truth, and with those who do that, it signifies falsity from evil. This contrary meaning is clear from its being said that the "waters" of "the sea," of "rivers," and of "fountains," "were turned into blood;" for "waters" signify truths, therefore "blood" here signifies falsities that destroy truths. The "living animal in the sea," and the "fish," signify truths known [vera scientifica]; so their "dying" and "being slain" by blood signify such truths also destroyed. (That "waters" signify truths, see above, n. 71; and that "fish" signify truths known [vera scientifica] of the natural man, see Arcana Coelestia 40, 991)

[22] Again in Revelation:

I saw when He had opened the sixth seal, and behold there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth, and the whole moon became blood (Revelation 6:12).

In Joel:

I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth; blood, and fire, and columns of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great day of Jehovah come (Joel 2:30-31).

Here also it is known from the contrary meaning that "blood" signifies violence offered to the Divine truth; for "sun" in the Word signifies the celestial Divine, which is the Divine good, and "moon" signifies the spiritual Divine, which is the Divine truth; it is therefore said that "the moon shall be turned into blood." (That this is the signification of "moon" see in the work on Heaven and Hell 118, 119.)

[23] In Isaiah:

He that walketh in righteousness, and speaketh uprightness, that stoppeth his ear lest he hear bloods, and shutteth his eyes lest he see evil (Isaiah 33:15);

"to stop the ear lest he hear bloods" meaning evidently not to hear falsities from evil. In David:

Thou wilt destroy those that speak falsehood; the man of blood and deceit Jehovah abhorreth (Psalms 5:6);

"the man of blood and deceit" meaning those who are in falsities from evil; it is therefore said, "Thou wilt destroy those that speak falsehood," "falsehood" in the Word signifying falsities. In Isaiah:

And it shall come to pass, that he that is left in Zion and he that remaineth in Jerusalem shall be called holy to Him, everyone that is written unto life in Jerusalem. When the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and shall have washed away the bloods of Jerusalem out of the midst thereof by the spirit of judgment and by the spirit of cleansing [burning] (Isaiah 4:3-4).

Because "Jerusalem" signifies the church in respect to doctrine, therefore it is said, "When He shall have washed away its blood out of the midst thereof," "bloods" signifying the falsities of evil. The "spirit of judgment" signifies Divine truth, and because this purifies it is said, "by the spirit of cleansing" [burning].

[24] In Ezekiel:

In the day wherein thou wast born I passed by beside thee, and I saw thee trodden down in thy bloods, and I said unto thee, In thy bloods, live; yea, I said unto thee, In thy bloods live. I washed thee, and I washed away thy bloods from upon thee, and I anointed thee with oil (Ezekiel 16:5-6, 9, 22, 36, 38).

This also treats of Jerusalem, which signifies the church in respect to the doctrine of truth, here first of the falsities of evil in which it was before it was reformed, and afterwards of its reformation; the falsities of evil are signified by its being seen "trodden down in bloods;" and its reformation by "he washed, and washed away the bloods, and anointed with oil;" "to wash" signifying to purify by truths; "to wash away bloods" signifying to remove the falsities of evil; and "to anoint with oil" signifying to endow with the good of love.

[25] In Lamentations:

For the sins of the prophets of Jerusalem, and the iniquities of her priests, that have shed the blood of the just in the midst of her. They have wandered blind in the streets, they have been polluted with blood, what they cannot pollute they touch with their garments (Lamentations 4:13-14).

"Prophets of Jerusalem" signify those who are to teach the truths of doctrine, and "priests" those who are to lead by truths to good; here mentioned in a contrary sense, since it is said, "for their sins;" "to shed the blood of the just" signifies to falsify truths and adulterate goods; it is therefore said, "they have wandered blind in the streets, they have been polluted with blood, what they cannot pollute they touch with their garments;" "to wander blind in the streets" signifies not to see truths at all, "streets" meaning truths; "polluted with bloods" signifies to be wholly in falsities; "what they cannot pollute they touch with their garments" signifies that what they cannot pervert they nevertheless falsify, "garments" meaning the truths that invest interior things, which truths are the truths of the sense of the letter of the Word.

In Isaiah:

All uproar shall be whirled about by the earthquake, and the garment is polluted with bloods (Isaiah 9:5);

"earthquake" signifying the perversion of the church by the falsification of truth, and the "garment polluted with bloods" the falsification of the sense of the letter of the Word.

[26] In Jeremiah:

Thou hast taught evils thy ways; also in thy skirts is found the blood of the souls of the innocents; I found them not in digging through, but upon all these (Jeremiah 2:33-34).

Here "blood found in the skirts" signifies the like as above by "what they cannot pollute they touch with their garments," "skirts" are the "garments." "I found them not in digging through, but upon all these" signifies that they dared not destroy the truths themselves, but that they falsified the truths of the sense of the letter, "skirts" signifying those truths.

[27] In Isaiah:

Your hands are full of bloods (Isaiah 1:15).

Your hands are polluted with blood, and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies, and your tongue hath meditated perverseness. Their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed innocent blood; their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity (Isaiah 59:3, 7).

"Hands polluted with blood, and fingers with iniquity" signifies that in all things belonging to them there is falsity and the evil of falsity; "hands" and "fingers" signify power, thus all things with them that have power. Because this is the meaning it is also said, "your lips have spoken lies, and your tongue hath meditated perverseness," "lies" meaning falsities, and "perverseness" the evil of falsity; "their feet make haste to shed innocent blood" signifies their hastening to destroy the good of love and charity; this is signified by "shedding innocent blood." The good of innocence is that from which is every good and truth of heaven and the church (See Heaven and Hell 276-283). From this it can be seen what is signified in a general sense by "bloods," in the plural, namely, violence offered both to the truths and the goods of the Word and of the church.

As "shedding innocent blood" signifies to destroy the good of love and of charity, every kind of precaution was taken that innocent blood should not be shed; and if it were shed:

That expiation shall be made for the land (Deuteronomy 19:10, 13; 21:1-9);

for the "land" signifies the church.

[28] In Isaiah:

Jehovah goeth forth from His place to visit the iniquity of the earth; then shall the earth reveal her bloods, and shall no more cover her slain (Isaiah 26:21).

The "bloods" that the earth shall reveal signify all the falsities and evils that have destroyed the truths and goods of the church, the "earth" being the church where these are; the "slain" signify those that have perished by falsities and evils. (That the "slain" signify those that have perished by falsities and evils, see above, n. 315.) In Revelation:

In Babylon was found the blood of prophets and of saints, and of all that have been slain upon the earth (Revelation 18:24);

"the blood of prophets and of saints" meaning truths and goods extinguished; and the "slain" those who have perished by falsities and evils (as just above).

[29] The like is meant by:

The blood of the prophets which was shed upon the earth, from the blood of Abel the just even to the blood of Zachariah, the son of Barachiah, whom they slew between the temple and the altar (Matthew 23:30, 34-35; Luke 11:50-51).

In the spiritual sense, by "Abel" those who are in the good of charity are meant, and, abstractly from person, that good itself; and by "Cain" those who make faith alone the sole means of salvation, and the good of charity of no account, thus rejecting and slaying it; and by "Zachariah" those who are in the truths of doctrine are meant, and abstractly from person the truth itself of doctrine; therefore the "blood" of these two signifies the extinction of all good and truth; "whom they slew between the temple and the altar" signifies in the spiritual sense every kind of rejection of the Lord; for "temple" signifies the Lord in respect to Divine truth, and "altar" the Lord in respect to Divine good, and "between them" signifies both together.

(That "Abel" in a representative sense is the good of charity, see Arcana Coelestia 342, 354, 1179, 3325; and that "Cain" is faith alone, separated from charity, n. 340, 347, 1179[1], 3325. That "prophet" signifies the doctrine of truth, n. 2534, 7269. That "temple" signifies the Lord in respect to Divine truth, and "altar" the Lord in respect to Divine good, and in a relative sense the Lord's kingdom and church in respect to truth and good, n. 2777, 3720, 9714, 10642. That "between" the two signifies where there is a marriage of Divine truth and Divine good, n. 10001, 10025.)

[30] In the Word it is often said of those condemned to death, that "their bloods should be upon them," which means, in the spiritual sense, that damnation should be upon them because of the falsities and evils by which they had destroyed the truths and goods of the church; for in general "bloods" signify all the falsities of doctrine, of life, and of worship, by means of which come the evils that destroy the church. These evils are in part enumerated in Ezekiel (Ezekiel 18:10-13); these are also signified by "bloods" in John:

As many as received Him, to them gave He power to become sons of God, to them that believe on His name; who were born, not of bloods nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God (John 1:12, 13).

"The Lord's name" means all truths and goods by which He is to be worshiped; "bloods" mean all the falsities and evils that destroy; "the will of the flesh" and "the will of man" signify all the evils of love and the falsities of faith, for "flesh" signifies the voluntary that is man's own [proprium volutarium] from which is every evil, and "man" [vir] signifies the intellectual that is man's own [proprium intellectuale], from which is every falsity, "will" meaning where these things are; "to be born of God" is to be regenerated by means of the truths of faith, and by means of a life according to them.

412. And hide us from the face of Him that sitteth upon the throne, and from the anger of the Lamb, signifies lest they should suffer direful things from the influx of Divine good united to the Divine truth proceeding from the Lord. This is evident from the signification of "hide us," when it is said by those in whom the goods and truths of the church are destroyed by evils of life and falsities therefrom, as being lest they should suffer direful things (of which presently); also from the signification of "from the face of Him that sitteth upon the throne," as being the Lord in respect to Divine good in heaven; that "face," in reference to the Lord, means the Divine love, from which is Divine good in heaven, will be evident from the passages in the Word that will be cited presently; and that "He that sitteth upon the throne" means the Lord in respect to Divine good in heaven may be seen above (n. 297, 343). Also from the signification of "the anger of the Lamb," as being the casting into hell by the influx of Divine truth proceeding from the Lord.

That "the anger of Jehovah" or of the Lord signifies this, can be seen from passages in the Word to be cited in the following article. Moreover it may be seen above (n. 297, 343) that the Lord alone is meant by "Him that sitteth upon the throne," and by "the Lamb;" the Lord in respect to Divine good by "Him that sitteth upon the throne," and the Lord in respect to Divine truth by "the Lamb." The expression "the anger of the Lamb" does not mean that the Lord (who is meant by "Him that sitteth upon the throne" and by "the Lamb") is angry, for He is Divine good itself, and that cannot be angry, for anger has nothing to do with good itself; but it is so expressed in the sense of the letter of the Word, for reasons explained elsewhere; let it be merely shown here that "the face" of Jehovah, or of the Lord, signifies the Divine love, and thence Divine good in heaven and in the church; and in the contrary sense "to set His face against anyone," and "to hide or conceal His face," has a similar meaning as "wrath" and "anger;" also that "the face," in reference to man, means in both senses the interiors that belong to his mind and affection.

[2] That "the face," in reference to Jehovah or the Lord, signifies the Divine love and the Divine good therefrom is evident from the following passages. In David:

Make Thy faces to shine upon Thy servant; save me because of Thy mercy (Psalms 31:16).

"To make the faces to shine" signifies to enlighten in Divine truth from Divine love; this is signified by "making the faces to shine," because Divine truth, which proceeds from the Lord as a sun in the angelic heaven, gives all the light there, and also enlightens the minds of the angels and fills them with wisdom; consequently the Lord's face, in a proper sense, is the sun of the angelic heaven; for the Lord appears to the angels of the interior heavens as a sun, and this from His Divine love, for love in the heavens when presented before the eyes appears as fire, but the Divine love as a sun. From that sun both heat and light proceed, that heat is Divine good, and that light is Divine truth. From this it can be seen that "Make Thy faces to shine upon Thy servant" signifies to enlighten with Divine truth from Divine good; therefore it is also added, "save me because of Thy mercy;" mercy is of the Divine good. (But of the sun in the angelic heaven, and the heat and light from it, see in the work on Heaven and Hell; of The Sun there, n. 116-125; and of The Heat and Light from it, n 126-140)

[3] In the same:

Many say, Who will show us good? Jehovah, lift up the light of Thy faces upon us (Psalms 4:6).

In the same:

They shall walk, O Jehovah, in the light of Thy faces (Psalms 89:15).

In the same:

Turn us back, O God, and cause Thy faces to shine, that we may be saved (Psalms 80:3, 7, 19).

And in the same:

God be merciful unto us and bless us, and cause His faces to shine upon us (Psalms 67:1).

"The light of the faces" of Jehovah or of the Lord means Divine truth from Divine love (as above) and intelligence and wisdom therefrom, for both angels and men have all their intelligence and wisdom from Divine truth, or the Divine light in the heavens, therefore "make Thy faces to shine upon us," "lift up the light of Thy faces upon us," and "cause Thy faces to shine," in the above passages signify to enlighten in Divine truth, and to bestow intelligence and wisdom.

[4] The like is signified in the blessing of the sons of Israel in Moses:

Jehovah bless thee and keep thee; Jehovah make His faces to shine upon thee and be gracious unto thee; Jehovah lift up His faces upon thee and give thee peace (Numbers 6:24-26).

"To make the faces to shine and to be gracious" signifies to enlighten in Divine truth, and to bestow intelligence and wisdom; and "to lift up the faces and give peace" signifies to fill with Divine good and to bestow love. Both are necessary to make man wise, for everyone that is in the spiritual world is enlightened by the light that is from the Lord as a sun, and yet those only become intelligent and wise who are at the same time in love, because the good that is of love is what receives truth; for they are conjoined because they agree and love one another. Only such, therefore, as have love see the sun in heaven, the rest see merely the light. "To be gracious," which is said of making the faces to shine, is predicated in the Word of truth; and "peace," which is said of lifting up the faces, is predicated of good.

[5] Since the Lord's Divine love is seen as a sun in heaven, from which is the light there, so:

When the Lord was transfigured before Peter, James, and John, His face did shine as the sun, and His garments became as the light (Matthew 17:2).

Also when He was seen by John:

His face did shine as the sun in his power (Revelation 1:16).

"The garments which became as the light" signify Divine truth, for "garments" in the Word signify truth, and this because all angels are clothed by the Lord according to their reception of Divine truth; and their garments are moreover from the light of heaven, and are shining and brilliant therefrom, and the light of heaven, as was said, is Divine truth. This makes clear why the Lord's garments when He was transfigured "became as the light." (But on these things more may be seen in the work on Heaven and Hell 177-182; also above, n. 64, 195, 271, 395.)

[6] In Matthew:

Jesus said of the child whom He had placed in the midst of the disciples, See that ye despise not one of these little ones; I say unto you, that their angels in the heavens do always behold the face of My Father who is in the heavens (Matthew 18:10).

It is said "their angels behold," because with every man there are spirits and angels, and the spirits and angels are such as the man is. With infant children there are angels from the inmost heaven; these see the Lord as a sun, for they are in love to Him and in innocence; this is meant in the nearest sense by "their angels behold the face of My Father;" "the face of the Father" meaning the Divine love which was in the Lord, consequently the essential Divine which is Jehovah; for the Father was in Him, and He in the Father, and they were one, as He Himself teaches. But these same words in the purely spiritual sense signify that the Lord in respect to His Divine good is in the good of innocence, for this is signified by "infant child" in the spiritual sense, and "the face of the Father" signifies the Lord's Divine good. Of "the servants of the Lord," by whom are meant those who are in Divine truths because they are in the good of love and charity, the same is said in Revelation:

The throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in the New Jerusalem; and His servants shall do Him service; and they shall see His face ¹ (Revelation 22:3-4).

But on this see the explanation in the following.

[7] In Isaiah:

In all their distress He was distressed, and the angel of His faces saved them; because of His love and His pity He redeemed them; and He carried them and lifted them up all the days of eternity (Isaiah 63:9).

This treats of the Lord, who is called "the angel of the faces" of Jehovah from Divine truth which is from His Divine love; for "angel" in the Word signifies Divine truth; this is why the angels are called "gods" (See above, n. 130, 200, 302); and "the faces of Jehovah" mean the Divine love which is in the Lord, therefore it is also said, "because of His love and His pity He redeemed them; and He carried them and lifted them up all the days of eternity;" all this is of the Divine love. The Lord in respect to His Human was Divine truth, and from this He combated with the hells, and by it subjugated them; for this reason He is called "an angel," that is, in respect to His Divine Human. This chapter evidently treats of the Lord, and of His combats with the hells and of their subjugation.

[8] In David:

Thou hidest them ² in the hiding place of Thy faces from the elations of man; Thou concealest them in Thy covert from the strife of tongues (Psalms 31:20).

"To hide them in the hiding place of Thy faces" means in the Divine good that does not appear before others; and "to conceal in Thy covert" means in the Divine truth; "the elations of man" and "the strife of tongues" mean the evils of falsity and the falsities of evil; for "elations" are predicated of evils because they are of self-love, and "man" signifies truth and falsity; "the strife of tongues" means the falsity of evil. (What the evil of falsity and the falsity of evil are, see The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 21.)

[9] In the same:

Thou hast set our iniquities before Thee, and our hidden things in the light of Thy faces (Psalms 90:8).

"The light of Thy faces" means the light of heaven from the Lord as the sun there. Because this light is Divine truth itself, from which is all intelligence and wisdom, whatever comes into this light has its quality exhibited as in clear day; for this reason when the evil come into this light they appear just as they are, deformed and monstrous according to the evils concealed with them. This makes clear what is meant by "Thou hast set our iniquities before Thee, and our hidden things in the light of Thy faces."

[10] In Jeremiah:

Proclaim these words towards the north, and say, Return, thou backsliding Israel; I will not cause My faces to fall upon you, for I am merciful (Jeremiah 3:12).

Here, too, "My faces" signify the Divine love, and every good that is of love; and "not causing the faces to fall" signifies not to let it be lowered or cease, for when the countenance falls then it ceases to look, which makes clear what is signified by "I will not cause My faces to fall upon you," so it is also said, "for I am merciful," mercy being the Divine love towards the miserable. "Proclaim towards the north" signifies towards those who are in falsities and in evils therefrom; so it is also said, "Return, thou backsliding Israel." "The north" signifies such, because those who are in falsities and in evils therefrom dwell in the northern quarter in the spiritual world. (Of falsities and the evils therefrom, see in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 21.) The bread upon the table in the tabernacle was called "the bread of faces," and the table itself "the table of faces" (Exodus 25:30; Numbers 4:7), because "the bread" there, the same as "the faces of Jehovah" signified the Divine good of the Divine love (See The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 212-213, 218).

[11] Because "the faces of Jehovah," or of the Lord, signify the Divine good united to Divine truth going out and proceeding from His Divine love, therefore also "the faces of Jehovah" signify the interiors of the church, of the Word, and of worship, for Divine good is in the interior of these; the exteriors of the church, of the Word, and of worship are only the effects and works therefrom. The interiors of the church, of the Word, and of worship are signified by "seeing," "seeking," and "entreating the faces of Jehovah." In Isaiah:

What is the multitude of your sacrifices unto Me? when ye shall come to see the faces of Jehovah? (Isaiah 1:11-12)

In Zechariah:

The inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, In going let us go to entreat the faces of Jehovah, and to seek Jehovah of Hosts; thus many peoples and numerous nations shall come to seek Jehovah of Hosts in Jerusalem, and to entreat the faces of Jehovah (Zechariah 8:21-22).

In David:

My heart said unto thee, Seek ye my faces; Thy faces, O Jehovah, I do seek (Psalms 27:8).

We will make a joyful noise unto the Rock of our salvation; we will come before His faces with confession (Psalms 95:1, 2).

In Malachi:

Entreat the faces of God that He may be gracious unto us (Malachi 1:9).

In David:

My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God; when shall I come to appear before the faces of God? Hope thou in God, for I shall yet confess to Him; His faces are salvations (Psalms 42:2, 5).

In these passages, "faces of Jehovah," "of God," or "of the Lord," mean the interiors of the church, of the Word, and of worship, because Divine good and Divine truth, thus the Lord Himself, are in these interiors, and from them in externals; but are not in externals, namely, of the church, of the Word, and of worship apart from these.

[12] As it was the duty of all who went to Jerusalem to the feasts to carry with them such things as pertained to worship, and all worship is from the interiors which are of the heart and faith, and these interiors are signified by the gifts offered to the Lord, so it was commanded that everyone should offer some gift, which is meant by:

They shall not see My faces empty (Exodus 23:15).

The interiors of the church, of the Word, and of worship, are also signified by these words in Moses:

Jehovah spoke unto Moses, My faces shall go until I shall give thee rest. Then Moses said, If Thy faces go not make us not go up hence (Exodus 33:14-15).

This was said to Moses, because with that nation the Word was to be written, and also in the historical parts of the Word that nation was to be treated of, for with that nation a church was to be instituted which would be a representative church consisting of external things that corresponded to things internal; on this account it was said, "My faces shall go." (Respecting this see further in Arcana Coelestia 10567-10568, where it is explained.)

[13] But because that nation was only in the externals of the Word, of the church, and of worship, and not at all in the internals, therefore it was not granted to Moses to see the Lord's face, but only His back, according to these words in Moses:

Moses said, I pray Thee show me Thy glory; to whom He said, I will make all My good to pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of Jehovah before thee; thou canst not see My faces, for man shall not see Me and live. I will put thee in a hole of the rock, and will cover thee with My hand until I shall have passed by; and when I shall take away My hand thou shalt see My hinder parts, but My faces shall not be seen (Exodus 33:18-23).

Here Moses represented that nation, what was its quality in respect to the understanding of the Word, and thence in respect to the church and worship, namely, that it was in externals only without internals. These externals were represented and signified by "the hinder parts" of Jehovah which were seen by Moses, and the internals by the front parts and "the face." That the internals that are in the externals of the Word, of the church, and of worship, were not seen and could not be seen by that nation, was represented and signified by Moses being placed in the hole of a rock, and by his being covered with the hand of Jehovah while He passed by. (But this has been more fully explained in Arcana Coelestia 10573-10584.)

[14] Furthermore, since "the faces of Jehovah" or the Lord mean the internals of the Word, of the church, and of worship, they mean especially the externals in which are internals; since internals make themselves to be seen in externals, as the internals of man do in his face and features. But the Jewish nation was such that it looked to externals only, and to internals not at all; and to look at externals and not at the same time at internals, or at externals without internals, is like looking at the image of a man that is without life; but to look at externals and at the same time at internals, or at externals from internals, is like looking at a living man; this therefore is, in the proper sense, "to see the face of Jehovah," or "to entreat His faces," in the passages cited above.

[15] Since the internals of the Word, of the church, and of worship, appear in the externals, or present themselves to be seen in externals, comparatively as the internals of man do in the face, it is evident what is signified in the internal sense by "seeing Jehovah" or the Lord "face to face," in the following passages. In Moses:

I have seen God face to face, and yet my soul is delivered (Genesis 32:30).

Jacob said this after he had wrestled with God, who appeared to him as an angel. In the book of Judges:

Gideon said, I have seen the angel of Jehovah face to face. And Jehovah said unto him, Peace be unto thee; fear not, thou shalt not die (Judges 6:22-23).

So, too, with Manoah and his wife (Judges 13:21-23).

And respecting the Israelitish people:

Jehovah spoke with you face to face from the mount, out of the midst of the fire (Deuteronomy 5:4).

Respecting which it is further said:

Jehovah hath made [us] to see His glory and His greatness, and we have heard His voice out of the midst of the fire; we have seen this day that God doth talk to man and he remaineth alive (Deuteronomy 5:24).

And respecting Moses:

Jehovah spoke unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh to his companion (Exodus 33:11; Deuteronomy 34:10).

[16] But it should be known that no man, nor even any angel, can see the Lord's face, since it is Divine love, and no one can sustain the Divine love such as it is in itself; for to see the Lord's face would be like letting the eye into the very fire of the sun, whence it would instantly perish. Such also is the Lord's Divine love viewed in itself; therefore to those in the interior heavens the Lord appears as a sun, and that sun is encompassed by many radiant circles, which are envelopments one after another, in order that the Divine love may proceed to the angels in heaven tempered and moderated, and thus the angels may sustain it; the Lord therefore appears as a sun to the angels of the higher heavens only, while to the angels of the lower heavens He appears merely as light, and to the rest as a moon. Nevertheless, in heaven the Lord appears to the angels, but under an angelic form; for He fills an angel with His aspect, and thus with His presence from afar, and this He does in various places, but everywhere in accommodation to the good of love and of faith with those to whom He appears. Thus the Lord was seen by Gideon, and by Manoah and his wife, also by Moses, and the Israelitish people. This, therefore, is what is meant by "seeing Jehovah face to face," and by "seeing Jehovah and not dying." It is clearly evident that the face itself in respect to the interiors which are of His Divine love was not seen, for it was said to Moses:

That no one can see Jehovah's face and live (Exodus 33:20).

Yet it is said that "they saw Jehovah face to face;" which shows clearly that "seeing the faces of Jehovah" in the passages cited above signifies seeing Him in the interiors of the Word, of the church, and of worship, which nevertheless is seeing Him in externals from internals. That the Jewish nation was in the externals of the Word, of the church, and of worship, apart from internals, may be seen in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 248); what the external is apart from the internal, and what the external is in which is the internal, see n. 47).

[17] That the Jewish nation was such, was also represented and signified by:

Their covering the Lord's face, striking it, and spitting in it (Matthew 26:67; Mark 14:65; Luke 22:64);

for all things related in the Word respecting the Lord's passion represent and signify arcana of heaven and the church, and in particular the quality of the Jews in respect to the Word, the church, and worship. (That this is so, see above, n. 64, 83, 195 c.)

[18] It can be known from what has been thus far explained, what "the face" of Jehovah or the Lord signifies, namely, the Divine love, and all good in heaven and in the church therefrom; and from this it can be known what is signified by "hiding" or "concealing the faces," in reference to Jehovah or the Lord, namely, that it is to leave man in what is his own [proprium] and thus in the evils and falsities that spring forth from what is his own [proprium]; for man viewed in himself is nothing but evil and falsity therefrom, and that he may be in good he is withheld from these by the Lord, which is effected by being elevated out of what is his own [proprium]. From this it can be seen that "hiding and concealing the faces," in reference to the Lord, signifies to leave in evils and falsities; as in the following passages. In Jeremiah:

For all their evil I have covered My faces from this city (Jeremiah 33:5).

In Isaiah:

Your sins have hid God's faces from you, that He hath not heard (Isaiah 59:2).

In Ezekiel:

My faces will I turn away from them, that they may profane My secret, and that the violent may enter into it and profane it (Ezekiel 7:22).

The nations shall know that for their iniquity the sons of Israel were carried away; and therefore will I hide My faces from them (Ezekiel 39:23).

In Lamentations:

The face of Jehovah hath divided them; He will no more regard them (Lamentations 4:16).

In Micah:

Jehovah will hide His faces from them, even as they have made their works evil (Micah 3:4).

In David:

Thou didst hide Thy faces, I was troubled (Psalms 30:7).

Wherefore hidest Thou Thy faces, and forgettest our affliction and our oppression? (Psalms 44:24).

Thou hidest Thy faces, they are affrighted; Thou gatherest in their spirit, they expire, and return to their dust (Psalms 104:29).

In Moses:

My anger shall glow against the people in that day, and I will forsake them, and will hide My faces from them. In hiding I will hide My faces in that day because of all the evil which they have done (Deuteronomy 31:17-18).

I will hide My faces from them; they are a generation of perversions (Deuteronomy 32:20).

In Isaiah:

I will tarry for Jehovah, although He hideth His faces from the house of Jacob (Isaiah 8:17).

In David:

How long wilt Thou forget me, O Jehovah? how long wilt Thou hide Thy faces from me? (Psalms 13:1).

Hide not Thy faces from me; put not Thy servant away in anger (Psalms 27:9).

Hide not Thy faces from Thy servant, for I am in distress; hasten, answer me (Psalms 69:17).

O Jehovah why casteth Thou off my soul? Why hidest Thou Thy faces from me? (Psalms 88:14).

Hide not Thy faces from me in the day of my distress (Psalms 102:2).

Answer me, O Jehovah; hide not Thy faces from me, lest I become like them that go down into the pit (Psalms 143:7).

In Ezekiel:

When I shall have brought together the sons of Israel upon their own ground, then will I not hide My faces any more from them, for I will pour out My spirit upon the sons of Israel (Ezekiel 39:28-29).

In David:

He hath not despised nor abhorred the affliction of Israel; neither hath He hid His faces from him; but when he cried aloud unto Him He heard (Psalms 22:24).

[19] In these passages it is said that Jehovah, that is, the Lord, conceals and hides His faces on account of iniquities and sins, and He is entreated not to conceal or hide them, and yet He never conceals or hides, that is, His Divine good and His Divine truth; for the Lord is Divine love itself and mercy itself, and desires the salvation of all; therefore He is present with all and with each one, even with those who are in iniquities and sins, and by this presence He gives them the freedom to receive Him, that is, truth and good from Him, consequently they also do receive if from freedom they desire to. Reception must be from freedom, in order that goods and truths may abide with man, and be with him as his own; for what a man does from freedom he does from affection, for all freedom is of affection, and affection is man's will; therefore what is received in freedom, or from man's affection, enters his will and endures. It then endures because the will is the man himself and in the will his life primarily resides, but secondarily in the thought or the understanding. This therefore is why man ought to receive Divine good and Divine truth, with which the Lord is always present.

[20] This is what is meant by:

Behold I stand at the door and knock; if any man hear My voice and open the door, I will come in to him and will sup with him (Revelation 3:20).

But when man from freedom chooses evil he shuts the door to himself, and thus does not let in the good and truth that are from the Lord; consequently the Lord then appears to be absent. It is from this appearance that it is said that Jehovah conceals and hides His faces, although He does not conceal and hide. Moreover man as to his spirit then turns away from the Lord, and consequently does not perceive the good or see the truth, which are from the Lord; this is why it appears as if the Lord did not see him; and yet the Lord sees each and every thing pertaining to man. It is from this appearance also that the Lord is said to conceal and hide His faces, and also is said to set [ponere et dare] His faces against them, also that He regards them with the back of the neck and not with the faces, as in the following passages. In Jeremiah:

I have set My faces against this city for evil, and not for good (Jeremiah 21:10).

In the same:

I set My faces against you for evil, to cut off all Judah (Jeremiah 44:11).

In Ezekiel:

I will set My faces against that man, and I will lay him waste, and I will cut him off from the midst of My people (Ezekiel 14:8).

In the same:

I will set My faces against them; let them go forth from the fire and the fire shall devour them, when I shall have set My faces against them (Ezekiel 15:7).

In Moses:

He that shall eat any blood, I will set My faces against that soul, and I will cut him off (Leviticus 17:10).

In Jeremiah:

As the east wind will I scatter them before the enemy; with the back of the neck, and not with the face, will I regard them (Jeremiah 18:17).

That it is man who sets his face against the Lord and who turns himself away from the Lord, whence evil comes to him, is evident also from the Word. As in Jeremiah:

They have turned unto Me the back of the neck, and not the faces (Jeremiah 32:33).

In the same:

They have made their faces harder than a rock; they have refused to return (Jeremiah 5:3).

In the same:

They have gone away in their own counsels, in the hardening of their evil heart, and they have become turned backwards and not forwards (Jeremiah 7:24).

And in Isaiah:

Your sins have hid God's faces from you (Isaiah 59:2).

[21] That the evil turn away their face from the Lord does not mean that they do it with the face of the body, but with the face of their spirit. Man can turn his face whatever way he pleases, since he is in a state of freedom to turn himself either towards heaven or towards hell, and moreover a man's face is taught to deceive for the sake of the appearance before the world; but when man becomes a spirit, which he does immediately after death, then he who had lived in evils turns the face altogether away from the Lord (as can be seen from what has been said and shown in the work on Heaven and Hell 17, 123, 142, 144-145, 151, 153, 251, 272, 511, 552, 561). This is what is meant by "they have turned unto Me the back of the neck, and not the face," and "they have become turned backwards and not forwards." And because such then come into the evil of punishment and hell, those who have turned themselves away suppose that this is from the Lord, and that He regards them with a stern countenance, and casts them down into hell, and punishes them just as an angry man would do, when yet the Lord regards no one in any other way than from love and mercy. It is from that appearance that these things are said in the Word. In Isaiah:

When Thou shalt do fearful things that we look not for, the mountains shall flow down before Thee (Isaiah 64:3).

In David:

It is burned with fire, it is cut down; they have perished at the rebuke of Thy faces (Psalms 80:16).

In the same:

The faces of Jehovah are against them that do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth (Psalms 34:16).

In Moses:

Behold I send an angel before thee. Take ye heed of his faces; for he will not bear your transgression (Exodus 23:20-21).

In Ezekiel:

I will lead you into the wilderness of the peoples, and I will have judgment with you face to face (Ezekiel 20:35).

In Moses:

When the ark set forward, Moses said, Arise O Jehovah, let Thine enemies be scattered; and let them that hate Thee flee before Thy faces (Numbers 10:35).

In Revelation:

I saw a throne high and great, and Him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away (Revelation 20:11).

[22] These things are said respecting the signification of the face in reference to Jehovah or the Lord. The face in reference to man signifies his disposition and affection, and consequently the interiors which belong to his mind, and this because the disposition and affections, or the interiors that belong to man's mind, present themselves to be seen in the face; this is why the face is said to be an index of the mind; the face also is an effigy of the interiors of man, for it represents them, and his countenance corresponds to them. That "faces" in reference to man signify affections of various kinds, can be seen from the following passages. In Isaiah:

They say, Turn aside out of the way, decline out of the path, cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from our faces (Isaiah 30:11).

"Cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from our faces" signifies to cause the Lord to cease from the thought and affection, thus everything of the church, "the Holy one of Israel" meaning the Lord; to withdraw from the truth and good of the church, which is from the Lord and in which is the Lord, is signified by "Turn aside out of the way, decline out of the path," "way" and "path" meaning the truth and good of the church.

[23] In Lamentations:

They have not accepted the faces of the priests, and they were not gracious unto the faces of the old (Lamentations 4:16).

Again:

Princes were hanged up by their hand; the faces of the old were not honored (Lamentations 5:12).

"Not to accept the faces of the priests" signifies to value as nothing the goods of the church, which are of love and faith; for "the priests" represented the Lord in respect to Divine good, and thus signified the good of the church, and "faces" signify all things thereof that have reference to love and faith. "Not to honor the faces of the old" signifies to account as nothing all things of wisdom, "the old" signifying wisdom, and "faces" all things thereof, because they signify interior things; "the princes hanged up by their hand" signify that all intelligence was rejected, "princes" meaning the primary truths from which there is intelligence.

[24] In Moses:

Jacob said respecting Esau, I will appease his faces with the present that goeth before me, and afterwards I will see his faces; peradventure he will accept my faces (Genesis 32:19-20).

"To appease his faces," signifies to captivate his mind; "afterwards to see his faces" signifies to know what the disposition is; "peradventure he will accept my faces" signifies, peradventure he will receive me with a kindly disposition; "to accept the faces" meaning to have good will towards anyone from affection. In the same:

Thou shalt not wrest judgment; thou shall not regard faces, neither take a gift (Deuteronomy 16:19).

"Not to regard faces" signifies not to have the mind better disposed towards superiors, the rich, and friends, than towards inferiors, the poor, and enemies, because what is just and right is to be regarded without respect to person.

[25] In Malachi:

I have made you contemptible and lowly unto all the people, according as ye keep not My ways, and accept faces in the law (Malachi 2:9).

"Accepting faces in the law" has a similar signification as "regarding faces in judgment," quoted above, namely, to have the mind better disposed towards, and to show more favor to superiors, the rich, and friends, than to inferiors, the poor, and enemies. In Isaiah:

What mean ye? Ye crush the people, and grind the faces of the poor (Isaiah 3:15).

"To grind the faces of the poor" signifies to destroy the affections of knowing truths with those who are in ignorance of truth and yet wish to be instructed; "to grind" signifying to destroy, "faces" signifying the affections of knowing truths, and "the poor" those who are in ignorance of truth but wish to be instructed, for these are the spiritually poor.

[26] In David:

The daughter of Tyre shall bring an offering; the rich of the people shall entreat thy faces. The king's daughter is all glorious within; her vesture is inwrought with gold (Psalms 45:12-13).

"The king's daughter" signifies the spiritual affection of truth; "the daughter of Tyre" signifies the affection of the knowledges of truth and good; to be enriched with these is signified by "bringing an offering;" "the rich of the people" signify the intelligent, and in an abstract sense, the understanding of truth and good; to be gifted with these is signified by "entreating his faces;" for all things of intelligence dwell in the spiritual affection of truth, which therefore is signified by his "faces." (The rest may be seen explained above, n. 195)

[27] In the same:

Yet do I confess ³ Him, the salvations of my faces, my God (Psalms 42:11; 43:5).

"The salvations of my faces" signify all things that are within, thus those that are of the mind and the affections, accordingly those that are of love and faith; because these are what save they are called "salvations." Evil affections, which are lusts, are expressed by the same term, "faces," because they appear in the face, for the face is the external or natural form of the interiors, which are of the disposition and mind; and in the spiritual world these make one, for there it is not permitted to put on other faces than those that are from the affections, thus that correspond to the interiors which are of their mind. This is why the angels of heaven are radiant and lovely in face, while infernal spirits are dusky and misshapen in face.

[28] This, too is evidently the meaning of "faces" in the following passages. In Isaiah:

Throes and pangs seize them, they travail like a woman bringing forth; they are amazed every man at his companion; their faces are faces of flames (Isaiah 13:8).

This treats of the Last Judgment, when the evil are let into their interiors. The interiors of those who are in the love of self and the world, and thence in hatreds and revenges, are meant by "their faces are faces of flames;" and such also do they appear. Their torments from the influx of Divine good and Divine truth are signified by "throes and pangs seize them, they are in travail like a woman bringing forth." Their torments are likened to the throes and pangs of women bringing forth for the same reason that the comparison is used in Genesis 3:16; for evils and falsities are then conjoined; and when this is the case "pangs seize" when Divine good and truth flow in.

[29] In Ezekiel:

Say to the forest of the south, The flame of the grievous flame shall not be quenched, wherefore all faces from the south even to the north shall be burned therein (Ezekiel 20:47).

"The forest of the south" means falsity within the church, consequently those there who are in falsities; the church is signified by "the south" because it can be in the light of truth from the Word; and falsity from evil is signified by "forest;" the vastation and destruction of the church by the love of falsity from evil is signified by "the flame of the grievous flame, by which all faces shall be burned;" "all faces" meaning all the interiors of the men of the church in respect to the affections of truth and good, and the thoughts therefrom; "from the south even to the north" signifies all things of the church from first to last, or interior and exterior; "the south" meaning the interior or first things of the church, and "the north" the exterior or last things of the church; this is the signification of "the south" and "the north" because those who are in the light of truth from the Lord are in the southern quarter in the spiritual world; while in the hells under them are those who are in natural lumen by means of which they have confirmed themselves in falsities; and in the northern quarter are those who are in obscurity of truth from the Lord, and in the hells under them are those who are in falsities, but not in any natural lumen whereby they have confirmed their falsities.

[30] In Joel:

Before him the peoples tremble; all faces have gathered blackness (Joel 2:6).

This treats of evils and falsities devastating the church, and of the judgment upon those who are in them; those who are in falsities are signified by "the peoples who tremble;" their interiors which are in the falsities of evil are signified by "the faces that have gathered blackness;" "faces" meaning the interiors, and "blackness" the falsity of evil. The infernals who are in falsities from evil appear black in the light of heaven.

[31] In Daniel:

In the latter end of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king hard in faces shall rise up (Daniel 8:23).

This was said of the four horns of the he-goat, by which are there meant four kingdoms, but "kingdoms" there do not mean kingdoms but the states of the church, for "a he-goat of the goats" means faith separated from charity, which is called faith alone; "the latter end of their kingdom" signifies the end of the church, when there is no faith because there is no charity; "when the transgressors are come to the full" signifies when there are no longer truth and good, but evil and falsity; these words signify the like as "when iniquity is consummated and fulfilled" (respecting which see above, n. 397). "A king hard in faces" signifies no truth but only falsity in their interiors; "king" signifying truth, and in the contrary sense falsity; "faces" the interiors, and "hard in faces" the interiors without good; for where there is no good, truth is hard, while truth from good is mild, because living; and truth without good even becomes falsity in their interiors or thought, since they do not think about it spiritually but materially, because they think from things corporeal and worldly, and thus from the fallacies of the senses.

[32] In Ezekiel:

Sons hard in their faces, and hardened in heart (Ezekiel 2:4).

"Sons hard in their faces" signify those who are in truths without good, and in an abstract sense truths without good, which in themselves are falsities (as has been said above); and "hardened in heart" signifies those who do not admit good, and who are therefore in evil, for where good cannot enter evil enters; "the heart" signifies also in the Word the good of love, and "a hardened heart" signifies the same as "a stony heart," namely, where the good of love is not admitted; but "a heart of flesh" signifies where it is admitted.

[33] In Isaiah:

Their tongue and their doings are against Jehovah, to rebel against the eyes of His glory; the hardness of their faces answereth against them (Isaiah 3:8-9).

"Their tongue and their doings which are against Jehovah" signify thought and affection; "the tongue" thought, because the tongue utters what man thinks, and "doings" affection, because man does what is of his affection; these "are against Jehovah, and rebel against the eyes of His glory" when they are against Divine good and against Divine truth; for "Jehovah" in the Word means the Lord in respect to Divine good proceeding from His Divine love, and "His glory" means Divine truth; to be against this is signified by "rebelling against the eyes of His glory;" "the hardness of their faces which answers against them" signifies to refuse Divine truth and Divine good, and not to admit them into their thoughts and affections, which are their interiors.

[34] In Ezekiel:

Behold I have made thy faces hard against their faces, and thy forehead hard against their forehead (Ezekiel 3:8).

This was said to the prophet, by whom is signified the doctrine of truth and good combating against falsities and evils; therefore "his faces made hard against their faces" signifies the rejection of falsities by truths, and "his forehead hardened against their forehead" signifies the rejection of evil by good; for "faces" signify the affections of truth, or the affections of falsity, and "forehead" signifies the affection of good or the affection of evil. The affection of truth and good is hardened and becomes outwardly hard from zeal, when it is combating against falsity and evil, otherwise it could not repulse them; but it is not so inwardly. From this it can be seen how these words must be understood. Since "faces" signify man's interiors, or the things that are of his thought and affection, the same word in the Hebrew that means "face" means what is interior.

[35] (In these explanations various things have been said respecting "faces" which cannot be easily understood, perhaps, without further exposition; I will therefore add what has been said and shown respecting faces in the Arcana Coelestia, namely, that the face is formed to a correspondence with man's interiors, n. 4791-4805, 5695; on the correspondence of the face and countenance with the affections of the mind, n. 1568, 2988, 2989, 3631, 4796, 4797, 4800, 5165, 5168, 9306; consequently the interiors shine forth from the face, n. 3527, 4066, 4796; with the ancients the face made one with the interiors, n. 3573, 4326, 5695; it also makes one with the interiors with the angels in heaven, and with sincere men in the world, n. 4796, 4797, 4799, 5695, 8250; in the other life the faces of all become such as their interiors are, n. 4798, 5695; experiences respecting changes of the face there according to the interiors, n. 4796, 6604; on the influx of the interiors of the mind, or of the understanding and will into the face and its muscles, n. 3631, 4800; with flatterers, dissemblers, hypocrites, and the deceitful, the face does not act as one with the interiors, n. 4799, 8250; with such the face is taught to feign sincerity, honesty, and piety, n. 4326; how influx from the brains into the face became changed in process of time, and with it the face itself in respect to its correspondence with the interiors, n. 4326, 8250; the natural of man is like an interior face to the spiritual mind and its sight, n. 5165, 5168. See also what has been said and shown respecting faces in the work on Heaven and Hell 46-48, 142-144, 457-459, 553.)

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