THE EXPLANATION of Isaiah Chapter 17

(Note: Rev. Smithson's translation of the Isaiah text is appended below the explanation)

1. THE burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is rejected, so as to be no city; and it is become a heap of ruins.

Verse 1. Behold, Damascus is rejected, so as to be no city, etc. - By "Aram" or Syria [of which Damascus was the capital], are signified the knowledges of Good. The same appears also from Ezekiel:

"Aram was your merchant, in the multitude of your works: they occupied in your fairs with emeralds, purple, and broidered work, and fine linen, and coral, and agate"; (Ezekiel 27:16) speaking of "Tyre", or the possession of knowledges; where "works, emeralds, purple, broidered work, fine linen, coral, and agate", signify nothing else but the knowledges of Good. So in Hosea:

"Jacob fled into the country of Aram and Israel served for a wife, and for a wife he kept sheep; and by a prophet Jehovah brought up Israel out of Egypt, and by a prophet was he preserved; Ephraim provoked Him to anger with bitterness"; (Hosea 12:12-14),

where "Jacob" signifies the external church, and "Israel" the spiritual internal church; "Aram" denotes the knowledges of Good; "Egypt" denotes perverted science; and "Ephraim", perverted intelligence; - the signification of which names could never appear from the literal sense, but only from the internal sense, in which names signify things relating to the church, as has been already observed.

So in Isaiah :

"Behold, Damascus is rejected, so as to be no city; and it is become a heap of ruins: and the fortress shall cease from Ephraim, and the kingdom from Damascus; and the remnant of Aram [or Syria] shall be as the glory of the sons of Israel"; (Isaiah 17:1, 3),

where the "remnant of Aram" signifies the knowledges of Good, which are called "the glory of the sons of Israel"; "Aram", or Syria, signifies also, in an opposite sense, the knowledges of Good perverted, according to what is usual in the Word, where the same expression is frequently applied in a two-fold signification.

That "Aram" is thus used in the opposite sense, may be seen in Isaiah 7:4-6; 9:12; Deuteronomy 26:5. Arcana Coelestia 1232.

See above, as to "Syria", Isaiah 7:4, the Exposition.

How important it is to acquire the knowledges of Truth and Good [signified by "Syria" from the Word, may appear from the following considerations:

That by truths cometh love to the Lord,

- by truths we receive love to our neighbour,

- by truths we have heavenly intelligence and wisdom,

- by truths regeneration is effected,

- by truths man has power against evils and falsities, and consequently against hell,

- by truths there is purification from evils and falsities,

- by truths the church exists;

- by truths heaven exists;

- by truths is the innocence of wisdom;

- by truths a man has conscience;

- by truths order is established;

- by truths cometh the beauty of angels, and also of men with respect to the interiors of their spirits,

- and that by virtue of truths man is a man.

But by all this is meant truths grounded in good, and not by truths without good, and by good from the Lord. Hence everyone can see the great importance of acquiring the knowledges of Truth and Goodness. Apocalypse Revealed 161.

2. The cities of Aroer are deserted: they shall be for the flocks, and they shall lie down, and none shall make them afraid.

Verse 2. [" Aroer" was the plain of Syria, and its "cities" or towns, as subordinate to Damascus, signified various doctrinals of Truth and Goodness, which when thus "deserted and devastated", become the possession of those who can make a proper use of them, denoted by "the flocks that shall lie down, and by none making them afraid", of whom, as the "remnant of Syria", (verse 3.) a New Church can be formed. It does not appear that Swedenborg has quoted this verse. See above, Chapter 5:17, note, where a similar passage occurs. The "glory of the sons of Israel", are the knowledges of Truth and Good applied to the life for the purposes of salvation.]

3. And the fortress shall cease from Ephraim, and the kingdom from Damascus; and the remnant of Syria shall be as the glory of the sons of Israel, says Jehovah of Hosts

Verse 3. As to the meaning of "Ephraim", see above, Chapter 7:2, the Exposition.

4. And it shall be in that day, the glory Jacob shall be made thin, and the fatness of his flesh shall be made lean.

Verse 4. To be "made thin" or slender, is to be deprived of the truths of faith; "the fatness of his flesh shall be made lean", signifies to be deprived of the good of charity. Arcana Coelestia 5200, 5204. b

[As to the theological leanness which prevails in the church at this day, from the want of the knowledges of Truth, see True Christian Religion 391.]

5. And it shall be as when one gathers the standing harvest, and his arm reaps the ears; or as when one gleans ears in the valley of Rephaim.

Verses 5, 6, 11. The subject treated of in this chapter is concerning the knowledges of Truth and Good appertaining to the church, has being destroyed. Those knowledges are siguified by "Damascus", which is here treated of, and by Aroer"; their being destroyed is described by gleanings being left in it, as in the shaking of the olive-tree; two [orJ three berrles on the head of the uppermost bough, four [orJ five on the fruitful branches; likewise by "the harvest being a heap in the day of possession", namely, that there shall be no more than one heap, wherefore it is also called "desperate sorrow." Hence it is evident that by "harvest" is here signified the last state of the church; that state is also signified by "morning", for when the last state of the church is at hand, it is then morning to those who will be of the New Church, and evening and night to those who are of the Old; that this is here understood by "morning", appears from the last verse of the chapter, where it is said "At the time of evening, behold terror! before the morning, it [terror] is no more." (Isaiah 17:14) "Terror" signifies destruction. Apocalypse Explained 911.

6. There shall be left gleanings in it, as in the shaking of the olive-tree; two [or] three berries on the head of the uppermost bough; four [orJ five on the fruitful branches, says Jehovah the God of Israel.

Verse 6. The devastation of the church is here treated of and this is said of the remaining few who are in Good and Truth. A comparison is made with "the shaking of the olive-tree", because by the "olive-tree" is signified the church as to the good of love and its "branches" the truths thence derived. "Two, three" signify the few 'who are in good, and thence in truths; "two" signify good, and "three" truths; and "four, five" signify the few who are in good; "four" those who are in good, and "five" a few; and because "four, five" signify the few who are in good, therefore it is said "Four, five on the fruitful branches"; for the "fruit-bearing olive-tree" signifies those in the church who are in good as to life. As these things are signified by those numbers, therefore it is said "two, three" and "four, five", and not "two and three" and "four and five." Apocalypse Explained 332. -

7. In that day shall a man regard his Maker; and his eyes shall look towards the Holy One of Israel:

8. And he shall not regard the altars, the work of his hands; and what his fingers have made, he shall not respect; nor the groves, nor the solar statues.

9. In that day shall the cities of his refuge be as a forsaken bough, and an uppermost branch, which they left before the sons of Israel: and there shall be desolation.

Verses 7, 8. 10. The subject here treated of is concerning the establishment of a New Church by the Lord. That they shall then be led into goods of life, and informed in truths of doctrine, is understood by "a man in that day having regard to his; Maker, and his eyes looking towards the Holy One of Israel"; the Lord is called "Maker", by reason that He leads into goods of life, for these make a man: and He is called the "Holy One of Israel", by reason that He teaches truths of doctrine, wherefore it is also said- "In that day shall a man regard his Maker, and his eyes shall look towards the Holy One of Israel"; man being called "man" [homo] , from the good of life, and "eyes" being predicated of the understanding of truth, thus of the truths of doctrine. That in such a case there will be no worship from self-love, in which evils of life originate, nor from self-derived intelligence, in which originate falsos of doctrine, is understood by his "not having regard to the altars, the work of his hands, and not having respect to what his fingers have made." By "the altars, the work of his hands", is understood worship grounded in self-love, from which evils of life are derived; and by "what his fingers have made", is understood worship grounded in self-derived intelligence, from which are derived falsities of doctrine; by "the groves and solar statues of the groves" is signiiled the religious principle grounded in falsities and thence in evils; by "groves", the religious principle grounded in falsities, and by "solar statues", such as is grounded in the evils of the false. Apocalypse Explained 391.

Hence by these words is understood that the all of doctrine should be from the Lord, and not from the proprium of man, which is the case when a man is in the spiritual affection of Truth, that is, when he loves Truth itself, because it is Truth, and not principally because thereby he can acquire fame and a name. Apocalypse Explained 585.

10. Because you have forgotten the God of your salvation, and have not remembered the Rock of your strength, therefore shalt you plant plants of delights, and shalt set it with strange slips: .

11. In the day when you shalt have made your plants to grow, and in the morning when you shalt have made your seed to flourish; even in the day of possession shall the harvest be a heap, and there shall be desperate sorrow.

Verse 10. The Rock of your strength, etc. - See above, Chapter 16:1, the Exposition.

Verses 10, 11. Because you have forgotten the God of your salvation, therefore shalt you plant plants of delights, and set stranqe slips, etc. That to "sow" the land or the field, signifies, in the Word, to teach and to learn the truths and goods of faith, which are of the church; and that the "increase of the field" are the goods and truths thence derived, is evident from many passages in the Word, as in Isaiah 17:10, 11; here such things as grow upon the earth are mentioned, and that the things of the church are understood thereby is evident, namely.by "planting plants of delights", as said of those who have " forgotten, the God of their salvation", are understood such things as favour the affections [of the merely natural man]; and that by "setting the earth with strange slips", is to teach truths which are not genuine, [the end of which will, be "desperate sorrow."] Arcana Coelestia 9272.

12. Woe to the tumult of many peoples, who make a noise like the noise of the seas; and to the roaring of the nations, who make a roaring like the roaring of many waters!

Verse 12. Woe to the tumult, etc. - As to "what is meant by the denunciation "Woe!" see above, Chapter 1:4, the Exposition.

[" The tumult of many peoples, the noise of the seas, and the roaring of the nations", etc., signify, by correspondence, the tumultuous collisions and reasonings which take place at the time of judgment, when the external or natural mind is laid open, and its falsities and evils exposed and dispersed, as "chaff and stubble", by the power of divine Truth. See Apocalypse Explained 706.]

13. Like the roaring of many waters do the nations roar; but He shall rebuke them, and they shall flee far away; and they shall be driven like the chaff of the mountains before the wind, and like the stubble before the whirlwind.

Verse 13. And they shall be driven like the chaff of the mountains before the wind, and like the stubble before the whirlwind. - In the spiritual world, as well as in the natural world, there exist strong winds and storms; but the storms in the spiritual world exist from the influx of the Divine [Principle] into the lower parts of that world, where they are who are in evils and falsities. That influx, as it descends -out of the heavens towards the earths, which are below, becomes more dense, and appears as clouds, and with the evil, dense and opaque, according to the quantity and quality of their evil; these clouds are appearances of the false from evil, arising from the spheres of their life; every angel and spirit being encompassed by such a sphere. When therefore the Divine [Principle] is sent forth powerfully from the Lord as a sun, and flows in into these dense and opaque clouds, there arises a storm, which is perceived by the spirits there, in like manner as storms are perceived by men in the world. It has been given me sometimes to perceive these storms, and also the "east wind", by which the evil were dissipated and cast into the hells, when the last Judgment was performed. From these considerations it may appear what "storms", "tempests", and "impetuous winds" signify in the following passages. Thus in Isaiah :

"You shalt disperse them, and the wind shall carry them away, and the storm shall dissipate them." (Isaiah 41:16)

And in Jeremiah:

"From the storm of Jehovah anger went forth, and a whirlwind threatening to rush in; upon the head of the wicked it shall rush." (Jeremiah 23:19; 30:23)

And in David:

"I would hasten my escape from the windy storm and tempest." (Psalmlv. 8.) Apocalypse Explained 419.

Like the chaff and the stubble, etc. - "Wheat" denotes the goods of love and charity; "chaff" signifies what contains nothing of good.. Arcana Coelestia 3941.

14. At the time of evening, behold terror! before the morning, it is no more. This is the portion of those that spoil us, and the lot of those that plunder us.

Verse 14. "Evening" signifies the last time of the church, when there is nothing but evils and falsities, which are called "terror", because they are hell; but the "morning " signifies the first time of the church, when evils and falsities are not; wherefore it is said, "Before the morning, terror is no more." Apocalypse Explained 677.

5. And the throne shall be established in mercy: and in truth shall He sit thereon, in the tabernacle of David, a Judge, searching out judgment, and despatching justice.

Verse 5. These things are said of the Lord. Heaven, which was established by Him, and the church thence derived, are signified by "the throne established in mercy"; that the Lord there reigns by Divine Truth from Divine Good, is signified by " sitting upon it in truth, in the tabernacle of David"; by "David" is meant the Lord as to His royalty, which is Divine Truth; find by his "tabernacle" is signified the Divine Good; by "judgment" is signified the truth of doctrine, because all judgment is from that truth; and by "justice" is signified the good of love, both from the Lord with those who are in heaven and in the church. Apocalypse Explained 799.

6. We have heard of the pride of Moab: he is very proud; of his haughtiness, and his pride, and his anger: vain are his lies.

Verse 6. By "pride" is understood the love of self, and the love and faith of what is false with those who are of the church. Apocalypse Explained 653, 675.

Vain are his lies. - "Lies" are the falsities of faith, because "Moab" signifies those who are in the evil of self-love, and who thence falsify Truths. Arcana Coelestia 8908.

7. Therefore shall Moab howl; for Moab shall everyone howl: for the foundations of Kir-hare-seth shall you moan; surely they are stricken.

8. For the fields of Heshbon are withered; [as to] the vine of Sibmah, the lords of the nations have broken down the branches thereof; they reached unto Jazer; they strayed through the desert; her branches are plucked up; they passed over the sea.

Verses 7-9. For Moab shall everyone howl; for the foundations of Kir-hareseth shall you make a moan, etc. - Very many of the prophecies, as the above, are of such a nature that, if they had not an internal sense, they would be of no use; whereas it is necessary that, as the Word is divine, it should contain within itself the laws of the heavenly kingdom into which man is about to come. Arcana Coelestia 2608.

9. Wherefore I will weep, as with the weeping of Jazer, for the vine of Sibmah: I will water you with my tears, O Heshbon and Elealeh! for upon your summer fruits, and upon your vintage, the shout [of war] has fallen.

Verse 9. By "harvest" here also is signified the last state of the church, for by "shouting" is signified the end, when upon finishing the vintage and gathering in the harvest, they were wont to triumph and make a shouting, but in the present case to lament, because it is said "it has fallen." By "Jazer", the "vine of Sibmah", and by "Heshbon and Elealeh", are signified the men of the external church, who explain the Word to favour the loves of the world, for those places were given for an inheritance to the tribes of Reuben and Gad, by whom, inasmuch as they dwelt on the outside of Jordan, the external church was represented; the "vine of Sibmah" signifies their church; their destruction, when the Lord should come and accomplish judgment, is also described in this chapter. Apocalypse Explained 911.

10. And joy and gladness are taken away from Carmel; and in the vineyards they shall not sing, they shall not shout: in the vats the treader shall not tread out the wine; I have made the shouting to cease.

11. Wherefore my bowels for Moab like a harp shall sound; and mine inward parts for Kir-haresh.

Verse 10. In these words is described the taking away of celestial delight originating in Good, and the truths thence derived, in consequence of the deprivation of genuine Good and Truth. The Good of the church is understood by "Carmel", · and the Truth thence derived by "vineyards", and by the "treading of the wine in the wine-press"; the delights thereof, which are taken away, are signified by "joy, exultation, singing, and vintage-shouting"; for it was a custom to sing in the vineyards, and in the wine-presses, when the grapes were trodden into wine, on account of the representation of the delights derived from truths, which were signified by ", vine." Apocalypse Explained 376. See also Arcana Coelestia 1071; Apocalypse Revealed 316.

12. And it shall be, when Moab shall see that he has wearied himself out on the high place, that he shall enter his sanctuary to pray; but he shall not prevail.

13. This is the Word which Jehovah spake concerning Moab at that time :

Verse 12. He shall enter his sanctuary to pray, but he shall not prevail. - [These words imply that those represented by Moab who, at the period of Judgment, are in external worship without an internal principle of love to the Lord and their neighbour, will have recourse to their "sanctuary", or to externals of worship, in order to avoid the impending destruction, but "will not prevail"; as all prayers and all external acts of worship and piety, which have not an internal principle, will be of no avail to salvation. See below, Chapter 18:7, the Exposition, where the true nature of Saving Worship and Piety are shown; see also above, Chapter 1:11-19, the Exposition.]

14. But now has Jehovah spoken, saying, Within three years, as the years of a hireling, the glory of Moab shall be reviled, in all his great multitude; and the remnant shall be few, small, and without strength.

Verse 14. By "Moab" are here understood those who are in falsities from evil; by his" glory", and by his "great multitude", are understood those falsities; by "the three years after which his glory shall be reviled", is signified what is complete and consummated; wherefore it is said that "the remnant shall be few, small, and without strength", by which is signified that it shall be no more. "Three years" are mentioned, whereby is understood consummation, thus, from beginning to end. It is to be observed that the same is signified by "three years" as by "three months, "three weeks, "three days", and "three hours", inasmuch as "times", in the spiritual sense, signify states, and "three times", whether greater or less, a full state. Apocalypse Explained 532.

Of a hireling. - They who learn and imbibe truths from the Word, or from the doctrine of the church, or from any other sources whatsoever, even from themselves by conclusions, for the sake of gain, that is, that they may gain honours or wealth, or likewise, that they may merit heaven, - these are they who, in the internal sense, are meant by "hirelings." To the man of the church, gains ought to be in the last place, not in the first; when they are in the last place, they are then servants; but if in the first place, they are lords. He who respects gains in the first place, is an inverted man, and also is represented as inverted in the other life, with his head in hell; but he who respects charity and faith in the first place, thus the Lord and his neighbour, he is an erect man, and also is presented erect in the other life, with his head in heaven. Arcana Coelestia 9180.

Within three years, as the years of a hireling, etc. - [These words involve the idea, by correspondence, that at the period of judgment, when the states of those in the church signified by Moab are consummated, as denoted by "three years", all such will be reduced to a merely hireling and mercenary condition, that is, they will study and embrace the truths of the Word from merely selfish motives, relating to honour and gain; when this is the case, the end is come and judgment ensues.]

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Isaiah Chapter 17

1. THE burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is rejected, so as to be no city; and it is become a heap of ruins.

2. The cities of Aroer are deserted: they shall be for the flocks, and they shall lie down, and none shall make them afraid.

3. And the fortress shall cease from Ephraim, and the kingdom from Damascus; and the remnant of Syria shall be as the glory of the sons of Israel, says Jehovah of Hosts

4. And it shall be in that day, the glory Jacob shall be made thin, and the fatness of his flesh shall be made lean.

5. And it shall be as when one gathers the standing harvest, and his arm reaps the ears; or as when one gleans ears in the valley of Rephaim.

6. There shall be left gleanings in it, as in the shaking of the olive-tree; two [or] three berries on the head of the uppermost bough; four [orJ five on the fruitful branches, says Jehovah the God of Israel.

7. In that day shall a man regard his Maker; and his eyes shall look towards the Holy One of Israel:

8. And he shall not regard the altars, the work of his hands; and what his fingers have made, he shall not respect; nor the groves, nor the solar statues.

9. In that day shall the cities of his refuge be as a forsaken bough, and an uppermost branch, which they left before the sons of Israel: and there shall be desolation.

10. Because you have forgotten the God of your salvation, and have not remembered the Rock of your strength, therefore shalt you plant plants of delights, and shalt set it with strange slips: .

11. In the day when you shalt have made your plants to grow, and in the morning when you shalt have made your seed to flourish; even in the day of possession shall the harvest be a heap, and there shall be desperate sorrow.

12. Woe to the tumult of many peoples, who make a noise like the noise of the seas; and to the roaring of the nations, who make a roaring like the roaring of many waters!

13. Like the roaring of many waters do the nations roar; but He shall rebuke them, and they shall flee far away; and they shall be driven like the chaff of the mountains before the wind, and like the stubble before the whirlwind.

14. At the time of evening, behold terror! before the morning, it is no more. This is the portion of those that spoil us, and the lot of those that plunder us.

624. Verse 11. And he said to me, Thou must again prophesy, signifies Divine command to still teach the Word. This is evident from the signification of "saying," when the angel speaks, by whom in this chapter the Lord in relation to the Word is represented, as being command, for what the Lord says is a command; also from the signification of "to prophesy," as being to teach the Word (of which presently). It is said he must still teach the Word, because such understanding of the Word as still remained in the church was explored, and it was found that the Word was delightful in respect to the sense of the letter, for this is signified by "the little book was in the mouth sweet as honey," "the little book" meaning the Word. It was commanded to still teach the Word in the church, because its end was not yet come. The end of the church is described by "the sounding of the seventh angel;" but here the state of the church next before the end is described by "the sounding of the sixth angel;" this state of the church is here treated of. Before the end, the Word when taught is still delightful to some, but not so in the last state of the church or its end, for then the Lord opens the interior things of the Word, which are undelightful, as has been said above in treating of the eating up of the little book and its making the belly bitter.

[2] Why the Word must still be taught although its interior truths are undelightful, and why the Last Judgment does not come until the consummation, that is, when there is no longer any good or truth remaining with the men of the church, is wholly unknown in the world, although known in heaven. The reason is that there are two classes of men upon whom judgment is effected; one class consists of the well-disposed, and the other of those who are not well-disposed. The well-disposed are the angels in the ultimate heaven, most of whom are simple, because they have not cultivated the understanding by interior truths, but only by exterior truths from the sense of the letter of the Word, according to which they have lived; for this reason their spiritual mind, which is the interior mind, was not indeed, closed, but neither has it been opened, as it is with those who have received interior truths in doctrine and in life; this is why they have become simple in respect to spiritual things, and are called well-disposed. But the ill-disposed are those who have lived outwardly as Christians but inwardly have admitted evils of every kind into the thought and into the will, so that while in the external form they appeared to be angels, in internal form they were devils. When such come into the other life they come into association for the most part with the well-disposed, that is, with the simple good who are in the ultimate heaven; for exterior things consociate, and the simple good are such that what appears in external form to be good they believe to be good, their thought not penetrating farther. These ill-disposed must be separated from the well-disposed before the Last Judgment comes, and also afterward and they can only be separated successively. This is why before the time of the Last Judgment the Word must still be taught, although interiorly, that is, in respect to its interiors, it is undelightful; and as these interior things are undelightful they do not receive them, but only such things from the sense of the letter of the Word as favor their loves and the principles derived from them, on account of which the Word in respect to the sense of the letter is delightful to them. It is therefore by means of these interior things that the well-disposed are separated from the ill-disposed.

[3] That for this reason the time is extended after the Last Judgment before the new church is fully established, is an arcanum from heaven which at this day cannot enter the understanding except with a few; yet this is what the Lord teaches in Matthew:

The servants of the householder coming said unto him, Didst thou not sow good seed in thy field? Whence then are these tares? And they said, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up? But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares ye root up at the same time the wheat with them. Let both, therefore, grow together until the harvest; and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them; but gather the wheat into the barn. He that hath sowed the good seed is the Son of man; the field is the world; the good seed are the sons of the kingdom; the harvest is the consummation of the age. As then the tares are gathered up and burned in the fire, so shall it be in the consummation of this age (Matthew 13:27-30, 37-43).

"The consummation of the age" signifies the last time of the church; that until then the well-disposed are not to be separated from the ill-disposed, because they are consociated by outward things, is signified by "lest while ye gather up the tares ye root up at the same time the wheat with them." (On this see the small work on The Last Judgment 70.)

[4] "To prophesy" signifies to teach the Word, because a "prophet" means in the highest sense the Lord in relation to the Word, and in a relative sense one who teaches the Word, but in an abstract sense the Word itself, and also doctrine from the Word. This a "prophet" signifies, therefore "to prophesy" signifies to teach the Word and doctrine from the Word. That such is the signification of "to prophesy" and "prophet" can be seen from passages in the Word where these are mentioned, understood in the spiritual sense, as in the following.

In Matthew:

Many will say to Me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied by Thy name, and by Thy name cast out demons, and in Thy name done many mighty works? But then will I profess unto them, I know you not; depart from Me, ye that work iniquity (Matthew 7:22, 23).

This treats of salvation, that one is saved not by knowing the Word and teaching it, but by doing it; for just before, it is said that those only will enter the kingdom of the heavens who do the will of God (verse Matthew 7:21); and just after, that he who hears the Lord's words and does them is a prudent man, but he who hears and does not is a foolish man (verses Matthew 7:24-27). This makes clear what these words mean, namely, that worship of the Lord by prayers and by words of the mouth only is meant by "Many will say to Me in that day, Lord, Lord;" and to teach the Word and doctrinals from the Word is meant by "have we not prophesied by Thy name?;" "name" signifying according to doctrine from the Word, and "to prophesy" to teach; "to cast out demons" signifies to deliver from falsities of religion, "demons" meaning the falsities of religion; "to do many mighty works" signifies to convert many. But because these works were done not for the Lord's sake, nor for the sake of truth and good and the salvation of souls, but for the sake of self and the world, thus only that they might appear in outward form, so in reference to themselves it was not good but evil that was done; this is meant by the Lord's saying "I know you not, ye that work iniquity." Doing such things does not appear to be working iniquity, and yet everything that a man does for the sake of self and of the world is iniquity, since there is in it no love of the Lord and of the neighbor, but only the love of self and the world; and his own love awaits everyone after death.

[5] In the same:

In the consummation of the age many false prophets shall arise and shall lead many astray. There shall arise false Christs and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect (Matthew 24:11, 24; Mark 13:22).

"False prophets" and "false Christs and false prophets" do not mean prophets in the common acceptation of the word, but mean all those who pervert the Word and teach falsities; such are also "false Christs," since "Christ" signifies the Lord in respect to Divine truths, so "false Christs" signify Divine truths falsified. "To show great signs and wonders" signifies the efficacy and power of falsities through confirmations from the sense of the letter of the Word, and it is by this that signs and wonders are produced in the spiritual world; for the sense of the letter of the Word, however falsified, has power; respecting which wonderful things might be related. "The elect" signify those who are in spiritual good, that is, who are in the good of charity.

[6] In the same:

He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward; and he that receiveth a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man's reward. Yea, whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you he shall not lose his reward (Matthew 10:41, 42).

This no one can understand unless he knows what is signified by "prophet," "righteous man," "disciple," and "little ones," also by "receiving them in their name." "Prophet" in an abstract sense signifies the truth of doctrine, "disciple" the good of doctrine, "a righteous man" the good of life, and "to receive them in their name" signifies to receive these things from the love of them; thus, "to receive a prophet in the name of a prophet" signifies to love the truth of doctrine because it is truth, or to receive truth for its own sake; "to receive a righteous man in the name of a righteous man" signifies to love good and to do it because it is good, thus to receive it from the Lord from love or the affection of the heart; for he who loves truth and good for their own sakes loves them from themselves, thus from the Lord from whom they proceed, and as he does not love them for the sake of self and the world, he loves them spiritually, and all spiritual love continues with man after death and gives eternal life. "To receive a reward" signifies to carry with oneself that love, and thus to receive the blessedness of heaven; "to give to drink to one of the little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple" signifies to love innocence from innocence, and from it to love good and truth from the Word and to teach them; "to give to drink a cup of cold water," signifies to love and teach from a little innocence, "little ones" signifying the innocent, and in an abstract sense innocence itself; "to give to drink a cup of cold water" signifies to teach from a little innocence, and "a disciple" the good of doctrine from the Lord; "to give water to little ones to drink" signifies to teach truth from spiritual innocence, and also to teach truths to the innocent. This is the spiritual interpretation of these words, and unless this is known who can know what is meant by "receiving a prophet and a righteous man in the name of a prophet and righteous man" and that "they shall receive the reward of a prophet and a righteous man"? "Reward" signifies love with its delights enduring to eternity.

[7] In the same:

Many prophets and righteous men have desired to see the things which ye see but have not seen them, and to hear the things which ye hear but have not heard them (Matthew 13:17).

"Prophets and righteous men" mean in the spiritual sense all who are in the truths of doctrine and in the good of life according to truths; and "to see and hear" signifies to understand and perceive, here interior truths proceeding from the Lord, for when man understands and perceives these and also does them, he is reformed. Interior truths proceeding from the Lord are meant, because the Lord, when He was in the world, disclosed such truths. In the sense of the letter this means to see and hear the Lord, but as the Lord is the Divine truth itself in heaven and in the church, and as in consequence all Divine truths are from the Lord, and the Lord Himself taught them, and continually teaches them by means of the Word, so "to see and hear the Lord" signifies to understand and perceive these.

[8] In Joel:

I will pour out My spirit upon all flesh; that your sons and your daughters may prophesy, your old men dream dreams, and your young men see visions (Joel 2:28).

This is said of the Lord's coming, and of the perception of Divine truth by those who receive the Lord and believe in Him; the "spirit" that will be poured out upon all flesh signifies the Divine truth proceeding from the Lord, for this is meant in the Word by the Holy Spirit; "to prophesy" signifies to understand and teach the truths of doctrine; "to dream dreams" signifies to receive revelation; and "to see visions" signifies to perceive revelation; "sons and daughters" signify those who are in the spiritual affection of truth and good; "old men" signify those who are in wisdom, and "young men," those who are in intelligence.

[9] In Amos:

The Lord Jehovih doeth not a word without revealing His secret unto His servants the prophets. The lion roareth, who will not fear? The Lord Jehovih hath spoken, who will not prophesy? (Amos 3:7, 8).

Here also "to prophesy" signifies to receive Divine truth and to teach it (but this may be seen explained above, n. 601.

"To prophesy" and "prophets" have a similar signification in the following passages in Revelation:

I will give unto My two prophets to prophesy a thousand two hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth (Revelation 11:3).

Again:

The time of judging the dead, and of giving the reward to His ¹ servants the prophets (Revelation 11:18).

Again:

The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy (Revelation 19:10).

Again:

Be glad, O heaven, ye holy apostles and prophets, for God hath judged your judgment (Revelation 18:20).

That here "prophets" mean those who are in the truths of doctrine, and in an abstract sense the truths of doctrine, and "to prophesy" means to receive and teach these, especially to teach about the Lord Himself, will be seen hereafter.

[10] In Amos:

Amos said to Amaziah, Jehovah took me from following the flock and said, Go, prophesy against My people Israel: and thou sayest, Prophesy not against Israel, and drop not against the house of Isaac. Thy wife shall be a harlot in the city, thy sons and thy daughters shall fall by the sword, and thy land shall be divided by line (Amos 7:14-17).

"To prophesy against Israel, and to drop against the house of Isaac," signifies to refute those of the church who are in the falsities of evil, "to prophesy" signifying to teach and refute, and "Israel" and "the house of Isaac" signifying the church. Because the falsities of evil are what must be refuted, this is said to Amaziah, who represented the perverted church; "his wife shall be a harlot" signifies the falsification and adulteration of the Word; "his sons and daughters shall fall by the sword" signifies that the truths and goods of the church will be destroyed by the falsities of evil; and "the land shall be divided by line" signifies that the church and everything belonging to it will be scattered.

[11] In Hosea:

By a prophet Jehovah caused Israel to come up out of Egypt, and by a prophet was he guarded. Ephraim hath provoked to anger with bitterness; therefore he shall leave his bloods upon him (Hosea 12:13, 14).

By the "prophet" here in the nearest sense Moses is meant, by whom Israel was led out of Egypt and afterwards guarded; but in the spiritual sense "prophet" means the Lord in relation to the Word, and "Israel" all those of the church who are in truths from good, and "Egypt" the natural man, which separated from the spiritual man is damned. Therefore "By a prophet Jehovah caused Israel to come up out of Egypt" signifies that the Lord leads out of damnation those who are in truths from good by means of the Divine truth, which is the Word, and guards them by means of it. "Ephraim hath provoked to anger with bitterness" signifies that they perverted the Word as to the understanding of it, "Ephraim" signifying the understanding of the Word, and "bitterness" perversions and falsities therefrom, from which is what is undelightful; "therefore he shall leave his bloods upon him" signifies damnation on account of the adulteration of the truth that is in the Word.

[12] In the same:

The days of visitation are come, the days of retribution are come; Israel, the foolish prophet, and the man insane of spirit, shall know it; this because of the multitude of iniquity and great hatred. Ephraim is a watchman with my God; but the prophet is a snare of a fowler in all his ways, and hatred in the house of his God (Hosea 9:7, 8).

The "days of visitation and retribution" signify the days of the Last Judgment, when the evil suffer punishment, and this is retribution, which is always preceded by visitation; "Israel," "prophet," and "the man of spirit," do not mean Israel, prophet, and the man of spirit, but all those of the church who are in the falsities of evil and in the evils of falsity, and who teach these and confirm them by the sense of the letter of the Word. The falsities of evil are signified by "the multitude of iniquity," and the evils of falsity by "great hatred;" "Ephraim who is a watchman with God" signifies the understanding of the Word, and this is why he is called "a watchman with God;" but as those who are in the falsities of evil and in the evils of falsity pervert the understanding of the Word, and thus craftily lead astray, it is said "the prophet is the snare of a fowler, and hatred in the house of God."

[13] In Ezekiel:

Prophesy against the prophets of Israel that prophesy, and say thou to the prophets out of their own heart, Hear ye the word of Jehovah; Thus saith the Lord Jehovih, Woe unto the foolish prophets that go away after their own spirit, and after that which they have not seen! And My hand shall be against the prophets that behold vanity, and that divine falsehood (Ezekiel 13:2, 3, 9).

By "prophets" here and elsewhere in the Word are meant in the nearest sense such prophets as those were in the Old Testament through whom the Lord spoke; but in the spiritual sense those prophets are not meant, but all whom the Lord leads; with these also the Lord flows in and reveals to them the secrets of the Word, whether they teach or not; such, therefore, are signified by "prophets" in the spiritual sense. But "the prophets that prophesy out of their own heart, and go away after their own spirit, and who behold vanity and divine falsehood," mean all who are not taught and led by the Lord but by themselves, consequently they have insanity in place of intelligence, and folly in place of wisdom, for they have the love of self in place of the love to God, and the love of the world in place of the love to the neighbor, and from these loves falsities continually pour forth. From this it can be seen what these words signify in series.

[14] In Micah:

It shall be night unto you for vision, and darkness shall arise to you for divination; and the sun shall go down over the prophets, and the day shall grow black over them (Micah 3:6).

"It shall be night unto you for vision" signifies that there shall be the understanding of falsity instead of the understanding of truth; "darkness for divination" signifies falsities instead of revealed truths; "the sun shall go down over the prophets, and the day grow black over them," signifies that light shall no more flow in from the Lord out of heaven and enlighten, but thick darkness from the hells which shall darken the understanding.

[15] In many passages "prophets" are mentioned, and no one has had any other idea respecting them than that the prophets of the Old Testament, through whom the Lord spoke unto the people, and through whom He dictated the Word, are meant; but as the Word has a spiritual sense in each and every particular of it, therefore in that sense "prophets" mean all whom the Lord teaches, thus all who are in the spiritual affection of truth, that is, who love truth, because it is truth, for the Lord teaches these, and flows into their understanding and enlightens; and this is more true of these than of the prophets of the Old Testament, for they did not have their understanding enlightened, but the words they were to say or write they received merely by hearing, and did not even understand their interior sense, still less their spiritual sense. From this it can be seen that "prophets" mean in the spiritual sense all who are wise from the Lord; and this whether they teach or do not teach. And as every truly spiritual meaning is abstracted from the idea of persons, places, and times, so the "prophet" also signifies in the highest sense the Lord in relation to the Word, and as to doctrine from the Word, and likewise the Word and doctrine; and in the contrary sense "prophets" signify the perversions and falsifications of the Word and the falsities of doctrine. As this is what "prophets" signify in both senses, I will cite a few passages only in which prophets are mentioned, and in which they mean all who receive and teach the Word and doctrine, and in a sense separate from persons the Word and doctrine, and in the contrary sense those who pervert the Word and teach falsities of doctrine, and in an abstract sense the perversion of the Word and falsities of doctrine.

[16] In Isaiah:

Jehovah will cut off from Israel head and tail; the old man and the honored of face he is the head; but the prophet, the teacher of a lie, he is the tail (Isaiah 9:14, 15).

In the same:

Jehovah hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep, and hath closed your eyes; your prophets and your heads, the seers, hath He covered (Isaiah 29:10).

In Jeremiah:

They have denied Jehovah when they said, It is not He, neither shall evil come upon us, neither shall we see sword and famine. But the prophets shall become wind, and the word is not in them (Jeremiah 5:12, 13).

In the same:

I have sent unto them all My servants the prophets, daily rising up early and sending them (Jeremiah 7:25).

Thus said Jehovah of Hosts against the prophets, Behold I will feed them with wormwood, and make them drink waters of gall; for from the prophets of Jerusalem is hypocrisy gone forth into all the land. Hearken not unto the words of the prophets that prophesy unto you; they make you vain; they speak the vision of their own heart, and not out of the mouth of Jehovah (Jeremiah 23:15, 16).

In the same:

The prophets that have been before me and before thee of an age prophesied over many lands and over great kingdoms, of war, and of evil, and of pestilence. The prophet who prophesieth of peace, when the word of the prophet shall come to pass that prophet shall be known that God sent him (Jeremiah 28:8, 9).

In Matthew:

Woe unto you, hypocrites and Pharisees, because ye build the sepulchers of the prophets, and adorn the tombs of the righteous, and say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets. Wherefore ye witness against yourselves that ye are the sons of them that slew the prophets. I send unto you prophets and wise men and scribes; and some of them shall ye kill and crucify; that upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of Abel the righteous even to the blood of Zachariah, son of Barachiah, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar. O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee (Matthew 23:29-37; Luke 11:47-51).

In these passages it seems as if "prophets" mean merely the prophets through whom Jehovah, that is, the Lord, spoke, consequently that by "slaying the prophets" the Lord simply meant their slaughter. But the Lord meant at the same time the slaughter and extinction of Divine truth that comes from the falsification and adulteration of the Word; for by a person and his function the thing itself which the person did and said is meant in the spiritual sense; thus a "prophet" means Divine truth or the Word and doctrine therefrom; therefore as the function of a person and the person are in effect one, so the thing itself that the prophet teaches is meant by "prophet." "To shed blood" also means to adulterate the truths of the Word; and as the Jewish nation was such it is said, "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee," these words meaning in the spiritual sense that such extinguish all Divine truth which they have from the Word.

[17] Because a "prophet" means Divine truth, which is the Word, and which is in the church from the Word, and this cannot be extinguished except by those who have the Divine truth of the Word, therefore the Lord said:

That it was not fitting for a prophet to perish out of Jerusalem (Luke 13:33).

"Jerusalem" meaning the church in respect to the doctrine of truth.

In the Word "priest and prophet" are also often mentioned, and "priest" means there one who leads men to live according to Divine truth, and "prophet" one who teaches it. In this sense "priest and prophet" are mentioned in the following passages. In Jeremiah:

The law shall not perish from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the Word from the prophet (Deuteronomy 18:18).

In that day the heart of the king shall perish, and the heart of the princes; and the priests shall be astonished, and the prophets shall be amazed (Jeremiah 4:9).

In Ezekiel:

They shall seek a vision from the prophet; but the law hath perished from the priest, and counsel from the elders. The king shall mourn, and the prince shall be clothed with astonishment (Ezekiel 7:26, 27).

"Vision from the prophet" means the understanding of the Word; "law from the priest" the precepts of life; "counsel from the elders" wisdom therefrom. "King" and "princes" mean intelligence through truths from good; such is the spiritual meaning of these words.

[18] In Isaiah:

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

In Jeremiah:

An astonishing and horrible thing has come to pass in the land; the prophets have prophesied a lie, and the priests bear rule by their hands; and my people love to have it so (Jeremiah 5:30, 31).

From the prophet even unto the priest everyone doeth a lie (Jeremiah 8:10).

When a prophet or a priest shall ask thee, saying, What is the prophetic saying of Jehovah? say unto them, I have abandoned you, and the prophet, and the priest (Jeremiah 23:33, 34).

In Zephaniah:

Her prophets are very light, men of treacheries; their priests profane what is holy; they violently wrest the law (Zephaniah 3:4).

In Jeremiah:

The priests said not, Where is Jehovah? and they that handle the law have not acknowledged Me, and the prophets have prophesied by Baal, and have walked after those that do not profit. The houses of Israel are ashamed; they, their kings, their princes, and their priests, and their prophets (Jeremiah 2:8, 26);

not to mention many other passages where "prophets and priests" are mentioned together, and thereby "priests" are meant those who teach life, and lead to good, and by "prophets" those who teach truths which lead; but in an abstract sense "priests" and "the priesthood" mean the good of love, consequently the good of life, and "prophets" the truth of doctrine, consequently the truth that leads to the good of life; in a word, "prophets" must teach, and "priests" lead.

[19] In Zechariah:

In that day I will cut off the names of the idols out of the land, that they may no more be remembered; and also I will cause the prophets and the unclean spirit to pass out of the land; and it shall come to pass that when any man shall prophesy anymore, his father and his mother that begat him shall say unto him, Thou shalt not live; and his father and his mother that begat him shall thrust him through. It shall come to pass in that day that the prophets shall be ashamed every man of his vision when they have prophesied, neither shall they wear a tunic of hair to dissemble; and he shall say, I am no prophet, I am a man that tilleth the ground, for a man sold me from boyhood (Zechariah 13:2-5).

This is said of the Lord's coming into the world, and of the abolition of representative worship and of the falsities with which the doctrine of the church then abounded; for the Jewish nation, with which the church was, placed all worship in externals, and nothing in internals, that is, nothing in charity and faith, which are internal, but in sacrifices, and in such things as are external, consequently their worship and doctrine consisted of mere falsities, and the nation itself, viewed in itself, was idolatrous. The abolition of such things by the Lord is described by these words of the prophet; therefore "I will cut off the names of the idols out of the land, that they may no more be remembered," signifies the abolition of idolatrous worship, that is, of worship merely external without any internal; "I will cause the prophets and the unclean spirit to pass out of the land" signifies the abolition of the falsities of doctrine; "when they have prophesied anymore, his father and his mother that begat him shall say unto him, Thou shalt not live," signifies that the church to be instituted by the Lord, which shall be an internal church, shall completely extinguish the falsities of doctrine, if anyone shall teach them; "to prophesy" signifying to teach the falsities of doctrine, "father and mother," the church in respect to good and in respect to truth, "father," the church in respect to good, and "mother," the church in respect to truth, and "thou shalt not live" signifying to extinguish. The same is meant by "his father and his mother that begat him shall thrust him through." The abolition of the falsities of doctrine is meant also by "the prophets shall be ashamed, every man of his vision, neither shall they wear a tunic of hair to dissemble," "prophets" and "their vision" here also meaning the falsities of doctrine, and "to wear a tunic of hair to dissemble" signifying to pervert the external things of the Word such as are in the sense of its letter, for "tunic of hair" with the prophets represented the ultimate sense of the Word, the same as "the raiment of camel's hair" of John the Baptist. His saying "I am a man that tilleth the ground, for a man sold me from boyhood," signifies that this is the case with those of the Jewish Church, which was merely external, not internal, because of their being born in it, and consequently devoted to it.

[20] In Daniel:

Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy city of holiness, to finish the transgression, and to seal up sins, and to expiate iniquity, and to bring in the righteousness of the ages, and to seal up the vision and the prophet, and to anoint the holy of holies (Daniel 9:24).

This is said of the Lord's coming, when iniquity is consummated, or when there shall be no longer any good or truth remaining in the church. "Upon the people and upon the city of holiness" signifies upon the church and its doctrine, which are then wholly vastated and extinguished. "To finish the transgression and to seal up sins" signifies when all in the church are in the falsities of doctrine and in evils in respect to life, for, as has been shown at the beginning of this article, the Lord's coming and the Last Judgment therewith do not take place until there is no longer any truth of doctrine or good of life remaining in the church, and this for the reason there mentioned, that the well-disposed may be separated from the ill-disposed. "To bring in the righteousness of the ages" signifies the Last Judgment, when everyone will be rewarded according to his deeds; "to seal up the vision and the prophet" signifies the end of the former church and the beginning of the new, or the end of the external church, which was representative of things spiritual, and the beginning of the internal, which is a spiritual church, "vision and the prophet" meaning the falsities of doctrine; and these same words signify also that the Lord will fulfill all things that are predicted of Him in the Word; "to anoint the holy of holies" signifies the glorification of the Lord's Human by union with the Divine Itself; it signifies also that all worship afterwards must be from love to Him.

[21] In Moses:

Jehovah said unto Moses, I have set thee a god to Pharaoh; and Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet (Exodus 7:1).

The Lord said to Moses, "I have set thee a god to Pharaoh," because Moses represented the Law, by which is meant the Divine truth, and this too is signified by "God" in the spiritual sense; for Moses received from the Lord's mouth the words that he was to say to Pharaoh, and he who receives these is called a "god;" this is why angels are called "gods," and thence also signify Divine truths. That Aaron was "his prophet" signifies that he taught the truth received by Moses and declared it to Pharaoh, for a "prophet," as has been said above, signifies one that teaches truth, and in an abstract sense the doctrine of truth. (But this may be seen more fully explained in Arcana Coelestia 7268, 7269.)

[22] This is why the prophets of the Old Testament represented the Lord in relation to the doctrine of Divine truth, and the chief of them represented the Lord in relation to the Word itself, from which comes the doctrine of Divine truth, as Moses, Elijah, Elisha, and John the Baptist; and as the Lord is the Word, that is Divine truth, He Himself in the highest sense is called a "Prophet." As Moses, Elijah, and John the Baptist represented the Lord as to the Word:

Moses and Elijah appeared speaking with the Lord when He was transfigured (Matthew 17:3, 4; Mark 9:4, 5; Luke 9:30).

There "Moses and Elijah" mean the Word both historical and prophetical, "Moses" the historical Word, and "Elijah" the prophetical, and for the reason that when the Lord was transfigured He presented Himself in the form in which the Divine truth is in heaven. That Elijah represented the Lord as to the Word is evident from the miracles done by Him, all of which signified such things as belong to Divine truth or the Word; and as John the Baptist in like manner represented the Lord as to the Word he was called "Elijah," as can be seen in Malachi:

Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and terrible day of Jehovah cometh; and He shall turn the heart of the fathers to the sons, and the heart of the sons to the fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse (Malachi 4:5, 6).

And it is openly declared:

That John was Elijah (Matthew 11:14; 17:10-12; Mark 9:11-13);

not that he was Elijah, but he represented something similar to that which Elijah represented, that is, the Word; and as the Word teaches that the Lord was to come into the world, and because, moreover, in each and all particulars in the inmost sense the Word treats of Him, therefore:

John was sent before Him to teach them that the Lord was to come (as m ay be seen Matthew 11:9, 10; Luke 1:76; 7:26).

[23] From this it can now be seen why the Lord is called a "Prophet," namely, because He was the Word, that is, Divine truth itself (as is evident from John 1:1, 2, 14). That the Lord is called a "Prophet" because He was the Word can be seen also in Moses:

Jehovah thy God will raise up unto thee a prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken. I will put My words in his mouth, that he may speak unto you all that I shall command him. The man who will not hearken unto My words which he shall speak in My name, of him I will require it (Deuteronomy 18:15-19).

It is said that "Jehovah was to raise up a prophet like Moses," because Moses represented the Lord in relation to the Law, that is, the Word, as has been said above; therefore it is also said of Moses:

That Jehovah spake with him mouth to mouth, and not as with other prophets, by visions, dreams, and dark sayings (Numbers 12:1-8).

By this also the representation of the Lord by Moses is described; for the Lord from Jehovah, that is, from the very Divine that was in Him from conception, spoke with Himself; this is meant by "I will put My words in his mouth, that he may speak unto you all that I shall command him;" and this, too, was represented with Moses by "Jehovah spake with him mouth to mouth, and not as with other prophets." Again this is why:

The Lord is called a Prophet (Matthew 21:11; Luke 7:16; John 7:40, 41; 9:17).

Notas de rodapé: