540. Since it is said that "there went up a smoke out of the pit as the smoke of a great furnace," and it has so far been shown that "smoke" signifies dense falsity, it is important also to show that a "furnace" signifies the evils of earthly and corporeal loves, and thus that "smoke as the smoke of a great furnace" signifies dense falsities from those loves. It is also from appearances in the spiritual world that a "furnace" signifies such loves; for when the hells in which those loves prevail are looked into, they appear like furnaces glowing with fire; and over them smoke appears, such as goes up from furnaces and is seen in conflagrations. From this it is that "furnaces" signify in the Word either the hells, or a company of men, or the man himself, in whom such loves and cupidities reign, or what is the same, where the evils that flow forth from these prevail.

[2] Such is the signification of "furnaces" [fornaces et camini] and "ovens" [furni et clibani] in the following passages. In Matthew:

The Son of man shall send forth His angels, and they shall gather out of His kingdom all things that cause stumbling, and them that do iniquity; and shall send them into the furnace of fire. In the consummation of the age the angels shall come forth, and shall sever the wicked from the midst of the righteous, and shall cast them into the furnace of fire; there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth (Matthew 13:41, 42, 49, 50).

Evidently here "a furnace (caminus seu fornax) of fire," means the hells; "the consummation of the age" is the last time of the church, when judgment takes place. That the evil must then be separated from the good and be cast into hell is signified by "the angels shall gather all things that cause stumbling, and them that do iniquity," and "they shall sever the wicked from the midst of the righteous, and shall cast them into the furnace of fire." Hell is called "the furnace of fire," because it appears to be on fire from the loves of self and of the world. That "infernal fire" signifies torment from these loves may be seen in the work on Heaven and Hell 566-575.

[3] In Malachi:

Behold, the day cometh burning as an oven, in which all that sin presumptiously, and every worker of wickedness shall be stubble, and the day that cometh shall set them on fire (Malachi 4:1).

This, too, was said of the last time of the church, and the Last Judgment at that time; both these are signified by "the day that cometh." The "oven" means the hell where those are who confirm themselves in falsities by doctrine, and confirm themselves in evils from earthly and corporeal loves by their life; that such on account of their own loves will perish is meant by "all who sin presumptiously, and every worker of wickedness shall be stubble, and the oven shall set them on fire," "all who sin presumptiously" meaning those who by doctrine confirm themselves in falsities, and "the worker of wickedness" those who by life confirm themselves in evil.

[4] In Hosea:

By their evil they make glad the king, and by their lies the princes. They are all adulterers, like an oven kindled by the baker; the raiser ceaseth from kneading the dough until it be fermented. For they have turned their mind like an oven while they lie in wait; their baker sleepeth all the night, in the morning he burneth as a fire of flame. They are all hot as an oven, and they will devour their judges; all their kings will fall; not one among them calleth unto Me. Ephraim is a cake not turned (Hosea 7:3-8).

In the spiritual sense this describes the sons of Jacob, that from the love of self and of the world they turned every good into evil, and thence every truth into falsity; "the king whom they make glad by wickedness," signifies all falsity from evil, for a "king" signifies truth from good, and in the contrary sense falsity from evil; and the "princes whom they make glad by lies" signify the chief falsities. That from their loves they perverted goods and truths is signified by "they are all adulterers, like an oven kindled by the baker," "to adulterate" signifying to pervert good and thence truth; this is compared to "an oven kindled by the baker," because they bring together falsities favoring their loves as into a mass of dough; and because evils and falsities are not separated from the goods and truths which are from the sense of the letter of the Word, but they cling together, it is said, "the raiser ceaseth from kneading the dough until it be fermented," "fermentation" signifying separation, here that they are not separated, since it is said, "he ceaseth from kneading the dough until it be fermented." The like is signified by "Ephraim is a cake not turned," "Ephraim" meaning the understanding of truth. That consequently there will be nothing but the evils of those loves that falsities favor is signified by, "the baker sleepeth all the night; in the morning he burneth as a fire of flame, they are all hot as an oven." Such are compared to a "baker" and an "oven," because they form doctrine out of falsities as a baker makes loaves and cakes in an oven. That they thus destroy all goods and truths that they have from the Word is signified by, "they will devour their judges, and all their kings will fall," "judges" signifying the goods of truth, and "kings" the truths themselves; that such is the result because they wish to be wise of themselves and not from the Lord, is signified by "not one among them that called unto Me." That these words have some such meaning can be seen merely from common intuition, but that the particulars signify and describe such things, that is, that "kings," "princes," "judges," and "adulterers," also an "oven" and a "baker" mean what has just been said, can be seen only from the internal sense. Moreover, those who bring together truths or falsities so that they cohere appear in the spiritual world as bakers kneading dough, with an oven also near them.

[5] In Lamentations:

Our skins are black like an oven because of the tempests of famine (Lamentations 5:10).

This is a lamentation over the loss of truth and inundation of falsity; "famine" signifies a loss and lack of truth (See above, n. 386); and "a tempest of famine," complete lack, and also an inundation of falsities, for where there are no truths there will be falsities; "tempests" have a similar signification in the Word as inundation. "Our skins are black like an oven" signifies that the natural man is without the light of truth, and thence in the darkness of falsity; here, too, an "oven" signifies the framing of doctrine out of falsities and not out of truths (but see above, n. 386, where this is more fully explained).

[6] In Ezekiel:

The house of Israel has become as dross unto Me; all of them are brass and tin and iron and lead in the midst of a furnace; they have become the dross of silver. Behold, I gather you into the midst of Jerusalem, a gathering of silver and brass and iron and lead and tin will I gather you, into the midst of the furnace, to blow fire upon it to melt it; so will I bring you together in Mine anger and in My wrath, and I will leave you there and melt you. Like a casting of silver in the midst of the furnace, so shall ye be melted in the midst thereof (Ezekiel 22:18-22).

This describes the false doctrinals which the Jews and Israelites brought together from the sense of the letter of the Word, which they adapted merely to themselves and to their loves; these are called the "dross of silver," because "silver" signifies the truth of the Word, and "dross" nothing of truth, or what is abstracted from truth, which is rejected. The things of the sense of the letter of the Word are signified by "brass, tin, iron, and lead," because these signify the goods and truths of the natural man; and the things of the Word that are contained in the sense of its letter are for the natural man. And because from this sense they framed their false doctrinals, which were traditions, it is said "they shall be melted together;" and because they were adapted to their loves, which were loves of self and of the world, it is said that "He would gather them into the midst of the furnace, to blow fire upon it to melt it," "fire" signifying those loves. And because their doctrinals are meant, it is said that "He would gather them into the midst of Jerusalem," "Jerusalem" signifying the church in respect to doctrine, thus also the doctrine of the church.

[7] In Moses:

The sun went down and it was dense darkness, and behold an oven of smoke and a torch of fire that passed through between the pieces (Genesis 15:17).

Falsities of evil and evils of falsity, swarming out of the filthy loves of the Jewish and Israelitish nation, are here meant by "an oven of smoke," and "a torch of fire that passed through between the pieces," as can be seen in the article above. For Abraham was eager that his posterity should rule over the whole land of Canaan, and because the Lord foresaw that the church would be instituted in that nation, He made a covenant with Abraham. Nevertheless what they were to be is predicted in this that was seen.

[8] In Nahum:

Draw thee waters for the siege, strengthen thy fortresses; go into the mire, and tread the pitch, repair the brick-kiln [fornax]. There shall the fire devour thee, the sword shall cut thee off (Nahum 3:14, 15).

This describes the destruction of truth by the falsities of evil; the "waters for the siege" mean the falsities by which they endeavor to destroy truths; "to strengthen the fortresses" signifies to fortify falsities by such things as appear like truths; "to go into the mire and tread the pitch" signifies to make them appear to cling together, "pitch" meaning falsity from evil conjoining; "to repair the brick-kiln" signifies to repair the doctrine framed out of falsified truths and fictions, "bricks" signifying the falsities that are fabricated and do not cohere with truths; "fire shall devour thee" signifies that they will be destroyed by the evils of their loves, and "the sword shall cut thee off" signifies that they will be destroyed by falsities.

[9] In Jeremiah:

Take great stones in thy hand, and hide them in the brick-kiln which is near the entrance of Pharaoh's house. I will take the king of Babylon, and I will set his throne upon these stones that thou hast hid, ¹ and he shall come and smite the land of Egypt; and I will kindle a fire in the houses [of the gods] of Egypt; and finally he shall array himself with the land of Egypt, as a shepherd arrayeth himself in his garment (Jeremiah 43:9-12).

This represented the profanation of truth by reasonings from knowledges [scientifica] falsely applied. "The great stones hidden in the brick-kiln" signify the truths of the Word falsified by fictions that are from self-intelligence, "stones" meaning the truths of the Word, and "brick-kiln" the doctrine framed out of fictions; "the house of Pharaoh" signifies the natural man in respect to knowledges [scientifica] there; "entrance" means sensual knowledge, through which there is entrance into the natural man; it is by this that falsifications are made; "the king of Babylon" signifies the profanation of truth; "He will set his throne upon these stones, and will smite Egypt, and kindle a fire in the houses thereof," signifies that through the knowledges [scientifica] of the natural man all the truths of doctrine will be perverted and profaned. That he will subject to himself the natural man in respect to all things therein, which is done by confirmations of falsities from knowledges [scientifica], is signified by "he will array himself with the land of Egypt, as a shepherd arrayeth himself in his garment." That thus all things of the natural man will be destroyed by the evils of earthly and corporeal loves is signified by "I will kindle a fire in the houses of Egypt."

[10] Because "Egypt" signifies the natural man in respect to knowledge there, and a "furnace of iron" has a similar signification, therefore Egypt in the Word is called "a furnace of iron." As in Jeremiah:

In the day that I brought you ² forth out of Egypt, out of the furnace of iron (Jeremiah 11:4).

In Moses:

He hath brought them ³ forth out of the furnace of iron, out of Egypt (Deuteronomy 4:20).

In the first book of Kings:

Which He brought forth ⁴ out of Egypt, from the midst of the furnace of iron (1 Kings 8:51).

In David:

I removed the shoulder of Israel from the burden of Egypt; his hands have passed away from the furnace (Psalms 81:6).

The natural man in respect to knowledge [scientifica] is signified by the "furnace of iron," "furnace" meaning the natural man, and "iron" knowledge, here false knowledge, because it is said that "they were brought out;" for the natural man, unless he is led by the spiritual man, is in falsities and evils, because he has no light from heaven, for light from heaven flows in through the spiritual man into the natural, and enlightens, teaches, and leads; it is the direct opposite when the natural man does not think and act under the auspices of the spiritual man; then also he is in bondage, for he thinks and acts from falsities and evils that are from hell; this is what is signified when it is said that "they were brought out of the house of bondage" when they were brought out of Egypt. For all freedom of thinking and acting is from the spiritual man, because the spiritual man thinks and wills out of heaven from the Lord, and to be led of the Lord is freedom. From this it can be seen why Egypt is called "a furnace of iron," and "a house of bondage;" this bondage is signified also by "I removed the shoulder of Israel from the burden of Egypt." (That "iron" signifies knowledge [scientificum] belonging to the natural man, may be seen above, n.176.)

[11] As most things in the Word have also a contrary sense, so does "oven." As in Isaiah:

Saith Jehovah, who has His hearth in Zion, and His oven in Jerusalem (Isaiah 31:9).

"Hearth" signifies the good of love, and "oven" truth from that good, thus the truth of doctrine; "Zion and Jerusalem" have a like signification, "Zion" signifying the church in respect to the good of love, and "Jerusalem" the church in respect to truth of doctrine. "Oven" has a similar meaning in Moses, where it is said:

That the meal-offering must be prepared either in an oven, or in a plate, or in a frying pan (Leviticus 2:4, 5, 7).

(This is explained in the Arcana Coelestia.) "Furnace" has a similar meaning above in Revelation:

The feet of the Son of man were like unto burnished brass, as if glowing in a furnace (Revelation 1:15).

Of which above, n. 69.

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51. The worldly knowledge and spiritual knowledge that serve for the opening of our inner spiritual self. "Worldly knowledge" refers to the knowledge we have in our outer or earthly self and its memory, but not to the knowledge we have in our inner or spiritual self: 3019, 3020, 3293, 3309, 4967, 9918, 9922. Since worldly knowledge belongs to the outer or earthly self it is relatively menial. This is because the outer or earthly self is made to serve the inner or spiritual self the way the world serves heaven: 5077, 5125, 5128, 5786, 5947, 10272, 10471. The outer self is like the world because the laws of the divine design that prevail in the world are written into it; and the inner self is like heaven because the laws of the divine design that prevail in heaven are written into it: 4523, 4524, 5368, 6013, 6057, 9278, 9279, 9283, 9709, 10156, 10472; [see also] Heaven and Hell 51-58.

[2] There are bodies of knowledge of an earthly nature that have to do with our civic condition and our civic life; there are bodies of knowledge that have to do with our moral condition and our moral life; and there are bodies of knowledge that have to do with our spiritual condition and our spiritual life: 5774, 5934. For clarity's sake, though, I refer to knowledge about our spiritual condition and our spiritual life as "spiritual knowledge," which mainly consists of theological teachings: 9945.

[3] It is important for us to become steeped in worldly and spiritual knowledge, because it is through this that we learn to think, then to understand what truth and goodness are, and eventually to be wise-that is, to live by what we have learned: 129, 1450, 1451, 1453, 1548, 1802. Worldly and spiritual knowledge are basic things on which our life is built and founded-both our civic and our moral life as well as our spiritual life; but they need to be learned with the goal of living a useful life: 1489, 3310. Spiritual knowledge opens a pathway to the inner self and then joins the inner and the outer self together according to our usefulness: 1563, 1616. Our rationality is born by means of worldly and spiritual knowledge (1895, 1900, 3086), yet it is not born through that knowledge itself, but through and according to our desire to put it to use (1895). The inner self is opened and gradually perfected through worldly and spiritual knowledge if we seek good and useful goals, especially goals related to eternal life: 3086. Then spiritual insights from the heavenly and spiritual self encounter the knowledge of worldly and spiritual things that is in the earthly self and adopt what is suitable: 1495. Then from the knowledge about worldly and spiritual things that is in our earthly self the Lord, by means of our inner self, draws out, refines, and raises up what is useful for heavenly life (1895, 1899, 1900, 1901, 1902, 5871, 5874, 5901), but information that is incompatible or conflicting is pushed aside and excluded (5871, 5886, 5889). The sight of our inner self calls forth from the worldly and spiritual knowledge in our outer self only those things that relate to what we love: 9394. Our worldly and spiritual knowledge is arranged in bundles and bound together according to the type of love that drove us to learn it: 5881. Then to the eye of our inner self the information that relates to what we love is at the center and in bright light, while the information that does not relate is off to the sides and in darkness: 6068, 6085. Worldly and spiritual knowledge is gradually sown in our loves and takes up residence there: 6323. If we were born loving the Lord and loving our neighbor we would be born into all knowledge and understanding, but since we are born loving ourselves and the world we are born into total ignorance: 6323. Knowledge, intelligence, and wisdom are the offspring that are born of love for the Lord and love for our neighbor: 1226, 2049, 2116.

[4] Since knowledge of worldly and spiritual things belongs to the outer or earthly self, it is in this world's light, but truths that have become matters of love and faith and therefore have been applied to life are in heaven's light: 5212. Even so, earthly concepts are needed to help us understand the truths that we are applying to life: 5510. There is a spiritual inflow through the inner self into the knowledge of worldly and spiritual things that is in the outer self: 1940, 8005. Knowledge of worldly and spiritual things is a container and vessel for the truth and goodness that belong to the inner self: 1469, 1496, 3068, 5489, 6004, 6023, 6052, 6071, 6077, 7770, 9922. That is why "vessels" in the Word, spiritually understood, means knowledge of worldly and spiritual things: 3068, 3069, 3079, 9394, 9544, 9723, 9724. Our worldly knowledge is like a mirror in which we can see and perceive in a kind of image things that are true and things that are good in the inner self (5201); all three meet together there on the outermost level (5373, 5874, 5886, 5901, 6004, 6023, 6052, 6071, 6077). Since worldly information is in this world's light, it is tangled and dark compared to things that are in heaven's light, which means that the same holds true for the contents of the outer self in comparison to those of the inner self: 2831. In fact, in the Word "a thicket" (2831) and "clouds" and "darkness" (8443, 10551) mean worldly knowledge.

[5] We need to make our start from the truths of a body of teaching from the Word and acknowledge them first, and then it is allowable to turn to worldly knowledge in order to find support for them and verify them: 6047. So if people have a positive attitude toward the truths that belong to religious faith, it is all right for them to look to worldly knowledge for intellectual support, but it is not all right for people who have a negative attitude to such truths, because a positive attitude as a starting point pulls everything in a positive direction, but a negative attitude as a starting point pulls everything in a negative direction: 2568, 2588, 3913, 4760, 6047. There is an affirmative way of doubting and a negative way of doubting, the former being characteristic of the good and the latter characteristic of the evil: 2568. Engagement with worldly knowledge on the basis of the truths that belong to religious faith accords with proper order; but the reverse, engaging on the basis of worldly knowledge with the truths that belong to religious faith, is contrary to proper order: 10236. Since inflow is spiritual and not physical or earthly it is a flow from the truths that belong to religious faith (because these are spiritual) into worldly knowledge (because this is earthly): 3219, 5119, 5259, 5427, 5428, 5479, 6322, 9109, 9110.

[6] People who doubt in a truly negative way, and say that they will not believe until they are convinced by objective evidence, will never believe: 2094, 2832. People who do this become insane in regard to matters of the church and heaven: 128, 129, 130. They fall prey to false beliefs and evil cravings (232, 233) in the other life when they think about spiritual matters they become like drunks (1072). More about what they are like: 196. Some examples illustrating the fact that spiritual matters cannot be grasped if they are approached from the wrong direction: 233, 2094, 2196, 2203, 2209. Many scholars are more insane in spiritual matters than ordinary people because they are resolutely negative and have an abundant supply of facts to support their denial: 4760. An example of a scholar who was incapable of understanding anything about spiritual life: 8629. People who use worldly knowledge to dispute the truths that belong to religious faith do so with vehemence, since their arguments are based on the deceptive impressions of the five senses. These impressions, being hard to dispel, are arresting and persuasive: 5700. People who understand nothing of what is true and who are also given to evil are able to reason about the truths and the good actions taught by faith, and yet they have no enlightenment: 4214. Simply confirming a dogma is not a sign of intelligence, because a dogma that is false is as easy to confirm as one that is true: 1017, 2477, 2490, 4741, 5033, 6865, 7012, 7680, 7950, 8521, 8780. People who reason about the truths of the church by asking whether something is so or not are completely in the dark about truths and have no spiritual light yet: ¹ 215, 1385, 3428.

[7] There are types of knowledge that support divine truths and types that do not: 5213. Empty facts have to be eliminated from our minds: 1489, 1492, 1499, 1500. Facts are empty if they intend and support our love for ourselves and the world and lead us away from loving the Lord and our neighbor, because this kind of thing closes the inner self so completely that we can then not accept anything from heaven: 1563, 1600. Worldly knowledge is a means to both wisdom and madness; by it the inner self is either opened or closed and our rational functioning is either developed or destroyed: 4156, 8628, 9922.

[8] Worldly learning means nothing after death except what we have gained through it for our understanding and life: 2480. Nevertheless, all our worldly knowledge remains intact after death, though it is dormant: 2476-2479, 2481-2486.

[9] The same facts that are false for evil people because they are used for evil purposes are true for good people because they are used for good purposes: 6917. The truths that evil people know are not actually true no matter how true they may seem when they say them, because there is something evil within those truths and they are falsified as a result; not even the knowledge they have deserves to be called knowledge, because it has no life within it: 10331.

[10] It is one thing to be wise, another to be intelligent, another to be knowledgeable, and another to act; all the same, for people engaged in a spiritual life, these follow in order and correspond to each other, and they are all present together in the doing and in the deeds: 10331. It is also one thing to know the truth, another to acknowledge it, and still another to believe it: 896.

[11] An example of the kind of craving for information that spirits have: 1973. Angels have an immense desire for knowledge and wisdom because knowledge, intelligence, and wisdom are spiritual food: 3114, 4459, 4792, 4976, 5147, 5293, 5340, 5342, 5410, 5426, 5576, 5582, 5588, 5655, 6277, 8562, 9003.

[12] Among the ancients the most important field of study was knowing correspondences, but nowadays that body of knowledge has been erased: 3021, 3419, 4280, 4844, 4964, 4965, 6004, 7729, 10252. There was a knowledge of correspondences among the people of the Near East and in Egypt: 5702, 6692, 7097, 7779, 9391, 10407. This was the source of their hieroglyphics: 6692, 7097. Through their knowledge of correspondences the ancients gained access to spiritual knowledge of various kinds: 4749, 4844, 4966. The Word was written in pure correspondences, and that is the source of its inner or spiritual meaning. Without a knowledge of correspondences we cannot know that this meaning exists or know what the nature of the Word is: 3131, 3472-3485, 8615, 10687. How superior a knowledge of correspondences is to other forms of knowledge: 4280.

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