569. Loose the four angels that are bound at the great river Euphrates.- That this signifies reasonings from fallacies pertaining to the sensual man, which were not received before, is evident from the signification of the angels at the river Euphrates, as denoting reasonings from fallacies which are in the sensual man, of which in what follows. And because reasonings from fallacies were not received in the church before, therefore those angels are said to be bound at that river, and are said to be four from the conjunction of falsity with evil, for this number, in the Word signifies the conjunction of good and truth, and in the opposite sense, as here, the conjunction of evil and falsity; see above (n. 283, 384, 532). In the preceding verses the sensual man, who is in the falsities of evil, and the result of the persuasions in which the sensual man is, were treated of, therefore in what now follows, reasonings from the Sensual are dealt with. And because the Sensual reasons only from such things as, in the world, are manifest to the senses, it does so from fallacies, called fallacies of the senses, when it reasons concerning spiritual things, that is, concerning the things of heaven and the church, and therefore it is here said, reasonings from fallacies pertaining to the sensual man; but concerning these fallacies and reasoning from them, more will be said in what follows.

[2] The subject here treated of is the state of the church at its very end, and such state exists when the men of the church, having become sensual, reason from the fallacies of the senses; and when they reason from these concerning the things of heaven and the church, then they absolutely believe nothing, because they understand nothing. It is a thing known in the church, that the natural man does not perceive the things of heaven, unless the Lord flows in and enlightens him, and this takes place by means of the spiritual man; much less can the sensual man [understand and believe], because this is the ultimate of the Natural, to which the things of heaven, called spiritual things, are altogether in thick darkness. Genuine reasonings concerning spiritual things exist from the influx of heaven into the spiritual man, and thence through the rational into the knowledges (scientiae) and cognitions that are in the natural man, by which the spiritual man confirms itself. This method of reasoning concerning spiritual things is according to order. But the reasonings of the natural man and still more of the sensual man concerning spiritual things are altogether contrary to order; for the natural man, and still less the sensual man, cannot flow into the spiritual man, and from itself see any thing there, since physical influx does not exist. But the spiritual man can flow into the natural, and thence into the sensual, for spiritual influx does exist. But upon this subject more may be seen in the Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 51, 277, 278).

[3] From these considerations it is clear that the meaning of the things which now follow, is that at the very end of the church man speaks and reasons concerning spiritual things, or concerning the things of heaven and the church, from the corporeal Sensual, and thus from the fallacies of the senses, consequently, that although he then speaks in favour of Divine things, yet he does not think in favour of them. For man can, from the body, speak differently from what he thinks in his spirit, and the spirit, which thinks from the corporeal Sensual, cannot do otherwise than think contrary to Divine things; but still from the corporeal Sensual he can speak in favour of them, and especially because Divine things are the means of acquiring honours and gain. Every man has two memories, a natural memory and a spiritual memory, and he can think from both, from the natural memory when he speaks with men in the world, but from the spiritual memory when he speaks from his spirit. A man, however, rarely speaks with another from his spirit, but only with himself, which is to think. Sensual men cannot speak or think from their own spirit with themselves otherwise than in favour of nature, consequently in favour of things corporeal and worldly, because they think from the Sensual, and not from the Spiritual, they are even altogether ignorant of what the Spiritual is, because they have closed their spiritual mind, into which heaven flows by virtue of its light.

[4] But let us proceed to explain the signification of the words, the voice which was heard from the horns of the golden altar, saying to the sixth angel, that he should loose the four angels that were bound at the river Euphrates. The river Euphrates signifies the Rational, and therefore reasoning also. The reason of this signification of that river is, that it divided Assyria from the land of Canaan, and by Assyria, or Ashur, is signified the Rational, and by the land of Canaan, the Spiritual. There were three rivers which formed the boundaries of the land of Canaan, in addition to the sea, namely, the river of Egypt, the river Euphrates, and the river Jordan. The river of Egypt signified the knowledge (scientia) of the natural man; the river Euphrates signified the Rational pertaining to man, and derived from knowledges (scientiae) and cognitions, and the river Jordan signified entrance into the internal or spiritual church. For the regions on the other side Jordan where the tribes of Reuben and Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh had inheritances allotted to them, signified the external or natural church, and because that river was between those regions and the land of Canaan, and afforded a passage, therefore it signified entrance from the external church which is natural, into the internal church which is spiritual. This was the reason that baptism was there instituted, for baptism represented the regeneration of man, by means of which the natural man is introduced into the church, and becomes spiritual.

[5] From these considerations the signification of those three rivers in the Word is clear. All the places too which were outside the land of Canaan, signified such things as pertain to the natural man, whereas those which were within the land of Canaan signified such things as pertain to the spiritual man, thus those which pertain to heaven and the church. Those two rivers, therefore, the river of Egypt, or the Nile, and the river of Assyria, or Euphrates, signified the terminations of the church, and also introductions into the church. Cognitions also and knowledges (scientiae), which are signified by the river of Egypt, introduce, for without cognitions and knowledges (scientiae), no one can be introduced into the church, nor have a perception of those things which pertain to the church. For the spiritual man, by means of the rational, sees its spiritual things in knowledges, as a man sees himself in a mirror, and acknowledges itself in them, that is, its own truths and goods, and moreover confirms its spiritual things by cognitions and scientifics, both by those which are known from the Word, and those which are known from the world.

[6] But the river of Assyria, or the Euphrates, signified the Rational, because by means of it man is introduced into the church. By the Rational is meant the thought of the natural man from cognitions and knowledges, for a man who is imbued with knowledges (scientiae) is able to see things in a series, from primaries and mediates the ultimate, which is called the conclusion, consequently, he can analytically arrange, reflect upon, separate, conjoin things, and at length form conclusions upon them, even to that ulterior end and at length to the ultimate which forms the use that he loves. This then is the Rational, which is given to every man according to uses, which are the ends that he loves.

Because everyone's Rational is according to the uses of his love, therefore it is the interior thought of the natural man from the influx of the light of heaven; and because man by rational thought is introduced into spiritual thought, and becomes a church, therefore that river signifies the Natural introducing.

[7] It is one thing to be rational, and another thing to be spiritual; every spiritual man is also rational, but the rational man is not always spiritual; the reason is, that the Rational, that is, the thought thereof, is in the natural man, but the Spiritual is above the Rational, and by means of the Rational passes into the Natural, into the cognitions and scientifics of its memory.

[8] But it must be observed, that the Rational does not introduce any one into the Spiritual, but it is so said, only because it appears to be the case. For the Spiritual flows into the Natural by means of the Rational, and thus introduces. For the Spiritual is the inflowing Divine, it is the light of heaven, which is the proceeding Divine Truth. This [light] flows through the higher mind called the spiritual mind, into the lower mind called the natural mind, and conjoins this to itself, and by means of that conjunction causes the natural mind to form one with the spiritual. Introduction is thus effected. Since it is contrary to Divine order for man by his Rational to enter into the Spiritual, therefore in the spiritual world there are angelic guards to prevent this taking place. It is therefore evident, what is signified by the four angels bound at the river Euphrates, and afterwards what is meant by loosing them. By the angels bound at the river Euphrates, is signified guard lest the Natural of man should enter into the spiritual things of heaven and the church, for were this the case there would be nothing but errors and heresies, and at length negation.

[9] In the spiritual world there are also ways that lead to hell, and those that lead to heaven, likewise, ways which lead from spiritual things to natural, and thence to things sensual; and also in those ways guards are placed, lest any one should go in a contrary direction, for he would thence lapse into heresies and errors, as just stated. Those guards are placed by the Lord in the beginning when the church is being established, and are also maintained lest the man of the church, from his own reason or understanding, should introduce himself into the Divine things of the Word, and thence of the church. But in the end, when the men of the church are no longer spiritual, but natural, and many utterly sensual, and there being no way from the spiritual man into the natural with the man of the church, then those guards are removed, and the ways are opened, and being opened, they go in a contrary order, which is brought about by reasonings from fallacies. Hence it comes to pass that the man of the church can speak with the mouth in favour of Divine things, while in heart he thinks contrary to them, or he can speak in favour of them from the body, and think contrary to them from the spirit; for reasoning concerning Divine things from the natural and sensual man produces this effect. The signification of the four angels bound at the river Euphrates and of their being loosed is now evident from these things.

[10] That the river Euphrates signifies the Rational, by means of which there is a way from the spiritual man into the natural, is clear from the following passages in the Word.

Thus in Moses:

"Jehovah made a covenant with Abraham, saying, Unto thy seed will I give this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates" (Genesis 15:18).

These words, in the sense of the letter, describe the extension of the land of Canaan, but in the internal sense, the extension of the church from its first to its final boundary; its first boundary is the Scientific, which is of the natural man, the other boundary is the Rational, which is of the thought. The Scientific which is of the natural man, is signified by the river of Egypt, or the Nile, and the Rational, which is of the thought, by the river of Assyria, or Euphrates; to these two the spiritual church, signified by the land of Canaan, extends itself, and similarly the spiritual mind of the man of the church. The Scientific and the Rational are both in the natural man, one limit of which is the scientific and cognitive [faculty] (scientificum et cognitivum), and the other is the intuitive and thinking [faculty] (intuitivum et cogitativum), and into these limits the spiritual man flows when it flows into the natural man. The conjunction of the Lord with the church by means of these is signified by the covenant which Jehovah established with Abraham. But these things are signified by the above words in the internal sense, while in the highest sense the union of the Divine Essence (Divine Essentiae) with the Human of the Lord is meant. These words are explained according to that sense in the Arcana Coelestia 1863-1866).

[11] So in Zechariah:

"His dominion shall be from sea even to sea, and from the river even to the ends of the earth" (9:10).

Similarly in David (Psalm 72:8).

These things are said concerning the Lord and His dominion over heaven and earth. By dominion from sea even to sea, is signified the extension of things natural, and by dominion from the river even to the ends of the earth, is signified the extension of things rational and spiritual; see also above (n. 518).

[12] So in Moses:

"The land of the Canaanites, and Lebanon, unto the great river, the river Euphrates. Behold, I have set the land before you; go in and possess the land" (Deuteronomy 1:7, 8).

And again:

"Every place whereon the soles of your feet shall tread shall be yours; from the wilderness and Lebanon, from the river, the river Euphrates, even unto the uttermost sea shall your coast be" (Deuteronomy 11:24).

So in Joshua:

"From the wilderness and this Lebanon, even unto the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and unto the great sea, the going down of the sun, shall be your coast" (1:4).

In these passages the extension of the church from one boundary to the other is described, one of which pertains to the cognitive and scientific [faculty] and is signified by Lebanon and the sea, and the other pertains to intuition and thinking [faculty], and is signified by the river Euphrates. The extension of the land of Canaan denotes the extension of the church, for by the land of Canaan in the Word, is signified the church. The river is twice mentioned, namely, the great river, the river Euphrates, because by the great river is signified the influx of things spiritual into things rational, and by the river Euphrates, the influx of things rational into things natural, thus by both, the influx of things spiritual through the Rational into things natural.

[13] So in Micah:

"This is the day in which they shall come even to thee from Assyria, and unto the cities of Egypt, and thence from Egypt even to the river, and to sea from sea, and from mountain to mountain" (7:12).

The establishment of the church among the Gentiles by the Lord is described by these words. "This day" signifies the Lord's coming; the extension of the church among them from one end to the other is signified by "they shall come from Assyria, and unto the cities of Egypt, and from Egypt to the river." The extension of truth from one end to the other is signified by to sea from sea, and the extension of good by from mountain to mountain.

[14] In David:

"Thou hast caused a vine to go forth out of Egypt; thou hast cast out the nations and planted it, thou hast sent out her boughs unto the sea, and her branches unto the river" (Psalm 80:8, 11).

By the vine which God caused to go forth out of Egypt are meant the sons of Israel, also the church is signified, for a vine signifies the spiritual church, which church was also signified by the sons of Israel. And because the church is called a vine, it is therefore said, "Thou hast planted it; thou hast sent out her boughs unto the sea, and her branches unto the river," by which is described the extension of the spiritual things of the church, the sea denoting one extremity thereof, and the river, which means the Euphrates, denoting the other. By the Euphrates, which was the fourth river that went out of Eden (Genesis 2:14), is also signified the Rational, for the garden in Eden, or Paradise, signifies wisdom. The signification of the three other rivers may be seen explained in the Arcana Coelestia 107-121).

[15] Because the river Euphrates signifies the Rational, therefore, it signifies, in the opposite sense, reasoning. Reasoning here means thought, and argumentation from fallacies and falsities, but by the Rational are meant thought and argumentation from knowledges (scientiae) and truths. For every Rational is trained by knowledges (scientiae), and formed by truths, wherefore he who is led by truths, or whom truths lead, is called a rational man. But a man who is not rational can reason, for by various reasonings he can confirm falsities, and also induce the simple to believe them, and this is principally done through the fallacies of the senses, concerning which more will be said below.

[16] This reasoning is signified by the river Euphrates in the following passages:

"Now what hast thou to do with the way of Egypt, to drink the waters of Shihor? or what hast thou to do with the way of Assyria, to drink the waters of the river?" (Jeremiah 2:18).

These words signify, that spiritual things must not be investigated by means of the scientifics (scientifica) of the natural man, nor by reasonings therefrom, but by means of the Word, thus out of heaven from the Lord. For those who are in spiritual affection, and thought thence, see the scientifics of the natural man, and the reasonings therefrom, as it were, below them, but no one can see spiritual things from the latter, for lower things may be viewed on all sides from higher ground, but not conversely. To investigate spiritual things by means of the scientifics of the natural man, is signified by "what hast thou to do with the way of Egypt, to drink the waters of Shihor?" And by reasonings therefrom is signified by "what hast thou to do with the way of Assyria, to drink the waters of the river?" Egypt and its river signify the scientifics of the natural man, and Assyria and its river signify reasonings from them.

[17] So again, in Isaiah:

"In that day shall the Lord shave with a razor that is hired, in the passages of the river, by the king of Assyria, the head, and the hair of the feet; and it shall also consume the beard" (7:20).

These words refer to the state of the church at its end, when the Lord was about to come. That reasonings from falsities, would then deprive the men of the church of all wisdom and spiritual intelligence, is described by the above words. Such reasonings are signified by "by the king of Assyria, in the passages of the river," that is, the Euphrates. The deprivation of spiritual wisdom, and of intelligence thence, is signified by the hair of the head and of the feet being shaved with a razor that is hired, and by the beard being consumed. For hairs signify natural things into which spiritual things operate, and wherein they close, therefore in the Word they signify the ultimates of wisdom and intelligence, the hair of the head signifies the ultimates of wisdom, the beard signifies the ultimates of intelligence, and the hair of the feet, the ultimates of knowledge (scientia). Without these ultimates, things prior can no more exist than a column without a base, or a house without a foundation. That those who have deprived themselves of intelligence by reasonings from fallacies and from falsities, appear bald in the spiritual world, may be seen above (n. 66).

[18] Again, in the same prophet:

"Behold, the Lord bringeth up upon them the waters of the river strong and many, the king of Assyria, and all his glory; and he shall come up over all his channels, and go over all his banks; he shall pass through Judah; he shall overflow and go over" (8:7, 8).

These words signify, that in the church the Word generally and in all its details, will be falsified by reasonings based on fallacies and falsities. The waters of the river, strong and many, the king of Assyria, signify reasonings from pure fallacies and falsities. He shall come up over all his channels, and over all his banks, signifies, that the Word generally and in all its details will be falsified. By Judah, which he shall overflow and pass through, is signified the church where the Word is, thus the Word.

[19] So again, in Jeremiah:

"Against the army of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who was by the river Euphrates, which Nebuchadnezzar smote. They have stumbled and fallen toward the north by the bank of the river Euphrates" (46:2, 6).

These words signify the destruction of the church and its truths by false reasonings from scientifics; by the river Euphrates are signified false reasonings. By Egypt and the army thereof are signified confirmatory scientifics; by the north where they stumbled and fell, is signified whence those falsities arise. This passage also is more fully explained above (n. 518:38).

[20] Again, in the same prophet:

Jehovah told the prophet to go and buy a linen girdle and put it upon his loins, but not to put it in water; then that he should go to the river Euphrates and hide the girdle there in a hole of the rock; and he went and hid it by the Euphrates. "After the end of many days, Jehovah said, Arise, go to Euphrates, and take the girdle from thence"; and he went and took it, "and behold the girdle was marred, it was profitable for nothing. As the girdle cleaveth to the loins of a man, so have I caused to cleave unto me the whole house of Israel, and the whole house of Judah, that they might be unto me for a name, for a praise, and for a glory, but they did not hear" (13:1-7, 11).

These things represented the quality of the Israelitish and Jewish church and its subsequent state. The girdle of linen which the prophet put upon his loins signifies the conjunction of the church with the Lord by means of the Word; for a prophet signifies doctrine from the Word, and the girdle upon the loins of the prophet signifies conjunction. The falsifications of the Word through evils of life and by falsities of doctrine, and the reasonings thence which favour them, are signified by the girdle being marred in the hole of the rock at Euphrates. For the conjunction of the Lord with the church is by means of the Word, and when this is perverted by reasonings which favour evils and falsities, then there is no longer conjunction, and this is meant by the girdle being profitable for nothing. That this was done by the Jews, is evident from the Word both of the old and of the new testament; from the Word of the new testament, that they had perverted all things written in the Word concerning the Lord, and also all the essentials of the church, and that they had falsified them by their traditions.

[21] So again, in Jeremiah:

"When thou hast made an end of reading this book, thou shalt bind a stone to it, and cast it into the midst of Euphrates; and thou shalt say, Thus shall Babylon sink, and shall not rise again" (51:63, 64).

By the book of the prophet which he read, is specifically meant that Word which was in that book, but in general, the whole Word. By his casting it into the midst of Euphrates, is signified, that the Word, in process of time through the reasonings which favour evils, would be falsified by those who are meant by Babylon, Babylon denoting those who adulterate the Word.

[22] Again, in Isaiah:

"Jehovah shall devote the tongue of the Egyptian sea; and with the vehemence of his wind shall he shake his hand over the river Euphrates, and shall smite it into the seven streams, and make men go over dry shod. Then there shall be a high way for the remnant of his people which shall be left from Assyria; like as it was to Israel when he came up out of the land of Egypt" (11:15, 16).

These words signify that all falsities, and reasonings therefrom, shall be dissipated before those who are in truths from good from the Lord, or who belong to the church, and that they shall, as it were, pass safely through the midst of them. This is the case in the spiritual world with those whom the Lord defends. The same thing is here meant by the drying up of the Sea Suph (Red Sea) before the sons of Israel; those who shall pass through under the protection of the Lord are signified by the remnant of the people which shall be left from Assyria, those left from Assyria denoting those who have not perished by reasonings from falsities. The meaning of the following passage in the Apocalypse is similar:

"The sixth angel poured out his vial upon the river Euphrates, and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings who are from the east might be prepared" (16:12).

These words will be more fully explained below in their proper place.

[23] From these things, it is now evident, that the river Euphrates signifies the Rational, by means of which the spiritual mind enters into the natural [mind], and that, in the opposite sense it signifies reasoning from fallacies and from falsities. It must however be observed, that reasonings are in the same degree as the thoughts, for they descend from them; thus there are reasonings from the spiritual man, which however must be called rather conclusions from reasons and from truths; there are reasonings from the natural man, and also from the sensual man. Reasonings from the spiritual man are rational, therefore they must be called rather conclusions from reasons and from truths, because they are from the interior and from the light of heaven; but reasonings from the natural man concerning spiritual things are not rational, however much they may appear to be so in moral and civil matters, which appear before the eyes, for they are from natural light alone. But reasonings from the sensual man concerning spiritual things are irrational, because they are from fallacies, and thence from false ideas. It is this last class of reasonings that is now here treated of in the Apocalypse.

2588. 'Abraham's wife' means, in order that spiritual truth might be joined to celestial good. This is clear from the representation of 'Sarah when a wife' as spiritual truth joined to celestial good, dealt with in 1468, 1901, 2063, 2065, 2172, 2173, 2198, 2507, and from the representation of 'Abraham' as celestial good joined to spiritual truth, dealt with in 2010, 2172, 2198, 2501. Whether you say spiritual truth and celestial good, or whether you say the Lord, it amounts to the same, for the Lord is truth itself and good itself, and also the marriage itself of truth and good and of good and truth. These matters may indeed be seen from the explanation given, yet as they belong among those things that are obscure at the present day, let them be illustrated so far as possible. The subject here is the doctrine of faith, about which doctrine the Lord thought when He was a boy; that is to say, He gave thought to whether it was permissible to enter into that doctrine by means of rational conceptions and in that way form ideas for Himself regarding it. This way of thinking was a product of His love and concern for the human race, who are such that they do not believe anything which is not grasped in a rational manner by them. But He perceived from the Divine that one ought not to enter into doctrine that way, and therefore He revealed such doctrine to Himself from the Divine and at the same time also all things in the universe that are subordinate to it, that is, all things of a rational kind, and all those of a natural kind.

[2] People's attitudes to matters of doctrine regarding faith have been spoken of above in 2568. There it was stated that there are two basic attitudes of mind from which people think, the negative and the affirmative; also that they think from a negative attitude who believe nothing unless they are convinced by rational considerations and by facts, and indeed by sensory evidence, whereas those people think from an affirmative attitude who believe that things are true because the Lord has said so in the Word and who thus have faith in the Lord. People who adopt the negative attitude towards the truth of anything in the Word say in their hearts that they are willing to believe when persuaded on rational grounds and by facts. But these are such as never believe, not even indeed if they were convinced by means of the evidence of their own physical senses of seeing, hearing, and touch; for they would always be producing new reasonings against such things, and in so doing they would at length completely destroy all faith and at the same time would turn the light of the rational into darkness, because they would turn it into falsities. People however who adopt the affirmative attitude, that is, who believe that things are true because the Lord has said so, are being confirmed all the time by rational considerations and by facts, and even by sensory evidence, and their ideas are being enlightened and are strengthened by these; for light comes to man through no other channel than the rational ideas and the factual knowledge which he possesses. This is so with everyone. With those who have the affirmative attitude of mind doctrine is certainly living, and of them it is said that they are healed and give birth. But with those who have the negative attitude doctrine certainly dies, and of them it is said that the womb is completely closed. All this shows what it is to enter the doctrine of faith by means of rational ideas, and what it is to enter into rational ideas from the doctrine of faith.

[3] Let these differences be illustrated by examples: The Word teaches that the first and foremost matter of doctrine is love to the Lord and charity towards the neighbour. People with the affirmative attitude towards this are able to enter into whatever things of a rational, factual, and indeed sensory kind they please, each according to his ability, knowledge, and experience. Indeed the more they do so the more they are confirmed, for the whole natural order is full of what is confirmatory. But people who deny this first and foremost teaching, and who wish first of all to be convinced by means of factual and rational considerations that a thing is true, never allow themselves to be convinced because they deny in their hearts and are all the time taking their stand on some other basic idea which they believe to be essential. In the end through confirmations of that idea these people so blind themselves that they cannot even know what love to the Lord is and what love towards the neighbour is. And because they confirm themselves in notions contrary to such love they at length also confirm themselves in the idea that no other kind of love can exist that has any delight in it except self-love and love of the world. And this they do to such an extent - if not in doctrine yet in the lives they lead - that they embrace hellish love in place of heavenly love.

[4] But with those who as yet have adopted neither a negative attitude nor an affirmative one but are in a state of doubt that precedes either of these, the position has been stated above in 2568. There it was shown that those who incline towards a life of evil fall into the negative attitude, whereas those who incline towards a life good are brought into the affirmative one. Take a different example: One of the leading ideas of the doctrine of faith is that all good comes from the Lord and all evil from man or self. People with the affirmative attitude that this is so are able to confirm themselves by many rational ideas, and by facts, such as that no good can possibly flow in except from Good itself, that is, from the fountain of good, and so from the Lord, and that good cannot have its first beginnings anywhere else. Such people find these ideas enlightened for them by all things which are truly good within themselves, within others, within society in general, and indeed within the whole of creation. But people with the negative attitude confirm themselves by everything they can possibly think of in ideas to the contrary, so much so that at length they do not know what good is. And disputing among themselves as to what the highest good is, they are profoundly ignorant of the fact that it is by means of celestial and spiritual good from the Lord that every type of good beneath it is made living, and that the delight flowing from it is truly delight. Some also imagine that if good does not come from themselves it cannot possibly come from any other source.

[5] Take another example: Those who are governed by love to the Lord and charity towards the neighbour are able to receive the truths of doctrine and to have faith in the Word, but not so those leading a life of self-love and love of the world. Or what amounts to the same, those governed by good are able to believe but not those governed by evil. People with the affirmative attitude of mind are able to confirm this in countless ways - with rational ideas and factual knowledge. With rational ideas they are able to confirm that truth is compatible with good but not with evil, and that as all falsity resides in evil it is also the product of evil, and that if any people governed by evil nevertheless possess any truth, this is on their lips, not in their heart. And with factual knowledge they are able to confirm from many points of view that truths put evils to flight and that evils detest truths. But people with the negative attitude confirm themselves in the idea that everyone, irrespective of what he is like in character - even if he leads a life for ever hating, taking delight in revenge, and practicing deceit - is able to believe as others are able to do so. Yet while holding to this idea they themselves totally reject goodness of life from doctrine, and having rejected it believe nothing whatever.

[6] To make the matter plainer still, take yet another example: Those who adopt the affirmative attitude that the Word has been written in such a way as to have an internal sense that is not apparent in the letter are also able in many ways to confirm themselves through rational considerations, such as the following,

By means of the Word man has a link with heaven.

Correspondences exist of natural things with spiritual, though the spiritual are not very apparent.

The ideas which belong to interior thought are completely different from the material ideas which fall into the words of spoken language. While man is in the world he is able to be in heaven (for he has been born for life in both places) through the Word which is intended for both places.

With some people a certain Divine light flows into the things of the understanding and into the affections when the Word is being read.

It is necessary that something be written which has come down from heaven and thus that the nature of its existence in its origins cannot be the same as its existence in the letter.

It cannot be holy except from a certain holiness which it has within it.

A person with the affirmative attitude is also able to confirm himself by means of certain facts, such as the following,

In former times people were living in an age of representatives. The writings of the Ancient Church contained such representatives, and those of many authors among the gentiles were composed of them, so that in the Churches that style of writing was regarded as being holy, and among the gentiles as being learned (books by many of those authors could also be mentioned).

But people who adopt the negative attitude, though they do not deny all these considerations and facts, nevertheless do not believe them. They persuade themselves that the Word is such as it exists in the letter, where indeed it presents a worldly appearance, but is nevertheless spiritual. They do not have any interest however in where that spiritual element lies, but for a multitude of reasons still want it. And that of which they are persuaded they are able to confirm in many ways.

[7] To present this matter in a way that can be grasped by ordinary people, let the following known fact serve as an example: Those with the affirmative attitude that sight does not belong to the eye but to the spirit which sees objects in the world by means of the eye as an organ of its own body can find confirmation of this fact in many ways. For instance, those people may find confirmation of it in their hearing of words spoken by another, in that these spoken words ally themselves to a certain interior sight, into which those words are converted - something that could not possibly occur but for the existence of that interior sight. These people may also find confirmation of the same in the consideration that whatever they think about is seen with an interior sight, by some more clearly and by others more obscurely, as well as in the consideration that the things produced by their imagination are not unlike actual objects of sight. They may find a further confirmation in the consideration that unless it were the spirit within the body that saw the things taken in by the eye as the organ of sight, the spirit would be unable to see anything in the next life, when in fact it is destined to behold countless and astonishing sights which the eye of the body cannot possibly see. In addition confirmation may be found by these people by reflecting on how in dreams, especially those of the prophets, many things have likewise been seen, yet not with the eyes. Finally, if trained in philosophy, a person may find confirmation in the consideration that things which are more exterior cannot enter into those that are more interior, just as that which is compound cannot enter into that which is simple, so that things of the body cannot enter into those of the spirit; only the reverse is possible. Besides these many other confirmations might be introduced, till at length a person is persuaded that sight belongs to the spirit, and not to the eye except from the spirit. But people with the negative attitude either speak of everything of this kind as that which is natural and physical, or else they speak of it as that which is imaginary. And when they are told that a spirit possesses and enjoys far more perfect sight than man does in the body, they laugh at the idea and dismiss it as nonsense, for they believe that they will be living in darkness when they are deprived of the sight of the eye. But in fact quite the reverse is the case in that they then dwell in the light.

[8] These examples show what it is to enter into things of a rational and factual nature from truths, and what it is to enter into truths from things of a factual and rational nature. The first method of approach is according to order, but the second is contrary to it; and when a person acts according to order he is enlightened, but when he acts contrary to order he is made blind. This makes plain how important it is for people to know and believe truths, for truths enlighten man, but falsities make him blind. Truths open up to the rational a vast and practically unlimited field, whereas falsities provide scarcely any such opening up at all, though this is not very evident. The reason why angels have so much wisdom is that they are enveloped in truths, truth being the light itself of heaven.

[9] Those who have made themselves blind through refusing to believe anything which they do not perceive with the physical senses, till at length they have no belief at all, were in former times called 'serpents belonging to the tree of knowledge'. For they reasoned much from things as perceived by the senses and from the resulting illusions which man accepts and believes all too easily, and by such reasoning they led very many astray, see 195, 196. In the next life they are easily distinguished from other spirits by the fact that in everything which is a matter of faith they reason whether it is so. And if it is demonstrated to them a thousand times, and then another thousand, that it is so they still advance doubts of a negative kind against every confirmation that is offered, and this they would go on doing for ever. They are so blinded therefore that they are lacking in common sense, that is, they are unable to grasp what good and truth are. Yet every one of them imagines that he is wiser than anyone else in the whole universe, making wisdom consist in being able to dispose of what is Divine and to derive the origin of things from what is natural. Many who have been considered wise men in the world are pre-eminently such as these; for the more anyone with the negative attitude of mind possesses talent and knowledge, the more insane he is, more so than all others. But the more anyone with the affirmative attitude possesses talent and knowledge the wiser he is able to become. One is not by any means forbidden to develop the rational by means of factual knowledge, but one is not allowed to use it to harden oneself against the truths of faith which belong to the Word.

[10] Much concerning these matters occurs in the internal sense of the Word, especially in prophetical sections, where the subject is Asshur and Egypt, for 'Asshur' means reasoning, 119, 1186, and 'Egypt' knowledge, 1164, 1165, 1186, 1462.

People who wish to enter into matters of doctrine regarding faith and into Divine things by means of things of a factual and of a rational nature, and who are consequently of unsound mind, are referred to in Isaiah as follows,

I will confound Egypt within Egypt, and they will fight every one against his brother, and every one against his companion, city against city, and kingdom against kingdom. And the spirit of Egypt will be emptied out in the midst of it, and I will swallow up his plans. The waters from the sea will fail, and the river will be parched and dry; and the streams will depart, and the rivers of Egypt will diminish and become parched. Reed and rush will wither away. Every seed of the river will be dry. Jehovah has mingled in the midst of her a spirit of perversity, and they have made Egypt err in all its work, as a drunken man errs in his vomit. Isaiah 19:2-3, 5-7, 14.

In the same prophet,

Woe to the rebellious children, who depart to go down into Egypt but have not asked at My mouth, to strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh, and to trust in the shadow of Egypt. And the strength of Pharaoh will be shame for you, and trust in the shadow of Egypt ignominy. Isaiah 30:1-3.

In the same prophet,

Woe to those who go down into Egypt for help and rely on horses and trust in chariots because they are many, but do not look to the Holy One of Israel and do not seek Jehovah. And Jehovah will stretch out His hand; he who gives help will stumble, and he who is helped will fall, and they will all be destroyed together. And Asshur will fall by a sword, not of man; and a sword, not of man, will devour him. Isaiah 31:1, 3, 8.

In Jeremiah,

My people have committed two evils; they have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, to hollow out pits for themselves, broken pits which do not hold water. Is not Israel a slave? If he is a home-born [servant], why has he become a prey? Are you not bringing this on yourself by forsaking Jehovah your God at a time when He is leading you in the way? And now, what have you to do with the way to Egypt, to drink the waters of Shihor, or what have you to do with the way to Asshur, to drink the waters of the River? O generation, see the Word of Jehovah! Have I been a wilderness for Israel? or a land of darkness? For what reason have My people said, We will be our own masters, we will not come to You any more? Why do you go off so forcefully to change your way? You will also be put to shame by Egypt, as you were put to shame by Asshur. Jeremiah 2:13-14, 17-18, 31, 36.

In the same prophet,

Hear the word of Jehovah, O remnants of Judah, Thus said Jehovah Zebaoth, the God of Israel, If you surely set your faces to come into Egypt, and you enter to sojourn there, then it will be, that the sword of which you are afraid will overtake you there in the land of Egypt, and the famine of which you are terrified will cleave to you there in Egypt, so that you die there. And all the men (vir) who have set their faces to come into Egypt to sojourn there will die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence, and none of them will survive or escape from before the evil which I am bringing over you. Jeremiah 42:15-17, and following verses.

In Ezekiel,

And let all the inhabitants of Egypt know that I am Jehovah, because they have been a staff of reed to the house of Israel. When they grasp you with the hand, you will be broken, and you will tear for them every shoulder; and when they lean on you you will be broken, and you will make all their loins to be at a stand. Therefore thus said the Lord Jehovih, Behold, I am bringing a sword over you, and I will cause man and beast to be cut off from you; and the land of Egypt will be a desolation and a waste, and they will know that I am Jehovah, for [Egypt] has said, The river is mine, and I made it. Ezekiel 29:6-9, and following verses.

In Hosea,

Ephraim was like a silly dove. They called on Egypt, they went away to Asshur. When they go I will stretch My net over them. Woe to them, for they have strayed away from Me! Hosea 7:11-13.

In the same prophet,

Ephraim feeds the wind, and pursues the east wind. All the day long he multiplies lies and devastation and they make a covenant with Asshur, and oil is carried down into Egypt. Hosea 12:1.

In the same prophet,

Israel has committed whoredom beneath its God. You have taken delight in hiring yourself out on every threshing-floor. Ephraim will return to Egypt, and in Asshur they will eat what is unclean. For behold, they have gone away on account of the devastation, Egypt will gather them, Moph ¹ will bury them; the nettle will possess their precious things of silver, the thorn will be in their tents. Ephraim has been stricken, their root has dried up, they will bear no fruit. Even when they bring forth I will slay the beloved fruits of their womb. My God will cast them away because they have not hearkened to Him, and they will be wanderers among the nations. Hosea 9:1, 3, 6, 16-17.

In Isaiah,

Woe to Asshur, the rod of My anger, and he is the staff, in their hand, of My indignation! He does not think what is right and his heart does not consider what is right, for it is in his heart to destroy, and to cut off nations not a few, for he says, Are not my princes at the same time kings? I will visit upon the fruit of the stout heart of the king of Asshur, for he has said, By the strength of my hand I have done it, and by my wisdom, for I have intelligence, and I will remove the boundaries of peoples and will plunder their treasures, and as a powerful man will cast down the inhabitants. Therefore the Lord, the Lord Zebaoth, will send leanness among his fat ones, and instead of his glory a burning of fire will be kindled. Isaiah 10:5, 7-8, 12-13, 16.

[11] In all these places 'Asshur' means reasoning, as has been shown, 'Egypt' and 'pharaoh' mean knowledge, and 'Ephraim' the understanding part of the mind. These and many other places elsewhere describe what man's rational comes to be like when he reasons about the truths of faith from the negative attitude of mind. Similar teaching is embodied in the incidents recorded in Isaiah 36, 37, when the Rabshakeh was sent from the king of Asshur and spoke out against Jerusalem and king Hezekiah, and the angel of Jehovah at that time struck down in the camp of the king of Asshur one hundred and eighty-five thousands. Those descriptions mean the disarray into which all that constitutes man's rationality is thrown when he reasons against Divine things, however much he may seem to himself at that time to be wise.

[12] Such reasoning is also referred to in various places as 'whoredom committed with the sons of Egypt and with the sons of Asshur', as in Ezekiel,

You committed whoredom with the sons of Egypt, your neighbours, great in flesh, and multiplied your whoredom. And you committed whoredom with the sons of Asshur, and were still not satisfied. Ezekiel 16:26, 28; 23:3, 5-21.

See 2466.

[13] People however who enter into things of a rational and factual kind from the doctrine of faith and by so doing are made wise are referred to in Isaiah as follows,

On that day there will be an altar to Jehovah in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar to Jehovah at its border; and it will be for a sign and a witness to Jehovah Zebaoth in the land of Egypt, for they will cry out to Jehovah because of the oppressors, and He will send a saviour and prince to them, and He will deliver them. And Jehovah will make Himself known to Egypt, and the Egyptians will know Jehovah on that day and will offer sacrifice and minchah, and will make a vow to Jehovah and perform it. Isaiah 19:18-21.

In the same chapter,

On that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Asshur, and Asshur will come into Egypt, and the Egyptians will serve Asshur. ² On that day Israel will be the third with Egypt and Asshur, a blessing in the midst of the earth, whom Jehovah Zebaoth will bless, saying, Blessed be Egypt My people, and Asshur the work of My hands, and Israel My heritage. Isaiah 19:23-25.

This is referring to the spiritual Church, of which Israel is the spiritual element, Asshur the rational, and Egypt the factual. These three constitute all the intellectual powers of that Church, which come in that order one after another. This explains why it is said, 'On that day Israel will be the third with Egypt and Asshur', and 'blessed be Egypt My people, Asshur the work of My hands, and Israel My heritage'.

[14] In the same prophet,

It will be on that day, that a great trumpet will be blown, and they will come - those who are perishing in the land of Asshur, and those who are outcasts in the land of Egypt - and they will bow themselves down to Jehovah on the holy mountain, in Jerusalem. Isaiah 27:13.

In the same prophet,

Thus said Jehovah, The labour of Egypt, and the wares of Cush and of the Sabaeans, men of stature, will come over to you and will be yours. They will follow after you and bow down to you. To you they will make the supplication, God is with you only; and there is no other besides God. Isaiah 45:14.

'Cush and the Sabaeans' are cognitions, 117, 1171. In Zechariah,

Egypt will go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, Jehovah Zebaoth. Zechariah 14:17-18.

In Micah,

As for me, I look to Jehovah, I wait for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me. The day for building your walls, this is the day; and they will come even to you from Asshur and the cities of Egypt even to the River. Micah 7:7, 11-12.

[15] In Ezekiel,

Thus said the Lord Jehovih, At the end of forty years I will gather Egypt from the peoples among whom they were scattered, and I will bring back the captivity of Egypt. Ezekiel 29:13-14.

In the same prophet,

Behold, Asshur was a cedar in Lebanon, beautiful in its branches, and a shady forest, and lofty in height, and its trunk among entangled boughs. The waters caused it to grow, with its streams going around the place of its planting, and he sent out his lines of water to all the trees of the field. Therefore its height was made higher than all the trees of the field, and its branches were multiplied, and its branches were made long by many waters. In its branches all the birds of the air made their nests, and under its branches every wild animal of the field gave birth, and in its shadow dwelt all great nations. And it became beautiful in its greatness, in the length of its branches, for its root was in many waters. The cedars did not hide it in the garden of God, the fir trees were not equal to its branches. No tree in the garden of God was equal to it in its beauty. I made it beautiful in the mass of its branches, and all the trees of Eden which are in the garden of God envied it. Ezekiel 31:3-9.

Here the Most Ancient Church, which was celestial, is described as to the nature of its rational and so of its wisdom and intelligence, for that Church used to look at things below from those which were Divine. Thus it looked at truths from goods themselves, and then from truths at what was subsidiary to these. By 'Asshur' and 'a cedar' are meant the rational, by 'entangled boughs among which were its branches' is meant factual knowledge, by 'streams' and 'waters' are meant spiritual goods, among which was its 'root', by 'the height and the length of the branches' the extent of it, by 'the garden of God' the spiritual Church, and by 'the trees of Eden' perceptions. This and the other places quoted above show what man's rational is like and what his factual knowledge is like when they are subordinate to Divine truths and serve these by confirming them.

[16] The fact that things of a rational and factual kind serve people who have the affirmative attitude of mind as a means for making them wise was represented and meant by the command to the children of Israel to seek from the Egyptians the loan of vessels of gold and vessels of silver, and clothing, Exodus 3:22; 11:2; 12:35-36. Something similar is meant by what is said in various places in the Word about their possessing the goods, houses, vineyards, and olive-groves, and many other things, of the nations, and also by references to the very gold and silver itself seized from the nations becoming holy, as in Isaiah,

Jehovah will visit Tyre, and she will return to hiring herself out as a harlot, and will commit whoredom with all the kingdoms of the earth on the face of the ground. And its merchandise and its harlot's hire will become holy to Jehovah; it will not be stored or hoarded, for its merchandise will be for them that dwell before Jehovah to eat to satisfaction and for ancient clothing. Isaiah 23:17-18.

'The merchandise of Tyre' stands for cognitions, 1201, which to those with the negative attitude of mind are like 'a harlot's hire' but to those with the affirmative attitude are like that which is holy. Something similar is also meant by the Lord's words,

Make friends for yourselves out of the mammon of unrighteousness, so that when you fail they may receive you into eternal habitations. If then you have not appeared faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will entrust to you the true? Luke 16:9, 11.

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