584. And the rest of the men who were not killed in these plagues.- That this signifies those who have not perished from the disorderly desires above mentioned, is evident from the signification of the rest of the men who were not killed, as denoting all those who have not perished. That to be killed, in the Word, signifies to be spiritually killed, or to perish in eternal death (morte aeterna), may be seen above (n. 547, 572); and from the signification of "these plagues," as denoting the disorderly desires above mentioned, or, the disorderly desires springing from the love of evil, and the love of falsity, also the lust (concupiscentia) of destroying the truths and goods of the church by the falsities of evil; all these are signified by the fire, smoke, and brimstone, going forth out of the mouths of the horses, (see above, n. 578). These are called plagues, because by plagues in the Word, are signified such things as destroy spiritual life with men, and therefore the church; they also signify those things that cause death understood in a spiritual sense, and these refer mainly to the disorderly desires arising from the loves of self and of the world; for these loves are the roots from which evils and falsities of every class and species are born and spring up.

[2] Such things are also signified by plagues in the following passages in the Apocalypse:

The two witnesses "have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with every plague as often as they desire" (11:6).

So again:

"Men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great" (16:21).

And again:

"In one day shall the plagues come to" Babylon, "death, and mourning, and famine" (18:8).

And again:

"I saw seven angels having the seven last plagues, through which must be consummated the wrath of God" (15:1, 6, 8).

By plagues are meant such things as bring spiritual death upon man, which, consequently, altogether destroy and devastate the church with men individually, and thus generally, as will be seen in the explanation of the passages that follow where plagues are mentioned, and especially where the seven last plagues are treated of.

[3] Similar things are understood by plagues in the following passages in the prophets.

Thus in Isaiah:

"The light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, in the day that Jehovah shall bind up the breach of his people, and heal the wound of their plague" (30:26).

And in Jeremiah:

"Thy bruise is incurable, and thy plague is grievous. For I have smitten thee with the plague of an enemy. I will restore health unto thee, and I will heal thee of thy plagues" (30:12, 14, 17).

Again, in the same prophet:

"Every one that goeth by" Edom, "shall hiss at all the plagues thereof" (49:17).

Again:

"Every one that goeth by Babylon shall hiss at all her plagues" (50:13).

And in Moses:

"If thou wilt not observe to do all the words of the law, Jehovah will make thy plagues wonderful, even great plagues, and of long continuance, and evil diseases, and of long continuance. Every disease, and every plague, which is not written in the book of this law, will Jehovah secretly bring upon thee, until thou be destroyed" (Deuteronomy 28:58, 59, 61).

Plagues here signify spiritual plagues, which do not destroy the body, but the soul, and which are also enumerated in that chapter in Deuteronomy (verses 20-68).

[4] What plagues signify in the spiritual sense, is described by correspondences in Zechariah:

"This shall be the plague, wherewith Jehovah shall smite all the people that shall fight against Jerusalem; the flesh of each one shall consume away so that he shall stand upon his feet, and his eyes shall consume away in their holes, and his tongue shall consume away in his mouth. And so shall be the plague of the horse, of the mule, of the camel, and of the ass, and of every beast that shall be in those camps, as this plague" (14:12, 15).

These things are said concerning those who endeavour to destroy the truths of the church by means of falsities. Jerusalem signifies the church as to the truths of doctrine, and to fight against her denotes to endeavour to destroy those truths by means of falsities. That the flesh of each one shall consume away so that he shall stand upon his feet, signifies that all the will of good will perish with those who attempt this, and that thus they will become merely corporeal-natural, for flesh signifies the will and its good or evil, while the feet signify those things that pertain to the natural man; therefore to stand upon the feet signifies to live from them alone. The eyes consuming away in their holes signifies that all understanding of truth shall perish, eyes signifying that understanding; and by the tongue consuming away in his mouth, is signified, that all perception of truth and affection for good shall perish. Concerning these things it may be seen above (n.455:8),where this prophecy also is explained. Almost similar things are signified by the plagues of the horse, the mule, the camel, the ass, and every beast; for by the plague of these is signified the loss of all understanding of truth, both spiritual and natural; and by the plague of the beast is signified the loss of all affection for good.

[5] In Luke it is said that in the same hour in which John sent, Jesus "cured many of their diseases and plagues of evil spirits; and unto many that were blind he gave sight" (7:21). The plagues of evil spirits mean the obsessions, and calamitous states at that time brought upon men by evil spirits, all of which nevertheless signified corresponding spiritual states. For all the cures of diseases wrought by the Lord signified spiritual healings, and therefore the miracles of the Lord were Divine; as for example, that He gave sight to many that were blind, which signified to impart the understanding of the truths of doctrine to those who were in ignorance of truth. So again, by the wounds (plagas) which the thieves inflicted on the man who went down from Jerusalem to Jericho (Luke 10:30), are also signified spiritual plagues, which were the falsities and evils insinuated into sojourners and Gentiles by the Scribes and Pharisees, as may be seen above (n. 444:13), where the spiritual sense of this parable is explained.

455. And peoples, and tongues.- That this signifies all those who are in falsities from ignorance and from various religions, is evident from the signification of peoples, as denoting those who are in truths of doctrine, and in the opposite sense, those who are in falsities of doctrine, concerning which see above (n. 175); but in the present case, those who are in falsities of doctrine from ignorance; here those who are saved, although they have been in falsities from the doctrine of their religion, are treated of; for all those are saved who are in the good of life according to the tenets of their religion, which they have believed to be truths, although they are not truths, since falsity is not imputed to any one who lives well according to the tenets of his religion, because it is no fault of his that he does not know truths; for the good of life according to religion contains within itself the affection of knowing truths, and these such persons also learn and receive when they come into another life, because every affection remains with man after death, and especially the affection of knowing truths, since this is a spiritual affection; and a man, when he becomes a spirit, is his own affection, and therefore, the truths which they desire they then drink in, and thus they receive them deeply into their hearts; (That the falsities of religion, if a man lives well, are accepted by the Lord as truths, may be seen above, n. 452); and from the signification of tongues, which denote their confessions from religion, for by tongues are meant speech, and speech signifies confession and religion, because the tongue utters and confesses those things that belong to religion.

[2] In the Word, the lip, mouth, and tongue are frequently mentioned; and the lip signifies doctrine, the mouth thought, and the tongue confession. The reason of these significations is that the lip, the mouth, and the tongue, are the external organs of man, by which internal things are made manifest, and internal things are those signified in the internal or spiritual sense. For the Word in the letter consists of exterior things, which appear before the eyes, and are perceived by the senses; for this reason the Word in the letter is natural, and this is the case in order that the Divine Truth which it contains may be there in its ultimate, and so in its fulness; but those external natural things, comprehend in themselves internal spiritual things, which are therefore the things signified.

[3] That tongues signify confessions from religion, and according to the tenets of religion, is evident from the following passages.

In Isaiah:

"The time will come for gathering together all nations and tongues, that they may come and see my glory" (66:18).

This is said of the coming of the Lord. Nations and tongues signify all who are in the good of life according to their religions; tongues signify religions from confession; therefore it is said, "That they may come and see my glory," glory signifying Divine Truth, by which the church exists.

[4] In Daniel:

"Behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of the heavens; and there was given him dominion and glory, and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and tongues, should serve him" (7:13, 14).

That the Son of man, who was to come in the clouds of heaven, means the Lord, is evident. The clouds of the heavens mean the Word in the letter, in which it is said that the Lord will come, because the Word treats of Him, and in its inmost sense of Him alone. For this reason it is said "the Son of man," for the Lord is called "the Son of man" from Divine Truth, which is the Word. But more may be seen above (n. 36) upon this subject, where the following words in the Apocalypse are explained: Behold he cometh with clouds, and every eye shall see him (1:7). The Lord's power from Divine Good is meant by dominion, and from Divine Truth, by glory, while heaven and the church are meant by a kingdom. People, tongues, and nations, signify all those who are in doctrine and in a life according to their religion. Those who are in doctrine are called peoples; those who are in life, nations; while tongues denote religions.

[5] In Zechariah:

"In those days ten men out of all tongues of the nations, shall take hold of the skirt of a man that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you, for we have heard that God is with you" (8:23).

The spiritual sense of these words may be seen above (n. 433:26). A Jew means those who are in love to the Lord and in truths of doctrine from Him; and by all tongues of the nations are meant those who are of various religions.

[6] Similar things are signified by tongues in the following passages.

In Moses:

"From these were dispersed the isles of the nations in their lands, every one according to his tongue, according to their families, in their nations." The habitations of the sons "of Shem, according to their families, according to their tongues, in their lands, according to their nations" (Genesis 10:5, 31).

In the Apocalypse:

"Thou must prophesy again over peoples, and nations, and tongues, and many kings" (10:11).

And again:

"And from among the peoples, and kindreds, and tongues, and nations, shall they see their dead bodies three days and a half" (11:9).

And again:

"And it was given unto" the beast "to make war with the saints, and to overcome them; and power was given him over every tribe, and tongue, and nation" (13:7).

Again:

"I saw an angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the eternal gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and tribe, and tongue, and people" (14:6).

And again:

"The waters which thou sawest, where the harlot sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues" (17:15).

Waters here signify the truths of the Word, for waters in the Word denote truths, and, in the opposite sense, falsities. Therefore, by peoples, multitudes, nations, and tongues, are here meant those who are in truths falsified, which in themselves are falsities, and thence in evils of life.

[7] So in Luke:

The rich man said to Abraham, "Have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue, for I am tormented in this flame" (16:24).

In this parable, as well as in the rest, the Lord spoke by correspondences, as is evident from this, that the rich man does not mean the rich, neither does Abraham mean Abraham. The water with which Lazarus might cool the rich man's tongue does not mean water, and neither does "tongue" mean the tongue, nor does "flame" mean flame, for in hell no one is tormented by flames. But by the rich man are meant those who are of the church where the Word is, out of which they have spiritual riches, which are truths of doctrine. Therefore by the rich man are there meant the Jews, who were then in possession of the Word; by Abraham is meant the Lord; by the water into which Lazarus might dip the tip of his finger, is signified truth from the Word; by the tongue, thirst and eager desire to pervert the truths of the Word; and by flame, the various and manifold punishment of that eager desire. Hence the signification of those words in a series is evident; and that by cooling the tongue with water is signified to allay the thirst and eager desire to pervert truths, and by means of them to confirm falsities. Who cannot see that it is not meant that Lazarus should dip the tip of his finger in water to cool the tongue?

[8] Again in Zechariah:

"This shall be the plague wherewith Jehovah will smite all the peoples that shall fight against Jerusalem; the flesh of every one shall consume away while he stands upon his feet, and his eyes shall consume away in their sockets, and his tongue shall consume away in his mouth" (14:12).

These things are spoken of those who endeavour to destroy the truths of doctrine by falsities; this is signified by fighting against Jerusalem, for Jerusalem signifies the church as to doctrine, and thence the truths of the doctrine of the church. By the flesh consuming away is signified that all the good of love and of life would perish, for this is signified by flesh. By standing upon their feet, is meant upon bones without flesh, which signifies that they would become altogether corporeal-natural, for the feet signify those things which pertain to the natural man, and in the present case, its lowest things. By their eyes consuming away in their sockets, is signified that all the understanding of truth would perish, for the eyes signify the understanding. By his tongue consuming away in the mouth is signified that all perception of truth and affection for good would perish. The tongue also signifies perception of truth and affection for good; perception of truth from the fact that it speaks, and affection for good, from the fact that it tastes, for taste signifies appetite, desire, and affection.

[9] In the book of Judges:

"Jehovah said unto Gideon, Every one that lappeth of the waters with his tongue as a dog lappeth, him shalt thou set by himself; likewise every one that boweth down upon his knees to drink. And the number of them that lapped in their hand, was three hundred men. These were led against Midian, and smote him" (7:5-7).

By Midian are here meant those who care nothing for truth, because they are merely natural and external, therefore they were smitten by those who lapped water in their hand with their tongue like a dog; for by these are meant those who desire truths, that is those who from some natural affection have a desire to know truths, for a dog signifies appetite and desire, waters signify truths, and lapping them with the tongue signifies to long for, and to be affected with desire; Midian was therefore smitten by these. Who cannot see that this would not have been commanded unless it had been significative?

[10] In David:

"Thou hidest them in the secret of thy faces from the pride of man; thou concealest them in a tabernacle from the strife of tongues" (Psalm 31:20).

Here the secret of the faces in which Jehovah hides them, signifies the Divine Good of the Divine Love, for the "faces of Jehovah" signifies the good of love and secret signifies interiorly in man. The pride of man signifies the pride of his own intelligence; the tabernacle in which He concealed them signifies Divine Truth; and the strife of tongues signifies the falsity of religion, from which they reason against truths. Hence it is evident what these words signify in a series.

[11] In Jeremiah:

"Lo, I will bring a nation upon you, a nation whose tongue thou shalt not know, nor understand what they say; they shall eat up thine harvest, and thy bread" (5:15-17).

It is not meant by these words that a nation of an unknown tongue, or of an unintelligible speech, should be brought; but an evil nation of an altogether different religion is meant, whose dogmas they would not know, nor would understand the reasonings based on them. In the abstract sense the falsities of evil are signified, which are altogether opposite to the truths of good; for nation, in the abstract sense, denotes evil, and tongue in this case the falsity of religion, and to speak denotes to reason therefrom, therefore the words follow, "they shall eat up thine harvest, and thy bread." For by harvest are signified truths by means of which there is good, by bread is signified the good thence, and eating up signifies to consume and take away.

[12] In Ezekiel:

"For thou art not sent to a people deep of lip, and heavy of tongue; unto the house of Israel; not to great peoples deep of lip and heavy of tongue whose words thou hast not understood; had I sent thee to them, would they not have obeyed thee?" (3:5, 6).

A people deep of lip and heavy of tongue, whose words cannot be understood, signifies those who are in unintelligible doctrine, and thence in an abstruse religion, whose dogmas cannot be apprehended. Lip signifies doctrine, tongue religion, and words the dogmas thereof. Wherefore by these people are meant the Gentiles who do not possess the Word, from which Jehovah, that is, the Lord, is known. That they would receive Divine truths if instructed, is signified by their obeying, if he had been sent unto them.

[13] In Isaiah:

"Thou shalt not see an obdurate people, a people of depths of lip that thou understandest not, barbarous in tongue [in which there is] no intelligence" (33:19).

By a people of depths of lip and by barbarous in tongue are signified similar things to those meant by peoples of a deep lip and heavy of tongue mentioned above. It is evident that a people whose speech is unintelligible is not meant, for it is also said, and barbarous in tongue [in which there is] no intelligence, for there may be intelligence in the tongue or speech, but not in their religion.

[14] Again:

"I have sworn, That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear" (45:23).

The subject here is the coming of the Lord, and by every knee shall bow, is signified that all those who are in natural from spiritual good shall worship Him, the knee signifying the conjunction of natural good with spiritual. Hence it is evident that bending the knees signifies acknowledgment, thanksgiving, and adoration from spiritual good and delight in the Natural. Every tongue shall swear, signifies that all will confess Him who are in good from religion; to swear denotes to confess, and the tongue denotes the religion according to which they live.

[15] In David:

"My tongue shall speak of thy justice all the day, and of thy praise" (Psalm 35:28).

Here also the tongue signifies confession from the doctrine of the church, for it is said that it speaks; justice is stated of the good, and praise of the truth thereof, as in other parts of the Word.

So again:

"My tongue also shall speak of thy justice all the day long" (Psalm 71:24).

[16] In the same:

"Let" the wicked "beset me with gall; the mischief of their lips covers them; burning coals overwhelm them. Let them be cast into deep pits by fire that they rise not again. A man of tongue shall not be established in the earth" (Psalm 140:9-11).

Gall signifies truth falsified, which in itself is falsity; the mischief of their lips signifies the falsity of doctrine thence, for lips signify doctrine. By burning coals overwhelming them, and by the fire by which they are to be cast into deep pits are signified pride on account of their own intelligence, and the love of self through which they fall into absolute falsities; burning coals signify the pride of one's own intelligence; fire, the love of self; and pits, falsities. All falsities of doctrine in the church, and all falsifications of the Word, exist also from the pride of man's own intelligence, and from the love of self. It is evident, therefore, that a man of tongue shall not be established in the earth, signifies a false religion.

[17] Again:

"I lie down, my soul in the midst of lions; the sons of men are inflamed; their teeth are spears and darts, and their tongue is a sharp sword" (Psalm 57:4).

Lions signify those who plunder the church of truths, and thus destroy it; the sons of men who are inflamed signify those who are in the truths of the church, and in the abstract, the truths themselves, which are said to be inflamed by the pride of man's own intelligence, whence arise falsities. Their teeth are spears and darts, signifies reasonings from external sensuals, and thus from the fallacies and falsities of religion, by which truths are destroyed, the teeth signifying the ultimates of the life of man, which are external sensual things, and in the present case reasonings from them. The tongue signifies the falsities of religion, wherefore it is said, "their tongue is a sharp sword," for by a sword is signified the destruction of truth by falsities.

[18] So in Job:

"Wilt thou draw out leviathan with a hook? and press down his tongue with a rope?" (Job 41:1).

In this and the preceding chapter, the behemoth and the leviathan are spoken of, and each signifies the natural man. The behemoth signifies the natural man in regard to goods, which are called the delights of natural love; and the leviathan, the natural man in regard to truths, which are called scientifics and knowledges, from which there is natural light (lumen). Both of these are described by pure correspondences, in the ancient style of writing. That reasoning by means of scientifics (scientifica) from the light of nature cannot be restrained except by God, is described in this and the following chapter by the leviathan, and also by these words, "Wilt thou draw out leviathan with a hook? or press down his tongue with a rope?" The tongue signifies reasoning from scientifics. That the leviathan signifies the natural man in regard to scientifics, is evident from other passages, where it is named, as in Isaiah 27:1; Psalm 74:14; Psalm 104:26, and also from the fact that the sea-monster, which is meant by the leviathan, signifies the natural man as to scientifics.

[19] Again, in Isaiah:

"The heart also of the rash shall understand knowledge, and the tongue of the stammerers shall be swift to speak" (32:4).

The rash mean those who readily seize upon and believe whatever is said, and therefore falsities also. Of these it is said, that they shall understand and know, which means to receive truths. The stammerers mean those who are able to apprehend the truths of the church only with difficulty; their tongue shall be swift to speak means, that they shall confess them from affection; "swift," is said of affection.

[20] In the same prophet:

"Then shall the lame man leap as a hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing; for in the desert shall waters break out, and rivers in the plain of the desert" (35:6).

These things are said concerning the coming of the Lord. The lame signify those who are in good, but not in genuine good, because in ignorance of truth, by means of which good exists; to leap as a hart signifies to have joy from perception of truth. The dumb signify those who cannot confess the Lord, nor the genuine truths of the church, because of their ignorance of truth; by their singing is signified joy from the understanding of truth. By waters breaking out in the desert is signified that truths shall be made known where they did not exist before; and rivers in the plain of the desert signify intelligence there, for waters signify truths, and rivers, intelligence.

[21] From these explanations it is evident what is signified in the spiritual sense by the deaf man, who had an impediment in his speech, and whom the Lord healed as recorded in Mark.

Jesus took the deaf man that had an impediment in his speech, "and put his finger into his ears, and he spat, and touched his tongue; and looking up to heaven, he saith unto him, Ephphatha, that is, Be opened; and straightway his ears were opened, and the string of his tongue was loosed, and he spake plainly" (Mark 7:32, 33-35).

That all the miracles of the Lord, because they were Divine, involved and signified those things that pertain to heaven and the church; and that therefore the healings of diseases signified the various healings of the spiritual life, may be seen in the Arcana Coelestia 7337, 8364, 9031). The deaf man signifies those who are not in the understanding of truth, and therefore not in obedience. By an impediment in his speech are signified those who confess the Lord and the truth of the church with difficulty; the opening of his ears by the Lord signifies obedience and the perception of truth; and by the tongue, whose string was loosed by the Lord, is signified the confession of the Lord, and of the truths of the church.

[22] By the apostles and others speaking with new tongues after the resurrection of the Lord, was also signified the confession of the Lord, and of the truths of the new church; concerning this it is thus written in Mark:

Jesus said, "And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues" (16:17).

The casting out of devils, means the removal and rejection of the falsities of evil, and speaking with new tongues, confession of the Lord and the truths of the church from Him. Therefore to the apostles "there appeared cloven tongues like as of fire, which sat upon them. And then they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak with other tongues" (2:3, 4). By the fire was signified the love of truth; by being filled with the Holy Spirit, was signified the reception of Divine Truth from the Lord; and by new tongues are meant confessions from the love of truth or from zeal. For, as said above, all Divine miracles, therefore all the miracles recorded in the Word, involved and signified spiritual and celestial things, that is to say, such things as pertain to heaven and the church, for this distinguishes Divine miracles from miracles not Divine. It would be superfluous to adduce more passages from the Word to prove that tongues do not mean speech in the ordinary meaning of the word, but confessions from the truths of the church, and, in the opposite sense, confessions from the falsities of religion.