455. And peoples and tongues, signifies all who are in falsities from ignorance and from various religions. This is evident from the signification of "peoples," as being those who are in the truths of doctrine, and in a contrary sense those who are in the falsities of doctrine (of which above, n. 175; but here, those who are in the falsities of doctrine from ignorance; for here are treated of those who are saved, although from the doctrine of their religion they have been in falsities. All those who are in the good of life in accordance with the dogmas of their religion, which they have believed to be true although they are not true, are saved, for falsity is not imputed to anyone who lives well according to the dogmas of his religion, because it is not his fault that he is ignorant of truths. For the good of life in accordance with a religion contains within itself the affection of knowing truths, and these truths are learned and accepted when such persons come into the other life, for every affection remains with man after death, and especially the affection of knowing truths, because this is a spiritual affection; and when man becomes a spirit, he is his affection; consequently the truths that are then desired are imbibed and thus received deeply in the heart. (That when a man lives well falsities of religion are accepted by the Lord as truths, see above, n. 452.) The above is evident from the signification of "tongues," as meaning their confessions from religion, for "tongues" mean speech, and "speech" signifies confession and religion, because the tongue utters and confesses the things that pertain to religion.

[2] There is frequent mention in the Word of the "lip," the "mouth," and the "tongue;" and the "lip" signifies doctrine, the "mouth" thought, and the "tongue" confession. "Lip," "mouth," and "tongue," have this signification because these are the externals of man, by means of which things internal find expression, and it is things internal that are signified in the internal or spiritual sense. For the Word in the letter consists of external things that are manifest before the eyes and are perceived by the senses, therefore the Word in the letter is natural, and this in order that the Divine truth that it contains may be there in what is ultimate and thus in fullness. But these external things, which are natural, include in themselves things internal that are spiritual, and these therefore are the things that are signified.

[3] That "tongues" signify confessions from religion, and according to the dogmas of religion, can be seen from the following passages. In Isaiah:

The time shall come for bringing together all nations and tongues, that they may come and see My glory (Isaiah 66:18).

This is said of the Lord's coming; "nations and tongues" signify all who are in the good of life according to their religions; "tongues" signify religions from confessions; it is therefore said "that they may come and see My glory," "glory" signifying Divine truth, by which the church exists.

[4] In Daniel:

Behold, with the clouds of the heavens one like the Son of man. And there was given Him dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, tongues, and nations might worship Him (Daniel 7:13, 14).

"The Son of man who was to come in the clouds of the heavens," evidently means the Lord, and "the clouds of the heavens" mean the Word in the letter, in which it is said that the Lord is to come, for the Word treats of Him, and in the inmost sense of Him alone. Therefore it is said "Son of man," because the Lord is called "the Son of man" from Divine truth, which is the Word. But respecting this see more above n. 36 where these words are explained:

Behold, He cometh with the clouds; and every eye shall see Him (Revelation 1:7).

The Lord's power from Divine good is meant by "dominion," and from Divine truth by "glory," and heaven and the church are meant by "kingdom." "Peoples, tongues, and nations," signify all those who are in doctrine and in a life according to their religions; those who are in doctrine are called "peoples," those who are in life "nations," and "tongues" mean 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 (Zechariah 8:23).

The spiritual sense of these words may be seen above n. 433; namely, that a "Jew" means those who are in love to the Lord and in the truths of doctrine from Him; and that "all tongues of the nations" mean those who are of various religions.

[6] "Tongues" have a like signification in the following passages.

In Moses:

From these were the islands of the nations separated in their lands, every man according to his tongue, according to their families, in their nations. The habitations of the sons of Shem, according to their families, after their tongues, in their lands, after their nations (Genesis 10:5, 31).

In Revelation:

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

Again:

And they of the peoples and tribes and tongues and nations shall see their bodies three days and a half (Revelation 11:9).

Again:

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

Again:

I saw an angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting Gospel to proclaim unto those that dwell on the earth, and unto every nation and tribe and tongue and people (Revelation 14:6).

And again:

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

"Waters" here signify the truths of the Word, for "waters" in the Word signify truths, and in the contrary sense falsities; therefore here "peoples, multitudes, nations, and tongues," mean those who are in truths falsified, which in themselves are falsities, and are consequently in evils of life.

[7] 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 may cool my tongue, for I am tortured in this flame (Luke 16:24).

In this parable, as in others, the Lord spake by correspondences, as can be seen by this, that the "rich man" does not mean the rich, nor does "Abraham" mean Abraham, nor by "the water with which Lazarus might cool the tongue" are water and tongue meant, nor does the "flame" mean flame, for in hell no one is tortured by flames; but a "rich man" means those who are of the church where the Word is, from which they have spiritual riches, which are truths of doctrine; so the "rich man" here means the Jews, with whom was the Word at that time; "Abraham" means the Lord; the "water into which Lazarus might dip the tip of his finger" signifies truth from the Word; and "tongue" signifies a thirst and eagerness to pervert the truths that are in the Word; and the "flame" the punishment of that eagerness, which is various and manifold. This makes evident what these things signify in the series, and that "to cool the tongue with water" signifies to allay the thirst and the eagerness to pervert truths, and to confirm falsities thereby. Who cannot see that it does not mean that Lazarus should dip the tip of his finger in water to cool the tongue?

[8] In Zechariah:

This shall be the plague wherewith Jehovah will strike all the peoples that shall fight against Jerusalem; his flesh shall waste away as he stands upon his feet, and his eyes shall waste away in their sockets and his tongue shall waste away in his mouth (Zechariah 14:12).

This is said of those who endeavor to destroy the truths of doctrine by means of falsities; and this is signified by "fighting against Jerusalem," "Jerusalem" signifying the church in respect to doctrine, and thence the truths of the doctrine of the church; "the flesh shall waste away" signifies that all good of love and of life will perish, for this is what "flesh" signifies; "standing upon his feet" means upon bones without flesh, which signifies that they will be wholly corporeal-natural, "feet" signifying the things that belong to the natural man, here its lowest things; "his eyes shall waste away in their sockets" signifies that all the understanding of truth will perish, "eyes" signifying the understanding; "his tongue shall waste away in his mouth" signifies that all the perception of truth and all the affection of good will perish; "tongue" signifying also the perception of truth and the affection of good, the perception of truth from its speaking, and the affection of good from its power of tasting, for "taste" signifies appetite, desire, and affection.

[9] In the book of Judges:

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

"Midian" here means those who do not care for truth, because they are merely natural and external; therefore Midian was smitten by those who "lapped the waters in the hand with the tongue like a dog;" these mean such as have an appetite for truths, thus they who from some natural affection seek to know truths, a "dog" signifying appetite and eagerness, "waters" truths, and "lapping them with the tongue" to have an appetite for and eagerly seek. So it was by these that Midian was smitten. Anyone can see that such things would not have been commanded unless they had been significative.

[10] In David:

Thou hidest them in the hiding place of Thy faces from the pride of man; Thou concealest them in a pavilion from the strife of tongues (Psalms 31:20).

"A hiding place of faces in which Jehovah hides them," signifies the Divine good of the Divine love, for "the face of Jehovah" signifies the good of love, and "the hiding place" signifies inwardly in man; "the pride of man" signifies the pride of self-intelligence; the "pavilion in which He hides them" signifies Divine truth; and "the strife of tongues" signifies the falsity of religion from which they reason against truths. This makes clear what these things signify in series.

[11] In Jeremiah:

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

This does not mean that a nation of an unknown tongue or of an unintelligible speech should be brought; but an evil nation of an utterly different religion is meant, whose dogmas they shall not know nor understand the reasonings therefrom; and in an abstract sense the falsities of evil which are altogether contrary to the truths of good are signified; for "nation" in an abstract sense means evil, and "tongue" here means the falsity of religion, and "to speak" means to reason therefrom; therefore it is added, "it shall eat up thy harvest and thy bread," for "harvest" signifies truths by which there is good, "bread" the good therefrom, and "to eat up" to consume and deprive.

[12] In Ezekiel:

Thou art not sent to a people of deep lip and heavy of tongue, but to the house of Israel; not to great peoples of deep lip and heavy of tongue, whose words thou shalt not hear. If I should send thee to them, will they not hearken unto thee? (Ezekiel 3:5, 6).

"Peoples of deep lip and heavy of tongue, whose words are not heard," signify those who are in an unintelligible doctrine, and thus in an abstruse religion, whose dogmas cannot be comprehended, "lip" signifying doctrine, "tongue" religion, and "words" its dogmas; therefore these peoples mean the nations that do not have the Word, by which Jehovah, that is, the Lord, is known. That these will receive Divine truths when they are instructed is signified by "these would hearken if he should be sent unto them."

[13] In Isaiah:

Thou wilt not see an obstinate people, a people of depths of lip that thou canst not hear; barbarous in tongue, without intelligence (Isaiah 33:19).

"A people of depths of lip and barbarous in tongue" has a similar signification here as "peoples of deep lip and heavy of tongue" above. Evidently a people with a speech that cannot be understood is not meant; for it is added, "barbarous in tongue, without intelligence," for there may be intelligence in the tongue or speech of such, but not in their religion.

[14] In the same:

I have sworn that unto Me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear (Isaiah 45:23).

This is said of the coming of the Lord; and "every knee shall bow" signifies that all who are in natural good from spiritual good will worship Him, the "knee" signifying the conjunction of natural good with spiritual. This shows 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 the Lord who are in good from religion, "to swear" signifying to confess, and "tongue" religion according to which one lives.

[15] In David:

And my tongue shall meditate of Thy righteousness and of Thy praise all the day (Psalms 35:28).

Here, too, "tongue" signifies confession from the doctrine of the church, for it is said "to meditate of;" "righteousness" is predicated of the good of the church, and "praise" of its truth, as also elsewhere in the Word. So again in the same:

My tongue shall meditate of Thy righteousness all the day (Psalms 71:24).

[16] In the same:

With gall the wicked compass me, the mischief of their lips doth cover them; burning coals overwhelm them; with fire let them be cast into pits, that they rise not again; a man of tongue shall not be established in the earth (Psalms 140:9-11).

"Gall" signifies truth falsified, which in itself is falsity; "the mischief of their lips" signifies the falsity of doctrine therefrom, for "lips" signify doctrine; "burning coal by which they are overwhelmed," and the "fire with which they are to be cast into pits," signify the pride from self-intelligence and the love of self, through which they fall into mere falsities, "burning coals" signifying the pride of self-intelligence, "fire" the love of self, and "pits" falsities. Moreover all falsities of doctrine in the church and all falsifications of the Word spring from the pride of self-intelligence and from the love of self. This makes evident what is signified by "a man of tongue shall not be established in the earth," namely, a false religion.

[17] In the same:

My soul, I lie in the midst of lions, the sons of man are set on fire, their teeth are spear and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword (Psalms 57:4).

"Lions" signify those who plunder the church of truths, and thus destroy it; the "sons of man who are set on fire," signify those who are in the truths of the church, and in an abstract sense the truths themselves, which are said to be "set on fire" by the pride of self-intelligence, whence come falsities; "their teeth are spear and arrows" signifies reasonings from external sensuals and thus from the fallacies and falsities of religion, by which truths are destroyed, "teeth" signifying the ultimates of man's life, which are external sensual things, and here reasoning from these, and "tongue" signifying the falsities of religion; therefore it is said "their tongue a sharp sword," "sword" signifying the destruction of truth by falsities.

[18] In Job:

Wilt thou draw out leviathan with a fish-hook, and overwhelm his tongue with a cord? (Job 41:1)

In this and the preceding chapter the Behemoth and the leviathan are treated of, and both signify the natural man, the "Behemoth" the natural man in respect to goods which are called the delights of natural love, and the "leviathan" the natural man in respect to truths which are called knowledges and cognitions, from which is natural light. These are both described by pure correspondences according to the ancient style. That reasoning from the light of nature by means of knowledges [scientifica] can be restrained by God only, is described in that chapter and the subsequent one by the "leviathan," and also by these words, "Wilt thou draw out leviathan with a fish-hook, and overwhelm his tongue with a cord?;" "tongue" signifying reasoning from knowledges [scientifica]. That the "leviathan" signifies the natural man as regards knowledges [scientifica] can be seen from other passages where it is mentioned (as Isaiah 27:1; Psalms 74:14; Psalms 104:26). Also from the fact that the "whale," by which the leviathan is meant, signifies the natural man in regard to knowledges [scientifica].

[19] In Isaiah:

The heart of the hasty shall have intelligence for knowing, and the tongue of the stammerers shall be swift to speak (Isaiah 32:4).

The "hasty" mean those who readily seize upon and believe whatever is said, thus also falsities; of such it is said that "they shall be intelligent and know," that is, receive truths; "stammerers" mean those who are hardly able to apprehend the truths of the church; that they will confess them from affection is meant by "their tongue shall be swift to speak," "swiftness" is predicated of affection.

[20] In the same:

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

This is said of the coming of the Lord; the "lame" signifies those who are in good but not genuine good, because they are in ignorance of truth through which good comes; "to leap as a hart" signifies to have joy from the perception of truth; the "dumb" signifies those who on account of ignorance of truth are unable to confess the Lord and the genuine truths of the church; "he shall sing" signifies joy from the understanding of truth; "waters shall break out in the wilderness" signifies that truths shall be opened where they were not before; and "brooks in the plain of the desert" signify intelligence there, for "waters" signify truths, and "brooks" intelligence.

[21] This makes clear what is signified in the spiritual sense by "the deaf man that had an impediment in his speech" whom the Lord healed, which is thus described in Mark:

Jesus took aside the deaf man who had an impediment in his speech, and put His fingers into his ears, and spitting, touched his tongue; and looking up into heaven, He said to him, Ephphatha, that is, Be opened; and straightway his ears were opened, and the bond of his tongue was loosed, and he spake aright (Mark 7:32-35).

The Lord's miracles, because they are Divine, all involved and signified such things as pertain to heaven and the church, therefore they were healings of the diseases which signified the various healings of the spiritual life, as may be seen in the Arcana Coelestia 7337, 8364, 9031). The "deaf man" signifies those who are without the understanding of truth, and thence in no obedience; "his difficulty in speaking" signifies the difficulty of such in confessing the Lord and the truth of the church; the "ears" opened by the Lord signify the perception of truth and obedience; and the "tongue" whose bond was loosed by the Lord signifies the confession of the Lord and of the truths of the church.

[22] Again, that the apostles and others after the Lord's resurrection spoke with new tongues signifies also the confession of the Lord and of the truths of the new church. This is thus referred to in Mark:

Jesus said, These signs shall follow them that believe; in My name shall they cast out demons, and they shall speak with new tongues (Mark 16:17).

"To cast out demons" signifies to remove and reject the falsities of evil; and "to speak with new tongues" signifies to confess the Lord and the truths of the church from Him. So:

To the apostles there appeared divided tongues like as of fire, which sat on them. And being filled with the Holy Spirit they began to speak with other tongues (Acts of the Apostles 2:3, 4).

The "fire" signified the love of truth, and "filled with the Holy Spirit" signified the reception of Divine truth from the Lord; and "new tongues" signified confessions from the love of truth or zeal; for, as was said above, all Divine miracles, consequently all miracles mentioned in the Word, involved and signified things spiritual and celestial, that is, such things that pertain to heaven and the church: by this Divine miracles are distinguished from miracles not Divine. It is unnecessary to quote more passages from the Word to show that "tongues" do not mean speech in the ordinary sense, but confessions from the truths of the church, and in the contrary sense confessions from the falsities of any religion.

3147. 'And water to wash his feet' means purification there. This is clear from the meaning of 'water to wash' or 'washing with water' as purifying, dealt with below, and from the meaning of 'feet' as natural things, or what amounts to the same, those things that are in the natural man, dealt with in 2162. In the representative Church washing feet with water was a ceremonial act which meant washing away the filth of the natural man. The filth of the natural man is composed of all the things that belong to self-love and love of the world, and when such filth has been washed away goods and truths flow in, for that filth alone is what hinders the influx of good and truth from the Lord.

[2] For good is flowing in constantly from the Lord, but when by way of the internal or spiritual man it reaches the external or natural man it is either perverted there, or turned away, or stifled. But when indeed the things that belong to self-love and love of the world are removed, good is received there, and bears fruit there, since the person now performs the works of charity. This may become clear from many considerations, such as this: When the things that belong to the external or natural man are quiescent - as they are in times of ill-fortune, wretchedness, and sickness - a person instantly starts to become spiritually-minded and to will what is good, and also to perform acts of devotion insofar as he is able. But when that state alters, these things are altered too.

[3] In the Ancient Church 'washings' were signs meaning these things, and in the Jewish Church the same were representations. The reason why in the Ancient Church they were meaningful signs but in the Jewish Church representations was that members of the Ancient Church regarded that custom as some external act of worship. Nor did they believe that they were purified by that kind of washing but by a washing away of the filth of the natural man, which, as has been stated, is composed of the things that belong to self-love and love of the world. But the member of the Jewish Church did believe that he was purified by such washing, for he did not know, and did not wish to know, that the purifying of a person's interior self was meant.

[4] That 'washing' means the washing away of that filth is clear in Isaiah,

Wash yourselves; purify yourselves; remove the evil of your doings from before My eyes; cease to do evil. Isaiah 1:16.

Here it is evident that 'washing themselves' means purifying themselves and removing evils. In the same prophet,

When the Lord will have washed the excrement of the daughters of Zion and washed away the blood of Jerusalem from its midst in a spirit of judgement and in a spirit of purging. Isaiah 4:4.

Here 'washing the excrement of the daughters of Zion and washing away the blood of Jerusalem' stands for purifying from evils and falsities. In Jeremiah,

Wash your heart from wickedness, O Jerusalem, that you may be saved. How long will your iniquitous thoughts lodge within you? Jeremiah 4:14.

[5] In Ezekiel,

I washed you with water, and washed away the blood from upon you, and anointed you with oil. Ezekiel 16:9.

This refers to Jerusalem, which is used here to mean the Ancient Church. 'Washing with water' stands for purifying from falsities, 'washing away the blood' for purging from evils, 'anointing with oil' for filling with good at that time. In David,

Wash me from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. You will purge me with hyssop and I shall be clean; You will wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Psalms 51:2, 7.

'Being washed' plainly stands for being purified from evils and derivative falsities.

[6] These were the things that were meant by 'washing' in the Representative Church. For the sake of the representation, when they had been made unclean and needed to be cleansed, people were commanded in that Church to wash the skin, hands, feet, and also their garments. All these meant things that belong to the natural man. Also for the sake of the representation, lavers made of bronze were placed outside the Temple - that is to say, 'the bronze sea and the ten bronze lavers' mentioned in 1 Kings 7:23-29; there was also the bronze laver from which Aaron and his sons were to wash themselves, placed between the Tent of Meeting and the Altar, and so outside the Tent of Meeting, Exodus 30:18-19, 21 - the meaning of which was that only external or natural things needed to be purified. And unless they have been purified, that is, unless things belonging to self-love and love of the world have been removed from them, internal things which belong to love to the Lord and towards the neighbour cannot possibly flow in, as stated above.

[7] To enable these matters to be understood more easily, that is to say, regarding the need for external things to be purified, let good works - or what amounts to the same, the goods of charity, which are at the present day called the fruits of faith, and which, since they are actions, are external - serve to exemplify and illustrate the point: Good works are bad works unless the things belonging to self-love and love of the world are removed. For until these have been removed works, when performed, are good to outward appearance but are inwardly bad. They are inwardly bad because they are done either for the sake of reputation, or for financial gain, or for improvement of one's position, or for reward. They are accordingly either merit-seeking or hypocritical, for the things that belong to self-love and love of the world cause those works to be such. But when indeed these evils are removed, works become good, and are the goods of charity. That is to say, they are done regardless of self, the world, reputation, or reward, and so are not merit-seeking or hypocritical, because in that case celestial love and spiritual love flow from the Lord into those works and cause them to be love and charity in action. And at the same time the Lord also purifies the natural or external man by means of those things and orders it so that that man receives correspondingly the celestial and spiritual things that flow in.

[8] This becomes quite clear from what the Lord taught when He washed the disciples' feet: In John,

He came to Simon Peter, who said to Him, Lord, do You wash my feet? Jesus answered and said to him, What I am doing you do not know now, but you will know afterwards. Peter said to Him, You will never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me. Simon Peter said to Him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and head! Jesus said to him, He who is washed has no need except that his feet be washed, but is clean all over. Now you are clean, but not all of you. John 13:4-17.

'He who is washed has no need except that his feet be washed' means that anyone who has been reformed needs to be cleansed only in regard to natural things, that is, to have evils and falsities removed from them. For when that happens all is ordered by the influx of spiritual things from the Lord. Furthermore 'feet-washing' was an act of charity, meaning that one ought not to dwell on the evils of another person. It was also an act of humility, meaning the cleansing of another from evils, like filth from the body, as also becomes clear from the Lord's words in verses 12-17 of that chapter in John, and also in Luke 7:37-38, 44, 46; John 11:2; 1 Samuel 25:41.

[9] Anyone may see that washing himself does not purify a person from evils and falsities, only from the filth that clings to him. Yet because it belonged among the religious observances commanded in the Church it follows that it embodies some special idea, namely spiritual washing, which is purification from the filth that clings to man inwardly. Members of that Church therefore who knew these things and thought of purification of the heart, that is, the removal of the evils of self-love and love of the world from the natural man, and tried to achieve it with utmost zeal, practiced ritual washing as an external act of worship, as commanded. But among those who did not know and did not wish to know those things but who supposed that the mere ritual act of washing garments, skin, hands, and feet would purify them, and who supposed that provided they performed such rituals they would be allowed to continue leading lives of avarice, hatred, revenge, mercilessness, and cruelty - all of which constitute spiritual filth - the performance of the ritual was idolatrous. Nevertheless by means of that ritual they were still able to represent, and by means of the representation to display, some vestige of a Church, by means of which heaven was in a way joined to mankind prior to the Lord's Coming. But that conjunction was such that heaven had little or no influence at all on the member of that Church.

[10] The Jews and Israelites were such that they did not think at all of the internal man, nor did they wish to know anything about the same. Thus they knew absolutely nothing about the celestial and spiritual things which belong to the life after death. Nevertheless to prevent the end of all communication with heaven and so with the Lord, they were bound to the performance of external observances by which internal things were meant. All their captivities and plagues were in general to the end that external observances might be duly carried out for the sake of the representation. It was for this reason that the following laws were given:

Moses was to wash Aaron and his sons with water at the tent door, to sanctify them. Exodus 29:4; 40:12; Leviticus 8:6.

Aaron and his sons were to wash their hands and feet before entering the Tent of Meeting and approaching the Altar to minister, lest they died. This was to them a statute for ever. Exodus 30:18-21; 40:30-31.

Before putting on his vestments Aaron was to wash his flesh. Leviticus 16:4, 24.

Levites were to be purified by sprinkling the water of expiation over them, passing a razor over their flesh, and washing their clothes - then they were pure. Numbers 8:6-7.

Anyone who ate the carcass of a clean animal, ¹ or that which had been torn to pieces, was to wash his clothes and bathe himself with water, and if he did not wash himself and bathe his flesh he would bear his iniquity. Leviticus 17:15-16.

Anyone who touched the bed of a person who had a discharge, or sat on a vessel on which that person had sat, and anyone who touched that person's flesh was to wash his clothes and to bathe himself with water, and be unclean until the evening. Leviticus 15:5-7, 10-12 and following verses.

The person who sent the goat away to Azazel was to wash his flesh. Leviticus 16:26.

When a leper was to be cleansed he was to wash his clothes, shave off all his hair, wash himself in water, and then he would be clean. Leviticus 14:8-9.

Even vessels themselves which had become unclean through contact with unclean persons were made to go through water and be unclean until the evening. Leviticus 11:32.

From all these laws it may be seen that nobody was made clean or pure internally through ritual washing, but that such a person merely represented him who was pure or spiritually clean, for the reason stated above. The Lord teaches the same quite explicitly in Matthew 15:1-20; Mark 7:1-23.

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