1057. Whose names have not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, signifies that there are those who do not acknowledge the Divine authority of the Lord over heaven and earth, but regard it as transferred to a certain vicar, and from him to his vicars. This is evident from the signification of "names not written in the book of life," as being those who are not received in heaven (See n. 199, 222, 299); and as those are not received into heaven who do not acknowledge the Lord's Divine authority over heaven and earth, such are here meant. Also from the signification of "from the foundation of the world," as being from the establishment of the church. In the sense of the letter or the natural sense "the foundation of the world" means the creation of the world; but in the internal spiritual sense it means the establishment of the church; for the spiritual sense treats of spiritual things, while the natural sense treats of natural things which pertain to the world. For this reason the creation of the heaven and the earth in the first chapter of Genesis describes in the spiritual sense the new creation or establishment of the first and Most Ancient Church on this earth. (That this is described by the creation of heaven and earth in the first chapter of Genesis may be seen in the Arcana Coelestia, where the contents of that chapter are explained.) Moreover, "to create" signifies in the Word to reform; and "the Creator" means the Lord as Reformer and Savior. (That "to create" signifies to reform, and that the creation of heaven and earth in the first chapter of Genesis in the spiritual sense describes the establishment of the Most Ancient Church can be seen above, n. 294, 739.)

[2] The establishment of the church is meant by "the foundation of the world" in these passages in the Word:

The king shall say to them on the right hand, Come and possess as an inheritance the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world (Matthew 15:34).

Jesus praying said, Father, for Thou lovedst Me before the foundation of the world (John 17:24).

Jesus said, The blood of all the prophets shed from the foundation of the world shall be required of this generation (Luke 11:50).

That the establishment of the church is meant by "the foundation of the world" is evident from passages in the Word where mention is made of "founding the earth," "the founding of the earth," and "the foundation of the earth," which do not mean the founding or creating of the earth, but the establishment or creation of the church upon the earth. As in Zechariah:

Jehovah spreadeth abroad the heavens, and foundeth the earth, and formeth the spirit of man in the midst of him (Zechariah 12:1).

Here "spreading abroad the heaven and founding the earth," does not mean the spreading abroad of the visible heaven and the founding of the habitable earth, but the church as to its internals, which are called spiritual, and as to its externals, which are called natural. "To found" this and "to spread abroad" that means to establish; and therefore it is added, "and formeth the spirit of man in the midst of him," which signifies his reformation and regeneration.

[3] In Isaiah:

Hearken unto Me, O Jacob and Israel, My hand hath founded the earth, and My right hand hath spanned the heavens (Isaiah 48:12-13).

"Founding the earth with the hand, and spanning the heavens with the right hand," has a similar signification here as above, as can be seen from what precedes and what follows in this chapter where the establishment of a New Church by the Lord is treated of. In the same:

Thou hast forgotten Jehovah thy Maker, that stretcheth forth the heavens and foundeth the earth (Isaiah 51:13).

Here again, "the heavens and the earth" signify the church as to its internal or spiritual things and its external or natural things; and "to stretch forth and found" signifies to establish.

[4] In the same:

I will put My words in thy mouth, and will cover thee with the shadow of My hand, to plant the heavens and to found the earth, and to say unto Zion, Thou art My people. Awake, awake, arise, O Jerusalem (Isaiah 51:16-17).

Here "to plant the heavens and to found the earth" evidently stands for the establishment of the church; for this is said to the prophet, that "the word should be put in his mouth, and that he should be covered with the shadow of the hand, to plant the heavens and to found the earth;" and a prophet cannot found the earth, but he can found a church; therefore it is also added, "to say unto Zion, Thou art my people. Awake, awake, arise, O Jerusalem," "Zion and Jerusalem," in the Word, meaning the church. In David:

The heaven is Thine and the earth is Thine; the world and the fullness thereof Thou hast founded them (Psalms 89:11).

Here too, "heaven and earth" signify the church; "the world" signifies the church as to good, and "the fullness thereof" signifies all the goods and truths of the church.

[5] In the same:

The earth and the world Jehovah hath founded upon the seas, and established upon the rivers. Who shall ascend into the mountain of Jehovah, and who shall stand in the place of His holiness? (Psalms 24:2-3).

The establishment of the church is described by "founding the earth and the world upon the seas, and establishing them upon the rivers," as can be seen above (n. 304, 518, 741). That the establishment of the church is signified is evident from what here follows, namely, "Who shall ascend into the mountain of Jehovah, and who shall stand in the place of His holiness?" "The mountain of Jehovah" means Zion, which signifies where the Lord reigns by means of the Divine truth, and "the place of His holiness" means Jerusalem, where the temple was, which signifies the church as to doctrine. All this makes clear that "the founding of the world" signifies the establishment of the church. For the "world" has a similar meaning as "heaven and earth;" and the expression "to found the earth" is used because the "earth" signifies the church on earth, and upon this heaven as to its holy things is founded. This also makes clear the signification of "the foundations of the earth" in the following passages. In Isaiah:

Do ye not know, do ye not hear, hath it not been declared to you from the beginning, do ye not understand the foundations of the earth? (Isaiah 40:21).

In the same:

The foundations of the earth are corrupted (Isaiah 24:18; likewise Isaiah 63:12; Jeremiah 31:37; Micah 6:2; Psalms 18:7, 15; 82:5).

(Continuation respecting the Second Kind of Profanation)

[6] Profaners of this kind are stupid and foolish in spiritual things, but are crafty and keen in worldly things, because they make one with the devils in hell; and because, as has been said above, they are merely sensual, and are therefore in what is their own [proprium], which draws its delight of life from the unclean effluvia that exhale from waste matters in the body, and that are emitted from dunghills; and these cause a swelling of their breasts when their pride is active and the titillation of these causes delight.

[7] That such is the source of their delight is made evident by their delights after death when they are living as spirits; for then more than the sweetest odors do they love the rank stenches arising from the gases of the belly and from outhouses, which to their smell are more fragrant than thyme. The approach and touch of these close up the interiors of their mind, and open the exteriors pertaining to the body, from which comes their quickness in worldly things, and their dullness in spiritual things. In a word, the love of having dominion by means of the holy things of the church corresponds to filth, and its delight to a stench indescribable by words, and at which angels shudder. Such is the exhalation from their hells when they are opened; but they are kept closed because of the oppression and occasional swooning which they produce.

9642. 'The boards for the south side, southwards' means even to the more internal and the inmost parts [of it], where truth dwells in light. This is clear from the meaning of 'the boards of the dwelling-place' as the good supporting heaven, dealt with in 9634; from the meaning of 'the side (or corner)', when the term is used in reference to the four quarters, as the specific state meant by that quarter, dealt with below; and from the meaning of 'the south, southwards' ¹ as the more internal and the inmost parts, where truth dwells in light. 'The south' or 'midday' means a state of light, which is a state of intelligence produced by truths, thus also an interior state; for in the heavens the light, and the intelligence and wisdom that accompany the light, increases towards the more internal parts. Further away from those parts truth dwells in shade; and this state of truth is meant by 'the north'. This then is why 'the south side, southwards' means even to the more internal and the inmost parts, where truth dwells in light.

[2] The same things are meant by 'the south' in Isaiah,

I will say to the north, Give up; and to the south, Do not withhold. Bring My sons from afar, and My daughters from the end of the earth. Isaiah 43:6.

This refers to a new Church. 'Saying to the north' means speaking to those who are in darkness or have no knowledge of the truths of faith, who are gentiles outside the Church. 'Saying to the south' means speaking to those who dwell in the light provided by cognitions or knowledge of goodness and truth, who are people within the Church. This explains why the latter are told not to 'withhold' [those sons and daughters], but the former 'to give them up'.

[3] In Ezekiel,

Set your face the way of the south, and drop [your words] towards the south, and prophesy against the forest of the field to the south, and say to the forest of the south, Behold, I am kindling in you a fire, which will devour in you every green tree; and all faces from south to north will be scorched. Set your face towards Jerusalem, and drop [your words] against the sanctuaries, and prophesy against the land of Israel. Ezekiel 20:46-21:2.

'The south' here stands for those who have the light of truth provided by the Word, thus those who belong to the Church, yet who are influenced by falsities which they substantiate from the sense of the letter of the Word wrongly explained. This is why the expressions 'the forest of the field towards the south' and 'the forest of the south' are used. 'A forest' is a state in which factual knowledge is predominant, whereas 'a garden' is one in which truth is predominant. From this it is evident what the meaning is of 'setting one's face the way of the south, and dropping [one's words] towards the south, and prophesying against the forest of the field to the south', and then of 'set your face towards Jerusalem, and drop [your words] against the sanctuaries, and prophesy against the land of Israel'. 'Jerusalem' and 'the land of Israel' mean the Church, and 'the sanctuaries' there things of the Church.

[4] In Isaiah,

If you bring out for the hungry your soul ² and satisfy the afflicted soul, your light will rise in the darkness, and your thick darkness will be as at midday. Isaiah 58:10.

'Darkness' and 'thick darkness' stand for lack of knowledge of truth and good, 'light' and 'midday' for an understanding of them. In the same prophet, Give counsel, execute judgement, set your shade like the night in the middle of the day; ³ hide the outcasts, do not reveal the wanderer. Isaiah 16:3.

'In the middle of the day' stands for in the midst of the light of truth. In Jeremiah,

Prepare for ⁴ battle against the daughter of Zion; arise, and let us go up into the south, ⁵ for the day goes away, for the shadows of evening are set at an angle. Jeremiah 6:4.

'Going up into the south' stands for going up against the Church, where truth dwells in light from the Word. In Amos,

I will make the sun go down in the south, ⁵ and I will darken the land in broad daylight. Amos 8:9.

This stands for blotting out all the light of truth which is provided by the Word.

[5] In David,

You will not be afraid of the terror of the night, of the arrow that flies by day, of the pestilence in thick darkness, of death that lays waste at noonday. Psalms 91:5-6.

'The terror of the night' stands for falsities arising from evil that come from hell; 'the arrow that flies by day' stands for falsity which is taught openly; 'death that lays waste at noonday' stands for evil that is openly present in people's lives, and that destroys truth wherever it is able to dwell in its own light from the Word.

[6] And in Isaiah,

The prophecy of the wilderness of the sea. As whirlwinds in the south sweep through, ⁶ it comes from the wilderness, from a terrible land. Isaiah 21:1.

In Daniel,

The he-goat of the she-goats made himself exceedingly great, and his horn grew exceedingly towards the south, and towards the east, and towards the glorious [land]. And it grew even towards the host of heaven, and cast down to the earth some of the host, and of the stars, and trampled on them. Daniel 8:8-10.

This refers to the state of the future Church. It foretells that the Church will be ruined by teachings about faith separated from the good of charity, 'the he-goat of the she-goats' being this kind of faith, 4169 (end), 4769. 'The horn's growing towards the south' stands for the power of falsity from this faith directed against truths, 'towards the east' for directing it against forms of good, and 'towards the glorious [land]' for directing it against the Church. 'Towards the host of heaven' stands for directing that power against all the forms of good and the truths belonging to heaven, and 'casting down to the earth some of the host, and of the stars' stands for destroying these, and also even the cognitions or knowledge of good and truth, 4697.

[7] The whole of Chapter 11 in the same prophet describes a war between the king of the south and the king of the north. 'The king of the south' means the light of truth derived from the Word, and 'the king of the north' reasoning about truths which is based on factual knowledge. The shifting fortunes which the Church will experience until it ceases to exist are described by the different phases in the course of that war.

[8] Because 'the south' meant truth dwelling in light it was decreed that the tribes of Reuben, Simeon, and Gad should camp towards the south, Numbers 2:10-15. Encampments represented the arrangement of all things in heaven as determined by the truths and forms of the good of faith and love, 4236, 8103 (end), 8193, 8196, and 'the twelve tribes' which formed the camp meant all the truths and forms of good in their entirety, 3858, 3862, 3926, 3939, 4060, 6335, 6337, 6397, 6640, 7836, 7891, 7996, 7997. 'The tribe of Reuben' meant the truth of faith present in doctrine, 3861, 3866, 5542, 'the tribe of Simeon' the truth of faith subsequently present in life, 3869-3872, 4497, 4502, 4503, 5482, and 'the tribe of Gad' works motivated by that truth in doctrine and life, 6404, 6405. From these meanings it is evident why these three camped towards the south; for all things on the side of truth or faith belong in the south because they are in light.

[9] From all this it is now clear what 'the south side' means, namely where the state of truth dwelling in light is to be found. For all states of the good of love and the truth of faith are meant by the four corners of the earth, states of the good of love being meant by the east and west sides, and states of the truth of faith by the south and north ones. Much the same is meant by 'the four winds', as in the Book of Revelation,

... angels standing over the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth, in order that the wind should not blow onto the earth. Revelation 7:1.

And elsewhere,

Satan will come out to deceive the nations which are at the four corners of the earth. Revelation 20:7-8.

In Matthew,

He will send angels, and gather the elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. ⁷ Matthew 24:31.

And in Ezekiel,

Come from the four winds, O spirit, and breathe into these killed, that they may live. Ezekiel 37:9.

[10] Because those winds, that is, those four quarters, meant all aspects of good and truth, thus all aspects of heaven and the Church, and 'a temple' meant heaven or the Church, it had been the custom since ancient times to site temples in an east-west direction. This was because the east meant the good of love on the rise, and the west the good of love on the decline. This custom had its origin in representative signs, which were well known to the ancients who belonged to the Church.

Сноски: