696. And to them that fear Thy name, the small and the great, signifies and to all of whatever religion who worship the Lord. This is evident from the signification of "fearing the name" of the Lord God, as being to worship the Lord (of which presently); also from the signification of "the small and the great," as being of whatever religion; for "the small" mean those who have but little knowledge of the truths and goods of the church, and "the great" those who know much, thus those who worship the Lord little and much; for in the measure that a man knows the truths of faith and lives according to them does he worship the Lord, for worship is not from man but from the truths from good that are with man, since these are from the Lord, and the Lord is in them. "They that fear Thy name, the small and the great," mean all of whatever religion who worship the Lord, because just before "the servants, the prophets and the saints," are mentioned, meaning all within the church who are in the truths of doctrine and in a life according to them; therefore "they that fear Thy name, the small and the great," mean all without the church who worship the Lord according to their religion, for those who are in the worship of the Lord, and live in any faith and charity, according to their religious principle, also fear God's name. In fact, this verse treats of the Last Judgment upon all, both the evil and the good; and the Last Judgment is executed upon all, both those within the church and those outside of it; and then all are saved who fear God and live in mutual love, in uprightness of heart and in sincerity from a religious principle, for all such, by an intuitive faith in God and by a life of charity, are consociated as to their souls with the angels of heaven, and are thus conjoined to the Lord and saved. For after death everyone comes to his own in the spiritual world, with whom he was closely consociated as to his spirit while he was living in the natural world.

[2] "The small and the great" signify less or more, that is, those who worship the Lord less or more, thus who are less or more in truths from good, because the spiritual sense of the Word is abstracted from all regard to persons, contemplating the thing nakedly; and the expression "the small and the great" has regard to person, for it means men who worship God; for this reason instead of these less and more are meant in the spiritual sense, thus those who worship less or more from genuine truths and goods. It is similar with "the servants, the prophets and the saints," just above, by whom in the spiritual sense prophets and saints are not meant, but, apart from persons, the truths of doctrine and a life according to them. But while these are meant, all who are in the truths of doctrine and a life according to them are also included, for such truths and life are in subjects which are angels and men; but in such case to think of angels and men only is natural, while to think of the truths of doctrine and life, which make angels and men, is spiritual. Thence it may be clear how the spiritual sense in which the angels are, differs from the natural sense in which men are, namely, that in every particular that a man thinks there inheres something of person, space, time and matter, while angels think things abstractly from all these. Thence it is that the speech of angels is incomprehensible to man, because it is from the intuition of the thing, and thus from a wisdom abstracted from things that are proper to the natural world, and therefore comparatively undetermined to such things.

[3] "To fear Thy name" signifies to worship the Lord, because "to fear" signifies to worship, and "Thy name" signifies the Lord. In a preceding verse it is said that the twenty-four elders gave thanks to the Lord God, "who is, and who was, and who is to come;" wherefore "to fear Thy name" means to worship the Lord. In the Word both of the Old and New Testaments, "the name of Jehovah," "the name of the Lord," "the name of God," and "the name of Jesus Christ" are mentioned, and "name" here means all things whereby He is worshipped, thus all things of love and faith, and in the highest sense the Lord Himself is meant, because where He is, there also are all things of love and faith. That such is the signification of "the name of Jehovah," "the Lord God," and "Jesus Christ," may be seen above (n. 102, 135, 224), and is also evident from these words of the Lord:

If two of you shall agree on earth In My name respecting anything that they shall ask it shall be done for them by My Father who is in the heavens. For where two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst of them (Matthew 18:19, 20).

Here "to agree in the Lord's name" and "to be gathered together in His name" means not in mere name, but in those things that belong to the Lord, which are the truths of faith and the goods of love by which He is worshipped.

[4] "To fear," in reference to the Lord, signifies to worship and reverence, because in worship and in all things of worship there is a holy and reverential fear, which is that the Lord is to be honored and in no way injured; for it is as with children towards parents and parents towards children, with wives towards husbands and husbands towards wives, also as with friends towards friends, in whom there is a fear of injuring and also respect; such a fear with respect is in all love and in all friendship, so that love and friendship without such a fear and respect is like food not salted, which is insipid. This is why "to fear the Lord" means to worship Him from such love.

[5] It is said that "to fear Thy name" signifies to worship the Lord, and yet "those who fear Him" mean here all those who are outside of the church, to whom the Lord is unknown, because they do not have the Word; nevertheless, all such as in respect to God have an idea of the Human are still accepted by the Lord, for God under the Human form is the Lord; but all, whether within or without the church, who do not think of God as Man, when they come into their own spiritual life, which takes place after their departure out of this world, are not accepted by the Lord, because they have no determinate idea of God, but only an indeterminate idea, which is no idea at all, or if it be any is nevertheless dissipated. This is why all who come from the earths into the spiritual world are first explored, as to what idea of God they have had and have brought with them. If they have no idea of Him as Man they are sent to places of instruction, where they are taught that the Lord is the God of heaven and earth, and that when they think of God they must think of the Lord, and that otherwise there can be no conjunction with God, and thus no consociation with angels. Then all who have lived a life of charity receive instruction and worship the Lord. But all those who say that they have had faith, but have not been in the life of faith, which is charity, do not accept instruction; consequently they are separated and sent away into places below the heavens, some into the hells, some into the earth that is called in the Word "the lower earth," where they suffer hard things. Still the Gentiles who have made the laws of religion laws of life receive the doctrine respecting the Lord more readily than Christians, and this especially because they had no other idea of God than that of the Divine Man. This has been said that it may be known why it is that "to fear Thy name" means to worship the Lord.

[6] In many passages in the Word the expression "to fear Jehovah God" is used, and this means to worship Him; therefore it shall be told in a few words what worship in particular is meant by "fearing God." All worship of Jehovah God must be from the good of love by means of truths. Worship that is from the good of love alone is not worship, neither is worship that is from truths alone, without the good of love, worship; there must be both, since the good of love is the essential of worship, but good has its existence and form by means of truths, therefore all worship must be from good by means of truths. For this reason, in many passages in the Word where the expression "to fear Jehovah God" is used it is added, "to keep and to do His words and commandments;" consequently in these places "to fear" signifies worship by means of truths, and "to keep and do" signifies worship from the good of love, for doing is of the will, thus of the love and of good, but "fearing" is of the understanding, thus of faith and of truth, since every truth that is of faith belongs properly to the understanding, and every good that is of love belongs properly to the will. From this it can be seen that "the fear of Jehovah God" is predicated of worship by means of the truths of doctrine, which are also called truths of faith. Such worship is meant by "the fear of Jehovah God," because Divine truth causes fear in that it condemns the evil to hell; but Divine good does not, since so far as it is received through truths by man and angel it takes away condemnation. Thence it may be seen that so far as man is in the good of love there is fear of God; also that dread and terror disappear and become a holy fear attended with reverence so far as man is in the good of love and in truths therefrom, that is, so far as there is good in his truths. From this it follows that fear in worship varies with each one according to the state of his life; and also that the sanctity attended with reverence that there is in fear with those that are in good, varies also according to the reception of good in the will and according to the reception of truth in the understanding, that is, according to the reception of good in the heart and the reception of truth in the soul.

[7] But what has now been said can be seen more clearly from the following passages in the Word. In Moses:

What doth Jehovah thy God ask of thee but to fear Jehovah thy God, to walk in all His ways and to love Him, and to serve Jehovah thy God with thy whole heart and with thy whole soul? (Deuteronomy 10:12, 20)

The expressions "to fear Jehovah God," "to walk in His ways," "to love Him," and "to serve Him," are here used, and by all these worship by truths from good is described; worship by truths is meant by "fearing Jehovah God" and by "serving Him," and worship from good by "walking in His ways" and by "loving Him;" therefore it is also said "with the whole heart and with the whole soul," "heart" signifying the good of love and charity that belongs to the will, and "soul" the truth of doctrine and faith that belongs to the understanding; for "heart" corresponds to the good of love, and in man to his will, and "soul" corresponds to the truth of faith, and in man to his understanding, for soul [anima] means the breathing or respiration of man, which is also called his spirit. (That "soul" signifies in the Word the life of faith, and "heart" the life of love, may be seen in Arcana Coelestia 2930, 9050, 9281.)

[8] In the same:

Ye shall go after Jehovah your God and ye shall fear Him, that ye may keep His commandments and hear His voice and serve Him and cleave unto Him (Deuteronomy 13:4).

"To go after Jehovah God, to keep His commandments, and to cleave unto Him," signifies the good of life, thus the good of love from which is worship; and "to fear Jehovah God, to hear His voice, and to serve Him," signifies the truths of doctrine, thus the truths of faith by means of which is worship. As all worship of the Lord must be by means of truths from good, and not by means of truths without good, nor by means of good without truths, therefore in every particular of the Word there is a marriage of good and truth, as in the passages already cited, and also in the following. (On the marriage of good and truth, in the particulars of the Word, see above, n. 238 at the end, 288, 660.)

[9] In the same:

Thou shalt fear Jehovah thy God, Him shalt thou serve, and to Him shalt thou cleave, and in His name shalt thou swear (Deuteronomy 10:20).

Here also "to fear Jehovah God and to serve Him," has reference to the truths of worship, and "to cleave unto Jehovah God and to swear in His name" has reference to the good of worship; for "to cleave to" is a word of the good of love, since one who loves cleaves to; "to swear in the name of Jehovah" in like manner, since the doing of something is confirmed by it. "To serve" has reference to the truths of worship, because in the Word "servants" mean those who are in truths, and for the reason that truths serve good (See above, n. 6, 409).

[10] In the same:

That thou mayest fear Jehovah thy God, to keep all his statutes and His commandments. Thou shalt fear Jehovah thy God and Him shalt thou serve, and shalt swear in His name. Ye shall not go after other gods. Jehovah hath commanded us to do all these statutes to fear Jehovah our God (Deuteronomy 6:2, 13, 14, 24).

Here, too, in like manner worship by means of truths from good, or by means of faith from love is described; "to fear Jehovah God and to serve Him" means worship by means of the truths of faith; and "to keep and do His statutes and commandments, and to swear in the name of Jehovah," means worship from the good of love; for to keep and do statutes and commandments is the good of life, which is the same as the good of love, since he lives that loves; "to swear in the name of Jehovah" has a like meaning, for "to swear" means to confirm by life. It has already been said above that "to fear Jehovah and to serve Him" means worship according to the truths of doctrine. For there are two things that constitute worship, namely, doctrine and life; doctrine without life does not constitute it, neither does life without doctrine.

[11] The like is taught in the following passages. In Deuteronomy:

Assemble the people that they may hear, and that they may learn and fear Jehovah your God, and may observe to do all the words of the law (Deuteronomy 31:12).

In the same:

If thou wilt not observe to do all the precepts of this law, to fear this glorious and venerable name, Jehovah thy God (Deuteronomy 28:58).

In the same:

The king shall write for himself a copy of the law, and he shall read in it all the days of his life, whereby he may learn to fear Jehovah his God, to keep all the words of the law, and the statutes to do them (Deuteronomy 17:18, 19).

Thou shalt keep the commandments of Jehovah thy God, to walk in His ways and to fear Him (Deuteronomy 8:6).

In the same:

Who will give that they may have a heart to fear Me, and to keep all My commandments all the days (Deuteronomy 5:29).

In these passages where is mentioned "fearing Jehovah God" there is adjoined "keeping and doing the commandments of the law," also "walking in His ways," for the reason, as has been said, that all internal spiritual worship of God, which consists in the good of life, must be according to the truths of doctrine, because these must teach. Worship according to the truths of doctrine is signified by "fearing Jehovah," and worship from the good of life by "keeping His commandments and walking in his ways," "to walk in the ways of Jehovah" meaning to live according to the truths of doctrine; and as worship according to the truths of doctrine is meant by "fearing Jehovah," therefore it is said that the fear of Jehovah must be learned from the law. But let it be known that "the fear of Jehovah" means the internal spiritual worship that must be in external natural worship, for internal spiritual worship is thinking and understanding truths, thus thinking in a reverent and holy way about God, which is "fearing Him," and external natural worship is doing truths, that is, keeping the commandments and words of the law.

[12] In David:

Teach me Thy way, O Jehovah, teach it ¹ in truth, unite my heart to the fear of Thy name (Psalms 86:11).

"To teach the way" signifies to teach the truth according to which man must live; therefore it is said "teach it in truth." That the good of love must be conjoined with the truths of faith is signified by "unite my heart to the fear of Thy name," "heart" signifying the love, "fear" the holiness of faith, and these must be "united," that is, be together in worship.

[13] In the same:

Blessed is everyone that feareth Jehovah, that walketh in His ways (Psalms 128:1).

Here again, "to fear Jehovah" means to think in a reverent and holy way about God, and "to walk in His ways" means to live according to the Divine truths; it is by means of these two that there is worship. But in external worship, which is living according to Divine truths, there must be internal worship, which is fearing Jehovah; and this is why it is said that "he that feareth Jehovah walketh in His ways." In the same:

Blessed is the man that feareth Jehovah, that delighteth exceedingly in His commandments (Psalms 112:1).

The signification of this is similar as above; for "to delight exceedingly in Jehovah's commandments" is to love them, thus to will and to do them.

[14] In Jeremiah:

They feared not, neither did they go in My law and in My statutes (Jeremiah 44:10).

"Not fearing" stands for not thinking about God from the truths of the Word, thus not thinking in a holy and reverent way; "not to go in God's law and in His statutes," stands for not living according to them, "commandments" meaning the laws of internal worship, and "statutes" the laws of external worship.

[15] In Malachi:

If I be a Father, where is My honor? If I be a Lord, where is the fear of Me? (Malachi 1:6)

The terms "honor" and "fear" are used because "honor" is predicated of the worship from good, and "fear" of the worship by means of truths (that "honor" is predicated of good may be seen above, n. 288, 345; therefore "honor" is also predicated of Father, and "fear" of Lord, for Jehovah is called "Father" from Divine good, and "Lord" here from Divine truth.

[16] In the same:

My covenant was with Levi of life and of peace, which I gave him with fear, and he feared Me (Malachi 2:5).

"Levi" means here the Lord in relation to the Divine Human, and "the covenant of life and peace" signifies the union of His Divine with Himself, and "fear" and "to fear" signify holy truth, with which there is union.

[17] In Isaiah:

The spirit of Jehovah resteth upon Him, the spirit of wisdom and intelligence, the spirit of counsel and of might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of Jehovah, whence his offering of incense shall be in the fear of Jehovah (Isaiah 11:2, 3).

This, too, is said of the Lord, and these words describe Divine truth, in which and from which is all wisdom and all intelligence. The Divine truth that was in the Lord when He was in the world, and that since the glorification of His Human proceeds from Him, is meant by "the spirit of Jehovah that rested upon Him;" that thence He has Divine wisdom and Divine power from that source is meant by "the spirit of wisdom and intelligence; and the spirit of council and of might;" that He has omniscience and essential holiness in worship from that source is meant by "the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of Jehovah;" and as "fear" signifies the holiness of worship from Divine truth it is added "whence His offering of incense shall be in the fear of Jehovah," "to offer incense" signifying worship from the Divine spiritual, which is Divine truth. (That this is what "offering incense" signifies see above, n. 324, 491, 492, 494, 567.) It is said "the spirit of wisdom, intelligence, knowledge, and fear," for "spirit" means the Divine proceeding, "the spirit of wisdom" the celestial Divine, which is the Divine proceeding as received by the angels of the kingdom of the inmost or third heaven, "the spirit of intelligence" the spiritual Divine which is the Divine proceeding as received by the angels of the middle or second heaven, "the spirit of knowledge" the natural Divine, which is the Divine proceeding as received by the angels of the lowest or first heaven, and "the spirit of the fear of Jehovah" all holiness of worship from the celestial, spiritual, and natural Divine.

[18] In Jeremiah:

I will give them one heart and one way, to fear Me all the days for good to them; and I will make with them the covenant of an age; and My fear will I give into their heart that they may not depart from with Me (Jeremiah 32:39, 40).

"I will give them one heart and one way to fear Me" signifies one will and one understanding to worship the Lord, "heart" signifying the good of the will, "way" the truth of the understanding which leads, and "fear" holy worship therefrom. "I will make with them the covenant of an age, and My fear will I give into their heart," signifies conjunction through the good of love and through the truth of that good in worship, "covenant" meaning conjunction, and "fear in the heart" the holiness of worship from truth in the good of love; "that they may not depart from with Me" signifies for the sake of conjunction. Because conjunction with the Lord is effected by means of truths from good, and not by means of truth without good, nor by means of good without truths, both are here mentioned.

[19] In David:

O house of Aaron trust ye in Jehovah, ye that fear Jehovah trust in Jehovah (Psalms 115:10, 11).

"House of Aaron" signifies all who are in the good of love, and "those that fear Jehovah" signify all who are in truth from that good. In Revelation:

The angel who had the eternal Gospel said, Fear ye God and give Him glory, worship Him (Revelation 14:7).

"To fear God and to give Him glory" signifies to worship the Lord from holy truths; and "to worship Him" signifies from the good of love. In David:

Let all the earth fear Jehovah; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him. Behold, the eye of Jehovah is upon them that fear Him, that wait for His mercy (Psalms 33:8, 18).

The good pleasure of Jehovah is in them that fear Him, in them that wait for His mercy (Psalms 147:11).

Because "the fear of Jehovah" signifies the reception of Divine truth, and "mercy" the reception of Divine good, it is said that "the eye" and "the good pleasure of Jehovah are upon them that fear Him, that wait for His mercy."

[20] In Isaiah:

The strong people shall honor Thee, the city of the terrible nations shall fear Thee (Isaiah 25:3).

Here again, worship from good is signified by "to honor," for "honor" is predicated of the good of love; and worship from truths is signified by "fearing the Lord," as has been said above. "The strong people" signifies men of the church who are in truths from good, wherefrom is all power; "the city of the terrible nations" signifies those who are in truths of doctrine, and through these in the good of love; and as all spiritual power is therefrom they are called "terrible nations." These words, too, show clearly that there is a marriage of good and truth in every particular of the Word; for "to honor" is predicated of good, "to fear" of truth, both in worship; the term "people" is used of those who are in truths, and through these in good, but the term "nations" of those who are in good, and from good in truths; and as all power in the spiritual world is from the conjunction of good and truth, the people are called "strong," and the nations are called "terrible."

[21] "The fear of Jehovah" signifies worship in which there is holiness through truths, in the following passages also. In Isaiah:

The heart of the people hath departed far from Me, and their fear toward Me hath become a commandment taught of men (Isaiah 29:13).

In the same

Who among you feareth Jehovah, heareth the voice of His servant? He that walketh in darkness, and hath no brightness, that trusteth in the name of Jehovah, and leaneth upon his God (Isaiah 50:10).

In Jeremiah:

They shall hear every good that I do unto them, that they may dread and tremble for all the good and for all the peace that I am about to do unto them (Jeremiah 33:9).

In David:

The angel of Jehovah encampeth about them that fear Him to deliver them. Fear Jehovah, ye His saints, for there is no want to them that fear Him (Psalms 34:7, 9).

In the same:

Who have no changes, neither fear they God (Psalms 55:19).

In the same:

The fear of Jehovah is the beginning of wisdom; a good understanding have all they that do them [Hi s commandments] (Psalms 111:10).

Because "fear" has respect to Divine truth, from which is holiness in worship and wisdom and intelligence, therefore it is said, "the fear of Jehovah is the beginning of wisdom, a good understanding, that is intelligence, have all they that do them." In the same:

They that fear Jehovah shall praise Him, all the seed of Jacob shall honor Him, and all the seed of Israel shall fear Him (Psalms 22:23).

In Luke:

The mercy of God is unto generation of generations to them that fear Him (Luke 1:50).

[22] That "to fear Jehovah God" involves and thence signifies to have a sense of holiness and reverence and accordingly to worship with holiness and reverence, can be seen from these passages. In Moses:

Ye shall keep My Sabbaths, and My sanctuary ye shall fear; ye shall reverence (Leviticus 19:30;26:2).

In the same:

A work of Jehovah, how is that to be feared [reverenced] which I will do (Exodus 34:10).

In the same:

And Jacob feared and said, How to be feared [reverenced] is this place; this is none other than the house of God, and the gate of heaven (Genesis 28:17).

That in reference to the Divine and the holiness of heaven and the church, "to fear" signifies to revere and to hold in reverence, is evident from these passages, also from this, that the same word in the Hebrew that means "to fear" means also to revere and to venerate. This is evident, too, from those words in Luke:

There was a judge in a certain city who feared not God and reverenced not man. And he said within himself, Although I fear not God and reverence not man. .. (Luke 18:2, 4).

It is said "to fear God" and "to reverence man" because fearing means reverencing in a higher degree.

[23] In Matthew:

Jesus said, Fear not them who are able to kill the body but are not able to kill the soul; rather fear Him who is able to destroy both body and soul in Gehenna (Matthew 10:28; Luke 12:4, 5, 7).

Here, however, "to fear" signifies to have a fear of dying spiritually, thence a natural fear, which is fearfulness and dread; but spiritual fear is a holy fear that abides within every spiritual love variously according to the quality and quantity of the love. In such a fear is the spiritual man, and he knows that the Lord does not do evil to anyone, much less does He destroy anyone as to body and soul in Gehenna, but that He does good to all and desires to raise up everyone as to body and soul into heaven to Himself. This is why the fear of the spiritual man is a holy fear lest by the evil of life and the falsity of doctrine man should turn away, and thus do harm to that Divine love in himself. But natural fear is a fearfulness, dread, and terror of dangers and punishments, and thus of hell; this fear abides within every corporeal love, also variously according to the quality and quantity of the love. The natural man who has such fear does not know otherwise than that the Lord does evil to the evil, condemns them, casts them into hell, and punishes them, and on this account such persons are in fear and dread of the Lord. In this fear were most of the Jewish and Israelitish nation, because they were natural men; and this is why they are so often said in the Word "to be afraid of" and "to tremble before Jehovah," and also "to be in fear and trembling;" and for the same reason it is said of the sons of Israel that they were "sore afraid" when the Divine law or Divine truth was promulgated from Mount Sinai (Exodus 20:18-20; Deuteronomy 5:23-25).

[24] This fear is what is meant in part by:

The dread of Isaac by which Jacob sware to Laban (Genesis 31:42, 53);

for "Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob," mean in the Word the Lord, "Abraham," the Lord in respect to the celestial Divine, "Isaac," in respect to the spiritual Divine, and "Jacob," in respect to the natural Divine; the spiritual Divine which "Isaac" signifies is the Divine truth, which terrifies the natural man, and as "Laban" was a natural man, so Jacob sware to him "by the dread or terror of Isaac." Nearly the same fear is meant in Isaiah:

Ye shall sanctify Jehovah of Hosts, for He is your fear and your dread (Isaiah 8:13).

Here the term "fear" has reference to the spiritual man, and "dread" to the natural man. That the spiritual man may not be in such fear as the natural man is in, it is said "Fear not." In Isaiah:

Jacob and Israel, Fear not, for I have redeemed thee, calling thee by thy name, thou art Mine (Isaiah 43:1).

In Luke:

Fear not, little flock; for it hath pleased your Father to give you the kingdom (Luke 12:32).

And in Jeremiah:

Fear not, O Jacob, My servant, and be not dismayed, O Israel, for I will save thee from afar; Jacob shall be tranquil and quiet, none shall make him afraid (Jeremiah 30:9, 10).

And in many other passages. Moreover, that "fear," "terror," "consternation," and the like, signify various commotions of the disposition and changes of state of the mind, may be seen above (n. 667, 677).

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391. I saw under the altar, signifies those who were preserved under heaven. This is evident from the signification of "to see," as being to make manifest (See above, n. 351); also from the signification of "altar" as being, in the nearest sense, worship from the good of love to the Lord; in a more interior sense, heaven and the church, which are in that love; and in the inmost sense, the Lord's Divine Human in relation to the Divine good of the Divine love. "Under the altar" signifies those who were preserved under heaven, because it is said that he "saw under the altar the souls of those slain because of the Word of God, and because of the testimony that they held," and by these are meant those who were preserved under heaven until the Last Judgment; but as this is not yet known in the world, I will tell how it is. In the small work on The Last Judgement it has been shown that before the Last Judgement took place there was a semblance of heaven which is meant by "the former heaven that passed away" (Revelation 21:1) and that this heaven consisted of those who were in external worship without internal, and who therefore lived an external moral life, although they were merely natural and not spiritual. Those of whom this heaven consisted before the Last Judgment were seen in the spiritual world above the earth, also upon mountains, hills, and rocks, and therefore believed themselves to be in heaven; but those of whom this heaven consisted, because they were in an external moral life only and not at the same time in an internal spiritual life, were cast down; and when these had been cast down, all those who had been preserved by the Lord, and concealed here and there, for the most part in the lower earth, were elevated and transferred to these same places, that is, upon the mountains, hills, and rocks where the others had formerly been, and out of these a new heaven was formed. These who had been preserved and then elevated were from those in the world who had lived a life of charity, and who were in the spiritual affection of truth. The elevation of these into the places of the others I have often witnessed. It is these who are meant by "the souls of those slain seen under the altar," and because they were guarded by the Lord in the lower earth, and this earth is under heaven, so "I saw under the altar" signifies those who were preserved under heaven. But these are particularly treated of in Revelation 20:4-5, 12-13, where more will be told about them; meanwhile see what is said in the small work on The Last Judgement (n. 65-72) of "the former heaven that passed away," and "the new heaven" that was formed by the Lord after the Last Judgment. This much will suffice to afford some light for understanding what is said in the two following verses, namely, that they who were under the altar "cried out with a great voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost Thou not judge and avenge our blood on those that dwell on the earth? And there were given to them white robes; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet a little time, until their fellow-servants, as well as their brethren, who were to be killed, as they also were, should be fulfilled."

[2] "Under the altar" signifies under heaven, because the "altar," in the highest sense, signifies the Lord, and in a relative sense, heaven and the church, for the Lord is heaven and the church, since everything of heaven and the church, or everything of love and faith which make heaven and the church with angel and man, are from the Lord, and thence are His; but in a general sense the "altar" signifies all worship of the Lord and especially representative worship, such as there was with the sons of Israel. "The altar" signifies all worship, because "worship" in that church consisted mainly in offering burnt-offerings and sacrifices; for these were offered for every sin and guilt, also from good will to please Jehovah (these were called eucharistic or voluntary sacrifices), also for cleansings of every kind. Moreover, by burnt-offerings and sacrifices inaugurations were also effected into everything holy of the church, as is evident from the sacrifices at the inauguration of Aaron and his sons into the priesthood, the inauguration of the tent of meeting, and afterwards of the temple. And as the worship of Jehovah, that is, of the Lord, consisted chiefly in burnt-offerings and sacrifices, these also were offered daily, namely, every morning and evening, and were called in one word "the continual," besides a great number at every feast; so in the Word the "continual-offering" signifies all representative worship. From this it can be seen that worship, and particularly the representative worship of that nation, consisted chiefly in burnt-offerings and sacrifices. For this reason the altar upon which these were made, and which contained them, signifies in the Word all worship in general. Worship means not external worship only, but also internal worship; and internal worship comprehends everything of love and everything of faith, thus everything that constitutes the church or, heaven with man, in a word, that causes the Lord to be with him.

Heaven was represented before John by an altar, for this reason also, that the whole Word was written by representatives, and by such representatives as were with the sons of Israel; in order, therefore, that the Word might be similar in both Testaments, the things in this book and that were seen by John, are like those in other parts, that is, an altar of incense was seen, the incense itself with the censers, likewise the tabernacle, the ark, and other like things. But at the present day such things never appear to any angel, or to any man whose sight is opened into heaven. The altar, the ark, and like things do not appear in heaven at the present day, because to the ancients sacrifices were wholly unknown, and after the Lord's coming they were entirely abolished. Sacrifices were begun by Eber, and were continued afterwards among his posterity, who were called Hebrews, and were tolerated among the sons of Israel who were from Eber, especially because a worship once begun and rooted in the mind is not abolished by the Lord, but is bent to signify what is holy in religion (See Arcana Coelestia 1343, 2180, 2818, 10042, 1343, 2180, 2818, 10042).

[3] That "the altar" signifies, in the highest sense, the Lord's Divine Human in relation to the Divine good of the Divine love, and that in a relative sense it signifies heaven and the church, and in general all worship, and in particular representative worship, can be seen from the following passages in the Word. In David:

O send out Thy light and Thy truth, let them lead me; let them bring me unto the mountain of Thy holiness, and to Thy habitations, that I may come unto the altar of God, unto God (Psalms 43:3-4).

It is clearly evident that "the altar of God" here means the Lord in respect to the Divine Human, for these words treat of the way to heaven and to the Lord there; the way to heaven is meant by "send out Thy light and truth; let them lead me;" "light" meaning the illustration in which truths appear; heaven, into which it leads is meant by "let them bring me unto the mountain of holiness, and to Thy habitations;" "mountain of holiness" meaning heaven where the Lord's celestial kingdom is, in which the good of love reigns; while those heavens are called "habitations" where the Lord's spiritual kingdom is, in which truth from that good reigns; and as both are meant it is said, "that I may go unto the altar of God, unto God," "altar of God" meaning where the Lord is in the good of love, and "God" where the Lord is in truth from that good; for the Lord is called "God," from Divine truth, and "Jehovah" from Divine good. In the Jewish Church there were two things that, in the highest sense, signified the Lord's Divine Human, namely, the altar and the temple; the altar, the Divine Human in relation to Divine good; the temple, in relation to Divine truth proceeding from that good. These two signified the Lord in respect to His Divine Human, because all things of worship in that church represented the Divine things that proceed from the Lord, called celestial and spiritual, and the worship itself was chiefly performed upon the altar and in the temple, therefore, these two represented the Lord Himself.

[4] That the temple represented His Divine Human He teaches in plain terms in John:

The Jews said, What sign showest Thou that Thou doest these things? Jesus answered and said, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. But He was speaking of the temple of His body (John 2:18-23; also Matthew 26:61 elsewhere).

When the disciples were showing Him the buildings of the temple, the Lord said:

That there shall not be left stone upon stone that shall not be thrown down (Matthew 24:1-2);

signifying that the Lord was wholly denied among them, on which account also the temple was destroyed from its foundation.

[5] That "the altar" also signified the Lord's Divine Human, may be concluded from the Lord's words in Matthew:

Woe unto you, ye blind guides, for ye say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple it is nothing, but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple he is guilty. Ye fools and blind! Which is greater, the gold or the temple that sanctifieth the gold? Also, whosoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gift that is upon it, he is guilty. Ye fools and blind! Which is greater, the gift or the altar that sanctifieth the gift? For he that sweareth by the altar sweareth by it and by everything thereon. And he that sweareth by the temple sweareth by it and by him that dwelleth therein. And he that sweareth by heaven sweareth by the throne of God and by him that sitteth thereon (Matthew 23:16-22).

It is here said that the temple sanctifies the gold that is in it, and that the altar sanctifies the gift that is upon it; and thus that the temple and the altar were most holy, and that all sanctification was from them; therefore "the temple" and "altar" signify the Lord in respect to the Divine Human, for from that everything holy of heaven and the church proceeds. If this is not the meaning how could the temple or the altar sanctify anything? Nor can worship itself sanctify, but the Lord alone, who is worshiped, and from whom is the good and truth of worship; for this reason it is said that the gift does not sanctify, but the altar, "the gift" meaning the sacrifices that constituted the worship; and because the Jews did not understand this, but taught otherwise, they were called by the Lord "fools and blind."

[6] Because this was signified by the altar, all who touched it were sanctified as is evident in Moses:

Seven days thou shalt sanctify [the altar], that the altar may be the holy of holies; whosoever shall touch the altar shall be sanctified (Exodus 29:37).

"To touch" signifies to communicate, to transfer, and to receive (See Arcana Coelestia 10130), here the Divine that proceeds from the Lord; and as this was signified by "touching," and those who touched were sanctified, it follows that in the highest sense the Lord Himself is signified by the "altar," for there is nothing holy from any other source. Moreover, all worship is worship of the Lord and from the Lord; and as worship in that church consisted chiefly of burnt-offerings and sacrifices, so the "altar" signified the Divine Itself from which [a quo]; and this Divine is the Lord's Divine Human.

[7] It was therefore also commanded:

That the fire upon the altar should burn continually, and never be extinguished (Leviticus 6:12-13);

also that from that fire the lamps should be lighted in the tent of meeting, and that they were to take from that fire in the censers and burn incense; for "the fire" signified the Divine love which is in the Lord alone (See above, n. 68).

[8] Because "the fire of the altar" signifies the Divine love, the prophet Isaiah was sanctified by it:

Then flew one of the seraphim unto me, in whose hand was a burning coal, which he had taken from off the altar, and he touched my mouth, and said, This hath touched thy lips; therefore thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin is expiated (Isaiah 6:6-7).

What these words signify in their series can be seen when it is known that "the altar" signifies the Lord in respect to the Divine Human, and "the fire" on it the Divine good of his Divine love; that the prophet's "mouth and lips" signify the doctrine of good and truth; and that "to touch" signifies to communicate; "iniquity which was taken away" signifies falsity, and "sin" evil; for "iniquity" is predicated of the life of falsity, that is, of a life contrary to truths, and "sin" of the life of evil, that is, of a life contrary to good.

[9] In Isaiah:

All the flocks of Arabia shall be brought together unto Thee, the rams of Nebaioth shall minister unto Thee; they shall come up to Mine altar with acceptance; thus will I adorn the house of Mine adornment (Isaiah 60:7).

This treats of the Lord's coming, and this is said of the Lord Himself; "all the flocks of Arabia that are to be brought together," and "the rams of Nebaioth that are to minister" signify all spiritual goods, external and internal, "flocks" signify external goods, and "rams" internal goods, and "Arabia" and "Nebaioth" things spiritual; "they shall come up to Mine altar with acceptance; thus will I adorn the house of Mine adornment" signifies the Lord's Divine Human, in which they will be, "altar" signifying His Divine Human in relation to Divine good, and "house of adornment" the same in relation to Divine truth. That the Lord in respect to the Divine Human is here meant is evident from the preceding part of that chapter, where it is said that "Jehovah shall arise upon Thee, and His glory shall be seen upon Thee," with what follows, which describes the Divine wisdom with which the Lord will be filled in respect to His Human.

[10] As "the altar" signifies in the highest sense the Lord's Divine Human, "altar" therefore signifies also heaven and the church; for the angelic heaven, viewed in itself, is from the Divine that proceeds from the Lord's Divine Human; from this it is that the angelic heaven in the whole complex is as one man; wherefore that heaven is called the Greatest Man (See what is said about this in Heaven and Hell 59-86; and about the church, n. 57). And as all worship is from the Lord, for it is the Divine communicated to man from the Lord, in which is the Lord Himself, thence "altar" signifies also in general, everything of worship that proceeds from the good of love; and "temple" the worship that proceeds from truths from that good; for all worship is either from love or from faith, either from good or from truth; worship from the good of love is such as exists in the Lord's celestial kingdom, and worship from truths from that good, which truths are called the truths of faith, is such as exists in the Lord's spiritual kingdom (about which see also in the same work, n. 20-28).

[11] From this it can be seen what is signified by "altar" in the following passages. In David:

How amiable are Thy tabernacles, O Jehovah of Hosts! My soul is eager, yea, it is consumed for the courts of Jehovah; my heart and my flesh sing for joy unto the living God. Yea, the bird hath found a house, and the swallow a nest for herself, Thine altars, O Jehovah of Hosts, my King and my God! Blessed are they that dwell in thy house (Psalms 84:1-4).

"Altars" here mean the heavens, for it is said, "How amiable are Thy tabernacles; my soul is eager, yea, it is consumed for the courts of Jehovah," and afterwards it is said "Thine altars, O Jehovah of hosts;" "tabernacles" mean the higher heavens, and "courts" the lower heavens where is the entrance; these are also called "altars" from worship; and as all worship is from the good of love by means of truths it is said "Thine altars, O Jehovah of Hosts, my King and my God;" for the Lord is called "Jehovah" from Divine good, and "King" and "God" from Divine truth; and because the heavens are meant, it is also said, "Blessed are they that dwell in Thy house," "the house of Jehovah God" meaning heaven in the whole complex. It is also said, "yea, the bird hath found a house, and the swallow her nest," because "bird" signifies spiritual truth and "swallow" natural truth, by which there is worship; and as all truth by which there is worship is from the good of love, it is first said, "my heart and my flesh sing for joy unto the living God," "heart and flesh" signifying the good of love, and "sing for joy" worship from the delight of good.

[12] Heaven and the church are also meant by "altar" in these passages in Revelation:

There was given me a reed like unto a rod; and the angel stood and said to me, Rise and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein (Revelation 11:1).

I heard another angel out of the altar saying, Yea, O Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are Thy judgments (Rev. 16:7).

In David:

I wash mine hands in innocence, and compass Thine altar, O Jehovah, that I may make the voice of confession to be heard (Psalms 26:6-7).

"To wash the hands in innocence" signifies to be purified from evils and falsities; "to compass Thine altar, O Jehovah" signifies conjunction with the Lord by worship from the good of love; and because this is a worship by means of truths from good, it is added, "that I may make the voice of confession to be heard," "to make the voice of confession to be heard" meaning worship from truths. "To compass Thine altar, O Jehovah" signifies the conjunction of the Lord by means of worship from the good of love, because "Jehovah" is predicated of the good of love, and "to compass" signifies to embrace with worship, thus to be conjoined.

[13] In Isaiah:

In that day there shall be five cities in the land of Egypt that speak with the lips of Canaan, and that swear to Jehovah of Hosts; every one of them shall be called Ir Cheres [the city of Cheres]. In that day there shall be an altar to Jehovah in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar to Jehovah beside the border thereof (Isaiah 19:18-19).

"Egypt" signifies the natural man, and its knowing faculty [scientificum]; "in that day" signifies the Lord's coming and the state of those who will then be in true knowledges [scientifica] from the Lord; "five cities in the land of Egypt that speak with the lips of Canaan" signify many truths of doctrine which are genuine truths of the church, "five" meaning many, "cities" the truths of doctrine, and "the lips of Canaan" genuine doctrinals of the church; "to swear to Jehovah of Hosts" signifies those that confess the Lord; "Jehovah of Hosts," mentioned here and in many other passages in the Word, means the Lord in respect to all good and truth; for "Hosts" [zebaoth] in the original signifies armies, and "armies" signify in the spiritual sense all the goods and truths of heaven and the church (SeeArcana Coelestia 3448, 7236, 7988, 8019). This, therefore is the meaning of "Jehovah zebaoth" or "Jehovah of Hosts;" "every one of them shall be called Ir Cheres" signifies the doctrine glittering from spiritual truths in natural, for "Ir" means city, and "city" signifies doctrine; "Cheres" means a glittering like that of the sun; "in that day there shall be an altar to Jehovah in the midst of the land of Egypt" signifies that there shall then be worship of the Lord from the good of love by means of true knowledges [scientifica] that are in the natural man; "an altar to Jehovah" signifying the worship of the Lord from the good of love, "in the midst of the land of Egypt" signifying by means of knowledges that are in the natural man, true knowledges meaning also cognitions from the sense of the letter of the Word; "and a pillar to Jehovah besides the border thereof" signifies the worship of the Lord from the truths of faith, "a pillar (statue)" signifying worship from the truths of faith, and "the border of Egypt" signifying the ultimates; the ultimates of the natural man are things of the senses.

[14] In the same:

When he shall lay all the stones of the altar as chalk stones scattered, the groves and sun statues shall rise no more (Isaiah 27:9).

This is said of Jacob and Israel, by whom the church is signified, here the church that is to be destroyed; its destruction in respect to the truths of worship is described by "laying the stones of the altar as chalk stones scattered," "the stones of the altar" meaning the truths of worship, "as chalk stones scattered" mean as falsities that do not cohere; "the groves and sun statues shall rise no more" signifies that there shall no longer be any worship from spiritual and natural truths, "groves" signifying worship from spiritual truths, and "sun statues" worship from natural truths.

[15] In Lamentations:

The Lord hath cast off His altar; He hath abhorred His sanctuary; He hath shut up in the hand of the enemy the walls of her palaces (Lamentations 2:7).

This is a lamentation over the vastation of all things of the church; that the church has been vastated in respect to all goods is signified by "the Lord hath cast off His altar;" that it has been vastated in respect to all truths is signified by "He hath abhorred His sanctuary." (That "sanctuary" is predicated of the church in respect to truths, see above, n. 204.) That falsities and evils have entered into all things of the church is signified by "He hath shut up in the hand of the enemy the walls of her palaces;" "enemy" signifies evil and falsity, "to shut up in his hands" signifies that these have seized and entered, "the walls of palaces" signifies all protecting truths, "palaces" mean the things of doctrine.

[16] In Isaiah:

Everyone that keepeth the sabbath, and holdeth to My covenant, them will I bring in upon the mountain of My holiness, and will make them glad in the house of My prayer; their burnt-offerings and their sacrifices shall be well pleasing upon My altar (Isaiah 56:6-7).

"Sabbath" signifies the conjunction of the Lord with heaven and the church, thus with those who are therein; so "to keep the sabbath" signifies to be in conjunction with the Lord; and "to hold to his covenant" signifies conjunction by a life according to the Lord's commandments; "covenant" means conjunction, and a life according to the commandments is what conjoins; for this reason the commandments of the Decalogue were called "a covenant;" "them will I bring in upon the mountain of holiness" signifies that He will endow them with the good of love, "the mountain of holiness" meaning the heaven in which the good of love to the Lord is, consequently also such good of love as there is in that heaven; "I will make them glad in the house of My prayer" signifies that He will endow them with spiritual truths, "the house of prayer," or the temple, meaning the heaven where spiritual truths are, consequently also such spiritual truths as there are in that heaven; "their burnt-offerings and sacrifices shall be well pleasing upon Mine altar" signifies worship from the good of love grateful from spiritual truths, "burnt-offerings" signifying worship from the good of love, and "sacrifices" worship from truths that are from that good; truths from good are what are called spiritual truths; "upon the altar" signifies in heaven and the church.

[17] In David:

Do good in Thy good pleasure unto Zion; build Thou the walls of Jerusalem. Then shalt Thou be delighted with the sacrifices of righteousness, and with whole burnt-offering; then shall they offer up bullocks upon Thine altar (Psalms 51:18-19).

"Zion" means the church that is in the good of love, and "Jerusalem" the church that is in the truths of doctrine; therefore, "to do good in good pleasure unto Zion, and to build the walls of Jerusalem" signifies to restore the church by leading it into the good of love and by instructing it in the truths of doctrine. Worship then from the good of love is signified by "then shalt Thou be delighted with the sacrifices of righteousness and with whole burnt-offering," "righteousness" is predicated of celestial good, and "whole burnt-offering" signifies love; and worship then from the good of charity is signified by "then shall they offer up bullocks upon Thine altar," "bullocks" signifying natural good, which is the good of charity.

[18] In the same:

God is Jehovah who enlighteneth us; bind the festal-offering with ropes even to the horns of the altar. Thou art my God (Psalms 118:27-28).

"To enlighten" signifies to illustrate in truths; "to bind the festal-offering with ropes even to the horns of the altar" signifies to conjoin all things of worship, "to bind with ropes" meaning to conjoin, "the festal-offering to the horns of the altar" meaning all things of worship, "horns" mean all things because they are the ultimates, and "the festal-offering" and "altar" mean worship. All things of worship are conjoined when externals are conjoined with internals, and goods with truths.

[19] In Luke:

The blood of all the prophets shed from the foundation of the world shall be required of this generation; from the blood of Abel unto the blood of Zachariah, slain between the altar and the temple (Luke 11:50-51).

This does not mean that the blood of all the prophets from the foundation of the world, from the blood of Abel, shall be required of the Jewish nation, for blood is not required from anyone but of him who sheds it; but these words mean that that nation had falsified all truth and adulterated all good; for "the blood of all the prophets, shed from the foundation of the world" signifies the falsification of all the truth there had ever been in the church; "blood" meaning falsification, "prophets" the truths of doctrine, and "from the foundation of the world," meaning all that there had ever been in the church; "the foundation of the world" meaning the establishment of the church. "From the blood of Abel unto the blood of Zachariah, slain between the altar and the temple," signifies the adulteration of all good, and the consequent extinction of the worship of the Lord; "the blood of Abel unto Zachariah" means the adulteration of all good; "to be slain between the altar and the temple" means the extinction of all good and all truth in worship, for "altar" signifies worship from good, and "temple" the worship from truth, as has been said above; "between these" means where there is conjunction, and where there is not conjunction there is neither good nor truth. The altar was outside the tent of meeting, and outside the temple; therefore what was done between the two signified communication and conjunction (See Arcana Coelestia 10001, 10025; and that "Abel" signifies the good of charity, n. 342, 374, 1179[1], 3325). It is evident that neither Abel nor Zachariah is meant here in the spiritual sense, since in the Word names signify things.

[20] In Matthew:

Jesus said, if thou shalt offer thy gift upon the altar, and shalt there remember that thy brother hath aught against thee, leave the gift before the altar, and go; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then coming offer thy gift (Matthew 5:23-24).

"To offer a gift upon the altar" means in the spiritual sense to worship God, and to worship God means worship both internal and external, namely, from love and from faith, and thus from the life; this is meant because in the Jewish Church worship consisted chiefly in offering sacrifices or gifts upon the altar, and the chief thing is taken for the whole. From this the meaning of these words of the Lord in the spiritual sense can be seen, namely, that Divine worship consists primarily in charity towards the neighbor, and not in piety without that; "to offer a gift upon the altar" means worship from piety, and "to be reconciled to a brother" means worship from charity, and this is truly worship, and such as this is such is the worship from piety. (On this see The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 123-129; and in the work on Heaven and Hell 222, 224, 358-360, 528, 529, 535; and above, n. 325.)

[21] That "If thou shalt offer thy gift upon the altar" signifies in all worship, is evident from the Lord's words in Luke 17:4 [Matthew 18:22, where it is said that the brother or neighbor must be forgiven all the time, "seventy times seven" there signifying always.

Because such things are signified by "altar," the altar was made either of wood or of ground, or of whole stones, upon which iron had not been moved, also it was overlaid with brass. The altar was made of wood, because "wood" signifies good; it was also made of ground because "ground" has a like signification; it was made of whole stones, because such "stones" signified truths formed out of good, or good in form, and it was forbidden to fit these stones by any hammer, axe, or instrument of iron, to signify that nothing of self-intelligence must come near to the formation of it; that it was overlaid with brass signified that it represented good in every part, for "brass" signifies good in externals.

[22] That the altar was made of wood is evident in Moses:

Thou shalt make the altar of shittim-wood, five cubits long and broad; it shall be foursquare. And thou shalt make horns for it. And thou shalt make for it a grating of network of brass; the board-work shall be hollow (Exodus 27:1-8).

And in Ezekiel:

The altar was of wood, three cubits high, and the length of it two cubits; its corners, the length of it, and the walls of it, were of wood. Then he said unto me, This is the table that is before Jehovah (Ezekiel 41:22).

Moreover, the altar was made of wood, and overlaid with brass, for the sake of use, that it might be carried about, and removed from place to place in the wilderness, where the sons of Israel then were; also because "wood" signifies good, and "shittim-wood" good of righteousness, or the good of the Lord's merit. (That "wood" signifies good, see Arcana Coelestia 643[1-4], 3720, 8354; and that "shittim-wood" signifies the good of righteousness or of merit, which belongs to the Lord only, n. 9472, 9486, 9528, 9715, 10178.) But that the altar was built also of ground, and if of stones, then of whole stones, and not hewn by any iron instrument, is further evident in Moses:

An altar [of ground] thou shalt make unto Me, that thou mayest sacrifice thereon thy burnt-offerings and thy peace-offering. If thou makest to Me an altar of stones thou shalt not build it of hewn stones, for if thou move a tool upon it thou wilt profane it (Exodus 20:24-25).

If an altar of stones be built, no iron shall be struck upon the stones (Deuteronomy 27:5-6).

[23] Thus far it has been shown what "altar" signifies in the genuine sense; from this it is clear what "altar" signifies in the contrary sense, namely, idolatrous worship, or infernal worship, which has place only with those who profess religion, but yet love and thus worship self and the world above all things; and when they do this they love evil and falsity; therefore "the altar," in reference to such, signifies worship from evil, and "the statues" which they also had, worship from falsity, and therefore also hell. That this is the signification of "altar," in the contrary sense, is evident from the following passages. In Isaiah:

In that day shall a man have respect to his Maker, and his eyes shall look to the Holy One of Israel. And he shall not have respect to altars, the work of his hands, and he shall not look ¹ to that which his fingers have made, or to the groves or the sun-statues (Isaiah 17:7-8).

This treats of the establishment of a new church by the Lord; that men shall then be led into the goods of life, and be instructed in the truths of doctrine, is meant by "In that day shall a man have respect to his Maker, and his eyes shall look to the Holy One of Israel." The Lord is called "Maker" because He leads into the goods of life, for these make man; and He is called "the Holy One of Israel" because He teaches the truths of doctrine; therefore it is added, "a man shall have respect," and "his eyes shall look;" man is called "man" from the good of life, and "eyes" are predicated of the understanding of truth, thus of the truths of doctrine. That there will then be no worship from self-love, from which are the evils of life, nor from self-intelligence, from which are the falsities of doctrine, is signified by "he shall not have respect to altars, the work of his hands, and he shall not look to that which his fingers have made," "altars, the work of his hands," mean worship from self-love, from which are evils of life, and "that which his fingers have made" means worship from self-intelligence, from which are the falsities of doctrine; "groves and sun-statues" signify a religion from falsities and evils therefrom, "groves," a religious principle from falsities, and "sun-statues" a religious principle from the evils of falsity.

[24] In Jeremiah:

The sin of Judah is written with a pen of iron, with a point of a diamond; it is graven ² upon the table of their heart, and upon the horns of your altars; as I remember their sons, their altar, and their groves, by the green tree upon the high hills (Jeremiah 17:1-2

This declares that the idolatrous worship of the Jewish nation was so deeply rooted that it could not be removed. That it was too deeply rooted to be removed is signified by "the sin of Judah is written with a pen of iron, with a point of a diamond, it is graven upon the table of their heart, and upon the horns of their altars;" deeply-rooted falsity is meant by "it is written with a pen of iron, and with the point of a diamond," and deeply-rooted evil is meant by "it is graven upon the table of the heart, and upon the horns of their altars;" it is said "upon the horns of the altars," because idolatrous worship is meant. The "sons whom He remembers," signify the falsities of evil; "the altars" idolatrous worship from evil; "the groves by the green tree" such worship from falsities; "upon the high hills" signifies the adulteration of good and the falsification of truths; for at that time, when all things of worship were representative of celestial and spiritual things, they had worship in groves and upon hills, for the reason that "trees," of which groves consist, signify the knowledges and perceptions of truth and good, and this according to the kind of trees; and because "hills" signified the goods of charity, and spiritual angels who dwell in the spiritual world upon hills are in such goods, so in ancient times worship was performed upon hills; but this was forbidden to the Jewish and Israelitish nation, lest they should profane the holy things that were represented; for in respect to worship that nation was in externals only, their internal was merely idolatrous. (That trees signify the knowledges and perceptions of truth and good, according to their kind, see Arcana Coelestia 2163, 2682, 2722, 2972, 7692; for this reason the ancients worshiped in groves under trees, according to their significations, n. 2722, 4552; why this was forbidden to the Jewish and Israelitish nations, n. 2722; why "hills" signify goods of charity, n. 6435, 10438)

[25] In Hosea:

Israel is an empty vine, he bringeth forth fruit like unto himself; when his fruit is plentiful he multiplieth altars; when his land is good they make goodly statues. Their heart is smooth, now are they laid waste; he shall demolish their altars, he shall devastate their statues (Hosea 10:1-2);

"Israel" here signifies the church, which is called "an empty vine" when there is no longer any truth; its worship from evils is meant by "the altars which he multiplies;" and worship from falsities is meant by the "statues which he makes goodly;" that this is done so far as these abound is signified by "when his fruit is plentiful" and "when his land is good." That worship from evils and falsities shall be destroyed is signified by "he shall demolish their altars, and shall devastate their statues." (That "statues" signify worship from truths, and in a contrary sense, worship from falsities, thus idolatrous worship, see Arcana Coelestia 3727[1-8], 4580, 10643.)

[26] In Ezekiel:

Thus said the Lord Jehovih to the mountains and to the hills, to the water courses and to the valleys, I bring in a sword upon you, and I will destroy your high places; and your altar shall be laid waste; your sun images shall be broken; yea, I will make your slain to fall before your idols (Ezekiel 6:3, 4, 6, 13).

"The Lord Jehovih said to the mountains, hills, water courses, and valleys," does not signify to all who dwell there, but to all idolaters, that is, to all who instituted worship upon mountains and hills, and near water-courses and in valleys, which was done because of the representation and consequent signification of these; "to bring a sword upon you, and to destroy the high places, and to lay waste the altars, and to break the sun images" signifies to destroy all things of idolatrous worship by means of falsities and evils, for it is by means of these that idolatrous worship destroys itself; "the sword" signifies falsities destroying, "the high places" idolatrous worship in general, "altars" the same from evil loves, and "sun images" the same from the falsities of doctrine; "to make the slain to fall before the idols" signifies the damnation of those who perish by falsities; "slain" signifying those who perish by falsities, "idols" the falsities of worship in general, and "to fall" to be damned.

[27] In Hosea:

Ephraim hath multiplied altars for sinning, they have made ³ for him altars for sinning (Hosea 8:11).

"Ephraim" signifies the intellect of the church, here the intellect perverted; "to multiply altars for sinning" signifies to pervert worship by means of falsities; and "to make altars for sinning" signifies to pervert worship by means of evils; for in the Word, "to multiply" is predicated of truths, and in a contrary sense of falsities, and "to make" is predicated of good, and in a contrary sense of evil; this is why the two are mentioned, and yet it is not a vain repetition.

[28] In the same:

Samaria is discomfited, her king is as foam upon the faces of the waters and the high places of Aven, the sin of Israel, shall be destroyed; the thorn and the thistle come up on their altars (Hosea 10:7-8).

"Samaria" signified the spiritual church, that is the church in which charity and faith make one; but after it became perverted "Samaria" signified the church in which charity is separated from faith, and in which faith is even declared to be the essential; therefore also it then signified the church in which there is no longer any truth, because there is no good, but in place of good the evil of life, and in place of truth the falsity of doctrine. This is here signified by "Samaria is discomfited;" the falsity of its doctrine is signified by "her king is as foam upon the faces of the waters," "king" signifying truth, and in a contrary sense, as here, falsity; "foam upon the faces of the waters" signifying what is empty and separated from truths, "waters" meaning truths; "the high places of Aven shall be destroyed" signifies the destruction of principles of falsity and of the reasonings therefrom of those who are in that worship, which viewed in itself is interiorly idolatrous; for those who are in the evil of life and the falsities of doctrine worship themselves and the world; "the thorn and the thistle shall come up on their altars" signifies that truth falsified and evil therefrom, shall be in all their worship, "altars" meaning all worship.

391h.

[29] In Amos:

In the day that I shall visit the transgressions of Israel upon him, I will visit upon the altars of Bethel, that the horns of the altar may be hewn down and fall to the earth (Amos 3:14).

"To visit the transgressions of Israel upon him" signifies their last state, in the spiritual sense their state after death, when they are to be judged; it is said "to visit," instead of to judge, because visitation always precedes judgment; "the altars of Bethel" signify the worship from evil; "the horns of the altar" signify worship from falsities, thus these signify all things of worship; and that these are to be destroyed is signified by "the horns shall be hewn down and fall to the earth." It is said, "I will visit upon the altars of Bethel," because Jeroboam separated the Israelites from the Jews, and erected two altars, one in Bethel and the other in Dan; and as "Bethel" and "Dan" signify the ultimates in the church, and the ultimates in the man of the church are called natural-sensual things, or natural-worldly and corporeal, so these are signified by "Bethel," and "Dan," the ultimates of good by "Bethel," and the ultimates of truth by "Dan;" therefore these two altars signify worship in ultimates or in things most external, such as is the worship of those who separate charity from their faith, and acknowledge faith alone to be the means of salvation.

Such persons therefore, think of religion in the natural-sensual; consequently they neither understand nor desire to understand any of the things they say they believe, saying that the understanding must be under obedience to faith. Such as these were represented by the Israelites separated from the Jews, or by Samaria separated from Jerusalem, and the worship of such was represented by the altars in Bethel and Dan; such worship, insofar as it is separated from charity, is no worship, for in it the mouth speaks apart from the understanding and the will, that is, apart from the mind; apart from the understanding, because they say that men ought to believe even though they do not understand; and apart from the will because they put aside deeds or goods of charity.

[30] That such worship is no worship is signified by what is said in the first book of Kings:

When Jeroboam stood by the altar in Bethel, the man of God cried out to him that the altar should be rent, and the ashes poured out; and so it came to pass (1 Kings 12:26 the end; 1 Kings 13:1-6).

"The altar should be rent and the ashes poured out" signifies that there was no worship whatever. Faith separated from charity was then signified by "Samaria," because the Jewish kingdom signified the celestial church, that is, the church that is in the good of love, and the Israelitish kingdom signified the spiritual church which is in the truths from that good. This was signified by the Jewish and Israelitish kingdom while they were under one king, or while they were united; but when they were separated, the Israelitish kingdom signified truth separated from good, or what is the same, faith separated from charity. Moreover, worship is signified by "the altar," because it is signified by the burnt-offerings and sacrifices that were offered upon it, in many other passages too numerous to be cited. And because idolatrous worship was signified by "the altars of the nations," therefore it was commanded that they should be everywhere destroyed (See Deuteronomy 7:5; 12:3; Judges 2:2).

[31] This makes clear that altars were in use among all the posterity of Eber, thus among all who were called Hebrews, who for the most part were in the land of Canaan and its immediate neighborhood; likewise in Syria, from which Abraham came. That there were altars in the land of Canaan and its neighborhood is evident from the altars mentioned there as destroyed:

That there were altars in Syria is evident from the account of those built by Balaam, who was from Syria (Numbers 23:1).

Also from the altar in Damascus (2 Kings 16:10-15).

Also from the Egyptian abominating the Hebrews on account of their sacrifices (Exodus 8:26);

Even so that they were unwilling to eat bread with them (Genesis 43:32).

The reason of this was that to the Ancient Church, which was a representative church and extended through a great part of the Asiatic world, sacrifices were unknown, and when they were instituted by Eber it looked upon them as abominable, that is, that they should wish to appease God by the slaughter of different animals, thus by blood. Among those who were of the Ancient Church were also the Egyptians; but as they applied representatives to magic that church became extinct among them. They were unwilling to eat bread with the Hebrews, because at that time "dinners" and "suppers" represented and thus signified spiritual consociation, which is consociation and conjunction through those things that pertain to the church; and "bread" signified in general all spiritual food and thus "dining" and "supping" all conjunction.

[32] (That the Ancient Church extended through a great part of the Asiatic world, namely through Assyria, Mesopotamia, Syria, Ethiopia, Arabia, Libya, Egypt, Philistia, even to Tyre and Zidon, through the land of Canaan, on both sides of the Jordan, see Arcana Coelestia 1238, 2385; that it was a representative church, n. 519, 521, 2896; respecting the church instituted by Eber, which was called the Hebrew Church, n. 1238, 1341, 1343, 4516, 4517. That sacrifices were first begun by Eber, and were afterwards in use among his posterity, n. 1128, 1343, 2180, 10042. That sacrifices were not commanded, but only permitted, shown from the Word; why they were said to have been commanded, n. 922, 2180, 2818; that it was necessary that altars and sacrifices should be mentioned, and that Divine worship should be signified by them, because the Word was written in that nation, and the historical Word treated of that nation, n. 10453, 10461, 10603-10604)

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