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Arcana Coelestia # 10360

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10360. And ye shall keep the Sabbath. That this signifies that the Divine Human of the Lord is to be worshiped, is evident from the signification of “keeping,” when said of the Divine, as being to worship; and from the signification of “the Sabbath,” as being in the supreme sense the union of the Divine which is called the “Father” and of the Divine Human which is called the “Son,” thus the Divine Human in which is this union. This union is signified by “the Sabbath,” because by the six days of labor which precede the seventh is signified every state of combat; for in the spiritual sense “labor” does not mean such labor as there is in the world, but such as those who are in the church endure before they enter the church and become the church, which labor is combat against evils and falsities of evil. A like “labor” (in the spiritual sense) was endured by the Lord when He was in the world; for He then fought against the hells, and reduced them and likewise the heavens into order, and at the same time He glorified His Human, that is, He united it to the Divine Itself which He had from conception (see n. 9715, 9809).

[2] The time and state when the Lord was in combats is signified by the six days of labor, but the state when the union had been effected is signified by the seventh day, which is called “the Sabbath,” from “rest,” because the Lord then had rest. Consequently by “the Sabbath” is signified also the conjunction of the Lord with heaven, with the church, with an angel of heaven, and with a man of the church. The reason is that all who are to come into heaven must first be in combats against evils and the falsities of evil, and when these have been separated they enter heaven and are conjoined with the Lord, and then they have rest. It is similar with men in the world. It is known that these must be in combats, that is, that they must undergo temptations, before the good and truth which make the church have been implanted in them; thus before they have been conjoined with the Lord, consequently before they have rest. From this it is evident whence it is that a state of combat is signified by the six days of labor, while rest and also conjunction are signified by the seventh day or the Sabbath.

[3] That the conjunction of good and truth also, is signified by “the Sabbath,” is because when a man is in combats he is in truths; but when truths have been conjoined with good, thus when the man is in good, he then has rest; in like manner as the Lord, when He was in the world, and fought with the hells, was in respect to His Human Divine truth; and when He had united His Human to the Divine Itself, He then, even in respect to His Human, became the Divine good, or Jehovah.

[4] (That the six days which precede the Sabbath denote the combats which precede and prepare for the heavenly marriage, which is the conjunction of good and truth, may be seen in n. 8510, 8888, 9431. As regards the former state, when man is in truths and at the same time in combats against evils and falsities of evils, which state is signified by “the six days of labor,” and as regards the latter state, when he is in good and is led by the Lord, which is signified by “the Sabbath,” see n. 7923, 7992, 8505, 8506, 8510, 8512, 8516, 8539, 8643, 8648, 8658, 8685, 8690, 8701, 8772, 9139, 9224, 9227, 9230, 9274, 9832. That when the Lord was in the world He made His Human first Divine truth, and afterward Divine good, see the places cited in n. 9199, 9315; and that He did this by the combats of temptations, see the places cited in n. 9528.)

[5] Therefore he who knows that by “the Sabbath” in the supreme sense is meant the union of the Divine Itself in the Divine Human of the Lord, may know what those things signify which are so often said in the Word about the Sabbath, as in Isaiah:

If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, so that thou doest not thine inclinations on the day of My holiness; but shalt call the Sabbath honorable delights to the Holy One of Jehovah; and shalt honor it, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own desire, nor speaking a word; then shalt thou delight thyself upon Jehovah; and I will exalt thee on the high places of the earth, and I will feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father (Isaiah 58:13-14);

He who is acquainted with the internal sense of the Word can plainly see that in this passage by “the Sabbath” is signified the state of conjunction of man with the Lord, thus the state when man is led by the Lord and not by himself, which state is when he is in good. For to be led by the Lord, and not by self, is to “turn away the foot from the Sabbath, not to do one’s own inclinations, not to do one’s own ways, not to find one’s own desire, and not to speak a word.” That in this case the church is in him, and also heaven, is signified by that “he shall be exalted on the high places of the earth, and shall be fed with the heritage of Jacob.” Moreover, that “the Sabbath” denotes the Divine Human in which is union, is signified by the Sabbath being called “a day of holiness and of delight to the Holy One of Jehovah.”

[6] And in Jeremiah:

If ye will hallow the Sabbath day, then shall there enter in by the gates of this city kings and princes sitting upon the throne of David, riding in the chariot and on horses (Jeremiah 17:24-25);

He who is not acquainted with the internal sense of the Word will suppose that these things are to be understood according to the sense of the letter, namely, that if they would hallow the Sabbath, kings and princes would enter in by the gates of the city Jerusalem, and would ride in the chariot and on horses. This however is not the meaning; but that those who reverently worship the Divine Human of the Lord shall be in the Divine truths of heaven and of the church; for by “Jerusalem” is meant the church; by “kings and princes,” its Divine truths; by “the throne of David,” heaven where the Lord is; by “chariot,” the doctrine of good and truth; and by “horses,” an enlightened understanding. (That “Jerusalem” denotes the church, see n. 2117, 3654; that “kings” denote Divine truths, n. 1672, 2015, 2069, 3009, 4575, 4581, 4966, 5044, 5068, 6148; that “princes” denote primary truths, n. 1482, 2089, 9954; that a “throne” denotes heaven, n. 5313; that “a chariot” denotes the doctrine of good and truth, n. 5321, 8215; and that “horses” denote an understanding which is enlightened, n. 2760-2762, 3217, 5321, 6534)

[7] As by “the Sabbath” was signified the Lord as to the Divine Human in which there is union, it was therefore commanded that the breads of faces should be set in order upon the table every Sabbath (Leviticus 24:8). That the Lord as to the Divine Human is meant by “bread” is known in the church. For this reason also when the Lord was in the world He called Himself “the Lord of the Sabbath” (Matthew 12:8; Mark 2:27-28; Luke 6:1-5).

[8] And therefore when the Lord was in the world, and united His Human to the Divine Itself, He abrogated the Sabbath in respect to representative worship, or in respect to its worship such as was with the Israelitish people; and made the Sabbath day a day of instruction in the doctrine of faith and of love. This is involved in what is written in John:

Jesus healing a certain man on the Sabbath day said to him, Take up thy bed and walk; and he took up his bed and walked. But the Jews said that it was not allowable to carry a bed on the Sabbath day, and sought to kill the Lord, because He loosed the Sabbath (John 5:8-10, 18).

By the “healing of the sick” is signified the purifying of man from evils and the falsities of evil; by a “bed” is signified doctrine; and by “walking” is signified life.

[9] (That all the healings of diseases which were performed by the Lord involve purification from evils and falsities, or restorations to spiritual life, see n. 8364, 9031, 9086; and that “to walk” denotes life, n. 519, 1794, 8417, 8420.) That a “bed” denotes doctrine is evident from the passages in the Word where a “bed” is mentioned, and also from the representatives in the other life, where when a bed appears and one lying on it, there is signified the doctrine in which he is; consequently beds appear there most highly adorned for those who are in truths from good. But no one can know that such things are signified by the above words of the Lord except by the internal sense, for the Lord spoke by correspondences, thus by significatives, because from the Divine.

  
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Arcana Coelestia # 5321

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5321. And he made him ride in the second chariot. That this signifies a significative that from Him comes all the doctrine of good and truth, is evident from the signification of a “chariot,” as being the doctrine of good and truth (of which presently); hence his “making him ride in a chariot” is a significative that this doctrine comes therefrom. These words refer to what was previously said by Pharaoh: “Thou shalt be over my house, and upon thy mouth shall all my people kiss; only in the throne will I be greater than thou” (verse 40). That the doctrine of good and truth coming from Him is signified, is because by Joseph is represented the Lord as to the Divine spiritual (see n. 3971, 4669), thus as to the Divine truth from the Lord’s Divine Human (n. 4723, 4727), from which Divine truth is the celestial of the spiritual. That everything of the doctrine of good and truth is from this source, is because the Lord is doctrine itself, for everything of doctrine proceeds from Him, and everything of doctrine treats of Him; for all doctrine treats of the good of love and of the truth of faith. These are from the Lord, and therefore the Lord is not only in them, but also is both. From this it is evident that the doctrine that treats of good and truth, treats of the Lord only; and that it proceeds from His Divine Human.

[2] From the Divine Itself nothing of doctrine can possibly proceed except through the Divine Human, that is, through the Word, which in the supreme sense is the Divine truth from the Lord’s Divine Human. Not even the angels in the inmost heaven can apprehend that which proceeds immediately from the Divine Itself, because it is infinite, and therefore transcends all apprehension, even that of angels. But that which proceeds from the Lord’s Divine Human they can apprehend, because it treats of God as a Divine Man, concerning whom some idea can be formed from the Human; and any idea whatever formed about the Human is accepted, provided it flows from the good of innocence, and is in the good of charity. This is what is meant by the Lord’s words in John:

No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He hath set Him forth (John 1:18).

In the same:

Ye have neither heard the Father’s voice at any time, nor seen His shape (John 5:37).

And in Matthew:

No one knoweth the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son willeth to reveal Him (Matthew 11:27).

[3] “Chariots” are very frequently mentioned in the Word, but hardly anyone knows that they signify doctrinal things of good and truth, and also the memory-knowledges belonging to doctrinal things. The reason is that when a “chariot” is mentioned nothing spiritual enters the idea, but only the natural historical, and it is the same with the horses in front of the chariot; and yet by “horses” in the Word are signified things of the understanding (see n. 2760-2762, 3217), and therefore by a “chariot” are signified doctrinal things and the memory-knowledges belonging thereto.

[4] That “chariots” denote the doctrinal things of the church, and also memory-knowledges, has been evident to me from the chariots so often seen in the other life. There is also a place to the right near the lower earth where chariots and horses appear, with stalls set in order, and where are seen walking and conversing men who in the world have been learned, and have regarded the life as the end of learning. Such things appear to them from the angels in the higher heavens; for when these are discoursing about things of the understanding, of doctrine, and of knowledge, such objects appear to the spirits there.

[5] That such things are signified by “chariots” and “horses” is very obvious from the fact that Elijah appeared to be carried into heaven by a chariot of fire and horses of fire, and that he and also Elisha were called “the chariot of Israel and the horsemen thereof,” as we read in the second book of Kings:

Behold a chariot of fire and horses of fire came between them; and Elijah went up in a whirlwind into heaven. And Elisha saw it, and he cried, My father, my father, the chariot of Israel and the horsemen thereof (2 Kings 2:11-12);

and regarding Elisha in the same book:

When Elisha was fallen sick of his sickness whereof he died, and Joash the king of Israel came down unto him, and wept before his faces, and said, My father, my father, the chariot of Israel and the horsemen thereof (2 Kings 13:14).

The reason why they were so called is that by both Elijah and Elisha was represented the Lord as to the Word (see pref ace t o chapter 18 of Genesis, and n. 2762, 5247e). The Word itself is chiefly the doctrine of good and truth, for from it is everything of doctrine. It was for the same reason that to the boy whose eyes Jehovah opened, the mountain appeared “full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha” (2 Kings 6:17).

[6] That a “chariot” signifies what is doctrinal, and a “horse” what is intellectual, is evident also from other passages in the Word, as in Ezekiel:

Ye shall be sated upon My table with horse and chariot, with mighty man and every man of war. So will I set My glory among the nations (Ezekiel 39:20; Revelation 19:18); where the coming of the Lord is treated of. That by “horse and chariot” here are not signified horse and chariot, is plain to everyone; for they were not to be sated upon the Lord’s table with these, but with such things as are signified by “horse and chariot,” which are the things of the understanding and of the doctrine of good and truth.

[7] Similar things are signified by “horses” and “chariots,” in the following passages.

In David:

The chariots of God are two myriads, thousands of peaceful ones; the Lord is in them; Sinai is in the sanctuary (Psalms 68:17).

Again:

Jehovah covereth Himself with light as with a garment, He stretcheth out the heavens like a curtain, He layeth the beams of His chambers in the waters, He maketh the clouds His chariots, He walketh upon the wings of the wind (Psalms 104:2-3).

In Isaiah:

The prophecy of the wilderness of the sea. Thus hath the Lord said unto me, Set a watchman to watch, he will declare; so he saw a chariot, a pair of horsemen, a chariot of an ass, a chariot of a camel, and he hearkened a hearkening, a great hearkening; for a lion cried upon the watchtower, Lord, I stand continually in the daytime, and upon my ward I am set all the nights; then in very deed lo a chariot of a man, a pair of horsemen; and he said, Babylon is fallen, is fallen (Isaiah 21:1, 6-9).

[8] In the same:

Then will they bring all your brethren in all nations an offering to Jehovah, upon horses, and upon chariot, and upon litters, and upon mules, and upon couriers, to the mountain of My holiness, Jerusalem (Isaiah 66:20).

Again:

Behold Jehovah will come in fire, and His chariots shall be like the whirlwind (Isaiah 66:15).

In Habakkuk:

Was Jehovah enraged with the rivers? Was Thine anger against the rivers? Was Thy wrath against the sea, that Thou didst ride upon Thy horses? Thy chariots are salvation (Hab. 3:8).

In Zechariah:

I lifted up mine eyes and saw, and behold four chariots coming out from between two mountains; and the mountains were mountains of brass. In the first chariot were red horses; in the second chariot, black horses; in the third chariot, white horses; and in the fourth chariot, grizzled horses (Zech. 6:1-3).

[9] Also in Jeremiah:

There shall enter in by the gates of this city kings and princes sitting upon the throne of David, riding in the chariot and on horses, they and their princes, the man of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and this city shall be inhabited forever (Jeremiah 17:25; 22:4).

The “city that shall be inhabited forever” is not Jerusalem, but the Lord’s church signified by “Jerusalem” (n. 402, 2117, 3654); the “kings who shall enter in by the gates of that city” are not kings, but the truths of the church (n. 1672, 1728, 2015, 2069, 3009, 3670, 4575, 4581, 4966, 5044, 5068); thus “princes” are not princes, but the primary things of truth (n. 1482, 2089, 5044); “they who sit upon the throne of David” are Divine truths that proceed from the the Lord, (n. 5313); “they who ride in chariot and on horses” are the derivative things of understanding and of doctrine. “Chariots” are frequently mentioned also in the histories of the Word; and because these histories are all representative, and the expressions signify things such as are in the Lord’s kingdom and in the church, “chariots” therein also have a similar signification.

[10] As most of the expressions in the Word have also an opposite sense, so have “chariots,” and in this sense they signify doctrinal things of evil and falsity, and also the memory-knowledges that confirm them, as in these passages:

Woe unto them that go down into Egypt for help, and depend upon horse, and trust upon chariot, because they are many, and upon horsemen because they are very strong; but they look not unto the holy one of Israel (Isaiah 31:1).

By the hand of thy servants hast thou blasphemed the Lord, and hast said, By the multitude of my chariot am I come to the height of the mountains, the sides of Lebanon; where I will cut off the loftiness of its cedars, the choice of its fir trees (Isaiah 37:24);

a prophetic reply to the haughty words of Rabshakeh, the king of Assyria’s general.

In Jeremiah:

Behold waters coming up from the north that shall become an overflowing stream and shall overflow the land and the fullness thereof, the city and them that dwell therein, and all the inhabitant of the land shall howl at the voice of the stamping of the hoofs of his strong horses, at the tumult of his chariot, at the rumbling of his wheels (Jeremiah 47:2-3).

[11] In Ezekiel:

By reason of the abundance of his horses their dust shall cover thee; thy walls shall shake by reason of the voice of the horseman and of the wheel and of the chariot, when he shall come into thy gates, beside the entrances of a city wherein is made a breach; by the hoofs of his horses shall he tread down all thy streets (Ezekiel 26:10-11).

In Haggai:

I will overthrow the throne of kingdoms, and I will destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the nations; I will also overthrow the chariot and those that ride in it, and the horses and their riders shall come down (Haggai 2:22).

In Zechariah:

I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem, I will cut off the battle bow; and He shall speak peace unto the nations (Zech. 9:10).

In Jeremiah:

Egypt riseth up like a stream, and his waters toss themselves like the streams; for he said, I will go up, I will cover the earth, I will destroy the city and the inhabitants therein. Go up, ye horses; rage, ye chariots (Jeremiah 46:8-9).

[12] By the “horses and chariots” with which the Egyptians pursued the sons of Israel, and with which Pharaoh entered the sea Suph, where the wheels of the chariots were taken off, and by other things said of the horses and chariots, which make the larger part of that description (Exodus 14:6-7, 9, 17, 23, 25-26; 15:4, 19), are signified the things of understanding, of doctrine, and of false knowledge, together with the reasonings founded on them, that pervert and extinguish the truths of the church. The destruction and death of such things is there described.

  
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Arcana Coelestia # 3654

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3654. That in the internal sense of the Word “Judea” does not signify Judea; nor in like manner “Jerusalem,” Jerusalem, may be seen from many passages in the Word. “Judea” is not so frequently mentioned in the Word as is the “land of Judah,” and by the “land of Judah,” as well as by the “land of Canaan,” is signified the Lord’s kingdom (consequently also the church, for the church is the Lord’s kingdom on earth), and this for the reason that the Lord’s celestial kingdom was represented by Judah, or by the Jewish nation, and His spiritual kingdom by Israel, or the Israelitish people; and inasmuch as it was so represented, therefore also when mention is made in the Word of that nation and people, in the internal sense there is nothing else signified thereby.

[2] That this is the case will appear from what of the Lord’s Divine mercy will be said hereafter concerning Judah and the land of Judah; and in the meantime from the following few passages in the Prophets.

In Isaiah:

My beloved had a vineyard in the horn of a son of oil; and he made a hedge about it, and gathered out the stones thereof, and planted it with a noble vine, and built a tower in the midst of it, and also hewed out a winepress therein; and he looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes. And now O inhabitant of Jerusalem, and man of Judah, judge I pray you between Me and My vineyard. I will make it a desolation. For the vineyard of Jehovah Zebaoth is the house of Israel, and the man of Judah is the plant of His delights; and He looked for judgment, but behold a festering; for righteousness, but behold a cry (Isaiah 5:1-3, 6-7).

In this passage, in the sense of the letter, the perverted state of the Israelites and Jews is treated of, but in the internal sense the perverted state of the church as represented by Israel and Judah. The “inhabitant of Jerusalem” is the good of the church (that “inhabitant” signifies good, or what is the same, those who are in good, may be seen above, n. 2268, 2451, 2712, 3613; and that “Jerusalem” signifies the church, see n. 402, 2117). The signification of the “house of Israel” is similar (that “house” signifies good may be seen above, n. 710, 1708, 2233, 2234, 3142, 3538; and that “Israel” signifies the church, n. 3305); in like manner the “man of Judah,” for by “man” is signified truth (n. 265, 749, 1007, 3134, 3310, 3459), and by “Judah” good, but with the difference that the “man of Judah” signifies truth from the good of love to the Lord (which is called celestial truth), that is, those who are in such truth.

[3] In the same:

And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four wings of the earth. The envy also of Ephraim shall depart, and the enemies of Judah shall be cut off. Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not straiten Ephraim. Jehovah shall accurse the tongue of the Egyptian sea, and with the vehemence of His breath shall shake His hand over the river. And there shall be a highway for the remains of His people, which shall be left from Asshur (Isaiah 11:12-13, 15-16).

The subject here treated of in the sense of the letter is the bringing back of the Israelites and Jews from captivity, but in the internal sense it is concerning a new church in general and with every individual in particular who is being regenerated or is becoming a church. The “outcasts of Israel” denote the truths of such persons; the “dispersed of Judah,” their goods; “Ephraim,” their intellectual part in that it will no longer be resistant; “Egypt,” memory-knowledges; and “Asshur,” the derivative reasoning, which they have perverted; the “outcasts,” the “dispersed,” the “remains,” and “those who are left,” denote the truths and goods which survive. (That “Ephraim” denotes the intellectual part, will be made manifest elsewhere; and that “Egypt” is memory-knowledge, n. 1164-1165, 1186, 1462, 2588, 3325; that “Asshur” is reasoning, n. 119, 1186; and that “remains” are goods and truths from the Lord stored up in the interior man, n. 468, 530, 560, 561, 660, 661, 798, 1050, 1738, 1906, 2284.)

[4] In the same:

Hear ye this, O house of Jacob, called by the name of Israel, and they have come forth out of the waters of Judah. For they call themselves of the holy city, and stay themselves upon the God of Israel (Isaiah 48:1-2); where the “waters of Judah” denote the truths which are from the good of love to the Lord; the truths thence derived are the very goods of charity, which are called spiritual goods, and constitute the spiritual church, the internal of which is “Israel,” and the external the “house of Jacob;” hence it is manifest what is signified by the “house of Jacob called by the name of Israel,” and by their “coming forth out of the waters of Judah.”

[5] In the same:

I will bring forth a seed out of Jacob, and out of Judah an inheritor of My mountains; and Mine elect shall possess it, and My servants shall dwell there (Isaiah 65:9);

“out of Judah an inheritor of mountains” in the supreme sense denotes the Lord, and in the representative sense those who are in love to Him, thus in the good of love to the Lord and of love to the neighbor. (That “mountains” signify these goods was shown above, n. 3652)

[6] So in Moses:

Judah is a lion’s whelp; from the prey my son thou art gone up; he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up? (Genesis 49:9); where it is clearly manifest that in the supreme sense by “Judah” is meant the Lord, and in the representative sense those who are in the good of love to Him. So in David:

When Israel went forth out of Egypt, the house of Jacob from a barbarous people, Judah became His sanctuary, Israel His dominion (Psalms 114:1-2);

in this passage also “Judah” denotes celestial good, which is the good of love to the Lord; and “Israel,” celestial truth, or spiritual good.

[7] So in Jeremiah:

Behold the days come, saith Jehovah, that I will raise unto David a righteous offshoot, and He shall reign as king, and prosper, and shall execute judgment and righteousness in the earth.

In His days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell securely; and this is His name whereby He shall be called: JEHOVAH OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS (Jeremiah 23:5-6; 33:15-16); where the Lord’s advent is treated of, “Judah” denoting those who are in the good of love to the Lord; “Israel,” those who are in the truth of this good. That by “Judah” is not meant Judah, nor by “Israel” Israel, is evident from the fact that neither Judah nor Israel was saved. In like manner in the same:

I will cause the captivity of Judah and the captivity of Israel to return, and will build them as at the first (Jeremiah 33:7).

In the same:

In those days, and in that time, saith Jehovah, the sons of Israel shall come, they and the sons of Judah together; going and weeping shall they go, and shall seek Jehovah their God; and they shall seek Zion in the way with their faces thitherward (Jeremiah 50:4-5

Again:

At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of Jehovah; and all the nations shall be gathered unto it, for the name of Jehovah, to Jerusalem; neither shall they walk any more after the stubbornness of their evil heart. In those days the house of Judah shall walk to the house of Israel, and they shall come together out of the land of the north upon the land (Jeremiah 3:17-18).

[8] Again:

Behold the days come, saith Jehovah, that I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man, and with the seed of beast. And I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah; this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days; I will put My law in the midst of them, and will write it on their heart (Jeremiah 31:27, 31, 33).

That Israel or the house of Israel is not here meant, is very evident, because they were dispersed among the Gentiles, and were never brought back out of captivity; consequently neither was Judah nor the house of Judah meant, but thereby were signified, in the internal sense, those who are of the Lord’s spiritual and celestial kingdom. With these is made a new covenant, and on their heart is the law written; a “new covenant” denoting conjunction with the Lord by means of good (see n. 665, 666, 1023, 1038, 1864, 1996, 2003, 2021, 2037); the “law written on their heart,” denoting the consequent perception of good and of truth, and also conscience.

[9] So in Joel:

And it shall come to pass in that day that the mountains shall drop new wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the streams of Judah shall flow with waters; and a fountain shall go forth out of the house of Jehovah, and shall water the stream of Shittim. Egypt shall be a waste, and Edom shall be for a wilderness of a waste for the violence done to the sons of Judah, because they have shed innocent blood in their land. But Judah shall abide forever, and Jerusalem to generation and generation (Joel 3:18, 20);

from all the particulars in this passage also it is manifest that by “Judah” is not meant Judah, nor by “Jerusalem,” Jerusalem, but those who are in the holy of love and of charity; for these “shall abide forever, and to generation and generation.”

[10] So in Malachi:

Behold I send Mine angel who shall prepare the way before Me; and the Lord whom ye seek shall suddenly come to His temple, even the angel of the covenant whom ye desire. Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto Jehovah, as in the days of eternity, and as in former years (Malachi 3:1, 4); where the Lord’s advent is treated of. That at that time the offering of Judah and Jerusalem was not pleasant unto Jehovah, is evident; and from this it is manifest that by “Judah and Jerusalem” are signified such things as are of the Lord’s church. The case is the same everywhere in the Word where mention is made of “Judah,” of “Israel,” and of “Jerusalem.” From all this then it is evident what is signified by “Judah” in Matthew, namely, the Lord’s church, in the present case vastated.

  
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Thanks to the Swedenborg Foundation for the permission to use this translation.