208. Behold I have set before thee an open door, and no one is able to shut it. That this signifies that they will be admitted into heaven, and that it will be denied to no one who is of such a quality is evident from the signification of setting before them an open door, as being to admit into heaven, of which we shall treat in what follows; and from the signification of no one is able to shut it, as being that entrance will not be denied; for when a door is shut, entrance is denied, and when it is not shut it is not denied. The reason why it is open to those who are in charity is, that these are treated of in what is written to this church (see above, n. 203). Hence it is evident that by I have set before thee an open door, and no one is able to shut it is signified, that all such will be admitted into heaven, and that it will be denied to none of them. That to set before them an open door signifies to admit them into heaven is evident indeed from common speech, but nevertheless it is from correspondence; for a house and all things belonging to a house correspond to the interiors of man's mind, and from that correspondence they also signify such things in the Word. That this is the case is evident from representatives and appearances in heaven, where there are palaces, houses, rooms, bed-chambers, vestibules, courts, and within them various things for use. These things the angels have from correspondence; whence it is that the wiser angels have palaces more magnificent than those enjoyed by those who are less wise. (But concerning these things, see the work, Heaven and Hell 183-190, where the habitations of the angels of heaven are treated of.) And because palaces, houses, and all the things belonging to a house correspond, it is also evident that outer doors, inner doors, and gates correspond also, and that they correspond to entrance and admission; also when a door is seen open, it is a sign that there is permission to enter, and when it is shut, that there is not.

[2] Moreover, when novitiate spirits are introduced into a heavenly society, a way is opened to them by the Lord which leads to it; and when they come thither a gate is seen with a door at the side, where there are keepers who admit them, and afterwards there are others who receive and introduce them.

From these considerations, it is evident that outer doors (januae), and inner doors (ostia), and gates in the Word signify introduction into heaven; and because the church is the Lord's heaven on earth, they also signify introduction into the church; and because heaven or the church is in man, therefore they also signify approach and entrance with man, concerning which something shall be said presently. And because all the things that signify heaven and the church also signify the things pertaining to heaven and the church, and here introductory things which are truths from good, these being from the Lord; and because those things are from the Lord, and hence are His, indeed are Himself in them, therefore by outer door (janua), inner door (ostium), and gate to heaven and the church, in the highest sense, is meant the Lord. Hence it is evident what the words of the Lord signify in John:

Jesus said: "Verily I say unto you, he that entereth not by the door (janua) into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep; to him the porter openeth. I am the door (ostium) of the sheep, by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out and find pasture" (10:1, 2, 3, 7, 9).

That to enter in by the door (ostium) here denotes to enter in by the Lord, is evident, for it is said, "I am the door of the sheep." To enter in by the Lord is to approach Him, to acknowledge Him, to believe in Him, and to love Him, as He Himself teaches in many passages. Thus is a man admitted into heaven, and in no other way; therefore the Lord says, "By me if any man enter in, he shall be saved"; and also "he who climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber."

[3] He therefore who approaches the Lord, acknowledges Him and believes in Him, is said to open the door (ostium) to the Lord, that He may enter in; as in the Apocalypse:

"Behold I stand at the door (ostium) and knock; if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me" (3:20).

How these things are to be understood, will be explained in the following pages, where the things mentioned are treated of. Here we shall only say something concerning the doors (ostia) or gates in man, because it is said, I stand at the door and knock.

There are two ways which lead to man's Rational, one from heaven and the other from the world; by the way from heaven good is introduced, by the way from the world truth is introduced. In proportion as the way from heaven is opened to a man, in the same proportion he is affected with truth, and becomes rational, that is, in the same proportion he sees truth by the light of truth; but if the way from heaven is shut, he does not become rational, because he does not see truth, and yet truth from the light of truth constitutes the Rational. A man may indeed reason concerning truth, and from reasoning or from memory he may speak of it; but he is not able to see whether it is truth or not. To think well concerning the Lord and the neighbour, opens the way from heaven; but to think otherwise shuts that way. Because there are two ways which lead into man, there are also two doors (januae) or gates by which influx enters: by the door or gate which is open from heaven, the spiritual affection of truth from the Lord enters, because good enters by that door, as said above, and all spiritual affection of truth is from good; but by the door or gate which is open from the world, enter all knowledge from the Word, and from preaching thence, because thereby truth enters, as also said above, for knowledges from the Word and from preaching thence are truths. The spiritual affection of truth adjoined to those knowledges constitutes man's Rational, and enlightens it according to the quality of the truth conjoined with good, and according to the quality of the conjunction.

[4] These few observations may be sufficient for the present concerning the gates or doors pertaining to man. Because outer doors (januae), inner doors (ostia), and gates signify admission into heaven and into the church, therefore they also signify truths from good which are from the Lord, because by means of them this admission is effected, as is evident from the following passages. Thus in Isaiah:

"Open ye the gates that the just nation that keepeth faithfulnesses may enter in" (26:2).

According to the sense of the letter it is here meant that those who are just and faithful should be admitted into those cities, but according to the internal sense, that such should be admitted into the church: for gates signify admission; a just nation signifies those who are in good; keeping faithfulnesses signifies those who are thence in truths.

[5] Again:

"Thy gates shall be open continually; they shall not be shut day nor night; to bring unto thee the hosts of the nations, and their kings shall be brought down. And the nation and kingdom that will not serve thee shall perish. Thou shalt call thy walls Salvation, and thy gates Praise" (60:11, 12, 18).

The subject here treated of is the Lord and the church which He was about to establish; and by the above particulars is described the perpetual admission into it of those who are in good and thence in truths. By the gates being open continually, and not shut day nor night, is signified perpetual admission; by the host of the nations are signified those who are in good, and by kings those who are in truths; and that all should serve the Lord is meant by the nation and kingdom that will not serve thee shall perish. (That nation or nations signify those who are in good, may be seen above, n. 175, and that kings signify those who are in truths, n. 31.)

[6] Again:

"Thus said Jehovah to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden, to subdue nations before him; that I may loose the loins of kings, to open before him the doors (januae) that the gates may not be shut; I will give him the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places" (45:1, 3).

Here also the Lord is treated of, and the church to be established by Him. By opening the doors (januae), and by the gates not being shut, is signified perpetual admission; by nations and kings are signified those who are in goods and truths, and, in the abstract, goods and truths, as said above; by treasures of darkness and hidden riches of secret places, is signified interior intelligence and wisdom from heaven; for the things that enter by the gate which is open from heaven, and of which we have spoken above, come in secretly, and influence all the things that are with man, whence arises the spiritual affection of truth, whereby things before unknown are revealed.

[7] In Jeremiah:

"If ye bring in no burden through the gates of this city on the Sabbath day, but hallow the Sabbath day, then shall there enter through the gates of this city kings and princes sitting upon the throne of David, riding upon the chariot and on horses, and the city shall be inhabited to eternity" (17:24, 25).

Any one may see what is meant by these things in the sense of the letter; nevertheless it can be known that something more holy is contained in them, because they form part of the Word; and everything in the Word contains those things that pertain to heaven and the church, and these alone are holy; thus what is holy in this passage can only be known from the internal sense. By the Sabbath day in that sense is meant the conjunction of the Divine Human of the Lord with heaven and the church; by the city mentioned in this passage is meant Jerusalem, that is, the church: by bringing in no burden through the gates of the city is meant that they should not admit that which is from man's proprium, but that which is from the Lord. By kings and princes entering into the gates of the city are meant Divine truths, which should then be revealed to them; by their sitting upon the throne of David is meant that these truths are from the Lord. By riding upon the chariot and on horses is meant that thence they would be in the doctrine of truth and in intelligence; and by dwelling there to eternity is meant life and eternal salvation. (That by Sabbath, is signified the conjunction of the Divine Human of the Lord with heaven and the church, may be seen,Arcana Coelestia 8494, 8495, 8510, 10356, 10360, 10367, 10370, 10374, 10668, 10730. That by Jerusalem is signified the church, 402, 3654, 9166. That by burden or work on the Sabbath day is signified not to be led by the Lord but by the proprium, n. 7893, 8495, 10360, 10362, 10365. That by kings and princes are signified those who are in Divine truths, and, in the abstract, Divine truths, see above, n. 29, 31. That by chariot is signified the doctrine of truth, and by horses the Intellectual, see the small work, The White Horse 1-5.)

[8] Again, in the Apocalypse, it is said of the New Jerusalem,

"Having a wall great and high, twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon which are the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel; the twelve gates were twelve pearls; the gates of it shall not be shut" (21:12, 21, 25).

That gates signify Divine truths introductory to the New Church, thus those who are in truths from good from the Lord is evident from the explanation of these words in the small work, The New Jerusalem 1, etc.); which is also evident from this consideration, that it is said there were twelve gates, twelve angels upon the gates, and the names of the twelve tribes written thereon, and that the twelve gates were twelve pearls. By twelve are signified all, and is said of truths from good, see Arcana Coelestia 577, 2089, 2129, 2130, 3272, 3858, 3913, similarly by angels, see above, n. 130, 200; also by the twelve tribes of Israel, Arcana Coelestia 3858, 3926, 4060, 6335; and also by pearls.)

[9] In Jeremiah:

"Out of the north evil shall be opened that they may come, and every one set his throne at the door (ostium) of the gates of Jerusalem, and at all its walls round about, because they have forsaken me" (1:14, 15, 16).

The subject here treated of is the destruction of the church: the north signifies falsity, in this case the falsity from which evil is derived; to come and set every one his throne at the door of the gates of Jerusalem, is to destroy the introductory truths of the church by falsities; and at all the walls round about, denotes all the truths that are for a defence.

[10] In Isaiah:

"Howl, O gate; cry, O city; thou, whole Philistia, art dissolved because, from the north cometh smoke" (14:31).

Again:

"The choicest of thy valleys shall be filled with the chariot; and the horsemen shall set themselves in array even to the gate, he hath made bare the covering of Judah" (22:7, 8).

In these passages also the destruction of the Church is treated of; and by the gates there mentioned introductory truths are signified, which are destroyed; those truths are called the covering of Judah, because by Judah is signified celestial love, as may be seen above (n. 119), and those truths cover and protect that love. Again

"The remnant in the city is wasteness, and the gate is smitten even to devastation" (24:12).

[11] In Jeremiah:

"Judah mourned, and the gates thereof languished" (14:2).

In the book of Judges:

"The villages ceased in Israel: he hath chosen new gods; then to assault the gates" (5:7, 8).

In Ezekiel:

"Tyrus hath said over Jerusalem, Aha, she is broken, the doors (januae) of the peoples, she is brought over to me" (26:2).

Here also the subject treated of is the destruction of the church. By Tyrus are signified the knowledges (cognitiones) of truth and good, which are introductory truths; and by Jerusalem is signified the church as to the doctrine of truth. It is therefore evident why Jerusalem is here called the doors (januae) of the peoples; also what is signified by Tyrus saying, "Aha, she is broken, the doors of the peoples; she is brought over to me, I shall be filled."

[12] Since, as said above, by doors (januae) and by gates is signified admission, and, specifically, introductory truths are signified, which are truths from good from the Lord, it is evident what is signified by these in the following places. In David

"Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lift up, ye doors (ostia) of the world, that the king of glory may come in" (Psalms 24:7, 9).

Again:

Recount the praises of Jehovah "in the gates of the daughter of Zion" (Psalms 9:14).

Again:

"Jehovah loveth the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob" (Psalms 87:2).

By Zion and by the daughter of Zion is meant the celestial church. Again, in Isaiah:

"Thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; the God of the whole earth he is called. I will make thy windows of agates, and thy gates of carbuncles" (54:5, 12).

In Matthew:

The five prudent virgins entered into the marriage, "and the door (ostium) was shut," and the five foolish virgins came and knocked, but the door was not opened to them (25:10, 11, 12).

In Luke:

Jesus said "Strive to enter in at the strait gate (portam) for many will seek to enter in, and will not be able. When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door (januam), then shall ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door (januam), saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; but he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are" (13:24, 25).

In these two passages the state of man after death is treated of, that those who are in faith alone, and not in love, cannot be admitted into heaven, even although they should then desire it, and this in consequence of the nature of their faith. And this is what is signified by the door being shut, and their being refused admission when they knocked.

[13] Because gates signify introductory truths, therefore it was ordained among the statutes,

That the elders should sit at the gates and judge (Deuteronomy 21:19; 22:15-21; Amos. 5:12, 15; Zech. 8:16).

It was also therefore commanded, that "They should write the precepts upon the posts and gates" (Deuteronomy 6:8, 9).

And it was also among the statutes,

That the ear of the servant who was not willing to go out free in the seventh year, should be bored through at the door (januam) (Exodus 21:6; Deuteronomy 15:17).

By servants of the sons of Israel were signified those who were in truths and not in good; and by freemen, those who were in good and thence in truths. By the ear being bored through at the door was signified perpetual obedience and servitude, because they were not desirous to be introduced into good by means of truths; for those who are in truth and not in good, are perpetually in a servile state, not being in the spiritual affection of truth; for it is the affection of love that makes man free (as may be seen in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 141-149). Moreover introductory truths as to their quality are described by the covering of the door of the tent, and by the covering of the door of the tabernacle (Exodus 26:14, 36, 37; 38:18); also by the numerical measurements of the doors and gates of the house of God and of the temple in Ezekiel (40:6, 8-11, 13-15, 18, 19, 20, 24, 27, 28, 32, 35, 37; 41:1-3, 11, 17-20, 23-25; 42:2, 12, 15; 43:1-4; 44:1-3, 17; 46:1-3, 8, 12, 19; 47:1, 2; 48:31-34). He who knows what the particular numbers there mentioned signify, may know many arcana concerning those truths. Mention is also made of the gates of the house of Jehovah towards the north and towards the east, in the same prophet (8:3, 5; 10:19).

131. These things saith he that hath the sharp two-edged sword. That this signifies the Lord who alone fights in temptations, is evident from the signification of a sword, as being truth fighting against falsity, and, in an opposite sense, falsity fighting against truth. It is called sharp, and two-edged, because it cuts on both sides. Because this is signified by sword, therefore it also signifies dispersion of falsities, and also temptation. That it signifies dispersion of falsities, may be seen above (n. 73). That it signifies temptation is because, in what is written to the angels of this church, temptations are treated of, and also because temptation is a combat of truth against falsity, and of falsity against truth. (That spiritual temptation is such combat, may be seen in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 187-201.) The reason why by these things saith he that hath the sharp two-edged sword, is meant the Lord as alone fighting in temptations is, that, in the preceding chapter, ver. 16, it is said that out of the mouth of the Son of man was seen going forth a sharp two-edged sword; and by the Son of man is meant the Lord as to Divine truth, as may be seen above, n. 63. (That the Lord alone fights in temptations, and not man at all, may be seen in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem, 195-200.) The reason why by a sword is signified the combat of truth against falsity, and of falsity against truth, is, that by wars in the Word, are signified spiritual wars; and spiritual wars are those that take place between truths and falsities. And because wars in the Word have such a signification, therefore also all the arms used in war, as a sword, a spear, a bow, darts, a shield, and many others, signify specifically something pertaining to spiritual combat, especially the sword, because in wars they formerly fought with swords. (That wars signify spiritual combats may be seen in Arcana Coelestia 1659, 1664, 8295, 10455; and that hence, particular arms of war signify what belongs to spiritual combat, may be seen, n. 1788, 2686.)

[2] That a sword in the Word signifies truth combating against falsity, and falsity against truth, and hence the dispersion of falsities, and also spiritual temptation, is evident from many passages, of which we will adduce a few only by way of confirmation. Thus in Matthew:

Jesus said, that he was not come to send peace upon earth, but a sword (10:34);

where, by sword is meant the combat of temptation; the reason it is so said, was, that men at that time were immersed in falsities, and the Lord revealed interior truths; and falsities cannot be cast forth except by combats from those truths.

[3] In Luke:

Jesus said to the disciples "Now he that hath a purse, let him take it, and likewise a scrip; and he that hath no sword, let him sell his garment and buy one" (22:35-38).

By a purse and scrip are signified spiritual knowledges (cognitiones), thus truths; by garments are signified things proper to themselves; and by a sword is signified combat.

[4] Again in Jeremiah:

"O sword, against the Chaldeans, and against the inhabitants of Babylon, and against her princes, and against her wise men. O sword, against liars that they may become foolish; O sword, against her mighty men that they may be dismayed; O sword, against her horses and against her chariots; O sword, against her treasures that they may be spoiled; a drought upon her waters, that they may be dried up" (50:35-38).

By sword is here signified the dispersion and vastation of truth by each of those against whom it is denounced, as by the Chaldeans, the inhabitants of Babylon, the princes and wise men thereof, liars, mighty men, horses, chariots and treasures, are signified the persons or things that will be vastated; as by horses are signified intellectual things; by chariots, doctrinals; and by treasures, knowledges (cognitiones); hence it is said a drought is upon her waters, and they shall be dried up; for waters signify the truths of the church, and a drought by which they are dried up, signifies vastation. (That drought and drying up denote where there is no truth, may be seen, Arcana Coelestia 8185; that waters denote the truths of the church, may be seen above, n. 71; that treasure denotes knowledges, n. 1694, 4508, 10227; that horses denote intellectual things and chariots doctrinals, may be seen in the small work, The White Horse 2-5.)

[5] In Isaiah:

"Jehovah shall contend, and by his sword with all flesh, and the slain of Jehovah shall be multiplied" (66:16).

In Jeremiah:

"Upon all the hills in the desert the spoilers have come, because the sword of Jehovah devoureth from the end of the earth even to the end of the earth" (12:12).

In Ezekiel:

"Prophesy, and say, a sword well sharpened, and also well polished; it is sharpened to slay a slaughter, it is polished to glitter; the sword shall be repeated the third time; the sword of the slain, the sword of great slaughter penetrating into the secret chambers, that the heart may faint, and offences may be multiplied; against all their gates will I set the point of the sword; ah! it has become lightning" (21:9, 10, 14, 15, 28).

In Isaiah:

"Bring waters to meet him that is thirsty, with bread prevent him that wandereth; for before the sword shall they wander, before the drawn sword, and before the bended bow, and for the grievousness of war" (21:14, 15).

In Ezekiel:

"They shall quake with fear when I shall brandish my sword before their faces, that they may tremble every moment, a man for his own soul; by the swords of the mighty casting down the multitude of them" (32:10-12).

In David:

"The saints will be joyful in glory; they will sing aloud upon their beds. Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a two-edged sword in their hand" (Psalms 149:5, 6).

In the same:

"Gird thy sword upon thy thigh, O mighty. In thy honour ascend thy chariot, ride on the Word of truth; thy right hand shall teach thee wonderful things. Thine arrows are sharp" (Psalms 45:3-5).

And in the Apocalypse:

"And there was given to him sitting on the red horse a great sword" (6:4).

And in another place:

"And out of the mouth of him sitting upon the white horse goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations. And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse" (19:15, 21).

By sword in the above passages is signified truth combating and destroying; this destruction is especially evident in the spiritual world, where those who are in falsities cannot sustain the truth. They are in a state of anguish, as if struggling with death when they come into the sphere of light, that is, where Divine truth is, and also they are thus deprived of truths, and vastated.

[6] As most expressions in the Word have also an opposite sense, so also has sword, and in that sense it signifies falsity combating against truth and destroying it. The vastations of the church, which take place when there are no longer any truths, but only falsities, are described in the Word by a sword, as in the following passages:

"They shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive among all nations; at length Jerusalem shall be trodden down of" all "nations, until the times of the nations shall be fulfilled" (Luke 21:24).

The consummation of the age, here treated of, is the last time of the church, when falsities shall prevail. To fall by the edge of the sword, denotes that truths would be destroyed by falsity; nations denote evils; by Jerusalem is signified the church.

[7] In Isaiah:

"I will make a man more rare than fine gold. Every one that is found shall be thrust through; and every one that is gathered together shall fall by the sword" (13:12, 15).

By the man who is rare, is denoted those who are in truths; to be thrust through and to fall by the sword, denotes to be consumed by falsities.

[8] In the same:

"In that day they shall cast away every man the idols of his silver, and the idols of his gold, which your own hands have made unto you. Then shall Asshur fall by the sword, not of a man (vir) and the sword, not of a man (homo), shall devour him; but he who fleeth before the sword, his young men shall be for tribute" (31:7, 8).

The idols which their hands have made denote falsities from their own intelligence; by Asshur is denoted the Rational by which this is effected. To fall by the sword, not of a man (vir), and not of a man (homo), denotes not to be destroyed by any combat of truth against falsity. By he who fleeth before the sword, his young men shall be for tribute, is denoted, that the truth which is not destroyed shall be made subservient to falsities. That this is the meaning of those words is not evident in the sense of the letter; it is therefore evident how far removed is the spiritual sense from the sense of the letter.

[9] In Jeremiah:

"I have smitten your sons in vain; and they received not correction; your own sword hath devoured your prophets" (2:30).

In the same:

"Behold, the prophets say unto them, Ye shall not see the sword, neither shall ye have famine. By sword and famine shall those prophets be consumed. If I go forth into the field, then behold the slain with the sword; and if I enter into the city, then behold the sicknesses of famine" (14:13-18).

Both these passages treat of the vastation of the church as to truth: by prophets are meant those who teach truths, and by the sword which consumes them, falsity combating and destroying. By field is signified the church; by city doctrine; the slain with the sword in the field, denote those in the church with whom truths are destroyed; by the sicknesses of famine in the city is signified a defect of all truth in doctrine.

[10] In the same:

"They have denied Jehovah, and said, It is not he; neither shall evil come upon us: neither shall we see sword and famine" (5:12).

In the same:

"The young men shall die by the sword; their sons and their daughters shall die by famine" (11:22).

By young men are signified those who are in truths, and, in the abstract, truths themselves; to die by the sword is to be destroyed by falsities; sons and daughters signify the knowledges of truth and good; by famine is meant a defect of them.

[11] In Lamentations:

"We get our bread with the peril of our souls, because of the sword of the wilderness" (5:9).

By wilderness is meant where there is no good because no truth; by the sword thereof, the destruction of truth; bread denotes good, which is obtained with the peril of the soul because all good is implanted in man by truth.

[12] In Ezekiel:

"The sword without, and the pestilence and famine within; he that is in the field shall die by the sword, and he that is in the city, famine and pestilence shall devour him" (7:15).

By sword is here meant the destruction of truth; by pestilence, consequent extinction; and famine signifies a complete defect. The signification is similar in other places; as in Jeremiah (21:7; 29:17, 18; 34:17).

[13] In Zechariah:

"Woe to the shepherd of nought deserting the flock, a sword upon his arm, and upon his right eye; his arm in drying up shall dry up, and his right eye in darkening shall be darkened" (11:17).

A sword upon the arm denotes the destruction of the Voluntary as to good; by a sword upon the right eye is signified the destruction of the Intellectual as to truth; that all good and all truth would perish, is signified by its being said, that the arm in drying up shall dry up, and the right eye in darkening shall be darkened.

[14] In Isaiah:

"Thus shall ye say unto your master, Be not afraid of the words that thou hast heard, wherewith the servants of the king of Asshur have blasphemed Jehovah. Behold, I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land. And Sennacherib the king of Asshur returned; and it came to pass, when he bowed himself in the house of Nisroch his god, his two sons smote him with the sword" (37:6, 7, 37, 38).

Because it is the Rational that acknowledges and that denies the Divine, and when it denies it seizes eagerly on every falsity instead of truth, and thus perishes, therefore this representative came to pass, that is, that the king of Asshur, because he blasphemed Jehovah, was smitten with the sword by his sons, in the house of Nisroch his god. Asshur signifies the Rational in both senses (see Arcana Coelestia 119, 1186); the sons of that king signify falsities, and the sword signifies destruction by them. So also, in Moses, it was commanded that the city which worshipped other gods should be smitten with the sword, and burned with fire (Deuteronomy 13:12, 13, 15, 16).

[15] This statute was made, because at that time all things were representative; to worship other gods is to worship from falsities; to be smitten with the sword is to perish by falsity; and to be burned with fire is to perish by the evil of falsity.

[16] In the same:

"Whosoever toucheth one that is slain with the sword in the field shall be unclean" (Numbers 19:16, 18, 19).

The slain in the field with the sword, represented those within the church who destroyed the truths which they had; by field is meant the church.

[17] That sword signifies falsities destroying truth is clear in David:

"The sons of men are inflamed; their teeth are as spears and darts, and their tongue a sharp sword" (Psalms 57:4).

"Behold, they belch out with their mouth, swords are in their lips" (Psalms 59:7).

Working iniquity "they whet their tongue like a sword; they make ready their bow with bitter words" (Psalms 64:3).

From these considerations it is clear what is signified by the words of the Lord to Peter:

"All they that take the sword shall perish by the sword" (Matthew 26:51, 52);

that is, those who believe falsities will perish by them.

[18] From these things it is now clear what is signified in the Word by sword in both senses. The reason why such things are signified by it, is also from appearances in the spiritual world. When spiritual combats take place there, which are combats of truth against falsity, and of falsity against truth, various weapons of war are seen there, as swords, spears, shields, and similar things; not that these combats are carried on by such things, for they are appearances only, representative of spiritual combats. When falsities fight keenly against truths, sometimes the glitter or sheen of a sword waving itself on both sides, and striking with great terror, is seen, by which those are dispersed who fight from falsities.

[19] From this it is clear what is meant by these words in Ezekiel:

"They shall be horribly afraid when I shall brandish my sword before their faces, that they may tremble at every moment for their own soul" (Ezekiel 32:10, 11, 12).

In the same:

"Prophesy, and say, a sword has been sharpened, and also well polished, that it may shine, that the heart may faint, ah! it has become lightning" (Ezekiel 21:9, 10, 15).

The reason why a sword causes such great terror is that iron, of which it is made, signifies truth in ultimates, and glitter and sheen are from the light of heaven, and its shining upon it; the light of heaven is Divine truth proceeding from the Lord; Divine truth, thus falling into those who are filled with falsity, strikes terror.

[20] It is therefore clear what is signified when Adam was cast out

By cherubim being placed at the east of Eden, and the flame of a sword turning every way, and brandishing itself to guard the way to the tree of life (Genesis 3:24).

By the tree of life is signified celestial love, which is love to the Lord; by cherubim a guard; by the flame of a sword turning itself every way, the terrible driving away and rejection of all who are in falsities; the east of Eden denotes where the presence of the Lord is in that celestial love. By those words therefore is signified that all approach to the acknowledgment of the Lord alone is closed to those who do not live a life of love. That by sword is signified falsity is quite clear in Ezekiel, where is thus said of the prince of Tyre:

"They shall unsheath swords upon the beauty of thy wisdom" (28:7).

By the prince of Tyre is here signified intelligence derived from the knowledges (cognitiones) of truth; and because this is extinguished by falsities it is therefore said that they should unsheathe their swords upon wisdom, which could not have been said unless by swords were meant falsities.