543. And out of the smoke came forth locusts upon the earth. That this signifies that from infernal falsities they became corporeal sensual in the church, is plain from the signification of smoke, which denotes infernal falsity, concerning which see above (n. 539), where it is shewn, that by the well of the abyss, out of which the smoke ascended, is signified the hell where and whence are the falsities of evil which falsify the truths of the Word; consequently, smoke here signifies infernal falsity; and from the signification of locusts, which denote the ultimate Sensual of man which is in the falsity of evil, concerning which we shall speak presently; and from the signification of coming forth upon the earth, as denoting upon the church, for the earth signifies the church. The things also, which are contained in the Apocalypse are predicted concerning the church and its state.

[2] That the locust signifies the ultimate Sensual of man, which is in the falsity of evil, is evident from all the details in this chapter as far as verse 12; and it is evident from the explanation of these that nothing else is meant by locusts. But here it shall first be explained what is meant by the ultimate Sensual of man. It is not the Sensual of sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch, that is here meant, for these things are proper to the body, but it is the ultimate of thought and affection, which is first opened with infants, and which is of such a nature that they think of nothing else, and are influenced by no other objects than those which make one with the senses above mentioned. For infants learn to think by means of the senses, and to be affected by objects according to the things which have pleased the senses; wherefore, the first Internal that is opened in them is the Sensual, which is called the ultimate Sensual of man, and also the corporeal Sensual. But afterwards, as the infant grows older and reaches boyhood, the more interior Sensual is opened, from which he thinks naturally, and is also affected naturally. At length, when he becomes a youth and young man, the Sensual still more interior is opened, from which he thinks rationally, and, if he is in the good of charity and faith, spiritually; and also he is rationally and spiritually affected. This thought and affection is called the rational and spiritual man, while the former is called the natural man, and the first the sensual man.

[3] With every man, the interiors of his thought and affection, are successively opened, and this by continual influx out of heaven from the Lord; by this influx the Sensual is first formed which is nearest to the body, whence man becomes sensual; afterwards the Natural whence he becomes natural; and after this the Rational and with that the Spiritual, whence he becomes a rational and spiritual man. But this is formed and perfected only in proportion as man thinks concerning God, and Divine things from God, and in proportion as he is affected with them, that is, in proportion as he wills and lives according to them. For if this does not take place, then the spiritual man is opened in a general way, but is not formed, much less perfected. By the opening of the spiritual man in a general way, man has the faculty of thinking, and from thought of speaking rationally, for this is the common effect of the influx of heaven with every man. Hence it is clear, that man has thoughts and affections both spiritual, natural, as well as sensual, and that those have spiritual thoughts and affections who think from God concerning God and Divine things; but that those only have natural thoughts and affections who do not think from God concerning God and Divine things, but only from themselves, or from the world concerning themselves or the world. But it must be understood, that to think from self or from the world is not to think from these but from hell, for he who does not think from God thinks from hell, it being impossible for any one to think from both at the same time.

But those who deny God, and thence the Divine things of heaven and the church, and confirm themselves against them, all become sensual men more or less, according to confirmations. When their minds are engaged upon spiritual things they think only about falsities, and are affected with evils; and if they think about any truths, whether they be spiritual, moral, or civil, it is only from the knowledge (scientia) of such things as are in the memory, and they see nothing beyond causes the most obvious, and which they are also able to confirm; and if they are influenced by goods, it is merely from a delight which is for the sake of themselves, or of the world, thus from some desire pertaining to the love of self, or to the love of the world. The thought of the sensual man is called material thought, and his affection is called corporeal affection, which is cupidity.

[4] Moreover, it is to be observed that all the evils derived by man from his parents, which are called hereditary evils, reside in his natural and sensual man, but not in the spiritual; hence it is that the natural man, and particularly the sensual man is opposed to the spiritual. For the spiritual man from infancy is closed, and it is opened and formed only by Divine Truths received in the understanding and will; and in proportion as the spiritual man is opened and formed, and according to the quality thereof, in the same proportion are the evils of the natural and sensual man removed, and goods implanted in their place. Since all evils reside in the natural and sensual man, it follows that falsities reside there also, because all falsities are of evil; for while man desires, and wills from evil, he thinks and speaks from falsity; for the evil of the will, when it forms itself in the thought, so that its quality is clear to others, or to himself, is called falsity, wherefore falsity is the form of evil, as truth is the form of good.

From these considerations the nature and quality of the man who is called a sensual man is evident, and that a man becomes sensual when he acts out the evils into which he is born and adds more to them from himself. So far as he does this, and confirms himself therein, so far the spiritual man is kept closed; in which case the natural and sensual man denies Divine things which pertain to heaven and the church, and acknowledges only such things as pertain to the world and Nature; in fact, the sensual man, is then so blind as to believe nothing but what he sees with his eyes, and touches with his hands. In this state are many of the learned, however wise and intelligent they may be supposed to be from their ability to speak from the knowledges (scientiae) that are in the memory, and this apparently like rational men; because their spiritual mind is opened in a general way, as is the case with every man, as shown above.

[5] Because in that which follows in this chapter much is said concerning the locust, and as the locust signifies the Sensual, which is the ultimate or extreme of the natural man, it is important that the nature and quality of this Sensual should be fully known, and therefore also who and what the sensual man is. I shall, therefore, quote here what has been stated and shown in the Arcana Coelestia on this subject as follows. The Sensual is the ultimate of the life of man, inhering and adhering to his Corporeal (n. 5077, 5767, 9212, 9216, 9331, 9730). He is called a sensual man, who judges all things from the bodily senses, and who, believes nothing but what he can see with his eyes and touch with his hands, saying that this is something, and rejecting everything else (n. 5094, 7693). Such a man thinks in things outermost, and not interiorly from any spiritual light (n. 5089, 5094, 6564, 7693). The interiors of the mind, which sees from the light of heaven, are closed, so that a man sees therein nothing of the truth pertaining to heaven and the church (n. 6564, 6844, 6845). In a word, he is in a gross natural light, and thus perceives nothing that is from the light of heaven (n. 6201, 6310, 6564, 6844, 6845, 6598, 6612, 6614, 6622, 6624). Hence he is interiorly opposed to the things of heaven and the church (n. 6201, 6317, 6844, 6845, 6948, 6949). The learned, who have confirmed themselves against the truths of the church, are sensual (n. 6316). Sensual men reason with acuteness and readiness, because their thought lies near their speech, so as to be almost in it, and because they place all intelligence in discoursing from the memory alone (n. 195, 196, 5700, 10236); but they reason from the fallacies of the senses, with which the vulgar are captivated (n. 5084, 6948, 6949, 7693). Sensual men are crafty and malicious above all others (n. 7693, 10236). The covetous, adulterers, the voluptuous, and the deceitful, are especially sensual (n. 6310); their interiors are unclean and filthy (n. 6201); thereby they communicate with the hells (n. 6311). They who are in the hells are sensual, and the more so the deeper their hells (n. 4623, 6311). The sphere of infernal spirits conjoins itself with the Sensual of man from behind (n. 6312). Those who reasoned from the Sensual, and thence against the genuine truths of faith, were called by the ancients serpents of the tree of knowledge (n. 195, 196, 197, 6398, 6949, 10313). The Sensual of man, and the sensual man, are further described (n. 10236); and the extension of the Sensual in man (n. 9731). Sensual things ought to be in the last place and not in the first, and with a wise and intelligent man, they are in the last place, and subject to interior things, but with an unwise man, they are in the first place, and govern, and these are they who are properly called sensual (n. 5077, 5125, 5128, 7645). If sensual things are in the last place, a way is opened by them to the understanding, and truths are perfected by a mode of extraction (n. 5580). The sensual things of man are proximately extant to the world, and admit the things which flow to them from the world, and as it were sift them (n. 9726). The external or natural man communicates by means of those things with the world, but by rational things with heaven (n. 4009). Sensuals thus minister such things as are serviceable to the interiors of the mind (n. 5077, 5081). There are sensual things which minister to the intellectual part, and others which minister to the will part (n. 5077). Unless the thought be elevated from sensual things, man can attain but little wisdom (n. 5089). A wise man thinks above the Sensual (n. 5089, 5094). Man, when his thought is elevated above sensual things, comes into a clearer light, and at length into heavenly light (n. 6183, 6313, 6315, 9407, 9730, 9922). Elevation above things sensual, and withdrawal from them, were known to the ancients (n. 6313). Man in his spirit might see things that are in the spiritual world, if he could be drawn away from the sensual things of the body, and be elevated into the light of heaven by the Lord (n. 4622); the reason of this is, that it is not the body which thinks, but the spirit of man in the body in proportion as he thinks in the body, in the same proportion he thinks grossly obscurely, thus in darkness, but in proportion as he thinks not in the body, he thinks clearly in the light 4622, 6614, 6622). The ultimate of the understanding is the Scientific Sensual, and the ultimate of the will is sensual delight (n. 9996). What the difference is between the sensual things which are in common with the beasts, and those which are not common with them (n. 10236). There are sensual persons who are not evil, because their interiors are not shut, in the manner [above described]; concerning their state in the other life see n. 6311.

[6] That the locust signifies nothing else but the Sensual of man just described, is evident also from other passages in the Word where the locust is mentioned.

Thus in Moses:

"Moses stretched forth his rod over the land of Egypt, and Jehovah brought an east wind upon the land all that day, and all that night; and when it was morning the east wind brought the locust. And the locust went up over all the land of Egypt, and rested in all the border of Egypt, very grievous, before it there was no such locust, neither after it shall there be such. And they covered the face of the whole earth, so that the land was darkened; and they did eat every herb of the land, and all the fruit of the tree which the hail had left; and there remained not any green thing on the trees, or in the herb of the field, through all the land of Egypt." And the locust filled the house of Pharaoh, and the house of all his servants, and the house of all the Egyptians (Exodus 10:4, 6, 13-15).

All the miracles in Egypt, as well as all the other miracles recorded in the Word, involve and signify spiritual things pertaining to heaven and the church, consequently the plagues of Egypt signify spiritual plagues. This plague of the locusts denotes the destruction of the whole natural man by the rushing in of evil and falsity from the Sensual. Egypt signifies the natural man as to the Scientific and what is pleasurable therein, and "locust" the falsity and evil of the sensual man vastating the natural man, that is, expelling thence and destroying all the truth and good of the church; therefore it is said, "The locust went up over all the land of Egypt, and rested in all the border of it." The land of Egypt signifies the Natural of the men of the church, and by the border of Egypt is signified their Sensual. For the Sensual is the ultimate or outermost of the Natural, wherefore it is its boundary; the locust is the falsity and evil therein.

Because the falsity and the evil of the sensual man are the most grievous, being corporeal and earthly, therefore it is said that the locust was very grievous, that there was none like it before, nor would there be any such after it. The reason of this was, that the Egyptians had the knowledge (scientia) of correspondences, and from it they had a knowledge of spiritual things pertaining to heaven, but these they turned into what was magical. Because the falsity and evil [of the sensual man] when they break into the natural man, lay it altogether waste, by destroying every truth and every good therein, it is therefore said that the locust "covered the face of the whole earth, so that the land was darkened, and they did eat every herb of the land, and all the fruit of the trees"; the land of Egypt, denoting the Natural of the men of the church, the herb of the land denoting the truth, and the fruit of the tree the good therein. The same is also meant by the locust filling the houses of Pharaoh, and the houses of his servants, and of all the Egyptians, for the house of Pharaoh, and the houses of his servants and all the Egyptians signify the natural mind in its whole extent. For house in the Word signifies the interior things of man which belong to his inner and to his outer mind, and in this case those things which are of his natural mind.

[7] It is said that here by the locust going up over all the land of Egypt, is signified the irruption of falsity and evil out of the sensual man into the natural, when yet the natural man is interior and the sensual exterior, and irruption or influx proceeds not from the exterior into the interior, but from the interior into the exterior. It must be known therefore that the irruption or influx of the sensual man into the natural means the closing up of the natural man until it becomes like the sensual, whence, the extension of the evil and falsity is greater, and both in like manner become corporeal and earthly. Otherwise, however man, from his infancy, learns to separate the sensual man from the natural, by speaking truth and doing good, although from the sensual man he thinks falsity, and wills evil, and he does this until they are altogether separated, which takes place when man is reformed and regenerated by the Lord; but if they are not separated, man cannot do otherwise than think and will insanely, and therefore speak and act insanely.

[8] Because the locust signifies the Sensual as to falsity and evil, or, what is the same thing, the falsity and evil of the sensual man, therefore the signification of the locust and the grasshopper is similar, as in David:

"He sent a swarm among them, which devoured them; and frogs which destroyed them. He gave also their increase unto the grasshopper, and their labour unto the locust" (Psalm 78:45, 46).

And again:

"He spake, and the locust came, and the grasshopper, and that without number, which devoured all the herb in the land, and devoured the fruit of their ground" (Psalm 105:34, 35).

But here by locust is signified the falsity pertaining to the sensual man, and by the grasshopper (bruchus) the evil of the same, or the falsity and evil which are in and from the sensual man. This evil is signified by the grasshopper, and this falsity by the locust because the grasshopper also is a locust, which is evident from this fact, that those things were said by David concerning the locusts in Egypt, and yet in Moses the locust only is mentioned, and not the grasshopper.

[9] Similar things are signified by the locust and the grasshopper in Joel:

"That which the palmerworm hath left hath the locust eaten; and that which the locust hath left hath the cankerworm eaten; and that which the cankerworm hath left hath the grasshopper eaten. Awake, ye drunkards, and weep; and howl, all ye drinkers of wine, because of the new wine (mustum); for it is cut off from your mouth" (1:4, 5).

So again, in the same prophet:

"And the floors shall be full of pure wheat, and the presses shall overflow with new wine (mustum) and oil. And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the grasshopper, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among you" (2:24, 25).

That these injurious creatures signify falsities and evils vastating or consuming the truths and goods of the man of the church, is evident, since it is said, that "all drinkers of wine (vinum) should howl for the new wine (mustum) which is cut off from your mouth," and by wine and new wine is signified the truth of the church; and also since it is said that their floors should be full of wheat, and their presses should overflow with new wine and oil, for by the floor is signified the doctrine of the church, by the wheat and the oil are signified its goods, and by the new wine (mustum), its truths.

[10] So in Nahum:

"The fire shall devour thee; the sword shall cut thee off, it shall devour thee as the grasshopper; multiply thyself as the grasshopper; multiply thyself as the locust. Thou hast multiplied thy merchants above the stars of the heavens; the grasshopper spread itself abroad, and fled away. Thy crowned are as the locust, and thy captains as the locust of locusts which sit in the fences in the day of cold, the sun ariseth, they flee away, and their place is not known where they are" (3:15, 17).

These things are said concerning the "city of bloods," which signifies doctrine fashioned from falsified truths, thus from falsities. The destruction of those who are in a faith and life according to that doctrine, is signified by the fire shall devour thee; the sword shall cut thee off. The fire which shall devour, signifies evil destroying good, and the sword, falsity destroying the truth; and since the evil and falsity from the sensual man are meant, it is therefore said, "The grasshopper shall devour thee; multiply thyself as the grasshopper; multiply thyself as the locust. Thou has multiplied thy merchants above the stars of heaven." This multiplication is said to be like that of the grasshopper and the locust, because the Word is very extensively falsified by those who are sensual, thus by the sensual man, for the sensual man is signified by the grasshopper and locust, as was stated above.

The reason why the sensual man falsifies the Word more than others, is, that the ultimate sense of the Word, which is the sense of the letter, is for the natural and sensual man, but the interior sense, for the spiritual man. It is for this reason that a man when he is not a spiritual, but a natural and sensual man, and is in evil, and thence in falsities, does not see the goods and truths which are in the Word, but applies its ultimate sense to confirm his falsities and evils. Merchants signify those who falsify, communicate, and sell. Thy crowned are as the locusts, and thy captains as the locust of locusts, signifies that the primary and chief things of doctrine, which is the "city of bloods," are falsities of evil, and that also those falsities of evil proceed from them. Which sit in the fences in the day of cold, signifies in the truths of the Word, which do not appear as truths, because they are falsified, and are from evil, fences denoting truths that are not apparent, because falsified, and the day of cold denoting the state of the love of evil. The sun ariseth, they flee away, and their place is not known where they are, signifies that they consume all truth and good, so that none remains. The expression "multiplying as the locust" has a similar signification in Jeremiah (46:20, 22, 23), also in the book of Judges (6:5; 7:12).

[11] Falsity in the extremes, or the densest falsity, is also signified by the locust in Moses:

"Thou shalt carry much seed into the field, but shall gather little in; for the locust shall consume it" (Deuteronomy 28:38).

This was one of the curses if they did not observe and do the commandments of Jehovah. By the seed of the field is meant the Word, and by the locust, the dense falsity from the sensual man, which consumes and destroys. The same is signified by "locust" in Amos (7:1, 2); Isaiah (33:3, 4); and in David, (Psalm 109:22, 23).

[12] Since the Sensual of man is the ultimate and lowest of the life of man's thought and affection, as stated above, and as that which is lowest is small, when viewed from those things that are in a higher and more exalted place, it is therefore compared to locusts, as in Isaiah:

Jehovah "who sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as locusts" (40:22).

These words signify that men, as to intelligence, are in the lowest things, and the Lord in the highest.

[13] Similarly, men, viewed by those who regard themselves as superior to others, are compared to locusts, in Moses:

The explorers of the land of Canaan said: "We saw the Nephilim; the sons of Anak, which come of the Nephilim; and we were in our own sight as locusts, and so we were in their eyes" (Num. 13:33).

That Nephilim and the Anakim in the Word signify those who are fully convinced of their own superiority and wisdom above others, and, in the abstract sense, dire persuasions, may be seen in the Arcana Coelestia 311, 567, 581, 1268, 1270, 1271, 1673, 3686, 7686). That they were seen, and also appeared to themselves, as locusts, is agreeable to appearances in the spiritual world, for there, when those who are persuaded of their own superiority look at others, they see them as little and vile, and these also then appear such to themselves.

[14] Since the locust signifies the Sensual, which is the ultimate of the life of man's thought, or the ultimate in which the understanding closes, and upon which it rests, therefore this ultimate is, as it were, the basis and foundation upon which stand the interior or higher things, pertaining to the understanding and will of man; similarly the interior and higher things, called in the Word spiritual and celestial. And since everything must have a foundation in order to endure and subsist, therefore the sense of the letter of the Word, which is the ultimate [sense] and the basis, is natural and sensual, and is also meant, in a good sense, by the locust, consequently also its truth and good; for this reason John the Baptist ate locusts, and the sons of Israel were allowed to eat them. It is said of John the Baptist that he had raiment of camel's hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins, and ate locusts and wild honey (Matthew 3:4; Mark 1:6). John the Baptist was thus clothed because, like Elias, he represented the Word; and by raiment of camel's hair, by a leathern girdle, and by eating locusts and wild honey, he represented its ultimate sense, which, as was said is natural-sensual, because it is for the natural-sensual man. Raiment signifies truth which clothes good; camel's hair signifies the ultimate of the natural man, which is sensual; locusts and wild honey also signify the ultimate in regard to appropriation, or the Sensual; the locust signifies the Sensual as to truth; wild honey, the Sensual as to good; and eating, the appropriation thereof.

It is to be observed, that in ancient times, when churches were representative churches, all who were in ministries were clothed according to their representations, and also ate in agreement with the same.

[15] That the children of Israel were allowed to eat the locust, is evident from these words in Moses:

"Every winged creeping thing that goes upon four feet, shall be an abomination. But what goeth upon four, which hath legs above its feet, to leap withal upon the earth, ye may eat," among which the locust also is named (Leviticus 11:20, 21, 22).

They were allowed to eat locusts because locusts have legs above their feet to leap with, for legs signify natural good conjoined to spiritual good, and feet, natural truth from that good; and all truth which is from good ought to be appropriated and conjoined to man, but not the truth which is not from good, for this truth is conjoined with some evil; wherefore it is said that the winged creeping thing going upon four which hath no legs above its feet was an abomination. It is said also to leap upon the earth, because leaping, when stated of birds, signifies to live, equally as walking when used in reference to the animals of the earth; and spiritual life is from truths from good, which are signified by leaping with the feet above which are legs; but spiritual death is from truths conjoined to evil, which is signified by going upon four feet above which are no legs, wherefore to eat such things, is said to be an abomination.

[16] Because a horse signifies the Intellectual, and a locust the Sensual which is the ultimate of the Intellectual, and the intellect lives whilst it is in its ultimate, therefore the ancients spoke of horses leaping and jumping like the locust.

Thus in Job:

"Dost thou give the horse strength? dost thou clothe his neck with shaking? Dost thou make him to leap as the locust? the glory of his nostril is terror" (39:19, 20).

The quality of the understanding is here described by a horse, as being robust, moving and curving its neck, and walking by leaps; and because the ultimate of the understanding is the Sensual, which is signified by the locust, and the life of the understanding in this ultimate is signified by jumping and walking by leaps, therefore it is said that the horse leaps like the locust. The most ancient books, amongst which is the book of Job, were written by pure correspondences; for the knowledge (scientia) of correspondences was then the knowledge of knowledges (scientia scientiarum), and those who could write books abounding in the more significant correspondences, were esteemed above others. The book of Job is of this kind. But the spiritual sense from the correspondences brought together therein does not treat of the holy things of heaven and the church, like the spiritual sense in the prophets, therefore that book is not amongst the books of the Word; nevertheless passages are quoted from it on account of the correspondences in which it abounds.

2781. 'And saddled [his] ass' means the natural man which He prepared. This is clear from the meaning of 'an ass', dealt with below. In man there are things of the will and there are those of the understanding; with the former go those things which spring from good, with the latter those which spring from truth. There are various kinds of animals, by which things of the will springing from good are meant, such as lambs, sheep, goats, she-goats, young bulls, and oxen, see 1823, 2179, 2180; and there are also those by which are meant things of the understanding springing from truth, namely horses, mules, wild asses, camels, and asses, in addition to birds. 'A horse' means the understanding part of the mind, as has been shown above in 2761, 2762; 'a wild ass' means rational truth separated from good, see 1949; and 'a camel' means factual knowledge in general, and 'an ass' factual knowledge in particular, see 1486.

[2] There are two elements which constitute the natural degree of man's mind, or what amounts to the same, the natural man - natural good and natural truth. Natural good is the delight that flows forth from charity and faith, natural truth is knowledge of these. That natural truth is what is meant by 'an ass', and rational truth by 'a mule', becomes clear from the following places:In Isaiah,

A prophecy of the beasts of the south. In the land of distress and repression are the lion and the tiger, and from them come the viper and the flying fiery-serpent. They will bear their riches on the shoulders of young asses, and their treasures on the humps of camels - on a people [who] will not be any use [to them]; for the Egyptians will help in vain and to no advantage. Isaiah 30:6-7.

The expression 'the beasts of the south' is used of those who possess cognitions of good and truth but who make them matters of knowledge, not of life. In reference to those beasts it is said that those people 'bear their riches on the shoulders of young asses, and their treasures on the humps of camels', for the reason that 'young asses' means facts in particular, and 'camels' facts in general. 'The Egyptians', of whom it is said that they will help in vain and to no advantage, means knowledge, see 1164, 1165, 1186. It is evident to anyone that this prophecy has an internal sense and that without this it is understood by nobody, for without the internal sense no one can know what 'the prophecy of the beasts of the south' is, or what 'the lion and the tiger', or what 'the viper and the flying fiery-serpent', or what is meant by the words that 'those beasts were to bear their riches on the shoulders of young asses, and their treasures on the humps of camels', or why the assertion immediately follows that 'the Egyptians will help in vain and to no advantage'. 'Ass' is used with a like meaning in Israel's prophecy concerning Issachar, in Moses,

Issachar is a bony ass lying down between burdens. Genesis 49:14.

[3] In Zechariah,

This will be the plague with which Jehovah will smite all the peoples that wage war against Jerusalem. It will be a plague of the horse, the mule, the camel, and the ass, and every beast. Zechariah 14:12, 15.

'The horse, the mule, the camel, and the ass' means things of the understanding residing in man which will suffer from the plague. This is clear from every single detail before and after those verses, for the subject there is the plagues which are to precede the Last Judgement or. Close of the Age and to which John makes much reference in Revelation, as do the rest of the Prophets in various places. Those who are going to wage war at that time against Jerusalem, that is, against the Lord's spiritual Church and its truths, are meant by those animals. It will be the things of the understanding that will suffer from such plagues

[4] In Isaiah,

Blessed are you who sow beside all waters, who send forth the foot of the ox and the ass. Isaiah 32:20.

'Sowing beside all waters' stands for those who allow themselves to be taught spiritual things - 'waters' meaning spiritual things and so things that constitute an understanding of truth, see 680, 739, 2702. 'Who send forth the foot of the ox and the ass' stands for natural things that are to be of service, 'ox' meaning the natural as regards good, 2180, 2566, 'ass' the natural as regards truth.

[5] In Moses,

Binding his young ass to the vine and the foal ¹ of his she-ass to the choice vine. He washes his vesture in wine and his cloak in the blood of grapes. Genesis 49:11.

This is the prophecy of Jacob, by then Israel, concerning the Lord. 'The vine' and 'the choice vine' stand for the spiritual Church, external and internal, 1069. 'Young ass' stands for natural truth, 'the foal of a she-ass' for rational truth. The reason 'the foal of a she-ass' means rational truth is that 'a she ass' means the affection for natural truth, 1486, while her foal means rational truth, see 1895, 1896, 1902, 1910.

[6] In former times a judge used to ride on a she-ass and his sons on young asses, the reason being that judges represented the goods of the Church and their sons truths derived from those goods. A king however used to ride on a she-mule and his sons on mules, the reason being that kings and their sons represented the truths of the Church, see 1672, 1728, 2015, 2069. The fact that a judge rode on a she-ass is clear in the Book of Judges,

My heart goes out to the law-givers of Israel offering themselves willingly among the people. Bless Jehovah, you who ride on white she-asses, you who sit on Middin. ² Judges 5:9-10.

The fact that judges' sons rode on young asses,

Jair the judge over Israel had thirty sons who rode on thirty young asses. Judges 10:3-4.

And elsewhere in the same book,

Abdon the judge of Israel had forty sons and thirty grandsons who rode on seventy young asses. Judges 12:14.

David said to them, Take with you the servants of your lord and cause Solomon my son to ride on the she-mule which is mine. And they caused Solomon to ride on King David's she-mule. And Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anointed him king in Gihon. 1 Kings 1:33, 38, 44-45.

The fact that the king's sons rode on mules,

All King David's sons arose, and they rode each on his mule and fled because of Absalom. 2 Samuel 13:29.

[7] From all this it is evident that riding on a she-ass indicated the judge, and riding on a she-mule the king; riding on a young ass indicated the judge's sons, and doing so on a mule the king's sons. They indicated these personages because, as has been stated, 'a she-ass' represented and meant the affection for natural good and truth, 'a she-mule' the affection for rational truth, 'an ass or young ass' natural truth itself, and 'a mule' as well as 'the foal of a she-ass' rational truth. This shows what is meant by the prophetical words that refer to the Lord, in Zechariah,

Exult, O daughter of Zion! Rejoice, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King will come to you. He is just and having salvation, humble and riding on an ass, and on a young ass, the foal of she-asses. His dominion will be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth. Zechariah 9:9-10.

The fact that the Lord wished to ride on these when He was about to enter Jerusalem is well known from the Gospels. The event is referred to in Matthew as follows,

Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a she-ass tied, and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to Me. This took place to fulfil what was spoken by the prophet saying, Tell the daughter of Zion, Behold, your King is coming to you, meek seated on a she-ass, and on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden. And they brought the she-ass and the colt and laid their garments on them and set Him on them. Matthew 21:2, 4-5, 7.

[8] 'Riding on an ass' served to indicate that the natural was subordinate, and 'riding on a colt, the foal of a she-ass' that the rational was so; for 'the foal of a she-ass' is similar in meaning to 'a mule', as has been shown above, where Genesis 49:11 is referred to. ³ From this - the spiritual meaning of these animals - and because it was the right of the supreme judge and of the king to ride on them, and at the same time so that He might fulfil the representatives of the Church, the Lord was pleased to ride in this way. His doing so is described in John as follows,

The next day a great crowd who had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, took branches of palm trees, and went to meet Him, and cried, Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel! Jesus found a young ass and sat on it, as it is written, Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your King is coming, sitting on a she-ass's colt! These things however His disciples had not understood at first, but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written of Him, and that they had done these things for Him. John 12:12-16; Mark 11:1-12; Luke 19:28-41.

[9] From an this it may now be clear that every single thing in the Church of that period was representative of the Lord, and consequently of the celestial and spiritual things that are in His kingdom; even the she-ass and the colt of the she-ass were so, which represented the natural man as regards good and truth. The reason for the representation was that the natural man ought to serve the rational, and the rational to serve the spiritual; but the spiritual ought to serve the celestial, and the celestial to serve the Lord. This is the order in which one is subordinated to another.

[10] Because 'an ox and an ass' meant the natural man as regards good and truth many laws were therefore laid down in which oxen and asses are mentioned. At first glance these laws do not seem to be worthy of mention in the Divine Word, but when they are interpreted as to their internal sense, that which is spiritual and of great importance is seen within these laws, such as the following laws in Moses,

If anyone opens a pit, or if anyone digs a pit and does not cover it, and an ox or an ass falls into it, the owner of the pit shall recompense its owner with silver, and the dead animal shall be his. Exodus 21:33-34.

If you meet your enemy's ox or his ass going astray you shall certainly lead it back to him. If you see the ass of one who hates you lying under its burden, and you are disinclined to remove it, you shall certainly help to remove it from it. Exodus 23:4-5; Deuteronomy 22:1, 3.

You shall not see your brother's ass or ox falling down in the road and hide yourself from them; you shall certainly help to lift them. Deuteronomy 22:4.

You shall not plough with an ox and an ass together. You shall not wear mingled material made of wool and linen together. Deuteronomy 22:10-11.

Six days you shall do your works, and on the seventh day you shall rest, in order that your ox and your ass may rest, and the son of your woman servant, and the settler. Exodus 23:12.

Here 'ox and ass' in the spiritual sense means nothing other than natural good and truth.

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