294. For Thou hast created all things, signifies that from Him are all existence and life, and heaven also for those who receive. This is evident from the signification of "to create," as being not only that all things came into existence from the Lord, but also that all life is from Him; and as the spiritual sense of the Word treats only of heaven and the church, therefore "to create" signifies primarily here to reform, thus to give heaven to those who receive, for this is to reform. That the existence of all things is from the Lord, see in the work on Heaven and Hell 7-12, 137); and that all life is from the Lord (n. 9); and in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 278). But here "to create" does not signify natural existence and life, but spiritual existence and life; and this is what is everywhere signified in the Word by "creating;" and for the reason that the existence of heaven and earth is not the end of creation, but a means to the end; the end of creation is that the human race may exist so that from it there may be an angelic heaven; and as this is the end, "to create" signifies to reform, which is to give heaven to those who receive. In the spiritual sense of the Word ends are meant, but in the sense of the letter only the means that involve the ends are spoken of; in this way the spiritual lies hid in the letter of the Word.

[2] That "to create" signifies to reform and regenerate men, and thus to establish the church, can be seen from the passages in the Word where this term occurs, as in the following. In Isaiah:

I will give in the wilderness the cedar of Shittah, and the myrtle, and the oil tree; that they may see and know, and consider and understand together, that the hand of Jehovah hath done this, and the Holy One of Israel hath created it (Isaiah 41:19, 20).

This treats of the establishment of the church among the Gentiles; "wilderness" signifies the absence of good, because of the ignorance of truth, for every good into which man is reformed is given only through truths; "the cedar of shittah" signifies genuine truth; "the myrtle and the oil tree" signify spiritual good and celestial good; whence it is clear what is signified by, "I will give in the wilderness the cedar of shittah, and the myrtle, and the oil tree," when the Gentiles that are not in the good of heaven and of the church, because in ignorance of the truth, are treated of; "that they may see and know, and consider and understand together," signifies the knowledges, understanding, perception, and affection, that are of the love of good and truth; from this signification it is clear that "the Holy One of Israel hath created it" signifies reformation, the that "to create" is to reform.

[3] In the same:

Thus said Jehovah thy Creator, O Jacob, and thy Former, O Israel, for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art Mine. Bring My sons from far, and My daughters from the end of the earth, everyone that is called by My name; into My glory I have created, I have formed, and I have made him. I am Jehovah your Holy One, the Creator of Israel, your King (Isaiah 43:1, 6, 7, 15).

This also treats of the establishment of a church among the Gentiles; and with reference to their reformation Jehovah is called "Creator" and "Former;" therefore it is said, "I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name, thou art Mine." "Bring My sons from far, and My daughters from the end of the earth," signifies the Gentiles that are outside of the church, but that receive the truths and goods of the church from the Lord; "from far" and "from the end of the earth" signify those who are outside of the church, "earth (or land)" meaning the church, "sons" those who receive truths, and "daughters" those who receive goods. These are said to be "created, formed, and made into glory," "glory" meaning the Divine truth that they receive.

[4] In David:

Create for me a clean heart, O God, and renew a firm spirit in the midst of me (Psalms 51:10).

"To create a clean heart" signifies to reform in respect to the good of love; "to renew a firm spirit in the midst of me" signifies to reform in respect to the truth of faith; for "heart" signifies the good of love, and "spirit" a life according to the Divine truth, which is the faith of truth.

[5] In the same:

Wherefore hast Thou created in vain the sons of man? where are Thy former mercies? (Psalms 89:47, 49).

"To create the sons of man" signifies to reform through Divine truth; "the sons of man" are those who are in Divine truths, thus, abstractly, Divine truths.

[6] In the same:

The nations shall fear the name of Jehovah, and all the kings of the earth Thy glory, because Jehovah hath built up Zion. This shall be written for the generation to come; and a people that shall be created shall praise Jah (Psalms 102:15, 16, 18). This treats of reformation; "the nations that shall fear the name of Jehovah" mean those who are in good; and "the kings of the earth" those who are in truths from good; "to build up Zion" signifies to establish the church, "Zion" meaning the church "the people that shall be created and shall praise Jah" signifies all those who are reformed.

[7] In the same:

Thou givest to them, they gather; Thou openest Thine hand, they are satisfied with good. Thou sendest forth Thy spirit, they are created; and Thou renewest the faces of the earth (Psalms 104:28, 30).

It is plain here that "to create" means to reform; for "Jehovah giveth to them, they gather," signifies that they receive the truths that are given by the Lord; "Thou openest Thine hand, they are filled with good," signifies that they receive the good that flows in from the Lord; "Thou sendest forth Thy spirit, they are created," signifies that in respect to the life they are reformed according to Divine truth; "and Thou renewest the faces of the earth" signifies the establishment of the church.

[8] In Isaiah:

Lift up your eyes on high, and see; who hath created these? He that bringeth out their host in number, that calleth them all by name: God from eternity; Jehovah, the Creator of the ends of the earth, wearieth not (Isaiah 40:26, 28).

This also treats of reformation, which is signified by "creating;" "the host that Jehovah doth bring out" signifies all truths and goods; "to call by name" signifies reception according to each one's quality; "to create the ends of the earth" signifies to establish the church, thus to reform those who are therein.

[9] In Ezekiel:

Thou hast been in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering; in the day that thou wast created they were prepared. Thou wast perfect in thy ways in ¹ the day that thou wast created, until perversity was found in thee (Ezekiel 28:13, 15).

This is said of the king of Tyre, by whom those who are in truths and through truths are in good are signified; of such it is said that they "have been in the garden of God, and that every precious stone was their covering;" "garden of God" signifies intelligence, and the "precious stones" here named signify the knowledges of truth and good; these are called a "covering" because they are in the natural man, and the natural man covers the spiritual; these are said to have "been prepared in the day that they were created," that is, in the day that they were reformed. This makes clear what is signified by "thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day thou wast created."

[10] In Isaiah:

Jehovah will create over every dwelling place of Mount Zion, and over her assemblies, a cloud by day, and the brightness of a flame of fire by night; for over all the glory shall be a covering (Isaiah 4:5).

"Zion" signifies the church in respect to the Word; the internal or spiritual sense of the Word in respect to good is meant by its "dwelling place;" the external or literal sense in respect to truths is meant by "the cloud by day," and in respect to good by "the brightness of the flame of fire by night." Because this sense covers and hides the spiritual sense it is called "a covering over all the glory," "glory" meaning the spiritual sense; these are said to be "created" because they are the truths of heaven and the church.

[11] In Malachi:

Hath not one God created us? wherefore do we act perfidiously? (Malachi 2:10).

Here "hath created us" signifies hath reformed that they might be a church; therefore it is said, "wherefore do we act perfidiously?"

[12] In Isaiah:

Thus said God Jehovah, He hath created the heavens, and spreadeth them out; He that stretcheth out the earth; He that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein (Isaiah 42:5).

"Creating the heavens and spreading them out" and "stretching out the earth" signifies to reform; "the heavens" signify both the heavens and the internals of the church; for the internals of the church are the heavens with the men that are in them; "the earth" signifies the external of the church, which is said to be "spread out" and "stretched out" when truths from good are multiplied. It is plain that reformation by truths is signified, for it is said, "He that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein. "

[13] In the same:

Jehovah, creating the heavens, forming the earth and making it; He hath not created it a void. He formed it to be inhabited (Isaiah 45:12, 18).

"The heavens," "the earth," and "to create" have a like signification here as in the passage adduced above; "He hath not created it a void" signifies that it is not without truth and good, in which those are that have been reformed; lack of these is a void; "He hath formed it to be inhabited" signifies that they should live according to good and truth and from them, for "to inhabit" signifies to live.

[14] In the same:

Behold, I create a new heaven and a new earth. Rejoice and exult for ever in that which I create; behold, I will create Jerusalem an exultation, and her people a joy (Isaiah 65:17-18).

"To create a new heaven and a new earth" does not mean a visible heaven and a habitable earth, but a new church, internal and external; "heaven" meaning the internal of the church, and "earth" its external. (What the internal of the church is, and what the external, see in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 246.) It is therefore said, "Behold, I will create Jerusalem an exultation, and her people a joy;" "Jerusalem" is the church, "exultation" its delight from good, and "joy" its delight from truth.

[15] "The new heavens and the new earth" in the same prophet (Isaiah 66:22), and in Revelation (Revelation 21:1) have a like signification; also the following in the first chapter of Genesis:

In the beginning Jehovah created heaven and earth. And the earth was void and empty; and darkness was upon the faces of the deep. And the spirit of God moved upon the faces of the earth. ² And God said, Let there be light; and there was light. And God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them (Genesis 1:1-3, 27).

This treats of the establishment of the first church on this earth; the reformation of the men of that church in respect to their internal and their external is meant in this chapter by the creation of the heaven and the earth. That previously there was no church, because men were without good and truth, is signified by "the earth was void and empty;" and that they were previously in dense ignorance and also in falsities, is signified by "darkness was upon the faces of the deep;" their first enlightenment is signified by "the spirit of God moved upon the faces of the waters," and by "God said, Let there be light, and there was light;" "the spirit of God" signifies Divine truth proceeding from the Lord, and "to move upon the faces of the waters" signifies illustration; the like is signified by "light;" "and there was light" signifies the reception of Divine truth; "God created man into His own image" signifies so that man might be in the love of good and truth, and might correspond to heaven as a likeness of it, since the love of good and truth is "an image of God;" therefore also the angelic heaven is "an image of God;" consequently the angelic heaven in the Lord's sight is as one man (See in the work on Heaven and Hell 59-67, 68-72, 73-77, 78-86, 87-102).

"Male and female created He them" signifies that He reformed them in respect to truth and good, "male" means truth, and "female" good. This makes clear that this and the following chapter describe not the creation of heaven and earth, but the new creation or reformation of the men of the first church, and that like things are meant by "the new heaven and the new earth" and their "creation" in the passages cited just above.

[16] That "creation" in the Word signifies the reformation and establishment of the church, which is effected by means of the Divine truth that proceeds from the Lord, is plain from the following. In John:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and God was the Word. All things were made by Him, and without Him was not anything made that hath been made. In Him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in the darkness, and the darkness apprehended it not. That was the true Light, which lighteth every man coming into the world. The world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory (John 1:1-5, 9-10, 14).

"The Word" means here the Lord in respect to Divine truth; that all things were created by Divine truth is meant by "All things were made by Him, and without Him was not anything made that hath been made;" also by "the world was made by Him." Since "the Word" means the Lord in respect to Divine truth it is said, "In Him was life, and the life was the light of men; that it was the true light," "light" signifying Divine truth, and "life" all intelligence and wisdom from Divine truth; for this constitutes man's very life, and eternal life also is in accordance therewith. The Lord's presence with everyone with His Divine truth, from which are life and light, is meant by "the light shineth in the darkness, and lighteth every man coming into the world;" but that those who are in the falsities of evil do not perceive it, thus do not receive it, is meant by "the darkness apprehended it not," and by "the world knew Him not;" for "darkness" signifies the falsities of evil. It is very plain that it is the Lord in respect to the Divine Human that is here meant by "the Word," for it is said, "And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory," "glory" also signifying the Divine truth. (That all things were created by Divine truth proceeding from the Lord, which is here meant by "the Word," see in the work on Heaven and Hell 137[1-4], 139; and in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 263.) This also makes clear that "to make" or "to create" here also signifies to make man new, or to reform him; for here, like as in the book of Genesis, "light" is immediately mentioned, which signifies Divine truth proceeding, by which all are reformed (See in the work on Heaven and Hell 126-140; and in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 49).

Fotnoter:

5044. 'And the governor of the prison-house gave' means the truth governing in a state of temptations. This is clear from the meaning of 'the governor (or the prince)' as the primary and so governing truth, dealt with below; and from the meaning of 'the prison-house' as the laying waste of falsity, and therefore temptation, dealt with above in 5038, 5039, 5043. What the truth governing in a state of temptations is must first be discussed. With all who are undergoing temptations truth from the Lord is flowing in, and this truth rules and governs their thoughts, uplifting them every time they are given to doubt and also to feelings of despair. This truth is what that governing truth is, and it is the kind of truth which they have learned from the Word and from doctrine and which they themselves have confirmed. Other kinds of truth may also be called on at such times, but these do not govern those persons interiorly. Sometimes the truth governing them does not make itself clearly visible in their understanding but lies obscured, yet continues to govern. For the Lord's Divine flows into that governing truth and in so doing keeps the interior parts of the mind within its domain, so that when it comes out into the light the person undergoing temptation receives comfort from it and is uplifted by it.

[2] Not the actual truth but an affection for it is what the Lord uses to govern those undergoing temptations; for the Divine does not flow into anything except that which is regarded with affection. Truth that has been implanted and become rooted in a person interiorly has been implanted and become rooted there through affection. Absolutely nothing grows there without affection. Truth that has been implanted and become rooted through affection sticks in the mind, and it is recollected through an affection for it. Furthermore when that truth is recollected it also manifests the affection attached to it, an affection which in that person is a reciprocal one. This being what goes on in a person who undergoes temptations, no one is therefore allowed to experience any spiritual temptation until he reaches adult years and so has acquired some truth by means of which he may be governed. Without that truth he goes under, in which case his latter state is worse than his former one. From all this one may see what is implied by the truth governing in a state of temptations, meant by 'the governor of the prison-house'.

[3] The reason 'a prince (or a governor)' means a primary truth is that 'a king' in the internal sense means the truth itself, 1672, 1728, 2015, 2069, 3009, 3670, 4575, 4581, 4789, 4966, and consequently because 'princes' are the king's chief subjects the primary features of that truth are meant by them. For this meaning of 'princes', see 1482, 2089; yet because those two paragraphs have not shown that meaning from other places in the Word, let some be introduced here: In Isaiah,

To us a boy is born, to us a son is given, on whose shoulder will be the government ¹ - the prince of peace, increasing government ² and peace [to which] there will be no end. Isaiah 9:6-7.

This refers to the Lord. 'The government upon his shoulder' means all Divine Truth in the heavens originating in Him, for the heavens are distinguished into separate principalities in keeping with the varieties of truth derived from good, which also explains why angels are called principalities. 'Peace' means the state of bliss in the heavens which inmostly affects what is good and true, 3780. This is why the Lord is called 'the prince of peace' and why it speaks of Him 'increasing government and peace to which there will be no end'.

[4] In the same prophet,

The princes of Zoan are foolish, the wise counsellors of Pharaoh. How do you say to Pharaoh, I am a son of the wise, a son of the kings of old? The princes of Zoan have become fools, the princes of Noph deluded, and they have led Egypt astray, the corner-stone of the tribes. Isaiah 19:11, 13.

This refers to Egypt, by which the Church's factual knowledge is meant, 4749, and so natural truth, which is the last and lowest degree of order. For the same reason Egypt is here called 'the corner-stone of the tribes', for by 'the tribes' are meant all aspects of truth in their entirety, 3858, 3862, 3926, 3939, 4060. Here however 'Egypt' is factual knowledge that perverts the truths known to the Church, and so is truths in the lowest degree of order that have been falsified, meant by 'the princes of Zoan and the princes of Noph'. The reason Egypt calls itself 'a son of the kings of old' is that the factual knowledge which existed in that land had its origin in the truths known to the Ancient Church. Actual truths are meant by 'kings', as shown above, and the truths known to the Ancient Church by 'the kings of old'.

[5] In the same prophet,

Asshur does not think what is right and his heart does not consider what is right, for his heart is to destroy, and to cut off nations not a few, for he says, Are not my princes kings? Isaiah 10:7-8.

'Asshur' stands for reasoning about Divine truths which gives rise to falsities, and so stands for perverted reason, 1186. Truths falsified in this way, that is, falsities, which are the product of reasoning and look altogether like truths, are meant when Asshur says 'Are not my princes kings?' As long as a person's mind is fixed on the historical sense of the letter he cannot see or consequently believe that 'Asshur' means reasoning, and that 'princes who are kings' means major falsities which are regarded as supreme truths. Still less can he believe this if he refuses to entertain the idea that there is something holier and more universal within the Divine Word than that which is seen in the literal sense. Yet in the internal sense 'Asshur' is used to mean in the Word nothing else than reason and reasoning, and 'kings' to mean actual truths, 'princes' the primary features of truth. Also, those in heaven have no knowledge as to what or who 'Asshur' may be, besides which angels put away from themselves the idea of a king or a prince; and when they detect this idea residing with man they transfer it to the Lord and then perceive that which goes forth from the Lord and which is the Lord's in heaven, namely His Divine Truth going forth from His Divine Good.

[6] In the same prophet,

Asshur will fall by the sword, not of man (vir), and a sword, not of man (homo), will devour him. Also his rock will pass away by reason of terror, and his princes will be dismayed by the ensign. Isaiah 31:8-9.

This too refers to Egypt, by which the Church's factual knowledge once it has been perverted is meant. Reasoning based on known facts regarding Divine truths which leads to perversion and falsification is meant by 'Asshur', those perverted and falsified truths being 'his princes'. 'The sword by which Asshur will fall' is falsity engaged in conflict with truth and bringing about the devastation of it, 2799, 4499.

In the same prophet,

The strength of Pharaoh will become shame for you, and trust in the shadow of Egypt ignominy, when his princes will be in Zoan. Isaiah 30:3-4.

'Princes in Zoan' stands for truths that have been falsified, and so stands for falsities, as above.

[7] In the same prophet,

The spoon-bill and the duck will possess it, and the owl and the raven will dwell in it; and he will stretch over it the line of emptiness, and the plumb-line of a waste place. Let them call its nobles who are not there a kingdom, and all its princes will be nothing. Isaiah 34:11-12.

'The spoon-bill', 'the duck', 'the owl', 'the raven' stand for varieties of falsity which arise when Divine truths in the Word are rendered valueless. The desolation and laying waste of truth is meant by 'the line of emptiness and the plumb-line of a waste', while the falsities, which are primary truths so far as the people described here are concerned, are meant by 'its princes'. In the same prophet,

I will render the princes of holiness profane, and I will give Jacob to utter destruction and Israel to reproaches. Isaiah 43:28.

'Rendering the princes of holiness profane' refers to holy truths. The annihilation of the truth known to the Church - the internal Church and the external - is meant by 'giving Jacob to utter destruction and Israel to reproaches', 'Jacob' being the external Church and 'Israel' the internal, see 4286.

[8] In Jeremiah,

There will enter through the gates of this city kings and princes seated on the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they and their princes. Jeremiah 17:25.

Anyone who understands the Word at this point according to its historical sense cannot know that anything deeper and holier lies hidden within these words than the idea that kings and princes will enter through the gates of the city in chariots and on horses, from which he gathers that the duration of the kingdom is meant. But one who is aware of what is meant by 'city' in the internal sense, and what is meant by 'kings', 'princes', 'the throne of David', and 'riding in chariots and on horses' sees deeper and holier matters in this description. For 'the city', which is Jerusalem, means the Lord's spiritual kingdom, 2117, 3654; 'kings' Divine Truths, as shown above; 'princes' the primary features of truth; 'the throne of David' the Lord's heaven, 1888; and 'riding in chariots and on horses' the existence in the Church of a spiritual understanding, 2760, 2761, 3217.

[9] In the same prophet,

O sword against the Chaldeans and against the inhabitants of Babel, and against its princes and against its wise men! O sword against the liars! O sword against its horses and against its chariots! Jeremiah 50:35-37.

'Sword' stands for truth engaged in conflict with falsity, and for falsity in conflict with truth and laying it waste, 2799, 4499. 'The Chaldeans' stands for those who profane truths, and 'the inhabitants of Babel' for those who profane good, 1182, 1283, 1295, 1304, 1307, 1308, 1321, 1322, 1326, 1327 (end). 'Princes' stands for falsities, which to such people are primary truths. 'Horses' stands for the Church's possession of understanding, and 'chariots' for its doctrinal teaching, the laying waste of these being meant by 'a sword against its horses and against its chariots'.

[10] In the same prophet,

How in His anger the Lord covers the daughter of Zion with a cloud! The Lord has swallowed up - He has not spared - all the dwelling-places of Jacob. He has destroyed in His wrath the strongholds of the daughter of Judah; He has cast them down to the ground; He has profaned the kingdom and her princes. The gates have sunk into the ground; He has broken in pieces her bars; her king and princes are among the nations. Lamentations 1:1, 2, 9.

'The daughter of Zion and Judah' stands for the celestial Church, in this case for that Church when it has been destroyed. 'The kingdom' stands for the truths of doctrine there, 2547, 4691, 'king' for truth itself, and 'princes' for the primary features of this truth.

[11] In the same prophet,

Our skins have been blackened like an oven because of the storms of famine; they have ravished women in Zion, virgins in the cities of Judah. Princes have been hung up by their hands. Lamentations 5:10-12.

'Princes hung up by their hands' stands for the fact that truths have been made profane, for being hung up represented the damnation brought about by profanation. And because being hung up represented that profanation the command was also given that when the people went whoring after Baalpeor and worshipped their gods, the princes were to be hung up before the sun, Numbers 25:1-4, since 'to go whoring after Baalpeor and to worship their gods' was to make worship profane.

In Ezekiel,

The king will mourn, and the prince will be wrapped in stupidity, and the hands of the people of the land will be all atremble; I will deal with them in their way. Ezekiel 7:27.

Here likewise 'the king' stands for truth in general, and 'the prince' for the primary features of it.

[12] In the same prophet,

The prince who is in the midst of them will be carried on the shoulder under darkness and will go forth; they will dig through the wall to lead out through it; he will cover his face, so that with the eye he does not see the earth. Ezekiel 12:12.

Here it is quite evident that 'the prince' does not mean a prince but truth known to the Church. When the words 'will be carried on the shoulder under darkness' are used in reference to it, the meaning is that total power is used to bear away among falsities, 'darkness' meaning falsities. 'Covering the face' means that truth is completely out of sight; 'so that with the eye he does not see the earth' means that nothing of the Church is visible, 'earth' or 'land' meaning the Church, see 661, 1066, 1067, 1262, 1413, 1607, 1733, 1850, 2117, 4535. In Hosea,

The children of Israel will sit many days with no king and no prince, and no sacrifice, and no pillar, and no ephod, and no teraphim. Hosea 3:4.

[13] And in David,

All glorious is the king's daughter within, in her clothing with gold interweavings; in embroidered robes she will be led to the king. Instead of your fathers will be your sons; you will set them as princes in the whole earth. Psalms 45:13-14, 16.

'The king's daughter' means the Lord's spiritual kingdom. It is called His spiritual kingdom by virtue of the Lord's Divine truth, which in this instance is described by means of 'clothing consisting of gold interweavings and of embroidered robes'. 'Sons' are the truths of that kingdom which are derived from the Lord's Divine, which are going to be 'the princes', that is, the primary features of it.

'The prince' who is described - he and his possession in the New Jerusalem and in the new land - in Ezekiel 44:3; 45:7-8, 17; 46:8, 10, 12, 16, 18; 48:21, means, in general, truth that is derived from the Lord's Divine. For 'the New Jerusalem' in these places, 'the New Temple', and 'the new land' are used to mean the Lord's kingdom in heaven and on earth, which kingdom is described here in Ezekiel by means of representatives such as figure elsewhere in the Word.

Fotnoter: