240. But that "naked" signifies those who are without the understanding of truth because without the will of good, is evident from the passages in the Word where "naked" and "nakedness" occur, which will be cited below. This is what "naked" and "nakedness" signify, because "garments" signify truths that are of the understanding, and he that is without truths is also without good, for all spiritual good is procured by means of truths; without truths, or except by means of truths, there is no spiritual good; spiritual good is charity. "Naked" and "nakedness" signify lacking in, or the lack of, intelligence and love, thus of the understanding and will of good; also for the reason that garments cover the body and flesh, and "body" and "flesh" signify good, therefore "garments" signify the things that cover good.

[2] There is the understanding of truth, and the understanding of good; the understanding of truth is the understanding of such things as are of faith, and the understanding of good is the understanding of such things as are of love and charity. There is also the will of truth and the will of good; the will of truth is with those who are of the Lord's spiritual kingdom; but the will of good with those who are of His celestial kingdom. The latter, because they are in love to the Lord, and from this in mutual love, which is to them charity towards the neighbor, have truths inscribed on their hearts, and thence do them; and what proceeds out of the heart is out of the will of good, "heart" meaning the will of good. But those who are in love towards the neighbor, which love is charity, have truths inscribed not on their hearts but on the memory, and therefore on the intellectual mind, and what proceeds therefrom out of the affection is the will of truth. Thus it is that spiritual angels are distinguished from celestial angels. The latter appear naked in heaven, but the former clothed. Celestial angels appear naked because they have no need of the memory to retain truths, nor of understanding therefrom to comprehend them, because they have them inscribed on the heart, that is, on the love and will, and thence see them. But spiritual angels appear clothed because they have truths inscribed on the memory and thence on the understanding, and truths of the memory and of the understanding therefrom correspond to garments; they therefore all appear clothed according to their intelligence. (That angels are thus clothed, see in the work on Heaven and Hell 177-182.) From this it can be seen what "naked" signifies in both senses, namely, in the one sense it signifies those who are in celestial good, but in the other those who are not in good because not in truths.

[3] But these things can be better seen from the passages in the word where "naked" and "nakedness" occur, which now follow. In Isaiah:

Jehovah said to the prophet, Put off the sackcloth from upon thy loins, and put off thy shoe from upon thy foot. And he did so. Then Jehovah said, Like as My servant Isaiah hath gone naked and barefoot, so shall the king of Assyria lead the captivity of Egypt, and the crowd of Cush that is to be carried away, lads and old men, naked and barefoot, and with buttocks bare, the nakedness of Egypt (Isaiah 20:2-4).

What of the church and of heaven lies hidden in these words no one can see unless he knows their spiritual sense; for in every particular of the Word there is something of the church and of heaven, because the Word is spiritual; this shall therefore be explained. By "prophet" the doctrine of the church is here meant; "putting off the sackcloth from his loins," or presenting the loins naked, means to disclose filthy loves; the customary "sackcloth" of the prophet here means the breeches that cover, and "the loin" signify such loves; "putting off the shoe from upon his foot," or unshoeing the soles of the foot, signifies to disclose the filthy things of nature; that "the king of Assyria shall lead the captivity of Egypt, and the crowd of Cush that is to be carried away," means that the perverted rational will confirm evils and falsities by means of knowledges [scientifica] and by means of fallacies; "lads and old men" means by means of all things both general and particular; "naked and barefoot" means that they are deprived of all truth and all good; "buttocks bare" means the evils of self-love; "the nakedness of Egypt" means falsities therefrom. From this it is clear what things of the church and of heaven are here treated of, namely, that the perverted rational, which is the rational that denies God and attributes all things to nature, confirms itself by means of knowledges [scientifica] and fallacies, until it is destitute of all the understanding of truth and the will of good.

(That "prophet" in the Word means doctrine, see Arcana Coelestia, n. 2534, 7269;

That the "loins" signify loves in both senses, n. 3021, 4280, 5059;

That "feet" signify the natural things with man, and "the soles of the feet" the things that are in ultimates, n. 2162, 3147, 3761, 3986, 4280, 4938-4952;

That "shoes" signify these same things in respect to their covering, n. 1748, 2162, 4835, 6844;

That "the king of Assyria" signifies the rational in both senses, n. 119, 1186;

That "Egypt" signifies the faculty of knowing [scientificum] of the natural man, in both senses, good and bad, n. 1164, 1165, 1186, 1462, 5700, 5702, 6015, 6651, 6679, 6683, 6692, 7296, 9340, 9391.

That "Cush" signifies the fallacies of the senses, n. 1163, 1164, 1166)

[4] In Ezekiel:

When I passed by thee, and saw thee, I covered thy nakedness, and I washed thee, and I clothed thee. But thou didst trust in thy beauty and play the harlot, and thou hast not remembered the things ¹ of thy youth, when thou wast naked and bare; thou hast committed whoredom with the sons of Egypt, and with the sons of Asshur. And thou hast multiplied thy whoredom even unto Chaldea. Moreover, thy nakedness was revealed through thy whoredoms. Therefore they shall stone thee with stones, and shall cut thee in pieces with swords; and shall burn up thine houses with fire (Ezekiel 16:6).

Jerusalem is here treated of, by which the church in respect to doctrine is meant, and these and many other expressions in the same chapter describe what the church was in its beginning, and what it became when it turned away from good and from truth. What the church was when it was established by the Lord, thus what it was in the beginning, is described by these words, "When I passed by thee, and saw thee, I covered thy nakedness, I washed thee and clothed thee." "To cover the nakedness" signifies to remove the evils of the will and the falsities of the understanding; "to wash" signifies to purify from evils, and "to clothe" signifies to instruct in truths. But what the church became when it turned away from good and truth is described by what follows; "thou didst trust in thy beauty" signifies intelligence from one's own [ex proprio], and that this gave delight; "committing whoredom" signifies that thus it was imbued with falsities; "committing whoredom with the sons of Egypt, and with the sons of Asshur," signifies falsifications confirmed by knowledges [scientifica] and by things rational therefrom; "multiplying whoredom even unto Chaldea" signifies even to the profanation of truth. This shows what is signified by "Moreover thy nakedness was revealed through thy whoredoms," namely, that the church through falsities and falsifications was deprived of all the understanding of truth. "They shall stone thee with stones" signifies that the church will die through falsities; "they shall cut thee in pieces with swords" signifies that the church will utterly die through the falsifications of truth; and "they shall burn up thy houses with fire" signifies that it will wholly perish through infernal loves, "houses" meaning all things with man, and "fire" meaning infernal love. From this it is clear what is contained in these words relating to heaven and the church, and that this can be seen only from the spiritual sense. (That "to wash" signifies to purify from evils and falsities, see Arcana Coelestia 3147[1-10], 10237, 10240, 10243; that "to clothe" signifies to instruct in truths, n. 1073, 2576, 5248, 5319, 5954, 9212, 9216, 9952, 10536; that "beauty" signifies intelligence, n. 3080, 4985, 5199, here intelligence from one's own [ex proprio]. That "to commit whoredom" means to become imbued with falsities, see above, n. 141; that "Egypt" means the faculty of knowing [scientificum]; and "Asshur" the rational, see just above. That "Chaldea" is the profanation of truth, Arcana Coelestia 1182, 1283, 1295, 1304, 1306-1308, 1321, 1322, 1326; that "to stone with stones" signifies to die through falsities, n. 5156, 7456, 8575, 8799; that "sword" signifies falsity combating against truth and destroying it, n. 2799, 4499, 7102; therefore "to cut in pieces with swords" means to die utterly through falsifications of truth. That "fire" signifies infernal love, n. 1861, 5071, 6314, 6832, 7575, 10747; and that "house" signifies the whole man, and the things which are with him, thus that are of his understanding and will, n. 710, 2231, 2233, 2559, 3128, 3538, 4973, 5023, 6690, 7353, 7848, 7910, 7929, 9150. From this it is clear what is signified by "they shall burn up thy houses with fire.")

[5] In Hosea:

Strive with your mother, that she may put away her whoredoms and her adulteries; lest I strip her naked, and make her as the wilderness, as a land of dryness, and let her die with thirst; and on her sons I will not have compassion, because they are the sons of whoredoms (Hosea 2:2-4).

Here also the church fallen into falsities and evils is treated of; "the mother with whom they should strive" signifies the church; "whoredoms" and "adulteries" signify falsities and evils therefrom; "to make her as the wilderness, and as a land of dryness," signifies to be without good and truth; "to let her die with thirst" signifies a total lack of truth; "her sons whom I will not have compassion on" signify all the falsities thereof in general, and they are therefore called "sons of whoredoms." (That "mother" signifies the church, see Arcana Coelestia 289, 2691, 2717, 3703, 4257, 5581, 8897; that "wilderness" signifies where there is no good, because no truth, n. 2708, 4736, 7055; "a land of dryness" signifies where there is no truth, because "water" signifies the truth of faith, n. 2702, 3058, 5668, 8568, 10238; that "to cause to die with thirst" signifies to perish from the lack of truth, n. Arcana Coelestia 8568[1-10] end. That "sons" signify the affections of truth and truths in general, n. 2362, 3963, 6729, 6775, 6779, 9055; thus, in the opposite sense, the affections of falsity and falsities in general. From this it can be seen what is signified by "stripping her naked," namely, that the church will be without good and truth.)

[6] In Lamentations:

Jerusalem hath sinned a sin; therefore all that honored her hold her vile, because they have seen her nakedness (Lamentations 1:8).

In Ezekiel:

Oholah, which is Samaria, committed whoredom with the Egyptians and with the sons of Asshur; these uncovered her nakedness, they took her sons and daughters, and her they finally slew with the sword; therefore will I give thee into the hand of those whom thou hatest, that they may deal with thee in hatred, and take away all thy labor, and leave thee naked and bare, that the nakedness of thy whoredoms may be uncovered (Ezekiel 23:4, 8-10, 18, 28-29).

In this chapter Samaria, which is called "Oholah," and Jerusalem, which is called "Oholibah," are treated of, and by both the church is signified. "Samaria," where the sons of Israel were, signifies the church in which there are not truths but falsities, and "Jerusalem" the church where there are not goods but evils. What is signified by "committing whoredom with the Egyptians, and with the sons of Asshur," and by "slaying her daughters and sons with the sword," was explained above. From this it is clear that "leaving her naked and bare" signifies without truth and good.

[7] In Isaiah:

The Lord will make bald the crown of the head of the daughters of Zion, and Jehovah will make naked their buttocks (Isaiah 3:17).

"The daughters of Zion" signify the celestial church and the things of that church, but here that church perverted. "The crown of their head which shall be made bald" signifies intelligence of which the church shall be deprived; and "the buttocks which shall be made naked" signify the love of evil and falsity.

[8] In Nahum:

Woe to the city of bloods; it is all full of lies and rapine, because of the multitude of her whoredoms. I will uncover thy skirts upon thy faces; and will show the nations thy nakedness, and the kingdoms thy disgrace (Nahum 3:1, 4-5).

"The city of bloods" signifies the doctrine of falsity which offers violence to the good of charity.

[9] In Habakkuk:

Woe unto him that maketh his companion drink, also making him drunken; that thou mayest look on their nakednesses; drink thou also, that thy foreskin may be uncovered (Habakkuk 2:15-16).

"To make a companion drink, and drunken," signifies to so imbue one with falsities that he does not see the truth; "to look on nakednesses" means so that falsities which are of the understanding and evils which are of the will are seen; "that the foreskin may be uncovered" means so that filthy loves are seen. (That "to drink" is to be instructed in truths, see Arcana Coelestia 3069, 3772, 4017, 4018, 8562, 9412; in the contrary sense, therefore, it means to be imbued with falsities. That "to be made drunken" means to become insane from falsities, thus not to see truths, n. 1072; that "the foreskin" signifies corporeal and earthly loves, n. 4462, 7045) From this it can be seen what is signified by:

Noah's drinking wine and becoming drunken, so that he lay naked in the midst of his tent, and that Ham laughed at the nakedness of his father; but Shem and Japheth covered his nakedness, and turned away their faces that they might not see the nakedness of their father (Genesis 9:21-23).

(But these things may be seen explained in the Arcana Coelestia, where they are treated of.)

[10] In Lamentations:

O daughter of Edom, the cup shall pass over unto thee also; thou shalt be drunken, and shall be made naked (Lamentations 4:21).

Here, "being drunken and made naked" signify the like as above. (But who those are who are meant by "Edom," see Arcana Coelestia, n. 3322, 8314.) In Isaiah:

Daughter of Babylon and of Chaldea, sit upon the earth. Take the millstone, and grind meal; uncover thy locks, uncover the thigh, pass through the rivers. Thy nakedness shall be uncovered, yea, thy reproach shall be seen (Isaiah 47:1-3).

By "the daughter of Babylon and of Chaldea" those are meant who profane the goods and truths of the church. "To grind meal" means to falsify truths; "to uncover the locks and the thigh" means to be deprived of the intelligence of truth and of the will of good; the like is meant by "passing through the rivers," and "uncovering nakedness."

[11] Because "nakedness" signified the deprivation of the understanding of truth and of the will of good, it was commanded:

That Aaron and his sons should not ascend by steps upon the altar, that their nakedness be not discovered thereon (Exodus 20:26);

Also that they should make them linen breeches to cover the flesh of their nakedness, and that these should be upon them when they went in unto the tent of meeting, and when they came near to the altar, and that otherwise they should bear iniquity and die (Exodus 28:42-43).

From this it is clear what is signified by the words in the following verse of this chapter: "I counsel thee to buy of Me white garments, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness be not manifest." Also in the following passages of this book, of Revelation:

Blessed is he that is wakeful and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and his shame be seen (Revelation 16:15).

[12] Moreover, "the naked" in the Word mean those also who are not in truths and thence not in good, being ignorant of truths and yet longing for them. This is the case with those within the church when those who teach are in falsities, and with those outside of the church who do not have the Word and consequently do not know truths and thence know nothing about the Lord. Such are meant in the following passages.

In Isaiah:

Is not this the fast that I choose, To break bread to the hungry, and when thou seest the naked that thou cover him? (Isaiah 58:6-7).

In Ezekiel:

He giveth his bread to the hungry, and covereth the naked with a garment (Ezekiel 18:7);

and in Matthew:

I was naked, and ye clothed Me not (Matthew 25:43).

"To cover with a garment," and "to clothe," signify to instruct in truths. (That "garments" are truths, see above, n. 195. That "naked" signifies also the good of innocence, see Arcana Coelestia 165, 8375, 9960; and in the work on Heaven and Hell 179, 180, 280.)

Mga talababa:

9412. 'And ate and drank' means being told about the good and truth of worship. This is clear from the meaning of 'eating' as being joined to and making good their own, dealt with in 2187, 2343, 3168, 3513 (end), 3596, 3832, 4745, 5643; and from the meaning of 'drinking' as being joined to and making truth their own, dealt with in 3089, 3168, 4017, 4018, 5709, 8562. The reason why being told about is also meant - that is to say, being told about good is meant by 'eating', and being told about truth by 'drinking' - is that spiritual food consists in every good of faith that is a source of wisdom, while spiritual drink consists in every truth of faith that is a source of intelligence, 56-58, 681, 1480, 3069, 3114, 3168, 3772, 4792, 5147, 5293, 5340, 5342, 5410, 5426, 5487, 5576, 5579, 5582, 5588, 5655, 5915, 8562, 9003. This explains why feasts, banquets, midday meals, and suppers were instituted among the ancients, to the end that such good and truth belonging to wisdom and intelligence might bind them into fellowship with one another, 3596, 3832, 5161, 7836, 7996, 7997.

[2] It also explains why banquets, midday meals, and suppers in the Word mean instances of being bound together in faith and love, as in Matthew,

Many will come from the east and the west and will recline with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 8:11.

In Luke,

Jesus said to the disciples, You will eat and drink at My table in My kingdom. Luke 22:30.

In the same gospel,

Blessed are the servants whom the Lord comes and finds watching. Truly, I say to you that He will gird Himself and make them sit down, and He Himself will come and minister to them. Luke 12:37.

In John,

The disciples asked Jesus, saying, Master, eat. But He said to them, I have food to eat of which you do not know. John 4:31-32.

In the same gospel,

Jesus said, I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread he will live forever. John 6:51.

Heavenly bread is plainly meant here. Heavenly bread consists in all the good of love and faith which comes from the Lord, 2165, 2177, 3464, 3478, 3735, 3813, 4211, 4217, 4735, 4976, 5915, 6118, 9323.

[3] The fact that being told about the good and truth of faith is meant by 'eating and drinking' is clear from the following places: In Luke,

Then you will begin to say, We ate in Your presence and we drank; and You taught in our streets. But He will say, I say to you, I do not know where you come from; depart from Me, all you workers of iniquity. Luke 13:26-27.

'Eating and drinking in the Lord's presence' stands for giving instruction from the Word regarding forms of the good and the truths of faith. 'Teaching in the streets' stands for preaching truths from the Lord's Word, for in former times preaching took place in the streets, because truths composing the teachings of the Church are meant by 'the streets', 2336.

[4] In Isaiah,

Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy, and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend money on that which is not bread, and your labour on that which does not satisfy? Pay thorough attention to Me and eat what is good, that your soul may delight itself in fatness. Incline your ear and come to Me; hear, that your soul may live. Lo, I have given Him as a witness to the peoples, a Prince and Lawgiver to the peoples. ¹ Isaiah 55:1-5.

Here it is evident that 'drinking' and 'eating' mean being told things by the Lord, and that 'the waters', 'wine', 'milk', 'bread', and 'fatness' are forms of the truth and the good of faith which come from Him, for it says, 'Incline your ear, come to Me; hear, that your soul may live. Lo, I have given Him as a witness to the peoples, a Prince and a Lawgiver to the peoples'.

[5] In Ezekiel,

Behold, I am breaking the rod of bread in Jerusalem, so that they may eat bread by weight and with anxiety, and drink water by measure and with dismay, and may be in want of bread and water, and waste away on account of their iniquity. Ezekiel 4:16-17.

'Eating bread' and 'drinking water' stand for receiving instruction in forms of the good and the truths of faith, 9323. Something similar occurs in Amos,

Behold, the days are going to come, in which I will send a famine on the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but for hearing the words of Jehovah. Amos 8:11.

'A famine of bread' and 'a thirst for water' are a scarcity and lack of the cognitions or knowledge of goodness and truth, see 3364, 4958, 5277, 5279, 5281, 5300, 5360, 5376, 5415, 5568, 5579, 5893, 6110, 8576. All this now makes clear what the meaning is of the words which say that the disciples' eyes were opened and they recognized the Lord when the Lord broke the bread and gave it to them, Luke 24:29-31. For in the spiritual world 'breaking the bread and giving it to them' means instructing them in the good and truth of faith, by means of which the Lord is seen. It also makes clear what the meaning is of 'the bread and wine' and 'eating and drinking' in the Holy Supper, and what the meaning is of the Lord's words to the disciples, after He had instituted that Supper, that He would not drink of that fruit of the vine until the day when He would drink it new with them in the Father's kingdom, Matthew 26:26-29. The reason why 'eating and drinking' means being told about the good and truth of worship is that after they had offered sacrifices they also ate and drank from them, and sacrifices represented all worship in general, 9391.

Mga talababa:

9961. 'From the loins even to the thighs they shall be' means the range of those things, that is to say, of those composing that more external level of conjugial love, meant by 'the linen undergarments'. This is clear from the meaning of 'the loins' and 'the thighs' as those things which constitute conjugial love, 'the loins' those that belong to the more internal levels of conjugial love, 'the thighs' those that belong to the more external levels, so that the range of that love from internal to external levels is meant. The reason why the more internal levels of that love are meant by 'the loins' is that these are above; and the reason why the more external levels are meant by 'the thighs' is that these are below. For parts of a person that are above mean things which are more internal, and parts that are below mean those which are more external; this is why in the Word more internal things are meant by higher ones, and more external by lower ones, see 3084, 4599, 5146, 8325. The higher parts of a person correspond to celestial and spiritual things, which are the more internal ones, and the lower parts correspond to natural things, which are the more external. This is why natural things are meant by 'the feet', 2162, 3147, 3986, 4382, 4938-4952. And since the lower part of the loins which leads down towards the feet is understood by 'the thighs' the more external or lower levels of conjugial love are meant by them, see 4277, 4280.

[2] The loins in general however mean conjugial love, 3021, 3294, 4575, 5050-5062; they have this meaning by virtue of their correspondence. Regarding the correspondence with heaven of everything present with a human being, see what has been shown abundantly in the places referred to in 9276(end), 9280. The words 'range of conjugial love from internal to external levels' are used because all aspects of love and all matters of faith, or what amounts to the same thing, all those of good and all those of truth, have a wide range in the heavens; for all who are there are joined together in accord with the degree of similarity between the truths of their faith and the forms of good of their love. A range such as this exists in each separate heaven. But the range in each heaven also extends into heavens that are below, because all the heavens make one. Indeed they extend right down to mankind, in order that mankind also may make one with the heavens. This range is what is meant by the range from higher or more internal levels to lower or more external ones. The higher or more internal levels are called celestial and spiritual, and the lower or more external ones are called natural or worldly.

[3] As regards conjugial love specifically, whose range is the subject here, this love is fundamental to all other kinds of love; it descends from the marriage of good and truth in the heavens. And since the marriage of good and truth exists in and makes the heavens, truly conjugial love constitutes heaven itself with a person. But the marriage of good and truth in the heavens descends from the joining of the Lord to the heavens; for what emanates from the Lord and flows into the heavens is the good of love, and what is received there by the angels is the truth springing from it, thus truth which originates in good or in which there is good. This is why in the Word the Lord is called bridegroom and husband, and heaven together with the Church is called bride and wife.

[4] All this makes clear how holy marriages are in heaven, and how profane adulterous relationships are there. For in themselves marriages are so holy that there is nothing holier, and are so for the added reason that they are the seed-bed of the human race, and the human race is the seed-bed of heaven, since all people who have led an angelic life in the world go there. On the other hand adulterous relationships are so profane that nothing is more profane, because they are destructive of heaven and the Church with a person. For the truth of all this, see what has been stated and shown in 2727-2759 regarding marriages and regarding adulterous situations.

[5] All this once again makes it clear why foul and hellish things are meant by the kinds of 'nakedness' dealt with in 9960 above, and why it was commanded so strictly that when they ministered Aaron and his sons should be wearing the undergarments covering the loins, and that if they did not they would die, for it says,

Make for them linen undergarments to cover their naked flesh; from the loins even to the thighs they shall be. And they shall be on Aaron and on his sons when they go into the tent of meeting or when they approach the altar to minister in the holy place, that they may not bear iniquity and die. It shall be the statute of an age ⁶ for him and his seed after him.

[6] It should be recognized therefore that by conjugial love all celestial and spiritual love is meant, because truly conjugial love, as has been shown above, is fundamental to all other kinds of love. People therefore in whom that fundamental love is present have all other loves belonging to heaven and the Church present in them; for as has been stated, it descends from the marriage of good and truth in the heavens, the marriage that makes heaven. This also explains why heaven is compared in the Word to a marriage, and is also actually called a marriage. From this too it is evident why precautions were taken to prevent the nakedness of Aaron or his sons from being visible while they ministered; for their nakedness served to mean all loves contrary to heavenly loves, which in general are called self-love and love of the world when they are the ends in view, and are foul and hellish loves. People at the present day have no knowledge that all this is so because they are steeped in these loves and take delight in nothing except that which arises from them. So it is that when spiritual love and celestial love are mentioned they are perplexed, not knowing what they may be, nor consequently what heaven may be; and perhaps they are astonished when they hear and consider that spiritual and celestial love separated from self-love and love of the world holds eternal happiness within it that is indescribable.