412. And hide us from the face of him that sitteth upon the throne, and from the anger of the Lamb. That this signifies, lest they should suffer direful things from the influx of Divine good united to the Divine truth proceeding from the Lord, is plain from the signification of, "hide us," when it is said by those in whom the goods and truths of the church are destroyed by evils of life and the falsities thence, as denoting, lest they should suffer direful things, concerning which we shall speak presently; from the signification of, "from the face of Him that sitteth upon the throne," as denoting the Lord as to Divine good in heaven; that face, when said of the Lord, denotes the Divine love, from which the Divine good in heaven is, will be plain from the passages in the Word to be adduced presently, and that, "Him that sitteth upon the throne" denotes the Lord as to Divine good in heaven, may be seen above (n. 297, 343); and from the signification of, "the anger of the Lamb," as denoting the casting into hell by the influx of Divine truth proceeding from the Lord. That the anger of Jehovah or the Lord signifies this, is evident from the passages in the Word to be adduced in the following article. Moreover, that the Lord alone is meant by Him that sitteth upon the throne, and by the Lamb; the Lord as to Divine good by Him that sitteth upon the throne, and the Lord as to Divine truth by the Lamb, may be seen above (n. 297, 343). That the anger of the Lamb is mentioned, is not that the Lord, who is meant by Him that sitteth on the throne and by the Lamb, is angry, for He is the Divine good itself, and this cannot be angry, for anger can have no place in essential good; but it is thus said in the sense of the letter of the Word for reasons which we shall explain elsewhere; here it shall only be shown that the face of Jehovah or of the Lord signifies the Divine love, and thence the Divine good in heaven and in the church; and, in the opposite sense, by setting His face against any one, and by concealing and hiding His face, is meant the same as by wrath and anger; also, that by the face, when said of man, are meant the interiors of his mind, and affection in both senses.

[2] That the face, when said of Jehovah or the Lord, signifies the Divine love, and thence the Divine good, is plain from the following passages.

In David:

"Make thy faces to shine upon thy servant; save me for thy mercy's sake" (Psalms 31:16).

To make the faces shine, signifies to enlighten Divine truth from Divine love; that this is signified by, to make the faces shine, is because the Divine truth, which proceeds from the Lord as a Sun in the angelic heaven, communicates all the light there, and also enlightens the minds of the angels, and fills them with wisdom; therefore the faces of the Lord, in the proper sense, is the Sun of the angelic heaven; for the Lord appears to the angels of the interior heavens as a Sun, and this from His Divine love, for love in the heavens, when it is presented before the eyes, appears as fire, but the Divine love, as a Sun; from that Sun proceed both heat and light, and that heat is the Divine good, and that light is the Divine truth. From these things it is evident that by making Thy faces shine upon Thy servant, is signified to enlighten the Divine truth from the Divine good; therefore also it is added, "save me for thy mercy's sake"; mercy being of the Divine good. (But concerning the sun in the angelic heaven, and concerning the heat and light thence, see the work concerning Heaven and Hell - concerning the Sun there, n.116-125, and concerning the heat and light thence, n. 126-140.)

[3] In the same:

"Many say, Who will shew us good? lift up upon us the light of thy faces, O Jehovah" (Psalms 4:6).

In the same:

"They shall walk, O Jehovah, in the light of thy faces" (Psalms 89:15).

In the same:

"Bring us back, O God, and cause thy faces to shine, that we may be saved" (Psalms 80:3, 7, 19).

And in the same:

"God be merciful unto us, and bless us; and cause his faces to shine upon us" (Psalms 67:1).

By the light of the faces of Jehovah or of the Lord, is meant the Divine truth from the Divine love, as said above, and thence intelligence and wisdom, for from the Divine truth, or the Divine light in the heavens, are all the intelligence and wisdom, both of angels and men; hence by making Thy faces to shine upon us, by lifting up upon us the light of Thy faces, and by causing Thy faces to shine, is signified to enlighten in Divine, truth, and to gift with intelligence and wisdom.

[4] The same is signified in the blessing of the sons of Israel, in Moses:

"Jehovah bless thee, and keep thee; Jehovah make his faces shine upon thee, and be merciful unto thee; Jehovah lift up his faces upon thee, and give thee peace" (Num. 6:24-26).

By, making His faces shine, and being merciful, is signified to enlighten in Divine truth, and to impart intelligence and wisdom; and by lifting up His faces, and giving peace is signified to fill with Divine good, and to gift with love. Both are necessary to make man wise; for all those who are in the spiritual world are enlightened by the light which [proceeds] from the Lord as a Sun, but still they alone become intelligent and wise, who are at the same time in love, because the good of love receives truth, for they are conjoined since they mutually agree with and love each other. They only, therefore, see the Sun in heaven who are in love; others [see] only the light. To be merciful, which is said of the enlightenment of the faces, is also said of truth in the Word, and peace, which is said of the lifting up of the faces, is said of good.

[5] Because the Lord's Divine love appears as a Sun in heaven, and thence proceeds the light there, therefore:

"When the Lord was transfigured before Peter, James, and John, his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment became as the light" (Matthew 17:1, 2).

And also when He appeared to John:

His countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength (Apoc. 1:16).

By His raiment, which became as the light, is signified Divine truth; for raiment in the Word signifies truth, and this because all the angels are clothed by the Lord according to their reception of Divine truth; their garments also are from the light of heaven, consequently shining, and bright, and the light of heaven, as was said, is Divine truth. Hence it is plain why the Lord's raiment when He was transfigured became as the light (but concerning these things more may be seen in the work concerning Heaven and Hell 177-182; also above, n. 64, 195, 271, 395).

[6] In Matthew:

Jesus said of the boy whom he had placed in the midst of his disciples, "Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; I say unto you, That their angels in the heavens do always behold the face of my Father who is in the heavens" (18:10).

Here it is said that their angels behold, because there are spirits and angels with every man, and according to the quality of the man, such are the spirits and angels. With infant boys there are angels from the inmost heaven, who see the Lord as a Sun; for they are in love to Him, and in innocence; this is meant in a proximate sense by, their angels behold the face of His Father. By the face of the Father is meant the Divine love which was in the Lord, consequently, the essential Divine, which is Jehovah, for the Father was in Him, and He in the Father, and they were one, as He Himself teaches. But these same words in the purely spiritual sense signify, that the Lord, as to His Divine good, is in the good of innocence, for this is signified by an infant boy in the spiritual sense, and by the face of the Father [is signified] the Lord's Divine good. The same thing is taught in the Apocalypse concerning the Lord's servants, by whom are meant those who are in Divine truths, from their being in the good of love and charity:

"The throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in the New Jerusalem; and his servants shall serve him; and they shall see his face" (22:3, 4).

But concerning these words see the explanation in the following chapters.

[7] In Isaiah:

"In all their straitness he was straitened, and the angel of his faces delivered them; for his love and his pity he redeemed them; and he took them, and carried them all the days of eternity" (63:9).

The Lord is here treated of, who is called the angel of the faces of Jehovah from the Divine truth which is from His Divine love; for by an angel in the Word is signified Divine truth, whence angels are also called gods (as may be seen above, n. 130, 200, 302); and by the faces of Jehovah is meant the Divine love which is in the Lord, whence it is also said, "for his love and his pity he redeemed them; and he took them, and carried them all the days of eternity," these things being of the Divine love. The Lord, as to His Human, was the Divine truth, from which He fought with the hells, and by which He subjugated them. Hence it is that He is called an angel, that is as to His Divine Human. The Lord is evidently treated of in that chapter, and His combats with the hells, and the subjugation of them.

[8] In David:

"Thou hidest them in the secret of thy faces from the loftiness of man; thou concealest them in thy pavilion from the strife of tongues" (Psalms 31:20).

To hide them in the secret of Thy faces, denotes, in the Divine good not appearing before others; and to conceal in Thy pavilion, denotes [to be kept] in the Divine truth. The loftiness of man, and the strife of tongues, denote the evils of falsity, and the falsities of evil; for loftiness is said of evils because they are of self-love; and man signifies truth and falsity; the strife of tongues denotes the falsity of evil. (What the evil of falsity and the falsity of evil are, may be seen in the Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 21.)

[9] In the same:

"Thou hast set our iniquities before thee, our secret in the light of thy faces" (Psalms 90:8).

"The light of thy faces," denotes the light of heaven from the Lord as the Sun there. Because this light is the very Divine truth from which are all intelligence and wisdom, therefore the quality of whatever comes into this light is manifested as in clear day; hence it is, that when the evil come into this light, they appear entirely according to their quality, deformed and monstrous according to the evils concealed in them. From these things it is evident what is meant by, "Thou hast set our iniquities before thee, and our secret in the light of thy faces."

[10] In Jeremiah:

"Proclaim these words toward the north, and say, Return, thou backsliding Israel, [and] I will not cause my faces to fall upon you; for I am merciful" (3:12).

By my faces here also is signified the Divine love, or every good which is of love; and by not causing the faces to fall is signified not to let fall and to cease, for when the countenance falls, it then ceases to regard; hence it is evident what is signified by, "I will not cause my faces to fall upon you." Therefore also it is said, "for I am merciful," mercy being the Divine love towards the wretched. By, proclaim towards the north, is signified, to those who are in falsities and thence in evils; therefore it is also said, return, O backsliding Israel. The reason why the north signifies those is, because those who are in falsities and thence in evils, dwell in the northern quarter in the spiritual world. (Concerning falsities and the evils thence, see the Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 21.) The reason why the bread upon the table in the tabernacle was called the bread of faces, and the table itself the table of faces (Exodus 25:30; Num. 4:7), was, because by bread there, just as by the faces of Jehovah, was signified the Divine good of the Divine love (as may be seen in the Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 212, 213, 218).

[11] Because by the faces of Jehovah or the Lord, is signified the Divine good united with the Divine truth, going forth and proceeding from His Divine love, therefore by the faces of Jehovah are also signified the interior things of the church, of the Word, and of worship, for that [Divine good] is in the interiors of those things; the exterior things of the church, of the Word, and of worship, being only the effects and works thence. The interior things of the church, of the Word, and of worship, are signified by seeing, seeking, and beseeching the faces of Jehovah, Isaiah:

"What is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me? when ye come to see the faces of Jehovah" (1:11, 12).

In Zechariah:

"The inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, In going let us go to beseech the faces of Jehovah, and to seek Jehovah of hosts; thus many peoples and numerous nations shall come to seek Jehovah of hosts in Jerusalem, and supplicate the faces of Jehovah" (8:21, 22).

In David:

Unto thee my heart hath said, Seek my faces; thy faces, O Jehovah, I do seek" (Psalms 27:8).

In the same:

"Let us make a joyful noise unto the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before his faces with confession" (Psalms 95:1,2).

In Malachi:

"Beseech the faces of God, that he may be merciful unto us" (1:9).

In David:

"My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God; when shall I come that I may behold the faces of God? Wait thou for God; for I shall yet confess to him; his faces are salvation" (42:2, 6).

In these passages, by the faces of Jehovah and God, or the Lord, are meant the interior things of the church, of the Word, and of worship; because Divine good, and Divine truth, thus the Lord Himself, are in them, and from them in externals, but not in the externals, namely, of the church, of the Word, and of worship, without them.

[12] Because all those who went to the feast at Jerusalem were bound to carry with them such things as pertained to worship, and all worship is from the interior things of the heart and the faith, and these are signified by the gifts that were offered to the Lord, it was therefore commanded that every one should offer some gift, which is meant by,

"They shall not see my faces empty" (Exodus 23:15).

The interior things of the church, of the Word, and of worship, are also signified by these words in Moses:

Jehovah spake unto Moses, "My faces shall go, until I give thee rest." Then Moses said, "If thy faces go not, make us not go up hence" (Exodus 33:14, 15).

This was spoken to Moses, because with that nation the Word was to be written, and also respecting that nation in the historical parts of the Word, because a church was to be instituted among them, which would be a representative church consisting of external things that corresponded to things internal; on this account it was said, "My faces shall go" (concerning which more may be seen in the Arcana Coelestia 10567, 10568, where they are explained).

[13] But because that nation was only in the externals of the Word, of the church, and of worship, and not at all in the internals, therefore it was not granted to Moses to see the Lord's face, but the back only, according to these words in Moses:

"Moses said, I beseech thee, shew me thy glory; to whom he said, I will make all my goodness to pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of Jehovah before thee; thou canst not see my faces; for there shall no man see me and live. I will put thee in a cleft of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by; and when I take away my hand, thou shalt see my back parts; but my faces shall not be seen" (Exodus 23:18-23).

Here Moses represented that nation with respect to their quality as to the understanding of the Word, and as to the church and worship thence, namely, that [it was] only in externals without internals, the externals being represented and signified by the back parts of Jehovah which were seen by Moses, and the internals by the front parts and the face. That the internals that were in the externals of the Word, of the church, and of worship, were not seen, neither could be seen, by that nation, was represented and signified by Moses being placed in the cleft of a rock, and being covered with the hand of Jehovah whilst He passed by. But these things are more fully explained in the Arcana Coelestia 10573-10584).

[14] Moreover, the faces of Jehovah or the Lord, because they denote the internals of the Word, of the church, and of worship, are especially external things in which are internal things, because internals make themselves to be seen in externals, as the internals of man do in his face and look. But the Jewish people were of such a nature that they beheld externals only, and not at all the internals; and to behold externals and not at the same time internals, or externals without internals, is as it were to behold the image of a man which is without life; but to behold externals, and at the same time internals, or externals from internals, is as it were to behold a living man; this, therefore, is, in the proper sense, to see the face of Jehovah, or to beseech His faces, in the passages adduced above.

[15] Because the internals of the Word, of the church, and of worship, appear in externals, or cause themselves to be seen in externals, comparatively as the internals of man do in the face, it is evident what is signified, in the internal sense, by seeing Jehovah or the Lord face to face, in the following passages.

In Moses:

"I have seen God face to face, and yet my soul is preserved" (Genesis 32:30).

Jacob said these words after he had wrestled with God, who had appeared to him as an angel. In the book of Judges:

"Gideon said, I have seen the angel of Jehovah face to face. And Jehovah said unto him, Peace be unto thee; fear not; thou shalt not die" (6:22, 23).

In the same manner Manoah and his wife (Judg. 13:22, 23). And concerning the Israelitish people:

"Jehovah spake with you face to face from the mount, out of the midst of the fire" (Deuteronomy 5:4);

concerning which circumstance it is thus said more fully:

"Jehovah hath caused [us] to see his glory and his greatness, and we have heard his voice out of the midst of the fire; we have seen this day that God doth talk with man, and he continueth to live" (Deuteronomy 5:24).

And concerning Moses:

"Jehovah spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh to his companion" (Exodus 33:11; Deuteronomy 34:10).

[16] It should, however, be known, that no man, nor even any angel, can see the Lord's face, because it is Divine love, and no one can bear the Divine love, such as it is in itself; for to see the Lord's face would be like letting the eye into the very fire of the sun, in which case it would instantly perish; such also is the Divine love viewed in itself; therefore the Lord appears to those in the interior heavens as a Sun, and that Sun is encompassed with many radiant circles, which form coverings one above another, in order that the Divine love may proceed tempered and moderated to the angels in heaven, and that the angels may thereby bear it; the Lord therefore appears as a Sun only to the angels of the higher heavens, but to the angels of the lower heavens He appears only as light, and to the rest as a moon. Still, however, the Lord does appear to the angels in heaven, but then it is under an angelic form; for He fills an angel with His own aspect, and thus with His presence afar off, and this in various places, but everywhere accommodated to the good of love and faith with those to whom He appears; thus the Lord was seen by Gideon, also by Manoah and his wife, likewise by Moses, and by the Israelitish people. This therefore is what is meant by their seeing Jehovah face to face, and by their seeing Jehovah and not dying. That the face itself, as to the interiors of His Divine love, was not seen, is plainly evident from what was said to Moses, namely,

"That no one can see Jehovah's face and live" (Exodus 33:20)

and yet it is said that they saw Jehovah face to face; from which it is plainly evident, that to see Jehovah's faces, in the passages adduced above, signifies to see Him in the interior things of the Word, of the church, and of worship, which yet is to see Him in externals from internals. That the Jewish nation was in the externals of the Word, of the church, and of worship without internals, may be seen in the Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 248. (What the external is without the internal; and what the external is in which is the internal, in n. 47 of the same work.)

[17] That the Jewish nation was of such a quality, was represented and signified by,

"They covered the Lord's face, beat him, and spat upon him" (Matthew 26:67; Mark 14:65; Luke 22:64).

For all things related concerning the Lord's passion represent and signify arcana of heaven and the church, and specifically the quality of the Jews as to the Word, the church, and worship. That it is so, may be seen above (n. 64, 83, 195 at the end).

[18] From the passages that have been already explained, it may be known what the face of Jehovah or the Lord signifies, namely, the Divine love, and all the good in heaven and in the church thence. From this also it may be known what is signified by hiding or covering the faces, where it is said of Jehovah or the Lord, namely, that it is to leave man in his proprium, and thence in the evils and falsities that flow from his proprium; for man viewed in himself is nothing but evil and the falsity thence, and he is withheld from these by the Lord, that he may be in good, which is effected by an elevation from his proprium. Hence it is evident that by hiding and covering the faces, when said of the Lord, is signified to leave in evils and falsities; as in the following passages. In Jeremiah:

"For all their perverseness I have hid my faces from this city" (33:5).

In Isaiah:

"Your sins have hid God's faces from you, that he will not hear" (59:2).

In Ezekiel:

"My faces will I turn from them, that they may profane my secret [place]; and the violent may enter into it, and defile it" (7:22).

In the same:

"The nations shall know that for their iniquity the sons of Israel went into captivity; and therefore will I hide my faces from them" (39:23).

In Lamentations:

"The face of Jehovah hath divided them; he will no more regard them" (4:16).

In Micah:

"Jehovah will hide his faces from them, even as they have made their works evil" (3:4).

In David:

"Thou hast hid thy faces, I was troubled" (Psalms 30:7).

In the same:

"Wherefore hidest thou thy faces, [and] forgettest our wretchedness and our oppression?" (Psalms 44:25).

In the same:

"Thou hidest thy faces, they are troubled; thou takest away their breath, they die, and return to their dust” (Psalms 104:29).

In Moses:

"My anger shall be kindled against the people in that day, and I will forsake them, and will hide my faces from them. In hiding I will hide my faces in that day, for all the evil which they have wrought" (Deuteronomy 31:17, 18).

In the same:

"I will hide my faces from them; they are a generation of perversions" (Deuteronomy 32:20).

In Isaiah:

"I will wait upon Jehovah, though he hideth his faces from the house of Jacob" (8:17).

In David:

"How long wilt Thou forget me, O Jehovah? how long wilt thou hide thy faces from me?" (Psalms 13:1).

In the same:

"Hide not thy faces from me; reject not thy servant in anger" (Psalms 27:9).

In the same:

"Hide not thy faces from thy servant, for I am in trouble; answer me speedily" (Psalms 69:17).

In the same:

"O Jehovah, wherefore forsakest thou my soul? wherefore hidest thou thy faces from me?" (Psalms 88:14).

In the same:

"Hide not thy faces from me in the day when I am in distress" (Psalms 102:2).

In the same:

"Answer me, O Jehovah; hide not thy faces from me, lest I become like them that go down into the pit" (Psalms 143:7).

In Ezekiel:

"When I shall gather together the sons of Israel upon their own land, then will I no longer hide my faces from them, for I will pour out my spirit upon the sons of Israel" (Ezekiel 39:27-29).

In David:

"He hath not despised nor turned away from the affliction of Israel; neither hath he hid his faces from him; but when he cried unto him, he heard" (Psalms 22:24).

[19] In these passages it is said that Jehovah, that is, the Lord, covers and hides His faces on account of iniquities and sins; He is also entreated not to hide or cover [them], when nevertheless He never hides or covers [what they signify], namely, His Divine good and His Divine truth, for the Lord is Divine love itself, and mercy itself, and desires the salvation of all; wherefore He is present with all and each, even with those who are in iniquities and sins, and by this presence He gifts them with the liberty of receiving Him, that is, the truth and good from Him, therefore they receive if in freedom thy desire it. The reason why [reception must be] in freedom is, in order that goods and truths may remain with man, and be with him as his own; for what a man does in freedom he does from affection, for all freedom is of the affection, the affection also is his will, therefore what is received in freedom, or from man's affection, enters his will, and remains. The reason why it then remains is, because the will is the man himself, for therein his life primarily resides, but secondarily in the thought or the understanding. This, therefore, is the reason that man ought to receive the Divine good and the Divine truth, with which the Lord is always present.

[20] This also is meant by:

"Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if any one hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in unto him, and will sup with him" (Apoc. 3:20).

But when man in freedom chooses evil, then he shuts the door against himself, and thus does not admit the good and truth which are from the Lord; therefore the Lord then appears as absent, and it is from this appearance that it is said that Jehovah covers and hides His faces, although He does not cover and hide [them]. Moreover, man, then, as to his spirit, turns himself away from the Lord, and, consequently, does not perceive the good or see the truth which are from the Lord; hence also it appears as if the Lord did not see him, when nevertheless He sees all and everything pertaining to him. From this appearance also it is that He is said to cover and hide His faces, indeed, that He is said to set (ponere et dare) His faces against them, also that He beholds them in the back of the neck (cervice), and not in the faces, as in the following passages.

In Jeremiah:

"I have set my faces against this city for evil, and not for good" (21:10).

In the same:

"I set my faces against you for evil, to cut off all Judah" (44:11).

In Ezekiel:

"I will set my faces against that man, and I will lay him waste, and I will cut him off from the midst of my people" (14:8).

In the same:

"I will set my faces against them; they shall go out from a fire, and a fire shall devour them; when I shall have set my faces against them" (15:7).

In Moses:

"He that shall eat any blood, I will set my faces against that soul, and I will cut him off" (Leviticus 17:10).

In Jeremiah:

"As an east wind will I scatter them before the enemy; I will look at them in the back of the neck, and not in the face" (18:17).

That it is man who sets (ponit et dat) his face against the Lord, and who turns himself away from the Lord, whence evil overtakes him, is plain also from the Word. As in Jeremiah:

"They have turned unto me the back of the neck, and not the faces" (32:33).

In the same:

"They have made their faces harder than a rock; they have refused to return" (5:3).

In the same:

"They have gone away in their own counsels, in the hardening of their evil heart, they are become turned backwards and not turned forwards" (7:24).

And in Isaiah:

"Your sins have hid God's faces from you" (Isaiah 59:2).

[21] That the wicked turn away the face from the Lord, is not done as to the bodily face, but the face of their spirit. Man can turn his face whichever way he pleases, because he is in a state of freedom to turn himself either towards heaven or towards hell, and also a man's face has been taught to counterfeit before the world; but when man becomes a spirit, which he does immediately after death, then he who had lived in evils, turns away the face entirely from the Lord (as is evident from what has been said and shown in the work concerning Heaven and Hell 17, 123, 142, 144, 145, 151, 153, 251, 272, 511, 552, 561). This, therefore, is meant by, "they have turned unto me the back of the neck, and not the face," and by, "they are become turned backwards, and not turned forwards." Now because such persons [expose themselves] to the evil of punishment, and to hell, it is, therefore, supposed by those who turn themselves away, that this [proceeds] from the Lord, and that He regards them with a stern countenance, and casts them down into hell, and punishes them, just as a man who is in anger; whereas the Lord never regards any one but from love and mercy. It is from that appearance that the following expressions are used in the Word. In Isaiah:

"When thou shalt do terrible [things, which] we look not for, the mountains shall flow down at thy presence" (64:3). ¹

In David:

"It is burned with fire, it is cut down; they have perished at the rebuke of thy faces" (Psalms 80:16).

In the same:

"The faces of Jehovah are against them that do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth" (Psalms 34:16).

In Moses:

"Behold I send an angel before thee. Take heed of his faces; for he will not bear your prevarication" (Exodus 23:20, 21).

In Ezekiel:

"I will bring you into the wilderness of the peoples, and I will judge with you face to face" (20:35).

In Moses:

"When the ark set forward, Moses said, Arise, O Jehovah, let thine enemies be scattered; and let them that hate thee flee before thy faces" (Num. 10:35).

In the Apocalypse:

"I saw a throne high and great, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away" (20:11).

[22] These things are now said respecting the signification of the face, when said of Jehovah or the Lord; but the face, where it is said of man, signifies his mind and affection, consequently, the interiors of his mind, and this because the mind and its affections, or the interiors of the man's mind, become visible in the face, whence it is that the face is called the index of the mind. The face also is an effigy of the interiors of man, for it represents them, and the countenance corresponds to them. That by the faces, when said of man, are signified affections of various kinds, is evident from the following passages. In Isaiah:

"They say, Retire from the way, turn aside from the path, cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from our faces" (30:11).

Cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from our faces, signifies, [to remove] the Lord from the thought and affection, thus everything of the church, the Holy One of Israel denoting the Lord; to recede from the truth and good of the church, which is from the Lord, and in which the Lord is, is signified by "Retire from the way, turn aside from the path," the way and the path denoting the truth and good of the church.

[23] In Lamentations:

"They have not accepted the faces of the priests, and they have not had pity upon the old" (Lamentations 4:16).

And elsewhere:

"Princes were hanged up by their hand; the faces of the old were not honoured" (Lamentations 5:12).

Not to accept the faces of the priests, signifies to esteem as nothing the goods of the church, which are [those] of love and faith; for the priests represented the Lord as to Divine good, and thence signified the good of the church, and faces all things thereof, which have reference to love and faith. Not to honour the faces of the old, signifies to account as nothing all things of wisdom, the old signifying wisdom, and their faces all things thereof, because interior. The princes hanged up by their hand, signify that all intelligence was rejected, princes denoting the primary truths, from which there is intelligence.

[24] In Moses:

"Jacob said concerning Esau, I will appease his faces with a present, that goeth before me, and afterward I will see his faces; peradventure he will accept my faces" (Genesis 32:20).

To appease his faces, signifies to engage his mind; afterward to see his faces, signifies to know the quality of his mind; peradventure he will accept my faces, signifies, peradventure he shall receive me with a favourable mind, to accept the faces denoting to will good to any one from affection. In the same:

"Thou shalt not wrest judgment; thou shalt not regard faces, neither take a gift" (Deuteronomy 16:19).

Not to regard faces, signifies [not] to be of a mind disposed towards superiors, the rich, and friends, more than towards inferiors, the poor, and enemies, because justice and rectitude are to be regarded without any respect to person.

[25] In Malachi:

"I have made you contemptible and base before all the people, according as ye keep not my ways, and receive faces in the law" (2:9).

To receive faces in the law, here signifies the same thing as above, to regard faces in judgment; namely, to be disposed to favour superiors, the rich, and friends, rather than inferiors, the poor, and enemies.

In Isaiah:

"What mean ye, that ye beat the people, and grind the faces of the poor?" (3:15).

To grind the faces of the poor, signifies to destroy the affections of knowing truth with those who are in ignorance of truths, and yet desire to be instructed, to grind signifying to destroy; faces signifying the affections of knowing truths, and the poor, those who are in ignorance of truth and desire to be instructed, for these are those who are spiritually poor.

[26] In David:

"The daughter of Tyre shall bring a gift; the rich among the people shall intreat thy faces. The king's daughter is all glorious within; her clothing is of interwoven [materials] of gold" (Psalms 45:12, 13).

By the king's daughter is signified the spiritual affection of truth, the daughter of Tyre signifying the affection of the knowledges (cognitions) of truth and good; to be enriched with these is signified by bringing a gift; by the rich among the people are signified the intelligent, and in the abstract, the intelligence of truth and good; to be gifted with these is signified by intreating his faces; for all things of intelligence dwell in the spiritual affection of truth, which therefore is signified by the faces. The remainder [of this passage] may be seen explained above (n. 195).

[27] In the same:

"Yet do I trust in him, the salvations of my faces, and my God" (Psalms 42:11; 43:5).

The salvations of my faces, signify all things that are within, thus those of the mind and affections, consequently, those of love and faith, which, because they save, are called salvations. Evil affections, which are lusts, are also expressed by faces, because they appear in the faces, for the face is the external or natural form of the interiors of the internal and external mind (animi et mentis); and in the spiritual world they make one; for there it is not permitted to counterfeit other faces than those of the affections, thus which correspond to the interiors of the mind; hence it is, that the angels of heaven are lustrous and comely in face, whereas infernal spirits are dark and deformed in face.

[28] That these things are also meant by faces, is evident from the following passages. In Isaiah:

"Pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them, as a travailing woman they bring forth; they shall be amazed [every] man towards his companion; their faces [are] faces of flames" (13:8).

The Last Judgment is here treated of, when the evil are let into their interiors. The interiors of those who are in the love of self and the world, and thence in hatred and revenges, are meant by their faces are as faces of flames; such also do they appear; their torment from the influx of Divine good and Divine truth is signified by, "Pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them, as a travailing woman they bring forth. Their torments are like the pangs and sorrows of travailing women for the same reason as [is given] in Genesis (3:16); for evils and falsities are then conjoined, and until this take place, sorrows take hold when the Divine good and truth flow in.

[29] In Ezekiel:

"Say to the forest of the south, The flame of a grievous flame shall not be quenched, whence all faces shall be burned therein from the south even to the north" (20:47).

By the forest of the south is meant falsity within the church, consequently, those therein who are in falsities. The church is signified by the south because it may be in the light of truth from the Word, and falsity from evil is signified by the forest; the vastation and destruction of the church by the love of falsity from evil, are signified by, "The flame of a grievous flame, whence all faces shall be burned"; all faces denote all the interiors of the men of the church as to the affections of truth and good, and the thoughts thence; from the south even to the north, signifies all things of the church from primaries to ultimates, or the interiors and exteriors; the south denotes the interior or first things of the church, and the north denotes the exterior or ultimate things of the church. The reason why such things are signified by the south and the north is, that those who are in the light of truth from the Lord are in the southern quarter of the spiritual world, and, in the hells under them there, are those who are in natural light, by which they have confirmed themselves in falsities; and in the northern quarter are those who are in an obscure [state] of truth from the Lord, and in the hells under them there, those who are in falsities, but not in any natural light by which they have confirmed their falsities.

[30] In Joel:

"Before him the peoples tremble; all faces have gathered blackness" (2:6).

The evils and falsities devastating the church are here treated of; also the judgment upon those who are in them; those who are in falsities, are signified by the peoples who tremble; their interiors, which are in the falsities of evil, are signified by the faces that have gathered blackness, faces denoting the interiors, and blackness denoting the falsity of evil; the infernals also who are in the falsity of evil appear black in the light of heaven.

[31] In Daniel:

"In the end of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king hard in faces shall rise up" (8:23).

These things are said of the four horns of the he-goat, by which are here meant four kingdoms, but by kingdoms here are not meant kingdoms, but states of the church, for, by a he-goat of the she-goats is meant faith separated from charity, which is called faith alone. The end of their kingdom signifies the end of the church, when there is no faith because no charity. "When the transgressors are come to the full," signifies when there are no longer truth and good, but evil and falsity; the same is signified by these words as by, when iniquity is consummated and filled (concerning which see above, n. 397). "A king hard in faces," signifies [that there was] no truth in their interiors, but falsity; for a king signifies truth, and, in the opposite sense, falsity, faces signifying the interiors, and hard in faces, such things without good; for where there is no good, there truth is hard, whereas truth from good is mild, because living; and that truth [without good] is even falsity in their interiors or in their thought, because they do not think concerning it spiritually but materially, because from corporeal and worldly things, and thence from fallacies of the senses.

[32] In Ezekiel:

"Sons hard in their faces, and hardened in heart" (2:4).

By sons hard in their faces are signified those who are in truths without good, and abstractedly truths without good, which in themselves are falsities, as said above; and by, hardened in heart, are signified those who do not admit good, consequently, who are in evil, for evil enters where good cannot. The heart, in the Word, also signifies the good of love, and a hardened heart signifies the same as a stony heart, namely, where the good of love is not admitted; but a heart of flesh signifies, where it is admitted.

[33] In Isaiah:

"Their tongue and their doings are against Jehovah, to rebel against the eyes of his glory. The hardness of their faces doth witness against them" (3:8, 9).

By their tongue and their doings which are against Jehovah, are signified the thought and affection; by the tongue, the thought, because the tongue utters what the man thinks; and by the doings, affection, because a man does what is of his affection. These are against Jehovah, and rebel against the eyes of His glory, when they are against the Divine good, and against the Divine truth, for by Jehovah in the Word is meant the Lord as to the Divine good proceeding from His Divine love, and by His glory is meant the Divine truth; to be against this is signified by rebelling against the eyes of His glory. The hardness of their faces, which witnesses against them, signifies the refusal and non-admission of the Divine truth and the Divine good into their thoughts and affections, which are their interiors.

[34] In Ezekiel

"Behold, I have made thy faces hard against their faces, and thy forehead hard against their foreheads" (Ezekiel 3:8).

These words are spoken to the prophet, by whom is signified the doctrine of truth and good fighting against falsities and evils; therefore by his faces being hard against their faces is signified the rejection of falsities by truths, and by his forehead being hard against their foreheads is signified the rejection of evil by good; for faces signify the affections of truth and the affections of falsity, and the forehead signifies the affection of good and the affection of evil. The affection of truth and good hardens and becomes hard outwardly from zeal, when it combats against falsity and evil, otherwise it could not repulse them; not however inwardly. Hence it is evident how those words are to be understood. Because by the faces are signified the interiors of man, or the things of his thought and affection, hence also, in the Hebrew tongue, interiorly is expressed by the same word as face.

[35] As various observations are made in [these] explanations concerning faces, which perhaps, without further exposition, can scarcely be understood, therefore I desire to add what has been said and shown concerning faces in the Arcana Coelestia, namely, that the face is formed to a correspondence with a man's interiors, n. 4791-4805, 5695; concerning the correspondence of the face and countenance with the affections of the mind, n. 1568, 2988, 2989, 3631, 4796, 4797, 4800, 5165, 5168, 9306. That hence the interiors shine forth from the face, n. 3527, 4066, 4796. That with the ancients the face made one with the interiors, n. 3573, 4326, 5695. That they also make one with the angels in heaven, and with sincere men in the world, n. 4796, 4797, 4799, 5695, 8250. That the faces of all in the other life become of such a quality as their interiors, n. 4798, 5695. Experiences of the changes of the face according to the interiors, n. 4796, 6604. Concerning the influx of the interiors of the mind, or of the understanding and will into the face and its muscles, n. 3631, 4800. That the face does not act as one with the interiors of flatterers, counterfeiters, hypocrites, and deceitful men, n. 4799, 8250; that with such the face is taught to counterfeit what is sincere, honest, and pious, n. 4326. How the influx from the brains into the face became changed in process of time, and therewith the face itself as to correspondence with the interiors, n. 4326, 8250. That the natural part of man is as an interior face to the spiritual mind and its sight, n. 5165, 5168. See also what has been said and shown concerning faces, in the work on Heaven and Hell 46-48, 142-144, 457-459, 553.

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4844. 'Remain a widow in your father's house' means the alienation of this Church from the Jewish Church. This becomes clear from the fact that Judah's wish was that by doing this she would go away and not return to him any more. He did, it is true, say that she should remain there until Shelah his son was grown up; nevertheless he had it in mind not to give her to Shelah his son, for he said to himself, 'In case he also dies, like his brothers'. He gave further proof of his intentions by his actions, as is evident from verse 14 - 'Tamar saw that Shelah had grown up, and she had not been given to him as a wife'. From all this it is evident that the words used here mean that he alienated her from himself. That is, the meaning in the internal sense is that he alienated the Church representative of spiritual and celestial things - the Church represented by 'Tamar', 4811, 4831 - from the Jewish Church represented by 'Judah'. The two could not be in agreement with each other because Judaism was not a representative Church, only a representative of the Church, 4307, 4500; for it acknowledged what was external but not that which was internal.

[2] 'A widow' also means the truth of the Church without its good; for in the representative sense 'a wife' means truth and 'a husband' good, 4823, 4843, and therefore 'a wife without a husband' means the truth of the Church without its good. This being so, when it is said in reference to Tamar that she should remain in the house of her father, the meaning is that the truth of the Church would be alienated, and also that it would not find acceptance in his house, even as the Jewish nation could not accept it because not good but evil was present among that nation.

[3] A widow is referred to many times in the Word; but anyone unacquainted with the internal sense inevitably thinks that 'a widow' means a widow. In the internal sense 'a widow' means the truth of the Church without good, that is, people who have truth that is without good but who nevertheless have a desire for good, who consequently love to be led by good; for 'a husband' means good which ought to take the lead. In the Ancient Church people like these were meant in the good sense by 'the widowed', whether they were women or men. For the Ancient Church distinguished the neighbour to whom charity was to be performed into many separate classes. Some were called the poor, some the wretched and afflicted, some the bound and in prison, some the blind and the lame, and others strangers, orphans, and widows. It performed different charitable works, whichever were appropriate to the character each class possessed. The teachings of that Church showed them what those works were, for that Church had no other teachings than these. Therefore whenever those living in those times either taught or wrote, they did so in conformity with these teachings, so that when they spoke of 'widows' they meant none but the kind of persons among whom truth existed without good but who nevertheless had a desire to be led to good.

[4] From this it is also evident that the teachings of the Ancient Church were ones that had to do with charity and the neighbour, and that all its religious knowledge and factual knowledge existed to enable people to know what was meant spiritually by external things. For the Church was representative of spiritual and celestial things, and therefore it was these spiritual and celestial things, represented and meant by that Church, that people came to know about through the Church's teachings and through its factual knowledge. But those teachings and factual knowledge have become at the present day completely wiped out, so completely indeed that there is no knowledge of their having existed. For their place has been taken by teachings to do with faith which, if widowed and separated from those to do with charity, have virtually nothing to teach. For teachings to do with charity show what good is, but those to do with faith show what truth is. Teaching what truth is without what good is amounts to walking like someone blind, it being good that is the teacher and leader, truth the one that is taught and led. Between the two kinds of teaching there is a vast difference, as great as that between light and darkness. If the darkness is not lightened by means of the light, that is, if truth is not lightened by good, or faith by charity, it is nothing but darkness. For this reason no one knows intuitively, nor consequently by perception, whether truth is the truth; he knows it only from what he was taught and what he absorbed in childhood and substantiated in adult years. This also explains why Churches are so much at variance with one another, one giving the name truth to that which another calls falsity, and are never in agreement.

[5] The meaning in the good sense of 'widows' as people who have truth existing without good but who nevertheless have a desire to be led by good may be seen from places in the Word where widows are mentioned, as in David,

Jehovah who executes judgement for the oppressed, who gives bread to the starving, Jehovah who sets the bound free; Jehovah who opens the blind [eyes]; Jehovah who lifts up the bowed down; Jehovah who loves the righteous; Jehovah who guards sojourners, upholds the orphan and the widow. Psalms 146:7-9.

This refers, in the internal sense, to those whom the Lord furnishes with truths and leads to good. But some of them are called the oppressed, some the starving, while others are called the bound, the blind, the bowed down, sojourners, orphans and widows, each name appropriate to the character of the ones to whom it is applied. No one however can know what each particular nature is except from the internal sense; but the teachings of the Ancient Church showed what any particular nature was. Here, as in many other places, sojourner, orphan, and widow are referred to jointly because 'a sojourner' means those who wish to be furnished with the truths of faith, 1463, 4444, 'an orphan' those with whom good exists without truth but who have a desire to be led to good by means of truth, and 'a widow' those with whom truth exists without good and who have a desire to be led to truth by means of good. These three are referred to jointly here and elsewhere in the Word because in the internal sense they form a single group, for all three together mean those who wish to be taught and to be led to good and truth.

[6] In the same author,

A father of the orphans, and a judge of the widows, is God in the habitation of His holiness. Psalms 68:5.

'The orphans' stands for those with whom, like young children, the good that goes with innocence is present but no truth as yet. The Lord is said to be 'a father' of these because He leads them like a father; He leads them by means of truth into good, that is to say, into the good constituting life or wisdom. 'The widows' stands for those who as adults know the truth but are not as yet doing good. The Lord is said to be 'a judge' of these because He leads them; He leads them by means of good into truth, that is to say, into the truth constituting intelligence. For by 'a judge' a leader is meant. Good without truth, meant by 'an orphan', is made into good filled with wisdom by means of teaching about truth; and truth without good, meant by 'a widow', is made into truth filled with intelligence by means of a life of good.

[7] In Isaiah,

Woe to those decreeing decrees of iniquity, to turn aside the poor from judgement and to carry off into judgement the wretched of My people, so that widows may be their spoil and so that they may make orphans their prey. Isaiah 10:1-2.

Here 'the poor', 'the wretched', 'widows', and 'orphans' do not mean those who are literally so but those who are spiritually such. Now because in the Jewish Church, as in the Ancient, everything was representative, so also was doing good to orphans and widows, for doing good to these represented in heaven charity towards those who are orphans and widows in the spiritual sense.

[8] In Jeremiah,

Do judgement and righteousness, and deliver the plundered out of the hand of the oppressor; and do not defraud the sojourner, the orphan, and the widow, and do not use force, and do not shed innocent blood in this place. Jeremiah 22:3.

Here also 'the sojourner, the orphan, and the widow' means those who are spiritually such. In the spiritual world or heaven they do not know who a sojourner, orphan, or widow is, for the condition of such persons there is not the same as what it had been in the world. When therefore these words are read by man, angels perceive the spiritual or internal meaning they possess.

[9] Similarly in Ezekiel,

Behold, the princes of Israel, each according to his power, ¹ have in you been intent on shedding blood; in you they have treated father and mother with contempt; in you they have dealt with the sojourner by means of oppression; in you they have defrauded the orphan and the widow. Ezekiel 22:6-7.

Also in Malachi,

I will draw near to you to judgement, and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against those who swear falsely, and against oppressors of the hireling in his wages, of the widow and the orphan, and [against] those who turn aside the sojourner, and do not fear Me. Malachi 3:5.

Similarly in Moses,

You shall not press down a sojourner or oppress him. You shall not afflict any widow or orphan. If you do indeed afflict him, and if he indeed cries out to Me, I will surely hear his cry, and My anger will burn, and I will kill you with the sword, so that your wives become widows, and your children orphans. Exodus 22:21-24.

[10] This, like every other commandment, judgement, and statute in the Jewish Church, was representative. Also, members of that Church were tied down to things of an external nature so that they would observe that command, and by means of their observance of it they represented the inner spirit of charity, even though they themselves had no charity, that is, they did not act from any inner affection. An inner spirit flowed from an affection to furnish with truths those who were without knowledge, and to lead those people to good by means of truths. If they had done this, members of the Jewish Church would have been doing good, in a spiritual sense, to the sojourner, orphan, and widow. But so that what was external might be kept going for the sake of what it represented, the curses declared on Mount Ebal included 'turning aside the judgement of the sojourner, the orphan, and the widow', Deuteronomy 27:19. 'Turning aside the judgement of these' stands for doing the reverse, that is, leading through teaching and life to falsity and evil. Also, because taking goods and truths away from others, and then making them one's own so as to enhance one's own position and gain, was included among curses, the Lord therefore said,

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees! for you devour widows' houses, and for a presence you make long prayers; on account of this you will receive greater condemnation. ² Matthew 23:14; Luke 20:47.

'Devouring widows' houses' stands for taking truths away from those who have a desire for them, and teaching them falsities.

[11] To leave for the sojourner, orphan, and widow that which remained in fields, olivegroves, and vineyards, Deuteronomy 24:19-22, was likewise representative. So too was the command that when they had finished paying the tithes of their produce in the third year, the people should give to the sojourner, orphan, and widow, so that they ate within their gates and were satisfied, Deuteronomy 26:12-13. It being the Lord alone who teaches a person and leads him to good and truth, it is said in Jeremiah,

Leave your orphans, I will keep them alive; and the widows will trust in Me. Jeremiah 49:10-11.

And in Moses,

Jehovah executes judgement for the orphan and the widow, and loves the sojourner, giving him bread and clothing. Deuteronomy 10:18.

'Bread' stands for the good of love, 2165, 2177, 3478, 3735, 3813, 4211, 4217, 4735, and 'clothing' for the truth of faith, 4545, 4763.

[12] It is recorded in 1 Kings 17:1-17 that Elijah was sent, when there was a famine because there was no rain in the land, to a widow in Zarephath. He asked her for a little cake, which she had to make for him first and give it to him; after that she was to make one for herself and her son. When she did so her jar of meal was not used up and her cruse of oil did not run dry. All this was representative, like everything else recorded about Elijah, and in general throughout the Word. 'A famine in the land because there was no rain' represented truth laid waste within the Church, 1460, 3364; 'a widow in Zarephath' those outside the Church who have a desire for truth; 'a cake which she had to make for him first' the good of love to the Lord, 2177, whom, from the very little she had, she was to love above herself and her son. 'The jar of meal' means truth derived from good, 2177, and 'the cruse of oil' charity and love, 886, 3728, 4582. 'Elijah' represents the Word, by means of which such things are effected, 2762.

[13] The same is also meant, in the internal sense, by the Lord's words in Luke,

No prophet is accepted in his own country. In truth, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, while there was a great famine over the whole land; yet Elijah was sent to none of them, except to a woman - a widow - in Zarephath of Sidon. Luke 4:24-26.

That is, he was sent to those outside the Church who had a desire for truth. But 'widows' within the Church that had been laid waste, to whom Elijah was not sent, are those with whom no truth exists because no good does so; for where there is no good neither is there any truth. However much among those people truth seems to outward appearance like truth it is nothing more so to speak than a shell without any nut in it.

[14] Those among whom this kind of truth exists, also those among whom falsity exists, are meant by 'widows' in the contrary sense, as in Isaiah,

Jehovah will cut off from Israel head and tail, the branch and the bulrush in one day. The old and the honourable in face is the head, and the prophet, the teacher of a lie, the tail. Therefore the Lord will not rejoice over its young men, and He will not have compassion on its orphans and its widows. Isaiah 9:14-15, 17.

In Jeremiah,

I will winnow them with a winnowing-fork in the gates of the land; I will bereave, I will destroy My people; they have not turned from their ways. Their widows are increased to Me more than the sand of the seas. I will bring to them, against the mother of the young men, one who lays waste at midday. She who bore seven languishes; she has breathed her last. Her sun is going down while it is still day. Jeremiah 15:7-9.

In the same prophet,

Our inheritance has been turned over to aliens, our houses to foreigners. We have become orphans with no father; our mothers are widows. Lamentations 5:2-3.

[15] Because 'widows' meant those with whom no truth existed because no good did so, it was therefore shameful for Churches to be called widows, even those Churches governed by falsities springing from evil, as in John,

In her heart she said, A queen I sit, and I am no widow, and shall not see mourning. On account of this in one day will her plagues come, death and mourning and famine, and she will be burned with fire. Revelation 18:7-8.

This refers to Babel. A similar reference to Babel occurs in Isaiah,

Hear this, you lover of pleasures, sitting securely, saying in her heart, I am, and there is no one else like me; a widow I shall not sit, nor shall I know loss of children. But these two things will come to you in a moment in one day - loss of children and widowhood. Isaiah 47:8-9.

[16] From these quotations one may now see what is meant by 'a widow' in the internal sense of the Word. One may see that since 'a widow' represented and consequently meant the truth of the Church without its good - for 'a wife' meant truth and 'a husband' good - priests in the Ancient Churches, in which every single thing was representative, were therefore forbidden to marry any widow who was not a priest's widow, as the following in Moses declares,

The high priest shall take a wife in her virginity; a widow or a woman that has been put away or one defiled or a prostitute, these he shall not take, but a virgin of his own people shall he take as his wife. Leviticus 21:13-15.

And in the references to a new temple and a new priesthood in Ezekiel,

Priests the Levites shall not take as wives for themselves a widow or a woman that has been put away, but virgins from the seed of the house of Israel; but a widow who is the widow of a priest may they take. Ezekiel 44:22.

For 'the virgins' whom they were to marry represented and consequently meant the affection for truth, and 'the widow of a priest' the affection for truth from good, since 'a priest' in the representative sense is the good of the Church. For this reason also any widow [who was the daughter] of a priest and who had no children was allowed to eat some of the offerings or holy things, Leviticus 22:12-13.

[17] Those who belonged to the Ancient Church knew this meaning of 'a widow' from the teachings of the Church, for among them these teachings had to do with love and charity, which included countless matters which at the present day have become completely wiped out. From them they knew which particular kind of charitable act they were required to perform - that is, which service they ought to render towards the neighbour - for those who were called 'widows', for those who were called 'orphans', for those who were called 'sojourners', and so on. From their religious knowledge of truth and from factual knowledge they had a discernment and a knowledge of what the ritual observances of their Church represented and meant. The learned among them knew what it was that things on earth and in this world represented, for they recognized that the whole natural creation was a theatre representative of the heavenly kingdom, 2758, 2989, 2999, 3483. Such knowledge raised their minds up to heavenly things, and the teachings of their Church led the way to life. But after the Church turned aside from charity to faith, more so after it separated faith from charity, and made faith without charity and the works of charity the bringer of salvation, their minds could no longer be raised up by means of religious knowledge to heavenly things, nor be led by any means of the teachings of the Church to life. Indeed the decline has been so great that in the end scarcely anyone believes in a life after death, and scarcely anyone knows anything about heaven. Also, there is no belief at all in the existence of a spiritual sense of the Word which is not visible in the letter. In this way people's minds have become closed.

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