726. Who is to tend (pascere) all nations with a rod of iron.- That this signifies that this doctrine by the power of natural from spiritual truth will refute and convict those who are in falsities and evils, and yet are in the church in which is the Word, is evident from the signification of tending, as denoting to teach (concerning which see above n. 482), but in this case to refute and convict, because it is said that he is to tend them with a rod of iron; from the signification of all nations, as denoting those who are in falsities and evils (concerning which see above (n. 175, 331, 625); and from the signification of a rod of iron, as denoting the power of natural from spiritual truth, for a rod or staff signifies power, and is predicated of spiritual Divine Truth, and iron signifies truth in the natural man. The power of the truth of the natural from the spiritual man is signified by the rod of iron, because all the power belonging to truths in the natural man is from the influx of truth and good from the spiritual man, that is, from the influx of Divine Truth from the Lord through the spiritual into the natural man; for the Lord alone has power, and He exercises it through the Divine Truth which proceeds from Him.

But in order that these things may be seen more clearly, it must be shown:- (1) That the Lord possesses infinite power. (2) That the Lord possesses this power from Himself by means of His Divine Truth. (3) That all power coexists in ultimates, and that therefore the Lord possesses infinite power from primaries by means of ultimates. (4) That so far as angels and men are recipients of Divine Truth from the Lord, so far they are powers. (5) That power resides in the truths of the natural man so far as he receives influx from the Lord through the spiritual man. (6) That the truths of the natural man have nothing of power, without that influx.

[2] (1) The Lord possesses infinite power.- This is evident from the fact that He is the God of heaven and the God of earth; that He has created the universe, so full of stars - which are suns - that they cannot be numbered, and in it so many systems, and earths in these systems, which systems and the earths in them exceed in number many hundreds of thousands; and that He alone continually preserves and sustains the same, because He created them. Moreover, He has created not only natural worlds, but also spiritual worlds above them, and these He perpetually fills with angels and spirits to the number of myriads of myriads, and under them He has placed the hells, which are also as many in number as the heavens. And He alone gives life to everything, both collectively and individually, both in the worlds of nature and in the worlds above nature; and because He alone gives life, no angel, spirit, or man, has the power to move hand or foot, except from Him. The nature of the Lord's infinite power is especially evident from this, that all those who come from such a multitude of earths into the spiritual worlds, numbering from our earth alone several myriads every week, and consequently as many myriads from many thousands of earths in the universe, He alone receives, and by a thousand secret ways of Divine Wisdom leads every one to the place of his life, the faithful to their places in the heavens, and the unfaithful to their places in the hells. And again He rules the thoughts, intentions, and wills of all, wherever they may be, both particularly and universally, and causes each and all in the heavens to enjoy their own happiness, and each and all in the hells to be retained in their bonds, in such a way that not one of them ventures to lift a hand, much less to rise up, and do harm to any angel. Also all are thus kept in order, and in bonds, to eternity, howsoever the heavens and the hells may be multiplied. These and many other things too numerous to mention could not possibly exist if the Lord did not possess infinite power. That the Lord alone rules all things, He Himself teaches in Matthew:

"All power is given to me in heaven and on earth" (28:18); and He said that "he is the life" (John 5:26; 11:25, 26; 14:6).

[3] (2) The Lord possesses infinite power from Himself by means of His Divine Truth.- The reason of this is, that the Divine Truth is the proceeding Divine, and from the Divine which proceeds from the Lord, all those things that have been referred to above concerning His infinite power are effected. Divine Truth considered in itself is the Divine Wisdom, which extends itself in every direction, like the light and heat from the sun in our world. For in the spiritual world, where angels and spirits are, the Lord appears as a sun, from Divine Love; all that proceeds from that sun is called Divine Truth; and that which proceeds also produces, and also that which proceeds is Himself, because it is from Him, therefore the Lord in the heavens is Divine Truth. But in order that it may be known that the Lord does possess infinite power by means of Divine Truth, something shall be said concerning its essence and existence. This can be comprehended from the natural man and his light (lumen) only by means of such things as proceed from the sun of the world, from which and by means of which it possesses all power in its own system, and in the earths which enjoy its heat and light. From the sun of our system, as from their fountain, went forth (exiverunt) auras and atmospheres, which are called ethers and airs. In nearest proximity to the sun therefore is pure ether, at a greater distance from it are ethers less pure, and lastly the airs; but these ethers and airs are around the earths. These ethers and airs when actuated in the total volume (volumatim actae,) produce heat, but when modified in their component parts (singillatim modificatoe) they produce light. Through these the sun exercises all its power, and produces all its effect outside of itself, thus through ethers and airs, through the medium of heat and at the same time through the medium of light.

[4] From these things some idea may be formed of the Lord's infinite power by means of Divine Truth. From Him as the Sun there emanated in a similar manner auras and atmospheres, but spiritual, because from Divine Love, which constitutes that Sun. That there are such atmospheres in the spiritual world, is evident from the respiration of angels and spirits. Those spiritual auras and atmospheres which are nearest to the Lord as the Sun are the purest, but according to the degree in which they are remote from Him, they are less and less pure. Therefore there are three heavens, the inmost heaven in a purer aura, the middle heaven in an aura less pure, and the ultimate heaven in an aura still less pure. When these auras or atmospheres, which are spiritual, because they have come forth (exstiterunt) from the Lord the Sun, are actuated as a whole (communiter) they manifest heat, but when modified separately (singillatim) they manifest light. This heat, which in its essence is love, and this light, which in its essence is wisdom, are called specifically Divine Truth, and taken together with the auras, which are also spiritual, they are called the proceeding Divine. From these then the heavens were created, and worlds also; for all those things which exist in the natural world have been produced from the spiritual world (ex spirituali mundo producta sunt), as effects from their efficient causes. From these things now, the creation of heaven and earth by means of the Divine Truth proceeding from the Lord as the sun, which is above the angelic heavens, may be seen as in a natural mirror. It may also in some degree be comprehended, that the Lord possesses infinite power by means of the proceeding Divine, which in general is called Divine Truth. This is also meant by these words 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 was made; and the world was made by him" (1:1, 3, 10).

And in David:

"By the Word of Jehovah were the heavens made" (Psalm 33:6).

The Word signifies Divine Truth.

[5] (3) All power coexists in ultimates, and therefore the Lord possesses infinite power from primaries by means of ultimates. What is meant by ultimates shall first be explained. Primaries are those things which are in the Lord, and which proximately go forth from Him. Ultimates are those things that are most remote from Him, which are in nature, and are the final things therein; these are called ultimates, because spiritual things, which are prior, terminate in them, and subsist and rest upon them as upon their foundations; therefore they are fixed, and are consequently called the ultimates of Divine order. All power is in ultimates because prior things are together in them, for they coexist therein in that order, which is called simultaneous order. For there is a nexus of all things from the Lord Himself through the things belonging to heaven and to the world even to those ultimates; and because prior things, which proceed successively, coexist simultaneously in ultimates, as has been said, it follows that power itself is in ultimates from primaries. But Divine power is power through the proceeding Divine which is called Divine Truth, as shown in the preceding article.

[6] It is for this reason that the human race is related to the heavens as the base to a column, or as a foundation to a palace; consequently, the heavens subsist in order upon those things of the church that are with men in the world, thus upon Divine truths in ultimates, which are such Divine truths as are contained in the sense of the letter of the Word. How great is the force in these truths cannot be described in a few words; they are the ultimates with man into which the Lord flows from Himself, thus from primaries, and rules, and preserves all things in the spiritual world in order and connection.

[7] Now because Divine power itself resides in these ultimates, therefore the Lord Himself came into the world, and became Man, that He might be in ultimates at the same time as in primaries, to the end that He might from primaries by means of ultimates reduce all things that were disorganised into order, namely, all things in the hells, and also in the heavens. This was the reason of the Lord's coming; for at the time immediately before His coming there was no Divine Truth in ultimates with men in the world, and none whatever in the church, which then existed among the Jewish nation, except what was falsified and perverted, and consequently there was no basis for the heavens. Unless therefore the Lord had come into the world, and had thus taken upon Himself an ultimate, the heavens, formed of the inhabitants of this planet (tellus), would have been transferred elsewhere, and the whole human race on the planet would have perished in eternal death. But now the Lord on earth, as in the heavens, is in His fulness, and thus in His Omnipotence, because He is both in ultimates and in primaries. Thus the Lord is able to save all those who are in Divine truths from the Word, and in a life according to them, for He can be present and dwell with such in ultimate truths from the Word, since ultimate truths also are His, and are Himself, because they are from Him, according to His words in John:

"He that hath my commandments, and doeth them, he it is that loveth me; and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him (14:21, 23).

[8] (4) So far as angels and men are recipients of Divine Truth from the Lord, so far they are powers.- This is evident from what has been said above, namely, that the Lord possesses infinite power, and that He alone by means of His Divine Truth has power; also from this, that angels and also men are nothing else but forms recipient of Divine Truth, for this reason angels, in the Word, signify Divine truths, and are called gods. It therefore follows from this, that according to the extent and nature of their reception of Divine Truth from the Lord, they are powers.

[9] (5) Power resides in the truths of the natural man, so far as he receives influx from the Lord through the spiritual man.- This follows logically from those things which precede, namely, that Divine Truths in ultimates from primaries possess all power, the natural man being the receptacle of ultimates. But to the natural mind of man there are two ways, one from heaven, the other from the world; the way from heaven leads through the spiritual into the rational mind, and through this into the natural, and the way from the world is through the sensual mind, which is nearest to the world, and clings to the body. From this it is evident that the Lord flows in with Divine Truth into the natural, only through the spiritual man; and so far as the natural man receives influx therefrom, so far power resides therein. By power in it, is meant power against the hells, which is the power of resisting evils and falsities, and of removing them; and so far as these are resisted and removed, so far man comes into angelic power, and also into intelligence, and becomes a son of the kingdom. Concerning the power of the angels, see the work concerning Heaven and Hell 228-233); and concerning their wisdom and intelligence (n. 265-275).

[10] (6) The truths of the natural man have nothing of power without that influx.- This also follows as a result of what has been just said. The truths of the natural man, without influx through the spiritual man, have in themselves nothing of the Lord, thus nothing of life; and truths without life are not truths; in fact, viewed interiorly, they are falsities, and falsities have no power whatever, since they are the opposites of truths, to which all power belongs. These things have been here set forth, in order that it may be known what is meant by the power of natural truth from spiritual, which is signified by the rod of iron, with which the male child born of the woman will tend (pascere) all nations.

5113. 'And behold, a vine before me' means the understanding part. This is clear from the meaning of 'a vine' as the understanding part of the mind as it exists in the spiritual Church, dealt with below. Because 'the cupbearer' means the sensory powers that are subject to the understanding part, and because the subject here is the flow of the understanding into the sensory powers subordinate to it, there appeared in the dream therefore a vine with shoots, blossom, clusters, and grapes, which are used to describe its flow into those powers and the rebirth of them. With regard to the understanding part as it exists in the spiritual Church, it should be recognized that when that Church is the subject in the Word, its understanding is in many instances dealt with too, for the reason that it is the understanding part which is regenerated and made the Church in the case of one belonging to that Church.

[2] There are in general two Churches - the celestial and the spiritual. The celestial Church exists with the person in whom the will part of the mind can be regenerated or made the Church, whereas the spiritual Church exists with one in whom, as stated, solely the understanding part can be regenerated. The Most Ancient Church before the Flood was a celestial one because there existed with those who belonged to it some degree of wholeness in the will part, whereas the Ancient Church after the Flood was a spiritual one because among those who belonged to it no degree of wholeness existed in the will part, only in the understanding part. This explains why, when the spiritual Church is dealt with in the Word, its understanding is dealt with in many instances too. Regarding these Churches, see 640, 641, 765, 863, 875, 895, 927, 928, 1023, 1043, 1044, 1555, 2124, 2256, 2669, 4328, 4493. As regards its being the understanding part that is regenerated in the case of those who belong to the spiritual Church, this may also be recognized from the fact that the member of that Church does not have any good from which he may perceive truth, as those who belonged to the celestial Church had. Rather, he must first learn the truth of faith and absorb it into his understanding, and so come to recognize with the aid of truth what good is. Once truth enables him to recognize what good is, he can think about it, then desire it, and at length put it into practice, in which case he now has a new will formed by the Lord in the understanding part of his mind. The Lord then uses this to raise the spiritual man up to heaven, though evil still remains in the will that is properly his own, which at this point is miraculously set aside. This is accomplished by a higher power which withholds him from evil and maintains him in good.

[3] In the case of the member of the celestial Church however the will part was regenerated. From earliest childhood he was absorbing the good of charity, and once he could see with perception what that good was, he was led on to perceive what love to the Lord was. Consequently all the truths of faith were seen by him in his understanding as if in a mirror. His understanding and will formed one complete mind; for those truths enabled him to perceive in his understanding that which existed as a desire in his will. This is what the wholeness of that first human being consisted in, by whom the celestial Church is meant.

[4] As regards 'the vine' meaning the understanding part in the case of the spiritual Church, this is clear from many other places in the Word, as in Jeremiah,

What have you to do with the way to Egypt, to drink the waters of Shihor? Or what have you to do with the way to Assyria, to drink the waters of the River? Yet I have planted you as a wholly choice vine, a seed of truth. How therefore have you turned from Me into the degenerate branches of a strange vine? Jeremiah 2:18, 21.

This refers to Israel, which means the spiritual Church, 3654, 4286. 'Egypt' and 'the waters of Shihor' stand for factual knowledge which leads to perversion, 1164, 1165, 1186, 1462; 'Assyria' and 'the waters of the River' stand for reasoning based on this, that is, on factual knowledge, against the good of life and the truth of faith, 119, 1186. 'A choice vine' stands for the member of the spiritual Church, who is called 'a vine' because of his understanding, while 'the degenerate branches of a strange vine' stands for someone belonging to the perverted Church.

[5] In Ezekiel,

A riddle and a parable about the house of Israel. A great eagle took some of the seed of the land and planted it in a seed field. It sprouted and became a spreading vine, low in height, so that its branches turned towards him and its roots were under him. So it became a vine which brought forth branches and sent out shoots towards the eagle. This vine directed its roots and sent its branches towards him in a good field by many waters. It was planted to produce a branch, that it might be a magnificent vine. Ezekiel 17:1, 3, 5-8.

An eagle' stands for rational thought, 3901,'the seed of the land' for truth known to the Church, 1025, 1447, 1610, 1940, 2848, 3038, 3310, 3373. Its becoming 'a spreading vine' and 'a magnificent vine' stands for becoming a spiritual Church, which is called 'a vine' because wine is obtained from it - 'wine' meaning spiritual good or the good of charity, the source of the truth of faith implanted in the understanding part.

[6] In the same prophet,

Your mother was like a vine in your likeness, planted beside the waters, fruitful, and made full of branches by reason of many waters. Consequently it had strong rods as sceptres for those who had dominion, and its stature rose up among entangled boughs, so that it was seen in its height amid the multitude of its branches. Ezekiel 19:10-11.

This too refers to Israel, by whom the spiritual Church is meant, which Church is compared to 'a vine' for a similar reason to that mentioned immediately above. It is a description of its derivatives even to the final ones in the natural man, that is to say, even to factual knowledge based on sensory impressions, meant by 'entangled boughs', 2831.

[7] In Hosea,

I will be as the dew of Israel. His branches will go out, and his beauty will be like the olive's, and his odour like that of Lebanon. Those dwelling in its shadow will turn back, they will quicken the grain and will blossom as the vine; the memory of it will be as the wine of Lebanon. O Ephraim, what have I to do any more with idols? Hosea 14:5-8.

'Israel' stands for the spiritual Church, the blossoming of which is compared to 'the vine', and the memory of it to 'the wine of Lebanon', because of the good of faith when that good has been implanted in the understanding part. 'Ephraim' means the understanding part as it exists in the spiritual Church, 3969.

[8] In Zechariah,

The remnant of the people will be the seed of peace; the vine will give its fruit, and the land will give its increase, and the heavens will give their dew. Zechariah 8:11-12.

'The remnant of the people' stands for truths stored away by the Lord within the interior man, 468, 530, 560, 561, 660, 798, 1050, 1738, 1906, 2284. 'The seed of peace' stands for good there, 'the vine' for the understanding part.

[9] In Malachi,

I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that he does not ruin for you the fruit of the land, nor will the vine in the field fail you. Malachi 3:11-12.

'The vine' stands for the understanding part. The expression 'a vine that does not fail' is used when the understanding part is not left bereft of the truths and goods of faith; on the other hand 'an empty vine' is used when falsities exist there together with derivative evils, as in Hosea,

Israel is an empty vine, it bears fruit like itself. Hosea 10:1.

[10] In Moses,

He will bind his ass's colt to the vine, and the foal of his she-ass to a choice vine, after he has washed his clothing in wine, and his garment in the blood of grapes. Genesis 49:11.

This is the prophecy of Jacob, who by then was Israel, regarding his twelve sons, in this case regarding 'Judah', who represents the Lord, 7881. 'The vine' here stands for the understanding part as it exists in the spiritual Church, and 'a choice vine' for the understanding part as it exists in the celestial Church.

[11] In David,

O Jehovah, You caused a vine to journey out of Egypt. You cast out the nations, and You planted it. You cleared the way in front of it and caused its roots to be rooted, so that it might fill the land. The mountains were covered with the shadow of it, and the cedars of God with its branches. You sent out its shoots even to the sea, and its little branches to the Euphrates. The boar out of the forest tramples on it, and the wild animal of the fields feeds on it. Psalms 80:8-11, 13.

'A vine out of Egypt' stands in the highest sense for the Lord, the glorification of His Human being described by it and its shoots. In the internal sense 'a vine' here means the spiritual Church and the member of that Church - what he is like when the understanding and will parts of him have been made new or regenerated by the Lord. 'The boar in the forest' means falsity, and 'the wild animal of the fields' evil, which destroy the Church and faith in the Lord.

[12] In John,

The angel sent his sickle into the earth and harvested the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. The winepress was trodden outside the city, and the blood went out of the winepress up to the horses' bridles. Revelation 14:19-20.

'Harvesting the vine of the earth' stands for destroying the understanding part in the Church. And since 'the vine' means that understanding part it is also said that 'the blood went out of the winepress up to the horses' bridles'; for the powers of understanding are meant by 'horses', 2761, 2762, 3217. In Isaiah,

It will happen on that day, that every place in which there have been a thousand vines, worth a thousand [shekels] of silver, will be briers and brambles. Isaiah 7:23.

In the same prophet,

The inhabitants of the land will be scorched and hardly any men (homo) left. The new wine will mourn, and the vine will languish. Isaiah 14:6-7.

In the same prophet,

They beat themselves on their breasts for the fields of unmixed wine, for the fruitful vine; for over the land of My people the them, the prickle is coming up. Isaiah 32:12-14.

In these places the subject is the spiritual Church when laid waste as regards the good and truth of faith, and so as regards the understanding part, since, as stated above, the truth and the good of faith exist in the understanding part of the mind of the member of that Church. Anyone may see that in these places 'the vine' is not used to mean the vine, nor 'the land' to mean the land, but some feature of the Church.

[13] In the genuine sense 'the vine' means good present in the understanding part, and 'the fig' good present in the natural part; or what amounts to the same, 'the vine' means good present in the interior man, and 'the fig' good present in the exterior man. This being so, when the vine is mentioned in the Word, so also on many occasions is the fig, as in the following places: In Jeremiah,

I will completely devour them. There will be no grapes on the vine or figs on the fig tree; and its leaf has come down. Jeremiah 8:13.

In the same prophet,

I will bring upon you a nation from afar, O house of Israel, which will devour your vine and your fig tree. Jeremiah 5:17.

In Hosea,

I will lay waste her vine and her fig tree. Hosea 2:12.

In Joel,

A nation has come up over the land. It has turned My vine into a waste, and My fig tree into froth. It has stripped it completely bare and cast it aside; its branches have been made white. The vine has withered and the fig tree languishes. Joel 1:6-7, 12.

In the same prophet,

Fear not, you beasts of My fields, for the dwelling places of the wilderness have been made green; for the tree will bear its fruit, and the fig tree and the vine will give their full yield. Joel 2:12, 23.

In David,

He smote their vines and their fig trees, and broke to pieces the trees of their borders. Psalms 105:33.

In Habakkuk,

The fig tree will not blossom; neither will there be any yield on the vines. Habakkuk 3:17.

In Micah,

Out of Zion will go forth teaching, and the Word of Jehovah from Jerusalem. They will sit every one under his vine and under his fig tree, unafraid. Micah 4:1, 4.

In Zechariah,

On that day you will shout, each to his companion, under his vine and under his fig tree. Zechariah 3:10.

In the first Book of Kings,

In Solomon's time there was peace from all the border-crossings round about, and Judah and Israel dwelt with confidence, every one under his vine and under his fig tree. 1 Kings 4:24-25.

The fig tree' means the good of the natural or exterior man, see 217.

[14] 'The vine' may also mean an understanding part that has been made new or regenerated by means of good obtained from truth and of truth obtained from good. This is clear from the Lord's words addressed to the disciples after He instituted the Holy Supper, in Matthew,

I tell you that I shall not drink from now on of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father's kingdom. Matthew 26:29.

The good obtained from truth and the truth obtained from good, by means of which the understanding is made new, that is, by which a person is made spiritual, is meant by 'the fruit of the vine', while making such one's own is meant by 'drinking'. For 'drinking' means making one's own, and is used in reference to truth, see 3168. The fact that this is fully accomplished only in the next life is meant by 'until that day when I drink it new with you. In My Father's kingdom'; for 'the fruit of the vine', it is quite plain, is not used to mean new wine or matured wine but something of a heavenly nature belonging to the Lord's kingdom.

[15] Because the understanding part of the spiritual man's mind is made new and regenerated by means of truth which comes solely from the Lord, the Lord therefore compares Himself to 'the vine'. He then compares those who are secure in the truth which comes from Him and consequently is His to 'the branches', and the good produced by them to 'the fruit', in John,

I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away, but every one that does bear fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I him, he it is that bears much fruit; for apart from Me you cannot do anything. This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. John 15:1-5, 12.

[16] Because in the highest sense 'the vine' means the Lord as regards Divine Truth, and from this it means, in the internal sense, a member of the spiritual Church, 'a vineyard' therefore means the spiritual Church itself, 1069, 3220.

[17] Since 'the Nazirite' represented the celestial man - who is regenerated by means of the good of love and not, like the spiritual man, by means of the truth of faith, so that, as may be seen stated above, it is not in the understanding part but in the will part of the celestial man's mind that the regeneration takes place - the Nazirite was therefore forbidden to eat anything that came from the vine and so was forbidden to drink wine, Numbers 6:3-4; Judges 13:14. From this also it is evident that 'the vine', as has been shown, means the understanding part, which belongs to the spiritual man. For details about 'the Nazirite' representing the celestial man, see 3301. From this one may also see that nobody can possibly know why the Nazirite was forbidden anything that came from the vine, and many other things besides, unless he knows what 'the vine' means in the proper sense, and also unless he knows of the existence of a celestial Church and of a spiritual Church, and that the member of the celestial Church is regenerated in a different way from a member of the spiritual Church. The former is regenerated by means of seed implanted in the will part, the latter by seed implanted in the understanding part. These are the kinds of arcana stored away in the internal sense of the Word.