328. For thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God in thy blood. That this signifies the separation of all from the Divine, and conjunction with the Divine by the acknowledgment of Him, and by the reception of Divine truth from Him, is evident from the signification of being slain, when predicated of the Lord, as denoting the separation of all from the Divine, for to be slain in the Word signifies to be spiritually slain, that is, to perish by evils and falsities, as may be seen above, n. 315; and because the Lord also is not with them, for He is denied, therefore by being slain, when said of the Lord, is signified not to be acknowledged (as above, n. 315), and also to be denied; and when the Lord is denied, He is, as it were, slain with them, and they are thereby separated from the Divine. For those who deny the Lord, that is, His Divine, separate themselves altogether from the Divine, for He is the God of the universe, and He is one with the Father, also the Father is in Him and He in the Father, and no one cometh to the Father but by Him, as the Lord Himself teaches; therefore those in the church who do not acknowledge His Divine, are altogether separated from the Divine, and more so they who in heart deny it.

[2] To deny it is here meant by slaying Him in themselves. This is also meant in the internal sense of the Word by their crucifying the Lord (as may be seen above, n. 83, 195); for the Jews, with whom the church then was, denied that He was the Christ, and consequently separated themselves from the Divine, and therefore they put Him to death, or crucified Him. Even at this day those do this who deny His Divine; whence it is a common remark of preachers, that they who lead an evil life, and blaspheme Him, crucify Him in themselves. This, therefore, is what is here signified by, "Thou wast slain"; and from the signification of, "Thou hast redeemed us to God by thy blood," as denoting that He would conjoin us to the Divine by the acknowledgment of Him, and by the reception of Divine truth from Him. For that to redeem signifies to liberate from hell, and thereby to take them to Himself, and thus conjoin them to the Divine, will be evident from the passages in the Word, where to redeem and redemption are mentioned, which will be adduced below; and the Lord's blood signifies the Divine truth proceeding from Him; and because a man by the reception of Divine truth from the Lord is liberated from hell and conjoined to Him, therefore by, "Thou hast redeemed us to God by thy blood," there is signified conjunction with the Divine by the reception of the Divine truth from Him.

[3] That this sense is concealed in those words, no one can see who confines himself to the sense of the letter, for in that sense nothing else can be seen, except that by, "Thou wast slain," is meant crucified; and by, "Thou hast redeemed by thy blood," is meant that He has reconciled us to His Father by the passion of the cross; and because that sense is the sense of the letter, and it has remained unknown hitherto, that in every particular of the Word there is an internal sense which is spiritual, therefore from the sense of the letter they have made it a doctrine of the church, that the essential Divine which they call the Father, rejected the whole human race, and that the Lord, by the passion of the cross, made reconciliation, and thus that those for whom He intercedes are saved. How can he, whose understanding is in some measure enlightened, help seeing that this doctrinal is contrary to the Divine itself? For the Divine never rejects any man, for He loves all, and thence desires the salvation of all. And it is also contrary to the Divine itself to be reconciled by the shedding of blood, and to be brought back to mercy through the consideration of the passion of the cross which His own Son sustained, and that thence He has mercy, and not from Himself; and although this is contrary to the Divine essence, still they call it essential faith or justifying faith to believe this.

[4] Who also from enlightened reason can suppose that the sins of the whole world were transferred to the Lord, and taken away from every one who has that faith alone? And yet this is the doctrine of those who do not think beyond the sense of the letter. But yet, the angels who are with men, do not perceive it according to that sense, but according to the spiritual sense, for they are spiritual, and hence they think spiritually and not naturally. By redeeming man by His blood, they understand the freeing man from hell, and so claiming and conjoining him to Himself by the acknowledgment of Him, and by the reception of Divine truth from Him. That this is the case the church also may know; for it may know that no one can be conjoined to the Divine by blood, but by the reception of the Divine truth, and the application of it to the life.

[5] The Lord's deliverance [of man] from hell was accomplished by His assuming the Human, and thereby subjugating the hells, and reducing all things in the heavens into order, which could have been done in no other way than from the Human, for the Divine operates from primaries by means of ultimates, thus from Himself by those things that are from Himself in ultimates, these being in the Human. This is the operation of the Divine power in heaven and in the world. (But concerning this matter some particulars may be seen above, n. 41; also in the work concerning Heaven and Hell 315; and in the Arcana Coelestia 5897, 6239, 6451, 6465, 8603, 9215, 9216, 9824, 9828, 9836, 10044, 10099, 10329, 10335, 10548.) The Lord's deliverance [of man] from hell was also accomplished by His glorifying His Human, that is, by making it Divine, for thus and in no other way could the hells be kept in subjection for ever; and because the subjugation of the hells and the glorification of His Human was accomplished by temptations admitted into His Human, the passion of His cross was the last temptation and complete victory. By bearing the sins of all, is signified that He admitted into Himself all the hells when tempted, for all sins and evils come up therefrom, and enter into and are with man; therefore by bearing them is signified His admitting the hells into Himself when tempted; and by His taking away sins, is signified that He subjugated the hells, in order that evils may thence no more arise in those who acknowledge the Lord and receive Him, that is, the Divine truth proceeding from Him in faith and life, and are thus conjoined to the Lord. It is said that by "Thou hast redeemed us to God by thy blood," is signified conjunction with the Divine by the acknowledgment of Him, and the reception of Divine truth from Him; and because the church is founded upon this, I wish in a few words to state how conjunction is thereby effected.

[6] The chief thing is to acknowledge the Lord, His Divine in the Human, and His Omnipotence in saving the human race; for by that acknowledgment man is conjoined to the Divine, because there is no Divine elsewhere; for there is the Father, the Father being in Him, and He in the Father, as the Lord Himself teaches; therefore those who look to another Divine near Him, or at His side, as those are accustomed to do who pray to the Father to have mercy for the sake of the Son, turn aside from the way and worship a Divine elsewhere than in Him. And, moreover, they think nothing at that time concerning the Lord's Divine, but solely concerning His Human, which nevertheless cannot be separated, for the Divine and the Human are not two but a single person conjoined like soul and body, according to the doctrine received by the churches from the Athanasian Creed. To acknowledge the Divine in the Lord's Human, or the Divine Human, is the chief thing of the church, by this there is conjunction; and because it is the primary it is also the first thing of the church. Because this is the first thing of the church, the Lord therefore, when He was in the world, so often asked those whom He healed, "Believest thou that I am able to do this?" and when they answered that they did believe, He said, "Be it done according to your faith." This He so often asked that they might first believe that He had Divine Omnipotence from His Divine Human, for without that faith the church could not be begun, and without that faith they could not be conjoined with the Divine, but must have been separated from it, and, consequently, they could not receive any thing good from Him.

[7] Afterwards the Lord taught how they would be saved, namely, that they should receive Divine truth from Him; and this is received, when it is applied to, and implanted in, the life by doing it; therefore the Lord so often said, that they should do His words. From these considerations it is evident that these two things, namely, to believe in the Lord and to do His words, make one, and that they can by no means be separated; for he who does not the Lord's words does not believe in Him; nor also does he believe in Him who supposes that he does believe in Him and does not do His words; for the Lord is in His words, that is, in His truths, and from them the Lord imparts faith to man. From these few remarks, it can be known that conjunction with the Divine is effected by the acknowledgment of the Lord and by the reception of Divine truth from Him. This, therefore, is what is signified by the Lamb redeeming us to God by His blood. That by the Lamb is signified the Lord as to the Divine Human, may be seen above, n. 314. Concerning this circumstance more may be seen in the Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 293-297; and from the Arcana Coelestia there, n. 300-306, as also at the end of this work, where the Lord is particularly treated of. That blood signifies the Divine truth proceeding from the Lord, and that salvation through His blood signifies through the reception of Divine truth from Him, will be explained in the following article.

[8] That to redeem, however, signifies to deliver and set free, and when predicated of the Lord to deliver and free from hell, and thus to claim and conjoin to Himself, is evident from the following passages. In Isaiah:

"Who cometh from Edom, travelling in the multitude of his strength? I who speak in justice, mighty to save. For the day of vengeance is in my heart, and the year of my redeemed is come. In all their want he suffered want, and the angel of his faces preserved them; in his love and his pity he redeemed them; and he took them, and carried them all the days of eternity" (63:1, 4, 9).

The Lord is here treated of, and His temptation-combats, by which He subjugated the hells. By Edom, from which He cometh, is signified His Human, and also by the angel of His faces. His Divine power from which He fought, is signified by travelling in the multitude of His strength; the casting down into hell of those who rose up against Him, and the elevation of the good into heaven, are meant by justice, therefore, by these words, "I who speak in justice, mighty to save. For the day of vengeance is in my heart, and the year of my redeemed is come." His Divine love from which He did those things, is described by, "In all their want he suffered want, and the angel of his faces preserved them; in his love and his pity he redeemed them; and he took them, and carried them all the days of eternity." Hence it is evident that by the redeemed and by those whom He redeemed, are signified those whom He delivered and saved from the fury of those who are from hell.

[9] In the same:

"Thus said Jehovah thy Creator, O Jacob, and thy Former, O Israel; [Fear not;] for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine" (43:1).

That by redeeming is signified to free from hell, and to claim and conjoin to Himself, so that they may be His, is evident; for it is said, "I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine," because this is effected by reformation and regeneration from the Lord, it is therefore said, "Jehovah thy Creator, O Jacob, and thy Former, O Israel." He is called Creator because by to create in the Word is signified to regenerate, as may be seen above, n. 294. Jacob and Israel signify those who belong to the church, and are in truths from good.

[10] In the same:

"Say ye to the daughter of Zion, Behold! thy salvation cometh; behold! His reward is with him, and the worth of the trouble is before him; And they shall call them, A people of holiness, the redeemed of Jehovah" (62:11, 12).

Here also the Lord's advent is treated of, and the establishment of the church by Him. The daughter of Zion signifies the church which is in love to the Lord; His advent is meant by "Behold! thy salvation cometh; behold! his reward is with him, and the worth of the trouble is before him"; those who are reformed and regenerated by Him are meant by the redeemed of Jehovah.

[11] The reason why they are called the redeemed is, because they are freed through regeneration from evils, and are claimed by and conjoined to the Lord. In the same:

"No lion shall be there, and the ravenous of the wild beasts shall not be found therein; but the redeemed shall walk there. Thus the redeemed of Jehovah shall return, and come to Zion with singing, the joy of eternity upon their head" (35:9, 10).

Here also the Lord's advent is treated of, and the salvation of those who suffer themselves to be regenerated by the Lord. That there shall not be with them falsity destroying truth, nor evil destroying good, is signified by "no lion shall be there, and the ravenous of the wild beasts shall not be found therein"; that they are delivered from evils and freed from falsities is signified by, "the redeemed shall walk there; thus the redeemed of Jehovah shall return"; their eternal felicity is signified by, "They shall come to Zion with singing, and the joy of eternity upon their head"; Zion denotes the church. What singing signifies may be seen just above, n. 326. There are two words in the original tongue by which to redeem is expressed; one signifies deliverance from evils, the other liberation from falsities; those two expressions are here. Hence it is said, the redeemed shall walk, and the redeemed of Jehovah shall return. Those two expressions are also used in Hosea (13:14); and in David (Psalms 69:18; 107:6).

[12] That to redeem signifies to deliver from evils and to free from falsities, and also to deliver and free from hell, is, because all the evils and falsities with a man arise from hell; and because they are removed through reformation and regeneration by the Lord, reformation and regeneration also are signified by to redeem or by redemption; as in the following passages.

[13] In David:

"Arise for our help, and redeem us for thy mercy's sake" (Psalms 44:26).

To redeem [is here used] for to set free and to reform.

Again:

"God hath redeemed my soul out of the hand of hell; and he shall receive me" (Psalms 49:15).

To redeem from the power of hell, means to free; to receive me, to claim and to conjoin to Himself, or to make them His, as servants sold and redeemed.

In Hosea:

"Out of the hand of hell will I redeem them; I will redeem them from death" (13:14).

To redeem means to deliver and free from damnation.

In David:

"Bless Jehovah, O my soul, bless his holy name; who hath redeemed thy life from the pit" (Psalms 103:1-4).

To redeem from the pit, means to free from damnation, the pit denoting damnation.

Again:

"Draw nigh unto my soul, redeem it, and because of mine enemies redeem me" (Psalms 69:18).

To draw nigh to the soul signifies to conjoin it to Himself; to redeem it signifies to deliver from evils; redeem me because of mine enemies, signifies to free from falsities, enemies denoting falsities.

Again:

"Let the redeemed of Jehovah say so, whom he hath redeemed out of the hand of the restraining enemy" (Psalms 107:2).

The redeemed of Jehovah are those who are delivered from evils; "whom he hath redeemed out of the hand of the restraining enemy," are those whom He has freed from falsities.

In Jeremiah:

"I am with thee, to keep thee and to deliver thee; and I will deliver thee out of the hand of the evil, and I will redeem thee from the hand of the violent" (15:20, 21).

To redeem out of the hand of the violent means to liberate from falsities which offer violence to the good of charity; the violent signify those falsities, consequently, also those who are in them.

[14] In David

"Let Israel hope in Jehovah, for with Jehovah there is mercy, and in him is plenteous redemption, and he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities" (Psalms 130:7, 8).

Redemption here means liberation; Israel, the church; and to reform those who are of the church, and free them from falsities, is signified by, "He shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities."

Again:

"Let integrity and uprightness guard me; for I have waited for thee. Redeem Israel, O God, out of all his distresses" (Psalms 25:21, 22).

To redeem Israel from distresses, means also here to free those who belong to the church from falsities which cause distress.

In Isaiah:

"Is my hand shortened, that there is no redemption, or is there no power in me to deliver?" (50:2).

That redemption denotes liberation is evident, for it is also said, "Is my hand shortened, or is there no power in me to deliver?" In David:

"God shall hear my voice; he shall redeem my soul with peace " (Psalms 55:16-18).

To redeem here means to free.

Again:

"Unto thee will I sing with the harp, thou Holy One of Israel. My lips shall praise; and my soul, which thou hast redeemed" (Psalms 71:22, 23).

To redeem the soul here means to free from falsities; for by soul in the Word is signified the life of faith, and by heart the life of love; therefore to redeem the soul signifies to free from falsities, and to give the life of faith.

[15] And again:

"Redeem me from the oppression of man, that I may keep thy commandments" (Psalms 119:134).

To deliver from the oppression of man signifies to free from the falsities of evil, for man signifies the spiritual affection of truth and thence wisdom, and in the opposite sense, as here, the lust of falsity, and thence insanity; the oppression thereof, signifies the destruction of truth by falsities.

So again:

"Into thine hand I commend my spirit; thou hast redeemed me, O Jehovah, God of truth" (Psalms 31:5).

To redeem here means to free from falsities and to reform by truths. Because this is signified by to redeem, therefore it is also said, "O Jehovah, God of truth."

And again:

"Mischief is in the hands of sinners, and their right hand is full of bribes. But as for me, I walk in mine integrity; redeem me, and be merciful unto me" (Psalms 26:9-11).

To redeem here means to free from falsities, and to reform.

So again:

"He shall redeem their soul from deceit and violence; and precious shall their blood be in his eyes. And he shall live, and he shall give him of the gold of Sheba; and he shall pray for him continually; daily shall he bless him" (Psalms 72:14, 15).

The needy are here treated of, by whom are signified those who desire truths from a spiritual affection. Concerning them it is said, that "He shall redeem their soul from deceit and violence," by which is signified liberation from evils and falsities which destroy the goods of love and the truths of faith; the reception of Divine truth by them is signified by, "precious shall their blood be in his eyes"; their reformation is described by, "He shall live, and he shall give him of the gold of Sheba; and he shall pray for him continually; daily shall he bless him." The gold of Sheba denotes the good of charity; to pray for him continually, signifies that they shall continually be withheld from falsities and kept in truths; and daily shall he bless him, signifies that they shall continually be in the good of charity and faith, for this is the Divine benediction, and this is to pray for him continually.

[16] In Isaiah:

"Thus said Jehovah, Ye are sold for nought, and ye shall not be redeemed by silver; into Egypt have my people descended to dwell there as strangers, but Asshur oppressed them for nothing" (52:3, 4).

The desolation of truths by scientifics, and by the reasonings of the natural man from them, is here treated of; for by, "into Egypt have my people descended to dwell there as strangers," is signified the instruction of the natural man by means of scientifics and by the knowledges of truth. Egypt signifies scientifics and also knowledges, but such as are from the sense of the letter of the Word; and to dwell as a stranger signifies to be instructed. By Assyria oppressing them for nothing, is signified the falsification of those things by the reasonings of the natural man. Assyria signifies reasonings, and to oppress for nothing signifies falsification; for falsities are nothing, because there is nothing of truth in them, which is the case when the natural man, separate from the spiritual, draws conclusions; hence it is that it is preceded by, "Ye are sold for nought; and ye shall not be redeemed by silver." To be sold for nought signifies, from himself, or from the proprium, to alienate oneself, and to renounce falsities; and not to be redeemed by silver, signifies that they could not be delivered from the falsities of evil by truth; money signifies truth, and to be redeemed signifies to be delivered from the falsities of evil, and to be reformed.

[17] In Zechariah:

"I will gather them together, because I will redeem them; then shall they be multiplied; and I will sow them among the peoples; and I will bring them back out of the land [of Egypt], and will gather them together out of Assyria, and to the land of Gilead, and to Lebanon will I bring them" (10:8-10).

The subject here treated of is the restoration of the church, and reformation by means of truths from good; and by, "I will gather them, because I will redeem them," is signified the dispersion of falsities, and reformation by truths; therefore it is said, "they shall be multiplied, and I will sow them among the peoples," by which is signified the multiplication and insemination of truth from good; to bring them back out of the land of Egypt, and to gather them from Assyria, signifies, to lead them away from the falsification of the truth which they have by means of reasonings from scientifics (as may be seen above). "To bring them to the land of Gilead, and to Lebanon," signifies, to the good of the church, which is the good of charity, and to the good and truth of faith; the former is the land of Gilead, and the latter Lebanon.

[18] From these things it is evident what is signified, in the spiritual sense, by Jehovah leading the people out of Egypt and redeeming them; as in Moses:

"I will free you from bondage; and I will redeem you with a stretched-out arm, and with great judgments" (Exodus 6:6).

So again:

"I brought you out of Egypt with a stretched-out arm, and I redeemed you out of the house of servants" (Deuteronomy 9:26-29; 13:5; 15:15; 24:18).

"Thou in thy mercy hast led forth thy people whom thou hast redeemed; thou hast brought them in the strength of thy hand to the dwelling of thy holiness" (Exodus 15:13).

And in Micah:

"I made thee ascend out of the land of Egypt, and I redeemed thee out of the house of bondage" (6:4).

In the sense of the letter it means here that they were, by the Divine power, brought out of Egypt, where they had been made servants; but, in the internal or spiritual sense, no such thing is meant, but that those who belong to the church, who are those who are reformed by the Lord, by truths and by a life according to them, are delivered and freed from evils and the falsities thence, for these are the things that make man a slave; this is the spiritual sense of those words, in which the angels are, while man is in the sense of the letter.

[19] The angels also by redemption understand deliverance from evils, and liberation from falsities, in the following passages.

In Moses:

"I will put redemption between my people and Pharaoh's people" (Exodus 8:23).

In David:

"He hath sent redemption unto his people; he hath commanded his covenant for ever; holy and reverend is his name" (Psalms 111:9).

In Matthew:

"What is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, but shall lose his soul? or what shall a man give as a price sufficient for the redemption of his soul?" (16:26; Mark 8:36, 37).

[20] Redemption here means deliverance from damnation. From these considerations it is evident what is signified by the Lord redeeming mankind, namely, that He has delivered and freed them from hell, and from the evils and falsities which thence continually rise up and bring man into condemnation, and that He continually delivers them and frees them. This deliverance and liberation was brought about by His subjugating the hells; and the continual deliverance and liberation, by His having glorified His Human, that is, having made it Divine, for thereby He keeps the hells continually in subjection; this, therefore, is what is signified by His redeeming man, and by His being called in the Word a Redeemer; as in the following passages.

In Isaiah:

"Fear not, thou worm of Jacob, and ye dying men of Israel; I am he who helpeth thee, and thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel" (41:14).

In the same prophet:

"Thus said Jehovah, the Redeemer of Israel, his Holy One, because of Jehovah that is faithful, the Holy One of Israel, who hath chosen thee" (49:7).

Again:

"Our Redeemer is Jehovah Zebaoth; his name, the Holy One of Israel" (47:4).

Again:

"Thus said Jehovah, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel" (43:14).

Again:

"That all flesh may know that I Jehovah am thy Saviour and thy Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob" (49:26).

Again:

"That thou mayest know that I Jehovah am thy Saviour and thy Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob" (60:16).

By the Holy One of Israel, and by the Mighty One of Jacob, who in these passages is called the Redeemer, is meant the Lord as to the Divine Human, and by Jehovah His essential Divine. The reason why the Lord as to His Divine Human is called the Holy One of Israel, and the Strong and Mighty One of Jacob, is, because Israel and Jacob signify the church, thus those who are regenerated and reformed, that is, who are redeemed by the Lord, for these alone belong to the church, or constitute the Lord's church.

[21] That the Lord's Divine Human is what is called holy, is evident in Luke:

The angel said unto Mary, "The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee; therefore that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God" (1:35).

And that the Lord as to the Divine Human is the Strong and Mighty One of Jacob, in the same:

The angel said unto Mary, "Behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son. He shall be great, and he shall reign in the house of Jacob for ever, and of His Kingdom there shall be no end" (1:30-33).

By the house of Jacob is meant the Lord's church; that it is not the Jewish nation, is evident.

[22] Because the Lord's Human was equally Divine as His essential Divine, which assumed the Human, therefore also Jehovah is called the Redeemer in the following passages.

In Isaiah:

"Thus said Jehovah thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, I am Jehovah thy God" (48:17).

And again:

"Jehovah of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; the God of the whole earth shall he be called" (54:5).

In David:

"O Jehovah my Rock, and my Redeemer" (Psalms 19:14).

In Jeremiah:

"Their Redeemer is strong; Jehovah of hosts is his name" (50:34).

In Isaiah:

"Thou, O Jehovah, art our Father, our Redeemer; thy name is from everlasting" (63:16).

From these considerations it is now evident how what the Lord said is to be understood:

The Son of man hath come "that he may give his soul a redemption for many" (Matthew 20:28; Mark 10:45).

That is, that they might be freed and delivered from hell; for the passion of the cross was the last combat and full victory, by which He subjugated the hells, and by which He glorified His Human. (As may be seen in the Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 293-297; and 300-306)

9828. 'And a belt' means a common bond to ensure that everything has the same end in view. This is clear from the meaning of 'a belt' or girdle as a common bond; for it gathers together, encloses, holds in connection within itself, and strengthens everything within, which without it would fall apart and drift away. The reason why it is a common bond whose purpose is to ensure that everything has the same end in view is that in the spiritual world the end in view holds sway, so much so that everything there should be called an end. For the Lord's kingdom, which is a spiritual world, is a kingdom of useful services, and such services there are ends in view, so that it is a kingdom of ends. But the ends there follow one another in various order, and they also stand in association with one another. The ends which follow one another are called middle ends, but those which stand in association with one another are called associate ends. All these ends have been so linked together and made subordinate to one another that without exception they have one end in view. This end is the Lord; and in heaven, among those who accept it, it is a love of and faith in Him. Love there is the end in view of all the powers of the will there, and faith is the end in view of all the powers of thought, which are those of the understanding.

[2] When every single thing has the same end in view all things are then held in uninterrupted connection and make one; for everything is then under the eye, government, and providence of the One who, acting in accord with the laws of subordination and association, turns everyone towards Himself, and thereby joins them to Himself. At the same time He turns all to face their companions, and thereby joins them to one another. This explains why the faces of all who are in heaven are kept turned towards the Lord, who is the Sun there, and so is the centre point in front of everyone's eyes; and the marvel is that He is there in whatever direction angels turn round to face, 3638. And since the Lord is present within the good of mutual love and within the good of charity towards the neighbour - for all are loved by Him, and are joined to one another by Him through love - their regard for their companions, which that love gives them, also serves to turn them towards the Lord.

[3] Those things therefore on last and lowest levels, gathering others together and enclosing them so they may be held, every single one, in such connection, were represented by belts or girdles, which in the spiritual world are nothing other than the forms of good and the truths present on lowest or outermost levels which enclose more internal ones. Celestial forms of good on lowest or outermost levels were represented by girdles that went around the loins, and spiritual forms of good and truths on those levels by girdles that went around the thighs and also around the breast.

[4] Such things are meant by 'girdles around the loins' in the following places: In Jeremiah,

Jehovah said to the prophet, Buy yourself a linen girdle, and place it over your loins; but you are not to pass it through water. I therefore bought a girdle, and placed it over my loins. Then the word of Jehovah came to me, saying, Take the girdle, and go away to the Euphrates, and hide it in the cleft of a rock. At the end of many days I went away to the Euphrates, and took the girdle, and behold, it was ruined; it was profitable for nothing. Then Jehovah said, This people is evil, refusing to hear My words; and they have gone after other gods. Therefore they will be just like this girdle that is profitable for nothing. Jeremiah 13:1-12.

'A linen girdle' here is used to mean in the spiritual sense the Church's good, which encloses the truths there and holds them in connection within itself. The non-existence of the Church's good at that time, and the consequent dispersal of its truths, are the reason for its being said that the girdle was not to be passed through water; for 'water' means truth that purifies and thereby restores. 'The cleft of a rock' in which it was hidden is falsified truth; 'the Euphrates' is the full extent and boundary of the celestial realities that belong to good on its lowest level. Anyone unacquainted with the essential nature of the Word may think that the passage is no more than a comparison of the people and their ruination with a girdle and its ruination. But in the Word all comparisons and metaphorical ways of speaking are real correspondences, 3579, 8989. Unless each detail in this description were of a correspondential nature the prophet would never have been told not to pass the girdle through water, or to place it over his loins, or to go to the Euphrates and hide it there in the cleft of a rock. The reason why it says that the girdle should be placed over his loins is that by 'the loins', because of their correspondence, is meant the good of celestial love, 3021, 4280, 5050-5062. A girdle placed over the loins accordingly means being joined to the Lord through the good of love, the Word serving as the intermediary.

[5] The meaning of 'a girdle' as good that acts as a boundary and holds things together is also evident in Isaiah,

There will come forth a shoot from the trunk of Jesse. Righteousness will be the girdle of His loins, and truth the girdle of His thighs. Isaiah 11:1, 5.

This refers to the Lord. 'Righteousness' that will be 'the girdle of His loins' is the good of His love, which protects heaven and the Church. The requirement stated in Exodus 12:11 that when the children of Israel ate the Passover their loins were to be girded means that all things should be present in their proper order, made ready to receive good from the Lord and to take action, 7863. This explains why those who have been made ready are said to be 'girded', as is also said of the seven angels in the Book of Revelation,

Out of the temple came the seven angels having the seven plagues, clothed in linen, white and splendid, and girded around their breasts with golden girdles. Revelation 15:6.

[6] It is said of Elijah in 2 Kings 1:8 that he was a hairy man and wore a girdle of skin around his loins. Much the same is said of John,

John had a garment of camel hair and a skin girdle around his waist. Matthew 3:4.

The reason why Elijah and John were clothed and girded in this way was that both men represented the Word, and therefore their clothes mean the Word in its external sense, which is the natural sense. For 'hair' means the natural, 3301, 5247, 5569-5573, and 'camels' general facts within the natural, 3048, 3071, 3143, 3145. And 'skin' means the external, 3540, so that 'a girdle of skin' means that which collects together, encloses, and holds in connection the things within itself. For the representation of Elijah as the Word, see Preface to Genesis 18, and 2762, 5247 (end), and John the Baptist similarly, 9372.

[7] Since truths and forms of good are dissolved and dispersed by wicked deeds it says of Joab that after he had tricked and killed Abner he put the blood of war on his girdle that was on his loins, 1 Kings 2:5. This means that he dispersed and destroyed such truths and forms of good. This accounts for its being said, when truths have been dispersed and destroyed, that instead of a girdle there will be a falling apart, and instead of well-set hair, baldness, Isaiah 3:24. This refers to the daughters of Zion, by whom forms of good belonging to the celestial Church are meant. 'Instead of a girdle, a falling apart' stands for the dispersal of celestial good.

[8] It is also said in Ezekiel of Oholibah, who is Jerusalem, that when she looked at men portrayed on the wall, images of Chaldeans portrayed in vermilion, girded with girdles on their loins, she fell in love with them, Ezekiel 23:14-16. Here truths which have been rendered profane are meant, for 'the Chaldeans' are those who outwardly claim to believe in truths but inwardly repudiate them, and in so doing render them profane. 'Men portrayed on the wall' are the appearances of truth in outward things, as in like manner are 'images portrayed in vermilion'. 'Girdles' with which their loins were girded are the forms of good which they fake to induce belief in their truths.

[9] From all this it may now be clear what it was that girdles gathering garments into one served to mean in the representative Church. Yet the natural man can scarcely be brought to believe that such things were meant, because he finds it difficult to put aside the natural idea of a girdle, and in general of garments, and instead adopt a spiritual idea, which is that of good holding truths in connection within itself. For the natural level on which a person sees things holds the mind down on that level, and it is not removed from there unless the sight of the understanding is able to be raised right up into the light of heaven and the person is for this reason able to think on a level virtually divorced from natural things. When this happens to a person spiritual ideas of the truth of faith and of the good of love, which the merely natural man cannot understand, enter in.