619. But it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey.- That this signifies exterior delight, is evident from the signification of the mouth, as denoting what is exterior, for the subject here treated of is the little book, and the eating of it up; by the little book is signified the Word, and by eating it up are signified perception and exploration, whence by the mouth, which first receives, is meant the external of the Word; and from the signification of "sweet as honey," as denoting the delight of natural good. The reason why the external of the Word was sweet as honey, that is, thus delightful, was, that it is of such a nature as to be capable of application to any love whatever, and to any principle thence conceived; and these can be confirmed by it. The reason why the external of the Word, which is the sense of the letter is such, is that many things therein are written according to appearances with the natural man, and many appearances, if not interiorly understood, are fallacies, like the fallacies of the senses. Those therefore who love to live for the body and the world, use the external of the Word by means of those appearances to confirm evils of life and falsities of faith.

[2] This was especially the case with the sons of Jacob, who applied all things of the Word to themselves, and from the sense of the letter maintained that belief, which they also retain to this day, that they were chosen in preference to others, and were therefore a holy nation; they believed that their Jerusalem, and its temple, the ark, the altar, the sacrifices, with innumerable other things, were of themselves holy, not knowing or being willing to know, that the holiness of all those things consisted solely in the fact that they represented Divine things proceeding from the Lord, which are called celestial and spiritual, and are the holy things of heaven and the church, and that to think them to be holy of themselves, and not from the Divine things which they represented, was to falsify and adulterate the Word by applying it to themselves and to their own loves. The case was similar in regard to their faith concerning the Messiah, which was, that He would be king of the world, and raise them above all the nations and peoples in the whole world; not to mention other things which they gathered from the mere sense of the letter of the Word, which were to them as sweet as honey in the mouth. For this reason those things that are in the spiritual sense of the Word are undelightful, for in that sense are truths themselves, and these are not according to appearances; as for example, that that nation was not holy, but worse than every other nation, consequently that it was not a chosen nation; that the city of Jerusalem merely signifies the church of the Lord, and doctrine concerning Him and concerning the holy things of heaven and the church; and that the temple, the ark, the altar, and the sacrifices, represented the Lord and the holy things proceeding from Him, and that their holiness was from this and no other source. These are the truths stored up interiorly in the sense of the letter of the Word, that is, in its internal spiritual sense. These truths they deny, because, as stated, they falsified and adulterated the Word in the sense of the letter, and therefore they are undelightful to them like food that is bitter in the belly.

[3] It is said that the little book should be in the mouth sweet as honey, because honey signifies the delight of natural good. That honey signifies that delight is evident from the following passages.

Thus, in Ezekiel:

It was said to the prophet, "Open thy mouth, and eat that I give thee. And I looked, and behold, a hand was sent unto me; and lo, a roll of a book was therein. And when he had spread it before me, it was written before and behind; and there were written thereon lamentations, and mourning, and woe. Then he said unto me, Son of man, eat this roll, and go speak unto the house of Israel. And he said unto me, Cause thy belly to eat, and fill thy bowels with this roll that I give thee. And when I ate it, it was in my mouth as honey for sweetness. And then he said unto me, Go unto the house of Israel, and speak my words unto them" (2:8-10; 3:1-4).

These words involve things similar to those in the Apocalypse. The command given to the prophet Ezekiel to eat the roll of the book, involves the same thing as the command to John to eat the little book, that is to say, exploration as to how the Divine Truth which is in the Word is as yet received, perceived, and appropriated by those who are of the church. For as the prophet Ezekiel and John represented the doctrine of truth and the Word, exploration was therefore made with them. The reason why this was done by eating a book is, that to eat signifies to perceive and thus to appropriate to oneself, as shown above; and when exploration was made as to the manner in which the Word was as yet perceived, it is then said to the prophet Ezekiel, that, he should go unto the house of Israel and speak the words of God unto them, also to the prophet John, that he must prophesy, that is, as yet teach the Word in the church; and this because in his mouth the book was perceived to be as sweet as honey, that is, because the Word as to the sense of the letter, is yet delightful, though only so for the reason that this sense can be used in favour of any principle of falsity whatever, and of any loves of evil whatever, and thus serve to confirm the delights of the natural life separated from the delights of the spiritual life, which, when separated, are merely delights of the loves of the body and of the world, whence arise principles of falsity from fallacies.

[4] Again, in Isaiah:

"A virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name God with us. Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good" (7:14, 15).

That these words are spoken of the Lord may be seen proved in Matthew (1:23). Any one may see that butter and honey there mentioned do not mean butter and honey, but something Divine corresponding [to them], for it follows, "that he may know to refuse the evil and choose the good," and this is not known by eating butter and honey. But by butter is signified the delight of spiritual good, and by honey, the delight of natural good, consequently the spiritual Divine and the natural Divine of the Lord are signified by these, thus His interior and exterior Human. That the Lord's Human is what is meant is evident from its being said that a virgin shall conceive and bear a son; and that it is Divine, is evident from the words, "and shall call his name God with us," to call a name denoting quality, here Divine quality, for he was to be called God with us.

[5] Butter and honey also signify the delight of spiritual and natural good in these words in the same chapter:

"Butter and honey shall every one eat that is left in the land" (ver. 22).

Those left in the land mean those who are interiorly and also exteriorly good from the Lord, consequently those who receive good proceeding from the Lord in truths; the blessedness therefore of the internal or spiritual man, and also of the external or natural, is signified by butter and honey.

[6] Thus also in Job:

"He shall suck the poison of asps; the viper's tongue shall slay him. He shall not see the brooks, the flowings of the torrents of honey and butter" (20:16, 17).

These things are said concerning hypocrites, who speak well and smoothly concerning God, their neighbour, and also heaven and the church, when nevertheless they think quite differently; and because they can thus cunningly devise how to captivate the minds of others, although in their heart they cherish what is infernal, it is said, "He shall suck the poison of asps, the viper's tongue shall slay him." That these have no delight in natural good or spiritual good, is meant by, He shall not see the brooks, the flowings of the torrents of honey and butter, rivers denoting those things that pertain to intelligence, and the flowings of the torrents of honey and butter, those that pertain thence to the affection and love, which are the very delights of heavenly life. All the delight of life which remains to eternity is the delight of spiritual good and truth, and thence of natural good and truth, whereas hypocritical delight is a natural delight separated from spiritual delight, but this delight, in another life, is turned into what is direfully infernal. That butter and honey in this passage also do not mean butter and honey, is evident, for where in the world are flowings of torrents of honey and butter found?

[7] The signification of butter and honey is similar to that of milk and honey. And since milk signifies the delight of spiritual good, and honey, the delight of natural good, and these delights are enjoyed by those who are of the church of the Lord, therefore the land of Canaan, which signifies the church, was called "a land flowing with milk and honey" (Exodus 3:8, 17; Leviticus 20:24; Num. 13:27; 14:8; Deuteronomy 6:3; 11:9; 26:9, 15; 27:3; 31:20; Joshua 5:6; Jeremiah 11:5; 32:22; Ezekiel 20:6). That the land of Canaan in the Word means the church was shown above (n. 29, 304:59, 431:9). And the church is with those only who are in spiritual good and at the same time in natural good; the church is formed in these by the Lord. For the church is in man, and not outside of him, consequently, not with those who do not possess those goods; these goods with their delights are signified by milk and honey.

[8] That in the land of Canaan there was also much honey at that period, because the church of the Lord was there then, is evident from the First Book of Samuel, where it is said, that they came into a wood where were honey upon the faces of the ground, and a stream of honey, and that the eyes of Jonathan were opened from tasting of the honey (14:25-27, 29). The reason why Jonathan's eyes were opened by his tasting of the honey was, that honey corresponds to natural good and its delight, and this good imparts intelligence and enlightens, consequently Jonathan knew that he had done evil; as is said in Isaiah, that he shall eat butter and honey, that he may know to refuse the evil and choose the good. For correspondences at that time manifested their effect, since all things of the Israelitish church existed from correspondences, by which things celestial and spiritual were represented and signified.

[9] The signification of butter and honey is similar to that of oil and honey in the following passages.

Thus in Moses:

"He made him to ride on the high places of the earth, and fed him with the increase of the fields; he made him to suck honey out of the rock, and oil out of the stone of the rock" (Deuteronomy 32:13).

These words occur in the song of Moses, in which the subject treated of is the church in its beginning and afterwards in its progression, and at length at its end. Those who formed the Ancient Church are described by these words, but not those who constituted the Israelitish Church, for the latter were evil from the beginning even to the end, as is evident from their fathers in Egypt, and afterwards in the wilderness. But the Ancient Church, the men of which are meant by their fathers, was that which the Lord caused to ride upon the high places of the earth, and fed with the increase of the fields. That the good of natural love and the good of spiritual love, with their delights, were imparted to them by means of truths, from which their intelligence was derived, and according to which was their life, is signified by, he made him to suck honey out of the rock, and oil out of the stone of the rock, honey denoting the delight of natural love, oil the delight of spiritual love, and the rock, and the stone of the rock, truth from the Lord. That oil signifies the good of love and of charity, may be seen above (n. 375), and that rock and stone signify truth from the Lord (n. 411, 443).

[10] So in David:

"I fed them with the fat of wheat, and with honey out of the rock I satisfied them" (Psalm 81:16).

The fat of wheat also signifies the delight of spiritual good, and honey out of the rock, the delight of natural good by means of truths from the Lord, as above. It must be observed, that natural good is not good, unless it be also spiritual good. For all good inflows through the spiritual man or mind into the natural man or mind, and so far as the natural man or mind receives the good of the spiritual man or mind, so far he receives good. There must be both, or both sides, in order to constitute good; wherefore natural good separated from spiritual good is in itself evil, which nevertheless is perceived by man as good. Since there must be both therefore in the passages quoted, and in those still to be quoted, mention is made of butter and honey, milk and honey, fat and honey, and also of oil and honey; and butter, milk, fat and oil, signify the good of spiritual love, and honey, the good of natural love, together with their delights.

[11] Again, in Ezekiel:

"Thus wast thou decked with gold and silver; and thy raiment was of fine linen and silk, and needlework; thou didst eat fine flour, and honey, and oil; whence thou wast exceeding beautiful, and thou didst prosper into a kingdom. But my bread which I gave thee, fine flour, and oil, and honey, wherewith I fed thee, thou hast even set before idols for an odour of rest" (16:13, 19).

These things are said concerning Jerusalem, by which is signified the church, first the Ancient Church, and afterwards the Israelitish Church. It is said of the Ancient Church, that she was decked with gold and silver, which signifies, the love of good and truth with the men of the church. The raiment of fine linen, silk, and needlework, signifies the cognitions of celestial, spiritual, and natural truth; fine linen signifies truth from a celestial origin, silk, truth from a spiritual origin, and needlework, truth from a natural origin, which is called scientific [truth]. By eating fine flour, honey, and oil, are signified the perception of truth and good natural and spiritual, and the appropriation of them; to eat denoting to be appropriated, fine flour denoting truth, honey, natural good, and oil spiritual good, which were appropriated to them by a life according to the truths above mentioned. By becoming exceedingly beautiful and prospering into a kingdom, is signified to become intelligent and wise, so as to constitute a church from these, beauty denoting intelligence and wisdom, and a kingdom signifying a church. But concerning the Israelitish Church, which was merely in externals without internals, whence the men of that church were idolatrous, it is said, that they placed the fine flour, honey, and oil, before images of a male, or of idols, for an odour of rest, that is, that they turned the truths and goods of the church into falsities and evils, and thus profaned them.

[12] Again, in the same prophet:

"Judah, and the land of Israel, they were thy traders; they traded in the wheat of Minnith, and pannag, and honey, and oil, and balm" (27:17).

This is spoken of Tyre, which signifies the church as to the cognitions of truth and good, therefore also by Tyre are signified the cognitions of truth and good pertaining to the church; by oil and honey are signified things similar to those above. The meaning in the spiritual sense of Judah, and the land of Israel, also of wheat of Minnith and pannag, and balsam, also of the trading of Tyre, may be seen explained above (n. 433:22).

[13] Again, in Moses:

"A land of brooks of water, of fountains and depths that spring out of the valley and mountain; a land of wheat and barley, and the vine, and the fig-tree, and pomegranate; a land of oil, olive, and honey" (Deuteronomy 8:7, 8).

These things are said concerning the land of Canaan, by which is understood the church which is in celestial, spiritual, and natural good, and thence in truths; but the details of this verse are explained above (n. 374:7, 403:11), where it is shown, that oil and honey signify the good of love in the internal or spiritual man and in the external or natural man.

[14] So in David:

"The judgments of Jehovah are truth, they are just altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and the droppings of the honeycomb" (Psalm 19:9, 10).

In the same,

"I have not departed from thy judgments, for thou hast taught me. How sweet are thy words to my palate! [Sweeter] than honey to my mouth" (Psalm 119:102, 103).

The judgments of Jehovah signify the truths and goods of worship; therefore it is said, "the judgments of Jehovah are truth, they are just altogether"; just being used in reference to the good of life and worship therefrom. And as good is also signified by gold and fine gold, it is therefore said, that they are more desirable than gold and than much fine gold, gold denoting celestial good, fine gold, spiritual good, while desirable denotes what is of affection and love. Since the goods with which a man is affected are also delightful, therefore it is said, that they are sweeter than honey and the droppings of the honeycomb, and that the words of the Lord are sweet to the palate and [sweeter] than honey to the mouth, sweet denoting what is delightful, honey, natural good, the droppings of the honeycomb, natural truth, and because honey signifies natural good, and the mouth the external, therefore it is said [sweeter] than honey to my mouth; as in the Apocalypse, that the little book was sweet as honey in the mouth.

[15] So in Luke:

Jesus said to His disciples, when they believed that they saw a spirit, "Behold, my hands and my feet, that it is I myself; handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have. Then he said unto them, Have ye here any meat? And they gave him a piece of a broiled fish, and of a honeycomb. And he took it, and did eat it before them" (24:39, 41-43).

From this series of words regarded in their spiritual sense it is evident, that honeycomb and honey signify natural good, for the Lord showed His disciples that He had glorified or made Divine His whole Human, even as to its Natural and Sensual. This is signified by the hands and feet, and by the flesh and bones, which they saw and felt; the hands and feet, signify the ultimate of man, called the Natural, the flesh signifies its good, and the bones signify its truth. For everything in the human body corresponds to spiritual things, the flesh to the good of the natural man, and the bones to its truths. More may be seen concerning this correspondence in Heaven and Hell 87-102). The Lord also proved this by eating of the broiled fish and also of the honeycomb in the presence of His disciples, the broiled fish signifying the truth of the good of the natural and sensual man, and the honeycomb, the good of truth of the same, therefore the Lord by being touched (palpationem) showed and proved that His whole Human, even to its ultimates, was glorified, that is, was made Divine; and [this He showed too] by eating, in that He ate in their presence a piece of a broiled fish and of an honeycomb.

[16] Since honey signifies the good of the natural man, therefore also John the Baptist

"had his raiment of camel's hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his meat was locusts and wild honey" (Matthew 3:4; Mark 1:6).

The reason of this was, that John the Baptist represented the same as Elias, therefore also it was said, that Elias should come, by whom was meant John. Elias represented the Lord as to the Word, or the Word which is from the Lord; and similarly John. And because the Word teaches that the Messiah or the Lord was about to come, therefore John was sent before to preach concerning the coming of the Lord, according to the predictions of the Word. And because John represented the Word, therefore the ultimates of the Word, which are natural, were represented by John, by his clothing, and also by his food, that is, by having his raiment of camel's hair, and the leathern girdle about his loins. For camel's hair signifies the ultimates of the natural man, such as are the exteriors of the Word, and the leathern girdle about his loins, their external bond and connection with the interior things of the Word, which are spiritual. Similar things are signified by locust and wild honey; by locust, is signified the truth of the natural man, and by wild honey, its good. Whether we speak of the truth and good of the natural man, or of natural truth and good, such as the Word is in its ultimate sense, called the sense of the letter, or natural sense, it is the same thing, for John represented this by his clothing and food.

[17] The reason why neither leaven, nor honey, was used in the offerings made by fire to Jehovah (Leviticus 2:11), was, that leaven signifies the falsity of the natural man, and honey, the delight of the good of the natural man, and, in the opposite sense, the delight of his evil, which also is like leaven when it is mingled with those things that signify things of a holy interior nature. For natural delight derives its all from the delights of the love of self and the love of the world. And because the Israelitish nation was in those delights more than other nations, therefore it was forbidden them to use honey in their sacrifices. More may be seen concerning the signification of honey, as denoting the delight of the good of the natural man, in the Arcana Coelestia 5620, 6857, 8056, 10137, 10530).

[18] It is recorded of Samson, that, after he had rent the young lion, and taken a wife from the nation of the Philistines, he found "a swarm of bees and honey in the carcase of the lion" (Judges 14:8). This circumstance signified the dissipation of faith separated from charity, which the Philistine nation represented. It was on this account that the Philistines were called the uncircumcised, and this name signifies that they were without spiritual love and charity, and were only in natural love, which is the love of self and of the world. Such faith, because it destroys the good of charity, was represented by the young lion, which attacked Samson with intent to tear him in pieces; but Samson, because he was a Nazarite, and by his Nazariteship represented the Lord as to His ultimate Natural, rent the lion in pieces, and afterwards found in his carcase a swarm of bees and honey, which signified, that after such faith is dissipated, the good of charity succeeds in its place. Similar things were represented and signified by the rest of the acts related of Samson in the Book of Judges. For nothing is written in the Word which does not represent and signify such things as pertain to heaven and the church, and these can be understood only from the knowledge (scientia) of correspondences, and thence from the spiritual sense of the Word.

5620. 'A little resin and a little honey' means the truths of exterior natural good, and the delight that goes with these. This is clear from the meaning of 'resin' as the truth of good, which is truth derived from good, dealt with in 4748. The reason 'resin' has this meaning is that it belongs among unguent like substances and also among aromatic ones. Aromatic substances mean those kinds of entities that belong to truth derived from good, the more so when those substances also resemble unguents and consequently have oil among their ingredients; for 'oil' means good, 886, 3728, 4582. Since this resin was aromatic, see Genesis 37:25, the same word in the original language also means balm; it was also, it is clear, unguent-like or thick with oil. From this one may now see that 'resin' means the truth of good present in the natural, in this case in the exterior natural since 'resin' is mentioned first, then 'honey', meaning the delight there, is added. 'Honey' means delight because it is sweet and everything sweet in the natural world corresponds to some delight or pleasure in the spiritual world. The reason for the use of the expression 'the delight that goes with this' - that is to say, with truth derived from good present in the exterior natural - is that every truth, and more so every truth of good, possesses its own delight. But that delight springs from an affection for such truths and consequently for the use they serve.

[2] The fact that 'honey' means delight may be seen also from other places in the Word, as in Isaiah,

A virgin will conceive and bear a son, and will call His name Immanuel (God with us). Butter and honey will He eat that He may know to refuse the evil and choose the good. Isaiah 7:14-15.

This refers to the Lord. 'Butter' stands for what is celestial, 'honey' for what is derived from the celestial.

[3] In the same prophet,

It will be, because of the abundance of the milk which they give, that he will eat butter; both butter and honey will everyone eat that is left in the midst of the land. Isaiah 7:22.

This refers to the Lord's kingdom. 'Milk' stands for spiritual good, 'butter' for celestial good, and 'honey' for what is derived from these, namely happiness, pleasure, and delight.

[4] In Ezekiel,

Thus were you adorned with gold and silver, and your robes were fine linen, and silk, and embroidered cloth. You ate fine flour, and honey, and oil; therefore you became extremely beautiful, and attained to a kingdom. With fine flour, oil, and honey I fed you; but you set this before them as a pacifying odour. Ezekiel 16:13, 19.

This refers to Jerusalem, by which the spiritual Church is meant; it describes what that Church was like among the Ancients, and what it came to be like after that. Its adornment with gold and silver is the furnishment of it with celestial and spiritual good and truth. Its robes of fine linen, silk, and embroidered cloth stand for truths present in the rational and in both parts of the natural. 'Fine flour' stands for what is spiritual, 'honey' for the pleasure accompanying this, and 'oil' for the good that goes with it. The fact that all these, each one, mean things of a heavenly nature may be recognized by anyone.

[5] In the same prophet,

Judah and the land of Israel were your traders in wheat of minnith and pannag, and honey, and oil, and balm. Ezekiel 27:17.

This refers to Tyre, by which is meant the spiritual Church, what it was like initially and what it came to be like subsequently so far as cognitions of good and truth were concerned, 1201. Also, 'honey' in this quotation stands for the pleasure and delight gained from affections for knowing and learning about celestial and spiritual forms of goodness and truth.

[6] In Moses,

He causes ¹ him to ride over the heights of the land and He feeds [him] with the produce of the fields; he causes him to suck honey out of the crag, and oil out of the stony rock. Deuteronomy 32:13.

This too refers to the spiritual Ancient Church. 'Sucking honey from the crag' stands for the delight taken in factual knowledge that holds truths within it.

[7] In David,

I feed them with the fat of wheat, and with honey out of the rock I satisfy them. Psalms 81:16.

'Satisfying with honey out of the rock' stands for the delight gained from the truths of faith.

[8] In Deuteronomy,

Jehovah is bringing you to a good land, a land of rivers of water, springs, and depths gushing out of valleys and mountains; a land of wheat and barley, and vines, and fig trees, and pomegranates; a land of olive oil and honey. Deuteronomy 8:7-8.

This refers to the land of Canaan, in the internal sense to the Lord's kingdom in heaven. 'A land of olive oil and honey' stands for spiritual good and the pleasure that goes with it.

[9] For the same reason the land of Canaan is called 'a land flowing with milk and honey', Numbers 13:27; 14:7-8; Deuteronomy 26:9, 15; 27:3; Jeremiah 11:5; 32:22; Ezekiel 20:6. In these places 'the land of Canaan' is used, as has been stated, to mean in the internal sense the Lord's kingdom. 'Flowing with milk' stands for an abundance of celestial-spiritual things, while 'honey' stands for an abundance of forms of happiness and delight received from these.

[10] In David,

The judgements of Jehovah are truth; they are righteous altogether - more desirable than gold, and much fine gold; and sweeter than honey and what drops from honeycombs. Psalms 19:9-10.

'The judgements of Jehovah' stands for Divine truth, 'sweeter than honey and what drops from honeycombs' for the delights received from good and the pleasures received from truth. In the same author,

Sweet are Your words to my taste, ² more than honey to my mouth. Psalms 119:103.

Here the meaning is similar.

[11] The manna which the descendants of Jacob received in the wilderness as their bread is described in Moses as follows,

The manna was like coriander seed, white, and its taste was like wafers made with honey. Exodus 16:31.

Because 'the manna' meant the Divine truth which came down from the Lord by way of heaven, it is the Lord's own Divine Human, as He Himself teaches in John 6:51, 58. For the Lord's Divine Human is the source from which every truth that is Divine springs; indeed it is what every truth that is Divine has reference to. This being so, the manna, the taste of which gave delight and pleasure, is described as being 'like wafers made with honey' - 'taste' being the delight which good provides and the pleasure that truth affords, see 3502.

[12] Because John the Baptist represented the Lord as to the Word, which is Divine Truth on the earth - in the same way as Elijah had represented Him, 2762, 5247(end), making him the Elijah who was to come ahead of the Lord, Malachi 4:5; Matthew 17:10-12; Mark 9:11-13; Luke 1:17 - his clothing and food were therefore meaningful signs. They are described in Matthew as follows,

John had a garment of camel hair and a skin girdle around his waist; his food was locusts and wild honey. Matthew 3:4; Mark 1:6.

'A garment of camel hair' was a sign of what the literal sense of the Word is like so far as truth there is concerned. That sense - the natural sense - serves as a garment for the internal sense; for 'hair' and also 'camels' mean what is natural. Food consisting of 'locusts and wild honey' was a sign of what the literal sense is like so far as good there is concerned, the delight belonging to that good being meant by 'wild honey'.

[13] In addition the delight afforded by Divine truth as this exists in the external sense is described by 'honey', in Ezekiel,

He said to me, Son of man, feed your stomach and fill your inward parts with this scroll that I am giving you. And when I ate it, it was in my mouth like honey as regards sweetness. Ezekiel 3:3.

And in John,

The angel said to me, Take the little book and eat it up; it will indeed make your stomach bitter, but in your mouth it will be sweet as honey. I therefore took the little book out of the angel's hand and ate it up, and it was in my mouth like sweet honey. But when I had eaten it, my stomach was made bitter. Then he said to me, You must prophesy again over many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and many kings. Revelation 10:9-11.

'The scroll' in Ezekiel, and 'the little book' in John, stand for Divine truth. The delight this appears to possess in the outward form it takes is meant by the taste being sweet as honey; for Divine truth, like the Word, is full of delight in the outward form it takes, which is the literal sense, because this allows everyone to interpret and explain it in whatever way it suits him. But the internal sense does not allow him to do so, and this is meant by its bitter taste; for the internal sense discloses what man is like inwardly. The external sense is full of delight for the reason just stated, that a person can explain things there in whatever way it suits him. The truths contained in the external sense are all general ones and remain such until particular truths are added to qualify them, and specific ones to qualify these. The external sense is also full of delight because it is natural, concealing what is spiritual within itself. It needs to be full of delight too if a person is to accept it, that is, to be taken into it and not left standing on the threshold.

[14] The honeycomb and the broiled fish which after His resurrection the Lord ate in the presence of the disciples was also a sign of the external sense of the Word, 'the fish' meaning the truth associated with that sense and 'the honeycomb' the pleasure attached to it, described in Luke as follows,

Jesus said, Do you have any food at all here? They gave Him part of a broiled fish and some honeycomb, which He took and ate in their presence. Luke 24:41-43.

And because the fish and the honeycomb had that meaning the Lord therefore tells them,

These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the law of Moses, and the Prophets, and the Psalms concerning Me. Luke 24:44.

The appearance is that nothing of the sort is meant, for it seems to have been purely by chance that they had part of a broiled fish and a honeycomb. But in fact their possession of these was providential - as is not only this but every other smallest fact mentioned in the Word. Because matters such as have been described were indeed meant, the Lord therefore referred to the Word, declaring that the things written in it had reference to Himself. But the things which have been written in the Old Testament Word regarding the Lord are but few in the sense of the letter, whereas everything contained in the internal sense has to do with Him; and it is from this that the Word gets its holiness. Everything contained in the internal sense is what is meant in the statement that 'all things must be fulfilled which were written in the law of Moses, and the Prophets, and the Psalms concerning Him'.

[15] From all this one may now see that 'honey' means the delight that is received from goodness and truth, that is, from the affection for these, and that specifically external delight and so that belonging to the exterior natural is meant. Because this delight is the kind that is gained from the world through the senses, and so contains within it much that springs from love of the world, people were forbidden to use honey in their minchahs. This is expressed in Leviticus as follows,

Every minchah which you bring to Jehovah shall be made without yeast; for no yeast nor any honey shall be used along with the fire-offering you burn to Jehovah. Leviticus 2:11.

'Honey' stands for the kind of external delight which, containing something of love of the world within it, was similar to yeast and therefore forbidden. What yeast or made with yeast implies, see 1342.

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