706. And a great sign was seen in heaven.- That this signifies Divine testification concerning the future church, and the reception of its doctrine, and as to those by whom it will be assaulted, is evident from the signification of a great sign in heaven, as denoting Divine manifestation and testification. That this refers to the church, and the reception of its doctrine, and also assault upon it, is evident from what follows, for the woman means the church, her male child, doctrine, while the dragon and his angels, and afterwards the beasts, mean those who will assault the church and its doctrine. This vision is called a great sign, because a sign means Divine manifestation concerning things to come, also testification, here concerning the future church and its doctrine, and also concerning assault upon it by those who are meant by the dragon and the beasts. This is called a sign, because it manifests and testifies. The terms sign and miracle are frequently used in the Word, sign meaning that which points out, witnesses, and persuades in regard to the subject of inquiry; but miracle means that which arouses, strikes dumb and fills with amazement. Thus a sign moves the understanding and faith, and a miracle the will and its affection; for the will with its affection is what is aroused, stricken dumb and filled with amazement, while it is understanding and its faith that are persuaded by signs and testifications.

[2] That there is a difference between a sign and a miracle is evident from this fact, that although the Jews saw so many miracles performed by the Lord still they asked signs of Him; and also from this fact, that the prodigies wrought in Egypt and in the wilderness are sometimes called signs, sometimes miracles, and sometimes also both. And it is further evident from this, that in every part of the Word there is a marriage of truth and good, thus also of the understanding and will, for truth pertains to the understanding and good to the will, consequently signs there have reference to things pertaining to truth, thus to those of faith and the understanding, and miracles to things pertaining to good, thus to those of affection and the will. What is the specific meaning of signs and miracles, when both are mentioned in the Word, is now plain, as in the following passages.

In Moses:

"I will harden the heart of Pharaoh, that I may multiply my signs and my miracles in the land of Egypt" (Exodus 7:3).

In the same:

"Jehovah gave signs and miracles great and evil upon Egypt, upon Pharaoh, and upon all his house" (Deuteronomy 6:22).

In the same:

Hath Jehovah "assayed to come and take to himself a nation out of the midst of a nation, by miracles, by signs, and by wonders" (Deuteronomy 4:34).

In David:

"They remembered not the day in which Jehovah set signs in Egypt, and prodigies in the field of Zoan" (Psalm 78:42, 43).

In the same:

"They set among them the words of his signs and miracles in the land of Ham" (Psalm 105:27).

In the same:

"He sent signs and miracles into the midst of thee, O Egypt, upon Pharaoh and all his servants" (Psalm 135:9).

In Jeremiah:

"Who hast set signs and miracles in the land of Egypt, and even to this day, both in Israel, and in men, and hast led thy people Israel out of the land of Egypt, by signs and by miracles" (32:20, 21).

From these passages it is clear that the prodigies wrought in Egypt, and afterwards among the sons of Israel, are called signs and miracles, signs because they testified and persuaded, and miracles because they aroused and filled [the people] with amazement; yet they agree, in this, that the things which arouse and fill [people] with amazement also testify and persuade, just as those things that arouse the will also persuade the understanding, or as those things that move the affection also by persuasion move the thought.

Similarly in the Evangelists:

In the consummation of the age "there shall arise false Christs and false prophets; they shall give great signs and miracles, and shall lead astray, if it be possible, even the elect" (Matthew 24:24; Mark 13:22).

Here also great signs and miracles have a similar signification, namely, that they testify and persuade, and that they strike dumb and fill with amazement, from which strong persuasion will arise. Who those are that are meant by false Christs and false prophets, and by the elect, may be seen above (n. 624:5, 684:7).

[3] In Moses:

"If there shall arise in the midst of thee a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, who shall give thee a sign or a miracle, and the sign or miracle come to pass which he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go unto other gods, thou shalt not obey" (Deuteronomy 13:1-3).

Here a prophet, and a dreamer of dreams, also a sign and miracle are mentioned, because a sign refers to a prophet, and a miracle to a dreamer of dreams; for a prophet means one who teaches truths, and, in the abstract sense, the doctrine of truth, and a dreamer [of dreams] means one who stirs up (another) to do a thing, and, in the abstract sense, the act of stirring up, from which a thing is done; this also pertains to a miracle as the former does to a sign. For prophets were instructed by a living voice from the Lord, and dreamers by representatives arousing to action, which flowed into the affection of the dreamer, and from that into the sight of the thought; for when a man dreams, his natural understanding is laid asleep, and his spiritual sight which derives its all from the affection is opened. But in this passage, the sight which derives its all from an evil affection is meant, for it is spoken of the prophets who teach falsities and who dream vain things, for by other gods are meant the falsities and vain things that such heard and saw.

[4] That signs signify testifications, which point out and persuade to the belief that a thing is so, is evident from the following passages.

In Moses:

"If they will not believe thee, nor hear the voice of the first sign, yet they will believe the voice of the latter sign; and if they will not believe these two signs, nor hear thy voice, thou shalt take of the waters of the river, and they shall become blood" (Exodus 4:8, 9).

This is said of the miracles wrought by Moses, when the Lord appeared to him in the bush, which are called signs, because they were to testify and persuade them to believe that Moses was sent to lead them out of Egypt. It is therefore three times said "that they may believe," and also "that they may hear his voice."

[5] In the same:

"Jehovah said unto Moses, How long will this people not believe in me, for all the signs which I have done in the midst of them; none of the men who have seen my glory, and the signs which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, shall see the land" (Numbers 14:11, 22, 23).

Similarly here likewise miracles are called signs, because mention is made of believing; for, as has been said, miracles are called signs because they persuade and induce faith; and as signs did not induce faith, with those who, by reason of fear, were not willing to enter into the land of Canaan, therefore it is said concerning them that they should not see the land. Similar things are signified by signs in Exodus 14:17; and 10:1, 2.

[6] In the Evangelists:

The Scribes and Pharisees said, "Master, we desire to see from thee a sign; and he answering, said, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh a sign, but no sign shall be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet; as Jonah was in the belly of the whale (cetus) three days and three nights, so shall the Son of man be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights" (Matthew 12:38-40; Luke 11:16, 29, 30).

That a sign here means testification that they would be persuaded and believe that the Lord was the Messiah and the Son of God who was to come, is plain; for the miracles which the Lord wrought in great numbers, and which they saw, were no signs to them, because miracles, as said above, are signs only to the good. Jonah was in the belly of the whale (cetus) three days and three nights, and this was taken for a sign, because it signified the burial and resurrection of the Lord, thus the complete glorification of His Human, three days and three nights signifying completeness.

[7] In Matthew:

The Pharisees and the Sadducees, tempting, asked Jesus "to show them a sign from the heavens. He answering, said, When it is evening, ye say, it will be fair weather, for the heaven is red; and in the morning, it will be tempestuous to-day, for the heaven is red and gloomy. Ye hypocrites, ye know how to discern the face of the heaven, but ye cannot the signs of the times. An evil and adulterous nation requireth a sign, but no sign shall be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonah" (16:1-4).

The sign which they asked from heaven here also means testification, that they would be persuaded and believe that the Lord was the Son of God, although miracles were performed, which they did not call signs. The Lord at that time spoke of evening and morning, because "evening and morning" signifies the Lord's coming; here it means, when the church with the Jews was devastated, for then they had "fair weather," because they knew not the Lord, and lived securely in falsities from evil; this is the evening. But when they knew Him, and, because of falsities from evils in which they were, denied and assaulted Him, then this state is signified by the morning when it is tempestuous. This is why the Lord said, "Ye hypocrites, ye know how to discern the face of the heaven, but the signs of the times ye cannot," that is, the Lord's coming; because they were an evil and adulterous nation, that is, one that adulterated the Word, therefore He said that a sign should not be given them.

[8] So again in Mark:

"The Pharisees began to dispute with 'Jesus,' seeking of him a sign from heaven; and he, sighing in his spirit, said, Why doth this generation seek after a sign? Verily, I say unto you, A sign shall not be given unto this generation" (8:11, 12).

That here a sign signifies testification, from which they might plainly know, acknowledge, and believe that the Lord was the Messiah and the Son of God whom they expected through the predictions in the prophets, is evident from the fact that Jesus sighed in spirit, and said, "Why doth this generation seek after a sign? Verily, I say unto you, A sign shall not be given unto this generation." The reason of this was, that if it had been plainly revealed or told them from heaven, and if so persuaded they had acknowledged and believed, nevertheless they would have afterwards rejected it, and to reject after acknowledgment and faith is to profane, and the lot of profaners in hell is the worst of all.

[9] That for this reason plain testification was not given them from heaven, is clear from these words in John:

"He hath blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, lest they should see with their eyes and understand with their heart, and should turn themselves, and I should heal them" (12:40).

To turn themselves and be healed means here to profane, as is the case when truths and goods are acknowledged, especially when the Lord is acknowledged, and afterwards denied; this would have been the case if the Jews had turned themselves and been healed in consequence of a sign. To see with the eyes and understand with the heart signifies to receive in the understanding and will, or in faith and love. From this it is plain that a sign signifies unmistakeable testification. Concerning the lot of profaners, see the Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 172).

[10] In John:

The disciples said unto Jesus, "What sign doest thou, that we may see and believe thee? what workest thou? Our fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, as it is written, He gave them bread out of heaven to eat. Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses did not give you bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven; for the bread of God is he who cometh down from heaven and giveth life to the world" (6:30-33).

Here also the disciples desired a sign; that this signifies testification that they might believe, is clear from their saying, "That we may see and believe, what workest thou?" They then spoke of manna, and the Lord answered concerning bread from heaven, because bread signifies all the good and truth that nourishes the soul, and, in the highest sense, the Lord Himself, from whom are everything of doctrine and everything of spiritual nourishment, by means of which He testified that they might see and believe. Nevertheless testification, which is a sign from heaven, was given to the three disciples, Peter, James, and John, as is evident from the transfiguration of the Lord, for then they saw His glory, and also heard a voice out of heaven, saying, "This is my beloved Son, hear ye him" (Mark 9:7; Luke 9:35; Matthew 17:5).

[11] In John:

When Jesus cast out of the temple them that sold therein, the Jews said, "What sign showest thou, that thou doest these things? Jesus answered, and said to them, destroy this temple, yet in three days I will raise it up" (2:16, 18, 19).

That here to show a sign signifies to testify by something wonderful, or by a voice from heaven, is plain. But because such testification would have condemned rather than saved them, as has been said just above, therefore He answered them concerning the temple - by which He meant His body - that this should be dissolved (solveretur), that is, should die, and rise again glorified on the third day. This also is what the Lord meant by the sign of Jonah in the belly of the whale (cetus) three days and three nights. That the temple in the highest sense signifies the Lord's body, may be seen in John (2:21).

[12] In Luke:

"The angel said to the shepherds, There is born to you this day, in the city of David, a Saviour who is Christ the Lord; and this is the sign unto you, ye shall find a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger" (2:11, 12, 16).

Since a sign meant testification that they might believe that the Saviour of the world was born, it is therefore said that they should find Him lying in a manger, wrapped in swaddling clothes; but that this was a testification no one can know until it is known what is meant by a manger, and by swaddling clothes. A manger means doctrine of truth from the Word, because horses signify the understanding of the Word, as is evident from what has been shown above (n. 355, 364), and in the small work concerning the White Horse 2-4); thus a manger where horses are fed signifies doctrine of truth from the Word. It is said also, in the seventh verse of the same chapter, that this was done because there was no place in the inn, an inn signifying a place of instruction. This is also the signification of inn in Luke 10:34, 22:11; Mark 14:14; and elsewhere. And this was the case with the Jews, who were then in mere falsities, through adulteration of the Word. This therefore is what is signified by there being no place in the inn. For if it had pleased the Lord, He might have been born in the most splendid palace, and been laid in a bed adorned with precious stones, but this would have been among such as were in no doctrine of truth, and there would have been no heavenly representation. He is also said to have been wrapped in swaddling clothes, because swaddling clothes signify primary truths, which are truths of innocence, and also truths of Divine Love; for nakedness when said in reference to a babe, signifies the deprivation of truth. From this it is evident why it was said by the angels, "This is the sign unto you, ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger."

[13] In the Evangelists: the disciples said to Jesus,

"What shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the consummation of the age?" (Matthew 24:3; Mark 13:4; Luke 21:7.)

The coming of the Lord and the consummation of the age signify the beginning of a new church and the end of the former church; the coming of the Lord, the beginning of a new church; and the consummation of the age, the end of the old church. Therefore in those chapters the Lord instructs His disciples concerning the successive vastation of the former church, and the establishment of a new church at its end. But He instructs and teaches them by pure correspondences, which cannot be unfolded and made known except by means of the spiritual sense; and because the Lord spoke by correspondences, therefore these were all signs, and thus testifications. They are also called signs by the Lord, in Luke:

"There shall also be terrors and great signs from heaven; there shall be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and upon the earth distress of nations in hopelessness, the sea and the waves roaring" (21:11, 25).

In Matthew:

"And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man; and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven, with power and glory" (24:30).

The signification of these and the other particulars contained in the same chapter, in the spiritual sense, has been explained in the Arcana Coelestia; and the signification of the appearance of the sign of the Son of man in the clouds of heaven has been shown in Heaven and Hell 1); further explanation is therefore unnecessary.

[14] In Mark: Jesus said unto the disciples,

"These signs shall follow them that believe: in my name they shall cast out demons; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents; if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall be restored. And they went forth and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them by signs following" (16:17, 18, 20).

Although these were miracles, yet they are called signs, because they testified of the Divine power of the Lord who performed them; therefore it is said, the Lord working with them by these signs. If these had been performed by the evil they would have been called miracles, for with them such things cause only amazement, and make an impression on the mind, and yet produce no conviction; but it is otherwise, with the good, for with them, these same things are testifications which induce belief, they are therefore also called signs, and it is said "these signs shall follow them that believe." But how these signs could produce conviction, shall also be briefly stated. Those miraculous signs - that they should cast out demons, speak with new tongues, take up serpents, that if they drank any deadly thing it should not hurt them, and that the sick should be restored by the laying on of hands - were spiritual in their essence and origin, from which these flowed forth and came forth as effects; for they were correspondences, which derive their all from the spiritual world by influx from the Lord. For example, that they should cast out demons in the name of the Lord, derived its effect from this circumstance, that the name of the Lord spiritually understood means everything of doctrine out of the Word from the Lord, and that demons are falsities of every kind; and these are thus cast out, that is, removed by means of doctrine out of the Word from the Lord. That they should speak with new tongues, derived its effect from this, that new tongues signify doctrinals for the new church; they should take up serpents because serpents signify the hells as to wickedness (malitia), and thus they would be safe from its infestation. They should not be hurt if they drank a deadly thing, denotes that the wickedness (malitia) of the hells should not infect them. That the sick should be restored by the laying on of hands means through communication and conjunction with heaven, thus with the Lord, to be restored to health from spiritual diseases, which are called iniquities and sins; the laying on of the disciples' hands, corresponding to communication and conjunction with the Lord, thus to the removal of iniquities by His Divine power.

[15] In Isaiah:

Jehovah said unto Ahaz, "Ask thee a sign of Jehovah; direct [it] into the deep, or lift [it] up above; the Lord giveth you a sign; behold, a virgin shall conceive and bring forth a son, and shall call his name God with us" (7:11, 14).

These things were said to Ahaz, king of Judah, because the king of Syria and the king of Israel made war against him, even unto Jerusalem, on whose side also was the tribe of Ephraim; but still they did not prevail, for the reason that the king of Syria here represented the External or Natural of the church, the king of Israel its Internal or Spiritual, and Ephraim the Intellectual; here, however, those three, namely, the Natural, the Spiritual, and the Intellectual perverted, and these wished to attack the doctrine of truth, signified by the king of Judah and by Jerusalem, therefore they did not succeed. But in order that Ahaz might be assured that their attempt would be vain, he was told to ask a sign, that is, a testification that he might be assured, and the choice was given him, whether it should be from heaven or from hell; this was signified by "direct [it] into the deep, or lift [it] up above"; for the king was evil. But because Jerusalem, which signifies the doctrine of truth from the Word, was not to be destroyed by such before the Lord's coming, therefore a miraculous sign was given to him testifying concerning that subject, namely, that "a virgin shall conceive and bring forth a son, whose name shall be God with us." That this church would subsequently be destroyed, is shown further on in that chapter.

[16] In the same:

"This shall be a sign to thee from with Jehovah, behold, I will bring back the shadow of the steps ¹ which is gone down on the steps of Ahaz before the sun, ten steps backward, that the sun may return ten steps on the steps which it has gone down" (38:7, 8).

This sign was given to king Hezekiah as a testification that the Lord would defend him and Jerusalem from the king of Assyria - as said in verse 6 of that chapter, - that king signifying the perverted Rational destroying all things of the church; therefore this sign similarly represented a new church, to be established by the Lord, but here, that the time would be extended beyond that which was told to Ahaz just above. Bringing back the shadow that had gone down on the steps of Ahaz before the sun, signifies holding back the time when it should take place, the steps of Ahaz signifying time, here until the Lord's coming, and the shadow signifying the progression of time from the rising to the setting. Its being brought back ten steps signifies the extension of the time as yet for several years, ten signifying several, and the sun which should go back signifying the Lord's coming. But this shall be further illustrated. The Lord's coming took place when the Jewish church was at an end, that is, when there was no good and truth left in it. This is meant by the words, when iniquity was consummated, and also by the fulness of times, in which the Lord was to come. The entire period of the duration of the Jewish church was represented by the steps of Ahaz, its beginning by the first step there, which is when the sun is in its rising, and its end by the last step in its setting. It is therefore plain that by the bringing back of the shadow from the setting towards the rising, means the extension of that time. This would take place on the steps of Ahaz, because Ahaz was a wicked king, and profaned the holy things of the church, therefore, if his successors had acted in a similar manner, the end of that church would have come quickly, but as Hezekiah was an upright king the time was extended; for on that account the iniquity of that nation was not so soon to arrive at its consummation, that is, its end.

[17] In the same:

Say ye unto the king Hezekiah, "This shall be a sign to thee, in this year ye shall eat that which springeth up of itself, and in the second year that which further groweth; but in the third year sow ye, reap, and plant vineyards, and eat the fruit thereof" (Isaiah 37:30).

This was said to king Hezekiah, when Sennacherib, king of Assyria, made war against him, and spoke proudly of himself, and insolently of God and of Israel; and in consequence one hundred and eighty-five thousand were smitten in his camp, and he himself was slain by his sons. This was done, because Assyria signifies the Rational, and the king of Assyria the same, while Judea signifies the Celestial of the church, and its king the Spiritual; but here the king of Assyria signifies the perverted Rational, which destroys by false reasonings all the celestial and spiritual things of the church, which are its goods and truths. And because by Judea and its king are signified the Celestial and Spiritual of the church which will be from the Lord when He comes into the world, therefore these things are said, which describe the regeneration of those who will be of that church. Consequently the sign, that they should eat in the first year that which springeth up of itself, signifies the celestial good which the Lord will implant in them; that which further groweth in the second year, signifies the truth of that good which shall come from it. To sow, to reap, to plant vineyards, and to eat the fruit of them, signify all the goods and truths which flow forth therefrom; to sow and reap, signifies the implantation of good and its reception; to plant vineyards, the implantation of truth and its reception. To eat the fruit of them, signifies the enjoyment which the regenerate man has of goods and of the things therefrom that give satisfaction. These things are called a sign, because they are testifications concerning the celestial church with those who are meant in the spiritual sense by Judah, whose regeneration is effected from the Lord by means of the implantation of celestial good, afterwards by means of the implantation of spiritual good, which in its essence is the truth of celestial good, and, lastly, by multiplication and fructification in the natural man.

[18] In the same:

"Thus said Jehovah, the Holy One of Israel, and his Former; they asked of me signs concerning my sons, and concerning the work of my hands they command me; I have raised him up in justice, and I will make straight all his ways. He shall build my city and let go my captivity, not for price, or for reward" (Isaiah 45:11, 13).

This also treats of the Lord's coming, and of the establishment of a church by Him. The Lord is meant by Jehovah, the Holy One of Israel, and His Former. He is called the Holy One of Israel from Divine Truth, and His Former from the establishment of a church by its means, and Israel denotes the church; therefore His sons, concerning whom they asked signs, mean those who are in truths from the Lord, while the work of His hands means their formation and the establishment of the church among them. I have raised Him up in justice, and all His ways will I make straight, signifies that Divine Good and Divine Truth are His; for justice, in the Word, is used in reference to good, and ways signify truths, leading, in this case, Divine truths, because they are spoken of the Lord. He shall build my city, and let go my captivity, signifies that He will restore the doctrine of truth, and liberate those who are in falsities from ignorance, a city signifying the doctrine of truth, and captivity the falsities of ignorance in which the nations were, and through which they were in spiritual captivity. Not for price, or for reward, signifies freely given from Divine Love.

[19] In the same:

"Let them relate to you the things which shall happen, declare ye those former things, that we may set our heart, and may know the latter end of them; or cause us to hear things to come, declare to us a sign for the future, that we may know that ye are gods" (Isaiah 41:22, 23).

That to tell things past and to come belongs to the Lord alone, and not to any man or spirit, is expressed by "declare a sign for the future, that we may know that ye are gods"; this concludes that which precedes, therefore to declare a sign is to testify by persuading to believe.

In Ezekiel:

"Take to thee a pan of iron, and set it for a wall of iron between thee and the city, and thou shalt set thy faces against it, that it may be for a siege, and thou shalt lay siege to it; this shall be a sign to the house of Israel" (4:3).

[20] These and the rest of the things in this chapter are representative of the state of the church with the Jewish nation, signifying that they had no truth that was not falsified and adulterated, which in itself is falsity. Such truth is signified by the pan of iron which he was to set for a wall between himself and the city; and because this is hard, like iron, excluding and not admitting any genuine truth, it is said, "that it may be for a siege, and thou shalt lay siege to it." That this sign should be a witness concerning the church as being such is signified by "this shall be a sign to the house of Israel," a sign denoting testification, and the house of Israel the church.

[21] In David:

"The enemy hath destroyed all things in the sanctuary; the enemies roared in the midst of thy feast; they have set their signs for signs. We see not our signs; there is no more a prophet" (Psalm 74:3, 4, 9).

The enemy hath destroyed all things in the sanctuary, signifies that evil has destroyed the holy things of the church; the enemies have roared in the midst of thy feast, signifies that falsities have destroyed all things of worship; they have set their signs for signs, signifies that they have testified and persuaded by every means. We see not our signs, signifies that no testifications of truth were accepted in the church; there is no more a prophet, signifies no doctrine of truth.

[22] In the same:

Jehovah, "make me a sign for good, that they that hate me may see and be ashamed, that thou, Jehovah, hast helped me, and consoled me" (Psalm 86:17).

To make a sign for good, signifies testification that Jehovah will help and console him, as is said afterwards, for this is the good for which Jehovah makes a sign; because a sign is testification of this, therefore it is said, "that they that hate me may see and be ashamed."

[23] In the same:

God, "who setteth fast the mountains by his strength, is girded with power; who maketh the tumult of the seas to cease, the tumult of the waves thereof and the noise of the peoples, that the inhabitants of the uttermost parts may fear because of thy signs" (Psalm 65:6-8).

Thus is described the Lord's Divine Power through testifications that induce belief. But testifications that are signs, are not His setting fast the mountains, making the tumult of the seas and of the waves thereof to cease, and the noise of the peoples, for these are not such signs as convince those who ascribe all things to nature, but the signs that testify to the Lord's Divine Power are those meant in the spiritual sense, in which sense heaven and the church are treated of. For in that sense the mountains which God setteth fast by His strength mean the higher heavens, because the angels of those heavens dwell upon mountains; and in the abstract sense, love to the Lord and charity towards the neighbour are meant; these are what the Lord girds with power, setteth fast by His strength, that is He causes them to subsist for ever. That mountains have such a signification, may be seen above (n. 405). The tumult of the seas and the tumult of the waves, mean the disputations and reasonings of those who are beneath the heavens, and who are natural and sensual. That seas signify the things of the natural man, thus those who are natural, and that therefore their tumults and waves signify their disputations and reasonings, may also be seen above (n. 342). The noise of the peoples means contradictions from falsities, for peoples signify those who are in truths, and, in the opposite sense, those who are in falsities, as may be seen above (n. 175, 331, 625). That the inhabitants of the uttermost parts may fear because of Thy signs, signifies holy worship from faith concerning the Divine Power with those who are in the ultimates of heaven and of the church. That to fear denotes to worship the Lord from charity and faith, may be seen above (n. 696); and that the inhabitants of the uttermost parts denote those who are in the ultimates of heaven and of the church, and are in the faith of charity there, is evident from this, that the uttermost parts are the ultimates of heaven and of the church. From these things it is evident that signs here signify testifications concerning the Lord's Divine Power.

[24] In Jeremiah:

"This shall be a sign unto you, that I will visit upon you in this place, that ye may know that my words shall stand upon you for evil; behold, I give the king of Egypt into the hand of his enemies, and into the hand of them that seek his soul" (44:29, 30).

This treats of those of the church who have become natural, meant by those who sojourned in Egypt, and returned therefrom. That such would be destroyed by evils and falsities is meant by, He will give the king of Egypt into the hand of his enemies, and into the hand of them that seek his soul, enemies there denoting those who are in evils, and them that seek the soul, those who are in falsities, thus, in an abstract sense, evils and falsities. That Egypt means the natural man may be seen above (n. 654). This is called a sign, because it is a testification that this will come to pass. Therefore it is said, that ye may know that My words shall stand upon you for evil.

[25] That a sign means testification concerning the certainty of a thing, is evident also from the following passages.

In Isaiah:

"Hezekiah said, What is the sign that I shall go up into the house of Jehovah?" (38:22).

In the book of Judges:

Gideon said unto the angel of Jehovah, "Show me a sign that thou art he who speaketh to me;" and the sign was this, when he touched with the staff the flesh and unleavened cakes, which Gideon offered, a fire went up out of the rock, and consumed them (6:17, 21).

In the First Book of Samuel:

"This shall be a sign unto thee, which shall come upon thy two sons; in one day they shall both die" (2:34).

In the same book:

"If the Philistines say, Come up unto us, then will we go up, because Jehovah hath given them into our hand; this shall be the sign unto us" (14:10).

Almost similar things are signified by the "Signs of the covenant" (Genesis 9:13; 17:11; Ezekiel 20:12, 20; and elsewhere), namely, testifications concerning conjunction. Testifications are also signified by the signs performed by the evil which appeared like miracles, in the following passages.

[26] In Isaiah:

Jehovah "rendereth vain the signs of the liars, he rendereth the diviners insane, turning the wise men backward, and maketh their knowledge foolish" (44:25).

In Jeremiah:

"Jehovah hath said, Learn not the way of the nations, and be not dismayed at the signs of the heavens; for the nations are dismayed at them; the statutes of the nations are vanity" (Jeremiah 10:2, 3).

In the Apocalypse:

The beast coming up out of the earth "made great signs, so that he even maketh fire to come down from heaven unto the earth before men, and seduceth them that worship upon the earth, on account of the signs which were given him to do" (13:13,14).

Again:

"They are the spirits of demons, making signs to go forth unto the kings of the earth, to gather them together to the war of that great day" (16:14).

And again:

"The beast was taken, and with him the false prophet, who made signs before them, by which he seduced them that had received the mark of the beast" (19:20).

But what is meant by signs upon the hand and in the forehead, may be seen above (n. 427). Moreover, the signs which were set upon the mountains to gather the people together to war, to battle, and so on, signified indications to perform the things commanded.

As in Isaiah:

"It shall be in that day the nations shall seek the root of Jesse, which standeth for a sign of the peoples, and his rest shall be glory. When he shall lift up a sign to the nations, and shall gather together the outcasts of Israel and the dispersed of Judah from the four winds of the earth" (11:10-12).

In Jeremiah:

"Set thee up signs, make thee pillars, set thy heart to the highway, the way thou goest" (31:21).

In the same:

"Announce among the nations, and cause it to be heard, and lift up a sign, Babel is taken" (50:2).

In the same:

"Against the walls of Babel lift up a sign, keep custody, appoint guards; lift up a sign in the land, sound the trumpet among the nations" (51:12, 27);

and elsewhere, especially in the historical parts of the Word. From all that has been quoted from the Word, it is evident that a great sign seen in heaven signifies Divine manifestation and testification, as also in the third verse of this chapter, and afterwards in chap. 15:1.

脚注:

342.(5:13) And every created thing which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying. That this signifies the acknowledgment and thence the glorification of the Lord by the angels who are in the lowest parts of heaven, is clear from the signification of every created thing, as denoting all who are reformed. That to be created signifies to be reformed and regenerated, may be seen above, n. 294. Hence created thing signifies what is reformed and regenerated; but with respect to the angels, concerning whom these things are said, it signifies those who were reformed in the world, that is, created anew, for all such are in heaven. By created thing is meant the same as by creature in Mark:

Jesus said to the disciples, "Going into all the world, preach ye the gospel to every creature" (16:15).

Here by every creature are meant all those who receive the gospel, and can thereby be reformed; the rest are not meant by creatures, because they do not receive, but hear and reject.

[2] From these considerations it is evident what the quality of the Word is in the sense of the letter, namely, that it is said creature, and that it is said every created thing, which is in heaven and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them. He who does not know that the sense of the letter is composed of such things as appear before the eyes, and that by these things spiritual [things] are meant, may easily be led to believe, that by every created thing which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, are meant the birds that fly in the heaven, the beasts that walk upon the earth, and the fishes that are in the sea; and the more so, because in various passages elsewhere in the Word, similar things are said of the birds of the heaven, the beasts of the earth, and also whales and fishes (as Ezekiel 39:17; Psalms 148:7; Job. 12:7, 8; Rev. 19:17; and elsewhere). But still those whose minds can be somewhat elevated above the sense of the letter, instantly perceive by interior sight that by those things are meant the angels and spirits who are in heaven and under heaven, and that these are those whom John heard when he was in the spirit; for it is said, "Heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb, for ever and ever"; from which it is evident that the angels in the lowest parts of heaven are those who are meant by everything created which is in them. This indeed follows from the consideration, that in the verses which precede, the subject treated of is the angels of the higher heavens and the angels of the lower heavens, that they acknowledged and glorified the Lord (see above, n. 322, 355).

[3] It shall now be explained who are meant by those in heaven, who by those on the earth, and under the earth, and who by those in the sea; by all of whom are meant those who are in the ultimates of heaven, the higher there by those who are in heaven, the lower there by those who are on the earth and under the earth, and the lowest there by those who are in the sea. There are three heavens, and each heaven is divided into three degrees, and similarly the angels who are in them; therefore in each heaven there are higher, middle, and lower [angels]; these three degrees of the ultimate heaven are meant by those who are in heaven, who are on the earth, and such as are in the sea. (Concerning which distinction of the heavens and of each heaven, see the Arcana Coelestia 4938, 4939, 9992, 10005, 10017, 10068; and concerning the ultimate degree, n. 3293, 3294, 3793, 4570, 5118, 5126, 5497, 5649, 9216; and in the work concerning Heaven and Hell 29-40.) It ought to be known, that in the spiritual world, where spirits and angels are, the appearance of all things is similar to that of the natural world where men are, namely, that there are mountains, hills, earths, and seas (see above, n. 304). Upon the mountains dwell the angels who are in the third or inmost heaven, upon the hills there those who are in the second or middle heaven, and upon the earth, and under the earth, and in the seas, those who are in the first or ultimate heaven. But the seas in which the inhabitants of the lowest heaven dwell, are not as the seas in which the evil dwell; they differ in the waves. The waves of the seas of the lowest heaven in which are the well-disposed, are light and pure; but the waves of the seas in which the evil are, are gross and impure; thus the seas are altogether different.

[4] I have been sometimes granted to see those seas, and also to converse with those who are in them; and it was found that those were there who had been merely sensual in the world, but yet well-disposed; and because they were sensual, they could not understand what the Spiritual is, but only what the Natural is, nor could they perceive the Word, and the doctrine of the church from the Word, otherwise than sensually. All these appear to be as in a sea; but those who are there do not seem to themselves to be in a sea, but, as it were, in an atmosphere of a kind similar to that in which they lived when in the world; that they are in the sea appears only before those who are above them. At this day there is an immense number there, because so many at this day are sensual. This ultimate part of heaven corresponds to the soles of the feet. On this account it is, that seas are so often mentioned in the Word, and also the fishes therein; and by the seas there are signified the general things of truth which belong to the natural man, and by the fishes sensual scientifics, which are the lowest things of the natural man, consequently, those are signified who are of such a quality, or those who are in them [i.e. sensual scientifics]. (What sensual things, and what sensual men are, and that they are both good and evil, see the Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 50.) From these considerations it can now be known what is meant by every created thing which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and which are in the sea, and all that are in them.

[5] Similar things are signified by seas and by the things that are therein, which are called fishes and whales, in the following passages. In David:

"Let the heaven and the earth praise" Jehovah, "the seas, and everything that creepeth therein. For God will save Zion, and will build the cities of Judah" (Psalms 69:34, 35).

It is said also everything that creepeth therein, and those who are sensual are meant. By Zion which God shall save, and by the cities of Judah which He shall build, are meant the celestial church and its doctrine, - by Zion that church, and by cities the doctrine thereof. The same are meant by these words in David:

"Praise Jehovah from the earth, ye whales and all deeps" (Psalms 148:7).

The same are meant by whales. Hence also it is that Egypt is called a whale (Ezekiel 29:3); for by Egypt is signified the scientific part in the natural man, and by a whale the Scientific in general.

[6] Similar things are also signified elsewhere by those expressions. In the same:

"Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet; the flock and all herds; and also the beasts of the field; the bird of the heaven, and the fishes of the sea" (Psalms 8:6-8).

Here the subject treated of is the Lord, and His Divine power over heaven and earth; and by the flock and the herds, the beasts of the field, the bird of the heaven, and the fishes of the sea, are meant men, spirits, and angels, as to their spiritual and natural [qualities]; and by the fishes of the sea those who are in the ultimates of heaven, as shown above.

In Job:

"Ask the beasts now, and they shall teach thee; or the birds of the heaven, and they shall tell thee; or the shoot of the earth, and it shall teach thee; and the fishes of the sea shall declare unto thee. Who knoweth not from all these that the hand of Jehovah hath wrought this?" (Job 12:7-9).

[7] In Ezekiel:

"The angel brought me again unto the door of the house; where, behold, waters issued out from under the threshold of the house towards the east. Then he said unto me, These waters issue out toward the eastern border, and descend into the plain, and come towards the sea; they are sent out into the sea that the waters may be healed; whence it comes to pass, every living soul that creepeth, whithersoever the rivers come, shall live; whence it cometh that there is exceeding many fish, because these waters shall come thither; and they are healed, that everything may live whither the river cometh. According to their kind shall the fish be, as the fish of the great sea, exceeding many. The miry places thereof and the marshes thereof are not healed; they go away into salt" (47:1, 8-11).

By the waters issuing from under the threshold of the house towards the east, are signified truths from a heavenly origin, the waters denoting truths; the east denoting the good of heavenly love, and the house denoting heaven and the church. The plain into which the waters descend, and the sea into which they come, signify the ultimates of heaven and the church, consequently, those who are in ultimates, concerning whom we have spoken above, namely, those who are in knowledges of truth only from the ultimate sense of the Word, and apprehend them naturally and sensually. These, when they are in simple good, receive influx out of the higher heavens, whence it is that they also receive the spiritual in their knowledges, and thence some spiritual life. This is meant by "the waters are sent out into the sea, that the waters may be healed; whence it comes to pass that every living soul which creepeth, whithersoever the rivers come, shall live." Likewise by these words: "Whence it cometh that there is exceeding many fish, because these waters come hither, and are healed." But those who are of such a nature, and not good, are meant by these words: "The miry places thereof, and the marshes thereof are not healed; they go away into salt." To go away into salt signifies not to receive spiritual life, but to remain in a life merely natural, which, separated from spiritual life, is defiled with falsities and evils, which miry places and marshes denote.

[8] Similar things are signified by the sea, and by the fishes of the sea, in Isaiah:

"Behold, at my rebuke I dry up the sea, I make the rivers into a wilderness; their fish stinketh, because there is no water, and dieth for thirst" (50:3).

By rebuke is signified the desolation of all truth; by the sea is signified where truth is in its ultimate; by water is signified truth from a spiritual origin; by dying for thirst is signified desolation from a lack of that truth; by the fishes of the sea are signified those who are in the ultimates of truth, in whom there is no life from a spiritual origin.

[9] Similar things are signified by the fishes of the sea in Ezekiel:

"In my zeal, in the fire of mine indignation I will speak; that the fishes of the sea may tremble before me, and the bird of the heavens, and the beast of the field, and every reptile that creepeth upon the earth" (Ezekiel [38]:19 ¹ , 20).

In Hosea:

"They rob on the highway, and bloods touch bloods; therefore the earth shall mourn, and everyone who dwelleth therein shall pine away, as to the beast of the field, and as to the bird of the heavens, and also the fishes of the sea they shall be gathered together" (4:2, 3).

And in Zephaniah:

"In consuming I will consume all things from upon the faces of the earth; I will consume man and beast; I will consume the bird of the heavens, and the fishes of the sea" (1:2, 3).

By man and beast when they are mentioned together, are signified the interior and exterior affections of good (see n. 7424, 7523, 7872). And by the fowls of the heaven and the fishes of the sea, are signified the affections of truth, and thoughts spiritual and natural, but, in the passages adduced, that they are about to perish.

[10] The reason that the sea and fishes signify such things is from the appearance in the spiritual world. All the societies there appear surrounded with an atmosphere corresponding with their affections and thoughts. Those in the third heaven, appear in an atmosphere pure as the ethereal [atmosphere]; those in the second heaven, appear in an atmosphere less pure, according to the nature of the air; the societies, however, in the ultimate heaven, appear surrounded with an atmosphere watery, as it were; but those who are in the hells appear surrounded with gross and impure atmospheres, some of them as in black waters, and others differently. It is the affections and the thoughts thence that produce those things around them; for spheres are exhaled from all, and these spheres are changed into such appearances. (Concerning those spheres, see the Arcana Coelestia 2489, 4464, 5179, 7454, 8630.) That those, however, who are in spiritual affection and the thought therefrom are signified by birds of the heaven, and those who are in natural affection and the thought therefrom, by fishes, is also from the appearance in the spiritual world; for there appear there both birds and fishes, over the earths birds, and in the seas fishes. It is the affections and the thoughts therefrom of those who are there that so appear. All know this who are in that world, and both the birds and the fishes have been often seen by me; that appearance is from correspondence. From these considerations it is evident why it is, that seas signify general things of truth, and whales and fishes the affections and thoughts of those who are in the generals of truth. That seas signify the general things of truth, may be seen in what was shown above, n. 275.

[11] The quality of those in the spiritual world who dwell in that watery atmosphere meant by seas, I wish to illustrate by one example only. Such, when they read these words in David,

"Everything that Jehovah willeth, he doeth in heaven and earth, in the seas and all deeps" (Psalms 135:6),

suppose that by heaven is meant the heaven visible before our eyes, and by the earth the habitable earth, and by the seas and deeps the seas and deeps, and thus that Jehovah does in them whatsoever He wills; and they cannot be led to believe that by heaven is meant the angelic heaven; by earth there, those who are below; and that by seas and by depths those there who are in ultimates. These things being spiritual, and above the sense of the letter, they are not willing, and scarcely are able, to perceive, because they see all things naturally and sensually.

[12] Hence also it is that by these words in the Apocalypse,

"I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away" (21:1),

it has been hitherto understood that the visible heaven and the habitable earth would perish, and that a new heaven and a new earth would appear; that by heaven here is meant the heaven where the angels are, and by the earth here is meant the church where men are. That they will become new, those who think merely naturally and sensually are unwilling [to admit], and, consequently, do not understand. For they do not suffer the mind to be raised out of merely natural light into spiritual light; for with them this is difficult, so much so that they can scarcely bear the Word to be understood otherwise than as the letter declares in its own sense, and as the natural man apprehends it. These persons are not unlike those birds that see and sing in obscure places, and in the light of day blink with the eyes and see little. The good among them are like those birds, and also like flying fishes; but the evil of that sort are like owls and horned-owls, which altogether shun the light of day, and they are like fishes which cannot be taken into the air without being deprived of life. The reason is, because with the good of that class, the internal spiritual man receives for a time spiritual influx from heaven, and hence some perception that it is so, although they do not see. With the evil, however, of that class the internal spiritual man is altogether shut; for every one has an internal and an external man, or both a spiritual and a natural; the internal or spiritual man sees from the light of heaven, but the external or natural man sees from the light of the world.

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