538. It was said that the abyss signifies the hells where and whence falsities are. The reason of this signification is, that those hells, where the falsities of evil reign, appear like seas, in the depths of which are the infernal crew, who are in the falsities of evil. They appear like seas, because falsities continually flow out from them and falsities appear like waters, wherefore waters in the Word also signify falsities. The quality of the falsity is also known from the waters themselves. For falsities are of many kinds, as many as there are evils; the falsities which are from grievous evils appear over those hells like gross and black waters, and falsities from the evil of the love of self, like red waters, the quality of the kind of the falsity being distinguishable from the grossness and colour. It must be remembered that in the spiritual world, truths also appear like waters, but like waters of a limpid and pure quality; the reason is, that there are three degrees of the life of man, as there are three heavens. Those in whom the third degree is opened are in an atmosphere pure like the ether; in such an atmosphere are those who dwell in the third or inmost heaven; but those in whom the second degree only is opened, are in an atmosphere like air; in this are those of the second or middle heaven. But those in whom the first degree only is opened, are in an atmosphere, watery as it were, yet limpid and pure; in such are those in the first or ultimate heaven. The reason of this is, that interior perceptions and thoughts, because they are more perfect, correspond to a similar purity of the atmosphere, in which they are; for they diffuse themselves from every angel, and still more from every angelic society, and present a corresponding sphere, and this sphere appears in a purity similar to that in which the perceptions and thoughts of the angels, or their intelligence and wisdom are. This sphere appears as an atmosphere, as an etherial atmosphere in the inmost heaven, as an aerial atmosphere in the middle heaven, and as a limpid watery atmosphere in the ultimate heaven, as stated above. It is therefore evident that an atmosphere of a watery appearance corresponds to natural thought and perception, but that an atmosphere which is as it were thinly watery, corresponds to spiritual natural thought and perception, in which are the angels of the ultimate heaven; but one which is of a grossly watery nature, verging either to black or to red, corresponds to natural thought in which there is nothing spiritual; and natural thought in which there is nothing spiritual pertains to those who are in the hells where falsities reign; for all those who are there are merely natural and sensual. That man has three degrees of life as the three heavens, and that they differ in purity, may be seen in the work concerningHeaven and Hell 33, 34, 208, 209, 211). It is evident from these facts why those hells are in the Word called seas and abysses; seas, because they appear like seas, and abysses from their depth.

[2] That seas, depths, and abysses, signify the hells where and whence the falsities of evil are, is clear from the following passages of the Word.

In Moses:

"Pharaoh's chariots and his host hath he cast into the sea; the depths covered them; they went down into the depths like a stone. With the blast of thy nostrils the waters were heaped up, the floods stood upright as a heap, and the abysses were congealed in the heart of the sea" (Exodus 15:4, 5, 8).

These words form part of the song of Moses concerning Pharaoh and his host after they were drowned in the Sea Suph (Red Sea). Pharaoh and his host signify those who are in falsities from evil, and the Sea Suph (Red Sea) signifies the hell where those falsities are. It is therefore evident that by the depths which covered them are signified the hells. What the rest signifies in the spiritual sense, may be seen in the Arcana Coelestia 8272-8279, an. 8286-8289), where it is explained.

[3] The signification of the following in David is similar:

"He rebuked the Sea Suph (Red Sea), so that it was dried up; and he led them through the abysses as in a wilderness, and the waters covered their adversaries" (Psalm 106:9, 11).

And in Isaiah:

"Art thou not he who dried up the sea, the waters of the great abyss; that hath made the depths of the sea a way for the redeemed to pass over?" (51:10, 15).

Again, in the same prophet:

"Who divided the waters before them, who led them through the abysses as a horse in the wilderness; they stumbled not" (63:12-13).

The sons of Israel, before whom the Sea Suph (Red Sea) was dried up that they might pass safely through, mean all those who are in truths from good, whom the Lord defends, lest the falsities of evil which ascend continually from the hells should injure them. This is what is meant by drying up the sea, the waters of the great abyss, and by making the depths thereof a way for the redeemed to pass over; also by leading them through the abysses. For the falsities breathed out from the hells continually cling to man, consequently the hells, for whether we speak of falsities from the hells, or of the hells themselves, it is the same thing; but the Lord continually disperses them with those who are in truths from good from Himself. This, then, is the signification of drying up the sea, and leading them through the abysses. Those who are in truths from good from the Lord, are meant by the redeemed.

[4] The same is signified by drying up the abyss and making dry the rivers in Isaiah:

Jehovah "saith to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be inhabited; and to the cities of Judah, Ye shall be built, and I will raise up the waste places thereof; that saith to the abyss, Be dry, and I will dry up thy rivers" (44:26, 27).

Jerusalem signifies the church of the Lord, and the cities of Judah signify the goods and truths of doctrine; the restoration of the church and of doctrine is signified by being inhabited and built; the dissipation of evils and falsities from the hells, and protection from them, are signified by drying up the abyss and making dry the rivers, as may be seen above.

[5] The same thing is signified by these words in Zechariah:

"Israel shall pass through the sea of affliction, and shall smite the waves in the sea, and all the depths of the river shall be dried up; and the pride of Assyria shall be cast down, and the staff of Egypt shall depart away" (10:11).

That those who live in truths from good are defended by the Lord, although falsities from the hells encompass them, is signified by Israel passing through the sea, and smiting the waves in the sea, and all the depths of the river being dried up. For by Israel are meant those who are in truths from good; by the sea is signified hell and all the falsity thence; by the waves of the sea are signified reasonings from falsities against truths; by drying up all the depths of the river is signified to scatter all the falsities of evil, even the more profound. The river Nile denotes the false scientific; wherefore it follows, that "the pride of Assyria shall be cast down, and the staff of Egypt shall depart away." Assyria signifies reasoning from falsities against truths, and Egypt, the scientific applied to confirm falsities; the pride of Assyria which shall be cast down, signifies [man's] own intelligence from which reasoning proceeds, and the staff of Egypt, which shall depart away, signifies the power which comes to reasoning through scientifics applied for the purpose of confirmation.

[6] In Ezekiel:

"In the day when he shall descend into hell, ¹ I will make him mourn, I will cover upon him the abyss" (31:15).

This is said of Pharaoh and Assyria; and Pharaoh signifies the same as Egypt, namely, the scientific destroying the truth of the church by application to falsities; and reasoning from them is signified by Assyria. That such are cast down into hell, where those falsities and reasonings from them are, is signified by his going down into hell, and being covered with the abyss. It is therefore evident that the abyss denotes the hell where and whence are the falsities of evil.

[7] In Micah:

God "will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and he will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea" (7:19).

Because the depths of the sea equally as abysses denote the hells where and whence are evils and falsities, therefore it is said that He will cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.

[8] In Ezekiel:

"When I shall make thee a desolated city like the cities that are not inhabited; when I shall bring up the abyss against thee, and many waters shall cover thee; and I will bring thee down with them that descend into the pit, to the people of an age, and will make thee to dwell in the land of the lower [parts] in the desolations from of old, with them that go down to the pit, that thou have no habitation" (26:19, 20).

This is said of Tyre, which signifies the church as to the cognitions of truth and good, or as to the truths of the natural man, for the truths of the natural man are the cognitions of truth and good. The vastation of the church as to these things is here treated of; to make Tyre a desolated city, as cities that are not inhabited, signifies its doctrine without truths, and as doctrines that are without good, for truths of doctrine without good are not truths, because all truths are of good. By bringing up the abyss against Tyre, and causing many waters to cover her, is signified immersion in falsities from hell in much abundance, the abyss denoting hell, and many waters denoting falsities in much abundance. With them that descend into the pit, to the people of an age, signifies unto those in hell who were there from the Most Ancient church just before the deluge, and who are called the people of an age, because they were from ancient time, and were, above all others, in falsities of a direful nature. Hence it is evident what is signified by making to dwell in the land of the lower [parts] in the desolations from an age, with them that descend into the pit, that thou have no habitation. Not to have a habitation denotes here not to be in any truths, because not in good. Such also do not dwell in houses but in pits.

[9] Similar things are signified in Zechariah:

"Behold, Jehovah shall impoverish Tyre, and shall shake out her riches into the sea; and she herself shall be devoured with fire" (9:4).

By shaking out her riches into the sea, is signified to cast falsities into hell, the sea denoting the hell where the falsities of evil are, and her riches those falsities themselves.

[10] So again, in Ezekiel:

"They who contemn thee have brought thee into many waters; the east wind hath broken thee in the heart of the seas. Thy riches, and thy tradings, thy merchandise, thy mariners, and thy pilots, thy calkers, and they who trade thy tradings, and all thy men of war that are in thee, and in all thy company which is in the midst of thee, shall fall into the heart of the seas in the day of thy fall" (27:26, 27).

These things are also said concerning Tyre and her ships, which signify the cognitions of good and truth, or the truths of the natural man, which they procure for themselves, and sell, but here they denote falsities. The heart of the seas, in which it is said the east wind hath broken her, and into which she shall fall in the day of her fall, signifies the same as the abyss or the hell, whence falsities of doctrine are. The east wind denotes influx out of heaven, and the day of her fall, a last judgment. Her riches signify falsities; tradings and merchandise, the acquisitions and communications thereof; mariners, signify ministers, and pilots, the leaders who lead and teach. The men of war, denote those who defend, and the company, false doctrinals.

[11] So in Jonah:

"Out of the belly of hell ¹ cried I, and thou heardest my voice. For thou didst cast me into the deep, even into the heart of the seas; and the stream compassed me about; all thy billows and thy waves passed over me. The waters compassed me about, even to the soul; the abyss closed me round about, the weeds were wrapped about my head. I went down to the cuttings off of the mountains; the bars of the earth upon me for ever; yet hast thou made my life to ascend out of the pit" (2:2, 3, 5, 6).

Jonah in the whale three days and three nights, represented that the Lord would be in like manner in the heart of the earth, as He Himself teaches in Matthew (12:39, 40; 16:4; Luke 11:29, 30). And the dire temptations of the Lord are described by these words of Jonah; because temptations are the result of inundations of evils and falsities, which ascend from hell, and as it were overwhelm, it is said, that he cried out from the belly of hell and that he was cast into the deep, even into the heart of the seas, which also signifies hell. The stream, and the waters which compassed him about, and the waves and billows which passed over him, signify evils and falsities thence. The abyss which closed him round about signifies the hells where and whence falsities are. The cuttings off of the mountains to which he went down, signify the hells where and whence evils are; that he was as it were bound by them is signified by the weed wrapped about the head, and by the bars of the earth being upon him, weeds denoting being bound by falsities, and the bars of the earth being bound by evils; victory over them from His own power, is signified by, Yet hast thou made my life to ascend out of the pit. It is said, Thou hast made "to ascend"; but by this, when stated of the Lord, is meant that He Himself from His own Divine, thus by His own power, caused Himself to ascend.

[12] Similar things are signified by the following passages in David:

"Abyss calleth unto abyss at the noise of thy water-spouts; all thy waves and thy billows are gone over me" (Psalm 42:7).

So again:

"The waters are come in unto my soul. I sink in mire of the deep where there is no standing; I am come into the depths of waters, and the floods overflow me. Deliver me out of the mire, and let me not sink; let me be delivered from them that hate me, and out of the depths of waters. Let not the water-floods overflow me, neither let the pit shut her mouth upon me" (Psalm 69:1, 2, 14, 15).

Again:

"Return, quicken me, return, and bring me up again from the abyss of the earth" (Psalm 71:20).

And again:

"I am counted with them that go down into the pit; neglected among the dead, like the slain that lie in the grave, whom thou rememberest no more, and they are cut off from thy hand. Thou hast laid me in the pit of the lower [parts] in dark places, in the deeps" (Psalm 88:4, 5, 6).

In these passages in David also the temptations of the Lord, by which He subjugated the hells, and glorified His Human, while in the world, are described. Waves and billows, signify evils and falsities, and abysses and depths of the sea, and also the pit, signify the hells where and whence those evils and falsities are; for as we said above, temptations are as it were immersions into the hells, and obsessions by evils and falsities. These things are signified by lamentations in many places in David, and also in the prophets. For in the spiritual sense of the Word, the temptations of the Lord are much treated of by which He subjugated the hells, and reduced all things to order in the heavens and in the hells, and by which He glorified His Human; they are especially meant by the things predicted in the prophets and Psalms concerning the Lord, and fulfilled by Him, as stated in Luke (24:44).

[13] The abyss, and the sea and the depths thereof, also signify the hells, in the following passages; as in Jeremiah:

"Flee ye, they have turned themselves away, they have cast themselves down into the deep, the inhabitants of Dedan, and Hazor" (49:8, 30).

And again:

"The sea is come up upon Babylon; she is covered with the multitude of the waves thereof" (Jeremiah 51:42).

And in Amos:

"The Lord Jehovih made me to see, and behold calling to contend by fire, he hath devoured the great abyss" (7:4).

And in David:

"The waters saw thee, O God, the waters saw thee; they were afraid; the abysses also were troubled" (Psalm 77:16).

And again:

"We will not fear, when the earth shall be changed and though the mountains shake in the heart of the seas; though the waters thereof shall roar and be troubled" (Psalm 46:2, 3).

And in Moses:

"On the same day were all the fountains of the great abyss broken up, and the flood gates of heaven were opened" (Genesis 7:11).

And again:

"The fountains also of the abyss, and the flood gates of heaven were stopped" (Genesis 8:2).

So in Job:

"Where shall wisdom be found? and where is the place of understanding? Man knoweth not the price thereof. The abyss saith, It is not in me; and the sea saith, It is not with me" (28:12, 13, 14).

And again:

"Hast thou entered into the weepings of the sea? or hast thou walked in search of the abyss? Have the gates of death been opened unto thee? or hast thou seen the doors of the shadow of death?" (38:16, 17).

So in the Evangelists:

"Whoso shall cause one of these little ones who believe in me to stumble, it were better for him that an ass-millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were sunk in the depth of the sea" (Matthew 18:6; Mark 9:42; Luke 17:2).

And again, we read, that the demons who obsessed the man, entreated Jesus that He would not command them to go into the abyss, therefore He suffered them to enter into the swine (Luke 8:31, 33; Matthew 8:31, 32).

And also in the following passages in the Apocalypse:

"The beast that ascendeth out of the abyss and made war" (11:7).

"The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the abyss" (17:8).

"I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand. And he bound the dragon a thousand years; and cast him into the abyss" (20:1, 2, 3).

In these passages also, by the abyss, and by the depth of the sea, is signified the hell where and whence the falsities of evil are. The reason of this is, that the spirits who are there, and who, whilst they lived as men in the world, were in the falsities of evil, appear to dwell as it were in the bottom of seas, and this the more deeply according to the grievousness of the evil from which the falsity was derived.

[14] As abysses signify the hells, where and whence falsities are, so they also signify the ultimates of heaven, where and whence are the cognitions of truth, which are the truths of the natural man. The reason is, that the ultimates of heaven also appear to be as it were in waters, but such as are limpid and clear; for, as was said above, the atmosphere of the highest heaven is as it were ethereal, the atmosphere of the middle heaven as it were aerial, and the atmosphere of the ultimate heaven as it were watery. The reason why this latter atmosphere appears to be watery is, because the truths pertaining to those who are in it, are truths of the natural man, and the atmosphere of the natural man is, as it were, watery; hence also are the appearances of rivers, lakes, and seas, in the spiritual world. Therefore seas also signify cognitions and scientifics in general, or in their whole compass; that these things are signified by seas may be seen above (n. 275, 342).

[15] The signification of abysses in the following passages is similar; as in Moses:

"Jehovah, thy God, bringeth thee into a good land, a land of rivers of water, of fountains and abysses springing out of the valley and out of the mountain" (Deuteronomy 8:7),

this passage may be seen explained above (n. 518:8).

So again:

God shall bless Joseph "with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the abyss that lieth under" (Genesis 49:25; Deuteronomy 33:13), (see also above, n. 448:7).

So in David:

"By the word of Jehovah were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth. He gathereth the waters of the sea together as a heap, putting the abysses in storehouses" (Psalm 33:6, 7), (see also above, n. 275).

Again:

"Thou coveredst the earth with the abyss as with a garment" (Psalm 104:6), (see also above, n. 275).

Again:

"Praise Jehovah from the earth, ye sea monsters and all abysses" (Psalm 148:7).

Abysses in these passages signify the ultimates of heaven, in which are the spiritual-natural angels.

So again, in Ezekiel:

"The waters made it to grow, the abyss made it high" (31:4), (see above, n. 518:15).

[16] Moreover abysses also signify Divine truths in abundance, and the interior things of Divine wisdom.

Thus in David:

"He clave the rocks in the wilderness, and made [them] drink great abysses" (Psalm 78:15).

And again: Jehovah, "thy justice is a great abyss" (36:6); and in other places.

脚注:

483. And shall lead them unto living fountains of waters.- This signifies, in Divine truths, as is evident from the signification of living fountains of waters, which denote Divine truths. By living is signified living from the Divine; by a fountain is signified the Word, and by waters are signified truths thence. Mention is frequently made of living waters in the Word, and by these are meant truths, which come from the Lord and are received. The reason why they are said to be living, is that the Lord is Life Itself, as He Himself teaches, and that which comes from Life Itself is alive; but that which comes from man is dead. The Lord, in order to give life to truths, flows into them, by means of good, and the good vivifies them. He also flows in from the higher or interior, opens the spiritual mind, and gives to it the affection for truth; and the spiritual affection for truth is the very life of heaven in man. This is the life which the Lord instils into man by means of truths. Hence it is evident what living waters and living fountains of waters mean in the following passages.

[2] Thus in Isaiah:

"The poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue faileth for thirst. I will open rivers on the heights, and fountains in the midst of the valleys; I will make the wilderness (desertum) a pool of waters, and the dry land springs of waters" (41:17, 18).

The subject here is the salvation of the Gentiles by the Lord, and they are here called poor and needy from a want of and ignorance of truth; their desire to know truths from those who are in the church, where no truths existed, is described by their seeking water when there is none, and their tongue failing for thirst, water denoting truth, and thirst the desire thereof. That they shall be instructed by the Lord, is signified by, "I will open rivers on the heights, and fountains in the midst of the valleys." To open rivers denotes to impart intelligence; on the heights denotes in the interior man; in the midst of the valleys denotes in the exterior man, and to make fountains signifies to instruct in truths. To make the wilderness a pool of waters, and the dry land springs of waters, signifies abundance of truth with those who were before in want of and in ignorance [of truth]. The wilderness denotes where there is no good because no truth, and the dry land, where there is no truth and thence no good; a pool of water and springs of water denote abundance of the knowledges of truth. From this it is evident that waters, fountains, springs, rivers, and pools of water, are not here meant, but the knowledges of truth, and thence intelligence, whence comes salvation.

[3] In the same prophet:

"Behold, your God will come with vengeance, and will save you. Then shall the parched place become a pool, and the thirsty ground springs of waters" (35:4, 7).

These things also are said concerning the instruction of the Gentiles in truths, and their reformation by the Lord when He should come into the world. By the parched place becoming a pool, and the thirsty ground springs of waters, are signified things similar to those mentioned above, by which the wilderness shall become a pool or collection of waters, and the dry land springs of waters.

[4] In Jeremiah:

"They shall come with weeping; and with prayers will I bring them; I will lead them to fountains of waters in a straight way, let them not stumble in it" (31:9).

Here also the subject is the reception of the Lord by the Gentiles. That he would instruct them in genuine truths is signified by his leading them in a straight way, let them not stumble in it.

In Isaiah:

"They shall not hunger nor thirst, neither shall the heat nor the sun smite them; for he that hath mercy on them shall lead them, even by the fountains of water shall he guide them" (49:10).

Here also the instruction of the Gentiles by the Lord is treated of. Instruction in truths is meant by leading them by the springs of water.

[5] The signification of hungering and thirsting, may be seen above (n. 480), and also of heat and of sun (481).

In Joel:

"And it shall come to pass in that day that the mountains shall drop down new wine (mustum), and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the rivers of Judah shall flow with waters, and a fountain shall come forth out of the house of Jehovah, and shall water the stream of Shittim" (3:18).

The signification of "the mountains shall drop down new wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the rivers of Judah shall flow with waters," is explained above (n. 433:13). A fountain shall go forth out of the house of Jehovah, and shall water the river of Shittim, signifies truth out of heaven from the Lord illustrating the scientifics and knowledges which are in the natural man.

[6] In David:

"Thou bringest forth, O earth, at thy presence, at the presence of the God of Jacob; who turned the rock into a lake of waters, the flint into a fountain of waters" (Psalm 114:7,8).

The lake of waters, and the fountain of waters here also mean truths in abundance, by which the church is formed; for by the earth bringing forth is signified the commencement of the church, which is said to bring forth, when truths are produced there, the earth denoting the church.

[7] So again:

Jehovah "who sendeth forth fountains into rivers; let them run between the mountains. They give drink to the beast of the fields; the wild asses quench their thirst. By them the fowl of the heavens have their habitation" (Psalm 104:10-12).

To send forth springs into the rivers signifies to give intelligence by means of truths from the Word; their going between the mountains, signifies that they are from the good of love; fountains denoting truths from the Word, rivers the things which pertain to intelligence, and mountains the goods of love. The instruction of those who are in the good of the church is signified by the words they give drink to the beast of the fields; and the instruction of those in the church who desire truths is signified by the wild asses quench their thirst; that thence the understanding is perfected, is signified by the fowl having their habitation near them. The beasts of the fields, in the spiritual sense, mean the Gentiles who are in the good of life, and wild asses, natural truth. Thirst means a desire for truths; and by the bird of the heavens are meant thoughts from the understanding.

[8] That a fountain, in the highest sense, means the Lord as to Divine Truth, or Divine Truth from the Lord, consequently the Word, is evident from the following passages.

In Jeremiah:

"My people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, to hew them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that hold no water" (2:13).

Here Jehovah, that is, the Lord, calls Himself a fountain of living waters, by which is signified the Word, or Divine Truth, consequently the Lord Himself, who is the Word; for it is said, "they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, to hew them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that hold no water," which signifies that they had framed to themselves doctrinals from their own intelligence, in which there are no truths. Cisterns denote doctrinals, broken cisterns denote doctrinals that are not consistent. That can hold no water, signifies in which there are no truths. Such are the doctrinals that are not from the Word, that is from the Lord through the Word (for the Lord teaches by means of the Word), but they are from man's own intelligence. That they were not taught by the Lord by means of the Word, is meant by the words they have forsaken the fountain of living waters.

[9] Again,

"All that forsake thee shall be ashamed, and they that depart from me shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken Jehovah, the fountain of living waters" (17:13).

Here similarly Jehovah, that is, the Lord, calls Himself a fountain of living waters from the Divine Truth, which is from Himself. To be written in the earth signifies to be condemned, concerning which see above (n. 222:6).

[10] Again, in David:

"They shall be filled with the fatness of thy house; and thou shalt cause them to drink of the stream of delights. For with thee is the fountain of life; in thy light we see light" (36:8, 9).

Fatness signifies the good of love, and the stream of delights, truth from that good; to cause them drink denotes to teach. With thee is the fountain of life, signifies that Divine Truth is with the Lord and from Him; because this is signified by the fountain of life, it is therefore added, "in thy light we see light," for the light of the Lord signifies Divine Truth.

[11] In Zechariah:

"In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness. And it shall come to pass in that day, saith Jehovah of hosts, that I will cut off the names of the idols out of the land, also I will cause the prophets and the unclean spirit to pass out of the land" (13:1, 2).

Here also the subject is the coming of the Lord. That those who are in the kingdom of the Lord shall then understand the Word, or the Divine Truth contained therein, is signified by, "In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem," a fountain signifying the Word, the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spiritual kingdom of the Lord with those in the heavens and on the earth who are in Divine Truths; for sin and for uncleanness, signifies the removal of evils and falsities by means of truths from the Word. Because a fountain means the Word or the Divine Truth therein, it is therefore said, "I will cut off the names of the idols out of the land, also I will cause the prophets and the unclean spirit to pass out of the land." False religion is signified by idols, false doctrine by prophets, and the evils flowing from falsities of doctrine by the unclean spirit; for when man lives according to the falsities of religion and of doctrine, he becomes an unclean spirit.

[12] That Divine Truth from the Lord is meant by a fountain, the Lord Himself plainly teaches in John.

When He sat at Jacob's well in the land of Samaria, He said to the Samaritan woman, "Every one that drinketh of this water shall thirst again; but whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall become in him a well of water springing up unto eternal life" (4:6, 13, 14).

Here it is evident that the water which the Lord gives, does not mean water, but Divine Truth, for it is said from the water which the woman of Samaria came to draw, that a man thirsts again, but not so from the water which the Lord gives. That there is life in that truth, is meant by that water becoming in him a well of water springing up unto eternal life. That there is life in truths when the Lord gives them, may be seen in this article above. The reason why the Lord said these things to the woman of Samaria, when He sat at the well of Jacob, was, that by the Samaritans the Lord meant the Gentiles, who would receive Divine truths from Him; and by the woman of Samaria, the church from them; and by Jacob's well He meant Divine Truth from Himself, or the Word.

[13] In Moses:

"Thus Israel dwelleth in safety alone at the fountain of Jacob" (Deuteronomy 33:28).

These words form the conclusion of the prophecy of Moses concerning the sons of Israel. Because in that prophecy Israel signifies the church which is in Divine truths from the Word, therefore it is said at the fountain of Jacob, which means the Word, and thus also the Lord as to the Word; for He is the Word, because He is the Divine Truth, as He teaches in John (chap. 1:1-3). These things are said at the end of that prophecy, because in it the Word is treated of. The same is meant by that fountain in the prophecy of the patriarch Israel concerning Joseph:

"The son of a fruitful one is Joseph, the son of a fruitful one near a fountain" (Genesis 49:22).

A fountain here means the fountain of Jacob, for the field in which that fountain was situated, was given to Joseph by his father (John 4:5, 6). What is signified by Joseph being the son of a fruitful one near a fountain, may be seen above (n. 448:6). By a fountain is also meant the Word, and by fountains Divine truths therefrom, as in David:

"Bless ye God in the congregations, the Lord, from the fountain of Israel" (Psalm 68:26).

In the Apocalypse:

"I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely" (21:6).

In Isaiah:

"Therefore with joy shall ye draw waters out of the fountains of salvation" (12:3).

In David:

"All my fountains are in thee," O Jehovah (87:7).

[14] Since most things in the Word have an opposite sense, and so also have the words fountain and fountains, in which sense they signify the doctrine of falsities, and the falsities of doctrine, as in Jeremiah:

"I will dry up her sea, and make her fountain dry" (51:36).

This is spoken of Babylon; and by her sea are signified her falsities in their entirety, and by her fountain the doctrine of falsity.

[15] So in Hosea:

"An east wind shall come, the wind of Jehovah shall come up from the wilderness, and his fountain shall become dry, and his spring shall be dried up" (13:15).

This is spoken of Ephraim, who there signifies the perverted understanding of the Word, by which falsities are confirmed by means of the Word; the destruction thereof is signified by his fountain becoming dry, and his spring being dried up by the east wind, the wind of Jehovah from the wilderness. A fountain denotes the doctrine of falsity, a spring, the false thereof, and the east wind from the desert the destruction of it from fallacies which are from sensual externals. For sensual external things, when they are not illustrated from things internal, destroy the understanding of man, because all fallacies are thence derived.

[16] Again, in David:

"Thou didst break up the sea by thy strength; thou brakest the heads of the sea monsters in the waters. Thou brakest the heads of leviathan in pieces, and gavest him to be meat to the people of Tziim. Thou didst break through the fountains and the river; thou driedst up mighty rivers" (Psalm 74:13-15).

Here also, by fountains and rivers are signified the falsities of doctrine from man's own intelligence; the mighty rivers are confirmed principles of falsity thence. The sea monsters and leviathan signify the scientifics which pertain to the sensual and natural man, from which all falsity springs when the spiritual man above them is closed. Man's proprium resides in the sensual and natural man, therefore conclusions formed from these alone are formed from the proprium, or from man's own intelligence; for the Divine flows in through the spiritual man into the natural, but not into the natural when the spiritual above it is closed, whereas the spiritual man is opened by means of truths, and by a life according to them. The people Tziim to whom leviathan is said to be given for meat, signify those who are in infernal falsities.