240. But that naked signifies those who are without the understanding of truth because without the will of good, is evident also from those passages in the Word where the terms naked and nakedness are mentioned, which shall be adduced below. The reason why these terms have such a signification is that garments signify truths of the understanding. He who is without truths is also without good, for all spiritual good is procured by means of truths, and without them, or except by them, spiritual good cannot exist; spiritual good is charity. Naked and nakedness signify the deprivation of intelligence and love, thus of the understanding of good and of the will thereof; also for the reason that garments cover the body and the flesh, and by body and flesh is signified good, hence by garments are signified those things that cover good.

[2] There is the understanding of truth and the understanding of good; the understanding of truth is the understanding of those things that belong to faith, and the understanding of good is the understanding of those things that belong to love and charity. There is also the will of truth and the will of good; the will of truth pertains to those who, belong to the Lord's spiritual kingdom, but the will of good to those who belong to His celestial kingdom. The latter, because they are in love to the Lord and thence in mutual love, which with them is charity towards the neighbour, have truths inscribed on their hearts, and hence do them; and what proceeds from the heart is from the will of good; for the heart denotes the will of good; but those who are in love towards the neighbour, which love is charity, have not truths inscribed on their hearts, but on the memory, and thence on the intellectual mind, and that which thence proceeds from affection, is the will of truth. It is thus that the spiritual angels are distinguished from the celestial angels; the latter appear naked in heaven, but the former clothed.

The reason why the celestial angels appear naked is that they have no need of the memory in order to retain truths, nor of the understanding in order to comprehend them, because they have them inscribed on the heart, that is, on the love and will, and thence see them. And the reason why the spiritual angels appear clothed is that they have truths inscribed on the memory, and thence on the understanding, and truths thus inscribed correspond to garments, therefore they all appear clothed according to their intelligence. (That the angels are thus clothed, may be seen in the work, Heaven and Hell 177-182.) From these considerations it is evident that naked signifies in one sense those who are in celestial good, and in the other, those who are not in good because not in truths.

[3] But these things may be better seen from those passages, in the Word where naked and nakedness are mentioned, such as the following. In Isaiah:

Jehovah said to the prophet, "Put off the sackcloth from upon thy loins, and put off thy shoe from upon thy foot. And he did so. Then Jehovah said, Like, as my servant Isaiah hath walked naked and barefoot three years; so shall the king of Assyria lead the captivity of Egypt, and the crowd of Cush that is to be carried off, the boys and the old men, naked and unshod, and their buttocks uncovered, the nakedness of Egypt" (20:2-4).

No one can see what is stored up in these words concerning the church and heaven, unless he knows their spiritual sense; for in every detail of the Word something pertaining to heaven and the church is contained, because the Word is spiritual: it shall therefore be explained. By the prophet is here meant the doctrine of the church; by putting off sackcloth from upon his loins, or by making the loins naked, is meant to reveal filthy loves. By the usual sackcloth of the prophet are here meant the covering garments, and by the loins are signified those loves. By putting off the shoe from upon his foot, or unshoeing the soles of the foot, is signified to reveal the filthy things of nature. By the king of Assyria leading the captivity of Egypt, and the crowd of Cush that is to be carried off, is meant that the perverted Rational would confirm evils and falsities by scientifics (scientifica) and fallacies. By boys and old men are meant by all things, both in general and in particular. By naked and barefoot is meant that they are deprived of all truth and of all good. By their buttocks uncovered are meant the evils of self-love; by the nakedness of Egypt the falsities therefrom. It is therefore clear what is here treated of concerning the church and heaven, namely, that the perverted Rational, which denies God, and attributes all things to nature, confirms itself by scientifics and by fallacies, until it is deprived of all understanding of truth and will of good. (That by prophet in the Word is meant doctrine, may be seen in Arcana Coelestia 2534, 7269; by the loins are signified the loves in each sense, n. 3021, 4280, 5059; by the feet are signified the natural things pertaining to man, and by the soles of the feet those which are in the ultimates, n. 2162, 3147, 3761, 3986, 4280, 4938-4952; by shoes are signified the same things as to the covering of them, n. 1748, 2162, 6844; by the king of Assyria is signified the Rational in both senses, n. 119, 1186; by Egypt is signified the Scientific (scientificum) of the natural man, also, in both senses, good and evil, n. 1164, 1165, 1186, 1462, 5700, 5702, 6015, 6651, 6679, 6683, 6692, 7296, 9340, 9391; by Cush are signified the fallacies of the senses, n. 1163, 1164, 1166.)

[4] In Ezekiel:

"When I passed by thee, and saw thee, I covered thy nakedness, and I washed thee and clothed thee. But thou didst trust in thine own beauty, and playedst the harlot. Thou hast not remembered the days of thy youth, when thou wast naked and bare. Thou hast committed fornication with the sons of Egypt and with the sons of Asshur. Thou hast moreover multiplied thy fornication in the land unto Chaldea; wherefore thy nakedness is revealed by thy whoredoms; therefore they shall stone thee with stones, and shall cut thee in pieces with their swords. And they shall burn thine houses with fire" (16:6, and following verses).

Jerusalem is here treated of, by which is meant the church as to doctrine; and by these and many other expressions in the same chapter, the quality of the church in the beginning, and what it became when it declined from good and truth, is described. Its quality when established by the Lord, thus its quality in the beginning, is described by, "when I passed by thee, and saw thee, I covered thy nakedness, I washed thee and clothed thee." To cover nakedness signifies to remove the evils of the will and the falsities of the understanding; to wash signifies to purify from evils, and to clothe signifies to instruct in truths. But the quality of the church when it declined from good and from truth, is described in what follows. Thou didst trust in thy beauty, signifies intelligence from the proprium, and that the church was delighted with it. By committing whoredom is signified that thus it imbued falsities; by committing fornication with the sons of Egypt and with the sons of Asshur, are signified falsifications confirmed by scientifics and rational things therefrom. By multiplying fornication unto Chaldea, is signified even to the profanation of truth. Hence it is clear what is signified by wherefore thy nakedness is revealed by thy whoredoms; namely, that the church by falsities and falsifications would be deprived of all understanding of truth. By they shall stone thee with stones, is signified that the church would perish by falsities. By they shall cut thee in pieces with their swords, is signified that the church would perish altogether by the falsifications of truth. And by they shall burn thy houses with fire is signified that it would wholly perish by infernal loves: houses denote everything pertaining to man, and fire denotes infernal loves. From these considerations it is clear what pertaining to heaven and the church is contained in those words, and that this appears solely from the spiritual sense. (That washing signifies to purify from evils and falsities, may be seen in Arcana Coelestia 3147, 10237, 10240, 10243; that to clothe signifies to instruct in truths, n. 1073, 2576, 5248, 5319, 5954, 9212, 9216, 9952, 10536; that beauty signifies intelligence, n. 3080, 4985, 5199, in this case intelligence from the proprium. That to commit whoredom denotes to be imbued with falsities, see above, n. 141: that Egypt denotes the Scientific, and Asshur the Rational, may be seen just above. That Chaldea denotes the profanation of truth, Arcana Coelestia 1182, 1283, 1295, 1304, 1306, 1307, 1308, 1321, 1322, 1326: that to stone with stones signifies to perish by falsities, n. 5156, 7456, 8575, 8799: that sword signifies falsity fighting against truth and destroying it, n. 2799, 4499, 7102, hence to cut in pieces with swords denotes to perish altogether by falsifications of truth; that fire signifies infernal love, n. 1861, 5071, 6314, 6832, 7575, 10747; and that a house signifies the whole man, and the things pertaining to him, thus which pertain to his understanding and his will, n. 710, 2231, 2233, 2559, 3128, 3538, 4973, 5023, 6690, 7353, 7848, 7910, 7929, 9150; hence it is evident what is signified by they shall burn thy houses with fire.)

[5] In Hosea:

"Contend with your mother, that she may put away her whoredoms and her adulteries, lest peradventure I strip her naked and make her as a desert, as a land of dryness, and slay her with thirst; and her sons will I not pity, because they are the sons of whoredoms" (2:2-4).

The subject here treated of is also the church fallen into falsities and evils; the mother with whom they would contend signifies the church. Whoredoms and adulteries signify falsities and evils therefrom; to make her as a wilderness and set her as a land of dryness signifies the deprivation of good and of truth. To slay her with thirst signifies a total defect of truth; her sons signify all the falsities thereof, in general, therefore they are called sons of whoredoms. (That mother signifies the church, may be seen, Arcana Coelestia 289, 2691, 2717, 3703, 4257, 5581, 8897; that desert signifies where there is no good because no truth, n. 2708, 4736, 7055; that a dry land signifies where there is no truth is, because water signifies the truth of faith, n. 2702, 3058, 5668, 8568, 10238; that to be slain with thirst, signifies to perish from defect of truth, n. 8568 at the end. That sons signify affections of truth, and truths in general, n. 2362, 3963, 6729, 6775, 6778, 9055; thus, in the opposite sense, affections of falsity and falsities in general. Hence it may be evident that by stripping her naked is signified, her being without good and truth.)

[6] In Lamentations:

"Jerusalem hath sinned a sin; therefore all that honoured her, despise her, because they have seen her nakedness" (1:8).

In Ezekiel:

Aholah, which is Samaria, committed whoredom with the Egyptians, and with the sons of Asshur; they uncovered her nakedness, her sons and her daughters have they taken, and at length they have slain her with the sword: "therefore will I give thee into the hand of those whom thou hast hated, that they may deal with thee from hatred, and take away all thy labour, and leave thee naked and bare, that the nakedness of thy whoredoms may be uncovered" (23:4, 8, 9, 10, 18, 28, 29).

The subject treated of in this chapter is Samaria, which is called Aholah, and Jerusalem, which is called Aholibah, the church being signified by both. By Samaria, where the sons of Israel were, is signified the church in which were no truths, but falsities, and by Jerusalem, the church where there were no goods, but evils. What is signified by committing whoredom with the Egyptians and with the sons of Asshur, and what by slaying her sons and daughters with the sword, was explained above; hence it is clear, that by leaving her naked and bare is signified to be without good and truth.

[7] In Isaiah:

"The Lord will make bald the crown of the head of the daughters of Zion, and Jehovah will make naked their buttocks" (3:17).

The daughters of Zion signify the celestial church and the things of that church, but, in this case, perverted. By the crown of the head, which shall be made bald, is signified intelligence of which it shall be deprived; and the buttocks, which shall be made naked, signify the love of evil and of falsity.

[8] In Nahum:

"Woe to the city of bloods, wholly in a lie, and full of rapine; because of the multitude of her whoredoms I will uncover thy skirts over thy faces, and will make nations see thy nakedness, and kingdoms thy lightness" (3:1, 4, 5).

The city of bloods signifies the doctrine of falsity which offers violence to the good of charity.

[9] In Habakkuk:

"Woe unto him that maketh his companion to drink, and makest him drunken also, that thou mayest look on their nakednesses. Drink thou also, that thy foreskin may be uncovered" (2:15, 16).

To make a companion drink, and make him drunken, signifies to impart falsities until he does not see truth: to look on their nakednesses, denotes to cause the falsities of the understanding and the evils of the will to appear. The foreskin which would be uncovered, denotes filthy loves. (That to drink denotes to be instructed in truths, may be seen, Arcana Coelestia 3069, 3772, 4017, 4018, 8562, 9412; hence, in the opposite sense, it denotes to impart falsities; that to be made drunken denotes to become insane from falsities, thus not to see truths, n. 1072; that the foreskin signifies corporeal and terrestrial loves, n. 4462, 7045.) Hence it is evident what is signified by the fact that

Noah drank wine and was drunken, so that he lay naked in the midst of his tent, and that Ham laughed at the nakedness of his father, but that Shem and Japheth covered his nakedness, and turned away their faces that they might not see the nakedness of their father (Genesis 9:21-23).

(But these things may be seen explained in Arcana Coelestia where they are treated of.)

[10] In Lamentations:

"The cup also shall pass over unto thee, O daughter of Edom: thou shalt be drunken, and shalt be naked" (4:21).

Here, by being drunken and naked are signified the same things as above. (But who in particular are signified by Edom may be seen, Arcana Coelestia 3322, 8314.)

In Isaiah:

Daughter of Babel and Chaldea, "sit upon the earth. Take the millstones, and grind meal; uncover thy hair, uncover thy thigh, pass over the rivers. Thy nakedness shall be uncovered, and also thy shame shall be seen" (47:1-3).

By the daughter of Babylon and Chaldea are meant those who profane the goods and truths of the church. To grind meal signifies to falsify truths; to uncover the hair and the thigh signifies to be deprived of the understanding of truth, and the will of good; to pass over the rivers, and to uncover her nakedness have also a similar signification.

[11] Because nakedness signified the deprivation of the understanding of truth and of the will of good, it was therefore commanded that Aaron and his sons should not ascend by steps upon the altar, lest their nakedness should be uncovered thereon (Exodus 20:26). Also that

They should make for them breeches of linen to cover the flesh of their nakedness, and that they should be upon them when they entered the tent of the assembly, and when they came near to the altar, and that otherwise they should bear iniquity and die (Exodus 28:42, 43).

From these considerations it is clear what is signified by the words in the following verse of this chapter: "I counsel thee to buy of me white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear." And also in the following words of this book of the Apocalypse: "Blessed is he that watcheth and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame" (16:15).

[12] Moreover, by the naked, in the Word, are also meant those who are not in truths and thence not in good, because they are ignorant of truths, but yet desire them. This is the case with those who are within the church where those who teach are in falsities; also those who are out of the church, and have not the Word, and hence neither know truths nor anything concerning the Lord. These are described in the following passages. In Isaiah:

"This is the fast that I have chosen, to break bread with the hungry, and when thou seest the naked that thou cover him" (58:6, 7).

In Ezekiel:

"Let him give his bread to the hungry, and cover the naked with a garment" (18:7).

And in Matthew:

"I was naked, and ye clothed me" (25:36, 38).

To cover with a garment, and to clothe, signify to instruct in truths. (That garments denote truths, may be seen above, n. 195. That naked also signifies the good of innocence, may be seen in Arcana Coelestia 165, 8375, 9960; and in the work, Heaven and Hell 179, 180, 280.)

2708. 'And dwelt in the wilderness' means that which is obscure comparatively. This is clear from the meaning of 'dwelling' as living, dealt with in 2451, and from the meaning of 'a wilderness' as that which possesses little life, dealt with in 1927, here as that which is obscure comparatively. By that which is obscure comparatively is meant the state of the spiritual Church in comparison with the state of the celestial Church, that is, the state of those who are spiritual in comparison with the state of those who are celestial. Those who are celestial are moved by the affection for good, those who are spiritual by the affection for truth. Those who are celestial possess perception, whereas those who are spiritual possess the dictate of conscience. To those who are celestial the Lord appears as a Sun, but to those who are spiritual as a Moon, 1521, 1530, 1531, 2495. The light which the former have - enabling them to see good and truth from the Lord with their eyes as well as to perceive it - is like the light of the sun in the daytime; but the light which the latter have from the Lord is like the light of the moon at night, and so, compared with those who are celestial, these dwell in obscurity. The reason for this is that those who are celestial dwell in love to the Lord, and so in the Lord's life itself, whereas those who are spiritual dwell in charity towards the neighbour and in faith, and so, it is true, in the Lord's life but in a rather more obscure way. All this explains why those who are celestial never reason about faith or the truths of faith, but because a perception of truth from good exists with them, simply say, 'That is so', whereas those who are spiritual talk and reason about the truths of faith because a conscience for what is good received from truth exists with them. A further reason for this difference is that with those who are celestial the good of love has been implanted in the will part of their minds, where man's chief life resides, but with those who are spiritual it has been implanted in the understanding part, where man's secondary life resides. This is the reason why, compared with the celestial, the spiritual dwell in obscurity, see 81, 202, 337, 765, 784, 895, 1114-1125, 1155, 1577, 1824, 2048, 2088, 2227, 2454, 2507. This comparative obscurity is here called 'a wilderness'.

[2] In the Word 'a wilderness' can mean that which is sparsely inhabited and cultivated, or it can mean that which is totally uninhabited and uncultivated, and so is used in two senses. When it means that which is sparsely inhabited and cultivated, that is, where there are few dwellings, and where there are sheepfolds, pastures, and waters, it means that thing or those persons who, compared with others, have little life and light, as is the case with that which is spiritual or those who are spiritual in comparison with that which is celestial or those who are celestial. When however it means that which is totally uninhabited and uncultivated, that is, where there are no dwellings, sheepfolds, pastures, and waters, it means those who have undergone vastation as regards good and desolation as regards truth.

[3] That 'a wilderness' can mean that which, compared with other places, is sparsely inhabited and cultivated, that is, where there are few dwellings, and where there are sheepfolds, pastures, and waters, is clear from the following places: In Isaiah,

Sing to Jehovah a new song, His praise from the end of the earth, those that go down to the sea, and the fullness of it, the islands and their inhabitants. The wilderness and its cities will lift up [their voice]; Kedar will inhabit the settlements, ¹ the inhabitants of the rock will sing, they will shout from the top of the mountains. Isaiah 42:10-11.

In Ezekiel,

I will make with them a covenant of peace and I will banish the evil wild animal from the land, and they will dwell securely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods, and I will give them and the places around My hill a blessing. The tree of the field will give its fruit, and the earth will give its increase. ² Ezekiel 34:25-27.

This refers to those who are spiritual. In Hosea,

I will bring her into the wilderness and will speak tenderly to her; and I will give her her vineyards from it. Hosea 2:14-15.

This refers to the desolation of truth and to the comfort that follows later.

[4] In David,

The folds of the wilderness drip, and the hills gird themselves with rejoicing; the meadows clothe themselves with flocks, and the valleys are covered over with grain. Psalms 65:12-13.

In Isaiah,

I will make the wilderness into a pool of water, and the parched land into streams of water. I will put in the wilderness the shittim-cedar, and the myrtle, and the oil tree. I will set in the wilderness the fir, that men may see and know, and may consider and understand together, for the hand of Jehovah has done this, and the Holy One of Israel has created it. Isaiah 41:18-20.

This refers to the regeneration of those who have no knowledge of the truth, that is, gentiles, and to the enlightenment and teaching of those who have experienced desolation. 'The wilderness' is used in reference to these. 'The cedar, the myrtle, and the oil tree' stands for the truths and goods of the interior man, 'fir' for those of the exterior man. In David,

Jehovah turns rivers into a wilderness, and streams of waters into dryness. He turns a wilderness into a pool of water, and parched land into streams of water. Psalms 107:33, 35

Here the meaning is similar. In Isaiah,

The wilderness and the dry land will be glad for them, and the lonely place will rejoice and blossom like the rose. It will bud prolifically. Waters will break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the lonely place. Isaiah 35:1-2, 6.

In the same prophet,

You will be like a watered garden and like a spring of waters whose waters do not fail; and those that be of you will build the wilderness of old. Isaiah 58:11-12.

In the same prophet,

Until the spirit is poured out on us from on high, and the wilderness will become Carmel, and Carmel counted as a forest. And judgement will dwell in the wilderness and righteousness on Carmel. Isaiah 32:15-16.

This refers to the spiritual Church which, though inhabited and cultivated, is, in comparison [with the celestial Church], called 'a wilderness', for it is said that 'judgement will dwell in the wilderness and righteousness on Carmel'. It is evident from the places just quoted that 'a wilderness' means an obscure state compared with other states not only because it is described as 'a wilderness' but also as 'a woodland'; and an obscure state is plainly the meaning in Jeremiah,

O generation, observe the word of Jehovah. Have I been a wilderness to Israel, or a land of darkness? Jeremiah 2:31.

[5] That 'a wilderness' can mean that which is totally uninhabited and uncultivated, that is, where there are no dwellings, sheepfolds, pastures, and waters, and so can mean those who have experienced vastation as regards good and desolation as regards truth, is also clear from the Word. This kind of wilderness is used with two different meanings; that is to say, it may be used in reference to those who are subsequently reformed or in reference to those who are unable to be reformed. Regarding those who are subsequently reformed, such as Hagar and her son represent here, it is said in Jeremiah,

Thus said Jehovah, I have remembered you, the mercy of the days of your youth, your going after Me in the wilderness, in a land not sown. Jeremiah 2:2.

This refers to Jerusalem, which in this case means the Ancient Church that was spiritual. In Moses,

The portion of Jehovah is His people, Jacob is the line of His inheritance. He found him in a wilderness land and in the waste, the howling, the lonely place. He encompassed him, led him to understand, and kept him as the pupil of His eye. Deuteronomy 32:9-10.

In David,

They wandered in the wilderness, in a desolate way; they did not find an inhabited city. Psalms 107:4.

This refers to those who have experienced desolation of truth and are being reformed. In Ezekiel,

I will bring you to the wilderness of the peoples and I will enter into judgement with you there, as I entered into judgement with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt. Ezekiel 20:35-36.

This likewise refers to the vastation and desolation of those who are being reformed.

[6] The travels and wanderings of the Israelites in the wilderness represented nothing else than the vastation and desolation prior to reformation of those who have faith. It consequently represented the temptation of them, for when people undergo spiritual temptations they experience vastation and desolation, as may also become clear from the following in Moses,

Jehovah carried you ³ along in the wilderness, as a man carries his son, in [all] the way [you went], until [you reached] this place. Deuteronomy 1:31.

And elsewhere in the same book,

You shall remember all the way in which Jehovah your God has led you forty years already in the wilderness to afflict you, to tempt you, and to know what is in your heart, whether you will keep His commandments or not. He afflicted you, caused you to hunger, caused you to eat manna which you do not know nor your fathers knew, so that you may recognize that man does not live by bread only but that man lives by all that goes out of the mouth of Jehovah. Deuteronomy 8:2-3.

And further on in the same chapter,

Do not forget that Jehovah led you in the great and terrible wilderness where there were serpents, fiery snakes, and scorpions, parched places where there was no water, and that He brought you water out of the rock of flint. He fed you in the wilderness with manna which your fathers did not know, that He might afflict you, tempt you, to do you good in the end. Deuteronomy 8:15-16.

Here 'wilderness' stands for the vastation and desolation such as people experience who undergo temptations. Their travels and wanderings in the wilderness for forty years describe every state of the Church militant - how when it is self-reliant it goes under but when it relies on the Lord it overcomes.

[7] The description in John of the woman who fled into the wilderness means nothing else than temptation experienced by the Church, referred to as follows,

The woman who brought forth the male child fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God. To the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, so that she might fly into the wilderness, into her own place. And the serpent poured water like a stream out of his mouth after the woman, to swallow her up in the river. But the earth helped the woman, for the earth opened its mouth and swallowed the stream which the dragon poured out of his mouth. Revelation 12:6, 14-16.

[8] That 'a wilderness' may be used in reference to a totally vastated Church and to people totally vastated as regards good and truth who are unable to be reformed may be seen in the following in Isaiah,

I will make the rivers a wilderness; their fish will stink for lack of water and will die of thirst; I will clothe the heavens with thick darkness. Isaiah 50:2-3.

In the same prophet,

The cities of Your holiness were a wilderness - Zion was a wilderness, Jerusalem lay waste. Isaiah 64:10,

In Jeremiah,

I looked, and behold, Carmel was a wilderness, and all its cities were destroyed from before Jehovah. Jeremiah 4:26.

In the same prophet,

Many shepherds have spoiled My vineyard, they have trampled down [My] portion, they have made the portion of My delight into a desolate wilderness. They have made it into a desolation; desolate, it has mourned over Me. The whole land has been made desolate, for nobody takes it to heart. On all the slopes in the wilderness those who lay waste have come. Jeremiah 12:10-12.

In Joel,

Fire has devoured the folds of the wilderness, and flame will burn up all the trees of the field. The streams of water have dried up, and fire has devoured the folds of the wilderness. Joel 1:19-20.

In Isaiah, He made the world like a wilderness and destroyed its cities. Isaiah 14:17.

This refers to Lucifer. In the same prophet,

The prophecy concerning the wilderness of the sea. Like storms in the south it comes from the wilderness, from a terrible land. Isaiah 21:1 and following verses.

'The wilderness of the sea' stands for truth that has been vastated by facts and by reasonings based on these.

[9] All these places show what is meant by the following reference to John the Baptist,

It was said by Isaiah, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare a way for the Lord, make His paths straight. Matthew 3:3; Mark 1:3; Luke 3:4; John 1:23; Isaiah 40:3.

These words imply that at that time the Church was so totally vastated that no good and no truth remained any longer. This is quite evident from the fact that nobody at that time knew of the existence in man of anything internal, or of anything internal in the Word, so that nobody knew that the Messiah or Christ was coming to save them for ever. The places quoted above also show what is meant by the statement that John was in the wilderness until the time of his manifestation to Israel, Luke 1:80, that he preached in the wilderness of Judea, Matthew 3:1 and following verses, and that he baptized in the wilderness, Mark 1:4; for by this he also represented the state of the Church. From the meaning of 'a wilderness' it may also be seen why the Lord retired so often into the wilderness, as in Matthew 4:1; Matthew 15:32-end; Mark 1:12-13, 35, 45; 6:31-36; Luke 4:1; 5:16; 9:10 and following verses; John 11:54; and also from the meaning of 'a mountain' why the Lord retired into the mountains, as in Matthew 14:23; 15:29-31; 17:1 and following verses; 28:16-17; Mark 3:13-14; 6:46; 9:2-9; Luke 6:12-13; 9:28; John 6:15.

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