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:

433. Of the tribe of Judah were sealed twelve thousand. That this signifies love to the Lord, and that all who are in that love are in heaven, and come into heaven, is evident from the representation and consequent signification of Judah and his tribe, as denoting love to the Lord, concerning which we shall speak presently; from the signification of twelve thousand, as denoting all and all things, see above (n. 430); here, all who are in that love; and from the signification of the sealed, as denoting those who are distinguished and separated from those who are in evil, consequently those who are in good; also see above (n. 427). That they denote those who are in heaven, and come into heaven, follows as a consequence, for they were sealed in their foreheads, that is, were separated from the evil; for they are those of whom it is said in the Apocalypse,

"A Lamb standing on the mount Zion, and with him a hundred and forty and four thousand, having his Father's name written in their foreheads. These are they who were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These were bought from among men, the first-fruits unto God and to the Lamb" (14:1, 3, 4).

Here by the mount Zion is signified heaven, where there is love to the Lord. For all who are signified by the twelve thousand out of every tribe, or by the hundred and forty and four thousand sealed in their foreheads, are they who acknowledge the Lord and love Him; therefore the first tribe named is the tribe of Judah, and by that tribe is signified love to the Lord. For, as was stated above (n. 431), the representation of heaven is according to the order in which the tribes are named, and from the first name, or the first tribe mentioned, flow the determinations and significations of those that follow, with variety.

[2] Moreover, no one is admitted into heaven but by the Lord, for the whole heaven is His, therefore no one can be there, or come there, unless he acknowledge Him and love Him. To love Him is not merely to love Him as to person, but to live according to His precepts. This the Lord teaches in unmistakable words:

"At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you. He that hath my commandments and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me. If a man love me, he will keep my word; and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings" (John 14:20-24).

It is said that they love the Lord, who do and observe His commandments and words, because His commandments and words signify Divine truths, and all Divine Truth proceeds from Him, and that which proceeds from Him is Himself; wherefore, when man lives the Divine Truth, then the Lord is in him, and he in the Lord; it is therefore said, "ye in me and I in you," and that He will come and make His abode with him. This, then, is to love the Lord. To love is also to be conjoined, for love is spiritual conjunction, and conjunction is effected by the reception of Divine Truth in doctrine and in life.

[3] Before it is shown from the Word that Judah, or the tribe named from Judah, signifies love to the Lord, the signification of Judah in the Word in every sense shall be explained. In the highest sense, Judah signifies the Lord as to celestial love; in the internal sense, the celestial kingdom of the Lord, and the Word; and in the external sense, doctrine from the Word such as relates to the celestial kingdom. And because in the highest sense the Lord as to celestial love is signified, and in the internal sense the celestial kingdom, therefore love to the Lord is also signified, for this love with man is reciprocal and reigns in the Lord's celestial kingdom. There are two kingdoms into which the whole heaven is distinguished, the celestial kingdom and the spiritual kingdom. The celestial kingdom consists of those who are in love to the Lord, and the spiritual kingdom, of those who are in love towards the neighbour. It is therefore evident, what is meant by celestial love, and spiritual love. Concerning these kingdoms, see Heaven and Hell 20-28). The Jews and Israelites represented these two kingdoms, the Jews, the celestial kingdom, and the Israelites, the spiritual kingdom. Judah also signifies the Word, because the Lord is the Word, and He assumed the Human in that tribe, in order that He might be the Word as to the Human also. In agreement with this fact it is said in John,

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us" (1:1, 14).

The Word signifies the Lord as to Divine Truth proceeding from His Divine Love. Those, therefore, are in the love of the Lord, who love the Divine Truth in the Word, by doing it.

[4] That the Lord, as to celestial love, is signified by Judah, also love to the Lord, and similarly the Word, is clear from the following passages.

In Moses:

"Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise; thy hand shall be on the neck of thine enemies; thy father's sons shall bow down before thee. Judah is a lion's whelp; from the prey, my son, thou art gone up; he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up? The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a law-giver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall be the obedience of the people. He binds his foal unto the vine, and his ass's colt unto the choice vine; he washeth his garment in wine, and his vesture in the blood of the grapes: his eyes shall be red with wine, and his teeth white with milk" (Genesis 49:8-12).

By Judah are here described, in the spiritual sense, the celestial kingdom of the Lord, and the Lord Himself as to celestial love. Celestial love is the love of the Lord received in the celestial kingdom, and spiritual love is the love of the Lord received in the spiritual kingdom. The signification of the above words is as follows: Thy brethren shall praise thee, signifies that the celestial church surpasses the rest; for the brethren or tribes named from the sons of Jacob, who were his brethren, signify the church. Thy hand shall be on the neck of thine enemies, signifies that the infernal and diabolical throng shall be expelled and kept back, enemies denoting those who are from hell. Thy father's sons shall bow down before thee, signifies the submission of all the truths of the church; to bow down is to submit themselves, the father's sons denoting all truths of the church, for all the truths of the church are implanted in those who are in love to the Lord, and are therefore in the celestial kingdom. Judah is a lion's whelp, signifies innocence with innate powers; for love to the Lord, considered in itself, is innocence, signified by whelp; innate powers are signified by a lion. From the prey, my son, thou art gone up, signifies the liberation of many from hell. He stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion, signifies the good of love, and truth thence in its power; for to stoop down, when stated of a lion, is to put himself into a powerful attitude. Who shall rouse him up? signifies that he is safe wherever he is, and that he cannot be moved by the hells. The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, signifies that power shall not depart from the good of celestial love; nor a law-giver from between his feet, signifies that the truths of the Word shall not [depart] from its ultimate sense; until Shiloh come, signifies the coming of the Lord, and tranquillity of peace at that time. And unto him shall be the obedience of the people, signifies truths from Him, and conjunction by means of them. He binds his foal unto the vine signifies the external church, and the truths thereof from the Lord; and his ass's colt unto the choice vine, signifies the internal church, and truths thereof from the Lord. He washeth his garment in wine, signifies the external or natural Human of the Lord, which is Divine Truth from His Divine Love; and his vesture in the blood of the grapes, signifies the Lord's internal or rational Human which is Divine Good from His Divine Love. His eyes shall be red with wine, signifies that the internal or rational Human is nothing but good; and his teeth white with milk, signifies that the external or natural Human is nothing but the good of truth. From the particulars in this description, it is evident that Judah does not mean Judah, but something eminently celestial, as described above. But these things are explained more in detail in the Arcana Coelestia 6363-6381).

[5] In Ezekiel:

"Thou son of man, take thee one stick, and write upon it, For Judah and for the sons of Israel his companions; then take one stick and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and of all the house of Israel. And afterwards join them one to another into one stick, that they may both be one in mine hand. Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and of the tribes of Israel his companions, and will put it, even with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick. I will take the sons of Israel from among the nations, whither they be gone, and will gather them from every side, and bring them into their own land; and will make them into one nation upon the land in the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all; and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all. David my servant shall be king over them, and shall be as one shepherd to them all; they shall also walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes, and do them. Then they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, they, and their sons, and their sons' sons for ever; and my servant David shall be their prince for ever. Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them; and I will place them, and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore. My tabernacle also shall be with them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people" (Ezekiel 37:16-27).

No one can know what these words signify, unless he know the signification of Judah and Israel, and of Joseph and Ephraim. That Judah and Israel are not meant, nor Joseph and Ephraim, is evident; for it is said that the tribes of Israel dispersed among the nations shall be gathered together and brought into the land of Canaan, and that David shall be their king and prince for ever, and that he shall dwell with them for ever. Who does not know that the tribes of Israel cannot be gathered together, and that David will not be king over them any more? Therefore it must be known what is signified in the spiritual sense by Judah, by the sons of Israel, also by Joseph and Ephraim, by David, and by the land of Canaan. By Judah, in the spiritual sense, is signified the Lord's celestial kingdom; by the sons of Israel, the Lord's spiritual kingdom; by Joseph and Ephraim, and by the tribes of Israel that are dispersed and are to be gathered together, are meant those who are beneath those kingdoms, because they are neither celestial nor spiritual, but natural, and yet are in the good of life according to their religion.

[6] These also are meant by the Lord where He says in John,

"And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one flock, and one shepherd" (10:16).

For these were not in heaven before the Lord's coming, but were taken there by Him after He had glorified His Human; the reason of this was, that the proceeding Divine could not previously reach them. When this is known, and also that David means the Lord as to Divine Truth proceeding from His Divine Human, the signification of the details in a series in the previous passage may be known. The reason why these things were written upon two pieces of wood, and the two pieces afterwards joined into one, was, that wood signifies the good of life, and all conjunction in heaven is brought about by means of good, and according to it. That wood signifies the good of life, may be seen in the Arcana Coelestia 643, 2784, 3720, 8354).

[7] In Isaiah,

when the Lord "shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah, from the four corners of the earth, then the envy also of Ephraim shall depart, and the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off; Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim. But they shall fly upon the shoulder of the Philistines towards the sea" (11:12-14).

These things were said concerning the salvation of the nations, which are also signified by the outcasts of Israel, and the dispersed of Judah, for it is said that the Lord shall set up an ensign for the nations. By the outcasts of Israel are meant those who are not in truths, but yet in the desire of learning them; and by the dispersed of Judah are meant those who are in the good of life, and by means of that in love to the Lord, for those who love to do good, love the Lord, the Lord being in that good, because it is from Him. Ephraim means the Intellectual, in this case, in harmony with the good of love; and that they shall no longer be at enmity with each other, is meant by, "At that time the envy also of Ephraim shall depart; Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim." That they shall be separated from those who are in faith apart from charity, is signified by, "They shall fly upon the shoulder of the Philistines towards the sea." The Philistines towards the sea denote those who separate faith from charity or from the good of life, the sea signifying the ultimate of heaven where it ceases (desinit); and to fly upon the shoulder denotes to reject, and to separate themselves.

[8] In Zechariah:

"Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem; behold, thy King cometh unto thee; he is just and faithful. I will bend Judah for me, I will fill the bow Ephraim, and I will raise up thy sons, O Zion" (9:9, 13).

These things are said concerning the coming of the Lord and the establishment of a church by Him with those who are in the good of love and in the truths of doctrine thence. The daughter of Zion, and the daughter of Jerusalem, signify the church with them. Thy King who cometh just and faithful, is the Lord, from whom are the good of love and the truth of doctrine. I will bend Judah for me, I will fill the bow Ephraim, signifies that the church is to be established with those who are in the good of love to the Lord, and in the truths of doctrine thence. Judah here means those who are in the good of love to the Lord; and Ephraim, truths of doctrine; for Ephraim signifies the Intellectual of the church, and a bow, the doctrine of truth. That a bow signifies doctrine may be seen above (n. 357:1), where these things are also explained. Such are denoted by the sons of Zion. That the Jewish nation is not here meant by Judah, nor Ephraim by Ephraim, is evident; for the Lord's church was not established with the Jewish nation, for it was not received by them, and the tribe of Ephraim did not then exist.

[9] In the same:

"Jehovah of hosts will visit his flock, the house of Judah, and will make them as the horse of his glory in the battle. Out of him the corner, out of him the nail, out of him the bow of war. And I will strengthen the house of Judah, and I will save the house of Joseph, and I will cause them to dwell. And they of Ephraim shall be like a mighty man, and their heart shall rejoice as with wine" (Zech. 10:3-7).

By the house of Judah is here also meant the Lord's celestial kingdom, which consists of those who are in love to Him, and by Ephraim are meant those who are in the truths of doctrine thence. For all those who are in His celestial kingdom are in truths of doctrine, because they have truths, as it were, implanted in and inscribed on their hearts, as may be seen in Heaven and Hell 25, 26). The remainder of this passage is explained above (n. 355:28, 376:22).

[10] In the same:

"Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion; for, lo, I come, and I will dwell in the midst of thee. And many nations shall be joined to Jehovah in that day, and shall be my people. Jehovah shall make Judah a heritage for himself, his portion in the holy land, and shall choose Jerusalem again" (2:10-12).

That the Jewish nation is not meant here by Judah, nor Jerusalem by Jerusalem, is also very evident; for the subject is the coming of the Lord, at which time that nation altogether fell away, and Jerusalem was afterwards destroyed. And yet it is said, that "Jehovah shall make Judah a heritage for himself, his portion in the holy land, and shall choose Jerusalem again." Judah therefore means those who are in love to the Lord, and Jerusalem the church as to doctrine with them.

[11] So in Nahum:

"Behold, upon the mountains the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that proclaimeth peace! Keep thy feasts, O Judah, perform thy vows; for the wicked shall no more pass through thee; every one shall be utterly cut off" (1:15).

These words also refer to the Lord. His coming is meant by, "Behold, upon the mountains the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace!" By keeping their feasts, and performing their vows, is signified to rejoice at His coming, and to worship Him; by the wicked no more passing through Judah, and every one being utterly cut off, is signified that evil shall not be with them, because they are in the Lord. These things could not have been said of the Jewish nation, but they are said of those who are in love to the Lord. It is therefore evident that such are meant by Judah.

[12] In Malachi:

"Behold, I send my messenger, who shall prepare the way before me; and the Lord shall suddenly come to his temple. Then shall the meat-offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant to Jehovah, according to the days of an age, and according to the former years" (3:1, 4).

That these words relate to the coming of the Lord, and that by the messenger who should be sent to prepare the way before Him is meant John the Baptist, is known in the church. That the meat offering of Judah and Jerusalem shall then be pleasant to Jehovah, signifies that then there shall be acceptable worship from the good of love to the Lord. The meat-offering of Judah signifies that worship. That the worship of the Jewish nation and of Jerusalem was not acceptable is plain, for they did not acknowledge the Lord, but rejected Him altogether. According to the days of an age, and according to the former years, signifies according to the worship in the ancient churches. The Most Ancient Church which was before the flood, and was in love to the Lord, is signified by "the days of an age," or of eternity, and the Ancient Church which existed after the flood, and was a spiritual church, is meant by "the former years."

[13] 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. Egypt shall be a desolation, and Edom shall be a desolate wilderness, for the violence of the sons of Judah, whose innocent blood they have shed in their land. But Judah shall dwell for ever, and Jerusalem unto generation and generation" (3:18-20).

Here also the subject is the coming of the Lord, and the new heaven and the new earth at that time. The mountains shall drop down new wine (mustum), signifies that all truth shall be from the good of love. That mountains signify the good of love, see above (n. 405); and that wine (vinum) and new wine (mustum) signify truth, see also above (n. 376). The hills shall flow with milk, signifies spiritual life from the good of charity towards the neighbour. All the rivers of Judah shall flow with waters, signifies that from the particulars of the Word there shall be truths productive of intelligence. A fountain shall come forth from the house of Jehovah, and water the river of Shittim, signifies that out of heaven from the Lord shall come the truth of doctrine, which will enlighten those who are in cognitions and knowledges. Egypt shall be a desolation, and Edom shall be a desolate wilderness, signifies that false principles, and the evils of the love of self, both of them from the natural man, shall be destroyed. For the violence of the sons of Judah, whose innocent blood they have shed in their land, signifies on account of the falsified truths, and adulterated goods of the Word, which they have corrupted and destroyed. Judah shall dwell for ever, and Jerusalem unto generation and generation, signifies that the Word, and the doctrine of genuine truth thence, shall remain to eternity with those who are in love to the Lord. It is therefore evident also, that Judah is not meant there by Judah, nor Jerusalem by Jerusalem.

[14] In the same prophet:

"O Tyre, and Zidon, and all the coasts of the Philistines, speedily will I return your recompense upon your own head; because ye have taken my silver and my gold, and have carried into your temples my goodly pleasant things. The sons also of Judah, and the sons of Jerusalem, have ye sold unto the sons of the Grecians, that ye might remove them far from their borders" (Joel 3:4-6).

Tyre and Zidon, and the Philistines, mean those who have falsified the truths and goods of the Word; my silver and my gold, signify those truths and goods, and to carry them into their temples, signifies to falsify and profane them; to sell the sons of Judah, and the sons of Jerusalem to the sons of the Grecians, signifies to pervert and falsify all the truths and goods of the Word; the sons of Judah denote the goods of the Word, the sons of Jerusalem, its truths, and the sons of the Grecians, falsities; to remove them far from their borders, signifies far from truths themselves. He who does not know the spiritual sense of the Word, may suppose that those who were in Tyre and Zidon, and in Philistia, sold the sons of Judah and Jerusalem to the Grecians, but this is a prophecy in which the nations indicated signify things of the church.

[15] In Jeremiah:

"In those days the house of Judah shall walk with the house of Israel, and they shall come together out of the land of the north to the land that I gave for an inheritance unto your fathers" (3:18).

The subject of this passage is also the coming of the Lord, and the new church from Him. His coming is meant by the words "in those days," and the new church, by the house of Judah, and the house of Israel. The church formed of those who are in love to the Lord, is signified by the house of Judah, and the church formed of those who are in charity towards the neighbour, and called the spiritual church, by the house of Israel. They shall come together out of the land of the north to the land which I gave for an inheritance to their fathers, signifies that they shall come out of the ignorance and the falsities, in which they then were, into the cognitions and light of the truth of the church. The land of the north signifies a state of ignorance, and what is false in religion, and the land given for an inheritance to their fathers signifies the church which is in the cognitions and light of truth. These things are said concerning the Gentiles, out of whom a new church was to be formed; because it is well known that the house of Judah and the house of Israel did not come out of the land of the north when the Lord was in the world; for the Jews were in the land of Canaan at that time, and the Israelites had been scattered abroad.

[16] In the same prophet:

"Behold, the days come, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign a king and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. In his days shall Judah be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, Jehovah our Justice" (Jeremiah 23:5, 6; 33:15, 16).

The subject here is clearly the Lord, the Branch of David who shall reign a king and shall be called Jehovah our justice. In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely, signifies that those will be saved who are in love to Him, and in charity towards the neighbour, as stated above. It is evident that Judah was not saved, and that Israel was neither recalled, nor could be recalled, so as to dwell safely, that is, without infestation from evils and falsities.

[17] In the same prophet it is said:

"And I will bring Israel again to his habitation, that he may feed on Carmel and Bashan, and his soul shall be satisfied upon Mount Ephraim and Gilead. In those days, and in that time, the iniquity of Israel shall be sought for, and the sins of Judah, and they shall not be found" (Jeremiah 50:19, 20). Here, also, the subject is the establishment of the church among the Gentiles by the Lord, and these are meant by Israel, who shall be brought again to his habitation, and also by Judah, whose sins, it is said, shall not be found. That they shall be led by the Lord, and instructed in the good of charity, is meant by the words, And they shall feed on Carmel and Bashan, and on Mount Ephraim and Gilead.

[18] Again, in Zechariah:

"In that day, saith Jehovah, I will smite every horse with astonishment, and his rider with madness; and I will open mine eye upon the house of Judah. In that day will I make the governors of Judah like a furnace of fire among wood, and like a torch of fire in a sheaf; and they shall devour all the peoples round about, on the right hand and on the left; and Jerusalem shall dwell again in her own place, even in Jerusalem. Jehovah also shall save the tents of Judah first" (12:4, 6, 7).

The subject here is the devastation of the former church; and the establishment of a new church by the Lord. The devastation of the former church is described by the words, in that day, saith Jehovah, I will smite every horse with astonishment, and his rider with madness. For horse signifies the understanding of truth with man, and a rider, intelligence, as may be seen above (n. 355). The house of Judah signifies the church with those who are in the good of love to the Lord; concerning this it is said that the Lord shall open His eye upon it. That evils from hell shall be dispersed by them and with them, and also falsities, is signified by the words, in that day will I make the governors of Judah like a furnace of fire among wood, and like a torch of fire in a sheaf; and they shall devour all the peoples round about, on the right hand and on the left. That that church shall be safe from the infestation of evils and falsities, is signified by, "and Jerusalem shall dwell again in her own place, even in Jerusalem;" and that the Lord shall utterly save those who are in love to Him, is signified by, Jehovah shall save the tents of Judah first.

[19] Again, in Isaiah:

"The word" of Jehovah "concerning Judah and Jerusalem. And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of Jehovah shall be established at the head of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and we will go up to the mountain of Jehovah, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and let us walk in his paths" (2:1-3).

These things also are said of the new church to be established by the Lord. By the mountain of Jehovah, which shall then be established at the head of the mountains, is meant Zion, and it signifies the celestial church, and love to the Lord, which they possess who belong to that church. That this is the chief thing of the church, and that it shall increase and gain strength, is signified by its being at the head of the mountains, and exalted above the hills. That those who are in good shall acknowledge the Lord, and enter the church, is signified by all nations flowing to that mountain, for nations signify those who are in celestial good, which is the good of love to the Lord, and peoples, those who are in spiritual good, which is the good of charity towards the neighbour. Of the latter it is said, And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of Jehovah, to the house of the God of Jacob. That nations signify those who are in celestial good, and people, those who are in spiritual good, see above (n. 331).

[20] Again, in the same prophet:

"Jehovah, thy Redeemer, and thy Former from the womb, that confirmeth the word of his servant, and performeth the counsel of his messengers; that 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" (Isaiah 44:24, 26).

Here again the subject is the coming of the Lord, who is "Jehovah thy Redeemer and thy Former from the womb." He is called Redeemer from the fact of His liberating from hell; and He is called the Former from the womb because He is the regenerator of man. The prediction of the prophets concerning Him, and concerning the salvation of man, is meant by the words He confirmeth the word of his servant, and performeth the counsel of his messengers. That those who are of His church are to be saved and to be instructed in the truths of heavenly doctrine, is meant by the words, That saith to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be inhabited, and to the cities of Judah, Ye shall be built. Jerusalem denotes the church, and the cities of Judah, the truths of heavenly doctrine. That the falsities, which destroy the church, shall be shaken off, is meant by, I will raise up the waste places thereof. It is a well-known fact that the Lord did not say Jerusalem should be inhabited and that the cities of Judah should be built, but that Jerusalem should be destroyed, and this actually came to pass.

[21] Again, in the same prophet:

"I will bring forth a seed out of Jacob, and out of Judah an inheritor of my mountains; in order that mine elect may possess it, and my servants may dwell there" (Isaiah 65:9).

Here Jacob and Judah, do not mean a people from Jacob, and a nation from Judah, but the church to be established by the Lord. By Jacob is meant the church which is in the good of life; and by Judah, the church which is in the good of love to the Lord, therefore Jacob means the external church, and Judah, the internal church. By seed are meant charity and faith, and by mountains the goods of love. Those who are in charity are called the elect, and those who are in truths from the good of love are called servants, it is therefore said, "In order that mine elect may possess it, and my servants may dwell there."

[22] Again, in Ezekiel:

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

These words were spoken of Tyre, which signifies the church as to the cognitions of truth and good, and, therefore, the cognitions of truth and good of the church are signified by Tyre. Its merchandize and tradings are here treated of, and they describe how those cognitions are procured, in the present case, those which are procured from Judah and from the land of Israel. And because by Judah is signified the good of love, and by Israel, truth from that good, therefore its tradings are said to be wheat of Minnith and pannag, and honey, and oil, and balm, because by wheat of Minnith and pannag, are signified the truths and goods of the church of every kind. Honey signifies the good of love in the natural man; oil, the good of love in the spiritual man; and balm, the truths that are grateful from good. See above (n. 375:35), where these words are more fully explained. What the various nations mentioned in that chapter signify is evident from the commodities named therein when understood in the spiritual sense, and therefore, also what is meant by Judah, and Israel, for the commodities there named indicate it.

[23] That Judah does not mean the Jewish nation is also evident in Ezekiel (chapter 48), where the subject is the new land to be distributed among the twelve tribes of Israel, for they also are named there, and the precise portion of the land each should possess. Much is there said concerning the tribe of Judah, and it is said that the sanctuary should be in the midst of it (verses 8-22). From this it is perfectly clear that the tribes there named do not mean those tribes, for eleven of them were dispersed, and became Gentiles (gentes) from whom they could not be distinguished, for they were led away into perpetual exile. It is also evident that by the land there mentioned is not meant land, but the church, and consequently by the tribes there named are meant such things as pertain to the church, while Judah means the celestial church, or the church which is in love to the Lord, in which, therefore, is the sanctuary.

[24] Judah and Israel have a similar signification in David:

"Judah became his sanctuary, and Israel his dominion" (Psalm 114:2).

Sanctuary signifies, in the highest sense, the Lord Himself, and in a relative (respectivus) sense, the worship of Him from the good of love. Israel signifies the truth of the church from that good; and because all power belong to truths from good, or to good by means of truths, therefore it is said that Israel became His dominion. Since Judah signifies the celestial kingdom of the Lord, and Israel His spiritual kingdom, as stated above, and since the celestial kingdom constitutes the priesthood of the Lord in heaven, and the spiritual kingdom the royalty of the Lord, as may be seen in Heaven and Hell 24, 226), therefore the Lord in the Word is called a King, and in the evangelists, the King of the Jews (Matthew 2:2; John 18:33-37; 19:19). And by the Lord, as King of the Jews, is meant the Lord as to Divine Truth, proceeding from the Divine Good of His Divine Love. Kings therefore in the Word signify truths from good, see above (n. 31).

[25] In Jeremiah:

"Behold, the days are coming, in which I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man, and with the seed of beast; and in which I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah. This is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days; I will give my law in the midst of them, and write it upon their heart, and will be their God, and they shall be my people" (31:27, 31, 33).

Here also by the days are coming is meant the coming of the Lord. It is not therefore meant that a new covenant will then be made with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, but with a new church to be established by the Lord, meant by the house of Israel, and by the house of Judah, in whose midst the law was to be given, and written on their heart. That this did not take place with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah, is well known, for they entirely rejected the Lord's covenant, as they do at this day. A covenant signifies conjunction with the Lord by means of love to Him, and they have the law or Divine Truth in them from this conjunction, both in doctrine and in life, and this is meant by the law in their midst, and written on their heart. To sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man, and with the seed of beast, signifies to reform those who are of a new church, by means of the truths and goods of intelligence and affection; for seed denotes truth, man, intelligence, and beast the good of affection. That beast has this signification, will be shown in what follows.

[26] In Zechariah:

"Many peoples and numerous nations shall come to seek Jehovah of hosts in Jerusalem, and to pray before Jehovah. In those days ten men out of all the languages of the nations shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you; for we have heard that God is with you" (8:22, 23).

He who does not know that a Jew means those who are in love to the Lord and thence in truths of doctrine, may be easily led to believe that these things were said concerning the Jews, and their introduction into the land of Canaan, and that all others who wish to be saved will then take hold of the skirt of their raiment, praying to be allowed to go with them. But when it is seen that these things are not said concerning any introduction into the land of Canaan and to Jerusalem there, and that a Jew does not mean those who are of that nation, but that Jerusalem means a new church to be established by the Lord, and a Jew, every one who is in the good of love to the Lord, and the skirt of a Jew, truth from that good, then the signification of all the details related in that chapter, and of these words in particular, may be apprehended. For the subject is the gathering together of the Gentiles and their coming to the church, a Jew meaning those who acknowledge the Lord and love Him, while taking hold of his skirt signifies the desire of knowing truth from Him; ten men out of all the languages of the nations mean all of any religion whatsoever, ten men signifying all, and the languages of the nations, their religious principles.

[27] From these things it is clear, how far removed those are from the truth who believe that in the end of the times the Jews will be converted to the Lord and taken to the land of Canaan. These also believe that by land, Jerusalem, Israel, and Judah, in the Word, are meant the land of Canaan, the city of Jerusalem, the Israelitish people, and the Jewish nation. But those who have hitherto held such a belief are to be excused, because they have known nothing of the spiritual sense of the Word, and have therefore been ignorant of the fact that the land of Canaan signifies the church, Jerusalem, the church as to doctrine, Israel, those who are of the spiritual church, and Judah, those who are of the celestial church. Also that when their introduction into the land of Canaan is spoken of by the prophets, the introduction of the faithful into heaven and into the church is meant. This introduction also took place, when the Lord came into the world, for then all those who had lived in the good of charity, and worshipped God under a human form, were taken to heaven. These were retained under heaven until the coming of the Lord, and were taken to heaven after the Lord had glorified His Human. These are they who are meant in many passages in the prophetic Word, where the captivity of the sons of Israel and Judah, and their return to their land, are spoken of. Those also are meant here who, after His coming, were to be introduced into the church, and thence into heaven, from the earth, not only where the Christian religion is received, but also everywhere else. Both the former and the latter are meant by Israel, Judah, and Jerusalem, where introduction into the land of Canaan is spoken of, as in the following passages: Isaiah 10:21, 22; 11:11, 12; 43:5, 6; 49:10-26; 56:8; 60:4; 61:1, 5, 9; Jeremiah 3:12-20; 16:15, 16; 23:7, 8; 30:2-11; 31:1-14, 23-40; 33:6-18; Ezekiel 16:60-62; 20:40-42; 34:11-16; 37:21-28; 39:21-29; Hosea 3:5; Joel 2:18-27; 2:32; Amos 9:12-15; and elsewhere.

[28] Let the two following passages serve as examples of those by which the Jews persuade themselves, and from which also Christians believe, that the Jewish nation will return to the land of Canaan, and be saved in a special manner.

Thus in Isaiah:

"Then they shall bring all your brethren out of all nations an offering unto Jehovah upon horses, and on chariots, and covered wagons, and upon mules, and upon swift beasts, to Jerusalem, the mountain of my holiness. For as the new heavens and the new earth which I will make, shall stand before me, so shall your seed and your name stand" (66:20, 22).

What these words particularly signify, may be seen above (n. 355:15, 405:26), where they are explained. The new heaven and new earth mean the heaven and the church of those who should be saved by the Lord after the glorification of His Human, as stated above.

[29] In the same prophet:

"I will lift up my hand towards the nations, and set up my standard towards the peoples; and they shall bring thy sons in their bosom, and thy daughters shall be carried upon the shoulder. And kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and their princes thy nursing mothers; they shall bow their faces towards the earth before thee, and lick up the dust of thy feet" (49:22, 23).

The subject throughout the whole of this chapter is the coming of the Lord, and also the salvation of those who receive Him, as is evident from verses 6-9. The salvation of the Jews is therefore not the subject, much less their restoration to the land of Canaan. That the Jewish nation is not meant in the passages here quoted, is also evident from this fact, that it was a very bad nation, and idolatrous in heart, and that they were not introduced into the land of Canaan on account of goodness and uprightness of heart, but because of the promise made to their fathers; and further, that they possessed no truths and goods of the church, but only falsities and evils, and that they were therefore cast out and expelled from the land of Canaan; this is evident from all those passages in the Word, in which that nation is referred to.

[30] What kind of nation that was, and that it was about to become a very bad nation, is described by Moses in his song, in these words:

"I will hide my faces from them, I will see what their posterity shall be; for they are a generation of perverseness, sons in whom is no faithfulness. I said, I would scatter them into the outermost corners, I would make the remembrance of them to cease from man. For they are a nation void of counsel, neither is there any understanding in them. For their vine is of the vine of Sodom, and of the fields of Gomorrah; their grapes are grapes of gall, their clusters are bitter. Their wine is the poison of dragons, and the cruel venom of asps. Is not this laid up in store with me, and sealed up among my treasures? To me belong vengeance, and retribution" (Deuteronomy 32:20-35).

The quality of the church among the Jews is described in these words, namely that it was in abominable falsities from evil. The quality of the church with them is meant by their vine being of the vine of Sodom and of the fields of Gomorrah, a vine signifying the church. The falsities from evil which existed among them, are meant by their grapes being grapes of gall, their clusters bitter, their wine the poison of dragons and the cruel venom of asps; for grapes signify the goods of the church, but grapes of gall and clusters of bitterness signify evils from abominable falsities. Their falsities themselves are meant by their wine being the poison of dragons and cruel venom of asps; for wine (vinum) signifies truth from the Word, but the poison of dragons and the venom of asps signify the monstrous falsity which exists from the falsified truths of the Word. That nation is similarly described in other parts of the Word, as in Deuteronomy, the book of Judges, the Prophets, and in Jeremiah 5:20-31; 7:8-34; 9:2-26; 11:6-17; 13:9-27; 19:1-15; 32:30-35; 44:2-24. That the Jewish nation was idolatrous in heart, is evident from the passages quoted above, and also from many others, as in Jeremiah:

"According to the number of thy cities were thy gods, O Judah; and according to the number of the streets of Jerusalem, have ye set up altars to burn incense unto Baal" (2:28, and 11:13).

[31] That they were not introduced into the land of Canaan because of any goodness and uprightness of heart, but because of the promise made to their fathers, is clear in Moses:

"Not for thy justice, or for the uprightness of thine heart, dost thou go to possess their land; but that he may establish the word which Jehovah sware unto thy fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Know, therefore, that Jehovah, thy God, giveth thee not this good land to possess it for thy justice; for thou art a stiff-necked people" (Deuteronomy 9:5, 6).

[32] That they possessed no truths and goods of the church but falsities and evils, is evident from the Word, where their whoredoms and adulteries are treated of; as in Jeremiah 3:1 to the end; Ezekiel 23:1 to the end. Whoredoms and adulteries, in the Word, mean the falsifications of truth, and the adulterations of good (n. 141, 161); therefore they were called by the Lord an adulterous generation (Matthew 12:39; Mark 8:38); and He also said that they were full of hypocrisy, iniquity, and impurity (Matthew 23:27, 28); and that they had falsified the Word by their traditions (Matthew 15:1-6; Mark 7:1-14). And in plain terms in John:

"Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father it is your will to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own, for he is a liar, and the father of it" (8:44).

A lie means falsity from evil; the devil, the extinction of all good; a murderer, the extinction of all truth. Father means both those who are of hell and those of that generation who had previously lived, even from the earliest times. To speak of his own, is to speak from what is innate.

[33] That thus everything of the church among them was destroyed, and that they were therefore rejected, is evident in Isaiah:

"The Lord Jehovah of hosts doth take away from Jerusalem and from Judah the staff and the stay, the whole staff of bread, and the whole stay of water, the mighty man, and the man of war, the judge, and the prophet, and the diviner, and the old man. For Jerusalem hath stumbled, and Judah is fallen; because their tongue and their doings are against Jehovah, to rebel against the eyes of his glory" (3:1, 2, 8).

By taking away the whole staff of bread, and the whole stay of water, is signified all the good of love, and the truth of faith, from which spiritual life exists; for bread denotes the good of love, and water, the truth of faith, and a staff and a stay denote powers, and thence everything pertaining to spiritual life. To take away the mighty man and the man of war, signifies all resistance against evils and falsities; to remove the judge and the prophet, signifies all the good and truth of doctrine; to remove the diviner and the old man, signifies all intelligence and wisdom. Their tongue and their doings are against Jehovah, to rebel against the eyes of his glory, signifies that everything in their doctrine and their life is altogether contrary to Divine Truth. Tongue denotes doctrine, doings denote the life, and the eyes of the glory of Jehovah, the Divine Truth; to rebel is to be against it.

[34] In the same prophet:

"What could have been done more to my vineyard? Judge between me and my vineyard. What could have been done more to my vineyard that I have not done in it? Wherefore I looked that it should bring forth grapes, but it brought forth wild grapes; and I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard; I will take away the hedge thereof, and it shall be eaten up; and break down the wall thereof, and it shall be trodden down; and I will lay it waste; it shall not be pruned or digged but there shall come up briars and thorns; I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it" (Isaiah 5:3-6).

The vineyard here means the church with the Jewish nation. I looked that it should bring forth grapes, but it brought forth wild grapes, signifies, that instead of the goods of truth pertaining to the church with them there were evils of falsity. By taking away the hedge thereof that it may be eaten up, and breaking down the wall, that it may be trodden down, are signified its destruction as to goods and truths, so that evils and falsities break in, which are the thorns and briars that should come up. I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it, signifies that they are no longer receptive of truth and good, through the Word out of heaven.

[35] The destruction of the church with that nation, is also treated of in Isaiah (7:17-19), and following verses; in Jeremiah (1:15); and in many other places. That nation was also cast out of the land of Canaan because of these things, first the Israelitish nation, and afterwards the Jewish nation; and for the reason that the land of Canaan signifies the heavenly Canaan, which is heaven and the church. The character of each of those nations is fully unfolded in the internal sense in Exodus (32 and 33), where the golden calf, which they made for themselves, is described, and on this account Jehovah threatened to consume them, and raise up from Moses another generation. All these things are explained in the Arcana Coelestia 10393-10512, and n. 10523-10557).

[36] The character of the Jewish nation is also described in the internal sense in Genesis [Genesis 38], where the subject is their origin from a Canaanitish woman, and from whoredom with a daughter-in-law. For there were three stocks of that nation, one from the Canaanitish woman whom Judah took to himself for a wife, and two from Tamar, who was the daughter-in-law of Judah, with whom he lay as with a harlot. These things are also explained in the Arcana Coelestia 4813-4930).

[37] Their character is also portrayed in Judas Iscariot, for he represented the Jewish nation, as to the church. For the twelve disciples of the Lord represented the church of the Lord in general, and each one of them some universal essential of it, Judas Iscariot representing it as it was with the Jews.

[38] In addition to the above, the following particulars concerning this nation may be seen in the Arcana Coelestia. A representative church was instituted with the Jewish nation, but there was no church in that nation itself (n. 4899, 4912, 6304). Therefore, as to the nation itself, there was a representative of a church, but not a real church (n. 4281, 4288, 4311, 4500, 6304, 7048, 9320, 10396, 10526, 10531, 10698). The Israelitish and Jewish nation was not elected, but received, in order to represent a church, because of the obstinacy with which their fathers and Moses persisted in desiring it (n. 4290, 4293, 7051, 7439, 10430, 10535, 10632). Their worship was merely external, void of all internal worship (n. 1200, 3147, 3479, 8871). They knew nothing of the internal things of worship, neither were willing to know (n. 301-303, 3479, 4429, 4433, 4680, 4844, 4847, 10396, 10401, 10407, 10694, 10701, 10707). In what way they regard the internal things of worship, of the church, and of the Word (n. 4865). Their interiors, which pertain to thought and affection, were filthy, full of the love of self and of the world, and of avarice (n. 3480, 9962, 10454-10457, 10462-10466, 10575). Therefore, the interior things of the church were not disclosed to them, for they would have profaned them (n. 2520, 3398, 3479, 4289). The Word was entirely closed to them, and still remains so (n. 3769). They see the Word from without, and not from within (n. 10549-10551). When, therefore, they were in worship their internal was closed (n. 8788, 8806, 9320, 9380, 9377, 9962, 10396, 10401, 10407, 10492, 10498, 10500, 10575, 10629, 10694). Yet that nation, above all others was of such a character that it could be in a holy external, while the internal was closed (n. 4293, 4311, 4903, 9373, 9377, 9380). Their state at such a time (n. 4311). They were preserved on account of the Word in the original tongue and because they could be kept in such a state (n. 3479). Their holy external was miraculously elevated into heaven by the Lord, and thus the interior things of worship, of the church, and of the Word, were there perceived (n. 3480, 4307, 4311, 6304, 8588, 10493 [10499], 10500, 10602). In order to effect this, they were constrained by external means to observe strictly the rituals and statutes in external form (n. 3147, 4281, 10149). Because they could be in a holy external apart from the internal, therefore the holy things of heaven and the church could be represented by them (n. 3479, 3881, 4208, 6306, 6589, 9377, 10430, 10500, 10570). They themselves were not affected by the holy things which they represented (n. 3479); for it matters not what the quality of the person is who represents, because representation regards the thing represented, and not the person representing, (n. 665, 1097, 1361, 3147, 3881, 4208, 4281, 4288, 4292, 4307, 4444, 4500, 6304, 7408, 7439, 8588, 8788, 8806). That that nation was worse than other nations; their character described from the Word of both Testaments (n. 4314, 4316, 4317, 4444, 4503, 4750, 4751, 4815, 4820, 4832, 5057, 5998, 7248, 8819, 9320, 10454-10457, 10462-10466). The tribe of Judah went more astray than the rest of the tribes (n. 4815). How cruelly they treated the nations from delight (n. 5057, 7248, 9320). That nation was idolatrous in heart, and above all others worshipped other gods (n. 3732, 4208, 4444, 4825, 5998, 6877, 7401, 8301, 8871, 8882). Their worship, viewed with respect to that nation itself, was also idolatrous, being external without any internal (n. 4281, 4825, 8871, 8882). They worshipped Jehovah only as to the name (n. 6877, 10559-10561, 10566); and solely on account of the miracles (n. 4299). They think erroneously who believe that the Jews are to be converted at the end of the church, and brought back into the land of Canaan (n. 4847, 7051, 8301). Many passages adduced from the Word concerning this fact, which are to be understood according to the internal sense, thus differently from what appears in the letter (n. 7051). The Word as to the external sense, was changed on account of that nation, but not as to the internal sense (n. 10453, 10461, 10603, 10604). Jehovah appeared to them from Mount Sinai, according to their quality, in a consuming fire, in a thick cloud, and in smoke, as of a furnace (n. 1861, 6832, 8814, 8819, 9434). The Lord appears to every one according to his quality, as a vivifying and recreating fire to those who are in good, and as a consuming fire to those who are in evil (n.934, 1861, 6832, 8814, 8819, 9434, 10551). One origin of this nation was from a Canaanitess, and the two other origins from whoredom with a daughter-in-law (n. 1167, 4818, 4820, [4825], 4874, 4899, 4913). That such origins signified the nature of their conjunction with the church, namely, that it was as with a Canaanitess, and with whoredom with a daughter-in-law (n. 4868, 4874, 4899, 4911, 4913). Concerning their state in another life (n. 939, 940, 5057). Because that nation, although of such a nature and character, represented the church, and because the Word was written amongst that nation, and concerning it, therefore Divine celestial things were signified by their names, as by Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Ephraim, Joseph, and the rest. Judah in the internal sense signifies the Lord as to celestial love, and His celestial kingdom (n. 3654, 3881, 5583, 5603, 5782, 6363). The prophecy of Israel concerning Judah (Genesis 49:8-12), in which the Lord is treated of, explained (n. 6362-6381). The tribe of Judah and Judea, signify the celestial church (no. 3654, 6364). The twelve tribes represented, and thence signified, all things of love and faith in the aggregate (n. 3858, 3926, 4060, 6335); therefore also heaven and the church (n. 6337, 6637, 7836, 7891). Their signification is according to the order in which they are named (n. 3862, 3926, 3939, 4603, and following numbers, also n. 6337, 6640). The twelve tribes were divided into two kingdoms, that the Jews might represent the celestial kingdom, and the Israelites the spiritual kingdom (n. 8770, 9320). The seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, signify the goods and truths of the church (n. 3373, 10445).