4742. 'The tunic of various colours that was on him' means the nature of the appearances which is determined by that of the truths derived from good. This is clear from the meaning of 'the tunic of various colours' as appearances of truth by which the spiritual of the natural is recognized and distinguished, dealt with in 4677, here therefore the nature of those appearances; and for this reason the word 'tunic' is used twice - 'they stripped Joseph of his tunic, the tunic of various colours'. The fact that the nature of these appearances is determined by that of the truths derived from good may be known from appearances of truth when these are manifested visually in the light of heaven, that is, in the next life. There no other light exists than that which comes from the Lord by way of heaven and which emanates from His Divine Truth; for this appears before the eyes of the angels as light, 2776, 3190, 3195, 3222, 3339, 3340, 3636, 3643, 3993, 4302, 4413, 4415. This light varies with each angel, depending on his reception of it. Angels' entire thought is formed by the variegation of that light, as also is man's thought, though he is not conscious of this because in man's case that light falls onto material images or ideas present in his natural or external man which are formed from the light of the world.

Consequently in his case the light of heaven is dimmed to such an extent that he scarcely knows that the light and sight in his understanding are a product of the light of heaven. But in the next life when the sight of the eye is no longer reliant on the light of the world but on that of heaven it is then obvious that his thought is formed from the latter.

[2] When this light passes from heaven into the world of spirits it manifests itself there in the form of various colours, the beauty, variation, and loveliness of these colours being immensely superior to the colours produced by the light of the world; see what has already been presented from experience regarding colours, in 1053, 1624, 3993, 4530, 4677. Because colours in the next life are formed from the light of heaven they are in origin nothing else than appearances of truth derived from good. The source from which truth shines is not truth itself because by itself alone it does not possess any flame; rather, good is the source of it since this is like the flame from which light shines. The nature of good therefore determines the nature of the truth that appears from it, and the nature of the truth is the same as that of the good from which it shines. From this one may see what is meant in the internal sense by 'the tunic of various colours' - that the nature of the appearances is determined by that of the truths derived from good; for as shown already, 'Joseph', to whom the tunic belonged, represents Divine Truth.

2762. The origin of 'a horse' meaning the understanding part of the mind lies nowhere else than in representatives in the next life. Frequently there, in the world of spirits, horses which display great variety are seen, and also people seated on horses. And whenever they are seen the understanding is meant by them. Such representatives are of constant occurrence among spirits. It is because the horse is a representative of the understanding that when horses are mentioned in the Word the spirits and angels present with man know instantaneously that it is the understanding which is being spoken of. It is also why, when spirits from some other planet who have been endowed with intelligence and wisdom are raised up from the world of spirits into heaven, horses shining as though they consisted of fire appear, which I also have seen when those people were carried up.

[2] This experience has made clear to me what is meant by the fiery chariot and the fiery horses which Elisha saw when Elijah went up with the whirlwind into heaven, and what also by Elisha's shout at that time,

My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and its riders. 2 Kings 2:11-12, and by the same spoken by Joash king of Israel to Elisha when the latter was dying,

My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and its riders. 2 Kings 13:14.

In the Lord's Divine mercy it will be shown elsewhere that Elijah and Elisha represented the Lord as to the Word. That is to say, it will there be shown that the doctrine of love and charity drawn from the Word is meant by 'the fiery chariot', and the doctrine of faith deriving from these by 'the fiery horses'. The doctrine of faith is the same as an understanding of the Word as to its inner content, which is the internal sense.

[3] As regards chariots and horses being seen in heaven among spirits and angels, this is evident not only from the fact that they were seen by the prophets, such as by Zechariah (1:8-10; 6:1-7) and by others, but also by Elisha's servant, of whom the following is said in the Book of Kings,

Jehovah opened the eyes of Elisha's servant, and he saw; and behold the mountain was full of horses, and there were fiery chariots surrounding Elisha. 2 Kings 6:17.

Furthermore, where the intelligent and wise dwell in the world of spirits, chariots and horses are constantly making their appearance, the reason being, as has been stated, that chariots and horses represent the things that belong to wisdom and intelligence. People who have been awakened after death and are entering the next life see represented to them a young man seated on a horse, who then dismounts. The meaning of this is that before they can enter heaven they have to be furnished with cognitions of good and truth - see Volume One, in 187, 188. The fact that chariots and horses meant those things was fully known in the Ancient Church, as becomes clear also from the Book of Job, a book of the Ancient Church, where these words occur,

God has made him forget wisdom and given him no share in intelligence. After raising himself on high he laughs at the horse and its rider. Job 39:17-19.

[4] The meaning of 'a horse' as the understanding spread from the Ancient Church to the wise in surrounding regions, and even into Greece. As a consequence of this, when describing the sun, which meant love, 2441, 2495, they placed the god of their wisdom and intelligence there in the sun, and gave him a chariot and four fiery horses. And when they described the god of the sea - the sea meaning knowledge in general, 28, 2120 - they gave horses to him also. And when they described the upsurge of knowledge from the understanding they portrayed it as a flying horse which with its hoof broke open a fountain where the virgins who were the branches of knowledge dwelt. And by the Trojan horse nothing else was meant than a device of their understanding for destroying city walls. Even today, when the understanding is being described, it is quite usual, drawing on the custom received from those people of old, to portray the understanding as a flying horse or Pegasus, and to portray learning as a fountain. Yet scarcely anyone knows that 'a horse' in the mystical sense means the understanding, and 'a fountain' truth, let alone that those images with a spiritual meaning spread to the gentiles from the Ancient Church.