937. That Moses signifies the Word of the Old Testament, is evident from certain passages in the Word where he is mentioned. In some places, however, by Moses is meant the law in its strictest sense, which is the law published from Mount Sinai. In some, the law in a broader sense, which is the historical Word, is meant by him. But in the present case the Word of the Old Testament is meant, both historical and prophetical. The reason why Moses signifies the Word is, that the Ten Precepts, and afterwards the Five Books, which were the first [portion] of the Word, were not from himself but from the Lord through him.

That Moses is mentioned instead of the law and the Word is plain from the following passages. In Luke:

"Abraham said unto him, They have Moses and the prophets, let them hear them: if they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rose from the dead" (16:29, 31).

Here by Moses and the Prophets is meant the same as elsewhere by the Law and the Prophets, namely, the historical and prophetical Word.

In the same:

Jesus, "beginning from Moses and all the prophets, interpreted in all the scriptures the things concerning himself" (24:27).

In the same:

"All things must be fulfilled which are written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the Psalms, concerning me" (24:44).

In John:

Philip said, "We have found him, of whom Moses hath written in the law" (1:45).

In the same:

"In the law Moses commanded us" (8:5).

In Daniel:

"The curse hath poured down upon us; and the oath, which is written in the law of Moses, the servant of God; because we have sinned against him. As it is written in the law of Moses, every evil cometh upon us" (9:11, 13).

In Joshua:

Joshua wrote upon the stone of the altar "a copy of the law of Moses" (8:32).

In John:

"Moses gave to you the law, Moses gave to you circumcision. If a man receive circumcision on the Sabbath, thus that the law of Moses might not be broken" (7:19, 22, 23).

In Mark:

"Moses hath said, Honour thy father and thy mother" (7:10).

[2] Because on account of the representation, that is attributed to Moses which was done by the Lord through him, therefore the law of Moses and the law of the Lord are both mentioned in Luke:

"When the days of their purification were fulfilled according to the law of Moses, they brought him to Jerusalem (even as it is written in the law of the Lord, that every male that openeth the womb shall be called holy to the Lord) to offer the sacrifice, according to that which is said in the law of the Lord, a pair of turtle doves, and two young pigeons" (2:22-24, 29).

[3] Because Moses represented the law, it was allowed him to enter in to the Lord upon Mount Sinai, and not only to receive there the Tables of the Law, but also to hear the statutes and judgments of the Law; and to command them to the people. And it is also said, that they might thence believe in Moses for ever:

"Jehovah said unto Moses, Behold I will come to thee in the mist of a cloud, that the people may hear, when I shall speak unto thee; and also may believe in thee for ever" (Exodus 19:9).

[4] It is said, in the mist of a cloud, because by a cloud is signified the Word in the letter. Hence also when Moses entered in to the Lord on Mount Sinai,

He entered into a cloud (Exodus 20:21; 24:2, 18; 35:2-4).

That a cloud signifies the sense of the letter of the Word may be seen (n. 36, 594, 905, 906).

Because Moses represented the Lord as to the law or the Word, therefore,

"When he came down from Mount Sinai, the skin of his face shone; therefore when he spake with the people, he put a veil upon his face" (Exodus 34:28 to end).

The radiation of the face signified the internal of the law; for this is in the light of heaven. The reason of his veiling his face when he spake with the people was, became the internal of the Word was covered, and so obscured to that people, that they could not sustain anything of the light thence.

[5] Since Moses represented the Lord as to the historical Word, and Elias the Lord as to the prophetical Word, therefore, when the Lord was transfigured, Moses and Elias were seen talking with Him (Matthew 17:3). Nor could any others speak with the Lord when His Divine appeared in the world, but those who signified the Word; for all discourse with the Lord is by means of the Word. That Elias represented the Lord as to the Word may be seen above (n. 624).

And because both Moses and Elias, together, represented the Word, therefore, where Elias being sent before the Lord is treated of, both are mentioned in Malachi:

"Remember ye the law of Moses, my servant, which I commanded him in Horeb for all Israel, the statutes and the judgments. Lo, I send to you Elias the prophet, before the great and terrible day of Jehovah cometh" (Malachi 4:4-6).

By Elias the prophet is meant John the Baptist, because by him, as by Elias, the Word was represented; see above (n. 624, 724).

71.And his voice as the voice of many waters. That this signifies Divine truth in ultimates, is evident from the signification of a voice, when it is from the Lord, as denoting Divine truth (concerning which see Arcana Coelestia 219, 220, 3563, 6971, 8813, 8914, and above, n. 55), and from the signification of the waters, as denoting the truths of faith, and also the knowledges (cognitiones) of truth (concerning which see n. 2702, 3058, 5668, 8568, 10238); and because the knowledges (cognitiones) of truth are in ultimates, therefore by His voice as the voice of many waters, because it relates to the Lord, is signified Divine truth in ultimates. (That knowledges (cognitiones) and scientifics (scientifica) belong to the external or natural man, because they are in the light of the world, thus, in ultimates, may be seen,Arcana Coelestia 5212, and in general from what is said in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 51.) As it is not yet known that waters in the Word signify the truths of faith and the knowledges (cognitiones) of truth, and, perhaps, because it appears far-fetched, I wish here briefly to show that such things are meant by waters in the Word. This is also necessary because without a knowledge of the signification of waters, it cannot be known what is signified by baptism, nor what by the washings observed in the Israelitish Church, of which mention is so frequently made. Waters signify the truths of faith, because bread signifies the good of love; the reason why waters and bread have such a signification is that the things that pertain to spiritual nourishment are expressed, in the sense of the letter, by those things that have reference to natural nourishment. For bread and water, by which are meant all food and drink in general, nourish the body, and the truths of faith and the good of love nourish the soul. This is also from correspondence; for when bread and water are read in the Word, the angels, being spiritual, understand those things which nourish them; these are the goods of love and the truths of faith.

[2] But some passages shall be here adduced, whence it may be known that waters signify the truths of faith, likewise the knowledges (cognitiones) of truth.

Thus in Isaiah:

"The earth shall be full of the knowledge (scientia) of Jehovah, as the waters cover the sea" (11:9).

Again:

"With joy shall ye draw water out of the fountains of salvation" (12:3).

Again:

"He that walketh in justice, and speaketh uprightnesses, bread shall be given him, and sure waters" (33:15, 16).

Again:

"The poor and the needy seek water, but there is none; their tongue faileth for thirst. I will open rivers in high places, and fountains in the midst of the valleys. I will make the wilderness a pool of waters, and the dry land springs of waters. That they may see, and know, and hearken, and understand" (41:17, 18, 20).

Again:

"I will pour out waters upon him that is thirsty; and, floods upon the dry ground; I will pour my spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring" (44:3).

Again:

"Thy light shall arise in obscurity, and thy darkness as the noon-day; that thou mayest be as a watered garden, and as the going forth of waters, whose waters shall not lie" (58:10).

In Jeremiah:

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

Again:

"Their nobles sent their little ones for water; they came to the pits, and found no waters; they returned with their vessels empty; they were ashamed and confounded" (14:3).

Again:

"They have forsaken Jehovah, the fountain of living waters" (17:13).

Again:

"They shall come with weeping, and with weeping will I lead them; I will lead them to fountains of waters, in a way of rectitude" (31:9).

And in Ezekiel:

"I will break the staff of bread, and they shall eat bread by weight, and with care; and they shall drink water by measure, and with astonishment. That they may want bread and water, and be desolated, a man and his brother, and consume away for their iniquities" (4:16, 17; 12:18, 19; Isaiah 51:14).

And in Amos:

"Behold, the days come, in which I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for waters, but for hearing the Word of Jehovah. They shall wander from sea to sea, they shall run to and fro, to seek the Word of Jehovah, and shall not find it; in that day shall the fair virgins and young men faint for thirst" (8:11-13).

And in Zechariah;

"In that day living waters shall go out from Jerusalem" (14:8).

And in David:

"Jehovah is my shepherd, I shall not want. He will lead me to the waters of rest" (Psalm 23:1, 2).

In Isaiah:

"They shall not thirst; he will make waters to flow for them out of the rock, and he will cleave the rock, that the waters may flow out" (48:21).

In David:

"O God, early will I seek thee; my soul thirsteth, weary without waters" (Psalm 63:1).

Again:

Jehovah "sendeth his Word, he maketh the wind to blow, that the waters may flow" (Psalm 147:18).

Again:

"Praise Jehovah, ye heavens of heavens, and ye waters which are above the heavens" (148:4).

In John:

Jesus came to the fountain of Jacob; "A woman of Samaria came to draw water, to whom Jesus said, Give me to drink; - if thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith unto thee, Give me to drink, thou wouldest ask of him, and he would give thee living water. The woman said unto him, Whence hast thou that living water? Jesus said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again; but whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him, shall be in him a fountain of water, springing up into everlasting life" (4:7-15).

Again:

Jesus said, "If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink. He that believeth on me, as the Scripture saith, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water" (7:37, 38).

And in the Apocalypse:

"Unto him that is athirst shall be given of the fountain of the water of life freely" (21:6).

And in another place:

The angel showed him "a river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb" (22:1).

And again:

"The spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst, come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely" (22:17).

[3] These passages are adduced, that it may be known that by waters in the Word are signified the truths of faith, and hence what is signified by the water of baptism, concerning which the Lord thus teaches in John:

"Except a man be born of water and of the spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God" (3:5);

where water denotes the truths of faith, and the spirit a life according to them (as may be seen in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 202-209, and the following numbers). Because it has not hitherto been known that waters signify the truths of faith, and that all things that were instituted amongst the sons of Israel were representative of spiritual things, it has therefore been believed, that by the washings commanded them their sins were wiped away, although they were in no sense wiped away; those washings only represented purification from evils and falsities, by means of the truths of faith and a life according to them (as may be seen in Arcana Coelestia 3147, 5954, 10237, 10240). From these considerations it is now clear, that by His voice as the voice of many waters, is meant Divine truth; as also in Ezekiel:

"Behold the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east, and his voice was as the voice of many waters; and the earth was enlightened by his glory" (43:2).

And in David:

"The voice of Jehovah is upon the waters, Jehovah is upon many waters" (Psalms 29:3).

And in the following words in the Apocalypse:

"I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters" (14:2).

[4] I know that some will wonder why waters are mentioned in the Word, and not the truths of faith, although the purpose of the Word is to teach man about his spiritual life; and if the truths of faith had been mentioned instead of waters, men would have known that the waters of baptism and of washings contribute nothing to his purification from evils and falsities. But it must be noted, that the Word, to be Divine, and at the same time to be for heaven and the church, must be altogether natural in the letter; for unless this were the case, it could not be the medium of effecting the conjunction of heaven with the church; for it would be like a house without a foundation, and like a soul without a body; for the ultimates include all the interiors, and are their foundation (as may be seen above, n. 41). Man also is in ultimates, and heaven has its foundation upon the church in him. This is why the style in which the Word is written is of such a character; therefore, when man thinks spiritually from the natural things which are in the sense of the letter of the Word, he is conjoined with heaven which could not otherwise be the case.