560. And there were stings in their tails.- That this signifies the craftiness of deceiving by means of them, is evident from the signification of stings, as denoting their craftiness and shrewdness in persuasion on behalf of falsities, therefore it follows, that there was in them the power of hurting men, for he who deceives by craft and shrewdness is specially injurious. Stings were in their tails, because they deceive by means of scientifics sensually perceived, both by means of scientifics from the Word, and scientifics (scientifica) from the world on which human erudition is based. They deceive by means of scientifics from the Word, by explaining it sensually according to the letter, and not according to its interior sense; and by means of scientifics from the world, by using them for confirmation. It must be observed, that sensual men are more crafty and shrewd than others, and consequently in shrewdly deceiving. For as spiritual men are intelligent and prudent, so those who are sensual and in falsities are cunning and crafty, because in evil resides all cunning, and in good, all intelligence.

[2] It is believed in the world, that the crafty and shrewd, are also prudent and intelligent; but craftiness and cunning are not prudence and intelligence, but, in themselves, are insanity and folly. For such persons cut themselves off from eternal happiness, and cast themselves into eternal unhappiness, which is an evidence not of prudence and intelligence, but of insanity and folly. Moreover, all things pertaining to heavenly and angelic wisdom are with such in dense darkness, and where that wisdom is thick darkness, there is folly. That sensual men are crafty and shrewd, is evident from those who are in hell, where all are merely natural and sensual; in these there is so much craftiness and shrewdness as can scarcely be believed by any one; as may be seen in Heaven and Hell 576-581), where the cunning and wicked arts of the infernal spirits are treated of.

[3] That stings signify craftiness, is evident without confirmation from the Word, for in common discourse the crafty devices in speech by which men are deceived are called stings, and the discourse itself is called keen. But stings specifically signify interior falsities, which are such that they cannot be shaken off, because they arise from the scientifics and fallacies of the senses. That these falsities are signified by stings is evident from representatives in the spiritual world. Interior falsities are there represented in various ways by things of a sharp nature, as by the sharp points of swords, by darts, and by pointed things in various forms, and this when the intention is to hurt. For this reason also it is there forbidden to exhibit such things to view, for spirits, at the sight of such things, become furious with a desire of hurting.

[4] These falsities are also signified by stings in Amos:

"Behold the days shall come upon you, in which they will draw you out with stings, and your posterity with fishhooks" (4:2).

By drawing them out with stings is signified to lead them away from truths by scientifics from the Word and the world falsely applied; and to draw away their posterity with fishhooks signifies to do the same thing, by means of the fallacies of the senses, from which the sensual man reasons.

[5] And in Moses:

"If ye will not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you, those which ye let remain of them shall be thorns in your eyes, and stings in your sides" (Num. 33:55).

The inhabitants of the land whom they were to expel, signify the evils and falsities of religion, and of doctrine, for these were signified in the abstract sense by the nations of the land of Canaan. Therefore by their being thorns in their eyes, is signified the injury that would be done to the truths of the church by pernicious falsities, and by their being stings in their sides, is signified the injury that would be done by pernicious falsities to the goods of the church. Eyes in the Word, signify the understanding of truth, and sides the things of charity, consequently goods.

2807. 'Abraham said, God will see for Himself to the animal for a burnt offering, my son' means the reply: The Divine Human will provide those who are to be sanctified. This is clear from the meaning of 'seeing to for oneself', when used in reference to God, as foreseeing and providing - for 'to see' in the internal sense nearest to the literal means to understand, 2150, 2325, whereas in the sense yet more interior it means having faith, 897, 2325, while in the highest sense it means foreseeing and providing; and also from the meaning of 'the animal for a burnt offering' as those members of the human race who are to be sanctified, dealt with just above in 2805. That 'the animal for a burnt offering' is here used to mean those who are spiritual is evident from what follows. The kinds of animals used for burnt offering and sacrifice each had a different meaning. That is to say, a lamb meant one thing, a sheep another, a kid and she-goat another, a ram and he-goat another, an ox yet another, as did a young bull and a calf. And young pigeons and turtle doves had meanings different again. It is quite clear that each kind of animal had its own meaning from the fact that it was laid down explicitly which kind were to be sacrificed on each particular day, at each particular religious festival, when atonement was being made, cleansing effected, inauguration carried out, and all other occasions. Which kinds were to be used on which occasions would never have been laid down so explicitly unless each one had possessed some specific meaning.

[2] Clearly all the religious observances or forms of external worship which existed in the Ancient Church, and subsequently in the Jewish, represented the Lord, so that the burnt offerings and sacrifices in particular represented Him since these were the chief forms of worship among the Hebrew nation. And because they represented the Lord they also at the same time represented among men those things that are the Lord's, that is to say, the celestial things of love, and the spiritual things of faith, and as a consequence of this represented the people themselves who were celestial and spiritual or who ought to have been so. This is why 'the animal' here means those who are spiritual, that is, those who belong to the Lord's spiritual Church. As regards 'God will see for Himself to the animal for a burnt offering, my son' meaning that the Divine Human will provide them, this is clear from the fact that here it is not said that 'Jehovah' will see to it but that 'God' will do so. When both of these names occur, as they do in this chapter, Jehovah is used to mean the same as 'the Father', and God the same as 'the Son', so that here the Divine Human is meant; and a further reason for the usage is that the spiritual man, whose salvation comes from the Divine Human, is the subject, see 2661, 2716.