THE EXPLANATION of Isaiah Chapter 17

(Note: Rev. Smithson's translation of the Isaiah text is appended below the explanation)

1. THE burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is rejected, so as to be no city; and it is become a heap of ruins.

Verse 1. Behold, Damascus is rejected, so as to be no city, etc. - By "Aram" or Syria [of which Damascus was the capital], are signified the knowledges of Good. The same appears also from Ezekiel:

"Aram was your merchant, in the multitude of your works: they occupied in your fairs with emeralds, purple, and broidered work, and fine linen, and coral, and agate"; (Ezekiel 27:16) speaking of "Tyre", or the possession of knowledges; where "works, emeralds, purple, broidered work, fine linen, coral, and agate", signify nothing else but the knowledges of Good. So in Hosea:

"Jacob fled into the country of Aram and Israel served for a wife, and for a wife he kept sheep; and by a prophet Jehovah brought up Israel out of Egypt, and by a prophet was he preserved; Ephraim provoked Him to anger with bitterness"; (Hosea 12:12-14),

where "Jacob" signifies the external church, and "Israel" the spiritual internal church; "Aram" denotes the knowledges of Good; "Egypt" denotes perverted science; and "Ephraim", perverted intelligence; - the signification of which names could never appear from the literal sense, but only from the internal sense, in which names signify things relating to the church, as has been already observed.

So in Isaiah :

"Behold, Damascus is rejected, so as to be no city; and it is become a heap of ruins: and the fortress shall cease from Ephraim, and the kingdom from Damascus; and the remnant of Aram [or Syria] shall be as the glory of the sons of Israel"; (Isaiah 17:1, 3),

where the "remnant of Aram" signifies the knowledges of Good, which are called "the glory of the sons of Israel"; "Aram", or Syria, signifies also, in an opposite sense, the knowledges of Good perverted, according to what is usual in the Word, where the same expression is frequently applied in a two-fold signification.

That "Aram" is thus used in the opposite sense, may be seen in Isaiah 7:4-6; 9:12; Deuteronomy 26:5. Arcana Coelestia 1232.

See above, as to "Syria", Isaiah 7:4, the Exposition.

How important it is to acquire the knowledges of Truth and Good [signified by "Syria" from the Word, may appear from the following considerations:

That by truths cometh love to the Lord,

- by truths we receive love to our neighbour,

- by truths we have heavenly intelligence and wisdom,

- by truths regeneration is effected,

- by truths man has power against evils and falsities, and consequently against hell,

- by truths there is purification from evils and falsities,

- by truths the church exists;

- by truths heaven exists;

- by truths is the innocence of wisdom;

- by truths a man has conscience;

- by truths order is established;

- by truths cometh the beauty of angels, and also of men with respect to the interiors of their spirits,

- and that by virtue of truths man is a man.

But by all this is meant truths grounded in good, and not by truths without good, and by good from the Lord. Hence everyone can see the great importance of acquiring the knowledges of Truth and Goodness. Apocalypse Revealed 161.

2. The cities of Aroer are deserted: they shall be for the flocks, and they shall lie down, and none shall make them afraid.

Verse 2. [" Aroer" was the plain of Syria, and its "cities" or towns, as subordinate to Damascus, signified various doctrinals of Truth and Goodness, which when thus "deserted and devastated", become the possession of those who can make a proper use of them, denoted by "the flocks that shall lie down, and by none making them afraid", of whom, as the "remnant of Syria", (verse 3.) a New Church can be formed. It does not appear that Swedenborg has quoted this verse. See above, Chapter 5:17, note, where a similar passage occurs. The "glory of the sons of Israel", are the knowledges of Truth and Good applied to the life for the purposes of salvation.]

3. And the fortress shall cease from Ephraim, and the kingdom from Damascus; and the remnant of Syria shall be as the glory of the sons of Israel, says Jehovah of Hosts

Verse 3. As to the meaning of "Ephraim", see above, Chapter 7:2, the Exposition.

4. And it shall be in that day, the glory Jacob shall be made thin, and the fatness of his flesh shall be made lean.

Verse 4. To be "made thin" or slender, is to be deprived of the truths of faith; "the fatness of his flesh shall be made lean", signifies to be deprived of the good of charity. Arcana Coelestia 5200, 5204. b

[As to the theological leanness which prevails in the church at this day, from the want of the knowledges of Truth, see True Christian Religion 391.]

5. And it shall be as when one gathers the standing harvest, and his arm reaps the ears; or as when one gleans ears in the valley of Rephaim.

Verses 5, 6, 11. The subject treated of in this chapter is concerning the knowledges of Truth and Good appertaining to the church, has being destroyed. Those knowledges are siguified by "Damascus", which is here treated of, and by Aroer"; their being destroyed is described by gleanings being left in it, as in the shaking of the olive-tree; two [orJ three berrles on the head of the uppermost bough, four [orJ five on the fruitful branches; likewise by "the harvest being a heap in the day of possession", namely, that there shall be no more than one heap, wherefore it is also called "desperate sorrow." Hence it is evident that by "harvest" is here signified the last state of the church; that state is also signified by "morning", for when the last state of the church is at hand, it is then morning to those who will be of the New Church, and evening and night to those who are of the Old; that this is here understood by "morning", appears from the last verse of the chapter, where it is said "At the time of evening, behold terror! before the morning, it [terror] is no more." (Isaiah 17:14) "Terror" signifies destruction. Apocalypse Explained 911.

6. There shall be left gleanings in it, as in the shaking of the olive-tree; two [or] three berries on the head of the uppermost bough; four [orJ five on the fruitful branches, says Jehovah the God of Israel.

Verse 6. The devastation of the church is here treated of and this is said of the remaining few who are in Good and Truth. A comparison is made with "the shaking of the olive-tree", because by the "olive-tree" is signified the church as to the good of love and its "branches" the truths thence derived. "Two, three" signify the few 'who are in good, and thence in truths; "two" signify good, and "three" truths; and "four, five" signify the few who are in good; "four" those who are in good, and "five" a few; and because "four, five" signify the few who are in good, therefore it is said "Four, five on the fruitful branches"; for the "fruit-bearing olive-tree" signifies those in the church who are in good as to life. As these things are signified by those numbers, therefore it is said "two, three" and "four, five", and not "two and three" and "four and five." Apocalypse Explained 332. -

7. In that day shall a man regard his Maker; and his eyes shall look towards the Holy One of Israel:

8. And he shall not regard the altars, the work of his hands; and what his fingers have made, he shall not respect; nor the groves, nor the solar statues.

9. In that day shall the cities of his refuge be as a forsaken bough, and an uppermost branch, which they left before the sons of Israel: and there shall be desolation.

Verses 7, 8. 10. The subject here treated of is concerning the establishment of a New Church by the Lord. That they shall then be led into goods of life, and informed in truths of doctrine, is understood by "a man in that day having regard to his; Maker, and his eyes looking towards the Holy One of Israel"; the Lord is called "Maker", by reason that He leads into goods of life, for these make a man: and He is called the "Holy One of Israel", by reason that He teaches truths of doctrine, wherefore it is also said- "In that day shall a man regard his Maker, and his eyes shall look towards the Holy One of Israel"; man being called "man" [homo] , from the good of life, and "eyes" being predicated of the understanding of truth, thus of the truths of doctrine. That in such a case there will be no worship from self-love, in which evils of life originate, nor from self-derived intelligence, in which originate falsos of doctrine, is understood by his "not having regard to the altars, the work of his hands, and not having respect to what his fingers have made." By "the altars, the work of his hands", is understood worship grounded in self-love, from which evils of life are derived; and by "what his fingers have made", is understood worship grounded in self-derived intelligence, from which are derived falsities of doctrine; by "the groves and solar statues of the groves" is signiiled the religious principle grounded in falsities and thence in evils; by "groves", the religious principle grounded in falsities, and by "solar statues", such as is grounded in the evils of the false. Apocalypse Explained 391.

Hence by these words is understood that the all of doctrine should be from the Lord, and not from the proprium of man, which is the case when a man is in the spiritual affection of Truth, that is, when he loves Truth itself, because it is Truth, and not principally because thereby he can acquire fame and a name. Apocalypse Explained 585.

10. Because you have forgotten the God of your salvation, and have not remembered the Rock of your strength, therefore shalt you plant plants of delights, and shalt set it with strange slips: .

11. In the day when you shalt have made your plants to grow, and in the morning when you shalt have made your seed to flourish; even in the day of possession shall the harvest be a heap, and there shall be desperate sorrow.

Verse 10. The Rock of your strength, etc. - See above, Chapter 16:1, the Exposition.

Verses 10, 11. Because you have forgotten the God of your salvation, therefore shalt you plant plants of delights, and set stranqe slips, etc. That to "sow" the land or the field, signifies, in the Word, to teach and to learn the truths and goods of faith, which are of the church; and that the "increase of the field" are the goods and truths thence derived, is evident from many passages in the Word, as in Isaiah 17:10, 11; here such things as grow upon the earth are mentioned, and that the things of the church are understood thereby is evident, namely.by "planting plants of delights", as said of those who have " forgotten, the God of their salvation", are understood such things as favour the affections [of the merely natural man]; and that by "setting the earth with strange slips", is to teach truths which are not genuine, [the end of which will, be "desperate sorrow."] Arcana Coelestia 9272.

12. Woe to the tumult of many peoples, who make a noise like the noise of the seas; and to the roaring of the nations, who make a roaring like the roaring of many waters!

Verse 12. Woe to the tumult, etc. - As to "what is meant by the denunciation "Woe!" see above, Chapter 1:4, the Exposition.

[" The tumult of many peoples, the noise of the seas, and the roaring of the nations", etc., signify, by correspondence, the tumultuous collisions and reasonings which take place at the time of judgment, when the external or natural mind is laid open, and its falsities and evils exposed and dispersed, as "chaff and stubble", by the power of divine Truth. See Apocalypse Explained 706.]

13. Like the roaring of many waters do the nations roar; but He shall rebuke them, and they shall flee far away; and they shall be driven like the chaff of the mountains before the wind, and like the stubble before the whirlwind.

Verse 13. And they shall be driven like the chaff of the mountains before the wind, and like the stubble before the whirlwind. - In the spiritual world, as well as in the natural world, there exist strong winds and storms; but the storms in the spiritual world exist from the influx of the Divine [Principle] into the lower parts of that world, where they are who are in evils and falsities. That influx, as it descends -out of the heavens towards the earths, which are below, becomes more dense, and appears as clouds, and with the evil, dense and opaque, according to the quantity and quality of their evil; these clouds are appearances of the false from evil, arising from the spheres of their life; every angel and spirit being encompassed by such a sphere. When therefore the Divine [Principle] is sent forth powerfully from the Lord as a sun, and flows in into these dense and opaque clouds, there arises a storm, which is perceived by the spirits there, in like manner as storms are perceived by men in the world. It has been given me sometimes to perceive these storms, and also the "east wind", by which the evil were dissipated and cast into the hells, when the last Judgment was performed. From these considerations it may appear what "storms", "tempests", and "impetuous winds" signify in the following passages. Thus in Isaiah :

"You shalt disperse them, and the wind shall carry them away, and the storm shall dissipate them." (Isaiah 41:16)

And in Jeremiah:

"From the storm of Jehovah anger went forth, and a whirlwind threatening to rush in; upon the head of the wicked it shall rush." (Jeremiah 23:19; 30:23)

And in David:

"I would hasten my escape from the windy storm and tempest." (Psalmlv. 8.) Apocalypse Explained 419.

Like the chaff and the stubble, etc. - "Wheat" denotes the goods of love and charity; "chaff" signifies what contains nothing of good.. Arcana Coelestia 3941.

14. At the time of evening, behold terror! before the morning, it is no more. This is the portion of those that spoil us, and the lot of those that plunder us.

Verse 14. "Evening" signifies the last time of the church, when there is nothing but evils and falsities, which are called "terror", because they are hell; but the "morning " signifies the first time of the church, when evils and falsities are not; wherefore it is said, "Before the morning, terror is no more." Apocalypse Explained 677.

5. And the throne shall be established in mercy: and in truth shall He sit thereon, in the tabernacle of David, a Judge, searching out judgment, and despatching justice.

Verse 5. These things are said of the Lord. Heaven, which was established by Him, and the church thence derived, are signified by "the throne established in mercy"; that the Lord there reigns by Divine Truth from Divine Good, is signified by " sitting upon it in truth, in the tabernacle of David"; by "David" is meant the Lord as to His royalty, which is Divine Truth; find by his "tabernacle" is signified the Divine Good; by "judgment" is signified the truth of doctrine, because all judgment is from that truth; and by "justice" is signified the good of love, both from the Lord with those who are in heaven and in the church. Apocalypse Explained 799.

6. We have heard of the pride of Moab: he is very proud; of his haughtiness, and his pride, and his anger: vain are his lies.

Verse 6. By "pride" is understood the love of self, and the love and faith of what is false with those who are of the church. Apocalypse Explained 653, 675.

Vain are his lies. - "Lies" are the falsities of faith, because "Moab" signifies those who are in the evil of self-love, and who thence falsify Truths. Arcana Coelestia 8908.

7. Therefore shall Moab howl; for Moab shall everyone howl: for the foundations of Kir-hare-seth shall you moan; surely they are stricken.

8. For the fields of Heshbon are withered; [as to] the vine of Sibmah, the lords of the nations have broken down the branches thereof; they reached unto Jazer; they strayed through the desert; her branches are plucked up; they passed over the sea.

Verses 7-9. For Moab shall everyone howl; for the foundations of Kir-hareseth shall you make a moan, etc. - Very many of the prophecies, as the above, are of such a nature that, if they had not an internal sense, they would be of no use; whereas it is necessary that, as the Word is divine, it should contain within itself the laws of the heavenly kingdom into which man is about to come. Arcana Coelestia 2608.

9. Wherefore I will weep, as with the weeping of Jazer, for the vine of Sibmah: I will water you with my tears, O Heshbon and Elealeh! for upon your summer fruits, and upon your vintage, the shout [of war] has fallen.

Verse 9. By "harvest" here also is signified the last state of the church, for by "shouting" is signified the end, when upon finishing the vintage and gathering in the harvest, they were wont to triumph and make a shouting, but in the present case to lament, because it is said "it has fallen." By "Jazer", the "vine of Sibmah", and by "Heshbon and Elealeh", are signified the men of the external church, who explain the Word to favour the loves of the world, for those places were given for an inheritance to the tribes of Reuben and Gad, by whom, inasmuch as they dwelt on the outside of Jordan, the external church was represented; the "vine of Sibmah" signifies their church; their destruction, when the Lord should come and accomplish judgment, is also described in this chapter. Apocalypse Explained 911.

10. And joy and gladness are taken away from Carmel; and in the vineyards they shall not sing, they shall not shout: in the vats the treader shall not tread out the wine; I have made the shouting to cease.

11. Wherefore my bowels for Moab like a harp shall sound; and mine inward parts for Kir-haresh.

Verse 10. In these words is described the taking away of celestial delight originating in Good, and the truths thence derived, in consequence of the deprivation of genuine Good and Truth. The Good of the church is understood by "Carmel", · and the Truth thence derived by "vineyards", and by the "treading of the wine in the wine-press"; the delights thereof, which are taken away, are signified by "joy, exultation, singing, and vintage-shouting"; for it was a custom to sing in the vineyards, and in the wine-presses, when the grapes were trodden into wine, on account of the representation of the delights derived from truths, which were signified by ", vine." Apocalypse Explained 376. See also Arcana Coelestia 1071; Apocalypse Revealed 316.

12. And it shall be, when Moab shall see that he has wearied himself out on the high place, that he shall enter his sanctuary to pray; but he shall not prevail.

13. This is the Word which Jehovah spake concerning Moab at that time :

Verse 12. He shall enter his sanctuary to pray, but he shall not prevail. - [These words imply that those represented by Moab who, at the period of Judgment, are in external worship without an internal principle of love to the Lord and their neighbour, will have recourse to their "sanctuary", or to externals of worship, in order to avoid the impending destruction, but "will not prevail"; as all prayers and all external acts of worship and piety, which have not an internal principle, will be of no avail to salvation. See below, Chapter 18:7, the Exposition, where the true nature of Saving Worship and Piety are shown; see also above, Chapter 1:11-19, the Exposition.]

14. But now has Jehovah spoken, saying, Within three years, as the years of a hireling, the glory of Moab shall be reviled, in all his great multitude; and the remnant shall be few, small, and without strength.

Verse 14. By "Moab" are here understood those who are in falsities from evil; by his" glory", and by his "great multitude", are understood those falsities; by "the three years after which his glory shall be reviled", is signified what is complete and consummated; wherefore it is said that "the remnant shall be few, small, and without strength", by which is signified that it shall be no more. "Three years" are mentioned, whereby is understood consummation, thus, from beginning to end. It is to be observed that the same is signified by "three years" as by "three months, "three weeks, "three days", and "three hours", inasmuch as "times", in the spiritual sense, signify states, and "three times", whether greater or less, a full state. Apocalypse Explained 532.

Of a hireling. - They who learn and imbibe truths from the Word, or from the doctrine of the church, or from any other sources whatsoever, even from themselves by conclusions, for the sake of gain, that is, that they may gain honours or wealth, or likewise, that they may merit heaven, - these are they who, in the internal sense, are meant by "hirelings." To the man of the church, gains ought to be in the last place, not in the first; when they are in the last place, they are then servants; but if in the first place, they are lords. He who respects gains in the first place, is an inverted man, and also is represented as inverted in the other life, with his head in hell; but he who respects charity and faith in the first place, thus the Lord and his neighbour, he is an erect man, and also is presented erect in the other life, with his head in heaven. Arcana Coelestia 9180.

Within three years, as the years of a hireling, etc. - [These words involve the idea, by correspondence, that at the period of judgment, when the states of those in the church signified by Moab are consummated, as denoted by "three years", all such will be reduced to a merely hireling and mercenary condition, that is, they will study and embrace the truths of the Word from merely selfish motives, relating to honour and gain; when this is the case, the end is come and judgment ensues.]

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Isaiah Chapter 17

1. THE burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is rejected, so as to be no city; and it is become a heap of ruins.

2. The cities of Aroer are deserted: they shall be for the flocks, and they shall lie down, and none shall make them afraid.

3. And the fortress shall cease from Ephraim, and the kingdom from Damascus; and the remnant of Syria shall be as the glory of the sons of Israel, says Jehovah of Hosts

4. And it shall be in that day, the glory Jacob shall be made thin, and the fatness of his flesh shall be made lean.

5. And it shall be as when one gathers the standing harvest, and his arm reaps the ears; or as when one gleans ears in the valley of Rephaim.

6. There shall be left gleanings in it, as in the shaking of the olive-tree; two [or] three berries on the head of the uppermost bough; four [orJ five on the fruitful branches, says Jehovah the God of Israel.

7. In that day shall a man regard his Maker; and his eyes shall look towards the Holy One of Israel:

8. And he shall not regard the altars, the work of his hands; and what his fingers have made, he shall not respect; nor the groves, nor the solar statues.

9. In that day shall the cities of his refuge be as a forsaken bough, and an uppermost branch, which they left before the sons of Israel: and there shall be desolation.

10. Because you have forgotten the God of your salvation, and have not remembered the Rock of your strength, therefore shalt you plant plants of delights, and shalt set it with strange slips: .

11. In the day when you shalt have made your plants to grow, and in the morning when you shalt have made your seed to flourish; even in the day of possession shall the harvest be a heap, and there shall be desperate sorrow.

12. Woe to the tumult of many peoples, who make a noise like the noise of the seas; and to the roaring of the nations, who make a roaring like the roaring of many waters!

13. Like the roaring of many waters do the nations roar; but He shall rebuke them, and they shall flee far away; and they shall be driven like the chaff of the mountains before the wind, and like the stubble before the whirlwind.

14. At the time of evening, behold terror! before the morning, it is no more. This is the portion of those that spoil us, and the lot of those that plunder us.

799. And His tabernacle, signifies all the doctrine of the church and the worship therefrom. This is evident from the signification of "tabernacle," as being the church in respect to doctrine and worship, thus, too, the doctrine and worship of the church; therefore to falsify these is signified by "blaspheming the tabernacle of God." "A tabernacle" signifies the church in respect to doctrine and worship, because those who were of the church in most ancient times dwelt in tabernacles and tents, and also journeyed with them, for they were then mostly shepherds of sheep; and the father of the family taught those who were born of his house the precepts of charity and thus the life of love, in tabernacles, as was done afterwards in temples; and this is why a "tabernacle" has a similar signification as "the house of God," namely, the worship of God according to doctrine, consequently also the church, since the church is a church from a life according to doctrine, and a life according to doctrine is worship.

[2] Since these most ancient people with whom was the church worshipped God under a human form, and since God under a human form is the Lord, they worshipped the Lord; and therefore their church was the celestial church, which is distinguished from the spiritual church in this, that the celestial church is in love to the Lord and in worship from that love, while the spiritual church is in love towards the neighbor and in worship from that love. And as the church with the most ancient people was such, and the doctrine of love to the Lord was then taught in tabernacles, and thence tabernacles were more loved by the Lord than temples, therefore by command of the Lord on Mount Sinai a tabernacle was built in which the Israelitish nation might have holy worship; and afterwards, in commemoration of the most holy worship in tabernacles, the feast of tabernacles was instituted. From this it is clear why a "tabernacle" signifies the doctrine of the church, and worship therefrom.

[3] This signification of "tabernacle" is evident from the following passages. In Moses:

How good are thy tabernacles O Jacob, thy tents O Israel (Numbers 24:5).

Here and elsewhere in the Word both tabernacles and tents are mentioned; and a "tabernacle" signifies the church consisting of those who are in the good of love to the Lord; and the "tent" signifies the church consisting of those who are in truths from that good; and as doctrine and worship therefrom constitute the church, a "tabernacle" signifies the doctrine of the good of love, and a "tent" the doctrine of truth from that good. So, too, "tabernacles," in the plural, signify the goods of the church and of doctrine, and "tents" the truths of the church and of doctrine. This makes clear the signification of those words of David, ¹ "How good are thy tabernacles O Jacob, thy tents O Israel," "Jacob" signifying the church that is in the good of doctrine and of life, and "Israel" the church that is in truths from good.

[4] In Jeremiah:

Jehovah bringeth back the captivity of the tabernacles of Jacob, and I will have compassion on his tents; and the city shall be built on her own heap, and the palace thereof shall be inhabited after its former manner (Jeremiah 30:18).

Here, too, "tabernacles" and "tents" are mentioned; and "tabernacles" signify the goods of the church or of its doctrine, and "tents" the truths of the church or of its doctrine; "captivity" signifies spiritual captivity, which is when the goods and truths of the church or of doctrine are as it were imprisoned; therefore "to bring back captivity" signifies to restore these. (What the rest signifies may be seen above, n. 724)

[5] In Isaiah:

Enlarge the place of thy tabernacle, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thy tents; hinder not, make long thy cords, and make firm thy stakes (Isaiah 54:2).

This is said of the barren that did not bear, by whom the Gentiles are signified with whom the church was to be established by the Lord. The state of the good of love of that church is signified by "the place of thy tabernacle;" and the truths from that good are signified by "the curtains of thy tents;" the fructification of good and the multiplication of truth are signified by "enlarging" and "stretching forth;" "cords" signifying the conjunction of these, and "stakes" their firmness.

[6] In David:

One thing have I asked of Jehovah, that will I seek, that I may dwell in the house of Jehovah all the days of my life, to behold the pleasantness of Jehovah, and to visit in the morning His temple; for He shall hide me in His tent in the evil day, He shall conceal me in the secret place of His tabernacle, He shall exalt me upon a rock (Psalms 27:4, 5).

Here "the house of Jehovah," "the temple," "the tent," and "the tabernacle," are mentioned; and "house of Jehovah" signifies the church that is in the good of love to the Lord, "temple" the church that is in truths from that good, "the tent of Jehovah" Divine truth, and "the tabernacle" Divine good; thence it is clear that "to dwell in the house of Jehovah all the days of one's life" does not mean to dwell in the house of Jehovah, but in the good of love to the Lord; and that "to visit in the morning the temple of Jehovah" does not mean to visit the temple every morning, but to seek and learn the truths of that good; so "to hide in the tent" signifies to continue in Divine truth, and to be defended from falsities; and "to conceal in the secret place of the tabernacle" signifies to continue in Divine good and to be defended from evils; "to exalt upon a rock" signifies to instruct in interior truths.

[7] In the same:

Jehovah, who shall abide in Thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in the mountain of Thy holiness? He that walketh in integrity and doeth justice and speaketh the truth (Psalms 15:1, 2).

Here, too, a "tabernacle" signifies the church in respect to the good of love, consequently also the good of love; "the mountain of holiness," meaning Jerusalem, signifies the church in respect to the truths of doctrine from that good; which shows what is signified by "abiding in them." "He that walketh in integrity" signifies one who is in good in respect to life and truths in respect to doctrine; therefore it is added, "who doeth justice and speaketh the truth;" "doing justice" signifying to be in good in respect to life, and "speaking the truth" to be in truths in respect to doctrine.

[8] In the same:

I will abide in Thy tabernacle forever, I will trust in the hiding place of Thy wings (Psalms 61:4).

"To abide in a tabernacle forever" signifies to be in the Divine good of love; "to trust in the hiding place of Thy wings" signifies to be in Divine truths, "the wings of Jehovah" signifying spiritual truths.

[9] In Isaiah:

By mercy was the throne established, and in truth He sat upon it in the tabernacle of David, judging and seeking judgment, and hastening justice (Isaiah 16:5).

This is said of the Lord; the heaven that was established by Him and the church from it are signified by "the throne established by mercy." That the Lord reigns there by the Divine truth from the Divine good is signified by "He sat upon it in truth in the tabernacle of David;" "David" meaning the Lord in respect to His royalty, which is the Divine truth, and "His tabernacle" signifying the Divine good. "Judgment" signifies the truth of doctrine, because from that is all judgment; and "justice" signifies the good of love, both of these from the Lord with those who are in heaven and in the church.

[10] In the same:

Look upon Zion the city of our appointed feast, let thine eyes see Jerusalem a quiet habitation, a tabernacle which shall not be dissipated; the stakes thereof shall never be removed, neither shall any of the cords thereof be torn off (Isaiah 33:20).

"Zion" here does not mean Zion, nor "Jerusalem" Jerusalem, but they mean heaven and the church in respect to the good of love and the truth of doctrine; these are "a quiet habitation, and a tabernacle which shall not be dissipated." The "stakes that shall not be removed" signify a strengthening by Divine truths; and the "cords that shall not be torn off" signify conjunction through Divine good.

[11] In Jeremiah:

My tabernacle is devastated, and all My cords torn off; My sons have gone out from Me, and they are not; there is no longer anyone to stretch out My tabernacle and to set up My curtains (Jeremiah 10:20).

"The tabernacle that is devastated" signifies the church in which there is no longer any good, "the cords that are torn off" signify that there is no conjunction; "the sons that have gone out and are not" signify that there are no longer any truths; "there is no longer anyone to stretch out the tabernacle and to set up the curtains" signifies that no one any longer in the church teaches the good of love and the truth from that good, "curtains" signifying the truths that go forth from good and cover it.

[12] In the same:

The whole land is devastated, suddenly are My tabernacles devastated, My curtains in a moment (Jeremiah 4:20).

The "land" that is devastated signifies the church; the "tabernacles" that are devastated signify its goods, and "curtains" its truths. In the same:

Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon shall take their tabernacle and their flocks, he shall carry away for himself their curtains and all their vessels, and their camels (Jeremiah 49:29).

This describes the vastation of Arabia, by which the church that is in truths from good is signified; the goods of that church are signified by "their tabernacle and their flocks;" the truths of those goods by "the curtains and all vessels," and the knowledges of truth by "camels." "Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon" signifies the evils and falsities that lay waste. "The tabernacles of Arabia" have a like signification in David (Psalms 120:5).

[13] In Jeremiah:

To Zion shepherds and their flocks shall come, they shall pitch tabernacles against her, they shall feed down everyone his space (Jeremiah 6:3).

This, too, describes the vastation of the church in respect to the good of love, "Zion" meaning a church in which is that good. "The tabernacles that the shepherds and flocks shall pitch against her" signify the evils and their falsities that devastate the church; "they shall feed down everyone his space" signifies that it shall be altogether deprived of goods and truths.

[14] In Hosea:

Egypt shall gather them together, Moph shall bury them, the desirable things of their silver the thistle shall possess, and the thorn shall be in their tabernacles (Hosea 9:6).

This describes the vastation of a church by the falsifications of truth. "Israel," of which this is said, signifies this church; that the natural man and his cupidity will destroy them is signified by "Egypt shall gather them together, Moph shall bury them;" that falsity will destroy all truth is signified by "the desirable things of their silver the thistle shall possess;" and that the evils of falsity will destroy all their good is signified by "the thorn shall be in their tabernacles."

[15] In Isaiah:

Who dwelleth above the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as locusts; who stretcheth out the heavens as something thin, and spreadeth them out as a tabernacle to dwell in (Isaiah 40:22).

"To dwell above the circle of the earth" means above the sky; for the sky encompasses the earth as a circle its center; and this is why the Lord is called "the Most High," and "He that dwelleth in the highest." "The inhabitants thereof are as locusts" signifies men in things outermost; for a "locust" signifies what is living in ultimates, in particular truth, and in the contrary sense falsity there; "Who stretcheth out the heavens as something thin" signifies omnipotence to enlarge the heavens at will; "and spreadeth them out as a tabernacle to dwell in" has a similar signification, this signifying the enlargement of the heavens in respect to goods, and the former their enlargement in respect to truths.

[16] In Hosea:

I will yet make thee to dwell in tabernacles, according to the days of the appointed time (Hosea 12:9).

This treats of Ephraim, who being enriched said that "he had found wealth" (verse 8), which signifies that he had acquired for himself knowledges of truth; for "Ephraim" signifies the understanding of the Word and the intellectual of the church; therefore "I will yet make thee to dwell in tabernacles" signifies still to be in the church where good is; "according to the days of the appointed time" signifies until those knowledges perish. In Zechariah:

Jehovah shall save the tabernacles of Judah first (Zechariah 12:7).

"The tabernacles of Judah" are the goods of the Word and the goods of the church, for "Judah" signifies the Word, and also the church, in respect to the good of love to the Lord.

[17] In Lamentations:

The Lord hath bent His bow like an enemy; He hath stood with His right hand as an enemy, and hath slain all things desirable to the eyes; into the tabernacles of Zion He hath poured out His anger like fire (Lamentations 2:4).

This treats of the devastation of the church in respect to truths and goods; the devastation in respect to its truths is signified by "He hath slain all things desirable to the eyes;" and the devastation in respect to goods by "He hath poured out His anger like fire into the tabernacles of Zion;" "things desirable" being predicated in the Word of truths, and "eyes" of the understanding of truth; "tabernacles" of goods, and "anger like fire" of the vastation of good; "the daughter of Zion" signifies the church that is in the affection of truth from the love of good.

In David:

In the heavens He hath set a tabernacle for the sun (Psalms 19:4).

"The sun" means here the Lord in relation to Divine love; and because He dwells in the good of His own love in the heavens it is said, "In the heavens He hath set a tabernacle for the sun;" "tabernacle" here meaning the Lord's heaven from the good of love.

[18] In the same:

Thou hast made Jehovah the Most High thy habitation; no evil shall befall thee, and no plague shall come nigh thy tabernacle (Psalms 91:9, 10).

"The habitation of Jehovah" and "His tabernacle" signify heaven and the church; "habitation" signifying heaven and the church in respect to truths, and "tabernacle" heaven and the church in respect to goods. "He hath made the Most High his habitation, no evil shall befall, and no plague come nigh," signifies the removal and protection from evils and from the falsities of evil.

In the same:

He shall pluck thee out of the tabernacle, and shall root thee out of the land of the living (Psalms 52:5).

This is said of Doeg the Edomite. That he was to be expelled from all the good of the church is signified by "he shall pluck thee out of the tabernacle," also from all the truths of the church is signified by "he shall root thee out of the land of the living;" "land" is the church, and those are called "the living" who are in truths from good.

[19] "Tabernacle" signifies the church in respect to good, or the good of the church, in the following passages also:

That Jehovah would set a tabernacle in the midst of them, would walk in the midst of them, and be to them for a God (Leviticus 26:11, 12);

this was among the blessings:

After the Lord was transfigured before Peter, James, and John, Peter said, Lord, it is good for us to be here; if Thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles; one for Thee, one for Moses, and one for Elijah (Matthew 17:4; Mark 9:5; Luke 9:33).

I heard a great voice out of heaven, saying, Behold the tabernacle of God is with men, and He shall dwell with them (Revelation 21:3).

He forsook the tent of Shiloh, the tabernacle, in which He dwelt among men (Psalms 78:60).

He rejected the tent of Joseph (Psalms 78:67).

That a "tent" signifies the church in respect to the truths of doctrine is evident from passages in the Word where a "tent and tents" are mentioned (as in Isaiah 22:16; Jeremiah 9:19; Ezekiel 25:4; Amos 9:11, Habakkuk 1:6; Psalms 43:3; 46:4; 74:7).

[20] Since a tabernacle signified heaven and the church in respect to the doctrine of the good of love, and a tent the same in respect to the doctrine of truth from that good, and this because of the holy worship of the Lord by the most ancient men, as has been said at the beginning of this article, it pleased the Lord that a tabernacle should be set up by Moses, in which representative worship should be performed; and this is described in Exodus (Exodus 26:7-15; 36:8-37); and it was afterwards commanded:

That all the tribes of Israel should encamp about it, and the Levites who were to keep charge of it should be beside it (Numbers 1:10-54; 3:7-39);

Also that they should journey with it (Numbers 9:15, seq.).

That this tabernacle was a representative of heaven and the church is clearly evident from this:

That the form of it was shown to Moses upon Mount Sinai (Exodus 25:9; 26:30).

And whatever is presented in a form to be seen in heaven and from heaven is representative. That the tabernacle was a representative of heaven itself, where the Lord is, and thence also of the church, is evident from its holiness:

In that no one was permitted to enter into it except Aaron and his sons, and if the people drew near they would die (Numbers 7:12, 13; 18:1, 22, 23; 19:14-19).

Likewise that there was a cloud upon it by day, and the appearance of fire by night (Exodus 40:38; Numbers 9:15; Isaiah 4:5, 6).

And afterwards that a feast was celebrated, which was called the Feast of Tabernacles, and they were to be glad because of the produce of the threshing-floor and of the wine press (Leviticus 23:39-44; Deuteronomy 16:13, 14; Zechariah 14:16, 18, 19).

[21] "The produce of the threshing-floor," like as "bread" and "corn," signified all the good of the church; and the "produce of the wine-press," like as "wine," signified all the truth of good of the church; and "to be glad" at that time signified the delight of celestial and spiritual love from good and truth. That all things belonging to the tabernacle, as the ark, the mercy-seat with the cherubim over it, the veil, the table upon which was the bread, the altar of incense, the lamp-stand, the curtains, the coverings, the boards and pillars, the cords, the stakes, and all other things, were representatives of heaven and the church, can be seen in the Arcana Coelestia treating of Exodus, in which all these things are explained. It is also shown there that the holiness of all these things came from the Law that was placed in the ark; for "the Law" signified the Word, and represented the Lord, who is the Word.

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