9228. The fact that 'seven' means a whole period from start to finish, thus what is complete, is clear from a large number of places in the Word, as in Isaiah,

The light of the moon will be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun will be sevenfold, as the light of seven days, on the day when Jehovah will bind up the hurt ¹ of His people. Isaiah 30:26.

This refers to the salvation of faithful believers and their intelligence and wisdom in the Lord's kingdom. 'The moon' is faith received from the Lord, thus belief in the Lord, and 'the sun' is love derived from the Lord, thus love to the Lord, 30-38, 1521, 1529-1531, 2441, 2495, 3636, 3643, 4060, 4321 (end), 4696, 5377, 7078, 7083, 7171, 8644. 'The light of the sun will be sevenfold, as the light of seven days' means a complete state of intelligence and wisdom because of love to and belief in the Lord.

[2] In Ezekiel,

The inhabitants of the cities of Israel will go out, and they will set alight and burn the weapons, both shield and buckler, together with bow and arrows, and hand-staff, and spear; they will set fire to them for seven years, that they may not bring wood from the field nor cut down any from the forests. And they will cleanse the land in seven months. Ezekiel 39:9-10, 12.

This refers to the destruction of falsity. 'The weapons' that are listed here are falsities used by those who are evil to fight against the Church's truths. 'Setting fire to them for seven years' means complete destruction brought about by the desires of self-love and love of the world. 'In order that they may bring no wood from the field or cut down any from the forests' means when no good at all survives, neither in the internal man nor in the external. 'Cleansing the land in seven months' means the complete restoration of goodness and truth within the Church. It has been shown in very many places that 'weapons' are truths fighting against falsities, and in the contrary sense falsities fighting against truths; that 'bow and arrows' means teachings that present truth, and in the contrary sense teachings that present falsity; that 'hand-staff' means the power of truth, and in the contrary sense the power of falsity; that 'setting alight and burning' means laying waste through the desires of self-love and love of the world; that 'wood from the field' means the Church's forms of interior good, and 'wood from the forests' factual knowledge of goodness and truth; and that 'the land' means the Church. Anyone can see that different things are meant here from those which present themselves in the letter, as when it says that they will burn the weapons, and set them alight for seven years, in order that they may bring no wood from the field or cut down any from the forests. People do indeed know that things of a holy and Divine nature are meant, because the Word is holy and comes from God. But they cannot by any means know which things of a holy and Divine nature are contained in these words unless they know what the meaning is of 'weapons', 'seven years' and 'seven months', 'wood from the field' and 'wood from the forests'. From this it is evident that without knowledge gained from the internal sense those prophetic utterances are completely unintelligible.

[3] In David,

Seven times in the day I praise You over the judgements of Your righteousness. Psalms 119:164.

In the same author,

Repay [our] neighbours sevenfold into their bosom. Psalms 79:12.

'Sevenfold' means completely. The meaning is similar in Moses, where it says that they would be punished sevenfold if they went against commandments and statutes, Leviticus 26:18, 21, 24, 28. Anyone who does not know that 'seven' means a whole period from start to finish, and therefore what is complete, will suppose that 'seven weeks' in Daniel means seven lengths of time,

Know and perceive that from the going forth of the Word to restore and to build Jerusalem until the Messiah, the Prince, there will be seven weeks. Daniel 9:25.

But 'seven weeks until the Messiah, the Prince' means what is said of the Lord, namely that He will come in the fullness of time, so that 'seven weeks' means a whole period. From this it is evident that the seven spirits before God's throne, Revelation 1:4, the book sealed with seven seals, Revelation 5:1, and the seven angels holding 'the seven bowls, which are the seven last plagues, Revelation 15:1, 6-7; 21:9, do not mean seven spirits, seven seals, or seven angels, bowls, and plagues, but all things even to completeness. The statement in 1 Samuel 2:5 that the barren has borne seven in like manner does not mean seven but a great amount, even to a complete amount.

[4] Because 'seven' had this meaning it was stipulated that a priest at his initiation should wear the garments for seven days, Exodus 29:30; that his hands should be filled for seven days, ² Exodus 29:35; that the altar should be sanctified for seven days, Exodus 29:37; and that those initiated into the priesthood should not depart from the tent [of meeting] for seven days, Leviticus 8:33-34. So too with the reference to the unclean spirit going out of a person and returning with seven others, Matthew 12:43-45; Luke 11:26; also where it says that if a brother sins seven times in a day and is seven times converted he is to be forgiven, Luke 17:4; and that the heart of Nebuchadnezzar was changed from [that of] a human being and the heart of a beast was given to him while seven times passed by, Daniel 4:15, 25, 32. For the same reasons also Job's friends sat down with him on the earth seven days and seven nights and spoke nothing to him, Job 2:13. Seventy in a similar way means that which is complete, see 6508, as also does a week, 2044, 3845. From all this it now becomes clear that 'the eighth day' means the initial phase of the following state.

脚注:

987. 'Upon every beast of the earth' means the desires that belong to the lower mind. This is clear from the meaning of 'beast' in the Word, where beasts mean either affections or else evil desires. Affections for what is good are meant by gentle, useful, and clean beasts, while affections for what is evil, that is, evil desires, are meant by savage, useless, and unclean ones - see 45, 46, 142, 143, 246, 776. Because here they mean evil desires they are called 'beasts of the earth', not beasts of the field. As for a regenerate person's rule over evil desires, it should be recognized that people err very greatly and are in no sense regenerate who believe they are able to rule over evils from themselves. For a human being is nothing but evil, he is one mass of evils, and his whole will consists solely in evil. This was stated in the previous chapter - 'the imagination of man's heart is evil from his childhood', 8:21. I have been shown by actual experience that a man or a spirit, and even an angel, regarded in himself, that is, as to his entire proprium, is vilest excrement, and left to himself breathes out nothing but hatred, revenge, cruelty, and most filthy adultery. These are the things that are his own, and are the things which constitute his will.

[2] This matter also becomes clear to anyone if he reflects, merely from the consideration that when a person is born he is the lowest thing alive among all wild animals and beasts. And when he grows up and becomes responsible for his own actions he would rush into every kind of ungodliness but for external legal restraints and the restraints he imposes on himself to the end that he may become pre-eminent and very wealthy. He would not rest content until he had made everyone throughout the world subject to himself and had raked in the wealth of everyone in it. He would spare no one except those who surrendered to him as his mere slaves. Such is the nature of everyone, though those people do not recognize it who do not have the opportunity and ability to behave in that way, or who are subject to the restraints mentioned above. But once the opportunity and ability have been provided and the restraints have been loosened, they would plunge themselves, as far as they were able, into such actions. Wild animals never demonstrate natures such as this, but are born into a certain natural order. Those that are savage beasts of prey do inflict harm on other animals, yet only in self-defence; and their devouring of other creatures is so that they may satisfy their hunger. And once that is satisfied they harm none. The human being however is altogether different. From this it is clear what man's proprium is and what his will is.

[3] Since a person is just so much evil and excrement, it is clear that he cannot possibly from himself rule over evil. To say that evil can rule over evil is an utter contradiction. And this applies not only to ruling over evil but also over hell, for everybody is in communication with hell by means of evil spirits, and it is from that source that the evil residing with him is activated. From these considerations anyone may know, and he who is mentally normal may conclude, that it is the Lord alone who rules over evil residing with man and over hell residing with him. So that the evil residing with a person, that is, hell which is trying moment by moment to force its way into him and destroy him eternally, may be overpowered, a person is regenerated by the Lord and has a new will conferred on him, which is conscience, and through which the Lord alone works everything good. These considerations are matters of faith, that is to say, the considerations that man is nothing but evil and that everything good comes from the Lord. A person ought therefore not merely to know them but also acknowledge and believe them. If he does not acknowledge and believe during his lifetime, it is demonstrated to him convincingly in the next life.